Zack and Jay

Zack and Jay Chapter 18 Author: Kevin

Author's note: Sorry for the long delay in getting 18 written. I had a small problem with my laptop while on the road. It apparently wanted to learn to fly but forgot the most important part of flying, the landing. Thanks to my parents I got a new one, but lost a lot of things to include everything I had written on 18 up to that point. Took some time to recreate it. Plus my grandfather died a little over a week ago. He was 93 years old, lived a long life, last few months were hard on him, fucking cancer! I wish they could find a vaccine or something so people don't have to suffer like that.

I hope to hear from you all soon. As usual comments, questions, or concerns can be sent to kk.lonewolf.37@gmail.com or posted to justusboys.com, Forum, Gay Sex section, Thread "The Real Zack and Jay".

I can hear people talking, but can't make out who they are or what they are saying. Everything just seems to be running together. I feel someone grab me as I begin to slide from the chair I'm sitting in. I can barely make out someone calling my name. It sounds like they are about a mile away. I feel a slap across my face and everything slowly returns to normal. I can make out my parent's and Diane's voices, and Shawn's cries.

I open my eyes and the room is still colorless and blurry. After blinking a few times things start taking shape and the color slowly returns. I can see my mother standing over me, my father standing next to her holding Shawn who is crying hysterically and Diane sitting next to me looking worried. Then I see Dr. Morrison looking forlorn standing right where he was when I blacked out.

"Jay's gone isn't he?" I ask him.

"Mr. Miller I'm sorry I scared you. I shouldn't have said that the way I did. I was trying to apologize for it taking so long. What I was going to say was I'm sorry for this taking as long as it did. Jay's injuries where more severe than we had first thought. It took a little longer than we had anticipated to remove a large enough section of his skull to relieve the pressure on his brain. And there was a ...," he pauses thinking and then continues, "complication during the surgery."

"What do you mean there was a complication during the surgery? What happened?" I ask him.

"Jay woke up on the operating table."

"What do mean he woke up?" dad asks.

"He regained consciousness during the surgery. We were forced to give him more powerful drugs and right now he is in a drug induced coma."

"For how long?" I ask.

"I'm sorry I wish I could give you a more definitive answer but I can't. We just don't know. That's up to Jay. We must wait until the swelling goes down and then wean him off the drugs and slowly wake him up. But again we must wait for the swelling to go down first. The next twenty-four to forty-eight hours will tell us more."

"Can we see him?" I ask.

Dr. Morrison hesitates for a few minutes and I'm just about to tell him never mind when he says, "Yes you can all go in and see him. Jay is in ICU. Normally, we only allow one visitor in the room at a time. But given the circumstances I will make an exception. Zack you can stay as long as you need or want to. The rest of you please keep your visit as short as possible. And as for the little one, he can go in and see his father but only for a couple of minutes. I must stress, no one touch his head or try to remove the bandage. You must prepare yourselves for what you are about to see. There is severe swelling and bruising in Jay's face from his injuries and what we had to do to fix them."

When he's finished speaking he leads us up to ICU and tells the nurse on duty that he is allowing all of us into Jay's room together. But that Shawn can only stay for a few minutes. She acknowledges her understanding and she shows us into Jay's room.

I just about faint again when I see him. His face is so swelled up and bruised from his injuries and what they had to do to repair them in the operating room he is almost unrecognizable. Even if he was awake there would be no way he could open his eyes because of the fluid and blood that has collected around them from his broken nose and what the doctors had to do to set it. He has an IV entering the side of his neck with medicine from four different bags being pumped into him. He has a tube coming out of the right side of his chest that is draining the blood and other fluids from it so his lung can re-inflate. He is catheterized and his urine is emptying into a bag hanging from the side of his bed. The bandage around his head makes it look like he is wearing an oversized turban. There are tubes and wires coming or going everywhere. He is hooked up to a heart monitor that is beeping steadily next to his bed.

Mom notices me swaying a little and pushes a chair under me as my knees give out. Dad pulls a small flask from his back pocket and hands it to me.

"What is it?" I ask him.

"Jack Daniels; I figured you would need something before the night is over."

I take a small sip of the liquid and it burns all the way down my throat. I grimace at the taste and exhale loudly. Mom comes around me and kneels down in front of me and holds me.

"Take another drink; bigger this time," dad says.

"Are you trying to get me drunk with my husband laying there half dead?" I ask him.

Mom says, "Zack, Jay isn't half dead. You heard the doctor he woke up during the surgery. I can just imagine how horrifying that was for him but it's a good sign. He will recover from this. You just need to have faith."

"Sorry mom, but my faith is wearing thin! How much more do I have to suffer?"

"I know baby," she says and holds me while I cry again.

After a few minutes Dr. Morrison comes into Jay's room and says Shawn must leave now. Mom stands and moves to the side. I get up and take him from dad and hand him back the flask. I take Shawn over to Jay's bed and carefully lay him on his chest. He cuddles into his father and gives him a hug. As I pick him back up he looks down at Jay and says, "Love, daddy!"

"I know little man, and daddy loves you too." I hand him to Diane and ask her if she minds taking him home. "We shouldn't be much longer. I don't want to leave him, but I can't stay either."

"I know. Yes, I'll take him home. It's no problem. Stay as long as you need. He'll be fine," she tells me.

As she walks towards the door with him and he realizes I am not coming too and he starts crying. "You'll be alright Shawn. Grandma, grandpa and I will be home in a little while. You can go with Diane. She won't hurt you. I promise."

He looks at Diane for a minute as if he is thinking it over. Then looks back at me and says, "Daddy, love!" and waves goodbye.

"I love you, too. And we will see you at home in a little while." I wave goodbye to him and Diane disappears out the door.

My parents and I stay for a little while longer until I am so physically and emotionally drained I can hardly keep my eyes open. I go to Jay's bed, pull his left hand out from under the blankets, place it on his chest and lean over him to give him a kiss. When I stand back up I notice his wedding ring isn't on his hand.

"His wedding ring is gone!"

"What?" mom asks.

"His wedding ring is gone," I repeat.

"Hang on I'll go ask at the desk. They probably took it off him in the emergency room." She comes back carrying a bag and hands it to me. It has everything that was in his pockets and what remains of his clothing. I pull his sneakers out and place them on the chair next to his bed. I find some money and his watch. I pour a handful of change out and mixed in with it I find his `who holds the key to your heart' necklace and his wedding ring. I put the money in my pocket and the necklace around my own neck for safe keeping. I'm just about to put his wedding ring on his finger when Dr. Morrison returns to the room.

"We will need to do a few more MRIs and he can't wear that in the machine. I would suggest you take it home with you for now."

I tell him ok, reach down and hold Jay's hand again and say, "We need to go Jay. I'll be back with Shawn in the morning. I love you."

I try to pull my hand from his but he won't let go. "Oh my God!" I exclaim.

"What's wrong?" mom asks.

"He's holding my hand and won't let go!"

"That's impossible!" Dr. Morrison says.

"Well impossible or not he's doing it," I say as I pick up my hand and Jay's comes up with it.

He quickly moves around to the other side of Jay's bed, places his fingers in Jay's right hand, and says, "Jay if you can hear me squeeze my fingers."

I watch as the expression on his face changes to utter disbelief. I look down and sure enough Jay's fingers are slowly closing around the doctor's.

"This doesn't make any sense; first him waking up in the OR and now this? He's got enough drugs pumping through his veins to knock out a horse. Does he have any allergies to medications?"

"No not that I'm aware of. Shit he hasn't had so much as a cold since we've been together. I've never even seen him take anything for a headache. I don't know. I don't think so. What the hell kind of spouse doesn't know if their husband has any allergies to medications?"

"Zack it's alright. You'd be surprised by the number of people that come into this hospital on a daily basis and don't have a clue as to their spouse's medical history. You and Jay haven't been married all that long according to his chart. And with what you guys have been through it's completely understandable," Dr Morrison says. "I'll be back in a little while. I need to set up another MRI to check the swelling in his brain. With him being semi-conscious we'll probably start weaning him off the medications soon."

I take his necklace off undo the clasp and put his wedding ring on it and then put it back on. Then say, "Jay, I'm really tired we need to be getting home. I'll be back in the morning with Shawn. I love you."

He mumbles something but I can't make it out. Then I notice he is very slightly patting the bed next to him.

"What? Do you want me to sit down?"

I notice him shake his head and then I barely hear him say, "Stay!"

"Jay you know I can't do that. I have to get home and take care of Shawn. When I was in the hospital it was just the two of us. I need to get home to him and make sure he's alright." I lean over him and give him another kiss. This time he kisses me back. "I love you!"

I barely make out, "I love you, too!" He squeezes my hand and then he lets go.

My parents and I head back to the house stopping to pick up my car. We leave Jay's in the Admin parking lot for now. When we get home I ask Diane, "How was he?"

"A perfect angel, he's in bed asleep," she says. I ask her if she wants to stay the night, as it's so late. She declines warmly and leaves.

I tell my parents good night, head upstairs to Shawn's room and take him to bed with me. I wrap my arms around him and pull him to me and sleep like that until I'm awoken in the morning by him jamming his little fingers up my nose, poking me in the eye, and pulling on me ear.

"Somebody wants to play huh?" I ask him as I start tickling him and don't stop until he is laughing hysterically. After a few minutes there is a knock on the door. I hear mom ask if she can come in.

"Yes mom, you can come in."

She comes and sits on the edge of the bed and says, "I was just coming to check on him and see if you wanted me to take him."

"No, it's alright. I'm awake. We'll be down in a few minutes."

"Ok. I called Bill and Sarah to let them know how Jay is. They wanted to come back out, but said they couldn't afford the tickets. I called Jane and she's getting everything ready now through the travel agency. They should be here tomorrow evening."

"Mom, thank you. Let me know what it costs and I'll pay it."

"No you won't! Your father and I will get them here. The only thing you need to worry about is that little guy right there and getting Jay better."

"God, you and dad have done so much for Jay and I over the last year. I don't even want to know how much you guys have spent on us."

"Zack; it's only money. You know damn well money means nothing to us. We'll do anything for you guys. And it's not like we can take it with us."

"Thanks mom. I love you."

"I love you too. Now come on get up. Breakfast should be just about done."

"Ok, we'll be right down."

She leaves and I turn back to Shawn who had been laying there watching us talk the entire time like he understood what we were talking about. I look him directly in the eyes and say, "You know daddy and I will do anything for you too, don't you?"

He turns on his side, looks directly into my eyes, places his hand on my cheek and says, "Daddy, love!"

"I love you too little man."

I get up and get dressed. I then take Shawn into his room, change him and get him dressed and we head downstairs. As soon as I walk into the kitchen with him he screams, "Gamma! Gampa!"

"Good morning Shawn," both of my parents say at the same time.

I put him in his highchair and turn to head towards the counter to help and my mother says, "Sit!"

I reluctantly sit down and mom brings me my breakfast and Shawn's cereal. We eat then we all head to the hospital to see Jay. As we are walking into his room I get the shock of my life. He is out of bed and standing next to it. "Jay Shawn Miller get your ass back into that bed now!"

"I can't lay there any longer. I have to move."

I slide a chair over next to his bed for him and he sits in it. "You should have asked one of the nurses to help you." I can't believe the difference just a few hours has made in his appearance. He doesn't look anything like he did last night. The swelling in his face is just about gone. The bruising looks like it had happened a week ago.

"How are you feeling," I ask Jay.

"I feel a lot better!" Jay says.

Just then Dr. Morrison comes into the room. He asks Jay, "Did you tell them yet?"

"No! I was just about to."

"Tell us what?"

"We took Jay back into the operating room last night after you left. We put the piece of his skull back in that we removed to relieve the pressure caused by the swelling in his brain. We also did another MRI. We ran a few tests and discovered why Jay woke up during the surgery. His metabolism is so high his body was breaking down the medication faster than we could pump it into him. Also, his body repairs itself faster than normal."

"What do you mean his body repairs itself faster than normal?" I ask.

"I've seen it on a few occasions when someone's body can repair damage faster than normal. Take a look at these x-rays," Dr. Morrison says as he puts a couple of Jay's head up on a screen and turns the light on behind them. "This first x-ray was taken when Jay was first brought in. You can see the skull fracture, broken nose, and broken jaw. This next one was taken earlier this morning. Do you see these fine white lines where the fractures were? Those white lines indicate new bone is growing. This is something we normally don't see for one to two weeks after an injury. His body is repairing itself at an astonishing rate.

We don't know why this is happening but would like to run a few tests to see if we can figure it out," he finishes.

"No! Absolutely not! I will not let Jay get turned into a guinea pig or human pin cushion. We've been through enough as it is. I just want him to get better so we can go home and get on with our lives."

"I completely understand," Dr. Morrison says.

I take Jay's necklace off and ask, "Can he wear these now?"

"Yes. We shouldn't need to run any more MRIs. It should be alright for him to wear them now."

I take his wedding ring off the necklace and hand them to him; and he puts them on.

During this entire exchange Shawn has been fighting me to get to Jay. Jay holds his hands out to him and he fights even harder to get to him. Jay tries to pick him up but can't. "You'll have to set him on my lap. My ribs hurt to bad to pick him up right now," he says.

As carefully as I can; I set Shawn on his lap. He snuggles into Jay and gives him a hug. He then looks up into his eyes and says, "Daddy, love!"

With tears in his eyes Jay tells him he loves him too. "I didn't think I would ever see you two again."

"I know. I thought I had lost you forever. When they started doing CPR on you yesterday I thought I would have to tell Shawn when he got old enough to understand what happened to you. That is something I would never be able to do. Promise me you will never leave us."

"I promise I'll never leave you!"

"When you get better we are going to start a different training regime. We are going to add karate and unarmed self-defense to our training. You will learn to defend yourself so something like this never happens again."

"Do you think you can teach me?"

"If you will do as I say I can teach you. I don't think it will take long and you will be as good as I am."

"I highly doubt that. You've been doing it since you where ten years old. I will never be as good as you. But hopefully you can teach me enough to defend myself and our sons if it comes to that."

"I can handle that if you can."

"I can too."

"I love you more than I can tell you!"

"I know, me too!"

We spend the day with Jay, as he gets better by every passing hour Dr. Morrison has him moved from ICU into a private room. Later that evening, my parents head out to pick Jay's up at the airport. While they are gone Dean Rogers and the head of the psychology department come by to check on Jay and apologize for what happened. They tell us not to worry about any of the medical bills for Jay's stay in the hospital; the school will cover them completely.

They also tell Jay that the school is just about ready to get his network up and running so kids from other schools can call in and make appointments for him to call them back. From what they say it looks like it will go national shortly before the start of the fall term. To begin with, it will be just the colleges on the east coast and they will be adding more every month until every college in the country is hooked up to it.

I have no idea how Jay will manage to return all of the calls that will be coming in by himself and ask about it. He says once it is up and running after graduation the school has already told him he will be able to search for any help he will need. He will have the authority to hire as many counselors or psychologists as he deems necessary. He will also be involved in the hiring of the phone operators and assist in their training.

Apparently the school has already found a large open room they will use as a call center. The people answering the phones will have basic counseling training and be taught how to tell if the individual needs immediate help. Jay's office will also be relocated to a large room adjacent to the call center. He will only be a few feet away during normal work hours if someone calls in and the operator feels it necessary for them to talk to a counselor immediately.

It looks like it will quickly grow to be the world's largest counseling phone network set up strictly for gay and lesbian kids to get help with coming to terms with who they are. And it will be run by my husband. I couldn't love him anymore or be more proud of him if I tried.

Just before they leave they hand Jay an envelope. He opens it and reads an official looking document then I notice what looks like a check.

"What's this?" I ask.

"I officially signed all the paperwork necessary to become an employee of Harvard University. This is the letter telling me I'm now an administrative employee of the school and my sign on bonus," he says and hands me the letter and check. I read the letter first then look at the check. I almost fall out of my chair as I try to comprehend what it says. It's written for twenty five thousand dollars. I'm so proud of him. He hasn't even graduated yet and is already making a name for himself and a huge mark in the counseling society.

A little while later my parent's return with Jay's. We all spend the evening together. I order a sheet pizza and wings and have them delivered to Jay's hospital room. Jay tells our parent's about the network being just about ready to go `public' so to speak and they are so happy for him. We all celebrate late into the night until the head nurse comes in and tells us we must leave; that Jay needs to get his rest.

We head back home and dad and I take Bill and Sarah's luggage into the guest room. We sit up talking for a couple more hours about Jay and what he has already accomplished.

I ask my dad what kind of second vehicle we should buy as Jay's car just isn't going to cut it anymore with another baby on the way. He mentions a few different vehicles to include a couple minivans.

"I was thinking more about an SUV. I honestly can't see Jay or me driving a minivan."

He mentions a couple different SUVs that he would love to have. He then suggests that we go look at some tomorrow while mom, Sarah and Bill take Shawn to the hospital to see Jay. He says, "Just the two of us, like old times."

"I'd love that," I tell him.

In the morning mom, Sarah, Bill and Shawn head to the hospital to see Jay; and dad and I go to a couple local car dealerships. We don't find anything that we think would be suitable at the first and head to another. We test drive an SUV there, but I don't like the way it handles. We stop at a couple more and just look around. About lunch time as we are driving towards the hospital dad suggest we stop at the Cadillac dealership.

"Dad, there is no way Jay and I can afford a Caddy."

"What's the harm in looking?" he asks.

"Ok. What the hell. Why not?"

We pull into the dealership and park. As we are getting out I notice a dark blue Escalade parked in the showroom. I start walking towards the door and dad follows me. We enter the showroom together and walk up to the beautiful vehicle. I instantly fall in love with it.

As we are looking through the open windows at the interior; a salesman walks up, and asks if he can help us. Dad introduces both of us and explains that I am looking to buy an SUV.

He explains the different options, that come stock on the Escalade and then goes into great detail about all the extras this particular one has on it. Power everything, all digital dash, cruise control, am/fm stereo with fifteen CD changer built in, all leather interior, heated seats, the list goes on for what seems like forever.

Dad asks if there is one on the lot we can take for a test drive and the salesman says he will be right back. About five minutes later he returns carrying a dealer plate and a set of keys. "If you will follow me outside it will only take a few seconds to get the plate on and you can take it for as long a drive as you want. I think you will be happy if you in fact decide to buy one. I've had a couple that I have driven as demo cars and I love them."

We follow him outside and wait as he attaches the plate to the vehicle and then hands me the keys. He quickly goes over a couple of the controls in the SUV and then leaves us to get comfortable with it. After a couple of minutes figuring out how to adjust the seat and mirrors I start the vehicle and pull out of the lot. The power it has surprises me. It seems to have more power than my car, and handles just as good if not a little better.

We drive around for about a half an hour and then dad asks, "Well, what do you think?"

"I love it. I want one. But I can't see how we can afford it. The sticker price on this one is just over ninety thousand. The one in the showroom is just under ninety five. There is no way we can do that for a car."

"Jay just got a check for twenty five thousand dollars yesterday, plus you guys have whatever is left from Shawn and Sue's estate. You could probably pay cash for it and get a great deal."

"I know, but that money was meant for us to raise Shawn not buy a bunch of stuff we don't need."

"Zack, you guys need a better family car. The mustang is going to get very crowded real soon and Jay's car is not a family car. You said it yourself that you need a bigger vehicle."

"Yeah, but a ninety five thousand dollar one? No, we don't need one of those."

"Just see what kind of deal they will make you. First, see without Jay's car, then with his as a trade in towards it. You will probably get a better deal without it and then you can sell it yourselves."

"I don't know dad."

"What harm is there in asking?"

"Ok. Let's head back then." It takes a couple of minutes to get back to the dealership. As soon as I park and we are getting out the salesmen walks up to us and asks what I thought of it.

"I love it, but the price is a little steep."

"Well, why don't you guys come in and we can go over some numbers?"

He turns around and leads us towards the building. We hang back a little and I whisper to dad, "I'm trusting you not to get me screwed over or in over my head."

"I know, Zack. Please trust me."

"I trust you with my life, Jay's and those of our kids."

He looks at me and I can see his eyes are watering, not quite crying but almost. "I love you, Zack."

"I love you too, dad."

We finish our private discussion just as we catch up with the salesman who is standing holding the door open for us. He shows us to his desk and finally introduces himself, his name is Tom.

Tom goes over all the incentive programs Cadillac has running right now plus tells us about the manufactures rebates being offered. He then asks what extras I would want on mine if I decide to buy one.

I turn and point to the one sitting in the middle of the showroom and tell him, "I want that one."

He clicks on a few things on his computer and then pulls his calculator out of a drawer in his desk and punches a bunch of buttons on it. "Do you have a preapproval from a bank or will you need financing?"

I look at my dad and he nods his head. "If I decide to buy one I will be paying cash."

Tom just about falls out of his chair with shock and says, "Fifteen years in this business, most of them with Cadillac, and that is the first time I have ever heard that." Once he recovers from the shock he punches a few more numbers on the his calculator then says, "Well with the rebates and other incentive discounts right now plus a discount for your cash payment in full, the final price of the one on the showroom floor is eighty one thousand nine hundred dollars, after tax and licensing are added in."

"Not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Can I have a couple days to think it over and talk to my husband about it?" I ask him.

"Of course, I don't need an answer right this minute. Take as long as you need."

Then my dad asks, "Can we get that quote in writing?"

"Sure, that's not a problem. Just give me a minute." He clicks his mouse a few times and then types in a bunch of numbers. Then the printer in the corner comes to life and prints out the quote. He gets up from his chair and grabs the paper from the printer. Returns to his desk, signs it and then hands it to me. "Zack, it was nice meeting you and I hope I can sell you a car real soon."

My dad laughs and says, "I'm sure you do."

Tom laughs it off and shakes both of our hands and then walks us out to my car. We say our goodbyes and then get in and drive to the hospital. On the way I say to dad, "I can't believe you said that to him."

"Said what?"

"That you're sure he hopes he can sell me a car real soon."

"Zack, think about it. Even with the discounts and everything you will get if you buy it, he's still making one hell of a commission on that vehicle."

"Yeah, I know."

"And to be honest with you if you don't buy it, I just might. That is one hell of a deal."

"I know, I couldn't believe it when he said the total. I was expecting it to be a lot more than that."

"Well that's why it's such a good idea to buy luxury items when the economy is down like it is now. Their sales are down so they will do anything to make a deal. I bet, if you tried, you could get him to come down even more. Try bargaining with him before you sign anything. That is if you guys decide to buy it."

"Well this is something Jay and I will have to discuss; and if we agree to buy it, I'll see if he'll come down even more. Thanks dad for coming with me. I really enjoyed today. I've missed us spending time together just the two of us."

"I know, Zack. I've missed it too."

We finish the short drive in silence. I find a parking space in the hospital's lot and, after getting out, I walk around to the passenger side of my car and give my father a hug. "Thank you. I love you, dad."

"You're welcome and I love you, too."

He puts his arm around my shoulders and we walk to the main entrance of the hospital. Make our way through a crowd that is in the middle of the lobby. Some of the people standing there look like cops; they just have that air about them. Then I notice Judge Mitchell with them.

"Dad, Judge Mitchell is here."

"Where?"

"Right there," I say as I point towards him.

We walk over to him and as soon as he sees us his expression changes from his normal politeness to warm and welcoming.

"Guys how are you?" he asks.

"We're good. What's going on John?" dad asks him.

"We have a problem..." he says.