Hearts in Need
"Are you sure you're feeling up to this?" Michael shouted in Ben's ear as they stepped through the chains at the entrance to Babylon.
Ben nodded back, "Yea."
Michael looked at his boyfriend for a moment and then grinned, "Ok."
He rose on his tiptoes to see if he could scout out the rest of their group.
"Hey, I see Em... lets go." He grabbed Ben's hand and propelled him through the sweaty, gyrating bodies.
Halfway through the dance floor Michael felt an arm slither around his waist. Turning, he was about to shout, "Back off," when he realized whom the arm belonged to.
"Hey Bri," he smiled.
Brian, with sweat running down his chiseled face grinned back. Looking at Ben, Brian's smile melted off his face. "Are you sure it was a good idea to drag the Professor out?" he shouted.
Michael just shrugged his shoulders indicating it wasn't his decision. Brian grabbed hold of Michael's belt loop and herded them towards the other two men standing by the stairs.
"Hey sweetie," Emmett gushed, while giving Michael a rib cracking hug.
Ted just nodded at them and then continued to sip his drink. Ben stood looking around at the beautifully attired go-go boys dancing on the platforms, pointedly ignoring the closeness of the others. Emmett raised his eyebrows at Ben's standoffishness.
Brian just smirked.
"Teddy and I weren't sure if you two were going to make it tonight," Emmett said.
Michael shrugged and turned to Ben, "You ok, baby?"
Ben again nodded. "Yea," he said, sounding somewhat confused.
Michael thought, Shit, I knew this was a fucking mistake.
He then turned to Emmett who was chattering away to Brian about some twink who had been hauled to the hospital an hour earlier. Brian had the glazed look on his face that usually implied he had been partaking of his "trail mix" again.
Michael sighed and was lost in thought, thinking back to a certain road trip they had taken 2 years earlier to find the lost Justin. Brian had been pleasantly buzzed after a few hits off a joint. As
always, Michael's thoughts then drifted to the kiss they shared on the
turnpike.
He sighed again. A quote from somewhere popped in his head just then. "
'Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all."
Yea, he thought, if only I could have had something to lose in the first place.
He slowly shook his head of the fog and regained his surroundings. Emmett and Ted were now out on the floor dancing to the thumpa thumpa booming out of the sound system. Ben still was in the same place, looking around bemusedly. Brian, of course, was already on the prowl, looking for some hot trick to take into the backroom.
Michael reached out for his boyfriend's hand. "Hey, if you want, we can go honey. It looks kinda dead tonight anyways."
Ben agreed silently.
"Let me just say bye to Brian."
He tapped his best friend on the shoulder. "Hey, we're gonna take off, Ben still isn't doing too well."
Brian smirked and turned away saying, "Gotta get the old teach into bed at a decent hour, huh Mikey?"
"No, he just hasn't recovered Brian. For Fuck's sake, he was in the hospital for over a week and has only been home for less than two. God, you're such a prick sometimes."
With that Michael tugged on Ben's hand to signal that he was ready. They maneuvered through the crowd and out into the cool spring air.
Michael was about three steps ahead of Ben when he heard him give a soft moan.
Turning he saw him collapse right on the cold sidewalk.
"Ben", he screamed. "Oh my God, somebody help me!"
Michael could feel the tears sliding down his cheeks as he bent over Ben and tried to see if he was breathing and had a pulse.
"Help me, somebody please!" he sobbed.
Dimly Michael heard footsteps pounding on the pavement, coming his way.
"Michael", someone yelled. "Mikey!"
Upon reaching Ben, Emmett felt for a pulse. "Oh shit, he's not breathing"
As soon as those words were out of Emmett's mouth, Brian was dialing on his cell.
"Yea, I need an ambulance over here right now. Yea, I'm on a cell. Uh Huh, Liberty Ave. In front of Babylon. Yea, no, he's not breathing. Ok. Ok. Hurry the fuck up!"
Brian flipped his phone shut. "They're sending an ambulance and the operator said that someone should try to do CPR."
He looked down then and saw his beloved Mikey start CPR on his boyfriend, trying to save his life. It was almost too much for him to handle.
Michael had tears streaming down his pale face, dripping onto Ben's.
In the distance they all heard the sirens of the paramedics.
"Thank gawd!" Emmett shouted.
Michael still went through the breathing motions, filling Ben with life's air. At this time, Michael was not thinking beyond his next breath, and he was starting to get light headed.
The ambulance screeched to a stop right beside the men. Two paramedics jumped out of the vehicle, one carrying a bag of equipment. The other opened the back doors and helped a third pull out a stretcher. The one with the bag, a tall blond female, knelt down at Michael and Ben's side. She began checking vitals.
One of the two men came around on the other side and with a look at the woman replaced Michael and kept up the breathing so he could talk.
"What happened", said the EMT.
"He h-has HIV and was admitted into t-the hospital two weeks ago. His t-cell c-c-count was way low and his viral load too h-high. He went into shock. An-Anyways, we went out t-to the club because he said t-that he couldn't stand another m-minute cooped up at home. We were j-just gonna be here for maybe an hour or s-s-so. He started acting weird an-and so I decided we s-should leave early. We went outside and st-started walking t-towards the car. Then Ben just s-s-slid d-down on the g-ground", Michael sobbed.
Brian had bent down behind him and was rubbing his back lightly, to give him strength. The second male EMT came over and was pulling an odd looking machine from the bag. Michael looked up just as the woman, whose nametag said "Dixie", started to unbutton Ben's shirt.
"I have no pulse," she said to the man with the machine.
"Oh my God," Emmett cried again.
Ted had walked a short distance away from the group and was on his cell.
Michael looked at Dixie dumfounded. "What the fuck does that mean? Why are you taking his shirt off? He'll freeze, it's fucking cold out!" Tears were streaming down his face.
"Honey, we have to get his heart beating. We need to get on his skin and use these paddles to jump start his heart."
Michael started to sob even harder.
Brian gathered him in his arms and dragged him a few feet away to give the paramedics room to work. He felt his best friend's body being shook with racking sobs.
"Shhh, it's ok Mikey. They'll get him back. Shhh, I'm here."
Michael buried his face into Brian's chest as he heard the EMT cry, "Clear." With that there was a sound of electricity jolting into human skin. Brian watched as the woman felt for a pulse.
"Got 'em!" she yelled.
Then they put a Respirator over Ben's mouth and started squeezing oxygen into him.
God, thought Brian. How the fuck can you do this to Mikey? What in the hell will I do if Ben dies? I don't know what to do. Mikey's always has been the strong one. It's breaking my fucking heart feeling Michael shake like this. If only I had told him! I want him to be mine!! Only mine!! And then he wouldn't be with Ben and Ben wouldn't be here on the ground fucking dying! Dammit, God! I love him. How the hell am I supposed to help him?
Brian shook his head clear and refocused on what the paramedics were doing.
"Okay, on the count of three; one... two… lift."
They lifted Ben onto the stretcher and rolled him into the ambulance.
Dixie turned and looked at the two men rocking. "Ok, I've got room for one… who's going?" Michael jumped up and steadied himself.
"I am."
His eyes were still full of unshed tears, but he had control over himself once more.
"Alright doll, hop into the back with Frank." She turned to Brian. "You can meet us at Mercy Hospital."
He nodded.
Ted and Emmett stood silently behind Brian as the doors to the vehicle banged close. Emmett sighed deeply and wiped at his eyes.
"Teddy, didja get a hold of Deb?" he asked.
"Yea, she and Vic will meet us at the hospital. She also will call Justin's hotel in Italy to leave him a message. He and Ethan are due back from Ethan's concert by morning, our time."
Emmett reached over and rubbed Ted's upper arm. "Thanks, baby." Turning to Brian, he said, "We'll meet you there?"
Brian nodded once and rubbed his face with his hands. Emmett noticed a haunted look in his eyes. Brian walked away to his car, silent. Emmett sighed again.
"Don't worry Em, he'll be alright."
Emmett shook his head slowly, "I'm not as worried for Ben as I am Michael. He has gone through hell and back already. I'm not sure how much more he can deal with before he breaks."
Ted reached for his hand, quietly saying, "Or Brian for that matter."
Hearts heavy, fear weighing on their minds, for not just one person, but for three, the two walked to their car. The ambulance's siren wailed in the distance ahead, speeding its precious cargo toward help.
Tbc...