Chapter Twenty-Five

John flinched as the ER doctor shined a bright light into his eyes. "Shit, can you get that any brighter?" He asked, thankful that they'd made this detour before they went home. He knew that as soon as they got home, he'd have to drop his pants and be whipped down for testing.

"Follow my finger." The doctor ordered, moving his finger in front of John's eyes. "He's got a slight concussion, just make sure he stays awake tonight and come in tomorrow for a scan." He patted John's shoulder, motioning to his hands. "Should I wrap those up for you?"

Clarissa nodded, not wanting to see his painful hands any longer. "Take care of everything." She smiled as Claire walked in with a small bottle of mouthwash. "What's that for?" She chuckled, watching her daughter pour some into a plastic cup and lift it to John's lips.

"He told me he threw up and I don't wanna kiss him with puke breath." She held the cup out for John to spit into when he was ready. "Plus, Medusa made him kiss her again."

John nodded, swishing the liquid around in his mouth for a few more seconds before spitting into the cup. "I had to puke to get the taste out of my mouth." He chuckled, barely masking his fear of what would happen when they got back to the house.

Clarissa didn't miss the fear behind his eyes, the green flecks becoming more noticeable in the sea of brown. "John, I'll be right there." She smiled as the doctor finished off the wrappings on John's hands. "How much do we own you?" She asked, pulling out her checkbook and insurance card.

"You can pay up front." He smiled, moving on to his next patient.

Claire took his hand in hers, happy that it was only her mom and them in the room. "I'm glad you're okay." She sighed, walking with him back to the cars as her mother payed the bill.

John chuckled, twirling her toward him, pulling her body against his as he leaned down to kiss her. "Me too." He smiled, pulling out of the almost kiss when Clarissa tugged on his hair. "Mom, what the hell?"

Clarissa pulled them toward the cars. "You two can't kiss just yet, we need to get all the DNA first."

John rolled his eyes, knowing that the vomit and mouthwash had to have washed always all evidence of her lips on his. "You do realize I puked my guts out, and then just used a whole glass of mouthwash, right?" He asked, looping his arm around Claire's waist.

"I know, but I want to be safe." She turned to look at the teens, sighing at the thought of what John would have to go through to get this done. "Baby, I know you're scared, and that a kiss from Claire Bear would make it better, but I promise that as soon as this is done you two can kiss and hug as much as you want. We just need to get the DNA wipe and then you two are free to do whatever you want as long as it doesn't involve being behind closed doors."

John rolled his eyes, slipping into his seat in the Standish's BMW beside Claire. "Please, we could have had six kids by now with how surveillant you two are."

Claire slapped his shoulder, giggling at his reaction of shock more than hurt. "I could not have gotten pregnant that many times. And besides, I've never even seen you below the hips."

Thomas started the car, tossing a handful of pens into the back seat. "I don't need to know what you two have and haven't done." He looked at John, pointing at the boy. "And I still need to talk to you when we get home."

John looked between Thomas and the girls in the car. "What did I do?" He asked, wondering if he'd somehow broken a rule by keeping it in his pants around perfect Claire. "I swear, Dad, I've been good. I was joking about me and Claire doing it, we're still-"

"Shut up." Thomas shuddered at the knowledge of what was about to come out of John's mouth. "I don't want to hear about what you have or haven't done to my daughter."

"-Pure as the driven snow." John smirked, knowing that Thomas was praying for that answer. "Dad, we haven't done anything."

Claire nodded, attempting to hide her flushed cheeks. "He's telling the truth, Daddy."

"I haven't even seen what her bra looks like." John let his gaze drop to Claire's breasts, knowing that Thomas wouldn't see in the dark.

"Keep it that way." Thomas grunted, watching for the Johnson's new minivan to follow them onto the freeway. "And stop talking about having relations with my daughter."

John chuckled, popping his finger against the inside corner of his lips making that little champagne cork pop sound, only to have Claire try to smother him with a travel pillow they kept in the vehicle. "Hey!" He shouted, knowing that he could play a wild card on her. "Watch it, I already had two seizures tonight. I don't need a third."

Claire rolled her eyes, covering his face with her hand. "You are an idiot." She sighed, leaning against his shoulder as she started to grow tired.

John rubbed his tongue on the inside of his cheek, happy that Claire still loved his sorry ass. "I'm your idiot." He smiled, watching as the lights of Fountain Valley turn into Huntington Beach.

Claire snuggled up to him, catching a whiff of alcohol in his shirt. "You didn't drink, did you?" She asked, turning her eyes up to him.

"I'm sober as the day I was born." He smiled, kissing her head knowing for a fact that when he was born he'd been as sober as he'd ever been in his life. "Not a single drop touched my lips."

She nodded, knowing that he would never lie to her. "Good."