Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2013 11:35:05 +1300
From: bob charles <pennywise3636@gmail.com>
Subject: Blood, Surf and Tears (Gay / Young friends) chapter 8

Blood, Surf and Tears.

Disclaimer:

Warning: this story contains sexual content, and contact between young
boys.  If the subject matter offends you, is not to your tastes, or if you
are under legal age for your area, then find something else to read. In the
following story all names and events are completely fictional.  Although I
may mention a specific location, place, or person any resemblance to said
people, location, or places is completely unintentional.

Chapter 8:

"Hi Caleb, I hear your causing the nurses a lot of grief," his dad said not
overly surprised, he knew he was going to have the same battle when he
tried to get him home.

"Dad, I want to see Dan, you have to take me, I need to see him and make
sure he's alright," he said hysterically trying to move in his cot so he
could get up, but the restraints held firm and he hardly moved at all.

"Sorry Caleb, but not even I can see Dan yet because he is still in
surgery," Dan's mum said crying just a little, not just from her grief, but
for the boy's grief too.

She then told Caleb all she knew, and cried almost a heavily as Caleb was
at the news, the two adults gave Caleb as much of a hug as they could given
his restraints, once they had sufficiently got their emotions under
control, they asked Caleb to tell them the whole story, which left them
staring in disbelief as it just seemed so unreal. After hearing the story
Caleb's dad said that he was going to tell the media what has happened,
more to get them off their backs than any other reason, and said to Dan's
mum that she should go find out about Dan, then we would come back here and
tell Caleb the news.

************

So Caleb's dad went to front the media who were all gathered in the A&E
waiting room, of which had grown considerably, instead of it just being the
local times, it now also included a few of other newspapers, from around
the country which were already writing about the freak swell that
devastated the coast, they had heard about the accident and sent their
reporters scrambling. There was also a reporter from the NZ Herald, NZ's
biggest paper, and the TV news crews.

Surprised at the amount of attention his son had brought on, he told the
media that he was prepared to make a statement, but told them after this
that he, his son, and Dan's family would like some privacy for a while, and
if the kids wanted to tell them anything more he would contact them.

With that out of the road, he suggested they all go outside as the A&E was
too full of media, and there wasn't enough room for patients who actually
needed the facility. He told them the same story that Caleb had told him
not so long ago, and gave them as much of an update to the boy's heath as
he deemed necessary. Then asked if they had any questions, which of course
they did, as they pottered off some questions and Caleb's dad did his best
to answer them, a couple where with regards to Dan, and as to whether he
was the boy who had the extremely popular exhibit at the art gallery.

Then came the question he was dreading, and actually hoping wouldn't come
up.

"Mr Mc Cullum, what is the relationship between Dan and your son? It's just
that at the gallery it was noticed that they seemed to be very close," the
reporter for the local paper asked.

Caleb's dad was unsure as to what to tell them, but thought he better say
something as otherwise the media will make something up, and that could be
the worst thing for the boy's.

"Before I answer that question I want this to be totally off the record for
the boy's sake, if I find that anything has been said or printed regarding
this, I will sue," his said this with the sternest voice, and got the
media's agreement on the issue, he even noticed that the TV crews shut off
their camera's which he was happy about because he didn't even think about
that.

"I will say that their relationship is very close, but I will not elaborate
any further, it is up to the boy's to decide as to how much they want to
tell you, and it will be them who will have to give you permission to
report on this," with that he said the interview was over as he needed to
go back and see how things were progressing, although he said he would let
them know the boy's conditions as it became clearer.

So he turned his back on the media, who were cooperative in that they
didn't continue to hound him, in fact they actually started to disperse,
but they did make sure to give him the contact details so he could contact
them with further information, they gave him their best wishes for the
boy's recovery and then they let him be. Caleb's dad started to head back
to where Caleb was, thinking that Dan's mother would probably already be
there, as neither of them thought there would be much change in the
information about his condition.

He had just got to the door at the entrance of the room Caleb was in, when
Dr Walker approached him with a bit of a sullen look on his face, Caleb's
dad's heart skipped a beat thinking something had gone terribly wrong.

"It was as I expected, not long after you two left after having told him
about Dan's condition, he started to understand the seriousness of Dan's
condition and as a result he started to relapse, so we had to put him into
a drug induced coma as it seemed to be the best option to stop his body
from shutting down again," Dr Walker said with a sorrow sounding voice, as
he really admired the boy.

"So how long is he likely to be under," Caleb's dad asked worried like
hell.

"Hopefully he should come out of it by the morning, but it all comes down
to whether his body starts to stabilise again," he was trying to ease the
fathers fears, but also trying to stay professional and tell him the truth
but it was hard even for him, because for some reason he felt an attachment
to the boy that he normally didn't get.

He was a very professional doctor, and as a doctor he knew that getting too
attached to a patient was a bad idea, even in a children's ward, because
the amount of young kids that come in, and don't go home again is a very
sad statistic, but it is a reality of life for the doctors who work in the
Children's ward, not just here but everywhere in the world. So Dr Walker
tried to stay away from getting attached to the friendly happy kids that
frequent the place, happy yes because even with what some kids have to put
up with they still seem to be able to make the best of it. But with Caleb
somehow he let his guard down, and the kid has climbed straight to his
heart.

Caleb's dad thanked him for the update, still mortified at how quick things
had gone downhill again, but knew that the Doctor was sincere and trying
his absolute best to try and save his son, but his son as ever had his own
agenda. He asked the doctor if he was able to stay the night by his side,
the doctor said of course he had set up a bed for him and Ms Webber too, in
case she decided it best to stay with them, especially as she wasn't able
to stay with her own son. The doctor also told him that the restraints on
his son had been removed so in the event he wakes up, he thought Caleb's
dad should try to keep a good eye on him. He thanked the doctor again and
said if he did wake up he would do his best, then went in and sat beside
Caleb's unconscious body, and took his fragile little hand and held it
tight, then started crying.

Dan's mum re-entered the room about five minutes later seeing Caleb's dad
sitting there holding his son's hand tightly and crying, she knew something
has gone terribly wrong at this end.

She slowly approached the grief stricken father and hugged him asking what
had happened, Caleb's dad got a little startled when she first embraced
him, but the comfort he felt through her hug calmed him down and he
explained to her what the doctor had said.

After he finished telling of Caleb's update he asked on Dan. Turns out
there was better news at that end in that they had completely stopped the
bleeding, but that was where the good news ended, they had told her that he
was in a very weak state, and virtually had no immune system at the moment,
so he was going to have to be kept in isolation till his immune system
recovered, at this stage she was now crying, but she managed to add that
she got to see him through the window of the isolation room, and it wasn't
a pretty sight.

Initially they were going to take turns with one sleeping, while the other
stay's awake to keep an eye on Caleb, Caleb's dad decided he would stay
awake for the first shift, but after a while the emotional fatigue from
what had happened that day took its toll, and he didn't have the heart to
wake her as he knew she was as bad, if not worse than he was, so found the
empty bed, laid down, and very quickly fell asleep.

The two adults were suddenly awoken the next morning by Caleb screaming
"Turn it off, turn it off." He had woken from his drug induced coma, and
turned the TV on; all the kids' rooms in the hospital had a TV, and had
been watching the morning news. He felt a rush of pride when hearing that
people were regarding him a hero, he had somehow managed to keep his
emotions under control when Dan was mentioned. What had sent him into shock
and caused him to start screaming was when they started showing images of
the waves that had caused so much pain in his life, and the images of what
had happened the previous day started to replay in his head, he just kept
seeing Dan getting smashed into the rocks like a tape on a continuous loop,
he just couldn't handle it as it was too graphic and he wanted the thoughts
to go away.

As soon as he heard the scream from his terrified son, Caleb's dad leaped
off the bed and ran over to his son, and hugged him tightly, saying that
everything will be alright. He now noticed the TV on, still showing various
images of the cyclone swell as it caused its havoc up and down the eastern
seaboard, and knew what had set his son off; he groped around till he found
the remote and quickly turned the TV set off.

Then he returned to trying to calm his son back down, both father and son
were crying heavily at this stage, but for totally different reasons, Caleb
was also shaking again as he relived the events of yesterday and cried in
terror. His dad on the other hand was crying because his son had come out
of his coma, which indicated that he was getting better, but he knew that
he had to try and keep him away from anything that could retrigger his
stress, and so far had failed but Caleb did calm down which was a relief
because it meant he wasn't likely to relapse again.

Dan's mum had also joined the two and was stroking the young boys back
which also helped to calm him down, and he eventually stopped shaking, then
stopped crying and silence filled the air. That is before Caleb regaining
control of his emotions asked.

"Can I see Dan?" he was really calm at this stage but it was an unstable
sort of calmness which neither parent quite realised at this stage.

"No Caleb, at least not yet as you have to wait for the doctor to say it's
alright for you to leave your bed," but after having said that Caleb's dad
realised that he hadn't addressed it properly, and had sounded to abrupt,
but it was too late to change what he said.

"I have to see Dan, why won't you let me see him? I don't care what you say
coz I'm going to anyway and you can't stop me," in tears again, and
emotionally charged Caleb somehow managed to struggled out from his
father's embrace, and slip between both the adults grasping arms, and leapt
out of bed.

He ended up in a crumpled heap on the floor, and all the wires from the
monitoring equipment ended up all over the place. Caleb was still far too
weak to walk, even support himself which ended up with him crying in
frustration but he also become more hostile because of not being able to do
what he wanted. Dr Walker suddenly burst through the door after an alarm
had gone off at reception because all of Caleb's monitoring equipment had
gone dead, and he had thought the worst, but having got in the room and
seen Caleb's crumpled body on the floor he smiled.

"Well, well, well, I see that you're not just a handful for the nurses are
you, tell you what, you let us get you back in bed, and I will organise a
wheelchair for you and we will go see Dan together shall we," the Doctor
knew how to push Caleb's buttons now and quickly disarmed the situation and
got the boy to start cooperating again.

"Um, ah, OK, but you have to promise me, I don't like people pulling my
leg," he had calmed down but was still defensive, but if he got to see Dan
he would have done anything.

"I'm not like that, I don't tease people like that, and especially not
heroic little boys" Dr Walker said getting the smile he was after.

"But you have to promise me that you will behave, because you won't be able
to touch him as he is in isolation to stop him from getting sicker, and I
must warn you he is not a pretty picture at the moment...  and one last
thing if we go see him you must promise to me that you will come back here
so we can clean you up," he was trying to broker a deal with the boy of
which he knew would be an absolute struggle for the boy to keep, but there
was a point to it because if Caleb could get through this then he was
pretty much ready to go home again, well once he got his strength back, but
a good meal would solve a lot of that problem.

"OK I will try to be good, but I'm not promising anything," Caleb replied
with a feeling in his gut that once he saw Dan he wouldn't be able to
control his emotions again.

"Well that's good enough for me, well let's get you back in bed and cover
your dignity a bit, then I will go find a wheelchair so we can go see Dan
OK," the doctor said in a friendly voice to which Caleb was responding to.

Caleb was a bit baffled though with what he said about covering his
dignity, that was until he looked down his body and noticed that when he
collapsed on the ground his hospital gown had lifted up, revealing
everything south of his bellybutton, to which he was suddenly mortified
that everyone could see him like this, but quickly calmed down because he
realised that he didn't really care, as he had spent that much time naked
as of late he had gotten used to it.

Both parents were really impressed with how the doctor had handled the
volatile situation and had come out on top, well for now at least. They
helped the doctor pick Caleb up and get him back on the bed, and then
Caleb's dad straightened out his gown so that it covered everything, well
as much as those skimpy gowns cover anyway. Once he was comfortably back on
the bed the doctor left to get a wheelchair, at this point the parents
asked him if he would rather them go see Dan with him, or whether he was
happy if they met him up there, Caleb of course thinking about everyone
else told them to go ahead and he would catch up with them. They left and
Caleb was left alone in the room, he turned the TV back on, and was
relieved to see cartoons on, and not the news, so he watched them for a
while until the doctor came back.

Dr Walker wheeled Caleb through the maze of corridors back to the main part
of the hospital, and then located the lift; they had to wait for a bit till
one of the lifts reached the ground floor again. Once the lifts doors
opened and everyone got off, he wheeled the boy in and pressed the button
for the fourth floor, a couple of other people got in, and recognised Caleb
from either the TV, or a newspaper and congratulated him on his heroic act,
Caleb did like getting the praise and beamed as a result of it, but didn't
really see what the big deal was, he thought that anyone in his situation
would have done exactly the same.

The lift eventually reached the fourth floor and Dr Walker wheeled Caleb
out, turned left and headed down the long corridor to the isolation
unit. Caleb's dad and Dan's mum were talking to Dr Miller probably getting
the latest on Dan's condition.

Dr Miller was almost the complete opposite to Dr Walker, he was short and
tubby, standing only 5'4" tall, and weighing 107kg. His fat round head was
pretty much bald with only a little covering of straight white hair. His
short fat nose supported his thin framed spectacles, which his tired brown
eyes had to use to be able to see. He had huge worry lines all over his
forehead but given he was 60 it was to be expected.

Dr Walker just wheeled Caleb straight past so the boy didn't hear what was
being said, and get wound up again, he kept wheeling the boy until they
reached the window from which Caleb could see Dan's grotesque body. Caleb
gasped when he saw him, not because of how the boy looked, as he thought
that he looked better than when he had just pulled him from the water, no
he gasped because he thought Dan looked lonely.

The isolation room was just a big square cubicle that was totally enclosed
on all sides; there are two of them in this hospital, one designed for up
to two patients, and another much larger one just a bit further down the
hall for up to 50 patients. There primary purpose is to contain a patient
or patients that have a rare contagious disease to stop the general public
catching it, and causing an outbreak, but most of the time they are used
for patients with little or no immune system, to ensure they don't get
catch anything that would make their condition worse. Just like the rest of
the hospital the walls were a bland sterile white, there was one big window
allowing the doctors, and visitors to be able to visually observe the
patient, and just to the left was two sets of doors with a little cloak
room in between, the room is used to decontaminate anyone entering the room
to tend to the patient, most of the time the patient that is in there is on
their own, unless the patient is in a serious condition and needs round the
clock care.

"I have to get in there and see him properly, coz he's lonely, can't you
guys see it he needs me, I have to get in there so I can be with him, then
everything will be better, you will see," Caleb was screaming by the end,
blubbering out his ramblings because he was again an emotional wreck, which
caused his dad and Dan's mum to come running in to see what the commotion
was about.

But Dr Walker had somehow done it again and calmed Caleb right back down,
he was still blubbering away that he needed to be in there for him, but
wasn't as out of control as before, he had passed the first test Dr Walker
thought, next will be to clean him up, and get him feed before the second
test, getting him to go home.

Caleb just sat there in silence staring at his boyfriend who was on the
other side of the glass, he knew he had to get in there but was still too
weak to walk so knew it was a futile effort for the moment, even if he
could stand by the time he waddled in there someone would catch him, no he
knew he would have to wait for the right opportunity, and then Dan would be
fine, and he would prove once and for all that they need each other.

Dr Walker had informed Caleb's dad that the boy should be ready to take
home in about an hour, he did sense however that his dad wasn't
particularly comfortable trying to take his son home, so just told him
everything would be alright he would make sure Caleb wasn't too much of a
handful, with that he then headed back to Caleb. Caleb's dad and Dan's mum
talked for a while trying to decide what was the best thing for the boy's,
in the end they decided that Caleb being here and not being allowed to go
in and comfort Dan like he wants to, was just putting too much strain on
the boy, so it might be better if he was away from the situation for a
while, at least till things improved with Dan. They were trying to protect
both boys, and trying to make an informed decision like a proper parent
would. They went with what they believed is the best solution, but they
weren't convinced that they had made the right one this time. Only time
would tell.

Dr Walker told Caleb that it was time to get cleaned up, and he would leave
him with one of the nurses to help him, while he was getting clean he would
find him some food, as they were making their way back through the
labyrinth of a hospital, heading back to the Children's ward. Caleb said
nothing in reply, he was too depressed at not seeing Dan properly, but
after the mention of food he did suddenly realise how hungry he was.

So Dr Walker handed him over to a nurse, who wheeled him into the shower
room, and pulled his hospital gown up and over his head, then turned on the
water adjusted the temperature and wheeled Caleb under the steady stream of
warm water. She tried to give the soap to Caleb but realised the kid wasn't
in the mood, or even on this planet, he had a vacant look on his face and
the nurse was starting to wonder if he had some sort of head trauma, so she
started to bath the boy herself, she had done this a lot of times with
various patients, but she was still a little uncomfortable with it,
especially with bathing boys of Caleb's age, because she never knew how
they were going to react. Caleb was perfectly fine to bath, except he
offered no help what so ever, he just continued to stare into space as the
nurse washed everything.

Having finished washing the boy the nurse then proceeded to dry him, before
pulling his gown back on, and then wheeling him back to his room, and
helped him back into bed. She took a quick glance at the clipboard, hanging
at the end of the bed, with all the medical information about the patient,
and was a little surprised that it wasn't a head trauma, but understood his
vacant look when she read that he had been through emotional shock. She
thought he must have lost his mother, or father, or someone else who was a
close relation to which he loved. She hadn't heard the news or read the
paper yet so didn't know his story, but she did feel very sorry for him all
the same.

Caleb just lay in his bed still in a trance, he didn't even notice when Dr
Walker came into the room carrying a plate of food with a big metal dome on
top to keep the food warm. He finally came back to earth when the dome was
removed, and the smell of food wafted up his nostrils, and his tummy
started growling. He just suddenly snapped awake and started chowing down
his food, but as he got further and further through his plate, he started
to eat slower and slower, by the time he had eaten three quarters of his
meal he was fast asleep. He was in the process of trying to get another
fork full when he crashed, dropping the fully laden fork all down his
front, as he was leaning back, and then his head dropped straight down onto
his pillow.

"Man he must be still exhausted after everything that has happened" Caleb's
dad said as he entered the room seeing his son in a deep sleep and Dr
Walker cleaning up the mess he had made with his food.

"Well not exactly," the doctor replied.

"What do you mean by not exactly," the father asked suspecting he knew the
answer already.

"Well I figured for both his sake and yours, that he might need a little
helping hand, so I added a little sedative to his food, so he should sleep
fine for at least another six hours, but with how exhausted he is I would
say a lot longer," the doctor said a bit sheepish, but knew that Caleb
really needed a good sleep, and it was going to be the only way to get him
home without a huge fight.

Caleb's dad just laughed, and then thanked the doctor for taking such good
care of him, as they both lifted the dead weight back into the
wheelchair. They then thought that they probably should have changed him
back into his clothes before doing that, so had to struggle with putting
Caleb's clothes back on whilst he was comatose in the chair, they then said
their goodbyes with the doctor saying he would love to see Caleb and him
again but preferably under better circumstances next time, they finished
off shaking hands, then Caleb's father wheeled the boy through the maze
till he found the car park that he had parked in.

He hadn't bothered to go back and see Dan's mum as they had already said
goodbye, but she would keep in regular contact about how Dan was, or wasn't
progressing, and left it up to him whether he tells Caleb or not.

The trip back home was a real struggle for Caleb's dad, as he was
completely exhausted, and was struggling to stay awake during the last part
of the trip. He got them home though safe and sound, unloaded Caleb and
took him to bed, tucking him in and giving him a kiss goodnight, then he
headed towards his own bed and once he reached it collapsed on top and fell
straight asleep, didn't even get under the covers, or take off his clothes.

He woke the next day around lunch to his cell phone ringing; he picked it
up and answered, then listened to the voice at the other end for a while,
before giving his best wishes and saying goodbye as he hung up. It had been
Dan's mum, and the news wasn't good. As the nurses were changing Dan's
bandages on of them noticed a lot of sand oozing out from the wound on his
leg, so he has had to go back into surgery to get the wound cleaned
properly, then re-stitched up, all the while they had to hope his blood
would clog again after the surgery was complete, so Dan's mum had another
long day of worry ahead of her, which is why he had made the decision not
to tell Caleb.

Caleb was still sound asleep when his father had finished getting up,
cleaned and changed, and he was starting to worry about him, as he had now
been asleep for about 24 hours, so he rang Dr Walker to check up on it. The
doctor told him that this was what he was hoping for, and not to get
worried, Caleb's body just needed time to fully recharge, and he should
probably wake up by late afternoon.

It was 4:00 before Caleb finally woke; his dad had been with him since he
made the call to the doctor, and he had just been sitting on the side of
the bed stoking his son's hair. But even though Caleb was awake, he was
still in a trance and didn't do anything except turn on his side and curl
up in a ball, the boy was feeling so lost and helpless he really didn't
want to face the world, he couldn't even face his dad, his depression was
caused by not being able to help his friend at the time when he needed him
most, and didn't understand why all the adults wouldn't let him help Dan,
even though he knew he could.

They stayed like that for ages before Caleb's dad thought he better get his
son some food, thinking it might make him feel better. He was starting to
question whether they should have left the hospital, but it was too late
for that now so he had to make the best of the situation, and try and bring
the old Caleb back himself. So he went downstairs and prepared something
for tea.

Once his dad had gone Caleb used the chance to look around, finding he was
back in his bedroom he burst out crying, he had fallen asleep and now
deserted his friend, he felt terrible for not still being in the hospital
with him. He curled up tighter into the foetal position and cried, trying
his hardest not to make too much noise because he didn't want his dad to
come up to check on him again.

Caleb's dad finished cooking, he had just made a quick and easy chicken
soup, put it in a bowl and took it back upstairs to Caleb, he entered the
room and saw his son in the foetal position, and could hear him crying, so
he set the bowl onto a set of drawers, and sat back on the bed to comfort
his son. He asked him what was wrong, but Caleb didn't reply, once the boy
had finally decided that he wanted to talk what he said about being a
deserter shocked his father, but he felt ultimately guilty. He had made the
decision after all that Caleb would probably be better off back here, but
never thought at the time as to how Caleb would feel about it, and now
hearing his son talking about himself as being a deserter really touched a
nerve.

He let him know that he was not a deserter, because a deserter is someone
who does it by choice, he was asleep when they left so how did he have a
choice in it, he apologised for having made him feel this way but said it
was for the best, he would have driven himself crazy if we had stayed at
the hospital. Still trying to calm the boy he promised him that if he
behaved himself they would head back to the hospital on Tuesday. Caleb had
calmed down a little, but was still not willing to face his father.

His dad got up and grabbed the chicken soup and put it on the bedside table
for if Caleb wanted it, then left the room to give Caleb some space and
time to think. With his father gone Caleb decided to have some soup, but it
didn't taste right, it was cooked brilliantly, but without Dan there to
enjoy it too it tasted bland, he finished it only because he was still very
hungry, then curled back up and cried himself to sleep.

His father had gone downstairs, and then outside to get the mail, from
their pretty standard sort of mailbox. Once he had emptied it, he leafed
through the contents as he walked back to the lounge, there were two
newspapers, one was yesterdays, and the other was todays, along with that
there were three envelopes all containing bills.

Once inside he discarded the bills onto the kitchen bench then took the
papers into the lounge and took his seat, then put down today's paper as he
had decided to read yesterday's first. It was the local times, with the
major headline being `Heroic Young Boy Braves Monster Swell to Try to Save
His Friend,' he was a bit shocked at the photo for the article as it was of
him whist he was carrying a naked Caleb back to his car, it didn't show
anything it shouldn't have, what shocked him was that someone would
actually take that sort of photo under the circumstances, but he did
realise that it told the story pretty well.

He decided that even though he already knew the story he was going to read
the article, mainly to make sure it was accurate, but also to make sure
they hadn't printed things that they weren't supposed to. The article was
well written, and made him feel so proud of his boy, they made him out to
be almost super human, the way that the media tends to, but they had stuck
to what had been agreed to and nothing more which he was very happy about.

The rest of the main page contained an extensive article of the effects
that the sudden swell change had had up and down the east coast of both
islands, seemed to have had a big impact everywhere with lots of people
ending up in hospital with various injuries, but thankfully nothing too
serious, and the places that still had lifeguards running were rushed off
their feet pulling people out of the water, but by some miracle there had
been no reported fatalities.

He read through the rest of the paper, and set it down as he picked up
todays one. The headline of this one was totally different and something he
had never expected, it read `Hero Story Brings out Good Side in People,'
and it went on about how after either having read about, or seen the
article on TV, a lot of people felt sympathy for the boys, and as a result
blood donation centres around the country were swamped with people wanting
to donate blood, not only that but generous donations had been given to the
research of blood related disorders.

Caleb's dad could believe his eye's, he really couldn't believe that what
his son achieved stretched far beyond just saving Dan, he had helped save a
lot more people without ever meaning to, the story had touched so many
hearts that people felt guilty about having never donated blood, so after
hearing about Dan's struggle it has forced many people to get off their
butts and donate, Caleb's dad was really proud at this and he ran upstairs
to show Caleb the story, but when he got to the boys room and saw him
sleeping again, he thought it best to leave him, he could always tell him
in the morning, so went back downstairs to finish reading the paper.

The only thing of interest in the rest of the paper was in the opinion
column, where the paper had been inundated with people after and update as
to how the boys were doing, after having read this and seeing who much
people cared he rang the number for the local newspaper reporter and gave
her the update as to how the boys were. He felt a little guilty because he
told her information he had deliberately kept from Caleb. He only hoped the
boy didn't find out because if he did and realised that his dad hadn't told
him, well I think that the statement `all hell would break loose,' would be
a major understatement.

Just before Caleb's dad headed to bed his cell rung, it was Dan's mum
again, the surgery had gone well, but his condition hasn't changed so he
was back to square one, still no immune system so back into isolation, but
at least there were no major problems during the surgery. Caleb's dad
filled her in on Caleb, not that there was much to say, but did tell her
about how the boy had felt like he had deserted his friend, which left both
adults feeling guilty and wondering whether they made the right
decision. He also told her about the article in the paper which left her
feeling happy about the fact that so many people do care, with that they
said their goodbyes again, and Caleb's dad headed off to bed.

Caleb woke up with a start during his sleep; he was sweating profusely and
shaking uncontrollably. He shouted out in his sleep but now he was awake he
noticed that no one had come. He had a nightmare, which was due to the
sleeping drugs that were in his system finally dissipating and his mind
playing the same tricks it was before. The cruel scene of Dan getting
smashed onto the rocks just kept replaying in his sleep and he finally
cracked and had woken up, very shaken he rolled over and curled up so he
was hugging his knees and cried, he was reliving the nightmare as though it
was happening again right in front of him, eventually he cried himself back
to sleep and managed to stay asleep for the remainder of the night.

The next day when Caleb woke he didn't feel guilty any more, no instead he
was angry, angry that he had fallen asleep, so that he couldn't fight with
everyone to try to stay there, he was also angry that he didn't wake up
when the moved him, he couldn't understand how he hadn't woken up as he
wasn't even feeling that sleepy before he ate. But most of all he was angry
with his father for taking him home, and not fighting for him like he was
supposed to.

Caleb's dad came in to give him breakfast, and as soon as he entered Caleb
rolled straight over so his back was to his father, so his dad went around
the bed to the side he was facing to give him his meal, but Caleb again
rolled over and his dad started to realise that he was giving him the cold
shoulder, so again he placed the meal, along with a drink on the bedside
table, and left hoping he might be in a better mood later. Once his father
had left Caleb took a drink relieving the parched dry feeling in his mouth,
then ate his meal and lay back on his bed.

The only time Caleb got up all day was when he needed to go to the toilet,
the first time he went he was still worried about not being able to walk,
and he really didn't want his dad to help, so he got out of bed slowly,
tested his footing before putting all his weight on his legs and feet, they
held up, then he staggered like a drunk to the toilet as his legs were so
stiff from being in bed so long, he did his business then staggered back to
bed, but before he got back into bed he decided that he better stretch his
legs out properly so spent about the next ten minutes stretching, and
wandering around his room till he was happy his legs were functioning
properly again.

Caleb's dad checked on him regularly throughout the day but every time he
got the cold shoulder, he had drunk all the water he had taken for him, and
eaten all his meals, but he always waited for his dad to leave before he
did. His father was getting worried that he might have done something very
wrong but knew it was going to be hopeless to talk to him, at least until
he calmed down. Caleb fell asleep early in the evening and his father was
really hoping that he woke up in a better mood in the morning. Caleb didn't
have a good sleep again as midway through the night he was woken again by
the same horrible nightmare and again cried himself back to sleep deciding
that he needed to do something the next day to get his mind off things.

It was now Monday morning, and Caleb was still angry about everything, but
thought he was better off getting up today so he did, and he took a shower,
put on some clean clothes, as opposed to the ones he had worn since he left
the hospital. Then he sneaked downstairs as quietly as possible, grabbed
his school bag, grabbed some food for lunch and then snuck outside and
headed to the bus stop. He didn't really know why, but he decided since he
couldn't see Dan, and because he was still angry at everyone. Then going to
school might just help his mood, it also beat lying in bed all day again,
and meant he could get away for most of the day from having to face up to
his father.

As Caleb approach the bus stop the two little boys were playing around with
each other and didn't take any notice of Caleb as he walked up, but the
little girl gave him a surprised glance, before turning around to hide her
face as she blushed. Caleb found out later that the girl and her parents
had gone down to the beach when the chopper arrived, it was her father that
had taken the photo of him, she blushed because she had seen him standing
totally naked before everything was hidden away when his father picked him
up, it was also the very first time that she had ever seen what boys have
between their legs, and she also thought he looked cute naked.

The van pulled up and the other kids got in, Caleb was starting to have
second thoughts, but shook them clear from his head and got in.

"Hello Caleb, are you really sure you should be coming to school today,"
Mrs Milner said with a huge amount of concern in her voice, as she knew how
much he had been through, and was very worried that going to school would
just upset him more. She also couldn't bear the thought of what may happen
if he relapsed again.

Caleb just hoped straight on, didn't even glance at his teacher, and
current bus driver, which just added to Mrs Milner's concern as to the boys
wellbeing, he then headed to the back seats sat right in the corner, and
stared out the window. He just went back into a trance, and he didn't
notice when they stopped to picked the little boy up from the other end of
town, nor did he notice anything between there and when they stopped to
pick up Chris.

Chris did a classic double take when he saw Caleb, being surprised to see
him back at school so soon, Chris's parents had heard the news article on
TV and realised it was Chris's friend so told him about it, he was upset
for Dan but twice as upset when he heard Caleb was involved too. He
realised by looking at Caleb that he was still extremely vulnerable, so as
he headed down the back he did so cautiously and gently trying desperately
not to upset him. Once he took his seat right next to Caleb, the van took
off, and Chris slowly reached his arm around his new friend and gave him a
hug. He nearly jumped out of his seat when Caleb turned round and hugged
him really tight, then started whimpering.

"Caleb, you have done a really good job, and I am really glad to see you
are alright, but are you really sure this is a good idea, I mean going' to
school and all," Chris said in a gentle friendly voice, the two had become
real good friends since they had first met, he was still jealous of Dan
though, but would never betray a friend and he knew that there was
something special between those two. He was also very careful with the
words he used, he especially avoided saying Dan's name for obvious reasons,
but he also tried not to say anything that would upset him.

Caleb never did reply to the boy but stopped crying, he broke their hug to
wipe the tears out of his eyes and gave him a look that had thank you
written all over it, then returned to hugging, just not as tight this
time. He missed being hugged by a boy, although the feelings weren't the
same as when he hugged Dan, Chris still felt comforting, warm and most
importantly friendly, so he was enjoying the hug because it helped him to
forget momentarily the horrors of the previous days.

They were still in their embrace when the van pulled up at school, the
other kids quickly got off the van, but Chris pretty much guided Caleb off
the bus because he still wasn't with it, as we went passed Mrs Milner she
turned around and mouthed thank you to him.

Unfortunately Caleb never had time to settle back into things as pretty
much as soon as they got off the van the bell went, Mrs Milner had been
driving unusually slow today because of Caleb being on board. Chris told
Caleb that they would have to hurry as it was assembly day, and you don't
want to be late to assembly because you stand out like a sore thumb when
you enter the hall after the assembly has already begun. So they ran to the
hall. They became separated as they entered the hall, mainly because Caleb
wanted to hide in the back row, by the time Chris had realised that Caleb
wasn't following him, he had already sat done with Tim and Luke and the
assembly had started.

The principal started with a welcome to the new school week, before he
started talking about the tragic incident that has affected their school.

"Students I have some bad news to tell you, if you haven't heard already
two of our fellow students went out for a surf last Thursday when it all
went tragically wrong, and Dan..." The principal didn't know that Caleb was
in the assembly till that point, as soon as he said Dan's name he heard
someone get up and run straight through the solid double doors at the
entrance to the hall which caused a loud bang that echoed through the hall
causing everyone to turn their heads to see what had happened, and the
principal realised then that Caleb had been there. He then dreaded that he
had started to say things without having checked around properly first, but
didn't think in the slightest that Caleb would have turned up today.

Moments after Caleb ran out of the assembly, three other boys chased after
him, Mrs Milner who was supposed to be guarding the door let them through,
giving the principal a look to say they were alright, but she stopped
anyone else who tried to go. The principal thought it best to explain about
Caleb, so continued to tell the assembly about the events of last Thursday.

Caleb ran straight outside then across the courtyard to the far side then
sat down on a bleacher and cried. Chris, Tim and Luke quickly caught up
with him and all tried to hug and comfort him, telling him how sorry they
were about what happened to Dan. They sat their comforting Caleb for a
while trying to tell him that none of it was his fault and that Dan would
be alright. Caleb finally decided to talk and tell his friends how he was
feeling.

"Chris thank you for keeping me company this morning as I really needed
someone who wasn't an adult around," Caleb started, Chris just smiled.

"It was my pleasure, you needed someone, and I was just glad you felt
comfortable with me," he said genuinely, he had always hoped that if any of
his friends needed him that he would be there for them.

"And I want to thank all of you for following me out of the assemble to
make sure I was alright, even though you could get into big trouble for it,
but what I really have to say, well Chris already knows but I thought you
two should know too, and I hope we can still be friends at the end," Caleb
said with a lot of anxiety in his voice, as he had been here before,
although under much different circumstances.

"Look whatever it is we don't care it won't affect our friendship, we like
you for who you are," Tim said with a lot of conviction in his voice which
eased Caleb's fears, Luke agreed whole heartedly with the older boy, but
Chris wasn't sure about Caleb's decision, but knew it had to be told so the
other boys would fully understand as to why Caleb had got so upset.

"Well since Dan and I met, we well... hit it off real well and after a
while we realised that we were always going to be more than just
friends... I have got so upset from what has happened to Dan because we
love each other, and we just... well... seem to have a real strong
connection," Caleb was in tears again, from talking about Dan, but also
telling their friends their secret shame and also a bit guilty for telling
them without Dan being the too, but he knew Dan would understand. He had
misjudged the two boys who weren't worried about them being gay in the
slightest, they, like Chris had been were happy for them, well sort
of. They would be happy for them if Dan was there too, but they were
starting to understand Caleb's pain, and both boys gave him a big hug.

Once Caleb had settled down again, the boys told him not to worry, they
actually admired his bravery in telling them, and eased his fears even more
by telling him that they wouldn't tell anyone, but now they wanted to know
what happened on Thursday, if Caleb was up to telling them, so Caleb
swallowed hard, knowing this was going to be tough but he started the
story.

Mrs Milner had quietly snuck out once the other kids were settled again and
watched the group from across the courtyard, she could tell what Caleb was
trying to tell them, and was happy with the other boy's response, knowing
that Caleb was in good company she went to tell the other boys teachers
they wouldn't be in class for a while, then went to see the principal once
the assembly was over and advised him to call Caleb's dad to pick him up,
as he is going to be more of a disturbance than anything to the other kids
at the moment.

Caleb's dad was frantic, he had just got up and gone to check on his son
and found his bed empty, he hadn't even thought about the prospect that he
may have gone to school, and was panicking because he was nowhere in the
house, in his rush to search the house had also over looked the one school
bag that was missing in the lounge, where the father had dumped them on
Thursday before rushing his son to hospital.

He was about to go and search around the town when his cell phone rang, he
answered it and said "hello Marie," thinking it was Dan's mother with
another update to the boys condition, he was about to cut her off and say
that Caleb was missing when he realised it wasn't who he thought it was,
and apologised for calling them Marie. It was the principal, who had called
him to come and pick Caleb up from school, you could tell from the look on
the fathers face that he was dumbstruck, he couldn't believe that his son
had decided to go to school, he told the principal that he would be there
as soon as he could, then hung up and made another quick call, before
getting himself ready and heading out the door.

Once he got to the school and entered the gate he saw four figures huddled
together on the far side of the courtyard, Caleb and his group had not
moved from there since the assembly had ended, and during morning break the
teachers had tried to keep the other kids away from them, to ensure they
had space to themselves.

Mrs Milner had seen the father turn up and had left her class to greet him
and fill him in, with the principal following close behind. After they had
both greeted Caleb's father they told him what had happened at the
assembly, and explained to him that the other three were Dan's best
friends, whom had taken Caleb under their wing when Dan had first
introduced them. Mrs Milner said that she should get back to her class, she
had been glad to meet Caleb's dad finally and would have liked to have
spent more time with him, but if she didn't get back soon then her
classroom would look like a bomb site.

They had wandered across the courtyard by now and were standing only a few
feet away from the boys, Caleb was doing most of the talking, still
explaining to the others what had happened. The three friends were crying
but were also taking turns in giving him comforting hugs, also trying to
calm Caleb down as they had noticed that he was shaking a bit. Caleb's dad
was happy at how quickly they had become good friends and knew that he was
in good company.

"Right you three better head for class, and Caleb I think it's best for you
to go with your dad," the principal said as soon as he thought they were
finished with the story.

"No, not unless we are going to the hospital I want to stay here," Caleb
protested because he was actually sort of happy again being with his
friends, and he was still pissed off with his dad.

"Well we are going to the hospital so you better hurry up," his dad said
sternly not able to believe his sons outburst, but remembered his mood from
yesterday so figured he still wasn't happy with him.

"Can we come too, please, if it's alright with our parents," the three
other boys asked in earnest, which had caught everyone a little off guard,
but they were Dan's friends so the shouldn't have been surprised.

"Please we want to be there for Caleb, and of course for Dan but it is
Caleb who is going to need the support for the moment and we would like to
help him," Tim the oldest boy continued, he had said it in such a way that
he knew the adults wouldn't say no, as it was likely to start a riot from
Caleb who they knew was mad at his father for taking him away from the
hospital, because Caleb had told them how he had been feeling since leaving
the hospital. The principal though had no intention to turn the request
down, he was happy to see they cared that much, and for Caleb's dad it was
the least he could do, as he was feeling guilty for bringing his son home
in the first place.

So the principal told Caleb and his father that they would only be a
moment, and escorted the boy's to the office to make the calls. Caleb and
his father wandered across the courtyard and waited at the main entrance
for the verdict. One by one the boys came running out and giving Caleb a
hug saying they were allowed to come, then turned to his father and thanked
him, they also said their parents would pick them up from the hospital so
he didn't have to worry about getting them home. Which Caleb's dad was
grateful about because he hadn't thought of that. Luke was the last to make
the call and when he came out the principal came out alongside him, and
told the boys to be on their best behaviour. Even though he knew they
would, he also told them they better be back at school tomorrow. Then
turned to Caleb and told him he didn't want to see him for the rest of the
week, he needed to take some time out, so he was not to come back to school
until he was sure he was ready.

Then they all headed towards Caleb's dads car, while the principal went
back to his office. The boys were straight away having an argument as to
who got to sit in the front, as they all wanted to sit in the back with
Caleb, so Caleb said he would sit in the front so he would disappoint
everyone equally, they all thought that was probably the best solution, as
no one likes to be left out, but were all disappointed because now none of
them could sit beside him.  They climbed into the car, and headed towards
the hospital with the three boys nattering away in the backseat, and Caleb
trying to join the conversation as much as possible. Caleb's dad was happy
and smiling because his son was in a much better shape today than he had
been, and it was all down to the three boys in the back seat.

The boy's kept chatting away for almost the entire trip, the only time they
stopped was when they had reached Charmers, and the boy's all gawked in awe
at the magnificent structure that was in port. The gleaming white Cruise
ship that was in port today was one of the largest ships to grace the
sea's, it easily dwarfed the one that Caleb and Dan had seen when they went
into the city for Dan's appointment. It was by far the biggest thing that
any of the boy's had ever seen, and they were all staring at it with their
mouths gaping open, but once they hit the expressway and the ship finally
disappeared from view, the boy's continued their conversation as if they
had never stopped.

They got to the hospital and found a park, then Caleb's dad lead the way as
he was the only one who knew or could remember where to go, so he showed
the four boys the way through the maze of corridors till they got to the
lifts, they had to wait again for a lift to get to the ground floor but
they were so busy talking that they didn't noticed.

The lift made it to the ground floor and the doors opened with a ding, they
let the people who were in it off, then all piled in as Caleb's dad pressed
the button for the fourth floor, then the lift doors closed, and the lift
started its trip up, almost as soon as the lift had got up to full speed it
started slowing again, then came to a sudden stop causing it to bounce a
couple of times as the momentum settled and the doors opened with a ding
again and everyone piled off.

They met Dan's mum part way down the corridor as she was on her way to the
cafeteria for some food and a coffee, but stopped dead in her tracks when
she saw the mob heading for her. She wasn't surprised to see Caleb and his
father, but the rest of Dan's friends she hadn't expected, well at least
not until the weekend. They all stopped and said hello to her, and then
each boy gave her a hug telling her how sorry they were for what had
happened, she thanked them giving them a hug back.

Caleb's dad explained to her as to how he ended up with the rest of the
bunch, she just gave him a weak smile at hearing that Caleb had gone to
school so soon which had upset her a bit, not because she thought it
disrespectful, no, because she worried about him, and school was the worst
place he could have gone. She was happy the other boy's had supported Caleb
so much, and told them how proud she was, she was also glad they had
persuaded their way into coming along, as it would help Caleb out heaps and
hopefully the boy would then behave himself.

She gave the boys a warning about the graphic state of their friend, and
lead the way through to the observation window, there were two doctors
talking in the corridor as they made their way through, Caleb noticed that
one was Dr Miller, and the other was Dr Walker which he was surprised
about, as he should have been at the children's ward. They both gave him a
smile as he went past, which had him a little worried as to what they might
be planning.

He let that thought go for the moment as the approached the window, and he
saw Dan again for the first time since Friday, he was extremely sad at the
sight as nothing had changed but he did his best to keep his emotions under
control, but it was eating him up inside. The other three friends were
equally in shock, it was Tim, surprisingly as he was the oldest, who broke
down first, which set off a chain reaction, and all the boys ended up
trying to comfort one another, whilst they were balling their eyes out.

The three friends finally understood now what Caleb was going through as
they also wanted to stay there as support for Dan, but they also knew that
because of Caleb's deep feelings towards him, it must be so much harder for
him, it was tough enough on them so they figured that he must be in the
depths of hell, which lead them all to give Caleb another tight hug whist
telling him that he was much stronger than them, as he seemed to be
handling it better.

The two parents had left the boy's while they went and got some food and a
coffee, they figured it was better for them to be able to show their grief
and with boy's being boy's, they wouldn't do it if adults were around. In
reality though the boy's hadn't noticed that the adults had disappeared,
they were too caught up in their emotions to even care if anyone had seen
them.

After a while they got their emotions under control, but still stood there
hugging each other while looking through the window at the sorry sight
inside. Caleb noticed a couple of nurses turn up, carrying three bags of
liquid, Caleb knew from experience that one bag was full of a sort of
liquid feed, designed to keep the patient hydrated, and also feeding them
essential vitamins and minerals, the second bag would contain some sort of
painkiller probably morphine, but he had no idea what was in the last bag,
probably some sort of medication. He looked back in at Dan, and noticed
that he was on the backup bag on all of the drips, so the nurses must be
replacing the empty ones.

So Caleb paid close attention to what they did, but made sure he didn't
look at them directly, he was instantly disappointed though as he saw that
they needed a doctor with the appropriate key card to access the first
door. Once inside they didn't need a doctor though, they put on some
anti-contamination suits, which looked like those suits you see the
forensics people wear on TV. Once the suits were on securely they pressed a
button, which locked the outside door, and then started a fine spray which
washed the suits. Once the spraying was complete they pressed another
button which unlocked the door into the isolation chamber, so they turned
the handle and entered. It only took them a couple of minutes to change the
bags, then they went through the same process in reverse, of course the
doctor had to authorise their release.

Caleb realised that his only chance to get in there was to be granted
access by the doctor, he felt his heart sink, there was no way he was going
to be allowed in there, he was resigned to the fact he wouldn't be able to
touch Dan again unless he got better, and started to cry.

The three friends noticed that Caleb had started to cry again and even
though they didn't know why they hugged him anyway, because at the end of
the day they weren't concerned as to what had upset him again; they were
here for that reason to comfort him when he needed it.

Caleb's dad and Dan's mum turned back up again, but they had brought
another small crowd with them, with their being another six more adults
following in their wing. The three friends of Dan and Caleb were latched
onto by two of the adults each, who just stood and hugged their sons while
taking in the sight of their friend that they had come to see.

The boy's introduced Caleb to their parents, which meant that Caleb had to
put up with another six sets of hugs plus their praises for being so brave,
but Caleb enjoyed it as getting hugged in hospital is way better that
getting hit and ending up in hospital, like what had previously
happened. Slowly as the parents saw fit they took their son home, while
saying goodbye and giving their deepest wishes for a good recovery for Dan,
and eventually it was back down to just Caleb, his dad, and Dan's mum.

Caleb was starting to feel lonely again, he still couldn't bring himself to
face his father, at least during the car trip he had an excuse as he was
turned around virtually the whole trip talking to his friends in the
back. But with them gone now he had no excuse but he was still angry with
him, so just continued to stare into the room at Dan. His dad tried to
cuddle him but he shrugged him off as he wasn't in the mood, he was glad
though when Dan's mum gave him a hug, she had come up behind him a wrapped
her arms around his chest and he held them firmly in place.

Dan's mum gave Caleb's dad a confused look after she had seen him shrug off
his father's hug, but he had gratefully accepted her hug, Dr Miller and Dr
Walker were also a bit concerned with his behaviour, so once Dan's mum
managed to break the hug they snuck out to an office further down the hall
for a conference.

"What was that about, in all the time he was here I had never seen him shun
you like that," Dr Miller asked concerned that something bad had happened.

"I don't know what's gotten into him, on Saturday he told me he was feeling
guilty for deserting Dan, but when he woke up on Sunday I could sense he
was angry with something, I also think he was blaming me too, as he would
make sure he had his back to me at all times when I was in his room, I
thought it might just be a phase, but I'm not sure anymore, but I'm
starting to think that taking him home on Friday may not have been a wise
decision," Caleb's dad replied, which caused Dan's mum to cry a little
because she didn't think the sweet little boy could be so mean.

"I have a theory about what has gotten into Caleb, and it's my fault," Dr
Walker piped up, a bit ashamed at himself. "I take it you didn't tell him
that he got sedated."

"No, if I had told him that I knew the result would be worse than the bombs
dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined, he would have lost the plot
totally, and I don't think he would ever forgive me for it," Caleb's dad
answered still worried about the potential consequences if he ever found
out.

"I think what has happened is he has gone from feeling guilty for deserting
his friend, to being angry with himself for falling asleep so not being
able to object to him getting discharged and taken home, all because he
doesn't realise that he was sedated. Unfortunately I can't tell you how
long he will continue to blame himself, and of course as an off shoot he
blames you too, but he will get over it eventually. I probably should have
told you to tell him what happened when he woke up; because that was the
only chance you had to tell him. To be honest I never expected this sort of
reaction, what he is showing to me is just how attached he is to Dan," Dr
Walker told them still a little shocked that the boy could blame himself so
much for something that was totally out of his control.

"Well I thought about the idea you had when you rung earlier and I have
found what we need," Dr Miller then said totally changing the subject, and
baffling Dan's mum and Dr Walker at the same time, but Caleb's dad knew
what he was talking about and smiled that the doctor had come through for
him.

"I am going to apologise straight away to you Ms Webber because what I'm
going to do is break all protocols. I have acquired an anti-contamination
suit for Caleb because I thought that just maybe if their bond is as strong
as it seems, then if Caleb gets to touch Dan we may just get a positive
reaction. This has never been tried in this hospital but I'm willing to
break the rules to see whether it works, but I have to have your consent Ms
Webber to allow it," Dr Miller explained feeling guilty for asking because
normally even the parents aren't allowed in an isolation chamber, but know
he was asking her to let her sons friend to be allowed in, instead of her.

"I fully understand, and had been thinking the same thing myself, but never
got around to asking. I figured that it can only do good and at worst
nothing at all. It's definitely worth a shot, so give me the consent form
and I will sign it," Dan's mum said, she was a little excited because she
really believed that Caleb would get through to Dan.

"Thank you, but I have to say as a doctor I shouldn't believe in this sort
of thing, but if it works well I think I will have to eat my doctorate," he
joked because as a doctor he shouldn't believe in miracles.

Dr Miller told Dr Walker to get a consent form for Ms Webber, and he would
go tell the news to Caleb. Caleb jumped up and down with excitement at the
news, and actually gave his dad a hug and thanked him for making it
work. Caleb's excitement sort of died a little afterwards as he realised
that he would be stuck with the doctor there too, which meant the visit was
going to have a time limit, but he thought on the bright side he was going
to be able to touch Dan for the first time since he had bandaged him up,
and seen him disappear inside the helicopter.

So Dr Miller slid his key card through the slit in the electronic locking
device hearing a clunk as the door unlocked, and then he opened the outer
door, Caleb ran in and put on his suit as quickly as possible, but just as
the doctor was about to close the door Dan's mum yelled out to him that she
had a question to ask him, so he left the room.

Caleb now fully suited up saw his chance, and quickly slammed the door
behind the doctor then found the button to lock it and hit it. The room
started to get misty as some sort of solution rained down from the ceiling,
it smelled like disinfectant which made sense Caleb thought. Through the
mist he could see Dr Miller trying desperately to stop the process but the
doctor knew it was all in vain, because even his card couldn't override the
system. The mist had now stopped and Caleb hit the second button, hearing a
clunk come from the door, he then opened it, stripped off the suit, and
walked over to the bed a hoped in beside Dan getting those electric
feelings return.

Dan's mum was struggling to supress her smile, as this was what she had
intended when she called for the doctor, she was just hoping Caleb would
take the chance and he did, she was really happy with the current
situation.

"Dr Miller come quickly, you should see this, we have suddenly stared to
get some positive readings," a nurse, who had been in a room monitoring
Dan's vitals, called out to the Doctor.

************

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