Gay

Keywords: The, Ch., Magic, Your, in, Touch, 09,

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"For the last time, Brandon, he"s alright."

"I still think you should check him again."

Keith slipped his stethoscope back in his pocket. "What, you think I missed something the first four times I checked him?"

Nate gave them a sleepy look from his nest of pillows. "Lay off, Bran. I"m fine. Blood thinners give you the shakes sometimes, that"s all."

"You"re not on my happy list right now, Nathan. I wouldn"t push it, if I were you."

The look on Nate"s face would have made him feel guilty had he not been so mad. The fact that he had to carry Nate"s prone body out of the station and into the car didn"t help his mood. Nor was he placated when Nate had to be helped back into the house and up the stairs. He"d even had to undress him, a task he would have enjoyed had he not been so damned worried.

"Don"t give me those big brown puppy eyes, Nate. You could have been killed driving in that condition, not to mention killing someone else. Keith was right. I should have arrested you for reckless driving."

Keith said, "Look, Bran, I was upset when I said that. Go easy on him, alright. He"s had a rough time of it."

"Speaking of people who"ve had a rough day, how"s my mom?"

"She"s tired, Nate, but she"s a tough lady. I gave her a sedative, so she"s resting right now."

"What about Seth? Not only did he find out the truth about Phillip, he heard every filthy word Dad said."

Brandon answered. "He took Phillip to the airport about an hour ago. He seems to be holding up well under the circumstances."

Keith said, "Not to interrupt, but Jacob and Jessica have a riding lesson at four and I promised Maria I would take them so she could do a little birthday shopping. I"ve got to run if I"m going to be there on time."

"I still can"t believe the twins will be ten-years-old next week."

"Imagine how I feel. I always wanted to be a father. I just never dreamed they"d come in pairs." He smiled at Nate. "If you guys decide to use a surrogate mother instead of straight adoption, make sure not to use Brandon"s sperm. Twins are thick in our family."

"I"ll remember that, but I think it would be kind of nice to have twins. It"d be like a complete family on the first try."

Keith said, "I"ll remind you of that when you"re walking the floor at two in the morning with a colicky baby on each shoulder. We"ll see just how much of a "magic touch" you"ve really got." He checked his watch. "I"m out of here, guys."

Brandon nodded. "I"ll walk you out." He turned to Nate. "I expect you to be in this bed when I get back."

"Don"t worry. I"m not planning on sneaking out for another joy ride anytime soon."

Bran smiled. "I know. I"ve hidden my extra set of car keys." He winked and walked with Keith to the door.

Once out of earshot, Brandon said, "Now tell me how he"s really doing."

"Brandon, I know you love the guy to the point of insanity, but you"re starting to scare me. Physically, he"s fine. I"d say he earned another batch of emotional scars this afternoon, but he"s stronger than you"re giving him credit for. He survived the break-up with Landon and desertion by his parents, all at once. This time, he has you to help him deal with it."

"Yeah, but last time he didn"t have some psycho trying to off him, either."

"Any word on Calder?"

"Sam called about an hour ago and said Calder"s prints don"t match the partial, but we"re going to hold him as long as we can while we gather evidence. Eva called and said Marjorie"s vitals were improving, but she still hasn"t regained consciousness. Her doctor did say that she received the blow to the head before the fire started, so I"m hopeful she"ll remember something that can help my case when, and if, she comes around."

Keith didn"t look very hopeful. "I know your degree is clinical, not medical, but you learned enough in Shrink One-O-One to know that many head trauma victims have only partial recall. I wouldn"t set my sights on any big revelations from Marjorie. Add that to the fact that she"s nearly sixty, and I"d say your chances in that sector are slim to none."

Brandon thanked him again and was on his way back to Nate when he ran into Seth.

"Hey, buddy. How ya holding up?"

Seth gave him a crooked smile. "As nutty as it sounds, I think I"m more relieved than anything. The way Phillip kept putting me off, I was starting to think I had cooties or something. Now I know he was just another flunky on the old man"s payroll."

"Do you think Calder"s stable of flunkies includes a good combination arsonist/hit-man?"

"You want to hear the funny part? Even after all the things he"s said and done, I still don"t think my father is capable of hiring someone to murder his own son. I was in the dispatcher"s office listing to every word he said to you. I know the man is a lousy, rotten bigot, but murder just isn"t his style."

"As much as I"d like to pin this on your father, I agree with you. For one thing, why risk exposure by planting that receipt? We already know his prints don"t match the one on Nate"s car. I have a feeling I"m going to have to turn him loose in a few hours." He pursed his lips in disgust. "Makes me sick to even think about having to let that son-of-a-bitch go."

"I know. How"s Nate?"

"Keith swears he"s alright, but I know this whole thing has been a nightmare for him. He was really hoping his father wanted to reconcile."

"Me, too. I think out of all of us, though, Mother was hit the hardest. She never saw it coming."

"Keith said he gave Leda a sedative."

"Yeah. She was sleeping when I last checked. She"s worn out from trying to find a good divorce attorney. She was on the phone all afternoon with no luck. Hey, didn"t you tell me your sister is a lawyer?"

"Alicia"s a prosecutor, but she doesn"t handle civil cases. What about Mike? Doesn"t he work for a firm in Chicago?"

"Yeah, he does. I forgot all about him. I"ll tell Mom when she wakes up. Thanks, Brandon. Tell Nate I"ll be up to see him later." Brandon nodded and returned to his bedroom, expecting to find Nate asleep. Instead he found him face down in the pillows sobbing his heart out.

Bran had him in his arms in an instant. He gathered him to his chest and rocked him as Nate proceeded to soak his shirtfront.

"Honey, it"s alright. I know your father hurt you, but it"ll be okay. I promise." He stroked his fingers through Nate"s silky blonde hair. "God, baby, it kills me to see you hurting like this. Your father isn"t worth it."

Nate hiccupped and between sobs managed to say, "I"m not crying because of that. I"m sorry for my mother, but I know my dad too well to be surprised."

Bran continued to rock him. "If you"re not crying over Calder, then why are you so upset?"

"You were so mad at me, Bran. I almost lost you."

Brandon pulled back so he could see him. "What are you talking about, Nate?"

"You said it yourself. Taking your car like that was stupid. From the day we met, I"ve brought you nothing but trouble. I wouldn"t blame you if washed your hands of me all together."

Bran didn"t know whether to kiss him or shake him. "That"s bullshit, Nathan."

Nate looked stunned. "What . . . what do you mean?"

Brandon cupped Nate"s face in his hands and looked straight into his eyes. "Over the next sixty years, I"m going to get mad at you, just like you"ll get mad at me. No matter how much you piss me off, or how much trouble we face together, I"m not leaving you. I haven"t worked this damn hard to keep you alive just to throw it all away now." He kissed Nate softly on the lips. His voice fell to a husky whisper. "I love you, Nate. That will never change."

"I love you, too, Bran, but I"m so damn scared. You"re all I"ve ever wanted. I feel like I"ve spent my whole life looking for you. I can"t lose you now."

Brandon lay back on the bed, taking Nate with him and spooning him against his side. "And you won"t, baby." Nate grunted in response and fell asleep a few minutes later. Bran held him as he slept, the whole time praying to God he could keep his promise.

* * *

Calder was released the next morning, though Bran tried his best to fight it. Nate appreciated the effort, but he could have told him nothing would keep Calder Morris down for long.

Nate was lying in bed going stir crazy when Leda came in with Seth. She gave her oldest son a kiss on the check and settled into the chair beside the bed. For the first time since she arrived, Nate could see something of the beauty that had once seen Leda crowned Miss Georgia coming back. She seemed happier, freer. Seth stood behind his mother and propped his hands on the back of her chair.

"How are you, Nathan?"

"Fine, Mom. The question is, how are you?" "Actually, I feel better than I have in a long time. According to Mike, I have one heck of a divorce settlement coming. Calder will fight it, of course, but Georgia is a community property state. I"ll have enough money to keep me comfortable until it"s all settled."

"Mom, Seth and I both have more money than we could ever spend. Let us—"

Leda used the same voice she used when they were caught talking in church as children. "Nathan Llewellyn Morris, that"s the money your grandmother set aside for you in case her son turned out to be a jackass. Insightful woman, your grandmother. I have more than enough, thank you anyway. You"re getting married soon. Use that money to set up housekeeping. Knowing her, you could probably sustain five households with what Mother Morris left you."

Brandon came in grinning from ear to ear. "I"ve already told him I won"t touch his money, Leda." He sat down on the bed. "Besides, I"m not sure I want to marry a man whose middle name is Llewellyn."

Leda gave Brandon a cheeky grin that transformed her whole face. "Rather shallow of you, don"t you think, Brandon Constantine Nash?"

Nate and Seth both started belly-laughing. Brandon said, "Which one of my no good siblings squealed? If it was Keith, I swear I"m going to buy the twins a pet python for their birthday next week."

Leda said, "Actually, it was Gale. We had a long talk last night.

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Keywords: The, Ch., Magic, Your, in, Touch, 09,