"She's in recovery now, but she's not out of the woods yet."
Grace's doctor came and pulled Ben aside after what felt like a million hour in the waiting room.
Everyone had taken a break from uncovering Cal's cryptic words, and trying to understand Mick's calling about the angel Gabriel. They started working on a plan to get Eden back, but everything they came up with was just shot down. They couldn't figure out a good plan, so to avoid them all getting pissed and screaming at each other, they took a break.
They let their minds focus on being with each other, and Grace making it through the night.
It was morning now, the rising of the sun peeking through the windows as the clock hit 7am. They had been there all night... and had barely slept.
But by the time the doctor game to get them, a second wind came along.
"When can I see her?" He asked abruptly. Just knowing that his wife was alive scraped all of the fear out of his bones, but he needed to wrap her in his arms and never let her go.
"I can take you now if you'd like." The doctor scanned the room, seeing their entire family sprung out over the chairs desperate to be a part of the conversation. He nodded at them softly and smiled, a comforting sigh reaching his lips. "All of you."
Following him to ICU, they walked though the halls silently, catching glimpses of patients who were alone, on ventilators, or with their loved ones by their side. Ben knew Grace would never have to worry, because they weren't going anywhere. Once they reached Grace's room, Ben's heart leaped out of his chest. She was half asleep, the color drained from her face. But she was alive.
"Grace." He spoke as he made his way to her side. A tear slipped from his face as he squeezed her hand, leaning down to plant a kiss on her forehead. "I knew you'd make it." He whispered.
Mick grabbed Zeke's hand, holding herself steady as a million emotions flooded into her body. Tears threatened to fall as she watched her brother, niece, and nephew reunite with their wife and mother. Blame it on the hormones all you want, but she knew it was simply the relief of seeing her sister-in-law alive... and their family being reunited.
Grace was the best thing that ever happened to Ben. Well, Grace and the kids. She was his other half, his best friend. And without her… Mick wasn't sure how he would've survived.
Cal and Olive stood by the other side of the bed hovering. Cal was quiet, thought running through his mind at 80 miles per hour. But Olive's mouth was moving softly in thanks and prayer.
"When will you guys stop worrying about me?" Grace spoke suddenly.
Her words grabbed everyone's attention, their startled faces pausing as they registered what was happening. "You're awake!" Ben exclaimed, pulling her close.
"Ow, ow." Grace laughed. Her body was still sore from the wound and the surgery, but she didn't care. He could hug her all he wants.
"Don't you know us by now?" Zeke spoke. "We'll always worry about you. That's how we roll."
Grace smiled, slightly wincing at the pain in her side.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Angelina.
A coward with a poisoned brain leaping towards her to steal her daughter. And even though there was nothing there, touching her side only made her feel the knife again. Like the fragment of a memory she had lost but kept uncovering, it wouldn't stop haunting her.
"We're just glad you're ok." Mick took Grace's hand in her own and squeezed it tight. She thought of Grace like the sister she never had, and she couldn't even begin to imagine a life without her in it. Grace smiled at her, a smirk emerging on her lips after a moment. Mick gave her a look, not understanding what she was getting at.
"Um, Mick." Grace spoke, carefully looking her up and down. "When were you gonna tell me?"
Mick scoffed as her cheeks turned bright red, knowing full well what she meant with that remark. "What do you mean?" She asked. She tried to play it cool, but it didn't work.
"Tell her what?" Cal asked.
The room was silent as Mick tumbled over her thoughts.
"Tell us what?" Olive interjected.
Zeke slid his hand up Mick's back, gripping her hand and clearing his throat. "Well um." The whole room was silent once more, with concentration and full attention on them. "We were waiting for the right time to tell you all." Mick spoke. "And umm, I guess now is the right time." Zeke rocked his body forward, trying to find the right way to say it.
Mick turned her head to Grace, who was giving her a wink. 'Thank you.' She whispered sarcastically.
"Well." Mick hesitated, a large smile erupting from her face like a burst of sunlight. "Zeke and I are having a baby."
Olive and Cal practically jumped all over the room with excitement, tackling Zeke and Mick as tears flooded their eyes. "No way!" Olive yelled.
Suddenly, they turned to their parents, Olive squinted her eyes in suspicion. "You knew, didn't you?" Cal asked, reading Olive's mind.
Grace and Ben both laughed. "I found out yesterday." Ben said with a smile. "And I could tell. Motherly intuition." Grace replied as she pointed to her head and tapped it softly.
"That's not all though." Zeke interjected, turning everyone's attention back to him and Mick.
He nodded, giving Mick the approval to tell them the rest. "We're actually having twins, so…" She smiled, raising her hands in the air as everyone's jaws dropped in shock.
"No way!" Olive yelled again, quickly running over to hug Mick tightly. "Now that, I didn't see coming!" Said Grace happily. Mick embraced her once Olive had finally let go and moved on to hugging Zeke. Their hug lasted for a while before they both pulled away. Grace took her hand, excitement filling her eyes. "How are you feeling? She asked with a grin, desperately wanting to know every detail. "Um, well, you know. Sick." Mick replied as she smiled once more.
Grace looked over at Zeke who was standing behind his wife. He was smiling, and bubbling with joy. "How are you feeling dad?" Grace teased, knowing his answer before he even opened his mouth. "Well you know… sick." He joked.
This was the kind of good news this family needed. After the (what felt like) never ending tragedy of the last few years, this was the joy they had been trying to find. These babies would truly make this family feel whole again.
But suddenly Grace's face turned sour. Her large and abrupt inhale causing worry in the rest of them. "Hey, what's wrong love?" Ben asked,. His wife didn't reply, but instead took a moment to think. "Wait." She spoke, concern took her over her body, like a deadly disease worming its way into her brain. "Where is Eden?"
Memories of last night came rushing back into view, and she couldn't remember where her daughter was… or if she was even with them. They had to have gotten to Angelina and taken her back already… right?
Ben's head sank, not knowing what to say.
But that was when Cal stepped forward, taking the lead for his father.
"We have a lot to catch you up on."
Hey all! It's been a hot minute! I do have set schedule now, and I will be explaining it down below.
We've had a crazy month! Since I last updated we rescued a cat (Who unfortunately passed yesterday ;( ) and we are raising chicks! My brothers football team is in the playoffs, and I feel like all I do is drive him to practice and sessions with his personal trainer lol. And I'm also recovering from poison ivy, flea bites, and post nasal drip... so this month has been very eventful!
Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter despite it being mostly filler. But I knew that had to keep Grace alive and we needed a little bit of fluff to get us through!
So about my uploading schedule: I've decided to go with uploading once a month, on the 28th of every month. The way I came to this decision is actually kind of cool! I realized back in August that I posted last on the 28th of July, so then I thought "why not post on 828 day? It'll be exactly a month since my last update."And then again in September, I realized we were approaching the 28th and I needed to update. So I decided to update then because it was exactly once month since my last update.
That was when it hit me. It was all happening on the 28th! It felt like some sort of sign for me, and I knew I had to keep it going. I'm so glad to have a set schedule, because now my minds at peace.
Anyways, thank you for reading this work, and I hope you continue to enjoy the effort I put into this. It means the world that you all continue to follow along, and are willing to see this story out until the end! Thank you for supporting me. I appreciate you all more than you'll ever know!
Love you, and see you again on November 28th,
The Color Gray
