21. ‘Wildcat’

TWENTY-ONE

‘WILDCAT'

FRANKIE

I'm sitting in the waiting room with Heartbreaker as we wait for Cici to get out of surgery. Her folks are on the way but she began to hemorrhage in the helicopter, so once here they took her right in. I don't even know where she was bleeding from, but I think it was her back end. I heard Malcolm talking to Yoggie about something that was done to her that made something rupture. Not sure but thought that's what he said.

Malcolm and Yoggie are getting cleaned up. One of the emergency room nurses gave them both some scrubs and told them to use the employee locker room to clean up. Not sure how Malty is holding up, but he did a phenomenal job under such stress. I hope he gets why we do what we do as a club. I know that both Panther and Avalanche talked with him. Bottom line though is, it's his decision what happens now. I do know my feelings haven't changed, even over the last couple of years I've been out here. I want the very best for him as he deserves it. If we can agree to try again, I'm on board. If Malcolm decides he just wants to be friends, I'm cool with that, though it's not what I want. We'll see , I think to myself.

I hear footsteps then see both William and Sherrie coming toward us with my parents following behind.

"Frankie, my God, how is she? Can we see her, please? What happened?"

Before I can say a word, I see the guys making their way to us.

"Can you hang on for a second, Sherrie? I believe Yoggie and Malcolm can explain better with what's happened to Cici. I can tell you she's in surgery and from what the last nurse told us, it could be a couple of hours. Here are the guys now."

Malcolm and Yoggie, both in scrubs, stop within our group. Mom and Dad are on either side of me so the guys squeeze in. I tell both that Sherrie and William just got here and need an update. Yoggie looks to Malcolm, who then looks to me. I can read what he's asking. How much do I want him to share?

"The truth, Malty. They deserve the truth."

With that he turns and gives a brief overview of Cici's injuries and what they were trying to fix with the surgery. I watch as Sherrie leans into William, whose face is gray. I can see the shaking of his hands as he pulls his wife closer, holding her tightly. When Malcolm finishes, William quietly thanks him. Then he tells us they are going to take a seat in the waiting area. Once they are gone, Yoggie gives Malcolm a man crack on the shoulders and leans in giving me a side hug.

"Gotta get movin'. My Bae and your club are still up at that cabin so need to go pick up Olivia since Angel is working. If you need anything, just reach out. I'll fill in the sheriff tomorrow. We need to get together, Wildcat, figure out a schedule for you. Maybe have Tink and Bae there so we can coordinate shit. Give me a text once she's outta surgery. Kid's got a long road ahead of her. Just a suggestion between us, Wildcat. Try and get her to stay at the ranch. Sometimes too much love can be smothering. Just sayin'. Later."

We watch Yoggie walk away before Malcolm turns to me and asks the question I knew he would.

"Who the hell is Bae and what does that mean, Frankie?"

I smile and grab his hand.

"Bae means ‘before anyone else' and that's what Yoggie calls Glory. Shit, did you know that he's with Glory? Probably not, we've had no time for you to meet all of my sisters. From the little I caught during Glory's drama; they were hooking up. Yoggie wanted more but Glory was afraid because she's older than him. As you can see, it worked out for them. Now, let's go grab some seats. Don't know about you, but I'm totally exhausted. I'm sure sooner or later Sheriff George is going to want a statement. Good thing is we saved all those women and young girls. Tomorrow, intake will start. That's a long couple of days, but we need to make sure the ranch is the right place for those victims to stay. Sometimes they need more in-depth care. We have connections now throughout the United States. Maybe you could find time to be on hand to help Dr. Cora with the medical part of everything. I don't know what she does during intake, but I know it's very thorough."

We head into the waiting area where Cici's parents are talking, while my parents are sitting a little bit away, probably to give them some space. I make my way to my mom, who stands and hugs me tightly.

"I'm so very proud of you, Frankie. What you and your club are doing is so needed. I know it's dangerous but from what I've seen, each of you have a job. Thank you to all of you for what you do. I think coming out here is good for you, daughter of my heart. You seem centered and happy. For that I'm thrilled, though it crushes that little hope of you coming back home to New York."

As Mom and I talk, I see my dad and Malcolm going back and forth over what, I don't know. In some ways it's like none of that horrific shit happened. Malcolm has always blended right in with my family. I mean, for Christ's sake, my sister and nephews are at his place watching his fur babies. The more I take time to think about what happened to Malcolm and me, I have to believe we were both worked by Michael. Oh, that's another problem we need to talk about. I already know that Shadow isn't letting him walk away. We had this urgent situation with Cici, but he can't stay on ice forever.

I don't know how long we sat here. Dad and Malcolm eventually fell asleep. Well, until some of my sisters showed up with food and beverages. Didn't realize how hungry I was until I unwrapped one of Momma Diane's combo sandwiches. William and Sherrie joined us but you could see the strain on their faces. It had to be after midnight by the time the doctor came out looking for Cici's family.

The whole bunch of us stepped back to let William and Sherrie speak to the doctor. As she passed, Sherrie reached out and grabbed my hand. I took that as it was okay that we supported them, so we did by surrounding them in front of the doctor.

"Are you Cici's parents? And these people are?"

Sherrie looks around then back at the doctor.

"These are Cici's family too. They were the ones who searched while risking their lives to find her and bring her here in a helicopter. Doctor, how is our daughter?"

He looks around first, taking in our kuttes, before he wipes his forehead and looks back at Cici's parents.

"We were able to repair the lower intestines. Well, we had to remove some of it then did the repair. The rupture we also fixed. Unfortunately, there was so much damage we had to remove one of her fallopian tubes. She seems to be resting comfortably in the recovery room. She will be moved to the intensive care unit for at least the next twelve to twenty-four hours. If she continues to show progress, then she will be placed in the step-down unit. Plan on her being here between three to five days. Once she's settled, I'll have one of the nurses show you where she's at."

I hear William thanking the doctor as I turn around. Before I can take a few steps, someone grabs my arm so I turn to face them. It's the doctor, so I pull on Malcolm's arm to stop him too. The doctor looks down at me then at Malcolm.

"You're part of that women's motorcycle club on the outskirts of town? Sorry. I'm asking because we've been told that your president, I believe she goes by Tink, is funding the new area here for children's diseases. Could you tell her, I mean your president, that I'm grateful. My daughter is a Type 1 diabetic, so having that wing here will save my wife hours of driving to Billings or Bozeman to see the specialist. You all do such good things for our town. It's so appreciated. Thanks."

When he stretches out his hand, I grab it. He shocks me by giving it a small shake then a kiss on my knuckles. Then he turns and shakes Malcolm's hand also before he turns and walks back through that door. As we walk back to my parents, Malcolm puts his arm around me as I put my hand in the back pocket of his scrubs. Damn, this feels so natural, I just pray once we have a much overdue conversation, we can pursue whatever the hell this is because this is the first time in a long while that I feel good. I don't want to lose this feeling or Malcolm, and I'll do whatever I can to make sure this works. For the both of us.