The Most Valuable Gift

A few minutes later they saw Mishka's car come to a stop and the two women jumped out. Mishka and Heather moved to stand before the car, holding each other, staring in shock and horror at the wreckage of Ed's truck.

"OVER HERE!" Grace screamed but the noise from the tanker fire was too loud. They were also in the shadow of the bank. She got to her feet and checked herself. No injuries. She looked down at Ed and saw he was grimacing in pain. A thin piece of metal from the building was sticking out of his left calf. He was reaching for it but she stopped him.

"Leave it in! We don't know if it cut something vital. I'll get Mishka," she yelled to be heard above the din. He sagged back and nodded.

Grace made her way out of the shadow and Heather spotted her immediately and screamed. Mishka jumped then both were running towards her.

"Where's Ed!" Mishka yelled.

"He's over here! He's hurt!" Grace blurted and pulled them after her.

Mishka knelt and examined the wound. "It doesn't look too bad but it's good you left this in. We'll get an ambulance and I'll take care of this at the hospital." She took her phone out and called it in.

"What happened?" Heather asked.

"Ice on the hill. Bad tires on my truck." Ed gasped out.

"We slid off the road and got stuck in the snow. Ed got us to the bank and the truck came over the hill too fast and followed the same path right in over Ed's truck. If the heater in the truck worked we would have been in it when the crash happened. As it was Ed got us behind the building before the explosion. He saved my life." Grace knelt and kissed Ed. He would have enjoyed that more if his leg didn't hurt so much.

Still, it was a really good kiss.

Chapter 16

Ed woke up in a hospital bed Christmas morning. Sunlight streamed in the window and he could see blue skies. He felt good. He felt really, really good! He looked around the room and it was a lovely room. There was a noise from the left so he looked and Mishka walked in with a smile on her face.

"Good morning Mishka. You look lovely as usual!" he said with a smile.

"I wish all my patients were so complimentary!" she beamed at him. She looked at his chart then walked up beside the bed and took his hand. "You were very, very lucky last night. Your heavy leather coat took most of the abuse so all you had were some shallow cuts, bruises and the one puncture on your calf. I took care of that last night. I was right, it missed anything important. You may have a little numbness there though. It might have cut a nerve," she explained.

"I feel good! Whatever drugs you have dripping into my arm are making me feel... happy!" Ed grinned and Mishka giggled at him. "What?"

"That's just a saline drip to keep you hydrated. The drugs we gave you wore off hours ago!" she said with a big smile. "No. I think what you have is a case of the 'Christmas Morning Jollies'."

Ed started to laugh. It felt so good!

When he settled down he noticed that Mishka had removed his I.V. "I'm discharging you now so Grace and the others can take you home. Heather and I will see you later this evening. I'd like you to take it easy on that leg. I'm prescribing you a cane to use for a week or two to take the stress off the leg when you walk. OK?" He nodded. "I'll have the nurse bring you the cane. After she does you can get dressed. Wait for the orderly with the wheelchair to take you out. Alright?" He nodded again. "See you later."

With that she left. Ten minutes later the nurse arrived with a black metal adjustable cane with a rubber handle and tip and brought him his clothes. He got dressed and only had to wait five minutes for the orderly to arrive. While he waited he tried out the cane and found his leg was a little weak from the injury.

He felt a little silly being pushed down the hallway in the wheelchair but all thoughts of embarrassment disappeared when he saw the smiling faces of the women he loved waiting for him. Their smiles warmed his heart. Once he stood Grace was in his arms and Rachel and Angie braced him. Everyone got a hug and he made it to the curb to climb into the passenger seat of Stephanie's truck. Grace and Carolyn climbed in the back. Angie drove Rachel and Zoe and followed them home in her Land Rover. After they pulled into Rachel's driveway Ed leaned over and gave Stephanie a kiss. She smiled dreamily at him afterwards.

"See you later," he said and she nodded.

Rachel and Carolyn got out and helped Ed out. Carolyn tilted her face up with a smile and Ed kissed her tenderly as well.

"See you at the party!" she said as she slid into the truck next to Stephanie who was still watching Ed. As she pulled out of the driveway Angie pulled further in to drop Rachel off. Ed walked up to her window and tapped on it with his cane. The window came down. Ed leaned his face in and kissed her tenderly as she held his face in her hands. "I'm so glad you were ok!"

"A mere scratch, milady!" he said with a bad attempt at a British accent. Her pained smile told him how well he did. "Fine! I'll leave the acting to the professionals," he sighed theatrically and she grinned as she pushed his face back out her window.

He made his way to Zoe's window and her eyes tracked him all the way. She leaned out the window and kissed him hard. He returned her passion with his hand in her hair. This time he didn't take a grip but instead he just ran his fingertips against her scalp. Ed pulled back from the kiss and she moaned. Angie had to pull her in the window so she could raise it. She waved at Ed while Zoe pressed her fingers against the inside of the window as she stared at his mouth.

Grace and Rachel walked him back to and inside the house. He took off his coat and noticed the little tears and dents in the leather. "This coat did a great job of protecting us last night!" he said.

Grace suddenly shoved him against the wall. She had tears in her eyes. "WHY DID YOU OPEN YOUR COAT LAST NIGHT! YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!" she raged as she shook with reaction.

Ed stared at her in surprise. "I- I wanted to make sure you were safe. You were safer inside my coat with me!" he gasped.

Grace was suddenly pressed against his chest crying her heart out. Ed looked at Rachel for help and she gave him a sad smile. She indicated to Ed that he should hold her tight. When his arms wrapped around her Grace tried to push away and beat on his chest. Ed held her tight with Rachel's hand on the outside of his arms, guiding him.

Grace cried and cried until her tears ran dry. Ed's right leg was beginning to cramp from holding both him and Grace up.

"Can- can I sit down now?" he murmured.

Grace pulled herself together and braced him as Rachel took his other side. They got to the living room and gently settled him on the couch.

Pulling the ottoman up to the couch Grace sat on it and held his hand.

Rachel suddenly noticed the ring on Grace's hand. She'd seen the band earlier but the stones must have been turned inwards then. "That's a lovely ring! Oh-"

Grace took in the troubled look on Rachel's face. "It's not an engagement ring, Rachel. It's just a lovely and thoughtful present from Ed so we could all have beautiful rings. I don't need to marry Ed."

Rachel looked embarrassed and Ed held out his hand. She knelt next to the sofa as she took his hand and he kissed her fingers. She gasped gently at the feel of his soft lips.

"I love you Rachel! I think next to Grace, I rely on you the most for helping me to understand how to get by day to day. All the stuff my brain isn't smart enough to help me with. Grace knows how I feel about her. I would gladly give my life to protect her- No more tears!" he said to prevent a relapse of crying.

"We survived the little accident last night pretty well. Minus my truck that is. Not a problem though, I can take the bus."

"We'll talk about that later." Rachel said.

Grace smiled at the stubborn look that surfaced in Ed's eyes. Poor man didn't know who he was dealing with.

"You rest here while I make some sandwiches for lunch. We are eating light as Dinner is going to be heavy at Angie's." Grace said as she stood and made her way to the kitchen.

Then it was just Grace and Ed.

"I didn't mean to make you sad Grace. I just needed to keep you safe. You seemed kinda out of it last night. Standing there as the big truck was sliding out of control," he said with concern.

"I was just stunned by how sudden it was and how we could have been in the pickup when it was crushed by the tanker truck. I saw us being killed before our lives together could actually begin. All of that was filling my head as I stood there..." Grace said quietly.

"All I had in my head was getting the building between you and the truck in case something bad happened. Once I got that done all I had in my head was getting you someplace safer, inside my coat with me between you and the building... in case something bad happened. I wasn't sure if something bad was going to happen but I'm glad my head was empty enough to let me think about it," Ed explained.

Grace smiled at him. "Me too."

-=-

Rachel brought Ed and Grace over to Angie's place a little early as she needed to help Angie with some of the prep.

Ed was wearing a pair of soft charcoal grey slacks, a crisp white dress shirt, a black tie, and a black cable knit sweater overtop. The black cane matched his outfit. Once they had him dressed Rachel and Grace stared at him with looks that said they wanted to rip it all off and devour him.

Rachel was wearing a stunning red dress with white sparkles that to Ed looked like snowflakes. He was mesmerized by the flurry of light surrounding her neckline. Or it could have been the amount of cleavage she was displaying. That was pretty spectacular too.

Grace was wearing a new dress she and Rachel had shopped for. It was black, Grace's favorite color, but it had iridescent sequins sewn in a sweeping pattern around her curvy body. She glowed with joy at his enraptured look.

Angie greeted them at the door in an amazing white and silver glittering dress that clung to her body, showing off her sleek shape and emphasizing her abundant bosom.

Angie's daughter Isabelle was there too wearing a cute Santa's helper costume. She announced that was her role for the evening and led Grace and Ed to the family room making sure they were comfortable and had drinks while Rachel went with Angie to help her.

"Are you going back to school?" Grace asked Isabelle.

"Yeah but I think I'm going to switch to teacher's college. I've discovered I enjoy working with kids." Isabelle said with a smile.

"Was that because of the babysitting you've been doing?" Ed asked in surprise.

Isabelle nodded. "Yes, something good came from mom's probation period. I found my true calling." She smiled at Ed's happy expression. When he pushed himself to his feet and pulled her into a big hug she squeaked.

The doorbell saved her as she had to go answer it but her face was as red as her costume. Grace stood as well and gave him a grin as she shook her head.

Isabelle returned with Dale and Tristan Grant who both smiled widely when they saw Ed and Grace. Their smiled turned to dismay as they saw the cane.

"What happened to you?" Dale asked as he shook Ed's hand.

"We had a little car accident last night," Ed replied.

Grace snorted as she finished hugging Tristan. "Little car accident he says."

Ed pulled Tristan to him in a tight hug. When he pulled back he looked at her in concern as she'd trembled a little in his arms. She just smiled and moved over to take Dales arm. "There's more to this story?" she asked him to deflect his attention.

Rolling his eyes, Ed described the events of the night before as Dale and Tristan looked back in shock. Grace finished the story, giving her side from the time Ed was taken away in the ambulance when the police and firetrucks arrived and moved them all farther away from the burning truck. The driver of the semi was the only fatality in the accident.

"It was a damn good thing the truck's heater was broken!" Dale said when the story was finished.

"That's what I said!" Grace agreed.

"Well, more than the heater's busted now. I'll be taking the bus for a little while." Ed shrugged.

"No Edward, next week we're going shopping for a new truck!" Rachel said walking into the room with a tray of fancy snacks which she set down on the coffee table.

Ed was trying to protest but his tongue got tangled as he got an eyeful of the tops of Rachel's lush breasts.

"It will be fun picking out the features in the dealership with Ed," Angie agreed as she too carried in a tray and leaned over to place the tray on the table.

Ed got a few sounds of protest out but nothing coherent as his eyes took in Angie's soft expanse of rounded flesh.

Zoe entered next and Ed's mouth just hung open as he took in her gold sheath dress with the plunging neckline, the gold chains tangling between her breasts and her demure but deeply satisfied smile. She set the tray she was carrying on the table and Ed's mouth snapped shut.

Dale started to laugh as he saw the young man completely outclassed in this battle.

The doorbell rang again and shortly the sound of kid's giggles filled the outer hall as Stephanie's kids came running.

Ed's face lit up as the four kids entered the room and he bent down to give each of them a hug. They asked him curiously about his cane so he gathered them close on the other side of the couch and told them the tale of the mad Christmas Pirate who destroyed his truck in a fiery explosion. The kid's eyes were wide with excitement and they all wanted to see his stitches so he lifted his pant leg and they squealed in horrified excitement.

"ED!" Stephanie's voice rang out. His head popped up over the top of the couch.

"What are you doing?" she asked, trying to hide her grin.

Ed came around the couch using his cane and her smile fell away. She rushed over to him and touched his chest. "WHAT HAPPENED?" she squeaked.

Stephanie's kids all swarmed around her to fill her in on the dread Christmas Pirate who attacked Ed and Grace and how Ed got them to safety with only a small wound to his leg though his truck was destroyed.

She looked at Ed and he nodded with a fake grim look on his face. "It's true. My truck is no more."

Ed looked closer and his face lit up in a smile. "Breakfast at Tiffany's!"

Stephanie was wearing black satin gloves that went all the way up to her toned biceps. The black satin dress was a reproduction of the Givenchy dress that Audrey Hepburn wore in that famous movie. It was one of Shirley's favorite movies. He ignored the sadness that tugged at him when he thought of Grace's mom. "You look amazing!" he purred and her face lit up with her own shy smile. He took in the glittering tiara she wore in her black hair and the oversized pearl necklace. It looked like she stepped from the movie screen. Her big blue eyes were sparkling with joy at his recognition of her dress and his appreciative looks.

Dale and Tristan came over to say hello and Ed looked up to see Carolyn walk in with her kids. He walked over to meet them and they all looked at his cane. He knew these kids wouldn't appreciate an imaginative story so he just gave them the facts.

"Hit a patch of ice driving home last night and my truck slid off the road and got stuck in the snow. I carried Grace to safety but a truck pulling a tanker of gas also slid on the ice and crashed into my truck. Both trucks blew up. I was hit in the leg by a piece of metal ripped from a building we were hiding behind.

"Did you get stitches?" Gregory asked with an excited voice.

"Yup," Ed replied.

"Can we see them?" Amelia asked, equally excited but maybe a little nervous.

Ed raised his eyebrows at Carolyn who was grinning at her kid's enthusiasm. She nodded. Ed pulled up his pant leg and the two kids squealed in horrified excitement. As Ed dropped his pant leg the four other kids raced up and grabbed their friend's hands and they ran for the basement stairs. The playroom had been set up for the kids to play before dinner. Isabelle followed them down.

He turned to Carolyn who looked breathtaking in a deep green dress that left her arms and her back exposed. She came forward to hug him and Ed touched the tattoo on her back, running his fingers over the raised scars. Scars he now knew were music. She clung tighter to him as his fingers caressed her back.

They parted and she looked up at him with such a look of love it took his breath away.

"I'll never be able to express how grateful I am that you found the music hidden in the tattoo. I presented my initial findings and I have two offers for publishing the completed work. Very generous offers! We were going to be able to live comfortably before. Now our futures are set!"

"That's amazing! I'm so happy for you!" Ed said and pulled her in for another hug. She held him tight as well.

"Someone seems pretty happy!" Stephanie grinned as she came to see her friend.

Ed turned to explain and Carolyn put a finger over his mouth. "I'm saving it for later," she said and Ed nodded with a big smile. Stephanie pouted but Carolyn just gave her friend a hug.

They walked back into the family room to talk with the others. Ed's leg was tired so he sat on the couch. Grace sat down next to him and held his hand.

"How's the leg?" she asked.

"It's ok. I'm just giving it a rest. I don't think I'll be doing any dancing tonight," he sighed.

The doorbell rang again and Isabelle guided Mishka and Heather inside. The dark beauty was wearing a royal blue ankle length dress with slits to allow her legs to show as she walked. Ed noted she had very nice legs. Heather came in wearing a black knee length dress with blue lace at the shoulders and sleeves. The blue matched Mishka's dress and she looked stunning in it!

Ed made to stand but Mishka held up a hand to stop him. "Doctor's orders! Rest!" she said with a smile and he gratefully slumped back. Grace got up to give her a kiss and tight hug and Mishka blushed at Grace's enthusiasm.

"Thank you for taking such good care of Ed!" Grace exclaimed.

"It was my pleasure!" Mishka replied.

"Hey! Choo tryin' to steal my girl meng?" Heather said with an accent Ed just could not recognize. Mishka rolled her eyes with amusement as Heather threw some gang signs at Grace who started acting like a gang thug back at her friend. This soon dissolved into laughter.

Zoe took this opportunity to sit next to Ed and snuggled in close.

"Hi."

"Hi yourself," Ed replied. The heat from her soft body ignited... something in him. "You look... delicious."

"Save your appetite for dinner," she said but her eyes were saying something completely different.

He leaned in to talk quietly. "I want to free that chain from between your breasts... with my teeth."

She trembled with desire. Maybe it wasn't such a smart thing to sit so close to Ed before dinner. She went to stand up but his hand was in her hair and his lips were on hers and she was lost to his kiss.

When Ed pulled back from her soft lips he gasped softly. He blinked as he became aware of his surroundings again. He looked up and saw Grace and Mishka looking at him in surprise. Heather's expression was closer to awe. Conversation in the room had come to a halt.

Angie and Rachel helped Zoe up from the couch and took her with them to the kitchen. She looked back at him as they left the room. Ed's face went crimson and he didn't know where to look.

Grace sat down beside him and took his hand. "It's ok Ed."

He finally looked at her and she saw the confusion in his eyes. He really looked lost. Her heart went out to him but she didn't know how to help him with this. Except to be there for him. She felt his grip tighten and he leaned on her a little taking comfort from her.