Falling into Place - Forbidden Heart Series

41| Heightened Emotions

"I want to get tested."
"Me too."
"Same here."
"Where do I fucking sign up?"

One after another, my friends and family members spoke up, offering to donate part of their liver for my little girl. I had Jackson text them to meet me here at Down the Rabbit Hole after hours. Danielle stayed at the hospital with the baby.

Everyone showed. But that wasn't a real surprise; even if it was the middle of the night. Some of them were in pajamas and looked like they rolled right out of bed. Others were dressed in regular clothes. But they were all here.

"Can we go now to sign up?" Jamie asked, sitting on one of the tables. "I'll go right now."

"Me too," Lanie added. "I want to go now."

Ayden pushed the stroller up to stand next to his fiancee. Little Nate was resting inside, sound asleep. "Slow down everybody. First they got to do blood typing. They need to see if one of us is a blood match. And if we are, then the next step is tissue typing. And a physical. Basically a battery of tests. It's not as easy as you guys think."

"You saying you don't wanna donate?" Nate snapped from where he was leaning against the bar. He put his hands to his chest and said, "I'll fucking do it. Right now."

"That's not what I'm saying, Nate. I'm just saying that we all need to realistic here. It's going to be a fucked-up process and we're going to hear a lot of shit we don't want to hear. But don't for one second think I don't want to help save that little girl."

Karma whispered something I couldn't hear to Nate before she spoke up to all of us. "Alright, guys. Let's just take a deep breath, okay? Everyone's emotions are a little heightened right now. We're all a little upset."

Audible deep breaths were taken all around the empty bar. Lanie wiped at her eyes. Harper clung to Jackson like a life preserver. Nate had his eyes closed as he tried to tamper down his fears of the situation. Cherise pulled a tissue from her purse and dabbed the corners of her eyes.

Fuck. I didn't want to be here. I wanted to be with my wife and daughter in that goddamn hospital room. But I needed my friends now. Out of the bunch of us, there had to be someone who was a match. Someone who could potentially save my daughter's life.

Then again, a part of me felt guilty for even hoping that one of my friends was a match. It wasn't like I was asking to borrow money or a fucking ride to the airport. And it's going to take a big surgery and a part of their fucking organ.

"Tomorrow," Jamie said suddenly. "We can all go down tomorrow and start tested and go from there. We can't do anything tonight."

Agreements were spread among the group. Each one ready and willing, itching to be the special match. But there was that damn catch again. Even if one of them was a match, that didn't mean it was going to be smooth ride.

Ayden's thoughts mirrored my own. "It's not surprising that everyone here wants to be a match. But you need to know the risks."

"Risks?" Nate scoffed. "What risks?"

"He's talking about the surgical risks," Karma said softly, as If talking to a child or trying to calm down a wild animal. Basically any way necessary to keep Nate from losing it. "Just like any procedure, there's a risk of complications. Some of them serious."

"She's right," Ayden said. "None of you might want to hear it, but a transplant surgery can have risks like allergies to anesthesia. Nausea. Pain and blood clots. Pneumonia."

"I think we can all handle that." Nate said.

Ayden was in Nate's face in an instant. "There's also the rare risks. Like Liver failure and death, Nate. It's not a fucking walk in the park."