To the Highest Bidder Go the Spoils

Chapter 17

Zeke sat in the waiting room picking his nails nervously. He'd taken Gavin Black Friday shopping and they'd even bought a Christmas tree. They'd had plans to put it up Monday night when he got home from work. It would be fully decorated before Gavin had to go back to the clinic for another series of chemo. They both agreed it would bring some cheer to them during these next three weeks. Zeke had never had a Christmas tree in his adult life so he was just as excited.

They'd gone to bed a little after midnight. Gavin had all but passed out as soon as his head had hit the pillow. Zeke had taken a little extra time to fall asleep, but when he did, he was out. He'd woken up several hours later to go to the bathroom. Gavin's side of the bed had been empty. He thought the younger man had been in the bathroom so he'd waited.

When Gavin didn't come out, he knocked on the door and went in when there was no answer. The bathroom was empty but the light was on. Confused, he used the facilities then came out to go find his wayward lover. Find him he did. Gavin was passed out on the floor beside the bed. There was blood pooling around his head.

Zeke had called for an ambulance and had stabilized the young man's head until the emergency services arrived. They'd put a C collar on him and had lifted him onto the gurney before they'd taken him down the stairs. Zeke had put clothes on and grabbed his wallet and phone as well as Gavin's. He'd called Anderson Reed on his way to the hospital.

They made him wait. He filled out paperwork as they did what they had to do. Anderson breezed in. He was the secondary on-call doctor. Even though he worked at the clinic across town, he helped at the hospital. Since Gavin was his patient, Zeke hadn't any qualms calling him.

The doctor didn't pause to talk to him, and Zeke held no grudges. He wasn't the focus of this visit. That lay with the man being tended in a now closed room.

Zeke leaned his head against the wall. He knew he needed to call Gavin's friends, but he didn't have any answers for them. They didn't need to come to the hospital for nothing. If he had just fallen and busted his head, he could deal with that. He would wait for them to patch him up then take him home. He'd call the other afterwards.

He tried to keep his mind from going bonkers. Every possible scenario ran through his head. His first inclination was to think the worst. That's why he had called the ambulance. He hadn't wanted to move Gavin for fear of a head injury. Not only would his friends kill him, but Anderson would force him to watch hours upon hours of emergency training again. Then give him a quiz.

Anderson came from behind the curtain. He tugged his gloves off, tossed them in the trash, and walked Zeke's way. The older man stood and watched him. He didn't want to get his hopes up, especially not with the look on Anderson's face.

"You found him after you went to the bathroom?" he asked.

Zeke nodded. "He wasn't in bed when I got up, so I thought he was in the bathroom since the light was on. I knocked and got no reply so I went to pee. I found him when I came out."

"The blood is caked on his head. He'd been there a while." Zeke stared at his friend as he spoke, heart dropping with each word. "He needs a transfusion, but I'm more afraid of what will happen after that."

"What's going on?"

"He's on the list for a bone marrow transplant. From what I can tell - and I'll ask Angela to confirm it - it looks like the chemo helped. If they can get a donor, it would help him tremendously. But I have to stop the head bleeding first. Do you know his blood type?"

"O negative."

"Shit! We literally just transfused our last bag to the patient in the next room. I'm going to have to call the county to see if they have any."