Weapons of War

“Morning.” Quinn said as she stuck her head into the door of Noah’s hospital room.

Riley looked up from her book in her chair beside Noah’s bed and smiled, “Noah, look who’s here.”

He looked over at the door and pouted, saying quietly, “Hi.”

Quinn smiled gently as she made her way into the room and asked him, “How you feeling buddy?”

“Icky.” He told her.

She took the seat beside Riley and pulled a stuffed animal from her bag; the Predators mascot in a tiny Pred’s jersey and she handed it to Noah and asked him, “Maybe this will make you feel a little bit better?”

“Daddy?” Noah asked, flipping the stuffed animal over to look at the back of his jersey.

Quinn promised, “Next trip here I’ll have daddy’s name and number on him I promise.”

With a small smile Noah laid back in his bed with the stuffed Pred cuddled beside him and said, “Thank you.”

Quinn smiled at his words, it wasn’t quite ‘thank you’, but more like ‘tank ooh’ and it made her heart warm. She reached out and pushed his hair from his forehead and told him, “You’re welcome kiddo.”

As Noah tried to get back to sleep Riley turned to Quinn and said, “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know from personal experience that having something personal with you helps. I thought that might help him, like a little bit of Shea is here, you know?” Quinn told her, getting comfortable in her chair as Riley nodded her head. She then admitted, “Honestly hospitals still make me nervous.”

“I didn’t even think of that. You didn’t have to come Quinn, I would have understood.” Riley said quickly, she instantly felt bad and it showed in her expression and in the tone of her voice.

“It’s fine. If I couldn’t handle it, or didn’t want to be here I would have said I couldn’t come. Riley, really, its fine.” Quinn assured her with a shake of her head. When Riley shot her an apprehensive look back Quinn smiled and said, “Besides, boys got the hook ups. This room is pretty sweet.”

“Yeah Shea was adamant that if he couldn’t be here he was at least getting the best he could for the kid.” Riley stated.

Quinn nodded as she glanced around the room and said, “Tell me about it. Private room, TV with a remote, this is the life.”

With a chuckle Riley asked her, “Your TV didn’t have a remote in Pittsburgh?”

Quinn shook her head, “Nope. We did treatment in a big room with like nine other people, and the TV was permanently stuck on like the home shopping network.”

“Ew.” Riley stated and Quinn laughed and nodded her head.

“Tell me about it. At least my room for my surgery had a TV with a remote. Not that I got to use it much, James was always watching baseball.” Quinn informed Riley, and after they both chuckled she added, “He would have changed it if I asked, but I was so drugged up I was in out of sleep anyway so I let him watch his sports.”

“The day after I had Noah Shea was literally flipping through like three different games all night.” Riley told Quinn, who let out a laugh as she added, “I would have been okay with one, but the constant changing of the game was making me dizzy.”

“Ah, athletes.” Quinn mused with a grin. Quinn glanced over at Noah, making sure he was asleep before she turned her attention back to Riley and asked her, “Is everything okay with you and Shea?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s just that… that sounded like a pretty big argument the other day when I called.” Quinn said, she had been wanting to talk to Riley about it for a few days, but was never sure how to bring it up.

Riley sighed, tucked her curly hair behind her ear and told Quinn, “Honestly things are just tough right now. Shea hates not being here, and I get it, but me being the captains wife I know he needs to be with the guys and that’s okay, we don’t need him here and he gets angry every time I tell him that.”

“I think it’s just hard for him to be hundreds of miles away knowing Noah’s here suffering and he can’t do anything about it.” Quinn told her and Riley nodded, and in an attempt to make her feel better she added, “James was like that. He wanted to skip almost all of his road trips when I was sick, he was so afraid to leave me that he actually paid my sister to hang out with me all day.”

Riley raised her eyebrow and asked in amusement, “He did?”

“More or less.” Quinn told her, nodding her head before adding, “Taya didn’t work, still doesn’t, and so he would always drive over to the house the night before he left for his road trip and leave his car there so she could get to and from the hospital and he would always leave her money for food and stuff. Honestly if my sister didn’t annoy me so damn much then I would have thought it was the sweetest thing.”

Riley smiled gently, and then she admitted to Quinn, “I wish he was here.”

“So tell him that.” Quinn told her softly, reaching out to grab her hand and give it a squeeze.

She sighed, “If I tell him that then he’s gonna go straight to management and I don’t want him to do that. He can say he won’t all he wants but I know Shea, and if he does that, and he gives up his career, even a few road trips here and there he’s gonna regret it and I don’t want him to start resenting his family. I love him, and I know he loves us, but hockey is his life. I accepted that a long time ago, I just wish he would understand where I’m coming from. There’s no need for him to be here when he could be with the guys helping them. He’s not missing anything other than sitting around waiting, and the occasional throw up.”

Quinn gave her a sympathetic smile and told her, “I get what you’re saying, and I get where he’s coming from. Maybe you guys should find a happy medium.”

“I don’t think there’s such thing as a happy medium with Shea. If it’s not what he wants he doesn’t like it. He’s never been good at compromising, at least not with things like this.” Riley admitted softly, leaning her head back in her chair.

“Maybe you pick a number and you tell him that’s how many road trips he can miss this season for Noah, and make it clear that’s it. Maybe that will help. Maybe knowing he can be here for one or two of his treatments that he wouldn’t have otherwise been able to be here for will help him.” Quinn told her gently, trying to play devils advocate.

Riley bit down hard on her lip, and then told Quinn, “I hate that he feels the way he does, but I don’t know how to help him. It’s like I’m the bad guy lately, no matter what I do.”

“You’re the bad guy because you get to spend so much time with Noah, you get to be here through this, you get to hold him when he’s sick. That’s not your fault, but I think that’s how Shea sees it. I think to him it’s the fact that you’re around and he’s not and you won’t let him be around that’s making him see you as the bad guy.” Quinn told her, and when Riley went to object, or defend herself Quinn quickly told her, “I’m not saying you’re wrong. You shouldn’t let him give up hockey and his career for either of you, but I can also see where he’s coming from. Put yourself in his shoes Ry, you’re never around for this huge part of your kids life, how would you feel?”

“Like shit.” Riley mumbled, looking down at her hands in her lap.

“Maybe cut him some slack. Pick a number, give him the option to stay home a few times. You guys are going through more than any parents should, it’s gonna take a tole on you guys, don’t let it make things between you two go south though. Noah doesn’t need bickering, opposite sides of the fence parents right now. He needs a united front.” When Quinn told her this Riley sighed, and again tucked her curly hair back from her face, which was when Quinn told her, “Okay, back to me. I’m fixing your hair for you.”

Riley did as she was told, and they sat in silence while Quinn brushed through her lion’s mane of hair, and it wasn’t until she was half done the French braid that Riley told her, “Thank you.”

“For?” Quinn asked curiously, working Riley’s long, curly, dark hair through her fingers.

“The pep talk. I needed it.” Riley said.

Quinn nodded even though Riley couldn’t see her and she told her, “Any time, really. I don’t want to see you two go back to where you were when I met you. I have far too much invested in your marriage you know.”

“Oh yeah?” Riley asked in amusement as Quinn tied the braid off with a clear elastic.

As Riley turned to face Quinn again she nodded her head and told her, “Yeah, I mean if you and Shea split up I lose my faith in relationships and that means I’ll have to end things with James. Please don’t make me do that.”

“You’re dramatic.” Riley joked.

With a big grin Quinn told her, “I’ve been told that before.”

They were interrupted by a nurse and a lab tech, the nurse explaining to Riley that they were going to run a few blood tests while he was there, instead of having him come back to get poked and prodded again. Riley held Noah’s hand, and Quinn held Riley’s for support, knowing it probably wasn’t emotionally easy to sit and watch this kind of stuff happen to your two year old. However, her eyebrows crunched together when she heard Riley let out a near whimper, and she ended up having to sit down again, pulling her hand from Quinn’s to put her head in her hand.

“You okay?” Quinn asked her curiously, watching as Riley shook her head no but still held onto Noah’s hand tightly.

“No. I need a doctor.” Riley told her, her stomach flipped and she added, “And a bucket, I think I’m gonna be sick.”

Fifteen minutes later Riley was sitting in her own room down the hall from Noah getting her own blood drawn and Quinn had taken the chair closest to Noah. He was curled up in the fetal position in his bed, and he groaned, before saying quietly, “Aunt Quinn?”

“Yeah buddy?” She asked him softly.

“Mommy?”

She stood up and brushed his hair from his forehead before she told him, “Mommy’s just getting checked out by a doctor but she’ll be back soon.”

“Hurt.” He told her, and Quinn sighed, she kicked out of her heeled ankle boots and crawled onto the hospital bed with Noah. She slid one arm carefully under his pillow and wrapped the other around his middle, and he cuddled into her as she ran her fingers through his hair gently.

“You’ll be okay. You’re strong.” She told him softly, her voice barely above a whisper as she looked down at her.

He tilted his head to look up at her, and asked her, “Like daddy?”

She smiled, “Yeah, just like daddy.”

Both Quinn and Noah had fallen asleep in the time it took Riley to return from her bloodwork, and when she walked into the room and found them curled up asleep in the hospital bed Riley smiled to herself. She sat down in her chair again, still a little bit dizzy from her near fainting spell, and took out her phone to take a picture of the two of them, sending it to Shea.

No more than half a minute after sending the picture Shea asked her to call him so she stepped out of the hospital room, and took the elevator down to the main floor, going outside before she called him. A small smile appearing on her face again as he answered with, “How is he?”

“He’s okay. The usual, a little sick, a little uncomfortable, really tired.” Riley told him, knowing he would want to know those things.

“Quinn’s keeping you company?” Shea asked her curiously.

“She is. She’s pretty good at keeping him in a good mood actually. I came back and they were both asleep, I can never get him to fall asleep here.” Riley told him.

Instantly he asked her, “Came back from where?”

“Oh… right… I uh… wasn’t feeling so well. Had some blood drawn.” She hadn’t been purposely planning on not telling him that, it just didn’t seem like something she should tell him over the phone. Certainly not when they were coming home from their road trip the next morning.

“What happened? What do you mean not feeling well? You’re still not feeling well? Riley you said you were gonna see a doctor.”

She let out a sigh, interrupted his rambling and told him, “I did see one today, okay? I don’t want to fight on the phone, please.”

He let out a sigh and asked her, “I’m sorry. What happened?”

“I don’t know, it was really weird. I just got really light headed and dizzy all of a sudden.” Riley explained to him, taking a seat on an empty bench left of the hospital entrance.

Curiously he asked her, “What did they say? Do they have an idea of what caused it, about what could be wrong?”

She smiled gently, grateful for his concern, and told him, “Anything. Probably just low blood sugar or something. They didn’t seem that concerned, and I’m fine now.”

“Have you eaten yet?” Shea asked her, he knew that sometimes she forgot to eat breakfast on hospitals days. Not that he could blame her, those days were hectic enough when both of them were home, let alone when she was alone.

“We had breakfast this morning, I probably just didn’t eat enough.” Riley assured him.

“Will you and Quinn have lunch please? Get Bianca to come stay with Noah if you have to, just please go have lunch.” Shea asked, and again Riley smiled gently.

“Okay.” She told him.

“Promise?” Shea asked her.

She smiled, “I promise we will go have lunch.”

“Thank you. I worry about you when I’m not there to take care of you.” She chuckled when he said this, and he cocked his eyebrow and asked, “What’s so funny? I was being honest.”

“I know. You’re a worrier. Which is funny, because traditionally the worrier is the wife and mother, then again the mushy and emotional one is also traditionally the girl and you’re really just a big teddy bear.” Riley joked and Shea chuckled.

“Yeah, but you love that I’m soft and mushy and that I love you and I like to tell you that I do.”

“Careful though, wouldn’t want any of your teammates, or worse the opposition to know you’re really not all that scary and intimidating.” Riley told him, smiling when he scoffed.

“Please, have you seen my scary and intimidating face?” Shea asked her with mock seriousness in his voice.

“I have also seen your dimple. There’s nothing scary about you babe.” Riley told him, knocking his ego down a few notches, before she said, “Although I really think you should consider smiling during games. That would be scarier.”

“I’ll talk to coach about putting it in the game plan.” He said.

She grinned to herself, and told him, “And you better tell everyone your smart wife came up with it.”

“They would all know anyway.” He told her.

Curiously she asked him, “Why because only your wife could come up with that plan?”

“No, because I don’t even smile around them. Gotta keep up the scary captain look with everyone, you know?” Shea informed her and she let out a chuckle. He then told her, “Go eat lunch so I know you’re not gonna pass out again.”

“I did not pass out!” She could just see the look he was giving her on his end of the line, so she told him, “I almost passed out, there’s a difference.”

“Either way, go get some food in you before I get on a plane and come home now.” He warned her, a joking tone to his voice even though Riley knew part of him was probably serious.

Still, she couldn’t help but joke back, “Shea Michael Weber, do not tell your wife what to do. I’m supposed to be the one who tells you what to do.”

“Riley Monroe Weber I just think it’s only fair to have that go both ways.” He informed her.

“Sure, you just want to be the bossy one for once.” Riley joked.

“True. Seriously though-”

She cut him off to tell him, a smile on her face and it was evident in her voice, “I’ll go eat a damn taco, calm down.”