Jerome's P.O.V.
It hurt me to see Mitch in so much pain all the time, but there was nothing I could do about it. He was in the best place, in hospital with a private room, locked away because his immune system was compromised and couldn't allow him to go home, but it didn't stop the pain in my heart knowing that he wouldn't be able to celebrate with his family.
And on top of that, it wasn't just him that was in the hospital. Preston was somewhere down the hall in his own room, probably accompanied by Lachlan, also going through a similar treatment and his immune system was also too weak to allow him to go home. It would have been fine if we could spend Christmas as one group, but Preston and Mitch couldn't be in the same room, or in the room with anyone other than select nurses and their boyfriends, for fear of getting sick.
I ran my hand over Mitch's head, no hair left to play with. The chemo had made it all fall out almost 6 months earlier and none of it had grown back due to the ongoing treatment- the reason he was still in hospital.
It was leukemia, cancer, that caused all this. He was going through a bone marrow transplant which is why his immune system was so fragile. It was completely compromised, useless, and if he got even a cold he risked death, which was also why he was in isolation. I sighed gently and pressed a kiss to his forehead- really the only place I could kiss without risking him catching anything.
"Jerome?" Mitch's voice was weak, shaking. I looked down at him.
"What's up? You feeling ill?" He nodded pitifully. "Oh Mitch..."
He couldn't move from his bed so I leaned over the side and picked up a sick bowl, of which we had several as the chemo made him very sick, handing it to him. He groaned very quietly and nestled himself closer to me, his face a little pale and his grip tight on my shirt- he was clearly feeling awful. I pressed a light kiss to his forehead.
"Just sleep Mitch." I whispered. "It's Christmas tomorrow."
"Mm." He mumbled, his eyes flickering. "Christmas. Are you gonna decorate?"
"Of course." I laughed. "I've got lights and tinsel and stockings and presents and baubles, all the decorations you can think of. I'll put it up once you're asleep cause I want it to be a surprise."
That earned a flicker of a smile and he cuddled up against me, finally, finally, falling asleep.
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While Mitch was sleeping I grabbed the boxes- yes, there were multiple boxes, from the hallway and began setting everything up. Lachlan had already decorated Preston's room for him and from what I had seen, standing in the hallway because I wasn't allowed in, it looked like a festive bomb had gone off. Lights, tinsel, a tree, presents, little statues, even though Preston didn't even celebrate Christmas. The blonde boy gave me a smile through the window, his boyfriend asleep on top of him. Despite only being down the hall from one another we didn't see each other often because the two who were immunocompromised couldn't leave their rooms and if Lachlan and I were out, it was almost never at the same time.
I started with the tree first, plastic as we couldn't have real ones inside the hospital, decorating it with everything I could find. It looked a bit of a mess but I laughed to myself as I continued. Stringing lights and tinsel around the room, pushing presents under the tree, larger decorations hanging from the curtain rails and door and less sensitive medical equipment. By the time I finished, having tiptoed around the whole time to not wake Mitch up, our room looked like a bomb had gone off at well.
I giggled looking around at it, bouncing at the thought of him seeing it making me so happy.
I couldn't wait for him to wake up and see it tomorrow morning.
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I was awake before Mitch the next morning, running my hand over his head or up his arm, waiting for him to wake up. I was still grinning at the lights twinkling around the room, now on and sparkling, and soon after I turned them on Mitch began to stir in my lap, groaning softly and tossing his head.
"Hey Mitchy, hey, mornin'." I whispered, leaning down to press a kiss to his ear. He squinted a little and seemed a bit disorientated for a moment because of all the lights around him.
"J-Jerome?" He mumbled, rubbing his forehead.
"Mornin' babe." I smiled. "It's Christmas."
"Yeah." He said with a happy grin, nuzzling himself back into my chest. "Christmas."
"Do you like the decorations?" I asked, squeezing his shoulder when his eyes flickered back open and scanned the room.
"Yeah." He whispered. "Bright."
"Lachlan's done the same to Preston's room and it's even worse in there."
Mitch giggled but I had known from the moment he had woken up that he was very tired and probably very ill, and wouldn't be up to celebrate much, even do much other than lie in bed and receive his treatment, perhaps eat a little of the supplied Christmas dinner and unwrap his presents. Rob and Vikk would come and visit, waving from outside the room through the window, as would Lachlan, and Preston would probably call from where he was just down the hall.
In the end I was mostly right, as Mitch wasn't up to doing much. He didn't eat anything until the evening, an IV in his arm giving him another dose of medication, so I distracted him with Christmas songs and dancing around the room, opening presents with him. Rob and Vikk came to visit around noon, waving at us through the glass and although I wanted to go and talk with them, I didn't want to leave Mitch alone. Preston and Lachlan called too, opening their own presents.
That night, after Mitch had eaten a few mouthfuls off my plate, I tucked him into bed and slipped under the covers myself.
"Did you enjoy today?" I whispered, pulling him onto my chest. He nodded a bit.
"Yeah." He mumbled. "Still ill but 'm glad you're here."
"So what did you wish for today?"
"A cure." He said immediately, biting on his thumbnail. "I just wanna go home."
"So do I Mitch-" I sighed, knowing that the two boys in the other room felt the same, "so do I."
