Page 13 of Ashes of Us

Danica felt a weight lift off her shoulders.

There was a vast difference between taking him off life support if that was what keeping him alive, and there was a slim chance of recovery, and being kept alive with no chance of waking up.

“So, there's absolutely no chance he will ever wake up?” She needed it confirmed.

“None.” The doctor responded firmly. “He is medically deceased.”

“Okay.” Danica took a deep breath and nodded. “I need to tell his parents before I give the order. Is there a timeline on this?”

“No, however, I see no reason to drag this out,” The doctor looked at Jasper. “Not to be too blunt or insensitive, but right now you're paying to keep a husk alive.” He turned and left the room with Alex's glare following him.

“Don't worry about that.” He told her when they were alone.

“You do this on your timeframe, not anyone else's.” Danica nodded but didn't say anything.

Personally, she felt the same way as the doctor.

Her husband was no longer there; she couldn't feel his presence at all.

She moved closer to the bed and reached out, lightly touching his cheek, one of the few places on his head that wasn't covered by bandages.

His skin was cool to the touch, and she quickly pulled her hand back, not liking the feeling.

“I have to tell his parents,” she said, turning to him abruptly. She was all cried out for the moment, but focusing on her next task helped her stay present and focused. Alex nodded and opened the door for her.

“Do you want me to come with you?” he asked as they started down the hall. “Because I'm not sure you're in the right headspace to drive.” He tacked on a little hastily, in her opinion.

“Danica?”

A soft voice called her name, and they both turned to see a woman approaching them from the waiting room.

Danica had no idea who she was, but her eyes were red and bruised, and she had several cuts on her cheek.

She was also moving kind of slowly as she approached them.

Danica frowned. She had a terrible feeling about her.

“Can I help you?” The woman gestured toward Jasper's room.

“I was with him when the car hit us.” She took a deep breath and seemed to be steeling herself for what she was about to say. “I was ten weeks pregnant and lost the baby in the accident. It was Jasper's.” Danica stared at her, then started to laugh.

“Bullshit.” Jasper wouldn't cheat on her, no matter how rough a patch they were going through. He despised cheaters. She could see Alex looking at the women in disgust out of the corner of her eye, and it helped firm her stance, but before she could say anything else, he beat her to it.

“What's wrong with you? Why would you tell a woman who just found out her husband is brain dead that he was cheating on her and got you pregnant when the baby conveniently doesn't even exist anymore?” Danica watched as the woman winced at the pure revulsion in Alex's voice, but she didn't back down.

“Because I want permission to have his sperm harvested so I can still have his baby.” She lifted her chin slightly.

“You fucking BITCH!” Danica wasn't aware that she had yelled and started toward the woman, who looked like a deer caught in the headlights, until Alex's arms went around her stomach and he lifted her feet off the floor.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” She squirmed against Alex, but he maintained a firm grip on her. “Let me go!”

Alex shook his head and backed up slightly. “I'm not bailing you out of jail for attempted murder.”

“Oh, it won't be attempted.” Danica snarled as she struggled to get loose. “I fully intend to succeed.”

“Right, cause that will make me let you go.” He muttered lowly.

“Look, Lady, you've got ten seconds to get your ass out of here or I'm going to let her go.” The woman hesitated, but when he started to count, she turned and fled just as security showed up.

Alex quickly explained what had happened as he cautiously let Danica go.

“I don't want her anywhere near my husband or his sperm.” Danica glared at the security guard as a nurse joined them. “If I hear so much as a whisper about her getting anywhere near his room, I will sue this hospital into oblivion, do you understand?”

They had to fill out an incident report before they left, and the nurse found out who she was by looking up who had been admitted with Jasper and had a miscarriage.

The security guard pulled a still from the security feeds and promised she wouldn't get on the fifth floor or anywhere near Jasper's body until there was no chance of harvesting viable sperm.

When they left the hospital, Alex called a car to take them back to his place to get his car.

“Are you sure you want to tell his parents tonight?” He asked as he helped her into his lifted Jeep Patriot.

“It's not really something I can put off, is it?” Danica set her jaw as she buckled her seatbelt.

It was almost midnight, and they had a forty-five-minute drive to Jasper's parents' house, but she still had adrenaline humming through her.

The nurse, wisely, had refused to give Danica or Alex the woman's name or contact information.

When the woman said she was ten weeks pregnant, Danica had made the connection that she would have gotten pregnant around the time Jasper accused her of cheating with Alexander and had left the house, coming back around four in the morning and begging her to fix the relationship.

Under normal circumstances, she didn't believe Jasper would cheat, but if he thought he was evening the score. .. That was another story.