Paul's mind raced as he drove toward Seattle Sunday morning. He wished that he knew how to help. How to protect Anna from her heart ache. How to save Abbie. He felt so helpless. Once again, he could do nothing to protect his imprint from her pain. And, the guilt of it ate him alive.
Anna did not speak except to give directions. Paul didn't try to push her.
Once they got out of the truck, in the parking lot of Seattle's Children's Hospital, Anna started to cry again. He pulled her into his arms and comforted her until she was ready go in.
Because of Anna's history, the child was placed under security procedures. The hospital could neither confirm, nor deny that Abbie was a patient. So, Anna texted the number that had called her the night before. They said that they would come down to meet her.
"Ms. Collin's" A woman's voice asked hesitantly.
Anna turned. "Yes."
"Hi. I am Rebecca Wilson. We talked on the phone last night." The woman offered a hand. Her blonde curls bounced in her movements. Her husband stood behind her supportively. He had short, light brown hair. Looked like the typical church going middle-class couple.
Anna simply nodded.
"Anna has a hard time with physical contact sometimes. She is too emotional right now. It is not meant as an insult." Paul stated quickly when the man frowned at Anna's refusal to shake his wife's hand.
He nodded his head quickly and gestured to an area with seats. "Why don't we sit and talk?"
"Thank you for the photos by the way. I really appreciate them. I will have to give you my new address." Anna whispered as she sat down.
Paul sat next to her on the seat built for two. He placed his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into him. He placed a kiss to her forehead. "Just breath." He whispered against her temple.
He could see the subtle smile that pulled at the edge of the woman's lips. There was a pain in her eyes. She had obviously been very worried for Abbie, but appeared to be happy that Anna was there.
"So, umm, the reason that I called you is that Abbie was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia." Anna tried to swallow her quiet sob. "It is a difficult diagnosis and combined with her age… The doctors say that her chances of survival are greater if she could have a stem cell transplant. Our records show that you are an exact blood match. So, we were hoping that you would be willing to be tested to see if you are a tissue match as well. If you are willing to donate, that is."
Anna nodded quickly. That brought tears to the couple's eyes. "Thank you." Mr. Wilson choked out.
The remainder of the morning was spent talking to doctors and signing releases before they took a sample from Anna to test. They had told her that typically siblings would be a better choice as they have more of the father's DNA mixed in. But, since the biological father was half white and half native american like Anna, there was a chance that the genetics were similar enough that they could work with her donation. They would have to wait and see what worked out once the tests returned. Paul had offered to donate as well as he was a universal blood donor. The chances of him being a tissue match was very small, but they agreed to take a sample anyway.
Only after he offered did he realize that might not have been the best idea. He wasn't sure his wolf genes didn't show in blood. So, he quickly called Carlisle Cullen. If anyone had looked at wolf blood, it would have been the leech doctor. Dr. Cullen assured him that nothing would show in the types of tests they were running. However, warned Paul not to sign anything that allowed them to store samples for future research. Will do.
Anna had been a nervous wreck. She still hadn't met Abbie, but the worry and stress over it all was wearing down on her. Paul wrapped his arms around her tightly, letting his warmth soothe her. "Do you want something to eat?" He asked quietly.
She shook her head. "Anna. You didn't eat breakfast. You just gave blood. You need to eat something or you are going to pass out." He urged. His wolf was just as worried as Paul was.
"I just can't think of food."
"I will go get you something from the cafeteria. When I get back. You will eat. You are not going to be any good to her if you are admitted to a different hospital for dehydration and starvation."
"Anna. Why don't you sit with me?" Mrs. Wilson offered. "We can have a chance to get to know one another. Brandon can show Paul where the cafeteria is."
Anna nodded and sat down with her daughter's adoptive mother.
Once Paul was in the elevator where the women could not hear, he looked at Brandon Wilson. "You seem like good people. But, I will tell you now that if you ever hurt Abbie, I will hunt you down." Paul growled.
Mr. Wilson scoffed. "You don't have to worry about that. I am not that kind of man. Though I am surprised to see you so protective of Anna and Abbie. I know that you are not her biological father. That bastard deserves to burn in hell for what he did to that poor girl."
Paul closed his eyes. "Anna and I are very close friends. Close enough that I had asked her to marry me while she was still pregnant, to give her a chance to keep Abbie and raise her without people knowing her history. So, yeah, I am protective of them both. Unfortunately, life got fucked up and Anna chose the adoption instead." He paused. "I suppose it is for the best. I heard you say that you are an engineer at Microsoft. That kind of life is better than being raised by a mechanic on reservation land. But, it doesn't stop me from caring for the little girl I had offered to raise as my own."
Mr. Wilson placed a hand on Paul's shoulder. "Then we see eye to eye Mr. Lahote. Becca and I had talked about welcoming Anna into Abbie's life before all of this. But, with the trials and stuff, we thought it was best to limit contact for a while. We knew who she was when had to go through the legal side of waiting for the courts to legally severe the biological father's parental rights. It took time. There were too many risks in contacting her before it was all over with. So, the only contact that we had was a P.O. Box that we could mail photos to. Unmarked to make sure Anna did not have our address."
The elevator stopped. "We are hoping that can all change now." He continued as they entered the cafeteria. "And, you are welcome to join Anna if she wants to come visit."
Paul nodded his head as tears welled in his eyes.
"Auntie Anna, could you read me that story again?" The sweetest voice called from her bed. Paul smiled as he returned to see Ann sitting in Abbie's room, reading the girl stories. Anna appeared more relaxed with a small smile on her lips. Abbie was cute as a button with round face full of smiles. Her hair fell in loose black waves to her shoulders and large grey eyes were bright in laughter.
Paul walked in with a tray of food for Anna. Nothing too heavy. With her nerves, she would only get sick from too much. So, he got a simple turkey sandwich and fruit salad with juice. He sat down the tray and turned to see Abbie stare up at him with wide eyes.
"Jayden. Jayden." She nudged the little boy who had fallen asleep beside her. He looked to be around 6 years old. His blonde curls showed him to look like Rebecca Wilson. Their biological son perhaps?
Jayden opened his eyes and glared at Abbie. "What sissy?"
Abbie pointed at Paul. "The Hulk." She whispered.
Everyone laughed except for the two kids who continued to stare in shock and amazement.
"I am not the Hulk." Paul chuckled.
Anna scoffed. "Don't listen to him. He totally is the Hulk. He can definitely break things when he is angry. I've seen him. But, it is a good thing for you that I am the Black Widow. He stays calm around me."
The kids erupted into questions and conversations about the Avengers. Mr. Wilson chuckled. "I know those moves are not the greatest to show a 3 year old little girl. But, she idolizes Jayden and those are his favorite movies."
The tests came back at the end of the day. Anna wasn't an ideal match, but close enough for them to work with. Anna would be able to donate stem cells to Abbie. So, arrangements were made to stay in the Seattle for three more weeks as everything was set up for the blood donation. It was a process that required injections for several days leading up to donation, and a week of recovery afterwards.
Once they found a hotel and finished all of the details, Paul finally called Sam to update him on the situation.
"Take as much time as you need." Sam said over the phone.
Paul could hear a bit of a scuffle. "Boy, you had better give me my damn phone back." Sam growled.
But, it was Jared's voice that returned to the phone. "So, when in the hell are you going to talk to me? I get it now. We know who Anna is and what she went through. Everyone understands why you two are just friends and I know why you are so protective of her."
Paul rolled his eyes. "It's not something that I want to talk about. Okay?"
"I thought we were best friends." Jared snarled.
"We are." Paul said with a sigh. "But, I never talked to you about my past. Why the fuck would you think that I would talk about hers? It is painful. For her. As well as for me. I just don't feel right doing it. So, do whatever research you feel you need to do. Sam knows my memories, ask him what you want to know. Get it all sorted out now, while we are not there. Because once we get back, I don't want anyone to ask questions about her past. No looks of pity. No sadness. She is my friend and my imprint. Who is to be loved and protected by the pack. Understand?"
"Yeah. Sorry man. I will let everyone know what you said." Jared mumbled out an apology.
"Jared. I am sorry I never told you that Anna and I were friends. I just didn't know how to explain it without explaining the abuse. And, that part was really no one else's business."
"I understand. It's just so hard man. We have been best friends for so long. And, now as wolves with the pack mind, it is even harder to keep secrets. It's not like we would have all known how personal it was for her until we knew it. A total catch 22."
"You could have trusted me when I told you to leave it alone." Paul growled.
Jared took a deep breath. "Yeah. I am sorry. I just thought it was something like you two slept together and you were really hung up on her. I never expected something like this."
"We will talk about it another time."
Paul had gone to the store while Anna took a shower. Neither of them had a lot of savings to live off of for three weeks without a paycheck. So, they agreed to share one room with two beds. The hospital food was actually pretty decent and not overly expensive. So, they figured that they would eat lunch there most days. But, they wanted other stuff in the hotel for breakfast, beverages, and snacks. Plus, neither of them had packed more than a couple days of clothes, so Paul grabbed some soap to wash clothes in the hotel sink in between use.
"How are you holding up?" He asked as he returned and saw Anna sitting on her bed.
Anna gave him a watery smile. "She is so beautiful and happy."
"Yet, you still seem so sad. Anna, I know you. It's not just because she is sick. What's wrong?" Paul sat next to her, pulling out a bag of Doritos and a couple of sodas.
Anna's face dropped into a deep frown. "I am a horrible person. A horrible mother."
Paul pulled her to look at him. "What is this about?"
Anna shook her head. "Her eyes. She has her father's grey eyes. It's hard for me to look at her sometimes."
Paul growled. "Then we have to change the memories behind that. It will take time. But, I want you to try to remember my eyes when you see her. My grey eyes. Replace the thought of that step-father with the thought of me being her father. Think of me when you see her." He hugged her tightly.
Anna sobbed. "She doesn't look anything like you."
"No. She looks like you. Beautiful and perfect." She shoved his shoulder. "Anna, you are a great person. You would have been an amazing mother. Hopefully one day, you will be again."
Despite there being two beds in the room, Anna clung to Paul until she fell asleep. Paul relaxed and let himself sleep with her beside him. His wolf purred in contentment as he held his imprint. The day had been so emotional that this wolf had paced around his mind nervously, only adding to Paul's discomfort through the process. Yet, he remained focused on Anna.