Oh Brother

By Patt

Jim and Blair were at their desks when Henry walked up to Jim’s desk.  “Hey, Jim, have you seen anything of my partner this morning?  I guess he feels he doesn’t have to come in on time like the rest of us.”

Jim and Blair both started laughing at the idea that Brown was pissed off at anyone.  He was usually so laid back.  Someone was going to be in trouble when they came waltzing in.  

Simon came into his doorway and said, “Brown, I need to see you.”

Brown got up and Jim heard his heartbeat double.  He grabbed H’s arm and said, “It’s all right.  Simon's just probably wondering where he is.  Nothing’s wrong, I’m sure.”  

Brown smiled over at Jim and said, “Thanks, man.”

H got to Simon’s door, knocked and said, “Captain?”

“Do you have any idea where your partner is?  He called me at home this morning and said he couldn’t make it in until later.  I asked him where he was and he said, and I quote, ‘You’d never believe it even if I told you,’ and hung up on me.”

“Sir, I haven’t seen him since last night when we left and he was fine then.  He said he had a date with someone new but he wouldn’t tell me who.” Brown said.  

“Well, think a minute.  Was there anything he said that would lead us to him.  I’m a little concerned over one of my men calling me at home to hang up on me.  He must not have been in his right mind, that’s all I have to say.”

“Sir, I’ll think on it but I can’t imagine.  He’s been talking about this person for about a week now.  Said he was looking forward to it. But that’s all he would say.”

“All right, Brown, get back to work. Let me know if he contacts you for any reason.”

“Yes, sir.  I’ll get started on that case he promised to help with.” Brown said as he left with his head hanging down. The thought of doing all of their work alone was pissing him off.  What was up with Brian?  Moreover, why didn’t he call him and tell him what was going on?  He’s my best friend and he called Simon first?

Mumbling all the way to his desk, Brown sat down and started working on the over-run ‘in’ basket. He had so much to do.  In addition, he had to question some victims about witnesses.  Shit, I have to remember this when it comes time for him to have something planned.  I’ll blow him off.

Two hours later, Brian Rafe came walking in the bullpen looking a little worse for wear.  Not that his clothing lacked anything.  He looked as dapper as always.  He had bags under his eyes from lack of sleep.  He walked in, sat at his desk and turned to Henry.

“Hey, Henry.  Sorry, I’m late.  It won’t happen again.  I promise.  I told him this couldn’t happen more than today,” Brian said.  
Brown just sat there looking like a fish, with his mouth opening and closing.  Did my partner just say ‘him’?  My partner's sleeping with a guy? Fuck…

As Rafe grabbed some of the files from Brown’s desk, he said, “Do we need to go and question those witnesses right now?”

“Yeah, we do.  We had better take off.  I’ll tell Captain Banks you blessed us with your presence and are going to actually do some work,” Brown said, very sarcastically.  

Henry Brown stormed off to Simon’s office and walked in.  Jim walked up to Rafe and said, “Someone's in the dog house.  What did you do now, Rafe?” Both Jim and Blair started laughing.  

“I didn’t do anything, really,” Rafe said nervously.  

Jim looked at Rafe and wondered what was going on because Brian’s heart rate doubled while standing next to Jim.  When Blair walked up, it was even worse.  

Rafe looked at Jim and thought to himself.  He’s going to kill me.  He’s going to fucking kill me.  I know it. I might as well just let him do it now. Maybe I should just let him shoot me with my own gun.  Better yet, why don’t I talk about it with him? That way I can try and explain to him what's going on. There is that slight chance that he won’t kill me.  Maybe he’ll just beat the shit out of me or maybe he’ll never talk to me again.  Would he make things so bad around here that I would lose all of my friends? This all has to be worked through before I say or do anything.  Jesus, I already know that Jim would never understand.  

“Would you tell Brown I’ll meet him downstairs,” Rafe asked as he walked into the elevator.  

“What was all that about?” Blair inquired.

“I don’t know, but his heartbeat doubled when we got close to him.  If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was trying to steal you away from me or something.” Jim said smiling down at his lover and partner.  

“Very funny, Jim.  Do you think he’s all right?” Blair asked as they walked towards Simon’s office.  

Knocking, Jim said, “Hey, Brown.  Your partner was acting a little odd.  Better go and check on him.”

“Man, I knew something was wrong.  Did he act like he was sick or something?” Brown asked as he hurried out of the office.  

“Slow down, Brown.  I didn’t say he was sick.  Just not right.” Jim said.  

Brown practically flew into the elevator and went to the garage.  Something was wrong, he could feel it.  He'd felt it when Rafe walked into the bullpen.  He saw an odd look on his partner’s face.  He wasn’t going to give up on this until he found out what was going on.

When he got to his car, he got in and saw that Rafe looked fine.  What in the hell was Ellison talking about?  

“All right, what’s going on?  Ellison said that you looked sick or something.  Who were you with last night and why did you freak out with Ellison and Sandburg?” Brown asked.  

“Let’s get out of here first.  Then I’ll tell you. I promise,” Rafe said looking out the window.  Shit!  Could this get any worse?

Brown drove off.  Once they were about a mile from the station he pulled into a parking place and said, “Okay, since when have you dated men?”

“Since last night.  No, I’ve been dating for about a month and finally got up the nerve.  The man I slept with wants to go slow. We both just needed time to figure it out.” Rafe said looking over at Brown hoping he’d see no ugliness in those gorgeous brown eyes.  Ever since he’d been with this special man he’d begun to look at everything differently.  Brown's eyes were always gorgeous but he’d never taken the time to notice them.

“So you waited all this time and then you slept with him last night?” Brown asked shocked.  

“Well, more or less,” Rafe said, still not looking his friend and partner in the eyes.  

“Okay, stop this.  Tell me what’s going on right now. Who is it?  Why did you think you had to run out of the bullpen?” Brown demanded to know.  

“It’s someone we all know.  Everyone in the bullpen,” Rafe said.  

“It’s someone we work with?” Brown asked incredulously.  

“No, just someone we all know,” Rafe said, looking at his hands in his lap now.  

“Jesus, Rafe, just tell me who the fuck it is.  I mean it can’t be that bad, right?” Brown asked.  

“Define bad,” Rafe said trying to make light of the situation.  

“Cut the shit, Rafe.  Who is it?” Brown ordered this time.

“Steven Ellison,” Rafe said so quietly that Brown had to strain to hear the name.  

“Jim Ellison’s brother?  That’s who you slept with?” Brown asked, looking more shocked than he’d ever looked in his life.  

“Yes, Steven Ellison.  He has a fucking name, Brown,” Rafe said getting angry.

“So?  Why didn’t you tell Jim?  Why are you hiding?” Brown asked very seriously.  

“Steven told me he doesn’t want his brother to know about us.  He’d worry about Steven and he might say or do something to me at work.  Steven worries about me.  He knows what a hot head Ellison is.”

“I have to tell you, Rafe, I’m shocked.  I didn’t know you were gay.  I didn’t know that Steven Ellison was gay.  Shit, is anyone besides me straight?” Brown asked, trying to lighten the mood.  

Laughing, Rafe said, “Yeah, Simon's like so straight. But now that you mention it, he does spend an awful lot of time with Taggert.”

“Very funny, Rafe..  You’re never with the same person more than twice and there's such a long list.  What does Steven think of that?” Brown asked.  

“Well, he’s been the same way.  We’re going to do this slow but we think we want a commitment and everything.” Rafe looked over at Brown and smiled with such love that Brown couldn’t help but smile back.  

“Well, I think it’s great.  I like Steven Ellison.  He seems like a nice guy, anyhow.  You need to tell Jim. Tell Steven to do it,” Brown said laughing.  

“I think I will.  Man, Ellison scares the shit out of me most of the time.  I wonder how he’ll take the news that his little brother is gay.”

Brown looked over at Rafe oddly and said, “Rafe, you know about Jim and Blair, right?” Brown asked, honestly not knowing if his partner was pulling his leg or not.  

“What about them?” Rafe said very seriously.  

“Oh, shit!  You must be the only person that buys the act.  Ellison and Sandburg are sleeping together,” Brown said as he started howling his head off.  

“No way.  No fucking way. We were trying so hard to tiptoe around this and you’re saying he’s gay?” Rafe asked.  

“Well, I never asked him but I saw him kissing Hairboy one day.  That goes past the partner/partner relationship deal,” Brown said, smiling at his opened mouthed, quiet partner sitting in his car.  

“I kid you not.  This is going to shock the shit out of Steven.  He’s so afraid of what Jim’s going to think.  In fact, he had me scared.  That’s why I ran out of there today.”

“Think it might be easier now?” Brown asked, “To tell Jim, I mean?”

“Oh, yeah!  Wait'll I tell Steven.  I’ll tell him tonight and we’ll drop the bombshell when we all go to the game on Saturday,” Rafe said, smiling finally.  

“No, that’s a very bad idea.  Just in case he doesn’t like you for his brother.  Make it somewhere with less people watching and standing around,” Brown suggested.  

“Well, that’s all fine and dandy but what if the crowds keep him in line?” Rafe asked.

“Ellison would never hurt you, Rafe.  You know that, right?” Brown inquired.  

“I would hope not but I'm not so sure.  You know how it goes.  Sometimes you don’t think anyone's good enough for your little brother or sister.”

“Well, stop worrying about that.  You do need to tell him and not sneak around.  That'll piss him off big time,” Brown said.  

“Wait a minute, what room does he have to talk?  If he’s fucking Sandburg then why should he care, right?” Rafe asked.  

“It sounds good hearing it right here, but it might change a little when it comes out of your mouth to his ears.  I would suggest that you and Steven tell him together,” Brown said as he pulled out into traffic, “It’s time to get back to our job.  This isn’t Days Of Our Life, Rafe.”

“Fuck you, Henry,” Rafe said, smiling and slugged Brown on the arm.  He had been so afraid of what his partner would say about him.  Now he knew that Henry was okay with it.  Thank god, he’d been given the best partner in the precinct.  

“You are so fickle.  You’re just telling me you have it for Ellison and now you want to fuck me?” Brown said, laughing hard.  

“Very funny, Brown,” Rafe said, trying to be serious.  That was hard with Henry Brown, the man who'd never grow up.  Some days he really loved his job.

They went downtown and asked the victim if he saw anyone in the store at the time of the robbery.  The person told Brown who was there and where to find her and went about his business.  

As they were leaving the store, Brown said, “It’s amazing how no one seems to care about anything unless it means something financial to them.”

“Tell me about it.  You think we’ll get anything useful out of this witness?” Rafe asked.  

They got back into the car and took off for the next address.  Once there, they knocked on Ms. Perkins’s door.  She opened up and said, “What do you want?”

God, I love this job, Henry thought before answering. “Ms. Perkins? I’m Detective Henry Brown and this is my partner, Detective Rafe.  We’re here to ask some questions.”

Before they could really even think of all of the questions they wanted to ask a shotgun went off, slicing through the door, and his partner.  Rafe flew back into the wall behind them.  Brown screamed, “Brian!” and went for his partner while still keeping an eye on Ms. Perkins who seemed to be just as scared as Brown was right now.

Brown jumped up with his gun cocked and said, “Where is he right now?”

Ms. Perkins said, “He just went into the bedroom.”

Brown pushed the door open carefully and said, “Call 911.  Tell them officer down.  Hurry. Then take a towel and try to stop the bleeding.  If you don’t, so help me, I’ll see that you rot in prison for helping that fucker.”

“I will.  I don’t want to be alone with him,” she said, dialing the phone and grabbing a towel at the same time.  She wasn’t going to rot in prison because of some dick wouldn’t let her out of the house. She told the police what Brown had told her, gave them her address, and then pushed the towel over Rafe’s bullet wound, trying to stop the bleeding.

“I’m really sorry, officer,” she said as she kept pressure on the hole in Rafe’s shoulder.

“Steven… Steven… Steven…” Rafe whispered and passed out.

When the EMT’s got there they took over from the woman trying to stop the blood.  They could see that Rafe was in bad shape.  

Suddenly, there was a loud gunshot from inside the apartment.  Jim, Blair, Simon and Joel came running up the stairs with their guns drawn.  Simon took the lead and went into the apartment with Blair and Joel following, Jim stayed with the EMT’s, and Rafe, in case the suspect came back that way. As Jim was standing there he heard Rafe mumble repeatedly, "Steven…"

“Ellison, we have to get him to the hospital now.  Anyone going to follow?” Miller asked.  

“Of course someone's going to follow.  We’ll be there as soon as possible. His partner will be there even sooner,” Jim said angrily.  

“Sorry, Jim.  I didn’t mean it the way it came out,” Miller said as they took Rafe down the stairs into the waiting ambulance.  

Jim heard a gun shot. Before panicking... he listened.  He heard Brown, Joel, Simon and Blair.  They were all right.  However, there wasn't another heartbeat.  

Jim opened his cell phone and dialed his brother’s number.  Steven answered, “Ellison.”

“Hey, Steven,” Jim said trying to think of a way to ask this.  

“Oh, Jesus!  What did you do, Jim?  Did you hurt him? Shit, I told him to wait and I’d talk to you,” Steven started rambling.  

“Steven, calm down.  I’m calling to tell you that Rafe was just shot and he’s being taken to Cascade General.  I figured you’d want to meet him there. Am I right?”

“I’m sorry, Jim.  I’ll leave right now.  Thanks for calling. Is he all right?”

“No, not right now, but hopefully, that will be corrected shortly.  Get over there right away,” Jim said meaning every word of it.  

He went into the apartment and found all the men looking over a dead body.  Brown looked up and said, “How’s my partner?”

“They took him to Cascade General.  They told you to follow.  I called my brother and told him where Rafe was,” Jim said.  

Brown looked at Jim and said, “You knew.”

“Well, something was wrong with him this morning and while he was out, he kept saying Steven. I deduced, all right?  I am a detective.  Get your ass down to the hospital.  We’ll clean this mess up.  Take care of your partner.  We’ll be there as soon as we can.  Take care of Steven for me, okay, Brown?”

“You got it, Jim.  I’ll do all the paperwork later, Captain,” Brown said as he flew out of the apartment.  

“Jim, do you want me to drive him there?” Blair asked.  

“Yeah, that might be a really good idea, Blair.  Thanks,” Jim said while trying to not show how upset he was about his brother having to go through this so soon in his relationship.

Blair followed Brown down the stairs and said, “Hey, I have Jim’s truck.  Let's go and race our way over there.”

Jim growled as he went back in to the room with Simon and Joel.  This was going to be a long day.  

When Jim joined Simon and Joel again, Simon asked, “What's going on with Rafe and your brother?  What does that have to do with anything?”

Jim shrugged and said, “Sir, I really don’t know if they want us discussing them without one of them here to defend themselves.”

“Jim, just answer me.  Are your brother Steven and Brian Rafe seeing each other?”

“Yeah, Simon, they are,” Jim finally answered.  

“Damn, I had no idea,” Joel said.  

“What do you make of that, Jim?  I never dreamed about Rafe being gay, let alone your brother.  It’s just too weird,” Simon said.  

“Sir, I really don’t think it’s any of our business.  If they want to be with each other then more power to them, I say,” Jim said trying to get back to work.  

“Are you saying this doesn’t bother you, Ellison?” Simon asked.

“No, it doesn’t bother me, Simon.  Could we drop it now?” Jim asked almost pleadingly.

Turning to Joel, Simon said, “Joel, doesn’t this shock you?”

“Well, yeah, it does but it doesn’t bother me, Simon,” Joel said trying to calm things down.  Joel could see Mount Ellison getting ready to erupt.  

“Shit, this changes things for everyone, you know?” Simon asked.  

“Do you suppose we could get finished here so we could go and check on our fellow officer?” Jim said angrily.  

Joel walked over, rubbed his hand on Jim’s back and said quietly, “Calm down, Jim.  Everything will be all right.  Just hang in there.”

“Thanks, Joel, but things won’t be all right,” Jim said getting more evidence together and bagging it.

“Jim, go ahead and get to the hospital.  You seem worried about your brother.  So go,” Simon said.   

“I’m not fucking worried about my brother, Simon.  What I’m fucking worried about's how you’re going to treat Brian Rafe when he gets back to work,” Jim growled out.  

“Well, it’s going to take me awhile to get used to the idea of him being gay.  If anyone was going to be gay, I would have thought it would be you and Sandburg,” Simon said.  

“Then you would have been right because I’m sleeping with Sandburg.  What do you think of that, Simon?” Jim asked, almost daring Simon to say something so he could punch him.  

Simon shocked him by saying, “Well, it’s about time.  We all wondered if you’d ever get together.”

“Now why wouldn’t you mind if I’m gay, or Sandburg, but you’d mind if Rafe is?” Jim asked.  

“Jim, you’re totally misunderstanding.  I’m not upset nor do I mind.  I just hope Rafe can handle it.  He’s not as strong as say, ‘you’.”

Joel stood next to Simon and said, “I think you’re wrong there.  Rafe's a tough guy.  He takes everything that Ellison dishes out and believe me, Jim dishes out a lot of shit to Rafe daily.”

Jim hung his head and said, “I do need to go to the hospital.  I’ve been on his case lately because he’s been acting so fucking strange around me.  Now I know why.  I thought it was because of Blair and me.  I’ll make it up to him, Joel.  I promise.”

“Things will be fine, Jim.  Just get up there and make everyone feel better until we can get there.”

“Hang on a minute, Jim, and we’ll all go together.  We all need to be there for Rafe.  He’s one of us and needs to know that we all want him to get better,” Simon said.  

“Okay,” Jim said as they finished up and left for the hospital together.  

Joel kept looking over at Jim and Jim finally smiled at him.  Joel wondered if things would change a lot or they’d be the same.  Either way, they’d find out soon.  


When they arrived at the hospital, Steven jumped up out of his chair and went right to Blair.  He just stood in front of him not knowing what to do.  Blair put his arms around him and said, “Come on, Steven, let’s all sit down and Brown can find out how Rafe's doing.  Right, Brown?”

“Absolutely.  I’ll be back as soon as I have some news,” Brown said as he took off down the hall.  

“Shit, I couldn’t believe it when Jim called me.  Did Rafe tell him this morning or did he smell me on Rafe?”  Steven asked nervously.  

“Calm down, Steven. Jim’s not upset at all.  He didn’t know but Rafe was acting oddly this morning when he came in. Then when we got there, he was whispering your name repeatedly.  Jim put it all together and realized you were seeing each other.  He wasn’t mad.  Don’t worry,” Blair said, calming Steven as he rubbed his back while he talked to him.

“Blair, I know about you and Jim.  He told me about a month ago.  I think it’s great.” Steven said with tears in his eyes.

“Why didn’t Jim tell me?” Blair asked.  

“I don’t think he’s ready to be out yet.  He’ll come around.  I’ve been gay my whole life and I think that Jim knew that,” Steven said, “I’m really in love with Brian.  We’ve been seeing each other for a month but last night was our first night together.”

“He’ll be fine, Steven.  Let’s wait for Brown to get us some news,” Blair said, continuing to rub Steven’s back.  

Jim came walking into the door about two hours later, seeing Brown, Blair and Steven sitting there waiting.  Jim could tell that they still didn’t know anything by the look of pure terror on Steven’s face.  

Steven got up and went towards Jim.  Jim took him into his arms and said, “It’s going to be all right, Steven.  Don’t worry, things will work out.” Jim held him so tight and started almost rocking him back and forth.  Jim was scared, too. He couldn’t stand the idea of his little brother being afraid, hurt, angry or alone. Jim just kept holding him tighter.  Jim could feel the tremors starting and knew that Steven didn’t want to lose it there.  He pulled away from him and said, “Let me go and ask the nurses if they know anything yet.”

“Jim, don’t leave me, please,” Steven pleaded with his older brother and, of course, Jim took him back into his arms and just held on tight.  

When the doctor came walking into the waiting room Jim was the first to notice.  “Captain Banks?”

Simon stood up and said, “I’m Captain Banks.  How's my officer.?”

“Well, it was touch and go for awhile but we got enough blood pumped into him.  We removed the bullet  and repaired all of the damage that we could in his shoulder.  He’s going to be out of commission for about a month.  If he does all of his physical therapy he’ll be able to do all the things he did before.  I’ll be able to tell you more tomorrow. Does he have any family here?”

Simon looked at the doctor and said, “All of us are his family.”

“Sorry, Captain Banks, but no one can see him but family members or a spouse.” the doctor said.  

“That’s ridiculous,” Simon shouted, “he’s got tons of family members right here in the waiting room.  You’re saying since he has no family to speak of, he’ll have to do this alone?”

“Rules are rules, sir.  I can’t change them just because he has no family or spouse,” the Doctor said.  

Jim stepped up and said, “I’m Detective Jim Ellison and this is Brian Rafe’s good friend. Could you see to it that they can see each other as soon as possible?”

The doctor wasn't stupid.  He understood what Jim was saying. Looking at Steven he said,  “Do I understand you to say that you are Brian Rafe’s spouse?”

“That’s right, Doctor.  I’m his spouse. We haven’t fill out any papers yet but we will. I’m sorry,” Steven said.  

 What's your name, sir?”

“Steven Ellison, Doctor. Could I see him now?” Steven pleaded.

“Yes, we just put him in a room and he’s doing fairly well.  If we see any problems we might have to change the rules, but as of now, you’re welcome to stay with him.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Steven said as he followed the doctor down the hallway to Brian’s room.  Jim watched them go, turned to Simon and said, “Let’s let them be alone for a few minutes and then we can talk to Brian.”

“That’s fine.  Why don’t we all go for coffee.  It’s on me,” Simon said as he put his arm around Henry’s shoulders and hugged him. He pulled him closer and said, “He’ll be fine, Henry.”

“God, I hope so.  We were goofing around, sir.  We weren’t careful at all.  We acted like we’d never find the bad guy.  Like that doesn’t happen in almost every case.  What the hell were we thinking?” Brown said.  

Once on the elevator, Jim said, “Brown, things happen.  They aren’t always good things but you have to deal with them.  Learn from it.  Be more alert from now on and it won’t happen again.”

“Yeah, you’re right.  I won’t let him get hurt again,” Brown said.  

“H, Rafe would be upset if he knew you were blaming yourself.  Stop it right now,” Blair said, “are you listening to us?”  

“Yeah, it’s getting through, Hairboy.  Thanks,” Brown said as he cuffed Blair on the side of the head.  This was his first normal action since the shooting.  Jim knew it was a step in the right direction.

They sat down at a table in the cafeteria and started drinking their coffee and Brown said, “Oh shit.”

Jim jumped up and said, “What?” Looking from right to left he was trying to figure out what had disturbed Brown.  

“Did you all notice that new suit Brian had on today?” Brown asked, “He said he’d just gotten it.”

“Well, at least he’s alive even if his suit isn’t,” Jim said.  

“Sandburg, do you know where I could get a suit just like it? In my price range?” Brown asked him.

“Henry, do I look like a clothing salesman?” Blair asked laughing.  

“I really want to get him that suit to wake up to before he realizes it’s ruined,” Brown continued to whine.  

Jim stood up and said, “I’ll ask Steven where he got it and we’ll run by and see if they have his measurements there. Don’t worry about it, Henry. He’s going to be fine and so will his suit. Blair and I will go in on it, too.”

“Well, count me in,” Joel said. “In fact, I think we might have to buy him everything.  New shirt, new tie and maybe even shoes and socks.”

“I'm in,” Simon said, “If this makes you feel better, Brown, you can go and do some of the shopping.  It’ll give you something to do while your partner's getting better.”

They all left, walked up the stairs and sat in the hall outside Brian’s room.  Jim listened and heard his brother say, “Brian, the doctor said you’re going to be just fine.  He said you’d be as good as new in a month. We both know we can make it for a month without sex because we waited that long. But baby, I’m so fucking glad we came to our senses last night.”

“I am, too,” Brian Rafe quietly said, almost asleep.

“Brian, you have no idea how scared I was.  I was so glad that they knew to call me. Everything will be fine. Don’t worry.”

“Steven, things won’t be the same once Jim thinks about it and realizes that maybe you could do better.  Most cops don’t want a cop dating their family,” Brian said sadly.

“Oh, I don’t think we have to worry about that, baby.  Just stop worrying, okay?” Steven asked.  

“I’ll try, but worry is my middle name,” Brian said, trying to lighten the mood.

“Brian, I love you,” Steven said softly as he leaned down and kissed his love, his life and his reason for being.  

“God, I love you, too, Steven. I’m sorry I didn’t tell Jim this morning.  I wanted to,” Brian said, trying to keep from coughing.  

Jim could hear his heartbeat picking up more than it should be so he walked into the room and said, “Hey, hot stuff.  I hear you got yourself a boyfriend. I want you to know that I approve.”

Rafe looked up at Jim, smiled and then fell asleep. Steven turned to Jim, smiled and said, “Thanks, Jim.  He needed to hear that. He was so upset that he hadn’t told you.”

“Don’t worry, Steven.  Just take care of him,” Jim said as he hugged his brother.  “We’re going to go out and buy Brian a new suit.  Do you happen to know where he gets his things?”

“Yeah, I picked that suit out.  We got it at Montgomery’s on First Avenue. He called it his celebrating suit.  It would be nice if we could get it replaced,” Steven said looking out the window.

Jim walked up behind him and said, “Are you all right, Steven?”

“Yeah, Jim.  I’m fine. What do you think our dad would think if he found out we’re both gay?” Steven wondered aloud.  

“Do you really care, Steven?”

“No, I guess not. I’ve been gay my whole life, Jim, but Dad wouldn’t listen when I'd try to talk to him about it.”

“It doesn’t matter. Neither of us cares anymore.  If he doesn’t accept us the way we are, that’s his loss,” Jim said as he stood beside Steven and looked out the same window.

“I love Brian a lot.  I wanted you to know that,” Steven said softly.  

“I figured that out, Steven.  I’m glad you found someone to make you happy,” Jim said, meaning every word.

“I’ve waited a damn long time for the right person to come along.  When I met him, I knew it right off.  But it took him a little longer.  He didn’t want to hurt you in any way.  He was always so hard on himself saying I deserved better.  God, I used to hate when he said things like that.  Jim, you have no idea how great he is.  And he’s worthy.  He’s more than worthy.”

“Steven, I couldn’t agree more.  I think he's worthy so don’t worry about it.  In fact, just keep taking care of Brian and don’t worry about any thing else going on in your life right now,” Jim said looking over at Brian with a new found respect.  To hear his brother speak, Brian was one of the best things in the world to come into Steven’s life.  Jim was certainly glad of that.  

Jim, do you think that everyone in the bullpen will be all right with him being gay? He worried about that a lot,” Steven asked.  

“I just got done telling you not to worry about anything.  The ones that matter to him don’t think anything but good things, so stop worrying,” Jim ordered.  

“Go on, get out of here, Jim.  I’m just going to stay here for a while.  I might stay all night.  If you need me, you know where I am.”  

Pulling Steven into a hug, he said, “Steven, things will work out.  Don’t worry about anything right now.”

Jim walked out of the room and Steven went back to sitting beside his love.  Waiting for that moment when he might, by chance, wake up and smile up at him.  

Jim came walking out of the room and said, “I know where to get the suit.  Who wants to go with me?”

“I do,” Joel said, “I’d like to help.  This would make me feel like I’m doing something.”

Blair smiled at Jim and Joel as he said, “I’ll go back to the crime scene with Simon and get the paperwork finished. Is that all right, Simon?”

“When are you going to start calling me Captain like everyone else does?” Simon asked.  

“Is that all right with you, Captain?” Blair asked smiling. He walked over, slugged Jim in the arm and said, “Be careful out there.”

Jim didn’t think it was that funny.  He pulled Blair into his arms and said, “You be careful.  I’ll see you at home tonight.” Jim heard Blair’s heart beating way too hard and he said, “Chief, things will be all right.”

As Blair pulled himself out of Jim’s arms, Simon put his arm across Blair’s shoulders and said, “Don’t worry, Jim.  We’ll keep each other safe.  Sandburg, he was just about to give me one of those hugs, too.”

Jim and Joel started laughing as the two men walked down the hall and into the elevator.  Jim looked over at Henry and said, “H, why not go in and keep Steven company. He could use it, I think.  Rafe would like to see you when he wakes up.”

“You don’t think Steven would mind me pushing my way in?”

“No, I think he’d like the company as I said.  Go, be with your partner,” Jim said as he and Joel started for the elevator.  

Jim and Joel got into Jim’s truck and drove to Montgomery’s. Jim was really hoping they’d have that information on hand because Jim sure as hell didn’t know what sizes Rafe needed.  When he parked they both got out and walked into the store.  

The manager walked up to both men and said, “You must be looking for something to wear.” Jim just started laughing.  Joel said, “Do you happen to remember a client named Brian Rafe?”

“Of course.  He’s one of our favorite customers. Why?” The manager said.

“What's your name, sir?” Jim asked.  

“It’s Martin Wilson. What happened to Detective Rafe?”

“Mr. Wilson,” Joel started, “he was shot today and his newest suit was ruined.  We need to replace it.  We were hoping you’d have his measurements.”

“Well, of course I have them.  Is Brian all right?  He said he was seeing someone new. He's one of our best customer’s; please tell me it wasn’t him.  He looked like a kind man,” Wilson said.

“Don’t worry, sir.  He’s going to be fine and the man he was with is sitting at the hospital with him right now,” Jim said.  

“Well, that’s certainly good to hear.  Let me go and get those measurements.” Wilson said as he walked into the back.  He came walking back out with the same suit and said, “This one just needs to be tailored.  It’s just like the other one.”

Jim looked at it and said, “Yes, that’s the one, all right.  How much will that be? “

Joel stood up and said, “We need a new tie, shirt and socks.  Everything just like it was when he bought it.  Did he buy them all here?”

“Yes, he did.  Let me get everything and I’ll ring it up,” Wilson said as he went through and found everything they needed.  He could hear Jim saying, “Shit, Joel.  We might've been able to get the shirt somewhere else for a little bit less.  Not all of us shop in these places.”

“We can’t be cheap, Jim.  That wouldn’t work.  We need to let him know how much he means to us,” Joel said.  

Wilson came over with everything, rang it up and said, “The total will be $250.00.”

“Wow, that’s not too bad.  I’ll write a check, Joel, and we can all go in on it,” Jim said as he wrote out a check, “When can we pick the suit up?”

“It’ll be done by tomorrow afternoon. Just call if you need it after hours.  Here's my card for anything you need,” Wilson said giving them both a card.  

“Thank you so much,” Joel said as they walked towards the front door.

“Yes, we all thank you for being so helpful and I know that the suit was at least $500.  I’ll pay you more when I come in.”

Wilson smiled and said, “It’s my gift.  I get a lot of business from he and Steven.  They're fantastic customers.”

“Thanks again,” Jim said as they walked out the door.  

Jim and Joel went back to the station for more paperwork and had to finish the rest of their cases as well.  That evening, Simon asked, “Are we all going to go to the hospital to see Rafe?”

“We figured that Brown might want some quiet time with his partner today and tonight. What do you think, Joel?” Jim asked.  

“I think that Jim's right.  We should let him rest tonight and see him in the morning,” Joel said.

They all went home, made plans to meet for breakfast and then they’d go and visit Rafe.

Meanwhile, Rafe was burning up with a fever at the hospital.  

“This is normal, “ the doctor said.  

“Well, it might be normal but I don’t have to like it,” Steven said almost growling.  

The doctor said, “ Try to get some rest tonight when you go home.  We’ll call you if anything were to happen.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Doctor.  I’m staying here and sleeping.  So's Detective Brown.”

“Thanks, Steven.  It was nice of you to include me,” Brown said smiling.  

When the doctor walked out, Brian opened up his eyes and saw Brown standing there.

“Hey, Henry. How're you doing, man?”

“Fine, Brian.  How you feeling?” Brown asked him back.  

“I could complain but it probably wouldn’t help.” A tear slid down Rafe’s face and Brown went to wipe it but Steven beat him to it.  Rafe looked up, saw Steven and smiled, “Shit, someone knew to call you?”

“Yeah, Jim did.  He heard you say something and called me right away.  He’s fine with it, babe, so don’t start worrying,” Steven said quickly.  “In fact, when you came to, he was here and you talked to him.  Everything's fine.”  

Brian touched Steven’s face and said, “I love your face.  I love to watch the way you look when we make love.”

Henry coughed and said, “Okay, well, maybe I’ll come back in the morning.  I think the drugs are playing with his mind.”

“Henry, did he tell you that we finally slept together after a month of dating and abstaining.  We wanted to be sure. Then we couldn’t make it to the real thing. I wanted to get fucked so bad.”

Steven did the only thing he could think of, he leaned over and kissed the man he loved with all of his heart.  Looking into Brian’s eyes, he saw all of the love, passion and commitment that were in his own.  Even drugged, Brian knew what he was doing.  Well, all right, maybe not all the way. He loved this man more than he loved his own life.

While Steven was still down close he whispered into Brian’s ear, “When we get home I’ll take care of everything.  You’ll get fucked nightly.  Don’t you worry about it.”

Rafe looked up at him, smiled and said, “I love you, baby.”

“I love you back,” Steven said as he took a seat next to the bed as his love fell back to sleep.

“Henry, there’s no reason for you to leave.  It’s just the drugs talking.  He’ll be better in the morning with fewer drugs in his system. I’d like you to stay,” Steven said.  

“I’d like to stay.  Maybe you and I could take turns sleeping and watching out for him.  What do you say?” Brown asked.

“Thank you, Henry, for being here for him, even knowing about us,” Steven said.  

“First of all, it makes no difference to me.  Brian has been my friend for a long time. Secondly, I wouldn’t leave my partner's side for any reason.  None,” Brown said very seriously.  

“Well, I’m damn glad that he has all of you as friends and co-workers.  Thanks anyhow,” Steven said.  

“You take the first watch and I’ll sleep for two hours then wake me up,” Brown said.  

“Sounds good to me. Two hour shifts, I can handle,” Steven said.

As Brown laid his head down next to Rafe and fell asleep, Steven walked over to the window and looked out into the night.  It was crystal clear out.  Just like his life.  Suddenly nothing was more important to him than Brian Rafe.  Nothing was going to get in the way of their happiness.  Looking up, he saw the stars twinkling and made a small wish on one of them.  He knew that he’d be granted that one wish.

The next ten days went by quickly.  Rafe’s fever went down a little each day.  His physical therapy was going well, too.  At the end of the ten days the doctor said, “Well, looks like you’re going to be able to get out of here.  That is, if you have a place to go that can help you with things. You can’t go home and stay by yourself yet.”

“Doctor, don’t worry about it, it’s covered. I just want him to come home,” Steven said.  

The doctor looked at Steven and said, “Do I need to tell you how important it is for him to not have sex for the next month?”

“No, not at all.  I wouldn’t let him do that,“ Steven said, finding himself blushing.

“Well, if things get a little out of control just do some jerking off.  I don’t want him doing any more than that. You’ll have to take care of yourself.”

“Understood, Doctor.  You don’t have to worry.  I know better than to hurt him,” Steven said smiling.

“Well, I’m very glad to hear it.  Now get your partner in crime out of here and be well, both of you. Here's my card if you need me for any reason,” the doctor said.

“Thanks for everything, Doctor,” Steven said as he grabbed Rafe’s clothing to go home in.  Jim had stopped by and picked up some jeans, boots, socks, boxers and loose shirts. Jim was a good clothes picker-outer. He knew what would be comfortable on himself.  

Once he got Brian all dressed he put his socks and shoes on and tied them.  It would be a while before Brian could tie his own.  
With tears in his eyes, Steven kissed Brian.  “What’s wrong, Steven,” Brian asked worriedly.

“Nothing's wrong, you’re just so beautiful.  I almost lost you and I didn’t have a chance to tell you how much you mean to me.  I’m going to make up for it from this day forward,” Steven said.  

Brian kissed Steven back and said, “I love you, Steven.  So much.  You’ll never know how much.”

“I think I have an idea if it’s even half as much as I love you,” Steven said, “Jesus, let's get out of here.  We’re starting to sound like fucking hallmark cards.”

Both men started laughing and hugged for a long time.  

The door opened up and in strode, Jim, Blair, Joel, Simon and Henry.  They were all smiling and Simon said, “We hear you get to go home today. That’s wonderful news.”

“I’ll be staying at Steven’s house for awhile.  You can reach me there if you need me,” Rafe said to Simon.  

Everyone went downstairs and helped Rafe into Steven’s comfortable car.  It might be the first time Steven had ever been glad he had a nice luxury car to travel in.  This would make things so much more relaxing for Rafe.  

Once he was settled in they both said goodbye to everyone.  All of Major Crime went back to the station while Rafe and Steven set out for Steven’s house.  This was going to be different.  Steven had never had anyone live with him but it probably helped that he was wild about the man.  

Steven had a great house.  All on one floor which would make it much easier for Rafe. Steven carried everything into the house.  He led him into his own bedroom and Rafe said, “I don’t think that would be a good idea.  I can’t sleep with you without touching you.

“We’ll work it out some way, Brian.  Don’t worry about it now,” Steven said as he started some food simmering for lunch, “Are you hungry, Brian?”

‘Not really but the doctor said that I really need to up my food intake. I lost too much weight and muscle mass while in there,” Rafe answered.  

“Good, because I cooked up a ton of homemade food and froze it while you were in the hospital.  You’re not going to have to eat any junk food.”

“Man, I love junk food, Steven.”

“Well, not while you’re recovering.  We’ll be back to normal food soon enough.  For now, it’s all healthy, good for you, food,” Steven said, laughing at the look on his lover's face.  

The day flew by quickly.  Finally, that night, Steven got Brian settled into the big bed.  “Will you sleep with me, Steven?”

“Of course I’m going to sleep with you.  I just need to close up shop and I’ll be in.”

Steven had no sooner begun to do dishes when there was a knock on the door. Looking out the peephole, he saw Detective Henry Brown standing there.  He opened the door and Henry said, “I don’t plan on staying long.  I just wanted to see how he was doing.  Then I’ll be out of your way, okay?”

“Hey, Henry, this is Rafe’s home now, too.  You can come anytime you want. He’s in the bedroom.  Go and see him,” Steven ordered.  

Following orders came easily for Brown especially when he was still worried about his partner and missing him a great deal. He sat down on the bed and watched Brian sleep for a while.  He didn’t want to disturb him at all.  When Brian’s eyes opened and saw Henry sitting there, he was surprised. He was happy to see him.  

“Hey,” Rafe said, “I’m glad to see you, Partner. What’s up?”

“Nothing, Brian,” Brown said quietly, “I just wanted to come and say goodnight to you before I went home.”

“Man, that’s nice of you, Henry,” Rafe said with a big smile on his face, “You’re the best.”

Henry moved onto the bed more and hugged Rafe as hard as he could without hurting the man. “God, Partner, I almost lost you.  It scared the hell out of me.  I don’t want to break in a new partner.  I don’t want any new friends.  I really love you, man,” Brown said with big tears rolling down his face.

Rafe, being a sucker for his partner all along, hugged him closer and said, “I’ll be more careful, Henry.  We won’t let this happen again,” Rafe said.   

“I want you to know that I blame both of us for this, Brian,” Brown said, “From now on, we’re going to be serious when it comes to work.  The goofing around can come later.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more, H,” Rafe said, “We screwed up big time.  We won’t be doing it again. Deal?”

“Deal,” Brown said smiling back, “Well, you need that beauty sleep now. Rest up and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Thanks for coming, H,” Brian said, “Good night to you, too.  Drive carefully, Partner.”

When Henry walked out to the living room, Steven was standing there with a lost look on his face. “Hey, Steven,” Brown asked, “you okay? Anything I can do?”

“No,” Steven said softly, “I’m scared of what’s going to happen in the future. I’m a worrier.”

“Must be something all Ellison’s do,” Brown said laughing.

This made Steven laugh and he said, “No way do I worry like Jim does.  God, he worries about everyone.”

“Okay, you’re right,” Brown said, “He's the worst mother hen in the world but a better friend you can’t find anywhere.”

“Or better brother,” Steven said.

“Sleep well, Steven,” Brown said as he headed for the front door. Steven took his hand and shook it.  Brown almost wanted to give him a hug but figured he’d wait to find out how Steven and Rafe felt about this type of thing first. They'd all have to talk.  

Steven locked up after Brown left, shut all the lights off, went into the bathroom and then walked into the bedroom. Looking at the man sleeping on the bed made him feel things he hadn’t ever felt.  Jesus, this man was beautiful.  His hair was perfect even while sleeping.  Then there were his gorgeous features, outlined with moonlight right now, making him look like an angel.  That’s what Brian was.  He was an angel.  God, how he loved this man.

As Steven stripped his clothes off he found himself getting hard just thinking about Brian. Man, this is going to be hard.  We’ll work it out.  You almost lost your lover and you’re worried about when you’ll be able to have sex?  Geeze, you are a bigger sleeze than anyone would guess.

Steven slid into bed with Brian and Brian turned over and said, “It’s about time you got in here.  I was getting lonely.” Brian pulled him in closer to him without hurting his shoulder.  Steven settled into Rafe’s body and started falling asleep.  All thoughts of sex leaving him when he felt the security of Brian Rafe’s arms around him.

Once Brian fell asleep, Steven soon followed.  Rafe knew that Steven was finally asleep and allowed himself to cry silent tears for what he had almost lost.  God, this has to be the scariest thing in the world.  I’ve moved in with Steven.  Everyone in the bullpen now knows about us and Steven loves me.  Why do I find that so scary?  What's wrong with me that I don’t think I deserve Steven Ellison?  This time his near silent sobs had woken Steven.  Not that he was making any noise, but his body was shaking like crazy and it had woken and worried Steven.

“Brian, what’s wrong, baby?  Talk to me.  And this time I want the truth,” Steven commanded.  

“I was just thinking how great you are.  Then I wondered why I think I don’t deserve you. Stop looking at me like that, I know I do, but for some reason my subconscious doesn’t agree. You’re so wonderful and I keep waiting for you to find something you hate about me and leave.  Even worse, throw me out of your home.”

“Brian, this is your home, too.  If you want to move back to your place, that’s fine.  But I’ve never shared a home with anyone.  You’re the first and I’m excited about it. I adore you.  You’re gorgeous.  You’re smart and I love you.”

“Steven, could I tell you something?” Brian asked.

“Of course you can, you can tell me anything,” Steven said.  

“I’m afraid that the guys in the bullpen will treat me differently when they all find out I’m gay.  I can’t help it.  I’m shallow.  I worry about what people think,” Brian said.  

“That just makes you human, Brian.  Don’t worry so much.  I think you’ll find out that they’ll treat you the same way.  Look at Jim. Do they treat him badly?  Do they treat him as if he’s not as good an officer because he’s gay?” Steven asked truthfully.  

“I guess not.  It’s going to take awhile, isn’t it?” Rafe asked.  

“Yes, but we’ve got a lot of time to work on it. Now go to sleep.  I love you,” Steven said.  

“I love you back,” Brian said closing his eyes and this time really falling asleep.  

The following month went by quickly as they were both busy with therapy and just making out every chance they could. They were like love-starved teenagers.  Like that would be a bad thing?  

Brian went for his final check up at the doctor’s office and the doctor called Steven into the room.  Steven was frightened for a moment thinking something was wrong.

Sitting down next to Brian on the sofa he waited to hear what the doctor had to say.  “Well, gentlemen, you did a very good job of therapy and doing what was expected of you. So as of tomorrow morning, Mr. Rafe, you’ll be back on full duty.”

“That’s great, Doc,” Rafe said smiling larger than he had in ages, “Now... what about sex?”

Steven kicked him softly in the leg. “Hey, we’re supposed to ask questions, Steven.  I’m asking,” Rafe said laughing.  

“Good question, and as long as you take it easy for the first couple of weeks, it shouldn’t be a problem.  I would suggest nothing too stressful for the body at first.  Start out slow,” the doctor told the two very happy men.  

“We can do slow,” Steven said smiling at Rafe.  

“We’ll see you in another six months for a check up, Brian.  Until then take care.”

“Thanks, Doc.  You’ve been great,” Rafe said as he headed for the door. Steven followed happier than he’d been in ages.  Hot damn, I’m going to give this man a blowjob he’ll never forget.

The drive home was fairly quiet.  Both men wondering what would happen once they got there.  As soon as they walked in the front door, Steven slammed it shut and grabbed Rafe.  He started to take Brian’s clothes off, slowly.  “I say we take this to our bedroom.  What do you think?” Steven asked.  

“I say let's hurry,” Brian answered.  

When they got to the bedroom, Steven stripped Brian of his clothing and pushed him back onto the bed. “You're so gorgeous, Brian.”

“Even with the scar?” Brian asked a little insecure.

“Hell, I think the scar gives you even more character.  God, I love you, Brian.”

“I love you, Steven.”

Steven started to take his clothing off just throwing it across the room.  Once he was naked, he crawled up on the bed and moved closer to Brian.  He started kissing the inside of Brian’s thighs.  Brian was groaning about he wanted him up there but Steven wasn’t listening to him.  He was going to give Bri something to remember.  

Pushing Brian’s legs further apart, he kissed and licked his way up to that beautiful cock.  God, he has such a perfect cock.  Steven pulled away and got some lube for later on.  Brian just lay there, watching him, with a huge grin on his face.

“Feel good, lover?” Steven asked.  

“Oh yeah,” Brian replied trying not to sound desperate.

As Steven continued to lick and suck on Brian’s cock, he put lube on one of his fingers to go in for the kill.  He knew if he touched that pleasure button, Brian would go off easily. Steven wanted this to be easy on his lover.  Months from now he’d make Brian beg, but now, he just wanted to satisfy him and make it easy.  As Steven’s finger slid into Brian, Brian let out a small wail.  God, it had been so long.  He was so tight.  Steven felt like coming from this alone.  He pushed into Brian a little deeper and found what he was looking for.  When he did, he stroked across it and made Brian call out his name.  He kept sucking on his cock until he could feel Brian getting ready to come.  He screamed out, “Steven” as he came into the warm, waiting mouth.  As he lay back, he wondered if he’d died and gone to heaven.  

“Steven, please tell me that was special and you don’t do blowjobs this well all the time,” Brian said pulling Steven up to his end of the bed so he could kiss him.  He kissed him, pulled away and said, “I love the taste of you and me in your mouth.”

“Good.  I’m glad,” Steven said smiling down at his lover, “Of course, I always give them this good.  I’m going to suck you dry, Brian.”

“Steven, fuck me, please,” Brian begged.

“You don’t have to ask twice but we’re going to do this the easy way, which would be?” Steven asked smiling.

“I don’t care how we do it, Steven, just fuck me.”

“The doctor said to be careful.  I’m going to follow his orders,” Steven said trying to keep control of his cock.  Honestly, the fucking thing wanted to just ignore the fact that Brian was recovering from a bullet wound and fuck his brains out.  

“We’ll be careful.  I want to watch you.  On my back, that’ll be easy. I’ll put my legs around your waist.  If it hurts I’ll tell you,” Brian said.  

Steven continued getting Brian ready and said, “Oh god, you're so gorgeous.  I can’t wait to fuck you hard.  I’m going to fuck you so hard you won’t be walking for the next hour.  I’m going to mark you.  You’ll belong to only me.”

“Now!” Rafe begged, “could you start now?”

Steven put a condom on and coated it with lube and without uttering a word of warning, Steven pushed his cock in part way until he met resistance.  He waited patiently as he took deep breaths trying not to come before they started. “More, baby,” Brian begged.  

Steven pushed in further, stopped to wait again and when he felt Brian loosen up around him, he pushed in all the way.  Oh Christ, he’s as wonderful inside as he is outside. You have it so bad. Now think of something awful before you come.

Before he could think of anything, Brian said, “Move, baby, move.”

Steven started moving inside of Brian, slowly, working up to a fevered pace as he went, “I love you so much, Brian.  I love fucking you so much.”

“Steven, I love you, too.  Now harder. I need to come.  Please?” Brian again begged.  

What could Steven do but what his lover wanted.  He started fucking him so hard that Steven thought he would come immediately.  He looked down and saw Brian pulling on his own cock and that took his mind off his own for a while.  Steven changed positions and hit Brian’s prostate every single time he shoved back into the tight passage.  Brian started chanting “Steven…Steven…Steven…”, which was going to be Steven's undoing.

Steven said, “Brian, I’m close... I’m going to come, baby, I need to slow down.”

“No, baby, come in me now.  I want us to come together.  I’m coming, Steven, I’m coming,” Brian said as he started coming, screaming Steven’s name.  

Steven pulled out once more, pounded into the tight channel and yelled out, “Brian,” as he came until he was dry.

“I love you, Steven.  I love you so much,” Brian said softly to the man trying to catch his breath on top of him.  

“Well, it’s perfect then because I’m in love with you, too,” Steven said kissing Brian before he pulled out.  As he started to shrink he felt a loss that he’d never felt with anyone he’d ever been with.

“Hey, you didn’t mark me.  You said you were going to.  Is something wrong?” Brian asked.

“Yeah, I decided that you had enough marking right now.  I’m waiting until you are 100% again. Then I’ll mark you repeatedly.”

Finally pulling out of Brian, Steven went in to the bathroom off their bedroom for warm wash cloths and wipes.  He took his condom off, tied it and threw it in the trash. When he got back on the bed he went about cleaning up Brian.  Once he had him completely clean, he cleaned himself and then got rid of everything that was wet and moved back into the bed.  Pulling the covers up over them, they were down for the night.  Both sleeping a strong, happy, dreamless sleep.  

The next morning, Brian woke to breakfast smells.  He could hear Jim and Blair in the kitchen. Why were they there?

Getting up, he grabbed his clothing for the day and took a quick shower.  God, it felt good to think about going back to work.  Maybe the guys heard he was going back and wanted to wish him well.  That would be so Jim and Blair.

When he got out, got dressed, shaved and ready, he walked into the kitchen.  “Hey, Rafe.  We hear you’re coming to work today,” Jim said.  

“Yeah, I’m glad to get out of here.  Nothing against Steven but it's boring to sit at home and watch soap operas,” Rafe said laughing.  

“We just dropped by to say hi and wish you well.  You’re going to need it.  Henry's so excited he’s having a welcome back thing.  We’re warning you,” Blair said.  

“Hey, as good as Henry's been, I wouldn’t begrudge him anything.  He’s the best partner I could ever hope for.” Looking at the face Steven was making at him, he added, “Well, at work, anyhow,” making Steven laugh.  

Come on, you guys.  Stay for breakfast,” Steven said.  

“What did you make?” Jim... AKA... pig asked.  

“Pancakes, bacon, sausage and eggs. Sound good to ya, Jim?” Steven asked as his brother practically started drooling over the table.  

“You’re a lost cause, man,” Blair said sitting in the chair next to Jim.  

“Can I help it if I love good food?” Jim asked.  

Brian walked into the kitchen, stopped Steven right in the middle of the kitchen and started kissing him good morning.

“Geeze, get a room, you two,” Jim said laughing.  

Everyone laughed as they sat down and ate a wonderful breakfast.  They all talked about what was going to be happening that day and Jim noticed, every now and then, how concerned Steven looked.  

As they were going out the door for work, Jim said, “Thanks for the great breakfast, Steven.  You’re as good a cook as Blair.” He hugged his brother and whispered, “I’ll make sure that Brown keeps an extra eye out for him for a while.  Things will be fine.”

“Thanks, Jim,” Steven said hugging him back.  

“Hey, Rafe, you wanna ride with us?” Blair asked.  

“No, thanks.  I have to talk to Steven before I leave.  I’ll be in shortly,” Brian said as he shut the door after the two men left.

“Does my job bother you, Steven?”

“No, it doesn’t bother me.  I’m just worried about you, that’s all. Jim told me they’d all keep an eye out for you.”

“So you’re going to be okay with me going back to my dangerous job?”

“Well, yeah, of course I am.  It’s what you do.  You do it well.  I could never ask for anything else from you,” Steven answered.  

“Thank you, Steven.  I love you so much,” Brian said as he gave his lover a goodbye kiss before walking out the door.

As Steven closed the door he gave Brian about ten minutes and he dialed Jim’s cell phone.  “Ellison,” Jim answered.  

“Oh brother of mine?” Steven asked.

“Yes?  What do you need, little brother?” Jim asked.  

“I want you to protect him as if he was your own blood.  Do I have your word?” Steven inquired.  

“Steven, I don’t know how to tell you this but I would protect anyone in the station with my life.  I would have done that before.  Don’t worry so much.  Rafe's a good cop. He’ll be home tonight and you guys can fuck each other senseless.  Not that either of you have that much to lose.”

“Very funny, Jim.  See ya later. Bye,” Steven said hanging up the phone.  

As soon as he hung up his cell phone, it rang.  Answering, “Ellison,” he heard a laugh from his lover and Rafe said, “I’ve got to get used to you answering just like your brother does.”

“Is something wrong, Brian?” Steven asked.

“Nope, just wanted to see how long it took for you to call Jim and ask him to look after me.  I called Blair and he said you were talking to him right then.  Thanks, baby.  I love you, too,” Brian said laughing.  

“Not mad?”

“Never mad at you, baby.  I’m going to fuck you tonight and you’ll see what good shape I’m in,” Rafe stated.  

“Hot damn, make the day go fast then.  I need you to fuck me, Brian.  I need you so much,” Steven begged.  

“I’ll see you tonight and you'd better be ready for me,” Rafe said hanging up the cell.  

When Rafe walked into the bullpen he wasn’t shocked at the “Surprise” but he was shocked at how many people were there and how much food was there. Over in the corner stood his partner looking nervously to see if Rafe was pissed or not.  

Walking over to the coffee, Rafe grabbed two and walked over to Henry.  “Partner, is this your deal?” Rafe asked as he handed the extra coffee to H.  

“Yeah.  I wanted you to know how many people missed you.  I really missed you, Partner.  Guess who Simon stuck me with?” Brown asked.  

“Who?” Brian asked already knowing since Conner had called and whined to him almost nightly.  

“Conner, do you believe it?  I mean, I have one of the greatest partners in the world and he gives me Conner,” Brown complained.  

Rafe couldn’t hold it any more.  He started laughing hard.  It was great to be back.  It was great to be in love.  He had a fantastic partner at work and many people whom he could call friends.  He was a very lucky man indeed.  

Putting his arm across Brown’s shoulder, he said, “Come on, Partner.  Show me what’s new and we’ll get to work.”

The smile on Brown’s face was almost as wonderful as other things Rafe could think about if he wasn’t at work.  Smiling to himself, he knew he had to keep his mind off Steven while at work.

“I’m so glad to be back, Partner,” Rafe said to Brown.  

Rafe sat down, called Steven, heard the cute, “Ellison,” and said, “I just need to tell you how much I love you.  I’ve got a busy day.  I just needed to say that.”

“Have a great day, baby,” Steven said as they hung up.  

Life was indeed fan-fucking-tastic.  

End Oh Brother.