The Baby Favor

1.

As general rule, phone calls that came after midnight were bad news.

An hour ago, when Jason Vincent had looked at his caller ID and seen his estranged husband's name, a moment of excitement had rushed through him. The other kind of calls that came at this hour were emotional outpourings brought on by late nights and alcohol. He had hoped that it was the latter-that perhaps Michael had changed his mind about the divorce- but he was to be disappointed. 

Now  he was walking down the corridors of UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles just after 3 in the morning and Jason didn't know why.

All he knew what that Michael had called and asked him to come. Despite everything that was happening between them, Jason knew he had to do as he asked. There was something in Michael's voice that scared him. Michael had been his rock for the last 9 years. Through the ups and downs of their marriage, he had been the one to hold his hand. He got the feeling that tonight, Jason would be returning the favor.

As he walked through the doors of the hospital, Jason tried to brace himself for seeing Michael again. He hadn't seen him since Michael moved out two months ago and Jason didn't know how it would feel. After nine years together, Michael wasn't his anymore. Michael wasn't his to hold or care for. He would remind himself of that as he consoled him tonight.

Before he could reach the elevators, he found Michael sitting on a bench in the hallway. The first time they'd met, Jason was instantly enchanted by the beautiful skater boy with his tattoo covered skin, eyes as blue as the ocean and dark messy hair. When he smiled, his dimples melted Jason's insides. Just a glimpse of him now was enough to set Jason's heart racing in his chest even after all these years.

Tonight, however, there were no smiles. He was slumped in his seat, holding his head in his hands. He likes defeated. Jason had seen that in him only a few times in all these years. Most of the time, he was the confident, and successful CEO of Vincent Enterprises. Who always knew the right decision to make. Sexy, bold, and always sure of himself. Rarely that facade crack. Once, when he had found out he couldn't give Jason a child. The second time, when he couldn't keep the judge from giving their adopted son back to his biological mother. The third time was when he walked out the door, leaving Jason and their marriage behind.

He couldn't imagine what happened tonight that could bring that look of despair back to his face.

"Michael?" Jason asked as he approached

His husband shot out of his chair, turning to him with eyes more red than blue. He stood quickly, his jaw flexed tight as he tried to hold everything in. Michael didn't speak right away, as though if he opened his mouth, the torrent of emotions would pour out of him instead.

"What happened? Is it Jay?"

Jason knew that Michael's younger sister, Jay, had been battling stage four breast cancer for several months. The last time he'd heard, they revived the devastating news that the cancer had spread into her major organs and were discontinuing treatment. It wouldn't surprise him to find out that Jay had lost her battle. But something about Michael's look told Jason that it was much worse.

"No," Michael answered at last," Its David."

"Jay's husband?" Jason felt his chest tighten. His brother in law had been like a true brother to him. As an only child, Jason had enjoyed having David around to talk to and share marriage war stories with. The idea of David raising their daughter alone after Jay passed had wore heavily on his mind since he had found out about the news. Luna was only 18 months old and would never remember her mother.