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She rolled them. Her eyes worked just fine. As if to demonstrate, she assessed the room with a critical gaze. Connie was sitting with Liam, deep in conversation with the Dom. He looked devastated, which didn't come as a shock; he was Bodie's best friend, had known her since childhood, and their bond was tight.
Atticus stood against the doorjamb, brooding. His face was set in thoughtful lines, but his eyes were distant. He was lost in thought, oblivious to his surroundings. Or so she thought, until his eyes cleared and flicked over to land on her. He winked, then resumed his musing.
"Where did Jasper go?" The alarm in her voice was unsettling. She was already tossing her laptop aside to go look for him when Loki gripped her wrist gently and halted her.
"Bathroom break, darling. He'll be back in a minute."
Jesus, she'd really gotten sucked into her work. "Did you say ninety minutes? Has there been any news?"
"Ninety minutes," Loki confirmed, leaning back in the chair and stretching his long legs out in front of him. "Don't worry, you haven't missed much. No sign of Braun, but a nurse stopped in to let us know they've finished the tests. I guess they're just waiting for the results." He cleared his throat. "You saw Bodie?"
Archie didn't think she or Bodie enjoyed knowing that she'd seen Bodie at a very vulnerable moment. Bodie was a strong woman, fierce, and probably wouldn't appreciate reminders of her weakness. Archie really hoped it wouldn't affect their friendship—the time she'd been spending at Avalon over the last year had cost her a couple of her old friends. She didn't want to lose anymore. "Yeah, I saw her."
"Was she...was she holding up okay?"
They were lucky, weren't they, to have the support of a kind, caring network of people. Theybeing the Avalon submissives. Bodie might belong to Braun, but she was, in effect, protected by all the Masters. Just as Anarchy was now Jasper's submissive, and drawn into the fold.
She wouldn't betray Bodie's trust. Couldn't. No one else needed to know how distraught Bodie had become, she decided. That was between Braun, Bodie, and Anarchy. "She was upset, but I think I would be. Something like this is hard to wrap your head around. The doctor didn't make it any easier on her by keeping Braun away. She'll do better now he's with her."
"She will. She's a fighter." Loki patted her arm. "I'll let you get back to work. Do you want anything else?"
"No, I'm good. Thanks for the drink, Master Loki."
He gave her a nod, then rose and crossed over to join Liam and Connie.
Before Archie could pick up her laptop again, Jasper strode back in. Seeing she wasn't immersed in the screen, he headed for her, sitting in Loki's vacated seat and dragging her over onto his lap. She cuddled into him, enjoying the way his arms curled around her waist, and rested her head into the curve of his shoulder. "Braun's coming, Anarchy. I don't know what they've determined, but brace yourself for bad news, okay? I've got you."
Her body froze at his murmured words, the nails on one hand biting into his tattooed forearm. It was warm enough in the room for everyone to strip down to their shirts. There were a lot of muscles on display, but now she couldn't focus on anything but watching the door. Her other hand dented the can in its grasp.
Atticus moved first, stepping back into the room and merging into the gathering. Liam and Loki rose to form a solid wall; Connie closed her eyes and pressed her fingers to her lips. Everything went silent as Braun walked in, his face grim.
"Thank you for waiting," he said, his voice strained. "I just...need a minute."
Nobody moved, nobody spoke as he strode to the table in the middle of the room and snatched a can of Pepsi from the pile of goodies stashed there. Connie had apparently bought out an entire vending machine, prepared for the long haul. Air hissed as he wrenched open the tab and took several long swallows.
"Fuck, I wish that was stronger." He placed his drink back on the table, straightened his shoulders, and met the eyes of everyone waiting for him to speak. "Bodie is pregnant, ten weeks along. For the past few weeks, she's been feeling under the weather. She kept it from me until only a few days ago, and her symptoms spiked yesterday." His jaw clenched. "The doctor believed that the injuries Bodie sustained months ago might be responsible, but even after all the tests, he can't say for sure."
Anarchy felt her lip tremble and bit down on it.
"That's not important right now, and we're not dwelling on it. There's some scarring in places I don't even want to think about. Doctor Travis says we're lucky to have gotten this far along with the pregnancy, and that the chances of Bodie falling pregnant to begin with were slim. But she is, and here we are."
"The baby, Braun?" Connie asked quietly.
"The baby is struggling. Development isn't as advanced as they'd like for ten weeks. They've given us forty percent odds of coming out of this without Bodie miscarrying. They're shooting her up with drugs to try support her and the baby, and she'll need regular check-ups for the duration." There was a sliver of hope in his voice. The tiniest ray of light. "We'll be staying tonight, possibly tomorrow night as well. If things stabilize, Bodie will be able to come home. She'll need a lot of rest, no strenuous activity. If we go to Avalon, we won't be scening."
"We can take turns staying with her when you're at work," Liam chimed in, and got a unified chorus of agreement.
Braun's mouth lifted in a brief smile. "Thanks, Liam, but I'll be working from home for the foreseeable future. If the drugs work, Bodie might be able to carry to full term, or as close to it as possible. If not, well, she's going to need me at home. She's going to need all of you as well." His dark blue gaze landed on Anarchy, and the emotion in it deepened. "She needs friends like you more than ever."
Anarchy felt a tear slide down her cheek without realizing it was waiting to fall. "We can stay here tonight? It doesn't seem right to go home and leave you both here."
Jasper's arms tightened around her, his cheek rubbing against her hair.
"No, sweetheart. You need to go home and get some rest. All of you do. Once visiting hours are over, I don't expect to see any of you lurking around the hallways or sneaking into rooms." Once again, his gaze was pointed in her direction, but there was a flash of humor in the blue. "The worst is over, for now. Someone persuaded the doctor Bodie shouldn't be alone, so I'll be with her constantly. We have a diagnosis, a treatment plan, and now we just have to have faith."
"Got plenty of that," Atticus grunted.
"Yeah, we do. It helps, knowing we have you standing with us. No matter which way this goes, we love all of you for coming here and showing how much you care. It's..." Braun's voice cracked and he rubbed his hand over his mouth. "I need to get back and sit with Bodie. I promised her I wouldn't be long. Anarchy's impromptu visit riled some of the fire back into my sub, and she's liable to fend the nurses off with her IV stand if she thinks she has to."
