"Oh, brother what have I done?" Robert cries. He stands on bended knee gripping on to Liam's clammy hands.
Jasper stands in the shadows of the corner of the room. The familiar surroundings produce a dull nausea in his stomach. It was all too soon to be located in the ICU yet again. Doctors and nurses in light blue scrubs and face masks scramble in and out of the room. The harsh lighting bounces off the worn white paint of the walls. The unpleasant smell of rubber and cleaning supplies fills the room.
He and Robert were the first to arrive at the hospital. An extremely accurate premonition about his young brother's crisis led the King to Cyrus' room where they found Liam unconscious. And wherever the hell Robert received this 'hunch' from, Jasper could really give a shit in the moment.
Liam was in a coma and there was no word on when and if he'd wake up. He had attempted suicide by overdose which the two were already aware of due to the copious amounts of drugs and alcohol at the scene. Luckily a ventilator was not necessary and the doctors indicated this to be a great sign.
The sight of the pale, lifeless Prince in Cyrus' room is something that Jasper was certain he would never shake. When they found him there was a trail of saliva consistent of foam down his chin. His eyes were peacefully shut and there was shallow breathing. His pulse indicated that he was holding on for dear life and if they had arrived even a minute later this could have been an even graver situation.
A note that Liam had written to his family was left behind. Robert ordered that Jasper hang on to the unread letter. This was certainly grounds for breaking the law by withholding evidence. But once again, as he said himself well on occasion, he's the god damn King.
James was the third to arrive at the hospital. His vision was drawn to his own feet entering the room. The pained expression and avoidance translated that he simply was not ready to look at the ailing Prince. Jasper didn't blame him. He throws an arm around the shorter, silver haired man firmly gripping onto his shoulder. James gives him a nod failing to force the best smile he could stomach. Yes, he was the head of security detail. And yes, this was technically just apart of the job. But the Henstridge family, like it or not, had become his and his daughter's family. It may as well of been his own nephew or son lying before them in that hospital bed.
Jasper was grateful with the knowledge provided that Eleanor was with her mother when they heard of the heart wrenching news. In the midst of chaos he hadn't been able to speak with her directly but James informed that she would be arriving with Helena at any minute.
The security detail stand together in respectful silence as the King continues to heavily mourn. The normal non existent show of emotion throws the men off. Frankly, it was startling. Robert remains crouched beside Liam clutching onto his hand for dear life. He sobs lowering his head.
"What have I done?" he desperately repeats once more. "Father told me - I came as soon as I could. I didn't know-"
Jasper shoots a look over to James who has an identical raised brow.
"Get out of my way!" They hear Eleanor shout among the group of policemen outside the door.
"Uh oh," James mutters under his breath. He deeply inhales placing his arms behind his back while matching Jasper's line of vision toward the door.
It flies open missing the wall behind it by an inch. Eleanor storms in like a bat out of hell followed by Helena. Once the Princess lays eyes on her twin she cups both hands over her mouth in shock. As if the tears had been held past capacity, they rapidly burst from her emerald eyes sending black lines of mascara down her cheeks.
Jasper swallows a knot in his throat instantly bringing her in for a hug. She lethargically leans against his chest, tears soaking his shirt.
Robert had already joined his mother's side doing his best to comfort her.
Everything in that moment in time stands still.
After a few moments of agonizing silence James delicately clears his throat.
"I think it's time for me to step out." The shakiness of his voice signifies how desperately he's fighting back tears himself. He pats Jasper on the back on his way out.
Jasper looks down at Eleanor kissing the top of her head. After one quick glance looking him in the eye, it appeared that her tears had come to a dramatic halt. In fact her whole facial appearance had changed.
Her neon green eyes smeared with dark makeup are now focused on someone else. They hauntingly pierce through Robert. Her jaw is clenched. She's lightly shaking. It makes the hairs on the back of Jasper's neck stand up. He'd never seen her like this before.
"Do you want me to stay with you?" he softly asks, his concern growing exponentially by the second. She slowly shakes her head no, her vision steadfast. "Are you sure?"
"Just go," she warns. He does a double take toward the King who has his attention focused on Helena. He knew he was making the wrong decision by leaving the room, but there was no way he would go against his wife's wishes in the moment.
"Okay," he whispers giving another kiss on top of her head. He looks over to Robert once more before exiting the room.
Jasper makes his way through the sea of policemen seeking out James. He silently joins his side folding his arms. They peer through a window exposing the interior of the room. From what they could see Robert had returned to Liam's side on his knees. Helena stands in the corner of the room propped against the wall with a hand covering her face. And Eleanor is currently making a slow prowl toward the King.
"This isn't going to be good, is it?" Jasper uneasily asks his comrade.
"No- no I don't believe so."
Suddenly the sound of a BANG from inside the room startles the both of them. They instinctively move forward to get a better view. Inside he sees Eleanor who had just thrown some sort of heavy object at Robert. It appears to have missed his head by centimeters. She screams at him nearing closer before firmly smacking him across the face. He doesn't flinch. She continues to wail on him, punching the sides of his body as he protects his head with his arms. Helena remains in the corner distraught and hollering at both of them.
The chief officer outside the door kneels his head toward the room before ordering his team to interfere. "Let's go."
"Wait," Jasper interrupts them. "We can handle this." They give him an 'alright tough guy' expression with smirks all around.
"You don't even have your gun on you, boy. Stick to your day job."
Once the chief turns on his heels, James firmly grabs onto his shoulder spinning him back around and placates his gun directly on the officer's temple. He gives a wink to Jasper encouraging him to go on.
"That woman in there who might lose her twin brother at any fucking moment," Jasper sneers through gritted teeth pointing through the window. "That's my god damn wife." He nears a few steps closer. The look of bafflement and fear on the officer's face is oddly satisfying. "I said, we can handle this."
The lanky officer with coarse facial hair is visibly irritated yet compliant. The gun being pressed against his skull was more than enough to persuade. His squad waits for his direction. Without looking away from Jasper he uses his index and middle finger to signal his team to walk away from the door.
James gives a quick nod lowering the gun before he breaks in the door.
It was as if they were in a movie. Jasper's inclined to rub his eyes to make certain that he was seeing things correctly before them.
It was utter chaos.
Robert is huddled in a corner while Eleanor continues to wail on him screaming profanities and other comments that are indistinguishable due to her distress. Helena fearfully stands behind them screaming at her daughter to get off of him.
Jasper rushes toward Eleanor having to use almost every ounce of strength to rip her off of Robert. She wildly flails her arms in the air in her brother's direction as he slowly stands to his feet wiping a trail of blood from beneath his nose.
"This is all your fucking fault!" she screeches. "Mum told me about Kathryn! You took everything from him!"
Jasper is legitimately getting gassed having to hold her back. She may be half his size, but the Princess certainly had some fight in her. "Get off of me!" she orders. His grip tightens. As much as he himself would love to get a few swings in at the King himself, it wouldn't take away what had already transpired.
"I fucking hate you!" she shouts at Robert. "I hate you!" He peers back at her in thorough despair. It was now twice that day that the King exhibited earnest emotion, thoroughly taken aback and intimidated. Having his baby sister speak these words puncture him like daggers.
Unexpectedly Eleanor melts in between Jasper's arms like hot lava onto the floor. She places her head on her knees hugging her legs. Her sobs echo throughout the room. No one moves except for Jasper who kneels down putting his arm around her.
Robert finds his balance looking over to Liam. "I see it as appropriate for me to leave." He delicately places his hand once more in his. "I'm so sorry brother." The shakiness in his voice is prominent.
Eleanor raises her head. "GET AWAY FROM HIM!" she screams standing up almost knocking her husband backward. Robert's eyes squint as she goes in for another swing but fails to hit him as Jasper pulls her back.
"Len, stop! Please," Jasper pleads grabbing on to her forearm. "Think of the baby."
She looks up at him in thorough horror.
"You really think that I would have this baby after what that monster did to Liam?" she fumes pointing at Robert whose eyes widen. "Liam was supposed to have a baby, not me. Do you really think I could ever live with myself? That I could ever love it?"
One of the verbal daggers that Eleanor was freely throwing impales Jasper straight in the chest. Usually he knew how to handle the Princess. Knew how to calm her down. How to talk some sense in to her.
It was the first time in three plus years that he simply didn't know how to help the woman before him. And even worse, the topic at hand was 50% his fault. Half of that baby's DNA would be his.
"Eleanor," Helena interjects calmly placing her hand on her arm. Her eyes bounce between her daughter and son and law. "You must calm down. At the very least for Liam. He can't have this energy around him. He needs to pull through."
"Fine." She rips her arm from her mother's grip looking Jasper up and down. "For Liam."