Lemony goodness to be had. Domestic dispute. You have been warned.

The Proposition

Nick sat in stunned silence, for once not having any smart reply. He was at the neurology department of the Misericordia Community Hospital in Edmonton against his better judgment. He hadn't wanted to come, but Darren was more than just his old landlord. He was his friend. The two had driven the four hours up to the capital of Alberta just to hear this, but having 'heard' the doctor's words, his brain had overheated and crashed.

"Are you sure, doctor?" Darren asked for his friend.

"Yes," Doctor Lovelace said with a smile. "The audiologist confirmed that the actual organs involved in his speech and hearing are present and in order. It's the brain's connection to them that's lacking. With the proper surgery, Nick could be 100% cured of his disabilities. We at Misericordia have the technology and have had great success in restoring-"

"So, you've done this before? Restored a deafmute?" The man looked a little less confident at the question. "We have managed to restore hearing, speech, and sight in a few different cases. Surgery such as his would be more extensive as it involves two different areas of the brain. But, based on the success rates of our surgeries, I can say that - within a reasonable doubt - we can fix your husband." Both men blinked at that.

Darren isn't my husband. He's my friend

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I just assumed that you would be here with your partner for such momentous news."

My wife and I just found out we're pregnant two weeks ago. I didn't want to upset her until I had all the facts.

"Well that's understandable, and congratulations on your pregnancy. Wouldn't you like to hear your child's first cry? Tell her that you love her for the very first time? That is what I'm offering you, Nicholas."

Or you could be handing me a death sentence. One slip of the knife and I'll be a drooling idiot for the rest of my life

"Yes, there's always a certain amount of risk involved in this sort of situation, but isn't it worth it for the possibility-"

I have a perfectly agreeable life, Dr. Lovelace. A wife who loves me for me, a child on the way. You're talking about poking around in my brain in the interests of science and damn the consequences. What's your success rate? How many drooling morons have you left in your wake playing God?

"Of the dozens of surgeries that I've performed, there was one-"

And I could be your second one. Your second broken toy. Ganesa would kill me if she knew that I was here

"With respect, Mr. Andros, why are you here? You don't sound like someone who is even open to the idea of regaining your hearing and speech. We select our candidates very carefully, especially since that unfortunate case sixteen years ago, and I don't appreciate having my time wasted."

"Nick's just in shock right now," Darren jumped into the conversation. "The enormity of this news requires some serious soul-searching. He'll need to get his wife involved and see what she thinks. Please don't close this avenue to him." John looked the stubborn deafmute over before nodding. If he agreed to the procedure - and it worked, of course - Nick Andros would be a powerful tool to secure more funding for the program. He wanted the opportunity to operate on him, but he didn't want to push too hard right off the bat. Truth be told, this wasn't the first time he'd had a conversation like this with a potential client.

"Hmph! Well, take some time and really think about all of this. Don't let your fear talk you out of this unique opportunity." The stubborn tilt of his jaw told the older man that he'd hit the right button.

I'm not afraid

"Yes, you are. I'd call you a liar or a fool if you weren't," the doctor said in a fatherly fashion. "You are on the brink of something uniquely amazing, don't let your fear talk you out of it. You need to seize this opportunity. Lightning won't strike twice here. Take the time you need and call my office when you've made your final decision yay or nay. We'll close your file and that will be the end of it. It's already been over two years since we brought you into the country for this procedure, son. We were about to close your file anyway." With that, he was sure to close the thin paper file on the man before standing, shaking both of their hands, and seeing them out.

… …

"What are you thinking right now, Nick?" Darren said after an hour and a half 'lunch' at the Humptys down the street from the hospital. It took two repetitions of the question to finally grab the deafmute's attention.

I'm wishing I'd never agreed to be assessed by your little miracle program

"It was the only way to get you into the country at the time, kid. Having Misericordia sponsor your citizenship was a huge risk for them two years ago, but it's what you agreed to."

I didn't agree to die for them!

"No, you didn't," the housekeeping supervisor agreed gently. "But you did agree to be seen by them for this possibility. You were broke and desperate, not to mention that it cleared up that mess you got into with Ray Boothe and his gang." God, when was the last time he'd thought of that unsavory character? He'd beaten the deafmute within an inch of his life with his buddies for no other reason than that he could. They would have killed him that night if someone, namely Darren, hadn't intervened. The local authorities were about to charge the broken man or send him on his way when Darren had pitched him to the program. His unique disabilities had made him a prime candidate.

They'd cleared him to come to Canada of all places and the Sheriff had been so desperate to sweep his brother-in-law's misdeeds under the rug for his wife's sake that he'd agreed to the deal. Had Ray actually murdered someone since? Was he dead himself? Those were questions that he hadn't bothered to ask since he'd left Arkansas with his Canadian saviors. He'd been too busy rebuilding his life. He would have ended up in Edmonton if it hadn't been for Darren getting him this job in Calgary. But Misericordia's contract had always been hanging over his head. In some ways, he was glad to have his official obligation to the hospital fulfilled. In others… He couldn't just ignore what they'd found. The idea of being able to hear his wife's sweet voice for himself or say 'I love you' aloud was sorely tempting. But he was literally risking everything for a possibility. Dr. Lovelace was right. He truly was afraid.

I don't know what to do, boss

"Well, first things first, you need to explain to your wife exactly how you came to Canada in the first place. You've officially fulfilled your contract with them by coming to the Hospital... But can you ignore what they found now that you know it's possible?"

This is why I waited so long to get seen by them. I didn't want this! I still don't!

"I know, my friend. But your wife's God doesn't always give us what we want. He gives us what we need. Come on, kid. Let's get our asses back to Calgary. There's nothing more we can do here." Darren attempted to talk about this more on the way home, but Nick simply stared out the window and refused to answer his questions.

Nick was still floored. What would he do if he was able to hear suddenly? He'd finished his degree and was now in the IT department of Alberta Health Services. He still worked at the Calgary General Hospital with his wife and even managed a days/evenings rotation that mostly matched up with his wife's rotation. Would he lose that if he was suddenly able to hear and talk? Would he lose his friendships? Would his woman look at him differently? Would she turn away from him? Would she walk away from the twenty-five-year-old?

They'd celebrated his birthday on December fourteenth with a surprise party and it had been the first time he'd celebrated his birthday since his mother had died. He'd been so touched by her sensitivity that he'd actually cried. Right in the middle of the party, he'd broken down in tears. Part of the reason was guilt. He'd seen her talking to one of his friends and had automatically assumed that she was having an affair. That's the way things worked in his life. Turns out that she'd been planning something just to make him happy. His angel. His salvation. He couldn't stand the idea of her changing on him.

Darren shook him, waking him up from his light dose.

"This is huge, man. Just think about it; get your Lady involved in it. I would hate to see you let this opportunity pass you by. There's a lot of doors that would open up to you with the return of your senses. I know that you don't want to tell her, but she's your wife and she has a right to know if you are going to change your relationship with her. This isn't like when you thought she was having an affair. This is real, this is fact. She needs to know even if you're not going through with it." With that, he let his friend out in front of the house Nesa still owned and wondered what would happen next.

Nick entered the house and found his best friend and wife playing with their joint budget. She'd been tweaking it since their marriage two and a half months ago. It was working out well for both of them. The deafmute didn't take advantage of the extra thousands of dollars at his disposal. Hell, his urge to impulse buy had decreased substantially since they'd gotten together. The girl looked up at him, her smile like dawn breaking, and proved her innocence once again.

"How was ice fishing, baby? Bring anything back for us to cook?" She stood from her work as if it didn't matter just to greet him and make him feel welcome. "Do you need me to warm you up, my love?" she asked with a sexy smirk, reaching for his belt. Nick, feeling guilty - partly for lying to her about where he was going today and partly because he still didn't want to tell her about Misericordia - only shook his head and kissed her desperately.

"What's the matter, baby?" He distracted her from her worry by making sweet love to her as if it was the last time. She writhed and vibrated against him invitingly and he took the invitation gratefully, cumming in her repeatedly until he had nothing more to give her. Then he pumped into his insatiable wife as she exploded repeatedly around his swollen cock, feeling like a king as usual. It was normal for her to give him everything of herself. It was normal for him to give it right back. Two and a half months married and two and a half months pregnant; they hadn't wasted any time. His precious woman had even hired a midwife, wanting to try a water birth when the baby came. She was so excited, how could he spoil that for her? And yet, she was his wife. She deserved to know. She deserved so much better than him to be honest. but he wouldn't give her up for anything. She was the first woman to accept every part of him. He pumped into her faster, determined to give her all of him before he disturbed her world.

Nesa whimpered as he took her to Heaven several times that night. Something was wrong, but every time she came back to herself enough to ask, he only tumbled her into ecstasy once again. Finally accepting the madness for what it was, a distraction - but a pleasant one - she moaned and writhed and came for him over and over again until she was too exhausted to go on. She collapsed, sweaty and drooling, against his equally sated body and succumbed to sleep. When she woke next, he seemed determined to do it all again, but she wanted answers.

"What's the matter, baby?" she asked quietly, dodging his lips as she caressed his cheek. Nick looked trapped suddenly, sitting up anxiously and starting to write. The girl stayed where she was, knowing that her thoughtful husband was only trying to figure out the best way to break whatever news he had to her. She hugged his waist, kissing an old scar on his side tenderly. Finally, he passed her a couple of notes, watching her carefully for her reactions.

I didn't go ice fishing with Darren yesterday

"I know," she said after reading the first note. "Your clothes didn't smell of alcohol or saltwater. Besides, I believe in your ability to fish. You didn't come home with a catch or stories of the one that got away. Where did you and Darren head off to yesterday?" she giggled. Nick smiled a little at her innocence and waved at the papers in her hand. As his wife read them and learned the story of Ray Boothe and Misericordia Community Hospital, the smile faded from her face. He wrote about the testing process that had taken hours because they'd had to clean literal decades of wax out of his ears to clearly see what was there. He explained that his ears and mouth were not the problems with his disabilities, the problem was in his brain, a brain that the doctors believed that they could rewire to give him back his senses.

"Do you want to do it?" She asked after an eternity of silence. Inside she was seething, but she managed to stay calm. How dare he hold out on her like this! Even before they'd married, he'd known about all of this and he hadn't bothered to say word one about it. But that was a discussion for another time. "Nick? Do you want to have brain surgery?" The man looked at her in awe and she smirked. "Don't get me wrong, husband. You lied to me and married me under false pretenses. We will double back to that particular discussion later. I'm more concerned with how you feel about this situation. I take it that you only have a certain amount of time to decide on a course of action?"

Doctor Lovelace only gave me two weeks to decide whether I want the surgery or not

"Well… what do you want to do? Fourteen days is not a lot of time to make this kind of decision." He blinked at how understanding she was being, flinching as her eyes narrowed in thought and fury. "Make no mistake, I'm furious right now. But now that this is on the table, the choice must be made." He watched her once again marshall her facial features into a mask of calm and had to wonder at that.

Why 'furious', my love?

"You! You…" She took a deep, cleansing breath. "Ask me again later. This is your life and your body. I want your thoughts on the procedure before I let you have it with both barrels." Nick gulped. He'd never met her fury head-on before. Her anxiety. Her indignation at others for mistreating him. But what he'd just glimpsed was raw rage. Something about this situation was truly pissing her off. He wasn't looking forward to that particular discussion.

I don't know what to do, Sweetness! He pushed the right buttons; the idea of hearing our baby's first cry, of being able to say 'I love you' and have you feel it, it's very tempting. But one slip of the knife and I lose everything. I'm a vegetable for the rest of my life. You can sue, of course, but that won't give you 'me' back. I've got a very good thing going right now. A wife who adores me, a child on the way, and hearing his pronouncement doesn't make me have to have the surgery. Should I just leave well enough alone? Should I just go for it? Will I regret it if I do? Will my family regret it if I don't? I just don't know.

"Well it's nice that you're finally thinking of us, Nick," the girl snapped, her pretty brown eyes narrowed. Feeling like a deer in the crosshairs, he watched as she sat up beside him. "Let me tell you exactly what will happen to you if you don't do it. Nothing! Life will go on and it will be just as good as it has ever been. I feel it just fine when you tell me that you love me, Nick, I never would have married you if I didn't. We are a family now. We are a unit. That's what these mean!" she growled, pointing to her rings. "There is no 'you' or 'me' anymore, there's only ever 'us'. That's what you signed up for when you said 'I do' to the pastor that day." Nick nodded and that seemed to make her angrier.

"No, you don't understand. And I know you don't understand because you went to that man, that doctor all alone! You didn't say a word about this, any of this, until after the fact. I could have gone with you! I could have asked questions, nursing questions that would have cleared up some of these anxieties or revealed the doctor's true intentions. As it is, it's all your decision now because you are the one that talked to the doctor."

Darren was there too

"Darren isn't your wife!" she shouted. "Darren didn't stand in the presence of God and make a promise to stand by you through your worst times, knowing good and well that there was no limit on how bad the 'bad times' could be. I mean, when were you going to tell me about all this? Huh? Was it going to be when they generously paid for an ambulance to drive you back to Calgary from Edmonton of all places with a 'sorry we fucked up, but your husband's a vegetable now. And he might get 30 to 35 percent of his motor function back in a few years once the swelling goes down, but he'll never be right in the head again'? When you had soiled your diaper much like our deafmute child will? I need you, Nick! We're supposed to be partners in this! We have a baby on the way! Why the heck didn't you say anything to me?"

I didn't want to upset you with the baby growing inside you!

"Well, that mission failed! What? Did you think that it wouldn't upset me when you went under the knife and my blissfully ignorant ass thought that you were ice fishing of all things? When you tell me things, I believe you. There's no reason in my mind to doubt your words to me. Come to find out that there's this whole other side to you that you're not willing to share. I'm not just your fuck buddy! If you had any respect for me at all, you would have-'' He attempted to kiss her, looking horrified, but she pushed him away. "Don't you dare touch me! Don't you dare tell me that you love me, Nicholas Arthur Andros! You cut me out of the most important decision of your life without so much as a 'by your leave'. Even if everything went perfectly and you came back speaking and hearing as if God himself came down and touched your mouth and ears, I would still be royally pissed. Because I signed up for a partner to share my life with and you just wanted someone to bang while you got on with your life!" She stood up, her movements jerky as she shook with anger, and started pulling outfits and scrubs out of their walk-in closet. The deafmute ran up to stop her, but she pushed him away.

Please don't do this, Ganesa! I do love you, I just made a mistake

"I… I can't even look at you right now! I can't be near you knowing that you think so little of me. I gave you everything and it was all a lie!"

It wasn't. I swear to God that our life together is not a lie. But if you need time away from me, I'll go

"What? You afraid your piece of ass is going to-" he forced his mouth on hers, holding on tightly when she struggled to get out of his embrace. Partners. She'd called them partners. He'd always thought of her as an innocent maiden for him to protect. No wonder she was pissed! If her Lord ever allowed him to be around her again, he would be the best partner to her in the world. He swore that he would respect and honor her for the rest of their lives together. Their tears mingled as he gently possessed her mouth and she stopped struggling against him. When the gentle, lingering kiss ended they were both sobbing broken-heartedly. Nick went and got a suitcase and started packing his things, fully intending to crash at Darren's place for a while. When he was finished, he wrote another note, tears still trailing endlessly down both of their faces.

I'm so sorry for everything, Ganesa. This is all my fault. I never meant to hurt you

"I know," she whispered, sniffling. The two stared at each other, neither knowing how to fix this rift between them. Then Nick turned and walked out the front door. And because he was deaf, he didn't hear the sounds of her devastation and misery.

Ouch... I didn't want to go there, but it needed to be done. Let's see how this shakes out.