Part Three



Justin held Brian’s hand from the moment he walked into the room.  The part of his face that wasn’t one massive bruise looked pale, but not as bad as he had when Justin saw him in recovery.  They had put him into a hospital gown that buttoned in the front so that they could access his bandages.  They had also put hard casts on both his left arm and leg.  He noticed that one or two of the cuts on his chest and arm from the glass now had a single stitch each.  But he was off the ventilator and his heart monitor let out a steady beat, telling Justin that he was alive and he would be for some time to come.



Justin dozed in the reclining chair beside Brian’s bed, hand still clasping Brian’s right hand, for several hours that morning.  He woke every time one of the nurses came in to check something or change Brian’s IV.  It wasn’t an ideal way to rest, especially after the long work days and the all-nighter they had just pulled the day before, but it was better than nothing.  And it was better than staring at Brian sleep and worrying.



One of the nurses offered to pick up a sandwich from the cafeteria when she went for her break and Justin gladly accepted.  Once he was eating the prepackaged meal, he realized how hungry he really was.  He hadn’t eaten anything since lunch the day before.  He’d been too tired when he got home to bother fixing anything.



“It figures I wake up in the hospital to find you eating,” Brian croaked out, shocking Justin and nearly making him choke on his food.



“Brian!”  Justin gasped out.  “Oh thank god!”  He dropped his sandwich on the table and grabbed Brian’s hand.  “How do you feel?”



“Like shit,” Brian mumbled, his swollen and stitched lip making speaking difficult.  “Everything hurts.”



Justin chuckled, though his eyes were teary.  “I believe that.”



“What happened?”



Justin frowned.  “What do you remember?”



Brian gave a tiny shake of his head.  “We launched the campaign.  I took you home and went…to Debbie’s.  That’s it.”



Justin swallowed.  “You were on your way home and a drunk driver flipped his truck into you.  They had to cut you out of the ‘vette.”  Brian groaned and Justin knew it wasn’t because of his pain.  He loved that car.  “There was some internal bleeding and they had to do surgery to fix that.  You have a mild concussion.  You’ve got a broke arm and a broken leg and three broken ribs.  The good news is that all of the breaks were clean and they didn’t have to do anything more than set them.  Aside from that, you’ve got quite the collection of cuts and bruises.”



Brian let go of Justin’s hand and used his right hand to feel the swelling on the left side of his face.  “Christ.”



“It looks awful right now, but it will heal,” Justin told him.  “I should call the doctor.  They want to check you out and maybe they can up your pain meds.”



Brian grabbed Justin’s hand again and tugged.  “Not yet.”  Justin nodded and very carefully climbed onto the right side of the bed and curled up beside his husband.  They lay there together for a while, both dozing, until one of the nurses entered and found them.  After that, there was little opportunity to cuddle.



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Justin went for a cigarette while they removed Brian’s catheter and did his neurological test.  He called Emmett first, but then he called Lindsey.  “Brian’s awake and I convinced him to let Gus visit, just to let him know that Brian’s going to be okay.  But I should warn you that the bruising is extensive.  His face is a mess.  You should probably help Gus understand before you bring him.”



Lindsey was quiet when she responded.  “I’ll bring him by after I pick him up from school.  Justin…”



“I want to get back to Brian,” Justin interrupted.  He wasn’t in the mood to hear whatever she had to say.  “Come to the ICU and the nurse will get me.  They’ll be expecting you.”



He hung up and crushed out his cigarette.  Emmett was coming by a little later with some food and a change of clothes for Justin, as well as a few things to keep him occupied.  Brian was still loopy with pain and the pain medications, but he was already itching to get out of here.  He started asking the doctor before he’d even made it all the way through the door to introduce himself.



Justin smiled as he got on the elevator to head back up to Brian’s ICU room.  Having Brian awake was a relief, but it was also the start of a very long road.  Brian was going to be a pain in the ass patient.



“Justin,” Brian said as soon as Justin walked through the door.  “Tell this person that I’m capable of holding my own dick.”



“He’s capable of holding his own dick,” Justin said dutifully to the nurse who was attempting to help Brian pee into a container.  He smiled to soften the censure.  “Honestly.  If he needs help, I’ll be right here.”



She left, muttering about the two of them and Justin laughed.  “If you are trying to get them to throw you out, it won’t work.  I tried after I was bashed.  Neither did being nice to them or begging, not that I think there’s a chance in hell you’ll try either of those tactics.”



“Fuck you,” Brian muttered as he tried to maneuver the container with his one hand and hold his dick at the same time.  It wasn’t going well.  He finally looked up at Justin.  Justin didn’t comment at all, he just walked over and helped his husband and soon it was done.  He grabbed a couple of the wipes from the stand and cleaned them both up.



“What was that all about anyway,” Justin said.



“They won’t let me leave until I can eat and pee on my own,” Brian said.  He was already getting tired out and he let his head fall back against the pillow.



“I think they mean getting to an actual toilet,” Justin told him, but Brian was already snoring.  Justin wondered how much of this he was going to remember later.



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“Papa!”  Gus ran to Justin as soon as the blonde came into sight.  “Is Daddy gonna be okay?”



The five year old was obviously very worried and Justin was glad he’d arranged for this little visit.  “Daddy’s going to be just fine,” Justin said.  “He’s a little banged up right now.  He’s got some big booboos on his face and chest and his arm and leg.”



“Does he need a kiss to make it better?” Gus asked.



“I’m sure a kiss won’t hurt,” Justin told the boy.  He looked to Lindsey.  “The doctor said that you might want to come too, just in case Gus doesn’t react well.”  Lindsey nodded, grateful to be allowed to see Brian.  She followed as Justin carried Gus towards the room he had just come from.  “Now Gus, do you remember when you fell off your bike a couple months ago?”



“Yeah,” Gus said.  “That hurt a lot.”



“I know,” Justin said.  “Well, you had a few small bruises and a scrape on your leg.  Daddy has lots of bruises and scrapes.  It might look a little scary right now, but he’s going to get better, just like your leg got better.  Okay?”



They went in and Lindsey followed.  She gasped when she saw just how bad Brian looked.  Justin looked back at her and frowned, but neither Gus nor Brian seemed to have heard her.



“Wow, Daddy!” Gus said.  “You got some big booboos.”



“Yeah, Sonny Boy,” Brian said with a half smile.  “Gonna come here and kiss them better?”



Justin let Gus down on the bed to kiss Brian’s cheek.  “Be careful.”



Gus was very careful as he kissed Brian’s swollen cheek and then sat back to smile. “Hey look, Papa!  Daddy’s got a cast.”  He turned back to Brian.  “My friend Jimmy broke his arm. He had a cast too.  His was cooler than yours though.  His was blue.  You should ask if they can give you a better color than plain white.”



“What color should I ask for?” Brian asked his son.



Gus thought about that.  “Well, I like blue and red, but I think you should get black.  You wear a lot of black clothes and you want to match.”



“That’s my boy,” Brian chuckled.  “Concerned with fashion already.  I’ll see what I can do.  They might not let me change colors.”



Gus nodded.  “Well, do your best.  When are you coming home?  Mommy said you might be staying here for a while.  But we’re supposed to go to the zoo this weekend.”



“I don’t think your dad’s going to feel up to a trip to the zoo even if he does get to come home before then,” Justin said.  “But as soon as he’s feeling better, we’ll definitely go.”



“Okay,” Gus said.  He bent forward to give Brian another kiss.  “That’s two, so you should get better twice as fast now.”



“Gus, we should probably go,” Lindsey said.  Brian looked up to see her for the first time and she smiled nervously at him.  “Brian, I’m so glad you’re doing so well.  We’ll come back tomorrow for another visit.”



“Okay,” Brian said and watched as Gus climbed down from the bed and followed his mom to the door.



Gus waved one last time before turning to his mom.  “Daddy’s face looked so cool.  All purple and black and red.  The colors swirl like in some of Papa’s pictures.”



“Justin,” Brian said.



“Yeah.”



“Is my face really that bad?” Brian wondered.



“It’s pretty colorful,” Justin said wryly.  “But I can still tell it’s you underneath.”



“Then why was Lindsey acting so weird?” Brian wondered.  Justin had hoped Brian was too doped up to pick up on that.



Justin sighed and sat down beside his husband.  “I kind of blew up at the lot of them this morning.  I think she was more nervous about seeing me than you.”



“Oh,” Brian said and closed his eyes for a moment or two to rest.  “You told them about us.”



“Yeah,” Justin admitted.



“Okay,” Brian said tiredly and fell asleep.



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They moved Brian to a private room late that afternoon, not long after Lindsey and Gus had gone.  Since this new room had a phone, Justin no longer had to leave the hospital to make phone calls.  But that also meant that Brian was allowed to have visitors.  Cynthia and the staff sent over a basket of puzzle books, novels and other things meant to keep Brian from going stir crazy.  Flowers and get well cards began to arrive as well; there were even a few stuffed animals.



Cynthia stopped by, but said that she’d let everyone else know that Brian didn’t want a lot of visitors.  That was true enough.  He could be a vain man and the idea of everyone and their brother seeing his face that way made him cranky.  Though if you waited a few minutes, he’d fall asleep and probably forget his bad mood when he woke up.



The first of the family to arrive was Ted.  He had a short chat with Brian about work and then he got up to go when Brian started to drift off.  He pulled Justin aside before he left.  “Emmett laid into them after you left this morning.  I’m honestly not sure what to expect after all that, but I thought you should be prepared for whatever it is.”



“Thanks Ted,” Justin said.  “I told Brian that they know we’re married and that I blew up at them, but no details.  It’s pretty much a waste right now.  He’s so hopped up on drugs most of the time that I’m not sure how much of anything will stick.”



“Emmett put everyone on a schedule,” Ted said with a smile.  “No one is allowed to stay more than fifteen minutes and everyone has a set time to come.  He’s not mad at me, which is why I got to go first.  I think Debbie’s next.”



“Well, Gus and Lindsey were already here,” Justin said.  “That went well.  As far as Gus is concerned, at least.”



“Justin?”  Brian called.



“I’ll let you go,” Ted said.  “Just… take care of him.”



“I will,” Justin promised and went back into the room.



“What were you talking about?” Brian asked.



“Ted wanted me to know that Emmett put the family on a schedule,” Justin said as he retook his seat.  “Apparently Debbie should be coming next.”



Brian grabbed Justin’s hand and pulled it to his lips.  “Are you mad at me?”



“Why would I be mad at you?” Justin asked.



“Because…” Brian looked like he had lost track of his thoughts for a moment.  “Because I went there last night when I should have been home with you?  Because I didn’t tell them about us, and you had to face them alone?”



Justin huffed a laugh.  “If I can handle running your creative services departments, I can certain handle your family with out you there to defend me.  As for last night… That wasn’t your fault.  You couldn’t have predicted what would happen.  How can I be mad about that?”



“But…”



Justin kissed Brian’s objections away.  “I’m not mad, so stop feeling guilty.”



Brian nodded and was soon dozing again.  It was funny, he could be awake for quite a while and seem perfectly alert and aware, but then just drop off.  Other times, getting him to stay awake for more than a couple minutes at a time was a chore.  Justin knew that the pain meds were part of the problem, but he also thought that Brian’s exhaustion before this accident was playing havoc as well.  He knew that he was fairly exhausted himself.



He laid the recliner back and decided he could just close his eyes for a few minutes.