Those seemed to be the magical words. Bear took me by the hand, muttering about getting out of this horrible place, and led me out of the hospital, the rest of my guys close on our heels.
We stepped out of the front revolving door and the sun warmed my face. Immediately, I felt better. I hadn’t realized how much the bright lights and pungent smells had affected me.
“Better?” Liam asked, squeezing my shoulder.
“So much better.” I leaned against him while Henry pulled the car around. “Have I said thank you lately? I’m so thankful you’re here.”
“You never have to thank me, sweetheart. There’s no place else I’d rather be.”
Henry pulled up the car and I crawled in after Bear, cuddling into his side.
“You okay?” I asked him when he was uncharacteristically silent.
He pressed a kiss to my hair. “Hate seeing you cry.”
“I’m not crying.”
“Yeah, but youwere. Fucking hate it.”
“You big softy.” I kissed his cheek, his stubble rough against my lips.
He huffed and held me closer, his grip tight as if he was scared of something happening to me. I caught some stressed notes in his scent and wanted to take it away from him. It made me feel warm inside to know how much they all cared about me, but I hated that I was the source of their stress.
When we arrived at the restaurant, I waited to get out.
“You alright, baby?” Bear asked.
“I just… I don’t know. I’m sorry I’m making you anxious.” I bit my lip.
Bear growled, twisting his fingers in my hair and forcing my head back so I met his gaze. “Youare not doing anything. You are going through an absolutely shit thing, and it’s my job to support you through it.” When he saw my incredulous expression, he tightened his grip. “No, Iwantto do that.Needto. Don’t take the blame for any of this.” His voice was low and fierce, his eyes blazing.
I nodded, but part of me couldn’t quite believe him. Wouldn’t they all be happier doing something else with their day instead of spending it with me in the hospital?
Bear nudged me towards the car door, and I took Liam’s hand as he helped me get out.
“The patio space is empty,” Henry said, running his hand through his hair. “Let’s sit there.”
Gray frowned when I ordered a bowl of soup. He ended up ordering almost the entire menu of appetizers for the table in a very obvious attempt to get me to eat more, but my stomach was still churning from the MRI. I wanted Liam to tell me I didn’t have to go back into the machine, but I knew I had no choice. If I wanted to know what was wrong with me, I needed to suck it up and do it.
We ate in relative quiet. Gray got me to eat some spinach dip and hot wings in addition to my soup, and I blushed when he mouthed “good girl” across the table.
“So, what’s the plan?” Bear asked Liam.
“We’re going to make our omega a little nest in the MRI machine to make her more comfortable.” He turned to me, caressing my cheek with his thumb. “All of us will give you a piece of our clothing and we’ll arrange those around you in the machine. We’ll also get you an eye mask and I’m staying in the room with you. I can at least hold on to your foot while you’re in there.”
Hearing that eased some of my fear.
“We should all be there,” Gray said, his scowl returning.
Henry looked up from his phone. “I just got approval from the hospital president to allow all of us in the room, and I’m meeting with him next week to discuss changing their policies going forward.”
All of us turned to stare at him and his cheeks pinkened. “My family makes a lot of donations,” he mumbled.
I got up and moved around the table to sit on Henry’s lap. He gathered me up without hesitation and I leaned my head back. “Thanks for taking care of me.”
“Always. I will do anything I possibly can to make this easier for you. Don’t doubt that, darling.”
I closed my eyes as the rest of the guys continued talking, allowing myself to relax fully into Henry’s arms.
