12

The next time Theo got caught up in real time, he was being moved from the gurney to another surface. The amount of people swarming around him increased, as did the noise and the bright lights. They asked his name, if he was allergic to anything, if he knew the date.

"Theo."

"Radishes and kiwi."

"January something...I don't know, check your phone," he muttered and someone fussing with taking his shoes off laughed.

Medical jargon swirled overhead as Theo was stripped, poked and prodded. Portable X-Ray. Someone opening his eyelids and swirling a light around.

He hated that the most because Jesus, his head hurt.

Then someone touched his left knee and Theo screamed.

When he regained consciousness this time, things were calmer, at least when it came to cold and pain. Theo turned his head to find an I.V. Oh and the foam thingy around his neck was gone. He tried to shift but at the last moment froze. Right. Last time he tried that he'd passed out.

So he wasn't going to do that again.

His left leg felt like it weighed a thousand pounds, a cold sort of pressure that radiated up to his hip. He peered down as best he could-his head wasn't cooperating fully-and saw a bulge where his knee was.

A curtain surrounded his gurney and no one was in sight. He could hear the muted sounds of an emergency room beyond-coughing, vomiting, cries of pain, and a swirl of conversation.

Theo sighed.

"Excuse me?" he croaked out weakly. "Hey, anyone here?"

The curtain rattled and a blond head poked in. "Mr. Krebble?"

"Yeah. Is there someone I could speak to? About what's wrong with me?"

She smiled and nodded. "Of course. Your fiancé is waiting outside, I'm going to bring him back in a second."

Theo squinted in her general direction, trying to ignore the woozy flare that that provoked.

"My uh..."

The curtain rattled again and then was pushed farther open. And there stood Finn, looking wan and faintly terrified.

Fiancé?

"Hey babe, how are you doing?" Finn asked, plastering a smile on his face. "I mean next time you want to skip lunch with my folks, just tell me. You don't have to go to such dramatic lengths."

How hard did I hit my head? Theo wondered.

Finn stepped into the cubicle and the nurse shoved off, presumably, Theo hoped, to find the doctor.

"What the hell is going on here?" Theo muttered, wishing he could move some part of his body without feeling like it was made of concrete.

"You fell, I wanted to make sure I could get back here so I said we were engaged," Finn said, clearly nervous. He walked up to Theo's bedside, his hands twitching before finding residence deep into his pockets.

"Coulda said you were my brother."

"They'd never believe it."

An eyebrow stretched Theo's forehead. Oh god, his skin felt tight. "Egotistical."

Finn frowned. "I meant we don't look anything alike. Maybe stepbrothers."

"This casting session is giving me a headache."

"Sorry." Finn tapped his hip against the railing. "You know what the damage is?"

"Guessing concussion and something's up with my knee. I can feel everything which is probably a good sign but Jesus, it all hurts so much."

"Sorry," Finn repeated.

"You've apologized more in the past five minutes than in the past fifteen years," Theo mumbled, turning his head away, pressing his cheek into the pillow.

The loud sigh rattled Theo's brain.

"I called the pizzeria. Your grandfather and I assume Marco and his bat are driving up here to take care of you, after they take care of me," he mumbled. "I'll stay until they get here or like five minutes before so I don't end up dead."

"Marco hates you," Theo said needlessly. Finn, no matter how hard-headed, didn't need that to be confirmed.

"I'm sure your whole family hates me."

Theo turned his head back slowly. Finn's shoulders drooped as he watched the floor intently.

"Really just Marco. Everyone else is just a normal amount of mad."

"Even you?" Finn peeked up, flashing a look that ignited something deep in Theo's muscle memory. This was usually the part where he caved in, seduced by the mischievous little boy that Finn was on the inside.

Or what he thought was Finn on the inside. After all this time, he'd accepted the fact that he might have been kidding himself the whole relationship.

"Depends on the day," he said finally, truthfully.

"Oh." Finn twisted side to side then did the same with his neck. "How about today?"

Theo closed his eyes. "Magic Eight Ball says try again later." He was too tired and too sore and too confused to have this conversation. "Although when you sent that paper back with no on it, I wanted to take Marco's bat to your knees."

"Huh?"

Theo's explanation would have to wait because the curtain rattled again and another figure entered the space. An older man in a white coat, an obligatory stethoscope around his neck.

"Mr. Krebble?"

"Yup." They really should just write his name in glitter over his head. "And my fiancé, Finn," he added dryly, waving a hand weakly in Finn's direction.

"Well, gentlemen, I'm glad to let you know that you have a very mild concussion and a grade one sprained knee. Oh and a rainbow of bruises that are going to be around for a while." The doctor chuckled gently. "Not the best news but also not the worst. I hope you're not a competitive dancer!"

He cracked himself up.

"When can I get out of here?" Theo asked the doctor, wanting to shift but also wanting to avoid stabbing pain. "Slight edit of that question-when can I get out of here with painkillers?"

"His family is driving up," Finn blurted out, then tucked his hands into his pockets and rocked on his heels. "He uh, lives in Manhattan."

"Quite a drive but for love..." The doctor chuckled then patted Theo's undamaged leg. "I wouldn't head back for the big city for at minimum, seventy two hours, simply because I don't think you'll be comfortable sitting in a vehicle for that long. Although if you need some numbers of private ambulance services."

"He can stay with me until he's ready to go back," Finn added as Theo felt his face folding into annoyance.

"Thanks, babe," he said dryly, shooting Finn his best "I swear to God," look, hoping that time hadn't dulled its effectiveness. "You know how my family feels about us cohabitating before marriage." The sweetness of his tone made Finn's eyes roll.

"Your honor is safe with me. Babe."

The doctor shot looks between the two of them, clearly trying to work out what the hell they were talking about.

Theo swallowed a smile as Finn batted his eyelashes at him.

"I want to wear white at the wedding," Theo whispered as Finn let out a cough.

"Uh huh. Well. I'll sign your paperwork and you can head home in about an hour. There'll be some instructions on taking care of yourself and I suggest you see your regular doctor when you get back to Manhattan." The doctor gave them each a glance then smiled, nodded and turned to leave.

The curtain rattled behind him and Finn snorted out a laugh.

"That man is deeply confused."

Theo sighed as he shifted ever so slightly, trying to take the pressure off his lower back and butt. The throb was getting to him. "Don't blame me. I'm concussed. And you're the one who lied."

"A slight misdirection so I could come back here."

All those tiny movements finally got Theo leaning on the small section of his back side that didn't hurt like hell. He sighed; the effort was exhausting. He wasn't sure if he was allowed to take a nap until they came back with his paperwork.

"This is all because you wouldn't sign the paperwork," he muttered, as Finn dragged the chair from the corner over to his bed side.

"You keep saying that and I still have no idea what you're talking about." Finn thumped into the chair, unzipping his coat.

"Harvey sent you the papers, so you could sign over the show to me." Theo felt himself getting sleepier, every throb of his bruised body another push towards unconsciousness. "You wrote no on it and sent it back. That was a dick move."

Finn blinked at him repeatedly. "I didn't do that."

"Oh for the love of... Can't you just admit you were an asshole?" Theo's current feelings got swamped by past ones; the ones that made him love and hate Finn at the same time. "Can't you just admit you fucked me over. Again," Theo snapped. He stared at Finn.

"I'll take responsibility for what happened. Before," Finn managed to get out, his gaze dropped to the floor. "I fucked up. But I swear to God, Theo, I didn't do that with the..." His voice trailed off and he looked up. "Wait. What...