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inkandleather

Who: Jace Hartley, Evan Turner, Merlin Blake, Brandon Blake, and Miles Morrison (with Jesse Hartley)
What: Sickness and Health
Where: Mount Sinai, New York
When: After this

"Why aren't they telling us anything?! This is fucking ridiculous!" Jace snapped to his big brother, Evan. He really wasn't meaning to be an asshole about this but ever since Brandon called to tell him Jesse just had a seizure while he was visiting Merlin, he had been stressing out and panicking.

Once Jesse admitted he was having a rough time and not feeling himself from compassion fatigue, Jace had been worried about him. They nearly ended up having a fight and he hated that because they rarely argued. Stress was probably one of the biggest triggers for both of them with epileptic seizures, so he had been trying to watch him closely while trying no to get up in his face too much about it. Jesse was taking some off work and had slept a lot in the past couple of days, which Jace took as a good sign because his husband definitely needed rest. But Jesse had also agreed to chat with the guy who showed up as Merlin's biological father so Merlin had a buffer about his intentions before he met him in person himself. Jesse had gone over to Merlin and Brandon's place to see how Merlin was and update him on everything with Cillian.

Jesse seemed mostly just okay-ish that morning. He didn't have any appetite for breakfast and weary despite getting a decent sleep last night. But he was flat and more quiet than usual. Jace felt bad now for not enquiring if Jesse was feeling okay. The only thing was, Jesse didn't rally get warning signs of seizures coming. They just hit and they were terrifying. Now Jesse had been brought to hospital by ambulance, where Jace said he and Evan would meet them. But the place was chaotic and the receptionist had disappeared after checking the computer to see if Jesse had arrived. Jace felt like he was about to jump out of his skin, his anxiety levels were through the roof. Why the hell couldn't someone just fucking tell them Jesse arrived safely?

slowsouthernstyle

Who: Jesse Hartley and Merlin Blake, with Brandon Blake a bit later
What: Much to talk about
Where: Merlin and Brandon's Home, Upper East Side, NYC
When: Day after this and this

Today, Jesse didn't really worry about keeping up appearances. After his long chat with Jace in the wake of him meeting Merlin's biological father, Cillian, he was tired and realised he was feeling a little burnt out with compassion fatigue. It was something he had to take seriously once he realised that was what he was feeling and part of that was, as Jace gently suggested, not keeping Merlin in the dark about it. It was true, it wouldn't be what Merlin wanted. Jesse was just experiencing some guilt about it because he always wanted to be a strong source of support for the people he loved, unconditionally. The reality of recent conditions, however, was that he had to give himself a little compassion too or he'd end up overtaxed and having a seizure himself. Then he'd be little help to anyone, when they needed him the most. So, there he was, unshaven and dressed right down in a hoodie with his favourite pair of Jace's sweatpants, ready to spend some time with his little brother to go over territory that was going to be hard no matter how he was feeling. He had little sleep the night before, the fatigue still very much biting him in the ass. He planned to go home to bed once he finished with Merlin, something he assured Jace he would do so Jace wasn't extra-worried about him.

As promised, he had come over to see Merlin so he could report how things had gone with Cillian. That was the whole point of him being a buffer, so Cillian had context of the current challenging situation Merlin was in and what the last few weeks had dumped on them all, but also so Merlin could have as much information as he could to help him make the choice of whether he wanted to meet Cillian or not. Nothing about it was simple, especially not the emotions involved. There was a lot he had to tell Merlin about Cillian and he knew Merlin couldn't be anticipating any of it. Cillian was an incredible person and Jesse knew from spending time with him there was no doubt Merlin was his blood. That didn't mean the choice would be easy.

Jesse had a swipe card and the security code to get into Merlin and Brandon's place, but he would never use it unless it was an emergency. When he rang the doorbell, their House Manager, Wendy, answered and after offering Jesse refreshments, she directed him to where Merlin was in the entertainment room watching tv. Hands tucked into the front pocket of his hoodie, Jesse smiled when he came into the entertainment room where Merlin was in his Yoda Oodie with his iPad on his lap, looking half asleep as he watched the massive tv mounted on the wall. "Hey, buddy. How are you feeling? How's the pain? You're looking a little more refreshed than when I last saw you."

inkandleather

Who: Jace and Jesse Hartley
What: Quality Time
Where: Hartley/Turner/Casey Home, NYC
When: After this

It felt to Jace like it had been days since he had seen his husband. It hadn't, of course. In fact, that evening was the first shift Jesse had been at work all week because he took time off to care for Jace after he had a nasty seizure that really impacting his functioning this time. But to Jace, it felt like a lot longer. Whenever he had seizures like that, he lost all concept of time and slept a lot while his body and brain recovered. He had vague recollection of Jesse's presence but it wasn't like a usual consciousness of spending time with someone. It was patchy and could even be inaccurate recollections. Jesse had left for his shift that morning before Jace was awake and he was really missing him. Jace knew some things had happened while he was out of it and he wanted to talk to Jesse about them, make sure he was okay.

Jace couldn't believe how boring the tv show he chose to watch while he worked on some designs on his sketchpad was. It could just be because his attention span was skewed with his head still a little hazy or because he was watching alone but it definitely wasn't entertaining him like he hoped it would. He was just about to switch to something different when he heard the front door open and close up the hall, and a few moments later, Jesse appeared. Jace broke into a grin. "You're home! I missed you, baby. Did you finish early or am I messing my times up again?"

slowsouthernstyle

Who: Jesse Hartley and Cillian O'Donovan
What: A simple twist of AncestryDNA
Where: Hartley/Turner/Casey Home, NYC
When: After this and this

Jesse finished loading their bed clothes in the washing machine when he heard the doorbell chime and checked his watch for the time. The morning had started out pretty badly and time really got away from him but he wasn't foreign to a bit of chaos from time to time. There was just more than their fair share of it in the family lately. At least Merlin was being discharged from hospital, which was a weight off everyone's mind now he was on the mend.

Then Jace had a seizure when he went to the grocery store with Nana Turner, so Jesse had turned down shifts at work for the rest of the week so he could take care of him for what would inevitably be a few days out of action. Jace slept most of yesterday away but he was really struggling with is functioning, so needed Jesse's help with everything. When he woke up that morning, he was a little more lucid but ended up having an accident in bed when his brain misfired the messages to his body. He was feeling pretty miserable and wanted to go back to bed to sleep once Jesse got everything cleaned up and remade the bed. Jesse gave him a kiss and a cuddle, tucking him in and telling him to just call out if he needed help. Jesse would keep a close eye on him anyway, in case there were any aftershock seizures.

Regardless of that, he still had every intention of keeping his promise to Merlin to reach out to Cillian for a chat. Even if it was just to get a bit more information and clarity around who he was and what intentions he had. He hoped that it helped allay some of Merlin's anxiety about the whole thing and help him make the massive decisions he faced. He spent a lot of time with Merlin the evening before last, asking him what he wanted to know of Cillian and if there was anything he wanted Jesse not to get into. No matter what happened, it was going to be difficult. Jesse knew that, having gone through meeting his own paternal biological family. Luckily for him, that all turned out pretty amazing but he knew it could just have easily gone the other way.

He went to answer the door and as soon as he opened it, couldn't help being surprised to not find someone standing there but sitting... in a wheelchair. There was no doubting it was guy in the photo from AncestryDNA that Merlin had shown them, though, so he smiled and offered his hand. "Cillian? I'm Jesse. It's nice to meet you in person."

slowsouthernstyle

Hey, is this Cillian O'Donovan's number?

musicsavesmysoul

Who: Damien Larson, Jesse Hartley, and Merlin Larson
What: Big Brother Duties
Where: Eleven West Unit, Mount Sinai
When: Couple of days after this

Damien and Jesse both discovered that one thing worse than your little brother being sick and in hospital was waiting for your little brother to have surgery. No matter all the reassurances that Merlin was in the best hands and it was a straightforward procedure, Damien just hated the thought of it. Merlin wasn't good with anaesthetic and he had a really rough few days between when he became really ill and was rushed to the ER and the scheduled surgery to widen the stricture in his gut that caused the bowel blockage. There had been another brief endoscopic procedure a few days earlier, then the had to go through really crappy (no pun intended) prep for the second laparoscopic procedure.

What was worse for Damien was he had to be away from the hospital when it all first happened because Liam had been hit with norovirus, which turned out to be what Damien could only describe as gastro on crack. Even if it only lasted a few days, Liam had been so sick and contagious for the duration. Damien mostly dodged the bullet, though he had a couple of days where his guts were a bit dodgy but it was really mild in comparison. He didn't even throw up, but he couldn't be at the hospital while either of them still had symptoms because they'd still be contagious. Liam returned to work that day, and although he couldn't operate on Merlin being his brother-in-law, he was able to be in the operating theatre and observe the procedure, which was a huge relief for Brandon, Damien, and Jesse. Merlin said he didn't really care if the population of a small country was in the OR, he just desperately wanted his stomach to feel better and the pain to finally ease.

Brandon insisted Merlin be transferred to the super private luxury unit, Eleven West, to be cared for after his surgery and even paid for the private nursing care for him, at least for the first few days. They both really needed their privacy and it meant Brandon could both stay at the hospital with Merlin in the twin room, but also be able to come and go freely without fans spotting him and getting up in his face again.

After the first hour or so after Merlin was taken to surgery, Damien kept grilling Jesse about whether it was taking too long, did it mean something was wrong, what was a normal length of time for that sort of procedure, when would they know if anything went wrong, etc. etc. Luckily, Jesse had the patience of an army of saints and answered every question calmly and didn't care how many Damien wanted to ask. Soon, Liam had come to find them and told them Merlin was in Recovery and it all went well, save for a little bit of a bleed when something was accidentally nicked during the procedure but it was resolved quickly. Brandon was going to let them know when he was transferred to the room and wasn't feeling so rough after waking from the anaesthetic, and in the meantime, Liam explained to Damien what the surgeons did in a way he could understand. Jesse already got it, being a Nurse Practitioner himself.

Jesse arranged for Lorenzo to deliver some flowers to the hospital but when they both got to Merlin's room, they discovered Brandon had - of course - beaten them to the punch there and Merlin had a massive bouquet of what looked to be at least three dozen multicoloured roses with a Get Well balloon and large fluffy teddy bear. Still, Merlin did look pretty rough when they got there and so did Brandon, for that matter.

He came over to the bed, softly rubbing Merlin's knee through the blankets he was cocooned in. "Hey, you two. Too soon for a good fart joke? How you holding up, baby bro?"

signofthetimes

Not sure where you guys went to while you waited but Merlin's feeling a little more human now and asking for you both. If you want to keep him company for a bit, I really need to head home for a shower and change of clothes.

slowsouthernstyle

Who: Jesse Hartley, Brandon Blake and Merlin Blake (with Peyton Kingston and Miles Morrison briefly)
What: Big Brother Backup
Where: First up, Brandon and Merlin's place, Upper East Side, NYC
When: After this and this

Brandon met Jesse at the door of their penthouse apartment so he didn’t need to ring the buzzer. Merlin was awake but Wes was asleep at the other side of the apartment and possibly Noah also, but Brandon had lost track of their coming and going over the past couple of frankly stressful as fuck days.

“I’m so sorry for waking you up and getting you out of bed,” Brandon murmured, giving Jesse a hug after closing the door behind him. “I should’ve said more in the texts but I’m not even exactly sure what’s going on. He’s been a bit all over the place, which is my fault for being a dumbfuck. I don’t know if it’s just today he’s had the stomach pain or longer and he was just trying to ignore it. You think it could be his appendix?”

( Jesse gave Brandon’s back a reassuring pat... )

LOG, COMPLETE

signofthetimes

Hey, Jess. Sorry, I know it's the middle of the night & I dunno if you'll even get this but Merlin's really unwell. I dunno if I should wait until morning to take him to a doctor or take him to the hospital tonight which he doesn't wanna do. Or even just get an ambulance. He's in a lot of pain. I'm freaking tf out.

magicmoments

Who: Merlin Blake, Damien Larson and Jesse Hartley (+ Liam Morgan briefly)
What: Big Brotherly Backup
Where: Damien and Liam's Place, NYC
When: Friday morning

Merlin stomped into Damien and Liam’s apartment and dramatically flopped onto their cushy modular sofa that hugged their living room looking out onto their balcony with views of Central Park way in the distance. It was coupled with a deep sigh and he shoved his fingers under his glasses to press the tips into his eyes. “Brandon and I just had a seriously epic fight,” he told his big brother, dropping his hands into his lap to look forlornly at Damien across the room. Then he slapped his hand over his mouth, noticing how dishevelled and ruffled a shirtless Damien was as he shuffled into the room behind Merlin after buzzing him up to their apartment. “Oh, shit, is Li sleeping? And I’m here bitching like a foghorn waking him. Was he on a nightshift? Did you have a gig last night? Oh, crap! You were fucking, weren’t you? I didn’t even think. Sorry, Damo. I just needed someone to talk to. Wes and Noah both have the flu, so they’re quarantining on the other side of the house and Jess is back at work after his seizure last week.” He heaved himself back up off the sofa because it was one of those types that hugged your ass once you sat on it.

“It’s fine, baby bro. Liam’s not here, he’s on-call at the hospital. I worked last night but I can sleep more later,” Damien reassured him, gently nudging Merlin back onto the sofa and then headed into the kitchen of their open-planned apartment to fill the kettle. “You can bother me any time, you know that. We made that pact when Brandon was in hospital, remember? I’ll make a cuppa, you can tell me all about the fight. That’s not like you two. What happened? Are Noah and Wes okay? You’d let me know if there was anything they needed I could help with, yeah? Wait, is Jess okay to be back at work so soon?”

( Nodding, Merlin put his feet up on their coffee table, knowing neither Damien or Liam were precious about their furniture and he had kicked off his shoes when he came in the front door anyway... )

LOG, COMPLETE

musicsavesmysoul

Who: Damien Larson and Liam Morgan with Justin Campbell, Jesse Hartley, Merlin Blake and Rose Shaw
What: Mother of all fucking surprises!
Where: New York City
When: Backdated : During this

Damien was in his absolute fucking element. Justin was bringing the house down and Damian was loving every minute of watching from the edge of the stage. His supporting act set to open for Justin had been a huge hit and he just got word that the entire stock of his album had sold out at the merch stand. He wished he had listened to Justin, who told him to bring more. He had been so sure the audience was only there for Justin and he was just along for the ride to get exposure to hopefully pull him from the indie market to mainstream. During the whole tour, he was booked to join Justin on various media commitments. He also knew everything Justin had planned for his show and he was still blown away.

Or at least… so he thought he knew everything. After the last big number where Justin danced with his backup dancers led by Harry and Brody, the dancers all piled off and Justin took his microphone from the stand when the setlist showed a brief break and costume change at this point.

( Justin took one of his earpieces from his ear so he could hear the crowd and the lights went up so he could see at least the first few rows of the audience, who were screaming and cheering... )

LOG, COMPLETE

signofthetimes

Who: Brandon Blake, Merlin Blake, Beau Watson, Jesse Hartley, and Lachlan Campbell
What: Happy Birthday & Merry Fucking Christmas
Where: Oncology ICU, Mount Sinai
When: Early hours of Christmas morning

Beau hit the 40th hour of his on-call shift when his pager went off. He wasn’t sure how much sleep he got on one of the bunks in the residents on-call room but he must have crashed as soon as his head it the pillow. He was groggy and disoriented when he reflexively fumbled for his pager, still mostly asleep. “Shit. Fuck. Shit and fuck,” he mumbled, fumbling out of the tangle of sheets and flopping onto the floor from the bottom bunk.

( He quickly checked his appearance in the mirror above the sink, raking his fingers roughly through his hair to try to tame it a little... )

LOG, COMPLETE

magicmoments

Who: Merlin Blake and Brandon Blake (with Zander Carlyle and Jesse Hartley)
What: Awake
Where: Oncology ICU, Mount Sinai
When: After this

Merlin was doing his best to grab what resembled rest where he could. He was suffering obvious insomnia with his stress, but he wouldn’t agree to any sedatives to help him sleep. He had to be there if Brandon woke lucid. This was what he signed up for. He wasn’t backing down on his wedding vows. He promised Tara, Lachlan, Beau, and Zander that he would be rest when he could, so that translated into some odd hybrid of snoozing on and off whilst sitting vigil at Brandon’s bedside.

He had his head resting on the side of the bed beside Brandon while he napped on and off, his good hand not stuck in a cast softly rubbing Brandon’s stomach through the blankets. He was close to dozing off again when felt cool fingers connect with his and he lifted his head to see Brandon giving him the faintest of heavy-eyed smiles. “I take it shit didn’t go as well as we hoped?” he mumbled with a hoarse scratchy voice.

( Merlin caught himself before he burst into tears of relief, wrapping his hand around Brandon’s, bringing it to his lips to kiss his fingers... )

LOG, COMPLETE

musicsavesmysoul

Who: Damien Larson, Jesse Hartley, Liam Morgan and Merlin Blake
What: Wading through the rubble
Where: Mount Sinai, NYC
When: After this and this

Damien was rubbing his forehead so roughly that he was chafing the skin and making it sting. His phone was gripped in his other hand, waiting for news. Any news. It didn’t matter now what it was, he just wanted to hear something. He and Jesse were alone in Merlin’s empty hospital room, waiting for him to be brought back from surgery. Jesse was pacing back and forth in front of the window, biting his thumbnail. Damien had to stop watching him because it was making him dizzy and his stomach hurt more than it already was. It felt like they had been waiting forever.

They traded off with Merlin and Damien's mom and dad over who should stay with Brandon in the ICU and who should wait here for when Merlin was brought back to the ward. Things were bad. They were as bad as they fucking could be. So bad that he and Jesse had been so stressed, they had a huge argument after Merlin was taken to surgery for the bone marrow harvest and to fix his broken wrist that he could barely speak to tell anyone what happened. And he and Jesse hadn’t had a fight like that since Damien fucked up and let Merlin down when his undiagnosed depression got in the way and made him ruin everything.

( Even now, he was barely even sure what they were fighting about beyond clashing over Merlin’s intentions with that Instagram post... )

LOG, COMPLETE

magicmoments

Who: Merlin Blake, Brandon Blake, Damien Larson, Jesse Hartley and Wesley Knight
What: Family First
Where: Oncology Unit, Mount Sinai
When: After this

Ultimately, Merlin was never one to cope too well without his family. He tried the self-imposed exile after he found out he was adopted because he was so angry at everyone and couldn’t talk to them without lashing out. He only kept in touch with Jesse then, and his friends, who were trying to support him through it. But this was way too huge to try to tackle alone. He knew there were definitely times that he and Brandon would need to be alone to shut the world out but Merlin wasn’t doing nearly as well as he hoped. He didn’t feel strong at all. Brandon was so whacked out on morphine he was pretty much sedated and Merlin was finding the battle without him hard. When Damien, Jesse, and Wes all arrived a little while ago, he burst into tears and he didn’t even know exactly why. Everything and nothing all at once, probably.

“I can’t, Damo. I’ll just puke it up again,” Merlin murmured, shaking his head at the cup of tea Damien was offering him. He was sitting on the side of the hospital bed letting his big brothers fuss over him because he knew they were worried and they both did fussing well when they were feeling helpless. Jesse was wiping Merlin’s face with some damp paper towels and Wes was standing at the end of the bed, hovering like a bad smell because he had no idea what he could do to help. Merlin wished he had some help he could deploy them to so they didn’t feel so useless with all this, but it really was just a waiting game. “Wes, can you do me a favour and untangle Bran’s hand from the sheets?”

( Wesley didn’t need to be asked twice. He went over to the other bed where Brandon was out cold... )

LOG, COMPLETE

signofthetimes

Who: Brandon Blake and Merlin Blake with Liam Morgan, Jesse Hartley, and Jaxson Colt
What: Going through the motions
Where: Mount Sinai, NYC
When: Couple of days after this

Merlin was on the phone to Damien, getting an update on what was happening with Paxton and the domino effect set in motion when the tests confirmed he had meningococcal meningitis. But he was holding Brandon’s hand at the same time, watching him stare at the radiology images on the screen of an iPad. Things had been feeling a little like they were in overdrive since they got back to the city. Paxton falling seriously sick and Jaxson’s chances of contracting it high because they had been intimate meant Brandon was understandably stressing about his BFF. Even more so because he wasn’t allowed near him. If Brandon so much as caught a minor infection, there was significant risk it could kill him.

( He stroked his thumb across Brandon’s knuckles, taking in the updates Damien was giving him... )

LOG, COMPLETE

wannabesurgeon

Who: Liam Morgan and Damien Larson (with Paxton Carlyle and Jaxson Colt)
What: Medical Emergencies
Where: Cape Cod, MA
When: After this

No matter how calm Liam had remained on the phone call with Jaxson, that had been 100% his doctor brain that took over. As soon as the call ended, his PTSD panic brain kicked in and he nearly fell out of the deck chair trying to get out of it so quickly. He bolted into the beachside apartment he and Damien had rented in Cape Cod to stay the couple of days until their wedding. “I need to leave! I need to get back to New York!” He grabbed his bag from the closet, tossing it onto the bed as Damien came out of the attached bathroom.

“Wait, what? But the wedding…” Damien blinked, mouth hanging open as he watched Liam shove his clothes into the bag in a messy knot. All of Liam’s clothes were designer and he always treated them with top-notch care.

Liam nearly ripped one of his linen shirts pulling it off the hanger too quickly and getting it caught on the knob of the closet door. “Postpone it. Cancel it. I don’t care. I need to fucking get back. All the flights are booked. We’ll have to drive. We need to leave now!”

( Damien thought for the briefest of few moments that Liam had a massive sudden case of cold feet about getting married and was trying to pull a runaway groom... )

LOG, COMPLETE

musicsavesmysoul

Who: Damien Larson and Liam Morgan with Jesse Hartley and Merlin Larson later
What: Pre-marital Misery
Where: Cape Cod, MA
When: After this

Even if it had been as intricate as planning a military operation, everything was finally in place for Merlin and Brandon’s wedding day in two days time. First up, though, it was Damien and Liam’s turn the next morning. Both their immediate families had come together for a beautiful dinner at one of the nicest restaurants in Cape Cod to celebrate. It was kind of like a wedding reception-ish, only they were definitely bucking all traditions and doing it the night before. The ceremony the next day would be small, short, simple, and sweet. There wouldn’t be any of the usual things like flowers, bridesmaids, long ceremonies. It was vows, rings, kiss, and they would finally have right what they should have succeeded in the first time they were engaged.

The meal was lovely and even if Merlin clearly missed Brandon’s presence, he still had a fun time. There were a lot of laughs and the food was beautiful. It was surreal at first to have the Morgans and Larsons together at one very large table, eating and drinking, celebrating two weddings on the horizon. None of it was expected but it felt right. Damien really wouldn’t have wanted this any other way. He was even glad to have Paxton there who, granted, looked uncomfortable for a little while but was soon chatting happily with Beau, Zander, Scott, and Autumn.

( Damien and Liam were staying at Brandon and Merlin’s beach house (because apparently Merlin now owned half of it because Brandon signed the title over to him), so they took a walk along the beach when they got home from the restaurant and the sea air inevitably made them horny as hell... )

LOG, COMPLETE

slowsouthernstyle

Hey, bud... how did your folks take the news?

slowsouthernstyle

Who: Jesse Hartley and Evan Turner
What: Revelations of the past
Where: Turner/Hartley/Casey Home, NYC
When: Same time as this

When Evan got home from his doctor’s appointment at the hospital, he was surprised to find Jesse in the kitchen measuring out some burgundy-colour medicine into a medicine cup. “Hey, buddy. You get a good run on the trip home? Jacey not well?” He put his keys and his wallet on the counter by the fruit bowl and gestured to the medicine bottle.

Jesse tipped the medicine into a small plastic cup, a special disability aid to prevent choking, of soda water and stirred it with a teaspoon. “The trip was fine until we got as far as Connecticut and Jace had a seizure. It was only about four minutes long and he came out of it quickly but he spent the last leg being sick the whole way. I’ve given him a shot but he keeps dry-retching so I need to try to ease the stomach spasms. We sat him up the front of the car but I think the motion was still an issue. I wasn’t dealing with it on my own. Liam and Damo were a big help. We're not out of the woods yet.”

( Evan sighed, feeling his typical big brother worry amp up... )

LOG, COMPLETE

magicmoments

Who: Merlin Larson, Jesse Hartley and Damien Larson
What: Much-Needed Brotherly Love
Where: Cape Cod, MA
When: After this and this

Merlin woke up suddenly from a deep sleep, heart racing and breath shallow. He was sweaty and sticky but he realised it wasn't only caused by another bad dream. He had them a lot lately, when he crashed out into deep sleeps. His mind must churn over all the scary stuff in his sleep subconscious. He was spooned up behind Brandon, protective arm wrapped around his waist. Brandon was burning up again, his tank top slicked to his body and his hair in a damp messy tangle on the pillow. Still, despite the fact there was obviously systemic stuff happening, Merlin pressed his hand to Brandon's chest to check his heart was still beating and looked over Brandon's shoulder to listen for his breathing.

When they were both there, a sigh of relief rushed out of him and he rested his forehead against Brandon's shoulder, taking a few moments to recover from the bad dream. He couldn't remember what it was but they always seemed to be about Brandon's death, the ones he remembered. Brandon was in a deep sleep and didn't stir. Merlin carefully pulled back so he wouldn't wake him and then loosened the covers around Brandon so his skin could breathe a little. After climbing out of bed carefully so he didn't jostle the mattress, he checked the time. It was just after one am, so they he had crashed out for about three hours after their bath. It was getting difficult to get a good night's sleep with so much worry weighing heavily on him.

He found their infrared thermometer in the bathroom and came back to check what Brandon's temperature was. The beauty of the device was it was contactless and he just had to aim it at Brandon's forehead for a reading within seconds. It was 102.8. Not too bad, not a cause for concern. He put the ceiling fan above the bed on low to circule the air in the bedroom while Brandon slept. There was no point trying to cool him down because he was be shivering with a chill soon enough.

After he dropped a light kiss to Brandon's head, he left the room to go use the main bathroom in the house so the flush of the en-suite didn't disturb Brandon. The house was quiet but he noticed the kitchen light was on and from up the hall, it looked like the porch light was on. Rubbing his eyes beneath his glasses and trying to rake his unruly hair down, he was going to turn the porch light off when he realised Damien and Jesse were sitting out there on the porch together having a cuppa. Frowning and blinking against the light, he went out to them and squashed his butt down in between on the swing. Little brother prerogative.

"You both have sex hair," he told them huskily and dropped his head on Damien's shoulder with a wide yawn.

signofthetimes

Who: Brandon Blake and Merlin Larson with Wesley Knight, Noah Fitzpatrick, Jesse Hartley, Jace Hartley, Damien Larson, and Liam Morgan
What: Karaoke reality checks
Where: Cape Cod, MA
When: After this

“Dude, I can’t believe you can just walk around here and no one even notices you,” Wesley said to Brandon as he walked hand-in-hand with Noah by Brandon and Merlin.

They were wandering down a quaint little street in the town, trying to find a place to eat. Or at least a place those who could eat could order food and those who felt sick at the thought of it - Brandon and Wesley - could just chill, like a bar or something. Liam and Damien were trailing behind them with Jesse and Jace, letting the younger of the pack decide where they wanted to go. They couldn’t go too far because Brandon didn’t have the strength to walk very far but he was managing the slow pace and he seemed to be feeling okay. He and Merlin had their arms around each other and people were passing by Brandon without even a second glance. Granted, the fact he had covered his hair in a bandana, had the hood up on his hoodie and was wearing reading glasses probably threw the scent off.

Brandon shrugged, smirking. “Well, the ones who don’t believe I’m dead already probably aren’t looking for me. No one knows I own property here. I’ve never made it public knowledge. That’s why I love it here. It’s easy to blend in, especially holding hands with another guy,” he said, giving a sweeping gesture with his hand.

“Whoa, wait - hold on!” Damien came up beside Brandon and grabbed the hand he was just waving. “Do I spy with my little eye a fucking impressive rock? When did this no-so-little deal-sealer appear, hm?” He gave Merlin a grin, wondering how his baby brother found the time to ring shop in the wake of him and Brandon mutually deciding to get married. Merlin told them there hadn’t really been any official proposal, so there hadn’t been a pre-planned engagement ring. Now there was one and it was one of the coolest rings Damien had seen. Second only to the custom engagement ring Liam had made for him out of one of his guitar strings and equal to Jace’s diamond and mystic topaz engagement ring and Justin’s ring with sheet music of his and Sasha’s song engraved on it. This style was so Brandon. He pulled Brandon into a smoosh-hug. “Holy fuck, my baby brother’s getting married!”

( Now Wesley was taking Brandon’s hand for a look... )

LOG, COMPLETE

slowsouthernstyle

Who: Jesse Hartley, Damien Larson, Liam Morgan, Merlin Larson and Brandon Blake
What: Interrupted Announcements
Where: Hartley/Turner/Casey Home, NYC
When: After this

Jesse worked night shift the night before but didn’t mind waiting up when Merlin sent him a text and asked him if he and Brandon could drop by before they flew up to Cape Cod for a few days after Brandon’s announcement about his cancer went public in a couple of hours time. It had been delayed a day when Lachlan wanted to keep him in an extra night after he needed more blood than anticipated with the transfusion. It was only once Jesse got home from work that he discovered Merlin asked Damien over too because Damien was already there with Liam, which started to make him nervous. He carried in a tray with tea and mugs, setting it down on the coffee table. “You’re sure he didn’t say what any of this was about? I’m freaking out they’ve got bad news.”

( Damien and Liam were sitting on the sofa holding hands. They had planned to come over later anyway to pick up the last of Damien’s things now he was officially moving in with Liam... )

LOG, COMPLETE

signofthetimes

Who: Brandon Blake and Merlin Larson with Jesse Hartley and Montana Everitt
What: Putting Things Right
Where: Hartley/Turner/Casey/Larson Home, NYC
When: After this

When Jesse answered the door, Brandon reflexively took a step backwards and nearly bumped into Montana standing behind him. He assumed Jesse was going to be pissed at him for hurting Merlin and want to kick his ass. That’s what big brothers wanted to do, wasn’t it? “I’m… I’m sorry. I’m really sorry, I never meant to be a cunt like that. I just really need to see Merlin. Is he here? Is he awake? I want to explain. He deserves that. I was an asshole, it wasn’t anything to do with what he did or said, I just…”

Jesse was shocked to see Brandon on the doorstep and he heaved a deep sigh of relief to see he was alive and upright, even if he looked like utter hell. He gave him a careful hug, patting his back. “It’s okay, you don’t have to apologise to me. I’m just glad to see you’re okay, we were worried. I can see you’re not well. Come in. I’m sure he’ll want to see you.”

“I’m hungover, I’ve been a dumbfuck. Pretty sure I still reek of booze,” Brandon admitted with shame. “This is my PA, Montana. Monty, this is Merlin’s brother, Jesse. Monty’s just making sure I made it here safely without faceplanting any flat surfaces.”

( Jesse welcomed them in, giving Montana a smile... )

LOG, COMPLETE

slowsouthernstyle

Home sweet home, but not at all a happy camper. Destination: bed rest. No one be offended if he doesn't respond to messages. Having a bit of a bad time.

inkandleather

Do you ever just wake up and your husband is the sexiest man on earth? #ido

slowsouthernstyle

Who: Jesse Hartley and Damien Larson
What: BFF mystery chats
Where: Turner/Casey/Hartley/etc. Home
When: After this

The first thing Jesse did when he got home was check on Jace to see if he was okay. He was in bed wearing his penguin onesie watching a move on his laptop, not in much of a better mood than when Jesse left for work. He changed out of his scrubs and left him to it, going to put the kettle on to make some much-needed tea.

He found Damien in the living room with the TV on but his focus was on his phone rather than whatever TV show was on, which turned out to be Brandon's show streaming on Netflix which made Jesse laugh. "Doing a little big brotherly research for brownie points, buddy? How's the flu? I'm going to make some tea if you want some. I'm a lil' bit nervous about what you need to talk about but you can talk to me about anything you need." He handed Damien a small package. "Cold and Flu pills. Best to catch it early."

musicsavesmysoul

Hey, dude... I know things are crazy busy right now but do you think I could talk to you about something? I kinda need some rational advice. If all's good with Merl and Brandon, of course. And Jace, goes without saying. Just if you have any time.

magicmoments

Who: Merlin Larson, Jesse Hartley, Brandon Blake and Tara Campbell
What: Medical Intervention
Where: Mount Sinai, NYC
When: After this

Inevitably, Merlin got really upset when he was told he had contracted pneumonia because his first thought was that Brandon couldn’t be anywhere near him if he was contagious. It had already been the hardest thing having Brandon stay away while they thought it was just the flu. Now it turned into this raging monster culminating in him being hospitalised, it was the emotional straw that broke the camel’s back. He had a huge cry, which didn’t help the fact he was on oxygen with difficulty breathing and chest pains. Then he had another huge cry when his mom and dad, who flew in from South Carolina, arrived at the hospital.

After that, it didn’t matter so much that Brandon had to stay away while Merlin was started on IV antibiotics because Merlin crashed out and mostly spent the next couple of days sleeping. He had a steady stream of visitors while he slept and even if he was woken on and off to be checked on by staff, he just fell asleep again when they left him. The worst were the coughing fits that strained his chest and throat so much, he made himself sick. He was so poorly and miserable, he really wasn’t in a state to be up to entertaining visitors anyway.

( It was one of those horrible coughing fits that woke him up that morning... )

LOG, COMPLETE

magicmoments

Who: Merlin Larson, Brandon Blake, Jesse Hartley and Damien Larson
What: Unexpected Reunions
Where: New York City, NY
When: After this

The final part of the roadtrip wasn’t fun. Merlin feeling like he needed a beer at the motel they stopped at turned into Merlin wiping himself out because he was both a lightweight and mixing booze with his ADHD meds wasn’t a good idea. It had loosened him up and the three of them ended up having fun and laughing a lot. The fact Brandon could through all he was dealing with said a lot but Merlin’s hangover meant Wes did a lot of the driving home and Merlin was miserable and in a crappy mood. About the only silver lining was that for a little bit, his and Brandon’s positions switched - it was Brandon taking care of him but Merlin’s mood didn’t make it an easy task. All the stress of the previous weeks careened to the forefront and came out like a demon during his hangover.

So, getting back to New York, things were a little tense. Merlin stopped talking completely and his answers to any questions were single words, if words even came at all. Seven hours in the car wasn’t the best idea but it got them home. The were spending a couple of nights at Merlin’s to recover from the trip before going to Brandon’s so he could restart the chemo infusions. Merlin crawled into his bed as soon as they were home and crashed hard. When he woke up the next morning, he was alone in the bed and there was a very real terror for a few moments that his terrible hangover mood destroyed everything and Brandon cut his losses, walking away.

( Closer inspection (and with his glasses on), Brandon’s luggage was all still there in its Louis Vuitton glory. All his medications were lined up on Merlin’s dresser and both their jackets were lying over the back of the little sofa by the window... )

LOG, COMPLETE

magicmoments

Wes needs my help and we might detour via SC on the way home. I just don't know if I'm ready to go home. What do I do?

slowsouthernstyle

You two okay? I've been trying to call to check on you, both phones going to voicemail. Let me know you're okay so I don't panic and call the cops.

magicmoments

Who: Merlin Larson and Brandon Blake with everyone from the Turner/Casey/Hartley/Larson brood
What: Christmas!
Where: Turner/Casey/Hartley/Larson Residence, NYC
When: Christmas Day (more bendy time, for reasons)

Something had shifted, Merlin just didn't know what. He had fully expected to wake up the morning after Brandon stayed over to find Brandon had left. He had been full of guilt thinking he was imposing the whole time he was there, trying to leave so he wasn't putting Merlin out. Especially after he got upset and broke down in tears. They didn't talk anymore after that. Merlin let him have the quiet he needed to feel upset and grieve, because that was probably what he was trying to deal with on top of everything else. Besides, Merlin didn't think there were any right words to say after that. Brandon ended up falling asleep while he was crying.

But Brandon hadn't left. He was still sleeping soundly beside Merlin when he woke up disoriented that he was in his own bed and not still in London and had a celebrity passed out beside him stealing most of the covers. Unfortunately, Merlin had to get to an early meeting with Caden and he didn't want to interrupt Brandon's sleep when he probably really needed it. Instead, he wrote him a note and left it for him. He told him again to come to Christmas with his family so he wasn't alone and offered to drive him to and from his chemo appointment Christmas morning. He even invited him to stay over for a few days so he didn't have to be alone. He didn't expect Brandon to accept any of that. He didn't expect to hear from him again after he revealed.

Only, Brandon did accept, albeit reluctantly. He sent Merlin an email thanking him extensively for how he helped him, saying not many strangers would sit on a bathroom floor with you in the middle of the night while you were as sick as a dog just so they didn't have to be alone. He also said he thought they needed to talk more because he didn't want to leave things like that. So, Merlin drove him up to Stamford that morning for his treatment and sat with him while the chemo pumped through his veins. They watched Home Alone together on Brandon's iPad until Brandon started to feel really rough and couldn't concentrate.

It was a difficult drive back. There was traffic everywhere being Christmas and a light snowfall meant they had to go slow. Brandon was yet again feeling sick as a dog and Merlin had to stop four times for him to use gas station bathrooms. He gave Brandon multiple loopholes to renege on the family Christmas but Brandon was a trooper and Merlin was glad he did come because it turned out to be a nice day. The whole Turner brood was here from Chicago, Christian's sister, Calli, came and so did Autumn and her mom. It wasn't conventional. Neither Evan nor Brandon could stomach the Christmas dinner so they sat it out together in the living room watching more Christmas movies on Netflix. When Merlin came through to check how Brandon was, he found him crashed out and Evan said he was pretty much out cold five minutes after they started the first movie.

The good thing was that Brandon didn't seem bothered that Merlin's family and extended family would know he was there for Christmas. He just asked that no one take any photos because he knew he looked shit and if they ended up on social media, everyone would assume he was doing hard drugs. Technically, he kind of was. You couldn't get harder than chemo, but that wasn't the point. He was awake when everyone filtered away from the dinner table to relax and catch-up. Merlin made sure Brandon was seated strategically close to the living room door so if he needed the bathroom urgently, he just had to shoot across the hallway.

"How are you feeling?" Merlin asked when he came to sit down beside Brandon, nursing a cup of tea Nana Turner just made for him, offering it up. "This is weak but don't feel you have to force it down. Nana said it helped her friend when she was going through chemo."

signofthetimes

Who: Brandon Blake, Jesse Hartley and later Merlin Larson
What: Strange situations or... kismet?
Where: Hartley-Turner-Casey-Larson Residence, NYC
When: After this and this

Brandon was fascinated with all the photos lining the floor to ceiling bookcase at Autumn’s brother’s home. He didn’t know who any of the people in the photos were, but they all looked so happy. So many family photos. At first, he was only looking to see if there were any of Merlin, thinking maybe there might have been a mistake or something because that would have made this whole thing easier to wiggle his way out of. Once he knew what Jesse looked like, he managed to find a framed picture of him with a guy who was unmistakably the Merlin he had met in London and ended up with a relentless crush on, even sitting a little distance away on the sofa. He wanted to get up for a closer look but he didn’t want Jesse to come back and spring him at it. That would be awkward as all hell and he had a reputation to protection, which is what got him into all this to start with.

“Sorry about that,” Jesse said with a smile, returning to the living room with a couple of mugs. He offered one to Brandon with freshly brewed green tea with licorice root. “I’m sorry you haven’t been feeling well. Now, you might think this tastes like shit, so don’t feel obligated to force it down if you do. We have plenty of other things to drink. But it’s got a good wrap for soothing upset stomachs and contributing to the immune system. My brother-in-law’s just been diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease and he said it seems to help a little.”

( Even if a little bit of a strange situation, Jesse had welcomed Brandon when he arrived to have a chat mostly about Merlin but Autumn seemed to imply there was much more to this situation than she could reveal... )

LOG, COMPLETE

autumnkisses

Hey, best big bro in the world. 1) How's you and your hubby? 2) What's Merlin up to?

slowsouthernstyle

Who: Jesse Hartley and Autumn MacDonald
What: Long time, no see
Where: Neurological Unit, Mount Sinai
When: After this

For an unconscious guy, Jace at a steady stream of visitors now his entire family had arrived in New York. At least, so he heard. He was yet to see the ghost that was Evan in the flesh but Alex told him Evan had definitely been by by had gotten tied up trying to fast-track Sam and Lisa’s adopted son through the official channels so his medical needs were taken care of the best they could be. It was exciting for them, even if fraught with challenges. Jesse might not have been happen that Evan pissed off and left Jace and Christian because he was scared of commitment but he couldn’t fault he was an exceptional neurologist, especially as to brain injuries and epilepsy in young people.

Still, they were Jesse’s family now too, and he adored them all but he was still recovering from a seizure of his own and a few associated aftershock seizures, likely brought on by stress of what was going on with Jace. The fatigue was tough and he had been sleeping a lot, though when he was awake and Jace had visitors, he felt some sort of obligation to fill them in, explain things to them, be a host. It was silly. He knew he didn’t have to. But he also knew they were just as worried and scared as he was. This was what family was all about.

( When he found himself with a stretch of time where Jace had no one visiting, Jesse broke down in the hospital bed beside Jace’s and had a good cry that might be brought on by exhaustion and feeling overwhelmed, but he needed it... )

LOG, COMPLETE

bigbrotherslove

Who: Evan Turner and Christian Casey
What: Elephant in the room
Where: Neurological Unit, Mount Sinai
When: After this

Christian didn’t hesitate in offering to help Jesse when he heard Jace had been rushed to hospital suffering suspected multiple complex partial seizures. It started with three or four which he managed to regain consciousness after, albeit extremely fatigued and suffering migraine and motion sickness-like nausea and dizziness. They had flown home from Vermont on the private jet owned by Gen and Paris’ company and Jesse spent the duration holding Jace’s head over a sick bag or trying to rouse him when he dropped in and out of consciousness. Liam was on the flight with them, having travelled up so there would be a doctor on board if Jace’s condition took a turn for the worst. Jace passed out as they were alighting the plane and this time, Jesse couldn’t rouse him so they called an ambulance.

Jace had been admitted to the High Dependency ward of the Neurological Unit. He had undergone multiple scans and examinations including an EEG to monitor his brain activity that indicated he was having multiple seizures lasting around five minutes each and hitting every half-hour to an hour. He wasn’t regaining consciousness after them. His medical team, including Jesse, had the option of Responsive Neurostimulation on the table where a device was implanted on the surface of the brain to deliver electrical stimulation to the area where the seizure was coming from with hopes to stop it.

( Jesse wasn’t coping well with it... )

LOG, COMPLETE

livefortoday

Who: Hunter Alexander and Cruz Quinlan, Arian Alcott and Trent Lamont, Jesse Hartley and Jace Hartley
What: Operation: Squad Watch
Where: Vermont Lakehouse
When: Simultaneous to this

Hunter and Cruz were lucky to have their stars align that weekend. Cruz was working on new music with Corbyn Bellerose (Ajay's dad), who lived in Vermont, and Hunter had a few rostered days off from work. He decided on the spur of the moment to drive up to Cruz to see how Cruz was getting on, visit his parents in Burlington, and together they would drop in to see how the crew were getting on at the lakehouse. He knew there had been some hiccups with both Justin and Zeke but Jesse had it all in hand like a boss. Reecy and Kyan had to go back to work so they passed the baton to Ari and Trent. Trent was going to photograph Andi's memorial so they all had memories of it and Ari needed to start some therapy work with Justin while he had a good window with Justin relaxed away from everything. Hunter wanted to check how Brody was getting on and Cruz decided to come along with him.

It was the night of the memorial so he knew the teens would all be doing their own thing as they always did. They functioned so impressively as a large and supportive group of friends but also had some wonderful romantic relationships between them. They frequently put some of the adults to shame. Hunter was so glad Brody had them all and over the moon Brody was now dating Jett. They were sweet together but Brody had been through hell and Hunter wanted to make sure he was okay. He picked Cruz up from the Bellerose Estate and the drove to the lake together after stopping for a pit-stop and some pretty fantastic sex in the backseat of the car.

They came up the path hand-in-hand and found Jesse, Jace, Ari and Trent sitting out on the front porch having coffee. "Got room for two more?" he asked, shooting them a grin. "Wow, this place is insane. I was expecting a little log cabin lined with bunk bed and an outdoor shitter. How's it all going? The lights look awesome."

inkandleather

Who: Jace and Jesse Hartley
What: R&R
Where: Vermont Lakehouse
When: After this

"Damnit. I'm too tired to even keep it up," Jace mumbled and flopped into Jesse's side, kissing his bare shoulder. Earlier wasn't the first time they had been interrupted in the middle of making love, but it wasn't a sacrifice of any sort. The poor guy got himself into an epic mess and needed Jesse's help. That's what they were there for, after all. Mostly for Jesse to nurse Justin, which Mark was paying him around the clock for, but also to be there if anything happened with the rest of the teen squad.

It had been a long night and even if Jace wasn't the nurse, he was there right through and pretty drained after the disaster. Now they were back in their room with all the dust settled and Tori bombed out on a mix of alcohol and painkillers. Jace and Jesse kind of thought they could pick up where they left off, but after the initial shedding of clothes and flopping into bed, Jace lost the wind in his sails and was too tired to get the job done. It was just as nice to lay there naked in his husband's arms. It was the early hours of the morning now and they were a bit overtired to sleep, with the buzz of having to hit the ground running when Tori was dragged in drunk and bleeding.

"You okay, sweetie? What a fucking night..." He softly patted Jesse's chest and wet his lips, propping his head up with his chin on Jesse's shoulder. "Want me to finish you off? I think you've earned it."

ifeelthelove

Who: Cassidy Cohen, Tori Kingston, Sasha Stanford, Jesse and Jace Hartley
What: The grief process
Where: Vermont Lakehouse
When: After this

“Does someone what to tell me what happened now?” Jesse came into the sitting room and placed a bowl of warm water with antiseptic on the coffee table by his medical kit. He dropped some cotton balls into the pungent concoction so they could soak for a little bit. He and Jace had been in bed when Ainsley had come running to get him, saying Tori had gotten into a drunken fight at the neighbours’ cook-out he went to with Cassidy and Sasha.

When Justin hit the sack early, Jesse took the opportunity to take Jace to bed and do what married couples did in their downtime. There hadn’t been a lot of it with Jesse taking on Justin’s nursing care for the duration of this trip away. Normally, he would have abstained, but Justin had been so fatigued he told Jesse he just wanted to go to bed and sleep. He asked Jesse for some of the sedatives he had been prescribed which would help him sleep without nightmares for at least seven to eight hours, so Jesse could unofficially have the night off.

( Poor Ainsley interrupted him and Jace making love, Jesse heard the urgency in the pleas to come because Tori was hurt so he quickly threw on some sweatpants and a t-shirt to come through and see what had happened... )

LOG, COMPLETE

aussielawyer

Hey, mate. I just tried to give you a call, but I got voicemail. I wanted to run something by you, if you possible. If you or Jace are poorly, just disregard.

tearsofpearls

Who: Arian Alcott with Sasha Stanford, Jesse Hartley, Riley Bryant and Justin Campbell
What: Sickness and pain
Where: Mount Sinai, NYC
When: After this and this

It was somewhere around four am when Ari was running at full speed through the hospital. His boots were slamming against the linoleum with every step and adrenaline was rushing through his body. That horrible page had come through. The one he didn’t want to want to receive, but that there was a significant risk that would. Not like this, though. Even with trying to preempt the worst case scenarios, it still sunk below that. And quickly. So fucking quickly, apparently.

He had just bolted from the ICU that was in complete lockdown with Mark telling him to ‘Just go to Sasha, wait for his mom to get there!’ Sasha, who had just been rushed down to the ER on a gurney covered in blood because Justin had thrown a chair at him. Justin had regained consciousness in the worst way he possibly could and too quickly for anyone assess the direct risks. He was delirious and very likely psychotic and seemed to think Sasha was someone who was trying to murder him. He definitely wasn’t seeing him as Sasha. Justin didn’t wake slowly or gradually. It was like he got caught in a severe night terror that ripped him to consciousness, causing him to tear out not only the breathing tube from his throat, but all the IVs that was feeding into him.

( Sasha had raised the alarm, screaming for help, but even by the time the staff got to Justin, he had been off the bed trying to protect himself from what his brain was making him believe was someone trying to murder him... )

LOG, COMPLETE

slowsouthernstyle

Who: Jesse Hartley and Merlin Larson
What: Big Brother Duties
Where: Mount Sinai, NYC
When: Later after this

Jesse was on a long shift, but he set aside his break to come sit with Merlin while he waited for Cassidy to get through surgery. Jesse and Jace hadn't met Cas yet, but Jesse knew Merlin was smitten. He got this goofy little smile when he spoke about her, and everyone was looking forward to meeting her when she had recovered and was up to it. For now, this was the most important day for her. Jesse knew Merlin cared for people so deeply because he had a huge heart. There was nowhere else on the face of the earth he would have been today. But Jesse knew more than most how easily it was to forget about taking care of yourself when you were trying to take care of someone else.

He found Merlin in the surgical waiting room and smiled, holding out a paper bag for him. "Chicken BLAT. I'm on serious orders from Nana Turner to make sure you're fed, and she said this was your favourite. My Nana-in-Law knows your favourite food before I do. I'm slipping, huh?" He took the seat beside Merlin. "Any news yet? Probably still a little too early to know anything yet," he added, checking his nurses watch pinned to his scrubs top.

slowsouthernstyle

inkandleather

Who: Jace and Jesse Hartley
What: Something's coming
Where: Home, NYC
When: Saturday

Something was going on, and Jace had no idea what it was, let alone where to even begin to try and guess. He was standing in the doorway of their guest bedroom, watching Jesse carry a passed-out Merlin to the bed. Merlin was a mess. Literally. All Jace knew was that Merlin apparently got extremely drunk at some point, and that had lead to Jesse bringing him home here. Somewhere in the middle of all that, Merlin had thrown up all over himself, and Jesse had called ahead to Jace and asked him to have a change of clothes for Merlin, if he could. Jace didn't ask questions at that point. Jesse said he would be back before his birthday, but he had been delayed in South Carolina. Today was Jace's birthday, and they were only just getting back.

And he had no idea what to think, because Jesse looked like hell too. Jace stayed standing timidly in the doorway, watching Jesse undress Merlin out of the messed up clothing, clean him up a bit, and put sweat pants and long-sleeve t-shirt on him Jace had fished out of their pile of clean laundry that hadn't been put away yet. Merlin kind of regained consciousness briefly while Jesse was trying to get the job done, and proceeded to projectile puke all over the bed and the clean clothes he had just been put in, all the while bawling his eyes out. He soon passed out again.

Jace didn't know what to do to help, because Jesse hadn't asked for his help. That felt weird. Jace felt oddly like he was being left out of something, but it could just be because he hadn't been filled in yet. "I'll get a change for the bed," he said quietly, and went to the linen cupboard up the hall where he just stood there staring into it for a few minutes. His brain was skipping a few beats. He knew why he had come to the cupboard, but not sure where to get what he was looking for. Soon, he just came back with an armful of clean linen, and when he got to the room, he found Jesse sitting on the floor by the bed, sobbing his heart out. "What the fuck has happened?!" Jace finally cried, getting upset himself because he hated not understanding things, or feeling like he wasn't capable of being kept in the loop.

slowsouthernstyle

Never thought I'd be doing this. Feeling a bit ill facing it.

slowsouthernstyle

Hiraeth (n): a homesickness for a home to which you cannot return, a home which maybe never was; the nostalgia, the yearning, the grief for the lost places of the past.

Jesse never wanted to go back to his home town. He had vowed many a time that he wouldn’t after breaking free from the bible-bashing mess he had left behind. Since then, more secrets and lies had come to life to vastly prove that no matter how much a religious person preached from the rooftops of how pure and holy their faith was, they could still be just as sinful and downright deceitful as people who practiced no religion. Jesse had learned his mother had an affair, and as a result, the father he grew up with wasn’t his biological father. Instead, the man who gave him life had passed away from a sudden heart attack at a relatively young age, and Jesse discovered he had siblings he never knew about.

( That was why he was doing this. Merlin asked him to travel to South Carolina with him because he didn’t want to face this alone... )

slowsouthernstyle

Are you alive?

slowsouthernstyle

Who: Jesse Hartley and Merlin Larson
What: Reaching out
Where: Merlin's place, NYC
When: After this

It was just a stroke of luck that Jesse had woken up needing the bathroom, and didn't get back to sleep straight away. It happened sometimes on the back of a nightshift rotation and his body hadn't caught up with the fact he was on normal hours now. It was raining outside, and Jace was fast asleep in bed beside him, tucked up in the covers like a cocoon. Jace always felt the cold. He wasn't a fan of the winter at all, unless it meant lots of snuggles under blankets and getting it on in front of their open fire. It was just a bit more than usual that night because Jace was coming down with a cold. Jesse had done his husbandly duties and made sure Jace had warm jammies, an extra blanket, and a cup of honey and lemon tea for his sore throat before they went to bed.

Opening up Facebook, the first post Jesse saw was Merlin's. He felt his stomach flip-flop, because he knew it wasn't a joke. Merlin was a prankster when he wanted to be, but stuff like this, he didn't mess about with. It hadn't been posted long ago either, so he was awake in the middle of the night. Jesse called him and asked if he wanted him to come over to talk to. Merlin tried to brush it off, saying it was too late, he didn't want Jesse to get sick in the rain, etc. etc. So, Jesse asked him to come here, and said he was up anyway. He was pleading with Merlin by the time he was done, and it was only when he told Merlin he was going to come anyway that Merlin relented and said he would come to Jesse's.

Jesse put his fluffy bathrobe on, and went to the kitchen to boil the kettle. Their place was big enough now that you could be up in the night and not bother anyone. He filled the teapot to the brim to steep, and went to wait at the front door for Merlin to come. It was bucketing down by the time he got there. "C'mon, sweetheart. Come inside. I've got one of Jace's spare robes for you. Sorry about the penguins." Jace was a penguin nut, so this robe had penguins all over it. Merlin was shivering and he looked upset. Jesse rubbed his back, watching him concern. "What's made you think you were adopted, Merl?"

slowsouthernstyle

Profile

Dream Like New York

Tags

[character] ajay willis - 201 uses
[character] angel shaw - 181 uses
[character] beau watson - 290 uses
[character] billy willis - 212 uses
[character] clint chevalier - 392 uses
[character] euan fitzpatrick - 214 uses
[character] finlay bennett - 279 uses
[character] genenvieve hart-campbell - 206 uses
[character] harry matheson - 153 uses
[character] jace hartley - 281 uses
[character] jesse hartley - 296 uses
[character] julian beaumont - 155 uses
[character] justin campbell - 1317 uses
[character] lewis sheldon - 194 uses
[character] liam morgan - 192 uses
[character] lincoln cole - 179 uses
[character] lorenzo chevalier - 259 uses
[character] mark campbell - 507 uses
[character] merlin blake - 169 uses
[character] nick matheson - 158 uses
[character] reecy chester-wilson - 272 uses
[character] richie jameson - 168 uses
[character] rose shaw - 149 uses
[character] sasha stanford - 470 uses
[character] shannon webster - 173 uses
[character] will jackson - 162 uses
[character] zoran jennings - 166 uses
[comm] muserevival - 556 uses
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[communication] facebook - 3345 uses
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[scene] narrative - 744 uses
[scene] rp - 1536 uses
[ship] adrian/richie - 173 uses
[ship] ajay/billy - 260 uses
[ship] angel/rose - 247 uses
[ship] clint/lincoln - 418 uses
[ship] euan/julie - 216 uses
[ship] fin/shannon - 238 uses
[ship] jesse/jace - 365 uses
[ship] julian/harley - 188 uses
[ship] justin/sasha - 704 uses
[ship] justin/will - 705 uses
[ship] liam/paxton - 163 uses
[ship] lorenzo/lewis - 306 uses
[ship] mark/gen - 575 uses
[ship] merlin/brandon - 178 uses
[ship] miles/rhys - 164 uses
[ship] paris/michael - 139 uses

Page Summary

inkandleather - "And never can you know when my seizures will happen."
slowsouthernstyle - "Now you've adopted me into your family."
inkandleather - "I'm locked in your eyes, I love our quality time."
slowsouthernstyle - "But either way, I got you in my DNA."
slowsouthernstyle - [ TEXT ] To Cillian @ somethinglikemagic
musicsavesmysoul - "Keep your head up, little brother. I can see you're hurting inside."
signofthetimes - [ TEXT MESSAGE ] To Damien (musicsavesmysoul) & Jesse (slowsouthernstyle)
slowsouthernstyle - "That's what you get when you confuse your stomach with your heart."
signofthetimes - [ TEXT ] To Jesse @ slowsouthernstyle
magicmoments - "F your cancer. We'll fight this. I can see the pain..."
musicsavesmysoul - "If you know what it's like, to dream a dream. Baby, hold me tight and let this be."
signofthetimes - "You took my soul wiped it clean, our love was made for movie screens."
magicmoments - "There's nothing like waking up, waking up to you."
musicsavesmysoul - "He ain't heavy, he's my brother."
magicmoments - "The one who all your family loves, the one you place no one above."
signofthetimes - "What does it take, hospitals and heartbreak."
wannabesurgeon - "Oh now feel it, comin' back again Like a rollin', thunder chasing the wind."
musicsavesmysoul - "And you might be responsible for poisoning the sunshine."
slowsouthernstyle - [ TEXT MESSAGE ] To Damien @ musicsavesmysoul
slowsouthernstyle - "I don't know too much family history, I don't keep in touch."
magicmoments - "The brothers gonna work it out."
signofthetimes - "Just touch my cheek before you leave me, baby."
slowsouthernstyle - "And in this marriage of our hearts, there is no death do us part."
signofthetimes - "But I wanna sleep next to you, and I wanna come home to you..."
slowsouthernstyle - [ FACEBOOK ] with Merlin Larson
inkandleather - [ FACEBOOK ] with Jesse Hartley
slowsouthernstyle - "And so the conversation turned."
musicsavesmysoul - [ TEXT MESSAGE ] To Jesse @ slowsouthernstyle
magicmoments - "Loosen the pressure you choked me with."
magicmoments - "Home sweet home."
magicmoments - [ TEXT MESSAGE ] To Jesse @ slowsouthernstyle
slowsouthernstyle - [ TEXT MESSAGE ] To Merlin @ magicmoments
magicmoments - "Have yourself a merry little Christmas."
signofthetimes - "Breathe into me and make me real, bring me to life".
autumnkisses - [ TEXT MESSAGE ] To Jesse @ slowsouthernstyle
slowsouthernstyle - "Sister's coming home."
bigbrotherslove - "But it don't matter, it clearly doesn't tear you apart anymore."
livefortoday - "Moonlight in Vermont."
inkandleather - "Have I told you lately how much your husband loves you?"
ifeelthelove - "Grief is hard to fight without a ray of light."
aussielawyer - [ TEXT MESSAGE ] To Jesse @ slowsouthernstyle
tearsofpearls - "I know your life gets painful sometimes."
slowsouthernstyle - "I'm taking care of my own."
slowsouthernstyle - [ FACEBOOK ]
inkandleather - "How long has this been going on?"
slowsouthernstyle - [ FACEBOOK ]
slowsouthernstyle - @ muserevival | 143.7. Misc/Random
slowsouthernstyle - [ TEXT MESSAGE ] To Damien @ learnhowtoplay
slowsouthernstyle - "I'll be there for you, when the rain starts to fall."
slowsouthernstyle - [ FACEBOOK ]