The agonizing wait has me terrified and in pain. The cops keep us on the lot, questioning everyone. I am desperate to get to the hospital. Tara and Gemma wait with me, the tension thick.
"These the same guys?" I ask Gemma
"Yeah, I think it is." She answers with a loud sigh.
"Still think we shouldn't tell the guys?" I give her a bitter, disgusted look. "All of this shit could have been prevented. Sick of losing people I love because no one around here knows what family is really about."
I wheel myself over to Hale, not waiting for either of them to respond.
"Can I get outta here? I wanna get to the hospital and see what's goin on with him." I rub my temples, my head throbbing. "Tara will take me."
"Yeah, yeah. How are you?" he asks.
"Find those punk kids yet?" I squint up at him as he shakes his head.
"These two can go." He calls out to an officer and points to Tara and me.
Jaxson and Juice help me back to the car. We get through to the family waiting room and Tara leaves me to go get news. As I wait, some of the guys and Gemma trickle in and out without anything new. Tara checks in with us regularly but she can only tell me there's no progress so many times before I want to hurt her.
Finally she comes out, letting me know that he's stable but critical. She continues to give details on his condition but I zone out, trying not to have a meltdown. Gemma puts her hand on my shoulder, I twist away from her in my chair. My anger for her taking over.
"We should go." She leans over and whispers.
"Then fucking go." I tell her. She is taken a back at my tone of a minute.
"You're in pain right now, not thinking clear." She says.
"I'm clear as day ma." I keep my eyes on the ICU doors. She turns and walks away.
Tara stops by later to give me the details of the guys being arrested. I'm numb over everything that's happened. My mind drained of any understanding at this point. Her words fall on deaf ears and I just stare at the wall. She sits in front of me and I watch her mouth move, not comprehending anything she's saying. She stands up, a worried look on her face.
Gemma sits down next to me a moment later, her hand covering mine and watches me. I stare at the white doors, afraid of everything behind them; pain and anger rushing through my mind. All the information floods my mind and I can't take it anymore.
"You guys go please. Just go home, get my niece and nephew, and take care of Abel. I need to stick around." I tell them.
"You need to rest. Please, just come home with me. You can sleep in Abel's room. I'll bring you back tomorrow." Tara pleads. Exhaustion takes over my stubbornness and I nod, allowing her to push me back through the hospital and to her car.
When Opie comes to pick up the kids, he stops into the room. I'm lying down.
"Bree." His expression is pained and lost.
"Op." I smile at him and pat the bed next to me. Instead he sits down on the floor, leaning his head against the bed frame. He takes his hat off and rubs his hands through his hair.
"Mary left again." He says, not making eye contact.
"Not surprised, she's not great at the sticking around thing." I laugh half-heartedly.
"What's going on here?" He asks, this time looking up at me.
"Not sure Opie. All I know is its not good." I sigh in defeat.
"I don't know what to do anymore." He says; his voice threatening to crack. I start brushing his hair behind his ear, unsure myself of where to go. Neither of us talks again and eventually, my pain meds push me into a deep sleep. I don't hear him when he finally gets up and leaves.
I'm up and on my feet the next morning, the soreness turning more into stiff muscles. I hobble out to the kitchen, finding Tara alone. She stands up when she sees me come in.
"How you feeling? Hungry?" She asks, helping me to a chair.
"Coffee and toast sound good. I can make it." I push myself up and she shakes her head.
"No, I got it. I'll make some eggs too, just in case." She moves around the kitchen her hands are shaking.
"What's going on with the guys?" I ask.
"They're home. It's not good right now." She says, looking at her feet.
"Yeah."
"You want me to take you to the hospital?" She asks. "Gemma and I were gonna go."
"That would be great." I answer.
When we get to the hospital, Gemma and I freeze in the waiting room. Just inside the room is a familiar woman.
"Gem." I say, she's staring too. "Is it?"
"Yeah baby. It is." Her face twists into a grimace. "Let me go find out what's going on."
Tara and I watch as the two women stare each other down. Tara gives me a questioning look. I turn away, tears threaten against my eyes.
"Who's that?" She asks.
"A ghost." I walk away, heading outside.
I sit in the hospital garden, trying to calm myself down. I refuse to go back inside for a while, even after I watch Fiona leave. I've heard the stories; know what this woman means to him, to us. When I'm finally ready to see him, I walk back inside. Tara walks me through ICU and into Filip's room. His eyes flutter open slightly.
"Mmmm my baby." He murmurs, turning his head slightly to look at me. "How are you feelin sweetheart?"
"I've had some better days." I look down at his hand. "Your wife is back." I can't stand to keep the words in my head any longer.
"Aye, I see that." He says. "It's not for me. Jimmy's comin stateside."
"Jimmy O'?" I knew the name from the stories. He gave Filip his scars, took his wife and daughter. "Sure she don't want something else?" I barely get the words out.
"No matter what she wants baby. It's us now." He pats my hand and his face turns up in pain.
"Want me to get the doc?" I ask. He shakes his head slowly.
"No, I want you to stay here." He smiles.
"Yeah, yeah old man. Close your eyes." I lean over and kiss his eyelids as they close. He's asleep within minutes. I walk back out to the family waiting room to wait for a ride from Tara. She takes me home and for the first time in days, I'm alone.