hapter One-Hundred and Ninety-Eight

Chad sipped on a glass of water, attempting to ignore the pain he was in as he waited for a doctor to come check on him. "I'm sorry Johnny." He sighed, knowing that John hated hospitals. "I should've just gone straight here. I shouldn't have made you sew me up."

John lifted his gaze from his notebook, noticing that the bandage on his side needed changed. "Don't worry about it." He placed his notebook on the bedside table, scrubbing his hands up in the sink before he set to work changing the bandage. "You didn't know that Ryan wasn't at home."

Chad nodded, remembering how John had woken him several times in the night from nightmares. "You did a damn good job." He smiled, lifting his arm as John pressed the new bandaging to his wound. "Where'd you learn to sew like that?"

John shrugged, taping the cotton down. "My old man used to beat the shit outta me as a kid. So, I kinda had to learn to stitch myself up just to stay alive."

"He sounds fucked up." Chad remembered the time he'd seen a few of the scars on the back of John's hips when he'd been working on an old car and his t-shirt had ridden up.

John settled back into his chair, touching a scar at the base of his neck. "He was worse than just fucked up."

Claire paused as she neared Chad's hospital room, her brow furrowing as she saw the young woman with two small children by her side. "Can I help you?" She asked, glaring at the woman.

"This is Chad Cook's room, right?" She asked, adjusting the smaller child on her hip. "I'm his ex-wife, Lyla…"

"Yes. This is his room. But, if you're his ex, then why are you here?" Claire crossed her arms over her chest, jumping when John's hands rested on her shoulders.

"We knew she was coming, Sweets. She's okay." He stepped aside from the door, gently taking the sleeping child from Lyla's arms as she went to see her ex. "Hey kiddo." He whispered, rubbing slow circles on her back. "I'm Johnny."

The little girl groaned, tucking her hands between her body and John's chest as she coughed. "I want Daddy…"

John pressed his hand to her head, able to feel that she had a slight fever. "Do you have a cold?" He asked, taking a seat in one of the chairs outside of Chad's room and placing a blanket over her back.

She nodded, shoving her brother as he tried to climb into John's lap as well. "No." She ordered, wanting this new teen all to herself as he tried to make her feel better.

"Meany." Pouted the boy, crossing his arms as Claire lifted him onto her hip.

Claire smiled, bouncing him on her hip as he glared at his sister. "What're your names?" She asked, her heart growing warm as she watched John comfort the sick child in his lap.

"I'm Jessy, and that's Willow." Jessy motioned to his sister, resting his head on Claire's shoulder. "She's two."

Claire nodded, rubbing his back. "And how old are you?" She watched as he held up three fingers, smiling as John started to nod off to sleep. "Three?"

"And a half."

"Pumpernickel!" John exclaimed as he jerked awake. "What happened?" He blinked, shaking himself from the dream.

"You fell asleep, Dumbo." Claire laughed, kissing his head. "You should go home. Get some sleep."

He shook his head, fighting off sleep. "No. I have to stay…"

Claire sighed, brushing her fingers through his hair as he leaned on her. "You need to take care of yourself. That's why you keep relapsing, you don't take care of yourself."

He adjusted Willow on his lap, letting her use his chest as a pillow. "I'm fine." He yawned, slowly standing and taking her hand in his. "Come on, let's take a walk."

"Where to?" Claire asked setting Jessy down and taking his hand as they started down the halls.

"I don't know. I just thought we could take a walk." He kissed her nose, imagining them walking through the hospital with their own children.