Earth and Sky

I had to make the decision to have his foot amputated, and now we don’t know whether it was all worth it. Luckily, he doesn’t know yet.”

    “He’s not awake?” Grant asked. Despite everything that had happened, he still worried about Gable.

    She shook her head. “He had blood poisoning and his organs started shutting down. He’s on a ventilator. They’re trying to wean him off it, but it isn’t easy after all this time.”

    Grant sighed. He needed to see Gable, although he knew he wasn’t welcome. “Is… Flynn with him?”

    “Yes,” Calley acknowledged. “They let him stay in there as long as he wants.”

    “They know he’s Gable’s… lover?”

    Calley smiled a little. “Flynn’s not the type to hide that. He’s pretty straightforward, so to speak.”

    “Good,” Grant said. He was still holding her hand, hanging on to it like a security blanket. He was glad Gable had found someone who was secure in his feelings. “I’m glad Gable has someone like Flynn. He deserves that.”

    Calley squeezed his hand. “Don’t put yourself down, Grant. You just made one wrong choice.”

    “A choice for which everyone is all too eager to crucify me.”

    Calley cocked her head. “Can’t really blame those who don’t know the full story, but I know what happened, and I won’t crucify you.”

    Grant smiled. “You’re easy. You’ve always been on my side.” He looked around to assure they were alone and then pulled her into a tight hug. She didn’t fight him, and they stood like that for a while. When they parted, she looked a little flushed.

    “Why don’t I go get us something to drink?” she offered.

    “I can”

    She shook her head. “I need to take a walk. I’ve been sitting here way too long.”

    She left Grant alone in the waiting room, so he sat down. There were some magazines on a table nearby, but they all looked like women’s magazines, and Grant didn’t think he would be able to focus enough to read anyway, so he just sat quietly, looking at the speckled floor. A door to the side opened and Grant saw it led to the ward, so he got up and caught it just before it closed. He knew Gable was somewhere in the corridor, and he wanted to see him one more time, before it was too late.

    No one paid much attention to him as he walked along the corridor, peering through the floor-to-ceiling windows that separated the rooms.

    “Can I help you, sir?” a young man in white scrubs asked him.

    Grant figured he was a nurse. “I’m looking for Gable Sutton.”

    “Are you family?”

    Grant shrugged. “Sort of. We’re not related by blood.”

    “I see,” the man said with a soft smile. “I’ll have to ask his friend.” He pointed at one of the rooms, and Grant saw a young man with short, curly hair sitting in a chair next to a bed. He was holding the hand of the man lying down. The man’s eyes were open, and suddenly Grant realized the gaunt-looking and emaciated man in the bed was Gable. He almost hadn’t recognized him. From the corner of his eye, Grant saw the young man get up, an annoyed look on his face, but Grant’s gaze was pinned to Gable as the recognition in Gable’s eyes suddenly hit. He couldn’t mistake that look for anything else but panic, and alarms started going off.

    Grant felt his heart suddenly speed up and he knew he had to get away. He turned around and walked back down the corridor toward the door he’d entered through. He couldn’t get it to open, and kicked it. Then he noticed a large knob on the wall, and when he thumped that, the door opened. He burst into the waiting area.

    “I lost you,” Calley said, concern in her face. “I thought you’d left and I tried calling you on your phone, but I figured it was still turned off from being inside the hospital—”

    “I was… I saw Gable,” Grant interrupted.

    She stroked his arm to soothe him. “He doesn’t look very well.”

    “I know. And he saw me. He panicked.”

    The wrinkle in her forehead deepened. “You two need to talk it out, Grant.”

    “That’s not very likely now, is it? Gable’s too sick for anything, and I don’t know if I want to incur Flynn’s wrath.”

    “He is very protective of Gable,” Calley agreed. At that moment the door between the waiting room and the ICU opened and Flynn stormed through.

    “Grant, I believe?”

    Grant didn’t have time to react. Although Flynn was shorter than him, his fist was surprisingly powerful, and Grant felt