Connor stared up at the whiteness punctuated every few seconds with a flash of black. He was looking into a white sky, no trees or birds or clouds. Just an endless expanse of blank canvas.

A dark shape appeared above him in the sky, blurred and hard to distinguish it loomed a few feet away from him. It looked like a person. Vaguely recognisable it swam in and out of focus two black eyes looking back at him.

At first he thought it was a mirror, but dismissed this as he found he couldn't move his head an inch without a stabbing pain shooting through, Whereas this figure before him moved and sometimes wasn't there at all.

Connor drifted in and out of this strange consciousness, his eyes betraying the rest of his senses. His ears heard distorted deep voices, he heard his own name several times, he heard streams of numbers floating in and out of sequence.

He felt no concept of time. It could have been a second or a year all that he knew was that he couldn't pinpoint the start of it all and he couldn't see the end.

"His eyes are open!"

"Yes sir, I can see, but he is unconscious. He's stable but he's still in a state of delirium."

"How? That doesn't make sense look he's looking right at me."

"Please sir don't lean too close you'll confuse the patient."

"Connor, if you can hear me please...say something..." The blonde haired man's blue eyes filled and his voice trailed off.

"It's no use Chris," came a voice from the corner. "I've been trying for hours."

Poptarts sank into one of the spindly plastic chairs beside the bed and took hold of Kevin's hand. "He'll be ok though? Right?"

Kevin didn't say anything, just sighed and stared at the delicate man lying so pathetically in the bed.

"What happened Kevin? I came as soon as I could but I couldn't tell what you were saying down the phone."

"Do you think we could have some privacy?" Kevin asked the Dr, who nodded and backed out the room carrying Connor's chart. After a moments pause he continued.

"Look at him Chris, what do you think happened?"

"Was..? Was it...?" He whispered the last word "Steve?"

Kevin nodded. "We were just talking and he came over and hit him over the head with his beer bottle. I was right next to him and he collapsed into me but Steve wrenched him out of my arms and kicked him to the floor. I think he was out already but it was noisy and dark, I couldn't tell. I tried to pull Steve off but he just kept kicking and then he turned on me. Hence..." He gestured to the two black eyes he now shared with the redhead.

"OMGosh that's awful. Why doesn't he get out?"

"He says he loves him," Kevin said heavily. He looked down at the grey floor, scrubbed clean so many times but still looking grimy. His hair was flat, it was the morning and he hadn't slept. He didn't notice Chris staring at him.

"He'll be ok. He's strong."

"Not strong enough to leave," Kevin said bitterly to the floor.

Chris tentatively reached out a hand to brush some of the hair off Kevin's face. He was clumsy and the hair immediately flopped down again but it achieved the desired effect. To make Kevin notice him. The brunette looked at the blonde, his own eyes now pooling with tears. He shifted his chair closer and leaned in to the blonde man's face. "When he wakes up we'll be here for him."

Chris bridged the gap and the pair met in a still kiss. Chris's lips were soft and warm and Kevin's were slightly moist for continually licking them, the action he performed when he was most nervous.

The kiss gained some momentum as Chris leaned in closer supporting himself on Kevin's thigh. A light moan echoed through the room and it took both men several seconds to realise it had come from neither of them.

They broke apart and turned their heads simultaneously to the bed where Connor was sitting up. He had a look of pain on his face, both physical and emotional and he was staring straight at them.

"What are...?" Connor's lips were barely moving as his voice cracked with the effort of whispering.

"Welcome back." Kevin was relieved and he stood up leaving Chris to retreat back to his seat. "We were so worried."

"I could see."

Kevin had his hand reached out but paused unsure what to say. It was now hovering awkwardly above the man's shoulder.

"Maybe we should call the Dr?" Chris uncertainly phrased it as a question. He made to leave but was stopped by the sound of Connor trying to speak, breath rattling in and out his throat, the sound made him wince.

"Why don't you go Kevin. I want to talk to Chris. Alone." Kevin looked surprised and hurt but nodded and backed out the room keeping his eyes on the redhead for as long as possible.

When he'd gone Chris immediately turned to Connor "It wasn't what it looked like."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah we were just...I mean...we were just..."

"Playing tongue hockey?"

"Yeah! I mean no...oh God! Wait... Sorry god didn't mean that..." He collapsed back down into the chair and put his head in his hands. Connor gently lowered himself back onto the pillows trying to minimise the painful impact of soft sheets on his bruised body. He knew Chris would blab, Kevin he wasn't so sure about, but Chris was easy to extract information from.

"Ok," Chris said after a long silence "The important thing is that you're ok."

He looked over at the bed no sound coming from it. "Look Connor I don't know how to put this but you have to get away from Steve."

"I have no where else to go."

"You could come and live with us."

"Us?"

Chris twiddled with his thumbs and picked at his nails. "Yeah us...me and Kevin..."

"Oh I see."

"It's not...we're not."

"You just don't get it do you Chris. I love Steve. I love Kevin. For heavens sakes Chris I love you too!"

Chris stood up and looked down at the redhead lying on the bed. He took hold of the limp hand that rested on the sheet and squeezed. "Ow Chris what the hell?" Chris winced at the curse and at Connor's scratchy, hard words. His mind was racing desperately searching for something to patch up the moment. He leant down and inches from Connor's face whispered "I love you too."

Connor snorted in disgust and turned his face away. "You better not let Kevin hear you. How do think he'd feel if he walked in on his two best friends like this?"

As if on cue Kevin strode through the door the Dr following on the long legged man's heels. "Hello Mr McKinley. How are you feeling?"

Connor looked between the three men in the room and told the same lie he'd been telling himself nearly his whole life.

"I'm fine."