Life Anew Chapter 4

Warning: This story does not contain any sex. None of the characters are based on real people nor are they meant to resemble any living or dead people.

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** Guys not doing a character list for this chapter.

Life Anew

Chapter 4

"At Work"

Jennifer is eating breakfast with her husband when it hits her, that she hasn't told her husband about the news from work. He won't take it well, but he still deserves to know. Doctor Gaines is one of his favorite people on Earth. John doesn't like having to hear about the gossip from work. He's more concerned with how her day went in general. Still, this news is huge, and she is proud of herself.

"John, I have big news from work."

Jennifer says, but John can tell from her voice that he isn't going to like this news.

"Doctor Gaines and our new nurse seem to have hit it off."

He rolls his eyes as he looks at the newspaper.

"Doctor Gaines is going to ask him out today. Are you listening to me?"

John has heard everything that his wife has said, but it doesn't mean that he likes it. He already knows that she has something to do with this budding relationship. It can't be good for Cody and whoever this nurse maybe.

"Yes, I'm listening to you, but can you honestly tell me that you had absolutely nothing to do with their relationship?"

She smiles and raises her hand up, signaling that she had a little bit to do with the whole situation that's going to unfold. He puts the paper down on the table and then looks at his wife.

"I thought you agreed to stay out of Cody's relationships. I know, he can be a little slow to approach people because of Chase, but wouldn't it be better for him if he did it in his own time. Please tell me you didn't push him."

She looks at her phone and sees the time. It's not time for her to leave for work, but she doesn't want to have this conversation with her husband.

"I need to leave for work. Cody asked me to look at one of the patients' charts, so I am going in early."

For the third time this morning, John rolls his eyes. He doesn't buy it, but at least she has a job, and they have their health. He watches as his wife gets up and heads to the bathroom to brush her teeth before grabbing her keys and walking out the door.

***

The morning staff meeting over, and Jennifer walks up to Doctor Gaines. She doesn't want him to forget his promise to her. He has to speak with Andrew today like he said he would. When they find themselves alone for a second, she immediately turns to him and speaks

"Cody don't forget to speak with Andrew today."

Cody doesn't need to be reminded. It's all he could think about all night long. Luckily, it's all about work for now.

"Jennifer, don't you have a patient to see."

He tells her not wanting to spend time thinking about what's going to happen today. He wants his mind on his patients, not on Andrew's beautiful smile or the words that he practically has memorized which he'll use when he talks to Andrew after work today.

"I do have patients to see, and so do you. Just don't forget, you might live to regret it if you don't speak to him."

With those words said, he walks out of the break room and heads out to help his patients.

***

Cody isn't the only one that is waiting for the end of the day. Andrew is also waiting for the end of the work day to speak with Cody. He too has spent a good deal of time thinking of what to say to Cody. If it were not for the patients, the day would drag on and it would drive him crazy. He's super motivated when he's at work, and that really helps him out today.

***

The day has finally ended and the guy's stomaches are full of butterflies. The guys wind down their shift and finish their paperwork. Cody is sitting in his office finishing all the reports that need to be made. He also looks at the appointments for next week. He wants nothing more then to see Andrew and to get his feelings out in the open. Everyone else is doing work in either the break room or in the office area of the clinic. Andrew is just about done. Cody and Andrew have nerves that are driving them crazy. The nurse wants to run for the hills and Cody just wants to get it over with right now. Knowing that all the patients are now gone, Cody picks up the his phone and then uses the intercom button to call Andrew into his office.

"Nurse Brock, can you please report to my office? Bring your charts for the day."

No one other then Jennifer really had any idea about what might be going on in the office. Andrew grabs his charts from Jennifer and heads down towards Doctor Gaines' office. He knocks on the door and he is told to enter the office.

"Please sit down. You don't need the charts. They were just an excuse for me to get you into the my office."

Andrew can't believe that Cody used the charts as a reason to get him into the room.

`I wonder why he wants me in the office?'

Cody's guest is sweating and even Cody himself is sweating buckets. Cody takes a deep breath and then smiles as he looks into Andrew's eyes. A light flashes in the doctor's eyes that makes Andrew practically melt in his seat.

"Doctor Gaines, what did you need to tell me?"

Andrew asks his boss, and then he quietly waits for Cody to speak. In the meantime, their hearts begin to beat a little faster.

"Andrew, I have something to tell you, and you can decide what you want to do with it. From the minute that you entered my office for your interview, I immediately noticed that you were very handsome. There have been days that I've wanted to talk to you but I've kept myself from doing it because of our work relationship. Trust me when I saw, that I've been into you from day one. I've felt this electricity whenever we've been in the same room together. Now, that I've said my part is there anything you want to say?"

Andrew is floored. He's shocked by the revelation that Cody has put out in front of him. Andrew knew that he felt eyes on him but he never knew how Cody felt about him. The electricity that he mentioned feeling when they've been in the room together, yeah he's felt that too on many occasions. Can he really express his words to Cody though?

"Doctor Gaines, I don't know..."

He's interrupted by Cody.

"Sorry for stopping you from speaking, but call me Cody. You aren't in my office as my nurse, you're here as a friend."

"Okay well Cody, I don't know what to say. I noticed you from the first moment too. It was the crazy butterflies in the stomach kind of feeling. Our first handshake though sent lightning bolts through me. I have had the biggest crush on you from day one. I have a friend who told me that I should have told you a lot sooner than today. I don't know why, I haven't spoken up before today, guess I was afraid of being fired. I'm not going to be fired am I?"

Cody puts out a hand across the table and places it on Andrew's hand. Without warning, a surge of electricity seems to travel from Cody's hand into Andrew's hand and then it travels down to his toes.

"I felt that, my toes are tingling."

Cody smiles for the second time since he entered the office, Andrew sees the doctor's eyes sparkle. It makes him glow inside.

"No, you aren't being fired, so let the fear go."

There is something special about being here with each other. Andrew isn't sure why it feels like magic, but it does. Not even Ethan made him feel so special the first time they talked. In fact, that day was strangely all sexual, but today feels so different. Maybe, it's the mix of fear and happiness. I mean how cool is it to find out that your crush has been crushing on you.

***

Andrew cannot believe that sitting here in front of him is the stuff of dreams and daydreams. Guess, there isn't a reason to wonder any longer if the doctor likes him or not. Cody is doing everything right. From his voice to the light in his eyes, Andrew is walking on amongst the clouds. Why has it taken this long for him to finally have someone like Cody? Maybe it's too early, maybe Cody will end up hurting him in the end, but Andrew can't accept that, if what he sees in the man in front of him is true, than all is good in the world. He hopes there will be a date and that things only get better from here on out.

***

In another part of clinic, Jennifer is quietly waiting for someone to leave the office. Only if someone comes out of the office will she be able to judge their faces. She wants good things to happen, because she loves Cody, and wants to see him smile. Certainly, he would be smiling under the affects of love. She wants to see Andrew happy as well. If love happens, then it means that her efforts would pay off as well. Jennifer is nervous as well, because she doesn't what is happening in the office. Cody and Andrew must come out of the office with smiles on their faces.

***

Back inside the doctor's office, there is still reasons for the guys to be nervous. Cody is extremely nervous. It was one thing to admit his crush to Andrew, but now he has to get his nurse to agree to a date. If their discussion from earlier is any indication, then there won't be a problem. Still, he feels really good about chances at getting a date.

"Andrew, I was wondering if you might be interested in going out on a date with me?"

Andrew's face lights up big time. He's super happy about the offer to go on date with his crush.

"I would love to go on a date with you sir."

Now it's Cody's turn to light up. He's smiling from ear to ear.

"Here, I guess we should exchange numbers huh?"

Andrew says to Cody as he is holding his phone out to the good doctor. The guys exchange phones and quickly exchange numbers. Cody would love to kiss Andrew but they aren't even on their first date yet, so he ignores that urge. Although, it's quite possible that Andrew would have allowed Cody's kiss.

"I wonder if everyone is still in the clinic? "

Andrew wonders since Jennifer is deeply interested in their relationship. It's quite possible that Jennifer mentioned it too Lisa and Susan. Lisa is one of the other nurses here at the clinic. Cody chuckles to himself.

"You know, I like to bet that they are all sitting in the office. I bet that they are waiting for the door of my office to open up, so she can tell everyone about us finally having the nerve to date each other."

Andrew nods his head in disbelief. Andrew totally agrees with Cody, because he knows that the doctor is right. They give the phones back to their owners.

"Andrew, would you be okay if we had our date tomorrow?"

Andrew doesn't care when the date occurs as long as he gets to date the hunk in front of him. He wonders what Cody is like outside of work, only time will tell.

***

When Andrew and Cody leave the office, they are in a straight hallway that is lined with exam rooms and a view of the office. As Cody and Andrew walk down the hallway, they are making small talk, but in the back of Andrew's mind is his past relationship. First stop is the break room where the guys gather their belongings so they can go home. Jennifer is anxious to see the guys pass by the office. She isn't the only one who wants to see the guys reactions they pass by them. With their stuff gathered up, they head out of the break room. The guys head down the hallway together. When they get to the office area, Jennifer, Susan, and Lisa all watch their boss and the nurse smiling as they say good-bye to everyone. Jennifer follows Cody out the door and to his car.

"I'm guessing, that you talked with Andrew?"

She asks Cody not wanting to make sure that he followed through with his promise.

"Yeah, I did and everything is okay, so I am heading home and grabbing my son."

"Bye Cody."

Cody doesn't say goodbye because his mind is elsewhere. His mind is on Andrew and Chase. It's kind of running in circles right now. Jennifer walks back into the clinic and smiles to the other ladies. Andrew walks out of the clinic and heads home thinking of Cody.

***

Cody is super excited his over the date tomorrow. He arrives at his mom's house and doesn't think to tell her about the date tomorrow. On the way home, he listens to his son talking but he's not fully paying attention to his son. He finds himself thinking about Andrew and the date.

"Daddy, are you okay?"

Chase asks Cody because, the boy can tell that his dad is distant, and that worries him.

"Yeah, I'm good. Are you okay?"

Finally, Cody is focused on his son. He glances into the mirror and sees his son smiling.

"I'm good Daddy."

Chase is studying his dad's face. Cody smiles a lot but he just seems happier today. It's one of those things that you can feel as well as see. It's been a while since Cody had a date and it feels amazing.

"Can we go to the park?"

Cody is more than willing to do whatever his son wants to do tonight, because he's in a good mood. Tomorrow will be about spoiling Andrew so why not spoil his son today?

"We can do whatever you want to do."

Chase's eyes get huge, he smiles, and laughs a little. When they get to the house, Cody helps Chase out of the car and the guys get into the house. Cody has to share his happiness with someone.

***

Cody sends Chase to the restroom, so he could call his sister without little ears. He gets out his cellphone and finds Mia's name. He taps her name and the phone starts ringing. Mia answers almost right away.

"Hey big brother, what's going on?"

"I did it, I got the nerve to talk to my nurse."

She is shocked that Cody actually approached his nurse. Cody has a tendency to be shy.

"So what did he say is he interested?"

Cody smiles, because there is no doubt that Andrew is interested.

"I think he is as attracted to me as I am to him."

Mia's question isn't answered. She decides to switch up the question a little.

"So I assume something good happened, did he agree to a date?"

Cody's heart is about to burst. What he can't see is that his son is quietly sitting not to far away from him.

"He did, we are going on our date tomorrow."

Mia smiles and Cody glows. Chase isn't sure what a date is, but he could see his daddy's smile when he said date.

"That is awesome Cody, I can't babysit tomorrow though."

Cody is a little disappointed but he knows that it's a little last minute. Hopefully his mom can babysit tomorrow otherwise, it maybe a little awkward. Without his mother's help, he may need to bring his son on the date. It's not something that he wants do.

"Just remember that, you need to be careful. I need to go Bro, Michael just got home. I want to hear about your date tomorrow, so don't forget to call me."

"Say hi to Michael and the kids for me. I will talk to you after my date at some point."

Cody ended the call and put his phone back where it belongs. It's while he's putting it away that finds out that Chase is sitting close by him.

"Hey Chase, I didn't hear come into the room. Are you ready to go to the park?"

Cody wonders if Chase heard him talking about the date. He's worried how it might impact his little bit. Hopefully, Andrew is okay.

"I'm ready Daddy."

The guys get ready to head out. Chase loves going out to the park with his dad. Cody loves to go to the park as well, because he knows that Chase needs to interact with other kids since he's an only child. Knowing that the date is tomorrow makes him so happy. Andrew is also suffering from happiness and giddiness.

***

Andrew is just getting home and he's super excited. He's crazy happy right now, but a part of him is also beating himself up. He decides to call Jason to share his good news.

"Andrew, what is going on dude?"

He knows what he wants to tell Jason, but how does he bring up the anxiety that seems to be growing along with the excitement.

"The good doctor asked me out on a date."

Jason can't believe it. His best friend is finally going on a date. Andrew really hasn't dated a lot since Ethan, and so hopefully the doctor will be good for him. Jason may have helped Andrew pick up the pieces when left he left Ethan.

"And what did you say?"

Jason hopes that Andrew told the doctor that he would go on the date. Andrew's happiness is showing through. What else could Andrew say but yes?

"I said "yes"."

If you know Andrew, then you know how huge this is for him. He's a good guy despite everything. Andrew needs to talk to Caden soon, so he can clear the air. He also needs to come clean to Cody about Ethan and the events associated with the loser. Jason is dying at the moment.

"Awesome, so when is your date? Where are you going?"

Jason asks his best friend. He's happy that his friend is finally going out with someone. To his knowledge, Andrew hasn't had a date since coming back home.

"My date is tomorrow but I have no idea where we are going."

Andrew is hoping that the date will go off with no problems. He doesn't know what to expect from the date, but he can dream. He wants his date to go perfectly. Course, he is concerned as well. He is worried that things may haunt him from his past relationship.

"Jason, I am beside myself as well as being excited."

Jason knows why his friend is feeling a little beside himself at the moment. Andrew has made a bad decision in his past but it has come back to bite in the ass. It's something he can't shake not just because he impacted the lives of others but also because it caused him to suffer. Jason has heard the tale many, many times and he knows that some of Andrew's pain will come to end if he would just talk to Caden, the man that he wronged.

"Andrew for now enjoy the fact that, you have something to look forward too tomorrow and enjoy your date tomorrow."

"I'll try my friend."

Andrew means what he says, but it doesn't make Jason happy. Jason wants to hear his friend sounding more confident.

"Do more than try? I need to go I'll talk to you later. I want to hear how you do tomorrow, so call me."

"I will do both tomorrow. Talk to you later Jason."

Andrew hopes to have his head on straight after his date tomorrow. He really doesn't want to kiss and tell or to say something that might betray Cody.

***

Meanwhile, we return to Cody's house just after the small family has returned home from the park. Cody hasn't talked about the date since he came home from the park, and Chase isn't exactly sure what a date is but he does know that it makes his daddy happy.

"Daddy, can I call Grandma?"

Cody has no problem with his son calling Grandma Gaines. It's early enough that the call won't interfere with his parent's dinner or their television shows. Cody quietly brings up his contact list hits his parent's landline phone number, then he hands the phone to his son. In a few rings, his mom answers the phone.

"Hi Cody."

"I'm not Daddy."

Chases says with a laugh.

"No, I guess you're not. How are you Chase?"

Mrs. Gaines asks her grandson, hoping to hear that he's good.

"I'm good Grandma. We went to the park today."

She puts the phone on speakerphone so her husband can hear it.

"Did Daddy take you?"

"Yeah, we played on the swings."

There is something to be said for a father who actively engages in play with their kid or kids. Cody has since birth and it means the world to the little guy and to the grandparents. Cody walks away and begins to gather everything needed for dinner, so he doesn't hear what his son is saying.

"Grandma, Daddy has a date."

Mrs. Gaines is a little surprised so is everyone in the house. Nothing like a little kid to gossip.

"Chase is Daddy by you?"

Chase looks around him to if he can find his daddy. Since Cody isn't in the living room, Chase can't see him.

"I can't see him."

She wants to talk with her son about the date. Course, she also doesn't want to get her grandson in trouble either. It just wouldn't be fair to get Chase in trouble by talking about the date and then having Cody come into the room.

"Chase, why don't you look for Daddy for me?"

Chase can hear his daddy in the messing around in the kitchen, so he heads towards the kitchen. The whole time the phone is still on and the call is still ongoing.

"I found him."

The little boy tells his Grandma. She knows that she shouldn't do this, but she wants to talk to her son.

"Give Daddy the phone."

"Here Daddy!"

Chase says as he hands his daddy the cellphone. He doesn't understand why Chase is giving up the phone so early. As soon as Cody is handed the phone, Chase goes off to play.

***

Cody still doesn't know that his mom knows about the date tomorrow. He may not have taken the phone if he knew what was about to take place.

"Mom, did you want to talk to me?"

He is a bit confused as to why his son gave him his phone back.

"So...your son let the cat out of the bag."

Cody stomach is sinking a little bit.

"What, what do you mean?"

Cody's mom doesn't know what to say to him about it. What she does know is that she wants to know what is going on with this date tomorrow.

"Honey, Chase didn't mean to tell us. He's just really happy for you."

`Chase told them about my date. I need to have a talk with him.'

Cody thinks to himself while considering what his mom told him. He decides he can't be upset with the his son. Cody generally doesn't make a big deal out of his dates, and rarely is Chase aware of the dates. He tries to keep everything quiet when it comes to Chase and dates.

"So tell me about this guy?"

He isn't sure that he wants to mention anything about his date to his mom. What she think if she found out that he is going on a date with one of his nurses? She will freak or at least that is what Cody thinks.

"Well, there isn't much to say really. We are about to have our first date."

His mom can read between the lines. She knows that her son is keeping something from her.

"Okay Cody, normally I would drop it, but the fact that my grandson knows about this date bothers me a little bit. So tell me about this guy?"

Apparently, Cody's mom isn't going to allow her son to just ignore her question. She is wanting an answer and wanting it now.

"Okay, but you aren't going to like it. When I first saw this person, I was drawn to him instantly. We are a little problematic. See, he is my nurse and, but we can handle it. I don't know what it is, but he is the most caring and gentle person that I know. I am doing this mom. We are doing this mom."

Mrs. Gaines isn't super excited over her son's choice of guys, but she decides to go along with his choice as long as he's happy.

"Honey, I don't care if you date him. You said he was a good person, so I'll go with that. I just hope, he treats you good as well as Chase."

Cody has always been very protective when it comes to his son. If he feels that Andrew isn't going to treat his son right, then Andrew will be gone. He won't allow anyone to betray his trust or his son's trust. She wasn't about to tell her son what to do with his date.

"So you think I'm okay dating this guy?"

Mrs. Gaines thinks about it for a second or two, then she gives her opinion on her son's situation. He doesn't have to like what she is about to say, but he's expected to respect it.

"If I was you, I'm not sure that I would date my nurse. I would find a way to move past the crush."

Cody doesn't deny that maybe, he shouldn't be dating Andrew, but he can't fight his feelings. Maybe, Andrew has the same exact feelings himself.

"Do you have a babysitter lined up for tomorrow?"

With Mia not being available to babysit, it would be amazing if his mom was willing to watch Chase.

"No, I don't have a babysitter. Mia has something going on tomorrow and she can't take him."

Again, she is quiet for a second or two. She doesn't want to say no, because she loves seeing her grandson. Chase loves seeing Grandma Gaines as well. If her son is willing to let her have him for a day, she'll gladly take him.

"We'll take him for the day. Call before you come, and we'll take care of the rest."

He is so thankful for everything that she does for him.

"Thanks Mom! I need to go Chase is already to help me get dinner going. Love you Mom!"

"Okay, Sweetie, take care of that little boy!"

Mrs. Gaines is happy to have her kids and grandkids in her lives. Chase is happy to have a daddy who is willing to play with him, having a daddy who will cook with him, and read with him. Cody and his mom end their call, and now his full attention is back on his son.

***

There is a lot to squeeze into the hours that are left in the day. Chase and Cody are working in the kitchen making beef stew. There is a lot of vegetable cutting, cubing of the meat that was bought for the stew, and that is all on Cody. Chase helps his daddy by dumping peels, dumping the veggies into a bowl, and lets not forget adding the spices and herbs so that his dady can add them into the pot. While the stew cooks, Chase works on a puzzle while his daddy watches, and then the son helps daddy work on his puzzle. They sit down Chase sits down with Dad and read a book. Then it was time to eat, Chase and Cody loved the stew. After dinner, Chase helps his dad clean up after dinner. It's also time for Chase to get ready for bed. Cody puts him to bed and then he retires to his office to relax.

***

Cody sits in his office coloring in one of the mandala books that he has as, he thinks about the date tomorrow. He wants a solid plan for tomorrow. If he gets his son up and gets him ready, he can drop Cody off at his mom's, and then pick up Andrew. He decides to take Andrew over to breakfast, then perhaps a trip to the botantical garden, where they can walk around and talk and enjoy the gardens. Hopefully, no one has treated Andrew to that before on a date. Cody is restless though, so he glances at this phone and decides to call someone.

***

When Cody's call is answered, the person on the other end of the phone is excited to hear his voice. As much as the other person wanted to hear Cody's voice, Cody wanted to hear his voice.

"Hi Andrew, am I disturbing you?"

Cody doesn't want to interrupt Andrew if he is busy, but on the other hand if Andrew didn't want to talk he could have declined the call.

"No not at all, thanks for calling. What's up?"

Andrew is surprised that he got a call from his date.

"Nothing, as weird as this sounds I just wanted to hear your voice."

Cody feels kind of funny for admitting that, but it makes Andrew smile. It's hard for the later to imagine his boss wanting to hear his voice. It actually feels really good knowing that he does though.

"I feel like there is a lot that we don't know about each other, so I thought maybe we could talk a little bit before tomorrow."

Who doesn't want to know a little bit about their date before going on a first date? Now it's just a matter of coming up with questions. Andrew isn't sure what to ask Cody.

`Maybe, I should come clean to him about Ethan and my past.'

"Cody, I have something to tell you and I was going to wait to tell you face to face, but I want to get it out in the open. If you don't like what, I'm about to say, and you want to find someone else, I don't blame you. I just really need to get this out. Do you mind?"

Cody is a little worried about what might come out of his co-workers/date's mouth.

"Hey, if you feel that you need to clean the air about something then sure, go ahead. I promise to listen."

He means it too. He'll listen and try to not be too judgmental.

"So, I living in Tylerville, and working at the hospital, I ended up with a teen who had been hurt, he sustained a traumatic brain injury and was in a coma. His older brother was basically his only visitor. I didn't know at the time, but I was about to do something that would change the way, I look at guys and myself."

Now, he is really scared because it could be anything. Cody hopes just hopes it's nothing illegal.

"It couldn't have been that bad, Andrew."

`I wish that I could tell him that he's right, but I can't.'

Andrew is scared that once Cody hears about this, that he'll skip out on the date, and worst-case scenario fire him.

"I...I...flirted unknowingly with the brother's boyfriend. I was at work and acted unprofessionally by pinching the guy's butt. Later, I learned that the guy whose ass I pinched was the boyfriend of my patient's brother. I felt horrible about that, but then the guy told me that, he was leaving his boyfriend and that I shouldn't worry about how I was feeling. I kind of listened to him. Listening to him that day was the biggest mistake in my life. In the blink of an eye, I was moving Ethan into my apartment and that is when everything changed. I went from happiness into misery. Sure, there were good times but there was also times, when I wish I felt like I could walked away immediately. Ethan works as a model or at least he did, and he would come home basically demanding things that yeah maybe a boyfriend should get like a cooked meal but I was working my shifts at the hospital and barely had time for me to cook meals or get chores done period. I did those things to make him happy, but it wasn't enough. Soon it went from the cooking to laundry, to him calling me a tramp any time that I didn't make him happy. He made sure that I knew he was judging me every second of the day. Then there would be times, when he was angel and things were wonderful, and then he would find reason to blame me for something, and I would be shamed for flirting with him. I was called a stupid slut. I was told time and time again that I could leave at any time, as if he was the one who invited me to live with him. One day, he came up to the hospital, he saw me talking to a doctor about a patient, and he instantly made a scene accusing me of flirting with the doctor. I was shocked, but then I realized that he had reason to suspect that I might cheat on him. In the end, he had to be escorted to the exit of the hospital. When I got home, he was there waiting for me. He slapped me a couple times for what he called cheating on him. I told him to get out of my house, and he refused and started arguing with me. I did manage to make it into the bedroom, and called the cops because he was literally banging on the door telling me to unlock the door. At that point, I was done. I never had anyone hit me before, and I wasn't going to let him do it again. He...he left but four days later was back. I called the police because I didn't have it in me to deal with him, they basically followed him into my apartment and I allowed him to gather up his stuff, but then I told him that I was through. I got my key back from him but even with him gone, I didn't feel safe. I decided that I needed to change my life. So, I did what I needed to do, to come home and here I am."

Cody doesn't really know what to think. He trusts Andrew even with his past. He is happy to standby Andrew's side, now if only Andrew could forgive himself for what he's done.

"Andrew, I wish you here because I would wrap you up in my arms. I can't say that I am happy about what you did at first, but you should have kicked him out when he first started belittling you. What about the Ethan's ex-boyfriend have you ever spoken to him?"

`I think, this ex-boyfriend of Andrew's ex might be exactly what my guy needs to help himself forgive himself.'

If Caden does forgive Andrew, it would be huge for the nurse. The doctor's date just needs a push to reach out to contact this guy.

"No, I haven't spoken with Caden. I...don't think that he would want to speak with me."

Perhaps, Andrew is right. After all, he causes a lot of pain in Caden's life. Still, he did manage to get Ethan out of Caden's life, which allowed the young man to finally get with his friend Jared. It might help Caden but he maybe, just maybe it will help Andrew.

"I don't think, you need to do it for him, as much as I think you need to do it for yourself. Now in case you're thinking about canceling our date, you had better not, because I want to give you a chance."

Cody is right, he needs to do it for him. There is no way, that he'll accept the cancelling of their date. He truly needs a chance to make things good with his date. A chance to make his date's world filled with light.

"I know, there is a lot that we could talk about tonight, but I you given me a lot to think about, and Andrew, I am having that date with you tomorrow. I won't give up on you. I think, we need to reach out to this Caden, so think about it. Just think about it. Talk to you later Andrew!"

Andrew just shakes his head no. He wants to be free of his feelings of pain, but he's scared of talking with Caden. He wants to hear more from Cody, so maybe that will have to wait till tomorrow on their date.

***

Andrew is emotionally drained. It has been a somewhat wild ride. It started at work and the talk with Cody after the work day had officially ended, and then with the phone call that he just ended. He's also physically tired. It's not every day that he puts his heart on the line not just once but twice. Somehow, Cody has managed to not run away after hearing about Andrew's past. Now, his mind is no longer struggling with thoughts of Cody instead he is thinking of Caden.