A/N: Song in parenthesis by Fleetwood Mac. Sorry for the long wait, school had been kicking my ass. Thank you all for your support, once again. Also, for this chapter, I highly recommend going back to the first chapter with that scene between Bernadette and Jacques when they were younger.

Chapter 8- Delirious Detachments (Songbird)

Jacques didn't remember much of what he was told over the phone. A lot of it was his mother hiccuping and sobbing, she couldn't contain herself at all so Jacques knew something had gone horribly wrong. She had rambled for a bit, beating around the bush, saying things like this were the reason she had to stop being a trauma nurse. There were many things that had traumatized his mother, her job and her former religion being two of the main ones, so Jacques knew this was a big deal. Jacques, who was getting more panicked, begged her to get to the point.

That was when his father took over the phone, in a voice that was desperately trying to stay steady telling him that Bernadette had gotten hurt.

Jacques couldn't believe he was here. Just a little less than an hour ago, he was arguing with Josée and her mother regarding their partnership, and how he wished he could go back to doing that compared to spending the night in a hospital after receiving terrible news. Gabrielle had tears forming in her eyes, and their father had an unusually neutral expression; if you disregard the haunted look in his eyes as he tried to comfort his wife. Despite all the chaos that was a hospital, all Jacques would hear was the clock ticking.

Waiting was the worst.

But then a doctor showed up and everyone stood up collectively at once to hear what he had to say in anticipation. The doctor explained several things to Jacques' parents that he nor Gabrielle understood. However, Jacques didn't need to understand that, the look on his parents faces went from hopeful to distraught.

"Can you cut the crap?" Gabrielle cut in angrily, with tears in her eyes. Jacques was quiet; he knew that she knew. "Not all of us are in the medical field."

That's when the doctor told them the blunt truth of what happened, in simple words that needed no translation.

It crashed on them in an instant. Jacques watched as his mother let out a heart-wrenching sob, bursting into hysterics with tears down her face. She sunk to her knees and buried her face into her hands and cried into them. Gabrielle, in a fit of frustration also let out a sob and kicked a chair. Jacques' father let out an shaky breath and knelt beside his wife, trying to rub her back with one hand while hiding his eyes with the other. When he removed his hand from his eyes, Jacques swore he saw his eyes shining.

It was the first time Jacques had ever seen his papa cry.

This alone told Jacques that he didn't know what to feel. He couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was that he was feeling. Though the doctor's words rang true and that his parents always told him to trust doctors, Jacques couldn't believe that this was real. While everyone around him was upset, he felt as though he wasn't even there. And that feeling brought on a wave of nausea because he wanted to be there; but at the same time, did he want to feel that pain? No, of course he didn't, but the point was he should've been feeling that pain, and right now, he was just watching his family falling apart at the inevitable news.

Bernadette was dead.

She was... he had just seen her two hours ago, he.. he didn't understand-

"Jacques," his father called out. Jacques blinked rapidly out of his daze. "Son-"

Suddenly the nausea Jacques felt was unbearable. He bolted out of the hospital as fast as he could. He couldn't hear the shouts of his family trying to get him back. He just had to get out of there. His stomach swirled with too many emotions that he experienced too quickly and too complex for him to understand, and began to hyperventilate. He staggered over to a tree, holding his stomach with one hand while leaning against it with the other, and let out the contents of his stomach onto the ground. Eventually, he was reduced to dry heaving excessively, while desperately holding onto the tree for balance. He panted for a bit, his heart was still racing, hell, part of him was still hoping this was just a nightmare that was now over.

Unfortunately for Jacques, this was far from finished - and perhaps it never would be.

BEEP.

"Jacques, it's Josée. I... your maman just told my maman what happened, and I... I want to say that I'm sorry for your loss. Please call me back."

When she went to the bathroom, twelve-year-old Josée let out an ear piercing scream as her eyes popped out with overwhelming panic. "Oh my god!" her breaths turned into desperate gasps for air. She got up and ran out of the bathroom, looking around in fright. "Maman!" And then realization hit her; her mother left two hours ago to go out of town on business, so she obviously couldn't call her back here. Her mother hated a last minute change of plans and would chastise her for ruining her day.

But... Josée was positive that she was dying, surely this was an emergency? Well, she had felt normal... other than her anxiousness. Maybe this was what dying was like?

Josée decided to do the next best thing - find Jacques. He would know what to do, or at least, he would eventually figure out what to do, even if he wasn't too swift at times. She knew she could get to Jacques' house in five minutes if she ran quick enough. Still with tears in her eyes, Josée burst out the door and ran all the way to Jacques' house. Once she got there, she frantically knocked on the door while gasping for air.

"Josée, what's wrong?" Josée stopped her crying when she realized who was in front of her. Jacques didn't answer, instead she came face-to-face with his eldest sister, Bernadette. The eighteen-year-old eyed the ice dancer with concern. At once, Josée burst into hysterics again. "Oh... oh crap, um... I didn't make you upset, did I?"

"Where's J-Jacques?" Josée stammered, not answering her question and sniffling. "I think I'm dying!"

"Dying!?" Josée tried to push past the older girl, but to no avail as her path was easily blocked. "Jacques is out with some friends at school." Josée resisted the urge to scream; it was that stupid performing arts school that took him away from her, making friends without her! "Explain what happened."

Josée realized it was hopeless, and spilled her guts out: "I-I was in the bathroom, and... and..." she stuttered, bursting into tears again. Bernadette's nervous expression suddenly turned neutral. "There was my blood on my underwear and it stained and I'm scared and I don't know what to do!"

Bernadette put her hands on the ice dancer's shoulders in effort to calm her. "Josée, you aren't dying."

"What do you mean I'm not?!" Josée shrieked. "There's blood!"

"How old are you again?" Bernadette asked.

Josée blinked and sniffled at the odd question. "Twelve. I'm going to be thirteen soon-"

"This is normal at your age. It's okay. You just got your period, that's all."

"My what?" Josée asked, baffled. "What are you talking about?"

Bernadette sighed deeply. "First let's go up to my room and get you a pad so no more bleeding happens."

"There's going to be more bleeding?!" Josée asked in a panicked tone.

"Josée it's okay!" Bernadette tried to reassure, taking the preteen by her hand. "Come on, let's go upstairs."

Josée was skeptical at first, but shrugged as Bernadette lead her up to her room. "Why can't Jacques help me?"

"Because Jacques is a boy."

Josée blinked yet said nothing as they entered Bernadette's room as she fished for something in one of her drawers. She took out a pad and underwear. "This is a pad. You use it to stop the bleeding." To demonstrate, Bernadette pushed the pad on the underwear and attached the sides to the bottom of it. "That's how you put it on." Bernadette gave Josée another pad to use. "You know where the bathroom is."

A few minutes later, Josée returned from the bathroom and stared at Bernadette in disbelief. "Can you tell me what's happening now?"

Bernadette proceeded to explain, "Once a month for up to two days to a week, girls bleed from... that area. It's the start of becoming a woman."

It was quiet for a few seconds before Josée spoke up. "Why doesn't this happen to boys?" she whined.

The blonde shrugged. "Beats the hell out of me. Boys will try to make you feel bad about it, too. And if they ever do, you have my permission to beat them up." Josée allowed a tiny grin at that. "Now..." Bernadette gave the girl a warm smile back. "I don't know about you, but whenever I get my period I eat chocolate and watch movies. Your mother is out of town, right?"

Josée nodded. "Oui. But... I'm not sure if I should have sweets."

Bernadette winked at her. "I'm sure we can keep it a secret, non?"

Right before Josée could answer, a new party joined, Jacques' other sister. "What's this gathering about?" Gabrielle asked. "Jacques isn't here, is he?" Josée blushed wildly and looked down at the floor in shame. "Did something happen? Did Jacques make you upset? Because I could kick his ass." Josée hesitantly looked up at Bernadette.

"It's okay, Josée. You can tell her."

"I... can you do it?" Josée muttered.

Bernadette nodded once and turned to her sister. "Josée came over here not knowing what to do when she got her period, not knowing what it was."

Gabrielle raised her eyebrows, trying not to smirk. "And you were going to go to Jacques for help?" She resisted the overwhelming urge to laugh, causing Josée to whimper, which made Gabrielle turn serious. "Hey, hey, hey. Come on, I didn't mean it like that. If it makes you feel better, when I got my period, I told my papa. I've never seen him get so red before, and Bernadette was laughing."

Bernadette chuckled even thinking about it, nudging the ice dancer. "It was funny," she agreed.

Gabrielle gave Josée a smile. "Congratulations. I'm sure Bernadette told you about the chocolate we eat during our periods."

"Yes, I told her."

"And the movies we watch."

"That too."

"And that we drink like monsters-"

"No," Bernadette cut in, glaring at her younger sister.

"Why not?!"

"She's twelve, Gabrielle!"

"Hasn't stopped me before."

Bernadette rolled her eyes. "You're an awful influence," she remarked. Thus, she turned to Josée. "There's chocolate and movies. Believe me, you'll feel loads better. We'll explain absolutely everything to you - no Gabrielle, we aren't drinking!"

Gabrielle scoffed. "Fine."

"Josée wake up!" Josée was shocked to by shaken by her boyfriend Claude, who was sitting right next to her at lunch watching in concern, along with Alice, Clara, and Rachel. Josée blinked and fought back a yawn, covering her mouth. She hardly got any sleep last night. Yesterday, at around four in the morning she and her mother received a phone call about Bernadette being a fatal victim of one of the stabbings. Her mother had told her so nonchalantly, so Jacques would be absent from school.

Josée knew he was struggling. There was no way in hell that he wasn't, and she couldn't stop thinking about it. It could be explain why her dream was a memory with Bernadette just now. After all, she definitely was there for her when she was frightened. Bernadette and Gabrielle had watched movies with Josée and ate sweets she knew would be bad for her body, but she felt oddly comforted. She vaguely remembered telling her mother about her period and her mother couldn't care less. Bernadette, though often teased her and said awful things about her mother, was a very nice person.

She in no way deserved this.

It was on the local news this morning. The news spread around the school like wildfire. Although Josée was in no way related to Bernadette, people sent her pitying looks because she was Bernadette's brother's best friend... or ex-best friend. Not that anyone really knew what happened last night before the accident, of course. Josée wasn't exactly sure what their relationship was at the moment; they were technically still angry at each other.

"Josée..." Claude started worriedly, "You haven't eaten a thing."

Josée massaged her temples. "This is just so unreal. I tried calling him as soon as I heard, but..." she sighed. "He ignored me."

"He's grieving, mon petit chou."

Beat.

The pet name from Claude made Josée grow very cold. "Don't call me that."

Claude backed down. "Okay, I'm sorry." He paused, then: "You need to give him time."

Clara nodded in agreement. "Claude's right. He might not try to talk to you for days." Claude smiled at her as she went on: "Give him some space."

Josée rubbed her forehead in distress. "I just don't know how to comfort him."

"Give him time, first. It's still fresh in his mind. Hell, it's fresh in your mind," Rachel advised.

BEEP.

"Hi again, it's me... It's been a few days. Everyone at school misses you. I would... I would stop by, but... you know... I want to give you space."

Today was the wake. Shortly after the ceremony, the burial would follow.

Josée had never been to a funeral home before. Like it has been said, the only experience she ever had with death was her rabbit as a very young child, and even that brought on complicated thoughts she didn't quite understand, that gave her an eerie feeling, much like now. Though the casket was currently closed, this place gave her the creeps, though it looked like such a comfortable place to be in. There were many chairs dispersed everywhere for people to sit in. White lilies were spread all around Bernadette's casket, with two large cylinder candles on each side of it. There were a few couches in the back of the room, even - that were accompanied with lamp stands.

Some people had arrived already, a few relatives from Jacques' family that gave Josée friendly but sad smiles. Everyone was dressed in black, as was tradition, with most people holding grim expressions. Josée expected that - Bernadette's death was far too sudden and far too quick to process. She died way too young at the age of twenty-one.

Bernadette was supposed to turn twenty-two this May.

Sadly, Josée thought, that day would never come.

...It wasn't fair, nor was it right, and all Josée could think about what Jacques and his family what they must be going through.

Jacques...

What Jacques must be going through, especially.

More people began to file in.

Some of them were Jacques' friends that she recognized from school, as well as her own friends. She wasn't surprised that her own friends showed up, nor was she surprised that she didn't see her boyfriend. Viktor, one of Jacques' friends, must've passed down to Rachel about the service, who in turn passed it down to Alice and Clara. Josée had gone away from her maman for a second to talk to them.

"Where are they?" Alice whispered to her huddled group of friends, referring to Jacques' immediate family. "I didn't see them at all."

Rachel frowned. "Alice, don't be rude."

"What? It's just a question."

Clara spoke up. "I saw them earlier outside, didn't you? They should be arriving soon." She turned to Josée. "Have you talked to Jacques at all lately?" Josée slowly shook her head no without even looking at her. "Are you-"

"You said so yourself," Josée hissed at her friend. "You said he wanted space, so I gave him space."

Clara faltered significantly and exhaled. "You're right, I just... I didn't think he would ignore you."

Josée shrugged, her eyes cast down at the floor. "I didn't think so either..."

"'Allo." Josée, Alice, Rachel, and Clara looked up, startled momentarily, before realizing it was just Lucas. "Have you seen him?"

"Unfortunately not," Josée replied solemnly, shaking her head. "Have you tried speaking to him?"

Lucas sighed and put his hands in his pockets, leaning against the wall nearby. "He refuses to speak to anyone, which I understand. I was hoping you could tell me anything, if he has been speaking to you?"

Guilt reigned through Josée. "Non. He wants space, and we got into a fight and... and I think we ended our partnership-"

"You what?!" Alice nearly exclaimed, earning the attention of some onlookers who looked disturbed. Rachel elbowed her disapprovingly. Alice scowled and rolled her eyes, but continued in a shrilly voice at a whisper: "Josée, are you mad?"

"It was right before both of us heard what happened," Josée tried to justify, though she felt awful. "I couldn't have known. I found out hours later! It was just terrible timing."

"No wonder he's been out of it even before the accident," Lucas remarked. Josée lifted her eyebrows, awaiting for an explanation, which Lucas was quick to give: "He had been moody... but he refused to say what it really was. I assumed that the both of you were just going through a rough patch... but no longer being partners? That's insane."

Josée glared at him, as well as the others. "Oh come on, now. Don't do this. I wasn't..." she bit her lower lip guiltily. "There was no way of knowing." she added in a whisper.

It's all your fault, Josée thought. This situation would've turned out a lot differently if they weren't having problems, if she hadn't told him about her doubts of their partnership. At least she would think Jacques would be more open to letting her help him. But was this a blessing in disguise, because well... when it came to something as big as this, she didn't know how to help him.

Josée winced as another thought entered her mind that made her even more guilty; he knew how to help her, though. Jacques always knew what to do, or at least pretended that he did. She... she could be independent and away from him, hypothetically, but it always did help with Jacques by her side - even if she didn't initially get along with him at first, ten years of partnership meant something. From the looks of it, however, it didn't seem so hypothetical - perhaps this was the reality that was setting in.

...She missed him. It had been a few days since the fight, but she couldn't remember the last time they truly got along, and how she missed that so much. How she missed him. It seemed like an eternity, but really it was a few weeks - the closest they got was civility, but that wasn't enough for her. She needed to be close with him like they used to be.

Josée knew it sounded selfish. Part of her wanted him back because he always knew how to comfort her during her lows; while she couldn't even return the favor to him right now! Jacques always fussed over her - made sure she was eating right, would calm her down whenever she got nervous, and she couldn't forget those times Jacques would hold her after she fell asleep following her tantrums. But what especially made her feel selfish about the whole ordeal was that she was thinking about this during his sister's funeral.

Speaking of which...

Jacques' immediate family had arrived. Unsurprisingly, they had gloomy expressions. At an instant, relatives rushed over to their sides to say their condolences. While Josée's friends were going up to them, she remained frozen on the spot; staring at Jacques cluelessly at his shockingly calm expression. She didn't understand how he hadn't burst into tears; or perhaps he did and was trying to remain strong. Josée's feet refused to move from her spot, watching as even her mother went over to greet them - keeping her distance, of course. Fleur was in tears, Gabrielle was in tears, hell, even Hector's eyes were shining. Josée couldn't recall a time where she saw Jacques' father cry.

Then, Josée caught Jacques watching her, but he looked away immediately - opting to stare at the floor instead. Josée's eyes remained on him.

He looked like he hadn't slept in days.

Josée took a sharp intake of the breath and felt her feet shuffling forward to the Clemont family. Firstly, she went to Jacques' mother, who looked like she was resisting the urge to burst into sobs. "Fleur," she started uneasily. She couldn't help but admire at the older woman's attempt to smile through the pain. "Toutes mes condoléances." Josée grasped Fleur's hands in her own as a way of comfort, giving her a little squeeze of reassurance, but that wasn't enough for the older woman. Fleur brought Josée into a tight hug, which Josée leaned into for several seconds - she could feel her shaking. After a few more seconds, she pulled away.

"She was... she was supposed to be a psychologist," Fleur said shakily, wiping away her tears. Normally Josée would make a comment about how her maman thought it was a phony profession, but even she knew that now was not the time for that.

"She would've been a good one," Josée offered instead, unsure of what else to say.

Fleur nodded in agreement, still smiling. "She would've."

Josée moved on to Jacques' father, who immediately gave her a hug after she muttered her condolences to him, the same went for Jacques' remaining sister Gabrielle. Then, she couldn't avoid him any longer; her eyes met his again, and her first instinct was to look away like he had moments ago. What made matters worse was that his parents and Gabrielle were ushered over by a few relatives, making it seem like Josée and Jacques were the only ones in the room, making it all-the-more awkward.

"Hi," Josée muttered at last, daring to meet his sad eyes.

Jacques cleared his throat, putting his hands in his pocket. "Allo," he replied cordially.

Some silence followed. "Toutes mes condoléances," Josée said earnestly.

"Merci," Jacques said, rubbing the back of his head uncomfortably. "For ah, coming."

For some reason, this made Josée sadder. "Bien sûr."

The wake passed with no major problems. It was the burial that was going to hit the hardest.

And it did. The moment that Bernadette's casket started to lower into the ground after everyone said their goodbyes, Gabrielle and Fleur let out a collective sob while Hector's cheeks were a little wet. Meanwhile, Josée caught Jacques standing there with his eyes staring straight ahead on the casket, slowly bringing his hand to his cheek to come to the realization that it was completely dry, however - his body was shaking just a bit if you looked close enough. Then the unexpected happened. Jacques grew paler, and without any warning, ran as far away from the site. Everyone gasped and looked over, with his family desperately trying to call him back.

"Jacques!" Gabrielle shouted after him worriedly. She turned to her family. "I should go-"

"Wait!" Everyone turned back to see who had shouted that. It was in that moment Josée realized that it was herself. She hesitated at all the eyes on her - including the glare she got from her mother - and cleared her throat, gathering her courage to say: "I'll... I'll go." She didn't wait, sprinting away from the burial to follow the direction Jacques went.

She almost didn't see him.

Josée spotted Jacques beside some railroad tracks. It had to be roughly a little less than a mile from the burial. She didn't think she would chase him so far here. The most startling part of this, however, was his position sprawled out on the grass with smoke rising above him. When Josée moved closer, she saw him with a cigarette between his index and middle finger, his eyes cold and staring straightforward at the gloomy sky.

"You're smoking," Josée observed casually after a while of unpleasant silence.

In response, Jacques brought the cigarette to his lips again, and let the smoke out slowly. A wave of emotions spread across Jacques' face too difficult and fast to read. After careful contemplation, he muttered: "She isn't coming back."

Josée knew that her dress would be ruined if she sat next to him on the grass, but she would make an exception this one time. Josée did so, smoothing out the dress and crossing her legs as she watched him smoke. "Unfortunately not." She fiddled with her fingers awkwardly. "You're smoking," she repeated. "You know that's bad for you."

"It's never too early to develop lung cancer."

Josée visibly flinched at his bitter tone. It was not at all like the Jacques she knew. "Leo and Liv do it a lot, it's a disgusting habit." Jacques turned his head to glare at Josée and she winced in response; perhaps she shouldn't insult someone while they're grieving.

"Merci, Josée. I had no idea." Jacques exhaled out some more smoke, "That was sarcasm."

"I could tell," Josée said instinctively in a cold manner. She closed her eyes in realization. She knew she was being mean; it wasn't... on purpose. She took a deep breath and tried a calmer approach. "Jacques, I think we should get back to the burial." Jacques had looked away at this point, focusing on the cigarette and the sight of the sky. However, Josée persisted: "I mean it. Everyone's concerned about you! And... and..." And? Josée was utterly clueless on what to do. "...and I miss you," she admitted softly.

That got a reaction out of him. Jacques finished the cigarette and threw it. He sat upright, hugging his knees close to his chest, still looking away from Josée. "The last thing she advised me to do was to make up with you. She never thought about herself; not once." Josée was quiet as Jacques went on, with a sharper edge to his tone. "That was before I knew about you not wanting to be my partner anymore. And now you miss me?"

"Jacques, I am so sorry-"

"Josée," Jacques cut in coldly, looking at her. "You made it clear that you didn't want to be partners with me anymore. So now you're pitying me because my sister was killed?"

Josée's eyes grew wide. "I'm not pitying you, I-"

"Yes you are," Jacques snapped. "Let me ask you this; if my sister was safe and sound at home that night we fought, would you even consider our partnership? What would've happened if she was still alive?"

Josée took a sharp intake of a breath, leveling a glare with Jacques. "That's not fair."

"It's very fair," Jacques countered. Before he could go on, the sound of a train pulling in caught his attention. Josée looked at him closely and felt her stomach swirl; something wasn't quite right with the way Jacques was staring at the train approaching slowly - it was like he was caught in a trance.

"Jacques?" Josée called out to him, however his mind was somewhere else entirely.

He got up and started to walk forward on the tracks. Josée's eyes went a little wide in alarm and got up as well. "Jacques? What are you..."

But he didn't listen. The train was speeding up a little, and in response, Jacques stepped right in front of it and let out a smile. Josée's heart began to accelerate. "Jacques! Get off the tracks!" To Josée's shock, instead of doing what she said, he laughed at the train, almost like he was inviting it to hit him. "Jacques!"

At the very last possible second, Jacques leapt out of the way before the train could crush him. Josée could barely hear the sound of his manic laughter over the train's roaring horn along with Josée's heart beating out of her chest. Once it cleared up, Jacques was on the other side of the tracks, bursting in hysterical laughter that made Josée uneasy and frightened. The first thing Josée felt was anxiousness, the second thing she felt was fear, and the third thing she felt - perhaps the strongest one of all - was undeniable fury.

"WHAT THE FUCK JACQUES?!" Josée screamed, tears forming in her eyes. She stared in disbelief as he doubled over in laughter. She clenched her fists together to desperately stop the shaking, the fear that enveloped her frame was all too terrifying and all he could do was laugh about nearly dying. "WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU DO THAT?!"

"Josée did you see that?!" Jacques asked in excitement, continuing to laugh hysterically. "I could've been killed!"

"THAT'S THE POINT YOU MORON!" Josée shouted at him furiously, hiccuping and gasping for air. "I COULD HAVE LOST YOU, YOU IDIOT!"

"You think that's how she felt?" Jacques asked, his laughter dying down. But his smile was too strong, entirely too strong; like the way they would smile for the cameras. "I'm talking about Bernadette, you know... her life flashing before her eyes? You think that in that moment, I was so close to being with her for one last time..."

Josée felt a chill go down her spine. "Jacques, you're really scaring me-"

"It's so funny, Josée! Don't you see?" Jacques exclaimed gleefully, "You shouldn't be scared! Because... because she was stupid! Just like I was stupid just now! She walked to her death! Even though maman tried to tell her not to get that job! I was making a point. I could've been just as dead as her but I got myself away from there!" He started to ramble, frightening Josée even more. "God, you know... you're so ridiculous, Josée. No one understands. No one understands! And you... I bet they just sent you over here, didn't they? To check to see that I wasn't going to jump off a bridge or something, right?"

"No, I came here by myself," Josée snapped. "Because I was worried about you!"

"No you're not worried about me at all!" Jacques shouted at her. "Like I said, you pity me!"

"I am not pitying you! I'm scared for you-"

"Do me a favor!" Jacques interrupted sharply, chuckling with bitter tears in his eyes. "I got your messages. Stop calling me. Stop messaging me. I'll get what I want, and you'll get what you want, which is for us to stop being partners, right? You don't have to pity me. You don't have to do anything."

"But..." Josée was at a loss for words. She watched helplessly as Jacques walked back, presumably to the burial. This wasn't how this was supposed to go at all. There were times when yes, Jacques was upset about things and Josée would comfort him to the best of her ability, but this was an entirely different situation. She had no idea how to help him, and he didn't want to listen. Josée couldn't help but get unusually angry. It was either because of Jacques shouting at her, almost scaring her to death when he was near death, Bernadette's death still fresh on her mind, or a combination of all three.

Josée, in a fit of rage, screamed and began to punch the ground, over and over. She was lucky she didn't fall asleep at this rate.

BEEP.

Josée opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it, and hung up. She didn't know why she bothered calling him this morning; he wanted nothing to do with her right?

It was too quiet in the Clemont's home, and Gabrielle was getting worried.

Sure, Gabrielle was very aware that people grieve differently; but the way her brother was handling it made her very uneasy and disturbed her. A day ago at the burial Jacques had run off... almost manically. Since he had come back, he hadn't left his room. Gabrielle wished that was the scary part of the way he was handling it, but no - the scarier part is that since then he has been unresponsive for the past day. His family was sure that he hadn't slept either, nor was he eating or drinking anything. Everyone was at a total loss, and although her mother said it's normal for people to go into shock - Gabrielle was still understandably frightened for his mental state.

Hours had passed, and he was still in his room.

"Jacques," Gabrielle called for the tenth time that day, staring at her younger brother nervously from the threshold. "You need to eat something." Jacques wouldn't budge. He had been in the same position the whole day, too. He stared right through Gabrielle blankly, which sent shivers down the latter's spine - he hadn't blinked once. He sat normally on his bed upright like he had been, and when his mother tried to hug him he didn't react at all. At first, Gabrielle thought he was ignoring them, but soon she found that he couldn't hear them. Slowly, Gabrielle sat beside him; he gave no indication that he knew she was there. It was likely that he didn't. "Jacques, talk to me, please."

Nothing.

"Gabrielle, que se passe-t-il?" Her mother asked as she strolled in, followed by her father looking on curiously. Once her mother realized what Gabrielle was trying to do, she sighed wearily. "Mon chou, give him time..."

"It's been a day," Gabrielle hissed, losing her patience. "We're here right now and he doesn't even know, or... I don't know what this is, but it's scaring me!" Her outburst caused others to flinch, with the exception of Jacques who continued to sit motionlessly.

Her father, who had been watching and taking mental note of his son's behavior all day, finally stepped in front of Jacques. He frowned at his son who didn't move a muscle, still staring through him like he wasn't there. The first thing he did was snap his fingers in front of his face; Jacques did not blink - his eyes refused to move. Then, Hector sighed in distress, full of regret for what he was about to do.

Hector murmured, "Je suis désolé..."

And he slapped Jacques across the face as hard as he could.

"Hector!" Jacques' mother gasped while Gabrielle's eyes were wide as saucers. However, he wasn't focused on them right now. He kept his eyes locked on his son's for a reaction he was hoping for - which was any reaction whatsoever, and unfortunately he wasn't getting one. Jacques easily bounced back from the slap, like he hadn't even been hit. Jacques' mother began to cry, rubbing his son's stinging cheek. "My poor fils..." Jacques' father never hit his children, never. It was unfortunate that in an event such as this that it had to be done. But it looked like it was for nothing; Jacques was unresponsive.

Hector let out a sigh. "Fleur... you know we have to."

"Hector, no... he's just grieving-"

"He's in a catatonic state, we don't have another choice," Hector interrupted.

Gabrielle looked back and forth between her parents. "Cata-what? What is that? And Choice? Choice for what?"

"I don't think it's a good idea," Fleur argued, ignoring her daughter. "Maybe he'll be fine by tomorrow?"

"He hasn't slept, Fleur. Look at him." Fleur winced at Jacques' state. There were eye bags under his eyes; he looked like hell. Hector continued, "He hasn't eaten either. He isn't taking care of himself."

"Choice for what?!" Gabrielle spoke loudly this time, her patience was wearing thin. "Just say it! Stop being vague."

Fleur ran her hand through her son's hair and sighed in defeat. "He may have to be hospitalized."

Beat.

"Hospitalized?" Gabrielle repeated, not understanding. "He'll go back to eating, maman. He's not starving to death or anything-"

"Not that kind of hospitalization," Her father cut in, and then pointed to Jacques' head. "That kind of hospitalization."

Her father waited for the implication to sink in, once it did, Gabrielle felt her stomach drop.

"No way," Gabrielle said immediately, shaking her head. "You're not sending him to some nuthouse!"

"It's not a nuthouse, it's a facility," her father clarified. "And it would only be for a few days-"

"No!" Gabrielle snapped at her parents. "You both have experience in the medical field! We can take care of him... we can-"

"This is beyond our expertise," Hector articulated carefully, "You think I want to do this? I'm not going to lose my son too." That being said, Hector stormed out of Jacques' room.

Fleur closed her eyes in distress and sighed, giving her son a kiss on his forehead. "I'll talk to your papa. But it looks like it will be hard to sway this; you know how stubborn he gets." Gabrielle nodded reluctantly and watched as her mother exited, leaving her alone with her brother.

Gabrielle leaned her forehead on Jacques' shoulder, soaking it with her tears. "Please come back, Jacques," she pleaded into his shoulder. "There has to be something..." After a minute of silent crying, Gabrielle lifted her head from Jacques' shoulder and proceeded to leave. Just as she was in the threshold, she swore she heard it, as low as a whisper.

"J-Josée..."

Gabrielle whipped her body back around to face him and held back a gasp. "Jacques?" She stared at him, who seemed to revert back to his state. At that moment, a lightbulb went off in her head, and she cursed herself for not thinking of this sooner. She ran out of his room and into the living room, where their parents were still arguing on what to do regarding Jacques' mental health. "Don't call anyone yet!" she shouted at them. Fleur and Hector merely stared at her. "There's one more thing we haven't tried."

"Gabrielle-"

Gabrielle didn't wait for an objection. She bolted out of the house.

There was a knock at the Boyet residence.

"Answer the door, Josée," her mother ordered.

Josée nodded obediently and did so, frowning thoughtfully in wonder on who could this possibly be late in the evening. She opened the door to reveal not Jacques, but his older sister that wasn't Bernadette. Gabrielle, for that was who it was, stood there with an anxious expression and her eyes darting around frantically until she realized Josée was there. The blonde let out a shuddering sigh and ran a distressed hand through her hair.

Call it intuition, but Josée knew immediately that something was wrong. "Gabrielle–"

"Jacques needs you," Gabrielle interrupted at once, biting her thumb not unlike her brother whenever he was nervous. Josée's eyes widened ever so slightly and Gabrielle went on, rambling a bit. "Something's... something's wrong and no one knows what to do."

"Gabrielle..."

"He just stares straightforward, it's not like him, and he won't respond to anyone."

Now Josée's eyes grew noticeably larger as Gabrielle grew more frantic. "Wh-what? I don't understand, what do you-"

"Who's at the door, Josée?" Her mother interrupted.

"Gabrielle." Josée ignored her mother's groan, looking back worriedly that she would get yelled at before turning back. "Jacques and I aren't exactly on speaking terms..."

"The hell you aren't!" Gabrielle snapped, losing the little self control she had. "I don't know what is going on between you two, but we're at a total loss on how to help him. He hasn't eaten, he's not sleeping right, hasn't spoken a single word to us all day! Something is wrong and you've always been able to lift his spirits."

Josée massaged her temples. "I tried to talk to him last time," she said softly, defeated. "But he wouldn't listen! He's been acting so strange, and we got into a fight! So I really don't see how I'll be able to help you." Josee wanted to stand her ground, to have pride, that she wasn't the one to blame for all this. She tried to slam the door shut for good measure, but Gabrielle was quick on her feet and stepped between the door and the threshold, preventing Josée from closing it.

"He said your name!" Gabrielle shrieked, her eyes flaring madly. Josee stood there in quite a shock; though Gabrielle was one for losing her temper every now and then, this was different; this was out of concern for another human being.

Josée's mother finally stood up, glaring at the girl. "Josée, will you tell Gabrielle that it's time to leave-"

"Oh shut up you old bag!" Gabrielle retorted threateningly. Josée's mother looked about ready to kill then and there, and her daughter looked like she was going to pass out from total fear and anticipation of what the next event could occur, coupled with the revelation Gabrielle had uttered moments before. But to Josée's surprise, her mother backed down; it was probably because she knew that their family was still grieving, so she didn't want to look like a total monster - although it was worth noting that if her reputation was not at stake, her mother probably would've thrown something at her.

Gabrielle checked herself, sighing frustratedly as she continued, this time in an undertone: "It was more like a whisper... I swear, I heard it... it was definitely your name-"

Josée blinked confusedly. "I thought you said he hadn't spoken a word."

"Well, yes... except for that part," Gabrielle explained, rolling her eyes. "Honestly, you think I understand? Because I don't. None of us do. You do, though. And he said your name, so that has to mean something. Can you just please come over and see if we get a response from him?"

Josée didn't have to think about it. Of course she was going to come over, it would be cruel if she didn't, and-

"No," stated Josée's mother coldly. "She can't. I will not let you drag her out of the house without a fight."

"I have no problem putting my foot up your ass... now is not the time," Gabrielle hissed through gritted teeth. Josée looked at her mother with fright in her eyes at what her next move could be. Gabrielle turned to Josée, with plead in her eyes. "S'il te plaît, Josée..." The ice dancer turned to her mother, who rolled her eyes with a wave of her hand.

Josée turned back to Gabrielle and nodded a little. "Take me to him."

The moment she saw him, when she really looked at him, Josée knew then and there why she was nervous to come over in the first place. It wasn't just because she didn't know how he was going to look - which was absolutely terrifying, by the way - or a potential fight that would've drove them further apart. It was one main thing, which Josée once again couldn't help but think about how selfish she was - as she came to one shattering realization.

This determined whether or not she was going to take him back.

...Of course she was, god, of course she was. She was undeniably foolish to think that she could just drop him so easily; because part of Josée - a part of her she wasn't fully aware of - couldn't see herself without him, because he was her partner-in-crime, her childhood best friend, her... this wasn't just some ice dancing partner that was strictly professional with her - no matter how much her maman wanted it to be just that - this was Jacques.

But the scariest part, the one she wasn't ready to face, was whether or not Jacques would take her back.

Gabrielle put her hand on Josée's shoulder. "I'll leave both of you alone."

Josée really wished that she hadn't. When Gabrielle left, Josée kept her eyes focused on Jacques, and felt a chill go through her spine - it was like he was looking through her. Slowly, she approached him and called out to him softly, "Jacques? It's... it's me." He didn't respond to her right away; and that scared her - hell, she would welcome even a cold greeting to her rather than nothing. She sat on the bed, sitting on her feet so her knees were touching the bed, that way she was closer to his height.

Hesitantly, Josée put her hand in Jacques' hair and ran through it lightly, like he would always do for her. "I'm here now, and I'm sorry." The vacant expression from Jacques made her bite her lip; she had never been in this situation. She retreated her hand briefly and heard a whimper from him, shocking her, before she returned her hand to his scalp and continued the petting motion, "It's alright... okay, it's not alright now, but... it will be." She used her other free hand to touch his own, squeezing it lightly. "I'll be here for you always, Jacjac... please believe me." She couldn't control her tears now, and began to sniffle and rest her forehead on his shoulder and cried into it.

Squeeze.

Josée could barely hold back the gasp when she felt her hand gently constricted. "Jacques?" she asked desperately, staring at him waiting for another reaction.

Jacques blinked rapidly out of his trance and exhaled. He turned to Josée with a pleading look in his eyes. At that very moment, Josée knew exactly what to do. She knew exactly how to comfort him. She started to stand on her knees so she was taller so she could rest her chin on top of his head, letting her tears soak into his hair as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "Je suis là pour toi, Jacjac..." she muttered into his hair, repeating it over and over. When she removed her chin to get a good look at him, she saw there were tears brimming from his eyes - and that one tear managed to slide down his cheek. Josée returned her chin to the top of his head and rubbed his arm with one hand comfortingly. She felt relief when Jacques' thumb brushed against her hand as a way to get her tears under control as well, and leaned into her touch.

"...Merci, Josée," Jacques finally spoke, his voice hoarse.

Josée let out a shuddering breath, it was like a weight had been lifted. "We're going to be okay," she reassured him softly. "You're going to be okay, oui?"

Jacques nodded once, letting another tear escape from his eye. "...Oui."