Jerry wasn't sure what he had been expecting after he and Jack walked into the police station together with evidence of his dad's betrayal, maybe guns pointed at Jack while they demand he get on the ground. But he snuck through the back and they went straight for Officer McCready and Officer Gregory's office, dropping the phone into one of their laps before they even realized who it was.

Jack had to be arrested at that point and was remanded in custody, same as Steven, Michael and Lionel (although very far away from them) and Officer Gregory, after listening to the recording, sent it off to the forensics lab to get ready in time for the trial and was more than happy, even gleefully smug, to send a police unit around to pick Jack's dad up.

It felt strange being without Jack at school and trying to pretend like everything was normal, like he had nothing to do with it. Rumors buzzed around the school about Jack, Steven, Michael and Lionel's absences, but Jerry felt better in that he knew the truth, Kim and Milton too. They even privately agreed Jack's dad deserved whatever he got.

His mom was relieved things seemed to be working out okay, and Jerry was surprised when she allowed him to visit Jack in custody before the trial, even going with him to offer Jack words of motherly encouragement that he didn't have. For the first time, Jerry actually saw the two smile at each other.

The trials were all spread out, with Steven, Michael and Lionel's up first. Jack was allowed to sit in under police supervision — another string Officer Gregory had pulled for him — and Jerry more than happily showed up. Kim and Milton did too, offering Jack their support, which he looked touched at.

It was satisfying to see Steven, Michael and Lionel all huddled together in the stand completely terrified—Michael was even crying, and Steven's cocky bravado he'd displayed the last time Jerry saw him had completely evaporated.

As their lawyers argued back and forth between each other, trying to showboat their side to the judge, he noticed them whispering to each other and shifting uncomfortably amongst themselves. He heard Jack's soft, smug laughter from beside him when he clocked it too.

Jerry couldn't understand much of the jargon that got bandied around by the opposing and defending lawyers — how anyone could defend people like that amazed him — but he heard the opposing one (the one that, Milton explained in his ear, was trying to get the boys into prison under the harshest of circumstances) insist that given the 'severity of the crime' that they be tried as adults despite being underage.

Even Jack looked shocked at that, his eyebrows shooting up into his hair. Then he fidgeted nervously as the opposing lawyer lambasted the boys for their acts of 'cowardice' and spat that they deserved 'nothing but the worst', perhaps thinking that was the fate that awaited him when it was his turn.

Jerry reached over Kim's lap and gave his hand a comforting squeeze. He gave a soft smile and brushed his thumb over his own.

After a two-hour long break in which the courtroom could go and get some air — excluding Jack, who needed to stay in with Officer Gregory — and the case was reviewed by the judge after a close-up one-on-one plea from both lawyers, the courtroom was packed once again and getting seated.

Jerry heard a woman sobbing and turned to see a dark-haired woman, red-faced and blowing her nose into a handkerchief. Was it one of the boys' mother? He couldn't tell if she was crying at the prospect of her (potential) son going to jail or at the sickening reality of what he had done being brought to light for everyone to see.

The two lawyers had a last face-to-face with the judge to share their sides of how they believed the boys should be dealt with, then the room fell utterly silent as the judge took a moment to grab his gavel.

Jack was digging his nails into his hands, drawing blood. Jerry reached over and touched him, jarring him out of the daze he had been in.

"Guilty!"

The surprising amount of cheer that roared from the courtroom was deafening, while the defending lawyer had to rush to the stand where Steven, Michael and Lionel were hurling shocked tangents of abuse at the judge, at anyone who was in reach.

The later charges given to Michael and Lionel were, as Jerry understood them with Milton whispering in his ear what they meant, second-degree murder, attempted murder, grievous bodily harm (for Jack) and got life sentences without the possibility of going free.

Steven was a different beast entirely. Forensics, and a witness testimony from Jack, proved that his fingerprint was the only one on the match that had set Jeremy alight. The only fingerprint, so he was the only one they could prove beyond reasonable doubt threw it. He was charged with, and Jack's smug smirk increased as the judge read each one out, first degree murder, attempted murder, grievous bodily harm, and got three consecutive life sentences.

The resulting wail from the dark-haired woman made Jerry positive it was Steven's mother. He wondered where his father was. Jerry couldn't remember if he had been arrested or not, if there was anything tangible that came out of Jack's dad's confession beyond what Jack said about the phone calls.

Jack's trial was a month or so later. Jerry, as well as Kim and Milton, were more than happy to testify as character witnesses to help him out. But it was hard hearing the opposing lawyer accost him in the same way Steven, Lionel and Michael were—Jerry barely kept quiet, wanting to scream out that Jack was completely different, the other boys acted out of selfishness for money, while Jack was trying to get justice for his brother.

Luckily, his mom was there to squeeze his hand and whisper reassurances in his ear. He managed to hold his tongue and sit still, until it came time to be the character witness. Milton told him on the way up that he could ask the lawyer to repeat himself at any time if he was confused.

He was embarrassed to admit he needed to do that a lot, until even the judge got fed up and snapped at the judge to 'speak in plainer sentences and stop trying to confuse him'. Jack looked humbled at the things he said about him—he wanted to be able to tell him it was all true, but he wasn't allowed.

The deliberation by the judge when the courtroom broke was a lot shorter than the previous trial, Jerry noticed. His mom reassured him that it was probably a good thing, while Kim shared his apprehension, and Milton tried to rattle off some logical explanation to make them feel better.

Jack was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter — Jerry's mouth dropped open in shock, making a mental note to look that lawyer up and give him the mother of all gift baskets — as well as aggravated bodily harm for what he did to his dad, but the judge noted that he was not being tried as an adult and he would benefit from a non-prison environment.

Jerry shared a look of relief when the judge decided Jack would be sentenced to four years in a mental hospital. Even Officer Gregory and Officer McCready looked shocked and amazed at the outcome.

It was strange at the trial of Jack's dad a few weeks later. to see Jack dressed in an all-white jumpsuit and surrounded by security guards. Jerry hadn't been allowed any contact while Jack got settled into the facility, which was tough. He wasn't sure who had pulled what string to allow Jack to see his dad's trial — unfortunately he wasn't allowed to stand in as a character witness, being that he was already convicted himself — but he was glad they had. It wouldn't have been right if Jack had to miss it.

His defending lawyer tried to argue that the confession — which was played to the entire shocked courtroom in clear, crisp audio — was coerced and was false since Jack had beaten his dad and threatened him with a gun, but the opposing lawyer managed to catch the man in a lie about the phone calls and also caught a slip up when he mentioned Jack's mom's whereabouts the night of Jeremy's death.

It seemed like it could go either way, and Jack was looking worried in contrast to the smug look his dad kept shooting him, despite the lawyer's behest to not look at him. The judge noticed and eventually had to bellow at the man to 'act more maturely'.

The entire room was waiting with bated breath as the judge heard from both lawyers and then cast a cursory glance at Jack's dad, still as disgustingly smug as ever, before he picked up his gavel.

Time seemed to slow as he lifted it into the air and slammed it towards the pallet on his desk. Jerry shared a comforting look with Jack, but he was laser-focused on the little wooden hammer suspended in the air.

"Guilty."

The smile on Jack's face when the echo of the judge's gavel reached his dad's ears and he shot up from the chair and hurled expletives at the judge while his lawyer was trying to wrangle him down, weirdly wasn't one of vindication, but a serene one of peace.

It was difficult getting back to school when all was said and done. Most surprising was the lack of rumors surrounding Jack and his arrest, it still didn't stop people coming up to ask him about it. His mom even had to call in the middle of lunch and tell him she had to shoo away several reporters who wanted to interview him about the case!

His teachers were surprisingly lenient with him for a while about any missed homework and allowed him to write in off in favor for studying for the upcoming winter finals. It was strange adjusting without Jack, without being able to even pick the phone up and text him. It felt like a huge part of his daily routine was missing without him, even Gary seemed unusually subdued.

But two weeks into finals, Jerry received a letter:

Hey, Jerry,

So, it's not as bad here as I thought—I'd had images of one of those old Victorian asylums where they shock you or stick a needle and saw into your brain and you're left alone for days to just scream at the walls. It looks a little bit like a school in a way, which is amusing, but the food is much better!

Not much to say, I've only been here a week so they're still processing everything about my case and doing tests for any head stuff they could help me with. But the nurses are cute, so that's a bonus right?

Hope to see you soon.

Then a month after, there was another and Jerry opened it with a smile. At least Jack was doing all right.

Hey Jerry,

Who would've thought I still have to learn in one of these places? But I suppose since Mr. Philips isn't here I'll have a better time getting my head around biomass pyramids, or whatever it was he prattled on about. They're surprisingly committed to helping people get qualifications and stuff here.

And my mom's also coming out of whatever drug daze for a visit in a few weeks. I'll take whatever she says with a pinch of salt—if she can even be bothered to show up. I also heard that my dad's been transferred to protective custody after too many people tried to kill him, shame they missed, huh?

I hope you're doing all right out there.

When a third letter arrived towards the end of the year, around the time of final exams, Jerry figured Jack would've been settled in enough to go and see him. He would've gone sooner, but it was on his mom's insistence that he wait for things to smooth themselves out before he did, thinking seeing him might disrupt anything for Jack that was important.

Jerry remembered he'd mentioned he was getting tested for mental health issues, and just hoped if anything came up — honestly, he'd be surprised if nothing did — he would get the help he needed and wouldn't get shoved to the side.

When his mom drove up and parked, she agreed to wait in the car for him and let him and Jack catch up. He was buzzed into the facility by the tight-faced receptionist, the jaded look in his eyes making Jerry wonder just what he had seen in this place.

It didn't look like an old asylum at any rate, but all the white was pretty blinding. A worker showed him the way to the visitation room, and Jerry felt his face split into a large grin when he saw Jack sat at a table waiting for him.

His eyes lit up when he noticed, and he stood up and happily flung his arms around him when he got close. Jerry chuckled and squeezed him back—he'd missed him.

"I'm surprised they let you do that," Jerry commented as they sat down at the table.

Jack smiled. "It's not a prison here, not really, except for the really crazy cases," he explained, "The staff are great, actually," he admitted, looking surprised at the comment himself.

One of the nearby nurses overheard and chuckled.

"They really care," he went on, sounding grateful, "Want to talk, rather than just lock you away," he added, clearly amazed at the difference.

Jerry was just relieved to see Jack looked fine. At first, he'd had horrific nightmares about Jack strapped to a bed and constantly shocked, poked and prodded, bruised and bloodied and screaming his voice hoarse.

But he looked calm and peaceful, there was no rage in his eyes anymore, nothing threatening to bubble over and explode into a destructive force he couldn't rein in. He looked tired, now Jerry thought about it, as if all the time spent being so angry and closed-off was beginning to catch up to him.

At least he could relax now.

"Dunno what I was expecting," Jerry remarked with a shrug.

"Me either," Jack agreed, nodding, "Guys strapped to chairs in Hannibal Lecter masks?" he asked rhetorically with a chuckle.

Jerry's resulting impression had them both creasing up in fits of laughter.

"So, it's not all bad, then?" he asked in relief.

"Not really," Jack smiled, "Not even the quacks trying to pry into my head," he added.

Jerry huffed a laugh. "Brave guys," he remarked, pulling a face.

Jack snorted with a laugh of his own. "Although if I have to sit through another group therapy session, I might murder someone," he joked, winking at him.

"Jack!" Jerry cried, head darting around wildly to see if anyone had heard him.

"What?" Jack asked nonchalantly, shrugging, "It was involuntary manslaughter, not murder," he pointed out.

Jerry rolled his eyes, trying not to smile along with him. He leaned back in the chair. "You had a swag lawyer batting for you, huh?" he marveled.

"Tell me about it," Jack agreed, nodding, "Otherwise this might be through glass instead of here," he remarked.

Jerry's face turned hard. "Don't even joke about that, dude," he said sternly.

"Sorry," Jack apologized sheepishly.

"Gary been in lately?" Jerry wondered. They often talked about Jack at school, with Gary even assimilating somewhat into his little group with Kim and Milton.

"Nah, he's afraid if he comes into one of these places, they'd never let him leave," Jack chuckled, making Jerry laugh a little too loudly and get shushed by a nearby doctor. Jack grinned when he noticed.

"Gotta say, I'm surprised your mom let you come visit me," he admitted.

"She feels sorry for you, minus the whole manslaughter thing," Jerry said, and Jack's eyebrows shot up in surprise, "She wanted me to call ahead to see if I could bring you a pie," he added.

Jack huffed a small laugh. "Well, tell her thanks."

"What about yours, does she know about, y'know?" Jerry said uncomfortably, not able to quite finish the sentence, "You talked about her in a letter," he promoted.

"She knows," Jack nodded, "Saw dad's arrest on the TV," he explained, while Jerry winced sympathetically. What a crappy way to find out something horrific about the man you married and had children with.

"I'll tell her the rest at some point," he continued, rubbing a hand over his face, "Not sure how I'm supposed to say she was meant to die too that night," he finished, biting his lip as he mulled the idea over.

"She's visited you?" Jerry wondered.

"No, ended up sending a letter," Jack explained, "She's checked herself into rehab, says she wants to be able to look after me when I get out," he said, looking surprised about the matter.

"Don't believe a word of it, but..." he trailed off, shaking his head, then he pulled a face, "Then again, I never thought I'd see Jeremy's killers arrested, either," he pointed out, shrugging.

"Stranger things have happened," Jerry remarked, "Don't give up on your mom, man, she's all you got left," he reminded him, looking at him imploringly.

Jack looked like he took the idea onboard but didn't comment on it. Instead he asked, "Still got you, haven't I?" with a tiny smile.

"Obviously," Jerry promised.

Jack smiled in relief. "Don't wait up for me, though," he said in a serious voice.

"What do you mean?" Jerry asked in confusion.

"Don't let me being in here hold you back," Jack insisted, "Live your life, and if that means shacking up with a decent girl for a while, then do it," he encouraged, "Hell, go skydiving," he added, "Move to Kenya and take care of monkeys, whatever," he finished.

"You want me to forget about you?" Jerry asked incredulously, "Not happening, man!" he added, shaking his head frantically.

"I never said that," Jack said calmly, holding up his hands placatingly, "Just don't let me being in here run your life," he reasoned.

"I'm not going anywhere, but doesn't mean you can't," he pointed out.

Jerry pulled a face, not liking the idea much. "Fine," he huffed, folding his arms. "But I expect letters and visitation rights," he demanded, pointing a finger at him in warning.

"Deal," Jack said.

Then he extended a hand, and Jerry reached over to shake the proffered hand while they had twin serious looks on their faces. Jerry was the first one to break with a grin, and Jack chuckled.

"Jack?" a nurse said from behind him, they both turned to look at her, "It's time for your medication," she said gently.

Jack sighed. "All right," he agreed.

"You'd best be treating him right in here!" Jerry warned the nurse, who just smiled to humor him.

Jack chuckled, waving him off. "It's fine," he said, "They're pretty sure I've got ADD, so they're trying meds to help me concentrate better," he explained.

"Oh, like what Gary has?" Jerry asked.

"No," Jack said, shaking his head with a mock-horrified look on his face, "No-one's like Gary," he remarked, "Nobody needs that," he added.

"Tell him to take care of himself, or I'll break out of here and kick his ass," he warned.

Jerry smiled and stood up from the table as Jack did, pulling him in for another hug.

"Catch you later, man," Jerry promised, giving Jack a harder squeeze than he probably meant to, but he didn't seem to mind.

"You'd better," he said in lieu of a goodbye when Jerry held him at arm's length.

Jerry watched him go, escorted by a nurse, until he rounded the corner and he couldn't see him anymore. Boy, it was going to be weird without him.

(Four years later)

Four years seemed to both go by at a snail's pace and fly by—Jerry, Kim and Milton had graduated Seaford High and Kim and Milton were making preparations for college. Kim was going to study art at the local community college while Milton was getting ready to head off to Yale, obviously.

In the midst of regular visits to Jack, Jerry had actually taken him up on his advice to 'move to Kenya with the monkeys' and volunteered for a vet program one summer when he was seventeen. He was still a little hesitant on the skydiving front, however, as he told Jack with a sheepish grin the last time he'd spoken to him.

It was years full of changes, graduating, going off to college. Even Rudy and the Dojo couldn't stay the same. He'd received an offer from Bobby Wasabi to run his Bobby Wasabi Karate Academy on the Seaford Coast and had relocated there last year, anything to 'get away from the Black Dragons' he had cried gleefully on the way out when Kim and Milton said their goodbyes and Jerry went to get his stuff.

(He didn't tell Rudy that Ty had opened up a massage parlor on the Seaford Coast, boy had his reaction been hilarious).

Jerry eventually reached a point he had no clue what he wanted to do with his life. He barely scraped good enough grades to go to college, but he wasn't sure how he could take studying the same thing for a set amount of years, at least with jobs there was flexibility to go and get new ones.

When he woke up that morning, he had a relieved grin on his face. Jack was now a free man and had happily agreed to see him as soon as he got out. It wasn't like he hadn't seen him at all, but in the constant white dullness of that facility wore him down a little, God only knew how Jack felt about it.

He felt a little bad about how he hadn't been able to see him for several months, his mom had decided they could do with more space around the house and had decided to move. Luckily it was closer to the coast, so Jerry wasn't quite so far away from Rudy—it had been a lot of gas money to travel for the odd karate lesson.

He had no clue when Jack was being let out, or how long the drive would take him now he wasn't half an hour away, so he set off at seven am sharp. Unfortunately, that meant he was hanging around outside the entrance for a good few hours—he wasn't sure if he was able to go in and ask, being that he wasn't family or anything.

But, as he checked his watch, he was really starting to get hungry and—

"Hey stranger."

Jerry spun around with an ear-splitting grin at the familiar voice. "Jack!" he cried, leaping forwards and flinging his arms around him.

Jack laughed quietly into his ear and steadied him, hugging back just as tightly. They stayed there for what felt like hours, just lost in each other, until Jack pulled away and held him at arm's length with a smile.

"You look different," he commented.

"So do you," Jerry remarked.

Jack's hair had gotten a lot longer since the last time he'd seen him, it was just past his shoulders. He was also holding a small bag, which Jerry assumed was the possessions he'd gone in with, and was in sweatpants and a large, baggy hoodie. The clothes looked enormous on him, perhaps a loan from the facility? He was now a good few inches taller than Jerry, where they'd been of similar height before, and a hell of a lot more muscular. He also had a noticeable scar on his hand, which made Jerry's stomach knot up.

"So, when did—"

"How have—"

Jack huffed out a laugh as they tripped over each other's words. "Uh, you first," he offered, chuckling.

"I've missed you," Jerry said with a relieved smile.

"Me too," Jack admitted.

"How've you been?" Jerry wondered.

"Well, I didn't need to get carted someplace else in a strait jacket," Jack shrugged bluntly, "It wasn't a cakewalk, but I was lucky they actually cared about you in there," he added gratefully.

Jerry bit back the remark about the scar — was that something that made it 'not a cakewalk?' — and instead said, "Not enough to give you haircut, apparently."

"Huh?" Jack frowned.

"Dude, you look like Tarzan," Jerry pointed out.

"Better him than an electrocuted poodle!" Jack retorted, gesturing to h with a grin, "When's the last time you cut your hair?" he asked with a needling look, folding his arms.

Jerry snorted—he had been neglecting his hair as of late. "I'm getting it cut next week," he said smugly, "What's your excuse?" he teased, raising his eyebrows.

Jack rolled his eyes, unable to fight his smile. "I haven't cut it since I first got there," he admitted, reaching up with his free hand and flicking one of the sandy-brown strands, "Something to look forward to when I'd get out," he explained.

"Well, it was just in time," Jerry remarked.

"You think this is bad, wait till you see me with it tied up," Jack chuckled, "At least I was allowed to shave," he added with a look of mock-horror, pulling a face.

Jerry cracked up laughing.

"Do you have a ride home?" he wondered suddenly. It wasn't like Jack would've been allowed to get his license inside a mental hospital.

"Yeah, my mom's meeting me at the coffee shop across the street," Jack said with a smile, "We're going shopping for more clothes and stuff—outgrown all of mine," he explained.

"She came through for you, then?" Jerry asked, sounding pleased.

"Yeah, she did," Jack said fondly, smiling a little wider, "Two years clean, now," he added, pulling a sobriety chip out of his pocket that she must've given him.

"Hey, that's great!" Jerry cheered when he leaned over and was shown the chip. Something then crossed his mind. "Hey, d'you still like Karate?" he wondered.

"Always," Jack said as if it was obvious, "I'd probably be a bit rusty though. Why?" he asked.

"Rudy has a new dojo on the Seaford Coast," Jerry explained, and Jack nodded, "I work there now, but Kim and Milton are going to college and he needs help bringing in more students," he explained.

"Are you sure he'd want someone like me?" Jack asked in concern.

"Are you kidding?" Jerry asked with a shocked look, "He cried for like a week straight when you left," he added, remembering all the consoling him, Milton and Kim needed to do.

"Something about being stuck with a 'bunch of under-performing monkey's'," he said in remembrance. He also knew that Rudy privately agreed with Jack's choice in dealing with things once Jerry had explained everything to him.

Jack snorted. "I always thought Milton was more like a baby bird that rolled out the nest early," he commented.

"He's not anymore," Jerry pointed out. It had been ages since he'd seen both Milton and Kim. They had sent letters though, and both promised to meet up with the pair of them when they came home from college.

"I missed a lot, huh?" Jack said with a regretful look on his face.

"Eh, we can catch up now," Jerry said with a wave of his hand; it felt so natural now he was back, nothing stunted, no awkward pauses, just slotting back into place and picking up where they left off four years ago.

"And mom's making dinner for you tonight, no arguing," he warned him, pointing a finger.

"She wants me in the house?" Jack asked incredulously.

"We've been over this before, yes," Jerry insisted, it still surprising him how taken aback Jack seemed by his mom wanting to see him, "She wants a fresh start with you," he told him.

"Seems we could all do with one," Jack remarked, "Clean slate and all that," he added.

Jerry nodded in agreement. He extended a hand towards Jack with with an accommodating smile.

"Hi man, I'm Jerry."

Jack caught on and shook his head with a beaming grin.

"I'm Jack, nice to meet you."

[INSERT LINE HERE]

So, if anyone's still reading and wondering about the triple update… to be honest, I just wanted this thing finished, it's taken me so long. If any of my readers are finishing this story and DO see this, I just need to say a HUGE thank you to every single one of you who favorited, followed and reviewed this story, I honestly didn't have a clue where I was going with this story when I first started.

Once again, thanks, and I'll see you next time.