Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2004 13:32:25 -0500
From: GhostWriter@si.rr.com
Subject: All American Chapters 24-28

This story contains homosexual themes.  If you are offended by such topics
or you are not of legal age to read such stories, please read no further.
All the characters in the story (so far) are fictitious, any resemblance to
actual individuals are purely coincidental.  I'm gonna be working out of
town next week, so I hope this keeps you guys entertained until I can post
again.

Comments are welcome at ghostwriter@si.rr.com


Chapter 24


"Do you know how many points you scored tonight?"  Hunter asked Jerric in
amazement, as they lay cuddled on Hunter's bed.

"Yeah, 32 I think."

"35 actually.  You had a great game."

Jerric wrapped his arms around Hunter and kissed his neck.  "Let's not talk
about basketball, please.

Hunter immediately felt the heat emanating from Jerric's body.  "Jesus
Jerric, you're burning up."

"Yeah, it always takes me a while to cool down after the games." Jerric
explained. " I'll be fine."

"Bullshit, the game's been over for 3 hours.  You shouldn't still be hot
now.  I'm calling Mike."

"Hunter, its no big deal.  I'll take a couple of Tylenol. That should do
the trick."

Hunter conceded, but four hours later Jerric's fever hadn't subsided.  If
anything he felt hotter than before and slept little even though it was now
close to 4:00 am.

"Look Jerric, you're really sick.  I'm calling Mike."

"Maybe you better, Hunter.  I'm not feeling so good."


Chapter 25

"How long has he been like this?" Mike asked as he sat on the bed next to
obviously very ill Jerric.

"I noticed it a couple of hours after the game." Hunter answered nervously.
"He was really hot, but nothing like this.  He took a couple of Tylenol,
but he just got worse.  I guess I shouldn't have waited so long, but I kept
thinking the medicine would kick in."

Mike patted Hunter's leg.  "It's okay Hunter, you did everything right.
I'm just glad you called me when you did.  His fever has to be pretty high
for him to be out of it like this."

Mike looked at the digital readout on the thermometer and immediately
picked up the phone and dialed 911.  "This is Mike Anderson.  I'm the
athletic trainer at Duke University. I need an ambulance sent to Washington
Hall, room 315.  I have a student with a fever of 105.  He's conscious, but
not really responding to anything around him."

"What the fuck is going on?" Hunter screamed.

Mike's attention was still focusing on his conversation.  "Yes, I'll do
what I can to cool him off until you get here.  Thanks."

He hung up the phone and turned to Hunter.  "I can't help him much here.
The ambulance is on the way and once he's at the hospital they can get his
temperature back down."

"What's wrong with him?  He was fine a couple of hours ago.  Look how he
played in the game."

"I'm not sure Hunter, but he's obviously pretty sick. For now all we can do
is grab a couple of wet towel and try and keep his body as cool as
possible.  Did he have any other symptoms?"

"No, nothing.  He was fine.  We were gonna go out after the game but
decided just to come back here and watch a movie."

Mike was searching for answers as he draped the cool towel over Jerric's
forehead.

"What did you guys eat after the game?"

"We stopped by Wendy's.  Jerric got a salad and a baked potato."

Mike shook his head.  "I was thinking maybe it was an allergic reaction to
something he ate, but I doubt that's it.  Jerric lives on Wendy's food and
its never bothered him before."

When the ambulance crew arrived a few minutes later, Hunter made a call to
Jeff.

"I'm sorry to bother you Jeff.  I know it's the middle of the night, but
Hunter's really sick.  The ambulance is here to take him to the hospital.
Mike's gonna ride with him, but I don't have a way to the hospital."

Jeff was groggy, but could easily pick up the anxiety in Hunter's voice.
"No problem.  I'll be there in five minutes"



Mike met them near the entrance of the emergency room moments after Hunter
and Jeff arrived.

"The doctors are with him now.  They're gonna do some blood work and see if
they can't determine the cause of the fever."

A doctor interrupted their conversation.  "There's not gonna be any need
for blood work.  We know what the problem is.  I put one hand on his lower
abdomen and he just about went through the ceiling.  He's got a very bad
case of appendicitis.  The surgeon on call has ordered a operating room and
hopefully we can get that thing out of there before it ruptures."

"What happens if it ruptures? Hunter asked cautiously.

The doctor did his best to explain it in laymen's terms.  "The appendix is
a useless organ.  Unfortunately, sometimes it becomes inflamed and fills
with toxins.  If it ruptures before it's removed the toxins enter the
bloodstream.  It's like being poisoned."

Hunter really didn't want to hear any more, but the doctor continued.
"Normally, with an appendicitis there are other symptoms.  Severe stomach
pains, nausea, vomiting and of course the fever.  I'm very surprised that
this kid managed to get this sick and no one knew.  As tender as his
stomach is, I image he's been dealing with this for a while."

Hunter turned to Jeff trying his best to blink away the tears.  "Why didn't
he tell me Jeff?  He played that whole damn game and never said a word.
Even after we got back to the dorm he never complained once."

Jeff gave Hunter a brotherly hug.  "That's just Jerric.  Nothing gets in
the way of basketball.  Never has, never will."

"I'm gonna kill him!" Hunter said emphatically.

The doctor patted Hunter on the back.  "How about you wait until he's out
of surgery and at least give him a fighting chance?"

Hunter managed a weak smile. "When can I see him?"

"They've already sedated him for the surgery, so there's no point in seeing
him now.  He's pretty much out of it."

"I want to see him anyway."  Hunter voice made it obvious that his
statement was more than a request.

The doctor was less than impressed with Hunter's tone. "Hospital policy
only allows immediate family in the emergency room.  Do you qualify?"

Hunter lied without blinking an eye.  "Yeah, so can I see him now?"

The doctor looked over at Mike for some indication that Hunter was telling
the truth.

"Let him go.  It's kind of stretch, but they're roommates.  That's as close
to family as any of these kids have while they're at school."

Agreeing, the doctor led Hunter back to the small emergency room where
Jerric lying sleeping.  Being there made Hunter feel uneasy, but at least
Jerric looked better.

"He's gonna be okay, isn't he?" he asked the doctor while playing
inadvertently with Jerric's hair.

"Yeah, he's gonna be fine son.  We'll have him out of here in a couple of
days and two weeks from now he'll be back to his regular routine."

"Thanks" Hunter said sincerely.



Chapter 26

"What the hell is taking so long?" Hunter complained loudly.  "The doctor
said and hour, maybe an hour and a half.  It's been nearly three hours."

"Hunter, they may have gotten a late start."  Mike tried to explain.
"Don't assume its bad news."

"I know.  I just don't wait very well."

"Well, you don't have to wait any longer" a voice said from behind Hunter.
The doctor still dressed in his scrubs filled the three of them in.  "He
came through the surgery just fine.  The appendix was still intact,
fortunately. The reason it took so long is that we had a couple of problems
in the recovery room, but we've taken care of that and he's resting now.

"What kind of problems?" Hunter asked immediately.

"Well, initially we had a hard time waking him up.  It's nothing to be
concerned about.  It's just that everybody responds differently to
anesthesia.  Then once we got him awake we were all ready to put him back
out."

The doctor shook his head.  "He's a handful.  He didn't want the IV, didn't
want the catheter, tried to take off the oxygen mask, and basically was
just being a pain in the ass."

"Why am I not surprised?" Jeff whispered to Hunter.

"We got him settled down now and he seems to be a bit more cooperative."
The doctor grinned.  "It's amazing what a little Demerol in the IV will
do."

Anticipating Hunter's next question the doctor continued.  "Give us about
another half an hour and we'll have him out of recovery and into a regular
room so you can visit him. Then I suggest you all go home and get some
sleep.  I know it's been a long night of all of you."

Hunter had only stayed with Jerric a few minutes when he was moved to his
room.  Jerric was sleeping peacefully and Hunter thought it was best to let
him rest and visit him in a couple of hours after he woke up.  He gave him
a gentle kiss on the forehead before heading back to the dorm for a quick
nap and a hot shower.

Jerric was wide-awake when he returned 3 hours later and evidently his
cooperation with the hospital staff had not improved.  As he entered
Jerric's room he was in a heated argument with one of the surgery ward
nurses.

"This is bullshit.  If you need the doctor's permission in order for me to
get some food them then fine, call him."

"Mr. Donovan, we have rules in this hospital.  I'm reading your chart and
you're doctor's orders are that the IV stays in and you are to have no
solid foods until he checks you later today.  If you have a problem with
that then I suggest you talk to him personally."

"Could he have some Jello?" Hunter suggested after slipping in unnoticed.

Jerric smiled widely when he heard Hunter's voice.  "I'm so glad you're
here.  I'm starving and they bring me some watered down broth.  I can't
survive on that."

"Mr. Donovan, patients "survive" for days on an IV and at this point I'm
about ready to let you give it a try."

Jerric gave her a disgusted look, but said nothing.

"That's better.  Now would you like me to bring you some applesauce, which
you really aren't supposed to have, or some jello?"

"Gee, that applesauce just sounds too good to pass up" Jerric said
sarcastically.

Hunter smiled politely at the young nurse.  "I'm sure he'd love some
applesauce, he just get a little cranky when he's hungry."

"Evidently!" she said as she passed Hunter and left the room.

Hunter turned his attention to Jerric.  "Making new friends I see" Hunter
mentioned sarcastically.

Jerric totally ignored the comment.  "Can I have a kiss?"

"Can you be a bit more civil to the staff?"

"Hunter, I'm not trying to be an ass, but damn I wake up and I've got some
plastic mask covering my face, tubes stuck in me and people checking my
blood pressure every five minutes.  You wouldn't have been in a very good
mood either."

Hunter shook his head.  "Jerric they do all those things for a reason, and
speaking of not being in a good mood, what do you think my mood was like
when the doctor told me you had probably felt like shit all day yesterday
and never you said a word."

Guilt covered Jerric's face.  "I really didn't think it was anything
serious.  It was just like a stomachache, so I took a couple of Tums and I
thought it would go away.  Guess I was wrong."

"Yeah, I guess so.  Will you promise me that won't happen again?  That if
something's wrong you'll tell me about it?"

Jerric smiled.  "I promise, now can I have my kiss?"

Hunter leaned over to kiss Jerric and the intoxicating scent of his cologne
filled Jerric's nostrils. As their lips touched Jerric closed his eyes,
wondering what it was about Hunter that touched him so deeply.


Chapter 27

Hunter checked his watch and figured he had about a half an hour before
practice, plenty of time to check on Jerric.  He had been released Monday
morning a little more than 24 hours after his surgery and keeping him quiet
had not been any easy task.  Hunter had skipped classes on Monday and
Tuesday, but knew Wednesday he had to go back.  Playing catch-up with his
classes was close to impossible.  Fortunately, Krista had taken a small
tape recorder to the classes they had together and he was able to listen to
the lectures after Jerric had fallen asleep at night.  Still, there was
plenty of make-up work that had to be done.

He opened the door to find a dejected Jerric sitting at the desk.  "Have
you seen the paper this morning?"  Jerric asked before Hunter could say a
word.

"No, why?"

Jerric tossed the sports page to Hunter.  "I can't believe they printed
this.  Where the hell did they get this information?  Certainly, not for
our athletic department!"

Hunter read the bold headlines:



"Blue Devils Prepare To Play Without All-American"

Durham, NC.  With the thoughts of the final four berth always on their
minds, the Blue Devils of Duke took to the practice court this week without
their starting All-American guard Jerric Donovan.  Donovan, who scored 35
points and grabbed 18 rebounds in their game last Saturday, was
hospitalized and had an emergency appendectomy only hours after the game.
While Donovan has been released from the hospital, it is unknown when he
will be cleared to return to practice.  This development is a huge setback
for the Blue Devils who have lost not only their leading scorer, but also
their highly motivated team captain.

Donovan who was last year's College Athlete of the Year, appeared to be at
the top of his game again this year, and had hopes of taking his team to
the "final four".  With Donovan out for an undetermined period of time,
Blue Devil fans my have to wait another year for a shot at a national
title.

Donovan himself has a lot to loose, being one of the few players ever with
a shot at being and All-American all four years of his college career.
Members of the press select All-Americans, with scoring and rebounding
statistics weighing heavily in their decision.




There was more, but Hunter didn't bother to read any further.  "I don't
know what to say Jerric.  I know you're disappointed."

"I'm not disappointed" Jerric corrected him "I'm pissed!  This report is
totally false.  No one ever said I wasn't playing.  They assumed that, and
I have every intention of clearing this up."

"Clearing it up how?"

"I'm having a press conference in an hour.  I'm telling them I'm playing
this week-end."

"Are you nuts?  You can't do that!" Hunter yelled.  "First of all you can't
just hold a press conference without permission from the University.
They'll have your ass for that.  Secondly, what the fuck makes you think
you're playing this week.  I know Mike or Coach Jackson haven't agreed to
that."

"Settle down Hunter, I've actually put some thought into this.  First of
all, about the press conference.  It's better just to do it and apologize
later, than to ask permission and get turned down.  Once its done, it's
done.  There is nothing they can to about it.  As far as the game goes, I
know I'm not ready to compete, but I have to start.  I need to show the
guys we're not out of this and I'm not gonna let them down.  I'm not out
there to score points.  It's strictly motivational.

Hunter couldn't believe what he was hearing.  "Jerric, no one thinks you're
letting the team down.  You had surgery for Christ sake."

"Did you read the paper Hunter?  That was the most negative article I've
ever read.  Don't you see the effect its gonna have on the team?  I have to
do something to counteract that."

Hunter checked his watch.  "Damn, I have to go to practice" he said as he
grabbed his shoes.  "Is there anything I can say to stop you from doing
this?"

"No, nothing."

Hunter knew better than to even try.  "I love you Jerric.  I think this is
a huge mistake, but if this is what you want then I'm behind you.  I'll see
you after practice."


Chapter 28

When the Dean stormed into the arena during the middle of practice, Hunter
knew all too well what was on his mind.

"Coach Jackson, did you have any idea that one of your players had
scheduled a press conference for this afternoon?"

"What are you talking about?  We don't have any press conferences scheduled
for today."

"Apparently Jerric Donovan doesn't know that and his starts in 5 minutes.
Perhaps you and the team would like to watch it with me.  I'm sure it will
be very enlightening."  The sarcasm in his voice was evident.

With the camera's flashing as he took his place behind the podium, Jerric
smiled slightly.  He had the press in the palm of his hand, and he knew it.
His boyish charm and charisma had made him a favorite and Jerric used it to
his advantage.  He was dressed casually in a long sleeve-shirt with the
sleeves rolled up slightly and a pair of well fitting jeans; evidently
choosing his clothes to enhance is his all-american persona.

With ease Jerric addressed the reporters.

"First of all I want to thank you for coming today.  I know your time is
valuable."

Hunter had to smile "Lord, he's good!"

Jerric continued.  "I want to make a brief statement regarding some rumors
that have been circulating about my status for this week's game.  There
have been erroneous reports that I will not be available to play.  Let me
clear that up by telling you those reports are false.  While I don't expect
to see a lot playing time, I fully intend not only to dress out for the
game, but to be in the starting line-up.  I want to assure Blue Devil fans
that myself, and my teammates will do everything in our power to bring a
national championship to Duke University.  Thanks again for your time."
Jerric waved to the cameras as he stepped away from the microphone.

Loud cheers went up in the locker room as Jerric's teammates heard the
news. Hunter had to admit Jerric had been right on one point.  The team
knew how badly Jerric wanted to win and that no matter what, he would be
there, if not with his body, then with his heart.  Now it was there turn
not to let him down. The determination was evident in their eyes.

Everyone was smiling.  Everyone except for the Dean.

An hour later, with Coach Jackson and the Athletic Director in attendance,
the Dean began his tirade.

"Donovan, I should suspend you from this University for that stunt you
pulled!"

"But you won't" Jerric countered.

"What makes you so damn sure?  What you did today is a direct violation of
University rules."

"Look Dean, you know as well as I do that I bring in more publicity to this
University than you've seen in years.  Publicity and a winning team means
money for Duke.  You want a National Championship almost as much as I do.
It's a feather in your cap and you know it.  You're not gonna suspend me."

Unfortunately for the Dean, he knew all too well Jerric was right.

"You think you have all the answers, don't you Donovan?  Well answer me
this.  You know that if by some miracle we actually let you get in the game
this week, players on the other team are gonna be gunning for you.  What
happens when one of these hot shots give you an elbow and you end up being
out for the season?  What happens then?"

Jerric chuckled.  "Oh please, that's not gonna happen.  Much to your
dismay, the majority of college basketball fans and some people that don't
even follow college ball find me appealing.  They don't see me in the same
light you do.  I'm not saying I deserve it, but it's a fact.

Pausing only to catch his breath, Jerric continued.

 "Now what player in their right mind is gonna take a cheap shot at
well-liked guy who is playing injured for the sake of his team?  That was
would be a public relations nightmare.  Academically, I may not the
sharpest, but when it comes to street smarts you guys can't hold a candle
to me.  Do you think I'd actually risk my professional career without
thinking it through first?  If you do, then you don't know me very well."

The Dean exhaled deeply.  "You're loving this, aren't you Donovan?"

"Yes sir I am.  Almost as much as I love the game."  Jerric rose to leave,
knowing there was really nothing more to discuss.

To Be Continued.......