Chapter Forty-One:
Later on that night Spinelli finally had his little brother to himself. After showing him how to work the video game he gave him, they began to talk. "Spin, I've gotten the basic idea of what's happened since I've been ... gone. But, I want to know more." the little boy said. "Ok." he Spinelli. The young man took a deep breath as he remembered back nine months ago. "Everyone, the entire town was devastated at what happened to you. No one could fathom who would be evil enough to fire a gun with a child in the room." he began. Michael held his tongue on the fact that bullets had been fired around him before. It seemed to him that his luck had just finally run out.
Michael listened as his big brother continued. "Especially your family, it was horrible. You mean a great deal to everyone, Little Dude. Krissy and Morgan just did not understand how their hero could be ... gone. They never really believed you were." he said. The child hated to hear how badly everyone had been affected by his shooting, but he wanted to know what he had missed so he stayed silent. "St- Jason originally took what happened as a sign that he was not meant to be in Young Jacob's life. It was a hard decision for him to make, but he and ... our father knew they had to do everything possible to protect the other children. Your parents, Jason and your Protector- Max all blamed themselves. As did the fash- Ms. Howard." Spinelli informed his brother.
"But why? It wasn't they're fault." Michael finally interjected to ask. Spinelli thought for a moment "Your parents and Jason blame themselves because they allowed you to be raised around a rather ... illegal lifestyle. Fash- Ms. Howard blamed herself as she was the one who brought you there and the- Max blamed himself for simply not being there.". Michael looked shocked. "But they didn't know!" he exclaimed. "That did not stop them from wondering if things would not have happened that way had their actions been different." his big brother explained before continuing his story.
"Everyone was praying for your return to health. The Ja- I waited in the hospital for a long time. My Maximista came and we prayed in the chapel. At the time we thought the answer to our prayers was 'no', no it seems as though it was only 'wait'. It took a long time to convince your mother to let you be taken to the place where you woke up. Life - life had to go on, though you were never forgotten. I began to have ... I suppose they would be called flashbacks of my early years more often. My disposition was greatly improved when Maximista and Sto- Jason conspired to me a surprise birthday party. The got Krissy and Morgan along with others to redecorate my room and Jason's penthouse for a surprise." he said with a laugh. Michael laughed too, though it was a sad one. He wished he had been there.
The older brother continued "During this time I also became easily injured and tired. After the death of my Granny, I began to feel even worse. The Parental One became rather ... unpleasant towards th- me in his grief. When he overheard me discussing your kidnapping -" Spinelli paused a moment when he noticed the child seem to flinch, but he kept going. "There was a slight ... altercation. It resulted in an unintentional though heavily bleeding injury and Maximista taking me to the hospital. During my initial examination Maximista mentioned my recent symptoms which led to further testing. As you know, that led to my diagnoses or Leukemia." he said softly. Michael looked thoughtful. "So, ... if dad hadn't like, almost killed you ..." he trailed off. "I might have died." his brother finished.
After a moment of silence Spinelli began to speak again. "When faced with my possible death, I told Maximista of my childhood. I suppose I should tell you as well. It - it was not pleasant. I grew up in total isolation with a very violent step-father. When I was twelve years old I witnessed him murder my mother and went into a state very similar to the one that you and Kristina seem prone too. As it was not known what I had been through or what I had seen it was assumed that I was Autistic. After a long period of time, my Granny was contacted and I was given to her where I eventually recovered. Shortly after I told her this, the doctors returned for more tests." he said with a sigh. "My chances for survival were not good. Soon the news of my illness was spread throughout the town. When no match was found Grand ... pa Mike decided to share what he knew of me with our father.". he explained.
"What?!? He knew about you?!?" Michael exclaimed. Spinelli nodded. "Yes, my mother had found him while looking for our father at one point but at that time grandpa Mike had no contact with him. When he found the Parental One he decided I would be better off with Granny. I do not blame him. He could not change anything before then and he believed he was doing the right thing. Our father informed Krissy and Morgan about me and he and Morgan were tested. Once Maximista found out she had a rather ... public and loud ... argument with our father as she did not realize he never knew about me. Krissy and Morgan were very acceptive of me and our father was very apologetic for not being there." he told his little brother.
"Morgan was soon discovered to be a match and he and Krissy came to see me before the more extensive treatments began. Everyone was missing you very much and before they left Krissy informed me that ... that you had once said you would like to have me for a older brother." Spinelli continued carefully. Michael smiled and nodded, "I did, and I meant it. Even more now." he told his brother. Spinelli heart soared and gave him the strength to continue. During this time Maximista informed me that she was in love with me. The rest however, was not very pleasant. You remained heavily on my mind as always during the large amounts of time I had to think." he told Michael with a small smile. "You really cared about me that much already?" he asked. "I did." Spinelli said.
"The transplant day finally came and I was allowed to see Morgan for a short time following it. I had endless visitors during that time, but never our father. Maximista fixed that quickly however. Don't be mad at him! He was simply afraid to see me, lest he then lose me as he thought he had lost you. Soon after that I was informed that I would live and the world met Michaela Georgianna. Everyone thought her name was perfect. Several weeks later I was allowed to finally go home. Soon after that our father and Jason's plan to extract themselves from their illegal activities was enacted. As I continued my recovery at home I became closer to the family, though we all missed you more then we thought possible. Every time we watched Kristina and Morgan together it was so obvious that something - someone was missing." Spinelli continued with tears in his eyes.
The older brother quickly composed himself to finish his story. "Over time I was able to convince Jason to claim Young Jacob as his son. I was recovered enough in time to attend Robin and Patrick's wedding, which Maximista had very happily helped plan. I was also given my room in this house so I could spend more time with everybody. The Parental One also "helped" me find my own apparent. I proposed to Maximista on Thanksgiving and she said yes. I then began preparations for Christmas. You know what happened Christmas Eve. I don't think there are anymore major details I have left out." he finally finished. "Wow." was all Michael could say.
Author's Note: I am SO sorry this took so long! Real life has been nothing but crazy though. This story is almost finished. I'm shooting to end it at 45 chapters. There will be a sequal though. Simply because I can't let this story go. As always, reviews would be love! I hope you guys like it!