Thicker Than Ink

Fifty Five

I had been granted enough time to clear my head by Liam sitting with Addy and keeping watch over him that I had been able to calm myself down and distance myself from all of the what-ifs that had been driving me to a very dark place mentally... And my ass is finally where it should be, parked right next to Addy's bed while we wait for his last IV drip to finish so we can go home... Addy currently resting with his eyes closed... Not really sleeping, but not really awake either...

Liam had made himself scarce... Told me that he'd be close in case I needed him, but like the friend he is, he knows crowding me while waiting to see if we might need him would only drive me up the wall... So he decided to wait out in the waiting room for us to finish everything up after he checked up on Pop and let me know that the old man is still stable and currently doing the best that can be expected of him at the moment.

I don't know what we would do without the support of such good friends... I don't know what I would've actually been able to accomplish today after seeing Pop's legs give out in the backyard... And I can't help but be grateful that Liam and the others were there to help when I found myself frozen and panicking...

Adrian and I would have ended up alone and I'm not sure either one of us would have actually known what to do... It's one thing to be told to how to handle that kind of situation... But no amount of reading I could've done as an Alpha to make sure I knew how to keep my pack safe would have prepared me for being in a real-life situation where I would have to apply the knowledge to a real person... A real person that I know... That has a familiar face and has been such a source of stress and anxiety in my life...

And our support system is what ends up on my mind just as one other part of our support system shows her face... Her voice being the first thing I hear right outside the door of Addy's room, the voice being what sets me on edge as I listen to her elbow her way past both Liam and the nurse who tries to stop her...

I should get up... I should meet her at the door and tell her that right now is not the time nor the place to be causing a scene and that if she's going to be her usual sour demanding self that she can very well leave because none of us need that kind of energy around us at the moment... But I tell myself that none of that isnt anything I can't say after she's actually in the room and has a chance to see for herself that her grandson and great-grandchild are okay and resting...

I simply set myself up mentally to have to cope with Agatha's normal attitude towards things that go wrong concerning Adrian... I set myself up to bite my tongue instead of trying to defend myself against the verbal lashing she always tries to hand me every time anything happens... But in the end...

I didn't need to...

When Agatha finally muscles her way inside of our room here at the clinic instead of being loud and coming in swinging insults and blame in my direction she's quiet... She has tears rolling down her face, her lips pulled into a thin harsh line as she takes a moment to wring her hands together while she stares at Adrian hooked up to his monitors and IV drip...

My shoulders pull up and draw themselves together of their own accord as I wait for her to lay into me... But it never happens...

When Agatha looks at me...

Her tears pick up the pace... And her voice is nearly silent... Her whole body shaking as she takes a few hesitant steps towards me... "Silas... Oh... Sweetie..."

I'm not sure if her voice is kept low in order to keep from rousing Addy... Or if she really is just that hoarse from all of the emotion currently buzzing in the air...

Somehow though... It doesn't matter...  She finishes closing the distance between where she was standing at the front of the room and where I'm sitting and without a single ounce of hesitation... She hugs me...

She hugs me... And when she hugs me it almost makes it impossible not to let myself cry... Just something about having someone offer comfort this way who smells just the tiniest bit like my Addy... Having someone who feels like more of an adult offer comfort this way...

It's borderline too much... And it happens to be exactly what I need... A parent... Who isn't injured... Who isn't here in the clinic because she needs to be fixed up and stitched... She's just here... For us... For Addy mostly... But apparently... Also for me with how tightly she's committed to keeping his rail-thin arms wrapped around my shoulders just as tightly as she can manage, her mutterings of, "I know, Hun... I know...Today was awful... And no one should have had to go through that..." touching me so deeply that I actually find myself unfolding my arms in order to hug her back...

I didn't ever expect to bond with Agatha... And I don't think too much will actually change just because she understands that today isn't the day for her to be obstinate or exercise her dislike of me just for being the one who took Addy away from her... But I can appreciate that for once... I know she's telling the truth when she says she understands...

Because she does...

When they lost Addy's parents it was more than just Addy losing his mom and dad... Agatha lost her child... So she... Of all of the people here today... Who have helped today and been here for Addy and I...

I know she gets how terrifying the last few hours have been...

Pop getting shot... Seeing Ma all bent up like a pretzel on the kitchen floor trying to get the pain to stop... And Addy and I thinking that we nearly lost the baby...

It would be a lot for everyone... And I am grateful that someone is here that understands that.