After long, agonizing hours of being poked and prodded, maneuvered and adjusted, Adam was finally told they could leave, his most serious injuries being severely bruised ribs and a broken cheekbone, which Jay told the doctor he could easily help with.

As Adam was getting himself together, Jay remembered what he had promised Jeff he would talk to the doctor about.

"Wait! Before you go, I need to ask you something. You see, a friend of ours was in the same situation Adam was in, but instead of being beaten, he was drugged with Dilaudid and some kind of truth serum, 3-quin-something. He's going through withdrawal right now and his boyfriend wanted me to ask if there was anything he could do to make it all easier for him."

The old man was becoming increasingly suspicious and worried. Where had all of these men been? What on Earth had happened to land them in these situations?

Knowing all four men were in same-sex relationships, his mind briefly flashed to the stories he had heard of "degayifying" treatments in the US due to those horrible laws they had enacted, but he quickly shook that thought off, refusing to imagine the possibilities.

"Well, I would say that your friend's best option would be to check himself into a hospital so he could be monitored and within easy access to any help he would need."

At this point, he was no longer surprised when he saw the young man before him shake his head, his advice once again falling on deaf ears.

"That's not gonna happen. He about had a panic attack when we asked if they were gonna come with us today to get checked out. See, he's straight edge, so he's worried you all will give him drugs and he refuses to let that happen. Plus, he's really attached to his boyfriend right now, so I don't think being in here would be a good idea."

The doctor let out a sigh, nodding his head. He knew what straight edge was and he respected it, but he worried when it came to refusing to take medication. Still, he knew he'd be fighting a losing battle, so the best he could do was give the best advice he could.

As soon as they walked out the door, Jay leaned against the wall, pulling Adam to his chest.

"Are you okay, baby?"

Adam nodded, leaning in to nuzzle the side of Jay's neck.

"You're awesome."

Jay laughed at the softly spoken words, looking down at Adam in amused confusion.

"What? What are you talking about?"

He was a bit thrown off when Adam looked up at him with complete adoration in his eyes, something he did not deserve.

"You just are, Jay-Jay. You're awesome. You're always taking care of everybody, standing up for people, making sure they're okay..."

His eyes suddenly took on a solemn look.

"I'd be lost without you."

Jay immediately tightened his hold on Adam, kissing his forehead before bringing his head to his shoulder once again.

"I'd be lost without you too; don't ever forget that."

He spent a few more moments just gently consoling his lover, placing kisses on his head and practically petting him.

As they got back in the car, Adam refrained from pointing out that Jay had just proven his point.

When they got back to the house, Jay brought Adam back to their room, gently removing his clothes and telling him to rest.

"What about you? Where are you going?"

Much like Phil had been earlier, Adam was on alert, paranoid at the idea of being separated from his lover for even a minute.

"I gotta go talk to Jeff, and then I gotta call Mom and Dad so Mom doesn't storm back down here because she was worried out of her mind because nobody called her. Don't worry. I'll be back in a few minutes, and if you need me, just yell. I'll be in the house the whole time."

Still a bit on edge, Adam reluctantly nodded, pulling Jay against him in a hug.

"Okay. I love you."

Jay gave him a reassuring smile before he got up off the bed.

"I love you too. I'll be back before you know it."

Jay knocked gently on the guest bedroom door before he heard a very quiet "Come in."

He walked in to see Jeff still lying on the bed, Phil fast asleep on his chest.

"Hey," Jeff whispered. "Did you talk to the doc?" he asked, bringing his eyes back down to stare at his love.

At Jay's nod, Jeff looked down at Phil one more time before reluctantly sliding out from underneath him as gently as he could, praying that Phil would remain asleep until he got back.

Once they got to the living room, Jeff immediately started in with his questions.

"So what'd they say?"

"Okay, so, the withdrawal can last anywhere from 36 hours to 2 weeks."

Jay watched as the other man's eyes multiplied about 4 times in size.

"Holy shit. Oh my god. Oh my god..."

He looked at Jeff with sympathy, rubbing his shoulder soothingly.

"Listen, it's okay. He said it could spike in 14 to 21 hours and then we'll just have to see how it goes from there, but you gotta keep your head together, okay?"

Jeff nodded, remembering what Matt had told him. Phil needed him to be strong. He couldn't fall apart.

"Okay. What else did he say?"

"Well, he's gonna need someone with him most of the time, at least for the next little while, but I know you won't have any problem with that."

The knowing, warm smile Jay gave him was able to bring the smallest of smiles and a soft chuckle to his lips.

"He may get symptoms that'll make it seem like he has the flu, so you're gonna need to do what you would normally do for someone with the flu. He said there were two major things you would have to do, though."

"What?" Jeff's eyes betrayed his desperation.

"You gotta make sure he eats. He'll most likely not have any appetite for a while, but you gotta make sure he still eats, regardless. Even if he says he's not hungry and you have to force him."

Jeff nodded, taking in every word seriously.

"And Jeff?" He waited until he had eye contact with the younger man. "Talk to him. The biggest thing for him is gonna be that he gets his thoughts out. Adam too. And we just gotta be there to listen and let them know how we're feeling too, whether we really want them to know or not."

Jeff watched the far away look come to Jay's eyes, knowing how hard it was gonna be for Jay to have to talk to Adam about all of the pain he had been going through. Jay was always the indestructible pillar of support for Adam; he hated to burden his lover with his own problems.

He nodded, though, doing his best to be strong, not only for Phil, but for Jay and Adam too.

"We'll do it. Don't worry, Jay. We will. We love them. We'll make sure they have everything they need."

Jay nodded, attempting to reassure himself.

The two were broken out of their thoughts, however, when a loud cry was heard.

"JEEEEEFF!"

After consoling Adam, who had been woken up by Phil's scream, Jay called his parents, letting them know what had happened at the doctor's, after which, he laid down with his love, hoping they could both get some much needed rest.

Meanwhile...

Jeff sprinted to the room he and Phil had been staying in, slamming the door open to reveal his lover, sitting straight up, his eyes wide and streaking his cheeks with tears.

Jeff rushed to his side, gathering him in his arms, trying his best to soothe him.

"It's okay. It's okay, Philly. I'm sorry; I shouldn't have left. I just went outside to talk to Jay. I'm so sorry."

Phil did his best to calm his racing heart, curling deeper into his man's chest.

"It's okay. You just scared me. I thought you were gone."

Jeff knew then that things would definitely be different from now on.

"No, I'm right here. I'm not leaving you, remember? I promise."

Phil nodded his head, the two of them lying back on the bed.

"I love you," he whispered, his eyes closing once again.

"I love you too."

It was hours before both Jeff and Jay finally fell asleep, each keeping a close eye on their lover until sleep finally overtook them.

TBC