"Excuse me ma'am but…" He rooted through his head for an idea, "Joseph Lay…I'm his…I'm his boyfriend and, I was wondering if I could go visit him." He slapped himself mentally, boyfriend? Damn if anyone he knew was around he would have got his ass handed to him. The receptionist clucked her tongue, "I'm sorry but, Mr Lay isn't allowed visitors…"

Mark groaned and placed both hands on the desk, "Look…miss," he smiled sweetly, "I really need to see him…just for five minutes? Please." He pouted slightly and took one of her hands stroking a thumb over it. The receptionist blushed and giggled, "Well…since you put it that way…go on ahead! It's room 201." Mark nodded and remembered why girls just, didn't really appeal to him anymore.

He stood unmoving outside room 201, what if it isn't him? He shook his head; even if it wasn't him…it was still worth going in to check in the first place! The door squeaked slightly as he opened and shut it, and slowly he turned to face the bed, where in the undeniable figure of Joey Lay slept silently; comatose yet still as handsome as ever

He walked over and laid a hand on Joey's cheek, "Joey…" he mumbled as he sank into the chair next the bed and began to weep again. "Joey I thought you were dead…I saw you die! How is this ever possible?" he laid his head on his arms which now were nestled on the soft linen sheets, "I sometimes wondered if the reason you were taken from me was because I was suck a dick that time after we…"

He frowned and recalling the incident, "I never really meant to hurt you, I meant what I said Joey…when you were shot and lying there I meant it all." He was telling the truth and somehow saying this to the teen laying there, even though he was comatose, he knew that it was being accepted.

Scout slapped Joey's cheek lightly, "Common Joey baby, stay with me…" he was beginning to panic at the sight of Joey, his Joey, surrounded by all this blood. "Scout it hurts…" Scout stared down at Joe, lip quivering. "Baby I can't…I can't do anything! MEDIC! I need…I NEED A FUCKING MEDIC NOW!" Joey smiled and patted Scout's face, "I'll be fine just…get me some pain killers…"he laughed weakly but stopped as Scout frowned, "Joey shut up, you're going…to die if the bullet isn't taken out now!" He pouted and brought Joey into a searing embrace, "Don't leave me…I love you." Joey smiled and nodded, "I know…"

Mark gazed around, empty room; he laughed lightly and placed a small kiss on the corner of Joey's lips. He leant back, "If only you were sleeping beauty, eh…you always were beautiful to me…" he brushed some stray hair back from Joey's face, "You probably would have punched me if I called you a princess though." He chuckled and sat for a minute holding Joe's hand silently.

"I hope when you…wake up," that's if he ever does, "You'll tell me what happened. Seriously Joey…there's no way you could have…" he trailed off, "Maybe it's best not to think about it…not now at least." A sudden terrible thought crossed his mind, "Will you even remember me? My uncle went into a coma and he woke up three years later…he didn't remember my mom, or me and my brothers."

He sighed, "You got so much left of you life…I wonder if I am just a blip on your time line." Mark let his eyes drop slightly, "I used to watch you sleeping next to me, and your eyes moving behind your eye lids and I sometimes wondered if you were dreaming about me…I really hope you were." He grinned weakly, "I used to dream about you quite a lot…" he chuckled, "Some of those dream were pretty fucking intense."

He sat back in the chair and mused it over for a second before saying, "When you wake up and I swear to god you will, you can come stay with me…I don't have any money to send you back to England and I'm gonna be honest, I don't want you going back there. I have got enough money to look after you…both of us; you did always say you wanted something solid."

He left the thought to linger before standing up, "I will be back Joey…I'll come back every day this week, next week, every day for a month if it takes that long." He laid a small kiss on Joe's forehead, straightened his own shirt and then strode to the door. "I love you Joey…" He shut the door when he heard the predicted silence.

Mark sat still, silent, in his car. Thinking. When he wakes up I'm gonna look after him. He smiled feeling slightly better at the promise he made himself and twisting the keys in the ignition set off back to his apartment.

He pushed open the door and dumped a box of baseball bats and other apparel on a cream colour arm chair before slumping down on the couch. Just as he had reached for the TV remote his phone began to ring. He sighed and picked it up, "Yo, Mark here." His stomach flipped even though he should have seen it coming, "Mr Scoot…I'm afraid your mother passed away."

He clicked the phone back down onto its holder and ran a hand over his face; trying to scrub away the terrible feeling he should have seen this coming. They said she would be gone by tonight…I wish I had believed that an hour ago. "I'm an idiot…" Slowly he gathered up his coat and stuffed a wallet into the pocket; he was gonna have to buy something to eat at the hospital he just knew it.

"Sir we know the loss of a loved one is a terrible incident but we need your details all the same…" Mark glared at the nurse, "I said I wanted to be alone with her for a second, Jesus, can't you just piss off for one measly minute?" The nurse huffed and walked away, clipboard in hand. Mark sighed and hung his head, "Strange isn't it Ma, today I've talked to two people that I love, one in a coma and one…" He bit his lip, "Dead."

"I don't know how I'm going to tell the other…" he thought of his seven brothers and felt a lump in his throat, "Ma Daniel's only fifteen…how could you do this? I'm gonna have to explain to all of them you died! How can I do that?" Mark stared at the lifeless form of his mother. Funny how some dead people look like they're sleeping. Even with that thought in his mind the image of her still wasn't comforting in the least.

He raised his head, "I love you ma… and so do your other boys…" He touched her cheek before slipping off the necklace she wore every day for the last ten years; the one his father had given her. "I'm gonna give you a proper funeral ma." He chewed on his bottom lip, "I'm gonna get a proper job and I'm gonna get married-" he stopped himself thinking of Joey and said instead, "I'm gonna find someone and settle down…I'm gonna make you proud ma."