Looking for Love
Part 14 - A hot bath
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Part 14 – A hot bath
/… How many dreams we’ve
chased …/
The drive back to his apartment felt like forever but Don
managed it. He stumbled back into his
apartment and cleaned himself up, very painfully.
had to mop up blood and tape on thick bandages.
From his closet, Don chose a suit since it would cover all
of his marked skin. Before the suit, Don
pulled on an undershirt and a pair of long boxers.
wounds started bleeding again. Good
thing it was cool out and no one would wonder why he was in a suit.
but finally Don was attired. He looked
at himself in the mirror and decided that he looked relatively normal, if a
little pale and tired. That just left
his fingers.
Don got into his car and drove to the nearest hospital.
might have broken his fingers playing basketball over the weekend.
stupid things like that.
Quietly, Don told the nurse that if she could expedite the
process, he’d really appreciate it. That
he was really needed at work, at the FBI.
She looked impressed, both by his job and by the courteous way he made
his request. Just a half an hour later,
Don was sitting in a room, waiting for the doctor to return with his X-rays.
The doctor pushed open the door, a frown on her face.
up two X-rays, and flipped on the light.
Don looked at the X-rays and winced.
The bones in both of the fingers were shattered in at least five places.
“You say this happened to you playing basketball?” the
doctor asked skeptically.
“Yes, Ma’am,” Don said.
The doctor peered at him then shrugged.
screws and warned him that the bones had already started to re-fuse, so his
fingers may not heal perfectly straight.
That only due to the tight splint that for some reason he’d been smart
enough to wrap his fingers in would they not have to re-break the bones
first.
It was past lunchtime by the time that Don’s fingers were immobilized
and encased in metal. The sheath
reminded him of a metal cock cage that one Dom had put him in and he shuddered.
person to control him like that.
At work, he had to accept all sorts of ribbing for his
fingers. When David gave him a friendly
pat on his back, Don had to explain his wince by saying that when he fell down
and broke his fingers, that he also jarred and bruised the rest of his
body. He kept his suit coat on all day,
in case some blood had seeped through to his shirt.
Thankfully, it was a quiet day at the office and though he
arrived late, Don went home early. The
members of his team didn’t give him grief for it since he was obviously not one
hundred percent. Don thought about
calling Will but figured that Will could use a break
from him. Don went home to his empty
apartment and slept for the next twelve hours.
The next day at work was also quiet, and Don thanked
whatever gods had decided to smile on him and left the office early again.
but wanted a hot bath first, a long soak for his aching body.
towards his parent’s house.
automatically.
No one was home and Don left himself in with relief.
door was perpetually broken, so he draped a towel on the outside doorknob, the
old signal that the bathroom was in use.
Turning the water on to fill the tub, he pulled off his
clothes. Today he had again worn a full
suit with extra layers underneath. He
settled into the hot water with a hiss then a sigh.
All of his bruises were at maximum color and he looked he’d
been beaten with hundreds of small sharp rocks.
The scabs of his cuts stood out in dark stripes across his body.
but were still red and puffy. At least
his cock and balls were mostly back to their normal color and shape.
“Donnie,” Alan called.
“Are you in there?”
Don’s head snapped up.
“Yeah, Dad, don’t come in. I’m in
the tub.”
“I’ve got to get cologne, I have a date.”
Don searched for a towel to cover himself.
“Can’t I even get into my own bathroom?” Alan grumbled.
see anything new.”
Alan pushed open the door and froze, staring at Don.
“Something new,” Don said weakly.
into the tub.
“My God, Donnie, what happened to you?
“Sort of.”
“Sort of?” Alan said, shutting the
door and moving closer. His eyes widened
as he took in the extent of Don’s injuries, including his splinted left hand.
“If you ask for it,” Don said quietly.
Alan’s eyes went wide and horrified.
“Well, it got out of hand but yeah.
… I was trying to find something that
made me feel again.” Don sighed.
“Oh, Donnie,” Alan knelt by the tub and took Don’s
hand. “I knew you were depressed but I
had no idea it had gone so far.”
Don leaned against the back of the tub and stared at the
ceiling. “It was almost worse,” he
murmured. “I got into a … bad situation
and I might well have died there.”
Alan gasped and gripped Don’s hand.
“I was very lucky,” Don said, “very very lucky, that a
friend found me and got me out. I don’t
think I’ve ever been so happy to see a DEA drug raid before.
knows that being found there would probably ruin my career.
“Thank you, God,” Alan said shakily.
“You’ve never met him.
I hardly knew him myself but he knew me.
From Charlie and Colby’s kidnapping ironically.”
“Donnie,” Alan held Don’s hand tight.
Don sighed deeply and closed his eyes.
life but it sure as hell never occurred to me.
At least not consciously or anywhere I would allow it.
could never like guys. I like girls,
women, a lot.
I’m too old to be learning this thing about myself.
“I’ll say!”
Don’s eyes opened.
“Don’t tell Charlie.”
“No,” Alan shook his head.
“He’d think it was his fault.”
Don looked away from the horror on his father’s face.
“I’ll call and cancel it.”
“Dad,” Don said firmly, “Go on your date.
“But I can’t—“
“Time is the only thing that’s gonna heal me here,” Don
gestured at his body, “and here.” Don
tapped his head.
“No, I can’t go on a date now,” Alan said slowly.
meeting, because I wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about you.”
“Okay,” Don sighed.
“Let me finish my bath then maybe afterwards we could order a pizza and
play some Scrabble?”
Alan nodded. With one
last wincing look at Don’s body, he stood up and left.
tub and sighed. He knew he was in for a
long solicitous night with his dad, but he had to admit to himself that he
didn’t really mind. Being alone, with
only his thoughts to occupy him, wasn’t very fun.