The Mule

Chapter 40

"If you get her pregnant, you'll have to marry her", Gael said to Braxton, only half in jest.

"Daddy!" Marissa exclaimed, embarrassed.

"Relax, Rissa, I'm teasing him. Sort of", her father added with a wink.

Braxton played along. "I promise I'll wear a condom, Gael."

Marissa was blushing. "Braxton!" That elicited a laugh from everyone. They were joking around, but all the Brennan children knew about the birds and the bees. Living on a farm where there was a breeding bull, they had known from a young age all about sex and babies. Gael and Irene had also taught them how to prevent pregnancy and diseases. Consequently, to date there had been no "oopsies" in the family.

"Braxton, in all seriousness, if you and Rissa become a couple, you will have my blessing. You are a fine, upstanding man and she could do a heck of a lot worse. I'm pretty sure that Irene would agree." Gael was secretly hoping that Marissa and Braxton would get together. After the assault on her heels and before she was kidnapped, he had worried about whether his daughter would find someone who would be accepting of her disability - he knew the reality was that that might mean she'd be alone for life. Since she'd come back home, he had been so focused on getting her through turning the Cartel in and dealing with her cancer, he hadn't thought about it much, but he did know that her time with that organization was another liability in the dating world. However, seeing how comfortable Braxton was around Marissa and how she responded to him made him think there might be something brewing between them.

A couple days later, Braxton's parents came to the hospital from Boulder to see their son and meet Marissa. Braxton had called them when he had arrived back in Denver but Marissa was still very sick and only family could visit in the ICU. He was able to because the doctors had made an exception at Gael's insistence.

Garret and Ella Jagger were met at the hospital's front door by their son. It was obvious to anyone who met them whose son Braxton was. He was almost the spitting image of his father, the main difference being that Garret looked 20 years older and had more grey in his hair than his son had in his. He also had a few more wrinkles in his face. Ella was the opposite of her husband. She dyed her hair blonde to hide the grey that had taken over. Her eyes were a pale green and she had a slim figure. Ella had passed her smile and her easy going disposition on to her son, as well as her love of books. She had not passed on her interest in athletics and running - she ran almost every morning, even at the age of 68 and she was on a seniors' triathlon team.

They had tea at the small cafe by the hospital's entrance before going up to Marissa's room. "You look more like yourself again", Ella said to Braxton once they were seated.

"You mean I didn't look like myself?" Braxton asked as he poured some milk into his Tetley.

"No, son, you didn't", Garret answered. "We didn't want to say anything to you but you looked much older and stressed at our anniversary party." He and his wife had been shocked at their son's appearance.

Braxton was dismayed at hearing this. "I'm sorry, Dad. I hope I didn't ruin it for you."

"No, you didn't, but your mom and I were worried. We figured it was over Marissa and closing your practice. It seemed like you were never going to hear from her again and we didn't know how to help you cope with that." Both he and Ellen deliberately did not say anything about Amber. They had agreed not to on their drive from Boulder. Braxton had ended his relationship with her and that was the important thing.

"I am glad that the Brennans found me, but not happy about what Marissa has been through." He had called his parents one morning when he was at the Maynards' and told them everything, feeling sure that they would not judge her. He was right - they didn't. They knew that their son had good instincts about people and if he felt strongly about someone, that person was a good soul.