Chapter 4
By: MysticFantasy
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Six painfully slow days had passed since the shootout.
News of what had happened quickly spread around the city and kind volunteers had joined together to help the Mercer family repair their home and even had fundraisers to help for medical bills.
Evelyn had been so touched that so many people were willing to help her. Bobby, Angel and Jerry had told her that she deserved it after all those years she had done so much for everyone else.
In no time the Mercer house was restored to its former glory, looking as if nothing had ever happened to it.
Everyday of those six days the Mercer family spent as much time as possible with Jack who had yet to wake up. Everyday the doctor would explain that his body was just healing and needed rest.
Everyday they sat in their same spots, everyday Jack slept through their visit, everyday they quietly asked him to wake up and everyday ended the same as the day before.
Though the six days had seemed to take forever, a lot of things happened to each member of the Mercer family.
Bobby had announced that he would move back to help Evelyn more and help take care of Jack when he woke up and was released from the hospital.
Jerry had recieved a letter announcing that his loans were open again and he would be able to start his business from where he left off. He had right away shared the news with his family and had started getting to work on his project the first chance he could.
Angel had proposed to Sofi and his leave time was extended for him to plan his wedding. He was given a hard time about asking Sofi to marry him by Bobby but he knew his brother meant well.
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[Henry Ford Hospital]
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The family of four quietly walked out of the elevator and down the hall toward the room where Jack had been kept the past week.
As they neared his room they saw the door open and a doctor walk out holding a clipboard in his hands.
"Dr. Thomps?" Evelyn called as they neared him.
"Oh, hello everyone. Just in time to hear of Jack's latest condition." Dr. Thomps greeted.
"Is he ok?" Bobby asked.
"His condition changed Mr. Mercer." Dr. Thomps answered.
"How? Is he alright?" Jerry asked calmly.
"Well, good news is that he woke up about two hours ago." Dr. Thomps started.
"He did?" Angel asked with hope heavy in his voice and on his face.
"Yes but that's not the concerning part. I'm afraid there's a bit of bad news." Dr. Thomps continued. "When he woke up we did a few tests to make sure that he was alright and everything was working correctly. Unfortunately, we found something troubling."
"What is it?" Evelyn asked with heavy concern.
"Jack's suffering traumatic amnesia."
"Amnesia?" Bobby repeated unsure if he heard right.
"In order to deal with the shock of what happened at your home, his mind somehow blocked out the memories of him being caught in the crossfire. At the same time though, the rest of his memories were blocked out. He has no idea how he ended up here, he can't recall anything about his life before waking up...He doesn't even remember his own name."
"So...he's not gonna remember who we are?" Jerry asked trying to hold back a sob.
"I'm afraid not." Dr. Thomps answered.
"Is there a way to fix this?" Bobby asked a bit impatiently.
"When it comes to amnesia, there's no sure way to cure it. Medicine wise anyway. Something like this can only be fixed with time but I have to tell you now that there could be a chance that Jack's amnesia may be permenant. If it's not then it can only be overcome with time and patience."
Time and patience. He says it like it's no big deal. Bobby thought angrilly.
"You can try to help by showing him a few family pictures or try saying something like an old nickname that might trigger something like an emotion flashback. A nickname that he did or didn't like."
"I've got one in mind." Bobby muttered.
"Try and see if it works. If he's able to feel a sort of familarity of any kind it'll be a positive start to helping him recover. Now natrually he's going to be untrusting of anyone he'll come in contact with but it's to be expected. Just try to slowly earn his trust and he should become more comfortable around you."
This is just like when he was first brought to us. Evelyn thought remembering the day that she met Jack and had brought him home. It took nearly nine months for him to trust them. Now they would have to do it all over again.
"He's awake right now so you can go ahead and visit. Someone will be back to check on him in a few hours."
"Thank you doctor." Evelyn said.
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The family of four quietly walked into the room and right away spotted Jack leaning against his pillows on the reclined bed with an untouched plate of what looked to now be cold food in front of him on an extended rolling tray.
The eyes of the youngest brother were open but held a blank expression. He looked tired but at the same time he looked unsettled. Most likely wondering how he ended up in a hospital with bullet wounds and now couldn't remember his life before waking up.
He didn't look up when the four walked in nor did he bother to even move. He stayed perfectly still.
"Hey Jack." Bobby greeted walking over to stand by the bedside.
Jack's eyes looked over to him, his gaze now holding curiosity and uncertainty.
"How you feeling little brother?" Jerry asked as the rest of them came to stand with Bobby.
"Who are you?" Jack asked casually.
"We're your family." Angel answered.
Jack looked at everyone with an unreadable look on his face.
"It's true Jack." Bobby said. "The three of us are your big brother's and this is Evelyn, our mom."
"Sorry, I don't see the resemblance." Jack said.
"Yeah there's not much resemblance but it's the truth Jack."
"Why do you keep calling me that?"
"What? Jack? That's your name."
"It is?"
"Yeah. Your name is Jackson but everyone has always called you Jack. Like with me. My real name is Robert but I always go by Bobby. We got little nicknames for you too. Sometimes we call you Jackie, I call you a fairy every now and then."
"Why?"
Bobby saw the confused look on Jack's face and realized that using the nickname didn't trigger anything like he had hoped.
"It was just something that I called you and you didn't like."
Jack simply nodded.
Everyone noticed that he just seemed to accept what he was told. It was all too much like when he was a child. He just accepted what was tossed at him.
"Anyway, how do you feel?" Jerry asked.
"A little tired and sore."
"You want to rest for a while?" Angel asked.
Jack didn't answer as the doctor walked back in and asked to have a word with Evelyn. The blond woman walked out of the room with the doctor, leaving the brother's alone.
"Were you serious before?" Jack suddenly asked.
"About what?" Angel asked.
"About us being brothers."
"Yeah, we're serious Jack." Bobby answered. "I'm the oldest, Jerry is second, then it's Angel and you're the youngest. But the reason we don't share any kind of resemblance is because all four of us were adopted by Evelyn. We were all foster kids with some pretty rough backgrounds. Mom was the only one who gave us all a chance and she made us her sons. She helped us a lot. More than anyone else ever did."
"Does any of that sound familiar?" Jerry asked hopefully.
Jack slowly shook his head.
Bobby, Jerry and Angel felt their hearts sink a little. They knew this was going to be hard for Jack. They just hoped that the recovery of his memories would be before the recovery from his physical injuries.