A Day in the Line - Chapter Eight
At long last, it's finally here! A bit of a cliffhanger on this one, be warned. Thanks SO much for all your reviews, please keep them coming! You have no idea how grateful I am for your support. :)
A Day in the Line
By LadyBookish242 AKA Taylor
Rated PG-13, rating subject to change
Pairings: Drew/Greg, Ryan/Colin, Brad/Chip, Wayne/Jeff (all pairings may not be in every chapter)
Plot: The gang share a large house on Anderson street, going through days of life, love, and mindless retail jobs.
NOTE: Some of the retail scenes in this fic are inspired by true experiences by myself and acquaintances. Yes, really.
Disclaimer: I do not own the show ‘Whose Line is it Anyway?’ nor do I own any of the persons portrayed. I do not mean to slander any of the persons portrayed in the story.
Chapter Eight
Get Well Soon? Fuck That! I Wanna Get Well NOW!
“I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.” - Mother Teresa
The next afternoon, everyone eagerly awaited Ryan and Colin’s return from the hotel, to get details from them on what went on with their anniversary date. Drew still remained mum about the whole thing, not even a group tickle fight that nearly caused him to wet his pants would make him talk. It really must be big news.
Finally the car pulled into the drive and Colin and Ryan walked inside, their arms full with luggage and smiles on their faces. “Hey! How’d it go, you guys?” Greg asked. Colin laughed. “It went great, dinner, dancing, and then the hotel.”
Ryan put down his luggage and put his arm around Colin. “Oh, and I got him an anniversary present.” Colin showed smiling brown eyes upon his lover and nodded. “Indeed, you did.” He held up his left hand. “We’re getting married.”
“OH MY GOD! NO WAY!” Everyone rushed up to exclaim over the ring, to give them hugs and kisses and to bombard them with questions. Ryan managed to escape the din and talk to Drew privately for a moment. “I see you got the answer you wanted.” Drew grinned, giving his friend a hug. “Yeah, I did.”
“Thanks for keeping my secret. I also have something to ask you.”
“I don’t believe in bigamy, Ryan.” Drew joked.
Ryan laughed. “No, I wanted to ask if you’d be my best man.” Drew gaped at him, but there was a smile. “Are you serious? I’d be honored, man.” He said, giving his friend another hug.
Colin and Greg came over to join them. “What a coincidence! Greg just agreed to be my best man. Maybe you two are next, huh?”
Drew chuckled. “Perhaps. But I’m happy just the way we are right now.” Greg smiled at his lover, hearing the exact answer he wanted to hear. Colin and Ryan joined hands and the bands made a clink as they came together, all the love for each other filling their eyes. Their life was beginning anew. They always knew that they would always be together, but they wanted to make the promises, a true bond. To pledge before God and their friends and family that they would last the test of time.
And they would. They knew it.
Jeff was back at work that night, patrolling the area around Sleepover Suites, including the hotel bar. It was 2 AM, the time that all the bars had to close due to state drinking laws. He was stopped in the bar by a hand on his arm. “Can you get me more alcohol?”
He shrugged. “Sorry, not after 2 am. Illegal.”
The guy grinned. “What if Mr. Abe Lincoln were involved?” He held up a battered five.
Jeff grinned back. “I’d say you’re the lowest bidder, the highest offered a thousand dollars and didn’t get any alcohol either.”
While the man stood gaping in shock, he took his exit. It really was true, someone was so desperate he offered him a full grand to let him in and keep on drinking. However, Jeff liked his job. And since nobody’s offered him his price of ten million dollars and a drink with Christopher Meloni, he kept upholding the law.
Suddenly he got a page on his radio that a medical emergency was happening inside the hotel. Since he was a security guard, he naturally got medical training. He rushed back in to help because a man was having seizures inside of his room, and the medical personnel needed to get up the elevator. (The elevator was run by key card as a security measure.)
He paged the man running the elevator to let them up. No answer.
He and Tony both start paging him to let them up. No answer.
Five people start paging him to let them up. No answer.
Finally Tony took off running to see what the Hell was going on. The medics eventually got let up and the man was treated, and Tony came back down looking furious. “He turned off his radio for some ungodly reason. Almost went mental, but he’s still breathing. For now.”
Jeff was angry too, and also knew that the next day would have a meeting for everybody about safety measures, and nobody was going to be happy with the other guard for a while. Like people always said, it only takes one person to ruin it for everyone. Except now, a life could’ve been lost. He craved a cigarette, and he wasn’t even a smoker. This was going to be a rough night.
Brad got a call from the manager on his cell. “Hey, sorry to bother you so late, but I just got word that the dashers got sentenced.”
“Really?” Brad said, already fully awake. “What’d they get?”
“Each of them got a $250 fine and six months probation.” Brad grinned. “I’m happy with that.” Karen laughed. “Thought you would. See you tomorrow.”
“See ya.” Brad hung up and snuggled back into bed with Chip. Chip sighed and draped an arm over him. “I heard. Congratulations.”
Brad nodded. “Thank you.”
“I hope it goes as well when I get my stitches out tomorrow.”
Brad sat up on his elbow, exasperation written on his face. “Are you still worried about that?” Chip sighed. “Yeah. Not so much about you, but about everyone else. People staring, or worse, looking away.”
Brad bent down and gave him a long, passionate kiss that left his lover breathless. “What do I have to do to convince you that everything will be okay?” Chip smiled. “Well, that certainly helped.”
Brad laughed and they turned out the lights to cuddle and whisper in the dark. Chip still felt nervous about it, but it was far in the back of his mind. He knew that no matter what happened or how his face looked, he would make it with his boyfriend by his side. The one person who loved him, the one person whose opinion mattered most. The one who would take care of him.
He snuggled deeper into the embrace and smiled. He wasn’t about to let a madman ruin this moment.
As usual, Wayne waited for Jeff to return home, and he smiled once he saw headlights. He went downstairs to greet him, and his face turned concerned as he saw the death look on his face. The face that clearly read ‘I’ve had a shit day at work.’ He smiled tiredly at Wayne and gratefully moved into a hug.
He let Wayne help him up the stairs to their room and undress him for bed. He tucked him in and slipped beside him under the covers, turning off the lamp. Wayne gently kissed his lover’s head, sending waves of calm throughout his body. Jeff yawned. “Love you.”
Wayne hugged him gently. “I love you too.” Wayne kissed him again and finally relaxed, like he always did once Jeff was home and safe in his arms.
Greg was out on the back porch having a cigarette when Drew walked out into the cool autumn night. “Ready for bed?” He asked. Greg grinned. “Just let me finish this.”
Drew rubbed his shoulder lovingly, enjoying the cool breeze on his warm skin. He felt a veer of smoke turn toward him and smothered his contempt. He loved Greg with all his heart, but if he could change one characteristic about him, it was his habit.
Greg loved his cigarettes almost as much as he loved his boyfriend, and he knew that Drew silently hated the fact that he smoked. But whenever he thought of that, he quickly made himself think of something else, and he never dealt with the problem. He knew that he should quit, he kept getting susceptible to colds and other illnesses, but nothing serious. At least not yet.
Drew was kind enough not to nag him about it, and he tried to make himself learn to deal with it fully. Greg quietly blessed him for it, but deep down he knew that if Drew asked him to quit, he would. If one day Drew said, ‘It’s me or the smokes’, he would put them down and never touch them again. But until that day, he’d keep satisfying his craving and trying to avoid his guilt.
Finally, Greg stubbed his cigarette out on the porch railing and moved to go inside. Drew laid a light hand on his back and walked with him up the stairs to their bedroom. Drew went to change into his pajamas while his lover made a pit stop in the bathroom.
He got under the covers and smiled as Greg came in and did the same. He kissed his lover and slipped his tongue in, Drew silently thanked whatever and whoever that he had already brushed his teeth. He pulled him closer and probed deeper, stopping when he felt things stirring below. He knew they both were too tired for anything playful.
Greg pillowed his head on Drew’s shoulder as the light went off. “Love you.” Drew smiled, rubbing his shoulder softly. “Love you too.”
And all that was left to be heard in the night was quiet snoring and soft breathing. No more words were needed.
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP *click*
Ryan tapped the alarm to make it stop beeping and smiled at his sleeping lover lying in his arms. He couldn’t believe that the last few days hadn’t all been a beautiful dream, and that soon he would truly be his forever.
Colin was so good to him, cooking for him, listening to him rant and muse and cry when he needed to, rubbing his aching feet when he came home from a long day. He didn’t deserve him, and he could only attribute him to the mysterious kindness of God.
Every day, he always waited to see those big brown eyes smiling up at him, for his shy smile to light up the room, and for those dimples to make his heart leap. But for now, he was content to just let him sleep, feeling secure and content. But soon his eyes fluttered open, and he looked up at him just the same as he always did, with his eyes shining with love and a smile on his lips.
Ryan smiled back down at him with his green eyes twinkling, bending to give him a gentle kiss. “Good morning.” Colin stretched a bit. “Good morning.” Ryan reached out and took his hand; the rings glinted in the morning sun. “We really did it, didn’t we?”
“We did.”
“I love you, Col.”
“I love you too, Ry.”
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP *click*
Greg weakly swung his arm over to turn off the alarm and almost collapsed back onto the bed. He tried to clear his throat but couldn’t, wishing that he could magically produce a glass of water from thin air.
cough cough…coughcoughHACKcoughCOUGHcoughHACKcoughHAAAAAAACKcoughcoughhackSPIT
Greg laid back in bed and groaned loudly. Drew came in, his eyebrows raised. “Was that you coughing?”
“No, it’s Amelia Earhart.” He moaned, shooting him a look that could kill. Drew walked over, undeterred by the comment. He lay beside him in bed and kissed his forehead. “I’ll be right back.” He walked out and came back with a glass of water and a thermometer. Greg gratefully took several hasty sips of the water and then let Drew stick the thermometer into his mouth.
Drew gently stroked his sweaty hair back as he waited for it to register. At the soft beeping, he took it out and his eyes widened in sympathy. “101.2. You’ve got a fever.” Greg moaned again. “My throat is burning.” His voice was raspy. Drew gave him more of the water and kissed his forehead comfortingly.
“I’ll call Josie and say you won’t be in today.” He told him. “I don’t have to work today, so I can stay and take care of you.” Greg could only nod. He went out to make the phone call and Greg felt miserable. He felt awful and sore and hot and cold and he wanted everyone and everything to go away.
He knew that he should probably be grateful to Drew that he was going to take care of him, but he could only think of how much he hated the world right now. Drew came back in with some extra pillows, a cold wet rag, and a pint of ice cream. He propped Greg up with the pillows and Greg sighed gratefully as he wiped his forehead with the cool cloth.
Drew handed him the ice cream and turned on the TV. “Feeling a bit better?” Greg reached out and kissed his hand before attacking the ice cream. Drew smiled, feeling that the sentiment more than paid for the day ahead. He just hoped it wasn’t something more serious. But it should clear up as the day went by.
Once Drew could tell Greg was getting tired of being waited on, he went downstairs and made himself some lunch and watched TV with Brad. He started to nod off from lying on the couch when Colin rushed into the living room. “Drew, get up here, quick!”
He quickly tore up the stairs, two at a time, and saw Greg lying bed, drenched with sweat. He was barely breathing, and even his breathing sounded hoarse. Drew felt himself go cold with fear as Ryan called for a doctor. Greg felt blindly for Drew’s hand and gripped it tight. “Don’t worry, Greg. We’re going to get you to a hospital.”
Everyone was paralyzed with fear. What was going on? Would Greg be okay? After all the chaos of the ambulance and doctors and the terrifying drive to the hospital, the doctors eventually determined the cause to be bronchitis.
Drew swallowed hard when he heard the news, knowing that his worst fears were confirmed. He was going to have to finally ask Greg to give up his habit, but he didn’t know how he would react. But for now, all he could do was sit in the waiting room as nurses tended to his lover, waiting for the shaking in his hands to still.
End of Chapter Eight