Stitcher - 10. And The Journey Begins

I ended up getting a lot more sleep than I thought I would. Of course, my dreams were mainly about Ian and the horrible day we had just been through. I also found Vic, gay Vic, slipping in and out of those dreams.

I mean, really!?! The last person on earth I thought would be gay was Vic. But then again, the more I thought about it, I never saw him going out with girls. But then again, I didn’t see him going out with boys, either. He was just Greenely, one of my teachers and, for all intents and purposes, my brother-in-law.

At first, I couldn’t believe Ian had never told me his history with Vic, but then again, Ian never talked about anyone else’s stuff. He always respected people and thought it was up to them to share what they wanted to share. I think that’s just one thing about my boy that I love—his respect for other people.

I woke up to the best fucking alarm ever invented—bacon! I think Vic woke up about the same time. I got out of bed and headed into the bathroom, pissed away my morning wood, brushed my teeth, and put on the bathrobe. Vic followed suit, and soon we were all sitting at the kitchen bar, enjoying bacon, scrambled eggs, hash browns, and coffee. I think we all finally had our appetites back, and it felt good to be starting the day together.

Claire said the hospital called earlier in the morning, and we could see Ian any time after 10:00. The doctor wanted to see him before we got there so he could give us a more detailed prognosis. When Claire asked if there had been any improvement, she didn’t get much information from the nurse. She said Dr. Bohls would be the one to give us details.

Vic thought that was good, though. He felt that if there had been any turn for the worse, they would have called us. I guess he had a point—so no news was good news.

Claire also told us that Mom would be getting here around 8:30 with clothes for everyone! She said she had the baby with her, too. Yay! I get to see and hold my little man! He always does me good.

Sure enough, within a half-hour, Mom was knocking at the door. Sam let her in, and my sweet little Eli squealed and flapped his arms when he saw me. For the first time in the last 24 hours, I had the biggest smile on my face. God, I love that fucking kid! He and Ian are my world!

Vic and Sam went down to the car to help Mom get everything. When they got back up to the room, it was crazy! There were four suitcases of clothes, Eli's diaper bag, and another one that had his formula and baby food jars, his portable playpen/crib, and a high chair thing that you could slide onto a table or countertop and it would lock itself on.

I couldn't believe what was going on. It looked like they were moving Eli into the hotel room. Yeah, Mom said that's precisely what they were doing. She said that if there was anyone who needed to have the magic of that baby boy in their lives, it was the four of us. Well, fuck me silly—Mom’s right again—and I couldn't be happier about it.

I looked at Vic and asked him if He was okay with this, and he assured me that he loved the kid as much as the rest of the family, and he was stoked to have a third roommate.

I couldn't believe how happy Eli was. He was smiling and babbling away. Mom said he was not a happy baby last night. He cried a lot. About 2:00 in the morning, Dad put him in the car and drove him around until he calmed down and fell asleep. After about thirty minutes, he started getting fussy again.

"Eli missed his daddies. He's at that age where he's going to go through some separation anxiety. And since I start back at the school tomorrow, plus with all of you here for a while, bringing the baby here was really our only option. Charlie and Jacob offered to sit with him, but as good as those boys are with Eli, they've never spent more than a few hours at a time with him. It would have been too much for them. And by the way, they sent their love and promised to come and visit once Ian is in a regular room."

I went to Eli's food bag and got out a jar of strained apricots. He was pretty stoked when he saw the jar of yumminess. Mom set his chair up on the bar, and I fed my little man. By the time he finished eating, and I got him cleaned up—it was time to get on our way to the hospital. I strapped Eli to my chest. Sam carried the diaper bag, and Vic brought the fold-up baby prison.

When we walked into the hospital lobby, Nurse Black was waiting for us and was talking to Hayden. Hmm. Funny that he was there. Funny how his eyes lit up when he saw Vic. I totally hope that something comes out of this. Vic needs someone to share his life with, and so far, the two of them seem to be connecting.

We were led up to our waiting room while Vic stayed behind because he "had some stuff to do." Ha! Stuff called Hayden!

Of course, Nurse Black instantly fell in love with Eli, and she helped set up his baby jail in the waiting room. She told us the doctor would be in to see us shortly, as she had just sent him a text telling him we had arrived.

In just a few minutes, Dr. Bohls came into the room with a smile on his face. God, I hope that was a good sign. I’d not seen him smile yet.

“Good morning, folks. And who is this little guy?”

“This is Ian’s and my son. He had to come in today and will be staying with us at the hotel.”

“That’s wonderful. Well, let me share with you the good news. Ian has made terrific progress. The pressure and swelling in his brain have significantly reduced. I was with him at 7:00 this morning, and I've ordered that we begin to bring him out of his deep sedation. I'm going to keep him in ICU for at least another day or so, just to be safe.

"Now you should know that as he comes around, he's going to be in great pain, so as one regimen of medication is being reduced, a regimen of pain medication will be increased. Our main goal is to keep him as comfortable as possible, so he has minimum stress.

"I'm going to change up his visitation routine for you a bit. I'll allow two at a time for 20 minutes. I would like you to visit him as much as possible, but we will need to put at least two hours between visits so Ian can get his rest.

"Who would like to go in first?"

I told the doctor that Sam and Claire should go first and that Vic and I would go in when he gets back from his business downstairs. I asked Dr. Bohls if I could take Eli in with me since Ian loved that baby more than life itself, and it could only help him. The doctor agreed but was concerned that the baby needed protective clothing just like we did. It was more for Eli than anything. Nurse Black said she would see if she could come up with something.

That was all the doctor had to say, and I have to tell you, it was the best news I could have heard. The only thing that would be better is if Nurse Black can make things happen quickly so I can carry Eli into Ian's room with me.

About ten minutes later, Vic walked into the room with a shit-eating grin on his face. He told me that he and Hayden were going out tonight. Just dinner at a nearby restaurant. He also said before he came upstairs, Hayden pulled him to a secluded spot in the lobby and kissed him. Hayden told him the kiss was for the teacher fantasy he had since high school. He kissed him a second time—harder and deeper—and said to him that was for the Vic Greenely fantasy he's been having for the last 24 hours.

Sweet! Vic's gonna rejoin the world! I filled him in on all the great news we just got from Dr. Bohls, which made him even happier. I told him we would be able to go in in about twenty or thirty minutes. Vic told me that he would only stay a brief time—that he wanted me to have time alone with Ian. God, Vic is so cool.

We were getting suited up about thirty minutes later. Nurse Black hadn't come back with anything for the baby yet, and Mom and Dad were happy to watch him. Of course, after breakfast and the exciting walk to the hospital, the poor guy was exhausted and was sound asleep.

When we walked into Ian's cubicle, I was more than a little surprised. The swelling may have gone down in his brain, but it had also gone down in his face. There seemed to be a bit more color, too. My boy was on the way back, I could tell.

I walked over to his bed and placed a kiss on his lips. Was that a moan? It was barely there, but I swear I heard it. "Good morning, beautiful boy. Vic is here with me. The doctor said you were doing great and that we might even get to talk with you later today. I'm so proud of you. So is Eli. He misses his daddy, that's for sure! I'm gonna let Vic talk with you for a bit, and then we'll be alone for a while."

Vic sat in the chair next to the bed and took Ian's hand. "Hey Cuz, glad to see you're getting better. Cam needs you back more than you know. He's gonna get tired of hanging around with me, that's for sure.

“So, I told Cam our story, and he's cool with everything. He was totally shocked when he figured out that I'm gay, too. I wish you could have seen his face."

I saw Ian's hand squeeze around Vic's. Yeah, that was a genuine fucking squeeze. Sweet!

"I also have some news. I—uhmm—I kinda sorta have a date tonight. Yeah, can you believe it? He's cute as fuck, a former student that graduated a year after you guys. I have to admit you were right. When I least expect it, the right person would show up and knock me off my feet. I think Hayden might be it."

Holy shit, my beautiful boy started to smile. He was still out, but he was listening and hearing—and understanding.

"It feels good to be happy again, Cuz. I can't wait for you to meet him—and I'm pretty sure you will! I'm gonna get out of here so you and your amazing boy can have some time together."

Vic left the room and left me alone with Ian. I sat in the chair and took my baby's hand. This time he squeezed it before I could say a word. I leaned over and kissed him again. This time he kinda sorta kissed back—and squeezed my hand.

"I love you, Ian. You are a part of me like no one has ever been."

"Love."

It was soft. A gentle whisper, really. But I heard it. Part of me wanted to run out and tell a nurse, but the other part of me needed to be with Ian. I stayed even though I kinda thought I shouldn't.

As I was about to change my mind, a nurse knocked on the door. She was holding a bundle wrapped in miniature scrubs that was wearing a tiny little face mask. As soon as he saw Ian, he squealed, shaking his little arms and legs, and started babbling, "Da-da! Da-da! Da-da-da-da-da!"

Out of nowhere, Ian's eyes flew open. He smiled, dimples and all. And in a soft whisper said, "Baby!"