Broken Home - Jericho
Title: Broken Home
Author: meimei42
Rated: PG to PG-13
Author's Note: Missing scene from Oversight. Stanley finding Bonnie and Mimi.
Word Count: 985
Spoilers: through 2.4 Oversight
Author's note: Betaed by starxed_sparrow who doesn't watch Jericho (yet) but was nice enough to beta this on short notice. You rock girl. This is just a sad little piece I couldn't resist writing.
From his toes to his fingertips and everywhere in between, Stanley Richmond was numb. He was completely paralyzed with fear and terror. His heart pounded in his chest, making it difficult to hear anything over his own labored breathing-not that there was anything to hear. The house was silent and broken.
Bonnie’s body was on the floor of the living room, her eyes open and glazed over. A shot gun lay a few feet away from her limp form. Her pink shirt was stained a deep rust red that was already drying on the fabric. Her face was devoid of any emotion, and that was the strangest part for Stanley. Bonnie could say a thousand words with just one look. She communicated with her facial expressions and emotions. To have her stare so blankly, her face so colorless, it felt like someone had reached inside of his chest and tore his heart out.
He couldn’t move, he couldn’t think, he could speak. His home was broken and his sister was dead.
Slowly, Stanley dragged his gaze away from Bonnie. His body was in shock. He couldn’t do anything more than allow his eyes to search the house, looking for an answer to how this could have happened. His investigation was cut short when he spotted a puddle of blood seeping from under the pantry door. Without conscious effort, his legs were moving, mechanically carrying him toward the door. He reached for the doorknob, yanking it open only to stop short. Mimi was face down on the floor, boxes of food and blood surrounding her.
Stanley felt like he’d just been punched in the gut as he dropped to his knees on the floor beside her. This was too much. He couldn’t understand or comprehend why or how was happening. It was surreal, like something out a bad nightmare. How could this be happening to his family?
A sob threatened to choke him as his hand shakily reached out, touching Mimi’s soft dark hair. "Oh God," he breathed, feeling the emotional rush of the words, as though speaking out loud had caused the flood gates to finally open. God, he couldn’t even breathe; it was like something was sitting on his chest, crushing everything inside of him. "Jesus, Mimi, oh God," he whispered, pulling her closer to him to cradle her limp form. As he turned her, a soft groan escaped her lips making every hair on Stanley’s body stand end.
"Mimi?" he cried out, pushing her hair out of her face. He reached and held his hand near her mouth and nose until he felt her shallow breath tickle his palm. It was unsteady and hard to feel, but it was there. Stanley’s heart began to pound even harder as he pulled Mimi up into his arms, lifting and carrying her into the living room before laying her on the couch. He didn’t know much about first aid, but he knew enough to get some towels to try and stop the bleeding. He moved to the bathroom, pulled every towel he could find from the cabinet before moving back to Mimi’s side, packing her wound as best he could.
"Mimi, can you hear me?" he asked, voice shaking as he caressed her pale face. After no response he pushed away from the couch, stumbling towards the telephone to dial 911. The conversation went in a blur, but he managed to get out his address and state his need for an ambulance because someone had been shot. He didn’t even bother to hang up before he was shoving furniture aside to reach Bonnie.
He pulled his baby sister into his arms, feeling the side of her neck in some crazed false hope that maybe he’d seen her chest rise and fall for a moment, maybe she had just lost a lot of blood, maybe there was still time to save her. But there wasn’t even a flutter beneath his fingertips. He held it there for a full minute, waiting for even the faintest hope. But there was nothing. Bonnie was gone.
Holding her tightly in his arms Stanley knew he needed to get up. Knew he needed to check on Mimi and do whatever he could to save her, but he couldn’t let go of his sister. Couldn’t force himself away from her. He saw her standing beside him while they buried their parents. That confused and scared little girl who had lost everything but who'd looked up at him, believing he could fix it. Only this time he couldn’t fix everything. The fights they had, the heartache, the happiness. They all flooded him like a tsunami and he could barely keep his head above water. He couldn’t let go of her now.
Footsteps clattered up the porch, crunching over glass as the paramedics entered through the busted front door grabbed Stanley’s attention enough to lift his head and momentarily pull his gaze away from his sister. The stunned look on the paramedics’ faces was a reaction he wasn’t ready to deal with. Seeing what they were seeing written all over their faces made this, what was happening, real. There was no more faint, no more lingering prayers that maybe this was some cosmic mistake. Bonnie’s fate was sealed with those astonished looks.
After that, Stanley just couldn’t hold back the emotion that was running him over. He couldn’t feel his cheeks getting wet or hear how loud and laborious he was breathing. He could only feel the crushing realization of what was happening suffocating his entire body.
The house began to fill with people, and once more Stanley lifted his head, this time to see Jake standing in front of him, mirroring the horror he had witnessed what seemed like a lifetime ago. Stanley slowly shook his head. This wasn’t right; it wasn’t supposed to be Bonnie. It was never supposed to be Bonnie.
Author: meimei42
Rated: PG to PG-13
Author's Note: Missing scene from Oversight. Stanley finding Bonnie and Mimi.
Word Count: 985
Spoilers: through 2.4 Oversight
Author's note: Betaed by starxed_sparrow who doesn't watch Jericho (yet) but was nice enough to beta this on short notice. You rock girl. This is just a sad little piece I couldn't resist writing.
From his toes to his fingertips and everywhere in between, Stanley Richmond was numb. He was completely paralyzed with fear and terror. His heart pounded in his chest, making it difficult to hear anything over his own labored breathing-not that there was anything to hear. The house was silent and broken.
Bonnie’s body was on the floor of the living room, her eyes open and glazed over. A shot gun lay a few feet away from her limp form. Her pink shirt was stained a deep rust red that was already drying on the fabric. Her face was devoid of any emotion, and that was the strangest part for Stanley. Bonnie could say a thousand words with just one look. She communicated with her facial expressions and emotions. To have her stare so blankly, her face so colorless, it felt like someone had reached inside of his chest and tore his heart out.
He couldn’t move, he couldn’t think, he could speak. His home was broken and his sister was dead.
Slowly, Stanley dragged his gaze away from Bonnie. His body was in shock. He couldn’t do anything more than allow his eyes to search the house, looking for an answer to how this could have happened. His investigation was cut short when he spotted a puddle of blood seeping from under the pantry door. Without conscious effort, his legs were moving, mechanically carrying him toward the door. He reached for the doorknob, yanking it open only to stop short. Mimi was face down on the floor, boxes of food and blood surrounding her.
Stanley felt like he’d just been punched in the gut as he dropped to his knees on the floor beside her. This was too much. He couldn’t understand or comprehend why or how was happening. It was surreal, like something out a bad nightmare. How could this be happening to his family?
A sob threatened to choke him as his hand shakily reached out, touching Mimi’s soft dark hair. "Oh God," he breathed, feeling the emotional rush of the words, as though speaking out loud had caused the flood gates to finally open. God, he couldn’t even breathe; it was like something was sitting on his chest, crushing everything inside of him. "Jesus, Mimi, oh God," he whispered, pulling her closer to him to cradle her limp form. As he turned her, a soft groan escaped her lips making every hair on Stanley’s body stand end.
"Mimi?" he cried out, pushing her hair out of her face. He reached and held his hand near her mouth and nose until he felt her shallow breath tickle his palm. It was unsteady and hard to feel, but it was there. Stanley’s heart began to pound even harder as he pulled Mimi up into his arms, lifting and carrying her into the living room before laying her on the couch. He didn’t know much about first aid, but he knew enough to get some towels to try and stop the bleeding. He moved to the bathroom, pulled every towel he could find from the cabinet before moving back to Mimi’s side, packing her wound as best he could.
"Mimi, can you hear me?" he asked, voice shaking as he caressed her pale face. After no response he pushed away from the couch, stumbling towards the telephone to dial 911. The conversation went in a blur, but he managed to get out his address and state his need for an ambulance because someone had been shot. He didn’t even bother to hang up before he was shoving furniture aside to reach Bonnie.
He pulled his baby sister into his arms, feeling the side of her neck in some crazed false hope that maybe he’d seen her chest rise and fall for a moment, maybe she had just lost a lot of blood, maybe there was still time to save her. But there wasn’t even a flutter beneath his fingertips. He held it there for a full minute, waiting for even the faintest hope. But there was nothing. Bonnie was gone.
Holding her tightly in his arms Stanley knew he needed to get up. Knew he needed to check on Mimi and do whatever he could to save her, but he couldn’t let go of his sister. Couldn’t force himself away from her. He saw her standing beside him while they buried their parents. That confused and scared little girl who had lost everything but who'd looked up at him, believing he could fix it. Only this time he couldn’t fix everything. The fights they had, the heartache, the happiness. They all flooded him like a tsunami and he could barely keep his head above water. He couldn’t let go of her now.
Footsteps clattered up the porch, crunching over glass as the paramedics entered through the busted front door grabbed Stanley’s attention enough to lift his head and momentarily pull his gaze away from his sister. The stunned look on the paramedics’ faces was a reaction he wasn’t ready to deal with. Seeing what they were seeing written all over their faces made this, what was happening, real. There was no more faint, no more lingering prayers that maybe this was some cosmic mistake. Bonnie’s fate was sealed with those astonished looks.
After that, Stanley just couldn’t hold back the emotion that was running him over. He couldn’t feel his cheeks getting wet or hear how loud and laborious he was breathing. He could only feel the crushing realization of what was happening suffocating his entire body.
The house began to fill with people, and once more Stanley lifted his head, this time to see Jake standing in front of him, mirroring the horror he had witnessed what seemed like a lifetime ago. Stanley slowly shook his head. This wasn’t right; it wasn’t supposed to be Bonnie. It was never supposed to be Bonnie.