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Doctor David Parrish slowly emerged from a deep, comfortable sleep, acutely aware that his limbs tangled with another person's, and from the weight of it, felt as if he was buried under a dozen thick blankets. He moved gently, realizing that not only was he completely enveloped by the other person's body, but that he was somehow completely naked.
With a hitch in his breath, he slowly opened his eyes, finding a handsome man with a concerned gaze staring back at him. The dark hair with blue eyes was striking; the man was devastatingly handsome, a gentle smile beginning on his face. "You with me, Doc?"
David managed a slight nod, his hair dragging against the muscled forearm that his head was resting against. He cleared his throat to find his voice, and asked, "Hello?"
"Welcome back, Doctor Parrish," the handsome man said. He pulled back gently, but David wasn't quite ready to be released from the warm embrace. "I'm just going to get you something to drink, okay? You look a little dehydrated."
Dehydrated. Okay, so that might explain the squiffiness that bounced around his head. But before he allowed the stranger to disentangle himself, he asks the question that's been forefront in his mind ever since waking up. "Umm, who are you?"
Instead of an answer, his bedmate gives him another smile, then squeezes his arm beneath the blankets. "The name's Evan Lorne. I'm a Forest Ranger with the USGS. We got word that there was a missing botanist here in the Klamath a couple of days ago, and I found you a few hundred feet from the cabin here. You were unresponsive and quite hypothermic, so I carried you back here and got you warmed up."
David moved his leg gently, feeling the silky hairs of Ranger Lorne's leg brushing against his own. One more slight movement and he felt something warm and hard against his thigh.
"Sorry," Lorne responded, and David couldn't help smile at the faint blush that quickly spread across the Ranger's face. "Forest Ranger occupational hazard."
"No, no," David said. "I get it."
Lorne nodded, then patted David on the shoulder. "I'm gonna get you that water now, okay?" And with that, he slipped from under the covers, David appreciating the view of Lorne's muscular backside, unobstructed by clothing. The man had an ass that would make Mother Theresa bite her knuckle, followed by a few dozen Hail Mary's. He watched as Lorne padded across to retrieve a bottle of water, then quickly glided back to the bed and handed over the bottle. Lorne helped David sit up, keeping a hand at David's back as his head reeled. David was glad that he was still in bed, for fear that he might fall over otherwise.
"Yeah, you're definitely dehydrated," Lorne said, answering the unasked question from David.
David took a few good gulps from the bottle, letting the cool liquid trickle down his throat and settle in his stomach. After he had felt a little more settled, he asked, "How long have I been out?"
"Six hours," came Lorne's reply.
David drained the bottle and watched as Lorne got up and refilled it, then sat back on the bed, totally ignoring his unclothed state. He seemed so relaxed that it made David feel comfortable in turn. They were just two guys, naked in a cabin in the woods.
With his head coming back to normal, his body started to stir, and David dropped a hand to his lap to push down his burgeoning erection. He noticed as Evan's eyes followed the hand, then slipped away to focus on something like the far wall as David pushed down at his groin.
"Feeling better?" Lorne asked as he relaxed next to David.
David immediately glanced back down at his cloth-covered crotch, his face immediately going so red that it felt as if he might spontaneously combust. "Oh, uhh-"
"No, no, no," Lorne said, cutting him off. He reached out and touched David's forehead as if checking for a fever. "I meant, are you feeling better? Not lightheaded? Know where you are? That kinda thing."
As his blush deepened, David shook his head. "Very much so, yes."
Lorne stands up, again unconcerned with his unclothed form. He looks around, then goes and grabs David's clothes from where they must have fallen when Lorne stripped him before putting him into bed. "Would you feel more comfortable wearing at least a bit of something?"
David immediately nods his head. But as soon as he does, he realizes the predicament he's in. "Yeah, I would. But, um... I don't think I'm going to be able to stand up for a few minutes."
Immediately Lorne's expression went to one of grave concern. He reached out and touched David's shoulder. "Are you still dizzy? Need more water?"
David shook his head and again pushed down his very persistent erection.
"Oh, that," Lorne said as he grinned so wide that his eyes crinkled up in amusement. He settled back down on the bed and patted David on the shoulder. With a single, impetuous wink, Evan dismissed the tension in the room. "Okay, Doc," he added as he snuggled under the covers next to David. "How about you tell me how you got into his mess in the first place?"
~*~*~
"Honey? I'm home!" David heard as he finished repotting yet another plant that he'd excavated from near the cabin. He brushed the dirt off of his hands, then made his way to the sink where he washed his hands, trails of black, rich earth slipping quickly down the drain. "How was patrol?" he asked. Evan had been gone on patrol for three days, David keeping busy with his work, and counting the hours until Evan would return.
Evan walked up behind him, stepping up on his toes to kiss David on the cheek, David appreciating the feel of three days of stubble that brushed gently against his cheek. "Quiet today," he said. "How's your experiment going?"
"Good, good," David replied.
It had been eight months since that fateful day when David woke up – naked – in Evan's arms after wandering away from his research group. Seven months and three weeks since David had the courage to contact Evan and ask him out on a proper date, on which they still managed to get naked together when Evan was finally able to break away from rotation and meet David in town. And three months since David had moved up to the outpost with Evan. Evan's life as a forest ranger was usually stiflingly lonely, as he'd once told David – but all that was in the past. David managed to negotiate with Atlantis Associates for an extended remote gig, and once he moved in, his and Evan's lives seemed to slide together with a contentment that David thought he'd never know.
"Looks like we're going to get first snowfall tonight," Evan reported as he took off his ranger hat and hung it on the coat rack, his jacket coming off a moment later.
David dried off his hands, then turned and pulled Evan to him. He leaned down and grabbed a kiss, then pulled back as one hand carded through Evan's hat-head before letting them settle in Evan's back pockets. "Think we'll get snowed in?" he asked.
Evan pulled him close, kissing him deeply. When they finally break, Evan said, "If we're lucky."