The Village

Seth’s Perspective

What a week! I didn’t remember anything about the accident but my body and face were covered with souvenirs. Zach showed me pictures of my car, my beautiful car… it brought tears to my eyes. The fact that I walked away from it all alive was nothing short of a freaking miracle. I spent the two days in the ICU and several more in the hospital recovering. The doctor’s wanted to make sure that I was stable after the arterial surgery, I had suffered several puncture wounds from the accident and lost a lot of blood. Things seemed to be well but they wanted to observe me to be safe. The lacerations on my face and body were healing well and I didn’t look as hideous but I still felt ugly and self-conscious (dear lord I looked like Frankenstein’s Monster after the accident). I also started rehab for my knee, I knew every inch of that hospital floor like the back of my hand I had walked it with Zach so many times. He spent his days with me working remotely from my hospital room and his nights at home with the kids. Zach waited a couple of days before letting Ms. Elkin know about my accident. Her first reaction was to remove the kids from our care, but Zach pleaded our case and got her to look at what was best for the kids in the long run. He confessed that we wanted to adopt them if it ever became an option, and regardless those kids would have a steady, stable home as long as their mother was in jail (and by the looks of it, that would be a long time). He convinced her that he had all the bases covered and enough help to take care of the kids while I recovered so she reluctantly agreed to leave the kids with us, but was keeping a close eye on the situation. Kelly had showed up unannounced the day after the accident to help Zach (like we didn’t see that coming). She stayed with Eli and Riley at night so our place wasn’t too crowded, and spent her days cleaning our house, fixing meals, running errands, and looking after my family… it was a big relief knowing Zach wasn’t alone.

As for me, I was never alone! Terrance spent any downtime during his shifts in my room, and was always sneaking people in after visiting hours. He snuck Gina into the ICU the day after my accident to visit (of course she just cried for an hour so we barely even talked). My friends and family took shifts coming to see me and making sure I was never alone. My brothers and sisters, even my dad called me daily. Kelly came by on her way from our place back to Eli and Riley’s after Zach got home every night… we would talk about the wedding, the kids, life in general, she even prayed with me a couple of times. It felt good… I wasn’t as close to god as I used to be, but I liked to think we were still friends. The guys from The Village were constantly in and out visiting, hell I even did a couple of sessions from my hospital bed (I think that was more therapeutic for me than them). Of course, BA made regular visits too keeping me in the loop of everything going on at the office and with the guys, her and Rodney kept things rolling. Seriously, I was supposed to be resting but my hospital room was like Grand freaking Central Station with people constantly coming to visit and showering me with gifts and flowers. The outpouring of love and support was over-freaking-whelming.

Another regular visitor was Lizzy. Lizzy was the sixteen year old driver of the vehicle that hit mine. Apparently, she was a new driver and preoccupied with texting her friends when she turned the wrong way out of the mall parking lot onto a one-way street and plowed into me head-on. The impact knocked her out and they couldn’t revive her at the scene, but once they got her to the hospital and got her vitals stabilized, she came around and her injuries were minor. She got away with a concussion and a fractured wrist and was released the next morning. Her parents made her come see me before she left the hospital, when she saw my battered face, she broke down sobbing (not the reaction one hopes for when someone looks at their face) and apologized over and over again. Her parents asked me a lot of personal questions on our first visit like if I was married, if I had kids, what I did for a living, etc. Her father told me later that they wanted her to see me as a person and see how the consequences of her bad choices affected others. I respected the values they were trying to instill. She came back every day to check on me and always brought me something… cookies, flowers, a burger, etc. We talked a lot; she reminded me of Ella. She was a good kid who made a mistake, I was happy I got to know her and her parents.

Raj, one of the obviously gay male nurses on my floor told me I was his favorite patient ever because I had more hot, gay visitors in one week than he’d seen in his entire four years working on the floor. He made a point to come in and meet every one of them. Mason came to visit one night and Raj stuck to us like white on rice. He wasn’t exactly subtle about his attraction to the hot young man, it was cute. He and the entire staff took great care of me, they started to feel like family. So many people came together to take make sure I pulled through.

But Zach. Zach was my rock through all of it! He held our little family together and kept things going while I rested and recovered in the hospital. The hardest part for me was being away from my family, Zach took pictures and videos of the kids for me every day, I had a million pictures that they drew taped on the walls and stacked on the windowsill… it all kept me going. The kids called me a lot, but I refused to facetime no matter how much they begged (and lord did they beg). Zach and I decided it would be best if Freddy and Izzy didn’t visit me in the hospital, I looked like hell and frankly I didn’t want to scare them… but gotdammit I missed them. I couldn’t wait to be with them. To be home. And finally, the day came. I had several more weeks of recovery at home ahead of me before I was one hundred percent again, but I had so much damn support I wasn’t worried about getting through it. Zach and I agreed that it would be okay for the kids to come with him and Kelly to the hospital to pick me up. Most of my bumps and bruises were healed and I could wear real-people clothes again so I wouldn’t have to answer a million questions about why I was wearing a dress with my butt hanging out.

My things were packed and I was sitting in the uncomfortable as hell blue vinal chair in the corner of my hospital room waiting for Zach and the kids to pick me. I heard Izzy in the hallway asking, “Where is Zeff’s room?” I could here Freddy’s little footsteps running closer to the room as Zach yelled at him in a whisper to stop running. Then I saw it, Freddy’s sweet little face in my doorway.

“SETH!!!!” He screamed when he saw me, ran into the room and jumped into my lap, crushing my still healing ribs with a hug and sitting on my aching knee… but I didn’t fucking care. The pain was worth the reward of hugging that little man. God, I had missed him and Izzy so much. Just as that thought went through my mind, Izzy appeared in the doorway yelling “Zeff. Zeff. Zeff…” She toddled over to me at the speed of light and Freddy made room for her on my lap. I had cried silently in my room almost every night from pain, and a couple times in front of Zach from frustration, and even once when it was just me and Eli out of sadness. There I was crying again, hopefully for the last time in that hospital room… this time the tears were pure joy as I was reunited with the family that had only been part of my world for a short time, but had transformed my life. Izzy kissed the bump on my head, then put her forehead against mine and rubbed her barely visible bump against mine.

As I was reuniting with Freddy and Izzy, Zach came into the room, followed by Kelly, followed by my dad… holy shit! My dad came to see me. “Dad! What are you doing here?” I said in a state of total surprise.

“I had to come see you and make sure you were alright” he said as he made his way toward the vinal chair and hugged me, smushing the kids between us. “I got in this morning and am staying with Eli for a couple of days. I just had to see you to know you were okay, but I don’t want to be in the way” he said still hugging me.

“I think that’s great, dad. I’m happy to see you” I said with more tears. Damn, who would’ve thought leaving the hospital would be so damn emotional?

“Look at all this stuff we have to clear out of here” Kelly said looking around the room at the florist worth of flowers and the Hallmark Store worth of gifts and cards covering every flat surface. “I’m glad we brought two cars” she added as she shifted into control mode. She explained that I would ride home with Zach and the kids while she and my dad would take the truck with all the flowers and gifts. Kelly had brought several bags with her to the hospital that morning; she had gotten to know the staff and had brought a little something personal for each of them for taking such good care of me. Raj and several of the other nurses on the floor came in to meet the kids, god knows I had talked about them enough. As the staff filed through, Kelly gave them their gifts. I notice her slip Raj a note, after he left the room, I asked her what it was. “Mason’s phone number” she said with a smile, “dear lord don’t tell me you didn’t notice.” I just laughed when she added “and they will be adorable together.” My hurricane of a mother in-law had taken control of the damn hospital… I guess I should’ve known she would. She and my dad started to take things down to the truck while Zach helped me up from the hard chair and we walked to the nurses station to show off the kids and thank the staff for everything. The past week was like being transported into an alternate universe, this little hospital world that was away from my real world… the world I loved. Hospital stays suck, but I had found a community there and I would miss the people.

Raj wheeled me to the parking structure in a wheelchair (they made me do that). We stopped at an unfamiliar SUV and Zach opened the door. “Whose is this?” I asked Zach.

“The insurance company gave us a rental for a few weeks until we can find you another car” he replied. I sighed. I didn’t want another car, I wanted MY car, I only had it a short time but I freaking loved it. “And Eli bought us new seats for the kids” he added.

“Eli surprised me a lot this week. He plays tough straight guy, but there’s this amazing soft side to him” I said as I stood out of the wheelchair and got in the passenger seat of the SUV. Zach put the kids in their seats, then we all said goodbye to Raj. “Hey,” I said quietly to the nurse, “call Mason. He’s a great guy.” Raj smiled back at me and nodded. I figured if they got together, then some good would’ve have come from this (thankfully) minor tragedy. Zach got in, shut the last of the doors and turned on The Romantics. The four of us sang our way towards home… god, I had missed my life.

“Check this out” Zach said as he turned the volume down up front so we could talk, but left it loud so the kids kept singing. I laughed; he was turning into such a parent. “So, are you comfortable, or is it painful to sit like that?” he asked.

“I’m comfortable; I am most of the time thanks to the meds” I laughed. The doctors had me on all kinds of stuff, although over the past couple of days I had been weaned off most of it. “I get sudden pain attacks in my knee and head occasionally, but it’s bearable and I just need to be careful. The doctor said that was normal. He told me to just take it easy, stay active but don’t overexert. It’ll be another five or six weeks before I’m one hundred percent, but I should be able to go back to work in a couple weeks.” I said.

“Well, I was thinking…” Zach said. “Freddy has spring break the week after next, and if you were up for it… maybe we could go to Phoenix and visit Brad and Scotty.” He looked over at me to see my reaction as the kids kept singing in the backseat. “You could kick back, the kids could meet everyone… we need a break.”

I thought about it for a minute, “It would be nice to get out of the cold and hang out with the kids in the pool.”

“You could do PT in the pool” Zach responded. “Plus, your fucking family needs to see you” he chuckled. “They’ve been driving me nuts with calls and texts all day every day, I think everyone in Arizona would feel better if they could see you were alive and well.”

I looked at him with a smile on my face, “You deserve some R&R too. Can you get off work?”

“Yeah. I can work remotely” he said. “Honestly, I got more work done from your hospital room when you were sleeping or in PT than I ever would have in the office with people interrupting me every two seconds.”

“I think Phoenix sounds like a good plan. I’ll call Brad tonight” I said.

“Good. For the record I already talked to him and Scotty about it” Zach said with a grin, “It was Brad’s idea.” We talked about logistics for a few minutes before we turned into our long driveway and made our way home. When the house was in view, I saw several cars parked by the old barn… Max’s new truck, Old Blue (Maverick’s truck), the green beetle, Colton’s old corolla, etc. “What’s everybody doing her?” I asked. “I’m not up for a party, Zach. I just wanna be home.”

“It’s not a party… that I know of” Zach said with a curious expression on his face as he parked the SUV. “I let Colton in earlier, he wanted to cook you a surprise welcome home dinner, but I have no clue about the others.” Zach jumped out of the driver’s seat and ran over to open my door. Petunia and Zoey came running from behind the barn, but Zach stopped them before they could jump on me and made them sit patiently. I stood, using the vehicle as a crutch while Zach unloaded the kids from their seats. I finally bent over and greeted the waiting pups, Petunia slathered my face with kisses… she obviously missed me. Freddy and Izzy ran free when they got out of the car. Max and Brody emerged from behind the barn.

“What are all y’all doing here?” I asked. I had lived in North Carolina less than a year and my southern accent came and went.

“We’re out back with a bunch of the guys tillin’ the garden” Brody said.

“We didn’t want you to miss out on your first garden because of the stupid accident” Max added. It was early March and almost planting time. “Maverick and Grayson are out back working their asses off.”

Zach handed me my crutches and I hobbled my way out back. The guys cheered when I came around the corner of the barn. For the second time that day my eyes were welling up with tears… All these people gathering around me. Next, I hobbled my way into the spotless house (thanks to Kelly) and into the kitchen where Colton was hard at work making not one, but several meals. He wiped his hands on his apron and hugged me, my ribs were still tender and I winced. He backed off instantly. “I’m sorry I didn’t visit you” he said. Colton was the only one who didn’t visit me, he was working constantly when he wasn’t in class. I worried that he might be working too hard, but he was motivated and I respected the hell out of his resolve. “I made you ten meals for the freezer, that should hold you” he said before rattling off what he made. “Tonight, I just made a simple feta and spinach stuffed chicken breast with asparagus and a side salad” he said like a waiter explaining the special of the day.

“Colton, this is too much, you didn’t have to do this” I said.

“Well, I did the cooking, but the guys pitched in for the ingredients.” He said before his tone turned serious. “You scared the shit outta us, Seth. Where the hell would we all be without you?” Damn the tears again. I didn’t do shit but guide them, they all did the work, but still… the fact that they thought of me like that was… well…. Life affirming. I felt like I had purpose.

My dad and Kelly showed up with all the stuff from the hospital. They guys emptied the truck for them and by the time they were done, the house looked like a freaking funeral parlor with flowers everywhere. Izzy walked around smelling them all and repeating “pretty” after each one… cute as hell. About a half hour after I got home the place was empty except for the four of us. Everyone had welcomed me home, did what they were there to do (cook, garden, unload flowers… whatever) then left me to enjoy an amazing dinner with my husband and the two kids who rocked our world. I was home.

After Zach put the kids to bed, we sat on the patio in our sweats enjoying the cold winter/spring Carolina night… I was just happy to be outside! Zach set our phones so we could hear the two baby monitors so we could keep track of the kids while we caught up. Zach told me about his discussions with the insurance company, his thoughts on a new vehicle for me, his conversations with Ms. Elkin… all that stuff. Suddenly we heard Izzy’s tiny voice through the monitor, “Feddy, I sleep wif you” she said. Freddy argued with her for a minute then gave in. The I heard her ask “Who loves me?” Freddy answered, “I love you.” Then she said, “Momma loves me?” Freddy answered, “Momma loves you.”

“Oh my god… listen to this” Zach said in a whispered laugh. “I’ve been doing this with her at night while you were in the hospital. She asked me when you were coming home, so I told her you had to rest for a while but that you loved her, so she kept asking me if other people loved her… she names like any name she can think of and will go on forever.” Zach was loving this.

“Zeff loves me?” Izzy asked.

“Seth loves you” Freddy answered.

“Sach love me?” Izzy asked.

“Zach loves you” Freddy answered.

“Freddy is totally improvising” Zach said. “I never did this with him.” We listened to the two siblings go back and forth about everyone who loved them until they went quiet… we assumed they fell asleep. Zach helped me out of the patio chair, into the house, and up the stairs. We stepped over Petunia who had taken her station in the hallway and peeked into Freddy’s room to see the two of them asleep together, face-to-face on Freddy’s bed. Zach tucked them in then walked me to our room and locked the door behind us.

We both stripped down to our underwear and got in bed. I could only get comfortable on my back, and Zach lay on his side staring at me and stroking my cheek. I had my head turned and was looking at him. “You only get to do that once” he whispered.

“Do what?” I asked.

“Almost die and scare the fuck out of me” He said with a smile, a sad smile. It was clear I had freaked him out. “God, Seth. I was so scared. I really thought…” He took a deep breath. “I really thought I lost you.” There were tears in his eyes as he looked into mine. I could tell there was more he wanted to say, but I just couldn’t hear it yet, it was all too fresh.

“But you didn’t. I’m here.” I said. I wanted to kiss him but my body just wouldn’t move that way. I was healing, but my whole body still ached. “Kiss me,” I demanded, “I can’t bend that way.” We both laughed out of acceptance of my condition, there wasn’t a damn thing we could do other than accept what happened and move on. Zach moved and gently straddled my body making sure he didn’t disturb my knee, touch my tender ribs, or irritate my cuts and bruises. I was fragile and Zach was so caring and attentive. He leaned in and kissed me on the lips for the first time since before the accident, it felt so good… Zach would hold me, kiss my cheek, and tell me he loved me while I was in the hospital, but I missed the intimacy of his lips against mine, and the warmth of our bodies touching. Now, his chest was touching mine while we kissed and for the first time since the accident, I got hard. I don’t know if it was the drugs, the pain, the bouts of depression (it came and went), or the fact that I felt damaged and ugly from the accident, but I just wasn’t very… you know, “excitable.” But with Zach on top of me, kissing me, I was coming to life again. For the first time in over a week I felt a-fucking-live!!!! He gently pushed his hard cock against mine, it was voltaic. My desire kicked into high gear and my mind wanted something that my body just wasn’t healed enough to give. I did my best to push up and grind my cock harder against his, my knee hurt and my chest was tight but I was determined.

Zach could sense my pain. “Let me do all the work tonight” he whispered before getting off my body. He lay next to me on his side and moved his fingers gently up and down my sore torso, it felt good to be touched like that. His lips kissed each of my tender nipples and his tongue lovingly licked down the center of my chest, and over my abs until his teeth met the top of my waistband. He pulled my boxers down with his perfect teeth and left them resting on my knees before licking my hardness. Oh my god, I can’t describe what it was like to feel that much pleasure after being in so much pain. Zach gave my cock and balls a thorough tongue-lashing. I reached down trying to grab his cock but he pushed my hand away. “It’s all about you tonight” he said, “Trust me I’ll make you pay me back when you’re feeling better.” That was a threat I intended to make him follow through on. This man who put his life on hold for the last week to care for me and everything important to me, was now focused on giving me pleasure.

He licked the tip of my cock then took me deep down his throat. The warmth of his mouth was the best thing I had felt in a long time. He licked a finger and tried to snake it into my tight, puckered hole. It hurt at first but then felt amazing. He bobbed up and on the one bone in my body that ached in a good way as his finger probed and explored. I lay there almost motionless because it was just too painful to move… he brought me to the brink of explosion, “I’m cumming” I said reluctantly knowing that he liked to edge me. I was afraid he’d stop me but instead he bobbed faster and explored harder until I shot a week’s worth of cum into his gullet. He gulped and swallowed every drop then came up and we shared our tradition, post-BJ, cum-filled kiss. “WOW” I said appreciating the hell out of the much needed release.

“Was it okay? I didn’t hurt you, did I?” He asked. He was so concerned with my wellbeing.

“No. It wasn’t okay.” I said. Just as Zach’s face donned a concerned look, I added “It was fucking awesome. GOD, I needed that!” I feel good for the first time in a while. “But I can’t really move to… you know, return the favor.”

Zach chuckled a little, “I can take care of myself.”

“How many times did you… um… take care of yourself while I was in the hospital?” I asked with a devilish grin.

“Never” he responded before giving my cheek a quick peck.

“You lie!” I said with a smirk.

“Seriously, I was either too worried or too tired every night.” He said. Then he carefully straddled my hips again, took his hard magnificence in hand and started to stroke. I contributed what I could by massaging his balls and begging him to shoot his load. He pumped harder and fast and brought himself to the edge when he breathily begged, “can I come in your mouth?”

I wanted it, “yeah, baby. Gimme your load.” He moved up my chest…fuck my tender ribs hurt but I wasn’t going to deny him this one pleasure after all he had done for me. He squatted above my chest and with a groan he let loose a week’s worth of pent up juice in my open, yearning mouth. The spurts were powerful and plentiful with about 80% landing in my mouth and the other twenty covering my face like a healing salve. Zach licked my face clean of his own essence before carefully dismounting me and lying next to me again. It felt amazing to be back home, in my own bed with the man I loved.

Just as we were about to doze off, there were several tiny raps on the door and two little voices begged for entry. Zach jumped up and opened the door and the two kids and the dog all piled into bed with us. Freddy slept between us, Izzy on my other side, and Petunia laid at (technically on) our feet. I was a-fucking-live and home with my family after what I thought might be the end. I was the luckiest man in the world.

To be continued…