College in the Desert

CHAPTER III-College in the Desert THE AUTHOR: Barry Mattison WEBSITE/EMAIL: http://storiesbybm.webs.com stories@barrymattison.com

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INTRODUCTION:

This is a fictional story about how two young guys met at college, started a friendship that eventually became a long relationship, and endured all the good times and the bad times of that relationship over the coming years. The characters in "College in the Desert" are all fictional and any semblance to real persons--living or deceased--is purely coincidental.

DISCLAIMER:

This fictional story is written for the gay reader in particular and describes scenes of male nudity and sexual acts between two or more guys that some readers may find inappropriate and/or unsuitable for their reading. Please do not read any further if you find such reading offensive or if it may become property of anyone under the age of 21. This is copyrighted by Barry Mattison with permission to publish given to the Nifty Alliance Archive and is exclusively for the readers of this website. Copying, distribution or re-publication of this writing in any other web site, private or otherwise, is a violation of local, national and international copyright laws and will be pursued to the fullest extent allowable by law.

From Chapter II...

When we left at the end of Chapter II Jeff and Doug were leaving the apartment to go pick up Doug's clothes at the motel, grab some Mexican food, then get right back to the apartment in case Joe showed up. Things hadn't ended well between Jeff and Joe that morning due to Joe's incessant need for multiple sex partners and Jeff's disagreement with that arrangement. Jeff and Doug were at the car getting ready to hop in when a shot rang out. Jeff had been shot, probably by Joe, in the parking lot at the apartment; Doug had witnessed the incident and was in shock over what had happened. He had to stay at the scene while rescue took Jeff to the local trauma hospital; after identifying Joe and one other guy as being in the truck one of the cops introduced himself as Don, who told Doug he was a member of a special unit of the police that dealt with hate crimes and that he too was gay and had a partner of 29 years. He offered to lead Doug to the hospital and get him in to see Jeff, which he did.

It's here that we find Doug walking into the Trauma Unit with a nurse leading him...

I found Jeff in the Emergency Trauma Unit with a lot of people around him, working in an orderly but frenetic manner on him. A Dr. Stahid introduced himself and asked me to follow him into a smaller room to talk. When we got inside the room he said, "Please sit down, I need to talk with you, straight up, no beating around the bush. According to our files on record Jeff has no family left. He is an only child.Both his parents were killed in an automobile accident several years ago by a drunk driver. He signed a document when he arrived that gives you the power of attorney over him in all matters. It was right after that that he began to have a seizure that we couldn't find a cause for. However, right after we got that under control he went into cardiac arrest and his heart stopped. At this point we are still doing everything we can to revive him. We have one of the best trauma units in the west here and our doctors are doing everything they can.

He went on to say that the bullet had nicked an artery in his chest and they were still trying to stop the bleeding and doing CPR at the same time. But technically, Jeff was gone.

I was hanging in there until he said that, but afterwards, I think my heart stopped as well. I had been in sort of a 'neutral place' up until this point. Now I felt myself leaning forward in a slow motion, hazy fog; I put my face in my hands and made it to my lap, crying harder and harder until I was hyperventilating. I just barely heard the doctor calling for a nurse to come immediately. She had me put a bag over my mouth and nose and asked me to breathe slowly, in and out, in and out.

The nurse asked me if I had any family that could come to be with me for a while, and I told her that I had just moved here from across the country and I didn't know anybody else. The Dr. walked over and hugged me for a moment and said he was sorry. He wished that it had all turned out differently. As he said that his beeper buzzed and a voice came over it saying, "Dr. Stahid, report to Trauma Room four, STAT!" It only took one announcement for him to be at the door and leaving. On the way out he looked at me and said, "wait here please, I'll be back as soon as I know anything."

Jeff looked down on the group of people in the room. He could see his body on the table as the doctors worked feverishly to try and revive him. He felt no pain at last and wondered why they were working so hard. He was at peace for the first time in his short life, but when he tried to talk nothing came out. He could see all the tubes, the machinery...especially the blood...everywhere, covering him, the people, and the floor. Someone was leaning over him with something that they placed on his chest, everyone backed away, then his body would jump off the table. He still didn't feel anything through all this except for a floating, disconnected freedom. The one weird thing is that he could hear everything that the people were saying below him.

He heard the main doctor say, "Let's keep trying, we've got to bring him back." He wanted to tell them to stop, let him go, but when he tried to talk nothing came out. He raised his head and looked around.

He felt himself floating towards the hallway, through the walls and into a small room where Doug was sitting. He looked down at him and listened as Doug spoke into the air through his tears.

"Jeff, please don't leave me now. I need you so bad. I'm all alone in a strange place, I don't know anyone, I'm afraid about what Joe might do if he gets out of this or his buddies come after me, and I miss you the most. My companion, best friend, I love you." Doug put his head down into his hands and continued to cry tears of desperation. Jeff tried to reach out and touch him, but as he did he suddenly felt himself being pulled away...up and over the rooms...Nooooooooh...I don't want to leave him.......Doug...................I....lo..v..

Suddenly Jeff raised up off the table and everyone stepped back. Then he slowly fell back with his eyes open and his breathing shallow. Dr. Stahid spoke up, "praise the Lord, he's back! I don't believe it! Ladies and gentlemen, this is nothing short of a miracle, let's make sure he stays alive now."

The room became a whirlwind of activity as nurses reset monitors and watched them; other doctors jumped in to help finish closing up the chest cavity and clean him up in preparation for moving him to the Cardiac ICU unit, and Dr. Stahid went to find Doug.

He found him right in the room where he had left him, still crying. He looked down at him and instantly felt the pain that Doug was feeling. But he also knew that Doug needed to know the good news. He reached down and touched Doug's shoulder. Doug had been dreaming that Jeff was in the room, which had made him even more emotional as he pleaded with Jeff to stay and not leave him alone. Doug almost jumped out of his skin when the doctor touched his shoulder, but he didn't look up at him for fear of what he was going to say.

Dr. Stahid looked down at Doug, a tear in his eyes and said. "Doug, Jeff came back to us, I can't explain it, I've never seen it happen like this before and after being without oxygen to his brain this long there may be severe brain damage, but it's a miracle. He's stable now, we've repaired the hole in his artery where the bullet hit, got him all sewed back up and he should be ready to transfer to the Cardiac ICU. Would you like to see him?"

"Would I!" I practically flew out of the room and into room four where Jeff was all cleaned up and waiting to be moved. He still had a lot of tubes and things coming out of him, and he was totally out of it from the anesthesia, but was able to look at me and shake his head a little up and down.

He tried to talk but I had to lean down real close to hear him. "Thanks for saying the things you did about me...you're the reason I came back you know."

I know I had a blank look on my face as I stared at him.

Does, "My companion, my best friend, I love you" remind you of anything?" Jeff managed to say. I turned my head, looked him in the eyes and gave him a light kiss on the lips.

I was speechless. How could he have known what I had said back there in that room, crying with my head in my hands? I believed in God and a lot of possibilities, but this was all beyond my little farmer's mind at the moment. The explanations for whatever miracle had happened here was going to have to wait for now.

Several nurses arrived to take Jeff up to his room in the ICU. They asked if I was coming up. I looked at Jeff, who nodded his head yes.

One of the nurses, Nancy, said, "Doug, we were told by someone in authority that you would want to stay by Jeff's side so we made arrangements, against hospital policy which was waived, to have a bed put beside Jeff's so you could be near him, if that's okay with the both of you?"

Jeff smiled the best he could, looked at me, and nodded yes to the nurse. We both looked at each other as we rolled down the hallway, the fluorescent lights casting odd shadows on the bed sheets on as we went from one to the other.

I could see a tear forming in his eye at the same time as they started running down my face. I brought my arm up and wiped my eyes and face to try and clear some of them away so I could see.

All that I know is that in that one moment in time, I finally knew what real love felt like. I couldn't describe it, I couldn't explain it...all I could do was feel it inside me, and it felt good. The feeling spread throughout my body and warmed me from head to toe and I shivered in a delightful way. I still can't explain it and I was only to experience it one more time with someone else.

"I think that would be perfect mate," I replied as I reached over and wrapped my fingers around his. In return he tenderly squeezed my hand with what little energy he had.

I looked at the nurse who was waiting for a reply. She had seen what had transpired between Jeff and I and without waiting for an answer she nodded to the other nurse and told her to make the arrangements. All I could say was "Thank you," to which Nancy replied, "No thanks are necessary, we understand."

As we continued up to the ICU I started thinking about some other things. I was still holding Jeff's hand and he was lightly resting. He was so beautiful laying there with his golden blond hair and bright blue eyes. I kept staring at him and started thinking about some decisions I needed to make. None of what had happened since I had arrived here was in my plan, as sketchy as it was; I needed to do something about a permanent place to live, I has these very strong feelings for Jeff that I didn't understand right now, I knew he would need me to help him through his recovery time; I needed to find a job to support myself, and soon, I had to be ready to start school. There were visits to the registrar to be made, the financial aid office, follow-ups on my transfer credits, all that stuff.

I was feeling very overwhelmed when the nurses suddenly stopped us. I almost ran right into the equipment hanging off the bed before catching myself on the handle bar of the bed.

I was frantic as I asked the nurse, "I didn't rip anything out of his arm or anything did I? I'm really sorry, my mind was just so far away thinking about all the things that need to be done and all I wasn't watching out. Is he okay? Are you going to make me leave or anything?" I was just freaking out.

The nurses both laughed. It seems that I was the one that needed the help more than Jeff because when I looked down at him, he was laying there with a big smile on his face.

One of the nurses spoke up and said, "No, we aren't making you go anywhere, then we'd have to put up with Jeff. We stopped because we're in his room already and need to get him all hooked up to the monitors. We need you to step out for a few minutes until we're done."

Jeff spoke up right away. "I'd feel better if I don't lose sight of him for the time being. The last time that happened I think I died."

The nurses looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders and said, "okay with us." They pulled the curtain around all of us, centered the bed against the machinery on the wall and locked the bed with a foot pedal. Being very careful, they methodically pulled the dirty, bloody sheets off him and covered his middle with a folded sheet, then wiped him down with a wet sponge. He had a long suture line down the center of his chest where they had opened him up to find the bleeding artery and the bullet and there was a machine attached to his side that was still pulling fluids out of his chest cavity.

As they finished cleaning him up and hooking up the rest of the oxygen and drain tubes and stuff to monitor him from the desk I kept watching his face. I knew that he had to be in quite a lot of pain, but you couldn't tell by the smile on his face. The nurses covered him up with warm blankets and tucked him in, and in parting, asked him if he needed anything. He replied, "I'm fine, Doug's here."

They just looked up at the ceiling, shook their heads and left. I was flattered and glad that he needed me, and also a little confused about a few things. I really wanted to ask him how he could have known what I had said while sitting in the little room when he was supposedly lying on the emergency room table, dead. I didn't have to even ask or wait.

I had been standing there beside his bed, but Jeff said, "see if you can crawl in beside me without breaking anything klutz, I can't talk very loud or long and I want to tell you something."

I fooled around with one of the side rails for a moment until I found the latch, then lowered it and slowly slid in beside his warm body, lifting tubing and crawling under some and then sliding over a few more until we were together. He moaned a little and I almost jumped right straight up in the air, but by hyperventilating again and increasing my heart rate above 200, I managed to stay right where I was.

"Did I hurt you? Are you okay?" I asked.

"No, it just felt so good to have you beside me that the moan came out automatically. Sorry."

"It's okay, I'll just use your oxygen for a few minutes, check my heart rate and see I'm still alive. Oh shit, I didn't mean that." Jeff just smiled.

"That's sort of what I wanted to talk to you about. When I was on the table and they were working on me I started to have a seizure and couldn't breathe. It felt like an elephant was sitting on me. I was in so much pain I just wanted it to stop. The next thing I can remember I was floating above the table, the doctors, everything, and there was no pain. It was really weird. I wasn't scared or anything, just out of pain and very peaceful. They were yelling at each other to do this and that and I was trying to tell them to stop and leave me alone. It was funny, I could hear them but they couldn't hear me. Right then I felt myself floating through some walls and there you were, sitting in a small room, talking to yourself and crying uncontrollably, saying you needed me and you loved me. I was confused, but I knew I wanted to be with you, not floating on the ceiling, and suddenly I wanted to go back. In a blur I was whisked back into the emergency room and into my body, wracked with pain, but happy to be there. So here I am, a little less for wear and still ticking."

I was in tears, in fact we both were. Little did we know, but one of the nurses had come by to check in on Jeff, was standing behind the curtain, and had heard the whole thing, and now she was in tears. Although we couldn't see her, we could hear her quietly sobbing behind the curtain; when she came in a few minutes later her eyes were all red and she was sniffling.

Neither of us really cared though, we were both fast asleep, snuggled tight together, my arm draped over Jeff.

Nancy called her assistant nurse in. "Well, will you look at that," she said quietly. Nancy pulled her aside and told her what had been said between us, and as they covered us up with a blanket and checked Jeff's vitals, they quietly sniffled together as they left the room.

It was about five hours or so later, I had no idea what time of day it was after everything that had happened, that I woke up. Jeff was already awake, laying there, looking at me.

"Finally, sleeping beauty. I thought you were going to sleep forever."

"How long have you been awake?" I asked as I yawned and looked into his beautiful eyes.

"Just a few minutes. I've been watching you for a little while. You saved my life you know and I'll never forget it."

"I'm still not sure what that was all about, but whatever did happen I'm glad it did and I'm glad I didn't lose you. Now we've got to get you up and well again and back into the game. So what do 'ya say to that?"

"I say let's get 'er done...after this miserable pain goes away and I take a piss."

"Want me to hold the piss pot, piss head? Or would you rather have the nurse hold your dick for you?" I asked jokingly as I slid back out through the maze of wires and tubes.

"Stop it you jerk, you're making me laugh and it hurts more. You're the piss head asshole."

Right then the nurse peeked around the corner and asked what all the fooling around was about. Didn't we know this was a hospital for sick people. I told her he had to take a piss and I needed to find the pee pot to help him. She reached under the bed and handed me the plastic pot with the handle.

"Make sure he hits the hole, okay. It's too hard to change the bed with all this machinery hooked up." I thought she was upset with us for making too much noise, but I caught a big smile on her face as she tried not to laugh.

"Okay, but if he misses it's because it's too small, and I'm not talking about the hole in the pot." Jeff was trying not to laugh because it hurt too much, but he was doing some squirming to avoid it. The nurse just didn't know what to say, but she was still laughing as she yanked the curtain closed and left the room.

"Okay sport, you 'wanna try this on your side or between the legs. I know from experience that either works for you. Personally, I think I better stick it between your legs and put that beautiful cock of yours right in the hole and you can piss away. I'll even hold it for you."

"I don't care where you put it because pretty soon it'll be too late. Put that pot down there and do what you've 'gotta do because I can't hold it any longer

"Okay, here it comes." I pulled up the blanket enough to put the pot between his legs and grabbed hold of his dick, put it in the top of the pot, and away he went. I thought he was going to overflow the pot before he finally quit.

"Shall I shake it? Get that last drop?" Before he could say anything I slapped his dick against the side of the pot a few times.

"OUCH! Asshole! That hurts."

"Just finishin' the job," I said with a smirk on my face as I pulled the pot out and covered him back up. "Anything else I can do for you sir?"

"You can kiss my ass."

"Ooooh. Can I?"

"After I get out of this place, you can kiss it all you want. Until then, I need to focus on getting better and you need to get your shit together too. Did you bring the car here?"

"I think so." Give me a second to think. "I don't even know what day it is. Ummm...yes, because I followed Don here in his cruiser. It's parked out front."

"Okay. Why don't you go back to the apartment and make sure everything is okay there...who's Don?"

"Long story, tell 'ya later. I also need to go to that motel and see if I can still get my clothes back. Maybe if I bring something from here they'll believe me. If not, then so much for that. There wasn't much anyway that was worth anything. Maybe it's time for a change."

"Don't worry about clothes, I've got enough for the both of us plus some. I don't know if the guy ever came to change the locks, but I wrote the name of the company down that was supposed to come and change them. When you're at the apartment why don't you call them, explain what happened and see if they can come right over and change them while you're there. Take my checkbook with you to pay for it. I'll sign a check. I'd feel better 'cause Joe still has a lot of friends around town who could still cause problems. And watch over your shoulder while you're at the apartment...okay? Promise me, yooooo whoooooo! hey dickhead...jeez, the lights are on but nobody's home."

"Oh...yeah, I promise. Sorry, I was thinking about something else. I'm going to call my friend and see if he's available to go there with me. I'm real nervous about being there alone and would feel better if someone is with me, especially a cop."

"Is that this 'Don' guy?"

"Yeah, he's a cop, and he's family. He helped me after you got shot."

Right then Dr. Stahid walked in. "Well now, how's our miracle patient today? "The nurses tell me you're feeling a little better. Is that so?"

"Well, except for this pain in my ass standing beside me, and the pain in my chest, I feel like I got run over by a convoy of log trucks. Of course the pain pills help. Can some of these tubes and things get taken out today? And when do you think I'm going to be able to leave?"

"Whoa there sport. You've had a very serious injury and we need to watch you to make sure nothing goes wrong. We can take a few tubes out later, but it's up to you as to how long you have to stay. If you take it easy and follow the nurse's advice and behave, and nothing else goes wrong, I'd would expect you to be able to be out in two to three days. You've got to give that artery a chance to heal or it will open up again and you'll bleed to death before we can save you. So my orders are to take it easy while you are here and let your body heal itself. Besides, I hear that you have your own private nurse with you 24/7 to keep you warm. If you want to sleep together we'll change things around and get you a larger bed."

Jeff looked at me with those sad, pleading eyes, and then said "yes, that will work much better and help me heal much faster."

The doc laughed, shook his head and headed out the door. "See you guys later. I'll stop bye once more before I leave the hospital this evening."

I followed him out the door and asked him if I could speak to him for a moment. He said sure. I asked him point blank if Jeff had really died when he arrived at the trauma unit. He told me that after the seizure, Jeff had had a heart attack and was technically dead for over 3 minutes. He said it was the strangest thing he'd ever seen as a doctor. They were ready to give up on him and that's why he was in talking to me when he got the call. The Emergency room people had never seen anything like it when Jeff just sat right up from being dead to fully alive. That's when they paged me and why I needed to be in there, to close off that leak in his artery so he wouldn't bleed any more. "Why do you ask Doug?"

I told him about what Jeff had told me and his face went blank as he put the whole thing together in his mind. "I've heard about this happening, but would have never believed it. Maybe someday you and Jeff will write an article for me for publication in one of the medical magazines. I'll help you with it as a medical consultant."

"Maybe we will Dr. I'm sure we'll be seeing you around for a while. Meanwhile I've got a few errands to run so I can get back to be with Jeff. I don't like being away from him very long with him in his condition. I should be back in about forty-five minutes to an hour. And doctor," "Yes." he said. "Thank you for saving his life. I couldn't have made it without him."

"I have this funny feeling that it was you that saved his life, I only put the pieces back together."

"Well, whatever happened in there, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Sorry though, I'll talk to you later, I've got to get these errands done and get right back. Thanks again," I said as I waived and headed out the door for the parking lot. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the keys along with a piece of paper with Don's name on it. Oh crap I thought. Walking back into the hospital I looked for a phone and saw one on the greeters counter.

"May I make a local call to the police station on this phone?"

"Sure," the little gray haired lady said, "just press number nine first, then the number."

"Thank you." I dialed Don's number, which turned out to be his cell number. After 4 rings he answered, "Hello, Don here."

"Hi, this is Doug Matthews. I met you at the shooting yesterday. You took me to the hospital."

"Oh yeah, I remember. What can I help you with Doug?"

"Well, I'm just leaving the hospital to run back to the apartment to check on things. Jeff is going to be okay, but he died when he got to the hospital...it's a long story. I'm sure we'll have to talk about everything that's happened. Where is Joe now? Is he still in jail because I'm scared to be around the apartment because he knows a lot of people here and I identified him as the shooter. We want to get the locks changed on the apartment and I need to get a change of clothes. Plus I left some clothes at the motel over on the street by the airport that I need to see if I can pick up if they'll give them to me. So I was wondering if there was any way that someone could go to the apartment with me just in case someone was there trying to clean it out or something and also wait while I get the locks changed, and...whew...sorry, out of breath...get those clothes. Then I need to get right back to the hospital to be with Jeff to watch out for him."

"I didn't realize he was hurt that bad Doug. I'm sorry. First of all, Joe and his buddies are all locked up safe and sound and they won't be going anywhere with a charge of attempted murder hanging over their heads. However, I am concerned about their friends. Joe's buddies are both members of a local Latino gang and could present a problem. Where are you right now?"

"In the hospital Emergency room lobby getting ready to head for the apartment. Why?"

"Okay, you stay there. I'll pick you up in about five minutes and tell you what my plan is. Okay? You'll stay right there?"

"Yes Don, I'll wait right here, what will you be driving?"

"I'll have an unmarked green Ford van and I'll be right there. Bye"

"See 'ya in a few, bye."

Well, I thought, that was a little more than I expected, but I'll wait like he said. I sat down and other things started running through my mind. Like SCHOOL! I've got to get going on following up with things asap or I won't be going this next semester as planned. Another thing I need is a cell phone. Maybe I can get one today while I'm out with Don, if he has time. Jeff might need to get hold of me while I'm running around doing errands after he comes home. Oh jeez, that's another issue. How will I handle that all alone. It all seemed like too much at once and the only person I knew that could help me was Don, who happened to pull up right then.

I walked out and gingerly opened the door of the brand new van, unsure if this was him or not. With a sigh of relief and a "Hi," I jumped in.

"Hey Doug, how are you feeling? You look like hell."

"I'm exhausted, mentally drained and feel like I've been pushed through a two inch knothole." I leaned forward and my head rested on the dashboard. I slowly reached around towards the door and grabbed the seatbelt, wrapping it around me and buckling it tight."

"Good man. Listen, I know you're probably feeling all alone being new in town and having so many things thrown at you so quick, but I'm here to help you. I interviewed Joe and he finally told us about how everything happened. We got a confession from him about the shooting and how the other guys were involved. The only thing I missed was what you said about his buddies and the fact that you identified him. He may think that you are expendable as a witness and it's fairly easy for them to get word outside of the jail to hit you too."

I snapped my head up and looked at him. My heart was racing again and I was almost ready to faint.

He reached over and squeezed my hand and said, "Don't worry Doug, that's not what's going to happen, I won't let it. Right after we spoke I had the three of them moved to solitary confinement with no visitors and no phone calls allowed. There's an officer at the door of Jeff's room as we speak 24/7 until this is over, and you will also have 24/7 protection until they are safely put away and this thing is all calmed down. The newspapers have been restricted from publishing any more information about the case unless it comes directly from me so that nobody can know what's going on. And finally, I have our police department technician on the way to the apartment to help change the locks and put in an alarm system tied to us."

"Feel a little better now buddy?"

I was trying not to cry with all the shock of this information, but didn't have much luck holding it back. I put my face in my hands and just let it all out, all the tension, all the emotion, all the heartache I couldn't show in front of Jeff, everything. Don reached over and just kept rubbing my back and repeated over and over, "It's all going to be okay, I'm here for you." Eventually I ran out of tears and looked up at Don.

Through muddy eyes all I could say was, "Thank you."

He said to hang on and we headed for the apartment. When we pulled up there was a metro van already there waiting for us and another cruiser with two officers.

Don said, "You wait here with this officer while the other officer and I go inside and check it out. Here Doug, give me the keys please." I handed him the keys and stood beside the officer who had gotten out of the cruiser.

We waited until they went inside and gave us the "all clear signal" before the officer and I went inside the apartment. I went to Jeff's room, found a few pair of jeans and some shirts and boxer briefs, socks and stuff. Jeff had told me there was a small gym bag under the bed so I stuff everything into that and was getting ready to leave the room when I thought, shoot, Jeff might like some clean boxers, socks and things too. I knew they would make him wear hospital jumpers while he was there, but at least he could have clean clothes after I gave him his sponge bath. So I went back to the drawer and grabbed more boxers, briefs and socks, a pair of jeans and a clean shirt and stuffed them into the bag, and Don and I left the apartment.

"The tech will change all the locks and install the security system and give me the keys and code information which I'll get right over to you, but you're not to come here without your escort, promise?...this is where you nod and say 'yes Don'."

"I'm sorry, yes Don, I promise. Don't worry, this place has bad vibes for me anyway. I don't think you'll find me here until I can get Jeff home."

"Good, now let's go get your stuff from the motel."

"I hope they haven't thrown it away or try to charge me another day for it being there." "We'll see," Don said.

When we pulled up to the motel door, Don followed me to the front desk and waited by the door as I tried to tell them what had happened and asked them if they still had my stuff. At first they said it was not there, then they said they had it all in a bag in the back room, but there were damages to the room and I would need to pay for those plus an extra night rent plus storage to get my stuff back. I was flabbergasted. Damage! What damage! Nobody even stayed in the room the night I rented. There was two scruffy looking guys behind the counter. I asked for the manager and one of them spoke up and said he was the manager. He insisted that furniture had been broken, the TV stolen and other items were also stolen. Since they had my information they were going to file a police report if I didn't pay all the extra charges totaling $ 1576.43. I said they were crazy. They presented me with a bill and prepared to run my credit card that I had left an imprint of.

I felt someone beside me and another person walked around the counter. It was Don standing beside me and there were now two officers surrounding the counter. The manager and the other idiot said, "what's this?"

Don showed his badge, Captain, whoa! I'd never asked him what his position was. "We've been after you guys for ripping off tourists for some time now. Now I've caught you right in the act, and by the way, the amount of money you tried to extort from this young man makes this a felony. It'll be a long time before you see daylight again. Search 'em and take them downtown boys"

"Yes sir" came simultaneously from both officers as they handcuffed the two slimy guys, searched them and took them out the door. By then there were a few more officers there to "clean up the mess" and Don said, "Doug, grab your bag back there, check and make sure everything is there, the officer will make a quick inventory for a court case, and we'll get back to the apartment. You can drop the stuff off there, take what you need and I'll drop you back at the hospital. Is that all okay with you?"

"Jeez Don, things happen fast here, don't they?" He laughed.

"Yeah, we've been watching these slimeballs for a while now but couldn't get a good, solid case against them until you came along. I just couldn't say anything until they started their rip-off with you. Then we had them...on tape...as he pulled out a recorder from his pocket. In two days you've helped us catch someone for attempted murder and helped shut down one of the worst gang run motels in town. I like you. You ever want to get back into police work you have a job waiting."

"Thanks, I just want a degree in music education and someone to love me forever." I felt comfortable saying that because we were in the van by now and I knew he was family anyway. I'd been through my bag and was waiting for the officer who was doing the inventory. Right then the read door slid open and he slid the plastic bag in and said, "It's all yours guys, see you later Captain."

"Things happen even faster when your badge says 'Captain', don't they?" I said nonchalantly. Don looked over at me and smiled. "You just never know who you're dealing with here, remember that." I smiled back.

"Let's grab some drive thru so I can get you back to the hospital. I'm sure Jeff is wondering where his other half is."

"That would be great. Are we still going to drop this stuff off at the apartment?"

"Why don't I do that for you so you can get back. Let's just grab the food, I'll check with the technician and see how far along he is, drop this stuff off and get the new keys and codes and see you tomorrow at the hospital. How's that sound?

"That would be great. Something I have to do soon, like real soon is get a cell phone so that Jeff can get hold of me if I'm out, or you can reach me if you need me for anything with the court stuff, plus I've got to get to the university and get some things taken care of or I'll miss this semester coming up that I'm registered for."

Don reached into his pocket and handed me a brand new phone. It was a real fancy one with internet and a camera, and everything. "This is compliments of the department for everything you've done to help with that motel thing. And it's also from me too, sort of a personal gift for you. You're a good guy and I don't meet many good guys your age in my business. It has three years of service under your name all pre-paid and ready to go.

"Wow Don. I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me. I don't know why all these things keep happening to me, but I hope my life settles down now for a while. And thank you for the phone, I'll have to take a class on how to use it, but I really needed it. You're the best friend I could ever ask for and I'll always be there if you need anything. When Jeff gets out and is healed up a little maybe we could go out to dinner with you and your lover sometime."

"That would be an honor. I look forward to it. Meanwhile, why don't you get back there and see if there's anything in your bag you need at the hospital. We'll be pulling up to the door in just a minute."

"Okay. I don't think there is, but I'll check." Pretty much all I took was my slippers and a few pair of my favorite boxers. What can I say, once you wear 'em you can't part with 'em.

As we pulled up to the door I shoved the few things into the small bag I brought from Jeff's place.

"So you'll be in touch tomorrow you said?" I mumbled to Don as I climbed out of the van.

"Yes. I programmed my phone number into your new phone and I have your number in my phone. Don't hesitate to call me anytime you feel the need to. I'm always there for you guys."

"Thanks Don. I really don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything, just get in there and take care of Jeff. He needs you the most right now. See you tomorrow. Bye." With that I shut the door, waived goodbye, and turned to enter the hospital.

As I walked into the lobby I recognized Nancy, one of the nurses that was taking care of Jeff. She didn't seem upset or anything, but she came directly over to me.

"Doug, I need you to come up with me to Jeff's room right away. We didn't know how to reach you but something has happened while you were gone." She reached for my hand and started to lead me at a rather fast pace through the hallways, around the corners, in and out of the elevators...was this ever going to end? My heart was racing, again. I didn't know if I could handle much more of this shit, or even make it to the room. I was beginning to get dizzy and as we passed through some automatic doors, I felt my legs giving out and everything going black...that was the last thing I remembered...

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Well guys, is this ever going to end? Poor Doug just can't get a break and has had a lot of things thrown at him in just a few days that most adults could never handle. But he's a strong, resourceful young man and bounces back pretty quick. This is not the major problem that happened at the end of the last chapter, but there is a problem...join the website as a member and get the inside "scoop" before the next chapter is published, along with pre-publish info before the general public gets it.

See 'ya next week...Huh?... What did you guys say?

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • "We said...WAIT JUST ONE FUCKIN' MINUTE Doug!" "You think we're all going to wait another week in our homes, twiddling our thumbs, waiting to see what's happened now! What the hell is this shit?"

"Okay...okay...I get the message! I'm in a good mood and you guys have been responding very well to this story, so I'll go a little farther then...here's a little reminder for you guys since you're yelling at me."

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • I felt my legs giving out and everything going black...that was the last thing I remembered...

Well, I passed out, okay? Big deal, you would too. Nancy grabbed me as I hit the floor and pulled something out of her pocket and before I knew it, I was sitting back up on the floor, a little woozy, but none the worse for wear. Right behind me was a waiting wheelchair that Nancy helped me into and off we went. As we came into Jeff's doorway I saw him standing up beside his bed. I looked at Nancy and then at Jeff, then back at her, and I had to ask, "I thought something had gone wrong again?"

"No," she said, "Jeff and I wanted you to see him standing up before he had to get into bed again."

"That's great Jeff, I'm almost dead from all this, but I'm glad you're standing. I don't know how much more trauma I can take. This has been two days of non-stop hell for me too and I can't take much more of it." I wasn't crying, but I was numb. I guess I just needed to get some things out instead of holding them in, but this wasn't the place to be doing it. I realized that after I said them and immediately got out of the chair and walked over to Jeff, wrapped my arms around him and hugged him very, very tenderly. At the same time I apologized for what I had said.

"I also love you very much and I'm so proud of you for being up and on your feet so quick. I don't know what I'd do without you. Please forgive me, can you?"

"I already have babe, I know what kind of day you've had. My personal guardian here at the door told me everything. He's Don's son, Don, Jr."

I looked over at the door and sure enough, there was a uniformed officer standing there watching everybody coming and going and questioning anybody that didn't seem like they belonged there.

Jeff looked at me and smiled. "You must have pulled at lot of strings and done something big for the cops because they've been so nice to me today. One of the detectives came and took my statement about the shooting and all that stuff and asked me some questions about you."

"Me?, what did they want to know about me?"

"They just wanted to know where you were from, if you could be trusted, what our relationship was, things like that."

"What did you say about me?"

"I told them you were a hustler that was a good friend of Joe's, I wouldn't trust you with my shoes, and I loved you so much I would die for you, but we weren't married...yet."

"YOU DIDN'T!" I blurted out as I looked him in the eyes.

"No, just the part about loving you," as he kissed me on the lips and then looked over my shoulder. "You won't believe this, but that hunk of a cop out there is gay too."

"Is this town some government experiment or something? Are there any straight people here at all?

Time passed quickly the next five days and Jeff and I finally got to move back to the apartment. He was set up with not only full-time security...you guessed it, Jr.,...but nursing services to help him with house chores, his physical therapy, shopping, just about everything except taking a shower. I insisted on helping him with that--we were the cleanest two guys on the block.

If I went out I had my own plain clothes security with me at all times—believe it or not this handsome guy was straight, but very open and understanding. There had been a few threats received during Joe's trial that was just starting up, but the main concern Don had was that the other guys associated with the gang would try to do something to me or Jeff before either of us could testify against any of them. Because of the threats they allowed us to testify from an undisclosed location on camera and in addition, we were being moved to a different part of the town.

That was sort of cool the way they did that, but I can't really say how it was done for security reasons. So now we were living in a new part of town, a gated community, a nice three bedroom house, two car garage with nice neighbors. We both even had new cars to drive.

Slowly, life as we began to know it now settled into a slow hum. Jeff started back to work at a new job...oh by the way, we both had new last names now, we were Jeff and Doug MacFarlane, brothers, so we didn't attract any unnecessary attention by saying we were married or anything. It meant some work changing things, but we both had jobs now and I had finally started my first semester at the university. Now there was just one problem hanging over both of our heads, and it was a big one.

There, you guys happy now?, Get ready for some fun next chapter because things are going to change again.

Thanks for your support. Remember to get on the website and become a member for the "Insider". Barry