Part Ten
Iam awoke to the sensation of being held. He opened his eyes, and realized that it was Jesse. He just stayed where he was, watching the other boy sleep.
Jesse stirred sleepily and murmured, “Don’t leave, Xan. We don’t have to go to school today.”
With Jesse’s movement, Iam became aware that the other boy was hard. “Oh, bollox,” he whispered, and tried to move out of Jesse’s grip. “Jesse,” he said, shaking the other boy. “Get up, Jesse.”
“Hmm,” Jesse tightened his grip. But Iam was insistent and when Jesse opened his eyes and realized who he was holding, he scooted back quickly and fell out of the bed. “Oomph!”
Iam peered over the edge of the bed. “Sorry, mate. You okay?”
Jesse blushed, “Sorry. I, um, thought you were Xander.”
“You said ‘is name. I figured. S’okay.” Iam swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up, then extended his hand to the other boy. “Didn’t mean to make you fall out of bed.”
Jesse took Iam’s hand and got to his feet. He realized he was still holding Iam’s hand and let go, blushing furiously. “Um, so what now?”
Iam just shrugged. “Want to take a shower?” Then he blushed, “Uh, I mean, that is…”
Just then Giles knocked on the door. “Boys, are you up yet? Breakfast is ready.”
“We’re coming, Uncle Giles,” said Iam.
“So, boys. What would you like to do today?” asked Giles, as the sleep-rumpled boys wandered into the kitchen.
“I would like to see Xander,” said Iam.
“Me too,” seconded Jesse. “Um, I need some clean clothes first.”
“We can stop by your parents’ house and pack a bag for you, then head over to the hospital,” said Giles.
Giles lead the boys into the hospital, where they immediately headed for Xander’s room.
Yates and Jenkins were waiting just outside the hospital room, when the three arrived. Iam and Jesse went right in, and Giles went to speak with the social workers.
“We’ve got some good news,” said Yates.
“Oh?”
“We’re taking Jesse to LA today. The last of the paperwork ended up going through last night,” she said.
“That’s good,” said Giles.
“We’ve brought the paperwork for you to fill out as well,” added Jenkins, handing Giles a small stack of papers.
“Right,” Giles flipped through the stack. “They look similar to what I filled out for Iam. When are you leaving for LA?”
“As soon as Jesse comes back out,” said Yates. “His prospective father is very anxious to see the boy.”
“I see.”
“Jesse,” said Xander softly when the two boys entered the room. “I missed you.”
Jesse immediately went over to Xander’s side. “I missed you, too. How do you feel?”
“ ‘M fine. Why does everyone keep asking me that?” Xander asked, a bit petulantly.
Iam walked over, “We’re just worried.”
“Oh, well, nothing to be worried about. I’ll be back to school with you guys Monday.” Jesse tried to hide it, but Xander saw the sad expression. “What’s wrong, Jesse?”
“They’re taking me away,” he said. “To some guy in LA.”
“Oh…” Xander softly stroked Jesse’s cheek. “LA’s not that far away, and you’re not going right away, are you?”
“Don’t know when,” said Jesse, moving closer to Xander.
Iam watched the two for a minute, then headed for the door. “I’ll, uh, be out in the hall for a few minutes.” Then he was out the door, just as lips met.
“Love you.”
“Love you more.”
Iam shut the door behind him, glad to be out of the room. He was slightly embarrassed atr having intruded on such a private moment. He glanced at the adults and shamelessly edged closer, listening to what they were saying.
Jenkins was already speaking, “…he doesn’t need to worry about clothes or anything. Everything will be taken car of when he arrives.”
“What if Jesse doesn’t like it there?” Giles asked the social workers.
Yates smiled sympathetically, “Why wouldn’t he? But if there are problems, they will be handled accordingly.”
Jenkins caught sight of Iam. “Are they almost finished?” he asked the boy. “We’d like to get going.”
“Going where?”
“They’re taking Jesse to LA,” said Giles.
“Now? But, that’s not much notice,” said Iam, surprised.
Yates moved up to the door, and Iam reluctantly stepped away. The social worker opened the door and stepped inside. She looked over to the bed, and saw the two boys kissing frantically. She whirled around, mortified. Jenkins had followed her in, and he glanced over and cleared his throat. The two boys jumped apart quickly. Xander stared at the wall, while Jesse studied the floor.
“Sorry to interrupt, boys,” said Jenkins. He realized how difficult this was going to be for the two boys. “Jesse, everything’s ready for you in LA. We’d like to leave soon.”
“Now?” asked Jesse, tears welling up. “I thought we had a couple days!”
Yates walked over and put a comforting hand on his shoulder, “It’s not that bad, dear. You’ll only be a few hours away.”
“Can we say goodbye?” asked Xander. “In private?”
“Of course,” said Yates. She and Jenkins left the room.
“Jesse, it’s okay,” said Xander. Jesse stared at the floor miserably. Xander reached out a hand and tangled it in Jesse’s hair, turning the boy’s head to look at him. “Hey, we’ve been through a lot together,” he said. “This won’t be any different.”
“I know,” sniffed Jesse. “I just…”