(BL) Taming the Field Guide

Chapter 148: A busy day for a busy man

Rhys escorted Kellen to the Guiding Division because he was worried about his reaction. Kellen couldn’t exactly deny that he had nothing to worry about after his strong reaction.

He did think he was being ridiculous though.

When Kellen got to the Guiding Division, he found that there were only a few people there. He realised that it was a bit early for him to be there. Even Casper’s assistant wasn’t there, nor his Dad.

Kellen felt a little embarrassed as Rhys let Kellen into Casper’s office. Kellen did feel it was a little strange for him to be in there without him, but Rhys waved it off.

Kellen realised as they stepped into the office that Casper truly hadn’t been in there for a while. There was a fine, almost imperceivable layer of dust on his desk. The bookshelves were the same, so was the coffee table.

Kellen frowned, his heart aching as he realised that Casper had been neglecting his duties for a while. There was a chance he was bringing a laptop around and doing his work that way, but Kellen didn’t think that was the case.

"Oh Casper." Kellen whispered. He was angry, of course he was. He could tell that Rhys was angry too, but that anger was mixed with a heavy sense of sympathy. That didn’t mean that they were going to stop their plan in motion. There had to be consequences for what he was, or wasn’t doing. It just also meant that Rhys and Kellen knew that they had some responsibility in this.

After all, they were in charge of everyone in the Guild.

Rhys waved his hand and the dust was gone. Rhys reached his hand up, gripping the back of his neck and hunching his shoulders for a second, shaking his head. Kellen let him have the moment before Rhys seemed to center himself and turn to Kellen.

He reached for him, pulling him close and hugging Kellen.

"Please text me when you go in for your second transfusion." He whispered. "Please." Kellen nodded. He reached out, wrapping his one arm around Rhys and giving him a squeeze.

"Of course." Kellen promised. Rhys squeezed him tightly.

"Thank you." They remained hugging for a moment longer before Kellen pushed back, needing to get to work. He turned, propping the door open so that he could use it while Rhys wasn’t here. Kellen didn’t think his access would let him in and out of the office, while Rhys watched him, knowing that he had access to everything.

However, he liked knowing that he would call for his help until the others arrived.

Rhys smiled painfully to himself before he kissed the cheek of Kellen and finally left him alone. Kellen wished him a good morning as he left, Rhys waving to him as he left. Kellen was already pilfering a laptop from an unused desk, taking it into the office so that he could access the plan he’d made with Taylor.

The morning was going to be busy, and the afternoon was going to be full of monitoring. He had to make the most of the time he had right now.

~

Kellen and his Dad had interviewed everyone and asked them their honest opinions on a couple of things, including whether they think they would be a good fit to be the next head of the Division.

There were a few that balked at the idea. They didn’t think that they were the right fit, they were happy with how things were going for them right now, those kinds of things.

Others asked about how Casper was doing and why they were even considering this. While they sounded upset, Kellen could see the concern, and the anger that they felt. Kellen wanted to give them an honest answer, wanted to tell them everything that was going on, but he also knew that wouldn’t help them.

He’d learned the hard way that sometimes, it would only cause more stress if they knew. So, he told them a truth, just not everything. Casper was being benched. He was recovering from something, and so they needed to put people in place so that he could heal properly.

Yes, it did involve Gunther, they had been close friends before everything had happened with the E.A.G. And Casper was a good friend. He was capable of taking care of others, he also just had a hard time taking care of himself.

He felt that was a sufficient answer, since it blamed no one, answered some of their curiousity, and also gave them an answer. It seemed to work for them as well, and even his Dad was happy with his response.

From the looks of the interview, Kellen was going to have to go with the second idea he had for the leadership of the Guiding Division. Splitting it up between two people.

So, Kellen grabbed a few of the Field Guides that had been at the Guild for a long time and interviewed them as well. One Field Guide, one regular Guide. Two sides of the Guild that Kellen and Rhys were building.

By the time that Kellen had to leave for the Medical Bay, Kellen had a short list of four people that he thought would be a good fit. These people hadn’t said no outright, and had shown good qualities that would help them be good leaders, even in a temporary sense. Kellen wasn’t going to make any decisions without talking to Rhys about it first.

Rhys could keep things from him, but Kellen would go out of his way to make sure Rhys knew exactly what was going on with Kellen. Not that he hadn’t done it before, he just knew that Rhys was going to feel it more now.

Kellen chuckled to himself as he rode the elevator to the Medical Bay, alone. He did have his Dad message Rhys on his behalf, since texting with one hand was ridiculous. The phone slid all over the place, and his Dad had taken pity on him and helped him out.

Was Kellen all that surprised to find that Rhys was already there when he arrived? No, but he was surprised at how as soon as Taylor made eye contact with Kellen, she flushed. That was unlike Taylor, and Taylor had to take a second to compose herself.

Then, she was as professional as she possibly could be.

Going through this a second time wasn’t as bad. It did take up a lot of his time, and Kellen did feel rather tired this time after, but that wasn’t seen in a negative light. Instead, Taylor saw that as a good sign.

His body had been fighting against the poison for so long, if he was feeling tired from all of the work that his body had been putting in, it might mean that his body wasn’t coming up against the poison anymore.

Kellen wasn’t sure how this worked, not entirely, so he left this up to the professionals. With that said, even Carlos looked to be happy with the results.

When they sent him to rest, Kellen had a damn hard time keeping himself awake. That was a scary thing for him and Rhys, but the medical staff around them weren’t scared.

Kellen knew it was because they were professionals, but Kellen and Rhys were still heavily in the trauma that they had experienced before. Where Kellen’s sister was unconscious due to the poison in her system, along with other important members of the Guild.

So, Kellen fought against the sleep. Until he couldn’t anymore. Rhys was at his side, his own expression stark as people moved around the room until it was quiet and it was just the two of them. Kellen motionless on the bed once more, Rhys holding onto his hand, silent. A pillar.

Until Kellen opened his eyes again.

Thankfully, Kellen didn’t remain unconscious for long. He woke up only half an hour after he’d fallen asleep. He didn’t feel rested, but he didn’t feel like his body was rejecting the new blood he’d been given either. Taylor’s team was swinging by more than Taylor and Carlos. Kellen only found out why after he had woken up.

Rhys hadn’t asked the question because he had been silent, watchful.

The reason why Taylor had time to do the infusion was because she was doing other infusions all day. They had just taken time out of the regular schedule to slot Kellen in.

She did have a busy day, and if they weren’t worried about Kellen after his second infusion, he had to trust them.

Rhys and Kellen both needed a little soothing after the moment of fear that had consumed both of them. Kellen had a feeling he would always feel his heart race every time he felt himself falling asleep in a hospital bed like this. He was sure it was a side effect of what he had experienced because of the poison gate. He was sure that Rhys was the same.

His hands shook a bit as they held Kellen’s hand in his own and Kellen didn’t shake him off or fault him. He just smiled at Rhys.

"We’re one step closer to your punishment." Kellen told him, hoping to distract Rhys. Rhys let out a strangled sound, somehow a cross between a laugh and a cough.

"Yeah?" Rhys said, his yellow gaze so bright it was hard to look at. Kellen squeezed his hand.

"Yeah. So, stop looking like that. Aren’t you excited? I’ll be able to kiss you soon." Kellen told him and watched as Rhys pulled in a deep breath. Rhys held it for a second, closing his eyes before he slowly exhaled. When he opened his eyes, he was smiling, his gaze a little less bright.

"Yeah. I am excited." He said softly. Kellen grinned, squeezing his hand tighter.

"You better prepare yourself. You did a lot of work on me, Rhys. A lot. I’m-I’m going to wring you dry." Kellen’s cheeks were pink as he said it, but he got it out. The words finally seemed to have an effect on Rhys, his eyes widening slightly before he let out a disbelieving, but happy laugh.

He leaned in, pressing his forehead against Kellen’s temple.

"Oh Sugar, I’ve never looked forward to something more." Rhys whispered. Kellen was happy that the air in the room had shifted, becoming something that everyone would be able to breathe in.

It was a good thing, as they had a few visitors after that. By a few, Kellen really only meant one that stuck out in his mind.

A rather hungover Gunther.