I would just like to thank everyone for their kind words and the continued encouragement. Sorry it took so long to get this chapter done. I think you'll like it. Enjoy.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Erik's release was not immediate for two reasons. He had no money and he had no clothes. Brad would have given Erik some of his clothes but there was no way they would have fit since Brad was so much slighter in build. Erik wouldn't hear of anyone loaning him money. His pride made him opt to wait a few days until Brad had negotiated the sale of the sack of coins. The coin collector even wanted the sack in which Erik had carried them.

Once the sale was final, Brad had bought Erik a pair of jeans, underwear, a T-shirt, socks, a pair of sneakers and a leather jacket to ward off the early fall chill. He wasn't sure what Erik's reaction would be to the casual clothing, but he figured that if Erik was serious about living in this era then he might as well start now.

Brad waved at Mindy as he passed the nurse's station on Erik's floor on his way to Erik's room. He noticed that she looked really good today. Tearing his gaze away, he rounded the corner and noticed that Jesse was lurking outside Erik's door. The orderly seemed to be listening intently. Jesse looked up and made a shushing motion, putting an index finger to his lips. Brad walked forward slowly, his curiosity kicking into high gear. As he came closer, he began to hear something that sounded like singing. He kept on until he was standing next to Jesse. It was singing. Brad didn't recognize the words; they were something foreign, Italian or French maybe. The melody was haunting, mesmerizing and Brad was soon as caught up at Jesse in listening. The voice soared one moment, ringing with longing, then dipping and fading only to soar again. The singing reached a pinnacle and then ended. Brad and Jesse just stood there for a few moments staring at each other in disbelief.

"That was Erik singing like that?" Brad asked.

"Well, it sure as hell wasn't Julie Andrews," Jesse retorted.

"Wow."

"Yeah, wow." Jesse nodded at the bag Brad carried. "That his stuff?"

"Uh huh. Guess I'd better give it to him and get him out of here." Brad responded and opened the door. Erik was standing in front of the windows, looking out on the city of New York. He turned to face Brad, a broad smile creasing his new face.

"There you are. I was beginning to think that I'd never get out of here," he greeted Brad.

"Yeah, well, I'm not much of a shopper and I couldn't decide what to get you. I only bought one outfit, figuring that you'd like to buy your own stuff. Here, try these on. I'm pretty sure they'll fit."

"Thank you," Erik said, taking the bag. He brought each item out, laying it on the bed. "Ah, yes. The casual American dress. Blue jeans." Erik noticed the underwear; briefs. He picked them up, feeling how soft they were, amazed at the breathable material.

"Those are underwear. They go on first," Brad supplied, mistaking his admiration for confusion.

Erik laughed. "Despite what you might think, Bradley, underclothing hasn't changed so much that I can't recognize it."

Brad gave him a sheepish smile. "Sorry."

"That's quite alright," Erik told him and stripped off his gown in one fluid movement, standing stark naked.

Even being Erik's doctor, Brad was impressed with Erik's physique. I gotta go to the gym more often, Brad thought with jealousy as Erik donned the underwear and adjusted himself.

"They're so incredibly soft. It feels as thought I'm wearing nothing. Now for the stockings."

"Socks," Brad corrected him.

"Yes, socks. Men no longer wear stockings."

"Not unless they're a drag queen," Brad remarked with a smile.

Erik looked sharply at Brad. "Pardon?"

Brad sought how to tell Erik what he meant. "Uh, gay? Queer? Men who like men and dress up like women," he explained.

Erik comprehended. "Oh, yes, fags," Erik said the word matter of factly. "Like on Will and Grace. I love that Jack. Karen, too. I've heard about gay people, but I've never had much contact with them, of course." He sat on the bed and pulled the socks over his feet, as far up his legs as they would go, then stood to put the jeans on. He was stumped when he got to the zipper.

"What manner of fastener is this, Bradley? How do you go about it?"

Brad stepped forward and made to grasp the metal tab on the zipper. He almost yelped when Erik smacked his hand away.

"You'll not touch my fly!" he barked, eyes blazing.

Brad rubbed his stinging wrist. "Then how do you expect to zip it if you don't know how?"

Erik frowned, enjoying the feel of his eyebrows lowering. Then it came to him. "You have a zipper. Show me how it works with your own," he suggested after studying Brad's crotch.

"Wh-what? You want me to drop my pants?"

"Of course not! Don't be daft. Just undo them and then zip them back up."

"I don't believe I'm doing this," Brad grumbled and undid the snap of his own jeans, sliding the zipper down. "There. Happy now?"

"No, you haven't demonstrated how it goes up yet," Erik said with a muscle twitching in his face as he tried not to smile.

Jesse knocked and opened the door, coming into the room. He took in Erik's state of undress, then noticed Brad's jeans open at the fly. Looking from one to the other he said, "I'm not sure what you two are doing, but I brought your discharge papers so you don't have to stop at the desk," he said to Erik.

"Thank you, Jesse. You're a good man. We're having a lesson in zippering our pants," Erik answered, enjoying Bradley's discomfort. The doctor's face was turning red.

Jesse raised his eyebrows and gave Brad an ironic look. "You mean you don't know how to zip your pants, Doc?"

Erik threw his head back and laughed.

"Shut the fuck up, Jesse, and leave me alone." Brad stabbed a finger in Erik's direction. "He's the one who doesn't know how to zip his pants. Not me. I'm from this century, remember?"

Jesse just tsk, tsked and wagged a finger at Brad. "Such language, Doc. Well, I'll leave you two to whatever it is you're doing." He dropped the papers on the bed and left, chuckling as he went.

Angrily, Brad grabbed the tab on his zipper. "Now, pay attention, 'cause I'm only showing you this once." So saying he pulled upward until the zipper stopped and then did the snap. "See? It's not hard."

Erik mimicked Brad's movements, securing the snap and looking pleased with himself. "You're right. It's not." Erik made quick work of the rest of his clothes, only having a moment of hesitation with the sneakers. "These shoes, they're incredibly comfortable." He made as if to sneak across the floor, his feet making no sound on the linoleum floor. "And silent. That could come in handy."

Brad shook his head. "I don't see how unless you're going to become a cat burglar."

Erik straightened and picked up the jacket. "Why on earth would I want to steal a cat?"

Brad couldn't help but smile. Teaching Erik about the modern world was going to be really interesting. "No, it's a type of thief. They're called that because they're very quiet. Like cats."

"Oh. I see. Well, I'm ready." Erik's stomach twisted with anxiety. He was afraid of how people would react to him. He knew he had a new face; he'd certainly spent enough time looking at it. He'd practiced his facial expressions for hours the other day, laughing at himself from time to time. Laughter. That was something he hadn't experienced very much in a positive way. He hadn't done much of it outside of using it to intimidate others. It was a good feeling to laugh with someone and at someone else.

But now that the moment to go out into this modern world was here, he wasn't at all confident. What if people pointed at him? Laughed or shrieked in terror at him? What about children? Dear God, children! How was he supposed to face them?

Brad saw the fear creep into Erik's eyes and understood his new friend's feelings. "Erik, it's going to be Ok. No one is going to make fun of you. The women might take a second look or two, but not because you're ugly. That's for sure. Maybe I oughta have Dr. Stepanik do some work on me. Maybe I'd get some dates then," he half joked.

"Do you really think I'll be attractive to the fairer sex?"

Brad looked Erik over from his new, very handsome face, down past the broad shoulders and chest, lean stomach and jeans that emphasized that Erik was a well blessed man. "Yeah, I don't think you'll have a problem in that area."

Erik squared his shoulders and zipped the jacket in a decisive motion. "Lead on, teacher!"

Brad grabbed the discharge papers from the bed and led the way out the door. Delores came out from behind the nurses' desk to stand before Erik.

"You'll come and see me won't you? I gave you my address and phone number, so don't be a stranger, Ok?" she said and held out a hand.

Erik took her hand and pulled her gently to him, wrapping his arms around her and laying his head on top of her gray curls. "You'll soon be sick of me, I promise. I'll call you as soon as Bradley shows me how to work the telephone," he assured her.

"You'd better," she said hugging him back.

"Thank you for everything, Delores. You are an angel." Erik drew back and planted a kiss on her forehead, then released her. "Well, wish me luck," he whispered to her. "It's my first day out in the new world."

Delores smiled and said, "They won't know what hit 'em!"

Erik stood rock still in the main lobby of St. Mary's, staring out the door at the city outside. Cars, as he'd learned they were called, drove up to the entrance, depositing people of all different ages, races and classes. These new-age vehicles also picked up people as they exited the building. He watched them go in and out, much the same as ants filing in and out of the hill. Erik was shocked by the diversity he saw; everything from the very elderly to small children passed by him without so much as a glance. He couldn't believe that woman didn't scream when they looked his way. Men didn't challenge him and shield their wives from his presence. Children didn't shriek and run away in terror to their parents. In fact, no one noticed him, except a couple of women who looked him up and down and offered suggestive smiles that he did not return. After one such incident he turned to Bradley and asked, "Are all modern women harlots?" in a loud voice.

"Shut up, Erik. People can hear you, y'know!"

"Well, are they?" Erik insisted, but at least he lowered his voice a few decibels

"No, they're not. But now's not the time nor the place to discuss such things," Bradley responded, then shook his head. "Geez, I'm starting to talk like you. C'mon, let's go shopping and then go home. I'm exhausted and it's only 10 a.m."

Reluctantly, Erik followed Bradley out the door. St. Mary's had been his sanctuary while he recovered and tried to make sense of what was happening to him. He'd asked so many questions about how he'd come to be in the future. How had a storm, an act of God transported him so far away from his own time and indeed his own country? Erik's mind was ever active, always working, but he'd not been able to solve the mystery of his time travel. He hadn't really thought about God since his early years when he'd turned away from a god that would give him such a hideous face and make his life a living hell. Alone in his room at night, Erik had wondered if this was God's way of telling him that He did exist, that He was in complete control and could do with Erik as He chose. But, why? Why did he matter so much to a god that apparently had so much to do to right the world?

From everything he'd seen on his television, Erik knew that the earth was in a very sad way. Everyone was at war with someone it seemed, whether it be country against country or race against race. It seemed that peace was a very rare commodity. Peace. Something he'd never known and wondered if he ever would.

As he and Bradley crossed the hard concrete and macadam, he turned to look back at St. Mary's. Shielding his eyes from the bright October sunlight, he looked up at her, marveling at the majestic beauty of his friend. And she was a friend. He'd been safe there, shielded from the unknown world beyond. He'd wrongly assumed that the hospital was an ugly, modern building like the ones he looked at from his windows. Her lines were muted and graceful, though she did show her age. This was a building that had been built with love and careful planning. He should have known from her comforting presence that she would be beautiful. Erik could see her quality with his acute architect's eye and he rejoiced in knowing that such a building had been where he'd been transformed from a monster to a man. He would miss her and the people he'd come to know there.

"Erik? What are you doing?" Brad had come back for Erik when he'd discovered that Erik wasn't following him to the car.

"She's beautiful."

Brad scanned the street, trying to figure out which woman Erik was referring to. "Who's beautiful?"

"St. Mary's"

Brad put a hand on Erik's forehead, knowing it would be slapped away. He wasn't disappointed. "No fever. You're admiring a hospital?"

Erik frowned down at Bradley. "I've been trained as an architect and stone mason, my friend. Seeing the beauty in a building is second nature to me. And this is a very lovely building. More than a building, really. Think of the work that went into designing her, to making sure that every detail was perfect. And that's only on paper." Erik shook his head sadly. "I think that you modern people have forgotten to look around you and see the beauty that's around you. You should take more advantage of it."

Brad looked up at St. Mary's, the place where he'd come to work for so long and yet had not noticed the things that Erik talked about. "I guess I'm always so worried about what's going on inside that I don't really look at the outside. I'm that way with people, too," Brad said with sudden insight. "I don't remember people's faces very much, but I remember what was wrong with them and how we treated them. It doesn't really matter to me what they look like, only how I can help them get better."

He was surprised to feel Erik's hand on his shoulder. "'Tis a pity there aren't more people like you in the word, Bradley. I might not have had such a wretched existence if there were."

Brad looked over at Erik, the raw hurt and anger in Erik's voice drawing his attention. "Was it really that bad?"

Erik's jaw clenched, his eyes turning to blue ice as he met Brad's gaze. "Imagine your mother being loath to touch you because you were so hideous that the thought of doing so made her sick. She makes you wear a mask so that she doesn't have to look upon you and then she finds someone to sell you to, to be rid of you once and for all." Erik closed his eyes a moment, swallowed and then opened them again. "Yes, it was that bad, Bradley. That bad and more."

Brad was silent for a few moments as Erik's words sunk in. "Yeah, well, it looks like that's all going to change, Erik. It's time for you to start a new life. I mean, we don't know how you got here, so we don't know how to send you back. So until that would happen, and it probably never will, you still have to live. So, let's get started. What'dya say?"

Erik stared at Bradley for a moment. Yes, his past life was far away, that was true. He was about to embark on a life that he'd never dreamt was possible, where he wouldn't be shunned or hunted like a wild animal. The people who had hurt him in the very distant past couldn't touch him here, he realized. His mother, Raoul, and most importantly, Christine weren't here to torment and torture him any longer. Was it possible for him to begin again? Could he get past his former life and go on? He looked around him again at the people who were still walking by him and Bradley. He began to see possibility where once there was none. Erik took in the tall buildings around him, beyond the parking lots for the hospital where the strange automobiles waited patiently for their owners to come and drive them. Yes, there was a whole city of possibilities out there, just waiting to be discovered by him.

A grin began to spread across Erik's face and his eyes grew bright as he turned back to the still waiting Bradley. "I say, what are we waiting for?"