The Eye Of Time
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The eye of time looks on in wonder-Leonard Nimoy
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They heard noises coming from several floors above them, but were unable
to make out exactly what was going on due to the echo effect of the concrete
and metal stair way. The three officers proceeded slowly up the stairs just
as the door to the first apartment opened and the tenant walked out, wondering
what was happening. She was startled to see the police, guns drawn, in her
building.
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Justin took one last look back at Brian as he reached the top step,
then followed Lindsay into the bedroom. As they
reached the bathroom, Justin ushered Lindsay and Gus inside, but hesitated
before going in himself. Lindsay turned and looked into Justin’s eyes.
“Justin, Honey, he’ll be okay. He won’t do anything stupid.
He just wants you safe. Come in here with us.”
Justin shook his head. “I can’t leave him out there. I’ll
stay in the bedroom, I promise. I just can’t lock myself in that room
like a...a...like a scared little faggot.”
Words from the past again, creeping into the now. His life would forever be determined by the last two years. Brian had replied with, “No, you’re not.” But then, it was just his father he was fighting against, not a crazed ex-lover who’d already tried to kill him once. “Lock the door Lindsay.” All she had to do was look into Justin’s eyes to know he wasn’t going to back down. She sighed and pulled the young man to her in a hug. When they separated, Justin pulled the door closed and listened for the lock to click. He walked back to the doorway into the living area and stood behind the window, listening for any indication of what was going on.
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The paramedics found Melanie lying on the road in the alley, still unconscious.
They did their assessment proficiently, born with years of practice. They
had vital signs, dressings and splints applied and oxygen on her in a very
short time. As they were wheeling her to the ambulance, Carl arrived and
got a short report on her condition.
“She lost a lot of blood and she’s unconscious, but I think
she’ll be okay. We’re taking her to UMC. Do you know her family?
They can meet us there.”
“Yeah, I know them. I’ll let everyone know. Take good care of her, Ev.”
“You know, man.” The ambulance door closed and the vehicle sped
toward the hospital.
Carl buzzed the loft before going into the building. “Is everyone there
okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, we’re fine. We can hear fighting in the hall, but don’t
know what’s happening,” Ted answered.
“I’m on my way up.” As he pushed the door open, he radioed
for another ambulance in case someone else was injured.
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Brian and Ted stood by the heavy loft door trying to make out any other sounds
from the other side.
Ethan and Danny were struggling by the elevator gate. When the officer lunged
at Ethan, he managed to keep the knife in his hand and was determined not
to let it go. He continued his wild slashing as the officer fought against
him. When Danny brought his knee up to push Ethan away, the knife caught
his thigh and made a deep gash that immediately started to bleed. Danny grabbed
Ethan’s wrist and pinned it to the concrete floor with his right arm,
but Ethan was struggling hard against him. Blood was running from the deep
lacerations on his left arm, soaking the blue uniform sleeve and making that
arm almost useless. Using his good leg for leverage, Danny managed to hold
Ethan down.
“Let go of the knife,” the officer demanded, loudly.
“You’re not doing
yourself any good here.”
Ethan just grunted, his arms straining against the hold Danny had on him.
Even injured, Danny had a height and weight advantage over the smaller man
that allowed him to maintain his grip.
Sgt. Silvers was the first of the officers to reach the fourth floor landing.
He carefully glanced around the corner to assess the situation. Seeing that
his partner had the young perpetrator on the floor, he motioned for the other
two officers to follow him.
“Hold still, Gold. Give it up,” Silvers called. Ethan looked up,
startled at the intrusion. All he could see was the barrel of the police
pistol in his face. Giving one last half-hearted attempt to push the officer
off of him, Ethan finally let his body go slack. Frank came around, handcuffs
out and grabbed Ethan’s right arm, twisting it back as he slapped one
end of
the handcuffs on his wrist.
Frank looked down at his partner and asked how he was. “I’m okay,
Sarge. Sure glad to see you guys, though. How did
you know he was here?”
“I found that lawyer, Ms. Marcus, in the alley. She was badly hurt,
but able to talk to me a little. I swear, I didn’t
see her in the alley when I checked it. She was behind the dumpster, against
the wall and dressed in dark clothes. I’m sorry, kid.”
“Look,
“I already called one. You ok, kid?” Carl knelt by the injured
officer.
“Yes, Sir. I’m fine. Looks like I need
a new uniform, though.” Carl laughed.
“Better a new uniform than a pine box.” Standing, Carl went to
the door to let Brian and the rest know everything’s under control.
Brian pulled the door open at the sound of Carl’s voice. “We got
him,” Carl said. “He was evidently hiding in the mechanical room
down there. Probably for several hours. You’re
lucky.”
Ted slid passed the two men and stepped into the hall. His eyes found the
cute young officer, sitting on the floor and leaning against the brick wall
with his friend holding pressure on the deep leg laceration. Danny saw
At the sound of the door opening, Justin rushed to Brian’s side. Brian
held him tight, then realized he had not been in
the bathroom with Lindsay and his son. He pushed the tearful blonde away
and held him at arms length. Looking into his eyes, he admonished sternly,
“I thought I told you to go into the bathroom, Justin. I didn’t
want you risking your life.”
“And I didn’t want you doing anything foolish and getting hurt,
either.” Justin said, meeting the hazel eyes. Brian knew he wasn’t
going to win this. He was just glad everyone was safe.
An angry voice broke the moment. “It’s not over, ‘J’.
You’re mine and don’t you forget it,” Ethan shouted as he
was led by the loft door. “I’ll have you back. You belong with
me.”
Brian released Justin and started for the fiddler. He was held back by two
officers. “Brian, no You’ll only be in
trouble. Remember what I told you before,” Carl warned.
“Brian.” Justin said, taking hold of his lover’s arm.
“He’s not worth it.” Turning to Ethan he said pointedly,
“You’re NOT worth it. You’ll never see me again except at
your trial and you’ll be in prison for a long, long time.”
Ethan looked back at Justin with hatred and just before he was led down the
stairs a look of sadness passed over his face. Justin turned away from him
and put his arms around Brian’s waist. Brian relaxed at the touch and
vowed that nothing or no one was ever going to hurt his Baby again.
Lindsay unlocked the bathroom door when she heard all the voices in the loft.
Carefully, she carried Gus into the bedroom and caught part of the conversation.
Ethan was in custody, she could tell. She rushed into the living room.
“Brian?” Justin released his
hold on Brian as Lindsay
joined the group.
“Lindsay, Melanie’s been hurt,” Carl told her. “They
found her in the alley. She was being put in the ambulance when I arrived.
She’s unconscious, but alive.”
“I need to be with her. Brian, please.” Tears filled her eyes.
“Look, I’ll drive you over,” Carl offered.
Ted turned to Lindsay. “My car is outside. I’ll drive her. Where
are they taking her?”
“
“Justin and I will follow in the Jeep, Linds. Take it easy. She’ll
be fine. You’ll see. Give me Gus. We’ll take him with us.”
Lindsay kissed his cheek as she handed Gus over to his father and walked
down the steps with Ted.
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As soon as Brian, Justin and Carl were in the loft, Brian called Deb and
told her that Melanie had been injured and to meet Lindsay at the hospital.
By the time Carl was finished talking with Brian and Justin, an hour had
passed. As they reached the hospital they realized the rest of the gang was
there, too. Debbie saw the boys first as they entered the waiting room and
threw her arms around the three of them. Brian, Justin and Gus were all squeezed
together in Debbie’s generous embrace.
“Ted has been telling me what happened. I can’t believe it. Sunshine,
you look worn out. Go sit down.”
“Any word yet?” Brian asked.
“No. They let Lindsay go back there, though. The nurse said that when
you got here, you could go back with her, Brian. Through
those doors, she waiting there.”
“Thanks, Deb. Can you take Gus and keep an eye on Justin. It’s
been a long day for him and he’s uncomfortable, but wouldn’t take
his pain pills. Said he didn’t want to fall
asleep.”
“Of course, Hon. I’ll take care of both your boys, you know that.
Now you go on, Lindsay’s waiting for you.”
Brian glanced over to the sofa where Justin was sitting. Emmett was already
sitting next to Justin with his arm around the blonde’s shoulder. Brian
decided to let it go for once. If he couldn’t be there with Justin,
then Emmett was his choice for a stand-in. He left the waiting
room, sure that Justin would be in good hands.
“Hey.”
Lindsay looked up as she heard Brian’s voice. “They haven’t
told me anything yet. I still haven’t seen her, but the nurse says the
doctor should be out in a few minutes. Is Justin alright?”
“Tired and in pain, even though he won’t admit it, but he has Deb
and Emmett out there. If he gets too bad, Emmett will see that he gets home
and rests. How are you doing?”
“Just knowing she’s alive...you know.”
“Yeah. You can deal with anything else, right?”
Just then the doctor approached. “Ms. Peterson, I’m Dr. Milton.
Ms. Marcus is in CAT scan right now. We want to
make sure she doesn’t have any bleeding around her brain.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
While Frank and Silvers conferred with the Captain,
“Danny’s being sutured up right now. How
about a cup of coffee?”
“Sure,” said Ted, looking back at the waiting room full of his
friends.“Just let
me tell them where I’ll be.”
The two men sat across from each other in the booth of the almost deserted
hospital snack bar Unsure of what to say, neither one spoke for a few minutes.
Then
It was Ted’s turn to stop
Cal smiled.
“Yeah. Two things
actually. First, don’t hurt him. Remember, I
carry a gun. Secondly,
he’s really a great guy. He asked me to give you this.” Ted took
the paper from the officer. He opened it to find Danny’s name, address
and phone number. Ted couldn’t help but smile.
“Thanks. Don’t worry about him, okay?”
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Melanie was in surgery for several hours to repair the fractures to her leg
and arm. Her CAT scan was negative for any severe trauma to her brain, and,
except for a concussion, some sutures and a very bad headache she was cleared
of any brain injury. She would be in the hospital for several more days,
but with the exception of a slight limp, she should heal without problems.
Brian and Lindsay both knew that the physical healing was just the start.
Mel was going to need a lot of support and friends around to help the
psychological and emotional
healing.
Leaving Lindsay at Mel’s bedside, Brian went back to the waiting room.
Justin was lying on the sofa, using Emmett’s leg as a pillow. Brian
knelt down in front of the sofa and kissed Justin’s cheek. Everyone
was anxious for news of Melanie’s condition and Brian told them what
he knew. The friends sighed with relief. Since Melanie couldn’t have
visitors til the next day, everyone went home.
Brian took Gus and went to get the Jeep while Emmett
helped Justin outside.
Despite how tired he was, and the pain, Justin had refused to let Em take
him home.
Brian held his son in one arm and helped Justin out of the Jeep. They entered
the elevator and rode to the fourth floor. Justin stared at the broken gate,
a reminder of
what occurred there only
a few hours earlier.
“Justin, it’s over, now. Come on.”
“I know. It’s just all so useless. What happened to me, to
Mel. Someone could have
gotten killed.”
Brian laid Gus gently on the bed and covered him with his blanket. Justin
sat heavily on the edge of the bed, suddenly very tired. Brian sat next to
him and held him close
for a few minutes. “Come
on, lay down. I’ll get your pain pills and you rest for a while. When
you get up, we’ll eat and talk.” He kissed the top of Justin’s
head and stood up. Justin grabbed his hand.
“Thank you for being here.”
Brian smiled. “Yeah. Pain pills and juice,
okay?”
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The whole gang was once again in the courtroom, only this time Justin was
with them. He insisted on being there even after he testified. They were
waiting for the jury to come into the courtroom. They had deliberated for
only 3 hours. When everyone was seated,
the judge asked for the
verdict. Brian held Justin’s hand tightly. Melanie, who sat on the other
side of Justin grabbed hold of his other hand. Brian,
Justin, Melanie and Ted had all testified to the events surrounding the stabbing,
Melanie’s assault and the fight in the apartment
building when Officer
Lassiter was injured. Danny ‘just happened’ to
be sitting next to Ted.
Ethan and his attorney stood at the direction of the judge. All eyes were
on the jury foreman as he stood to read the verdict. “On count one,
attempted murder, we find the defendant guilty. On count two, assault, we
find the defendant guilty. On count three, assault of
a police officer, we find
the defendant guilty. On count four, escape from confinement and evading
arrest, we find the defendant guilty.
As each verdict was read, a sigh of relief went through the audience. The
judge set a sentencing date and Ethan was led away. Before he left the courtroom,
he turned and stared at Justin. Justin looked up just in time to see the
dark eyes staring at him. Gone was the wild look of a few months ago. Sadness
was all Justin saw now. He shook his head slightly and put his arm around
Brian’s waist, holding him tightly.
Brian and Justin declined Lindsay’s offer of supper. They just wanted
to be alone. The trial had been hard for them. Brian had to once again relive
those awful moments of
kneeling next to Justin
as blood oozed from his wounds. Justin had to face Ethan once again, also.
He saw Ethan, excited as they hauled an old, broken sofa to his small apartment;
intense, as he practiced the same piece over and over again to get it perfect;
loving as they lay in bed together the first time. Then he saw Ethan, suddenly
mean and angry, holding a knife with blood on the blade. His
blood. Justin shut his eyes to close the vision out, but it would
never quite leave.
Most of that evening was spent in silence. Not an uncomfortable silence,
more like a need to gather thoughts. Brian knew that when Justin was ready,
he would talk.
Brian turned out the lights and made sure the alarm was set before joining
Justin in the bedroom.
“I’m taking a shower,” Justin said as he undressed. Brian
followed a naked Justin into the bathroom and turned on the shower water.
Both men stood under the hot spray, letting the water pound their skin. Brian
picked the soap from the soap dish and began rubbing Justin’s back and
shoulders. He felt Justin’s shoulder start to shake and leaned down
and whispered in his ear as he put his arms around him.
“It’s okay, Baby. I’m right here.”
Justin turned to put his arms around Brian’s waist and laid his head
against Brian’s chest. Tears he’d held in for so long finally fell
freely in his lover’s embrace. They stood like that under the water
til it started to cool off. Brian tilted Justin’s
head up and kissed him softly on the lips. “Feel better?”
Justin nodded and smiled for the first time in a long while. “I love
you,
Brian. I’m so lucky
to have you with me. I almost ruined it.”
“No, Justin. We were both at fault, but it’s all over now. We’re
here together, and that’s how it’s going to stay.” Justin
shivered and Brian reached to turn off the water. “
Let’s get out of this cold water and go to bed.” And they
did, but they didn’t get much sleep.
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3 years later
“Justin? Justin, are you listening to me?” Brian had been telling
Justin about the brochures he received today. They were planning a trip for
June after Justin graduated. Brian was sitting on the sofa, stacks of travel
brochures on the coffee table and sofa cushions. So far, the only thing they
could agree on was that they wanted to go somewhere tropical. Pictures of
palm trees and deep blue-green water were everywhere. The
Brian turned in the sofa to see what Justin was doing that needed all of
his concentration. Justin was at the kitchen table with a newspaper spread
out in front of him. He was pale and sweat was forming on his upper lip and
forehead. Brian was immediately up and at his lover’s side.
“Justin, what’s wrong? Are you sick?” He knelt down next to
Justin’s chair. “Justin, Sweetie, what’s wrong?”
Without saying a word, Justin pointed to the article he was reading. Brian
stood and leaned over the table, following the line of Justin’s finger
to a short item in the paper. The headline read, “Local Man Dies in
Prison Fight.” Brian began reading the text. “Ethan Gold, convicted
three years ago of attempted murder, was stabbed to death during a fight
in the exercise yard at the Pennsylvania State Prison. Gold, 23, has been
in prison since his 2002 conviction for the attempted murder of Justin Taylor,
a fellow student at the prestigious Pittsburgh Institute of Fine Arts. Taylor,
then a 19 year old art student, was stabbed twice and left for dead at the
apartment they shared near the school campus. Gold, considered by many to
be a violin prodigy...” Brian quickly scanned
the rest of the article. “While in the
“I can’t believe he’s dead. It’s over. It’s all
over, Brian. I never have to worry about him again.” But even as he
spoke, tears formed in his eyes and started falling down his face. Brian
pulled the younger man into a tight embrace and let him cry. It was over.
A terrible chapter in their lives was closed, but would never be forgotten.
No matter how it ended, Justin had liked Ethan a lot in the beginning. He
admired his talent, knowing he would perform at Carnegie Hall one
day. ‘What a waste,’ he thought.
Justin let Brian hold him, thankful he was alive and with the man he loved.
“Are you okay? Do you need me to call Max?” Justin said no, that
it was just a shock to read about Ethan in the paper like that. Max Solomon
was the psychiatrist who treated Justin after he was stabbed. He continued
to see him occasionally over the years whenever he felt overwhelmed. Brian
even agreed to a few sessions, to help him get over his anger and guilt,
not only of the stabbing, but also of the prom night bashing. The ‘few
sessions’ turned into a regular once a week visit for over a year.
Brian’s initial attitude about “shrinks” slowly dissipated
as he talked about his childhood, his relationships and his tricking, drinking
and drug use. Now,
except for an occasional beer, Brian stopped drinking and doing drugs. He
hadn’t tricked at all since Justin got out of the hospital after the
stabbing.
The ringing of the phone startled them both out of their thoughts. Brian
walked to the desk and picked up the receiver. “Hello.”
“Brian, have you seen the paper today?” It was Melanie.
“Yeah, Mel. We’re looking at it now. I
can’t believe it. Are you doing okay? Is Lindsay there with you?”
Melanie had pretty much recovered from all her physical injuries, but Lindsay,
Brian and especially Justin, knew how much the emotional scars had hurt her.
She and Justin had bonded as only victims of violent crime could.
“She’s here. I just had to call to see if Justin’s alright.
This must be really hard for him.”
“I think it is, but he’ll be fine. He won’t let me call
Max.” Brian watched as Justin slowly walked up to the bedroom and sat
on the edge of the bed. “Uh, Mel, look, I have to go. Thanks for calling.
And if you need to talk, you know we’re here.”
“I know. And if Justin needs anything, let me know. Tell him I’ll
call him tomorrow. Give him a big hug for me.” Brian smiled, told her
he would, then hung up. He glanced at Justin, sitting
on the edge of the bed with his arms wrapped around himself. Thinking that
now they could have the life they had been waiting for, he joined Justin
in the bedroom. No words were needed right then. They both lay down, and
Brian felt Justin’s back against his chest and he wrapped his long arms
around the smaller man pulling him even tighter against him. No matter what
happened in their lives, as long as Justin was here like this, they were
okay. They were safe. They were invincible.
Return
to the Time
series