The Hospital

The light brown-haired man, dressed in nurse's scrubs, paced back and forth outside the hospital room door. In his mind, he knew this was a bad idea, but he told himself there was no other way. The brunet didn't mean any harm to the young man he shot the previous evening, but until he was far enough away to start a new life where they don't have an extradition treaty with the U.S., he had to make sure the witness didn't testify against him. He planned to leave the redhead somewhere in a remote location, then call and let someone know where he was once the plane touched down on foreign soil.

Rhett Anders slowly walked into the room and saw the blonde guy from the parking lot. Even though he'd seen Rhett shoot Levie, he wasn't the one the clerk was concerned with because he didn't shoot him. He reached into the scrubs he'd stolen and pulled out his revolver.

Brandon was on the phone with Greg and had just ended the call. He sat in the chair, held Levie's hand, and closed his eyes.

Rhett raised the gun above his head and brought it crashing down on the back of the blonde man's head. He quickly dragged the limp body into the bathroom and shut the door. The brunet had to act fast because the redhead started coming around. He used the butt of his revolver and knocked the young man back into unconsciousness.

Rhett wheeled the bed into the room that was sitting outside the door. He rolled the redhead onto it and wheeled Levie out of his room. They got in the elevator, and Rhett pressed morgue. From there, he wheeled Levie's unmoving body out the bay doors. He left the bed outside, hefted the redhead over his shoulder, and carried him to the van he'd stashed in the alley. Rhett closed the doors, jumped into the driver's seat, and drove off.

Linda and Tom arrived at the hospital and walked up to Levie's room. When they walked inside and saw no one there, the first thought was the guys were getting more tests run on them. Tom walked over to the bathroom and knocked. When he didn't get a response, Tom opened the door and saw Brandon's body on the floor. He ran over to his fallen son, checked for a pulse, and called out to his wife, asking her to get a doctor. Linda jumped into action and did as requested. Then, she was right beside her son's limp body cradling him in her arms.

Stuart ran into the room. He looked around and saw the couple cradling his patient. "Folks, I"m Dr. Stuart Blankenship. I'm assuming you're Brandon's parents."

"Doctor Blankenship, we are Brandon's parents. I'm Tom, and this is my wife, Linda. We just arrived and didn't see anyone. Linda and I just figured Levie and Bran were taken for more tests. I opened the bathroom door and found my son lying there. I've checked for a pulse, and we haven't moved him."

"Tom, can you please help me get my patient onto the bed?"

Tom nodded and assisted Stuart in getting Brandon onto the bed. Linda looked at her son and wiped her eyes.

It was then that something Tom said hit Stuart. "Where's Levie? He shouldn't have been taken for any tests after his fainting spell earlier." The doctor's eyes closed, and he shook his head. Stuart was trying not to lose it.

Linda picked up on the man's distress. "I've got to say, you've got an amazing bedside manner, Doctor Blankenship. I've never seen anyone more caring."

"Please, call me Stu or Stuart, and I appreciate the compliment. However, it's more than just a bedside manner." Stuart paused and wiped his tears. "I was one of Mark and Stacy Stillman's best friends. I delivered Jayce, Troy, and Levie. They're my honorary nephews, and Levie's added Brandon and Greg to my list of nephews." His comment brought smiles to Linda and Tom's faces.
Stuart excused himself and headed to the nearest phone at the nurse's station. The doctor called the security guard's station and had them go over footage from the cameras around Levie's room and gave them the time frame. It took a few minutes for Stuart to get a response, and what he heard made the seasoned professional almost lose his balance.

Linda and Tom looked up from their places by Brandon's side when they saw Stuart, holding onto the wall as he walked back into the room. In an instant, Tom was up and had his arm around the doctor, supporting him.

"Stu, what did you learn?"  Linda hesitantly asked as she clasped her hands around Brandon's.

"Lev's..Lev's been kidnapped." Stuart had to pause. His tears streamed down his cheeks, and he fought hard to hold back his sobs.

Tom and Linda gasped and started saying a silent prayer for his safety.

"Mmm! Wh...what happened?" Brandon's soft raspy question made the three individuals turn and look at the blonde young man. "Ow! Why does my head hurt? And...why am I in this bed?" Brandon sat up and grimaced from the pain of moving too quickly.

"Son, you were hit in the head," Tom said gently. "Do you remember anything?" 

"Someone hit me?" Brandon asked as he gingerly rubbed the back of his head. "Umm, the last thing I remember was sitting in the chair and holding Lev's hand. I just... Wait! Lev, where's Lev?" He asked and started trying to get to his feet.

"Calm down, Bran. You've just woken up after being unconscious. Please, son, lay back and rest." Linda sat beside her son, kissing his forehead.

"The police are on their way. I'm sure they're gonna want your statement, Bran." Stuart walked over and hugged the teary-eyed young man.

"Police, statement?" Brandon asked in confusion. Fear started consuming the twenty-year-old. "Uncle Stu, what's going on?"

"Brandon, someone came in here. He knocked you out and kidnapped Lev." Stuart couldn't hold his painful tears back any longer. He lowered his face and let his tears fall.

"Please, tell me this is not real, and I'm still asleep." Brandon's voice quivered, and his lip trembled as he got up and pulled the other three people into a group hug. "M...My brother's missing. I failed to protect him again."

Tom placed both hands on his son's shoulders. "You listen to me, Brandon. You couldn't have prevented this, even if you knew what was happening. The man hit you from behind and dragged you into the bathroom. Then, he rolled Levie out of the hospital on a gurney." Tom wrapped his arms around his son and kissed his forehead. "Lev's gonna be okay. We've got to believe that. We'll find our lost son and brother."

Stuart gasped. "Has anyone thought about contacting Troy and Jayce?"

"Contact Troy and me about what, Uncle Stu?"

Jaycen's sudden appearance made everyone in the room jump. Linda, Tom, Brandon, and Stuart looked at the newcomer, unable to speak. Jaycen stood in the doorway, gazing at the somber expressions on everyone's faces. Then his eyes glued to the empty bed. His hand flew to his mouth, and tears fell down his cheeks. "Oh, no. Please, tell me it's not..."

"Hey, why's everyone looking so serious and concerned?" Greg asked as he slid past Jaycen. He looked around the room and, like Jaycen, gazed at the gathered body's expressions. "Umm, where's Lev?"

Brandon's tears streamed down his cheeks. The blonde broke away from the other three and launched himself into Greg's arms. "Bro, I don't know how to tell you this." He laid his head on his brother's chest and sobbed.

Jaycen walked over, took hold of the blonde man's arm, pulled him over to the bed, sat down, and guided Brandon onto his lap. Tears fell from his light blue eyes as he hugged the younger man. "Take your time, Bran. Tell us what happened." The redhead wiped his eyes as he desperately wished his husband were with him to lean on for strength.

"Jayce, Greg, what Bran's trying to tell you is...Lev's been kidnapped." Stuart wrapped them in a hug and softly kissed each guy's forehead.

"Kidnapped?" Greg closed his eyes. "Who would ever want to kidnap Lev?" Tears fell from the brunet's eyes, and he sobbed.

Jaycen couldn't cry. He couldn't feel. The redhead kissed Brandon's cheek, got up, walked into the bathroom, closed the door, and started throwing up his breakfast. Vomit and tears stained his face as he sat on his knees over the toilet, afraid to move. He closed his eyes, asked the Goddess to watch over his precious son, and to bring his husband to him.

"I'm worried about him, Stuart," Linda said as she stared at the closed door.

"Me too, Linda. I've never seen Jaycen Stillman look so weakened and helpless. Troy and Lev are that man's kryptonite.

"What's that about Lev and me being Jayce's kryptonite?" Troy walked into the room. He immediately stopped and looked at the unknown faces.

"Troypop, I'm Brandon." Brandon wiped his eyes as he walked over and embraced the brunet.

"Ahh, so you're my new Brokid." Troy softly smiled and kissed Brandon's head as he returned the embrace.

"I like that, Brokid." Greg smiled for the first time since getting to the hospital. He embraced the older man and kissed his cheek. "Please, Troypop, Jaycepop needs you more than ever" Greg broke down and cried on Troy's shoulder.

"It's okay, baby bro. Let the feelings out." Troy looked around the room as he comforted Greg. "I have a strange feeling that I'm not gonna be okay with what I'm about to hear."

"Troy, I'm Tom, and this is my wife, Linda." Tom approached the brunet and shook his hand. He gasped when he was pulled into a hug.

Troy looked at the one lady in the room and smiled as he opened his arms for a hug. "I remember you. I'm very sorry for how Levie spoke to you yesterday. I promise, Jayce and I never once badmouthed you. Your views about us weren't to our liking. However, you were thorough, professional, and treated us like human beings."

"Troy, you've got nothing to be sorry for. It's me who needs to be apologizing." Linda embraced Troy.

"It's all in the past, and we're family." Troy looked at Stuart. "Uncle Stu, what's going on?"

"You might want to sit down first." Stuart walked over for his hug and kiss.

"Our boy's been kidnapped."

Jaycen stumbled out of the bathroom and headed straight for his husband's open arms. Together, the men comforted each other as they soaked up as much love from the room as possible in this trying time.

"Jaycen Blake Stillman. I want you to open your eyes and listen to me."

The redhead nodded and did as he was told.

"You need to get it together and be strong. Not just for yourself, but for everyone in this room and Lev." Tears welled in Troy's eyes as he tenderly placed his hands on Jaycen's face. "You and I raised that boy to survive and be tough. He's gonna come back to us."

"I know, my love. I'm just scared as fuck right now." Jaycen stared into Troy's quivering eyes. "Despite your vibrato, I know you're scared too."

"Of course, I am. Our son's been kidnapped, and our family is hurting. I just hope the cops find him and whoever's taken him before we do." The dam finally broke in Troy as tears flowed from his eyes. The brunet wrapped his arms around Jaycen.

"I love you, Troy. As always, you're my strength."

"Love ya too, ya big lug. Now, let's focus on finding our kid."

To be continued...

Posted: 10/28/2022