OUTLIER: Blood, Brotherhood, And Beauty (Beauty 0f Lifee Book 4) Page 24

  Kyle smiled. He might have been too young to know what happened with Dan, but he sure as hell wasn’t too young to help now. He said passionately, “Mission Reconciliation accepted.”

  All the Broderick men laughed and agreed.

  Mark switched topics and shared the decisions he and his brothers had made just before Heather arrived. “The ICU waiting room is too small for everyone, and Will needs his rest. So Scott, Adam, and Jeff, you three will be the family reps today.”

  Zach groaned. “I want to go.”

  Ryan turned his gaze to his son. “I know, but we have a task for you that’s very important.”

  Zach slumped down in his chair. He wasn’t the youngest, but he was the next youngest. I’m gonna be gopher boy and be sent out to get food or something, he thought. But Zach kept his mouth shut and tried to be patient—not his strong suit.

  Mark said, “Yes, Zach what we need for you to do is quite important.”

  Ryan, Mark, and Erik all shared a smile.

  “So do I have to guess what it is?” Zach groused as waiting became too much. Instantly he chided himself. He truly needed to work on being more patient, but he hated waiting. He liked things fast—one reason he loved flying so much.

  Erik patted his nephew’s back. “I need you to fly Kyle and me back to Ottawa, so we can ensure Ann is protected until Mike’s unit gets there. They were delayed leaving and won’t arrive for another four hours. Then you will fly us back here once Ann is safely on her way.”

  Zach sat up straighter, that was important. “I can do that.”

  “Damned glad you’re certified to fly that plane, Cuz,” Kyle said happily. He was thrilled he would get to see his mom before she left. He hadn’t been able to see Mom in person since Scott’s wedding in April. Video calls weren’t the same. And with her going to a safe house, Kyle had no idea when he would get to see her next.

  Scott wanted to see his mom, but he didn’t want to leave Dan. Mom would be safe. Dan was more exposed, so here was better. Scott gave his brother Kyle a hug. “Give Mom a hug for me and tell her I love her.”

  “Will do. You stay safe, I only have one brother. I aim to keep you even though you’re a pain in the ass sometimes,” Kyle said sternly as he hugged his older brother fiercely.

  Scott chuckled. “Will do.”

  “When do we leave?” Kyle asked.

  Erik said, “Now. The plane is ready and waiting for us.”

  As Zach, Kyle, and Erik headed out, Adam asked, “So when do we want to go to the hospital? The doctor said we could visit late afternoon.”

  Scott was a bit hungry after losing his lunch so he suggested, “While we are waiting we could check out Jarmal’s place. Marquise said his brother has a restaurant called the Fire Stick Grill. Said he makes excellent burgers.”

  “I could eat,” Adam said.

  “A burger sounds good right about now. Dad, you want us to bring you anything?” Jeff asked.

  Mark shook his head. “No, there’s sandwich makings in the fridge if we get hungry. If you boys go, keep your heads on a swivel.”

  Ryan tossed Scott a bright red Ottawa Senators ballcap. “Wear this while you’re out. Pull the brim down low, so it covers your face a bit. Don’t want you to be an easy target if Plouffe has any other hitmen out there. Or Pletcher isn’t where they think he is.”

  Mark laughed. “Ryan if you want Scott to be less of a target you should have him wear a Maple Leafs hat. That red cap will draw a lot of attention in Toronto—Leafs territory.”

  Ryan, a diehard Senator’s fan, grimaced. “Sacrilege, blasphemy! How dare you suggest wearing a Maple Leafs hat?”

  Scott pulled the cap on. “Never in my life will I wear a Maple Leafs cap. I’ll take my chances with this one. Let’s go.”

  As Adam, Jeff, and Scott ambled out of the suite, Jeff wondered aloud, “Do you think Dan converted to a Leafs fan? He lives in Toronto now and …”

  The door closed behind the boys, and Mark didn’t hear the end of what his son said. Mark sank down into a chair and sighed. In just the past day he got a small taste of what it was like to be his brother William. The weight of everything he carried was enormous.

  Ryan patted Mark’s back as he headed to the coffee pot. “I know what you’re thinking, brother. None of us ever realized exactly how heavy the burdens are that William carries. Now that we know we can help.”

  Mark nodded. “Yeah, we can and we will. Like you said, we can help him reconnect with Danny. Will’s gonna need our help to prevent him from making any more disastrous decisions. I hope he’ll listen to our advice now.”

  Ryan snorted. “William’s so stubborn we might need more than hope.”

  “How bout a hockey stick upside the head if he doesn’t listen?” Mark joked.

  Ryan and Mark both laughed.

  Coloring for Uncle Dan and Ma’s Lunch

  27

  July 20

  Bram’s Home – 2:00 p.m.

  Bram sat on the floor in the middle of Allie’s room holding his little girl with her head on his chest as she cried. “Sssshhh, sweetie. Shhhh.” He crooned wanting to tell her Dan would be okay, but he couldn’t. He wouldn’t tell her something he didn’t know for certain. So, he just rocked her while he held her hoping it comforted her.

  Allie had been upset the picnic had been canceled. She wanted to see everyone, but especially Uncle Danny. Bram wanted to shield his daughters from the pain of the world, but sometimes he just couldn’t.

  He tried to lessen it by using softer words like Dan has an owie, the doctors are helping him, and he needs to sleep. Bram kept to himself the stark, harsh reality of the situation that Dan is fighting for his life, the doctors had done everything they could, it is up to Dan to live or die, and Dan is in a coma and on a ventilator. “Shhhh, Daddy’s here, shhh sweetie, shhh.”

  Racking his brain for a way to help his little girl, he didn’t see Kellie come into the bedroom. When she knelt next to them, he looked to Kellie, beseeching her for help with his eyes only.

  Kellie caressed her daughter’s back. “Allie, I have an idea. Why don’t we make Uncle Dan a get-well card? You can draw him a picture. I think he would like that.” The crying diminished, so Kellie said, “You know how much Uncle Dan likes to color with you. So if you make him a picture, Uncle Dan can recall all the fun he has with you when he looks at it.”

  That got Allie’s attention. Her small head lifted from her daddy’s heart. Her soft blue-green eyes glistened with tears and peeked up at her daddy. Allie sniffled, and the back of her tiny hand swiped across her runny nose. “Do you weally think coloring make Uncle Danny happy?”

  “Absolutely,” Bram replied. “I could put it up in his room so he can see it when he wakes up from his nap.” Bram surprised himself with his choice of word—nap. But then remembered what Jon had said to Dan early this morning. It made him smile.

  Three-year-old Allie saw her daddy smile which she took to mean Uncle Danny would be okay and like to have a picture. She sniffled a few more times and crawled out of her daddy’s lap. Allie went straight to her coloring table and pulled out a fresh sheet of paper. “What do I draw Daddy?” She wiped her runny nose on her sleeve.

  Bram grabbed a tissue and handed it to Allie who blew and gave it back. Gross, he thought as he tossed the used tissue into the waste can. He was about to answer Allie’s question when Leslie and Emilie entered the room.

  Leslie asked, “What’s Allie doing?”

  “She’s making a card and drawing a picture for Uncle Dan. When I go see him later, I’m taking it with me to put up in his room. Do you girls want to make one, too?” Bram asked his daughters.

  Eagerly they nodded their heads and rushed to join Allie at the craft table.

  “Daddy, do you want to make one, too?” Emilie asked, fully expecting her dad to say yes. He always did things with them, and this was for Uncle Danny.

  A grin spread over Bram’s face as he joined his daughters at the table. His huge bod
y would crush their little chairs, so he sat on the floor instead next to the low table. A blue crayon was offered to him by Allie as she told him to use it for the eyes. Then a sheet of pink paper appeared in front of him, compliments of Ellie. He grinned wondering what the team would think when they beheld a hand-drawn card from him hanging in Dan’s room.

  Kellie observed the scene in front of her thanking her lucky stars she married Bram. An incredible man, a wonderful husband, and a great dad. The lengths he would go to connect with their daughters constantly amazed her. Her burly man is never afraid to participate in all the girly things to be a real part of their lives. He learned to braid hair and painted nails. She loved peeking in when he played dolls and had tea parties with the girls. Her husband’s heart beat for his girls and wasn’t shy about showing his loving nature.

  St. Michael’s Hospital – ICU Room B – 3:00 p.m.

  Dr. Markson entered the ICU room of his patient. He wasn’t surprised to find two of Dan’s teammates sitting vigil. He made the reluctant pair leave while he did his exam. By their appearance, neither had slept much, so he sent them down to the café for a needed break and told them to meet him in the ICU waiting room in an hour. As he examined his patient, he was surprised again by the state of his patient.

  This extraordinary man defied statistics. All his experience told him Dan should be dead—but his patient lived and did far better than he would’ve ever expected. Dan’s ability to survive such a devastating injury, lie outside the range of statistical probability. A true outlier!

  Heather predicted Dan would do better than average, but he doubted her. Her infectious admiration for this man resulted in the whole surgical team betting on how long it would take Dan to wake—something he frowned upon. But now he wondered who would win as he realized he might reduce the sedation much earlier than he originally planned.

  Bill finished his exam and took a seat needing a small break himself. He scrutinized the remarkable young man in the bed. What was the name Heather called him? Dantastic. It fit—it really fit. He smiled broadly, leaned back, and relaxed as he waited until four.

  Yes, this man is an outlier. Dantastic would live. Dr. Markson’s smile faded. Outlier he may be, but this man’s life wouldn’t be the same from this point forward. He wasn’t looking forward to breaking this news to his patient.

  St. Michael’s Hospital – Cafe - 3:10 p.m.

  Loki and Lexa scanned the unappetizing selection of food the hospital café. Lexa decided on fresh fruit—strike fresh she thought, looking at the brown bananas and overripe apples. She picked through the to find a decent apple and banana from the rack. On her way to the cashier, she saw Ray. He was carrying two large green and orange cloth bags.

  Ray hoped to find them here before they spent money on crappy food. He first went to the ICU to find Loki, but the nurse told him Loki and Lexa went down to the café. He was surprised when the nurse said Lexa was here also. Glimpsing Lexa, he waved with the hand not carrying the heavy bags. “Hey, Lexa, wait. Forget those. Got something better here for you two.”

  Loki turned at hearing Ray’s voice and saw the bags. A huge grin appeared when he instantly recognized the bags. How Loki didn’t know, but he was grateful. “Ray, man, buddy, how’d you manage that?” he asked as he briskly strode to his best friend.

  They all met and sat at a large table. “What’s in the bags?” Lexa asked.

  “The best food in the world. Ray, how’d you get this?” Loki said as he licked his lips in anticipation of his ma’s food.

  “I stopped by your place around two today to see how you were doing and see if you wanted to head over here with me. Surprised me when your mom said you didn’t come home last night. I guess I shouldn’t have been. So, I told her I was coming over here, and I would make sure you called her. Do you realize how worried she was? You should’ve called her.”

  Loki cringed, he hadn’t called because it was so late he didn’t want to wake his ma. He should have called, so she didn’t worry.

  “Anyways, I explained to her Dan was hurt, and you were staying with him. She was concerned you would have nothing decent to eat. So she made me wait while she whipped up a small lunch for you. Her definition of small lunch would feed the entire team.” Ray grinned as he pulled out several containers from the bag.

  “She’s Italian, what’d ya expect,” Loki said with pride for his ma showing. He helped pull out the food, it smelled delicious, and he couldn’t wait to eat.

  As they ate and made satisfied sounds, several in the café who were eating soggy sandwiches or some mystery meat entrée directed envious looks their way. Ray asked them how Dan was and Loki and Lexa shared no change from last night, and the doctor kicked them out while he did his exam. Deep in conversation and half-way finished with their meal, none of them noticed Nick as he strolled into the café.

  “Wow, some care package you got there,” Nick said while pulling up a chair.

  Covering her surprise at being caught unaware, Lexa said, “Loki’s mom is a fabulous cook.” She wiped up some marinara sauce from her plate with a piece of fresh homemade bread—almost moaning as the mixture of tomatoes, garlic, herbs, and onions delighted her taste buds.

  Loki finished chewing his pasta and shared, “Boss, the doctor showed up about three. He kicked us out until he finishes his exam. He said he would talk to us at four in the ICU waiting room.”

  Nick snatched a piece of bread—unable to resist the aroma of freshly baked bread. “I know, I spoke to Frank who is now guarding Dan’s room. He told me you’d be down here.”

  As Nick popped the warm bread in his mouth, Jon and Bram arrived.

  “Thanks again, Joey loves the bed. Not gonna have any problems getting that one to go to sleep at night now,” Jon said as he patted Nick’s back.

  “What bed?” Ray asked.

  As he straddled a chair, Jon grabbed a piece of fresh bread and dipped into Loki’s marinara sauce. He could never resist Mrs. Baldovino’s food.

  “Hey, this is mine,” Loki grumbled as he moved his pasta away. He eyeballed Jon making it clear he wasn’t in a sharing mood.

  Jon chuckled as he reached over and dipped his bread into the sauce again just to tease Loki. The evil eye Loki gave him was rather comical. Jon snatched one last piece of bread and answered Ray. “Martin’s race car bed.”

  The team all looked at Boss with astonishment.

  Nick features soften. “It was time.” He perked up turning to Lexa and said, “I could use your help in redoing the room. There are a few things I want to keep and incorporate, but I want to turn it into a guest room.”

  Lexa laid a hand on Boss’ arm understanding the difficulty of his decision. “I’d love to help you. Any particular colors or themes?”

  Nick thought a moment. “I’ve got this poster from when I was a kid. My dad got it for me. It’s a signed copy of my favorite racecar driver.”

  “Maybe we pick colors from it, so it is incorporated,” Lexa suggested.

  “Which racecar driver?” Loki asked as he finished a forkful of pasta and guarded his plate against Jon as he tried to dip another slice of bread into his sauce. He really didn’t mind and liked that everyone loved his ma’s cooking, but it was fun to tease Jon. He growled and playfully stabbed at Jon’s hand with his fork as Jon’s hand moved towards his plate again.

  Nick shook his head at Loki’s and Jon’s antics. It was nice to see the team more of themselves today. “Alastair Loving. He had a short career, but he won the first race my dad ever took me to so he became my favorite,” Nick replied and smiled at the memory of a day spent with this father.

  Bram sat next to Lexa and asked, “So how was Dan’s night? Frank said you and Loki stayed.”

  “Quiet,” Lexa replied. She handed Bram the slice of bread he had been not so covertly eyeing, and got a silent thank you from him before half of it disappeared into his mouth, and followed by a long, satisfied mmmm.

  “Yeah, no issues, the nurse seemed pleased.�
� A home cooked meal from his ma did a lot to restore Loki and settle him closer to normal. The thought of nurses caused him to bounce in his seat. “Oh man, you won’t guess who his nurse is!”

  Bram and Jon looked at Loki curiously and waited.

  Loki became animated, his eyes bright and a huge grin plastered on his face, he asked, “Remember Sara Clarry?”

  They shot looks at him which read ‘could we forget?’

  Drawing out the suspense a moment, Loki remained quiet. But then it got too much for him when no one spoke, and he blurted out, “Turns out Dan’s nurse is Sara’s grandmother. Can you believe it? What are the odds?”

  Bread was forgotten, and jaws dropped open as Ray, Bram, Jon, and Nick stared at Loki. What were the odds?

  After the bombshell, the team ate and talked passing the time until the doctor would give them an update on Dan. Loki moved his plate, so Jon had easy access to dip his bread into the marinara sauce. They polished off everything Mrs. Baldovino sent. A while later Nick checked his watch, and they decided to head up to the ICU waiting room. Loki and Lexa quickly packed up the dishes and containers, and the group left the café feeling recharged and ready to deal with whatever the doctor may impart.

  St. Michael’s Hospital – ICU Waiting Room – 3:45 p.m.

  The team minus Lexa entered the ICU waiting room and found Adam, Scott, and Jeff seated in the far corner.

  “The nurse said the doctor will be in at four to give an update,” Adam informed Dan’s team.

  “We are aware,” Nick said as he took a seat near the cousins.

  Loki went directly to Jeff and asked, “How’s the general and where are the rest of you?”

  Jeff noted the fatigue in Loki’s bearing. The guy probably hadn’t slept well—much like the rest of them. “Uncle Will is finally sleeping. He needs rest, and my dad didn’t want to wake him. We also didn’t want to overwhelm the waiting room. I guess you could say we are the recon unit. Our orders are to find out how Dan is doing and report back.”