by Demi-X
"Talk to me Sophie, what have we got?" Dr. Tsang yelled as he guided the
rolling bed down the busy hall toward a free trauma room.
"Caucasian, male, 35. SW. To the middle of the abdomen with a serrated
knife, possible broken ribs on the right side of the victim's torso."
"What's that smell?" Dr. Tsang asked as he pulled his mask up.
"The perp. sprayed the belly wound with some sort of a dog repellent or
pepper spray." Came the reply from Sophie, the paramedic. The trauma room
doors were pushed aside by another doctor and two nurses who were waiting for
them, they brought Victor in, and his gurney came to a rest in the centre of
the large room.
"Shit" Was all Dr. Tsang mumbled in response to the answer to his
question of the smell. Victor was immediately transferred into a bigger bed.
Mac tagged along at the rear of the medical procession, still bloodied and
in a somewhat of a daze. He himself, had experienced some residual effects of
the potent pepper spray; his eyes were red and swollen and stung like crazy,
now. But at the time, in the office, sheer adrenaline had kept him from
realizing it at all. Mac pushed his discomfort aside; after all he was not the
important one in all of this, Victor was.
Once Victor was delivered to where he was supposed to be, the
paramedics' jobs were done. They had done their bit in getting Victor to the
hospital, now the rest was up to the doctors and nurses. The two of them
passed by Mac on their way out of the trauma room but Mac ignored the medics as
they went by him, he was totally focused in on Victor and was listening
intently to what the doctor was saying.
"Okay people, let's get to it." Dr. Tsang said calmly. The doors swung
closed and the everyday mayhem of the emergency room was shut out.
As the trauma team did their individual jobs, each one having a specific
duty—from the nurse starting the IV lines to the second doctor examining for
any secondary injuries—Dr. Tsang shouted out instructions. He called out
what meds he wanted pushed through the lines and what tests he wanted
performed. The tests ranged from determining Victor's blood type to whether or
not there was blood in the urine. Doctor Tsang controlled it all. As he was
verbally ordered his team, Dr. Tsang lifted the large bandage that had replaced
the bloodied shirt. "What a mess." He stated to no one in particular.
"But you can fix him? Right Doc?" Mac spoke from the side of the room,
well out of every ones way.
Dr. Tsang turned around and looked at Mac, he noted the blood-covered
undershirt he was wearing beneath the expensive a suit jacket. He saw that
Mac's hands were coated with dried blood up too, and probably past his
wrists.
"Who are you?" Dr. Tsang asked warily. "Someone get security in
here." He ordered.
"I'm not the one who stabbed him." Mac said sarcastically. "I'm his
bodyguard. Mac Ramsey."
Dr. Tsang relaxed slightly and bent his head back to examining Victor.
"Maybe he should have had two guards instead of one." He replied back, just as
sarcastic, as Mac had been with him.
Ignoring the remark, Mac inwardly thought the Doctor was correct in
that assumption. He asked again, "Is Victor going to be all right?"
Dr. Tsang covered up the stab wound. "Alice, tell O.R. to get their
surgical consult down her now." He looked at Mac and answered the obviously
worried bodyguards' question with the standard, "I don't know Mr. Ramsey, I
honestly don't know."
Mac replied nervously, "Well I suggest you do everything you can to save
his life. Or there will be hell to pay if he dies. You don't know who you've
got on that table."
"Fresh gloves." Tsang said. He turned to Mac and proceeded to pull off
his bloodied ones. "Every patient gets the best care possible. I assure you."
Dr. Tsang resented Mac's implications. However, he was curious about his
latest patient so he asked Mac, "Just who is this on the table any ways?" A
nurse handed him a fresh pair of latex, and he started to put them on.
"Victor Mansfield. He's a member of the Ellison family."
At the mention of Ellison, the expression on the Doctor's face
changed. It was a subtle change, but it was enough that Mac had caught it.
Dr. Tsang said finally, "There's only Ellison sons. No daughters.
How can he be a member of the family?"
Mac narrowed his eyes at the doctor as he snapped, "He's James
Elision's lover. No scratch that, his husband. So I suggest you quit yapping
at me and get back to work." His temper was growing short. He couldn't
believe that Victor might not live... wouldn't believe it. As it was, Jim
would probably kill him for letting this happen. He didn't know the assailant
had gotten to Victor in such a short time, but the camera in the office would
tell him who had attacked Victor and whoever it was, was going to die. Man or
woman, it didn't matter. Mac would see to it, by killing the culprit himself.
Doctor Tsang frowned at Mac's outburst and looked away from him.
"Where the hell is surgical?" He asked a nurse, this time with more urgency in
his voice than the last time he had requested their presence. As soon as he
had asked the question about surgical coming down, a warning alarm screeched
out from one of the many monitors that was hooked up to Victor.
A male nurse shouted out, "Pulse and pressure dropping. He's CRASHING!"
Then a single buzzer pulsed out, in confirmation of the nurse's statement,
mixing in with the already blaring, annoying alarm.
Doctor Tsang yelled, "Son of a bitch!" as he jumped up on the bed, and
straddled Victor. Then he began to perform CPR pushing down as hard as he
dared, considering that it had been confirmed already that there were, in fact,
broken ribs.
"Bag him Mannie." Dr. Tsang instructed the male nurse. Who did as he
was told and disconnected the hose leading from the breathing apparatus to the
tube that was going down Victor's throat. Mannie replaced the hose with a
hand-held air bag, which he squeezed manually at regular intervals. "Alice."
Doctor Tsang barked, "Get the elevator NOW! Were going up."
Two nurses pushed the bed, Mannie continued to manually pump air into
Victor's lungs, and Dr. Tsang kept up pressing gently on Victor's chest as the
elevator doors closed behind them.
Mac tried to follow Victor up but a nurse stopped him from entering the
elevator. She said to him in a gentle voice, "You can take the next one up.
He's going to be in surgery for the next couple of hours."
Mac ran his fingers through his hair, still oblivious of the dried blood
staining his hands. "What's going to happen to him?" He asked anxiously.
The nurse smiled softly, trying to encourage the frightened man. "They'll
operate to fix the stab wound and then repair his ribs while they're at it.
Don't worry Mr. Ramsey, your friend has a good chance that he will make it out
of the OR alive."
Mac, somewhat relieved by her optimism asked, "You think so?"
She pushed the button for the elevator again, "Yes I do. I've seen worse and
they've managed to survive." The doors opened up and as the people filed out
she said to Mac, "Go to the fourth floor and wait in the waiting room there.
Someone will talk to you after awhile."
Mac stepped into the elevator. Worried sick for the life of his friend, and
what this would do to Jim.
Lucky for Mac, he had the waiting room all to himself because he didn't think
that he could handle people right now.
He had only been in the bland room about fifteen minutes before Jim came
storming in, frantic for news of Victor. He was followed into the waiting room
by his older brother Justin, who happened to be in a meeting with Jim when
Mulder pushed his way past the secretary and busted up the discussion.
Mulder had finally barged past the soft-spoken lady after he had grown tired of
being told that Mr. Ellison, both of them, could not be disturbed.
Upon hearing the news, Jim had immediately jumped up and ran out of the
office. Not even bothering to grab his coat on the way out; despite the fact
that there was a freezing rain falling.
Luckily Justin remembered to snag Jim's warm trench coat while chasing his
younger brother out of the office. As the trio passed the frightened
secretary, Justin said to her hastily, "I'm unavailable until further notice
Mary." He had his cell phone and his family knew how to reach him. Anyone
else could wait.
Mulder parted company with Jim and Justin at the cars, Justin's driver
was ready to go, but before the two Ellison men could leave Mulder pulled Jim
aside and said to him, "I've got the tape of the stabbing." He patted his coat
pocket firmly. "I'll let you know what's going on later."
Jim nodded his head. "Thanks Mulder." He said.
"Thanks Fox." Justin added. "Come on Jim, we should get going." Jim
climbed into the back seat of the luxury car and Justin followed him in.
As soon as Jim caught sight of Mac he froze.
Mac was still covered in blood; Victor's blood. He still had not washed up
and the bright red pigment of Victor's precious fluid had stained his cuticles
along with the creases and crevices of his hands. Far too warm in the
hospital, Mac had removed his jacket and draped it over the back of a chair.
He was still wearing the white muscle shirt that he had on when trying to help
Victor in the office. It had several large blood splatters peppering the front
of it and it hung from Mac's lanky frame, untucked from his pants. There were
blood smears on his light grey pants too, though they had dried to a dark
brown. Mac stopped pacing and stared back at his boss. "Jim. I'm... "
But Jim cut him off by saying, "Is all that Victor's blood?" His
voice was soft and he was barely able to speak. His blue eyes were wide and it
was obvious that he was beyond worried, now he was totally petrified for
Victor.
Mac raised his arms in front of himself and he looked at his hands as if he
had suddenly grown them. He slowly rotated his wrists back and forth staring
at his palms like he didn't recognize them at all.
That some how, they weren't his hands, but instead belonging to someone else.
He raised his eyes and looked up at Jim and answered the question by replying
softly, "Yes."
Horrified, Jim staggered back a few paces until his back was against the
wall. His legs, no longer able to support his body, gave way, and he slid
down the bare white wall in slow motion. Jim's shocked blue eyes were glued to
Mac's bloodied wardrobe and as soon as he was sitting flat on his ass, he
buried his face into his hands.
OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD
Justin, ever the sensible one, took control of the situation
immediately. He looked at Jim for a second before going over to Mac. He said
to him, "Go home and clean up. Then get down to the cop shop and find out
what's going on." Mac nodded but he couldn't take his eyes off of Jim, who
just sat there on the floor, shaking his head back and forth; his face still
hidden in his hands.
"Are you listening to me? Mac?" Justin asked gently.
Mac finally pulled his gaze away from Jim and looked at Justin. "Yes."
He said simply.
"Good. Do you have your cell?"
"Yes." Mac replied again, monotone.
"Okay. Make sure you get a hold of Murphy and Camier`. They can
handle the restaurant through all of this. As soon as you hear anything, phone
me. Whoever did this is through living." Justin threatened. "I'll look after
things here, but I need you to get a grip Mac and look after things out there
for Jim."
Mac nodded his head. "Okay. I'm okay now." He went over to where Jim was
and squatted down in front of him, and said, "I'm sorry boss. This is all my
fault."
Jim brought his head up, "No." He whispered. "It's not ... Mac...
I don't... It's not your fault. So don't blame yourself. Whoever stabbed
Victor is to blame. No one else." Jim's eyes were full of hatred. "Find
who's responsible for hurting Vic, Mac. That's what I want you to do."
"I will." Promised Mac solemnly. He stood up and started for the scene of
the crime.
As soon as Mac had left, Justin went to Jim and pulled his brother up to his
feet. "Were alone now Jim." He said and with that, Jim let all of his control
go, but only for only a few seconds. Instantly tears came to, then spilled out
of his eyes. Justin hugged his brother tightly for a second, then let him go.
Jim wiped at his eyes and then went over to a box of tissues, grabbing a few he
blew his runny nose.
"Vic will be all right Jim." Justin said his brothers back.
Jim turned around. "I hope so Justin. I hope so."
Four hours later
"Mr. Ellison?" Jim, Justin, Jason and Marc Ellison all turned their
heads at the same time to look at the female voice which spoke from the door
way.
"Yes." All four said in unison.
The pretty nurse smiled at the foursome of faces that were all so very
similar to each other. "I'm looking for James Ellison." She said.
"That's me." Jim answered as he stood up from the couch he had been
sitting on. He was exhausted, even though it was only two o'clock in the
afternoon. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Jim feared that he was about to
hear the worst news.
They'd send in a Doctor if it was that kind of news. Wouldn't they?
"I have an update for you." The nurse walked over to Jim, extremely
conscious of the other men looking at her expectantly. She felt like a bug
under a microscope and she couldn't help but think that if these four people
didn't like the answers being delivered, she might be the next one to check
into the hospital; as patient and not an employee.
"They've finished repairing the stab wound. And now the doctors are going to
start on his ribs. One of the surgeons will come down and explain the extent
of the damage to you later on, when they're finished. Okay?" She certainly
hoped it was.
"Okay. Thanks." Jim said to her coldly then he turned his back to
her.
The nurse smiled nervously and then beat a hasty retreat out the door.
"I'm hungry." Said Jasen casually after a minute. "Want to get some
lunch?" He asked his brothers.
Justin and Marc accepted the invitation. "Jim?" Marc said. "You going
to come with us?"
Jim shook his head. "No. I'm not hungry." He couldn't even think of
food, the mere mention of it made him feel sick to his stomach.
"You need to eat." Justin said practically.
"I'm a big boy. I'll eat when I feel like it." Jim snapped. He was
frustrated, it showed in his actions and it could be heard in his tone of
voice.
"Jiiim... " Chided Jasen. "You need something."
Jim quit staring at the Pepsi machine and whirled around to face all three
of his older brothers. Relenting he said, "Well then bring me back something.
I don't care what."
"I'm not leaving this hospital until I see Victor." He stated firmly before
turning his back to his brothers again. He stared out the window at the view
of the parking lot. "I wonder why Mac hasn't phoned?" Jim said no one in
particular.
Jasen looked at Marc and Justin then he shrugged his shoulders. "He'll
phone one of us as soon as he knows something." Jasen said.
Jim sighed heavily, then he swung around and looked each one of his
brothers in the eye. "Listen, I know you're all busy, so after lunch why
don't you guys go back to the office? ...Victor wouldn't want all of this
fuss... " Jim waved his hand at the waiting room.
"We will come back after lunch." Marc said, interrupting Jim.
"No. Really it's okay. I want to be alone anyway." Jim said. He
gave the three of them a small half smile, then he went back to staring out the
window.
"Okay." Justin agreed. "But we'll bring you back some lunch first, at
least."
Jim only nodded and the siblings left the small room. Jasen stopped and
spoke to the two large family security guards who were posted just outside of
the door. "Jim wants to be alone. So don't let him see you, just stay here."
The blond guard nodded his head. "Sure, Mr. Ellison." He said.
Marc in the meantime handed a hundred-dollar bill to a nurse at the
station across the hall from where Jim was. "Mr. Ellison, wants the waiting
room to himself." He smiled, laying on all of his handsome, Irish charm. He
slid two more hundreds across the counter top, "Please if you can direct any
other people to the other waiting room down the hall." He patted the back of
her hand.
The young nurse nodded her head, she was quite taken with the well dressed,
older man. "For you Mr. Ellison. Anything." She said, making sure to
emphasize the 'anything'.
"Thanks." He said, not taking up her up on the 'anything' invitation. He
joined his brothers.
"Hello." Jim snapped into the cell phone. He had been sitting on the over
stuffed couched and staring into space when the phone rang, pulling him out of
his hypnotic like state.
"It's me." Mac said.
Jim bent his head and rubbed at the muscles at the back of his neck,
sighing he changed his tone of voice. "What's up?" He asked.
"How's Victor?" Was the first thing Mac said.
"I don't know." Jim said frustrated. "I've been sitting here in this
fucking shit hole waiting room for like... ever. I haven't heard word one in
over four hours. The last time the nurse spoke to me she said that they had
fixed up his stomach and that the surgeons were going to start in on Vic's
ribs."
He looked up, "Every time I try to ask someone what's going on they give me
the standard 'He's doing as best as can be expected' answer. Whatever
the hell that means!" The aggravation of the situation was beginning to wear
on his nerves.
"I'm coming over there right now!" Mac said angrily. "Fuck this bullshit,
I'll get the answers you want!"
And at that, Jim had to smile. He had no doubt that Mac would be able to
extract the information they wanted regarding Victor. Charm or intimidation,
Mac did both well. He would try one on a nurse or doctor and if that didn't
work then he would go to another.
But Jim still just wanted to be alone; alone as he could be with two giant
body guards standing in the hall watching over him. "No Mac. Don't. I
appreciated the gesture but I want to be by myself. I told both Dobrinski and
Mom to stay away too."
"Okay." Mac knew that Jim had also chased away his brothers as well.
His boss was building his walls again and he shuttered to think of what would
happen if Victor didn't live through this nightmare. They would never come
down.
Victor dying is not an option!
"So why did you call?" Do you have some news for me?" Jim could hear
voices and telephones ringing in the back ground of wherever Mac was.
"Well,..." Mac hesitated for a second, "I'm at the cop shop. Mulder
made an arrest."
"Who is it?" Jim asked immediately.
Mac sighed. He was not looking forward to telling Jim this next bit. "I
don't' know. Mulder won't say jack shit to me. He took the tape and whoever
it is that's on it, he's made an arrest according to the images."
"That bastard. Why won't he show you the perp.?"
"Because he knows whoever it is, is a dead man. Or woman. I think he's
trying to get all he can before the inevitable ending comes up. He's just
doing his job Jim."
Jim scratched the back of head, thinking for a second. "Okay. You're
right. So here's what I want you to do... Stay there and try to find out
who's on the tape. Maybe even try to get a copy of it. At any rate, It's mine
and I want it back, have Dobrinski call the lawyers, maybe they can get it
through legal channels. Money is no object Mac. Phone me when you hear any
more. When we find out who did this, I'll leave it up to you to take care of
things. Get my meaning?" Jim asked.
Mac got his meaning of course. "Leave it up to me." He said. "I'll get
Dobrinski working with the suits and I'll get a hold of you when I know
something new." Mac paused before hanging up. "He'll be okay Jim. You have
to keep believing that."
"I know." Jim said as he hung up. He stared at the food container
Jasen had brought for him from lunch. The pasta was still untouched. Tired of
looking at the box, Jim stretched out his leg and using his foot, he pushed the
container into the garbage can that was sitting next to the coffee table.
8:00 P.M.
"Mr. Ellison?" Jim stopped pacing and stared at the person who had
called his name.
"Yes" He said. Showing no outward emotion.
The young Asian man smiled. "I'm Dr. Tsang." He held out his hand and
Jim shook it. "I was here when Mr. Mansfield came in this morning. I wanted
to stay with the case, so I followed it through." Michael's heart was pounding
wildly in his chest, Jim Ellison, along with his whole family frightened him.
He wasn't sure how his news would be taken. The man that had patted him down
had arms that were so big they looked like they could rip his head off, bare
handed.
"How's Victor?" Jim asked, relieved that finally another medical
professional had finally come to talk to him.
"Well... He's coming out of the surgery alive and that's always a good
sign." He led Jim to the couch and then sat in the chair across from him.
"We managed to repair all of the damage in his belly. Which is what took
so long. You see, the knife nicked several pieces of his small intestines.
Luckily they were small cuts, so not a lot of the fluid had leaked out into his
abdomen yet. But it was enough to make the operation messy. The surgeons
managed to clean it all up. Though and they were forced to remove a five-inch
length of intestine that was beyond repair."
Dr. Tsang looked directly into Jim's eyes and said, "Mr. Mansfield is
lucky the knife didn't do more internal damage. " He cleared his throat. "Now
as for his ribs, he had four of them that were smashed in two. So it took the
team of thoracic surgeons quite sometime to put him back together. I think his
prognosis is good Mr. Ellison. Victor is young and in good shape, he should
recover, however, ... "
Dr. Tsang cleared his throat again and ignoring the pager that was vibrating
in his pocket he said, "We've done all we can. The rest is up to Mr. Mansfield
he's not quite out of the woods yet. Like I said, if he makes it through the
night, then things should turn out okay." He stood up, "They've just wheeled
him into recovery, he won't leave there until around one A.M.. Why don't you
go home? He won't wake up tonight."
Jim looked up at the doctor and grimaced at the thought of leaving Victor.
He shook his head. "No." He said firmly. "I'll stay."
"Well I'll leave word at the desk then, you'll be able to see him once he's
brought to his room on the ward."
"Thank-you Dr. Tsang." Jim said. At least now he had some hope.
3:00 A.M.
The door behind Jim opened up and a strip of bright light shone into
Victor's room. Jim turned around thinking it was another nurse coming in to
check on Victor's progress. He smiled weakly at the visitor—it was his
brother Marc.
"You. Little brother..." Marc said quietly as he handed Jim a cup
of fresh brewed coffee, "...look like shit."
"Thanks Marc." Jim said dryly as he sniffed at his arm pits. "Probably
smell like it too."
March laughed softly, he pulled up a chair and sat across from Jim, who
was sitting next to Victor at the head of the bed. Marc was on the same side
of the bed as Jim, but near the foot of it. He looked around the room and
studied all of the equipment Victor was hooked up too. One of the machines
beeped at an annoyingly regular interval; reminding him of a dripping
faucet.
There were all kinds of clear tubes and wires running in and out from
underneath Victor's blankets which were pulled up to his chest. Marc could
not see Victor's tightly taped ribs or the stomach wound; one of the tubes
that came out from under the blankets was a drainage tube inserted into
Victor's abdomen.
Marc could see all the apparatus meant to heal the wounds and he couldn't
help but worry for the sleeping man. He could see even in this light that
Victor was unusually pale. In fact, the ghostly white pallor was from losing
so much blood and it made Victor's bruised face stand out in stark contrast to
his unnatural skin tone.
"They took the breathing tube out of him about twenty minutes ago. He
looked even worse then." Jim said, pulling Marc out of his silent assessment
of Victor.
"Jesus Christ Jimmy. Is he going to make it?" Marc was genuinely
concerned for his brother's lover.
No! His husband. I'll have to get used to saying that.
"The Doctors are optimistic. Because of his age and health, they say that
if he survives the night, he has a chance." Jim rolled his neck around in a
slow circular motion. Marc could hear it crack. "Why are you here at three
in the morning Marc? You should be home in bed with LiAnne."
Marc swallowed. "Mac phoned me. He's been trying to get you for
hours, but your cell is off. Besides, I couldn't sleep."
"I had to turn it off." Jim glanced at Victor briefly then turned back to
his brother, with the exhaustion clear in his voice, he said, "It interferes
with the equipment. So what does Mac have to say?" Does he know who tried to
murder Vic?"
Marc leaned forward and spoke in a low voice, "Oh yeah. A whole lot has
happened in the last couple of hours. We all saw the tape Jim." Marc paused.
"It was Langly who stabbed Victor." He shook his head slowly. "I've seen and
done a lot of things, but this guy, God Jim, the shit he did to Victor. Did
you know that he sprayed pepper spray into Victor's belly while he was still
conscious?" Marc snorted in disgust. "Now that's nasty."
Jim's lips made a tight line and he shook his head angrily. "I want to see
the tape Marc. And then I want that bastard dead. Is he the one who's been
stalking me. Trust that little weasel to make it look like a woman was doing
it!"
"He's already dead Jim." Marc said softy.
He looked over his shoulder quickly at the door behind him then continued.
"Some guy in holding shanked him. He did it because he heard there was a
price on Langly's head." Marc blinked a few times, "And Mulder is pissed
right off about it too. Good thing Mac was with him when it went down and
Dobrinski was busy working with the lawyers at the time. But he still suspects
the family had something to do with it. Luckily, he has no idea that as soon
as Mac figured out that he wasn't going to get any where near Langly, he put
the word out. $2000 cash for Langly's head. The skell who did it is going
upstate for a 2-year stretch. I suppose he'll find the cash handy."
Marc sipped from his coffee "Mulder busted Langly while the fool was still
at his apartment. You should have seen his apartment, he had an entire wall
devoted to you and your 'ugly mug',... " Jim smiled at his brother, "... And
another wall devoted to Victor and all of the ways he wanted to hurt him. He
was obsessed with you,... " Marc said matter of fact, "... And obviously
jealous of Victor. Mulder figures that hearing about you and Victor
exchanging vows put him over the edge. He guesses that up until that point,
there was always still some hope that you would notice him. But once you
slipped on that wedding band, Well... " Marc left the sentence hanging,
obviously they knew what Langly did at the news of the 'marriage'.
Jim looked at Victor's still form, and watched as his chest rose and
fell evenly. "Was he the one sending the threats, it would make sense
considering where some of the mail found me." He asked, not looking at his
brother.
Setting his cup between his legs, Marc replied, "Well here's where it
gets weird. Looks like it was Walter Skinner, Thea Director and Nathan Muckle
were the ones who were behind the 'Stalker' bit. Once Mulder arrested and
charged Langly, that skinny punk spewed his guts and fingered everyone. He
told Mulder that it was Skinner who was the mastermind behind it all and Thea
did the actual stalking part and Muckle was just along for the ride."
Jim snapped attention back to Marc. "Skinner, Director, Muckle. Why?
Victor fired them over a year ago." Jim asked confused.
"Exactly. Looks like they were holding a grudge against you and Victor
all along. Skinner was waiting all this time to pay you back. He still blames
you for Sandburgs disappearance" Marc gave his brother a knowing look.
"Mulder also found out that Martino's brother thinks your behind Antonio's
disappearance too." Marc grinned, he was glad that Victor had killed Antonio
Martino. He had always suspected that it was Martino who was behind the failed
attempt on his fathers life years before.
"Mulder followed the paper trail from Langly to Skinner to Troy Martino,
who is Antonio's son. Looks like he paid Skinner to off Victor. And Skinner
was all too happy to take on the job." Marc sipped from his warm coffee,
wrinkling up his nose at the liquid, he swallowed then tossed the paper cup
into the garbage bin.
"So basically, " Jim said, "What your saying is that Troy Martino paid
Skinner to get rid of Victor, and by that act, hurting me more than killing me
outright, and that Skinner took a full year to enact his plan. Using Ringo
Langly and his well-hidden obsession, for me, as a weapon." Jim shook his head
in wonderment, "He was Skinner's scape-goat."
"And his inside source of information too." Marc said.
Jim nodded. "Where's Skinner and the rest of them now?" He asked his
brother.
"Nathan Muckle turned up dead in his apartment, his throat had been cut.
It looks like Skinner and his bimbo Thea grabbed Muckle's part of the payout
and left town. Don't worry,... " Marc assured Jim, "... we'll find them.
Eventually. They can't stay hidden forever."
Jim wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. He too tossed his
empty cup into the garbage. "Were in some shitty kind of business hey?" He
turned and looked at Victor's serene, but battered face.
"Yeah." Marc agreed.
Turning back to Marc, Jim said, "We need a career change before we all end
up dead."
"You know what?" Marc said, "I agree, we've got enough legitimate
holdings to get out of the biz..." He smiled, "Let's talk to the twins about
it sometime, after Victor gets better."
"Okay, it's a deal." Changing the subject, Jim pointed to an adidas
bag that Marc had brought in with him, but had left at the side of his chair.
"What's in the bag?" He asked.
"I went by your place and picked up a few things for you." Marc
handed his brother the sports bag, "Why don't you go to the family lounge and
shower."
Marc added in quickly when in looked like Jim might refuse, "I'll stay with
Vic. Go and clean up, take your time little bro, I won't leave him, I
promise."
Reluctant to leave his love's side, Jim slowly stood up. He smiled and
then reached out and hugged his older brother. He had always known that he
could count on his brothers, especially Marc. Marc who claimed to not like
Victor, but yet, here he was, in the wee hours of the morning offering to watch
over him until he returned. "Thanks." He said. "I won't be long."
Jim leaned over and kissed Victor on the forehead. Unafraid of expressing
his emotions or show his sexuality in front of his family.
He left the private room, noting on his way to the lounge, that at some
point, the body guards had changed. He looked at one of the guards who
reminded him a lot of Victor and said to him casually, "Come on Alex, I'm going
for a shower." Alex went with Jim and the other guard stayed where he was
posted just outside of Victor's room.
Marc waited for the door to click shut before he went and stood next to
Victor at the head of the bed. A dim light was on above them, Marc could see
Victor's face clearly. Feeling a little self conscious he picked up the
sleeping man's hand and held it tightly. He noticed it was cold, very cold, so
he wrapped his other large hand around it to warm it up a bit.
While looking down at Victor, Marc realized that for as much as he
protested him being with Jim, he really did like the man. It was his own
jealousy that had kept them from connecting like brothers' in-laws should. It
wasn't Victor's fault that LiAnne had flirted brazenly with him on that first
night, though she never did it again, and it wasn't his fault that he had been
born on the wrong side of the tracks.
But his jealousy mostly stemmed from the fact that he was being replaced in
Jim's life. Marc cleared the short bangs from Victor's forehead, in a gesture
he would have performed on one of his sleeping nieces or nephews, and then
spoke to him.
"Okay. Victor." He started, still holding onto Victor's hand, "Here's the
deal. If you wake up tomorrow, I'll give you the satisfaction of hearing me
tell you, in front of the family that I was wrong about you." Marc
smiled. "Trust me, that's not something I say often. Listen, if you don't
make it, Jimmy will be crushed. He loves you and as much as I hated to admit
it in the past, he needs you. We all do." Marc squeezed Victor's chilly hand
before tucking it under the cover's with the other. He sat in Jim's chair and
waited for his brother to return.
The next morning
Victor's eyelids fluttered opened and he stared up at the ceiling for a
few seconds. At first, not fully comprehending where he was exactly, or how he
had gotten there. Then he felt the sharp ache in his stomach and side, and the
memories of the day before flooded his consciousness. He turned his head
slowly and gave a small smile when he saw Jim's still form sitting in the
chair, he was slumped over and his head was resting on the edge of the hospital
bed. Victor lifted his hand slowly and gently rested it on the back of Jim's
head, petting the back of his head and neck softly.
At the light touch, Jim brought his head up immediately. He blinked his
vision clear and it took him a second to realize that Victor was really awake
and smiling at him, and not simply a pleasant dream that he was having.
"Good morning. " Victor said, his voice raspy from having a tube down his
throat.
Tears sprang out in Jim's eyes immediately. "Oh thank god you're awake."
He said as he buried his head in the bedcovers and wept for joy.
2 months later—epilogue
"It seems to me, " Victor said dryly, "...that we've done this
before." Both men were standing on the front porch of the family mansion.
Jim smiled and finished straightening out Victor's tie for him. "Quiet."
He said. "This time your going to have fun." Jim leaned forward and kissed
Victor softly on the mouth then studied his eyes for a minute. "You're too
thin." He said casually, but there was concern fringing the edges of the
comment.
Victor laughed softly and then he kissed Jim back. "You worry too much
Jim." He smiled easily, "I just got out of the hospital, you know they didn't
exactly have me on a high carbo diet or anything."
"You're making fun of my concern." Jim scolded.
"No. I'm not. Really. But the tube in my guts just got pulled out
yesterday and the stitches haven't even finished dissolving yet." Victor
reached out and ran the back of his hand down Jim's cheek. "And my ribs are
still healing. Not to mention I've been eating bland food for two months now.
I promise I'll eat like a pig tonight." He smiled again. "Okay?"
Jim surveyed Victor, he had lost a lot of weight and muscle tone while
recuperating in the hospital and it worried him. But Victor was right, all he
needed was a few days to adjust. "All right." Jim said. "But remember you
said like a pig... not me."
"Come on," Victor said finally, "...let's go in we don't want to be too
late to our own wedding celebration."
"True. I guess your fit to be seen in a crowd." Both men laughed and Jim,
holding onto Victor's hand, led the love of his life into the family home much
like they had done almost two years before. Neither Victor nor Jim could
believe how fast the time had flown by.
Everyone greeted Victor with open arms, including Marc, each of them
hugging or kissing him, but all of them mindful of his still fragile condition.
All of the Ellison's were present, including the children as well. Mac and
Jackie were there, along with Dobrinski and his wife Kimberly.
Mulder as usual, had come alone, claiming that no nice girls would go out
with a cop. In tandem with the wedding celebrations, the party was also to
welcome Victor home from the hospital. The small gathering of people were
having a good time at the catered affair. Even the flirtatious LiAnne was on
much better behavior than usual.
The children had been fed first and then were squirreled off to one of the
many large rooms for the rest evening. Only then, did the adults sit down for
dinner.
Just as they were doing so, Mulder's pager beeped and he was called to the
scene of yet another crime. He expressed his apologies, said good bye to
Victor and then left the mansion.
The caterers had been excused for the time being, so Justin and Jasen poured
the wine and when they were settled back into their seats, Marc stood up and
raised his glass of red.
All eyes turned to him as he said, "I have an announcement to make. A
little over two months ago, I paid a late night visit to Jim in the hospital,
while he sat vigil over Victor's bed."
Victor turned to Jim, eyebrows raised in questioning. Jim shrugged his
shoulders and grinned, he was in on the announcement but there was no way he
was going to give anything away to Victor.
"Jim and I had a heart to heart discussion about business, which I will
tell you about in a minute,.." Only the brothers knew what Marc was going to
say, everyone else, including Molly, was in the dark, several pairs of curious
eyes looked to Marc. "But first I need to say something to Victor."
Now it was Jim's turn to be surprised, he had no idea what Marc wanted to
say to Vic.
Looking only at Victor, Marc said, "After Jim and I had our little
talk at your bedside in the hospital, I sat with you while he went to freshen
up." Marc often wondered if Victor had any memory of that night at all.
Judging by the look on his brother-in-law's puzzled face, he did not.
"I asked you to come back to Jim, I told you that he needed you by his
side. And it was then, that promised you that if you lived, I would get up in
front of the whole family and tell them all that I was wrong about you... "
Everyone seated at the large table was stunned, they couldn't believe Marc
would actually admit to that, in front of all of them.
Victor tried to interrupt, "Marc it's okay... "
But Marc cut him off. "No. It's not okay. I was wrong about you and a lot
of other things and I'm sorry for my boorish behavior. So Victor I have only
one thing to say... " He lifted his glass up and said with a large smile, "...
welcome to the family." Marc took a sip of his wine in toast.
All the people sitting around the table lifted their glasses as well,
"Here here." They echoed and then drank in honor of Victor.
Victor opened his mouth to speak, but didn't know what to say so he
simply murmured a shy, "Thank-you." And blushing, he took a sip from his own
glass.
Jim reached under the table and squeezed his knee reassuringly. Marc's
apology and welcoming came as a complete and total surprise to him. And he was
pleased that his big brother had finally accepted Victor for whom he was and
the role of importance he played in Jim's life.
"Now." Marc said. "Onto the next announcement." He sipped from his glass
again then set it down. "It's a new time in a new year. The millennium is
almost upon us. After what happened to Victor,.." All the people seated at
the table swung their heads again to look at Victor, who smiled nervously back
at the eyes, "...Jim and I came to realize that we had to find better, safer
ways of doing business. I went to the twins and through a great deal of
discussion and a whole lot of arguing..." The women at the table laughed at
that comment.
"It is my pleasure to announce that Ellison Holding Inc... is completely
legitimate, 100%. No more rum running." Marc didn't bother going into the
logistics of the family's illegal activities. Rum running, seemed to cover all
the basis neatly. "Everyone here, who used to see to our safety in our old
lives will stay with us of course, but the soldiers and bodyguards are
gone..."
Victor was relieved. For a second there, he thought that the announcement
might mean Mac was out of the picture too. But obviously he would do the same
job but just overseeing security for all of the Elision's at the high-rise not
just him at the restaurant office.
Victor would keep on as manager and co-owner of the restaurant, Jim
himself would stay with the night club and the other brothers would devote
their time to managing and pursuing the interests of the family's holding
company.
As the group at the table drank their wine and the caterers started bringing
out the food, Jim sat back and reflected: the table looked empty without father
seated at the head. But Marc, who looked the closest to their father seemed to
fill the chair nicely. Though Jasen and Justin were oldest, it was Marc who
was the Ellison namesake, and he suited it. Jim smiled at the people
surrounding him.
The penthouse
Later that same evening, Victor and Jim lay in bed, cuddled closely
together. Jim wanted to make love to Victor, but he was afraid of hurting him.
So instead, he pushed away the amorous thoughts and then tried not to let the
dark and scary thoughts take over him. He twisted the gold band on Victor's
finger and wondered about what the future would bring for not only him and
Victor, but the whole family.
"I'm okay you know Jim. You don't have to worry." Victor said softly
through the darkness of the bedroom.
"I know." Jim replied.
"What's on your mind then?" Victor could sense that something was
bothering Jim.
"Oh, I was just thinking about us. How it's a new time, like Marc said.
I'm glad the family has gone legit..." He stopped talking and inhaled
sharply, his emotions over taking him, "I love you Vic. Always. Our lives
from now on are going to change for the better... If you had died... I don't
know..." He was unable to finish the thought.
Victor slowly turned over to his good side, and Jim's arm automatically
wrapped around his shoulders and held him close. "Shhh." He said softly.
"Were together Jim. How much better can it get."
"You're right." Jim replied as he gently turned onto his side and wrapped
his other arm around Victor. So that now they were face to face.
"Let's make love Jim." Victor said as he pushed his groin into Jim's,
pleased when he felt the companion hard-on.
"Are you sure?" Whispered Jim.
"No. But I need to be with you. I need to be close to you." Victor
replied, husky with need.
Jim kissed Victor softly then with one arm reached back behind
himself and grabbed the small tube of KY jelly that was supposed to be for use
when removing and changing Victor's stomach dressings.
Jim didn't think that the perverting the original use would hurt anyone. He
gave the small tube to Victor who opened it and squeezed a small amount onto
his fingers.
Victor tossed the tube over the side of the bed and reaching down, he
applied most of the clear jell to Jim's small opening.
Leaning forward, he began to kiss Jim as he gently worked the lubricant all
around, and into Jim's ass. He took the time to play a little bit by running
his index finger over Jim's prostate gland. Making him jerk with pleasure.
Satisfied in Jim's readiness, Victor used the lubricant that was left over on
his fingers by rubbing it over the tip of his own, throbbing cock. "I've got
us this far babe, but I don't think I can do the rest." He quietly admitted to
Jim.
"Shhh. Let me do it for us." Jim replied while he was still kissing
Victor's neck and shoulders. He raised his right leg and positioned himself
over Victor's erection. After a little more wiggling and maneuvering, Jim
grabbed Victor's cock and guided it into himself slowly. The men were still
laying face to face, and once Victor was buried to the hilt inside of him, Jim
slowly rocked his hips and drew himself up and down on Victors cock.
Victor moaned in pleasure. It had felt like forever, since he and Jim
had been together. Not since the morning of the stabbing. Victor knew that he
wouldn't be able to last very long at all; Jim was so tight and warm, he felt
too good.
Jim went back to kissing Victor, all the while doing the work for the
two of them. He rested his hand on Victor's hip then ran it around and gripped
the firm ass cheek beneath it. "I'm going to cum Vic." He whispered into
Victor's mouth.
Victor reach down used his hand to masturbate Jim's own erection in time to
the thrusts, "Cum for me Jim." Victor said softly, just like he had done last
time they had made love, "Cum for me now... " Jim groaned loudly and released
his seed into the palm of the only person who could make him get off by just
talking. His spunk jetted up and splashed Victor underneath his chin and
coated his chest.
Victor closed his eyes, and as the last vestiges of Jim's spasms pulled
on him, he moaned softly, "I love you Jim... " And then he let himself go. It
had been so very long for him since he last had an orgasm. He didn't even
really have the energy while recuperating in the hospital to relieve his sexual
tension himself.
Jim's muscles squeezed the juice right out of him, and at that point, he
did take over for himself by pushing his cock up Jim's ass as far as it would
go.
After the love making, Jim cradled Victor in his arms as gently as he would
a delicate new born baby.
Victor kissed Jim one more time before saying goodnight. He was unwilling
to admit how tired he was. The day's events and the lovemaking had left him
exhausted, his body was only at 70% and he was disappointed in having to take
so long to recover. Slowly, wrapped in a loving embrace Jim, Victor slowly
slipped into much needed slumber.
While Jim lay there in the dark listening to Victor's soft breaths, he
realized that he was now fullfilled by his life. He felt totally and
completely satisfied. The satisfaction came from the knowledge that he had
finally achieved what he had been seeking for all of his adult years; he had
finally found true love, with a companion who would never leave him and who
would never willingly hurt him. Victor's presence in his life renewed many of
Jim's long forgotten hopes dreams. Dreams that he had at one time may years
ago, thought impossible for a gay man.
As he lay there contemplating how perfect he and Victor were together, Jim
let the hypnotic thrum of Victor's strong and steady heart beat lull him into
his own peaceful, contented sleep.
JULY 1999
Time Changes Everything
All through the night I'll be standing over you,
All through the night I'll be watching over you,
And through bad dreams I'll be right there baby,
Holding your hand, telling you everything is all right.
And when you cry I'll be right there,
Telling you you were never anything less than beautiful,
So don't you worry,
I'm your Angel standing by...
'Angel standing by' Jewel
he emergency room doors flew open and Victor's blanket covered feet led
the way through. He was still unconscious, and as hard as they tried, the
paramedics were unable to wake him in the ambulance. The quad of people were
greeted by a tall, attractive Asian Dr. His name I.D badge read, 'M.
Tsang'.
NOTE: I am not a doctor. Duh! The only medical knowledge I have comes from
ER. So, please, forgive me for all of the medical mistakes, inconsistencies
and myths... Just pretend, like I did, that I know what I'm talking about.
Demi.
