The FIRE in You

Chapter 52: A shoulder to cry on

"Fuck! I told you he was not to be trusted, Aubrey. I'm gonna bury him!", "Philip, it's not your fight. I'm gonna let the court handle him", "And you think that's gonna work? His father will bail him out. Elias has never lost a case Aubrey!", Philip growled then disappeared in the hospital hallway.

He came to see Ajax at the hospital which surprised me but then again he was friends with him. Something that I didn't know Philip was capable of.

"Aubrey, we're not saying that you can't handle things yourself. We want to help besides, you have more things to worry about now. Focus on your family and let us handle this ok? Let us help you", Justin said making me look at my belly.

I released a breath.

The doctor has been on my case ever since Ajax was hospitalized. I went to see her because I was having trouble sleeping. I had random headaches and lost my appetite. I was worried that it would affect my babies. She told me if I didn't do something about it then it might cause high blood pressure issues, which increases the chance of having preterm labor or low-birth-weight infants.

Simone gave me quite a lecture so I started yoga sessions and she has been going with me every evening.

If I had it my way, I would be sleeping at the hospital with my Ajax but my back has also been killing me due to the weight of the babies so it wasn't an option so I had to leave it to Jason. Simone even gave him a nickname, 'night nurse'.

"You're right", my answer seemed to surprise him. He smiled. "I was ready to start arguing with you but I guess motherhood has started kicking in earlier than expected", he said making me chuckle. "Go before I change my mind please", I said and he nodded.

I decided to go to Ajax's room. He was still unconscious. It has been a week. The only thing giving me hope was the heart monitor and the fact that he was being taken care of but my doctors, who were the best doctors money could buy.

"Good morning night nurse", i greeted Jason who was stretching on the sofa. "Good morning baby mama", he said while accepting the coffee I brought him. He took a sip and then hummed in approval. "This is how you start a morning", he said then sipped again. I smiled and then walked closer to Ajax, I whispered a 'good morning' to him and kissed his lips.

"The doctors said he's started responding to some things. They think he will be waking up soon", Jason said and it was the best news ever. "When do they pass for rounds?", I asked. He looked at his phone and then said, "In an hour. Oh, by the way, Philip and Justin were here too". "I met them in the hallway", I said and he nodded then went back to his phone, no doubt texting Simone.

Yes... They were that predictable.

"How are you? I heard you went to see the doctor. Are my babies ok?", he asked looking concerned. "They're fine. The doctor said I just need to relax more hence me and Simone doing yoga every evening... I'll be fine", I said and he nodded. "I know this is hard for you Aubrey, not because you're pregnant but because you like bottling things in. You know he's gonna be ok right?", he asked and I nodded.

We sat and he started telling me about his crypto-currency business until the doctors arrived.

"Aubrey! No way!", a super thick voice said making my eyes go wide with shock as they landed on Benson. My first boyfriend. The last time I saw him he was thin and nerdy and now he was all muscle and a doctor?

Fucking hell!

"Benson?", I asked and he nodded and pulled me in a hug. "Waoh! You're very... pregnant", he said as if disappointed. "Yeah. This is my boyfriend, Ajax", I said pointing at the bed. "Oh uh...ok", he said then just stared at me until our family doctor cleared his throat. "Good morning Aubrey", "Good morning Fred", I said with a smile which he returned with twice the energy.

"We did some responsiveness tests yesterday and he reacted to sounds and touch so we believe he will be waking up anytime from now. The flap surgery also went well. I believe he will be good as new soon, he will just need a bit of therapy", he finished. "Thank you so much", I said then hugged him. It made him chuckle, "Just doing my job. How are you doing?", he asked finally making his fatherly side visible. "I'm fine", I said making him nod.

"Well I believe you have seen we have new faces here. We are expanding and Doctor Rex here is the one who did the surgery for us. He's the best in the country", he said while pointing at Benson, and as usual, his nose and ears went red.

I guess despite all the buffness, he was still the shy Benson I knew.

"I see that. We went to high school together", I said and that startled the old man. "The world is so small", was all he said as he left with Benson following behind him.

"Was it me or did the poor guy look defeated when you said Ajax was your boyfriend?", Jason asked making all hopes of Simone not finding out go down the drain. "Let it go Jason", i said then turned to Ajax.

"Come back to me Ajax", i said then kissed his band-aid forehead.

"Aubrey? Oh my god. We came as soon as we heard", Lilian said making me turn to the entrance. She was in tears. I felt something tight in my throat, I tried swallowing it but I couldn't. She opened her arms, I ran to her and hugged her as tight as my swollen belly allowed me. "I'm so sorry kiddo", Liam said while joining the hug.

His voice was cold.

He was pissed.

I didn't blame him.

He was fond of Ajax.

"What did the doctors say?", he asked while inspecting him and then the heart monitors. I couldn't answer, I was still sobbing on Lilian's chest. Jason stepped in and told them everything. "If this is causing you stress then you should stay at home and let us take care of him. We can't afford more complications Aubrey", Liam said. "No, I'm fine. I'm taking yoga classes and they've been helpful I promise", I said in a hurry because I could not afford not to see Ajax.

"Fine. I'm going to see Fred. I'll be right back", Liam said then walked out of the room.

"Shhhh. He's a fighter Aubrey so don't worry ok? He's gonna be alright", her words made me cry harder. For some reason I felt better, I felt lighter.

When I finally caught a grip I pulled back. "I'm sorry I ruined your shirt", I said making her chuckle. "Feeling better?", she asked and I nodded. "Thank you for coming", I said just in time for Christopher and Bridget to enter with breakfast.

"That smells amazing Christopher, what is it?", Lilian asked. Her eyes were full of curiosity. "Waffles and chicken for everyone and chicken sandwich for my grandkids", he said making me smile as I accepted my container.

"My love, may I speak to you outside for a bit?", Liam said after returning from seeing the doctors and greeting Bridget and Christopher. "Of course", she said then stood up.

When the door reopened only Lilian returned. I furrowed my brows. "Is he joining us for breakfast?", I asked. "No, he has a meeting with Justin. He needs to get some facts straight then he will come back. Don't worry", she said in a tone that was not the same as the one I was used to.  It worried me. "Aubrey... eat", she said then pointed at my container.