Page 61 of Simply Perfection
“All right ye gasurs. Stir yer stumps. We need ta gi’ yer sister ‘ome te bed.”
Niall stood and watched as Conor, Rick and Calleigh gathered the kids’ bags. He walked with them toward the exit. Before the doors slid open, he placed a hand on Alannah’s head, sleeping on Calleigh’s shoulder. “Your husband bestowed his prayer on my family, and I ask to do the same for yours.”
Calleigh smiled, “We would be honored, Niall.”
Niall lifted his hand, “Manto kôkci wuyôtam kucáhsháyuwôk wici mutáhash wimmonáyu táká wikôtamuwôk. Great Spirit, bless your family with true hearts and happiness.”
Calleigh’s free arm came around Niall’s waist, four little arms squeezed his legs and four large hands touched the back of his head and back.
“Thank you. That’s a beautiful language. Almost as lyrical as Conor’s,” Rick said.
Niall nodded. “I’ve learned bits and pieces over the years.” He looked over at Conor. “Ireland is as much a part of me as the Mohegan tribe. If you’d be willing to teach me some Irish, I’d like learn.”
“Aye. I’d be ‘appy te teach ye.”
“Many thanks. Now, you need to get home, and I need to go find Matt so we can be there when Trevor wakes up.”
Niall stood by the door until the family disappeared into the night. At least it had stopped snowing. A pair of arms came around his waist, and Niall leaned back into Matt’s embrace.
“You okay?”
“Yes, I was saying goodbye. Are the others ready to leave as well?”
“Yeah, Logan and Clay asked to see Trevor before they go, but Ethan and Ryan said they’d wait until tomorrow.”
“Then let’s go. I need to see him again, to prove to myself that our heart has been returned.”
They found the other couple, then followed the maze of corridors until the four of them made it back to the Trevor’s private room. They'd moved him out of the ICU a couple of hours ago. Niall and Matt let Logan and Clay go in first since only two people were allowed in Trevor’s room at a time. Niall leaned his butt against the nurses’ station and his shoulder against Matt.
“So what now?” he asked.
“Now I sell my condo, we get Trevor’s apartment cleaned up and the three of us get on with our lives.”
“I’m worried about him, Matt. Hampton had him for two days. We have no idea what he’s been through. Cataloging his injuries doesn’t tell us his state of mind.”
“I know,caro, believe me I know. We’ll take his recovery one day at a time. If we need to get him some help, we will. I can’t do it. I won’t do it, but I have a network of people I trust and will get a referral if needed.”
“What about the case? Will Trevor have to sit through a trial?”
“I don’t know. That’s a question Clay could answer for us. I was so focused on getting Trevor out of there, I never asked what happened to Hampton.”
Clay came out of the hospital room, holding Logan’s hand. “The uniforms arrested him. Apparently, when Trevor escaped, he locked Hampton in the same basement that had held him. The authorities will charge him with assault and battery, kidnaping, stalking, and whatever else the district attorney pins on him. It’ll go to trial under Massachusetts law.”
Both Clay and Logan’s eyes were shiny. Niall knew it must have been hard for them to see Trevor lying in that bed, but it was so much better than any other outcome.
“So he’ll have to testify and everything?” Matt asked.
“Most likely, unless some kind of plea bargain is struck.”
“Damn. I was hoping he could avoid that kind of stress.”
Niall rubbed Matt’s back. They’d be there for Trevor. Hold his hand and provide whatever support their lover needed to get through the ordeal. And if all Trevor needed was for Niall and Matt to get him out of his head for a little while, well, they were good at that too.
“I know that ‘thanks’ doesn’t even begin to express how much Matt and I appreciate everything the two of you have done, but I’m saying it all the same.”
Logan stepped forward and gave Niall a hug. “It was all of us. If any of us hadn’t done our part, this whole situation may have turned out differently. That would have been unacceptable, so while your gratitude is hardly necessary, it is accepted with warm hearts.”
Clay hugged both Matt and Niall. “We’ll see the two of you tomorrow. Go sit with your man. Before you know it, he’ll be up on his feet driving us all crazy.”
