Chp. 36: Comfort

Barracks

Inside the Barracks, Teams RWBY, JNPR, GRMA, CFDT, OBSA, and JAAR were all sitting on some beds. They were all listening to Jacob, Robert, and Nora about what had happened in Afghanistan.

"So Liberty is the new Fall Maiden, huh?" Mercury asked.

"At least this makes things a lot more easier for us," Jessie said.

"It doesn't explain why Jacob looks depressed," Ruby said.

"Liberty being the Fall Maiden has nothing to do with Jacob," Nora said.

"So why the hell is Jacob looking like a mess here?" Jacket asked.

A short pause had passed as Nora and Robert looked uncomfortable. Robert finally gained some courage to speak.

"Jacob had killed a child soldier back in Afghanistan," he said.

Everyone in the room widened their eyes and turned their heads at Jacob as he looked down in guilt.

"He also attacked one of the girls from Team NDGO and broke her nose after she foolishly said that it was the kid's choice to be in the Taliban, despite that not being true at all," Nora added.

Everyone looked at Jacob in silence and widened eyes upon learning what he did

"Son of a bitch," Jacket muttered.

"You can say that again," Ricky said.

"In all honesty, if somebody says that to my face, I'd break their nose too," Yang said.

"I'd take Nora's advice and break their legs," Kendra said.

Jacob stood up from the bed he was sitting on.

"I'm gonna head home," he said.

Jacob walks out of the room as everyone looks on with worry and concern. Everyone was silent for a minute, not sure to say or think. Britney soon broke the silence and spoke.

"I'm gonna go follow him. He may need someone right now," she said.

Britney gets up from the bed she was sitting on and leaves the room to follow Jacob as everyone watches her leave.

Prescott Residence

Later just outside the Prescott household, Britney walks up to the front door of the house, having followed Jacob back. She approached the door and rang the doorbell. A moment later, the door opens, revealing Leon to have opened it.

"Hello Britney," Leon said.

"Hey, Mr. Presscott. I saw Jacob come inside just a minute ago. Can I see him?" Britney asked.

"Jacob is here? We didn't even hear him enter inside," Leon replied.

"Can I see him?" Britney asked. "Something had happened to him and he might need me."

"Of course," Leon answered as he stepped to the side.

Britney steps inside and walks into the living room to see Rachel and Judy watching Peppa Pig with Ashley. The two women turned their heads to see Britney as Leon followed behind her.

"Leon, who is this girl?" Rachel asked.

"Rachel, that's Jacob's girlfriend I was telling you about. Britney Connor," Judy answered.

"Oh?" Rachel gets up from the sofa and walks up to Britney. "It's nice to meet you, Britney."

"It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Gordon," Britney said as she shook Rachel's hand.

"So what are you doing here?" Rachel asked.

"She said that Jacob had just come inside and she wanted to see him because something had happened," Leon answered.

"Jacob's here? Something happened? May I join you?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, I might need you. Jacob is gonna need all the comfort he needs," Britney answered.

Rachel and Britney walk out of the living room and towards Jacob's room. Rachel cracks the door open as she and Britney peered their heads inside to see Jacob lying on his bed facing away from them.

"Jacob? I didn't know you came inside until Britney came in," Rachel said.

Jacob was silent and continued to lay on his bed, facing away from his mother and girlfriend. The two entered inside Jacob's room and closed the door behind them.

"Sweety? Baby, what's wrong?" Rachel asked.

She received no answer from Jacob as he still remained silent. Britney then spoke.

"Jacob killed... a child soldier while he was in Afghanistan," she answered with hesitation.

Rachel was silent and seemingly showed no reaction upon listening to what Jacob did. Britney looked down at Rachel's hand and noticed it was trembling. She grabbed onto Rachel's trembling hand, rubbing her thumb in circles in her palm to calm her down. Rachel's hand stopped trembling as she stepped toward Jacob as Britney followed behind her. The two sat onto his bed as Rachel placed her hand on her son's head.

"Is this about your time with your father? When he brought you over to that Neo-Nazi rally?" Rachel asked.

"And when he forced you to kill those two black kids?" Britney asked.

Jacob tensed up when being asked those questions. This gave Britney and Rachel all the answers they needed.

"Honey, you and I have both suffered from tramas from your father... but... you can't shut yourself out like this. If you bottle it all up inside you like this, it's all going to burst out and hurt those around you... I should know," Rachel said.

Jacob turns himself over and shifts his eyes up to glance at his mother and girlfriend.

"Let it out. It's okay, Jacob. Just for today, let yourself fall apart. We promise to hold you together," Britney said.

Jacob slowly sat himself up and positioned himself in between Britney and Rachel. He had tears streaming down his cheeks and after a short moment, Jacob finally broke down sobbing. Rachel places her son's head onto her chest as she hugs on to it as Britney hugged on to his waist. Both women had tears of their own streaming down their cheeks as held to a sobbing Jacob.

After a half an hour had passed, Britney and Rachel walked out of Jacob's room, leaving Jacob on his bed who had fallen asleep. Rachel closes the door behind them and as she turns around to face Britney, the latter dropped to her knees burying her face into her hands and sobbed. Rachel knelt down to Britney and embraced her into her arms trying to comfort her.

"W-Wh- Why is h-he... f-forced to... face all the... all the..." Britney was unable to continue as she broke out into more sobs.

"I wish he wouldn't have to. But I'm glad to see that Jacob has someone like you to comfort him and be there for him when he needs it the most," Rachel said.

"Thank... you..." Britney said with a sniffle.

"And to be honest, even though I just met you, you're much better than his last girlfriend," Rachel said.

"Yeah, that's true," Britney said with a chuckle.

They both stood themselves back up as Britney wiped her tears away. Suddenly, the doorbell rings, catching their attention. Rachel walks over to the front door with Britney following behind her. She opens the door to see Keaton and Winter standing on the porch.

"Hey, mom," Keaton greeted. "I heard Jacob came home after his plane landed. I also heard what happened to him in Afghanistan. Is he okay?"

"He cried himself to sleep in his room, but I believe he'll be okay," Rachel answered before he turned her head to face Winter. "I'm guessing you're Keaton's girlfriend?"

"Winter Schnee, ma'am," Winter introduced herself as she extended her hand.

Rachel shook the Specialist's hand, then stepped to the side as Winter and her oldest son stepped inside.

Author's Note: Volume 9 is over and now Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes and Huntsmen, Part One is out now. Now we wait for RWBY Volume 10 to be greenlit. Hopefully there will be no delays when it will come out.