11. Abigale

I've been sittingin this exact chair for the last three and a half hours. They took Grey back immediately, and a nurse has been coming in occasionally to let me know what's going on. Seems like he has some kind of brain leak so they are trying to fix that. I've had Spirit, Ollie, and Phantom call to check up on him. They told me they'd be coming up but as of yet, I've seen not one of Grey's people. And that sucks because he has so few in his life as it is.

Mom and I have been talking and she point-blank told me Grey was a keeper. She loves the way he is with the animals on our farm. Even our little Fern, who has now graduated to coming in our home. Yeah, know I'm not supposed to let her in the house but she's still hurting and I refused to send her to Paisley's sanctuary. She's shy and generally a loner, so the constant noise and animals might freak her out. And honestly, I didn't want to let her go. She's mine for as long as she can be.

When Spirit called, she let me know she personally fed and gave lil' Fern clean water. Then she put a harness and collar on her and they took a long walk together. She said by the end of it, Fern was pretty wiped, which is good, she'll sleep it off because Spirit wore her out. Fern needs more sleep so she heals. Now we will have not only Fern but Grey too at the ranch, trying to recover. Well, unless he prefers to go back to his friends at the sanctuary. It's his choice, however, I'd prefer he stay with us and lets Mom and me take care of him. Yeah, I'm falling fast for him, which is something I've never done before. Must be his charming personality. Nope, I think as I giggle to myself. I've become very protective of Grey. Don't want anything bad to happen to him, as I sit waiting for him to come out of brain surgery because he tried to protect me without a moment's hesitation. So yeah, guessing he's feeling the same about me thank all that is holy.

Hearing a lot of footsteps, I look up to see just about everyone from the Blue Sky Sanctuary making their way toward me, with Ollie in front. The worry on his face tells me how much these folks care about my Grey. Wow, what is with me thinking Grey's mine? I've never had these overwhelming feelings before for a man. I mean, come on, I'm a thirty-one-year-old woman. I've had intimate relationships with men, it's just been a while. Well, longer than a while. Shit, I can't even remember when the last time was, for Christ's sake. Pretty sad if you think about it which, apparently, I don't.

"Abigale, how's he doing? Any word or updates?"

"No, Ollie, nothing. According to the television he's still in surgery, but that's all I know. When they were getting Grey ready, they did tell me his brain was swelling and they don't think it's just from the bullet graze today. The doctor asked me if he was experiencing any symptoms, but I honestly don't know. He's been in surgery for almost two and a half hours and the surgeon told me it could take up to five hours. Is everything okay at the house? What about those boys, did Sheriff George arrest those punks? They shot Grey, they should be charged with attempted murder."

"Calm down, Abigale. Everything is good. We left Jeffries and Sketchy at your ranch to keep an eye on everything, but we've been told by the parents of those boys that nothing will happen at your place or to you or your family ever again. They plan on having the ‘punks' apologize to you when you get home. Now back to Grey, was he awake before they put him under? How about the ride in, anything or was he out the entire time?"

I'm trying to take in all of his questions when both Spirit and Paisley push their way to his sides. I see Spirit give him a punch on his bicep. Paisley grabs his hand.

"Ollie, you need to practice what you preach. Calm down. Abigale will tell you what she knows but bottom line is, we are all going to sit down and wait for the doctors to come out and talk to us. Thank God you had the sense to have Grey fill out all those papers, allowing us to get his medical information. Now sit, Ollie, and zip it. Maybe one of you can go get some Dunkin' Donuts coffee in a box. Phantom, put the television on and turn it up a bit. Everyone grab a chair, wall, or whatever, it's going to be a long wait, I'm figuring."

She then pulls Ollie to a corner and pushes him down on a chair, then she sits on the chair next to him. Once he's situated, she leans into him, putting her legs over his so she's wrapped around him. I so wish for that, being able to be that comfortable around that one person in your life. I take the chair closest to the door, with Spirit sitting on one side and not sure which one, but one of the Devil's Handmaidens women with the awesome-colored hair is next to me. When she reaches in her purse and pulls out a pinkish heart, she then turns and hands it to me, I hold on to it. Spirit bumps shoulders with me, giving me a smile. I turn to say thank you, but the woman beats me to it.

"Hey, Abigale, I'm Taz and that heart is a rose quartz. It's known that rose quartz is a healing crystal and the stone for unconditional love. It should bring you emotional support and bring the holder feelings of peace and calm. I'm thinking you could use it about now."

When she smiles, she's beyond gorgeous. That's when I notice all the crystal bracelets and the black leather necklaces with stones hanging from them. All of that and a motorcycle kutte on top of it. I quietly thank her as I start to rub the rose heart. As dumb as it sounds, I start to relax immediately. I didn't expect this kind of a reaction from a virtual stranger. I've seen Taz around town, especially with her kids, but we've never even had a one-on-one conversation until just now. How did she know what I needed to comfort me?

"Don't fret the small stuff, Abi. I rely on whatever comes my way in the universe. Don't second-guess any of this because there is no logical answer. My beliefs are different than many others here but, thankfully, they respect me enough to listen when I have something to say, so it all works out in the end. When Grey is back on his feet, let's get together. I'll share my knowledge of crystals and then you can decide if they are for you or not. I know your mom, Trudy, uses some crystals every once in a while. Trudy brought Jorgie with her one time and she seemed really interested in just about everything she saw. I asked her what she liked and she said the sun and moon, so I just made Jorgie a pretty copper wraparound on an amethyst carved sun and moon putting it on a cord for her to wear. She's starting to experience what Mother Earth provides for a girl who is becoming a woman. If it's not your gig, I totally understand, but something's telling me you're searching to find your true self. And keep the heart, my gift to you. I have a good feeling Grey will be just fine. Actually, this might have helped him because he was on the fence with the next surgery, so this took the decision out of his hands. Which usually has to happen with stubborn men."

Not knowing what to say or do, I just nod. She gives me a squeeze then makes her way back to an adorable little boy, who's sitting with a gorgeous little girl. They are holding hands, which is super cute. Spirit stays by my side but doesn't say a word, which I so appreciate. Coming to terms with my feelings is hard enough besides trying to hold down a conversation. Mom comes by to sit and pulls me into a side hug, which I could use. Nothing like a mom hug when you need support and love. Everyone has found a place to sit from chairs, sofas, and the floor for the younger crowd. Both Nicholas and Jorgie are trying to be helpful, though I can tell they are out of their comfort zone. I blame their asshole father for the verbal and mental abuse he spewed on them both. Mom shared some with me, so they are also visiting the Blue Sky Sanctuary for therapy. When Mom spoke to the therapist, at first she thought it best they all come together for sessions, but eventually she'll see them each separately to help them deal with their individual issues.

A door swings open and a young male doctor, I think, comes out walking toward the waiting room while he pulls the cap off his head. Not sure but he can't be more than late thirties, early forties.

"Family for Greyson Nottingham?"

Ollie jumps up with all the rest of us following him. Paisley is behind him with a bunch of papers in her hands. When Ollie tells the doctor we are all Grey's family, he looks bewildered.

"All of you? Really, because I'm sure you all know about HIPAA and personal history being protected. I'm not at liberty to discuss Mr. Nottingham's information with just anyone who says they are his family."

Paisley pushes past Ollie, shoving the papers at the doctor.

"Sir, Grey gave Ollie and me his power of medical attorney when he arrived at the Blue Sky Sanctuary. And these people are all connected in one way or another, so yeah, we are all Grey's family. Please, is he okay? Did you have to perform another brain surgery? Will he eventually be all right?"

Ollie pulls Paisley to him while the doctor looks around. His eyes widen slightly when he sees the kuttes on some of the folks standing in the room. Especially, when he looks at Tank and Enforcer. Though when he sees some of the Devil's Handmaidens sisters, he smiles. Spirit leans in, letting me know the president, Tink, is a huge contributor to the hospital and has sponsored the new cardiac wing after her dad Tank had a heart attack months ago. She goes on to tell me that Tink's grandma was beyond wealthy and left her fortune to Tink. Explains how that club can go after the human trafficking rings like they do. When the doctor starts talking everyone pays close attention, especially me.

"Grey suffered a couple of injuries. First a bullet grazed the side of his head which, unfortunately, has a lot of scar tissue. We had to debride that area and then close it back up. We came to the conclusion that we think he knocked his head on his way down. The pressure of said hit had his brain swelling, probably because of his past injuries and surgeries. To prevent any further damage, we performed a craniectomy. What that means is we removed a part of his skull to relieve the pressure from his brain swelling. Grey will stay in the hospital for at least five to seven days, depending on how he progresses. Once we are sure the swelling is done and has gone down, we will replace the piece of skull we removed by doing a cranioplasty. I want to be honest; he might need some intense physical and occupational therapy. Now, Ollie, I know he's part of your group so I'm assuming he's already in some therapy. Problem is, it all depends on if he has complications. Only time will tell. For now, he's in recovery and will be moved to the intensive care unit to be observed. I can let one or two of you go back once he's settled, but no way can all of you head back. The first twenty-four to forty-eight hours are the most sensitive. If Grey makes it through that time, then we are very optimistic. Do you have any questions? I'm going to head back and will have a nurse come out once he's been moved to the ICU and is settled in. Grey's going to need his family and friends, this isn't going to be easy. Until he's conscious, we can't know if any damage was done during the procedure. I'm around if you need me or have them page me if I'm not."

We all watch him turn and walk through those doors as we all try to take in what he said. For me, personally, it's just my luck when I finally decide to pursue a relationship with a phenomenal man, this happens. What will we do if he has no memory, can't walk, or something worse? Stupid question because I already know that no matter what, I'll be by his side. That's how much he means to me.