Date: Tue, 08 Aug 2000 19:52:10 -0400
From: fsw99 <fsw99@pop.mindspring.com>
Subject: Chapter 9 of One Big Happy Family

Legal Notice: The following story contains descriptions of graphic sexual
acts. The story is a work of fiction and has no basis in reality.

Don't read this story if: **You're not 18 or over,

**If it is illegal to read this type of material where you live,

**Or if you don't want to read about gay/bi people in love or having sex.

The author retains copyright to this story. Placing this story on a website
or reproducing this story for distribution without the author's permission
is a violation of that copyright. Legal action will be taken against
violators.

If you have enjoyed reading this story, you will find other stories by me
in Young Friends ("Matt and Mike" 3/24/00 and "New Neighbor" 12/17/99),
Incest ("My New Life" 12/18/99) and Adult Youth ("Sam Finds a New Father"
12/16/99 and "Billy and Jim" 12/13/99).

E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions or other 'constructive'
comments or advice may be sent to: fsw99@mindspring.com.

			       Chapter Nine

As soon as Keith's Grandmother was notified, she immediately phoned Keith's
home. Since it was only 11:00 am Los Angeles time, Keith's father was at
his office building, but Keith's mother was home and immediately contacted
him. He made plans for them to fly over as soon as he could get his pilot
located and the plane serviced. They both agreed that it would be a good
idea to take Keith's cousins with them for moral support, as he was very
close to them.

It was very late at night when they finally arrived at Heathrow airport,
and they were hurriedly cleared through customs, as their limo driver, who
met them at the gate, had already explained the situation to the customs
authorities. They were immediately driven to the hospital where the hurried
into the Intensive Care section. They knew Keith's Grandmother was far too
old to still be with Keith, and were surprised to see a boy about Keith's
age asleep in a chair beside his bed.

Keith had been given a shot to make sure he slept through the night, but he
had kept calling out deliriously for Phill when he was conscious, and Phill
had stayed with him until some of his family could arrive. A doctor came in
shortly after their arrival.

"Hello, I am Dr. Morris. You must be Keith's parents."

"Yes, hello, Doctor. I am Keith Ericson Senior, Keith is Junior. This is my
wife Joyce. Tell us how our son is doing," Keith's Dad said.

"He has stabilized, but he has several broken ribs and a partially
collapsed lung. Other than that and the bruises and cuts to his face that
you can see, he is doing as good as we could hope for. If Phill and his
friends hadn't come up on the mugging as it was taking place, I think it
would have been much worse. Keith will recover nicely, after some time here
in the hospital and a little recovery time at home."

"So Phill and his friends stopped them from hurting him worse? I hadn't
heard that. Have the muggers been caught?"

"I haven't heard that, one way or the other, but I doubt it. There are so
many cases of young men beating up one another that the police really can't
devote much time to it. Most of these cases go unsolved."

"Well, I will personally make sure that these people are caught and
prosecuted to the full extent of the law," Keith Senior vowed.

All of the talking had finally awakened Phill, who was not sleeping very
soundly in the chair anyway. He just looked up, startled by all the new
people surrounding him.

"So, you are Phill. I am Keith's father, Mr. Ericson. This is my wife, and
these are Keith's cousins, Alex and Mark. I understand we are greatly
indebted to you for stopping the beating Keith was receiving," Keith Senior
said.

Phill got quickly to his feet, and shook hands with everyone, saying, "We
really didn't do much at all, sir.  We stumbled upon them as we were taking
a short cut. We just chased the three blokes off and called an ambulance,
is all."

"I think Phill is just being modest. Keith kept calling out Phill's name
and saying how he saved his life when we first got him in here. Phill could
have left when we got him stabilized, but he insisted that he stay with
Keith while his friends left to go home," Dr. Morris said.

"We all owe you a great debt of gratitude, young man, how does a hundred
dollars American sound to you?" Keith Senior asked.

"Oh, no sir, I couldn't take your money. He just looked so busted up, I
couldn't leave him until I knew he was with his family. Anyone would have
done the same thing in my place," Phill said.

"Not everyone. I doubt that the muggers would have stopped to help out
anyone, and your friends didn't stick around to wait for us like you did,"
Mark said, interrupting.

"Right. I insist, please take the money. Let's make it two hundred
dollars," Keith Senior said.

"Please sir, I can't allow myself to profit off of another person's misery.
I need to be going now. I will stop back later in the day and check to see
how he is doing," Phill said, as he almost ran out of the room,
embarrassed.

"Wait, Phill. Can we at least have your address and telephone number?" Mark
asked.

"Sure, no prob. I am staying at a friend's house, as I must leave tomorrow
and go back home. I am here on holiday. I will leave you the address and
phone number here and at home, as well as my mobile number," Phill said, as
he went to the nurse's desk to get some paper and a pen. He wrote down all
the information and shook hands with Mark once more before walking away.

The doctor had left and everyone was talking about Phill's reaction when
Mark walked back into the room. "I think you offended him with your offer
of money, Keith," Joyce was saying.

"I think so, too," Alex said. "He almost ran out of here so he wouldn't
have to accept it."

"Everyone doesn't do things just for money, you know," Joyce said.

"All right, I am sorry. I will apologize to him when he comes back later
on. I was just trying to reward him for his good deed," Keith Senior
said. "There is nothing any of you can do for Keith tonight. Why don't you
go to your Mom's house and get some sleep. You can relieve me in the
morning," Keith Senior said.

They all decided that his suggestion was a good idea, as all three of them
were very tired from the long trip, so they left him to sit with Keith and
headed down to the limo. Keith Senior settled into the same chair that
Phill had been sleeping in when they first arrived, and found it to be as
uncomfortable as Phill had.

Keith's moans and him calling out Phill's name woke him early the next
morning. "Keith, I am here. Let me get a nurse in here and see if she can
give you something for pain. I will be right back." He ran quickly to get a
nurse, who immediately came in and gave Keith a shot for his pain.  Keith
Senior winced at the sight of the bruises on Keith's back and buttocks
where he had been kicked and stomped. If anything, it made him more
determined that the muggers would pay for what they did to Keith, and pay
dearly.

Phill actually arrived back at the hospital before the rest of Keith's
family. His friends had tried to persuade him to stay with them today, but
he insisted that Keith was not out of the woods yet as far as being able to
fully recover, and as long as he needed Phill to be there for him, he was
going to be there. They had argued with him for a while, but knew it was
useless. They made plans for a meeting point for later in the evening if he
could leave Keith by then, and Phill hurried to the tube stop.

When he walked in that morning, Keith was awake and talking to his father,
who was standing at his side. Both looked up as Phill walked into the
room. "Phill, you came back," Keith said.

"Hey, you can't get rid of me that easy, you know. How are you feeling this
morning?"

"Like I was run over by one of the big black taxis you see all over
London."

"Sorry. I shouldn't have even asked such a stupid question," Phill said,
coming over and standing next to Keith.

Keith reached over and took Phill's hand and said, "Thanks for doing all
you have done for me.  Dad told me you stayed with me until late into the
night when Dad, Mom, and my cousins arrived.  You have been so kind to me,
and you saved my life. What can I do to repay you?" he asked, squeezing
Phill's hand with as much strength as he could muster at the moment, which
wasn't much.

"All I want is to see you recover and get back on your feet. What the three
hooligans did to you was inhumane, and I hope they are caught and dealt
with properly."

"Oh, they will be caught, I guarantee you," Keith's Dad said, interrupting.

"Don't be so sure. This kind of thing happens all the time in London, and
the police don't give cases like this a very high priority. That is why my
friends and I always carry our flick knives," Phill answered.

"Well, I will make sure the police give this a high priority. No one does
this to my son and gets away unpunished," Keith Senior vowed. "Phill, how
long are you planning on being here?"

"I don't have any specific plans, sir. If I am in the way, I can go at any
time."

"No, you don't understand. I think having you here is the best thing for
Keith right now. I was wondering that if you were going to stay awhile, I
could go down to the police station and check on how they are doing with
finding the muggers. I will not allow any gay bashers to simply beat up my
son and get away with it."

"Sure, Mr. Ericson, I will be glad to stay with Keith. I told my friends
that I planned to stay with him most of the day, as long as I am not in the
way. I have to leave for home tomorrow, so I wanted to spend as much time
with Keith as I could before I leave."

"OK, I will be back as soon as I can. Bye, Keith."

"Bye, Dad," Keith answered, taking his hand away from Phill's as he watched
him walk out of the room. Tears started to gather at the corners of his
eyes, and he looked away from Phill to both hide the tears and avoid
Phill's eyes for a different reason.

"Keith, what is wrong? Are you hurting? Do you want me to go get the nurse
so she can give you something for pain?"

"No, Phill, what I am feeling has nothing to do with the beating. The pain
medication they have already given me is still working. My Dad is angry,
and I can't blame him for that. I just wanted to tell you myself, I didn't
want him to break the news to you this way. I am so sorry."

"What? I have no idea what you are talking about," Phill said, reaching
over and taking Keith's hand once again.

Keith tried to pull his hand away, but gave up. He finally moved his head
over to where he was looking into Phill's eyes. "Didn't you hear Dad say
this was a gay bashing? That is what we both think it was. I hugged and
kissed three of my friends when they let me out of their car before I
entered the park. I think the muggers probably saw me. I am gay, Phill.
Does that mean that you want to leave, because it is OK if you do," Keith
said, as several tears ran down his cheeks.

Phill just smiled at him, and said "Keith, we are just getting to know each
other, but for some reason, I think I can trust you. None of my friends
know it, and I sure don't want them finding out, but I am gay, too. My
lover just moved over 400 miles away, and I was devastated when it
happened. Since then, my Dad has told us that we will all be moving to the
U.S. soon, and I probably will never see him again. I really haven't had
anyone to share my feelings with about all of this, so maybe fate has
brought us together for a purpose."

"Oh, Phill, I can't believe you are gay, too. When I first looked up and
saw you holding me, I wished right then that you were also gay, but knew
that it would take a miracle to have that happen. And now, it has. I think
I already love you, Phill. I think I fell in love with you when I first
looked up in the park. I know it is way too early for you to love me too,
but I will do anything to make you love me in return. Anything!"

"Keith, you just think that way because you think I saved you, but I really
didn't do anything. I like you, but let's not get too carried away," Phill
said, blushing a little bit.

"No, Phill, I really do love you, and there is nothing you can do about it.
I will continue to love you, no matter what you do," Keith said earnestly.

Phill looked deep into Keith's eyes, and could see the love reflected in
them. He knew what Keith had said was true and from his heart. He knew he
didn't really love Keith right now, but he could see himself eventually
falling in love with him if everything went just right. He couldn't help
himself, he bent down gently and kissed Keith lightly on the lips for the
first time.

The kiss lingered longer than Phill had intended it to. It might have gone
on longer, except for the clearing of the throat he heard from the doorway.

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