Even though there were over a dozen other people sitting in the emergency room waiting area, I'd never felt as alone or scared as I did while I waited for someone—anyone—to tell me what was going on with Mama. Freddie was stuck at Marino's until Carlos got there to cover the kitchen, but he'd given me clear instructions to keep him in the loop. For now, Peter was staying home with Sophia. Soon, my brothers and Max would get here, but until then I had nothing but the shrill wailing of an infant stuck in their car seat and an old guy hacking up a lung to distract me from what was happening on the other side of the locked doors leading to the treatment area. I'd pleaded with them to go back there, but the security guard simply smiled and told me someone would be with me as soon as they could. Fucker wouldn't be so calm if it was his mother back there.

"Mr. Marino?" I startled, looking up to see an adorable nurse standing before me, a cautious smile on his face.

"Please, call me Tony." I stood and shook his hand. "Is she going to be okay?"

"It's too early for me to give you any guarantees, but the doctors are in with her now." He motioned for me to follow him, so I did. I'd have done just about anything he asked if it meant getting to see Mama. I didn't want her to be alone right now. "The doctor asked me to come and get you because they have some questions they need answered. I'll warn you now, you mother's experiencing difficulty communicating with us and seems confused."

"And what does that mean?" I asked, trying to think of how Frankie would handle the situation if he were here. He and Freddie were the two we all turned to when shit hit the fan, but neither of them were here, which placed the burden on me. They'd all be looking to me for answers, and I wasn't going to let them down.

"Like I said, it's too early to definitively say, and I'm not a doctor." He stepped aside to swipe his card, then stood back as the doors automatically swung open. "But I know it can be disconcerting to walk into the room of someone you love and see them struggling through the most basic tasks. The good news, such as it is, is she's awake and fighting whatever's going on."

"That's no surprise," I scoffed. Mama was a fiercely independent woman, and it probably pissed her off she was confined to a bed. The nurse simply shrugged and offered me a pitying smile. I couldn't help but wonder if that was something they taught in nursing school. While I knew he was only trying to be nice, the gesture came across just short of patronizing.

He led me into Mama's room, and despite the warning he'd given, I choked back a sob when I saw Mama in bed, looking more frail than I'd ever seen her. Maybe it was the bright white overhead lights, but she seemed pale. When she turned her head toward the sound of my voice, it was as though she looked right through me. My heart clenched because there seemed to be zero recognition of who I was. I folded myself into a folding chair the nurse had pulled out when my knees began to shake.

"Mister Marino, I'm Doctor Troy," the doctor introduced himself as he continued scrolling through Mama's chart on the computer. "I'm trying to get a clearer picture of what's going on with your mother, and I'm hoping you can help me."

"I'll do my best," I assured him, voice shaking as I struggled to keep my emotions in check. Sweat beaded on my forehead despite the frigid blast of air coming through the vents.

"Do you know when your mother's symptoms started?"

"She seemed a little spacey after the lunch rush, but I figured she was just tired," I admitted, kicking myself because I should've known then something was wrong. Mama wasn't a stranger to jumping in to help wherever she could when we were busy, but she'd never struggled the way she had today. I should've told her to sit down or sent her home.

Yeah, as if she'd listen, I chastised myself. She'd have told you off for trying to treat her like an old woman.

"And what happened that made you call 9-1-1?" he asked, making notes in the computer as I spoke.

"I already told the paramedics she collapsed in the dining room," I answered, letting out a huff because there wasn't time for me to go through the whole damn story again. He needed to quit talking and start fixing her.

"Do you know what she was doing at the time?"

"She was talking to people," I responded, breathing slowly and methodically to keep from lunging over the bed to strangle this doctor who seemed completely unaffected by the fact Mama looked weaker with every minute.

"Has anything like this happened to your mother before?"

"No. Now, do you think you could quit with the twenty questions until you figure out what's going on with Mama?" I snapped. Mama's head lolled to the side, a flash of panic and confusion crossing her eyes before she placed her hand on top of my arm. I couldn't help but flinch at how cold and weak she felt.

"I understand you're scared," the doctor said in a well-rehearsed placating tone, "But please know we're doing everything we can to confirm a diagnosis and decide on a treatment plan for your mother."

"So that means you know what's going on?" I pressed. Logically, I understood why the doctor wasn't throwing out his assumptions, but if he knew what was going on, he'd damn well better start talking. When he didn't answer me, I decided to drop the attitude and try a different tactic. "Listen, I'm not looking for definitive answers here, but when my family gets here, they're going to ask me questions and 'I don't know' isn't a valid answer to them. I just want to know you have some idea of what's happening."

The doctor looked skyward briefly, as if trying to find a thread of patience, then let out a slow, steady breath. "Based on your mother's symptoms and what you've told me, the most likely cause is a stroke. I've already ordered a CT scan for her, and they will come and get her for that as soon as they can. Once we're able to confirm the diagnosis and gather information on specifically what's happening, we'll be able to choose the right treatment. Please don't think we're dragging our feet, because we're not. We understand better than anyone time is of the essence in cases like this."

"Okay." I kept waiting to lose my shit, but somehow, I remained calm. I had to believe this doctor wouldn't lie to me.

There was a knock on the door, and a young woman in scrubs stepped into the room. "Doctor Troy, they're ready for Mrs. Marino."

As I watched her unlock the wheels on Mama's bed, I let out a sigh of relief. Finally, someone was doing something to help her. When the orderly pushed Mama's bed into the hall, I choked back a sob and offered up a quick prayer that she'd be okay.

"She's in good hands." I startled at the feeling of a hand on my shoulder, looking up to see the nurse who'd brought me back here standing beside me, a kind smile on his face. "Why don't we go out and see if your family is here yet? You can update them, and that way you're not sitting in here alone thinking of all the worst-case scenarios. Believe me, I know how frustrating it is to put your loved one's care in someone else's hands, but Doctor Lawry is one of the best we've got. He'll move heaven and earth to get your mother the care she needs as quickly as possible."

"Thank you." Somewhere between Mama's room and the waiting area, I felt the adrenaline crash begin. I'd been running on auto-pilot since Mama collapsed, but knowing I wouldn't have to do this alone once I walked through those double doors had my body ready to shut down. I wanted to curl up in bed with Max on one side of me and Enzo on the other, their warmth a better blanket than any piece of fabric.

I momentarily regretted my wish for my family to arrive when I was swarmed the second Teo noticed me. He rushed to my side, and the rest of the guys were close behind. Questions flew at me from every direction, everyone desperate for an update. When Max pushed his way past my brothers to my side, I sagged against his chest as he held me tightly. "Guys, let him sit down, and I'm sure he'll tell you what he knows so far."

Teo and Enzo backed off immediately, but Frankie narrowed his eyes. Enzo tugged on Frankie's shirt sleeve, a scowl on his face as he shook his head. I vaguely recalled Enzo being freaked about something when I'd called to let him know about Mama and wished I'd taken a few seconds to find out what in the hell had been going on at home. Whatever was going on between them, the moment passed quickly enough, and Frankie backed down.

Max took my arm, leading me to a small couch in the corner of the room. We must've been quite the sight with my brothers following his lead like ducklings in a row. After tugging Max to the cushion beside me, I reached for the other third of my heart. I needed both of them close to get through today after having had time to think about how close we'd come to losing Mama. If she hadn't been at Marino's when it happened... If she'd been sitting at the bar watching people pass by and Tabitha had been in the cellar pulling inventory to restock... If she'd been home alone since all of us had moved out...

"Hey, whatever's running through your head, stop," Max whispered, pressing his lips to my temple and holding them there until my breathing steadied. When Enzo started rubbing his hand up and down my spine, I closed my eyes, not caring what anyone thought about the comfort I was receiving from both of my men. "You did everything you could."

"I can't help feeling like I should've noticed something sooner," I admitted. Every question the doctor asked about how Mama seemed this morning had me recalling the day, trying to find signs something was wrong. There had to be something I was missing. Something that'd come to light in the future, leaving my brothers blaming me for not realizing what was happening.

"You're not a doctor, Tony," Enzo added, his hand still a centering presence at the middle of my back.

"Is that who we're going to have to get out here to tell us what in the actual fuck is going on with Mama?" Frankie snapped, pulling me out of my cozy little bubble. I glanced up, my eyes immediately focusing on how he was working his jaw. His lips were drawn into a tight line as his cold gaze darted between the three of us sitting in front of him. Again, I wished I'd found out sooner why Enzo was so upset when I'd called home, but it hadn't seemed prudent at the time any more than it did now. I took a slow breath and sat up straighter, reminding myself they were all as worried as I'd been, nothing more.

"They're pretty sure she had a stroke," I told them, trying to recall every bit of information the doctor had given me. Too bad my mind was a black hole right then. I couldn't remember the name of the test they were running or what he said they'd do later, only that there was a plan of sorts. "I stayed with her until someone came to get her. They have to verify what's going on and where the problem is, then they'll do something to try and fix it."

"See, this is why Mama wanted Freddie to be in charge if anything happened to her," Frankie scoffed. "That was about as informative as I'd have gotten by asking the receptionist up front."

"Frankie, chill." There was a hard edge to Max's tone that was impossible to miss. The two of them glared at one another, seemingly daring the other to say something. "Until we got here, Tony was trying to deal with everything on his own. And now, he has all of you standing over him, expecting him to tell you exactly what's going on. You know damn well he doesn't handle that sort of pressure well. And are you honestly telling me your mind is so much of a steel trap that you'd have remembered all the technical jargon they threw your way when your mind was still trying to catch up from seeing her lying on the floor and you had to call 911?"

"No, but he could have—"

"Max is right, Frankie." I hadn't expected Teo, the quiet one of the bunch, to come to my defense. He'd always shied away from confrontation, but that was slowly changing since he'd met Levi. "And honestly, it doesn't matter what the name of the test is or what they're going to do next. The point is, they have an idea about what's happening, they're verifying their diagnosis right now, and they're going to help her. Mama would be mad if she knew the two of you were out here bickering."

"I'm just saying, if Tony wants to be the point man, he should pay attention to what's being said," Frankie argued.

I wanted to scream at Frankie that I'd never asked to be the one who escorted Mama to the damn hospital. I was annoyed with Enzo for not coming to the restaurant for his meeting with Frankie. Then Frankie could've come to the hospital while Enzo helped me pull my shit together. But more than anything, I didn't want to fuel the fight Frankie was trying to start. Not here. Not now. Preferably not ever. I propped my knees on my elbows, massaging my temples as I tried to pull anything useful from the jumbled jargon that'd been thrown my way. "CT. That's the test they're doing now. Then medicine. There were more letters. Shit, I'm sorry Frankie, but that's all I've got. I sort of shut down when he was talking because all I could think about was how pale and weak Mama looked. It was... I've never seen her that way."

"You did good," Max praised me, pulling me against his side. "And she's going to be fine. She's in good hands here, I promise."

"You can't go around saying shit like that," Frankie spat out. Fuck, he was in a mood today. No way was it all because of Mama. "Oh wait, I forgot. You have no problem making promises you know you can't fucking keep."

Frankie's ill-timed outburst left all of us stunned silent as he stormed out of the hospital, nearly toppling over when the door opened faster than he'd expected. No one spoke for a long minute after he was out of sight. No one followed him. It was as if we were all torn between waiting here for news about Mama while worried about Frankie too.

Max tried stilling me when I pushed off the small couch, but I shrugged him off. This wasn't the time for petty fights, and I was sure as hell going to remind Frankie why we were all here.

"I need to talk to him," I explained. "He wasn't completely wrong when he said I should've paid closer attention when the doctor was talking. I knew you guys were going to have questions. It was irresponsible of me to zone out."

"No, this isn't on you," Enzo argued. "Hell, the only reason he's pissed is because of earlier."

"Now's not the time to get into that, Enzo." Max jerked his head to the side, where we'd gathered quite the audience. When had Freddie and Levi come in? "I'll go hash things out with Frankie. You guys wait here and text me if you hear anything about Mama."

I fell back onto the couch, any fight I had left evaporating knowing Max would take care of everything. None of the remaining brothers batted an eye when Enzo sat on the cushion next to me and resumed the soothing strokes over my back. I leaned into his touch, resting my head on his shoulder. "What in the hell happened, Enzo?"

"It's a long story," he muttered, turning slightly so his back was to the room. "He was early for our meeting and saw me racing back to the bedroom because I didn't have any clothes or a towel in the bathroom. Being Frankie, he jumped to conclusions, and before we could explain the situation to him, you called and..."

"And then it really didn't matter anymore," I finished for him. Fuck, this was such a damn mess. "Maybe Max was right. Maybe it's better if he talks to Frankie. For now. Once we know Mama's okay, I think it's time we come clean."

"Tony, we can't do that."

"I don't mean everything, Enzo, but I hate watching the two of you pretend nothing's going on whenever we're around the family," I admitted. I'd been trying to find a way to have this conversation with both men for weeks, but it never seemed to be the right time. Now, I'd been struck by a bad case of verbal diarrhea while sitting on a faux-leather couch that squeaked every time I shifted a centimeter in a room permeated by the scents of antiseptic, body odor, and death. No, asshole. Don't think about death right now.

"Whatever happens, I don't want to feel like we're keeping all these dirty secrets from the world." I laced my fingers with Enzo's, no longer giving a damn who figured out our truth. The only truth that mattered right now was Mama might be dying somewhere on the other side of the double doors, and she deserved to know Enzo was as stupidly in love as the rest of us. I hoped like hell she made a speedy recovery so she could see how happy Max made both of us. How happy the three of us were together, even if what we had seemed a bit unconventional to most people. "It'll all work out. Promise."

"I hope you're right."