I'm so so so sorry for this little mix up, but I had to rewrite this whole chapter, so it's different but hopefully close enough to what I originally had before. And on a side note I do like this chapter better than what I had before. Enjoy!
"Ya know he misses you," Lavon said to Zoe. Wade had asked him to come in and visit with Zoe. He hated knowing that no one was there to be with her. He had to go against his wife's wishes. She needed someone and he was going to make sure she knew that. He wasn't going to let her suffer on her own. "In a sense he's going through the same thing you are. Just let him grieve with you, it's what you both want," he finished saying. He wasn't going to press Zoe into talking to Wade or seeing him. Just give her little hints and slowly push her into admitting that as strong as she wanted to be that she needed her husband.
"I know," she whispered. "I need him and I made a mistake," she admitted, her eyes focused on the ceiling. She regretted sending him out of there the night before hand. "I blame myself for what happened, what's saying he doesn't feel the same way?" She asked, glancing in Lavon's direction. "If I were him I'd blame me."
"Big Z, you can't think like that, you can't go around blaming yourself. It won't do you any good. In order to know how he feels you need to let him in," Lavon told her.
"He's right," came a voice from the door. Zoe looked up to see Jesse standing in the doorway. "He's in the waiting room, thought it would be better if I came in first. He's tore up Zo, let him in, not only will it help him but you as well," Jesse told her moving towards her. "You need each other; this is a hard time for both of you."
"Are my babies here?" Zoe asked ignoring what he told her. It wasn't like she didn't know that, she just didn't want to admit to everyone that she had been wrong.
"They miss their mom and want to see her, but Wade wasn't sure if you would be up to seeing them," Jesse confirmed for her. "I can get them, all three of them if you want me too," he suggested.
"Can you please?" She questioned him. Jesse nodded walking back to the door. "Thank you, Jesse."
"Anything for family, Zo," he retorted opening the door. "Take care Zoe and I'll be seeing you soon," he told her slipping from the room.
Zoe went to sit up, Lavon right there to help her. She gave him a smile. He moved away from the bed, informing her that he was going to go. He didn't want to intrude on the family moment that was going to be taking place. He wished her well, told her he'd check on her later and slipped from the room holding the door open for the family.
Braxton and Ariel were ready to go and see their mom. Ariel more than anxious to see her, Braxton was on the fence about the whole thing. He was more quiet and reserved, nodding or shaking his head when asked questions along with a simple little shrug.
Entering the room Zoe smiled and hugged Ariel first as she had raced to her mom's bed, careful when she reached her mom. Both mother and daughter had let a few tears out, Ariel moved away, sitting on the edge of her mom's hospital bed. Braxton slowly approached her; hugging her as tight he dared to, his head burrowed into her neck. He too didn't move very far away from her once the hug ended.
Zoe held her arms out to a nervous looking Wade who was staying back. He relaxed seeing that Zoe wanted him to be near her. He wasn't sure what to expect once Jesse told them that they were good to go in and see her and that she was asking about them. But to see that his wife needed him, it made me feel better, like he would be able to help her along the way. He didn't like being stuck on the sidelines watching her suffer when there was something he could be doing for her.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, holding him close.
"Shh it's okay," he told her. After a long talk with his mom he was starting to understand that it was hard on her and she didn't know how to really cope with it and it was easier to push him away than to let him in. Just because he was coming to understand the whole thing it didn't mean he liked it one bit. "Just don't keep me out," he told her, moving away to brush his lips against hers.
She couldn't promise that to him. This was going to take it's toll on both of them and she didn't know what the healing process had in store for her or for him and she wasn't going to promise something that could so easily be broken.
Wade stepped away from her, his hand staying in hers as he pulled the chair closer to the bed. Sitting in the chair, he kept both his hands on her one. He couldn't wait until she was able to come home.
Ariel filled her mom in how the visit with her grandparents had gone. She was trying to forgive them for the way they had treated her, she was just finding it harder to do so. They had been so mean to her for so long and not just her but her mom as well and she loved her mom and didn't like anyone that was mean to the woman that she looked up too. But she wanted to know more about her biological dad and forgiving her grandparents was the only way she could do that.
Zoe could see that Braxton wasn't being his normal self but with her being in the hospital she let it slide knowing that it couldn't be easy on him. After a while he had joined in saying a few little things here and there, laughing at a few things. He was slowly coming around. She was going to see how he was holding up when she was released from the hospital.
A little over a week later she was released from the hospital. The doctors wanted to make sure that she was going to be okay before sending her home. She was told to take it easy for a while so her body could heal the rest of the way up. Wade had promised that she wouldn't be lifting a finger up once at home. He had already talked to Brick and Harley and they both agreed that they wouldn't let her come in to work until she was 100 percent better if she tried to come back to work before that.
Once at home Wade, Ariel and even Braxton were there on top of her making it hard to breathe without one of them there to ask if she was okay or if she needed anything. She loved her family she did, but she really thought they were going a tad overboard on it all. So the day the kids went to school and Wade went back to work couldn't come fast enough for Zoe. All she wanted was a little peace of mind, she was able to do things for herself and that's all she wanted.
"Wade sent you, huh?" Zoe asked looking up from the cup of tea she was making seeing Jackie enter the kitchen. She should've known that Wade would've sent someone over to keep an eye on her.
"He did, but I get that you just want to do things yourself and that you don't need a babysitter. So I'm just here to keep you company and help you if you need it," Jackie informed her, walking around the kitchen to get what she needed to make herself a cup of tea. "He's worried about you, Zoe," Jackie commented.
"I know he is, but he needs to learn that I can do things myself," Zoe replied, taking a sip of her steaming tea, moving to sit at the kitchen table. "I love him, but these last few days he's been driving my absolutely nuts," Zoe commented. "But I'm more worried about Braxton than I am about Wade. Has he told you anything?" Zoe questioned, blowing on her cup of tea.
"He hasn't," Jackie commented, moving through the kitchen to sit with Zoe at the table. "He hasn't talked to you or Wade?" Jackie asked, stirring her tea. Zoe shook her head.
"I try to get him to open up to me, but he won't. I'm trying to be patient with him, letting him come to me when he's ready," Zoe told her with a soft sigh. She didn't like watching Braxton go through whatever it was on his own. She wanted to hug him and assure him that things were going to be okay if he would only open up to her about the things swirling around in his head.
"He's been through a lot, Zoe, not the first time with dealing with something like this even if he was younger and can't remember much about it, but it's still there in his mind. He'll talk to you when he's ready and I have a feeling that you're going to be the only person he talks to when he's ready," Jackie told her. She wasn't for certain on that fact but if she had to guess it would be that. She could see just how close Braxton had let himself get to Zoe and he should, he really thought of Zoe as his mom and it was only right. Whatever Braxton was going through it had something to do with Aggie and with Zoe and he was only going to feel comfortable enough to talk to Zoe about it, at least that's what Jackie thought.
Zoe nodded and drank her tea in silence letting her thoughts carry her away to maybe figure out just what was going on with Braxton.