Chapter Twenty-Four

Clarissa was the first one into the station, sweeping John into a tight hug when she saw the boy who was like her own child. "Oh, thank God." She signed, pushing him back and taking his head in her hands to make sure he wasn't hurt. "What happened?" She pushed her fingers through his hair, feeling for any bumps from the hit he'd taken.

John dropped his head slightly, knowing that she wouldn't stop until she was positive that he was okay. "Jessica grabbed me." He stated, wincing as she pressed on a particularly sore spot on the crown of his head.

She pushed him into a chair so that she could get a better look at the bump on his head, parting his hair away from the lump. "That bitch." She growled, gently touching the little scab on his scalp. "What did she do?" She asked, taking in the raw skin on his fingers and wrists.

John looked over at the cop, taking in the notepad in his hand. "You gonna write the truth, or what your niece tells you when she gets here?" He asked, letting Amelia crawl into his lap as she got the okay to come close to him from Clarissa.

"I'll write what I hear." The cop stated, watching as John pulled the frightened child closer to himself.

John scoffed, turning back to Clarissa and the rest of the family. "I can't tell you the graphic details because someone decided to bring Squirt here." He winced as she shifted, her bedazzled shirt rubbing against his raw skin. "But Jessica tried to get in my pants, after she knocked me out, dragged me to her uncle's basement, tied me to a chair, and tried to force me to break up with my Sweets." He locked eyes with Claire, praying that she'd known the message he was trying to give her.

Claire took a seat beside him, leaning over to kiss his cheek. "I was wondering what you were clicking about." She smiled, knowing now that he'd been trying to use Morse Code on her. "I didn't remember that dumb code you had me look at for five seconds." She tapped on his forehead. "I don't have the same brain power as you do."

They looked up as Jessica and a girl that had to be her cousin, walked into the station, noticing the Jessica's mascara was running down her face. "Uncle Leon, he, he touched me." She sobbed, pointing to John as she collapsed into her uncle's arms. "He, he tried to make me do a line of cocaine and… and he shoved his hand into my pants."

John raised a brow, knowing damn well that was a lie. "Bullshit!" He barked, making the child in his arms jump with his tone. "You're the one that touched my balls and told me that you wanted my dick and 'fluids' in you." He stated, forgetting about being a good influence for a moment. He stood, handing Amelia over to Claire. "Listen slut. I wouldn't put my dick anywhere near your hole." He nodded to his cousin, remembering his roll in the hay with the witch. "Just because my cousin did, doesn't mean I would. And to be fair, I think he was high off his ass when he agreed to sleep with you."

Dominic's eyes widened, knowing that he had the eyes of the whole family on him. "To be fair, I was drunk off my ass, and had beer goggles on." His pointed a finger in the air, tipping it toward his cousin. "I was not high that time."

John rolled his eyes, turning back to the girl who'd assaulted him. "And I would never touch any woman without her say so." He stated, feeling Kaylie's hand on his back. "Just ask blondie over here."

Kaylie nodded, remembering how he'd rescued her. "He's saved me from being raped. That's how he got this scar." She lifted John's shirt sleeve a little, showing a scar that was several years old but had been so deep it was still purple. "He's would never touch anyone without them saying in absolute clarity that he could."

Jessica looked up at her uncle, knowing that she could make it sound like they were lying. "He didn't just touch me." She stated, pointing to the little bit of blood on John's jeans from where he'd tried to clean up his wrists. "He raped me. That's my blood on his jeans." She looked up at her uncle, tears brimming in her eyes. "He popped my cherry."

John's jaw dropped, knowing that he'd have to go to court with that statement and his only hope would be a DNA test on the blood. "I didn't rape your ass!" He stated, looking down at his jeans. "That is my blood. You decided to tie me up and I cut my hands on that goddamn rope." He felt Claire beside him, knowing that the rest of them were close behind him. "If you want you can do a test on it. I swear it's mine."

Claire looked at Jessica, an idea dawning on her. "If he raped you, then did you notice the birthmark on his hip?" She asked, remembering the cute dark patch of skin from when she'd accidentally seen him in nothing but a towel.

Jessica scoffed, crossing her arms. "Of course I saw it. It looks like a heart."

Claire shook her head, lifting the hem of John's shirt to show the rabbit shape. "It's a rabbit." She stated, letting his shirt drop when she felt him tense up. "That proves it. He didn't rape her." She wrapped an arm around his waist, feeling the muscles in his back as they twitched. "John?" She felt his body tense, knowing what was coming. "Move!" She ordered, forcing John to the ground just before his seizure took hold. She took his head in her hands, making sure his jaw was shut tight. "It's okay." She whispered, knowing that John had to have had at least one other attack before this one from how tired he'd been when they arrived.

"A relapse?" The officer asked, looking to the adults in John's so called 'family.' "Is he on something right now?" He watched as the boy convulsed on the floor.

Clarissa turned her gaze on the man, knowing that he was making judgements based on the lies of the media. "He is sober." She pushed Amelia's face into her shoulder, knowing that the seizures scared the child when they were this bad. "He hasn't had anything in months. These are left over from the drug that was forced into him, they're a part of the recovery." She handed the child to her mother, knowing that she could keep the child calm better than she could. "He had enough meth in his body to kill him, I'm amazed that he's even alive." She turned back the officer, her temper flaring as she noticed the assumption was still there. "Take Amelia outside." She snapped at Mary, not wanting the child to hear what she said next. "He was drugged with that when he was protecting that little girl, from the hands of murderers." She exhaled through her nose, letting her husband take her hand as he began to speak for her.

"Officer Jenkins, I will have you know, that I'm a lawyer." He listened as John's seizure faded, knowing that the kid would be exhausted from this fit. "Now, I know that the issue of being accused of rape in itself is a serious offence." He looked down at John, praying that he could get him out of the predicament he was in. "And that he would, under normal circumstances, be required to spend time in a holding cell until farther evidence is gathered. But, seeing as how he's obviously not in a state that would be safe for him to be in said cell, I propose that we allow him to recover from this at home, with adult supervision at all times until the evidence is gathered." He looked to Jessica, raising a brow. "Including a rape kit, and DNA testing done on any sperm found." He turned back to John, knowing that he would hate the next part of this prosses. "John, will also be tested for any of Jessica's DNA on his body. We'll gather everything we need from him as soon as we get home, where he is comfortable, and ship it off to a forensics lab first thing in the morning."

John groaned, knowing that he'd have to bear his entire body to them and have to have his manhood wiped down to get the tests they needed. "Mom?" He looked up at Clarissa, his plea to not have this done to him clear in his eyes.

Clarissa knelt beside him, pulling his shoulders onto her lap, and running her fingers through his hair. "I'll be there if you need me." She stated, surprised when he nodded. "You want me to be there when they're gathering the tests?"

He hesitated for a moment, thinking a little harder about if he really wanted her to see him that way. "Yeah." He nodded, knowing that he if he could trust anyone it was her. "I want you there."

Claire smiled, pulling the key necklace from her purse. "Here." She clasped it around his neck, proving to him that he still had her heart. "I found it after Amelia came to get us."

Clarissa smiled, gently rubbing her finger over the key. "Let's get you to the hospital so we can see about that concussion." She helped him to his feet, seeming to notice Peter for the first time. "Are you the one who-"

John cut her off, knowing he had to honor the code, even if he didn't like Peter the most. "Yeah, he helped me out. He helped me get out of Officer Jenkins basement." He locked eyes with Peter, letting the jock know that he was covering for him. "He's the one who gave me a ride over here."

Peter raised his eyebrows, knowing that the burner had left out the part where Peter had been the one to knock him out. Understanding for the first time that it had been deliberate and not forgetfulness because of the seizures. He stepped after the group, leaving Mr. Standish and Jessica's uncle to work out the legal matters. "You think it's a good idea to leave that out?" He asked, whispering it into John's ear as they walked.

John smirked, tapping his forehead with a finger as he hefted Amelia out of her mother's arms. "It didn't happen if you can't remember it." He scrambled to catch Amelia as she suddenly lurched for Peter. "Shit." He hugged her closer to his body, afraid that she might blab or try to kill Peter.

"You hurt my knight!" She growled, turning her variation of a Bender glare on the jock.

John chuckled noticing how the entire group seemed to be giving Peter a glare. "I'll explain when we get to the house. But until then, quit glaring. I assure you he earned Breakfast Club status tonight." He adjusted Amelia's legs around his hips, wincing as the skin of his wrists pulled against her bright pink jeans.

Peter looked at the burner, shocked that he could really be such a good guy. "Why did you do that?"

John shrugged, letting a very tired Amelia rest against his chest. "Favor for a favor." He stated, grinning as the others finished the code.

"Eye for an eye." They chorused. "You take one, you take us all."

"What was that?" Peter asked, baffled that they could all recite something so easily.

Claire smiled, wrapping her hand around John's hips as they walked. "It's another burner code." She yawned smiling as her father finally caught up to them all. "Did you work it out?" She looked up at the man, noticing that he had a stack of papers in his hand. "Is that for John?"

He nodded, ignoring the groan from the teenagers. "Yes, it's for John." He sighed, taking Peter's place as he backed off to find his truck. "Just be glad I got him out of a holding cell."

John shook his head, holding Amelia closer as they climbed into one of the vehicles that they'd shipped ahead for when they made the move. "I can't thank you enough for that. I fucking hate those things." He placed Amelia onto the seat beside him, pulling her seatbelt over her lap as they closed the door and Thomas hopped into his BMW with Clarissa and the rest of the clan.