*Two months later*
Vivian was an absolute wreck. After her phone call with Jack was abruptly cut off while he sounded like he was knee deep in a warzone she had heard nothing back from him. All calls went straight to voicemail stating the number no longer existed. She'd gone straight to Demetri to see if he could find anything out but he hit a stone wall, and the military wouldn't tell her anything because she wasn't Jack's spouse.
The mere fact that Jack hadn't contacted her in two months led her to believe that he was dead. That thought killed her on the inside though she put up a good mask on the outside. She wouldn't know if he was dead or not for two more weeks when the casualty list got updated. If Jack wasn't on it, he was alive, and she'd be pissed that he made her worry like that. It also meant he'd be home and she'd be able to tell that to his stupid face.
But he wouldn't do that to her, so he had to be dead, right? She'd put in a brave face for Nick and lied, saying he was just super busy over there. Skye and her Jack knew the truth and they tried to comfort her as best could, so did Jimmy who's shoulder she'd cried on more than once. She was just a bundle of nerves just waiting for confirmation of whether Jack was dead or alive.
Currently she was just about to open her apartment door after picking Nick up from school. Her little kit was jabbering on about his day and what him and his friends got up too, she was listening yes, she was smiling yes. But right now she was in a sad mood, and there was only one mammal that could bring her out of it and he was likely dead. As she swung open her apartment door she suddenly found her kit wasn't beside her anymore and she heard him yell
"Mr. Jack! Mr. Jack!"
Savage was not the mammal she wanted to see right now, but it was odd Nick would be this excited to see him. So she turned to see what was going on and froze in shock as she witnessed her little kit tackle hug Jackson T. Hunter to the ground.
*Jack*
Jack had finished the last two months of his deployment smoothly…sort of. After meeting Bravo Platoon in the fashion that he did he quickly became a legend across the base, and his anonymity flew out the window. He had also made Echo slightly sad when he clarified he was a hybrid and had to split the pot with Bravo.
Surprisingly not a single soul from Bravo Platoon had a problem that he was mostly fox. Maybe it was because he saved their hides on a regular basis, but either way he made fast friends. From that day on he went out with Bravo Platoon rather than go out by himself, more so because Bravo wouldn't let him go it alone anymore after what happened that day. Because of his heroics that day he was awarded the Silver Star and recommended for the Medal of Honor by all of Bravo Platoon and even General Wolverton. He doubted he'd receive it though due to the nature of his species.
There was one problem that also arose from that day. He didn't know when and at what time, but at some point he'd taken a round. It did no real damage his vest taking it, and his satellite phone. He tried in vain to get it replaced but satellite phones were on back order, so he couldn't get his paws on another. He couldn't even get on the list to use on of the bases phones so he could call Vivian and tell her he was okay. Which killed him because the odds were she thought he was dead after hearing what she heard over the line that day.
He didn't know why he couldn't get on the lists, but he figured it was due to some of the other higher ups not liking a fox. Even though he was a hybrid, he was part fox and looked completely like a fox, so to them he was just a fox. Even on his records now it read red fox-hybrid, not hybrid, not red fox-wolf, just red fox-hybrid. To everyone he was still just a fox. So even though he was a legend, and Bravo Platoon loved him, there was a good portion of mammals that did not.
He took it well enough, he was more than used to it. But it was annoying because all he wanted to do was hear Vivian and little Nick's voices and tell them he was okay. So he wouldn't lie that he was slightly distracted, and that slightly being distracted led him to be home two weeks sooner and with a Purple Heart. It was 3 weeks left on his deployment and he'd noticed a fragmentation grenade thrown into the room he was in a second later than he should. As a result couldn't take the best of cover, I.e he took no cover and instead it went off throwing him out a two story window. He was peppered with shrapnel on his left side his vest eating most but some slipped through, the left side of his face took some shrapnel peppering its way up, and he also took a considerable piece to his left leg nicking his artery.
He was lucky in the fact that it wasn't a close grenade and it was an old grenade at that, he would have been dead otherwise. He was quick to patch it and apply a tourniquet after hitting the ground and assessing the damage, Nick's neckerchief. It probably saved his life as he had no other means to stop the bleeding and it took medics 8 minutes to reach him. He was med-lifted back to base and doctors got to work on him removing the shrapnel and fixing his artery, as well as making sure nothing was broken.
He had two cracked ribs from the impact with the ground, some hard bruising on his back, his left side was well peppered, two ruptured eardrums, internal bruising, and he had the big gash in his leg from the ordeal. He was in the hospital for a week before being discharged and cleared to be sent home, he was done in Afuristan. It wasn't how he wanted to end his first deployment, and he was sorry to his team, as well as kicking himself for making such a mistake. He got incredibly lucky that he wasn't killed by the blast, and now he was going to have a few more scars to add to the collection.
The peppering was going to leave small scars, his fur would indeed hide it fine. But right now you could tell he ate a grenade since they had to shave the fur a bit around the punctures. The gash to his leg was a scar that wasn't going away, and it'd be the first visible one he had on his legs. His hearing wasn't the best right now either, and he had some lasting tinnitus from it but it'd away with time. If he had to rate it his hearing was now around average for a fox, which was fine but still an adjust for him. He and the doctors weren't sure if he'd get his old hearing back either, which was quite annoying. Not as annoying as the stitches in his leg though, they itched.
He was sent home with specific instructions by the doctors on how to self treat his wounds, and the stitches would come out in another week or so. Granted if he didn't pop them or anything, but he was being sure to be careful. His back ached and breathing kinda sucked a little too, but he could ignore it mostly. He also walked with a pronounced limo because of his leg, but it wouldn't last, it just made him look like he had a rough week….and lost a fight with a cheese grater.
So here he was back stateside two weeks early. He was back in his civilian clothes, a pair of blue jeans, brown belt, white undershirt, and a red flannel over shirt left unbuttoned with sleeves rolled up past his elbows. He had his FN FNX 45. Tactical in a thigh holster and his dog tags out for display showing that he was a soldier so he wouldn't be stopped on the streets by anyone. He had driven back from Periton and gone to the Sable Ridge Apartments. He'd parked his truck, got out, went out and got some food, returned to his truck to grab his Marine duffel, and then hopped on the elevator.
Once he was off the elevator he trudged over to his apartment and was in the process of unlocking it when he heard "Mr. Jack! Mr. Jack!"
He knew that voice anywhere, it was little Nicholas. His tail had started wagging instantly and he turned to greet the little one, but instead was tackle hugged to the ground before he could do anything. He wasn't gonna lie and say it didn't hurt, because it did, a lot. His cracked ribs screamed in protest, he felt two stitches pop, and his back let its displeasure be known. So did his vocal cords as he let out a yip of pain.
*Vivian*
Seeing Jack, here in the flesh, alive and well was an absolute shock. Tears pricked at her eyes in pure utter happiness even though she was also absolutely furious with him. Not to mention confused on why he was here two weeks early. But Jack was here, and he could and would answer her questions, right after he and her son had their reunion. She saw Jack's tail start wagging like crazy, and in the next moment he was on the ground with her son on top of him. It was going well until Jack cried out in pain.
Nick was off Jack in an instant. "Mr. Jack! What's wrong!? Did I hurt you!?"
Vivian was at Jack's side in an instant, looking for injuries as Jack said, "No no little one! You didn't hurt me! I'm just a little beat up from work is all. You didn't know!"
Vivian was quick to zero in on the blood seeping from Jack's leg, even though he was trying to hide it with a paw. Anything else about the situation could wait for Vivian, she was in full nurse mode and she batted Jack's paw away. "What's this Jack, and don't you lie to me."
Jack looked up at the second mammal he wanted to see so much, and he had so many things he wanted to say. But he saw the look in her eyes so he answered truthfully, other words could wait for later. "I may have had two stitches pop, and little one don't you fret as already said, not your fault. I was about to drop down to a knee to hug you so I would have popped them anyway."
Vivian kept going, "and your breathing is strained why?"
A sigh. "Two cracked ribs, bruised organs."
A huff. "Caused by?"
Jack glanced down. "Getting thrown out a two story window….by a grenade."
Vivian's eyebrows raised. "A grenade, so is that why your face looks like Swiss cheese?"
Jack let out a drawn "yeah," at that.
Vivian nodded. "Anything else?"
Another drawn out "yeah."
"Well?"
Another sigh. "Blown eardrums and severely bruised back, shrapnel up my left arm, leg, and face. That's it, and considering the circumstances I got off incredibly lucky."
Nick watched the entire interaction not understanding fully what was going on. All he knew was that Mr. Jack was hurt, and his mom was really mad at Mr. Jack. He didn't know why she was so mad, but this was adult stuff, and he was still trying not to feel bad about hurting him.
Jack of course noticed this, so he took a different approach. "You know little one, you saved my life the day I got hurt."
Nick's ears shot straight up as he looked into Jack's eyes. "I did?"
Jack nodded once, "mhmm. The neckerchief you gave me, the one I've never taken off? (He gestures to it.) Well I was bleeding pretty badly, and if I didn't have this with me, I would have died. I used it to stop the bleeding so yes little one, you saved my life. So I mean it when I say this, don't concern yourself with the fact that I'm a little hurt now, and again it's not your fault."
Vivian wanted to coo at how Jack was comforting her son, but she was to busy being mad at Jack and trying not to cry. But anything and everything else could wait until she saw to Jack's bleeding leg and other injuries, she'd clean the blood up later. Vivian didn't bother telling Jack what she was doing as she promptly yanked Jack to his feet. Jack's eyes widened in surprise and he quickly made sure not to put weight on his left leg.
Vivian swiftly moved to Jack's left side so he could put some weight on her and she began guiding him to her apartment. Nick, deciding to be helpful grabbed Jack's duffel and began to drag it across the floor, it was much to heavy for him to carry. Jack would have grabbed it from Nick, but it was a short distance from his apartment door to Vivian's. Vivian opened up her door and walked him inside depositing him on the couch somewhat roughly before turning and snagging his bag from Nick. She set it by the door, ushered her son inside, and then shut the door.
"Sweetie could you go get the first aid kit? After that go ahead and study a little while I patch Jack up and we have some adult talk."
Nick let out an "okay mom," and quickly scampered off to the bathroom. He was back a moment later with a first aid kit bag. Vivian took the bag from her son and then he was off to his room, even shutting the door. That was odd, she expected her little kit to try and stay out, or crack his door, something especially considering Jack was here.
Jack noticed it to, and he knew the answer to her question. "It's because you look like you want to throttle me, which I…"
Vivian snapped his jaw shut with a paw. "Hush. We can talk after I fix the blown stitches and check everything else. Pants off, now."
Jack had to bite his tongue and resist the urge to make a joke, Vivian was not in the mood for one. So he simply complied, removing his thigh holster, clearing his weapon (there were a kid here) and set it on the coffee table. After that he slowly peeled off his pants being mindful of his left leg, he didn't want anymore damage. If she thought his face looked like Swiss cheese she'd definitely think his leg was, it took the brunt of the damage. It was still nothing major besides the gash in his leg which she was currently inspecting.
Vivian let out a hum as she inspected it. "Definitely popped two stitches, but a third is barely holding on so I'll take that one out too. Try to relax and let me work."
Jack leaned back as he closed his eyes, murmuring as he did, "not a problem, isn't the first time I've been patched back together."
Vivian pointedly chose to ignore that statement as well as ignoring that fact that Jack was sitting on her couch in his boxers. She also focused at not looking at his crotch, it wouldn't help with the situation at paw. Vivian quickly cleaned Jack's leg before removing the bad stitch before replacing it and the two blown stitches. Next she inspected all the shrapnel holes and found nothing worrying, they were all small and clean. Once she was finished with his leg she went to lift up Jack's shirt to inspect it for injuries and check his ribs. She didn't get the chance however as Jack quickly snatched her paw.
Vivian looked up at Jack in surprise and he said, "my shirt stays on, period. You can prod my ribs through my shirt and there's no need to look at the bruises. I'm entertaining your nurse mode right now but there are limits, don't push them."
Vivian was taken aback about forceful Jack was being about this. After his statement Jack stood, went to his duffel, pulled out some new pants and put them on in front of her before sitting back down. Vivian was also confused, sure he had some scars, but what was so bad about that? She wanted to ask about it, but with how forceful he was being about it…she doubted he'd explain. So she shook off how hurt she was and prodded at his ribs finding it was his three lower right ribs that were cracked.
Jack winced as she poked and said, "my ribs caught the windowsill before I was forced out of it."
Vivian simply nodded before she moved up to his throat, he was lucky that none of the shrapnel hit anything critical. If it had, he would have bled out in the streets of Afuristan. That thought alone brought all of her pent up emotions to the surface and tears began to prick at her eyes as her paw came to rest on Jack's left cheek.
Jack's face went from neutral and hiding his emotions to concerned in a split second when he was the tears in the corner of Vivian's eyes. Jack sat up a little straighter and his ears pinned back as he put on a paw on her cheek. "Vivian what's wrong?"
At hearing his caring tone the tears poured out as backed out of his reach. "I thought you were dead you stupid wox! I didn't hear a damn word from you for two months! I couldn't reach you and the military wouldn't tell me anything! I was waiting for the updated casualty list just to see if you were dead or not! I've spent the last two months thinking you're dead after that phone call of you being in a warzone! I've had to pretend I'm fine and had to lie to my son because I didn't want to tell him you haven't called because you might be dead! Now here you are! Two months without a word and suddenly poof here you are right in front of me hurt and home two weeks early! Why didn't you call!? Why didn't you talk to me!?"
Jack stood from the couch and tried to hug Vivian. Vivian resisted and pushed his arms away a few times wanting to be mad and sad not comforted. Finally Jack won as he grabbed both of her paws before wrapping her in a tight hug, tail included (he wasn't aware of it). This wasn't the first time he'd seen Vivian cry tears of sadness but it was the first time he caused it, a memory now permanently stored in his databanks.
Jack began stroking Vivian's ears and head as he held her trying his best to calm her. This was not how he wanted this day to go. He had planned to come to her door with flowers and a preset explanation on why he left her hanging on a very bad cliffhanger for two months. Instead he was ambushed, stitches were popped, his ribs and back were aching, and Vivian was crying.
He added a little sway as he began to speak. "Shit this isn't how I wanted this to go. I'm so so sorry Vivian, I never meant to leave you hanging. That day I hung up on you things went south and my satellite phone caught a round during it. The SECOND I got back I tried to get a new one but they were on back order. So I tried to get put on the general call list to call you from one of the bases but I never did, probably because of my species. Mail was tied up too, no letters could go out. There was nothing I could do and I tried everything! I even tried to borrow one but I could never catch an agent, our patrols doubled! I wanted to speak with you and the little one so badly trust me. You two are what was keeping me sane over there through all the bullshit I was seeing."
It took Vivian a few minutes to calm down, she had a lot of pent up emotions to get out. Once she was finally done, she finally noticed a few things. One, Jack was hugging her tightly, his tail included. Two, he was stroking her head and ears as he swayed her. Three, he was murmuring something in her ear, it sounded like a song of some sorts, but it was spoken so softly she could barely make out a word. It was almost more like he was singing it to himself than her, but it was never the less soothing.
Once Jack took notice that her crying had stopped he ended the hug, pulling back and resting his paws on her shoulders. With his thumbs he brushed away the stray tears on her face and the tear tracks with a kind smile. "There, better?"
Vivian gave him a mesmerizing smile and opened her maw to say something when something finally caught her eye. The scars on Jack's left arm. Vivian quickly snatched Jack's left paw and exclaimed "Jack your arm! What the heck happened!?"
Jack's eyebrows raised slightly before he gave a small shrug. "Oh that happened years ago, a wolf not to fond of a fox. Him and his two…brothers decided to ambush me, one got my arm, one got my back, and one got my chest. I very nearly died, got lucky that a off duty paramedic was nearby, smelled the blood and came to investigate. Extra fortunate they always had a medical bag on paw. I was stabilized, hospitalized, and recovered. Police never did find the wolves, but I expected it and have long got past it. Just another set of scars upon my body. It's honestly nothing."
It was disheartening to Vivian to hear Jack so casually brush off a serious injury from a near deadly attack that left him seriously scarred. But he was a fox in nearly everything but blood, and being a fox meant being discriminated against and hated. It was foolish to think simply because Jack gained wealth he would have escaped it. In fact, because he was such a big fox and fox that made it, he was a bigger target.
Stroking his scarred arm Vivian said, "it's not fair you've had to go through that, that you never got justice."
Jack barely withheld a grimace of guilt. He hated lying to Vivian, but it was much better than the truth. Telling her he got it in Japan fighting yakuza ninja wolves who he later blew up before killing their yakuza leader. So instead he said, "it never is fair really, life. We get dealt bad cards but still have to play the hand. My life hasn't been all bad, all misery, mostly yes, but not all. I'll say with confidence though that I am in a much better place now than I ever was before. I have a true purpose, and real goals I want to strive for. I have more friends than I ever thought I could have thanks to it. On top of all that I got to ensure a kit would never get to experience even a fraction of what I did, with the added bonus of helping his mother too. Things are looking up for this wox Vivian. So I'm going to let the past stay there and move forward."
Letting her paw fall off Jack's arm she smiled at him. "Well well, look who's pulling out some philosophy mr. Smarty wox."
Jack let out a chuckle at that. "I have my moments."
Vivian shook her head at that. "Well, I should clean up…you bled on my floor. Also you should probably go unpack, and clean the blood up outside your door. But after that, how about you join me and Nicky for dinner? I know he'd love it and I doubt you've have a proper home cooked meal since you left."
He gave her a rare genuine smile at that, "why I would absolutely love to Vivian."
"Good. 8 o'clock mister."
"Yes ma'am."
With that Jack grabbed his things and exited heading to his own apartment. He opened the door, chucked his bag on the couch, went into the kitchen, grabbed some cleaning supplies and then proceeded to clean up his blood from the floor. Once that was done he closed the door and looked around. It was pretty much the same as he left it, besides the fact the trash bags were gone.
He could smell MO had been here recently, within the last week or so to make sure the apartment stayed clean. It was something Jack appreciated a lot, and judging by the pile of mail on his counter he also knew he'd have to sit down soon and go through it all. But for now he decided he needed to unpack. Any gear he had that didn't come from the apartment was stored in his armory/closet, and those that did went back to their respective places.
As he set the last weapon back in its rightful place and he closed the dresser he exited his bedroom and entered the living room once more. It was seven now so he still had an hour before he was due back at Vivian's for dinner. So that left an hour of downtime, he figured he could go through the mail so he kicked his feet out to stretch his legs before standing, catching the corner of the coffee table as he did. This caused the compartment to open up and the assault rife within to shoot out and Jack looked at it with a critical eye.
"If I ever have little Nicholas over he could simply bump this table and he'd be exposed to this. If he reached into the cushions to get the remote he'd find another gun. If he explored almost any inch of this apartment he'd find a gun. Vivian would never forgive me and I'd never forgive myself. I shouldn't be this paranoid anyways, I don't live that life anymore."
Jack made the decision quickly, the other side of his closet was a empty armory, so he'd quickly fill it. He began in the living room removing everything but the assault rifle in the coffee table. Instead he adjusted the pressure switch so it would take a very meaningful kick to spring it, little Nicholas couldn't open it if he tried. Next he swept into the kitchen removing everything that wasn't in hidden compartments. Then his storage closet was emptied, followed by the loft and his bedroom. Once he was finished the only weapons remaining were once's in special compartments, meaning only he knew where they were.
With that done it was 7:30, that left him enough time to shower before heading over to Vivian's. After a 15 minute shower Jack exited and after drying off he entered his walk in closest. He put on some green cargo pants, a white shirt, and a green flannel over top it before deeming it good enough. Jack exited his apartment and went over to Vivian's a little pep in his step, he was looking forward to this a lot.
The dinner passed amazingly for Jack, the food was spectacular but it was the company that made it. Vivian was in a much better mood, so much so that she came at him with a level of snark that he could be proud of. Little Nicholas talked his ear off jabbering off questions and filling him in on everything he'd missed the past two months. Safe to say a genuine smile never left Jack's face for the duration of the dinner.
Once the dinner was over, the night wasn't as Nick laid on the begging eyes HARD. He wanted Jack to stay a little longer and watch the newest Jack Savage movie with him. Jack had told Nick in a conspiritive whisper that he wanted to but Nick needed permission from his mother. Vivian tried to keep a stern loom on her face as she watched them interact but she just couldn't and a smile broke out on her face. She gave her blessing and Nick all but dragged Jack to the couch (Jack allowed him to).
The movie was booted up, Vivian had made the two males popcorn, and they settled in to watch the movie. Jack had asked Vivian if she was joining them, but she shook her head. "I'll let you two boys bond a bit, I got some schoolwork to handle of my own."
After that she retreated to her bedroom and the movie started. Once the movie hit the halfway point, Jack felt himself growing very tired. It was an odd feeling, he never felt tired. Being tired meant being sleepy which meant falling asleep which meant nightmares. He tried to stay awake but he found his eyes growing heavy. Within another five minutes Jack slumped to the side on the couch, the smell of violets and cherry blossoms lulling him to his first dreamless sleep in a long long time.
Once the credits were rolling Vivian exited her bedroom and went over to the couch. What she saw melted her heart. Jack was laying completely on the couch dead asleep, a peaceful look on his face. On top of Jack's chest also fast asleep was her little kit, a little smile on his face as he slept. Jack had a paw on Nick's back keeping him securely in place so he wouldn't fall off too.
Vivian quickly pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of the two males and looking at it…she set it as her Home Screen. Why wouldn't she? It was a picture of her little kit and the wox that wormed his way into her heart snuggled together asleep. As quietly as she could Vivian retreated back into her bedroom, the two could stay that way. As she gazed at the photo suddenly her screen lit up from a text from Skye with a link.
"Omfg! You gotta watch this! It's your Jack!"
Vivian clicked on the link and she watched. Then she watched it again, and again, and again. Once the last play through Vivian lowered her phone in shock. It was the video of Jack killing all the Jihads with his shoge, and the video was uncut and uncensored. It was brutal, and the image of Jack covered head to toe in blood that wasn't his with his eyes cold and remorseless was burned into her brain. It left no question in her mind, "Jack was raised by The Fox."