I had a bit of writer's block. I think I just don't want it to end.

The end is near and I hope you guys stick around till then.

ENJOY!

Chapter Twenty-Six

Recuperating

The next week, Luke and Noah both improved greatly. Noah was able to sit up and walk around. Not far mind you, but anything was good. He could not believe the pain that first went through him as he took his first steps. He had never had a surgery quite like this and now this was Luke's second time. But with every step he thought about Luke.

He would the exact same decision again.

Without a doubt. Not a single doubt.

Even if he and Luke were over and done with, Noah would be able to live the rest of his life knowing that Luke was healthy and happy. What else could he ask for?

Due to the immune suppression drugs that Luke was given, he needed to be kept in isolation. There was the risk of his body rejecting the foreign organ in his body, hence the drugs. And because of the drugs he was a greater risk of contracting an infection from germs. Only hospital staff and his parents were allowed to visit him. The kids would stand just outside the room and visit with their big brother. Ethan brought Luke a new painting each day he came to visit. Always a true farm boy at heart, Luke hated being cooped up. If he hadn't been so weak from the surgery, he would have made a break for it.

Scott made sure to bring him contraband from the outside. He kept Luke fully stocked in magazines and iTunes gift cards. He even managed to sneak in a frosty coffee drink from their neighborhood place. Scott made sure to visit as much as he could. Scott even told Luke of his conversation that he had with Noah when he came to Luke's apartment. Luke was surprised by the loyalty that Scott expressed and on some level he wished that he felt the same for Scott. The older student had become a very good friend in the short time that they had known each other and he knew that things with Scott would be easier. Easier than the confusing chaos that was him and Noah. Even if he knew that things would be easier, he just couldn't do it. There was no one but Noah.

"So, have you asked Will out yet?" Luke asked as he played with a puzzle that his brillant sister brought him. Faith said she beat it in thirty minutes. Luke had been trying for three days now.

"What is it with you and me asking out Will?" Scott asked with complete frustration. He even through up his hands for extra emphasis.

"He is completely in love with you. Anyone can see that,"

"No, he's not,"

"Please. Ok, let me lay it out for you. He flirts in front of you. He makes sexual innuendoes about other men in ear shot of you, so that you will pay attention. Constantly makes comments on how you look, sometimes resorting to dirty context, let's see what else did I leave out,"

"All right. I get the point," he said as he threw a People magazine at Luke. Luke caught it and burst into laughs. "What should I do?"

"I don't know. Just ask him out," Luke said plainly.

"He'll laugh in my face,"

"Then do something else. I know, get him alone and just kiss him,"

"Kiss him. That's it. That's your sage of advice?"

"Hey, worked on me," Luke said and his mind drifted to his first kiss with Noah.

Yeah, it worked on him.

When night came, Luke got a different visitor. Noah always hated hospitals and he could never sleep in them. He wasn't sure if it was the constant noise or people going in and out. He was restless. He decided to visit Luke before he went to sleep. He got out of bed and brought his IV stand with him. He shuffled down the hallway. He was never let inside the isolation room, but he would look at him from the outside. Even though he was looking at Luke through two layers of protective plastic, Luke looked so good. The color was returning to his face and he was sporting a bit of beard stubble. A kink of Noah's that even Luke didn't know about. Noah just stood there and fidgeted with his IV stand.

Luke's regular nurses would always watch for Noah to come by. You could almost set your watch by him. He would come down the hall in his hospital slippers and dark blue robe and just stare. One nurse said it was almost like a private vigil. He never spoke or asked to go inside. He would just watch the other sleep.

A short dark haired nurse came out of Luke's room. She pulled off her protective mask, gloves, and booties and tossed them into the bright orange hazardous waste bin. Noah reached out and lightly touched her arm. She jumped at the shock and put her hand to her chest.

"You scared me,"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Is he ok?" He asked in a soft voice.

"Who are you?"

"I'm his bo…," Noah stopped. He wanted to say boyfriend, but he might not get the information that he desperately wanted. "I'm his brother,"

"Oh, yes, he's doing quite well. The kidney he received is doing very well. It was an excellent match," she said as she made notes on Luke's chart. "He'll probably be moved to a regular room next week,"

"Good," he said with a sigh. "Good. Thank you," Noah answered in the same soft voice. He turned around and went back to his room. The dark haired nurse watched Noah walk down the hall and turn left into his room and heard the door close. A blonde nurse also working the floor that night got the other nurse's attention.

"Hey Rosie," the blonde nurse said.

"Hey Jackie," the dark haired nurse said.

"Do you know who that was?" Jackie asked in a loud whisper.

"No," Rosie answered without even looking up from her paperwork.

"He's the one who gave the hottie in 37-A a kidney,"

"The Snyder guy?" Jackie now had Rosie's attention.

"Hmmm," Jackie answered.

"He said that they were brothers,"

"Riiiggghhhttt! If they're brothers, I'm Mariah Carey," Jackie said in sarcastic tone. "Anyways, he comes down every night and just stares at Snyder while he sleeps. Doesn't ask to go in, doesn't ask for anything. Then he turns around and goes back to his room,"

"How long does he stand there?" Rosie asked; she abandoned her paperwork a while ago.

"Twenty, thirty minutes maybe,"

"Wow. Every night?"

"Yep,"

"Huh? Wish I had someone who cared about me that much," Rosie remarked and the two women went back to work. Each a little jealous of the hottie in 37-A.

Dr. van Pelt visited Noah a couple days later. He was sitting up in bed watching TV. He sat up a bit taller when he saw the older man enter his room. Ever the good soldier.

"Hi Noah. How are you today?"

"Hello sir. I'm good,"

"I see that. According to the nurses you have been recovering really well," van Pelt said as he looked through Noah's charts. "So well, we're letting you out of here,"

"Really. Are you sure? So soon?" Noah felt a wave of panic course through him.

"Yeah, unless you like it here?" the doctor asked with a bit of teasing in his voice.

"No, it just seems kind of quick is all,"

"Well, your part of surgery is pretty straight forward. It's the recipient that has more to recover from,"

"Is his? Recovering?"

"Yes. The organ is functioning and he has not had any adverse reactions that we can tell. He will need to keep him here for at least another week, but he is being transferred to a regular room today," the doctor said and Noah breathed a sigh of relief. He had been getting updates from Holden and Lily, but he wanted to hear the words from his doctor. As soon as the words left his mouth, Noah could feel the tight coil in his chest, which had been there since that call from Lily, loosen.

"So you will be able to visit him tomorrow, if you like,"

"Thank you Dr. van Pelt," Noah said and shook the doctor's hand.

"You're welcome. I'll send a nurse in with your discharge papers in a few hours," the doctor said and then left Noah alone.

He didn't want to leave. He hated hospitals, there was no doubt about that, that wasn't it.

If he left, it got harder to see Luke.

They did discharge him about two hours later.

Lily insisted on him coming back to the Four Seasons, but he said no. She wanted to baby him a bit, make sure that he was taking care of himself. He could not fault her for that, she was mother down to her core. He wanted to be alone. He said that he was going to stay at Luke's. He was sure that Luke wouldn't mind.

He dropped his bag by the door and collapsed on the sofa. He felt relief as his muscles relaxed. He leaned his head back against the cushions and took in a long deep breath. He could smell Luke. He could smell him in the entire apartment. That was why he wanted to stay here and not the hotel. Luke was all around him here.

Noah leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. He rubbed his hands over his face and felt a few days of beard stubble on his face. A shower was first on his list of priorities.

After his shower he stuffed his dirty clothes in his bag and felt the side pocket.

The one thing that he would not leave Oakdale without was still there. He remembered running back up to his room to get it before he left home. He remembered stuffing it deep into his bag so he wouldn't lose it. It was still there. Noah unzipped the side pocket and pulled it out.

He sat back down on the couch and looked at it in his hands. He twirled it back and forth.

The flat plastic square. The case was still cracked from when he threw it on the ground outside of Emma Snyder's house. That awful night. A Christmas he wished he could forget.

He's had his eye sight for over a month and he still hadn't brought himself to watch it.

Now was the time.

Noah stood up and walked across the room to the DVD player. He put the movie in and grabbed the remote from the TV stand. Sitting back down, he hit play on the remote. The music started and the black screen faded into his credits. He let a shaky breath and watched his first film.

Luke was so glad to be out of the Critical Care Unit. The CCU nurses were nice, but he hated being locked in a room. He left locked up his whole life before he came out and now even the idea of being locked up, figuratively or literally, made his skin crawl. He was glad that his dad had decided to keep his mom distracted. Because that made his little excursions into the hospital garden a little more peaceful. He loved his mom, more than he could even possibly explain, but she did get on his nerves at times.

He tied his robe tighter as he walked outside. The garden was surrounded on three sides by the hospital itself. One of the nurses said that the designer of the hospital wanted every patient to have a view of the outside from their room. The other side faced a huge park and this side faced a garden. The trees that were scattered around were almost fully bloomed. The green leaves lightly danced back and forth in the mid-April breeze. There were paths cut through the wild flowers. The paths were cobblestone; they crisscrossed and circled around the center fountain. It was one of those old-fashioned three tiered fountains; it reminded Luke of a fountain in Roman Holiday. He could thank Noah for that one. The water was flowing slightly and the running water sound mingled with the chirping birds. He sat on a bench and leaned back against the weathered wood. He closed his eyes and just listened. The sounds of water, the warm breeze and the birds. He almost felt like his was sitting back at Snyder Pond. He laughed lightly just to himself.

"Hi Luke," he heard behind him and his breath caught in his chest. He was afraid to look back. He was afraid that if he did, the owner of the voice would disappear. But he wanted to see him so badly. Luke turned sideways and looked behind him. A smile crossed his face; almost of its own accord. It was true. When Noah was concerned, Luke could not control his smile.

"Hi Noah,"

Well, whatta think? I had been picturing the last section for a long time.

I have really loved writing this story for you guys and I hope that you guys have loved it as much as I have!

We're about two chapters from the end!

Stay Tuned!