Will the Circle Be Unbroken?

Chapter 2 

Doctor Derek Reynolds began to check Chris’ vitals, heart rate, and everything else he could. He asked his son several questions, if he was feeling sick, dizzy, or otherwise. Chris slowly told his father that besides being sore, everything else was pretty much fine. Derek let out a frustrated sigh and created a fist with his hand, “Hey Jake, can you give us a few minutes alone please? You can wait out in the hall.” Jacob nodded slowly and walked over to the door but not before looking back at Chris, using his facial expressions to ask if the boy was alright. After Chris gave a confirmed nod, Jacob left the room and made himself comfortable in one of the chairs in the hall. 

Derek was looking extremely pissed off. Since Jacob had filled out Chris’ patient report, everyone pretty much knew what had happened to him and why he was there. So when Derek had gotten word that a patient had been sexually assaulted and needed some testing done, he prepared himself to be as supportive as he could be, but when he saw that his own son was the patient? All bets were now off. “Dad, what are you-”“Hold still.” Derek had taken a syringe and needle, and took some blood out of Chris’ arm for some testing. “Are you sure there’s nothing wrong? Did you take a test?” Chris confirmed to his father that while he did purchase and take an HIV test, he wasn’t sure if the results were accurate yet. Derek nodded, saying that he would be sure to take Chris to get tested again in a couple weeks, just to be sure. 

“Dad, where the hell have you been… were you here all along?” Chris stared at his father, desperately looking for any answer he could get. His mother, who now absolutely despised him since coming out to her as gay, had told him his father had left without pretty much of a word except the fact that he no longer wanted to see her or their son ever again. Chris had shared this information with his father, who had just merely scoffed at the statement. 

“That’s what she told you, huh?” Derek rolled his eyes and set everything he was doing down before sitting on the edge of the bed. “Well I’m sure she told you anything she could to make sure you hated me, but, she kicked me out because she found out that I had had sexual relations with men in the past. So I guess you could say that I’m bisexual.” Derek shook his head and took out a small circular glass cup and handed it to his son. “I’m going to need a urine sample.” 

Chris just sat there, looking dumbfounded. Suddenly, Chris began to chuckle darkly which resulted in confused looks from his father. The chuckles soon turned into eruptions of laughter, which had gotten some attention from the people outside, including Jacob. “She kicked you out because you like men?” Chris fell back onto the bed, laughing so hard he had to cover his mouth with his hand. Derek, on the other hand, was looking a little hurt. He didn’t know what to say or do about his son's reaction, but remained composed. Once Chris calmed himself and sat back up, he looked apologetically at his father and smirked, “Sorry but… that’s why she kicked me out, too. Dad, I’m gay.” Father and son shared a good laugh about what they learned about each other. Derek helped his son out of the bed and led him to the bathroom so he could get the urine sample, and after that he ordered his son back into bed. “I’m gonna keep you here for at least a night, and then I’ll take you back to our place in the morning, okay?” Derek had ordered Chris to get comfortable then he went out to the hall to talk more with Jacob. The two discussed what had happened earlier and if he saw anything else. 

 

“No sir, I just found him at the drug store. I’m thinking he walked his way from wherever the bus had dropped him off at.” Derek nodded and was getting ready to go back into the room when the sheriff walked into the hall and right towards Dr. Reynolds and Jacob. “Hey there, Der. Is he still in the room?” 

“Yeah, I’m keeping him overnight and then I’ll be taking him home in the morning. I don’t think he’ll need to stay longer.” Derek led the Sheriff into the room while Jacob sat back on the chair. Derek watched and told the boy he didn’t have to wait, but Jake insisted. 

Sheriff DuBois walked over to Chris and politely introduced himself. “Hey there, son. I know you probably don’t wanna talk about this, but I need to ask you some questions.” As Sheriff DuBois took out a notepad and pen, Derek gave his son a supportive nod. The Sheriff asked what had happened earlier that day, which bus he got himself onto, if he could describe the driver and finally to the person who had sexually assaulted him. 

Chris took another deep breath in before answering the Sheriff, “There were a group of guys. Um… four if I’m remembering correctly?” He watched as the Sheriff took notes and continued his description, “Two of the guys held me down while the fourth guy looked out for the driver. The guy that… that…” 

Sheriff DuBois gently placed his hand on Chris’ shoulder, “It’s okay. Tell me everything,” 

“The guy that assaulted me was about five foot eight, dark hair, I think…” Chris paused for a few seconds, “green eyes.” The Sheriff nodded, writing down everything the boy was telling him. “Not much to go on, but it’s a start.”

“Wait there’s one more thing,” Chris was sitting upright now, “He had a scar. Starting on his forehead and traveling down past his right eye.”

Both Sheriff DuBois and Derek looked at each other once they heard about the scar. God fucking dammit, of course it had to be that guy. The person Chris was describing was none other than Rick McCrum, one of the very troubled teens of the town. Sheriff DuBois wrote Rick’s name down and put the pad and pen away. “Thank you for answering my questions, Christopher.” He patted the boy's shoulder, excusing himself from the room. Before leaving, he asked Derek to please follow him, leaving the boy alone. Once in the hall, the Sheriff and Doctor began to quietly discuss. “You’re gonna tell him, right? About what happens here?” 

Derek crossed his arms while Jacob discreetly listened in on the conversation. “Of course I’m going to tell him, I have to now don’t I? There’s a very high probability.” They quietly discussed a few minutes more before Sheriff DuBois received a call on his radio. 

“10-4, I’m on my way now.” Before leaving, DuBois placed his hand on Derek’s shoulder, “You gotta tell him, Der. Before he starts… ya know.” The doctor nodded and Sheriff DuBois made his way out of the hall and out the hospital. Jacob slowly stood up from the chair and acted like he was walking towards the soda machine before Derek cleared his throat. “Not so fast, Mr. Moretti.”

Jacob turned to the doctor and gave him the best smile he could, “Yes, Doctor Reynolds?” Derek smirked softly, then thanked the boy for taking care of his son and doing the right thing by taking him to the hospital. “I’ll be sure to let your father know what an outstanding citizen you are.”

Jacob scratched the back of his neck and chuckled, “Gee, thanks Doctor Reynolds, but you don’t have to do that…” He looked over at the door to Chris’ room, “think I can check in on him quickly? Please?” 

Derek sighed but smiled, “Sure. You have thirty minutes before I want your butt going home. Visiting hours are almost over anyway.” 

Jacob raised his thumb and hurried into the room before the doctor could say anything else. He walked over to the bed as Chris was staring out the window. “Hey. I know you’re getting sick of hearing this but, you okay?” Chris looked at Jake and smiled, nodding.

“Honestly I don’t know if I’m cursed or lucky,” Chris shrugged shortly, “if you hadn’t come along, I most likely would have not come here and just left the town…” He chuckled softly before resting his head back on the pillow. 

Jake sat on the edge of the bed, and gently took Chris’ hand. “In that case, I’m glad I found you when I did.” The two boys smiled at each other before Jake gently squeezed Chris’ hand.

Saturday

The night flew by and morning quickly came, once the sun shone through the window, Chris stirred gently and slowly opened his eyes. At first he wasn’t sure where he was, but all the memories of yesterday came flooding back through him. As he rolled his neck back and forth, the door to the room opened and Derek walked in. “Good morning, kiddo. You ready to ditch this room?” Derek had filled out his son's discharge papers earlier so they were ready to go. There wasn’t any discussion about whether or not Chris was going to stay, right now he was staying. Derek led his son out of the hospital and made their way to the parking garage, and in Chris went and he buckled up. The drive home was quiet so Chris looked around and saw what the town had to offer. There was a local coffee shop, bowling alley, library, middle and high school, a few gas stations and restaurants. As they began to drive through the neighborhoods, Chris’ eyes widened at the sight of some of the houses. 

“I hope it’s not too much,” Mumbled Derek, but Chris just smiled.

“It’s fine, really. Honestly I’m just grateful you’re letting me stay.” Chris awkwardly said as he readjusted himself in his seat. 

Derek looked over at his son, surprised. “Of course I’m going to let you stay! For good, hopefully. It’s been too long since I’ve seen you so you’ll be lucky I let you leave at all.” 

Chris just smiled and sat back in the seat, enjoying the rest of the ride. A few turns here and a few turns there, and soon Derek pulled into the driveway, hitting the button to open the garage. “By the way, before you go in,” Derek started with a chuckle, “your step father is very excited to finally meet you.” Derek just smiled at Chris’ reaction to having a stepfather. He didn’t care who his dad loved or who he married, he was just excited to meet his fathers husband. 

Derek unlocked the garage door and let Chris inside who immediately noted the sounds of humming and clattering of different dishes inside. “Ah ha, I knew it was you guys that I heard!” Kenneth Reynolds walked right past Derek and approached Chris with a huge smile on his face. “So you’re my son whom I heard so much about and am finally getting to meet!” Kenneth wrapped his arms around Chris and gave him a big, welcoming hug. Kenneth Reynolds was a year younger than Derek, skinny with a little muscle and sported a beard and mustache. It was really interesting to see what type of guys his father was into. Ken let go of his step son and gestured him to follow, “Now while I haven’t learned what you do and do not like, I have prepared a feast that I am sure is a whole lot better than the shitty fucking bus food and hospital garbage they serve.” 

Chris couldn’t help but laugh at his step dad, this man was just too funny. “I’ll eat anything right now sir, thank you.” Chris sat down at the kitchen bar while Kenneth prepared him a plate. 

“That is what I love to hear!” He stuffed the plate pretty full, but Chris didn’t mind, he was just grateful and happy to be eating actual food. “Don’t worry if you can’t finish the whole plate, you can always save some for later.” Ken smiled and walked over to Derek, planting a kiss on his cheek. “You can prepare your own plate, the kid comes first.” That’s when Ken suddenly turned his smile into a frown. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it. Instead he used a gesture for Derek to see, who just shook it head. 

Chris tried to be polite and eat as normal paced as possible, but the moment the food touched his tongue he practically went ape on the plate. He wasn’t being messy by any means, but damn did he eat fast. “Damn sir, this is good!” Kenneth looked so proud of himself and took a bow, thanking the teenager for the compliment. 

“Make sure to take seconds, if you want. You can have a piece of pie later, it’s all good.” Ken shrugged as he and Derek both got their plates and the two fathers and son enjoyed their first dinner together after many years apart. 

After the family finished dinner and the dishes were done and leftovers put away, Derek took his son on a tour of the house. It was a pretty sizable home with two master bedrooms(Kenneth had already decided that Chris was going to take the upstairs master) and three guest bedrooms. While they did have a pretty good sizable cash flow, they didn’t act like it. One thing Derek didn’t do was brag, he fucking hated that. 

Once they got to the second master, Derek opened the doors and let his son in. “You’ve got it pretty good, I won’t lie.” He pointed to the closet, which Chris would later find out was already filled with clothes, and the bathroom complete with a shower and tub. A desk in the corner of the room stood with a laptop, ready to use and a flat screen Roku TV. Chris looked around and couldn’t believe his eyes. He wasn’t used to living like this, and by no means was he a braggart, but he even had to admit this was fucking awesome. He turned and ran to his father, giving him a big hug. “Thank you so much, I really appreciate this.” 

Derek wrapped his arms around his son and gave him a gentle squeeze. “No matter what your mother’s told you, I will do whatever I can to keep you safe.” Before either could say anything further, Derek’s phone began to ring and he immediately sighed. “The joys of being a doctor,” he winked at his son before accepting the call, sitting down on the bed. While he talked into the phone, Chris made another 360 degree turn around the room and made his way towards the closet. He was so close to opening it before his father spoke up, “Hey son, can I talk to you for a second? Maybe a minute, or two.” 

Chris nodded and made his way to the bed and sat next to his father, “What’s up?” The tone of Chris’ voice was cautious as he watched Derek try to come up with the words to tell his son. 

“Um, that was my assistant calling back about the test results I ran for you,” Derek tilted his head to the right and bit his lip, “You tested negative for all the STDs and STIs so you’re good on that front.” Derek sighed as he prepared himself for what he was about to tell his son. 

“Were you by any chance in town when that really thick fog hit earlier?” Chris raised his eyebrow at the question, trying to figure out what the hell his father was trying to tell him. 

“Um, I could have been? I remember I was trying to sleep for a very brief time before… it happened.” Chris cleared his throat as quietly as he could while Derek once again tried to prepare his next choice of words very carefully. 

“Alright, well,” Derek repositioned himself and rubbed his hands on his pant legs. “There’s this fog that was created by a science lab not too far from here and the neighboring city, Cromwell.” He paused for a brief moment before continuing, “we don’t know what’s in this fog exactly but it changes us. And by that I mean our bodies change so that we are able to reproduce. With each other.” 

Chris slowly nodded, trying very hard to understand what his father was trying to tell him, “Go on…” 

“Okay I’m just gonna tell you outright,” Derek looked at his hand and placed his hands on his shoulders, “the fog gives us the ability to become… pregnant.” 

“Okay…” Chris’s eyebrow raised and his lips curled up. If what his father was saying was true and he was being serious, why was he telling him this now? 

“That urine sample I had you take earlier was tested and… it came back positive.” Derek slowly said, trying to give his son some time to process everything. 

Chris’ eyes slowly widened and his mouth began to drop down, “What you’re saying is… is that I’m…?”

“That’s correct.” Derek squeezed both his sons shoulders, “Buddy, you’re pregnant.”