Run, Girl (If You Can)

"Come on, you know me. I'm a steel vault of secrets. But uh…you knew me before, didn't you? In your other life," Aiden deduced. It was fairly obvious now how Aaron knew enough about his illegal exploits to bribe him into becoming his eyes and ears when he was still a kid.

Aaron nodded. "I met you in 2020. You hacked into a video feed that proved Lacy Knighton murdered her accomplice Max and she ended up dying in prison. I figured it was better to get you onboard early to help me out with my plans since I knew you were out there."

It was hard to wrap his head around. Aaron had been one of the most solid, consistent parts of his life for the past thirteen years of his life and here he was saying they weren't even supposed to meet for another year.

He clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Well, I'm glad you did. My life would have been completely different if I didn't meet you right before starting high school."

The nurse chose that moment to walk back over and she smiled at Aaron. "Mr. Hale, your wife's blood transfusion is done. She's still unconscious but you can visit her now."

His eyes lit up at the thought of seeing Keeley but he frowned. "Can we move my son into her room? He needs to be with his mother."

"We were about to do that anyway. Having him nearby might help with her recovery as well. Follow me, you can carry him over."

They had already moved one of those little glass-sided beds into Keeley's room. She had a neck brace on and a gauze pad taped to her forehead as she lay unconscious on the bed. Her left leg was in a bulky cast under the blankets and a thin sheen of sweat covered her face. She was obviously in pain.

Aaron sat down on the chair closest to the hospital bed and cradled his son with one arm while caressing his wife's cheek with the other. He looked both heartbroken and elated that she was still here.

Aiden couldn't blame him. It was hard enough for him to see Keeley like that and they were only friends. She was such a cheerful, lively person. She should be out running around somewhere, not lying battered in a hospital bed.

He tried to imagine what his friend was feeling. The brief, horrible thought passed through his mind wondering 'what if this was Nova?' before he acknowledged that it wasn't the same.

He loved his wife deeply but no love could be compared to Aaron's since he loved the same woman enough to chase her to the ends of the earth in a second lifetime. If there was a Love Olympics somewhere, he would definitely win the gold. Aiden briefly wondered what would qualify someone to get the silver and bronze medals before tossing that thought aside.

 "Aaron, do you still need me or should I go back to work?" he asked. He was started to feel like a third wheel even though Keeley was passed out.

"You can go back to work. But could you find Roger and tell him to let Alice know that they need to hold onto my kids a while longer because their mom is in the hospital? I just realized I left my phone in the office. Doctor's appointments take a while so they're probably barely starting to wonder where she is but I don't want them to worry."

"Sure thing, dude. Hang in there, okay? She'll wake up soon. Are you coming back to the office at all today or should I have someone send your phone over?"

Aaron gave him the 'are you stupid' look again, which answered that question. He would get somebody to send it over right away.

"Tell her I hope she feels better soon when she wakes up. See you."

He didn't respond for a moment but Aiden heard a faint but fervent "thank you" as he was walking out the door. He smiled. As cold and prone to insults as Aaron usually was, Aiden knew he how much the man truly valued him in moments like this.

===

Alice looked down at her phone in shock. Keeley got into a car wreck and was in the hospital?! What was she supposed to tell the twins? Violet had already been complaining about when her mom was coming back.

Roger sent over a second text. 'She gave birth to her baby too. C-section. Aiden said she was still unconscious when he left but that's so be expected since she's in a lot of pain due to injuries from the crash. Good luck'

She scowled. Good luck? That was all he had to say when she needed to break earthshattering news to a couple of five year olds?

"Violet, Kaleb, can you come here for a minute?" Alice called softly.

The kids were all playing together in the living room but they stood up and heeded the summons. Lila wasn't very happy about being left behind. Violet looked up at her with those intelligent dark blue eyes that reminded her so much of her father's.

"Why is Mommy late? She was supposed to come get us."

"Your mom is in the hospital with the new baby. Your dad is there with her now," Alice said lightly. It was easier to explain that Keeley was in there for the baby than because she got hurt.

Kaleb frowned. "I thought the baby was coming in a few weeks."

"He came early but now you have a new brother! Isn't that exciting?"

Both of them nodded earnestly. "I want to see Mommy and the baby! Why does Daddy get to go but we don't?"

Alice honestly didn't know how to answer that. Probably because Aaron didn't want his kids to see their mother unconscious? Or maybe because small children weren't allowed to visit recovering trauma patients? How was she supposed to know?!

"I would ask him but your daddy doesn't have his phone right now. I'll try to get a hold of him later when he has his phone back and will ask then, okay? You guys can keep playing."

Kaleb went back without complaint but Violet eyed her shrewdly. "You're lying! Something bad happened to Mommy, didn't it?"

How on earth did this small child manage to guess that?! 'Ah, Aaron, your offspring is too much like you!' Alice thought desperately.

"Your mom is fine," she insisted.

"Mommy got hurt, didn't she? Daddy's been acting funny lately like he's all worried about her. He knew this was gonna happen. I want to see Mommy NOW," she hollered as she angrily stamped her foot against the ground.

Violet immediately dissolved into repeated wails of "I want Mommy! I want Mommy!" and Alice had no idea what to do. This had spiraled out of her control so quickly.