Chapter 48

Lug Nut

I turn to Nix to look him in the eye. “ If I ever do anything to hurt or disrespect in any way I welcome that line of people. I will stand there and take everything they dish out. I will deserve whatever pain they give for hurting that incredible woman. I want to assure you and everyone else I have no intentions of hurting Ailee or letting her go.” Nix nods “ That's what I wanted to hear. Let’s go see your girl.” We walk through the doors and I see Cormac and Callen standing in front of a glass wall. I walk over to them and Callen looks up. “ Good to see you, Lug. Dr. Graves will be out in a minute to give us an update.” he says. I look at the wall and see a hospital room unlike I have ever seen before. For one the only thing in it is Ailee and the machines she needs and a few cabinets that I assume have medical supplies in it.. The nurse and doctor are wearing what looks like hazmat suits. Before I can ask any questions I see one of the people go to a door on the side I didn't see. But the door was odd. The person pressed a button on the side and it slid open. They stopped once the door closed and took off their suit revealing Dr. Graves. He opened another door and came over to us.

Graves greets all of us and says “ I won’t know much until I get Ailee’s blood work back. But she is in good spirits. She is tired and to be expected considering her condition before we even started.” “ But she is no worse?” I asked. “ No, Lug. Ailee isn’t worse.” Graves says. I nod “ When can I see her?” “ I can let you in soon but there are some things I have to explain. There are some things you have to do before you go in. And they have to be followed by anyone who goes in. I also have to limit it to one person at a time.” Graves said. “ You know I’m familiar with a clean room, but please explain everything to Lug.” Cormac says. I look over at him as he stares at Ailee. I can tell he is reliving a parent's worst nightmare and he is helpless to do anything about it. Graves explains that the clean room is a germ free room with its own ventilation to keep Ailee safe.

He explains that there is an intercom so we can speak with Ailee without entering the room. To go inside we have to go through the first door that is vacuumed shut. We have to remove all jewelry we might be wearing. We have to wash our hands with special antibacterial sponges. After that we had to put on surgical gowns over our clothes, booties on our shoes, a surgical cap, face mask and latex gloves. Once all that was done then we could go in the room with Ailee. We can’t bring outside food or drinks. We could go in if we had been around a sick person twenty four hours prior to our visit. And definitely not if we were sick ourselves. It sounds like a lot of work but if it will keep Ailee from getting a germ that could kill her I would wear a full hazmat suit.

Ace

After I talked with Ailee and got set up with the doctors I went back to the clubhouse. I needed to prepare for tomorrow. I also needed some time to myself. Seeing my daughter brought back memories of my best friend, brother and co-founder of the club. Raider, Merigold and Vipers father. I have never admitted this to anyone but watching lose his battle with cancer was hard for me to watch. Now watching my child fight the same fight brought back those memories as well as put in place new ones. No one should ever have to see their child like that. I’m still wanting to kick my own ass for not acting sooner. Even if Ailee wasn’t talking to me I could have made the donation, but no. I fucked up. And that is something I will never forgive myself for. And I shouldn’t. But in the end my daughter forgave me. And I will work hard to make sure she never regrets it.

That is another thing I need to figure out. How does a man win his kid’s trust? I know the first thing I need to do is always be upfront with her. Ailee doesn’t deal with bullshit. From what I overheard Ailee can be vicious when she has to. And the way she didn’t bat an eye when she pulled her gun on the skank that was running her mouth shows me just how cold she can be. I don’t want her to turn that ice on me. I’m laying on my bed in my room thinking of ways to have a relationship with Ailee when there is a knock at the door. I really don’t want to be disturbered so I ignore it.

I know it isn’t a skank for two reasons. I haven’t touched one since I met Ailee. I can’t. I keep seeing them as someone’s kid. All of them are much younger than me, some are Ailee’s age. It used to make it exciting to have these young girls on my dick. Now I can't stand the thought. There are a few older ones but I know I didn’t call for one to be sent to me. Yes, I have to call for skanks now since Merigold took control over them. Those girls don’t sneeze without Merigold or Anna knowing about it. Merigold really did turn things around after the shit show with Ailee. I heard she got some of her ideas from Ailee. I’m proud of them both for bringing the skanks in line. He heard another knock on his door but this one was different. It was lower on the door for one. It was also lighter and was in an odd pattern to it. Curiosity got the best of me and I got up and answered the door.

To my surprise standing at my door was Jace, Jax, Kadance and Kassidy. All of them were smiling up at me. I haven’t seen much of them in months since Merigold refused to let the kids around me after what happened with Ailee. She didn’t feel like I deserved being their uncle. As much as I hate to admit it, Merigold was right. “ What are you guys doing here?” I asked, kneeling down to their level.

Kassidy grabs my hand and says “ Momma say you help auntie Ailee we can see you now.” “ We missed you Uncle Ace.” Jax says. I have to fight the tears. I hold my arms out to them and to my relief they dive into me like they used to. I wrap my arms around all four of them the best I can “ I missed you guys too. So much.” I lift my head and look around for at least one of their parents knowing they wouldn’t be up here alone. None of the brothers would allow that because we don’t want the kids seeing things they shouldn’t. I see Merigold leaning against the opposite wall watching.

“ Since you are finally stepping up I decided to cut you some slack on seeing the kids.” Merigold said. “ Thank you, princess. I missed them.” I told her. Merigold shakes her head “ Don’t thank me. Ailee was the one who convinced me. She said I was punishing the kids as well as you and since you have always been good to them it wasn’t fair to them to take you away from them.” I just nod not knowing what to say. I’m just happy to have the kids back. I need to thank Ailee for her help. “ Uncle Ace, are you going to make auntie better so she can come home?” Jax asks. “ Yea buddy. I am.” I answered. “ Are you gonna be her daddy now?” Kadance asks. “ I’m going to try. I need to learn how to be a dad to Ailee.” I told them. I refused to lie to the kids. I just explained things in a way for them to understand.

Kassidy starts jumping up and down “ Our daddies teach you. They are good daddies.” Jax nods in agreement “ And Uncle Tank. He is good too.” “ Uncle Brick can help too.” Jace said. My jaw drops looking at the kids. The kids are right, all of them are good fathers. I have watched them with their kids. I can surely take what they do and adapt it to Ailee and me. The biggest thing is they are there for their kids no matter what the situation is. And that is what I need to do. I hugged the kids again “ Thank you guys. That is some very good advice.” “ Kids let’s go. You can visit with Uncle Ace in a few days. He needs his rest if he is going to help Auntie Ailee tomorrow.” The kids pull out of my arms and I stand up.

I go to say something to Merigold but suddenly four sets of hands are pushing me in my room. I let them do it to see what they are going to do. They push me to my bed. “ You rest now.” Jax said. “ Want us tuck you in?” Kadance asks. “ And read story?” Kassidy asks. I hear a snicker and look up to see Merigold has her hand over her mouth to muffle her laughter. I can’t blame her, I try not to laugh myself. The level of sweetness is to much. And it shows just how much they care for Ailee. “ I’m good, kids. You go with momma. I can put myself to bed. But thank you for the offer.” I told them. They say “ Welcome.” in unison. Sometimes it is creepy how they can do that. It is expected when the girls do it, or the boys. But when all four do it, I find it a bit weird. When they leave I have a smile on my face ready to face tomorrow.