RP LOG with cantbuy_me, richandlovingit, amodelpa | Intervention
[Follows THIS and THIS]
There was no denying it, Liam felt like crap. Physically and emotionally, he felt like a red double-decker had hit him, then backed up for a second round. He had been under stress before, but nothing like this. This was the worst stress he had been under in his whole short life, and it was taking its toll. He hadn't eaten, he had hardly even had anything to drink. When he woke up in the ER, he was told he was dehydrated, exhausted and run-down. Blood tests also showed him anaemic, and lacking some other things that his mind tuned out when the boring old bloke doctor droned on. It seems despite his lecture to Tom at the Hunt & Associates office earlier - that now felt like a lifetime ago - Liam hadn't been practicing what he preached in his own hectic schedule. In fact, he couldn't actually remember the last time he stopped and took a proper break, or a couple of days off. But according to Dr Drone, none of this was particularly uncommon in the likes of med students. It seems the sickness he had been feeling over the course of the day wasn't just stressing out, he really was ill. It was his body trying to tell him to stop and get the fuck off the rollercoaster.
Now he was a hospital bed, in a hospital room, for overnight observation. He was in a hospital bed, in a hospital room containing two of his sisters and his brother-in-law. They had been there all of five minutes and he had just proceeded to sit there like a stunned mullet and stare at them like a dear caught in headlights, waiting for lectures about first not taking care of himself, and then second, for Tom's cock being in his mouth. He wasn't sure he could cope with either without vomiting all over the place again. Something he had been doing on and off since he woke up. They wanted to try and feed him, but when he couldn't keep anything down, they slapped him on an IV and decided to keep him in overnight. His parents had been called, but they were in Paris for a couple of nights for their anniversary, so next came Sophie with Ethan, and Lauren, apparently. No Jess. Prominently, no Jess. Strangely enough, too, all he wanted there with him was Joe, though, he couldn't be entirely sure he wouldn't get a lecture off Joe too.
Lauren sat next to her sister a moment later before she just couldn't bear it any longer and got up to move onto the bed next to Liam and wrapped her arms around him as she kissed his temple. "Oh, love... As much as Jess is our sister, we're on your side right now. Soph told me everything. Ethan told her everything, and Tom told him. We've been trying to get Jess, but she's just hiding out somewhere. I have no idea where. I feel like I haven't seen her in days."
Sophie leaned forward to take Liam's hand and smiled at him softly before glancing over her shoulder at her husband. "Misunderstandings happen, Li. I know they suck, and I know they're bollocks, but they do happen. Sometimes it's someone's personality, sometimes it's miscommunication, other times it's someone thinking they saw something they really didn't. Like now. Jess will learn the truth, and Tom's in with Stuart telling him right now. I don't now what's going to come of it, but you're our baby brother and we just want you safe." She took a breath and then started to smirk. "And if I have to start packing you a lunch bag every day again, I will. Or you can have the nagging phone calls about eating."
One day, Liam figured his masculinity would kick back in and he would stop being such a girl. That day wasn't today, though, and when he went to talk, he just burst into tears again. The final blow had come when Stuart had threatened to ruin his career if Liam touched him. It had really hurt, come like a kick to the guts. He knew on some level how Tom felt being falsly accused of murder, because this had to come somewhere on the same emotional levels. To know you're innocent of something and to still have people think you were guilty was like fighting in a war with every single other fighter on the opposite team, and you just standing there with a spoon as a weapon. "Stuart hates me! He didn't want me touching him! She wouldn't let me explain, she just ran off and she doesn't believe me. Why doesn't she believe me?! None of this would've happened otherwise, I just wanted to help! I just... I..." he floundered then, realising no one knew about his past with Tom, except maybe Ethan, but Liam didn't know for sure if Tom had confided in his best mate.
Ethan was standing by the door, dressed all in black, and looking something like a looming body guard who needed a shave. He couldn't help that he was dark and a five o-clock shadow generally did appear around five o'clock every single day. Some days, he even needed to shave twice. He glanced up at the ceiling briefly, biting on his lower lip before he looked back to his younger brother-in-law in the hospital bed. Fucking ironic. Both Stuart and Liam patients the day the shit hit the fan. As it was, they didn't really know why Stuart was there yet. No one would give them info, considering the circumstances. Ethan would have to do some detective work later, and hope Gee wasn't there being her own detective body guard and have him arrested for invasion of privacy or something. "Now might be a good time to tell them, Liam," he prompted quietly. Secrets like this from family just weren't worth the hassle and if it had been more common knowledge, none of this probably would have come as such a harsh blow. It wouldn't have seemed so weird for Liam to be visiting Tom as a friend.
Lauren hadn't heard the story from Jess. The first thing she'd heard of it was when Sophie and Ethan had called to tell her Liam was in hospital. The two sisters had talked lowly out in the hall before Sophie had come into the room to be with their brother, and Lauren had remained outside it in shock. She couldn't believe that Liam would have been caught in such a position, and she couldn't believe that Jess would have believed it so easily. She still couldn't. Why hadn't Jess just waited to find out nothing was going on? She watched Liam's face quietly before she glanced at Sophie as if to ask silently if her sister had any idea what Liam should have been telling them.
Sophie gave a small shake of her head in answer before she gave Liam's hand a gentle squeeze. "Tell us what, love? You know you can always talk to us about anything. We're here no matter what."
Liam just pulled his blanketed knees up and buried his face into them with another sob. He could only vaguely remember now why he and Tom had agreed to keep it quiet. They hadn't seen a reason for it to be public, and then was a worry on both their parts Tom might get a reputation for being a cradle-snatcher. The last thing he needed when he occasionally dabbled in family law. Liam liked older men, he couldn't help it. They were just his type. When he fucked guys his own age, it was in passing, and it wasn't enough to keep him interested. He was the youngest of eight kids, so it went without saying that he got along with older people. He always had. But even though he still had his arms wrapped around his legs, basically hugging himself like a shield, he dug his face out of his knees and just rested his cheek against them so whatever he said wouldn't be muffled and pointless. "Tom and me... we had a... thing. Affair, I guess. Only neither of us were seeing anyone else at the time, obviously. We aren't exactly notorious for dating. But there's a past. It went on for a few months, we just kept it to ourselves. And there's... evidence."
Ethan sighed and leaned back against the wall, meeting Sophie's eyes when his sigh had her turning to look at him in concern. "Tom's homemade porn tastes. He's always liked the camera in that sense. There's movies. Stuart's friends from Scotland found them while they were staying there, had them out and accidently left them out. Stuart found them, and found the movie of Liam and Tom. This morning, of all possible ways bad timing could rear it's fucking ugly head. Stuart confronted Tom with the movie, but got angry and didn't tell Tom about what Jess saw. Subsequently, Angus told Stuart about the thing at the office, so in a matter of hours, Stuart found the movie and had his brother telling him Tom was fucking Liam in his office."
Lauren had been rubbing Liam's back in encouragement so he'd just spill the beans, but her rhythm faltered briefly as she felt her jaw drop and she just stared for a long moment at her brother. Then her gaze shifted to Ethan and she continued to stare. It was no secret Liam had a thing for older men, Lauren had always known that. They'd had many discussions about it, but she'd never once imagined that Liam would have hooked up with Tom. "When?" she asked after she'd managed to shake of the surprise.
Sophie was still looking at her husband, wondering at what point Ethan had discovered the secret relationship. Or not-quite-relationship. "Why didn't you just say something?" Sophie said, and she wasn't really sure if she was directing it at her husband, or her brother. Eventually she looked at Liam though, her eyes searching his face. "We never would have held it against you, Li. You should know better. I mean, sure, there's an age gap, and it's a little strange, but you're an adult." Just a young one that she could still picture in diapers, or clinging to her leg with a runny nose.
"No, this wasn't Ethan's anything to tell. So no going and having any husband-wife spats. I can't take anyone else getting hurt because of me," Liam told them, glancing between them both pleadingly, almost like he was begging them to promise him they wouldn't. "He was just someone Tom could confide in, and you know what? I'm fucking glad he did, because it means that Tom has someone now on his side. God knows, no one fucking else is. He's done nothing wrong. He's been in pain, and having a bad time. I was just trying to make sure he was okay. But it's not Jess' fault, either. Because there is nothing to say I wasn't in there blowing him. From her angle, it's definitely what it looked like, and she respects Tom. He's who she looks up to in her career, and this just would've come as a shock. I just never got a chance to explain it to her, and fuck, even Angus did nothing wrong. He's just looking after his brother. I probably would've done the same thing. None of that means any of this doesn't hurt, though. It fucking does. I feel like I'm standing in a firing line with a hundred guns pointed at my head. We kept is quiet because we wanted to. Is that so fucking bad? It was something we could just have when we were both working really hard, that's all. It was before the paralegal, and once after the bloke left the job. Well before Stuart was on the scene."
Ethan felt nauseated when he heard Liam talk about Tom. It was the complete truth, and Tom did need him. Only Liam needed the moral support, too. It was a fucked up situation, with a whole bunch of angry Scots caught in the middle of it. He closed his eyes briefly, hoping to hell Tom was okay. Last Ethan saw him, he was anything but. He didn't say anything, he just wished the whole mess could be cleared up and everyone go home happy. There had been too much pain lately, and it was a miracle he hadn't gone grey.
Lauren kissed the top of Liam's head before she rest hers against his and hugged him tightly. He really was getting skinny. She didn't want to give him a lecture right then but he needed to put some weight on. She thought about his professor again, and wondered if she could maybe find a way to contact him. "No wonder everything exploded so quickly. It was like having a match lit under a box of dynamite. None of us knew about Tom, so we all thought it was out of the blue."
Sophie got up out of her chair and went over to where Ethan was keeping guard and wrapped her arms around his waist as she leaned against him. "No spats, I promise. I'm just trying to understand, Liam. I know the others... they can't be blamed. That doesn't mean they haven't hurt you. It doesn't mean you can't feel pain, or even anger. We need to find Jess to explain it, or even try to explain it to Angus. Someone. They shouldn't be so against Tom, but I understand there are misunderstandings. Jesus, Li. You should have told us."
"No! I shouldn't have told you! You all aren't immediately entitled to all my private life just because you're my sisters! There's a whole lot more than my... thing with Tom that you don't know!" Liam exploded before he could stop it. He didn't mean to snap, though. It was just all catching up with him and he ended up sinking back in the bed and covering his hand with his face. As soon as he said it, he knew it was going to make them wonder what else he was hiding. He was so off his game, it wasn't funny. He felt like crap, he was worried about Tom, hell he was worried about Stuart. Just from the brief information he got off Dr Veness on the rounds, it was obvious Stuart had hit that wall extremely hard. The anger behind it would have been strong. Right now, all he could think was that maybe whatever he did with Joe was just a mirror-image of what happened with Tom. Was the shit going to hit the fan with that, too?
Ethan was looking over the Morgan siblings. All those connections, it still wasn't something he entirely understood. He had never had brothers or sisters, and Tom was the closest he had to it. He understood that connection. Just like all the other siblings involved here, Ethan didn't want Tom hurt, and he was. Sure, he had fucked up, but he knew it and would pay for it. He just hoped Stuart listened, let him get the truth out. At the very least. He rubbed a hand over his cheek, feeling the roughness there. He knew as soon as Liam snapped, Soph would feel bad. She was only trying to help, and Liam was having a rough time. Hopefully the nurses managed to get him to eat something, because the kid really was looking bad. Pale and exhausted. "You're coming back to our place when you're discharged tomorrow, buddy. No arguments. At least until your mum and dad get back."
Lauren pulled away from Liam to give him a little space, but she stayed on the bed and rolled onto her side to watch him and still be able to glance at Sophie and Ethan. She looked at her big sister with her husband and bit back a sigh. It was something she really wanted, if only because Soph did make marriage seem like the most amazing thing. Not like a lot of other couples that just seemed to be pin-ups for why marriage should never happen. She'd thought Tom and Stuart would have had a shot at the same happiness. She knew Jess had. Lauren had never thought Liam would want something like that, but she had to wonder if witnessing what was happening with Tom and Stuart might just push him well and truly away from it. "Liam, please. We're not attacking you. We're not trying to find out all your secrets, either."
Soph buried her face against Ethan's chest briefly as she felt a wave of guilt just like her husband predicted. She couldn't help it. She really was just trying to get Liam through this, she hadn't meant anything against him, or his love life. She looked up at Ethan as he suggested coming to their place, and she nodded. "That's right, you're coming with us. You can snap at me all you like, Liam, but it's not going to change a thing."
Liam was still the youngest sibling, and he still had the ability to pout or sulk if the urge took him. Like right now. His lip protruded just a little and he sunk further back into the pillows to pull the sheet right up around his chest. This was the first time he had ever been a patient, and he hated it. A lot. He was glad he decided to be on the other side of the fence because it was just easier to be a doctor. He really did want to argue. With Ethan and Sophie watching him like a hawk, he wouldn't be able to fart without them knowing about it. What if he wanted to wank? Did that echo more in expensive houses? "I'm fine," seemed to be the best thing he could come up with now.
"Bullshit," Ethan immediately snorted back, shaking his head. He knew the I'm fine line, and it was always utter bullshit. "Don't make me strap you to a bed and force bananas down your throat, kid. That's not a metaphor, either."
Lauren finally got herself off Liam's bed and sat down in the chair next to it as she looked between her siblings and Ethan. "Don't offer him bananas, E. I think you should just tell him if he agrees you'll call his professor for him. Only don't scare the poor man."
Sophie's eyebrows went up as she pulled away from her husband to zero in on her brother. "Your professor?" She narrowed her eyes briefly before she pointed at him. "Never mind any sort of bananas, I'll do a lot worse to you, kid, if you try and weasel out of it. I'm not letting you just fall by the way side. And don't think I'm leaving until you've bloody eaten something. I'm your big sister, so don't even try and thumb your nose at me."
Liam really couldn't believe Lauren just said what she did. This obviously was really supposed to be the worst day of his fucking life. No way was he ever going to tell her anything again, let alone talk to her about it. He looked at her for barely a few moments before he looked away again without even acknowledging it. He made the decision to never tell his family about anyone he was with ever again. It only ended in bullshit. "I'm not hungry. I don't want to be here. I want to go home. I'm fucking checking myself out." He pushed the covers back and sat up to start peeling at the tape over the IV line.
"Hey! Don't you even think about it," Ethan said firmly, reaching over to pluck Liam's hand away from the medical equipment, even if he had the knowledge how to remove it properly. "Don't be a friggin wanker, you're above that. You passed out, you were out for awhile. You look like utter shit. You're staying here until they say you aren't. Do you seriously expect any patients to take you seriously if you won't even take care of yourself?" He only earned a fierce and pissed off blue glare for this, and Ethan figured he had hit a sensitive nerve, but it worked and Liam did stop trying to get away.
Lauren held her hands up in apology. She hadn't mentioned the professor to piss Liam off but apparently they were all going to have their turns pissing each other off. Sophie had seemed to forget Liam's latest lay though as she started to inspect what was under the lid of his forgotten hospital meal. Lauren would have thought the staff would have cleared it away, but apparently they were hoping for the best.
Sophie tapped the spoon against the lid of the jelly cup and arched an eyebrow at Liam. "Do you want the aeroplane, or the train, Li-li? The more petulant you get, the more I'll just treat you like a child. I know you hate this, love, but it's where you need to be. At least for now."
Ethan looked at the jelly and couldn't hide the slight scrunch of his nose. He seriously wouldn't blame the bloke for not wanting to put anything that colour in his mouth. It looked like it should come out of a tube and be used as a sex aid. In saying that, he couldn't blame him for wanting to escape, either. Hospitals sucked, but he did need to be here. That boring doctor with the combover seemed to think Liam really needed to pull his head in with taking care of himself or things could get a lot worse. Passing out at work wasn't just a random thing, and neither was less than perfect blood results for a twenty-two year old. Ethan was a hard worker, but some days, Sophie's little brother made him feel buggered just thinking about the schedule he kept. If he wasn't going to freely do the job, Ethan figured it was up to him and Sophie to do it, whatever it took. It wasn't like they didn't have the room for it. He gave Soph a small nudge. "Give him a bit of a break, he's had a really fucked up day."
Liam glanced up at Ethan gratefully. At least someone sort of got it. Being treated like a kid really wasn't going to put him in a better mood. "I'll try the juice," he mumbled reluctantly.
Sophie gave Ethan a nod before she smiled at Liam and set down the jello. This time it was her turn to sit on the bed next to him as she slipped her arm around his shoulder and picked up the juice with her free hand. She kissed his temple before resting her head against his. "I love you, Li. Just remember that. We all do."
Lauren gave a nod as she shifted forward in her chair. "Yeah, of course we do. We love you lots, Li. You're our baby brother. We just worry about you, that's all. It's what family's for."
Word Count | 3,873
There was no denying it, Liam felt like crap. Physically and emotionally, he felt like a red double-decker had hit him, then backed up for a second round. He had been under stress before, but nothing like this. This was the worst stress he had been under in his whole short life, and it was taking its toll. He hadn't eaten, he had hardly even had anything to drink. When he woke up in the ER, he was told he was dehydrated, exhausted and run-down. Blood tests also showed him anaemic, and lacking some other things that his mind tuned out when the boring old bloke doctor droned on. It seems despite his lecture to Tom at the Hunt & Associates office earlier - that now felt like a lifetime ago - Liam hadn't been practicing what he preached in his own hectic schedule. In fact, he couldn't actually remember the last time he stopped and took a proper break, or a couple of days off. But according to Dr Drone, none of this was particularly uncommon in the likes of med students. It seems the sickness he had been feeling over the course of the day wasn't just stressing out, he really was ill. It was his body trying to tell him to stop and get the fuck off the rollercoaster.
Now he was a hospital bed, in a hospital room, for overnight observation. He was in a hospital bed, in a hospital room containing two of his sisters and his brother-in-law. They had been there all of five minutes and he had just proceeded to sit there like a stunned mullet and stare at them like a dear caught in headlights, waiting for lectures about first not taking care of himself, and then second, for Tom's cock being in his mouth. He wasn't sure he could cope with either without vomiting all over the place again. Something he had been doing on and off since he woke up. They wanted to try and feed him, but when he couldn't keep anything down, they slapped him on an IV and decided to keep him in overnight. His parents had been called, but they were in Paris for a couple of nights for their anniversary, so next came Sophie with Ethan, and Lauren, apparently. No Jess. Prominently, no Jess. Strangely enough, too, all he wanted there with him was Joe, though, he couldn't be entirely sure he wouldn't get a lecture off Joe too.
Lauren sat next to her sister a moment later before she just couldn't bear it any longer and got up to move onto the bed next to Liam and wrapped her arms around him as she kissed his temple. "Oh, love... As much as Jess is our sister, we're on your side right now. Soph told me everything. Ethan told her everything, and Tom told him. We've been trying to get Jess, but she's just hiding out somewhere. I have no idea where. I feel like I haven't seen her in days."
Sophie leaned forward to take Liam's hand and smiled at him softly before glancing over her shoulder at her husband. "Misunderstandings happen, Li. I know they suck, and I know they're bollocks, but they do happen. Sometimes it's someone's personality, sometimes it's miscommunication, other times it's someone thinking they saw something they really didn't. Like now. Jess will learn the truth, and Tom's in with Stuart telling him right now. I don't now what's going to come of it, but you're our baby brother and we just want you safe." She took a breath and then started to smirk. "And if I have to start packing you a lunch bag every day again, I will. Or you can have the nagging phone calls about eating."
One day, Liam figured his masculinity would kick back in and he would stop being such a girl. That day wasn't today, though, and when he went to talk, he just burst into tears again. The final blow had come when Stuart had threatened to ruin his career if Liam touched him. It had really hurt, come like a kick to the guts. He knew on some level how Tom felt being falsly accused of murder, because this had to come somewhere on the same emotional levels. To know you're innocent of something and to still have people think you were guilty was like fighting in a war with every single other fighter on the opposite team, and you just standing there with a spoon as a weapon. "Stuart hates me! He didn't want me touching him! She wouldn't let me explain, she just ran off and she doesn't believe me. Why doesn't she believe me?! None of this would've happened otherwise, I just wanted to help! I just... I..." he floundered then, realising no one knew about his past with Tom, except maybe Ethan, but Liam didn't know for sure if Tom had confided in his best mate.
Ethan was standing by the door, dressed all in black, and looking something like a looming body guard who needed a shave. He couldn't help that he was dark and a five o-clock shadow generally did appear around five o'clock every single day. Some days, he even needed to shave twice. He glanced up at the ceiling briefly, biting on his lower lip before he looked back to his younger brother-in-law in the hospital bed. Fucking ironic. Both Stuart and Liam patients the day the shit hit the fan. As it was, they didn't really know why Stuart was there yet. No one would give them info, considering the circumstances. Ethan would have to do some detective work later, and hope Gee wasn't there being her own detective body guard and have him arrested for invasion of privacy or something. "Now might be a good time to tell them, Liam," he prompted quietly. Secrets like this from family just weren't worth the hassle and if it had been more common knowledge, none of this probably would have come as such a harsh blow. It wouldn't have seemed so weird for Liam to be visiting Tom as a friend.
Lauren hadn't heard the story from Jess. The first thing she'd heard of it was when Sophie and Ethan had called to tell her Liam was in hospital. The two sisters had talked lowly out in the hall before Sophie had come into the room to be with their brother, and Lauren had remained outside it in shock. She couldn't believe that Liam would have been caught in such a position, and she couldn't believe that Jess would have believed it so easily. She still couldn't. Why hadn't Jess just waited to find out nothing was going on? She watched Liam's face quietly before she glanced at Sophie as if to ask silently if her sister had any idea what Liam should have been telling them.
Sophie gave a small shake of her head in answer before she gave Liam's hand a gentle squeeze. "Tell us what, love? You know you can always talk to us about anything. We're here no matter what."
Liam just pulled his blanketed knees up and buried his face into them with another sob. He could only vaguely remember now why he and Tom had agreed to keep it quiet. They hadn't seen a reason for it to be public, and then was a worry on both their parts Tom might get a reputation for being a cradle-snatcher. The last thing he needed when he occasionally dabbled in family law. Liam liked older men, he couldn't help it. They were just his type. When he fucked guys his own age, it was in passing, and it wasn't enough to keep him interested. He was the youngest of eight kids, so it went without saying that he got along with older people. He always had. But even though he still had his arms wrapped around his legs, basically hugging himself like a shield, he dug his face out of his knees and just rested his cheek against them so whatever he said wouldn't be muffled and pointless. "Tom and me... we had a... thing. Affair, I guess. Only neither of us were seeing anyone else at the time, obviously. We aren't exactly notorious for dating. But there's a past. It went on for a few months, we just kept it to ourselves. And there's... evidence."
Ethan sighed and leaned back against the wall, meeting Sophie's eyes when his sigh had her turning to look at him in concern. "Tom's homemade porn tastes. He's always liked the camera in that sense. There's movies. Stuart's friends from Scotland found them while they were staying there, had them out and accidently left them out. Stuart found them, and found the movie of Liam and Tom. This morning, of all possible ways bad timing could rear it's fucking ugly head. Stuart confronted Tom with the movie, but got angry and didn't tell Tom about what Jess saw. Subsequently, Angus told Stuart about the thing at the office, so in a matter of hours, Stuart found the movie and had his brother telling him Tom was fucking Liam in his office."
Lauren had been rubbing Liam's back in encouragement so he'd just spill the beans, but her rhythm faltered briefly as she felt her jaw drop and she just stared for a long moment at her brother. Then her gaze shifted to Ethan and she continued to stare. It was no secret Liam had a thing for older men, Lauren had always known that. They'd had many discussions about it, but she'd never once imagined that Liam would have hooked up with Tom. "When?" she asked after she'd managed to shake of the surprise.
Sophie was still looking at her husband, wondering at what point Ethan had discovered the secret relationship. Or not-quite-relationship. "Why didn't you just say something?" Sophie said, and she wasn't really sure if she was directing it at her husband, or her brother. Eventually she looked at Liam though, her eyes searching his face. "We never would have held it against you, Li. You should know better. I mean, sure, there's an age gap, and it's a little strange, but you're an adult." Just a young one that she could still picture in diapers, or clinging to her leg with a runny nose.
"No, this wasn't Ethan's anything to tell. So no going and having any husband-wife spats. I can't take anyone else getting hurt because of me," Liam told them, glancing between them both pleadingly, almost like he was begging them to promise him they wouldn't. "He was just someone Tom could confide in, and you know what? I'm fucking glad he did, because it means that Tom has someone now on his side. God knows, no one fucking else is. He's done nothing wrong. He's been in pain, and having a bad time. I was just trying to make sure he was okay. But it's not Jess' fault, either. Because there is nothing to say I wasn't in there blowing him. From her angle, it's definitely what it looked like, and she respects Tom. He's who she looks up to in her career, and this just would've come as a shock. I just never got a chance to explain it to her, and fuck, even Angus did nothing wrong. He's just looking after his brother. I probably would've done the same thing. None of that means any of this doesn't hurt, though. It fucking does. I feel like I'm standing in a firing line with a hundred guns pointed at my head. We kept is quiet because we wanted to. Is that so fucking bad? It was something we could just have when we were both working really hard, that's all. It was before the paralegal, and once after the bloke left the job. Well before Stuart was on the scene."
Ethan felt nauseated when he heard Liam talk about Tom. It was the complete truth, and Tom did need him. Only Liam needed the moral support, too. It was a fucked up situation, with a whole bunch of angry Scots caught in the middle of it. He closed his eyes briefly, hoping to hell Tom was okay. Last Ethan saw him, he was anything but. He didn't say anything, he just wished the whole mess could be cleared up and everyone go home happy. There had been too much pain lately, and it was a miracle he hadn't gone grey.
Lauren kissed the top of Liam's head before she rest hers against his and hugged him tightly. He really was getting skinny. She didn't want to give him a lecture right then but he needed to put some weight on. She thought about his professor again, and wondered if she could maybe find a way to contact him. "No wonder everything exploded so quickly. It was like having a match lit under a box of dynamite. None of us knew about Tom, so we all thought it was out of the blue."
Sophie got up out of her chair and went over to where Ethan was keeping guard and wrapped her arms around his waist as she leaned against him. "No spats, I promise. I'm just trying to understand, Liam. I know the others... they can't be blamed. That doesn't mean they haven't hurt you. It doesn't mean you can't feel pain, or even anger. We need to find Jess to explain it, or even try to explain it to Angus. Someone. They shouldn't be so against Tom, but I understand there are misunderstandings. Jesus, Li. You should have told us."
"No! I shouldn't have told you! You all aren't immediately entitled to all my private life just because you're my sisters! There's a whole lot more than my... thing with Tom that you don't know!" Liam exploded before he could stop it. He didn't mean to snap, though. It was just all catching up with him and he ended up sinking back in the bed and covering his hand with his face. As soon as he said it, he knew it was going to make them wonder what else he was hiding. He was so off his game, it wasn't funny. He felt like crap, he was worried about Tom, hell he was worried about Stuart. Just from the brief information he got off Dr Veness on the rounds, it was obvious Stuart had hit that wall extremely hard. The anger behind it would have been strong. Right now, all he could think was that maybe whatever he did with Joe was just a mirror-image of what happened with Tom. Was the shit going to hit the fan with that, too?
Ethan was looking over the Morgan siblings. All those connections, it still wasn't something he entirely understood. He had never had brothers or sisters, and Tom was the closest he had to it. He understood that connection. Just like all the other siblings involved here, Ethan didn't want Tom hurt, and he was. Sure, he had fucked up, but he knew it and would pay for it. He just hoped Stuart listened, let him get the truth out. At the very least. He rubbed a hand over his cheek, feeling the roughness there. He knew as soon as Liam snapped, Soph would feel bad. She was only trying to help, and Liam was having a rough time. Hopefully the nurses managed to get him to eat something, because the kid really was looking bad. Pale and exhausted. "You're coming back to our place when you're discharged tomorrow, buddy. No arguments. At least until your mum and dad get back."
Lauren pulled away from Liam to give him a little space, but she stayed on the bed and rolled onto her side to watch him and still be able to glance at Sophie and Ethan. She looked at her big sister with her husband and bit back a sigh. It was something she really wanted, if only because Soph did make marriage seem like the most amazing thing. Not like a lot of other couples that just seemed to be pin-ups for why marriage should never happen. She'd thought Tom and Stuart would have had a shot at the same happiness. She knew Jess had. Lauren had never thought Liam would want something like that, but she had to wonder if witnessing what was happening with Tom and Stuart might just push him well and truly away from it. "Liam, please. We're not attacking you. We're not trying to find out all your secrets, either."
Soph buried her face against Ethan's chest briefly as she felt a wave of guilt just like her husband predicted. She couldn't help it. She really was just trying to get Liam through this, she hadn't meant anything against him, or his love life. She looked up at Ethan as he suggested coming to their place, and she nodded. "That's right, you're coming with us. You can snap at me all you like, Liam, but it's not going to change a thing."
Liam was still the youngest sibling, and he still had the ability to pout or sulk if the urge took him. Like right now. His lip protruded just a little and he sunk further back into the pillows to pull the sheet right up around his chest. This was the first time he had ever been a patient, and he hated it. A lot. He was glad he decided to be on the other side of the fence because it was just easier to be a doctor. He really did want to argue. With Ethan and Sophie watching him like a hawk, he wouldn't be able to fart without them knowing about it. What if he wanted to wank? Did that echo more in expensive houses? "I'm fine," seemed to be the best thing he could come up with now.
"Bullshit," Ethan immediately snorted back, shaking his head. He knew the I'm fine line, and it was always utter bullshit. "Don't make me strap you to a bed and force bananas down your throat, kid. That's not a metaphor, either."
Lauren finally got herself off Liam's bed and sat down in the chair next to it as she looked between her siblings and Ethan. "Don't offer him bananas, E. I think you should just tell him if he agrees you'll call his professor for him. Only don't scare the poor man."
Sophie's eyebrows went up as she pulled away from her husband to zero in on her brother. "Your professor?" She narrowed her eyes briefly before she pointed at him. "Never mind any sort of bananas, I'll do a lot worse to you, kid, if you try and weasel out of it. I'm not letting you just fall by the way side. And don't think I'm leaving until you've bloody eaten something. I'm your big sister, so don't even try and thumb your nose at me."
Liam really couldn't believe Lauren just said what she did. This obviously was really supposed to be the worst day of his fucking life. No way was he ever going to tell her anything again, let alone talk to her about it. He looked at her for barely a few moments before he looked away again without even acknowledging it. He made the decision to never tell his family about anyone he was with ever again. It only ended in bullshit. "I'm not hungry. I don't want to be here. I want to go home. I'm fucking checking myself out." He pushed the covers back and sat up to start peeling at the tape over the IV line.
"Hey! Don't you even think about it," Ethan said firmly, reaching over to pluck Liam's hand away from the medical equipment, even if he had the knowledge how to remove it properly. "Don't be a friggin wanker, you're above that. You passed out, you were out for awhile. You look like utter shit. You're staying here until they say you aren't. Do you seriously expect any patients to take you seriously if you won't even take care of yourself?" He only earned a fierce and pissed off blue glare for this, and Ethan figured he had hit a sensitive nerve, but it worked and Liam did stop trying to get away.
Lauren held her hands up in apology. She hadn't mentioned the professor to piss Liam off but apparently they were all going to have their turns pissing each other off. Sophie had seemed to forget Liam's latest lay though as she started to inspect what was under the lid of his forgotten hospital meal. Lauren would have thought the staff would have cleared it away, but apparently they were hoping for the best.
Sophie tapped the spoon against the lid of the jelly cup and arched an eyebrow at Liam. "Do you want the aeroplane, or the train, Li-li? The more petulant you get, the more I'll just treat you like a child. I know you hate this, love, but it's where you need to be. At least for now."
Ethan looked at the jelly and couldn't hide the slight scrunch of his nose. He seriously wouldn't blame the bloke for not wanting to put anything that colour in his mouth. It looked like it should come out of a tube and be used as a sex aid. In saying that, he couldn't blame him for wanting to escape, either. Hospitals sucked, but he did need to be here. That boring doctor with the combover seemed to think Liam really needed to pull his head in with taking care of himself or things could get a lot worse. Passing out at work wasn't just a random thing, and neither was less than perfect blood results for a twenty-two year old. Ethan was a hard worker, but some days, Sophie's little brother made him feel buggered just thinking about the schedule he kept. If he wasn't going to freely do the job, Ethan figured it was up to him and Sophie to do it, whatever it took. It wasn't like they didn't have the room for it. He gave Soph a small nudge. "Give him a bit of a break, he's had a really fucked up day."
Liam glanced up at Ethan gratefully. At least someone sort of got it. Being treated like a kid really wasn't going to put him in a better mood. "I'll try the juice," he mumbled reluctantly.
Sophie gave Ethan a nod before she smiled at Liam and set down the jello. This time it was her turn to sit on the bed next to him as she slipped her arm around his shoulder and picked up the juice with her free hand. She kissed his temple before resting her head against his. "I love you, Li. Just remember that. We all do."
Lauren gave a nod as she shifted forward in her chair. "Yeah, of course we do. We love you lots, Li. You're our baby brother. We just worry about you, that's all. It's what family's for."
Word Count | 3,873