My note…MAJOR SPOILERS. I thought of doing this one-shot after watching Rock This Town and The Bitterest Pill, both were really good episodes, but they kinda left me wanting more…..so here's a little something extra.
LIFE GOES ON
Kate Kerwin sat at the kitchen table, staring at the newspaper in front of her, reading the name over and over again. The boy she knew so well, her step-sons best friend, JT Yorke…was dead.
Toby shuffled into the kitchen, still wearing his t-shirt and pajama pants. He opened the refrigerator and stared blankly at the contents. Kate walked over and wordlessly gave him a motherly hug. She cupped his face and gave him a sympathetic smile, Toby looked down sadly.
Kate was just about to say something, when there was an unexpected knock at the back door. She patted Toby on the shoulder and walked over to answer it. "Jimmy, what a surprise", she greeted as cheerfully as the circumstances would allow. "I'm not sure Ashley was expecting you. I think she's still sleeping….we had a long night here….", she added, the last bit trailing off as she waived him in.
Jimmy looked up at Kate, his eyes followed hers to the newspaper headline and he nodded knowingly. "Um, actually…I'm not here for Ash, well at least not yet, anyway…I actually came here to see Toby", he stated.
"Me?", Toby asked, snapping up and turning quickly, bumping the refrigerator door closed in the process.
"Yeah, I came to see how you were doing", Jimmy answered, wheeling closer to Toby. "So, how are you…?".
"Great, just great…after spending the entire night at the hospital, and answering questions from a zillion detectives….oh, and not to mention the little fact that I watched my best friend bleed to death...", he interrupted sarcastically.
Kate gave him a disapproving look and opened her mouth to scold him, but before she could, Toby glanced at Jimmy and apologized, "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to act like that". She offered Jimmy a small smile and returned to the table.
"No big deal", Jimmy brushed it off and gave Toby a warm smile. "So, you wanna talk…about it?", he offered quietly.
Toby slid his fingers underneath his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes. He blinked a few times and focused, then nodded silently at Jimmy.
Jimmy followed Toby into the living room and pulled up next to the couch. "So, late night, huh?", he asked uneasily.
Toby nodded and flopped down next to Jimmy. "Dad, Kate and Ashley came as soon as they could. We waited for JT's grandma to get there, and stayed with her for a little bit. Then we all had to go down to the police station and answer more questions", he answered, repeating what he had said just a few minutes before.
"I was at a coaches meeting last night, then Ash called to tell me…I couldn't believe it", Jimmy said, still in a state of shock.
Toby nodded. "Yeah, it still doesn't seem real", he mumbled. "I mean…he just spent the night last weekend", he continued, shaking his head in disbelief. Jimmy smiled, remembering JT's jokes as the four of them(JT, Toby, Jimmy and Ashley), played cards at the table in the kitchen, before he and Ash left to go see a movie, the Saturday before.
"He was sitting right there, Thursday night", Toby recalled, looking at the empty place on the couch next to him. "We were studying for Kwan's test...and the next day he's dead...gone...forever. He never gonna graduate with his class, or get married, or see his son again, or hug his grandma, or play with Isabella...never", Toby yelled, his voice cracking with emotion.
"Yeah, never's a really long time", Jimmy replied sadly, nodding in agreement.
Toby shifted his gaze from the couch, back over to Jimmy, his eyes falling on Jimmy's legs. It had never occured to Toby that these two unimaginable losses could be at all similar. But just as Jimmy lost a piece of himself, that day two years ago, in a small hallway of Degrassi...Toby lost a piece of himself, Friday night, on the cold sidewalk in front of Emma Nelson's house...JT wasn't just a friend, or a buddy...he was more than that to Toby...JT was his 'brother'.
"I should've gone with him", Toby blurted, moving his gaze to the floor.
Jimmy noticed the look of guilt on Toby's face and knew what he was thinking. "There are some things you can't just predict Toby...there was no way you could've known this was gonna happen. There was no way you could've saved JT", Jimmy assured him. "All you can do now, is remember him".
"Yeah", Toby looked up and agreed determinately. "I wanna do something special...you know, to honor him".
Jimmy nodded and smiled. "Whatever I can do...just let me know...me and Ash will help", he offered, giving Toby a supportive pat on the shoulder.
Toby smiled graciously just as a still sleepy Ashley came down the stairs. "I thought I heard your voice", she exclaimed, taking the last few steps a little faster, when she saw Jimmy.
Walking over to Toby's side, Ashley gave him a quick squeeze and kissed the top of his head. "Hey Tobs", she greeted softly, but affectionately. Toby gave her a small smile back, and Ashley turned to Jimmy. "How about cup of coffee?", Ashley asked nodding toward the kitchen.
"Sure", Jimmy replied and followed Ashley.
"Hey Jimmy", a hesitant Toby called out as he hurried to catch up to Jimmy and Ashley. They both stopped and turned around. "What happens now...I mean...?", Toby stuttered nervously.
Jimmy smiled up at Ashley and nodded for her to go ahead to the kitchen. She gave him a loving look and reached out to squeeze his hand. Jimmy waited for Ashley to leave before he pushed closer to Toby. "You grieve", he answered in a matter of fact tone. "You mourn for what you've lost...then you celebrate, what you still have and move forward", he continued seriously.
Toby pondered Jimmy's words. "But how?", he asked dauntingly.
Jimmy smiled and shrugged. "Life goes on man. You can either stand around...or sit, in some cases...", he chuckled, trying to bring in some much needed humor. "...and let life pass you by. Or you can jump right back into the game".
"Thanks Jimmy", Toby smiled appreciatively.
"Don't mention it", Jimmy replied, reaching up to pat Toby on the back and gently push him toward the kitchen. "I here for you man", Jimmy added sincerely.
"Good...", Toby stated, walking slowly next to Jimmy. "...because I can really use a friend right now".
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Okay, first off, I have seen Rock This Town and The Bitterest Pill. I have to say TBP would have been much better if it were an hour long, there was definitely not enough insight as to how the 'friends'(ie. Toby, Liberty, Manny and Emma) were feeling. It felt kinda rushed. And as for the tribute, it started out beautiful and ended heartbreakingly beautiful, but the middle was cut out with, imho, a senseless scene.
I wrote this because I love the Jimmy/Toby friendship. I always thought that the writers didn't give Jimmy enough time to grieve after he was shot, and they definitely didn't do a very good job showing Toby's grief at all. Plus, I adore philosophical Jimmy...I swear, that boy should become a shrinnk, he give the best advice.
btw...I scrapped the one chapter story I was working on and I'm plotting out a few new things(mainly one-shots).
Just a little note...I know there is another Degrassi fic(a chapter story), with the same title. I'm sorry for using the same title, but this one just fit so perfectly.
...Degrassi is not mine.