Delaney's POV:

Numb...That is all I feel.

Numb to the fact that Alex had gotten into a crash and ended up on life support since he didn't have a DNI –Do Not Intubate– order in place. Numb because I was still the emergency contact on all his medical forms even though I'd told them that they needed to be changed. Numb to the fact that I am the one that has to decide if I want to watch my kids grow up with their father on a ventilator, a body that couldn't support itself if not for the machines that were keeping him alive, while he slowly withered away until he was a just a shell of his former self.

But the numb feeling was more welcome than the anger I had felt after the reality of this situation sank in. Alex had been given first-hand knowledge on what drinking and driving could do to a person since his parents had been killed because of one. So the fast that he had taken it upon himself to climb behind the wheel of his car knowing that he was far too drunk to do so, angered me to no end. And I'm not talking about him being just a little bit drunk. I'm talking about his blood alcohol level being high enough that he should have been dead from the alcohol alone. According to the paperwork that I had been given upon walking into Western North Carolina Care Center and meeting with the doctor in charge of his care, Alex had had a level of 0.42. And according to the doctor, that was probably lower than what his level would have been when he'd wrapped his car around a tree not even a mile from the home he and I had shared.

That anger had then morphed into hurt and sadness, a fact that I hated with everything in me because even after everything that Alex had done, after all the hell that I had been through because of him, my feelings towards him weren't so indifferent that I didn't still care about him as a person. He was still the father of my kids, the man I had spent eight years of my life with, he was a family member to some, an idol to others, and a man that didn't deserve to lay in a hospital bed with machines and tubes keeping his body alive even though he was technically brain dead.

And even though I had run through every single emotion possible when it came to Alex, Brantley had been right by my side, calming me when the anger threatened to consume me, holding when the tears had flowed to the point that I wondered if they would ever stop. Even now, with the numb feeling that was consuming me as I sat in the small office in Western North Carolina Care Center, his fingers were entwined with mine, reminding me that I didn't have to do this alone. And for that, I would be forever grateful. Without him, I honestly don't know how I would do this.

"It should only be a few more minutes," said Dr. Kelce, the same doctor that had called to give me the horrible news. "I told everyone that they would need to be here promptly at ten."

"And if they–"

Before I could finish my question, there was a knock on the door behind the seat I was sitting in. Dr. Kelce didn't have time to answer before the door swung open and in walked William, Erin, Dillon, and William's parents, Bill and Dana. All of them –with the exception of Erin– looked as if they would rather be anywhere else than in a room with me. When everyone else had immediately crowded into the room as far from me as possible, Erin had come over close to me, resting her hand on my shoulder before leaning down. She kept her voice low when she asked how I was holding up. I just didn't know how to answer her question and didn't know that I ever would.

"Okay, now that we are all gathered here, how about he jump right into the topic and see if we can come to an amicable agreement. But before I get too far into this, it's important that each of you remember that this isn't about what you want. Instead, it's about what Mr. Davidson would want, about how he would handle this if he could speak for himself." She paused then, looking at everyone in the small room. When she was satisfied that she had been clearly understood, she began speaking again. "Now, as all of you are aware, Ms. Connor is listed as his emergency contact and as his wife on all his legal paperwork. It's my understanding that two of them have since divorced, which leads me as to why you all are here. Technically, this decision would have been finalized long before Mr. Davidson ever made it to our facility, but since no one knew who to contact at the time, here we are.

"Since the divorce has been finalized and Ms. Connor and Mr. Davidson are no longer married, that decision now falls to his next of kin. From my understanding, that is you, Mrs. Byron." said Dr. Kelce, looking at Dana.

I hate to admit it, but knowing that this issue did not solely rest on my shoulders made me breathe a sigh of relief.

"Wh-why do I have to make..."

"I know this isn't an easy decision to make and I hate that we are even having to make this decision, but it still needs to be made," said Dr. Kelce.

"You knew him best, Willie. Do you know what he would have wanted?" said Dana, her question directed at her son and reminding me that while Alex and William had been close, Alex hadn't been close with the rest of his family.

"Why don't I get to choose? I was the one that he was engaged to." This came from Dillon, speaking for the first time since walking into the office.

"I understand why you feel like should be the one to make the decision–"

"Then why am I not being asked?" said Dillon, cutting Dr. Kelce off.

"Ma'am, engaged doesn't mean married and in the eyes of the legal system–"

"Fuck the legal system!" Dillon screeched. "I am just as much married to him as she is and yet she's still part of this decision."

"Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to calm down or you are going to be asked to leave." Said Dr. Kelce.

"Make me!" Dillon said, a challenge in her voice. "If she stays, I stay. After all, she is the reason that he got in the damn car to begin with."

My head whipped in her direction then, curious as to what she meant. I had my suspicions as to why he wrecked where he did, but no one had confirmed them; not that I had asked.

"That's right, you are the reason that he wrapped his goddamn car around a tree not even a mile from the house the two of you lived in. You and your kids are the reason that he told me that he wanted to break up and that he had never loved me to begin with! He said that he wanted to get his life back on track and that started with getting his wife back."

I know I looked at Dillon as if she had lost her mind. Because there was no way that Alex would have been delusional enough to have thought that he and I could have ever had a chance of trying again. Too much damage had been done, to make hurts had been endured. But more than that, I was the happiest I had ever been, with a man that showed me every day what true love means, and a man that I would be welcoming a child with in a few months.

"Dillon–"

"You don't believe me do you?" she said, cutting me off. "Not surprising." she added with a huff. "You don't even realize how messed up he was after that weekend in Atlanta do you?"

"Dillon, I don't know what youre talking about. I haven't spoken to Alex other than when he called a few times to talk to the kids. I'm sorry if he led you to believe that he and I ever had a chance of getting back together because that just isn't the case"

Dillon laughed then, a manic one that spoke of just how close to the edge of sanity that she is. "After the weekend in Atlanta and the mess that happened in the garage, something changed in Alex. He started drinking from the time the sun came up and did so way after it went down. The only reason he stopped then was because he passed out. But things got really bad when he found out that you had moved in with your boyfriend. He went on a full-blown rampage, wrecking the house and drinking every last drop of alcohol in the house. When I confronted him about all the drinking, he threw his hands into the air and staggered out of the house. He was halfway down the street before I made it out the door to stop him."

"I'm sorry, Dillon. I am. But this–"

"'Ain't your fault'. Save it Delaney. No one here wants to hear how you are the victim in all of this."

"Ma'am, that's enough. I'm going to have to insist that you leave." said Dr. Kelce.

"Fine!" she screamed. "But this won't be the last you see of me, Delaney. Chloe and Colton will know that they have a sibling, and you and I both know that Alex would have wanted them to all know one another."

With that bomb, Dillon walked out of the office, slamming the door behind her. I chanced a glance around the room, noticing that I wasn't the only one that wore a shocked facial expression at the news.

I felt the fingers that had been entwined with mine all along tighten around mine, grounding me when I felt like everything was out of control. My eyes landed on his and locked for a few moments before Brantley turned to Dr. Kelce and spoke. "I don't mean any harm, but can we just get this over with? None of us want to be here and after that news, we all need some time to process."

"Of course, Mr. Gilbert." said Dr. Kelce. "Any objections to moving forward?"

"No." said everyone in the room.

"Okay. As I was saying earlier, we have to make a decision that is the best thing for Mr. Davidson and it be one that he would want it to be. Mrs. Byron, I believe you were asking your son if he knew what Mr. Davidson would want..."

"Willie?"

"We never talked about shi-stuff like this, mom."

"Ms. Connor?"

"Hmm?"

"During your marriage, did Mr. Davidson ever express what he would want if ever put in this position?"

"He wouldn't want this." I whispered. My voice got stronger when I repeated it, adding, "after his parents were brought here after their accident, he had watched them wither away for months before I finally convinced him that it was the right thing to do to let them go. The two of us had stood by their bed, watching as the machines were turned off. And he told me that he never wanted me to ever have to make this decision, that he didn't want me to watch him wither away or live with the 'what-ifs' after telling them to cut the power. He promised that he was going to have William's lawyer draft up a DNI the next day but I guess he never did."

"He told me that he never saw his parents after their accident," said William.

"We came here at least three days a week," I said, turning and looking into his eyes. I then turned to Erin. "Ask Ryan. Layla knows that we came here as often as we did. She can tell you that I'm not making this up."

"I believe you, Del." said Erin, a soft smile spreading across her face.

"Okay. With what Ms. Connor is saying, it sounds like that Mr. Davidson wouldn't have wanted to spend years and years on a ventilator." said Dr. Kelce. "So, I have to ask, do we all agree that powering down the machines is the choice that Mr. Davidson would make for himself?"

"But he's all I have left of my sister." said Dana, her voice cracking. I didn't have to look at her to know that there would be tears streaming down her face. Hell, they were streaming down mine.

"I understand that, Mrs. Byron."

"Dr. Kelce, I think that what Delaney says is what Alex would have wanted." said Bill, William's father.

"I need everyone involved to agree." Dr. Kelce said. The whole room –or at least those involved in the decision– must have given the same response because Dr. Kelce let out a deep breath. "Now, let's talk about what the final moments are going to look like."