It Takes All Kinds

A Spoonful Of Sugar

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Brian returned to consciousness gradually, keeping his eyes closed as he pressed himself tightly against the warm body spooned in front of him. Breathing in deeply the scent of Justin's shampoo, he began pressing wet, open-mouthed kisses against his lover's neck as his hand crept across taut stomach muscles and down to a slowly burgeoning hardness. His own cock hardened perceptively, and he moaned quietly into Justin's ear.

"Hmm, Brian…" Justin murmured in a sleep-roughened voice. He reached behind him and grasped Brian's hip, pulling him closer until Brian's dick was nestled in the cleft of his ass. They started a slow, drowsy dance, both enjoying the slow build-up of desire. "Love you," Justin whispered.

"You too." Brian propped himself up on one elbow, ducking his head under Justin's arm so he could reach a dusky pink nipple. He suckled it gently, the breathy moans emanating from his partner sending shivers of excitement down his spine. Suddenly, the body below him tensed, and he froze, unsure of the reason for Justin's reaction.

"Brian? Where's Gus?"

Brian's head popped up, and his eyes narrowed as he looked over at the other bed. The covers were rumpled, a sheet dragged to the floor as though the occupant had jumped up in a hurry. Brian and Justin climbed out of bed quickly, both of them grabbing their sweatpants from the end of the bed. Brian hopped on one foot, trying to pull on his sweats as he called out quietly, "Gus?" and getting only silence in return.

Brian hurried toward the bathroom, his breath catching when he spotted his son curled up in a fetal position on the cool floor. He kneeled beside the sleeping boy and put his hand on Gus' forehead. "Shit, Justin - he's burning up." Gus groaned softly when Brian scooped him up from the floor, his head flopping onto his father's shoulder.

Placing his son gently on his abandoned bed, Brian leaned over and brushed Gus' damp hair off his face, then tried to wake him up. "Gus, Gus - wake up, sonny boy."

"Daddy?" I hurt, my tummy hurts," Gus whimpered, hugging his arms tightly against his abdomen.

Justin crawled up behind Gus on the bed, asking gently, "Where does it hurt - show us, buddy." When Gus indicated the pain was on his lower right side, his dads exchanged frowning looks. "Sounds like it might be appendicitis." Justin continued, "We need to get him to the emergency room."

Justin went to the phone and dialed the front desk. After a short conversation, he hung up then turned to Brian. "The hospital is only a mile or so from here. The clerk gave me directions, so we should be able to get him there quickly."

Nodding his head silently, Brian got to his feet and crossed the room to their suitcases. He tossed a pair of khakis and a polo shirt to Justin, then rapidly pulled on a pair of worn jeans and a denim shirt, leaving the buttons undone. He pawed through Gus' clothes until he found a pair of shorts with an elastic waistband then grabbed a tee shirt and went back to his son's side.

"Here Gus, we need to get you dressed so we can take you to the hospital. You gotta help me a bit, sonny boy." Brian helped Gus to sit up, then helped him dress. When they were finished, he picked Gus up, cradling him to his chest and carried him to the SUV. Once he had buckled his son's seat belt, he slid into the backseat beside him, allowing Gus to lean against his chest.

The drive to the hospital was quiet, other than the occasional moan from the sick boy whenever they hit a bump. Justin pulled up to the emergency exit, and Brian carried Gus inside to the triage desk.

"I think my son might have appendicitis. He's been throwing up and he says that his side hurts."

The nurse on duty smiled at Gus. "Hi, my name's Mandy. I'm just going to take your temperature and blood pressure, okay?" When Gus nodded weakly, she placed a thermometer in his ear, holding it there until it beeped. She noted the reading on a form, then wrapped the blood pressure cuff around his arm.

He began squirming as the cuff tightened then tried to jerk his arm away. "Ow, that hurts."

"It'll only take a minute, then we'll be through," Mandy said quietly, holding his arm steady so the machine could get a reading. Once she had his blood pressure, she ruffled his hair and directed Brian to take him into the waiting room until they were called.

Brian helped Gus walk into the other room, looking around until he found three seats together. He guided his son over to the chairs, but after a few minutes, Gus slid off the chair onto the floor, curling back up into a fetal position.

Justin entered the busy waiting room and crossed to his partner and son. He silently held out a Styrofoam cup full of hot coffee to Brian, then sat down beside him. "What's going on?"

Smiling at Justin gratefully, Brian took a sip of the steaming coffee and answered, "They took his vital signs - now we just have to wait until they call us." After watching his son for a while, he swallowed the rest of his coffee then stood up and went over to the admissions desk. He talked to an orderly, then remained near the desk when the orderly disappeared behind a closed door. A few minutes later, the orderly returned and handed a blanket and pillow to him.

Brian crouched down beside his son and lifted his head, sliding the pillow underneath. He then laid the blanket over the shivering boy and asked, "You doing okay, sonny boy?"

When Gus shook his head and said, "I think I'm going to throw up again," Justin jumped up and found a trash can. He hurried back and Brian helped Gus sit up. Once Gus finished, Justin tied the bag closed and set it aside.

"Mr. Kinney?" a young man called out. When Brian looked up, the young man added, "You need to fill out some paperwork for your son's admission, sir." Brian stood up and felt his back pocket.

"Fuck, Justin, I forgot my wallet back at the hotel. I don't have my insurance card or a credit card."

Justin smirked and pulled out his own wallet. He dug through it until he found the insurance card, then handed it to Brian. "Call me when they need a payment. Your name's not on my card."

Brian nodded then followed the man through an open doorway and around the corner. Justin sat down behind Gus and rubbed a hand lightly up and down his back.

"That feels good, Pops." Gus turned his head slightly to look up at his Pops. "What are they going to do to me?"

"Well, buddy, they're probably going to do some tests, and if it's what we think it is, they're going to have to operate on you." Justin kept up the steady movement of his hand, waiting for the imminent explosion.

"Na uh, no way." Gus sat up, frantically grabbing his Pops' hand. "No shots, Pops."

Justin gathered his son in his arms, rocking the slight body slowly back and forth. "Gus, if your appendix is flaring up, they have to take it out. If they don't, it can burst open and you could get really sick from it." He pulled back a fraction and looked down into Gus' scared face. "Your dad and I will be with you all the time, alright? I know you're scared, but it will be okay."

Gus nestled back into his Pops' embrace saying tearfully, "I hate needles."

A nurse came through the automatic double doors and announced, "Gus Peterson-Marcus?" Gus and Justin climbed to their feet and moved over to the nurse. "Are you Mr. Kinney?"

Justin shook his head. "No, I'm Justin Taylor."

The nurse frowned as she said, "I'm sorry, but we need Gus' father. You'll have to stay out here."

"Bullshit - he comes in as well." Brian stated emphatically from behind Justin.

"Mr. Kinney, I'm sorry, but only immediate family is allowed in back." The nurse pushed the button to open the doors again.

Brian took a step closer to her and hissed, "He's as much his father as I am. He adopted Gus four years ago, so don't give me any of your crap." He then turned to Justin and said, "You need to go take care of the co-payment. The guy is at the fourth desk on the left. Come on back when you're finished." Justin smiled and left to make payment arrangements.

The nurse flinched at the glare Brian gave her and stuttered, "I'm sorry, Mr. Kinney, I didn't realize… Come on, let's get Gus into a cubicle." She led them down a busy hallway and gestured to an empty room. After she helped Gus onto the gurney, she bustled around, collecting several empty vials and a syringe. "Okay, Gus, I need to get some blood from you for testing." She reached for Gus' arm then looked helplessly over at Brian when Gus crossed his arms against his chest, refusing to cooperate.

Brian took Gus' chin firmly in his hand, turning his head until their eyes met. "Let the nurse take your blood. They can't help you feel better until she does." Once Gus reluctantly extended his arm to the woman, Brian asked, "So, what ride are you looking forward to riding when we get to Disney Land, Gus?" He kept up the chatter, distracting his son from what the nurse was doing. When she finished filling the vials, he leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on Gus' cheek. "You're a good boy. I'm proud of you."

The nurse carefully labeled the vials of blood and turned to leave. "Someone will be in soon to take Gus down to x-ray for an ultrasound. Just wait here, please."

Justin joined them just as an orderly entered the cubicle with a wheelchair. "Someone here order a taxi?" the man teased Gus lightly, helping the boy into the chair. "Okay, kiddo, it's your job to make sure I don't run anybody over, capeesh?"

Gus grinned faintly at the man's joke then giggled whenever the wheelchair would head directly at someone, only to veer away at the last moment. They eventually made it to the x-ray department in one piece and the orderly lifted Gus up onto the table. "Not bad, kiddo. You can co-pilot with me anytime!"

A young woman, dressed in a multi-colored lab coat, entered the room and introduced herself to Gus. "Hi, I'm Rebecca. We're going to take some pictures of your insides so the doctors can figure out what's making your tummy hurt." She had Gus pull up his tee shirt and lower his shorts slightly, exposing his torso, then she squirted a clear gel over his skin. Picking up a wand that was attached to the ultrasound machine, Rebecca looked over at Gus apologetically and explained, "This is going to hurt a bit, Gus, because I have to press down on your tummy. Let me know when it gets to be too bad, okay?"

Justin moved to Gus' side, taking his hand and said, "You squeeze on my hand when it hurts - that will help a little."

Gus tried not to move as the technician ran the wand over his abdomen, but flinched when she pressed hard on his right side. He looked up at his Pops and whispered, "I hate this."

"I know, buddy - it'll be over soon." Justin squeezed Gus' hand then asked the technician, "Is it his appendix?"

Rebecca nodded as she gently wiped the gel off Gus' stomach. "It looks like it's very inflamed to me, but a doctor needs to go over the pictures for the final diagnosis." She tugged Gus' shirt down and patted him on the arm. "You're very brave, Gus. We're all done here." Glancing over at Brian, she added, "You can take him back down to the ER now. A surgeon will be there soon with the results."

Brian moved the wheelchair next to the table and Gus climbed into it carefully, groaning a bit as the movement made him ache. "Let's go, sonny boy."

They were soon ensconced back in their original cubicle in the emergency room. Brian began pacing after an hour then he pushed the call button. When a nurse came into the room in response, he snarled, "This is ridiculous. He needs something for the pain."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Kinney. We can't give him anything until a doctor sees him."

"Then where's the fucking doctor?"

Justin walked over and placed his hand on Brian's arm. "Brian, you need to calm down. Why don't you go have a cigarette then get us something to eat? I'll stay here with Gus." Brian nodded jerkily, but before he could leave, an older man entered the cubicle.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Petricillo. I'm going to be Gus' surgeon." He picked up Gus' chart and studied it, tactfully ignoring Brian's muttered 'It's about fucking time.' "Okay, it appears that Gus has acute appendicitis. It hasn't burst yet, which is a good thing, because that would extend his stay here at the hospital by several days. We're going to be taking him down in about a half an hour to prep him, then I'll be performing the surgery. It should only take thirty minutes or so, and then he'll be in recovery for an hour. You should be able to see him after that." He looked at both Justin and Brian and asked, "Do you have any questions?"

"Can he have something for pain?" Brian inquired as politely as he could.

"Certainly. I'll send someone in with something immediately." Dr. Petricillo replaced the chart at the end of the bed then smiled at Gus. "You'll be up and driving your dads crazy in no time, Gus."

Justin chuckled then asked, "How long will he have to stay in the hospital, Dr. Petricillo?"

"Hmm, provided everything goes as it should, and I don't see any reason why it wouldn't, he should be able to leave the day after tomorrow." He patted Gus' hand as he said, "I'll see you in a little while, Gus."

After the doctor departed, Gus blinked up at his dad. "Do I really have to do this, Dad?"

"Unfortunately, yeah, you do. Don't worry - they will give some good medicine so you won't know what the doctor is doing to you." Brian sat on the bed, drawing Gus close to his chest to reassure him. "When you wake up, you'll be sore, but you won't be feeling sick any more. Sound good?"

Gus nodded. "Will we still get to go to Disney Land?" He leaned against his dad's chest, soothed by the steady heartbeat under his ear.

Justin and Brian glanced at each other. Justin cleared his throat and said gruffly, "We'll have to see, Gus. It all depends on how you feel."

One of the nurses came in just then, holding a small cup in his hand. "Here you go - drink it all up." He grinned over at the anxious men, saying, "This will relax him and make him… well, a little loopy." The medicine slowly took effect as he recorded Gus' vitals then left the room.

Brian and Justin thought Gus had fallen asleep, when his soft voice slurred, "Popsh, I shink I gotta pee."

Sliding onto his feet, Brian steadied Gus as he stood. He let go and watched in amazement as Gus' legs slowly gave way. "Oh my God, he's stoned." As soon as he realized Gus couldn't make it on his own, Brian half-carried him to the bathroom. When they returned, there were several people waiting to take Gus down to surgery.

Once Gus was lying on the gurney, both Brian and Justin kissed him. "We'll be there when you wake up, sonny boy. Love you."

"Wuv you too, Dad."

After Gus was wheeled away, the two men made their way down to the waiting room. Justin flipped through the old magazines while Brian paced. Finally, he flopped down in the plastic chair beside his partner and growled, "It's taking too long."

"For crying out loud, Brian, he's only been gone about an hour. Relax." Justin handed him a sports magazine. "Here, read this. You can look at the pretty guys in their tight clothes and get your mind off of Gus."

Brian opened the magazine, but instead of looking at the hot athletes, he checked out the various advertisements. About halfway through, he came across one of their ads for Brown Athletics. He studied it for a moment, then showed it to his lover. "We did pretty good on this, huh?"

Justin smirked as he glanced at the page. "Of course we did. The copy was okay, but the artwork was phenomenal."

"Asshole." Brian looked thoughtful. "Actually, you're right. It's the artwork that makes the ad." He leaned over and quickly kissed Justin on the cheek. "You're fucking amazing, you know that?"

"That's what makes us the perfect couple. I'm amazing and you're…" Justin let his words trail off teasingly. He chuckled when he received a frown in reply. "You're perfect, as you fucking well know."

"So, what are we going to do now? Do you think we should head home, or go to California as planned."

"I think Gus deserves to go to Disney Land as we'd planned. Poor kid, getting sick while he's on vacation." Justin took Brian's hand and wove their fingers together.

"Sounds good."

The doors to the waiting room opened just then, and Dr. Petricillo walked in. He came over to where Brian and Justin were sitting and perched on a nearby chair.

"The surgery went well. Gus' appendix was close to erupting, probably would have in an hour or two. We removed it and closed him up by gluing his skin together, so there won't be any external stitches to mess with. Any questions?"

Brian leaned forward. "Can we see him?"

The doctor glanced at the clock on the wall and nodded. "He's just getting out of recovery. Someone will let you know what room he'll be in." He stood up wearily and offered his hand to both fathers. "Good luck."

It was only a few minutes after the doctor left that a middle-aged woman came over to them and gave them directions to Gus' room. He had been taken to the pediatric floor and Brian and Justin quickly made their way up to the fifth floor. The hallways were decorated with cheerful, brightly colored murals and toys were scattered here and there on the floor.

Gus was in a room by himself, quietly sleeping on the high bed. Brian moved to his side, brushing his son's tousled hair off his face. Gus' eyes fluttered open, and he blinked several times to bring things into focus. "Hi, Dad," he whispered.

"Hey there, Gus. How do you feel?"

"I hurt." Gus shifted in bed, trying to find a position that didn't make him hurt. "When can I leave?"

"The doctor said two days. You need to heal a bit before you can leave." Brian looked over at Justin. "I'm going to stay here tonight - you go on back to the hotel and get some sleep." Once Justin had said his goodbyes and left, Brian turned off the lights then tried to make himself comfortable on the small couch. He laid there in the darkness, listening to his son's quiet breathing until sleep claimed him.

The next morning around ten, Justin came bounding into the room carrying a white paper bag. He handed it to Brian. "Here. I figured you wouldn't want to eat the hospital's food." He turned to Gus, who was currently watching a cartoon on TV and asked, "How are you doing, buddy?"

"Okay, I guess."

"The nurse on duty told me that you need to get up and walk before they can release you. Do you want to try now?" When Gus nodded, Justin lowered the side rail and helped Gus get to his feet. Gus shuffled forward a few feet, with Justin pushing the IV pole behind him. "So, do you want to go to the playroom?"

"Alright."

Justin told Brian that they would spend a couple of hours in the playroom. There were various games and toys there, as well as some art supplies to keep the young patients busy.

Brian snorted. "The playroom doesn't sound like it has my type of toys in it, so I'll pass. I think I'll head off to the hotel and try to get some decent sleep. That stupid couch wasn't exactly conducive to sleep." He followed Justin and Gus down the hall, stopping when they reached the elevator. Quickly kissing both of his guys, he pushed the button then stood there watching as Gus and Justin disappeared around a corner.

The playroom was bright and cheerful, with several tables placed around the perimeter. Gus carefully sat down in an empty chair and Justin went to fetch some paper and paints. They spent several hours painting, with Justin giving different tips to the children who gradually congregated around him.

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"Geeze, you're like the fucking Pied Piper when it comes to art." Brian quipped in an amused voice. "Hey Gus, you interested in getting out of here today?"

"Sure."

Justin looked up questioningly, "What's up?"

"The doctor is waiting for us in Gus' room. I explained to him that we were on vacation, and he said that if everything looks all right, he'd sign Gus out now. We have to be careful, and Gus can't be running around for a few days, but since we'll be spending a lot of time in the car, that shouldn't be a problem." Brian grabbed the IV pole and stretched out his hand to help Gus stand up. They walked slowly back to the room, both Brian and Justin shortening their strides to match Gus'. The doctor was reading the chart when they entered, and he glanced up and smiled.

"I'm glad to see you walking around, Gus. Let's get you on the bed so I can examine your incision." He gently raised the hospital gown so he could remove the small bandage then nodded with satisfaction. "It looks fine, so I'm going to let you get on with your trip." He looked at Gus sternly, adding, "Now, no roughhousing for a while, okay? You don't want that incision to come open."

"I'll be as good as I can be, as long as I can get out of here. It's boring."

The three men laughed at Gus' comment. While the doctor signed the release forms, Brian helped Gus get dressed. An orderly came in with a wheelchair, and Gus was soon seated, eager to leave. Justin picked up the small duffle bag they'd brought to the hospital and followed Brian as he pushed the wheelchair to the elevator.

Gus thought it was funny that he felt as though he was coming home when he walked into the hotel room. While it wasn't as great as their loft back in Pittsburgh, it sure beat the hospital.

"Bedtime, Gus," Brian ordered firmly.

Gus pouted as he said, "But Dad…"

"No buts. Into bed, young man, otherwise, instead of going to California and visiting Disney Land, we'll head back to Pittsburgh. Your choice."

Sighing slightly at the unfairness of it, Gus crawled under the covers and lay on his back. It wasn't right - he'd already spent several days in bed, so he didn't think he was tired. "So, we're still going, huh?"

"Yep, as long as you follow doctor's orders."

Gus smiled faintly at his dad as he rearranged the pillow under his head. "I can do that." He had vague thoughts about getting out his diary, but for some reason, his eyes felt heavy. He closed them for just a moment, and was soon dreaming about Mickey Mouse and the Matterhorn.

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