Hello everyone. Alexis here. I'm so happy to be collaborating with Mark on this account. It feels like the start of something really great. This chapter wasn't supposed to take so long, but we both had this really bad writers block and kept changing things and editing and hating the chapter and deleting things and hating each other. #writersproblems

Alright, well, not much for me to say. Enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: We do not own Jessie.

Chapter 2: What We Caused

Jessie plops down into the seat next to Luke in the waiting room after speaking with one of the nurses about Ravi's condition and filling out the necessary paper work. She doesn't think that she's been under so much stress in her life, and she can practically feel the gray hairs growing on her scalp. She runs a hand through her now messy hair as she lets out the breath she wasn't aware she was holding. Never in her five years of working with the Ross family did she ever contemplate a situation like this ever happening. But then again, who would've? Nobody is ever fully aware of the kind of turmoil going through someone else's mind. It's not something that you can identify on the outside. But then again, she should know the kids well enough to detect at least a slight change in the demeanor of the Indian teen.

She tries to remember any signs of change in Ravi's personality that would hint at depression or suicidal thoughts. A change in appearance, lack of interest, isolation, or even a simple word. She can't think of anything that has seemed different about Ravi, except for maybe the change of hair style, but that can't possibly lead to suicide.

Bertram disappeared to the hospital cafeteria as soon as they arrived at the hospital, which doesn't surprise Jessie because he eats the most during stressful situations, much like this one. She looks over to Emma and Zuri's spot in the waiting room. It didn't take long for the girls to fall asleep after the nurse explained the procedures Ravi would need to go through. They are basically clinging to each other for dear life as they sleep. Jessie doesn't blame them for sleeping at a time like this. The whole situation is mentally and physically exhausting, and it's taking every ounce of strength in Jessie not to collapse into the deepest sleep she's ever had. At least the girls get to sleep with slightly eased minds.

One of the nurses told the Ross family that Ravi's cut nearly punctured a vein, and he lost almost 3 pints of blood. He went into surgery immediately for a blood transfusion, and the process would take a few hours. They can't guarantee the condition he will be in after the surgery, but the doctors will try their absolute best to do what they can, and they would let the family know when the surgery is over.

Jessie isn't a doctor or anything, but receiving a blood transfusion must be somewhat of a good sign. It means that Ravi isn't absolutely dead, and there is still hope that he will survive. Jessie spent about an hour after hearing the news filling out a ton of paperwork, and informing Christina and Morgan on what happened, who had already heard about the situation from the paparazzi, who seem to be everywhere (they're even outside of the hospital trying to get past security). Morgan and Christina said that they would be catching the next flight out of Berlin and would be there as soon as possible, which really meant that they probably wouldn't be there until the next morning because of how far away Berlin is.

So Jessie has to handle everything for the next few hours.

Jessie sighs and leans forward, placing her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. She does the breathing exercises her dad taught her a few times to hold back the tears that have been threatening to fall ever since she saw Ravi's condition on his bathroom floor. She can't afford to break apart now, when the people around her needed her, even though all she desperately wants to do was curl up into a ball and sob until she can't breathe. Everything that happened was so emotionally draining on the whole family, especially her. She could almost hear her heart break when she saw Ravi's body on the floor, realizing what he had done. It was the scariest thing she has ever seen in her life, but she knew that that wasn't the moment to cave into her emotions. She had to let her nanny instincts kick in and be the responsible adult in the situation, even though she's two seconds away from an anxiety attack. She did all she knew and was told to do, and did all she could to keep her emotions at bay.

But all she feels like doing is bursting into a fit of tears.

She knows that she can't. She can't fall apart. Someone has to keep everything and everyone together and under control. Somebody has to be there for the kids, and provide them comfort. Someone has to be the rock and stay strong for everyone else's sake.

When Jessie feels her nerves steadying again, the urge to cry temporarily dissipating, she sits back up. She has approximately 5 hours until Ravi's surgery is finished, and 8 hours until Christina and Morgan's plane lands. It might be a good idea to take a nap so she can be refreshed and alert in the next few hours. She's about to lean back in her seat and shut her eyes when she becomes aware of Luke sitting next to her. The look on his face is distant, as if he's lost himself in some far off place, and he has no sense of reality. He hasn't moved much since they got here. He sits in the same position clutching his legs close to his chest for the past hour. He looks as though he's in a trauma induced trance.

Poor Luke, she thinks as she forgets about any idea of falling asleep. The poor teen must be going through utter hell after finding Ravi's unconscious body. The moment Jessie heard him screaming her name back in the penthouse, she knew that something was terribly wrong. His voice didn't sound how it usually did when he called her for some minor reason. His voice sounded so distressed and scared, as if he was calling for an actual life or death issue (which he was). At first Jessie thought he was being dramatic as she ran upstairs to see what the problem is. To her dismay, it truly was a life or death situation. She's never seen Luke cry so much. She's only seen him cry twice (maybe three times). The tears stopped flowing down his face only a while ago, but she's sure that he is still crying on the inside.

He looks so exhausted. The crying made his face a little puffy and his eyes bloodshot, and the stress makes him look overly tired. Jessie wraps her arm around his shoulders and squeezes. He jumps at the sudden contact, taking his eyes off the wall and looking at Jessie's hand on his shoulder. He looks like he was abruptly woken from a dream. "You should try to get some sleep Luke." Jessie says softly. "We might be here for a while."

Luke says nothing. He takes his eyes off of Jessie's hand and likes down at his lap as he shakes his head no. The lump in his throat grows as he swallows hard.

Jessie sighs. She can't believe how vulnerable Luke has become. She's never seen him like this. Not even during that time he was trying to find his birth mom. "I know you're scared Luke." She turns in her seat so she's facing him. "We all are. But staying up all night isn't going to help anyone."

"I can't," Luke's voices cracks, and he clears his throat and takes a deep breath before continuing, "I can't go to sleep." He doesn't move his eyes from his lap. Jessie moves her arm from around him. She watches him intently, wondering if he's going to continue speaking. He does. "I-I, I just can't." His voice is shaky now as he runs a hand through his hair. "I can't." He mumbles.

Jessie nods. "Do you want me to stay up with you and keep you company?"

Luke finds it increasingly hard to swallow back his tears as the lump in his throat grows. He can feel himself trembling, his fingers shaking uncontrollably in their tight grasp around his legs. He doesn't want Jessie to keep him company. He doesn't want anyone to keep him company. He just wants to disappear from exist, and seclude himself from everything. From the shame and guilt and self-loathing he feels. His lower lip trembles. He can feel Jessie staring at him, waiting for an answer. "It's my fault." He mumbles.

Jessie is taken aback. His fault? she thinks to herself. "What?"

Luke does his best but his throat feels so constricted. His voice comes out like a squeak as the first tear falls. He doesn't move to dry it though. He lets it roll down his face and fall into the fabric of his shirt. He watches as it soaks into the small fibers in his shirt, fading to a mere silhouette.

Jessie tries to speak again. "Luke—"

"This whole thing is my fault." Luke blurts out, causing Jessie to shut her mouth. He looks in Jessie's direction without meeting her eye. He decides to stare off into space. He wipes away at the second tear that falls down his cheek as he sniffs. "H-he did this because of me." He stutters. "I caused all of this."

Jessie shakes her head. Now she understands what's been eating at him so much. "No, Luke—"

"It's because of me!" Luke collapses into a fit of tears, losing the strength to fight them back. Jessie feels her suppressed emotions rising as she watches Luke burst into a fit of sobs, letting out everything he has been holding back. "I told him all these things that I didn't even mean and that aren't even true," Luke continues, hiccupping after every other word, "and I told him that he ruins everything and that I wish we didn't adopt him and—" he lets out a sob so vicious that he can't continue his sentence. "And I've been treating him like crap for so long and making him feel worthless!" Luke's whole body was visibly shaking. He feels like he's bursting into a million pieces with every word he says, hating himself even more for what he's done.

"Luke stop it!" Jessie says. "Stop blaming yourself. It's not your fault at all."

"I made him think that he wasn't loved! I made him think I hate him!" He ignores Jessie and continues rambling. "Ravi tried killed himself thinking that I hate him! He tried to commit suicide because he thought I hated him!" Luke's voice rises louder with every word he says, and after every sob. Jessie doesn't have the heart to shush him while he was going through this much turmoil. She's shatters her to see Luke in such a fragile state. "What kind of brother am I?" He continues. "What kind of person am I?" He shakes his head and covers his face with his hands. "I'm such a horrible person." He mumbles that last sentence over and over again to himself as he sobs into his hands. How could he do such a thing to his own family? He's the one that's worthless. Not Ravi.

Jessie wraps her arms around Luke, pulling him into a tight, comforting embrace. Luke leans into the hug, sobbing into Jessie's chest. He wraps his arms around her and clings to her for dear life. He feels so weak, and so numb. Jessie rubs his back, whispering soothing words to him as he cries in her arms. She rests her chin on top of his head as she tries to get her messy thoughts together. "Luke," her voice breaks and she clears her throat, "Luke, you can't blame yourself for any of this. None of us know the true reason why Ravi felt the need to do this."

Luke bites his quivering lip before he speaks. "But I had to have caused it. All those things I said and did to him…" he trails off.

Jessie sniffs, feeling her eyes water. She can't muster up the energy to hold back anymore tears. If they fall, so be it. "I know it might seem like it's because of you, but it's impossible for this to be fully your fault." She runs her fingers through his now messy hair, his breaths becoming steadier with each stroke. She allows one tear to roll down her face as she speaks. "This isn't something that's the result of only today. This is something that has probably been building up in Ravi for a while." She sniffs as she wipes away tears on Luke's cheeks. "Trust me when I say this. It's not just you that pushed him to this point. It's all of us. Everyone that's been a part of Ravi's life in some way caused him to fall into a depression that's so deep, it made him want to die."

She takes a second to dry a new fallen tear before she continues. "I know how much you love Ravi. I see how protective of him you can get, even if you don't notice it. You're an amazing brother Luke. To all of your siblings. And you're not a horrible person. Don't ever let me hear you say those words again. You just made a mistake." She gives him a squeeze. "We all make mistakes. The important thing is that we learn from them and never repeat them."

Luke listens to her words, allowing them to calm him down. He's spent so much time replaying the past few hours over in his head, and blaming himself for Ravi trying to kill himself, that he didn't take the time to step back and look at the big picture. So many other elements could've contributed to the demolishing of his brother. And his behavior has slightly changed within the past year (well, in Luke's eyes it has). Ravi has invested in a lot of long-sleeved shirts and hoodies, completely abandoning the traditional Indian shirts he used to wear. He's not excited about simple things that used to excite him in the past. He smiles less, and spends more time secluded in his room than ever before.

Maybe it really wasn't Luke's entire fault.

Luke let's out another sob. "I'm really scared Jessie." The tears haven't stopped their fall from his eyes. He buries his face deeper into Jessie's chest as she tightens her arms around him. Whether or not this is his fault, Ravi is still having a blood transfusion, fighting for his life. He might not survive. Luke may never see his brother again.

He might never have a brother again.

"I know Luke." Jessie's voice cracks on his name as she rests her head in his hair. She love's Ravi like her own child. He's probably the sweetest, smartest boy she's ever met. He's such an amazing kid, and she feels so attached to him. It's hard not to love someone like him. Thinking of the possibility of Ravi actually dying breaks her heart. "So am I."

This seems like a great place to end the chapter.

We didn't want to add too much because we didn't want to make it too long. We've gotta save some of the good stuff for other chapters. Anyways, there might be spelling errors and such because both Mark and I have terrible sight. So if there's a lot, just let us know. We hope you enjoy this installment of Elastic Heart, and we'll see you soon.

If you like it review. If you like it review. If you like it, then seriously. Review.

-Bye Felicia