3.4 Where Are We?

Heath stumbled as he entered the time bubble. Falling he lost his grip on Don sending both of them sprawling on the ground. Heath tried to stand but a heavy weight pressed against him pinning him to the ground. Struggling he managed to lift his head as someone approached them "whe...where are we?" he croaked. The pressure increased forcing him to drop his head and he lost consciousness.

Blinking Heath woke up in an unfamiliar room in an unfamiliar bed. Laying there adjusting to his surroundings two things became apparent 1) the heavy pressure they first encountered was gone and 2) he wasn't wearing anything beneath the sheets. Where were his clothes? Who had undressed him? and why?

Laying there unmoving he became aware that he wasn't alone. Turning his head he found a pair of light blue eyes staring at him from the other side of the bed. Reaching out he touched his brow confirming that Don still was feverish. "Where are we?" Don asked his voice barely a whisper.

"I don't know," Heath admitted. As he spoke he watched the tears form and slide down Don's cheeks. Pulling him close he found Don too was naked beneath the blankets. Ignoring the strange if not unpleasant sensations of holding his dearest friend next to his flesh. He let Don cry upon his shoulder. There had just been one too many strange things befalling them. Heath felt tears build behind his eyes and fall to mix with Don's. He had no idea where they were. How they got there or whether they would ever go home.

Waking several hours later arms still wrapped around each other. Heath didn't want to move and disturb Don whose head was lying on his shoulder. His gentle breathing tickling his flesh. He really needed to move his arm that was pinned beneath Don as it had gone completely numb. He dreaded the pins and needles it would have once the blood started to circulate again. He looked down as Don began to stir "how do you feel?" he asked.

"I'm fine," came Don's automatic response. Looking up he found Heath looking down at him concern written all over his face. Smiling a little he mumbled "I must be dreaming." He struggled to sit up, as the blankets fell down baring their chests Don frowned "where are my clothes?" Clutching the blanket to his chest, cheeks flaming red as he realized he wasn't wearing anything. He had just been snuggled up close to Heath, his best friend, the man of his dreams. Scooting away gripping the blankets tight, his mind in a panic. What if Heath realized he was gay? What would he do? He jumped when he felt Heath's hand on his bare shoulder.

"Relax Don, it'll be ok," Heath told him feigning a confidence he didn't feel. "There's no need to be embarrassed." Swinging his legs over the side of the bed he stood up. "I'm going to check out our new prison. Want to come with me?" Heath stood there studiously not looking at Don. He preferred not to know whether his best friend was ogling him or not. That thought was more disturbing then his lack of clothing and being imprisoned here. There wasn't much to explore in the room they were in although there seemed to be a room behind the wall the bed was up against. 

Rounding the corner Heath found a door. Opening it a light automatically came on revealing a bathroom. Not a hole to meet their basic needs. A real bathroom with running water, not like the last cell they were in where it looked like they had bathroom facilities but nothing worked. After using the facilities and washing his hands and face he went out to find Don still lying in bed with the covers pulled over his head. "Don?" he asked lightly touching his shoulder "are you alright? Do  you need help?"

"No," came the muffled reply "leave me alone."

"Don we're stuck in this together. Let me help you if I can," Heath insisted tugging on the blankets. "Surely you need to go to the bathroom by now." Giving the blankets a firm tug they came free from Don's weak grip. Gasping in shock Heath exclaimed "no wonder your sick. Your nothing but skin and bones."

Covering his face in his hands Don couldn't face being looked at in pity. Truth was Don hadn't been eating well since Quinten had revealed his feelings for him. He had felt like he had the word gay written across his forehead for everyone to see. He had never been able to eat under stress and with his stomach twisting into knots since Quinten's revelations he had lost a lot of weight. The week? Two weeks? he was locked up in Windy's basement eating the slop they had given him hadn't improved his appetite any. Hauling Don to his feet Heath half carried him to the bathroom. Helped him to the toilet and waited.

"I can't go with you hovering over me," Don said staring death rays at his feet too embarrassed to look any where else.

"Oh ... oh" Heath said moving towards the door "I'm sorry...I'll wait right out the door."

Watching as Heath moved quickly for the door Don bent over resting his head in his hands. He felt like a lovesick fool. He was an idiot to have let himself entertain thoughts that Heath would ever like him for anything more than just friends. Why had he let the hurtful words that Quentin had hurtled at him affect him so much. He hauled himself to his feet and over to the sink. Gazing into the mirror he barely recognized his own reflection. No wonder Heath was treating him like he was made of glass. He looked fragile enough to break. Running water he splashed it over his face. He could still hear Quentin's voice as he said that he was only refusing him because he had feelings for Heath.  I've seen how you look at him when you think no one sees. Why won't you give me a chance? You know Heath isn't interested. He has a girlfriend or haven't you noticed? He had thought Quentin was his friend he had never felt attracted to him. If he was honest with himself the only person he had ever felt attracted to was Heath. How could he face him like this? An over emotional puddle of mush?

A wave of vertigo had him falling to his knees retching. "Don are you alright?" Heath asked rushing to his side. Don tried to wave him away but was too weak from the gut wrenching heaves that produced nothing but stomach bile. He felt like he was trying to heave up his insides. 

Unsure what else to do Heath knelt beside Don rubbing his back. When Don was done heaving Heath picked him up and put him in the shower stall to wash off the bile and two weeks worth of stench. After washing him Heath turned on the cold water hoping to cool his friends body temperature down. He wished they had a bathtub so he could let Don soak instead of pelting him with cold water. Heath was chilled and shivering long before Don showed any signs of discomfort from the cold.

When he shut the water off Heath could see that Don looked better. At least his eyes seemed to be brighter and not so dull from the fever. "How do you feel?" he asked between chattering teeth.

"Better," Don admitted "thank you."

"What are friends for?" Heath asked noticing the instant withdrawal and hurt look that replaced the relief in Don's eyes. What did he say? Taking a towel from the rack he dried  them both off before carrying Don back to the bed. As he was busy covering Don up Heath felt as well as heard his stomach growl. "I wonder if they plan to feed us?" he wondered aloud.

Going over to the door after wrapping a towel around himself Heath paused before opening the door. He could feel Don watching him with worried eyes. At least that was better than the hurt puppy dog look he was getting. "Heath don't go" Don pleaded with him from the bed.

Half turning Heath tried to smile to muster the confidence they both needed "I've got to," he said over his shoulder as he opened the door. Cautiously he looked outside. Glancing in all directions before venturing out. Closing the door behind him. His breath caught in his throat as he stared in wonder around him. He had no idea where they were. There was nothing recognizable about this place. They were inside a humanoid type town. At least the buildings looked like humanoids could live in them. The trees and plants were unearthly. What planet were they on? "We're not in Kansas anymore," he muttered to himself. He wanted to run back inside where he felt somewhat safe. Resisting the urge t hide he knew had to find some food, if not for his sake then for Don's.

Going down the stairs he found another door. Cautiously he opened it moving inside. He entered into a room recognizable as a kitchen. The other room was what could be called the living room. For a prison it was a very nice one. Going back into the kitchen Heath looked in the fridge to see if it was stocked with food they could eat. Smiling as his stomach rumbled again he pulled out the ingredients he needed to make a simple chicken broth. As he prepared the meal Heath couldn't help but wonder the logic behind the master mind who would strip them of their clothing but leave them a fully stocked kitchen. Heath didn't like the prospect of parading around in front of the windows in his birthday suit.

After gobbling his food he made up a bowl to bring up to Don. He hoped this simple broth wouldn't cause Don's stomach much upset when he ate it. Carrying it upstairs he found Don on the floor near the door. Hastily he set the bowl down and went to carry Don to the bed. "You took so long," Don mumbled "I thought ....I'm sorry."

Putting a hand to Don's forehead he could tell his fever had risen again. "After you eat your getting another cold shower," Heath told him.

 

"I'm not hungry," Don mumbled as he listlessly watched Heath retrieve the bowl from the floor. 

"You only think you're not hungry," Heath corrected him "but I happen to make the best chicken broth ever." He brought a spoonful up to Don's mouth "come on take a bite...if you don't you'll hurt my feelings." The hurt puppy dog look crept back into Don's eyes. Heath regretted the look but it had the desired effect of getting Don to open his mouth which allowed Heath to spoon feed him.

Taking it slow Heath managed to get Don to eat half the soup he brought  before Don refused to eat anymore. Carrying him to the shower he held Don on the floor of the shower stall. Heath tried not to shiver but knew he hadn't been successful when Don commented "you're going to make yourself ill if you continue doing this."

"Then you'll have to nurse me back to health," Heath quipped through chattering teeth. 

Relaxing Don leaned back smiling "I do feel better thank you."

"Good we'll do this again in the morning until your fever breaks. It's probably not what a doctor would recommend but I don't know what else to do." Getting out of the shower Heath dried himself and Don using the towels from earlier. Hanging them out to dry he carried Don back to bed. Still shivering Heath crawled in beside him. He felt Don wrap his arms around him sharing his body heat with him. Feeling warm and comfortable they both fell asleep.

Two figures entered into the room and stared down at them. "Our plan is working perfectly," Rendar nodded smiling towards his mate. "Too bad it's the wrong coupling. We will have to work twice as hard to overcome the haflings natural desires and instincts."

"Yes he naturally finds females more desirable. However his emotional attachment to this weakling is strong. I'm sure this will work in our favor as long as they continue isolated from everyone and everything the know. The halfling will give in to the other's desire."

"Ambrogio had no idea we have control of the time bubbles or he would never have put them inside one." Rendar smiled "it proves that he hasn't been in contact with the creator for quite a while or Ambrogio would have known better."

"Soon we will have what we require" Ton'ga said staring down at the two sleeping boys "their offspring will make an excellent creator."

"It could only be better if we had the girl," Rendar stated "without the right gene it will prove more difficult to manipulate into doing what we want it to do."

"As long as they remain here it increases the odds that they will produce at least one offspring with the desired gene." Ton'ga stated "It's possible that both could become pregnant increasing the odds." Looking down at Don she commented "this one is ill. Should we heal it?"

"No," Rendar shook his head "it's helping manipulate the halflings attachment to it. We will let the disease follow it's course unless it weakens to the point of death."

Stirring in his sleep Heath opened his eyes. Looking around he tried to find the source of the noise that had disturbed his sleep. He was positive he had heard people talking. Voices discussing what to do with them. Don stirred next to him distracting him from his thoughts. Turning to him Heath could tell Don's fever was spiking again. Getting up Heath went to the bathroom and got a cold cloth to put on Don's forehead. He hoped it made Don more comfortable. Heath laid back down next to Don trying to recapture the half heard conversation that may or may not have been real.

In the morning Heath repeated the process again with Don. He wished there was something else he could do to make him feel better. Going downstairs to prepare breakfast he tripped over a package left on the deck. Looking around before stooping to pick it up he brought it into the bedroom. "What's that?" Don asked from where he sat propped up in bed.

"I don't know "Heath hesitated wondering if he should mention the voices he was almost certain he had heard last night. Did they leave the box for them? "Do you think we should open it?" he asked.

"Might as well," Don shrugged "we can't be any worse off then we already are."

"You're probably right," Heath picked up the box and shook it "doesn't sound like there's anything in it."

"Just open it Heath," Don demanded cranky from being sick and irritable from feeling helpless and out of control.

Smiling at him Heath did as requested. His smile grew bigger as he found their clothes folded inside the box along with a few extras. Digging into the box Heath put on a pair of shorts "much better," he said. Catching Don staring at him in a mixture of disappointment and worry he asked "what?"

"Nothing," he mumbled.

With a mischievous grin "disappointed I'm covering up my assets?" He smiled as he put the box of clothes down. "Don't worry babe I'll be on display when you need another cold shower." His eyes bulged as he realized what he just said. Flushing bright red he fled from the room and down the stairs.

Don watched him flee unable to go after him. He laid back in the bed with a goofy grin on his face. Could this be real? Did he really say what he thought he did? OMG Heath just called him babe. He couldn't believe it and all it took was being locked up together for days.

Downstairs Heath paced the deck. Back and forth, back and forth. What did he just do? He just called his best friend babe! What did that mean? Did he really have feelings for Don or was it just because of the situation they were in? Running his hands through his hair he almost felt sick. He knew that Don always had occupied a special spot in his heart but he always thought that was because they were best friends. He had been jealous when he found out that Quentin had feelings for Don but he had dismissed it. He had liked girls. Had girlfriends all through high school. But so had Uncle Elliot and he was now with Kyle. So did this make him bi? He didn't know anymore. He was so confused. Was it this place? Being alone with only Don was that making him feel things he wouldn't normally be feeling?

Snapping back to reality when he noticed the sky darkening as evening approached. Heath realized he had been pacing and staring into space for hours. He needed to fix something to each. Check on Don. He didn't have the luxury of falling apart because of a slip of the tongue. Going inside he reheated the left over chicken broth from the night before. As he moved around the kitchen he found a small bottle of liquid with a note that hadn't been there before. 'Your friend is suffering from a rare disease. If not treated properly it will lead to his death. Put two drops of the tincture in his broth three times a day.' Heath wondered if he should trust this mysterious benefactor. What if he did and Don died? A voice in his head asked what if he didn't and he died anyway? Deciding he had nothing to lose he would try it. Don was getting worse and the cold showers were only delaying the inevitable.