Taste of Wolves

Chapter 22

The next week and a half, Aria got up, took a shower, got dressed, made herself breakfast, then headed to the hospital to visit her aunt. Each day her aunt seemed to get worse and worse and it greatly saddened Aria. After lunch, making sure her aunt ate as much as she could which was getting less and less each day, she'd head home to make herself lunch, do a little housework, then start her afternoon stream. Around dinner time, she'd shut her stream down, make herself dinner, then prepare for her nightly stream. Some nights Quinn showed up to have dinner with her and spend some time with her as she streamed. After her night stream, they'd spend a little time just chatting in the living room and some nights he stayed over while other nights he'd head back to the clubhouse.

One night her aunt took a turn for the worse and slipped into a coma. When she arrived at the hospital, she was shocked to see the state her aunt was in. The doctor came in to talk to her. He told her they had her on some strong pain meds to keep her comfortable but she'd slipped into a coma. "It won't be long now." the doctor told her which made her tear up. She stayed in her aunt's room talking to her as if she were conscious up until lunch time. She kissed Linda's forehead, told her it was ok if she were ready to leave, and that she loved her. The doctor promised to notify her of any changes making her thank him before she left the hospital.

As she did every day, she went the hospital right after breakfast to sit with her aunt. She talked to her aunt as if she were conscious telling her all about a conversation she'd had the night before with Quinn, some of the new games she'd recently gotten, and about a big donation she'd received the night before. She gave her aunt's hand a squeeze and said it was ok for her to leave because she'd be alright. A few minutes later, Linda flatlined causing Aria to tear up. Nurses came in to check on Linda. The doctor was called in to pronounce her death making a lump form in Aria's throat as she watched the activity around her. Now she was alone. The nurses told her Linda's body would be shipped to the mortuary that Linda had picked out that night. Aria thanked them before leaving the hospital.

She fought tears the whole drive to T-M. Seeing Aria's car pull into the lot made Quinn wonder what was going on. It wasn't lunch time yet. He wiped his hands on a rag and walked over to the picnic table by the clubhouse where she was heading. As soon as he was within arms' reach, she wrapped her arms around his waist taking him off guard.

"Lil Bit, what's wrong?"

"She's gone..." Aria trailed.

"Oh, baby...I'm so sorry." He stated as he sat down then pulled her onto his lap.

She buried her face in his neck as the tears began to flow and wrapped one arm around his neck. Chibs and Tig noticed the pair and wandered over to see what was going on.

"What's going on?" Tig questioned.

"Linda passed." Quinn told them.

"Lass, I'm so sorry. At least she was at peace." Chibs rubbed her back as she sat there and cried.

Gemma was curious as to what was going on so she left her office and made her way over. She raised her eyebrow seeing the black and pink haired woman sitting on Quinn's lap with her face buried in his neck crying. Chibs explained her aunt had died earning a head nod in response. The girl was clinging to Quinn like her life depended on it so she told him to take the rest of the day to be with her. He gave a small smile in thanks. Tig left the small group alone to head back to work when Gemma nodded towards him. She walked back to her office.

"Are you going to be able to drive yourself home?" He asked making her nod her head yes, "Then I'll follow you home. Let's go."

She sat up and wiped her face. Chibs quickly pulled her into his arms and told her if she needed anything to let him know. She nodded and thanked him before shuffling to her SUV. Quinn took his work shirt off, slipped his kutte back on, then walked out to his bike. He followed her back to her house hoping she was going to be alright to drive. She was very upset and still crying, after all. She was careful as she drove home and was happy when she finally pulled into her driveway. She stumbled as she walked to the front door making Quinn worry about her. It took a few tries for her to get the key in the door since her vision was blurry. Once inside, Quinn grabbed her hand and led her into the living room. He sat down, took his kutte off and laid it on the coffee table, took his boots off, then stretched out on the couch with his left foot on the floor. He tapped his chest for her to lay in between his legs and get comfortable.

"It's ok, Lil Bit. She's in a better place and she's no longer in any pain." Quinn stroked her tear-stained face.

She burst into a fresh wave of tears as she clung to Quinn. He rubbed her back with one hand and ran his fingers through her hair with the other. It was all he knew to do to help her. She eventually cried herself to sleep so he turned on the TV to occupy his time while she slept on him. Every now and then she'd sniffle in her sleep and it broke his heart. Seeing her crying period tore his heart out of his chest. She had him wrapped around her finger although she didn't know it. There was nothing he wouldn't do for her if she asked him to. Despite her being quite a bit younger than him and them only being together for a short amount of time, comparatively speaking, he knew he wanted to make her his 'ol lady. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her by his side.

He laid there watching TV all afternoon every so often stroking her face in her sleep. When his stomach began growling, he decided to call out for dinner for the two of them. Not knowing what she was in the mood for, or if he'd have to force her to eat at all, he opted for Chinese food. He looked up the local Chinese place on his phone since he could get out from under her to look at her take-out menus. He called the place up and put in their order. He remained where he was until there was a knock at the door. He carefully slid out from under Aria and took out his wallet to pay for their dinner. Food and money exchanged hands before he shut and locked the door. He set the bag of food on the coffee table before heading into the kitchen to grab some plates and silverware and glasses of tea for them both.

"Lil Bit? Baby, you need to get up and eat. We have food." He knelt beside her head and stroked her face.

"Hmm?"

He smiled at her sleepy reaction.

"Dinner's here and you need to eat. Get up, ok?" He stated.

"What is it?" She asked as she sat up and rubbed her face.

"I didn't know what you'd be in the mood for so I ordered some Chinese food." He replied.

"Sounds good." She told him as he handed her a plate.

"We have some Orange Chicken, General Tso's Chicken, Beef and Broccoli, and Mongolian Beef along with some egg rolls. Take your pick." He waved his hand over the cartons of food.

"Thank you. For everything." She said as she made herself a plate.

"Lil Bit, you're my girl. It's what I'm here for." He flashed her a warm smile.

The pair ate in silence sitting together on the couch watching whatever movie was playing. After dinner, he put up all the leftovers and put their dirty dishes in the dishwasher before laying back down on the couch for her to curl back up to him. She happily took up the space laying between his legs with her head on his chest and arms wrapped around him. He began rubbing her back once more just wanting to show her any sort of comfort he could. He wanted to make her feel better but didn't quite know how other than to rub her back, hold her near him, and run his fingers through her hair. She clung to him like a life raft as she felt like she was drowning in a sea of sorrow. When she started silently crying again, he wiped away her tears without a word.

Around ten pm, he decided they should head to be. Having just lost her aunt, he figured she'd want him to stay. She grabbed ahold of his hand and led him upstairs to her room. She didn't even bother changing clothes in the bathroom this time. He stripped down to his boxers and climbed into her bed to await her. She snuggled into his side as he turned her TV and cable box on to find something to watch. He draped an arm around her and rubbed her back as they laid there watching TV before bed. He kept looking down at her as she cried silently until she had cried herself to sleep. He kissed her forehead and closed his eyes listening to the sound of her breathing as he slipped to sleep.

A/N: Please review and vote below!