I blow out a breath, staring at the wall.

I am so bored. A month in a hospital bed can do that to you. I've made Nathan suck it up and leave the hospital to take care of the kids. He sleeps at his parents with the kids, gets them all in school, and then gets to the hospital around ten. He leaves around one to get the kids from school and comes back around four with all four of them. They stay for an hour or so and leave again, and then it repeats the next day. I don't need them often but my family members drop in to visit me every now and again.

I'm used to being alone though, but Nathan hasn't gone to the house yet and the kids haven't either. My Dad has been taking care of the horses.

I need to get out of this room though. It's late November and I'm going to spend Thanksgiving in the hospital.

I reach over and press the nurse button, glancing at the clock.

7:23AM.

I let out a groan and his the button again. My least favorite nurse pops her head into the room.

"Yes?"

"I'm bored." I respond. "Can I go somewhere?"

"You can't walk or use your arms."

"Come on, please? Just push me down to the cafeteria and leave me and I'll text my husband and tell him to come get me when he gets here."

She sighs, stepping into the room.

"I know you're lonely." She says. "What if we play a game?"

"I just want to people watch. Come on, please? Get me a wheelchair that has the leg that goes out and push me down here. Or give me a crutch."

"You have a working left arm and a working right leg." She says. "Plus I know your husband isn't coming in today. You told me last night."

"Please?"

She sighs, studying me.

"Let me ask Dr. Grey."

"Meredith will say no." I huff.

"I'll let you know what Dr. Grey says."

She walks out.

She probably won't ask.

I stare at my phone of the tray in front of me, thinking of somebody that I can free their time and force them to help me.

And a small grin spreads across my lips as I grab my phone and scroll through the contacts. When I find the right one, I dial. I talk with who I need to talk to, and then I dial another number.

Me: I've called you an Uber. He will message your phone when he is there.

I don't get a reply, but forty five minutes later, my son comes waltzing into my hospital room. He's wearing dark washed jeans and a black long sleeve polo, along with white Adidas. His messy blonde hair is styled to the side and he smells slightly of cologne. His black jansport backpack is slung over his right shoulder, his hand stuffed into his pocket, his left hand clutching his black iPhone.

I grin.

"Mama, I have school you know."

"I know Raylen, I pay for you to attend." I respond, shifting in the bed.

"Why did you call me? Does Daddy know?"

"Nope." I say. "I need you to do me a favor."

"And what's that?"

"I need you to go over to that closet, okay? It has a passcode and it's 8624." I nod encouragingly. "And go swipe one of the wheelchairs with the leg thingy."

"Why?"

"Because I want to leave the room. Please?"

He stares at me.

"Mama," he begins.

"I just pulled you out of school Raylen."

He stares at me, his almond brown eyes identical to the ones he's staring into.

"Fine." He says. "8624?" He asks. I nod my head and grin. He drop is backpack between my legs and shoves his phone in his pocket, walking confidently over to the supply closet. He glances around before punching in the code.

"What are you doing?" A doctor passing asks.

Fuck!

He glances over his shoulder and shoots him a confused smile.

Yeah, he definitely got his father's genes.

"Sorry sir, one of the nurses upstairs asked me to get a wheelchair. See, my Mama just had a baby but the baby is in the ICU and-I'm just trying to help the best I can. The father of the baby left and my Dad took off years ago."

The doctor hesitates and nods slowly.

"Very well."

He walks off.

Raylen looks around again and then grabs the wheelchair with the leg stand and pulls it out. He glances around again and shuts the closet, swiftly walking into my hospital room.

"Get my leg out of that sling." I gesture to it with my left hand. He carefully pulls it out, holding my casted leg to set it carefully on the bed. I silently thank Nathan for bringing me basketball shorts and a tank top so I could get out of those scratchy hospital gowns. I struggles to get the covers off of me, and Raylen helps me pull them back.

"How are we going to get me into that?" I whisper.

He shrugs and locks the wheels.

"Can you put weight on your right leg?"

"Yes." I say.

He lets me ease my right let out of the bed, and I hold onto his right shoulder with my left hand. He puts my hand on my waist when I stand up.

"Mama, this is crazy." He whispers.

"Oh hush." I say. He eases my left leg onto the floor and I am careful not to put weight on it. He helps me hop with my food leg to the wheelchair. My right leg gives out though. I gasp slightly, but his arms wrap around my waist and he picks me up.

"You're really light." He says, carefully setting me into the chair. He lifts my left into the stand and adjusts it. I grab the blanket off the bed and his backpack topples to the floor. The front pocket is open, and all the contents start pouring out. Pencils, pens, and a piece of paper. I narrow my eyes and reach down, picking up the paper.

"Mama, don't!" He cries out, but I'm already unfolding it.

My dearest Abigail,

I think your pretty.

-Raylen

His whole face is bright red, his hands over his mouth. I raise my eyebrows and glance at my son.

"Let's just go." He says, mortified. He takes the paper from my hand and I let him, staying silent as he tucks his things back into his back and zips it up.

"Get the IV." I point to the stand.

He grabs it and bring it over to me. I situate the blanket and he helps me tuck it around me so it won't fall on the floor. I grab the IV.

"To the first floor." I say. "And try to avoid the staff." I add quietly.

"Mama, am I sneaking you?"

"Yes." I say simply. "Now let's go."

He peeks out into the hall and then starts pushing me fast. It feels good to be moving for once. I can feel the slight wind blowing on my face as he darts to the elevator and presses the button. It dings open, and he darts onto it, pressing the button with the number one on it.

"Where are we going?" He asks.

"Let's just get out of here first."

"Wait, like out of the hospital?" He asks wearily.

"Yes." I say.

"It's snowing." He says. I release my grip on the IV stand and pull the blanket up, tucking it behind my shoulders. When the elevator opens again, I grab the IV.

"Don't look suspicious. Just walk out like you know what you are doing." I whisper.

He walks calmly off the elevator to the doors. They open automatically for him, and he just keeps walking to the sidewalk.

The moment he reaches the sidewalk, he starts running with me, and I'm just laughing at the cold air on my face, the sterile smell not hitting my lungs, but crisp fresh air instead.

He stops at a crosswalk.

"Where to Mama?"

"There is a Starbucks a mile or so that way." I gesture with my right foot. "And I want a peppermint mocha."

"You don't have money." He frowns.

Shit.

"Do you have your emergency debit card?"

"Yes." He says. "But that's under Daddy's account and there is only a few dollars in it."

"I know Daddy's bank password." I say. The crosswalk sign turns white and I nod towards it. "Let's go buddy, I want some coffee."

I stand in my wife's vacant hospital room, running my fingers through my hair.

"What do you mean she just left?" I snap.

"I don't know." Dr. Grey says. "She was here and the nurse called to ask if she could go sit downstairs, and when I told the nurse to tell her no, she called me and told me that she wasn't in her room."

"So..." I start laughing coldly. "You're telling me my wife with one working leg and one working arm just got up and walked out of a hospital?"

Silence.

"You guys better find her." I snap.

"The building is on lockdown, sir." One of the security guards says. "She can't leave the floor she is on. If she's here, we will find her."

"It's been four hours." I snap. "Nobody saw anything suspicious?"

The room is full of nurses and doctors that were on this floor around the time Odeletta was noticed to be gone.

"I saw some kid taking a wheelchair from the supply closet." A doctor fesses up, nodding to the closet.

The closet that is in direct line of my wife's hospital bed.

"A kid?" I repeat.

"Well a teenager. I dunno...he kinda looked like you actually. Black shirt on, white shoes..."

Raylen.

I let out a breath of disbelif and walk over to my wife's tray, picking up her phone. I unlock it and go to her calls.

She called Raylen's school at 7:31 this morning, and then she called a random number.

She is unbelievable!

"I think my wife made our son smuggle her out of the hospital. She could be anywhere by now!"

"Mr. Reed, I think it's best if we notify the police. Her IV bag needs changed soon and if we don't find her fast..." Dr. Grey trails off.

"What?" I demand.

"The IV will empty and inject the air in the bag into her veins. The bubbles can block major blood vessels and she could have a stroke or a heart attack, and...it could be too late."

I stare at him.

"W-how long before that happens?"

He looks down at his watch and I see his eyes flood with panic.

"About ten minutes, sir."

Oh God.

"Where to now Mama?"

"I'm hungry. How about you buddy?"

"I'm starving." He says. "But I think we should go back. They know you're gone by now. It's already one in the afternoon. Dad is probably having a heart attack."

"Has he called you?" I ask.

"My phone is dead." He responds, pushing me down the sidewalk.

I huff out a breath.

"Alright, lets go to Taco Bell." I say, nodding at the building across the street.

"Your IV is really low Mama." Raylen frowns. I glance up at it and frown.

"Do me a favor buddy and peel off the tape." I say. He does, reaching over me to pull the tape off my hand. "And pull the needle out."

"What? Mama no."

"Raylen, if you don't the rest of the air in that bag will go into my blood and I will die." I say.

He pulls the needle out, my hand free now.

"Where did you learn that?" He asks. I smile at the tree across the street.

"Grey's Anatomy." I say. "Now hurry up and push me to Taco Bell. I want a crunch wrap."

"It's been twenty five minutes, sir." The security guard says. I stare blankly out the window.

"So if she gets an air embolus-well she probably already has, she could be dead right now?"

"I'm afraid so."

I let out a frustrated groan and pull out my phone, trying Raylen again.

It goes straight to voicemail.

Sighing, I open maps, zooming out.

There's a Starbucks, a Bealls, a Ross, a Target, and a Taco Bell about a mile down the road.

"I'm going to find them." I say. "Call me if they turn up please."

I sit back in my wheelchair, studying my son. I sip my Pepsi, cringing slightly.

I prefer Coca Cola.

"So, who is Abigail?"

"Oh God Mama." Raylen mutters.

"Really buddy, I want to know." I insist.

"She's this girl I go to school with. She's really pretty."

"What does she look like?"

"Red hair, freckles, blue eyes...she's not like the other girls. She gets straight A's and helps with my Chemistry. She reads books and she used to ride horses when she was little but she had to stop because her parents couldn't afford..." he trails off, and I take the last bite of my Crunchwrap.. "I wanted to bring her by the house to ride, but..." he swallows, and I swallow my food. "There's glass everywhere and that's just...it's too painful."

I'm quiet for a while.

"Your letter sucks, Raylen."

He scoffs.

"Don't you think I know that Mama? I'm not a poet, and she's over there getting straight A's in English, and I'm trying so hard to be as good as her but I can't. She's amazing. I really like her. I was going to ask her out with the letter but I'm too shy to give it to her."

"Ask her out in person." I say. "Does she like you?"

"I think so, but she has a boyfriend and he hates me."

I study him.

"Why does he hate you?"

"I don't know. He thinks I love Abigail." He sighs.

I hesitate, my eyebrows furrowing slightly.

"Are you?" I ask softly. His eyes widen slightly and he shakes his head rapidly.

"Mama, no. I've known her for three weeks!"

"I knew your father for a week before I started getting feelings for him." I say quietly.

He looks down, picking at a piece of lettuce left on his taco wrapper. I sip my Pepsi again, waiting.

"I think she's funny and really pretty. I love spending time with her too, she makes me feel all warm and mushy."

I smile softly.

"Do you think about her when she's not around?"

He looks out the window at the gray skies, watching the snow fall softly onto the ground.

"I guess so." He whispers. "Yeah. I think about her all the time."

I study him, smiling gently.

"Sweetheart, that sounds a lot like love to me."

He sips his soda.

"Mama, she has a boyfriend."

"Boyfriends aren't forever." I say. "If there's no ring, you have a chance. Just tell her how you feel. Just be straightforward."

"How do I do that?"

"Ask her out."

"She has a boyfriend." He responds.

"And you have a horse." I say. "Who cares if she has a boyfriend? You're not asking her for nudes, Raylen. Just walk up to her with the boyfriend isn't around and be straightforward. Let her know you like her and you want to take her on a date. Make sure she knows it's a date."

"But Mama-"

Somebody stands behind me, and Raylen trails off, looking up.

"Uh oh."

A hand wearing a very familiar wedding ring grips my left hand, and then drops down in the empty chair.

Nathan folds his arms across his chest and just stares at me.

"What is this?" He gestures around. I frown.

"This is the inside of Taco Bell."

He rubs his temples.

"Odeletta," he starts.

"Nathan, I'm not going to fight with you." I say right away. "I've been trapped in the hospital for a month. I'm lonely. I removed the IV. We went to Starbucks and then went around a few shops and now we are getting lunch." I wave him off. "I am fine. I'm actually good enough to go home."

He stares at me for a long time.

"You called our son out of school, got him an Uber, had him help you break out of a hospital so you could go down the street and grab a few coffees?"

I hesitate.

Gosh, I am a horrible influence.

"Yes."

He blows out a slow breath, and then he lets out a little chuckle, shaking his head.

Without a word, he stands up and walks over to the counter, ordering food.

He comes back a few minutes later with a big burrito and a Pepsi.

"So what are we talking about?" He asks.

"Abigail." I tell Nathan. "Raylen loves her and she loves horses and she's a straight A student but she has a boyfriend and the boyfriend hates Raylen because he knows that Raylen loves her, and when you walked up, I was telling Raylen to ask her out but-"

"She just texted me." Raylen says, looking down at his phone with wide eyes. He had plugged his phone into an outlet when we got here.

Excited, I sit up straighter, sipping my drink.

"What did she say?" Nathan asks, taking a bite of his food.

His eyes widen.

"Her and Marcus broke up and he left her at the school. She said her and some other girl are sitting outside and she is asking if I have a car."

"Tell her yes." I say.

"No, don't lie to her." I say. "Tell her the other girl is your sister and you have to swing by with your Dad anyways, that we can pick her up."

I slam my cup on the table.

"Please let me go!" I plead with Nathan. "Please!"

Raylen tap away on his phone.

"She said okay." He says, his cheeks tinging pink.

Nathan grabs his burrito and stands up, handing it to me.

"Don't eat it!" He cries out when I take a big bite. I hear him sigh, and Raylen grabs the drinks and Nathan steers me to the truck. Raylen puts the drink in cup holders and Nathan lifts me easily into the truck, helping me adjust the seat so I have enough room for my leg. He and Raylen lug the wheelchair and the IV stand into the bed and close it up, and then Raylen clambers into the back and Nathan gets in, starting the truck. He takes his burrito from me and sends a quick text.

"I'm just going to text Dr. Gray and tell him you're fine." He says.

After he does, we start driving.

"Nathan, it's already two and you haven't gotten Noemie yet?"

"I was a little worried about an air embolus." He responds.

He starts snacking on his burrito and we begin the half hour drive to the prep school.

"Does she know about your drugs and alcohol?" I ask Raylen.

"Um...not exactly. I'm not doing that stuff anymore though."

"I know." I say. "Does she know about Jake?"

"No, and she doesn't know about you getting shot, she doesn't really know anything..." he trails off.

"How long was she with the boyfriend?" Nathan asks.

"I think like two months." He says. "He cheated on her and then broke up with her."

"Oh wow." I frown. "What a bitch."

"Yeah." He frowns.

"Don't go jumping into anything." Nathan says. "She's just fresh out a relationship. Give her time to heal. You never want to go into a new relationship while still being mentally in an old one."

"Okay." He says. "What if she's afraid of my past?"

"Bud, I watched your mother storm a courtroom and I fell in love with her anyways. It might work out."

When we pull up to the school, Noemie is pacing in front of the doors, a pretty redhead sitting on the floor nearby. Noemie looks up when the truck pulls up and comes racing to the truck, ripping the back door open.

"Daddy, what the heck!"

Raylen slips out, and when he comes into sight, the redhead stands up.

Noemie slips in behind me, gasping.

"Mama!" She cries. "Did they discharge you? Oh my gosh!"

"No sweet, Raylen snuck me out." I say.

"Are you serious?" She ass.

"Yes."

I grin proudly when my son opens the door for Abigail. She slides into the middle, settling next to Noemie.

"Mama, can you put the seat up?" Noemie asks.

I cringe, looking at Nathan.

"She can't Button, her leg."

"Oh right. It's okay then." She shifts and I feel her bump my seat.

"Mama, Dad, this is Abigail. Abby, this is my Mama and my Dad."

I turn slightly in my seat.

"Hi sweetie." I say. "You can call me Odeletta or Odette, okay?"