Joshua whimpered, and his swollen eyes tried to open.
“Colin!” Nate cried. “He’s awake!”
“Colin?” Joshua whispered.
“I’m right here, baby,” Colin said. “Right here!”
“Wherearewe?” Joshua cried, his voice thin with fear. “I can’tseeyou!” He tried to move his right arm and moaned in pain, then flailed with his left hand, which Colin grabbed and pressed against his cheek.
“Shhh,” Colin soothed. “Hush and listen to my voice. You’re hurt, sweetheart. You’re in University Hospital, but you’re going to be OK.”
“Why can’t I open my eyes?”
The discharge from Joshua’s blackened eyes had crusted again, making it impossible for him to open them. “Hang on, baby. I can fix that.” He dashed into the bathroom and returned with a warm washcloth which he placed over Joshua’s bruised and swollen eyes. “Let that warm cloth sit there for a minute.”
Nate had left the room, but now returned with a handful of cotton balls. “Use these,” he suggested, thrusting them into Colin’s hands.
Colin used the cotton to gently lave Joshua’s eyes until they were clean. “Try to open them a little,” he said.
Joshua blinked, and his eyes opened, barely more than a slit, but enough to see.
“Can you see me now? Can you see me, baby?”
Joshua nodded. “You’re blurry, but I can see you,” he whispered, then looked around. “Wherearewe?”
“Heaskedthat,” Nate said to David.
“He can’t remember,” David told him. “It’s the concussion. It’ll pass.”
Colin half-sat on Joshua’s bed, bending over him, their faces mere inches apart. “Are you in pain, my love?” Colin asked.
Joshua nodded. He tried to lift his right arm but couldn’t. “My arm.”
“It’s broken, baby.”
“Broken?” Joshua repeated. “How’d it get broken?” He turned his head, looking around, his eyes filled with fear. “Wherearewe?!”
Colin’s breath caught in his chest. It shattered his heart to see his husband so frightened and confused. His head dropped, and he pressed Joshua’s hand to his mouth, stifling a sob. He wanted tofixthis! He wanted to make Joshua whole and well again. But there was nothing he could do, and that fact tore at him like ten thousand blades.
Two strong hands grasped his arms as David drew him away from Joshua’s bed. “Hi there, buddy,” David said, taking Colin’s place. “How you doing? You hanging in there?”
“Davy?” Joshua said, his voice confused. “Are you here too?”
“Of course we’re here,” David said, his voice low and calm. “We’re here to keep Colin on his feet until you get well again.”
Nate took Colin’s arm and led him to a nearby armchair. “Sit for a second,” Nate begged. Colin sank into the chair and Nate knelt at his feet. “He’ll be OK, Colin,” Nate whispered. “This confusion is temporary. It’ll pass. Don’t let it scare you.”
“I can’t stand it!” Colin moaned, both hands pressed against his face. “I can’t stand seeing him like this, knowing I can’t do a damn thing to help him!”
“But, Colin, youarehelping him!” Nate said, shaking his arm. “He’s told me ten thousand times that he’s only the oak because your strength sustains him.”
Colin lifted his head and nodded. “I told him once that he was my light and he said:And you’re the source of my light.”
“That’s it exactly!” Nate said. He clasped Colin’s hand in his. “You’re the source of eachother’sstrength. That’s why you’re so much stronger when you’re together. You’ll pull him through this, Colin, like he pulled you through when you were shot.”
Colin swiped a hand across his damp eyes. “Christ, Nate!”
Nate dashed to the bathroom and returned with a cool, wet towel which he pressed to Colin’s face. “Hold this against your face for a second, then get back over there,” he said. “He needs you.”
