Angel

Chapter 83

Emilio

"We wanted to let you know we've made a decision about Marcus," I explained as my family held hands. Brandon held Mattie in his arms as she fought to not cry. "After many talks with Sean and several specialists, we've made the decision to remove the vent. If any of you want to say your last goodbyes to him, we will be doing this at five today. You're all our family and we would appreciate your support and presence during this time. However, we understand if you aren't comfortable being there."

After several moments of silence, the Blackbournes began hugging and comforting us along with Tori, Erica, Uncle, the Andersons, and Alberto. North came to stand before me and pulled me into a tight hug. "I'm so sorry, Emilio. I can't even imagine how hard this must be for all of you." His eyes were wet with tears as he pulled back.

"Don't take a second with Luke for granted, my friend," I choked.

"I'm so sorry ma douce," Gabe said as he cradled my wife. She clung to him like a small child, her body shaking. Of all the Blackbourne men, she was closest to him, regarding him as the brother she never had. Tori knelt next to them, holding Violet as she cried. The poor girl had been so overwhelmed and just refused to believe her Daddy Nova wouldn't wake up. She read stories to him and sang to him every day. Each time I looked into her eyes I saw my brother smiling back at me. In all of this chaos, Violet really was my sanity.

Mattie, however, had become so despondent that she lost weight and didn't sleep. Sean had placed her back on bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy. She refused most visitors and would only speak when we would take her to see Marcus each day in a wheelchair. The baby seemed to be doing well though, and she was due any day. That was one of the reasons we made this decision. We needed closure before the next step in our lives began. We needed a chance to say goodbye and mourn.

Owen

All day I had watched my friends and brothers struggle to say goodbye to a man we all loved beyond measure. Now Sean stood waiting for Violet and Mattie to say their goodbyes before removing the vent.

"Daddy, you can't leave me. Remember when MawMaw said if I prayed I'd find you, well now I'm praying you'll wake up and play with me again. I love you, Daddy," Violet cried as she clutched his chest until Raven gently picked her up. She buried her face in his neck and sobbed.

Emilio and Brandon helped Mattie stand. She took hesitant steps toward the bed, looking like she would collapse at any moment. "I love you, Nova," she whispered. "There isn't anything I can say now, that I haven't told you at least a hundred times except thank you. Thank you for giving me a beautiful daughter, five wonderful husbands, and a host of family and friends. I wanted to spend this life with you, but as usual, you decided to take care of me first and make sure I wasn't alone." She let out a sob and pushed the hair from his forehead, then kissed him softly. "It's okay to let go now, my love. I'll see you again, I promise." She nodded to Sean but didn't move much as he pulled the tube from Marc's throat and shut down the ventilator to avoid the alarms from going off.

When the beeping of the monitor went flat she let out a mournful wail and then screamed as her water broke.

Emilio scooped her up in his arms as they headed toward the door with Sean following when Axel yelled, "Sean wait!" He pointed to the monitor that suddenly jumped and we all froze as Marc's heart rate began to level out.

Author's Notes: one chapter then the epilogue

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