Thanks to my editor Gbc5452, couldn't do it without him. Sorry this chapter is a little late, it was my birthday and I didn't feel like writing ;). I have a BIG surprise coming up so it might be awhile before I post anything, have to finish that up and get that posted. Enjoy
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Eric pulled up to his home and stretched as he climbed out of the car. His neck cracked as he stepped up to the door. He slid his key in and the door slipped open on its own. He furrowed his brow and frowned, he never left the door unlocked and his pet knew better than to leave the house without his permission.
"Corey, why is the door unlocked?" Eric called out as he pushed open the door. When he got no answer he became angry. That's three broken rules: Leaving the house, not greeting him at the door, and now not answering him when he spoke.
"Corey!" He shouted. He pushed the door open all the way and stepped into the hallway. He felt his foot slide out from under him and he landed on his hands and knees in a pool of blood. He looked up and saw his delicate Irish pet on the floor. He heard a door slam in the back and his doctor's instincts kicked in. He knew he wasn't a cop, but he did know that he could take care of his pet.
"Corey, hold still love." Eric took a strip of cloth from his shirt and wrapped it around Corey's neck. He scooped up his lover and, as gently as he could, placed him into the back seat.
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Eric sat in the church of the hospital he was so familiar with. He held his head in his hands and prayed silently. He had never been very religious, but he would do anything if it would help his little pet now. He stood and left the shirt. He had changed into his doctors coat due to the blood that covered his street clothes.
"Hey, Jamie. " Eric walked up to the nurse on duty.
"Hey, Eric. How are you holding up." She asked, handing him a coffee.
"Not sure, honestly. I wish I could know how he's doing." Eric looked at the operating room.
"I'm sure they won't notice if you just slipped into the observation room." Jamie winked. Eric smiled and walked down the hallway. He stood in the dark room watching the group of surgeons work on his pet. He couldn't see much but could hear them fairly well.
"Nice job, guys. Finish up the sutures and bandage up the neck." The surgeon in charge said removing his gloves and face mask. Eric smiled and thanked God once more. His lover wasn't out of the woods yet, but he was getting there. He watched as the team of surgeons closed the gash in his neck and made sure he was stable before moving him out of the operating room. They wheeled him into recovery, Eric standing back and watching them. He waited in front of the operating room until the lead surgeon stepped out.
"Harold." Eric stopped him.
"Eric." The surgeon smiled.
"How is he?"
"Well, we managed to close up the wound. Whoever did this missed most of the important stuff. His carotid arteries were just nicked, but his muscles are in pretty bad shape. They'll heal given enough time. The main thing is that you were lucky enough to get there so fast." The two men walked down the hall.
"How bad was the damage to his muscles?" Eric asked.
"It could have been a lot worse. We think he'll be able to speak again, of course there will be a fairly long recovery time." Harold said.
"Can I see him? I know I'm not family but-"
"It's fine, Eric. Just don't let the big men upstairs notice." Harold winked.
"Thank you, so much , for this." Eric hugged his friend.
"You're welcome, Eric. Go take care of your boy." Harold nodded his head towards recovery and watched as Eric jogged down the hallway.
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It had taken four days for Corey to wake up. Eric knew it was a long recovery and that his body was just trying to repair itself, but it was still scary. When he woke he began panicking.
"Corey, calm down. I'm here, pet. I'm here." Eric stood and stroked his hair lovingly. Corey opened his mouth and a look of pain crossed his throat.
"Shhh, don't talk. Do you remember what happened?" Eric asked. Corey's face went blank for a moment before shaking his head and looking up at his Master, looking for reassurance.
"I came home early, another doctor came in and they let me off since I had been working late for the last couple of days anyways. I found you on the floor. You were naked and-" Suddenly Corey's eyes filled with tears as he remembered what had happened to him.
"Shhh, it's okay love." Eric stroked Corey's hair. He looked frightened and began struggling with the IV in his arm. He shook his head, thinking Eric didn't understand.
"I know, baby. They told me." Eric said. Corey froze and cried silently.
"I'm not angry, love. This wasn't your fault, and I'm fairly certain I know who did it..." Eric frowned at the last part. Corey nodded and put his head down.
"Don't be ashamed, Corey. Remember what I told you that first day we met." Eric winked. Corey's eyes were filled with sadness, but he had a faint glimmer of happiness. He reached for his Masters hand and Eric gladly gave it. He squeezed Corey's hand and stroked his arm.
"Now, get some rest. Sleep will help you heal faster. I know you're probably in a lot of pain and I'll see what I can do about that." Eric stood up and kissed him. Corey wouldn't release his hand when he tried to walk away.
"Babe, I'll be back. I just need to go tell the nurses that you woke up." Eric said. Corey shook his head and grabbed his hand with his other hand.
"If I stay with you until you fall asleep? Will that be alright?" Eric smiled. When Corey nodded he sat back down and stroked the young Irish man's soft hand until his eyes closed and the only sound in the room was the ventilator that kept him breathing.
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"Congratulations, Corey. Your first day without a ventilator." The nurse smiled as Corey choked on his first breath of fresh air, pulled in by his own lungs, in weeks. He smiled at his Master as his breathing became more regular. Luckily no infection had sat in while he was recovering, and the doctors thought he was healing up nicely.
"Good, Pet. You're making good recovery time." Eric said, once the nurse had left. Corey smiled at his Master and pointed to the note pad they had been using for communication.
'Kiss?' He scribbled down. His Master smiled and leaned in to claim his mouth. Corey had a dizzy smile on his lips when his Master pulled away.
"I can't wait until I can take you home and care for you there. It will be so much better for you there." Eric stroked his hand.
"That may be sooner than you think." Corey's doctor walked in.
"What do you mean?" Eric smiled, excited.
"You are a doctor yourself, and will be able to care for him. He's off the ventilator, I don't see any real reason why he shouldn't go home with you in a few days." His doctor shrugged. Eric smiled and stroked Corey's hair.
"We just have to be sure that he will be able to be off the ventilator for long periods of time, after a few days I'll discharge him and place him in your care." The doctor smiled and walked out with Corey's charts.
"You hear that, pet? You can be home soon." Eric kissed Corey's forehead.
Corey wrote 'Good, I was worried.' on the notepad.
"About what, precious?" Eric wondered.
'I wanted to spend Christmas with you, Master.' Corey scribbled down as he fell asleep. Eric sat up and realized what he had said. He hadn't even noticed that Christmas was only a few weeks away. He had never really enjoyed Christmas, with no one to spend it with. He looked down at the sleeping young man and gave a sad smile. He had finally found someone, he wasn't alone anymore. Eric kissed the sleeping man and leaned back in his chair, opening the book he had been reading while sitting at Corey's bedside. His eyes crossed over the words but they didn't read them. His brain couldn't stop thinking that one thought.
He wasn't alone anymore.
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Corey felt more comfortable than he had in a long time as Eric wheeled him into their home. He was still too tired to walk and could only take a few steps before gasping for air. Corey looked at the large red stain imprinted into the wood floors. He felt a shiver go up his spine. Eric noticed and spoke.
"I'm sorry pet. I'll be getting new floors to replace those. I hoped to have it done before you returned home." Eric frowned.
"It's okay, Master. It just... scares me." Corey was honest. He could speak now, but his voice was raspy and slow.
Eric stopped the wheelchair and scooped him up. Corey wrapped his arms around his Masters neck and smiled as he felt the strong muscles under him flex. His Master carried him up to their bedroom and placed him on the bed. He tucked him in and gave him a kiss.
"Are you hungry, love?" Eric asked.
"No, sir. I'm feeling a little sick." Corey frowned.
"Probably just your meds. Let me know if it gets any worse and I'll see if I can find something else." Eric said. Corey nodded and watched his Master turn to leave.
"Corey..." His Master started, standing at the door facing the hallway. Corey turned his head, his Master only called him by his name when it was important.
"We haven't really talked about this..." His Master turned around and walked back over to the bed. "But I think you should see someone, about what happened." His master stroked his hair.
