Chapter 22
"So does this strap go over here or over here?" Peter asked, waving the small plastic handle in the air to Marty, who was on the side of the car strapping in Chessy.
"Like this," he replied, unbuckling the metal clip and then reconnecting it and the multiple straps across her Minnie Mouse shirt. "Does that make sense?"
"Oh, yeah, I get it now," Peter replied. "I'll have Bik check me out here, but I think it's right.
Just as the words came out of his mouth, he glanced over and saw Bik approach the back of the van with the last piece of their luggage.
"Give me a sec while I throw this in the back, then I'll take a look at your work," he replied as he kneeled on the back bumper and stuffed a duffel bag on top of what had become a mountain of bags, boxes and toys stacked in the back of the van. For a moment, he tried to open up a small crevice to give him a view back, then just said `heck with it' and pushed himself back out of the cave that the back end had become.
There was a grunt as he had to give the overhead door a bit of help to secure the latch. "OK, here comes the inspector," he said as he approached Peter's side of the car.
The rear seat had sliding doors on both sides, so it was a wide open view to Brady's seat.
"Well," Bik started off. "You've got him facing backwards, so the first step is correct. Good job, bro."
"Very funny!' Peter replied, his mouth curled up to put as much sarcasm into his voice as he could muster as Marty just chuckled.
"OK! OK! Sorry, didn't realize the newbie could be so sensitive," he said as he peered over his son's seat and proceeded to check each of the straps."
"OK, Brady, did he do it right?" he asked his son.
Brady's head bobbed a bit, seemed to smile, then gurgled up some spit.
"I think that means `yes,' Peter. You've passed," he said to his brother as he patted his son's head, and then reached over onto Marty's side. "Looks like you've passed, too, Marty," he said after he again tested each of the straps.
"You'll be wishing that you had these newbies on the other end when you unload this beast," Peter said as he reached over and pushed an errant stuffed giraffe back behind the seat.
Bik didn't say anything for a moment as he pulled himself from out of the car and looked back at his the kids. "I have to say, you're right about that. In all seriousness, you guys really did so much this week," he said as he looked at Marty then at his brother. "We both really appreciate it.'
"It was our pleasure," Marty replied as he held Chessy's hand. "They were both real champs all week. It was fun."
"We'll, I know it wasn't always fun, stinky diapers get old real fast. But you did both of us a lot of good. I think that Laura really got a lot better this week, mostly because of your help. So thanks again for everything."
"Well, I hope that it did help Laura, and both of you. Like we said, it really was great for us. We can't wait to see you all again, "he said, then added, "which will be...?"
"No later than Christmas, if not before. We'd like to have you all come to Chicago, but the whole family won't nearly fit. Even though it's a hassle to pack up and all that, we both think it's better that we just come back here. But next time for longer than just a few days."
"Yes, the food is really good and the baby sitters are on call 24 hours," Laura said as she approached the car.
"You doing OK?" Bik asked her as she was handed him a bottle of water for the trip.
"Better than when we got here. For the first time in months, I'm actually feeling like I'm getting my energy back. I'm not sure what is is, but I don't feel so tired anymore."
Both Marty and Peter thought that she looked and sounded better. When she had arrived she almost had to be helped out of the car, but now she had even helped to load it back up, though she made her contribution more with the number of trips rather than the size of her loads.
And instead of the sweatpants and pullovers that she was wearing when she was mostly housebound early in the visit, she was now wearing shorts and a blue linen top. Her long blond hair was carefully tied up at the back of her head, no longer just loosely draped about her shoulders in its most low-maintenance state. The fashionable sandals, rather than sneakers, we're the final signs of her return to normal life.
"You know, It will be really great to actually be a mom now, if I can keep my energy up. I've been kind of jealous watching you guys doing it," she said with a laugh.
"But you both have done so much. You've really helped to pull us through all this, especially this week. Thanks again," she said as she kissed both guys on the check before looking inside the car at her kids.
"Everyone OK in there?"
At first they seemd to acknowledged her presence, then went back to their own little worlds, fussing, twisting and looking all around from their car seats as they seemed to be trying to figure out what exactly was going on around them.
Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a wad of tissue to wipe Brady's nose. "You're going to miss Uncle Peter doing this for you every five minutes, aren't you," she asked as she cleaned up around his face.
"It looked like he had a doozy of a cold after that ear infection, so it's been non-stop trouble for that poor little guy," Peter said as he looked over her shoulder. "He'll probably fall asleep real soon anyway. I gave him that bottle a few minutes ago, and that usually gets him pretty tired."
"Well, I'm hoping that they enjoy the drive going home as much as they did coming here," Bik replied. "The both slept most of the time, except when they were eating and pooping. And we only had to make one pit stop for them when the smell got to be a bit much," he added.
"Anyway, we need to shove off if we're going to make it back to Chicago at some reasonable time," he continued. "We said good by to Dad and Pop before they left for Aunt Hana's a few minutes ago, so I guess we'll give you your goodbyes now." he said as he reached over to Marty's shoulder.
As they all stared to exchange farewells, Marty put both arms around Bik and then felt himself pulled into the familiar bear hug that all of Peter's family gave him.
"Take care of him, OK?" Bik whispered into his hear. Then, in a much louder voice so that everyone could hear, "But don't' take any crap from him, either!"
Laura rolled her eyes and smiled as she let go of Peter and then put her arms around Marty. "You can ignore him sometimes, "she said a she kept up her smile.
The her tone became more serious. "It looks like you've had quite a summer, here, huh?" That model you built really made everyone proud and you made some good money on it, too."
"Yeah, there were even pictures of it in the newpapar, with the Mayor and everyone else. Very cool!" Peter added.
It had been a good experience, but the joke between him and Mike was that while he did in fact make all the money he thought he would, his hourly rate ended up being more like that of a burger flipper than a professional woodworker. During the final production week he figured that he worked almost 80 hours.
"Well, the best part was with all of you here. Chessy and Brady are so great, and having everyone else around was...really...wonderful. I'll miss you all."
"Well miss you too, all of us, but I think especially Chessy. You've really made a connection to her," she responded. "And like I've said, you've done more for us than you'll ever realize, Marty."
Then she whispered in his ear. "Not only for the kids, but for Peter. You're his whole world. Remember that," she added, but before he could reply she just smiled again turned to get in the front passenger seat as Bik slide the kids' door closed.
"What did she say to you there," Peter asked as they watched the heavily loaded mini-van lumber up to the stop sign at the corner. He had his hands in his pockets of his plaid shorts as they stood next to each other.
Marty leaned over and bumped into him with his hip. "Nothing much, just saying goodbye."
I kind of miss everybody already," Marty said as he wrapped the belt loop of his jeans onto the hook on the face of their closet door. Robert and Rhonda had left the evening before and Bik and Laura were probably already on the turnpike and the house got that kind of hollowness that happens when kids aren't around anymore. Peter had finished his shower and they were both now down to just their boxers and t-shirts, ready to go to bed before heading back to school the next day.
"Yeah, me too." Peter replied. "I'm still a little worried about Brady. I hope that infection doesn't flare up again. You could tell that he was really feeling bad," he said as he reached up to take out his hearing aid.
Kicking his slippers underneath the bed as he approached Peter from behind, Marty wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled their bodies together. "You really felt for him. And I think he knew that. I could tell that he reacted to you."
"Well, I wish I was sure of that. He was really a hurtin' little guy. I don't know what's really on a kid's mind, of course, but I really do think that he got better. You could definitely tell that," he said as leaned back into the hard flesh behind him. He was so distracted, and content, that he didn't even finish pulling out his hearing aid.
Peter reached down and gently pulled at a few of the short blond strands that covered the back of the hands that embraced him. "mmm...," he sighed as he lightly pressed himself into Marty.
For his part, Marty was equally in the moment. `What is it about this guy that smells so good!' he thought to himself. And just holding Peter like this got him so horny. Even though they had seen a full day bon voyages, their own packing, last minute sightseeing and even hours of mundane cleanup, his own energy level was high. Or, rather, with Peter in his grasp his vigor and spirit began to rapidly recharge.
And just for that moment nothing else in the world existed. It was blissful to stand there together with his boy and just soak up his presence. Slowly he began to sway of their bodies from side to side. it wasn't to music or a clock . It was more to rhythms of their mutual heartbeats.
The only even mild distraction was seeing Peter's half-removed hearing aid almost dangling out is ear. He was going to try to retrieve the piece, but then thought he'd just leave it it. `What was the hurry?'
The two dogs were lying next to the bed, the sound of the slow breathing the only sign of their presence. Just outside the door the hum of the aquarium filter, the artificial lungs of the underwater city, was another sign of the life around them. `Witnesses,' Marty thought and smiled, as he nuzzled his face into Peter's hair.
His loose grip allowed him to feel the subtle in-and-out of Peter's chest as he took in each individual breath. Unlike most people, Peter couldn't take the ease of breathing for granted and moments like this gave Marty his greatest peace of mind. `Enjoy it while you can,' he thought to himself.
He continued to revel in the man that he had in his arms. `How lucky he was,' he thought each time he inhaled. There was no smell in the world to compete with his boy's.. It was so unique, it was only Peter. He felt like he tried to soak up every molecule of it, but would never be able to get enough. He wasn't sure what was on Peter's mind, but the steadily increasing weight against him felt better and better.
In spite of the idyll, however, certain urges of the flesh began to creep in. The scent, the skin, the hair right in his face all conspired together to slowly arouse his other parts. He decided to try to ignore them, pretend they weren't there, just focus on the moment.
Just feel him breath in and out, each one seemingly effortless and natural. He knew better what the real situation was with Peter, or course. But these few moments let him ignore all that.
The only increase he caught in breathing...was his own!
He wanted to control it. Like he told himself, just `enjoy the moment.' But like a chemical mix where one slight deviation could cause an explosion, the man that he held in his arms, who gave his such peace, also gave him virtually uncontrollable lust. And cravings that wouldn't be denied.
He tried to listen to listen to the better angel inside himself. `Do I want to leave this peace? Peter is feeling good and he's breathing OK and he's calm. And he's in your arms....what else could you want?'
But then another one of those `voices inside' butted in. 'Man, you've got this incredible stud in your arms. You'd love to fuck him, Just love it! and he wants it too, you know he does. Christ, he won't let you out of bed when he's in heat...do it, fuck him...He wants it just as bad.'
You know how he is,' the voice continued, he can never get enough. Jesus, he can spend a whole hour just licking and sucking on you. And don't say you don't enjoy it. Those three or four or however fucking many orgasms you had the other day weren't exactly forced out of you,' Marty squeezed his eyes shut, trying to get the little demon out of his mind.
But the demon wasn't quite done.
`You know that he'd like you to make the move right now. He's throwing himself at you, practically crawling up your ass right now. Just turn him around. As soon as your chest rubs against his, or he feels your hard prick against his...man... he's yours!'
It was an even match at the start. But this night was quickly overpowering the competition. It wasn't always such an uneven match. But the mood, the time and the prolonged close exposure made for a more than potent combination.
He was about to grind his dick into Peter's behind, in fact just on the verge of it, his hard ass cheeks had already clenched, when he suddenly felt like he was supporting all of Peter's weight. He was still on his feet, but Marty could tell that he was the only thing holding him up. 'Something happened,' he told himself, then it was clear.
And it had. Peter had fallen asleep.
Where just moments before his hard cock could almost not be controlled and was on the verge of slamming into Peter's tight ass, he suddenly lost the hard sexual tension that he was building up. Thwarted again!
There was only one thing that he had to focus on now: getting Peter into bed.
Not that he should have been surprised by the turn of events. Peter had incredible sexual stamina in the mornings. But at night it was often a different story. Especially after a long day Peter would usually conk out before him, though not often in as dramatic fashion as this.
In one of those times that it had occurred in a somewhat similar vein he had actually came in his pants as he held a sleeping Peter in his arms, desperately trying to control his thrusts against the hard, slim hips in front of him. Now, he just smiled about it. As their relationship went on, he was getting to understand Peter's rhythms and cycles and just adjusted himself. Besides, he know exactly what would happen in the morning, even though they had a long trip ahead back to school.
He paused, trying to figure out what should be done. He could just defend the status quo, keeping them both standing there and allow Peter to keep sleeping. But he didn't know how long he himself could stay standing and not collapse both of them.
Or he could try to carry him into bed, picking him up either completely like in a Firemen's Carry or just enough to take his feet off of the ground. But in either case the pressure to pick him up would almost surely disturb the sleep.
Settling on his last idea, he only slightly firmed up his grip on Peter and began to slowly drag him around the edge of the bed, still `standing." He cringed when Peter's leg seemed to catch on the corner of the bedpost, but was able to manouvre around that and get him gently seated on the edge of the mattress. He wasn't sure how he was going to get the blanket pulled back, but first things first.
With one hand he held on to his back while reaching over with the other to gather all the pillows into a pile against the headboard.
Once he had him leaning into the pillows he reached over to remove his hearing aid, which was halfway out of his ear already from his earlier abandoned attempt. Luckily, Peter was wearing a fairly large device that he could grab without a major disturbance. Rather than stretch over to the nightstand and risk looking his grip on Peter, he just placed it in the pocket of his t-shirt before making sure that Peter was stable.
Then he kneeled down on the floor to remove his house slippers. He had pulled the first one off and was about to reach for the second when the dogs brushed his arm as they both ran out of the room.
It was a bit odd, them running out of the room like that. Speed like that usually only came when they were running for treats or a meal, but he was pretty sure that everyone else was in bed by now. Maybe Angela or Brad did call them down, but perhaps he was so focused on Peter that he didn't hear it.
The thundering of their paws as they raced down the stairs gradually died down as he continued to undress Peter. He'd removed both slippers and was working on the second sock when he felt a stirring in the legs in front him.
Raising his head, he saw Peter looking around, his hands rubbing his eyes as he tried to orient himself.
"Oh,wow...um...how did I get here?" he said as he finally caught sight of Marty.
"You fell asleep as we were standing a second ago. I didn't realize that you were so tired, so I was getting you ready for bed.
"Oh...oh...OK," Peter replied, moving his head slowly from side to side to try to get his bearings again. "Are the boys here?" he asked, referring to the dogs.
"No, they ran downstairs a second ago. Not sure why but they kind of took off." he replied.
Suddenly Marty stiffened and turned his head. "Did you hear that? he asked
"Hear what?"
"It's a pounding on the wall behind me, listen," he said as he held his head still.
"I can't hear stuff like that. But that's my...dads' bathroom on the other side of the wall.
"Gosh, it sounds like...Angie...she's saying something...like "Peter, your Pop..."
Peter's eyes suddenly opened wide.
"Oh no!" he said, suddenly becoming energized as he launched off of the bed. "Something happened to Pop...he probably...I don't' know, let's get over there!"
At first he bumped into wall, control over his body still not established.
Marty immediately grabbed him, becoming the only thing between Peter and the floor. "You OK?"
Peter raised his hand to his head and rubbed his eyes, trying to get himself stabilized again. "Yea, I'm OK, thanks....sorry," he said in rapid succession. "We've got to get over there, something might have happened!"
"OK, let's go. You can lead the way, but be careful, 'K?"
Peter squeezed his hand, drew a deep breath, then took off down the stairs, bounding down, taking two or three at time, as Marty followed right behind him. He was almost freaking out at the recklessness of Peter's speed, but all he could do was stay as close as he could in case of a crash.
Racing past the kitchen, he ran through the living room and up the stairs to the main bedroom wing of the house. He knocked first, though he had the door halfway open already, peering into the room.
As he looked beyond the bed into the bathroom beyond, he saw his Dad kneeling on the ground just inside the door, a pair of legs stretched out beyond him. The two dogs were right behind him, their tails swinging almost violently.
Angie was at the other end of the prone figure, holding up Mike's head. There was a blood visible above his unconscious Pop's eye.
"Dad, is he Ok?' Peter asked as he approached, crouching down to get closer. Marty had grabbed Peter's shirt to stabilize him in case of another stumble.
Brad was busy trying to adjust the prone body. It looked like he was trying to position Mike's feet so that they could get him out, but he still managed to answer his son in all the confusion.
"He's had a seizure again, Peter, and it looks like he hit his head on the sink. Jeeze, he was only brushing his teeth!" he exclaimed, exasperation and sadness in his voice. "I'm lucky I was here and Angie was within shouting distance in the living room. Would you...call.." he was about to suggest an ambulance, then changed his mind in mid-sentence, I' mean, maybe we should just take him to the hospital ourselves. It would be quicker.
Marty stepped over the two of them and was now on the other side of Brad. "Here, I can help you lift him, if you want to take him out now."
Even though there was almost panic in Brad's voice, he somehow found the sense to organize what they needed to do.
"Yes, take his legs and I'll take his head and shoulders. Peter, get in the middle with Angie. My car's in the driveway, we'll put him in the back seat with you guys and I'll drive. Peter, hold this cloth over his head, so that the bleeding stops. Other than that, you know what to do."
"I could drive," Marty said, "you all both know how to take care of him better than I do, and I know the way to the hospital. "
Brad looked up at him, and only paused for a moment. "That sounds good," he said, some relief restored to his voice. "The emergency room people can help once we get there."
"OK, great," Marty replied. Are we all ready here?" he asked, attempting to take some of the organizational strain off Brad.
"Yea, I think we're OK," Peter answered, not waiting for his Dad to reply. "Let's do it."
"Lift!"