I reached out and gripped the nurse’s hand. “Thank you so much and I’m sorry. I speak for Keela, too. We acted wrongly. We were just...”
“Scared?” the nurse finished my sentence and gave me a small smile.
I nodded my head in answer to her question.
“I understand,” she said then handed me a sheet of paper. “This has the name of the ward Mr. Slater is on and the number of the room he is in. You will all have to leave this room by morning, as other loved ones of patients in the A&E will need it. The waiting room in the ward he is on is like this so it will accommodate you all if needed.”
“Thank you,” I said and cleared my throat. “We really appreciate this.”
The nurse inclined her head, gave a tight-lipped smile to everyone then left the room. Things were quiet until Alec said, “We should let Keela threaten people more often if it gets us results like this.”
I snorted and shook my head at him then read the sheet of paper the nurse gave me.
“He is on St. Peter’s Ward in room nine,” I said and looked at the brothers, then to the girls. “You all go up to see him. The four of them will stay asleep until we switch.”
Ryder blinked at me. “Are you sure?”
Was I sure?
“Of course,” I said, biting my lip. “You’re his brothers.”
The brothers said nothing for a moment, but nodded their heads in agreement with me and carefully moved the girls off their bodies so they could stand up. Nico had a bit of trouble untangling Bronagh from his body so Alec had to help. Watching them made me laugh. I placed my hand over my mouth and shook with silent laughter until he was free from his sleeping beauty’s grip.
He kissed her head, took off his jumper, and laid it over her to keep her warm. He walked over to me then and playfully kicked my leg when he saw I was smiling. “She has the grip of an anaconda; don’t judge her by her size. She may be small, but trust me when I say she is strong. Very strong.”
“I’ve no doubt, husband.” I winked.
Nico snickered then laughed a little when Ryder and Alec asked what I meant by calling him husband. I grinned, too.
Good luck to you on explaining that one, buddy.
“I’ll explain along the way, come on,” Nico said grinning as he took the sheet of paper the nurse gave me.
Ryder winked as he passed me by and Alec fist bumped me. They gently clicked the door shut behind them as they left and when they did, a veil of silence coated the room. I could hear the girls breathing, and every few seconds Bronagh would snore a little, but other than that, it was silent.
I leaned my head back against the wall of the waiting room and sighed. I folded my arms across my chest, and tucked my legs under my behind then closed my eyes and relaxed as much as I could. I was uncomfortable, but that wasn’t what had me uneasy. Kane did that just by being here in the hospital; it wasn’t so bad because he was alive and stable. He wasn’t okay because he was in the hospital, but he was alive and that was the main thing.
I would take alive and ill over dead and buried any day.
“Aideen?”
I groaned low in my throat and wrapped my arms tightly around myself, trying to hold onto sleep for a little while longer.
“Aideen? Hey, wake up.”
I felt a nudge on my legs and it caused me to wake with a jolt. I scrunched up my face then slowly blinked my eyes open. I pulled my head back a little when I found a huge clump of tin foil shoved in my face.
“It’s a breakfast roll, eat it. You need food.”
I blinked at the tin foil then looked up at the person holding it. I stared at Keela for a moment then took the tin foil covered roll from her extended hand. I sat upright and groaned when my back clicked. I carefully stood up and stretched out my body, making noises close to that of a baby dinosaur.
“Fuckin’ shite chairs,” I grumbled and placed my free hand on my now aching back.
My legs, back, arms, and my neck were stiff and sore. My damn neck felt like a five-hundred pound wrestler had leaned on it all night long.
“You know what?” I mumbled to Keela who sat down next to a still sleeping Bronagh, Branna, and Alannah.
“What?” Keela asked as she opened her own roll.
I sat back down on the God forsaken chair I slept in all night and rolled my head on my shoulders. “I wonder if people ever end up in A&E from these chairs. Imagine that, comin’ to see someone in hospital but throwin’ your back out in the waitin’ room.”