Worth the Effort Ch. 07

Shane rolled his eyes. "You are fishing for compliments, and since you're not well, I'll cave." He came over to her seat and crouched down. "I wish it was better circumstances, but taking time off with you here has been great, and I wish I didn't have to go in."

"Aw, you're sweet." Morgan kissed his cheek. "I'm sorry, I was just teasing. I'll be fine."

There was a knock at the door. Morgan waited while Shane answered it. He came back with Astrid and Casey in tow.

"Hi, guys." Morgan stood up, ignoring Shane's warning glare. "What are you doing here?"

"Looks like we'll be babysitting," said Casey. "We'll stay while Shane goes to work." She stepped over and hugged Morgan. "You look good."

"Hi, Astrid." Morgan waved the other woman over and hugged her as well. "How are you?"

"I'm okay," Astrid said. Her left arm was in a sling, and there were thin lines on her face where some glass had hit her, but otherwise she seemed to be in good shape.

"Thanks, guys," Shane said. "I'll try not to be too long."

"Take your time," said Casey. "We won't throw any parties. This time." She winked at him.

He shook his head but smiled and went upstairs to change. After he'd made sure they all knew where everything was, and double checked that Morgan was all right, he left.

"So when's the wedding?" asked Casey, sitting with Astrid on the couch.

"Funny." Morgan stuck her tongue out. "No wedding. We're nowhere near that."

Casey and Astrid exchanged skeptical looks.

"Right," said Astrid. "He's been taking care of you for two weeks now, and you're nowhere near that."

"What can I say? It hasn't come up." Morgan raised her hands in a shrug. "And Shane is—protective. He'd help any of us."

"He would," said Casey, "but I think he's maybe going above and beyond for you."

"As he should," added Astrid.

"So how are you guys, really?" asked Morgan. "What's going on?"

"We're fine," Casey said. "Honestly. We're staying with my mom, sometimes she drives me up the fucking wall—"

"You have a wall for that?" asked Morgan. "Wouldn't be easier to use the floor?"

Casey snorted in laughter. "You must be feeling better."

Morgan chuckled. "I'm getting there. Got up all by myself today, and so far, my head doesn't hurt." She raised a hand and crossed her fingers. "How about you Astrid? Feeling better, I hope."

"Getting there." Astrid nodded. "I didn't hit my head, so that's good. Mostly it's just little things, but they add up. They're healing and sometimes that drives me nuts, but you know. It'll pass."

"Any other news?" Morgan looked at Casey. "Any word from the police?"

Casey squirmed. "I'm not sure we should talk about it. I don't want you to get upset."

Morgan cocked her head. "Did Shane tell you that?"

Casey averted her eyes. "Maybe. Or maybe I just don't want you to relapse."

"Case, you're going to have to tell me sometime."

"Okay, there's not much to tell anyway." Casey sighed. "They did find the guys who did it, they were on the security cameras and because they are fucking stupid, they bragged about it on social media."

"That's good," said Morgan.

"It is," said Casey, "but it doesn't end there." She went on, with Astrid interjecting from time to time, filling Morgan in on what she knew. They'd have to talk to the police, and to lawyers, but later. Astrid was helping on that front, and had a friend who could help them at a reduced rate.

"I'd sue the bastards," said Casey, "but I'm not sure it's worth it."

"Don't dismiss it as a possibility," cautioned Astrid, "but yeah, it'd be a long road. Even if you won a civil suit, collecting a settlement is a whole other matter."

"Do we know these guys?" asked Morgan. "Were they the ones who threw the brick a few weeks ago?"

"I don't know," said Casey, "but I wouldn't be surprised. And that's enough of that for now. Let's talk about something else. And if Shane asks, I'm going to tell him you forced me to tell you."

"Fair enough." Morgan laughed.

"So, you got any food in this place?" asked Astrid. "I'm hungry."

Casey shook her head. "Did something hit you and speed up your metabolism? You're always hungry. You had two waffles for breakfast."

Astrid shrugged. "Can't help it. I'm hungry."

"I don't know what there is," said Morgan. "I've spent most of my time upstairs—not like that," she rebuked Casey. "I haven't felt like doing too much until the last couple of days. Look, I was going to draw." She indicated the paper and pencils.

"Are you ready to write a new story?" asked Astrid.

"Maybe. Just letting things float in my head right now," said Morgan. "I'm getting kind of bored, though, so I thought I'd try drawing."

"Good." Casey nodded. "You should. I don't know if it'll be therapeutic or anything, but I think it's a great idea."

"Me too." Astrid nudged Casey. "Shall we tell Morgan about our own great idea?"

Morgan was curious. "Something besides the podcast?"

"What? Oh, man, I'd forgotten about that. But we should still do it," said Casey. She glanced at Astrid and then took a deep breath. "No, not that. Astrid and I are thinking—"

"Have decided," Astrid corrected.

"Right. Have decided to—" Casey cleared her throat "—have a baby."

Morgan gaped. "A baby? Really?" She beamed. "Oh, guys, that is so wonderful! I'm so glad. I'll be an aunt, right? Honorary at least?"

"Absolutely," Astrid said.

"You're not, I don't know, upset at all?" Casey asked tentatively. "It's going to mean changes for me down the road."

"No." Morgan started to shake her head, thought better of it, then waved a hand instead. "No, of course not. When we need to make changes, we will."

"Well, it's a little easier said than done," said Astrid. "And we want to get married first. But we definitely want to and we are putting the wheels in motion."

"Oh, guys, that's so awesome. I'm so happy for you. If I didn't have a concussion, I'd be jumping up and down for you. Hey." Morgan had an idea. "I don't know if it's what you want, but what if you got married at the store?"

"That's a great idea." Astrid beamed. "It's where we met, after all."

"I don't know." Casey looked at her hands. "I like the idea but, well, I'm spooked."

"Yeah." Morgan sat back, deflated. That was understandable. "Well, it was just a thought."

"No, I like it," Astrid insisted. "We can't not do things just because we're scared." She took Casey's hand. "And you don't back down."

"I might, sometimes." Casey stared at the floor. "How about we say it's under consideration?"

"All right." Astrid nodded. "We don't need to decide now. Thanks, Morgan. It's a great idea, and we appreciate the offer."

They tabled the wedding discussion and got some food, then relaxed for a while until Casey had to go to the store. Astrid volunteered to stay until Shane came back, which Morgan appreciated. She hated to admit it, but she was nervous about being by herself, in case she felt light-headed or dizzy.

Eventually Shane returned, and at Morgan's suggestion, took Astrid on a tour of the house. After they left, Morgan realized she was exhausted, but wouldn't have traded the time with her friends.

"Astrid had some neat ideas," said Shane as they relaxed in the living room after a late dinner. "I think I'll have to follow up with her on them."

"Cool. What time is it?" Morgan asked. "I feel like I should go to bed." She leaned against him.

"It's about nine," he said.

"Ugh, that's so early. I haven't gone to bed at nine since I was in seventh grade."

Shane chuckled. "I won't tell anyone, I promise." He kissed her forehead. "If you're tired, you should go to bed. It's not a character flaw."

"I didn't even do anything today. I got distracted talking to Casey and Astrid. Which reminds me." She sat up. "They had news. I can tell you, but otherwise we're keeping it low profile. They want to get married, and have a baby. Isn't that fantastic?"

"Wow. Isn't that kind of sudden?"

"Not really. They've been together for over a year. They hadn't talked about all this before, but it's partly what happened. Astrid told me they both were startled, and even though it wasn't as bad as it could have been, they decided they didn't want to wait any more. There's never a perfect time for anything, and they love each other now."

"Suppose not," Shane said. "Did they set a date or anything?

"No, not yet. I suggested they get married at the store, and Astrid liked the idea but Casey wasn't sure." Morgan frowned. "I hate that. It's Casey's place, just like it's mine, and now she's scared to be there. Those assholes. I hate that they did this to us."

"I know. I do, too." Shane put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her against him. "But I also know that neither of you will back down too far for too long," he said. "You're both brave, and honestly, Casey can be a little scary."

Morgan laughed softly against his chest. "Yes, sometimes she is." She closed her eyes. "Do you ever think about getting married?"

"What?" he sounded startled.

"Relax," she said, her eyes still closed. "I just wondered. I was never one to think about it too much. I mean, I figured I might some day, but I didn't sit there poring over magazines or anything."

"Oh. Well, no, not really." He sat back. "My parents didn't set the greatest example. They made marriage seem like the worst thing. I know that other people have good ones, but I don't know if I could make one work."

"That's a little sad, but I understand." Morgan realized she was nearly asleep, and yawned. "I think I've reached my limit. Time for bed."

"It's nine-fifteen," he told her. "Look how late you stayed up."

She yawned. "I can make it until nine-thirty, at least."

Shane chuckled. "Come on, you."

With his help, Morgan got ready for bed, and sighed as she laid in the bed next to him. She found a comfortable position and smiled to herself when he curled up behind her. Maybe, she thought, she'd never thought much about marriage because she'd never thought she'd meet someone like Shane. It was too bad he had such a dim view of it.