Date: Mon, 2 Jun 2003 15:13:53 -0700 (PDT)
From: rimpigfl <rimpigfl@yahoo.com>
Subject: SUBIC SURRENDER 11

DISCLAIMER: I don't fucking care how old you are. If you like the idea of
two hunky young Marine's getting it on with each other then read on!

By the way, no Marine's were injured or killed in the writing of this story
but that's not true of what's going on in the Middle East or other foreign
places. I would ask your prayers, good thoughts or whatever for all the
Marines serving our country (that's us guys!) around the world.

This is dedicated to every one who has ever served in the USMC - Semper Fi!

SUBIC SURRENDER - Part 11
by RimPig (c) 2003

Following Mom's advice, we made reservations at the Plaza. We had a really
nice room with a view of Central Park. Mike had called the lawyer before we
left and, as I had predicted, he would not tell us anything. He did make an
appointment for us to meet at his office with Mike's friend, Marc for the
next day. We had arrived in the early afternoon so we decided to do some
other things that Mom suggested.

First, we took a ride in a horse-drawn 'hansom' cab around Central Park. It
was a beautiful fall day when we stepped outside the hotel and looked at
the hansom cabs pulled up in front of the hotel and across the street. We
talked around and looked at all the cabs, the horses and the drivers. There
was one, a young guy about our age with sparkling green eyes, like Mike's
but dark red hair. The print of old Ireland on his face and a body like a
linebacker as he stood there in a long breech coat and a top hat with an
outrageous feather in the band. He smiled at us and whipped of his top hat
and made a graceful but deep bow.

"Gentlemen! Care to take a spin around the park?" he asked, gesturing
toward the open carriage.

I looked at Mike and he winked at me.

"Yes, we would!" I said.

"Well, then step aboard!" he said, swinging open the small door for us. He
let us get in and then threw a fur blanket over out laps. "Now all hands
above the blanket!"

He laughed and winked at us.

"What's your name?" Mike asked.

"I'm Shawn! Surely this Irish face and red hair could only be named Shawn!"
he laughed. "And you look to be one of my 'black Irish' brothers!"

"I'm Mike Riley." Mike said.

"And sure you would be! A good Irish name as I've ever heard!" Shawn said,
affecting a thick Irish brogue. "And who would you be?" he asked, turning
to me.

"This is my lover Rick." Mike said, making sure that the relationship was
focal in his answer.

"Well, isn't that wonderful. And how long have you two been together?"
Shawn asked.

"We've been together for five years." I said.

"Well! That's great! I've been with my lover for eight years." Shawn
said. "Have you guys ever been in New York before?"

"No, we live in Fort Lauderdale." Mike said.

"Ahh! Florida! I dream of Florida in the winter, but my lover works on Wall
Street and New York is the only place for us to live. So did you meet
there, then?" he asked.

"No, we met in the Marine Corps." I said.

"Well, surely two strapping lads such as yourselves would sure be members
of the Devil Dogs!"  Shawn slipped back into the Irish brogue. It seemed he
could slide in an out of it with alacrity.

"Hey, wait a minute! Not many people know that term unless they have some
connection to the Corps. Were you a Marine?" Mike asked.

"No, I wasn't. But my lover was. That was before I met him though." Shawn
grinned. "So let's take a meander around the park and if you feel like
holding hands, please feel free to do so. You might even kiss if you feel
like it, but don't do anything that will scare old Buttercup here. She's
not young and she can't bare the stress!" he laughed as he climbed up into
his place and pulled on the reins.

We rode through the Park and Mike did take my hand and we did kiss every so
often as Shawn pointed out places of interest in the park. The ride was
over too quickly but we decided that we would do this again. We asked Shawn
if he worked every day. He said that he worked Monday through Friday but
weekends he reserved for time with his lover. We told him we would see him
again as he helped us from the cab, across the street from the hotel. Mike
paid him and gave him a hefty tip to boot. Shawn smiled, doffed his hat and
did his dramatic bow again.

As it was now close to 5:00, we went back inside the hotel to it's famous
Palm Court where the sound of a string quartet met us as we were shown to a
table for 'tea'. Tea at the Palm Court is a tradition in New York and is a
stunning experience. The pastries, the sandwiches, everything done properly
in the English manner along with live classical music is a romantic
treat. Mike and I enjoyed it tremendously, just as Mom had told us that we
would.

After tea, we decided to go back to our room and rest for a while before
dinner. Well...that's what we said to each other that we were going to do
but we didn't do much resting. Mike and I made love on that king-sized
bed. Actually, we made love several times and then lay in each other's arms
just basking in the afterglow of our lovemaking.

"So what do you really think this is all about?" I asked Mike.

"I don't have the least idea." he said. "I haven't seen Marc for ten
years. I have no idea what's up.  I don't even know from the letter what
he's dying of."

"I just wonder what he wants of you. After all, it's been a long time. I
wonder how he even found you." I said.

"I do know that. The attorney told me he'd hired a 'search service' to
track me down." Mike said.

"Well, I guess we'll learn tomorrow." I said.

"So what do you want to do tonight?" he asked.

"Oh...I don't know...I was hoping we would do more of what we just did." I
grinned at him.

"You know, you have a serious sexual addiction, don't you?" Mike grinned
back at me.

"Oh, and you want to become abstinent I suppose?" I asked.

"No, I just don't want my balls to fall off!" Mike laughed.

"Okay, what did you have in mind?" I asked.

"I don't know. I thought we'd have a late dinner and then maybe go down to
the Village and just walk around and see what's there. I'd kind of like to
go to Christopher Street and see where the Gay Riots happened in 1969."
Mike said.

"That sounds like a plan! So where do you want to have dinner?" I asked.

"You pick!" Mike said.

"Okay, I want to eat downstairs in the Oak Room. I hear the steaks are
phenomenal and they even make their own steak sauce." I said.

"That's fine, let me call down and make reservations for us." Mike said as
he rolled over on the bed, grabbed the phone and made reservations for two
for 9:30.

"Thanks. Since it's only 6:30, I think I'll take a nap for a couple of
hours." I said after Mike had moved back close to me.

"That sounds like a great idea." he said nuzzling my neck and pulling me
close.

I rested my head on his arm and he held me close as I drifted off to sleep,
his warmth and scent surrounding me.

I had only been asleep for what felt like a few minutes when I felt Mike's
tongue licking at the back of my neck and my shoulders as his hard cock
nudged my butt cheek.

"It's 8:30, babe. We need to get up and dressed for dinner." Mike murmured.

"Well, I can see you're 'up' already. Are you going to put that where it
could do some good?" I asked sleepily.

"No, I thought I save it for the shower." Mike said.

"That sounds like a plan!" I said and slipped out of the covers and headed
for the bathroom with Mike right behind me.

Our showers last for quite a while, especially when we are sucking each
other off in them. I'll say this for the Plaza! They have an awesome supply
of hot water! We had to hurry and dress however to make our 9:30
reservations for dinner. Because this was New York and not Ft.  Lauderdale,
we dressed up a lot more than we would at home. Mike wore this beautiful
dark blue cashmere blazer which I had gotten him for his birthday (Mom
helped me pick it out.) He wore it with grey slacks and a white shirt with
a dark blue tie with gold 'caduceus' symbols worked in it.  Those are the
winged serpents that are the medical symbol. I wore a black cashmere blazer
which I had bought at the same time with black slacks and a grey shirt. I
wore a grey silk tie with bars of blue and silver on it. We really looked
the part of 'well-dressed men-about-town'. At least I think we did. When
Mike was dressed I looked at him and let out a 'wolf-whistle'.

"My God! You are one very handsome man! If I wasn't already married to this
former Jarhead, I could really go for you!" I laughed.

"You clean up pretty good yourself. However, you know how I like you
dressed best." he grinned.

"Yes, the same way I like you dressed - NOT!"

We both laughed at this as we walked out of the room and went to the
elevator.

The Oak Room of the Plaza is on the main floor, not far from the Palm
Court. Everything I'd heard about it was true. Mike and I had the two most
delicious steaks I think we ever had. We finished the meal with a selection
of fruits and cheeses and a glass each of cognac.

"You know, I could easily get used to living like this!" Mike said as we
sat sipping the cognac after dinner.

"Well, don't. I don't think either one of us would like winter here and
neither one of us could afford this lifestyle for very long." I grinned.

"Yeah, I guess you're right but, I think we could afford it occasionally,
don't you think?" he asked.

"Yeah, I guess we could. Maybe that's what we should do. Maybe we should
travel more. Maybe go out to San Francisco or even Paris. Why don't we look
into doing that?" I said.

"I like how you think!" Mike grinned.

We went back up to our room to change before heading down to the
village. Mike wore a pullover sweater of deep emerald green which went
beautifully with his eyes and a pair of black corduroy pants that Mom
insisted that he get for the trip. Over this, he wore a three-quarter
length black leather jacket. I wore a sapphire blue sweater like his and a
pair of navy blue cords (also at Mom's insistence) along with a matching
leather jacket.

We came out of the hotel and were about to walk over to Columbus Circle to
catch the number 1 train down to Sheridan Square when Mike looked over
across the street and there was Shawn, our hansom cab driver of that
afternoon. He waved and we crossed the street.

"And where are you gentlemen off to?" he asked.

"We're going over to Columbus Circle to catch the number 1 subway down to
Sheridan Square."  Mike said. "Is it far?"

"No, it's just the other side of the Park." he said.

I got this scathingly brilliant idea!

"Shawn, could you take us there?" I asked.

"Sure! I'd have to charge you the standard fare for it, but, yes, I could
take you." he said.

"Great! Then let's go!" I said.

Mike and I climbed into the hansom cab again and Shawn headed out into
traffic. There we were riding along beside limousines and Rolls Royces but
everybody was looking at us! Some of the limos even rolled down their
passenger windows to get a look at the two guys in the horse-drawn
carriage. I waved to them and they waved back as Mike slipped his arm
around my shoulders and held me close to him. I was a very romantic way to
get to a subway, let me tell you!

When we got to Columbus Circle, Shawn told us about a bar in the Village
just off Sheridan Square that he said we would really enjoy. It was called
'Marie's Crisis' and is on Grove street.  It's a little piano bar that has
been in the West Village for more years than we had been alive. He also
told us where to find the Stonewall, which was again a bar, having been at
one time turned into a bagel shop. This was the place where the whole Gay
Rights Movement started on that June weekend in 1969.

We took the subway and that was interesting in itself! Luckily, none of the
things that people say about the subway happened to us. We got on, rode it
and got off. That was it. When we came up out of it, we were in Sheridan
Square and we looked where Shawn told us at 53 Christopher Street and there
was the Stonewall Tavern. There was a brass plaque outside on the wall,
commemorating the riots in 1969. We went in and had a beer. It was a nice
place but quiet because it was a weeknight.

We wandered around and found Grove Street. Marie's Crisis wasn't hard to
find at all. We walked down the steps into the little bar and our ears were
assaulted by at least 50 gay men, all standing around a piano player and
singing their hearts out. Only Broadway show tunes are evidently ever
played and sung there and many of the songs are from shows that played on
Broadway a long time ago. Since we're not theater goers, Mike and I didn't
know the words to any of them, but we had a great time listening for a
while.

We left and I told Mike I wanted to walk down Christopher Street, a street
as famous among Gay men as the Castro in San Francisco. We looked into the
shops and ended up back near Sheridan Square at a bar called Ty's, which
Shawn had also suggested. It was a nice crowd, mostly what are termed
'Bears' but we had a very nice time. Several men came and talked to us and
a couple of them didn't even lose interest in talking when they found out
that not only were we a couple but we were completely faithful to each
other.

This is something that I have a lot of trouble with, to tell you the
truth. Gay men just automatically assume that Mike and I are looking for a
guy for a 3-way. I don't know how they get this impression. It certainly
isn't from us. Yes, we're interested in meeting other Gay men but we have
no desire to have sex with anyone but each other. I guess that this is just
so uncommon among Gay males that we are truly a 'rare species'. At least
that's what the looks from some of them seem to say when they find out what
we're all about.

It was around 1:00 in the morning when we finally caught a cab back to the
Plaza and went up to our room. Mike put in for a wake-up call at 8:00 in
the morning and ordered breakfast for us from room-service to be delivered
at 9:00. As Dad always says, it's HARD to get young males out of bed! I'm
sure that Mike was giving us enough time to be decent by the time breakfast
got there.

We got undressed and I slipped into the bed and into Mike's arms. I noticed
that, for once, he wasn't hard. That was unusual!

"Is something wrong, babe?" I asked, raising up to my elbow and looking
down at him.

"No. Why do you ask?"

"Well, your little Marine is not standing at attention and that's not usual
for you." I smiled.

"Nothing's wrong. I guess it's just a combination of too much excitement
and some concerns about tomorrow. I promise, my little Marine will be
standing at attention in the morning. In fact, he'll probably be tunneling
into your cave when you wake up!" he smiled.

"Good. Then I won't worry about it. And I'll bet those guys in the bar who
were trying to hit on us probably have visions of us having an orgy
tonight." I laughed.

"Yeah, what's up with that? They acted like we were some kind of freaks
just because we don't have sex with anybody else." Mike said, his voice
dripping with disgust.

"I guess to them we are. Let's face facts. Most guys are dogs - gay or
straight. They're constantly on the hunt for new conquests and they pretty
much don't care who gets hurt in the process." I said.

"Yeah, I was like that after Marc left me." Mike said.

"And you were all of what? 15 at the time?" I said. "The problem with a lot
of guys our age is that they haven't grown up enough to begin to understand
what love is really all about. I heard an old saying, 'Women give sex to
get love, Men give love to get sex.' And I think for most guys it's true."

"So what is it with us?" Mike asked, pulling back down into his arms.

"I can't say. It's like the 'chicken and the egg' with me. Do I want you so
much sexually because I love you or do I love you so much because the sex
is so great? I have to think it's about love for me. After all, I never
even experienced sex with another guy before you." I said.

"Does that ever bother you?" Mike asked.

"No! Not in the least! Oh, I see good looking guys and I realize they are
attractive, but that's as far as it goes. I've never even fantasized about
having sex with anyone else but you." I said. "How about you? You were once
quite the 'cocksman', ever miss it?"

"Oh yeah! About as much as I miss a fucking tooth ache! You forget, we've
never had sex with each other. We've always made love. I've had sex. I know
the difference. It doesn't compare to making love with you!" Mike said.

"Actually, you're wrong about that. I have had sex. With women. But it's
the same thing. There was no love involved - only horniness." I said.

"Trust me, if you weren't in love with him, it would be the same thing with
a guy." Mike said.

"What was it with Marc? For you?" I asked.

"I thought that I loved him. I probably did. I needed love so bad then, I
was willing to take it where ever I could get it. Maybe it would have
lasted, but I kind of doubt it. I was 'in love' with being 'in love' in
those days." Mike said.

"And when we met?" I asked. "You've always said that you knew almost
immediately. Like it was love at first sight or something."

"Well, it was lust at first sight, that's for sure. But then it was like
this overwhelming feeling came over me that I couldn't resist. I had a lot
of trouble dealing with it. That's what happened that morning with
Sgt. Rodriguez. I was having such a hard time dealing with my feelings for
you! I was trying to fight falling in love with you because it was just the
wrong time and the wrong place! I wanted a career in the Marines and I knew
falling in love with you would be the end of that!" Mike said.

"But after that incident, you became the most gung-ho Marine in the
outfit!" I said.

"Yeah. That was part of it. I figured if I could keep my mind on training
and becoming the best Marine I possibly could, maybe I could just repress
all those feelings about you until they went away. Remember, I still wasn't
sure that you'd ever go for me, then." Mike said.

"So how long did it take you to become sure?" I asked.

"Well, I wasn't sure until Subic. But, as time went by and I saw how you
reacted to me, I figured that there was a very strong possibility that you
were falling in love with me." Mike said, gently kissing me.

"I'm glad nobody told me! I would probably have gone AWOL, screaming to get
away from you!" I laughed. "I would have been so ashamed of having those
kind of feelings for you. I mean, I knew that I felt stronger about you
than anyone I'd ever known in my life, but I didn't recognize it as being
'in love' with you. I just thought that I loved you like a brother. Having
been an only child, how would I know the difference. The only thing that
should have given me a clue was getting hard around you all the time!" I
laughed. "But I just passed that off as not jacking off enough!"

"That and those dreams of yours." Mike said.

"Oh! Yeah! The dreams! Do you know I still have them sometimes." I said.

"No fucking way! You do?!" Mike was astonished.

"Yeah, but now, after the battle, you kiss me and I kiss you back. We end
up making love right there on the battle field." I said.

"You're having wet dreams?" he asked.

"No, they never go that far. Actually, they never get to! Just as I'm about
to really get into the sex, you're usually waking me up by fucking me!" I
grinned.

We kissed deeply at that and then I turned over and Mike spooned to my
back, his arm beneath my head and his other arm wrapped around me.  His
face was pressed to the back of my neck and I could feel his soft breath
against it. And that's all I knew as I drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, true to his word, Mike woke me with his cock sliding
slowly in and out of my butt. I groaned and pushed back against him,
getting more of his cock inside me. I could tell he wanted me to roll over
onto my stomach so he could really fuck me but I, instead, pulled
completely off his cock and rolled over onto my back. He looked at me
questioningly.

"I love to watch you when you fuck me." I explained.

"Yeah, I love the looks on your face while I do." he smiled and got between
my legs.

I pulled my legs back, offering my hole to him and he slid into me again. I
wrapped my legs around his waist while he leaned down and captured my mouth
with his. It was not a long fuck, we were both too horny having not gotten
off the night before, but it was a very loving fuck with us either gazing
into each other eyes or kissing through it all. As we came together, rather
than shouting out how good it felt or something like that, we were both
groaning out "I love you!".

We had time for a long, loving shower with us touching each other
intimately while continuing to kiss and express our love for each other
before wrapping ourselves in white, terry-cloth robes supplied by the
hotel. We had just gotten out of the shower when there was a knock on the
door and it was room service with our breakfast. We ate quickly and got
dressed before heading downstairs and grabbing a cab to the lawyer's
office. It was in a huge building and when we looked up the firm's office
number, it turned out that they had the entire top three floors of the
building! Evidently a very large and prestigious firm.

We took the elevator to the top floor. It opened into a huge waiting room
with dark wood paneling on the walls and leather furniture
throughout. There were paintings all over the walls and it was evident that
they were originals, not lithographs or copies. Looking around we finally
spotted a reception desk where there were not one but three
receptionists. Two were on the phone but one looked up at us and smiled. We
walked over to her. Mike told her that he had an appointment with
Mr. Hirsch and she asked us to have a seat while she made a call. We were
only seated a few moments when a man came walking out. He was about six
foot tall with blond curly hair and blue eyes. He was probably in his mid
30's and was quite a large guy - not fat, stocky.  Looked like he could
have played defense on a pro football team.

"Mr. Riley?" he asked looking at the two of us.

We both stood up and Mike offered his hand.

"I'm Mike Riley and this is Rick Copeland." he said.

"It's nice to meet both of you." he said.

"Is Marc here?" Mike asked.

"Well...no...he's not. Mike had a turn for the worse yesterday and he's
unable to be here. I figured I'd take you to his apartment and we can all
talk about the matter that Marc wants to put before you. Is that alright
with you?" Mr. Hirsch said.

"That's fine with us." Mike said. "Can you tell me what it is that he has?"

"I won't pull any punches with you Mike. It's AIDS." he said.

"Oh." was all the Mike said.

"I've called for my car, it should be waiting downstairs if you gentlemen
are ready?" Mr. Hirsch asked.

"Sure, lead the way." Mike said.

When we reached the lobby of the building, Mr. Hirsch led us a different
way then the way we had come in. We reached a covered portico at the back
of the building where there was a black Mercedes limousine waiting with a
liveried driver holding the door open for us. He ushered us into the car
ahead of him. There was a large leather covered back seat and two other
leather seats facing the backseat with some kind of cabinet between them. I
sat in one of the two rear facing seats and Mike sat on the back seat with
Mr. Hirsch.

"It's not far from here. Mr. Thomas lives down in the Village." Mr. Hirsch
informed us.

We basically road in silence. There were a lot of questions in my mind and
I'm sure there were in Mike's as well but we figured that 'attorney-client'
privilege would prevent Mr. Hirsch from answering any of them.

The car drew up in front of a building at 165 Christopher Street, not far
from where Mike and I had been last night. It was a tall building with a
tan brick front. Mr. Hirsch pushed the button for one of the apartments and
after a few moments, there was a loud buzz. He pulled open the door to the
lobby of the building and we followed him to the elevators. We went up to
the fourth floor and walked down the hallway to about mid-point when
Mr. Hirsch stopped and knocked at the door to one of the apartments.

The door was opened by an older woman, somewhere in her 40's or 50's with
streaks of grey in her dark auburn hair. She was heavy set, rather motherly
looking woman.

"Hello, Molly." Mr. Hirsch said.

"Oh, it's so good you've come now, Mr. Hirsch." Molly said. "The hospice
nurses have just left so he's out of pain but he's still coherent." Molly
said.

"This is Mr. Riley and Mr. Copeland, Molly." Mr. Hirsch said.

"Oh, Mr. Riley! I'm so glad you've come! You're all he's talked about for
weeks! 'Mike this' and 'Mike that', I almost feel like I know you." Molly
said.

"Please, Molly, call me Mike." he said.

"And I'm Rick." I said.

"Well, what are we standing here for. Come in. Come in." Molly said,
ushering us into the apartment.

"I've got something on the stove. You know the way, Mr. Hirsch." Molly
said, disappearing into the what was evidently the kitchen of the
apartment.

"Thank you, Molly." Mr. Hirsch said to her retreating back.

The apartment was tiny compared to Ft. Lauderdale standards. It looked
smaller than our cottage at home.

We walked down a short hallway and then into a bedroom. Laying in the bed
was a male, apparently asleep or just his eyes were closed. I couldn't tell
exactly what age he was, even though I knew that he was our age. He was
completely emaciated. He looked like one of the pictures you see of the
survivors of Auschwitz when the concentration camps were liberated by the
Allies after World War II.

"Marc. I've brought Mike to see you." Mr. Hirsch said softly.

The eyes opened quickly and they darted from Mr. Hirsch to Mike then to me
and back to Mike.  His boney arm reached out.

"Mike!" he croaked.

Mike immediately went over to the bed and knelt down beside it. Marc's arms
went around Mike and they hugged.

"Oh, Mike! You did come!" Marc said as the embrace ended and I could see
tears rolling down his face.

Mike gently brushed them away with his thumb.

"You knew I would. Anytime you would have called, I'd have come." Mike
said.

"I didn't want you to come. I didn't want you to see what I had become."
Marc said.

"It wouldn't have mattered. I loved you - you know that. I wouldn't have
minded." Mike said.

"Yes, you would. I ended up a hustler, Mike. I was a whore. You couldn't
have stood that."  Marc said softly.

"I could have gotten you away from that." Mike insisted.

"No, you couldn't have. I really loved doing it for a long time. I could
never have been faithful to you, Mike, and I knew that's what you wanted."
Marc said and then he looked over at me and back to Mike.

"Who's that?" Marc asked.

"That's my lover, Rick. We were married a few months ago." Mike said.

"You found someone? I'm so happy for you! You deserve someone. He is
pretty, isn't he." Marc said, eyeing me again and talking about me like I
wasn't in the room.

"Yes, he is very pretty." Mike grinned at me.

"But no one is a pretty as you are! You look so wonderful! They told me you
were a Marine!"  Marc said.

"Yes, Rick and I both were. We met in the boot camp." Mike said.

"How long have you two been together?"

"Five years now." Mike said.

"Oh, that's good. That's really good. I don't have to ask if you love him,
I can see it in your eyes when you look at him. I can see that he loves
you, too. That's excellent! It makes what I have to ask you so much
easier." Marc said and, looking around at me and Mr. Hirsch said, "Why
don't you all sit down, this could take a little while."

There were a couple of kitchen chairs in the room and Mr. Hirsch and I sat
down.

"Mike, please sit on the bed near me." Marc asked.

Mike did so, taking Marc thin, boney hand gently in his own.

"Mike, you know I'm dying. I probably don't even have a week to live. This
fucking virus is killing me but it's doing so quickly. None of the meds
work on me anymore. I don't think I have even one t-cell left. But I don't
care about that. There's only one thing that I care about." Marc said.

"What?" Mike whispered.

"About six years ago, I met this girl. A hooker. She was just like me. She
had been raised in foster care and ran away at 14 when one of the
foster-care fathers raped her. She ended up on the streets like me. We
found a lot of comfort in each other. We had both come from the same kind
of place and understood each other. One thing led to another and we started
living together. Then she got pregnant. I didn't want my kid coming into
the world with no parents so I married her.  The problem was, she was real
heavy into drugs. Heroin. I didn't know it then, but she was positive and
she gave the virus to me. She cleaned up her act while she was pregnant,
but two weeks after our kid was born, she OD'd and died. And there I was,
with a kid! I wouldn't give him to the state to go through what I went
through so I kept him and raised him. I probably haven't done a very good
job. What the fuck would I know about being a father. But he's turned out
to be a really cute and smart little kid." Marc said. "We were really
lucky. He didn't catch the virus from his mother. He's clean."

"What's his name?" Mike asked softly.

"Michael Marc Thomas. I named him for both of us, Mike." Marc said.

"Oh, God! Marc! Why didn't you ever contact me before this?" Mike said. "I
could have helped, I could have done something!"

"I was ashamed to." Marc said softly. "I didn't want you to see what I'd
become."

"Where is your son, now?" Mike asked.

"He's at kindergarten. He'll be home soon. That's what I want to ask you,
Mike. I want you to adopt my son." Marc said.

There was dead silence in the room. Mike looked over at me and I could see
panic on his face. I smiled back at him. This was an answer to my prayers!
I wanted us to have a child, I wanted Mike to be a father! And now, here
was Mike's former lover offering him exactly that chance.

"Marc, you don't mean that. You can't!" Mike said.

"I do mean it, Mike. I mean it with all my heart. When I'm dead, the kid
will have nobody! They'll put him in foster care, just like us! I can't let
that happen to him, Mike! I can't! Could you?" Marc said.

Mike sat there silent a moment before he finally, quietly said, "No. I
couldn't do that to any kid.  But what about that woman, Molly? Couldn't
she take him. Isn't she closer to you than I am?"

"Mike, Molly works for one of the AIDS agencies. She's only a housekeeper
that they send so that I can continue living on my own with Mikey. When I'm
gone, she'll go on to another guy who needs help. Mike, you're all I've
got! You're my only hope! That's what Mr. Hirsch is here about. His firm
does pro-bono work for AIDS patients. Among the things they do is to help
make sure that children are adopted before the parent dies of AIDS so that
they don't end up in foster care." Marc said.

"Marc, I don't think they'll let me adopt on my own." Mike said.

"Actually, Mr. Riley. The courts here in New York will. Besides, you and
your lover, Mr.  Copeland, have been together long enough that the courts
would treat you as a couple anyway and young Michael could be adopted by
you together. It has been done quite often." Mr. Hirsch said.

"I saw you smile when I asked Mike to adopt Mikey." Marc said, addressing
me for the first time.  "I think that you're already for it."

"Yes, I am. I wanted us to have a child but in Florida, Gay people are
legally prevented from adopting. I think Mike would make a great father." I
said.

"You seem like a nice guy. What am I saying?! If Mike is in love with you,
you'd have to be. Tell me about your lives together." Marc asked.

And for the next half an hour or so, Mike and I told him about our lives,
from Subic through today. Marc loved that we lived with my parents which
would give Mikey grandparents as well.  He asked to see Mike's wedding ring
when we told him about the ceremony. Mr. Hirsch made comment that with
Mike's profession as a pediatric nurse and the secure financial future that
we appeared to have because of that and the fact that I was a partner in my
Dad's construction firm, there would be absolutely no problem in getting
the adoption through.

"But wouldn't this all take months?" Mike asked.

"No, Mr. Riley. I can have the paperwork filed with the courts this
afternoon and the adoption should be final by tomorrow at noon. My firm has
a certain amount of respect in the judicial system here. We're able to do
things that most firms are not. That's why the firm took on this mission of
helping those, like Marc here, who really need our help." Mr. Hirsch said.

"That fast?" Mike said, looking at me.

"Mike, it's okay. We can handle it." I said.

"Marc, are you sure?" Mike asked.

"Mike. I'm positive. I'm dying here! The fact of the matter is, they would
have moved me to a hospice and taken Mikey into foster care yesterday but
for the fact that you were coming. Mr.  Hirsch got them to leave me alone
for 48 hours. The foster care system here is really full. They don't want
to take Mikey unless they have to. The only way that would happen is if you
won't take him." Marc said.

"What if he doesn't want to go with us?" Mike asked.

"He isn't going to have any choice! I'm not going to leave him to be raised
in group homes like we were!" Marc insisted. "Please, Mike, if you ever did
love me - please do this for me!"

I could see tears starting to roll down Mike's cheeks as he looked down at
his former lover.

"I do love you, Marc. I always did. Of course, I'll do this for you." Mike
said quietly and then he leaned down and gently kissed Marc on the cheek.

"Thank you." Marc said.

At that point, we heard the front door slam and the pounding of small feet
down the hall.

THE END of Part 11 of SUBIC SURRENDER.

If you like the story, write me at rimpigfl@yahoo.com.

I have a lot of other stories on NIFTY. If you want a complete list, write
me and I'll be glad to send it to you.

RimPig