Secrets

I'm sorry this took so long to write and post. Thank you for being patient. I am already working on the next chapter.

Bird_Man_RN

*

Alex was shocked and he couldn't believe what he just heard Mark's father say. He looked at Dr. Tanner who also had a look of confusion on his face. Mark's father stood next to the bed with his hands clenched into fists and his face as red as a fire engine staring at Alex.

"Mr. Schmidt, if you could calm down a little so we could talk about your concerns...," began Dr. Tanner, as he moved to stand next to Mark's father.

"Don't you dare tell me what to do, that is my son lying in that bed!" Mr. Schmidt cut him off. "And he is the one that this is all about," he said with disgust while pointing at Alex.

Rising to his feet while continuing to hold Mark's hand, Alex said, "Mr. Schmidt, I don't understand how you can say that I am to blame for what Mark has done to himself. I can't believe that he would do something like this. Something terrible must have happened that he didn't share with me. We don't keep secrets from each other. I need to find out what has happened."

"What you need to do is let go of my son's hand and step away from the bed," Mr. Schmidt said. "I don't want you anywhere near him." His face was still red and a light sheen of sweat was visible on his forehead. He stood there clenching and unclenching his fists while shifting his weight from foot to foot. He looked like he was ready to strike.

Alex just looked at him and said defiantly, "No, I will not. This is right where I need to be and I am not going anywhere."

"I said step away!" shouted Mark's dad as he moved around to the other side of the bed near Alex. "I knew he was hiding something like this from us. He always acted strange when we suggested coming to the city to see him. He told us that he would rather come home. He has always come alone and never spoke of a girlfriend. His mother thinks that he is too busy at work, but I knew differently," he spat looking Alex directly in the eye. He actually has known Mark's secret for some time. He overheard Mark and his sister talking about it on one of Mark's weekends at home several months ago. But, he was not going to let anyone know.

The tension in the room was palpable. Alex clung to Mark's hand and regarded Mr. Schmidt. He was hurt by what was said and tried not to let it show on his face. This was Mark's dad and he was under stress. Many family members lashed out in situations like this and he felt that he owed it to Mark to keep his own anger in check. They could work through this later.

Dr. Tanner, who remained silent during the exchange, cleared his throat. "Mr. Schmidt? It's John, isn't it? May I call you John?" he asked. "I think right now, we should discuss Mark's condition and come up with a plan for treatment. Is your wife with you?"

"Yeah," Mr. Schmidt said. "My name is John. My wife Becky was on the phone when we came up and she should be here shortly. I think we should wait for her so that she can hear what you have to say. In the meantime, I have one question for him," he said pointing a finger at Alex. "Just how long have you been fucking my son?" he asked with a sneer.

There was a gasp behind him and all three men turned and looked at Mark's mother as she came into the room. "John," she warned, "please control your language." She was a small woman at five feet, four inches with fiery red hair and a look that meant she was all business, in contrast to Mark's father who stood at least six feet tall with dark brown hair and broad shoulders. He looked like a man who was no stranger to hard work.

"I'm sorry Becky," Mr. Schmidt began. "I want to know what has been going on here, so that we can correct the problem before it is too late. We raised Mark to be a good boy and to resist the temptation that degenerates like this man offer. He is weak, but we can make him strong again."

"He is a good man and very strong," said Alex. "I assure you Mr. Schmidt that Mark and I love each other and we make love and it is definitely not 'fucking.'"

With that, Mr. Schmidt wheeled on Alex and growled, "Wrong answer pervert," and punched him in the face. Alex felt the fist hit his face, heard a loud crunch and briefly saw stars before falling on the ground.

Dr. Tanner rushed around to that side of the bed and grabbed Mr. Schmidt's arm before he could hit Alex again and shouted, "That is enough! I want you out of my ICU now!" Turning toward the door, he yelled, "Someone call Hospital Security and CPD! I want Mr. Schmidt escorted out of the hospital!"

Mr. Schmidt pulled his arm free from Dr. Tanner's grasp and said, "You can't make me leave. This is my son. I have every right to be here in this room. I am a powerful man Dr. Tanner and you don't want to mess with me." John Schmidt was a powerful man. He came from a long line of very successful lawyers and a lawyer himself. He has been a Circuit Court Judge for the past 20 years, oversees the family's law practice that he inherited from his father, a Deacon at their church and along with his wife, inherited her family's very successful Industrial Tool Manufacturing Company. As an elected official, he was no stranger to getting results by whatever means possible.

"Just because you believe that you are powerful up north Mr. Schmidt, it doesn't give you the right to throw yourself around here. I will not tolerate this kind of behavior toward my staff," he growled with his eyes narrowed. "You will be lucky if Alex doesn't sue you for assault and battery."

Alex sat up but did not attempt to stand. The shift in position made him very dizzy. His ears were ringing and blood was dripping from his nose coloring the front of his scrub top a bright scarlet. He sniffed and suddenly felt an intense sharp pain between his eyes. With a groan he leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. He knew his nose was broken, but the dizziness, ringing in the ears and intense pain signaled there may also be a concussion.

Several of the nurses gathered outside the room, drawn by the commotion. When they saw Alex sit up, Kelly, Mark's nurse rushed in and grabbed some gauze and squatted next to him. "Alex, are you ok?" she asked holding the gauze to his nose. "We need to get you down to the ER to get your nose packed and a CT scan. You hit your head pretty hard when you fell," she said while applying more gauze to his nose.

"Just let me sit here for a minute," Alex said. "I will be fine. Besides, I am not leaving while Mark's parents are in the room," he added trying to prevent Kelly from lifting him off the ground. He was still dizzy and getting nauseated. It felt like the room was spinning and he was trying not to lose focus on Mark's dad in case he decided to attack him again.

Two members of Hospital Security suddenly appeared at the door. "Is there a problem here Dr. Tanner?" one of them asked. "CPD is on the way here," he stated as he looked around at he occupants of the room, his eyes widening as his gaze settled on Alex sitting on the ground covered in blood, his nose swollen, misshaped and obviously broken and the beginning of what would look like a nasty left black eye.

Dr. Tanner motioned to Mr. Schmidt and said, "This gentleman was just leaving and needs to be shown the front entrance of the hospital and is not to return until he calms down." With this, the two security guards moved toward Mr. Schmidt and attempted to grab him by the arms.

"Do not lay a hand on me," he spat and looked first at Alex then Dr. Tanner. "I will leave for now, but you are about to find out just how powerful a man I am." He spun on his heel and left the ICU with the two security guards in tow. Mrs. Schmidt looked on, unsure what to do and finally seemed to make up her mind and followed her husband.

Dr. Tanner came over to where Alex remained on the floor and squatted to look into his eyes with a pen light. "Kelly, please go get a wheel chair. Alex, you are going to the ER," he said. When Alex started to protest, he held up his hand. "I know you want to be here, but you need to be checked out. I will order the tests, but you have to go to the ER and register as a patient first."

Kelly and Dr. Tanner helped Alex into the wheel chair. Alex sighed and said, "Ok Greg, I'll go but when I am finished, I will be right back up here."

~~~~~~~

The CT scan and X-Ray confirmed that Alex's nose was broken and revealed that he also suffered a slight concussion from hitting his head on the floor and a small left orbital fracture. There was not much that could be done about his nose except for packing it to control the bleeding and hopefully it would heal without being too misshapen. Kelly took his scrub top and placed it in the laundry hamper and gave him a clean top that she took from the ER physicians lounge. Looking at himself in the mirror, Alex groaned at the reflection of his swollen and purple left eye and nose. The ER staff gave him a bolus of IV fluids and an IV dose of anti-inflammatory to decrease the swelling of his brain caused by the blow to the head. When the dizziness and nausea subsided, the ER physician released him with instructions to take it easy for the next few days. Alex signed the release papers and headed for the elevators, albeit slowly to return to the ICU to see Mark.

When he entered the room, Kelly was busy managing the IV's, taking vital signs and straightening the room. Mark looked very comfortable and the cardiac monitor showed a normal sinus rhythm. "Hi Kelly," Alex said walking over to the bed and kissing Mark's cheek. He straightened the covers and was rewarded with the musky scent that he loved of his man that wafted up to him. "How is he doing?"

"He's stable Alex," Kelly said with a smile. "We drew labs while you were gone and Dr. Tanner did a complete physical assessment. Aside from the liver function test, all of his other organ systems are functioning normally. He said that the Doc up north did a good job of managing his care because his liver enzyme levels have already started to drop a little. He said that with any luck, we can wake him up and get him off the ventilator in a few days." Her smile faded a little and she said, "Oh, and Dr. Tanner had me call Andie and Jim. They are on the way here."

Alex sighed. Andrea or "Andie" is his older sister and Jim is her husband. They live in one of the western suburbs and both work in the city. "That's ok Kelly. I was going to call them soon anyway. I just didn't want to call them in the middle of the night," he said. It would be nice to have his sister here for support. He also needed to call his parents. They retired after Alex graduated from college and moved to Florida. They loved Mark like a son and would want to be here with Alex. He hadn't even had the chance yet to tell any of his family that he and Mark are now engaged. A lot has happened in a short amount of time. "Please tell Dr. Tanner that I am back on the unit and I will be in here with Mark if he needs me." Kelly just nodded and left the room to give Alex some privacy.

Alex pulled a chair next to the bed and sat down. He grabbed Mark's hand and entwined their fingers and used his other hand to brush back the hair that fell across his forehead. This is the man he loves lying here in this bed so sick and vulnerable. Alex took in the sight of his man looking peaceful, his beautiful face relaxed from the sedation and the sounds of the monitors and ventilator and it was too much for him to handle. All of the stress and anxiety from the phone call a few hours ago and the confrontation with Mark's father was finally enough and he began to break down. Tears were streaming down his face and he tightened his grip on Mark's hand. "Baby, I am so sorry this is happening to you," he whispered while wiping tears from his eyes. "You are here with us now and Greg is going to do his best to make you better."

~~~~~~

Alex continued to sit at Mark's side stroking his face, holding his hand and talking in quiet tones about nothing in particular. With his experience in Critical Care, he knew that the sedatives would cause amnesia, but patients regularly reported hearing familiar voices even if they didn't know what was being said to them. Alex hoped that somewhere deep inside that Mark knew that he was there and would receive comfort from their closeness. It was also helping Alex to relax somewhat. He needed to be close to Mark right now and knew that he would have to be as strong as possible to get them both through this.

Suddenly, his sister was bustling through the door with her husband in tow. She hurried around the bed to where Alex was seated and threw her arms around his neck. "Oh Alex, I am so sorry this has happened," she said. "Do you know yet what caused him to do this?" She reached over and ran her hand lightly down Mark's arm to the hand that Alex was holding and let her hand rest on top of his.

"No, not exactly," said Alex. "He left Friday morning to spend the weekend at home for his sister's wedding as you know. He told me on Thursday night that he was planning to come out to his family this weekend." He then proceeded to tell his sister about the call from the hospital up north and the confrontation with Mark's father. "I wish I would have called him" he groaned. "I knew that he would be busy with family, tux fittings, rehearsals and everything else that goes into a wedding. I can't help thinking that if I called him, this wouldn't have happened."

"Well," said Andie, "if I know Mark as well as I think I do, coming out to his parents wouldn't be enough to cause him to do something like this. Has anything happened between you two? Has anything changed?" she asked.

Alex smiled a little and said, "We got engaged on Thursday before he left for the weekend." He sighed and turned toward Mark. "Friday morning was the last time we spoke. He called me when he was exiting the interstate to let me know he made it up there and to tell me that he loves me." His eyes welled with tears and he hitched in a breath. Andie put her arms around him and rubbed his back.

"Alex, that's wonderful news. Mom and Dad will be so happy for you and Mark. I know this is hard for you honey. We will get this all figured out," Andie said. She looked across the room to where Jim was asleep in a chair. "I better go wake him up and get some food in him before he goes to work. I called my manager on the way here and took today off so that I can be with you. Why don't you get some rest? It's probably going to be a long day."

Alex nodded and said, "Ok, Sis. I will sit here as long as I can then I will probably go to the Doc's break room and lay down on one of the couches." He watched her wake Jim and get him to his feet. As they left, they both waved and Andie let Alex know that she would be back after eating and dropping Jim off at work. Alex sank back into the chair, closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Several hours later, Alex woke to the sound of the room's television softly tuned to a news channel. He looked over at Mark and then to the monitor and noted that his heart rhythm and vital signs were all normal. Standing to stretch, he noticed Andie sitting on the opposite side of the bed with her laptop open. "Hey Sis," he yawned and squinted in the sun light coming in the window. "How long have I been asleep?"

Andie looked up and closed her laptop. "About four hours," she said. "Kelly has been in here every thirty minutes to check on both you and Mark. Dr. Tanner stopped in two hours ago to check on him, and then said that he was going to go take a nap. He told the nurses that you were not to be bothered and that he was taking call for the rest of the night. He seems like a really nice guy."

"He is," Alex said. "Greg is awesome to work for, and we have become good friends."

Alex turned his attention back to Mark and sighed. He still didn't have any answers as to why this happened. Mark was stronger than this. Even if his father was furious, which he obviously was, Alex could not believe that an argument would bring Mark to try and take his life. Something else was happening that was not shared. Secrets were not going to work, if their relationship and impending marriage were to survive.

Alex wondered if he missed any clues in the weeks or months leading up to last night. He didn't think so. He was sure that he and Mark were always very honest to each other and didn't hide anything.

He was deep in thought when Andie's voice broke through. "Alex!" she said, "Come back down to earth! I have called your name three times."

Alex looked over and chuckled. "Sorry sis. I have been trying to figure out what has happened and kind of got lost," he said. "What's up?"

"I was saying, why don't we go to the cafeteria and get something to eat?" she responded. "I'm hungry, and if I know you, you haven't eaten since you left home last evening."

Alex shook his head. "No, I'm not hungry. You go get something to eat. I'll be right here when you get back. I don't want to leave Mark," he said.

Before Andie could respond, there was a voice from the doorway. "You should listen to her Alex. You might even consider a shower and clean clothes. I have seen trauma patients in better shape than you."

Alex and Andie both looked toward the door, where Kip Preston was standing with a chart in his hand. "Hello Kip," growled Alex. "Where were you last night? I missed getting report from you."

Kip had the decency to blush before responding. "Sorry Alex, I kind of got side tracked. You know the little blonde nurse in the ER? I took her out to dinner last night. There were no calls, and I left a written report in the lounge. Did you find it?" he asked.

"No, but lucky for you, I know all of these patients," said Alex. "You know that we are supposed to have a face-to-face shift report. Maintaining Residency here is tough and I am sure that Greg would like to hear..."

"Ok, I get it," Kip interrupted. "I'm sorry and I promise it won't happen again. I got carried away and lost track of time. You know how that is, don't you?" he asked.

"Yeah, I do. We are cool," said Alex. "So, you are on today? Is that Mark's chart?" he asked.

"Yes, it is. Janna is his nurse today and we are taking Mark down to CT to do a full body scan. Dr Tanner has already approached the Ethics and Transplant committees with a request to place him on the list, so we are going to start all of the testing this morning," said Kip. "As much as I hate to admit this, his request will probably be expedited because Mark is a Director here and because of you. Why don't you go get something to eat and get a shower? Scans and labs are going to take a while."

"Ok Kip, I know you are right," said Alex. "I know all of this stuff, but it's different when you are personally involved. I'll give you some time and then I will be back. You just have to promise me that you will keep a close eye on him and call my cell phone if anything happens."

"Gotcha buddy," replied Kip as he reached out and squeezed Alex's shoulder. "I will treat him like he is my own family. I promise."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three hours later, after breakfast, coffee, a shower and clean scrubs borrowed from the locker room, Alex emerged from the Doctor's lounge and saw Andie outside Mark's room deep in conversation with a woman that he was not familiar with. As he walked up to them, the women turned breaking off the conversation.

"You must be Alex," the woman said extending her hand. "I am Sharon Frey. I'm one of the attorneys retained by the hospital to assist with ethical issues. I've heard a lot of good things about you. Your reputation as a clinician is well known here at the hospital."

"Ethical issues?" asked Alex. He turned to Andie who looked pale and strained. "Do we have any issues? Mark attempted suicide, but that is usually a Psych concern, not Ethics."