The Mennonite Series
The Community 6 CGW
Danis and Gunner walked into Dad Rob and Pop Joe's house, Gunner was pounced upon by a very excited Mason, the boy had a very special place in his heart for the big blonde German Man. He would follow Gunner from room to room when he went to do anything, after the hard life he had starting out Gunner was glad the boy felt good he had someone he could count on.
Rob noticed how much his adopted son admired and loved his future son-in-law and it was fine, because he knew the big guy would snap anyone in half that tried to harm the boy and he felt safe with him.
Dakota being a whole year older than his little brother wanted to let his guard down and let people into his life but being just one year older he had built up a stronger wall and the only person he really trusted was his new Dad; Rob. He liked his big brother Danis and Gunner also but he trusted Rob, his Pop Joe was the one who made him pick up his clothes and clean his room, he was always there for advice, but he found comfort when he snuggled in his Dad Rob's arms, he was safe from harm.
Gunner and Danis sat on the sofa when Gunner spoke up and said; Mr. Rob I want to be joined with Danis as soon as possible, we need to have the acceptance of everyone before I feel like we will be a real family together.
Rob smiled and responded; I knew that this was coming; I saw it the first time you stood in this house as our guest and his friend. You couldn't keep from watching his every move so I guess it's time we let the entire family know when the event will take place, would 2 weeks from today be soon enough for you both? Danis smiled at his Dad and thanked his for his blessings and setting the date when he and Gunner would be joined to become one.
Mason was very excited and hollered out; oh boy I get me a new big brother to love and he hugged Danis and Gunner's neck. Dakota was a little despondent when Danis said; it would make me very proud Dakota, if you would be my witness for the joining ceremony. The boy beamed with pride and responded with a great big hug and said; yes, yes, yes. The wall was starting to crumble a few pebbles at a time.
Gunner and Danis walked back home holding hands, Gunner was the one grinning from ear to ear, he had the one person next to him that he loved and would never let anyone rip them apart. That would soon be tested.
Gunner walked onto the porch when Danis asked when did the porch light go out, they were startled by a sound from the dark, it was Gunners older brother Helmut, he walked closer and said; this will never take place and shots rang out. In slow-motion Danis sunk down to his knees Gunner grabbed his lover in his arms when another round of shots rang out ripping through Gunner's body, it stung and Gunner just stood there and looked at his stomach as a bright red stain spread upon his white shirt. He looked at his brother and asked; why we did nothing to you or anyone else we just wished to be left alone to live our lives and he collapsed holding his lover.
Helmut ran from the yard into the dark of night, but he could never hide his days in this world were over. Rob reached the porch first and his flashlight showed him the tragic event. He would never be able to remove the scene from his memory, lying on the porch was the body of his son Danis and future son-in-law Gunner covered in blood. He screamed for help, soon the yard was full of people. The best three doctors in the area were there working on the two of them as we waited for an ambulance to arrive. Joe was in shock as were others.
The ambulance arrived and the first to be loaded was Gunner, he was the most serious case. It didn't look good for him as he was taken to the regional medical facility. Danis was less serious with a bullet wound to the upper right chest area, he was in shock and would have to wait for another transport, when a member of the Mennonite community of Spanish Lookout said; my plane is fueled and waiting at the airstrip and it will carry 10 passengers so you can be there when they arrive with Gunner, My son will fly you there to the Medical Center in the city and if needed he will fly you onto the states for medical treatment for your sons. Rob hugged her and said thanks. The Mennonite Lady that had lent her son and plane turned to the crowd and said; I might be an outcast to the Mennonite Community, but I have compassion for this family and the Giving Community, we will find the persons responsible for this tragedy here tonight and those people will be dealt with accordingly.
She turned and told Rob and Joe that she and her family would be pleased to watch the two younger boys and twin girls until they were a family again. Rob hugged his sons and told them to mind her and they would soon return home with Danis and Gunner safe and healed.
The flight was a long one for someone waiting on the fate of one's son. Danis was in surgery when the ground transport arrived with Gunner, he was wheeled into the surgery center as soon as he arrived, they had lost him twice on the way; he had lost a lot of blood and was not doing well at all. We waited as a family for any news; good or bad. An older gentleman arrived and spoke to the pilot "Able" from Spanish Lookout. Able approached us and said that the man was Mr. Cedric Davis from the states and he has offered his jet, for us to use as soon as the boys were able to travel, flight plans were already pending and his Gulf Stream was fueled and waiting at the International Airport.
Rob and Joe thanked Mr. Davis for his help; the waiting was hard for everyone. The Doctor in charge came out and said; your son Danis is doing fine and will recover soon, but the other young man Gunner is beyond our help here. He needs to be transferred to the states for better medical help. Mr. Davis spoke up and said; just let us know when he can be transported and I will fly him to The Houston Medical Center myself, I will have a medevac waiting for us at the airport to transport him to St Luke's Hospital all expenses pre-paid.
The Dr. said; time isn't on our side with this young man, there will 3 Drs. with him on the flight and the family. Can you be ready in 20 minutes sir? Cedric replied; the plane is on the tarmac waiting on us now. In 25 minutes we were in the air and Cedric had his jet full throttle, he announced over the PA that we had a tail wind and we were going in hot all the way to Hobby Airport. Danis was out of it and Joe was by his side as I sat near Gunner, he had the best medical team this family had to offer him. All I could do pray for his life.
Andy was on the phone to the Medical center and was speaking to a surgeon about Gunner's case. They monitored his vitals during the flight, soon Cedric came back and said; we will be landing shortly in Houston at Hobby Airport, a private Limo would carry us to the Hospital and Danis and the others would travel by ground transport. I thanked Cedric Davis for his help with our family. His response was; we weren't the only ones that had loved ones at stake here.
We landed and were off to the Hospital, Cedric handed Joe the phone and said; call Martha and check on those other young'uns of yours, from what I've heard those two boys can be a handful. Joe took the phone and just looked at Cedric Davis.
I asked; sir who are you and how do you know so much about us? Cedric smiled and said; I'd hoped that we'd meet in a better time and place, I'm Cedric Gunner Davis; my younger sister is young Gunner's mother. I wanted to surprise him with a visit but then this happened. I'm glad that I was around to help out.
I responded; you were where you were supposed to be at, when the time was correct to help save Gunner's life.
Joe thanked him for all of his help. Cedric answered; just family helping family out, in the time of need.
We arrived and Gunner was already in surgery, it would be a long night. Danis was in a room for the night; Joe went to be with him. After a while a Doctor came out and said; Gunner was still under, but there had been a lot of blood loss early on and he might have some memory loss or even some mild brain impairment as a result of the trauma. Cedric said; get the boy the best Doctors available, money is not an obstacle. The Doctor turned to Cedric and said; they are on the way sir; I know exactly who you are and he is your nephew, we will keep you all updated.
14 hours later Gunner was sent to intensive care and placed in critical condition. For the next 2 weeks we would be waiting for a miracle from above. Danis was with Gunner every chance he was allowed. Gunner was in a medical induced coma until his body healed, watching him lie there with tubes in his mouth and machines beeping all the time was horrible on everyone especially Danis.
Dr. Reynolds who was over Gunner's case came into the waiting room and said; today is the day, we will start to wean Gunner off the machines. It will be up to him and his will to live to see how much progress he makes every day until we can get him off the machines all together. Danis asked if she knew how much brain damage had occurred due to the blood loss in the early hours after being shot. Dr. Reynolds responded that that would be hard to tell until he was fully awake, sometimes its little things that are forgotten and other times entire life events are forgotten, it's the brains way of protecting the body from the traumatic event it went through. You can only pray for him.
The first day they only dialed back the machines for 10 minutes until Gunner became distressed and they were dialed back up. Dr. Reynolds said; this was perfectly normal for such a tragic event as he went through, it would take time.
Over the course of the next 3 weeks Gunner was slowly brought off the respirator, he had physical therapist working with him making sure his limbs were kept limber, they showed Danis how to help out and keep his arms and legs moving. One day when Danis was lying next to Gunner, he spoke for the first time and said; do you think it would freak everyone out if they caught us making love in this hospital bed? Danis looked into Gunner bright blue eyes and said; I love you Gunner Stroud it's about time you woke up, you had all of us worried.
Just decided to take a little knap for a few hours and you all take it to the extreme. Danis asked; what do you remember about what happened? Gunner responded that he remembered walking home and the light was out and the next thing was waking up in this bed. Danis told Gunner he wanted him to speak to Dr. Reynolds and maybe she could help, he slipped out to tell the family and get the Dr.
As Danis spoke to the family Dr. Reynolds walked into the waiting room and listened to what Gunner didn't remember. Cedric asked if the boys could talk to Gunner via the computer he sent to Martha's, Dr. Reynolds said that sounded like a wonderful idea, as many familiar faces as possible would be great.
Dr. Reynolds said; if he continues to do well he could go back home in 2 weeks but he needed to return for checkups every 3 months to her office for the next 2 years due to severity of his injuries, she wanted to chance nothing when it came to her star patient. As big and strong as he seems he will lift nothing heavier than a pencil for the next year and no wild sex parties, per the nurses he's been asking them when he and young Danis could have some quiet time together before their wedding just to make sure everything still works like it should.
Danis turned red and snickered, Cedric responded; sounds like a chip off of my side of the family.
Gunner was surprised when his Uncle Cedric walked into his room, we didn't want to get him too tired and we kept our visit short, he was very glad to see the boys on the computer. Rob asked if they were minding Mrs. Martha or would he need to have a talk with them when he arrived home. Dakota said; no sir we are doing everything she tells us to do sir, we want to make you and pop Joe proud of us sir. Mason was equally proud to be staying there with Martha. Mason let it slip that she was showing them the entire of Belize from the air. He put his hand over his mouth when he realized he let it slip. Gunner laughed and told the boys bye and logged off the computer.
We returned to the waiting area and Cedric sat down and asked us to do the same he had some news on who had shot Gunner and why. As we sat there we were shocked when he said; that it was his own brother Helmut that shot him at the order of the family. Thus the entire Stroud Family was rounded up and removed from their homes, all of their livestock was now Gunners along with the lands, they were each allowed one set of clothing, then the rest of their belongings, homes and barns were burnt to the ground, they were set out by foot with no moneys nor food and driven out of the Spanish Lookout Community never to be allowed to return ever, least face the wrath of the entire countryside. Helmut was still in hiding but he would face the Elders for his crime, the law would take what was left of him if anything remained.
Danis was shamed by what he heard, how could anyone be that cruel as to attempt kill their own over who they fell in love with, he wasn't raised that way to think narrow minded.
Rob prayed for the Stroud Family that they might find forgiveness their hearts to let others in and accept them for who they are.
Cedric said; she's my sister but this is one thing I can't forgive her for, setting one child on another to kill him, that's unforgiveable. May God have mercy on her soul, I won't.
Joe spoke and said; Gunner will have to be told when he's stronger but for now we will keep it from him as he heals, it was agreed.
The day had come and Gunner was being released from the Hospital and we were to return home, Gunner asked his uncle if they could stop by and visit his Aunt Abby's grave before returning home, she was always so sweet to him growing up. We stopped be a private cemetery and he and Cedric visited the grave site.
Soon we were onboard Cedric's Gulf Stream headed home to Belize.