Bobby would have liked to say that he appreciated the rain but that would be one big pile of crock. He hated it really. Getting all wet and whatnot, it was so inconvenient and thunderstorms like these were the worst.
The door closed behind him with a bang and he couldn't help but wince guiltily. Normally, Bobby didn't give a rat's ass but Jack was asleep upstairs, or at least he had been when the oldest Mercer had quickly run out to get some soup. They were all out and the kid had pretty much inhaled that shit all week.
Bobby looked to the top of the stairs, expecting to see that fuzzy blond head of hair to pop into view but much to his relief, the house remained blissfully silent. He calmed and took his boots off, heading towards the kitchen to put the groceries away. Normally he didn't do this kind of crap but ma had been out at the adoption agency and Jerry had been out of town and God only knew where Angel was. So it had been his sole responsibility to take care of the youngest Mercer while he hacked away the remainders of his flu.
Bobby couldn't help but feel bad for the kid. He was already nothing but skin and bones and this illness only made him look all the more frail.
Reaching up for the cupboard, Bobby flinched as a particularly loud crash of thunder boomed up ahead and that was when he heard it.
"BOBBY!"
Bobby headed towards the stairs as he heard his brother's continuos cries. Shit he sounded scared half to death and for a moment Bobby thought he was hurt. He ran straight into Jack's room in time to see the boy still in bed, tears streaking down his pale face.
"Heeeey, Jackie, I'm here. What's the matter?"
Jack trembled violently and that was when Bobby noticed the death grip he had on the sheets. He watched his brother wince and hide under the covers as realization slowly began to dawn on him. The thunder. Jack was petrified of loud noises.
Bobby sucked in a shaky breath and had himself a seat on the edge of Jack's bed, reaching out to pat him and perhaps coax him out of hiding. "Come on, kid. It's just thunder."
But Jack was apparently hearing none of it as he continued to visibly tremble underneath those sheets.
Bobby studied the sheets which had little bowling pins on them and a new thought dawned on him as he cleared his throat. "Shit, Jack. Just the Gods having a little fun. You know the big guy likes to bowl as much as the next dude. And you know that shit's loud. He's good. Gets a lot of strikes."
Jack peeked out from under those sheets of his and studied the elder curiously, his eyes red rimmed from crying but mostly the illness. "That's not true."
"Hey," Bobby said, "it is if you want it to be."
Jack seemed to consider this thought for a moment before slowly removing the covers from his face.
Bobby kept his approval to himself. It wasn't easy, he knew, getting through to this kid. But somehow, and he didn't know how, Jack had come to trust them all and for some odd reason, he seemed to trust Bobby the most and that made Bobby feel good. He'd gone through that with Jerry and Angel, establishing trust and that older brother air but it was different with Jack. Cause well, Bobby just knew that no matter how old the kid got, he'd always need him and Bobby would be there in a heartbeat. Jackie was weak and he needed a pillar to lean on, this Bobby got and came to terms with rather quickly.
Jack sniffled, trying his best to suppress a coughing fit, much to no avail. He kept his gaze lowered and Bobby understood the reasoning for that all too well. Jack was uncomfortable with meeting people's gazes. He would only ever touch someone's eyes with his own and then quickly look away as if he were afraid.
Bobby shifted around, debating on what to do. "Want some soup, kid? I got that chicken noodle shit you like so much and I'll make some if-"
"No," Jack interrupted quietly, "Just stay here?"
Bobby frowned, a tad confused. Jack rarely spoke and getting a request out of him was almost impossible. He studied the kid intently and saw the pleading in those eyes and found that he knew exactly what his brother was saying. He wouldn't be afraid if Bobby was there so he wanted him to wait out the storm with him. Alright. Bobby could do that for him.
Nodding, the Michigan Mauler as he was known, sat himself down to a long period of silence though it was comfortable. He sat there and flipped through one of Jack's notebooks, observing the neat handwriting and all the check marks he got for the right answers. Bobby had to smile, the kid was pretty book smart.
"Nice grades you got here, Ja-..."
Bobby trailed off as he noticed his brother was sound asleep. Shaking his head lightly, he tugged the covers to rest snugly on the kid's body before reaching out to feel his forehead. Mildly warm but definitely getting better. So he stood there for a few moments longer than he had initially intended. Jack looked so peaceful when he slept that the eldest Mercer brother found himself praying that he wasn't woken up this time. The kid needed some peace.
He ruffled his hair affectionately before heading for the door. "Sleep tight, Jackie..."
And the rain stopped.