Limited Time 1-14
by: twins1729
Rating: Adults Only
Category: Fanfiction
Characters: Brian Kinney, Justin Taylor
Genres: Angst, Drama, Romance
Warnings: Major Character Death, Anti-Michael
Summary: 33-year-old Brian meets 21-year-old Justin, a dying cancer patient, in the hospital. Brian wants Justin to live the rest of his life instead of just waiting to die.
Disclaimer: All characters and situations from Queer as Folk are properties of Russell T. Davies, Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, Showtime, and others. No copyright infringement is intended. This story is rated by the author and not by any independent body.
“Ms. Peterson,” Dr. Sanderson asked walking into the waiting room.
“Yes,” Lindsay replied standing up.
“Gus is going to be just fine.” Lindsay sighed. “He did have an unusually high temperature, but that’s normal when a child is sick with tonsillitis.”
“Oh, that’s what it was,” exclaimed Lindsay, “he had that when he was a baby, about two years ago. Should he get his tonsils out?”
“That’s what I came to ask you. He could have them out now, or we can wait and see if he gets sick again.”
“Well, its standard procedure right?”
The doctor nodded.
“Yes, everything is completely safe. Gus should only have to stay in the hospital a couple of days. He can get the operation tomorrow morning.”
“Well, I think we should let Gus have the surgery now. It might be more traumatic when he’s older.”
“Then follow me and we can sign the papers.”
“Hey Brian, its Lindsay.” An hour later Lindsay was in the hospital lobby calling Gus’ father.
“Hi Lindsay,” Brian began, “what’s up.”
“Gus is getting his tonsils out tomorrow morning and I was wondering if you wanted to see him before the surgery.”
“Uh, surgery,” Brian shuddered thinking of it, “Yeah, I’ll come by tomorrow before work. Just tell me where I can find him.” Lindsay told Brian everything before going back to her son’s room to sit him before the operation.
Brian walked into the Children’s Ward looking for Gus’ room. When he finally found it he was surprised to see Melanie sitting next to his son.
“What are you doing here?” Brian asked accusingly.
“Sitting with my son,” Melanie replied her voice equally pleasant.
“I mean, where’s Lindsay?”
“At home.”
“Why?” Brian asked.
“She was here all night. So I came this morning so she could go home to shower and take a nap. She’s coming right before Gus leaves, and then I’m going to work.”
“Oh,” Brian understood.
“Hey, Sonny Boy,” Brian began, turning his attention to Gus.
“Hi dad!” Gus sounded too cheery.
“Why are you so happy?”
“I get to have ice cream.”
Brian looked confused for a moment. Melanie laughed.
“The hospital will give him a ton of ice cream to make his throat feel better,” Melanie stated.
“Oh, duh. I knew that.”
“What’s that dad?” Gus asked pointing to what Brian was holding.
“Here, it’s a stuffed animal and a balloon for you.”
“Thank you,” Gus said holding his arms open.
Brian handed Gus his presents and then excused himself saying he’ll be back to see Gus later because he had to go to work.
Brian decided to take a detour to the cafeteria to get some coffee on his way out of the hospital. ‘I’ll be damned if I ever found a coffee machine in this maze,’ Brian thought entering the room.
As soon as he got his coffee he was stunned to see a beautiful blonde sitting alone at one of the tables. Brian felling unusually cheerful and friendly, decided to say hi.
“Hi.” Brian could be so predictable.
“Hey,” was the only response out of the boy.
“Why are you sitting alone?” Brian asked curiously.
“Because I am,” the blonde snapped.
“Sorry, can I join you.”
“It’s a free country.”
“I’m Brian.” Brian held out his hand. The blonde stared at it for a second before reaching out and shaking the offered hand.
“Justin.”
“Can I ask what you’re doing in the hospital?” Brian pressed trying not to sound to nosy.
“I’m sick,” Justin wasn’t much of a talker.
“Okay.”
“Why are you here?” Justin asked though his voice was full of sarcasm.
“My son is getting his tonsils out.”
“Oh, how nice.” Justin stood up and left the cafeteria.
‘Damn he was full of energy.' Brian thought sarcastically, 'but he was sick.' He also thought he was going crazy talking to himself. ‘Well, maybe I’ll run into him later.’
2
Summary: Brian learns about Justin's cancer.
Disclaimer: All characters and situations from Queer as Folk are properties of Russell T. Davies, Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, Showtime, and others. No copyright infringement is intended. This story is rated by the author and not by any independent body.
“Hey sonny boy,” Brian said soothingly walking to Gus’ bed. Brian had just gotten off work and was coming to see his son with no tonsils.
“Hi dad,” Gus replied, his voice still a little horse.
“Have you been eating your ice cream?” Brian asked pointing to an empty bowl.
“Yeah, but I got full.”
Brian just laughed. He talked for about another 20 minutes, then decided to leave. Maybe he could find the blonde he talked to earlier.
Brian didn’t want to search this long. He had been looking for Justin for the past hour. Brian wasn’t even sure why he was so obsessed in finding him again. He had gone to the front desk, but had a hard time trying to get Justin’s room number when he didn’t know the blonde’s last name. Brian then began to search every room he came across. He couldn’t figure out what to do.
Finally turning a corner, Brian saw a young blonde man walking in the hallway. As soon as he was close enough, he decided to say hi.
“Justin?” Brian started, “hey.”
“Oh, it’s you,” Justin said rolling his eyes.
“Yeah, it’s me. Where are you heading too? I can walk with you.”
“To my room, why do you want to walk with me?”
“You said you were sick, right?” Brian asked.
“Yeah, so,” Justin answered
“Well, you probably don’t feel well. I’ll help you get to your room.”
“Look, Mr.?”
“Kinney,” Brian responded quickly.
“Mr. Kinney, I don’t need anyone’s help. I don’t need the nurse’s, the doctor’s, this fucking hospital’s, or my parent’s help. And I sure as hell don’t need yours.”
“Justin, you could make yourself sicker, or...”
“Listen!” Justin yelled, “This is my fifteenth time in a hospital in one year. I know what the hell I’m doing. And how the hell am I supposed to get sicker if I’m dying anyway!”
“You’re dying?” Brian was shocked, Justin looked so young.
“Yeah, I’m dying,” Justin replied coolly, “and it would be really great if you left me alone now.”
“Okay.”
Brian watched as Justin walked down the hallway. He began following him until Justin came to what looked like his room. Brian remembered the number. When he came to the elevator, he was surprised to see he was on the cancer floor. Brian decided to come back tomorrow and see the blonde. He would try to be more sensitive to his illness.
“Hey,” Brian said poking his head in the hospital room.
“What the fuck,” Justin cursed sitting up, “what are you doing here.”
“Smuggling you some food,” Brian replied holding out he bag of McDonalds.
“Oh my god,” Justin snatched the bag out of Brian’s hand, “real food. How did you know I liked McDonalds?”
“Instinct, all kids your age love that fast-food shit.”
“My age, kid, how old do you think I am?”
“Um, nineteen,” Brian guessed.
“Um, no, I’m twenty-one. Thank you very much.”
Brian smiled.
“So, I just brought you a bunch of shit from the menu. You can keep some for later.”
“Thanks,” Justin said truly happy, “okay, now that you’ve stolen my heart. What do you really want?”
“You have cancer?” Brian asked cautiously.
“Yeah, I’d tell you about it, but it’s confusing as hell.”
“Why’s that?”
“Oh, it’s just a big name, and really rare. And besides I don’t like to talk about it.”
“Sorry,” Brian apologized, “I had cancer last year.”
“What kind?”
“Testicular, I had surgery. Then some shitty radiation.”
“But they caught it on time right? Then they said, you’re going to be just fine and you have a good chance of living.”
“Yeah, that is what they said,” Brian responded confused, “why?”
“That is basically the opposite of what happened with me.”
“What happened?”
Justin sighed deeply putting down his burger.
“About two years ago I started getting sick. The only thing I could think of doing was going to the doctor. It took me forever to find one that took my insurance.”
“Why?” Brian pressed.
“I have this insurance provided by the state. Since I’m alone and I have little money, it was the only thing I could do. So, even though this doctor’s office accepted my insurance, they still treated me poorly.”
“What did they do?”
“Well,” Justin seemed to be getting upset, “I don’t know. They just treated me like I was poor; like I wasn’t worthy of their time. I was sick. I know that now. They gave me a few tests, told me I was fine and let me go on my way.”
“That’s just really bad. I wish you could’ve done something. Where were your parents?”
“My parents, yeah they kicked me out when I graduated. Something about not wanting a gay son and all that shit.”
“I’m sorry,” Brian hated when parents did that. He took his mother as a prime example.
“Well, anyway, I went to the doctor about three times. Each time they did a few different tests. Nothing was ever wrong. I didn’t do anything for about another month, but then I couldn’t take it anymore. I decided to go to a clinic. I was negative and had no STDs. I went again a few weeks later and I was still fine.”
“How long were you sick after that?” Brian was truly getting interested.
“About six months. That’s when I decided to go to the hospital for tests. I was sick, it was not going away. They started treating me like shit too. It was as if they didn’t care about the 19-year-old gay boy, who they thought was a hypochondriac. So, that lasted the next six months. I got tested a few times and nothing was ever wrong.”
“Damn, what happened after that?”
“Finally, they got a cancer specialist, which they should have gotten in the first place. He finally said I had cancer, and it was too late and I had about eight months to two years to live.”
“So, it’s been a year?” Brian hated what the doctors did.
“Yeah, it sucks. I’m just waiting to die now. I could die tomorrow or in an hour. It’s really depressing.”
“I’m so sorry, that sounds horrible. Do you have any other family or friends for support?”
“Nope,” Justin said sadly, “Not one person. My family doesn’t speak to me, my parents got to them first. I had a few friends in high school, and my best friend Daphne, but they’re all at college, away from me.”
Brian reached out and grabbed Justin’s hand. It was so soft, but also really cold.
“I couldn’t even imagine being in your situation. Are you always in the hospital?”
“No,” Justin was speaking with his mouth full, “this is my fifteenth time, remember.”
“Oh, right. Hey, when you get out, maybe we can go out together.”
“You mean, like a date?”
“Uh,” Brian was stammering, “sure, whatever you want.”
“Well, if you really want to. I would love to go out with you.”
Brian smiled; he leaned and kissed the blonde on the forehead. Justin was beaming. He never got attention. No one gave him a second look. He couldn’t wait to get out of the hospital even more now.
3
Summary: Brian and Justin go on their date, and Justin meets Michael.
Disclaimer: All characters and situations from Queer as Folk are properties of Russell T. Davies, Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, Showtime, and others. No copyright infringement is intended. This story is rated by the author and not by any independent body.
Justin was released from the hospital two days after meeting Brian. Both days Brian had come to see him. They had tried to decide what do to on their date. Justin thought maybe they should go out dinner at a nice place, and then he would figure out after that where they would to go.
Justin walked into his small apartment and went to his room. He put the things he had with him at the hospital away. He was glad the hospital let him wear his own clothes when he got sick. Justin used to whine saying that you guys are fucking killing me and you won’t even let me wear what I want.
He had to do some laundry before it got late; he needed something to wear for Brian. Justin found his bag of quarters in his dresser and headed to the small Laundromat in his building.
After getting ready and cleaning a little, Brian finally showed up. Justin answered the door and took in the beautiful sight.
“Hey,” Brian said leaning down and kissing Justin’s cheek.
“Hey,” Justin responded snaking his arms around Brian’s waist.
“So, how are you feeling?”
“A little better, but that’s how it always is. In a few weeks I’ll be back in the hospital feeling miserable.”
“Well,” Brian smiled, “let us take your mind off that for one night.”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
Brian and Justin exited the restaurant. Justin practically smiled the whole time; he was having the time of his life.
“So,” Brian started as he put an arm around Justin’s shoulders, “have you decided where you want to go now?”
“Damn, I haven’t been to Liberty since before I got sick.”
“Oh, we can go there. Where did you want to go?”
“Well,” Justin yawned, “I’m not as full of energy as I used to be. We can just go to Woody’s. I loved that place.”
“Um, sure,” Brian stuttered. He wasn’t sure if any of his friends were going to be there. And if they were, there was no doubt in his mind they wouldn’t shut up about his so-called date.
“Great,” Justin said putting his arm around Brian’s waist.
15 minutes later, Brian and Justin were walking down Liberty Avenue. It wasn’t until now that Brian noticed how weak Justin was. He walked slowly and gripped on Brian for support. Justin was also very pale and thin, despite how much he ate at the restaurant. Brian figured he lost a lot of the weight by vomiting when he got sick.