Chapter Five
"They're lovely Elliot, thank you." I smiled and he took the chair next to the bed.
"Hospital walls are so sterile I thought you could use some color." I nodded and looked at the arrangement of wildflowers.
"How's Tris doing?" I missed her a lot and he got a look of fatherly pride in his eyes.
"Good, she wants to see you but Karen has her this week." I looked up in shock; I knew he'd filled out the separation paperwork I didn't think it had been filed.
"When did that happen?" He took a deep breath and shook his head.
"She moved out three weeks ago but we've been pretending for the constituents. It looks like there's one more strike to my campaign."He looked up at me and his face showed genuine warmth, but there was also a worry there. There was something he didn't want to tell me.
"When does my replacement start?" He didn't even have to tell me, I knew I was fired but he shook his head.
"I have a temp working on the PA duties. Once you have your daughter and get well I want you back. You're amazing, even when you couldn't be there I was never late for an appointment and didn't have any mislabeled paperwork. You were also there for my daughter in ways that went far beyond your duties. I don't care who your father is or your husband, you have proven invaluable to me." I felt tears in my eyes and he handed me the box of tissues. It seemed like all I ever did was cry anymore and it was annoying.
"Thank you Elliot. Working for you has been my most fulfilling job; I'm going to miss it." I sighed, even if I'd be back I'd still miss it.
"Do you need anything to tide you over until you can work again? I can arrange for a loan." He was so sweet but I shook my head.
"You're already doing so much for my family Elliot. I couldn't ask you to do this. I'll find a way for Espy and me to make it. I'm a Morrow and a Madoc, Espy and I can't be anything but survivors."He chuckled and shook his head.
"Just be sure to let me know if you need anything. You're more than my assistant Milla you're my friend and I want to know that you're doing well." He took my hand and squeezed. I was going to have to thank whatever nurse decided to put my IV in my forearm; too many people were holding my hand lately. There was a knock at the doorjamb and I felt a smile stretch across my face when I saw who it was.
"Koz! I wondered when I'd get to see you." He smiled wide and nodded to Elliot as he came to the bed.
"Things have been busy with the club girly. But you know I couldn't hold off seeing you for long." He leaned down and kissed my forehead while Elliot stood up.
"I've got a busy day ahead of me Milla but it was wonderful to see you up and in good spirits. As soon as Tris is back I'll bring her to visit you. Keep getting stronger Milla." He kissed my cheek before he walked to the door and Koz moved around the bed to take the vacated seat.
"I hear you and Hap are transferring with Paco and Chick. Looks like we'll have a full load of bodies at the table." His smile faded a little.
"If Tig isn't an asshole." Ah yes, Tig. Fuck, I wanted Koz here in Charming, I wanted to propose having him move into the house so that I wouldn't be alone and unprotected when Juice and the guys went in.
"Tig's always an asshole. I know this has been going on forever and I won't ask why, but maybe, just maybe you could get him to see reason. I want you here; I know you'll be able to keep us safe." The "us" I was referring to wasn't just me and Espy; it was me, Espy, Tara, all the others. With one SaA behind bars we needed another brutal badass around.
"Talk to Tiggy about that. I wanna be here too Kid, you know I love ya and I'm excited for the little one. I just hope she looks like you, has your man's sense of humor, but looks like you." I giggled; I knew he liked Juice a lot. He was one of the few who actually showed him respect.
"I love you too Koz and I like the fact that you're planning on sticking around. Nothing's ever boring in the mother charter is it?" He chuckled and shook his head.
We talked for a while before he got a text calling him to church. I hoped against hope that Tig wouldn't be a jackass but there was too much history at play to say differently. I really didn't know what had transpired between them but whatever it was Tig had lost all faith in Koz and it took a lot for Tig to turn against a brother.
A few hours later I was sitting up in my bed attempting to eat my jello, I was finally allowed solid food again but the gelatinous food product was fighting me at every turn. It sucked because I really wanted that jello. I threw my spoon across the room in frustration and started crying, that jello I really wanted it.
"Hey, hey, hey what's this?" I wiped off my eyes and saw my Dad reaching down and picking up my spoon from the floor. He walked to the bed and sat down. He looked at the jello and took in my tears as he smiled. "Need help darlin'?"
I nodded and he took the spoon I was supposed to use for my soup and started feeding me the jello. It tasted even better than I thought it would. He gave me a soft look before he started talking again.
"This reminds me of when you got your tonsils out when you were seven. You were so afraid to eat that you didn't for two days and the only way you'd even drink would be if I helped you." I smiled and obediently opened my mouth for the next spoonful. "I wanted to let you know that your bodyguards are now members of the mother charter and Hap got the vote too. Your man's Prospect also got the nod"
"Let me guess, Tig left Koz hanging? Daddy this isn't good for the club. I know you know that but still. Set Mom on him you know he adores her." Dad smiled and gave me the last spoonful of the jello.
"If I can't reason with him I may just do that. You're getting as calculating as your mother, not as Machiavellian. I love you angel." Dad put the jello cup on the tray and picked up the soup. He raised his eyebrows and I nodded, he chuckled and started feeding me the soup.
"I love you too Daddy. I haven't seen Juice since last night. What's happening?" He knew what I meant and fed me a couple more spoons of the soup before he answered.
"We're working on getting his cut back. We're too strapped for bodies around the table to punish him and you know how much he's punishing himself. Don't worry though he'll earn that cut back." I nodded and he finished feeding me the soup. I was going to milk his attentiveness for all it was worth.
"Dad, I had Chantal do some work for me and I wanted you to know that I'm going on Tribal Assistance as soon as I get out of here. My Tribal Insurance is already covering a significant portion of this bill. I know you don't like using our Paiute blood to get special consideration but in this case I need it." I was expecting him to fume and roar. Instead he gave me a thoughtful look and nodded.
"In this case that was the smart thing to do. With Juice going in and you laid up you could use all the help you can get. You're proud of that blood; why not get the help you need?" He shrugged and I nodded.
"That's exactly what I was thinking. How do you think Phil's gonna work out as a Prospect?" Dad shrugged and looked on my tray to see if there was anything else he could feed me on the tray. There wasn't I'd taken care of the muffin before he got there.
"Prospects are Prospects, either they're bitches who punk out the second things get hard or they stick it out. None of them have half the balls Half-Sack did far as I can tell." I felt my eyes mist up again, I missed Kip, he was such a wonderful guy. He would've made a great Son.
"In all honesty I think Phil and Miles are gonna work out. Shepard's giving me a bitch vibe." This time he full out laughed and I had to smile.
"You always had that sixth sense thing goin on. Listen I gotta go see your Ma do some club shit, but I'll be back as soon as I can. You're my angel and you being hurt like this kills me. Love you baby." He kissed my forehead and I reached up to caress his face.
"I love you Dad." He gave me a smile and went out the door.
"With intense physical therapy and some surgical corrections down the road you could possibly get upwards of eighty percent mobility in your shoulder. Unfortunately there was some nerve damage done to the wound in your upper arm that was missed upon first examination. If the problem was merely in relation to the shattered collarbone I would posit a one hundred percent recovery rate but this nerve damage is a major concern." Dr. Mellencamp said as he read my chart.
"When can I begin the therapy?" I wanted to be able to care for my baby and eighty percent was eighty percent.
"As soon as your surgical wounds heal, three to six weeks depending on recovery time." He made a note and closed the chart.
"Thank you Dr. Mellencamp." He nodded and went out.
I lay back in bed and sighed. This was bullshit, it seemed like everything that could go wrong was going wrong. I turned on my television and sighed again. Highlander was on Spike, the last thing I needed was a reminder of my husband who'd gone AWOL since he got his cut stolen from him. Nothing I did could convince him that I only cared about him and his well being. I settled back to watch the movie. No matter how upset I was, this was one of my favorite movies and it did its job correctly, calming me down and lulling me into an 80's fantasy coma. About halfway through the movie someone entered my room carrying balloons and flowers. One glance down showed me who it was and rather than be annoyed with my wayward husband I was happy to see him. He put the balloons and flowers on the nightstand by the bed and gave me his usual grin. I was so happy to see him that it took me a while to notice that he had his cut back.
"Oh baby." I stretched my good arm out to him and he moved around the bed and crawled in with me.
"What we watching?" Just like that all the tension, anger and fear I'd been feeling leaked out of me and I settled in for an evening of movies with my husband.
"Highlander marathon." I said as I maneuvered myself into his arms and rested my head on his shoulder.
"Good, I love those movies." He kissed the top of my head and I sighed, this time content.