by Maggie Walsh
Dr. Collins gave them a small smile. “I know this is good news, but let’s hold off the real celebration until I get the MRI done and Taylor wakes up.”
Jesse turned to look at him with horror in his eyes. “Is there a chance he won’t wake up?”
“Whenever someone has surgery there is always that possibility. It’s a small possibility but there is always one there. If someone could get Mr. Evans for me, I’d like to take Taylor across the hall to get that MRI,” Dr. Collins said as he again wiped his sweaty brow and started fanning himself.
“Are you okay, Aaron?” Micah asked in a concerned voice.
“Yes, yes, I’m fine,” he answered absently, while he wrote in Taylor’s chart.
“It’s the mating heat, isn’t it?” Jesse asked softly, walking over to Aaron and placing a hand gently on his shoulder. The doc’s head snapped in Jesse’s direction. His looked at the hand on his shoulder in confusion. Then he looked up at Jesse’s caring, friendly face, and he softened his features and nodded curtly.
“Then you need to get to your mate and explain things,” Jesse said gently.
“After I do Taylor’s MRI. I’m fine, it can wait a little longer.” Aaron gave him a small smile.
“I’ll help you move, Taylor. Doc had to go visit a wolf in town who got his leg banged up,” Lexi said.
The doc nodded at him and he and Lexi moved to either side of Taylor’s bed to start moving him.
Chapter 9
Taylor could hear mumbled voices but he couldn’t make out who they were or what they were saying. His head was fuzzy and the blackness wanted to take over him again. He could feel himself being pulled under. Then all went dark again.
The next time Taylor felt like he was waking up he felt a hand softly running down his face and he could hear someone crying. Then the blackness was back, pulling at him. The darkness took him again.
He heard a beautiful voice. It sounded almost like chimes on the wind. It was a feminine voice and it was trying to tell him something, but he couldn’t make out the words. The darkness was coming back and Taylor felt his body being pulled under. The beautiful voice moved further away. He thought he heard it say, “The time is near.” The darkness pulled him under.
Taylor could hear someone talking, but when he tried to open his eyes, they wouldn’t open. He strained to make out what the voice was saying. Slowly the words started to get clearer and he could make out what the person was saying. It was Jesse. Jesse, his best friend, the one who always cared about him since the first day. The only person who always stood by him, no matter what. Jesse, god he loved him. Not in that way though. He always had some kind of boy crush on Jesse, but he never actually wanted to get intimate with him in any way. He was like a brother, and that was just gross. Jesse was here with him, talking to him, but where was here? Where the hell was he anyway? It was dark. Was he locked away somewhere? Then he heard Jesse cry and he paid attention to what he was saying, “You can’t leave me, Taylor, please, I can’t live my life without you in it. You have to come back to us. Gabriel is a mess. He needs you, Tay. He loves you so much. You have to come back, even if it’s just to show Gabriel that life can be amazing. He needs someone like you in his life. He needs you in his life. Come on, Tay, please wake up. Give me one of those snarky comebacks of yours, or one of those dirty comments you love so much.” The blackness started pulling at him again. No, not yet. I’m here, Jess, I’m here. I can hear you. Taylor thought, but the words didn’t leave his mouth, they just bounced around in his head.
The blackness was pulling him under. No, wait…who is Gabriel? The darkness took over.
His mouth was so dry. It felt like sandpaper. It was quiet, too quiet. Where am I? What happened to me? Taylor tried to fight the heaviness in his eyes. He felt his eyelids start to flutter, then a small line of light entered and he closed his eyes again. The light was painful. He slowly tried to open his eyes again, and the sliver of light hit him again, but this time it didn’t hurt as much. He closed his eyes again and gave them a moment. He tried to open them again. This time he got them to flutter open fully. His lids still felt heavy but he could see the room he was in. It looked familiar but he couldn’t place it. His eyes searched the room as best he could. A noise, like a snore, caught his attention. He shifted his eyes and they landed on the most handsome man he had ever seen. He was leaned back in a chair, eyes closed and he was sleeping. Cute little deep snores came from him and it made Taylor smile. The man had one of Taylor’s hands in his. The contact of their joined hands made Taylor feel safe. He tried to sit up but he was too weak. He squeezed the big hand holding his as he tried to sit up again, and the hot guy stirred. He froze and just watched as the gorgeous hunk sitting next to the bed opened his eyes. Taylor held his breath as the cutie just looked at him for a minute, then understanding showed in his eyes. The big cutie’s eyes grew wide and a huge smile took over his face. God that smile was beautiful, makes me feel like melting. “Hey, sweet baby. You’re awake.” The beautiful man sat forward and pressed his soft lips against my forehead. Damn that feels good. But who is this and why is he kissing me? Taylor thought. “How are you feeling, sweet baby?” the Adonis asked. He tried to answer, but his mouth wouldn’t work. Why won’t my mouth work? Oh no, not again…the blackness was coming back. His vision was closing in. No, please not again. But the blackness pulled Taylor under again.
Voices arguing. Why were they shouting? Who was yelling? What’s going on? Taylor thought as he tried to open his eyes. Again a sliver of light hit his eyes and it hurt, but he fought against it and kept trying to open his eyes. Everything was a little blurry. Taylor blinked his eyes to try to clear his vision. Slowly the room came into focus. He turned his eyes to look in the direction the shouting was coming from. Jesse was standing there crying, yelling at a little guy. A big gorgeous guy was holding onto Jesse trying to get him to calm down. There was another big guy, not as big as the one by Jesse, but close, and he was standing behind the little guy with his arm wrapped around the little guy’s waist. The little guy was arguing back at Jesse. Taylor couldn’t make out what they were saying. He felt something squeeze his hand and he turned his attention to his hand. It was him, it was the Adonis he dreamed about. The one that looked so happy looking at him. The one that kissed him and called him sweet baby. Their eyes met and the big Adonis smiled at him. “Jesse…Jesse…stop, he’s awake…he’s awake!” the beautiful man yelled, but never took his eyes off Taylor, and his smile never left. The yelling stopped and Taylor could hear Jesse. “Taylor? Oh god, Taylor.” Jesse came into his vision and grabbed his leg. “Hey, Tay. How are you feeling?” Taylor tried to answer but nothing would come out. The Adonis turned and came back holding a cup with a straw. He put the straw to Taylor’s lips and he opened his mouth. The little guy started to talk, “Not too much, Taylor. Just a small sip to start.” He didn’t know why, but he knew he had to listen to what this man said, so he took a small sip and let the cold water wash away the sandpaper in his mouth and down his throat. It felt so good. He opened his mouth for more and the Adonis put the straw to his lips again. He wrapped his lips around the straw and drew in another sip. The sandpaper slowly went away. “We’ll get you some ice chips. That will help soothe your throat, but keep the sips small with the water for now,” the little man said. Taylor nodded at him, then shifted his gaze to Jesse.
“I…think…I’m…okay. Dry…hurts,” Taylor said in a slow whisper. He motioned with his free hand to his throat.
“You haven’t used your voice in a while. It will take a day or two for the throat to feel better,” the little guy said.
He must be a doctor, he talked like a doctor. Taylor thought. He nodded again.
“What…happened?” Taylor struggled to get the words out.
“Do you remember the surgery, Taylor?” the doctor asked. Taylor looked at him in confusion and shook his head no. “It’s okay, everything will come back to you. Just give it a little while.”
“Do
you feel any pain, Tay?” Jesse asked and Taylor looked back at him. He looked at the huge man behind Jesse, trying to remember him. He knew he should, but he couldn’t. His confusion must have shown on his face, because Jesse asked. “Do you know who we are, Taylor?”
“Jesse,” Taylor answered in a painful whisper.
“That’s right, I’m Jesse. Do you know anyone else?” Jesse asked.
Taylor looked at everyone, studying them before he moved his attention to the next one. Each time he was confused. He couldn’t remember anyone. He shook his head no. The eyes of all the others got a sad look in them, especially the Adonis. He wanted to wipe that look off the big guy’s face more than anything, but why?
“It’s okay, everything will return in time. Don’t get stressed over it,” the doc said. Taylor’s eyes started to get heavy again. He wanted to fight it, but his eyes kept closing on him.
“Rest, sweet baby. Don’t fight it,” the Adonis said, and Taylor listened. He let the sleep come.
Taylor groaned as his eyes fluttered open and the light burned his eyes. He slammed them shut and squeezed them tight. He heard shuffling, then a voice. “It’s okay, Taylor, I turned the light down, it should be better now.”
Taylor slowly opened his eyes to find Jesse sitting in a chair next to the bed. Jesse was holding his hand and he gave Taylor a soft smile. “What…happened?” Taylor whispered.
Jesse put a straw to his lips. “Here, Tay, just a small sip okay.” Taylor nodded his understanding, then took the straw into his mouth and drew in some of the cold liquid. He pulled back and swallowed. He cleared his throat and tried again. “What happened?” he asked. This time his voice was stronger.
“Do you remember the surgery, Taylor?” Jesse questioned.
Taylor thought for a moment, “Yeah. I remember. Tumor,” he whispered.
Jesse gave him a small smile as tears came to his eyes. “Yeah, that’s right, Tay.”
“How am I? Did the doc get it?” Taylor asked.
“Yeah, he got it. And it looks like the treatments after worked, too. The tumor is completely gone. Aaron said they would never come back,” Jesse explained quietly.
“Well, that’s good news, isn’t it?” Taylor asked, excited. Jesse nodded his head in agreement. A tear ran out of Jesse’s eye and down his face. Taylor reached up and wiped it away. “Then why do you look so scared? What’s going on, Jesse? Am I okay? Where’s Gabriel?” Taylor started to panic. “Where’s my mate?” He was freaking out now.
Jesse sat forward and grabbed both of Taylor’s hands and squeezed. “No, Taylor, it’s okay, Gabriel’s okay. We just made him go take a shower. He’ll be right back. Sssh, it’s okay. Everything’s okay.”
“Then what the hell is going on, Jess? Why do you look like that? Tell me,” Taylor asked in a tired voice.
“Take it easy, Taylor. Please, just rest. We’ll tell you everything later, after you’re feeling better.” Jesse tried to calm him.
“I feel fine. Actually, besides being a little tired, I feel great,” Taylor said in amazement. “I haven’t felt this good in years.”
“Can we just wait for Gabriel, Micah, and Aaron, and then we’ll tell you everything?” Jesse pleaded.
“Okay, Jess. I can wait. So why were you fighting with the doc?” Taylor asked. Jesse’s face turned pink and he bit his lip and looked down. “What the hell is going on Jesse? Come on, a guy is out for a couple of hours and you act like you’re guarding the secrets to Madonna’s real hair color. What the hell happened while I was out?” Jesse’s eyes went wide open in shock and then they closed and his shoulders dropped in defeat and he started to cry.
The door opened and in walked Micah and Gabriel. Micah’s eyes went to Jesse crying and he ran to him, grabbing him up into his arms. Gabriel looked at Taylor and smiled when he saw Taylor looking back at him wide awake. “Sweet baby. You’re awake.” Gabriel walked to him and sat in the chair Jesse had just been pulled out of. Gabriel took his hand, “How are you feeling?”
“I was just telling Jesse that except for feeling a little tired, I feel great. I feel amazing actually. I also feel very hungry. Do you think the doc will let me eat something soon, Gabriel?” Taylor explained and Gabriel’s eyes lit up and a huge smile stretched across his face. “What?” Taylor asked.
“You remember me,” Gabriel said with tears in his eyes and kissed Taylor’s hand.
“Of course I remember you, Gabriel. Why wouldn’t I? You’re my mate,” Taylor asked in confusion.
“You didn’t remember anyone except Jesse the last time you woke up,” Gabriel explained and then sat forward and kissed Taylor gently on the lips. He pulled back and looked into Taylor’s eyes deeply. “I missed you so much, sweet baby. I’m so happy you’re okay.”
“What’s wrong with everyone? You’re all acting like I went away. Yeah, I had a serious surgery and I’m sure I was out for awhile but come on,” Taylor said, confused.
Micah and Jesse moved closer. Jesse sat on the bed by Taylor’s legs and Micah stood beside him, with an arm wrapped around Jesse’s shoulders. “What do you remember, Taylor?” Micah asked.
“I remember the doc giving me something to put me to sleep, and then I remember opening my eyes and seeing Jesse yelling at the doc,” Taylor answered.
“You don’t remember anything else?” Jesse asked cautiously.
Taylor closed his eyes to think, there were little snippets of things tickling the edges of his memory but they just wouldn’t come. He opened his eyes and shook his head no. “There are these little snippets of something, but I can’t remember.”
“That’s perfectly normal, Taylor,” Dr. Collins said as he walked in and over to the other side of the bed. “It may take you awhile to remember things, and some things you may never remember. It’s hard to tell what people can and cannot hear when they were in a coma,” the doc said nonchalantly as he checked the machines that were attached to Taylor. Taylor’s jaw dropped open and his eyes bugged out at the doc’s words.
“Sweetheart, I explained that you can’t just blurt stuff like that out. It freaks people out,” Raith said as he walked into the room and wrapped his arms around the doc’s waist and kissed him on the neck.
Taylor looked so confused and scared. “What the hell is going on here? I was in a coma? For how long? Why? And what the hell is going on here?” He motioned to Raith and the doc.
Gabriel quickly sat on the bed next to Taylor and pulled him up and into his arms. “It’s okay, sweet baby.”
“No, it’s not. What’s going on, Gabriel?” Taylor asked, terror written all over his face as tears started to roll down his cheek. Gabriel held onto him tighter and rocked him, trying to calm him.
“No one has explained anything to him yet?” the doc asked. They all shook their heads.
“He only just woke up a few minutes before you came in. I thought it was better to wait for you in case Taylor had any questions,” Jesse explained.
The doc nodded his head and then sighed. He pulled out of Raith’s embrace and looked pointedly at Taylor. “The surgery was a success, Taylor. I removed as much of the tumor as I could and then I injected some of your mate’s blood right into the tumor. Right away it started shrinking. We moved you into recovery and I started transfusing Gabriel’s blood from him directly into you. When I did the MRI right after that, it showed that there was nothing of the tumor left. I never saw anything like that before. It was amazing.”
“So what went wrong?” Taylor whispered.
“We kept you comfortable and waited for you to wake up. The next day when you still hadn’t come around, I gave you another MRI to see if I missed something. I didn’t. I didn’t think I did.”
“You’re so humble, sweetheart.” Raith chuckled. The doc gave him a dirty look then turned back to Taylor.
“Anyway, everything looked okay. I decided to go with the original plan and gave you one more transfusion of your mate’s blood. It’s difficult when you’re dealing with the br
ain. There’s so much we still don’t know or can’t explain about it. You still hadn’t woken up so I thought maybe there was some trauma to the brain, so I figured your mate’s blood could help the healing process along. So we did the second transfusion. But nothing happened. You still wouldn’t wake up.”
“Then he spiked that fever,” Jesse whispered. Taylor looked at him and he was white as a ghost, and he was crying. Micah was holding him, trying to calm him.
“Yes, then your temperature spiked. It had been three days since the surgery and you still hadn’t woken up and then your temp jumped to a hundred and eight,” the doc explained. Taylor’s eyes went wide again and he started to cry.
“I’m no doctor but I do know that a hundred and eight is dangerous for humans. How did that happen? What did you do?” Taylor asked in shock.
“I…I’m sorry, Taylor. I didn’t know what was going on. I have never done this kind of surgery before as you know, and I couldn’t figure out what was happening.” The doc looked so lost as he confessed this.
Raith wrapped his arms around the doc again and held him tight. “It’s okay sweetheart, it wasn’t your fault.” He tried to soothe him. The doc stiffened, then pushed out of Raith’s arms.
“It was my fault. I should have stayed by my patients side, not been off screwing my mate.” The doc bit out angrily. Raith looked like he had been slapped. Raith stepped back from the doc.
“It’s your metabolism or whatever, Aaron. You were in heat and you wouldn’t have been any good for Taylor anyway in that condition. You were burning up, you needed your mate.”
“Wait a minute. Not that I’m not happy for the two of you, because I am. I’m glad you found your mate, Raith and you, Aaron, but what does this have to do with what happened to me?” Taylor asked.
