by Aiden Bates
"Agent Gottlieb." Brantley hated the sweat that broke out over his skin. He hated the weakness that flooded his body, too. "Meet my boyfriend, Allen Frye. Allen, this is Agent Gottlieb, the ICE agent who thinks I'm straight."
Allen snorted. "Okay then. I can assure you, Agent, that Brantley here is very gay."
"You know, fraud is a felony." Gottlieb winked. "Word to the wise there, 'Allen.'" He swiveled his head toward Brantley. "Where'd you dredge him up, Craigslist?"
Brantley's mouth went dry. He couldn't answer. He'd been found out.
Allen scowled. "Excuse me. He 'dredged me up,' as you say, at Silver Oak Medical Center. I'm a nurse practitioner and certified nurse midwife, thank you very much. What's your badge number again? That's an unfounded and baseless accusation you just made and my attorney's going to be having a very long discussion with your supervisor. We've been dating for three months."
"If you've been dating for three months, why is this the first I'm hearing of it?" Gottlieb's lip curled.
"Uh, privacy? Brantley comes from a country where even being suspected of being gay can get you killed. He's not going to go around flaunting his sexuality and he's sure as hell not going to out someone else, either." Allen gave a massive eye roll and scoffed. Both gestures seemed out of character for him, and he spoke loud enough to attract the eyes of every other patron in the restaurant.
Brantley slid down in his seat. This was a disaster. Sure, they were supposed to be out and be seen together, but this was something else. There were people filming, on their cell phones for crying out loud. And over there, three tables away from them, a woman of about seventy years with long, flowing, white hair, got up from her seat and marched right over to their table.
"Did you really come to this restaurant to harass two people about their sexuality?" She poked Gottlieb in the chest with a crooked finger. "Has anyone tried to make you prove you're straight? No? Then go back under whatever rock you crawled out from under and leave these nice young men alone."
"Yeah!" called a man at another table, a few tables away in the other direction. "Don't you have other problems to worry about? Do you really have nothing better to do with your free time than to hassle people at dinner?"
The restaurant manager approached, scowling. Brantley was sure he and Allen would be kicked out, but instead the balding man put a hand on Gottlieb's shoulder. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave, sir." His tone brooked no arguments.
The whole restaurant erupted into applause as the manager escorted Gottlieb out of the restaurant. Brantley could only gape, and while Allen applauded he still blushed as red as a tomato. "Thank you, sir," Allen said when the manager returned to the table.
"No problem. I'm sorry it took that long." The manager glared at the door. "Dinner's on the house tonight, gentlemen."
Brantley's heart thudded in his ears. This was not what he'd had in mind when Idoni suggested they pretend to have a relationship together. And, although Allen had definitely gotten attention on purpose, he didn't seem to have expected that kind of response from the crowd.
They finished their dinner as quickly as they could, left a generous tip, and headed back to Allen's house. Only there, behind closed doors and with the blinds down, could Brantley truly relax. "That was… well, that was mildly terrifying." He accepted the beer Allen offered him. "I have no idea how to respond to that."
Allen made a face. "Yeah. That was pretty unexpected. Of course, ICE stopping by dinner was unexpected, too."
Brantley frowned and shook his head. "No, that wasn't ICE."
"You said he was your ICE agent." Allen sat down on the couch. Sadie hopped up between them.
"He is, although you make him sound like a pet. That's creepy. He wasn't in uniform. He didn't show his badge or credentials. He was there on his own, just to try to intimidate me." He shook his head and took comfort in the feel of his locks as the brushed across his shoulders. "He was there just to try to scare me."
"This sounds like something we should be discussing with a lawyer." Allen pulled his phone out. "Have you heard from the immigration lawyer yet?"
"No." Brantley rubbed at his face. "No, I haven't."
"Okay, I'll call Delancey." He pushed a button, and after a moment he was chatting away with a guy named Luke.
Brantley couldn't decide if he was angry or just terrified.
Chapter Three
Allen pulled his car into the driveway and turned the car off. He should pull into the garage. It wasn't like it cost him anything extra to push the button on the garage door opener. He just couldn't make himself do it. He had no more energy left. Everything he'd had when he'd started the day, every last ounce of life, had been sucked out of him.
He melted out the door of his car and oozed over to the front door of his condo. Sadie was there to greet him, of course. He closed the door behind him and sat down on the ground, rubbing her head with affection. "You're it for me, baby girl. No more men. No more dates. From here on in, it's just you and me, and Alaina, if they don't find a suitable family member."
Sadie tilted her head to the side and made a little questioning sound. Intellectually, Allen knew she didn't understand what he was saying. She was a dog. She understood a few words, but not complex concepts like dating or adoption or fostering. She had no intellectual capacity to understand why men were assholes.
She liked getting scratches, though. She did seem to want him to get up off the floor. And now that he thought about it, he had to admit that the floor wasn't the most comfortable place in the world. He struggled to his feet and headed toward the kitchen, with Sadie glued to his side. A glass of wine, and a little bit of cuddle time with Sadie, would fix him up nicely.
Once he'd gotten his wine, he curled up on the couch and threw the TV on. Of course, everything he could find that wasn't aimed at women related in some way to Jamaica. "I figured I'd be safe once I got home," he groused, and looked down at his dog.
Sadie looked back up at him and wagged her tail.
Allen slouched on the couch and pulled a blanket over himself, even though it was July and he didn't need the warmth. He was being unreasonable, and he knew it. He and Brantley didn't have a real relationship. There was no actual love or even affection between them. They'd known each other for a week and the only thing they had in common was a shared workplace. Under other circumstances, they'd never have so much as exchanged a greeting.
And Allen wasn't doing this for accolades, or for gratitude. He was doing it because no one should be deported to a place that put them in danger. Allen could see a place for immigration laws, sure. This wasn't a case of someone sneaking into the country with ill intent, or with a highly contagious disease. This was someone who had been granted asylum and gone about building a life under the assumption that he was now safe, and then it had all been yanked away from him.
Allen would have been willing to help most people in similar circumstances. That said, he didn't think it would kill Brantley to show a little consideration.
He didn't need Brantley to suddenly turn around and declare his undying love for Allen. He didn't need Brantley to treat him like a delicate freaking flower. He did think Brantley could stand to, at the very least, carry his own weight with this charade when they were out in public.
He stared at the TV for a moment and switched it to the Weather Channel. At least if they showed something about Jamaica, it would probably involve a hurricane.
He sipped from his wine and tried to remind himself not to resent Brantley. It couldn't be easy on the poor guy. Brantley didn't seem at all enthusiastic about being in a relationship, even a pretend relationship. There had to be a reason he was still single, despite looking like a model. Some guys weren't into the couple thing. Some guys were just into the physical, and he didn't seem at all attracted to Allen.
Allen wouldn't take that personally. Who knew just how attractive he'd find anyone if he had a potential death sentence hanging over his head? And not everyone was into tall
, thin beanpoles like Allen.
He finished his wine. They would chase ICE away, and then they would "break up." Allen would never have to think about this embarrassing little interlude again, except as an amusing little anecdote to history. Hey, Alaina. Did I ever tell you about the time your dad couldn't even convince a guy to pretend he was attractive, even though that guy's life literally depended on it? Good times!
He shook his head at himself. Things would look better in the morning.
The next day, he went for a run with Sadie. She tried to get him to go back to bed, just like she did every morning. He couldn't of course. He had to go to work, but he appreciated the attempt. "I can't keep you in kibble if I don't go see some patients today, baby girl."
She pouted and burrowed her way under the covers, so only her tail stuck out.
Allen laughed and headed out the door.
He headed in early so he could get some cuddle time in with Alaina. She seemed to be rallying, much to the surprise and relief of the NICU staff. Allen wasn't surprised at all. His girl was a fighter. Her mom had been a fighter, too. She must have been, to get to the hospital before her baby was born.
Alaina liked to touch Allen's face. This was a thing babies did. He didn't understand it, and he didn't think he needed to. If it made her happy and brought her comfort, he'd put up with the tiny, searching fingers as they groped their way across his cheek.
Alaina squalled when she had to go back into her warm crib. Allen considered echoing her, but he remembered he was an adult just in time. "I'll be back at lunchtime, princess," he promised, and gave her a kiss on her cheek.
Lisa shook her head and grinned at him. "She is so lucky she has you."
Allen couldn't agree with her there. She'd be luckier if she had a real parent, who could be with her all the time and give her the kind of bonding she needed and craved. Of course, here in the NICU, she wouldn't be able to get that anyway. She'd still have to be in the incubator most of the time, no matter what. "I'm the one who's lucky." He sighed as he headed back to the changing room to put a shirt back on.
His work day turned out to be fairly uneventful. They had one delivery, but another midwife handled it and he didn't have to be involved. He saw patients for regular appointments and did his rounds. He sent his requisite text to Brantley and tried not to feel bad when his fake boyfriend didn't respond.
His friend Luke stuck his head into the office during a few free minutes while Allen was resting between patients later in the day. Pregnancy agreed with Luke. It had the last time, too, and the last time Luke hadn't been nearly as happy as he was now. Allen wouldn't let himself acknowledge his own jealousy about that. Luke had been through enough in his life; he deserved every happiness.
"Hey, I hear you've got some exciting things going on with yourself." Luke wagged his eyebrows and rested his hands on his baby bump.
Allen jumped a little. "What, you mean Alaina? She's pretty exciting, sure, but nothing's certain yet." He shook his head. "She's not exactly the first baby I've fostered here, Luke."
Luke waved a finger at him. "That's not what I meant and you know it. Come on. You and Dr. Powell? For three months? Seriously? How could you keep that a secret for so long?"
Allen dropped his jaw. The last thing that had been on his mind, when he'd raised his hand for this scheme, had been his friends' reactions. "You had your own stuff going on, you know?" he tried, rubbing the back of his neck. He kept his eyes down and refused to lift them. He couldn't look Luke in the eye and lie to him like that. "You had your own stuff going on at first and we didn't think it was all that serious, and then we just got in the habit of not saying anything. You know how it is."
Luke made a face at the reference to everything he'd gone through since March. Allen hated himself for bringing it up, but he couldn't think of anything else to say. Well, except for the truth, and that wasn't an option.
"Okay, but seriously? If I'd been the one dating the guy who'd been named Hottest Doctor in Medicine for five years running, I wouldn't just 'get in the habit of not saying anything.' I'd be shouting it from the rooftops. You know what I mean?" He sat down in Allen's chair and leaned back. "I'd want the whole world to see, man. I'd want everyone to know."
Allen looked out the window. "Yeah well. I'm not exactly billboard material."
Luke gasped and covered his mouth with one hand. "Oh my God. You think he's ashamed of you?" He sat up straighter. "That's why no one knows about you two. It's because he hasn't been willing to be seen with you." He bit down on the inside of his cheek. "I'm heading right over to oncology, this instant, and giving him a piece of my mind."
Allen winced. "Don't do that. You don't have to do that, I mean. It's just—" He stopped himself. "It is what it is, okay? I'm okay with it. I really am. I don't mind." He sighed. "I'm sure he's got his reasons, alright?"
"Yeah." Luke shifted in his seat, and Allen couldn't help but remember all the times he'd heard those exact words from Luke about his first husband.
Someday, when this was all over, he'd be able to explain what was really going on. In the meantime, he'd have to hope it gave them ground cover. Of course, Brantley would have to communicate with him in order for Allen to warn him, but that was a different issue altogether.
Luke didn't stay long after that. Maybe he was bothered by memories of his own unpleasant past, or maybe he was just tired of Allen's obvious lie. Either way, Allen was soon left alone. He couldn't let himself feel too bad about that. He was helping someone. He was going to save a life, or something. He was sure of it.
After work, he had another task to complete. He couldn't pass himself off as being in a relationship if his family didn't know about it, after all. They were essential in the charade.
Funny how sleazy that sounded, when he thought about it that way.
He drove home after work and more kangaroo time with Alaina, who turned out to love to hear him sing old grunge ballads. At home, he fed Sadie and put her in the car, and then he drove back toward the city to his sister's house.
Janine was just getting dinner on the table. Tonight, they weren't having anything fancy, just grilled salmon and vegetables. Janine had stopped trying to foist medieval meals onto Allen a couple of years ago, to the secret delight of her children. Sometimes Allen wondered if they were actually happy to see him, or they were just happy to be freed from Pottage 547.
Whatever the true reason for their joy, Harper and Ethan were more than happy to throw their arms around Uncle Allen and give Sadie plenty of pats and scratches when they noticed Allen's arrival. Allen hugged back, just as hard as he could. Harper was seven. Pretty soon she wouldn't want hugs anymore. And as for Ethan, well, he was already getting to a point where his peers had more of an influence on him than Allen thought was necessary. "It's great to see you both!" he told them. "I swear, you've both gotten taller just in two weeks!"
"That's our job, Uncle Allen!" Harper grinned up at him, showing all of the gaps in her teeth. "We grow and grow!"
"I'm going to be taller than you are." Ethan stuck his tongue out at Harper.
"Are not, butthead." Harper returned the gesture, and Allen separated them.
"Come on, kids. It's time for dinner." Janine appeared from the kitchen. "And Harper, what did I tell you about bathroom talk?"
"It wasn't about bathroom stuff, it was just about butts." Harper crossed her arms across the My Little Pony stenciled across her chest and stomped off to her seat in the eat-in kitchen. Ethan followed, cackling wildly the whole time.
Jim, Allen's brother-in-law, followed. He gave a mighty sigh as he clapped Allen on the back. "I bet you don't feel like you've missed out on much right about now."
Allen laughed and sat down in his usual seat. They didn't even bother with the formal dining room when he came to visit. They just set an extra place at the regular kitchen table, and Allen wouldn't have it any other way. "Actually, it looks like I'll be bringing one home pretty soon."
Janine set out a b
owl of rice. The other dishes had already been set out. "Oh? Are you fostering a kid from the hospital?"
Allen relaxed. He loved his family. They didn't bat an eye about things like this. "Yeah, and it looks like she doesn't have any other family. So, if everything goes well, I'm going to try to make it permanent."
Janine gave him a quick hug. "Oh, Allen, I'm so happy for you!"
"So you're going to give us a cousin?" Harper blinked up at him, her brown eyes shining with hope.
"If everything goes right, then yes." Allen smiled at her and put a piece of salmon onto her plate.
Ethan scowled. "You should bring home a boy. There are already too many girls in the family."
Janine frowned at her son. "You've been hanging around with Kevin Meaney again." She waved a finger at him. "I don't want to hear talk like that out of you, not ever again."
