by Eileen Green
With a sad grin, Andrew said, in a voice that matched his face, “Yeah. We are. I just hope she’s going to be okay.”
“We have to think positively. This will be a good opportunity for us to show her how much she means to us.” Jake was solemn though trying to be optimistic. He knew Andrew was in love with Gwen but the age difference with her daughter was an issue, but also because he hadn’t grown up with people who showed love openly.
Andrew’s grandfather raised him and his brother, Trevor, after their parents were killed in a plane crash when they were little. The grandfather was the only family they had and so either he took them in or they’d go to the state. Their grandmother had died about five years prior to them going to live with the old man, leaving them without any womanly contact as they grew up. Neither boy knew what a loving relationship was.
“I called Heather to let her know what was going on. She wanted to come right away, but I told her to stay there until we know about the situation. I’d rather her stay in school then sit here and do nothing,” Jake explained to his partner. Knowing he was going to have to be the alpha of the two until Andrew could share the responsibility was a bit of a hard pill to swallow, but one of them had to do it.
Andrew nodded, though Jake wasn’t certain he had processed the information. His booted foot bounced on the floor nervously before it stopped suddenly and he stood. Shoving his hands in the pockets of his uniform slacks, he went to stand in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows. His words surprised Jake. “I am a selfish, naïve kid, aren’t I?”
Instead of placating the man, Jake watched him and said, “I wouldn’t exactly say that. I think you need to be honest with yourself. If you want to have a relationship with Gwen, you need to put a hundred and ten percent of yourself into it. That includes your feelings. You have to be honest with her, yourself, and me. If we are going to have a ménage relationship, all three of us have to lay everything out on the table.”
Leaning his forehead against the window, his voice was small, like a child’s. Andrew said, “I’m scared, Jake. I know it’s silly, but I am. I know nothing about a normal relationship. How am I supposed to successfully maintain a ménage with three people?”
Standing, Jake moved over to his friend. Placing his hand on his drooped shoulder in support, he offered the best advice he could. “You’ll have both Gwen and myself to help you out. Like I said, just be open and honest with us. We’re here to love and protect her and to support each other. We’ve supported each other in our jobs and now, we’ll do it on a day to day basis in our personal lives.”
Andrew looked at Jake, his dark green eyes searching his as if looking for something. Then, as if a switch was flipped, the worried, confused look on his boyish face disappeared and a wiser man stood before Jake. His friend threw his arms around Jake, drawing him in a bear hug. “Thanks, man. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“You’d survive somehow,” Jake responded before someone cleared their throat behind him.
Separating, the two looked around to find Patti, the head nurse, standing there in her lavender scrubs. Her mid-back length hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail causing the white streaks to stand out stark against the inky dark background. Her royal blue eyes watching the two of them with interest. “You two can go back in, but my advice to you would be to go home and clean up. Gwen doesn’t need to be frightened with your looks or worry that you aren’t taking care of yourselves through all of this.”
Jake was able to see the sheepish, chastised childlike expression on Andrew’s face and he knew his mirrored his partners. “Yes, ma’am,” they said in unison.
“Now, Doc Anderson is the doctor that has been assigned to Gwen and he would like to speak with you both. After that, I expect one of you to leave, get some clean clothes and then you guys can take turns showering in the doctor’s locker room.” Patti was a compassionate caring nurse but she was a strict one also. At times, she broke the rules, but there were other times it seemed she wanted to be everyone’s mama.
“Yes, ma’am,” Jake said, speaking for both of them. “Thank you.”
“Doc Anderson is waiting in Gwen’s room for you.” Before either one of them could respond, Patti turned and walked away, heading toward a group of four nurses standing at the nurse’s station. When she stepped up to them, the foursome scattered as if ants when rain began to fall. Sitting down at the desk there, she began typing on the keyboard before her.
Jake and Andrew moved silently toward intensive care and made their way into her room.
The room was dimly lit although flashing lights from the monitors would lighten up the room momentarily as they beeped their information. Doc Anderson, in a dark blue suit and tie over a light blue dress shirt, stood to the left of the bed looking at something on his phone. Gwen lay frighteningly pale and still in the middle of the bed, appearing small and frail, which scared Andrew. He knew her to be vivacious and strong. She had to be to survive the past nineteen years on her own.
It was at that moment Andrew felt himself vow to take care of her no matter what.
* * * *
The sixty-year-old doctor stepped forward when he noticed the two entering. “Gentlemen,” he said as he shook hands with Andrew first and then moved over to repeat the action with Jake.
“How’s she doing, Doc?” Jake asked, his muscular arms bulging from under the sleeves of his uniform as he crossed them over his chest.
Doc motioned them to a corner farthest from the bed and the three of them moved that way. “Now, as you know, her body temperature was 87 degrees when you brought her in. She is very lucky she was found when she was. We’ve given her warmed dextrose and saline solution in her I.V. and are keeping her warm with the warmed blankets and her temp is nearly back to normal. We’re watching her for any signs of ventricular fibrillation, for her heart is showing some distress. I believe between her last incident and this one, it has damaged the organ, but then she’ll need to see a cardiologist to see what will need to be done.”
Jake noticed Andrew go slightly pale at the news of how close they had been to losing their woman. He knew that he felt sick to his stomach with the news and he feared this would be the catalyst that sent her packing for warmer weather. She had already been talking about it but didn’t want to leave Heather until she had graduated.
“Any signs of permanent damage?” Andrew asked, his face taking on a seriousness that Jake hadn’t seen before.
“It’s too early to say at this point.” Doc seemed a bit surprised at Andrew’s question.
“Why hasn’t she woken yet?” Andrew asked anxiously. “She should have woken up already.”
“Son, her body is tired. It’s only been a couple of months since the last incident. Her body needs time to rest, as does her mind. I told her it was too soon to go back to work,” the doctor explained quietly.
“She said you gave her your okay to go back to work!” Andrew practically growled. “Are you saying she went against that?”
As if trying to distance himself against Andrew’s burst of anger, Doc Anderson took several steps back. Then with a gentle but stern voice, the gentleman said, “I understand your frustration, young man, believe me. After all these new relationships have sprung up in the area, I know how protective you guys are of your women. But the one thing about women is, they are stubborn and strong-willed. If they have their mind set on something, they’ll do it.”
“Even if it endangers them?” Jake asked, keeping his voice low and in control.
A chuckle emanated from the doctor. “Around here, women don’t tend to think of danger. They will do their jobs or tend to their families to a fault even if it’s not best for their own health.”
Jake noticed the older man’s light blue eyes shift off to his left as a streak of light closed at the door. Shifting his own gaze, he saw that Patti had entered the room quietly. The heat and love that passed between the two gave the man reason to believe that there was something between t
hem and that the Doctor had been referring to her with his comment.
He knew the registered nurse was a hard worker but knew nothing about her away from the hospital. Jake also knew how devastated Doc had been when his wife had passed and he never expected the man to ever look at another woman again. Boy, was he wrong. Glancing at Andrew, he knew his friend had caught on to the relationship and understood the doctor’s words.
“Sometimes we have responsibilities that drive us to work when we are sick. We get used to it, especially if we were single moms. We get so used to depending on ourselves and no one else that we don’t often listen to others, even if it’s for our own benefit.” Coming to stand next to Doc Anderson, Patti looked sad as she spoke. “I know that Gwen has been on her own for such a long time, that she trusts no one and will do what she needs to, to provide for her daughter. You need to show her that you care for her and hopefully she’ll come around. Just be patient with her.”
“Also,” Doc added. “Get her around the other ménages in the area. Let her see how they work and that there is support for her. She’s going to be off for several months after this so she’ll have plenty of time to make friends with the other ladies.”
“And how are you going to make sure she doesn’t try to go back to work sooner than she should?” Jake asked.
“I definitely won’t sign her release from medical care until she is fully recovered this time. Also, she will most likely be under the care of a cardiologist for a while and I’ll be sure to make sure they don’t release her either. We’ll make sure she is well before she goes back to work this time.”
Jake knew the man to be easy going yet strict in his profession. He was surprised the kind physician would deliberately sabotage Gwen with another doctor.
“Another thing.” The doctor grinned maliciously. “She should not be going home by herself when she’s released. She’ll need plenty of support and probably by professionals.”
Feeling his mouth drop open in surprise, Jake watched as the kind doctor seemed to have patted Patti on her ass, for she let out a little squeak as her hips thrust forward. Motioning the five-and-a-half-foot woman toward the door, he followed behind her as they left the two younger men to themselves and Gwen.
The next surprise floored him. “Are you in for the long haul, Jake, or am I going to have to do this by myself?” Andrew asked, seriousness written all over his face.
Without hesitation, he answered, “Fuck yeah! She’s ours. We have to prove it to her every day and show her that she is the most important thing to us.”
“I’m glad that’s settled. We’ll move her into my house after she’s sprung from here. There’s plenty of room for her and even Heather when she comes home to visit.” Andrew was excited, Jake could tell, but he was going to need to tone it down a bit so as not to scare her off.
* * * *
Murmured voices, incessant beeping, and a pressure building up around her left upper arm greeted Gwen. Her body was strangely warm, inside and out, as she seemed to be floating lazily. Trying to open her eyes, she was only able to manage small slits but didn’t see much with the room as dim as it was. Not bothering to turn her head, she drifted in and out of sleep.
Occasionally she was aware of hands holding hers as masculine voices spoke softly around her. Her last memories in the ambulance of not being able to hear Andrew were terrifying yet seemed so far away and she was thankful to be able to hear them. She was also thankful that she wasn’t alone, although she had to wonder where Heather was. Had anyone called her? Surely Andrew and Jake would have let her know what was going on.
As time went by, the time she was awake was longer, although she made no attempt to let the two men who were showering her with attention lately know. It was hard to understand their muted voices, though she reveled in hearing them, knowing she wasn’t alone.
Movement caught her attention from the corner of her eye. One of the men stood and Andrew’s boyish face appeared in front of hers. “Gwen, baby. You’re awake.”
He appeared tired, his eyes sad as he gazed down upon her. It looked as if he had shaven recently, so she had to wonder if it was morning. When Jake’s handsome face appeared next to Andrew’s, she tried to smile, or at least she thought she was.
They both were so handsome and muscular, she couldn’t understand what they saw in her. They could have all the hot, young, single women that they wanted, but they chose her. She should be thankful, but leeriness loomed.
Her first love had been handsome as sin and all the girls wanted him, but he had chosen her. Once he had taken her virginity, he moved onto the next girl, leaving Gwen knocked up and denying he was the baby’s father. Even after the DNA test came back positive on paternity, Dale took off. Gwen had seen him in town about six years ago, confronted him about child support, but he had just smiled maliciously before pushing her aside and stormed away.
Gwen wanted to trust these men, but since she hadn’t been with another man since Dale, she didn’t know if she could. What was worse, was she hadn’t divulged her past with them. They had no idea she was virtually a virgin.
Chapter Two
When there wasn’t a response from Gwen, Jake became concerned. Andrew had told him about what had happened in the back of the ambulance when she couldn’t seem to hear him. He hoped that wasn’t going to be something long term for her. “Gwen, honey. Can you hear me?”
Her blue eyes slid between him and Andrew and then back again. Opening her mouth, she found it felt as if it was filled with cotton. Not trusting her voice, she nodded as she closed her mouth.
“Oh, thank God you are all right,” Jake said as he stood. His hand came up to caress her cheek. “You put a scare into us, sweetie.”
“Yes, baby. You certainly frightened me. I don’t think I could stand it if something happened to you.” Andrew’s face was a mixture of relief and love as he stood next to his friend.
Gwen knew they cared for her, but wasn’t sure how much until she gazed into the two men’s eyes. The only problem was, she knew she wasn’t going to be sticking around. While she slept, she knew in her heart that Heather would be fine at college. She was a good kid and Gwen knew she could survive on her own and she could always come to visit wherever Gwen ended up.
A chill ran through Gwen even though warmth flooded her. Her chest hurt but she wasn’t sure if it was from her ordeal or from the thought of leaving the only home she had really known, including the men standing before her.
The beeping sound began to hasten as the expressions of the men changed to concern as they glanced at the machine near the head of her bed to her left. Lights flashed in unison with the audible signal as Gwen turned her head to look at it also.
The door to the room flung open and Patti along with two other nurses rushed in. Patti came around to the left side of the bed to check the monitor while one of the other nurses nudged the two men aside on the right side. “Excuse me,” the young blonde nurse said as she used her stethoscope to listen to Gwen’s chest.
“Hi, Gwen,” Patti said as she turned off the monitor. “Do you remember me?”
Gwen had to focus on the dark-headed woman as she looked down at her, recognizing her from the last time she had been in the hospital, but couldn’t recall her name. Nodding, she tried to breathe calmly and deeply for she could see the concern in everyone’s eyes.
“I need you to remain calm for me, Gwen. We can’t have you getting worked up. Can you help with that?” Patti asked as she looked up at the blonde nurse pulling the small silver disc away from Gwen’s chest.
“It’s starting to go down,” the woman said as she shoved the medical device into the front left pocket of her scrubs. She didn’t say any more than that, but the look she gave Patti caused Gwen to become suspicious.
“What’s wrong?” Gwen asked through her dry mouth. “What’s wrong with me?”
Everyone glanced around at each other silently before Patti pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed some numbers. Wai
ting a few moments, she spoke calmly. “Doc, we need you.”
Shoving the phone back into her pocket, she laid her hand on Gwen’s shoulder. “We just need you to remain calm. Doc Anderson will be here in just a minute. Amanda here is going to help you drink some water and help you get more comfortable. Cara is going to get some vitals on you and then the Doc will check you out.”
“Do you want us to step out?” Andrew asked, his voice shaking.
“No. You can stay. Just step back and give us room.” Patti’s voice was stern, as was her face. Gwen noticed the men were nervous around her.
“Sweetie, we’re going to be over in the corner waiting,” Jake said. “Just listen to the nurses and the doctor and you’ll be all right.”
Uncertain what to think, Gwen could only nod. Jake and Andrew stepped away into the corner where she could still see them as Amanda brought up the head of the bed so Gwen was able to sit up. The blonde nurse, Amanda, poured some water into a Styrofoam cup from the peach-colored plastic pitcher and helped Gwen drink some of the fluid. Cara was taking her pulse and then did a manual blood pressure reading.
Doc Anderson entered the room and made his way over to stand next to Patti. “Hello, Gwen. I’m glad you are awake. How are you feeling?”
Thinking for a moment, Gwen tried to assess her body. The warmth still flowed through her body and nothing really hurt except her chest. It was a bit tight as her heart fluttered within it. “Just my chest. I think there’s something wrong with it.”
Doc pulled the stool over and sat on it, facing Gwen. “My dear, you are suffering from hypothermia. Again. As I told you the last time this happened, there was danger of problems with your heart. Since you just woke up I’m hoping this is more of a panic attack than the V-fib we are watching out for. You are going to be monitored twenty-four hours a day for a few days until we see that you are in a safe zone.
