Jack and Angie

Chapter 10


Jack looked so helpless lying there, hooked up to an IV and a heart monitor, his shoulder wrapped tightly in a bandage that looked as white as his skin. He had a smaller bandage on his head where he had hit it on the cold metal of the lamppost, when he was shot in the legs while trying to run. They all stood in the doorway as if frozen in place. Angie hurriedly broke away from the others as she went to his side and ran her hand over his jaw, hearing the rasp of his stubble as it scraped across her palm.

She couldn’t kiss his lips because of the breathing tube still in his throat, so she kissed his cheek as the tears of relief filled her eyes. She felt everyone else surround the bed. No one said anything for a long time until Camille came back with the kids. Sebastian squeezed his way past the grown-ups knees until he reached his mothers side. Pulling on the sleeve to get her attention, when she looked down at him, he raised his arms in the universal ‘pick me up’ sign. Bobby scooped him up and gently put him down on the bed next to Jacks hips.

He pointed at the bandage on Jack’s chest and asked in a whisper, “Is that his boo-boo?”

At his mothers and Uncle Bobby’s nods, he stared at Jack for a moment, tracing the tattoos on his father’s arms like Angie sometimes before leaning over carefully and planting a kiss first the bandage on Jack’s chest and then the one on his head while whispering to Jack’s sleeping form, “Thewe Daddy. I kissed your boo-boo’s so you can get bettew now.” And then he turned to Bobby and said, “Why doesn’t he wake up Unca Bobby? I kissed his boo-boo’s so they won’t huwt anymore.”

Bobby got too choked up to respond to the little boy, so Jerry came over and pulled Sebastian into his arms. “I’m sure that made your daddy feel so much better little man. He’s just really tired and needs to sleep right now.” Jerry looked at Angie and said, “I’m going to take Camille and the girl’s home right now. We will take Sebastian with us. We’ll keep him as long as needed. You just concentrate on Jack right now Pipsqueak.”

Camille nodded her agreement as she hugged Angie, “I’ll bring you some clothes to change into when we come back in the morning. You just worry about taking care of your man right now.” She pulled back and cupped Angie’s face as she whispered, “It’s gonna be okay. He’s okay.”

Angie sniffled and said, “Thank you guys. For everything. I don’t care what anyone thinks, this is the best damn family in the whole fucking world.” She kissed Sebastian and promised to call him everyday until his daddy woke up.

The family left while Angel walked out with them to talk to the nurse. When he came back in, an orderly was with him wheeling a cot into the room. “I got the nurses to send for this. I figured we won’t be able to pry you outta here until Jack woke up.”

Angie hugged Angel tightly, “Thanks Angel. You’re right. Nothing and no one is gonna make me leave.” She turned to see Sofie visibly drooping against the wall. “You should take Sofie home before she collapses from exhaustion.”

“Yeah, we’re gonna head back to the house y’all.” He grinned at his normally energetic girlfriend.

After they had left, leaving only her and Bobby standing side by side next to Jack, Angie said quietly, “What are you gonna do Bobby?” she turned to him suddenly fierce, “Those fuckers tried to kill Jack.”

“They ain’t walkin’ away from this Ang. I promise you.” Bobby said in a deadly voice. “Whatever happens though, you just worry about Jack. Jerry and Camille will take good care of the little man. I’m gonna talk to Jerry about sending them to Camille’s mom’s house in Bad Ax until whatever we decide to do is finished.”

Angie nodded as she turned back to Jack and smoothed his hair away from his closed eyes. “That sounds like a good idea.”

No more was said for a while until Bobby went to leave. When Angie called to him quietly, he stopped in the doorway and looked at her. “Make sure he suffers before you kill him.” She said coldly.

She had always been one to let others worry about justice. To her, the right thing to do would be to let the cops handle their business, and leave it at that. But then, that bastard had killed Evelyn, a woman that had never done anything but good for all that came into contact with her. So she had kept her mouth shut, as far as she was concerned, whatever happened, happened. But then they made the mistake of trying to take Jack away from her son. Away from her. Now she wanted vengeance. Fuck justice. She wanted Victor Sweet to die in the most humiliating, painful, nasty way she could think of and a few she couldn’t even imagine.

And she knew that Bobby would make sure he didn’t live to see tomorrow, which was fine with her.

“You know I will.” Bobby vowed.

Once she was alone, Angie only left Jack’s side long enough to pull a chair closer to the bed. Holding his hand in hers and running her fingers over the calluses on his fingertips from playing guitar, she bent until her mouth was next to his ear and whispered, “I love you Jack Mercer. I have loved you as a girl and as a woman. I have loved you for your kindness, your compassion, your fierceness, your protectiveness and even for your possessiveness. I love your smile, your laugh, your smell, your heart, your mind, your body, your spirit and your soul. I have never and will never love anyone as much as I love you.” She stopped and drew in a ragged breath before continuing, “Come back to me baby. Come back to the woman that loves you and the son that needs you. I am so, so sorry for not telling you about Sebastian sooner and I will do anything to make it up to you for the rest of my life. I am so sorry for making you think that there is any other man that I want to touch me. There never has been and never will be anyone else in my heart or my body. Please baby—please hear me and wake up.”

She laid her head down on the bed next to him and hummed the songs he used to sing to her while they were sitting in his room when they were kids. The nurses came and went and asked her if she needed anything. At about one in the morning, the night nurse, an old woman that informed her that she had been well acquainted with Evelyn, pressed a pair of surgical scrubs and a couple of towels into her hands and ordered her to go clean herself up and go change. When it looked as though Angie would refuse, she told her flatly that the last thing Jack should see when, not if, he woke up was the woman he loved covered with his blood. That thought finally made Angie take more than two steps away from the bed since Jack had come out of surgery.

She closed herself up in the small bathroom in Jack’s hospital room and looked at her reflection in the mirror. No wonder the nurse got on her case. Her face was covered in dirt and blood except where her tears made tracks through it. The mess extended all down her chest to the waist of her jeans. She made a quick call to Angel before wetting one of the towels and starting to scrub herself clean.

Trying to wash her long hair in the sink was a bit difficult, but by the time she was finished, walking out of the bathroom feeling a little refreshed if not totally clean, Angel had already dropped of the things she asked him for. She dug through the bag where she found some clean underwear and bra along with Jack’s old pair of flannel pajama bottoms and another one of his hoodies. She smiled as she remembered once when she had dragged Jack with her to the mall to shop for some clothes and he complained the entire time, asking her why she needed clothes when she always wore his. It had gotten to the point that Evelyn would let her into Jack’s room even when he wasn’t there so she could dress in one of his shirts, and when she went shopping for clothes for Jack, she would take Angie with her to pick out the ones she liked the most.

She started brushing her hair as she returned to Jack’s bedside and smiled in thanks at the nurse who introduced herself as Betty Dimsdale. They talked for a while and Angie was surprised that Betty knew who she was and about her relationship with Jack, and Betty explained that she and Evelyn had been friends and whenever they had gotten together, Evelyn would always fill her in on what her boys were doing. She also told Angie how happy Evelyn was when her and Jack had started going out and how much Evelyn said they loved each other. After about an hour, Betty helped Angie unfold the portable cot and set it up next to the bed.

Betty brought her a pillow and some blankets before she went to check on the other patients in the ward. Angie lay down without letting go of Jack’s hand, not really expecting to sleep as memories filled her mind. The next thing she knew, someone was shaking her awake. She opened her eyes, seeing Jerry and Sofie and asked, “What time is it?”

“Almost two pm.” Jerry replied. He quickly filled her in on the plan that he, Bobby and Angel had come up with and that he was only here to drop off another set of clothes and something for her to eat. He said that he had taken Bobby’s advice and sent Camille and all the kids to Camille’s mom up north that morning.

Angie was scared as she thought of all the things that had to come together perfectly in order for them to pull this off, but Jerry assured her that it would work. He told her that Sofie was going to stay there with her until it was time for her to go to the police station to get them all out to Fowler’s residence. Angie wished him and the boy’s good luck and told him that she would call as soon as there was any change in Jack’s condition. She also asked him to call her on her cell when everything was done.

She and Sofie spent a little over an hour together before it was time for Sofie to leave. She told Angie not to worry about anything. “You know the Mercer boy’s. If anyone can do this, it would be them.” She said with conviction.

After Sofie left, Angie laid her head gingerly on Jack’s chest on the side not covered with a bandage and listened to his heartbeat. The soothing sound of the strong, steady thumping in her ear soon lulled her into a comfortable sleep.

She woke abruptly when a young nurse came into the room with a bowl and a bunch of towels. Angie narrowed her eyes at the pretty young woman with probably the biggest tits she had ever seen, which were barely covered, and flatly refused to leave the room when asked. When the nurse explained that she needed to give Jack a sponge bath, Angie snarled at her, scaring her so badly that she rushed out of the room without another word.

Betty, who was still on duty thankfully, bustled into the room with the younger nurse in tow, to find out what was the matter, “If Jack needs to be washed, I’m gonna be the only one who does it!” Angie seethed jealously.

“You tell them girl!” Bobby edged her on as he walked through the door with Angel. They both exclaimed at seeing Betty and gave her a big hug before Bobby said to the girl, “That’s our little brother’s girl and you gotta watch out…she is CRAZY jealous!” as Angie muttered, “To damn fucking right!” as she stood there with her arms crossed over her chest.

“Perhaps it would be better if she gave Mr. Mercer his baths.” Betty said diplomatically as she gave Angie a wink out of the corner of her eye, “I am sure that if she needs any assistance, his brothers would be more than happy to help.”

The girl gave Jack what looked like to Angie a wistful look, causing Angie to audibly growl. The nurse snapped her eyes to away from the form in the bed and paled as Angie took a threatening step forward. Bobby and Angel laughed loudly as the girl hurried from the room as fast as she could. Something told them that that would be the last they ever saw of her.

Angie scoffed and marched over to the table where Miss Slutty Porn Nurse left the bowl. Snatching it up with an attitude, she stalked into the bathroom to fill it with warm water. Grabbing the soap and the towels, she ignored Bobby and Angel’s amused grins as she set everything down and started to give Jack a sponge bath. They both came forward to help her wash his hair and Angel combed it for him as Angie started on his arms.

As they worked, finishing quickly, they told her quietly about Greene getting shot and killed. She was sorry to hear it. Greene had been a good guy…even for a cop. They also let her know Fowler and Victor Sweet’s fate. She, who was putting the bathing paraphernalia away, stopped what she was doing to give them both a big hug as she gave a relieved “Thank God!”

Being so relieved that their mom’s murder was solved and avenged and that their little brother was not only going to be fine, but was the father of a beautiful little boy that they all already loved. Bobby and Angel finally let themselves let go of the tightly coiled anger that had been inside of them since they got back to Detroit. The three of them shared a three-way hug. It was finally over. It was finally done.

Pulling away from the other two, Angie dried her eyes, “I swear, I’ve cried more in the last few days than I have in ten years!” she joked, “If I keep this up, I’m gonna dehydrate myself!”

The three of them, occasionally joined by Jerry and Sofie, kept vigil beside Jack for the rest of the day. Jerry had only left when Camille had called him to tell him that she was on her way back. Jerry had called her earlier to tell her to come home, but she had decided to visit with her mom for a while before doin that.

They spent the time teasing one another mercilessly as well as reminiscing about all the times they had hung out together as a group.

“Bobby?”

The three of them snapped their heads around in shock and joy as they heard the weak voice from the man in the bed. Jack blinked owlishly at them before the all rushed to his side. “What happened?” he asked Bobby and Angel. Angie grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze, but he didn’t squeeze back. Instead, he moved his hand away to touch the bandages on his chest and head.

Bobby filled him in on everything that had happened after the shoot-out while Angel poured Jack a cup of water from the jug on the bedside tray-table. Bobby helped prop Jack up so he could drink. After lying back down with a groan, Bobby went and told the doctors that Jack was awake. The three of them waited in the hallway while Jack was checked over. At the nurse’s signal, they reentered the room to find out what the doctor had to say.

“Well,” the doctor declared happily, “He is doing very well and we should be able to release him the day after tomorrow provided that he has someone to take care of him at home. He will need a few physical therapy lessons and he’ll have to keep that right leg in a cast and use crutches and taking painkillers for a while, but everything looks good.” He smiled happily and left.

After exchanging a few jokes, Jack’s eyes finally met hers and he said, “Guys, I need to talk to Angie alone. Why don’t you go home and get some sleep?”

The two older brothers gave him a hug before heading out the door. Once they were alone, Angie stood there uncertainly. She edged over to the chair she practically slept in since getting to the hospital and looked at her clenched hands in her lap. She still didn’t know if he had heard her while lying there wounded and bleeding, so she decided to go with that, “Um, did you hear what I told you? Right before the ambulance came?”

He merely sat there with his arms crossed, staring at her with an unreadable expression as her fidgeting got worse the longer he remained silent. After a minute, he asked quite calmly, “Where is my son?”

Angie bit her lip as she replied timidly, “They thought it would be a good idea to send Camille and all the kids to her mom’s house in Bad Ax. Bobby told me that Camille is on her way home now.”

“Now tell me everything about our break-up, and I mean everything Angie.” He said in that same tone.

Angie told him everything she did and why she did it. She thought he almost smiled when she told him Derek was gay, but it was gone so fast that she could have imagined it. When she was done, he said nothing, just staring at her.

“Jack, please. Say something…anything.” She finally said.

He uncrossed his arms and said tiredly, “Go home Ang. I’m tired, and I need to think.”

She only nodded while not looking at him, not wanting him to see the tears in her eyes at his dismissal. Grabbing her purse and coat that the guy’s had brought for her, she left the room. She used the payphone in the lobby to call the house. Sofie answered the phone and told her that she would send Angel right away. Sitting down to wait, Angie nervously chew her thumbnail and shook her leg. She was a wreck by the time Angel pulled up in Sofie’s car.

Angel tried to ask her what happened and she said that she told Jack everything about what happened before he left for New York. Angel tried assuring her that Jack loved her and not to worry but she ignored his little pep talk as she stared out the window. When they got home, she went upstairs without a word to anyone and crawled into Jack’s bed where she cried herself to sleep.

The next morning, Sofie slammed down the phone, cursing in Spanish again and calling for Angel or Bobby. They came in from outside where they had been looking at the damage to the house, deciding what would need to be done and in what order. When Angel asked Sofie what was wrong, Sofie started telling him in Spanish in her agitation.

“Whoa honey. English.” Angel told her.

Taking a deep breath, Sofie explained, “I went to check on Angela this morning.” They knew that she must be upset as she hardly ever called Angie by her full name, “She is a mess. She must have cried all night. When I saw her, she was almost hysterical, saying that Jack hated her and he would never forgive her, so I gave her one of my sleeping pills to make her calm down.”

“Shit!” Bobby explained as he wiped a hand down his face, “What the fuck did the fairy say to her last night?”

Angel shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know man. She didn’t talk that much when I went and picked her up, but she was chewing on her nails, and she did say that she told him everything, including about what happened with Dickhead Derek.”

“So why would she get all worked up then?” Bobby asked himself out loud.

“It gets worse.” Sofie told them, “Jack just called. He wants me to bring Sebastian to see him…without Angie. He also said to tell her to take her things out of his room today before he gets released from the hospital.”

“FUCK!” Bobby and Angel exclaimed at the same time.

“Come on Angel, lets go find out what the hell the fucking fairy is thinkin’.” Bobby said as he grabbed Angie’s car keys. They had still not gotten his car fixed.

“Sofie, you go get the little man like Jackie asked you too and meet us at the hospital.” Angel told his fiancée as he hurried after Bobby to stop Jack from fucking everything up.

Angel and Bobby rode in silence all the way to the hospital and up to Jack’s room. As soon as they got out of the elevator, people loitering around, took one look at the two men, one black, one white but both with matching intense expressions, hurried to get out of their way as they headed straight for Jack’s room only to find him flirting with the fucking nurse that tried to give him a bath and got ran off by Angie for her troubles. She was leaning suggestively over his bed and the zipper of her uniform shirt was low enough to barely cover her nipples. Jack, the fucker, was apparently enjoying the view greatly judging by the smile on his face. A smile that both Angel and Bobby were itching to slap off.

“GODDAMN IT JACK! YOU FUCKING FAIRY! WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!!!” Bobby screamed so loud that four beefy security guards came to stop someone from getting killed on their territory.

They piled through the door comically and then looked at the scene before them. Bobby and Angel stood right inside the door while a nurse bent over a patient in the bed with her considerable rack almost touching his face. Jack just smirked, making both of the other men even madder.

Angel turned his head towards the guards and snarled, “Get the fuck outta here!”

Before the guards could do more than puff up, the doctor sailed through the door and boomed in an authoritive voice, “What, may I ask, is going on?”

Bobby hissed with disgust as he said, “Your…health care professional,” his voice dripped with sarcasm, “over there is trying to suffocate my brother with the tits that she can’t seem to keep in her fucking shirt!”

The doctor looked at the nurse, who was blushing furiously, and said sharply, “Nurse…” he examined her nametag, “Connor, what are you doing in here?”

She paled as she looked towards Jack with a pleading look. Shooting a glance at his two furious brothers, Jack said, “It’s all right. We were just talking.”

If his words were meant to get Big Tits out of trouble, he should have remained silent. The doctor drew himself up and said sternly, “Nurse Connor, I suggest you spend less time ‘chatting’ with the male patients and more time doing your duties! Now go!” he pointed a finger at the door. Before following her out to give her a good ass chewing in the corridor.

As soon as they left, Bobby and Angel swung around and Angel continued taking a chunk out of Jack’s skinny white ass, “Yo! What the fuck did you say to Angie last night and why you lettin’ that big tittied skank hang all over you Jack?! Are you really willing to throw away everything you have with Angie over some bitch that’ll fuck anybody?”

“You don’t know anything about it Angel, so back the fuck off!” Jack said sullenly.

Bobby and Angel shared a look and Bobby asked, “What’s going on Jack? What did you say to Angie?”

Jack rolled his head towards the ceiling and ground out, “I didn’t say anything alright? I let her explain and then I told her to go home…that’s it.”

“That’s it huh?” Bobby mocked, “That’s why she is such a fucking mess that Sofie had to give her a fucking sleeping pill just to calm her the fuck down?” It should have been an indication to Jack how pissed off Bobby was with his little brother that he called Sofie by her name and not La Vida Loca.

“And that’s why you told Sofie to bring you Sebastian without bringing Angie?” Angel added sarcastically.

“And that’s why you told Sofie to move Angie’s stuff outta your room?” Bobby added.

Jack crossed his arms and said stubbornly, “Its none of your business guy’s, so stay the hell out of it.”

Angel actually growled and Bobby raked a hand threw his hair before laughing coldly, “You think it’s not our business huh?” Leaning over Jack and sticking his face right up to him, Bobby said clearly, emphasizing every word. “Angie is fucking family! Everything to do with her is our business!” Standing back, he pointed a finger in Jack’s face as he said, “You better think hard before you fuck it up and lose the best goddamn thing to ever happen to you my brother!”

“SHE FUCKING LIED TO ME BOBBY!!” Jack screamed at him in fury, “She robbed me of the chance to be with my own kid. To RAISE my own kid! TO KNOW THE FIRST FUCKING THING ABOUT MY OWN GODDAMN SON!!”

“She also gave you a chance to make your dream come true Jack.” Bobby said quietly, “She didn’t want to take that away from you so that you would spend the rest of your life thinking what could have been. I would have thought you would be over the fucking moon to know that she never cheated on you.” Jack didn’t answer, crossing his arms and looking away.

Disgusted, Bobby started to walk out of the room before stopping in the doorway and saying before slamming the door closed behind him, “By the way, I catch you even thinking about stickin’ your dick anywhere that you shouldn’t…I will cut it off myself little brother.”

“He’ll do it too.” Angel warned him with a glare, “And I’ll help by holding your stupid ass down!” he started walking for the door and throwing over his shoulder, “I’m gonna go see when we can take you home.”

Angel found Bobby pacing the hallway looking like he wanted to kill somebody, or at least beat the shit out of them.
Everyone was eyeing the man nervously. Obviously, the Mercer family reputation had once again, preceeded them.

“Can you believe this shit?!” Bobby spat. Stopping his pacing long enough to hold his thumb and finger almost touching, “This fucking close! A cunt hair close to having everything that he has ever really wanted, that has ever really mattered o him, and then he goes TRYING to fuck it all up!” he threw his arms up in the air.

Angel, having better success at keeping his temper than Bobby for the moment, sighed and said, “I don’t know Bobby. I’m gonna go see when we can take him home.”

Bobby nodded absently as he resumed his pacing. Just when things should be going better, Jackie has to throw a fucking wrench in the mix. Stupid fucker.

Just as Bobby saw Angel making his way towards him, the elevator door opened and Bobby heard Sebastian squeal, “Unca Bobby! I’m gonna see my Daddy!”

Bobby couldn’t help but to smile as he crouched down and ruffled Sebastians soft hair, “That’s good little man.” Looking at Sofie, he asked her with no trace of his usual tauting, mocking tone whenever he talkd to her, “How’s Ang?”

Sofie frowned and shook her head sadly as she said low enough for Sebastian to not hear her, “I didn’t want to leave her alone, but she insisted I take Sebastian to see Jackie.”

“So you told her what Jackie said?” he asked.

She noddd and muttered something about not having a choice. She took Sebastian by the hand and entered Jack’s room. Bobby decided to go check on Angie himself and left the hospital after informing Angel, who was still waiting to talk to the doctor.

When he got home, it was to find a crying Angie sitting on the floor in the middle of his old bedroom surrounded by her clothes and things. Without a word. He took her into his arms and started to rock her, making shushing noises. She finally calmed down long enough to tell him about holding Sofie down with a pair of scissors in her hand, threatening to shave her bald if the spanish girl didn’t tell her what Jack said on the phone.

Bobby chuckled a little at the image as he smoothed Angie’s hair away from her face. The girl was a mess. Black circles under her puffy, red-rimmed eyes and the area around her nose was bright red from being constantly rubbed with a tissue she had clutched in her hand.

“What am I gonna do Bobby?” she sniffled against his chest.

Bobby just sighed and continued to rock her, “I don’t know Pipsqueak. Just give him his space for a while.”

They sat there for the rest of the afternoon, each in their own thoughts until Angel called to say that Jack would be released the next morning. Bobby finally cajoled Angie to go take a shower while he went to find out what to do about dinner. He stood in the kitchen for a while, staring at the contents of the refridgerator as if something would jump out and start to make itself before deciding to order a pizza.

When it was delivered, they sat together on the couch watching a game while he bullied Angie into eating some by reminding her that no matter what happened with Jack, she still had Sebastian to think about. He kept one eye on her and one on the game, satisfied when she started to eat one of the pieces he gave her.

Angel and Sofie came in with a sleeping Sebastian in Angel’s arms. They whispered that they were going to put him in bed and Angie hurried up the stairs after them, saying that she was going to tuck him in. When she didn’t come back down after a while, the guy’s sent Sofie up there to check on her and Sofie reported that Angie was sound asleep next to her son.

As Bobby lay in bed that night with his arms behind his head as he stared at the ceiling, he really hoped that Angie and Jack would work things out for the sake of their little boy.

A/N: Big brother Bobby! He reminds me of someone I know, (no details ‘cause you know who you are Sweetie!) All rough and tough on the outside, but a absolute marshmallow for the one he loves. Next Chapter up soon!


Sorry I took so long to update! My internet provider went all screwy and I lost the net for a few days!