Cream

The next morning Maggie came into check how Aaron's healing was going. She saw his face had died down a little and then took off his bandages and took out the burn cream.

When Aaron saw she was about to put cream on him he flinched and tensed up. He tried to get as far away as possible for her hands. He didn't want anyone he didn't know to touch him. The last time they had they'd stripped him, whipped him even throttled him. He didn't know whether he'd trust a stranger ever again.

"Would you prefer your husband to put it on for you?" she asked.

He nodded vulnerably and she handed Spencer the cream. He carefully put it on trying to bite back the tears as he saw his husband's injuries. There were bad burns on his wrists, chest, legs, scalp and ankles. They were all red and yellow from the blisters. He almost wanted to throw up but he didn't want to upset or make Aaron uncomfortable.

She then gave him another cream for the whiplash marks on his back. They were red and crisscrossing his back. You could clearly see the ones that had been added only the other day. He tried to keep the tears from his eyes.

After he was done he helped Maggie bandage up his husband again. The burns that had upset him the most were the ones on his scalp. They covered almost all of his scalp and he prayed to God they hadn't affected his hair follicles and Aaron would be able to grow his hair fully back.

Aaron looked up and seeing the tears in his husband's eyes he looked away saying, "I'm ugly. You don't love me anymore."

"Oh Aaron, you're not ugly. You'll always be the most beautiful man to me. I'll always love you," he answered gently.

"I saw the tears and the look of horror."

"Horror over your injuries; not you, my love. I was horrified by what they did to you, my sweet, beautiful husband."

"They whipped me. They smacked me across the face with a gun. They throttled me. They threatened to behead me. When we arrived they stripped me of my clothes and left me there in my underpants tied up and facing the sun. They didn't even clear up after me and I only got scraps to eat," he answered looking down.

"Darling, I'm so sorry you never deserved any of that treatment and it's all over now. I'll make sure it never happens again. I won't let anyone hurt you ever again."

"I know but how will I ever forget it. They still come back when I'm asleep."

"They'll go away in time and I'm always here for you. You can tell me anything."

"I know. Spencer, thank you for always being here for me."

"You're always here for me too. I love you, Aaron."

"I love you, too," he smiled slightly.

Suddenly they heard a noise from the doorway and Jack ran in to hug Aaron. He hugged him carefully and Aaron hugged him back trying to be careful of his burns. They still hurt quite a bit.

"How are you today, dad? Are you feeling better?" he asked.

"I am feeling better thanks, buddy, but I can't come home yet," Aaron replied.

He nodded sadly then stared at his head bandage intensely. "Dad..." he said nervous.

"Yes buddy," he answered feeling a little awkward.

"Do you have any hair under the bandage?"

"No," he answered looking down scared it would never grow back thanks to the burns on his scalp.

"It'll grow back," Spencer assured.

"I hope," Aaron replied quietly.