Date: Sat, 18 Jun 2005 19:43:36 -0700 (PDT) From: Thomas Gaige Subject: Brothers, Friends, & Lovers - Chapter 22 DISCLAIMER: The following story is FICTIONAL. It contains descriptions of sexual activities between men, teenage boys, and between men and teenage boys. If you are not over 18 years of age, or if you find this type of story offensive, or viewing this material is illegal where you are, then please DO NOT READ IT! If you choose to read it, then - I hope you enjoy it! Author's Note: Sorry it's taken me so long between chapter - but we've had a couple of deaths in our family recenty - and I've had no time for writing. I'm just getting back to it now - so here's the latest - enjoy! Tom. Brothers, Friends, & Lovers Chapter 22 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I wouldn't do that if I were you!" a nurse said, quickly walking into the room and over to Brian's bed. "I have to!" Brian cried, as tears streamed down his face. "I don't want to live anymore! I can't stand the pain anymore!" Then, before the nurse could stop him he took all the pills. "You shouldn't have done that Brian," the nurse said. "Now, we're going to have to pump your stomach!" "NO! PLEASE! Just let me go!" Brian sobbed. With tears welling in her eyes, the nurse bent over Brian and stroked his hair. "It'll be OK Honey," she said soothingly. Still sobbing, Brian turned onto his side, facing away from her. Quickly, the nurse called for help. A couple of orderlies ran into the room a moment later. As Brian screamed pathetically at them to let him die, they managed to get him strapped down onto a gurney. Together, the they and the nurse transported Brian down to the ER as quickly as possible. There, a doctor stuck a tube down his throat and pumped his stomach. When they were finished, they kept him in the ER for a short time for observation, then, when they were sure he'd be alright, they took him back up to the psychiatric ward. * * * It was almost a month before Jason saw Brian again. The night he swallowed the pills, Brian's father called the Andersons, and told them what had happened. He said that the doctors had decided the hospital wasn't adequately equipped to help Brian, and they had transferred him by ambulance to a special psychiatric hospital where he would get more intense therapy, and where he could be watched better. The staff at the psychiatric hospital asked that visitors be limited to just Brian's parents, and for short amounts of time. They also specifically asked that anyone who would remind Brian of Luke, not try to contact him at all for a while. Jason felt awful when he heard that Brian had tried to kill himself again. All he wanted to do was rush to his side, take him in his arms and hold him, telling him over and over that it wasn't his fault that Luke died, until it finally sank into his head. Now, he wasn't even allowed to visit him though! In the wake of Luke's death, and Dan's departure, Brian's situation just made Jason feel worse. He felt completely abandoned, and was extremely depressed himself. Thankfully, he wasn't depressed to the point that Brian was though. By default, since he had nothing else to do, Jason began spending much of his time with Bobby Callahan. * * * Jason had arranged to do something with Bobby the day after they'd met at the cemetery. After hearing about Brian's suicide attempt though, he really didn't feel like getting together with Bobby. In fact, he almost canceled. As he thought about Bobby though, he remembered how upset the boy had been when he found him crying over Luke's grave the previous day, and he knew he needed to follow through. He knew Bobby was taking Luke's death extremely hard, and he didn't want him to end up in the same depressed state he was in, or worse, like Brian was. Jason didn't really know what he was going to do with Bobby as he set off for his house the next day. He didn't know him well enough to know what kinds of things he liked to do, so he decided to see if Bobby had any suggestions. Bobby was home alone when Jason arrived. Both of his parents were at work. Jason wondered if Bobby had forgotten they were going to get together, because, the boy was clad only in a pair of sweat pants, and his hair looked tossled, like he'd just woken up after sleeping on it all night. Bobby ended Jason's speculation when he apologized for not being ready to go. He said he hadn't slept well the night before, and had ended up sleeping late. He'd also not thought to set an alarm the night before. "It's OK," Jason said, looking him up and down in a casual way, as they talked. Although Bobby was about to turn 15, he didn't look it. The casual observer would most likely take him to be a good year, year and a half younger. He was shorter than most boys his age, and very skinny. Jason noted that Bobby wasn't muscular at all. He also must not spend much time in the sun with his shirt off either, Jason thought, as his eyes passed over Bobby's chest and back. His skin was very pale, except for from the elbows down to his hands, and from his neck up. He was slightly tanned in those areas. Bobby wore a mop of straight, fine-looking, brown hair. Behind the glasses he wore, which made him look bookishly intelligent, he had beautiful blue eyes, with long, thick lashes. They were hooded by a pair of thick brown eyebrows. As Jason studied him, he realized Bobby was extremely good looking. Jason smiled slightly to himself as again his gaze passed over Bobby's chest. The boy had obnoxiously cute nipples! They were small, but pointy. "Shit, I wouldn't mind giving them a tweak, or a suck!" Jason thought to himself. Instantly, he silently berated himself for having thoughts like that about a boy who was so much younger than himself. "Do we have time for me to shower, before I get dressed?" Bobby asked, interrupting Jason's thoughts, oblivious to Jason's scrutiny of his naked torso. "Sure," Jason said, forcing his gaze from Bobby's chest, back up to his face. "Um... what are we going to do?" Bobby asked, still not realizing that Jason was giving him a good looking over. "I need to know what to wear." "I don't know," Jason said. "Hadn't figured that out yet. What kind of things do you like to do?" Bobby looked at Jason. He was a little surprised. He'd thought Jason would probably suggest something. As he stood trying to figure out something he'd like to do, that Jason might like to do too, he took his first really good look at Jason. He noticed then, how much Jason resembled Luke. Immediately, Bobby became aware of the blood flowing through his penis. "Well we could suck each other's dicks if you'd like," Bobby imagined himself saying. "Well?" Jason asked, jolting Bobby back to reality. "What do you like to do?" "Um... I don't know," Bobby said, his face turning pink. He hoped Jason hadn't noticed he was staring at him. "You wanta play some Video games while we think about it?" "Sure," Jason smiled. "OK," Bobby said. "C'mon, I got a Game Cube up in my room." Bobby turned and headed for the stairs then. Jason followed him. * * * Bobby had a typical boy's room. In addition to a full-size bed, dresser, and a night stand, there were a couple sets of book shelves loaded with a clutter of books and games. Amongst them sat an aquarium with dirt in the bottom, tropical looking plants and a plant light. Two green geckos sat side by side on a flat rock in the middle, basking in the warmth of the light. "Cute!" Jason said, grinning and squatting down to get a better look at the lizards. "Those are Ricky and Rodney," Bobby said. "Ricky's got the little black spot on his tail." "They're cool," Jason said. "Thanks," Bobby said. As Bobby watched Jason scan the rest of his room, he realized with horror that he'd left his jar of vaseline sitting on the night stand next to his bed. He hoped Jason didn't notice it, or if he did, that he didn't figure out what he used it for. There was no way for him to discreetly walk in front of Jason, pick it up, and stuff it in a drawer. All Bobby could do, was wait, and worry. When Jason looked in the direction of the night stand, his eyes did stop when he saw the jar of petroleum jelly. A moment later, he suddenly smiled to himself and glanced at Bobby. Bobby realized then that Jason knew what he used the Vaseline for. His face flushed bright red, and he looked mortified, and his face dropped to the floor. Realizing that Bobby knew that he knew what it was for, and that the boy was dying of embarrassment, Jason smiled benevolently and said, "Relax, it's not like you're the only guy who jacks off! We all do! But... let me suggest you try using hand lotion instead of Vaseline. It's a hell of a lot easier to clean up!" Bobby looked up at Jason, shocked. Jason grinned a shit-eating grin and winked at him. Bobby couldn't help himself then. He smiled too, although his face remained bright red, as he stepped over to the night stand and put the Vaseline in the drawer. "um... Thanks for the suggestion," he said, softly. "No problem. If there's anything I can do to help you have a better orgasm, I will," Jason said. "Aw shit!" he exclaimed immediately afterward, realizing what he'd said. "I'm sorry, that REALLY came out bad! I just meant, if I thought there was something you needed to know to make it better for you, I'd tell you!" Bobby smiled slightly, although he was still rather red in the face. "I-I got what you meant," he said. To himself, Bobby thought "Oh man, all you'd have to do is strip naked in front of me and I'd have a great orgasm. I'd blow my load all over you!" Again,he felt the familiar stirring in the crotch of his sweat pants. Bobby wished he'd taken the time to put on some underwear under them when he dressed earlier, but he'd been afraid of missing who was at the door, ringing the bell. "Anyway, give it a try with handlotion. Like I say, it's much less mess!" Jason said. "OK," Bobby said, still blushing, but smiling shyly. Mentally, he made a note to try using some of his mother's hand lotion sometime. * * * Bobby turned his attent to the 20" TV on top of the dresser then. On a shelf next to it, was a Game Cube. "Super Smash Brothers?" Bobby asked, naming one of his favorite Game Cube games. "Sure," Jason said, looking around a little more. "C'mon and sit down then," Bobby said, sitting down on the edge of his bed, facing the TV. "'K," Jason said, dropping down next to Bobby and taking the game controller the boy offered him. "Ever play this before?" Bobby asked. "Nope. You'll have to explain," Jason said. Quickly Bobby explained how the game worked, and a few minutes later, the two were playing. Bobby of course won the first four games. Jason managed to beat him in the fifth one though, but barely. "OK," Jason said, after losing two more games. "Enough of this for now. My thumbs hurt! How 'bout we decide where we're going." "OK," Bobby said. He picked up the controllers and set them on a shelf and turned off the TV and Game Cube. "So... what do you like to do?" Jason asked, as Bobby sat down next to him again. "I don't know," Bobby said. He flopped backward, onto his bed and stretched. Then he folded his arms under the back of his head, and looked back at Jason. As Bobby was still shirtless, Jason noticed that he had little wisps of dark hair in each of his armpits. He would've liked to reach out and run his fingertips through them, but of course he couldn't. So that Bobby wouldn't think he was staring at him, Jason laid back on the bed next to him, in the same fashion. He was fully clothed, but his T-shirt was sleeveless, so his armpits were completely exposed as well. "Shit I wish I had armpit hair like he has," Bobby thought to himself. Again he became aware of the sudden flow of blood through his organ. The two lay quietly for a moment, each looking at the other. Bobby was looking at Jason's armpit, thinking how sexy Jason was. Much to his horror, he felt his penis starting to stretch in response. Frantically, he tried to think of something else, hoping that the erection that was beginning to form in his crotch would stop, before Jason noticed it. Unaware of Bobby's burgeoning problem, Jason was again looking at Bobby's pert nipples. Not wanting to be caught staring at them, he shifted his eyes downward to his feet. As his gaze passed over Bobby's crotch, he was surprised to see the clear outline of Bobby's penis through his sweat pants. Automatically, his eyes stopped and he looked for a moment at the boy's pelvic region. He was even more surprised, when he noticed that the bulge in Bobby's crotch was steadily getting bigger, and poking up more and more under his sweat pants, which were loosely lying flat on top of where it was. As much as he wanted to continue watching Bobby's hardening dick, Jason forced himself to look away. He didn't want Bobby to realize he'd noticed. It would've been very embarrassing for him, as well as for Bobby. "How about miniature golf?" Jason asked, suddenly, trying to think of anything the two of them could do, in an effort to get a non-sexual conversation going. Horrifically aware of his continually growing problem, Bobby's thoughts were a jumble. "Huh?" he asked, praying Jason wouldn't look back at him. "What about miniature golf?" Jason asked again, continuing to look toward the tank of geckos on the shelf beyond his feet. In his peripheral vision he realized that Bobby's tent was nearly completely pitched. "Damn," Jason thought, feeling his own dick beginning to harden. "He's got a big one for a little guy!" "Sure! That'd be good," Bobby said. Realizing his boner was VERY obvious, Bobby quickly rolled away from Jason, and sat up on the other side of the bed. "I'm gonna get showered then," he announced, feeling his face beginning to burn again. He got up then and rather awkwardly side-stepped his way out of his room, hoping Jason wouldn't notice, so that Jason didn't see the way his hardon was tenting the front of his pants so much. "OK," Jason said, making no further comment, and pretending not to notice Bobby's strange behavior. * * * "Fuck, that was embarrassing," Bobby thought to himself, after he shut the bathroom door. He hoped Jason hadn't seen his problem, or noticed how weird he was acting. "Last time I put on sweatpants without underwear on!" he vowed to himself, looking down at the way his erection was sticking out in front of him causing a huge bulge, just like a tentpole in his sweats. "No wonder they call it 'tenting'!" he said, wryly to himself. He pulled his sweatpants down and off his body then. As Bobby stood up, his 6-1/2" penis stuck straight out in front of him. Bobby smiled slightly as he wrapped his hand around it and began sliding his skin back and forth over his rigid piece of meat. As Bobby masturbated himself, he leaned his head backward and closed his eyes, enjoying the pleasure he was giving himself. Bobby continued jacking off for a few seconds, but then he abruptly stopped and got into the shower. He turned on the water, holding his hand under the spigot, as he adjusted the temperature, then when it was the degree of warmth he wanted, he straightened up and diverted the flow of water to the showerhead. A blast of water sprayed out of it, soaking Bobby, who stood slowly spinning around, getting wet all over. A moment later, he stepped back out of the spray and took a bottle of shampoo off the corner shelf, and poured some into his hand. Then he soaped up his hair, working up a good lather. A moment later, his hands traveled down his body, rubbing the shampoo all over himself like it was a body wash. When he finished soaping his abdomen, Bobby reached up and scraped some more shampoo off his head, then he used both hands to thoroughly soap up his genitals. He scooped another handful of suds from his hair and pressed it into his ass crack. Reaching behind him, he ran his right hand up and down, through the depth of his crack, thoroughly cleaning himself, and at the same time, enjoying the feeling of his fingers sliding over his anus. When he felt completely clean, Bobby once again grasped his penis, which was still as stiff as a board, with his right hand, and he clutched his scrotum with his left hand, and he began sliding his hand up and down his dick, and gently squeezing his balls! "Mmmmm..." he moaned softly, closing his eyes and leaning his head back. Bobby's hand continued sliding up and down his soapy cock for a while. After about a minute and a half, Bobby felt his orgasm building up. His head tilted forward again, and his eyes opened as he looked down at his crotch. His mouth opened too, as he began panting. His hand started pistoning up and down his dick even faster. Suddenly, Bobby groaned, and bent a little forward. A streak of cum shot out his dick, splattering on the shower curtain. "AAwwwww!" he moaned, smiling slightly at the release he felt. Bobby kept on beating off, pausing slightly every couple of seconds, when his body tensed up, and he fired another load of cum against the shower curtain. Within a half minute, Bobby's orgasm was over. He felt much better, as he felt his penis beginning to soften. Quickly he rinsed the soap off his body. * * * While Bobby was in the shower, Jason looked around his room. He looked at the geckos some more. Then at all Bobby's books. "Kid must like to read," he thought to himself. Jason stopped short when he looked again at the nightstand next to Bobby's bed. This time since the jar of Vaseline wasn't there, grabbing his attention, he noticed the countenance of his brother staring back at him. "Son of a bitch!" Jason muttered, stepping over and picking up the framed picture. He looked at it curiously. It was only a photocopy of Luke's senior portrait from the school year book. He wondered why Bobby didn't have a better picture of Luke. As he stood looking at it, Bobby walked into the room. He had a towel wrapped around his waist, and his hair was dripping a little yet. Jason looked up at him. Bobby looked embarrassed when he realized Jason was holding his picture of Luke. Jason didn't say anything. He just smiled at him, and set the photograph back down. "I'll just be a minute," Bobby said. He turned his back to Jason and opened a dresser drawer. Jason was about to leave to give Bobby some privacy, but the boy dropped his towel and bent over to pull on a pair of underpants right in front of him. As he did so, Jason got a good look at his ass. It was damned cute, which caused Jason's dick to flex slightly and begin to harden. "I could've left," Jason said, as Bobby turned around, once his underwear was on, to pick up a pair of jeans off the floor next to the bed. "It's OK, I don't care if you see my butt," Bobby said, hoping he sounded casual. "Oh, OK," Jason said, stepping back over to look at the geckos some more. A few minutes later, Bobby was fully dressed and ready to go. "OK, let's go swat some golf balls then," Jason said, smiling. Bobby smiled back at him, and followed him out of his room and downstairs to his car. * * * Jason took Bobby to play miniature golf then. Neither of them were very good, but they enjoyed teasing each other, and trying to out-do one another. In the end, they played two rounds, and each won one of them. Afterward, they discovered that there was a go-cart track next door. Jason grinned and asked Bobby if he'd like to take a spin. Although he looked interested, Bobby dubiously said he didn't know. "Why not?" Jason asked. "I've never done it before," Bobby admitted then, turning pink in the face. Laughing, Jason said, "C'mon, I'll teach you. It's a piece of cake!" They went next door, and happily found nobody else was at the track, so Jason rented a couple of go-carts for them. The person working there explained how everything worked. "Now just follow me," Jason said. Jason took off slowly then, and Bobby haltingly lurched away from the starting point after him. Happily, he found that Jason was right - it was indeed a piece of cake! A couple minutes later, he was speeding along behind Jason, as if he'd driven a go-cart a hundred times before. "That was AWESOME!" Bobby gushed, when they finished up. "Can we go again?" Jason looked at the person working there, and she just smiled and nodded. "You can pay for a second run on your way out." Grinning, the guys got back in their go-carts and took off again. * * * "Thanks Jason," Bobby said, later, as they were leaving. "That was a lot of fun!" Jason could tell by Bobby's face, that he meant it. The boy was positively beaming! Jason was happy he'd been able to help him get his mind off Luke for a while. "OK, lunch time!" Jason announced. "How about McDonald's?" "OK," Bobby said. "But Mom gave me some money so I could pay for my stuff. You gotta let me pay for my lunch at least." Chuckling, Jason said, "If you insist." "I do," Bobby said, smiling. * * * Shortly, the two were sitting at a picnic table on the lawn next to the parking lot at McDonald's. Jason was eating a Big Mac, and Bobby was munching on a Double Quarterpounder with Cheese. Neither spoke as hungrily, they devoured their meals. As they ate, Bobby replayed in his mind the fun they'd just had go-carting. He'd had a lot of fun with Jason, and was really starting to like him. He hoped he'd take him go-carting again sometime. Then, he began thinking about other things they could do together. As he made a mental checklist of things he thought would be fun, he suddenly realized he'd have to ask his parents' permission to continue hanging out with Jason. It was then, that in his mind he heard them saying 'why does this guy want to spend time with a boy your age?' This caused Bobby to begin wondering the same thing. He realized then, that Jason was probably just being nice to him because of Luke, and that it probably wouldn't last. All the happiness he'd been feeling vanished suddenly. Sadly, he looked off across the parking lot and sucked down the last of his soda. As Jason finished his own soda, he noticed the sudden change in Bobby's countenance. Suddenly he was sad looking again, and he wasn't talking either. "How come you're so quiet suddenly?" Jason asked. Bobby looked at him for a moment, but didn't answer. Jason continued looking curiously at him. "Why are you spending time with me?" he asked Jason, finally. "What do you mean?" Jason asked. "Are you just hanging around with me because Luke asked you to?" Bobby asked, looking carefully at Jason, attempting to see his reaction. Jason smiled and said, "Well that's one reason I guess. At least, it's the one that caused me to come see you to begin with." "Is that the only reason?" Bobby pressed him. "No," Jason said. "Why else then?" Bobby asked. "Is it because you feel sorry for me?" "Well, I suppose that could be another reason. I mean I do feel bad for you that you lost Luke. I know how much you liked him, and that he cared a lot for you. And knowing how I, as his brother feels having lost him, I can imagine how you must feel too," Jason said. "So... I was right. it's because Luke asked you to, and you feel sorry for me," Bobby said resignedly, unable to hide the tone of sadness in his voice. Depressed again, he looked down at the ground. Jason smiled then and reached over and hooked Bobby's chin with his finger. He lifted the boy's face up, so he they were looking at each other. "Those are just two of the reasons Bobby. I'm doing it for me too. Just like you've lost Luke, so have I. There's a huge hole in my life, just like there is in your's. I know I can never completely fill in that hole for you. Neither can you for me. But I know I really need to fill that hole in at least part way with someone I can be friends with. I want to try and fill it with someone who'll understand how I feel. I know you understand. And I know you have the same needs as I do. Besides that Bobby, I know Lukey loved you, so I know that you've got to be a great guy. I want the person who I fill part of Luke's hole in my heart with to be someone who's a great guy. So I'm not doing it just because I feel sorry for you, although I do, nor because Lukey asked me to, even though he did. I'm doing it because I want to. I want to get to know the guy my little brother felt was so special - the guy he liked to hang out with. The guy he chose to be his little brother! I want to be your friend that way too Bobby!" Jason said. Bobby's eyes welled with tears as Jason finished speaking. As Jason continued holding the end of Bobby's chin, smiling sadly at him, he felt Bobby's chin beginning to tremble slightly. A tear escaped from the boy's right eye and dribbled slowly down his cheek. "I want that too," Bobby managed to answer, just before he broke into tears. "I'm glad Bobby," Jason said, smiling sadly. Jason got up then and walked around the picnic table and sat down next to Bobby. He wrapped an arm around the boy and held him, as he cried softly for a minute. As he comforted Bobby, Jason's eyes filled with tears too, which he fought back as best as he could while Bobby wept softly. * * * Jason and Bobby spent a lot of time together after that. They went go-carting again - several times, as they both seemed to really enjoy it. They went swimming a few times. A few times they visited Luke's grave together. Sometimes they just played video games, or sat quietly together watching TV. They did a lot of different things. It wasn't too long before both of them were completely comfortable with each other, and had started to think of each other in a brotherly way. Grieving together and doing things together brought them closer to each other, and helped both of them to deal with their own personal feelings of loss over Luke's passing. As the summer progressed, they both began to slowly heal and get back to normal, without the brother they loved. Bobby loved spending time with Jason for another reason too. Unbeknownst to Jason, Bobby thought Jason was the sexiest looking hunk he'd ever seen. Whenever Jason wasn't looking, Bobby's eyes zeroed in on Jason's crotch, or his ass, or his chest, or his arm pits, or his sexy eyes, or ... well, you get the picture. When Jason looked his way though, Bobby quickly looked away, and took precautions to hide the lump that had developed in his crotch. It got to the point that ruefully, Bobby thought to himself that his penis was constantly in a state of semi-erection, if not fully stiff, whenever Jason was around. When Jason wasn't around, Bobby found himself masturbating more often than he used to as well. And when he did jack off, he most always fantasized that it was Jason sucking him, or fucking him! He also took Jason's advice and switched to using hand lotion, instead of vaseline as a lubricant when he jerked off in his bedroom. Jason had been right. It was a LOT easier to clean up! Jason was having a similar problem as well. And, just like he was unaware of Bobby's feelings and desires, Bobby was unware of his. Even though Jason was several years Bobby's senior, he couldn't stop feeling attracted to the boy. Bobby was an extremely good looking young man, although he was short and skinny. He didn't have an ounce of fat on his body though. His skin was smooth, almost completely unblemished, clear of acne, and a nice pale creamy color. He had a pleasant face, and nice straight, white teeth. His most alarmingly attractive feature was his eyes. He had the most beautiful blue eyes that seemed to just suck Jason in. Jason had a hard time diverting his eyes whenever Bobby looked his way. Bobby had hardly any hair on his body, other than the tufts in his pits, and his pubic hair. Jason also imagined that the boy's penis, which he'd seen a couple times when they changed together to go swimming, could get to be a good size for his body. He had a great ass too. Although he knew it wasn't right for him, at age 22, to desire a 15 year old's body, Jason couldn't help but wish he could suck the boy off, bury his face between his ass cheeks and ream his asshole out with his tongue, and then make slow, passionate, love to him. He of course never acted on his wishes, and tried his best to avoid looking at Bobby too much, in the hopes that he wouldn't have a constant hardon while he was with him. As a result, Jason too found himself masturbating more often than usual, and usually Bobby was a part of his fantasies. And so the summer went. The two spent a lot of time together, having fun, healing their spiritual wounds, and secretly wishing they could be even closer to each other than they were. Emotionally, the did become closer. Much closer. After just a week, Jason realized he was thinking of Bobby as if he were a little brother. Bobby too knew that he'd found another brother. As they got closer to each other, their relationship did get more physical. Jason would jab Bobby in the ribs, causing him to squeal in surprise and laugh from being tickled. Jason would of course tickle him more, causing uproarious fits of giggles from the boy. Other times, he might grab Bobby and get him in a headlock and administer a noogie. He was careful to keep it a gentle noogie though. Although Bobby loved being held tightly in Jason's arms, for appearance's sake, he would try to break way from Jason when these things happened, and the two would end up wrestling around, until, exhausted they collapsed in a heap together on the ground, floor, couch, or bed. Bobby wished Jason would take things further, and Jason really wanted to take things further, but he didn't. He didn't want to hurt the boy in anyway. Their rough housing did cause them both to feel even closer to each other though. As Jason and Bobby spent time together, getting to know each other, helping each other grieve, and secretly lusting after each other, Brian spent a few hours a day at the psychiatric hospital, in individual counseling sessions, and in group therapy sessions. Slowly, he too began to heal. While it would literally take several more months for him to get back to his old self, and he would never completely forgive himself for Luke's death, he did get past the point where he felt he was the sole cause of Luke's death. He also got past feeling that his life was worthless, that he needed to be punished for his hand in Luke's death, and that he should end his miserable existence. For this, his parents were most thankful. So, although he still required counseling and group therapy sessions a few times a week, with the immediate danger of feeling suicidal gone, Brian's parents were finally able to bring him home in early August... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The next chapter in this series will be published shortly.