"Hi, Justin," Cathy McDonald called out with a smile from the ICU nurses' station upon seeing the young man who had recently begun working at the hospital; she had taken an instant liking to their newest orderly after seeing how he had cheered up a morose little girl who had been dreading her tonsillectomy a few months ago. Justin had voluntarily walked down to the ice cream store located a block down the street right after the patient had had her operation and had returned with a pint of bubble-gum flavored ice cream to soothe her sore throat. The radiant smile that he had managed to place on the sad little red-haired girl's cherubic, chubby face as a result of the ice cream, along with some amazing face painting of a cat complete with whiskers and a feline nose, had impressed her immensely; ever since then, she had made a point of keeping track of Justin's whereabouts.

Any time the hospital latched onto a compassionate, talented orderly like Justin, she tried to do everything she could to hold onto them; Justin was unique among most of the employees she had seen in that position. Too often, they were only there fleetingly until something better came along or they became bored with the more mundane aspects of their job. Justin, however, always seemed to have a smile on his face whether he was changing bed sheets or bringing one of the children their lunch. She had noticed, though, that his face positively lit up when he had a chance to spend extra time with the patients.

Justin walked up to the nurses' station and smiled. "Hi, Cathy. Busy today?" He asked, placing his hands briefly on the counter.

She shook her head. "No, thank God. For a change it's actually on the slow side today."

Justin grinned. "Just wait until knothole season starts up soon."

She chuckled. "Don't remind me - last year we saw more broken bones here than Evel Knievel."

Justin frowned. "Who?"

"Sorry," she replied sheepishly. "I guess I'm showing my age."

Justin's face smiled briefly in return before he sobered to ask softly, "How's the little boy in Room 7 - Gus Kinney?" Ever since he had run into the boy's father a couple of hours ago, he found he couldn't take his mind off their seriously-ill patient - or the patient's extremely handsome but exhausted parent. He knew Brian had to have stayed up all night with his son; it was obvious in his drawn face, haunted eyes, and disheveled clothes. Even in his worried state, however, Justin still thought he was the most incredible-looking man he had ever seen. He had been anxious to find out the latest on the little boy's condition, but this was the first chance he had gotten to check. He had been too busy delivering the morning's breakfast trays and had just gotten finished.

Cathy's delighted smile at seeing Justin faded somewhat as Justin's heart dropped; had his condition worsened? "Cathy?" he whispered in dread. No….please….

To his relief, however, Cathy told him, "He's still holding his own. We're monitoring his oxygen levels closely to make sure his breathing doesn't become labored; if that happens, he'll have to go on a ventilator, and I have a feeling his father would freak out in that case."

Thinking about how haggard the man had looked earlier, Justin had to agree with her; it was obvious this man loved his boy very much. "But he hasn't gotten any worse, has he?" he pressed her.

She shook her head. "No, in fact I think his fever's down just a bit over the last reading. So far, so good, I guess. He still hasn't regained consciousness yet, though."

Justin nodded soberly. He had been around the nursing staff enough to know that bacterial meningitis was serious business. It seems the little boy who reminded him so much of his handsome father wasn't out of the woods yet.

"Cathy?"

The nurse raised one eyebrow and looked at him. "Yeah?"

"Is Room No. 6 still unoccupied?" Justin had been assigned to tear down the bedding on the mattress and remake the bed late last night and hadn't heard of anyone needing replacement supplies; that normally indicated a new patient hadn't been brought in yet to use it.

His suspicions were confirmed when Cathy shook her head. "No, we haven't needed it yet. Kind of unusual for a Saturday, but I'm not complaining." She peered curiously into the blond's eyes. "Why do you ask?"

Justin's face flushed a little; it really wasn't any of his business, but he couldn't get Brian Kinney's weary face out of his mind. "Do you think it'd be okay if the little boy's father took advantage of it for a while? I ran into him a couple of hours ago getting coffee out of the vending machine down the hall and he looked absolutely exhausted; I imagine he hasn't had any sleep since he brought his son in."

Cathy nodded; after seeing the man earlier, she had to concur with that assessment. "I don't see a problem with it as long as we don't need it." She grinned. "Besides, if we need it prepared for a new patient, I think I know an orderly who can take care of it."

Justin smiled gratefully, not sure why it was important to him, but he felt thankful that the man would be able to take a shower if he wanted to and get some rest. "Would you let him know?"

Cathy eyed the young man carefully. Justin had made no secret of the fact that he was gay; the subject had somehow come up when they had struck up a conversation the other day in the employee lounge and he had been quite upfront about the fact. Was it just possible, then, that her young friend was captivated with the attractive father keeping a close vigil over his son? She had no idea what Mr. Kinney's marital status was, and she knew his thoughts were solely with his little boy at the moment, but she couldn't help being amused by the idea of her young friend being enamored with the other man.

"You can tell him, if you want," she suggested, trying hard not to let a knowing smile cross her face as she observed Justin blush slightly and avert his gaze. So someone was interested in the elegant-looking father. She knew, though, that Justin wouldn't push the idea, especially under the sad circumstances the other man found himself in. Even if he wasn't here watching over a seriously-ill child, she wasn't sure if Justin would have the courage to tell this other man how he felt anyway. Well, that would be your loss, Mr. Kinney, she couldn't help thinking as she considered the compassion, creativity, and intelligence of her new-found acquaintance; unlike a lot of the other employees she had to deal with on a daily basis, Justin took his work seriously and never complained about what he was called to do.

"Uh, no…..you can do it," Justin whispered. "That's okay." He finally turned to look her in the eyes to say, "I….I have to go take care of getting some rooms ready upstairs. I'll catch you later."

Cathy smiled sympathetically at her friend's discomfort. "I'll take care of it, Justin," she assured him. "I'm sure he'll appreciate your thoughtfulness."

Justin looked almost aghast at the thought as he hastily replied, "No, you don't have to mention it was my idea…okay? I just wanted him to get some rest while the two moms were here to watch over his son."

Cathy raised one eyebrow. "Moms plural?"

Justin nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world as he explained, "Brian told me that Gus lives with his biological mother and her partner most of the time."

Cathy had to admit she was a little taken aback at that statement, but it was certainly none of her business. But that did indicate that Mr. Kinney was apparently unattached at the moment; whether or not he was gay was still up for determination, but at least her friend might just have a chance to get to know the man better, provided his son recovered. "Oh," she replied. "Well….uh, yeah, Justin, I'll let him know. And I'll keep quiet about where the idea came from if you want me to, okay?"

Justin nodded in relief. "Thanks," he told the nurse as he turned to go. "I'd better get going. I'll see you later - I'm here until 4:00."

Cathy smiled. "See you later, Justin." As she watched the slender blond walk away, she thought once more of how lucky they were to have him in their employ. He had proven to have a special affinity with the young patients that passed through their doors; he had a unique way of making them feel better just by spending time with them and giving them a little extra attention. And his artistic ability – the first time she had seen him sketch a drawing of a king and queen's village for a three-year-old blond girl who was suffering from leukemia, she was stunned by his talent. He had taken the back of a paper place mat and a few minutes later had magically transformed it into a medieval wonderland, complete with a turreted castle with a moat, knights on horseback, and ladies in waiting wearing flowing, rainbow-colored dresses. Rebecca, the little girl, had been absolutely captivated by it and had thankfully gone into remission a short time later. The doctors at the time had attributed her improvement to a bone marrow donor they had found, but Cathy didn't dismiss for an instant the impact she felt sure a certain orderly had had on their patient.

Brian stared at his son's still form as he laid his chin on the metal bed rail and continued to hold one soft, warm little hand; he was having difficulty keeping his own eyes open now after being awake for the past several hours, but he just couldn't leave his son. He had this horrible thought that the moment he left, something terrible – and final – would happen to him. If he should be gone when his son needed him the most…..

"Mr. Kinney?"

Brian raised his head as he, Mel and Lindsey turned to observe the head nurse, Cathy McDonald, walking in. She nodded at the two women and Brian as she advised, "I'm just checking his vitals."

Brian told the women who Cathy was and verified to her what Justin had told her earlier – that the two females sitting on the other side of the bed were Gus' mothers. Mel and Lindsey moved aside slightly to allow Cathy to check their son's IV fluid level and jot down his pulse, heart rate and blood pressure stats. She turned and picked up the same type of thermometer Brian had used on Gus at the loft yesterday and lightly brushed it across his forehead. She smiled slightly as three pairs of eyes looked at her anxiously. "99.4 – still going down," she reported, nodding encouragingly. "That's what we like to see."

A collective sigh escaped the room as Brian asked, "So why isn't he waking up?" The little boy hadn't moved so much as a muscle since he had been brought in last night.

"He's still suffering the effects of the illness," she told him. "Once the antibiotics take hold a little more he should start to wake up. It won't be an instant type thing," she cautioned him. "It's not like a light switch turning on. It will probably be gradual. But normally once a patient begins to regain consciousness, he should be more and more alert each time he wakes up."

"So you think he's going to recover?" Lindsey asked her as they all turned to stare at her expectantly.

She looked at them sympathetically. "That's not for me to say," she told them diplomatically. "I'll have to leave that up to the doctor to tell you. I'm sorry. But I can say it's a good sign that his fever is going down – that at least indicates the medication is helping."

Brian sighed; at least that part was encouraging, but he would like concrete proof that his son was definitely going to beat this disease. Please, Sonny Boy…..wake up, he silently pleaded as he stared into the flushed, still face. He couldn't help the wide yawn that escaped his lips, though, as he covered his mouth in response.

That reminded Cathy of the other part of her mission to her patient's room as she stole a glance at the handsome man and noticed his obvious state of exhaustion; Justin was right – he was in dire need of some sleep. "Uh….Mr. Kinney, we have a room next door that's not currently occupied if you would like to go lie down for a while and get some rest. You can also take a shower if you want."

Lindsey watched as Brian hesitated; he was clearly torn between needing desperately to get a little shut eye and not wanting to leave his son. To her, though, this seemed like the perfect solution. "Go on, Brian," she pressed him. "You'll be right next door. We'll come get you if anything happens, I promise."

Brian gazed over at his son briefly before admitting silently that he would be dead on his feet soon if he didn't at least go lie down for a while; and he had to admit, being able to take a shower sounded wonderful at the moment, too, if only to diminish some of the stiffness in his back and neck that he was feeling at the moment. He slowly, almost painfully, rose to his feet, reluctantly releasing his son's hand and gently lowering it back down onto the bed. "Okay," he agreed finally. "Maybe I will – but just for a little while." He turned to look at Cathy. "Thank you."

She nodded, knowing she had promised Justin not to say anything but unable to at least give credit where credit was due as she replied, "Don't thank me – it was one of the orderly's ideas." She paused for a second to allow that fact to sink in before adding, "The doctor should be in after a while to give you an update on Gus' condition – buzz the nurses' station in the meantime if you need anything, okay?"

Melanie and Lindsey nodded their thanks at her as the women watched her leave. Brian continued to stand near his son's bed, almost afraid to leave despite deciding to accept the nurse's offer.

"Go on, Brian," Lindsey softly prodded him. "We'll be right here."

He took one more look at his eerily-still son and finally nodded. "I'll be back in a little while," he promised them before turning and walking out the door to trod the short distance into the next room. As he walked into Room #6, he hesitated whether to close the door or not; he finally decided to keep it slightly ajar in case he was needed as he walked in and sat down on the made-up bed. It had two hospital-issued pillows and a lightweight, white chenille blanket on top. Sunlight was streaming in through the large, open windows but he could find no solace in its warmth as he walked over and pulled the drapes closed to swath the room in darkness – at least as dark as possible while still inside a bustling hospital.

He walked over to the adjoining, white-colored, antiseptic-looking bathroom and slowly peeled his wrinkled pants and perspiration-stained shirt off. He longed for a change of clothing, but at least he would be able to take advantage of the liquid soap, washcloth and towels lying beside the single vanity bowl. Turning on the shower, he doffed the rest of his clothing as he waited a couple of minutes for the water to heat up sufficiently before stepping in and basking momentarily in its soothing warmth. He sighed as he pumped out some of the soap and lathered up the washcloth to slowly rub it over his tired body; a shampooing of his hair shortly followed as he stood there and simply relished in the simple pleasure the warm stream of water provided.

Fifteen minutes later, he emerged from the cubicle. He hated to have to put his same old, dirty clothes back on, but as he rubbed his hair to partially dry it with an additional towel, he at least felt somewhat refreshed by his shower.

As he left the steamy bathroom, he walked over to sit down on the hard mattress. Normally, he would have had a difficult time falling asleep on such an uncomfortable-feeling bed, but as he twisted his body around to lie fully prone on his back, he closed his eyes in exhaustion and was sound asleep within minutes.

Three Hours Later

Justin hesitated as he approached Room #6. This was the first time he had had an opportunity to be back in the ICU wing since he had spoken with Cathy. As he stopped in front of the room, he noticed the door was partially ajar – did that mean that Brian was taking advantage of his suggestion to get a little rest? He couldn't help taking a peek as he tentatively opened the door to enter. He glanced over at the bed and his heart did a flip flop; Brian was indeed lying on his back on the mattress, his lips slightly parted as he blew soft puffs of air between his lips while he slept. One long arm was lying on his stomach while the other one was resting on the pillow above his head. Even in his tousled, wrinkled state, he took Justin's breath away with his elegance and classic beauty.

He bit his lip as he secretly soaked in the sight of the other man, almost feeling like he was participating in some forbidden, voyeuristic pleasure as he continued to gaze at him. He was truly the most gorgeous man he had ever seen, and even though he hardly knew the man, it amazed him what feelings the brunet engendered in him. Just feasting on the sight of the brunet made his pulse speed up and his heart race in response. He was glad Brian had agreed to accept Cathy's suggestion to use the room; he knew how tired the other man had to be. No doubt he hadn't eaten anything, either, since he had brought his son in.

He tore his gaze away to quietly creep over to the nearby, wheeled side table and place the covered lunch tray he held in his hands down on the top. He risked one more glance over at Brian before reluctantly turning around and walking toward the door to leave, not being able to help taking one more look over at the sleeping god of a man before he finally opened the door and walked out, closing it behind him.

He jumped at the sound of a female voice that immediately called out to him. "Justin?"

"Fuck, Daphne….uh, Dr. Chanders!" he sheepishly corrected himself, as he turned around to peer into the amused face of his friend. "You scared the shit out of me!" he said softly, not wanting to risk waking Brian up behind the nearby door.

She stared back at him over his curious behavior, wondering why he was being so secretive. "What are you doing?"

Justin glanced back at the closed door before turning to her to vaguely advise, "Just delivering a lunch tray." And imbibing in a little Brian Kinney appreciation, too, came unbidden to his mind as his face turned a slow shade of pink.

Daphne stared at him intently, feeling there was more to her friend's statement, but she was unable to ascertain just why she felt that way. It wasn't unusual for Justin to deliver food trays for the patients as one of his duties as an orderly, but he certainly looked guilty about something, though. "Oh….well, are we still on for lunch?"

Justin smiled at her, partly in response to her friendly inquiry but also due to relief over not being caught participating in a little bit of another activity… "Sure," he confirmed, nodding. "One o'clock, right?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yeah….I've got a few more patients to see with the ER doctor, but I should be able to meet you there. I'm already starving," she confided as a corresponding growl of her stomach erupted as if on perfect cue. She sighed as she looked down to her stomach and patted it before saying, "I know, I know….just a little longer," she promised.

Justin laughed, saying, "Sometimes I worry about you, Doctor." He nodded as Daphne shrugged and smiled. "Sounds good,though – tell your stomach I'm getting hungry myself; I'll see you then."

"Good." She grinned and nodded before rushing off down the hall to continue her rounds as Justin let out a breath of relief and turned to walk toward the supply room; now that lunch duties were over, it was time for him to begin his own version of close encounters – with all the unoccupied beds needing to be changed. He sighed as he began to proceed down the hall to work on finishing his next task before his lunch date with Daphne.

Fifteen Minutes Later

Brian's brain began to register the aroma of food as his eyes slowly fluttered open; it was still relatively dim in the room, but as he turned his head to gaze at the closed windows, he could make out enough of a slip of sunlight and its changed angle as it peeked through to know he had been asleep longer than he had intended to be.

"Damn it," he muttered, as he sat up abruptly in the bed and rubbed his face with his hands. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut for a moment before opening them again and swinging his body around in the bed to place his feet on the linoleum floor. Glancing over at the wood-like, laminate, narrow bed table, he realized now what had awakened him – someone had placed a food tray down on the top of it.

He hesitated for a few seconds, hating to stay away from his son any longer than necessary, but the smells coming from the three covered plates of food were too enticing. He hadn't eaten in several hours and he was just now realizing how ravenous he was. Reaching over to pull the bedside table closer to the mattress, he lifted up one of the dishes to note a plate filled with what appeared to be turkey and dressing with mashed potatoes and a roll. Next to the plate was a glass of water with a round, white plastic cover on it. He lifted two, additional smaller covers for a couple of other plates to discover a small side salad and a piece of some type of cake underneath.

He couldn't resist taking advantage of the surprisingly palatable-looking food by picking up the fork nestled in a paper napkin at the side of the tray and taking a bite of the turkey. The food was still warm, so whoever had delivered it had been in the room recently. He wondered who it had been; no one was even supposed to be occupying this room, so how would they have even known to deliver a food tray? As he began to eat the food in earnest now, he reached over to take a sip of the water and thought about what the nurse, Cathy, had told them. An "orderly" had apparently made the suggestion to allow Brian use of this room next door to his son. The only orderly he had had contact with lately had been the young, blue-eyed blond he had encountered on two separate occasions now; the man's beauty hadn't eluded him, even though his attention was currently very much focused on his son. And obviously, there had to be several orderlies employed at a hospital the size of this one, so it could have been anyone of them; but was it possible, though, that...what was his name? He searched his mind for a moment before the name came to him...Justin. Was it possible that Justin had suggested the idea? For some inexplicable reason, he found himself hoping so as he finished up his meal in record time and downed the last of his water.

Pushing the tray and table aside, he stood up to walk back over to the bathroom to relieve himself before donning his shoes and walking quickly toward the door. He was anxious to get back to see Gus and find out if there had been any improvement. He was about to open the door when it suddenly swung open and he stared in the wide eyes of his friend.

"Come quick!" Lindsey shouted as she grabbed Brian's sleeve and pulled him toward Gus' room. His heart began to beat furiously in fear; had something happened while he had been asleep?

As the two friends rushed into the adjoining room, though, Brian stopped dead in his tracks. Melanie actually smiled back at him as he gazed into the now opened eyes of their son. "Oh, my God," he said softly as he slowly walked over to the side of the bed and looked into the chocolate brown eyes that were fluttering open and closed. "Have you called the doctor?" he asked, unable to look away at the sight.

"Yeah – I buzzed the nurse; she said he'll be right here. He just now woke up," Lindsey told him, smiling as she walked over to the other side of the bed and leaned over the railing next to Mel.

"Hey, Sonny Boy," Brian whispered to the drowsy-looking child as he took his hand in his. "Daddy's right here with your Mommies. You're going to be just fine, Buddy," he told the boy with a soft smile, his eyes suddenly awash with unshed tears. Until that moment, he hadn't been sure if he would ever see his son's eyes again and he had always taken that fact for granted. Never again would he do that for as long as he lived as he gazed into the disoriented-looking face of his son.

Brian could see Gus' lips moving as he licked his lips but his eyes did not seem particularly focused on anything specific. "Don't try to talk, Gus," Brian told him softly. He reached over to brush some sweaty hair back from his son's forehead as Lindsey took Gus' other hand. Mel reached out to gently grasp his upper shoulder as they all turned at the sound of someone entering the room.

Dr. Broderick nodded at the three parents as he glanced down at his patient. "I see someone's trying to wake up," he stated. "Let me take a look," he asked as he approached Mel and Lindsey's side of the bed and they pulled back enough for him to squeeze in between them and their son. He pulled back Gus' open pajama top and placed his stethoscope against the small chest to listen to his heartbeat for several seconds before he gently pulled back the child's eyelids to examine his pupils. Picking up the nearby chart for his patient, he noted the last temperature reading – 99.2 – and Gus' last vitals notations before flipping it closed and nodding in satisfaction. Gus' eyes were already fluttering closed once more as Broderick looked up to say, "He's definitely responding to the antibiotics as we had hoped he would. I think with the proper amount of rest and continued use of the medication, along with Tylenol to control the pain, he's got an excellent chance of recovering fully. And since it was caught in its earlier stages, I'm hopeful he won't suffer any lasting side effects from his illness."

Brian let out a deep breath he was holding as the two women did the same. The tension in the room seemed to immediately lessen as the three of them smiled at each other in relief.

The doctor actually smiled back slightly himself as he advised, "He won't regain full consciousness for a while yet – periods of going in and out of consciousness are quite normal with a disease such as this, so don't get alarmed if he doesn't stay awake for long periods of time at first. As the bacteria works its way out of his system, though, he should start regaining consciousness for longer periods of time. He'll need to stay in the hospital at least for a few days' longer so we can continue to monitor him. But if he continues to improve, I think we can look at moving him to a private, isolated room on one of the regular floors. He will have to be restricted from seeing other visitors, though, and can only be seen by those who have taken prophylactics."

"Prophylactics?" Brian asked, gazing once more over at his now-sleeping son. The only prophylactics he knew about were the ones he pulled onto his cock just before he enjoyed his favorite activity.

"Preventive antibiotics to ensure no one else catches what your son has," he explained politely.

Brian nodded. Oh….those types of preventive measures….

The doctor took one more quick glance at the machine keeping track of Gus' vitals. "I'm very glad your son is responding to the medication," he told the trio. "I'll be back in to check on him again later. If you need anything, just contact the nurses' station right across the hall and they'll page me if necessary."

"Thank you, Doctor," Brian said, smiling broadly now as the two women echoed his words of gratitude. The doctor nodded before turning to leave the room.

Brian lightly caressed his son's wrist as he turned his gaze once more upon the angelic face of his child. The face seemed more at peace now, more of a normal complexion. For the first time since he had brought Gus in, he was finally beginning to feel some hope. "That's my boy," he whispered to his son. "That's my little fighter." As he softly said those words aloud, he couldn't help remembering when someone else had told him that same thing. Vowing to track down the source of those encouraging words later, he sat down once more next to his son, feeling like an enormous burden had at last been lifted from his heart.