All Over Again Chapter Thirteen

All Over Again
Chapter Thirteen

When darkness falls upon your heart and soul
I'll be the light that shines for you
When you forget how beautiful you are
I'll be there to remind you
When you can't find your way
I'll find my way to you
When troubles come around
I'll come to you

Nora walked into the quiet hospital room where Bo had been taken for preperation before the surgery. She walked over to where he lay in the bed and sat down in the chair. The setting sun filtered into the room as Nora watched the steady rise and fall of Bo's chest. She reached over and brushed a piece of hair from his face causing him to open his eyes and smile lazily.

"Hi Red."

Nora stood and kissed him lightly on the forehead. "Are you sure about this Bo? Have you really thought this through?"

"What's there to think about? I can possibly save our son's life so of course I'm going to do what needs to be done."

Nora wiped away a tear. "I'm scared Bo. I can't lose the both of you."

Bo managed to reach up and grab her hand despite being under heavy sedation. "Hey Red, don't think about that. We're going to be ok. I promise."

A nurse walked into the room and informed them that they would be taking Bo down to surgery soon. Nora clutched his hand like a vise as the nurse checked his vitals and then left them alone for a last minute good-bye. This time Nora leaned in and kissed Bo on the lips. She let her lips linger, loving the taste of him.

"Hey Red, chin up. Ok?"

Nora nodded wiping more tears away. "And you be strong Buchanan. You have too many standing appointments to do anything but sail your way through this."

"Gotcha. Now go kiss our son for me."

"Ok Bo." She kissed him one last time before heading out the door. Just as she reached the door he called out her name.

"Nora?"

She turned back to him, leaning against the door. "Yeah?"

"Love you Red."

"Love you too Bo."

I'll be your shoulder
When you need someone to lean on
Be your shelter
When you need someone to see you through
I'll be there to carry you
I'll be there
I'll be the rock that will be strong for you
The one that will hold on to you
When you feel that rain fallin down
When there's nobody else around I'll be

Nora sat on the edge of Matthew's bed and looked down at him. She took a deep breath as she looked at all the wires and tubes hooked up to his little body. She ran a finger along the deep bruise under his eye and then pushed a piece of hair from his forehead. The action made her smile.

She had done the exact thing to Bo earlier. Thinking of Bo made her look at Matthew again. Matthew was Bo's son, not Sam's. It didn't make her love him anymore but what she saw when she looked at him suddenly changed. Suddenly, he became the child she had loved even before he was concieved and not the child she loved once he had arrived in her life.

She should have known Matthew was Bo's son sooner. The line of his nose, the angle of his chin, the color of his hair, the way his smile made her feel. Maybe she had known all along that Matthew was Bo's she just hadn't realized it.

A nurse quietly entered the room. "Excuse me Ms. Buchanan. We have to take Matthew to the OR."

Nora nodded and then leaned in close to Matthew. "Ok baby, they're going to take you now so your father can make you all better. Be strong little man and I'll be waiting for you when you wake up. Mommy loves you."

She kissed his cheek lightly and then stepped out into the hall watching as the nurse and two interns wheeled Matthew out of his ICU room and down the hall to the elevator where they loaded him up and headed up to the operating room.

And when you're there
With no one there to hold
I'll be the arms that reach for you

Nora walked quietly into the waiting room and found only Hank. He stood when she walked in. She looked up at him and his heart broke at the sadness he saw there. Slowly, he walked to her and held out his arms. Greatfully, Nora collapsed into them and sobbed into his chest.

After a moment, Nora pulled back and wiped her tears away with the back of her hands. "Where is everyone?"

"Rachel talked your parents into going home for a little while. They were exhausted. Rikki went down to the cafeteria to get a bite and bring back some coffee. How are you holding up?"

Nora sat down. "I'm physically and emotionally exhausted Hank. There are four men in my life that matter. My daddy, you, Bo and Matt. The thought that I could lose two of them.... I couldn't live without them Hank."

"Nora..."

"No Hank, I don't need you to coddle me. Everyone else is doing a good enough job at that. We've always been honest with each other Hank. I need that right now. I could loose them Hank. And then what would I have?"

"Hey. Hey, I don't want to hear that. No matter what happens, you'll have me, Rikki and your parents."

Nora looked up at him, tears brimming the edges. "But will that be enough?"

Not knowing what to say Hank pulled her into an embrace, resting his cheek on the top of her head and letting out a deep breath.

And when you feel your faith is running low
I'll be there to believe in you
When all you find are lies
I'll be the truth you need

Rachel walked into the waiting room and saw her father embracing her mother, rocking her slowly, and speaking in quiet soothing tones. Rachel set down the tray of coffee she was carrying quickly down on the table and rushed over to her mother.

"Mama? Did something happen? Are Matt and Bo..."

Nora pulled away from Hank and embraced her daughter. "No Rikki, they just took them into surgery. We still have several hours of waiting ahead of us."

"Then what's wrong?"

"I'm just worried about losing them both. I don't think I could handle it."

Rachel pulled away and looked deeply into her mother's eyes. "Bo and Matthew are going to be fine Mama. I promise. I promise."

When you need someone to run to
You can run to me

A few hours later....

Nora, Hank and Rachel were all sitting in the waiting room nervously anticipating any news on Bo or Matthew. The door to the room swung open and Nora was immediately attacked with a new batch of tears. She stood up and walked over to the door.

"Asa... Renee..."

Asa took Nora into his arms and hugged her fiercly. He felt her tears soak his shirt and blinked back his own. "Now listen here, little fillie, there won't be any of that. Nothings going to happen to either one of those boys. Believe me."

Renee walked over to Nora and ran her hand down her back. "Nora honey, can you give us some details here? We got here as soon as we could. What happened to Matthew and how is Bo involved?"

"Let's sit," Nora replied, sitting down with Renee next to her holding her hand and Asa next to her. Hank and Rachel sat on the other side of Nora. "As you all know Bo took off from Llanview after Melanie's trial and none of us knew where he was. Then, Asa asked me to go to Dallas to work with his attorney there on this land dispute. Turns out your attorney had hired a private investigator that turned out to be Bo."

"So Bo was living in Dallas working as a P.I. all this time?'

Nora nodded. "Anyway, we wound up going out to the ranch together to check out the property lines. While we were out there Rachel called me to tell me about Matthew's accident. He chased a ball into the street and was hit by a car. Bo and I left Dallas as soon as possible and came here. Once we got here the doctor told us Matthew was going to need a kidney transplant. We all got tested and Bo donated blood as a courtesy. The lab tech was testing his blood and figured out Bo was a match."

Renee looked shocked. "How is that possible?"

"Well, it looks like Bo is Matthew's father after all."

"Hot damn! I knew it. I knew there was no way that Rappascum was that boys father."

Nora smiled slightly. "That's not the point right now Asa. The point is that they are both in surgery, undergoing risky procedures, and who knows what the outcome will be."

"Now you listen to me, and listen good. Both those boys are going to be fine. They're Buchanan men. They're going to be on their feet again in no time."

It had been six hours since Nora had watched them wheel Matthew into the elevators. The procedure was supposed to take five and she was becoming uneasy because they hadn't heard any news yet. She had been pacing the floor for a good twenty minutes now.

"Nora," Hank said. "Could you stop with the pacing. It's not helping."

Nora wheeled around and glared at him. "It's helping me Hank. Where the hell Doctor Southall anyway?"

Just then, the doctor walked into the room. The group immediately gathered around her. She looked tired and her brow was soaked with persperation as were her surgical scrubs. "Hello folks."

"Doctor?"

"We finished the procedure about half an hour ago. Matthew came through with flying colors. We're leaving him in the drug induced coma until we make positive he won't reject the kidney. But from the looks of things I would expect he'll be awake sometime late tommorrow."

"Thank God," Nora said, relieved. Rachel hugged her while Hank embraced them both and Asa and Renee hugged. Finally Nora pulled away. "What about Bo?"

Doctor Southall looked away momentarily. "Bo's not doing as well as we would like."

I'll be the sun
When your heart's filled with rain
I'll be the one
To chase the rain away

Nora felt her knees go weak when she heard the words come from Doctor Southalls mouth. She felt Hanks arms wrap around her tightly, holding her up. Asa stepped closer to her also.

"What do you mean, Bo's not doing as well as you'd like?"

"Sometimes, in this type of surgery it is more traumatic for the people giving up the organ than it is for the person receiving it. That seems to be the case here. Bo's heart stopped twice after we were trying to sew him back up."

Nora's hand rose to her mouth. "Is he..."

Doctor Southall shook her head. "We got him back but the next fourty eight hours will be critical. We just moved him to an ICU room."

"I need to see him."

"I'm afraid that's not possible yet Ms. Buchanan."

Nora's eyes flashed. "I'm going to see Bo. Now you can either let me go or I'll knock you down to go see him but either way I'm going to be with him."

Doctor Southall sighed. "Fine, but just you and for ten minutes at the most."

"Fine," Nora replied before heading towards the door.

"Nora!" Asa called out.

"Yeah?"

"Tell my boy I love him."

She nodded. "I will Asa."

Nora sat in the chair next to Bo's bed and just stared at him. She couldn't believe this was happening. She ran a hand down his chest as a lone tear dropped onto his face.

"Don't you dare leave me like this Bo. Not when we have so much to look forward to."

I'll be

To be continued....

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