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Finally, Connor groaned and glanced around, looking like he
understood little of what was going on. "What happened?" Connor
lifted his arm to wipe at his face, but he stopped when he saw the IV line.

"You had alcohol poisoning. You would have died if I
hadn't come home early."

"Shit."

"Yeah, and you're headed to rehab."

"I don't need rehab." Connor looked away, his mouth
turned down in a frown.

"I don't give a shit if you think you need rehab or not,
you're going and I won't take no for an answer." Connor reached for his IV
and Mike stopped his hand. "Oh fuck no, you won't be pulling that out.
You're going to rehab and you're going to do what I tell you to do for the next
week and there will be no deviation from the rules."

Connor's gaze shot to his. "You don't own me."

"No, but you aren't making good decisions. I don't give
a shit if you want to do this or not. You're doing what I say."

"Fuck you," Connor yelled.

The nurse raced in followed closely by a doctor. They glared
at Mike then at Connor. "You need to quiet down." The nurse turned to
Mike. "Sir, you need to leave."

Mike glared at Connor. "You will go into rehab and you
will not be drinking again before you enter rehab. Tell him how close he was to
death, maybe that will shoot some senses into him." Mike turned and brushed
past the nurse, blocking out the noise behind him. Connor was ticked and so was
he. He fled to the ER waiting room and ran into Kip.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Kip asked.

"Connor got drunk, alcohol poisoning. Why are you
here?"

"Gresh is having issues."

"Shit. What happened?"

"He can't see. His vision is gone and they don't know
how long or if he'll ever get it back."

Mike dropped into a chair, angry that Connor had almost drunk
himself to death and Gresh was here by no fault of his own. "Fuck."

"Can I get you anything?" Kip asked.

Mike shrugged; he was too confused to think straight. "I
don't know."

"Have you eaten?" Kip sat down next to him.

"No."

"I have an extra burger in this bag. Lane didn't want to
eat and I didn't push him today. Tomorrow I'll bring up breakfast and force him
to eat."

Mike took the offered bag and grabbed the burger, unwrapping
it. He sank his teeth into the bun, barely tasting the food as he chewed. He
swallowed and took another bite, anger burning through his veins. He was so
pissed he didn't know how to get Connor to realize he only wanted what was
best.

"Hey, if you need anything, Jamie and I are here to
help."

"Thanks. The burger is a start. I'm going to go in and
talk some more sense into Connor. He needs to know that his drinking issues
need to be taken care of because other people have bigger issues and need help."

*~*~*

Kip dialed Jamie, hoping he wasn't waking his lover. When
Jamie answered Kip smiled, loving the sound of his man's voice. "Hey babe,
I love you."

"I love you too. Any word about Gresh?"

"Nothing solid. They've moved him into a room for the
night."

"Are you going to stay?"

"No, both Lane and Gresh told me to go home. They'll
call in the morning."

"Shit. I hope he's okay."

"Yeah. I miss you."

"Do you want me to call the airlines and change our
flight?" Jamie asked.

"No, I talked to Lane about that and he wants us to go
get married. They can call in help if needed. It's an off week for the dude
ranch. Everything will be okay."

"I'm worried."

"Same here. This is why we are doing a legal adoption.
Life is precious and precarious. We need our child to be protected."

Jamie sighed. "Thank you."

"I'm going to hang up now and head home. Go ahead and go
to bed, I'll be quiet when I come in."

"Okay, but I doubt I'll be asleep."

"Bye, love you." Kip disconnected and headed out to
the parking lot. He was lucky to be with Jamie. The man was the best thing he'd
ever experienced. On the way home he started thinking about baby names. He was
out of his league. In the morning he'd have to ask Jamie what he wanted to name
the kid.

He was blown away that they were going to be parents. It
frightened him to no end and left him feeling so pleased he could hardly stand
himself. Jamie would make such a great dad. It would be difficult, but they
could do this together.

When he arrived at the ranch, Kip entered the bunkhouse,
locking up behind himself. He quietly went into his and Jamie's room, loving
the sweet sound of Jamie softly snoring. As he stripped off his clothes he
stared down at his man. He thanked his lucky stars again, his heart swelled
with pride. He loved Jamie so much he was glad he'd found him. Soon their
marriage would be legal and then they would have a baby. Life couldn't get much
better.

*~*~*

Mike pushed aside the curtain and stepped into the little
enclosure. Connor glanced up and frowned. Mike bit his lip, hoping he could
talk to Connor without making a scene.

"I thought you were gone." Connor adjusted the
sheets, his gaze staying away from Mike.

"I'm not leaving you."

Connor huffed out a breath. Mike had never dealt with having
to put anyone into rehab. He wondered if he'd made the right choice by forcing
the issue. Connor ignored him for another minute before turning to Mike, his
gaze slowly moving up so they were staring at each other.

Connor cleared his throat. "Thank you for bringing me
here."

"You're welcome."

"I don't need rehab."

"Yes, you do and I'm not budging on this."

"But I—"

Mike held up his hand. "You have no say in the matter.
Tonight while you were drinking your life away, Gresh lost his sight. He's
checked into a room upstairs and resting, but they don't know if he'll ever be
able to see again. So you're done fucking around. You're going to take a few
months and get your life back in order and when you do, you're going to never
do anything like this again. I don't care how upset you are, I'm not going to
let you sink into something like this. Got it?"

Connor closed his eyes. His face scrunched up, revealing his
pain. Tears began to leak from the corners of his eyes and Mike felt bad about
being so harsh, but Connor could have died if he hadn't arrived soon enough.
Mike wouldn’t budge on this. He would see Connor into a treatment program. If
it ruined their relationship, he wouldn’t regret his actions. Connor needed to
be sober even if he walked away and Mike never heard from him again.

After a while Mike smoothed his hand over Connor's arm.
Connor flashed his eyes open and grabbed Mike's arm. He thought Connor was
going to hit him for a second because of the intense look on his face, instead
he sat up and pulled Mike into a hug.

"I'm so sorry. I'll do whatever you want me to. God,
I've been such a selfish prick. I'll get sober and stay sober. Just don't leave
me."

The back of his eyes stung and he had to bite his lip to hold
back the sob. This was never the war he wanted to fight. Yes, when he became a DEA
agent he'd done so to uphold the laws, and regulating controlled substances was
part of it but this was micromanagement. He sighed and ran his hand down
Connor's back. His heart felt crushed and damaged but he wouldn’t give up on
this man. He would stand by him for as long as Connor would allow him to be
near. He'd seen too many families destroyed by misuse of substances. He didn't
want Connor to be another statistic.

*~*~*

Gresh patiently sat through the tests. One thing different
this morning, he could tell when the lights were on. He hadn't said anything,
not wanting to get Lane's hopes up, but this had to be a good sign.

"Okay, Mister Miller, we're going to take you back to
your room now."

"Lane?" Gresh held up his hand, his heart rate
increased as he waited the few seconds for Lane to respond.

"I'm still here, hon." Lane took his hand,
squeezing twice.

He breathed a sigh of relief, glad that Lane hadn't left. It
was maddening not knowing who was with him. People walked past and never said
anything. Not being able to see set his nerves on edge. The bed he was on moved
and Lane walked beside him, holding his hand.

"I'm going to have to let go. We're going through a
tight spot, but I won't leave you," Lane said.

"Thanks for telling me." Gresh appreciated how nice
Lane was. Ever since the accident Lane had been amazingly good to him. He
needed to do something special for his husband. Taking a trip was out for now
with the no flying option. He thought about the baby and his heart sank. No
adoption agency would give them a child now. Not with him being blind. Hell, he
couldn’t even take care of himself, he'd never be able to take care of a baby.

"Okay, we're at your room. Just hang tight and the
doctor will be in soon," the orderly told him.

"Thank you."

He heard noises that sounded like people leaving. Frustration
ground through him. The flick of a switch drew his attention and he could see a
bit of shadows with the light. Excitement wove through him. He could see—not
details, but he could make out a form moving closer and that freaking excited
the heck out of him.

"Gresh, it's me."

"Lane, thank you so much. I feel so helpless."

"I'm sorry. We'll find out what's going on and then
we'll deal with it. I'll stand by you no matter what."

"I love you."

The door squeaked open and Gresh saw a shadowy figure.
Excitement pinged through him. It hadn't been a one-time thing. He could see
stuff.

"It's Doctor Salvatore. I've viewed your films from last
night and this morning, compared them and it is promising. Have you regained
any sight?"

Gresh took a deep breath and squeezed Lane's hand. "I
can tell that the light is on and I see shadows."

"What?" Lane exclaimed. "That's great. Right,
doctor, that's great?"

"It is. It's what I thought would happen. So, I'd like
for you to stay one more night. We'll run a few more tests and give you some
medicine to reduce the fluid. Depending on how you are in the morning we'll
make a decision. You might need to stay for a few days. It's a brain injury and
I don't want you stressing out."

"I'm good with staying," Gresh said.

"That's good. So we're going to get some medicine into
you and you'll probably be sleepy. Sleep is good. If you need anything just
ask. I'll be in the hospital today so have a nurse page me if you have any
questions."

Gresh breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you. I really
appreciate you coming in last night to see me and then again this
morning."

"No problem. Rest today, both of you. Lane, take a nap
and take it easy."

"He won't," Gresh said.

"I can understand, but Lane, you need to take care of
yourself. You need to go eat. The nurses will take good care of Gresh and I'll
make sure to stop in a few times today. Both of you are in good hands so Lane,
please take care of yourself."

"Thank you, doctor," Lane said.

"I'll be back later."

The door squeaked again and Gresh figured that the doctor was
leaving the room. Lane touched Gresh's arm, staying in contact. The door
squeaked again. At least the door was making noise and Gresh could tell if
someone was coming or leaving.

"Mister Miller, I'm the nurse for the day. My name is
Landon and I'll be taking care of you."

"Hello," Gresh said.

"I know it's frustrating not being able to see. I'm six
five, and I have gorgeous blond hair with a beautiful sun kissed skin and guys
fall at my feet all the time," Landon said. Lane laughed and Gresh's lungs
squeezed. He hated not being in on the joke. "Okay, I'm more like five six
and my hair has gone gray. I'm pale from working all the time and the last time
a young man looked at me was ages ago."

Gresh smiled. "So you're a comedian."

"Yep. I'm going to drop a few meds into your line here.
You'll be sleepy in a few minutes. Just go with it."

"Thanks," Gresh said.

"You say that now, but just wait. You'll be mumbling BS
in a few seconds and then you'll be gone. The hours will fly by and you'll
wake, groggy as a two dollar whore the night after Mardi Gras."

Before Gresh could reply his brain felt numb along with the
rest of him. He felt as if he were drifting along on a feather, floating in the
wind. Sleep pulled him under and he didn't fight it, happily going into the
darkness, just like Landon said he would.

Chapter Sixteen

Jamie stared up into Kip's eyes, his smile so wide he thought
his cheeks would pop out. Kip winked at him then turned to the minister they'd
hired to perform the ceremony in New York. "We're ready."

The minister smiled, taking both Kip's and Jamie's hands in
his. "Love is a precious thing. Two are always better than one. This bond
that you have made is meant to last."

The minister let go of their hands and Kip turned to Jamie. He'd
written the vows on his own and Jamie hadn't heard them yet. "Since the
day I met you I knew you were special. There was always a piece missing and I
had no idea what it was until you came into my life. The way you smile at me,
how you touch me, the way you hold me in your arms when I feel lost. I love
you. You make my life complete. I want to spend forever and a day with
you."

Jamie sniffed and ducked his head, wondering if his voice
would actually work. He looked up, straight into Kip's eyes and felt more
courage than he thought possible. "Kip, I love you more than life itself.
You are the reason I get up in the morning and you make the nights so much more
fun." Kip smiled and squeezed his hand. "But it's more than that. You
are everything to me. You have brought me so much happiness. I can't imagine
spending my life without out you. We will spend our forever together. I won't
leave your side, you are my rock and you are my life."