He just had to figure out how not to fuck this up.
7
This morning was nothing like yesterday, but Isaac couldn’t be disappointed. He had gotten out of bed for work, leaving two very content, worn-out boys in his bed. How could he be mad about that? Neil was a notoriously bad sleeper and Alain didn’t seem much better—they both needed the rest. He’d showered and dressed without waking them and picked up Starbucks on his way to the office.
He was definitely jealous though, and he was hoping that his schedulers had managed to clear the rest of his week. He wasn’t entirely unselfish; he felt like deserved some Dom time too.
That thought brought a smile to his face as he stepped into the elevator, heading up to his medical suite. He felt like he’d be smiling a lot today. Neil had been so perfect last night. So trusting and ready to give himself over. So generous with his body. Less so with his mind, but that had always been harder for the boy.
His boy.His, damn it. He wasn’t playing anymore. He wanted Neil, and he was going to stay honest about that.
“Good morning, Doctor!” His receptionist Lisa waved at him, smiling wide. “How are you today? You look rested.”
“Hey, Lisa.” He leaned against the reception desk, still grinning. “I am stellar, thank you. Rested, relaxed and ready for whatever you’re throwing at me today.”
“You have a half day today and we’ve cleared you for the rest of the week. You have a check-up with the Marin twins, a diabetes check, and an infected finger. Mr. McPhail is your first patient today.”
Ooh. A half day. “For real? You got me a half day? I have the best staff. Order in lunch for everyone, will you?” He hadn’t done that in a while. “I’m going to go look at the files.” He wondered what Brandon was coming in for. They hadn’t spoken so it couldn’t be anything too serious.
“Thank you, doctor.” She beamed at him, and he headed into his office. Brandon was coming in for a hurt wrist. Huh. He wondered if he’d hurt it working or playing.
Isaac couldn’t wait to ask.
He finished his coffee while he flipped through Brandon’s chart just to refamiliarize himself; not that he’d forget anything about Brandon, because they were friends outside of this professional setting. The rest of his morning would be easy, even with the Marin twins on his roster. They were wild, but they were adorable, and their parents often came together so no one was outnumbered.
There was a soft knock at his door, and he got up, already knowing that meant Brandon was waiting for him. He thanked his nurse, who handed him a copy of Brandon’s vitals and he was looking them over as he entered the room. “Good morning, Brandon.”
“Hey, Isaac. How’s it going?” Brandon was sitting there, one wrist wrapped up in an Ace bandage. Isaac could see it was swollen from where Brandon sat in his wheelchair.
“So, your BP looks good, everything else looks good. So what’s going on with the wrist?” He pulled over a chair and sat with Brandon, then held his hands out so he could take the bandage off.
“I fell in the damn bathroom and landed on it. I gave it a few days, but it just seems to be hurting more.”
“All right.” He got the bandage off and held it carefully pressing here and there, testing the swelling and looking for a reaction. “Have you ever injured this hand or arm before?”
“I have, yeah.” Brandon’s fingers curled as he pressed near the trapezium. “That’s tender.”
“Okay. It’s pretty swollen. What did you do to it before? Break it? Sprain it?” He turned the wrist over carefully, already thinking there might be a fracture.
“A bad sprain. I mean, I need my hands, Doc.”
“I know.” Brandon worked with his hands for a living and dealing with leather required some strength. MS didn’t stop Brandon, but a fractured wrist might. “It could be a sprain again, but given the amount of swelling, I’m concerned you may have a fracture right…in here.” He pressed on that spot again, watching Brandon wince. “Hm. Have you been getting yourself around in your chair, or is Peter out there waiting for you?”
“Peter insisted. He’s going to earn himself a spanking if he doesn’t start obeying. Little shit.” Brandon seemed tickled, though, pleased.
“Ha! What a good boy, putting your health and well-being ahead of his own.” Isaac laughed along, knowing that Peter was absolutely devoted to Brandon. “I will tell him that he needs to obey your doctor’s orders now, because you’re not going to like it. This hand needs rest at least, but I’m sending you for an X-ray. I want to rule out a fracture and carpal tunnel. No work, no crutches, and no wheeling yourself around for at least three days. Ice and heat, you know that drill. And I’ll call you once I’ve seen the films for myself. Don’t listen to anything the tech tries to tell you.” He leaned back in his chair. “You’ll have to spank him with the other hand.”
“Dammit. I was hoping for, here’s a wrap, have some Tylenol.” Brandon sighed, shook his head. “So, how are you, man? Seriously. I haven’t seen you or Neil in an eon.”
“We’re fine.” He sighed. “Truth, though? Until I needed some help with a boy Cyrus asked me to look after, Neil and I hadn’t seen each other in six months. I’d say things are good, but it’s been two days. And two weird days at that. Good. But weird.”
“You’re talking about Peter’s Alain, right? I don’t know that Peter’s heard from him in a few days, but I do know that he’s been healing well, coming out of his shell again.”
“He and Neil are…getting along.” Getting along. That was a hell of an understatement. He squinted at Brandon. “Neil calls him Kitten and has already exchanged fellatio for a spanking.”
Brandon’s head tilted. “And this is problematic for you because you want to be monogamous?”
“No. I know that’s not possible if I want Neil. And I want Neil.” He sighed. “It’s problematic because I don’t know how to do this. And Alain is… I don’t know. Temporary.”