Secrets

Thank you to everyone that read Chapter 1. I hope it was enjoyable and that you have returned to see what happens with Alex next. Also, I would like to give a big thank you to TMcCallahan for your insight and suggestions. It means a lot to me. So, here we go...

BirdmanRN

*

Alex's first instinct was to disbelieve what Dr. Connor just told him. But, his whole body was shaking as tears welled up in his eyes and an unwavering sense of loss filled his head. "Oh babe, what have you done? This just can't be," he thought.

Kathy sat there and watched Alex struggle with his emotions in confusion and reached out to tentatively touch his arm. "Alex? Honey, what is it?" she asked softly.

Alex looked at her with the tears that finally spilled over and ran unchecked down his cheeks and whispered, "Oh, Kathy. Mark... I can't do this," and started to sob, his shoulders shaking and his face contorted into a mask of pain.

"Alex, why don't you go to the break room and wash your face, and then have a seat where it is quiet and you won't be bothered. I will finish this phone call and let the other nurses know that you are unavailable for a while," Kathy said. Alex just nodded and stood on shaky legs and headed toward the break room. As he rounded the corner he heard Kathy on the phone saying, "Dr. Connor? I'm sorry, but Alex had to go deal with something... important. My name is Kathy. I am the Charge Nurse and I can finish taking report from you."

~~~~~~~

Alex entered the break room and sank down onto one of the couches. Just four days ago, the two of them had gone out for dinner and then walked hand-in-hand up Michigan Avenue afterward looking in shop windows. They were a typical couple in love, sharing an evening together and everything was right with the world...

Mark was all smiles that evening, the day before he left for his sister's wedding, as he tried to persuade Alex into Tiffany's to "shop".

"What could we possibly need to buy in Tiffany's," Alex asked.

"Oh, I'm thinking that when we take vacation, we should go up to Canada to Niagara Falls," Mark said. With that, he got down on his knee, right in the middle of pedestrian traffic along Michigan Ave in front of the Tiffany's window and asked, "Alex, babe, will you marry me?"

Alex looked down on his beautiful lover's face and saw the love that Mark had for him. How could he refuse the man that he intended to spend the rest of his life with? Of course, he said "yes, I will marry you Mark!"

With a look of triumph on his face, Mark jumped up and grabbed Alex swinging him around before planting a smoldering kiss on his lips. A small crowd gathered during Mark's proposal and broke out in cheers when Alex accepted the proposal. At that moment in time, Alex had never been happier.

Later, as they returned home, Mark barely got the front door closed when Alex pushed him up against the wall and leaned in to kiss him. He brushed Mark's soft lips with his and moved along the line of his jaw to his ear and whispered, "I need you now Mark." Grabbing his hand, he led Mark down the hall to the bedroom they shared.

Once in the bedroom, Alex turned and resumed kissing his lover. He lightly ran his hands up Mark's arms and then began to unbutton his shirt while trailing a line of soft kisses down his neck and every inch of flesh exposed as his shirt opened on Mark's smooth chest.

When he got to Mark's nipples, he licked and nipped at one, while pinching and twisting the other eliciting soft moans from the other man. As he felt the nipple harden into a small nub, he stopped sucking and lightly blew across it making Mark shudder, and then switched and gave its twin the same treatment. He then resumed the trail of kisses as he traveled down across Mark's trim abdomen, following the light brown "treasure trail" that began at his belly button and disappeared into the waist of his jeans.

Alex sank to his knees and looked up at Mark whose eyes were dilated and filled with lust. While still looking into his eyes, he slowly opened Mark's jeans and pushed them along with his boxers down to his knees. Leaning forward, he nuzzled the patch of soft brown curls at the base of his cock reveling in the musky scent that he loved so much. Mark's hard length lay against his cheek and twitched with each heartbeat and grew harder with each twitch. Beginning at the base, Alex ran his tongue along the length of Mark's cock. When he reached the head, he licked up the sweet pre-cum oozing from the small slit before taking the large mushroom shaped head into his mouth. Meanwhile, he found he found Mark's hairy scrotum with one of his hands and gently rolled the oval shaped orbs one at a time between his fingers.

He looked up at Mark seeking his eyes, but Mark had his eyes closed and his head thrown slightly back moaning with pleasure. Alex took a deep breath and slid his mouth down the length of Mark's cock swallowing reflexively when the head reached the back of his mouth, allowing him to take in all of Mark's eight inches and burying his nose in the soft curls at the base. Mark felt Alex's throat muscles grip the head of his cock and he groaned, "Fuck baby that feels so good."

Alex began to work Mark's cock in earnest, hollowing out his cheeks as he applied suction to the silky hard shaft as he pulled back, and then plunging back down as far as he could letting his saliva coat and slick the hard length. Alex sucked on his cock until Mark couldn't handle the sensation anymore and he reached down and grabbed Alex under his arms and pulled him up to his feet. "If you don't stop that babe, I'm going to cum, and I am not ready yet," he said.

Alex groaned when he was pulled off Mark's cock, but he allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. "I need you Mark. I need you inside me," he said and began to shed his own clothing. Mark followed suit, and soon they were both standing naked next to the bed. Mark took Alex into his arms and brought their mouths together. Alex opened his mouth slightly and coaxed Mark's tongue into his as he wrapped his arms around his lovers back bringing their bodies together from chest to groin. As their tongues dueled above, their cocks, slick with pre-cum dueled below.

Mark slowly lowered Alex on to the bed, while still kissing him, refusing to break contact. He ran one hand slowly across his chest and down to his tight abdomen before making contact with Alex's rigid cock. Grasping the shaft, he tugged slightly and ran his thumb in circles across the sensitive head, spreading the clear pre-cum he found there. Finally breaking the kiss, he nibbled his way down Alex's neck to his chest through the light dusting of blonde hair where he took each hard nipple into his mouth in turn, before continuing downward stopping only to run his tongue around his belly button. He bypassed Alex's cock and sank lower to nuzzle his scrotum and took each testicle into his mouth one at a time. He could feel Alex's hand on his head guiding him lower. He pushed Alex's legs up toward his chest, revealing the small pucker of muscle that had been his target all along.

Alex hooked his arms behind his knees and pulled his legs back farther as Mark began to lap at his ring of anal muscles. It felt so good and he moaned his pleasure as Mark's tongue breached the ring and slithered inside. His cock was so hard it was almost painful, but he concentrated instead on the sensation of having his ass eaten. Mark continued his tongue play over and inside the tight ring of muscle and gradually began to feel it open to him. He brought a finger to Alex's entrance and worked it inside along with his tongue. He worked the finger around until he found what he was looking for, the small bump that marked where Alex's prostate gland was hidden and slowly rubbed it with his fingertip. He looked up at Alex's face to see him looking down with his mouth open slightly and panting.

"Oh God, Mark. I'm going to cum! I need you inside me so bad! Please...," Alex begged as he reached down and grabbed his own cock. He was hard as stone and had a small puddle of pre-cum on his belly. It would not take much to send him over the edge into oblivion.

Mark pushed his hand away as he reached into the nightstand to grab a bottle of lube. "Babe, don't touch yourself. I want you to cum with me inside you," he growled. He opened the bottle of lube and drizzled the cool liquid down Alex's crack and to his slightly parted opening, then filled his palm and slicked himself up. On his knees, he positioned himself at Alex's opening and pushed, gasping as the head of his cock breached the tight ring of muscle and disappeared into the wet warmth. He paused to let Alex get used to the feeling, but Alex had a different idea. Alex let go of his legs and wrapped them around Mark's hips and his arms around his back and pulled hard enough to cause Mark to become fully seated inside him with one fluid motion.

Alex sighed, "Oh that feels so good. You are so big and hard. Move in me baby!" Mark complied and began to move his hips in a slow rhythm, gradually picking up speed until they were both moaning in pleasure. Alex's body was so tight and he flexed his muscles to squeeze Mark's cock every time he withdrew. The slight upward curve of Mark's cock rubbed at the small bundle of nerves of Alex's prostate on every thrust. Each of them was lost in the sensation the other produced in them and soon they were both moaning their extreme pleasure.

"I'm getting so close Mark. I need to cum," breathed Alex. Mark leaned down to kiss him, his tongue invading his mouth in rhythm to his cock invading Alex's ass. "Then cum for me Alex," he said.

With a loud scream, Alex arched his back and began to cum. The first spurt was so hard that it hit the headboard. Each successive contraction of muscle brought another large amount of cum. Although, not as strong as the first, he still covered their abdomens with thick white cum. Alex's orgasm forced his anal muscles to contract and squeeze and milk Mark's cock. This was too much for Mark to handle, and with his own scream of release, he buried his cock to the hilt in Alex's tight ass and let go. Spurt after spurt of hot cum filled Alex's channel.

Mark lay down on Alex, resting his weight on the man below him and the two shared soft sensual kisses. "I love you so much Alex," he said. "And, I love you," Alex replied.

With a groan, Alex shook himself and tried to clear the memory of their lovemaking from his head.

"Just four days ago," thought Alex, and now his world was turning upside down. He told Mark to wait, when Mark said he was going to tell his parents this weekend he was gay. Although Alex did not know the specifics of what happened, he couldn't help to think that maybe this was the result of Mark coming out to his family. In the five years they have been together, Alex has never met Mark's parents. Mark has always gone home to visit them. He usually went home one weekend a month, while Alex worked.

Knowing from experience, Alex knew that there was never a "right" time to come out of the closet. He came out to his family in high school one night during dinner. His parents were shocked, but eventually accepted the fact that their son was gay. They even told him later, that they suspected it, but were waiting on Alex to come to them. I didn't make it any easier to handle, but they appreciated his honesty.

But, Mark kept it hidden. He told Alex, that he even had girlfriends during high school, but knew that he was different. He was terrified to tell anyone in his family so, he kept it to himself. Only here with Alex, in a different city, was he able to be himself and now he was tired of keeping secrets. He was adamant that his family needed to know.

There was a knock at the door, it opened and Kathy stuck her head inside. "Alex, Mark is coming by air transport and should be here within 30 minutes. Do you need anything?" she asked.

"No thanks, Kathy. I was just sitting here thinking about Mark. I will be out in a minute to round. I need to occupy myself until he gets here," Alex replied. "Can you let the transport team to meet me on the helipad in 20 minutes?" he asked Kathy.

"Sure thing honey," she said and closed the door. Kathy was like everyone's mother. She always went out of her way to make sure that everyone on the unit had what they needed, remembered birthdays, was a sounding board for suggestions, and a shoulder to lean on when you needed one.

Suddenly, the door opened and Dr Tanner stepped into the room. "You doing ok, big guy?" he asked and came to sit next to Alex on the couch.

"Greg, it's the middle of the night. What are you doing here?" asked Alex, although, he was sure that he already knew the answer to the question.

"Kathy called me after she finished taking report from the Doc up in Gurnee," Dr. Tanner answered. "She is worried about you, and frankly, so am I. I will take this case myself. Since Mark is your 'family', you don't need to be involved. He will need you at his side. Besides, we don't need your emotions getting in the way of making decisions."

Alex knew that he was right and he appreciated Dr. Tanner coming in during the night to see to Mark's care. "Thanks Greg," Alex said. "I just can't wrap my mind around this. What was he thinking? What happened?" he groaned. His eyes started to fill with tears again.

Dr. Tanner put his arm around Alex's shoulders and said, "I don't know Alex, but I will do everything I can to help him. I looked at the labs that came across the fax machine. His liver enzymes and ammonia levels are high, but I don't think we are looking at end-stage liver failure yet. There may be some hope that we can turn him around, or at least get him better while we get him on the Transplant list."

Alex got up and walked over to the sink and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked horrible from crying. He ran some water and washed his face and blew his nose. His lab jacket was now wrinkled, but that would have to be overlooked. He turned and looked at Dr. Tanner, who was still on the couch and said, "I don't know what I would do without him Greg. I love him so much and I can't lose him."

Dr. Tanner stood up and said, "Well, we will just have to make sure that doesn't happen. Let's go to the helipad. The fresh air will do you some good." With that, the two men left the unit and rode the elevator to the roof where the helipad was located.

~~~~~~

They could hear the helicopter in the distance and getting closer. The helipad lights and beacon were activated and the transport team had arrived with a stretcher. Alex was shaking as he watched the team get ready for the helicopter to land. They moved like a well oiled machine. He knew this, as he has been part of the team for a long time, but right now it gave him a great sense of comfort. Dr. Tanner was standing next to him and would be the one to talk to the Flight Doc, as Mark was transferred from the helicopter to the waiting stretcher.

As the copter landed, all the internal lights came on and Alex could see Mark through the windows. The Flight Nurse was taking a last set of vital signs and the Medic was taking him off the transport ventilator and attaching the Ambu bag which would provide ventilation and oxygen during the short elevator ride down to the unit and into the room, where he would be attached to another ventilator and the other monitoring equipment. While Dr. Tanner was talking to the Flight Doc, Alex stepped forward to assist with getting Mark out of the copter and onto the stretcher. Mark's eyes were closed and did not open at all when he was moved. Alex quickly scanned the bags and bottles hanging and pumping different medications into Mark's veins. He noticed the small bottle filled with a white milky substance that signaled that he was being given Propofol, which is a powerful sedative. "That's good," thought Alex, relieved that at least Mark was comfortable right now.

The trip down to the unit and into the room took less than five minutes. The nurses on the unit who were available at the time came into the room to assist getting Mark into the bed and then attaching him to the monitoring equipment in the room. Kelly, the nurse from the Code earlier was assigned to care for Mark for the rest of the shift. Alex knew her well and was confident in her skill.

After the other staff left the room and as Kelly was getting report from the Flight Nurse, Alex approached the bed. He bent down and took Mark's hand in his, feeling it's warmth and noticed the yellow tint to his skin and the mild smell of ammonia coming off his body that signaled liver injury. He rested his forehead against Mark's and sighed. "What happened up there baby?" he silently asked, not expecting a response. "I need you Mark," he said as tears slid down his cheeks. He softly kissed Mark on the cheek and then brought Mark's hand up and rested it against his own cheek.

Kelly pushed a chair up behind him and put the side rail down, so that he could sit at the side of the bed and be close to Mark. "Thanks Kelly," he said. He sat there for a while and watched Mark's chest rise and fall with each breath delivered by the ventilator. His tears continued to flow unchecked. He kissed the hand still held in his and laid his head down on Mark's chest and closed his eyes willing this to only be a bad dream.

Alex must have drifted off, because suddenly he aroused by a commotion in the hallway. He heard loud voices coming toward the room. Dr. Tanner stepped into the room followed by a gentleman that Alex guessed to be in his late 60's to early 70's with graying hair. His eyes were wide and his face was reddened. He resembled Mark, so this could only be his father.

"Mr. Schmidt," Dr. Tanner said. "This is A.."

"I know who this is!" Mr. Schmidt spat. He took two strides toward the bed "He is the cause of this shit!" he yelled.

End of Chapter 2