45. Aftermath

~Kaeden POV~

"It looks like he's going to be okay but they're going to keep him for observation. Cassie and Maisie are also doing well and should be discharged today. Vahn told me to let you know that he's going to be taking them home with Sonya and not to worry," Marius announces after getting insight from the doctors on his condition.

Finley's fever had finally broken this morning and it seems like he's finally stabilizing we were just waiting for him to wake up.

But to me, it seemed like an eternity, and every second he spent asleep had me on edge.

What if he never wakes up?

I was already pushing my sore grief for my sweet Noell and marvelous Tizzy to the side so I could be strong for Fin in front of his family. But I don't think I'll be able to go on if he leaves me too.

"Thank you, Mari," Finley's father nods to his nephew and Mari gives a small smile before leaving the room. The silence between us Finley's father Ashley, his brother AJ, and I was filled with tension. Although they hadn't spoken a word to me since we got here, their actions spoke for themselves.

They were blaming me for what happened to him, as they rightfully should.

I let out a small sigh and let my head fall, staring at Finley's bandaged feet from when he ran into the shattered glass to find Tizzy. I gently tug at the blanket I brought for him to cover his toes, knowing how much he hates it when his feet are uncovered. I run my hand over his covered ankles just because I needed to feel like he was still here.

"You haven't left,"  Ashley comments and I look up to see he wasn't wearing the same deep-set frown that he had before. AJ seems surprised at this but goes along with it.

"Why would I?" I ask and he grunts.

"I thought we would have scared you off by now," He snorts as he crosses his arms.

"Not to be rude, but I simply don't care. Finley means the world to me and if that world includes his family hating me for putting him in danger then so be it," I snap back and Ashley raises his thick black brow in amusement.

"Mmm...down boy, there's no need to get all defensive," A small chuckle emits from the once sleeping man and Kaeden quickly rushes to Finley's side as he opens his eyes for the first time since they were on the roof.

"Fin! Oh thank God! How are you feeling?" I ask and he groans slightly.

"Shhh, keep your voice down baby, my head hurts...actually my everything hurts," he groans and feeling guilty, I gently kiss his sweaty forehead. Relieved to have him back. Ashley and AJ appear at the opposite side of the hospital bed and once Fin cast his eyes upon them his softened appearance quickly morphs to seething anger. '

"Fuck, aren't you two a sore sight for good eyes, who invited you to this fiasco?" Finley groans again and AJ rolls his eyes. I had a very hard time believing they were actually brothers because they looked so different but I don't spend too much time dwelling on it.

"Oh! Is that how we're going to be today? It's nice to see you too ya fucktard," AJ says, breaking from his smooth composure to portray a side that was identical to Finley's. I quickly retract the thought of them not being related.

"Well you're in a good mood," Ashley sighs and Fin closes his eyes.

"God papa, although I've been narrowly escaping it, I'm not dead yet so you don't have to show up every time something happens to me. Just wait until you get the funeral message next time," Fin whines and Ashley yanks at his son's earlobe.

"Listen to me, you little rascal, the leader of another country took you hostage, infected you with some disease, and on top of that, you've been secretly married for almost ten months. You really think I wouldn't show up to kick your ass! Your father wanted to come but I forced him to stay home because I know he doesn't have the heart to knock some sense into you," Ashley explains and lets go of Fin, causing him to rub his sore ear.

"Well, the leader is dead, my infection is cured, and here, meet my husband Kaeden Harper Tremblay whom I am actually deeply in love with. Surprise surprise, Congratu-fucking-lations, your youngest son got hitched. Now shake hands and play nice," Fin orders and the three of us look at him like he's crazy. He crosses his arms and looks up at us expectingly.

"I'm waiting," He huffs and I reluctantly hold out my hand. AJ meets me in the middle and gives it a hard shake and I do the same for Ashley, who looks at my hand like it will give him a disease.

"Ahem, you too papa," Fin points and jabs his papa in the side causing Ashley to yelp out in pain and take my hand.

"Fine, hello Kaeden," He grunts and Fin hits him again.

"I said be nice, or do you want me to overexert myself and die?" He asks and Ashley rolls his eyes.

"Welcome to the family Kaeden," He says through gritted teeth and I nod.

"Thank you," I say back and he quickly pulls his hand away from mine.

"Good, now that we're all acquainted and you've met your new in-law, I have to ask you to leave," Finley demands and AJ gives him a look.

"No, we came all this way-"

"Excuse me? Did I ask you to come all this way? No. No, I did not, so leave. I need to talk to my HUSBAND privately and you two breathing the same air as me is getting on my nerves. So go and get food or something. If you really have too, you can come back later," Finley demands and puts his foot down.

The two look at each other before caving and leaving, slamming the hospital door behind them.

Fin finally turns his attention to me and pushes over.

"Come here baby," He holds out his arms to me knowing I couldn't resist his adorable pout.  I sit on the edge of his hospital bed but he pulls me down to his level and gently rests his head on my chest. I quickly wrap my arm around him, pulling him as close to me as possible.

"You don't have to be so mean to them, their your family Fin," I try to reason with me but he wasn't having it.

"They were mean to you for no fucking reason. I won't stand for that shit. If they don't like you, then fine, but they have to give you a chance first. And if they still don't like you then I guess they don't matter," He huffs and I run small circles on his shoulder.

"Never say that again," I warn and he pushes off my chest so he could look me in the eyes. I knew better than to make demands but this was the exception.

"Why?" He asks with narrowed eyes instead of fighting with me like he would if this were some petty fight. He's changed. Did the war do this?

"Because I don't have a real family. It's true, I have my chosen family and I appreciate every single one of them, but it's not the same. Although they do dislike me, I can tell it's only because they're worried about you, which means they care. That's a luxury you can't just ignore or throw away," I gently scold him and he nods in understanding before snuggling up to me again.

"What happened to your family?" He asks and now it was my turn to sigh.

"According to them, I never existed. Let's leave it at that." I say and I'm thankful when he doesn't push the topic further.

"Did you eat today?" He asks and I nod my head but he sees right through my lie, quickly ordering his family through a text to bring us back food too. When he's done he moves his head to my shoulder and rolls his fingers through my hair.

"Do you want to talk before they come back?" He asks, his voice was so soft that I knew it could be one of two things.

"About what?" I ask and his hands trail down to my cheek.

"Well...we haven't really spoken...about the whole married thing. I just said it to rub it in that idiot's face but how do you feel? Since the prime minister's death, the threat of you being deported is-"

I tilt my head down to the side and feel the lust fill my soul as he nervously blushes while he speaks.

I cut off his words with a soft kiss to his beautiful lips that never stop moving. The familiar tingles of energy run across my lips and straight to my heart. Although his lips were dry from being so close to death, it still felt so fucking good that I had a hard time stopping.

But when I do, he lets out a soft whimper letting me know he wanted more. I stay close enough to press my forehead to his.

"So I think, we should keep the legal stuff and put it to the side. I will continue to be your boyfriend until you're ready. But I'm going to promise you right now, that I am not going anywhere. And there is nothing I'd rather do than spend the rest of my life with you." I explain and his beautiful hazel-gray eyes flood with relief.

"I love you Kae," He sighs into my lips and I couldn't resist kissing him once more.

"I love you too Fin," The smile spread across his face made everything worth it but he leans back and pulls away from me.

"I'm sorry about Tizzy and Noell," he says next and I instantly feel the tears that I had been holding back return to the surface. Threatening to spill over.

"They were amazing friends and I can tell your holding back. It's okay to cry and to mourn. I'm okay baby, you don't have to worry about me anymore. You don't have to be strong, it's okay to break right now," He says and I grip his hospital gown in my hands. The mild throbbing in my chest now turning into a burning sting as I start to cry with Fin holding me close and crying with me.