"I'll be fine, mom!" Rory says and it's the sixtieth time he has lied to her face in the last one hour.
"This is all my fault." she whimpers weakly with tears running down her face. "I should never have tried to control your life, it's your life, not mine. I should be the one paying, not you."
"Mom, don't do this," he pleads, taking her hand and squeezes it, "I'll be fine." sixty-one lies now.
She nods pathetically and he glances at Jennifer who just silently stares at them. "Tell mom not to worry, I'll be fine."
"How can you say that?" she demands with a ridiculous look, "we are counting down on your final hours and yet no donor has been found." why did he ever ask her for help? He wonders because Jennifer has never been one to take his side on issues before.
"You're not helping anyone by being pessimistic, Jennifer," he retorts.
While they yet speak, the door opens and it revealed Taylor and Reign standing there. She's holding Reign in her hand and Rory can't believe his eyes and pray that he isn't dreaming, because if he is then it means he's dead. He takes into account the fact that she looks wrecked, her face looks worn and her eyes red and puffy probably because she has been crying. She couldn't have been crying because of him, could she? He quietly wonders. Nevertheless, he wants nothing more than to go to her and hold her and kiss her, but he realises he isn't alone and he isn't capable of any movement at the moment.
While Melinda stares at Taylor in surprise, Jennifer's face grows red from anger and she walks forward towards Taylor at the door and before Rory or anyone can say a word, she slaps Taylor hard across the face.
Reign begins to cry again as she sees a tear roll down her mother's face and Taylor's cheeks redden.
"Jennifer!" Rory yell as she does this, and Taylor staggers a little with Reign in her hand and her hand goes to her instantly red cheeks to smoothen its sting. "What the hell is that?" Rory demands in shock as he stares at both Jennifer and Taylor with a widened mouth. Reign cry more and Taylor begins to rock her again.
"This bitch deserves this and even more. Don't tell me you have forgotten everything!" she says, defending her actions.
Rory clenches the bedsheets with all his might not to get too angry with Jennifer's thoughtless actions, "Get out, Jennifer, now." he commands through gritted teeth and she hisses furiously before leaving the room.
"Sorry, momma." Reign wipes Taylor's tears away and hugs her tighter.
Rory tenses at the tenderheartedness of the young girl towards her mother and he feel fulfilled knowing that even if he leaves, Taylor already has someone to love her maybe even more than he ever can. Taylor would never be alone and he is happy.
"I'll give you two room," Melinda says, getting up from beside his son. She walks to the door where Taylor still stands and nod her head at her before leaving.
Silence rules the next few moments of their privacy, Taylor can't bring herself to look at Rory or to meet his eyes because a part of her knows she's not going to be able to bear the guilt or heartache.
She lets Reign down from her arms and she bends down to look at her, "Momma has something to tell you and I know I should have a long time ago, but I want you to know now."
"What is it, Momma?" the baby asks with a much-composed tone.
"Keenan is papa, but Rory is Daddy," she explains in the simplest way she can think of.
Rory's heart leaps for joy, hearing Taylor tell Reign he is her father and he just wants to reach out a hand and hold them both, but again he can't and he hates the feeling of being confined to the hospital bed.
The little girl although smart doesn't seem to understand what her mother is saying now. "Reign had two Dads?"
Taylor moves her head from side to side, "No, one. Rory. He's Reign's father."
Her eyes drop a little, "Oh Keenan is papa, but not dad."
Taylor nod and she turns her eyes towards Rory on the bed. "Go to daddy." and Rory watches in amazement as Reign makes her way to his side and he wraps his hand around her.
"Rory is not a friend, Rory is daddy," she says to Rory like he hasn't been hearing them talk all the while and Rory nods and laughs, making his chest hurt a little, and his laugh makes a smile comes into the little Angel's face and for the first time, Rory notices that her dimples appear just like his.
...
After a long talk with Reign, Rory feels like every minute that passes, he gets to know something new about her and unlike the other times he's been around Reign, Taylor doesn't try to interrupt their discussion, but Keenan does as he walks in and when he sees Taylor, he takes a pause.
"Papa!" Reign exclaims and leaves Rory's side to run towards him Keenan's face breaks into a big smile as he bends down and sweeps the damsel into his arms, then he picks her up her feet, spinning her around a while before kissing her forehead.
"Come stai, baby? (how are you?)" he asks the girl who is giggling happily.
"Sto bene grazie, papa. (I'm fine thank you, papa.)" she replies, "Momma says Rory is Daddy and you are papa." she tells him what her mother had told her earlier and he gives her a 'really' look.
"Andiamo così puoi dirmi tutto quindi? (Let's go so you can tell me everything then?) He says and takes Reign out of the room leaving Rory and Taylor alone.
Talk about Taylor, Rory notices that every time he'd glance at her in the past ten minutes, Taylor has been looking everywhere but at him, and he notices she's trying to avoid looking anywhere near him and when Keenan had entered she didn't even utter a word.
Taylor still can't seem to bring herself to look at Rory on the hospital bed, of all the images she pictured for him, this wasn't part of them. As though reading her mind, he speaks up, "Look at me, love." his words hold so much tenderness and compulsion she has to look at him.
She gasps and quickly turns away when she sees him. His face is pale and sickly and the tubes and injections and drip fixed to his hand and the heart monitor and it is a horrible sight to behold and tears fall her face like a fountain and she's unable to take the pain of seeing him this way. She thought she could, but she can't.
"Look at me, hun, please." he practically begs her, but she shakes her head.
"I can't, I feel so guilty already," she says with a weak sob escaping her mouth.
"I want to see your beautiful face, love, I beg you to look at me." he pleads harder, but she doesn't give in or look at him. "You're gonna have to look at me one way or another." his voice blooms in the room after a while of silence.
"I didn't mean for any of this to happen, Rory, you have to believe me."
He sighs and draws in a quick breath, "I know and I don't care because I love you, Taylor, now shut up and come over here 'cause I'm dying to kiss you."