The Life of Matt Summers, Part 3
by Flaming Matt
Chapter 1
Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction and any resemblance of the characters to real life people, events, circumstances, is purely coincidental. This story involves love and sexual scenarios with boys aged nine and above and it may contain some events you might find offensive or inappropriate, but If you're not a fan of this kind of story, please do not read. You know who You're and you should know whether or not to read this stuff. This is not a quick jack off story though, so don't expect detailed and over the top sexual situations between the characters, although as the story develops there will be more sexual things happening as relationships change and develop.
Right now I have an ending in mind but it is a long way from getting to that point, so please shoot me an email if You're reading, so I know that people want me to carry on.
Hopefully I get some good feedback from you guys and I appreciate all constructive criticism, I will admit that when it comes to the medical stuff in the stories I have taken liberties as I have no idea about most of it, but I hope people can look past any glaring inaccuracies and enjoy the story, I just ask that you keep any replies mature and civil, if you don't like it then I respect your view but there isn't any need to be abusive.
My name is Matt and I'm 30 years old and from the UK.
April 2015
" Thank you Ben, thank you so much, I owe you big time." Carter declares, as his eyes light up.
"Yeah and you can start by not making Wesley wear those ridiculous clothes, I mean come on transformer pyjamas?" Ben decides to say, sensing that it was safe to lighten the mood.
"Hey they aren't." Carter is about to say they aren't pyjamas, but when Ben gives him a long stare he knows he is fighting a losing battle. "Okay fine they might be pyjamas, but he looks so hot in them and... okay I will stop telling him what to wear." He then says, realising that maybe he was being controlling and that Wesley's vulnerability makes it even more unfair on his boyfriend.
" Good now come on, I told him to look after Matt so at least he won't run away." Ben says, he knew if he was Wesley, he would have been half way home by now, but by telling him to loo after Matt, he knew his friend would not leave his side.
To Ben's amusement, as soon as they get back into his boyfriends room Carter flings himself at Wesley, who doesn't know what hit him, Ben can see that his friend has been crying, but his face is quickly obscured by Carter kissing him and it wasn't the quick tender kiss Ben had expected, it was a full on passionate I want you kiss and he kind of felt a little awkward watching them, luckily to his relief though he watches as Carter breaks the kiss and just like Ben had told him to do, he doesn't say a word, he just takes one of Wesley's hands and leads him out of the room, when Wesley gives him a questioning look, Ben just smiles and shrugs his shoulders as they disappear from the room.
He then turns to his sleeping boyfriend and pulls a chair up beside him, he considers talking to him again, but this time he doesn't know what to say, so he takes hold of his boyfriends good hand and then lays his head down on the side of the bed and closes his eyes, falling to sleep almost instantly.
One Week Later
"Dad, he doesn't want to go anywhere." Mitch says, as they make their way back to Matt's room from the hospital cafeteria with Sarah walking beside them.
"It's his birthday Mitch." Mike responds, before realising Sarah is with them. "I mean their birthday, sorry Sarah." He then says, remembering that their sons shared the same birthday.
"It's okay Mike, but I'm with Mitch on this one." Sarah responds and surprises Mike.
"You're?" Mike then asks, looking at her in confusion.
"He wants to spend it with his boyfriend, I think it's sweet and if it makes him happy, then isn't that all that matters?" Sarah explains, she gives Mitch a quick smile and he nods appreciatively.
"I guess so, I just want him to have a good time." Mike then states as they approach the room.
"Dad, forcing him away from his boyfriend to spend time with people fussing over him and being all happy and cheerful is not going to be having a good time for him, just let him spend tonight with Matt and let him enjoy just being with him." Mitch tells his dad as they stop outside the door, he can see his little brother sleeping with his head on his boyfriends bed, this had become a regular thing for the three of them to see as they came and went throughout the day and they thought it was sweet.
"Okay you two win, but tomorrow we are taking him out somewhere nice." Mike concedes as he opens the door and walks in, they are all careful not to wake Ben up while they make themselves comfortable.
"Hey sleepy head." Mike says after a few minutes, when he sees his youngest son starting to wake up.
"Oh, hey Dad." Ben answers yawning as he comes round. "Oh, hello you two as well." He adds, when he sees his brother and boyfriends mum sitting in the room as well.
"Morning Ben." Sarah says smiling, although it is a weak smile as see looks at her son, she still couldn't believe what had happened to him and the fact he is still showing no signs of waking up after almost three weeks meant that she couldn't help but start preparing herself for never seeing her son awake again.
"You know you should sleep in the bed Ben." Mitch then says, giving his little brother a warm smile. "After the hassle we had getting them to put one in here, you could at least use it." He then adds grinning, it had been a tough few days of getting the hospital to agree to give Ben his own bed in the room, but his little brother always went to sleep with his boyfriends hand in his own and his head on his bed and each time either his dad or himself would pick him up and lay him in his own bed, but every time whether they had fallen asleep themselves or gone home for the night and came back, they would always find him with his head on his boyfriends bed holding his hand again and Mitch loved his little brother even more for it.
"I know, but I need to be close to him, he is going to wake up and I want to be there when he does." Ben responds and is now fully awake, he out of all of them still had the most belief that Matt would wake up and it never faltered.
"Son I know you asked me not to, but I can't help it and well happy birthday Son." Mike then announces, before he stands up and takes a small wrapped box out of his pocket and hands it to his youngest son, who looks at him with a mixture or happiness and annoyance.
"Dad no, I can't celebrate with..." Ben begins to protest, but his dad puts a finger to his lips and he stops talking.
"Sshh, just open it please." Mike says, while Mitch looks on and could see the sadness on his dads face and wondered what was in the box, he just hoped his little brother opened it.
Ben looks at his dad for a few moments, he then looks at the box and sighs. "Okay, but I don't want anything else or anyone else talking about our birthday." Ben then states in a firm tone, before he looks down at the box again and unwraps it slowly before opening it, Mitch can't help but lean forward to get a look, but when Ben goes silent and bursts into tears Mitch thinks his little brother is angry and upset at whatever is in the box, but before he even gets a chance to move his little brother jumps up and wraps his arms around their dad.
"You're welcome Son." Mike says as he returns the embrace and knows he has made his son happy.
"What's going on?" Mitch asks, sounding totally confused and he can see Sarah is also looking the same way.
"I love you so much Dad, they are perfect." Ben says, before he lets his dad go and looks over to his brother. "Mitch aren't they beautiful." He then says proudly, as he holds up two identical rings and Mitch had to admit that while they weren't anything over elaborate, they did look beautiful and knowing that they were for both his little brother and Matt, caused Mitch to look at his dad and smile as a tear runs down his face.
"They are beautiful Ben, why don't you put them on." Mitch then suggests, enjoying seeing his little brother looking so happy.
"Okay." Ben responds excitedly, but Mike quickly puts an arm on his youngest sons arm, as Ben looks at him in confusion.
"Read the inscriptions first." Mike then says, with a loving smile.
"The inscription, what's that mean?" Ben asks in confusion, before he stares at the rings with a blank look.
"It's on the inside of the ring Ben." Sarah says as she stands up and puts a hand on Mike's arm, she had been there with him when they had purchased the rings together, but she hadn't known about the inscriptions and was fascinated to hear what was inscribed on them.
Ben looks at both rings and Mitch can tell his brother is looking confused and in deep thought, like he is trying to work something out.
"I don't get it." Ben then says, sounding disappointed and Mitch wonders if his dad has had something stupid inscribed on the rings.
"It's Latin Ben." Mike then says as he kneels in front of his youngest son.
"Oh, but I can't read Latin, Matt tried to teach me a few times, but I just didn't get it." Ben then says and Mitch is startled, when Sarah suddenly says something.
"Matt can read Latin?" Sarah asks totally surprised by the revelation, she had come to realise many times that her son was full of surprises, but this had to be one of the biggest she thought to herself.
"Yeah and he can speak it to, he said Tobias taught him when they were younger well they learned together but I think Tobias got it quicker and Matt said he thought it was cool." Ben explains as he looks over to his boyfriends mum with a smile.
"Tobias." Is all Sarah says in a sad tone and Mike remembers the conversation they had where Sarah had ran off to make a phone call after talking about him and wondered if something bad had happened to the boy and even Mitch picks up on the sadness, but Ben misses it as he looks back at his dad.
"So what does it say?" Ben asks curiously.
"It says 'Amor Vincit Omnia' Son and it means 'Love Conquers all' I thought it suited the both of you." Mike says and immediately Ben starts to cry in happiness and cuddles his dad again.
"It's perfect Dad, thank you so much." Ben then says as tears roll down his face, he was adamant that he wanted nothing to do with his birthday today and stressed that presents were a big no, but looking at his and his boyfriends new rings, he was so happy his dad ignored him.
"Come on, put yours on Ben and then you can put Matt's on him, I already checked with the doctor and he said it will be fine on his good hand." Mike then instructs his youngest son and watches as he slips the ring on his ring finger and smiles as it fits perfectly, although Mitch had to wait until his youngest son had fallen asleep to get his ring size.
Ben then slowly walks over to his boyfriend and as carefully as he can gently slides the ring on his hand, he then leans down and kisses it before turning to his family and Sarah smiling.
Ten Hours Later
"Now if you need anything, just call me okay Ben." Mike tells his youngest son, as they stand outside Matt's hospital room.
"I know Dad, you already told me this can't I just go in now?" Ben responds in a frustrated tone, as he listens to his dad repeat the same things for what seems like the hundredth time.
"I know, but just humour me Ben, now you know I have arranged so you won't be disturbed by any doctors or nurses, so if anything happens you know to press the alarm and call for help right?" Mike then says still lecturing his son, he knows he is going over the top, but he is just worried and doesn't want anything to go wrong.
"I know, please can I go in now... please." Ben pleads with his dad and Mike can see just how excited he is to spend the night alone with his boyfriend, without being disturbed and he was both happy and heartbroken for his son, it was sweet that he wanted to do this on their birthday, but Matt was still in a coma and Mike couldn't help but wonder if his son is setting himself up for disappointment.
"Okay Son, have a good night and we will see you in the morning." Mike says, ruffling his sons hair one last time before walking away to find Sarah, he had become close to her in the last few days and knew she needed his support and was happy to do what he could to help her through this.
On his way to find Sarah, Mike is surprised to almost walk into his eldest son and gives him a questioning look.
"Mitch?" Mike asks, wondering what he is doing in the hospital because he was meant to be out.
"Hey Dad." Is all Mitch says, as he looks past him to see Ben disappearing into Matt's room. "Damn it." He then says in a disappointed tone, causing his dad to look at him curiously.
"What are you doing here Mitch?" Mike decides to ask.
"I wanted to talk to Ben before he went in, but it's too late I guess." Mitch answers honestly.
"Well come on then, I'm going to find Sarah and you can come with me." Mike suggests, thinking his eldest son probably has nothing else to do now.
"Nah Dad, I think I might just wait outside the room and keep an eye on them for a while." Mitch responds, as he walks away from his dad towards the room.
"Mitch stop." Mike calls and and watches as his eldest son turns to him. "What's wrong?" He asks as his concern grows.
"Nothing, I'm just worried that Ben is going to be disappointed after tonight." Mitch explains and Mike can't help thinking how similar he and his eldest son were, as he was worried about the same thing.
"I know, but there is nothing we can do, just let him enjoy tonight and come with me Mitch." Mike responds smiling.
"Dad he thinks Matt is going to wake up tonight, like seriously he told me earlier that he has a feeling and I'm scared that when it doesn't happen he will break." Mitch then says, causing his dad to look at him in shock, he had known out of all of them even Sarah, that Ben had the most belief that Matt would wake up, but hearing that he is convinced it will happen tonight is causing him to have second thoughts about leaving the two boys alone together.
"Dad look go find Sarah, I will keep an eye on them and make sure Ben doesn't see me." Mitch then tells his dad, he sensed that his dad was thinking about staying and he didn't want that to happen, it was going to be tough to keep himself out of sight, let alone his dad as well.
"Okay, but Mitch don't let him see you and if anything does happen phone me or Sarah and we will come back to the hospital as soon as possible." Mike answers, he wants to stay himself but he can guess what his eldest son is thinking and he had made plans with Sarah anyway.
"Okay Dad... hey wait, you aren't going to be in the hospital?" Mitch asks, after realising what his dad had said and was curious.
"I'm taking Sarah out for a meal, it will do her good to get out of here for one night and have a decent meal." Mike answers honestly, Sarah had barely left the hospital and it had taken him a lot of effort to convince her to go out tonight.
"Oh, going anywhere nice?" Mitch asks, deciding to make a little small talk, he figured it would be a good idea to let his little brother get settled in the room, before he went over as it was less likely Ben would be paying attention to anything other than Matt by then.
"I thought I would take her to that fancy restaurant round the corner, it has nice food and is close enough to the hospital that if anything happened we could come straight back, I doubt I could have convinced her to go if I had suggested somewhere in town." Mike happily answers and smiles at his eldest son.
"Well you better go find her then, I'm just going to get a drink and come back, Ben should be settled by then." Mitch then says, as he walks with his dad away from Matt's room.
"Yeah that is a good idea Son." Mike responds, as he walks side by side with his eldest son.
As Ben closes the door behind him feeling excited that tonight his boyfriend will finally wake up, he twists his new ring on his finger and then looks at his sleeping boyfriend and sees the identical ring on his finger and smiles, feeling happy he then walks over and pulls one of the chairs over so he can sit down and hold his boyfriends hand.
"I can't believe you're finally going to wake up, I have missed you so much Matt and we are going to have so much fun together." Ben says, while gently stroking his boyfriends good hand. "You know they keep bugging me to go back to school, but I'm going to wait for you because we are a team Matt, you and me we do things together or not at all from now on because we love each other." He then says as he looks lovingly at his boyfriend.
"The Doctors told your mum that your foot is pretty messed up still, so when you wake up just remember not to try and stand up although I guess your pelvis is also messed up, so er... yeah just don't try to get up okay." Ben then tells his boyfriend as if they were having an actual conversation. "I should also warn you about the pain, I mean they have you drugged up anyway, but I bet you're going to have like a mega headache or something so just try not to freak out because you will be fine I promise and you know I wouldn't lie to you." He then states as he gently squeezes his boyfriends hand again, hoping for any sign that he is waking up and sighs in disappointment, but knows there is plenty of time for it to happen and wasn't worried.
"Wesley told me Mr Morgan misses you as well, not in a creepy way but he said that Eric has been trying to take over singing all the time and well let's face it Matt, he is okay but you're just the best and Mr Morgan can't wait for you to go back, but even when you wake up later it will be a while before you can go back to school you know." Ben tells him, before leaning down to kiss his boyfriends hand and smiles at the ring before kissing it, he was so grateful that his dad had gotten them such a wonderful present and couldn't wait to see how happy his boyfriend will be when he sees his ring and then how happy he will be when he sees that they have matching rings.
Unknown to Ben though, his brother was watching him from outside the room, Mitch had seen his dad leave with Sarah and gotten himself a drink and now stood watching his little brother talking to his comatose boyfriend and although he couldn't hear what he was saying, Mitch could make out a few words from lip reading and his earlier worries about his little being convinced Matt was waking up tonight were right and he found himself praying for some kind of miracle, so his little brother wouldn't be devastated.
Ben decides to be a little naughty as he is totally alone and not in any risk of being disturbed, so carefully lifts the sheet covering his boyfriend and slips his hand under to find his boyfriends soft penis and balls, he felt like he was being some kind of pervert but he hadn't seen or felt them since that last day in the back of his brothers car before they had dropped Matt off at his house and the thought of that day made him stop moving for a few seconds before he composed himself and continued, he had a smile on his face again as his hand was nearing it's target, but then the smile dropped and was replaced by a mixture of disappointment and confusion.
He took a few minutes to try and figure out what was wrong, before realising he could just pull the sheet back fully and see for himself, outside the room Mitch was looking worried as he watched his brother expose his boyfriend, he knew his little brother was aware of all his boyfriends injuries, well almost all of them, he and his dad had still not told Ben about the rape and when they had talked about it with Sarah she had eventually agreed with them after she had recovered from the news herself, so looking at his little brothers reaction now was worrying him as he could see him staring wide eyed at his boyfriends waist and groin, there were metal pins sticking out at the sides and the front and he had to stop himself going into the room and comforting his little brother.
Ben just couldn't process what he was seeing, he knew there would be something there, his boyfriends pelvis was broken after all, but actually seeing metal things sticking out made it real and he felt himself struggling to keep himself composed, it is like if it was the first time he had walked into the room and the fear he had at seeing all the wires and tubes going in and out of his boyfriends body, he realised looking at the clock he had been staring for almost five minutes and he gave himself another minute before pulling the sheet back over his boyfriend and wiping his eyes.
"Well I guess I will have to wait before I can see Little Matty again, but it is okay I would wait a hundred million years if it meant I could see your beautiful eyes again and I know it won't be long now, I just know you're going to wake up tonight and it is going to be so magical, I don't think the others believe me but we will prove them wrong, when they come in tomorrow and see you in my arms laughing and joking they will be so happy and they will never doubt you again, I promise Matt and you know I never lie." Ben says as he focuses on his boyfriend waking up and ignoring everything else.
Mitch reluctantly has to go to the toilet, he had been watching his little brother talking away for almost two hours and was genuinely surprised at his ability to not run out of things to say, his little brother was never a shy boy or even a quiet one, but he was never a chatterbox and Mitch saw it as another sign of just how much the two boys are in love with each other, he just hoped while he was gone nothing would happen and with a sigh started walking to the nearest toilet.
On his way back Mitch thinks he can hear something, it sounds familiar yet somehow different and just shakes his head, putting it down to being tired although when he gets closer to Matt's room he starts to hear it again and this time it is a lot clearer and when he turns the corner he sees a nurse standing just outside the room looking through the window.
"Erica?" Mitch calls out, when he recognises her. "What are you doing and where is that music coming from?" He then asks as Erica turns to him with tears in her eyes, but he can see the smile on her face.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Is all Erica says, before turning back to the room.
"What?" Mitch asks in a slightly confused tone, while he walks over to her and then looks into the room, then everything clicks and the sound he heard wasn't music at all, it was to his amazement his little brother, he was singing and it was beautiful.
Inside the room he could see his little brother standing with his boyfriends hand in his own and he was singing, Mitch recognised the song immediately and he could already feel the tears rolling down his face as he listens to his little brother sing his heart out.
"You with the sad eyes
Don't be discouraged
Oh, I realize
It's hard to take courageIn a world full of people
You can lose sight of it all
And the darkness inside youCan make you feel so small
But I see your true coloursShining through
I see your true coloursAnd that's why I love you
So don't be afraid to let them showYour true colours
True coloursAre beautiful like a rainbow."
"Your dad never told me Ben could sing." Erica says as she gives Mitch a quick glance before returning her gaze to the inside of the room.
"Show me a smile then,
Don't be unhappy
Can't remember whenI last saw you laughing
If this world makes you crazyAnd you've taken all you can bear
You call me upBecause you know I'll be there
And I'll see your true coloursShining through
I see your true coloursAnd that's why I love you
So don't be afraid to let them show
Your true colours
Your true coloursAre beautiful like a rainbow."
"I didn't even know until a few months ago, he really is amazing as well, but believe it or not Erica if you think this is amazing you should hear Matt sing, I have only heard him twice but my god I have never heard anything like it." Mitch responds, he isn't sure why he is telling Erica this but he for some reason wanted to tell her something about Matt and so he did.
(Can't remember when I last saw you laughing)
"If this world makes you crazyAnd you've taken all you can bear
You call me upBecause you know I'll be there."
"When he wakes up, I'm going to have to make sure he gives me a performance then." Erica responds, she thought Ben's voice was stunning and the emotion in his voice made her feel every word and it moved her, so the idea that Matt was even better left her genuinely looking forward to hearing him.
"And I'll see your true coloursShining through
I see your true coloursAnd that's why I love you
So don't be afraid to let them showYour true colours
True colours
True colours are shining through
I see your true coloursAnd that's why I love you
So don't be afraid to let them showYour true colours
True colours
Are beautiful like a rainbow."
Mitch is about to say something back to Erica just as his little brother finishes singing, but his attention returns to the room instantly, when he sees his little brother jump back and looking at his boyfriend in shock and even before Mitch can react in any way he can hear his little brother calling out, causing Mitch to turn to Erica, who looks just as confused as he feels.
"HE MOVED... HE MOVED...." Ben shouts out, he isn't aware of his brother and the nurse outside but he shouts out anyway, he knew he was right and he was so happy, he felt his boyfriend squeeze his hand and he knew he was right. "OH MY GOD.... I KNEW HE WOULD WAKE UP." Ben shouts out again and this time he turns to run out of the room to get someone and just as he does he sees the door opening and his brother with a nurse behind him, that he recognises as Erica rushing in.
"What happened Ben?" Mitch quickly asks as he goes straight over to his little brother, while Erica goes over to Matt and starts checking him over.
"HE MOVED MITCH... I FELT HIM SQUEEZE MY HAND... I TOLD YOU... I TOLD YOU ALL... HE WOULD WAKE UP." Ben answers, still shouting in excitement, despite his brother standing right in front of him.
"Whoa calm down little guy." Mitch says, as he puts his hands on his little brothers shoulders. "Now without shouting this time, tell me what happened?" He then asks, he had heard him already, well it was impossible not to, but he needed to hear it properly without the shouting.
"Mitch he squeezed my hand, I thought I was imagining it and ignored it the first time, but he did it twice, Mitch he is waking up, I told you, I told you all." Ben answers excitedly and only just managing to keep himself from shouting.
"That is great little man, now come here." Mitch then says, before pulling his little brother into his arms and holds him tightly, he then looks up to Erica who gives him a shake of the head and his heart sinks a little, as he knows he has to tell his little brother it wasn't real.
Erica feels awful for the young boy in his older brothers arms, she had heard what he had said and immediately checked Matt over but there were no signs of him waking up and she could see the look of heartache on Mitch's face when she shook her head, but just as she was going to give the boys some privacy, she felt something squeeze her hand, she hadn't realised she was still holding the boys hand and she definitely felt something and when she looked down she could see his hand twitch, it was only the slightest of movements but she saw and felt it.
"Oh my god, Mitch he just squeezed my hand, I need to go get someone." Erica quickly says, after reluctantly removing her hand and leaves the room before Mitch can ask her any questions.
"See I told you Mitch." Ben then says as he forces himself from his brothers arms and rushes to his boyfriends side, gripping his hand and leaning close to his ear. "I knew you would wake up, just hang in there, I'm right here Matt, I'm right here waiting for you." He then whispers, but Mitch was close enough to hear his little brother and smiles.
Suddenly the door swings open and a doctor appears with two nurses and Erica, who walks straight to Mitch.
"Mitch you and Ben need to leave the room, they have to do some checks and tests and you have to give them room." Erica states, talking directly to Mitch in a professional tone, she knew she had to be professional and just hoped Mitch would listen.
"No... no I have to be here when he opens his eyes." Ben suddenly calls out, realising what Erica is telling his brother. "Mitch tell her... I'm not leaving." He then says, looking at his brother with pleading eyes.
"Mitch you can't stay, you will get in the way." Erica says, not waiting for Mitch to say anything in response to his little brother.
"Erica can't we just sit in the corner, I promise we won't get in the way." Mitch decides to ask, he knows he will have to drag his little brother out of the room and doesn't want to do that and is looking at Erica almost pleading with her with his eyes, the same way his little brother had just looked at him.
"Please Erica." This time it is Ben who speaks and Erica looks at him in surprise. "I promise to stay out of the way, Mitch can even hold me so I can't move, I just need to be here when he opens his eyes... I just have to be the first thing he sees... please." He then pleads as tears roll down his face and Erica knows she is going to give in, she had tried to avoid looking at the young boy, but now that she had she knew he was never going to leave the room without being forced and she wouldn't do that to him, he had been through enough.
"Okay, but if you so much as move towards the bed, I will throw you out myself, do I make myself clear?" Erica then states firmly as she looks the young boy straight in the eyes.
" I promise." Ben responds grinning, as he lets his brother lift him up and carry him into the corner, he isn't really that happy about having to be held in the corner like a baby, but it was a small price to pay to make sure he was in the room and he couldn't wait to see those beautiful sparkling green eyes.
The Next Day
It was the next morning and Matt was still in his coma, the doctors had done all their checks and test and told Sarah that her son had started to show signs of waking up and that is was a very positive sign, it was definitely the best news that she could have heard and Mike and Mitch were equally jubilant at the news, but Ben was a different story, he had gone from top of the world to a deep depression, he had put everything he had into believing his boyfriend would wake up and when it didn't happen he just laid down and cried, he was currently asleep in his brothers arms after Erica gave him a sedative, when the other nurses and doctor had left.
"I hope he..." Sarah begins to say but stops, she can't think of anything else to say as she looks across to the young boy, she wasn't there to see the devastated look on his face when Matt hadn't woken up, but even though he was asleep she could see it on the boys face and she felt for him.
"I was afraid this would happen, but I thought when the doctors said he could wake up any time now, he would be okay, but..." Mike begins to say, but just like Sarah he can't find the words to finish what he was saying, he should have done something, Mitch had told him that Ben had gotten his hopes up and he should have done his job as a dad and made sure his youngest son understood that he shouldn't get his hopes up that high and he was angry with himself.
"He sang to him." Mitch then suddenly says and both Mitch and Sarah look at him in surprise.
"But he can't sing?" Mike responds bluntly, he knew that was an awful thing to say, but he had never heard him sing and from a few brief talks with their music teacher at parent and teacher nights, he had made it clear Ben was not musically gifted.
"Dad he has one of the most amazing voices I have ever heard, not quite as good as Matt's voice, but it is still beautiful." Mitch tells his dad, who looks at him in surprise.
"What was he singing?" Sarah then asks, happy that the conversation had turned to something a little more upbeat.
"True Colour's, it's one of his favourite songs, our..." Mitch starts to answer, but is interrupted by his dad.
"Their mother used to sing that song to the boys when they were younger, before she... before she..." Mike starts to explain while looking at Sarah before trailing off, he still finds it hard to talk about his wives death and he can see the sad look spread across his eldest sons face as well.
"It's okay Mike, you don't have to say any more." Sarah says in a caring tone, she could see the pain and sadness in both of their faces, but then she feels something grip her hand and she gasps as she realises it is her sons hand. "Oh, he just squeezed my hand." She then says joyfully as she looks at her son for any other signs of him waking up, the doctor had told them that they shouldn't get too excited if this happens, even though it was a good sign, it wa also one of the earliest signs and it is unlikely he will wake up for a few more days.
"Should I get someone?" Mike asks, he is aware that they shouldn't get too excited if he squeezes someone's hand and knew to wait until Sarah had checked for any other signs before they would bother the doctors or nurses.
Sarah then spends a few minutes hoping to find some other sign that her son was waking up, but she can't see anything and even his grip on her hand had gone so she looks up to Mike and shakes her head before sitting back down looking sad.
"Come on Sarah, this is a good sign and he is going to wake up, we just have to be patient." Mike says, after seeing the disappointment on Sarah's face and tries to reassure her.
"I know Mike, but I just miss him so much." Sarah says and manages a small smile.
The three of them sit and make small talk for an hour while the two boys sleep, until Mitch decides he needs to use the toilet and get a shower, then smelling his little brother he figures that he could do with one as well.
"Dad, I'm going to grab a shower." Mitch announces as he stands up still holding his little brother and is careful not to wake him.
"Okay Son, I will hold him until you get back." Mike offers as he looks at his eldest son, he knew Mitch wanted to keep his little brother as close as possible and had insisted on holding him instead of letting Ben sleep on the bed and Mike didn't see any reason to object.
"Dad I will take him with me, he kinda stinks a little and I wanted to talk to him in private about something." Mitch tells his dad, who gives him a curious look but doesn't see any problems with it, in Ben's state he didn't want him being alone at all so it made sense for Mitch to take him to the toilet and shower. "Oh Dad, can you just put some new clothes in a bag for me and him please." He then asks, after he starts towards the door and realises he has no change of clothing on him.
His dad doesn't reply, he just stands up and goes over to both his sons bags and fishes out some clothes, for Mitch he just gets some boxers, socks, jeans and a shirt, but for Ben he opts for shorts instead of jeans and doesn't bother with any socks, he then places them in a bag with two towels and hands it to his eldest son, for a second he wonders how Mitch is going to carry the bag and his little brother, then he remembers how strong he actually is and sees him effortlessly hold Ben with one arm and the bag in the other.
"Cheers Dad, bye Sarah we will be back in a little while." Mitch then says, as he leaves the room after Sarah and Mike says their goodbyes.
As he leaves the room and walks down the corridors, it suddenly becomes obvious to Mitch that he has no idea where he is going because he hadn't actually used the shower rooms in the hospital before and forgot to ask his dad or Sarah for directions and is about to head back to Matt's room, when he suddenly sees Wesley's mum and walks over to her.
"Hello Mrs Fisher." Mitch says cheerfully and she gives him a bemused look when she sees what he is carrying.
"Good morning Mitch, I didn't realise you were staying in the hospital." Mrs Fisher replies, she knows about Matt and that the Walkers had been visiting almost every day, but it was still a surprise to see Mitch this early in the morning, especially with his sleeping brother in one hand and a bag of what looks like clothes in the other.
"Yeah, this is only the second night I have stayed over, but Ben needed me last night and I couldn't leave him." Mitch responds politely making conversation, he had come to like Mrs Fisher recently after initially not liking her due to how she and her husband had been looking after their son or more accurately not looking after him, but he had come to learn what a caring and loving person she really was and the way she had accepted Carter in her sons life was amazing and heart warming.
"Oh yes, I heard about Matthew showing the first signs of waking up, should be any day now but it is hard to tell with these things." Mrs Fisher replies, she hadn't had the chance to tell her son the good news yet as she still has another few hours to go on her shift, but she was definitely looking forward to seeing the smile on his face and Carter's, she really liked the young boy and while it was a little shock to learn her 'straight as an arrow' son had a boyfriend, she was happy for him and she thought Carter was just the cutest little thing she had ever seen and so intelligent.
"Yeah, but Ben took it really badly." Mitch then says and he can she the surprised look on her face. "I know it sounds strange Mrs Fisher, but he had convinced himself that Matt would wake up last night on their birthday and when it didn't happen he was devastated, he just lost it completely and they had to sedate him, he is still out cold but I'm going to wake him for a shower." He then explains to his friends mum after seeing the surprised expression on her face, he made sure to leave out the fact it was Erica who had sedated him and it wasn't exactly something the hospital will look kindly on.
"Oh I see, poor boy." Mrs Fisher responds with a sad smile. "Mitch I hate to tell you this, but if you're taking him for a shower you're going the wrong way." She then adds with a smile.
"I'm, damn I knew I was lost Mrs Fisher, I was actually going to ask you for directions, you don't mind showing me where to go do you?" Mitch asks smiling and feeling a little embarrassed for getting lost.
"I can do that, but only if you promise to call me Mary, you know I don't like it when you call me Mrs Fisher." Mary responds with a grin, she just like Mitch had not liked her much to begin with, had come to like the young man after initially being taken aback by how he had approached them about their parenting, but everything he had done for her and her son was amazing and he had saved their family when they hadn't even been aware it needed saving and she would forever be in his debt in her mind.
"Sorry Mary, it is just strange calling people by their first names, I mean I'm barely an adult myself and so used to using surnames to talk to adults, it's a tough habit to break." Mitch answers truthfully, it was strange going from calling the adults in his life by their surnames to know having to use their first names, it was definitely something he had never thought about as an issue when he was growing up and he was still adjusting.
"I can understand that Mitch, so come on follow me and we will find you a private room to use." Mary responds as she takes the bag from Mitch's arm and smiles when he looks at her gratefully and goes back to holding his little brother in both arms, he was strong but carrying his sleeping little brother in one arm, while holding a bag of clothes in the other was getting tiring, especially after wandering around lost for so long.
As they walk side by side Mitch and Mary make small talk, mainly about Wesley and how he is doing and also about his relationship with Carter and Mitch could tell that Mary had already developed a soft spot for her sons tiny boyfriend, well okay he wasn't tiny Mitch thought to himself but Carter was small for his age, eventually though they come to a stop outside a room and Mary helps Mitch open the door and places the bag of clothes on a chair for him.
"There you go Mitch, just lock the door after I go and give my love to Sarah and your dad when you see them." Mary then says with a smile while standing in the doorway.
"Thank you so much Mary, tell Wesley to come by later today because it's been ages since I saw him and I miss the little man." Mitch then says as he returns the smile.
"I will and see you later Mitch." Mary says as she leaves the room closing the door behind her, she couldn't help but admire the young man for taking her son under his wing, she knew Wesley loved his older brother, but they were never really close and the age difference didn't help, but since Mitch came into all their lives her son has prospered and she knew he loved the older boy and it made her happy knowing that her son enjoying his life again.
Mitch reaches out and locks the door before turning back to the middle of the room, he then gently lays his little brother across a bench and slowly starts to strip him, he was going to wake him up first but decided if he stripped him down to his briefs first, it would stop him trying to run away after he told him the truth, although once he got him down to his briefs he thought he might as well take them off as well and places them in the neatly folded pile of dirty clothes, he has no idea why he had folded them up but he didn't give it any more thought as he gently tried to wake his brother up.
"Hey little guy, come on wake up Ben." Mitch says repeating the words a few more times, as he gently rocks his little brother and after a few minutes he can see him waking up, Erica had told them the sedative was weak and would only last a few hours, but it was clear Ben was exhausted as it was almost ten hours since he was put to sleep and he still looked so tired even as his eyes opened. "Hey Ben, come on time to wake up." He then says with a warm smile.
"MATT... WHERE IS HE..." Ben shouts out straight away and Mitch has to put his finger over his little brothers lips to stop him.
"Calm down Ben, he is still in his room and no he didn't wake up." Mitch says, hoping to calm him down but it is obvious that was just wishful thinking when he removes his finger.
"WHERE ARE WE..." Ben shouts, but again he stops when he feels his brothers finger on his lips.
"Look stop shouting okay." Mitch tells him and Ben just nods as the finger is still pressed against his lips. "Good now listen, Matt is fine and the doctors say he is definitely going to wake up, they just don't know when, but it should be in the next few days." He then says before pausing, he still has his finger on his brothers lips and had no idea why this worked, but he wasn't going to question it and it had helped keep the peace over the years since he found out about it. "Now, no more shouting." He then adds as he takes his finger away.
"Where am I and why am I naked?" Ben then asks sounding annoyed, although it is more to do with not being with his boyfriend than waking up naked in a strange room.
"We are in a shower room and well you're naked because you stink Ben." Mitch responds with a smile, but he can see instantly that his little brother is in no mood for jokes.
"I want to go back to Matt right now." Ben states and is trying his best to stare daggers at his brother.
"Okay fuck it." Mitch says and he can see the surprise look on his little brothers face at his choice of words. "Ben you need a shower and you aren't leaving until we both have one." He then starts to say before his little brother tries to interrupt him.
"But..." Ben tries to say, but Mitch just carries on talking.
"Shut up and listen, there is another reason I brought you here and Dad is probably going to kill me for doing this but you're his boyfriend and you deserve to know the truth." Mitch says and this time he lets his little brother interrupt him.
"Tell me the truth about what? Is Matt going to die?" Ben quickly asks in a panicked tone although he manages to make the effort not to shout, but he can already feel tears rolling down his face.
"No Ben, he isn't going to die... well shit I'm not a doctor, but the fact he is waking up is a great sign and I think if he was going to die it would have happened already but this isn't about that Ben." Mitch answers, he wants to get it over with and tell his little brother everything, but he has to give him time to process things otherwise he will freak out.
"You're scaring me Mitch, please I don't understand what you're doing." Ben then says and the sadness in his voice causes Mitch to pull him into himself and cuddles him, he then releases him after a few minutes of silence and holds him by the hands while he kneels down in front of him.
"Ben it is bad and you're going to be angry and upset, I can't sugar coat it for you but I need you to know you're not going to like what I tell you at all." Mitch says and knows he is scaring the shit out of his little brother. "But he isn't going to die and he is waking up any day now I promise, but it is still going to be something you will struggle to handle and it is about what happened to him when David had him." He then says and although he doesn't mean to he knows he dragging this out, but he has to try to prepare his little brother as best as he can.
"Just say it." Is all Ben says and Mitch knows it is now or never.
"Okay, but just so you know you're naked and the door is locked, so you can hit me or cry or do whatever you need to do, just promise you won't run Ben." Mitch then states as he lets go of his little brothers hands and looks at him sadly.
"Promise." Is all Ben can bring himself to say as he tries to steel himself, he is frightened as it is obvious the news is bad, but he is grateful his brother is the one telling him and is comforted by his attempts to prepare him.
"Ben, Me and Dad wanted to tell you as soon as we found out but we didn't because we wanted to wait until we knew Matt would wake up, so please don't be mad at us, we were always going to tell you and Dad is going to hate me for telling you without him." Mitch states before taking a deep breath, he is really finding it hard to just say the words, but he can tell he has run out of time and just looks his little brother in the eyes. "David raped Matt." He finally manages to say. "Do you understand what that means?" He then asks after suddenly realising he is talking to a child and not an adult and there was no point saying the words if his little brother didn't understand them.
"I." Is all Ben manages to say before stopping, he had heard of rape and kind of understood that it was bad, very bad and what happened with Mr Jones had opened his eyes to a lot of things, but he can't quite remember what the word rape actually meant. "It's bad like really bad, but I don't understand what it means." He then says honestly, he is already starting to feel himself freak out because it has to be worse than what Mr Jones had done to his boyfriend and if it is worse than that he was scared and angry, Mitch could see his little brother clenching his fists and knew he was likely to lash out in anger and actually wanted him to get everything out before they left the room.
"I'm just going to be blunt Ben, rape is sticking your penis in another person without them wanting you to do it or knowing you're doing it, David did that to Matt and he did it viscously and brutally." Mitch explains and is left confused and worried by his little brothers reaction, he had expected fireworks and was bracing himself to get hit, but instead he was just standing there looking stunned.
"But.. but.. we were... going to..." Ben stutters after a few moments of silence before stopping again. "We were... going to be.. we were going to be each others first." He then says and Mitch's heart breaks for his little brother, he was somewhat aware that they had talked about things like this but he could see in his little brothers eyes that they had really talked about it and now David has even taken that away from the boys and he had to control his own resurfacing anger, this wasn't the time for him to fall apart. "Did it hurt?" Ben then asks, he is too numb to think straight or even react and he knows he should be angry and upset, but right now he doesn't feel anything.
"What?" Mitch responds, he wasn't expecting this kind of question and was really concerned that he has messed up big time in trying to do this alone and wished his dad was here with him, like he should have been and Mitch knows now that he made a mistake.
"Did it hurt, it had to hurt right..." Ben then asks again, before trailing off.
"Ben please don't shut down, I told you this because you deserve to know, but I also told you because I knew you could deal with it and because you will need to help Matt deal with it." Mitch tries to tell his little brother, hoping the mention of helping Matt will get him to react and snap out of it.
"I don't... Mitch tell me... I don't understand." Ben tries to explain what he is feeling, but he just can't process what his brother just told him.
"I don't know Ben, are you feeling angry?" Mitch decides to ask, hoping he can help him understand but he isn't sure how to do that.
"I don't know." Ben answers as he tries to think.
"Well I feinted when Dad told me." Mitch then says, hoping his confession somehow helps his brother figure out how to react.
"You did?" Ben asks looking at his brother in surprise.
"Yeah dad had to catch me and hold me up." Mitch explains but he doesn't smile, he wants his little brother to take this seriously.
"Oh, does that mean I'm a horrible person?" Ben then asks and once again Mitch finds himself in over his head, but he only has himself to blame and he is going to have to fix it himself.
"No, no way Ben, why would you even think that?" Mitch asks as he pulls his little brother by the hands, a little closer to himself.
"Because I'm not getting angry or upset, I just.." Ben begins to say and then his eyes open wide as his brother slaps him, not hard but enough to make it sting a little. "Hey!." He protests, but he gets another slap and then another. "Hey stop it." He then says as he feels tears form in his eyes and he tries to back away, but his brother has a firm hold of his hip so he can't move and gets another slap. "STOP IT!" Ben then shouts and as he gets one last slap, Mitch finally sees the fire and anger in his little brothers eyes and lets him go, he then feels the first punch or slap, he isn't quite sure which, but he can feel his little brothers hands and arms hitting his chest and shoulders and while he feels like the biggest jerk in the world for provoking his little brother into getting angry, he knows he had to do it and would suffer any consequences that may result from it.
Mitch just lets his little brother get all his anger out, he knows he can stop him anytime he wants but he has not intention of doing that as his little brothers assault slowly starts to slow down, Mitch knew even though his brother was small that he would have a lot of bruising appearing as the day went on and he couldn't have been happier if he tried knowing it is helping him deal with the news, then the blows stop coming completely and are replaced by his little brother wrapping his arms around his neck and embracing him as he cries his heart out and again Mitch just lets his little brother do what he has to do as he wraps his own arms around his little brothers waist to pull him closer and the two of them stay like that for almost thirty minutes before Mitch hears and feels his little brother stop crying.
" Feeling better?" Mitch then asks, sensing that it is the right time to say something, while hoping he is right and that his little brother understands why he slapped him, otherwise he just made another major fuck up and have both his dad and little brother hate him.
"I want him to die." Ben states, before sniffling. "Mitch I want to kill him." He then adds and Mitch doesn't need to ask who his little brother is talking about because he feels the exact same way and he just wished he was the one to find David first, Ben was a little pissed off that his brother slapped him, but he felt so much better after getting all his anger and emotions released that he understood what his brother had done and he couldn't hate him for it.
"Me too Ben, he will pay for what he did." Mitch responds honestly, he wanted to let his little brother know that he feels the same way and he was rewarded when he sees the small smile on his little brothers face when he leans back from the embrace.
"Thank you for telling me." Ben then says as he gets his head together, he is still devastated and could feel himself close to crying again, but he wanted to show his big brother that he was not a kid and that he was strong, it was important to him to show his brother that he could handle being told the truth, no matter how bad it is.
"I'm so proud of you Ben, I knew you could handle this and I promise you we will get that son of a bitch." Mitch then states with a grin and it widens when his little brother grins back at him.
"We will make him pay." Ben then states, before leaning back into the embrace and starts crying again.
"You really do stink though little guy." Mitch then suddenly announces, deciding to inject a little humour into the room and is rewarded when he hears his little brother sniffle, before he then breaks the embrace and punches him on the shoulder.
"So do you." Ben then responds grinning, he appreciates his brother trying to cheer him up a bit and feels better for it and although he is still upset and angry, he knows he has to be strong and not shut down his emotions because his boyfriend needed him and he is going to give his boyfriend everything he has.
"Yeah, so hurry up and get a shower so I can get one after." Mitch then instructs his little brother and sticks his tongue out.
"Can't we just share?" Ben then asks, he knows some people might think it's weird, but he doesn't care, he loves his big brother and he needs to be close to someone right now.
"Sure we can little guy, but no more punching and hitting me I think you beat me up pretty good already." Mitch responds smiling and slowly strips off, he was already feeling a little stiffness in his upper body and wondered how bad the bruising would be by tomorrow.
"I didn't hurt you did I?" Ben then asks in a concerned tone, he felt a little guilty for hitting his brother and knew he had hit him hard.
"A little bit, but it was worth it and hey don't feel bad I'm going to get some serious action from the girls, they love a man with bruises." Mitch responds with a grin, as he slides his boxers off and stands naked in front of his already naked little brother.
"Well you do need all the help you can to get a girlfriend, so you're welcome." Ben teases, deciding to have a little fun while he can because he knows as soon as they leave this room there won't be many chances to be like this for a long time and just puts his real feelings on hold.
"You little shit." Mitch responds and ruffles his little brothers hair which causes him to giggle, Mitch knows he has to make the most of this time to have a little fun and while they were in this room alone, they could just put all the bad stuff to one side and enjoy being brothers for just a few minutes.
"Not my fault I got all the looks and you got, well I guess you got the..." Ben begins to say before purposely pausing and hoping his brother says what he hopes he will
"I got the??" Mitch then asks, knowing he is going to walk straight into a joke at his expense, but he doesn't care because it is making his little brother smile and he had missed that smile.
"Well I guess you got the best little brother in the whole universe, so I would say you're not a complete loss." Ben then says grinning, but reacts to late as his brother tackles him to the ground and tickles him. "NO... STOP.. HAHAHA... OH HAHA... STOP... HAHAHA... STOP... OKAY... OKAY... STOP... YOU WIN... YOU WIN... STOP..." He then cries out giggling and he knows he is probably going to wet himself any second now if his brother kept going.
"Cheeky little shit." Mitch says smiling, before he lets his little brother go and watches in amusement as he goes straight to the shower and starts peeing. "Ha, at least you didn't pee all over the floor." He then says teasing his little brother a little bit more.
" You're just lucky I love you, or I would have done it all over you." Ben retorts, while his brother joins him in the shower and turns the water on. " Mitch?" He then says as he washes himself with some gel that he hopes works, after realising they didn't have any of their own to use.
"Yeah?" Mitch answers, while wishing he remembered to bring some gel himself, this hospital stuff looked cheap, but it should do the job he thought to himself.
"When do you think Matt can have a real shower?" Ben asks, suddenly thinking of his boyfriend and the fact he has lots of bandages and casts all over him.
"Honestly I have no idea Ben, I guess they will need to wait until he can stand up, so it could be months." Mitch answers honestly, while he pours what he is hoping is shampoo on to his brothers head.
"Hey, what's that?" Ben quickly asks, when he feels something spreading over his head.
"I'm hoping it's shampoo." Mitch replies honestly, as he rubs it into his brothers hair.
"You hope? What the hell, why are you putting it on me then?" Ben protests, although there is nothing he can do about it now.
"Well I'm hardly going to test it on myself and besides let me just be your big brother for a while, I miss us just hanging out like this." Mitch answers, as he glances down in relief to see that it was shampoo.
"Oh, I didn't realise we used to hang out in the shower enough for you to miss it." Ben retorts back with a grin as he teases his brother, before yelping when he feels something flick the end of his penis. "Hey!" He then says in protest and quickly moves a hand down to protect himself from any further attack.
"Oh man up, now let that soak in for a minute while I put some shampoo on." Mitch states grinning, as he applies the shampoo to himself.
They both finish up cleaning themselves although Mitch has to rinse out his little brothers hair, when he doesn't quite get all the shampoo out himself, normally he might tease his little brother but he had enough trouble getting it out of his own hair and was cursing the cheap stuff the hospital provides, both boys then step out of the shower and Ben stands a little shyly, with his hands over his penis and balls waiting for his brother to give him a towel and as soon as Mitch turns around he can't help but give his little brother a curious look before smiling.
"Been a while I'm guessing." Mitch then says with a knowing smirk.
"Huh?" Ben asks, now blushing a little.
"Ben I'm not going to laugh if you have a boner, you're twelve and trust me you're going to be getting a lot more of those and they will be at the most embarrassing times." Mitch answers as he throws his little brother a towel, but he purposely throws it above his head, knowing he would instinctively raise his hands to catch it. "Ha, I knew it." He then calls out, but doesn't laugh or make any jokes.
"Hey, no fair." Ben says, before covering himself with the towel.
"Come on Ben we are brothers and we have seen each other with boners before and worse." Mitch states, briefly pausing as he remembers the strip poker and dare game he had played with the boys. "So don't be shy around me and by the way I wasn't joking about you getting boners a lot more from now on." He then says, half lecturing his little brother.
"What do you mean?" Ben then asks, he is now curious about what his brother is telling him and a little concerned about getting boners all the time, that was a worrying thought.
"Well as you hit puberty Ben, you remember I told you about that, well you penis to put it simply will have a mind of it's own, it will go hard for no reason and no matter how hard you try to make it go away it won't." Mitch begins too explain, but has to stop when he sees the look of horror and mortification on his little brothers face. "Hey it sucks, trust me it sucks big time but every boy goes through the same thing and the only advice I can give you Ben is to try and not let it embarrass you, trust me that isn't easy but you need to basically try to ignore it." He adds, finishing what he was saying.
"How am I mean to ignore it, it's not exactly small and easy too hide." Ben asks and Mitch couldn't help but smile, he knew his brother had a point but he had been through the same thing and the best thing he found to make a boner disappear when in public was to ignore it, although it wasn't always a success and definitely wasn't easy.
"Like I said ignore it, you can use your bag to cover it up or something, honestly though and remember I have been through it myself and the best way to make it go away is to pretend it isn't hard, just ignore it, but again it isn't easy Ben I know, but there isn't much else you can do." Mitch explains with a small grin.
"Oh." Ben says, this serious talk is making him feel angry and sad again as he starts to think about his boyfriend and then the thought that his dad had raped him, his own dad being able to do that confused Ben and he just felt so awful for his boyfriend.
"When was the last time you... well when you... you know... masturbated?" Mitch then asks and Ben is instantly shocked out of his thoughts and starts blushing.
"Mitch!" Ben says, in a whining and annoyed tone.
"Hey, this isn't easy for me either you know, look I know I said there is nothing you can really do about getting boners, but that wasn't quite true." Mitch then says, he is starting to feel uncomfortable about discussing this but knew this was probably the only chance he would have to talk to his little brother about this and wasn't going to waste it.
"It wasn't?" Ben then asks, he can still feel the heat from his cheeks as he carries on blushing, but he always appreciated his brother taking the time to explain these things with him, he would be mortified having to talk to his dad about this stuff.
"Well like I said, you will get boners more and more over the next few years and still get them after that, but it helps if you masturbate a lot, I'm not telling you to do it all day every day, but you should try to do it maybe once or twice a day." Mitch tells his little brother and he can feel himself blush a little. "So come on Ben, when was the last time?" He then asks again and waits for his little brother to answer.
"Not since you gave me and Matt time alone in the back of the car, just before we dropped him home." Ben answers as he looks to the ground, even though he and Mitch were close and been through many embarrassing moments, this still made him feel embarrassed and he couldn't quite look his brother in the eye.
"Holy crap Ben, seriously?" Mitch blurts out, he knows his brother is still young and he himself didn't really start until he was almost thirteen, but he knew his little brother was way ahead of him in being sexual active when he was the same age, but almost three weeks it a long time, a very long time he thought to himself.
"What? We only do it when we are together and it isn't as good when I'm on my own and it's kind of weird." Ben responds defensively, he has tried doing it himself and it was well nice when he was testing out his new toys that his brother had got for him and his boyfriend, it was fun with the lube but he preferred doing it with his boyfriend and was happy enough to wait.
"Oh okay, but seriously you need to at least do it a few times otherwise you're going to be a walking hard on for the next few months." Mitch then states and he can't help grinning even though he is being serious.
"Oh, should I do it now?" Ben then asks and looks at his brother jump a little in surprise.
"Well er... it' kind of weird with me being here and I don't want to leave you alone." Mitch answers awkwardly, he isn't quite sure what to say, he wasn't expecting that sort of question from his little brother at all and is caught totally off guard.
"Oh well... oh..." Ben begins to say, but trails off looking embarrassed and confused.
"Okay, but you can't tell anyone about this just try and be quick and quiet Ben." Mitch then says, not quite believe he is going along with this, but he knows his little brother is not going to get any alone time for a while and doesn't like the idea of him sneaking to a toilet and trying to do it on his own there, so again he is going to put his little brother first and ignore his own discomfort.
"I changed my mind, this is too weird and I don't want to." Ben then says and Mitch can't help but sigh in relief, having to stand in the same room while his little brother masturbated would definitely be a low point in his life, although he also still thought his little brother should do more about his little problem.
"Okay, but don't come running to me when people start trying to hang things off it." Mitch then says, as he can't help but tease his little brother at least a little bit.
"Oh my god, they won't do that will they?" Ben asks, totally missing the joke and Mitch can't help but find his little brothers naivety amusing and endearing.
"Jeez Ben, you're meant to be the smart one." Mitch then says, deciding not to mess with him too much.
"Well I don't know much about this stuff." Ben says pouting a little and Mitch feels guilty for making fun of him.
"Hey come on, look let's get dressed and head back to see Matt." Mitch tells his brother, before walking over to the bag with their clothes in and after neatly sorting out the clothes he places both sets on the bench.
"Oh damn it." Ben suddenly says and Mitch turns round almost tripping over, as he had only got his boxers past his ankles.
"What, what happened?" Mitch asks in concern.
"It was almost down, then I thought of Matt and now look at it." Ben says, before dropping his towel and Mitch is left staring at his little brothers boner and wondering just how many times he has seen it now and shakes his head a little at the thought.
"Oh fucking hell Ben, I don't want to see that." Mitch states, as he looks down and carries on pulling his boxers up.
"But you said I shouldn't be shy around you." Ben protests at his brother changing his mind all the time.
"I meant if you get one don't worry about me seeing, I didn't say wave it around in front of me." Mitch responds, shaking his head but Ben can see that his brother smiling.
"Oh sorry." Ben says shyly as he goes over to the bench and gets dressed. "Mitch?" He then says, just as his brother is about to open the door.
"Yeah?" Mitch replies, turning back to face his little brother.
"Will Matt remember being raped?" Ben asks and Mitch wonders how many more times his little brother is going to stun him with questions like this.
"I have no idea, but even if he doesn't he will need to know." Mitch answers honestly, the doctors had warned them that due to his head injuries there could be brain damage, but they wouldn't know until he woke up and even then it could be weeks before they learn if there is any permanent damage and even if there wasn't any brain damage, the risk of amnesia was always a possibility.
"Oh, okay I guess, but if he doesn't I want to be the one to tell him." Ben responds, in a serious tone and Mitch can't help feeling proud of his little brother again and is now glad that he told him the truth, although his dad is still going to be angry at him because his dad had wanted to tell him, but he had told him to wait and now he had gone behind his dads back.
"Ben I really think you're amazing and I really mean that, what you just said is exactly the reason I knew I could tell you about this, but if he doesn't remember then you have to let his mum tell him." Mitch tell his little brother, hoping his honesty will help him understand but he can tell his little brother wants to say something and decides to cut him off before he even starts. "Ben I know you love him, but so does his mum, he is her son and she needs to be able to comfort him and you need to let her be there for him, just as much as you want to be there, so Ben please tell me you understand what I'm telling you." He then says, before kneeling in front of his little brother so he is eye level with him.
Ben just stares at him for a few moments and Mitch worries that he may get angry and upset, but when his little brother suddenly reaches out and wraps his arms around his neck, Mitch relaxes.
"Mitch how do you do it?" Ben then asks and again throws his brother off with his questions.
"Do what?" Mitch responds, not quite understanding what his little brother means.
"Look after us all." Ben explains, in a casual tone as if it is a normal thing to say.
"Huh?" Mitch then asks, still not quite understanding his little brother.
"You know what I mean, you have looked after me since I was born, always putting me first, you did the same for dad when mum... you know... and then Matt after Mr Jones and Wesley with his parents and now you're looking out for me, dad, Matt and now Sarah and always making sure we are always okay." Ben explains as he looks his brother in the eyes. "How do you do it?" He then asks.
"I don't... oh fucking hell Ben..." Mitch manages to say before the tears roll down his face and pulls his little brother into his arms and stands up, lifting his little brother with him and just cuddles him tightly and Ben feels like he is going to be crushed and tries to break free, before sighing in relief as his brother lets him go.
"Way to break my ribs Mitch." Ben then says as he straightens out his clothes and tries not to giggle, but Mitch sees the small smile.
"Way to make me cry." Mitch retorts and the two brothers look at each other with love. "I don't know how I do it, but I just do, I love you more than anything Ben and I don't care what the future brings for either of us, I will never stop loving you, so no more of these deep meaning questions because I don't want to walk round like a blubbering wreck." Mitch then says, as he gives his little brother a quick kiss on the forehead and turns to the door.
"Mitch?" Ben then asks with a cheeky grin, as Mitch turns to look at him.
"Yeah?" Mitch asks, he can see the cheeky look on his little brothers face and is wondering what smart ass remark he is going to make.
"I love you." Ben then states and drops his cheeky grin for a shy look and Mitch for what seems like the hundredth time already, goes over and cuddles his little brother and kisses his forehead.
" I love you so much Ben." Mitch then whispers in his ear. "Now come on." He then says as he stands up and wipes his eyes, this time he does unlock the door and opens it, Ben follows him out the door as they head back to his boyfriends room hand in hand.
The Next Day
"You shouldn't have told him without me Mitch." Mike states to his eldest son as they sit beside Matt's bed, earlier Sarah had been called in to work for an emergency and she after much persuasion from Mike had agreed to go in and to everyone's relief Wesley and Carter had convinced Ben to spend a few hours with them and Mike took the chance to have a word with his eldest son after learning that he had told Ben that Matt was raped by his dad without him.
"I know Dad, but it wouldn't have worked with you there." Mitch responds and can see his dad is not looking happy. "Look Dad we both love you, but you know Ben has never been comfortable talking with you about things, I just needed to make sure he heard it the right way and then make sure he didn't shut down and I couldn't do that with you there."He then explains, hoping his dad understands.
"I'm his dad Mitch and you promised me we would do it together, I didn't have to tell you about it Mitch but I trusted you, why can't you trust me?" Mike responds with his own question and he can tell his words have hurt his eldest son, but he wanted to make a point.
"Dad I love you and trust you with my life, but I have always looked after Ben, I have to protect him and I'm sorry." Mitch responds, his dads words hurt him but at the same time he cared more about his little brother then about whether he had hurt his dad.
"You trust me with 'your' life, but not Ben's?" Mike then asks, he never intended for this to turn into an argument, he just wanted Mitch to understand he has to be more responsible and now he was finding himself getting angry.
"Dad that came out wrong, Dad please don't get angry, I was just doing what you told me to do and I'm sorry if I'm doing it wrong." Mitch then states and Mike can see tears in his eldest sons eyes and his feelings of anger change to ones of concern and guilt that this could be all his fault somehow.
"What do you mean what I told you to do? Mitch I asked you to wait until both of us could speak with him." Mike asks his son, although he had a feeling this goes back a lot further than that conversation and if he was right, he had a lot to answer for as a parent and a lot of apologising to do to his sons.
"Dad..." Mitch says before sniffling, he felt like a little kid as he looked to his dad. "Dad when Mum... when Mum... when she died you changed... you still loved us, but you cut us off..." He then starts to says, but it is interrupted by his attempts to hold back the tears and he has to stop talking for a few moments.
"Mitch..." Mike starts to say, but Mitch stops him after composing himself again.
"Dad, you made me promise to always look after Ben, you told me to never let anything happen to him and that if I failed you would never forgive me." Mitch then states as he struggles to keep eye contact with his dad. "Dad you also told me to do what I thought was right, you even made me promise to keep Ben safe from you in case you did something stupid... don't you remember?" He then says and his tears are now streaming down his face.
"Oh god Son, I was a wreck back then, I didn't... oh shit... come here Mitch." Mike says, realising what he had done to his eldest son after their mums death, he had shifted all his parental responsibilities on to him and here he was getting angry because he was doing exactly what he had made the boy promise to do all those years ago and he felt horrible and disgusted with himself.
"Dad?" Mitch responds nervously, he isn't quite sure what is happening and whether he was in trouble or not.
"Mitch just come here and let me hug you." Mike then says, as he stands up and watches as his eldest son walks over to him and they come together and Mike leans close to his sons ear. "I'm so sorry for everything, I should never have put that pressure on you, please forgive me." He then whispers into his ear.
"Dad, I love Ben and I would have protected him whether you asked me to or not, so there is nothing to forgive." Mitch answers back, before breaking the embrace. "Dad can you stop being angry at me for telling Ben now please?" He then asks as he looks his dad in the eye, he just doesn't want to fight and is just too tired and exhausted and he just wants to rest for a while.
"I wasn't angry at you for telling him, I was angry because you didn't let me do it with you, but that doesn't matter now so come on let's forget about it and just agree that Ben will always come first." Mike responds, as he wipes the tears from his eldest sons face.
"He always has Dad." Mitch answers and smiles at his dad, just before some alarms start ringing from Matt's bed and they both turn to face it in surprise.
Hearing the door open behind them, they expect to see doctors and nurses barging in, but to both their surprises they instead see Ben looking red and out of breath.
"Ben what..." Mike begins to say, but his youngest son doesn't give him a chance to finish.
"MATT IS WAKING UP... I FELT SOMETHING... HE IS GOING TO WAKE UP." Ben shouts out and before either Mike or Mitch can say anything. "LOOK... LOOK... I KNEW IT!" He then shouts out again and as they look the see Matt moving slightly and his eyelids fluttering.
Just then the door opens again and this time it is a doctor with three nurses, who get straight to work checking the equipment and the wires that are connected to Matt.
"I TOLD YOU.... I KNEW IT... I FELT IT..." Ben again shouts out, but Mitch is already in front of him and quickly places his finger over his little brothers lips and just like every other time he stops talking.
"Sshh Ben, we need to let the doctors work okay." Mitch says with his finger still over his little brothers lips, not being able to speak Ben just nods as he looks over to his boyfriend trying to wake up.
"You really have to teach me that you know." Mike then says as he watches his youngest son silenced by his eldest sons finger just being placed over his lips, he had seen it so many times and yet whenever he tried it barely ever worked.
"If I knew I would tell you Dad, it just works and well I don't know why." Mitch answers honestly, as he takes his finger away from his little brothers lips.
"Sorry for shouting." Ben then says, looking both sheepish and excited somehow.
"It's okay little guy, how did you get here though, I thought you were with Wesley and Carter." Mitch asks his little brother, Mike looks on and realises now more than ever that Mitch is more of a father to his youngest son than he ever was or will be and strangely he wasn't angry or upset, he is proud of his eldest son and he is just happy to see how much they mean to each other.
"Oh crap, I totally ditched them." Ben states and turns red. "Damn I just got so excited and ran here as fast as I could." He then says and begins to pull his phone out to ring his friends.
"Hey give me that." Mike suddenly says as he reaches for his youngest sons phone, Ben looks at him curiously before handing it to his dad.
"Dad?" Ben then says, as he continues to look at his dad and wonders if he had done something wrong.
"You need to stay here for when your boyfriend opens his eyes, I will call your friends and explain what happened." Mike explains and he can see his youngest sons eyes light up in happiness.
"Dad you're the best, but don't you want to be here as well?" Ben responds, smiling broadly.
"I do, but I have to phone Sarah up anyway and I might have to go pick her up so just let me do this for you okay Son?" Mike answers and he catches Mitch looking at him and smiles.
"Oh okay, yeah Sarah should be here." Ben then says, but his dad can tell his youngest son is focused on his boyfriend.
Mike decides he better hurry up and make the phone calls, he gives his eldest son an appreciative nod and leaves the room, Mitch then watches the doctor and nurses working and realises that one of them is Erica and he smiles.
"Erica, can you tell us anything?" Mitch then asks in an almost whispered voice and while the doctor and other two nurses ignore him, Erica looks up and smiles.
"He is definitely showing signs of waking up, but you two need to both stay back until we tell you otherwise okay." Erica answers as she looks at both Mitch and Ben with a serious expression.
"Don't worry Erica, we will stay right here." Mitch says, before looking down at his little brother. "Won't we Ben." He tells him sternly.
"I promise, but I want to be the first person he sees when he opens his eyes..." Ben begins to say, but then remembers what his brother had told him earlier. "Unless Sarah is here, if she is here then she should be the first person he sees." He then quickly says and immediately looks up at his brother, who has a proud look on his face and Ben knows he has said the right thing, he desperately wanted to be the first person his boyfriend saw, but he understood that Sarah was his mum and she should be the first one instead of him.
"Well that is very mature of you Ben, now I have to get back to work." Erica says sincerely, as she turns her attention back to Matt and Mitch notices the doctor giving her a look of respect, before he goes back to work himself.
A few hours later and Matt had still not opened his eyes, Mitch had spent the last thirty minutes with his little brother in his arms, because he was getting upset that his boyfriend still wasn't awake and it was only Erica's suggestion that Mitch hold him that had stopped the doctor making them wait outside, Mitch had started hoping Matt would open his eyes before Sarah arrived at the hospital, he knew it was a bad thing to hope for but he knew what it meant to his little brother to be the first person Matt saw, even if he had made the speech earlier about letting Sarah be the one if she was here.
"I think he is about to open his eyes now." Dr Gilmar suddenly says, as he steps back from the bed and looks over to Mitch and nods to him.
"Hey Ben, the doctor just said Matt is opening his eyes, come on it's time." Mitch says as he wakes his brother up, he hadn't realised he had actually been sleeping until the doctor spoke to him.
"What?" Ben asks groggily, not quite sure where he is or what is happening as he slowly comes to his senses.
"Ben he is waking up, come on you need to see him open his eyes." Mitch repeats himself and immediately he has to release his excited little brother, who starts as if he is going to sprint over to his boyfriend, but suddenly stops and looks back at his brother.
"Is Sarah here? She should be the first if she is here." Ben asks and again Mitch couldn't be more proud of his little brother and he knew it must be killing him not to go straight over to his boyfriend.
"Ben she isn't here, you need to be there for you boyfriend, now go on get over there." Mitch says, he had given Erica a quick look and she confirmed with a shake of the head that Sarah and his dad hadn't returned yet.
Ben smiles and turns to his boyfriend, Mitch can see him take a deep breath before hurrying to his boyfriends side and smiles, Ben takes a hold of his boyfriends good hand with the ring on it and gives it a little squeeze and instantly feels the squeeze being returned and as he looks down at his face, Ben can see his eyes slowly opening and then for the first time in almost three weeks, he sees the same beautiful green eyes he has missed every second of every day since then, but then his smile almost falters when he looks deeply into them and instead of seeing his boyfriend looking back at him, he sees nothing, there was no happiness or love in his boyfriends eyes, it is like he is looking into something empty and he turns to his brother looking on the verge of breaking down and Mitch looks on in confusion at his little brothers expression.
Ben then looks back at his boyfriend and decides to push his negative feelings to the back of his mind and just be happy his boyfriend is finally awake.
"Hey Matt, it's me Ben, I love you so much and I'm so happy you're awake... I missed you so much and so did everyone else, but I missed you the most... Matt..." Ben says, but stops as he watches his boyfriends eyes shut and he looks over to the doctor with a questioning look.
"It's normal Ben, he is going to be very tired and will take a while to fully wake up, but the fact he opened his eyes is amazing." Dr Gilmar explains, before leaving the room with the other nurses, although Erica stays behind just to look over Matt for a little longer.
"Ben what's wrong?" Mitch then asks, not being able to forget the look on his little brothers face a few minutes ago.
"Nothing." Ben says, sounding sad and anything but okay.
"Ben come on, do I really have to come up with another amazing speech that gets you to open up to me or are you going to just tell me what's wrong?" Mitch says, hoping to bypass their usual routine as he is actually feeling too exhausted to think straight and really needed to sleep.
"It was his eyes Mitch." Ben says, but goes silent again as he looks down at his boyfriends face and even Erica looks over in concern, but she stays out of the conversation for now.
"His eyes? Do you mean... I don't get it Ben, what about his eyes?" Mitch asks, sounding as confused as he looks.
"There was nothing there Mitch, it was like I was looking into nothing." Ben explains, still looking at his boyfriend and even though Mitch can't see his face, he knows his little brother is crying.
"I don't understand Ben, what are you saying?" Mitch asks, he knows his little brother is hurting right now, but he can't help if he doesn't understand.
"I used to look in his eyes and it was like I could read him, I could see the love, happiness and even sadness, I could get lost in them for hours and I did sometimes Mitch, but just now." Ben starts to explain, before pausing and looking at his brother with his tear stained face. "Mitch I didn't see anything in his eyes, they were empty like there was nothing in them." He then finishes explaining and before Mitch can react, Erica walks over to the bed and checks Matt's eyes by opening his eyelids and shining a light in them, she then looks up and trying not to let Ben see, signals for Mitch to follow her outside before walking out of the room.
"Ben he has been in a coma and through something terrible, it might just be because he is exhausted." Mitch starts to say, but he can see his little brother isn't buying it, so keeps going. "Remember what the doctor said about him not really being asleep all this time and that when he does come out of the coma he will feel like he hasn't sleep for weeks." He then says and manages a weak smile, as his little brother seems to except his explanation. "Just wait until he gets some real sleep and then you will see everything you used to." He then adds to finish off.
"Okay." Is all Ben says, he appreciates his brother trying to help, but he knows in his heart that something isn't right and it scared him.
"Ben I have to step outside for a few minutes, will you be okay on your own?" Mitch then asks, he doesn't want to keep Erica waiting, she obviously had something important to tell him and he knew it wasn't good news.
"I will be okay, just don't go far Mitch." Ben answers, giving his brother one last sad look before turning back to his boyfriend.
Erica stands outside the room nervously, she had checked Matt's eyes for anything that might be wrong with them, thinking that is what Ben had been talking about, but she had a horrible feeling she knew exactly what Ben had meant and wanted to talk to Mitch before speaking with her superior, after a few moments waiting she sees Mitch finally come out of the room and walk towards her.
"Sit down Mitch." Erica tells him, as he stops in front of her.
"Erica what is wrong?" Mitch asks, as he sits down with her.
"I'm not one hundred percent sure and I have to talk to my superiors first Mitch." Erica starts of saying, but then hesitates, she wonders if she should actually speak to her superiors first in case she is wrong.
"Erica what ever you tell me, I promise not to say anything until you tell me I can, but I need to know what you think is wrong." Mitch then says and with a deep sigh Erica decides to tell him.
"Mitch I think his dad broke him." Erica states bluntly and waits for Mitch's reaction.
"Well yeah we know that Erica, we have all seen the bandages, casts and pins." Mitch responds, as he misunderstands Erica completely.
"No Mitch, I mean he broke him, as in his mind and spirit." Erica then clarifies and she can see from his face that he understands her now.
"What?" Mitch asks, but he knows exactly what she means, but he can't help but ask anyway.
"I could be wrong Mitch, I could be completely wrong, but looking at everything that happened, David found out his son was gay and couldn't handle it, now it sounds horrible but if this was purely his father losing it, then he would have killed Matt straight away, he may even have raped him first, I really don't know but to beat him and torture him for almost a week and then rape him." Erica starts to explain, but has to pause to compose herself. "Mitch I think he did all of that to break Matt, it wasn't enough to hurt him or even just kill him, he had to destroy him and from what Ben just said in their, I think he did it, I think he broke that poor little boy in there." She then says and finishes with tears in her eyes as she looks at Mitch.
"I don't know what to say, how sure are you?" Mitch says almost robotic, he is just trying to figure out how David could do that, the man was a little cold sometimes but Mitch always thought he was a good man and a good father.
"Mitch I don't know, I overheard what you told your brother, it is just as plausible as what I said and the drugs he is on would definitely give him a more spaced out look and I just hope to god you were right Mitch, but if I'm right, then Matt may never be the same boy he was before." Erica answers honestly, she really doesn't know and she is wishing she never told Mitch about her concern, as he doesn't seem to be reacting to it like she thought and that worried her even more.
"Oh god." Mitch says as he holds his head in his hands, he feels Erica's hand on his back and decides to pull himself together. "Erica can you speak to your superiors as soon as possible and then get them to contact Dr Fisher, he is the psychologist who helped Matt get past what happened to him, when his teacher molested him last year." Mitch tells her and instantly sees the look of surprise on her face. "Erica?" He then asks with concern.
"He was molested before?" Erica asks, looking white as a ghost.
"You didn't know?" Mitch asks in surprise, he would have thought it would have been in his file and that all the doctors and nurses would know about it, but then he remembers Matt never really got taken into hospital and just had the standard test during the court case.
"That poor, poor boy." Is all Erica says, until she composes herself and sits upright. "Okay, look I'm going to get this sorted, I will speak to my superiors now and then get someone to contact Dr Fisher." She then says, as she stands up. "Wait, is that Dr Fisher as in Mary Fisher's wife?" She then asks, as she recognises the name.
"Yeah she is a nurse here as well." Mitch answers, as he looks up to her.
"I know we are good friends, okay you should get back in there and keep an eye on your brother, this is going to be hard on the poor boy and he will need his big brother." Erica says, before walking away.
Mitch just sits there for a few minutes, he just wants to lay down and sleep and is really struggling to handle everything, he then starts to close his eyes, he knows he should go back to his little brother, but he is exhausted and just lets his eyes close for a few moments, until a shout from inside the room causes him to sit up and rush to the room.
"What... what happened?" Mitch calls out as he sees his little brother leaning over his boyfriend, he doesn't hear any alarms and wonders what happened.
"Mitch he is awake again." Ben says smiling. "Look Mitch, he can see me." He then says, as he kisses his boyfriends forehead lovingly, but Mitch can't help noticing Matt's body tense up, but he dismisses it and thinks he is just imagining things, the boy is in casts and bandages and he puts it down to being too exhausted to think straight.
"That is great Ben." Mitch says as he stands on the opposite side of his little brother and looks down to see Matt looking round with his eyes and it is then that he notices the almost dead like look in them, but he tries to keep hope and put it down to the coma and drugs and ignores what Erica had told him. "Hey Matt, it's me Mitch everything is going to be okay now I promise." He then says, hoping the boy recognises his voice.
"Matt you're going to be alright now, we are here and the doctors are looking after you." Ben then says as he holds his boyfriends hand gently, he wants to hold it tightly but is afraid he could hurt him.
The two brothers then look down in surprise as a sound comes from Matt, however with the tubes in his mouth and throat the voice is inaudible, but they are both sure he is trying to talk and Ben gives his brother an expectant look.
"Ben keep talking to him and I will get the doctor." Mitch states, as he quickly walks out of the room and tries to find someone to come and remove the tube from Matt's throat.
"Hey Sshh Matt it's okay, don't try to say anything yet okay." Ben says trying to reassure his boyfriend, he can see his eyes are darting around and is actually worried that his boyfriend is scared and tries again to reassure him. "You're in hospital Matt, I love you so much and you're safe now, I promise Matt you're going to be okay." He adds and notices his boyfriends eyes are now fixed on him, but as he looks into them, he can still only see emptiness and he has to try really hard to keep himself smiling, he doesn't want his boyfriend seeing him scared and upset.
A few minutes later Ben hears the door open, a doctor walks in followed by his brother, he makes sure to keep a hold of his boyfriends hand as the doctor looks him over and tries to not get in the way, he doesn't want the doctor to tell him to move away or leave the room, so is determined to be on his best behaviour.
"Are you okay Ben?" Mitch then asks, as he stands beside his little brother with a hand on his shoulder.
"I think so." Ben responds unconvincingly, before looking at his older brother. "Where are Dad and Sarah?" He then asks, trying his best to not get upset.
"They should be here in about an hour, they are stuck in traffic and are trying their best." Mitch answers, when he had called his dad he almost panicked when he mentioned an accident, but his dad quickly reassured him saying it wasn't them and they were just stuck in traffic, he had filled them in and he could hear how happy Sarah was.
"Oh..." Ben says and Mitch can tell there is something else his little brother wants to say to him, but before he can ask him the doctor speaks.
"Okay I think he is ready for the tube to be removed." Dr Gilmar announces as he looks to Mitch, Sarah had informed the hospital that in her absence that Mike and Mitch were to be treated as Matt's guardians and they respected her wishes.
"So he can talk?" Mitch decides to ask, trying to understand what is going to happen.
"He may have trouble speaking, we still aren't sure if there..." Dr Gilmar starts to say, but then looks over at Ben and then gives Mitch a questioning look.
"Doctor it is okay to speak in front of Ben, he understands that there could be complications, just try to keep it simple for me as much as him please." Mitch tells the doctor and made sure to point out that Ben is not just a little kid.
"I will try to keep it simple for you both, as I was saying, there could be brain damage, the tests we have done since he first showed signs of waking up are very positive though, he seems to respond to sound and light and as I understand it." Dr Gilmar starts to explain, before looking at Ben. "He has tried to speak, is that right Benjamin?" He asks the young boy.
"Yes Sir... but please call me Ben, I don't like Benjamin." Ben answers shyly.
"Okay, thank you Ben." Dr Gilmar says, before turning back to Mitch. "We can't be sure of course until he is fully awake and speaking. but the signs are good, however if he does try to speak it may take a while for you to understand him, his mouth will be dry and his throat will be sore." He then explains, before looking to Ben again. "It's important you don't try to get him to talk too much, I know you will want to speak with him Ben, but you have to give him time." He explains to the young boy and hopes he understands.
"Okay Sir, I just want him to be okay and I promise to be good." Ben responds, of course he wants his boyfriend back the way he was as quickly as possible, but he understands the doctors know what they are doing and if he wants his boyfriend back then he has to listen to them.
"Now this might be a little distressing to watch when I pull the tube out, you may want to look away." Dr Gilmar tells the boys, just as Erica walks in the room to assist him.
Ben however is determined not to leave his boyfriends side and doesn't move, Mitch isn't quite so sure he wants to see this, but he stands behind his little brother with his hands on his shoulders anyway to support him, although he can feel his eyes getting heavier, he is sure if he doesn't get some sleep soon he is going to just pass out and wishes his dad would hurry up.
They both watch as Erica and Dr Gilmar carefully removed the tube, however the gagging and choking noise coming from his boyfriend causes Ben to turn away and bury his face in his brothers chest, he wanted to be strong, but he couldn't help but find it too much and he was frightened, Mitch does his best to reassure him by stroking his head and back gently, but even he was getting a little uncomfortable at seeing the tube getting removed and the noise Matt was making was disturbing.
"Ben it's over they have done it now, look it's okay now." Mitch then whispers to his little brother, who nervously turns around and a big smile spreads across his face, when he looks to see his boyfriend looking at him.
"Oh Matt, I love you so much." Ben says as he pulls away from his brother and takes his boyfriends hand into his own, he then kisses him gently on the forehead before smiling at him, he had wanted to kiss him on the lips, but wanted to give him a little time to wake up first and not rush things.
Matt tries his best to say something, but nothing comes out, Ben and Mitch both give the doctor a concerned look and he whispers something into Erica's ear and the brothers watch curiously, as she leaves the room.
"It's okay, it is extremely rare for a person to be able to speak straight away after waking up from a coma, nurse Roberts will be back in a moment with some water and we can see if that helps." Dr Gilmar explains, as he looks at the brothers looking at him with worried expressions. "It may still take a while before he can speak, but this is a very promising sign." He then adds with a warm smile.
"You hear that Matt?" Ben suddenly says, as he looks back at his boyfriend. "Try not to talk until you get a drink okay?" He then asks and then laughs as he realises how stupid that question was, when he just told him not to talk.
"Matthew can you blink for me please." Dr Gilmar suddenly says as he leans over the young boy and smiles when the boy blinks blinks. "Okay now I want you to blink once for yes and twice for no, do you understand?" He then tells him and to everyone's delight Matt blinks once. "That is fantastic Matthew good job, now do you know where you're?" He then asks and smiles when Matt responds by blinking once, the doctor is about to ask another question, when he feels Ben staring at him and decides to let the young boy ask a question. "Okay Ben, why don't you ask a few questions, but remember keep them simple, he can only answer yes or no." Dr Gilmar instructs the young boy.
"Okay." Ben responds excitedly, before looking down at his boyfriend and so many questions pop into his head, he has to take a few moments to settle himself. "Hey Matt, do you remember me?" He then asks, settling for the basics and grins when his boyfriend blinks once. "Cool, okay do you want Dr Gilmar to call you Matt, instead of Matthew from now on." He then asks, giving the doctor a cheeky look, before looking down to see his boyfriend blink once and Dr Gilmar chuckles at the question and answer.
"Okay, I need to ask him a few questions now Ben." Dr Gilmar then says, he wanted to check a few things out now and smiles when Ben nods to him. "Matt, are you in any pain right now?" He then asks, he gives Ben a small smile, before he looks down at Matt to see his response and gives him a sympathetic look when he blinks once. "I can fix that, but I want you to answer a few more questions, is that okay?" He then asks and smiles again when Matt blinks once. "If the pain gets too much, I want you to close your eyes and squeeze Ben's hand as tight as you can okay?" He then asks and smiles when he blinks once. "Okay Matt, you're eleven years old, is that correct." He asks, he knows that the boy is now twelve, but due to him being in a coma, he is both curious and keen to see if the boy is aware of his age and when Matt blinks twice, he smiles and gives the brothers a wink. "That is excellent Matt, you're twelve aren't you?" Dr Gilmar then asks and this time Matt blinks once.
"Can I talk to him again please?" Ben then asks, he has tried to be good and let the doctor do his tests, but he can't help himself, he just wants to let his boyfriend know he loves him.
"Okay I think I have all the information I need for now, so go ahead Ben." Dr Gilmar answers as he steps back a little, but remains close enough to watch Matt's reactions.
"Hey Matt, it's me again er... apart from the pain er... are you okay?" Ben asks and Mitch can see the doctor is about to tell his little brother to keep the questions simple, but just as he opens his mouth they see Matt blink twice. "I wish you could talk." Ben then says sadly, before he remembers he is meant to be strong. "You know you're safe now?" He then asks and his smile falters, again when his boyfriend blinks twice. "Are you scared?" Ben asks quickly and Matt blinks once. "I'm here now and so is Mitch, don't be afraid, you know we will look after you don't you?" Ben then asks, but Matt doesn't respond, Mitch can see him trying to look around and realises he might not be able to see him.
"Hey Matt, it's me Mitch, I'm here can you see me?" Mitch then asks, as he leans forward and smiles when Matt blinks once. "You're safe now, you know you can trust me right?" He then asks and again Matt blinks once, Mitch wants to ask another question but Erica walks in to the room with a jug of water and a cup with a straw and he knows he needs to get out of the way.
"Hey Matt, they are going to give you something to drink now, don't be afraid okay?" Ben then says as he notices Erica pour some water in the cup, he can feel Matt squeezing his hand and when he looks into his eyes he smiles, as Matt blinks once. "The doctor said try not to speak straight away, just drink as much as you can and then wait a while okay?" Ben then explains, remembering what the doctor had told him and Mitch earlier and leans down to kiss his boyfriend on the forehead after he blinks once.
"Ben you need to give us a little room now, but keep hold of his hand okay?" Dr Gilmar then states, as he looks at Ben with a warm smile and Ben does as he is told.
After a few minutes Erica takes the drink away and everyone waits patiently to see if Matt can talk, Mitch can see he looks nervous and decides to speak up.
"Doctor he looks nervous, should we leave him alone for a few minutes?" Mitch suggests and before the doctor can answer he can see Matt blink twice and he looks at him. "Matt do you want us all to stay?" Mitch asks and Matt blinks once. "Well I guess that answers that Doctor, sorry for asking." He then says apologetically.
"It is fine Mitch, in fact I thought that was a very good suggestion, sometimes too many people can unsettle a person just waking up from a coma, so don't say apologise for being concerned for him." Dr Gilmar tells the young man, he should have thought of leaving the room himself so was grateful the young man had mentioned it and was actually delighted with the young boys response, it was a good sign that he was aware of what was happening.
"Can you say anything yet?" Ben then asks, as he leans over his boyfriend with a cheesy smile and everyone watches to see what happens.
"H.. h... I.." Matt tries to say, but coughs a little and blinks twice.
"Hey it's okay, I know you can do it, I believe in you Matt and I love you so much." Ben says, but his smile drops a little when his boyfriend pulls his hand away and looks away from him. "What's wrong?" He quickly asks, as he looks at his boyfriend in confusion, he then turns to Mitch looking on the verge of tears. "Mitch I don't understand." He then says and tears roll down his face and Mitch moves closer to hold his little brother.
"Matt are you okay?" Dr Gilmar asks as he looks into the boys eyes and Matt blinks twice. "Is the pain getting too much for you?" He then asks and Matt blinks twice again, leaving the doctor confused. "Okay do you want to try talking again Matt?" He then asks and is happy when the boy blinks once, he decides to adjust the bed so Matt is sitting up a little, instead of laying down but knows that he has to be careful to not hurt the boy due to his injuries. "Okay take you time and just try to say something, it doesn't matter what you say okay." He then tells the boy, who blinks once.
"I... I... tir... tired... I'm." Matt tries to say but pauses, Dr Gilmar is about to say something, but Matt tries again before he gets a chance. "I'm... am really tir... tired." Matt just about manages to say, with a very weak smile.
"Oh my god Matt, you can talk, I knew you would, I just knew it." Ben says excitedly and Matt struggles as he turns his head to look at him. "Hey Matt it's me, I knew you would be alright I knew it." Ben adds smiling and he just wants to kiss his boyfriend, but just about manages to hold back.
"I.. I... Ben... I..." Matt tries to say, but can't quite get his words out and then his eyes go wide with fear as the door to his room opens and his mother rushes in looking excited and happy.
"Matt... Matt it's me... Mummy is here now you're safe...." Sarah starts to say as she reaches her son, but she never gets to finish, as she sees the look on her sons face and freezes, everyone is stunned as they look at Matt.
"Mummy... mummy no no no....NO PLEASE NO MUMMY NOOOO..." Matt screams hoarsely, as his heart monitor starts beeping and his body tenses up in fear and begins to shake violently.
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