Date: Thu, 28 Jul 2005 02:09:26 -0700 (PDT) From: Snwdemon Subject: Playing the Game: Rodie's Story Continued Chapter 18: (M/b, b/b M/F as, no sex) WARNING: This story contains descriptions of sexual acts involving MINOR boys. I wish to explain that this story is not true! Further, it is not intended to promote illegal acts against minors, but to demonstrate that young boys can love each other even when adults believe that they are to young. The sexual acts described in the story are the result of my imagination. I have not performed these acts, and I do not encourage others to perform them with minors. If the subject of boy/boy or homosexual love between minors offends you, or this material is illegal to possess in your place of residence, or if you are under the legal age to possess such material, do not read further! By downloading this story: You implicitly declare and affirm under penalties of perjury that you are not a minor or in the company of a minor and are entitled to have access to material intended for mature, responsible members of society capable of making decisions about the content of documents they wish to read ." The story is copyrighted under my pseudonym, Snwdemon. A copy has been placed in these archives for your enjoyment. The story cannot be used to derive monetary gain. However, if you want to place a copy of this story in your free access archives please email me for my permission. The story cannot be placed in archives that require payment for access, or printed and distributed in any form that requires payment either directly or indirectly. Any similarity to individuals, living, or dead, is partially accidental. Reference is also made in context to locations, businesses, characters, and people to define the story line. No other implication about the true sexuality or actions of the people, or places mentioned is intended. Author's note: Hello again everyone, I know it has been awhile but I am finally back now. First off, I want to thank everyone who responded to Rodie's love. I have received over 1500 responses to Rodie's Love and almost everyone wanted it to continue. The reason I ended Rodie's story so abruptly was that my youngest son Simon was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease (lymphoma) cancer. He had surgery in January to remove the cancerous tumor, and then underwent 6 months of chemotherapy. He is currently in remission, and I pray that he will stay that way. However, I have continued writing throughout my son's cancer surgery and subsequent chemotherapy. My son Simon asked me to read him one of the new stories I had written one day. Therefore, I started reading to him "Canyon's Desire" which is about a boy who is an Junior Olympic caliber figure skater who realizes that he is gay. The story details his struggles and triumphs as he deals with his parents, coaches, and peers once he discovers who he really is inside. While the story takes on a serious subject matter concerning a growing number of boys, it is ultimately more of a story about a boy confronting his fears, then overcoming them and proving to himself that he is the best. I started reading the story to him only to have him "zonk" out on me, as only an 8-year-old can describe it, after the first chapter. The next day, he had one of the other children in the ward in his room coloring with him when Simon asked me to read to them. So I started over from the beginning of the story. When I read a story aloud, it is not just me reciting the passages of the story. I try to give the story some life by changing the cadence, tone, and inflections of my voice. I have learned that by doing this, it draws people, especially children, into the story so that it is as if they are actually there in the story watching these events unfold. While I was expecting my son and his playmate to be drawn into the story, I was not expecting the adults. His playmate's parents were standing by the door listening as were as two more children from the ward and a couple of the nurses. When I finished the story they actually applauded, which caused me to turn crimson. Of course, the kids wanted me to read another story to them, but I knew that Simon had to rest. Therefore, I promised that I would read to everyone a new story the next day in the play area. Well the next day I had almost 50 people waiting for what was to become "Story time." All 20 children in his ward were there with their parents as well as the nursing staff, who quietly made their rounds to their small patients who sat listening to me. This became almost a daily event, and the children's therapies were actually scheduled around "Story time." I read to them classics like Moby Dick, Captain Courageous, Tom Sawyer, and Huck Finn as well as my own stories. I got to know every single child staying there in the ward, their parents, what was their disease, and their treatment and prognosis. I befriended all of the parents and staff, and they helped me handle my stress and fears while I shared in their triumphs and pain. I almost quit doing story time when one special girl named Rebecca lost her battle against leukemia during story time. I had thought that I had distracted the staff from Emmi's (her nickname, short for Emily) care because of story time, but her parents told me that she passed away peacefully with a smile on her face. I knew that Emmi was in pain constantly, but she passed out of this world battling the pirates of Treasure Island. Her mother told me that I had a gift, not just with words, but also with children. That I could enable a child in such extraordinary pain like she was in to escape this world and go to a wonderful place where there isn't any pain, sickness, and there is always a happy ending. I cried for their loss, for everyone else's loss, for my loss. For me, the loss of a child is something very profound, even when that child is not related to me. I feel this way because in reality, at least my reality, all children belong to each and every one of us. The children are our hopes and dreams of a better tomorrow. They are our future in its infancy and counting on us to protect, guide, and nurture them until they can continue our quest in life. So with this girl in my mind, I decided to continue Rodie's story because Rodie's Love in its original unedited format (it did not have any erotic scenes in the original story) was her favorite. She even drew a picture of what she believed Rodie looked like if he were real. I told her that "Rodie" was a real boy, but that he did not have name Rodie or his special gifts. Her picture was very close to the boy who I had modeled the character Rodie after when he was 10, although he is just a bit older today. She made me promise that I would let her meet the real "Rodie" one day, which I did promise. I fulfilled my promise to her on Valentine's Day of this year (2005), and introduced her to the real "Rodie" who is my now 17-year-old adopted son Eric. I think Emmi quite literally fell in love with my son Eric when he came into her room looking exactly as she imagined Rodie would look like, only older. She even loved his original first name Corrin, which is his middle name now (I do not know if I explained it, but he had his first and middle names switched when he was adopted to Eric Corrin). Eric was touched by her in the same way I was when he met her, and he knew that she was a very special and gifted girl. He spent most of the day with her, and since he is quite a good sketch artist himself, he drew her portrait and gave it to her as a gift to remember him by. He even signed his name with "Rodie" underneath his signature. She told me that night after Eric had left that it was the best day she had ever had, and I was happy to have made it possible for her. I just did not know that she would not have any more happy days before she left us. Her picture of Rodie was given to my son after she passed away, her parents felt that she would have wanted him to have it, while they framed his portrait of her and donated it to St. Jude's Hospital. It now hangs in the playroom in the ward where she stayed. She was a quite gifted artist like my son Eric, and I know he will cherish her gift to him always. As I stated earlier, it was because of her that I decided to continue Rodie's story. I am just saddened that she passed away before I had completed the first chapter. After her death, I set it aside because it reminded me so much of her, and of my fear that my son Simon would meet her fate also. Once we got home though, I started editing and proofing my stories. Deciding which ones I could post unaltered, which ones needed to be altered to allow posting to Nifty, and which ones I did not want to change. That is when I came across the first chapter of Playing the Game that I had written and forgot about. I almost deleted it, but then after thinking of her for a few minutes, I decided that I would finish the story and dedicate the original unedited versions to her memory. I had one big problem though when I went back and re-read the Nifty version of Rodie's Love. The new story's characters did not match Nifty's version of Rodie's Love, so I spent about a week trying to figure out how to make them match which included killing off a few of the characters from the version I posted. However, I have discovered that it is too much of a leap to present the unaltered version of this story and connect it to the altered version of Rodie's Love that I posted to Nifty. Mainly because in the original story Jim befriends Rodie like a surrogate father, since he is already involved in a long-term relationship with Eddie. When I adapted the story to make it an erotic story, I needed to make Jim available so I introduced Marco as Eddie's partner, thus freeing up Jim to be with Rodie. However, I still have Rodie discovering his true sexual preference (homosexual, for now, possibly Bi later on) the same. Therefore, here is the next part of Rodie's story modified to make it erotic as well as connect it to the first story. I have to rewrite the whole story in order to do this, but I plan to make the original stories available to everyone by either posting them to Nifty if allowed, or on my personal website (which is under construction right now). I chose to age all of the characters covering a period of 3 years in the beginning chapters of the story. The story will become more detailed and the time will slow to normal speed as it was in the first story once I have aged the characters. So please bear in mind of the age increase since there will be periods where weeks or months pass. So, enjoy the next portion of Rodie's life titled "Playing the game." Damion I dedicate the original unmodified stories about Rodie to your memory Emmi: Rebecca Emily Starnes -- Age 11, October 18, 1993 -- April 22, 2005. Playing the game: Rodie's story cont. Chapter 1: Rodie's recovery 16 hours after Paul's death. The surgery for Rodie was taking much longer than it should have. Finally, after six grueling hours a nurse came out and told Cathy, John, and Eddie that the doctor would speak with them shortly. Cathy asked if it was all right if the doctor spoke with them in Jim's hospital room. The nurse said that would be fine and would inform the doctor. Cathy went over to the couch where Eric slept and gently lifted him up into her arms without waking up. They all then proceeded up to the second floor to where Jim was staying. Jim had refused to be transferred to the UNC Medical Center until after Rodie was out of surgery and recovering. Mike had ordered a morphine pump for him to help ease the pain he was in. While his injuries were not life threatening, they were very serious and the only way to repair the damaged prosthetics was to replace them. Cathy and the other came into the room and she laid the slumbering Eric in the small bed next to Jim's. The nurses had brought the roll away bed in for her to use while she stayed with Rodie. Eddie informed Jim that Mike would be there soon to speak with them. They waited for another fifteen minutes before Mike came in along with the one of the trauma surgeons. "How is he Mike?" Cathy asked in a worried tone. "He is doing well as can be right now Cathy. Rodie will be in recovery for another 45 minutes and you can go stay with him while he is in there." Mike told her. He then looked around to all of them before sitting on the edge of Jim's bed. He rubbed a tired hand through his hair before speaking. "I almost lost him again Cathy. He coded on the table, but I got him back once more and stabilized him. It is a miracle that he survived at all, considering how much time he went without oxygen. However, he is extremely weak, and the next 24 hours will be critical for him. If he makes it through that time, then I will begin to relax a little. Right now, expect him to wake up right now due to the amount of time without oxygen. His brain is showing signs of some swelling so Dr. Saunders here put in a shunt to relieve some of the pressure. Also, the damage to his larynx was much worse than I thought. Not only was his larynx crushed, his spinal column was damaged at the C-4 vertebrae. Dr. Saunders is a Neurosurgeon, and he repaired the damaged vertebrae by fusing it to the other vertebras above and beneath it. He also put Rodie's head in a halo brace to prevent any movement while the bones fuse. Rodie will not be able to turn his head to the side as much from now on, but he will learn to compensate for this later on. His carotid artery was damaged too, which explains his lack of oxygen. I inserted a stint to unblock the area that was compressed, but we have to wait and see if permanent damage was caused by the blockage." Mike said softly to everyone. He then looked directly at Cathy with an extremely haggard look on his face. "Cathy, we have done all we can do. Now it is up to him and God. When he wakes up - if he wakes up, I do not know what he will be like. How much he will remember, or how much of his abilities he will regain, I just don't know. For all we know right now, Rodie may be paralyzed. I do know that he will not be able to speak due to the damage to his vocal chords. There are some good surgeons that he will have to see, as well as more surgeries he will need, if he is to be able to speak again, but for now he is unable to talk. His vocal cords are torn right now, but they can be repaired. I doubt if he will be able to sing, or even speak loudly, but he should be able to talk at least. Rodie has a long and hard recovery ahead of him if he pulls through." Mike explained to all of them. A small tear started to trickle down his cheek as he spoke to them. "So he will not wake up right now from the surgery Mike?" Cathy asked in a trembling voice. Mike gave her a serious look and then nodded his head. His shoulders slumped like a defeated man and he brought his hand up to his face. Cathy watched as he struggled to regain his composure, then he raised his head to reveal his wet cheeks. "I'm sorry Cathy. I am sorry I could not do more to help him, but I have done my best. We need to be thankful that he is alive right now, and that he has made it this far." Mike told her as he stood. Just then, the nurse knocked on the door getting their attention. "Dr. Wise. Your patient Mark is on his way up and I wanted to know if you would like for him to be in the same room as Rodie?" She asked him as she leaned her head into the room. "Yes, that is fine. Also if you can put them in the room adjacent to this one would be even better." Mike replied. "No problem Dr. Wise," she replied and then she was gone. Just then, Mike looked at the other doctor and introduced him. "I am sorry Bill, everyone, this is Dr. Bill Saunders. He is the trauma surgeon who operated on Mark and Marco, as well as assist me with Rodie," Mike said while Dr. Saunders shook hands with everyone. "Mr. Winters, Mark did fine in surgery. The bullet shattered his collarbone and a fragment lodged into his shoulder joint. I assisted Dr. Bach, our pediatric orthopedic surgeon here. We removed the fragment, and repaired his collarbone and shoulder joint. However, he will be unable to use his right arm for the next 3 to 4 months. Then he will require physical therapy in order to regain full use of his arm. I am afraid that he will always have some problems with that shoulder in the future. However, I do not think it will prevent normal usage of that arm. I also gave him two pints of blood to replace the blood he lost. Other than that, things went very well Mr. Winters, and I expect him to make a full recovery." Dr. Saunders explained to John. He then turned to Eddie. "As for Marco, he had a small fracture on his skull with a slight depression of the bone, and a significant concussion. I removed the small bone fragment because it was protruding into his brain cavity. I then covered the area with a steel plate. Other than a nasty headache, he will be fine in a few days and his skull should heal in 3 to 6 weeks. Just make sure he does not bump his head during that time." Dr. Saunders said to Eddie. Both Eddie and John thanked him for what he did, and he left the room. Just as he was leaving, Mark was wheeled in by the nurses. They put his bed into the empty space next to Jim's bed. "Excuse me," John said to one of the nurses. "I thought he was supposed to be put into the next room?" "Oh, Dr. Saunders thought it would be better to put all of the patients in one of our 4-bed rooms instead of splitting everyone up. We are moving one patient into the next room then we will move Mark and Mr. Chavez to the new room before the others come out of recovery. Mark is still pretty groggy, but he should be waking up anytime now. He will be in quite a bit of pain, but Dr. Wise ordered a morphine pump here. Just have him push this button a couple of times and it will deliver the morphine. It is set so that he cannot overdose no matter how many times he pushes the button. Do you understand all this Mr. Winters?" She asked him. "Yes, I understand Nurse Rodgers and thank you for taking care of my son," John said to her. "It is no trouble Mr. Winters, I am happy to help out in anyway I can when young men like your son are concerned. You take good care of him or you will have to answer to me." She told him while wagging her finger at him and smiling. John laughed and promised her he would do as she commanded, and with that, she left to go finish preparing the larger room. Cathy had moved over beside Mark and was gently brushing his hair out of his face when he cracked his eyes open a bit. "Mom...It hurt's," he mumbled softly to her. Cathy's face just softened more and she smiled. "I know it does honey, just push that button in your other hand and it will help the pain go away." She said to him softly as she caressed his forehead. Mark pushed the button twice and started to drift off to sleep again. "I've missed you mom," he whispered as the medicine took effect. Cathy watched him as he slipped back into unconsciousness. Then she leaned over and kissed Mark's forehead. "I've missed you too, Mark. Go to sleep now, and I will be here when you wake up." Cathy said softly to him. A little smile appeared on Mark's face as the pain eased away, and he slid deeper into sleep. When she looked up, she saw John watching her with a look of admiration on his face. A tear had slid down his face while he watched her talk to Mark. "You are a remarkable woman, Cathy. Thank you for coming into our lives." John told her after she had moved away from Mark's side. Cathy just took his hands, then stepped closer and kissed John on the cheek. "No. Thank you John," was all she said while holding his hands for a moment longer. Jim and Eddie both realized what had just happened. Cathy had just made a decision that would change all of their lives. Eddie looked at Jim, and he gave a slight nod of his head. They knew that this was the right decision for Cathy, for Rodie, and everyone else in the room. The moment was broken when Nurse Rodgers came in again and let them know that the room was ready. Mike got up and rolled his shoulders a couple of times to relieve the tension in them. "I am going to go check on Rodie and Marco. I will come up with Bright Eyes," he told them all, and then left. More nurses came in to move Mark and Jim into the new room. Cathy touched Nurse Rodgers forearm as she came up to Mark's bed. "Please be careful not to move him around to much please. He just woke up a moment ago, and he was in quite a bit of pain like you said." Cathy told her as any concerned parent would do. "Yes Ma'am, He won't notice a thing," Nurse Rodgers assured her. Cathy and John moved out of the room while the nurses gently maneuvered Mark's bed out of the room. Once the doorway was clear, Cathy came in and gently picked up the slumbering Eric and carried him out of the room. Eddie watched her leave and shook his head with a look of regret. "Why the sad look Eddie?" Jim asked him. "Because I was hoping for a different outcome is all," he replied finally looking around at his friend. Jim looked at him for a moment before he realized what Eddie meant. "Me? You're joking right?" Jim told him with a stunned look on his face. "Well, I thought you two would make a nice couple together," Eddie said with a smile. "Yeah right, you thought huh. Did you consider where Rodie would fit into all this while you were thinking about this?" Jim asked him. "Um, no. I guess not. He does throw a wrench into the gears, doesn't he?" Eddie asked while giving Jim a raised eyebrow look. "I would guess so. I can imagine our wedding now. `Cathy, I take you as my wife, to love and honor you while I have sex with, and to hold closely, our son Rodie, till death do us part?' I don't think so." Jim said to Eddie. Eddie just grinned while brow beating him. Then they both laughed. A few moments later Nurse Rodgers was back to move Jim into the new room. As she released the wheel stops, Jim tapped her on her shoulder. "I hope that you are licensed to drive this thing," he said with a mock expression of seriousness. She looked at him with a big smile and said, "Only when I'm drag racing." "Good enough for me now punch it Mama!" Jim replied with a big smile. They all laughed while she helped the other nurse maneuver his bed out of the room while Eddie followed. In no time, she had Jim set up in the new room with Mark's bed across from his. There were empty spaces next to both of them for Rodie's bed and Marco's bed. Twenty minutes later, Marco was brought up first. He was awake and alert, but they could see the discomfort he was in clearly on his face. Eddie hugged him tightly for a long moment. When they broke their embrace, Eddie's face was wet with tears. "Don't scare me like that again. I thought I had lost you there for a moment." Eddie said in a surprisingly gentle voice. Marco did not reply, but instead gently wiped away Eddie's tears before pulling him close and kissing him. In no way did it seem wrong as the others watched this. Jim now understood completely that Eddie and Marco were life partners and grow old together. Maybe one day he would find someone like Marco he thought to himself as he watched his best friend start to fuss over Marco. At that moment, Jim felt happiness for his best friend, but also a pang for his own loneliness. All of this was interrupted when Mike appeared. He directed the staff like a mother hen brooding over her chick as they maneuvered Rodie's bed through the doorway. "Watch it! Do not bang him against the door, and be careful with that Respirator, I do not want those tubes pulling on his neck. Ok, gently now," Mike said as they guided Rodie's bed, as well as a number of machines that he was hooked to, through the doorway and into the room. Once they had his bed in place Mike started connecting all of the monitoring devices connected to Rodie's small body. His neck and head were covered with bandages as well as the halo neck brace that encircled his head. There were four thumbscrews in his head, one on each side in the front just below the hairline and in back, holding his head and neck stationary. There was a tube coming out of his nose and a suction tube from his small mouth. The tracheal tube extended up out of the bandages of his neck before splitting into a "V." The tubes connected to the Respirator where the accordion shaped bag rose and fell signifying each breath he took. His small bare chest was covered with electrode pads with wires leading to the heart monitor. He had IV tubes connected to both hands as well as his arms at the elbow joint. Another small tube came from behind his bandaged head and connected to a machine that monitored the pressure inside his skull. A small Foley tube appeared from under the sheet covering his body, extending down the side of the bed to where it attached to bladder bag. It only had a small amount of urine in it. Jim watched as Nurse Rodgers shooed out the other staff except Mike and closed the door. She then motioned to Cathy who moved to the opposite side of Rodie's bed while Mike stood at the foot of the bed. Nurse Rodgers carefully took off the single sheet covering Rodie's nude body. She and Cathy then carefully sponge-bathed him, removing the Beta-dine solution and dried blood from his frail looking body while Mike made sure that none of the tubes and wires were disturbed. A tear trickled down Jim's face as he watched them bath Rodie. Mike put the compression stockings on his legs before carefully lifting him up off the bed with Nurse Rodgers. Then Cathy laid out the snap pajamas underneath Rodie before Mike and Nurse Rodgers lowered him back onto the bed. They all then dressed Rodie in the set of light blue snap pajamas with pictures of Dalmatians all over them. Mike carefully arranged the Foley tube so that it was not pinched, or would be painful for Rodie, before snapping closed the legs of the pajamas. Cathy helped Nurse Rodgers cover Rodie up with a clean sheet and blanket before tucking the sides under the mattress down the sides of the bed. Once they finished, Nurse Rodgers thanked Cathy and left the room while Mike took a seat next to Jim's bed. Cathy leaned over Rodie, and gently brushed that stubborn lock of hair out of his face while being careful not to disturb the halo brace. She then leaned down and kissed his forehead then lightly rubbed her nose against his. As she straightened up, Jim could see the tears streaming down her face. She sniffled slightly as she caressed Rodie's forehead again. "God damn you Paul! I hope you burn in hell." She said softly as she looked down at Rodie. Her control began to crumble, and Cathy hurried out of the room. John went after her, but Jim grabbed hold of Mike's arm as he started to follow them. "No Mike. John will handle this," Jim said in a soft but firm voice. Mike looked at Jim's serious expression and immediately understood. He nodded in agreement and sat back down again where they all waited in silence. "Cathy wait!" John said as he hurried after her. "Just leave me alone John," she said as she headed for the exit. She was almost to the door when John caught hold of her arm and turned her around. He saw the tears streaming down her face streaking it with mascara. "No, I won't leave you alone. I will not let you follow the same road as Rodie. You are the most remarkable woman I have ever known, but you cannot do this alone. This burden is too much to bear alone. You have a remarkably gifted son who needs all of us to be strong for him right now. He needs you to be strong for him, Cathy, because he can't do this by himself." John told her as he held her by her shoulders leaving her no choice but to look at him. She tensed up for a moment as if she was going to break free of his grasp, but then relaxed. She put a hand on John's chest as if to push him away, but the last of her control vanished and she bowed her head in sorrow and shame. John could feel her will dissolve, and gently pulled her into his embrace. He just stood there in the middle of the lobby embracing her as she cried. "I failed him again John. He trusted me. He trusted me to protect him, and I failed him again. Now look at the damage I have caused him...how much it has cost him for my failure." Cathy said as she cried into John's chest. John continued to hold her gently as she cried. After a few minutes, he finally spoke. "No you didn't. You did not fail him, Cathy. He is alive, isn't he? If you had failed him, we would be burying him instead of that bastard father of his. Rodie is alive because of you. Because of what you did for him. You brought him here to this place to save him, and you did. You brought Rodie to Jim when he needed someone to love him for himself, and to save him when Paul came to take him away from us. You brought him to Eric when he so desperately a friend. You also brought him to Mark so he could love someone besides you and Jim. You brought him to Eddie and Marco so they could show him how wonderful he truly is. So do not ever say that you have failed him Cathy, because you have never failed him. And you will not fail him now either." John told her as he held her in his arms. Cathy realized how true his words were as she was comforted in his embrace. She realized that John had left out one thing though. She lifted her head and looked at him. "You forgot to say that Rodie brought me to you when I needed someone." Cathy said with a weak smile. Her will and resolve returned, and she stepped back out of John's arms. John could now see how much Rodie was like her, and where he got his strength from. "God, I must look like a mess," she said while dabbing at her eyes with a tissue from her purse. "You are beautiful," John said to her. Cathy smiled and blushed prettily. John knew now where Rodie had learned how to do this same thing. In so many ways, Rodie was exactly like his mother only that he was more talented was all. "Thank you John, for everything. You are wrong about Rodie needing me sort of. Rodie does need me, but he needs us more," Cathy said to him as she started to walk back the way she had come with John close beside her. John understood what Cathy was saying, and he agreed completely with her. John put his arm around her waist as they both walked back to the elevators that would take them back to where Rodie and the others were. Ten days later: Cathy was sleeping in the reclining chair next to Rodie's bed. Eddie had left earlier to go take care of his business at the restaurant, and John had taken Eric home. His mother had come to stay with Eric, while John stayed with Mark at the hospital instead of bringing Eric with him to the hospital every day. Mike had been in earlier, and was in a much better mood once Rodie had made it through the first 24 hours. His vital signs had strengthened and stabilized, and this morning his kidneys began to function normally while also showing signs of waking up. Jim was dozing as he normally did. He never slept deeply in times of crisis, but just slipped under the level of consciousness, ready to wake up fully alert if needed. Mark and Marco were sleeping, although both were up earlier. As Jim dozed, he had let his mind drift a bit when he first heard it. His awareness level peaked a little as he waited listening. After hearing nothing but silence, and the constant beeps and whoosh from the machines connected to Rodie, he relaxed again. He didn't know how much time had went by when he heard it again only louder this time. He raised his head and looked over towards Rodie's bed where he could see Cathy doing the same thing. "You heard it too, didn't you?" Jim asked Cathy in a low whisper. Cathy just nodded her head at Jim, then they stayed quiet while watching Rodie's small chest rise and fall with each whoosh. Jim was about to move his head because he was beginning to get a cramp in it when it happened again. "Mommy?" Rodie's voice came into Jim and Cathy's mind as if he had spoken it. Despite the pain, Jim forced himself up onto one elbow to enable him to see Rodie's small face, while Cathy was up out of the chair and next to Rodie. She took hold of his small hand and kissed it as she sat on the bed beside him. "I'm here honey. Mommy's right here," Cathy said in a choked whisper. For almost 5 minutes, they watched Rodie's still face, then his eyes moved under his closed eyelids. "I'm scared mommy." "It's ok baby, don't be scared. I'm right here beside you. Jim's here too honey. So there is nothing to be afraid of." Cathy said to him as she held his small hand to her chest. She looked over to Jim and said, "call Mike." Jim laid back and then reached for the phone next to him. When the hospital operator came on the line, Jim asked her to page Dr. Wise for him, he then hung up the phone. "Where is daddy?" They heard the fear in Rodie's thought, as well as Rodie's heart monitor doubling in a few seconds, while the brain activity monitor was going crazy. "It's ok honey, your daddy will never hurt you again. Jim made sure that he could never hurt any of us again." Nurse Rodgers had just noticed the increase in Rodie's heart rate as well as the increased brain activity. She was just coming out of the nurse's station when Mike came through the entrance to the CCU. "What is wrong Nell? I got a page from Jim," Mike asked when he saw her. "I was just on my way to find out myself. Rodie's heart rate and brain activity just skyrocketed," she said to him as they walked towards Rodie's room. As they came in Jim signaled them to stop, then Mike came over to Jim's side while Nurse Rodgers stayed by the door. "What's wrong?" Mike asked him. "Just listen," Jim said in a quiet voice. "Where's Mark?" Mike looked first at Nell who had a surprised look on her face, then at Rodie. It was clear that she had heard him also. Mike then looked back at Jim, who just nodded his head as he smiled. "You remember after his appendix burst Mike? Even though he is still not awake yet, he is aware that we are here. He is reaching out to everyone because he cannot sense us yet since he is not fully awake yet." Jim whispered to him as he listened for Rodie's thought. Mike just nodded then looked over at Nell, who had a confused expression on her face. Mike tapped Jim's arm then pointed at Nurse Rodgers. Before he left he looked down at Jim again and asked, "Why don't you just raise the bed instead of putting all of that pressure on your hip?" Jim gave him a sheepish smile before admitting that he did not think of doing that. He laid back and raised the head of the bed up until he could see Rodie's face clearly. He then punched the button for the morphine pump before touching Mike's arm to get his attention. "Watch his eyes," Jim told him. Mike moved to the foot of Rodie's bed and gazed at his small face. He did not notice any change to his face for a few moments, then he saw Rodie's forehead crease and his eyes move under the lids. "Where is Mark?" "Rodie?" Mark said in a hoarse whisper as he opened his eyes. Mike moved over beside him when he heard him speak. "Where is he, I heard him," Mark said as he tried to shake off the medicine's effects. "Shhh, Bright Eyes is trying to talk to us in here." Mike told him in a soft whisper while pointing to his head. Mark nodded and lay back on his pillow as he listened? "Please say Mark is ok?" They all could feel Rodie's concern as he remembered Paul shooting Mark. "Yes honey, Mark is going to be fine. He is here with you also, so is Marco." Cathy said to him as she smiled and brushed away the tears on her cheek. "Don't cry Mommy." "It's ok honey, I'm just happy is all." Cathy said to him while she kissed his hand. She felt his small hand give hers a small squeeze. "Everything hurts...my head hurts." "I know it does honey, I will tell them to give you something for the pain." Cathy told him. Mike touched her shoulder motioning that he would get it, he then left the room while Nurse Rodgers followed him to the nurses' station. "Could you tell me what is going on please!" She said to Mike as he unlocked and opened the medicine cabinet. Mike looked at her and could see the confusion on her face. "I'm sorry Nell; I forget to tell you about Rodie. Rodie is a very gifted boy, he is a telepath." Mike said as he looked through the various vials before selecting one. He then closed the cabinet before facing Nurse Rodgers. "Telepath? I thought all that psychic stuff was crap." Nurse Rodgers told him with a dubious look. "No, no, no. Rodie is not a psychic. He is a telepath; he can speak to someone with his mind." Mike corrected her. "The voice you hear is him speaking with his mind. Because his head is injured, he is broadcasting to everyone instead of just to Cathy. That is why his brain activity has started going off the charts. This is great news Nell." "It is? I thought you would be worried about it," she said as they left the room behind the nurses' station. "Not in the least, because it means that he is waking up. More importantly is the fact that this shows that he has not lost his gift. I need a syringe." Mike told her with an almost joyful expression on his face. Nurse Rodgers opened a cabinet under the counter in the station and handed him a packaged syringe. "Well I would have never believed you if you had told me, but I heard him. I thought maybe we all were having some sort of delusion or something." She told him as they headed back to Rodie's room. Mike stopped just before they got to the door. "Look, he can sense your thoughts, mood, and feelings as well as communicate with his mind. So do not go near him if you are in a bad mood because he has enough problems to deal with already. Also, you do not have to think your answers to him, just talk to him like you would any other patient. And remember, he is still a 10-year-old child, even with his abilities, so do not treat him any different than you would treat any other child. His mother Cathy, has some ability also, that is where he got his ability. She can communicate better with him than we can. Therefore, when she tells you something like he is in pain, that he is upset, you listen to her. Understood?" Mike said to her. "Yes doctor, I will take care of our special little patient myself personally." She told him. "Oh, one more thing, don't speak about his abilities to others unless they discover it by accident. People in the past have shunned him because of his abilities. When you think about it, it is unsettling for some people to know that nothing is hidden from him. However, right now he needs to concentrate all of his strength on recovering, and not have to worry about the strangers around him. Once he wakes up more I will introduce you to him so that he can sense that he can trust you." Mike told her, and she promised to keep quiet. With that, Mike went into the room while she waited by the door as before. "Dr. Mike is here Rodie, and he is going to give you some medicine that will help the pain. It will make you go to sleep too." Cathy said to Rodie and everyone saw him squeeze her hand again. "It hurts Dr. Mike" "I know Bright Eyes, I know. This should help then I want you to rest so you will get better. I want you to promise me that you will not be exhausting yourself trying to talk to us, because I know that it is taking all your strength just to talk right now." Mike said to Rodie as he filled the syringe. "I promise Dr. Mike, but I am scared." Rodie said to him and Mike could feel Rodie's loneliness and fear. "I know you are Bright Eyes, but your head and neck have been hurt very bad. I almost lost you more than once. I know that you are scared and lonely, but trust me on this Bright Eyes. I promise that you will never be alone, one of us will always be here beside you so you will never be alone. You are getting better, but right now it is too soon for you to be exhausting yourself. Go back to sleep and rest now, and you can talk to us later." Mike said to Rodie just as he would if Rodie were awake. "I trust you Dr. Mike, but something is wrong...it is hard for me to breathe and it hurts too." Rodie told them. Mike looked over at Nell and borrowed her stethoscope. He moved to the other side of Rodie and listened to his chest. He could hear the wheezing as Rodie breathed as well as the rattle of mucus in his lungs. He checked the tracheal tube and the Respirator hoses, and noticed some swelling and discoloration to Rodie's neck in the area around the tracheal tube. "You are right Bright Eyes, something is wrong. Nell I need a chest x-ray done on him. Also, change the Respirator because I think it is causing a URI. Cathy is Rodie allergic to any antibiotics." Mike asked her. "Yes, Penicillin," she told him. "Alright, Nell start him on Levaquin and Keflex every 4 hours, and stagger them starting with the Keflex. Also, give him some Guaifenex with 60 mgs of Pseudophed through his feeding tube to help clear his lungs. He will need chest therapy and suction his throat ever 30 minutes because he is unable to swallow or cough right now." Mike instructed her as he unsnapped the side of Rodie's pajama shirt. He then pressed the stethoscope onto his chest to listen again. "That's cold Dr. Mike," Rodie said when Mike pressed the stethoscope to his bare chest. "Sorry Bright Eyes but that is a good sign, now can you tell me how your head and neck feel? Your neck should hurt because I had to fix one of the bones in it." Mike asked him as he continued to exam Rodie. "It hurts all over Dr. Mike, and it is hard to think right now." Rodie told them while making them feel what he meant. Jim understood immediately what was happening with Rodie. "I know what is wrong Mike. Move over so I can see him when I talk to him ok," Jim told Mike who looked at him for a moment then took a step to the side. "All right love, can you hear me?" Jim said to Rodie's still form. "I hear you Jim, but I can't see you. I wish you were holding me right now cause then I wouldn't be scared." Rodie said in response, and everyone in the room could feel his fear, and longing as well as his love for Jim. "I know you do my love, and I feel the same way right now. Now listen to me, remember when I got after you for taking my pain away?" Jim said to him. "Yeah, you told me not to do it anymore cause it would hurt me." Rodie told them all. "Very good, well now I know why you are hurting so badly. Somehow your talent got turned on like a light switch, and the pain you are feeling is from all of us. So I want you to concentrate really hard, and see if you can turn it off again. Right now it is draining your strength because you are carrying all of our burdens as well as your own. You won't hurt as much then." Jim told him while he watched Rodie's face. Jim watched and saw Rodie's eyes move more rapidly while his heart rate and brain activity went ballistic. This went on for almost a minute, and Jim was about to tell him to stop when his own pain increased two fold. Mark grunted as his own pain increased and it took a few moments to catch his breath while he adjusted to the new level of discomfort. Jim was able to shoulder the pain off to one side in his head. He then saw Rodie's face relax as he released his unexpected burden. It still took Rodie another few minutes to adjust since he was no longer drawing the others pain. Jim was going to speak to him again when he saw Rodie's eyes flutter, and then open about halfway. Cathy gasped as she saw this and then she was up leaning over him so he could see her. "Hi mommy," was all they heard in their heads. "Oh honey, you don't know how happy you just made me." Cathy said to him as her tears spilled over her eyelids again. One tear dropped and landed on his cheek. Cathy watched as Rodie's eyes filled and his tears started to slide down the sides of his small face. "I thought he killed Mark. I tried to tell him to kill me and leave him alone and then he shot Mark...and I wanted to die mommy. I wanted to die," he thought to them all as his tears became a steady stream. Cathy heard a strangled cry and looked over just in time to see Mark standing up and start to walk towards her. She was about to stop him, but then she looked at Rodie again and she changed her mind. Rodie watched his mother turn away and then look back at him for a moment before stepping out of his view. Then Mark's face came into view and he was crying too. His arm and shoulder were in a cast and Cathy was holding up his arm so it would not hurt so badly. Mark leaned over and kissed Rodie on his nose. "I felt the same way too, Rodie. When I saw you stop fighting, I just wanted him to kill me so you could live." He said as he used his left hand to gently brush away Rodie's tears. "I love you Mark and I always will. I won't cry if you won't," Rodie said to them as he looked into Mark's face. Mark nodded and wiped away his own tears before wiping away Rodie's. "I love you too, Bright Eyes. Now do what Dr. Mike tells you so you get well again, for me ok." He told Rodie before kissing him on the lips then rubbing his nose against Rodie's nose. A small smile appeared on Rodie's face when he did this. "I promise. You go get well too, for me." Rodie thought to all of them. The monitor that displayed his vital signs surged at that moment. Mark nodded his head and Cathy helped him back to his own bed, and helped him get comfortable. Then she had him push his button twice for his pain medicine. Once he did this she returned to Rodie's side. "I told you that he was here and going to be all right. Now you rest, and let Mike help you." She said to him before repeating what Mark had done, kissing him then rubbing her nose against his. "Ok mommy," he thought back. Mike then inserted the needle into the IV port just under the bag. It took a few seconds for the medicine to enter his arm and start taking effect. After a couple of minutes Rodie spoke again. "I'm sleepy now." "I know honey, it's the medicine. Go to sleep now ok. I will be right here with you." Cathy told him as she held his small hand. "I love you Mommy." "I love you to honey. We all do," she said. Rodie's heart rate and brain activity monitors returned to normal as his eyes closed and he slipped off to sleep. Cathy stood up, leaned over, and kissed his forehead before gently folding his arm across his chest and pulling the covers up to his neck. She straightened up and gazed at him as another tear trekked its way down her face. Cathy then turned to Mike and hugged him. "Thank you Mike, for giving me my baby back." She told him. "We all love him too Cathy. Now he will sleep for a while from that shot, so I want you to go get something to eat, then get some rest yourself. You understand me," Mike said to her. "I will Mike, but I want to sit with him for a little while longer ok. I promise to do as you say." She told him once she let go of him. "You better, I don't want to have to turn you over my knee and spank you!" He said while wagging his finger at her. They both laughed, and Mike left the room. Cathy moved to the other side of the bed and sat in the chair between Rodie's bed and Jim's bed. Jim lowered the head of his bed until he could see her by just turning his head. "He is still not out of the woods yet, but I think he is going to be fine," Jim said to her. Cathy thought for a moment then agreed with him. "You will have to take care of him because I won't be here to help." "I know, but I will have some help. I think you know already," she said to him. "About John? Yes, I know. I have known since we met him on the beach. I was just waiting for you to realize it is all." Jim told her. "Just don't jump right in now and expect Rodie to go along with it. Take your time, because he needs to be concentrating all of his efforts on getting well. Another thing to think about is Mark. You know how they feel towards each other now. If you and John do get together, that is really going to cause problems with both of them." "I know, and I haven't decided yet as to how far I am willing to go yet. I guess it will depend on how they feel about it. If Rodie does want to be with Mark, then I will just remain friends with John. My biggest problem will be explaining to Rodie about you. I know that he has not said it, but I have sensed it from him that he was hoping we would get together." Cathy said to him as she watched Rodie sleep. "Well I explained that to him and I believe he understood. I think we should all play it by ear, and deal with these problems when the time comes." Jim told her as he reached over and took her hand giving it a small squeeze. "I think you are right as usual. Why couldn't you have been a woman?" Cathy said to him. "I think it is because my hairy legs look like shit in high heels." Jim answered with a grin. They both laughed at the thought of Jim in high heels. "Look Cathy, when Rodie wakes up again, I will to talk to him. I can't put off my surgery any longer because it's been over 10 days now. Not if I want to continue walking. I know it will be hard for him with me not here with him, but I have to get the prosthetics replaced. I have already told Eddie what to do, and he is making the arraignments right now. The remodeling will be done before Rodie comes home and I think that you will like what will be done. So I am going to stay until he fully understands the situation then I am going to have my surgery." Jim told her with a serious expression. "I understand Jim, and I think Rodie will be ok with it because he can feel your pain. He loves you that much Jim, and no matter what I decide to do, I could never take him away from you. To see him happy and being what he is, a 10-year-old boy, and you do not know how much that means to me. He is happy for the first time in his life, and he never has to hide anything around all of you. All because of you Jim. Therefore, John will have to be willing to share our lives with you because if he is not, then there will be no `us' then." She said to Jim with tears in her eyes. "I know Cathy, I really do understand. What you don't know is what he has done for me. Eddie knows, so even if you tried, you could not get rid of me." Jim told her. "Now go get something to eat and get some rest. Eddie brought you a change of clothes, I'm guessing they will clash horribly, but it's the thought that counts. The nurse said that you could use the shower in the room as long as you don't use any perfume. I'm going to hit this button here until I'm zonked, as Rodie would say, and take a nap." Cathy nodded her head, then stood up and kissed Jim. She went over to the overnight bag Eddie brought her and looked inside. There was a flower print top along with a pair of khaki slacks. "You are wrong, Eddie has good fashion sense. Would you mind holding off on zonking out until I get back. I'm going to go down to the cafeteria and get something to eat." She asked Jim, and he nodded his head. Cathy left and headed for the elevator. She knew that she could not decide on many of the things she told Jim until Rodie was fully awake and recovering. However, she felt better about the future now than she had in a long time. End Chapter 1. Please send all comments to snwdemon@yahoo.com or snwdemon@hotmail.com Also include the word NOSPAM in the subject line in order for the email to get past the spam filters.