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Chapter Thirty-Six

Niall

T he doctor sat behind a large desk across from the men. Jax grasped Niall’s hand and Niall felt the tension rolling off his shoulders. On Niall’s other side, Ronan sat statue-stiff, the rough rise and fall of his chest signaling his distress.

Dr. Kinzinger didn’t waste time easing into Teal’s results. “The bottom line is that Teal has poison in his system. Quite a lot. Based on the amount in Teal’s blood, skin, and organs, I estimate he’s been ingesting this substance for a few weeks—”

“Since the beginning of High Court.” Ronan swore underneath his breath, balling his hands into fists.

“Yes,” the doctor continued. “It’s a lab-generated compound. It’s difficult to tell how it made its way into his system, whether topically through his skin, or perhaps orally. With this type of poison, it’s also possible it was inhaled, like a gas.”

“If he’s had this in his system for weeks, how come he seemed to get better sometimes?” Niall asked. “Even before he collapsed, he gave one of the best proses of his life.”

“My best guess right now is that the severity of his symptoms correlated with the amount of poison in his system at any given time. That speech probably took so much out of him that his body just gave out.”

“We need to call the police,” Ronan said. “Are you sure Teal’s safe in this hospital?” he asked the doctor.

“I already called the authorities. A detective should be here soon to meet with you. There are several security officers I trust implicitly stationed outside your husband’s room.

I told them to maintain discretion since I wasn’t sure what you wanted the public to know.

” Dr. Kinzinger sat back in his chair, folding his hands across his stomach.

“There are a lot of people in front of this hospital. And most of them seem almost as concerned about Teal as you are. So you have some decisions to make there. What to tell them.”

“We can decide that later,” Ronan said. “As long as you’re sure he’s safe, the only thing I care about is making sure Teal gets better. He’s going to be okay, right?”

“Yes, please tell us, doctor.” Jax’s voice was gravelly. “Teal looked so sick when I was by his bedside.”

Jax had been the last of the three of them to visit Teal, and he hadn’t said much since. Niall knew his stoic boyfriend prided himself on being strong and pragmatic. But seeing Teal so still and colorless had obviously affected him.

Dr. Kinzinger’s features drew into a deep frown.

“I don’t want to sugarcoat this for you all.

Teal is very unwell. It might not have progressed this far if we’d caught it sooner, but the poison has had weeks now to invade and defile his body.

Part of the reason he’s sleeping is that he’s simply too fatigued to be awake.

It’s not exactly a coma, because he has full brain function and we expect him to wake eventually, but it mimics it. ”

“But he’s here now, getting treatment, and you say he’s going to wake up. Why are you still so concerned?” Ronan asked carefully, but Niall sensed the rage in his undertone. Someone had tried to murder his omega. He wanted answers, and more than that, he needed to know that Teal would be okay.

“Right now, we are flushing the poison from Teal’s system with fluids and rest.” Dr. Kinzinger whooshed out a breath.

“But until he wakes up, we just don’t know how this is going to affect him, in terms of his brain, his liver function, or his digestion, just to name a few.

Everything is a question mark. And because he’s an omega, there’s the extra issue of his reproductive health.

As much as I’d like to tell you that all his problems will go away once the poison is out of his system, I can’t do that. ”

Ronan scraped a hand over his face, giving every impression of wanting to smash something.

“When do you expect he’ll wake up?” Niall asked.

“I’m guessing he’ll be in and out of it starting tomorrow and for a few days. His body is going to run at a high temperature while this poison gets purged from his system. We’ll be monitoring that as well. He’ll probably be fully awake and aware in about three days.”

“Will he be able to go home then?”

“Unless something changes, yes. I want to be realistic that I think this will be a tough recovery, but there is room for optimism. Especially because Teal is such a strong omega.”

“He certainly is that,” Niall said.

“Whatever he needs to get better, we’ll make sure he has it,” Jax added.

“I should have insisted he take it easy,” Ronan said fitfully. “Schulman or Carson could have done the prose.”

“Honestly, I wouldn’t beat yourself up,” Dr. Kinzinger said.

“If Teal hadn’t pushed himself to do that closing prose for his tribunal, he might not have collapsed.

It appears he was in a lot of pain and practically living on antacids.

He had been forcing himself to function.

The closing prose made it so he couldn’t push through anymore.

And make no mistake. If he had gone on like that for even a few more days, we’d be having a different conversation.

Most likely, he’d have simply gone to sleep one night and never woken up. ”

Ronan emitted a low growl. “He was that close to…dying?”

“If he hadn’t collapsed and been brought to the hospital today, I doubt he would have made it to the weekend.”

Niall released a gasp as Jax startled. Ronan appeared placid but his eyes were asking the question of who he needed to kill.

The alpha stood and stuck his hand out to the doctor. “Thank you, Dr. Kinzinger. Please let me know when the detective arrives.”

In the lobby, the men filled in Dayson and Mikel, who left afterward, promising to return the next day.

The men agreed the betas would go home and speak with Sorcha about the situation, as well as the boys.

At first, Ronan thought he should be the one to tell Garin, Kino, and Zayne what happened to their daddy, but ultimately, he realized he couldn’t be in two places at once, and speaking with the detectives and being with Teal was what he needed to do.

He trusted the other men to be delicate with the children.

Ronan also said he’d text Teal’s bosses with the update.

Before the betas left, they engaged in a quick three-way hug with Ronan, digesting the doctor’s news. They’d almost lost Teal. Ronan kissed Niall and Jax on their foreheads, pressing his lips tightly to each, keeping it brief because they were in a public place.

“Text me once you’ve talked to everyone,” Ronan said. “I’ll let you know if the detective needs to speak with you two. If so, you can go to the station or come here to meet with him. I’d rather not have anyone in the house right now, if it can be avoided. Just in case they’re nosy.”

“Sounds good,” Niall said. “Sorcha is also desperate to see Teal. He took one for the team, staying back with the kids, but I assume he’ll want to come here after the boys get to bed.”

“You’re right,” Ronan said, exhaling deeply. “And I feel the need to wrap my arms around my sweet little omega love as well.”

“We’ll make it happen,” Jax assured him.

Niall flashed his eyes around the room. Not seeing anyone in their vicinity, he reached out to take Ronan’s hand, brushing his thumb lovingly across the alpha’s big wrist. “He’s going to be okay.”

Ronan didn’t reply. He only nodded before going down the hallway to Teal’s room.

Jax stayed quiet until they reached their car in the parking lot. “You really believe he’ll be alright?”

Niall leaned his backside against the passenger door, squeezing his eyes shut as he dropped his hands to his knees, bending over like he might throw up. “I’m choosing to be positive because…I can’t imagine the alternative.”

“He has to be okay, Niall. He has to be.” Jax pulled Niall up to a standing position and embraced him, resting his head in the cradle of Niall’s neck, tickling the sensitive skin there with his murmured words.

“You’ve had years with him, Nigh. Years.

To hear his laugh. To be on the receiving end of his generosity.

To be proud of him. But I feel like I…like I just found him.

This can’t be it. I need more time. I need… him.”

***

Sorcha looked frantic when they walked in the door.

He hauled them up to the second floor and into the bedroom so they could speak privately.

They’d already called him with the information, but now that they were in the same room together, Sorcha wanted to hear it all again.

As though recounting it multiple times could make the news less dire.

“How do you want to tell the boys?” Niall asked Sorcha as they came back down the stairs, gesturing toward the living room where the twins played a racing game while Zayne colored.

“I figured we should all be there, but you might want to take the lead,” Sorcha answered. “Since you’ve known them the longest.”

“True. But you’re their fathers’ partner,” Niall countered. “Maybe it’s not my place anymore.” Niall bit his lip as the unexpected words came out of his mouth.

Niall thought of Sorcha as being fairly docile, but there were moments when the younger man reminded him of his backbone.

The omega raised a sardonic eyebrow. “Your place ? You’re reaching, Niall.”

“I’m not sure I am.”

Sorcha scoffed. “You are, if you’re insinuating I have a more important part in the boys’ life than you do.

As though the fact that I share Ronan and Teal’s bed somehow trumps the fact that the kids have known you since they were born…

Don’t step back now, Niall,” he said, straightening.

“Don’t step back, ever. The boys need all of us, just like Teal does.

That’s why Jax needs to be there, too. Because the kids are starting to love and trust him as well. ”

Jax’s cheeks flushed as he looked at Sorcha gratefully.

“Sorcha is right,” Jax said. “All three of us should be there, but Niall should take the lead since he’s more adept at speaking with them and catching their subtler signals. Sorcha and I are still learning.”

In the end, the men hadn’t needed to game plan their discussion with the children. After Niall gave them the basics, that their daddy was in the hospital and it appeared he had been poisoned, Garin and Kino’s subsequent interrogation directed the conversation.

“Who gave daddy the poison?”

“Are the police going to keep him safe?”

“Will the doctors fix him?”

“When is he going to come home?”

“How long is he going to be sick?”

“Can we see him in the hospital?”

Zayne stuck his thumb in his mouth and watched from the side. Once the men finished answering the twins’ questions, Zayne crawled into Jax’s lap, likely because Jax was the closest adult to him.

“Jaxey, why do bad people want to hurt Daddy?”

Niall’s eyes filled with tears at the tiny omega’s innocent question. He remembered the night a few weeks ago when the boys had cried in their papa's lap, worried about their daddy. And now their worst fears seemed to have come true.

Jax opened his mouth to answer, but Garin cut him off. “Little brother, we’ve talked about this. Daddy is a very important omega.” Garin and Kino moved to stand on either side of Zayne, leaning against Jax’s thighs.

“Daddy’s tribunals make it easier to keep omegas like you safe,” Kino added.

“I know,” Zayne said, his upset escalating. “But if Daddy is making things better, why do people want to make him sick?”

Garin rubbed his little brother’s back. “Because some people don’t want omegas to have all the same rights as alphas. They’re wrong, but that’s the way it is. Do you get what I’m saying?”

Niall shared a pained look with Jax and Sorcha.

They’d all worked hard to protect Zayne, but reality had come crashing into their home, first with the brick, and now this.

The expression on Zayne’s face was devastating as the little guy processed his brother’s words.

But for his own safety, he needed to understand. At least a little.

“You’re saying it’s hard to be an omega?”

“That’s right, Zayne,” Garin stated seriously. “And there’s a lot you don’t need to worry about right now. But Kino and I are going to keep you safe. Promise.”

Kino’s brows furrowed. “But Papa promised to keep Daddy safe. And now Daddy’s in the hospital.”

“Daddy is in the hospital,” Niall said. “But he is also safe.”

All three boys looked like they wanted to say more but didn’t. Niall suggested they use Zayne’s drawing paper to make cards for their daddy.

The men left the kids in the living room and went into the kitchen, out of the children’s earshot. Sorcha leaned heavily against the counter and put his face into his hands. When he peered back up, tears streamed down to his jaw.

Jax put his arm over the omega’s shoulders, pulling him close.

Sorcha leaned his head into Jax’s chest as the big beta ran a hand through Sorcha’s blond locks.

“I’m okay,” Sorcha mumbled. “I almost tried to explain more to Zayne, as an omega, but what would I say? That it’s not so bad?

That it’s easy being the gender people look down on?

” Sorcha swiped a hand across his brow, his melancholy quickly morphing into indignation.

“At least Zayne gets to be respected in his own house and has a future to look forward to. For me, it was never taught. Being less-than was something I just always knew, not something I ever had to digest or make sense of. Thank the stars Zayne is growing up in this family. Where we can make sure he always knows his worth.”

Jax held Sorcha in a tight hug. “Of course we will,” he said. “And I’m sorry you didn’t always know how amazing and worthy you are. At least now you’ll be cherished and respected for the rest of your life. By all of us.”

Sorcha looked at Jax, cupping his palm softly against the beta’s firm jaw. “I’m so glad you’re part of this family, Jax.”

“Me too.” Niall wrapped his arms around both men. “And I’m never stepping back,” he whispered.