Model Of Love

Decisions

The doctor had gone over everything with them and they had a lot to think about. As soon as the doctor was out of the room Lila slid over and patted the bed next to her. "Babe, I don't think I'll fit in there." He said looking at the small hospital bed. "Come on, big man, I think better when I'm next to you."

He sighed kicking off his shoes. Being careful not to pull on any cords or tubes he slowly laid down on the bed. She had no such problems. She quickly wrapped herself around him, burying her head in his neck and just breathing him in. He slowly rubbed her back and she felt the best she had in days.

"I'm gonna go with the pump." She said decisively. "Every three days sounds much better than every meal." She said referring to needle sticks. "Ok, that's one decision made easy.  What about monitoring?" He asked. The doctor had left leaflets of all her options. She sighed. "I'll take the monitor, but you have to promise to hold my hand for every stick." She said grumbling.

"Bet your ass." He said kissing her forehead. "Life is about to get a whole lot harder, babe." She said and he felt tears in his shirt. "Hey! None of that. If I had to put my money on one person that could kick diabetes ass do you know who it would be?" He asked teasingly. "Who?" She said with a slight smile, wanting a bit more praise.

He knew what the brat was fishing for so he laid it on thick. "My stunning, talented, genius,  caring, and kind wife." He loved the way she lit up when he said it. "Well, I see you're felling better." They heard a very familiar voice say from the doorway. "Mama?!" Lila said in shock. Her parents had passed away in a car wreck years before and Miss Becky had taken over for her friends daughter, now her daughter in every way.

"Of course mama. You think I'd let you two go through this alone? I want to know everything I can too help my babies." She said taking a seat next to the bed. "Thank you, mama." Lila said tearing up. Brantley was amazing and she would always need him. But the energy of a mother gave you a sense of peace you couldn't get anywhere else.

"Mama, did you have to leave me?" Kolby asked coming through the door. "Kolby! You came too." He smiled and leaned over giving his sister-in-law a kiss on the cheek, ignoring his brother's growling. "She's my sister, idiot." Kolby told him, getting a smack from his mama for the trouble.

He sat on the other side of the couch. "Hey, did you guys know like half of country music is downstairs in the waiting room?" He said offhandedly as he turned on the tv. Lila looked at Brantley for explanation. He dropped his head back, he had forgotten. "I asked PJ to tell Caroline so she didn't panic when she couldn't find you or if she heard. She must have made calls. I better go update them and send them home." He said carefully sliding from the bed and making his way out the door.

When the elevator doors opened he realized his brother wasn't exaggerating much. Not only were all of the band and tour mates here, their best friends from home had even made the drive. Almost the entire waiting room stood when he came out of the elevator.

He stopped before he got there and asked the nurse if there was a conference room or something he could use to tell their friends privately. She pointed him to a separate waiting room with a door toward the back that was empty. He walked into the crowd. "Everybody! Can you please go through that door back their so we can have a bit of privacy when I explain. But the most important thing is that Lila Jane is just fine now." He said herding his friends into the room.

Caroline of course was the first to walk up to him with Luke trailing behind her. He imagined she took the news almost as hard as he did by the state of her red eyes and splotchy skin. "What happened to my best friend, Brantley Keith?" She asked straight out. "Alright guys I'm gonna do my best explaining this but a lot of it I'm not sure I even understand yet, but I'll do my best."

"Most of you know that Lila Jane scared the shit out of us by passing out before my show tonight. Apparently, my unique wife has a unique situation. They called it Adult-Onset Type 1 Diabetes. Basically it means she's gonna have to be on a lot of medicine the rest of her life. She's taking it a lot better than I am honestly. She can't have any non-related visitors right now, but she's being moved to a private suite tomorrow and you can all visit then. Now I'm gonna take a picture so that she can see all of you that love her and made the trip to come check on her."

He stood on a chair and took the picture, making sure to remember to post it when they made the official statement. "OWC! Can you stay behind for me? All the rest of you, we love you and I'll be sure to keep you updated. Just know that Lila Jane is well on her way to recovery."

After many cheek kisses and man hugs the room had thinned down to he and his wife's main crew. "Ok guys, time for real talk." He said taking a seat and motioning them to follow suit. He looked at the eight couples in front of him and knew they would support them through this.

"I told the truth when I said that Lila is safe for now. What I didn't want anyone else to know first is that she's spending the next two days learning how to use her new insulin pump and blood meters." He said wiping a hand down his face in exhaustion. "Anything you need, we got you buddy." Luke said. "I really appreciate that. I'm gonna need you guys help. I know my wife, and I know she's as stubborn as I am." He said with a smirk.

"She not going to let this keep her from the tour. She's been looking forward to this too long. She knows how serious this is and will do her best to keep this under control. I'm asking you guys to let PJ or myself know immediately if you see anything strange or concerning from her." They all agreed with no hesitation just as he knew they would, but it made him feel much better.

Caroline spoke up. "Do you have a list of the things she'll need?" She asked always the forward thinker. "Shit, no I don't. I'll get one from the doctor and forward it to you. Thank you, Caro." She waved her hand. "I'll get one from the nurses, don't worry about it, BG. Just go take care of my best friend and we'll take care of the rest."

He remembered something as he got up to do just that. "What happened with the concert tonight?" He asked wondering what they did. "We told the audience you had a family emergency. Some had seen the ambulance so there weren't any problems. Also, we pushed a few of the dates back, you have a week until our next tour date." Jason told him. Brantley was speechless. "Thanks guys. This is all a lot easier knowing we have your support like this." He said a bit choked up.

"I'm gonna go let Lila Jane know. I'm sure she's worried about my schedule more than herself, crazy woman." He said leaving the room.

As he got in the elevator he thought, and I wouldn't have it any other way. It was his turn to take care of her and he felt a surge of pride that he had the means to do so.