Generation 4: Chapter 14, Pt. 1

 

Author's Note: Special guest star, Gerard McClaren, from LateKnightSimmer's apocalypse/rainbowcy. Thanks again for letting me use the doctor from your story to be the doctor in this chapter!

🛑 This chapter is not suitable for anyone under the age of 18 🛑

I was happy when I woke up today because I had planned on visiting Isaiah again when I went out to get more supplies for Jody and I. I haven't gone home as much as I had told Isaiah I would, today being only my third visit in almost five weeks all together and I felt bad about not upholding to what I had told him, but I was surprised to learn that he didn't seem to mind as much as I thought he would. It was lonely without him and I hated being around Jody more than him, but the past two visits we've had were unforgettable and I even kind of liked that we were away from one another, making it seem like we were in our dating days all over again before we moved in together and despite us both hating the separation, it seemed that both of us found a little excitement in it, as well. The first time I had gone out to visit Isaiah, as well as stock the cabin with food and other stuff for Jody and I when we had first arrived here, when I had come back from seeing him, I could tell that Jody was suspicious of me already, which ultimately made me decide that trying to visit Isaiah every few days like I had wanted to would be completely out of the question and I've resulted in spending a lot more time with her than him just to make her become less suspicious, but I couldn't quite tell if it was working or not..

Most of the days, we would just watch television or go on walks through the woods on the large property together, treating it like a camping trip and bonfires seemed to be a favorite of hers when it was late at night before we'd go to bed. We've learned little about one another, probably because I was never really willing to share anything with her whenever she asked and the only things I'd usually talk about was how I liked to swim and how I usually always stayed up late at night, either studying or doing nothing at all.. It helped explain to her why I stayed up later than she did and why I usually always slept on the couch without coming out and saying that I hated the thought of sharing a bed with her. Throughout the days together, I just acted as if we roommates and nothing more, mostly keeping to myself and trying to occupy myself without her, but she liked to do the opposite.. Making breakfast almost every morning, wanting to have normal, breakfast conversations, bullshit back and forth about whatever we were watching on the television like a happy couple, just everyday normal things.. She treated this situation like she was six years old and playing 'house' with her Barbies, trying to be perfect and I was more like Stretch Armstrong than Ken, getting pulled every which way though not ever enough to a breaking point. But, there was nothing normal about this, and I found it difficult at times to act like everything was completely fine.. I was starting to get worn out and I didn't know how much longer I could stretch before I just couldn't take it anymore.

Today, Jody seemed different, however, more chipper than usual, as if she had won a prize or as if she had accomplished something she never thought she'd be able to. She constantly had a smile on her face, continuously talking to the baby under her breath even though I was in the room with her as she did mundane things that no one should find pleasure in doing, but she did. 

"How are you this morning?" I asked, curious as to why she was in such a good mood.

"I don't know how to describe it exactly.. It's as if you and I are the only ones left on Earth and we have it all to ourselves. It's all ours and nothing is going to stop the three of us anymore. We can just be together, you know?" She expressed happily and I grew a little confused.

"What do you mean 'anymore'?" I asked and she looked at me as she smiled and shook her head.

"Nothing.." She replied, "Are you going to the store today?" She changed the subject.

"Uh, yeah.."

"While you're out, can you get something special for dinner? Maybe steak or lamb?" She questioned and I didn't see a problem with it.

"Sure, I could do that.. What's the occasion?" I asked, seeing her smile more.

"Us, silly. The baby will be here any day now, who knows when we'll get time alone again like this once they're born," she explained, "Besides, we're only going to be here for a few more days, right? It would be stupid of us to be here when my water breaks, we're too far away from a hospital.. So, I guess this is somewhat a 'last supper' kind of thing," she implied and I grew a little nervous, knowing that she knew nothing about my intention of keeping her here, but how would I get her to stay now that she assumes we're leaving?

"Oh, uhm.. Yeah.. Good idea," I replied, deciding to agree to it just to make her happy.

After breakfast, I went into the bathroom to take a shower, but before I did, I pulled my phone out of my pocket, comfortable enough to check it without Jody trying to snoop on me and I checked to see if Isaiah had said anything to me. I had sent him a text when I had woken up around eight, letting him know that I was planning on coming home today and usually he would've texted me back by now, seeing as it was almost eleven, but still nothing.. I wondered if he was still sleeping and I wanted to call him, but I didn't want to wake him up just in case he was. I decided to wait a little longer, assuming he was still sleeping and I had a good feeling that by the time I'd be done with my shower, he'd have texted me back.

However, after my shower, I checked my phone eagerly now that it was closer to eleven thirty, but still nothing. I didn't want to worry, I'd feel stupid if I did, but if he didn't text me by noon, I'd have to call him just to calm my nerves, as well as just to let him know that I was on my way home.. If I waited passed noon, that only meant less time together and there wasn't much of a point in driving all the way out there if I didn't at least get an hour with him.

I left the bathroom and sat within the living room, watching television with Jody and after about five minutes on the couch, Jody touched my leg forcefully.

"Hey, are you okay? You're leg is going crazy," she said with a soft smile and I didn't even know that I had a restless leg. It must've been annoying her..

"Oh.. Yeah, I'm fine.. I didn't even notice I was doing it.. Sorry," I replied.

"It's okay. You seem like you're waiting for something, or waiting to do something..?" She implied, but I shook my head.

"No, I-I'm not," I replied, my nerves getting to me and I couldn't help but constantly want to glance at my phone since I always kept my sound off as well as the vibrate so Jody would never think I was talking to anyone, but I left it in my pocket as I struggled through the urge.

I watched television with Jody for a while longer, constantly glancing down at her hand that she had left on my leg and after about fifteen more minutes of sitting there, still anxious and ready to jump out of my skin, I needed to get out of here.

"You know what? I'm just going to go to the store now.. Get it out of the way," I brought up, springing up quickly from the couch and walking towards the door.

"Oh, okay. Drive safe," she replied and I didn't even bother acknowledging her before grabbing her car keys and walking out the door.

The moment I got outside, I pulled my phone from my pocket and it was a few minutes before noon, but still, Isaiah hadn't said anything back to me and as I climbed into Jody's car and started it, I decided to try calling him and I didn't care about waking him up any longer. As I pulled out of the driveway and down the road, I noticed that his phone didn't even ring and it went straight to his voicemail.

“Hey, you’ve reached Isaiah’s cell. If this is a supplier, please call the bar, it’s much easier to reach me there during business hours. If this is a friend, then just leave a message and I’ll call you back when I get a chance. Thanks.” -beep-

"Hey, it's me.. Are you still sleeping? What's going on? I'm on my way home and wanted to give you a heads up, but you're not answering your phone.. Uhm.. I'll try again when I'm half way there, but just call me back, okay? I love you."

I left a message, but that still didn't calm my nerves like I had thought it would.

Half way home, I tried calling him again like I said I would, but still no answer and I drove even faster the rest of the way home, arriving at my normal spot that I parked Jody's car at and taking a cab the rest of the way like I had been. I got to the condo around one-forty thanks to my quick driving and I ran upstairs to the second floor, unlocking the door and stepping inside.

"Isaiah?" I called out, listening for a moment, but the condo was silent.

I quickly searched the first floor of our place and ran upstairs next, checking the bedroom and hoping to see him either still sleeping or getting ready for work, but the bed was empty and untouched. He wasn't home. He didn't normally ever open the bar before three and he never had anything to do beforehand besides sleep in and get dressed for work, so where was he? And why wasn't he answering his phone?

I remembered that I had Gavin's number, Isaiah's bar manager, just in case of situations like these and I pulled my phone out of my pocket, calling him quickly. I paced around the room and after about three rings, he answered.

"Hello?"

"Gavin? It's Oliver."

"Ahh, shit.." He let out with a sigh and I grew more uneasy than I already was.

"What is it? Do you know where Isaiah is?"

"He told me not to call you."

"Well, I'm the one calling you. Now tell me what's going on," I demanded.

"Look.. He's going to kill me for talking you, he told me not to so he didn't worry you.."

"I was already worried before I called you, so tell me this second just what the hell's going on or I'll tell him you deliberately did call me," I threatened and he sighed again.

"Okay, just don't let him fire me, all right? I really like working there and if he found out-"

"Gavin.." I warned him.

"Okay, okay! I'll just tell you everything he told me, which wasn't much.. Apparently there was some kind of scuffle between him and a few random guys, he got jumped in the parking lot of the bar last night after everyone had gone home.. He's at the hospital right now and he was forced by the police to close the bar for a few days.. That's all that I know, Oliver," he replied and I couldn't even describe how fast my heart was beating, "Oliver..? You okay?" He questioned, but I hung up on him immediately and raced out of the bedroom and down the stairs to leave the condo and make my way to the hospital.

The hospital was only a few blocks away and I didn't even think to get a cab, I very well could've left our front door wide open and completely forgot to close it, too, but I couldn't focus on anything else right now. As I ran, barely missing people from knocking them over, I couldn't contain everything that was detonating in my mind. This was no damn coincidence. Who did I know that hated someone as good as Isaiah? Jody. Who the hell wanted him out of the damn picture? Jody. Who had connections to Thomas, the only guy who absolutely loved to see me suffer and what better way to do it by hurting the one closest to me? Jody. Everything pointed to her. Everything. I couldn't go a day without her piercing my mind in some way, either living in fear with her, or living in fear of her next move, but this has gone too far. Way, way too far. She must've known I lied about leaving Isaiah for her, she must've known it the whole time.. I knew I couldn't trust her having her phone, so why the hell did I give it to her and think she wouldn't use it to stay in connection with her brother? Why the hell did I trust her? I'm such an idiot.. This is all my fault. 

I reached the hospital's automatic doors and they couldn't open quick enough, squeezing through the second it was wide enough for me to and I panted harshly as I reached the front desk.

I took a moment to catch my breath, unable to speak even if I wanted to and the woman behind the counter stared at me until I could talk, "I..Isaiah.. Yamato," I struggled to speak, "What room?"

"Uhm.. Let me check, hold on," she replied wearily, glancing at me questionably as she typed on her computer and I still tried to catch my breath after running about six blocks.. Okay, maybe the hospital wasn't that close, but I had made it here quicker than any cab could.

"He's in room two-fourteen, second floor. But, you should know tha-" I didn't let her finish, going straight for the elevator, "Hey!" She called out, but I pressed the 'up' button what seemed like eighty times and I stepped in once the doors opened.

Once the doors opened on the second floor, I quickly stepped out and ran down the hall.

"Hey! No running!" A disgruntled nurse called out and I lessened my run to a gentle jog, finally reaching room two-fourteen and I touched the door, but took one more moment to catch my breath before I walked in.

I didn't know what to say to him, I didn't even know what kind of condition he was in or if he was even awake.. I decided that before I walked in, I wanted to know the details on paper so I could prep myself for whatever I was about to walk in on, looking around until I had spotted a doctor and I stepped up to the first one I saw.

"Are you Isaiah Yamato's doctor?" I wondered, seeing the man look to me and he smiled.

"Why yes, I'm Dr. McClaren. You must be his husband, Oliver, yes?" He assumed and I was a little thrown off by him saying such a thing, but for formalities sake, I might not have been able to see him if I wasn't his spouse or immediate family.. Isaiah saying that meant he knew I'd come eventually, and since he was talking, he must be in at least decent condition, right?

"Uh.. Yeah, I am.. Is he okay? What happened?"

"Well, he has a lot of bruising, mostly to this face and torso. Two of the ribs on his right side are broken and we had to give him a few stitches on the inside of his cheek from cutting it on his teeth. He's on a lot of pain medication, so he might be a little out of it when you talk to him.. He shouldn't be in much pain anymore, though, as long as he keeps taking the pain killers, which he will definitely want to do. I want to keep him for the next few days, keep an eye on him, but he should be able to come home after the weekend, probably by Monday," he replied and only a slight bit of relief hung in the sigh I had let out.

"So, I can go see him?" I asked and he nodded.

"Of course.. That is, if he wants to see you. I don't know how you found out he was here, he told us specifically not to contact you unless he got worse, but I think it's good that you're here. He's been a little, well.. Irritable? I thought being on the pain killers would make him rather happy and transcendent, but apparently not.. Does he not particularly like hospitals? Do they make him nervous?"

"Uhm, well.. He, thankfully, hasn't needed to be admitted into a hospital for anything serious like this, so I never really talked about it with him.. I don't think so, though."

"I see. Either way, hopefully you can bring his spirits up, it really boosts the healing process," he replied with a warm smile and I nodded.

"All right, I'll try my best.. Thanks," I answered, watching as he then continued what he was doing and I turned back to face Isaiah's door.

I walked to his door and opened it, stepping in slowly and there was a curtain up, blocking me from seeing him at first.

"Go away.. I told you people a million times, I don't need any more of that stuff you call food here," I heard him express in irritation and it was nice to hear his voice, even if he sounded annoyed. I slowly shut the door behind me, hoping that he'd be happy to see me, but I knew he'd be mad that I was here since he had been trying to hide it from me. I was a little angry, myself, knowing he didn't want me to come here and see him like this and for making me so worried, but I didn't hold it against him since I had done the same thing to him whenever I got beat up at school and I'd avoid him until I didn't have a black eye anymore.. I suppose we did it for each other, not wanting to hurt one another by having to see us go through any sort of pain.

"..It's me," I voiced softly, the room falling silent for a long moment, but, the silence eventually bothered me and I felt that I needed to say something else, "Are you okay?" I asked, not hearing him respond for a few long seconds, but eventually I heard him speak up again.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I told you yesterday that I was probably coming home today, but when I couldn't get a hold of you, I came out anyway to see what was going on.. I called Gavin and made him tell me, so don't be mad at him," I replied, hearing him sigh heavily.

"My phone must be dead in my pants pocket," he explained himself, "Well, you're here now, so come out from behind the curtain," he instructed and although I was nervous to, not wanting to see him in this condition, I did as he said and I stepped around the curtain towards his bed.

Initially, I was in shock when seeing his face all bruised, my heart sinking into my stomach with guilt knowing that this was all my fault and Isaiah seemed to be embarrassed by how he looked, averting his eyes to his lap as he struggled to sit up within the bed.

"I told Gavin not to say anything.. Just because I hate seeing you like that," he said softly.

"Like what? Worried? Hating myself because this happened to you because of me? None of this was your fault.. It's all mine. And I hate seeing you like this, too, but hiding it from me was useless and it only made me worry more in the end," I stressed and he looked back up to me, his expression a little angered.

"And I'm sorry about that, but this isn't your fault, either! And that's exactly why I didn't want to say anything to you, because you'd blame yourself, you always do. The actions of other people never falls on your back, you really need to realize that," he argued and it was painful for me to look at him, let alone be criticized and I dropped my gaze from him. I heard him sigh heavily once again, "I didn't mean to yell at you.. I'm sorry," he spoke with remorse.

"It's okay.."

"Come over here, I missed you," he instructed and I wanted to smile, but I still couldn't as I looked to him, walking over to him and I sat down next to him on his bed.

"I've missed you, too.. And you never answered me before.. Are you okay? Are you in a lot of pain?" I asked with concern.

"I'm fine, really. Nothing I can't handle. You always worry too much," he said with a smirk, bringing his hand up to my face and caressing my cheek.

I brought my hand up to grab his, pulling it to my lips and I kissed his palm warmly for a long moment before holding his hand against my cheek again, "How can I not worry? Look at you.. Can I even touch you, or will I just hurt you?" I wondered.

Isaiah smiled softly, "You can touch me whenever you want, no matter what condition I'm in," he confirmed and I smirked briefly, "I'm actually really glad you're here now, I already feel a million times better," he said, as if he was finally thankful that Gavin had told me where he was despite him specifically telling him not to and I was happy that Gavin was able to give me the answers I was looking for so I could be here, too.

I then felt his hand leave my cheek, bringing his other hand to the back of my head and pulling my lips into his for a long moment. Every single time I left him to go back to my uncle's, it almost seemed like an impossible task and I'd start missing him even if I was still in his arms. I wished I didn't have to keep myself from him, I wanted all of this to be over so I could be with him like I wanted to be so badly, but it wasn't that easy.. Nothing in my life was easy anymore, but the only one that managed to put back the pieces in the right place in this puzzling life of mine was Isaiah.

He pulled away from me slowly and smiled as he looked to me, "Can I ask you something?" He wondered and I nodded.

"Of course.. Anything."

"Now that I'm the one hurt, are you going to come home and take care of me?" He implied flirtatiously with a grin and I couldn't help but chuckle softly, knowing he was trying to cheer me up.. That, or just trying to help me get rid of the worry that was tattooed on my face.

"Even in pain, you still try to find the pleasure in it, huh?" I replied with a smile.

"You know it," he answered, pulling me back into his lips for a brief moment before pulling away.

"Oh, and, uhm.. By the way.. Husband..? Really?" I questioned and he let out an embarrassed laugh, glancing down at his lap.

"Sorry.. I didn't think they'd let you see me if I didn't say that to them, whenever you'd eventually find out I was here," he replied, looking back up to me with a smirk.

"It's all right.. I kind of liked not denying it when they asked.. It had a nice ring to it," I implied and I could tell by the face he made that he was smitten by my words.

"Well, maybe we'll actually make that happen one day," he answered and now I was the one looking away bashfully.

But, that conversation was for another time and there were still a few things I wanted answers to, Isaiah seeming to notice when my expression went worried, yet again, "What the hell happened to you?" I asked, Isaiah seeming to be trying to avoid the subject, his view going to his lap again.

"I, uh.. I don't know.."

"What don't you know? You were jumped.. And your bar is being closed off by the police? What's that all about?"

"Well, yeah, I was jumped, but I don't want you to overreact if I tell you who it was," he replied and my expression grew questionable.

"Why would I overreact..? Just tell me, I want to know what happened to you.."

"Fine.." He finally caved, hesitating a moment before continuing, "It was Thomas, Jody's brother, and a few of his friends," he finally admitted and I knew it had to have been him all along, but I couldn't even prepare myself for the rage I felt when I heard Isaiah actually confirm it. Anger fueled me when I realized that Jody really was behind all of this.. She must've been talking to Thomas on her cell phone without me noticing, knowing now that she probably had Thomas spying on us since she couldn't do it herself since she was with me. 

Isaiah continued, "I was outside throwing out trash behind the bar and he showed up with two of his friends.. He threatened me, told me lies about you, saying that you've been with Jody this whole time, then he told me to dump you so that Jody could have you.. But, when I refused, they did this. Or, well.. Just Thomas did," he implied, talking about his injuries and I only grew angrier the more he talked.

"That bitch.." I said quietly, "That fucking bitch!" I then yelled angry, pulling away from Isaiah and standing from the bed to go to the door.

"Oliver, where are you going? Hey!" Isaiah tried to stop me and I heard him let out a groan in pain from exerting so much air from his lungs against his broken ribs, causing me to stop before I left and I looked back at him to make sure he was okay, but I couldn't ignore this, I wouldn't let myself.

"I'm going to kill Thomas, that's where I'm fucking going!" I yelled angrily, going for the door again, but he continued to try and stop me.

"Oliver, stop!" He said with more demand and I decided to listen, looking back at him again, "You can't. As much as I like you wanting to avenge me or whatever this is, you just can't."

"And why the hell not!? Look at what he did to you! I'll never forgive him! It's fucking bullshit and I'm going to kill both of them! I'm going to his place right now and I'm going to-"

"He's already dead, Oliver!" Isaiah said and I stopped my train of thought, looking to Isaiah with widened eyes and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. 

"What..?"

"He's dead. I never finished my story about what happened.. That's why the police are closing off my bar, because it's a crime scene. I knew you would overreact, I didn't want to tell you beca-"

"Overreact? If anything, wanting to just kill him is under reacting! Look at you! Bruised like crazy, broken fucking ribs?! Even if he is dead I want to rip his fucking lungs out so he can't even breath when he's in hell!" I yelled, none of my words making sense anymore.

"Calm down, all right? Come back over here and sit down," he asked of me, grinding my teeth together in anger and I didn't even know where to begin to try and calm down, "Please?" He encouraged, but I couldn't do it.

"No.. I can't stand for this. I won't. It's all because of Jody.. Because she can't get over me, so she sends her brother to do this? To threaten what she thinks is between us? The one thing I care about? She still can't get it through her fucked up head that there is no us, there never was to begin with! She's gone way too far and I won't let her get away with this," I spoke with determination, but he wasn't having any of it, continuing to try and calm me down.

"Oliver, will you please come over here? ..Please," he nearly begged and I sighed in aggravation, but before I could walk over to him, a nurse came in with concern in her eyes.

"Is everything okay in here?" She questioned and I couldn't even answer her, I was too angry to acknowledge anyone else and I turned away from her.

"Yeah, we're fine, thank you," Isaiah replied to her with urgency.

"Okay.." I heard her answer, hearing her then slowly stepping back out of the room and the door eventually shut to give us privacy once again.

"You need to calm down or else they'll make you leave and I don't want you to go yet. I don't want you to do anything stupid, either, because you're so angry. Come over here and lie down with me," he instructed and I sighed heavily, unable to stop grinding my teeth in anger, "Come on, I know you want to," he continued, seeing him smirk and he was careful with himself as he scooted over to make room for me.

"You're not the one that should be so worried about me, it should be the other way around," I answered.

"Would you just get over here already? Stop being so damn stubborn and comfort the one you say you care about so much," he taunted, and of course, I caved in to him.

I stepped over to the side of his bed again and sat down, facing away from him and not lying down like he had asked, my leg beginning to bounce restlessly again, "I can't lay down. I'm way too pissed," I replied and I heard him sigh in defeat.

"Fine, I'll let you calm down a little on your own, then," he replied and we sat in silence for a few long minutes. And, after those few long minutes, only able to calm down a small amount, he spoke again, "If you're okay with it, can I ask you something again?" He wondered.

"Sure.."

"Well, Thomas had told me something.. I didn't believe him and I don't want to now, but, I mostly just want to ask because I'd rather hear it from you than him," he began and although I was still completely enraged, I couldn't help but grow a little nervous on top of it by how he had worded himself.

"..Okay."

Isaiah hesitated a moment, probably working up the courage to ask me whatever it was he wanted to know, "Are you.. Are you seeing Jody behind my back?" He wondered and my heart began beating a little faster.

"Seeing her? As in.. What?" I asked in return, still unable to face him.

"You know, seeing her.. Romantically?" He questioned and I finally faced him with wide, surprised eyes.

"No! God, no! I don't look at her like that at all! I never even got a chance to be able to before she took advantage of me. That's one thing you can be damn sure about.. Why the hell would you ask that, especially after my mini freak out? I could never even fathom something like that after what she's done to me, to you," I replied, seeing him nod and he looked back down at his lap.

"I don't know why I asked that, I'm sorry. I didn't let Thomas get to me last night, I don't know why I'm letting him now," he said as if he was disappointed with himself.

"It's okay.. Is there anything else?" I asked.

"Just one more thing," he replied, "Are you really going to your Uncle's place?" He questioned next, looking back up to me.

"Yes, I really am," I replied without hesitating. It felt really good to finally be able to tell him the truth about something, the way he worded his questions made it easy for me to be able to avoid lying, but I hated that he felt like he had to ask the questions he did..

"I don't love anyone else but you. You're the only one I ever want to be with and I couldn't even imagine being happy with anyone else," I spoke the absolute truth and I watched him smirk.

"I won't ever question that again," he replied.

"Good," I answered, leaning in to kiss his lips again and just from a simple kiss, I felt a lot better and he helped my anger decrease immensely. The longer we remained lip-locked, softly massaging our lips together, the more I could feel the exhales from his nostrils getting heavier and more stifled and I wondered if he was having a hard time breathing or if he was just getting excited. But, that question was answered when I felt the hand he had on my leg venture up and he gripped the inside of my thigh, causing my entire body to tense up.

I pulled away from the kiss, looking at him suspiciously, "What are you doing?"

"Nothin'.." He replied innocently and I chuckled softly.

"How could you possibly be horny right now?"

"How could you not? It's been a little over a week since I last saw you and I want to spend time with you. Just trying to make the best of this situation, I guess. You should get rid of some of that stress and pent up anger, too," he replied, feeling his hand massaging the inside of my thigh softly, but I reached down to relocate it so it couldn't venture up any higher.

"Well, you're going to have to wait until you're released, because hospitals do not get me in the mood," I answered and he pouted slightly.

"Oh, come on.. Just lock the door and take your pants off. You're going to have to get on top and do all the work, though, because I'm hurt and can't move and you need to take care of me," he teased and I laughed, then leaned in closer towards him.

"I'll take care of you plenty when we get home," I teased back and I noticed a spark of excitement in his eyes before I leaned in more and kissed him again.

However, before we could fully enjoy one another's lips once more, we heard the door to his room open, "All right, Mr. Yamato, the nurse said that-" A woman's voice spoke and she stopped her words as we pulled away from one another, "Oh.. Sorry, gentlemen. I didn't mean to interrupt the 'healing' process," she implied and I grew a little embarrassed, though Isaiah just seemed angry that she had barged in on our time together and how she'd made me feel with that comment.

"What the hell do you want?" Isaiah spoke with aggravation.

"Well, the nurse said that you were awake finally, so I thought we'd get your statement now. You know, just get it over with and get the paper work out of the way so you can rest and just focus on recovering," the woman replied and I stood from the bed, looking to the woman questionably since I had thought it was either a nurse or a doctor, but she sounded more like a cop.

The woman looked to me with a smirk when I had faced her, "Oliver Dubois, is it?"

"Yeah..? And?" I questioned shortly, not liking that she knew my name already.

"Well, how lucky of me to be able to run into you here so I don't have to go tracking you down," she replied and I furrowed my brow towards her in confusion.

"What do you mean? What do you need me for?"

"All in good time, Mr. Dubois," she answered, then put her attention towards Isaiah.

"Can I call you Isaiah? Drop the formalities?" She questioned and he sighed.

"Sure, why not. Let's just get this over with," he answered.

"Well, I'm Detective Amelia Winchester. Would you like Oliver to wait outside while we chat, or would you like him present?" She asked and Isaiah looked up to me.

"He can stay," he answered and I smirked towards him.

"All right, well.. Pull up a chair, Oliver, or sit behind that curtain, whatever you want to do," the detective instructed and I stepped away from the side of the bed, going over towards the examination table and sitting on top of it. 

The detective grabbed a chair from behind the curtain, pulling it around and towards Isaiah's bed and she took a seat comfortably, her back towards me and I liked that Isaiah wanted me to stay.. He hadn't told me everything that had happened in detail and I had to admit that I really wanted to find out.

"Don't get angry again, all right?" Isaiah said with a grin towards me and I rolled my eyes with a smirk on my lips.

"Oh, you already told him what had happened?" The detective wondered.

"Just the gist of things."

"All right, well.. Whenever you want to begin, I'm ready," Detective Winchester instructed, "Just start at the beginning, right after you closed the bar," she gave Isaiah a place to start and I watched as Isaiah took a moment to himself to remember everything that had happened.

"Well.. Thomas and his friends had showed up before closing time, even. I didn't know who they were at the time and my bar has a rather strict dress code, so their attire alone wouldn't get them inside. It was obvious that they had been drinking before they had shown up, too.. They gave my coat check a hard time and I stepped in because her telling them to leave wasn't good enough. I asked them to leave at least three times. They refused, but eventually they left when I wouldn't let them in."

"So, you're saying that people within the bar could even testify that they were a problem from the start?"

"That's right."

"Okay, continue, please."

"Around closing time, my manager, Gavin, had just finished his shift and left. I locked the front doors behind him and the last thing I had to do was take out the trash. I went out back and dropped everything in the dumpster, stood outside for a moment before heading home.. Before I got a chance to go back inside, Thomas and his two friends, I don't know their names, found me in back by the loading dock. They must've been waiting for me or something.. The two of his friends didn't say much, Thomas did most of the talking. I assumed they were there just for backup," he began and I got a little angered again hearing Isaiah talk about Thomas, but I tried not to show it.

"Then what? What was Thomas saying to you? Why was he there?" The detective questioned.

"He was threatening me.. Demanding that I leave Oliver so that he could be with Thomas' sister."

"And that's Jody Zepeda, correct?"

"Yes.."

"Why would Thomas be willing to do that? What does she want from Oliver?" She wondered next and Isaiah looked at me, as if asking for me to tell him what to say.

"We have history, that's all," I butted in, though I made sure to keep her pregnancy hidden, "She's just a little obsessive and I noticed it right away. I honestly wouldn't even call her an ex-girlfriend because we never even really talked about dating, but when I called it off and didn't want to see her anymore, she didn't take it very well," I continued.

The detective turned slightly to face me, "Is she still harassing you?"

"Not directly," I lied, careful not to tell her too much about whatever I had planned for Jody up at my Uncle's cabin, "But, I'd call sending her brother to hurt Isaiah harassment, wouldn't you?" I asked in return.

"Yeah, I would. Have you ever noticed her following you? At places you are that she normally wouldn't be?"

"What do you mean, like stalking me?" I wondered and she nodded, but I wanted to make her, as well as anyone else, believe that I wasn't involved with Jody what-so-ever, just for the sake of whatever plan my Uncle and I had for her.. In case worse came to worse, nothing that happened to Jody could ever come back to me, like my Uncle had told me, "No.. The last time I saw her was at school, we go to the same college together, but I tried my best to just avoid her completely. I've never noticed her doing any of that stuff," I continued to lie.

"Okay. She still needs to be questioned, as well, we need to see if she was involved in any of this, but we'll get to that after I've spoken more to both of you," the detective replied and he faced Isaiah once more.

Shit.. If they called Jody on her cell, would she answer? Does she know that Thomas is dead? Would she actually come in for questioning and would she tell them where she was? After we were finished here, I needed to get to her before they had a chance to first.. I just hoped she was smart enough to not answer phone calls from numbers she didn't recognize..

"Continue, Isaiah," she instructed and I watched as Isaiah's view went to his lap.

"After I refused, his friends came at me first, the brunette attempting to hit me but he missed me, then the blonde came next, but I twisted his arm, hyper extending it and he couldn't do much after that, but then Thomas managed to hit me and before I could do anything about it, the brunette was holding me from behind. It allowed Thomas an opening to take as many hits as he wanted, which is why my face is all busted up, but when he didn't get the reaction he wanted out of me, that's when he kicked my face, then my ribs, harder, breaking them. I fell to the ground in pain, unable to do anything and I thought-" Isaiah was forced to stop himself, hesitating a moment.

Hearing all of this was slowly breaking my heart, I could tell that talking about this bothered him, made him uncomfortable and I couldn't have felt more sorry for him.. None of this would've happened if I wasn't with Jody.. It really is all my fault.

"You thought what?" The detective questioned.

"I thought they were going to kill me," Isaiah finished his sentence and my view went to the floor, unable to look at him when he held such an innocent and vulnerable expression. I wouldn't be able to live without him and I knew that as a hard fact, but I was thankful that he had come out ahead in all of this, despite his injuries.

"Well, considering you couldn't do much, someone came and helped you, correct?"

"Yeah," Isaiah confirmed and I looked up, unaware that someone had helped him, but that would explain why Thomas was dead now.. Isaiah must've had help.

Isaiah continued, "They took out the blonde first, where he landed in front of me, then the brunette, then Thomas was last."

"Can you describe who it was that helped you?" The detective wondered and I noticed Isaiah look over towards me, hesitating before answering.

"No.. It was too dark," he replied, looking towards the detective again, "My eyelids and my cheeks were swollen, my glasses knocked off of my face and broken.. Even in good lighting, I probably couldn't tell you any details, especially without my glasses," he answered and the detective believed Isaiah's words, but I didn't.. His eyes weren't nearly as bad as he let on, and just with that one look he had given me, I knew he was lying to her.

"All right, but can you at least tell us something? Anything at all would help us greatly. Was it a man, a woman? Did they speak to you?"

"What does it matter? They saved my life.. Besides, I don't even really remember anything after that, I lost consciousness," Isaiah defended.

"Because, from the scene we were called to, this didn't look like self defense or the work of a hero, this looked vengeful. From closer investigation of the boy's skulls, tiny pieces of wood was found in their hair and skin, even embedded in the bone.. This person used a wooden bat, most likely, if we were to guess the weapon of choice," she explained and I could tell by the look on Isaiah's face that they had guessed the right weapon.

Detective Winchester continued, "Whoever it was was ready for this to happen, maybe they'd been watching you for a while, waiting for the moment to help you, waiting for that moment to take his revenge out on these boys. The man already had a weapon with him," the detective explained and I was confused by such a wild, detailed assumption.

"The man? ..His? How do you know it was a male that did this? I never said such a thing," Isaiah noticed the detective's intention, something I didn't even catch, "And that's quite the imagination you have, seeing as I don't have anyone else in my life besides Oliver that would go to such lengths to protect me and he wasn't even in town last night," Isaiah put the detective in her place.

"Well, that answers my next question, whether or not Oliver really was in town or not last night," Detective Winchester replied, then turning back and looking at me, "Is that true, Oliver? You really weren't in town last night?"

"That's correct."

"Anyone that can vouch for you on that?"

"Yeah.. My Uncle. You can call him if you'd like," I replied, knowing my Uncle would account for me and the detective seemed skeptical.

"I think I will. Do you have anything else to add, Isaiah?" She wondered.

"No, that's all."

"All right.. Do you have his number, Oliver?"

"Yeah," I confirmed and the detective stood to her feet, walking over to me and pulling out her phone.

I recited my Uncle's number to the detective and before she called him, I made it a point to mention something to her, "He really, really hates cops. I apologize in advance if his temper is especially short with you. He isn't really that nice of a person," I said with a nervous smirk and she nodded towards my apology.

"I think I can handle it, thanks," she answered, calling my Uncle and leaving it on speaker so we all could hear the conversation. I admit, I was a little nervous about her calling my Uncle on speaker phone, but I had some confidence that it would turn out okay.

"You're about to meet my Uncle," I told Isaiah and the expression he held seemed nervous like I was.

After a few rings, my Uncle answered, "Yeah? Who the hell's this?"

"Sorry for the inconvenience, Mr. Dubois. My name is Detective Amelia Winche-"

"The fuck do you want, pig? I ain't got shit to tell you bastards and I haven't had anything more to say for fifteen Goddamn years."

"Well, sir," the detective cleared her throat, "This isn't about that.. I was hoping to confirm something with you, all I wanted to know is- was Oliver with you last night?"

"Of course he was, where the hell else would he be? You fuckin' idiots, he doesn't have anything to do with this and you've been hounding my family for years about nonsense that shouldn't even be brought to light anymore! Don't you dare bring my fucking nephew into this bullshit when he was only a child when everything happened." 

My Uncle completely went off and I wished it wasn't on speaker so Isaiah could hear this.. I still hadn't told him what had happened between my parents and my Uncle, but I knew my Uncle Gareth was aware that this wasn't about what had happened so long ago, he was just using it to get the detective to show remorse and to get off my back.

"Now, leave Oliver alone and go jump off a Goddamn cliff, or I'll claim this as continued harassment against my family who has done nothing wrong if you don't back the fuck off, you got it?" 

He spoke angrily and I looked towards Isaiah who had a rather shocked expression on his face, finally able to hear the wrath of my Uncle for himself and I wanted to laugh at the detective for how shocked and rather fearful she seemed, but I refrained from doing it..

"Y-Yes, sir.. Thank you for your time, Mr. Du-"

"Don't ever fucking call me again-" My Uncle replied and hung up instantly.

"Well.. I can't say that you didn't warn me," the detective spoke with an embarrassed chuckle. I was happy that my Uncle knew exactly what was going on without even needing to give him a heads up and the only reason I was glad that it was on speaker was so my lie to Isaiah was completely believable now after hearing my Uncle vouch for me.. It made hiding everything from him a lot easier now that there was no reason for him to question me, but of course, I still felt bad in the first place about lying at all..

"Now that that's been confirmed, I think I have everything I need. Thank you for your time, Isaiah, I hope your recovery goes smoothly. If I have any more questions, I know where to find you," the detective said with a genuine nature.

"Thanks," Isaiah replied, but I wasn't done yet.. I thought that she wanted to talk to me, but about what?

"Hey, wait.. Didn't you want to ask me something before? Before you started to question Isaiah?" I wondered.

"Oh, well.. I don't have the authority to talk to you anymore unless your Uncle withdraws the statement he had just made, which I don't see happening. He considers us questioning you as harassment, no matter what it's about, and I don't need a lawsuit on my hands if I were to go through with those questions," she replied, "However, if you ever wanted to talk off the record and let me ask you a few questions without you mentioning anything to your Uncle about it, feel free to give me a call," she continued, removing a business card from her jacket pocket and handing it to me, placing it then within my pants pocket and we watched as she left.

I looked to Isaiah and he still seemed surprised with what he had heard, "Well, that was.. Interesting."

"To say the least," I replied and he chuckled softly.

"I see where Kat gets her art of intimidation from, and why you walked out last Thanksgiving and needed a drink," he answered and I laughed nervously, stepping over towards Isaiah's bed and taking a seat next to him.

"Yeah, he's, uh.. He's pretty brash," I replied, looking to him for a moment and eventually I lost whatever smile I had, seeing Isaiah notice my concern from earlier returning.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you.. If I was home.. If I was in town when this happened-"

"Just stop," he cut me off, "How many times do I need to remind you that this isn't your fault?" He asked rhetorically. 

"I don't think there's enough times that you need to tell me that.."

"Stop thinking about it. It's not your fault, none of this is. Promise me you'll stop blaming yourself for this.. All this was was immaturity, something comprised solely on selfishness and none of this reflects on to you. Promise me," he stressed and I nodded.

"All right.. I promise," I confirmed and I watched him smile softly.

We then heard the door open and a nurse came into our view, "Time for your pain meds again. They're going to make you sleepy, too," she began, walking to the other side of his bed and handing him the medication.

"I don't want them. I don't want to sleep, it's three in the afternoon, anyways," Isaiah contested, but the nurse pressured him.

"Sorry, doctors orders.. And if you don't take these pills now, you're going to be in a lot of pain again very soon."

"Fine," Isaiah expressed reluctantly, taking the pills anyways and swallowing them without any water.

"I'll be back later to check on you again," she said to Isaiah with a smile and she then left the room.

"Come here.. Lie down with me, like I wanted you to earlier," he invited, smiling softly and I smiled in return, fulfilling his wish and I positioned myself as comfortably as I could next to him, being aware enough not to wrap my arm around his torso so I didn't touch his ribs. It felt so good to lie with him again, I missed it far too much.

After roughly ten minutes of simply lying together, Isaiah brought something up, "I've been thinking about something.. If you don't want to answer, I completely understand."

"It's okay, go ahead."

"What was your Dad like?" He asked and that wasn't the question I was expecting.. I thought he would ask about what my Uncle had said on the phone, but maybe, just for the fact that I avoided my past with Isaiah, he knew I still wasn't quite ready to talk about what exactly happened to my family.

"..What do you mean?"

"Well.. You know about my parents. It's all work, work, work for them. Always has been and that's all I really ever knew, but.. I don't know. Before he left, what was he like? Do you remember it vividly, or not much at all anymore?" He questioned and I thought for a moment.

"He was.. Really great, actually, at least from what I can remember.." I replied.

"Really?"

"Yeah.. He was always there for me.. Camilla, too. He always got me ready for school in the morning before work because Camilla wasn't in preschool yet and my mom would usually be busy making breakfast.. It was pretty much his job to make sure we were dressed and ready for the day before he went to his actual job. He'd take Camilla to work with him and watch her the entire time he was there if my mom didn't want to handle her.. He was a manager of a bookstore, he pretty much owned that place when the actual owner wasn't there, but he still pulled it off, even when watching my sister.. Sometimes I'd go to my mom's bakery after school when I had a bad day and wanted a ride home at five.. Otherwise, most of the time, I'd walk further just to go to the bookstore where I knew my dad and Camilla were and I didn't mind staying there until whenever the bookstore closed," I replied.

"Wow, I never knew that.."

"Yeah.. I usually went to the bookstore because I'd want to take some of the stress off my dad, watching Camilla for him so he didn't have to worry about her while he was at work."

"That's sweet of you. I knew you were a good person now, but you were a good person even when you barely hit double digits in age," he answered, chuckling softly to myself at the thought of it.

"Well, my mom gave my dad a hard time whenever he didn't want to bring us to work with him, so I figured helping out with my sister for him would be best for everyone," I replied, but, little did I know then that my mom didn't want to watch us most days at the bakery in case my Uncle wanted to drop by..

"I knew you were a fragile person when I met you, but I had no idea just how perfect you were.. You were taking care of your dad and your sister.. And your mother, in a way, even at such a young age," he replied and I took it as a compliment, which is how I knew he meant it.

"I'm not that fragile.." I defended and he laughed quietly.

"I know, but.. I think that's why I love you so much," he hesitated, looking up to him a little and he continued, "You're so sensitive, but it's not a bad thing. You're compassionate, caring, you know what you want, you know what needs to be done. You're responsible.. I think that's why you blame yourself with everything that happens to me, because you just don't have as much control over it as when you were a kid, like being able to take care of Camilla. If you can't prevent it, or can't help, like you want to, you feel guilty," he replied and I couldn't deny his words.

"Yeah, maybe you're right.." I replied, realizing he had learned so much more about me just by describing a little of my childhood, "I think this is why I love you, too.. You're understanding.. You're the most open minded person I've ever met and I can't even fathom where I'd be without someone like you. You accept everything that comes with me, the good and the bad," I responded.

"I love you.. So much that I can't even put it into words, Oliver," he expressed and I wanted to hug him as hard as I could, but I knew I couldn't because I would cause him pain.

"I love you, too," I replied, feeling his arm that was around me hug me closer to him and there was a short silence between us, then hearing him groan softly.. The medication must've started working.

"We should get married. You should marry me," Isaiah brought up, as if fully convinced that it was the best idea he had ever had and instantly my heart was racing. Where the hell did that come from?

"That was.. A little random," I said with a nervous chuckle, "Was that a proposal..?"

"Nooo, that would be such a shitty proposal. I want to do it right. Make you dinner, light candles, buy something sexy to wear so you simply just can't resist me," he joked and I couldn't help but laugh softly.

"I look forward to it."

"You're going to be such a great dad, too.. I'm jealous.. I want kids with you, it's not fair," he said with a slight whine in his tone and I kept the smile plastered on my lips.

"I think this is the drugs talking.."

"No waaayy, I mean it. We need at least two or three.. That sounds good, doesn't it? Or do you want more?" He asked with a somewhat groggy tone. Yeah, definitely the drugs talking.

"Okay, okay.. We'll talk about it some other time, just get some rest," I encouraged.

"Fiinneee.. Then tell me more.. More about your dad," he answered, knowing just by the sound of his voice that not only did the pain pills kick in, the effects of making him tired were kicking in, too, and I knew he'd be out like a light soon.

"All right, uhm.. You know how my favorite color is Spiceberry?"

"Yeah," he exhaled softly, knowing he'd be asleep before I finished this story.

"This one time.. I didn't want to go to school because I got made fun of because my backpack was that color.. It was a dark pink, for Christ's sake," I continued and he chuckled softly as he grew groggy and tired, but, I still continued, "He noticed I didn't want to go to school because of it, kids used to call me princess because of the color of my backpack and I told him that.. But, he said to me- 'Just ignore them, they only do that because they’re jealous of it,'.. I didn't believe that, because what boy that age would be jealous of a girls backpack?" I said with a soft chuckle.

"I like your pink backpack.. It's adorable," he replied quietly, on the edge of falling asleep and I smiled to his words.

"And you know what?"

"..Hmm..?"

"I did ignore those guys.. I tried my best, at least, and he was right, they eventually did stop and I managed to get through less stressful schooling. They didn't have much else to make fun of me for and I did really well in school without the distraction of stuff like that.. I've had the same backpack since.. All I really have left of my dad is a handful of memories and that backpack.." I finished.

I looked up, seeing Isaiah completely asleep and I smiled, moving a little closer against him and I held him the tightest I could without hurting him. I was so comfortable just lying with him.. Even though the situation we were in like this, I was even a little, regrettably, happy that this had happened.. Who knew when we would've shared what we had together if not for today, like this. Of course, I hated where we were and how hurt he was, but I felt so much closer to him.. We understood one another more than I ever could've hoped to, and I thought this every day of my life, but I would be completely and utterly lost without him in my life.

I laid with Isaiah for roughly half an hour, just lying there, completely awake as he slept, holding him until I grew thirsty and I wanted to go get something to drink and I decided to get up.. I slowly sat up, carefully removing his arm from around me and I let it lie upon the bed, standing up and watching him as I made my way towards the door to make sure he didn't wake up and as quietly as I could, I stepped out of his room and shut the door behind me. I had no intention of leaving, wanting to only grab a bottle of water or pop to re-hydrate as I stayed with him, but when I approached the vending machine, I noticed that Detective Winchester was still here within the hospital.

It's as if she was waiting for me, looking at me once I had shut Isaiah's door and I slowed my pace as I walked towards the vending machine.

"Ahh, Mr. Dubois.. Have a few minutes to chat?"

 

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Original chapter written and posted on February 19, 2015