Nursed to Life

Hadleigh's POV:

"That's ok, we'll take it slow," Gus murmured. Kissing me lightly before pulling away. I knew he hadn't wanted to stop but had for me, he would wait as long as necessary for me to be comfortable. I smiled as I looked up at him and felt heat rise in my cheeks. He looked at me for a moment, before laughing quietly and pulling me in for a passionate kiss. It was like nothing I'd ever experienced before. It was electrifying and terrifying at the same time. When he was done wreaking havoc on me, he gripped my hand and led me out into the hall and down the stairs. Never once letting my hand go. We stopped outside the room Henry was in, he turned to me. "You don't have to come in," he said quietly, kissing my temple. "He'll understand."

"I will. I'll be ok," I replied, swallowing nervously. He looked at me for a few moments before nodding and turning towards the door.

The room was dim and smelled of the smoke clouding the air I thought as we entered the room hand in hand. The room was full of people, both familiar and unfamiliar. Everyone turned to look at us, scrutinizing but not saying a single word. I felt myself quiver just a bit, Gus's hand squeezed mine lightly as if reassuring me that everything was ok. Evylynn and Theo's backs were to us as they tended to Henry. Gus pulled us forward, more sure-footed than I. My stomach grew queasy when his face, chest then stomach came into view. He was staring at the ceiling unseeing, a deep rage radiated off of him in waves. I swallowed hard before dropping Gus's hand. I made my way the rest of the way to the bed. I didn't know what to say as I stood there so I grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. His eyes pinched shut as a tear streamed down the left side of his face. He squeezed back, gripping my hand tightly. His body shuddered as a sob raked through him. I began speaking softly to him, comforting him the best way I knew how with my words. I began singing to him softly while gently rubbing my thumb over the back of his hand. Ev's hands trembled for a moment before she got back to work. She loved Henry, he was one of her closest friends I thought as I sang. It was hard for her to see him like this. It was hard for me to see him like this. No one deserved this. Not a soul.

Theo's POV:

I watched as Evy and Haddy stood next to Henry. They were holding this family together I thought as I stood next to Gus. One had nursed Gus back to health physically and the other was nursing him back to health mentally. They were now working on doing the same for Henry. Hadleigh stood there and gripped Henry's hand and sang the whole time Ev cleaned and rewrapped his injuries. Gus handed me an unlit cigarette and lit a match for me as we looked on. I inhaled the smoke deeply, letting it out of my lungs slowly. The two of them were nursing us all back to life I thought once more as Henry's head turned to the side to look at Ev and Haddy. He grimaced a bit as his body shifted when he turned his head. He just stared at them, his eyes bouncing between the two of them.

Two Days Later:

Henry joined us for a meeting in Gus's office. No one had been allowed to come or go from the manor since he was brought in. His face was deeply bruised and severely swollen. Haddy had fed him a breakfast of thin porridge and tea. He wasn't able to eat much more than that due to the swelling and I was assuming the pain. He wasn't able to speak. Ev had told me it would likely take a lot of work for him to speak normally again because the cuts had been so deep. Henry had always been the pretty one. Which is likely why they attacked him but left Andrew virtually unscathed. It was a message. They were still out there, and we hadn't found them yet. They were taunting us. The betting shop had been closed for nearly a week now, same with the factory. Things were growing more and more tense in Small Heath. These were dangerous times, very dangerous times. Gus had forbade the women to leave and Evylynn had agreed that it was best for everyone to be protected. We had enough food to get us through a while. We'd be ok, but we couldn't hole up like cowards. We had to make a stand, someone out there knew something about where these cowards were hiding and I wanted them smoked out like rats. They needed to pay for what they'd done to Evy and Henry. They'd drawn blood and we needed the intel to make them bleed too. Ev wouldn't like it but we were going to put an end to this war one way or another and if decimating an entire rival gang was what had to be done, it was what had to be done. I didn't mind getting my hands dirty to protect the family, to protect her. I looked around the room, we were waiting for Andrew to join us to start this meeting. Gus had heard something but he was waiting until the family was here to say anything.

Ev rushed into the room, eyes wild.

"What's wrong?" I asked immediately panicked. But her eyes weren't on me, they found Henry and she glared.

"You're supposed to be resting! You'll only slow down the healing by trying to do too much." She stood in front of him crossing her arms.

"This is a private family meeting," Gus said from across the room. I felt my eyebrows raise at that. Her eyes moved to Gus, glaring. That was when I noticed Haddy in the doorway, not speaking but moving through the room to stand by Henry. He watched her as she crossed the room.

"Come on tough guy," she murmured, reaching for his hand, and eyes moving to Gus. "He needs rest."

"He needs to hear what is said at this meeting." Gus stood firm.

"So hold it at his bedside." Ev snapped. A small smile graced my lips as I fought back a laugh. No one talked to Gus like that.

"You Taylor women are insufferable." He growled standing.

"Come on, Henry," Haddy said again, helping him stand.