She and Nick were sitting in Mac�s room impatiently looking on as a battery of doctors was checking on Mac. Just as Quinn was about to lose it, Nick took a hold of her hand and squeezed.
�It�s going to be ok.� She took a deep breath and nodded at him. One of the doctors turned to them,
�Yes, she is going to be ok. All signs look to a great recovery.� He pointed at two chairs,
�Why don�t you both have a seat and we�ll go over the progress she�s made thus far, what we expect and the road you all have ahead of you.� She looked at him and he led her to the chairs.
Her head was on his shoulder. After hearing the doctors, she was exhausted. But she was ok because her little girl was going to be ok.
�It�s been a long day.� She said, not particularly to him, she was simply speaking aloud.
�Yeah, but not as bad as yesterday. Between our mothers, us battling over the bills and everything. It seemed like that day went on forever.� She didn�t argue with him. But it was so much more than that. Her fight with James over Nick paying the bills, her fight with Nate over Nick and her fight with James over the pictures of her and Nick only added to the drama that he mentioned.
�The hard times aren�t over for me. Remember I still have to tell my parents I�m changing Mac�s name to Carter.� Nick let out a long dreadful-sounding whistle in appreciation of the situation she would eventually find herself in.
�Have you thought about how you're going to handle that?� She shook her head,
�Nope, I�ll just wing it.� She had tried to think of a way to break the news to her family but nothing seemed good enough. Nothing was going to make it more acceptable to them. �Eh, I don�t want to think about it right now. My little girl is going to be ok. I can�t wait to get her home.�
There was silence in the room but for the first time she felt comfortable with it. When she first met Nick, she felt like she had to keep him entertained in order for him to want to keep her around.
�I�m going to step out for a while. I want to call my dad. He�s coming up today and I want to know where he is. He hasn�t called.� She had forgotten about that. Really because she didn�t believe Bob would show up at all. What kind of person, upon hearing their first and only grandchild was in the hospital fighting for her life would stay away? However, she didn�t say anything to Nick, she just nodded and smiled as he left the room.
She rushed to pull up her pants when the doorbell rang. It was her family. They decided to have a family dinner in the comforts of her home. Everyone was tired of eating out, eating room service and hospital cafeteria food. Her mom led the way, kissing her on the cheek before walking in and surely inspecting the place. Her father and brother followed with bags in their hand.
�Great, I�m hungry.� They ordered from a new restaurant a couple of miles away. She had the lamb shank and potatoes. Her mother stood in the middle and even though she worked hard to make the place spotless and even though it was more than acceptable she could tell her mother wasn�t satisfied.
They grew up in a museum. She was always afraid to come out of room for fear of messing something up. It was so annoying. Her mother had all the carpets in the house cleaned twice a year, every Saturday she dusted and cleaned everything in the house in include turning over the pillows in the couches and vacuuming under all the furniture.
�Let�s eat.� Her father announced after coming out of the bathroom.
They were sitting at the table still eating dessert. She knew she needed to tell them but part of her wanted to wait until it was legally done. She had to stop being afraid of her family. She was twenty-six years old. It seemed like ages ago when she met Nick but she was only twenty-four and carefree. Going different places like Charlotte and Boston to be with him (uninvited). And being invited to Mexico; the time they spent in Atlanta. Now, she was a mother at her wits end because her daughter was sick.
�Um, I�ve decided to change Mac�s last name to Carter.� The room was eerily silent and she continued to look at her bowl.
�No you�re not.� Of course it was her mother. Her mother always thought she was in control of things she had no concern over. It wasn�t her decision to make. She hated how her mother tried to take over.
�Yes I am. Its my choice and no one else�s.� Her heart raced as she stood up to her mother.
�I said you�re not.� She shook her head,
�And I�m the one who gets to make the decision. My name goes on the paperwork, you don�t have anything to do with it.�
�That�s stupid. I don�t know what's wrong with you. First, you go and get knocked up and now you're giving your daughter his name. He hasn�t done anything for her. He doesn�t deserve for her to have his last name.�
�Even though I may not agree with it� Her father looked over at Quinn, �And I don�t, it is her decision to make and there is nothing you can do about it.� She stood up from the table and walked into the kitchen but she could still hear her father in a hushed tone,
�If you demand that she not change Lily�s name she�s going to do it. But you�ll have a better chance of convincing her if you don�t sound like you're telling her what to do. She doesn�t respond well to that. She never has. Twenty-six years and you still haven�t figured that out.� Her mother wasn�t happy with that and vowed she wouldn�t allow Quinn to make a huge mistake. She shook her head and started washing the dishes. Maybe if she were lucky they would just leave.
Elliott stopped by and she was happy his arrival seemed to have hurried their departure. He sat and smiled at her,
�It seems so long. I mean, we�ve seen each other but we haven�t sat down like this and talked. I miss you.� She smiled at him. He had always been there for her since the day they met.
�I�ve missed you too. Things have been so hectic but now that Mac will be ok maybe things will get back to normal.� He was so excited that Mac was going to recover but afterwards he did chew her out for not calling him and telling him immediately.
�So, more has been going on I�m sure. Tell me.� There was so much going on that she was overwhelmed by it all.
�Well, Nick�s mother is starting a charity to help kids. Money to pay for surgeries, therapy and toys and things for the kids while they�re in the hospital.� He was genuinely impressed,
�Wow, that�s wonderful.� Elliott didn�t know the witch. She kind of felt bad for saying that about Nick�s mother. She nodded,
�And Nick wants me to help run the day-to-day operations here in Miami.� He frowned a little,
�Is that a part time thing or would you have to quit your job?� The thought of having to quit her job was frightening. She really didn�t want to change. One day Jane might wake up in some foul mood and before you know it, she would be out of a job.
�It would be full time. I told Nick I�d think about it to get him off my back but I don�t want to do that.�
�I can understand that but it would be very fulfilling work.�
�I don�t know the first thing about running a charity or getting people to hand over money.�
Chapter 100 cont'd