Author: A. J. Marcus
Category: LGBT
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Jasmine was wiping down the counter when they reached her.
“Jas,” Austin huffed, trying to catch his breath enough to talk.
“What’s wrong, sweetie?” she asked as she looked at him with concern in her eyes.
He shook his head. “Dale’s been hurt. Do you know where Castle Rock Memorial Hospital is? They’ve taken him there.”
“Barta, I got to go!” she shouted to the big woman at the other end of the bar. “Family emergency.”
“Be careful!” the barkeep shouted as Jasmine swung herself over the bar.
“I know where it is,” she said, grabbing Austin’s arm. “I don’t think you should be driving right now.” She glanced back at Chipmunk. “You coming?”
“He’s my friend too!” he said as they raced down the hill toward the parking lot.
An hour later, after sitting in the after-fair traffic jam that clogged the two-lane roads around Larkspur and had backed up traffic on I-25 for miles, they made it the fifteen miles to Castle Rock Memorial Hospital. Jasmine pulled the Jeep up to the emergency room door and dropped off Austin and Chip.
Austin’s brain had been going nonstop, with visions of Dale mangled—his handsome face bashed in, great slashes across his muscular chest—attached to a great number of machines to keep him alive. His heart was pounding so hard in his chest, other people should be able to hear it. What was he going to do if Dale died of his injuries? How could he go on? He’d only known Dale a few weeks, but he had come to mean so much to him in that short period of time.
In the waiting room, they spotted Catherine sitting there still in her fair garb, like them. Her delicate face was blotchy from crying.
Austin rushed over to her. “How is he?”
“Oh gods, Austin, it was terrible.” She grabbed hold of his hands. “John just went after him with that mace. I would never have thought the man had the balls to do something like that.”
“Is Dale going to be okay?”
“They just took him to surgery. One of the blood vessels in his shoulder is bleeding out. His shoulder is smashed. When they pulled his shirt off, I saw bone sticking out. It was horrible.”
Austin’s head spun again and he sank to his knees in front of her. She never let go of his hand. “What did the doctors say?”
“They said they had to get the bleeding stopped. That’s why they had to operate so quickly. They started him on blood in the ambulance since he was losing so much.” Her hand shook as she spoke. Her nose dripped and she let go of Austin with one hand while she dabbed at it.
“Oh shit.” Jasmine appeared behind Austin. She placed her hand on his head.
“He can’t die,” Austin said softly. “I just found him. He can’t die on me.”
“He won’t die,” Jasmine said, stroking his hair. “The doctors are going to do everything they can for him.”
Catherine heaved a big sigh. “And we’ll all be here for him. We’ll be strong.”
Austin nodded. “We’ll be strong.”
“So why did John go after him?” Jasmine asked as she seated herself in the chair next to Catherine.
“He was shouting about he was the Hand of God and he had to defeat the Dark Duke,” Catherine said with a shake of her head. “I think he just finally lost it.”
As he remembered John shouting at him in the privies, Austin’s heart skipped a beat. “Did he find out about Dale and me? Could he have gone after him because he knew Dale was gay?”
“Dale did say something at lunch today about John acting funny the past few days, but he didn’t think too much about it,” Cat said. “And by the way, why weren’t you at lunch?”
“We’ve been trying to keep a low profile around the site since the party,” Austin replied. “Only seeing each other briefly or off-site. We were supposed to have dinner tonight with you two.”
“From the gossip I’ve heard, there aren’t any rumors about the two of you,” Chip said from his seat on Catherine’s far side.
“Well, rumors or not, there’s a good possibility he found out somewhere,” Catherine said. “Unfortunately, John’s more unstable than any of us realized.”
“John Bishop’s a coward,” Austin said. “When he caught us in the privies, he just backed away and started shouting.”
“But if he’s unstable enough to go completely into the character he’s playing, John the Bold, Knight of Justice and the Right Hand of God, isn’t a coward,” Catherine added. “He would have the balls to do whatever John Bishop couldn’t. I’ve heard of people getting so into their character that it takes over, but never to this extent.”
“Unfortunately, it happens more often than we’d like,” a rough voice said from behind them. “I have to agree I think that’s what happened here. Whether John attacked Dale because he was killing a demon or just having a homophobic episode will be for someone other than me to decide.”
Austin looked up at Max, the jousting director, who was leaning heavily on his cane just feet away from them. The old man looked more tired than Austin could recall ever having seen him look before.
“What’s going to happen to John?” Chipmunk asked.
“A lot depends on if Dale wants to file assault charges,” he replied.
“We won’t know that for a while,” Austin said, releasing Cat’s hands to stand next to Max.
“You look more wobbly than I feel, young man,” Max said. “Let’s sit down.” He settled on the other side of Chipmunk so Austin could sit next to Jasmine. “If you all are out here, I presume he’s in surgery?”
Cat nodded. “Went in a little while ago so they could stop the bleeding in the shoulder.”
Max sagged. “I think I’m getting too old for this. First Richard has his fall and now Dale.”
“Was there anything suspicious about Richard’s fall?” Jasmine asked before anyone else could say anything.
“Not that we determined.” Max shook his head.
“But what if John had something to do with it, John or someone else?” Jasmine continued. “Who would stand to gain from Richard getting hurt?” Austin thought about her words as the antiseptic smell of the waiting room seeped in around him. Even with actors, there was still court intrigue. Why couldn’t people just leave well enough alone and let others lead their lives?
Max shrugged. “Don’t know. If we hadn’t found Dale to fill in for Richard, Sir Marcus would have been moved up to dark knight status and we would have found another second for him.”
“Where was Marcus this afternoon while the fight was going on?” Catherine asked, a dangerous glint appearing in her blue eyes.
“He was having trouble with his saddle, so we opted to pull him from the final joust,” Max replied. “I really need the funds to get more equipment so we have replacements in case of emergency.”
“If Marcus had been there, he might have been able to stop the fight more quickly. There would’ve been four men on the field, not three,” Chipmunk added.
Max nodded. “As it was, he came off the sidelines as fast as he could, but not in time. Like the rest of us, he got there too late.” His broad shoulders sagged. It was fairly obvious he was carrying a lot of the weight of the fight.
“It’s not your fault this happened,” Austin said.
“Not so sure about that,” Max sighed. “I might have been able to cut this off if I’d realized how far out there John really was. He came to me the other day, demanding I do something about the gays at fair. I told him to stop being ridiculous, there was nothing I could do. You know he works for one of the megachurches down in the Springs, right? I wonder if he got it in his head there weren’t any gays in the fifteenth century and he had to get rid of those he found? I just don’t know. How can anyone know the way some people’s minds work?”
Catherine shook her head. “Max, I don’t know if I hope you’re right or you’re wrong. If you’re right, then he needs major mental help. And if you’re wrong, he’s got a lot more brain power than I would’ve given him c
redit for.”
“You know, the sad thing is, the only people that have enough hatred to bludgeon someone the way he attacked Dale are closet cases,” Max said. “I never took him for a closet case, but then none of us ever met his fiancée either.”
“What happened to John after you guys broke them up?” Austin asked, hoping the man was also in the emergency room.
“Security showed up while we were waiting for the ambulance to get there,” Max said. “The last I saw of John, he was talking with them.”
“Shouting at them is more accurate,” Cat chimed in. “He was still ranting when you guys got Dale on the stretcher and headed behind the scenes with the paramedics.”
“Hopefully they hauled his ass to jail,” Jasmine said. “To sit there until Dale can press charges.”
At that point, Austin didn’t care. He just wanted Dale out of surgery and on the road to recovery. He’d heard of people being brutally beaten and even killed for being gay. It had never happened to someone he knew, or worse… someone he was close to. Maybe Max was right. Maybe John was repressing his gayness because of religious beliefs and that self-hatred had found an outlet in Dale. Dale, who was so far from a stereotypical gay man. Dale, who was strong and loving. My Dale. How could anyone want to hurt my Dale? The man I love.
Austin stopped and stared around the room. The others were still talking theories of why John had done it. He had just finished the thoughts that began days ago… actually weeks ago. Sitting in the waiting room, not knowing if he was going to get to see Dale again, Austin finally admitted to himself he was falling in love with Dale. He couldn’t be sure if Dale felt the same way. But at that moment, it didn’t matter. He was in love, and someone had tried to take that love away from him. How could anyone be so cruel?
The door at the far end of the waiting room swung open and a green-smocked doctor walked in. He glanced around the room before walking toward Catherine.
“Miss, you’re here with Dale O’Toole, right?” he asked.
Cat nodded. “Yes. Is he going to be all right?”
The doctor looked grim. “We got the bleeding stopped and the arteries repaired. We’ve ordered a replacement joint for his shoulder.”
“A replacement joint?” Austin grabbed Jasmine’s hand and clung to his friend. He tried to imagine the pain Dale must be in. This would cost him his job. Did the man know how to be anything other than a jouster? Would he even be able to ride a horse again?
“The bones of the shoulder are too badly crushed to be put back together. Luckily, we can rebuild the joint. The parts will be here Monday. Is there any family we can contact? We’ll also need to find out about insurance.”
“I’m his boss,” Max said. “The fair’s insurance will cover everything.”
“Good.” The doctor nodded. “He should be out of recovery in a couple of hours and moved to a ward. I suggest you folks go get changed and relax. Your friend is going to live.”
“Thank God,” Austin sighed, not releasing Jasmine’s hands as the doctor walked away.
Jasmine pulled a tissue from her purse. “Sweetie, you need this.”
Austin sniffed and realized tears were pouring out of his eyes as he took the tissue and Jasmine caught him up in a big hug. Cradled against her shoulder, he let the stress of the past hours flood out of him. The tears flowed, and he barely felt the others join the hug. Dale was going to live. Austin would have a chance to tell Dale how much he loved him. But right now, the important thing was he was going to live.
Chapter 27
The bright lights hurt Dale’s eyes, so he opened them slowly. The antiseptic smell of a hospital filled his nose. He tried to remember what happened. How had he ended up in the hospital? He’d been on Champion in the final joust. The arena had been muddy and the rain had continued into their performance. John had forgotten the script. Dale moved slightly and pain shot through his right shoulder. He remembered John’s mace pounding into him while John went all religious on him.
“Don’t move around much,” Austin said from his left side.
Dale tried to turn his head to get a look at the man, but the pain in his shoulder was too great. He moaned.
“Hold on, I’ll go get a nurse, let them know you’re awake.” Austin’s shadow passed over. He must have left the door open. The sounds of the hospital rolled into Dale’s quiet place. Somewhere nearby, someone pushed a cart with a squeaky wheel down a hard floor. A beeping sounded close by. Two sets of footfalls came closer.
“Mister O’Toole?” a female asked softly from the door.
“Yes?” His voice was weak and his throat dry.
“Good, we figured you should wake up soon.” The nurse walked over to the bedside. “How do you feel?”
“Shoulder hurts, and I need a drink.”
“I can get him some water,” Austin said. Seconds later, his footfalls retreated down the hall.
“Let me adjust your IV so you can get more of the painkillers now that you’re awake,” the nurse said. “You’re going to be out of it for a couple of days, and the doctors want to replace your shoulder.”
“Replace my shoulder?” Dale had begun to notice the bandages wrapped around his chest. “How bad is it?”
“Dr. Hall will be in shortly to discuss that with you. The damage is fairly extensive.”
The pain began to subside as the nurse talked and the drugs in his system strengthened.
“Here’s some water,” Austin said, appearing at the bedside. Dale turned his eyes toward him. He still had on his white Renfair shirt with the cloth ties up the front. His hair was still pulled back, but he’d lost the hat he normally wore at fair.
The nurse took the cup of water from Austin and produced a straw from somewhere before offering it to Dale. The straw slipped between his lips. The water was the sweetest thing he’d tasted since his last kiss with Austin.
“Thanks,” he muttered, his voice stronger as she pulled the cup away.
“You’re welcome. Just be still for a while. I’ll notify the doctor you’re awake, and he’ll be here shortly.” She turned and vanished from Dale’s limited view.
“We’ve all been so worried about you.” Austin leaned over the bed.
“Where are we?”
“Castle Rock Memorial Hospital. It’s the closest hospital to the fair.”
“How long was I out?”
“Only a few hours. They had you in surgery by the time Jas, Chip, and I got here. Cat rode with you in the ambulance. They’ve gone back to the site to change out of their fair clothes and bring me street clothes.”
“Why was I in surgery? The nurse said something about replacing my shoulder.”
“You had massive bleeding.” Austin’s voice caught with emotion for a moment. “We were afraid we were going to lose you. I don’t know if I could stand to lose you.”
Dale reached up with his good left hand and caught Austin’s fingers. “You haven’t lost me.” He’d never had someone get choked up at the thought of losing him before. Even as the painkillers dulled him, he knew the hurt would be much worse if he lost Austin.
Austin squeezed his hand. “I know. But your shoulder’s still a mess. The whole joint and several of the bones around it are going to need to be repaired or replaced. The doctor already said they’ve ordered the parts and they should be here Monday, but they’ll need your permission to operate.”
Dale didn’t like the idea of going under the knife and having artificial parts put into his body, but it was better than not having use of the shoulder for the rest of his life. He didn’t want to be an invalid.
“Anyone else been up to see me?” he asked. He didn’t want to discuss the shoulder right now.
Austin nodded. “Max was here for a while. When the doctor came out and announced you’d survived surgery, he went into the hospital office for a while, then headed back to the site. He said he’d come back in the morning, before things start happening for fair. You’ll probably have more visitors Monday when t
hings aren’t as busy.”
“So what happened to John?” Dale wasn’t really sure he was up to hearing about the man who’d cracked and attacked him, but he had to ask.
“All I know is they took him into custody. Max said he was being held until you could decide if you wanted to press charges or not.” Austin’s voice took on an angry edge. “I thought you two were friends.”
Dale sighed. “Not sure if you can call it friends. I thought we’d settled into a good working relationship, but he must have snapped.”
“We’re all wondering if he might not be some kind of closet case and decided to take out his repression on you.”
If his shoulder hadn’t been held in place, Dale would’ve shrugged. “Hard to say.” His head began to swim as the painkillers worked their way deeper into his system. He squeezed Austin’s hand again, happy Austin was there for him as sleep interrupted their conversation.
Dale had no idea how long he’d slept when a soft voice woke him. He looked up into a lined face framed with gray hair that came almost down to bushy gray eyebrows. “Sorry to wake you, Mr. O’Toole, but I need to check your vitals and talk to you for a moment. I’m Dr. Hall.”
A large yawn escaped him. He wondered for a moment if he should try to sit up, but he didn’t want his shoulder to hurt again. His left hand felt cold. When he’d gone to sleep, Austin had been holding it. “Hi, Dr. Hall.”
“You got yourself rather banged up, didn’t you?” The doctor’s voice was kind. “I’m actually surprised you woke up from the operation as quickly as you did. Have they told you what happened?”
Dale didn’t feel like rehashing it with the man. “Yes, they did.”
“Then you know I’ve recommended we replace your shoulder. It’s a fairly easy operation by today’s standards. Now, I understand you’re a jouster?”
“Yes, sir.”
“It may be up to eight months before you can go back to work. You’ll be on limited movement for at least a few weeks. The progress will depend on your physical therapy and how it advances. Are you living with someone, or do you live alone?”