Seasons (Ari AU)

Chapter 44

  "So, that just happened," I mumble, spitting into the basin one last time before wiping away the leftover vomit from my lips. 

  Shauna slips into the bathroom, cleaning out my second vomit surge of the day, both having been induced by Lissy's discussing her desire to be pregnant once more with Ari's child.  "What exactly was that about?" she calls out, poking her head around the wall of the bathroom.

  I bite the bullet and fill her in on how apparently Ari hasn't stayed with Lissy and Mason since the night he brought me to the hospital, still keeping to myself our own little secret kiss. Her eyes grow wider when I tell her that they had decided to try and get pregnant before the wedding. 

  "Casanova's balls are gonna get castrated the next time I see him," she informs me, setting the basin back on the table. 

  "She wants me to coax him into spending more time at home, with she and Mason. Said normally she doesn't mind that he's picking up extra shifts but that it's getting to be too much. Basically she wants me to tell her fiancé to go screw his fiancée."

  Shauna stops at the edge of my bed, eyes narrowing as her finger points back at me. "You will do no such thing, do you hear me?"

  "You gonna do it for me?"

  "Hell no!" her face contorts in disgust. "Even if it wasn't my brother, I wouldn't tell him to go do something as stupid as that knowing that he's head over heels in love with someone else."

  That nonexistent spot on my blanket seems to take my attention again, my eyes unwilling to meet my friends. 

  "Don't play dumb with me, Holland. You both love each other. I know it, you know it, he knows it and it's been the daily talk on the floor since you've gotten here!" My eyes shoot up, fear rising at what might be said amongst my coworkers. "Oh, stop it! They all agree that if he has to end up with someone they'd rather it be you. They like you."

  While I appreciate the odd sentiment, I feel a pain in my back that wasn't there before the episodes. "Any chance I can get something for my back? Maybe something that actually would let me rest a bit?" I ask, changing the subject.

  "Sure. Let me put a call in to the doctor and I'll take care of it before my shift ends."

  I give her a quiet thank you, sinking down a bit further into the bed as I reach for the remote. I happen to flip through until I land on a movie that seems a little all too real at the moment, My Best Friend's Wedding. I groan loudly as it happens to be at the part where Julia Roberts talks about how hard it is to hate her best friend's future wife, talking about how sweet she is and kind, knowing all along that she's got a thing for her best friend. 

  Shauna comes back as I'm in a mid tear fest, looking up at the television before swiping the remote away, clicking through until she comes across something boring like the news. "If you're gonna cry over something, it's not going to be the best friend getting away." She holds a syringe up to my IV. She flushes the saline through before cleaning it again and giving me the dose of whatever pain medication the doctor okayed. "Now, truly, get some rest."

  She flicks off the lights and starts to open the door. "If he comes by," I start to speak, but stop when she interrupts.

  "If he comes by, I'm letting him come in. Neither you nor I am about to tell him to get home and get his jollies off with a woman that neither of us want to see him with. Understood?"

  "He has a son with her, Shauna," I remind her, the tears beginning to prick my eyes once more. 

  "And he's about to have a little girl with you. Don't push him away just because of her kindness. Men and women have kids every day, that isn't a reason to stay together." I open my mouth to object. "Close your eyes, and go to sleep."