Zeke sat impatiently in the waiting room. Emily gripped his arm in a death grip beside him. They both were worried about what was going on in the operating room though they shouldn't.
The men had flown back from New Orleans that Sunday morning. Gavin had met with Dr. Wright and Anderson the next morning. Though not an hematologist or oncologist like his colleague, Anderson had been instrumental in Gavin's care. The young man had asked for him to be as closely involved as he could. Dr. Wright had been very accommodating since leukemia dealt with the whole medical field and not just the one doctor.
They'd confirmed what Gavin had read in the text message. They'd found a bone marrow donor and were going to schedule the transplant for the end of the week. Dr. Wright had an open spot in her surgery list on Thursday, and Gavin would take that spot. She would require him to spend twenty-four hours in the hospital before he was discharged into Zeke's care. He would come back for scans three or four months later to see the process.
Gavin had smiled as he'd been wheeled into the operating room. That had been two hours ago. Zeke and Emily had been sitting in the waiting room since then. Gavin had called his closest friend the moment he'd found out he was having surgery. She had made plans to be out of classes so she could support him.
This whole thing was moving faster than anyone had thought. They thought they would have a few more weeks before this step. Gavin hadn't even finished his latest rounds of chemo. Why would they push it up so quickly? Zeke wasn't complaining but he was curious. He'd asked Anderson, but his friend had never had an answer. Gavin had told him to leave it alone, and then he'd been wheeled back to surgery.
Emily's phone rang, and she had to disappear to take care of it. Zeke was left with his own thoughts. Gavin had already withdrawn from school. That was still fine since he wanted him to heal as properly as he could. He hoped he would be able to take care of himself and be as calm as he could. He had been through so much. He needed time to himself. Not only that, but now that he was the major shareholder in his family's company, he was going to have a lot more to deal with.
Zeke didn't want to lose the kid. He'd grown so attached to him it would kill him if he decided to leave. He had actually started to slowly change the older man. He wasn't as uptight as he had been, and Gavin hadn't been following his rules since he'd been sik. Yes, he still did things that had been ingrained in him, but Zeke didn't require them anymore. They still discussed everything Gavin did, but he wasn't as adamant on what the younger man did.
But the one question Zeke wondered was if Gavin would actually stay with him. He had said he would, but he wasn't sure if he actually would. He hadn't done right by him, and it may be the final factor after he was well. Even though Gavin had said he didn't want to leave, he would have the means to do what he wanted now. That meant he could leave if he wanted. Zeke would be powerless to stop him. He just hoped that everything would be okay, and Gavin would make the best decision for him even if he did leave.
The door to the room opened. Anderson walked through as he removed the mask. He smiled and nodded. Relief flooded through Zeke, and he felt tears of gratitude prick at his eyes. He rubbed his face tiredly and leaned his head back. That was the best news he had heard in weeks. Even more exciting than Gavin telling him he'd stay.
Anderson leaned against the wall and exhaled shakily. "On a personal note, I'm so glad that kid survived until now. He's a hell of a lot stronger than you or me."
"That is probably the most accurate thing you've said ever," Zeke laughed. He rubbed his eyes and stared at the ceiling. His eyes were wild with relief and his mouth opened slightly. Anyone would know the look. "Do you think he'll stay with me now that he's better?"
"We don't know if this will send him into remission yet, but hopefully it will. As for the first part, did he say he would stay?" Anderson had to look at his friend to see the nod of his head. "Then he will stay. You don't have to worry about that."
"I've been so harsh to him."
"You're harsh to all of your lovers. The difference is this time, this one figured you out. He's got you wrapped around his finger, and very tightly I might add." He pulled a folded piece of paper out of his scrub pants pocket. "Usually we don't give the names of the donors, but in this case, the donor wanted you to know. Here. It was left for you."
Zeke took the paper and opened it. He read it quietly before a laugh escaped him. More tears followed, and he laughed while crying. He hadn't done that in years.
"She's in recovery room three if you want to see her," Anderson said. Zeke looked up at his friend. "She's very interesting most days. I see why we've all been friends for as long as we have."
"I don't want to miss Gavin," Zeke protested.
"It will take a minute. He's still under anesthesia. Whenever he wakes up, I'll let you know. He'll be upstairs in room 205."
They went their separate ways. Anderson had another patient to take care of and Zeke went in search of the note's author. He was a little overwhelmed but relief was more potent.
He knocked on recovery room three. A deep voice bid him welcome. He opened the door, closing it gently behind him. When he turned around, he couldn't help the tears of happiness. He shook his head as he walked on into the room. He sat on the edge of the bed, taking the dainty hand pressed on the white sheet.
"When did you do it?" he asked. "I barely told anyone, Eva."
Eva smiled at him. "I overheard the conversation between Mrs. Morgan and Mr. Sampson when I was going to the bathroom. They said Gavin had been through enough and here I came to make things worse. Mrs. Morgan said she hoped he came through the next round of chemo because she wasn't sure you'd make it if the leukemia took him. I confirmed it with Anderson in no uncertain terms and was tested the next week. I asked him to keep it to himself."
"Why? Why would you make such a big decision without telling me?"
"Because contrary to popular belief, you are not my husband." She took the other man's hand and stared up at him lovingly.
Zeke understood what she meant. He looked at the other man. "What did you have to say about this, Paolo?"
Paolo looked at him as Eva tucked her head into his shoulder. "She's always had a soft spot for you, but it has never bothered me. However, she was vastly upset about this. We decided that if this was our child, we would do the same. So why couldn't we do the same for our friend? I hope wholeheartedly he recovers because he is the best thing for you."
Eva pointed to the table. There was a stuffed bear sitting atop it with a dozen yellow roses. "Mrs. Morgan said those are his favorite flowers. Give them to him and give him my regards. There's a note in there for him as well."
"Do you need anything?" Zeke adjusted the blankets around him.
She shook her head. "I think we're set here. We'll go to our hotel once I'm discharged, and we'll fly out tomorrow morning."
"Charge your hotel to my account. I'll take care of it."
They argued a minute before Paolo put a stop to it. He agreed to charge the hotel to Zeke's account, but he wouldn't take their flight from them. They would still pay for their flight back to their kids. Zeke agreed with them, but he was going to make sure they were taken care of when they got home.
When he returned back to the waiting room, Emily was talking to Anderson. The surgeon was telling her what was going on. Zeke heard that Gavin was awake and would be moved to the room shortly. He mentioned that Zeke knew which room and to follow him. He had to go again, but he assured them that everything was fine.
Emily was as nervous as Zeke when they arrived in the room. It was way too open with the bed not there. Emily sat by the window as Zeke leaned against the wall with the teddy bear in his hands.
"I'm glad it came to this, but whenever he has surgery, it scares me," Emily said. "Would his condition make it harder for him to heal? We've tried to keep him from bleeding for the last three months."
"We've never been good at that," Zeke admitted. He plucked at the soft furs on the ears of the bear. "As much as we say he needed us, we needed him."
"When he first told me of your arrangement, I thought he was nuts. Why would he follow the rules of a masochist to the extreme. But then he talked about you and the way you took care of him without him having to ask. I realized a little too late that he had grown to like you despite everything. Then when all this happened, he leaned on you more than I thought he should."
"I never hurt him without his permission. I never took what he didn't want to give."
"I know that now, but the way he explained it made it seem like you took advantage of him."
"Did he tell you his grandfather sold him basically?" Emily looked at him, green eyes wide with disbelief. "I helped bail his family's company out of financial straits and his response was to put the only heir in the contract. I would have taken a colossal loss had I breached the contract so the only thing I could do was bring him here."
"And your relationship?"
"Purely coincidental. He was drunk one night and asked if I was interested in him. He kissed me which he doesn't remember, but that was our first night. After that I couldn't let him go. I was and am addicted to his gentle personality. The rules just came naturally after that."
Emily was beginning to understand how deep Zeke's affections were for the younger man. From the sounds of it, most of the things done were in response to what Gavin had done first. But through it all, Zeke had never been brutal with him. He had always been honest with him from the beginning. Zeke liked things a certain way, but Gavin had shaken all of that.
The door opened and a nurse's back was all they saw at first. He backed in slowly followed by the length of the bed. Gavin's scalp was next followed by a second nurse. They were chatting happily at something Gavin had said. They locked the wheels and set his head up.
"Dr. Wright will come by in the morning to check on him," the male nurse explained. "If all goes well, he'll be discharged by supper."
"Thank you," Emily said. She slid by the bed and took the hand with the IV. She rubbed it gently. "How do you feel?"
"Sleepy, but anesthesia is supposed to do that," Gavin replied. "They did it in the sternum this time. It was less painful in the hip."
Zeke nodded. "Anderson said they'll give you some painkillers to take home." He looked at the bear then handed it to him. "Here."
Gavin's tired face softened. "Did you get me a gift?"
"Not really. This is from your donor. I'll get you whatever you want, though."
The younger man nodded and took the bear. He looked at the yellow roses, fingering one of the petals lovingly. He then ran his hand over the soft fur of the bear. He found the note and opened it. A smile lifted the corners of his lips.
"Is she still here?" he asked.
Zeke nodded with a smile. "She'll be discharged this afternoon. She and her husband will fly out tomorrow."
"I'd like to see her before she goes."
"I'll ask her. She may just want you to recover. Is there anything you want? I'll get it for you."
Gavin handed his bear to Emily so she could read the note and put the bear on the table. "I'd like a Sprite. My throat is dry."
Zeke pushed off the wall and walked to the bed. He rubbed Gavin's bald head then kissed the top of it. "Alright. I'll be back shortly."
Gavin grabbed his hand before he left. Zeke turned around, eyebrows raised in question. "You didn't do it right."
The older man smiled again as he turned back. He leaned down and pressed his lips to the younger man's. Gavin smiled into it as he brought his taped hand up to press him in closer, fondling the soft hair under his fingers. Zeke pulled away then pecked his lips again.
"Emily, do you want something?" he asked.
She shook her head. "No, not right now. Davis said he'd bring us dinner if we wanted."
"I may take him up on that. But for now, I'll be right back."
Zeke left Gavin in his friend's care and went to the vending machine. As he counted out the change, it made him realize he hadn't done this for anyone before. Now that he had someone that actually cared for him, he would be able to live happily for the rest of his life. He hoped Gavin could feel and live the same. They'd been through so much over the last year, and somehow they'd come out on top. He wished this feeling would remain.