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“We have no problem helpin’ deal with this kind of problem. It’s our specialty. Plus, Tomasso could really get his hands dirty. It’s been a little bit and he’s goin’ stir crazy,” Rossi informs us with a slight chuckle. “Give us the rest of the day to gather what we need and we’ll be on the road headin’ your way. Send me a message with the address of the hotel so we have it and I’ll give you an updated time of arrival as soon as I have it. Wicked, your ol’ lady won’t ever have to worry about this asshole again. We’ll make sure he’s dealt with in a way he won’t ever forget he crossed the wrong club.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that more than you know,” I tell him, my voice wavering with emotion.
Venom and Rossi talk for a few minutes longer before my President hangs up the phone. We all leave the conference room without talking about them coming to Cedar Bay because we’re in a pretty public place and don’t need this shit getting out. It’s bad enough we had to use the conference room to make the call. I head straight back to the NICU and wait outside for a few minutes while Steel spends time with his daughter and grandbaby. I won’t ever force him out of there for any reason.
“You doin’ okay?” Otter asks me as we watch Steel and Quinn with Brindley.
“I’m doin’ as good as I can be,” I return, not looking at my best friend. “It’s gonna be a long, tough road of recovery. Especially when we don’t get to walk out of here with our daughter in a few days.”
“I can’t even imagine what either one of you are goin’ through. Willow and I are here with you no matter what you need.”
“I know. We both appreciate it. For now, I’m not sure what anyone can do. This right here is the only time Quinn smiles. When we’re not in the NICU she’s sullen and quiet. Everythin’ is goin’ through her head at once and I know it’s just a matter of time before she breaks again. Doc already warned me it was gonna happen. So, I’m just tryin’ to ensure it doesn’t happen when I’m not around her. Quinn needs to know she can depend on me to be the strength she needs when she doesn’t have enough for herself.”
“I know the ol’ ladies are gettin’ together and preparin’ a ton of meals to fill the freezer and makin’ sure Quinn has everythin’ she’ll need when she gets back to the clubhouse. They’re gonna be up her fuckin’ ass because they want to make sure she’s okay. No one will let her get away with keepin’ her mouth shut and holdin’ everythin’ in. We’re gonna make sure she talks and gets all that shit out when she needs to,” Otter says, finally making me pull my gaze to him.
We stand together for the longest time before Steel makes his way out and I can go back in with my family. I wash up before placing the gown on again and making sure everything is covered up like it’s supposed to be. When everything is in place and I know I’m ready to go, I head back to the small room where Brindley is being kept. She’s not alone, but not necessarily in with the rest of the baby’s either. I have a feeling that’s something Steel made happen through Doc. It really wouldn’t surprise me if he did.
For the rest of the visiting hours, Quinn and I take turns holding our little one and we both get a chance to feed her. Our girl is a little piggy and doesn’t leave a single drop of formula in her bottle. As usual, Quinn gets upset when we have to leave our little one behind in the NICU while we go back to her room. I help get her in bed and covered up before they bring in her dinner. I’ve got food that the ol’ ladies brought up as we eat together and pretend to watch TV. Once Quinn’s done eating, she gets ready for bed because it’s been another long day for her. I let her and don’t push her to talk or anything else. She’s not ready to talk and pushing her isn’t the way to go. Not yet.
Chapter Eighteen
Quinn
TODAY IS BITTERSWEET. While I get to leave the hospital and go home, our baby girl doesn’t get to leave with us. She won’t have to be in here forever, but it’s not time for her to leave just yet. She’s still having some problems breathing on her own and yesterday she didn’t want to eat at all. Brindley was hungry, but she refused to take the bottle. It broke my heart to see her so unhappy and crying so loud knowing there was nothing we could do. I’m hoping when we go in today she’ll eat.
Wicked was visibly upset yesterday when his baby girl wouldn’t eat. He held her, rocked her, and refused to let anyone get close to her. It took us forever to talk him into letting the doctor come in to examine her. Finally, the doctor was able to get to her and he didn’t see anything that would prevent her from eating. Brindley just didn’t want the bottle. I mean, we tried everything. Changing the nipple, trying a different formula in case it was upsetting her stomach, and everything the doctor and nurses could think of. Our little girl is simply stubborn and wasn’t gonna eat until she was ready to. Not very good, but we all tried everything we could. If she’s still not eating today, they’re going to give her a feeding tube. That’s the last thing we want, but Brindley needs to get her nutrition some way and I’ll go along with whatever is needed to keep her moving forward so she can come home.
Our plan for now is to get me discharged and then we’ll go spend the rest of the day in the NICU with Brindley. I’m not leaving here until I absolutely have to. It’s going to be hard enough to leave the damn hospital knowing we’re not here with our little girl. Doc has talked to the staff and let them know that someone will be guarding our girl outside the NICU at all times. They aren’t going to leave and no one better try to make them. Someone has been there since the day Brindley was born and they haven’t caused any problems for a single person going in or leaving the place at all. Typically it’s been my brother and dad because that’s their little girl if you ask them and they want to be the ones to stay with her.
“Are you ready to get out of here?” Wicked asks me as I finish getting dressed in a pair of sweatpants and an oversized tee-shirt.
“Yes and no. I want to get out of this hospital because I hate staying here. But, we’re gonna be so far away from Brindley and I don’t like that. I want her home with us where she belongs.”
“I know, baby. She’ll be home before we know it. But this gives us time to get what we need and get the room set up. We’re actually gonna be movin’ rooms so we have an adjoined room attached for Brindley. I already know where we’re goin’. It’s gonna be just down the hall from where we are now. I’ll get everythin’ moved and then we can work on Brindley’s space,” he tells me, making me smile at the thought of our little one having her own space we can bring her home to.
“That sounds good, Wicked. I want to paint her room. Maybe a light purple or something like that. I’ll get with the girls and we’ll figure it out,” I tell him, grabbing my brush to run it through my hair.
"You figure out what color you want and we’ll get it painted. I’ll have Otter and Brantley help me get it taken care of. We got a lot of shit to buy for her,” he returns, his voice fading away as he enters the bathroom.
“We’ll see,” is all I’ll commit to.
I can paint a damn room. Maybe I’ll choose the paint and get it while he’s busy doing something so he won’t be around to even think of helping paint the room. Then it will be all done when he gets home from whatever he’s doing. Something to think about.
By the time I’m ready to head out of here, Doc is coming in with my discharge papers. She goes over all of my instructions and asks if we have any questions for her. When we don’t, I get a follow-up appointment with her before a nurse wheels in a wheelchair. Even though I’m not actually leaving the hospital, I still have to be in one. Hospital policy and all that shit. While I’m wheeled to the NICU by my dad, Brick and Wicked take all of our stuff out to the truck. Someone brought my husband’s truck here over the last few days so we’d have it when it was time for me to go home. For now, it’s one less thing we’ll have to worry about when we have to leave our daughter.
My dad and I wash up and put on the gowns that are required before moving further in the room and heading over to Brindley. She’s still under the light and has the oxygen on her. The wires are still plastered to her little body to monitor her heart even though she hasn’t had any issues with it. We’ve been told it’s just a precaution to ensure they don’t miss anything going on with her since she can’t tell them what’s going on. I almost sigh in relief when I don’t see any new tubes or anything attached to her little body.
It's not long before a nurse makes her way over to us. Her name is Andrea and she’s been one of the main ones taking care of Brindley since I had her.
“Morning guys. Brindley had a really good night last night. She did start eating again so we didn’t have to put in a feeding tube. She’s eaten for me this morning with no problems as well. The doctor thinks she might have had an upset stomach or something yesterday and didn’t want to eat because of that. We’ve weighed her and she’s gained a few ounces as well. The doctor should be in soon to see her and examine her once again. He’ll answer any questions you have,” Andrea informs us with a smile on her face.
“That’s great news. I was really worried about her not eating,” I tell her, smiling down at my daughter as she lays in the bassinet.
“Are you gonna do the skin-on-skin hold this morning?” Andrea asks me.
“Yes. Wicked will be up here soon and I know he wants to hold her too. That’s our favorite part of being in here with her,” I answer as my dad looks down at Brindley with the largest smile on his face.
She’s holding his finger as he runs his thumb up and down her little arm. I imagine this is the way he looked down at Brick and me when we were babies. My dad hasn’t gone far from Brindley since she was born. The only time he did was to see me and he made sure my brother was one of the guys watching over her before leaving her side. He’s been in here with either Wicked or myself more often than not because he can’t get enough time with his grandbaby. Wicked will more than likely take his time getting things down to the truck just so my dad can stay in here a little longer to be with Brindley. Then I’ll leave when Wicked comes in so my mom can come in and see her. I haven’t seen my mom, but I’m sure she’s already here somewhere.
