Memoirs of a Diaper Boy II
Chapter 3
Limbo
“Oh man, what hit me?” I wondered as I picked myself off the ground. As my senses became clearer I began to notice several things. First off, I was naked, and second, but more importantly, I was no longer at my uncle’s place but standing on a tropical beach somewhere looking up at a small house.
“I was wondering when you’d get here.” A voice called out from behind me. Turning quickly, I saw a man dressed in white linen pants and a light blue shirt walking towards me. The voice sounded familiar somehow, but I was unable to make out his face due to a hat he had on.
“It’s good to see you again, Tadpole.” I was told as the hat landed on my head and I was picked up and pulled into a hug.
“Dad?” I asked in awe since he was the only one to ever use that name for me.
“It’s me.” I was told happily as I pushed the hat back and found myself staring into the smiling face of my dad.
“This isn’t possible! You’re dead!” I said as I started to fight against what I was seeing.
“Calm down, Brad.” I was told as the man I knew to be dead pulled me into a tighter hug. For reasons I can’t explain, I calmed down almost at once.
“That’s better. Let’s go up to the house so you can get dressed and I’ll tell you everything I can.” I was told as I was led up to the house I saw when I first came around.
“What the Hell is going on here!!” Steve announced when he came home to see Both Brian and Anna racing down the stairs yelling.
“Mother what’s going on?” Steve asked his mom as she came down the stairs a moment later with all three of the Trips crying loudly behind her.
“Just what I though was going to happen. That little hellion you brought into the house tried to attack Andy. But don’t worry, I protected your son from him before he could do anything.” Steve was told with a smile. Getting a cold feeling in his stomach he followed the route he saw his son and housekeeper take.
“Oh Jesus.” Brian heard his dad mumble from the patio door when he saw me laying on the edge of the pool. His training quickly kicked in.
“Brian, call 911! Anna, go get my Crash bag!” Steve called out as he came over to access what my injuries might be.
“It’s OK Brad. Don’t try to move. Help will be here soon.” Moments later Anna returned with the requested bag and Steve started to work on me in earnest. Fifteen minutes later the paramedics showed up.
“Don’t worry about him. Take a look at this one!” Steve’s mom yelled trying to waylay the paramedics from coming to my aid. She didn’t get more than a step or two towards the medics before she found her way barred by three snarling dogs. Not even the police that had shown up were willing to get near them.
“Brian, Take the dogs down stairs and get them calmed down. I’ll look over Andy.” Steve said as he came back into the house to see what the commotion was after he made sure I was well taken care of.
“Now, who wants to tell me what the hell is going on here?!” Steve announced after giving Andy a quick once-over and found that he was all right.
“Like I said that little hellion out there tried to attack your son. I told you getting him out of prison would be nothing but trouble.” Everyone was told by Steve’s mom.
“That’s A Lie!!” Brian yelled as he came up behind his grandmother. Before anyone could stop her, Steve’s mom turned around and slapped Brian hard across the mouth.
“Don’t you call me a liar, young man.” She didn’t get much further than this before she found herself getting handcuffed and dragged from the room by one of the police officers.
“What happened, Brian?” He was asked gently as his dad looked over where his mom had hit his son.
“Brad and I decided to have lunch up in his room with the Trips. Anyway, I started to feed them while Brad was in the rest room and Andy started choking. Brad came running out of the bathroom when I yelled. He told me to get Anna as he went over to Andy and started to clear whatever he was choking on. I saw Grandmother coming up the hall as I was running to get Anna. I guess she had heard me yell because she was already halfway up the stairs when I reached her and told her what was going on. When we got back to the bedroom door we saw Brad getting pushed back over the balcony.” Brian said in tears at this point. On hearing this one of the officers had Anna show him where my room was and after searching for a few minutes found a half chewed piece of fruit.
By the time they came back down the paramedics were loading me into the ambulance.
“Which hospital are you taking him to?” Steve asked quickly as he followed them out of the house.
“Children’s General.”
“Anna, call Ian and let him know what’s going on. Use the CRITIC code. Then get the kids dressed and then follow us. Officer, I want her arrested for assault. I’ll come to the station later to fill out the report for that.” Steve said quickly before climbing into the back of the ambulance. Brian told me later that his grandmother went totally of the wall when she heard Steve say that he was going to press assault charges against her.
“Sorry.” Ian said when his phone started ringing during one of the parents speech. Getting up he walked out of the room to take the call.
“911 CRITIC Anna” Ian saw on his phone when he opened it out in the hall.
“Anna, Ian. What’s going on?” Anna was asked when she picked the line up.
“Brad was injured. They’re taking him to Children’s General right now. I’m not sure how bad it is. Steve was the one that told me to use the Critic code when I called you.”
“What happened, though?”
“From what I saw, Steve’s mother pushed Brad off his balcony while they were having lunch. It seems that Andy started choking on something and she thought Brad was attacking him.” Ian was told tersely.
“That crazy fucking bitch. OK, David and I will be there as quickly as possible.” Ian said before hanging up.
“David, Saddle UP! We have to leave now!” Ian told his son without preamble as he walked back into the room.
“What’s..” David started before getting cut off.
“Move it, Mister!!” The tone used made not only David cringe a bit but all of the military personnel that were in the room. Ian quickly stepped over to David’s teacher and quickly filled her in on what was happening. Once they were out of the school, after David was hurriedly check out, Ian filled his son in on what was happening.
“So, what’s going on?” I asked my father once I had gotten dressed and joined him out on the patio.
“It’s kind of hard to explain so I want you to hold any questions till I’m done. I just nodded at this since I didn’t know what else to do.
“What’s the last thing you remember?” I was asked.
“I was in my room trying to help Andy cough up whatever he was choking on. Steve’s mom came into the room. She grabbed Andy from me and pushed me back. I think I fell off the balcony and hit the patio. Then I woke up here. Wherever here is.”
“You’re in a kind of limbo right now. You were seriously hurt when you hit the patio.”
“You mean I’m dead?” I interrupted in shock.
“No, not dead. Think of this as more of a halfway point. This is a plane that you come to when you’re seriously hurt to give the body a chance to heal if it can.”
“If you’re already dead though, how can you be here?”
“Because I asked to be. After I died, I found out that you were going to be here at a young age so I asked to be the one to be here for you when you got here.”
“Oh. Well, at least I’ll be able to see you for a little while.” I said sadly, positive that once I really died I’d be headed for a lot warmer climate than this.
“What do you mean? We’ll see each other again when the time is right.” I was told with a smile and a small tickle to my ribs.
“But what about what I did to mom and her boyfriend and then at Spring Hill?”
“Well, those don’t really matter. Those choices were made while you were under great stress and were just protecting yourself. The boys upstairs understand. Besides look at what you’ve done since, you’ve brought happiness to a family that was on the verge of darkness.”
“What do you mean?” I asked curiously.
“Before Ian, found you and brought you home David was just a step or two away from trying to take his life again. Only this time he would have succeeded. Him finding out that you were alive gave him the hope and strength to hang on. And then there’s Devon, his future was looking rather bleak until you came into the picture. He’s still got a road ahead of him but with you there he’s going to make it.”
“What happens to Dev?” I asked worriedly.
“Sorry, I can’t tell you that. I will say that you’re pivotal in this. And there is still much good you have left to do. So the rough start you had in life so far is a minor bump in the over all plan. Besides, your being here right now is crucial for several people. David among them. I’m sure you’ve noticed how David tends to act around you?”
“Yeah, he tends to look at me as a lover at times than anything else. But, I only see and love him like a brother. I couldn’t love him like he wants me to.”
“Exactly. That’s part of the reason you’re here. Had you not been injured then David would have missed the signs of the person that is really supposed to be his life partner he just needed the time to see this.”
“Now before I forget, there is one thing I need to show you and this is very important. I need you to concentrate on your body.” My father added as if he had just remembered something important..
“But why?”
“Please. I’ll explain everything when we get there.” I was told with a smile. Shrugging, I did as I was asked and soon found myself standing in a hospital room. Looking down I saw that my body was covered in bandages and I had tubes sticking out everywhere possible.
“Now what I need you to do is touch your body. It doesn’t matter where. This will recharge your body. You need to do this every three to four days. But no more than four or else your body will die.” I was informed seriously.
“OK.” I replied. Before my dad and I left, I saw my uncle lead two older people into the room.
“Those are your grandparents.” my dad told me with tears in his eyes at seeing his parents again. Soon my uncle was leaning over me and whispering in my ear. As I heard what he told me, I decided to place one of my hands on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. My dad did the same on the other side. Before I knew it my dad and I were standing on our island again.
“So what is there to do here?” I asked as my father and I walked along the beach in silence.
“Anything you want really. There are some really neat caves and such on the other side of the mountain. And swimming, of course. Just remember one thing when you go swimming. You can’t go out past the reef.
“Why?” I asked looking up.
“Because that’s how you get back into your body. If you cross the reef to soon then you’ll have to deal with all the pain your body is in right now.” I just nodded at this and continued walking down the beach. I had so many questions I didn’t know where to begin.
“Mom, dad! What are you guys doing here? I thought you were still on your cruise?” Ian exclaimed as he got to his feet when he saw his parents walk into the PICU waiting room.
“Jason had some people waiting for us when we docked in Italy. When they told us what was going on we came right home. Where’s everyone else?” His mom said as she pulled her next to youngest son into a hug.
“How’s he doing?” Ian was asked by his dad.
“He’s holding his own. Megan’s in with him right now. Steve and I felt it would be better if we ran thing in shifts. He’s at home with the boys right now. I swear, if he doesn’t make it, I’m going to nail that bitch to the wall.” His parents were told roughly before Ian started crying after having held himself together for the last three days.
“It’s Okay. Just let it out. Your dad and I felt the same way with you. You know it’s funny how history seems to repeat itself like this.”
“How so?”
“You got introduced to your grandparents in this very hospital in very much that same way as we get to meet our newest one.” Ian was told with a sad smile.
“By the way, what is his name. I don’t remember it ever coming up before now?”
“It’s Bradley. You’ll be in for bit of a shock when you see him.” Ian announced as he pulled himself together again and helped his mom stand up and started leading her towards the door.
“Ian, we can’t go in there’re to many people.” His Dad started to say before he saw the look on his son’s face.
“Don’t worry, I’m only going to show you to the room. Then step back out.”
“Right.” Ian’s dad said with a grin. Moments later the trio were walking into their son’s and grandson’s room.
Ian heard a sharp intake of breath behind him when his mom got a look at the figure laying on the bed in front of her.
“I know, mom. That was my reaction to when I saw him for the first time.” Megan said softly as she stood up to greet her parents. While this was going on Ian walked over to his newest son’s bed and leaned over him.
“Brad, I’d like you to meet your grandparents. You get better so you can meet them in person. I love you.” I was told as I felt a light squeeze on my shoulder. Several hours later the four people left for home.
“How’s he doing?” Steve asked as we all entered the house.
“He’s still fighting.” Ian told his husband as they embraced.
“Don’t worry, Ian. He’s a strong kid. He’ll make it. There’s some people in the den to see you.” Ian wasn’t surprised to learn of this since he had seen the extra cars in the driveway. Who it turned out be did surprise him a bit.
“Jason!” Ian called in surprise as he walked into the room and saw his brother sitting behind his desk.
“Hey Bro. Don’t act so surprised. You don’t think I would stay away at a time like this do you?” Jason said as he walked around the desk to give his brother a hug.
“I think pushing all those pencils are making you go a bit soft.” Ian grinned after the hug was broken and looked at the slight bit of gut his brother was starting to get.
“Soft, my ass.” Jason announced as he took swing at his older brother.
“Yep, definitely getting soft.” Ian laughed as he forced his brother’s hand down from the arm wrestling position they found themselves in.
“I wanted to thank you for what you did for Brad.” Ian said seriously a moment later.
“It’s no problem. Besides, what good is being related to a ‘sneaky son of bitch’ in high places if you can’t put them to use every once in a while.” Jason said with a laugh.
“James told you about that, huh?”
“Of course, you don’t really think he’d let a chance like that slip past him do you?”
“Now that I think of it, he wouldn’t.” Ian said as he led everyone back out to the sitting room. By this time David and the Trips had joined everyone.
“So what’s going to happen to me now?” I asked my dad.
“You’ll need to stay on here for a while. You’ll know when the time is right for you to return.” I was told as I felt my dad put his arm across my shoulder.
“What’s David’s partner going to be like?” I asked a moment later as we headed back up to the beach house.
“He’s a very loving person. In fact, you’ve already met him.” my dad said with a smile.
“It’s Hutch, isn’t it?” I asked after a few moments of thought.
“Very good. You’re correct. Your cousin and Hutch were supposed to have already gotten together, but David has been so infatuated with you he’s ignored most of the signs Hutch has been putting out for him. At the very least they’re good friends so once the other half of the situation changes things will be able to move quicker than normally.”
“Won’t people make fun of them and such?” I asked thinking back to all the bad things I had heard my mom and her boyfriends say about gay people though I never saw anything wrong with it. This was especially true after having met my uncles.
“Some people might, but most will act like it’s perfectly normal.” I was told seriously.
“Well enough of this. How about we go build a sand castle or something?” I was asked with a grin as my father tore off down the beach. With a laugh, I started after him. The next couple of days were some of the happiest I had ever been. I got to talk to my dad about a lot of the things he had done while growing up. He started laughing when I told him about the incident I had with Otto.
“What’s so funny?”
“Oh sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh. It’s just that Ian had almost the exact same thing happen to him when he first came to live with us.” my dad said still chuckling as he related the story. By the end of it, I was laughing as well.
“Brad, it’s time for me to leave.” My dad said sadly about a week and a half after my accident.
“What?!” I yelled not wanting to believe what I was hearing.
“My time here is up. I have to go back now.”
“But I thought you were going to be with me till it was time for me to go back. Don’t leave me again, please!” I cried.
“I’m sorry if you thought I was going to be here the entire time. I was only promised enough time here until someone else came to take my place. And they’re on their way now.” I was told with a hug.
“But I don’t want you to go.” I pleaded while hugging my father tightly thinking that if I held on tight enough he wouldn’t leave me again.
“I know you don’t. I don’t want to either but I have to. We’ll see each other again I promise.” With this my dad pulled me off him gently and set me back down on the sand.
“Brad, I’m sorry I have to leave you again, but know that I’ll always be there when you need to talk. I’d like you to do something for me.” My dad said as he knelt down and whispered in my ear.
“Can you do that for me?” I nodded slowly that I would as I looked up in to my dad’s face with tears streaming down my face.
“I love you.” I stated softly.
“I love you, too, tadpole. I’m sorry that I wasn’t there for you when you really needed me.” My dad said with tears in his own eyes. He slowly stood back up and started walking back up the beach towards an increasingly bright light. I was almost driven to run after him but something was holding me back. My dad faded into the light and I found myself alone again. With the greatest sense of loss I had felt in years I sat back down on the beach, and while looking into the setting sun, I cried my eyes out.
“Are you okay?” A voice asked from behind me. This startled me out of the mood I was in. I got an even bigger shock when I looked at who was behind me and found myself looking up at Hutch’s younger brother Anakin.
“Anakin?” I asked in confusion until I realized what his being here meant.
“Brad? What is this place? The last thing I remember is I was riding my bike home from school and then I found myself on this beach.” I was asked in confusion.
“I’ll explain everything too you in a little while. But you might want to get dressed first.” I said with a chuckle at the shocked look and blush that Anakin developed all over his body when he saw that he was stark naked. With a small laugh, I pointed up towards the beach house. Once Anakin had started running for the house, I took one last look at the setting sun and whispered a final farewell to my dad before getting to my feet and followed my soon to be friend.
“All rise! Phoenix Municipal Court is back in session.” The bailiff called as the judge entered the room.
“Please be seated.” the judge stated as he took his seat.
“This has to be one of the most unusual cases I’ve every tried in all my years on the bench. After thinking hard and long about the case and verdict that had been handed down several months ago, I’ve come to a decision on sentencing. And this wasn’t an easy one, given how split everyone happened to be on what should be done. Before I announce sentencing, does the defendant have anything to add on her behalf?” Steve’s mother was asked.
“I do not, your honor.” I heard the old hag state. I was still surprised that she still did feel that she had done anything wrong.
“Very well. Will the defendant and counsel please rise. And face the bench.”
“Debra Louise Levinston, Having been found guilty of First Degree Assault on a minor, and First Degree Child abuse this court sentences you to fifteen years confinement at the state correctional facility. However taking into account your age and health issues, I’m commuting this to Five years house arrest and Ten years probation. The house arrest and probation are to take place in the state of Arizona. You are to meet with the Department of Corrections within the next two hours to start your house arrest. Failure to do this will result in your arrest and your immediate incarceration for the full fifteen years. Court adjourned ” The judge stated as he slammed his gavel down. Steve, the boys, and I all looked over at Steve’s mom with disgust as she started celebrating her victory on getting off almost scot-free. Looking over towards my lawyer, I nodded and our group waited for the real show to begin.
“Debra Levinston?” my lawyer asked politely as he walked up to the group.
“Yes?” She replied as she passed a viscous smile in my direction. This is something I returned knowing what was about to happen.
“Consider yourself served.” my lawyer said with a smile while handing over some papers.
“What!!?” Steve’s mom yelled loudly as she looked stupidly at the papers in her hand.
“Is this some kind of joke?” Her lawyer asked as he took the papers and started reading them.
“It’s no joke. My client is suing your for mental and physical hardship in response to the attack on his nephew. Further more, you‘re being evicted for nonpayment. Also a restraining order has been issued. She’s not to come with in five hundred yards of any of the people, or property listed in the order.”
“This is ridiculous. You can’t evict a person from her own house.”
“Actually, I can. You see, my mother signed a contract with my husband and I when we first moved in with her. We would take over control of the property in exchange for her paying rent. She hasn’t paid any rent in the last four months and in doing so came into breech of contract. We sent her a registered letter last month informing her that eviction proceedings had been started.” Steve stated with a smile as he handed a copy of both the contract, and letter to his mom’s lawyer.
“And where am I supposed to live?!” Steve’s mom asked shrilly
“Frankly, mom, that’s not my concern.” Steve stated simply before walking away.
“Brad what do you think is going to happen with my brother?” Anakin asked me one day.
“I don’t know what you mean?”
“I mean when people find out that he and David are dating.” I was told with a worried expression.
“Oh, that. I don’t really know. I mean my uncles won’t have a problem with it. I don’t think other people will either but I’m just not sure.”
“I’m just worried about what my parents will say when they find out. They’re both really religious and our pastor keeps saying that being gay is a sin and all that. I think it’s a crock but, I know the rents believe this. I’m just worried that they might try something when they find out.” Anakin started crying at this point.
“I’m sure things will work out. If your mom and dad are really that bad, Hutch will know to keep things a secret. When things are finally over we can have a talk with my uncles. I’m sure that David and Hutch have already done so though.” I said with conviction as I pulled my friend into a comforting hug.
“C’mon it’s time to go recharge.” I said with smile as I stood up and started running down the beach with Anakin close behind.
Anakin and I were both surprised that in the time since our last recharge we had gotten moved to a different room and we were both together.
“Here watch this.” I said with a grin as I reached down to have my hand flex around David’s as he was talking to me.
“Hey hold on a second.” Anakin said with a grin of his own as he did the same thing to his brother.
“OH SHIT! DAD!!” David and Hutch both yelled excitedly when they felt this. A moment later both of my uncles, Hutch’s parents and a couple of doctors came running into the room.
“What!!?” the boys were asked as the adults came charging into the room.”
“Brad just squeezed my hand!” came the reply as David moved out of the way for the doctor.
“Annie did, too.” Hutch echoed in excitement.
“Uh, I guess that wasn’t such a good idea after all.” I said sheepishly when I saw the commotion that had been started.
“I think you’re right. I think maybe we should head back.” Annie said but not before he gave his brother a small hug from behind. I did the same with each of my family members. I saw Anakin get a disgusted look on his face when he saw his parents come rushing into the room a moment later with an older gentleman, whom I assumed was their pastor, and started to pray over him loudly.
“Man, I really hate it when they do things like that.” my new friend said heatedly when we got back to our beach.
“They’ve been doing things like this for as long as I can remember. I mean, I can understand them wanting to have the pastor there and I can understand if they had just said a few words of thanks, like your own family did, but going off on the whole praying at the top of your lungs, it gets nauseating. I guess they never learned that at times less is more. I’ll tell you I can’t wait till I’m old enough to move out. I’m never going to walk in to another church as long as I live.” This tirade went on for several more minutes.
“I don’t think you really mean that.” I said once Anakin had finally calmed done some.
“Sure I do.” came the heated response.
“Easy, Calm down. I just mean that I’ve come to see what your faith means to you. I just think that when the time comes that you can make your own decision on this matter that you just might want to look into other churches to attend. You don’t need to give it up altogether. I’ve never been much for religion myself since my mom never went and then I spent all that time locked up. I do have some small memories of going to church with my dad and could tell that it was important to him.” I explained. I could see that this caused Anakin to calm down even more and got him thinking.
“You’re probably right. I just tend to get worked up about this at times. I’m sorry for going off like that.”
“It’s Okay.” I said with a smile.
“If you don’t mind my asking what did you get locked up for? I mean I heard Les’s step brother going off about it when Les told him he had met you, but he never mentioned why you were there.” I was asked after a few minutes of nervous silence.
“I killed my mom and her boyfriend.” I stated simply. The combined shocked and scared look that I got in response to my statement didn’t surprise me one bit.
“Don’t worry I’m not going to go crazy on your or anything.” I said with a small grin just before I jumped on him and we started wrestling around.
“No, really. Why’d you get locked up?” I was asked twenty minutes later as Annie and I walked down to the water to clean off all the sand we were now covered with.
“I told you. I killed my mom and her boyfriend.” I answered seriously.
“I thought you were just kidding about that.”
“I wish I was.” I said as I walked back towards the house. After Annie and I had changed into some clean clothes and we were back out on the patio, I started to explain everything that had happened to me over the years.
“What’s the matter?” I asked when I looked over at the end of my story and saw that Anakin was crying softly.
“I don’t know. I mean, I always thought my life was crummy because of how strict my parents are because of their beliefs. I never really thought that someone could be worse off. With what you just told me, I see that my life as been a bed of roses. I can’t believe I’ve been so self centered all this time.”
“Hey, don’t worry about it.” I said as I moved over to give my friend a comforting hug. I sat there quietly as Anakin pulled himself together.
“Feeling better?” I asked once the sobbing had stopped.
“Yeah. I’m sorry about that.” I was told sheepishly.
“Don’t worry about it.” I told Anakin with a grin as I started tickling him. This seemed to break him out of the dark mood he was in.
“It’s time to go back now.” I stated early one morning about a week after I had told Anakin my life story up till this time.
“I know. I’ve been getting this feeling it was time for a couple of days now. I just wanted to put it off as long as possible. I didn’t want to leave you hear alone.”
“Thanks.” I said with a smile as I started stripping off the clothes I was wearing.
“What are you doing that for?” I was asked in surprise.
“I don’t really know. It just seems like the right thing to do.” I said with a laugh as I ran towards the water and dove in. Anakin followed me in a few moments later.
“What the Fuck!?” I heard a voice yell in surprise as I latched on tightly to their arm.
“I could use some help in here!” the voice called out loudly. About this time, I heard a commotion start around the bed next to mine. As things came more into focus, I looked over and saw Hutch leaning over to give his brother a hug when he saw that he was awake. A loud bang drew my attention away from my friend and his brother and I saw a group of people rushing into the room lead by a woman I thought I had seen in a dream.
“Brad, I want you to take a big breath and when I tell you to blow out hard.” I was told as the woman took a hold of the tube running down my throat. I nodded that I understood and took the requested breath.
“OK. One. Two. Three. Blow.” the lady said as she pulled on the tube.
“What happened?” I asked in a raspy voice.
“Don’t try to talk. You’re throat is going to be sore for a while. You were in an accident and are in the hospital.” I was told as I heard some coughing from the bed next to mine. I knew that Anakin was getting his tube out as well.
“Where..?” I started to ask before getting cut off.
“No talking. Write things done for now.” I was told gently as I was handed a small notebook and a pen.
“Where is everyone?” I wrote and turned the pad so the doctor could read it.
“I expect them to be at home asleep right now. It’s about three in the morning. I’m about to go call them and let them know the good news.” I was informed with a smile.
“Don’t bother. You’ll only wake them up.” I wrote down. The lady laughed her response.
“Don’t you worry about that. Just try and get some sleep.” I was still tired at this point and did what she said with little problem. I thought it kind of funny that I would be tried after having been in a coma for however long I was but I was about to argue at this point. While I slept, I kept getting disjointed visions of falling off my balcony at home, of walking along a beach somewhere and more importantly of my dad.
“Hey buddy.” I heard Steve say when I woke up a few hours later. I just smile in response to this since I wasn’t to sure of my voice yet.
“You want something to drink?” I was asked. I just nodded at this. Steve smiled knowingly at this and reached for a small cup that was on the bed stand beside me. I soon felt small pieces of crushed ice being placed in my mouth.
“Thanks.” I croaked after a few moments.
“You’re welcome. Just take it easy on the voice for a little while longer. You strain your voice and your aunt will have both of our butts for lunch.
“Food?” I whispered with a ravenous look on my face.
“I’ll go talk with the nurse and see what we can do.” Steve chuckled as he got up from the chair he was in. Once Steve was gone I started to go over my body to see what was wrong. Firstly I noticed that one arm and the opposite leg both had casts on the lower portions of them. When I tried to move to get a better look at the leg a small twinge of pain from my chest stopped me. Reaching up, with my good arm, I felt that I had a bandage wrapped around my head.
“Hell of a way to get a hair cut” I thought when I realized my head had been shaved. It was about this time I felt my bladder empty. Thinking I had just wet the bed, I reached down to survey the damage to the bed. I was shocked to feel a tube where there shouldn’t have been one. With some trepidation, I lifted the covers to see what was going on. I almost passed out when I saw the tube coming out of my dick.
“Easy there, Brad.” Ian said as he came into the room with the Trips. Looking back over the covers I saw my uncle had a smirk on his face.
“I’m sure they’ll probably take the tube out later today.” I was told with another smile. Before I could say anything to that, I felt a small body slam into mine causing a wave of intense pain to shoot through my body.
“UNNHH!!” I grunted as my uncle quickly pulled Devon off me.
“Devon, I told you to be careful around Brad.” The toddler was told sternly by his dad. As expected, Devon started to cry at this and looked like it was going to set his brothers off as well.
“Let me have him for a moment Uncle Ian.” I said as the pain slowly faded to a more manageable level.
“Are you sure?” I was asked skeptically.
“Yeah.” I answered while holding out my good arm. My cousin quieted down almost as soon as my arm curled around him. Pulling him in close, I started to speak softly to him.
“Dev, I know you didn’t mean to but you really hurt me when you jumped on me like you did. I glad that you’re happy to see me but you need to be careful around me for a little bit while I get better. OK?” I asked.
“Otay.” Devon said in a small voice.
“Okay, go back to your dad now so I can say hi to your brothers.” I said as I gave him another hug and small kiss on the forehead before motioning for my uncle to take him. Devon no sooner left my arm before one of his brothers was climbing over the railing on my bed and snuggling up against me. As I was talking to him, I learned later it was Ryan, a nurse came in with a food tray for me. She went absolutely ballistic when she saw my cousin in bed with me.
“What do you think you’re doing!? You’re supposed to be resting!” she exclaimed as she set the tray down and tried to take my cousin from me.
“You even think about touching him and you’ll regret it.” I stated simply as the nurse reached for my cousin.
“You’re supposed to be recuperating.”
“And with my cousin where he is, I am.” Before things went any further, my uncle walked up behind the nurse and motioned for her to step outside. Just as my uncle and the nurse got to the door it opened up and Anakin’s parents, Hutch, and their pastor walked in followed closely by Steve, Brian, and David.
“We can’t stay long, you have other people wanting to come in and see you.” I was told with a smile. I returned it. We talked softly while I snuggled a bit with Adam, who had taken his brother’s place next to me soon after Steve and the other came into the room. I must have fallen asleep at some point since the next thing I knew it was night time.
“’bout time you woke up.” Anakin said with a smile as I looked over too him.
“Sorry. I guess I over did it earlier with my cousins.” I said sheepishly.
“Yeah, probably. But going from the look you had on you face at the time you’d do it again in a heart beat.”
“Probably.” I agreed with a smile. We talked aimlessly for a few minutes before Anakin turned serious.
“Do you really think that Dream I told you about really happened?”
“I don’t really know. I’d say it probably did.” I answered.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because you’re dream and mine are too similar to be random thoughts. Besides, how are we supposed to know what’s real and what isn’t”
“I guess you’re right. I’m just wondering if I should tell my parents about it?”
“I don’t think that would be a good idea.” I said honestly.
“Why?”
“Look at how they keep acting around you. They keep treating you like Lazarus re-incarnated or something. Them hearing something like that would really push them over the edge. Or they would have you locked up thinking you‘re crazy or something.”
“Tell me about it. I just want to talk to someone about it though.” Anakin told me with pure disgust on the first part of his statement.
“You could always talk to your brother about it. I get the feeling he would listen to you and not think you’re crazy.”
“I guess you’re right.” Anakin said with obvious relief. We talked for a while longer before Anakin drifted off to sleep. Looking around the room for something to do until I drifted off again I spotted a package laying on the table beside my bed. After carefully reaching for it and picked it up I found out it was a book.
“Brad, Your Uncle Dave was sorry that he never had a chance to make it in to see but his job was keeping him too busy for this. He thought you’d like to have an advanced copy of his latest book. I’m not sure if you’ve ever read any of his other books or even heard of them before but I’m sure you’ll probably like it. Talk to you in the morning. Love, Uncle Ian.”
Looking at the book for a minute, I realized that I had never even heard of the series this book was from, but I vaguely remembered David and Brian both talking about it a bit. With nothing else to do, I started to read the book I was holding. By the time I started drifting off again, I was already on the third chapter.
I awoke to a sharp pain the next morning. On opening my eyes, I saw that the blankets covering me had been pulled back and someone was holding my dick in one hand and the tube that had been in it in the other.
“Oww.” I cried as I started to reach down and cover myself.
“Easy, Brad.” Steve said as he stopped my hand. I almost freaked when I saw a bit of blood come out with the pee that dribbled out once the tube was out.
“Don’t worry about the blood. It happens sometimes.” I was told soothingly. I just nodded at this. I was in for another shock once the nurse had cleaned me off. With no warning, I felt my good leg being lifted and something being placed under me. Looking down again, I saw that a diaper was being placed under me.
“We’ll talk about that in a little while.” Steve told me as my leg was lowered and the diaper was then pulled up between my legs. The diapering took only a couple of minutes and I soon had the blankets being tucked back in around me. Once this was completed Steve moved my table over my bed and I saw a food tray on it. My uncle and the nurse both laughed a bit when my stomach gave a loud rumble when I saw the food.
Just as I finished eating several people walked in among them my aunt and grandfather.
“Hey guys.” Steve said as he got up from his chair to greet everyone.
“Well, I see our young patient is starting to come around and eat some real food.” Megan said as she noticed I was eating what was on the tray in front of me. I mumbled something under my breath that unfortunately the people around me sort of heard.
“What was that, Brad?” my grandfather asked me with a raised eyebrow.
“Uh.. Nothing,” I said turning red with embarrassment at getting caught.
“If you have something to say, say it so everyone can hear you.” I was instructed.
“Sorry, I was just saying that I doubt this is real food.” I answered as I swallowed the last of the stuff on my tray.
“Going by how quickly you finished it, I would say you must have enjoyed it.” my doctor announced as he looked me over.
“That wasn’t enjoyment that was desperation. I mean the MREs the military uses probably tastes better than this stuff.”
“I’ll have you know that we have kids your age test all the items we place on our menu.”
“I thought there were laws against cruelty to animals?” I asked politely. Steve excused himself quickly after I said this. From what I got of his expression I thought he was going to start laughing at any moment. I know that my aunt and grandfather started chuckling at this point. My doctor just frowned at this and quickly finished looking me over before leaving the room. When Steve came back into the room it looked like he had been crying.
“I’m sorry if I made you sad.” I said thinking I had said something to upset him.
“You didn’t make me sad Brad. In Fact, I should thank you I haven’t laughed that hard in a while. Mind if try that?” I was asked as my uncle reached for some of the broth that I had barely touched. I nodded that he could.
“Gah!! You’re right this stuff is awful! The MREs are better than this slop.” Steve choked as he quickly put the remaining broth back on my tray.
“Hey Meg, would it be OK if I brought some light stuff from home for him to eat?” Steve asked his sister-in-law.
“I’ll check on it. Let’s see how he does with this stuff first.” After a while more of talking my aunt and grandfather told me that they would be back later and to be sure to get some more rest. Once they were gone, I turned to Steve and asked him to fill me in on what was going on with me since the doctor hadn’t said anything.
It took my uncle about twenty minutes to bring me up to speed. I think the two hardest things to take were that facts that it was only two weeks before Christmas (my accident happened at the very beginning of November) and that because of some of the things that had happened when I hit the patio, I was now in diapers full time. Luckily it was only my bladder that I had lost control of and they were pretty certain that once my injuries healed I should regain complete control. While I was bummed about needing the diapers again I could lose the feeling of how comfortable and secure they made me feel. Especially with all the extra attention I was getting during the changes. Steve got ready to leave when I started to drift off to sleep again a few hours later when I got my afternoon meds. Before he left, I passed him a note that I had written when I woke up the first time that morning. I was asleep before he had a chance to read it, so I didn’t see the shocked look on his face when he saw that I had written down what my dad had told me while I was in my coma. I found out later that what I had written led the local police and FBI to my dad’s grave. I was kind of bummed that I wasn’t able to be there when they gave him a proper burial but I was glad that I knew now he would be able to rest peacefully.
My doctors were surprised at how quickly I was responding to treatment and was healing at a faster rate than they thought possible for my injuries. I got released from the hospital two day before Christmas. I was happy about this. Since Anakin had been released a week before I was going out of my mind with boredom. My uncles, cousins, and even Anna and her family visited me on a regular basis. Anna even snuck some real food into me once I was cleared for a regular diet. I have to say that this was the only thing that kept me from going hungry while I was in.