Chapter 8

Jack lost track of time.

It was one of those experiences where he suddenly blinked and realized that he wasn't where he last remembered. And he couldn't really connect what he remembered last with what was currently going on.

It always struck a chord of fear within him as soon as he realized it, or became conscious of where he was. There was a second of confusion, and then more fear, in a completely overbearing, overwhelming spurt.

He sat there, taking in the fact that he was obviously in a hospital room, in a hospital bed, and not completely comprehending why. He kind of realized what had happened, especially as the day flashed back at him like a bag of bricks hitting him in the gut. He still felt extremely bizarre, but was now more disturbed that his memory after Bobby picking him up at school was a complete whirlwind.

He was slightly angry at Bobby, mostly because he felt abandoned and because they'd come here instead of going home. He had no idea where Bobby was now that he was in this room. The reason he called Bobby was because he trusted him. He trusted him to come get him and somehow make it better. Bobby always had answers for everything. And if he couldn't make it better, he would at least get him home.

He was no where near home now.

He moved his hand up to his face and felt something tugging. With a frown, he looked down at his arm and noticed the IV. His eyes trailed the tube, up to the IV bag and he swallowed, wondering what it was that they were dripping into him and how long he'd been in this bed.

Taking a deep breath, he tried to remember the day. He really couldn't. There was school, and then there was a flash of events that didn't seem like he had actually experienced first hand.

All he knew for certain was that this had not been the plan. If he couldn't remember, that might mean he'd been asleep. And if he'd been asleep, it meant everyone had proven him right and he had failed…

Seventy hours and then this?

Confused and angry, Jack sat up a little in bed and looked around the room. He heard the normal sounds of the hospital outside and felt sick. He hated hospitals. He hated being in hospitals and having anything to do with them. He hated that Bobby had brought him here. And even more, that no one was with him now.

He ripped the tape off of his arm that was holding down the IV tubes in place and stared at the IV catheter.

A moment later he yanked it out as well.

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

The same nurse came out to talk to Bobby and Evelyn after what seemed like an eternity. She had a smile on her face as she approached and extended her hand to Evelyn when she was in front of them.

"I'm Michelle Greer," she introduced herself as she shook her hand briefly. "Are you of relation to Jack as well?"

Evelyn nodded. "I'm Evelyn Mercer. I'm his legal guardian."

Nurse Greer nodded and took a seat beside her, sitting on the edge and angling herself so she could see both of him. "Well, you'll be glad to hear that he's going to be absolutely fine. We've set him up in a temporary room just so we can monitor his vitals for a little bit and give him some fluids, so I'll take you in to see him as soon as we chat for a bit."

"I'm sorry about all of this, and I feel terrible," Evelyn admitted. "Something so foolish causing all of this, you know?" She sighed. "Teenagers are very stubborn."

"We're rather impressed with how long he's been awake," the nurse agreed. "Possibly one of the worst things you can do to your body, but rather impressive that he had that stamina and will-power."

"He's very stubborn," Evelyn replied with a sigh. "But I don't really think impressed is a word I'll use to discuss this with him."

"No, I would doubt it," Nurse Greer agreed with a frown. "Now, I'm sure Bobby has made you aware of the symptoms that Jack was experiencing that landed them here today… The combination of caffeine and the lack of sleep is a dangerous concoction… In fact, he's rather lucky, and it's good he didn't take more of the pills than he did."

Evelyn felt guilty listening to the nurse speak. She wasn't sure what to do. Jack was a struggle, just like all of her boys were. One was so different from the other, and put her in situations she could never imagine.

She somehow felt immensely responsible for what had happened today, like she should have put her foot down, should have been more stern. But she knew as well as anyone that Jack didn't respond well to that, and likely would have tried to do the same thing regardless.

She'd already tried to convince him to stop in the best way she could without causing him to directly rebel. But it hadn't worked.

"We did a couple things," Nurse Greer persisted, watching their faces as she explained. "And he's going to be completely back to normal after some good rest and a few days of taking it easy… We pumped his stomach… Simply because most of the caffeine had been ingested rather recently, and that's the best way to get any poison of his system."

Evelyn nodded. "Can there be complications to that? How did he…"

"There can be," she admitted. "But he was absolutely fine. In fact, I don't really know if he knew what was going on. He's been a little out of it, both from the reaction to the caffeine, and because we did give him an injection to calm him down. He at times appeared to be quite nervous… Panicky. And considering all the variables that could be affecting his emotional state, it was better to calm him down."

"Of course," Evelyn agreed, hands folded in her lap tightly.

"Right now, we have him on an IV drip," she persisted. "It's nothing but fluids. He was very dehydrated, and that we can fix right away. Over the next couple hours we just need to monitor his vitals, standard procedure."

"Good," Evelyn answered.

Bobby looked at her and at her hands. He could see the whites of her knuckles and knew that she was a lot more nervous then she let on. Evelyn was extremely good at pretending. That was why she always had control.

"We also…" Nurse Greer began slowly, "…We also ran a blood test to check for anything else, just to make sure we weren't dealing with any more serious complications. And I do want to disclose to you that we did find trace amounts of methylphenidate and marijuana…. Trace amounts, but still there… And in the case of methylphenidates, most time it just stays in your system a couple days, so—"

"What is that?" Bobby asked. "I've never heard of that."

"Most commonly ritalin, which I'm sure you've heard of. I didn't see you mention it as a drug prescribed to him so—"

"It's not," Evelyn answered stiffly.

"It's one of the more common traces we find when we run tests on kids his age," Nurse Greer said. "Not that it's by any means an excuse, but it's becoming shockingly easy for kids to get a hold of it… Basically, any classroom."

"Isn't that for ADD?" Bobby asked.

"ADHD," she corrected. "Yes. And similar to caffeine, actually, it can cause extreme insomnia and nervousness. So possibly it had something to do with today, but I think the Ritalin was not as recent. With the amount, I'm really more inclined to blame the caffeine. "

"Blame Jack," Bobby answered. "It's more him than the caffeine."

"Bobby," Evelyn objected.

"No seriously. He's a fucking idiot." Bobby looked at the nurse. "I'm sorry, excuse my language. I'm just a little annoyed."

"I understand," she answered. "And I don't want to bore you all with the minute details, because it's not a very complicated case, and I'm sure you're anxious to see him. So I am more than happy to answer any questions you might have, or I can take you to see him."

"Thank you," Evelyn replied. "That would be great."

"Okay, so just follow me then."

They got up and allowed her to lead them down the hall, past where Bobby had checked in. They turned down another hall and walked down several doors. In a couple of minutes, she stopped in front of a room and was about to walk in when suddenly she frowned.

"Well, that's weird…" she began slowly.

"What?" Evelyn asked, giving her a quizzical look.

Nurse Greer took the chart off the door and stared at it. "This is his room, it's just…"

Bobby peered around her and saw the empty bed. "Where is he?"

"Good question," she answered, putting the chart back. "If you'll excuse me, I'm just going to check with the nurse doing rounds and make sure they didn't move him. Sometimes, you know, for space, we do have to move patients."

"But his chart is still here," Evelyn pointed out.

She looked flustered. "Yes, I know…. I… I'll be back in just a minute. I'm sorry."

Evelyn took a deep breath as she watched the young woman leave. She looked at Bobby, who was now leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest.

"Oh, Bobby," she began. "What else could possibly happen today?"

He made a face and shrugged. "The world could end." His head was pounding, an evil reminder of his hangover. "Do you want me to go look for him now, or should we wait for her to come back?"

"Look for him, Bobby?" Evelyn answered. "She'll be able to tell us in just a minute. Be patient."

"She'll magically know where he's hiding?" Bobby pushed off the wall and walked into the doorway of the empty room, peering in again just to make sure. He looked around the corner and then walked towards the bathroom to look inside that small space as well.

"Hiding?" Evelyn began. "You really think…"

"It's Jack."

"But honey, after what just happened? They gave him something to relax him, they pumped his stomach, he's on an IV and isn't exactly—"

"It's Jack," Bobby repeated as he approached her side again. "He's probably waiting at my car."

"Oh, Bobby…" Evelyn rolled her eyes.

"You're right," Bobby conceded. "He probably wouldn't make it that far. Least not dragging the IV with him…" He glance back into the room and squinted at the IV bag and the tube rambling down to the floor. "Well, that's smart…" he muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing." Bobby didn't really want to explain to Evelyn what his suspicions were. At the same time, he wasn't sure what he was protecting her from. She would find out, maybe in just a few minutes, and besides, she would probably handle it better than he would.

"Bobby, do you really think…"

"Ma…" Bobby persisted. "It's Jack…"

Evelyn shook her head. "I don't know what to do with that boy sometimes… Really, Bobby."

"Oh, Ma, he's good," Bobby replied, hating the worry on his mother's face. He knew she used to have that same look whenever he did something stupid too. And he did a lot of stupid things.

"He's a puzzle," she answered. "A very complicated puzzle."

"But you knew that," he answered. "What kinda project is fun without it being complicated?"

"He is not a 'project', Bobby. How many years and you still have to do that?"

"Okay," he answered with a shrug. "You called him a puzzle."

She gave him a look.

Bobby fidgeted and knew this was no time to be even remotely joking. But he didn't know what to do. "I'll go up and down the hall, see if I see him. I'm surprised you don't believe me that he might've just left."

"It's not that I don't believe you, Bobby… It's that I don't want to believe you," she answered. "I'm sick with worry over it."

"I'll get him."

"Bobby…"

"I will."

"You don't even know—"

"I can figure it out. He's probably right around here."

She looked undecided.

"You wait here and see what they say," Bobby insisted. "I just want to see if he's somewhere on this floor."

"Come back within ten minutes though, Bobby. I mean it."

"I will," he promised.

Evelyn nodded.

Bobby walked away from her, down the hall in the other direction. In the back of his mind was the thought of the conversation he'd meant to have with her today. About Jack and his affinity for lighters….

It would be a terrible idea now to bring that up. Both for Ma and Jack. There was a lot more in the spotlight right now. He did intend to tell her about it, but now the timing seemed out of the question. It was just a thought in the back of his mind now, and by no means a priority. Jack stuffing himself full of caffeine and not sleeping for over seventy hours was definitely a bigger concern.

He passed the nurse's station and paused for a moment as his eyes grazed over a very young nurse who was bending over to pick up a file from a low shelf. He scolded himself immediately for even slightly deviating from his purpose to look at her.

He shook himself away from the temptation and continued down the hall, passing other rooms slowly, glancing inside and hoping that Jack wouldn't have just stumbled into some stranger's hospital room. He figured that wasn't very likely, even if Jack was still in the same state that he had been before.

It was no surprise to him that Jack had disappeared. Even while Evelyn wanted to believe the nurse that he may have been moved, Bobby didn't want to waste the time waiting to see. One of the first things he remembered about meeting Jack was being annoyed that he would just wander off. Even in the house, he could disappear somewhere, so quiet that you'd never know where to look first.

Bobby wouldn't admit it, but he always worried when Jack disappeared, even if he was gone for just a short period of time. He just had never thought of Jack as very self-sufficient, even though in reality the kid was like an armored shell sometimes. As a Mercer, you had to be. Still, the protective side of Bobby emerged anytime one of his brothers was in a potentially compromising situation.

One of his consolations now was that they were in a hospital. There wasn't much that could happen to him inside a hospital, considering they were prepared to deal with most any kind of emergency Jack might want to create. It was ironic, because for the amount of time Jack spent in his life trying to blend in or hide himself, he certainly put a lot of attention on himself too.

Within a few minutes, Bobby impressed himself by finding his little brother. It wasn't hard; after a turn down another hall, he noticed him right away sitting in a chair outside of some public restrooms. As he approached, he studied Jack. He was slouched down low in the plastic chair, head leaned back against the wall. He wanted to laugh at him, mostly because the stress of the situation had driven him to that point and because of the standard hospital gown the kid was wearing.

He felt fairly satisfied seeing him, mostly because he was right in his instinct. Of course he'd known Jack would be here.

His eyes were closed and he didn't move as Bobby sat down next to him. Bobby was hoping that something the hospital had done during the time they'd been here would have cleared Jack's head. He really hoped he wasn't in the same state of mind as when they'd arrived…

"Hey, Jack," Bobby began, clearing his throat. "Nice little dress you've got there."

Jack rolled his head to the side at the sound of the voice and his eyes opened. He didn't look at Bobby though, he looked around the room as though he was trying to figure out where he was.

"Bobby," he said, voice hoarse. "You…"

"Ma's here," Bobby said. "We didn't know where you'd gone. Let's go back there." Part of him wanted to shake Jack for thinking he could just get up and roam wherever his heart desired. But at this point, he was used to Jack doing it, had obviously expected it, and knew acting angry had never made a difference.

Jack made a face "No… It's fine here."

"Did you hear me? Ma's here." Bobby watched Jack reach a hand up to his face, pushing his hair back from his forehead, and saw the trail of blood down his wrist. "Jesus…"

"I'm just resting a second, and then—" Jack pulled his arm away as Bobby touched his wrist. "Fuck off."

"Fuck off?" Bobby echoed. "Why the hell are you bleeding?" He remembered the discarded IV back in the room as he watched Jack cradle his arm to his chest.

"Why'd you bring me here?" Jack asked. "Let's just—"

"How do you feel?"

"Feel?" Jack scowled. "Fine. I feel fine. I feel… I feel like going…" He slid out of the chair and stood up, a little unsteady.

Bobby then laughed out loud and reached up to close the back of Jack's hospital gown, keeping his hand there to hold it closed. "Man, have you really been walking around like that?"

Jack turned his head and narrowed his eyes at Bobby, having no idea what he was talking about.

Bobby laughed wholeheartedly, the image of Jack clueless walking down the hall bare assed too gratifying to pass up.

"What?" Jack answered.

"Nothing." Bobby smiled at him. He chuckled once more and then forced himself to be somber. It would be funnier later when he could actually describe it back to Jack. "Nothing at all. Let's find, Ma."

"Let's just go," Jack responded, voice almost a croak, taking a step away. Bobby's grip on his hospital gown held him back though. Jack glared again. "Come on."

"Man, it's not a good idea," Bobby answered. "And you're bleeding…"

Jack looked down at his arm uncertainly and then wiped off some of the blood on his hospital gown.

"Very sterile. Nice. Just what the hospital likes," Bobby answered. "Seriously. Ma's waiting. I told her within ten minutes I'd be back"

Jack paused and then looked at Bobby again for a moment. With a wayward glance towards the hall, he said, "I don't want them to pump my stomach. She said—"

"They won't."

Jack's brow furrowed. "How do you know?"

Bobby's arm was aching from holding the gown closed. "Because they already did."

Jack looked utterly confused. "No… No, they didn't."

"Yes, they did," Bobby answered. "I assure you, they did."

"They couldn't have—"

"They did, Jack. Trust me. Now quit being a pain and let's just go back."

"How could…" Jack continued to frown, even more bothered now by the lack of memory. How could he not remember something like that? "How could that be…"

"You're exhausted." Bobby stood up. "It's probably better you don't remember it. I've heard it's not too pleasant."

"It's your fault."

"My fault?" Bobby eyed an older nurse walking by and let go of the gown, approaching her and leaving Jack just a couple feet behind him. "Ma'am. Excuse me. Is there any way to get an extra hospital gown?"

She looked at him and then shrugged. "Yeah. Closet behind you has some linens and supplies."

Bobby watched her walk away, surprised she was suggesting that he go through the supply closet as a visitor, but then shrugged. He turned back, watching Jack stare off down the hall, and eyed the closet. "Jack, stay put."

He walked over to the closet and pulled open the door. There were neat shelves of towels, bed linens, and there… Gowns. He pulled one off the shelf and turned back to Jack, who hadn't moved.

He unfolded the gown as he walked over and took Jack's arm. "While I'm sure everyone really appreciates the show, Jack," he said, pushed Jack's arm through the sleeve of the gown, "this is better. Let's—"

"Where'd you park?" Jack asked.

"Park?" Bobby echoed.

"I can't believe you brought me here. You lied. You always lie to me." Jack scowled. "I don't know why I ever thought this was a good idea."

"I rarely lie." Bobby finished securing the gown around Jack and watched him sway a little. He put his hand on his back. "How do you feel?"

"I feel fucking fine," Jack insisted combatively, but his voice was less believable now.

"Fucking fine. I buy that," Bobby answered. "Can you tell me why every time I come home, you do something to fuck up? Is it the attention? Couldn't you have done this when I wasn't around?"

Jack didn't answer. He simply stood there, looking exhausted. It was then that the voice came over the intercom of the hospital. "Paging Mr. Jack Mercer….. Mr. Jack Mercer, could you please report…"

Bobby started to laugh again, not listening to the rest of the message. He shook his head in disbelief. "Hear that? They're looking for you. I found you. I wonder if I get a prize."

"You still lied… I asked you…."

"Jack." Bobby rolled his eyes. "I never lie to you."

"You do."

"What'd I lie about?"

"All this… Everything…" Jack swayed a little bit and then despite his desire for independence, gripped Bobby's arm for balance.

Bobby held him steady. "Okay. I'll agree that I'm a big fat liar. I said I'd take you home, and I didn't. You know why?" Bobby used his hold to turn Jack to fully face him. "Because you almost killed yourself, that's why. Now let's go."

"No, I didn't," Jack retorted, pulling his arm back and refusing to look his brother in the eye. He winced, the place on his arm where he'd pulled the IV aching. He stared at the blood for a second.

"No? Swallowing that many pills of anything seem smart to you? And what about the other things? Weed, I can see, not that I'm happy, but Ritalin? What the fuck is up with that?"

Jack blinked, going a little bit pale. "What?"

"Yeah, surprise, surprise," Bobby retorted. "I know."

"I never—"

"Blood tests don't lie, Cracker Jack," Bobby said stiffly. "They never lie."

"That was—"

"I don't even care when it was. We're not going to talk about it now anyway. This isn't the place."

"That was before…"

"I don't care," Bobby persisted. "I really don't care. But the sooner you just come with me, and I don't have to look like a lunatic and drag you, then the sooner we can go home and I can sleep off my hangover. And I will drag you. Maybe you don't care, but I'm not leaving Ma much longer."

Jack set his jaw.

Bobby sighed, studying his face. "I know that stubborn look. It won't work," he answered. "Why are you doing this to Ma? Seriously, man. She put up with this thing you wanted to do, and then you hide from her. What are you gonna do? Just sit here in this chair?"

"She's angry."

"She's not," Bobby answered. "She's worried." He saw Jack's look and insisted. "And I'm not lying. Why after years do you still not understand her and how she works? There's not a scary bone in her body. Yet you continue to hide every time you so much as sneeze."

"I want to go home."

Bobby sighed. "Exactly. Me too." He paused. "Let's go see Ma, okay?"

Jack hesitated.

"Jackie," Bobby began. "If you didn't trust me… Then why would you call me to get you in the first place?"

"I don't know…"

"You do." Bobby took a deep breath. "It's because you do trust me. You know I'm right. Let's go see her."

"I can't."

"You can." Bobby stared at him, wondering why no matter how big Jack got, he still turned into that frightened little boy who thought the world was out to get him.

Bobby was convinced they'd won him over. He knew they'd persuaded him of otherwise, and knew that as much as Jack still looked like a kicked puppy half the time, he did trust them. They'd given him no reason not to.

He spoke again. "They'll check you out, and then we'll take you home and both of us can go back to bed. It's all over."

"Yeah…" Jack sounded reluctant.

"And…" Bobby slipped his hand to his back again, pushing him to walk a little bit in the right direction. "I bet you don't even have to go to school tomorrow."

"Yeah. They think I'm a freak." Jack took a few unenthusiastic steps with Bobby.

"Who does?"

"School."

"Who at school?"

Jack shrugged, and a flash of today's events in class in his head made him feel a little sick. He really had acted like a freak.

"Well, I'll kick their ass," Bobby muttered. "Any of 'em."

Jack thought about Bobby attacking the cheerleader that had sneered at him, and kind of smiled for a moment. But even that wasn't enough of a comfort to make him feel any better about what had happened that day, or what would happen. "Bobby…?" he began.

"Yeah," Bobby answered, relieved that they were at least now walking in the right direction, keeping his hand on Jack's back but letting him walk. Jack hated being controlled.

"Did you tell her?"

"Tell her?"

"Did you tell her?" Jack insisted in his gravelly voice.

Bobby was confused by the question. "I don't know what you're talking about, but I didn't tell anybody anything, I don't think…"

"But you said you'd tell her."

Bobby thought about it, and realized suddenly that Jack was referring to the threat he'd made that morning during the fight about the pills… The threat to tell Evelyn about Jack's burns. He still intended to tell her, when the time was right. It made him too nervous to ignore it, and he just didn't know how to handle it himself.

"Oh, that," Bobby said. "No, Jack. I didn't tell her."

"Okay…" Jack's shoulders slumped with a little bit of relief.

But I will, Bobby wanted to say. He couldn't though. Not now.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

TBC