"Oh, God, how can this be? Does he even know I'm here?"

Jon leaned back and rested his head on the back of the chair and stared at Luke. He couldn't believe all this was happening--that Luke was here, totally helpless. He'd never conceived Luke could be like this. Luke was always so strong, so in control. Now he looked so helpless, so vulnerable.

Paul looked at Jon, then Luke. He couldn't help but wonder whether two men could love each other as much as a man and a woman. He knew how close Jon and Luke were, but was it the same? He looked at Jon again. Jon was looking at Luke, his body quaking. He was sobbing. Paul determined yes, it was the same.

The Inn - Chapter 13

Paul woke up and was glad to see the sun shining. He looked at Jon--he was asleep with his hand on Luke's. Paul stepped out into the hall. He pulled out his cell phone and called Cathy.

"Hi, Paul. You're an early bird today."

"Cathy, something terrible happened." Paul related the incidents of the previous night and what he knew of Luke's condition.

"Oh, shit! Son of a bitch! How's Jon?"

"He's a wreck. He's asleep at the moment. I'm gonna stay here with him as long as I can."

"That's good of you, Paul. Tell Jon I'm coming down. I should be there in a couple of hours."

Paul's phone beeped. "I'll tell him. See you later."

Paul looked at his phone and saw the battery indicator was flashing. He walked to the nurses' station.

"Is there somewhere I can charge my cell phone?"

"What brand is it?"

"Motorola."

"I can probably do it here. What's your name?"

The nurse wrote "Paul - 4" on a Post-It Note and attached it to his phone. "I'll call you if it rings."

"Thanks a million!"

Paul headed for the cafeteria. It was a lot more crowded than it had been earlier. He got two cups of coffee and headed back to Luke's room. As he was setting the cups on a table Jon opened his eyes. He stared at Paul for a moment then turned to Luke. The tears started anew.

"God, Paul, why doesn't he wake up?"

"He will. You said the doctor told you it might take time. Here, I got some coffee."

Paul removed the cover from one of the cups and handed it to Jon. Jon held it with two hands to steady it. He took a couple of small sips.

"I called Cathy. She said she'd be here in a couple of hours. Why don't you go get something to eat? I'll watch Luke and come for you if there's any change."

"I can't. I'm not hungry."

"You should eat something. We don't need you getting sick."

Jon forced a smile. "You sound like Luke."

The two stayed in the room, sometimes closing their eyes for a while. A nurse came in and handed Paul his cell phone. He thanked her again and looked at his phone. It was 10:00. A half-hour later his phone vibrated--he had turned off the ringer. It was Cathy.

"I'm just pulling into the garage. Where are you guys?"

"We're in the CCU. Just ask the receptionist."

"CCU? Why the hell..."

"I'll explain when you get here."

"Okay, I'll be right there."

"That was Cathy. She'll be here in a few minutes. I'm going to meet her at the desk."

Jon nodded.

Paul waited at the nurses' station. He soon saw Cathy walking toward him. She had her purse on one side and some kind of bag slung over her other shoulder. She walked up to Paul and hugged him.

"How are they?" Paul filled her in on everything he knew so far.

"Cathy, just so you're prepared, Luke looks pretty bad. I'm going to the cafeteria. We're stretching it with two visitors and I don't want to push our luck. He's in Room 4."

Cathy thanked Paul and headed into the CCU. She found the room and went in, glancing for only a moment at Luke. She dropped her bags on a chair and embraced Jon. As she did she looked over his shoulder at Luke. She was horrified. Her eyes filled, then overflowed. Neither of them spoke. Cathy forced herself to keep her emotions in check. She knew the last thing Jon needed was for her to lose it.

Cathy pulled a tissue from a box. She sniffed and blotted her eyes.

"Honey, have you eaten anything? I made sandwiches."

"I'm not hungry, Cath. Maybe later. Thanks, that was thoughtful of you."

Jon was holding Luke's hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb. Cathy pulled her chair closer and took Jon's other hand in hers. They were silent for quite a while. Cathy was thinking. Finally she released Jon's hand and picked up her purse. She pulled out a small box.

"Jon, I wasn't sure I should give you this, but I think Luke would want me to. He bought it for you yesterday when we went shopping. He wanted to get you something special because he loves you and you've been working so hard lately. Luke planned on giving it to you today."

Cathy offered the box to Jon. He took it and stared at it for a minute. He looked at Luke. Jon opened the box slowly.

"Oh, my God, it's beautiful!"

"Look at the back," Cathy said quietly.

Jon took the watch out of the box and turned it over.

To Jon,

You keep

me alive.

Love, Luke

Jon clenched the watch in his hand. He gasped and started crying again. Jon got up and very gently put his arm over Luke, kissing him softly several times. He turned back to Cathy.

"It's almost like he knew." Jon looked at the watch again and re-read the inscription. He handed it to Cathy. "Put it on me, please."

Jon extended his arm and Cathy fastened the strap around his wrist. Jon looked at it again. "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

Cathy was still with Jon an hour later. He looked at her and smiled.

"Cathy, why don't you go back home. I'll stay here with Luke, but you have things to do. And get Paul to go home, too. Both of you have been wonderful, but I'll feel better just being alone with Luke. I'll call you when he wakes up."

"Are you sure, hon? I don't mind."

"I'm sure. Really."

"Don't forget the sandwiches. And make sure you eat."

"I will."

Jon hugged Cathy and she kissed him on the cheek. "I love you, Jon. Anything you need, just ask."

Cathy stepped into the hall and found Paul. She talked with him for a minute, then Paul went into Luke's room.

"You sure you're going to be okay alone?"

"I'm not alone. Luke's here."

Paul smiled and hugged Jon, patting him on the back. "Okay, but call me. Any time. If I don't hear from you, I'll be calling you."

"Thanks again for everything. I don't know what I'd have done without you."

Paul and Cathy got into their separate cars and headed home. When Paul parked his car, he just sat for a few minutes. Even though he hadn't slept all night, he felt hyper. So many things had happened in the past 12 hours and his mind was racing. He decided to see if Cathy was home yet so he started the car and drove to her building. He rang the intercom and she answered.

"Hi, it's me."

"Come on in," said Cathy.

"Sorry, Cath, I just couldn't go home to an empty place right now. I'm too keyed up."

"I know. I'm glad you came by. I'm just so worried about Luke. Maybe I should call some of my relatives in Sicily and get a contract on those bums."

Paul looked at her.

"I'm kidding. But I wish I wasn't."

Paul smiled. "I was thinking as I was driving back here. You read in the newspaper and on TV about gay-bashing and hate crimes. I never paid much attention. It was like something that happened somewhere else far away. All of a sudden here it is--one of my best friends is hanging on for his life. And why? Because someone doesn't like who he sleeps with? What the hell possible difference could it make to them?"

"I don't know, Paul. I can't imagine what the mindset is of scum like that, but they're out there. How about that Phelps moron--disrupting the funerals of servicemen because he thinks America is pro-gay. And he has the balls to call himself a minister. He'll rot in hell long before the rest of us."

"It's kinda funny, but I never felt threatened by gays like a lot of guys claim to be. I always just figured, whatever floats your boat. I've had guys hit on me. It was no big deal. I just said 'No, thanks, I'm not interested.' I wasn't afraid they were going to hit me with a club and drag me home. In a way I guess it was a compliment."

"Sure it was. I always felt it's guys who are insecure about their own masculinity that are freaked out. Guys like you and Joe, for example, don't have a problem. You know who you are and you're comfortable with yourself."

"Anyway, I just hope Luke's okay. He's the last person I'd ever think something like this could happen to. Ya know, if those jerks took five minutes to talk to Luke, they'd realize what a nice guy he is. I suppose that's too much to ask."

Jon sat on the chair with his hand on Luke's. He closed his eyes and thought how grateful he was that he had such wonderful, caring friends. He drifted in and out of sleep for the next couple of hours. Jon opened his eyes when he heard someone in the room. It was a nurse checking on Luke.

"When's he going to wake up?" Jon knew his question was pointless.

"He'll wake up when he's ready. His body is healing itself--it's concentrating on that right now. When it's time, he'll wake up. You'll see."

Jon was slightly cheered by her words. He didn't know if he fully believed them, but it was the first encouraging thing he'd heard. He closed his eyes again and his mind wandered. A few minutes passed, then Jon's eyes snapped open and he sat up straight.

"Oh, shit!"

He grabbed his phone and called Cathy.

Jon began talking a mile-a-minute: "Cathy--I'm sorry, but I just remembered...No, he's the same. Listen, I forgot all about my contract proposal. It's at Luke's, and my boss needs it by nine tomorrow morning. It's all done, it's on Luke's desk in a folder. It's about an inch thick. If you can't take it there, put it in a cab or call a courier."

"Okay, I'll take care of it for you. I know how important it is. I'll get it there one way or another, don't worry about it."

"Wait--do you have a key to Luke's?"

"No."

"Have someone break the door down if you have to. Then call a board-up service. I'll take care of it when I get back."

"Will you relax? I'll get in. I have a friend who's a locksmith. She can get me in there."

"Okay, good. Now make sure it gets to Connie--he's a guy. You can tell him what happened, he knows about Luke and me."

"Connie. Got it. Now I'm going to do this on one condition."

"What?"

"You stop worrying and forget about it. It's as good as there. If I have a problem I'll call you, but there won't be any problems. You just take care of yourself and Luke, and leave the rest to me."

"You're an angel. I'm so sorry to put you through all this crap. I don't know how I'll ever repay you."

"You'll repay me when you call to tell me Luke's on his way home."

"I hope you don't have to wait long. Thanks a million, Cath. I love you.

"Me too, sweetie. Now get some rest."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye bye."

Jon once again closed his eyes and was able to sleep this time. After a few hours he was awakened by sounds. The nurse he had seen earlier was wheeling something into the room.

"I know you're not going to leave his side, so you might as well be comfortable."

She unfolded a cot and positioned it near the foot of Luke's bed. She placed a pillow and blanket on it.

"Oh, thank you! That looks great!"

"It's not a Posturepedic, but it's better than that chair."

"Thanks. It's fine."

Jon decided to eat one of Cathy's sandwiches. After a couple of bites he realized how hungry he was. He finished it and ate half of another. He settled back into the chair and watched Luke. Eventually he decided he'd lie down, so he re-positioned the cot so he could see Luke from it. Jon got on the cot and pulled the blanket over himself. The rhythmic beeping of Luke's heart monitor was reassuring and soon lulled him to sleep.

Cathy woke up at six Monday morning. She had been able to retrieve Jon's papers without trouble. After she showered and dressed she rummaged in her desk and found a large, used FedEx envelope. Cathy never threw out anything that might come in handy some day. She slipped the folder into the envelope and was on her way. She stopped at Dunkin' Donuts for coffee, then headed to Jon's work. When she arrived, she walked up to the receptionist.

"Hello, I'm Cathy Vitelli. I need to see Connie. I have something for him from Jon Addison."

"Connie, there's a lady here to see you."

A tall, nice-looking man with silver-white hair walked up. "I'm Connie, what can I do for you?"

"I have something for you from Jon Addison. He wanted to be certain you got it." She handed Connie the envelope.

"Thank you. Where is Jon?"

Cathy sighed and her eyes fell. "It's a long story, but I don't think he'll be in for a couple of days at least."

Connie could see something serious must have happened. "If you have a minute, please come into my office."

Cathy followed him a short distance to a medium-sized office. It was decorated with pictures and models of military aircraft and rockets.

"Have a seat," Connie said as he walked around his desk. "Cathy, was it?"

"Yes, I'm Jon's neighbor."

"And where is Jon? I hope it's nothing serious."

"He's with Luke at Northwestern Memorial. Luke was attacked by a bunch of guys Saturday night and they beat him up pretty bad. He's still unconscious, as far as I know. They don't know how bad it is yet."

A tear rolled down Cathy's cheek. Connie handed her a tissue.

"That's terrible! How's Jon holding up?"

"Honestly, I don't know. He won't leave the hospital. This is killing him."

"Cathy, how well do you know Jon?"

"We've been neighbors for about three years. He's like a brother to me. He's the most wonderful guy I've ever met. If he wasn't..." Cathy caught herself.

"If he wasn't gay?"

Cathy smiled ruefully. "Yeah."

"Jon is quite a remarkable young man. This company wouldn't be where it is today if it weren't for him, and I mean that. He's always impressed me, and since he's been with Luke he's even more energetic and enthusiastic. I haven't had the pleasure of meeting Luke yet, but I'm looking forward to it."

"Luke's a great guy, too."

"You know, Cathy, I'm going to be retiring in a few years and I wouldn't be surprised if Jon winds up in this office. He certainly has the potential and there's no one else I'd rather see succeed me. That's just between us."

Cathy smiled. "It's good to know someone else appreciates Jon as much as I do."

"A lot of people do. He's very well respected by everyone here. Oh, and tell Jon not to worry about work. Everything's under control, and he should take whatever time he needs."

"That's good to hear. I'm sorry, but I need to get to work. It was a pleasure meeting you."

"The pleasure's mine. Give Jon and Luke my best. I'll be thinking of them. And thank you for dropping this off."

"You're very welcome. I'd do anything for those guys." Connie stood and shook her hand. He started to walk her to the door. "Don't bother, I'll show myself out."

Jon opened his eyes and it took a second for him to realize where he was. The sun was up and he looked at his watch: 7:45. He got up and went to Luke, taking his hand. It felt so dead, lifeless. Jon sighed. Nothing had changed. Luke looked the same as he had yesterday. Jon was beginning to fear he'd never wake up. What if he didn't? What would Jon do? He thought about what kind of person would do this. Did they think Luke was some useless creature no one cared about? Did they even think? Who would want to hurt Luke? Why? Luke never hurt anyone. Everyone loved him. The insanity of it all made Jon sick.

A nurse entered the room and checked Luke. She hung another IV and switched the connections and reset the pump. Then she checked and changed the catheter bag. When she was finished she looked at Jon and smiled. She put her hand on his forearm.

"He's going to be all right. I can tell. The doctors won't tell you, but we nurses have a sixth sense. I know he's going to be just fine, and I'm never wrong."

"Jesus, I hope you're right. I couldn't go on living without him."

"You won't. Mark my words." She squeezed his arm and left.

Jon's phone began vibrating on the table. "Hi, Cathy."

"Hi. How's Luke?"

"The same--no change. But I'm getting scared; it's been over 30 hours."

"Give him time. I know it's hard, but have faith. I gave your stuff to Connie."

"Oh, thanks. I knew you'd take care of it. Did you have any trouble?"

"None. I talked to Connie for a few minutes. Jon, that man thinks the world of you. I was impressed. He said he's thinking of you and Luke, and you can take all the time you need. Everything's fine at work."

"That's good. Connie is almost like a father to me. Thanks again, Cathy. You don't know what a help you've been. I'll let you go, I know you're busy."

"Okay, but I'm never too busy if you need anything. Love ya, bye."

"Bye."

Jon realized someone should call Luke's supervisor, but he didn't know who to call, let alone their number. Then a thought occurred to him. He got the bag containing Luke's belongings and found Luke's cell phone. He remembered Luke had called his supervisor the Friday before the St. Patrick's Day Parade when they called in sick. If the call log went back that far he could find the number. He began scrolling back in the log without much hope. He was amazed when he saw the entry. He hit Send and waited.

"Hey, Luke! Where are you, buddy?"

"Hi, uh, this isn't Luke. I'm Jon, I'm a friend of his. Luke had a bad accident Saturday, and he won't be able to work for a while."

"Oh, jeez. Is he all right?"

"I don't know, he's still unconscious. He got banged up pretty bad."

"Damn! I hope he's okay. Luke's a strong guy, so I'm sure he will be. Okay, Jon, tell him to call me when he can."

"I will. Thanks."

Jon strummed his fingers on Luke's phone for a few minutes. He wasn't sure he should do what he was thinking of doing. He scrolled Luke's phone directory and paused at the entry that read "Dad." He stared at it, then looked at Luke. He pressed the Send button.

"Luke?"

"No, Mr. Sorensen, my name is Jon. Jon Addison. I'm a friend of Luke's. Luke had an accident Saturday night. I wanted to let you know."

"What kind of accident? Is he all right?"

"Three guys jumped him for no reason. He's not conscious right now. I don't know how serious it is yet. He's in the hospital.

There was a long moment of silence. "And who are you? How do you know Luke?"

"We're neighbors. We're very good friends. I just thought you'd want to know."

"Yes, of course."

"I'll let you go now."

"Wait--Where is he? What hospital?"

"Northwestern Memorial."

"Thank you."

Jon was not at all sure he'd done the right thing. But what's the worst that could happen? Luke's father might ignore the situation. In that case it would make no difference. If he did show up, what could he do? Jon and Luke were adults. He was no threat, other than emotionally for Luke. Still, Jon hoped he hadn't opened a Pandora's Box.

Jon leaned over and kissed Luke, then sat down and closed his eyes. He soon drifted off to sleep. He was dreaming that Luke was somewhere and Jon was trying to get to him, but couldn't. It was like he was trying to run in water that was waist-deep. He was trying to call out, but he couldn't make his voice work. Suddenly his eyes opened--something had awakened him. He looked around the room and everything was the same. Luke was still motionless on the bed. Then Jon noticed the monitor sounded different. He looked at it and saw the heart rate and respirations were higher than before. He looked closely at Luke, and could see movement under his eyelid. Luke's hand twitched slightly.

"Luke? Luke, are you awake, babe?"

Luke's lips moved a little but there was no sound. Jon held his breath. Luke was still for several minutes. Finally his left eye slowly opened, the right one being too swollen. He looked around the room and then looked at Jon.

"Jon? Is that you?" His voice was a raspy whisper. "Where am I? What happened?"

"I'm here, Luke. You're in the hospital. Northwestern. Some guys jumped you and beat the crap out of you."

"Why?"

"I don't know, babe. Don't worry about it. You're going to be okay."

The nurse walked in. "Well, I see our Sleeping Beauty is waking up." She had been alerted by the monitors at the nurses' station.

"That's because I kissed him," said Jon. He had a big smile on his face for the first time in days.

The nurse looked Luke over. "Are you in pain, Luke?"

"Yes, everywhere," he whispered.

"I know. The doctor will want to see you, but first I'm going to set up a PCA pump. I'll be right back."

"Jon, what day is it?"

"It's Monday. You've been out since Saturday night." Luke seemed to be thinking about that.

The nurse returned with another IV pump and a saline bag which she put on the table. She offered Luke some ice chips which he eagerly accepted. She took a syringe from her pocket, removed the cap and inserted the needle into the line that was already in Luke's arm. She pushed the plunger and removed the needle.

"I just gave you some morphine, you'll feel better in a few seconds." The nurse began setting up the other equipment. "This is a PCA pump--Patient-Controlled Analgesia. When you're in pain, press this button and it will administer more morphine. Don't be afraid to use it, the machine won't let you overdose. If you're still in pain let us know and we'll adjust the dosage. But I'm starting you at a pretty high level, so I don't think that will be a problem."

She looked at Jon. "The morphine will make him a little dopey and groggy, so don't let that bother you. And what did I tell you before? He's going to be just fine. I'm going to get the doctor now."

Jon smiled and thanked her. He was so relieved, he felt dizzy. He looked at Luke and held his hand.

"Is the pain any better?"

"A little. I'm so tired."

"Then sleep. I'll be here. I'm not going anywhere."

"You got your watch."

Jon smiled. "Cathy gave it to me yesterday. It's the best present I ever got. I love it, and I love you." Jon leaned down and kissed Luke.

Luke tried to smile. Even that was an effort. "That's good. I love you."

The doctor walked into the room. "Luke, I'm Dr. Harris. I've been taking care of you, and it's good to see you awake."

The doctor asked Jon to step out for a few minutes while he examined Luke. Jon decided to get some coffee in the cafeteria. When he returned the doctor was just leaving Luke's room.

"How is he?"

"From everything I can see, he looks good. He said his vision is fuzzy, but that should clear up soon. We need to do some tests to make sure there's no intracranial swelling or hemorrhaging, but we've pretty much ruled that out. I want him to stay for at least another day for observation. If he continues to improve--and I have no reason to think he won't--he should be able to go home Wednesday. He's going to be in a lot of pain for a few weeks. Ribs take a long time to heal, and there's nothing we can do but wait. I'll give him medicine for the pain. Other than that he should be back to normal soon."

"Thanks, doc. You don't know how relieved I am."

"Good. One more thing--I want you to go home tonight and get a good night's rest. Luke is out of the woods and he's in good hands. You won't be any help to him if you run yourself into the ground. Do I have to tell them to get that cot out of there?"

Jon grinned. "No, I'll go now that I know he's gonna be okay."

They shook hands and Jon stayed in the hall to make calls to everyone and tell them the good news. When he finished he went back into the room. Luke had his eyes closed and Jon stood quietly at the foot of the bed, looking at him. He wasn't sure, but it looked like the swelling was a little less around Luke's eye. In fact, Luke appeared better than he had that morning. Jon was encouraged.

Luke opened his good eye. "Hi."

"Hi. You're looking better. How do you feel?"

"Not so bad. This stuff is kick-ass!" He held up the button for the PCA. "From what the doctor said, those guys really gave me a going-over. The last thing I remember is leaving the bar and heading for my car."

"If Carl and the guys hadn't been there, they'd probably have killed you." Jon became choked up at the thought. "They came too close as it is," Jon said softly.

"Nah, I'm too mean to let that happen. Besides, who'd take care of you?"

"Luke, Dr. Harris wants me to go home tonight but I don't want to. I don't want to leave you."

"Go. I'll be fine and you look like hell. You need your rest. Besides, I'll be zoned-out on this stuff all night."

Luke tried to change his position in the bed and winced in pain. Jon cringed. "Do you want me to help you?"

"No, I'll just stay like this. Can you get me some water?"

Jon gave Luke the cup with ice water. He moved the tray close to the bed so Luke could reach it. Luke sipped his water through a straw and placed the cup on the table. Jon refilled the cup from the pitcher.

"Ah, that's better. I'm getting tired again. I think I'll shoot up a couple more times and crash. Why don't you go home? I'll be all right." He punched the PCA button to make his point.

"Luke, I..."

"I know, you don't want to leave me. But it's Doctor's Orders. I'm gonna be out like a light in a few minutes. Please go home and get something to eat then go to bed. But call me when you get home so I know you're safe."

"All right." Jon sounded exasperated. He took out his cell phone and looked at the phone on the table. He punched the number into his phone and saved it.

"Will I see you tomorrow, then?" asked Luke.

"Of course you will. Jeez!"

"Okay, give me a kiss and get your ass home."

Jon carefully kissed him several times. It felt so good that Luke was kissing him back again. It had been a couple of days but it seemed like a lifetime. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too. Now get going--I'm falling asleep."

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