"Yo! Jess, wait up!"
Groaning inside, Jess kept walking at the same pace as before.
"Hey!" Todd came alongside her, "You walk fast! Are you avoiding me?"
"Sure seems like it, doesn't it." Jess commented drily.
"Hah! You're a funny girl!" Todd laughed. "So crazy thing happened yesterday when I called you! These dudes answered and told me they would kill me if I didn't stop talking to you!"
Jess raised an eyebrow, finally looking up at the bleach blondie.
"Really? They said that?" She asked skeptically, because she heard the whole conversation and while Trent and Scott implied and hinted at a few things, they never said they would kill him.
"Yeah! Who were they? Are you in some kind of trouble or something?"
"They're my brothers," Jess answered automatically. Her classroom could not come quick enough.
"Ohhhhh! Man they are really protective of you! That's ok. I've dated girls with over the top dads and brothers before. I can still show you a good time. Don't worry."
"Ok, seriously!? For the last time I'm not-"
"Interested! I know, I know. You are really cute, you know that? Playing this whole hard to get game here! I like it! You're not like other girls! It's a great challenge." Todd started to cut off to the hallway to their left. "Catch you later at the gym. Maybe I can get you off that treadmill and teach you a thing or two!"
Staring after him, open mouthed and flushing with fury, Jess shook her head slowly, muttering as she yanked out her phone, "Oh, don't you worry…I'm gonna teach you a thing or two."
Hey, guess who isn't taking the hint still and thinks I am just playing fucking hard to get?
Jess was sitting down just before class started, still fuming when Scott answered.
I'm gonna go with Todd.
She could just picture that disgruntled scowling face he made when he was annoyed and it made her feel a bit better.
Yup.
What do you need.
Setting her jaw, Jess typed, How bored are you?
Extremely, Came the immediate reply.
Todd thinks he's going to 'teach me stuff at the gym' later, whatever that means and wasn't put off at all by the phone call last night. How do you think he'd feel if you swing by? I mean, unless you're busy!
Not busy. Bored out of our tree. Do you care how we scared this twerp off?
We? As in, more than one of you?
Is that ok?
Torn between laughing and crying with relief, Jess hurried to send, Sure!
Awesome. See you in a bit.
When Jess got out of class two hours later she headed for the gym as usual. It was expected that she would at least spot Scott somewhere, but she wasn't actually sure where he would be, or how he would get access to the college gym if he wanted to be in there, or who was coming with him for the 'fun'. When she asked, his message read Got it covered. Go about your day as usual so she figured he would be there like he said.
She changed into her running shorts and top, put her ear buds in and made a beeline from the changerooms to her usual spot along the wall of treadmills.
Her first quick scan came up empty for anyone she knew being around other than a girl from her program. No Todd. No Scott. No Bravo.
Cranking up her tunes, Jess got started with an easy jog while doing her readings for the upcoming class.
Slowly, the gym got busier around her. The treadmills on either side of her got taken by two more people, but she made a habit of not making eye contact with anyone unless she had to so she kept her head down and kept reading.
Once she was past her warm up time she put her phone down and upped her speed before settling for the remainder of the 4 mile run.
Only then did she glance up and take a look around the room again in the mirror reflections.
She nearly lost her footing when she saw Brock and Clay running on either side of her, pretending they didn't know her.
Clay only made eye contact when she made a strangled noise that came out louder due to her earbuds and a smirk appeared on his face. He flicked his eyes over to her left, wordlessly pointing out the rest of them.
Sonny and Trent were near the back. Sonny was deadlifting an alarming amount of weight and Trent was using the leg press. Scott was just to the right, a row behind doing bicep curls with huge weights while glaring at Trent, which gave Jess the immediate impression that he wanted to do something else and Trent told him no because of his injuries.
How on earth they all got in, Jess wasn't sure she wanted to know. All she knew was that if all of them were there, minus Ray and Jason, she could tell Todd to go kiss his own ass and not be scared doing it.
Todd came strutting in about ten minutes later, and Jess ignored him right away, praying he would just leave her alone.
He didn't.
"Damn, why do you run so much? I never do so much cardio!" Todd said as he came in between the treadmill Clay was using and the one she was on.
"So I can outrun people like you." Jess muttered.
"Wow! Zing! So are you gonna come off of there and let me teach you some real stuff?"
"Nope." Jess told him in a clipped tone that clearly indicated she didn't want to have this conversation.
"Ok..alright…fine. I can take a hint. So what about drinks after your class later?"
"Nope. And once again , not interested."
"Seriously?" Todd smiled with arrogant charm, "You won't even come for just one drink? You might have fun if you give me half a chance here! Just one drink and I won't ask again if you don't have fun."
About that point Clay and Brock both stopped their run and stepped off, flanking Todd on either side.
"Think she made it pretty clear she's not interested. Why don't you take a walk." Clay said, forcing the boy to turn around.
"We're just having a conversation, man." Todd scoffed, looking Clay up and down. "Why don't you go mind your own business?"
"Sounded like she was telling you to back off," Brock growled, the characteristic mildness of his personality bristling dangerously. "You should really respect that."
"Wow, two of you. I'm sooo intimidated." Todd wiggled his fingers at them. "Geez, Jess, do you know these guys? It's kinda creepy for them to just come to your 'rescue' like this. Maybe you guys should be the ones backing off. She's an independent woman and can take care of herself! Modern age and all that."
In the mirror reflection, Jess watched as a humorless smile appeared on Clay's face and across the room Trent slowed in his set, waiting to see if he needed to intervene. She got the feeling out of all of them Trent was there to keep everyone in line in the absence of Ray.
"They're my brothers," Jess said, flicking off the treadmill and hopping down. The run was as done as it was going to be. She just wanted to get away from the smarmy jackass. Slipping behind Brock and accepting the one armed hug he gave her on the way past, Jess added darkly, "And you should probably listen to them because they really don't like it when I'm not respected."
Todd blinked at her and then snorted, "Really? You expect me to believe these two dudes are your brothers? They don't sound anything like the dudes on the phone last night and they don't look anything like you."
"I don't really care what you believe, Todd." Jess told him, walking away towards Scott because the guy was making her skin crawl. "And the ones you talked to are across the room waiting for an opportunity to talk to you again. Keep it up and I'll let them."
Behind her the bleach blonde gaped at her and then stupidly followed. Clay and Brock circled round, 'causally' using a bench press nearby.
"What, is this guy your 'brother' too?" Todd asked, half laughing and uncertain, which made Jess burn with triumph.
"Sure is." Jess answered, coming to stand next to Scott and mindlessly accepting the comically small weight he handed her. When compared to his own it looked so tiny. He didn't say a word as he literally stared down at the boy in front of him. Jess had to admit she greatly enjoyed the fact that side by side, Todd looked scrawny compared to the bulked up men around him and his nerves were finally starting to show.
"No, he isn't. He's way too old! Look at all those gray hairs! No offense, man."
Jess had never really considered Scott old. He felt younger to her even though she knew he was probably closer to Jason's age. He'd always felt more brotherly than a father figure. Even the idea of him standing in as an Uncle figure felt weird to her, though more likely. Brother sat best in her heart.
"He's more likely to be my brother than you are ever going to be my boyfriend or quick fling, so for the last time, not interested. Leave me alone ."
Todd blinked at her as if he'd never been rejected before.
"Are you actually being serious?"
"Oh my god! How dense are you!?" Jess exclaimed, waving the weights dramatically in her hands and forcing Scott to pivot so she didn't clobber him in the arm as she gestured. "Yes! Why do you think I let them answer the phone last night since you weren't taking a hint that I am literally not interested ?!"
"Geez, you could have just said instead of leading me on like that and then doing all this." Todd said with disgust. "Way to be dramatic!"
Blood boiled in Jess's veins, making her see red and she took a step towards him, not noticing her knuckles were white, clenched tightly around the small weights now. Scott subtly stepped between them and Sonny seemed to magically appear just behind her. He hooked a friendly arm around her shoulders, casually tugging her away from Todd.
"Let it be, darlin," Sonny said lightly, taking the weights from her hands and setting them down as they moved. "He's gonna be sorry he messed with you, but here ain't the place for that. Don't you worry."
"I wanna hit him so badly!" Jess fumed as Sonny steered her across the room.
"Let's go hit something else."
Craning her neck so she could see what was happening in the mirrors, she saw Scott standing in front of Todd, talking quietly and seeming surprisingly unthreatening. Whatever he was saying to the shorter guy had the color draining from his face and he was nodding earnestly. Off to the other side, Clay, Brock and Trent were distracting the Gym employees and drawing interest of the patrons away from what was happening between Todd and Scott by purposely acting like they had no idea what the hell they were doing with the gym equipment. If Jess hadn't been too angry she might have laughed.
"What the hell is wrong with him? I said multiple times I didn't want anything to do with him and then he just- and then it's my fault?!" Jess resisted Sonny's arm, trying to turn and go back again, "I am not done yet! He doesn't just get to-"
"Slow it down there, scrappy," Sonny soothed, tightening the arm around her shoulders and propelling her forward. He left no room for argument as he opened the door to the side room and took them both inside. It housed punching bags and other equipment Jess never used. She was pretty sure it was used for material arts classes and stuff. "I know you want to, but you can't haul off and hit him. You'll just get yourself in trouble. Trust me. I know."
"I won't hit him!" Jess promised, voice shaking with anger and upset. "I'll yell at him!"
"You just let the boys handle him nice and quiet like, that way you don't get in trouble," Sonny told her, grabbing a set of training mitts and putting them on. He held up his hands then, targets ready. "Metal said he finally taught you to punch the other day. Show me what you got."
Blinking back tears rapidly and glancing around the room, Jess hesitated. More emotion welled up, threatening to choke her while her mind reeled.
The other occupants of the room actually seemed entirely disinterested in them, which was a relief. Three few girls in the corner gave her a little confidence when she saw one was just learning how to punch like she'd been a few days ago.
"Come on, scrappy. Put all the frustration right here."
Bringing her fists up the way Scott showed her, Jess took a shot.
It hurt.
"Slow it down," Sonny drawled with surprising patience. "Take your time, or you'll mess up your wrists."
Taking her stance again, Jess remembered to strike with the follow through and it felt better.
"Good! Again."
She did. And again. And again.
The door of the room opened and closed. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Clay and Brock slip in.
"Hey, attention here," Sonny brought her focus back. "This time, strike left, then right."
"But I can only punch my right!" Jess protested, face flushing from both residual emotion and self-consciousness of having more of her extremely knowledgeable brothers watching.
"Bullshit. Brock get over here and walk her through this."
"I can help too," Clay offered hopefully.
"You just sit down, goldilocks. That run was all Trent cleared you to do today and I saw you doing more."
Not sure she wanted to know why Clay wasn't allowed to do much because until now she wasn't aware he'd been hurt in any way, Jess let it go and peeked up instead at Brock when he came next to her.
"Hey, Jess," Brock smiled down at her, showing no trace of the threatening anger he's used on Todd. "So, we're gonna do an easy pattern. First, you could probably stand a little more like this, then strike, good, now strike with your left like…this. Right like that. Try it."
"What's happening with Todd," Jess asked, pausing.
"Don't worry about it," Brock answered. "If he has even half a brain cell, after Metal's through with him he won't even look at you after today."
Jess couldn't decide if his tone was reassuring or not.
Anxiety started to replace anger.
"I don't want anyone to get in trouble," She said.
Clay chuckled suddenly. "That's why you're in here, slugger."
Scowling, Jess huffed as she followed through with the double strike like Brock showed her.
"I still want to hit him."
"So do we," Brock promised, "But unfortunately we gotta use other tactics."
"Do I want to know what those tactics are?" Jess wondered aloud.
"Probably not," Sonny said with a grin. "Come on, put some more power behind it. We know you got it in you. You sent that asshole at the bar flying onto his ass with just one punch."
"He tripped on a chair!" Jess puffed.
"You still broke his nose," Brock reminded her as he stopped her briefly and corrected her stance and the angle of her wrists. "Try more like this…you're small, but it doesn't mean you can't get power behind you."
Jess tried again, this time using the frustration that got voiced with her words, "Why do I keep attracting toxic people to me, like a friggin moth to flames?!"
"Hey! We aren't toxic!" Sonny exclaimed.
"You are totally toxic, Sonny," Clay laughed.
"Yeah, have you even showered this week?" Brock asked with a grin.
"I smell better than Trent!" Sonny answered before looking Jess in the eye and saying, "You don't only attract toxic people, Jess. You draw everyone in with who you are. You just gotta learn how to be meaner to the ones who you don't want in your life."
"I thought I was mean to him!" Jess growled with an inflection that was comically similar to Scott's, making the others snicker without explanation.
Brock put a hand briefly between her shoulder blades and gave a comforting rub.
"You were clear and firm, but you weren't that mean, sweetheart. And this whole thing isn't on you. It's on him for not respecting you."
"Besides," Clay added, "Of all the people you know, most of them are good people, right?"
"I guess that's true," Jess had to agree as she tried the same pattern a sixth time.
"Sometimes we just run into situations like this," Sonny told her knowingly, taking her meager punches effortlessly.
"Sonny more than anyone," Clay chirped cheekily.
"Excuse me! I don't see Brock with a very good track record of not getting suckered in by the more toxic females!"
Brock held up his hands, "I'm better than Metal and that last one…who was it, Veronica?"
"Valerie," Sonny corrected. "I met her once. She was a piece of work, let me tell you. As I understand it she made his life hell for a bit."
"I met her," Jess commented without thinking.
"You did?" Sonny's hands fell slightly with surprise.
"Yeah…she, ah, was at the Bulkhead once when you guys weren't there, like, way back…before I knew you all better."
Hoping that was enough of an explanation, Jess moved to go through the set again, but Brock stopped her.
"How did you know it was Valerie?" He asked, concern clear on his face.
Trying to dodge the question, because she didn't want to admit that she'd nearly believed the woman when she told Jess that Bravo was a bunch of horrible people that would hurt her, Jess shrugged and looked down at her watch. "It's not important. I should probably wrap this up soon."
Sonny dropped his hands, exchanging a quick wordless debate with Brock before saying, "Does Metal know she showed up?"
"Yes."
"You ain't seen her since?"
"Nope."
"Good. You think Todd is toxic, that woman was ten times worse."
"I got that impression." Jess said dryly.
"Who's Valerie?" Clay asked just as the door opened and Scot walked in with Trent.
The satisfied smirk on his face vanished at the name and he growled darkly, "What about Valerie?"
"Jess just mentioned she showed up…a while back." Brock said carefully, exchanging an uncomfortable look with Sonny.
Scott paused, flicking a hard stare over Jess, assessing her.
Feeling like she betrayed him somehow, Jess hurried to explain, "I was just saying that I attract toxic people and then Sonny and Brock were joking that they have that problem too and then they…kinda mentioned her and then I said I met her once and…that…shit I'm not making this better am I…"
Beside her Sonny was wincing at the fact she ratted them out for mentioning the woman in the first place and Brock studied his feet.
"No, not really." Scott snorted as he eyed the three of them and shook his head as he walked closer, taking Jess's hands and examining her knuckles one by one. "It's fine. Did you seriously let her punch like this?"
"Ow!" Jess squirmed, noticing how scrapped up and slightly bloody her knuckles were when Scott poked at them.
"She's fine!" Sonny answered, taking the mitts off and sanitizing them. "It's good for her. Makes her look like a badass."
Rolling her eyes, Jess said sarcastically, "That'll be the day."
"I don't know. I thought you were going to throw those weights at Todd's head for a minute there," Trent countered mildly as he used a wall to stretch his calves.
"Yeah, me too," Clay agreed. "Would have been pretty badass."
Looking up at Scott, Jess asked quietly, "What happened with him?"
"Nothing." Scott smiled suddenly as he shrugged, just a little too pleased with himself. "We had a chat. He's been set straight and won't be bothering you again."
"Do I want to know what you did or said to him?"
"Nope."
"Ok, cool," Jess accepted instantly, knowing if he said that she probably didn't want to know even if the curiosity was going to kill her. Glancing at her watch again, Jess sighed. "I should probably go to my last class."
"Yeah, and we should probably slip out of here." Trent said seriously, drawing the others out of the happy, satisfied moment. "Our ah…accommodations are going to expire if we stay too long."
"How did you even get in here?!" Jess hissed as they filed out and headed towards the change rooms.
Chuckling, Clay repeated a common phrase, "You don't want to know."
Shaking her head and fighting off a giggle, Jess tried to pretend she wasn't impressed as she scolded, "Geez…please, just promise not to get arrested!"
Giving her a dirty look, Sonny gave an injured sniff, "Jess! Don't be insulting. We are men of exceptional skills."
Before she slipped into the girls' change room, Jess said with brimming gratitude, "Thank you. You guys really didn't have to, but I actually probably would have hit him today if you weren't here."
"Yeah," Scott chuckled, "Probably a good thing we came. We gotta work on that anger management of yours, kid."
"Hey! You're the one who taught me how to punch!" Jess squawked as she stomped forward and hugged him around the middle, momentarily forgetting he was still recovering. He didn't make a sound and returned it warmly, so she didn't know if she jarred anything or not.
"No hugs for us?" Sonny whined.
"I'm getting there, have some patience!" Jess quipped as she moved to hug them all in turn.
They said goodbye after that and waited till she was safely in the change room before exiting the gym, heading for the parking lot. Walking Jess to class would have been fun, but they didn't want to push their luck today, just in case a suspicious person in the gym reported them to security.
"So, ah," Sonny shifted almost uncomfortably as they got ready to part ways. "Anything we should know about with um, Valerie showing up a while back? Jess clammed up about it real quick which, ah, got us a little worried."
Metal shrugged and scowled at the pavement.
"She fed a load of bullshit to Jess about us, probably to try getting under my skin since she can't come near me in person."
Brow furrowing, Brock said, "Bullshit? What bullshit?"
"Lies, mostly. I mean, we do kill people and we are dangerous, so that part was true, but apparently she went on about how we're also war criminals, human traffickers and rapists too. Understandably it spooked Jess more than a little."
"Waitttt…was this around the time we gave her and her friends a lift home when her truckie died!?" Trent asked as realization dawned on him.
"Yup."
"Well, that explains a lot," Brock breathed, anger flicking through him. "Poor Jess…she didn't believe any of it, right?"
"She had to make sure, so a little part of her was scared it was true." Scott growled.
"Wait, and she still went off alone with you after being told all that!? Before she was sure we were still good guys?" Sonny asked.
Raising his eyebrows, Metal leaned against his truck, folding his arms as he nodded. "Yeah, don't worry. I gave her shit for it after she told me what was going on."
"Good!" Trent rubbed his face with both hands, groaning.
Releasing a breath Sonny scratched his head, "Damn it. I really worry about that girl. She's got no God given sense some days!"
Clay spoke up then, "She's got more than she did! And she's learning."
"Yeah, you're teaching each other there, brother bear!" Sonny laughed, ruffling Clay's hair. "I love how he gets all defensive on her behalf."
"I'm not being defensive, I'm just saying she's growing a lot and we should acknowledge that!" Clay shifted and added with a mumble, "Otherwise we're no better than Jason."
There was a hum of sobered agreement.
"Anyone heard from him?" Brock asked quietly.
"No," Metal grumbled. "He's probably hold up at his place punishing himself."
"Maybe we should go bug him…maybe grab Ray too, although I think his kids are still sick and he's on papa duty," said Trent. He surveyed the group carefully. "I don't know about you, but I have got literally nothing better to do other than play a Star Wars game and I promised Jess I would play it with her, so I'm not about to go back on that one."
"Are we sure Jase will want to see us?" Clay questioned almost nervously.
Only Metal picked up on it and he suppressed a sigh because now that Jess pointed it out, he couldn't unsee the ways Clay was hypersensitive to the upset in 'family dynamics'.
"Worst he'll do is not answer the door." Metal said gruffly as he circled round to get in his truck. "And if he doesn't, we'll kick it down and drag him off to babysit the kids. Ray probably could use a break by now."
With nothing better to come up with and not really wanting to be alone with their own thoughts right now, the rest agreed and headed out on their next 'mission'.
Having Daddy home with her while she was sick was an uncommon treat that Jameelah managed to identify as the one good thing to her feeling so miserable.
The only problem was that she had to share him with RJ because he'd started throwing up last night too.
Laying on the couch in clean comfy clothes and freshly bathed since her last round of puking, Jameelah listened as Ray tried to sweet talk RJ into changing his pull up. Her little brother was screaming because he wanted to 'be alone' and didn't want Daddy to look at him. She could pick up the way Ray's tone shifted with strained patience as he tried to convince RJ he needed a new pull up so he wasn't sitting in his own filth.
Sighing, Jameelah watched the show on the TV, trying to enjoy it over all the shrieking of her emotional little brother.
A minute later she heard Daddy say, "Oh boy." And then she could hear RJ throwing up.
Wincing now, she focused on keeping the queasy feeling in her own gut away as she spilled some more ginger ale.
The doorbell rang.
"Jameelah, go see who it is but don't answer it." Daddy called, sounding just slightly frazzled now.
"Ok."
She slipped off the couch slowly, feeling weak and unsteady. She nearly reached the door when the lock slid in its place. A moment later Uncle Jason swung open the door, and he walked in, followed by all her other Uncles.
Open mouthed, Jameelah didn't know what to say.
"Hey, princess!" Uncle Jason greeted her, "Where's your Daddy?"
"Bathroom. RJ just threw up." Jameelah told him, shivering where she stood and taking in each of her Uncles.
Uncle Brock had Cerberus with him and the dog trotted up to her, nosing her hand sympathetically as if he knew she was feeling poorly. Uncle Sonny was carrying bags of groceries into the kitchen, winking at her on the way past with a smile. Behind him Uncle Clay carted in another mystery bag and set it in the living room in the corner, smiling at her on the way past. Uncle Trent and Uncle Scott took up the rear, closing the door behind them.
Uncle Jason was already off to find her dad and she could hear him exclaim, "Ohhh mann! What exploded in here?! You look terrible, Ray! Hey, little man! Good aim! You got it in Dad's hair and everything."
"Please just take this and convince him to put a new pull-up on!" Daddy practically begged. "I need a shower…I am…I'm covered. This is…so gross."
RJ started crying again and Uncle Sonny made a sad face at the hallway leading to the bathroom.
"Hey, Jameelah," Uncle Trent was next to her now. "How you feeling, honey?"
Blinking up at him, she blurted pitifully, "I'm cold."
Reaching up to feel her forehead, Uncle Trent nodded, "Yeah, you're pretty warm. Have you had a fever?"
"No."
"I think you might have one now." Uncle Trent told her gently, "Let's get you over to the couch and see if we can get you something for it."
"Why are you here?" Jameelah asked, letting Uncle Trent steer her back to the couch.
"Well, we have some time off and heard you weren't feeling well, so we came to help you and RJ feel better." Uncle Trent told her.
"Aren't you worried you'll get sick too?" Jameelah said, pausing and closing her eyes when a wave of nausea hit her. Her legs felt like lead and she'd only shuffled part of the way.
Uncle Scott stepped in on her other side before Uncle Trent could say or do anything more. He reached down, wordlessly offering to pick her up. She wasn't a baby anymore, but Jameelah accepted instantly, resting her head on his broad shoulder when he scooped her up.
"We'll be alright," Uncle Trent told her as he headed down the hall toward the bathroom too. "I'm gonna find the thermometer and ask about some meds."
Uncle Scott set her down and flicked the light blanket over her before handing her the cup of ginger ale.
In the kitchen Uncle Clay and Uncle Sonny were moving around, getting out a big cooking pot and pulling stuff out of the bags they brought. Cerberus and Uncle Brock came and settled next to her on the couch (well, Cerberus had to be on the floor. Mommy didn't let him on the couch). Uncle Scott was about to move away when Jameelah reached out a hot little hand and stopped him.
"What do you need, princess," Uncle Scott asked, crouching next to her. The lines of his face softened considerably and his gruff tone did too.
"Can you get me Tina?" She asked. "I left her in my room."
"Yup."
With one Uncle off to get her favorite doll, she suddenly felt the desire to cuddle up close to Uncle Brock, so she did. He accepted her shivering body pressing in against his side immediately, bringing an arm around her shoulders and hugging her.
"Hey kiddo, what are we watching?"
"Paw Patrol. It's the only thing RJ likes right now."
There was the barest of snickers from the kitchen, but Jameelah didn't pay them any mind as Uncle Scott came back with Tina.
"Here you go, kid. Anything else?" Uncle Scott asked, tucking the doll under her arm and adjusting the blanket around her toes.
"Thank you. Do you want to watch Paw Patrol with us?" Jameelah asked hopefully. Suddenly having more people around to cuddle her and take care of her while she was feeling so awful sounded extremely appealing.
"Sure!" Uncle Scott accepted her invitation with his warm gruffness and took a spot next to her.
"Who's your favorite?" Uncle Brock asked her.
"Uncle?" Jameelah frowned up at him. "I don't have a favorite. I like you all for different reasons."
Snorting on a laugh, Uncle Scott said, "I think he meant favorite Paw Patrol, kiddo."
"Oh!" Jameelah looked at the screen. "I like Sky, but I like Elsa and Anna better. I wanted to watch Frozen but RJ had a meltdown because he wanted Paw Patrol and Daddy said we had to practice our negotiation skills today."
"Well, sounds like RJ is busy squealing at your Uncle Jason, so what if we watched that for a bit?" Uncle Brock suggested.
"Yeah!" Jameelah agreed happily despite how much her body ached and how cold she felt. "I love Frozen! Jess and I watch it all the time when she comes over! She knows all the words to the songs and everything!"
Uncle Trent came back and leaned over her with the thermometer. Without needing to be asked, Jameelah turned her head so he could stick it in her ear. The beeping told them all she had a fever.
"Aww, poor kid," Uncle Brock rubbed her shoulder sympathetically.
"Here, take this for me, Jameelah." Uncle Trent handed her one of the chewable medicines that Mommy gave her sometimes.
"I don't like the taste." She complained, forgetting herself and feeling grumpy suddenly as she wrinkled her nose up at it.
"Drink this after." Uncle Scott growled, handing her the cup of ginger ale.
"It's going to help, honey. Can you take it for me, please?" Uncle Trent coaxed.
Relenting, Jameelah took it and chewed it up as much as she had to before quickly washing it down with the drink.
"Thank you," Uncle Trent said, pushing her hair out of her face. "How's your stomach?"
"Ok." Jameelah sighed. "I threw up a lot yesterday but I only threw up once this morning. RJ's been throwing up on Daddy and he's a real bear."
"That's not fun." Uncle Trent grimaced on her behalf. "Why don't you see if you can finish that before the first song is done?"
"Ok." Jameelah snuggled into Uncle Brock again and watched the movie, letting her toes jam under Uncle Scott's side. They were cold and he was nice and warm. He didn't seem to notice or care so she figured it was ok.
A few minutes later Uncle Jason came back with RJ perched sullenly in his arms. Somehow Uncle Jason had convinced her little brother to change his pull-up and he'd stopped crying. For now.
"Aww, see? And look at this? All your goofy Uncles are here!"
RJ took one look around at everyone and his lower lip came out again right as he turned his face into Uncle Jason's shoulder. He clearly did not want to be social.
"I want Paw 'trol." RJ wailed, sounding as miserable and unwell as he looked.
"Ok! Here…look what Uncle Sonny brought! You and I are gonna sit right over here and we'll watch your show on this!"
RJ considered the tablet that Uncle Jason dragged out of one of the bags, assessing if he was going to be happy about it or not. In the end he hiccuped and reached for it, clutching the screen to his chest when Uncle Jason let him hold it and glaring at everyone else in the room.
Uncle Jason sat in the big lazy chair and cuddled RJ in while he put on the small boy's desired show.
"RJ's having a hard time today." Jameelah told Uncle Scott and Uncle Brock seriously.
"That's ok." Uncle Scott rumbled softly. "We all have bad days."
"Is Daddy having a shower?" Jameelah asked.
"I think so." Uncle Brock answered.
Behind them in the kitchen Uncle Sonny's voice lifted as he told Uncle Clay off for nearly putting the wrong spices into whatever it was they were making. It smelled good.
When Ray emerged from the bathroom and entered, he stopped in his tracks, taking in the whole room.
"You didn't mention that all of Bravo came to back me up!" Ray said, putting his hands on his hips and fighting a smile. "I don't know what to say. Thank you."
"Aww don't get all soft there, Ray Ray," Uncle Sonny cooed. "We just came to make sure Jameelah and RJ were getting fed properly."
"Yeah, we've had your cooking. It's awful." Uncle Jason laughed.
"I have many skills, but cooking was never one I could manage to master," Said Ray as he crossed the room and leaned over Jameelah, kissing the top of her head. "How are you feeling, baby girl? Any better?"
"Uh huh," Jameelah answered, distracted and absorbed by her movie. Beside her, Cerberus lifted his nose and rested it on the edge of the couch, hoping for some pets. Jameelah couldn't reach, so Uncle Scott reached down instead and gave the pup a good ear rub.
"What are you making there, Sonny?" Ray asked, moving on to the kitchen.
"My sou chef and I are making some chicken noodle soup."
"That's what I smell!" Jameelah whispered aloud, cranking her neck back so she could see into the kitchen.
"Are you hungry?" Uncle Scott asked her.
"I don't know. Maybe a little."
RJ gave a happy squeal and announced to the whole room while clapping his hands, "Chase caught the sneaky bunny!"
"Good for Chase! Gotta watch out for those sneaky bunnies!" Uncle Clay commented with a grin.
"They eating all the veggies, Unca Clay!" RJ told him seriously while rubbing his eyes and snuggling in Uncle Jason more with a yawn. Uncle Trent handed him his sippy cup and wisely didn't suggest that he drink any of it, which meant RJ started drinking right away.
"That's not good! There better not be any bunnies in this kitchen!" Uncle Sonny exclaimed, looking around at his feet dramatically. "You didn't let any in, did you RJ?"
RJ shook his head. "No. Meelah did."
"Jameelah! Did you let bunnies in here!?" Uncle Sonny gasped, making Jameelah smile.
"No," She told him. "RJ's just being silly."
"Oh, thank goodness. I was worried one of them bunnies would steal the food!" Uncle Sonny said seriously.
"Cerberus would take care of them!" Jameelah said, shifting so she could lean down to pat the dog. "He's a good dog."
The canine thumped his tail happily.
"Yeah, he is a good dog!" Uncle Brock agreed, helping Jameelah back up right once when she was done giving Cerberus more ear scratches. "Here, I think Uncle Scott needs some cuddles too. Why don't you curl up with him for a minute. I gotta go make a phone call quick."
Jameelah shifted the opposite way under the arm already lifted for her and burrowed close.
"Uncle Scott?" Jameelah asked once she was comfortable.
"Uh huh."
"Have you ever seen a reindeer?"
"Hmm…I've seen elk, and a bunch of different kinds of deer, but I don't think I've seen a reindeer."
"What about a moose?"
"Once. It was a mama and had a calf."
"I don't like Prince Hanz," Jameelah said as she watched Anna get twirled around by the mean boy.
"Yeah, he's a real jerk." Uncle Scott agreed.
"How long is everyone staying?" Jameelah's eyes were getting heavy and she didn't want to miss anything. She loved having all her Uncles at her house.
"Not sure, kiddo. But, we'll be back again, don't worry."
"Hey, baby girl…do you think you can drink some of this?" Daddy was back, crouched next to them and holding out a mug of soup for her.
"I'll try." Jameelah offered, taking the cup and then taking a sharp breath of air. "It's hot."
Daddy took it back immediately and set it on the coffee table. "Let it cool a minute, but I want you to try drinking some of it, ok? You need it."
In the end Jameelah did manage to drink some of it. Then she fell asleep to the comforting sound of her dad and all her Uncles around her, talking and joking while Frozen played in the background. RJ long since fell asleep in Uncle Jason's arms and he was still rocking gently, keeping his voice down while the little boy snored.
She never knew how much they needed that day. All she knew was that they came to take care of her and help Daddy when he was at the end of his rope.
When they left Ray's, Sonny invited them all back to Metal's house again for drinks and to watch the football game.
Metal thought it was interesting that the Texan volunteered his home, but didn't comment on it. If the little shit got too cocky, he would set him straight. He suspected it had more to do with Sonny wanting to know how the rest of Jess's day went.
Pausing as he unlocked the door, Metal motioned for the others to quiet down before he slowly turned the handle and they got caught the full extent of Jess singing 'Frozen' at the top of her lungs in her room. The irony that they just finished watching the movie with Jameelah wasn't lost on them at all, although Jess's version was very different than the child's version.
"Fuck it all! Fuck it alllll! Can't study anymorreeeee! Fuck it alll, Fuck it ALL! Flip the tables, screwww them allll!"
They heard Jess come dancing down the hall and purposely kept the front hall light out as they waited, physically holding in their laughter when she twirled dramatically into the kitchen.
"I don't care 'bout stats annnymoreeee. Let tomorrow commmmee. I never liked math anywayyyy-" She spotted them as she completed the second twirl and went straight in the air with a loud squeal. "SHIT! When did you guys get here?!"
"Don't think that was the PG version of Let it Go, pipsqueak," Metal laughed.
"It wasn't!" Jess told him. "What'd you guys get up to?"
"Spent the day at Ray's."
"Awww! I bet the kids loved that. How are they feeling?"
"Better, I think. Jameelah had a fever when we got there and Ray was covered in puke." Trent told her as they moved into the living room and started cracking open beers.
"Ewwww….ok…I didn't need that visual. Oh! That reminds me! Today at work, this one dog threw up a dead mouse and then another dog ate it, and then, we had this client have a complete freak out at our admin staff because she told them their dog needed a quick release collar in order to come to daycare and he just started yelling at her that it was all a big money grab and he'd had dogs for years and to call it a safety measure was ridiculous."
"Safety measure?" Clay asked.
"Yeah, cause they can get their mouth stuck while they're playing sometimes and then they freak out and it looks like a scrap but it's not, they're just stuck and it can choke out the one dog if you don't get them separated fast enough."
"So why did this guy not want to put a quick release collar on his dog?"
"I don't know. He's weird. Anyway. That's my story. I need to eat something, hey! Did you know-"
"Did you drink coffee today?" Metal interrupted, watching as she practically bounced around the room, practically buzzing as she chattered away comfortably.
"Nope! I just sat still for too long today and I can't focus on anything anymore and maybe I'll eat pizza."
"There's left over pasta too." Metal reminded her.
"Oh! Can I have it?"
"It's all yours."
"Did you see Todd again?" Clay asked.
"Nope! And the guy in my class that he knows told me whatever you guys did or said freaked him right out and he's never coming near me again."
"Good." Metal grunted as he plopped down with the rest of the boys to watch the game.
Brock paused on his way, giving Jess a big hug. "Jameelah sent this along. She misses you."
"Awww! I miss her too! I should go see them."
"Wait till it's germ free over there. You don't need to get sick."
"You were all over there."
"Yeah, but we don't get sick." Sonny said. "Ever."
"Really?"
"Usually." Trent added, drinking his beer. "Jason might this time. RJ puked on him before we left."
At the mention of Jason, Jess sobered a bit. "Is…how is he?"
"He's good."
"Ok. Good." Jess perched on the side of the couch. "I still don't understand the scoring of this game."
"Take a seat. We'll explain it again." Clay told her lightly, inviting her in and making a spot for her.