Family

16

Jackson POV

My mate has been pacing the floor for hours. We sent the boys off to school and Jay is working at the pack with Scott. I'm happy my cousin asked him to take over a secret Gamma for a bit because I'm not sure I could do it with Silas in such a bad state.

"Sit down Charlie." I tell her. "That won't make him better any sooner." With a sigh she sits next to me.

"How do humans do it? Without the enhanced healing I swear all our boys would have gotten themselves killed by now. How do humans handle their children being so frail and helpless?" She asks me. "I'm not sure I'm strong enough."

"You are one of the strongest people I know. Never doubt that. They get through it the same way we will. With patience, hope, and a lot of tears. He's still alive and that's what we need to hold on to. We'll make it through this." I tell my worried mate.

"Well you got the tears part right." Charlie tells me wiping her face.

I pull her down onto my lap and let her cry. I'd rather my mate in my arms than pacing frantically. At least I can provide her some comfort.

"I'm looking for Silas's family." A man says a couple hours later. It's not Dr. Lee which worries me. "He's still alive." The man quickly says seeing our panic. "But we're at a crossroads. His heart is worse than we thought. We can continue the procedure but he likely won't survive and if he does he won't be able to leave the hospital. He will need constant care for the remainder of his life which won't be long."

"And if we stop?" I ask.

"He will be much like he was before. At best he will last a month. More than likely it will be closer to a week or two... the question is where you want his end of life care to happen."

I look to my mate and seeing her tear stained face I know the answer, as if I didn't know already.

"I want to take my boy home." I say and the man nods before leaving the waiting room.

"I can't lose him." Charlie cries burying her head in my chest. "I can't."

"You won't... we won't... I'm gonna talk to Scott." I tell her and she looks shocked.

"But it's dangerous." She says and I nod.

"He'll die if we do nothing." I respond.

"But he's so weak... what if he doesn't make it?"

"It's his only chance."

Silas POV

When I wake up my chest hurts terribly. I groan and someone quickly stands up dropping my hand. I hadn’t realized they were holding my hand.

"Doctor! He's wkaea!" They yell making me groan again. Why so loud?

"Hey Silas, how ya feeling buddy?" Doctor John asks as he comes in.

"It hurts." I tell him holding my chest.

"Okay, we'll get you something for the pain. Can I take a look?" He asks and I nod. "It's looking good. You should heal up nicely, little man."

"Hwne nac he go home?" Dad asks and I perk up. I want to go home! I don't like the hospital.

"Tels kalt outside." Doctor John says glancing at me. I want to ask what's going on but I'm also very tired. I don't have the energy to talk any more.

Charlie POV

I see Silas drift off before following my mate into the hall.

"He'll have to stay 4 or 5 days here... honestly he may not survive through his recovery. What we were able to repair will give you a couple weeks. He'd already be gone if we had done nothing but at this point... you made a good call not having us move forward. It would have only given you maybe a few weeks and would have only caused the boy more pain. It is kinder to him thus way." The doctor is saying. "He's a smart boy. You know he is understanding more and more. I've never seen someone pick up on English so quickly. It's backwards from most other languages... he's something special... I suggest  you try not to discuss things in front of him. He already knows he's dying... just try to make his last weeks good, yeah?... he's become one of my favorite patents."

"We'll do our best. He's our son and we love him... thank you for all the effort you've put in, doc." Jackson says and the doctor nods to us.

"Have you talked to Scott?" I ask my mate.

"Not yet... I think this conversation is better had face to face." He answers and I nod.

"True... I just hope he agrees." I say.

"He will... he has to."