Chapter 13: Breaking out of the hospital

As Ana and Blake moved past the cluster of people in the hall, Jimmy quietly asked if everyone could give Kyle and him another minute before coming back in. Jimmy needed to apologise properly to Kyle for what he had said so he was relieved when he received the group's tacit agreement.

As Jimmy slipped through the doorway, Chris looked to Julia, Marie, Tom and Karen before speaking wryly "So, coffee time anyone?"

With a tight grin Marie commented "Maybe tea. I'm not sure anyone needs the extra caffeine boost after that illuminating little shouting match."

Julia concurred swiftly "Yes, that's a great idea. Nice calming tea."

Shooting a worried glance at wall separating Kyle from view, Tom suggested "Actually, you all go on ahead. I need to go make a couple of calls to check on Bombshell and the nurses said I could use my phone in the waiting room just over there."

Looking at him knowingly, Marie dropped a word in Tom's ear in an conspiratorial undertone "I was trying to come up with an excuse myself to wait around out here. Thanks Tom, Jimmy's obviously not feeling too well and I'd prefer if someone a little more reliable were around in case Kyle needed anything." She finished with a smile "And Tom despite the inauspicious beginning we all just heard about, I think you'll do nicely. Take care of him; we'll be back soon." Spinning smartly on her heel, Marie gathered the rest of the group and shooed them toward the café, collecting Ana and Blake along the way.

Jimmy slunk uncertainly into the room, meeting his best friend's eyes with hesitation before quietly declaring "Kyle, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

Kyle looked up at him when he entered and asked in resignation "I guess everyone heard the whole thing once Blake started yelling?" At Jimmy's nod he sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly and noting, "Damn. Okay, then. Yeah, I'm fine." Kyle tilted his head and gave a tiny shrug "It's never nice to hear some of those things about yourself but I can cope. I did cheat on him; I'm not surprised he was upset and I probably deserved a few angry comments in retaliation. I don't want to talk about Blake right now though, Jimmy." He fixed Jimmy with an intent stare "Do you want to explain what you were doing earlier?" Exasperation folding into his voice, Kyle remarked "I thought you were working on thinking before you speak!"

Jimmy flinched, heading closer to perch on the corner of the bed but holding back from hugging Kyle again like he wanted. Jimmy wasn't sure his best friend would welcome the touch right now and he was too afraid of doing or saying the wrong thing to find out. Eyes downcast, Jimmy ventured softly "I'm sorry Kyle. I know that I keep saying that and then I mess up again and again, but I do mean it. You're right; I wasn't thinking. I don't know, I thought the whole situation was weirdly funny because I'm always the one screwing up and you're always the one doing the right thing. This time it was you messing up and I guess it just seemed a little funny. I didn't even really think about anyone apart from you and Tom hearing it until after I saw the reactions. I shouldn't have said it, I only made things worse and I'm so sorry, Kyle. I hope that you can still forgive me." Jimmy's voice trembled faintly as he finished.

Kyle sighed "Somehow I find it easy to believe you didn't actually recognise it might be a bad idea to say that in front of Blake." He slid his hand tiredly through his hair and asked "Jimmy, how long since your last high? Tom mentioned you weren't drinking the other night and you promised me this morning that you were going to get clean. I'm wondering if you're going through withdrawal. It would explain everything, why you look like you're about to cry right now, why you thought the whole Tom and Blake situation was funny, being so angry at Tom earlier, not thinking..." Kyle stopped to reach out to put his hand over Jimmy's, looking his best friend intently in the eyes before speaking gently. "Jimmy, I know how you get, mood swings, irritable, craving drugs and hating everyone including yourself. So, when did you last get high?" Kyle pursed his lips tightly. "And don't lie to me. You know I can tell."

Hanging his head, Jimmy muttered "The morning after your accident. I didn't know about it yet, that you were dead. That everyone thought you were dead." He jerked up his eyes to pleadingly meet Kyle's. "I haven't taken anything since then, I swear. Kyle, I'm so sorry, I keep hurting you and I'm scared you'll give up on me someday. I love you; without you, I don't know what..." His sentence petered out as the tears that had been threatening to slip down his face started falling in earnest. Hand twitching under Kyle's, he jolted forward to hug his best friend tightly, being cautious not to jar Kyle's injuries with his sharp movements.

Kyle shut his eyes briefly in resignation, hugging Jimmy back and sighing quietly before he responded. "I love you too. Look Jimmy, I wish you hadn't made that comment earlier since it didn't help the situation, but I understand why you did. Yes, things have to change, but I'm not expecting it to happen overnight. This mess wasn't really your fault anyway, I was the one who chose to cheat on Blake. I should have broken up with him before being with Tom. I know I didn't say much about it earlier and I'm really not looking forward to seeing my name dragged through the mud but that is mostly my fault, not yours. Yes, you made it public but apart from that, it's all on me. If I hadn't cheated, you wouldn't have had that mistake to use as ammunition against me when you were upset. Jimmy, I can see that you're sorry and you're making an effort to start to try to get better and that's enough for me right now. Okay? You're my best friend and I promised that I'd do my best to help you through this, and I will. I'm so proud of you for not taking anything for a few days, it's a fantastic start, as is your agreement to see a psychiatrist. I know it will take time to fix things and I'm sure we'll both stuff up how we handle everything occasionally; I'm not sure what I need to do to support you either." He patted Jimmy on the back before pulling back to look at Jimmy's face and resting his hand on his best friend's arm. "Jimmy, I noticed what you did with him and Blake, putting yourself in the way to make sure Blake wouldn't try anything." Kyle gave Jimmy another quick hug in gratitude and added "Thank you for that. I'd hate to see Tom hurt, especially because of something I did."

Jimmy grinned at him "Anytime. So, Tom Levitt... you seem to really like him."

Kyle blushed slightly and confided "I do. Tom is just..." Kyle trailed off as his lips swept up into a dazed smile as he thought of Tom. "I know I said he was pretty great but he's so much more than that, he's amazing Jimmy. He makes me happy and I don't know, when I'm with him he makes me wonder if the only reason I believed that there wasn't just one person was because I hadn't met him yet." He paused with a slight frown before rambling on. "Ah, obviously I'd met him, but I didn't know him, not really, he was just this hot celebrity whose work I loved and I was definitely star-struck. Then I got to know him, and I just, well, he's amazing." Kyle grinned happily before snapping his focus onto Jimmy. "Now, what are we going to do about you? I'm so proud of you for trying but Jimmy, you shouldn't have to fight through this all on your own. Um, I haven't found someone for you to see yet but Tom offered to help. Do you mind if I get him back in here and try to organise an appointment for you as soon as possible? Thank you Jimmy."

A few hours later, Tom found himself reflecting on the events of the day as Kyle lay sleeping in his arms. Tom was too awake to sleep just yet, it was still fairly early and he'd had a long nap that morning. It had been another crazy day; the joy of Kyle doing better, being so breathtakingly alive mingled with various visits. Oh God, the visits; Jimmy, Julia, Blake and all the drama that had been involved. He and Julia had taken the first step to mending their partnership and he'd made plans for Kyle to come stay with him as he recovered, inviting Kyle's parents along too. After the scene with Blake, Kyle had needed to deal with Jimmy, explaining quietly to Tom that his best friend was a complete mess right now because his system was in cocaine withdrawal. Once Blake had apologised, everyone had hugged Kyle and headed back to Hit List while Tom had rung around to find a good psychiatrist for Jimmy. He now had an appointment for first thing tomorrow morning but by the time Tom had called his contacts and they'd managed to find someone for Jimmy, it was already early evening and it had been time for doctor's rounds again.

Unsurprisingly after all of the stress of the day, Kyle had been worn out so he'd just asked Tom to hold him again after evening hospital rounds and fallen asleep before they could talk about anything else. Tom swept his hand lightly over Kyle's cheek with a sigh. Not knowing what Kyle wanted was driving him a little crazy. Tom smiled as he thought about Kyle and how they had a few special moments interspersed through the day to just relax and enjoy themselves. Even though they still hadn't had a chance to talk, kissing him and holding him was incredible and Tom hoped they'd have that discussion soon. He was just so uncertain whether Kyle would want him after he got out of the hospital and back to normal life. Obviously Kyle felt something or he wouldn't have kissed Tom, or slept so trustingly on his chest but Tom couldn't be quite sure how strongly Kyle felt or whether he wanted a future together. Tom desperately hoped that the man he'd fallen in love with wanted a future with him but Kyle could have anyone he wanted. Kyle had broken up with Blake and agreed to stay at his place and talk about things, so Tom was hopeful he wanted them to be together too. Still, he couldn't be sure. He bit his lip tightly, worrying it with his teeth as he stared blankly at the stark white ceiling. Hopefully Kyle would be well enough to talk about things soon. He ignored the tiny bubble of frustration within him at the delay; Kyle's health was the most important thing and he'd wait however long it took for Kyle to be ready. With the thought that he loved Kyle far too much to do anything else, Tom kissed the crown of his lover's head and relaxed to the sweet melody of Kyle's even breathing.

Tom was yanked from his slumber early the next morning at the sound of Dr Marshall's quick footsteps entering Kyle's hospital room. She grinned at him when she noticed he was awake and spoke quietly in reflection. "Good morning Mr Levitt, I see the nurses did turn a blind eye to the two of you together after all. I'm glad; it's wonderful to see your connection show that Kyle is going to have the support network he needs when he leaves here this morning. We usually only treat patients for a few days and then they still have a lot of recovery left to do when they get home so it's always nice to see that they'll have the necessary assistance to make the process as easy as possible. Even though he'll be feeling much better within the next few weeks it will probably be a couple of months until he's completely back to full strength because of his broken bones. I assume he'll be staying with you at least until he can move around more freely without aggravating his ribs?" Tom simply nodded. "Excellent, I'm happy with that option and I have no problem discharging him under those circumstances. If you could just wake him up for me, I can do a final exam and as long as that goes as well as I expect, we can get him up, showered, dressed and started on the discharge process. We'll sort the paperwork out and you should have him back at your place before noon. Oh, I forgot, his clothes are badly torn up from the accident so you'll probably want to purchase something simple for him to wear home from the gift shop downstairs. We have basic everyday attire down there so you'll be fine."

Everything had gone as well as Dr Marshall had hoped and it wasn't long before Tom was twisting his keys into the lock on his apartment, waiting to hear the familiar clunk of the barrels aligning. Once they did, Tom pushed open his door and flipped on the lights before inviting Kyle and his parents into the apartment.

Kyle was still unsteady on his feet and leaning heavily on Tom for balance so they headed straight for Tom's couch. Kyle slumped down with a groan. Receiving enquiries about his health from everyone, he responded. "It's okay, I'm fine. The car ride over just rattled my ribs a bit. I think I'll just go lie down once I take a minute to catch my breath."

Marie chimed in "Sure honey, that's a good idea. As the doctor said, you'll still need lots of rest for the next few days. Chris and I might actually pop out while you do that; we do need to go check out of the hotel and we might pick up some groceries on the way back. No, Tom, I insist; it's the least we can do. You're letting us stay with Kyle and besides, I doubt you were planning to have three extra mouths to feed this week."

Tom responded "No, I wasn't, thank you Marie. Um, my spare keys are sitting in the wooden bowl over there if you want to grab them on your way out. That way if Kyle is still asleep you can just come back in without knocking and you won't wake him. Hmm, Kyle will need a few things too." He turned to his lover "I assume you don't mind if your parents stop by your place and pick up a few sets of clothes for you?"

"That would be great, thank you Mom and Dad. We'll see you in a bit." As the door clicked shut behind his parents, Kyle groaned again and asked "Tom, can you help me to bed please? I'd really like to lie down now."

Tom carefully supported him to the bedroom and helped him change out of his jeans into a pair of Tom's most comfortable pajamas. The dark material was well-worn and soft, though Tom noticed with a grin that they had to roll down the waistband so that the hem rested at Kyle's ankles instead of dragging across the floor. Kyle had such a big personality it was easy to forget sometimes that he was a fair bit shorter than Tom was. Tom settled Kyle into his bed before kissing him on the forehead and whispering "Get some sleep. I'll be in later but I should go sort out my office for your parents."

Kyle grabbed his hand "Wait Tom, stay, please, I know they won't mind if you haven't made up the bed or tidied your desk before they get back. Now that I'm lying down I'm actually feeling much better and I've been wondering about something for the last couple of days; you mentioned you heard about Jimmy and I arguing in the bar. Well, Jimmy's little speech, anyway, it wasn't really an argument so much as a rant. I know that you weren't at the bar that night so how did you know? You didn't explain earlier, just said you heard it from gossip. Derek was there, did he tell you?"

Tom laughed and stepped back to sit by his bedside, saying gently "Yeah, no Derek and I still don't really get along, even though we tolerate each other since Bombshell. Kyle, Jimmy was standing on the bar in a room full of Broadway fans, many of whom have at least a passing familiarity with my work." Tom clasped Kyle's hand as he smiled self-deprecatingly and continued. "I'm well known in that arena and you know how the gossip mill can be. When he shouted my name, they noticed. People love a scandal and between the problems Bombshell has already had and the links between it and Hit List..." Tom trailed off, sighing and commented "Well, we probably would have made the gossip pages already if it hadn't been withheld because of your accident. Richard Francis, the editor from the New York Times actually contacted me before news of your death had spread to ask if it was true and if I had a comment. He wanted to run it in his next article as yet another connection between the Bombshell and Hit List creative teams. Then there was another reporter that I think just wanted to print the next edition of the Bombshell director scandal." Tom swung his arms out and pretended to be holding a newspaper as he read out the imaginary article, mimicking a newsreader's formal tone and expression.

"Bombshell's Levitt Hits on Hit List's Bishop. Rumours are swirling today that Tom Levitt is following in the footsteps of erstwhile Bombshell director Derek Wills, whose poor behaviour was brought to light last fall by a sexual harassment suit from several dancers. Kyle Bishop, 24, whom readers may remember as the brilliant young book writer for Broadway's upcoming musical "Hit List," is reported to be involved with 39-year-old Levitt. Bishop's writing partner, Jimmy Collins was heard shouting about the assignation at a recent event held for Hit List. Given the disparity in age and Bishop's pre-existing relationship with a young colleague at the Manhattan Theatre Workshop, one wonders how the liaison occurred. Perhaps Levitt is simply looking for a new writing partner, given the recent speculation of a Houston-Levitt split. Or perhaps Levitt has truly taken after his predecessor Wills and seduced the impressionable young writer..." Cutting his words off abruptly and dropping his hands back to Kyle's, Tom shook his head and remarked despondently "Just another installment of Tom the monster. Or worse, someone could suggest that you're taking advantage of me by sleeping with me for my connections or my money." He sighed "Kyle, we probably will make the gossip pages now that you're doing fine but hopefully they won't decide to drag either of our names through the mud. With any luck the news will focus on your miraculous return to life and the connections between the musicals, but I can't promise anything." Tom lifted one shoulder into a one-armed shrug and finished "I'm sorry."

Kyle grimaced and remarked "It's not your fault and Tom, you could never be a monster. If anything, it's my fault. I know that some people would have been interested because of our musicals and the age difference. But, it wouldn't have been as much of a scandal if I hadn't cheated on Blake. Jimmy wouldn't have even yelled about us in the middle of a bar if it hadn't been for that, though I definitely will give him the full blame for any rumour that mentions me being in love with him since that one is his fault. Tom, I shouldn't have kept seeing Blake after we were together and I feel awful that I did. I hurt him and I regret that." Noticing Tom's downturned eyes, he added frantically, eyes pleading with Tom to understand. "Wait, no, I didn't mean that I regret you. Damn it! I'm not being clear. Tom, I don't regret being with you. I don't think I could regret you if I tried. You're amazing. It's just that I wish I hadn't hurt Blake in the process of finding you. That's all, I promise."

Slipping his hand out from under Tom's, Kyle reached out and tipped Tom's chin up to look searchingly into his eyes. Enunciating each word carefully, Kyle softly repeated, "You are amazing. I know we haven't talked about, well, anything. But I want to." Kyle responded to Tom's resulting frown. "I feel well enough, we're alone, we have time and I promise you that I'm sure my decision is what I really want. I think that was everything you asked me for, so can we please talk now? You've been so patient already and I don't want to keep you waiting any longer. You've said what you want; it's my turn." Kyle paused to inhale slowly at Tom's hesitant smile of agreement and continued on. "Tom, I don't regret anything we've done together. I know we have to sort things out and under the circumstances we probably should wait until things settle down a bit before rushing into something." Shaking his head, Kyle declared as he stared deeply into Tom's eyes "But I don't want to wait. Tom, when I saw those headlights rushing toward me, I honestly thought I was going to die."

Tears sprung up in Tom's eyes as he gasped "Kyle, Oh my God!"

Kyle gripped Tom's hand tightly and continued. "I'm okay, Tom, I don't remember anything after that moment until I woke up in the hospital, but I understand how fragile life can be now, how suddenly it can end with no warning and no second chances. I'm done waiting to have the things I want, done sitting back and waiting for it to be my turn for something good to happen. Tom, I want to be with you and you should know that." He grinned shyly, tipping his head forward and mumbling "You probably figured that out from all of the kissing. I hope you did. We can talk about the details later but I need you to know that I really like you and I want there to be an us too. As for the press..." He shook his head firmly. "Tom, I don't care what they say about us even if it hurts both of our reputations. You and I will know the truth and so will our friends and family. That's all that really matters and I want to be with you." Kyle awaited Tom's reply with a nervous smile.

Tom smiled warmly at him, his heart overflowing with love as he affirmed "I want to be with you too" before leaning down to plant a kiss on Kyle's upturned lips.

Kyle pulled back after a moment, moving his hand to rub across his eyes tiredly and sinking into Tom's plush mattress, soft cotton sheets and cozy blankets with a wide yawn. Kyle then lifted his voice in question. "Now that we've covered that, Tom, would you please come down here and join me? It's been a busy morning and I'm exhausted." He gave Tom a grin and said light-heartedly "I just want to go to sleep in my boyfriend's wonderfully comfy arms in his wonderfully comfy bed."

Pressing a kiss to the corner of Kyle's lips at the word Tom grinned at him and joked, his eyes alight with pure joy "Boyfriend, huh? I must have missed the part of that lovely little speech where you asked me for exclusivity and a label. Hmm, let me see..."

Kyle interrupted "Right Tom, you asked for it." Placing his hand over his heart and adopting a ridiculously formal tone completely at odds with his cheerful smile and shining eyes, Kyle pronounced, "Thomas Henry Levitt, will you do me the great honour of becoming my boyfriend?"

Wincing at his full name before smiling softly, Tom replied "On one condition. You promise never to call me Thomas again."

They both laughed as Kyle gently tapped Tom on the shoulder in reprisal and returned with wide-eyed animation "I promise. God Tom, you had me worried for a second there. When you winced I thought you were going to say no!"

Tom replied tenderly "Kyle, I was never going to say no. Yes, I really like you. Yes, I want to be with you. And yes, I will be your boyfriend. I'm so happy you asked."

Still grinning widely, Kyle reached up his right hand to the nape of Tom's neck and tugged him down for a deep and lingering kiss. After a few minutes, Tom pulled away, stroking over Kyle's jaw and humming "Mmm, as fantastic as this feels Kyle, you said you were exhausted. We have plenty of time for everything else later. For now, I'm happy just to hold you and let you get some more sleep." He bent to place a final feather-light kiss on Kyle's lips then carefully lay down and turned so Kyle's head was pillowed on his chest.

Kyle twined their legs together and cuddled into Tom happily as his eyes slipped closed. As Kyle settled down to rest, he thought to himself with a contented sigh that it felt wonderful to finally be out of the hospital and curled up in his new boyfriend's arms.