"This is a nice neighborhood." Brandon commented as John pulled up in front of his building. He really wanted to pick up a clean change of clothes and his hygiene kit if he was going to spend his time off with Brandon and Veronica. They would be in town for several days, having checked with Kerry on John's schedule.
Actually, it had been Kerry whom had first noticed John's moods. For the first several weeks following his trip to meet the couple, John had been upbeat and seemed to be content. But with the following months, with his family woes, his new responsibilities with work and his sudden relocation of residence, his moods again became unstable. Kerry worried about him but was not in the position to get him to confide in her anymore, especially after the sexual harassment incident. Kerry Weaver had to remain his superior. That's when she got the idea to call in her back up.
Kerry was not surprised to discover that John had stopped all contact with the couple. She had seen his relationships with his coworkers change as well. Susan, whom he dated, became a friend. Luka, while never being on a friendship level, seemed to cool off to a mutual jealousy rather than all out hatred for each other. John had lost his male support system – Both Peter and Mark were gone and he no longer had a male companion to turn to for encouragement.
Abby seemed to be taking on the role. She'd always been a friend to John but his relationship with her had changed. Everyone had seen it. They all remembered when John was head over heels in love with the emotional nurse but she had been with Luka. Abby and John were close but people could see that there was more there than the friendship. Neither would admit it, but everyone could see what was growing and blooming between them.
Then suddenly, they moved in together. Everyone thought it very strange since both insisted they were just roommates. They even had a pool going to see when the two finally realized that they were in love with each other. Even staff from the other floors joined in, the entire hospital was watching.
~~~~~~~~
"It's actually a nice apartment. I'm not sure how clean it is, though. I haven't been home much and my roommate is sort of a slob." John shrugged, punching his code into the front door of the lobby.
"You have a roommate?" Brandon questioned. They hadn't done much talking yet. John was still a bit standoffish about what was going on in his head.
"Yeah, couldn't handle living at home any more so Abby and I moved here." John explained.
"Abby? This is the one from the hospital, right? The 'good friend?' Brandon questioned.
"Yes." John smiled. "And she's still just a friend," he snickered, knowing what Brandon was thinking by the smirk on his face.
"The same one you had phone sex with, the day you came to our place?" He asked. John again nodded.
"And that was the last time for that, also. I know what you're thinking, Brandon. We're just friends. Everyone at the hospital thinks something's going on also but it isn't," he shrugged.
"Why not?" Brandon asked. That question made John stop and think for a moment.
"I don't know. I think we both need the friendship right now," He said, continuing towards the elevator.
"And what about the sex talk we had? The one where I told you that maybe you two could just have sex?" Brandon questioned. John was embarrassed and happy that no one else was in the lobby.
"I could never have sex with Abby, Brandon. That's the problem," he admitted.
"Why not?"
"Because it would mean too much," John shrugged. Brandon nodded. Without realizing it, John had said a mouthful.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Here we are." John opened the door. He could tell Abby was home because her keys were tossed on the table. He could smell Chinese food and saw the remnants of dinner in the trash. "Abby's probably sleeping, I'll just get a change of clothes and be right out. Make yourself at home."
John headed towards his bedroom door, noticing that there were two glasses still sitting on the counter. Abby had probably brought someone over and judging by the surprising cleanliness of the kitchen, were most likely together in her room now. He felt a pang of jealousy run through him, thinking of Abby being with someone and he stopped in his tracks, confused. Since when did he care who Abby dated? Well, she hadn't dated anyone since Luka. They both talked about how to handle the roommate thing if they had dates but neither of them seemed to want that right now. They seemed perfectly content sharing their free time with each other.
John's head shot up towards his door when he reached for the handle. Had he just heard a moan? A female moan coming from his room? Anger began building up inside of him. Abby's room was such a pigsty that if she had brought a date home with her, she probably just assumed since she knew he was out with Brandon, that she could use his room. The idea of Abby being in 'his' bed with another man infuriated John and he was about to barge in and begin yelling when Brandon stopped him.
"John, I think maybe you should wait." The older man said, noticing the jealous rage in John's eyes.
"I don't think so!" John stated, again going for the door. Then Brandon held up a jacket, one that John knew did not belong to Abby. Brandon was smiling.
"Uh, I think I just figured out why my wife hasn't shown up at the hotel yet." He grinned. Shock, arousal, and finally surprise registered across John's face.
"Veronica is in there? With Abby?" He asked, whispering loudly. Just then, they heard someone cry out 'Yes!'
"Sounds like Veronica made a new friend." Brandon chuckled.
"No, that was definitely, Abby, I've heard her say that when she's alone in her room." John said, matter -of -factly. Brandon laughed.
"Oh, and how often do you listen at her door at night, John?" He asked. John blushed.
"I don't," he laughed. "But when the television is off, it's pretty easy to hear if you're sitting on the couch. She has a tendency to be very vocal." He grinned as his face turned pink. Brandon just shook his head.
"I wonder if they're playing 'Canasta'." Brandon joked.
"Abby's been teasing me about a foursome since I spent that week with you guys." John commented, now both men listening.
"Should we join them?" Brandon suggested. John immediately shook his head.
"Uh, no. Why don't we wait out here, though? Can I get you a soda or some water?" John began to rummage in the refrigerator. Knowing what was going on just a few feet away was making him nervous, very aroused, but nervous.
"Why don't you want to go in there, John?" Brandon asked, coming up behind John and putting his arms around him. "Doesn't the idea of a foursome interest you?" He nibbled on John's ear.
"Uh, I don't know. I'm not saying it doesn't but I don't think I've had enough sleep to deal with those kind of emotions right now." He admitted truthfully. Brandon had to give him credit for that.
"Okay, so, why don't we just light a fire, snuggle, and make out on the couch?" Brandon suggested, smiling.
"And listen to their screaming?" John smirked.
"They aren't screaming yet." Brandon stated.
"They will. Remember, I've been with your wife and trust me, Abby will start any time soon." John joked as he brought water and joined Brandon on the couch. He got back up, lit the fire, and then leaned back against Brandon as they watched the fire gain strength.
"Oh, God, yes!" They heard.
"Abby." Both men said in unison.
"So, why have you been avoiding us, John?" Brandon asked as he gently stroked John's hair.
"I'm not sure." John mumbled, quickly feeling his exhaustion coming back. "I've been dealing with my family a lot and time has passed quickly. I'm always working and before I knew it, six months had passed." He shrugged, lying his head on Brandon's lap.
"It wasn't something we did?" Brandon asked, tracing John's features, noticing him getting sleepy.
"No." He mumbled. His whole body felt like it was drifting on a cloud. "Trust me, it was me, not you." He said, slowly falling into a deep sleep. Brandon watched the fire for several minutes. Then he heard the screaming.
'Wow!' he thought. 'She 'is' a screamer.' He checked John to see if it had woken him up but John was fast asleep, gently hugging his thigh. Brandon smiled.
~~~~~~~~~
A while later Brandon heard the bedroom door open. Veronica wore a long T-shirt and nothing else. She smiled, seeing her husband.
"Fancy meeting you here." She whispered, giving him a kiss. He could smell Abby still on her lips.
"Sounds like you found, Abby," he teased. Veronica smiled as she got a glass of water.
"She said he'd be tired. How is he?" She asked, sitting on the end of the sofa by John's feet. She gently stroked his calves, causing him to stir slightly.
"Can't tell yet. There is definitely something going on. He was almost desperate for physical contact." Brandon explained, still stroking John's face. "How's Abby? What's she like?"
Veronica smiled. "She's spunky, very energetic in bed and she really cares about our sleeping prince." She said quietly.
"I think there's more to their little arrangement than meets the eyes," Brandon commented.
"I think there's more than meets their eyes. You should hear how Abby sounds when she's talking about him," Veronica said. Brandon nodded.
"Probably the same way he talks about her. He said something about Abby wanting a foursome but when he had the chance, he backed out. I think he'd have run away if the door hadn't been there." He chuckled.
"Yeah. She gave me the feeling she was open to the idea," Veronica said.
"We could always carry him in there and put him in bed with her," Brandon suggested.
"When they're both ready, it'll happen. We'll just see if we can help them along a bit," Veronica said as she smiled at Brandon. "Well, Hon, I'm exhausted. I'm going to go back in there and wrap myself around that spunky brunette. You all right out here?" She stood and gave her husband a kiss.
"Yeah, perfectly fine. Good night, Darling." Brandon kissed her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
John woke slowly, realizing he was on the couch, the blanket wrapped around him. He gradually opened his eyes, hearing voices. He could tell they were trying to be quiet to not wake him. He smiled, hearing Brandon and Veronica.
"He looks good, though," Brandon said.
"Kerry said he's been working almost around the clock for months now. She's actually surprised he's been able to keep up with all the administrative functions as well as seeing patients but she says he's handling it well. She said he's been getting closer to his family or his mother at least. Helped a young boy who had leukemia," Veronica explained.
"Didn't his brother have leukemia?" Brandon questioned.
"I think so. Kerry said he died when John was young. That's why he went into medicine," she said.
"So, how was Abby?" Brandon asked, smiling. Veronica purred.
"Very healthy appetite. She's very energetic and inventive, which took me a bit by surprise," She laughed softly.
John smiled at this piece of information. Maybe if he just stayed there and pretended to be asleep for a while longer, who knew what he might learn.
He heard his bedroom door open and could just imagine Abby standing there, hair astray, trying to figure out where she was.
"Good morning," Veronica greeted. John could hear Abby shuffle towards the kitchen. "Coffee's made." Veronica poured a cup and offered it to Abby.
"Did John make it?" Abby mumbled. Veronica laughed.
"No, He's still sleeping on the couch," Brandon said.
"Good, because he makes shitty coffee," Abby said. Both Veronica and Brandon laughed. "You're here early, Brandon. John did go to your hotel, didn't he?"
"Mm Hm." He nodded. "We came by late to pick up an extra set of clothes and he fell asleep on the couch." He explained. Abby looked shocked.
"You guys were here last night? When?" She asked, suddenly aware that she's spent the night with Veronica, in John's room no less.
"Oh, let's see…. Between, 'Oh God' and before, 'Yes, Yes'…. Why?" Brandon teased. Abby turned a million shades of red.
"He's still sleeping?" She whispered loudly.
"Over there." Brandon pointed to the couch. Abby suddenly looked very nervous.
"Oh, man. Look, I'm sorry but I have to jump in the shower and go someplace. I'm sorry. I can't be here when he wakes up. Not if he knows what I did last night." She said, pouring her cup of coffee down the sink and heading towards her room. Veronica stood and stopped her.
"Abby, Hon. Why are you so nervous? Do you think he'll have a problem with what you did?" She asked. Abby kept glancing towards the couch.
"I, uh, I'm not sure. I mean; you guys are his friends." She said, trying to come up with a reason for being so nervous all of a sudden. She wasn't even quite sure why.
"I'm allowed to have my own friends, Abby," Veronica smiled. Abby shook her head.
"But you guys haven't seen that side of John yet. He can get really jealous. He's kind of weird about that kind of stuff. I mean, he was so jealous of Luka, and then he sort of dated Susan for a while. Half the time, I feel like I'm walking around on egg shells." She explained.
"Why? Does he do anything? Does John scare you, Abby?" Brandon asked. Abby joined them at the table.
"The only thing that scares me about John is how he keeps things so bottled up inside. He's just so . . emotional at times. One of these days, he's just going to explode. I was telling Veronica last night how he's bouncing off the walls one minute, all happy and upbeat and then the next minute he's angry and withdrawn. At the hospital, we've all come to see when his moods change and when to just stay the hell away from him." She said. Veronica got her another cup of coffee.
"Doesn't sound like he's taking his anti-depressants anymore. Think he's bi-polar?" Brandon asked. Abby snorted.
"Uh, no. That's one I know a little bit about and John is not bi-polar." She laughed; shocked they would think that. "No, I've been learning little things as time goes by. Did you guys know his first sexual experience was when he was eleven? We had to go to this sexual harassment training thing and we were all telling stories about how and when we lost our virginity. He said he was eleven and that it was with a twenty-five-year-old maid who worked for his family. Susan and I were so mean to him that day. We actually laughed at him. I've wanted to talk to him about it, but whenever I bring up the subject, he walks away. That's one thing about John. When he doesn't want to talk about something, he won't and he just leaves," She shrugged.
"Well, that doesn't sound healthy," Veronica, commented.
John lay there listening to them talk about him. They were talking about very personal things, things that they had no right discussing about him, things that they knew nothing about. How did they think they knew why he did the things he did? And there was Abby, feeding more and more information to them like they were old friends.
John stood abruptly, glared in their direction, walked silently into his room, and slammed the door.
"Oh, shit," Abby dropped her head to the table.
"I wonder how much he heard," Veronica asked no one.
"Judging by the look, pretty much everything," Brandon said feeling as if they'd all completely betrayed the one man they all wanted to help.
To be continued…………
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