CHAPTER 477: GUILT WILL EAT YOU ALIVE

Andrew spotted Michael a mile away. He was wearing that cream cable knit sweater that he liked so much, his back was turned to Andrew and it was clear from the look on the face of the Doctor in front of them that they were in some kind of a dispute. It was in the hallway of a department that Andrew was rather familiar with due to circumstances outside of his control.

The innards of the omega wing.

It was where his Mom was kept. Andrew had never gone through the front of the omega wing like where he had been waiting with Maxwell to speak to his Doctor so he hadn’t realised that it was the same hospital until now. Andrew however, found that he was doing okay. They weren’t near the room where his Mom had died, so he was okay.

They weren’t even on the right floor. He was fine.

William looked pissed, or more annoyed as he saw Michael arguing with one of his Doctor’s and Andrew chuckled. William glanced at him as Andrew shook his head.

"Doctor." Andrew called, and the two men turned to stare at them. The Doctor who worked at this hospital looked relieved to see William coming towards them and that told Andrew that at the very least, he was good to his people. Michael, however, seemed to pale at the sight of Andrew.

He moved towards him quickly, stopping a few feet from him and scanning him with his eyes, his expression grim.

"What are you doing up right now? Luis told me that you had your rut brought on by omega pheromones. You shouldn’t be here, Andrew." Michael’s voice was tense. William, who had no knowledge about this and had brought Andrew, a true alpha, into a rabbit’s den, looked horrified. The Doctor also looked scared while Andrew remained calm, collected. He even laughed in Michael’s face. His friend was clearly stressed out of his mind if he was speaking this way.

"Do you honestly think I, of all people, would put omegas in danger with my own pheromones, Michael?" Andrew asked his friend and watched as Michael swallowed, sniffed, and swallowed again. The man looked tense, pained as he reached up and ran a hand over his face and slid it back to run over his hair.

"Sorry, sorry. You’re right. I just..." Andrew smiled in amusement at his friend.

"You’re just looking out for the omegas that I helped save? Understandable. But there is also a police presence here, the exits are being watched by them and security and if they thought I was a danger to anyone, being William’s brother-in-law wouldn’t have gotten me anywhere." Andrew told him and the others who were nearby. He could feel how others were listening in on them. Michael winced while the Doctor shuffled closer to William, clearly clarifying if what Andrew said was true. Andrew smiled when William nodded.

"Listen, I know that you helped, but-" Andrew sniffed at Michael’s words and how he was about to say something he shouldn’t.

"Helped? Michael, I was in the room with Nicole from the moment the police found her and until she was taken out. I took her out with the assistance of a whole team of people trained far better than I was. Because Nicole trusted me and because the rest of the team trusted me to keep my cool. Yes, I went into rut last night but you can tell I have my head on straight. It was just a reaction to how much pheromones I had been exposed to. I’m fine now." Who was not fine? Well, that didn’t need to be said in front of his brother.

"Maxwell is okay?" William asked, as if sensing where this was going and Andrew felt his lips curl up into a smile.

"He is just tired. I have my aunt Kim’s kids keeping an eye on the house as well as the security team. We live on the same street." Andrew told William since he hadn’t come to their housewarming. He’d been living in isolation since Rue had left. Honestly, before Rue left.

"He doesn’t need to see a doctor?" William asked and Andrew chuckled. William, for all that he was keeping away from the family, was certainly showing interest right now. Andrew would have thought it was to put on airs but William didn’t look like he could do that at the moment. He looked too damn tired for that.

"No. I can tend to his wounds, if he had any. However, he’s fine. Just exhausted. I do feel bad for having him deal with me for the night but he himself told me that he was okay. I’m sure I’ll get a lecture once he wakes up, but not because he’s upset with what we did." Andrew said sweetly and William nodded, swallowing. His gaze darted around for a moment before Andrew turned his attention to Michael. "Why are you pestering the good people who work at this hospital, Michael?" Andrew asked him and Michael swallowed.

He looked uncomfortable, nervous. Andrew stared at him.

"You didn’t even know that I got out of the hell room. Was that how quickly you left? As soon as the omegas arrived? Are you sure that you aren’t affected by them? Is that why you’re asking me and bothering me about it?" Andrew asked and he swore Michael paled.

"No! It’s nothing like that! I’m on meds that work for me. I’m not some degenerate that would-" Michael cut off, covering his face again. "I just..." He trailed off and Andrew looked around.

"Is there a free room we could talk in?" Andrew asked the Doctor and William. The Doctor quickly pointed to the room behind them and Andrew tugged Michael inside for some privacy. "Michael. What’s going on?" Andrew asked and Michael looked around, spotted a chair in the room and sat down heavily.

"I feel fucking guilty, Andy." Michael said brokenly. "So fucking guilty. I know them, Andrew. I know most of the omegas here." It was a punch to Andrew’s heart to hear how heartbroken the man was. "I worked with them and their alphas. I thought they were safe. Well taken care of. I’m a fucking idiot." Michael croaked. "What am I supposed to do? I didn’t even bat an eyelash when my client list dipped. I thought it was a good thing." Michael let out a dry laugh. "I’m as bad as they are." That explained a lot. Why Michael hadn’t been there when he’d gotten out, why he was pestering the others. Andrew approached him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Did you tell the Doctors here that?" Andrew asked and Michael shook his head.

"I’m not their primary physician. I just saw them because I was their partner’s primary physician. I have little to no hold on them. I just...feel guilty." Michael said, his voice cracking. Andrew, a man who could not see his friends in pain, bent and wrapped his arms around Michael. Offering the man comfort.

"Hey. There is nothing wrong with caring about others nor is there anything wrong with being happy that your workload was lessening. You were running yourself ragged. You still are. You did not betray them because you thought that everything was okay. No one would think that this was the fucking outcome. No one, Michael." Andrew told his friend and Michael let out a wet laugh but held onto Andrew tightly. Andrew didn’t speak for a moment, letting the man process his own thoughts and feelings as well as the words that Andrew had spoken.

It took him a minute, but eventually he calmed down and slowly let Andrew go.

"Thank you for saying that." Michael said, his voice gruff. "I think I needed to hear that. God, you were in that room the whole time?" Michael asked, a little awed. "I heard many alphas had a hard time even being in the hallway." Michael said and Andrew’s expression was grim when he met Michael’s gaze.

"Yeah. It was hell on earth. I didn’t really care about the pheromones part of it, but it was...horrifying to see people treated the way that they were. I want to see them as the humans that they are but for a while I’m probably going to have nightmares about the creatures they were forced to be against their will." Andrew said and Michael nodded. They were silent for another moment.

"Were you sent to tell me to fuck off?" Michael asked and Andrew felt his lips curl up.

"Well, not particularly. I was sent to check up on Nicole and her state of self, but telling you to fuck off, politely, was also on the to do list while I was here." Andrew told him and Michael’s lips curled up. He looked exhausted too, and Andrew just wanted to send all of these Doctors home. They needed their rest.

"Figures. William kept coming around so I knew the Doctors were getting fed up with me. Alright. I get it. I’ll leave." He sounded reluctant to do so, but Andrew knew it was for the best. It would help no one if he was here.

"I honestly thought you would be pestering them about Nicole. Wasn’t she one of your patients?" Andrew asked and Michael shook his head.

"No. She never was. A few of her siblings were, including you, but not her." Michael said. "Which is partially why I’m not over there bothering those doctors." He admitted and Andrew grinned.

"Sounds about right. Okay, let’s tell William the good news, and go home Michael. Get some rest. Cancel any plans you had for your own health. You could go into a rut because you’ve been around so many omegas. You need to take care of yourself first." Andrew warned and Michael chuckled.

"Being lectured by you must mean I really look like shit. Alright, Dr. Knox. I’ll head home." Michael said, getting to his feet. Andrew stepped back far enough so that they didn’t run into each other and Michael was the one who headed for the door first. When it opened, William, who had been speaking to a few medical professionals on the other side of the hall, looked towards them.

"What’s the news?" William asked as the pair made their way towards them. Michael chuckled.

"Andrew made it clear I was not welcome here anymore." Michael said with a smile. The others looked horrified at the way he spoke, but also relieved.

"Dr. Smith, that’s not-" the one who had been arguing with Michael started but Michael raised a hand, shaking his head.

"No, it’s alright. He’s right, after all. You are experts, I’m just...guilty, I guess." Michael’s expression was soft as he spoke. The other doctors stared at him for a moment.

"We appreciate that you so clearly care for them, Dr. Smith, but you know better than anyone else that we are capable of doing our job." The same Doctor spoke up and Michael nodded.

"I agree. I was being too full of myself. My apologies, everyone. Please don’t think of me too horribly or keep your cursing to a minimum. I am rather sensitive." He joked and Andrew was happy to see that it eased the tension. It was shortly after that that Michael headed out. Andrew gave him a stern look the whole time but Michael didn’t seem to mind.

In fact, it seemed that he needed Andrew to be more firm with him. That only told Andrew that the man had a lot on his mind. He was going to have to check up on him tomorrow.

"Alright. It’s time to see Nicole." Andrew said and William glanced at him.

"Are you sure? She’s not exactly...sane right now." William told him and Andrew rolled up the sleeves of his sweater, showing off the bandaged bite marks all over his arms and hands. The doctors stared in horror as Andrew grinned.

"I am very aware, William. But, I’m her big brother. I have to look out for her." A shift in William’s eyes, so quick that Andrew thought he had imagined it before he nodded and turned. They left the omega wing shortly after.