..oOOo.. 10:42 am "John?" a weak, scratchy inquiry brought Byers out of his reverie. The older man moved his chair closer, leaning over to look down at Langly. "Hey, hon. You feeling better?" he asked softly, his hand brushing away the stray strands of hair from the younger man’s forehead. "Mmm...I guess..." Langly mumbled back. He yawned as he sat up a bit. "What time is it?" "Almost eleven. You remember getting sick this morning?" "Um...a little," he squinted, rubbing his hand over his face wearily. "I think I was kind of out of it. You were here then?" "Well, you were, uh, sort of finishing up when I got here, and you passed out as soon as we got you back in bed." "Oh," Langly blushed and fidgeted with his hands in his lap. "Guess that would explain that dream about the threesome..." The older man stared at his lover, at a complete loss for words. He must have looked pretty funny, because Langly was the first to break, chuckling and shaking his head. "John, I’m kidding!" "Huh? Oh--oh! Right, of course," Byers responded quickly, obviously flustered. He cleared his throat, ready to change the subject. "So...how are you feeling now? Want to try eating something?" Langly sighed softly. "Not really...I feel better, but not really up to eating yet. Not sure; I guess...I’m kind of...restless, I think. I just have the urge to get up, walk around." "You want to take a walk?" Byers offered. "I’d have to clear it with the nurse." The younger man considered, then nodded anxiously. "Yeah, I do." "Okay, stay there for a minute, I’ll go check with them." Byers stood and left, returning a few moments later. "They said it should be fine, we just have to stay in this area." He went over to the small wardrobe and grabbed the thin, hospital-issue white robe hanging from the door. "Here, let’s get you into this." Langly swung his legs over the edge of the bed, holding the edges of his gown uncomfortably. "Why, John...I believe this is the first time you’ve tried to get me *into* an article of clothing," he teased as he stood. The older man snickered as he helped his lover into the garment. "Hardly. I practically have to dress you every morning. Besides, we can’t have you catching a cold to add to your problems, now can we?" "Whatever you tell yourself, babe. I’m thinking maybe you’re just a little worried about having me wandering the halls in this skimpy little gown, what with all the cute nurses around to take in the view?" he grinned suggestively as he pulled the slippers from the floor over his sock-covered feet. Byers snorted at that. "Oh, yeah, that’s it." He strode towards the door, opening it and waving the other man out with an exaggerated fluerish. "Any nurses around here that don’t already know about us will find out soon enough." Strolling comfortably next to his lover, Langly raised his eyebrows curiously. "How’s that?" The older man reached down and took Langly’s left hand. "Well, there’s the wedding ring, for starters..." he reminded his lover by lightly running his thumb over the silver band before lacing their fingers together. Langly smiled sweetly, surprised and very pleased to have the other man giving him a rare display of affection in public. He squeezed Byers’ hand gently. "Well, this should do the trick, too." They wandered aimlessly down the quiet halls in silence for a while, enjoying the simple closeness of the other and letting the carefree illusion ease their minds for however short a time. "What are you thinking about?" Byers broke the silence softly. "Hmm? Oh, nothing...just the usual runaway trains of thought," the younger man answered lightly. "Huh," Byers grunted. After a short pause, he tried again. "Ree, seriously," he said, stopping in his tracks, his grip on Langly’s hand forcing the younger man to stop as well. "You’re too quiet; what’s wrong?" Langly sighed, looking away. "John, I--" he started, then shook his head. "I know this whole thing about the...the ‘pregnancy’ stuff is really hard to believe, but you won’t even give it a second thought." "I’m just trying to keep things in perspective," Byers defended himself firmly. "And I’m not? Just because my perspective is a bit more open than yours?" Langly pulled his hand back and took a few steps away, pacing with agitated energy. "John, I don’t want our different viewpoints to come between us, but I also don’t want you to totally dismiss mine this soon. I understand that there is going to be a more definite medical explanation at some point, but you have to be able to deal with the possibility that I could be right." Byers stood there, not knowing what to say. Finally, he closed the gap between them and took his lover into his arms gently, holding him for a long moment in silence. He pulled back slightly to look at Langly’s face. "This is really important to you, isn’t it? You’re really serious about wanting a child?" Langly met his eyes and nodded. "I...I saw how you were with that little boy, how naturally you act with kids. It just seems like such a waste for you to give that up to be with me." "Oh, god, Ree!" Byers whispered, his arms tightening around the other man again briefly before stepping back. "I already told you; I made that choice when I fell in love with you. It was my choice, and it’s not something you need to worry about. I’m not about to give *you* up to have children. I don’t want to lose you. Understand?" Byers had kept his voice down, but the impact of his words hit Langly with an almost physical force. "Yeah," he managed to rasp. Gathering his wits again, he took a deep breath. "But what if--" "We’ll deal with that as soon as we get some more answers, okay?" the older man cut him off. Langly nodded silently, taking Byers’ hand again. "Come on, let’s go back." ..oOOo.. As they reached the door to Langly’s room, Dr. Larson approached from the other direction. "Hello, gentlemen," she greeted them warmly, opening the door for them. "I see you’re feeling better, Ringo." "Yeah, I am, thank you," the young man responded as he sat on the bed, kicking the slippers off and leaning back on his arms. "That’s good to hear. I’d like to do a quick exam and take another blood sample," she told him, moving to stand next to the bed and gesturing silently to his robe. With a dramatic sigh, he took the robe off and handed it to Byers. He twisted around, bringing his legs up onto the bed in front of him. "Good," Larson smiled at her patient’s obedience. "Now, tell me," she said as she started poking and prodding at him. "Any new or worse symptoms so far this morning?" Langly shook his head, trying to watch her working. "Just the throwing up part this morning," he answered. The doctor gave a noncommittal "Mmmhmm." She stepped around to place her hand on Langly’s back, her other hand on his shoulder to hold him still. When she touched his lower back, he jumped with a sharp gasp, a tiny whimper escaping his throat. Her head shot up to look at his face, his eyes clamped shut in obvious pain. "That hurt?" Langly caught his breath and nodded sharply. "Yeah, it hurt," he grunted, his jaw still clenched. She probed his back more carefully with her hand, slipping under the thin fabric of the gown to check for swelling or any other visible injury. Getting the occasional hiss of discomfort from Langly, she stopped and stepped in front of him. "Was it hurting when you were walking around?" "No, it was fine until you touched me," he responded, his tone not accusing. Larson frowned, perplexed. Picking up the chart from the bed, she placed her hand on Langly’s shoulder and gently pushed him back. "I want you to lay still for a while. I’m going to order an MRI and X-ray for your abdomen and lower spine. There’s definitely something going on in there." "Yeah, I know," he mumbled. "I need to get a blood sample while I’m here; it might give us an idea what to look for on the scans," she said. She produced the necessary supplies, quickly swabbing his arm and taking some blood with the syringe. "I’ll be back later. I’ll try to get you into the lab as soon as possible, but it will be a few hours. Try not to move around too much," she told Langly, picking up the chart and vial of blood and leaving quickly. As soon as she was gone, Byers sat on the edge of the bed and looked down at Langly. He absently stroked his hand down the younger man’s arm. "You okay? I mean, your back..." Langly nodded against the pillow under his head. "Yeah...it’s okay." He shifted uncomfortably, and winced slightly. "Can you..." he said, raising himself on his elbows in an attempt to sit up. Byers read his mind, raising the top of the bed for Langly to sit up against. "Better?" "Perfect...thanks." "So...now what?" Byers glanced around as if expecting to find something to distract them. Not surprisingly, he found nothing. "Now...we wait," Langly answered. ..oOOo.. 4:53 pm Byers paced the room nervously as he waited for Langly to be brought back. The younger man had been taken to be scanned and X-rayed by way of wheelchair, despite his self-conscious protests. The older man couldn’t help but be worried. He had seen his lover’s reaction to Larson’s ministrations, and felt helpless to do anything, his own dedication to protecting the younger man leaving him feeling empty as he watched. "Byers?" a familiar voice cut through his layers of self-induced guilt. Looking up, he saw Agent Scully step into the room towards him cautiously. "Oh--Scully, hi," he said distractedly, belatedly remembering to stop pacing. "Hi," she replied. "Everything okay? I knocked but you didn’t hear me." She glanced around, finally taking in the unoccupied bed. "Where’s Langly?" she asked carefully, her tone gentle. "Oh...um, he’s okay, I think. They’re doing MRIs and things," Byers answered without really thinking. He finally sighed and sat on the bed. "Sorry, I get really nervous when he’s sick, you know?" he smiled apologetically. Taking the empty chair, Scully smiled reassuringly at him. "I’m sure he’ll be fine." She glanced around, her eyes landing on the chart laying on the bed. Reaching up, she grabbed it and looked over the pages. "I looked over the results they handed me at the nurses’ station; this is really unusual," she shook her head as she scanned the papers. "Yeah, for a guy. But it’s familiar to you, isn’t it?" Byers looked at her pointedly. Taking the blatant hint, she nodded. "Yes, I have seen these kind of results recently, in my own tests. The question still remains; *why* are these being produced in him?" Byers just shook his head. "I’m sorry, I’m not really sure why I asked you here. I just..." "John, it’s all right," the agent assured him gently. "I’m glad you did; it’s always good to have a second opinion in something like this. Besides, I owe you guys the consultation, anyway," she grinned at him. He gave her a smile, relaxing a bit. "I really appreciate you doing this. Honestly, I think we need the distraction. I mean, I want to give the doctor time to figure this out, but Langly’s all but convinced that he’s pregnant based solely on those test results and his own symptoms." "Well, I don’t blame him, considering they really are the classic signs of early conception. But I think you’re right; he’s not taking into account the physiological aspect of this. He’s just not built to carry a baby, and there’s no known reason for this to be happening to him. I’ll need to go over this with Dr. Larson before I can even begin to consider possible causes." Byers simply nodded in agreement, at a loss for a response. The thick pause was short-lived as the nurse returned with Langly. Upon seeing Scully, the younger man blushed profusely and wrapped his arms around his chest self-consciously. He shook off the nurse’s attempt to help him as he climbed back onto the bed. After the nurse had left, he groaned softly and fell onto his side in relief, his head at the foot of the bed. "John, do you think they have special classes at med school where they teach them as many ways as possible to humiliate their patients?" Scully pitched in with the answer. "No, they just added them into each course as we go." "Oh--hi, Scully," Langly gave her a little wave of his hand, pretending he’d forgotten she was there. Byers just smiled and sat at the end of the bed next to the other man’s head, absently petting Langly’s hair. "So...I take it everything went well?" he asked innocently. The younger man groaned again. "Well, I’m still alive, if that’s what you mean." "Well, I would hope so. So, what did she do to you that was so embarrassing?" Scully asked curiously. Langly blushed again, avoiding looking at her. "She," he started, then sighed. "She made me take off all my clothes for the MRI." "That’s not unusual, since they were scanning your lower back and abdomen." "If that’s true, they could at least turn the heat up in that room; it was freezing..." Byers grinned as he finally caught on to what Langly was saying. "That’s okay," he rubbed his lover’s shoulder affectionately. "I’m the only one that counts when it comes to judging your anatomy, remember?" Scully laughed as she caught the not-so-subtle conversation. She did her best to stop when she saw Langly bury his face in his hands. "Sorry, Langly. I’m sure they understand. The room is kept cold to protect the computers, you should know that." Deciding a change of subject was at hand, she continued. "Did Larson say when the results would come back?" "About half an hour, she said," Langly responded, finally looking up. The agent nodded and leaned back in the chair. She watched fondly as Byers continued to stroke Langly’s hair, the younger man closing his eyes. ..oOOo.. Scully and Byers looked up when the door opened cautiously a while later; Langly had fallen asleep where he lay sprawled backwards on the bed. Larson smiled at the two men on the bed, then turned her attention to Scully. "Hello, I’m Dr. Larson," she held out her hand politely. "Hi, I’m Dana Scully," the agent replied, shaking the other woman’s hand. "I was told you would have MRI results?" "Right here," the doctor replied, flipping open a folder and holding one of the prints to the light for Scully to see. "I think we may have found something." She pointed to a dark area near the middle of the page. "What is that?" Scully asked, squinting at the picture. "I’m not exactly sure, but comparing these with the X-rays and the physical exam, I’m leaning towards a possible buildup of blood, caused by this mass here behind the prostate." "Isn’t that serious?" Scully looked at her incredulously. "It could be, in time. I don’t believe he’s in any immediate danger. The area with the mass is small and has no organs near it, other than the prostate. My only concern is if too much blood builds up, it may put pressure on his spinal chord. My major concern is that considering it’s placement, that it may be tumorous." "That’s a bad thing, right?" Langly’s sleepy voice joined the conversation. Larson looked down at the young man watching her with half- closed eyes. "If left untreated, yes, it could be. I’d like to schedule you for surgery, to relieve the pressure and figure out where the blood is coming from. Also, to take a biopsy to determine if it *is* a tumor, and if it could be cancerous." That woke Langly up the rest of the way. He sat upright, his eyes wide with sudden fear. "Cancer? Surgery?" his voice shook slightly. Byers reached up to rest a hand on his lover’s shoulder. The doctor nodded. "It is a possibility. Luckily, it appears to be very small and likely that we’ve caught it in plently to time. Preferably soon. Would tomorrow evening be all right? The sooner, the better, but we need to make sure you don’t ingest anything within twenty-four hours of the procedure." Langly hesitated, then nodded slowly. "Um, actually I haven’t eaten anything since dinner last night, but I’d still like to wait until tomorrow." "That’s fine; I’ll try to put you in late morning, then, to get it over with. Are you okay with this? I know it’s very sudden." He glanced at Byers, reading his own fear and apprehension mirrored on the other man’s face but he found himself nodding in agreement. "Yeah, I’m okay," he said, his voice only just above a whisper. After the doctor had left, Langly drew a shaky breath and looked at Byers. "John, what about the...I mean..." "Ree, you heard what she said. It’s most likely a tumor, and even though that scares the hell out of me, it’s early enough that you can get treatment. And then, only if it does turn out to be cancer. It’s not--you’re not, you know..." Byers rubbed the younger man’s shoulder, looking at Scully helplessly. The agent understood his dilema. He wanted to be supportive of what Langly thought, but also didn’t want his lover to get upset about something that wasn’t possible. "Langly, you’re going to have to trust the doctors tomorrow. Whatever is causing this is doing damage to your body and needs to be taken care of. John is right; despite the strange hormones showing up in the tests, you can’t get pregnant." Feeling defeated two-against-one, Langly sighed quietly. "Yeah, I know." He coughed, changing his position to slide back into the bed properly. Byers stood and helped him wordlessly. "Well, I don’t think there’s anything else I can do, so I’m gonna go," Scully told them, pausing at the door. "Call me tomorrow and let me know how it goes, okay?" "Sure. Thanks for coming down here, Scully," Byers replied, giving her a weak smile. Langly didn’t say anything, his mind obviously in other places as he stared at the wall. ..oOOo..