The Bomb

The evening was warm, and the sun was starting to set as Saint and Zee reached the restaurant. They were meeting Mew and Gulf for dinner. Zee had a lot of ideas he wanted to go over regarding some changes he had in mind and hoped they would be on board. Saint just felt the need to get out of the house for awhile and eat something other than his cooking.

The restaurant was pretty quiet. Mew had made reservations and was already at the table, so they didn't have to wait to be seated. As they discussed Zee's ideas, Saint sat back and observed Zee. His face was animated as he explained his ideas. He smiled and laughed as Mew and Gulf teased him over wanting to implement a "western recipe" on the menu. But by the end of the conversation, Zee had them convinced that it could work. Saint smiled and shook his head. Zee always gets his way.

He had gotten his way about not talking about his nightmares. Though they have decreased some since their talk the other night when Saint told him how he felt when he had the accident. But not enough. Last night was really bad. He woke screaming out for Saint. The tears were falling down his cheeks, his body shaking, and he was reaching out trying to find him. After the shock of the scream, Saint sat up gathered Zee in his arms and held him as tight as he could while he sobbed on his shoulder. It took a while, but Zee finally calmed down. After a few minutes, Saint asked, "Are you ok?" Zee lifted his head and kissed Saints cheek and mumbled, "Yea, I'm good." Saint felt it was time to be straight with him. "No, I don't think you are. I think we need help, Zee. You cannot continue like this."

Zee wanted to argue with him, but he knew Saint was right. He sighed; the nightmares were not going away. As hard as he tried, they were slowly tearing him apart. He turned around facing Saint and felt for his face. He gently kissed him, "I know. I'm sorry. We will call Dr. Krazinski tomorrow and make an appointment." Saint brought his hands up to his face and smiled. Zee felt the smile and laughed, "Let's sleep. Come here." Saint snuggled back down with him and after a while they were able to fall back to sleep.

They called the Doctor in the morning and he happen to have had a cancellation for that afternoon. Saint drove him and waited in the waiting room. Zee had wanted him to go in with him, but he reassured Zee that he would be just fine, and Saint would be right outside. He felt somethings were private, even from loved ones and he wanted Zee to be able to talk freely to doctor.

Zee was in with the Doctor for an hour. When he came out his face looked a little strained. "How did it go?" Saint inquired. "Not bad. I feel a little tired now." He said softly. "Why don't we go home, and you can rest up before we go out and meet the guys for dinner? Saint suggested. "Yea, that's a good idea."

Now sitting next to him at the restaurant, Saint thought he seemed just a little more relaxed. Smiling to himself, he reached under the table and grabbed his hand and squeezed. Zee didn't miss a beat. He was telling Mew about a Podcast he listened to the other day explaining a new cooking method for meats using a Dutch oven. When Saint grabbed his hand under the table the only indication from Zee was a squeeze back.

Saint took Zee to his appointments twice a week. Becka took him the other three days as Saint's classes had started up again. He didn't want to pressure Zee in any way so he would simply ask him how his day was when they sat down for dinner. Zee would normally just say it was good. Sometimes he would just mumble something, and Saint knew not to press. But the nightmares were not as frequent as before, so Saint took that as progress.

One evening during dinner, Saint listened to Zee tell him about an issue at his restaurant. Saint asked a few harmless questions and the next thing he knew, Zee stood up and grabbed the back of the chair and yelled "If you don't want to know then don't fucking ask me." He literally turned around and stomped to his room. Saint just stared. What the hell just happened.

The rest of the evening was quiet. Zee stayed in his room and Saint worked on his homework in the living room. It was getting late and Saint yawned. He thought he would sleep in his room tonight. He wanted to give Zee some space. He didn't know what was wrong, but he thought perhaps that was one of those bombs Janis had mentioned just went off. He closed his computer and put away his notes and picked up his backpack and started walking toward his room.

Just when he grabbed the doorknob, he heard Zee call his name. He turned to see that Zee was standing near the sofa. Saint laid his backpack down and walked back to the living room. "Is there something you need, Zee?" he asked. "Are you coming to bed?" his head was lowered, and he was shuffling his feet. "I was just going to my room now." Saint watched as Zee face got a little pink. "Sleep with me." Saint looked at him for a minute, "I think maybe you need some space. Don't worry about me." His head shot up in the direction of Saint's voice, "NO" he shouted. Then he sighed, "Please come to bed. I can't sleep without you. I'm sorry." He lowered his head back down. Saint hesitated for a moment. He walked back and picked up his backpack and went in his room to place it on his desk and went back to Zee. Just when he was about to say let's go, he saw the tears on Zee's cheeks. He went straight to him "What's wrong, Babe?" Zee grabbed Saint by the shoulders and pulled him against him and just hugged him. Saint understood. He grabbed Zee's hand and pulled him to the bedroom. Saint helped him into bed and turned off the lights and got into bed next to him. Saint didn't say a word. Just when sleep was about to take him, he heard Zee whisper "I Love You." Saint smiled and rolled over and pulled him close.

About a week later, Saint was sitting in class, taking notes, trying to keep up with the professor in his International Finance class. The class was very interesting, but you really had to pay attention. Saint suddenly got a text from Zee's Mom. Saint, Zee went into convulsions at his doctor's appointment, it read. He has been taken to the hospital. We are on our way. Please hurry, Dear.

Saint grabbed everything and shoved it into his backpack apologizing to the professor at the same time explaining he had a family emergency and rushed out the door. He ran to the bus stop and paced, the bus arrived a few minutes later. On his way to the hospital, he called Mew. As soon as he told Mew what had happened, Saint heard a slew of commands from Mew to his staff. "I am leaving now, Saint. I will stop and pick up Gulf. We will be right there, Buddy." and hung up.

It seemed like an eternity, but the bus finally arrived near the hospital. Saint sprinted to the Emergency area and saw Zee's parents and Dr. krazinski. He rushed up to them "Any news?" he asked gasping for air. Both parents shook their heads. Saint asked "What happened, Doctor? The doctor looked at Saint. "I can't divulge a lot of information, Saint, but I can tell you we had a breakthrough. I think that is what caused him to go into convulsions. I don't think it would have been near as bad if he hadn't fallen. He hit his head on the edge of my desk." He sighed. Mrs. Panich started to cry. Her husband pulled her close. Dr. Krazinski asked Saint to call him as soon as he heard anything and left.

Mew and Gulf arrived about fifteen minutes later. Saint explained what had happened. Mew started pacing and mumbling under his breath. Gulf patted him on the back reassuring him that Zee is strong and will come through this without a problem. Saint sat quietly next to Zee's parents. He picked up his cell phone and sent a text. Janis, the bomb has exploded. The tears started to fall.