Seasons (Ari AU)

Chapter 53

Ari POV

  A week later as my shift is finishing up I get a phone call. I'm in the middle of washing down the rig so I let it go to voicemail and decide I'll listen once I'm in my truck and on my way to Holland. 

  I hadn't had to worry about dodging Lissy and Mason since she'd decided to go and visit her family back in Connecticut for Thanksgiving. Mason had begged me to go with them and before I could even open my mouth with a retort I overhear Lissy mumbling under her breath something about how I'd 'prefer to be by Aunt Holland's bedside than celebrate the holiday' with the two of them.  

  They'd gotten back late last night and I promised Mason that I'd pick him up from school this afternoon. The plan was to take Holland lunch, spend a couple hours with her and then slide into the carpool line and grab him up for some ice cream. 

  I'm truly shocked that Lissy hasn't demanded more from me, or called off the wedding all together. Whether the test shows that I'm Mason's father or not, there will not be a union between myself and his mother. 

  As I grab lunch from Johnny's I finally listen to the voice mail message, hearing that it's the hospital's lab with the results. A glance at my watch, along with the guy's message tells me I've got exactly one hour to spend with Holland while the lab closes for their lunch hour. 

  I'll be at their door as soon as that hour is up.

  I stop by the nurse's station to drop off Shauna's lunch. Joy pops her name on a sticky note, letting me know she's in with a birthing mother at the moment but she'll stick it in the fridge. 

  Just as I'm about to knock on Holland's door, it swings open. The newest nurse on the floor holds the door open for me to enter, whispering quietly, "She's asleep. She hasn't been feeling too great today."

  "What do you mean?" I ask, keeping close to the door and my voice low.

  "She's got a little bit of a fever, some bad back pain. Urine test shows an infection so we've started her on some antibiotics."

  "Thanks," I mutter before continuing into the room. I know that they're not suppose to give me any type of information since Holland and I have no relation to one another. 

  I set her lunch down on the rolling table, leaning over her to give a small kiss to her forehead. My lips burn at the touch of her warm skin. Grabbing a cloth from the bathroom I run it under cold water, ring it out, and bring it back to settle across her forehead. She gives the smallest little moan as her eyes flutter but she stays asleep. 

  Her monitors are turned down low, but I can still make out the one that has Evy's heartbeat coming through. I listen intently, smiling every so often as there's a louder thump once in a while telling me she's giving her mama some harsh kicks or punches. I readjust the blanket so I can watch Holland's belly a little closer. Even with her gown covering the little girl's home I can still see her movements.  

  There was a time, back when I learned of my slim chances of having a child of my own, that maybe I was clinging to Holland and Jeremy's little one harder than I should have. The worry that this was going to be my only opportunity to experience the growing of a life was a prominent fixture in my mind. 

  But as time went on, it wasn't the experience I was drawn to, but Holland herself. As though there's been a driving force ever since the day I met her that kept me by her side through the big moments of her life. 

Was I subconsciously biding my time? 

  Hell if I know. I could've never imagined the twists and turns it seems life has been weaving through her life and tying it up with my own.

  The alarm on my watch beeps, letting me know I need to head over to the lab. I slip the cloth back off of her forehead and lay it on the table next to her. "I love you both," I whisper before kissing the top of Holland's hair. "I'll be back in a few hours."

  ~~~~~~~

    As I leave the lab tech's office, I fire off a text to Shauna asking when her shift ends.  By the time I'm climbing into my truck she's responding but with a call instead.  "What time do you get off?" I ask, skipping pleasantries when I answer.

  "I got off ten minutes ago. Why? What do you need?"

  "I need you to meet me at Lissy's at three. Can you do that?" I keep my tone even with her, although she's known me long enough to find the tics through my words.

  "Ari, what-"

  "Can you be there at four or not?"  I pause to hear her heavy sigh that isn't masked by her "Yeah." 

  "Bring that frame, too.  It's time to give it back to them."

  I hear a small gasp from the other side of the line. "You got the results."

  "Just meet me at the house, alright." And I hang up, heading to Mason's school. 

  The school doesn't release for another thirty minutes so I decide to go ahead and check him out early. I try to hide the pain and discomfort when the secretary speaks, "Oh, Mr. Levinson! Are you here to get your son?"

  Instead I smile and say, "Yes, please," while typing in my information into the computer. I flash my identification and step back out of the way.

 Unfortunately, after she calls Mason down, it seems she wants to keep up the small talk. "You just get off shift or going in?"

  "Off," I answer quickly, "couple hours ago actually."

  "His mom was in this morning, they were running late," she pops her gum as she smiles, "said the wedding is just a couple weeks away. Mason seemed really excited."

  All I can do is grit my teeth and give her a closed lip smile, thanking all my lucky stars when the door opens and Mason comes trotting through. "You ready?" I ask as he bounces over, grabbing up my hand and pulling me towards the exit. "I take that as a yes."

  There's not really enough time for us to go in and enjoy a sit down talk with our ice cream, so the ride to his mom's will have to suffice.  I can't stop glancing over at the little boy who, knowing what I know now, doesn't look like me at all outside of the blue in his eyes.  "Hey, Mason?"

  "Yeah, dad," he answers, turning towards me with a chocolate ice cream mustache.  His two words pierce my heart, knowing that his is about to me in a thousand pieces. 

  I grab up a napkin, using the condensation off of my own drink to wet it before helping him clean up his face. "Thanks!" he grins back at me. 

  "I uh," I pause realizing how difficult this conversation truly is between the two of us. For a half a second I actually think it might be easier for me to just let Lissy do it once the dust has settled between our own break up. But then, I remember how much this little boy has looked up to me over the last several months, calling me daddy, holding my hand and letting me wipe his tears after a nightmare. 

  Just rip the band aid off, and deal with the aftermath, I tell myself.

  "Mason, your mom and I aren't going to be getting married next month," I admit, trying to keep any sense of anger out of my voice because bless his heart he doesn't deserve any of it. 

  I expect there to be tears in his eyes, questions of 'why,' really anything that shows how heavy something like this is for a little boy. 

  He doesn't miss a beat, continuing to eat his ice cream. "Am I getting another new daddy?"

  And it all comes crashing in on me at once. 

*Unedited