..oOOo.. Later that evening, Byers sat quietly on the edge of the bed, his hand softly stroking Langly’s leg through the thin blanket. He watched his lover out of the corner of his eye, the younger man’s silence unnerving but he had no idea how to break it. Fortunately, he didn’t have to. A soft knock on the door got both their attentions, and a familiar figure cautiously entered the room. "Hey, boys," Frohike grinned at them as he closed the door behind him. "Hi, Mel," Langly greeted him. Byers almost jumped at the sudden sound from the man laying next to him. The younger man sat up a bit, wincing but quickly covering it up. Frohike was faster, though, catching the painful expression. "How are you feeling, Ringo?" he asked in a rare, gentle voice. He glanced briefly at Byers. "I got your message from earlier; what’s this about surgery?" "Tomorrow morning," Langly sighed warily. He lowered his head, distractedly scratching behind an ear. "Something about too much blood building up in my lower back, maybe a tumor." "That sounds serious," Frohike said evenly as he took the empty seat next to the bed. "That what made you sick?" Langly shrugged. "I don’t know...they still haven’t explained the hormone imbalance, and I would guess that’s what made me sick. I don’t even think *they* know if the two are related." "I’m sure they are," Byers argued. "We’ll just have to wait and see what they find out in the morning." "Yeah," the youngest man breathed. He shifted uncomfortably again, grimacing. He hissed a barely discernible "shit..." as he settled back. "Ree? What’s wrong?" Byers turned to face him on the bed, frowning with concern. Langly waved him off with a hand. "Nothing..." he tried to assure him, but the sharp gasp following the word ruined the effect. "This isn’t nothing, dude," Frohike cut in, leaning closer. "You want me to get a nurse?" "No, don’t," the younger man protested firmly, his eyes pleading. "Really, I’m okay; it’s just my back, it’s the same pain I’ve been having all day." "You’re sure?" Byers didn’t bother to hide his disbelieving tone. Langly nodded, closing his eyes and taking slow, deep breaths. "Yes, I’m sure. I think I just need to get some sleep," his voice had dropped to a low mumble in a few short minutes, his energy obviously spent. "Yeah, good idea," Frohike said softly, standing to pat the younger man’s shoulder. "You hang in there, okay? Get some rest, and after they fix you up in the morning you’ll be fine, all right?" "Right," Langly managed a weak smile. Frohike started for the door, and Byers stood to make his own exit. Before he had even regained his balance on his feet, Langly reached down and grabbed his wrist, his fingers gripping tightly. "John?" he whispered, fear and pleading twisting his features and stopping both men in their tracks. Byers placed a hand carefully on Langly’s chest, the strength and warmth a calming reassurance. The grip on his other wrist loosened and then was gone. "I’ll be right back, okay? I’m just going to talk to Mel right outside, then I’ll come back." The younger man hesitated for a moment, then nodded fractionally against the pillow. "’kay," he mouthed, no sound behind the word but Byers heard it just the same. The older man gently removed Langly’s glasses and set them on the bedside table. Following the other man out, Byers shut the door behind him softly. "How’s he really doing, John?" Frohike asked him quietly, nodding toward the door. Byers took a few steps down the hall, raking his hands through his short hair. "I think..." he started, then shook his head. "He’s scared, Mel. Whatever this is, it’s scaring the shit out of both of us." "I can see that," the older man informed him. "But the truth of it is, we can’t do anything about it, not until the surgery. Maybe not even then; they didn’t say it directly, but we all know it’s nothing more than exploratory, right? Hell, they don’t have a clue what to look for at this point, except that he’s bleeding internally and no one seems to know why." The other man turned back, his head jerking up and he stared at his friend, stunned realization sweeping across his face. "That pretty much sums it up, yes," he spat harshly. After a pause, Frohike spoke again. "So...we wait until morning." "Nothing else we can do." Byers walked back to the door, his hand rubbing at the back of his neck. He turned back to face the other man. "I’m going to stay with him tonight. I...I just don’t want to leave him alone, you know?" he said quietly, his voice breaking just slightly over the last few words. "I’m sure he’ll appreciate it. Looks to me like you need him as much as he needs you right now," Frohike squeezed his shoulder knowingly. Byers just nodded, not finding any words but knowing that his friend understood. Back in the room, Byers paused near the door to switch off the bright overhead light, leaving the room only dimly lit by the lamp over the bed. Hearing nothing from the room’s occupant, he realized Langly must have fallen asleep and made for the chair to settle in for a long night. Before he could sit, he heard a soft "thanks..." "You still awake?" Byers asked his lover softly, standing over the bed. He could see Langly was indeed awake, more alert than he had been a few minutes earlier. "Yeah..." Langly replied, scooting his body up into a sitting position with only a slight wince. "Hey, careful," Byers reached to help him. He sat on the bed next to Langly’s hip, his hand moving up to stroke the wayward strands of hair falling across slumped shoulders. "Your back still bothering you?" "A little," the other man mumbled and gave him a little smile. "It’s better, though." Byers didn’t respond, instead simply continuing to lace his fingers through the soft mane. "John, about earlier..." Langly said suddenly, looking up to meet his lover’s eye. "I’m sorry, I should have listened." "What do you mean?" Byers cocked his head curiously. The younger man sighed, his fingers restlessly fidgeting in his lap, twisting the ring on his finger as he looked down. "You were right, I was wrong. I--I just jumped to the conclusion that I wanted to be true and now..." he drew a shaky breath, turning his head away. "John, I’m scared..." he rasped, his mouth dry in an effort to control his emotions. "I don’t know what’s wrong with me and I’m scared," he choked back a sob. Byers pulled him into a tight embrace, a strong hand cupping the back of Langly’s head as the younger man clung to him desperately, crying into Byers’ shoulder. The older man held him as tight as he dared, rubbing his lover’s upper back gently, murmuring into his ear with constant, meaningless nonsense and rocking him rhythmically. Sometime later, Byers noticed that Langly had stopped trembling, his sobs quieted to an occasional sniffle. He still held him, until the younger man finally raised his head and met the compassionate gaze with his own red-rimmed blue eyes. He coughed quietly, then pressed his lips against Byers’ cheek. "Love you," he mumbled into the fabric of the shirt. "Love you too," Byers replied instantly. Langly slumped against him again, a shuddering sigh rattling through his body. "I’m so tired." "I know, love." "You staying?" "I’m not going anywhere, not until I know you’re okay," Byers told him firmly. He gently laid Langly back down, reluctant to release him but feeling the exhausted weakness in the other man. Stroking the back of his hand down his lover’s cheek, he bent down and pressed a kiss onto his forehead. "I promise." ..oOOo.. 7:43 am Thursday Byers woke abruptly the next morning, a sharp groan shaking him out of sleep. As he opened his eyes and sat up, he found that a blanket had been draped over him sometime during the night by a nurse. Dropping it aside, he stood and leaned over the unconscious man in the bed, thrashing and mumbling incoherently in his sleep. Byers reached down to shake his shoulder. "Ree, wake up," he tried to say forcefully, but found his voice hoarse with sleep. Clearing his throat, he tried again. Langly gradually came awake, blinking up at his lover and catching his breath. "John--?" he squinted, half-yawning. "God..." "Yeah, I’m here. You okay? You look like hell..." Byers pointed out helpfully. Langly grimaced at his lack of tact. "Gee, I love you too," he forced a sneering smile. He closed his eyes again, a sharp gasp escaping parted lips. "Jesus..." he swallowed hard, starting to roll onto his side in an attempt to sit up. Byers quickly went around to the other side of the bed, helping him up. "Should I get the nurse?" "No. Just...feel sick..." "Can you make it to the bathroom?" Byers put his arm around the tense back as Langly swung his legs over the edge of the bed. "Yeah...help me," the younger man replied weakly, slipping off the bed to stand. He swayed but Byers held him on his feet. "Shit..." "Sure you can do this? I think I should get help," Byers tightened his grip as Langly attempted a shaky step. "Ye--oh, GOD," Langly swore sharply, his free arm wrapping around his middle as he doubled over, the sudden intensity of the pain unbearable. "Damn it," Byers hissed, having no choice but to lower Langly to the floor as the younger man curled up in agony. Sharp cries erupted from him as he fell onto his side, his legs tucked up under him and arms wrapped around his abdomen tightly. "John...John, please...it hurts..." Langly hissed through painfully clenched teeth. "Make it stop...please..." "Hang on, just lay still, I’ll get help," Byers jumped to his feet and ran for the door, yelling down the hall to the nurses’ station for help. He waited only long enough to see a few heads turn before racing back to where Langly lay on the floor next to the bed. "They’re coming...help’s coming..." he assured his lover, stroking his arm and head, not knowing what else to do. He felt so helpless, his own stomach too tight as he watched the younger man writhe in pain. Byers glanced down, as if trying to locate the source of the pain, as if he could do anything to stop it. He winced as Langly’s legs thrashed out, and felt his heart stop at what he saw. Wet, red streaks where Langly’s leg had kicked out, a trail of liquid leading back to the growing amount of blood soaking the thin hospital gown and pooling beneath him. ..oOOo..