The story below is a work of fiction and contains erotic and/or sexually explicit behavior between consenting males. If you find this type of writing offensive, or if you are underage and it is illegal to view it, please do not read further, but exit now. The author reserves all copyright privileges. This work may not be reproduced, except for personal use, without permission of the author, and may not be linked to any pay sites.
Author's note - I am going on a cruise next week so it will be a bit of a wait for the next chapter. In the mean time, I hope you enjoy chapter 31. Please keep the emails coming.
Enjoy... Dan (not Ethan as many of you that have written to me believe).
Chapter 31
Ethan tried to speak but no words would come out. He managed a weak smile. Rick was stunned and ecstatic. His reached up and ran his hand through Ethan's hair.
"Hi babe. Welcome back. I've missed you." Rick whispered to Ethan. He reached for the nurse call button and pressed it. "I love you so much, it is great to see your eyes again."
Ethan tried to speak. He didn't know where he was or what had happened. He could tell he was in a hospital and he knew Rick. His couldn't understand why no words would come out. He so wanted to say something to Rick. He could see that Rick was worried. The bags under his eyes an indication that whatever had happened had been an ordeal. He wanted to tell Rick he loved him. He wanted to apologize to Rick for whatever had happened. His heart broke to think about what Rick must have been through.
The nurses appeared and stood for a few seconds looking at Rick and Ethan. They could see that Ethan's eyes were open. He seemed to have recognition for Rick. But the thing that anyone could see was the look in Ethan's eyes when he looked at Rick. It was a look of love and worry. They also could see such tenderness in Rick. None of the nurses had much exposure to gays and gay couples but one thing they all understood, this was special.
The stepped up to check on Ethan. Rick stepped back to let the nurses do their duties. They spoke to Ethan asking him if he recognized Rick, did he know where he was, could he speak. They asked Ethan if he could move his fingers. He did. They asked him to tap his fingers once for yes and twice for no. Did he understand? One tap followed.
"Do you know where you are?" Two taps.
"Do you remember anything about what happened to you?" Two taps.
"Do you recognize this person," they asked pointing to Rick. Ethan's eyes looked over and then, one tap.
"Are you in any pain?" One tap.
"Now I want you to tap your fingers and try to answer my questions. Just a few more," the nurse said to Ethan.
"How many fingers do you see," the nurse asked holding up 3 fingers. Three taps followed.
"What is two plus two?" Four taps followed.
The nurses charted this activity. They wrote down his blood pressure and heart rate. They got Ethan something for the pain. They told Ethan that Rick would tell him what had happened and to not worry. He should not try to do too much and that it was OK for him to go to sleep if he wanted. "Do you understand?" One tap.
Ethan tried desperately to say something but all he could manage was a grunt. He licked his lips. "Are you thirsty?" One tap and the start of a smile.
"OK, very good. We will get you some ice chips. You will be very thirsty but you can't overdo it. You need to give your system time to wake up and start working again. You are getting plenty of fluids through your IV so don't worry. Do you understand?" One tap.
The nurse brought some ice chips. Rick took a single piece of ice and held it gently to Ethan's lips. The cold felt so good to Ethan. Rick gently placed the ice in Ethan's mouth. A smile weakly formed.
After a few ice chips, Rick said, "Ethan, we shouldn't overdo it. Are you tired?" One tap.
"I want you to go to sleep. You mom is here and when you wake up you can see her. I will also get Sarah to come over. Does that sound good to you?"
One tap.
"Ok babe. Go to sleep. Get some rest. We are all here for you when you wake up. I will explain everything to you later. One more question. Do you know how much I love you?"
One tap.
Ethan closed his eyes and was back asleep. Rick stepped into the hall and broke down. He stood with his back to the wall and wept. He slid down and was sitting on the floor. Holding his knees crying. He was so relieved. He had come so close to losing Ethan. He couldn't bear the idea of what life would be like without him. Even with that in mind, the decision to remove Ethan from life support was really not that hard. Ethan couldn't have fought this with all of those machines. Ethan was a fighter and could conquer anything if he was allowed to muster a good fight. Rick was glad they made that decision and believed that if they hadn't, Ethan wouldn't be coming back to him.
Rick called Alice and Sarah and told them to come to the hospital as soon as they could. Ethan had been awake. Both Alice and Sarah screamed in the phone. Both said they would be there in a few minutes.
Sarah had been having a tough day at Compass. Tough in terms of busy. She had settled into her new role and was finding it easier to manage the tremendous amount of work. It seemed everyone wanted some time with her. She had meetings with the department heads as they returned from the shipboard meetings. She had a conference call with Keith at the ENW charitable foundation. She had conducted interviews for the new Captain and was prepared to tell HR her decision. She also met with the marketing organization to recap the PR initiatives they had undertaken Finance and legal had a 3 hour meeting with Sarah earlier in the day to discuss the sale of the check printing business. After lunch she met with the President of Compass Air, Geoff. They were doing very well and had won a large contract with a tour operator to provide charter flights to their resorts in the Caribbean and Mexico. The current fleet would be stretched thin. Geoff had prepared a proposal to acquire another 777 and had financial projections that showed a substantial return on investment resulting from the new contract and the additional aircraft. Geoff had indicated he had given Ethan a preliminary report on this a couple of days before Ethan's accident.
Ethan had given his approval to move forward and had requested the business plan now in Sarah's hands. It was at the end of the meeting with Geoff that Rick called. She was out of the building and in her car in 10 minutes.
Alice, Sarah, and Rick met in the hall outside Ethan's room. They embraced in a group hug, the strain of the past week finally coming through. The anguish, fear, and exhaustion of the past days reaching the surface. They so wanted to feel joy but something inside them stopped them. They needed to get through the next few days. But now was a moment to savour. The three of them had formed a bond. They had had to make decisions that no human should ever have to make. They shared one thing, the one thing that gave them the strength to get through it all. Love and devotion to Ethan.
They went in. They each took turns kissing Ethan's forehead. Ethan awoke to see the three people he loved looking back at him. He smiled. The smile coming easier now then before. He struggled to speak.
"Hello," he whispered, "you guys look like crap."
"You don't look so great yourself," Sarah responded.
"Ethan honey, it is so good to see you, are you in any pain," Alice asked.
"Yes, mom, a little." Ethan said in hushed tones. "I am really thirsty, can I have some ice chips again," he asked looking at Rick.
Rick picked small pieces of ice out of the bucket and placed them in Ethan's mouth.
"That is so nice. Thank you, honey. What happened," Ethan asked.
The three took turns explaining to Ethan that he had been in an accident, the injuries he had, and that he had been unconscious for a week. His eyes moved from person to person as they talked. Nobody mentioned the decision about life support nor his letter. They did explain that he would need some surgery soon to repair his damaged kidney and that he would need some physical therapy to restore the muscles in his legs.
Ethan was exhausted by this little bit of exertion and fell back asleep. And so it went for the next 3 days. Each day Ethan was able to stay awake longer and his speech was becoming clearer and louder. The doctors and nurses were amazed at Ethan's rapid recovery. Rick, Sarah, and Alice were not. They knew. Ethan would be back to normal soon.
Rick was missing Adam terribly. Ethan also was missing Adam and wanted to see the little guy. Sarah flew up to Pensacola on a commercial flight. She picked up Rick's car and drove to Destin. Sarah wasn't sure who was happiest, Adam or Sean. Adam was a good boy but he is a boy and Sean didn't have much experience being around a 4 year old. They got on well and Adam behaved and did what Sean had said. But it was exhausting. Adam would go back to Ft Lauderdale and Rick, Sarah, and Alice would take turns watching him while the others were with Ethan. Sean had put his new accounting services business on hold while he was taking care of Adam so he asked if it would be OK if he went down to Ft Lauderdale as well. He didn't have anything pressing to handle in Destin and he wanted to see Rick and Ethan. Sarah agreed. She called Brian and arranged for A-1 to pick them up in Mobile the following afternoon.
The reunion of Adam and Rick was joyous to say the least. Rick loved this little boy with all his heart. Now that Ethan was on the mend, Rick felt his world coming back together again. Adam made that feeling even stronger.
Dr. Garcia agreed to allow Adam in to the hospital and Rick had talked to Adam about what had happened to Ethan. He didn't go into a lot of details but Adam understood that Ethan had been hurt and had been sick. He promised to be a good boy. He got out his crayons and made a picture for Ethan. Adam helped him write "get well soon" on the picture. It was a picture of Rick, Ethan, and Adam on the beach. Well, you could see that it was if Adam told you what it was. The sun filled the whole sky and would surely have burned up everything in the picture in real life. But this wasn't meant to be a fine piece of art. It was from the heart of a 4 year old and it said volumes.
Ethan positively beamed when he saw Adam. He asked Adam to sit on his bed and carefully give him a hug. Ethan was filled with joy and love and touched by the sweetness and tenderness of Adam. The picture brought tears to his eyes. He had it taped on the wall at the foot of his bed so he could see it while he was sitting up. The room seemed to be filled with the sunlight from the picture.
Ethan was progressing so well that Dr. Garcia decided to go ahead with the follow-up surgery to repair damage to Ethan's left kidney. The surgery went well and Ethan seemed to bounce back quickly. Four days after the follow-up surgery, Dr. Garcia talked with Ethan and Rick about going home and the physical therapy which would be needed to restore the flexibility and strength in Ethan's legs. His right leg had healed well and the cast would be reapplied in a modified form allowing flexibility to some extent. The left leg was badly damaged and would need significant therapy. He would not be able to walk on the left leg for some time. Dr Garcia advised they should get a wheelchair and make sure that ramps were installed to help with access. The apartment in Plantation was on the second floor with no elevator access. Rick and Ethan exchanged a knowing look. The answer was clear. They would go back to Pensacola for the recovery period. Dr Garcia was concerned about the travelling but the guys knew that they didn't travel the way most people did. Pensacola it was. They would leave in 4 days. A month to the day after Ethan's accident.
The next 4 days were very busy. Ethan called a staff meeting to be held in one of the meeting rooms at the hospital. He asked Sarah to come an hour late to the meeting. She knew that Ethan would want to talk with the team about her performance and give them a chance to air any grievances. Ethan also asked to have Brian come over and meet with him. He had talked with Brian several times on the telephone. Brian was aware of the upcoming flight to take Ethan home and was busy making preparation. Brian arrived and Rick and Sarah were surprised to see Brian outside of his normal environment. The usually saw him onboard A-1. Ethan wanted a few minutes alone with Brian so Rick and Sarah went to get a bite to eat. Ethan was all smiles when the came back.
"Well, guys. Everything is just the way I want it. We are going home soon," Ethan gushed when Rick and Sarah returned.
Rick helped Ethan get dressed for the staff meeting. Ethan got into the wheelchair and went and shaved himself. He looked in the mirror and saw that he had lost a lot of weight. He was pale and was looking his age. He had always been told he looked much younger than his age. He wondered if he would ever get that youthful look back.
The department heads were thrilled to see Ethan. The first hour was lively with everyone giving updates on their areas and sharing their views on how things were going overall. At the appointed time Sarah arrived and joined the rest of the team at the table. Sarah noticed that nobody would look at her and the feeling of doom hung over her like a dark cloud.
Ethan spoke. "We now have the whole team gathered. I want to first offer each of you my heartfelt gratitude for the hard work and long hours you have endured the last month. It has been a tough month to say the least." Nervous laughter interrupted Ethan's speech. "I especially want to thank our acting CEO for a job well done. Each of you have had nothing but praise for the way she has handled things. I knew she could do it. I thank each of you for the support you gave her. I am going to need an extended recovery period. My mind is fine but the old body isn't. I am going to be in Pensacola during my recovery period. I will set up an office there in my condo but I can't be involved in the day-to-day operations. With that in mind, I would like you to join me in congratulating and welcoming our new Executive Vice President to our team. Our new EVP will be in charge of the day-to-day operations of Compass Cruise Lines. The EVP of Compass Cruise Lines, the President of Compass Air, the Director of ENW Charitable Foundation, and the General Manager of ENW Enterprises will all report directly to me. Those of you in this room will report to the EVP and I am sure I can count on you to give them your full support." Ethan paused as nervous glances went around the table.
"The new EVP comes with extensive knowledge and experience in the operations of Compass. My hope is that they will accept this position, it would be a great honour to me personally if they do. Ladies and Gentlemen, please a round of applause for our new EVP, Sarah Williams."
A gasp filled the room. Applause erupted. But mostly people were out of their chairs to give a stunned Sarah a hug and wish her the best. People then went to Ethan and shook his hand, some kissed his cheek, all praised his selection. Everyone pledged their support.
"So, boss, any words," Ethan said to Sarah.
Sarah cleared her throat and then spoke, "First I want to thank everyone in this room for their unbelievable support over the last few weeks. It hasn't been an easy time and we have come out stronger as a company and stronger as a team. As far as our esteemed CEO who has taken the last month off to lay around and cause everyone untold heartache, all I have to say, is, yes, I accept. But don't you ever forget - I am still YOUR boss. No matter what the business cards say!" Yes, things were getting back to normal.
The meeting concluded. Sarah stayed behind to speak with Ethan.
"You shit. You devilish shit. How can you make me EVP? I don't have any experience in this type of role?"
Ethan replied, "Sarah, you have shown true leadership qualities to this team during a very difficult time. You have been with me from the start. You know how I think, how I would handle things, and you DO know how to run a cruise line. You do it day in and day out. Sarah, I trust you. With my company and with my life. I am proud of you and I know you can do it. Please accept the position and for God's sake, lets not ever be all mushy again!"
Sarah accepted. Ethan then said that he would want to make it effective immediately. He would have the IT department install the necessary connections into the condo so that he could have access to all systems. He would talk with Sarah every morning at 9am Pensacola time and then whenever Sarah might need him. Ethan also handed Sarah a slip of paper with her new salary information. Her annual salary - $200,000. The salary was 4 times what she had been making. Ethan told her he was making it retroactive to the day of the accident. Sarah was moved. The kindness, generosity, and trust this man had shown her meant the world to her.
The big day arrived. Alice left early in the morning for her commercial flight back to Nashville. Sarah would be making the trip up to Pensacola. She had one of the company vans come out to the hospital to transport Ethan to the airport. Rick and Adam would meet at the hangar.
Everyone arrived at the hangar within 5 minutes of each other. Ethan was lowered from the van and wheeled into the hangar. Brian greeted them. He was in civilian clothes and advised he wouldn't be making the trip today. He said to Ethan that the weather in Pensacola was clear and it should be about 90 minute flight. Rick got pale and asked about why they were talking about Pensacola. After witnessing the cannonball landing and experiencing the white knuckle flight out of there on A-1, he didn't want to go through that again. Ethan said something about lack of adventure, smiled, and they walked out of the hangar.
Three Compass 777 were parked on the tarmac. Off to the left, A-1 was also there shining brightly in the sunshine. Ethan asked for everyone to pause. As they did, he nodded to Brian and a hangar door opened. Out came a brand new plane. Painted just like A-1. It was smaller, at least compared to the massive 777, but it was impressive in its own right.
Ethan explained, "I want you to meet our newest girl. This is an Airbus Corporate Jetliner. It is basically an Airbus A319 and A320 which is used in commercial service by airlines all over the world including some here in the US. It normally holds 120 people in passenger service. As some of you know all too well, A-1 is a tad big for Pensacola. This plane has similar range to A-1 if we add extra few tanks in the belly but the main attraction is that is can take-off and land in Pensacola, and other smaller airports, with no problems. It is also much cheaper to operate. Also, Compass Air is doing so well that they need another 777 to meet their contracts. So, I have decided to have A-1 join the Compass fleet in regular service. We have a new girl for us. Now, would you like to know about the engines, thrust levels, takeoff payloads, range, and the fly by wire control system?"
Everyone shot glares to at Ethan knowing that he would gladly explain in great detail. The plane approached and she was a beauty. A catering truck pulled up and Ethan was wheeled into the back part of the truck which is raised and lowered by hydraulics. It pulled up to the starboard side of the new plane, raised up, and Ethan wheeled inside. Everyone else climbed the built in stairs into the plane. As they entered the plane, they saw the plane's name above the door, just like it was on A-1. The name of this plane... R-1
Author's note: If you want to see an image of what R-1 is like, check out this website. http://www.corporate-jetliner.com/home.html You can then click on "passenger" and see what the plane looks like. You can then click on "cabin layouts" and see how R-1 is configured. R-1 has a layout similar to the one shown under VIP Corporate Aircraft, 12 seats. For those of you that like technical information, you can read all about it there.