The procedure comes on a Saturday morning, and Isaac and Jackson both stay at the Mahealani's the night before. They all pile into the Mahealani's car, and head to the hospital, where they divide. Mr. and Mrs. Mahealani ask if Danny wants him there, but he's got Jackson and Isaac, and he feels like Maia is going to need the comforting more.
Jackson promises to keep Mrs. Mahealani updated by text message, and she eventually agrees. After all, he's not going unconscious, it's not surgery, it's just an extraction…like giving blood, but about 50 times more painful, from what they've all heard.
As Danny checks in, and gets led to the station, Isaac and Jackson can both smell the fear on him, but they say nothing, not to him, not to each other, because Danny is standing tall, and they both admire him so much for what he's doing. They want to support him, it's why they're here, after all.
"Alright, this is going to hurt," the nurse warns, looking at Danny, flanked by his two, only slightly intimidating, best friends.
"I know." Danny nods, and Jackson and Isaac both hear his heart rate pick up. "I don't care."
"Okay." The nurse smiles. "I think what you're doing is amazing," she says, as she prepares him for everything. The whole preparation takes awhile, there's an IV, and Danny looks away during that part.
That's when Isaac realizes something it seems Jackson has known, but didn't tell him.
Danny is afraid of needles.
Danny is terrified of them, and here he is, about to undergo a procedure involving one of the biggest needles in medicine today. Holy shit, the guy is brave.
"I'm gonna get the good stuff pretty soon," Danny says with a smile, gesturing to the IV, and it's pretty clear that he's trying to be funny to keep himself calm.
"Hell yeah." Jackson smiles. "You're going to go to sleep, you won't feel any of it, okay?" He knows that Danny will be hurting when he wakes up, but he also knows that he and Isaac will be right there to shut that hurting down. Danny isn't going to feel any more pain than is absolutely necessary, because Jackson wasn't able to do this the first time, when Danny had to have the barbs put in, but he can sure as fuck help him now, and he's going to.
"And we'll be here, okay?" Isaac doesn't know what to say, but he feels like he has to say something. "When you wake up, we'll be right here."
"Thank you." Danny nods, gulping, showing just a tiny bit of the same vulnerability he showed Isaac that night on the couch when they first kissed. His heart is still racing, and he's terrified, Isaac can feel it, he knows Jackson can, too.
"You're gonna do great," Isaac assures him, reaching out, taking Danny's hand, more out of habit than anything. He squeezes gently, and he's surprise to note Danny's heart rate evening out a little. Isaac leans down, whispering in his ear. "I think you're the bravest person I've ever met, and it's okay to be scared, don't forget that. It's okay."
"Thank you." Danny nods, and Isaac pulls back up as the nurse walks in, after all, they don't need any kind of drama, and Jackson's there, rolling his eyes at the two of them in spectacular Jackson Whittemore fashion.
"Alright boys, I'm going to have to ask you to leave, but you can be in the family waiting room, alright?" The nurse smiles gently at him, and Isaac is pretty sure that Melissa, even though it's her day off, and she's spending it with her son, orchestrated all of this, so that it would be easy, so that Jackson and Isaac could be with Danny.
"Good luck, bro," Jackson says with a smile. "See you on the other side – and by the way, I WILL be filming the things that you say while you're high as shit on anesthesia."
"Of course." Danny rolls his eyes.
Isaac doesn't know what to say, so he sort of looks at Danny, biting his lip, smiling gently, and Danny just nods, because he knows. He knows that Isaac is telling him that it's okay to be scared, and that he's going to be fine, and that he'll see him soon.
They wheel Danny to the operating room while Jackson and Isaac head to the waiting room.
They sit there, not really talking to each other, because it's Jackson and Isaac, and they have never had that much to say to each other, and what they did have got said the other day in the dug out. Jackson is playing on his phone most of the time, sending texts, and doing god knows what, while Isaac paces back and forth.
Their saving grace comes in an unusual form about halfway through when Lydia walks into the door of the waiting room. She's holding a bouquet of tiger lilies, and she looks like a million bucks…but when does she ever not?
"Nice jeans," she says to Isaac, smiling at him, winking.
"Oh, thanks." He nods, because yeah, he wore the jeans she bought him today. For some reason, it just seemed right when he was getting dressed that morning.
"Lydia…" Jackson rises to his feet, and Isaac takes the hint immediately.
"I'm gonna go get coffee," he states. "Coffee? Coffee?" he points to Jackson, then Lydia. They both nod, and Isaac takes his leave.
"You came." Jackson looks at her, standing across the small room from him. He wants to move closer, but a part of him is afraid she'll run if he does.
"Of course I did," she states. "Danny's actually been here for me, you know, since you've been gone. We've been hanging out. I came here for him."
"I know." Jackson nods. "But…"
"But what, Jackson?" Lydia asks, looking at him, her expression serious, but not the same angry one she wore the other day.
"I didn't want to leave you, Lydia," he says softly. "My parents moved, I had to go with them. I couldn't stay here for you, I…"
"It's not that you left, Jackson. I understand that you had to leave, it's that you didn't say goodbye. You just…decided to go, and then you were gone, and after everything that happened, I thought we had-"
"I couldn't say goodbye to you," Jackson stated. "You literally saved my life, just by loving me, and because I loved you. How do you say goodbye to someone like that? I wouldn't have been able to leave, but I didn't have a choice!"
"Jackson…" Lydia's expression softens, because she's not sure that she has ever, in her entire life, save for that night, the night where she brought him back from the darkest place he'd ever been, seen Jackson as vulnerable as he is right now.
"I love you," he says softly, moving towards her. "There's nobody else, there's never going to be anyone else, and maybe I'm in London right now, but I'm 18 soon, and I'm coming back, okay? I'm coming back, and I'm gonna prove to you that we're meant for each other, because I used to think fate and all of that was bullshit, and I still sort of do, but not with you, because-"
Jackson doesn't get to finish his sentence, his thought, because Lydia sets down the tiger lilies and moves to him, pulling him close, kissing him fiercely. She's been angry at him for so long, and a part of her wants to stay that way, but he's telling the truth, she knows he is, and some part of her knows that he's right, that what he's saying is true. They are meant to be together. Some people just are.
"I missed you," she whispers, resting her head on his chest when they pull away.
"I missed you, too." He pulls her down on the couch, his arm around her, kissing the top of her head. This feels right to him. This is Lydia, his person, the one who loved him, even when he was a monster, even though maybe sometimes he still is. She got deeper, she found the real Jackson, and he doesn't ever want to be without her again.
"I brought…" Isaac walks back in, balancing a Starbucks drink carrier in one hand, and a bag of pastry in the other. "Should I leave again?"
"No, no." Lydia pulls away from Jackson, wiping a couple of stray tears from her eyes, and pulling out a compact to fix any imperfections that may have occurred in her makeup in the past few minutes.
"Okay." Isaac nods, handing each of them a cup of coffee, and giving the bag of food to Lydia, so she can take what she wants, and then pass it on. "I got a bagel, a croissant, and some weird loaf cake thing?"
"Pound cake, Isaac," Lydia says with a smile, pulling it out and breaking it in half.
The conversation is easier, after that, with Lydia there to act as a barrier, and the second half of the waiting time flies by.
"Alright," the nurse comes back into the room, and all three of them stand instantly. "He's out of surgery, he did great. He's a bit loopy, but you guys can go in. He just woke up."
"Yes." Jackson fist pumps. "Loopy Danny is the best." He puts his arm around Lydia, and Isaac carries the tiger lilies, and they head up to Danny's room, every one of them smiling, because Danny is going to be just fine…just like they knew he would be.
A/N Okay, posting now because I have another busy week, and this might be the last chance I get...also March Madness ended last night, which always throws me into withdrawal (I know it's lame, and I'm really sorry for that, but I'm gonna be slumping for a couple weeks, which may or may not impact my writing energy!). I hope you liked this chapter. It seemed important to touch on what's going on while Isaac is having his procedure. That being said, I know that some of you are very concerned that Jackson is not feeling guilt for what he didn't do for Isaac growing up. I have said before that I do plan on touching on this HEAVILY, but right now, I feel that Jackson's primary concerns (at least the way that I'm writing him in this story) would be, first and foremost, for Danny, his best friend as he undergoes surgery to save his sister, and for Lydia, the woman he loves. I am really sorry if that reads ill for you, and I am getting to that part, it's just not the primary focus right now. I brought it up early because it is a touchy subject, for sure, and I wanted to get some opinions before making a final decision.