“There’s nothing you can do for him now but pray,” said the handsome resident to Kenny.

“But he’s my partner. I have to be with him.”

“Are you a doctor?”

“No, but—”

“Then let us do our jobs. Besides, it looks like you need some attention yourself.”

“Oh, it’s just a flesh wound,” remarked Kenny, rubbing his thigh where a bullet had grazed him. “It’s nothing.”

“There you go playing doctor again. Let me take a look at it, and I’ll decide whether it’s nothing or not.” In the examination room, the resident, Dr. Shelby, said, “Let me get some vital signs first. Take off your shirt.” The doctor strained to maintain his professionalism when he saw Kenny’s impressive physique. “OK, take a deep breath.” Kenny flinched as the cold metal of Dr. Shelby’s stethoscope contrasted sharply with the doctor’s warm hands against his chest and back, now coated with dried sweat. Of course, the doctor said nothing, but he found the manly aroma to be highly erotic.

Dr. Shelby checked Kenny’s pulse and blood pressure, both slightly elevated, but not surprising under the circumstances. He ran his hands up and down the officer’s torso, poking and prodding, checking for any broken bones. He found a few bruises and some minor scratches, as expected, but nothing serious. “OK, drop your pants.”

The young doctor was mildly surprised (and greatly aroused) to discover that Kenny was not wearing traditional underwear, but a C-IN2 Bamboo Street Jock with the Trophy Shelf (TM) that lifted and projected his male assets. As he examined the bullet wound to Kenny’s thigh, Dr. Shelby leaned close to his crotch to get a good whiff of his masculine scent and a good look at the genitals barely hidden behind the mesh fabric.

“Roll over on your side,” instructed the doctor, “so that I can get a better look at this.” What he really wanted was an excuse to pretend that he was steadying Kenny’s body as he groped his bare ass. Ooooh, what an ass! Round, firm, inviting. Ummmm.

“Before I dress this wound, I had better check to make sure that you didn’t suffer any groin injuries.” The doctor did not instruct Kenny to remove his jock; he wanted that pleasure for himself. He practically drooled at the sight of Kenny’s cock and balls as they fell free from the skimpy underwear. His examination of Kenny’s balls took longer than Kenny expected. “Hmmm. Your testicles seem a bit swollen. Have you been exercising a bit more than usual lately?”

For the first time since entering the hospital, Kenny cracked a smile. “Yeah, I’ve been ex-er-cis-ing a whole bunch.”

Dr. Shelby smiled back, and Kenny came to appreciate just how handsome the young doctor really was. The rumblings in his crotch confirmed it.

“Any soreness here?” asked the doctor as he massaged Kenny’s growing cock.

“No, not so much that I need to lay off the ex-er-cise,” Kenny winked.

“Hmmm, well, maybe a little physical therapy would do you some good. Perhaps I should check your prostate before I get back to that wound.”

Kenny bent over the examining table while the doctor put on a pair of latex examination gloves and coated Kenny’s ass with lubricant. Dr. Shelby inserted one finger up Kenny’s ass and poked around for the prostate. Kenny twitched.

“It seems normal, but I’d better be sure.” The doctor inserted a second finger and drilled as deep as he could, stroking Kenny’s prostate with all the skill of a medical professional.

Kenny squirmed with delight on the examination table. “Oh, ah, ah. Be thorough, Doc,” Kenny grinned back at the resident. “I don’t wanna have to report you to your superiors.” Dr. Shelby smiled back, nodded, and inserted a third finger.

“You’re such a big man, officer, I don’t know if my fingers are long enough. I may need to use a longer probe.”

“Do whatever ya gotta do, Doc. Just make it feel better.”

Dr. Shelby reached for the draw string on his pants.

“Dr. Shelby, do we…?”

Kenny and the doctor both turned sharply at the sound of the young intern standing in the doorway.

“Shut the damn door, Cafferty, and get in here.”

Cafferty stood frozen.

“Now, dammit!”

The intern quickly stepped forward and closed the door behind him.

“Shit!” said Kenny. “And I was just about to cum.”

“You heard the patient, Cafferty. The patient needs treatment. Now get in here and relieve him.”

“What?”

“Do you want to become a resident, Cafferty?”

“Yes, of course, Dr. Shelby.”

“Then you fuckin’ better start paying attention and doing what we residents tell you to do. Got it?”

“Uh, yes sir.” Cafferty sat on the floor with his back against the exam table and slowly inserted Kenny's still-hard cock into his mouth.

“Wait!” demanded Kenny. “What the hell am I doing? My partner and best friend is up in surgery, and I don’t know whether he’s gonna live or die. Yet, here I am gettin’ my rocks off. That ain’t right.”

“You’ve just been through a traumatic experience,” said Dr. Shelby, gently massaging Kenny’s back. “Your adrenaline’s been pumping, but so has your testosterone. Look, people handle stress in different ways. There’s nothing wrong with getting sexually aroused…or getting sexual relief.”

Kenny’s cock twitched again, and Cafferty reinserted it into his mouth, but he didn't really have to suck. Dr. Shelby's constant pumping drove Kenny's dick in and out of the young intern's mouth. Despite his initial resistance, Cafferty got caught up in the moment. Or, perhaps more accurately, his hormones got caught up. His dick sprang to life. He, too, released the drawstrings on his pants and pulled out his throbbing young manhood. He stroked in rhythm to the pumping in his mouth.

“Oh, fuck!” yelled Kenny, overcome by the pounding of the resident’s dick in his ass and the suctioning of his cock by the intern. “Oh, shit! Oh, God, I can't hold it anymore. I'm gonna cum.” And cum he did. He nearly blasted a hole through the young intern's throat. He was so exhausted that he nearly fell to the floor beside Cafferty, but Dr. Shelby pulled out of his ass and helped him back up on the exam table. Cafferty started to get up, but Dr. Shelby held him down with one foot. Then, Shelby stuck his dick where Kenny's had been, in Cafferty's tender mouth.

“Ummm. Ahhh,” Cafferty mumbled. He was trying to announce that he was ready to cum too, but Dr. Shelby's thick pole in his mouth muffled the sounds. No matter. Cafferty shot stream after stream high up into the air, even dousing Dr. Shelby's swinging balls.”

The good doctor pulled out of the intern's mouth and pumped his shaft fiercely. “Unh, unh, unh,” he grunted. “Oh, shit!” And with that he pumped a mammoth load of jizz all over Cafferty's baby face.

The buzz of Dr. Shelby’s pager broke the ambiance. “Gotta run,” he said. “Cafferty, clean and dress this man’s wound. And clean up yourself while you’re at it. And put on a fresh pair of scrubs. I’ll see you in my office later for a debriefing. As for you, officer, I expect to see you back here next week for a . . . uh . . . checkup.”

*******

“Kenny! How’s he doin’?” boomed Jeremy’s voice down the hospital corridor.

“Jeremy! Brandon! What are you doing here?”

“Kyle here called and told us that Ford had been shot,” said Jeremy. “So, of course, we came right away. How is he?”

“Yes, how is he?” called out Red, stepping off the elevator. “I came as soon as I heard.”

“He’s still in surgery. Amy and her folks are up in the family waiting room. It’s not good, though, Jeremy. He was hit once in the leg and once in the head.”

“Oh, my god, Kenny!” shouted Jeremy, as he braced himself against the wall of the hospital corridor.

“The doctors said that if he makes it, it’ll be a miracle.”

“Oh, Kenny!” gasped Red and Brandon.

“I think maybe we had all better sit down,” suggested Kyle.

“How did it happen?” asked Brandon.

“We were on routine patrol when we got a call about a robbery in progress at a convenience store in the Marigny. When we got there, we found two masked robbers with guns. They had shot and killed the clerk, and there was a woman hovering to protect her little girl. Ford saw one of the robbers come around a corner and fire a shot at them. He fired back and at the same time jumped in front of the woman to protect her and the child. That’s when he got shot in the leg, but he managed to hit the guy in the chest and kill him. Then, the other robber came around the corner and shot Ford in the head. Naturally, I ran to help Ford, and the shooter ran out the back door and got away. We put out an APB for him, of course, and don’t you worry. We’ll get the goddam sonofabitch.”

“What about you, babe?” asked Kyle. “Are you OK?”

“Yeah. I just got a little nick along my thigh. I’ll be fine.”

“You always say that, sweetie, no matter what. Why don’t you let me take a look at it and make sure.”

“No, Kyle. The doctor just looked at it and said I’m fine.”

“I just worry about you, Kenny.”

“I know, sweetie. You think I don’t worry about you when you’re running into those burning buildings?”

“I love you, babe.”

“I love you too, sweetie.”

“Here comes Amy!” shouted Brandon, and they all rushed to find out how Ford had come through the marathon surgery.

“Hello, Jeremy,” she said under the most awkward of circumstances.

“Hello, Amy.”

“It was sweet of you to come.”

“Of course, I came. I had to.”

A surreal silence filled the corridor until Kyle, being slightly less invested than the others, finally broke it. “How did it go, Amy? Is he all right?”

Amy took a deep breath. “He made it through the surgery. The doctors have said that they still don’t know if he’ll make it or not. We’ll just have to wait and see. They removed the bullet from his leg, and he will need some physical therapy to get back on his feet, but that’s relatively minor.” She took another deep breath and continued. “As for the bullet in his brain, they explored all kinds of options—even brought in a renowned neurosurgeon from Johns Hopkins who was attending a conference here—but they finally concluded that they could not remove the bullet. It’s too close to his occipital lobe, and if they try to remove it, he could go blind. They thought it would be best to wait until he wakes up and see what kind of condition he’s in.”

Like the lid of a coffin, expressions of disbelief descended over their faces. Totally helpless, they paced the floors aimlessly for nearly an hour until Amy suggested for the third time that they all go home and get some rest. Knowing that Kenny had a key to Ford’s apartment, she suggested that Jeremy stay there for the time being, and she insisted—over his objections—that Brandon get to Texas A&M, where the fall semester had already started. “We’ll call you as soon as we know more,” she reassured him.

As Jeremy exited the hospital and crossed the parking lot with his new buddies, his mind raced to defrag the myriad clusters of conflicting thoughts and emotions that befuddled him. The electric silence that he shared with Amy was real, he knew it, and he knew that she felt it too. But was it enough? Would it ever be possible to revive the relationship that they once had? Did he want to?

And what about his new friends? Jeremy liked Kenny—a lot—and he cherished Kenny and Red for their loyalty to Ford. He knew that they would never be more than friends, but he wanted them to be good friends...forever. Kyle made him weak in the knees. The man was pure testosterone, and Jeremy was putty in Kyle’s hands. His feelings for Kyle were based mostly on pure lust, but he liked Kyle too, and he wanted to be friends with him as well. Brandon was another story. This manchild was honey and firewater at the same time. Sweet and passionate. Naive and bold. Jeremy adored him, and he had no idea where their relationship might go.

Then there was Ford, the man who had introduced him to man sex. The man who had swept him off his feet and gained his trust. The man who had shied away from him because his feelings were just as strong as, if not stronger than, his own. The man who now lay unconscious in a hospital recovery room just a few yards behind him.

As the five men approached Kyle’s Explorer, Brandon quickly diverted Jeremy’s attention so that he would not see Amy leaving the hospital on the arm of Paul Broussard.

Then, Brandon got into his own car and headed for College Station, as he had promised Amy he would.

Kyle took Kenny home and put him to bed immediately. He doted over him like a mother hen. As a grown man, and a very macho one at that, Kenny felt somewhat embarrassed by the attention, but at the same time, he loved Kyle all the more for it. He loved him so deeply.

At Ford’s apartment, Red prepared the bed, but Jeremy continued to pace as he had done at the hospital. Then, he would sit down for a few minutes and get up and pace again. Red begged him to go to bed, but to no avail. Finally, Red got up and prepared a cup of Irish coffee for Jeremy. He did not tell him that he laced it with a tranquilizer that Ford had given Brandon to take to the Bahamas—just in case he thought Jeremy would need it—and which Brandon had passed along to Red. Now, Red concluded, was the right time to use it. Once Jeremy became groggy, Red led him to bed, helped him remove all his clothes, and tucked him in. The four men—Jeremy, Red, Kyle, and Kenny—needed all the rest they could get. They would have to muster all the strength they could to face the challenges ahead.