Hey guys. This is my first attempt at writing. Make sure to join my yahoo group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Stockard-719/. Members get early previews and I have added pictures of what I envision major characters to look like. Tell me what you think and if you would like to read more: umrebelone@gmail.com
"I'm here dad. I'll stay as long as I need to." Replied Gabe to his father's request as he took his hand.
"Son, I don't know what to say besides I am sorry. I hope you can forgive me, but most importantly, I hope you will help me to understand. "
"Like, I said dad, I'm here...but you need to get some rest now, " said Gabe as he motioned for the nurse to come in and give his dad a sedative. He stayed with him until he was asleep and then he went into the waiting room to start making the calls.
"Gabe, how's your dad?"
"He's stable and asleep. The doctor said that he was a bad heart attack, but that he should recover. Mom, ... he said he was sorry." Said Gabe as he started crying.
"Gabe, your aunt and I will be there in about an hour. Stay strong. It's time for our family to heal inside and out."
"I better call Jamie and the gang. They don't know anything yet."
"Ok, baby. We'll be there soon."
"Where the hell are you..." was the first thing Gabe heard when Patrick answered the phone.
"Daddy had a heart attack."
"SHIT...JAMIE, NIC GET YOUR ASSES IN HERE! GABE'S DAD HAD A HEART ATTACK"
Before long all three guys were on the line with Gabe.
"Gabe, are you ok? Do you need me to come down there?" asked Jamie.
"Yes and no. I need my books, laptop and some clothes. There is only a little over a week of school left in the semester. Dad's going to be in the hospital at least that long. I'm going to call the Dean in a minute and tell him what happened. See what I can do. " "I'll gather some things up and head your way.."
"No... Mom and I need some time together tonight. Get some sleep tonight and get up in the morning and come.
"We are all coming, bro..." added Nic as he spoke for Patrick as well.
"Yeah, Gabe I know you need time with your family, but we are you family as well. We are all coming and we won't take no for an answer. "
"Thanks guys, I need to call the Dean now."
"Ok babe, but call me before you go to bed."
"I will."
"I love you, Gabriel"
"And I you."
With this, Gabe hung up and called information to get the phone number for the Dean's home."
"Hello, The McGonagall Residence."
"Dean McGonagall please"
"May I ask who is calling?"
"Gabriel Bishop"
"Please hold."
After a few minutes, Gabe heard the Dean pick up the phone.
"Mr. Bishop, what can I do for you this evening?"
"Dean McGonagall, my dad had a heart attack earlier this evening. Something came over me and I knew I needed to come home. I'm at the hospital with him now. I was wanting to know what I need to do about classes and such."
"First of all, call me Minnie. Secondly, don't worry about it. I will personally inform your professors tomorrow of your needed absence. You went to E. L. Bracey High before transferring to the boarding school, correct? "
"Yes ma'am."
"The principal there is a friend from college. I will contact her about supervising you while you take your finals next week so you don't have to worry about coming back for them. What about your books and such?"
"Jamie and the guys are bringing them tomorrow...oh wait, I probably shouldn't have told you that seeing as how they will be missing class. "
"That would be Patrick O'Daniel and Nicolas Romeori correct?"
"Yes.."
"I'll contact their professors as well. I'm sure one day won't kill them. Besides, I know who important Mr. Wicker and you have been to Nicolas' recovery. "
"Thanks Dean...Minnie. I hope I didn't ruin your evening."
"Not at all. Good night Gabriel and make sure to keep me informed of your father's condition."
Gabe was exhausted and hungry. He finally found a vending machine with something besides candy in it. Shortly thereafter, his mom and aunt arrived.
`"Gabriel!" exclaimed his mother as we wrapped her arms around him.
"Hey mom. He's going to be ok."
"I know baby. Go to the house to get some rest. I can stay."
"It's ok mom. You shouldn't be here alone."
"I'll be fine. If he wakes up tonight I want to talk to him myself. Get some rest and come back tomorrow."
"Yes, mom" replied Gabriel with a little smirk feeling good about being with his family again even if the situation was far from being good.
Walking into his parents' home again, his mind not only flashed back over the last few hours but also the last six months as well. While exhausted, he knew he needed to call Jamie.
"Hey babe, how are you holding up?"
"I'm exhausted both mentally and physically. Just walking into my old room as we speak."
"Ok. get some sleep. We will be there after lunch."
"Thanks. You don't know how much I love you Jamie."
"Yes I do...Is your bed big enough for the both of us or will I need to find us a place to stay during the break?"
"It will be a tight fit, but I had rather be here."
"Cool, besides, I don't mind being close to you...pleasant dreams, Gabe"
"You too."
Sometime after dawn, Gabe awoke needing to do something. His mind instantly started thinking about all the things that probably needed to be done on the farm.
Getting up, he started looking for something to wear, but quickly realized quickly just how much he had changed in the last year. Everything was simply too big for him to use. The only thing that fit were the designer jeans and long sleeve t-shirt that he had been wearing the day before or a pair of shorts. Seeing as it was December and the temperature was in the forties, Gabe decided to risk ruining his jeans.
After about an hour of work, he was surprisingly feeling better. It felt good to exercise his muscles and work out some of the tension that had built up.
"You really should leave the work to real men City boy."
Turning around, Gabe said to his Uncle Ben "Well, when they get here, I will quit. I guess until then, I will have to deal with you."
Laughing Ben continued, "Gabe, I really am sorry about your dad. Faye told me you found him. She sent me to take care of things. I would have been here sooner, but I needed to care of things around our farm first."
"Thanks. The work is helping me relax."
"Gabe, about the other thing. I don't really know what to say. I do know you are looking great and the way you have handled yourself since your fight with your dad is very mature. This guy can't be half bad. Promise me you will give me some time to process everything."
"Better than that, I will give you time and a pitch fork. We need to put some hay out for the cows. "
"Why not put out some big bales with your dad's tractor?"
"I'm a city boy remember...I can't drive the tractor. Actually, dad likes to use loose hay and spread it around when the ground is really wet; keeps it from getting so muddy and torn up."
For the next few hours, Gabe and his uncle systematically took care of the chores that needed doing around the farm. They finally finished close to noon.
"We better head over to the house. I'm sure your aunt has some chow ready."
"Sounds good, but Jamie, Patty and his boyfriend Nicolas should be here soon. Besides, I don't have anything to change into."
"Wait, Patrick...Patrick O'Daniel is gay as well? Is this county full of que... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."
"It's okay Uncle Ben. Like you said, you need time. I can't say for sure that Patrick is gay, but I do know that he is in a relationship with a guy. Before him, he had slept with a sizeable population of the female student body."
"Okay, bud. I'm going to get home. Don't be surprised if your aunt sends me back with food."
Entering the house, Gabe took his clothes off and went straight to the shower. The hot water of the shower felt good cascading down his body. The shower brought back memories of his and Jamie's first night together in the hotel. So much had happened since then. Before long, Gabe realized just how much he had missed Jamie, both internally and externally. Getting out of the shower, Gabe headed to his room while toweling off and not worrying about walking down the hallway naked and with a hard-on for the first time in his life.
Soon, after drying off and getting dressed, he saw Patrick's truck coming down the driveway to the house. Meeting them at the front door, Jamie instantly took him into his arms and kissed him.
After the kiss and while still holding him, Jamie whispered into his ear, "Gabe, I'm so sorry. I don't know what I would be feeling if it was my dad...or you."
After they broke their embrace, the other two guys hugged him as well and tried to offer some solace. The comforting was broken by the phone ringing.
Picking the phone up, Gabe glanced at the caller ID before answering, "Hey ... No, I haven't eaten...Hold on I will check...Did you guys eat? ... no, they haven't eaten either...Ok, let me get changed and we will come over..."
"Who was that?" asked Jamie.
Before Gabe could answer, Patrick chimed in, "That had to be Gabe's Aunt Faye. The second best cook in the county. "
"Who is the best cook?" chimed in Nic.
"My mom," said Gabe taking the suitcase from Patrick, grabbing Jamie by the hand and heading up the stairs to change.
After changing, they headed to Faye and Ben's for lunch. Aunt Faye's way of dealing with stress was to cook. She had to be really stressed out because the table and far were covered with food and sweets.
"Aunt Faye, I think you meet James at Mamaw's funeral and you know Patrick.."
"and this is my boyfriend Nicolas Romeori, Mrs. Wilson, " added Patty.
"I see, have your parent's meet him?"
"No ma'am, but they know about us. I just haven't had the opportunity to introduce him."
"Well, know that we know each other, you boys sit down and eat up some of this food."
After eating, Gabe and Jamie headed to the Hospital while Patrick and Nic went to Patrick's parents.
"Gabe, you do know that money is no object if your dad needs it. We can have him transported to the best cardiac center in the nation."
"I know. Dad's physician is actually one of the best in the country. He grew-up not far from here and when he decided he was ready to semi-retire, he came back.
"How are you really feeling?"
"Scared. There is so much I want to talk to dad about, but I'm afraid that I won't be about to."
"How did you know to check on him?"
"My mamaw sent me..."
"Gabe, no offense but she died"
"I know, but she came to me in a dream. Last night my dad told me that he called for her when the heart attack hit him."
"Do you want me to come in with you?"
"Yes, I need you and my family needs to see us together."
When the guys entered Gabe's dad's room, they both noticed the good looking guy leaving. They both kinda looked at each other and smiled.
To get his mom's attention, Gabe said softly, "Hey mom."
"Gabe, baby. " said his mom as she came to give him a hug. She started to shake Jamie's hand before giving him a hug as well. "Did my sister get you boys feed?"
"Yes ma'am" replied Jamie.
"It's ... mom. I'm tired of the divisions in our family. Gabe choose you and I trust his judgment."
"Yes, mom. Gabe, I'm gonna step out so you three can be alone." said Jamie before giving Gabe a peek on the cheek. He also gave his new "mom" a kiss as well.
"He seems like a nice young man."
"He is mom. Hopefully you can understand what we mean to each other one day."
"I already understand...When you look at him, I see the same look in your eyes that I see in your father's when he looks at me. That's how I know that you truly love him."
"Are you ok with it..."
"No...but I will be. To be honest, I looked forward to your wedding and being able to cook for the rehearsal dinner. I still haven't really processed my feelings. When I found out, I was so mad at your father for what he did, I didn't really didn't think about what it all meant. Now that I see you two together, I'm starting to understand better. I just need time."
"We all do..." chimed in Gabe's dad, "Honey, can I have some time alone with Gabriel?"
"Ok," said Sharon as she turned to her son, `If its ok, I'm going to run home and get cleaned up. Maybe take a nap."
Looking at his dad, Gabe said, "We are going to be fine," before turning to his mom and continuing, "Get Jamie to drive you home so you can drive your car back," as he handed her the keys to his car.
"Son, I don't know where to begin to appolo..."
"Dad, you don't have to. I've already forgiven you. You have to forgive yourself. We don't have the time or energy to worry about past mistakes. Lets concentrate on the future and getting you healthy...I don't want to spend the rest of my life taking care of the farm..." Gabe said with a smile while inside he was crying.
"But I...I hurt you and ripped our family apart..."
"And I knew the picture had been taken. I should have known that the local paper would have pulled the picture off the wire and printed it. We both made mistakes that we have to get passed. .... What is the Doctor saying?"
"They want to do surgery tomorrow. The young man that left when you arrived is going to be doing a form of Physical Therapy after the surgery to help me gain strength and get back on my feet. You know the Bankstons' over in the Hopewell Community. That's their grandson."
"Vaguely. Do you need to rest?"
"Probably."
"Okay, I'm going to go walk around the hospital some so you can rest."
"Okay. Gabe I really am proud of you for what you have accomplished... especially with your weight and getting fit."
"Thanks dad."
Gabe proceeded to roam around the hospital for about an hour or so before turning the corner running into his dad's future "trainer" aside of the hospital PT facility literally.
"I'm so sorry. I should have paid more attention to where I was going."
"Don't worry about it. You are Mr. Bishop's son right?
"Yeah, my name is Gabriel or Gabe."
"Allen Bankston, but my old unit called me "Banks".
"Unit?"
"Yeah. I just finished my shift and was going to work out before leaving. Want to borrow some scrubs and work out with me. I'm sure your dad will be resting for quite awhile. I'll sneak you into the staff shower when we finished. Not very many people around are serious about fitness, be nice to have someone that can challenge me."
"Okay"
After both had broken a good sweat, Gabe brought up the unit again.
"Well, my mom and dad were killed when I was about 8 in a car accident. I lived with my dad's parents. I wasn't the best student in school and my grandparents couldn't afford college so I joined the Air Force. Not long after joining, they discovered my aptitude for medicine and survival skills. They trained me in battlefield medicine while preparing me physically for SpecOps duty."
"That's cool. Banks is short for Bankston?"
"Sorta, but the guys said that if they ever got hurt that they could "bank" on my keeping them alive until help arrived."
"Why did you leave? You seemed to have enjoyed it"
"Well, shortly before my enlistment was to end, my grandfather had a stroke. I decided that I needed to help my grandmother take care of him. He..died about three months ago. Gabe, I know your dad should be ok, but if you need to talk to someone. My grandfather was like a dad to me. I know the feelings you are going through."
"Thanks, I appreciate it. Promise me you will tell me the truth when it comes to my dad's condition."
"Will do. Who was the guy with you earlier...the one that left with your mom if you don't mind me asking? He looks familiar."
"Oh, he's my boyfriend, Jamie Wicker. His maternal grandfather is the Governor."
"Oh, that's were I know you two from, the newspaper. Although, you look like you have gotten in better shape since the pic."
"Thanks. Jamie has been helping me since last fall. You wouldn't believe how much I've changed since then...Oh, wait. You are okay with me being gay...being in the military and all?"
"It's cool. I'll take a gay workout partner that knows what he's doing over the guys around here any day."
After showering and changing, Gabe and Banks made their way back to his dad's room. As they turned the corner, Gabe saw Jamie, Patty and Nic standing outside his dad's door.
"Hey guys! This is Banks. He is going to be helping my dad recover after the surgery. Banks, this is Jamie, Patrick O'Daniel, who is also a local, and his boyfriend, Nicolas Romeori."
"Hey, I better get home. See you tomorrow."
Once Banks was out of sight, Jamie said, "Should I be jealous?" with a smirk.
"No, he was raised by his grandparents after his parents died. His granddad had a stroke about 5 months ago and died a little over two. He offered to help me with my feelings since he has had to deal with them as well recently."
"You know I'm joking. We just wanted to see you before we headed back to school."
After hugging each of them, Gabe said," Thanks guys for being here and bringing me my stuff. Have a safe trip home. Nic, if you want you can use the extra bedroom at the house during Christmas Break."
"Yeah, that might be a good idea. My parents were civil, but I don't want to push it by us sharing a room for a month."
The next day while waiting on his father's surgery to finish, Gabe and his mom talked about what he had been doing, how school was going, Patrick and Nic's relationship and Nic's beating. When he informed her that Nic would be staying with them during the holidays, she started to hesitate, but realized that it would probably be good for the whole family especially knowing what his parents attempted to do to him after his altercation with his roommate.
Over the next week, Gabe spent all of his time either at the high school taking finals, the hospital staying with his dad, working out with Banks or at the farm taking care of the chores. After a couple of days, Banks even offer to help him with the farm work which he accepted so that his uncle could spend more time on his own farm. On Thursday night, Gabe went to sleep with a smile on his face and a hard-on knowing that he would be back in Jamie's arms the next night.