Hello and happy Wednesday. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the reviews, love and support for this story. I can't tell you how much I love you all for being so amazing!
So, this is the second to last chapter, but the actual last chapter to the story. The last chapter will be an epilogue.
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Later that night, Jack finally woke up, dazed and groaning in pain. Jerry was finally relived to see that his best friend was okay and was ready for the uphill battle they were all about to face. Jerry pressed his call button multiple times, wanting a nurse and or doctor to check on Jack as soon as possible. Minutes later, a nurse enters the room and goes to Jerry who instantly points to Jack next to him. The nurse raises an eyebrow at Jerry but then looks over to Jack to see him staring at the ceiling. In complete shock, she frantically runs back out of the room and searches for his doctor.
The minutes tick by with Jack's pain getting worse and the nurse not believing what she saw. Suddenly, the door open with the doctor and two nurses entering the room and making their way to Jack. "Hello Mr. Brewer, I'm glad to see you awake. We're going to check your vitals and injuries real quick, okay," the doctor tells to him before hands start going everywhere and the machines start making noise.
After the checkup, the nurses leave the room, leaving the doctor with Jack who looks stable. "Mr. Brewer, I have to say, I'm amazed by your strength and recovery. I'll be honest with you, your condition was pretty bad and we weren't sure you'd make it. But, I'm glad you did and you're very lucky to be alive," the doctor continues honestly.
"Me too doc, me too," Jack agrees, his voice raspy and weak. "Can you tell me how my wife and friends are?"
"Of course," the doctor nods. "Mr. Martinez, your roommate is doing really well and healing nicely and so are Mr. Northman and Mr. Jensen. Your wife and female friends are recovering from surgery and haven't woke up yet. Their bodies went through tremendous trauma and are slowly readjusting to everything. All the medication, countless surgeries and malnutrition. However, they are all extremely lucky and should hopefully wake up within the next day or two, depending on how their bodies are coping," the doctor explains.
"Can I see them? Can I see my wife?" Jack questions softly.
"It's best for you to stay on bed rest, just for little while Mr. Brewer. Your body needs to heal," the doctor calmly tell him. "But, after everyone's awake and stronger, I'll take you to see them myself. And trust me when I say you'll see them soon. Some of you will be here for a while."
"Yeah, I figured that much. Thanks doctor," Jack trails off, trying to read the doctor's name tag.
"Dr. Paul Collins. I'll be on your service until you're discharged," Dr. Collins introduces.
"Sounds good. And thank you Dr. Collins, for everything," Jack smiles letting everything sink in.
Dr. Collins gives a quick smile and nod to Jack and Jerry before exiting the room, leaving the two to talk privately. As soon as the door clicks shut, Jack turns to his right and lets out a sigh of pure happiness. "Jerry, thank god you're okay."
"Me? Jerry repeats. "Thank god you're okay Jack. You got the worst out of all of us. Well, of the guys anyways."
"Yeah well, I rather get it then you guys and the girls. You don't deserve any of this," Jack counters.
"You don't deserve it either Jack," Jerry fires back. "No one deserves to go what we went through. But now, we have to accept it and move on because people are counting on us. They are depending on us to be the heroes they know and love. And hey, you are a hero after all of this.
"I'm not a hero," Jack snaps bitterly.
"Um, I hate to break it to you, but, you kind of are. You saved all of us. You sacrifice your life for us to be able to live our life. I know you hate the attention and title but it's the truth. And the sooner that you accept it and accept what's happened, the sooner we can all go back to our normal lives without worry," Jerry responds bluntly.
"Nothing will ever be normal," Jack hisses angrily.
"That's bullshit and you know it. Sure, we're all a little damaged; there's nothing wrong with that. We've been to hell and back and hell and back and we're still here to tell our story. But that's not the normal I'm talking about. I'm talking about the normal where we're with our families and friends and just all together, because let's face it, we've never been normal," Jerry retorts.
"You don't get it Jerry. Of course I want that and I agree with that normal, but how can anyone move past something like this knowing one of your friend was the cause for all of this?" Jack sighs, now focusing on the light on the ceiling.
"Jackson, you need to listen to me and you need to listen well. No one blames you for this, alright. It was an unfortunate situation and Declan was as fucking crazy as his uncle; but, he also did it for his uncle, which both you and I played a part in. Who knew Curlex had a family and who the fuck knew they would want revenge. And, if anyone's blaming someone, the blame should be on me. I was the one who brought you onto that life when we were kids. It was all my fault we got into this mess in the first place," Jerry announces firmly.
"Jerry, it's not your fault. We make choices in our lives and we just have to accept the consequences that come along with them," Jack states, closing his eyes.
"You should listen to your own advice sometimes," Jerry counters. "And, believe me when I say that the blood isn't on our hands anymore."
Silence fills the between the two as they never thought their lives would turn out the way it did. A disastrous roller-coaster that ruined everything they had.
OoOoOoOo
The day progresses in silence, the nurses coming in every few hours to check in on all of them and then, just when the day was almost over, numerous familiar voices could be heard and, "Gerald!" Jackson!" came from their doorway.
"MOM?" both Jerry and Jack shouted in a panic.
"What the hell happened to you and your friends," Bethany demands to know.
"Mom, it's nothing, really," Jack tried to play off with a smile.
"Cut the bull Jackson Brewer and don't you dare lie to me. I deserve to know, we all deserve to know. We deserve to know why our grandchildren were left with us for weeks, why you were all suddenly missing and why we get a phone calling telling us that our children are in the hospital. Do you know how worried we all were? Do you know we had to lie to your children about you guys, promising them that you were all okay and would be home soon? And, do you realize how broken we would have been if something were to happen to you guys. We are your mothers and we deserve to know the truth," Bethany lists off with anger and sadness.
Guilt. That's all they feel when the room grows quiet. Sure, they thought about their children and their safety, but their parents never crossed their minds. They were only thinking about now and didn't realize that without their parents, their children wouldn't have anywhere to go. No one to protect them and it made them sick to their stomachs, realizing they forgot about the people who cared about them and loved them the most.
Jerry was the first to open his mouth, ready to respond when Jack cut him off by shaking his head 'no'. Jerry raised an eyebrow at him, confusion written all over his face as Jack gave him a nod and then told their mothers everything that has happened. "Mom, Marie, we're sorry putting you through hell, again, but you remember like eight, nine years ago when Jerry and I got into trouble?" Jack started off.
"You mean, when the two of you got arrested and went to jail?" Marie retorts.
"Yeah, that," Jack guiltily smiles. "Anyways, apparently Curlex has a nephew who wanted revenge on Jerry and I, well, more like me and, the only way to get to me, us was through our friends. So, he started watching us, following us around town and then setting up traps to distract us. First there were the letters, next was the building 'collapse' and lastly, this. He made us weaker by kidnaping our wives and by making us let out guards down, knowing we'd do anything to get them back. He planned everything out in order to make us feel his pain. He wanted us to suffer like he had, and we did. But, he forgot one the most important thing."
"And, what's that Jack?" Bethany questions, her anger slightly fading.
"That we're family. We stick together through thick and thin. You hurt one of us, you hurt us all. And together, we fight back even harder," Jack responds with pure heart.
Silence takes over the room as even though Marie and Bethany want to be angry with their sons for all the hell they put them through, the damage that has been done and the trouble they caused, they couldn't be mad that they did it for each other. To protect the ones they care about and bringing them home safely. They knew their past was bad and ugly, but right now, in this second, they couldn't be more proud of the men they raised. "Jack, Jerry, we're not mad at you two. Shocked, confused and terrified, yes. But I don't think we could nerve be mad at you. We just don't like that the two of you ended up in the hospital, again," Marie adds.
"We know mom, we know. And, we're sorry," Jerry murmurs softly.
"We know you are sweetie," Marie smiles. "Just please, tell us this is all over?"
"Yeah, it's done," Jack nods.
"Good. Now you boys get some rest. We'll see you two tomorrow. We love you," Bethany finishes, giving Jack a kiss on the forehead and then doing the same to Jerry.
"We love you too," Jack grins as Marie follows suit and kisses both guys before exiting the room.
"Well that went better than I thought," Jerry laughed after a minutes of silence.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Jack agrees. "They're our mothers and know us better than anyone. And, after everything we put them through, they still love us. It's a damn miracle. I seriously hope our kids never get into the type of trouble we did."
"I highly doubt they will. They're good kids. But, if they have your hero complex, my carelessness, Leo's intelligence and Dean's persistence, we're all screwed," Jerry mentions with a smirk.
"God help us," Jack mumbles to himself as the feeling in the air is lighter.
OoOoOoOo
Over the next few days, Georgina, Abby, Sasha and Kate were all released from the hospital, their injures healing well. The four were of course out of work on disability and used their time to check in on everyone. They visited the guys to see how they were holding up and treated them like nothing changed; which the guys appreciated. They visited the wives in their husbands place and kept them up to date on everything that was happening and they had their own list to follow. They had to do physical therapy to help them retrain for their field work and talk to the police department therapist so they could see how they were holding up and if they were mentally able to come back to work.
Also during this time, the guys were getting restless, needing to get up out of bed and move and wanting to see their wives more than anything. Of course, a couple times a week, their mothers came to visit, telling them about their children and family. And every time, before they left, they would remind their sons that they gave them a heart attack and to not do it again.
OoOoOoOo
It was now over a week and a half when Hilary had finally woken up. Her body was in pain and her memory was a little foggy, but once she realized that she was in a hospital, everything came back and hit her like a ton of bricks. So much has happened and she only wished that everyone and everything was okay.
Reaching for her call button, she desperately needed something for the pain and for someone to tell her what happened. While she waited for a nurse or doctor, she looked around the room and realized that Kim was next to her, still sleeping. Sadly groaning, she just wanted all of this to go away and for her to be with her family, like before.
Seconds later, a nurse runs in to see Hilary slightly sitting up and staring at the celling. "Mrs. Martinez, it's good to see you awake," the nurse smiles, walking over to her and checking her vitals and injuries. "Things look good. Let me go grab the doctor," and then races out immediately.
Hilary nodded as seconds later, the door reopens with the doctor running over to Hilary, surprised and thankful. "Mrs. Martinez, welcome back. You gave us a scare. All of you did. How are you feeling?" the doctor probes as he does the checkup on her.
"How is everyone? My husband? My brother? My friends" Hilary lists off
"Mrs. Martinez, please. Take a deep breath, okay," the doctor advises, firmly but sweetly, knowing how she was feeling.
Hilary does what was asked as she calms down a little bit before the doctor continues, "Everyone is okay. You're four female friends got discharged a week ago and have been back daily to see you guys. Your husband is awake and doing well. He had some injuries involving his leg and shoulder, along with some bruises. Your brother and other male friends are the same too, doing well and healing, through we're still watching your brother as he recently only just woke up about a week ago. And, your other female friends are still asleep. All your injures were pretty severe and the surgeries were long and intensive. Your friend, Mrs. Jensen, had the worst out of all of you but you all seem to be recovering fairly well. You are all lucky."
"Yeah, we are. Can I see my husband and brother?" Hilary wonders.
"Sorry Mrs. Martinez, but you are on bed rest for a while. Your body went through a lot of trauma. But, I'll bring them up to you. They've been asking for you for a while" he offers, giving Hilary a small smile.
"Thank you," she whispers as the doctor nods before walking over to check Kim.
While he was checking her stomach, a light almost inaudible groan was heard and slight movement was seen. In shock, the doctor jumped back and waited to see if Kim would wake up, but after five minutes, she made no change. So, the doctor left and continued on his mission.
Going down one floor, he quickly walked to Jack and Jerry's room and was happy to see the two talking and laughing. Gently knocking, on the door and then letting himself in, instantly, two pairs of eyes were on him with that look of anticipation. "How are they?" Jerry asks as soon as the door closed.
"They're good. It's great actually. Mrs. Martinez jut woke up and is asking for the two of you. And, Mrs. Brewer is almost there. I think she needs a little push. So, I'm going to get another nurses bad we'll take you up there," the doctor shares as he can the relief in their eyes.
"Thank you," Jack says clearing his throat.
"Of course," the doctor nods, leaving the room with a small smile.
Minutes later, a nurse came in with a wheelchair as Jack and Jerry tried to move themselves but stopped as the pain struck them hard. "Mr. Brewer, Mr. Martinez, we know that you want to see them and that you want to get moving again, but it's going to be a little while before you're freely moving on your own. Your bodies are still healing. So please, take it easy and let us help," the nurse warned.
With a slight pout, the two gave in and were on their way. The minute elevator ride seem dot be going at the speed of a snail as all they wanted was to see their wives and sisters. The nurse gave a soft knock on the door and Hilary's faced lit up at the sight of her two guests as tears started running down her cheek. The nurse and doctor wheeled Jack and Jerry over to Hilary who instantly leaned down to hug them, ignoring the burning pain in her shoulder. "Jack, Jerry, thank god you guys are okay," she cries out in relief.
"Us? Thank god you're okay Hil. We are so sorry for everything, "Jerry sobs, grabbing Hilary's hand and holding it tight.
"Jerry, it's not your fault. It was some psychopath who had nothing better to do than ruin someone's life. Actually, this reminds me of what happened like eight years ago, "Hilary points out.
"Um, yeah, it's exactly that," Jack mumbles, patting her leg.
Hilary's eyebrows rise in confusion as Jerry wheels himself back, allowing Jack to take his place and explain everything. "WH-what a-are y-you tal-talking ab-about?" Hilary stutters out.
"That guy that held us captive is Curlex's nephew. He wanted revenge for what we did. I'm so sorry Hil, I never wanted you guys to get hurt again because of me," Jack whispers, leaning his head on the bed.
"Jack, this isn't your fault. That guys already had his mind made up. You couldn't stop it if you tired. But now, you need you need to pull yourself together because you wife and kids need you. Lucas, Sophia and I need you and your friends need you. Look past this and move on. Go, talk to wife, spend time with her and know that things will be okay," Hilary promises, giving Jack a loving smile and stroking his hair tenderly.
Jack looks up and nods, giving Hilary hand a squeeze before slowly wheeling himself over to Kim. Gently taking her hand in his, he takes a deep breath and then murmurs affectionately, "Kim, sweetheart. I'm so sorry I put you through this again but I need you to wake up. I need you to some back to me so I can see you smile, kiss you again and grow old together like we promised. I love you so much and I just miss you."
With the two couples together, things felt almost normal. Like this was some bad dream and they all just needed to wake up.
OoOoOoOo
Later that night, Alex had come to it and woke up how she went down, yelling every curse word that came to her mind. Kim had woken up the day after Alex and Jack was the happiest he could ever be, knowing that his wife was going to be okay. Over the next handful of days, the guys were moved downstairs with their injuries healing nicely, but they wanted to stay until everyone was awake and okay as they were just waiting for Misty, figures. She was always the slowest one in the group. Alex and Dean spent hours with Misty, begging her to wake up soon and finally after two and a half weeks, she woke up. "What the hell happen? Where am I?" Misty wonders in a daze as she lies there with her eyes closed from the bright light.
"You're the hospital hon," Dean tells her gently, rubbing her arm.
"The hospital? Why am-," Misty starts before feeling sick and vomiting over the side of her bed right in front of Dean.
"Mis, you okay?" Alex asks in concern, seeing Misty's face go pale.
"That man," Misty whispers before she starts hyperventilating.
Seconds later, a nurse enters to check on Misty and sees in a panic. "What happened?" she questions the two in a strict tone.
"She was remembering things from the incident and then threw up," Dean replies.
"Okay, let me check her out," the nurse takes charge as Dean and Alex take a step back and few minutes later, Misty had calmed down as the nurse adds, "The doctor will be here shortly, along with everyone else."
"Okay, thank you," Dean nods, using his crutches to walk back to Misty and sits at the foot of her bed.
And right on schedule, Jack and Jerry enter, using their crutches to pushes the door open. Kim walks in right behind the two in a slow, grandma like pace. Hilary's sporting a sling on her shoulder and Leo wheels himself in in a wheelchair. "Leo, what the hell happen to you?" Alex asks with a glare.
"His dumbass got tired. So, he stole a chair," Jack teases as laughter fills the room, just like how it use to be.
Minutes later, the door opens and Dr. Collins lets himself in, greeting everyone with a smile. "Hello everyone. Thank you for meeting here. Mrs. Jensen, I'm g lad to see you awake. How are you feeling?"
Misty just shrugs her shoulders in response as Dean answers, "She's been better but, is doing okay."
Dr. Collins give them a nod and continues on the serious matter at hand. "Well, I want you all together so we could talk about your injuries and discuss where you go from here. Jack, your injuries were severe, but are healing nicely. Your leg and gashes are healing but you will be sore for a few months and will need some physical therapy for your leg. You'll need to take it easy and I'm going to put you on bedrest for a month to insure no other complications will happen while your body is recuperating. Kim, you're in the same boat as your husband. You too will be in pain for a while, especially with your stomach still healing and, you may suffer some headaches from time to time. Your other injuries have healed fairly well but the scars will be there for long time. Now, you two can either got to a small rehabilitation center while you're still healing or have an at home nurse monitoring you. You still need some care with your bodies slowing getting back to normal. So, take time to think it through and discuss all possibilities. Jerry, Hilary, you two have similar injures with your shoulders and it would be best for you two to also have some psychical therapy on your arm, either at home or at a center, it's up to you. And Jerry, your shoulder injury was slightly worse, so, you'll be spending a little more time in a sling. Leo, Alex, you two, like Jack and Kim are actually in pretty good condition. You will be sore for a few months. Alex, you'll need your crutches for about a month and Leo, I recommend that you have some therapy on your leg. And Dean, you'll be with your crutches for another month as well. Misty, you'll be staying for rehab on her knee as it got replaced. The bullet shattered your knee completely so it'll be weird to get use to at first but, after that, you'll be good to go and be able to dance. Also, gentlemen, you should look into the rules and guidelines the police department has for injuries and follow that. Most of you are getting discharged soon, so please, think about you options. We all wish you the best recovery."
Once Dr. Collins finishes his speech, everyone nods in understanding and mumbles a thank you, looking at one another with a look of confusion and nervousness. "I am sorry for everything you all had to go through," Jack says after minutes of silence.
"Jack, this wasn't your fault. It's not anyone's fault, alright. We just got put into a nightmare that changed a few things but ultimately made us stronger," Alex responds positively.
"So, what are we going to do now?" Kim wonders.
"What we always do. Pick ourselves up and go on with our lives," Jerry answers honestly.
"Yeah, I mean, the four of us probably have to follow some protocol so we're covered in getting back on our feet. it's all for the best," Leo mentions.
"And, we're getting back to normal. No matter how hard the road gets, we'll always have each other," Hilary smiles.
"If we can survive Declan, there's nothing that can break us," Dean throws in.
"But, most of all, we're all together again. That's all that matter," Misty whispers.
"It's how it's supposed to be," Jack finishes tenderly, looking at his family.
OoOoOoOo
And so, within the next week, everyone was in phase two, getting stronger and back to the beginning. When things were simpler and it was just the eight of them, enjoying life and the bright future ahead of them. With nothing standing in their way and a clean slate once again, their lives were starting over again and nothing was more perfect than a second chance.
And there you go folks! Please R&R and let me know what you think.
Please, let's try for 350 before the next chapter.
Thank and until next time,
Missy xx