Chapter 3
Disclaimer: I do not own the Fosters.
AN#1: Wow. The second chapter in one day, and a overall day total of more than 10,000 words. I'm proud of myself right now. As usual, leave reviews with ideas.
"FREEDOM! Finally! FREEDOM IS MINE!"
"Connor... we haven't even left the hospital room yet."
"Why such a buzz kill Jude?"
"You're a dork."
Jude and Connor stood together, Connor leaning on crutches with a cast and boot around his injured foot. Connor was bouncing on his good foot, eager for his brother to return and rescue them both from the oppressively bland hospital room. Jude was watching his boyfriend with a mixture of amusement and teasing exasperation. Connor had been walking around in circles with his crutches the whole time the two had been waiting.
"I know that." Connor answered, "I've never said I wasn't. Besides, being a dork is fun, and you like it."
"Oh, I do, do I?" Jude asked teasingly.
"Yeah, you do." Connor said matter of factly, "Otherwise you wouldn't be dating me."
"This is true." Jude admitted, "I still can't believe it."
"Yeah, me neither." Connor admitted. I keep thinking I'm gonna wake up and this'll all have been a dream. The only upside to that happening would be not needing these."
He gestured to his crutches. He gave the offending objects a look of pure disgust and hatred.
"Hey, it could be a lot worse." Jude soothed, "And you'll only need them for six weeks."
Connor's eye twitched.
"Six weeks too long." He complained, "These things are too bulky! They're uncomfortable."
"Well, would you rather have a wheelchair?" Jude asked, raising a single perfectly formed eyebrow in inquisition.
Connor immediately ceased his complaining and cringed at the thought of being confined to a wheelchair.
"Ugh." He said, "I would just as soon jump out of that window."
"Then stop complaining!" Jude said exasperatedly, "And don't joke about that."
"I was just joking, Jude." Connor said.
"Yeah well, if you don't remember, you COULD have died that night, Connor." Jude snapped.
Connor's eyes widened as he realized his misstep.
"I... I'm sorry, Jude. I didn't realize..." Connor started.
"We both could have been killed." Jude said softly, "You have no idea how scared I was when I heard you scream and hit the floor. You weren't moving, and there was blood and... I thought you were dead, Connor, until you started moaning in pain."
Connor winced, and the memory of that night came flashing back.
The gun went off with an almighty BANG! and Connor immediately felt a burning, agonizing pain in his foot, and he collapsed to the ground with a scream. He temporarily lost consciousness.
Jude, having made it out the door, whipped around and saw Connor sprawled out on the floor. He froze in horror. He saw the blood, and bolted back into the house with no concern for his own safety. Taylor and Daria stood at the back door staring at the scene in horror. Daria's eyes were wide with terror and she had a hand raised to cover her mouth. Taylor was crying, staring back at Connor.
"CONNOR, NO!" He screamed as he ran to his best friend's side, "Nonononono. Connor, WAKE UP!"
Jude shook Connor, and after a moment he jerked, returning to consciousness. He emitted a scream at the intense agony radiating from his foot.
"GAAAH! IT HURTS...!"
"Oh thank god, you're alive! CALL AN AMBULANCE! Stay awake Connor, talk to me."
"H-H-Hurts so b-badly Jude..."
"I know, I know. It's gonna be okay."
"I'm sorry." Connor whispered frantically as pain beginning to overcome all of his senses, "I'm so sorry, Jude. You gotta believe me."
"I know, Connor. I know." Jude assured, equally frantic.
"I'll make it right, Jude. I promise, I'll make it right." Connor whimpered frantically.
The sound of sirens could be heard in the distance.
"I'm gonna go flag them down." Jude said.
"NOO! NO, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!" Connor cried, starting to sob heavily, "Pleasepleaseplease..."
"I'll go flag them down." Taylor's dad said shakily, and ran from the house to meet the ambulance at the curb.
Jude sat down and pulled Connor's head into his lap, and Connor latched onto him, clinging to him desperately, begging him not to leave him.
"CONNOR!"
Connor jolted back to reality with a small jump, to find Jude looking at him wearily.
"Are you okay?" Jude asked.
"Y-yeah. I'm fine. Just remembering." Connor answered.
Jude hesitated for only an instance before reaching out and rubbing Connor's back comfortingly. Connor gave him a thankful smile.
"Thanks for not leaving me that night." Connor said softly.
"Don't scare me like that again." Jude responded with a nod, "I've never been that scared in my life."
Their conversation was cut off by the opening of the door, and the entrance of Eric.
"Discharge papers are filed. Let's get the hell out of here." He said.
Connor immediately smiled, and slowly hobbled forth on his crutches. Jude and Eric stuck close Connor's sides, making he sure he didn't trip and fall as he clumsily maneuvered his way to the elevator.
"Where's mom?" Connor suddenly asked, "I figured she'd be here."
"She had to go back to L.A to start packing our stuff for the move back." Eric explained.
"Oh. Okay, that makes sense." Connor said, heaving a mental sigh of relief.
Connor was incredibly nervous about coming out to his mother, and in all honesty he wasn't prepared to do it. While he knew that his mother's reaction would be nothing like his father's and that Jude would be at his side when it happened, he was still terrified, and anything that delayed the inevitable and gave him more time to mentally prepare himself was a welcome distraction.
The trio stepped into the elevator, and Eric pressed the button for the lobby. The ride was short, with Connor shuddering from the feeling of butterflies that was customary from an elevator ride. The elevator door opened, and they stepped out, and Eric led the two through the hospital lobby towards the front door. When they stepped through the door into the heat and sun of San Diego, Connor stopped. He inhaled the smell of fresh air, and savored the feeling of the wind on his face.
"Wait here, I'm gonna go get the truck." Eric said, and jogged off towards the parking lot.
Jude and Connor stood there silently for the short wait, and when Eric pulled up in his Chevrolet Avalanche, Jude helped Connor into the front seat. Jude hopped in the back seat and buckled his seatbelt, storing Connor's crutches next to him. Eric slowly pulled away from the curb and turned onto the road. Connor stared out the window at the hospital as they drove away.
"Bye bye, Sacred Cross. Good riddance." He mumbled.
Jude hears him and chuckled softly, rolling his eyes at his boyfriend.
About an hour later, after getting stuck in traffic because some idiot jack-knifed and crashed into his own camper, they finally arrived at the Adams Foster house. Connor looked up at the house happily.
"We're home." He said.
Behind him, Jude smiled.
"Yeah." He muttered happily.
Jude opened the door, and grabbed Connor's crutches before sliding out and stepping up to Connor's door and opening it for him. Slowly, he helped Connor out of the car, and handed him his crutches.
"I'll see you guys later." Eric said, "I'm gonna go and start getting the house ready. It should be ready in a couple of days."
"Okay." Connor said, "Thanks bro. For everything."
"Hey, what are brothers for?" Eric asked.
The couple waved goodbye as Eric back out of the driveway and drove off down the road. They turned and headed toward the front door. Jude helped him up the steps, and held the front door open to allow him entrance to the house. Once inside, he was immediately set upon by Stef and Lena, who hugged him tightly. He didn't hesitate to hug them back.
"Good to see you out of the hospital, bud." Lena said.
"Good to be out. It was driving me crazy." Connor said, "Where is everybody?"
"Brandon's upstairs, working on his music." Stef said, "Callie is at Roberts, but she'll be back for lunch. Mariana is out with Mat, and Jesus is in the kitchen eating a snack."
"Oh, okay." Connor responded, "Actually, when is lunch? It'd be good to eat food that isn't from a hospital cafeteria."
"Well, lunch is in an hour, so you won't have to wait too long." Stef said, "I know how you feel, though. Sacred Cross has lousy food."
"What do you wanna do until then?" Connor asked, turning to Jude.
"Video games?" He asked, "I got Skyrim a couple of days before this mess happened. Haven't played it yet."
"You'll like it. I did." Connor said enthusiastically, "The controls are kind of like Fallout, but there's magic and stuff. If you level up your destruction skill to Master level, and have enough gold, you can buy a spell that lets you shoot a column of lighting out of your hands. There's another that causes a blizzard around you, and another that's basically a huge explosion. The character waves his hands around, and BOOM, fire everywhere, it's awesome."
Jude laughed at his enthusiasm. As he watched Connor wave his arms around while trying to lean on his crutches, Jude was just glad to see Connor happy again.
"You guys want a snack?" Lena asked.
"Sure." Connor said thankfully.
"Nah, I'm good." Jude said.
"I still can't believe you don't like snacks." Connor teased as the boys adjourned to the living room, Jude carrying a bag of chips for Connor.
"Hey, not pigging out on snacks is what keeps me skinny." Jude joked as the two sat down on the couch.
"You calling me fat?" Connor asked in mock offense.
"No." Jude deadpanned, "I wouldn't even joke about that. You're hot! Have you looked in the mirror, Mr. Six-Pack? You're built like an Adonis."
Connor blushed.
"You really think I'm hot?" Connor asked.
"Well... yeah. Of course I do." Jude said as if stating the most obvious thing in the world, "Why, did you doubt that?"
"Well, I know you like me." Connor said simply, "But we haven't really talked about this kind of thing yet. I didn't know what you thought of me... ya know, that way. Looks wise."
"You're hot, Connor. Trust me" Jude said, "A lot hotter than me."
"Why do you say that?" Connor asked confused.
"You have a lot more muscles than me. You're a lot hotter." Jude deadpanned.
"Just because you're not built like an athlete doesn't mean you're not hot." Connor deadpanned back, "Besides, I think you're good the way you are. You never have to feel inadequate with me. You're perfect the way you are."
"I still wish I had your muscles." Jude grumbled.
"Not that you need it, but if you want, you could start working out with me once my foot heals enough for me to start back up." Connor offered, "Jesus could probably help, too. It'll take some work, but if you want to gain some muscle tone, I can help."
Jude quirked the corner of his mouth into a small smile.
"Thanks Connor."
"No need to thank me, Jude." Connor said, waving it off, "It's just me speaking the truth."
The two fell into a comfortable silence as the game started. Jude designed his character to look somewhat like him, and set about causing as much mayhem as he could while still completing the missions. About forty minutes later, Jude was directing his character through a large underground cavern, looking for a word of power. He was trying to kill a bandit, but kept missing him with his bow and arrow. Connor jumped in and started trying to offer advice, which Jude studiously ignored.
"Come on, Jude! Use Unrelenting Force! BLOW HIM OFF THE CLIFF!" Connor instructed enthusiastically.
Jude did as Connor suggested, holding the shout button, and watching with glee as his character emitted a shockwave from his mouth that caused the bandit to be thrown through the air like a ragdoll, falling over the ledge of the cliff to plunge to his death below.
"See, if you'd listen to me more, you'd win faster." Connor teased.
"Oh hush up, muscle head." Jude teased back, poking Connor in the side.
What he didn't expect was for Connor to squeak and leap away from the touch. Jude looked at him in shock, before a sly grin stretched over his face.
"Connor Stevens, are you ticklish?" Jude cackled evilly.
"NO! No, you just caught me by surprise is all." Connor stammered through his laughter.
"I think you're lying." Jude said, laughter in his voice as he slid closer to Connor, hands poised and ready to lunge, "I think I've found one of your weaknesses."
"Please don't..." Connor begged, trying not to laugh.
"Oh, I'm not going to now, but believe me... when you least expect it." Jude said dramatically.
Connor laughed and leaned in and pecked Jude on the tip of his nose, making his face scrunch up as he started laughing too and turned red simultaneously.
"How long do you think it'll be before we get used to this?" Jude asked.
"I don't know." Connor said as Stef entered the room.
"Lunch is ready boys." She said.
"What are we having?" Jude asked.
"Tacos." She answered.
Jude helped Connor to his feet, and the pair followed Stef into the kitchen, where the rest of the family sat waiting. Neither Jude nor Connor had heard Callie arrive home, because they had been so absorbed in their game. The two sat next to each other, and not ten seconds later, Jude felt something rub against his ankle. He looked down to find Connor's foot rubbing against his. Jude smiled to himself, and engaged in a game of footsie with his boyfriend.
Jude got up after he fixed his first taco, and pulled a bottle of ketchup from the fridge. He squirted a small amount onto the taco, and took a bite. He failed to notice that the whole family was watching him do so with various expressions, ranging from confusion to disgust. Connor stared, accidentally spilling hot sauce on his fingers.
"Really?" Connor asked, his nose scrunched in disgust.
"What?" Jude asked.
"You put ketchup on your tacos?" Lena deadpanned.
"What? It's good!" He exclaimed in defense.
"Why do I seriously doubt that?" Connor said flatly.
"Try it. You might like it." Jude challenged sassily.
"Fine, I will." Connor said.
He was never one to back down from a challenge.
He took the bottle of ketchup from Jude and squirted a small amount onto a small portion of his soft taco. Connor proceeded to tear the ketchup polluted piece from the rest of the taco and popped it into his mouth. The strange combination assaulted his taste buds unpleasantly, and his face scrunched in disgust.
"Oh my god, that's disgusting."
Jude, being the mature thirteen year old boy that he was, responded as was customary for a boy of his age against such a response and offense against his taste in food.
He stuck his tongue out at him. Connor reached out and tapped Jude's tongue with the tip of his finger, which was still covered in hot sauce, causing Jude to sputter in disbelief that Connor had just done what he did.
"Really, Connor?" Jude said.
"Hey, you had it coming." Connor teased.
Once their antics were finished, the rest of the dinner was full of conversation ranging from Brandon's admission to Idyllwild, to Jesus's impending departure for boarding school in Colorado. After lunch wrapped up, Jude and Connor adjourned back to the living room and resumed their positions in front of the television and un-paused the game. The played for another hour in silence, with Connor eventually leaning his head on Jude's shoulder before Jude spoke up.
"Hey, can we talk about something?" Jude asked.
"Yeah, of course." Connor said.
"Have you thought about how you're gonna tell your mom?" Jude asked, "About us. About you."
"I have no idea." Connor answered, "I guess I'll pull her into the living room, and we'll tell her together? Sounds like the best plan."
"If that's what you wanna do, than yeah." Jude agreed, "How do you think she'll react."
"She won't react like my dad." Connor said bluntly, "I know that much. Other than that... I don't really know. I'm not gonna pretend I'm not a little scared, Jude."
"Hey. Even if her reaction isn't the best, you'll always have a safe place here." Jude said softly, "This place is as much your home as it is mine now. You're part of the family now."
"I know." Connor said, looking into Jude's eyes, "I got really lucky the day I met you, you know that?"
"Yeah, how far we've come, right?" Jude said, laughing softly.
The two looked at each other, and Jude reached out and inserted his hand into Connor's. Connor held Jude's hand gently in his own grasp, messaging the back of Jude's hand with his thumb.
They continued to play video games until it was time for them to prepare for bed. Connor insisted that he could traverse the treachery of the staircase by himself, only to moment's later request Jude's assistance. After taking turns using the bathroom to change into their pajamas, the boys crawled into Jude's bed.
Jude fell asleep first, leaving Connor lying there awake. Just before he fell asleep, Connor felt Jude shift next to him and snuggle into his side. When Connor did finally succumb to sleep, he did so happily with a smile on his face.
The next day passed far too quickly for the boys, in a whirlwind of Star Wars movies, and more video games. As it was a Sunday, Jude was dreading his return to school the next day, and all too soon, Jude was waking up and dressing to return to Anchor Beach. Connor was still asleep when he left, but Jude made sure to tuck the blanket back around his sleeping boyfriend before making his exit.
The first few hours of the day pass quickly, which Jude was thankful for. Soon, he was arriving at lunch. He sat down at the table, which sat in the shade under a tree. It was the same table he had sat at while watching Connor and Daria making out while he stewed furiously with jealousy. He opened his paper sack and withdrew his sandwich and water. He ate quickly, before putting his headphones in and turning on some music. He quickly gave up trying to find something to listen to, since the iPod, a hand me down from Jesus, had nothing on it that interested him or that he could even remotely tolerate listen to. He paused it and stuffed it back into his pocket, making a mental note to see if Connor had any good music when he got home later that day.
A shadow crossed the table, and Jude looked up to see Daria and Taylor moving to sit with him.
"Hey, Jude." Taylor said.
'Don't make it bad.' Jude thought briefly, but shook his head, exasperated at himself.
"Hey Taylor, Daria." Jude said quietly.
"How's Connor?" Taylor asked.
Jude smiled slightly.
"He's okay. He's out of the hospital." Jude said relieved.
"We know. He texted me earlier and explained what happened with his dad." Taylor said, "Told me that he was gonna be staying with his mom and brother from now on."
"Yeah." Jude said.
"Are you okay?" Daria asked.
"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine." Jude answered easily.
"Bet you're glad Adam's out of the picture, huh?" Taylor asked, "No more of him trying to destroy you and Connor's friendship."
At the word friendship, she gave him a subtle wink that Daria didn't notice. Jude snorted a laugh at his friend, and nodded.
"Um. Yeah, that is a plus." Jude agreed.
Jude then noticed that Daria looked sad. He makes eye contact with her and offers her a small smile.
"You okay?" Jude asked.
"Yeah, just sad." Daria said, "Connor told you that he broke up with me, I'm guessing. He tells you everything."
"Um. Yeah, he mentioned that." Jude said, becoming suddenly uncomfortable.
"He wouldn't even tell me why, either." Daria continued, "I hope it wasn't something I did."
"It wasn't." Jude interjected quickly.
Daria looked at him weirdly.
"Did he tell you why?"
Jude had the very distinct look reminiscent of a deer stuck in headlights.
"Yeah, but I don't know if Connor would want me to say anything."
Daria deflated, and Jude felt immensely guilty.
"Hold on. Let me text him and ask him if it's okay." Jude said.
Daria nodded as Jude pulled his phone back out and opened a text conversation with Connor.
J: Hey.
C: Hey! How's school?
J: Sitting w/Daria and Taylor at lunch.
C: Oh. That's awkward.
J: Ya. Daria is really sad about u breaking up w/ her.
C: Ya, sorry about that.
J: Is it ok if I tell her y?
C: Go ahead. I guess she deserves 2 no.
J: K thanx. C u win I get home.
C: ttyl.
Jude looked up from his phone and stood from his seat.
"Come with me, I don't want this to be overheard." Jude said.
He led them into the school, and the trio commandeered a deserted classroom. Once Jude was sure the door was locked and secured, he turned to the girls and sighed nervously.
"Okay, so what I'm about to tell you might make you mad." Jude said to Daria, "Did Connor ever tell you that his dad tried to stop us from being friends?"
"He mentioned it once, but I didn't get why." Daria said.
"Well, one day I went with Connor to the batting cages with Adam." Jude continued, "Adam spent the whole time criticizing Connor, and just being mean. By the end of it, Connor was so sad he was about to cry. I tried to make him feel better, and I gave his a pat on the back. Adam saw me do that. The next day at school I ask Connor if he can stay over the next night to play a new game I'd gotten. Connor tells me that his dad has banned him from coming over to my house."
"That's fricken stupid. Why?" Daria asked.
"Apparently giving your emotionally abuse best friend a pat on the back means you're gay." Jude said.
Daria looked demented from the intensity of the glare set on her face.
"If I burnt down his house, will you give me an alibi?" She hissed.
Jude snorted.
"I appreciate the sentiment, but it won't be necessary."Jude said, "Anyway, you remember the school camping trip?"
"Yeah, we hung out with you guys while we were swimming." Daria said with a nod, "You and Connor kept trying to tackle each other in the water."
"Yeah, well. We shared a tent." Jude continued, "We were talking about things, when we broached the subject of a game of spin the bottle we'd been in a couple weeks earlier."
"What happened during the game?" Daria asked.
"Well, Connor snuck over to my house while a party was going on." Jude explained, "Chelsea and Maddie were there."
"Ugh, those two." Taylor grumbled.
"You don't like them?" Jude asked.
"Don't get her started, just keep going." Daria advised.
"Okay, never mind then." Jude said, looking slightly alarmed, "Anyway, during the game, Connor spun it and it landed on me."
"Oh." Daria said.
"Yeah. Awkward, right?" Jude said, "I wasn't gonna do it. Called the game stupid. Connor said it was fine, and to just get it over with. We were about an inch from kissing when my sister Callie came in saying that Adam was there looking for Connor."
"Okay, why were you talking about that in the tent?" Daria asked.
"I wondered the same thing." Jude said, "I asked him why he was asking... and his answer wasn't what I expected at all."
"What was his answer?" Daria asked.
"Um... he uh, he kissed me." Jude confessed, "And he's done it again since then."
Daria's eyes widened in realization.
"OH, I get it now." She said, "He broke up with me because he actually liked you."
"Yeah." Jude said sheepishly, "Sorry about that."
"So Connor is actually gay?" Daria asked for confirmation.
"Yeah.
"Then why did he ask me out in the first place?" She asked confused.
"The only way Adam would let us spend time together was if Connor had a girlfriend..." Jude said, "I'm sorry, Daria."
"Don't be. It's fine." She said waving it off, "With the way Adam was, I can't say I blame Connor for hiding that. Are you two a thing now? Or..."
"Yeah. We are." Jude confirmed, "We made it official when I got to see him at the hospital."
"It's about time." Taylor huffed.
"You already knew?" Daria asked surprised.
"Yeah, when she suggested getting drunk and making out that night she nudged me and pointed her eyes at Connor." Jude explained, "He was grinning at me like an idiot. She was trying to set us up."
Daria laughed.
"Well, it kind of worked, Connor's gunshot wound aside." Daria joked.
"So... you're not mad, then?" Jude asked Daria, "I expected to get slapped to be honest."
"Nah, it's all good. I'm just glad it wasn't something wrong with me." Daria shrugged, "I'm happy for him. He's accepted himself, and he's found somebody he can be happy with. And you, man, are lucky. You only snagged the hottest guy in the whole school as your first boyfriend."
Jude blushes furiously.
"Can you, uh... not say anything about this to anybody?" Jude asked, "I'm not ready for this to be public yet, and I have no idea what Connor wants to do. We haven't talked about it yet."
"Don't worry, our lips are sealed." Daria assured as the bell rang to signal the end of lunch period.
Jude stood there and watched as Daria and Taylor walked away, and he found himself considering how good his luck was to have them as friends.
AN#2: Hope you guys liked the second new chapter today. As usual, read review and enjoy.
