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Sounds in the Air
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Summary: Detroit may be a hard, violence-ridden place to live, but someone has to call the cops during a gunfight, right? Well, someone did, and the cops arrive in time to break up a fight that might still claim the life of Jack Mercer.
Final Notes: Thank you a thousand times over for embracing this story the way all of you have. You guys make writing and posting a total joy. Here is our final chapter and I hope that everyone enjoys it. I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on the story/chapter/Mercer family, so please do not be shy. If you're interested in more stories about the boys, let me know.
Again: Thank you!
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Chapter Five: Home, Hearts and All That Bullshit
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Bobby tried not to scowl when Jack elbowed Angel's helping hand out of the way as he got out of the car. Never mind that Jack was tired and his hand was shaking where he gripped his crutch. No, the kid had to do it all himself out of some sense of pride, as though they hadn't been holding his hand, giving him sips of water and moping his fucking brow for over three weeks now.
Okay, maybe it had been a couple weeks since any of that had been necessary. Still, the point was that they'd seen Jack at his worst and Bobby had no clue what the little fairy was suddenly so stubborn about. Whatever it was, he was going to have to get the fuck over it – there was no way that Jack was getting up the stairs to his room on his own. His leg wouldn't allow it and neither would his brothers.
Jack straightened, looked up and quietly gasped and it took Bobby a second to realize he wasn't about to go down, he was just reacting to the house. With a careful eye, he turned and looked at their home too. He, Angel, Jerry and a few of the guys they'd grown up with had done a pretty damned good job, he thought. All of the windows had needed replacing and most of the brickwork around the porch. Some spots had even needed new wood to replace what had been shot through. Add a fresh coat of paint and he could see why Jackie was impressed.
"We told you we fixed the house," Angel drawled next to Jack, "Didn't believe us, Cracker Jack?"
"I believed you." Jack said, quietly. Bobby liked that.
Jack then started to slowly shuffle forward towards the house and again Bobby had to try to keep his mouth shut and let the kid realize he was going to still need their help – otherwise he was going to be a pissy little fairy.
Fuck, it was going to be a long morning.
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Three hours later and the Mercer brothers were exactly where they wanted to be: at home, in the living room, drinking beer (for those not on medication) and shouting at the hockey game on TV. It felt like home.
Sure, things weren't the same. They never would be. Mom was never going to be there with them for real, but Bobby still felt her all the time. It was a stupid, kind of wimpy thing to admit, but he wouldn't deny it if his brothers asked. He saw their Mother everywhere, he heard her in songs and he definitely sensed her in the house.
It had taken until around half-way though the renovation process before Bobby realized that he probably shouldn't put the house back to the way Mom had wanted it. She wasn't there and it felt kind of like he was building a shrine to a woman who was never coming back. There was a way to make it feel like home and feel like somewhere he could live on his own all at the same time. His brothers approved and, though them, he knew she approved too.
For one of the first times in Bobby's life, it felt like things were falling into place. The house was finished, Sweet's trial was coming to a close and there was no way he wasn't going down – rumors on the street were that if he didn't end up in jail, there were a number of people lining up to make sure he ended up somewhere less pleasant, the cops were off his back and he had his brothers with him. Jack still had a while to go before he was completely healed, but Bobby was going to make damned sure there were no setbacks.
He tried not to think about the fact that the first time in his life that things falling into place happened to be coinciding with the first time he let someone who'd done them unspeakable wrong just go. He knew that it wasn't as harsh as he was making it sound. He knew that he wasn't choosing to be weak, he was choosing life and his brothers. If that meant that letting Sweet fall prey to someone else's revenge? He could live with that… this time…
"Bobby?"
Bobby's eyes snapped to Jack. "What? Need something?"
"I need you to come back to earth," Jack laughed. "That ref just made a fucked-up call and you didn't even twitch."
His eyes cut back to the screen, but before he could ask about what he'd missed, Jerry laughed along with Jack. "Jackie, can't you see the man's having some deep thoughts?"
"Bobby? Deep thoughts?" Angel repeated, pretending to be disbelieving. As if Angel was one to talk, Bobby thought darkly.
"About what?" Jack asked.
"Taking a shit." Angel answered quickly.
"Beating you up, probably." Jack laughed, "Or he is now, at least."
Jerry kept grinning, clearly enjoying this new game. For all Bobby knew he'd meant to start it. "La Vida Loca, definitely."
"Doing her or killing her?" Jack asked, not without cause.
Angel threw one of their mother's remaining crocheted pillows at him. "Shut it, Jack."
"Yeah, Jackie," Bobby agreed, putting on a disgusted face. "Don't foul up your mouth saying shit like that. Doing her, fuck, do I look like I enjoy venereal diseases?"
Jack and Jerry practically howled when Angel stood up, "Hey man, do I talk about whatever skank you drag home?"
"Ahh, so we finally admit that Loca is a skank." Bobby grinned, knowing that wasn't what Angel meant at all.
Angel started to charge forward, but Jerry shot his leg out, caught him in the stomach and pushed him back into his seat. "Calm down, Angel. You know he's doin' it on purpose."
"So you wouldn't smash his face in if he said shit like that about Camille?" Angel scowled.
Jerry glanced sideways at Bobby. "I would, but he wouldn't."
Grinning, Bobby nodded, "Of course I wouldn't. Camille is a lady of class."
"With questionable taste in men." Jack piped up. "And quit pouting Angel."
"Yeah, Angel, do as your little sister says. She knows a thing or two about pouting." Bobby said, getting the dig in on Jack to even it up with Angel. Luckily, Jack just rolled his eyes and muttered something about predictability. Bobby let that slide. "And don't even think about bringing Loca here tonight to fuck loudly, just to piss me off. That trick is way old and we have to think about Jackie's beauty sleep, you know."
That was, of course, a real reminder covered in brotherly venom. It wouldn't be the first time that such revenge was taken out while their mother was away and Bobby wasn't going to put up with it now. Jack really did need to sleep and Bobby really didn't need to hear Loca in the throws of passion or however close to it Angel could get her.
"So what," Angel asked, "I can never bring her over here again?" He ruffled Jack's always messy hair, implying that Jack would need beauty rest until the end of time.
Jack elbowed Angel and his older brother let him without retaliation. Normally this sort of thing would have lead to a brawl on the ground by now, but the circumstances were a little different. Bobby was glad that Angel wasn't so mad that he'd forgotten.
With what was pretty much a pout, better than Angel's from before, Jack said, "Fuck you."
It was probably supposed to be threatening, but the room was already half-in the bag and the look on Jack's face was too much. All four of them, even Jack, took one look at each other and burst out laughing.
"You make it too easy, Cracker Jack." Bobby said, still cracking up.
Slowly, they managed to get a hold of themselves. Jerry, chuckling still, shook his head. "I missed this," He admitted, "I will miss this."
"Planning on moving, Jeremiah?" Bobby asked, letting his head fall back to look at Jerry with half-lidded eyes. He knew exactly what Jerry meant, but making things easy wasn't his style.
Jerry cocked an eyebrow at Bobby. He nodded his head in Angel's direction, "After the funeral, you were talking about signing back up." Then, a tilt in Jack's direction, "And your band." He looked at Bobby, "I don't even want to know about you."
All three sobered up pretty quickly. Hesitantly, Jack darted his eyes between all of them. Bobby and Angel, locked eyes and silently said the same thing.
"Well, ya know…" Bobby drawled, "I was thinking about sticking around. Just finished this house and all." He said, waving a hand around.
"Things are going good with Sofi. Why give that up for a bunch of women that look like dudes, right Bobby?" Angel asked, smiling.
Jerry looked between them, then at Jack who grinned and nodded along with his brothers. He didn't need Jack to explain that he felt roughly the same way. "So you're sticking around? All of you?"
Bobby didn't bother looking at Angel and Jack before he confirmed, "Yeah, I'm thinking we're staying."
Jack grinned, "God help Detroit."
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It's done! My first chaptered Four Brothers story is over. Now that I've completed my requisite Jack-lives story, as all Four Brothers writers must, I can move on to other things. I've got some ideas, so keep on the look-out.
And now, one last time, please leave me your thoughts in a lovely little review!