AN: I am really proud of this chapter, tbh. It was super fun to write, and it's definitely the most emotional I've ever gotten while writing lol (no, I didn't cry, but I felt like maybe I was starting to kinda get sorta close XD). Anyways, I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!
Malcolm knew nothing but pain as he fell to the ground, screaming. Strong hands were quickly holding him down as he writhed and continued to scream. Maybe JT was crying out his name, but Malcolm couldn't hear him over his own cries. He kept thrashing against the arms that wrapped around his chest from behind, holding him down.
"Get it off!" he screamed, but JT just kept trying to hold him still. The man wasn't moving to get whatever was biting into his ankle, sawing through the bone and lighting it on fire, off him. Why wasn't JT helping him? "Please, get it off, get it off, please!" he begged as he continued to writhe. One wrong move had him screaming in agony again. A sudden pressure over his mouth silenced him.
"Shhhhh," JT gently hushed, his body now contorted to keep Malcolm still and silent. "I'm so sorry, kid, but we've gotta be quiet, okay? We can't let them hear us," he said. Malcolm could hear the tears in the man's voice, now that his own screams were muffled by JT's hand.
After an eternity, Malcolm's screams turned into sobs. His throat ached too much to keep screaming. The abuse it had suffered during his torture, compounded with the agony of his ankle, had been more than his throat could take. His adrenaline induced writhing and thrashing ended, leaving only excruciating pain in its wake. JT's hand remained over Malcolm's mouth as he continued to sob. It hurt so much.
"It's okay," JT practically whispered in his ear. Finally, he removed his hand from over Malcolm's mouth and began carding his fingers through Malcolm's hair. "I've got you, you're gonna be okay." He continued gently hushing him and whispering the same things that Gil would be telling him. Malcolm missed Gil so much. He was never going to see Gil again. He was going to die out there.
"Get it off, please get it off," he begged, his throat aching as he did so. Malcolm had both of his arms wrapped around JT's larger one that was still wrapped around his chest. He was squeezing maybe a little more than he should have been, but JT was the only comfort and safety he had.
JT held him a little bit tighter. "No," he said, but that one word was filled with so much sorrow and regret and pain that Malcolm wondered if maybe JT was hurt too. "It's a bear trap, kid," he continued. "I can't undo it with only my hands."
Malcolm let out another sob at the thought of leaving the bear trap on his ankle, and JT only continued carding his fingers through his hair and gently hushing him. He was going to die out there. JT was going to sit with him as he died. Malcolm kept his leg as stock still as he could, any motions causing more waves of agony to shoot up his leg as they radiated from his ankle. He swore he could feel each and every individual tooth of the trap digging into his bones.
"You should go," Malcolm said between sobs, but even as he said it, he gripped JT's arm around his chest even tighter, and leaned his head into the man's chest even more.
"I'm not leaving you, kid," JT replied. Since when did JT call him 'kid'? A far corner of Malcolm's mind was captivated by the change, by the way that JT seemed to be emulating Gil in almost every way, but that corner was swallowed up by the neverending pain. "We're in this together, no matter what. I'm not gonna leave you here alone. I'm gonna bring you home, one way or another."
Malcolm's pain addled mind didn't even know what that meant, but he was too scared and hurting to challenge it. He was also too tired. That was a bad thing. He needed to stay awake if he wanted any shot at surviving.
But what if he didn't want a shot at surviving? It hurt so much, he was in so much pain, that maybe it would be better to just drift away into nothingness and never wake up. As scared as he was, Malcolm would do anything to make the pain just go away, even for a moment. His shoulder and ribs and thigh and wrist hadn't forgotten the treatment that they'd received, despite the consistent white hot pain in his ankle that demanded his full attention. Malcolm just wanted it to go away. If that meant he had to die, maybe that was the best thing. Besides, he was just so tired. His head was resting right above JT's heart, the steady beat providing almost a sort of white noise to lull him to sleep.
A serious pops in the distance took a little bit of Malcolm's attention, but he didn't move his head to look. That would hurt.
"Do you hear the fireworks, JT?" he asked, his voice almost a whisper. "I love fireworks, watching them over the bay with Gil and Jackie. I miss them so much," he said around an oncoming sob. "I wanna go home. I just wanna go home." Malcolm squeezed JT's arm as it squeezed him.
"Yeah, yeah, I hear 'em," JT responded, his voice tight, as if he were fighting tears himself. Maybe he was. "And we're gonna go home. I'm gonna get you home, okay? I'm gonna light your way there. We're both gonna go home." JT was definitely crying as he just continued to card his fingers through Malcolm's hair, the motion soothing and protective.
"I always wondered what it would be like to have a brother," Malcolm said a minute later. His voice was as weak as his body. "Thanks for showing me, JT."
"No, no, not yet," JT quickly replied, his voice suddenly frantic, panicked even. "Don't check out on me now, kid, not yet." Malcolm could hear the tears his voice. "I haven't even told you my real name yet."
"Then tell me," Malcolm whispered. His eyes were slipping shut. He heard a sob, but this time it didn't come from him. As the darkness fell upon him, the last thing his ears heard was a gentle whisper in his ear: the whisper of a name.
JT fought against his gasping breaths of air as the body in his arms went limp. The shaky hands wrapped around his arm lost their grip, and the head pressed against his chest lolled to the side. JT stopped his ministrations of running his fingers through the kid's hair and pressed his fingers instead to the kid's neck, searching for a pulse. He wept with relief as he found it. It wasn't as strong as JT wanted it to be, but it was still steady. He would take what he could get.
For once, JT was glad to be alone. He didn't cry. He never cried. And yet, there he was, holding Malcolm in his arms and sobbing. Fear wasn't something that JT was used to. Ever since Afghanistan, he didn't let it impact him the way it did others. And yet there he was, sitting with his back against a tree, with terror coursing through his veins. He was terrified that the faint rise and fall of Malcolm's chest would cease altogether. He was terrified that the mafia was going to catch up to them and he wouldn't be able to do anything to stop them from taking the kid from his arms. There was no good option, and that left JT terrified. He couldn't move, because he couldn't get the trap off Malcolm's ankle, and he was too weak to carry him at that point, but there was no way in hell that JT was going to leave him there to die alone. No matter what, JT was not going to let him die alone. But that meant that he just sat there, waiting for the mafia to catch up.
He was waiting for death. The mafia was going to find them and kill them, and all JT could do was wait. He would not let Malcolm die alone, even though it meant he would never see his beautiful Tally again or meet his precious unborn child. They would know that their husband and father died doing the right thing. He couldn't go back to them having failed Malcolm, no matter the cost.
"I've got you, kid," he muttered, glancing down at the mangled mess of Malcolm's ankle. His eyes were well adjusted to the lack of light, but even then, he could only make the shiny trap encircling the kid's ankle, and the blood covering the trap. It wasn't just the fact that JT wouldn't have been able to get the trap off with only his bare hands that he told Malcolm it couldn't come off. Malcolm had already lost so much blood. If there was one good thing the trap was doing, it was keeping more blood inside. Despite the damage it had done, it would be worse to try to take it out when there was nothing left for JT to use to wrap the wound with. If he took the trap off, Malcolm could bleed out. He'd already lost so much blood from his torture. He couldn't afford to lose any more.
The continuing gunfire gave JT the smallest breath of hope. If the mafia was in a firefight, there was a chance that their assailants were the good guys. JT didn't exactly know which good guys, but he would take any good guys at that point. He let out a shaky breath. Malcolm, in his agony, had thought it was fireworks. JT had known it wasn't worth it to tell him he was wrong. The kid had already been too far gone in the pain. Frankly, it was a miracle he hadn't passed out before then. Still, Malcolm was brilliant. Seeing him so far gone in his pain that he genuinely thought that gunfire was fireworks - which made absolutely no sense given their current situation - was heartbreaking. The last time JT had seen something like that was Afghanistan. That kid hadn't made it home, and JT was terrified that this kid wouldn't make it home either.
"I'm not leaving you," he whispered, even though Malcolm couldn't hear him. No matter what fate they were waiting for, JT was not going to leave him. Whatever the end was, they were going to face it together. In the face of death, JT would know that even though he hadn't been able to save Malcolm, he had done his duty as a brother and held on to him until their last breaths. JT was going to be with him through the end.
He looked down at the kid in his arms. Malcolm was still breathing, but he was just so pale and weak. He looked frail, even. That wasn't how Malcolm was supposed to look. The kid was always full of energy, bouncing around, almost hyperactive. It was wrong for him to be so still.
JT took in a shuddering breath as he went back to gently carding his fingers through the kid's hair. Maybe it would help him. Maybe it would help them both. JT was still crying softly, and he made no effort to stop.
The sound of breaking branches and crunching leaves stole JT's attention a few minutes later. He went silent and held his breath. Maybe it was just a nocturnal animal, but JT's instincts knew it had to be a person. JT covered Malcolm's body with his own as much as he could without jostling the poor kid too much - even though he was unconscious, JT didn't want to do anything that could cause him more pain. If the mafia wanted to take Malcolm from him, they would have to pry him from JT's cold dead hands.
Fury took over from the fear in JT's heart. Malcolm just couldn't catch a break. It wasn't fair. They weren't going to take him. JT wasn't going to let them. He heard more branches snap and the sound of voices, but JT was too enraged to make the voices out or the words they spoke.
"Don't you touch him!" he shouted into the dark forest. Another voice arose, but JT was too focused on trying to make out the two forms that he saw approaching. He needed to protect Malcolm from them, but he didn't even have a weapon. He would fight them all with his bare hands to keep the kid safe. "Leave him alone!" he shouted.
"Yes, I found them!" someone shouted. In the back of his mind, JT knew the voice was familiar, but the rest of his mind was too overwhelmed with anger and pain and his own blood loss to pay that any mind.
"You're not gonna take him from me," JT practically growled as someone appeared at his side, but long hair, as well as the darkness, obscured their features.
"JT, it's me, it's okay, it's Dani," a voice that JT knew better than his own frantically said. His grip on Malcolm still tight, JT tried to focus on her more - because it was a her, he knew that - but he was nearly hyperventilating in his fear that the mafia was going to get their hands on Malcolm once again.
"We found you, it's okay," the other voice said. That voice was shaking, as if the speaker were crying, and in the back of his mind, JT knew that that was wrong. That voice was supposed to be a pillar of strength. Still, JT kept his place protecting Malcolm, his whole being whittled down to protecting the kid and nothing else. "It's Gil, it's okay now," he said. His voice was calming, and something it told JT that maybe everything really was okay. JT blinked his tears away, and finally focused on the two figures in front of him. Even in the dark, he could tell they were both silently crying, but her curly hair and his goatee were unmistakable. It was Gil and Dani.
"Gil?" he asked, his own voice shaking. The man nodded, finally lowering his hands - which had been held up defensively - and falling to his knees next to JT and Malcolm.
"Yeah, I'm here," Gil said. He was looking down at Malcolm, tears spilling from his eyes.
"He's still alive," JT said through his own tears. "But he needs help. Look at his leg." He looked back down at the mangled mess of the kid's ankle, relieved to see that at the very least, it hadn't gotten any worse.
"A bus is already here," Dani said. JT glanced over and saw her slipping a sat phone onto her belt. "It just has to wait for the firefight to stop."
"I'll carry him closer to the treeline and we'll wait," Gil immediately replied. "You help JT." Gil went to lift Malcolm into his own arms, but JT didn't want to let go. If he let go, then maybe he would never hold him again. The realization that Malcolm had become his little brother was something that brought another onslaught of tears to his eyes. How could he have treated Malcolm so terribly upon their first meeting? Now that Malcolm meant the world to him, he didn't want to ever let the kid go. He needed to protect him. "It's okay," Gil said, looking straight into JT's eyes. "You've taken care of him, now let us take care of you. I've got Malcolm, I promise. I'm not going to let anything happen to him. You can rest."
After a moment, JT nodded and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He relaxed back against the tree, and allowed Gil to slip his arms under Malcolm and pull the kid into his arms, the chain from the bear trap dangling to the ground. It would be tied down somewhere. Gil nodded to Dani, who reached down and began to dig it out. A moment later, she held up a spike that had been driven into the ground to keep the bear trap in place. She gently placed it in Malcolm's lap, but the movement slightly jostled the trap itself. JT almost leapt back to grab Malcolm when the kid let out a pained whimper at the movement, even in his unconsciousness. But this was Gil. Gil loved Malcolm more than anyone or anything in the whole damn world. He wasn't going to let anything happen to him. Maybe JT really could relax.
Gil stepped away, holding Malcolm in his arms, and Dani knelt down by JT.
"You okay?" she asked. JT nodded, even though that definitely wasn't true. The adrenaline boost he'd gotten when Gil and Dani had first approached was quickly fading, leaving him drained and in pain. Bullet wounds didn't magically hurt less just because you were trying to ignore them, and neither didn't broken noses. "Come on," she said, wrapping JT's arm around her shoulders and beginning to pull him up. With a grunt, JT stood, and pulled his arm back to himself. His legs were fine. He could walk on his own-.
He swayed straight back into the tree. JT clutched it for support as Dani reached out for him.
"JT? What's wrong?" she asked, but she answered her own question when she noticed the increase in blood at his shoulder. His frantic movements to protect Malcolm had reopened the barely clotted wound, and it was once again bleeding profusely. Maybe JT was a little weaker than he thought. Still, he needed to see Malcolm, he needed to see that the kid was still safe in Gil's arms.
"Malcolm," he muttered, ignoring Dani.
"Gil has him," she promised. "Now let me help you." Her voice had a pleading quality to it that forced JT to listen to her. She sounded scared. Finally, he looked at her. Her eyes were wide, with tears brimming in them.
"I'm okay," he insisted. It was just a bullet wound and a broken nose. Malcolm had it much worse. Malcolm was the one they all needed to be concerned about. "I need to see the kid," he muttered. JT tried to take a step towards where he remembered Gil standing, but his boss wasn't there anymore, and neither was the kid. He sucked in a breath in surprise. Had he imagined it? Had Gil never really been there? Was Dani even there? Where was Malcolm? JT looked around frantically, but Dani took another hold of his good shoulder.
"It's okay, it's okay," she insisted. "Gil is already trying to get him back down the road. It's safe now, listen," she told him. With bated breath, JT did as she asked. He listened, and heard nothing but the crickets and owls in the night. "The ambulance is ready and waiting, and I think you'll need one too." After a brief moment, JT nodded. She was right, he definitely did need one. "Let's get you down there too, okay? Malcolm's down there," she reminded him.
JT turned, and let Dani help to support him. He was weaker than he thought he was, and so tired. Was that how Malcolm had felt, right before he passed out? Was JT going to pass out in Dani's arms? No, that wasn't fair to her. Dani was stronger than she looked, but JT wasn't going to let her carry him down the hill. He would be fine, he could make it down to Malcolm. They were both going to be fine.
He let out a shaky breath. They were both going to be fine.