Love is Always Write Anthology Bonus Volume

slipping down the hall to the never-armed fire exit. He was, truthfully, less worried about someone seeing them than terrified that he'd accidentally break an already weakened rib on the kid.
    Loading Daren into the passenger's seat proved an interesting exercise, especially once Daren began to slip in and out of consciousness.
    "Keep talking Daren." Sebastian prompted. "Madison Square Garden. What else have you seen there?"
    "Pearl Jam," Daren mumbled as Sebastian snapped the seatbelt in place. "Richard took me."
    "Another good band."
    Sebastian quietly prayed that Daren, if that was even his name, passed out. He could drop him off at a hospital, have a quick chat with the cops, and then spend the rest of the night trying to get blood out of the already slightly scummy upholstery of his car.
    But Daren kept quietly moaning. They neared an exit sign with a big blue H under it. "Sure you don't want a real doctor? Last chance."
    "They'll find me," Daren muttered through lips which were slowly turning blue despite the swelling.
    Sebastian wanted to make a comment about paranoia, but considering the situation, it didn't seem appropriate. "Fine, no hospitals. On the condition that you don't die on me."
    Daren just moaned.
    Sebastian drove faster. He pulled into the driveway of the shitty little brick rattrap duplex where he lived. He'd been sharing it with two other buddies from his Navy days to save on rent, but both of them had bailed, so now it was all his. Sebastian wished that wasn't the case because getting Daren into the house was going to be another exercise that would have done well with a few extra sets of hands.
    He unlocked the front door first before running back to the car.
    "Are you sure you can't walk?"
    "Cold." Daren mumbled.
    "I know. You're in shock."
    Sebastian put his arms around Daren and lifted. Granted, Daren was shorter than he, but he had good solid muscle definition that was not light. He felt his back begin to twinge as he carried Daren through the door like a bloody bride. He made a mental note to hit the gym a little more often.
    He laid Daren out on thankfully clean sheets, changed in a moment of hope that he'd be bringing some guy home. This was not what he'd had in mind.
    First things first, Sebastian thought to himself. The major external bleeding seemed under control, but if shock killed him, it would be pointless. He shoved as many pillows as he could under Daren's legs and piled the blankets on top of him.
    "Daren, you're at my place."
    You're possibly about to die on my sheets, and I'd rather you didn't, he thought.
    "There's no one else here, just you and me. You are in shock and possibly bleeding internally, both of which are potentially fatal. We're going to take care of the shock first. Tell me if you have trouble breathing."
    Daren nodded a little.
    "Okay, I'm going to step out of the room for just a minute." Before Daren could answer, Sebastian sprinted for the linen closet that never actually held linens. He pulled out a large blue duffel. As far as he was concerned, everyone committed a little petty theft when leaving the military. Sebastian's theft had not been so petty. He'd managed to walk away with an entire Field Medic kit and then some. He justified it to himself as under-compensation for "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" putting a serious crimp in his love life.
    When he got back to his bedroom, Daren looked unconscious, but his lips were no longer blue.
    Sebastian snapped on some latex gloves then pulled out some nonstick wound pads and rolls of gauze. He traded out his ruined shirt bits for proper dressings. He flashed a penlight into Daren's eyes and was very relieved to see the pupils react. Then he laid out his stethoscope and sphygmomanometer before carefully extracting Daren's right arm from under the blanket. He attached the blood pressure cuff as gently as he could. Daren moaned, and his eyes fluttered as Sebastian pumped up the cuff and tried to listen for a pulse. "Sorry," he muttered. He released the cuff and waited for the pulse. The gauge made it 80/50.
    "Okay, Daren, you are hypotensive. Your blood pressure is dangerously low. This could be due to shock or possibly the aforementioned internal bleeding. You've already lost a lot of blood externally. I don't suppose you know your blood type?"
    Sebastian knew in theory how to do a direct blood transfusion, but it wasn't on his list of things he ever wanted to try. Daren mumbled something. "Sorry. I couldn't understand