Chapter 9: Paralyzed.

Disclaimer: For the 29th time, I do not own the Fosters.

AN: This chapter was hard for me to write. It took longer than I thought. Please leave a review. It takes place the Tuesday after the previous chapter.

Connor's POV:

Jude and I were sitting at lunch with Austin, Colin, Ritchie and Wynston when it happened.

I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. Jax and Daria were nowhere to be found. I had sent texts to both of them the night before asking how their date had gone, and more recently asking where they were. No answer from either.

Jax always answered my texts, no matter what he was doing, and I felt on edge, as if something was horribly wrong.

It didn't help that Jude and Ritchie were arguing again, about something stupid.

They were arguing about a couple of bands that they liked.

"Okay, JJ, now I know you're crazy." Ritchie said, "There is no way that Guns N' Roses is better than Led Zeppelin."

"Oh come on!" Jude returned, "GN'R is totally superior! They're dirtier, and the music is a lot heavier!"

"Yeah, but Zeppelin laid the foundation that GN'R's music is built on! They set the template for every hard rock and heavy metal band that followed." Ritchie argued, "Without Zeppelin, GN'R or any other band like them wouldn't exist."

"So they're better because they're the original model?" Jude asked sarcastically, "That's like saying that the Model T is better than a Ford GT, because it set the template."

"Oh for god's sake," I muttered, "Will you both please shut up?"

They turned to look at me.

"What's up with you?" My boyfriend asked, concerned.

"Jax and Daria aren't here." I said, "That's not normal. They never miss school."

"They're probably making out in the supply closet again." Ritchie suggested nonchalantly.

As if sent by god to disprove that theory, Lena approached the table, a grim look on her face.

"Well fuck. That can't be good." Austin whispered from where he sat against the trunk of the tree our table sat under. Colin nudged him in the side with his foot and shook his head.

"Hush."

Lena approached us, and then I could see tears glistening in her eyes, threatening to fall.

"I need you all to come with me. It's important."

The six of us rose as one, and followed her to her office. She ushered us inside and shut the door. We all sat down and she sat behind her desk, where she began messaging the bridge of her nose.

"As you all may have noticed, your friends Jackson and Daria are absent today." She started, "I'm afraid I have some bad news."

My heart fell into my stomach.

"What happened?"

"There was an accident last night." She continued, "They were walking home to Jackson's house from their date at the movie theater, and they..."

She paused and looked at me.

"They went to cross the street." Lena continued sadly, "A car came out of nowhere. Jax pushed Daria back onto the sidewalk. But he didn't get out of the way in time. The driver never even stopped."

"How bad is it?" I asked quietly, trying to reign in my emotions.

"They're both alive, but Jax is in a coma. He can still breathe on his own, but the doctors are saying that even if Jax wakes up, their is only a 30% chance he'll ever walk again. It is possible, so don't give up hope."

My heart shattered.

I leapt from my seat and bolted out of the door, completely unaware of the panicked shouts that I had left behind calling out to me.

I ran.

I kept running until I was a mile down the beach. When I reached the end of my trek, I collapsed into the sand. I dug my hands into the sand, reared my head back and screamed as I released my emotions.

The scream was blood curdling, high pitched, and anguished as some of my best memories of my friendship with Jax flashed forward to the forefront of my mind.

My mind flashed back to when Jax and I first met when we were on the little league team together in third grade, back when I was still new at this school. We had taken a break from practice, and Jax had offered to share his animal crackers with me when he noticed that I hadn't thought to bring a snack of my own.

My mind flashed to when he introduced me to Alex, Carson and Castor, declaring that I was "a cool dude", and should hang out with them sometime.

My mind flashed to when he held me and comforted me as I cried when my parents got divorced, then to his instant acceptance and unwavering support of my sexuality and relationship with Jude in the face of the naysayers of the school's population.

My best friend. My brother in all but blood. The one person in the world that I was anywhere near as close to as I was to Jude.

Paralyzed, unlikely to walk again.

In a coma, potentially dying.

I felt arms wrap around me, and I turn to see Jude kneeling next to me, his face flushed from tears of his own.

I latched myself onto him and we both sobbed into each other's shoulders. Four other hands clamped on my shoulder, and I looked around to see Colin, Ritchie, Wynston and Austin all kneeling around me, sympathy radiating from their gentle gazes as I absolutely lost my mind with grief in front of them.

"Lena excused us for the rest of the day." Jude said through his tears, "She called your dad. He's on his way to pick us up and take us up there to see him."

"I-I-I don't k-k-know if I c-can stand to s-see him like t-that." I choked, trying not to hyperventilate.

"We'll be right next to you, Connor." Ritchie assured, "You won't be alone. This is gonna be hard on all of us."

"Jax is too good of a guy for this to happen to him," Wynston said, "He went out of his way to make us feel welcome when we first joined your guys' little group."

I tuned out their assurances. My whole being was numb. I hardly registered anything as my dad arrive, nor on the drive to the hospital. I only snapped out of it when we pulled into the parking lot.

We met his parents in the lobby, and they took us up to see him.

They told us what room he was in, and they told me to go first.

I gasped at the state of him.

This had to be some kind of nightmare or something. This couldn't really be happening. I kicked the wall hard with my bad foot, and my heart sunk again when I didn't find myself jolting awake in my bed, instead clutching my foot in pain.

Slowly, I entered the room and approached his bedside. I pulled a chair up close to the bedside, and wrapped my right hand around his.

"I know you probably can't hear me right now," I stuttered, "And I know... that you already know, but... I just wanted to say that... you mean a lot to me Jax. You were my first friend when I first moved here back in third grade. You treated me like one of the guys, even though you'd never met me before. You became my brother. My confidant. You're the best friend a guy could have, Jaxxy."

I could almost imagine him rolling his eyes at the nickname I had given him when we were little. I rarely used it anymore, except when we were engaged in a deep conversation, but now seemed like the right time.

"The doctors, they said that you might not wake up." I choked out, "And if you do, it could be in five minutes, or it could be five years. Y-you have to w-w-wake up, b-b-brother. You have to! I C-CAN'T LIVE W-W-WITHOUT MY B-B-BROTHER!"

I collapsed forward onto the bed, my shoulders heaving with wracking sobs.

"P-p-p-please Jaxxy." I begged, "Please w-wake up."

I sat there in that position for ten minutes, sobbing as hard as I could. I heard the door open behind me, and Jude appeared at my side.

Jude wrapped his arm around my shoulder, and held me as I sobbed, still clinging to the hand of my fallen best friend.

After an hour and a half, I couldn't stand it anymore. Slowly and shakily, Jude and I stood from our chairs.

"I, uh. I gotta go."

I take two steps towards the door, still clinging to Jude as if I would die if separated from his touch.

"I just want you to know that I love you, brother." I said shakily, "I know you already know that, but I felt like I should say it. G-goodbye bro."

I made it to the door and stepped out into the hallway when I heard it.

"I Lu' you too brudder."

I whipped around.

Please god, don't let me have imagined that.

I rushed back to his side.

"Jaxxy?" I asked frantically, my voice raised, "Can you hear me?"

I grabbed his hand and held it in my hand again. Two seconds passed, I felt a soft squeeze of pressure on my hand, and a mumbled response was returned.

"Sto' shoutin'."

"Can you open your eyes for me?" I plead.

'Please god?' I plead mentally, 'Give me this. Don't let me be imagining it. Please, just give me this one thing.'

His eyebrows furrowed, and slowly, impossibly slowly, his eye lids lifted, and I met his emerald green gaze.

My heart jumped and I couldn't help but releasing the hysterical sob of laughter that bubbled up from inside me.

"NURSE!" I screamed, "NURSE, DOCTOR, SOMEBODY?"

A doctor rushed in immediately.

"What's happening?"

"He-he-he's waking up! His eyes are open." I almost shout back, happy tears replacing my earlier ones spawned by grief.

"Step back son." The doctor said, stepping forward, "Do you know who you are?"

"J-j-Jackson." He ground out slowly, "J-J-Jackson R-Russell F-F-Finnegan."

I whipped around and grabbed Jude in an embrace, lifting him off of his feet, both of us weeping in happiness and relief.

Jax was awake.