August 2027: A Parent's Nightmare Part II.
"I'm afraid that with Lachlan, quite conversely, things aren't quite so simple. He had no stab wounds as you are aware, just a few minor cuts on his hands and the gash to his forehead. However, we are now convinced that he has a pretty serious head injury. When he fell the first time and gashed his head, he was left stunned, but was still able to get back up on his feet, and presumably he went to try and help Dante. This was when he was pushed and fell again, but backwards this time; the back of his head therefore took the full impact. He would have hit the stone at the edge of the sidewalk with considerable force; unfortunately, there was also a raised metal drain cover at that precise point. We believe it was that raised edge that did the real damage, and left him with a fractured skull…"
Mrs Rosenfeld let out a strangled sob at his words, as her husband went white; they took each other's hand as Beats and Elliott looked on in horror.
Ollie closed his eyes for a moment, and then went on. "Now fortunately the fracture is at the crown of his skull, so we are not looking at there being any damage to the brain stem; indeed, none of the vital areas of the brain will have suffered too greatly. However, that doesn't mean that we are completely out of the woods either. He is currently upstairs having a scan which will let us assess both the extent of the damage to his skull and see if there is any bleeding on the brain. The specialists up there will need to take a look at the results and only once they do so will be able to give you any more clarity. I know that this news was not what you wanted to hear, but he is receiving the best possible care and treatment; it has also been a very short time since the injury. I would say that the prognosis is pretty positive…"
"Unless they discover something untoward on the scans," said Mr Rosenfeld bluntly.
"Yes, there is that, but any minor bleeds can be sorted, and I am confident that he should make a good recovery in time," said Ollie. "There is only one other thing we need to mention, and that is that he might suffer from amnesia; he might not remember the event at all. Hopefully that will only be temporary, and it will only affect a short period of time in his memory. The worst-case scenario would be that he forgets the last decade…"
"So, half his life…," sobbed Mrs Rosenfeld. As her husband pulled her into an embrace and tried to comfort her, Beats and Elliott looked at each other in horror. If that was the scenario, then Lachlan would not have any idea who Dante was, and that would devastate the young man in question…
The next hour would be busy and stressful for all concerned. Ollie offered to stay on for as long as was required, but all four parents told him to head for home, where his own wife and child would be waiting for him. He did so with a little reluctance, and then only once he had arranged a contact for them with one of the senior nurses; that way he ensured that they would be updated on everything that was going on just as soon as it happened. Beats considered making the call he really should already have made to his parents, but the more he thought about it, the more he was sure that it could wait. His parents were likely to already be in bed, and the last thing he wanted was to wake them and not be able to confirm that all was okay and have them sitting up all night too. His mother would probably want to come, firstly to see the boys and then to take care of Olivia and Ty, but that was all in hand. Still, he knew that if he didn't tell them soon then there could be upset later….
He was saved from making the call by the appearance of two NYPD officers, who were looking for the family of Dante and Lachlan, and more importantly, for Beats and Elliott, as they had been on the scene… "We already have detailed statements from Mrs Chang and Ms. Wilde-Abrams; both of them were able to supply us with excellent descriptions of the two young men they saw fleeing the scene. We were also able to locate the knife that was used from their evidence; it had been kicked into the basement area of one of the houses across the street from your own. From that, we have been able to take a fingerprint, and after a crossmatch with our records, we have identified the perp. Our colleagues across the city, and especially in the Bronx are on the lookout for him; he lives in the latter borough. We also have the cops on the subway keeping a close eye out, as that is how he is likely to return home."
Before he could say more, the nurse that had been asked to liaise with them appeared and asked the Rosenfelds to come through; at their insistence, Elliott went with them to provide a bit of emotional support, which left Beats alone with the officer. The latter said nothing until the three others had entered the emergency room proper. Then with a serious expression on his face, he said, "That was actually very fortuitous timing, as what I am about to say now could be an issue for the Rosenfelds. The young man we are seeking was first arrested and fingerprinted as part of a gang in his early teens; they were terrorising innocent people in the Bronx. Eventually he was caught red-handed and did time in juvenile detention; the rest of the gang were cautioned but allowed to remain free. I'm sorry to have to tell you that one of those other gang members was a Dante Salazar…"
Beats eyes widened then; yes, there had to be other young men with the same name as the one his adopted son had come to them with, other boys with it in the Bronx, but this was no coincidence… "We can conclude that the attackers knew your son; that he was their target and young Mr Rosenfeld was a tragic victim of circumstance. He was in the way when our perp decided to get revenge for something that Dante had done…"
Those last words were overheard by Elliott, who had come back to say that Lachlan was back from his scan and that his parents were with him. He sat down in the seat next to Beats hard, and his husband explained what the cop had just told him, still full of shock and horror at it all himself. "He always said to us from day one that he wanted to stay away from the Bronx and his old friends; that he had done with that past and he wanted to put it all behind him for good," said Elliott quietly after a moment. "Now it seems that his past has found him, ruined his present and might possibly have wrecked his future too…"
"I think that we should just keep this information to ourselves for now. The Rosenfelds have enough on their plate already without us adding to it," said Beats, partly to Elliott but mainly to the police officer that was still sat with them.
The latter nodded, before saying, "We will catch the man that did this; unfortunately, when we do there is almost a guarantee that he will try and drag your son's name into all of the mess, so I think you should plan on telling the Rosenfelds at some point in the very near future. We can't stop it coming out I'm afraid."
"I think that the best plan then would be to tell Mr Rosenfeld what is happening first; once he is in the picture then we can make the difficult move and inform his wife," said Beats, and Elliott nodded.
The cop then stood up, and said, "There isn't much more that we can do for now; obviously we will need to talk to both Dante and Lachlan when the time comes, to clarify exactly what happened, but that will wait until they are both in a stable condition."
Then the officer was gone, rejoining his colleague who had just emerged from the emergency room proper; alone, Beats and Elliott pondered what they had just been told. "I am not certain, but I have a horrible feeling that the guy attacked Lachlan at first instead of Dante, either verbally or physically; he then saw red, and thus provoked, got physical with the guy himself," said Elliott. Beats nodded, almost certain too that what had caused Dante to lose control had been something directed towards the young man that he adored…
There was no time for further discussion then as the Rosenfelds returned. "They have made their initial checks on Lachlan's scan, and it seems that he has been very fortunate; his skull is badly cracked, but all the pieces are still in place. There is a small bleed on his brain, but not of a size that is giving them grave concern at the moment; they will continue to monitor it though to ensure that it is not worsening. They are confident that he will make a full recovery, but it will not be a swift process…," said Mrs Rosenfeld, before she started to cry.
"We have hard heads, us Rosenfeld men," her husband said as he wrapped his arms around her. "What it does mean is that he will not be able to return to college this semester at the very least, and there is a chance that he might actually have to defer for the entire year to be on the safe side. It is not what he would want, but in the circumstances, he will not be in a position to argue. Now all we need to hear is news about how Dante is doing…"
Mr Rosenfeld stopped speaking then as he saw the expression on Beats' face as he said those words; he then recalled that the police had been speaking to him when they had been called in to see the doctor. It was obvious that something was wrong, and he needed to find out what it was. "I think that what we could all do with right now is a coffee; I think that there is a coffee cart located just down that hallway…" As he spoke, he looked right at Beats, and he realised that the man wanted to speak to him in private, so he took the hint and agreed…
Leaving Mrs Rosenfeld in the care of Elliott, the two men headed in the direction of the coffee cart; as soon as they were out of sight and earshot, Mr Rosenfeld spoke. "I want you to know that we care about Dante every bit as much as Lachlan; we could not have wished for a better son-in-law one day. If his past has caught up with him, and that is the reason why all of this has happened, then it is understood. We all have skeletons in our closets, people that were once friends that we would never wish to encounter again. So, I am going to suggest to you that is exactly the reason why we are all here right now…"
Beats sighed, and said quietly, "You are correct, that is the reason for all of this according to the cops. They have suggested that the perp had some grudge against Dante and took revenge when he saw him. Elliott and i have another theory, in as much as the perp said something about Lachlan, and Dante reacted to it. That is what kicked all of this off…"
Mr Rosenfeld nodded, and said, "If that is the reason for all of this, that he was defending my son, then we should all be very proud of him."
"The police have even identified the suspect, but that will only open up a whole can of worms," said Beats; he then told Mr Rosenfeld everything that he knew…
By the time that they returned with the coffee, Beats was feeling much calmer about the situation that he now found himself in. He had expected to find himself dealing with anger from Lachlan's father when he finished telling him the sorry tale, but instead he was given a calm and measured response. What anger the man felt was directed firmly at the two people that had put their respective sons in hospital.
"I don't care what happened to kick this whole thing off, whether it be revenge, homophobia or antisemitism; I just want those that are responsible to face the consequences of their actions. It probably will not be as simple as going to that young man's home and arresting him; he will have gone to ground, and let's be honest, there are dozens of places that he will be able to hide in this great metropolis. However, he slipped up when he ditched the knife that he used in front of two witnesses; then there is the fact that he attacked them in a neighbourhood where they have friends and family. Our sons should be safe together anywhere in this city in this day and age, but the truth is…"
"That no matter how hard we try, there will always be that undercurrent of violence and criminality in certain sectors, always that degree of intolerance," replied Beats. "We are not helped by the fact that there are those in positions of power and influence that seek to provoke and bring out the prejudices that we have all strived to eradicate; to stir up a mob mentality to overturn it all for their own benefit. I want love to win every time, but the truth is that will be difficult to achieve in the real world."
"Well, as far as I am concerned, the love that our boys have for each other will be allowed to triumph. All of this will hit them both hard, and the recovery process from this will not be an easy one for either of them; they will have mental wounds to go alongside the physical ones. We will see to it though that they do recover, that they overcome it and stand strong side by side once more. Now, we had best get this coffee back before our respective partners wonder where we are. I will also try to think when the best time would be to tell my wife the whole story; not right now, because she is still too emotional, but it is not something that we can put off for ever…"
Beats nodded and was grateful that the older man had agreed to take on that task; however, when they returned to the waiting area, it was to find Elliott looking at that sheepishly as they approached. He mouthed the words, "I'm sorry!" to his husband as he approached, and then Beats saw Mrs Rosenfeld's face…
"I know. I know what the police told you whilst we were in talking to the doctor. The police officer returned and spoke to Elliott just now, and I overheard it all; that so far, they have drawn a blank on finding the former friend of Dante's, but they had all units across the city on high alert, so it won't be long until they catch up with him and take him into custody. His name is Mateo Betancourt by the way… Right now, I would like to find him and wring his neck, but that would be too good for him. I don't know exactly how the situation unfolded, or what his motivation was for attacking our sons, but I want him to suffer just as much, if not more, than we are right now…"
"There will be ample time for retribution once both of our boys are out of danger and back to the way they were," said Elliott calmly.
"I agree, but there is something that we all need to face up to; something that the doctors said to us when we spoke to them just now," said Mr Rosenfeld. "We need to admit that Lachlan could be left with severe amnesia, either temporarily or in the worst-case scenario, permanently. There is a chance that he might not even remember who Dante is, let alone that they were living together as a couple."
Beats nodded, aware of that himself, and said, "Well, we just need to hope that Lachlan isn't affected in that way, or if he is, that it temporarily. If it isn't then we will need to deal with the fact that a lot of hearts will be left shattered, and not just Dante's…"
It would be another hour before a nurse would appear again, this time asking for the family of Dante Harper-Gilbert. Beats and Elliott looked at each, worry apparent on their faces and then stood up to head over to where she stood. They confirmed their identity to her, always a necessary precaution in the circumstances, but once they had done so, she smiled.
"We have him out of surgery; it was a complete success. The damage that was done in the stabbing has now been repaired. He did lose a reasonable amount of blood, but we have transfused a good amount into him so that should no longer be an issue. He is still out under the effects of the anaesthesia, but you can go and see him as we have taken him up to the wards. He will be placed in a two-bedroom room, the other one being occupied by Mr Rosenfeld at the specific direction of Dr Harwood." She paused, seeing the obvious relief on the faces of the two men before her at her words. "You will of course be able to sit with him upstairs; we always think that when a patient comes round after an operation, seeing a familiar face the moment they open their eyes is a great help."
"That is definitely a good idea in the circumstances, as he will probably be quite upset when he does come round, particularly if what has been surmised took place, and he recalls every bit of it," said Elliott.
"That is the reason why we will be keeping the curtain drawn between the two beds at first; when it is drawn back will be left up to yourselves, the Rosenfelds and the doctors working in conjunction," said the nurse.
Beats thanked her, and carefully listened to her instructions on where they could find him upstairs, before letting her head back to work. He and Elliott walked back over to the Rosenfelds to let them know what was going on; before they could say a word, however, Mrs Rosenfeld said, "I am taking it from your smiles that the operation was a success? I am so glad, because our boys are going to need each other so much after this."
"It was - she also told us that they have moved him up to the wards, and that he will be sharing a room with Lachlan when he is also taken up," answered Beats. "They will be keeping the privacy curtains drawn at first though."
"I guess that is for the best in the circumstances," said Mr Rosenfeld. "The sight of one and other lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to machines and fitted with tubes could create all kinds of unnecessary trauma for them both."
"It will be bad enough for us," his wife said quietly, knowing that she had been spared the worst in so far not seeing either of the two young men, unlike the pair now standing opposite her…
Beats had to admit to himself that the prospect of seeing his son again was filling him with angst and dread in equal measure. All he could recall at the moment was the blood, and how Dante had looked so small and pale lying there on the sidewalk. Walking into that hospital room therefore required a deep breath, but he was glad when he saw him. He might have been hooked up to machines, but he looked more his usual self in that hospital bed. That image helped to wipe the worst of the sights of earlier that night from his mind. By the time they headed up, the Rosenfelds had been informed that Lachlan was also now in the room, and so they approached together.
Once inside, Beats and Elliott left Lachlan to his parents; they heard a sob from the other side of the screen though as his mother saw him for the first time since the incident, and they understood why. Beats in particular knew that it was natural, as he had nearly burst into tears the first time he had seen him lying in the street. They had their own boy to deal with though, and they took a seat on opposite sides of his bed. Both of Dante's hands were above the cover and so they carefully took one each, so that he would know through the feeling of touch that he was not alone.
One of his fingers on the hand that Elliott had taken was splinted, obviously broken during the attack, but in the scheme of things that was a very minor injury. Both he and Beats focused their eyes on Dante's face however, as it was easier to look at than his chest, where a mound of bandages made it clear that their son had been stabbed. That was not something that either of them wished to dwell on…
On his way up, Beats had taken a moment to check his phone and he saw that he had a significant number of messages. He had suspected that the news of what had happened might well have spread amongst their closest friends and neighbours, and that was indeed the case, every one of the messages filled with love and concern. No-one had asked for updates, all acutely aware that they would not be in a position or a state to give them…
He was also not at all surprised to see that he had a message from Thad; he had suspected that Ollie would tell his brother, knowing full well that Beats and Elliott would not mind if the news was spread amongst the bird brotherhood. His little brother as Head Warbler was the obvious starting point for that process outside of the West Village; thus, it was to Thad that Beats sent a swift message to say that the surgery had gone well, that Dante was out of danger, and now all that they could do was wait for him to wake up…
He also sent a quick message to his boss at the City Council explaining the situation and stating that as a result, he would not be at work the following day. He knew that they would understand why he had to stay where he was. To his surprise, he was proved correct almost at once when they replied voicing their concern and wishing them all the love they could give…
Meanwhile, back in the West Village by that point, a decision had been taken by Ethan with support from Drew; the news that Dante was no longer on the critical list had been relayed to them by Thad and it helped them decide that their course of action was the correct one. By that time, Ty and Olivia should have been in bed, given that the new school year started the following morning, but the absence of Beats and Elliott, combined with the nature of their departure, had made enforcing the correct bedtime an impossible task for Ethan. They knew that something had to be going on, and they point blank refused to go to bed until they knew exactly what it was, or even where the two men where; even if they had sent them to their rooms, they would not have been able to sleep.
Ethan had been despairing of what was best to do when Drew appeared, Evie now in bed downstairs, and Ethel happy to stay with her. He had suspected that his best friend might require some assistance with the children, knowing himself exactly where Beats and Elliot were and why. He had been the one to suggest that they should tell the two youngsters the truth, but Ethan had been reluctant, thinking it was a task best suited for their guardians. "They aren't here, nor are they likely to be for a while," Drew had whispered. "The longer we leave telling them, the worse it will be; Dante is like a brother to them both…"
Ethan had seen the wisdom, but it was only once they received the news Dante was no longer critical that he agreed with his friend. They had taken the two children into the kitchen and broke the news gently; no details, just that Dante and Lachlan had been in an 'accident' and where both in hospital. It was not wise or indeed necessary to go into every detail. There were tears at once, and Ty demanded to be taken to the hospital at once so that he could join in the vigil at the bedside of the young man he saw as his brother…
Ethan had shaken his head, then said kindly, "I'm afraid that they will only allow two people at his bedside at any one time, so you will need to stay here." He wasn't sure if that was actually a rule at the hospital, but it sounded like a valid argument. "He is unconscious anyway, so there is nothing that you could do. I am sure that you will be able to go and see him after school tomorrow – and before you say you aren't going, well I think that Dante would be quite upset at the idea of you missing classes because of him…"
"But he will be alright? Him and Lachlan?" Ty asked.
"Everything is as it should be at the moment; they will be up and about in no time," replied Drew, hoping that his words would not come back to haunt him…
It would be in the early hours of the morning when the anaesthetic wore off enough to allow Dante to open his eyes; he blinked in the light, his mind wondering why it was so warm, why he was lying in a strange bed, why his chest… "LACHLAN!" he screamed, immediately trying to get up out of the bed…
At once he felt hands upon him, holding him down. "It's okay, he's here, he's in the other bed on the other side of the curtains," said Beats. He and Elliott had both been dozing, but the second that their son screamed out they had jumped to his side. "Now, you need to stay calm for me, otherwise you will burst your stitches and make things much worse," he continued, as Elliott pressed the nurse call button; the doctor in charge had requested that they do so the minute that Dante woke when he had popped in just after midnight. "Lachlan is alive. I am not going to lie to you and say that he is unhurt, because he isn't. What he needs you to do right now is to be calm and focus on yourself, however much you just want to run to him…"
"I told him to run, that he should get away, that their fight was with me. Why didn't he run away?" sobbed Dante, tears now running down his face.
"For the exact same reason that I didn't run away the day I went to Elliott's old place and saw him being attacked by his father: because he loves you. When someone is hurting the person that you love most in the world, then no matter how sensible it would be to flee, your primal instinct is to defend them. You have to intervene…"
"But he ended up getting hurt, ended up in hospital," sobbed Dante. "The way that he fell, that cracking noise…" Dante began to howl, and Beats could not find the words to comfort him, just as he knew nobody had been able to find words to comfort Elliott when he had witnessed him being injured in that fight with Mr Gilbert…
Elliott still had the occasional nightmare about that day, when he recalled the terrible noise Beats had made as he was hurled into the wall, cracking the plaster and himself in the process. He could still recall just how helpless he had felt when he had seen his Beats lying comatose in his hospital bed, a bed that was ironically just a few doors away. He did the one thing that he could do, and wrapped his arm around his son gently, and held him as he sobbed his heart out…
Then the door opened to admit a nurse, whose smile was momentary before she became all business. She had Elliott and Beats move away so that she could check their son out properly; as they stood to one side, Beats noticed that Elliott's eyes were moist, and he seemed to be staring into the distance; he knew him well enough to know that he was having a flashback to that night when he had been in the same position as their boy, and he wrapped an arm around him, holding him close…
Then the nurse came over to them, and explained that she had given Dante a painkiller, which would also make him drowsy again. "It is for the best; he is exhausted and emotional, and that is often how stitches burst, and we are back at square one. I also think that now he has woken up, it would be a good idea for one of you to head home. There is nothing more you can do tonight, but he is going to need a lot of support tomorrow, and that will be much easier to give if you have had some rest…"
She would go on to say similar things to the Rosenfelds; they agreed with her, just as Beats and Elliott did, and it was the latter that headed for home, sharing a taxi with Mr Rosenfeld. The latter insisted that Elliott should be dropped off first, despite the fact that his home was closer, and Elliott did not argue with him. His only request was that he be dropped off at the corner of the street, as it would make things simpler for the driver, and so that he could get a little air. So it was that he was left to walk the short way down to his home; almost as soon as the taxi vanished and he was in the otherwise deserted street, he felt the familiar draught. He knew exactly which one of the angels it would be at once…
"Why Kurt? Why our boy? He and Lachlan never did anyone any harm, they just wanted to be allowed to live in peace…"
"I don't know why, and even if I did, chances are that I wouldn't be allowed to tell you. I would not be at all surprised though if the motivation was homophobic, with maybe a side order of jealousy…" Elliott turned to stare at Kurt when he said that, and the angel explained himself… "He and Dante knew each other for years in the past, and well, Dante hardly had a reputation for being either a virgin or heterosexual when he arrived in your lives. He wasn't doing any of it on the down low; maybe the attacker saw him and Lachlan all loved up, and that was a red rag to someone that had never approved of his sexuality. Or it could be the other way entirely, that he and Dante had been more than friends; there he was, with another man, and a white one at that…"
Elliott nodded and wondered if Lachlan's race could have been a factor in it all, which would just make it all the more complex. There was so much that he wanted to ask Kurt at that moment, things like if Lachlan would be okay, if he would remember Dante, but he knew that the angel was not allowed to tell him things like that either.
"There won't be any funerals for you to attend and justice will be served; in fact, the cops will find Mateo very soon…"
Elliott looked at Kurt then in disbelief, as if his choice of words had startled him somewhat. "They are going to find Mateo? He had better not be dead…"
"No, he is not dead, but pretty much out of it on a cocktail of drink and drugs… As is so often the case in these scenarios, he intended to rob someone, scare them into giving him their money and valuables, and then leave them for dead. However, this time it was not an anonymous victim, but someone that he knew; he thought he could deal with that, but it turns out he can't... He is feeling guilt for the first time since he embarked on this destructive path; alas, it will become all the worse once he is clean and sober in the cold light of a new day…"
"He only has himself to blame for that; he is the one that pulled the knife," hissed Elliott.
"Even a fist can be lethal in the wrong place; Lachlan is the one whose injuries are giving the most cause for concern right now and he was only pushed," Kurt reminded him.
They had been walking as they talked, and Elliott now found himself at his front door. Kurt smiled at him, then took his leave. It was only as he vanished that Elliott realised how hard it must be for Kurt too, as he recalled how the angel had died; the similarities were there. it had to have been difficult for him to come and talk to him in the way that he had…
He let himself into the house and climbed up the stairs quietly, heading for the kitchen. He was not in the least surprised to see Ethan sitting at the table even at this ungodly hour, typing away at his laptop. "Hey, you are home; that has to be a reasonably good sign that things are not as bad as they were…"
"He woke up; his first thought was Lachlan… He told him to run away, to leave him and save himself, but he refused to do so. It reminded me of what happened with my dad…"
"Like Beats, there was never a chance in hell that Lachlan was going to run away when Dante was in danger," said Ethan quietly. "Now, shall I make you a cup of tea, or coffee, or do you just want to head to bed?"
"You have done enough already; you should head for home."
"Well, I have to own up and admit that I might actually have overstepped a little bit too. We had a discussion, and Drew and I told Ty and Olivia that Dante and Lachlan were in hospital after an accident. We didn't tell them exactly what had happened, but they were getting impatient for information. Yes, there were tears and Ty was all for coming to the hospital too, but we handled that, and they are both in bed asleep now."
Elliott nodded, and replied, "I don't think that you overstepped in the circumstances at all; in fact, I was dreading having to have that conversation just now, but now I have a few more hours to deal with it myself before I have to talk to them; thank you…"
Ethan nodded, relieved that he was not being shouted at, then said, "Okay, so I will be off; if you need me, just call. I'm going to be working from home tomorrow anyway, so I can be here in a minute…"
He did not wait for an answer; he got up, hugged Elliott, then headed for the door, his laptop under his arm. Alone now, Elliott smiled, glad he had such good friends around, then headed for his bed…