Chapter Text
1 Second:
Cash dropped to his knees without feeling the gravel cutting through the denim covering them. His tears fell with his gun.
1 Minute:
Jon held Dallon gently, cradling a broken wrist, as they watched the sheriff screaming for help. The young deputy unconscious on the ground in a spreading pool of blood. He couldn’t help glancing at where Tomtom lay, despite bile rising in his throat each time, Jon had to be sure he was really dead.
1 Hour:
A nurse entered the room and Gerard swiped his arm across his face, failing to hold onto any facade of stoicism expected from the captain.
“I need to prep him for surgery sir,” the nurse, James according to his name tag, said quietly, “there’s a waiting room down the hall to the left. Coffee and comfortable seats. I’m sorry but you will have to leave, for now.”
Gerard nodded. Frank had been by turns delirious and unconscious since the paramedics strapped him to the gurney back at the Keep, the only constant was that he wanted Gerard at his side. The next part Frank was going to have to do alone.
“I’ll be here when you get back Frankie,” Gerard leaned over and pressed a kiss to Frank’s forehead, “don’t die. Please don’t die before I get to tell you … Please.”
1 Day:
Alex stirred and Mark lifted his head, alert and ready to call for a nurse. It wasn’t necessary, this time. Mark had only left the room once in the last 24 hours and had absolutely no intention of leaving again until he was sure Alex was okay.
“Mark?” Alex croaked.
“Hey there,” Mark wasn’t sure how well he hid his relief to see Alex’s dark eyes finally peering back.
“Water?”
“Shit, yeah,” Mark moved quickly to grab a cup, “here.” He held the straw to Alex’s lips.
“What are you doing here?” Alex sounded better with each sip, “What happened?”
“You got hit, in the shoulder,” Mark explained, “the surgeons patched you up and with some therapy you’ll be good as new.”
“Tomtom?”
“Dead,” Mark can’t be sad about that yet, not now that Alex is awake. “One of the bikers shot him in the head. None of us saw who and they aren’t talking. We’ll probably never know but I don’t expect anyone to be losing sleep over it.”
Alex nodded then winced with pain, the wound high enough to pull with the movement. “And you?”
Mark realized he couldn’t avoid the truth any longer, he had to know if there was any chance that Alex could return his feelings. After glancing at the door to assure they weren’t about to be interrupted, Mark slid his hand closer to Alex’s so the ends of their fingers touched. “I’ve been here since it happened.”
Alex turned his hand over and laid it in Mark’s.
1 Week:
Breezy set two coffee mugs down on the counter then peeked around the corner of the kitchen to where Ian was asleep on the couch. Satisfied she turned to Dallon and he knew he was in for it.
“So?” She began, “What are you going to do about this?”
“Look …” Dallon tried but Breezy wasn’t having it.
“No. There’s no look about it.” Hands on hips Breezy faced him down, “He’s not going back to that cat-house. You haven’t had a squire for ages. It’s the perfect solution.”
“I’d have to live at the Keep,” Dallon started on his side of the argument.
“You live there now,” Breezy countered.
“He’d have to learn how to ride,” he persisted, “that’s dangerous too.”
Breezy rolled her eyes, “What’s with all the excuses? Do you not want to ask him?”
Dallon shrugged, “What if he says no? What if he wants to go back to the Cobra?”
“You’re afraid.” She doesn’t know what he’s afraid of or why he won’t tell but Breezy is damned sure she will not go through anything like this last week again.
“Alright then, you two have to choose. He can stay here with me or he can squire with you at the club, but if he goes back there, to that place, then it’s the end Dallon. I can’t do it and I won’t. I won’t watch him heal from that kind of violence again,” tears stood out in her eyes, “I love you both too much.”
“Oh baby,” Dallon should have known the depth of her feelings. He reached out and wrapped her up in a hug, kissing the top of her head.
Neither knew that Ian had entered the room until gentle hands rested on their shoulders and Ian spoke, “I’ll do it. If it means we can be together, I’ll squire.”
1 Month:
Gerard looked up from the bottom of his coffee cup when Cash yawned, the white socks Cash insisted on sleeping in don’t make any noise when he walks. It’s somewhere around 1AM and as usual sleep has been hard to find. “Hey, sorry. Did I wake you?”
Cash shrugged as he ran his hand back through his hair, “Kinda. Are you coming to bed?”
Skin is visible between the soft, white t-shirt that Cash is wearing, it rode up and away from the red boxers when he stretched.
“Yeah,” Gerard replied, “gimme five.” Gerard watched as Cash tuned to go. He’s been infinitely patient with Gerard, although no one would expect him to be forgetting about Matt so soon.
He tries not to think too much about that day, people were hurt and people died and nothing Gerard can do can change that. Except he does think, all the time and too deeply.
Frank.
It wasn’t a lie, unless you count it as not quite a lie by omission. Of course Gerard would lie, he lies often, but not to the people he loves. Not to family. Not to his knights. Not to the one man he would die for, the man who put himself between Gerard and a bullet.
He begged a promise from Frank that day and made one in return. Frank didn’t die but Gerard is yet to hold up his end of the bargain. They haven’t spoken of it and Gerard doesn’t know if that means Frank doesn’t remember of if he is waiting.
Gerard has wondered if this is what has kept him from sexual contact with Cash. The boy is lovely, despite being so different to Gerard’s other squires. Where Frank and Mike and Matt were all small, dark haired and dark eyed, Cash is fair and blond with striking green eyes.
He will continue to grieve and one day, very soon, he will tell Frank how he feels but for now there is one promise that Gerard can keep and he can start tonight.
“Cash,”
“Yeah?”
“Come here.”
They met at the bedroom door, Gerard began with his hands on Cash’s shoulders and a deep gaze, “I’m sorry you’ve had to wait, thank you for being so patient.” Gerard moved his hands down Cash’s arms as he leaned in to kiss him for the first time since he accepted Cash as Tom’s squire. A press of lips before deepening to something more possessive and full of desire.
1 Year:
“Pete is leaving. He doesn’t want to squire and he doesn’t want to step up.” Ray has, unhappily, become the spokesman for this situation. What the rest of the Table probably know is that Mikey has been confiding in in Ray, what they don’t know is that both men have been taking comfort in each other.
Gerard nodded, “Is he staying in town?” As always his first concern will be with the club and ensuring their secrets are safe.
“At first, I think,” and this is the part that Ray has been unhappy about, “he doesn’t know what he wants.”
“Hmm, okay,” Gerard sighs, “I will talk to Mikey but we’ll all need to decide how to handle it.” Gerard hasn’t trusted Pete from the start, only that Mikey had been so enamored and Gerard was always so easily swayed by his brother, nothing he wouldn’t do or give if he could.
“Any other business?” Gerard asked the Table at large.
“Yeah,” Butch piped in, “I have to talk to Ray about the freezers. I really think we need to put in a cool room. But,” he clapped his hands once, “in better news, Trey called me last night and they are all coming for a few weeks. Should be here before the weekend.” The news garnered smiles from everyone in the room.
Frank took his turn next, “Anthony would like our leave to take a squire,” he chuckled to himself before adding, “he has the all clear from Doc Rickly and has apparently found someone who is willing to put up with him.”
Gerard asked, “How say you?” And was met with a chorus of ‘ayes’.
Dallon sat quietly, feeling like it was his turn to speak. He had a lot invested in the vote they were about to take, so did Butch. Dallon didn’t know for sure but it would be safe to say that even if it wasn’t applicable to Gerard and Frank and Ray it could still be at some time in the future. He remained quiet, only looking to Gerard for him to lead.
“Okay then,” Gerard began, “if there’s nothing else then I guess we need to address the most important reason we are all here today?”
Ray met each man’s eyes, they all expected him to be the hold-out and were it not for Pete’s leaving the club he might still be. Dallon and Butch were the most invested of all of them in the success of their change in rules, Ray knew they would be the first to commit. He wasn’t sure about Frank and Gerard but there was a history with them that seemed to be peeking around the edges.
“After careful consideration and polling the club members,” Gerard often sounded rehearsed when he was acting in his captain capacity, this was no exception, “I put it to the knights here assembled that the rule of Fidelity to The Table should be struck off. It would mean that The Table need not take squires or be unmarried should they so desire. What say you?”
As Ray suspected both Butch and Dallon said yes right away, he knew that Butch was prepared to leave the Table to be with Jake when he stepped up. Butch had the longest standing in the club of any of them here but had found in Jake an unexpected fulfilment. And if Ray was reading the signs Dallon was ready to form a real family with Breezy and Ian, children included.
Ray surprised all of them by saying yes soon after the first two. Frank looked at Gerard and they both smiled and agreed.
“Motion carried!”
END