The Nature of Things

Chapter 6

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Justin groggily reached for the phone, dropping it twice before finally getting it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Justin, honey, it's Emmett. I'm sorry to wake you, but..."

"Em, can we talk about this tomorrow?"

"No, honey we can't. You need to get dressed and get to the hospital right now."

"Why? What happened, are you hurt?"

"Not me, Brian."

"What now? Did he take too many poppers? Or maybe he took home the wrong trick?"

"No, honey, he tried to kill himself."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Listen, we'll fill you in when you get here, but right now you need to get in the car and get here as fast as you can."

"Why?"

"Because for some reason the hospital has it on record that you and Brian share a very rare blood type and you are the only hope."

"I'll be right there."

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Brian lay on the stretcher unconsious and unaware that everyone thought he'd tried to kill himself. He could hear sounds in the distance, someone that sounded a little like Lindsay was talking, but he couldn't quite make out what it was they were saying.

His head was throbbing and he struggled to open his eyes, only they just weren't cooperating. He was alone in the dark and for the first time since he'd left Jack's house he was scared.

As a child he hadn't been afraid of anyone or anything except the dark. He was only a small boy when Jack took away the night light saying it would make him a sissy boy. He'd been resourceful enough to find an old flashlight and kept it on all night.

Justin had always loved the lights above his bed and thought they were part of the Kinney charm and seduction. Wouldn't he get a kick out of knowing they were nothing more than a glorified night light.

He thought about Justin and wondered if it was too late to try to fix things between them. No matter what he told himself or everyone else, he still loved the little twat.

He was still arguing with his eyelids when he heard Justin's voice and felt his hand. Why the fuck did he sound like he was in a tin can? And why would he be here at the loft?

Everything was muffled and Brian was getting pissed. He needed to open his eyes and talk to Justin before his chance was gone. He needed to tell him he loved him and make him come home.

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The doctors directed Justin to a room where he donated blood for Brian. The entire family had donated but Justin's was the most important. Once he was done he searched out Emmett to find out exactly what had happened.

He found his friend with Lindsay. She put a hand gently on Justin's arm and smiled sadly at him.

"I'm so sorry honey."

"Thanks. But what happened?"

"Lindsay went by to check on him and found him passed out on the bed." Emmett held onto Lindsay, fearing that she was going to fall over at any moment. This had been very difficult for her. Next to Justin she was the person who loved Brian the most.

"Lindz, honey, what happened?" Justin needed to know the details, but wanted to spare Lindsay any more trauma. "I know it's hard, but I need to know."

"I really don't know Justin. I went by to talk to him and I found him lying on the bed in a pool of blood. I shook him hard and he didn't move so I called 911. By the time they got there he was barely breathing and the EMS guys were screaming at each other to hurry. I followed them here in my car and called Debbie. I didn't know what else to do."

"You did the right thing, Lindz." Turning to Emmett Justin asked what he didn't want to really know. "Did he say anything about this, Em?"

"Not to me, honey. I only spoke to him for a bit earlier. I'm sure it was just an accident or something, baby. Brian would never do this."

Justin was about to say he agreed when Michael came running down the corridor.

"You fucking little shit. You did this. Get out. Get the fuck out of here. You don't belong here."

Emmett grabbed the irate man and tried to pull him down the hall. "Honey, you don't want to do this now. Come on let's go get a cup of coffee and I'll tell you all there is to know."

"Let me go, Em. This is between me and that fucking little twat."

"Michael, trust me, sweetie, you don't want to do this."

"The fuck I don't. This little bastard is the reason that Brian is here. He's to blame, he shouldn't fucking be here."

"That's enough, Michael."

All four turned to see Ben walking towards them. He stopped long enough to grab Michael's collar and pull him down the hall.

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Brian sensed that he was alone again and cursed himself for not having the strength to open his eyes. Trapped in this darkness was getting old fast and he knew that something was wrong. He tried to remember exactly what had happened to him. The last thing he could remember was talking to Emmett outside of the diner. Everything else was a blur.

He was still trying to figure it all out when he heard Justin's soft sobbing. He strained to hear what was going on but could only make out a few words.

"He's right."

"No he...."

"Michael......"

What the fuck was Michael doing here and what had he done to upset Justin so bad?

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"What the fuck are you doing Michael?"

"I'm trying to help my best friend."

"No, you're just finding another way to hurt Justin and frankly I'm getting really tired of it."

"This has nothing to do with that little asshole."

"It has everything to do with Justin. You've been trying to get rid of him for years now. I thought we were past all of that shit. I thought by now you'd give up this little obsession you have with Brian."

"I'm not obsessed with Brian, Ben. I just want to protect him."

"Protect him? From the man he loves? No, you're here to stake your claim. Well guess what. In the process you just may lose everything you have now on a fucking fantasy that isn't ever going to come true."

"I don't fantasize about Brian anymore. I've been over that for years now."

"The fuck you have. If he so much as winked in your direction you'd go running. Well I have news for you, Michael. Brian doesn't love you. He never has. He's in love with Justin and has been forever. They belong together and no matter how hard you try, you can't change that. Sooner or later they are going to find their way back to one another and you are going to be completely alone."

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Justin sat next to Brian's bed and held his hand. The memories of his cancer scare came flooding back. With tears streaming down his face unchecked he begged his lover to come back to him.

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