Date: Fri, 02 Jun 2000 01:13:31 EDT From: William Watts <bwstories44@hotmail.com> Subject: The Castaway Hotel-2 Chapter 7 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. I wish to extend my thank you to Ed for his editorial assistance with this chapter. If you have enjoyed reading this story, you will find other stories by me at http://www.teenboyauthors.org/thewolf, in the 'Other Stories' section. E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions or other 'constructive' comments or advice may be sent to: bwstories44@hotmail.com. * * * * * * * * The Castaway Hotel -Book 2 - by BW (Young-Friends). Copyright 2000 by bwstories44 Chapter 7 - A time of mixed emotions. May 2000 By the time Kevin and I arrived home, all of the boys were up and they had a zillion questions about Dustin. I answered them as well as I could and then I told them that Kevin and I were going to my room to get a little sleep. The two of us went upstairs, got undressed, and crawled into my bed. We were both exhausted and I wrapped my arms around him and we soon drifted off to sleep. We woke a few hours later and then we showered, dressed, and grabbed a bite to eat before we headed back to the hospital. We drove there in silence. I wanted Kevin to initiate any discussion that we might have, so I said nothing. We got to the hospital, inquired as to his room number, and went directly there. We stopped at the nurses' station to find out about his progress and we were told that there had been little change. He was still unconscious, his vitals were stable, and they were giving him medications to counteract the effect to the drug. We sat down in a chair beside his bed, Kevin sitting on my lap, and we touched Dustin and spoke to him to let him know that we were around. It was a mind-numbing vigil at his bedside. Nothing was happening, we kept doing and saying the same things over and over, and we watched him for signs of improvement. I went down to the cafeteria to get something to eat at dinnertime and I brought something back for Kevin because he refused to leave Dustin's side. We stayed there until nearly midnight before we decided to go home for a few hours. By the time we arrived home, it was Sunday and we had Cole's party to look forward to. I didn't want to ruin his special day too, so the party would go on as planned. Kevin slept with me again and we got six or seven hours of sleep before we got up with the others. While Kevin was cleaning up, I talked to Danny. I asked him to call Sally and ask her to pick up the cake from the bakery for me and I told him that I was going to ask Cole to go with us to the hospital. That would give the rest of them time to get things ready before we got back. He asked me how I was going to do that without making Cole suspicious and I told him that I had worked out a plan in my head while I sat in Dustin's room earlier. Danny agreed to everything I asked of him and I went off to find Cole. On the way I ran into Brandon and Jay; I had forgotten about them staying over, and they both gave me a hug and a kiss and they told me how sorry they were about Dustin. I thanked them, told them I loved them too, and I moved on to find Cole. He was in the family room with Ricky and Graham. Surprise. "Cole, may I see you for a minute?" "Sure, Dad. What's up?" "Cole, I need a favor from you. I want you to go with Kevin and me to the hospital for a while. Kevin gets bored with just me there and I think that you could help him more than I could at this point. I need Danny and Ricky here to take care of things, Pat and Trey are too new to be much help, and I think Graham is too young to relate to Kevin. Will you do this for me?" Cole looked surprised but pleased that I would ask him to perform such an important duty. "Sure, Dad. Anything. I'd kind of like to see Dustin, too." "Great. Go get cleaned up and changed and I'll do the same. We'll leave within the hour." Cole raced upstairs and I informed Danny that everything was set. I told him that he could explain it to Ricky and Graham while Cole and I got ready. He said something like, 'he shouldn't have doubted me', and then he told me to tell Dustin that they were all praying for him. I told him I'd do that and I went up to my room to get ready. I passed Kevin and told him that Cole would be joining us but I'm not sure if it registered with him. He was moving around the house like a zombie, making all the motions without any conscious thought. I joined my two companions downstairs, we said our good-byes to the others, and we left for the hospital. When we got up to the floor where Dustin's room was located, I sent the boys on ahead while I stopped at the nurses' station to see if there was any news. While I was chatting with the nurses, the doctor came in to make his rounds. He told me that we could go down to the room together, he'd check Dustin over, and we could slip out for a chat. When we walked into the room, the boys were on opposite sides of the bed, holding Dustin's hands and talking to him. The doctor smiled at the boys, asked them to step outside for a few minutes, and then he pulled the curtain around the bed. He checked Dustin's heart, lungs, pupils and vitals, and then he signaled me to follow him. We sent the boys back in with their brother and we went into a small conference room to discuss Dustin's condition. "Mr. Currie, Dustin did have an allergic reaction to that drug. It caused his heart to palpitate and his brain to swell. We got the heartbeat under control almost immediately and we did several things to relieve the pressure on his brain. I believe that he'll regain consciousness as the swelling goes down but it is hard to say for certain. We're not sure if the reaction caused other problems that we couldn't detect or if there will be any lasting effects from this incident." "He's going to live, though?" "He should, but I can't give you a definite yes on that, either. There are still too many other variables that could come into play concerning his condition. We're just cautiously optimistic about his chances." "Please don't tell the boys that. I don't want them to get any more upset over their brother's situation than they already are." "I understand, and this is just between you and me. I promise you that we will do everything we can to give him back to you in good condition." I thanked him, shook his hand, and went back to Dustin's room. The boys quizzed me on what the doctor said and I told them what I could without alarming them. We stayed in his room through lunch and I suggested that we leave about twenty minutes of two. We drove home quietly, and Cole didn't even notice Sally's car parked along the street when we arrived. I grabbed Kevin's shoulder to slow him down because I wanted Cole to enter ahead of us. We were about two steps behind him when he opened the door and went inside, and then we heard screams of 'surprise' and 'happy birthday' as we entered the foyer. Cole lit up like the red bulb on a string of Christmas lights as he was swarmed by his well-wishers. I was impressed with what the others had done to prepare for this. The house was decorated nicely, the table was set (with the cake in the center), and they had even started barbequing the food. We were soon sitting down to eat, and Cole was beaming from all of the attention. At one point his smile began to fade and I asked him what was wrong. "I feel guilty having such a good time while Dustin's in the hospital." "Well, you shouldn't. I'm sure that everyone would agree that Dustin would be among the first to insist that you have a good time and enjoy your birthday. You shouldn't lose out because something like this happened at nearly the same time as your party. You spend this time enjoying yourself and forget about everything else for now. We all need a mental break from the emotional stress we've been under." "He's right Cole," Kevin added. "I think that I know Dusty better than any of you and he'd want you to enjoy your party and have fun. I'm sure his only problem with this would be that he wasn't here to help you celebrate." That seemed to alleviate Cole's concerns, and the next couple of hours went well. We ate, sang to Cole, had cake and ice cream, and Cole opened his presents. When the party had ended, Sally offered to take Brandon and Jay home so Kevin and I could go straight to the hospital. When we got to Dustin's room we discovered that there was no still no change in his condition. We sat with him until 10:00 p.m. and then we went home for the night. There was school tomorrow and we both needed our sleep. On the way home Kevin asked me a question. "Dad, can I take tomorrow off from school and stay with Dusty?" "No, Kevin, I don't think that would be wise. This could take days or weeks until Dustin is back with us and you can't afford that much time off from your studies. I want all of you boys to attend classes and I'll stay with Dustin. I'll have someone pick you up and bring you to the hospital if there is any change." "But, Dad?" I cut him off. "Kevin, you're not going to win this one. Just accept it because that's the best offer you're going to get. I know you love Dustin and you want to be with him, but only after school and on the weekend if it takes that long." Kevin accepted my decision but I could tell that he wasn't exactly thrilled about it. By the time we got home, most of the boys were in bed but Danny was waiting up for us. We talked about the whole situation and Kevin implied his unhappiness about not being able to be with Dustin. I ignored his mild protest and we headed to bed. Kevin wanted to sleep in his and Dustin's room and I wasn't sure if he did this because he was mad about my decision or he needed to be close to his memories of Dustin. I asked him if he thought that was wise, seeing it would evoke many other feelings, but he told me he could handle it. I let him do it but not without some concern. We all turned in, and the house seemed unusually quiet for a change. I fell asleep after some tossing and turning, but my sleep was troubled. Sometime during the night I felt my bed jiggle and I looked up to see Kevin crawling in with me. He smiled when he saw me lift my head toward him. "As always, you were right. I can't sleep in there without Dusty. You don't mind if I come in here, do you?" "You know I don't. Come here and I'll see if I can't make you feel a little better." "I'm sorry about earlier too, Dad." "It's forgotten. I understand how hard this is for you, so we don't need to discuss this any further. You better get some sleep if your going to function in school tomorrow." "Thanks, Dad. Good night." Monday I sent all of the boys to school and I went off to the hospital. I sat with Dustin all day. There was no change in his condition but at least he wasn't any worse. Judge Shay came in to visit while I was there. He said that he had just learned about Dustin and he wanted to offer his support. We also talked about how Patrick was doing and how he was fitting in with the family. I thanked the judge for coming and he told me that I was to let him know if there was anything that we needed or anything he could do for us. I could tell that he was sincere in his offer and I thanked him for his concern. I walked him down to the main entrance because it was time for me to go home to check on the other boys and get something to eat. When I got home, things were already going smoothly. They had ordered pizza, had it delivered, and someone had made a salad. The table was set and the boys were just coming in to eat. My heart swelled with pride at their maturity and independence. I was extremely proud of these young men who were now helping to take care of me when I needed it most. "Come on in, Dad," Graham yelled to me. "Dinner's ready, so you come and sit here and eat." "Yes, sir," I replied in a child-like voice. "Will you cut it up for me?" Graham smiled, came over and grabbed my hand and dragged me to the table. "Stop being silly, Dad. You must be tired and hungry, so sit down here and eat. We'll do everything else." "Thank you, kind sir," I looked around the table at all of my boys. "I'm very proud of all of you. You've done an excellent job." "How's Dusty?" Kevin asked me. "I can still go back with you after dinner, right?" "There has been no change, Kevin, and yes, you may go back with me after dinner." I paused and looked around the table. "Pat, Judge Shay came to the hospital to see Dustin and he asked about you?" "What did he want?" Pat said with his eyes bulging open and a look of concern on his face. "He wanted to know how you were doing here." "What did you tell him?" He looked worried about what might have happened during that meeting. "I told him that you were doing fine and that you were now a member of our family." "Did he say anything about the other stuff?" "Do you mean about your court case?" "Yes, that thing." He looked at me with great anticipation. "He did." I paused and smiled at him. "He wanted me to tell you that he was adjourning your case, in contemplation of dismissal, with the condition that you stay out of trouble for a year." "What does that mean?" He looked puzzled. "It means that, if you can stay out of trouble for a year, the charges will be dropped and there will be no record of them at all." "And I can stay here to live?" "If that's what you want." "I do. I want to live here with you and my brothers." "Do we have a vote in this?" Ricky said with an evil smirk on his face. "You're just mad because he got even with you," Danny shot back. "You just don't want the competition." By now all of the boys were joking around and getting some playful jabs in. "No, this is my decision, and Patrick is now a member of this crazy group." "What about Trey?" Cole asked, looking at our newest addition. Trey blushed and looked up at me. "He's a member of this nuthouse too, if he wants to be." I looked around the room before I added to that comment. "I can't imagine why anyone would want to be shackled with this group, though." "I do," Trey answered meekly. "You guys aren't so bad. I like it here." "Then it's official. I now have eight sons. Isn't anybody going to give me a cigar or something?" "How about another slice of pizza?" Trey offered. "I think that would do nicely. And one for each of my new sons, too." The jovial shenanigans continued until Kevin spoke up. "Dad, I don't want to be a party pooper, but can we go to the hospital now?" I could see the anxiety etched on his face as he said this. "Yes, we can. I'll just wash off quickly and then we'll leave." Kevin and I went to the hospital and sat with Dustin until ten. I left the two of them alone for about an hour because I knew that Kevin had some things that he wanted to say to Dustin in private. He started before the door closed behind me and I heard some of the things he said. "Dusty, you've got to get better. I need you. I'm sorry if I was the one who made you do this. I want you back, Dusty. I want to be with you again." I couldn't hear anything more as the door closed tightly behind me. I walked around for a while and I went to this floor's waiting room to kill some time. When I finally got back to Dustin's room, Kevin was sitting on the edge of the bed beside him, stroking his hair, looking lovingly in his face, and telling him stories about what had happened at home earlier. I sat in the chair and waiting quietly until it was time to leave. Kevin left reluctantly but not before giving Dustin a kiss and telling him that he would see him tomorrow. My heart was breaking as I witnessed Kevin's pain. No matter how many times we had discussed it and no matter what I said, Kevin was still silently blaming himself for Dustin's decision to try that drug. By the time we got home, all of the other boys were in bed, asleep. We snuck up quietly to my room and decided to just go to bed and leave our showers until the morning. Kevin spooned back into my body, reached back and found my arm so he could drag it across his chest, and he searched under his pillow for his treasure pouch. Once he had located it, he quickly fell asleep, and we stayed cuddled together until morning. Tuesday started off just like Monday had. I dropped the boys off at school and then I went to the hospital to sit with Dustin. Once again, there was no change and I spent the day holding his hand, talking to him, and praying. Sally Swarthout came by at lunchtime and she brought me something to eat. We sat there talking, when Sally pointed at Dustin. "Josh, Dustin's eyelids are moving." We both looked at Dustin lying in the bed, and she was right. Dustin's eyes were fluttering, though only a little, but something was happening. I pushed the call button that hung next to the bed and I asked Sally to go out and ask them to page the doctor to Dustin's room. Before long, the room was abuzz with activity and I heard a weak voice say, "Where am I? What's happening?" It was Dustin. I asked Sally if she would do me a huge favor and she agreed. I asked her to run over to the high school, get Kevin and bring him here. I had promised him that I have someone get him if there was any change in Dustin's condition. While Sally was gone, the doctor arrived, checked Dustin out, and told me that my boy appeared to be fine. I sat down with Dustin and answered all of his questions before asking him a few of my own. "Dustin, what made you mess around with that stuff?" "I'm not sure, Dad. I guess I just wasn't thinking. I was feeling sorry for myself, about Kevin, of course, and when someone offered it to me I just took it. I know that I knew better and I'm sorry for letting both of us down and causing you all of these problems. I promise you that I'll never do anything this stupid again." "I hope not. I'm just happy that you lived through it and will be able to learn from this mistake. I love you, Dustin, and so does Kevin. He's been here, by your side, as much as I'd let him. He would never have left you if he could have gotten the hospital and me to allow it. He thinks that you took the drugs because of him, and he's been blaming himself for this whole thing." "When can I see him, Dad?" "Sally went to get him for me and he should be here shortly. I hope you two will talk this out now and get things back to normal. Even if he was physically attracted to someone else, he's emotionally connected to you. Don't sell him short. He would have switch places with you if he could have." Just a few seconds later, Kevin burst into the room. He sported the biggest smile I'd had ever seen and he rushed over to the bed and wrapped Dustin up in a mammoth bear hug. "Easy, sport. We don't need you to crack any of his ribs or do any other damage to him." He just looked up and smiled before he looked at his brother. "I love you Dusty. I really do." Dustin and Kevin took this opportunity to straightened things out between them. I offered to leave them alone but they asked me to stay. They said they wanted me to hear this too. Dustin explained his position to Kevin so they both knew where he stood. "Kevin, I'm not sure if I'm gay, because I like girls too, and I have even had sex with a couple of them. I do know one thing, though, and that is that I do love you. I know that it's more than just loving a brother but I'm not sure if it's enough for a lifetime commitment. I'm sorry that I acted jealous and I'm sorry for the things I said to you and Trey. Dad told me that you thought I tried the drugs because of you, but I don't think that was it. I was feeling bad because what had happened to us but I just stopped thinking and went along with my friends. I can't blame anyone but myself for what happened." "I love you, too, Dustin. I can handle anything as long as we're not fighting. I don't care about you and the girls, that's your business, but I don't want us to argue or shut each other out ever again." That was basically the crux of their discussion although it took them nearly an hour to get the entire thing worked out. Dustin tired easily, so we left him to get some sleep. I told him that I'd bring all of the boys back later because they were all worried about him. He looked down at the bed and said, "I guess I worried everybody, didn't I? I'm glad that I have such a wonderful and forgiving family." We went home and told everyone the great news. They already figured out about Dustin's improvement, because we had sent for Kevin, but we filled them on in some of the other information. We ate, cleaned up quickly, and I loaded everyone into the van so they could visit their brother. We looked like a parade moving through the hospital corridors and the nurses in this section questioned the number of visitors until they discovered they were all his brothers. We instantly became the topic of conversation for the rest of our visit, and all of the boys answered questions about our merry little band. When I left that evening, I told Dustin that I was taking the rest of the week off so I could be with him. He told me that wasn't necessary, but I told him it was what I wanted to do. He only responded with a "thanks" before I herded my flock out of there. He also called Trey back, so he could speak with him privately, and he apologized to him for his childish behavior. He told Trey that he was glad to have him as a new brother and he made Trey give him a hug before he left. Trey had a new spring in his step as we left the building. This let me know that this simple apology had an enormous impact and had bolstered a shy- boy's self-esteem. It helped for him to learn that the last of the boys had accepted him as a brother and he would always be a part of this nutty little group. * * * * * * * * If you have enjoyed reading this story, you will find other stories by me at http://www.teenboyauthors.org/thewolf, in the 'Other Stories' section. E-mails may be sent to: bwstories44@hotmail.com.