My Almost Brother Ch. 10

/* Firstly I would like to thank all the readers who have taken the time to read and vote on this story.

A big thanks to voyeur73 for your encouragement and your positive feedback.

I would request the new readers to start their journey in this story series from Chapter 1 onwards.

All the names, places, characters and things in this story are imaginary and any relation to them in real life is a complete coincidence.

I have exercised my writer's prerogative in altering some events and their timelines and also some of the departmental functions to suit the narrative.

All constructive criticism will always be welcome

Happy reading*/

The next couple of weeks passed by in relative tedium.

Sam was gone the next day. She just left a note behind saying "Take care, Sis!"

I would have liked for her to have stayed and for us to further get to know each other, but I knew Sam would interpret it differently.

Because I had no intention, at all, of repeating that night's activities.

I got settled in my new department.

The work here in Radiology was more hectic than in Neurology, but at least I didn't have a toxic boss.

But my Neurology HoD did make sure to extract her pound of flesh.

She intentionally spread rumours about my less-than-prudent behaviour in snogging my brother.

In the couched and refined phrases befitting an erudite and renowned doctor that she was, she evaluated my performance in the Neurology department as meeting expectations but requiring additional training in handling the repercussions and impacts of interpersonal relationships vis-a-vis the professional obligations.

I didn't bother much with her comments because, at university, everyone knew what a stuffed cow she was.

At least now I wasn't the only one who had to deal with the unsolicited attention from the hospital staff.

I had Helen to share the attention.

What was more hilarious was the fact that the rumour mills at Uni made us out as rivals in our relationship with Johan.

Every day there was some new gossip regarding our supposed rivalry.

All of us housemates had a great laugh about it.

But, in my case, the laughter was a bit forced.

Because I had not forgotten how Johan had rebuked me the last time we spoke.

The memory of that encounter was like a bit of a thorn embedded in the skin, not visible in plain sight but causing quite a bit of pain.

I was additionally handicapped by the fact that now I had to tone down the content and tenor of the messages that I could leave for Johan, knowing that Sam would be listening to them.

But at least I knew that he was listening to my messages because every couple of days, I would get either an emoji, a gif or a sticker from different numbers.

Those were my most sought-after talisman, which kept me sane and functional in those weeks.

It was a Saturday afternoon two weeks after my last meeting with Johan.

Brady had a shit-eating grin permanently on his face today.

It was the Six Nations (Rugby championship) between Scotland and Wales.

Luckily for him, his HoD was also a fan and both had bets on opposing teams.

And so by afternoon, they had planted themselves squarely in front of the giant screens in the Atrium with Coke and Chips.

They had asked me to accompany them too, but it was Saturday, and I was assigned to Emergency as part of the Radiology team. I was getting prepped for the expected flood of broken bones due to the on-pitch and post-match brawls that were sure to happen in and around the football fields today.

Already by late afternoon, the number of people waiting in queue for their scans was growing and all of us, were already mentally cursing ourselves and anticipating a long and knackered evening.

I was in the middle of setting a cast on the forearm of yet another teenager, a goth girl with piercings and tattoos when I felt my phone vibrate for some time and then stop. A minute later a ding on my phone told me I had received a DM.

After I was done with that girl, I came out to the corridors and unlocked my phone to see that the missed call was from Brady. And there was an unread message from him as well.

"What's he doing watching a game of ruggers(rugby)?"

There was only one particular 'he' whom Brady could be referring to.

"You should come down here if you can! The cameras love him!"

And he had tagged it with a winking emoji.

I was totally bamboozled.

Sweden was NOT a part of the Six Nations, that much I knew.

But what could he be doing there, watching a game of ruggers?

Maybe his Scandinavian league had some sort of sponsorship or promotion deal or something.

And leaving that question unanswered with myself, I responded back

"You won't even get a sniff... So stop salivating!" And I too tagged this with a winking emoji.

I went back to Emergency, to continue with the rest of the patients.

But I was mentally unsettled.

His choice of the sport,  his choice of the teams, and most importantly the history of the rivalry between the teams was something which was just not sitting right with me.

But as the evening wore on, I was able to put that out of my mind as the patients just kept coming.

I did not hear or receive any more DMs from Brady.

At the end of my shift, I went to the Ladies and splashed myself with water and looked at myself in the mirror.

Yup, I looked knackered.

It had been a very tiring Saturday.

But then I remembered looking at myself in the wall-length mirror in the Ladies at the Palladium and that memory brought a smile to my lips.

I was not likely to forget that day anytime soon.

I came out, in much better spirits than I had gone in with, and called Brady.

"Where are we going for a pint?"

As per the rota in my new department, I was assigned the evening shift for the coming week. Which meant I could get up late tomorrow.

He did not reply.

"Come on mate! I need a pint!" I persisted.

Then I heard him put it on speaker and it was Helen who spoke.

"Come down to the cafeteria Meeghan. Have some iced coffee" and then the call was disconnected.

The whole trip to the cafeteria I was on pins and needles( anticipating bad news)

What Helen had indicated, was that some stressful situation had occurred and she was asking me to keep my cool.

As it was pretty late in the day, I did not meet many people in the lifts or during the walk to the cafeteria hence I was spared the hassle of having to explain the pinched look on my face to other colleagues.

I found the three of them sitting around our favourite corner table in the cafeteria, only now it was quite dark outside the window.

"You know it was Scotland vs Wales in the Six Nations today, right?" Brady started.

It was Helen who took it up from Brady.

"You know it's like a war between these teams whenever they face each other in the Six Nations! Multiple pitch brawls are quite at par for this match!"

"What's happened to him?" I asked urgently because there could be only one reason why they would be patronizing me with such a build-up

It was Afreen who replied succinctly.

"During the pitch brawls, a few fire-crackers and other incendiary devices were set off on the field as well as in the substitution benches. Quite a few people were injured."

"Is he.....?" I could not complete the sentence. I was too terrified of what the answer might be.

"He was alive and moving" Helen hastily added. "But we saw him being carried out on a stretcher!"

"How.....?" Though I could not complete this sentence either, they understood me.

"The cameras were following him. His shirt was soaked!" Afreen also supplied this information, as expected.

I was rooted on the spot for a second, while I evaluated my options.

Then I picked up my phone and dialled Karri.

She picked up on the eighth ring.

"So late?" was her sleep-addled enquiry.

"Karri, wake up! Johan is in..."

Here I had to pause and ask Brady where today's game was played and he replied, Edinburgh.

"He is in Edinburgh... Six Nations... There was some sort of explosion in the pitch and they showed him on TV being carried out on a stretcher. I will try and find out which hospital he has been taken to."

I paused and then, not able to control myself any longer, spoke in a tearful voice.

"Please, Mom! Help me get there. Get me a chopper or a private charter!"

"No!" was her stern command.

And then more gently she instructed.

"You stay put!"

And in a gentle soothing voice which I don't remember ever hearing from her before, she replied

"Are you at home? If not, get home!   I will get quicker and more accurate answers about him, through my network. Will call you in an hour or two and provide updates. Go home now" and she hung up.

Realising that both her reasoning and her resources were far superior to mine, I had no other choice but to proceed home with my housemates.

Reaching home, I made a beeline to the drinks cabinet and before I could get out my favourite Glenlivet, Helen stopped me.

"Have some wine! You will have to stay awake for who knows how long! Have some wine and cheese! Save your stomach from perforation!"

Agreeing to her logic, I got a bottle of red and filled up a generous quantity in a wine glass and started sipping from it.

Afreen quickly got some cheese and sandwiches.

I asked my homies to go to bed, but they refused.

I switched on the TV.

All the shows on all the channels were dedicating airtime only to today's events at the Six Nations match.

As usual, the cameras caught a lot of punching, kicking and eye-gouging,   which as per the news anchor was the special entertainment section of every Six Nations match between these two countries.

The news loops also showed the fireworks.

Again as per the news anchor, today the fireworks were more in number and more deafening than in previous years which led to a stampede-like situation and thus so many got injured.

I finally got to see him on TV.

He had a dazed look as if in shock, as he lay on the stretcher.

And there were splashes of blood covering most of his upper body.

Luckily there didn't seem to be any injuries to his face.

Even lying on the stretcher, with his arm resting on his chest, he looked quite handsome.

No wonder the cameraman followed him through the whole length of the field as he was being carried on the stretcher.

At least he did not look seriously injured.

I asked Afreen to check if any other details or additional info was available online.

Not wanting to keep looking at him lying on the stretcher anymore, I switched off the TV.

Brady started some random playlist on his phone which I immediately asked him to turn off as I couldn't bear any songs or music in my current mood.

We just sat around the ottoman, drinking wine and not knowing what to say to each other.

Not able to bear the silence any longer I just blurted out

"What the fuck is he doing watching a Six Nations match? Why the hell did he go there? Doesn't he have a TV in that league office of his? Or in the Swedish Embassy for that matter?"

My homies understandably kept silent.

I was at a loss of what to do and the forced inaction was killing me.

Once I thought I should call Sam, but then I immediately killed the thought.

If Sam already knew and had some updates for me, then she would call. As there were no calls from her, then obviously she was unaware and I didn't want to trouble her this late at night!

At one point Afreen informed us that she could not find any engagements or commonalities between his League and the Six Nations but she would continue looking.

I additionally asked her to check the chat-rooms and blogs regarding any news about him.

She looked at me with a quizzical smile and questioned

"I didn't know that you were aware of things like chat-rooms and blogs!"

to which I responded that maybe it was her influence rubbing off on me.

There was nothing to do except wait.

A dozen times I reached for my phone to call Karri, but each time I stopped myself. There was no point in harassing her, as she must be continually on the phone trying to reach out to her contacts, trying to get information.

At one point in time, not being able to bear the oppressive silence and forced inaction I just got up and pulled open the liquor cabinet. But Helen stopped me.

"I get how you feel, but this is not the solution. Continue with wine. It will be easy on your stomach"

Finally after three hours of consuming copious amounts of wine and already slurring quite a bit, I received the call from Mom which I was so desperately waiting for.

I was so tense that my hands were shaking and my heart was audibly thumping in my chest as I switched the phone to speaker mode.

"He's coming to you." were her opening words.

"He is not badly injured, just a torus fracture on his arm and maybe a couple of broken ribs."

"All other wounds are just superficial."

"Right now he is in the Royal Infirmary. Tomorrow afternoon they will transport him to your Uni hospital via Air Ambulance."

"You will see him tomorrow. Now go to sleep. G'nigh"

The relief I felt was enormous and laying my head down on my arms which were spread out in the ottoman I started weeping silent tears.

One by one my homies came and patted me on my back and proceeded to their beds.

Nobody had dared to address the elephant in the room!

If he was being air-lifted, then why not go to Stockholm?

Why come here?

The next morning I was woken up by the continuous ringing of my phone.

I could hardly open my bleary eyes and thus ended up pawing all over with my hands and finally found the phone tucked away inside the coverlet.

"Hello" I sounded as hoarse as a bull-frog on mating day.

"Really? You are still sleeping and he will be airdropped on your Uni hospital rooftop any minute now" shouted the caller

"Hi Sam!" my voice was still hoarse.

"Get up and go to your hospital now" Sam was starting to sound like my ex-HoD and I wasn't liking it one bit.

"I am not part of his reception committee, so I don't need to bother about him getting airdropped. You are welcome to get there though. Anyways my shift starts in the evening... Bye," and I hung up.

Last night I stayed up late, fighting the soporific(sleepy) effects of the wine, but was determined to get some answers.

But chasing after the answers was as fruitless as a dog chasing its tail.

So I decided to formulate the correct questions.

And every which way I saw it, there were too many inconsistencies, too many coincidences, uncharacteristic behaviours and segues on his part without him explaining the reasons for his behaviour.

And, I was pissed at myself for wearing my heart on my sleeve.

His lack of solicitous behaviour towards me, I reasoned, was because he took my emotions for granted.

I wanted myself back in control and was angry at him for not showering me with the attention to which I felt I was entitled.

Hence, my dismissive and non-concerned tone while talking to Sam.

I was sure she would convey this to him and he in turn would explain to me all that I needed explaining.

(A part of me reprimanded myself that I was being petty, childish and unreasonable.

But so be it.

I wasn't going to be understanding and compromising anymore.

Everybody pacifies a stubborn child with a new toy, while the compromising child has to make do with a broken one.

Guess I created a new Zen quote for myself here!)

I forced myself to go back to sleep and then woke up around noon.

After a lazy bath, I went down to the kitchen and made myself some tuna sandwiches.

I brought the sandwiches and some orange juice to the ottoman, and sitting down turned on the TV.

Now that all my roomies had left in the morning, the silence in the house was a bit oppressive.

For some time I aimlessly surfed channels. Finding nothing worth watching, I finally settled on a Channel 4 newsreel about yesterday's mishap at the Six Nations.

I again watched the repeat of all those visuals about kicking and fighting at the Principality Stadium in Edinburgh.

I also watched the cameraman follow him on his stretcher.

This time they did not edit out too much of the stretcher closeup and I could watch him for a longer duration.

The same dazed face, the same bloodied arm lying on his chest.

His fingers on his arm were twitching, surely due to the adrenaline rush.

This, very common reaction on his god-like face, kept my eyes glued to the screen and on his fingers.

This very human-like reaction showed that he too was as fragile as any of us and this humbling realisation made me look at him more affectionately. I was almost ready to forgive him for rebuking me that day.

And then suddenly there was a shout.

I realised that the shout came from me.

I jumped up and rushed to the screen to confirm what I had just deduced from his twitching fingers.

Yes, I was right.

All those beasting rituals and cruel forced marches and punishments at Col. TwinkyToes' had borne fruit.

Because his twitching fingers were tapping out a message.

In Morse Code.

So I immediately called up Afreen, who picked up my call on the fifth ring.

"Can you find out the contact details of the reporter who captured the shot of him lying on the stretcher? I need the unedited complete footage"

"Why?" was her natural inquiry.

"Because he is sending a message to me" I just couldn't control my excitement.

"Come on...! He is lying on a stretcher. He didn't speak one word" Naturally Afreen would assume communication was only through word of mouth.

"His fingers were twitching. In Morse Code. I just watched a repeat of that on Channel 4"

I replied hurriedly.

"What!" she must have shouted too loudly because the next moment she reduced her voice to a whisper.

"Are you sure? Anybody's fingers can twitch because of the adrenaline rush. You know that" she tried to correct me.

"I will prove it to you when you get me the unedited footage. Pls try to get it fast" and I hung up.

Because in the meantime my brain was suggesting a different line of action.

After giving it some thought I again picked up my phone and called Sam.

"So you are awake now?" was her opening gambit.

"Sorry Sam, I disconnected the call in the morning. I had a late night. Had too much wine. And to tell you the truth I was a little pissed... at him" I added. I had decided to go with the truth here, at least regarding my morning's actions, so that I could gain her trust in order to get what I wanted.

"Finally decided to give him a bit of stick(stand up to him), have you?" with uncanny precision, she had divined my thoughts of last night.

"Well, you guessed right! Guess, we are sisters after all!" I continued to pamper her a little more.

"What do you want?" she cut through the B. S. with a get-on-with-it tone.

I made a spot decision and decided to risk it all.

"I need the unedited complete footage of him lying on the stretcher and being carried across the field"

I was on tenterhooks. I didn't know what questions would Sam ask and how I was going to reply to them.

Sam was silent for a full minute.

(I realised later that she was silent intentionally)

Then with a deep sigh, and in a resigned voice, she conceded

"The message that he tapped out with his fingers was Take me to Meg"

I was dumbfounded. The ensuing silence between us seemed to stretch on and on. "Are you sure?" I ventured in a whisper at last.

"I may resent you for becoming so important to him that even with a broken arm he taps out your name."

I could feel her waves of resentment coming at me through the phone.

"But I have no reason to lie to you"

I suddenly realised that it had stopped raining and the Sun was peeping out from behind the clouds.

I don't remember having such a great day in October before.

And this tuna sandwich was the best one that I had ever tasted.

I might have even started realising how perfect the 4K colour display on our TV was when I was brought back to reality from cloud nine, by the voice at the end of the line.

"Stop doing mental cartwheels and go to the hospital..."

"Just go" she ended the call.

As I dressed hastily for work, my overriding emotion was pure elation.

Although it was quite early for my shift, I still decided to go, because of what Sam had just communicated.

It had been a few weeks since I had to drive my Audi Q3 and hence it was a little dusty. Generally, we took Brady's or Afreen's car. I would have to remember to get mine cleaned sometime soon.

And today it seemed like there was some sluggishness in the controls. I seriously should have a mechanic look into that.

In our case, it was Brady, who generally liked to tinker with all things mechanical and thus we let him provide us with a free consultation before we needed any professional help with our cars.

I must remind him to look into mine.

I reached work and found a changed scene.

There was armed security everywhere.

At the hospital entrance, they even checked my ID and ran the metal detector over me.

At the reception, they said that some dignitary was expected and the whole of the top floor which were the executive cabins and suites had been taken over and were off-limits.

An approved personal list was being prepared by the hospital administration, those who would be allowed entry to the top floors, till then all personnel were barred from the top floor.

I was not concerned about not being able to go upstairs now, as I had the whole of the evening and night in front of me.

So, I called my homies and asked them to meet me at the cafeteria.

We again gathered around our favourite corner table and the rain and dull grey clouds weren't making the view outside the window any better.

"So we really have a dignitary with us here!" it was Brady who started the ball rolling.

"He hasn't arrived yet!" Afreen corrected him.

"But what's with all this security? As if some royalty is getting treated here!" Helen couldn't hide her pissed-off attitude.

"Is he less than any royal?" quipped Afreen testily.

"Down there in the Bio-Chem labs, it's like a Salon. Girls in curlers, helping themselves to mani-pedi; the rooms are stinking with perfume. Hell, even the men are fucking grooming themselves!" 

"Has he posted on his social media that he will be getting treated here?" I asked Afreen.

She nodded.

"I wonder why he did so?" I mused.

I called Sam

"I am busy now, can't talk to you." was Sam's dismissive tone as she picked up.

"If it's security and protection that he wanted, then why did he post on his social media where he was getting treated? Isn't that drawing a target on his own back?" I challenged Sam.

"I told you before. It's a misplaced concern on your part. You have been branded as the Scarlet Woman by his fans, as he is getting treated at your hospital." she had to pause here and I heard her bark out some orders.

"All sorts of conspiracy theories are floating around. So you better get some security of your own. Got to go" and she signed off.

"Guys, I need your help!" while still looking down at my phone in my hands, I had decided on a course of action after my talk with Sam.

"Brady, you generally have the ears of the hospital. Can you find out the general opinion about me and him in the context of Johan coming here for his treatment?"

"Also Afreen, Sam tells me that I have been branded as the Scarlet Women by his fans. Can you check in chats and vlogs if there are any actual credible threats against me or if its just people blowing off steam!"

I looked up from my phone to see that all three of them had frozen expressions and were looking past me.

I also noticed that the cafeteria had gone unusually silent.

That could only mean one thing.

I turned in my chair and saw him standing at the entrance of the cafeteria flanked by Ralf and the other driver(I later came to know that he was called Stefan) who had driven away the Honda on my birthday.

Johan had a removable wrist splint in his right arm, which is generally used for distal forearm torus fractures and an adjustable walking crutch on his left arm. Underneath his hospital gown, I could sense that he had a compression brace chest binder.

His face seemed unscathed but pale, while his eyes were tired.

But even with the horrible looking hospital gown, his scruffy charm and manliness were just as before, making the women in the cafeteria hold their breath, while his mischievous smile beckoned me.

So I got up, walked to him, and hugged him, gently.

(I could sense a collective hiss in the background, but bollocks to that)

Holding him at arm's length I asked,

"So, what's the score? How many broken bones?"

"You tell me, Meg, you are the doctor" his mischievous tone was just as before.

"This is what I missed" I confessed to him in a whisper, as I guided him to our table. "You and your quick repartee"

"Which one did you miss more?" his voice was quiet, but his tone was challenging.

"You don't need me to answer that" I sussed him as I sat him down on my chair.

We ordered some tea, and Johan declined anything to eat.

"Ok, I heard what you were talking about just now" he intentionally had to keep his voice low as all the patrons in the cafeteria had forgotten their respective companions and had ears only for us.

"Not just Brady, I need help from all you guys. Please be my eyes and ears in this place. I need to know exactly what the people are talking about and thinking." he had slightly raised his voice at the last sentence so that it would carry atleast to the next tables.

I looked at him inquiringly, but he nodded his head to let me know that he knew what he was doing.

"I will put all of you on my approved personnel list. You can come to me anytime to discuss anything"

"And Afreen, I guess you are good at digging info out of social media. I will ask Sam to directly coordinate with you. Another set of eyes will always be welcome to weed out the nutters"

"So, do I need to contact you during my shift or can I contact you after hours?" it was Afreen who voiced the question, which I am sure was uppermost in the minds of the spectators.

While there descended an expectant hush inside the cafeteria, I laughed.

I laughed because I was sure of him.

I was as sure of him as I was that the Sun would rise in the east tomorrow.

'Take me to Meg' had taken away with it, all my doubts, prevarications and insecurities.

Also, I knew that Afreen was just being naughty. She was not flirty, just wanted to elicit a few laughs.

"Afreen... Afreen Hamza, right?"

Though he said this with a smile, the tone of his voice and the steely glare in his eyes, made the effect quite frightening. It felt like an unknown and unforeseen dark force had cast its shadow here and it felt like the temperature inside the cafeteria had dropped quite a few degrees.

"I know my right arm is in a splint right now, but I am sure with my left arm I will be able to fight off all unsolicited dalliances" he said in a low but compelling voice which carried all over the cafeteria.

There!

He had said it!

He had marked himself as mine!

If we were not in the cafeteria, there would have been a repeat of the Palladium incident.

So I did the next best thing. I gripped his left hand tightly in my right and placed both of our joined hands on the table for everyone to see.

After a few moments, he gently disentangled his hands from mine, stood up and and turned to Afreen.

And then he unleashed a devastating smoldering gaze on her.

She froze with her eyes locked into his gaze, the typical deer caught in the headlights syndrome.

It was not her fault really, that her eyes bulged, that her jaws slacked open and that she forgot to breathe.

"You on the other hand, I wouldn't mind so much!" he hissed, and with a heart-sputtering wink at her, he ambled away towards the exit.

As a doctor, I had to do my duty!

I grasped both of Afreen's hands in mine and thumping her back, reminded her to

"Breathe! You dimwit!... Breathe"

She seemed to come out of a shock and with a high-pitched wheezing sound started gulping in air. Her adrenaline spike had caused her to start sweating and looking at me in between gasps she blurted out.

"How.... you able... in front of...."

Her eyes were glazed and she looked almost fearful

"How are you... able to keep your sanity... and your knickers....?" she couldn't complete that bit, but I understood.

I nodded to Helen, who had to come and physically grab Afreen's shoulders to haul her out of her chair and drag her away to the Ladies.

"Whew!" Brady whistled.

"Man! Those smoldering eyes! That would be enough to burn anyone to a crisp! How can you not flinch from that?" he was still looking towards the now empty cafeteria doorway while he addressed me.

"Practice mate!... Practice!" I snickered "Come on, off you go to your daily grind"

As the cafeteria emptied, I was made the object of intense scrutiny by every single departing customer.

Finally, I had the cafeteria to myself and I saw that I still had about half an hour before the start of my shift.

So I got myself another tea and sat down at our table.

Too many things had happened in a short span of time.

But one good thing to come out of it, was that I was made sure of Johan and his feelings for me. I basked in that warmth as I drank the tea.

While there were quite a few unanswered questions, they would keep for the time being.

He had come here voluntarily and thus would be expected to be here awhile.

Very soon people at the hospital got familiarized with his routine here.

Early in the morning, at dawn, he would go out for a walk. Many other patients, especially rich ladies both young and old, made it a point to be seen walking and talking with him. I am sure many of them secretly hired paparazzi to have their photos taken with him.

From the morning till late afternoon, he would be closeted in his top floor suite with work and there were strict instructions to not allow anybody in at that time. Sometimes Sam would be present in those meetings.

Once the Ambassador too came to visit him.

Then, in the early evening, as it was generally a bit chilly he would walk around inside the hospital.  

By the second day, he had foregone his walking crutch and his hospital gown during his walks.

He dressed himself in dark cargos and a long red Mac (trench coat).  

With his right arm in splints and with the above ensemble, guess he was going for the Edward Elric look(anime character)

He would visit the various departments and stop at the nurse's stations for a chat and generally just meet and greet people.

Sometimes he would visit the recovery rooms and mingle with the kids or the other patients and pose for selfies.  

It was Sam's job to select some of these selfie pics and post them on social media.

Sometimes he also ventured outside onto the Lobby and waved at his fans and supporters who were camping outside and who cheered at him while waving placards.

He knew he was the hospital's main draw and he exploited the situation for his PR.

During his evening walks, the hospital corridors and nurses' stations would feel like student halls.

Nurses, health workers and other patients all together and giggling behind his back, women doubling back to catch his glimpse a second time, while the ladies' skirts progressively got shorter every day.  

All of this I heard from my homies and other too-ready-to-gossip nurses and health workers of the hospital.

He would sometimes go out to the cafeteria at midnight to get some coffee. On these occasions he would call me and I made sure to accompany him.

In these jaunts, he would not talk much.

I understood that after being in the spotlight the whole day, he just wanted some peace and quiet.

We would just sit at our favourite corner table, hold hands, look out of the window and talk about mundane things.

There was not one person who saw us together, who could come to any other conclusion other than that we were a couple.

But what was strange was that he never showed any inclination to take this forward.

And now that I was sure of him and his feelings, I wasn't in any hurry to do so either.

But if truth be told, we both were dancing around in circles and we both knew it. Neither of us wanted to take the plunge as that would be like being sucked into a black hole from which there wouldn't be any escape and we both would lose our sanity.

In the meantime, there were some unsavoury developments at home.

Afreen had started becoming a bit distant from me after that cafeteria incident.

But as hers and my shift were in the day and night respectively, we didn't bump into each other much.

But the tone of her messages in our group spoke volumes. I tried to get her to talk to me but she kept avoiding me and not returning my calls.

So on the Friday after the cafeteria incident, I arrived early and parked near her car, waiting for her to come out.

As soon as she saw me, she stopped and tried to turn back, but realising that we would have to talk it out anyway, she again turned and walked towards me.

"Really? You are so pissed at me that you were planning to turn back?" I asked in surprise when she reached me. I hadn't thought we would ever see this day.

As all three of them had come today in Afreen's Beemer, I handed over my keys to Helen and reminded Brady to check out the sluggish responses for my car controls while asking both of them to leave.

Me and Afreen needed to talk.

And grabbing Afreen by her arms I pulled her towards the exit ramp saying

"Let's go to the Lobby grounds now. If you want to shout at me you can do so there!"

"Why? Don't want your Holier-than-thou image to be ruined for your 'brother', is it?" she put a bitchy tone in her voice, and drew the quotes in the air for the word brother.

As we had not yet exited the ramp, I stayed silent till we reached the grounds.

"Ok, tell me what is it? What's it that I am supposed to have done that's pissed you off?" I steered her towards a bench on the grounds and we both sat down with the sun setting behind us.

She was silent for a while and then still looking ahead asked suddenly

"Why you Meg?" and then continued in a poisonous tone

"Guess we will have to start calling you Meg, now that your 'brother' has started calling you that!" again the quotes in the air for the word brother.

"Why me what?" I focused on the question she had asked while trying to ignore the rest of her remarks which were meant to be hurtful on purpose.

"What do you have that the others don't? Why is it that you get to call him yours and the others can't?" all the thoughts which were troubling her, started coming out.

"He is my brother!" I didn't know what she was trying to imply but that was the basis of our relationship, wasn't it? Everyone knew that!

With a facial expression which showed her teetering on maximum restraint and not hauling off at me, Afreen put teeth-crunching emphasis on each word of her explanation.

"Smarmy pants aren't you? He... will... be... your... 'step-brother'... IF... your... mother... does... eventually... marry... his... father! Till then you two are strangers just like all of us here!"

In the mood that she was in, if I did try to provide some answer, any answer, she would erupt in anger and thus I just kept silent.

"And just look at you! You are so sure of him that you aren't even bothered if I or anyone else will go behind your back and try to seduce him. What makes you so confident?" she was in a rush to unburden herself and I let her just let it all out.

"You are nothing great!" was her diagnosis.

"You aren't even pretty, forget being sexy!"

Well that hurt, naturally. But I still kept silent.

"What?.... You are not going to say anything? Trying to be the Pope... eh?" she continued in her baiting tone.

"Just pipe down St. Margaret Ward (A British Saint of the 17th century), will you?"she was finally coming to the point.

"Ask yourself this." she drew a deep breath before continuing.

"Just a couple of months ago he did not know you. You have met him maybe three or four times. You haven't had any physical relationship with him, save that web-trending kiss. Then why is he, a guy who has supermodels at his beck and call, so attached and committed to you"

Now that jarred me completely.

I had not considered my relationship with Johan from this angle at all. All this while, I was taking for granted whatever he had said and demonstrated in front of the crowds.

That there might be some other reason for his behaviour, hadn't occurred to me at all.

As she had successfully planted doubts in my mind, she went in for the kill.

"So you see, he is just using you! Like good-looking guys always do!"

There was a triumph in her voice.

"Then why this jealousy Afreen? Do you want to be used and thrown aside too?" I had kept silent for too long, but still, I could not make myself sound hurtful to her. It came out sounding more concerned than bitchy.

Her face became pinched and her jaws clenched, while she ground her teeth hard.

She wasn't like Sam to take physical action but I wasn't going to wait to find out.

So I just pulled her to me and hugged her tight.

"Whatever it is, I will try and find out. I don't know how soon I can bring myself to do that; ask him the question that you have presented here, because what you have said certainly makes me look at things from a different perspective, but for the sake of our relationship, i. e. between us homies, I will find out." I had decided to go with honesty here.

Initially, she had struggled in my hug, but after listening to me she ceased struggling.

"I won't let anybody drive a wedge between us. We are more like family. Hell... you guys are the only proper family that I have"

I didn't harp on the emotional angle too much because then she would start getting bitter again.

And then I held her at arm's length and looked into her face directly.

"But look at me. I... am... happy. Maybe I am on a sticky wicket with this, but for now, I am happy."

"Can't you be happy for me? Happy with me?"

And I left it hanging there. Waiting for her to acquiesce in my happiness.

She had a hard piercing look.

There was fire in her eyes.

But I stood my ground.

I kept looking at her with a neutral face, hoping, praying that she would consider my request.

And finally, I saw the fire in her eyes die away and the hard look dissolved.

I couldn't have been happier.

I just grabbed her for a bear hug. She didn't resist this time.

Now it was her holding me at arm's length and she had a wry smile but tired eyes.

"I stand by all that I have said. Not those bitchy ones, but the other stuff. The observations that I made are all factual." she was still unwilling to throw in the towel, but it was ok.

I didn't hold grudges.

I was ready for a compromise.

"Perhaps it was. Perhaps I will take it up with him. But not now. Not immediately."

I was still in my happy place and I wanted to be there a little while longer.

"Right now I am stoned, with too much Dopamine and Endorphins(happiness hormones) running riot in my system. Let me enjoy that. I know once my body burns through these happy hormones, I will have to deal with Epinephrine and Cortisol, the panic hormones. But let me put that off as long as I can".

I pulled her in for another bear hug.

"Go home now. I missed your cooking all these days. If you can, cook some Lamb Risala for me which I can enjoy tomorrow."

"Ya, leave it to you to cadge a free meal. But you have given me a good idea!" and Afreen's face turned devilish.

"Maybe I can impress him with my cooking skills. As they say, the way to a man's heart lies through his stomach" she completed that in a faux angelic voice.

I couldn't help but laugh.

"Sure. That way at least we get to savour middle-eastern cuisine"

Afreen went away mollified, if not exactly happy.

That was good for starters.

But I had spoken too soon about those happy chemicals being in my system.

Already the seeds of poison had been planted by her.

Already the points that she had raised were making me anxious.

But with a firm will I pushed those thoughts away, because that way lay madness.

I wouldn't, couldn't, let Afreen ruin my happiness

And with renewed vigour, I set upon work.

But the night shift at Radiology only meant reports and data collation.

There were no patients, except the occasional emergency cases, to divert the mind away from those poisonous thoughts.

And by midnight, I had again started doubting myself and my suitability with him.

I started comparing myself to all those supermodels that both Sam and Afreen had mentioned and of course I found myself woefully short in all departments.

Then why did he favour me?

How come from day one, there was a subtle but determined effort by him to endear himself to me?

Now that I looked at it dispassionately, it was Psy-Ops 101(military speak for psychological warfare)

The chance meeting, creating an initial good impression, imprinting a distinct but forceful personality, always present but ever out of reach, creating emotional spikes and sealing the result with reaffirmation.

This was a textbook case of creating a master-slave dependent relationship, with him as the master and me as the slave.

And I realised that like a lamb, I was led by my nose to the slaughter.

And now I was mad.

Mad as a Hatter.

Not knowing or caring what I was doing or where I was going, I just stormed out of my Radiology department and when I came to my senses, I found myself at Greggs( coffee shop) outside the Uni north gate.

I took a couple of deep breaths and then proceeded to order a double shot, extra-large, caramel vanilla latte; his staple coffee concoction.

In the mood I was in, I was just about ready to scald him with his coffee.

Carrying that coffee back to the Uni was notable in two aspects.

Firstly as they don't provide holders, I burnt my fingers and that did provide some distraction from my current Mad Hatter mood.

And secondly, again looking at it dispassionately, I felt I was being too harsh on him.

He had never demanded anything from me, never had asked me to conform to any of his ideas or thoughts; if anything it had been me who had started sending him those naughty voice messages and had declared our relationship openly. While some may call it a manifestation of master-slave dependence, I was open to admitting it as being independent and autonomous.

And having all these conflicting thoughts bouncing around in my head and with the coffee in hand, I found myself outside his executive suite on the top floor.

Stefan was on guard duty tonight.

I just opened the lid and showed him.

"Stefan, this is just coffee. Nothing else. I am not poisoning him tonight. If you want, I can taste the coffee for you"

"Prinsessan(Princess).... please! Don't make my work harder than it is! We all know you. You may please go in" Stefan opened the door to let me in, while I was left wondering about his english diction which was surprisingly quite good. Much better than Ralf's anyway.

Inside I found Johan astride a settee with his feet planted on a hassock, working on some papers and files. He was still wearing those horrible-looking hospital gowns and pyjamas.  And I also saw him, for the second time, wearing the spectacles that he had worn that day at the Palladium.

"What a nice surprise! And is that coffee? For me?" he pushed his papers aside and advanced towards me.

But I held him back with my raised left hand as I had to clarify important matters. "Why did Stefan address me as Princess?"

"He is still learning the way you British use salutations. So naturally he is apt to make a mistake or two" Johan brushed aside my question and proceeded to take the coffee from me.

After a satisfying sip, he went back and sat down on the settee.

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this company?"

"I just had a partial reconciliation with Afreen; nearly a week after you terrorized her that day at the cafeteria" I decided to start with something innocuous.

And knowing that things would get ugly later on, I turned around and locked the door.

"Terrorized is too strong a word, don't you think?" though he addressed these words to me,  his cautious eyes were on the locked door.

Acting as if I hadn't heard him, I continued.

"So as part of reparations, she is planning to impress you with her culinary skills of middle-eastern cuisine"

"Wow! That would be such a welcome change from the hospital food" Though he tried to show happiness with those words, the effect was a bit forced.

By now I realised that I just wasn't going to get anywhere with this subtle stuff with him. I just wasn't made for it.

Direct action was needed here.

"You know why I am here?" I threw him the challenge.

"I hoped you were here to check on my injuries" he replied with a mock pout.

Well, being a doctor, I couldn't ignore his invitation or my duties.

"Ok, take off this horrible gown. How can you even wear this? I heard you were dressing up as some anime character! What happened to that?" and I proceeded to unbutton his gown with infinite care and caress.

Underneath he just had a tensor bandage,  which I saw needed changing. No compression brace in evidence today.

"You have the Board Executives and the whole hospital at your disposal and you couldn't ask any one of the nurses to come and change your bandages? Just one crooked beckoning finger and all of them would be tripping over themselves to see you nude, albeit partially" I admonished him in an exasperated tone.

"Is that why you came? To see me nude, albeit partially!" his devilish smile was back. It was so difficult to be cross with him when he employed such unfair advantages.

And then I decided. Sod it.

This guy made my world go boom, boom and that's how I liked it. I was still entitled to my share of the happy hormones and I would stake my claim to my complete share.

So I grasped his head with both of my hands like a clamp and squarely planted a kiss on his lips.

"Yes, I came here for that and for much much more" even saying those words aloud was doing that familiar thing to the pit of my stomach.

And I proceeded to engulf him in a bear hug.

But there was some protest from his side, and I dropped the hug with alacrity.

"O gosh! Did I hurt you?... I am... so... sorry!"

"No! It's just that I am unable to return the favour both to myself and to you as my right hand is in a splint" he replied in a tightly clipped voice, which meant that the pain to him must have been excruciating.

Seeing his reaction, I started fussing over him like a child; asking where it was paining, where it hurt more,   and how much on a scale of one to ten was the pain. And all this while I kept muttering to myself

"Really? I am a doctor!... I should have known by the blood seeping into the bandages that the chest wound has not healed.... what the hell am I doing hugging him this tight?"

He caught my fingers in his left hand and stopped me.

"It's not the chest wound that I am more concerned about!" the expression on his face was unreadable when he said this.

"Ya! Don't worry! You are already able to write and use your arm for the less taxing stuff!  The rest, maybe in four to six weeks once your torus fracture heals" I tried to console him.

"It seems too long to do without certain amenities" his face was still unreadable.

"So you mean playing tennis or squash or that fucking game of ruggers that brought you here?" I was angry at him. So typical of a man to want exactly the thing that caused him pain and hurt. Couldn't he do without those fucking games for a few weeks?

"No, I don't mean that!" his face now had a mysterious smile, almost like I was missing something obvious!

"Then what could you mean.....!" I was perplexed. Other than those intensive sports, what required.....?

And I stopped dead in my tracks. One look at his face and I knew my assumptions were confirmed.

With my eyes bulging out of my sockets and jaws dropping to the floor, I screamed, silently.

"You wonky bastard!" somehow I was not able to speak louder than a whisper.

"You have your pick of actresses and supermodels from here to Timbucktoo if Sam is to be believed, and you still want to wank off?" I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Well, as they say, self-help is the most rewarding!" his appraising look and the challenging smile was again doing that thing to the pit of my stomach and that certainly was not good for me. The images that it conjured were too much for me to handle on an empty stomach.

I knew these executive suites very well. I had interacted with quite a few celebrities who were part of Karri's interconnected web and who had been temporary guests here at different points in time.

Which meant that I knew where the liquor was hidden and chances were, it had not been removed as Johan's arrival here was pretty much a rushed affair.

So I opened the hidden compartments in the cupboards and as expected found the liquor stash.

We each poured out two fingers of the bubbly which I downed in one shot and after a long time I felt the familiar warmth and the serenity permeate my body.

The second shot helped calm my nerves and provided me courage of what I was about to do.

And finally, the third shot helped me shed my inhibitions.

Looking straight into his eyes, I grasped his hands and led him to his hospital bed in his suite.

After I had propped up the headrest and had him reclining on the bed, I jumped up on the bed and sat across his knees.

"I am not very good at blowjobs!" I confessed  "Guess I need to practice. A lot." he didn't say anything, just kept looking directly at me.

"But one thing a girl learns in these military-style boot camps is to get pretty good with her hands." I started unbuttoning his pyjamas.

"That way you keep those tiny tossers at an arm's length, giving them what they want, while you are saved the hassle of all that jealousy and the patriarchal possession instinct shit that these guys manifest after you have slept with them once."

By now I had extracted his phallus from inside his briefs and even in a semi-excited state, it was quite impressive.

"I am impressed! Can't call you a tiny tosser, can I?" my breathing had started coming in shallow gasps and I was inadvertently licking my lips

"Didn't know my brother owned such a nice specimen"

The shiver that ran through my whole body with my use of the word brother exploded like a sharp jolt of electricity in the bundle of nerves at my groin.

I spit on my hands and started a slow down to up motion.

All this while he hadn't spoken a word. He just kept looking at me

But by now his eyes had started to smolder and he was taking deep breaths.

"What! Still thinking of those supermodels, eh?" I was just trying to divert myself from thinking of the inevitable.

"You think I will let you go to those bitches, you bastard!"

"You... belong... to... me!" I said this with an assured surety and certainty, the way a judge pronounces a sentence.

There was no dilemma for me and also he had no options here.

I had to now use both my hands to grip him as his girth had increased substantially.

I was distracted by the size of that thing in my hands.

"Holy fuck! Are you hav'n a laugh? How the blooming fuck am I getting this thing inside of me? It'll be murder, I tell you! Bloody murder"

My fingers couldn't touch my thumbs as I shafted his cock. (First time I had actually thought of that word)

"It's ok, I guess I can always call some of those supermodels then!" this was the first time he had spoken since we had started. His condescending tone was a direct challenge to me.

"I'll castrate you, you stuffed-up prick if you even think of that!" I could not look at his face as I had to concentrate on using both my hands effectively.

His cock had become curved and his balls felt heavy; heavy with the imminent cum.

He just reached with his left hand on the bedside drawer and brought out some lubricant jelly and handed it to me.

"I see that you carry your box of tricks with you" I looked into his eyes while squeezing out liberal amounts of the jelly onto my palms. It had a woodsy smell.

"What?.... You need to smell the forest when you help yourself, do you?"

And suddenly this woodsy smell sent a jarring note to my memory and I stopped.

I looked up at him in trepidation.

My eyes were fearful and my short gasps were the gasps of fear and I just could not form the words that so necessarily had to be asked.

But he understood me perfectly.

'No! I know this forest smell is somewhat like the perfume which Sam sometimes uses, but this one is from my native Sweden. Nothing to do with her"

When I still kept looking down, unable to face him, still waiting for him to quiet my fears, I felt him shake his head.

"No!.... Nothing with Sam!... Ever!" and I looked up to see that his eyes carried conviction.

I exhaled. A long long sigh of relief and with a bent head I shed a few drops of tears.

I responded with a shaking voice.

"I know I am behaving like a maiden in a Victorian novel..... but believe me.... I didn't realise myself, that I was this jealous or this possessive or insecure." honesty was always the best policy.

And more importantly, I had to be honest with myself first.

"I am really.... sorry!" I was still rattled by my surge of jealousy and my unfounded fears.

And I looked up with an almost shy look.

Which was a mistake as he had on his smouldering yearning look.

This one was much more devastating than the one which he had unleashed last week, and this one made my bones turn to jelly.

And the knot in the pit of my stomach started glowing like red hot embers.

And that smouldering look gave me confidence and made me courageous.

"I know that with your looks and money, you would have slept with a lot of beautiful women" I bent down and spit on the top of his glans of penis.  

"But all that stops now! Henceforth you are mine.. and only mine" I was looking into his eyes, trying to mimic the way of those pornstars, but failing abysmally. He understood and permitted himself a little smile.  

"I don't know what all fantasies you have, but I hear that men generally have one in common, which is one with a doctor. Guess that one I can easily fulfil." I wanted to provide him with aural sexual stimulation but I also realised I wasn't doing a very good job.

It was then that he reached over and caught my hands to stop them servicing his pole( yup, it had grown in length ) 

Then he first relieved me of my coat, doing so awkwardly as his right hand must have been giving him quite a bit of pain.

Then unable to continue using his hands, he signalled me to pull off the top of my green scrubs and then unhook my bra.

Finally, he took off his glasses and placed them on me.

My nipples were as hard as pebbles and I wasn't ashamed any more of the fact that my juices had leaked through my knickers and had wet the scrubs bottoms. And with surprising strength and obvious pain, he grabbed both of my naked shoulders and laid my groin on top of his knob in what I guess Americans call hot-dogging, the only difference being my bottoms were still on.

"Right now, because of my obvious injuries, let's not get into a do (he was even using the British slang for sex). Let's keep that for healthy times"

Then reaching for his bedside controls, he raised his backrest to a more comfortable leaning position and pulled me by my shoulders so that my chest fell on his face.

Then he started licking my knockers and nipples.

"Yeeeesssss! You bastard!..... you made me wait too long for this!.... aaaahhhhh! You must know how much I have fantasized about this!"

He bit with his teeth on my right nipple while with his left hand, he jerked my head back.

And then using the rough underside fabric of his splint he started grazing my left nipples.

This simultaneous attack on both nipples sent me into orbit.

I was panting. I was screaming. My whole body was on fire.

"Oh.. ohhh.... oooohhhh.... aaaaa...... aaaammmm.... oh.. ooooooh!"

I realised quite late that Stefan was outside the door and it would not help matters at all to provide him with a vivid picture of our doings here.

Then releasing me he let my face fall forward while attacking my lips with his own.

"You are mine... bitch!" his growl had all the finality of caveman-like proprietary ownership over me.  

And then in the privacy of his executive suite, we continued what we had only stopped temporarily outside the Palladium.

This time it was naked skin against naked skin and the sensation was just on another level.  

He brought his left hand down on my hips and started pushing them to undulate.

Even through the soaked scrubs and knickers, I could feel his hardness and the friction of undulation was causing my juices to leak more freely.  

Anybody looking would come to the conclusion that I had peed in my pants, but I couldn't care a biscuit.  

He freed himself from my mouth( which again tasted salty! Had we again bit each other?) and attacked my tits.

His powerful hand grip on my knockers and strong biting teeth on the nipples were bringing me closer to cumming.

Releasing me, he took both of my hands and placed them on his shoulders while his hands gripped my hips forcefully and undulated them roughly on his hard cock.

"Next time we meet, I won't let you go unmolested!" his deep growl had all the power of a panther mauling its prey.

His eyes had become red hot, his jaws and cheeks clamped shut, while his powerful hands were constantly undulating my hips.

With my groin pressed against his cock he has already started discharging pre-cum.

"I will squirt..!" I warned him.

"You have..... unleashed... that in me... I was... never.... doing that before!"

I was panting with a sheen of sweat on my face and upper body.

"Next time, once I get better... in this very hospital... I will tie you up... in your own common room," he brought his left hand away from my hips and dug his fingers inside my scrub bottoms and into me.

"Ahhh..... ahhh.... ooo.. uhhh.. uuuuuhhh.... uuummmmm!" I couldn't speak coherently anymore.

"And spreading your legs will pound you hard and fast... Your cunny will be destroyed... you will be begging for mercy" his proprietary growl and his vivid description had me wailing with my head thrown back.

"Oooooohhhh..... aaaaaahhhhh..... oooooooo.......... waaaaaah"

He caught my hair roughly, brought his mouth to my throat, and vigorously started kissing me there while with his left-hand thumb, he started attacking my clit.

"I will empty my seed in you.... you fucking whore!" 

And I came... with a high-pitched wail.

"Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

He too erupted..... and splashed on my tits..... on my chin..... on his bandages and some of it..... in my hair.

I slumped forward on his chest, totally tired and spent.... with no energy left.... or any concern about his injuries.  

And then lovingly and with infinite caress and slowness he lifted my face, tilted my chin and kissed me softly.

And with heart-melting look, he whispered.

"I Love you... Meg"