The Deadline (The Friessens: A New Beginning) (14 page)

What
could Andy do when people he didn’t know were standing between him and his child’s wellbeing?

He
had gone home, showered, and changed, taking a minute to look over his babies, who were sleeping peacefully in their crib. These were his babies, and, legally, he had a voice. No one could tell him that he couldn’t make decisions on their behalf. His lungs hurt, as if glass was scraping his insides every time he took a breath. He couldn’t comprehend that others could decide what was best for Gabriel.

Maybe picking up and moving to Montana
, to a county that didn’t know him and didn’t know the Friessen name, hadn’t been such a brilliant idea after all. He wondered, as he slid his hand over Jeremy and then Chelsea, sleeping in the other crib, how a parent could stand in the way of someone trying to help another child.

“You al
l right?” Candy was in the doorway behind him. She had smoky dark eyes and long, dark hair, a sensual look about her that was different than that of the doe-eyed bride he’d first met when Neil had been about to marry her. Then, she’d been terrified of her own shadow, afraid of all the babies and children running around.

“I never thanked you for jumping on a plane with my cousin and coming out to help us
,” Andy said, starting out of the bedroom. Candy stepped back to allow him to pass and followed him into the living room. She was a very attractive woman, wearing a tight brown sweater and blue jeans, his cousin’s rock on her finger.

“Of course we’d come.
Neil got your call, and, being married to a Friessen, you learn fast enough. It was a little intimidating, at first, how you all have each other’s backs. I’m sorry about what happened. Neil called, told me. He said Gabriel is back in his room, resting, and Laura is with him.”

Andy nodded, swallowing and push
ing up the sleeves of his light blue knit sweater.

“
What time is this meeting?” Candy asked.

“Soon.”
Andy glanced at his watch. For the life of him, he hadn’t figured out what to do. Of course, his lawyer was ready to file a motion and an emergency hearing, but he really didn’t want to go that route unless he had to. “This is the first time in my life that I feel everything is stacked against us,” he said. He leaned on the window and looked out at the barren grass and debris he still needed to deal with.

“Well
, you’re emotionally involved. It’s hard to be objective from where you are.” Candy moved into his line of sight. She crossed her arms, and he wondered what it was about her that made her seem so innocent and experienced all at the same time.

“So
, from your perspective, how would you handle this?” he asked. Right about now, any advice would be welcome if it would get Gabriel his transplant.

“Well, you have a mother who is strong willed
and determined, and her husband has no voice. She has to make all the decisions and needs to have that control to feel wanted and needed.”

“That makes no sense
. How could Laura’s mother be that unreasonable?”

“It makes perfect sense
, Andy. Every woman wants to know a man can make a decision and will have her back, will respect her. When she has to be the strong one, it takes over. You need to let Laura’s mother know you have her back. You need to speak with her alone, to be respectful, is my guess. And Tyler, well, I can only assume this is all about his guilt and what he did to Laura. You need to talk to him, get him to understand, let him see how Gabriel is better off with you.”

“
Well, that’s easier said than done,” Andy said. He pushed away from the window and took in Candy, a woman he barely knew. “Thank you, Candy.”

H
e started to the door, lifting his coat from the chair and sliding it on, and then headed outside.

****

“Where’s Andy?” Laura said. She was sweating as she paced outside the board room. Doctor Siegel had already appeared, levelled his frosty gaze on her, and then disappeared into the chief’s office.

Neil was staring at his phone
, thumbing through the screen, and he glanced up when someone walked by. “He’ll be here. Don’t worry.”

“Neil
, what are we going to do?” She touched her damp forehead and then jumped when a familiar voice called out behind her.

“Hello
, Laura,” her mother said. She was wearing a mousy brown coat, her cropped hair framing her oval face. She looked determined. Behind her strode George, his hands in his pockets. Laura was surprised to see her brother with them, and his face was flushed rosy pink. He mouthed to her with a pained, wide-eyed look, “I’m sorry.”

“Laura
,” said Tyler as he came from the other way, his mother beside him. Both of them carried their coats and were dressed in light sweaters, everyone looking neat and tidy.

E
veryone converged and stopped just outside the boardroom, looking at each other. It was Tyler’s mother who took in Laura’s mother and said, “Sue, nice to see you again. Unusual circumstances.”

Neil was watching everyone
, and he carefully pocketed his phone. Laura fisted her damp hands at her sides.

“
Mom, I can’t believe you would actually put a stop to this. My son needs that transplant to survive. I knew you hated me, but I didn’t realize you hated me so much that you would hurt my innocent little boy, who has done nothing to you!”

The look
Sue levelled on Laura was frosty, chilling. If Laura hadn’t been so close to losing it, she would have taken a step back.

Neil moved forward.
“My name is Neil Friessen. I’m Laura’s husband’s cousin. My wife and I flew out to help once we heard Gabriel was so sick, and we’ll stay here to support Laura and Andy as their family. You must be Laura’s father, George.” Neil actually reached out and took Sue’s hand, which startled her, before reaching for her father’s. “Brian, Laura has told me a lot about you. Tyler, Nancy, it’s good that everyone could meet.”

“So where is your so
-called husband, Laura, who is responsible for all this? He left you to clean it up, didn’t he?” Sue said. The way she spoke felt like a slap to Laura.

“I’m right here
, Sue,” Andy said, stepping beside Laura and sliding his arm around her. “I’m sorry. I’ve been living day and night at the hospital. I slipped home to shower.”

No one said anything. Neil cleared his throat.

The chief’s door opened, and the older man who had arranged all this stepped out, Doctor Siegel with him. “Folks, is everyone here?” He took in all of them as if he was counting.

D
octor Siegel started into the empty boardroom, flicking the light on and taking a seat at the end of the table. Everyone else filed in. Laura sat beside Andy, Neil on her other side. Tyler and his mother took a spot beside the doctor, while Brian, George, and Sue took up the other end of the table. The chief closed the door and stood at the head, taking them all in.

“I’ve scheduled this meeting to resolve some things. First
, just so everyone is clear, the hospital and Doctor Siegel were in no way aware that Brian was underage.”

“This was entirely on me
,” Andy said, putting it out there in a strong, clear voice that let everyone know he wasn’t ashamed of what he’d done. “This is my kid. I love him more than my next breath, and I’d sell my own soul to give Gabriel a chance to live. It’s what a father does for his child. A father will sacrifice everything for his kid and will put his kid before his own ego, before everything. All I’m asking, begging, is that each of you give this five-year-old boy a chance to live. He’s sweet, and he loves his baby brother and sister and his pony, and he just needs a chance to grow up, to date, to learn to drive and get his first car, to fall in love and get married…”

Laura was stunned by the passion in Andy’s voice
as he pleaded.

“But you’re not his father
,” Nancy said. “You may have married Laura, but Tyler is his father. I’m his grandmother. Sue, you’re his grandmother. How do you have any rights here at all?”

Laura
could sense all the egos and ruffled feathers in that moment, which could turn this meeting into a free-for-all. That wouldn’t be good for Gabriel.

“Fine
, Nancy, so what is your agenda here?” Andy said. “What exactly are you trying to do to help Gabriel?” He leaned onto the table and waited for her to respond.

She opened her mouth to speak and then looked to Tyler. “
Well, we wouldn’t be lying and sneaking around, stealing a minor’s bone marrow.”

“So
you’re more interested in letting Gabriel die?” Andy was so blunt that his words cut into Laura like a dull knife, digging into her heart. She didn’t know if she could take it.

“Of course not.
We don’t want him to die, but there’s a better way to do this,” she said. When Laura looked, she realized Tyler was watching her in a way she couldn’t understand.

“Folks
, this isn’t getting us anywhere,” the chief said.

“No
, it’s not, but I think Sue and Nancy have some things they need to say,” Andy said, gesturing to both of them.

Sue was quiet at the end of the table
, taking in Nancy and then Tyler.

“Folks
, just so you understand, there is a deadline that happens with the type of leukemia Gabriel has. He’s already been through two courses of chemotherapy to destroy the cancer cells, and with it his immune system. He has mouth sores, diarrhea, and what he manages to eat, he can’t keep down. His little body is in agony, and he’s fighting to stay alive. His hair is falling out and will continue to, which is minor, but he’s handling it,” Doctor Siegel said.

“
In order to survive, he needs a bone marrow transplant, but it can’t be from anyone. He needs a perfect tissue match that you can only get from family. Donor banks can rarely provide that, and only seventy percent of patients who need a bone marrow transplant get the perfect match. It’s not as easy as you think. There’s no match for Gabriel in the donor bank, and there’s only one match we’ve discovered for Gabriel. That is Brian,” Doctor Siegel said. He was poised in his seat, taking every one of them in. “I’m not saying what was done was right, by Brian or Andy, who were both working together to make this happen, but I can’t believe that anyone in this room would willingly prevent this little boy from getting better.”

Sue and George were quiet
at the end of the table, and Brian slouched in the chair between them. “I may be only seventeen, but, Mom, if you don’t allow my bone marrow to be used to save Gabriel, I’ll never forgive you. I will go to court, and I’ll ask that a judge take away your right as a parent to make any decisions for me,” Brian said.

Andy
could have kicked Brian if he was closer, because he could see Sue digging her heels in even more. This was definitely not the way to handle her.

“
Sue, give my grandson the damn marrow. George, for the love of God, do something!” Nancy said. Tyler said nothing, as he was still watching Laura.

“Sue
, could I have a word with you alone?” Andy said in a reasonable voice that had her taking a second look.

“What are you doing?”
Laura asked, and he leaned down and whispered to her, “Just trust me, okay?” She took in his haunted look, which touched a part of her that made her unable to say no.

“Please
, Sue,” he added in a voice Laura recognized as the one that could convince her to do anything.

Laura watched as her mother took Andy in and then nodded as he stepped around behind her, slid out her chair
, and guided her out of the room.

W
hen Laura glanced over at Neil, he winked at her, leaned in, and said, “Don’t worry. Your husband’s got this.”

“Thanks for speaking with me
, Sue. I wanted to apologize to you. I’m not proud of what I did, and I could have handled the situation better,” Andy said as they walked down the hall and he guided her into the elevator.

She was holding her purse
tightly under her arm, and he knew she wasn’t going to make this easy. She was carrying a lot of hurt, and he could see the pride she carried as if it were the only measure of her self-identity. The elevator dinged, and the door slid open. Andy set his hand on the door to hold it open and gestured for her to go first.

“You know
, Laura is the one who taught me all about love. She and I have come a long ways. I love her, and I love Gabriel. I would do anything to protect them. When I met her, she had no control in her life, and it just about killed me to see her hurting,” he said.

“You like to bully people
, make things happen because you have money and you’re powerful,” Sue said. As they walked, he noticed only slight glances here and there from her.

“I’m sorry
. That’s not my intention. I just don’t want Laura or my children to ever have to worry about anything. I like to take care of all the details so they have a roof over their head and nothing bad can touch them. I’m overprotective of my family. Can you blame me?”

This time
, she did look his way. She took him in. “Laura married well. I can see you love her.”

Andy stopped at the closed hospital room door. He pushed the door open and
reached for two gowns on the cart. “Here, put this on.”

She took the gown and said, “Where are
we going?”

“I want you to meet your grandson
,” Andy said, and he watched the woman, the shock that appeared on her face in a moment of indecision. Andy wondered if she’d refuse as he held the door wider. He knew she had to see the little boy lying in the bed, tubes running out of him.

S
he took one step and then another into the room, and Andy let the door close behind them. He slid his gown on over his jacket and stepped around to the other side of the bed, and Gabriel rustled and opened his eyes. His face was pale, and hair had fallen out onto his pillow.

“Andy
, where were you?” he asked.

“I had to go home
to take a shower, but I’m back now.”

“Where’s Mommy?”
he asked. He sounded so scared and tired.

“She’ll be back soon. Don’t worry
, bud. I’m going to make sure everything’s okay.” Andy didn’t miss the way Sue watched Gabriel, and he hoped she could see the resemblance to Laura—and to her. It was there in his expression, the shape of his face.

Gabriel glanced up at Sue and asked, “Are you a nurse?”

She appeared startled, so Andy added, “No, this is a friend of mine. Her name is Sue.”

Gabriel actually smiled at her and said, “Nice to meet you
, Sue.” Damn, he was so polite. If Sue’s heart didn’t melt from his little boy’s gentle spirit and kind soul, then Andy didn’t know what it would take.

“
Gabriel, it’s nice to meet you, too,” Sue said, and then she turned and hurried out the door.

“I’ll be right back
, bud,” Andy said. He hurried after her and found her struggling to rip off the gown. Gently, Andy set his hands over hers. “It’s okay, Sue. Let me help,” he said, and he helped her out of the gown. He touched her shoulder, and when she looked up at him, she had tears in her eyes.

“I’m not a monster
, Andy.”

“I know
you’re not a monster.” He watched her as she set a trembling hand to her mouth.

“You wanted me to see him like that
,” she said accusingly.

“
Yes, I did, but not to hurt you. In all fairness, it’s about having all the information. You needed to meet Gabriel. There shouldn’t be anyone sneaking behind your back, but that little boy is your grandson, and he deserves a chance, Sue.”

She was nodd
ing and struggling not to cry. “Okay, you can use the marrow,” she said, and Andy did something he hadn’t thought he’d ever do: He hugged Laura’s mother.