Page 8 of Awakening His Daddy (The Lactin Brotherhood #17)

Chapter 8

Joe

I rarely answer my phone when I’m at work, but the call is from Mercy General Hospital.

Mercy General?

I take a second look. That’s the hospital up north.

Could it be Izzy?

He said he was working near the cabin today.

“Hello,” I answer.

“Hello, am I speaking to Joesph Long?”

“Yes.” I swallow hard.

“My name is Kaitlin, and I’m calling because you’re listed as the second emergency contact for Izaiah Collins, and we couldn’t reach the first.”

“I…” My heart starts pounding. “Is he okay? Is it serious?”

“He’s doing fine, but he’s nervous and having a hard time communicating, so we haven’t been able to move forward with his treatment yet. He’s in a lot of pain, and he’s basically sedated right now.”

“What kind of choices? Like pull the plug or amputation? He does work with chainsaws.”

“Nothing like that.” She sounds amused, so that must be a sign that things aren’t too serious. “Now, if you could please get here as soon as you can, I think that would really help him.”

“Okay, I’ll leave right now, but I’m in the city, so it will probably be closer to an hour and a half.”

“That sounds fine. Also, I don’t know what the weather is like there, but it’s supposed to snow here later tonight. So be careful. He’s fine and in no danger.”

I want to tell her he’s in the hospital and in so much pain that he can’t function, doesn’t mean he’s fine, but whatever.

Lane is sitting in his office when I find him.

“Hey, I’ve got to run out early.”

“Everything alright?”

“Not really.”

Lane studies me hard for a moment before nodding his head.

“Alright, get going and take as much time off as you need. Lord knows you’ve got it coming.”

“Thanks.”

I run to the locker room, change, then head out to the hospital.

He’s okay. She said he was okay.

But he’s in pain.

I need to get there and help him.

I enter the emergency room, and the front desk directs me to a small room that’s a few doors down.

“When will the doctor be in?”

“Shortly, sir.”

“I’ve heard that my boy has been sitting here for almost two hours and nothing has been done. He needs to see the doctor now.”

She assures me that the doctor will be in shortly, and I hurry down the hall.

“Izzy? Izzy?” I keep my voice low, so I don’t wake him if he’s asleep.

When I see him sitting in a bed with his left arm wrapped, I hurry over to him and run my hands over his face and chest.

“How are you? Are you hurt anywhere else?”

“That feels nice,” Izzy slurs.

“You had me so worried, baby.” I hug his head to my chest, and he nuzzles into me. The way he looks to me for comfort makes me feel a million miles tall.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’m here now, and I’ll take care of it.” I kiss his forehead. “You just rest.”

He nods and slumps back down onto his pillow. I’m about to go and find the doctor when I notice a man sitting on the only chair in the room.

He stands and offers me his hand.

“I’m Dale, and I was with him at the job site today. Are you his father?”

I look back at the sweet, sleepy boy.

“The closest thing he has to one.”

The man nods.

“So here’s what happened. We were cleaning up for the night when some idiot left a chainsaw under the open tailgate of a truck and Izzy tripped. When he landed, he slipped and fucked up his left arm. He also got a cut on his upper arm.”

“I’d like to know the name and address of this idiot so I can pay him a visit.”

Dale chuckles. “I’ve already had a talk with him about safety, and it’s desk duty for the rest of the year.”

I nod. Desk duty is an acceptable punishment.

“The doctors haven’t done much other than give him some pain meds cause he couldn’t answer their questions, so they were waiting for you to get here. Now that you’re here, I’m going to head out, if you don’t mind. It’s a long commute back to the city, and I want to beat the snow.” I nod. “Tell him to take as much time as he needs and send his bills to workman’s comp. This was an accident at a job site, and I could see him not claiming because he’s too sweet.”

I chuckle at that because he’s not wrong.

“Where’s his truck?”

“We drove together since it’s so far out of the city. Thankfully, this was our last job.” He waves to Izzy. “Take it easy, kid.”

“Oh, hey, Dale is here!” Izzy waves. “Thanks for visiting.”

“You get some rest. Alright?”

Now he gets a thumbs up.

“Thanks again,” I say as Dale heads out.

I go over to the bed and sit next to Izzy as best I can, running my fingers through his hair.

“Daddy,” he whines.

“I’m here.”

“Hurts.” He pouts.

“I know, baby. I’m here now, and I’ll make sure we get you all taken care of.”

I kiss his forehead again, and he rests silently against my side until the doctor comes in. Thankfully she doesn’t take too long or I would have gone after her.

“Hi there.” She extends her hand. “I’m Dr. Shauna.”

“Joe.”

“So, Izaiah here was pretty nervous, and we didn’t get to examine him thoroughly, but just looking at his left arm, it’s obviously fractured. We won’t know if he needs surgery until we get X-rays. There’s also a laceration on his upper arm that will require stitches, and I would like to do that right way, now that the pain meds have fully kicked in.”

“Okay,” I tell her.

“No, it’s going to hurt.” Izzy pouts.

“I know, baby, but it will be better to get it done now, okay?”

“You’ll stay with me?”

“Of course I will.” I grab his good hand.

“Okay,” Izzy tells the doctor.

“Perfect. I’ll get the supplies and be right back.”

“I’m sorry I had to ask you to come,” he whispers.

“Hey, no, it’s okay.” I kiss his forehead again. “I’ll always be there for you.”

“Thanks.”

The doctor comes back with a rather gruff-looking nurse.

“Alright, Jamal here is going to help me hold your shoulders still while I work.” Izzy squirms and whines. “If you stay still, this will go much faster.”

“No, I?—”

I nod to the doctor and Jamal grabs his other shoulder. Izzy tries to struggle, but not too hard.

“Hey, you want to hear some fun facts?” Jamal asks.

Izzy squeezes his eyes shut.

“What?” he asks through gritted teeth.

“Did you know that a group of kittens is called a kindle?”

“That’s—” He hisses and wiggles. “Cute.”

“And a group of pandas is called an embarrassment.”

“You’re making this up.” Izzy smiles briefly before wincing again.

“Nope, and a group of bunnies is called a fluffle.”

“No way.”

“He’s right about the bunnies,” the doctor adds. “Although, I’m not sure about the pandas.”

“Do you know what a group of hedgehogs is called?” Jamal tries again.

“No.” Izzy is shaking from trying to hold still, so I wrap an arm around his waist.

“A prickle.” Jamal laughs at his own fact, and Izzy smiles.

“That’s perfect.” Izzy hisses. “Ouch…”

“Porcupines are called a prickle too,” Jamal adds.

“What’s a group of hyenas called?” Izzy asks us, and we all shrug.

“I don’t know,” the doctor says.

“A cackle,” Izzy answers through gritted teeth.

We chuckle at his answer, but when he hisses again, the doctor reassures him she’s almost done.

“What’s a group of ferrets called?” I ask, playing along.

“Oh, I know this one! It’s a business.” Izzy sounds proud.

“Very good,” I praise, and the doctor nods to Jamal.

“Okay, smarty pants, what’s a group of armadillos called?” he teases.

“Ouch, ouch.” Izzy grits his teeth.

“Last two,” the doctor says.

“Okay. I can make it.” I squeeze his hand a little tighter. “I don’t know what a group of armadillos is called.”

“A roll.”

He giggles.

“There. All done.” The doctor stands and removes her gloves.

“Really?” The relief is obvious in Izzy’s voice.

“Yep. For now, but we’re going to send you in for an X-ray, and then we’ll be back to look at your arm, okay?”

Izzy just sticks his lip out in a cute pout that I want to kiss off his face.

But I don’t, cause I’m straight.

“Will it hurt?”

The doctor winces.

“They will be as gentle as they can,” I assure him.

“Hey there, Izaiah. I’m Tessa.”

“Izzy, please.”

“That’s so cute—” She looks up from her chart. “Oh yikes. That looks like it hurts.”

“No shit.” Izzy gripes, and I’m going to scold him when Tessa laughs.

“Well, let’s get this show on the road so they can fix you up and get you out of here.”

The X-ray causes Izzy a lot of pain because they have to keep moving his arm to get a better view. I’m going to go in there and punch someone if I hear him yelp in pain one more time.

He needs something for being so good, a present. Then I remember I saw a gift shop on the way in and there were blankets in the window. One was a cat blanket! I need to get it for him, but I don’t want to leave him. Maybe I can ask a nurse.

As soon as they wheel him out, I basically shove Jamal out of the way to get to him.

“You did so good, baby.”

“No, I didn’t. It hurt, and I didn’t listen.”

“Anyone would be in pain and not want to move.”

“It’s true,” the nurse says. “I think you did well. Even big tough guys cry in there.”

“That makes me feel better,” Izzy mumbles, and he slumps down in the chair.

“We’ll get you some more pain meds while the doctor reads the X-rays,” Jamal says.

“Can I have some apple juice?” Izzy asks sweetly, and I’m about to yes, but the nurse cuts in.

“Not just yet. We need to make sure everything is okay first. But I can have a nurse bring you some ice chips.”

“That sounds good,” Izzy answers.

I wonder why he can’t have anything to drink, and then I remember that he might need surgery, so…

Once we get back to the room, I help him climb back into bed. But he doesn’t let go of me.

“Stay with me.”

“I will, but your bed is too small.”

“But—”

I move the chair closer to the bed and take his uninjured hand into mine.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Kaitlin comes back in to give him more pain medication, and she leaves some ice chips with a spoon.

“Can we watch the game?” he asks.

I forgot it was on tonight because I was so worried about him.

“Whatever you want.”

“Football then.”

After I get the stupid TV set up, I rub circles around his palm and wrist while Izzy drifts in and out while we wait for the doctor.

“I wish you could be my Daddy.” I try to answer, but he continues. “So sweet and nice and hairy.” I huff a laugh. “You take such good care of me and you’re not even my Daddy. I bet you would be amazing as a real Daddy.”

I want that too. I want to take care of him, but I’m not in a position to. His best friend is my son, which means I’m almost twice his age, and I’m not gay. Although I can admit I’ve been looking at Izzy differently since the night at the club when he offered to blow me, and the idea of a dude sucking my dick isn’t as unpleasant as it used to be. Or maybe it’s just him.

He yawns loudly, and my heart stutters.

It’s just him.

“Hey, let’s not worry about titles right now. I’m going to take care of you—” I notice that he’s shivering now. “Are you cold, baby?” I pull up the flimsy blankets that he has. “I’m going to go talk to the nurses.”

“No!” He gasps and grips me tighter. “Stay.”

I can’t help the smile that crosses my face.

“I’ll just go poke my head out. The nurses’ station is right there.”

He nods but is reluctant to let go. Even though he’s shaking so bad his teeth are chattering.

“Excuse me.” I try for polite. “Could I ask one of you for a favor?”

“Sure,” Kaitlin says.

“There was a cat blanket down at the gift shop. If I gave you cash, could one of you run down and get it for me?”

“Aww. That’s so sweet. Of course, I’ll run and get it. I’ll also get him some warm blankets. That will help him, too.”

“Thanks.”

I give her forty bucks and tell her to keep the change.

When I return to the room, Izzy is trying and failing to spoon ice chips into his mouth.

“Stupid right hand.” I take the spoon from his shaking hand and feed him an ice chip. “Thanks.”

I smile and offer him a few more until there’s a knock at the door.

“I’ll be right back, okay?”

“Here you go, and I’ll be right back with the other blankets,” the nurse whispers.

“Thanks,” I whisper back.

“Who was that?” Izzy asks.

“Just someone dropping off the present I got for you.”

He perks up. “A present for me?”

“Yep, you’ve been so brave, you deserve a reward.”

I hand him the black-and-white reversible cat blanket, which she already unwrapped for me.

“Oh my goodness. It has kitties!” I help Izzy wrap the blanket around his shoulders before he nuzzles into the bed and rubs his face on the blanket. “This is so nice. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

We watch the game for a few minutes, and I notice Izzy is still shaking. Thankfully the nurse comes in with a pile of warm blankets.

“How do you like your blanket?” she asks.

“It’s super soft and warm, but I am still a little cold.”

“Yeah, the meds can do that to you, so I brought you some heated blankets to help with that.”

I help her drape the blankets over Izzy, and he sighs contentedly before thanking the nurse, who smiles as she leaves.

I tuck the covers up to his chin, making sure to carefully cover his left arm. His eyes drift closed, but he fights to open them again.

“Why don’t you try to rest for a bit?”

“You’ll still be here, even if I fall asleep?”

“I promise.” With that, I give him another kiss on his forehead and watch the Knights’ game.

It’s almost at halftime when the doctor finally comes back in.

“Sorry for the delay,” she apologizes and notices my sleeping boy. “Should I wake him or…”

“Tell me first.”

“So, good news. It’s a clean break, and he doesn’t need surgery.” I nod. “Bad news. It’s out of place and will need to be reset before we can cast it.”

“How soon will you be ready to do that?”

Jamal rolls in a cart with the supplies need. “Right now.”

I sigh heavily and look at the sleeping boy.

“I’ll wake him.” But he looks so peaceful. Like an angel. “Izzy?”