Aiden Lewis

[Follows THIS]

It had been a week since Aiden had finally been discharged from hospital, but it was joked that it was a pointless gesture because he was still there just about the whole time with Pat while they waited for Pat's neurologist and physiotherapist to give him the clear for home nursing. In the meantime, Aiden had paid a lot of money to get their home fitted with everything Pat would need considering Pat would be in this condition for an indefinitey length of time. Without a doubt, it was trying on everyone and everything seemed to lately fall into two categories - Things Pat Knew, and Things Pat Didn't Know. For everyone on the outside looking in, this was hard to keep up with, the lines blurring more they anticipated and often they were met with Pat just looking at them blankly when they touched on something he didn't remember. Or there were the times Pat's brain pretty much just outright failed him and he could hardly remember his own name. This was happening less and less, but it was all just a matter of rolling with it at any one moment. Pat's brain was still healing from the surgery, and it was going to take time. Coupled with the evidence now indicating that the MS had been exacerbated by the stress of the accident, no one was able to say either way what lay around the corner or whether Pat would even manage to recover. There was a chance he might not, and this would be how it would be, but Aiden tried not to let himself stop and think on that too long. If he did, he would go crazy.

( All around them, people were trying to get back to normal after the accident... )


Word Count | 2,954

LINK: New drinking game:

Drink everytime Pat calls something "thingy".

[Follows THIS]

Lachlan knocked softly on the edge of the hospital room door and stepped inside with a smirk. "Me again. Bet you never saw that one coming," he joked as he came to stand at the end of Aiden's bed. He had pretty much been a regular fixture since the accident. He was Patrick's medical proxy, and had been ever since the first time is best friend landed in hospital a couple of years back. It meant that although he wasn't Pat's doctor, he still had the decision making power in regards to Pat's health when he was unable to do it himself. It also meant Pat's doctors had to keep him 100% informed Pat's condition at all times, so it had gone without saying that he would be in close contact at all times. This was the first chance he had to come and talk to Aiden since Pat had regained consciousness and it was a chat that needed to be had sooner rather than later. Pat was asleep in the other bed, the lights on that side of the room dimmed, but Lachlan still stepped over to the end of the bed and picked up Pat's progress chart, folded the pages over to the latest entries. "I would have come sooner, aye, but the bairn decided to projectile vomit all over me and his bed, so I had to clean it up..." he murmured, skimming the scrawled medical notes with a frown on concentration on his face.

( Aiden watched Lachlan's face for any prominent reaction as he read and then looked at Pat... )


Word Count | 2,958

[Backdated about a week ago]

For the first time since he had abruptly woken up to not only find himself choking on something stuck in his throat, but to be soon swooped on by countless people swarming over him in a panicked rush, Aiden found himself alone. Initially, he hadn't known what the fuck was going on, just that he was in pain, his throat was agony, and he couldn't breathe. Of course, the first reaction when you can't breathe and feel like something is lodged in your throat is to panic, which he did. It was all a haze now, though. Eventually Lachlan and Tara were there with him, Lachlan slowly and calmly telling him not to try and talk and to take small slow breaths to get used to the tube controlling his breathing. It wasn't easy. Like being told to walk on land in flippers. Tara's hand tucked around his as she stroked his fingers with hers did help, with Lachlan staying leant over him to try and coach the breathing. A small whiteboard was soon offered to him if he needed to communicate anything to them. All he wanted to know was where Patrick was, and that led to Lachlan doing the best he could to explain the situation.

( It was surreal, and Aiden tried desperately to absorb it all, but he felt drugged, drunk and hungover all at the same time... )


Word Count | 4,694

[Follows THIS]

The brief talk with Lachlan more than had Aiden in brooding contemplation. The Scot had a tendency to do that to people. He left you with a bunch of mental tools that set your brain into overdrive before you could stop it. Aiden was standing in the kitchen of his trendy Upper East Side apartment, absentmindedly stirring a cup of coffee probably way more than it needed as he stared out the kitchen windows across the rooftops of the neighbouring apartments. The rest of the apartment was quiet as he waited for Pat to come back from the gym. Cameron was staying there with them for a few days, but had yet to surface after the big New Year party the night before which had also functioned as Aiden's birthday bash. Everything seemed brilliant the night before, and he had an awesome time. It was only this morning that things got tense again. Another failed attempt in the bedroom had them nearly in an argument, probably only prevent by Pat's escaped to the gym before voices and tempers could flare any further.

( Aiden was so lost in his thoughts that he jumped when he heard the apartment door open, but he abandoned the untouched coffee to head through into the main part of the apartment... )


Word Count | 2,826

Aiden came down the stairs of his and Pat's large Princeton home, a grin on his face as he adjusted himself in his jeans and zipped them up. Pat had been out of hospital for over a week now and was feeling a lot better, albeit still a little on the weak and slow side. Still, not slow enough to offer Aiden a bit of 'icing' on the 'cake' when they got a little hot and heavy making out on their bed when Aiden joined Pat for a lie down that afternoon. It might not have been outright sex, but Aiden's husband sure did still know how to use his hands. Aiden hadn't meant for things to get so heated, but once they started it was hard to stop and it was one of those lazy afternoons anyway.

Cameron was out... somewhere. He had been out somewhere a lot lately, but Aiden didn't interrogate him. He knew Pat would do that just fine on his own. Their house was more occupied than usual lately, too, with Harri camping out with them since she broke up with James and started maternity leave. After the break up, she just didn't want to deal with people like she usually did, so Aiden offered her the sanctuary of his home well away from the city for her to try and wrap her head around everything. She had been a great help while Pat was in hospital, too, and especially the way she so hand-on lovingly personally 'took care' of Pat's twin. That was real hospitality.

( Aiden dropped down on the sofa beside Harri with a satisfied sigh, folding his hands across his chest as he melted into the chair. He turned to her with a grin... )


Word Count | 6,606

1.26. When the night has come
And the land is dark
And the moon is the only light we see
No I won't be afraid
No I won't be afraid
Just as long as you stand, stand by me
'Stand By Me' - John Lennon

Co-written with straight2point
[Follows THIS and THIS]

Aiden wasn't sure anymore what he was supposed to feel. Maybe angry would be a good start, but he just couldn't. He couldn't be angry at Pat, despite all that Cameron had revealed. He wanted to be because that would be the easiest reaction to tap into. It was more just because he now knew what Pat had been shielding from him. Everything seemed to suddenly be in a different light that Aiden just wanted to shy away from because he couldn't face any of it without Pat. And there was the weird sudden change in things between Cameron and Izzy. Where the hell had that come from? Had Aiden just really been so distressed over Pat's condition that he hadn't been able to process anything beyond it and missed what was going on in the background, or had a load of shit really just gone down in the blink of an eye? Isabel was pregnant, and while Aiden knew it was irrational, he was envious. What he wouldn't give to be able to accidentally fall pregnant, and it seemed to be happening left, right and center, cutting deep every single time.

It didn't help at all to hear that Pat deep down really wanted a family. It had been easier to take when he thought Pat didn't want it. Easier to be blase and indifferent.

( He hugged himself as a small shiver crept over his skin... )

All muses referenced with permission and are from the princeton2nyc universe


Word Count | 3,128

Family isn't about whose blood you have. It's about who you care about.
- Trey Parker and Matt Stone, South Park

Co-written with drcampbell
[Follows THIS and THIS]

Aiden felt like he was having trouble breathing. He kept swallowing to try and get his throat and lungs to work, but it was an unsuccessful feat. He didn’t know whether he wanted to cry or scream or hit someone or throw up. All of it seemed like it would take too much effort, anyway. It felt like he was frozen in shock. He sat beside Pat’s bed, both hands gripped firmly around Pat’s hand to the point Pat had to calmly tell him his grip was starting to get painful. Calmly. How could Pat be so calm?! Aiden watched his husband’s face and it felt like someone had their own hands clutched around his throat trying to choke him. It seemed like Pat was looking at whoever spoke, but his blue eyes never quite met the other person’s. Nothing about his eyes looked wrong, even if Aiden expected them to be blank. They were dull, like they always were when Pat was sick, but they looked okay. They still looked beautiful, one of the first things Aiden had noticed about his husband when they met... So why wasn’t he okay? Why couldn’t he see?!

( Pat’s doctors had come and gone, with Lachlan speaking intently to them out in the hall before coming back to sit on the side of Pat’s bed... )

sexyinscrubs used with permission. All other muses referenced with permission and are from the princeton2nyc universe.


Word Count | 887

LINK: And it starts all over again...

28.2. Panic

Co-written with sexyinscrubs
[Follows THIS, THIS, THIS and all THIS]

It was half time in game and Pat had been watching Aiden sitting beside him out the corner of his eye. It had probably been a good half an hour since Aiden's eyes seemed to even focus on the screen and now his head slipped off his hand that had only just been managing to hold it upright. Pat reached over and caught Aiden's forehead with his palm before he banged his head on the arm rest. He smiled a little as Aiden blinked groggily, clearly not realising he had been veering closer and closer to falling asleep by the minute. "Go to bed, darling," Pat told him quietly. "It's very late."

( Continued... )

All muses referenced with permission and are from the princeton2nyc universe


Word Count | 1,538