Brian had stayed with Justin all night, holding him tightly and whispering softly into his ear. He couldn’t remember ever being so scared in his life. As he held the blond’s shivering body against his chest, he silently prayed to a God he hadn’t believed in for a very long time. In the early hours of the morning, it seemed that Master had finally settled into a comfortable sleep, so he got up and took a quick shower. He had to figure out what was going on, so he decided to give Miguel a call.

Miguel picked up his cell phone, checked the caller ID, and mumbled, "This had better be important, or I’m going to kick your ass."

Brian was feeling a bit out of it and said, "I don’t know what’s wrong. Master is sick."

Miguel was immediately wide awake. "What’s wrong with Sunshine?"

Brian licked his lips. "I don’t know. He was having nightmares all night, talking in his sleep, sweating, and shaking violently. I just got him calmed down and now he’s sleeping peacefully. Do I need to take him to the hospital? He doesn’t seem to be running a temperature."

Miguel sucked in a shocked breath. "He hasn’t had an attack in years. Listen Brian, the only thing you can do for him is to keep him comfortable and make sure he drinks lots of fluids. I’ve seen this before, and he’ll be fine in a couple of days. I wonder what was so stressful that set him off this time."

Brian listened and asked, "Why does he have these episodes?"

"He was attacked after school one day. It happened about six months before he moved to New York. Now, anytime he gets overly stressed, he has episodes where his body almost physically shuts down. I really think you should ask him for the details."

Brian remembered reading something about a high school kid who was brutally beaten and almost died. Holy shit that was his Master. "Thanks for your help, Miguel. I really appreciate it."

"No problem, sweetie. Let me know if you need help with anything."

"I will, but I think I can handle this. Take care."

Brian hung up the phone and looked into the bedroom. Even though he’d told Miguel he could handle this situation, he knew he was going to need help caring for Master. After thinking long and hard about what was going to happen, he hit the button and waited on someone to pick up.

Debbie heard the phone, checked the caller ID, and grabbed it on the second ring. "I hope you’ve called to apologize."

Brian took a breath. "Debbie, I need your help."

Debbie heard the slight tremor in Brian’s voice and it reminded her of the times he’d come to her as a child. She bit back the smart ass remark she was about to say and asked, "What’s wrong?"

Brian swallowed hard trying to keep his emotions in check. "Mas… I mean Justin is sick. I don’t know what to do. I didn’t know who else to call."

Debbie heard everything Brian wasn’t saying in his voice. "I’ll be at your place in half an hour."

"I’m not at the loft. I’ve been staying with Justin." Brian gave her the address and thanked her for agreeing to help him before he hung up. He walked back into the bedroom and sat on the bed. "Don’t worry, Master. I’m going to take care of everything. It’s time for me to look after you for awhile."

Half an hour later, Brian stood in front of the elevator and waited for the doors to open. He’d sent the elevator down to get Debbie as soon as she’d buzzed. He certainly hoped that she didn’t start in on him about being with Justin.

Debbie noticed the dark circles under Brian’s eyes as soon as the elevator doors opened. She was carrying a container of her chicken soup as well as some bottles of juice. "I’m here now, so you go get some sleep. I’ll take care of your Justin for you."

Brian took the container of soup and led the way into the kitchen. "I don’t have time to sleep, Deb. I have to make sure some things are taken care of."

"Well you need to take care of yourself first."

Brian smiled as he set the container on the bar. "Everything you need is here in the kitchen. Justin is in the bedroom. I’ll be downstairs in his main office, but if you need me, just call my cell. I hope he’s going to sleep for a couple of hours. I won’t be gone long."

Debbie had been looking around the apartment noticing some things she’d seen in Brian’s loft scattered around in the décor. "I’ll take care of him. He seems really important to you."

Brian looked at Debbie and nodded. "He’s very important."

As soon as Brian left, Debbie looked around the kitchen getting acquainted with where everything was stored. She put the juice and soup in the fridge and walked through the apartment looking at all the art and finding little touches of Brian here and there. When she opened the door to the playroom, she sucked in a shocked breath and looked at all the strange furniture. She shook her head and wondered just exactly what Brian had gotten himself into now. She heard a loud groan coming from the bedroom and hurried in to look after her charge.

Debbie had spent all day making sure to give Justin plenty of juice. She had no idea what was wrong with the young man, but he seemed to fade in and out of consciousness all day. He wasn’t running a fever but he seemed to be suffering from hallucinations. He kept mumbling something about hurting Brian and never forgiving himself. What had he done to Brian that was so horrible? Brian seemed to be fine and he certainly was worried about this young man.

On top of everything else, she’d had to deal with Brian calling every hour and asking if everything was okay. She wasn’t sure she completely understood what was going on between these two, but Brian seemed to really care about this man.

Justin opened his eyes and groaned. His head felt like an elephant had trampled through it. He tried to sit up but was pushed back down.

"You just stay right where you are. I’ve got you some chicken soup here, and you are going to eat it and not give me any trouble."

Justin licked his lips and looked at the red head. "What are you doing here?"

Debbie sat the bowl of soup down. "Brian called me to come and help take care of you, so you will be a good patient and eat your fucking chicken soup."

Justin’s mind traveled back to the dinner at Deb’s and all the accusations that had been flung at them, he reached out and grabbed her hand, and whispered hoarsely, "I don’t care what you think or say about me, but don’t hurt Brian. He’s not as tough as he seems, and he cares about what you think."

Debbie was caught off guard by the sincerity in the man’s voice. This guy really did care about Brian. She gently patted his hand and whispered, "I won’t hurt him again."

Justin leaned back and nodded his head in satisfaction. "Thank you."

"Now, we have to get you back on your feet, so you have to eat something. I made a big pot of chicken soup and you are going to eat it."

Justin turned his head and grinned. "I’ll give it a try." He knew how important this woman was to Brian and he planned to do everything in his power to make sure that all fences were mended. His boy didn’t need anymore disappointments in his life, so he’d play nice and make friends.

Brian entered the apartment and heard soft laughter coming from the bedroom. He walked to the door and glanced inside. He was shocked to see Debbie sitting on the edge of the bed holding a glass so Justin could take a drink of juice. She was laughing softly. "I have a million stories I can tell you about Brian as a young man."

Brian cleared his throat and walked into the room. "I see you are filling his head full of your stories, Deb." He leaned down and placed a kiss on Justin’s brow. "How are you feeling, Master?"

Justin cut his eyes at Debbie as if to say ‘Don’t mention the fact that he called me Master,’ before smiling up at Brian. "I’m feeling much better, cookie."

Brian turned to Debbie. "Thank you for helping out today. I really appreciate it."

Debbie smiled as she stood up. "I’m glad I could help. You two will be at my dinner this week, right?"

Brian glanced at Justin and shook his head. "I’m not so sure that’s a good idea, Deb. I don’t feel like a repeat performance of the last dinner."

Debbie gave Brian a little hug. "There won’t be any more problems for you two at my house."

"We’ll see how Justin feels and let you know."

Debbie nodded and walked out of the bedroom.

Brian gave Justin another quick kiss and followed Debbie into the living room. "I really am glad that you came over."

"So am I, you little shit. Next time, don’t be such a drama queen about things…give us time to adjust."

Brian laughed softly, "Yes, Mom."

Debbie gave Brian a quick kiss and headed for the elevator. "If you need me to sit with him tomorrow, just let me know."

"I will."

Brian watched as the doors closed and headed back into the bedroom. "I’m glad you are feeling better Master. I was worried about you."

"I’ll be fine. I just need a day or two to get myself back to normal."

The next two days seem to fly by. Justin got stronger every day and Brian spent his days running both Kinnetik and WebDom. He was extremely pleased with the changes he’d made to Justin’s advertising campaign, even Daphne seemed happy with the new ads. He walked into the bedroom to check on Master. He knew that tomorrow things would be back to normal. He sat down on the bed and smiled. "I’m glad you are finally back."

"I spent a couple hours painting today, so I’m happy to say I am feeling much better. I’m still a bit weak, but that’ll go away soon."

Brian stood up and headed for the door.

"Where are you going, cookie?"

Brian turned and smiled. "Now that you’re practically back to normal, I’m going back to the playroom. I still have two more days of my punishment left."

Justin took a deep breath and asked, "Have you jerked off or had an orgasm in the last couple of days?"

Brian shook his head. "No, Master."

Justin opened his arms and motioned for Brian to come back to the bed. "I think we can safely say that you’ve learned your lesson. Come to bed where you belong, cookie."

Brian quickly undressed and climbed into the bed. "I’ll never doubt you again, Master."

Justin hugged his boy tightly and whispered, "I know, cookie."

Brian smiled and snuggled against his Master’s warm body. "It’s nice to be back where I belong."