First Night Seduction - 8. Part 2 Chapter 1

First Night Seduction

Part Two

Chapter 1

Adrien could feel the adrenaline being dumped into his body as he took the stairs two at a time, his hospital pager had beeped not thirty seconds ago and he was already one floor down from his office – a personal best. He’d been notified some forty minutes previously that there could be a critical case, already on life-support, being med-evaced from the nearest A&E to the hospital following a multi-vehicle accident on the motorway, the only information he’d been given was that the patient was male and had a traumatic penetrating injury to the left side of his upper thorax. The bleep had been to call him to the operating theatre for that same patient – his team were already there.

Maria was already in theatre by the time he got to the scrub room, she was waiting for the by-pass team to finish their job and would inform Adrien that it was time for him to join them. When she’d seen him her stomach had clenched, this wasn’t something she’d ever foreseen having to do but do it she must.

“Professor,” Maria began when she joined him in the scrub room, “I, er, I, we’ve sent for Mister Spence.”

Adrien stopped sluicing the soap from his hands and arms to look at her, not fully comprehending her statement.

“Why, does it need the both of us?”

“No, Professor, but this time it doesn’t need you.”

“What the ruddy hell are you talking about Maria?”

“This time you cannot go in there, this is not for you.”

“Maria how far out is Spence?”

“Twenty minutes or thereabouts.”

“How long before the by-pass team finish?”

“Less than ten minutes.”

Adrien cast a glance through the scrub room window to the man on the table already draped in green cotton sheets, as was normal, his face shielded by the one held vertically below his chin and there normality stopped.

Protruding from the man’s chest was a black, partially rusted, metal bar almost an inch in diameter with around a foot of it standing vertically as if nailing him to the table it was supported by a collection of medical instruments to keep it still.

“Maria that man cannot wait for Spence to get here.”

Paul Spence was Adrien’s senior registrar, despite being a few years older, he’d swapped from emergency to cardio-vascular surgery which accounted for the apparent age-to-seniority discrepancy, and had proved himself to be a highly competent second-in-command - but he wasn’t Adrien!

“He has to because you cannot do this surgery Adrien.”

He looked at Maria in shock, never, never, in the years they’d worked together had she ever used his first name when they were in theatre.

“Maria you’re not making sense, why the hell would they page me if I can’t do it? And why can’t I for crying out loud?”

“Because it’s Theo love.”

Adrien’s knees almost buckled and he grabbed hold of the edge of the scrub sink watching the still flowing water swirling down the drain just like Theo’s life, their life together, was draining from Theo’s body with every moment that passed.

“Get me a gown, a mask, gloves Maria. NOW!” he growled through teeth clenched so hard he was surprised none cracked.

“Please Adrien, let Spence do it.”

“Do you really expect me to watch my man’s life end on that table and do nothing to stop it? Either help me do my job or find someone who will,” he snapped at her.

He moved the tap’s control from red to blue dipped his head towards the sink breathing in the cool air from the water before cupping his hands and splashing the cold water onto his face then began to scrub-up all over again.

His mind flashed back to how his day had begun with him looking forward to Theo being home; Theo had been working abroad for almost three weeks starting in Canada, where they’d been skiing several times in the four years they’d been together, then Japan, which Adrien had hated when they’d visited briefly, New Zealand a country Adrien had wanted to go to since he was a teenager and finally South Africa from where he would come home.

Adrien almost smiled when he remembered the text he’d awoken to the previous morning “I.G.T.F.U.T.I.C.T.U.C.” it was Theo’s way of letting Adrien know he was on his way back and he’d sent it two days earlier than Adrien had expected. A second text had given him the actual journey times and tonight they’d be re-united, thankfully there’d be virtually no jet-lag for Theo as Johannesburg was only one hour ahead; Adrien doubted anyone would ever crack their code it was incredibly personal and harked back to their first night together and it always made Adrien re-live the moment Theo had said the words those initials represented,

“I’m going to fuck you ‘til I come, ‘til you come.”

And he had.

Irrespective of how far or for how long Theo had been travelling when he got home their desire for each other was immediate; the first time he’d returned from a business trip bad weather, delayed take-offs and missed landing time-slots had turned a relatively short eight hour journey into a twenty-four hour nightmare. Theo had barely got through the door before they were in each other’s embrace, Adrien’s arms around Theo holding him as close as their clothes allowed as Theo held Adrien’s face with a gentle firmness Adrien loved all the time they kissed. All the worry, anxiety and frustration Theo’s trek home had caused were both expressed and expelled in that first kiss and it had remained that way ever since, Theo had even been known to visit Adrien at work so desperate could he be for that first embrace. And their reunion sex was off the charts!

For some reason Theo always had the need to take charge and dominate Adrien the first time they were together after he got home and Adrien had never had the inclination to stop him. That first time they’d undressed each other on the way to their bedroom their lips spending time kissing, nibbling and tasting whatever body parts had been revealed so when Theo had nipped Adrien’s nipple between his teeth as he’d been pulling off Adrien’s polo shirt Adrien had almost climaxed,

“Fuck, Theo stop! I haven’t come for days and I need you so bad.”

“Then neither of us are going to last long because I haven’t either.”

Adrien was the first of them to become next to naked – having the advantage of wearing only the polo shirt, boxers, chinos and deck shoes whereas Theo was in a suit, shirt, tie and all else. Theo had all but thrown Adrien across their bed before yanking off his underwear,

“God’s above you are fucking gorgeous,” Theo told him as he finished undressing, his eyes roving over Adrien’s body, “I have no idea where or how to start fucking you.”

“Hey, don’t be choosy just do me already,” Adrien had laughingly replied, he’d propped himself on his elbows to watch Theo undress.

“You asked for it,” Theo said with a hint of menace, reaching for the lube they always kept in the nightstands.

Adrien had licked his lips, a small part of him regretting not having taken the chance to suck on Theo’s cock, watching as Theo made sure the entirety of his hard flesh was well covered.

“Get your knees up and your ass at the edge of that bed,” Theo had growled, “and don’t you dare touch yourself.”

Before he’d pressed himself beyond it Theo had smeared more lube over Adrien’s puckered ring, allowing only the tip of one finger to enter,

“Oh fuck, come on stop with the teasing, please,” Adrien had begged.

“You want this?” he’d asked sliding the tip of his cock over Adrien’s sphincter.

“You know I do.”

“Then you shall have it.”

Theo had leaned over placing his hands on the bed either side of Adrien’s torso, his knees beside Adrien’s hips, the bulk of him pressing Adrien’s legs even further back and Adrien into the mattress then shoved his cock all the way into Adrien in one swift thrust. Adrien’s back had bowed in ecstasy at the feel of it, not simply the length or girth but the weight of Theo’s hard-on. He’d been surprised at how heavy Theo’s cock was the first time he’d held it – the doctor in him assessing how efficient Theo’s vascular system must be to achieve it – and how he could still feel it whenever Theo topped him.

“I’m going to fuck you ‘til I come, ’til you come,” Theo had repeated those words every time since, that night was when it had become their code signalling Theo’s imminent return to the UK.

Adrien had been fucked, for that was what it had been nothing but pure lust for both of them, front back and sideways before Theo had flipped him again onto his back to finish how they’d started. Adrien had been dizzied by Theo’s frantic actions, from start to finish it had lasted mere minutes before he’d felt Theo explode inside him,

“Fucking hell!” Theo had yelled as he’d pushed himself up and away from Adrien’s body but only to penetrate him even deeper.

“Theo, now, oh fuuuuck,” Adrien had groaned mere seconds later as his body convulsed beneath his lover with the power of his own climax, he loved feeling trapped beneath Theo this way it always added to the intensity of Adrien’s orgasm.

“Adrien, Adrien, come on love, if we’re doing this it’s now or never,” Maria quietly coaxed him from his recollections.

“Sorry I snapped at you,” he said looking at her clearly pained by what he’d done.

“Not important Professor,” she’d re-gained her professional tone, “we only wanted to spare you the,”

“I know,” Adrien quickly put in, “but fortunately because he’s neither my spouse,” he paused, blinked rapidly, swallowed then carried on, “nor a relative, I’m at liberty to do this,” he nodded towards where Theo lay dying.

“Technically yes, but I won’t have Spence stood down Professor, just in case you and Theo need him.”

“I can live with that, thanks. But I need you with me on this Maria, we need you, if you think I’m not performing at two hundred per cent I’m giving you permission to pull me away from the table.”

Maria had nodded and backed into the door through to the theatre proper keeping it open for Adrien to pass through. The by-pass team, anaesthetist and nursing staff had all looked at him askance, they knew exactly who they were there for. So began the worst time of Adrien’s life, Spence had joined him around fifteen minutes after Adrien had put the first scalpel blade to Theo’s body.

“What have you found Adrien?” he’d asked when he’d entered the theatre.

“The bar somehow passed between the anterior ribs so there are no bone fragments to contend with,” he nodded to the screen which showed a collection of x-ray and scan images, “the angle suggests only,” he huffed, “only the right side’s affected. Worst case it’s penetrated the heart wall, damaged both chambers, the right atrioventricular valve and chordae tendinae. On the up side I think we all know it can’t have gone all the way through or we wouldn’t be here.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“When we get there be ready with the suction, there’s no way to know if there’ll still be any blood in the aorta or ventricle.”

Adrien worked in silence except for requesting instruments, suction or Theo’s vital signs as he gradually revealed Theo’s heart, he stopped moving as he was about to carefully move aside the last of the ribs and intercostal muscles from around it.

“Adrien, do you want me to take over?”

His hesitation had been slight but everyone in the room had seen it.

“No, I’m still ok. Remind me, what anti-infection measures were taken before he got here?”

He meant the bar, it was clearly old and dirty.

“It had been sprayed with Betadine, the wound the same by the E.M.T.’s before they took him by chopper to the emergency department at The Royal Infirmary and it was wrapped in sterile dressings until we began the hook-up Professor,” the by-pass team leader replied.

No matter how hard Adrien and his team worked, how well the surgery went Theo’s greatest danger was infection,

“Get a blood culture to the path lab, I want it done every hour until we’re sure there’s no infection.”

“Yes, Professor,” a nurse said already extracting a small hypodermic’s worth of Theo’s precious blood from the by-pass circuit.

“Now, let’s look at you, you bastard,” Adrien muttered addressing the bar.

“He’ll need a new valve for certain,” Spence observed.

“He’s a tough bastard Paul, I wouldn’t be surprised if the damned thing’s not been able to slice into him.”

They all knew this was impossible but no-body argued.

“I need saline wash, plenty of it,” Adrien ordered.

He recognised Maria’s gloved hands as she held the bag of fluid beside his right hand, Adrien looked at her nodded once then turned to the most delicate part of the whole operation. Without disturbing the bar he had to assess if he would be able to pull the metal from Theo’s heart, although doing so could cause even more damage or, his least favoured option, excising as little of the heart muscle which was touching the spike as was possible.

“Paul, would you plan to pull or cut?”

“Cut, definitely, there’s rust flakes all over it, if you pull it god knows how many of the little bastards will scrape off it and I don’t want to even think of the consequences that’d bring.”

“My thoughts exactly, I just wanted to be sure everyone agreed.”

Adrien looked at his anaesthetist who nodded as did the by-pass team leader. He took up the laser scalpel said a silent goodbye to Theo, he knew all too well that Theo’s heartbeat – should it re-start after this – could rip the stitches from the wound or a massive and overwhelming infection could set in and there may well not be another chance to save him, then set out to repair the heart of his lover.

“Dear god!” Paul breathed when they got their first sight of the damage Theo’s heart had sustained.

Adrien had been right, below the end of the relatively blunt bar the structures of Theo’s heart had collapsed not ripped, part of the right side of Theo’s heart was trapped between the end of the bar and a rib although there was a remarkably small tear to the front of the heart muscle; the two surgeons looked at each other across the operating table both shocked to the core.

“That’s astounding,” Spence exclaimed.

“It’s bloody miraculous,” Adrien responded

“It’s strong because of you, for you,” Maria whispered to Adrien.

Adrien couldn’t explain even to himself how it changed but there was suddenly a far lighter atmosphere in the room, like him, he thought, his team now had real hope of Theo surviving; when he’d removed the bar the valve between the aorta and ventricle showed tiny signs of bouncing back which they could see through the rip in the muscle that Adrien quickly lengthened and tidied.

“He needs anti-toxins, now, smallest dose, we can build it up if he needs it,” Adrien said to the by-pass team, they all knew that any body part crushed for any serious length of time could and often did flood the body with a toxic mix of the body’s chemicals.

Paul had immediately introduced the suction tube, using the high-magnification lenses he wore to check every part of the aorta and ventricle for any particles of rust as he moved it around with Maria irrigating the site as he directed.

“It’s as clean as we’ll get it,” he reported moving aside for Adrien to check for himself.

Both men proceeded to ensure that their first impressions were correct, that Theo’s heart could be sutured without further intervention,

“Time to close, Adrien.”

“Yeah, who’d have thought it?”

“You did,” Maria chuckled.

Adrien lasted only until he was sure he’d repaired Theo’s heart perfectly, he had to step away as the by-pass was lifted and blood finally suffused Theo’s heart muscle although he stayed close - they may still need to do an emergency valve replacement; Paul applied the defibrillator paddles and Adrien jumped but he saw Theo’s heart only twitch in response to the electrical pulse. Nothing. Paul called for a higher kick and attempted to jump-start the muscle again. Nothing.

“Come on Theo,” Paul muttered, “don’t do this.”

“Three-sixty,” Paul called.

“We’ve got a rhythm!” the anaesthetist yelled.

Everyone held their breath, some even surreptitiously crossed their fingers hoping for Theo’s heart to keep beating on its own all knowing it may not. The pulse was irregular and a little too quick but it was there and it kept going.

“Come on, come on,” Adrien begged silently.

Finally, after more than ten minutes Theo’s pulse steadied,

“What’s the count?” Adrien asked.

“One ten,” his anaesthetist replied.

“His at-rest rate’s usually fifty-eight, b.p.’s usually one-twenty over sixty-five.”

“Currently one-forty over seventy-three.”

“He’ll survive, Adrien,” Paul reassured him, “some have with much worse.”

“I told you he was a tough bastard.”

“Professor, leave us to look after him, I think you’ve got calls to make,” Maria suggested.

“She’s right Adrien, we’ll take care of him, you go and talk to your family,” Paul added.

Unusually for Adrien he didn’t change before returning to his office, he’d only removed the outer apron, he heard his secretary Pamela gasp when she saw him,

“I need a conference call to my parents, Linda and Jeff, Theo’s father,” he said rapidly on his way through to his office,

“They’re already waiting for you, how is he?”

“Alive, for now,” Adrien replied, not trusting his voice to say more.

He sat at his desk taking in slow lungsful of air before connecting the call,

“It’s done,” was all he could say.

“Adrien,” his father said quietly, “did you save him son?”

“Yes we did.”

“Thank-you, thank-you,” Theo’s father whispered.

“How are you Adrien?”

“I think I’m going into shock to be honest Lindy.”

“Strong, hot, sweet, tea, people laugh but it works love,” Dorothy put in, “ask Pamela for some, now, because I know you can while you’re still talking to us.”

“Your mother’s right lad, get some,” Theo’s dad added.

“Look everyone I’m still in scrubs, let me get a shower get changed and down a tankerful of tea as prescribed by my mother and I’ll call you back; I’ll get up to I.C.U. and give you a full report but I can’t do this now, I thought I could but I can’t, sorry. Lindy get onto Theo’s security team tell them to arrange for the chopper to bring you all to the vicarage a.s.a.p. and you’ll need cars to bring you from there to here but I’ll warn you now I’ve no idea how long we’ll need to keep him sedated so pack for a few days.”

“She already has,” Jeff told him, “it’s already on its way to collect your parents then it’ll come for us. And there’s a car at yours already waiting to bring us to the hospital as and when we arrive.”

“Ask Pamela to arrange for your housekeeper to let us in and I’ll collect some things while we’re there. Clean everything, toiletries the works, for both of you” Dorothy suggested.

“Thanks mum.”

“Go on, get yourself off son, we’ll be there soon, we’ll work on no news being good news ok so don’t worry about calling us back if you want to stay with him.”

“No, I’ll call, but it may well be brief.”

“Like your dad says, go and see my brother he needs you,” Lindy put in.

“I need him,” Adrien replied quietly although they could all hear the strain and fear in his words.

They said their brief goodbyes and Adrien headed to his shower after calling for tea. He hesitated before pressing his hospital i.d. tag to the door release at the I.C.U., he could see into Theo’s room and despite all his training and experience seeing the man he loved hooked up to so many monitors and i.v. lines coming from the unit hanging from a track in the ceiling, had shocked him to the core.

“Hello Professor how are you?” the ward sister asked him when he’d finally stepped into the ward.

“Holding up I think’s the best I can say.”

“Go and talk to him, let him know you’re here. In here, for now, you’re not a doctor you’re just our patient’s partner, you leave looking after him to us. I’ll come and get a list of allowed visitors in a bit.”

“That’s easy, my parents, his dad, sister and brother, his nieces, Lily his P.A.”

“I’ll make a note, anything you need just ask.”

“Thanks, Sue, never thought I’d be here like this.”

“Nobody ever does, love. Go on get yourself in there.”

“I’ll only be a minute then I’ll step outside to call our families, I did promise them, I don’t want to risk him hearing what I have to say.”

After he’d made the promised call Adrien sat beside Theo’s bed slipped his left hand under Theo’s own, the same one he’d held all that time ago in the car-park at the farmer’s market, and wept silently with his forehead on the back of the hand he was holding.

The nurse sat in the corner of the room watching Theo’s vital signs on her own monitor said nothing, she’d seen loved ones react in much worse ways but how Adrien had kept his composure to save his partner’s life was beyond her, that he had was already becoming legend, so to see him this way was understandable.

He never moved from Theo’s side listening to the rise and fall of his chest, the regular beeping of the monitors and feeling the pulse at his wrist, it was where his parents found him.

“Sweetheart, how’s he doing?” his mother asked as she joined him at Theo’s side putting her arms round her son’s shoulders.

“Holding his own mum, Paul’s been, he’s technically in charge now, he wants to start reducing the sedation late tonight maybe the early hours.”

“That’s good isn’t it?”

Adrien nodded in reply to his father’s question, Edward had his hand on his son’s shoulder which he gripped in gentle reassurance – it told Adrien he was not facing this alone, his parent’s concern was for both he and Theo.

“We left your luggage in your office, Pamela’s cancelled all your surgeries and told us Paul’s doing anything that can’t wait. She said to tell you Chester over at Waverly has called to say his team will take as many electives as they can.”

“Apparently you and your lovely man have caused something of a tsunami of offers,” Sue the ward sister told them as she came into the room, “the hospital exchange has been overwhelmed with calls from all over.”

Adrien tried to smile at her,

“Yeah, he does that to people.”

“No, Professor you do.”

“If I’m just his partner in here it’s Adrien.”

“Old habits,” Sue chuckled.

“When did you last eat son?”

“I can’t dad, I’ll just throw up, I know I will, but Sue and her wonderful crew have kept me well supplied with tea.”

“All part of the job. It’s shift-change in half an hour, I wanted to say goodnight before I left. Keep talking Adrien, you know it’s important.”

“Thanks Sue, for everything.”

Paul arrived around midnight to check on his patient’s progress, the on-call anaesthetist, Bartlett, with him,

“What do you think? Is he ready?” Adrien offered.

“Only way to know is do it. I’m sure you’re all aware of this already,” Paul addressed their family, Theo’s own having arrived some time before, “but it’ll take some time for the sedation wear off it’s not like in the movies we need to bring him round slowly so we don’t shock his system and it makes it easier for us to keep on top of his pain level.”

Paul and Bartlett monitored Theo’s reactions to the lessening sedation for well over an hour before they felt confident enough to be sure nothing averse would happen, by then he and Adrien assessed Theo to be sleeping naturally.

“You know where I am, but I don’t have the luxury of a chopper to get back,” Paul chortled.

“I’m glad you were there.”

“Me too,” Paul told him laying a hand on Adrien’s shoulder, “like you said he’s a tough bastard.”

It began with the merest twitch of Theo’s eyebrows as if he was wincing in pain, Adrien clocked the time, three-thirty, before calling in Jack, Sue’s night-shift counterpart. Adrien was alone with Theo having sent their family to his office to get what sleep they could on the sofa and chairs.

“Just wanted you to see.”

Adrien knew full well that the replacement nurse in the corner would have seen the same changes in Theo’s vital signs as Adrien had but he wanted someone else to confirm what he was seeing visually, someone who’d seen many such happenings.

“Not bad, we’d normally expect it to take longer,” Jack said before checking with the monitoring nurse then leaving.

“Theo!” he gasped a short while later having felt his lover’s fingers jerk in his hand, “Theo if you can hear me open your eyes, come on look at me, please, open your eyes.”

Adrien waited, wondering if what he’d felt was merely a small muscle spasm and not any sort of voluntary action, then it happened again but stronger, he leaned in to whisper in Theo’s ear, carefully resting his head on the pillow beside Theo’s,

“Come on Theo, please love, open your eyes for me sweetheart, please. Come on, I’m a wreck here Theo, I need you. I love you.”

“Why are you whispering?” Theo’s own voice was no more than a whisper – a croaky one at that.

“Jesus Theo! You scared the living shit out of me.”

“Water, need water.”

“Ok, let me get some ice chips,” Adrien looked towards the nurse who nodded and picked up the phone beside her keyboard.

“Can you get through to my office on that?” he asked her when she’d passed on the request for the ice.

“Yes Professor, here,” she held out the handset towards him as she dialled his office extension.

“Thanks,” he heard his office ‘phone ringing.

“Hello?”

“He’s just spoken Lindy.”

“Oh thank god for that! He’s just spoken everybody,” she called to others and Adrien heard exclamations of relief from Theo’s dad, brother and his own parents.

“Give him half an hour if you can, he may go back to sleep for a while.”

“Not bloody likely,” Theo croaked.

Adrien smiled, he was going to be fine, Theo was going to be just fine.

“Gotta go Lindy, my lord and master calls,” he chuckled.

“He wouldn’t be doing that without you Adrien, thank-you for saving my brother.”

“I couldn’t face being without him, if I’d lost him Lindy I don’t know what I’d have done.”

“I know, love, we felt the same way.”

“See you soon, I’ll call if he goes back to sleep.”

“Be there soon.”

Theo looked through hooded lids at Adrien as he passed a small damp sponge over Theo’s lips,

“You look like shit,” his voice still hoarse.

“I look like shit! Have you seen yourself lately?”

“No, but I feel like I’ve been kicked by a mule and eaten a dessert.”

“Hush, wait for the ice.”

“Ice be damned, come here.”

Adrien took hold of Theo’s hand,

“You want your welcome home don’t you?” he smiled.

“I’m a bit banjaxed for all the usual but your lips would do for a start.”

“Theo we are not alone,” Adrien hissed.

“So? She’s a big girl, she’ll survive seeing a pair of gay men kissing,” he looked towards the nurse.

“I’ve survived worse, just ignore me guys,” she smiled, “welcome back Mister Jepson.”

“It’s good to be back, be better if my wuss of a partner kissed me.”

“Oh for the love of, alright you win,” Adrien laughed as he leaned down towards Theo.

“Don’t I always?”

That was how they were when their family returned, Adrien perched on the edge of the bed, his body as close to Theo’s as he dared, their lips touching but barely as they smiled, laughed near-silently and talked just as quietly; Adrien pressed his lips lightly to Theo’s one last time before he’d stood up. It was the first time their family had ever seen them be so intimate, they’d never been overtly affectionate in public it just wasn’t who they were, even with their family they’d occasionally, briefly, hold hands or stand so close their bodies were touching, sometimes Theo would lay an arm around Adrien’s shoulders but rarely more; yet here and now Adrien didn’t care every time he’d thought about how close to losing Theo he’d been a lump formed in his throat and his stomach sank he’d needed to feel Theo’s breath on his skin, taste his lips, hear his voice all at once.

“Hello dad, how’s the farm.”

“In better shape than you are.”

“Hey, compared to the alternative I’m doing great,” Theo smiled.

“Don’t joke about it Theo, Christ knows how Adrien’s got through this,” Lindy snapped, her voice choked.

“The same as the rest of you I’d bet, gallons of tea, pacing the halls all that stuff,” Theo said.

The other five all looked at Adrien, Theo quickly picking up on there being something he’d not been told.

“You haven’t told him?” Jeff asked.

“What don’t I know?” Theo looked from the others to Adrien.

“What do you remember?” Adrien asked right back.

“The plane landed on time, Roger picked me up from the airport in the Jag, we were making good time back home from East Midlands, I was in the front with him working on some emails so that everything was done by the time we arrived at the vicorage. Then it’s just bits and pieces, Rog yelled something, I felt something hit me after that there’s nothing until I heard you talking to me,” he told them.

“Theo, Adrien saved your life, he performed what amounts to open heart surgery on you, you were flown to the Royal Infirmary and from there to here because of Adrien the emergency consultant there’s a locum she didn’t know about you and him, you’re still here because of him,” his sister told him.

Theo turned to face Adrien wide-eyed with shock,

“Thank-you my love,” he mouthed, too stunned to speak out loud.

“Can I come in?” it was Lily.

“Yes, the advantage of a sole occupancy room,” Theo replied.

 

“I’m not staying, well I am just not here, I only wanted to let you all know I’ll be on call 24/7 until Mister Jepson says otherwise, I’ll be setting up shop in the Professor’s office for now and yes Pamela knows, our security are liaising with the hospital’s they’re here already, if word gets out that Mister Jepson’s here we’ll arrange with the hospital to get you and him out from the heli-pad when he’s ready for going home.”

“What are you talking about Lily?”

“It’s our standard operating procedure as the military call it Professor, I need to be close to Mister Jepson so I can monitor the situation, the security team’s as much to protect the other patient’s safety and privacy as Mister Jepson’s and if there’s the slightest whiff of journalists in the area when Mister Jepson’s well enough to go home we’ll bring in the chopper because we all know what happened after your coming out party. Obvious really.”

“And how come you have these procedures in place?”

“Professor, Thepson Holdings needs to protect its biggest single asset, Mister Jepson, to that end it would be remiss of me to not have plans in place for just such a situation.”

Adrien shook his head, after four years there was still much about Theo’s business life he didn’t know. Lily was Theo’s gatekeeper, virtually everything got to him only through her and she was highly protective of him.

“So if anyone needs anything at all you know where to find me, last couple of things, I’m aware that the Professor’s home is large enough to accommodate you all but at least until Mister Jepson leaves this ward I’ve made an open-ended booking for all of you at an hotel close to the hospital, here are your room keys and my own room number, you’ll have a driver on call at all times for getting there and back, here’s the number you’ll need, if you need laundry doing, more clothes anything at all I’m your first and last port of call and I’ll have a company credit card for you to use for buying meals and so on available later to-day. I’ve been in touch with the Royal Infirmary and the update on Roger is that he has bruised ribs, a few minor cuts and grazes and a dinged knee, he’ll be going home later today. I’ll say goodnight and it’s wonderful to see you doing so well Mister Jepson, your story’s all over the hospital.”

Before anyone could make further comment Lilly was gone.

“She’s efficient I’ll give her that,” Jeff chortled.

“Theo all that with the card and whatnot it’s not necessary,” Edward said.

“You can try arguing with Lily Edward but I doubt you’d win,” Theo smiled weakly.

“Sorry people but I think we need to call time on this little soiree, my one-time patient need to sleep and so do you.”

Adrien was right Theo soon fell into a natural sleep and because of the high-tech monitoring systems he was attached to there was no need for the staff to constantly disturb him to take observations.

“Adrien,” his mother whispered when she and their family returned just after nine-thirty that same morning, “come on love, I’m taking you to get some breakfast, Linda and George will stay with him, you go and shower, get changed, eat and I’m not taking no for an answer. We’ve all done the same already. If you won’t look after yourself then I’ll do it.”

“Your mum’s right son, we’ll keep an eye on him, my Emily would never forgive us if anything happened to you because you didn’t look after yourself,” George told him, “go on if anything happens we’ll make sure they beep you.”

“Sound medical advice is that Professor,” the nurse now sitting at the computer in the corner added with a smile.

“Alright I know when I’m being ganged up on,” he huffed, “how come mothers always know best?”

“Because we just do,” Linda replied genuinely smiling for the first time since she’d arrived.

“Good morning Professor, Doctor Leadbeater,” both Pamela and Lily called when Adrien and his mother got back to his office.

“Yes it is,” Adrien replied, but his smile was tight and his voice sounded brittle, “he’s still sleeping and my mum put her foot down and made me come back to change,” he looked down at his mother who’d accompanied him.

“You’re also having breakfast, by my reckoning you haven’t eaten since lunch yesterday.”

“Professor! How can you take care of him if you collapse through lack of food?” Lily exclaimed, “What do you want?”

“He’ll be having a full English,” Dorothy told her.

“It’ll be here when you’re ready,” Pamela put in already coming from behind her desk.

“Pamela I’ll go to the canteen I do not need waiting on hand and foot.”

“Do you not? If you go there you’ll get no peace, even those who don’t come and talk to you will be talking about you,” Pamela said with some authority, “you need to stay away from crowds for now.”

“They’re right Adrien, please, if only for today let us take care of you it is my job you know.”

Adrien slumped with his back against a filing cabinet, his head down and he began to tremble, the last eighteen hours were catching up with him – fast. Before he knew it all three women had their arms around him and his tears finally fell, his mother uttering words of comfort.

“Come on,” Dorothy eventually said as the tide of fear and exhaustion ebbed, “before anything else you’re having a lie down whether you sleep or not’s irrelevant but your body needs to rest.”

“I’ll shower and change first, I feel like I haven’t been out of these clothes for days.”

Adrien had slept, fitfully, for about an hour then his mother had made him eat the breakfast she’d asked for.

Pamela had been right it had taken them far longer to return to the I.C.U. ward than it should have due to all those who wanted to pass on their good wishes and congratulations. When they finally got there Adrien recognised the two men at the doors as being part of Theo’s personal security team – he’d never really been sure why Theo had such a thing but had never questioned it, today he was glad of it.

“Good morning Professor,” one of the men said, “how are you?”

“Better now my mum’s taken charge,” Adrien smiled.

“Yeah, they’re good at that,” the second man smiled back, “good morning Doctor Leadbeater.”

“Good morning gentlemen,” she replied as Adrien swiped his i.d. tag to open the ward doors.

They were both shocked at what greeted them when they stepped into Theo’s room – the place was unrecognisable! The ward had a strict ‘No flowers’ policy (they also had an only two visitors at a time rule but that had already been swept aside for Adrien, Theo and their family) but there were at least a dozen ‘Get Well Soon’ balloons bobbing close to the ceiling in one corner and a vast array of cards to go with them, an enormous fruit basket sat on the bed’s trolley table there were even a couple of packs of Theo’s own blend coffee beside it a gift tag taped to one of them read “From the gang at T.J.’s”.

“Holy bloody hell! How the ruddy hell did this happen?” Adrien exclaimed.

“It seems your heroics have been blabbed about,” Linda replied, “actually they’re all from people within Thepson and some of the cards are for you,” she picked up a small collection of envelopes from the bedside cabinet and held them out to him.

All of them were thank-you cards, the smallest, most discrete amongst them was actually from Theo although how he’d been able to write it mystified Adrien considering the number of lines Theo’s body carried and it was obvious Linda had chosen it. It simply showed a small, stylised, rainbow on the front and had no gushing, sickly sweet verse within just Theo’s own words.

 

“You truly are my hero.

I.G.T.F.U.T.I.C.T.U.C. – EVENTUALLY!!

I love you,

Tx”

Adrien gave Theo a small smile then tucked the card back in its envelope before squirelling it away in his jacket pocket.

“Yeah, eventually,” he chuckled.

Paul arrived to see his patient after his morning clinic although through the wonders of modern technology he’d been receiving all the information from Theo’s monitors.

“You are a living breathing bloody miracle,” he laughed as he entered the room.

“In no small part thanks to you I gather,” Theo’s voice was stronger than when he’d first woken up but was still far from the warm tone Adrien loved.

“Have you eaten anything?”

“I was allowed something purporting to be porridge but it was missing the maple syrup.”

“Don’t think the NHS budget stretches to that I’m afraid.”

Adrien and their family left the room to allow Paul to talk with Theo alone, although Adrien couldn’t stop himself pacing the hallway for the few minutes it took.

“I’m sending him for a scan, we need to know how that valve’s holding up, I’ve told him that if it’s at anything less than ninety-five per cent efficiency we may need to replace it,” Paul told them when he left the room.

“I bet that went down well,” Jeff replied.

“Yes, he wasn’t best pleased.”

“Realistically how long’s he going to be here?”

Paul and Adrien looked at each other for a few seconds before Paul replied to George’s question.

“We won’t know until we know. We need to see at least two day’s-worth of clear bloods to be sure there’s not going to be any infection then we need to monitor the right side heart valve to ensure it remains as it is or even improves.”

“Excuse me,” Lily said as she approached them, “is there any chance I could have a quiet word with Mister Jepson?”

“Of-course Lily, what’s up?” Adrien asked worriedly.

“We have a developing press situation, I may possibly need to issue a statement to down-play the incident, it all depends on how much they already seem to know. Basically I’ll tell them that Mister Jepson’s injury, whilst serious, was not as bad as first thought, which is true, and that he’s already awake, talking and eating, again all true the Professor’s part in his recovery I’ll avoid mentioning. If needs be how do you feel about facing a press conference Mister Spence?”

“I don’t but if you need it I’ll do it, better me than Adrien.”

“I’ll do everything I can to avoid it but who knows, however some minor celebrity’s been seen entering a re-hab clinic so with any luck that’ll pique their interest more than a relatively faceless billionaire surviving a car crash. Well it will if I have anything to do with it,” she ended enigmatically.

“What did that mean?” Edward asked when she’d closed the door to Theo’s room.

“I have absolutely no idea dad.”