“It’s Gray,” I hear, and my blood turns to ice at the unmistakable panic in her voice.

“What’s happened?” I ask, because I inherently know that Gray calling me with fear in her voice means something is terribly wrong with Lexi.

“She got in an accident on her way home,” she says, her voice quavering. “The police just called Dad. Apparently a drunk driver ran a red light and T-boned her.”

“Is she okay?” I ask as I fly off the couch, my voice almost paralyzed by terror.

“I don’t know,” she says, then sniffs loudly so I know she’s crying. “She’s been taken to WakeMed. I’m on my way there now. So is Dad and Georgia. Ryker’s staying home with the girls.”

“Okay,” I say as I look wildly around my dark living room, trying to collect my thoughts. “I’m on my way. I’ll see you there.”

“Okay,” she says softly and disconnects.

For just a moment, I’m at a loss as to what to do. I know logically I need to get to the hospital, but in my panic, I can’t seem to reason how to go about doing it. All I can imagine is the worst, that Lexi’s dying or dead, and I didn’t get a chance to make this better. I didn’t get a chance to let her know how I truly feel about her, not just with words, but through the actions she so desperately needed.

Finally, my common sense seems to kick in and I vault from my couch, head in to the kitchen to swipe my keys off the counter. I barrel past the laundry room and into the garage, slapping at the button on the wall to raise the rolling door. I manage to at least take a deep breath in a piss-poor attempt to try to calm my nerves, and I tell myself to get my shit together before I get into my car.

—

The sliding doors to the emergency room open and I immediately spot Gray standing in a corner, both arms crossed protectively over her belly. Fuck, she better not be going into labor.

She locks eyes with me as soon as I step inside and crosses over to me quickly. My heart slams inside my chest as I see how ravaged her face is with worry, and for the first time ever, I see myself in Gray and realize that I have everything in common with her.

“How is she?” I ask as she stops in front of me.

“Dad and Georgia are back there with her, but they were getting ready to take her for a CT scan of her head,” she says shakily. “The other car hit Lexi’s side and her head shattered the driver’s-side window. She’s already had some X-rays and she has a hairline fracture to her collarbone, but that’s all we know right now.”

“But she’s conscious?” I ask fearfully. “I mean…why are they doing a CT scan?”

“I think just a precaution,” she says with uncertainty, and perhaps a faint hint of optimism. “It could be awhile before we get results.”

“Can we go back there?” I ask, nodding toward a set of double doors that I assume go back to where Lexi could be.

Gray shakes her head. “They only will let two people back there right now, and it should be Dad and Georgia.”

She doesn’t say this to hurt me, as there’s no hint of animosity in her voice that I normally hear. Rather, I take it to mean that yes, her father, Brian, should be back there, and of course, Georgia came with him and is as close to a mother as Lexi has right now.

“Let’s sit down,” I suggest as I take Gray by the elbow and lead her to a pair of empty chairs against the far wall. She looks like a strong wind could blow her over, and the last thing I want is for a pregnant woman to end up on the ground.

Gray doesn’t fight me, but placidly lets me lead her to the chairs. After she’s seated, I take the one next to her and heave out a violent breath of frustration and worry. Stretching my legs out, I lean back and rest my head against the wall, closing my eyes against the harsh fluorescent lights.

What a fucking mess.

“This is all my fault,” Gray whispers, and my eyes pop back open as I turn to look at her.

She’s hunched over her in her chair, her arms again wrapped protectively around her belly. She tilts her head to look at me and her eyes are swimming with tears.

And now in this moment, I not only feel a keen solidarity with Gray, I have a stunning wave of tenderness sweep through me. Without a hint of awkwardness, I put my hand on her shoulder and squeeze. While I have to admit, I’m thinking the same damn thing, I try to dispel those thoughts she has.

“It’s absolutely not your fault,” I assure her quietly. “She’s a victim of circumstances is all.”

“She wouldn’t have been in that circumstance if I would have kept my fucking mouth shut tonight,” she says bitterly. “I had no reason to bring up that trade report other than to get my dig in at you and make you feel uncomfortable. It was stupid and petty, and if Lexi doesn’t make it, it will be completely my fault.”

She punctuates this last sentiment with a sob, and before I even can comprehend my actions, I’m sitting up and pulling her into my side. I wrap my arms around her shoulders, which are shaking with grief, and I try to reassure her. “Lexi is strong. She’s a Brannon. And I know she’d want you to be strong too, okay? So get that chin up, and how about we use this time to figure our shit out so that when we can finally go back and see her, we can give her the best birthday gift ever by showing her we can be adults.”

Gray snickers, then sobs, a tiny hiccup, and she pulls away from me. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she says with a shaky voice, “We really are a couple of jackasses, aren’t we?”

“Speak for yourself,” I say with a tentative smile.

Gray laughs and I’m glad, because that was my intention. I squeeze her shoulder again and we both lean back in our chairs again, looking straight ahead at the crowd in the emergency room.

“I was totally wrong in how I treated you,” Gray says softly. I don’t bother to look over at her, but rather wait for her to get this off her chest. “I mean…my first conversation stands; you needed to get yourself a little under control with your antics. But after that, it had totally become personal to me. And because I’m afraid if I’m not honest with you right now, karma will bite me hard on the ass and take it out on Lexi, I’m going to admit: much of that was just pure sisterly protectiveness that was coming out. I was judging you solely on your past actions and wasn’t willing to give you the benefit of the doubt.”