The Gift (Unrestrained 4.50)

At that precise moment, Jim left Liam’s room. Maureen saw him and her face was one of shock.

“You!” she said and glanced between the two of us. “Here I thought you understood my reasons for not wanting Drake to get involved.”

Jim straightened up to full height, his blue eyes hard. He took hold of his lapels like an old southern gentleman and held his chin up.

“Drake’s the boy’s biological father and saved his damn life. I saw that as a good enough reason for him to pop in. He was there for only five minutes and never said anything about who he was.”

Maureen looked at me and then at Jim. “If you even dare try to see him again, I will get a restraining order.” Then, she pushed past Jim and into Liam’s room.

I shook my head. “Jesus Christ.” I stood with my hands on my hips and stared at the ground, trying to control my emotions. “Sorry about that, Jim. Hate to get you in trouble.”

“She doesn’t have a restraining order against you. You’re a consulting doctor. And his damn father. It’s no trouble at all.”

“I better run,” I said and opened the door to the stairwell. “Don’t want to hang around and risk further wrath of the mother.”

“You take care, now.”

I left Jim standing in the hallway, his pride still bristling, and went back to my office. By the time I arrived, my adrenaline was burned off and I was left a bit weak, my heart pounding.

Damn her! The boy was my son. He had more than my DNA. He had my bone marrow. I saved his life and she wouldn’t even let me see him. At that moment, my emotions overwhelmed me, and I sat with my head in my hands.

Kate

Drake arrived home later than usual, and drunk, Ken having dropped him off sometime before midnight. That wasn’t like Drake – he rarely drank too much, and was always in control over himself. Ken looked at me sheepishly while I grabbed Drake by the shoulder and helped him in.

“I’m sorry,” Drake said to me.

“He’s really sorry,” Ken said, his own words slurred. “He had a fight with Maureen and she threatened him with a restraining order.”

I helped Drake to the sofa and then went back to the door where Ken was leaning against the doorjamb.

“Thanks for bringing him home. I hope you two took a taxi.”

“We did,” Ken said and smiled crookedly. “Take it easy, buddy,” he said to Drake, who was leaning back on the sofa, his eyes closed, his jacket still on. Drake didn’t say anything, just waved his hand in response.

Ken left and I closed the door behind him, turning back to a very quiet Drake. Had he fallen asleep? How drunk was he?

I knelt down in front of him and removed his shoes, one after the other. He cracked his eyes open and watched me.

“That’s what I like to see – you on your knees before me.” He grinned.

I smiled in return, glad that he still had his sense of humor. “Any time,” I said wryly, “oh, Lord and Master.”

“Master sounds good,” he replied and closed his eyes once more. “Not much of one tonight. Sorry but I needed a drink and didn’t want to bother you so I went to O’Riley’s. I know you’re working on your paper.”

“It’s okay.”

Then, I removed his gloves and pulled his arms out of his coat sleeves before nestling next to him.

“Tell me what happened?”

He shrugged and slipped his arm around my shoulders. “Nothing really to tell except I snuck in to see Liam and Maureen threatened me with a restraining order. Can you believe it?”

I shook my head. “No, I can’t. The boy is yours, Drake. You saved his life. The least she could do is let you see him.”

“My thoughts exactly. I had a little help from Jim Kerrigan, one of the oncologists who treated Liam. He let me sneak in while Maureen was down in the cafeteria getting something to eat but she came back sooner than we thought.”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “She’s going to do her best to keep you from him. Maybe when he’s more grown up and is ready to understand things, she’ll let you two meet.”