The Few

Nurse and Patient

Max woke up, he was laid in a hospital bed his arm was bandaged and in a sling. "How did I get here?" Max said groggily sitting up. 

"Oh, good afternoon Mr Russell." A doctor said, a different one from who took his chip out. 

"Hey, how did I get here?"

"Lance brought you here with some medics." The doctor said looking at his clipboard. "I need to take your temperature and blood pressure if you are okay with that?" Max nodded and sat up completely straight. He put a thermometer under his tongue and took a cuff from a draw near the side of the bed. When the thermometer beeped he took it out and looked at it before writing the number on the clipboard. He attached the cuff to his unwrapped arm and pressed a button.  When that had beeped he read the small screen on the cuff and yet again wrote on the clipboard. "Well everything appears to be normal, we had to operate and get the bullet out but most importantly we had to check that there was no permanent damage to you nerves and blood vessels in your shoulder. Thankfully any damage that was there has been fixed and you should be back to normal in a few weeks." He paused looking over the clip board. "You will need to stay here for a day or two just to make sure that you are not developing an infection from the bullet being in your arm. I will have the nurse come over and give you some pain killers." Max nodded.

"Thanks it hurts like fuck." He replied trying to rotate the arm but wincing in pain.A few moments passed and the face for Rex walked in, in a white pair of scrubs. "What are you doing here?"

"I work here." He said simply, he took a look at the chart. "You must be in pain do you need some pain killers?"

"Please." He replied.

"Are you allergic to anything?" Max shook his head, "had any drug dependency issues? Be honest."

"No nothing like that." He said, Rex went to a cabinet and took out a bottle of pills and placed them in a paper cup. He handed it to him with a glass of water. "Thanks." 

"No problem."

"Not seen you since the party at Red and Blue's." Max said.

"I have been working. But I have been in contact with them, they keep me updated on everything so I know how you have been doing." He replied. "How are you generally?"

"Fine, I guess."

"How are things going with Rue?" He asked smirking.

"I don't really know." He replied, "we have not really talked since the party about anything that isn't work." He added.

"Right." He said smirking.

"What?" Max asked coldly.

"Nothing." Rex said smiling. 

"No what is it?"

"Look you need to figure this out on your own, but there maybe a reason you and Rue are not working?"

"I am not gay." He said defensively.

"I never said you were." Rex said smirking, "why bring it up?"

"You were hinting at it," Max said swinging his legs out from the bed. 

"I never hinted at that, I said that there maybe a reason why you may not be working." Rex stood looking over his shoulder for the doctor. "But Max, if you are or Bi or just curious there is nothing to be ashamed of, not down here that's for sure." Rex said kindly pushing his glasses up his nose. "The people down here really don't care about that. I know the real world has become more understanding for homosexual relationships on the whole but I know that some are still...well...they don't get it. Down here, this is the place you get to be who you really are or experiment with what you want to. There is no shame in not fully knowing who you are when you are 18." He added, "you don't have to have had everything understood right now and you don't have to be certain of anything. Being 18 is one of the worst ages to be, but it is one of the best, you get to learn more about yourself in the next two years of your life than you will for the rest of it." He added. "Whatever it is you need to figure out. Anyway I will let you get some rest, do you need your friends to bring you anything, if you're here a few days and all?"

"My Code book I guess." He said with a heavy sigh.

"I will let them know, they can see you tomorrow when we have checked you over." Rex began to walk out of the room but stopped. "Oh and Max?"

"Yeah?"

"You need to check out Jet's ass a little more subtly in the future, not to judge he has a nice one." Rex didn't turn, didn't look back, "and don't forget we know. Anyone who is gay, lesbian and Bi are fully aware when there is someone else who is. Remember that." Rex walked out casually leaving Max alone. 

A few days passed and Max was allowed to leave the hospital unit. Jet and Rue had come down to see him and take him back up to see Lance. He had packed the few things that Jet had bought him over the last few days. There was another week of training before they could all start working on jobs. Rue and Max needed to be monitored due to recent circumstances. It was a Thursday and apparently they had not seen much of Abi over the last few days. Jet said it was a project she was working on for Red, it was driving her crazy but she was making some progress. "Its been strange not having you at home man." Jet said, "its like quiet." He joked.

"You could have used this time to have had mad amounts of woman around." Max said.

"How do you know I didn't?" Jet said flirtatiously.

"Did you?" Rue asked.

"No." Jet admitted laughing, "nah, not one woman." He rubbed the back of his neck embarrassed. "I want to focus on getting this training done before even thinking about that." He added.

"Fair enough, there is so much to remember." Rue replied. "How long are you still wrapped up for Max?"

"One week." He added. "Maybe more depending on how the healing goes." He said defeated. "Oh I have to go get my medication from Rex, so I don't get an infection, I will meet you up at our room Jet?"

"Sure, can do." He said, "Rue you coming with me?"

"I can wait with you Max if you want?" Rue asked.

"You go ahead, I wont be long but he may want to do some checks before I get them." He said smiling, "it shouldn't take to long." They both nodded and walked to the elevator with his bagged up belongings as he walked into an office off from the main unit. "Rex?"

"Oh hey, you have come for your medication?" 

"Yeah." He said nervously. "Thanks."

"Do you mind if I have a look at your wound before you go, you need your bandage changing before you go and its a perfect time to check how you are healing up?" Rex said putting some blue rubber gloves on. "Just take a seat." He walked to a cabinet and took a fresh bandage. "Are you okay taking your shirt off on your own or do you need help?"

"I should be okay." Max said pulling at the material, he was struggling. "Could I have a hand?" He asked. Rex just laughed and walked back over, her slowly helped take the shirt off. "Thanks." He said meeting him in the eye. Rex smiled as he started to unwrap to bandage around his shoulder removing the old ones and started to clean off anything left with a pad of antiseptic. 

"Let me know if I am hurting you." Rex said glancing at him checking his face for wincing and pain.

"You are not don't worry." He said smiling. "Thanks."

"It's my job."

"No not that." Max replied, "your advice." He said smiling, "it has given me a lot to think about."

"Anything you are willing to share?"

"Just, I don't really have any idea about anything, my dad did everything, he determined my whole life. I have never had to freedom to decide anything for myself. And I have just been dropped into this world where I get to choose everything for myself and that's scary."

"We have all been there. My whole family were doctors and nurses, all the woman were nurses and all the men were doctors. My father got into some trouble and he was...well lets say there's a reason I have 3 letters in my name. I was put under so much pressure to bring the family back to where it was, but I didn't want to be a doctor. I wanted to be a nurse and I could only get the confidence to actually do what I wanted when I came down here. I don't care about rebellion, yeah freedom and freewill but I did it to be who I really am." He said wrapping his shoulder in the clean bandage. "We get the chance down here to be the people we truly are, not just sexuality but everything. And honestly, you have so much to focus on deciding who you are over thinking about where you want to put your d**k in." Rex laughed. "But, trust me when you do manage to make the first choice for yourself the liberation is addictive. And exploring what you want is a great first step." Max quickly and without thinking lent forward and kissed him lightly on the lips. Rex didn't back away or stop him but waited for Max to pull away himself. When he did he didn't make eye contact with Rex just at the floor. "Did you find out anything?"

"I didn't hate it."

"Just what every man wants to hear." Rex said laughing, "you don't have to walk out of here today with a word for what you are Max, just be open to the chances you have a head of you. And look, I am not the man you are looking for experimenting wise, but if you need someone to talk to about this, I am always here." Rex finished wrapping him up. "Your shoulder is fine, I will give you something to make sure you don't get an infection. Come back in a week and a nurse will check and change your wrap again if needed." He handed him a box of pills and a scrap of paper. "My number if you need to talk." He said with a smile. 

"Thanks." Max said, "Can we.."

"Not tell anyone? Yeah I get it. You don't want the heat until you know its real?" Max just nodded. "No problem."

"Thank you." He said kindly, "what if I am gay?" He asked, "I have no clue how to talk to guys. I can flirt with woman..."

"You will learn." Rex replied, "also, it will help that you are physically incredible!"

"I guess so." He laughed, "well, thanks, i'll see you around Rex." He replied walking out to the elevator. Realizing slowly there was not many reasons why a straight man would get a semi from kissing a man. He really had to think about things. Also makes sense, the only woman he had ever slept with was when he was drunk and he did her from behind, and in her ass. He had wanted to sleep with Rue, she was beautiful and kind and would make him happy. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get hard around her. There was only a select number of excuses he could use and he was running out. He got a semi from kissing Rex but couldn't even get a twitch when she was half naked and grinding on him...yeah...he was gay.