Roberto's Restaurant – 1:15 p.m.

Justin glanced up from his booth and smiled as a whirl of energy came rushing in and sat down on the opposite side. "I am so sorry!" Daphne told him, letting out an audible exhale of air as she slid over farther into the booth. "I was just getting ready to leave the hospital when Dr. Broderick paged me. It never fails - I've decided it's some type of Murphy's Law or something, even though they never taught me that in medical school. Have you been waiting long? I'm starving!" She picked up her glass of water and took a sip, finally providing an amused Justin with a chance to speak as she eyed him back animatedly. It always amazed him how many words his friend could muster without having to take a breath first.

He shook his head at her as she picked up the menu to take at look at the lunch specials listed on the back. "No," he told her, "I just got here a few minutes ago. The lunchtime trays were running a little late today." Of course, the fact that he had made a special trip down to the ICU floor just to deliver one lunch tray to a certain dark-haired man in particular had also helped to make him a little late, but he wasn't going to admit that to Daphne, although she would probably find it extremely enlightening if he chose to disclose it.

She nodded as she put her menu back down. "Good," she said, as the waitress came up with paper and pencil to take their orders. As she left their booth a few minutes later, the young woman suddenly remembered something she wanted to tell her friend. "By the way, I almost forgot. Remember the little boy you were asking about that was brought in by his father last night? The one that has the bacterial meningitis?"

Justin felt his heart began to pound anxiously while he struggled to maintain a casual, nonchalant look as he nodded back at his friend silently; inside, though, it felt like butterflies were flying all over his stomach in an unsuccessful attempt to escape. Had the little boy gotten worse since he had last seen him? He could tell how much the child's handsome father loved his son – it was apparent in the etched lines of concern on his face and in his drawn, haggard appearance. If something had happened to him, he knew this man would be devastated.

His heart, though, soared with hope at the smile on his friend's face as she revealed, "He actually woke up briefly a little while ago, and his fever's gone down. You can never be a hundred percent positive with those types of illnesses, but Dr. Broderick thinks there's a good chance he's going to make a full recovery eventually – and without any nasty side effects."

Justin's face broke out into a relieved smile. "That's great, Daphne!" he cried. "I'm so glad to hear that. I imagine his father is very relieved, too."

Daphne eyed him curiously; Justin seemed awfully concerned about the little boy's father as well as the patient himself. Although she admired the fact that Justin genuinely cared about any child at the hospital who was seriously ill, was it possible her friend had more than just a clinical passing interest in this particular case? "Yeah," she told him, as she stared back thoughtfully at her friend. "Dr. Broderick said the father was in the room earlier with the two moms when the little boy came to and he examined him." She didn't attempt to explain the "two moms" part - she had seen enough weird and/or unusual family units in the short time that she had been a resident that nothing pretty much fazed her at this point.

Gus?" she scrunched up her face, trying to recall if that was the boy's name or not. "I think that's his name," she said, as Justin nodded in confirmation. "He was only semi-conscious for a few seconds, but the doctor's optimistic about his chances. The father got him to the hospital right away, which is always important in these types of cases. He did seem very relieved when the doctor told them his son's chances of recovery were excellent."

Justin nodded, a smile of relief readily apparent on his face. Uh, huh….Daphne couldn't help thinking perceptively as she observed her friend. Bingo...

"Uh, Justin…Speaking of the boy's father – a little birdie told me that one of the orderlies had arranged for him to catch some shut eye and take a shower in the empty room next to his son's; and I could have sworn I saw an empty lunch tray sitting near the bed when I walked by there earlier. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?" Her chocolate-brown eyes twinkled good-naturedly as she instantly saw a blush creep up her friend's neck and into his face as he smiled over innocently at her. Well, it didn't take a doctor with a Ph D to figure out the answer to that question apparently.

Justin appeared flustered by her line of questioning as he mumbled, "Uh….why would you think I had something to do with it? There's lot of orderlies at the hospital," he pointed out, averting his gaze downward to pick at his checkered red-and-white paper napkin lying on the Formica-covered table.

She laughed softly. "You're not a very good liar, my friend," she chided him. She smiled broadly at him as she announced gleefully, "Justin Taylor…..I do believe you have a crush on that man! Although – I have to admit, he IS drop-dead gorgeous." She grinned at him impishly as he finally met her gaze, only to promptly cover his face with his hands in mortification.

He uncovered his eyes after a few seconds, though, to stare back at her sheepishly; his new friend was simply too smart for her own good – and maybe his….. He rolled his eyes slightly and twisted one side of his mouth upward as he realized that a certain nurse must have somehow let the cat out of the bag, even though she hadn't named names. Daphne apparently hadn't had any problem, though, figuring out just which intern had been responsible for the hospitality.

"Okay," he admitted, holding his hands up in surrender. "Maybe I did have something to do with it. But I was just trying to help him out, that's all. I ran into him earlier when he was getting some coffee out of the vending machine, and I could tell by the look on his face that he couldn't have gotten any sleep since his son had been brought in – he looked exhausted. The room next to his son's was empty, and I just asked Cathy if it would be okay for him to use it. She's actually the one that mentioned it to him. And I had an extra lunch tray left over from my deliveries for the upper floors – they must have messed up on how many were needed, and I thought he might want something to eat when he woke up, so I left it there for him while he was asleep. End of story." Although Justin knew that part about the tray being an extra was a bold-faced lie; he had made up a story for the cafeteria manager that he had inadvertently dropped one of the trays and needed an extra one.

Daphne's eyes lit up – her friend was so busted. Justin's face said it all – she had hit the nail right on the head. She wasn't the only one that found him quite attractive. Now if she could just figure out if the sexy father was unattached, this situation could become quite interesting…She made a silent note to check the guarantor information for Gus Kinney at the first chance she had. She had already met the two women partners who were mainly in charge of raising the boy, so there was at least a chance that the proverbial tall, dark and handsome father might just be available for a little matchmaking endeavor…..

Daphne smirked. "Uh, huh…..," she said, crossing her hands over her chest and staring at him in amusement. "That's all there is to it…..you were just doing your job."

Justin flushed an even deeper shade of pink under her intense scrutiny until at last he sighed. "Okay, okay," he conceded ruefully, picking up his fork with his right hand to idly play with it. "I have noticed he's been, shall we say, blessed with an embarrassment of riches in the good-gene department."

Daphne laughed at her friend's unorthodox description. "Justin – just admit it! Even rumpled and exhausted, the man's sexy as hell!"

Justin joined in her laughter. "All right, all right, I've noticed. He's fucking hot as all get out! Are you happy now?"

She grinned back at him triumphantly as the waitress returned to their booth and laid down a large-size garlic chicken pizza and two serving plates in the center of their table before asking if they needed anything and then leaving when they shook their heads.

She nodded her head as the woman left. "Yeah, I am….that's what I thought," she said smugly as she grinned back at Justin. "So what do you know about Mr. Studly?"

Justin shook his head at his friend; for a full-time, pediatric resident, Daphne could be downright sophomoric at times. "Daphne….the man just brought his son into the ICU last night, and he's been kind of preoccupied with that. He hasn't exactly had a lot of time to divulge personal information to me," he said teasingly before his expression sobered under the harsh specter of reality. "Not that he would anyway – I'm sure to him, I'm just a plain, ordinary low-level hospital employee." He knew practically nothing about Brian Kinney, but from the expensive clothing he wore, his meticulously-manicured hands, his tanned, toned body, and even the way he carried himself, something told him he was definitely out of his league. Why would a man like that possibly be interested in someone like him?

He abruptly came out of his daydreaming as he felt Daphne lightly slap the top of his hand from across the table. He frowned back at her, one eyebrow rising to ask, "What was that for?"

Her eyes flashed as she growled affectionately, "That is for putting yourself down, Justin! Come on! You are so much more than some average hospital flunky! You work hard at what you do, you're dependable, you can be relied on….."

"Why do I feel like a boy scout now?" he quipped sullenly. Despite his friend's best intentions, her description of him wasn't exactly raising his self-esteem level.

"Let me finish," she retorted, as Justin obediently made a zipping motion across his lips in response. She nodded in satisfaction before continuing. "Most importantly of all, though, you're using your incredible artistic talent to make the children feel better, some of which might never get to leave the hospital. I've seen you with them, Justin. Even though they could be having a positively horrible day, and may have even lost all hope of getting better, one visit with you and their spirits are lifted up. Having a positive outlook is so crucial to a patient's recovery, so who's to say you haven't had a major part in that? To me, that makes you one very special person. And if this man can't see that, well…..then it would just be his loss." And with that being said, she reached out to grab a slice of the thick, pan pizza and stick the end in her mouth to take a bite.

Justin had to laugh as his friend finished her speech and promptly began to chew on her food. "Thanks for the testimonial, Daphne," he told her as she smiled back at him and continued to savor her first, real meal of the day. "I'll keep that in mind the next time someone throws up in their room and the nurse calls for a clean-up." He imitated his friend's motion, reaching out to snag a center piece of the pizza that had the most sauce and chicken on it as he held it up to his mouth and took a large bite. "Mmmm," he couldn't help commenting through his closed mouth. He licked his lips in appreciation. "I've been waiting all morning for this," he admitted as Daphne grinned back at him and nodded.

"You?" she groused. "This is the first chance I've had to get any substantial food in my stomach since last night. Of course, four hours' sleep and garlic pizza don't mix too well. Thank God for antacids," she exclaimed gratefully, reaching in her white uniform pocket to pull out a small bottle for emphasis. She hurriedly opened the container up to grab a chewable tablet and place it in her mouth before reaching for another piece of their lunch.

Justin shook his head in sympathy as well as amazement. "I still don't know how you survive on that type of schedule," he told her. "How do they expect you to function with so little sleep?"

"Well, they claim as a resident you should know your specialty like the back of your hand by the time you graduate," she told him. "That's probably because you need to be able to do it in your sleep, because most of the time I feel like I'm sleepwalking." She twisted her mouth up in the corner wryly before the unwelcome intrusion of her cell phone sounded. "Shit!" she muttered as she reached in her pocket to answer. "Dr. Chanders," she answered after flipping it open.

Justin watched her expression for a few seconds before hearing her wearily say, "I'll be right there," and he knew their lunch date was over; he had been on enough outings with his friend to know what that sentence meant by now.

She shook her head apologetically as she hung up the phone. "Have to go," she said unnecessarily. She raised her hand to get the waitress's attention, quickly requesting a carryout box. "At least I'll have something for dinner…if I get a chance to eat it, that is," she said jokingly as the woman soon brought over a white, square, Styrofoam box for her to use. She quickly placed a couple pieces of the pizza in the container and stood up. "I'm sorry, Justin," she said as she turned to go. "Maybe we can do this again soon." Of course, with her residency, Daphne knew enough not to promise anything specific – her schedule was so screwy making definite arrangements was always risky.

Justin smiled. "No problem, I understand," he said. "Go; I'm sure we'll see each other later. I'm here until 11:00 today." Invariably, the two of them always met somewhere inside the hospital during Daphne's rounds and his own duties. Sometimes it provided them with a few minutes to speak; other times, their encounter was barely a hello. It just depended on the drama playing out at any given time.

"Working another double shift?" she asked as Justin nodded. Her friend had told her a few weeks ago that he was trying to work some extra hours due to his tuition being raised this year at PIFA. She smiled back at him. "Well, I'll try and track you down later, then." Just before she turned to leave, she added, "Don't forget what I said, okay?" He nodded back at her with a slight smile of gratitude. With a quick wave of her hand then, she retrieved her pizza and quickly rushed from the restaurant as fast as she had arrived.

Justin watched his petite friend disappear as he sighed. He promised Daphne to remember her words of encouragement, but he was still not convinced that even if Brian Kinney was available, the man would ever be attracted to someone like him. Besides, as much as he was glad to hear the man's little boy was apparently on the mend, he also knew a child didn't recover from bacterial meningitis overnight; he would need several days of observation and attention before he was completely well. No doubt until then, this man's attention would be reserved only for his son, as any loving and responsible father's should be.

A few minutes later, having boxed up his remaining lunch, Justin, too, walked out of the restaurant and back to the hospital to resume his duties there.

One Hour Later – 3:00 p.m.

Brian gazed down into his son's face as he rested his head on the bedside railing. Ever since Gus had opened his eyes earlier, he had been anxiously waiting for the next time when he would do it again. It was almost as if he was trying to make sure that he, Mel and Lindsey hadn't simply imagined it had happened. He knew logically that it had – after all, he was there when his son's doctor had come into the room to provide them with a promising prognosis for him – but still, his heart was vulnerable and fragile enough at the moment to doubt that it had actually occurred. "Come on, Sonny Boy," he found himself whispering aloud as he stared at the sleeping form. "Wake up again." Please…..he silently begged.

He was presently alone with his son, Mel and Lindsey having been persuaded to take a short break and visit the cafeteria on the next floor to grab something to eat; they had rushed back to Pittsburgh as soon as Brian had called and, like him, had forgone eating anything due to their concern over Gus. Now that it appeared their child was hopefully out of the woods, he had encouraged them to grab a bite to eat while he sat and watched over him.

He had to admit – now that he had been able to get a few hours of much-needed sleep, a shower, and some food in his belly, and of course now that his son was doing better – he felt like an entirely different man. The almost crushing weight that had settled on his shoulders ever since he had brought Gus into the emergency room last night was slowly lifting to be replaced with a more hopeful outlook.

As he continued to study his son's face, which was now definitely more normal in color, his thoughts strayed back to the blond orderly that he had first seen last night right after he had arrived with his son. He had run into him again later as he had been getting coffee. Both times, even though he had been dead on his feet and barely aware of his surroundings, he had been struck by the man's almost ethereal beauty – the blond, golden hair, sticking out somewhat stubbornly at his nape and behind his ears, his slender but toned frame, his face that was perfectly proportioned, feature by feature, his lips, particularly the bottom, full one that looked just ripe for the plucking, but most of all those eyes – when he had literally run into the man unexpectedly at the vending machine door, those eyes had almost pulled him in with their color – like a cloudless, bright spring day when the sky seemed impossibly blue.

Even with the man's beauty, however, what had struck Brian about the man most of all had been his compassion. He could tell this orderly wasn't just going through the motions in his role at the hospital; this man really cared about what he was doing. He could tell in the gentleness of his hands when he had ministered to his son as he tried to help get his fever down, and in the concerned sound of his voice when he had asked how Gus was. And even though the other man didn't know either him or his son well, he was perceptive enough to determine that his son was a fighter – it was that quality that was serving Gus well at the moment as he slowly battled to recover from his illness.

Once again, he wondered if this was the same orderly that had been responsible for him being able to catch some much-needed sleep and rejuvenate himself with the shower and some food. He resolved to find out before he and his son left the hospital. He smiled at that hopeful, wonderful thought – at least now he could begin to actually look forward to that day.

As if on cue, his head popped up and his heart began to pound as he noticed the fingers on his son's right hand moving slightly. He knew he wasn't imagining this. "Gus?" he whispered softly. "It's Daddy. Can you hear me? Wake up, Buddy," he urged, reaching over to take his son's hand and give it a reassuring squeeze. "Open your eyes, Sonny Boy." Come on, Gus…..Wake up, he silently pleaded as he held his breath in anxious anticipation.

Finally, there it was – his son's eyelids were fluttering again, struggling to open. "That's right, Buddy," Brian whispered excitedly. "Open your eyes, Gus – come on, you can do it!" he said a little louder. "Wake up for Daddy!" He began to slowly rub his hand up and down Gus' arm, back and forth, in a subconscious attempt to help his son wake up as the boy continued to show signs of stirring. "Come on, Sonny Boy!" he said a little more loudly, the hope growing stronger and stronger by the second. "Daddy's right here – wake up, Gus!"

At last, the eyelids fluttered a little more and he could see just a slit of his son's eyes peeking through as he struggled to rise from his sluggish stupor. "That's it, Buddy," he pressed. "Open your eyes for me!" His face broke out into a broad smile as his son's eyes opened up even further; they weren't quite focused on him, but they were open almost all the way at last. As Brian gazed into the soft-brown, somewhat clouded eyes, he thought it was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. "That's my boy," he crowed, reaching over to tenderly push his son's bangs back from his forehead. He was pleased to notice that his son's skin seemed almost cool to the touch – it was a distinct improvement over his child's previous, feverish temperature. "Can you stay awake for Daddy?" he beseeched softly as he noticed the little boy's eyelids slowly closing; as much as he wanted his son to stay awake longer, however, he watched nevertheless with some sadness as the eyes once more closed and his son slipped back into slumber. The doctor had prepared them for this probability – after all, his son was still recovering from a serious illness and this was a typical reaction to the disease – but still, he couldn't help feeling disappointed. He sighed as he gazed once more at the still form of his son as the eyes remained closed. He knew it was going to take time. He just had to keep focusing on the positive side – his son was going to get better; he was going to get well. He just wished it would not take so long.

He vowed as he continued to hold his son's tiny hand that he wouldn't miss one more opportunity to spend as much time as he could with this precious child – his own flesh and blood that he had helped bring into the world. He had taken for granted that Gus would always be around, that they would have all the time in the world to get to know each other more, and that he could gradually grow into the father's role that had been thrust upon him. Now he knew better – he realized that that assumption could be taken away in an instant. He had always loved his son deeply – but now he knew how precious such a gift was. "I love you, Sonny Boy," he whispered as he reached down to place a soft kiss on his cheek. "And as soon as you're all better, we're going to take a vacation somewhere special – just the two of us," he promised. He looked up as he heard a soft commotion near the door.

Lindsey walked in with Mel and handed him a paper cup containing some black coffee. "How is he?" she asked as Brian took the proffered liquid.

He smiled at them. "He woke up again," he told them.

"Shit!" Mel exclaimed as she looked at Lindsey, disappointed they weren't there when it happened. She looked over at their sleeping son to see if he looked different somehow, but he appeared just the same as when they had left him. "He did? For how long?"

"Just for a couple of minutes," Brian told them as the two women took their customary spot on the other side of the bed to stare down at him intently. Gus was so still at the moment, it was hard to believe he had been conscious just a few minutes ago.

"Did he say anything, Brian?" Lindsey asked him eagerly. Her face fell slightly as Brian shook his head

"No," he confirmed. "He just opened his eyes for a few minutes – he really wasn't even focusing on anything in particular. He did move his fingers a little bit, though – that's how I knew he was trying to wake up again."

The two women looked down at their child. "It's so hard to be patient," Lindsey admitted as Mel placed her arm around her shoulders and gave it a small, comforting squeeze. Their son at least looked much more restful and at peace than he had been when they had first seen him, however; she supposed that was something as she leaned her head on her partner's shoulder.

"I know," Brian admitted; he certainly knew how that felt. Each hour in the hospital since Gus had been admitted had seemed like a fucking day. At least now there seemed to be light at the end of the tunnel. He just wished it wasn't taking so long to get there. "The doctor said it's going to be a gradual recovery, though," he reminded them, trying hard to remember that himself.

"I know," Lindsey murmured as she reached over to lightly stroke her son's cheek. "I just want him to get well so badly."

"We all do, Wendy," Brian whispered. "We all do."

Same Time – Medical Records Department

"Here it is, Dr. Chanders," the redheaded employee told the young woman as she handed her a folder.

"Thanks, Marjorie," Daphne responded as she reached to take the proffered documents from the older woman. "I just need to take a quick look at something." She turned her back and leaned against the counter to open the folder on Gus Kinney and take a peek at the patient information sheet tacked to the left-hand side. As she quickly scanned the form, her eyes lit up as she began to read the information: Guarantor – father, Brian Kinney; employment: self-employed owner of Kinnetik; marital status: single. She couldn't help the broad smile that broke out on her face at that particular piece of information.

"Thanks, Marjorie," she called out to the administrative assistant as she closed the folder and handed it back to her. "I've found the information I needed." Humming to herself, she turned and walked back down the hallway, furiously trying to conjure up various ways to put that information to good use.

Dr. Broderick scanned the vital stats information for his young patient as he nodded silently, satisfied. He quietly closed the chart and raised his eyes to look at the three family members. "His fever has gone down to 99.1," he told them. "Close to normal now. And all his other vitals are looking better by the hour." He smiled. "He's coming along nicely. I anticipate his periods of wakefulness will be longer and longer now. We'll continue to monitor him closely, but if he keeps up this progress, I believe he can be transferred to a private room tomorrow. I'm going off rounds now, but my associate, Dr. Chanders, will be available if you need anything in the meantime."

Three faces peered back at him in relief and happiness as Brian said, "Thank you, Doctor, that's wonderful news." The doctor nodded in acknowledgement before turning around and leaving.

"You hear that, Sonny Boy?" Brian whispered down to his son as he smiled at him tenderly; he knew his son couldn't see him at the moment, but he didn't care. He was ecstatic over the news his son was going to be transferred to a regular room tomorrow. "You're busting out of here soon."

"Now, Brian, it's not a done deal, you know," Lindsey gently reminded him.

"Yes, it is," he said firmly. "This is my son we're talking about." He had no doubt it would happen – it had to.

Mel rolled her eyes at Brian's statement of possession – after all, he wasn't the only one that laid claim to Gus, but Lindsey simply smiled sympathetically and nodded. She knew how happy and relieved her friend was that Gus was recovering, just like she felt. She noticed her friend's wrinkled clothes and realized he had to be wearing the same outfit he had had on when he had brought their son in yesterday; at least she and Mel had been able to prepare a little better and had a suitcase stuffed with other outfits at their disposal. "Brian?" she said as he raised an eyebrow in response. "I'm sure you'd like to change your clothes and maybe grab another shower. Since Gus seems to be out of the woods now, why don't you run home for a few minutes? Mel and I will stay right here until you get back."

Brian hesitated; he knew the women wouldn't leave their son, and he was fairly confident now that Gus was finally heading toward a complete recovery, but the fear that something inexplicable and unexpected could happen still nagged at him. "I don't know…." he began, torn over what to do. He had been sweating profusely in the stuffy hospital room, partly over the temperature but also over worry for his son, and dearly wanted to change into some fresh, clean clothes, but the thought of leaving his son concerned him. "I don't think I should leave…..just in case….."

Mel looked over at him with grudging respect, surprised at Brian's reaction. This was not the typical devil-may-care, part-time, only-when-I-feel-like-it father she had come to know previously. Perhaps the man was finally beginning to come around. Normally, she would have found herself resenting the man for hinting that she and her partner couldn't be trusted to take care of their own son during his brief absence, but she actually found his reluctance to leave admirable given the circumstances.

"Suit yourself," she finally said neutrally, choosing to neither praise nor condemn him for his decision. "But we're not going anywhere, either."

"I could go get you some clothes," was the soft response that came from the doorway. Brian's head turned to observe the same, beautiful orderly he had seen twice before standing somewhat awkwardly by the open door. His breath caught in his throat unsuspectingly as he couldn't help appreciating the man's appearance – even in his nondescript, white orderly's uniform, the man was still a slender, walking wet dream.

"Excuse me?" Brian said politely, trying hard not to show how the other man affected him.

Justin flushed at the intense looks of curiosity all three parties were giving him. As he glanced over at the two women, he knew the pair must be Gus' mothers that he had heard about, even though they had yet to meet formally. He noticed the two women exchanging a mutual look of puzzlement as he stammered, "Uh…I'm sorry – I was just walking by and couldn't help overhearing your conversation." He slowly walked farther into the room to stand near the bed as he explained to the two women, "I work here as an orderly." They nodded their heads as he turned to look at Brian and said, "If you didn't want to leave, I could borrow some clothes from the laundry. They would just be maintenance clothes – black work pants and a gray cotton shirt – but they would be clean at least." As he spoke, he glanced down at the little boy, observing with happiness that the child definitely had better color and seemed to be resting more comfortably than the last time he had seen him.

As he stood there being meticulously scrutinized by the others, he couldn't help thinking he was out of his mind. Why hadn't he just continued walking by as he came closer to Gus' room? Perhaps the more important question was, what was he even doing down here in the first place? He was supposed to be upstairs right now, working on changing the bedding in all the empty rooms. Of course, as his face warmed while they continued to stare at him like he had grown another head, he knew the answer - his burning desire and curiosity to find out how the little boy was doing, along with his hope to run into the devastatingly handsome boy's father, had made his feet almost move of their accord as he somehow found himself down in the ICU. And before he could prevent the thought from escaping his lips, he had actually offered to bring a maintenance man's outfit down to this elegant man peering over at him with what – amusement? Indignant scorn? He cringed internally as one thought kept creeping through his head over and over - Was he out of his fucking mind?

He shook his head as if to try and clear the ridiculous notion from his brain as he began to back up slowly, regretting his brazen presumptuousness. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to intrude….I just wanted to see how Gus was doing…." He cursed himself for sounding so juvenile, telling himself to get a grip – he would be out of the room soon…..He managed to make it to the door and just outside into the hallway before he was hindered from progressing any further.

"Justin."

The sound of that rich, velvety, commanding voice stopped him in his tracks and he slowly turned around to raise his eyes and gaze into the elegant man's hazel orbs that were studying him intently. "Yes?" he whispered, nervously hugging his hands around his waist.

Brian curled his lips under in amusement at the other man's discomfiture, feeling inexplicably like he was the big, bad wolf and this rather apprehensive-looking, blond beauty was Goldilocks in disguise. He inched closer to his target until he was standing a few feet away; again, he couldn't help being struck by the shade of the blonde's eyes, which were presently so wide and expressive. What was he seeing there? Anxiety? Fear? Puzzlement? Interest perhaps? Well, he could always hope anyway.

"I just wanted to thank you for all you've done," Brian told him softly; and he really did mean that. This man had gone out of his way to make both him and his son comfortable during a very difficult time. "Gus is doing much better – he's woken up a couple of times now and the doctor thinks he's eventually going to be just fine."

Justin blushed at the scrutiny he was receiving as his face broke out in a broad smile at the news of Gus's condition.

Brian's heart began to beat furiously and he was taken aback by the brilliance of the orderly's smile as Justin added humbly, "Uh….I was just doing my job."

"Maybe with the cooling pad and the sponge bath," Brian agreed, noticing an attractive shade of pink tingeing the other man's cheeks. "But arranging for me to use the room next door to get some sleep and to take a shower? And leaving me something to eat? I doubt that's part of your job. Not to mention offering to get me a fresh change of clothes."

Justin opened his mouth, initially planning on uttering a denial about the adjoining room, but as the other man continued to stare at him, he knew his so-called anonymity had been exposed. Thanks a lot, Cathy, he said, scowling slightly. Trying the same tactic now that he had tried with Daphne, he shrugged and said, "I just thought you could use some sleep and figured you hadn't had a chance to freshen up since you brought Gus in. The room wasn't being used, so I suggested to Cathy that she let you use it temporarily in the meantime; it wasn't that big a deal. And I had an extra tray left over for lunch and didn't want it to go to waste." There – that sounded quite plausible to his ears. Unfortunately as the other man smiled back at him enigmatically, Justin had the distinct feeling he wasn't buying it for a second.

"Well," Brian said, inching just a little closer until he could almost feel the other man's breath on his face. The closer he got to the blond, the more captivated he was becoming. Thinking he wouldn't mind seeing this man again, he said, "Actually, I don't want to leave my son's side until I know for sure he's completely out of the woods. So if the offer is still open, I wouldn't mind taking you up on it." He lifted his arm to take a sniff at his armpit and scrunched up his nose in distaste. "You wouldn't happen to have a spare deodorant down in the laundry room, too, would you? I'm beginning to get a little rank here."

Justin laughed softy, his voice coming out in a type of tinkling sound; Brian thought it was quite intriguing as the blond replied, "I'll see what I can scrounge up; you didn't like our foaming soap?" he asked, referring to the hospital-issued standard shower soap offered to their patients.

Brian snorted. "Not unless I'm auditioning to be Tropicana's mascot."

Justin grinned. The man was now standing so close to him, he could swear he could smell the fragrance on Brian's skin; he decided that whatever it was, the man didn't smell bad at all – in fact, he smelled pretty damn intoxicating from where he stood. "Well….I'll go get those clothes for you," he told the brunet, realizing he'd better leave before he blushed an even deeper shade of pink under the man's close stare.

He nodded in way of goodbye and prepared to turn around when he heard the man's velvety voice speaking his name again and he flushed at the sound. "Justin."

He lifted his eyes to stare back into the twinkling hazel eyes as Brian drawled, "Don't you want to know my measurements?"

Justin gulped and stared back at him stupidly. Did this gorgeous man just say what he thought he had said? Mustn't look down…..mustn't look down, he kept repeating as he whispered, "Measurements?"

Brian's lips twitched into an amused smile. "Yes…..for the clothes."

Now Justin did flush even darker with embarrassment. "Oh…..yeah – uh, what is it? I mean, uh, what is your pant and shirt size?" Damn it - get a grip, Taylor!, he berated himself as Brian pursed his lips together and grinned even more broadly back at him. Justin's heart skipped a beat at the look he was getting – was it just possible this man was flirting with him? Or was he just imagining what he wanted to see?

Brian gave him his shirt and pants size as he watched Justin hurriedly jot the information down on a small white pad of paper he retrieved from his pants pocket. He surreptitiously took advantage of his situation to admire the long, golden eyelashes framing the pale face as the tip of the blond's tongue snaked out briefly to wet his lips. He knew that now wasn't the time to pursue this fascinating man – presently his son was his priority – but if his son continued to be on the mend and was, indeed, moved to a regular, private room tomorrow, he hoped eventually that he could get to know this intriguing man better – much better…..

Justin nodded self-consciously as he closed the notebook and lifted his eyes to meet Brian's. "I'll go see what I can find," he promised as he placed the pencil and pad back into his pocket and turned to go. "I'll be back as soon as I can…but I may have to run some more hospital errands first."

Brian nodded as Justin began to walk away, pausing momentarily to admire the retreating view for a few moments before he returned back to Gus' room.

Justin inhaled a shaky breath and blew it out once he had put enough of a safe distance between him and the other man. At that moment, he realized Daphne was right – he did have a crush on the elegant, sexy man. He only hoped he knew what he was getting himself into as he quickly rushed to catch the employee freight elevator that would take him to the basement laundry area. He knew that whatever this situation wrought, though, it was sure to be an extremely interesting one.