Chapter 9

NINE

Miko didn't apologize to his parents that night. After their big talk, he and Linus chatted about nonsense until they were both loudly yawning into their mobiles, and then Jaxson knocked on the door, wanting his room back. Miko hated saying goodnight, but he was drooping, so he reluctantly wished Linus a good night and ended the call. He felt better knowing Linus had been glad to hear his voice. Linus had been the one to reach out.

It meant something.

He opened the door to a sleepy-eyed Jaxson. "Sorry and thank you again."

"No problem, dude," Jaxson replied. "I texted your folks that you were crashing here tonight and you were unharmed."

"Oh good, thanks. I appreciate it."

"Hey, we've all been there with our parents, right? Good talk with Linus?"

"Great talk."

"Good. Symon already put a pillow and blanket on the couch for you."

Miko hugged his friend, who was older than him by two years and change. "You guys are the best. I owe you a six-pack or something."

"Bring it next time we have a big get-together. Get some rest, you look like shit."

"I bet." Miko trudged downstairs, not surprised to find it quiet and dark, only the lamp by the couch still lit. He used the half-bath to wash his face and gulp some water from the spigot. In the yellowish light, he did look awful, with puffy circles under his eyes and splotches of bruising on his cheeks and neck. But also looked…older? More mature?

Maybe he didn't actually look more mature, but he felt it in his bones for having finally shared a big truth with his parents. For voicing his resentment and frustrations. And also for being by Linus's side and helping him through an emotional hurricane. A bit of guilt niggled at the back of his mind over not telling Linus about the mating bond yet, but it would come in time. Linus had so many things ahead of him, and his health came first. His mobility and positive outlook all came first.

Miko could wait his turn. He had plenty of practice at putting himself last.

He did manage to sleep on the lumpy couch and woke to the persistent creak of footsteps moving around the old house, both up and downstairs. His friends were rising for the day, and Miko couldn't be selfish with their living room, so he got up and repeated his bathroom routine from the night before. He hated wearing the same clothes; he'd have to go home to shower and change before heading to the hospital for visiting hours.

When he came out, Jaxson, Symon and Morgyn were all in the kitchen passing around boxes of cereal and a jug of milk. Symon was slicing a banana into his bowl.

"You aren't working this morning?" Miko asked Symon. It was the most popular brunch day in the province, and Symon was their head baker. Seemed odd for him to be home at eight-thirty a.m..

"Split shift," Symon replied. "I went in at four and worked until eight to get everything into the bakery case. I'll go back at ten to make sure they're stocked for the lunch rush."

"Oh. I can't believe I slept through you leaving."

"I've gotten really good at sneaking out without waking up my roommates."

"Clearly." Miko was impressed, since he was usually a light sleeper, especially on a lumpy couch, instead of his own bed.

"So how mad are you still at your parents?" Morgyn asked as he passed Miko a bowl.

"I don't want to talk about our argument last night yet, but I'm not really mad anymore." Miko eyed the cereal selection and chose the Fruity-O's. Added sugar was exactly what he needed this morning. Plus, coffee to knock the cobwebs out of his brain, and he smelled it brewing.

"If you wanna bypass going home, you can shower here and borrow a clean shirt and boxers."

"Really?"

"Sure. We're pretty close to the same size."

True. Miko was on the tall side for an omega, while Morgyn was fairly average, as were most betas who didn't spend obscene amounts of time at the gym. One thing Miko kind of loved was that he was almost exactly as tall as Linus. They fit so perfectly, like the night they'd danced at the championship party…

Fingers snapped in front of his face and Miko reared back. "Huh?"

"I asked if you wanted coffee?" Jaxson said.

"Oh, yes! Thank you."

Their quartet settled around the kitchen table with cereal and coffee, and no one really spoke for a while. Miko hoped for a quick meal, quick shower, and a quick getaway.

Symon dashed that by being the first one to speak. "I hope you don't think I'm overstepping, since I just work for your parents." He paused and held Miko's gaze with a rare show of confidence. "But I can't imagine anything happened between you guys that can't be fixed."

Miko bit back his instinct to tell Symon to butt out, because he did appreciate Symon's perspective. He'd worked for Miko's parents for two years, was a model employee, and had a gentle demeanor that always put Miko at ease. And he'd been loyal to their group of family and friends, ever since Symon and Jaxson became in-laws.

"It isn't unfixable," Miko replied. "I just need space and time to think. We'll talk about it soon and figure it out." With or without a neutral party to mediate, like Linus suggested.

"Good. I love Mikel and Brogan. After Jax and Karter, they're like second parents to me. I hate knowing you guys are fighting."

"Me too. It was just something we hadn't said for a long time, and yesterday I didn't have much of a filter. I really appreciate you guys looking out for me and letting me crash here."

"You're always welcome, you know that," Morgyn said.

He did.

Forty minutes later, he was fed, showered, dressed, and in the passenger seat of their shared green sedan. Symon and Jaxson had to run some errands before Jaxson dropped Symon off at Perks, and they agreed to take Miko to the hospital. By the time he made it to the correct floor in the observation wing, he had twenty minutes before visiting hours started. A row of chairs bordered a wide window just outside the ward and, not wanting to get into trouble with the day shift, Miko sat and waited.

He tapped his fingers on his knees, and it struck him that his hands were empty. He hadn't thought to bring a single gift for Linus. Not a magazine, stuffed animal, or even a bag of his favorite honey & spicy mustard pretzels! If anything could jolt Linus's taste buds back to life, it would be those things.

Some freaking bondmate I am, can't even bring my suffering alpha a gift.

Maybe he had time to race down to the nearest gift shop and—Liam and Isa Higgs turned the corner from the direction of the elevators, and Miko's heart sank. Naturally, Liam had a large gift bag in one hand and a small flower arrangement in the other. Isa leaned on his cane and was a bit red-faced from the walk, and Miko couldn't imagine the toll all this stress was taking on the aging alpha. The trip from the parking garage to Linus's room would be a lot easier if Isa used a wheelchair, but Miko knew the Higgs clan backward and forward. Liam and the kids had likely already made that argument and Isa had shot it down.

It would probably take an actual heart attack for Isa Higgs to allow himself to be wheeled further than twenty feet with the use of a wheelchair. Not when one of his kids was hurting. Miko's own sire would have reacted the same way.

Alphas and their pride.

"Miko, good morning." Liam gave him an awkward hug around his armful of gifts. "Full disclosure, Brogan called me last night."

Miko blew out a frustrated breath. "I'd say I'm surprised, but you guys have been best friends longer than I've been alive. Is he mad?"

"You haven't spoken to him?"

"No, I've been giving myself space. I slept over at the Beta House."

"Ah. No, your parents are not mad. They are concerned and a little ashamed that they never saw how outside of things you felt. That they took you for granted for a lot of years." Liam nudged him with an elbow. "But you didn't hear any of this from me."

Miko mimed locking his lips. "I didn't mean to lose it on them. Everyone is stressed out."

"You have every right to feel what you feel," Isa said in his "constable tone" that was not to be questioned. "Your bondmate is hurting, and that will make anyone especially sensitive to, well, anything. It will absolutely inform your mood and your reaction to things, especially as an omega."

"Well, I definitely feel better after talking to Linus last night."

"You did?"

"Yeah, he called me."

"Really." Liam's dark eyebrows arched high. "Did you tell him?"

"About the fight with my parents? Yeah, he let me vent about it." Miko wanted to say more but it had also been a private conversation, and there was such a thing as oversharing with your maybe-future-in-laws. In-laws-twice-over? Whatever.

"No, I meant about feeling the bond."

"No, I didn't bring it up yet. His senses are all discombobulated from the concussion and the coma, and I told you I don't want to pressure Linus into saying he feels something if he doesn't."

"I think that's a mature perspective," Isa said. "You never expressed urgent interest in finding your mate in front of me, but it's something that we, as alphas and omegas, are raised expecting to find once we hit the age of majority. It can't be easy to keep this from him."

"It's not. It's really not, but it feels like the right thing to do. To let Linus's sense of smell come back naturally, and for him to feel what he feels without me influencing him. If I said something about the bond today and he suddenly told me he felt it, I'm not sure I could believe it one-hundred-percent, you know?"

"I do." He looked pointedly at Liam.

Liam held his mate's gaze a beat, then smiled at Miko. "I understand, and I promise we won't say anything to Linus. I'm just grateful you're here and that he reached out to you last night."

"Me too. Did you know Gaven was his overnight nurse?"

"We did. I called Linus about an hour ago to check in and he told me. He also mentioned the strawberry protein shake and lemon sorbet he had for breakfast were pretty tasteless. Seems he's still having problems with his senses of taste and smell."

Lemon sorbet for breakfast? Then again, Miko wasn't sure what a full liquid diet actually entailed, but it didn't sound like anything solid. Linus had already lost weight after a week in a coma, and he wasn't going to gain anything back eating like that. Miko had to remind himself Linus's doctors knew best even if, to Miko, the diet sounded like a starvation plan.

"He's only been awake for twenty-four-hours," Miko said. "I'm sure it's temporary."

And if I keep saying it, maybe I'll even believe it.

They made small talk until the hallway clock's minute hand clicked onto the twelve. Miko was mildly surprised no one else was waiting to see Linus, but didn't much care as long as he saw his bondmate in the next couple of minutes. Isa led their trio to the room, which was within eyesight of the main nurse's station, instead of tucked down a corridor. Miko's heart was beating in his throat when they walked inside. It looked like every other hospital room he'd ever been in with white walls, cream trim, bland artwork that gave a pretense of home, and a host of wires, tubes, and electrical outlets where a traditional headboard would be.

Linus's bed was nestled among that chaos, but he didn't seem to be attached to as many as Miko feared. Mostly the now-familiar monitor that tracked his heartbeat, pulse ox, and blood pressure, plus the IV stand and its constantly-dripping bags of clear liquid. Linus was sitting mostly upright, his right thigh propped up beneath the blanket, his left slightly bent to the side. His rolling table had a plastic pitcher and a foam cup with ice in it. The familiar, medicinal scent of the hospital faded beneath the enticing scent of Linus himself.

And his smile. Linus's smile, though not quite reaching his eyes, was brilliant and exactly what Miko needed to see this morning.

"Good morning, my heart," Liam said brightly. He deposited the flowers on the rolling table, and then tucked Linus into a hug. Linus impatiently hugged both his parents before opening his arms to Miko. His smile widened, and Miko swore Linus's eyes sparkled briefly before he leaned in and wrapped his arms gently around his friend. His alpha.

Warmth and a keen sense of belonging filled Miko, and he rested his chin on Linus's shoulder, content to stay there. To hold and be held, now that the embrace wasn't followed by a torrent of tears. He soaked in the rise and fall of Linus's chest, the slight rasp of his breathing through his nose, and the steady beat of his heart. He could fall asleep here—only his hamstrings began to ache and his lower back twinged from his bent-over position.

Miko resented letting go but he had to. He couldn't be selfish with Linus's attention.

"How'd you sleep?" Linus asked.

"Not bad, considering the couch," Miko replied, amused Linus had been the one to ask first. "How about you?"

"Not a lot. This place is noisy and the room never really gets dark, even with the door shut. Gaven said they weren't allowed to give me anything right now because of the concussion, so if I get really grumpy just blame my lack of sleep."

"He's already grumpy?" a stranger's voice asked. "And I've only just arrived."

Miko turned, unable to stop a soft, protective growl he hoped no one heard. A tall, muscular man in green scrubs stood just inside the room with what looked like a pile of bedding in his arms. His name tag wasn't visible but even from a distance he gave the impression of being alpha, when nurses were typically beta.

"Was I expecting you?" Linus asked with a hint of snark in his voice.

"Depends on whether or not you were paying attention during rounds this morning, when you should have been told you'd have a visit from PT. I apologize for running a bit late, I'd hoped to be here before visiting hours began."

"You're Linus's physical therapist?" Isa asked.

"Yes, Greco Schultz. You must be Linus's parents."

Isa introduced himself and Liam, and the trio exchanged handshakes. "And this is Linus's best friend, Miko Tovey."

Miko didn't shake the therapist's hand. "Hi," was all he said. The guy was on the young side, definitely alpha, and he couldn't get a scent to tell if he was mated or not. The hospital odors often competed with a person's identifying scent, and while a lot of mated pairs exchanged rings, not all followed that tradition. Greco might also take one of those pheromone suppressors that alpha professionals often used so they could more easily interact with clients, especially of the opposite gender.

"Can't we do this later?" Linus asked. "My family just got here."

"Unfortunately, no, we need to get you started as soon as possible," Greco replied. His tone was both gentle and commanding, and it reminded Miko a bit of how Isa talked to his kids. "Because the sooner we get you up and moving around, the sooner you can start using the bedside commode instead of a bedpan. How's that for motivation?"

Linus snorted. "Pretty good, actually. What about my concussion?"

"I am aware of it, so we will go slowly and with precautions. The last thing I want is for you to fall and injure yourself, trust me. I've also been doing this for six years, and you are far from my first amputee. I've heard it all and there isn't a thing you can say to me, or a curse you can throw at me, that will make me give up on you."

Miko's opinion of Greco went up a few notches. Linus was a perfectionist, especially with physical stuff, and he'd get easily frustrated if he didn't master his physical therapy. Greco was definitely going to earn his paycheck here.

"I've got four older brothers, I know some pretty colorful curses," Linus said.

"Duly noted. Now, your family doesn't have to leave, unless you want them to, I just need everyone over there." Greco pointed to an empty corner of the room beneath the wall-mounted television.

"They can stay, I guess." He held Miko's hand close to his heart, and Miko met his eyes. Beneath familiar affection and determination was a new hint of fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of failure.

"You've got this," Miko said. "One step at a time."

"So to speak?"

"Exactly."

"You're five days post-surgery," Greco said, "and I typically prefer to have my patients sit up within a day, but you did have extenuating circumstances."

"Kinda hard to sit up when you're comatose," Linus drawled.

"That it is." He deposited his bundle of linens on one of the visitor chairs. The chair nearest the head of Linus's bed was the type that reclined, often given to the visitors of long-term patients who tended to stay by their side all day. Greco positioned it so its back was even with Linus's bed, then pulled a square, foam pillow out of its plastic sheath. Put that on the seat cushion and covered it and the chair with a sheet.

"So right now, you're sitting at about forty-five-degrees," he said to Linus. "What I want is for you to keep your left leg as straight as possible and use your core to sit up to ninety degrees."

"If you say so." A fine sheen of sweat already coated Linus's forehead, and he hadn't done anything yet.

Greco pulled Linus's blanket and sheet down to the foot of the bed, showing off his good leg and his—Miko blinked hard, his breath catching in his throat. He'd expected there to still be a bandage, but he stared at, well, a stump covered by smooth skin. At the bottom was the scar, a line of puckered skin that was almost a grotesque frown. More than the absence of anything under the blanket, seeing the stump drove it all home in a new, dizzying way.

"I can't see it," Linus said. "How does it look?"

"It looks good," Miko replied when Isa and Liam couldn't seem to manage. "It almost looks healed."

"It's healing beautifully," Greco said, "but there will still be a lot of nerve sensitivity in the coming weeks. Any sort of surgical recovery is a process, and so is adapting to new circumstances. You're young and strong, and I'm sure you've been told that you can begin the process of fitting for a prosthetic right away. But before you can walk, you need to sit up. You ready?"

Linus curled his upper lip back. "I think so."

The soft, pained squeal Linus emitted when he did sit up straight speared Miko in the heart. Beside him, Isa growled, and Miko couldn't imagine how much it hurt the elderly alpha to hear his child in pain. A child who'd already suffered through so much in his short life, but who was so fucking strong. "You've got this," Miko said, a little surprised at his own firm tone.

Linus held his gaze a beat then nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay, next step." Greco helped Linus through the arduous task of dangling his left leg over the bed and swiveling around so he was sitting on the edge of the bed. Linus was panting and red-faced, and Greco was surprisingly patient with him, handing out constant praise and reassurances. Despite the pain Greco was causing his mate, Miko could concede the therapist knew what he was doing.

Miko paid close attention to everything Greco said and did, as he talked about different ways for Linus to transfer himself from bed to chair and back again. He loathed every single grunt, groan and cry that Linus made, but Linus never asked to stop. Never said it was too much. And just when Miko was about to throw up the white flag on Linus's behalf, Greco said they were finished for the day.

Miko took his first deep breath in thirty minutes, chest tight like he'd just run a six-minute mile uphill, but also so damned proud of Linus he wanted to weep. Isa and Liam radiated identical pride and worry. At some point, Isa had sat in the room's free chair and Liam was perched on his lap, the perfect picture of an in-love mated pair. And for the first time, Miko felt an odd flare of jealousy over the sight.

I want that, too. So badly.

Maybe he'd never have exactly that with Linus (missing leg aside, he and Linus were practically the same size, so the lap sitting would never be quite so adorably mismatched), but the love. He truly wanted that kind of decades-long love story with his own bondmate.

"Now, before you get too excited about your successes today," Greco said after he'd gathered up some of the materials he'd brought, "do not get ahead of yourself. If you want to transition to the commode, ring a nurse to help you. I do not want you transitioning alone yet, understood?"

"I got it," Linus replied. "I'm too exhausted to even think about sitting up again today, much less actually doing it."

"Then get some rest, and enjoy visiting with your family." Greco smiled at their trio. "It was nice meeting everyone. Excuse me."

Once their quartet was alone, Linus released an exaggerated moan. "Good grief, but that sucked so much ass. My leg is fucking killing me."

"Want me to call a nurse about your pain management?" Liam asked. "They should have given you something before doing all that moving around."

Linus squinted at them. "I think they did, actually, with my morning meds. Probably when he mentioned I'd have therapy this morning, but I wasn't really paying attention."

"You don't focus well when you're sleep deprived," Miko teased, but it was also very true. For all Linus had lived up the university student life in the off-season, when it came to training and playing soccer, he made sure to get his eight hours of sleep every single night.

"Yeah, well, does anyone?"

"I'm pretty sure Demir does," Isa replied. "I swear, the less that boy sleeps, the harder he seems to work. I don't know how he keeps up with everything in his life, but he does."

Linus frowned at his lap briefly, but Miko didn't miss the reaction, and he made a mental note to ask about it the next time he got Linus alone. "I think it's pretty obvious how Demir does it all," Miko said. "Aliens landed and replaced your brother with a robot version that never tires and knows everything."

That got belly laughs out of all three Higgses. "You need to stop watching those late-night alien-invasion movies," Linus said. "They're rotting your brain."

"Maybe so, but I won't give up that guilty pleasure for anyone, not even you, Higgs."

"You shouldn't have to give up anything for me." Linus's voice was light and teasing but his expression held a gravity that worried Miko. Miko wasn't giving up anything by being here for Linus—not time, not energy, not anything. He was gaining so much by supporting Linus and his family. He also didn't know how to say any of that without giving away too much.

"You just had quite the workout, Linus," Liam said. "Are you thirsty? Hungry?"

"I'd kill for a cheeseburger, but my nurse would probably make you put it in a blender first. Liquid diet, remember?"

"Right. Milkshake? I'll call Layne and see if he can pick one up for you from Milk & Cookies."

"Their classic vanilla?"

"Of course. Miko, do you want anything?"

Miko stumbled for words momentarily, unsure why he was so surprised Liam was being gracious with him. "Um, no, I'm fine. Thank you."

"Are you sure you aren't hungry?" Linus asked. "You don't eat when you worry. Don't think I didn't notice you lost weight back when Peyton was in a coma. Papa, have Layne bring him one of those walnut brownies with the caramel that they make for their sundaes. Miko loves those."

"You're ordering me a baked good from someplace other than Perks?" Miko grinned. "My parents would be appalled."

Liam chuckled as he stood from Isa's lap. "It'll be our secret, boys. Isa, walk out with me while I call Layne?"

Miko turned away from Linus and mouthed, "Thank you," to Liam as he and Isa left the room to make their call. They could have stayed and called from there, or even just texted Layne, but he adored the pair for giving him and Linus a few minutes alone. He also imagined Liam needed space to collect himself after watching Linus go through therapy.

"Your papa asked about pain meds a few minutes ago," Miko said. "Do you need more?"

"I don't think so. Please." Linus patted the bed by his hip. "Come sit with me. The pain is dulling a little now that I'm sitting still again, and I'd really like to just…sit."

"Of course." Miko slid onto the thin mattress beside Linus's left hip and twined his fingers with Linus's. The contact helped calm his own racing pulse and return that wonderful sense of peace he only got with Linus. From the touch of his bondmate.

Some of the stress lines around Linus's eyes disappeared and his shoulders relaxed. "I hated putting my parents through that, but I couldn't ask them to leave, you know? They've been here from the start of this whole thing."

"Hey. You need to do what is best for your recovery, even if it hurts their feelings. This is about you, not them and not me. If you need to do your PT without us, then say so and we'll go. If it's really what you want, we'll give you space." Miko squeezed his hand. "But if I think you're full of shit and pushing us away because you feel sorry for yourself, I will absolutely plant my feet and refuse to move."

"Spoken like a true Tovey."

"Like a Dale-Tovey. My sire is stubborn, but you know I get most of it from my omegin."

"That's true. And you're right."

"About what this time?"

Linus wrinkled his nose. "About me wanting to push you guys away so you don't see me struggling and weak. I'm alpha, I'm not supposed to cry over sliding down a board from the bed to a fucking chair."

Miko waited until Linus met his gaze, and he tried to send every ounce of strength he had through his eyes and their joined hands. "You can cry over anything you want, especially now. And always in front of me. I'll never think you're weak because you're showing you have emotions. Isa never taught you to hide behind alphahole stoicism, so don't think you have to start now just because of this…disability. Please, don't become bitter, Linus."

Linus didn't speak for a long time, his dark eyes wet but showing no true hint of what he was thinking. "I'll do my best."

"Before, when Isa mentioned how Demir keeps up with everything even with lack of sleep, you looked…I don't know, mad? Are you upset that Demir can't come and see you as often as the rest of us?"

"No. I know how hard he works and why he does it. I can't resent him for working sixty hours a week, not when he cured Peyton and gave him his life back."

"Not for the good work he does, but you do resent Demir for something? I know you, Linus. Talk to me? Before your parents come back?"

Linus let out a long breath, then opened his mouth to speak.

"Uncle Linus!" The familiar, pipsqueak voice of little Caleb Tovey nearly startled Miko off the bed. The toddler raced across the linoleum floor and grabbed at Miko's knees. "Uncle Miko, help me up. Need a hug."

Miko swallowed a growl of annoyance because his little nephew didn't deserve it, not for something as innocent as wanting a hug from his ill uncle. He bent and picked Caleb up under his armpits. The little omega squealed with delight and wrapped strong arms around Miko's neck first. Miko hugged him back, his heart melting a tiny bit like it did with each of Caleb's precious hugs. Caleb was the perfect mix of his parents, with Layne's dark eyes and serious expressions but also Peyton's exuberance for life.

As Caleb wiggled out of Miko's arms to hug Linus, Miko glanced at the door. Layne and Liam stood just inside, conversing quietly. Layne met Miko's gaze and smiled. "We were already in the hospital when Papa called me," Layne said. "So Dad went with Peyton for the milkshake and brownies."

"Brownies!" Caleb repeated with gusto. "Want one for Asher."

"We aren't seeing Asher until this afternoon, remember? We're meeting him and Uncle Khory at the park, so maybe you guys can split a soft pretzel if the cart vendor is there."

"Yeah!"

Miko grinned. Caleb was easily distracted from the brownie idea by his upcoming playdate with his best friend and honorary cousin, Asher Danvers. The two toddlers were twin terrors when they were together, and Miko had frequently heard from his own parents that Asher and Caleb acted much the way their sires, Aeron and Peyton, had when they were the same age. Miko was pretty sure being a pint-sized hellion was a requirement of all the kids in their respective families.

Will my and Linus's kids carry on the tradition, too?

He hoped so. But that was a far-flung future best left unexplored for now.

Because for right now, all Miko could do was be present for his bondmate and quietly pray that when the vanilla milkshake arrived, Linus could finally taste it.