LOVE & STITCHES AT THE ASYLUM PART SEVENTEEN

 


See! We didn't leave you hanging...much!

We hope your Sunday is all stitched together nicely, and that you're having a great start to your week!

Happy Reading!

Tibby and Bianca

*****

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

PART 4

PART 5

PART 6  

PART 7

PART 8 

PART 9

PART 10 

PART 11 

PART 12

PART 13

PART 14 

PART 15 

PART 16


*****

Drop the drugs and go after him!

Before Pike could shake off the shock and take a step, Stephan crossed to the ledge at a run and dove in, cutting through the water with powerful strokes and dragging Garet to the surface. He brought him to the side of the pool, laying him down and began CPR. “Drew, go upstairs and get the first doctor you find. Hurry.”

Drew ran past Pike, his legs a blur, then thundered up the stairs, doors slamming in his wake.

Dashing to Stephan’s office, Pike stumbled into the bathroom, dumping the pills, baggies and all, in the toilet and flushing before rushing out to see if Stephan needed his help. He dropped to his knees on Garet’s other side, whispering all the prayers his gran used to say over him at night. Let out a relieved laugh when Garet coughed and began spitting up what looked like half the pool.

Stephan’s gaze lifted to Pike’s, harder than he’d ever seen it before. “What were you hiding, Pike?”

“Nothing, sir. I...was going to look for a towel, but I couldn’t find one.” Pike swallowed, shifting his gaze when Stephan’s eyes narrowed. “Is he gonna be all right? I didn’t know he couldn’t swim, we were just...messing around.”

Rolling to his side with a groan, Garet retched. “The watercolors weren’t supposed to bite back.” He retched again, gasping. “Shit...”

Pike patted his back awkwardly. He didn’t know the dude well, and he’d say Ez had shit taste in guys, but that wasn’t saying much about himself. Besides, he’d almost killed the stoner he’d been trying to keep out of trouble. He was definitely not up to this job.

But he still had Stephan to deal with, the Dom watching him suspiciously, something that hadn’t happened with anyone since Pike had first gotten here.

“Sir, I’m just—”

“Lying to me, which I don’t appreciate.” Stephan’s tone was sharp and cold. “But I need to focus on Garet now, so go get that towel. On the shelf in the room you were just in. They’re easy to find. It’s that large, white pile.”

Footsteps sounded on the stairs, moving quickly. More than one set judging by the uneven rhythm. Jared appeared, Wren with him, Drew just behind. The red-headed sub’s eyes were huge as he moved as close to his Dom as he could without getting in his way. 

Jared knelt by Garet, not even paying attention to the pile of puke, which was pretty hardcore. “Wren, I need my stethoscope and blood pressure cuff.” He felt Garet’s pulse. “Tell me what happened, Stephan.”

“I heard someone jump into the pool and I came out to check, because I know the club is open and no one besides Drew and myself should have been down here.” Stephan continued talking, his voice carrying in the wide space, echoing as Pike went to fetch the towel.

And stopped in his tracks, staring at the toilet as it flooded over, half of the baggies floating on top.

Fucked. I am so fucked.

Stephan was still explaining everything. Including the moment Pike had run in here.

Just shoot me now.

The sounds of the pump on the cuff and the hiss of air echoed into the room from the pool, Jared stating some numbers to Wren. “His pulse is too fast.” There was a click. “Pupils are dilated.” Another click. “What did you take, Garet?” Jared sighed heavily. “Don’t lie.”

Garet moaned, then laughed, his gurgling echoing off the ceiling and water. “It’s no biggie. I didn’t take a lot.” He laughed some more, and then burst into tears. “Why didn’t you just let me die? It was quiet down there.”

Grabbing a few towels, Pike brought them out, his voice rough as he spoke to Jared while handing them to Stephan. “He told me he was on E, sir. I...took all the other stuff he had. I figured I could...get rid of it and fix this, but I left him alone and he almost drowned because I brought him down here. I didn’t want Matt or Curtis to find out and...I couldn’t get some of the stuff.” He rubbed his hand over his mouth. “I should’ve found an adulter adult right away. I’m sorry...and I’m...not sure what to do about the drugs he hid that are...inside him.”

“Will we need to operate, sir?” Wren looked over the poolside like he was considering the area for surgery. “I’m not sure how sterile it is here, but we’ve managed with worse.”

“No, little raven.” Jared looked toward a door in the far wall that Pike hadn’t ever been through. “I’m going to take him to the ER. I don’t want Matt to see him this way either, and I can’t have him here like this with Noah.” He lifted a still-sobbing Garet in his arms. “Come, my boy. We’re going to get you help.” Over his shoulder, he said something unexpected. “You did better than most would’ve Pike. I have it from here, but we’ll keep this between us, yes? Now go upstairs and get some juice.”

Nodding, Pike slid his hands into the pockets of his flowy pants. “I will, sir. I just...I hope he’ll be okay. I’ll make sure Matt doesn’t hear about this. Or Curtis. This would...fuck with either of them really bad.”

Parting with a final incline of his head, Jared shut the door behind him, the sound of Garet’s voice and Jared’s footsteps fading away.

Drew stared at the pool, coming to himself. “Can I get the cleaning supplies, sir?”

“Yes, please, my boy.” Stephan stood, wiping his hand on an abandoned towel. “I’m going to go get changed.” He glanced over, though there hadn’t been a sound. “They’re fine, Keiran. If I intended on taking them, we’d be gone already.”

Keiran put his hand on Wren’s shoulder, inclining his head slightly. “You could have tried. You wouldn’t have gotten far.” His other hand settled on the small of Pike’s back. “Go on, upstairs. Wren, you can stay in the security room with Dallas until Jared gets back.”

That got a bright smile from Wren. “Oh good, I need to update everything, I don’t remember when the last time I did it was. Long enough for the stairs to get very dirty. I should clean those. Do you think Jared will bring back X-rays? I would like to examine them, I’ve never dealt with a case like this. Do you know how to do CPR? We really should make sure everyone learns.”

Dragging his feet as much as Keiran would let him, Pike trudged up the stairs, kinda glad Wren was talking about all the things so he didn’t have to say anything. Ez would be upset and pissed if he knew how badly Pike had fucked things up for a guy he still cared about a lot, even though the pair were a hot mess.

And now he had to somehow not let Matt find out his brother was in the fucking hospital?

Holy shit.

“Wren.” Pike’s head came up and he reached for Wren’s arm, almost getting himself knocked down the stairs by Keiran. He swallowed. “Sorry, but he can’t say anything. If he slips up—”

“He won’t. I’ll explain things to Dallas.” Keiran drew in a sharp breath, then squeezed Pike’s shoulder. “Sorry, I’m jumpy. Go have that juice. Add a bit of vodka to it and drink it for me. Try to act normal. Get a spanking or something.”

Pike frowned at him, but he did not piss off the man who fed him. “No, thank you, Keir. My ass is about the color of Drew’s hair as it is.”

The upper stairwell door opened, letting in music and voices, then footsteps before it closed. “I’m just an animal. A bloody sabbath cannibal. Who wears spandex and...” Jamie’s voice lifted in song with a hardcore little growl before his random lyrics trailed off. “No, that doesn’t work...” He came around the corner and stumbled to a halt. “Oh... Hi?” His gaze dropped to Keiran’s gun, eyes widening. “Dude?”

“I’m just…” Keiran motioned vaguely toward Pike and Wren. “Escorting them. Wren...wanted to see the pool.”

Wren frowned and shook his head. “Haven’t I seen it before? I’m positive I’ve been down there. I went with Jamie… And there was a party. Not tonight, though. No, I suppose that wasn’t much fun.”

Thinking fast, Pike lifted his hand, giving Jamie a rueful smile. The bandage was kinda messed up after all this shit and even a bit bloody—eww, that’s gross—so it was a good excuse. “I’m a disaster, we all know it. Stephan asked Wren to come check my hand. It’s not gonna fall off.”

Jamie wrinkled his nose. “Dunno. It kinda looks like it might. I hope Quint can save it.”

“Yes, he’s going to Quint now, Wren wasn’t sure how to treat it. And Wren’s going to update the systems with Dallas.” Keiran propelled Wren forward, then gave Jamie a pointed look. “Why aren’t you in the dance club?”

“Gotta makeup session with Stephan because I missed it while we were planning the b—” Jamie’s last word was muffled by Pike’s bandaged hand slapped over his mouth.

“Salad dressing.” Pike stifled a groan, realizing that didn’t make any sense. He was probably just hungry, but with so much going on he couldn’t even think about food. “For the baby shower.”

Wren nodded as though that was the most logical thing in the world. “Todd grows a lot of vegetables in the greenhouse and Tracey enjoys them, a good salad dressing would be important. I like some of it. Vinegar and oil with a bit of raspberry is nice. Not too much, though. And I like—”

“Dallas, Wren’s going to be joining you. Word is mum, he’ll tell you.” Keiran called out, pressing his lips to Wren’s temple. “I need to get back on watch, mi alma, but you help Dallas out and watch over him for me, okay?”

“Who’s mother is coming here?” Jamie looked freaked, like he thought it might be his own that Keiran talked about. “God, now I have to talk about my mother again in session. And I’d had something totally else in mind.” He stomped down the stairs. “I fucking hate when that happens.”

Wren continued up the stairs after smiling at Keiran and glancing back in the direction Jamie had gone. “I think I missed something. Noah would not allow Jamie’s mother to come here. And Dallas… Yes, I’ll watch over him. He enjoys a bit of tea. I need to wash the pot, everything here is very dirty.”

Racing by them up the stairs, Drew registered as a doppler blur. “Sorry! Gotta get some more disinfectant!”

Pike slipped past Keiran, going into the gym and glancing toward the clinic. It was like some messed up dejà vu. He’d told Seth this morning he’d be fine and he ended up fucking up his hand. He’d just told Quint he’d be fine and he’d almost gotten someone killed and messed up his hand again. And he shoulda learned from it, but...well, he was under orders to have juice. With a suggestion of vodka. And he really wanted some before he tried to find a way to tell Quint what had gone down without freaking him out.

He headed for the bar, hoping the crowd and the noise would make all this secret keeping a bit easier. And no one would think too much of him just having a drink before...well, starting to work—it couldn’t be a break when he hadn’t even clocked in.

Behind the bar in the dance club, Matt threw him an annoyed look. “Order up in the galley. Bring back three baskets of burgers and sliders. And I need another couple bottles of vodka.”

“Yeah...I guess there’s no chance of me getting some vodka and juice first, then.” Pike sighed, slipping away from the stool he’d almost managed to plant his ass on. And probably would’ve regretted. “I’m on it.”

In the booth, he could see Tay bouncing around with headphones on, playing some hardcore house music. By the bar, Noah looked out over the dance floor, cringing like someone hit him with the repetitive beat.

Yeah...probably be good to get out of here anyway.

Before Pike could make his exit, Jamie came back through the door from the security room, walking past Noah, toward Pike, making a meal of his bottom lip.

Noah snatched the back of Jamie’s shirt, tugging him back and tapping his mouth. “Lip, little cat.” He turned Jamie fully to face him. “That was a very short session. Did something happen?”

“N-yes?” Frowning, Jamie ran his fingers up and down Noah’s jean-clad thighs like he played a piano. “Stephan said he needed some time because something came up, and Drew was trying to scrub bloodstains off the pool deck. How’d someone get murdered down there? Only Wren and Keiran and Pike were there. Was it my mother? Someone said she was visiting.”

Eyes narrowing, Noah lifted Jamie up with one arm, already striding across the dance club, a path clearing in front of him like all the people were sliding doors. “Where’s Wren?”

“In the security room, probably erasing the footage of the murder?” Above the crowd, Jamie looked like a prince in a sedan chair.

Taking advantage of the cleared path, Pike dashed after them. “He’s fine, sir. It was probably just my hand, see? And Keiran checked on everything, it’s all good.”

Noah glanced back at him without stopping. “I’d like to see for myself. And why the fuck aren’t you in the clinic, boy? You don’t intend to serve food like that, do you?”

“Umm...well, I’m late.” Pike ducked his head when Noah’s eyes darkened with irritation. “And Jared ordered me to have some juice.”

Brow lifting, Noah stopped this time, pinning Pike in place with that molten steel stare. “Jared was there. And left you and Wren? And didn’t see to your hand? You’re lying, boy. What is it you’re not telling me?”

“That I…” Lies to cover up secrets and lies was getting tricky. Pike lowered his gaze. Maybe it would be easier if he didn’t look at the guy. Also might be easier not to get strangled by him if he wasn’t so close, but his muscles were not cooperating. “I was trying to seduce Wren. Sorry, he’s super hot and I don’t get many chances to hit on that, you know? Jared thought it was hilarious, he was laughing so hard, and he...just kinda told us to go for it and he got...a text. So he left. Maybe it was another dick pic? He’s a popular guy.”

Jamie looked like he didn’t know whether to laugh, be pissed, or warn Pike off. Not saying anything at all, he rolled both his lips between his teeth this time, gaze pinging between his Dom and Pike like he watched Wimbledon and didn’t know who might drop the ball out of bounds first.

Lowering Jamie to his feet, Noah motioned to the security door. “Go stay with Wren, I’ll be there in a moment.” He strode forward as Pike began backing up, his muscles finally working. Before he could turn and run, Noah grabbed his hand. The bad one. His growl cut over Pike’s yelp. “You are here because you have people I trust vouching for you, but don’t think for one moment I’ll put up with you lying to me, especially when it involves one of my subs.” He trapped Pike against the side of the ring. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

“No.” Pike gritted his teeth and went with his default. He wasn’t giving this dude shit. He’d promised not to say anything and if he couldn’t keep his promises, his word was worthless and… No, just fucking no. “You wanna know so fucking bad, asshole, go talk to your sub yourself. You don’t fucking scare me.”

Noah let out a laugh that sent a chill down Pike’s spine. “Then you’re not very smart.”

“Sir?” Drew tugged at Noah’s sleeve. “I think maybe you should talk to Jared? I just saw him in the bar, even though he was supposed to be at the hospital.”

Face losing all color, Noah broke into a run, his grip thankfully moving to Pike’s wrist because his feet hardly touched the ground. He didn’t give anyone a chance to move, just shoving past them. “Jared, what happened? Is it my mother?”

Glass of whiskey in one hand, a cigar in the other, Jared froze, paling much as Noah had done. “What about Tracey?” He stood, stool rocking as whiskey sloshed over his hand. “Where is she? What happened?”

“Drew said you went to the hospital.” Noah seemed to realize he was still holding Pike and finally let him go. He gave him an icy look. “This one decided to play games instead of telling me himself. The only reason I can think of for you going is if my mother was there and you didn’t tell me because...something went wrong.”

Jared lowered his glass to his coaster, setting his cigar on the edge of the glass ashtray. He sent a sidelong glance in Lawson’s direction, the man in conversation with one of the new Doms who’d joined with a group of a few others that week. Around them, members didn’t pay much attention to the conversation, calling drink orders and grabbing baskets of chili cheese fries as they were placed on the bar.

“No. It wasn’t your mother.” Tipping his head in the direction of Lawson’s office, Jared indicated they should all talk in there. Lawson looked up when Jared placed a hand on his shoulder. “Come on, my man. I shouldn’t keep this from you either.”

Lawson glanced at Noah, then at Pike, his jaw tightening as he pushed to his feet. He gently lifted Pike’s hand. “I see you’ve gone with your old tactics, Noah.” He turned Pike’s wrist, which now had a big red handprint to add some color to the mix. “And the boy didn’t talk to you? I wonder why.”

“Come. Not out here.” Jared lifted Pike off his feet, carrying him as he led the two other Doms toward the office. 

Seth had pointed out Jared didn’t carry subs often, but he didn’t hesitate to do it with Pike, which was a really good thing right now. If Noah and Lawson were going to tear each other apart, he did not want to get caught in the middle.

But he sighed a bit as he rested his head on Jared’s shoulder. “I never got that juice you told me to get. Or the vodka Keiran told me to add to it. Or...the burgers Matt asked for along with...other stuff. I’m totally rocking it tonight.”

Jared flicked on the office light, bundling Pike on his lap as he lowered into one of the guest chairs. “No, but you did something more important.” He gave Pike a small look of encouragement. “You kept your word.”

Sitting heavily in the chair next to Jared, Noah dropped his head to his hands. “He...was making up stories for you? Jesus, I thought...I don’t know what, I assumed he was being sneaky and all I saw was—”

“Curtis.” Lawson took the chair behind the desk, his lips thinning. “And you were hard on him, which I didn’t always agree with, but he was twice Pike’s size, even then. You need to show more control, no matter what you believe.” He pointed at Pike’s wrist. “This is unacceptable.”

“You’re right.” Noah rolled his neck, then lifted his head to meet Pike’s eyes. “I’m sorry, Pike. And...I will say, you holding out the way you did on Jared’s request? I respect that. A lot. I won’t make assumptions about you again. It was wrong of me to do so this time. And even more wrong to hurt you.”

Pike took a deep breath. “Thank you, sir. What you did wasn’t so bad. Good fucking thing, because Quint’s already going to lose his shit.” Three Doms. He was swearing alone in an office with three Doms. “Ah...free pass?”

“Free pass from me to swear all you want whenever you want tonight.” Jared leaned back, closing his eyes. “You do you, my boy.”

Lawson’s brow lifted. “You will not get the same from me. You will be learning to respect the rules here, Pike. But we’ll let it slide this once.” He leaned forward, forearms on the desk. “Tell us, Jared. What happened that was so important to keep from everyone?”

Opening his eyes, Jared met Lawson’s dark green gaze. “Garet came home.”

“Did he get hurt?” Lawson made a frustrated sound, rising to his feet. “Why didn’t you treat him here? What hospital is he at? I need to bring Matt to him. Garet needs to know we’ll both be there for him. I don’t know what you were thinking, keeping this from me, my man, but that boy is family and we take care of our own.”

“Lawson.” That one word from Jared held the weight of the world. “Sit.”

Looking torn, Lawson glanced toward the door. Then lowered back to his chair, gripping the arms like he might lunge from the room at any second. “What?”

As a doctor, Jared had to deal in bad news all the time, but he still swallowed audibly before he spoke again. “He’s being treated to remove a balloon of cocaine from his rectum. And being sent to rehab.”

“Why would Garet…?” Noah’s jaw ticked. “The gang. He’s fucking transporting drugs for them? Jesus Christ, I can’t…” He inhaled slowly. “He brought drugs into this club.” His gaze settled on Pike. “Are you the one who found out?”

“Yes, sir. I thought…” Looking back, Pike was pretty sure he couldn’t have handled things worse if he’d been trying to make the biggest mess possible. “At first he was talking about pills he got suspended for. Then he offered me E and other stuff and...I figured it would upset Matt, seeing him like that. I wanted to bring him down to the rooms by the pool—not to lock him in, just to keep him out of sight. And I didn’t want him offering Drew anything, so I took the drugs off him. I was gonna flush them...he mentioned the drugs inside him and I was freaking out a bit. I should have stayed with him, but it was like a minute, he jumped in and...didn’t come up. Stephan saved him. And I tried to flush the pills and blocked his toilet. I lied to Stephan and he was pissed too. I totally suck at it.”

“Which is where I came in.” Jared patted Pike’s thigh lightly. “And asked you to make sure no one found out. For the same reasons.” He met Lawson’s, then Noah’s, gaze. “Rhodey brought Garet to the hospital. There’s a lot of pain in that boy, and none of us was equipped to deal with it. Least of all, Matthew.”

Lawson rubbed his hand over his mouth, looking like he was going to be sick. “Matt...he tried so fucking hard. And the last time he saw Garet, he looked...good. Happy. We thought going away to school, doing something he loved, would be good for him. I just...Matt raised him the best he could, then the rest of us, Tracey… Fuck, she definitely can’t hear about this, not in her condition.”

“I’m sorry.” Jared shifted a little so he faced Noah. “I know how you feel about drugs and the gang. I was waiting until I had a better handle on my own emotions to tell you. I wouldn’t have kept it from you.”

Noah shook his head. “You have nothing to apologize for. You did the best you could for that boy. No. That young man. My mother will never hear about this. Garet’s made his fucking choices, he can live with them.” He stood, pausing and glancing back at Lawson. “I know you care about him, my man, but...I am not doing this again. I can’t fucking… How many Andrews will we have now because of that man? I am going to see my husband and my boy. I’m...no, I do not want him here and...I hope things go well, but for your husband’s sake I think you have some hard choices to make.”

Elbows rested on the edge of his desk, Lawson held his head in his hands. “I understand, Noah. I will...be speaking to Matt. And I promise you, nothing like this will be brought into the club again. No one would have...thought to stop him. This was his home.”

Jared rubbed Pike’s thighs like he was looking for a little comfort himself, not just comforting. Brows creased so tightly they had to be giving him a headache, he stared into the distance like he saw other places. Other times. And other chances that had been given or taken away.

Holding his breath, trying not to move or disturb the two men who needed time to absorb everything, Pike jumped when the door closed hard after Noah. He glanced back over his shoulder, then put his hand over Jared’s. A strong hand used to punish him and care for him. His own hands were much smaller, but he hoped Jared felt the bit of support he could give, even if it just meant sitting quietly with him.

“I need...to go talk to Matt.” Lawson raked his fingers through his hair, tears glistening on his lashes when he lifted his head. “Thank you for making sure I could do it myself, my man, and he didn’t have to...learn by seeing him that way. I’m grateful for...everything.”

Jared snapped to awareness, seeming to land back in his body. He turned his palm up, automatically grasping Pike’s fingers in his own. “Rhodey...” Licking his lips, Jared glanced toward the door like he hadn’t noticed Noah had left. “I made him promise not to...”

Blowing out a breath, Lawson nodded. “He’ll see that Garet’s taken care of, I trust him. This might be the best thing for the boy because he can’t talk his way around Rhodey and the ‘rehab’ won’t be optional. Or, likely, easy to get out of once he’s placed. I imagine Rhodey will make damn sure he can’t be released until he decides Garet is healed enough, which...may be some time.”

“Let me know if you need me. For Matt.” Jared used the sub’s preferred name, still rubbing his thumb over Pike’s knuckles in a windshield wiper motion.

“I will.” Lawson put his hand on Jared’s shoulder as he passed, then continued out, every step like some gigantic weight was on his shoulders.

Pike turned a bit on Jared’s lap to meet his eyes. “Sir, maybe this is a horrible time to ask, but...the party. We can’t...this can’t ruin everything, can it? Everyone was happy and excited and...I mean, I want Garet better, but… I kind of agree with Noah. He made some really bad choices. Matt still gets to enjoy the life he built. And Curtis, Lawson...you. Right?”

“There’s no horrible time to care about others and their happiness, love.” Jared’s smile was sad, but he held Pike closer like it made him feel better. “Thank you for thinking of Wren and Matt. And, you’re right. This changes nothing. Sometimes, when other people do things that hurt us, the best thing we can do—the kindest thing for ourselves—is to move on without them. Even though we miss them and wish them well.”

“Exactly. But…” Pike frowned, reaching for Jared’s buttons, then going for a thread on his shirt instead. No button cheating. “We need something before the party because otherwise, this is gonna...like hang over it. A way to get everyone together to relax and feel good. Maybe it’ll even help with the surprise? If Wren suspects anything, he’ll think we were just planning a Core thing.”

Curiosity lit Jared’s light blue eyes. “Oh? Do you have something in mind, little gremlin?”

“Not really.” Pike’s shoulders slumped. “I think I’m out of ideas for a while. My last wonderful one was telling Noah I was alone with Wren to seduce him and you thought it was funny and left.”

Jared snorted, real humor lightening his eyes as creases appeared around them with his smile. “Is that so...?” He straightened a little. “Hmm...you may be on to something.”

“Not sure seducing Wren after the fact makes it less of a lie…” Pike tapped his finger on his bottom lip, smiling around it. “But I’m willing to try.”

“No-no. But my seducing you after the fact might solve several problems at once.” Nodding to himself sharply, Jared stood, bringing Pike with him. “We need our poker night. We’re betting subs. Not money. For once, it’ll be the Doms around here stirring up a little mischief.”

Pike’s lips parted. “Okay, I kinda love that idea, but...how do we get everyone in on it? I know Quint and Seth will be cool with it. But...we’re not as involved with...you know. Do you know how to talk to people so they’ll want to enjoy something again?”

“I’m not sure I follow you, my boy.” Though people didn’t immediately clear out for Jared the way they did for Noah and Rhodey, members scooted over with respectful nods as Jared walked through the gym toward the security stairwell. “What wouldn’t they enjoy about a night of drinking, gambling, and sex?”

Sighing, Pike pressed his hand to Jared’s cheek. “Lawson didn’t look like he’d be very interested in that right now. And I doubt Matt will be. Or Reed. And Curtis…” His throat tightened. “They’re like...the heart of everything. And it’s broken. We need to help it heal and...I’m just hoping we can.”

Pivoting so quickly it made Pike a little dizzy, Jared walked in the other direction. It took a moment for him to realize they headed to the clinic. “I’m sorry. That’s true. And your hand. I’d forgotten. Let’s get that fixed. First things first.” The clinic door opened, and the scent of disinfectant and Band-Aids rushed out. “And I think we wait a few days. The way to involve everyone will come to us. People who have been through hell very rarely choose to linger long there on return visits.”

That made a lot of sense. Pike smiled at him, then winced when something metal clattered on the ground.

“Pike, what did you do now?” Quint crossed the room, looking him over. “Thank you, Sir. He was supposed to be working—did you grab the fries right after Reed took them out of the grease again, Pike?”

“No, doing that twice would be dumb.” Pike held up his hand. “Just roughed this up a little. No new disasters...from me...really.”

“It wasn’t his fault, Quint.” Jared settled Pike onto the crinkly paper. “We had an unexpected visitor that I’ll let Pike tell you about.” He leaned in to brush a soft kiss over Quint’s lips, then patted Pike’s thigh. “You’ll be alright if I go check on my family?”

Pike nodded quickly. “Yes, sir. And that’s a good idea. You should get in the bunker Noah’s probably gonna make around Jamie and Wren before he seals it up for forty years or something.”

“You have a point.” Pointing at Pike, Jared spoke to Quint. “This one’s smart. Good work.”

A relieved smile curved Quint’s lips as he unwrapped Pike’s hand. “He really is, sir. Sometimes, people don’t see it through all the swearing and the brattiness, but when you make the effort, it’s there. I’m grateful you did, sir. He means...so much to me.”

Hand on the door, Jared nodded. “I can see why.” He stepped out, the noise of a fight roaring in from the ring, then closed the door softly, cutting it off again.

Watching Quint work on cleaning and rebandaging his hand, Pike thought back to this morning. So much had happened today, but one thing hadn’t changed. He really did love his life. Being here, with Seth and Quint. With some of the others, who he was getting closer to, all of them showing him new sides he’d never expected.

And sure, sometimes, he tripped up and there was a mess after. But looking at the big picture, there was always a way to clean it up. To let it heal.

Just like a bit of spilled coffee.

****

 
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❤️ Have a great rest of your week! ❤️

Comments

  1. Poor Garet ☹️ Matt and Lawson can’t catch a break.

    But I am STOKED about the Doms having some fun and this poker night 🙌🙌

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  2. Poor garet... The poker night sounds fun

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  3. Curious why Garet did what he did and poor Matt. Happy that Pike did something good and now on to the pokernight...

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  4. Even at the most serious of times, Pike is such a breath of fresh air. Loving the connection him and Jared are forming ❤

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  5. Poor garet and 💔 for matt

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