New chapter. Sorry it took so long, I had knee surgery. I don't own the Good Wife. Read and Review!
Will looked up in disbelief. The words were still hanging in the air, "What did you do to my daughter?!" Will raked his mind trying to think what he said in the voice mail he left Peter to make the man think it was his fault. All he remembered saying was Grace had an accident, and was in the Emergency Room.
When he didn't respond to Peter, the man stormed across the room, grabbed him by the arm and dragged him into the hall, followed closely by Owen. Peter was seething. "What. Did. You. Do. To. My. Daughter.?"
Will jerked his arm away from Peter before he answered coldly, "Nothing. I did nothing to Grace."
Clearly, Peter wasn't accepting that answer, because he responded with "I don't want you near her or her room until I talk to a doctor. And Alicia. It would be wise for you to walk away calmly and not cause a scene."
Will replied with a simple "No."
"What did you say to me, Gardner?"
"No. I will not leave Grace. I promised her I wouldn't. So , no. I am not going to leave. I am going to stay."
If it was possible, Peter got angrier. If Eli had not arrived and stepped in just then, it could have gotten messy. Evidently, Eli didn't think the Governor punching his ex-wife's new husband would be good press.
"You have no legal power here, Gardner. I am her father, and you aren't even a guardian. I can make it clear I don't want you near her, and the hospital administration can block you from her room for now."
Will looked him dead in the eye. "Well the patient certainly has for a say for who is near her. You haven't even asked what is wrong with her or what her condition is- you just show up and start making accusations and ordering people around. It took you almost twelve hours to get here. Zack drove from school in a snowstorm to be here. Owen came to wait. You don't get to show up and start making decisions. You show up, and be thankful you daughter is still alive."
Peters face went from angry red to frightened white in two seconds flat. "What do you mean still alive? Was it serious enough that she could have died?"
will heard the familiar panic in his voice he had heard so often since bringing grace in. "Yes. It was incredibly serious. Though she is stable now, she is not doing very well."
Eli looked horrified. "I didn't realize... Voicemail said accident. I said we could finish the event."
Will's face softened from the hard look he had since Peter arrived. "It's okay. She is stable now. You are here now. Alicia is on her way now. She is going to be ok. They are going to help her. We are going to help her."
Peter had calmed down considerably. All anger he had was now redirected as concern for Grace. "What exactly happened?"
Will hesitated. Was it his place to tell Peter about the eating disorder? After considering he decided he would give Peter the bare minimum of details and Alicia, Grace, or the doctor can fill in the blanks. He took a deep breath, and started talking softly. "Grace has an eating disorder. A serious one. Apparently, when she was purging, her esophagus tore, she passed out and cracked her head open. They did emergency surgery to repair the tear and she is currently on a feeding tube."
Peter looked stricken, and then anger started to creep back into his demeanor. "Why didn't you or Alicia notice? How could she have an eating disorder if you were paying attention to her?" he spat out.
This comment caused Owen to speak for the first time since Peter arrived. In a clipped tone, he responded for Will. "It is not always that simple Peter. What about you, why didn't you notice?"
Peter opened his mouth to reply and shut it quickly, realizing he didn't have a good answer. It was silent for about minute before Will broke the quietness. "Well, this has been fun, but I am going back to sit with Grace in case she wakes up."
Peter found his voice again.
"Did you not hear me Gardner? I do not want you near her. I will wait for her to wake up, and hear her version of what happened. Then you can see her. Maybe."
Will gaped at him. "You can't be serious. She wants me there. I need to be there, I promised! She needs me there."
"No. She needs me there. I am her father."
Just then a doctor walked around the corner. He had heard voices getting raised, and stepped in to see what the problem was. After hearing both men speak their case, he sided with Peter. He explained that since Peter was the biological father, Will had no say, at least until Grace awakens and requests to see him. Peter looked triumphant, Owen was fuming, Eli looked uneasy, and Will simply looked heartbroken.
"Feel free to wait in the waiting room, Gardner. I am going to go wait with Grace." Peter smugly stated as he headed for her room. Eli said something about having to go the office for something or another and left. Owen and Will went to go sit in the uncomfortable chairs next to the still sleeping Zack.
"I wish Alicia were here. She needs to be here. I can't do this by myself." Will softly said in a broken voice. Owen patted his back sympathetically knowing there was nothing they could do, except wait for Alicia.
