Over the next several weeks, Hunter spent every waking moment in the NICU. His entire life revolved around Mark and his progress.

As much as Luke wanted to join him, he couldn’t. There was one factor that continually weighed down on him. Something Hunter hadn’t even begun to consider. The cost of little baby Mark’s long term care. Neither of them had insurance.

It had been an issue they had been working on for a while. Luke had never gotten around to getting insurance. He’d never needed it for himself, and Hunter had always been provided for through his job at the law firm. After losing his job, however, Hunter lost his insurance as well.

Even though Hunter was working for Allen, he was technically a self-employed art dealer. Which meant no one was going to provide insurance for him.

Trying to find an insurance company had proven more difficult than either of them had expected. No one was particularly interested in insuring a man that was already pregnant. That was a guaranteed hospital bill they’d be forced to cover before getting much money into their pockets.

Luke had been covering all of Hunter’s doctor’s visits out of pocket thus far, but the upcoming expenses for the ambulance ride, the emergency procedure, and now the NICU stay were going to far exceed the amount that either of them had in savings.

They were also still paying mortgages and bills on both lofts, and Luke had a car payment on top of that. There were a lot of expenses and he’d fallen behind on his paintings over the last few weeks.

As he feverishly applied brush to canvas, Luke tried to think of other ways to raise capital and reduce their expenses. One thought came to mind. It was the last thing he wanted to do, but it would probably raise enough money to at least help with the hospital bills. In the end, it felt like he had no other choice.

***

THAT EVENING THEY WERE meeting Rupert and Tim for dinner. The other two had insisted on treating them to a good time to keep their spirits up. Their daughter, Mary, had been home for a couple of weeks now and was doing so well that they’d been able to leave her with Rupert’s mom for the evening.

On the ride over to the restaurant, Luke broached the subject.

“I’m going to sell the house,” he said, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the road ahead of him. “It’s almost complete. I already chatted with a realtor I know. He thinks it’s a lot more appealing now, and he believes he could find a buyer for a substantial amount.”

“W-why?” Hunter stammered and stared at him.

Luke forced himself to keep looking forward. “We never found insurance, which means the hospital bills are going to come out of our pockets. Even if I sold every painting I currently have in the gallery, I don’t think I’d make enough to cover it. Everything we’ve got in our savings accounts probably won’t even come close. Selling the house nets us the largest amount of money and should put a huge dent in the bill if not cover it altogether.”

Hunter was silent as they drove for several more blocks. “No,” he said at last. “You can’t sell the house.”

“Hunter...”

“Sell my loft instead.”

Hunter’s words took Luke’s breath away for a moment. As they rolled up to a stop light, he chanced a glance towards Hunter. They locked eyes, and it was clear Hunter was serious in his proposal.

“Does that mean...?” Luke’s voice trailed off.

“I’ll move in with you until the house is done. Then we can move in there together. All three of us.” Hunter looked back out the windshield. “The light’s green.”

Luke directed his attention back to the road and scrambled to try and arrange his thoughts. It had been clear that Hunter had bonded with Mark. Luke had begun to suspect the original plan was no longer going to take place, but he’d been waiting to hear it directly from Hunter’s lips.

“My apartment should be worth a pretty significant sum,” continued Hunter. “Definitely more than a corner lot in the industrial zone. We can probably sell off a lot of our extra furniture too. We’re not going to need two queen-sized beds after all.”

Hunter was silent for a long moment.

“What changed your mind?” asked Luke at last.

“It was something Rupert said the other day at lunch,” explained Hunter. “He said he thought we were doing well. That some families aren’t able to handle the stress of a child in the NICU. I didn’t really hear the rest of what he was saying though because that one word stood out to me. ‘Family.’”

As they pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant, Hunter continued, “I realized then that you...you’re my family Luke. You and Mark are my family. I can’t imagine my life without either of you anymore. I want and need you both in my life. I don’t want to lose that.”

Luke’s heart felt like it was about to burst as he pulled into a parking spot and turned off the car. As soon as they were parked, he leaned across and kissed Hunter firmly.

“I love you,” said Luke as their lips parted.

“And I love you.”

***

“DON’T FORGET,” SAID Tim as the four of them ate dinner, “there are also plenty of programs through the hospital to help reduce your costs. Make sure you ask to speak to the social worker in the NICU, and ask him what your options are.”

Luke wasn’t sure how, but somehow they’d spilled their entire plan to Tim and Rupert. The other two had been more than willing to share their own tips and tricks for how to manage the financial burden of the NICU.

“Obviously, it’s going to be difficult no matter what since you don’t have insurance,” added Rupert. “You’re going to need that big down payment. But after that you can probably work out some sort of payment plan.”

“Just make sure you two go and get insurance as soon as possible now,” continued Tim. “I know it’s like highway robbery sometimes, but you’re going to need it. Babies are expensive and unfortunately preemies are more susceptible to chronic health conditions than babies who went full term. So even after the hospital stay is over, you’re probably going to have other expenses to deal with.”

The flood of helpful information was almost too much, but it was all useful. Their friendship with Tim and Rupert had been invaluable for navigating the last several weeks. Hunter especially seemed to be bolstered by the new friendships. After Vincent disappeared from his life, Hunter’s only friends had been Luke and Allen. Adding a few new faces to that mix had done wonders for his morale.

“So, the weirdest thing happened the other day though,” said Tim, launching into a completely unrelated story. “As you know, I’m a personal style consultant. A lot of the upper class people in this town are my clients. Anyway, I went to one of my client’s houses the other day to consult on a summer wardrobe. Hanging on the wall in the living room was this almost life sized nude painting...of you.” He gestured to Hunter with his fork.

Hunter blushed slightly. “I never actually expected anyone I know to ever see them.”

“I think you looked fantastic,” continued Tim. “I’m assuming it’s your work?” he nodded to Luke.

“Yeah, it is. It wasn’t ever supposed to see the light of day, but one of our art dealer friends decided that keeping it locked up was a shame.” Luke slid an arm around Hunter’s shoulders to try and console him.

“Oh, honestly, I think you should be proud. The fact that the elite of the city would pay top dollar for your body?” Tim laughed.

“You’re embarrassing him,” chastised Rupert.

“I know,” said Tim, as if that was the whole point.

“Anyway,” said Rupert trying to steer the conversation in another direction. “Tim and I have actually been looking for a house for a while now. Now that Mary’s home our studio isn’t cutting it anymore. Do you think there are any available in your area?”

***

THE EVENING WENT ON pleasantly. Their conversation ranged over a wide variety of topics from housing, to sports, then to parenting.

Throughout it all, one thought continued to press itself into Luke’s brain. He was a parent. Hunter was a parent. They were parents together and would be living and parenting together. The idea was almost surreal to him and yet he couldn’t think of anything that made him happier.

Except for one thing. There was still one more step to their relationship, but with Mark in the hospital and the stress that would come from downsizing and merging their two households, now wasn’t the right time. No, this would have to wait a little while. But that was okay. As long as Hunter was by his side and Mark was healthy, he was willing to wait as long as he had to.