Adam wakes up and looks around at Tim. He was laying on his side with his back to the blond. He appeared to still be asleep.

Adam rolls over and carefully slides his arm around the brunette's waist and kisses him lightly on the shoulder.

"Good morning." Tim says quietly. His voice hoarse from screaming.

"Good morning, Sweetie." Adam smiles as he kisses Tim's bare shoulder again. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore. But I'll live." Tim answers with a smile. "Thank you for last night. I needed that." Tim adds, in a more serious tone.

"Any time." Adam whispers as he kisses Tim's ear.

"No, I'm serious." Tim says as he rolls over on his back. "You helped me face my fears. I was letting them control my life. It was causing a wedge in our relationship. I know that it was."

"Honey, you just have to take one step at a time. What you went through had to be horrific." Adam says as he gently rubs Tim's cheek.

"But it was so many years ago. If I had just opened up and talked about it like the therapist said I needed to do, I might have already put it behind me." Tim says. "But I just couldn't. I felt so ashamed."

"There's no reason for you to be ashamed. You were able to tell me and Austin about it." Adam says.

"And you don't know how much of a weight that was lifted off my shoulders." Tim says with a slight smile. "Just telling you two."

"And then last night." Adam smiles. "Just take one step at a time."

"Last night was a HUGE step." Tim chuckles. "It was the most important step of all."

"So what's your next move?" Adam asks.

"Telling the others. I know Austin well enough to know that he hasn't told a soul, not even Chance. As a matter of fact..." Tim says as he starts to slowly raise up, groaning slightly from the pain. "I'm telling the others today. I don't think they'll judge me."

"Of course they're not going to judge you, Baby. You guys are like family. They love you and they'll support you." Adam says as he sits up next to his lover.

Tim gets up and slowly makes his way toward the bathroom.

"How is my walking? Think they'll notice?" He chuckles slightly.

"Ummmmmm." Adam says as he watches his lover walk across the floor. It was clear to see that he was in pain.

"That's not a very good answer. Is it really that bad?" Tim laughs.

"The hot water of the shower will usually sooth it a little." Adam answers with a smile.

"Geez, you're so helpful." Tim sasses as he goes into the bathroom.

"I wub you." Adam says in a childlike voice.

"Yeah, whatever." Tim growls as he gets into the shower.

Adam laughs as he gets up and quickly makes the bed. He gets Tim some clothes from his closet and lays them on the bed.

"Feeling better?" Adam asks as Tim exits the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.

"A little." Tim says as he begins to feel his way to his closet.

"Baby, I got you some clothes laid out over here on the bed." Adam says.

Tim nods and heads to his dresser for some underwear.

"Boxers too." Adam adds as he heads to the bathroom for a shower.

"You're pretty handy to have around." Tim smirks as he eases down on the bed.

"So does that mean you're going to keep me around?" Adam asks from the bathroom.

"Maybe." Tim answers with a smile as he gets dressed.

~

"Maybe we should take the elevator down. The stairs won't help your backside." Adam says as they walk down the hall.

"Good idea." Tim nods.

"I thought the smell of bacon would bring Timmy running." Rob chuckles as the couple walks into the dining room.

"Running? Seriously? I think not." Tim mumbles as he sits down.

"We've been up for awhile. Just been too lazy to get out of bed." Adam says.

"It's awfully quiet. Is everyone here?" Tim asks as he notices it to be unusually quiet around the table.

"Yeah, everyone's here. They just have hangovers." Chris laughs as he sips his coffee.

"GOOD MORNING, CHANCE!" Tim says loudly. He knew Austin would not be able to hear him. He suddenly receives a hard hit on the shoulder. "D*mn!" He laughs while rubbing his shoulder.

They all began to eat their breakfast. Making small talk about the night before. They soon fell into a comfortable silence.

"Uh..." Tim says, breaking the silence. "You think I could talk to you guys about something after breakfast?"

"Sure, you know you can talk to us about anything." Rob says.

"Is something wrong, Tim?" Chris asks with concern.

Adam takes his lover's hand and gently squeezes it.

"I ... I just need to get something off my chest." Tim says with a nervous smile.

As they finished eating, Chris, Nate and Adam quickly clear the table.

"Would you like to talk here or in the den?" Chris asks.

"Here is fine." Tim nods.

"So what's going on?" Rob asks, concerned with his friend's sudden nervousness.

"Uh, there was something that happened before I came to live here. It was while I was living on the streets. Only Betty knew about it, well, along with my therapist. He told me it would be best to open up and talk about it. But I didn't listen because I was ashamed. So I kept it to myself. That is until Adam came into my life. I couldn't even tell him at first." Tim says as he squeezes Adam's hand.

"Tim, I'm afraid to ask, but what happened to you on the streets?" Chris asks with a sympathetic look even though Tim was unable to see it.

"I, uh...." Tim bows his head and swallows hard. "I was beaten and gang-raped by three men."

"Oh, my God. Tim, I'm so sorry." Chris says as he lays his hand over on the blind man's hand.

"I had to tell Adam because I just couldn't bring myself to even let him, you know, make love to me." Tim says with a shrug. "But after I did tell him, I felt better. And then I told Austin but I made him promise not to tell any of you. And just by telling him, I felt better. And then last night...." He turns his head toward Adam and smiles. "I took the biggest step of all."

Adam smiles as he leans in toward Tim.

"Give me a kiss." He whispers. They give each other a tender kiss.

"You did it?" Austin with a smile. "You let him screw you? That's awesome."

"No, I didn't SCREW him, Austin. I made love to him." Adam says with raised brows.

"Anyway." Tim says, his cheeks reddening. "The last step was to tell you guys."

"You really didn't have to tell us, Tim. But I'm glad you did. We're all family here." Rob smiles. "We're here to support one another."

"And you definitely won't be judged for what happened because it wasn't your fault." Chris adds.

Chance reaches over and takes Tim's hand and lays it on top of his.

"We're brothers. When one has a problem, it's all of our problem." Chance signs. "We love you."

Tim smiles and nods.

"I love you guys too." Tim says softly as he tries to blink back the tears.

********

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