Chapter Twenty-Six: Caring for Keifer
The morning after Keifer came home from the hospital, Jay woke before dawn.
Old habit from hospital stays—checking on him every few hours, making sure he was still breathing, still there, still alive.
She turned in bed.
He was beside her, sleeping peacefully. His ribs were bandaged beneath his shirt. A small cut still marked his temple. He looked younger in sleep. Softer. Vulnerable.
She reached out, barely touching his face.
His eyes fluttered open. "Jay?"
"Go back to sleep."
"You're watching me again."
"Always."
He smiled weakly. "Creep."
"Your creep."
---
The day began quietly.
Jay slipped out of bed first, heading to the kitchen. Keifer needed to eat—small meals, frequently, to keep his strength up. The doctor had been clear.
She found the chef already there.
"Ms. Mariano. How can I help?"
"What's good for recovery? Light but nutritious?"
The chef smiled. "I have just the thing."
Together, they prepared a tray—soft scrambled eggs, fresh fruit, whole wheat toast, herbal tea. Nothing heavy. Nothing difficult.
Jay carried it upstairs herself.
---
Keifer was sitting up when she returned, wincing slightly.
"Stop moving," she ordered.
"Had to use the bathroom."
"Should have called me."
"I'm not calling you to help me use the bathroom."
"I helped you in the hospital."
"The hospital was different."
"The hospital was exactly the same." She set the tray on his lap. "Eat."
He looked at the food, then at her. "You made this?"
"Helped make it. Eat."
"You're hovering."
"I'm caring. There's a difference." She sat on the edge of the bed. "Eat, Keif."
He ate.
She watched.
It was oddly intimate—feeding him, caring for him, being the one he leaned on for once.
---
After breakfast, Keiran burst in.
"PAPPA!" He launched toward the bed.
Jay caught him mid-air. "Careful, baby. Pappa's still healing."
"Pappa hurt?"
"A little. So we have to be gentle. Okay?"
Keiran nodded seriously. "Gentle." He approached the bed slowly, then carefully climbed up beside Keifer. "Hi, Pappa."
"Hi, buddy." Keifer's voice was soft, tired but happy.
"Pappa better soon?"
"Soon. Mamma's taking care of me."
"Mamma good at care. She gives best kissies for owies."
Jay laughed. "That's true."
Keifer looked at her. "Is it?"
"Absolutely. Want a demonstration?"
"Later." He glanced at Keiran. "Little ears."
Keiran looked between them. "What? What demonstration?"
"Nothing, baby. Want to watch cartoons with Pappa?"
"YES!"
---
The morning passed in quiet domesticity.
Keiran curled beside Keifer, watching cartoons. Jay fluttered around—bringing water, adjusting pillows, checking bandages.
At one point, Keifer caught her hand. "Sit down."
"I'm fine."
"You're exhausted. Sit."
She sat.
He pulled her close—carefully, mindful of his ribs—and she rested her head on his shoulder.
"This is nice," she murmured.
"You taking care of me?"
"All of it. Being here. Being together. Being home."
"Yeah." He kissed her hair. "It is."
---
Keigan appeared at lunchtime, hovering in the doorway.
"Hey. How's he doing?"
"Alive. Annoying. Normal."
Keifer protested. "I'm not annoying."
"You literally just complained about the pillow being wrong."
"The pillow WAS wrong."
Keigan snorted. "Yeah, he's fine." He disappeared, but Jay caught his smile.
---
By afternoon, Keifer was restless.
"I can't just lie here."
"Yes, you can."
"I have work—"
"Yuri's handling it."
"I have calls—"
"Aries is handling them."
"I have—"
"You have nothing except resting." She crossed her arms. "Keif. You almost died. You can take a week off."
He was quiet for a moment. Then: "I keep thinking about it."
"About what?"
"The accident. The car. The—" He stopped. "I thought about you. In that split second. Thought about never seeing you again."
Her heart clenched. She moved closer, sitting beside him on the bed.
"I thought about you too. When the hospital called. When I didn't know if you'd make it." She took his hand. "But you did. You're here. We're here."
"Because of you."
"Because of a lot of things. Luck. Doctors. Your stubbornness."
He smiled weakly. "Mostly my stubbornness?"
"Mostly."
---
Keiran returned from his nap, demanding Pappa's attention.
"PAPPA! Read book!"
"Buddy, I'm a little tired—"
"Jay read book! Jay best reader!"
Jay laughed. "I'll read the book. Pappa will listen."
They settled on the bed—Keiran tucked against Keifer's side, Jay curled on his other side, book in hand.
She read aloud, doing voices for each character. Keiran giggled. Keifer watched her, heart full.
When the story ended, Keiran was asleep.
Jay carefully extracted the book, covering him with a blanket.
"He's perfect," she whispered.
"Like his Mamma."
She looked at Keifer. "I'm not perfect."
"To me, you are."
---
That evening, the doorbell rang.
Jay found Percy, Aries, and Yuri on the doorstep, loaded with food, games, and obvious concern.
"We brought supplies," Percy announced. "Comfort food. Stupid movies. Emotional support."
"Percy made three different kinds of soup," Aries added.
"They're all the same soup."
"They're NOT the same soup. One has noodles. One has rice. One has—"
"Percy." Jay hugged him. "Thank you. All of you."
Yuri held up his phone. "I brought this. For documenting his recovery. For posterity."
"Yuri."
"What? It's important."
She let them in.
---
The evening was chaos, as always.
Percy set up movies. Aries helped Keifer to the living room. Yuri "accidentally" filmed everything. Keigan joined them, pretending to be too cool but clearly enjoying it.
Keiran woke up and immediately demanded to be part of everything.
Jay floated through it all, making sure Keifer was comfortable, had enough pillows, wasn't in pain.
At one point, Percy caught her arm.
"He's okay, you know."
"I know."
"You're doing great."
"Thanks, Percy."
"No, really. He's lucky. We're all lucky to have you." He hugged her suddenly. "Don't tell anyone I got emotional."
"Your secret's safe."
---
Later, after everyone left and Keiran was asleep, Jay found Keifer in the living room, staring at nothing.
"Hey." She sat beside him. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong. Everything's right." He looked at her. "Too right, maybe. Makes me scared."
"Of what?"
"Losing it. Losing you. Waking up and finding out this was all a dream."
She took his face in her hands. "Look at me."
He looked.
"I'm not a dream. I'm real. I'm here. And I'm not going anywhere." She kissed him softly. "You're stuck with me, Mark Keifer Watson."
"Good." He pulled her close—carefully, always carefully now. "I want to be stuck with you forever."
"Forever it is."
---
That night, she helped him to bed. Adjusted his pillows. Made sure he had water. Checked his bandages one last time.
"You know," he said as she climbed in beside him, "I could get used to this."
"Used to what?"
"Being taken care of. Being loved like this."
"Good. Because it's not stopping."
He smiled in the dark. "I love you."
"I love you too. Now sleep."
"Yes, doctor."
"That's nurse to you."
He laughed, then winced. "Ow. Don't make me laugh."
"Sorry."
"Worth it."
They slept wrapped around each other, careful and close.
And Jay kept watch, as always.
Because he was hers.
And she would never stop caring for him.
---
End of Chapter Twenty-Six