Four Brothers
Title: Gone 10/?
Author: veiledndarkness
Pairing: Future Bobby/Jack
Rating: R for violence, swearing
Disclaimer: Characters not mine, no harm intended.
Summary: AU. Jack's been taken, a pawn of Victor Sweet's game.
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Jack slept on and off for the better part of the day, his fingers firmly entwined with Bobby's. The doctor stopped by and checked him over late in the afternoon. To Bobby's immense relief, Jack was healing up nicely.
"He's going to need a lot of bed rest, Mr. Mercer," the doctor told him in his monotone voice. "These are the prescriptions he'll need," he added, handing Bobby several slips of paper, the doctor's handwriting scrawled across them.
"Thanks," Bobby grunted. He pocketed the slips carefully and tucked them deep inside his jeans pocket. "When can I break him outta here?"
The doctor, whose name Bobby hadn't bothered to learn, looked over at Jack. "I'd say we can release him tomorrow morning at this rate," he said. "His bullet wound is healing, though I must stress to you, he needs to go slowly. No strenuous activities for at least two weeks."
Bobby felt some dull heat in his face at the doctor's words. "What the fuck are you implying there?" he snapped.
The doctor blinked rapidly. "Nothing, Mr. Mercer," he said. "Jack should avoid doing any heavy lifting or any activities that will diminish the recovery he's made so far. His body needs to rest and relax, that's all."
Bobby nodded, feeling terribly foolish. "Uh...right," he mumbled.
Jack opened his eyes, his fingers tightening around Bobby's. "Wanna go home..." he breathed.
Bobby moved closer to him, his embarrassment forgotten as he brushed Jack's messy hair back from his forehead. "Shh, you are goin'," he said. "Tomorrow, right?" he said, glancing back at the doctor, who promptly nodded. “See, he said so.”
Jack’s lips twitched slowly, his reactions somewhat sluggish from the meds. “Good,” he said, gripping Bobby’s hand tighter.
The doctor crossed the room to Jack’s bed. “How’re you feeling?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” Jack replied, his eyes half open. He yawned and rested his hand on his chest, each exhale making his chest ache. “All things considered.”
He smiled when he heard Bobby snort beside him. “Oh yeah, jus’ fine,” Bobby muttered.
“I’ll be fine,” Jack said, squeezing Bobby’s fingers to hush him. Bobby gave him a dirty look but kept his mouth shut all the same. The doctor spoke with Jack, a general sense of unease in him whenever he locked gazes with Bobby. He left the room not long after, a sigh of relief passing his lips as he left.
“Bobby…” Jack said, his voice dragging tiredly.
Bobby brushed his thumb over Jack’s knuckles. “M’not sorry,” he said, shrugging.
Jack rolled his eyes. “Uh huh,” he said. “Stop scarin’ them all away. I’m not made of glass, y’know.”
“I’m not scarin’ them,” Bobby protested. Jack huffed out a laugh, wincing at the pain that followed.
“Doris is the only nurse who isn’t scared of you,” he said.
Bobby pulled a face. “There’s one that freaks me out,” he said. “The fruity one, he’s not scared.”
“Would you listen to yourself?” Jack chided him. “The fruity one…” He shook his head.
“I could call him fairy, but you got dibs on that name,” Bobby said.
“I hate that nickname,” Jack grumbled under his breath. “Can’t you call me something else?”
“Jackie Boy,” Bobby said as he leaned back in his chair, his fingers itching for a cigarette.
Jack sighed, though he was smiling. “Fine, that’ll do,” he said. “I oughta make one up for you.”
Bobby smirked at him. “Do it and I’ll make you pay for it,” he said.
Jack grinned and relaxed against his pillow. “You gonna tell me all the details of how you got to me?” he asked, struggling to see the lighter side of all that had happened to him.
“A battle recap, huh?” Bobby said, eyeing him. “Maybe that should wait till you’re home.”
“My warrior…Tell me the heroic details?” Jack muttered dryly.
Bobby chuckled and leaned his head back. “We looked around for people who knew Sweet, tried getting help from that fat fuck councilman, only his ass was blown out by Sweet not long after me an’ you paid him a lil’ visit,” he said, keeping his voice low.
“Victor said something about you k-killing one of his guys,” Jack said, his face pale.
Bobby smiled coldly. “Mhm, we had ourselves some fun that day,” he said.
Jack winced and nodded, looking down at his rosary. He swallowed dryly, the unasked question hanging in the air between them. Bobby sighed and tilted his head.
“We had to, Jack. He knew info, we needed it and he sure as fuck wouldn’t have told us otherwise,” he said. “You don’t get it, I know. I thought you woulda understood this by now.”
“The gas thing…” Jack mumbled guiltily. Bobby clenched his teeth for a moment.
“Sometimes…Sometimes, stuff like that is the only thing that’s gonna get through to guys like Sweet,” he said. “His men, they weren’t gonna tell me shit. What was I s’posed to do, huh? Let them have you? God only fuckin’ knows what Sweet woulda done t’ you!”
Jack flinched and looked away from Bobby, a blush standing out on his pale face. Bobby cracked the knuckles on one hand idly. “Yeah…that’s what I thought,” he said. “Did he touch you?”
Jack closed his eyes, tears stinging under his eyelids. “No…”
“Who tried t’ carve you?” Bobby asked. Jack opened his eyes slowly, tears shining.
“He…he’s Victor’s nephew,” he whispered. “I…He took care of me sometimes…”
“I see, real good care,” Bobby frowned. Jack traced one of the shallow cuts near his collarbone, a tear running down his cheek.
“He didn’t hurt me, not really,” Jack said. “I think…he seemed kinda childlike…”
Bobby nodded, understanding. “Basically, we went back and forth, tryin’ to find you until Jerry called one of his guys. We set up a phony deal, lured Sweet’s slimy ass out and gave most of the money to his men. They sided with us an’ well…you were there for the rest,” he said.
Jack fiddled with his blankets, his chest hitching in memory. Bobby rested one of his hands over Jack’s. “We don’t gotta talk about all this if you don’t wanna,” he said.
Jack bit his lip, shrugging. He hissed at the sting of pain that followed in his shoulder from the movement. “We don’t hafta talk about what you’re avoidin’ talkin’ about,” he said.
Bobby shifted in his chair uncomfortably. “Uh…Y’mean….before, right?”
Jack nodded. “The night you left,” he said. Bobby wiped a hand over his mouth, a gesture of his nervousness.
“Right,” he echoed. Jack glanced at him. “Bobby…” he started to say.
“I promised myself I would if you woke up,” Bobby mumbled. He looked down at the floor, his palms sweating. “You…What do you remember?”
Jack touched the rosary around his neck again. “Everything,” he said softly, licking his dry lips. “What’re you so afraid of, huh? It’s just me…Just Jack.”
Bobby closed his eyes briefly. “Just Jack…You’re more than just Jackie, to me,” he said. “You always were.”
“You ran out on me,” Jack said, a moment of silence stretching between them.
“I know…” Bobby said, shame flooding him. “I had to, Jack, you know that.”
“Do I?” Jack murmured. “I finally told you somethin’…and you ran, what the fuck was I supposed to think from that?”
Bobby looked at him, his eyes dark and miserable. “I…”
“You lied to me,” Jack said, his voice straining. “Don’t you shake your head at me,” he added when Bobby began to do so. “Yeah, you did, I know you, I know when you’re lyin’, and I saw it in your eyes that night.”
“Jack…You don’t…I had to,” Bobby said, his mouth dry, his voice fading.
“What did I ask you, Bobby?” Jack demanded then, his eyes bright with tears.
Bobby made a sound in his throat. “Jack…”
Jack let go of Bobby’s hand, his stomach coiled uneasily from the tension. “What did I ask you?” he repeated.
“You asked me if I loved you the way you loved m-me,” Bobby said, his voice catching.
Jack gripped the blankets with one hand, another tear spilling down his cheek. “And you said no, you looked me in the face an’ lied,” he said, his voice dulled. “Then you ran, like some fuckin’ coward, you ran away. Left me…You swore that you’d stop doin’ that!”
Bobby stood up fast, the chair scraping loudly over the tiled floor. “Stop!” he said. “Jus’…stop, Jack!”
“No!” Jack shouted, his heart monitor beeping wildly next to him. “Goddamn you, Bobby! You lied! You’ve lied to me for years!”
“It’s not like that!” Bobby said sharply, his fists loosely clenched at his sides.
“It is! Why are you so scared to love me?!” Jack demanded. “Why’d you even bother comin’ for me if this is all you’re ever gonna give me?”
“I can’t give you what you want, Jackie,” Bobby said, tears in his own eyes. “I can’t, I’ll never be able to!”
"Then why? Why go through all this shit for nothing?!" Jack said, his chest paining him. He gripped the bedrail, his eyes wet and furious. "Get out! Get the fuck out of here! Run, Bobby, you goddamn coward!"
"No!" Bobby yelled. He ran a hand through his mussed hair, blinking back the tears that threatened to spill. "No, I'm not doin' that again. And lie back before you pass the fuck out!"
Jack pushed himself up to a sitting position, his arms shaking badly. "I mean it, Bobby, I'm so sick of this shit," he said, a tear streaking down his cheek. "Tell me the truth, just once, tell me..."
Bobby made a sound in his throat. He paced in agitation, unable to look at Jack right then. "I...You know I love you," he muttered. "I love you all; you guys are all I got."
"Look at me when you say that," Jack said, one hand clutching his rosary around his neck.
Bobby lifted his head, the look on Jack's face cutting through his defenses. "Why...Why can't this be enough?" he asked. "I...I love you all, my family."
"It'll never be enough," Jack said, his throat aching. "I'm not askin' for you to be someone else. You're all I ever wanted, Bobby. And you...you lie and run from me. What's so bad about me? Why can't you let yourself love me the way you want to?"
"It's not...I can't...It's not right," Bobby said miserably.
"Who gives a shit?!" Jack shouted, his hand clutching at the necklace tightly. He ripped it off his neck and flung it at Bobby. "Get out; get the fuck out, now! I can't deal with your shit right now, you fucking lyin' hypocrite!" he all but screamed, shaking hard in his bed.
Bobby stared at him, his mouth working soundlessly. Jack had never been prone to anger fits the way he himself had. Jack in a rage was something to see. He clutched the necklace in his fist, a tear spilling down his cheek. "Jack..."
"Get out," Jack said, covering his face, his words muffled behind his hands.
Bobby took a step forward, his hand resting on Jack's leg. "Jackie..."
"Don't...Just go...Just leave me alone right now," Jack whispered, tears running down his cheeks. He turned his head, unwilling to cry in front of Bobby right then.
Bobby turned away. "I'm comin' back," he said, his voice uneven. "You...You need to rest..."
Jack ignored him as he left the room. He cradled his head in his arms, weeping silently.
xx
Author: veiledndarkness
Pairing: Future Bobby/Jack
Rating: R for violence, swearing
Disclaimer: Characters not mine, no harm intended.
Summary: AU. Jack's been taken, a pawn of Victor Sweet's game.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
xx
Jack slept on and off for the better part of the day, his fingers firmly entwined with Bobby's. The doctor stopped by and checked him over late in the afternoon. To Bobby's immense relief, Jack was healing up nicely.
"He's going to need a lot of bed rest, Mr. Mercer," the doctor told him in his monotone voice. "These are the prescriptions he'll need," he added, handing Bobby several slips of paper, the doctor's handwriting scrawled across them.
"Thanks," Bobby grunted. He pocketed the slips carefully and tucked them deep inside his jeans pocket. "When can I break him outta here?"
The doctor, whose name Bobby hadn't bothered to learn, looked over at Jack. "I'd say we can release him tomorrow morning at this rate," he said. "His bullet wound is healing, though I must stress to you, he needs to go slowly. No strenuous activities for at least two weeks."
Bobby felt some dull heat in his face at the doctor's words. "What the fuck are you implying there?" he snapped.
The doctor blinked rapidly. "Nothing, Mr. Mercer," he said. "Jack should avoid doing any heavy lifting or any activities that will diminish the recovery he's made so far. His body needs to rest and relax, that's all."
Bobby nodded, feeling terribly foolish. "Uh...right," he mumbled.
Jack opened his eyes, his fingers tightening around Bobby's. "Wanna go home..." he breathed.
Bobby moved closer to him, his embarrassment forgotten as he brushed Jack's messy hair back from his forehead. "Shh, you are goin'," he said. "Tomorrow, right?" he said, glancing back at the doctor, who promptly nodded. “See, he said so.”
Jack’s lips twitched slowly, his reactions somewhat sluggish from the meds. “Good,” he said, gripping Bobby’s hand tighter.
The doctor crossed the room to Jack’s bed. “How’re you feeling?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” Jack replied, his eyes half open. He yawned and rested his hand on his chest, each exhale making his chest ache. “All things considered.”
He smiled when he heard Bobby snort beside him. “Oh yeah, jus’ fine,” Bobby muttered.
“I’ll be fine,” Jack said, squeezing Bobby’s fingers to hush him. Bobby gave him a dirty look but kept his mouth shut all the same. The doctor spoke with Jack, a general sense of unease in him whenever he locked gazes with Bobby. He left the room not long after, a sigh of relief passing his lips as he left.
“Bobby…” Jack said, his voice dragging tiredly.
Bobby brushed his thumb over Jack’s knuckles. “M’not sorry,” he said, shrugging.
Jack rolled his eyes. “Uh huh,” he said. “Stop scarin’ them all away. I’m not made of glass, y’know.”
“I’m not scarin’ them,” Bobby protested. Jack huffed out a laugh, wincing at the pain that followed.
“Doris is the only nurse who isn’t scared of you,” he said.
Bobby pulled a face. “There’s one that freaks me out,” he said. “The fruity one, he’s not scared.”
“Would you listen to yourself?” Jack chided him. “The fruity one…” He shook his head.
“I could call him fairy, but you got dibs on that name,” Bobby said.
“I hate that nickname,” Jack grumbled under his breath. “Can’t you call me something else?”
“Jackie Boy,” Bobby said as he leaned back in his chair, his fingers itching for a cigarette.
Jack sighed, though he was smiling. “Fine, that’ll do,” he said. “I oughta make one up for you.”
Bobby smirked at him. “Do it and I’ll make you pay for it,” he said.
Jack grinned and relaxed against his pillow. “You gonna tell me all the details of how you got to me?” he asked, struggling to see the lighter side of all that had happened to him.
“A battle recap, huh?” Bobby said, eyeing him. “Maybe that should wait till you’re home.”
“My warrior…Tell me the heroic details?” Jack muttered dryly.
Bobby chuckled and leaned his head back. “We looked around for people who knew Sweet, tried getting help from that fat fuck councilman, only his ass was blown out by Sweet not long after me an’ you paid him a lil’ visit,” he said, keeping his voice low.
“Victor said something about you k-killing one of his guys,” Jack said, his face pale.
Bobby smiled coldly. “Mhm, we had ourselves some fun that day,” he said.
Jack winced and nodded, looking down at his rosary. He swallowed dryly, the unasked question hanging in the air between them. Bobby sighed and tilted his head.
“We had to, Jack. He knew info, we needed it and he sure as fuck wouldn’t have told us otherwise,” he said. “You don’t get it, I know. I thought you woulda understood this by now.”
“The gas thing…” Jack mumbled guiltily. Bobby clenched his teeth for a moment.
“Sometimes…Sometimes, stuff like that is the only thing that’s gonna get through to guys like Sweet,” he said. “His men, they weren’t gonna tell me shit. What was I s’posed to do, huh? Let them have you? God only fuckin’ knows what Sweet woulda done t’ you!”
Jack flinched and looked away from Bobby, a blush standing out on his pale face. Bobby cracked the knuckles on one hand idly. “Yeah…that’s what I thought,” he said. “Did he touch you?”
Jack closed his eyes, tears stinging under his eyelids. “No…”
“Who tried t’ carve you?” Bobby asked. Jack opened his eyes slowly, tears shining.
“He…he’s Victor’s nephew,” he whispered. “I…He took care of me sometimes…”
“I see, real good care,” Bobby frowned. Jack traced one of the shallow cuts near his collarbone, a tear running down his cheek.
“He didn’t hurt me, not really,” Jack said. “I think…he seemed kinda childlike…”
Bobby nodded, understanding. “Basically, we went back and forth, tryin’ to find you until Jerry called one of his guys. We set up a phony deal, lured Sweet’s slimy ass out and gave most of the money to his men. They sided with us an’ well…you were there for the rest,” he said.
Jack fiddled with his blankets, his chest hitching in memory. Bobby rested one of his hands over Jack’s. “We don’t gotta talk about all this if you don’t wanna,” he said.
Jack bit his lip, shrugging. He hissed at the sting of pain that followed in his shoulder from the movement. “We don’t hafta talk about what you’re avoidin’ talkin’ about,” he said.
Bobby shifted in his chair uncomfortably. “Uh…Y’mean….before, right?”
Jack nodded. “The night you left,” he said. Bobby wiped a hand over his mouth, a gesture of his nervousness.
“Right,” he echoed. Jack glanced at him. “Bobby…” he started to say.
“I promised myself I would if you woke up,” Bobby mumbled. He looked down at the floor, his palms sweating. “You…What do you remember?”
Jack touched the rosary around his neck again. “Everything,” he said softly, licking his dry lips. “What’re you so afraid of, huh? It’s just me…Just Jack.”
Bobby closed his eyes briefly. “Just Jack…You’re more than just Jackie, to me,” he said. “You always were.”
“You ran out on me,” Jack said, a moment of silence stretching between them.
“I know…” Bobby said, shame flooding him. “I had to, Jack, you know that.”
“Do I?” Jack murmured. “I finally told you somethin’…and you ran, what the fuck was I supposed to think from that?”
Bobby looked at him, his eyes dark and miserable. “I…”
“You lied to me,” Jack said, his voice straining. “Don’t you shake your head at me,” he added when Bobby began to do so. “Yeah, you did, I know you, I know when you’re lyin’, and I saw it in your eyes that night.”
“Jack…You don’t…I had to,” Bobby said, his mouth dry, his voice fading.
“What did I ask you, Bobby?” Jack demanded then, his eyes bright with tears.
Bobby made a sound in his throat. “Jack…”
Jack let go of Bobby’s hand, his stomach coiled uneasily from the tension. “What did I ask you?” he repeated.
“You asked me if I loved you the way you loved m-me,” Bobby said, his voice catching.
Jack gripped the blankets with one hand, another tear spilling down his cheek. “And you said no, you looked me in the face an’ lied,” he said, his voice dulled. “Then you ran, like some fuckin’ coward, you ran away. Left me…You swore that you’d stop doin’ that!”
Bobby stood up fast, the chair scraping loudly over the tiled floor. “Stop!” he said. “Jus’…stop, Jack!”
“No!” Jack shouted, his heart monitor beeping wildly next to him. “Goddamn you, Bobby! You lied! You’ve lied to me for years!”
“It’s not like that!” Bobby said sharply, his fists loosely clenched at his sides.
“It is! Why are you so scared to love me?!” Jack demanded. “Why’d you even bother comin’ for me if this is all you’re ever gonna give me?”
“I can’t give you what you want, Jackie,” Bobby said, tears in his own eyes. “I can’t, I’ll never be able to!”
"Then why? Why go through all this shit for nothing?!" Jack said, his chest paining him. He gripped the bedrail, his eyes wet and furious. "Get out! Get the fuck out of here! Run, Bobby, you goddamn coward!"
"No!" Bobby yelled. He ran a hand through his mussed hair, blinking back the tears that threatened to spill. "No, I'm not doin' that again. And lie back before you pass the fuck out!"
Jack pushed himself up to a sitting position, his arms shaking badly. "I mean it, Bobby, I'm so sick of this shit," he said, a tear streaking down his cheek. "Tell me the truth, just once, tell me..."
Bobby made a sound in his throat. He paced in agitation, unable to look at Jack right then. "I...You know I love you," he muttered. "I love you all; you guys are all I got."
"Look at me when you say that," Jack said, one hand clutching his rosary around his neck.
Bobby lifted his head, the look on Jack's face cutting through his defenses. "Why...Why can't this be enough?" he asked. "I...I love you all, my family."
"It'll never be enough," Jack said, his throat aching. "I'm not askin' for you to be someone else. You're all I ever wanted, Bobby. And you...you lie and run from me. What's so bad about me? Why can't you let yourself love me the way you want to?"
"It's not...I can't...It's not right," Bobby said miserably.
"Who gives a shit?!" Jack shouted, his hand clutching at the necklace tightly. He ripped it off his neck and flung it at Bobby. "Get out; get the fuck out, now! I can't deal with your shit right now, you fucking lyin' hypocrite!" he all but screamed, shaking hard in his bed.
Bobby stared at him, his mouth working soundlessly. Jack had never been prone to anger fits the way he himself had. Jack in a rage was something to see. He clutched the necklace in his fist, a tear spilling down his cheek. "Jack..."
"Get out," Jack said, covering his face, his words muffled behind his hands.
Bobby took a step forward, his hand resting on Jack's leg. "Jackie..."
"Don't...Just go...Just leave me alone right now," Jack whispered, tears running down his cheeks. He turned his head, unwilling to cry in front of Bobby right then.
Bobby turned away. "I'm comin' back," he said, his voice uneven. "You...You need to rest..."
Jack ignored him as he left the room. He cradled his head in his arms, weeping silently.
xx