Title: In Another Life. Author: Jezebel the Temptress Feedback: eh_oh_po@yahoo.com
Disclaimers: This story is fiction and it is not intended to imply anything about the true sexuality of the celebrities mentioned or any personal knowledge about their private lives. If you are underage for your area, if it is illegal for you to view such material or if you are opposed to two men in a loving situation then this story is not for you either.
Notes: It's fiction. Kevin is, was and always will be a Backstreet Boy in this universe.
It hit him as soon as he walked in the queasy and overpowering scent of bleach, it seemed to match the whiteness and sterility of the rest of the room, a clinical and lifeless environment where people came to die. Only hospitals could get away with this type of interior design.
"Mr. Richardson?" Someone asked, Kevin turned and saw a small ferret-like man with small glasses and a tuft of hair under his lip that was an attempt at a moustache. He guessed that this must be the doctor. "Are you here for Ms. Maddox?"
"Ye...Yes." Kevin said, coughing halfway through to try and get a deeper sound. He'd had trouble finding his voice since seeing Kyle and now that he was here to identify the body he didn't know if he could get his voice to hold.
"I have to warn you that there is a lot of bruising, but it's mostly post-mortem. I assure you that she did not suffer very much." The doctor said, Kevin wondered if they were just words to soothe him from something that would already be traumatic. Not really sure what to say he nodded in response.
The man smiled encouragingly as he walked towards a sheeted table. Kevin had seen this a million times on TV but nothing really prepared him for what he saw when the sheet was drawn back and he saw Julia there.
"Is that her?" The doctor asked, probably to pull Kevin's attentions away from the dark bruises on her neck and face. He could not see the rest, Julia was still covered over, but he knew that there was more and that it was likely to be worse.
"Yes, that's her." Kevin choked out through his sobs.
"Thank you." The doctor said softly, pulling the sheet back over her and covering the body.
Kevin turned and blindly walked out into the other room, he didn't know what else to do, he just had to get out of there. This gave him some idea of what had happened but he hoped that when Kyle awoke that they would be able to get some more answers.
Kevin returned to the room where Kyle lay sleeping after seeing Julia, he wanted to be near the young man in the hope that the fact that one of them survived would bring him some comfort, he also hoped that he could bring some comfort to Kyle. They always said that even if a patient was in a coma that there was a chance that they would hear you and that it might bring them around sooner. Kevin hoped that Kyle would want to hear his voice.
It had been so long, so much time had passed and yet there was still a residual pain that pulsed through Kevin's mind when he looked at the young face of the still man in the bed. Kyle was different now, Kevin didn't know how he might have changed as a person but he knew that physically he was different, older and more mature.
"Hi." Kevin said softly as he took the now familiar seat. "I just saw your Mom." Kevin said, he knew that there wasn't much chance that Kyle would comprehend what he was saying but he wanted to say it anyway. "She looked so peaceful, and the doctor said that she wasn't in any pain, at least not now."
There was no response, but then Kevin was not expecting one. He continued his one-sided conversation with Kyle anyway.
"I know that you didn't believe much in anything but she is in a better place, and I've prayed for her and for you." Kevin said. "I know that God is watching over you, he always was."
The words trailed off as Kevin felt the tears coming, there was a slight hitch in his voice as he spoke of God, a god that he had questioned recently as to why this had happened, but still a god that he believed in. He believed that god had brought Kyle back into his life for a reason.
The silence took over the room, Kevin lost in his thoughts and prayers and Kyle remaining as he had been for the three days that Kevin had sat at his side, still sleeping.
It had been four days now since they had heard the news, four days in which Kevin had skipped out on meetings, rehearsals and all of the other commitments that he would otherwise have attended unfailingly. Brian had always thought that Kyle and Julia were a bad influence on his cousin and this just proved how right he had been.
The second day Nick had come by to see Kyle but didn't stay. Brian wasn't even sure that the youngest Backstreet Boy had gone in to see how Kyle was, he had checked on Kevin and left. Now though it was his turn to check on Kevin and he wouldn't leave there without his cousin.
The directions that AJ had given him were detailed and it was easy to find the room where Kyle slept. The wild one of the bunch had also been in to visit Kyle a number of times and was keeping the rest of them up to date on his condition, but Brian had asked Alex to stay away today so that he could have some time with Kevin and Kyle. Brian had expected to find Kevin at Kyle's bedside keeping the continuing vigil that had kept the rest of them from working. He had not expected the room to be occupied by anyone else.
"It's such a shame." A voice said loud enough for Brian to hear it from his side of the door. "So young and lost in a coma that they think he may never recover from."
"They say that he is a hero too." A second voice replied.
Brian thought that he must have the wrong room, either that or they were talking about Kyle's roommate, but he had heard that this was a middle aged man and not someone that you might describe as young.
"I know. He saved his younger brother from taking a beating. Poor boy doesn't have anyone now."
It had to be the wrong room, Brian thought to himself, Kyle doesn't have a brother.
"And did you see who is coming to visit him?" The second voice asked. "Between you and me I think that there is something going on, like he's supposed to be getting some kind of bravery award or other. Why else would a member of the Backstreet Boys be visiting him?"
"Anne swore us to secrecy on that." The first voice chastised. "which is a shame really because my niece Donna is a big fan."
They continued to talk about family and friends, having moved on from their conversation but Brian was still reeling from what he had heard. They really couldn't have been talking about Kyle, not the spoilt brat that had ruined his cousin's wedding, he could not have been a hero. Then again it was six years ago, and a lot could happen in that time.
Brian forget his initial reason for coming to the hospital and instead was faced with the prospect of finding out more about Kyle. They had all just assumed that this was the same young man that they had known, but maybe time had changed him and Brian hoped that he had changed enough with time to forgive some of the things that Kyle had done and move on too.
He would find out what it was that had put Kyle here and then he would worry about the impact that this new presence could have on all of their lives.
Kevin returned to Kyle's room after taking a few moments to collect his thoughts, he had gone for a coffee to give the nurses a little peace to do Kyle's bed bath. Despite the fact that Kevin had nearly been Kyle's step- father it seemed odd to see the younger man in this state and he felt uncomfortable staying in the room while they saw to something that was so personal. Kevin was sure that if Kyle had been conscious of it he would have been thankful for the privacy.
Kevin entered the room, carrying the machine coffee that was a touch too bitter and took a small sip before sitting down. He frowned as he saw that they had moved Kyle slightly, he looked uncomfortable with his arm now under the blanket, especially as it was the only arm that he would be able to use for a while. Kevin put his coffee aside and freed Kyle's good arm. It surprised him when the arm moved slightly of its own accord, sliding back into its original place.
Kevin wondered if he should call the nurse, but he remembered seeing something once about involuntary muscle spasm, it was probably just Kyle's muscles contracting from lack of use. Instead Kevin reached out and took the hand in his own. If Kyle's subconscious was trying to exercise his muscles then Kevin would help it.
When he felt a returned squeeze from Kyle's hand he nearly jumped out of his chair in fright. He continued to hold the limp appendage but reached for the buzzer with his free hand. Two minutes later a nurse came in to check on him.
"He moved." Kevin said.
"Mr. Richardson, sometimes the muscles will..."
"No, I mean he did more than twitch, he squeezed my hand." Kevin said impatiently. "He actually moved."
"I'll call a doctor and ask him to examine him." The nurse said appeasingly.
"Urgh..." A small gurgle came from Kyle.
The nurse looked down at her patient more critically now, as if taking Kevin seriously for the first time. She checked a few of the machines that Kyle was hooked up to and then went outside. At first Kevin thought that she was abandoning them, but she came back a minute later.
"I've paged Doctor Chesterfield. He'll be down in one moment to check on our patient." She said brightly. "I think that we may have misjudged the young man."
"Kyle is a fighter." Kevin agreed with a smile. It was the first real smile he'd had in days, and why not, this was the first glimmer of hope he had felt in that time. He wondered if Kyle would recover soon - he hoped so. Kevin still had a lot of questions about what had happened but also had a few answers to give. He hoped that Kyle would wake up so that they could talk.
It was of course too much to hope that the first groan from Kyle was anything more than an aberration. It was not the first moan in Kyle calling out "Kevin", neither was it the beginning of a miracle. The doctors said that Kyle had regained consciousness briefly but that there was a lot more damage to heal still and that he would remain unconscious for some time yet.
Brian had used this as argument to try and get them back into the studio. Nick had agreed. It was only the staunch refusal of Kevin and the support that AJ threw to his cause that kept them from recording.
Kevin wanted to be there when Kyle finally woke up and he told his cousin in no uncertain terms that he was not going to abandon the boy again.
Kevin built a pattern of getting in to the hospital early and leaving late, reading to Kyle or telling him stories about the tours that they had been on, making sure that he was there for the longest time that he could be and only stopping to get food or a quick rest.
Any time that Kevin stepped out there was always someone else with Kyle. AJ was good at this, he seemed to talk more to the young man in the bed than to anyone else and Kevin wondered if this was because Kyle couldn't answer back. Howie too took his turn. Usually Howie would just sit with Kyle and watch television, not really knowing the boy well enough to talk to him as Kevin did, but the change of stimulus could only help; or so the doctors said. Nick made infrequent visits too, trying to support Kevin in spite of the fact that he had never really liked Kyle.
It was only Brian that stayed away.
Brian wasn't doing it to be spiteful, at least not really, the last thing that he wanted to do was cause trouble in his cousin's life but he didn't feel as if he had anything that he could give to Kyle and there was more useful things that he could do with his time than sit idly by waiting for something that might not even happen.
While the others were watching and waiting at Kyle's bedside, Brian did what he could to run interference between management and the record company as well as looking into the rumours that he had heard at the hospital.
He had promised himself that he would give Kyle a second chance, had prayed that God would help him to do so, and he was not about to back out of that now.
It was almost ironic therefore that Brian was there, three weeks later, when Kyle finally did wake up.
Kevin was working his way through the regular routine, reading the paper to his captive audience, and ignoring his cousin's presence at his side when Kyle moved.
Brian, who had not spent a lot of time there, barely noticed it the first time and wondered why Kevin was on his feet calling for a nurse, it was only on the second twitch that Brian noticed it.
"Kyle, Can you hear me?" Kevin asked, keeping his voice low and non- threatening. "Kyle, it's Kevin."
There was a moan from the bed, as if Kyle was trying to respond. Kevin took this as a positive sign and while they were waiting for the doctor he decided to try again.
"Kyle. It's time to wake up now." Kevin said, remembering something he had seen once somewhere.
"Mr. Richardson, if you could step back a little." The doctor said as he entered the room. "I need to examine the patient."
"Kyle, I'm still right here..." Kevin said softly, moving backwards but keeping his eyes trained on his young friend.
Kyle's eyes fluttered open and for the first time Kevin remembered just how blue they were and the promise they had once held of him growing into a gorgeous young man. If it hadn't been for the fading bruises and the age gap Kevin would have found him attractive.
"Jon...?" Kyle asked, his voice dry.
"Mr. Maddox, I'm Doctor Milan..."
"Jon?" Kyle said again, this time a little more panicked.
It surprised everyone when Brian was the one that stepped forward.
"Jon is fine." Brian told Kyle as he took his hand. "Let the doctors take a look at you and then we'll talk."
Kevin stared at his cousin and Brian sighed. He had been there to talk to Kevin about a few things, things that he thought might change their lives, and Kyle had forced it out of him too early. He wondered if there would be a time when Kyle would not be behind the major upheavals of their lives.
"Do you want to tell me what that was about?" Kevin asked angrily as soon as they were out of earshot. "He's just woken up and you're trying to confuse him already. Who knows what damage was already done before you waded in?"
"Kevin..." Brian tried to intervene.
"No." Kevin replied. "He was delirious and you've given him false hope. We don't even know who it was that he was asking for. What if he isn't fine?"
"He is." Brian said softly, his voice barely audible.
"What?" Kevin asked not hearing his cousin over his own anger.
"I said 'He is'" Brian said more adamantly. "While you were here I've been trying to find out a bit about why Kyle ended up here. I thought that he might need to know when he woke up."
Kevin didn't know what to say to that. He hadn't really thought about much beyond Kyle's initial need to wake up. No one mentioned what would happen after he was awake.
"It turns out that Julia was attacked by her boyfriend. Kyle got hurt because he was trying to stand up to a man that was three times his size and to defend her." Brian said.
Kevin was shocked. He hadn't thought that it would be anything so bad and wondered how much more there was about Kyle that he did not know. He had seen the boy that lay in the hospital bed as the one he had known all those years ago but was only now realising that he knew nothing of the young man that he had become.
"It wasn't only his mother that he was defending though." Brian said. "It turns out that he got most of his injuries after Julia was down trying to keep Jonathan safe."
"Who's Jonathan?" Kevin asked.
Brian only then realised that Kevin didn't know.
"Jonathan is Kyle's brother."
"Brother?" Kevin asked in disbelief. "The man tried to kill his own son?"
Brian looked away, pale suddenly, and Kevin wondered what it was that he was missing. Surely it couldn't be any worse than that.
"What?" He asked, wanting to know what had Brian looking deathly white.
"Jon is nearly six." Brian said pointedly. "It wasn't his son that Julia's boyfriend tried to kill...I'm pretty sure it was yours."
Kevin's jaw dropped and he was shocked into silence. He wanted to ask why Brian had not told him this earlier or why he had never heard it from Julia but before he could say anything the doctor had exited the room and was calling him.
"Mr. Richardson?" He asked. "Kyle is awake and asking for you. I said that you would go in."
Kevin nodded, still shocked into silence. There were a million questions running through his mind but he knew that the only person that could answer most of them was in no fit state to respond. He would have to leave the questions for another day. In the meantime he had other concerns such as making sure that Kyle was okay and that there was no permanent damage.
"Kevin?" Kyle asked, his voice a little rough from lack of use. "I need..."
"It's okay." Kevin said moving to the place at Kyle's bedside where he had kept his vigil for the last weeks. "Brian has done a little research and explained it to me. I'm going to make sure that Jonathan is okay..."
"...have to get him." Jon said, the first part cut off in a painful swallow. "If Gary has him..."
"It's okay." Brian said softly, his voice almost mournful. "Gary isn't going to hurt anyone anymore. The police have him in custody..."
"Kyle, your Mom..." Kevin said, trying to think how you could explain to someone that their mother was dead. He had never thought what he would do if someone told him that of his own mother because it was something that did not bear thinking about.
"I know." Kyle said weakly. "He killed her. That's why you have to make sure that Jon is safe. I know that you probably hate me for what I did but please don't hold it against Jonny, he's so little and you're all he has now... I know that you didn't want us before but he needs you."
"Kyle, I didn't know about Jonathan." Kevin replied, shocked that anyone would think he could abandon his own son. "I never hated you either."
Kyle coughed.
"Well, maybe a little...at first...but not in a long time. And you don't have to worry about Jon, you and he are both going to be safe now because I'll do everything in my power to make sure that you are."
Kyle nodded, fatigue obvious in his face. Kevin was not surprised given what the young man had been through.
"We'll let you rest for now, I need to make a few calls anyway, but I'll be back later." Kevin said.
Kyle barely moved as he tried to nod his head. Kevin stood, brushing a fatherly hand over Kyle's head to brush his bangs back, before moving away and heading to the door. He shut it behind him, shutting the world out of Kyle's room, then he turned to Brian.
"Where is Jonathan?" Kevin asked.
"He's with foster parents at the moment." Brian said softly. "Julia didn't put your name on the birth certificate so he has been made a ward of the court until further investigations can be made about his family."
"I'm his father." Kevin said.
"No one knows that." Brian replied. "You know what Julia was like..."
Brian didn't get to finish the sentence because Kevin hit him squarely in the jaw and knocked him to the ground.
"You will never repeat that in front of Kyle and you most definitely will not say that in front of my son." Kevin said. "I left him behind once, and I'm not going to do it again." He added before turning on his heel and leaving.
Brian sat up, a little dazed at seeing such a reaction in his Cousin. He had never seen Kevin raise a fist to anyone, not even Nick on one of his worst days, and yet he had raised one to him. He had miscalculated Kyle's influence on Kevin again. The young man that lay on the other side of the thin partition wall continued to surprise Brian and he wondered if maybe it was time to give the boy the benefit of the doubt and get to know him a little better. If nothing else it might start to mend his relationship with Kevin.
If he were starring in an afternoon special they could have fast-forwarded through the process of proving that Jonathan was his son. The legal red tape would be lost for dramatic effect and Kevin would have been able to walk straight into the social services building and retrieve his son. Unfortunately this was not a movie, it was real life, and so Kevin had to sit in the cramped reception area while he waited for an overworked social worker to get around to his case.
He hoped that while he was here Kyle was alright.
Finally after over an hour's wait he was seen.
"Are you Mr. Richardson?" The kindly woman in a light yellow dress said. She reminded Kevin of his Kindergarten teacher and wondered if that was why she was suited to her job.
"That's me." Kevin said with a small smile as he unfolded his large frame from the uncomfortable reception chair and stretched to his full height.
"Please, come this way. I believe that you want to speak with me about the Maddox boy?"
"Jonathan. Yes." Kevin replied.
The woman stopped in front of a desk piled high with files and took a seat, indicating for Kevin to do the same. Kevin waited for a moment while she got herself settled and pulled out a brown folder with a number written on the front. She flipped it open and looked at the contents for a moment before looking up to study Kevin.
"What can I do to help you?" She asked pointedly.
"I'm Jonathan's father." Kevin replied.
"No one is named on the birth certificate." She replied frankly. "And the report says that there has been no paternal contribution so far. Why did you suddenly come forward now to claim the boy?"
"I only just found out that he existed." Kevin replied. "I've visited Kyle in hospital and he told me that Julia had another son, that I had a son."
"Well, assuming that you are his father, we would still need to assess the placement of him with you." The woman said. "We don't just hand children over to anyone claiming to be a parent, no matter how kind-hearted they are."
"I know." Kevin said. "And I'll do whatever is necessary, I just want my son."
"I'll file some paperwork with the Family Court today." She said with a small smile. "We will of course need to take a sample of your DNA to prove that you are his father."
"Okay." Kevin said.
"You can make an appointment with the lady in reception." She said, dismissing him.
"Is that it?" Kevin asked.
"We cannot do anything else until we have established paternity." She said.
Kevin nodded, wondering if he should consult a lawyer just in case. In the mean time he would get things started. The sooner that Kyle and Jon were home with him the better. He had missed out on so much already he was not about to waste a minute more.
TBC
Notes: Thanks to everyone that sent feedback, sorry this has been a while coming, there is definitely more in the pipeline :)