“What is this?” he asked.
“A gift to hold you over until your insurance check comes in,” Henry answered.
Shea’s eyebrows shot up. “What? Henry, no…”
Henry held up his hand and cut Shea off. “Please. You’ve been in the same outfit for three days because you won’t borrow Quinn’s clothes. You need things, and I want you to get them,” Henry said firmly.
“How much is in here?” Shea asked tightly.
“Ten thousand.”
Shea’s mouth dropped open and he started shaking his head furiously. He tossed the envelope back on the desk. “No, no I can’t accept that, Henry, it’s too much.”
Henry grabbed the envelope and shoved it back into Shea’s hands. “Shea, this is not up for discussion. Take the money, buy clothes for the three of you, get Skylar everything she needs, and be grateful I’m not buying you a house, because believe me, I’ve thought about it,” Henry said with a pointed look.
Shea paled slightly. “Oh god, please don’t do that.”
“Then take the money,” Henry insisted.
“I’ll pay you back,” Shea said.
“The fuck you will.” Henry snorted. “Don’t even think about it, I won’t take it. I have money to spare and this is how I choose to use it. I can never thank you enough for saving my brother and niece, but this makes me feel like I’ve at least done something for you in return.”
Shea nodded. “Thank you, Henry, I really appreciate it,” he said humbly.
Henry pulled Shea into a hug. “I love you, man, you know that right?”
Shea nodded again. “I love you, too,” he whispered.
They separated and headed back out into the living room. Claire was burping Skylar. She smiled at them when they walked in.
“Let me know if you need help shopping for Skylar, I love buying girls clothes,” Claire smiled.
Shea smirked. “Okay, I will.”
Henry and Claire helped Shea gather up the small amount of things that he still had for Skylar and followed him out to his truck. It was the stuff they kept in a diaper bag in Christian’s car – the only stuff not burned in the house. Shea thanked them and gave them both a hug before getting into the truck and leaving. Henry put his arm around Claire’s shoulders and pulled her close. Claire patted his chest.
“I’m so glad that Shea and Christian are together,” Claire said.
“Yeah, I really don’t think they could have done any better than each other,” Henry mused.
Christian sighed in relief when the doctor said that he was good to go and could be released from the hospital. A week was enough; he was ready to go home…well, not to his home…Quinn’s home. The swelling in his throat had gone down by the third day of him being in the hospital. They brought him out of his medically induced coma, but kept him in the hospital for another four days, just to make sure that his throat and lungs were healing and not getting worse.
He was still in shock that this happened, that he and Skylar almost died, but Shea saved them. He ran into a burning house before the firefighters and saved them. Christian was in awe of his lover and best friend. Every time Christian looked at him now, the love he felt for the man grew tenfold.
It took another three hours before the nurse came in with the discharge papers. By that time, Christian had taken a shower and got dressed in the new clothes that Shea had brought him. Shea told him about Henry’s generous gift, and honestly, he wasn’t all that surprised. He knew his brother, and his brother liked to help his family when he could. And when it came to money, he most certainly could. So Shea had gone out and bought Christian a few starter outfits. They weren’t anything Christian would normally buy, but Shea admitted to not having a clue, so T-shirts and jeans it was.
“Ready to go?” Shea asked.
“God, yes,” Christian replied, his voice still hoarse.
Shea smiled and held out his hand. Christian smiled in return and threaded his fingers in Shea’s. They walked out of the hospital together and headed for Quinn’s house where everyone was going to be to celebrate him coming home from the hospital. His family was nuts, but he loved them just the same.
Christian was showered with hugs and kisses and he finally got to see Skylar. She wasn’t allowed to visit him in the hospital because she was too young. Christian hugged and kissed her and fought back the tears that threatened to fall. Thank god she was okay. After hearing how the fire started, he felt like it was his fault, and that she had been put in danger because of him. Shea tried to convince him that it was just a freak accident, but he still felt that way about it.
Later on that night, after everyone left and Skylar was asleep, Christian and Shea got into bed together. Shea lay down on his back and Christian crawled over and wrapped his body around him. Shea sighed contently and kissed Christian’s forehead as he hugged him tight.