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Dura et Pulsans – Continuum II:2 I went back to the kitchen and paused outside it when I heard Daffyd and Gavin talking to each other. As I neared the door I heard Gavin say, "Del's a great guy and if I ever hear that you have hurt him again in any way I will come after you." "I don't think I've got the guts to hurt him again. Not after what all we have done to him for so long. I'm going to have that haunting me for the rest of my life," Daffyd told Gavin. "Mum's going to see what she can do and will call me back soon," I said as I walked through the door. "Did she tell you anything more about Mike?" Gavin asked anxiously. "All she said was that he was in a bad way. But she can't discuss her patients with me. It's only because I could tell her who her patient was that she told me that much," I told him. "Shit! This is so hard," Gavin said and both Daffyd and I could see the glisten of tears in his eyes. I walked over to him and because I was standing his head was at my chest level and I just pulled him into a hug and held him there. A few moments later I felt the shudder of his body and the dampness as his tears wet my shirt. "I wish I could say that it is going to be alright, but I don't know and I can't make that promise. But I'm here and will do what I can to help you," I said softly. Daffyd got up and moved over to us and put his hand on Gavin's shoulder. "I can't make any promises but someone who's been Del's friend for many years deserves what I can do to help, too," he said. I held Gavin for what must have been about five minutes before he pulled back and with red-rimmed eyes looked up at me and smiled his thanks. "I'm sorry. I feel like a baby." "Having strong feelings is not being a baby. If that is the case then I'm a baby too, because it was not that long ago that I was also crying," I said. "What do you mean?" Gavin asked. "The way some of the guys had treated me that day took me to the lowest I've ever been and I cried. Ask Daffyd, he saw me." "That was what made me realise how shit we had been toward Del. It takes a lot to make a sixteen year old guy cry and four of our dorm had piled enough on him that day to do it," Daffyd confirmed. "Shit! It got as bad as that?" Gavin asked. I was saved further questions by the ringing of the telephone. I dashed to the hall and answered it. I listened for a bit as mum told me that they would let Gavin in to see Mike for a little bit but that he needed to get to the hospital quickly as they were going to start prepping Mike for surgery, rather than waiting till later to make a decision. "It will take some time as we are at home and will need to get a bus into town and then another one out to the hospital," I told her. "No, I will send a taxi. When you get to the hospital go straight to the reception and I will leave some money with them to pay the taxi. I'll use the company that helps me when I feel too tired to drive," Mum told me. "Can I tell him that they are going to operate?" I asked mum. "I think you had better so that he has some time to get over the shock of it," Mum said. "Okay. Thanks, mum. You're the best," I said and hung up. Back in the kitchen I told the guys that a taxi was coming and that there was not enough time to do the buses, as they needed to begin to prep Mike for surgery. "Surgery?" Gavin almost shouted, "What's wrong?" "I don't know, but it seems he has not responded to the treatment as they expected and they need to do an operation," I told him. "Oh shit! Where's that fucking taxi?" Gavin was beginning to get a bit agitated. Daffyd wrapped his arm around Gavin's shoulder and said, "I'm sure the taxi will be here soon, but you need to get to grips with yourself. It sounds like your brother is very sick and he needs to see a strong brother there for him." I was beginning to like Daffyd more and more. Here he was with a guy who he had only met a couple of hours earlier, who had threatened him quite strongly and he was just trying to help. "Daffyd is right, Gav. But we'll be there to help you, okay?" I said "Yeah, yeah. Thanks guys. This is just so strange for me," Gavin apologised. "It's okay. This is strange for us too, and all we want is to see you okay," I comforted. Mum's taxi company must have had one in the area, because we did not have to wait more than five minutes before there was the parp of the taxi hooter outside the house. "Do you want me to come with you guys, or would it be better if I just go home?" Daffyd asked. "I think it would be nice if you could come, but it's really Gav's decision," I said. "Please come. I might need more than two shoulders," Gavin said. "Okay, then, let's go," I said and we headed out the door. As we piled into the taxi the driver asked, "I'm taking you to the hospital where your mum works, right?" "Yeah, and as quick as you can please," I confirmed. "Is this an emergency?" the driver asked. "We don't know for sure, but Gav's little brother is in intensive care and needs to be operated on. Gav needs to see him first," I said. "Okay, I'll do my best," the driver said and pulled away from the curb. He certainly did do his best and got us to the hospital very quickly. I told him there was money at reception and I would just go and get it. "Don't worry. I'll get it off you mother the next time I give her a ride. Just tell her it was twelve pounds and eighty pence. You get your friend to his brother." We all thanked him and ran inside. I still had to go to reception to find out where to go and they gave me the twenty pound note that mum had left with them and then directed us where to go. When we got to the intensive care suite there was a lounge and Gavin's parents were sitting in there. I guess they were waiting for Gavin to get there. Gavin went straight to his parents and I was about to try and find out what I could when mum walked through a set of doors which clearly led into the unit. "Delmar, that was quick. You must be Gavin. your parents are in the lounge," Mum said. "No, mum, Gavin is with his parents. This is Daffyd from my school. He's just moved into town and was with me when I met Gavin," I told her. "Oh, I'm sorry. Well you two will have to wait out here. You will not be allowed in, I'm afraid." Mum told us. She kind of ushered us into the lounge. As we entered Gavin's parents stood up and looked at mum with questions written all over their faces. "You must be Gavin," Mum said with some assurance now. When Gavin nodded, she continued, "Dr. Giovani is of the same opinion as me; he is just doing a couple of final checks before making his decision. When he has finished I will take Gavin in to see Michael. Dr. Giovani is one of the best and most respected neurosurgeons in the United Kingdom. Michael could not be in better hands for the surgery. But with all surgery there is always a risk and in surgery of this nature that risk is greater," Mum told them. "But Mike's going to be alright isn't he?" Gavin asked. "Michael is very, very sick. I can't promise you that, but I can promise that we will all do our very best to help him," Mum told Gavin. Dr. Giovani entered the room and mum explained how we three teens happened to be there. "Well, Mr. and Mrs. Wisbech, and Gavin, I have to tell you that I concur with Dr. Butterworth's assessment of Michael. The angiogram shows that there is something pressing onto the brain and we need to remove it. This means that we will have to open his skull and then make a decision on exactly what we do once we can see what it is that is causing the problem. This sort of operation can take up to eight or nine hours. We will begin as soon as the theatre has been prepared. This means we need to start prepping Michael soon. I'm sure you are aware that there is a great element of risk with any neurosurgery and we can never predict what the outcome will be, but I can tell you that in my opinion surgery is the only thing that will give your son a chance to live." "Gavin, we need to get you in to see Michael right away. If you will come with me I will get you suited up," Mum told Gavin and held out a hand to lead him off. Gavin meekly took that hand and as he passed both Daffyd and myself we gave him a quick squeeze on the shoulder. Dr. Giovani then continued. "I'm sure you'll want a few more minutes with Michael, then we must start to prepare him for the surgery. Once we start that you will not be able to see him until the surgery is completed. That will be a minimum of six hours, so as difficult as it seems, I suggest you go home and try to rest a bit. Have a shower or bath and then come back here. If we think you need to be back sooner than that we will let you know. You boys will be needed very much by your friend. Just being there with him will be a great help." Gavin's father then spoke for the first time. "Thank you, doctor. We can only hope and pray." Turning towards me he said, "Thank you, Delmar, for bringing Gavin here. And I'm sorry but I don't believe I have met you," he said, turning towards Daffyd. "No, we haven't met. My name's Daffyd and I only met Gavin today. I'm at school with Del and we have just moved here recently," "Well, thank you, too," Mr. Wisbech said. Then he put his hand around his wife and they pulled their face masks over their mouths. They were already gowned up, having been inside the unit with Michael before Dr. Giovani came to do his examination. When Gavin came back out with his parents the expression on his face was one of utter despair. He walked straight over to me and Daffyd and we pulled him into a group hug. Once again the tears began to flow and between sobs he told us, "He looks so small and helpless." And after a bit more, "All those tubes and wires ..." We just pulled him in tighter Mum came into the room and told us they were beginning to prepare Mike for the surgery and suggested that we all go home. I held out the twenty pound note and explained that the taxi driver said he would get the fee off mum the next time he gave her a ride. "I know we're going home but I doubt any of us are going to be able to sleep and I think Gavin could do with some extra support, would you boys mind coming home with us and staying with Gavin, please?" Mrs. Wisbech asked us. I looked over at mum who nodded her head `okay' and then answered, "Sure. I'll be there," I answered. "I'll have to check with my parents first, but I'm sure they will be okay with it, if Gavin wants me to come," Daffyd said. "Please," Gavin asked, looking desperately at both Daffyd and me. Mum took Daffyd to make the call and a few minutes later he came back and we left with Gavin. The ride home was done in almost complete silence. Gavin's mum asked if we were hungry and I offered to get some food ready, explaining that I could at least butter bread and spread jam. "And I can boil a kettle," Daffyd answered which got the other three grinning. "Come and show us where to find things," I said to, Gavin grabbing him by the shoulder. "Thank you, boys. I'm going to get a shower and would love a cuppa when I'm done," Gavin's mum said. The three of us headed into the kitchen and began to get some food sorted. As we were working Gavin asked, "So, Daffyd, are you also a homo?" "What? What do you mean, also?" I asked. "Come on, Del. You have been bent for as long as I've known you," Gavin said. "Wait a moment. How can you say that? Del has shared the dorm with me for four years and I never saw that in him," Daffyd said. "You were not his friend. I am, and I've seen the way he's looked at me and the effect it's had on him. Del, why do you think I used to put my socks on first when we were getting dressed in the morning? I've seen you eyeing my body and having to adjust yourself," Gavin said. "Why have you never said anything before?" I asked. "Because you're my best friend and I love you. No, I'm straight and I have no sexual attraction towards you, but I do still love you as a brother," Gavin said smiling at me. "So why have you let me look at you like that?" I asked. "Because it made me feel good. I like having people admire my body, and you are the only one who I could show off all of it to. And I know it gives you some pleasure too." "Weren't you worried that I might make a move on you?" I asked. "Never. If you were going to make a move on me you would have done it long ago when we were wrestling or taking a shower together when we were younger. I trust you." "You are a true mate," I said and gave Gavin a hug. "So, are you going to answer my question, Daffyd?" "Well, if you had asked me that two weeks ago I would have said definitely not. But after some of what's gone on, I don't know for sure," Daffyd answered. I looked at him with an unspoken question in my eyes. "If Gavin has kept your secret even from you maybe we should tell him what all went on." "He might still hit you if you don't begin by telling him first what you did at the end," I answered. "I just tried to get some of the other guys to turn around with me," Daffyd said. "No, you offered to take my place for those photographs so that Adia would get rid of the ones he had of me," I reminded him. "Okay, if I promise not to hit him till you've told me everything, will you begin at the beginning? My head's reeling already." "Yeah, okay, but it had better wait till we've all eaten and can be somewhere private," Daffyd said. "It is a rather long story." After we had all eaten together in a rather muted atmosphere, Gavin said he was going for a shower and invited Daffyd and me to wait for him in his room. He did not take long and soon came back to his room wrapped in a towel. "I think you are going to get to see what I've admired for some years," I told Daffyd and Gavin just looked at me and smiled as he faced us and dropped his towel. Daffyd gave a soft whistle and my cock did its usual chubbing up at the sight. I didn't even try to hide the growing bulge in my jeans. I saw Gavin look, and he smiled again. "I've still got it, haven't I?" he asked. What we were looking at was a very handsome guy with nicely shaped pectorals and a bit of a washboard, but not overly muscled. His limp cock hung down over his balls and was framed by a tidy bush of untrimmed black hair, with a thin treasure trail leading up to his navel. He had a tiny pucker of skin extending over the glans, which made his cock look slightly longer than its limp four and half inches. "Even before you started developing you had it. But I must admit I would like to see it hard as well," I admitted. "I can see why Del gets a bit excited," Daffyd agreed. "Okay, so spill the beans now. Daffyd, I think you had better tell me because I have heard some stuff from Del before," Gavin said as he sat down, still naked and facing us, on the chair by his desk, but he did pick up his towel and carry on drying his hair while Daffyd began to talk. Daffyd started off describing pretty much the things I had already told Gavin but gave a bit more detail, like being made to wait naked in the shower room until the hot water ran out and only having a few minutes to get my shower in before the water was turned off. He also told him about how they would mess with my bed from time to time and how one time they had taken out the base and used some strings to support the mattress which only gave way after lights out and I ended up having to sleep on the floor for the night. Then he got onto the start of the term and my popping up in their dorm photograph. He went on to tell Gavin about their planning and scheming as to how they were going to get me back for that and the details they worked out when they had come up with a plan. He even explained that they had some practice runs with one of the others standing in for me. That confirmed to me that they had really planned it carefully, so that I had had little chance of escaping it. Even the `dura et pulsans' phrase had been planned in. Daffyd left no details out as he talked, and occasionally he would put his hand on my leg as we were sitting side by side on Gavin's bed. This comforting gesture was not lost on Gavin. When Daffyd described how I had been forced to either relieve their sexual needs in the way each of them chose or be outed, I saw Gavin's fists clench so tight that his knuckles whitened. But he kept to his promise not to hit Daffyd. Then Daffyd told him about Whitworth forcing me to let Adia take photographs and then give the guy a blowjob; he was quick to point out that this was not something he had been involved in until after the fact. He also made sure that Gavin was aware that he had known nothing of the plans of the four cuntets when they did their thing with me. "But that is what made me look at things differently. Del came in the dorm and I was the only other one there. I don't know if he even realised I was there. He sat down on his bed facing away from me, but I could tell he was fighting back tears, and it was when he lost that battle that I went over to him and saw the state those four had left him in. I was shocked and then very ashamed that I had had a part in getting us to that point, where we were being worse than animals." I interrupted at that point and told Gavin about Daffyd going and getting a bucket of water and using his own face cloth to clean me and then giving me a blow job so that he could feel what it was like to do what they had been forcing me to do. I also repeated the bit about Daffyd going to Adia and trying to make a deal to get the photographs back. I explained that Daffyd didn't know then that Adia had already given me the photographs. "But before that all happened, I sent Del out the dorm and waited for the others to come back and faced them with what had happened and how I felt about it. That split the dorm in two with, four of us agreeing to stop the abuse and four saying they wouldn't, so I went to see Adia about that too." He went on to explain about the photographs that I now held and was using to keep them all off my back. We told Gavin about the trick I had played on them over the shaving, and he laughed at that. When Daffyd finally finished telling the story, Gavin got up, still naked, came over to Daffyd, and held out his hand to shake Daffyd's hand. Once the two hands were gripped together Gavin pulled Daffyd to his feet and gave him a hug. "At one stage there I had to hold onto the chair to stop myself getting up and planting you one. But to offer to give another guy a blow job or more as payment to take the pressure off of another person goes a long way in my books. Like with Del, I don't care if you are homo or not. I hope we can be friends. And just keep looking after this guy at school for me." "Gav, please put some clothes on before I lose control," I asked, letting him see that my jeans still bulged. Quick as a flash he reached down and gave my hard cock a squeeze, saying, "Dura et pulsans." And then he let go and we all had a good laugh as he pulled some clean clothes on. "So, am I really the only guy you have been naked in front of?" I asked. "The only one until Daffyd here that I have lounged around with naked. Others at the school have seen me naked when I have changed for some sports. And you are the only guy that I have ever shared a shower with," he confirmed. "Perhaps it was a good job we still thought our cocks were only for pissing out of back then, or we might not now still be friends," I said. "I dunno. If you remember, we became friends the moment we first met that first day of term at school. My lace came undone and you helped me to tie it because I still didn't know how to tie laces yet. You did and you didn't tease me about it. Three other guys teased me all day about it, and you just said you would show me how to do it. And ever since then you have helped me out with my problems, excepting one," Gavin said. "What is that one?" Daffyd asked. "Getting a girl to go to bed with me," Gavin said grinning. "Well, I don't have any experience of that, so I don't really know how I could help you," I answered. "With that body and cock I'm surprised they aren't lined up at the door," Daffyd said. "Do you have a girl friend at the moment?" "There is one, but she doesn't know it yet," Gavin said and blushed. "Shit! Are you telling me that the age of sixteen you are still so shy you haven't yet asked a girl out?" I asked. "Sweet sixteen and never been kissed," Gavin answered, still blushing. "So you have only had your hand as your friend all that time?" I asked. "Yep. That's about it." "Well, maybe we can try and do something about it. Who is this girl and what's her telephone number?" I asked. "Her name is Gail, and she is really beautiful with one of the best smiles I have ever seen. But I don't know her telephone number." "Do you know where she lives?" Daffyd asked. "The closest I can get is that she lives somewhere in this town," Gavin answered. "But you do know her surname, right?" I asked. "Yeah. It's Thomson without a P." "So what we need is a phone directory and a street map. I reckon she will have to live in the area around your school, so we look for all the Thomsons who are busting for a piss who live close to the school and then we see if we can stake out a house or two and see if she makes an appearance," I said. "And then what?" Gavin asked. "Shit! Give me some time, man! I haven't got that far in the plan. Have you got a street map and a directory?" I asked. "We've got a directory, but I don't know about a street map," Gavin said. "We've got one at home," Daffyd offered. "So do we, but neither of us is at home," I observed. "Okay, I'll go and ask," Gavin said. Gavin was back in the room with the telephone directory in less than a minute. "I can't ask. Mum and dad are asleep on the couch together. I didn't want to wake them." "Well we can at least see how many Thomson's we might have to deal with," I said and took the directory out of Gavin's hand. "Why hasn't the hospital phoned yet?" Gavin asked. Seeing his parents sitting side by side on the couch asleep had reminded him of the situation. "They said it would be at least six hours and it has only been four hours since then. And it might take even longer depending on how things go and what they find," I said. Daffyd pulled the book out of my hands and said, "At least one thing, if they haven't phoned that means they are still working, and while they are doing that there is still hope." "You know that they have them all naked and uncovered in that place?" Gavin said. "Those people are so sick that if the doctors and nurses need to take action they don't need the delay of getting through clothes and things. Mum explained that to me once when I saw a bit of film on it on the tele," I told him. "They also usually keep the patients sedated so that they are not really aware of being on display to all who go past their bed. I'm guessing Mike was asleep?" "Yeah. Your mum told me he was sedated but might be aware of my voice, so I needed to talk to him like I always would. That was hard because my voice was so shaky. You know he had a tube down his nose, and these electric things attached to his head and his chest and also his wrists and ankles. There was even a tube into his cock," Gavin said and shuddered, once again near to tears. "I can explain some of those things from looking at mum's medical books and having her tell me about them. That's far more interesting than dad's sociology or philosophy. The tube into his cock is a catheter. It goes right up into his bladder and is just helping to drain his piss out so he doesn't wet the bed. The electrodes on his head will be for an EEG which measures the brain wave activity. The electrodes on his chest, wrists and ankles are for an ECG which is keeping a check on his heart. He probably also had a needle or two into his arm or the back of his hand and some tubes connected to that with a drip putting fluid into his body. The tube down his nose is probably oxygen." I told him. "I'm afraid we have quite a bit of looking to do. There are about fifteen Thomsons in this directory," Daffyd advised us. "Hopefully we will be able to narrow it down with the street map. Do you know if she gets a bus to school or gets dropped off or what?" I asked. "She walks to school most days, but whether that is because she gets dropped off close by and just walks the last bit or walks the whole way I don't know," Gavin told us. "Well if she doesn't get a school bus we can work on the premise that she lives within three miles of the school, so we can begin with any of them whose address fits with that and see where we go from there," I said. "Give me a pen and paper and I will write down all the addresses and phone numbers. Then when we get a map we can begin to look at which ones fit," Daffyd offered. Gavin pulled a drawer of his desk open and pulled out a pen and then got some paper out of the next drawer down. "There you go," he told Daffyd, turning the chair back to face the desk. It did not take Daffyd long to make the list, which turned out to only have fourteen names. "I think we should try and play a game or something to help make the time go faster," I suggested. "What do you want to play? And don't say strip poker!" Gavin said. "Well we could play strip general knowledge, and that way I can be pretty sure to get you both naked for me to drool over," I said teasingly. "We could play some sort of card game if you have cards or maybe a board game," Daffyd suggested. "So no truth or dare?" I asked. "That would make it a bit one-sided, because you and I already know pretty much all there is to know about each other," Gavin said. We ended up choosing to play Risk over Monopoly and soon got quite engrossed in the strategy. This actually took our minds off the reason we were sitting around, now late at night and not trying to go to sleep until our concentration was broken by the ringing of the phone. Gavin was up and out the room so fast we didn't have time to register that he had moved. But he did not get down the stairs before his father had picked up the receiver and was talking. Daffyd and I moved to wait at the top of the stairs, and shortly after the call came through we heard Mr. Wisbech say, "Thank you, We will be there as soon as we can." Then he turned to his wife and Gavin and put his arms around them. "He's come through the surgery okay, and they think he has a good chance of making a full recovery. He is back in Intensive Care, but we can go and see him." "Go and get your friends. We need to go back to the hospital," Mrs. Wisbech said and then just kissed her husband as the tears of relief ran down her cheeks. Gavin called up the stairs to us and we answered by starting down the stairs. The relief in the air was palpable as we got into the car and began the journey back to the hospital. At the hospital all five of us walked fast to get to the Intensive Care Unit as quickly as we could. Mum met us there and took Gavin and his parents in to get gowned and masked so that they could see Mike again, leaving Daffyd and myself in the waiting room. We must have sat in silence for about half an hour, each involved in our own thoughts. "Do you think your mum would let you sleep at my place tonight?" Daffyd asked. "Probably, I guess. Why?" "I think I need to spend some alone time with you to work out what I am," Daffyd answered. Before I could respond the Wisbech's returned, all looking much happier, even though there was still a long way to go before the medical staff would say if Mike was out of the woods or not. "Boys, thank you for being with Gavin. I think it was a great help to him. It looks like Michael has a chance now, We're going to stay for a few hours at least in the hope that he will wake up in that time, but I think you two need to go home and get some sleep," Gavin's mum said. "Yes. I will get a taxi for you. Do you live near us, Daffyd?" mum asked. "Quite close. I can walk home from your house. But can Del stay over at my house, please?" Daffyd asked. "I have no problem with that if he wants to, but you'd better check with your father. He is home alone at the moment," Mum said. "If dad says no, can Daff stay round ours if dad agrees to that instead?" I asked. "I probably won't be getting home till some time tomorrow, so I have no problem with that," Mum said. She handed me back the twenty pound note I had returned to her with the taxi driver's message. "You probably won't get the same driver again, but if you do you had better have a bit more so you can pay him for both trips." And mum handed me a tenner. She then called the taxi and told us where to meet him outside the hospital building. Dad had no problem with me staying at Daffyd's house for the night, as that would leave him in peace and quiet to continue to study. I never did work out how he found so much to study on; he must have known his subject like the back of his hand with all the years he had been teaching it. I packed a back pack and grabbed a sleeping bag, as Daffyd wasn't sure if that sort of thing had been unpacked yet, and we headed out for the five minute walk it would take us to get to his house. As we were walking I asked him, "How exactly is my staying with you going to help you to find yourself?" "I don't really know, but I thought that we probably could both do with a bit of company after the tension of today. By the way, I'm a bit jealous of Gavin," Daffyd said. "Jealous? Why?" "Because he is a neat guy who has treated you in the way I should have but didn't. He knows you better than I do and is much more of a friend than I am. I just hope his brother pulls through okay, because I can see that he really loves the guy," Daffyd said. "You wouldn't have thought that last break. He was complaining constantly about his pesky little brother who got in the way all the time, demanding Gavin's attention whenever they were together," "Well you and I don't have little brothers, but I understand that they can be troublesome. Usually when the chips are down the truth comes through. That is what I think has happened with Gavin," Daffyd said. "Oh, yes, I agree with that. No matter how much Gav complained about Mike I could always see that there was a level of love between them that overshadowed the annoyance," I said. We arrived at Daffyd's home and he let himself in with his key. Seeing there were still lights on in the sitting room, he led the way there and found his parents watching television. "Hi mum, dad. I'm home and I've got Del with me. Is it alright if he stays the night, please?" "Hello son, and did he say `Del'?" Daffyd's mum asked. "Yes, short for Delmar. Hello, Mrs. Morgan, Mr. Morgan," I responded. "Well the spare room isn't set up yet, so he will have to have your bed. You can sleep on the floor or on the couch," Mrs. Morgan said. "I've got a double bed, mum, and Del's got a sleeping bag to use, so we can share the bed," Daffyd said. "Well, if Delmar's okay with that." "So, let me get this straight. Going on what Daffyd said in the phone call, I'm guessing you are his friend from school, and it's your friend that is very sick?" Mr. Morgan asked. "I'm from the same school, but it is my friend's younger brother who is sick," I told him. "Oh. Well, I didn't do too badly then from one rather garbled phone call," Daffyd's father said smiling. "It was a rather stressful time," I said in Daffyd's defense. "And I think we can cope with sharing the bed." "How is the young brother?" Mrs. Morgan asked. "He came through the surgery okay and the doctors are hopeful of a full recovery, but he had not come out of the anaesthetic before we left," Daffyd said. "Okay. You can phone his brother tomorrow morning when you wake up and see how things are going. I could run you back to the hospital if you would like. I am not going to look for work for a few weeks at least. But Daffyd, remember you have promised to help me out a bit this week," Daffyd's mum told us. "I could help too if you want," I offered. "I only live around the corner." "Thank you. That is very kind of you," Mrs. Morgan said. "The two of them would probably be better at shifting some of the furniture around and lugging the bigger boxes to where you want them," Daffyd's father agreed. "But not tonight. We are about to go off to bed. If you two want to make yourself something to drink, go ahead and help yourselves so long as it doesn't involve alcohol," Mrs. Morgan told us, smiling to show that she was teasing about the alcohol. "Thanks, mum. I think we might just get a cool drink and head off to bed too," Daffyd said, which is exactly what we did. Daffyd's parents turned the television off and went upstairs, where we could hear them moving about getting ready for bed. Daffyd led me to the kitchen to get a drink and then took me off to the other side of the house and showed me through a door into a short passage leading to his room.