Off Campus 04 Pt. 09

The Abercrombie Gang arrived at the hotel after an all-night drive from home to be with Hannah as she recovers from a nearly fatal hemorrhage due to issues with the medications used to terminate her unintended pregnancy. The stress of the long drive and the 5 a.m. visit at the hospital was compounded by Hannah's psychologist challenging Steven and Jessica about the nature of their relationship.

The crew washed their stresses away, mostly, with intense intimate play in the shower. The ladies saw to it that Steven's and Cyan's spirits were rejoined; given the events earlier in the week they were overdue for this special time together.

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I don't know how long we were asleep. I glance at the clock to see it is almost 10:00 a.m.

"Ladies? Breakfast? I need to get back to the hospital to be with Hannah."

The sea of beautiful naked bodies parts to let me rise from the bed, and in turn each of the ladies seek their overnight bags to ready themselves for the day. I check my phone for any missed calls or texts, and finish dressing. I think I'm going to need a suit, as I will be dealing with professional staff at the hospital. I will need to be "Mr. Albertson" today.

I use the opportunity to call Phil and Gail to see how things are going.

Gail answers, "Ms. Abercrombie's office. May I help you?"

"Oh, you know I'm beyond help, Gail!"

"Sure as heck are, Steven. How are you? How is Hannah?"

"I'm good. Tired. Hannah is still pretty weak. She lost a lot of blood. I was told we almost lost her."

"Oh, my! Are you at the hospital?"

"No, we're at the hotel. We saw her about four hours ago, and I'm going back after we catch something to eat. Anything to report?"

"Nothing that can't wait. Need to talk to Phil?"

"Yes, please! Thanks, Gail. Oh -- I expect we won't be back in the office until Thursday. We're hoping to bring her home on Wednesday. I'll know more later today. In the meanwhile I'll check in, and should be available most of the time should something need my attention."

"Okay. I'll get Phil."

In the background, "Phil, pick up line two. It's Steve."

"Heya. How are you doing? How's Hannah? How are the girls?"

"Good. Weak, but getting better. Great. In that order."

"How are Jen and Amber?"

"Good. And great. Amber's a pistol. She had Jen and me up most of the night. Did you know she was teaching the girls how to do great blowjobs while we were putting out the fires on Wednesday?"

I laugh, "Yeah. Got surprised by that with Jess a couple of hours ago. Something about bananas."

He chuckles, "Yeah! Funny."

"Anyway, anything going on?"

"Quiet for the moment. Phones are handled by the call center now, so we're cool there. The T-shirt samples came in. They look great. Tell Cyan she did a super job with 'em. You and Ally are nuts with that shit, but I think we have a winner."

"Good! Can you overnight some to us? Two for each of us. Large for me, ladies' medium for the girls 'cept Jess. She needs extra small, but small will be okay. They'll go crazy at the hotel when they see us wearing 'em. Oh! Two for Hannah, medium."

"Where are you staying? Pike's Peak?"

"Yeah. Beautiful place. They're putting us up in the their biggest suite. Comp. We seem to have made an impression."

"Speaking of which, any hassles?"

"One autograph at the hospital, some folks in the ER waiting room recognized us as we were leaving, big welcoming party at the hotel. Cheyenne did make the observation we need a security detail in situations like this. She'll talk to her folks today to see about lining up someone we can use on-call."

"Good. You guys need to be careful. I think the girls by themselves will be okay, but if you are with them you'll need to watch out."

"Phil, looks like the girls are ready to go downstairs. I'll be at the hospital the rest of the day with Hannah. Call me if you need anything. If I don't answer I'll likely be with a doctor or somebody like that, and call you back."

"Sounds good. When are you going to be back?"

"Plans are to drive back on Wednesday, but not sure at this point. Let you know when I do."

"Okay. Talk to you later."

"Later."

I end the call and put the phone in my pocket.

"Ready?" I ask the girls.

"Yes," plus nods all around.

We head for the elevator and down to the first floor. The hotel has a formal restaurant as well as a coffee shop, so I ask what they'd prefer. Consensus is clearly coffee shop. I get that, a home away from home.

We are warmly greeted by name as we make our way through the lobby to the diner. It's such an odd experience. We were relative nobodies four days ago, and suddenly we are national celebrities. Fate deals a strange hand sometimes.

We approach the hostess stand in the café and an attractive young lady rushes to greet us.

"Good morning, Mr. Albertson. Thank you so much for being here. Five?"

"Yes, thank you!"

"Right this way."

"Jess, you taking notes?"

"Very funny, Steven!" as she surreptitiously pinches my butt.

I laugh, "No lap sitting while we're here, sweetheart."

She giggles, "I'll miss it."

"So will I."

The others smile and chuckle. We have to be on our best behavior... sigh...

Breakfast in all respects is normal. Jess and Ally notice a couple of things they might want to think about for us, but there are no surprises. It's nice to have that kind of confirmation from a larger city's version of us.

We talk about the day's plans. I inform them that I figure on spending the rest of the day alone with Hannah, and that Bethany will meet me at the hospital in the early evening. Beyond that, I don't know.

"Cheyenne, how about dropping me off at the hospital so you guys can have the car to do whatever you want? You probably don't want to go shopping or anything like that out in the general public. Maybe something like a museum or other quiet attraction will be okay."

"I agree, Steve. We don't have to hole up in the room or anything like that. But no big crowds or uncontrolled situations. Leave right after breakfast?"

"Yes."

We declare breakfast "finished" after my last cup of coffee. I sign the ticket and we head back out to the lobby. I hug and kiss the ladies goodbye; getting a few strange looks by the time I do this with the third. Cheyenne and I make our way to the valet station to retrieve the car.

The short drive is nothing of note; Cheyenne pulls up to the main entrance. I lean over for a kiss goodbye while reaching for the door... oh, this feels strange... it's like we're a married couple in our daily routine. Not too far off, the way we feel about each other is about right there. But I feel that way with all the ladies. What a special life I have.

I walk into the lobby and to the front desk.

"Good morning, Mr. Albertson. How can I assist you today?"

"Well, since you know who I am, one of my special friends is in your ICU. Can you direct me, please? I only know how to get there from the ER."

"Certainly, sir. Hallway straight back, take the elevator up to the second floor, turn left after exiting the elevator. You should see the nurses' station from there."

"Thank you."

I follow the helpful directions and do in fact end up where we were earlier this morning. Janet from this morning is still the supervisor on duty.

"Hi, Mr. Albertson!"

"Hi, Janet! Everything okay?"

"She's doing much better. Go see for yourself!"

"Thanks!"

I slide the door and step in. She's napping. Monitor looks pretty good; blood pressure and pulse are close to normal. This morning's numbers were scary. I'm relieved.

"Hannah?" I softly announce myself.

Her eyes slowly open, and I see a bright Hannah in there, "Steven! How the fuck are you? Kiss me!"

I lean over for our greeting.

"Much better now that you're getting back to being yourself. I see no bag of blood hanging, so they evidently topped-off your oil. Just a saline drip."

"Yeah. Four pints. You were so right. I lost a lot."

"Do they know what caused it? I guess they do, Bethany told me they cauterized a bleed."

"Artery or something, I think."

"How do you feel? Prognosis?"

"I feel like I've been punched in the gut, Steve. Really sore. But everything is supposedly fixed, so it's observation at this point. They were talking about transferring me to a regular room this afternoon. Maybe two days there and if everything remains stable I get to go home."

"Well that sounds great. Much better than I expected. You were napping. I'm going nowhere, so if you want to snooze, I'll be happy to keep you company in the comfy chair over there. I could use a nap, too. Girls didn't let me sleep much this morning."

"Oh, I can imagine," she chuckles. "Pent-up tensions from the long drive! Where are they?"

"Just me here right now. They're off doing whatever. Hotel's really nice, so my guess is they'll hang there for a little while and then find something to do this afternoon."

"Shopping?"

"No, anything but. We have no security protection. We're a little exposed should somebody recognize them."

"Is it a problem already?"

"Not yet, but we've been recognized everywhere we've been. All it takes is one crazy. The nutcases were all emboldened by that idiot, you know."

"Yeah. Maybe the hotel can help?"

"Good idea. Hey. My tricycle is tipping over. I didn't get to sleep off all four of them ganging-up on me this morning. Shower fun. Wanna sleep together?"

"I missed that wacky shit of yours, lover! I know you think I'm not one to put up with it, but it's fun. Sometimes. Yeah, I'm feelin' it, so let's nap."

I chuckle. The recliner for visiting family is just what the doctor ordered. Probably literally.

"In a second, though. You had a good idea about the security thing, Hannah. I'm going to make a call here to get the hotel going on finding a couple of bodyguards. Probably won't be their first time with a request like that."

I dig my phone out for the call.

"Pike's Peak Lodgings. This is Terry Walters. How may I help you today?"

"Terry! Steve Albertson! How are you this morning?! Thank you so much for setting us up last night."

"Oh, Mr. Albertson, it was more than my pleasure! What can I do for you?"

"My friends and I need help with security. Concierge should be able to help me here."

"Certainly, sir! Let me put you through."

Line rings.

"Concierge desk. Jerry Baker. How can I assist?"

"Steven Albertson, Jerry."

"Yes, sir! Thank you so much for being with us!"

"You're welcome! Hey... the ladies and I need a security detail. As you can imagine we're new to this celebrity thing. Having a couple of big guys tagging along with them will give us a lot of peace of mind. I'll call my attorney to have her check in with you right after we're done."

"Your attorney, sir? She's here?! ... I apologize sir, that was unprofessional."

"Trust me, Jerry, she takes my breath away, too. Every time. All the ladies do."

"Thank you, sir. Let me get right on that for you."

"Thank you, Jerry."

I hang up to dial Cheyenne.

"Hey. How's Hannah?"

"Doing real well," as I glance over to her. "I got one 'fuck' and one 'shit' already, so she's back with us."

Hannah laughs.

"I heard that!" Cheyenne chuckles. "What's up?"

"Concierge is arranging for a security detail. Check in with Jerry and coordinate your plans. That should give you flexibility and the freedom to go out on the town."

"Dinner?"

"We'll eat there. Restaurant is nice. Don't know when I'm going to leave here. Hannah?"

"According to my day planner here, I'm going to get tired of your ass right around seven."

I laugh, "Hear that?"

Cheyenne is cracking up. "No shit, Steven. She's feeling fine."

"Seriously, Bethany and I are going to be talking more this evening. Make reservations for 7:30 and we'll adjust if necessary."

"Good deal. Give Hannah our love. We had a great time this morning, by the way. Thank you. It was really special. I guess you might need to catch up on your sleep."

"I think so, but I'll need to check with Hannah's day planner first."

I get a puzzled scowl from over on the bed.

"(Nap.)"

"Oh," Hannah chuckles.

"Squeeze the girls for me. Talk to you later. Let me know how it works with security if you guys go out."

"Will do. Later."

"See ya'."

Phone goes back in pocket. I reach for the lever on the recliner and settle in.

"You good?" I ask.

"Yeah. You're here. Real good, Steven. I love you."

"I love you too, Hannah. Enjoy your rest."

About two hours later the sliding door opens and breaks my slumber.

"Time for your draw, Hannah," the nurse quietly advises. "Hello, Mr. Albertson. We're so glad you're here for Hannah. It was a rough night."

I step over to hold Hannah's free hand.

"I know. I can't thank you enough for taking care of her. Huge improvement from this morning."

"Yes. Much better. And the feeling is mutual. We thought we loved you just from the stuff on TV the other night, but having you here with her, and the rest of your family, too. My gosh."

"Thank you, Cheryl."

Long ago I developed a talent for reading ID badges on the fly and on the sly. It makes friends and engenders mutual respect, especially in situations like this where friends are a real good thing to have.

Cheryl finishes her task and informs Hannah, "If these labs are okay you'll be going upstairs. Your vitals are strong, so otherwise there's no reason to keep you here. Mr. Albertson, take good care of her. But it's so obvious I don't need to tell you that."

"Gosh. Thanks. I will."

Cheryl quietly slips out the door.

"This is good, sweetie," as I lean over to tender a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Yeah. Can't we just bypass this shit and you take me home?"

"Very funny. No, not after they hoovered your insides like they had to. We want to have you safe, and well. You have big plans, and we don't want to mess those up by screwing up your healing."

"Oh, Steven," she starts to tear up. "I didn't mean to put that kind of pressure on you. It's a long, long way off. There's a lot of life to live between now and then."

"It'll be here sooner than you think. I've nailed the biological clocks of all three of you to my wall. Yours and Cheyenne's are set to explode... uh... I mean go off about the same time."

She chuckles, "You're so bad, Steven. Kiss me."

I perform as ordered. I'm much more relaxed now that she is out of the woods, and the buss is more of our being lovers.

We return to our napping, mostly to kill time until she's moved. I want to talk to her about my chat with Bethany this morning and my concerns there, but let's save it for when Bethany is no longer a factor in the immediate. I will be driving Hannah's car home, so we'll have plenty of time to hash that out then.

The lab must be fairly quick with Hannah's last draw; I guess that's the norm for hospital labs these days. Blood work must have been okay as the orderlies are here with the CNA from upstairs to move her to a regular room. I rise from the recliner and dust myself off to accompany them on the transfer.

"Hello, Mr. Albertson," the CNA addresses me as the crew readies the bed for transport. Her name is Abby. "Nice to meet you. I gather from your being here that Hannah is one of your special ladies. Makes sense. She's really pretty. Even with all the tubes in her."

"Wow. No judgment here, Abby," as I sense the rebuke.

"I apologize if I sounded like I was being snarky. Several of us are shaking our heads about how can it be possible for one man to surround himself with so many attractive women who obviously love him."

"Loving back helps a whole lot, you know."

Hannah, aggravated, interrupts from her bed, now on the move, "You have no idea. Really. We all love him intensely. He didn't pick us. We picked him. And he's here, isn't he? Six hundred miles from home? After driving all night?"

"Save your energy, sweetheart. Remember why you're here."

"I'm sorry, Abby. Steve is our protector, our shield, our friend. Not just our lover. Our impulse is to protect back. He's not like the rock stars or anything like that who drape themselves in bimbos. We are a family!"

"Easy, Hannah! You're getting all worked up!"

I pause to catch my breath, "Yeah, I know, never tell a woman to calm down."

She chuckles. I reach for her hand as we travel down the hallway.

Abby relents, "You guys are something, I will say that."

"Steve's special, Abby. He has a sense about things, a gift. About relationships, especially. I fell in love with him shortly after we met, after he sensed that my girlfriend and I were closeted lovers. We didn't say a thing, not even our body language. He just knew. And he outed us to our friends in the most loving way possible, standing between us and the others, telling them that they were to accept us as we are. His life is all about respect, trust and love. You can't get that from what you saw and heard on TV. I hope you can understand."

I squeeze her hand. She squeezes back. I love her. There's that rock that I lean on.

We're in the elevator now. Silence as we ride up to the fourth floor, until...

"Elevator's pretty fast, Steve," Hannah chuckles. "No time for any fun."

"That's okay. I got my dig into Ally about that at the hotel this morning."

"Huh?" Abby puzzles. "Fun?"

"The elevators at our hotel are old and slow, Abby. It's sort of a joke. They have a reputation for giving horny couples time to get into trouble."

Hannah's quick with, "Yeah! Like you and Cheyenne!"

"Shush!" I laugh.

Abby shakes her head and chuckles, "I'm beginning to get it. You folks are nuts."

"We've been told that. A lot," I confirm.

The orderlies and Abby wheel Hannah into her room, set the anchors, and plug in the IV drip. Abby hangs back to make sure Hannah knows where the call button is plus the controls for the TV.

"Your nurse will be in in a second, Hannah," Abby informs. "Nice to have met you, Mr. Albertson. You are one big nutcase underneath that suit. No wonder they love you so much. See you later."

"'Bye, Abby," I grin.

As she is just out the door, Abby is met by someone I think may be the charge nurse in this wing. They exchange a few words, the new person chuckling at a couple of things.

"Well if it isn't 'Superstud'! Hi, Hannah. How are you feeling? Doing okay? I'm Millie Ratched, your charge nurse tonight."

"I'm doing good, considering," Hannah responds. "Still pretty sore, but okay."

"Good. Vitals look great, so keep it up and we'll get you out of here ASAP."

I give her a stern look, "'Millie Ratched'?"

"That was for your benefit, Stevie. I'm Sarah Bonner. I was warned you were a bit of a nut, so it seemed appropriate."

I laugh, "Thank you! I like that! Just the person to give Hannah here the right dose of grief since I can't always be here to administer."

She chuckles, "Anything we can do for you while you're here? Would you mind coming down to the nurses' station to say 'hi' to everyone? We're fans."

I look to Hannah.

"Go! Have some fun! Just don't bring any home. We know how you are with strays!"

All three of us have a good chuckle from that one.

I follow Nurse Ratched... uh... Sarah to the Fourth East nurses' station. There is a gathering of maybe eight or nine in scrubs in front of the counter, two sitting at workstations behind it.

"Hi, everyone. Sarah asked me to come down here to say 'hello'. So... hello!"

"Where are the giiiiiiirls, Steven?" one asks.

"Yeah. You look naked without them."

"Tough crowd!" I chuckle. "Let's see... one here... four at the hotel... three hundred twenty-six back at the ranch. We do have ranches in Kansas."

"You're just awful!" a couple of them laugh, everybody joining in.