Justin grinned and found an orderly to change Brian's sheets. When Brian had been returned to his clean bed, Justin pulled the chair over to Brian's bed. Brian's eyes were heavy; he closed them. Justin leaned over, giving him a light kiss on the lips. Brian opened his eyes briefly, looking at Justin.

"Join me," he said as he patted the bed.

Justin smiled at the invitation, but shook his head. "You need your rest. You'll be home soon, and then I'd love to join you." Justin picked up Brian's hand, gently caressing his arm until he heard the slow, even breathing of his lover.

When Justin was certain that Brian was sleeping, he reached for his messenger bag, pulling out his sketch pad. Brian looked peaceful and rested, his face glowing with the after-effects of sex, and his skin was a nice, healthy color, not the pale whiteness that he'd seen for most of the last two weeks. His hair was getting long, and Brian was constantly pushing it away from his eyes. Justin sketched until the light waned, and he guessed it was almost time for him to leave. He stepped in the hallway to call Daphne.

"Brian's sleeping and I don't want to leave until he wakes up. Can you come in about an hour?"

"I'll come now," Daphne said. "I picked up something for him. See you in half an hour."

"Thanks. I'll be in his room." Justin returned to Brian's room, sitting in the chair by the bed. He picked up his hand and held it, allowing the peace and quiet to calm him as well.

Brian slept for another twenty minutes. "Justin, what time is it?"

Justin squeezed Brian's hand and leaned over to kiss him. "It's dark outside, so I'd say around 6:00 or 6:30. I'll tell the nurses that you're awake so they can bring your dinner."

"Turn the light on as you leave. I hate sitting in the dark unless I'm high or getting a blow job," Brian instructed Justin as he walked out of the room.

"You must be feeling better. You haven't even been awake for ten minutes and you're already mentioning sex." Justin smiled his mega watt smile and turned on the light as he left the room.

Shortly after his return, he helped Brian arrange his pillows so he could sit up, and brought the tray table over to Brian's bed. The food tray arrived and Brian cautiously uncovered the food.

"This shit looks gross. Why don't you call the Chinese place on 7th and have them deliver some edible food," Brian suggested. "If I'm to regain my strength, I have to eat, and this food is not fit for human consumption!"

"I guess I could do that. You want your usual?" Justin asked as he got out his phone and started scrolling down the entries until he found the number.

"Yeah. Sounds good."

As Justin was punching in the number to order, Daphne arrived with a large bag of food from the Diner. "Special Delivery. I stopped by the Diner on the way over and brought you a turkey sandwich and some lemon bars. Justin, I brought you some lemon bars; hamburgers are hard to keep warm."

Brian put out his hand, grinning as he looked in the bag. "Why Daphne, I knew there was a reason I kept you around." Brian pulled out the sandwich, unwrapping it and laying it out on the hospital tray. He took a bite of the sandwich. "Much better than hospital food. So Daphne, are you planning on delivering me food everyday?"

Giggling at Brian's antics, Daphne shook her head. "Sorry, Brian. You'll have to get Justin to do your food runs for you. I have to work." She pulled out a lemon bar and took a bite of the sweet treat.

Brian finished his sandwich and ate his lemon bar. "The only thing missing is a shot of Beam, but I doubt that I can get away with drinking that in here."

Justin winced at the mention of liquor, acknowledging for the first time the reason Brian was in the hospital. I really should bring that up at some point, but not now. Maybe he'll slow down if I come back here to live. I know he was only using it for pain management.

"I see those wheels turning, Justin, and I don't intend to let that happen again. But don't you think for one minute that I've given up my drugs or my drinking. I just promise to be more careful next time." Brian took his finger and made a cross over his heart with it.

Justin smiled but didn't comment. He knows me so well. I just need to remember that he cares, too.

Brian yawned again. "The last time I was this tired was when I had cancer and before that, when I was eight years old. It really sucks to sleep all day long. Now if I had blondie here in my bed, it would be tolerable, but he seems to think he has to wait until I get out of the hospital before he'll join me in bed."

Brian pushed the bed cart away and slid down in the bed.

"I think that's our cue to leave, Daph. Meet you outside in a few. Let me say goodnight."

Daphne leaned over and kissed Brian on the cheek. "Night, Brian." She walked out of the room and went to the waiting area.

Justin pushed the chair back to the side of the room and closed the blinds to block out the glare from the street lights. He leaned over the bed, pressing his forehead against Brian's, and said, "Later."

Brian pulled his head down and kissed him softly on the lips. "Later," he said in almost a whisper.

Justin joined Daphne, and they walked to her car. The wind was blowing hard, so they didn't speak until they got inside her car. Daphne turned the heat on high and they waited a few minutes for the car to warm up before heading to Daphne's apartment.

"He seems to be in a good mood. You guys weren't fighting," she remarked.

"He walked twice today, and he's regaining his strength. I massaged his legs after his second walk, and then I gave him a blow job," Justin grinned as he shared his exploits.

Daphne turned briefly to look at Justin. "No shit! I knew you guys were always horny, but in the hospital? Weren't you worried someone would come in?" She turned the music on, and a commercial for a local art exhibit came on the radio.

Justin pulled down her CD's and chose one by Moby, placing it in the player.

"That's half the thrill, and of course, Brian Kinney is my most favorite dick to suck. No other cock has ever compared to his cock." Justin smiled as he absently licked his lips in remembrance.

"TMI Justin! You two are just too much. What do you want for dinner?"

"We could cook the pizza we picked up yesterday. I'm really tired and I want to get to the hospital early tomorrow. I'm leaving in a few days and I want to help Brian as much as possible."

"I bet you just love having Brian in the hospital, your captive audience...He can't tell you to leave, or throw you out of the loft!" Daphne teased.

"Well, I will say there are some advantages to it, but I'd really rather have him a willing participant than a captive one,"

Justin answered, and then he yawned. "It's only been a little over two weeks and I'm exhausted. I don't know how you guys kept up the pace for almost three months when I was bashed."

"We did it out of love. Just like you are," Daphne said quietly. She smiled and got a whimsical look on her face. Justin didn't respond, just sat and listened to the CD for the remainder of the ride.

Justin and Daphne arrived at her apartment and ate pizza, chatted about Justin's upcoming trip to New York, and Brian's recovery. Justin went to bed about 10:00, and Daphne followed him shortly after.
___________________________________
In the morning, Daphne dressed for work, and Justin grabbed a quick breakfast consisting of a bagel and a breakfast bar. Daphne drove him to the hospital, and then agreed to pick him up at 7:00.

Justin walked into Brian's room, where he found Brian reading the Newsweek that Justin brought over the weekend.

"Give me your phone. I need to call Cynthia...see if Kinnetik is still standing."

"Hello Brian. How do you feel? Did you have a good night?"

"Stop with the solicitations." Brian put down his magazine, turning to Justin. He put his thumb to his teeth., thinking for a few moments. He placed his hand in his lap. "Hello Justin. I'm fine. Fabulous. Breakfast was lukewarm eggs and dry white toast. I thought hospitals were here to make you better, but the food at this place will give you a heart attack, and a patient would probably get to stay longer to experience their great hospitality. Now give me your phone," he demanded as he held out his hand.

Justin put down his messenger bag, went to the window, opened the blinds, and pulled the chair over to the bed. He pulled out the notebook he'd been using to keep track of his conversations with Cynthia, then leaned over and kissed Brian on the cheek.

"Why yes, I am fine, Brian. Daphne and I had pizza last night, and I slept like a baby. Here's the notebook that I've been keeping based on my conversations with Cynthia." He handed Brian his phone. "Want me to leave?" he said as he took out his notebook with a list of things he needed to do before leaving for New York.

"No. I may need you to take notes." Brian waved his hand for Justin to stay put, so Justin sat back down.

Brian reviewed Justin's notes, getting up to speed on his accounts. He dialed the office, hoping his staff wasn't getting lax in his absence.

Brian wasted no time with pleasantries once Cynthia had picked up her phone, and immediately launched into his questions.

"Cynthia, I see that the Brown Athletics account has a new representative. Have we sent him complimentary tickets to the Xplosions? What about Liberty Air? Is the art department up on the redesign of the summer travel promotion?"

"Brian, Ted and I have it under control. Do you want me to come to the hospital so we can go over a few things?" Cynthia asked.

"Come about two. I'll see you then," Brian answered and hung up the phone.

"Are you always that rude?" Justin asked as he made some additional notes in his own notebook. "Cynthia practically runs your business when you're away, and all you have to say to her is did she send comp tickets to some new ad rep? Jeez, Brian. No wonder your staff run when you walk in the door." Justin stood up, placing his notebook on the chair. "Want anything? I'm getting some coffee?"

"How about a blow job? It's been over twelve hours since you last blew me, and I'm sure you'd like your high protein breakfast," Brian teased.

Justin rolled his eyes. "Want anything to drink?" he asked again.

Brian turned somber. "No. The nurses say caffeine and soda are hard on my kidneys. Want me to wait at least a week before I have any of the good stuff. It's juice and water for me, Sonnyboy."

"Okay. I'll be right back, then."

While Justin was gone, Brian rang for the nurses to help him use the bathroom. When Justin returned, he saw the door pulled to, but didn't think anything of it, so he walked in to find the nurse holding the portable urinal for Brian.

"Sorry, Uhh, III," he stammered and left the room quickly. I'm a idiot. I've seen Brian's cock thousands of times. I've used the bathroom when he was shaving or brushing his teeth. Two men don't have the same ideas of modesty, but there is something about seeing someone helping Brian use the urinal and me watching that just feels wrong. Just wrong. Guess I better get used to it, since I may need to help him when he gets home.

Justin waited until the nurse left the room before re-entering. Brian didn't say anything, and Justin hoped that he didn't know what had just occurred. "I'm back. Has Jose been in this morning?"

"No. He should be here soon. I bet I get to walk both ends of the hallway today. Woo Hoo," Brian said sarcastically. "I need to be able to stand on my own two feet soon. Can't have you giving me a blow job in the shower and I collapse mid way through." Brian grinned as he saw Justin's face turn slightly red. "Why Justin, are you embarrassed? I'd think by now that talk of blow jobs and showers would be old hat to you," Brian teased.

‘I'm not embarrassed, Brian. It's just that we're in a hospital and you just woke up from a coma and ..."

"Whatever. Anyway Cynthia is coming at 2:00 to go over the accounts. Why don't you hand me that pad and your notes again, and I'll get to work. Shame you didn't bring my laptop. It would have come in handy."

"You're supposed to be recuperating, not working. Can't you relax for a few minutes?" Justin pleaded. He stood up with his arms crossed over his chest. "Can't we just talk like normal people?" Justin walked over to Brian's bed, sitting on the edge, leaned over and gave Brian a brief kiss on the lips.

"We're not lesbians, Justin. We don't analyze everything to death."

"I know, but I thought..." Justin stammered.

"What did you think? Tell me."

"We could talk about my show," Justin suggested as he stroked Brian's arm.

"So you have pictures of the pieces?"

Justin swiftly got up from the bed and found his messenger bag. He rummaged through it until he found his portfolio, and brought it back to bed. He opened the book to the copies of his paintings that he had chosen for the show. "These are the paintings I'm showing. There are fifteen of them. My agent said if most of them sell during this show, I could be looking at a solo show in a few months. I've sold every painting I've ever put in a show, so I think I have a good chance. I've done it Brian. I made it as an artist in New York . Aren't you proud of me? We should celebrate," Justin spoke fast and strung the sentences together that it appeared as one sentence rather than a number of them.

Brian reached his arms out, placing them around Justin's neck and pulling him closer to him. "Slow down. I have every confidence in you, but you haven't sold them yet. Let's wait and see." Brian leaned in and they touched foreheads.

Justin enjoyed Brian's embrace and close proximity until they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Time for you to get out of bed, Brian. Let's go explore the neighborhood," Jose teased. "I know these same four walls can get really boring."

Brian let go of Justin, and Justin returned his portfolio to his seat. "Leave it out, Justin. When I come back, I want to pick out a painting. I need a new one at the office."

Frowning, Justin said, "You don't have to support me, Brian. I can do this on my own!"

"I never said I was supporting you. I'm making an investment in a rising artist whom I happen to know very well. Now, are you going to pout or watch Jose torture me again? I was kind of hoping you would give me another massage after my therapy," Brian smiled and raised his eyebrow with the innuendo.

"I'll come watch. You never know what information I'll pick up for future taunting."