Chapter 15

Malcolm awoke to the sun shining on his face. He looked at his watch and was surprised to see that it was ten in the morning. They had all stayed by Reese's side right through the night. The staff was kind enough to bring extra chairs so they could be comfortable.

Nurses buzzed in and out of the room check up on Reese from time to time, which helped to break up the long periods of anxious waiting. The last time that Malcolm could remember this happening was around four in the morning. They were all thankful to hear the nurse report that Reese's vitals were starting to improve slightly. After that, he had fallen asleep.

Malcolm stretched tiredly and rose from to his feet. Francis and Dewey were still asleep in their chairs and his parents were nowhere around. Reese appeared to be in better shape than he was when last Malcolm saw him. His heartbeat was registering faster on monitor and some color had returned to his cheeks. Malcolm felt his hand and it was warmer than it had been the previous night. Despite all that, he didn't want let his guard down and assume everything was going to be okay just yet.

"Come on, Reese." Malcolm said quietly as he stood over his brother's bed. "You've got to pull through this. Do you have any idea what it'll be like living with mom if you don't? She'll never let Dewey and me leave the house again!...Listen, I just want you to know that I'm sorry for all the times that I called you a stupid moron, or said that I hate you, or kicked your ass, and all the other terrible things that I've ever said and done to you. You know I didn't really mean any of it, right? You're my brother and I love you even if we don't always get along. Besides, you're the one who kicked my ass most of the time so I guess we're even...Seriously though, I'm really sorry that I hung up on you yesterday. I didn't know it was you! If you don't make it, I'm going to feel guilty about it for the rest of my life. But you'd probably like that, wouldn't you?.. "

"Like what?" Reese murmured his voice barely a whisper.

Malcolm wondered if he was hearing things and looked down to see that Reese's eyes were open. They were only slightly cracked, but open nevertheless.

"Reese, you're awake!" Malcolm exclaimed happily. "Francis! Dewey! Get up! He's awake!" Francis and Dewey woke instantly upon hearing the news. They were on their feet and standing next to the bed in a flash.

"How are you feeling?" Francis asked.

"Does it hurt?" Dewey wondered.

"I have…worst headache." Reese muttered dazedly, opening his eyes more. He stirred in the bed to try to get more comfortable. "Hurts to move."

"Do you need some help?" Malcolm asked.

"Need water." Reese said. Malcolm drew a cup of water from the sink. He put a straw in it and held for Reese as he took a few sips. "What happened?"

"You were shot, Reese." Francis told him.

"You almost died." Dewey added.

"I think I remember." Reese said groggily. "A man…he wanted money."

"A dealer?" Francis guessed.

"Yeah, but they weren't there...they owed money, not me….Chris and Zack…I didn't have any…shot me." Reese tried to recall the details the best he could at the moment. The events blurred together in his mind and he couldn't focus well with the pain that seethed through his body.

"Don't worry about that now, Reese. You can explain it all to the police when you feel better. Just take it easy." Malcolm said. He pushed a button on the bed that elevated Reese's head to make it easier for him to talk to them.

"Thanks. Mom and dad aren't here." Reese observed, steadily becoming more coherent. "They hate me."

"No, they're here. We just don't know where they went. They've been really upset…especially mom. She cried all night." Francis said.

"Mom's really here?"

"Of course, she loves you Reese. She loves all of us more than anything. She just has a funny way of showing it most of the time." Dewey pointed out.

Lois and Hal appeared in the doorway carrying styrofoam containers from the cafeteria. "What happened? Is something wrong?" Lois asked anxiously when she saw them all standing around Reese's bed. As she came closer she realized that Reese's eyes were open. "Reese! Oh thank God!" She shoved the containers into Malcolm's hands and threw her arms around her injured son.

"Owe!" Reese groaned when she accidentally touched his wounded midsection.

"Sorry, but it serves you right for scaring us like that! We've been worried sick! The doctors said…never mind, it doesn't matter now." Lois sat on the edge of the bed and took his hand. "You're going to be okay."

"Welcome back to the world of the living son. How do you feel?" Hal asked.

"Like hell."

Their reunion was interrupted when a nurse entered for a regular assessment of Reese's vitals. She was surprised to see that he was awake so she called in the doctor to check him over. They decided that they wanted to send him for a few tests to make sure that everything was functioning normally and his body was accepting the blood he received during the transfusion. The family was asked to come back in a few hours.

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When the Wilkerson's returned later that evening, they were happy to see that Reese was much more alert. He was sitting up in bed, flipping through the channels on the TV. An empty food tray sat on the nightstand next to the bed.

"Feeling better?" Hal asked.

"No. I still feel like crap, but I guess I deserve it." Reese said miserably.

"Why would you say that, Reese?" Hal wondered. "You didn't deserve this."

"I put you through hell!" Reese blurted out unexpectedly, his eyes suddenly welling up with tears. He'd spent the afternoon thinking about the things he'd done and wondering how his family could be so worried about him after they way he'd treated them. "I'm so sorry…I love you all and I never meant to hurt you. I don't even know why you're all here for me the after everything I did."

"We're here because we love you, Reese—no matter what you do, or how mad it makes us. We were furious when we found out about the drugs, but it doesn't mean that we stopped loving you." Lois said.

"Can I come home then?" Reese asked as the tears flowed freely down his face. "I swear, I'll never do drugs again. I don't want to live like that anymore. You can ground me for a year or put me in rehab if you think I need it—I'll do whatever you want! Just let me come home."

"I don't know about that Reese…" Lois said with false seriousness.

"Please mom! I learned my lesson and I'm sorry for everything. I don't have anywhere else to go."

"What if we let you come home and nothing changes?" Lois asked.

"Getting mixed up with drugs almost got me killed. I'm in so much pain right now, but at least I'm alive. I never want to be around that stuff again. You've got to believe me!" Reese pleaded.

"How do we know you're not just trying to manipulate us into letting you come home?" Lois pressed, dragging out his torment.

"I'll do anything. Just tell me what you want. Give me one chance, please! I won't screw it up, I swear!"

"Come on mom, go ahead and tell him." Malcolm said, cracking a smile. "He's just pathetic now. It's starting to get hard to watch."

"Nah, I think you should hold out until he begs to kiss your feet." Francis chuckled.

"Man, I'd give anything to have a video camera right now." Dewey grinned.

"Huh?" Reese looked confused.

"Reese, we're not letting you come home…we're demanding that you come home." Lois finally told him. "And don't you think for a second that this is over. As soon as you're feeling better, you're going to be in so much trouble!"

"Okay mom, whatever you say." Reese wiped his tears away with his hand and began to regain his composure. "Thanks." He didn't care what kind of creative punishments they had planned for him. He was just happy that his life was going to be normal again. "Messing with my head like that was wrong though." He said lightly.

"Yeah, but it was definitely worth it. 'Please let me come home, mom! I'll do anything!'" Dewey mocked him playfully. "You're not so tough now, are you?"

"Hey, I'm still tough enough to kick your— "

"Reese!" Lois and Hal shouted in unison before he could finish.

"I think he's feeling better already." Dewey said with a smile.

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A/N: Not quite the end—there's still one more chapter to go to wrap things up!

I considered letting him die, but I couldn't come up with a good ending for that. I think this way's better. I probably couldn't have killed him anyway :-) I'm glad everyone is enjoying it. Thanks a lot for the reviews and suggestions! Hopefully Lois was a little more in character this chapter. I agree, it seems strange for her act so vulnerable, but we've never seen her in a situation where she thinks one of her children might actually die. I think she would completely break down if that ever happened.