Full Time Live In Ch. 9

-Frank's P.O.V.-

"I don't know, Frank," Mikey sighed. "Gerard hasn't left the basement in years. I mean, he won't even go to the top of the stairs."

"Well, what if I tried to help him get over that fear?" I suggested.

Mikey made a face and rubbed his neck. "I guess…" he said, turning to the stairs. "Anyway, let's go upstairs and go over the details."

I nodded and started following him. "I'll be back in a bit Gerard," I smiled to the man curled up on the bed and headed up the stairs.

Mikey was making a fresh pot of coffee when I entered the kitchen. "So, did you have a specific doctor in mind?" he asked, leaning against the counter.

I sat at the table and picked at my nails. "Yeah, my dad's old doctor actually. I've already asked him if he'd be interested. He told me he would," I told him and Mikey nodded. "I haven't set anything up yet 'cause I wanted your opinion first."

"If you can get him out of the house without a fight, then you have my permission," he said, turning to grab two coffee mugs. I smiled and mentally fist pumped. "Good luck with that though," Mikey continued. "He's gonna put up one hell of a fight."

My smile dropped and I stared at him. "Wh-what do you mean? He's not that strong."

"I mean," he started, pouring fresh coffee into the mugs, "the last time I tried to even get him to come into the kitchen, he bit me."

My jaw dropped. "He-he bit you?"

"Yep, had to get stitches too. He felt really bad about it though, I could tell." I took the mug he offered as he sat across from me.

"Oh man…" I sipped my coffee and tried to picture Gerard being violent. Either I just couldn't see it or I didn't want to picture it. We sat in silence, just drinking our coffee, before I spoke up again. "Um… I could always see if the doctor would make a house call. He used to for my dad anyway."

-Four days later-

I had called my dad's old doctor and scheduled a home appointment for today. Gerard had already eaten lunch but he needed a bath before the doctor arrived.

Grabbing a towel from the linen closet, I headed down into his room. Gerard was hunched over his book drawing again. I knocked on the door frame and his head shot up. "Bath time, Gerard," I smiled, showing him the towel.

He shook his head and curled around his sketchbook. I sighed and walked to the bathroom, setting the towel on the rack and filling the tub. To make it extra nice, I added a bit of lavender bubble bath. It always seemed to calm Gerard down. When I entered his bedroom again, Gerard was still curled up around his book.

"C'mon, Gerard," I said, walking over to him. Again, he shook his head. "Do we have to do this every time?" I asked, slipping one arm under his legs and the other behind his back. "Better put your book down if you don't want it to get wet."

He squeaked and set his book gently on the bed as I lifted him into my arms. His arms wrapped themselves around my neck tightly as I carried him into the bathroom. I kicked the door shut behind me and set his feet on the tiled floor. Gerard was eyeing up the bubbles in the tub when I grabbed the bottom of his shirt. He squealed and flinched away from me, holding his shirt down.

"Okay, then strip and get in the tub. I'll turn away," I said, twisting my body around and facing the door. About a minute or two later, I heard a soft splashing and Gerard mewling. I turned back and saw him sitting in the tub, knees poking out over the bubbles and his head bowed. "Aww, come now," I smiled, kneeling beside the tub. "It's not that bad to be clean, is it?"

Gerard gave a soft chirp and shook his head.

"Then why the big fuss?" I asked, pouring water over his hair. He made a soft mewling noise and shivered. "Is the water too cold?" He shook his head. "Then what? You just don't like being naked?" I lathered his hair with shampoo, making sure to keep it away from his eyes. He nodded softly and shivered again. "Don't worry, Gerard, I can't see you anyway with all the bubbles." I smiled and rinsed his hair.

He seemed to relax a bit as I finished washing his hair. I grabbed the wash cloth, lathered it with soap and began cleaning his face. "Do you sleep on your pencils or something? There's lead all over your face," I chuckled and wet the cloth again. Gerard chirped and shook his head, lifting his hands out of the water. "Oh, I see," I smiled, taking his left hand in mine. They were both covered in pencil lead and it was a little stubborn to remove, but I managed it. I moved to washing his back when his arms were clean.

"You're being very good today, Gerard. Is it because you know you have a visitor coming over?" I asked, rubbing the cloth over his shoulders. I felt him tense instantly and he started shaking. "Gerard? What's wrong?" I moved so I could see his face and grabbed his shoulders.

He was shaking his head roughly as he whined and twisted in my grip. Water started splashing everywhere as he tried to get out of the tub. "Whoa! Gerard! Calm down!" I stood over him and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, keeping him in the tub. He had twisted around so he was sitting sideways, knees pulled close to his chest and his hands were pushing at my chest. "Shh… it's ok," I said softly. "You're safe. Don't worry."

He continued to whine but didn't fight me anymore so I pulled away from him slowly. "You ok now? It's just a doctor coming to see you. He won't hurt you, I promise," I told him. I leaned back on my heels and tried to give Gerard a comforting smile. He kept his head bowed and nodded slightly. My shirt had ended up completely soaked from his tantrum, so I peeled it off and tossed it near the door. "Okay, let's finish getting you clean. Now where is that cloth?"

Gerard lifted his right hand out of the water and held up the cloth. I smiled and took it from him, turning his body to make him comfortable again. I finished washing his body; he still refused to let me fully clean him, and helped him out of the tub. I wrapped the towel around his waist after drying his body and hair with it and led him back to his room. He sat down at his dresser and I went to grab the blow dryer. Gerard was biting his lip and watching me when I came back and plugged the dryer up. I smiled when he looked up at me and started drying his hair.

"Do you want to pick your outfit out?" I asked, setting his brush down. He nodded and mewled, running over to his closet. "Alright, get dressed then. Dr. Stevens should be here soon," I said, grabbing my wet shirt from the bathroom floor. Gerard whined softly at the mention of a doctor. "Don't worry. He helped my dad, I'm sure he can help you too. And he's possibly the nicest man ever," I told him, dropping my shirt in the clothes basket along with Gerard's dirty clothes. "I promise, you'll be safe. I won't let anyone hurt you." He smiled slightly and crawled onto his bed. "Besides, I wouldn't be a very good carer is I didn't take good care of you." He chirped softly and started drawing again. I took that as my cue to leave him alone for a while.

I carried the clothes basket upstairs and into the garage. After starting a load of clothes, I grabbed a small towel from the linen closet and headed into my room. I dried my chest and hair off and changed into a clean pair of jeans and a black polo. The doorbell rang just as I pulled my shirt on.

"One sec!" I yelled and hurried to the living room, pulling open the door. "Dr. Stevens, it's good to see you. I'm glad you could make it," I smiled, shaking the older man's hand.

"Yes, yes. Good to see you too, Frank," he said, walking into the living room. I shut the door and flipped the bolt lock. Mikey insisted I keep it locked for Gerard's protection. "Now, this young man you're watching after, you said he never leaves his room and he can't speak?"

I nodded and led the way to the basement. "Yeah, he's actually learned two words recently though but he almost never uses them." Dr. Stevens nodded and I continued. "Um, he's learned 'thanks' and my name. His voice is really raw when he speaks though so I never really ask him to. Um, he's just down here," I said, opening the door to the basement.