by Aiden Bates
He squeezed his mom's hand and tried to reassure her with a smile. "Don't worry. They're good with that kind of thing here." He grabbed his phone and texted Brantley. Need you to call Gupta. Sounds like Gottlieb goaded my dad into cardiac event.
Brantley must have been right by the phone, because his reply was wordless but immediate: !!!
He turned his attention back to his mother. "Okay, Brantley's going to call the lawyer. Gottlieb shouldn't have been harassing you in the first place, never mind to such an extent. Now let's try to calm down. Dr. Wade will be back soon."
Wade was back fifteen minutes later. He carried a folder. "Well, Mrs. Frye, it's a very good thing you brought your husband in when you did." He winked at her. "You're a nurse, so you know these things. Your husband had a heart attack. It's early to tell how bad it was. The nurse who removed you to the waiting room was rude, but I'm not going to discipline her for it. She was clearing you out of the area so they could re-start your husband's heart."
Mom gasped. Allen pulled her closer in to himself. "And now?" He couldn't bring himself to believe Dr. Wade would just drop a bombshell like that without something soft on the other side.
"And now we've got his heart re-started. We'll be needing to ask you a lot of questions, Mrs. Frye. I'm sure you know the drill. You could probably put all of this stuff into the system in your sleep. Speaking of which, Mr. Frye still hasn't regained consciousness. We are a little bit concerned about that, and we're keeping an eye on it. In the meantime, though, we're going to watch and wait. Once we've got him stable enough to be moved, we're going to put him on the ICU. Does that sound like a good plan?"
Allen hugged his mother. "I think it does," he said, when she didn't answer. "Thanks for all your help."
"No problem. I'll send them in here to ask their questions. You can hang out in here until they're ready to send you up to the ICU." He patted Allen's mom's back and gave Allen a grin, before he headed back out into the ward again.
"I like him." Allen's mom sighed after Dr. Wade. "A heart attack? Poor Jeff!"
***
Brantley's boss gave him a few days of family leave. It confused him, at first, because this wasn't his family. They didn't even like him, and he knew it.
At the same time, he also knew that while the adults might not like him, Harper and Ethan adored him. Alaina loved him. He could be helpful with them, at least, while their parents were off helping with their father or taking up space in the ICU, whichever was more appropriate.
He chided himself for the negativity. He needed to be more charitable. Just because he and Janine didn't get along didn't mean Janine wasn't useful at a sickbed.
He'd never seen himself as a caregiver, at least not in this capacity. He could do wonderful things with chemical compounds. He could give all kinds of amazing advice to people about how to avoid the multitude of avoidable cancers out there, but he'd never seen himself dishing out rice and peas or chicken to hungry kids.
Harper and Ethan were worried about their grandfather, of course. They were also too young to really understand what was going on. They asked questions, and he explained them as best he could, but then they wanted to go to the park or watch cartoons. That, as five minutes on the Internet told Brantley, was normal.
He tried to keep them outside and active as much as he could, although he slathered them in so much sunscreen they all but dripped with it. Sun exposure caused skin cancer, after all, and what kind of guardian would he be if he allowed them to get sick on his watch?
The first day he took the kids to Onondaga Lake Park. It was a good place to bring children, he guessed, and there were plenty of other children for them to play with. There were other adults around, too. Most were probably parents and grandparents. A few identified themselves as nannies, and since none of the children in his care looked even remotely Jamaican, he could understand why people lumped him into that category.
He laughed at himself about that. However much money he'd gotten in scholarships, however many decades of education, and now here he was. A nanny. Ah well. It was only temporary, and he loved the children. Besides, some of the other nannies were Jamaican. Hearing the familiar accent of his homeland, the old patois, made him want to cry in both joy and in terror.
None of these women—they were all women—gave the appearance of judging him, even though Harper and Ethan outed him right away. "That wouldn't fly back home, but it's different here. It's safer," said one woman, Cristina. "They got to my brother, you know."
Brantley cringed. "Is he…"
She made a face. "No. He'll never walk or talk again, but he's alive."
"I'm so sorry." Brantley looked away.
"I wish we could have gotten him here, but there's nothing we can do about it now." Cristina gave a little sigh. "Things might change someday, but I don't think it will be soon."
Brantley exchanged numbers with the nannies. It couldn't hurt to have some friends who knew who and what he was—all of him. If he could find a way to make things work with Allen, he could maybe hire one of them in place of Alicia. And if not, maybe it would be good to have connections who understood where he came from.
Allen didn't want to talk too much about his father when he got home. Jeff had woken up briefly, but they wanted to keep him sedated for the time being. His heart attack had been serious, even on the intensified scale that usually went along with the words "heart attack," Parts of his heart had been damaged, and he had a blockage in one of his veins.
The blockage was fixable. Silver Oak wasn't taking chances with family. They had their best cardiologist on the case. The damage to Jeff's heart would take time, and even then, his recovery might not be complete. He'd have to retire from his job at Home Depot. Allen's youthful face took on a pinched look when he said that, and Brantley thought he could understand why. Jeff hadn't missed a day of work in his life.
But these things happened. Brantley didn't point out that not missing a day of work in his life had probably contributed to Jeff's current condition. It wasn't for him to judge. There were plenty of other factors that went into heart disease, from lifestyle to chemical exposure to genetics, and maybe the stress of not working would have been worse than the stress of a daily grind.
Brantley liked Jeff. He saw a lot of Jeff in himself, and he wished the older man well. For all that, Jeff wasn't his first concern. He was more worried about Allen. Once Janine and Jim had taken their wonderful children out of Brantley and Allen's hair, he reached out to Allen. "So how are you doing? I know you've been tired. This can't have helped."
Allen let Brantley help him to his feet and back to the bedroom. Alaina was asleep in her bassinette. Brantley saw his longing glance back at her. "I should be here with her," he said.
"So you'll get up and spend some time with her in the morning, before you go to the hospital." Brantley helped Allen off with his clothes. It wasn't sexual. It could have been. Brantley could have easily let his touch linger just a little bit on that smooth, tanned skin. "She knows you love her. She knows you're her dad, Allen. But you're not going to be able to be there for her if you collapse in a heap." He helped Allen into a pair of pajama bottoms and guided him into the bed.
Allen let himself be guided. "Do you really think I'll collapse into a heap?"
"I think you're the strongest person I know, Allen." Brantley changed quickly and crawled into bed beside him. "Everyone has a breaking point. It's okay to rest. It's okay to sleep. You have support. You have people who love and care for you. Come on. Let me worry about you for a little bit." He grinned and took Allen into his arms. "It's a special treat for me. For one thing, I don't have to intervene between you and anyone else to stop you from pulling hair or spitting on each other."
Allen lifted his head from Brantley's shoulder. "Spitting on one another?"
"Ethan pulled Harper's hair, so she spat in his eye. She's got good aim, that girl. She'll go far in life." Brantley soothed Allen back to rest. "Out of all of them, Alaina's my favorit
e of course. Then Harper. It's close between them, though. Don't get me wrong. Ethan's a great kid. Harper, though. She's special. And I can't wait to see how Alaina turns out."
Allen rubbed his face against Brantley's bare chest, just like Alaina did, and smiled. The smile was broad and sleepy, but at least it was genuine. "I love that you've got such great relationships with the kids," he sighed, and tightened his arm around Brantley's waist. "It makes it so easy to forget that this is all for the bad guys. I can pretend, you know?"
Hope flared in Brantley's chest. "Pretend what?" He swallowed, hard. "Are you saying you want this to be… not pretend?"
But Allen was asleep.
When Brantley woke up the next morning, Allen was already up and out of bed. It was raining, and hard, so Sadie was just lying on the floor and moping. Allen was on the couch, holding Alaina and singing to her in a quiet voice. Alaina just smiled at him and gurgled.
"Looks like someone's in a good mood." Brantley grinned and headed into the kitchen. Allen probably didn't even mention their conversation from yesterday. Brantley decided he wouldn't bring it up. He didn't need to go there, not before Allen went to sit by his father's sick bed.
"I had a good night's sleep." Allen's cheeks reddened, but he didn't say anything else about it. "I think that helped. Of course, I'll be a zombie by the end of it, but you know. There are probably lots of good ways to prepare brains. It'll be swell."
Since it was Friday, Brantley had the kids again. When Janine stopped by to drop them off and pick up her brother, Allen gave Brantley a kiss on the cheek.
"I think Uncle Allen likes you." Harper clasped her hands behind herself and grinned like a little devil, cheeks bright red.
"Brantley and Allen, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Ethan sang the old schoolyard chant with his eyes twinkling.
Brantley couldn't tell if Ethan had the first clue what he was spelling, especially since he knew Ethan barely even knew his alphabet. Still, the chant made Brantley squirm. What if he did that outside the house? What if someone heard him and decided to take matters into his own hands? "I should hope he likes me," he said, trying to keep his tone light. "But not everyone is okay with men kissing. So maybe we shouldn't sing that so loud outside of the house."
Since it was raining, he decided to take the children to the Museum of Science and Technology. The MOST, as it was usually called, turned out to be a great favorite with both children. It wasn't so much a stodgy museum for viewing as a dynamic museum for children to explore a host of STEM concepts. They could run around and enjoy to their hearts' content. Even Alaina found something she liked, kicking her little feet with excitement when she saw something bright and shiny.
If the older two found something they didn't quite understand, Brantley could explain it to them better than any placard. It was something else he hadn't expected to learn about himself. He loved teaching them about light, or about motion. He loved teaching them about physics or the circulatory system.
And both children loved learning it from him.
After they'd finished at the MOST, he treated them to lunch at a local pizza place. Ordinarily, he wouldn't dream of pizza. There were just too many potential carcinogens there, and he had no idea how many of them they were exposed to in their regular lives. When they asked for pizza, though, he didn't even think about it. He just said yes.
They didn't call him "Dr. Brantley" anymore. They called him Uncle Brantley now, and he loved it.
After lunch, they went back home. Brantley expected them to ask to watch cartoons, but instead they wanted Brantley to teach them more science. Brantley had to search his mind for a proper response. He had no idea what he was supposed to say to that. He didn't have a lot of grade school textbooks on hand.
He did have the Internet. He found a couple of starting places, and he went from there. They gathered around his laptop and went through some different lessons. Every time they got one right, they did a fun and silly dance that had all three of them doing deep belly laughs on the ground. Sadie expressed some concern about their mental health, mostly through highly expressive grunts and leaving the room.
The day passed so fast, he was almost surprised when the townhouse door creaked open. Sadie bounded up to her human, eager to be saved from the silliness of those she'd been trapped with.
Ethan and Harper followed her. "Uncle Allen! Uncle Allen! We had the best day with Uncle Brantley! He taught us science! And gave us pizza!"
Allen grinned. Brantley had to turn to pick up Alaina, so his weak knees wouldn't make him fall over. Allen's grin could start wars. It could probably stop them, too.
"Pizza, huh?" Allen let out a teasing little chuckle. "Are you for real? Because every time I try to eat pizza, he tells me it's not healthy and I can't have it. He must love you kids an awful lot."
"He loves you more." Harper sidled up to Allen and nudged him with his shoulder. "Betcha twenty dollars."
Allen's cheeks turned bright red, but his tone was light when he told his niece, "You don't have twenty dollars, Harper."
"I will when you lose the bet."
"I told you she's a smart girl, Allen." Brantley led the way into the kitchen. "Why don't we all grab some dinner, so your mom doesn't have to cook?"
"I'm all for that." Janine's face looked pale and drawn, and she put her purse down on the entryway table. "I'll help you."
Brantley passed Alaina off to Allen, who didn't meet his eyes. Maybe Allen remembered more of their conversation than he thought.
They had a tasty dinner of oxtail stew, perfect for a rainy Friday evening. Then Brantley had to say goodbye to the children, at least for the moment. They would stay with their father on Saturday. Brantley probably wouldn't see them until Monday, or even later.
He didn't like that. He didn't think they did, either. "We want another science lesson with Uncle Brantley," Ethan said. "When can we do that, Mama?"
Janine flattened her mouth out. "We'll have to see how your Papa is doing. We'll find a way to make sure you get your lessons in." Her eyes were flinty when they met with Brantley's, but she gave a little smile. "I have no idea how you managed to convince them to do their schoolwork, Uncle Brantley."
"It's more fun to learn when you don't have to do it." He spread his hands wide. "When you're doing it by choice, because it interests you, everything is suddenly fascinating."
"Hm. We'll see." She turned to her kids, and her smile softened. "Come on, kiddos. Let's get you home. It's bedtime soon."
The kids piled out of the house, and Allen and Brantley watched them go. "What do you think she meant by that?" Allen blinked after his sister and rested his head on Brantley's shoulder. "She knows Harper, at least, loves to learn."
Brantley couldn't let his grimace show. "I don't know. It's been a long day for all of you. How was your father today?"
Allen picked his head up, like he'd just remembered what he was doing. "He's doing better," he said. "He's on the telemetry floor now. They moved him off the ICU today, which is good. I sent you a text."
Brantley checked his phone. "Oh my Lord, you did. I was having so much fun with the kids I didn't notice." He shook his head at himself. "I'm sorry. I should have been focused on you."
Allen snorted. "No. You shouldn't have. First of all, when you're the one in charge of the kids, the kids have the highest priority. Second of all, it's good the kids love you that much." He hesitated, and then he took Brantley's hand. "I know none of this is… you know. But you're a great guy. And you don't have any family here. I don't think it's the end of the world if there's a family here that does love and accept you, right?"
A lump grew in Brantley's throat, so he just squeezed Allen's hand.
Chapter Thirteen
Allen had done some work on the telemetry floor, about a thousand years ago when he'd been in graduate school. He'd worked the night shift, while he went to school during the days. Maybe that had something to do with why he hated it. The nights had been long, and boring, ex
cept when they weren't.
And then, of course, he'd had the anxiety of wondering who Zach was with while Allen was working his butt off during the overnight shift, or away at school. That hadn't been Telemetry's fault. It would have happened no matter where he worked, and he should consider himself lucky he hadn't been working in Obstetrics at the time. It had, however, soured him forever on anything connected with that time in his life.
So of course, because the world is cruel, he found himself now holed up in a small, private room on Four East while his father dozed. He'd gotten his mother to go home. She needed a shower, and she needed a few hours' sleep in a real bed. She was a good woman, and a good wife, and probably the hardiest nurse in Silver Oak history, but she was still human. She needed to take care of herself. Janine had gone with her, to make sure she stayed put.
At least he had Alaina. He hadn't wanted to bring her onto the ICU, but being apart from her for two days had been miserable. He needed her just as much as she needed him. And it was all well and good that Brantley was willing to keep an eye on her—great, really—but he wasn't going to be around for the long haul.