The lovers were awakened by a loud knocking on their bedroom door. Both sprang up into a sitting position. Both wondering if they were just dreaming.

"ADAM? TIM?" Chris calls out.

"Uh, just a minute, Chris." Adam answers as he scrambles from the bed and grabs his boxers.

Tim falls back into the bed trying to calm his racing heart. Adam slips his boxers on and unlocks the bedroom door. He wasn't for sure if his lover was covered up so he only partially opens the door.

"Yeah? What's up?" Adam asks, peeking out of the small opening of the door.

"We're taking Rob to the emergency room." Chris informs him.

"WHAT!!??" Tim shouts as he once again springs up from the bed. "What's wrong!?"

"He's having some chest pains. Me, Nate and Kelsey are taking him to the hospital. You guys, Austin and Chance can come once you get dressed." Chris says.

"Okay, we'll be there." Adam says with a nod. Chris turns and runs back down the hall.

Adam turns to see Tim searching frantically for his boxers.

"Adam, where the hell is my boxers?" Tim asks in a panic.

Adam hurries over to the dresser and grabs him a fresh pair.

"Timmy, listen to me, Sweetheart." Adam says as he hands the blind man his underwear. "You need to calm down, okay?"

"Calm down? Adam, this Rob." Tim says as he slips on his boxers. "He's like my brother."

"I know that, but honey, he doesn't need you, Austin and Chance panicking right now. He doesn't need one of you going into a panic attack. He needs to know that you are okay." Adam says as he grabs them some clothes. "Worrying about you guys is the last thing he needs right now."

"You guys about ready?" Austin asks as he runs in, buttoning up his shirt. Chance hops in behind him, trying to slip on his boot.

"We're working on it." Tim says as he fastens his jeans.

"I can't believe this sh*t is happening. Not to Rob." Austin says as he runs a shaky hand through his hair.

"Austin, I'll tell you and Chance the same thing I was just telling Tim." Adam says as he takes the deaf man by the hands. "You guys need to calm down for Rob's sake. Whatever is going on, he doesn't need you guys to worry about. And knowing Rob, that's exactly what he'll do it he sees Y'all nearing a panic attack. Just because he's having some pain doesn't mean it's a heart attack."

"Okay. I guess I'm ready." Tim says as he slides his pants leg over the tops of his boots before standing up and running a quick hand through his uncombed hair.

Adam drives as quickly as possible along the deserted streets.

"What time is it anyway?" Tim asks from the passenger seat.

"Uh..." Adam says glancing down at the clock. "It's four o'clock in the morning."

The blonde wasn't sure about Austin and Chance but he knew that he and Tim were running on only about two hours worth of sleep. It was definitely going to be a long day.

Being that early, it was pretty easy to find a parking place close to the entrance of the ER. Adam jumps out of the car and runs around to help Tim. They had been in such a hurry that Tim had forgotten his cane and never thought of bringing Satchmo. Adam would have to be his eyes.

As they enter the emergency room, they see Chris and Nate sitting in the waiting. Both were staring blankly up at the muted tv.

"Hey." Adam says quietly as he sits down next to his brother. "How is he?"

"We don't know anything yet. Kelsey is back there with him right now." Chris answers. "How are you guys doing?" He adds as he looks around at the three panicked faces.

"On the verge of freaking out." Tim answers as he nervously bounces his leg.

"He's going to be alright, Tim. He wasn't unconscious or anything like that. He was fully aware of what was going on. Even cracked a few jokes on the way here." Nate says.

"That's just the way Rob is. He does that to calm his nerves along with everyone else." Chance signs.

"Hey, guys." Kelsey says softly as she joins them in the waiting room.

"How's he doing?" Adam asks.

"He's resting." Kelsey answers with a nod.

"Can we go back to visit him?" Tim asks, looking towards the direction of her voice.

"Honey, they're fixing to take him down to run some test." Kelsey says as she sits down next to the blind man. "They said it would probably take a while."

She could see how tired Tim and Adam looked, Chance and Austin weren't much better. She would imagine they had been 'interrupted' or had just gone to sleep. She glances done to see Tim nervously wringing his hands. That's when she noticed it.

"Well, what is this?" She smiles as she takes the brunette's hand. "This is new."

"What is?" Tim asks, completely forgetting about the ring on his finger, due to Rob's emergency.

"This ring. Is that a promise ring?" Kelsey asks with a smile as she examines it.

"Oh, yeah," Tim says with a shy smile. "Adam gave it to me for Christmas."

"I knew it was just a matter of time." Chris smiles as he pats his younger brother on the back.

"Well, I wanted him to know that I'm very serious about our relationship." Adam says with a smile. "And this is just the first step."

"That's awesome. Congratulations, you guys." Austin smiles. "Maybe someday, Chance and I will get brave enough to take that step."

Chance chuckles as he takes Austin's hand and kisses it.

The group falls into silence as they wait for news about their friend. Some turn their attention back to the tv while others take advantage of the waiting to try and grab a short nap.

The wait was longer than Kelsey anticipated and she was beginning to get uneasy. Did Rob actually have a heart attack? Did they find damage that would call for surgery? Why weren't they letting them know something?

"Are you the group waiting on news on Mr. Lundquist?" A nurse asks.

"Yes, we are." Kelsey answers as she shakes Tim and Adam to wake them up.

"If you'll follow me the doctor will speak to you." The nurse smiles sweetly.

They follow the nurse down a couple of hallways until they reach the doctor's office. She lets them inside and tells them to take a seat and the doctor will be with them momentarily.

"D*mn, I'm nervous." Tim says quietly as he tries to get comfortable. Adam takes him by the hand and gently squeezes it.

"Let's just hear what he has to say before you guys start to panic, alright?" Chris says as he reaches over and pats a frightened looking Chance on the leg.

The door opens and the doctor walks in carrying a folder in his hands.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Grimes." The doctor says as he shakes everyone's hand. "I'm sorry that you had to wait so long. We just wanted to make sure of our findings."

"Which was?" Chris asks.

"I'm happy to say that Mr.Lundquist did not have a heart attack." Dr. Grimes says with a smile as he sees the relieved expressions. "Our findings show that he has GERD."

"GERD? Sorry, I don't know about the others but I don't have a clue what that is." Tim says, shaking his head.

"GERD or Gastroesophageal reflux disease is a condition where stomach acid persistently and regularly flows up into the esophagus. The acid in the esophagus causes other symptoms, as well as possible tissue damage. Heartburn is a common symptom of GERD, often called acid reflux. Acid from the stomach bubbles up into the esophagus, causing a painful burning just behind the breastbone. Not surprisingly, it's often mistaken for a heart attack." Dr. Grimes explains. "It's sometimes hard to tell the difference."

Austin tried his best to understand what the doctor was saying but the physician would look down at the folder in front of him making it difficult for the deaf man.

"Excuse me." Austin says as he slowly raises his hand.

"Yes?" Dr. Grimes asks as he looks up at the young man.

"So are you saying that Rob has gas?" Austin asks with a furrowed brow.

********

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