A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews! They are much appreciated. :) See the first chapter for the disclaimer. I hope you guys enjoy this one, and please review!
Chapter Twenty-One
A symphony of grunts and grumbles hit Henry's ears as Jamie attempted to make his way into the house. He smirked to himself, watching as Frank held the door open and Jamie complained about stairs and crutches. When Jamie finally emerged, Henry continued to smirk at his youngest grandson.
"I hate crutches," he muttered as he hobbled into the house further.
"Never would've guessed," Henry replied.
Frank squeezed in past Jamie, attempting to corral his son into the kitchen.
"Dad, if it's okay with you, I just want to sleep," Jamie said.
"Sure," Frank replied.
Jamie nodded. "Hey Grandpa."
"Welcome home," Henry said.
"Night," Jamie replied, working his way slowly up the stairs with another verse of his crutches rant.
Frank looked over at Henry solemnly.
"You head on to work, Francis," Henry said. "I got him."
Frank nodded, heading toward the door. "I'll see you later, Pops," he said.
"Have a good day."
Sometime later, Henry made his way upstairs, poking his head into his grandson's room. Jamie was stretched out on the bed, but he was awake and reading. He pulled his head out of the book when the footsteps stopped outside his room. "You hungry?" Henry asked.
Jamie shook his head. "I'm alright, thanks," he replied.
Henry nodded, heading further into the room. "What're you reading?"
"Catcher in the Rye." Jamie shrugged, gesturing at the bookshelves near the bed. "It was there."
"Couldn't sleep?"
Jamie glanced over at Henry.
"Never intended on sleeping, did you?" Henry asked.
"I really don't want anyone fussing over me anymore," Jamie replied.
"Yeah, I know." Henry sat on the edge of the bed. "I was just gonna make lunch for myself in a little bit, figured it'd be easier to get all the mess out of the way in one shot."
"You don't have to clean up after me."
Henry snorted. "Never said I'd be the one cleaning up."
Jamie smirked.
"You can come down whenever you can manage to get your crutches down there," Henry teased gently.
"I'll beat you down there," Jamie taunted back, getting up off the bed.
"I'd like to see you try."
Henry made it to the stairs first, but Jamie made it to the bottom first by sliding down the banister.
"That's cheating," Henry said.
"You never said I couldn't," Jamie replied.
"Rules of the house say you can't."
Jamie shrugged. "Dad's not here. And unless you're gonna tell on me to him or Erin…"
Henry shook his head, patting Jamie on the shoulder. "Let's eat. I'm hungry, and Linda brought over some food and left it in the fridge."
"Of course she did," Jamie retorted lightly.
"She cares," Henry said. "We all do, kid."
"I know."
Henry heated up the casserole, and placed it on the table in the kitchen. He handed a plate and utensils to Jamie before grabbing his own and sitting down with them. "Better than hospital food," Henry commented.
"Anything's better than that," Jamie replied, taking a bite. "Though, Danny kept bringing me in food."
Henry smirked. "Of course he did."
"He was concerned about my recovery," Jamie quipped.
Henry chuckled.
Jamie took another bite.
"You talk a good game, you know," Henry started.
Jamie said nothing.
"You're like the rest of us. Hide behind jokes. Can't do that forever, you know."
"I know," Jamie replied softly.
"If you don't want to face it with us, there's always the department psychiatrist that you have to see," Henry said.
Jamie made a face. "I've been blocking that part out."
"You've gotta talk about it, Jamie."
"I have talked about it. With Danny."
Henry scoffed. "You gave him a statement. That's different."
"How is that different? I talked about what happened. That's what you guys all want me to do."
Henry sighed slightly. "Ask your sisters," he said simply.
Jamie snorted lightly. "That your way of saying it's a girl thing?"
Henry shook his head, taking a bite of the casserole.
After a few moments of silent eating, Jamie said, "I'm not gonna cry about it. I'm not gonna be upset that he's dead."
"I wouldn't expect you to," Henry replied.
"Then, what do you guys expect?"
"You to deal with it, not hide from it. You've been through something, Jamie, that… I don't think any one of us ever had to go through. It's something you need to deal with to move on from. You can't hide forever."
"I know," Jamie replied quietly. "I just want everyone to stop babying me."
"Well, you are the baby brother," Henry joked.
Jamie smiled good-naturedly.