The Baby Between Them

Chapter Seven

"I can't believe she thinks that!" Hunter growled as he slammed his fist into the boxing bag again.

"You want me to put the pads on so you can hit something human?" Ty asked, only half joking.

"Do that and you're likely to end up in hospital as well. You can go join them in their room. It can be a little menage toi." He gave the bag a one two punch and then completed it with a roundhouse kick.

"You told me years ago that you'd kill me if I touched her, so no thanks!" Ty grabbed the bag to stop it from swinging. "Do you blame her though? You've acted like she doesn't exist for the last four years, so that you don't let slip how you actually feel about the girl. Can't blame her for wondering why now." Hunter hit the bag again, this time sending Ty flying on the other side of it. "Hunt!" He bellowed as he stood up and rubbed his sore ass. "You know I'm right! No need to deck me for it."

"If I wanted to deck you, I wouldn't have done it with the bag between us." Hunter snapped, before walking back into the house and grabbing a Jack Daniel's from the fridge. He threw a second one at Ty, who luckily had amazing reflexes and caught it.

Hunter drank half of his without coming up for air, needing the buzz from it to take his mind off the infuriating redhead currently sharing his brother's hospital room.

"I'm an idiot..." Hunter groaned.

"Well I've known this for a while, but why now in particular?"

"She just had surgery and was on pain and I yelled at her. Yeah it's infuriating that she thinks I don't care about her after all this time, but I shouldn't have yelled at her."

"Man your moods give me whiplash sometimes. You know that yeah?" Ty shook his head and sat on the couch, flicking through the channels until he found one with basketball on. "Mind?" He asked. Hunter shook his head and sat down on his favourite recliner.

"I should just tell her." Hunter said, mostly to himself.

"No, you shouldn't. She has enough going on right now. She needs her friends. The ones who have always tried to protect her, to be there for her now. She doesn't need you confusing the shit out of her with your confessionals..." Hunter pondered over Ty's words for a few minutes.

"You're right. The timing's off. Hell! Maybe it'll never be right." That thought was extremely sobering. "Should I apologise for yelling at her?"

"Nah... She deserved that. Bet ya twenty bucks she's told Nash what she said and he's not talking to her now either."

"You're probably right." Hunter laughed.

* * * * *

Nash had been right. Hunter hadn't been back to their room in the twenty four hours that they shared it before he went home or the two days it had been while Rae was there by herself. Nash hadn't come to visit since he'd been discharged either.

She'd been so incredibly lonely.

Her father, Abi, Lily and her half brother Carter had all been to visit and so had Rick, Thomas and Sylvie, but the two she wanted to see the most, stayed away, so it was a nice surprise when they walked in together, four days after her surgery.

She didn't say anything. She was too scared of saying something that would make them mad again.

"Not even a hello?" Nash asked, sitting in the chair beside her.

"Or not happy to see us?" Hunter added, standing at the end of her bed.

"I figured you were just here to give me news on Sasha or something." Rae admitted quietly. She had been told that her mother had been arrested and spent the night in jail. Rick had bailed her out the next morning, but only on the judges orders that she go straight to rehab.