Chapter Two-Hundred and Fifty-Five

Chance jumped onto John's bed, wedging herself between John and Claire and breaking up their make-out session.

"Chance!" John chuckled, scratching the dog's ears and pressing his hand to side. "What's up fat ass?"

"Did Amelia really think that she was pregnant?" Claire asked, combing her fingers through her hair as she watched her boyfriend love on his fur-baby.

He nodded, yelping as Chance's foot pushed against his stomach and made the wound ignite with pain. "Fuck!" He exclaimed, rolling off of his bed and curling into a fetal position on the floor. "Fuck, fuck, fuckity, fuck." He gasped for air, only sitting up when Claire and Andy knelt beside him on the floor. "God damnit…"

Andy placed a hand on John's back, holding his free hand out as an offer for John to squeeze when he felt too much pain. "You alright?" He asked, being sure to check on John before he started examining the bandage on his side.

John shook his head, collapsing onto Claire's shoulder with a shuddering breath. "Hurts…"

Claire nodded, rubbing his shoulder as Andy stood to get the adults. "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine…" She kissed his lips, letting his tongue slip between her teeth.

Carl stopped in the doorway to John's bedroom, smiling as the memory of his first love surfaced in his mind. They'd only been a little younger than John and Claire, so deeply in love with each other, that they never thought about the risks and consequences. She'd gotten knocked up after their first night together, and once her parents had gotten wind of it… he'd never seen her again. "Alright, love birds, come on, time for dinner."

Toby patted John on the back, handing him a soda before he took a seat beside the firepit to watch everyone roasting marshmallows. "Glad to have you back." He smiled, letting his sister climb into his lap as John stared blankly into space. "You okay, man?" He asked, remembering the flashback he'd seen when they were in the locker room at school.

John shook his head, sipping on the soda until a firework boomed overhead. "HOLY FUCK!" He screamed, dropping the can and covering his head with his hands as he took shelter underneath the food table they were using for the cookout. "Stop!" He sobbed, the memory of his opponents from the fights dropping dead in front of him finally surfacing and drowning him like a title wave.

Clarissa stood from her seat, crawling under the table to sit with him and draping a blanket over his shaking body. "Shh… it's alright Pumpkin… you're alright…"

Phoebe curled into Asher's chest, tears spilling from her eyes as the memory of John's animalistic scream filled her ears, the scent of his burning skin nearly choking her. "Make it stop!" She cried, pulling her uncle's coat over her ears as an attempt to block out the screams in her head. "Make it stop!"

Sara bit her lip, rubbing circles on the child's back as she sobbed. "It's okay, Phoebe… it's okay…" She met Asher's eyes, able to see the break in his heart. "Let's take the new baby." She whispered, combing her fingers through his short-cropped hair.

He nodded, kissing her lips until John's sobs grew so loud that they worried he was hurting himself. "I was hoping you would say that." He gripped her hand in his own, smiling as Thomas, Clarissa, the Cooks' and Carl all surrounded John and tried to comfort him. "Let's get married." He stated, holding Phoebe even closer as her shaking began to slow. "Make a real family out of it."

She grinned, squeezing his hand. "How about a week from tomorrow?"

"Perfect." He kissed her hand, happy that they were simple people despite the fact that they had a big house and a few fancy cars that they hardly ever used. "Now what about names?"

Sara held her arms out for John, letting him sit beside her on the bench and wiping the tears from his cheeks. "My mother's name was Georgia… so maybe we could use that for a girl." She rocked her soon-to-be nephew in her arms, holding him close as Clarissa went inside to get some blankets and more food.

Asher nodded, rubbing circles on Phoebe's back until she began to snore. "I like it. Georgia Serafina Bender." He smiled, taking a blanket from Clarissa and draping it over his niece's back. "What about a boy?"

She thought for a moment, running her fingers through John's hair. "I've always liked the name Ashton… maybe we could use Ashton Derik Bender for him." She let a laugh bounce in her chest, rubbing her hand over John's jaw as he fell asleep on her shoulder. "Or maybe Ashton Nathanial Bender."

"I like those." Asher adjusted Phoebe on his lap, lifting her with his as he stood. "Let's get these two to bed."

Sara smirked, gently waking John before she guided him to his bedroom. "Come on, it's getting late."