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“If he’s able to keep his O2 stats up, then he should be fine to start school. I’m not worried about any lasting effects.” With that information, I’m finally able to take a deep breath. In fact I’ve been so tense with worry that a sudden wave of exhaustion hits me.
Silas reaches out and shakes the doctor's hand. “Thank you so much. He's fine to eat and drink normally, right? He asked for a popsicle or something.”
Nodding, he replies, ‘‘Yes, that’s fine. His throat may be sore for a few days due to being intubated, but if he’s up to it, then that’s fine. I’d definitely just do soft foods for now, maybe some soup or broth.”
I reach out to shake his hand as well. “Okay, we will try that, thank you so much for taking care of my baby.”
Right as the doctor walks out, Bodie and the twins walk in carrying a ridiculous amount of food. “So, I might have gone overboard,” Bodie says as he places everything down on the tray and table in the room.
‘‘Ya think?” Silas deadpans.
“Well, I knew what you and Cal would want, Isla said she’s not picky, but I figured Lochlan’s throat couldn’t tolerate much. The only jello they had was strawberry, and I know he’s not allergic but it had dyes. Thankfully they had green apple popsicles, because I asked to read the ingredient list and all the others have red dye as well. So then I figured ice cream would be good, but I didn’t know which one he’d like so I got one of each, plus some chicken noodle soup. The only juice they had that he can drink is apple so I got that, too.” He looks absolutely distraught at not being able to feed us properly, and oddly, it’s kinda cute.
I reach out to give him a hug. “Thank you for being so thoughtful, Bodie. I appreciate you taking his allergies so seriously.”
“Of course I do Isla, it's something important. Besides, he’s already stuck here, so I didn’t want to make him feel worse.” He squeezes my hand and walks over to Lochlan. “Okay bud, what are you in the mood for? I got you soup, ice cream, and popsicles. I also grabbed some apple juice.”
“Can I try the soup first? Then maybe some ice cream?” He hesitates and looks at me to make sure that it’s okay.
“That’s perfectly fine baby. Try and eat whatever you feel like, okay?” I kiss his head as Bodie brings over his tray. He has soup, a cup of three different flavors of ice cream, a cup of juice, and a new dinosaur toy. I raise my eyebrow at the three men.
Odin shrugs. “What? It was in the gift shop. He needed something to keep him busy.”
“Do I get to keep it? Forever?” Lochlan asks, looking up at the guys with big eyes full of appreciative tears.
Odin picks up the toy and hands it to him. “Yes buddy, you can keep this forever. We bought it special, just for you. We are so glad you’re okay. Now eat up, I’m sure you’re starving.” Lochlan reaches out for a hug and Odin embraces him and kisses his head. Bodie leads me over to the table where the rest of the food is.
“Okay, so they had beef tips and rice with peas and cornbread. I got five of those plates, plus pizza, and a few hamburgers, but they only had a couple fruit cups with no strawberries so I got those in case your grandmother brings Arden and Vivi. I got you a Dr. Pepper, and we grabbed a whole bunch of snack stuff as well, since we didn’t know how long we’d be here.”
Orin walks over, pulls out a chair, and guides me into it. “Speaking of, what did the doctor say, and did you want the beef tips? We grabbed some seasoning packets, and they even had ones with Tony’s.”
I nod at him while I chug down some of my drink. Man, I didn’t realize how thirsty I was. While we all eat, I fill the other three in on what the doctor told us. Lochlan eats all the soup, his ice cream, and I even saw him making puppy eyes at Silas, who ended up giving him bites of his dinner as well. I don’t know what’s going to happen with these men, but I truly hope they actually want to stick around.
By the time we all finish eating and get the room cleaned back up it’s after six, and Lochlan’s medications cause him to fall asleep while watching Wreck it Ralph on Si’s tablet. I glance around, and Silas is cuddled up to Lochlan who would not let him go, while Callum and Bodie doze off in their chairs, looking really uncomfortable. Odin and Orin are on the little pull out couch playing some game on their phones.
“Hey, y'all know you can go home so you don’t have to be bored and uncomfortable,” I say quietly as I walk over to the window.
Orin walks up behind me, “We know we can, but we don’t want to. We want to be here for you and Lochlan.” He looks back at his brothers who are all awake and looking at me now. “However, we can’t all stay, or you won't have any room to sleep. They said they will be bringing in another bed for you here in a bit, so that leaves the pull out couch. Who’s staying?” Four “me’s” ring out and I look between them, incredulously. They are actually glaring at one another trying to decide.
“I can stay up here by myself, it's fine. I can handle it,” I tell them, exasperated.
Bodie stands up and stretches. “We know you can Angel, but your days of having to do stuff alone are over. You have us now, in whatever way that may be, okay? Plus, in case you or Lochlan need something, he won’t have to be left alone.” Bodie got me there, how can I refuse when he’s right. Poor Loch would be terrified if I even had to step out for a second. Having someone else would be nice and honestly, when they’re around I feel safe too. He looks at his brothers and then back to me as he debates. Clearly Bodie is the take charge type and right now, I appreciate that about him. “I’ll stay, since Si needs to be at the shop tomorrow, and you three are on shift. I don’t have to be at the restaurant; that’s why I have other cooks and a manager. However, Lochlan and Isla need more clothes. I called Ms. Emma to update her after we ate, and she was packing some stuff. Can one of y’all grab it so she doesn’t have to get the other two kiddos up?”
“Well, we have Isla’s SUV and your truck here, so we can all go pick it up, and drop it back off. We can take the truck since the SUV has a car seat. Do you need anything particular?” Odin asks, walking over to stand next to me.
“Um, just my charger, some sleep clothes for when he wakes up and socks for both of us, and some yoga pants and a t-shirt for me to wear tomorrow,” I reply, trying to think of what else we need. “Oh, and my pillow and throw that are on my bed, since I sleep better with them. I’m sure Maw-Maw got stuff packed for Lochlan and I, but we’ll need our toothbrushes and stuff like that.’’
He leans down and kisses my head. “Okay darling, we will go grab that, just text one of us if you think of anything else. B, do you want us to grab you some clothes too?”
Bodie nods as he takes Silas’s place on the bed, the other four all taking turns giving Lochlan and me hugs and telling us bye. After they all leave, Bodie gets another movie set up, since Lochlan woke up sometime while we were talking. The nurses brought in the other bed, so I curl up to read a new book I downloaded. About an hour later, Callum comes in with our bags, kisses my head, and heads back out. I get Lochlan cleaned up, since they took him off his oxygen long enough to take a quick shower, and then get him settled back in bed.
Bodie plays a game of Chutes and Ladders that was in one of the bags with him, while I take a quick shower and then change into an old Red Hot Chili Peppers t-shirt, black sleep shorts, and fuzzy socks. I just pull my hair into a bun since I didn’t have the right shampoo to wash it.
After I’m done, I snuggle my son while we watch another movie on the tablet Silas left for him to play on. He thankfully falls asleep quickly, and I lay beside him just staring at his beautiful face. I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost him, but I’m thankful I won’t have to find out.
