Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 01:04:15 -0700 From: Blue Light <cknutson@telisphere.com> Subject: Love-Just-In-Time-3 Love Just In Time, Part 3 (c) 2000 Blue Light Disclaimer thingy: If it's banned were you live, you probably shouldn't read this but at least don't get caught. If you're under 18, you probably shouldn't read this, but I really don't care. This story contains homosexual themes. OK, after a super long period of not putting out any new stories, here is part 3 of Love Just In Time. This part took a long to write. I sure hope it's as good as a couple people have said it is. It's a very emotional piece of work. Let me know what you think about it at cknutson@telisphere.com. Comments, complaints, suggestions, are all welcome. Flames aren't. Thanks for all the good comments following part two. I hope you enjoy it. Sorry about the delay on getting this up to the nifty archive. I've had this out for well over a month on my own site. -- After standing in shock for what seems like hours but was only just a couple minutes, I regain where I am. Mark's dad is still lying on the ground. His wife is over him, attempting to clean up the blood and ease the pain. "If you ever so much as lay a fingertip on Mark ever again, I will do far worse than that," I tell Mark's dad in a very stern and angry voice. "Now you know I am not a violent person, but when it comes to Mark, I will make a very big exception." The two rednecks that were beating up Mark before I know him got pretty messed up when I was through with them. I hate people who hate for no reason. "Do you hear me?" I ask his dad. No response. I grab his head and hold it so he can see me. "Do you hear me!?!" I yell. "Yes," whisper's Mark's dad. "Good." And with that I go inside to use the phone to call a taxi. Mark's dad was about to say something, but I just glared at him, which shut him up in a hurry. Shortly later, a taxi arrived. The ride home seemed unbearably long, not to mention alone. After arriving at home, I got in my favorite chair and just sat there, not paying attention to anything, and not even thinking about anything, as it only led to me seeing Mark drive away in my car and my heart tear into half again. Boom!! I awoke to a really loud lightning strike. I love Washington weather, from 85 degrees to pouring down rain in just a few hours. Fuck. I looked around for a clock. 2:30 AM. Shit, I had been asleep for 9 hours. I yell out for Mark, hoping with any luck he had come up. "Mark! Mark!!" I yelled. No answer. Damn. I expected as much. Why should when I finally find what I am looking for, it leaves right away? I badly look for a cigarette. As I am walking out to the freezer to grab a pack, I pass a picture of Mark and I when we were hiking to Moraine Lake at Mt. Rainier. We both have our arms around each other, with big smiles around our faces. That was our first hiking trip together, since I had met Mark not long before that. We bonded a lot that weekend. We spent so much time talking I don't think we got more than 8 hours of sleep in two nights of camping. I picked up the picture to look at it in closer detail, and suddenly the pain overtook me again. I dropped to the floor and started crying. That's all I wanted to do, and not even move at all. That lasted for about 15 minutes, when I finally pulled myself together. Why do I have to be such a damned emotional person sometimes, I often wonder. I went out into the garage to grab a pack of smokes. I pulled one out and lit it up. Ah. It felt so good to get some nicotine into the system. I walked over to the answering machine, hoping that maybe Mark had called. Nothing. Just a message from the damned school telling me they would rather I didn't come back the last two days after the little outburst on Friday. Whatever. I call up my friends that are up this late that know Mark, to see if anyone has seen him. None of them have. I tell them that if them see him to call me immediately, no matter what time it is. One of them suggested I tell the police, but I did not want to get them involved, since they might try to arrest him for car theft or something, and they would more than likely try to return Mark to his parents, which is something I definitely do not want to happen. I try to think of what to do next, but I simply can't. I hate not being able to do anything about this, I just fell like I can't sit around and wait. I have no idea where Mark went, though. I do the only thing I can do. I get in my Mustang and drive. -- I drive all around the area, hoping that Mark went to some place that we usually hung out a lot. I check all our favorite hangouts, despite the fact that very few are open, the restaurants we always go to (which was actually mainly only one, the Canyon Road Shari's), even a few we don't. Nothing. For what it's worth, I even check out the parking lot at the high school, totally knowing how much we didn't like that place at times, but I had to get all the options. I continue to drive around, giving the car a bit too much foot. I notice I am low on gas. Damn it, I didn't want to have to stop. I get gas and head back home. I park the Mustang a little better this time, not on the lawn this time. I guess I'll have to redo that part of my yard before it really looks bad. I go inside, and crash back down in my favorite chair. I doze off. -- I hear a voice. "John." "John." What the hell... It sounds like my mother's voice. It is "John." OK, either I'm hallucinating or something, but I decide to answer the voice. "What?" "John, you've got to get him back now, everything depends on it." "Get who back? Mark? I have no idea where to find him." "Go west. There you will find him." Her voice begins to fade out. "Where at in the west?" "West, where Mark is." and with that, her voice is gone. "Mom? Mom!" And with that, I awake suddenly, in a cold sweat. Icky. I can totally clearly see the dream. Where did that come from? That was just too weird. Where would he be out west... Maybe the property in Westport that my mom had. I totally feel like I am going to go on a totally useless search. I have no better ideas on what to do, though. And what did "everything depends on it" mean? Did she mean about Mark or me? I feel in the dark, that's for certain. I decided the first thing I am going to do is take a shower. -- After taking a nice, hot shower, I felt so much better. I decide to pack a few things and head off. I load up my stuff in the Mustang, and get in. I try to start up the engine. All it does is turn over but not start. "Damn it, not now!" I keep trying. Still nothing. It tends to do this to me once and a while, usually right when it wants some nice new performance part. I might as well take the car my mom once drove. -- On the way to the ocean I realized how low I was getting on gas. As I recall, I last parked this car a little over 2 weeks ago with not a lot of gas left. I knew then I was going to kick myself for not putting gas in it, and guess what, I am. I might as well go get gas. I get off the freeway just west of Olympia. As I pull up to the pump, a couple people start looking at me. I start pumping gas. They come up to my car. One of them starts to talk. "Wow, two rare cars in two days. Odd, since it seems like no one with really nice cars stop here, unless they live in the town." Why is it everywhere I go in a De Lorean, I always get people that come up and have to chit chat about it. Some people I don't mind, but these people just don't seem right. I wonder what the other car was. I think I'll ask. "What was the other car that came through here yesterday?" I ask, curiously. "It was some Mercedes, though it was modified. What was the name on it?" asks one of the guys to the other. "Uh... RENNTech, I think. I'm not totally certain..." "Holy shit!" I yell loudly, no doubt getting the attention of people that are nearby. I finish fueling up my car quickly, then hop in and drive off rather quickly. I get back on the freeway going west. I spark up a cigarette and wonder, where on the beach did he go... All I can think of is the beach property. It's still a good hour from here, longer if traffic is bad. -- As I approach Aberdeen, I get hungry. Really hungry. Damn it, I do not wanna stop, but I gotta get something to eat. I head to McDonalds and grab a Big Mac, fries, and a Coke. Not great, but I've had much worse. At least the order didn't take too long like it usually does. With that, I hit the road again. I still wasn't fully certain Mark was in Westport, but it was going to be the first place I looked. There is hardly anyone out here on the roads at all, which really shocks me. Everyone must be at Ocean Shores today. Good, it's less people I have to pass. I accelerate to about 80 MPH. I know I won't get caught; I have some magical luck that I will never get a speeding ticket. I'm not complaining... I begin to think about Mark again. I am so worried about him. I still wonder what my mom means by "everything depends on it", is it referring to me, to Mark, or to something else? I'm definitely going to bet on Mark in this case. What am I going to do if I can't find him, or even worse, if I find him somewhere dead? -- I finally arrive at the beach house after what seems like forever. And there it is, my Mercedes. Hmm... I enter the house. "Mark!!" I yell out. No response. I yell out again. "Mark!!!! Are you here?!" Maybe he's sleeping... I precede upstairs to the bedroom. I get a really tight feeling in my chest. I get closer to the door, and see that it's slightly open. The room is dark. I enter the room. I suddenly realized I haven't taken a breathe in a while now. I gasp for breath and reach for the light switch. He's not there. The bed has been obviously slept in last night, as the blankets are all messed up. Where is he... I go back out of the room and precede downstairs to the kitchen. I see a note in the kitchen. "John, I am here and am alright. If I am not inside, I have probably just gone for a walk on the beech or for something to eat." I exhale deeply. This is a huge sign of relief. I guess the next step would be to find where he is. I grab a Coke from the fridge, take a few slips, and head out the door. "Which way, which way..." I say under my breath looking at the beach all around me. There is something I love about the ocean; it is such a romantic place to be. I have never really been able to take advantage of it. I dream of just walking down the beach on a sunny night, holding hands with my lover, and watch the sun go down. Sigh. I'll go south, it just seems like the right way to go. I walk down the beach a ways. I notice a wallet sitting there. I decide I might as well pick it up and try to find out who owns it. I open it and and look at the license. It's Marks! Why would his wallet be laying there on the beach? There's some liquid on the wallet as well. I look at it more closely. It's blood. "No!!" I yell out. I know I have to find him quickly, he's in trouble. After walking quickly down the beach southward, I notice something up head. It's someone lying there in a fetal position. I run towards them and pull them out of it. Oh no, it's Mark... "Mark!! Can you hear me!" His clothes are stained in blood and his face looks like he's been beaten. Badly. I begin to check for a pulse when he attempts to talk. "John...," Mark says weakly... "Help me." "Who did this to you?" I say as I frantically look for someone to get help. "My dad. He must... have found me somehow," Mark sputters out. Just then he coughs up some blood. "John..." "Yes?" I am now barely able to speak, with a total mix of sadness, fear, and rage engulfing me. "I love you," and then he passes out. "Mark! I will save you, I promise I will save you!" I say while pulling him to me. Just then I noticed some people coming this way. "Call an ambulance!! Call a fucking ambulance quickly!!" With that the took one of them came my way and the other one started running back to where he had came from. -- <Author's note: great spot for a cliffhanger, but I'm not going to> -- The person that comes running to me gasps in horror when they see me holding Mark's bloody body. "My friend is going to get help," says the person in a shaky voice. "I hope they hurry!" I say back. "Here, make a mound of sand so I can lower him with his upper body raised." With that they proceed to move some sand around. After that's done I lower him down. "Where is that damned ambulance!" I yell out. I look down at Mark. He doesn't appear to be bleeding out of anywhere, but the blood isn't dry anywhere, so I know this didn't happen too long ago. "Mark, I love you. Please don't die. I need you. I couldn't live without you. You the only thing I have to really live for. I'm so sorry this happened" I just now realize that I have been crying extensively as I look down and my shirt isn't soaked with just blood. Just them the ambulance arrives. The guy waves them over this way. Once they pull up they quickly and jump out. "Get a stretcher!" I yell at them. They grab a stretcher and come running over. "Hurry, he's in really bad shape." I say. "Wow, what happened to him?" One of the EMTs asks me. "I'm not entirely certain, but I WILL find out," I say, feeling the rage at what his dad did consume me badly. I struggle to bring myself back under control, know that I will deal with this very soon. "Will he be alright? What hospital is he going to be taken to?" "We're gonna stabilize him, considering his injuries we're going have him flow to Harborview. We think he'll pull through it, his vital signs are pretty stable. There seems to be some drive keeping him alive," says one of the EMTs. I pull a weak smile, know the reason why he's fighting off dying despite his injuries. "What's his name?" "Mark Lindstrom. Please, no matter how expensive it is, give him the best care possible." As they load him into the ambulance I notice Mark is looking at me through a barely open and rapidly swelling eye. I mouth "I love you," to him right before they finish getting him into the ambulance to take him away. FUCK!!!! Why did this have to happen? I can't think at all. I need a Camel. I reach for one in my pocket, pull it out, and light it, inhaling deeply. I then take a couple more drags. Ah, that's a little better, I can think somewhat now. With that, I decide to go track down Mark's dad for a little, well, questioning. I've got to not beat his face in even more than last time though. It's time his ass gets put in jail for good. I've got plenty of hospital and police records on Mark being beaten by his dad to put the bastard away for a long time. So, back to the house I go. -- As soon as I get back to the beach house I call up my lawyer who I have spoken to many times before about Mark. He's tried a lot to get me to press charges on his dad, but I resisted, trying not to dissolve the current custody situation not because I liked it one damned bit, but because Mark might have been put somewhere where I couldn't be with him. Of course, I had spoken to lawyers about that too, and my chances on keeping him were pretty good if that was what he wanted to do, given that he's less than a year from being 18. I've decided now will definitely be the time to get this done, once and for all. I call up my lawyer Ken. "Hello?" answers Ken. "Hey Ken, it's John Morgan," I answer back. "Hey Johnny! It's about time I heard from you. What's it been now, about a month?" ask Ken. See, I used to hang out with Ken a lot, since he's a young and friendly but very powerful lawyer. We get along pretty well, though I think that has something to do with how much money my mom and I have paid him over the years. "Yeah, about that. I hate to be rude, but let's get to the point really quick, as I don't have a lot of time," I say in an I'll be damned if I'm not serious about this. Ken always knows when I mean business and mean it now. "Oh boy...," Ken sounds like he knows this is going to be a long day for him. It is. "Mark's been beaten. He's been beaten badly by his dad. It started yesterday when he was going to get the rest of his stuff so he could move in with me. But unfortunately his dad got there right before we could leave. His dad managed to get past my defense and hit Mark badly. Then Mark took off, and I didn't find him till today. He had gone out to my beach house and had gone for a walk. A bit later I finally found the car he had taken, and went looking for him on the beach. I found him. He was beaten badly, his face was beaten, and he's really bloody. I would not be surprised if he has any broken bones. An ambulance came and took him away, and I have get to the hospital really soon. But one thing. Mark whispered that his dad had done this." "Oh fuck... John, I don't know what to say," says Ken. "Well, I do. I want to counter Mark's dad back at his house. I plan to grab him by the neck and lift him straight off the ground so hard it'll hurt badly. After that, I want the police with all weapons drawn to arrest the bastard. I want Kyle Lindstrom fucking charged with attempted murder, child abuse, assault on a minor, and whatever other charges you can pull on him. I want him put away for a long time, if not forever," and after saying all this, I need a drink of water badly. "Alright, how long will it take you to get back and counter him?" Kens spells out like he's just dying to get this done. If he only could know how much I wanted to... "About 45 minutes. I'll be speeding back, of course," I can't help but put a chuckle in my voice. "You know I know how much you don't like violence, so this guy must mean a lot to you." "Ken, you don't even know, you couldn't possibly ever know. I finally told him how I felt about him a couple nights ago, right before it was about to be over. The first part of yesterday was the happiest day of my life. And then..." I can't make the rest out, it's too hard. "Ken, I want custody of Mark as well." Ken knows about my feelings for Mark. It made it easier to have an open-minded lawyer. Hell, I've been through a couple of them before Ken for that very reason. "Done, I promise." "I don't care how much it costs to get all this done. I will pay anything," I say in a voice that says that I really don't care if I have to give this guy $20 million, I want this to happen. "I need to go, get this plan into action ASAP. Time is of the essence." "Understood. I'll meet you at Mark's in 45 minutes. I'll keep the cops hidden until you get there. See you then," and then a sudden click of the phone. I like Ken, I'll be damned if I'll ever find a better lawyer. He's helped me through a lot of shit. Plus he's a genuine human being, that's not always an easy thing to find in a lawyer. With that taken care of I figure I'll put the De Lorean in the garage. After that's done, I hope back in the Mercedes and get the hell back on the road. As I get out of Aberdeen, traffic is really light, so I'm gonna start flying back. I need to back 45 minutes, right? 120 MPH, here I come. This car handles it beautiful, feeling just as smooth as it does at 60 MPH. I love it. I think about what to do next. My mind is still pretty clouded on what to do. I get close to the 512 exit on I-5, so I should try to get some progress on Mark. He's probably made it to Harborview already. I call up the operator and get patched through. That was easier than I thought. Once through, I get the ER. Here comes the hard part. "What is Mark Lindstrom's condition?" I ask the woman who answers the phone. "Are you a family member?" "No," I should have lied. "Then I can't give you that information," answers back the women in a really snooty voice. Damn it. "Look, I am the closest thing that guy has to a family. I want the information because I am still a ways from the hospital. Either you give me that information or patch me to someone who can give it to me, and the longer I wait the more pissed off I'm going to get." I attempt to enlighten this women a bit. I know it's technically not her job to give this information away and such, but damn it, I need to know how Mark is doing. "Fine fine, I've got better things to do than argue. Mark Lindstrom you say?" "Yes," I answer back in a haha I won voice tone. "OK, Mark took a really bad beating it appears. The report from the EMT says someone found him on the beach beaten and called for help. His injuries are as follows: 3 broken ribs, a punchered lung, some internal bleeding, a broken right leg, a fractured left arm, a lot of bruising, and he's need about a total of at least 75 stitches. He's in surgery right now to repair damage to his lung. He's expected to pull through it all though." "OK, thank you. I've got to go." I answer back to all this. Damn, he was hurt worse than I thought. The woman at the hospital breathes a big sigh of relief that she's done, and we end the call. At least now I know he's going to pull through it all. Now I can proceed with Mark's dad. After what seems like forever, but was only about 35 minutes given how fast I was driving, I finally reach Puyallup. I know the next few hours are going to be the one of the biggest turning points of the lives of many. I feel almost a little scared at the amount of power in this. If I mess up on even one thing, every thing could go wrong. I know I am going to have to make certain on every decision I make. Now is one of the times that I almost wish I didn't have the resources available to me that I do. I pull off the freeway onto Meridian and head towards 160th St. Damn, the traffic is thick today. I pull in and out of the lanes going around people, getting many dirty looks and the finger. Yeah, whatever. Suddenly my phone rings. "Hello?" I ask. "Yes, is this John?" asks someone, who I think is the nurse that I talked to earlier. "Yes it is," oh great, please don't let this be what I think it is. "John, we need to know some information. You were the only contact we could find. Is there by any chance that you know Mark's medical information?" Whew. I breathe a sigh of relief, and of annoyance. "He doesn't have any insurance, but I will pay for anything he has to have done. I don't care how expensive it gets, just give him the absolute best care," I say in a stern voice to the woman. "All right then, I'll need you to come to the hospital as soon as you can to sign a few papers. When do you think you will be able to come to do this?" Oh do we really have to go over this right now? "In a couple hours or so. I have to go now, thank you for calling," and with that I hang up. I swear some people just have the worst timing you can imagine. If I get one more phone call, I think I'm going to see how well my phone's roaming plan is. How far it will roam once it's out the window, that is. I laugh just a little bit thinking about how that would look. As I get a bit further, I start to think over the events of the last few days. The sweetest guy in the world told me he loves me, and I finally got to admit how I feel about him. I love Mark more than anyone could ever love anyone. I just hope he pulls through all this, both physically and emotionally. No matter what it takes, I'll always be there for him. I can't believe the total swing of emotions over the last 3 days, from being about to end it all, to being on complete cloud 9, then a crash when Mark disappeared. As for what I am feeling right now, I'm kinda mixed, with a lot of fear, anger, and questioning. Why did it have to happen like this? Sure, I want to be with Mark, but I didn't want it to end up like this ever. I just hope once this is over, that Mark and I can have a nice romantic weekend, week, hell, how about a whole year together for just the two of us. Is that too much to ask for? I think not. "Ring!" Ah damn it, what know. Resisting the urge not to throw the phone out the window, I decide to answer it. "What?" I say rather impatiently into the phone. "John, this is Ken. I just wanted to tell you we are all in place, there are several officers around the place, ready to arrest Mark's dad as soon as you give the word. I convinced them to wait that long. We are all going to be hiding about a block away, so just pull right on in, knock, break down the door, whatever. Just try not to do anything to rash. I doubt I can defend you if you kill him," explains Ken in his always-calm voice. "Ah damn it," I tell Ken with a bit of laughter in my voice. "I'll be there in about 4 minutes, I'm just pulling onto 160th right now. See you then." "Bye," answers Ken back. And with that, I hang up and drive the rest of the way to Mark's house. -- I pull down Mark's street and see a few cop cars a few houses down from Mark's. Good, good. I park right in front of the house next to his, since the hedge goes all the way out to the street. I get out of my car and begin walking to the front door. As I am walking, I realize my heart is pounding like crazy. I've got a ton of adrenaline going through me. I get to the front door and ring the bell. The door opens. "Yes?" Mark's dad answers. When he realizes it is me he gasps with a sound of horror. "You fucking son of a bitch!!" I yell, grabbing him by the throat and pushing in hard into the wall behind the door. I hear the wind go out of him. "How the fuck could you do that to your own son? I am going to make certain that your sorry ass rots for the rest of your life. I sure hope you live a long time, because the longer you live, the more you suffer." I throw him down to the ground. "You can't do anything to me, you have no proof on me," he says to me with a laugh in his voice. Oh don't even try that with me. I kick him in the chest pretty hard. "Listen to me, you can make this easier on yourself, or you can make this hard on yourself. I've got proof; I've got so much proof on you and your wife. There is no way you can get off this one. If you admit to what you've done, you might be able to not have to hard a punishment. If you don't I while make certain that you never see the light of freedom again. I shouldn't even offer that to you. I can't believe a human being can be as horrible to their kids as you have been. So, what do you say?" Whew, that really hurt giving him that much of a thread to get him to admit. I doubt he will. "Fuck you John, fuck you." I laugh. His response was exactly what I expected it to be. "No, fuck you. I hate to do this to you. Oh wait, no I don't." Oh what to do what to do. "Fine, have it your way. Don't say I never gave you a chance." With that being said, I might as well end this. I should have done this a long time ago. I just didn't count on getting the end results till now. I know I can't do the same to him as he did to Mark without risking some consequences. I pick up and take him out the front door. "Hey, what the hell are you doing to me? You can't do this to me. I'll get my lawyer on you so fast for this," screams Bruce. "You'll pay for this!" "Your lawyer has no chance against mine," I whisper barely under my breath. I'll win against anything he tries to throw at me, and he knows it. There are some people in this world that I just cannot stand. Bruce is up there near the top. Mark is a rare example of greatness when stupid people breed. He got lucky in not getting his family traits in the head. I take Bruce out on the lawn and toss him down. "Ooof!. That hurt!" "Yeah, what's your point? You kept pushing me and fucking pushing me. I was hoping things wouldn't get worse till Mark turned 18 and could just get away from your sorry ass, but you had to push it to far. You are a prime example of what is wrong with this screwed up world today. Normally I can just ignore people like you, but when you push your supreme controlling fucked up bullshit on other people, that's when I draw the line. It's too bad for you, too bad for you wife, too bad for Mark, and too bad for countless others that you just couldn't evolve. Thankfully your son saw your fucked ways," I spell out to him in a powerful form. That felt good to get that out. "Ken, it's time!" I yell out. With that, 6 officers and Ken step out from behind the bushes. The officers run up with full shotguns pointed at Bruce. I'll have to tell Ken later that was a nice touch. What I assume to be the head officers speaks out. "Bruce Lindstrom, you are under arrest," bellows the officer. "I don't even know where to begin with the charges. Mr. Lindstrom, you are charged with assault and battery on a minor, child abuse, child endangerment, and attempted murder. And with that, I watch them read Bruce his rights and take him away. He tried to fight, just as I expected he would. The officers didn't like that too much, and got kinda rough. I go up to Ken to have a word with him, "Good job Ken. We finally got the bastard taken away. The drawn shotguns were a nice touch." "Thank you John. Actually the guns weren't my idea, they insisted after I told them what he had done," says Ken. "How's the custody work going?" I hate rushing, but I've got to get to Mark. "You're still rushing, aren't you? They paperwork is done already. I'm going to file it as soon as I get back to the office." "Good." "You really do love Mark a lot, don't you?" asks Ken. "Yes I do. I love him more than I can put into words. I loved him from the first moment I laid my eyes on him. I wouldn't do all this for just anyone. I plan on spending the rest of my life with him, whether that's 10 years or 100 years. Maybe by then I can just put our brain patterns into a computer and live with him till the end of time. He's the first person to make me really feel happy. Not all the money or possessions in the world can ever make me feel 1 percent as happy as he does. If he dies, I'll die to. I love him." "John, go take care of him," says Ken. "Thank you, for everything." And with that, I get back in my car and leave. -- I pull onto the freeway and head northbound. Damn, I've never seen the valley this free of traffic. I would say this is my lucky day, but nothing could be farther from the truth on that one. I give the car some more foot. I'm almost afraid of getting to the hospital. Despite how it was looking, I'm terribly afraid that when I get there, Mark will be gone. I am so hoping that he's still alive. If I could project my feelings to him... As I get closer, I look down at the gas gauge and notice it's on E. Grr... Is there possibly anything more that can go wrong today? Thinking about it, yes, there can be. I just realize that I sure seem to always have no gas in the tank when time is critical. "OK car, you're making it to Seattle whether you like it or not. I don't give a shit if you have other ideas, OK?" oh great, now I'm talking to my car. Maybe I'm just losing it. That wouldn't surprise me. I let out a laugh at that one. I guess just not being much for being social for many years, and then just having so much put on me within the last year and a half has been overwhelming. It's amazing what one decision in life will affect the outcome of so much for many years to come for who knows how many people. Day in and day out, no one can really gauge what the outcome of one's many decisions will bring. Finally I get into Seattle. I pull off of I-5 for the exit for Harborview. "Oh fuck!" I yell as I notice that everyone that is getting is suddenly stopping. I hit the brakes. Damn, I'm surprised how fast this car stops. There were two cars off to the side of the road, they had apparently been in an accident I guess. Everyone was pretty much stopping to gawk. I so hate it when people do that. I've seen a lot of accidents caused by people who had to do what these people are doing. I pull up into the Harborview emergency parking lot and suddenly the car sputters and stalls out. Shit. If I can just coast a little further into a parking space. Damn this wheel is hard to turn with no power steering. Whew, I barely make it into a spot before I lose my forward motion. I get out of the car, and run into the emergency room at full speed. I ran up to what appears to be a nurse and ask, "What room is Mark Lindstrom in?" "Are you a family member?" the nurse answers back. Uh oh, I think she recognizes me as the one who hung up on her earlier. I debate how to answer this one, for if I say that I'm not, she probably won't tell me the room he's in. "I'm basically a family member. I'm the one who is taking care of him," I shoot back at her. "OK... I'll need you to fill out some insurance papers then," she grumbles while lovingly presenting with the standard insurance forms. "He doesn't have any insurance. I'm paying for everything out of my own pocket all at once." "Do you realize what this may cost? I seriously doubt that you could possibly afford as much as we're looking at here." "I have a car right outside worth three hundred seventy thousand dollars, I think I can afford it," I tell her in a strong matter of fact tone. After her initial jaw drop and shock is over, she puts those forms away, gives me another to sign about me being responsible for payments to the hospital and other bullshit. "OK, now can you tell me what room he's in?" "Well, Mark is still in surgery. It's going to take a while longer. His wounds are pretty bad. You can wait in the waiting room right over there. Bah. I just want to see him now. At least he's still alive. I decided to head to the waiting room. I locate a chair with a stack of magazines next to it. Ah, it's the typical selection of hospital magazines. Let's see, Better Homes and Gardens, several women's magazines, and a couple kid's magazines. Oh the choices we have. I decide to just put them back down for now. An hour passes. I feel like I am about to go crazy sitting here and waiting. Every time someone walks into this area I pull my head up quickly and look at them, hoping it's a nurse or doctor with some good info. I grab that Better Homes magazine and attempt to read some of it. My mind is still 100% on Mark at this point. About all I can do is turn the pages really fast. That gets boring rather quickly so I locate a payphone and call my friend Jeff up and tell him what has happened and that I won't be over to his house this evening like I had planned. He says he and his mom may come up to visit, seeing as how we're pretty good friends. Another two hours and forty-five minutes pass by. I still haven't heard anything. I decide to try and get some more information from one of the nurses. As soon as I stand up, a doctor walks into the area and comes up to me. "Are you John Morgan?" asks the doctor. "Yes." "John, I'm Dr. Corwin. Mark just came out of surgery. We had to do a lot of work on him. We almost lost him during surgery to repair the internal bleeding, but somehow he pulled through. That kid is a fighter. We did a lot of work to repair his other injuries too. His vital signs are currently weak, but stable. He hasn't woken up yet; we don't know when he will. It looks good at this point, but the next 24-36 hours are going to be very crucial to his survival. I can take you to his room, if you'd like. "Yes, I would like to go see him." "Follow me," says Dr. Corwin. I follow the doctor through several doorways and halls into the intensive care unit. He leads me to the door of a room. "I'll be back later to check on a few things." And with that the Dr. Corwin walks away. I look in the room, and see Mark lying there. I sigh. I start to walk into the room very slowly. "Mark," I say very softly when I get about half way to his bed. I continue walking up to his bed when I get a good look at him. His beautiful face is all bandaged up, he's got a body cast on, and he's got multiple tubes, IV's, and sensors running to his body. With that, a tear rolls down my face. How could I have let this happen to him? I grab a chair and sit right down next to him. I take his left hand slowly into my hand. "Mark, it's John. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry that this had to happen to you. I'm so sorry that I didn't get there sooner. I'm so sorry for everything bad that's ever happened to you." I rub his hand gently. I stand up and kiss him on the forehead. "I wish I had told you how I really felt about you long ago, maybe we would have avoided this mess. "Mark, please don't die on me. I can't possibly survive without you. You mean everything to me. You are the only reason I get up in the morning, you're always on my mind. I do not want to imagine going through life without you being there too. Please fight it Mark. I promise I that if you make it I will always be there for you, take care of you, and protect you. I will love you much more than anyone could ever possibly love you." I wipe my eyes as I start to tear up. "No matter what happens, good or bad, you and me are in this together. I will love you till the very end of time. We will be together..." with this I start to cry too much to keep going. I put my head now next to Mark and cry for about 15 minutes. After that I just can't seem to anymore. I sort of drift off into a world of thought too fast and complex to put into words. A few more minutes pass, when I think I hear another voice. I feel the slightest bit of movement in my right hand. My right hand is still holding Mark's. Mark! My brain suddenly clicks and comes back to reality. "Mark!" I say, probably a little too loudly. "Forever..." he makes out rather horsely. "You heard me say all that too you?" I ask him, feeling rather stunned that he really did hear all of what I said to him. "Sort of. I would say I was more in a dream state than anything. I could hear what you were saying to me. I love you too, John, more than you ever can know. I'm so sorry I put you through what I did. Believe me when I say I never ever meant to hurt you. I promise I'll never run like that again," says Mark to me with those beautiful blue eyes of his. I know he's not lying to me, those eyes have never lied to me ever. "You've saved me so many times, I owe you my life and an eternal debt." "You only owe me the opportunity to be with me forever," I tell him. "I wouldn't pass that up for anything. I love you." With that, I get up, bend over and kiss Mark on the lips. I pull away just a little bit and look straight into his eyes. There used to be a time when I couldn't look into those eyes at all for fear of getting pulled straight into them. Now I can look straight into them and very much welcome the pull that they do. They are so beautiful. "I love you too," I whisper back at him. And with that, I sit back down next to him, hook my hand back into his, put my head down next to his, and fall soundly asleep. ---- So, what did you all think? I hope you all really enjoyed it. Was it worth the long wait? I know it took what seemed like forever to get out. It just seems like I write in bursts, and never donate as much time to writing as I want too or should. I have lots of lose threads in this part that I want to add on too. Part three was a challenge to write, because I wanted to do it very well, so I put a lot of thought into it. If you want to read the other stories I have wrote see my website at http://www.telisphere.com/~cknutson/stories.html Email feedback is very welcome. I try to respond when I can. cknutson@telisphere.com