Written
by LJ
This
story is dedicated to my husband for his battle against, and subsequent victory
over Lymphoma.
Dominic
smiled as he watched his two Brats lying on the floor in front of him, enjoying
‘Lampoon’s’ Christmas movie with Chevy Chase. It was Christmas Eve, and he was
mellowing with the assistance of a snifter of expensive brandy.
His
thoughts took him back to a time several months ago that marked the beginning
of a very intense and difficult period for them as a threesome.
**********************
This
past March after a severe winter storm, his partners had been on snow removal
duty and Jayden had sprained his back. Or so it was thought at the time.
Jayden
spent many a sleepless night in pain as the pressure in his back continued to
increase. His once robust appetite dwindled until eating became a chore rather
than something to look forward to. To make matters worse, Slade thought his
younger partner was faking as a medical solution proved hard to pin down.
By
the start of June, after numerous doctor visits and x-rays, it was finally concluded
that something more serious was amiss and Dominic became aggressive in
demanding extra wide-ranging searches be conducted to find out what was wrong. As a physician and surgeon, he found the
waiting frustrating. As a partner and lover, he found it unbearable.
Additional
blood tests led to further analysis when cancer was suspected.
Next
step took place almost immediately with Jayden being seen by Dr. Peter Barker,
a surgeon. A biopsy performed on the lymph node in Jayden’s left groin a week
later, determined that Jayden indeed had non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and it had by
this time progressed to Stage IV. The definitive diagnosis was made on the
fourth of July, Jayden’s twenty-seventh birthday.
Dominic
had at first been concerned with his youngest partner’s non-participation in
the conversation that had taken place in the doctor’s office, but soon
discovered Jayden’s preference was to leave it up to his Top to take care of
things. Once again, Dominic had been humbled by the amount of trust his two
lovers had in his ability to meet their needs.
It
was on the way home that Jayden’s quietly spoken request just about broke
Dominic’s heart. Tears still had a tendency to form whenever he thought about
it.
“Will
you and Slay take care of each other for me when I’m gone?” had been the softly
murmured words.
With
his eyes watering, Dominic’s chest constricted and his breathing became
laboured. He reached over to take Jayden’s hand and squeezed it. Fighting to
get his emotions under control, it was several moments before Dominic could
speak. “You’re not going anywhere, my love,” he huskily assured the younger man
before lifting the hand in his and lovingly kissing the back of it.
To
say the three men had been thrown by the suspected, and then confirmed,
diagnosis would be an understatement at best. Each time there was a new
development they’d discuss the issue in depth and spend a lot of time on the
internet researching the subject. The first time the ‘C’ word had been mentioned
almost took Slade and Jayden’s breaths away. Dominic saw the fear in their eyes
as the worst case scenarios came to mind. Neither of his partners had any
firsthand experience with the disease and it proved a difficult task keeping
them focused on the more optimistic prospects.
Jayden
eventually accepted it as what must be, must be. But Slade wasn’t able to be as
philosophical about it all. The thought of possibly losing the treasured companion
of his youth and now cherished lover was more than he could deal with and he
often walked out on their conversations only to return ashamed and apologetic.
Dominic
merely held them a little closer and promised they’d get through this as
life-partners and as part of a great team made up of themselves and reliable
medical personnel.
Dr. Richard
McNeill, Jayden’s newly acquired oncologist, insisted on a bone marrow
aspiration. Throughout the rather uncomfortable procedure, Jayden merely closed
his eyes and held tightly to Dominic’s hand. He barely drew a breath until it
was over.
Slade
spent the entire time anxiously walking the halls. He was unable to stay in the
room with his partners; unable to see his lover in pain.
Fortunately,
the examination of the bone
marrow showed that the marrow had not been affected by the lymphoma. Tests also
showed his spleen had not been affected.
Less
than three weeks after cancer was suspected, Jayden’s chemotherapy began. It
was the day after the bone marrow biopsy when Dr. McNeill determined the need
for six treatments three weeks apart, followed by radiation. The number of
those treatments would be determined by another doctor. The team was growing.
The
morning of Jayden’s first chemo was arduous to say the least. A two-hour
orientation of what his ‘cocktail’ would consist of, the possible side-effects
and methods of dealing with them had Jayden’s head spinning. That had been
immediately followed by a PET-scan. This day’s culmination of medical tests led
to what Dr. McNeill referred to as a start-point. Jayden’s road to recovery was
about to begin.
Although
Slade had attended some of the doctor visits, he’d used work as an excuse to
stay away from the hospital this day and would continue to do so on other days
involving the chemo therapy. Dominic arranged his schedule to always be in
attendance during these sessions.
It
was just after lunch, when Jayden and Dominic entered the chemo treatment room
for the first half of his initial treatment. Patients were seated in numerous
recliners with IV tubes attached to various areas of their bodies. Nurses
quietly went about administering medication and providing encouragement or
information as needed. The room was bright and sunny with a wonderful air of
serenity.
Jayden
walked as if in a daze over to the chair designated as his for the afternoon.
With little to-do, a twenty-gauge cannula was inserted into his forearm just above
the wrist for the meds to be delivered intravenously.
Dominic
watched his youngest Brat with love and understanding as the shutters slowly
came down. Jayden was beginning to handle today’s overwhelming events in the
only way he felt capable of. He was shutting everything out and letting his Top
converse with the nursing staff.
At
one point in time, Dominic left his partner alone while he went to the
washroom. It was the only event that Jayden clued into and one that would never
be repeated. Jayden panicked when he realized Dominic was no longer by his
side. Fortunately he calmed immediately upon the older man’s return.
Four
hours later, Dominic and Jayden walked out of the hospital. They had to return
the next morning for the second phase of this session. Jayden remained quiet
the entire trip home which included a stop-off at the pharmacy where Dominic
went in to have prescriptions filled while his partner stayed in the car.
Jayden
was sitting at the kitchen table toying with the food in front of him when
Slade came in from his day’s work.
The
first thing Slade noticed was the cannula in his fellow-Brat’s arm. “What the
hell is he still wearing that for?” he loudly demanded, startling both his
partners by the fierceness in his voice.
Jayden’s
body sagged back in his chair as tears stung his eyes and he hastened to hide
his arm under the table.
Dominic
sternly signalled for Slade to exercise care in how he was speaking. “The nurse
thought it would be easier to leave it in place rather than re-insert it
tomorrow, Slade,” the older man calmly explained, trying to keep his
disapproval from showing. “Only four of the five bags of Jayden’s cocktail were
infused today. The final bag, Rituxan, will take another four hours to infuse
and that is what made it necessary to wait another day.” He nodded his head in
Jayden’s direction and was pleased to see Slade go over and hug the other man,
apologizing at the same time.
“No
appetite again, huh buddy?” Slade made an effort to tone down some. He sighed
and shook his head at the reoccurring problem. Then he sat down next to his
partner and tried to tease him into a better frame of mind. “From the looks of
all those little bottles on the counter, one would think we were planning to
open our own drugstore.” The comment only earned a slight snicker. Turning
serious, Slade firmly suggested, “I think it’s time to inform Mom and Dad about
what’s been going on, Jay-Jay. I know you don’t want them to know but they’re
bound to find out eventually and they’ll be hurt that we kept it from them.”
Not
getting a response, Slade stood up and announced, “I’ve got a phone call to
make.” He received a nod of concord from Dominic.
“I’ve
your supper ready, Slade, for when you’re done,” Dominic called out. “Try to
eat a few more bites, Jayden. I know you’re very tired and probably just want
to go to bed, but you need the nourishment. You’ve already lost more weight
than you can afford to.”
“Not
hungry,” Jayden mumbled, dropping his fork and pushing his plate away. “I wish
Slay wasn’t calling our parents.”
“He’s
right though, sweetheart. They deserve to know.”
“Will
they become part of the team?”
“I
imagine they’ll want to be,” Dominic assured him, setting Slade’s meal on the
table.
“Hmm,
this looks good,” Slade enthused, sitting down again. “Mom and Dad will be over
shortly, Jay. Mom’s bringing you something to eat. It’s an old favourite,” he
garbled through a mouthful of food.
‘Good
luck with that.’ Dominic grinned, keeping his thoughts to himself as he placed
a couple of pills and a glass of water in front of Jayden. “Take these, love?”
Screwing
up his face, Jayden questioned, “What are these for?”
“Hopefully
to prevent nausea caused by the chemo,” Dominic patiently answered, shaking his
head at the exhaustion revealed by his youngest Brat’s countenance.
“But
I’m not even feeling sick,” the tired man protested.
“They’re precautionary, Jayden.” Dominic
insisted by pushing the pills closer to his youngest Brat’s hand. The message
was clear and reluctantly obeyed after only a moment’s hesitation.
Slade
grimaced when Jayden’s arm once again came into view. This time he kept silent
as he finished eating, got up and carried his plate, cutlery and glass over to
the sink.
Dominic
was wiping off the counter while Slade was putting the last of the dishes away
when company arrived.
As was
usually the case, Cecil and Ester made a fuss over the two young men they had
raised as their own. But their pleasant chatter came to a sudden stop when they
spotted the cannula.
Dominic
found it heart-wrenching to watch the display of emotions crossing their
elderly faces. They turned questioning eyes in his direction. It took a while
to explain the entire situation and answer their many queries. They seemed to
grasp at his assurances that all was expected to end well, desperately wanting
them to be true.
Meanwhile,
much to Dominic’s surprise, Jayden had eaten the three small containers of food
his mother had brought him. Even though Dominic was at a loss as to just what
it was his partner was eating, he thought it best to wait until the old folk
left before asking about it.
Although
not as happy upon leaving as they had been when they arrived, Cecil and Ester
did a good job holding it together as they said their goodbyes. They extracted
promises to be kept informed so they could be available to help as much as
possible.
“So what
was in those little microwaveable bowls?” Dominic inquired when his partners joined
him in the living room after seeing their parents out.
Slade
and Jayden glared at one another, each wanting the other to answer.
Jayden
looked away as his cheeks reddened; his discomfort obvious.
“Ya
may as well tell him, Jay-Jay, and get it over with. He’s gonna know sooner or
later.” Slade sat down on the sofa next to his older partner and waited.
The
younger man’s agitated fidgeting was an indication of his heightening
embarrassment. “It’s baby food,” he mumbled, staring at the floor.
“It
comes in those small jars you get at the grocery store,” Slade offered as if
Dominic wasn’t aware of its’ existence. “Jay likes the cereal too. It’s called
Pablum and he prefers the oatmeal kind.”
“Ah-ha,”
Dominic nodded his understanding as he reached out, grabbed Jayden’s wrist and
tugged until Jayden was sitting on his lap. “Comfort food, right? But only in
exceptional situations.”
“I
guess, ‘cause I haven’t had any in years,” Jayden admitted, hiding his face
against Dominic’s shoulder.
“It’s
all right, sweetheart. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. We all need
something at a time when life seems to be beating us up. Now that I know what
works, I’ll see to it that we keep a few bottles in the back of the pantry.
Just for emergencies, mind you.” Dominic smiled when he felt the head on his
shoulder nodding an agreement.
“I
remember a fellow intern who had a special ‘comfort’ item. It was a large
pacifier. His girlfriend would purchase them for him. God only knows where she
found them adult size but she did. He went through a lot of them. Once during a
particular arduous series of exams he got down to his last one and by the time
new ones arrived, he’d chewed that thing until it was nothing more than a
mangled mess of soggy plastic.” Dominic’s story had them all laughing.
“That’s
not really true, is it?” Jayden asked.
“It
sure is,” Dominic insisted. “Cross my heart.” He gently pushed Jayden back a
bit so he had enough room to move his fingers across his chest.
With
the awkwardness of the confession over with, Jayden relaxed and cuddled into
his Top’s arms. A loud yawn had Dominic declaring it was time they called it a
day. They had another busy day ahead of them tomorrow.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The
first three treatments went off without a hitch. Jayden seemed to tolerate the
meds wonderfully and did not suffer from the many side effects that often
plaque patients undergoing chemotherapy. There was no nausea or vomiting and
his appetite actually increased in spite of the metallic taste the medicine
left in his mouth. In all likelihood it was due to the Prednisone being
prescribed for three days following each treatment. The pain in his back
diminished significantly; enough so that he had his first good night’s sleep in
months, right after the initial infusion. By the second, he was completely pain
free. He slowly began to regain the weight he’d lost, but eventually showed
signs of hair loss and decided to take matter into his own hands by completely shaving
his head.
Slade
unwaveringly did the same to show his support. Skyy and Aaron, who were working
for Slade in Jayden’s absence, immediately followed suit. Dusty was also quick
to jump on the band wagon.
‘Cute!’
Dominic thought, ‘five bald Brats running around.’
It was after the third treatment that a problem raised
a serious concern. Jayden’s white blood cells were not rejuvenating rapidly
enough. Dr. McNeill elected to use Neupogen as a support medication to stimulate the
production of the depleted cells.
Each morning after breakfast for
the five days following chemotherapy, Dominic would administer the injection.
Special care had to be maintained both in the handling of the medication itself
and the administering of it. Jayden would watch the procedure with interest, having
learned to just go with the flow of things. Slade, however, made a hasty escape
using work as an excuse.
“I’m glad you’re able to give me
this much hands-on care, Dom. I wish you were able to do more, but I understand
you not being able to take care of your own partners,” Jayden once commented during
the first rounds of injections.
Another PET-scan was performed
after the sixth treatment and when going over the results with Dr. McNeill,
Jayden finally ventured forth and asked the question playing heavily on his
mind.
“How do you know if all this is
working?” He clutched at Dominic’s hand, understandably apprehensive about the impending
reply.
The doctor smiled and happily
announced, “Oh it worked all right. You are in remission.”
Dominic heard the catch in
Jayden’s breath mere seconds before he heard the soft weeping of relief. He
closed his eyes, willing the tears prickling behind his eyelids to abate while
offering up a silent prayer of thanks to the powers that be. Then he rubbed his
left hand soothingly over his partner’s back while holding out his right hand
to the doctor. “Thank you, Richard,” he whispered brokenly. He was unable to
say more. It was only the first week of November, scarcely under four months
since Jayden’s initial chemo treatment.
On the way home, Jayden called
Slade to tell him the news. He put his cell on speaker. Slade immediately told
his two employees who were justifiably ecstatic. So much so that their whoops
and hollers of joy were loud enough to almost rattle the car windows.
“Can we drop by my parents, Dom?”
Jayden requested, snapping shut his cell.
“Of course; they’re part of the
team, right?”
Jayden delivered the welcoming
news to his parents and they were overjoyed to the point of tears. Dominic
stood back and fondly watched as they showered their son with hugs, kisses and
pats on the back while dampening the front of his shirt. Naturally the two men
were then held hostage until they’d had coffee and a large slice of Ester’s
homemade apple pie.
Although family and friends alike
were thrilled by the update, it unfortunately led to trouble for at least one
young man.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Dominic was reading in his study
when he heard the back door open and then softly shut a couple of moments
later. Putting aside his book, he waited until a foot landed on the bottom step
leading up to the master bedroom where Jayden was soundly sleeping.
“Slade,” he called and rolled his
eyes when he detected a low groan. His oldest Brat had a lot to answer for.
A guilty young man appeared in
the doorway, sheepishly hanging his head. “You didn’t have to wait up for me,
Dom.”
“Really now? And just how did you
figure we’d discuss your adventures this evening had I gone to bed?”
“Dusty, Skyy, Aaron and I went
out after work to raise a little hell in order to celebrate Jay’s remission. We
were getting ready to leave when I bumped into some old friends of Jayden’s and
mine. I decided to stay and visit with them awhile. It took longer to explain
why I was now bald and bring them up to date on what’s been happening than I
meant it to. Sorry, I hadn’t planned on being so late.”
Dominic took in the slightly
blurred speech and the glazed over eyes. “And you didn’t plan to smoke up
either, did you?” He watched as the other man uneasily shuffled from one foot
to the other. “Look at me, Slade. Not the wisest celebration choice, was it?”
“It was unplanned, but I couldn’t
refuse.” Slade drew in a deep breath and attempted to square his shoulders as
he manfully owned up to his indiscretion. “Guess I didn’t want to. I’ll get the
paddle,” he offered as he walked over to the desk and pulled the wooden
implement out of the bottom drawer.
The expected punishment was
generously applied, once again affirming the rule that non-prescribed drugs had
no part in their lives.
In the dimly lit room, two men
lay curled up on the leather sofa. One was cooing words of love and forgiveness
while the other worked at getting his crying under control.
“Here you go, love.” Dominic
pressed a clean handkerchief into Slade’s hand and waited patiently for his
Brat to open up and start talking. His patience was rewarded a few minutes
later.
“I thought he was faking. I
didn’t believe there was something wrong, especially when the doctor couldn’t
find anything,” Slade sadly confessed, his voice so low it was hardly
discernible. “I was really nasty to him; probably more times than I care to
recount.”
“If I remember correctly, you
were punished on a few of those times,” Dominic reminded him.
“Humph,” Slade scoffed. “I think
I deserved far more than a couple of spankings and some crappy lines to write.”
“But that is never for you to
decide, is it?”
“No,” was the mumbled reply.
“Were you thinking of forcing my
hand when you smoked up tonight, Slade”
“I don’t recall thinking of
anything at the time, Dom. But I do remember deliberately silencing the little
warning voice in the back of my mind.” Several minutes of silence followed that
statement. Then a sincere yearning was forlornly expressed. “I wish I knew of
some way to make it up to Jay-Jay.”
“Would you be willing to listen
to a suggestion or two from me, pet?”
“Sure!” Slade actually perked up
at the offer.
“I think it would be nice for us
to celebrate Jayden’s progression together as the threesome we are.”
“Anything special in mind?”
“Well, Jayden’s been talking
about David Copperfield’s appearance that’s to take place the end of next week.
He’d really like to attend. I thought if you’d spring for the tickets, I’d take
care of the hotel, meals and traveling expenses. What do you think?”
“I’m game!” Slade was beginning
to get excited. “But can we get tickets this late?”
“It is. I’ve already taken care
of everything; did it online. You can reimburse me for your part later.”
“It’s a deal. What else can I do?
You hinted at more than one thing.”
“Jayden and I met with Dr. Marcus
Lowe this morning. He’s a specialist in radiology.”
“A new member for the team?”
“Exactly. He explained the pros
and cons for radiation treatments.”
“But if Jay is in remission, why
radiation?”
“Another precautionary measure to
make sure all malignant cells get eliminated; insurance of a sort. Jayden’s
treatments begin in one month’s time and he will have twenty of them. The last
one should take place sometime the beginning of the New Year. He has to be at
the hospital every day except weekends and holidays, and I think you should
take him.”
“Will there be needles involved?” Slade
sounded a little dubious of the proposal.
“No, there will be no needles,”
Dominic made no attempt at keeping the amusement out of his voice. “There will
however be a weekly review consisting mostly of checking his weight and vital
signs. You can take mental notes and report back to me.”
“Good; about the needles that is,”
Slade breathed a sigh of relief. “Will Jay want me to go into the treatment
room with him?”
“Probably, but you’ll not be
allowed to accompany him. You’ll stay in the waiting room. Believe me, you’ll
soon see it comes by its’ name honestly.”
“So I better take along things to
keep us entertained.”
“I would,” Dominic agreed with a
soft chuckle. “Now there’s one more important need for you to fill. You may
have noticed Jayden’s lapses in memory lately.”
“Yeah, and I guess it’s why
you’ve been somewhat lenient with his med routine.”
“I hope never to punish either of
you for something you have no control over, sweetheart.” Dominic lightly kissed
Slade’s forehead before continuing. “Listen up. Jayden has to have a special
pill an hour before each radiology treatment. I would like you to take on that
responsibility. It is to protect his stomach from the radiation.”
“One pill one hour before each
treatment, huh? I can do that. I’ll make sure he doesn’t miss a single dose.
Honest,” Slade ardently vowed. He
glanced up at his Top. Although pleased with the plans they were making, there
was a trace of sadness in his eyes that Dominic easily picked up on.
“What’s wrong, love?”
“Right from the start, Jayden and
I truly wanted the type of relationship you were offering us. I still regret it
taking us so long to just let go and make is possible for you to take charge.
We spent five years making us all miserable at times and almost lost you in the
process.”
“We’ve dealt with this, Slade.
It’s behind us now. You are a very independent man and Jayden was more than
content to let you lead. Although you wanted my help and guidance, you also saw
it as a weakness. It took you a long time to figure out just how much strength
it actually took to let someone else take over certain areas of your life,
regardless of how badly you wanted or needed it. We’re okay now, so stop
dwelling on it.”
Slade smiled at the reassurance
in his lover’s comments. “I love you, Dom,” was his heartfelt whispered
declaration.
“And I you, my darling.”
**********************
Slade had kept his promise. The
number of trips to the hospital was dwindling with only half a dozen left and
not a single pill had been missed. The prognosis was excellent due to Jayden’s
youth and previous state of health. All three of them were looking forward to a
new year with optimism and joy.
Dominic was pulled from his
musings by the sounds of giggling and noticed the movie had ended. He grinned
at the antics of his beloved Brats.
Jayden was spooned against Slade
who was nibbling at his ears, causing him to squeal with laughter. Slade’s hand
reached around and slipped into the front of Jayden’s sweat pants. His fondling
of the treasure he found there had his younger partner squirming with delight.
“If you boys can wait for a few
moments, we could be doing this together in the comfort of our big bed,”
Dominic remarked. “Of course, if you’d rather do it on your own….” He chuckled
when the two men on the floor turned to face him, checking to see if he was
serious.
Getting to his feet, Slade
offered a hand to Jayden and pulled him upward. “Let’s help lock up for the
night, Jay-Jay. Here you shut the DVD off.” He tossed over the remote and
headed for the kitchen.
Dominic watched his Brats
scrambling and slowly downed the last of his brandy. Setting the empty snifter
on the table, he stood up and made his way towards the stairs. He laughed when
he got to the master bedroom before them and heard their demands to know where
he was.
“Up here, my slow-pokes,” he
called out as he swiftly undressed.
Slade and Jayden took the stairs
two at a time. They stopped at the bedroom door and paused to appreciate the
sight of their naked lover stretched out on the bed. Then they began stripping
as fast as they could, leaving clothing to fall where it may.
“I thought you might have changed
your minds,” Dominic teased seconds before two eager Brats pounced.
The End
