Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

Dillon's cheeks burned. He was pretty sure Lucky had just asked if he was having unprotected sex with Georgie.

"Lucky!" Emily protested, coming up to put a supportive arm around Dillon's shoulders. He felt her weight as she leaned against him in her still weakened state and slipped his arm around her waist for support. "Leave the poor boy alone," Emily told her best friend.

Lucky continued to look at Dillon, his eyebrows raised. Dillon wanted to answer Lucky, but first he had to know one thing.

"Am I going to need witnesses? Why is Emily here?"

"I'd like to know the same thing." Emily wanted to know. "Come on Lucky," she said gently, "I know you just want to help protect Georgie, but I think the detective training might be affecting you a little. Dillon's a good kid."

Lucky smiled. "I know he's a good kid." He turned to Dillon. "I know you are. But this is important and I just want to talk to you." He looked at Em. "And you're here because you knew Stone too." At this Emily's eyes widened.

"Stone..." Dillon repeated. "Robin's boyfriend."

Lucky and Emily turned to him.

"You know about Robin?" Emily asked him.

"Georgie's cousin, right?" Dillon said. "She's a doctor in Paris. Georgie told me about her."

Lucky spoke up gently. "Did she also tell you that Robin-"

"-is HIV positive," interrupted Dillon. "Yes. She did. Robin was a little older than Georgie and I are now when she contracted HIV from her boyfriend Stone. Georgie told me all about it."

"Oh..." Emily breathed. Dillon looked at Lucky.

"What exactly do you want to know?" He asked. "Are you worried that I'm going to give Georgie HIV or some other STD? I'm not."

"Have you ever been tested?" Lucky asked.

Dillon looked around, realizing they were still in a busy hospital corridor.

"Hey man, can we go somewhere a little less public to talk about this?" He requested.

"Let's go up to my room," suggested Emily, who was leaning more heavily against Dillon. He tightened his arm about her waist to hold her up. Lucky turned to her worried.

"I'm sorry Em, I'm being a horrible friend. Do you want to go to bed?"

Emily smiled, but she was looking a little tired. "I'm just getting tired Lucky. I don't want to go to sleep. Besides, I think Dillon might need a witness here." She smiled at her cousin. Dillon's face, previously full of nervousness from Lucky's questions, was now mixed with concern for her own well-being.

The trio headed down the hall toward the elevator, Dillon still supporting Emily. About halfway there, Emily beckoned for them to stop. She leaned almost her entire weight against Dillon's body.

"Do you need a doctor?" He asked her, panicked.

"No," she whispered. "My legs are just weak."

Lucky rushed over to Emily's other side and put his arm around her waist.

"Hey Em, hon, let me take you, all right?"

"What, and let you be some macho hero?" Emily joked.

"Get over yourself Quartermaine. Oh, excuse me, Quartermaine-Smith," Lucky retorted, as he leaned down to support Emily's knees, lifting her gently into his arms. Lucky carried Emily to the elevator and back to her room.

When they reached the door, Dillon opened it, and Lucky went through, carrying Emily. He placed her on the bed. Dillon stood by, watching.

"Are you sure you don't need anything?" Dillon asked, worried.

Emily smiled at him. "Really, I'm fine. I've just been in this bed so long that my muscles are weak, and I tire easily. Besides," she joked, "I still think you might need someone in your corner."

Dillon looked at Lucky, worried. Lucky sat down on the bed next to Emily and Dillon sat in the chair.

"Look, Dillon, I'm not trying to get on your case," Lucky assured him. "Really, I'm not. I just-"

"I know," Dillon said. "But you can just ask me. You don't have to give me the third degree. Although the Mac imitation is rather impressive." He smirked.

"Yeah Dillon!" Emily cheered.
Lucky blushed and held up his hands in surrender. "All right, all right, I'm sorry. I guess I just get overprotective."

"It's very sweet," Emily conceded, ruffling Lucky's hair. "But lay off my cousin, man!"

They laughed.

"It's okay, Em," Dillon told her. "Lucky can ask me." He turned to Lucky, holding his ground. "What do you want to know?"

"Well," Lucky began, "have you ever been tested?"

Dillon nodded. "Yes. Several times." He looked at Lucky's and Emily's surprised faces. "I was seeing a girl in Berlin and I found out that she'd been sleeping around on me, so to be safe, I got myself checked out."

"When was this?" Emily asked.

"Couple years ago," Dillon told her. "Everything checked out fine and I haven't been with anyone since."

"Until Georgie," Lucky added.

Dillon rubbed the back of his head. "I'm not having sex with Georgie."

Lucky rubbed his own head. "Then what about the marks? Those definitely looked like bite marks."

"Lucky, come on!" Emily swatted at him.

"I just want to make sure Georgie's okay."

"Well," joked Dillon. "Would you believe she was kidnapped by vampires?"

Emily laughed and Lucky raised his eyebrows. Dillon sighed.

"Man," he told Lucky, "between you and Mac I ought to be grateful Georgie doesn't have any actual big brothers. I'd be strung up by my toes." He looked at Lucky, knowing that the older boy wanted an answer. Dillon flushed red. He glanced at Emily, biting his lip in embarrassment, and then looked at the floor. "We were just making out," he said quietly. "I was, you know-" his cheeks burned and he mumbled "-kissing her neck. I guess I just got a little out of control."

At the words "making out" and "kissing her neck" Emily felt Lucky tense slightly beside her.

"Lucky," she told him, "I'm scared to think what will happen when Lulu gets her first boyfriend."

"Bite your tongue!" Lucky cried, aghast. "Lulu isn't going to date until she's forty."

"Ahhh...healthy delusions..." Emily teased, trying to keep the pressure off Dillon.

"Who's Lulu?" Dillon asked.

"Lucky's little sister," Emily explained. "She's nine."

"Ahh..." Dillon nodded, understanding.

"Look, Dillon," Lucky said, "I'm not trying to embarrass you or torture you or anything, really. I just, I just want you to understand that you have to be extra careful with Georgie, you know? I mean, for all intents and purposes, Robin is her sister and she's had HIV for years. It's very probable that that's affected Georgie's views on sex. So just, take it slow with her, okay? Be really understanding and don't, you know, don't put pressure on her."

"Lucky!" Emily protested again, but Dillon held up a hand to stop her.

"Lucky," he began, locking eyes with the young man. "I appreciate that you care about Georgie and you want to protect her, but I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Mac. Georgie doesn't need protection from me." He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and then looked back at Lucky, trying not to blush at the fact that one of his female relatives was present. "Look, I'll be totally up front with you. Yes, I think about Georgie. Come on, how could I not? I mean, she's beautiful and smart and funny, and I'm - well, I'm a guy. Of course I want her." He wiped a hand over his face. He spoke haltingly, flushing at the revelation of such private thoughts. "But...I don't just want her, you know? I care for her, man, I mean, you know, I'm in love with her. I don't just want to have sex with her. I want to - to make love to her. Or with her, whatever. But it's not going to happen, not even going to come close to happening, until she's completely ready. And I'll wait as long as that takes, you know? I'm not going anywhere."

Lucky and Emily were moved at Dillon's proclamation.

"Does Georgie know this?" Lucky asked him quietly. Dillon nodded.

"Yes." He responded, just as softly. "I made sure she knew."

Lucky locked eyes with Dillon, regarding the younger man. He held out his hand. "Thank you." He didn't say for what, but Dillon understood. He put out his own hand to shake Lucky's.

"You're welcome," he said quietly.

"Hey guys," Emily said quietly. "I hate to break up this little love fest, but I think I gotta throw you two out."

"You okay, Em?" Lucky asked, concerned. She smiled and patted his hand.

"I'm fine. I'm just tired. All this excitement, you know?"

Lucky smiled ruefully. He stood, up, shifting the blankets to tuck her into the bed. Dillon watched as Lucky kissed Emily's forehead tenderly.

"Sleep tight, Em," he whispered.

"Mmmm..." Emily murmured. She looked through her lashes at Dillon.

"Hey, congratulations. You really held your own."

He laughed. "Thanks. Get some rest."

Emily smiled and nodded. She closed her eyes as Lucky brushed a lock of hair out of her face and swept it behind her ear. He nodded to Dillon to walk out the door and left behind him, taking another look back at Emily, who was breathing steadily, asleep.
Once outside, the two men faced each other. Lucky put a hand on Dillon's shoulder.

"Listen, Dillon, I'm sorry about interrogating you like that. I just want Georgie to be safe."

"I know," Dillon told him. "Me too."

Lucky looked at Dillon, an understanding clear between them. "Anyway," he said. "I appreciate you being cool about all the questions."

"It's fine," Dillon replied, nodding. "But, since I answered your questions, could I ask you one of my own?"

Lucky narrowed his eyes, but nodded. "Um...sure, anything."

Dillon looked Lucky directly in the eye. He took a deep breath.

"Are you in love with Emily?"