Early Next Morning – Hospital
"You look like shit, Justin."
"Why, thank you, Dr. Chanders, you're not looking particularly perky, either, you know."
Daphne grinned, refusing to rise to the bait as she stared down at Justin's tired-looking face. She had rushed into the small vending machine room on the main floor to grab some barely-passable coffee and had had the good fortune of running into her friend, who apparently had needed a jolt of java, too. "I have a good excuse. They work me like a dog here, remember? So what's yours?" she asked as she sat down opposite him, her eyes twinkling with amusement at his pained expression.
"I just didn't sleep well last night, that's all," he answered noncommittally as he took a small sip of the still-steaming brew. It tasted like shit as always but at least for a change it was more than hot enough. Speaking of things that were more than hot enough… He blinked, trying to forget where that particular train of thought was heading.
"Yeah, I noticed," she answered curiously, observing her friend seemingly daydreaming rather than paying attention to her. "Uh…..Earth to Justin," she sing-songed. Hello." She shook her head in consternation. "What is up with you today?" she asked.
The blond flushed as he realized he had been caught obsessing about a certain, dangerously sexy brunet. "Nothing," he replied a little defensively. "I'm fine – I told you; I just didn't sleep too well last night – it happens." He sighed after a short pause in the conversation, however, as he noticed Daphne not buying it; she continued to stare at him, the unspoken question hanging in the air. "Okay….maybe I had some things on my mind," he finally admitted at last.
"Some things?" She eyed him intently. "Or maybe…..someone?"
Justin huffed. "Not again, Daphne; I warned you, damn it!" he said just a little more curtly than he meant to. "Not everything's about him, you know," he said a little more softly as he noticed the shocked look on her face at his vehement retort.
The young resident studied the flush that had suddenly spread all over her friend's cheeks; maybe everything wasn't about Brian Kinney, but apparently she had just hit the nail on the head this time, and for some reason it filled her with outright glee instead of anger. "Shit!" she cried in triumph. "I AM right – you couldn't sleep last night because of him, could you? What happened? Oh, my God! You weren't together, were you?" she asked, her eyes sparkling at the possibility as she placed her elbows on the small, circular laminate table and stared intently into the sapphire eyes, trying to see the truth behind them.
Justin bristled. "Daphne! His son's still in the hospital! Shit – do you really think I'd do that?" Although, he had to admit, the idea had crossed his mind – repeatedly – but two things prevented him from acting upon it – the fact that Brian's son was still recuperating and should, therefore, be his priority, and his own uncertainty over Brian's motives – was he really interested in him or just toying with him like a convenient plaything?
"Well," she conceded. "Maybe not yet. But you were thinking about him…..weren't you?"
Justin sighed. "Maybe," he admitted. Before she had a chance to say anything else, though, he added quickly, "Can you blame me? The man's hot, Daphne." He twisted one side of his mouth up in a sort of you got me kind of look. "Yeah, I've noticed… he's not bad on the eyes."
Daphne snorted. "I believe we already had this conversation, Mr. Taylor. What I want to know is what caused you to lose sleep about it last night?"
"Nothing," Justin insisted still. "Look, I know your heart's in the right place, but just drop it, okay? I can take care of myself."
She stared at her friend in disappointment. "Well, lucky for you I have to go make rounds." She stood up, paper cup in hand, to quickly gulp down the rest of her now lukewarm concoction. "So I'll do what you ask – for now. But honestly, Justin! Quit selling yourself short…..go after him, if that's what you want! Because I've seen the way he looks at you when he doesn't think anyone's noticing – it's mutual, trust me."
Justin wanted to believe that; he wanted to believe that Brian really was starting to care about him and not just an opportunity to get into his pants. He knew the man certainly made his pulse race with anticipation now, every time he was near, especially after that kiss yesterday. Fuck, that was hot…..and if he got that hard just having the man pushed up against him and his lips caught on fire just from that one passionate kiss, he could only imagine what it would be like to be together with him with nothing but skin on glorious, bronze skin…..
The clearing of Daphne's throat brought Justin back to reality as he stared up at her sheepishly. His friend had a distinctive look of smug satisfaction on her face as she said, "Never mind….I think I've already answered my question about whether you want him. The question now is: What are you going to do about it?"
She smiled enigmatically before reaching over to throw her now-empty cup into the nearby round, metal trash container. "Got to go, Hot Stuff," she kidded her friend as she stood up to leave. "Lunch later?"
Justin laughed; only Daphne would worry about lunch right after that speech. "Sure," he answered. "Unless I wind up with some other appetizer first." He grinned at her mock expression of shock before she nodded and rushed out of the room to begin her duties.
He watched her go, pondering what she had said. Yeah, Justin…..just what ARE you going to do about it? He sighed, realizing he had to get to work, too. He would have to deal with the delicious problem of Brian Kinney later.
Recreation Room – Second Floor
"Justin! Me next!"
Jenna was a petite, slender, five-year-old girl with pale skin and long, straight hair; she was the classic redhead with blue eyes and freckles on her face and she presently wore a wide smile as she gazed at Justin excitedly. "I want to be a lion!" she cried out, pulling on Justin's arm to get his attention.
"You mean a lioness," Justin corrected her softly with a smile as he leaned toward her. The tiny, hard plastic chair he was sitting in was made more for the young patients he interacted with daily; they were adequate enough for children, but even with his slender frame they still made his ass sore sitting on the hard surface. But he couldn't really complain, not when he compared himself to the patients, because this particular wing of the hospital was reserved for children suffering from chronic cancer conditions; everything from leukemia to brain tumors. All of them, unfortunately, had the same thing in common: the children he spent time with here would probably in all likelihood never go home again. They would never play on a playground, or go swimming, or even ride a bike. Their remaining time would be spent here – in the somewhat sterile, unimaginative world of a children's hospital.
About two months ago, he had broached the idea of using part of his work time with some of the more mobile patients in the recreation area, using his art talent in hopes of helping to assuage their pain. Somewhat to his surprise, the hospital board had agreed rather quickly to his idea, and he had soon found himself coming to this part of the second floor for at least an hour a day. Sometimes, if things were slow and the patients were few, he could spend ever more time than that here.
He had quickly grown to love this part of his day; in fact, he had soon discovered that he was receiving more benefits out of it than the children were. Each day he came to the recreation room and saw the look of pleasure on their faces when he arrived, it quickly made what could have been a totally shitty day just the opposite for him. He was proud of the fact that his art could made the patients forget, if just for a brief time, that they were in the hospital for serious reasons. While he was with them, the pain they had to deal with on a daily basis was somehow almost magically banished from their minds and bodies, if just for a brief moment. He avoided dwelling on why the children were here, because he knew it would fill him with profound sadness if he did; he was somehow able to push it firmly aside while he was working one-on-one with them. He plastered on his most winning smile and used his warmest, gentlest tone of voice when he was here to reassure them that they were just like all the other children, and just for a short time they actually believed him; it was the least he could for the little ones who gave so much back in return.
What always astounded him was the joy in their faces over the littlest of things he would do for them – help them draw a picture for their mother or father, paint flowers, clowns, or animals on their faces to transform them into something almost mythical, or even play some skeet ball with them in the game room area set up in a corner of the expansive room.
While they were here, just for a little while, these children could forget they were seriously ill, even terminal. They could just be kids. Despite the adversity they were facing, they always had a smile on their faces. And Justin decided that if they could put a smile on their face, he could , too.
"Ready, Honey?" he asked the little girl now, who nodded her head vigorously in response. "You'll have to stay real still while I'm painting, okay?" he whispered as she smiled and nodded slightly, then abruptly froze just like a dutiful, beautiful porcelain statue. Jenna had been one of the lucky ones, if you could even put it that way; even though she had underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatment, she still somehow possessed a glorious mop of thick, red hair. In fact, if Justin wasn't aware of it, to look at her you wouldn't even know she was seriously ill. Sometimes that was what made things so hard to bear – knowing that even the healthiest-looking children were anything but.
He swallowed hard at the thought, but forced himself to place the smile back on his face as he reached out gently with the tip of his brown-hued brush and began to apply whiskers to either side of her smooth, porcelain face. She giggled slightly at the light touch as he reached over to wipe the brush off with a white, slightly-stained rag and dip it into the black paint of the palette that sat on the miniature table in front of them to make her nose. "Don't smile yet," he gently chided her, "and keep still, Sweetheart. I have to put your lioness' mouth on now." He repeated his previous action, this time finding the dusty pink shade he needed and outlining her face with what he hoped would resemble decidedly-female 'lion lips.' "Almost done," he told her softly as he concentrated on his subject, who was itching to see what her new persona looked like. "Just a little more."
Finally after a few seconds, Justin put his brush down in a small paper cup of water to let it soak as he picked up a small mirror with a light-green, Bakelite frame. "What do you think?" he asked. His smile widened as he noticed the entranced, wide-eyed look of joy on Jenna's face. Yes….this was definitely his most favorite part of the day by far.
"I'm beautiful!" she cried out in delight, her face beaming as she continued to stare at her reflection. For just a second – just a brief second – she was the same as any other child on the planet, and it humbled Justin greatly to think he had been responsible for that. It also made any of his other problems seem insignificant.
"Yes, Honey, you certainly are," he murmured as he reached his hand over to grasp her slight shoulder and give it a squeeze. "Do you have a lioness name picked out?"
He watched in amusement as the little girl pondered her new identity in the mirror for a few seconds before she nodded her head. "Nala," she decided. "I want to be the Lion King's girlfriend."
Justin nodded in approval. "Very good choice," he told her as the child beamed at the compliment. "I like the Lion King a lot, don't you?" Jenna nodded almost shyly as she turned to ask him, "Can I go show Mommy and Daddy my new face now?"
Justin looked over at Cathy McDonald, the nurse who normally manned the nurses' station down at the ER; once she had found out about Justin's daily visit to the recreation center, and how much of a positive effect he had on the patients there, she had wrangled a way to be the nurse who oversaw the patients while he was visiting them. It gave her a brief respite from the harried pace of her normal duties and also gave her an opportunity to feel like she was making a difference somehow in their fragile lives.
She smiled and nodded at the little girl. "Come on, Honey, I'll take you back to your room. Want to say goodbye to Justin first?"
"Bye, Justin. I love you."
Justin smiled warmly as the little girl reached over to give him a small kiss on the cheek before she reached her small hand around his neck to hug him. He couldn't help returning the gesture, holding onto her around her tiny waist for a few seconds before letting her go. "I'll see you again soon, Jenna," he whispered in a choked voice; it was hard to swallow the emotional lump that abruptly appeared as he spoke. It happened every time he had to say goodbye to one of them. "Take care, Honey." As he watched her leave, his eyes met Cathy's for just a moment, and he knew they were both thinking the same thing; neither knew if he would or not, because with these children – the sickest of the sick – the next day was never a guarantee for any of them.
He sighed in melancholy before he reached over to retrieve his art supplies and carry them over to a nearby stainless steel sink to begin cleaning them off. He knew that despite how difficult it was to be around these patients sometimes, he would be back again tomorrow - as long as he had a promise to keep and children to help.
Unbeknownst to Justin, his movements were being closely watched by a tall, elegantly-dressed man peering in curiously through the wide expanse of windows ringing either side of the large playroom. Brian had stopped by for a few minutes to check on Gus before going into work; he had missed several days now and urgently needed to catch up with everything going on. Despite Theodore's assistance and the competency of his assistant, Cynthia, he knew when it came to his most important clients they only wanted to work with him and him alone. He had decided now that Gus was definitely going to be okay, he could cut back somewhat on the time he needed to spend with him, especially since the Munchers were there, also, to watch over him.
As he walked by the windows of the recreation room and glanced in, however, he was taken aback to see his favorite orderly animatedly interacting with a young, wispy-looking red-headed child. He appeared to be painting some sort of design on her cheek, although from his angle he couldn't quite make out what he was drawing. From the enraptured look on the child's face, however, she was thoroughly enjoying his 'masterpiece.' He stood there, transfixed by the tender interaction going on between Justin and the patient, until the blond finished what he was doing and held up a mirror for her to look at herself. The little girl smiled radiantly at the result and soon gave Justin a kiss and hug on the cheek for his efforts, making Brian wistfully wish that it was him sitting there instead. After the kiss he had shared with the blond orderly yesterday, he couldn't wait to imbibe in another one. Lucky girl….
He ducked back slightly from the window as the little girl took the hand of a nurse in the room and the two walked toward the door; as they came out, he put his head down and pretended to be reading the newspaper he had picked up downstairs in the vending machine until he felt he had allowed sufficient time for the two to leave.
Cathy smirked to herself as she recognized the handsome man hanging back from the door as if he were busily studying what he had in his hand; something told her, however, that he had something much more interesting to check out. Either this was a very lucky coincidence, she decided, or it was Mr. Kinney's lucky day – and maybe Justin's. She pursed her lips together to keep from smiling too much as she gently clasped Jenna's hand and continued walking down the opposite side of the hallway, acting as if she hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary.
Brian waited until the two had disappeared down the hallway before quietly walking over to the open door to peer in; Justin had his back to him as he stood over a stainless steel sink, washing out some brushes with soapy water. He slowly crept inside, his footsteps muffled by the thick carpeting underneath his feet. He stopped a few feet away from his target briefly to admire the view; Justin had doffed his white uniform jacket, which was hung across the back of a nearby chair, and was wearing a simple outfit of a white, short-sleeve, form-fitting tee-shirt and matching white, cotton uniform pants. Brian had to admit that for standard-issue uniform attire, the pants fit his favorite orderly like a glove – a glove cradling two of the most perfectly-shaped parts of an ass he had ever had the fortune to behold. Just the sight of the rounded mounds of what must be creamy flesh underneath made his cock stir with desire and his mouth salivate with anticipation. Justin was his own little Angel in White, but he was determined to bring out the devil in him soon….
He slowly continued to creep forward, unable to stop himself from pursuing his goal. Justin had his head down, intent on his work, and it provided Brian with a glorious view of the pale, smooth flesh of the blond's neck. He wished for just a second that he was a native of Transylvania because at that moment he wanted nothing more than to suck and bite on that wonderful, exposed neck forever.
Justin hurriedly washed out the remainder of his paintbrushes, placing them in a long, thin pencil case to keep them damp until he could get home. He was due to begin preparing the unoccupied rooms for incoming patients, but he always took time to properly clean his brushes; they were so expensive, especially the horsehair kind, that he didn't want to waste one penny of them. He reached over to pull down a paper towel and dry his hands, preparing to return to his more mundane duties.
His heart leapt into his throat as he felt a pair of strong arms firmly grasp him around his chest from behind and pull him backward into a wall of firm, taut flesh. For just a second, he was frightened, thinking it was some sort of stick up. But then he felt some other type of 'stick' poking into him and he realized with startling clarity just who was 'accosting' him. "Brian," he whispered with certainty.
"That's Leroy to you, Florence," was the husky retort as Brian continued to hold him captive between his body and the sink; the whisper of the ridiculous 'pseudo name' sent tendrils of want through him as he felt the warmth of Brian's breath on his face.
"What are you doing in here?" he asked almost absurdly. "This is for patients."
"Well, I'm running out of patience," Brian told him, his voice laced with a tone that sounded distinctly like lust as he nuzzled Justin's cheek with his own. "And I'm in need of some special care that only you can take care of."
Justin snorted. "Oh, I doubt that," he retorted softly struggling to keep his voice calm; inside, though, his heart was beating like a frantic dance tune. "Something tells me you don't have any problem with having your needs taken care of just fine." He struggled slightly against his bonds without success; it only seemed to tighten the other man's hold on him even more. "Let me go, Brian," he said, even though his body was screaming otherwise; God, if he kept holding onto him like they were glued together, he was going to need some major CPR himself…..He closed his eyes tightly, deciding that was the wrong image he needed at the moment, because there was only one man's lips he was interested in pursuing CPR with….
"Brian…..Let go," he repeated with a little more conviction. "I have rounds to do and they'll be looking for me."
He heard the brunet snicker softly. "Well, I was looking for you, too…and it seems I found you. All of you…"
Justin shivered slightly at the velvety tone of Brian's voice; it seemed that since the man had found out his son was going to be okay, the beast inside of him had been unleashed. As he continued to struggle against the sinewy arms encasing him, he wondered if he had the wherewithal to control what had emerged – or even if he wanted to. He knew reluctantly, though, that there was a time and a place to entertain such thoughts and this wasn't it. He needed this job, and while times had changed somewhat, there were still a lot of narrow-minded people left in the world – and the hospital. "Brian…..please…." He placed his hands over Brian's arms and tried to pry the two of them apart, but it was like fighting against bands of forged steel. "I can't do this….."
Brian leaned down to whisper in his voice. "Now…..or ever?" He was actually surprised to hear the slight anxiety in his voice as he spoke. He never was worried before about what a man's response to him would be; it was just a given that any man would willingly give him whatever he craved, when and wherever he wanted it. But for some reason, it seemed to matter quite a bit when it involved this particular blond.
Justin sighed. "I think you know the answer to that," he admitted softly. He could feel Brian's hot breath on his cheek as the brunet said, "Good boy. You get a prize. Me."
Justin groaned; he could feel 'his prize' poking him in the ass and it was making him horny as hell – not a good condition to have in the middle of his workday. "I can see that," he quipped as he heard Brian chuckle slightly at his response. "Or rather, feel it." He huffed. "Brian – I mean it; I HAVE to go NOW."
He heard Brian sigh in resignation; readying himself to be released from the sexy man's grasp, he felt Brian loosen his hold on him as he prepared to leave, wondering how he could possibly hide the major boner he was currently sporting now. As he glanced around for his jacket, he found himself actually disappointed that Brian had given in, even though he knew he couldn't stay any longer. He had to admit, though, it felt amazing being held in this man's strong arms again.
Just as he thought he was going to be released, though, he was abruptly turned around and pushed back hard against the tight, chiseled chest; he barely had enough time to catch his breath and place his hands against his captor's shoulders to brace himself before he began to feel Brian's hands roaming ever so slowly, lower and lower, first at the small of his back and then down to the curve of his ass..….. His eyes flew open wide as felt the capable hands begin to knead his flesh and he was finally able to gaze up into the steely, dark-green eyes boring into him lustily. He could feel his face beginning to flush and the heat burning up his skin as he shivered from the sensation. "Brian….." Had the man not heard anything he had said?
The sexy man smiled down at him triumphantly; he liked the sound of his name on those luscious lips. "Don't worry, I'll let you go, Florence…..after you provide me with a demonstration of your CPR skills again."
Justin licked his lips nervously, noticing Brian's eyes darkening immediately in reaction. He knew he shouldn't do it – fuck, they were in the middle of a busy hospital with the door wide open leading out into a fairly busy hallway; this wasn't like the isolated employee elevator from yesterday. But, damn, if he wasn't able to resist this irresistible force known as Brian Kinney….his very own sexy Leroy.
Brian stared into the ocean-washed, blue eyes intently. "What's it going to be, Justin? I'm prepared to stand here all day, if that's what it takes to wear you down." Truthfully, he really couldn't; he still had to go see Gus and then run over to Kinnetik for a while, but he wasn't about to tell Justin that, not if it got him what he so urgently wanted. He watched the blond turn his head slightly to look around him, no doubt making sure they were alone, before a soft breath of destiny escaped the perfect lips and he felt Justin almost imperceptibly leaning up on his tiptoes toward his mouth in a silent invitation of encouragement.
Brian amazingly felt his own heart begin to beat faster as he realized he was finally within sight of his target, knowing that Justin wanted this as much as he did; he had never had to work so hard for a kiss before but he was finding the wait had made the reality that much more anticipated. This time, though, instead of a smashing of lips, this kiss was going to be even more memorable, he decided, as he lowered his head to stare down into the intense blue eyes for a few seconds before he slowly leaned in to bestow just the soft whisper of contact against the soft, full lips. He heard an almost imperceptible sigh in response and was jolted by the lurch that suddenly appeared within his heart at the sound. How did it get to this point so quickly? How did it get to this point at ALL? He never allowed his own feelings to enter into the quotient when he was toying with another man….
As he leaned back again and found himself almost drowning in the hypnotic blue eyes staring back at him, though, he realized this was not going to be a typical experience in the life of Brian Kinney, the cavalier, dominating, always-get-what-I-want man; this was becoming a lot more important to him than that. From the first moment he had gazed at this man now being held in his arms and watched him take such tender care of his son, to the first time they had finally kissed yesterday, Justin had been dwelling in a deep place inside his soul, the emotions waiting until the time was right to act upon the power he had over him. Well, it seems that the time was now, because his heart was beating erratically in time with his own jumbled emotions as he stared back into the beautiful face looking at him in befuddlement over his hesitation.
"Brian….." Justin whispered, barely audibly. The air felt thick with anticipation – was the brunet playing with him? Why wasn't he kissing the living daylights out of him right now? Wasn't that what he wanted, too? Well, he didn't have much time to try and analyze the complexity known as Brian Kinney; perhaps it was time to quit struggling against the inevitable and encourage him a little. Taking a small breath of courage and a leap of faith that they both wanted the same thing, he took the initiative to reach one hand up to the back of Brian's neck, feeling the hair there amazingly soft as he tentatively feathered it through his long fingers. He ever so slightly pulled on Brian's neck in an unspoken invitation to kiss him again, hoping – no, knowing – he would understand intuitively what he wanted.
Brian gazed into Justin's eyes for a couple of seconds before he answered the blond's quest, leaning in to meet him halfway this time for a deeper kiss; as their lips touched firmly, Brian began to slowly glide his mouth over Justin's lower lip, wetting it thoroughly with just the tip of his tongue as he tentatively sought entrance. Any other time, he would have simply plunged into some trick's mouth if that was what he wanted and the man would have simply obeyed his demand unquestioningly. This time, though, he couldn't imagine making that imposition on this man. As Justin opened his lips in response, Brian didn't stop to question that amazing epiphany as his pulse raced and he quickly plunged inside for a sweet taste of what was hiding inside.
As they continued to kiss, Brian's arms slowly crept up from Justin's ass to the small of his back so he could pull him in even impossibly closer; he angled his head to deepen the kiss as much as possible while Justin grabbed onto Brian's head from behind and held it in a tight grip while his other hand remained imprisoned against Brian's chest, feeling both their hearts beating rapidly like the wings of a falcon in synchrony together. He heard someone moan, not sure if it was him, Brian, or both of them as everything and everyone else was quickly forgotten and he lost himself in this wondrous feeling rushing through him.
The kiss went on much longer than Justin had planned; but once they began he found he couldn't get enough. Finally, though, more out of a need to breathe than a need for decorum, he finally used his one hand to push back slightly enough from Brian to detach himself from the other man to gaze into his darkened eyes. He felt the same tingle on his lips as before like they were numb from some euphoric type of anesthesia as he gazed up into the greenish-gold orbs that were open and dilated as they stared back at him silently.
Justin blushed slightly at the outright look of desire written there, feeling almost heady from the power he realized he had over this confident, glorious-looking man. "I…..I have to go, Brian," he managed to utter breathlessly, unable to keep the regret from his voice. "They'll come looking for me soon."
Everyone in the hospital knew he spent part of his day up here; if he didn't get busy soon with room preparations, they would be up here searching for him, and the last thing he wanted was for one of them to find him inside the recreation room in the throes of a kiss and clinch with this sexy man, even though every fiber of his body at the moment was dying to scream out at them – Eat your heart out…!
Brian's lips, still swollen and almost bruised from their kiss, twisted upward. "Yeah, I know," he answered softly. "I have to go see Gus anyway."
Justin nodded, pushing a little more on Brian's chest as a subtle hint that he really did have to go but hating to part nevertheless. "Tell him I said hello and I'll be in a little later with his lunch," he told Brian as he began to remove himself from the other man's embrace until only one of their hands were clasped together.
Just as Justin pulled entirely free, Brian unexpectedly grasped his wrist. As Justin turned back to look at him in puzzlement, Brian told him with a sexy smirk, "By the way, Florence, I just wanted you to know; you passed your CPR test with flying colors. You can teach me any day."
Justin huffed softly as he gently pulled his arm away, saying, "I think you've already mastered that."
"Never hurts to practice," Brian pointed out with a smile. "Will you be bringing Gus his dinner tray later, too?" he asked, finding a way to subtly determine if Justin would be working then as well.
But to his disappointment, the blond shook his head regretfully. "No…..I'm only working the day shift this week."
He nodded, trying hard to appear unaffected by Justin's statement, but inside he was frustrated that he and his favorite orderly wouldn't be able to 'practice' their CPR later. "Well, pencil me in for another 'class' tomorrow then," he told the blond firmly. "Once we've mastered that one, we can move on to 'harder and deeper' subjects." He smiled as he watched a pink flush spread all over Justin's face in response. He loved getting that reaction from Justin….
Justin began to back up, anything to distance himself from this man who was driving him insane with desire. He quickly retrieved his jacket, draping it over his arm and holding it out in front of him in what he hoped was a casual stance. By the look of amusement on Brian's face, however, he knew he wasn't fooling the other man for a minute. "Uh….I've gotta go," Justin told him again, this time meaning it as he began to walk backward, still unable to turn around just yet and leave this man standing in front of him, though.
Brian nodded. "Okay….Have a chocolate milk on me, Florence," he quipped. "Later."
Justin grinned. "Later," he whispered, as he finally turned around and walked out of the room, still feeling not only Brian's lips that had ravaged his, but also the man's intense stare that was no doubt admiring his ass. He smiled at the thought of both as he turned to the right and proceeded to walk down the hall toward the employee elevators, his step just a little lighter than before.
Brian paused for a moment, almost subconsciously reaching up to touch his mouth with his fingers as he recalled the amazing feeling of kissing Justin Taylor's talented mouth. God, he had NEVER had this reaction to any other man before; what was happening to him? Where did the I-don't-give-a-fuck Brian Kinney that everyone knew and adored go? I know where he went, Brian thought to himself. He went right out the fucking door the moment I saw Justin in the emergency room. The unbelievable thing of it all, though, was that it didn't bother him; in fact, the thought of spending more time with the beautiful blond excited him; it made him almost aching for more; and it made him horny as hell. The sooner he could have a taste of that incredible ass and bite, fuck, rim and suck every ounce of that compact, slim, pale body the better.
He chided himself suddenly, realizing there was one other important male in his life that needed attention, too; his son, Gus. While he was ecstatic and tremendously relieved that his little boy was going to be all right, he knew he had a ways to go yet. Just because Gus was a lot better and on his way to a full recovery didn't mean he was going to neglect him.
He glanced up at the clock over the recreation room's door, startled to realize he had been in the room for close to 30 minutes with 'Florence.' Justin seemed to have a way of making him forget about a lot of things lately. "Fuck!" he swore under his breath. Rushing over to the door, he took off in the same direction as Justin toward his son's room, intent on visiting his child before he had to head on to Kinnetik. If all went as planned, though, he had another 'CPR' session to look forward to tomorrow….
Fifteen Minutes Later – Chief of Staff's Office
Martin McKenzie, the hospital's chief of staff, sighed as he looked up in response to a commotion in the outer reception room of his office; he knew he should have closed the door earlier when he had the chance. He immediately recognized the unhappy leer of his newest chief surgeon, Douglas Swanson, speaking to his personal assistant, Kelly.
Swanson had been recruited from another prestigious children's hospital just outside Boston with great fanfare, even though McKenzie had actually had reservations about the man. He had heard some unsubstantiated rumors from fellow colleagues in the Boston area that the man was extremely pigheaded, opinionated, and difficult to get along with. But he was brilliant at what he did, and the hospital had been sorely in need of someone with Swanson's credentials when their other chief surgeon had left to take a position overseas. One thing McKenzie realized was that having important, influential medical personnel on staff also translated to huge funding windfalls as a result, so when it had come time to vote for hiring the rather unpleasant, domineering man, he had reluctantly gone along with the others.
Now, though, as he looked at the man's expression of disdain on his face as he sternly spoke to his assistant, who was doing her best to stall him, he wondered if he had done the right thing after all.
"But, Sir, he asked not to be disturbed," Kelly was saying to no avail. "I'd be glad to have him get back with you just as soon as he's finished with his work."
Swanson huffed. "Nonsense! I'm a surgeon, Missy. I don't have time to schedule a fucking appointment!"
"It's all right, Kelly," McKenzie called out through the open doorway. "Send Dr. Swanson in." He had just enough time to pick up his lukewarm mug of coffee and take a calming sip before the tall, rather gangly, dark-brown haired man strode in like he was some commandant directing a battle and shut the door none too softly as he entered. "McKenzie! You have to do something!" he demanded, his eyes narrowed in disgust as he stared at the other man, his hands on his hips. He stood there rigidly, waiting for the other man to acknowledge his concern.
McKenzie sighed. What was the man bitching about now? Last week he had been upset because the hospital hadn't ordered his favorite brand of surgical gloves; the week before that, he had been irritated because the hospital had switched to fluorescent lights in the surgical theater rather than keep the incandescent ones. What now? "What do you need, Doctor?" he asked calmly, trying hard to keep the irritation out of his voice but finding it difficult.
"What I NEED is to be able to work in a hospital that has decorum." He leaned over McKenzie's desk with both arms to support his weight. "I just won't have it, McKenzie!"
"What are you talking about?" the other man said curtly, definitely out of patience over playing a game of twenty questions with the pompous, overbearing genius.
"That…that orderly!" Swanson huffed out in annoyance, his dark-brown eyes flashing in anger.
The other man rolled his eyes, not caring if it bothered his chief surgeon or not. "We have several dozen orderlies, Doctor," he stated quietly. "Can you be more specific? Which one?"
"I don't know his fucking name!" the man said. "Nor do I want to! He's conducting himself in an outrageous manner, though, and I won't sit still for it, McKenzie!"
"Would you please sit down, Doctor, and explain exactly what this unnamed orderly has done?" McKenzie politely requested, trying fervently to control himself; he was quickly becoming fed up with this conceited do-gooder by the second, however. He had much more important budget matters to address at the moment, and this man was not helping him achieve his goal of getting his initial budget for next year completed by the end of the work day.
He watched for a few seconds silently until finally the other man huffed in aggravation and sat down heavily. "He's made a mockery out of this hospital," Swanson began. "He's flaunting himself all over the hospital and giving it a sullied reputation! This needs to be handled now!"
"Again, Doctor, exactly what has this orderly done to 'sully' the reputation of the hospital?"
Swanson lowered his voice to as he leaned in to stare at the Chief of Staff; in a scorn-laden voice, he responded, "He's a fairy; a queer. And he's flaunting it all over the hospital. I won't stand for it, I tell you!" he repeated firmly.
McKenzie sighed; he could care less if one of their orderlies was gay – it was none of his business – but still as the chief of staff he had to at least investigate concerns, especially when it involved his highly-paid and highly-skilled Chief Surgeon. "Just what was he doing, Doctor?"
Swanson scrunched up his nose as if he were smelling something distasteful. "I saw him for the first time yesterday – near the employee elevators. I was coming up from the ground floor and was in one of the cars that stopped on the second floor to let someone on. When the door opened, I saw this orderly kissing another man! It was disgusting; the other man had him pinned up against the wall and they…..they were grinding against each other, just like some freak show! The man with him made some flippant remark to me about moving on – that he had changed his mind – so I immediately slapped the button to shut the door and go on up to my office on the fourth floor. I could have almost forgotten the incident yesterday, except for it happened again today! I fucking couldn't believe it!"
"What happened today?" McKenzie asked wearily, wanting so much to be somewhere else – anywhere else –at the moment but knowing in his capacity as Chief of Staff that it was out of the question. He placed one hand on either side of his head at his temples as he felt the first tendrils of a severe headache beginning to appear.
"I was walking past the recreation room for the patients on the second floor a little while ago and happened to glance inside. The two of them were doing it again! Right in view of anyone who might be walking by! They fucking didn't care who saw them! I'm telling you, McKenzie, this is a serious breach of employee etiquette and projects the wrong kind of image for this facility. I expect you to do something about this immediately!"
McKenzie shook his head slightly; he really disliked this man intensely, but he had a point; whether it was a heterosexual couple or a gay couple, that sort of demonstrative behavior among employees while on duty was unacceptable and was cause for either disciplinary action or worse, termination. "All right," he finally said in resignation. "I'll check into it," he advised.
"I want you to do more than check into it," the brunet stated unequivocally. "I want him out of here."
"Doctor, the man deserves a chance to defend himself before any further action is taken," he advised the haughty man. "But I still need a name." He reached over to pull an employee directory out of his bottom in-and-out basket, leafing through it until he came to the names of facility members, grouped by profession. He paged through a few pages until he reached the subdirectory for the hospital's orderlies. Handing the directory over to the other man with the page open for the orderly listing, he said, "Take a look at these and see if you can identify the orderly you're talking about."
He watched intently as the man almost violently leafed through several pages of colored photos of the orderlies presently employed by the hospital until he noticed the man's eyes light up in recognition. "There! He's the one! That's definitely him!" he declared forcefully. He turned the directory around and jabbed a finger down onto one particular photo. "That's the pervert right there – Justin Taylor. And I want him fired – NOW."