Blackie and Babe Chapter 3 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 4 weeks later “Brian, you’re doing good. You’re off the ventilator and all your parts seem to be working great.” Justin sat on the edge of Brian’s bed. He held the quiet man’s hand, rubbing it softly. It was the beginning of the fourth week and still Brian was in a coma. The calls and visits from friends and family had tapered off until now Justin never heard from anyone in Pittsburgh or in New York for that matter. He continued to attend his last year of high school but only because it had been important to Brian. He hated to spend any time at all away from him. “You’re going to be transferred to another part of the hospital tomorrow – so you must be getting better. They don’t think you need to have someone watching you all the time. I got an A in biology and physics. I guess spending lots of time here helps me to study – as a conversationalist you suck.” He tried to joke. “I wanted to take you home – I mean I can hire nurses, but the Neuropsychologist thinks I shouldn’t decide anything like that yet. I know Zack would like to see you.” Justin brushed the silky strands of hair off of Brian’s forehead. “When are you going to wake up – I’d really like that Brian, it’s lonely at the apartment with only Zack there. “I talked to your publisher and he wants to know when you’re going to finish the next Jackson mystery – I told him you’d try and make the deadline. I read over your outline and your notes – you are more than half way finished. If you’d like, I could try and finish it. I think I’m pretty familiar with your writing style. It’ll kind of be a collaboration, like as if we are real partners.” Justin didn’t expect an answer and he didn’t get any. He checked his watch; it was time to put the drops in Brian’s eyes. He gently peeled back the eye tape and added the drops before closing the lid and taping it shut again. “This sure isn’t how it looks on General Hospital Brian.” He bent and softly kissed each eye. “Now you’re all set.” Justin blinked back his own tears. He’d studied all about coma patients on the Internet and one of the main things that they all emphasized was to keep things happy in the patient’s room. The one thing they neglected to tell you was how in hell were you supposed to do that when your heart was breaking. “I’m going home now, tomorrow when you’re in your new room, Zack can come with me. It’s part of a program to make people feel at home. It’s kind of stupid, because this is not even close to home, but I’ll take what ever I can get.” Justin kissed Brian’s dry lips and left the room. “Still no change eh Justin?” Chad one of the night nurses asked. “No change” he looked at the nurse. “What do you think is going to happen if he doesn’t come out of it soon?” “They’ll probably want to ship him to another facility, one that specializes in long term care.” Chad looked at him. “You should talk to Mr. Kinney’s lawyer and see if there’s enough money to get a nice place for him. I can get you a list of some of the better places.” “Thanks Chad, I’d appreciate it.” Justin turned to leave. “I’ll be back tomorrow, but they’re moving him to another floor.” “I’ll find you before my shift and give you the list Justin.” Justin nodded and went on his way. Justin was thoughtful on the way home. He’d spent countless hours in the secret room attempting to discover the reasoning behind it, but to him it was just a room full of locked cabinets, safes and mysterious boxes. He’d checked out the apartment that Brian used for storage and found more of the same only dustier. Zack followed him everywhere in the apartment. Justin still hadn’t figured out exactly how Zack managed to get out of the locked apartment every day and meet him at the school but nevertheless he was there day after day at three o’clock. It was one of many questions he was going to ask Brian when he woke up. Reluctantly Justin called Rory. “Hi Rory its Justin Taylor, I need to talk to you about Brian.” Justin sighed. He didn’t know where to start. “Hi Justin, I was expecting your call.” The kind man said. “Brian is still in the coma and they are getting ready to put him in long term care. Am I right?” “Yeah, it’s kind of looking that way.” Justin was quiet. “I don’t want him in a place where they kind of warehouse people as sick as he is. I don’t know what to do.” “Well, we have a few more weeks to think about this Justin. They’ll keep him at this hospital until he reaches the forty five day mark and that’s okay. They have the staff to deal with someone in his condition. I know he’s been getting the maximum physical therapy to keep his limbs flexible and some muscle tone.” The lawyer paused. “You know Justin, Brian isn’t your responsibility, you haven’t known him very long and even Brian would understand and want you to get on with your life.” “What and stick him in with a bunch of sick people – or maybe you want me to give the order to disconnect his IV’s and stuff and let him starve to death.” “Do you think Brian would want to live like he is now Justin? Brian was a full of energy and life, he’d hate what he’s become.” “Rory I’ve studied Brian’s kind of brain injury on the net and I’ve talked to all of his doctors and believe me he has a shit load of them. I know that for Brian to make a full recovery he’s going to have to come out of it or start ‘emerging’ as they say well before a year is up. I’m going to give him that time. We’ll talk about removing him from all support after that. I mean he was taken off life support and he’s breathing on his own. He has lots of brain wave activity. He has to come out of it someday.” “Justin, that doesn’t always happen. If you’ve studied like you say you have, you’d know that.” Rory was trying to be kind. “I know that Rory. But I choose to believe Brian is going to recover.” Justin said stubbornly. “Now what I want to know is the best way to raise a lot of money – enough to keep us for at least a year without selling off any of Brian’s investments. I want him to come home to things as close to the way they were as possible.” “I actually have been giving that some thought.” Rory began. “I know Brian wouldn’t want to sell the apartment building, but what if we turn it into condominiums. Brian would maintain the entire sixth floor like he does now. He would also own the land the building is on. But he would sell the remaining twenty units. Each apartment is close to fifteen hundred square feet and for New York that’s pretty big. I figure in today’s market he should be able to get from three hundred thousand to five hundred thousand for each one depending on the location in the building.” “Fuck, that’s a lot of money.” Justin breathed. “But we can’t throw these people out on the street, they have to be given the chance to buy their own place. Maybe we could hold the mortgages on them and they could give us decent down payments. That would still give us enough money and it would give Brian another income while he’s recovering.” “Are you sure you’re a high school senior Justin?” Rory laughed. “You know a lot about real-estate and money.” “It’s kind of a family thing. I would have gone to Dartmouth if my dad had his way. Of course if he had is way his straight son would be going to Dartmouth, his gay son on the other hand can drop dead as far as he’s concerned.” “Dartmouth is pretty ambitious Justin.” “My SAT score was fifteen hundred, I was accepted at Dartmouth among others.” “Where do you want to go?” Rory was curious. “I really want to go to Pittsburgh Institute of Fine Arts, but now I’m in New York, I expect I’ll go to a New York school. I just haven’t had time to deal with that right now.” “I have another question Justin.” Rory hesitated. “Lindsay Peterson contacted me today. She would like to use the sperm Brian has banked for a child.” “What the fuck are you talking about?” Justin gasped. “Brian deposited sperm to be kept in case he ever wanted a child. He had some medical concerns a year or so ago and was worried that he might not be able to father a child. It wasn’t something that was a big worry, but he did agree to do this. At the time he mentioned that Lindsay had said she would carry a child for him. It seems she is in a permanent relationship with Melanie Markus and they want a baby.” “So why tell me about this?” Justin was a little squicked about the whole idea of this. “You have control over all of Brian’s assets, including this.” “What’s in it for Brian if I agree?” “Well, he’d be a father; I suppose it’s something that his genes would be carried on in the baby.” “But would Brian have any rights to the child?” “Justin, Brian is in a coma.” “I know that, but he won’t always be. I want to know what rights he’d have and I guess I’d have as well as Brian’s guardian.” “I would have to discuss this with the ladies.” “You do that, because I won’t even consider it unless Brian gets equal rights to the child.” Justin paused. “Find out how we go about turning this place into condos and still protect the main part of Brian’s investment in the building.” “You’re very sure of yourself Justin. I like how you are determined to protect Brian’s rights. He made a good choice.” “Thanks Rory.” Justin hung up the phone. He had a lot to think about. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Justin entered the bright and sunny room where Brian lay in bed. “Hey handsome” Justin said and he kissed Brian’s dry lips. “I have this neat lip gloss – it tastes like strawberries.” Justin smoothed it on Brian’s lips. He was surprised when the tip of Brian’s tongue crept out of his mouth to touch his lips. “Brian, Brian, are you waking up?” Justin tried to keep the excitement out of his voice but he wanted to scream and shout. He ran out of the room to the nursing station to tell them what had happened. “Calm down Justin, Brian’s been showing signs of emerging all day.” Justin’s favorite nurse told him. “Tilly, why didn’t you call me?” “What would you have done – well I’ll tell you what – you would have skipped school and raced down here and you saw how far along he is – not far at all. This isn’t General Hospital dear, it sometimes takes days even weeks for someone to emerge.” “But it’s a good sign right? Tomorrow is forty five days, but now he’s coming out of it.” “Yes dear it’s a good sign. Why don’t you go and talk to your Brian, the more encouragement from you he hears the better it’ll be for him.” Tilly’s last words were barely heard by Justin as he raced back to Brian’s room. As was his custom, now that Brian was on this ward, Justin kicked off his shoes and climbed onto the narrow hospital bed with Brian. “This is like completely cool Brian. I’m so happy I could fly apart in a million pieces and hey, they have the eye tapes off of you. You’re keeping your eyes shut all by yourself. That’s so incredibly awesome. I can hardly wait to tell Zack he misses you so much.” “I only have one more week until school is over and that’s it for me and high school. I tell you Brian, it has been a bitch going to that school. Did you know that Zack still meets me after school everyday – you have to tell me how he does that. I scold him, but I really like it, it’s lonely without you.” Justin continued to talk to Brian, telling him about school and Lindsay – about how she was finally pregnant and the happenings at the apartment building and in the neighborhood until he finally wound down and rested his head on Brian’s shoulder. He couldn’t stop touching the sleeping man, for he liked to think he was only sleeping. The auburn hair was longer but Justin kept it clean, the strong bone structure in Brian’s face needed to be traced over and over with soft kisses touching Brian’s forehead. Justin fell asleep holding one of Brian’s hands to his face. He never felt one finger move and touch his lips. The next day after school, Justin rushed into the ward at the hospital excited to see what progress Brian had made. He’d barely been able to contain himself all day at school he was so wound up. He rushed into Brian’s room only to find Brian lying still as usual. Tilly followed him into the room; she knew how disappointed Justin would be. “Justin sweetie, he is coming awake – it just takes some of them longer than others and your Brian’s skull took quite a blow.” Justin looked at her, his eyes brimming with tears of disappointment. “This really sucks Tilly.” “I know honey, I see this all the time.” The kind nurse rubbed Justin’s shoulder. “Right now Brian is able to control his eyelids – that’s good – he opens his eyes but doesn’t focus on anything yet. The Physical Therapist noticed today Brian has a better range of motion. The Nutritionist was conferring with me just a few minutes ago. We think he may be ready to take some liquids by mouth perhaps as early as tomorrow.” Justin looked at Brian dubious – “Are you sure?” “I am sure. Your man is strong hearted or he wouldn’t still be here with us. You wait and see.” She smiled at him. “I told you Justin, it isn’t like the movies, coma patients don’t just open their eyes and everything’s over – their bodies have virtually shut down and all the pulleys and gears and motors have to fire up again and learn to do it gracefully. Your Brian will be back to you soon.” “Thanks Tilly, I guess I’ll just cuddle him until I have to take Zack home.” He smiled up at her. “I’m coming back though.” “I know dear, but you shouldn’t spend the whole weekend here, you need to get out and be with your friends.” “My best friend is here Tilly, it’s where I want to be.” His voice was wry but strong. She blew him a kiss and shut the door behind her. Justin toed off his shoes and climbed on the bed with Brian in his favorite position. “Hey Brian, I’m glad you’re coming back to me. I’m going to call your friends in Pittsburgh on Monday, I don’t dare do it now or they’ll all be here driving me nuts. This way I’ll get a few days of peace with you and you can get a few days of ‘emerging’ behind you.” As Justin spoke he combed his fingers through Brian’s hair, kissed his face, rubbed his hands over his arms, all the things he usually did day in and day out when he was with the man he loved. Justin continued to speak, telling Brian about his day and how proud he was of the progress the man had made. He told him he was happy that his range of motion was better and that Zack had brought him a blue sweater he must have found somewhere. He had been waiting with it when Justin came out of the school. The blond finally wound down and lay his head on Brian’s shoulder. He felt Brian turn toward him slightly. Justin watched in wonder as the hazel eyes opened and stared at him. He could see that Brian was trying to make himself say something and finally, faintly he heard “Babe” before once again Brian’s eyes closed, the effort of talking exhausting him. Justin couldn’t stop grinning – “I love you, I love you, I love you,”he whispered to Brian over and over. Brian didn’t open his eyes again, but the faintest outline of a smile showed on his face before he fell asleep. The walk to the apartment with Zack seemed to take forever, though Justin kept busy talking to the big black wolf about Brian’s progress and the plans he’d been making with Rory for the next stage of Brian’s recovery. He never noticed the two men following him and the wolf until suddenly he was grabbed and pulled toward the open doors of a van. Before Zack could react the van doors slid shut and it began to move through traffic. Zack never hesitated he started following the vehicle on his powerful legs. Inside the van Justin struggled to sit up. “What the fuck is going on” he demanded of the two men dressed in casual work clothes. “Shut up kid.” One of them growled as he gunned the motor after turning a corner too sharp. Justin was tossed to the side of the van, his face hitting the spare tire. He knew he’d have a bruise tomorrow to remember this by. He saw the distinct outline of a revolver in the pocket of the man in the passenger seat. Justin settled himself down for a wild ride. He wished he could see out the window – he was worried about Zack because he knew the wolf wouldn’t have let them just disappear. The van pulled to a stop inside a dark garage less than fifteen minutes after Justin had been so unceremoniously dumped inside. The man in the passenger seat grabbed Justin by the arms and hauled him out of the van and then marched him through a door that led to the inside of a house. “Here he is boss.” The man growled. “Ahh, Mr. Taylor, Mr. Kinney’s young friend.” Justin peered through the gloom at the rather corpulent man who stood observing him. “I hear Mr. Kinney is beginning to recover – I think it’s time I relieved him of something he cares about – namely you.” “Why, what did Brian ever do to you?” Justin was genuinely puzzled. “He took what was mine, now I’m taking what is his.” The man looked at him. “Of course you could return my property. We could maybe come to some arrangement at that time about whether or not I finish what was started with Mr. Kinney.” He sighed. “That wasn’t very nice having my” he hesitated “having my enforcer disappear like that.” “Now I know you’re nuts Mister, I have no idea what you are talking about.” Like lightning, the large man struck – he backhanded Justin across the face. “Do you know who you are talking to?” he roared. “Someone with a serious anger management problem?” Justin said. He suspected it was Big Sal and he was right. This time when he was struck, he didn’t flinch but instead glared defiantly at Big Sal. “We’ll see what kind of a smart mouth you have on you after you spend a week at the ‘resort’ and have pulled a train each and every day.” The big man sneered. “Take him away, put him in the cellar – I don’t want him stinking up the place.” Justin wasn’t sure what Big Sal was talking about – pulling a train – but he didn’t think it was a good thing. When the door to the basement was opened, he was prepared and even though the man behind him gave him a shove, wanting Justin to fall down the stairs, Justin was able to grab the rail and break his fall. If it was gloomy upstairs, it was down right depressing in the cellar. Justin could hardly see, the light from a small window high on one wall the only illumination. It was graced with delicate cobwebs like fine lace curtains. Justin shuddered wondering exactly what had made the cobwebs. He felt in his pocket for his cell phone and when he fished it out he had to seriously wonder about the intelligence of the goof balls who put him down here. You’d think they would have searched him first. He realized that it was his boyish looks that had made them underestimate him as he dialed Rory’s number – the only person he could think of to get him out of this mess. “Justin,” Rory said. “I was just getting the information ready for you. I think it’s an excellent idea for you to take Brian to Cool Springs to recover.” “Yeah, well Rory, I’m in kind of a bind here. Some moron called Big Sal had two goons grab me off of the street, they stuffed me in a basement, I think I’m at Big Sal’s house, we didn’t drive very far.” Justin sighed with the indignity he’d suffered. “Can you get me out of here?” “I’ll send the police right away and I’ll be there as fast as I can.” Rory quickly hung up. Justin paced the length of the dank cement room, doing his best to avoid touching any of the discarded junk that was down there. A scratching at the window drew his attention and he grinned when he saw the long black snout pressed against the dirty pane. “Hey Zack, the police will be here soon, you make sure they know that I’m here.” Getting the police to go to Big Sal’s proved to be harder than Rory thought. He finally had to threaten to call the press in after painstakingly getting each and every name of the cops he talked to. It was almost an hour after he’d talked to Justin before two bored police officers knocked on Big Sal’s door. “We’ve had a report of someone being held here against their will.” One of the men began. “Who called you?” Big Sal asked. “I’m here alone.” “Would you let us in to look around?” “Do you have a search warrant?” “Do we need one?” the taller cop asked. “I mean, a quick look around, we can go back and report nothing unusual was happening, everyone’s happy.” “There’s no one here, take my word for it.” Big Sal bumped back against the open door as Zack, hackles up and teeth bared, bounded through the door. He went straight to the locked basement door and began to paw at the handle. “What the fuck – get that wild dog out of here, shoot it, it has rabies.” Big Sal turned and headed for the basement door only to be stopped by the wild eyed wolf who looked very much like he’d like to eat the big man. Justin began to bang on the door and shout. “Help, help, let me out of here,” as loud as he could. The police officers looked at one another and stepped inside the house heading for the door. “You have no right to be in here.” Big Sal shouted. One cop turned the lock and Justin tumbled out of the basement onto the kitchen floor. He looked up as best he could considering Zack was licking his face all over. They all looked with horror at the blond. Justin’s face was swollen on one side and black and blue, the other side sported an obvious handprint as well as a black eye that was rapidly closing. Big Sal didn’t need to ask to know he was in big trouble considering the clear imprint of his rather large signet ring glowed deep red on Justin’s cheek. Justin stood up. “I don’t know who this asshole is, or why he had me kidnapped off of the street – he kept talking about my partner who was damn near killed a few months ago and is only now coming out of the coma he’s been in. This fucking asshole seems to think Brian has something of his; well Brian is a novelist, a good one – what the fuck he could possibly have of this guy’s is beyond me. I mean look at him – he’s like this major loser dude – we don’t have any reason to even know his kind.” Justin all but sneered the last words and Big Sal flushed. If looks could kill Justin would be pushing up daisies fast. One of the policemen had called for backup and by the time Rory arrived, the whole block had been cordoned off with flashing police vehicles parked haphazardly all over. He managed to get Justin out of the clutches of the paramedics who had been called to check the blond over with promises to have him down to the precinct to give his statement first thing in the morning. When Justin and Zack were settled in Rory’s BMW and heading for the apartment, Rory turned to Justin and tried not to wince at the condition of his face. Justin laughed when he saw the look on Rory’s face. “It isn’t that bad Rory, I’m blond and fair skinned, it doesn’t take much to make me look like shit.” Rory, who unofficially had a darn good idea about Brian’s years of playing Robin Hood, knew he had to do something and fast before Big Sal could get out of the watchful eye of the police department. “Justin, I think we need to step up our plans for Brian’s rehabilitation. I’m going to take you to the apartment and I want you to pack a bag for yourself and for Brian. Make sure everything is well locked because you won’t be back for a while. While you’re doing that I’m going to see if we can get Brian transferred and admitted to Cool Springs tonight.” He looked at Justin – “I’ll call your school – I don’t think there will be a problem graduating, I know your grades are excellent.” Justin didn’t question Rory, he knew that whatever Big Sal’s problem was it was pretty serious and he sure didn’t want Brian getting in the middle of it. While Justin was packing, Rory was calling in favors. Cool Springs was more than a four-hour drive out of the city and more than remote. But money talks and he soon had an out of service ambulance and driver lined up to make the long trip. The bungalow where Justin and Brian were going to stay along with the nursing staff that would be required was quickly arranged. It was almost midnight by the time Brian was loaded into the waiting ambulance with little fanfare. Zack sat up front with the driver, Justin and the luggage rode in the rear with Brian. The drive out of the city and into the countryside was done in silence that was only broken by Brian’s quiet breathing and the hiss of the tires on the wet streets. Justin watched the familiar buildings and streets disappear through the rear window as he marveled at how fast his life changed from day to day. He kept his hand on Brian - always in contact hoping that his touch would tell the sleeping man that everything was okay. Back at the hospital Tilly systematically erased all entries that referred to where Brian was being transferred from the computer’s memories, substituting instead the name and location of a rehab center in Alabama. No one asked her to do it, but she knew from the way the man had been spirited out of her ward, that something serious was up. When she saw Justin’s face it only confirmed what she had been thinking. Justin had suffered too much to have it all blow up now. He needed his man to get better and get better Brian Kinney would if Tilly had anything to do with it. The sun was rising over the tops of the trees when the ambulance pulled into the graceful driveway of Cool Springs Rehab Center. It drove up to the main receiving door and a tall graceful woman ran out to hand the driver a small but detailed map as to where he should go. Justin and Zack watched with interest. The ambulance started up again and drove slowly along a narrow paved roadway that was overhung with leafy trees, coming to a stop in front of a small bungalow painted a cheery yellow. It had a screened veranda that wrapped around the house and was built so that only a small incline led to the front door. Two men and one woman came out of the house, all of them smiling. They pulled open the double ambulance doors. “Hi, you must be Justin and Brian. We’ve been waiting for you.” The woman said. “I’m Sandra Campbell, Brian’s Attending Physician; this is Bryce she nodded to the younger of the two men, Brian’s day nurse, and Todd, Brian’s night nurse.” The two men began to remove the stretcher from the back of the ambulance. “Bryce and Todd are going to get Brian settled in. I’ll show you the bungalow while they’re doing it and then once I check him over, I’ll let the two of you have some quiet time to recover from your trip.” She looked at Zack who was trying to look innocent in the front of the ambulance. “Is the dog safe to be around, what I mean is – would he be safe for our patients or do you require a kennel for him?” “Zack will be okay, I don’t expect he’ll go anywhere unless Brian or I are with him.” Justin said and hoped he was right. He jumped down from the ambulance and stretched and then let Zack out. The driver got out and went to the back and pulled the two large suitcases out of the back for Justin. “I’m going to the residence and get some sleep before heading back.” He told Justin. “Hey, hope your guy makes it – he’s pretty hot.” Justin looked surprised. “He’ll make it and yes he’s hot and he’s mine.” The driver laughed as he climbed back into the cab. Justin could see him smiling as he drove back to the main building. Justin and Sandra began to pull the cases onto the wide veranda, he was surprised that she was helping, but when she began to talk he was reminded of his friend Daphne who he’d grown up with and soon forgot that the older woman was a doctor. “Leave the cases here for now Justin; you’ll have lots of time to unpack. I had Brian’s charts faxed to me and I can see that he’s only begun to emerge from his coma state. Bryce and Todd will have your man all tidied up in no time. This is the kitchen, you can prepare your own meals or have meals delivered from the main kitchen. Brian’s diet will be closely monitored; he will be on a specialized organic diet right from the first. You can prepare his drink according to these instructions” and she showed him the location of what Brian was going to begin to eat if eating was the word for a liquid diet. Whenever you give him anything, either liquid or solid I need you to record it in this notebook. There is a spot for any comments you might want to make as well. Like whether he liked it or hated it – just your observations. You do not have to do any of this of course, Bryce or Todd can look after Brian completely, but we’ve found that the families often want to participate in the patient’s recovery. You will notice that there is a complete lack of artificial drugs on the list of what Brian will be taking during his stay. We at Cool Springs prefer the more natural Naturopathic method of treatment unless absolutely necessary. Another reason why it’s so important to record everything that becomes part of Brian’s treatment.” “All done Sandra.” Bryce said when he and Todd came out of the doorway off the living room area. Justin, did you want us to make up the other bed in the room, or do you prefer to sleep in the same bed as Brian?” “I can sleep with Brian?” Justin asked his eyes big. “Yes, part of our treatment plan here is to have as natural an environment for the patient as possible. If someone is used to having their loved one close, then it’s very off putting for them to find that they are all alone in their bed.” “I’ll sleep with Brian.” Justin declared. “Then we’ll have the other bed removed. The bed is queen sized; Brian’s part has a low loss air bed mattress independent from your side, though both sides are adjustable and can be raised or lowered for sitting or sleeping.” “Cool” Justin smiled. “We’ve given Brian the first of his feedings through the gastric tube, but from what we see, it won’t be long before he’s taking them by mouth. We’ll try a little water later today, perhaps by evening if he’s awake.” “Why don’t you familiarize yourself with the bungalow, while I examine Brian. I won’t be long and then you can have a few hours to yourself. Todd will be back at seven this evening – you share him and Bryce with bungalow number seven and six – Bryce will give you the radio for you to contact him should you need him.” “So Brian and I are mostly here all alone?” Justin asked, not sure about the amount of responsibility, what if Brian had a seizure? “You’ll find that during the day there really isn’t much alone time. Brian’s day will be pretty busy the more he emerges and will be filled with Speech Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Physical therapists, Psychologists, you name it, we’ll all be in here prodding him along.” She laughed. “I understand you’re an artist, the countryside around here is full of inspiration – you’ll keep busy. The both of you’ll be glad to relax with a good television program in the evenings.” “I’d like to be involved in his recovery as much as possible” Justin said. “You will be, I’ll see that you are included in everything. It’ll be up to you how much you want to do or not.” “Thanks Dr. Campbell,” Justin said “It’s Sandra Justin, we don’t stand on formalities here.” She smiled. “Welcome to our little world.” “Thanks Sandra.” Justin grinned. “I think we made a great decision in coming here. It kind of makes me feel safe.” “I’m glad. Now let me look over your handsome partner.” She turned and headed for their bedroom. “Justin, the bathroom is through there.” Bryce pointed. “I’m going to head to the cafeteria and grab some breakfast. Why don’t you come with me, you can bring it back here and you’ll get to know some of the area. Todd will with stay with Brian until we get back. “I’m starved.” Justin admitted. “I missed supper last night.” “We’ll bring the dog; he should have a chance to familiarize himself with everyone too.” Soon Zack was walking a few feet ahead of Bryce and Justin as they crossed the lawn toward the main building, both of them talking and exchanging information about themselves. “So Justin, have you and Brian been partners long?” Bryce asked. “Not that long before his accident.” “It’s pretty good of you to try and look after him. Not many guys would have stuck around.” “Really?” Justin was surprised because it had never occurred to him to do otherwise. “I think that sucks. It wasn’t Brian’s fault some asshole decided to hit him with a baseball bat.” Justin looked indignant. “Well, you seem like a nice kid. If you want me to show you some of the good spots for hiking and stuff on the mountain, I could show you on my day off.” “That’s okay Bryce. I kind of want to stay close to Brian for right now. But thanks for offering.” Justin looked carefully at the handsome nurse. His pale ivory scrubs looked almost elegant against the dusky brown of his skin. “Do you have a boyfriend?” Justin asked. “Not at the moment, my hours here are kind of weird and I’m not really into casual sex. I want to have a relationship. I’m more a romance kind of guy.” Bryce looked at Justin. “I like long walks in the forest, poetry, and just laid back kind of things. I’m not really into going to the clubs and things.” “Brian and I never went clubbing. He was going to take me but” Justin’s voice trailed off. “Yeah, shit happens.” Bryce said in agreement to the unspoken words and he let his fingers trace down the side of Justin’s bruised cheek. Justin squirmed uncomfortably. They walked into the cafeteria. “You can pretty much order what ever you want and how much you want. It’s all part of the service. Do you want to get a table?” Bryce asked. “No, I’m going to get some stuff and take it back to the bungalow. I don’t like to leave Brian for too long right now.” “Todd is there.” “Yeah, but Todd has to work tonight, this is probably is time off.” Justin loaded his tray. “I’d just feel better if I was there.” “Sure, maybe another time.” Bryce said. “I’m off on Sunday; I could show you a great spot to sketch.” “Not this Sunday Bryce, but thanks.” Justin’s smile was sad as he went back to the bungalow. It had been a long day for him and he was tired. He planned on crawling into bed with Brian as soon as he’d eaten and get a few hours sleep. Brian opened his eyes, he felt a bit stronger, but still kind of out of it. The room he was in was unfamiliar. He couldn’t smell hospital, only hot sweaty boy and he realized the weight on his chest and his shoulder was Justin wrapped around him and sleeping. He could hear the rhythmic breathing. His head didn’t hurt as much as it usually did and he tried to focus on the boy snuggled close to him. Brian knew he’d had some kind of accident; Justin had talked enough about it that the worst had sunk through the thick fog that was his brain. He shut his eyes, content that whatever was happening at least Justin was safe. With his eyes shut he could hear a small whine from Zack and Brian fell asleep smiling knowing those he loved were close by. Justin slowly woke up from his morning nap. He could hear sounds outside the window typical of the country. People talking quietly, a mower in the distance, the smell of freshly mowed lawn, and summer flowers were all things he hadn’t experience in a long while living in New York. He looked around the room for the first time. He’d been too tired before he’d crawled into bed with Brian. The room looked nothing like a hospital room, more like a guest room in a nice house. The bed was higher and had a few buttons that could be pushed and things looked easy to wash and care for, but it was still rather pleasant. He realized all at once that Brian’s one finger on his right hand was stroking his arm. “Hey Brian, nice to see you back.” He whispered softly and leaned over to kiss the warm lips that were so close to his. He was rewarded with another tiny smile. Brian was back. “I love you so much Brian, you’re going to like it here at Cool Springs, and it’s an awesome place. I can hardly wait to take you for walks in the woods.” Brian’s lips moved “bugs Babe” was all he said and smiled his soft smile, his eyes still closed. “Well, I refuse to allow a few bugs to stop me from enjoying the woods.” Justin kissed him again. “I’m going to get some lip gloss, just a sec.” He reached over to the pile of things he’d taken out of his pockets before removing his pants and getting into bed with Brian. The small pot of strawberry gloss was there and he smoothed some over Brian’s lips. “There now you not only look good enough to kiss, but you taste good too.” He teased. “Of course I always like the way you taste.” “Brat” Brian said and sighed. He forced his eyes open then shut them quickly again, something was wrong with Justin’s face, and his one eye was all swollen and purpley green. Justin realized right away what happened. “Hey Brian, it’s okay, I do look like I was hit in the face with a door. You aren’t seeing things. But I heal fast; you won’t have to look at me like this long. Or at least I don’t think so.” “How?” Brian asked. “It was just a misunderstanding with some guy called Big Sal, Rory helped me and that’s why he kind of thought we should speed up your coming to Cool Springs. This Big Sal guy has like no sense of humor.” Brian became agitated; Justin could sense right away that the older man was stressed. “Hey Brian, we dealt with it, I’m sure that what ever Big Sal’s problem is, you’ll tell me when you can. I kind of have a feeling that he was responsible for what happened to you and Michael. But Storm wanted you to know that the guy who hurt you guys has been dealt with – I didn’t ask for details because I’ve a feeling it’s one of those things I don’t really want to know.” Brian, realizing that there was nothing he could do about any of this at the moment, settled down. He resolved to talk to Rory as soon as he was able, to get something in motion that would give Big Sal something to think about other than him and Justin. Right now it was nice just to know that the boy was safe and here with him. Justin snuggled closer, enjoying the fact that Brian was awake even if he couldn’t talk much. “This is sort of a free day for both of us. Tomorrow there’s a whole bunch of people who are going to start getting you back to being Brian. I’m going to just hang around and see what’s up, I’m allowed to help if I want to, but I need to see where it would work best and not just be getting in the way.” “Good” Brian said. “Zack and I are going for a walk in the woods later, there’s a lake not too far from here and Bryce said the paths to it are marked so we won’t get lost. Zack will like being in the forest, he can do wolf things for a change.” Justin continued to punctuate his talk with soft kisses that made Brian smile. “You know Brian, I kind of like you with a bit of a beard, maybe I should stop shaving you.” Justin rubbed his hand on Brian’s cheek enjoying the chestnut stubble.” “Itch” Brian said. “I suppose it does. You know I’m getting pretty good at shaving you, I hardly ever cut your skin.” Brian’s eyes opened wide and Justin laughed. “I was just teasing.” A small smile escaped the older man’s lips. Justin reluctantly moved off the bed. “I have to unpack and stuff. Bryce will be in to check on you. Do you want me to shave you now or later?” Justin was rather enjoying this, it had been so long since he could talk to Brian and actually have him answer, even if it was one word answers. “Now,” Brian closed his eyes again. He couldn’t believe how tired he was. But if Justin did shave him, at least he’d be with him a little longer.” “Cool, I’ll get set up. I’m going to tell Bryce that I’ll give you your bath as well. He can come in later.” Though Brian had his eyes shut through most of his bath and all of his shaving, he nevertheless listened to the young blond who never stopped talking. It was wonderfully refreshing to feel the gentle summer breeze on his smoothly shaved face and Justin had slipped a pair of his silk lounging pajamas on after he’d carefully bathed him from head to toe. The silk felt like liquid cream against his skin, a welcome relief from the harsh cotton he’d had on. Even Brian knew that the silk pajamas were totally impractical, but he figured it made Justin happy making him presentable. The nicest part was the small pieces of crushed ice that Justin kept slipping between his lips. They were icy ambrosia to his parched mouth. Justin left Brian in Bryce’s hands after he’d unpacked their suitcases. He needed to call Michael and the rest of them in Pittsburgh, but he didn’t want to do it within Brian’s earshot. His first call was to Rory. “Hey Rory, we’re all settled in. I think Brian’s going to really like this place. Thanks for finding it.” “No problem Justin.” Rory hesitated. “Justin, I have Brian and you checked in there under an assumed name. I want to make it as difficult as I can for Big Sal to find you. Rumor has it he’s very pissed that you got away and he’s put out a contract on both you and Brian.” “That’s really lame Rory.” Justin resisted looking over his shoulder. “I know, and I’ve got someone working on changing it, but these things take time.” “Rory, Brian, he really did take something of Big Sal’s didn’t he?” “Probably, but whatever it is, Brian wouldn’t have taken it unless it was necessary.” Rory wasn’t sure how to phrase the next part. “Brian had a pretty rough time when he came to New York. He was eighteen and on his own. He’s pretty resourceful and it wasn’t long before he was on his way to being the man he is now. He never forgot the little people who unselfishly helped him get where he is now. And he never forgot those that exploited and hurt the same people. His story is one he will tell you himself someday, but I wanted you to know Brian Kinney isn’t a bad man. He’s one of the good guys even if he does dress in black.” “I know that Rory.” Justin was quiet. “I’ll keep you posted on what’s happening here. I’m going to call Michael and give him the go ahead on the comic book. It’ll give me something to do here, doing the art work, and I might be able to get Brian interested in some of the stories. We’ll be basing it on Jackson and Zuni, in Brian’s books. I think he’d like that.” “Maybe you could give Jackson a side kick, maybe a young blond who falls in love with the old reprobate.” Justin laughed. “Maybe” he laughed again. “I’m not sure I’d want to refer to Jackson as ‘old’ I think there’s a lot of Brian in him.” “A lot more than you’ll ever know young Justin,” Rory smiled to himself. “You have Michael call me, I’ll draw up a contract for the two of you to sign. I’ll bring yours to Cool Springs myself, I have a few other papers for you to sign on Brian’s behalf.” “Yeah and there’s the baby, I haven’t told Brian about the baby yet. I mean I talked about it when he was in the coma, but I don’t know how much of that he really took in.” “I’ll leave that up to you Justin, I’m sure Brian will understand the circumstances that led you to make the decision.” “I hope so. I don’t think I’ll be telling him anytime soon though. I’ll let him get real used to having me around again.” Justin giggled. “Then he won’t make me sleep on the sofa.” The next call Justin made was to Michael. He knew that telling Brian’s friend would result in Michael telling everyone else with a few minutes of them hanging up. It was an easy way to spread the word about things. “Hey Michael” he began only to have the phone slammed off in his ear. Justin dialed back again, this time Michael’s phone rang busy. Not sure what to think, Justin walked over to the cafeteria to see what he could scrounge up to eat, it had been awhile since breakfast and he was starving. Justin was eating his hamburger and fries alone at a table in the corner of the cafeteria when his cell phone began to vibrate in his pocket. He checked the caller and it was Michael. “Hey, why did you hang up on me?” Justin began. “Justin, I don’t know what’s going on, but there’s some real bad ass guys here looking for you and Brian. Right now no one knows where you are, let’s keep it that way. There were two of them in my store when you called before.” “Okay, look can you get word to the others that we’re okay and that Brian is starting to come out of the coma, he’s even said a few words.” “Sure, I’ll do that. I’m glad he’s getting better for both of you sakes.” Michael hesitated. “Do you still want to do the comic?” “Sure, you get in touch with Rory, he’s going to draw up a contract between us. You can email me your story lines and I’ll do the drawings and send them back to you. I’m too far away from the Pitts to even consider going there even if I was willing to leave Brian for the time it would take.” “I’ll call Rory and send you the first of the story lines. Justin, don’t call here again. I think these guys might even go so far as to listen in on my phone lines – I don’t think they have yet, but you have to do a worse case scenario. I’ll call you when I can from a clear phone.” “Okay, keep an eye on Lindsay and Melanie would you, I’d kind of like progress reports and when Lindsay gets the ultrasound pictures, can you scan and email them to me please.” “Sure, I guess.” Michael paused. “Have you told Brian yet about Lindsay?” “Michael, he only started waking up in the last day or so. No I haven’t told him, I haven’t told him lots of stuff, give me time.” “Okay, look Justin, I’ve got to go. I’ll let them know you guys are safe.” Michael hung up the phone. Justin spent the afternoon in their bedroom sitting in a corner sketching as one by one various members of the team that would be working with Brian on his recovery, came through to examine his man. While he sketched and half listened to their instructions to Bryce, Justin’s mind kept going back to what Michael had said. Big Sal couldn’t be this pissed if it was only money. He would eventually accept that kind of loss, especially when he couldn’t really trace it to Brian; he just suspected it was Brian. There had to have been something else, something that Big Sal needed badly for him to go out on a limb like he was. At ten o’clock, after he had walked Zack and watched some television, Justin took off all of his clothes and for the first time ever, he officially got into bed and under the covers with the man he loved. Brian appeared to be sleeping and Justin lay staring at the ceiling, not that he could see the ceiling as this was the country and the moon didn’t offer much in the way of light. He could have turned on any of the small night lights that were scattered through the small bungalow, but it was kind of nice being naked under the covers with Brian, even if he was still hooked up to gawd knows what kind of drainage tubes. “Love Babe” he heard whispered, it was all he needed to snuggle up to the other man in the big bed. A hand inched slowly toward his until one by one the fingers meshed. A contented sigh was heard then the slow and steady breathing, with just a hint of a wheeze as both men slept together officially for the first time.