"Sorry, Sunshine," Brian said in that annoyingly superscillious tone he always got when he was about to be an asshole, "I've already got some hardcore plans for tonight." Brian nodded towards the dark haired trick to his left. With a smirk, Brian then pushed the trick towards the backroom and left Justin standing there. Justin took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. It wasn't like he hadn't lived this a million times before with Brian, but he really, really needed a ride to his mom's house. His mother had called him just as his shift had ended at the diner; she desperately needed someone to look after Molly while she visited her sick sister in Dallas. His dad, as usual, was being a total asshole and refusing to help, and their usual babysitter was away on her own family emergency. So, he had asked Debbie if he could leave early, had gathered his coat with her agreement, and headed over to Babylon to get Brian to take him to his mom's; however, when he got there Brian was already heavily making the moves on said trick. With a disappointed sigh, Justin turned and began walking out of Babylon. Just as he was about to the exit, Emmett caught up with him, and grabbed him from behind by his jacket. "Hey, Justin, hold up a minute!" "Hi, Emmett," Justin responded with a half-smile, "Not to be rude or anything, but I need to head out to my mom's house. I'll have to catch you later. I should be at the diner tomorrow afternoon, if you want to catch up then." "Yeah, I know, sweetie," Emmett assured him, "I overheard you talking to Brian about getting to your mom's house. These are my friends, Tom and Andrew. Andrew has a car, and he's offered to drop you off before we head over to Tom's apartment, which, lucky for you, happens to be on that side of town." "Oh, that would be great! Thanks a lot!" Justin beamed. Twenty minutes later, Justin's mom was in a cab on her way to the airport; Justin was popping a bag of popcorn; and Molly was selecting a movie to watch. An hour after that, Justin stopped the movie, and put his already sleeping sister in her bed. Feeling a bit tired himself, he locked up, cleaned up the popcorn in the living room, and headed to bed. Justin woke late the next morning to someone banging on the front door. Taking a moment to put on some sweat pants, he headed downstairs, and opened the door to find Brian there with a smirk on his face. "Afternoon," Brian said as he pushed his way inside, and moved his arms to indicate the bag of food and two cups of coffee in them. "I brought you breakfast." "Thanks." "Where's your sister?" "Upstairs, still sleeping." Justin said as he looked at the clock on the stove, and realized just how late it really was. He had planned on being at the zoo by 10am. "No, I'm not." Molly said, walking down the stairs while yawning. "Hi, Brian." "Hello, little Taylor." "Did you bring breakfast for us?" the young girl asked with a really big smile on her face. Justin could tell that there were now two Taylors smitten with Brian Kinney. Brian nodded, placed the food on the table, and sat down beside Justin. "Grab some orange juice," Justin said before she could sit down. She went to the refrigerator, pulled out the carton of OJ, and then grabbed a glass out of the cabinet. "So, what are we doing today, Justin," the youngest Taylor asked as she placed the items on the table. "Yeah, Justin," Brian asked and arched an eyebrow, "What are we doing today?" "Well, I was thinking the zoo, Molly." "I'm not a baby!" she emphatically responded. "What do you want to do, then?" "I want to go see that pirate movie. That pirate is...HOT!" she whispered the last word. "I like your sister. She's got excellent taste." Brian assured Justin. Justin just snorted, while Molly beamed. "So, movie?" Brian asked the two and received two nods of assent. After their late breakfast, Justin sent Molly to get ready while he cleaned the kitchen. "So..." Brian said, unusally hesitant in his tone. Justin turned and shrugged in confusion. "So, what?" "Not going to give me any shit for last night?" "No, I told you, Brian, I get you. I know what to expect. You were busy. So, I got a ride with Emmett and his new friends." "And that's it?" "That's it? Are you looking for a fight?" Justin asked, his tone more than annoyed. Brian put his hands up in a surrender fashion and shook his head. A few minutes later, Molly returned dressed and ready to go. Justin had to stop himself from snickering when he noticed she was wearing her special occasion lip gloss, the one that she used to impress the 'cute' boys at school. They watched the pirate movie with the hottie, had some ice cream, and went to the park. By dinner time, Brian was bitching about the heat and humidity wrinkling his Prada shirt (Justin rolled his eyes at this- it was only in the 60s), Molly was complaining of her legs hurting, and Justin was annoyed with both of them. "I'm tired of the park, the movie, and everything else. Can we just go home?" Molly asked. Brian, with an intense look of relief, immediately responded with a, "Yes!" Fifteen minutes later, they were trailing down the highway in Jennifer's Ford Taurus. When they pulled into the driveway, Justin noticed that Emmett was sitting in the driveway. Seeing them driving up, Emmett stood up and began waving frantically. Brian, in the car, snorted, which made Molly laugh. "Hi!" Emmett practically screeched. "What are you doing here, Emmett?" "Well...Ummm...Didn't you tell him, Brian?" "Tell me what?" Brian bit his lip and then stuck his tongue in his cheek. Justin knew with that little move that something was going down. "Well, Brian called me this morning and asked me to come over and watch the gorgeous Miss Molly Taylor for the evening." Emmett said, and then winked at Molly. Molly giggled and winked back. "He did, did he?" Justin looked pointedly at Brian. Brian shrugged and nodded. "And why did you feel the need to ask Emmett to come over here tonight?" "Thought you might want to go to Babylon with me." "You can go, Justin," Molly assured her brother, "Emmett and I can play dress up. He always makes my hair look so pretty!" "Awww, thanks, sweetie," Emmett replied, blushing. "Well, I told my mom that I would be the one to stay with Molly this weekend." "Oh, don't worry, Sunshine, I'll have you home in time for night-night." Brian added in his usual sarcastic manner. "Fine. I'll go, but we have to be back by one." Brian smirked and played along. "Three." Justin grinned. "Two." "Done." "Oh, goodie," Emmett exclaimed while clapping, "Let's go, Molly, I know just the eyeshadow to use on that pretty face." Justin laughed as he watched the two go into the townhome. "So, you'll be back to pick me up?" "No, I figured we could stop at the diner for dinner." Justin arched his eyebrown in a classic Kinney imitation. Brian shrugged. "It's not a date or anything; it's us feeding ourselves before we fuck the night away at Babylon." Justin nodded in agreement, "So, let me go change." With that said, he turned and went into the house. Brian followed. Four hours later, Brian and Justin were sitting in a dark alcove at Babylon cackling like old hens. "Want another puff?" Brian asked, haphazardly waving a joint in front of Justin's face. Justin laughed and began singing, "Puff the Magic Dragon lives by the sea..." Brian snorted and pulled Justin in for a kiss. "What was that for?" Justin asked breathily when Brian finally let him go. "To get you to shut the fuck up," Brian said with a smirk. Justin grinned and opened his mouth as if to sing again. Brian quickly covered it with his one hand as he lifted the joint to his mouth with the other. Justin mumbled something, but Brian couldn't understand him as his hand was still covering Justin's mouth. "What was that?" he asked, removing his hand. "I said that that guy is HOT!" Justin said, pointing to a guy that was, Brian agreed, extraordinarily hot. "Dibs!" Justin said as he stood up and sauntered over the guy in question. Brian laughed when he saw the guy pulling Justin to the backroom. Finding a trick of his own, Brian followed them into a back corner. Brian watched intently as he saw the hot guy fall to his knees and begin to suck Justin off. He saw Justin's head fall back to the wall and his eyes close in carnal delight. He could tell that Justin was just about to shoot when the guy stopped and intently fondled Justin's balls. He then said something to Justin that caused Justin's eyes to fly open. The guy then grabbed Justin's hands and placed them on Justin's balls. He said something else and Justin's eyes got huge. They began feeling around Justin's balls again and Justin nodded to something that the guy said. Brian, not sure what was going on, pushed his own trick away and decided to walk over to Justin. He watched as Justin's trick pulled something out of his pocket, handed it to Justin, and touched him on the shoulder before walking away. Brian, more than a little concerned, got to Justin just as he was zipping his pants up. "Everything ok?" Brian asked. Justin, who had this unidentifiable look on his face, nodded, and began walking out of the backroom. Brian followed him feeling very uneasy. Justin walked straight to the bar and asked for a double Jim Beam. He slammed it before Brian even caught up to him. "Justin?" "I'm ready to go." Justin said as he pushed away from the bar. Brian followed him. Once in the Corvette, Brian tried again, "So, I guess it was a crappy blow job?" "It was ok," Justin quietly responded. He then turned, huffed a breath onto the cold, passenger side window, and finger doodled on the resulting condensation. The rest of the drive was made in silence. When Brian pulled into the driveway, Justin was out the door before Brian pulled the parking brake. By the time Brian was in the house, Justin was nowhere to be seen. Brian arched his eyebrows in a questioning manner to Emmett, who was looking oddly at Brian. Emmett quickly pointed to the stairs and put his attention back to Molly, who was going through his makeup case. Brian knocked once and then entered Justin's room. Justin was lying on his bed facing away from the door. "Must have been some good weed, eh?" Brian attempted to joke as he sat down on the bed. Justin shrugged. "You going to tell me what happened back there?" Justin simply shook his head. "Justin?" There was no response. A few minutes later, Brian tried again, "Justin?" Justin still did not respond, which thoroughly pissed Brian off. "Fine, be a twat then. I'm going back to Babylon." Justin did not respond. The next morning, Justin got up, got ready for the day, and went to check on Molly. She was, to his relief, still sleeping. He was not ready to deal with an energetic kid just yet. Heading downstairs, he was dumbfounded to find Emmett and Brian, one sleeping on the floor and the other sleeping on the sofa. Still not wanting to deal with anyone, especially Brian, Justin tried to slip into the kitchen unnoticed, but Brian sat up before he got there. "Justin?" "Yeah?" "Are you ok?" Justin nodded and went into the kitchen. Brian followed him. "Are you going to talk to me? Tell me what happened last night?" Brian asked. "Nothing to tell. I had some fun, smoked some weed, and decided to leave." "What about the trick?" "What about him?" "What did he hand you last night before he walked away? Was he harassing you?" "Nothing and no." "Justin..." "There's nothing to tell, Brian, just let it go." Justin opened the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of eggs. "Scrambled or Benedict style?" "Neither, I promised I'd have Emmett back to his apartment by 10am." "Ok. Have a good one." Justin turned back to the range and began preparing to make some scrambled eggs. Brian huffed and yelled for Emmett to have his ass in the Corvette in ten minutes. Once Emmett and Brian were gone, Justin pulled the card from last night's trick from his pant's pocket. It read: Dr. Adam Jones, Oncologist 655 Liberty Avenue Pittsburgh, PA. Jennifer returned to Pittsburgh five days later on a red eye from Dallas saying that her sister was doing great. Justin gave her a hug, kissed Molly on the forehead, and told them that he had a shift at the diner in 30 minutes. He dashed out the door and made it just in time. Debbie, predicatably, greeted him with a loud shout and a hug. "Have fun with Molly?" she asked while popping her gum. Justin nodded as he wrapped an apron around his waist. Seconds later, the bell above the door rang as someone entered the diner. Justin was walking to the back to stamp his timesheet when he heard Brian say, "Not so fast, twat." Justin stopped, turned around, and looked at Brian expectantly. "Yes?" "I thought you were coming to the loft last night?" "Well, my mom couldn't get a flight back until today. Besides, if you were so worried, why didn't you call my cellphone?" Justin said to him with just a touch of defiance. Brian walked up to Justin, put his hand in Justin's pocket, pulled out his phone, opened it up, and said, "I did. Looks like it's off. Besides, I wasn't worried- I was horny." Brian smirked. Justin gave him a small smile. "Sorry. Things were crazy with Molly and all." Brian gave him a piercing glare that seemed, to Justin, to be trying to read his mind. "Mmm-hhmmm...Get me some coffee, I'm in a hurry." Justin rolled his eyes, but handed him a cup of coffee to go. As Brian took the cup from Justin's hands, he pulled him in for a scorching kiss. "Thanks. Later." "Later," Justin repeated as Brian walked out the door. Justin was in the middle of an exciting table cleaning when Debbie told him that Kiki was sick and asked if he would mind staying for a second shift. "Sorry, Deb, I can't. I have an appointment this afternoon." "Oh? Is he tall, dark, and handsome?" Debbie said and cackled, as she laughed at her own joke. "I guess I'll call and see if anyone else can come in." "Sorry," Justin said again, "I really need to go to this appointment." "What appointment?" Brian asked as he walked up behind Justin and put his arms around him. "Oh, nothing," Justin airily said. Brian turned him around to face him and gave him a long, hard stare. Justin stood his ground and held his gaze. Finally backing off, Brian said, "So, where's my turkey sandwich with no mayo?" Justin gave him a nose wrinkling smile and assured him that it would be right up. He watched Brian take a seat in his normal booth and was relieved when Michael showed up a few minutes later. If anyone could keep Brian preoccupied, it was Michael and his endless chatter. Justin couldn't believe it when fifty minutes later, Brian was still sitting there talking to Michael. He walked to the break room, put his stuff away, put on his coat and gloves, and tried to sneak out the back. Unlucky for him, Brian was waiting at the end of the alley. "Going some place special, sunshine?" Brian asked in a very annoying voice. "Nope." Justin had decided to not give in on this. "Sure you don't need a ride? I have a few more minutes before Ted'll call me with something new that someone has fucked up. They average about an hour on their own these days." Brian sarcastically said, but his eyes were watching Justin intently. "No, thanks. Want to meet at Babylon later?" Justin asked, hoping to get Brian off the subject of where he was going. "Can't. I have a meeting tomorrow that I need to do more preparations for. Why don't you meet me at the loft? I'll grab some Thai on the way home." Justin nodded. "Sure. Later." "Later." Brian replied before giving Justin one more nerve wracking glance and heading to the Corvette. Justin was close to the bus stop when he heard the Corvette's wheels squeal as Brian drove off. He sketched a bit on the way over to the clinic and tried not to think about what might or might not be ahead of him. He practically jumped when the bus driver announced that his stop was coming up. Steeling himself, he put away his sketch pad and readied himself to get off the bus. The short distance to the clinic's entrance seemed to take forever. He pulled out his insurance card and signed in with the secretary. She assured him that the doctor was running on schedule and he would be called back shortly. Justin thanked her and sat down. He considered pulling his sketch pad out and just as he went to retrieve it from his bag- a nurse called his name. Greeting her with a half-smile, she walked him back to the clinic area. She took his weight, height, blood pressure, and temperature. She then, after giving him an encouraging smile, guided him back to a small room with an examination table, a chair, and some medical supplies. "The doctor will be right with you," she assured him as she closed the door behind her on her way out. Justin opted to take a seat in the chair. Grabbing his sketch pad, he decided to doodle. Before long, he realized that he was drawing this boring room and all the things in it. Realizing what he was doing- possibly drawing an important moment in his life, he tossed the pad and pencil in his bag. This was not going to be a life changing moment, he decided. No, it wasn't. He was just making sure that the trick from the other night was wrong. That there was not a lump in his testicle. And even if there was, it was nothing- absolutely nothing- to worry about. That's why he was here. As he was mentally talking to himself, the doctor knocked and walked in. "Mr. Taylor?" the innocuous looking man asked. He was tall, dark haired, wore glasses, and had a gentle face. Justin found himself liking the man immediately. Finding that his voice wouldn't cooperate, he simply nodded in response to the man's question. The man offered his hand and Justin shook it. "I'm Dr. Finnegan. I see here on your paperwork that you listed Dr. Jones, one of our doctors, as a referral." Again, Justin simply nodded. "Good," the doctor replied. "Well, why don't you tell me why you are here, Mr. Taylor?" "Ummm," Justin started. He coughed to clear his throat, and tried again. "Please, it's Justin...Well, I was- ummm- out- umm - last week and Dr. Jones said that he thought he felt a lump in my testicle." The doctor gave Justin a small smile. "It's okay, Justin, we know that Dr. Jones is gay. I'm assuming you are, too?" Justin nodded. "Very well, then. Did you feel the lump, too, or just Dr. Jones?" "Actually, Dr. Jones showed me where it was." The doctor nodded and made a few notes. "Could you find it again?" Justin nodded. Unfortunately, he could. That's why he was here. Because there was no denying there was a lump. "Very well, why don't you remove your pants and briefs, put on this gown, and show me. I'll be right outside. Just push this button," the doctor pointed to a green button on the side of the examination table, "When you are ready, all right?" Justin felt completely stupid when he realized that he was nodding again. Once the doctor was out of the room and the door was closed, Justin toed off his trainers, pulled off his pants and briefs, and put on the hospital-like gown that tied in the back. Sitting down on the edge of the examination table, he hesitantly put his finger on the green button and pushed. The doctor walked back in with a nurse and, after the nurse plumped up the pillow at the top of the table, asked Justin to lie back. Putting on a pair of gloves, the doctor said, "This might be slightly uncomfortable. Any guidance you can give me on the location of the lump will help keep the discomfort to a minimum." "It's in my left testicle, on the left side." Justin felt the bottom of his gown being pulled up and his left testicle being taken into a hand. It was lightly massaged and then tugged on a little bit. "There?" the doctor asked after concentrating on one area for a few seconds. "Yes," Justin responded. Helping him sit up, the doctor asked Justin to stand up. Once again lifting the gown, the doctor felt his left testicle again. He then turned his attention to the right testicle, and back to the left. Pushing the gown back down, the doctor looked at Justin. "I think it was wise that you followed up so quickly. Why don't you get dressed and meet me in my office. It's the blue office at the end of the hall." Justin, as he was getting dressed, couldn't unravel the knot that had settled in his belly. He knew that something was very, very wrong. He left the room and went down the hall to the blue office. The doctor waived him in and asked him to take a seat. "I'm very glad, Justin, that you decided to have this checked out. There is definitely a lump and it is irregular in size." Justin thought that he said that last part as if it should mean something to him. "Therefore," the doctor continued, "I think it wise that we order a biopsy as soon as possible. Are you free tomorrow?" Justin nodded. "Good. I'll have the nurse call and make you an appointment for tomorrow." "What will it entail?" Justin cautiously asked. "Well, Justin, the best way to 'biopsy' a testicle is to remove it. It's also safer; in case, there is a problem." "As in..." "I'll be frank, Justin, I think we are dealing with cancer, but, again, we won't know for sure until after the biopsy. Once we know what we are actually dealing with, then we can formulate a move forward plan." "Which could include?" Justin asked. "Chemotherapy, Radiation...it all depends on whether or not it is actually cancer. If it is, we'll find out what areas have been affected and take the necessary steps. Justin," the doctor paused then and made sure that Justin was looking at him, "If it is cancer, you have a very good chance of a full recovery, as long as we've caught it early. And we won't know anything, until we do the biopsy." "Tomorrow?" Justin echoed from earlier. "Yes, tomorrow." Justin took a deep breath and said, "Ok." The bus ride back from the clinic was the worst ride ever, and it had nothing to do with the bus. Justin didn't head directly to Brian's loft. Instead, he found a bench on Liberty Avenue and people watched until the sun was setting and the air was quite chilled. He then grabbed his bag and began the short walk to the loft. By the time he got there, Brian was already there. He was opening several containers of food when Justin opened the metal door. "Hey," Brian greeted him and waived towards the food. "Hungry?" "Not really," Justin replied as he placed his bag, coat, and gloves on a barstool. Brian arched his eyebrow at that, but, thankfully, didn't say anymore. He took his container and sat down on his white couch, flipped on the TV with the remote, and began channel surfing. Justin took a deep breath, walked over to the couch, and sat down. After finding an old black and white movie that Justin had never seen before, Brian turned to him, "You ok?" "Peachy," Jusitn replied with a small smile that looked more like a grimace. He sat back and pretended to be very interested in the movie. Brian, after watching him closely for several minutes, finally turned and began watching the movie and eating. Just as Brian was about to finish his dinner, Justin turned and said, "I think I'll go take a shower." "Want some company?" Brian asked with a cocky smile. "No, that's ok. I know you have work to do." If Justin hadn't been so preoccupied with his worrying, he might have snickered at the look of shock on Brian's face. Thirty minutes later, when the water was quite cold and Justin was exhausted from all of his worrying, he got out of the shower and wrapped himself in one of Brian's Egyptian cotton towels. Walking into the bedroom, he saw that Brian was still on the computer. Without saying anything to Brian, he got into bed and was asleep in minutes. A good while later, he woke to a warm, wet sensation around his cock. At first, he let himself enjoy the feeling, but then reality hit. The last thing he wanted was for Brian to feel the lump. He frantically pushed Brian off his cock. Brian gave him a crazy look. "What the fuck, Justin?" Justin decided to cover his tracks by diverting Brian's attention. He quickly flipped over onto his stomach and began begging Brian to fuck him. "Please, Brian, fuck me." Justin sensed Brian's hesitation, so he rubbed against Brian and moaned loudly, "Please, Brian, please." He knew the moment Brian relented. He felt a soft touch on the middle of his back followed by a light kiss at his nape. Wanting everything to continue for a myriad of reasons, Justin loudly moaned again. "Please, Brian, fill me." And, just as he was 99% sure it would, he felt Brian's cock line up to enter him, then he felt the slow push forward, and the slow burn as Brian's cock slowly breached him. "Oh...Yes!" Later, after Brian had his post-coital, non-cuddle, Justin took a moment to enjoy the feel of Brian's arms around him and forgot about tomorrow and all that it would entail. Justin woke much earlier than usual. Since he needed to get Brian up early enough to talk to him, he changed the pre-set time on the coffeemaker and let the aroma of the brewing coffee fill the loft. Predicatably, Brian started fumbling around in the bed exactly 3 minutes into the brewing process. Justin had to cover his snigger with a, "Brian, are you getting up?" A grunt was Brian's only response, but it was understood clearly. Justin went into the bedroom and began removing his clothing. Walking into the bathroom, he started the shower...Three, Two, One. For someone that hated monotony, Justin thought, Brian was an extremely predicatable person. After a fuck in the shower and their other morning ablutions, Justin went into the kitchen and poured two cups of coffee: Brian's black, but with lots of sugar and his with lots of sugar and cream. He handed Brian's coffee to him as he sat down at the bar. "You got a minute?" "Well, I figured you woke me up fifteen minutes early for something," Brian flippantly responded, as he took a long drink of coffee. "I just wanted to let you know that I won't be around for the next few days." Brian's eyebrows rose at that. "My mom's sister called and asked Mom to come back out for a few more days. Mom agreed, and I agreed to watch Molly." "I thought your mom's sister was doing much better." "She is," Justin assured him, "She just wants to spend a few more days with Mom." Brian nodded. "Ok, want me to meet you at your mom's tonight?" "No," Justin hastily said, "I have some sketches I want to finish, and I've got to worry about getting Molly to all the places she needs to go. So, I'll just catch up with you later this week." Brian bit his upper lip and slowly nodded. "Ok. See you later." He grabbed his suit coat and brief case and walked to the door. "Don't forget to lock up." "I won't. Later." A few minutes later, Justin had set the alarm and locked the loft. Twenty minutes after that, Justin was walking into Alleghany General. He signed in and waited for the orderly to call him back. "Justin Taylor..." Justin stood and followed the man into his cubicle. The orderly handed him a hospital gown. "Remove your clothes and put this gown on- it closes in the back. The doctor should be in to see you before they take you down to the OR. Ok?" Justin nodded and picked up the gown, getting into it after the orderly closed the curtains of his cubicle. Sitting down on the bed provided, he pulled out his sketch pad and flipped through it. Smiling as he looks at the pictures of Brian, Gus, Debbie, Lindsay, Melanie, Emmett in a pink boa, etc. They all were so important to him in so many different ways. He heard the doctor's footsteps before he saw him. "Good morning, Justin," the doctor greeted him with a smile, "Are you ready to get this over with?" With a small smile, Justin nodded in acknowledgement. "Is there anyone we need to notify when the operation is over?" "No one." "No one?" "No one." "Ok, if you'll get into the bed, an orderly will roll you down to the OR momentarily." Justin gets into the bed and waits. It seemed to take forever, but it really was only a minute or two before he's rolled down the hall and into the OR. A few minutes after that, he is asked to count backwards. And what seems like a few minutes later, he groggily wakes up in a place that he doesn't recognize with the warmest blankets on the planet keeping him warm. He must make some noise because a friendly face comes into his field of view and smiles at him. "Welcome back, Mr. Taylor. I'm Gladys, your post-op nurse. The doctor asked me to tell you that he'll be by with your test results early tomorrow morning. But, for now, you get to be a special guest of mine!" He gave her a weak smile and drifted back to sleep. He woke up much later, extremely thirsty. Once again, he sees the friendly face from earlier and she's holding a cup of water for him. "I figured you might need this. Would you like to sit up, or would you like for me to get a special straw?" "Sit up," is what he thinks came out of his mouth, but, to be honest, he's not sure. It must have been, though, because he feels himself start to move upwards and forward. Once he stopped moving, Gladys, he thinks that is her name, puts the cup to his lips and he takes a long sip. "Thank you." "You're quite welcome. Now, you are about to have a change in venue. "Bob," she pointed to a male nurse behind her, "is going to take you to your new room. I hope you feel better very soon. Thanks for being my guest!" Justin gave her a little wave as Bob rolled him out the door. He's asleep before he gets to his new room. The next time he finds consciousness, he's by himself in a green room that reminded Justin of mashed peas. He goes to shift, as his body seems a bit stiff, and finds that he does have some localized pain- a lot in fact. He feels around for a way to contact someone when the door to his room opens and Dr. Finnegan walks in. "How are you feeling, Justin?" "A little sore..." he replied, his voice gravelly. Dr. Finnegan chuckled and responded, "I'm sure. I'll make sure to leave a prescription for you at the nurse's station. Ok?" Justin nodded gratefully and the doctor continues, "I have your test results. Are you up to talking now?" Again, Justin nods. "It's as we thought: You have Stage 1 testicular cancer." Justin felt his heart, stomach, pretty much all of his internal organs drop about five feet. "I'm not sure what you know about Stage 1 cancer, but us finding it and removing the testicle at this stage is a very good thing. As fas as we can tell, there has been no spreading of the cancer and the removal of the testical should take care of it. Of course, we want to be sure. So, we'll put you on a two month treatment of radiation; you'll do a treatment once a week for eight weeks. We will also do an MRI of the local lymph nodes after your second radiation treatment, after you complete all the radiation treatments, and then again at the six month mark. I'm going to leave a few pamphlets here for you to read and will be back to check on you this afternoon. I'll be happy to answer any questions you have at that time, ok?" Justin just nodded. "I know, Justin, that this is a lot to take in, but we really have caught it early. I'd say you have a 98% chance of a complete recovery." "Thanks," Justin whispered. "You're welcome. Get some more sleep. I'll have your nurse bring you some painkillers. After that, read these pamphlets. I think they'll help. I'll see you later." With that, the doctor walked out. And Justin had never felt so alone in his life. Apparently, Justin had fallen asleep again because he woke to someone yelling. Coming out of his sleep induced haze, he soon realized that the yelling was coming from a voice he recognized. Then, he heard another loud voice, not quite yelling, but certainly another voice that he recognized. Just as he was about to become fully awake his door flew open and there stood Brian and his mother. "Justin!" his mother sort of yelled, half-strangled. She ran to his side and gently cupped his face with her hands. Brian, on the other hand, was giving him one hell of a death glare. "Want to tell us what the hell is going on, Sunshine?" Justin knew he looked like a deer caught in headlights because he absolutely could not get anything out of his mouth. "WELL?" Brian practically shouted. Jennifer turned to Brian and gave him a less than nice look. "What Brian means, honey, is that we were very upset to learn that you were in the hospital. Why didn't you tell us that something was wrong?" "How did you find out?" he gasped. Brian snorted nastily at that. "You can thank Ted and the insurance company for that. The insurance company called to let Ted know that your hospital tests had been approved for billing, but they needed some additional paperwork from HR. Ted then proceeded to ask me about your tests. Tests that I knew NOTHING about. Now, what I would like to know is: What the hell is going on? Why you didn't tell us?" "Brian," Justin's mother admonished. "What?" Brian replied. "Are you telling me that you don't want to know why 'Mr. 1500-on-his-SATs' didn't bother to tell his partner and his mother that he was having a few tests done in the hospital?" "I didn't say that." "No, I'm sure you didn't, but I think we're digressing. Justin, you can jump in here at anytime." "I'm sorry." Jennifer whirled around and with a voice of steel said, "You damn right you are. Now, why don't you fill us in, Justin." Justin took a deep breath. "I had a lump in my testicle." "What?" Brian gasped. "Oh my God," Jennifer gasped. Justin continued, "As I said, a lump was found in my testicle. I saw a doctor and he deemed it necessary to do a biopsy." "So, that's why you're here?" Jennifer asked and continued when Justin gave her a small nod. "When will we know more?" "I already do," Justin quietly responded. "I have cancer." "Oh..." Jennifer gasped again, but Justin was looking at Brian. Brian looked, quite frankly, like someone had removed one of his testicles, or, at the very least, kicked him in one. Then, he seemed to compose himself by putting his stoic mask firmly in place and saying, "So, what do we do now?"