Chapter 62 - Redemption.

"Mr. Kinney," said the voice hidden behind an explosion of bright red and yellow tropical looking flowers. "You've got two more deliveries. Where would you like me to put them?"

"More fucking flowers? Shit. I don't know where to put them. It already looks like a jungle in here. Sunshine, do we have room for any more shit over on the window sill?" Brian asked in disgust as he looked around at the already crowded countertops and tables in the hospital birthing suite. Every horizontal surface was already covered with gift baskets, toys for the baby and vase after vase of flowers. They'd started arriving last night just around dinner time and hadn't really stopped since. Brian didn't even know who half the people were who had sent this shit, but he didn't know how to stop it either.

Justin got up from the recliner where he'd been sitting holding Kevan. He handed the baby to Brian and went to take charge of the most recent delivery from the gift shop attendant. "I think we have enough floral decorations in here," Justin declared, pulling the gift cards off the two new flower arrangements but not taking the vases out of the attendant's arms. "Why don't you just take any other deliveries, as long as they're just flowers or balloons, up to the children's ward or maybe the cancer patients. We'll just keep the gift cards so we know who to thank."

Justin deposited the two new gift cards on top of the pile he'd already accumulated without even bothering to look at them. They were most likely from another of Brian's clients and he wouldn't recognize the names anyway. Either that or they were from one of Brian's many rabid fans who kept sending him unwanted tokens of their undying devotion. Who knew that being the first male pregnancy in North America would make someone such a huge celebrity?

"That's a brilliant idea, Sunshine," Brian agreed instantly. "In fact, we should probably go through some of this other stuff and send a load of it off to the children's ward too. I really don't think Kevan needs a hundred different stuffed animals. Fuck knows I don't want them at the house."

Justin looked at the accumulated swag and agreed wholeheartedly. He had no idea how they would even get it all home let alone where they'd put it all. The avalanche of presents had started off with the two gargantuan gift baskets from Armani and GQ. The one from Armani was packed with delicious looking gourmet foods, an expensive looking bottle of wine and a pretentious sterling silver engraved rattle for the baby. The one from Miss Scarlett at GQ was much more practical and contained baby clothes, baby shampoos and lotions, a few small toys and, the 'piece de resistance', some huge contraption called a 'Diaper Genie'. The two large baskets were sitting in the window flanking the giant stuffed panda bear holding another vase of flowers that Marty Ryder had sent over and which sat in the center of the deep window sill. Around those were the much more modest gifts and flower arrangements that had been given to them by their friends and family. All of those would be kept.

On the counter by the little sink in the corner, on the little side table and spilling over onto the floor in the far corner of the room were all the other flowers, gifts and balloon arrangements they'd received from dozens of others. It was funny in a way, but the thought of having to go through it all was daunting. All Justin wanted to do was sit and stare in awe at the baby, not sort through piles of gifts or write a hundred thank you notes.

But, no sorting or thank yous would be happening right away, since as soon as it was officially 9:00 am, the first of their visitors for the day started to appear.

Ted and Emmett were the first to arrive. They were followed about two minutes later by Daphne. Em and Daph immediately rushed to pick up and coo over Baby Kevan. Ted was much more restrained and went over to talk to Brian first. He couldn't stay for long since he had to finish up something at work that he didn't get to the day before, but he was excited to show Brian what he'd read in that morning's newspaper.

"I thought you'd enjoy seeing this, Bri," Ted tossed the newspaper section onto the edge of the bed where Brian snatched it up. "Check out the bottom of page four."

"Local Chiropractor Indicted For HIPAA Violations!" Brian read the headline aloud. "Wow, that was fast. I guess Chiefy was seriously pissed off. Poor Dr. Dave - it doesn't look like he's going to have time to follow up on all those threats to get back at me."

"Yep, it looks like Dr. Cameron might be getting a vacation at Club Fed in the near future," Ted quipped. "The article doesn't mention you by name, Brian, but it does say that David's being accused of giving out confidential medical information to the press, obtaining the information through false pretenses and accepting money for improperly disclosing the information. From the fact that the article doesn't mention anyone else being involved, I assume that his contact here at the hospital probably made a deal with the authorities to avoid prosecution himself. Which means . . ."

"Which means that Dr. Dishonorable is going down for the count!" Brian crowed, happily vindicated as to his instant dislike of the man that Michael had been dating. "It really couldn't have happened to a nicer guy."

Everyone in the room agreed, especially Daphne, who had been helping the boy's deal with all the media attention that David's actions had set in motion. But nobody wanted to dwell on that topic for long - not when they could spend their time admiring Kevan instead. Ted took a quick turn at holding the baby and then he had to run. Daph and Em didn't seem as eager to leave, though.

"Is it okay if I hang out here for a while longer, Brian?" Emmett asked. "I'm really NOT looking forward to going back to work at Torso. Not that I'm not a stellar representative in the world of men's fashion, but I've kinda enjoyed my little vacation the past couple of weeks. Well, except for the parts where you made me slave around the house reorganizing every drawer in the place."

"For which you were overpaid, especially since you didn't do half of what I asked you to do," Brian shot back without any real anger in his tone. "But, if you want to stick around here all day, you're going to have to do some work. You too, Daphne. See all these flowers and gifts and shit? Sunshine and I need you guys to go through it all and get rid of most of it. We're donating it all to the children's ward, but we need someone to sort through it all, keep stuff from the family and all the gift cards and anything seriously useful, and then take all the rest away. You two up to the job?"

Both their friends seemed keen on the project and enthusiastically moved over to the corner where the majority of the swag was waiting.

"That's how we delegate, Sunshine," Brian said with a smirk as Justin came over to sit with him and the baby on the big hospital bed. "When they're done with that you can start them on the Thank You cards."

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Over the course of the morning, the rest of the family trickled in and out in a stream of endless overlapping visits. Luckily Jenn and Deb didn't come at the same time, so there were no more arguments over who got to hold the baby. About ten thirty, both Brian and Kevan started to get a little grumpy, so Justin herded everyone out of the room, giving Brian some privacy to feed the baby and then they both went down for a nap.

Unfortunately, hospital routines aren't well known for letting patients actually get much rest. Brian and Kevan hadn't been napping for more than twenty minutes when another knock at the door woke everyone up.

"Well, based on that healthy wail, I'd have to say your son's lungs seem to be well developed," said the tall young woman with long dark black hair who entered the room. "Mr. Kinney? I'm Dr. Emma Dahl. According to your OB you haven't chosen a pediatrician yet. She has referred your case to me. So, I came by to introduce myself and, if you don’t have any objections to using my services, I can go ahead and do the baby's first exam for you right now."

Brian and Justin quickly introduced themselves and Kevan. They asked a few simple questions about the doctor's education and experience. The young doctor seemed personable and easy to talk to, not at all uncomfortable with their unconventional family makeup and seemed to get on with the baby well. That was all they needed to make a decision and Brian formally accepted Dr. Dahl's services.

Dr. Dahl efficiently proceeded to Kevan's first neonatal exam. She measured him, weighed him and noted the circumference of his head. She took the baby's temperature, noting it was a little on the high side, but assuring the dads that this wasn't a big cause for concern in and of itself. She listened to Kevan's heart and lungs, giving approval that everything there seemed fine. She examined the umbilical stump to ensure there was no infection. Finally, Dr. Dahl did a quick hearing screening to make sure there were no problems on that front. She confidently assured the two nervous dads that everything looked just fine.

Last of all, Dr. Dahl explained that she needed to give the baby his first vaccination - a shot to protect against hepatitis B - and take a small blood sample to screen for possible metabolic problems like PKU or Sickle-cell anemia. The tiny pinprick in Kevan's heel to draw the blood sample elicited a loud and unhappy response from the newborn. It hurt Brian when he heard his son crying out in pain, probably more than it had hurt Kevan - and daddy was ready to throw the doctor out on her ass. Justin had been watching, though, and grabbed ahold of Brian's hands tightly to keep him from vaulting out of the bed. The final indignity, getting his first shot, was protested even more loudly by young Kevan, before the doctor laid the infant in his father's arms and the tiny upset ball of anger almost instantly started to quiet.

The pediatrician smiled at the understandably anxious fathers and gave them information on follow up appointments and vaccination schedules and then left them with her card. Justin promised to call and set up an appointment for two to three weeks out for a follow up exam. As she left, Dr. Dahl suggested that Brian might want to try nursing now, in order to help settle the baby and himself.

Brian scowled at the idea of another person being in on the secret of his breast feeding, but took the woman's advice nonetheless. And, it seemed to be the perfect suggestion. As soon as the baby was in place and started nursing, both father and son almost instantly relaxed and the tension caused by the crying infant simply evaporated. 'Thank fuck for hormones,' Justin secretly thought to himself as he watched the now contented pair.

As soon as Brian was finished feeding the baby, Justin had Sandy take Kevan to the nursery for a while so that Brian could finally get some real rest. He told the nurse to keep all visitors out for at least the next hour. Justin needed a break, too, so he went down to the coffee shop and called his mom to assure her everything was going fine. Jennifer eventually talked him into going home to shower and change as well as to get a change of scenery. Justin agreed that it would probably be a good idea. He trusted that both his boys would be fine for a couple hours while he was gone.

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Michael arrived at the hospital just after noon. He'd taken an extra long lunch break from the Q-Mart, hoping to get a chance to visit with Brian.

He was heartened by the fact that Brian and Justin had allowed him to come in with the others and see the baby yesterday. He knew, especially after watching Justin's over-protective stance every time he came near Brian, that things were still strained between them, but he desperately wanted to clear the air. He'd thought long and hard about what Brian had said to him - both what he'd said in anger that day at Brian's office, and, even more, what Brian had said to him without anger the other day at the Diner.

It was difficult for Michael to grasp all the changes he was seeing in his long-time friend. It had taken him quite a while to admit to himself that Brian really, truly did WANT this. It wasn't easy for him to reconcile more than fifteen years of Brian's almost constant protestations that he never wanted a family, a boyfriend, or any of that other hetero 'crap', with this new Brian. He had finally admitted, after talking long into the night with his new boyfriend, Ben, that part of his reluctance was a selfish desire to hide from change. If Brian changed - grew up, so to speak - would Michael have to grow up, too? Could he just let go of his childhood hero like that? It was a lot harder to do than he would have thought.

But, as clueless as Michael could sometimes be, he wasn't even a little malicious. He did love Brian and always would. Admittedly, he didn't understand what was happening to Brian or why he was changing. But, Michael couldn't bear the thought of just letting their friendship die out simply because he wasn't understanding enough. He wanted to try to understand. It wasn't going to be easy, but he resolved to try again to apologize and make things right between them.

However, when he got to the maternity wing, the nurse on duty told him that Mr. Kinney was resting and had asked not to be disturbed. She advised him that he could wait, if he wanted, and if the patient woke up, he could see him then. Michael still had more than an hour before he had to be back at work, so he thought he'd wait just a little bit. He sat in one of the chairs in the waiting area just across from the nurses' station, picked up a tattered old 'People' magazine and prepared to wait as patiently as possible.

After about fifteen minutes, there seemed to be a stir amongst the nurses. A couple of other nurses came up from down the hall and there was an agitated yet hushed conversation between the three. Finally, the oldest of the three nurses, picked up the phone and made a call.

"Hello. This is Sandy over at Allegheny General. Is Dr. Dahl available? Yes, please tell her it's about the Kinney baby. Thanks, I'll hold . . ."

Michael's hearing perked up as soon as he heard the name Kinney. He quickly moved into a different seat closer to the nurses' station, shamelessly hoping to listen in on the nurse's conversation.

"Yes, Doctor," the nurse said after holding for a few minutes. "It seems the baby is having a reaction to the vaccination you administered earlier. He's been fussy and crying for the past half hour and the sight of the injection is warm to the touch and swollen . . ."

There was a long interval where Michael couldn't hear anything more other than an occasional 'yes' or 'no' from the nurse as she responded to whatever the doctor on the other end was saying.

"Very well," the nurse finally spoke up. "I agree. A small dose of acetaminophen will probably calm him down enough. I just didn't want to administer any medication without your okay . . . Yes, I'll keep you updated if there's anything more. Thank you, doctor."

The nurse hung up and immediately started down the hall towards the nursery. Michael jumped up and ran after the retreating nurse before she got more than ten steps away.

"Excuse me! Nurse!" Michael yelled at the nurse's back to get her attention. "Excuse me but I overheard you talking about the Kinney baby and I don't think you should give it anything without the dads knowing. Especially acetaminophen - that's Tylenol, right? Justin, one of the fathers, is really allergic to Tylenol. Couldn't the baby be allergic too?"

"I'm sorry," the nurse turned and looked at the short man following her with more than a little disdain. "Who are you?"

"I'm Michael Novotny. I'm a friend of Brian's. I was just waiting to see him when I overheard your telephone conversation. I know I'm not a doctor or anything, but I really think you should check with Brian or Justin about this. I know Justin's super allergic to Tylenol. When he used to live at my Mom's house they had to throw out all the Tylenol just in case so that Justin wouldn't take any by accident. And I just thought that the baby might . . . well, he might have the same allergy . . . maybe?" Michael's voice died off as the imperious nurse stared him down.

"I'm sorry, sir," the nurse replied without really listening to his protest. "I reviewed the baby's file before calling his pediatrician and there's no record of the baby having any known allergies. I assure you, though, we will watch his reaction carefully just in case."

Without saying more, the nurse turned and strode away purposefully towards the nursery.

"Fuck," Michael cursed under his breath, unsure what to do. Admittedly, he wasn't a doctor, but he was pretty sure that neither Brian nor Justin would want to risk the baby having an allergic reaction, at least not if there was some other medication available. He looked up and down the hall, seeking guidance or inspiration, but found none. In desperation, Michael dug his cell phone out of his jeans pocket and searched for Justin's cell number, hoping that, for once, the young blond who was admittedly not fond of him would pick up the phone.  

Justin was just getting out of the shower back at Britin's Chapel. He heard his phone ringing and rushed to pick it up, thinking it might be Brian trying to find him. He didn't even think to look at the caller ID before he hit the button to accept the call.

"Justin? Justin, it's Michael! I'm at the hospital and I don't know what to do!" Michael's voice was yelling through the phone before Justin even got a chance to say hello.

"Michael? What's going on? Is Brian okay?" Justin's first assumption was that Michael and Brian had had another fight and something had happened to his partner.

"It's not Brian. It's the baby. I overheard the nurse saying he was having a reaction to the vaccination he got earlier and she's going to give him Tylenol. I tried to explain about your allergies but she wouldn't listen. I don't know if the baby will have a reaction like you or not, but I didn't think you'd want to risk it. What should I do? Where are you?"

"Fuck! I'm at home. Where's Brian?" Justin asked, trying to talk while he dressed without dropping the phone.

"The nurse said he was sleeping and couldn't be disturbed," Michael informed him.

"Michael, listen to me! Go wake Brian up. Now! Ignore what the nurse said. I don't want them to give Kevan anything until I get there unless it's an emergency. Do you hear? Tell Brian and he'll make the nurse listen. I'm on my way back to the hospital. Call me as soon as you tell Brian and let me know what's going on. GO!"

Michael ended the call and sprinted towards Brian's room. The nurse saw him running past but was too slow to stop him before he'd barreled into the birthing suite. "Brian! Brian, wake up!" Michael was shouting as soon as he pushed through the door. "They're going to give Kevan Tylenol. Justin said to get you to stop them until he gets back here. He's afraid the baby will have his same allergies." Michael panted, leaning against the rail at the foot of the bed as he caught his breath.

Brian blinked up at his out of breath friend while he tried to make sense out of what was filtering through his half-awake mind.

"Mr. Kinney," the duty nurse exclaimed as she ran into the room a half minute after Michael. "I'm so sorry that you were disturbed. I told this gentleman that you were resting and he'd have to wait but apparently he didn't listen."

"Michael," Brian was now awake enough to realize something important was happening. "What did you say about the baby?"

"They're going to give him Tylenol," Michael almost screamed, desperate to get someone to do something before it was too late. "I called Justin. He said you would stop them. He's afraid the baby might have his same allergies."

Brian instantly understood. "Fuck! Nurse, I want you to run, not walk, but fucking run, to the nursery and stop whoever is there from giving my baby anything. Do you hear me! GO, NOW!"

The nurse bolted out of the room without asking any questions. Michael finally took a deep breath in relief. He turned towards his friend who seemed to be struggling against the blankets draped over his legs.

"Michael, help me up!" Brian demanded, flinching slightly when he tried to move too fast and the motion pulled at the staples in his belly.

"Are you sure you're supposed to get up?" Michael asked worriedly but moved to support his friend's arm as Brian continued to work his body slowly into an erect stance.

"Fuck, this is NOT fun, Mikey," Brian hissed at the pain as he put his full weight on his feet. "I need you to help me get down to the nursery. But, go slowly," Brian warned.

Letting Michael support most of his weight, Brian shuffled down the hall beside his friend as fast as he could move without too much pain. When they arrived at the doorway to the nursery, there was quite a hubbub of noise and activity. The nurse that Brian had sent running out of his room was standing with arms folded in front of the bassinet where a fussy Kevan was lying there crying. The older nurse that Michael had confronted earlier was facing off with the younger woman, a syringe full of bright red syrupy medicine held up in her right hand, tilted up so it wouldn't drip out on the floor.

"I already cleared this with the pediatrician," Sandy insisted, trying to edge around the younger woman who was refusing to move out of the way.

"I'm not saying you didn't, Sandy. But, the father has said 'no' and you need to at least talk to him or his partner about it before you do anything further. They're afraid of possible allergic reactions. It's a justifiable concern."

"Tell me what exactly is going on!" Brian demanded in a reverberating voice that startled awake more than one infant who'd been asleep in the nursery. "Why are you giving my son medication in the first place and why didn't anyone check with Justin or myself beforehand?"

"Mr. Kinney!" Sandy turned to see a purple-faced, very angry man standing behind her in the doorway wearing nothing more than his standard-issue, backless hospital gown. "You shouldn't be up out of bed without someone to help you."

"I'm okay. Mikey here helped me just fine. Now, tell me what's wrong with my son!" Brian bellowed, but at a slightly lower decibel level, while the younger nurse hushed a couple of the crying infants. Brian sat down in the nearest chair, and signaled to the older nurse, "bring Kevan to me NOW!"

The startled nurse complied right away, bringing a crying Baby Kevan to his father's arms. Brian clutched the baby to him, leaving tiny kisses on the baby's soft little cheeks, only the touch of skin on skin enough to calm them both. As soon as they were reunited, the baby's sobs started to taper off into mere sniffles and Brian's body visibly relaxed.

"It's okay, Sonny Boy. Daddy's here now. You're going to be okay. Shhhhh, sweetheart. Shhh . . ."

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