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Badly. In Jasper's limited experience, whether a woman actively yearned for a child or not, the loss of that maternal ability was akin to ripping out her heart. It was the loss of self-worth, of doing the one thing her body was designed to do perfectly. "Okay, this is what we are gonna do. No, shut the fuck up," he said firmly when Braun began to protest. "You can't handle this by yourself. Well, you can, but you're not going to. We're a goddamn family, and we're not going to let you cast yourself adrift trying to cope with everything."
"I didn't—"
"I said, shut the fuck up. I'm assuming you're not in the room with Bodie right now?"
"No, I needed to clear my head for a moment. She's dozing, but the sedative is only light."
"Okay. You are going to go back into that room and climb into bed with her. Tight squeeze, I know, when you're such a big bastard, but you'll deal with it. Hold her, make sure she knows she's loved, and get some fucking sleep." Jasper squeezed his eyes shut to think. "I'll call Connie now. I'll make sure she's there first thing in the morning in case the doctors arrive early. Anarchy and I will get there as soon as we can."
"I don't want you to drag everyone out, Jasp. You all have lives, too."
Jasper growled and let his tone harden. "In case it's escaped your notice, our lives are connected, Braun. Family comes together when it's needed, and now seems a good time to lean on your family. We'll come because we love you, and we love that smart-mouthed sub of yours. So stop with the bullshit and listen to me. Go kiss your girl and tell her everything is going to work out how it's supposed to, then get some sleep. I'll take care of the rest."
"God, you're a hard ass." Braun laughed, and the sound was considerably lighter. "Thanks, J."
"Go," Jasper ordered with a grin, then waited for Braun to say goodbye before he ended the call. He had to take a moment to get his head around the utter disaster crashing down on his friends' heads before he called Connie. When he was greeted with a muffled growl of displeasure, his lips twitched. "Bad time, Connie?"
"Jasper? Jesus. It's gone midnight, you ass."
"I can tell the time accurately," he responded, glancing at his watch. "It is, in fact, twelve-forty-three."
"Do you want to die? My alarm is set for five a.m. because I have a ridiculous staff meeting at seven before I start my appointments. I do notplay nice on four hours sleep."
He did feel sorry for her. Letting go of his teasing, he said simply, "We have trouble, Con. Cancel your staff meeting, your presence is required somewhere much more important."
The silence on the other end told him he had her attention. He heard a soft click and envisioned her turning on the bedside lamp while she blinked those gray eyes like a disturbed owl. Cover rustled as she sat up, then she cleared her throat. "Give it to me straight, Jasper. Is Anarchy okay?"
"Anarchy's fine. She could benefit from a chat with you, but she's not the issue." Exhaling deeply, he told her straight, just as she asked. "Braun took Bodie to the doctor today. They were sent to the hospital. They've done tests and there's more to come, but Bodie's pregnant, Con."
The squeal of joy almost shredded his eardrum. He yanked the phone away from his ear until it died off, then jumped in before Connie could distract him. "I don't think it's the best news. I've just spoken to Braun. There's a possibility the pregnancy won't be able to go to term. I don't think Braun understands a lot of what the doctors have told him, but the gist seems to be that her parents did internal damage when they beat her half to death."
"Oh my God." Connie's breath hitched. "Does Bodie know?"
"No. Braun isn't going to tell her until he knows more tomorrow. He's sinking, Connie. As soon as Anarchy is awake and it's a civilized hour, we'll be going to the hospital. I figure you and me can offer Braun the support he needs, while Anarchy can be there for Bodie if she doesn't want a roomful of Doms. Can you clear your schedule?"
"Goddamn it, this is the last thing she needs right now. We've been making really good, positive progress toward her feelings on family, and this is going to dropkick her back to the beginning." Connie's voice sounded a lot quieter than before, and Jasper could hear a series of taps. "There. My schedule is cleared for the next few days; I've assigned my appointments to my colleagues. Did Braun indicate what the prognosis is?"
"Apart from dire?" Jasper sighed. "No. I think he's expecting the worst. I gave him an earful, told him to go get some sleep. Don't think he'll get much, but he needs rest for whatever's coming. I'm hoping to be at the hospital by eight."
"I'll meet you out front. They may not let you or Anarchy in outside of visiting hours, Jasper. Especially if the doctors are still doing tests. I imagine they'll want to do some scans. God, this is just...my heart is aching for them. After all they've been through, they don't deserve this."
He was in full agreement there. Braun was one of the best men he knew; Boadicea, one of the strongest, sweetest women. "They've survived worse, Con. However this turns out, Bodie needs reminding of that. Her parents abused her, belittled her, stole from her, and she bounced back. They didn't get the chance to sell her, but she sure as hell didn't succumb when they physically beat her into ruins. This isn't going to be the stone that breaks her."
"Maybe you should talk to her."
"I'm not the right person for that job. I'm leaving the serious heart-to-heart shit to you." Jasper pinched the bridge of his nose. "I need to go check on Anarchy. We need to let the others know about Bodie, but Liam is Bodie’s best friend. Can you get ahold of him, apprise him of the situation? I’ll call Atticus and Loki in the morning—there's going to be a few late nights at the hospital, I think. No point turning tonight into one, for them."
"I’m on it. Go see to your sub, Jasper. I'll be waiting at eight a.m." Connie ended the call.
Not quite as peaceful as he had been, Jasper shoved his phone into his pocket and rubbed his hands over his face. He needed to take his own advice and get some rest before this newest bundle of stress detonated. Much like Bodie, his family history made him reluctant to have kids of his own—some traits were passed down through the blood—but he didn't know Anarchy's thoughts on families and babies.
Rising, he walked over to the cupboard to rummage for snacks to take up to his kitten in case she woke hungry, along with a couple of chilled bottles of water from the refrigerator. He wondered, if the tables were turned and Anarchy was in Bodie's place, how she would deal with the situation.
She was strong like Bodie. Not as much sass, although it lurked under the surface of her submissiveness. Her strength of character was admirable. It was like they were twins born from the same steel core, parting ways to develop into the women they were today. Jasper had only met Alicia, Bodie's real sister, a few times, but she was cut from the same cloth.
Life just wasn't fair. Boadicea had been through so much, as had Alicia, and just when they were starting to live the way they wanted to, without their parents haunting their every move, another tragedy chose to strike Bodie.
He had a soft spot for the little sub. Avalon and its members had welcomed her, but her journey finding her place beside Braun had been rough. Jasper remembered, very clearly, the night Braun had asked him to approach her as she danced on the stage. She'd given them all the run around for weeks, hiding between her time on the stage, vanishing when her shift was over.
