Philip Lives...?

Chapter 3

Alexander, Laf, John, and Herc all arrived at the Burr household with bags of groceries, wine, and playing cards. They take over for Theo when she can't take care of her father alone anymore. No one else know except for the seven of them- the men, Philip, Theodosia, and Eliza. They walk inside; Theo leaves the door unlocked for them. John sets down the bag of groceries that don't need to be cold on the table beside the door. Lafayette puts the wine and the cold groceries in the fridge, and Hercules opens the pack of playing cards and sets them on the table beside Aaron's big sitting chair. Alexander pulls up four chairs for the men to sit. He slides over an ottoman for Aaron's feet, who's eyes are focused on nothing in particular, not even noticing the four enter. The men sit and Herc deals out for the five of them. Laf enters the living room with a snack platter, wine, and five glasses. John hums while they play cards. Aaron occasionally moves his hand, or mumbles incoherently while staring intently at the wall. After half a bottle of wine and some snacks, Laurens, Alexander, Hercules, and Lafayette clean up the cards, do the dishes, feed the dog, and tidy around the house for Theo. The men make their way back to the hospital to be with Philip.When they arrived, everyone was asleep. Alexander smiled at the sight of his sleeping family. He takes a seat beside Eliza and takes a rest himself. John, Laf, and Herc find a spot in the floor and talk quietly amongst themselves. A little while later, the children start to stir. The three men tend to them and let Philip, Theodosia, Eliza, and Alexander sleep. Just then, Theo's phone rang. The half-asleep teen answered her phone, her eyes widened in horror and tears spilled down her face. She dropped her phone and let out a horrified scream. Philip jolted up in alarm, putting his arm around her in protective-boyfriend mode. Eliza and Alexander jumped, looking around to see which child is injured. John and Lafayette jump up, while Herc tends to a fussy Lizzy who was still sleeping in his lap. Philip groans in pain and sits up, pulling a hysterical Theo to his side. The room is deadly quiet, aside from poor Theodosia's meltdown. She finally calms down enough to dry her eyes and take a deep, shaky breath to explain. "Th-that was my n-neighbor..." She looks up at the four men "Its daddy...something happened." She wipes her eyes and shrinks farther into Philip. "Th-th-there was an accident-" The tears started rolling down her face and her voice caught. Philip rubs her back and softly hums her favorite song to her. They laid there for a few. Theo takes another breath. "They have him in the ICU. Th...they don't know if he'll make it through surgery. He was lucid and went to check the mail...and a car hit him, driving him through the mail box." John hands her a tissue. She nods a "thanks". Then he gets one for himself. Philip looks down at Theodosia. "Are you sure you're ok? Do you wanna go stay with your dad?" Theo looks up at her amazing boyfriend. "I'm ok. Besides, if dad...' Her voice catches. "If he doesn't make it, I don't wanna be there. It's hard enough thinking how much he's in pain. No, I'm staying here with you. There's no where else I'd rather be." She kisses his cheek and curls back up against him. Alexander, Laurens, Hercules, and Lafayette all exchanged worried, uneasy glances. Angelica walks over and gives her best friend a hug. Little Lizzy walks over holding her teddy bear. "Here go, Theo. You can hold Teddy 'till your daddy gets better." She gives her the bear and a hug. Theo pulls her on her lap. "You are the best, Liz, thank you." She gives the tiny tot a warm embrace. Lizzy smiles and wiggles down to go fall back asleep in Uncle Herc's lap. AJ, John, and James just sit there uncomfortably. They don't know how to deal with stuff like this. They offer their condolences and hope that's enough.