Putting the EX in reconciliation...

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Kacey gave him a sweet kiss as he helped her sit. "Mm, glad you think I look better than I actually feel," she retorted. "That's good, about Sinead. Sounds like everything's going to be okay. And of course Cecilia can stay here. I hope she won't mind sleeping with Alexa. Her bed's big enough for the pair of them, and it might make her feel more comfortable sleeping in a strange place with someone familiar, since we don't have the guest room anymore." She looked him straight in the eye then. "And how are you feeling? Honestly."

Alexa took her time with the plate, especially because it was a little hot. She wrapped a towel around it and carried it carefully back into the schoolroom, her tongue sticking out in concentration.
 
Tig's smile faded as Kacey asked him how he was doing. "I'm fine." he said with a little shrug. Tone of voice and the fact that he couldn't look her in the eye and say it meant he was lying. He looked back down at his food. "Alexa's gonnae give me mummy fingers after breakfast." he said, glancing over at his daughter. He smiled at her. She was so damned cute! He looked back down at his plate, stabbing at a grape. "She won't chew my food for me, though. Can ye believe that?" He looked up, smiling again. "After all I've done for 'er?" he grinned and looked over at Alexa. "I'd chew your food for you if you couldn't eat it." Difference was, he could eat just fine once the food was in his mouth. He was just playing around.
 
Kacey sighed and rubbed her forehead, but didn't say anything. She didn't know whether to press him about it, or to just leave him, but she wasn't going to get anywhere with Alexa present. So, she left the decision hanging for now as she accepted the plate, and the towel, from the girl with thanks.

Alexa delivered the plate with pride, but didn't climb back onto the table. She just pulled her plate back towards herself on the other side of the table, smirking at Tig. "Yer jaw ain' broke. 'F my jaw was broke, you'd jes' blend tha food or make me drink creamed soup," she said matter-of-factly. "So how we gonna get Cecilia's stuffs from her house? Tha prof's gonna need clothes too. Mebbe we cin stay wif Sinead while he an' Cecilia go an' get they stuff," she suggested, resuming her shoveling of food into her mouth. She wanted to hurry and go see Sinead!
 
"Ya know what, Squirt? That's a good idea!" He smiled. "We'll tell the professor he can go home and get clothes, and we'll look o'er Sinead, aye?" He took another bite, thinking as he ate it. "Alexa, are ye interested in playin' an instrument?" he asked, looking over at her. If not, it was fine. But if she was, it wouldn't hurt to get her into other hobbies.
 
Alexa shrugged. "Nah, not really. Singin's 'nuff fer me. I like lis'nin ta music, but I ain' all that interested in playin'," she answered simply.

Kacey didn't say much; she just listened as she ate hungrily and quietly, losing herself in her own thoughts after a while. She'd been doing that a lot lately, mostly to save her emotions as much as she could. Except when the hormones made the tears flow anyway.


Later, at the hospital, Sinead had woken again, managed to eat and keep down a fairly bland breakfast, drank more water and made another agonisingly slow trip to the toilet. Despite her exhaustion, her sleep was restless as visiting hours began. Her good paw twitched constantly, and she was mumbling softly in Gaelic, though her broken collarbone kept her from moving her head too much, even as her face ticced and flinched.
 
At the hospital, Tig lead his family up like nothing was wrong. He knocked softly and then pushed the door open, letting his girls go first and lingering in the doorway. He didn't look in. He didn't look around. He started picking at the bandages on his hands instead.

Cicero only looked up when he heard the O'Connor family come into the room. He had barely slept and Cecelia was still cranky, curled up in his lap and refusing to let go. He gave the O'Connors a tired smile. "Good morning." he said softly, sitting back in the chair. "She's asleep right now..."

The little girl whimpered and curled in tighter to her father. <Don't make me go, Papa. Please? Please don't make me go...>
 
Alexa went straight to the cot and snuggled up next to Cecilia, hugging her friend and trying to reassure her. Cecilia had been her comfort the night before, so now it was her turn.

Kacey gave Tig's shoulder a reassuring squeeze as she saw him hesitate in the doorway. She turned to him and spoke softly so that only he could hear. "Tiggy...I know this is hard. But, we're here; Alexa and I. We're here with you. And she'll want to see you..." She wouldn't try to make it better, because really, what could she do to make it better? All she could do was to be there for him, and hope he didn't shut her out.
 
"Cecelia, I think you are making your friend feel like you do not wish to stay with her..." her father warned her gently. It was very unlike his daughter to not be polite.

She sniffled and scoot off her father's lap and into Alexa. She whimpered and hugged her friend. "I wanna be here when she gets better..." she explained to Alexa softly through sniffs and whimpers.

Tig looked up at Kacey and nodded. "Aye..." he pushed himself off the doorway and kissed Kacey's forehead. "I'm fine." he said with a smile. Someone had to be the strong one, right? And he wasn't going to make his daughter or his pregnant wife support him when they also needed supporting. He could swallow it. He just....couldn't look at Sinead right now...it was somehow his fault she was in here. He should have been faster and better and and and....something!
 
"I unnerstan'," Alexa nodded into her. "Yer da ain't sayin' you can' come see her no mores, but it ain' th' bes' place ta be all tha time if you don' gots ta. She'll be a long time gettin' better, you'll have lotsa chances ta come see her. Even everyday. But you gotsta res' an' stuffs, an' it'll be better ta do tha' at our place while yer da's here."

Kacey pursed her lips in annoyance as he kissed her forehead. She knew well and good that he wasn't 'fine'. As much as she wanted to, she wasn't going to argue with him here. Instead, she went and waddled over to the chair next to the bed and sat down heavily, rubbing her stomach. Once settled comfortably, she reached over and gently squeezed Sinead's twitching hand.

Sinead yelped loudly, still half-dreaming. She almost sat straight up, but the movement caused her to cry out even more in pain, bringing her fully awake, where she burst into tears.

Alexa almost jumped clear off the bed in shock and hugged Cecilia more tightly.

Kacey, for her part, pulled back sharply, trying to remember all the injuries. Had she inadvertently hurt her friend more? "Sinead? I'm sorry love, I didn't mean to..." she apologised profusely, near to tears herself.
 
Cecelia jumped and whimpered, curling into Alexa. She sniffed, ears flat against her head. She didn't like listening to Sinead suffer but she felt so bad at the thought of leaving...

Tig sighed and stayed in the doorway, fidgeting with his bandages. He knew Kacey didn't believe him, but he wasn't going to sit there in the doorway and complain. Not there. And he wasn't going to run away either. He just...couldn't bring himself to go inside. "Cicero, why don't ye take yer girl home tae get a bag packed fer tha both o' yeh. The wife an' I will stay 'ere wit' Sinead." And Alexa, unless she wanted to go with her friend. He didn't mind either way.

The man had gotten up and gone to the side of the bed with Sinead woke. He touched her elbow gently, very gently, but looked over t Tig. He smiled. "That sounds like a very good idea." He turned to Sinead. "Darling?" he reached up to stroke her cheek gently. "Did you hear that?"
 
Sinead wasn't really listening, still sobbing and mumbling in Gaelic as she clumsily wiped her eye with her free paw. She was shaking like a leaf, and flinched violently when Cicero touched her cheek. It was a move she instantly regretted, both because it hurt more, and because she realised too late who it was. "S-sorreh..." she mumbled tearfully, carefully turning her head to see both Kacey and Cicero next to her. "K-Kace?" It took her brain another long minute to work out why she was here. Tig, of course. He'd have told her. Fortunately, the distraction was enough to calm her down, and she closed her eyes again with as deep a sigh as her bruised ribs would allow.

"I didn't mean to scare you," Kacey apologised again, sniffling. "Were you dreaming?"

Sinead nodded, a tear falling away from her uncovered eye.

Kacey gently squeezed her paw again. "It's okay. Tig and I are going to stay with you while Cicero takes Cecilia home to pack some bags for the both of them. He's going to stay here with you until you're better, and Cecilia's going to stay with us."

Sinead nodded slowly, processing that information. Was Tig here? He must be, but she couldn't see him right now. She looked up at Cicero. Was he leaving? Yes, but coming back. "Babe, could, um, could y'call tha...tha nurse...when yer goin'?" she asked slowly, her brain still foggy from the concussion.

Alexa flinched as well when Sinead woke up crying, and hugged Cecilia tighter. "I'll come wif ya," she murmured to her friend. "It ain' gonna be nice ta hear. Not after gettin' beat up. But you cin play yer violin whenever you come, an' that'll help her feel better, kay?"
 
Tig really wanted to hit something, but kinda figured it would be a bad idea for multiple reasons. He heard Sinead ask Cicero for a nurse, so he just turned a little to wave one down. He could at least be useful that way...

She sniffed a little and nodded. She slid off the cot and picked up her violin case, hugging it to her chest and waiting for someone to take her hand. If they were going, she was ready to go. She could come back. Alexa wouldn't lie to her.

Cicero nodded. "Of course, mein angel." he leaned in to give her forehead a gentle kiss. He smiled at her softly. "I vill be back. I promise." he said before getting up. He looked over at the two girls and smiled. "You are coming to help, Alexa? I think we vill both appreciate that."
 
Alexa nodded fiercely, holding tight to Cecilia's paw. She gave Kacey a meaningful look.

Kacey nodded at Alexa and turned back to comforting her friend, rubbing her paw and her head gently.

The nurse spotted Tig's waving and bustled in, reaching up for the blood pressure cuff to check Sinead's vitals while she was here. "How are you feeling, dearie?" she asked Sinead.

Sinead shook her head at her, trying to get her words together. "Stiff...from laying down. And sore. My eye..." she told her, irritably rubbing at the eye patch.

The nurse gently removed her paw and held it while she took her pulse and her blood pressure. "We'll get some drops for your eye, and some more pain meds. We can crank up your feet a bit, and your head, but the doctor was firm that he doesn't want you out of bed yet," she explained clearly, and a bit slowly, for Sinead's benefit.

Sinead whined helplessly, but nodded. She groaned as the bed was cranked up, the movement painful, but relaxed once she was in position. "Thank ye..." she mumbled, gingerly touching the eye patch again. Now that she was sitting more or less upright, she could spot Tig at the door.

The nurse bustled away again for Sinead's meds, brushing by Tig, but giving him an encouraging pat on his shoulder.

Kacey huffed quietly, holding her belly as the baby kicked her right on her full bladder. "Sinead, sweetie, I'll be right back. I need to go to the toilet, alright?"

Sinead quirked a pained half-smile. "Want...my bedpan?"

Kacey grinned at her, relief on her face. Her friend was going to be alright. She kissed Sinead's forehead and pushed herself up from the chair, waddling off to the toilet.

Sinead sighed and looked back at Tig in the doorway. From what Cicero had told her, he'd fought off whoever had attacked her and brought her to the hospital. He'd saved her life. "Tiggy?"
 
Cicero made sure the nurse didn't have any crazy new news before leading the little girls out and down to his car. It would be a quiet ride back to his home to pack.

Tig felt a cold pit form in his stomach when he realized he was alone with her. He looked over at her, seeing how bad she was for the first time. "Ah...mornin'..." he said, slowly moving a little farther into the room. "I'm sorry, Sinead." he said softly, slowly walking up to the side of her bed. He reached down, sliding his bandaged hand into her good hand. "I..." he shook his head, looking her over. "I tried..."
 
She looked at him, confused. "You're sorry? Why?" He wasn't the one who'd hurt her. She didn't remember anything of the attack yet, but what Cicero had told her about Tig rang true. They had broken up badly, but they'd both moved on, and were amicable to each other, if not friendly. And he looked pretty beaten up himself. "You saved me, didn't ye? Cicero tol' me that, that ye saw me bein' attacked, aye? An' ye brought me t'tha hospital...I should be thankin' ye, nae forgivin' ye..." She squeezed his bandaged paw weakly and swallowed down some nausea. She felt sleepy again, but she forced herself to stay awake.
 
"Aye, no, I did. I heard ye scream an' I stopped an' found ye...there were two guys an' I ran in. I jes', I was cocky in tha beginin'. I let one o' 'em keep hurtin' ye while I wailed on 'is partner....I couldae done more. So much more." he couldn't look her in the eye, much less at her face. He kept his eyes on their hands. "An' because I was bein' cocky, I got so close tae loosin' yeh...We. We came close tae loosin' yeh." Fuck. Why did he say that? Why was this such a huge fucking deal?!

He reached up with his free hand to play with his rosary. "So, I'm sorry. I shoulda thought before jumpin' in. I shoulda pulled tha shotgun out from under tha front seat an' jes...ended it...but I didn't. I saw tha opportunity fer a fight an' I took it...'cause I missed it...an' now yer here...wit' a hole in yer head or somethin'..."
 
"Tiggy..." she whispered, reaching up to where he played with his rosary. "Tiggy, please, look at me...there's lotsa things I wanna say, but I...me head's still a li'l muddled, from tha concussion. I blamed ye a lot b'fore, when things went bad b'tween us. I dinnae blame ye now. We dinnae what mighta happened, if ye'd acted different. But, now we've ta live wit' it. An' thanks ta ye, I cin actually live. An' tha doc says I'm ta be okay. Tha hole'll close itself, me hair'll grow back, me bones'll heal, an' I'll nae be losin' me eye. I'm nae gonnae worry 'bout what ye didn' do, I'm jes' thankful fer what ye did..."

She yawned sleepily, rubbing her eye and groaning at the pain in her ribs. "Wake me up when tha nurse comes back..." she mumbled, having gotten more and more drowsy as she talked. Now, she couldn't keep her eyes open any more. Her paw dropped slowly to the bed as she breathed a sigh and dozed off.
 
Tig didn't feel any better. He stood there for a long moment, staring at their hands, having not let go. He took a breath and let it out slowly. <I still blame myself. For all of it. For everything.> He said softly in Gaelic. <For throwing away something great. For who I went to afterwards. For what I did...for everything I've lost...for everything I did while burying that loss and trying to ignore it...for wanting to run away right now and fall back into all of it. And I hate myself even more because I've got a wife and child and another on the way and all I want to do is walk out and not come back for a week, and to not remember where I was or what I was doing because I spent it drunk off my ass and getting into fights. And I don't think I'm fucking strong enough to stay home...>

He let go of her hand and sighed, reaching up to put his hand over his face.
 
Kacey came back in from the toilet and moved in to hug Tig from behind, leaning her belly and her forehead against his back. She didn't say anything for a moment; just breathed with him.

"I wish you would talk to me. I know there's things you don't want to say because you want to spare my feelings, but I worry more with not knowing. I can't promise I won't cry, but I'm really not so fragile as all that, that I can't listen to what's really bothering you..."

With that, she let him go and went and sat back down, taking up Sinead paw again. She seemed to be sleeping more peacefully now, which was good. She had a feeling that her friend had lots of bad dreams in her future.
 
Tig sighed and looked over at Kacey. The last thing he needed at the moment was her crying. He just sighed and walked over to sit on the cot. He leaned back against the wall, staring blankly at whatever was in front of him. It would be so easy to tell Kacey that he wouldn't be home that night, to not worry, he'd be back tomorrow. But he knew she would worry, and he couldn't stand the thought of leaving three girls in his house alone at night. Not after what happened to Sinead. So, he sat there, silently, staring off into space, concerned with his own self-depreciating thoughts.

Not long after that, a very worried looking Chance knocked on the door softly. He crept in and looked around, then hurried up to Kacey's side and put his face in however much of her lap his face would fit in. He had come by himself, running out of the house soon after he woke up that morning. He lifted his chin after a minute and hurried over to put a couple flowers that he had picked himself up on the table beside the bed, then put his chin on the bed. "...Is she gonna be ok?"
 
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