Our Little Kingdom (Third book in SA series)

Chapter Thirty-Three

Connor sat in the waiting room of the hospital with Adaley on his lap while he clung tightly to Troy's hand. By the time they got there Harry had already been taken back by a nurse and no one was telling them anything. Soon a young woman in her early thirties walked up to them and glanced down at the clipboard in her hand.

"Mr. Painter?" She asked and Connor looked up at her, tightening his hold on Troy's hand.

"That's me. How's our dads?" he asked in a rush and the woman held her hand up to calm him.

"Mr. Styles is fine. He merely has a dislocated shoulder and a couple fractured ribs." The nurse said as she looked back down at the paperwork on the clipboard in her hands.

"And our other dad Louis?" Connor asked nervously as he saw her eyebrows furrow.

"He's still in surgery. I can take you to see Mr. Styles if you'd like." The nurse said and Connor nodded, standing up after Adaley climbed off his lap. Troy stood up with him and the nurse frowned. "I'm sorry but family only at this time." She said and Troy's face fell.

"Troy is my fiancé. He's already part of the family." Connor lied easily and tightened his hold on Troy's hand. The nurse looked between them for a moment before nodding, leading the way to Harry's room. She opened the door for them and the three of them, walking up to Harry slowly. It scared Connor to see Harry looking so pale and weak. In the months he had been with them, he had never seen Harry look so unwell. Adaley took Harry's hand that wasn't in a sling and gently squeezed it.

"Hi Daddy." Adaley said softly and when Harry heard his daughter's voice his eyes slowly opened.

"Hi Princess." Harry murmured and gave her a weak smile. He looked up at Connor and Connor tried to return the smile.

"Hey Dad. How are you feeling?" Connor asked as he helped Adaley up onto the bed and sat down in the chair next to Harry's bed.

"I'm really sore and my ribs are killing me." Harry said looked down at his arm that was in a sling. Connor sighed softly and looked from Harry's injuries to his face.

"What happened, Dad?" Connor asked carefully and Harry sighed softly, sitting up straighter and wincing slightly at the movement.

"Louis and I were heading back from the store and a large truck flew through a stop sign and hit us going nearly fifty. The impact was on Louis' side and the police said that the only thing that saved his life was the fact that he was wearing his seatbelt. I was lucky but they rushed him to the hospital. I told the officer I would go to the hospital after I called you. I wanted to be the one to tell you guys where we were instead of the police." Harry explained and Connor nodded, looking up when the doctor walked into the room and Connor smiled when he saw which doctor it was.

"Hi Dr. Campbell." Connor said and the doctor smiled at Connor.

"Hello there Connor. How are you doing?" Mike Campbell asked and Connor shrugged.

"Other than being here with my dads, I'm great. How are you?" Connor asked and Mike chuckled.

"I'm making it through day by day. I see that you're finally awake, Mr. Styles. How are you feeling?" he asked and Harry frowned slightly at the interaction between his doctor and his son, wondering how they knew each other. Connor saw his father's face and chuckled softly.

"This is the doctor that took care of me last time I was here, Dad. Remember?" Connor asked and Harry nodded slowly, vaguely remembering the older man.

"I'm a little sore but otherwise I'll be fine. I'm more worried about Louis. How is he?" Harry asked worriedly and Mike's face fell slightly.

"Well I have good news and bad news." Mike started slowly and sighed softly. "Good news is that the surgery on Mr. Tomlinson's leg was successful and I'm confident that he'll make a complete recovery there but unfortunately as the surgery was finishing I noticed something on his MRI as I was looking them over again. He has pretty severe brain swelling and I had to make the decision to put him in a medically induced coma. Medically induced comas typically last only a couple weeks to a month depending on the process of healing in his brain. I have high hopes that he will make a full recovery but I will warn you that there is the chance of memory loss or loss of physical movement. He hit his head pretty hard when you two were hit. I had him put in the ICU to make sure he stays healthy while recovering." The doctor explained and Harry froze at the doctor's words. Connor's heart clenched at the doctor's words but he stood up, turning to Mike.