Braxton (Station 47)

Chapter 10

TEN

HANNAH

I wasn’t even surprised when I walked into the living room this morning to find the blanket I covered Braxton with folded neatly on the couch and no sign of him in the house. He’s not exactly known for dealing with his shit. I also wasn’t surprised to get a text from his sister, my best friend, before I even had a cup of coffee.

Kaydence: Lunch today?

My response isn’t immediate. I know why she’s asking me to meet her for lunch. She’s hoping I’ll spill all the details I know, and while I was willing to tell Braxton more than I normally would’ve, I can’t do that with her. Not only does Kaydence have a huge mouth, she also has no filter.

The first thing she’ll do is one of two things. Either she’ll go running to Alyssa to fill her in on what’s going on, and Alyssa’s head of HR at the hospital, which could land me in hot water, though I doubt my honorary aunt would fire me. Or, and this is the more likely option, she’ll insert herself into whatever’s going to happen with Christina and Braxton, likely showing her ass in front of Christina’s parents and making that situation worse.

Finally, I text back:

Me: Maybe. I’ll let you know.

Kay: KK, but you know I’ll come find you if you don’t

Yeah, I definitely know that.

Even though it’s my day off, I head to the hospital after dropping the girls off at school. Being a doctor gives me certain privileges, like the ability to get around visiting hours.

Christina’s sitting up in bed when I walk through the door, a tray of mostly untouched food sitting in front of her. I can’t say I blame her. This hospital’s food is as horrible as the one where I did my residency, but it’s still not great. Luckily for her, I stopped at my favorite coffee shop and picked up one of their protein muffins for her. It tastes amazing, and will give her some of the nutrition her body needs to fight off the infection trying to ravage her insides.

“Hey Christina.” I keep my voice low because she didn’t seem to hear me come in, but she still jumps, looking over at me with wide eyes that look too big for her face.

A beat of silence passes between us, and I watch as she tries to place who I am. It only takes a few second before the confusion on her face clears and she smiles up at me. “Doctor Rhodes. What are you doing here?”

Taking a seat in the chair at her side, I return her smile. “Wanted to check and see how you were doing this morning. You scared us all pretty good yesterday, you know.”

She laughs, but there’s not much humor in it. “Yeah, I bet.” Her curious gaze studies me, then she asks, “Are you here for Braxton? Did he ask you to come talk to me? Because if he did, I swear, I didn’t mean to hurt him.” I don’t get the chance to answer before she spills all her truths in a rush. “When I first found out I was pregnant, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, and if I didn’t stay pregnant, I didn’t see any reason to even say anything.

Unfortunately, by the time I made the decision, I was afraid too much time had passed, and even though I started to text or call him multiple times, I never could find the courage to do it.” Christina shakes her head sadly. “Maybe all of this is karma coming to get me for not doing the right thing.”

I can’t let her think that. The unshod tears in her voice break my heart, and I lean forward, taking her frail hand in my own. “That’s not true. Yeah, you should’ve told him, but I refuse to believe the universe would punish you, or Nathan, this way.”

Her scoff is strangled when she dissolves into a coughing fit before asking, “Who should I blame then? My mom says it’s God’s will, but that doesn’t seem right either. Why would God want to take me away from my little boy? What kind of being would do that to a little kid?”

“I wish I had an answer for you. When things like this happen, it’s hard to understand, I know. I’ve seen so much during my career, and it’s hard not to let it get to you or make you question everything.” Her nod is almost imperceptible. “But, I think you need to focus on the important things. Spend as much time with your son as you can. And,” I squeeze the hand I’m still holding so she’ll meet my eyes, “let Nathan and Braxton get to know each other while you’re still here. That’s why you came, right?”

Christina’s voice is quiet when she finally responds with a, “Yes.” Her voice gets stronger when she continues. “You’re right. Braxton and Nathan need to spend time together, and Nate needs to know who he is to him while I’m still here.” There’s a self-deprecating quality to her voice when she shrugs and says, “Now, I just have to convince my mom to let that happen. God, I never should’ve told them Braxton didn’t want anything to do with me or Nathan. I just didn’t know how to tell them I was such a coward, and I was afraid they’d march me right back to Nashville themselves and make me tell him.”

“You’re right.” She looks a little surprised I agree with her, but I’m not about to let her off the hook for keeping Braxton’s son from him all this time. “Braxton did deserve to know, and lying to your parents is only going to make things more difficult for all of you as you try to navigate through all of this. Luckily, Braxton has a pretty great support system, and your parents clearly love you more than anything. They’ll forgive you for not telling the truth. It’s just going to be a little hard at first.”

A little hard is an understatement based on what I saw yesterday, but Christina doesn’t need to know all of that.

Our conversation is cut short when the door to her room opens and Braxton walks in. Visiting hours have barely started, so I’m sure he’s been watching the clock since he left my house this morning, waiting to be able to come see her.

“Braxton,” Christina says his name in an almost imperceptible voice. When I force my attention away from him and back to her, she looks a little like a puppy who’s expecting to be whipped. Her eyes fill with tears that quickly start to trickle down her cheeks, and I’m in awe at the way Braxton rushes to her bedside.

He sits on the the edge of the bed and takes both her hands in his. “Hey, it’s okay. Why are you crying?”

She’s sobbing so hard now she can’t catch her breath, let alone speak, and after a few seconds, Braxton leans forward, taking her into his arms and rubbing one hand up and down her back in an attempt to soothe her. He murmurs something in her ears that I can’t hear, and whatever it is helps her to finally regain her composure. His arms stay around her until her breathing is back to normal, and when he pulls away, he stops to brush the tears from her cheeks.

“I’m so sorry,” she says the words all in one breath, like one long word. “It was stupid to keep him from you and not tell you I was pregnant, but I was so scared. I hope one day you can forgive me.” Her breath catches again and I’m a little afraid she’s going to start sobbing again.

Braxton’s shaking his head before she even stops speaking. “Don’t worry about that now. We’ve got way too much to talk about to get stuck in the past. Why don’t we focus on moving forward and what needs to happen now. Yeah, I wish you’d told me about him, and I damn sure wish this wasn’t how and why I found out now, but I’m not going to hate you over it either.”

These two have so much to talk about, and the last thing they need is an audience. Luckily, they’re so focused on each other I’m not sure they even see me leave.

My own eyes are burning when the door shuts behind me. I’m so glad Braxton is handling this the way he is. So many people would hold a grudge or hate the parent who kept their child from them.

Don’t get me wrong, I know he’s angry, but he’s choosing to be the bigger person and do what’s best for Nathan. That little boy doesn’t need to see his parents at each other’s throats for the little time Christina has left. I just hope her parents give them the time and space they need to make decisions without outside input.