Watched

Chapter 3



Viggo sat numbly in the hospital waiting room. He was in anguish at

the degree of Orlando's injuries. In addition to the wound to his

shoulder which caused him to nearly bleed to death, he had re-injured

his back and had severe anal tearing. The doctors were now operating

on his back while Viggo was forced to wait.



Viggo's clouded mind cleared enough for him to think about his and

Orli's friends. He knew he had to call them, but he didn't think he

had the strength to. He shook off his weariness and stood up. He

slowly made his way to the phone. He knew the first person he had to

call was Peter.



Viggo dialed the number and waited for someone to pick up. At last,

the groggy voice of Peter was heard. "Hello."



"Pete, it's Viggo."



"Viggo! What's wrong? Where are you?" Peter urgently asked,

instantly awake.



"I'm at the hospital," Viggo said in a shaky voice.



"Are you hurt? What happened?"



"It's not me," Viggo replied and took a deep breath. "It's Orlando."



"Viggo, what happened?"



"Oh God, Pete. He...I can't..." Viggo fought to stop tears from

escaping his eyes. He took a shaky breath and tried to calm

himself. "He was attacked." Try as he might, he couldn't stop the

sob that escaped him.



"Viggo, don't worry. I'll call everybody and cancel shooting for the

next few days, and we'll be right there."



"Okay," with that, he hung up the phone.



"Mr. Mortensen," a doctor said as she approached him. "I'm Dr.

Blackwell. Orlando is doing as well as can be expected, physically.

His arm needed stitching, but it should mend nicely. We gave him

some blood, but he will still be a little weak. His back, however,

worries me. The operation went well, but he'll have to take it

easy. He shouldn't try to walk for about a week. He'll be in

intense pain, but I'm going to prescribe a strong painkiller for

that. We'll monitor him for a day or two, and if everything seems to

be going well, we'll release him."



"Is he awake? Can I see him?" Viggo asked desperately.



"He should be waking up soon. It would probably be best if he sees a

friendly face."



"Thank you."

*******************

Viggo's heart constricted painfully at the sight of Orlando. He

looked so fragile and pale. Anger flared up within him, but one look

at Orlando and it was repressed. He didn't need to be angry now. He

needed to be strong--for Orlando.



He pulled a chair up to the side of the bed and took Orlando's hand

in his. He squeezed it reassuringly as Orlando's eyes fluttered open.



"Vig?" he said after looking around dazedly.



Viggo lightly caressed Orlando's cheek. "I'm here, baby, and I'm

never leaving you again."



"I'm sorry," Orlando whispered, looking down in shame.



"Hey," Viggo said, tilting Orlando's chin up and forcing him to look

at him. The tears glistening in those eyes brought tears to his own,

and he had to fight to remain strong. "You have nothing to apologize

for. This was not your fault. If anyone should be sorry, it's me. I

should have been there sooner. If I had--" Viggo was stopped by

Orlando's fingers on his mouth.



"Viggo, you don't have anything to be sorry for. I'm the one who

pushed you away. I was afraid. I didn't know what to do. He

threatened to hurt you if I said anything." The tears in Orlando's

eyes started to fall as he said this. Viggo moved from the chair to

the bed and took Orlando in his arms, mindful of the IV and

monitoring devices.



"I know, baby, I know," Viggo murmured, rocking gently as Orlando

clung to him. "Don't worry. Nothing's going to happen to me, and I

won't allow anything to happen to you either."



tbc