The Magic in Your Touch

by Sara Bell

  “Sounds like Sasha’s not the only one in love with him.”

  “No, she’s not. Does it bother you, Daddy?”

  Dean was genuinely confused. “Why should it bother me? By all accounts, Nate’s a great guy. Keith called your mother right after the two of you left the hospital that first night, and he was absolutely giddy. Seems he thinks Nate is the next Jonas Salk because of his work with those babies. Why wouldn’t I want to see you settled down with a man like that?”

  “It’s not that, Daddy. I just . . . why didn’t you hate me when you found out I was gay?”

  “You mean, why didn’t I throw you out like Nate’s parents did?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Son, I can’t explain why the Morris’s did what they did, but I can tell you how I feel. I believe that God made you the way you are. I also believe that God doesn’t make mistakes. How, then, could I hate you because of the way you were created? That would be like hating you because you have blue eyes.”

  Brandon reached over and gave his father a hug. “I love you, Daddy.”

  “Same here, boy.”

  Gale came back into the room with Keith on her heels. “Am I included in this love fest?”

  Brandon got up and kissed her cheek. “You know you are.”

  “Good, because I have news: Nate made it through surgery. Dr. Lincoln is finishing up now. That nice nurse I talked to said he’ll be out in about five minutes to talk to us.”

  Keith just shook his head. “How the hell does she do that? I’m one of the doctors on staff and they wouldn’t tell me anything.”

  Dean pulled his wife down onto his lap. “Son, let me tell you, I gave up trying to figure out your mother forty years ago. Just be glad she’s on our side.”

  Brandon heard footsteps and turned to see the surgeon standing in the doorway, still wearing his blood covered scrubs.

  “Who’s the next of kin?”

  Brandon said, “I am.”

  Dr. Lincoln gave him a quick once over, not an easy task considering Bran was a good eight inches taller than the pudgy surgeon, and Lincoln had to crane his neck to look him in the face. Still, his tone was cocky when he said, “You gonna prove that?”

  Brandon was running on caffeine and nerves. No way in hell was this little prick going to keep him from seeing Nate. Still, he owed the man for saving Nate’s life. He would keep it civil as long as he could. “Do I need to prove it?”

  “As a matter of fact, you do.”

  Bran could feel the blood rising to his face. “Now look here—”

  “No, you look here. I’m sick and tired of you people thinking you can come in and push everybody around. It’s bad enough that mister high and mighty neurologist here,” he motioned towards Keith, “called in a favor to have the head of surgery pull me out here in the middle of the night just to operate on his brother’s queer boyfriend, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to let you walk all over hospital policy, too. Now, unless you can show me proof that you’re the next of kin—”

  “Actually, he isn’t the next of kin. Yet,” said the man standing in the doorway. “Technically, that would be me. I’m his brother, and I do have proof.” Seth reached into his wallet and pulled out a couple of cards. After handing them to Lincoln, he held up the cell phone in his left hand. Either he didn’t know about the hospital’s policy against cellular phones, or he didn’t care. “It’s for you.”

  Lincoln gave Seth a startled look, but took the phone. He didn’t say much, only listened, every now and then offering a “yes, sir” or an “I’m sorry.” After about a minute he hung up and handed Seth back his phone.

  Seth said, “I trust you and Dr. Hanson had a good talk.”

  Lincoln gritted his teeth and nodded. Seth said, “Good. Now, as next of kin, I want my brother’s partner to be extended full privileges, just the same as any husband would have with his spouse. Any decisions that need to be made concerning Nate, Brandon makes them. I assume that won’t be a problem?”

  “No.” Lincoln looked like he was about to throw up. He started to leave, but Seth stopped him.

  “Oh, and Dr. Lincoln?”

  “What?”

  “As of that phone call, you’re no longer Nate’s doctor. Dr. Hanson is bringing in someone else.” Lincoln was outraged. “I saved his life. If it hadn’t been for me, he would be dead right now.”

  “Why do you think I asked Hanson not to fire you when he heard you calling one of your own patients a queer? You better hope my brother makes it, Lincoln. Your career longevity line and Nate’s lifeline now have the same expiration date.”

  Lincoln paled, but left before burying himself any deeper. Keith looked at the younger man in awe. “Who are you and how the hell did you get Hanson on the phone? His wife can’t even get through to him most of the time.”

  Seth gave a sheepish grin and stuck out his hand. “Seth Morris.” Keith shook his hand much like a ten-year old would shake the glove of his favorite baseball player. “And to answer your question, Dr. Hanson is now the proud owner of a hundred-and-fifty-thousand dollars worth of new equipment, courtesy of Mor-co Incorporated. I called him to make sure Nate was getting the best care possible. It was just dumb luck that I happened to be on the phone with him when Lincoln threw his little tantrum.” He turned to Brandon. “I hope you didn’t mind me putting everything off on you.”

  Keith spoke up and said, “You know, Lincoln never did give us the complete rundown on Nate’s condition. I think I’ll go see what I can find out.”

  Gale said, “I’ll go with you, son. Dean, why don’t you track down Wayne? He’s had enough time to smoke a whole pack by now. When you find him, go get the girls, too.”

  The room cleared and Brandon and Seth were left just standing there, staring at each other. Finally Brandon said, “Thanks for what you did, man. I owe you.”

  “You don’t owe me anything. I’m the one who owes Nate. I just hope I get the chance to make up for all the dumb-ass things I’ve done to him.”

  “Not to seem insensitive or ungrateful or anything, but what are you doing here?”

  Seth said, “Apparently, Nate still had that card I gave him the other day in his wallet. One of the nurses saw it and called me. I know you’re probably pissed off at me, and I don’t blame you, but I had to come.”

  “Did you call your parents?”

  “No. I figured neither of you would want that. Look, I know I’m not welcome here, and I promise I’ll go just as soon as I know Nate’s going to be alright.” He had tears in his eyes when he looked up at Brandon. “I just had to see him, you know?”

  Bran said, “Actually, I think I do. Look, can we start over? Nate’s going to need both of us. I’d hate to think you and I weren’t men enough to put our differences behind us.”

  Seth gave Brandon a smile so much like Nate’s it was all he could do not to howl in agony. Seth only nodded, and Bran was grateful. If he didn’t get in to see Nate soon, he was going to go slowly insane.

  Gale and Keith came back with a nurse wearing surgical scrubs. “Mr. Nash?”

  Brandon stepped forward. “How is he?” His father and Wayne came in, followed by his sisters and the rest. They all fell into silence the minute the nurse started giving her report.

  “He’s lost quite a bit of blood, but we were able to replace it before any serious tissue damage was done. He had three arterial bleeders in his abdomen and chest which Dr. Lincoln closed without incident. He was wearing his seatbelt, so most of the injuries were confined to his

  midsection where the steering wheel hit. The MRI shows no sign of head trauma. Most likely, he passed out from blood loss. The cut on his head was probably caused by flying glass. We cleaned and stitched it and we also set his broken arm. He’s in the recovery room right now, but I’d say, barring infection, he should make a full recovery.”

  Brandon grabbed the startled nurse around the waist and lifted her off her feet, spinning her around until they were both dizzy. “Thank you.
Oh, God, thank you so much.” He put her back on her feet and kissed her soundly on the mouth.

  She laughed. “Is it true what they’re saying? Are you and Dr. Morris really partners?”

  Brandon thought back to all the terrible things he’d said and only hoped Nate was still speaking to him. He wasn’t about to tell the nurse that though, so instead, he simply said, “Yes, we are.”

  She shook her head. “I thought so. Well, on behalf of the nursing staff, concerning both you and Dr. Morris, all I can say is, what a waste.”

  * * *

  Keith led Brandon and Seth down the hallway of the Intensive Care Unit. “Let me go in first and see what kind of restrictions are in place, then I’ll come back and get you guys.”

  After he left, Brandon propped himself up against the wall. Seth took the same position on the opposite wall. Bran said, “I think you should go in first.”

  “No way, man. He’ll want to see you first. Hell, I’m not even sure he’ll want to see me, period.”

  Brandon took a deep breath. “Look, Seth, there’s something you should know.”

  “Let me guess. You and Nate had a big fight before the accident and you said something stupid. Now you aren’t sure whether or not he’ll want to see you.”

  Brandon put his hands on the back on his neck and leaned against the wall again. “How did you know?”

  “Nate is my brother, remember? Everybody thinks because he’s kinda quiet, he must be real laid back and easygoing, too. Maybe he is most of the time, but get him mad and that boy has a temper like you wouldn’t believe. I guess you found that out firsthand, huh?” He thought for a minute before he said, “I know it’s none of my business, but can I ask what you two fought about? I mean, if you want to tell me to go fuck myself, I don’t blame you.”

  A few hours ago, Brandon probably would have told him to do exactly that, but now he felt some kind of kinship with Seth. Maybe tragedy really did bring out the best in people. Either that, or Keith slipped some kind of tranquilizer into his coffee. Regardless of the reasons, he found himself pouring out the whole story, including the things they both said. When he got to the part where he told Nate he was afraid of contracting a first-class case of frostbite, Seth let out a low whistle.

  “Damn. And I thought Nate had a temper. You know he was just trying to protect you by leaving, right?”

  “Now I do. I had just made up my mind to find him and drag him back home, if I had to, when I was called to the scene of the accident. I didn’t know it was Nate until I got there.”

  “God, that must have been hell. For what it’s worth, I don’t think Nate will hold what you said against you. He’s a pretty forgiving guy. I mean, look at us. Nate forgave me for turning my back on him the first time, and what did I do? I turned my back on him again. I’m the one who doesn’t deserve a second chance. But I’ll tell you this: if Nate can find it in his heart to give me another go, you better believe I’m going to take it.”

  “If it makes you feel any better, I think he will. He’s talked about you a lot since you came to his office the other day. He even showed me some pictures from when the two of you were kids.”

  Tears rolled down Seth’s cheeks. “Thanks, man. That means a lot to me.”

  Keith came back with a big smile on his face. “His stats are looking good. If he keeps improving, he could be moved to a private room by tomorrow. Right now, he’s only supposed to have one visitor at a time, five minutes each visit. I pulled a few strings and got them to let you stay longer, Bran, but I’m afraid the one at a time rule stands. That’s for Nate’s protection. He’s still asleep, but that’s just the anesthesia. He should come around soon.”

  Seth said, “Look, it’s after two in the morning, already. Why don’t I go to my hotel and come back tomorrow?”

  Brandon said, “No.”

  “No, I can’t come back tomorrow?”

  “No. I mean, yes, you can come back, but I don’t want you to stay in a hotel. You can stay at our house, mine and Nate’s. Keith can show you how to get there.” He turned to his brother. “Do you still have your key?”

  Keith nodded. “I’ll take him to your house and send the rest of them home, too. I’m off tomorrow, but I’ll come back here after I get everybody settled.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “I haven’t had to kick your ass since you were in the third grade, Brandon. Don’t make me have to start now.” He pointed to Nate’s door. “Now go in there and see your boy. Just remember, he looks a lot worse than he is.”

  Brandon pulled him into a rib-crushing embrace. “Did I ever tell you that you’re my favorite brother?”

  “Just remember that come Christmas.” He looked at Seth. “You ready, kid?”

  “Yeah.” Seth started past Brandon, then stopped and gave him a quick hug. “Thanks, Brandon. Tell Nate I’ll see him tomorrow.” Before he knew it, Bran was standing in the hall, alone. A nurse came along a few minutes later and helped him into a sterile gown and mask. All that was left was for him to go on inside.

  The first thing he saw when he walked through the door of Nate’s room was the reassuring, wavy line on the heart monitor. The rhythmic beeping should have been enough to convince Brandon that Nate was still alive, but it just wasn’t good enough. He walked over to where Nate lay, fell to his knees beside the bed, and wept. All the anguish of waiting and the pain of not knowing poured out of him like poison. When he was finally able to slow the flood, he crawled into the chair beside the bed and carefully laid his head down on Nate’s chest. He closed his eyes and thanked God as he listened to Nathan’s heartbeat.

  * * *

  Nate’s first thought was that he really needed a toothbrush. His teeth itched and his tongue felt thick and swollen. His second thought was, who in the hell punched him in the stomach? He remembered arguing with Brandon, but he didn’t remember exchanging blows. He couldn’t move his right arm, and his left eyebrow stung. Only when he looked down at the I.V. in his left hand did he remember the accident. He also remembered that he had something important to tell Bran, but the pain was making it hard to concentrate. He had to try, though. He focused all his energy on his vocal cords and managed to croak out one word.

  “Brandon.”

  Almost the instant he said the word he felt two warm hands encompass his left one, carefully so as not to disturb the needle. He struggled to focus his eyes as Bran’s masked face came into view.

  “Bran, need to—”

  “Shh, baby. Let me call the nurse and get you something for the pain, okay? If you raise a fuss and get all upset, they’ll throw me out of here.”

  “’K.”

  Brandon fiddled with the switch at the side of the bed and a minute later, a nurse came into the room, syringe in hand.

  “Well, hello there. It’s good to see you awake. Let me just shine a little light in your eyes and then I’ll give you something for the pain.” She pulled a penlight out of her pocket and checked Nate’s pupils. “Everything looks good.” She depressed the contents of the syringe into his I.V. while she talked. “Your partner here has been telling me what beautiful eyes you have, but I had to see for myself. He was right. They do look like big ole’ Hershey’s kisses.” She checked his blood pressure, and after promising to bring some ice chips to moisten his mouth, she left.

  The medicine started working almost immediately. A warm fuzziness crept through Nate’s bones. He turned his heavy head towards Brandon. “Partner?”

  He could just make out the uncertainty in Bran’s eyes through the drug-induced haze. “If you don’t want me anymore after the things I said, I understand, but God Nate, I love you so much. Please. . . God, please don’t leave me, baby. I’m so sorry.”

  Nate felt the soft darkness creeping in. He managed to say, “Me too,” before sleep took over. * * *

  Keith stuck his head in the door not long after Nate got settled into his private room. A pretty brunette nurse named Lisa was flirting around the pat
ient, checking and rechecking his pillows, filling his water glass, and arranging the dozens of flowers dotting the tables and windowsill. Obviously, she didn’t know much about the handsome doctor or she would have known her efforts were all for nothing. Keith wasn’t about to enlighten her. He had been on the receiving end of Lisa’s razor-sharp tongue more than once, but because her father sat on the hospital board, there wasn’t anything he could do about her attitude. Now though, he planned to have a little fun.

  “Lisa, you don’t have to wait on him like that. We have aides and candy stripers who would be more than happy to fluff his pillows and rearrange his flowers.”

  Lisa whirled around and arched her heavily tweezed brows. “I’m aware of that, Doctor , but I’m on my break right now, so I can do whatever I want.” She turned back to Nathan and gave him one of those sugar-pie grins. “Dr. Morris is good company.” She reached down and smoothed Nate’s blankets, all but pressing her ample chest into his face.

  Poor Nate was looking desperate. “Come on in and have a seat, Keith. You just missed Dr. Lincoln.”

  Keith took the chair closest to the bed. “Damn. I hope he wasn’t bothering you, Nate. He was told in no uncertain terms that he was being replaced as your doctor.”

  Nate laughed. “Dr. Rinehart is my doctor now, but he’s already come and gone this morning. Actually, Lincoln came up here to apologize for a certain off-color remark he made last night. Seems that little brother of mine really put the fear into him.”

  Keith’s grin covered his whole face. “Damned right, he did. I wish you could have seen him, Nate. I’ve wanted to put that look on Lincoln’s face ever since he came to work here three years ago. Seth did in five minutes what I’ve been plotting for thirty-six months.”