jupiterwriteshere

[jupiterwriteshere]

Emmett wasn't sure what he was going to do on his days off. He normally spent the time outdoors somewhere on a hike or camping or stuff like that but it was still a bit too cold for things like that and he decided he was going to try to take things easier this year, especially with the health stuff he was waiting to hear back about. He decided to try and learn a new hobby, deciding on bowling. He remembered going bowling when he was a kid and then thinking that it was stupid when he was a teenager, because teenagers always thought everything was stupid. It was how he found himself sitting in the bowling alley & arcade that they had in town, gutter blocked by the bars they usually use for kids, bowling a less than perfect game. He couldn't help but laugh at himself, enjoying the time spent on his own when he noticed someone else on their own. "You want in? I promise, you can probably beat me."

@kiplingwriter (open)

[jupiterwriteshere]

Waylon needed some time away from the restaurant and he needed it now. He could feel the stress and frustrations building so he left it in the capable hands of the manager and took the day off which is how he found himself sitting in the park with Emma in her stroller, taking a nap. The quietness that he was enjoying was then ruined by a screaming child who tore past the father and daughter pairing, nearly tripping over the stroller. Waylon grimaced at the near miss before getting up from the bench. He couldn't be mad at the kid for being loud since it was a park, but the kid could have been more careful around a stroller. He decided the two of them were done for the day at the park and went to leave, unaware of the rocks that had been moved to the walkway when the kid had run by. Those rocks are how he found himself sitting in the waiting room of the hospital, waiting to have his leg looked at with little Emma thankfully still asleep in the stroller next to him. He turned to the person sitting next to him. "Hope you're having a better day today then I am..."

@kiplingwriter (open)

[jupiterwriteshere]

"Old habits die hard I guess. I'm used to not being wanted so it's always been easier to be the one to leave first." Shiloh said without thinking much of it. "I guess it's hard to break a habit after all." She offered him a small smile. "No, we can go inside. I mean I came all this way, I think I can manage a few more steps into your place." She said as she took the few steps back towards his door. Her natural instincts were telling her to run away before she got hurt, reminding her of the last time she let someone into her heart. It had ended badly and she had been hurt, her trust broken and she didn't know how to let someone else in. But this was Chance and even if they were technically strangers right now, she still felt a bond to him that she knew she was safe with him, even if some things hurt in that moment.

"And you were going to walk away like that?" His voice was impossibly soft, not sure of what to even say that might keep her there with his hands full or with the full force of the truth that he was to blame how they'd gotten separated in the first place. "Just wait, please," he spoke once more as he turned slightly to unlock the door and pushed it open before he gestured for her to follow him in. But he paused, thinking maybe she wasn't ready for that much as he stuttered. "Unless you'd rather wait here and I'll drop these off and be right back.. just don't go yet."

[jupiterwriteshere]

"What can I say, I usually do as I'm told." Teo said as he turned towards the stairs, unsure where the confidence was coming from. There was just something different about Chance. He smiled softly once they reached an unoccupied bedroom and he held the door open for the other before letting it shut as soon as they were both in the room, the noise coming to a dull thudding sound as the wood blocked it. "I always look forward to seeing you, if I can be honest."

"Yeah.." He chuckled slightly then, not sure where the nervousness was coming from when he was used to flirting and spending time with those that he was attracted to but Teo was another level for him. "I guess I wasn't expecting you to wait exactly in the same spot that I left you at." He was clearly joking with the smile in place as they both took the stairs and headed off to a more quiet spot. "It was nice. I liked being able to look forward to seeing you again."

[jupiterwriteshere]

Shiloh couldn't help but feel upset right in that moment, even though it wasn't really anything but her own brain putting those feelings at the forefront. Ever since they were separated, Shiloh had felt just a little angry and jealous that he had found himself a family and she had been stuck in the foster care system until she aged out of it. She knew it wasn’t his fault and that she wasn’t truly upset with him, at least, not anymore. She just needed to tell that to her brain. When she heard him call back to her, she stopped walking and turned around to look at him. Her heart was pounding, the nerves making themselves known by way of butterflies in her stomach. This was he moment she had been waiting for since they had been pulled away from each other and yet now that it was here, she was terrified of it happening. What if this went wrong? What if he hated her? What if he was upset that she he found him? The moment seemed to drag on and the quiet of just the few seconds hung in the air, waiting for what was to come next. Shiloh took a step back towards Chance. “Sorry..I uh…I hope I’m not intruding or anything. I’ve just been looking for you for a long time now and I can’t believe that I finally found you…”

@kiplingwriter

[jupiterwriteshere]

Javi felt guilty about not telling Logan sooner about what was happening and it wasn't his intent to have her find out by finding him on the floor. He had planned on making her dinner and telling her so she could come to his new doctor with him. He watched her for a moment. "I'm so sorry Logan, for not telling you as soon as I got here. I just didn't know how to tell you when I got here. I know I've had time to process this but it's fresh for you and I can answer any questions." He said softly and then looked towards the doctor and back to Logan.

"We are looking at about half an hour for the surgery. The sooner the better if I am being honest with you." The doctor said with a confident nod. "The best neuro and orthopedic surgeons will be working on you Javier, you are in very good hands." Javi nodded his head and looked towards his sister. The doctor nodded and left the room and left Javi with Logan. He couldn't admit just how scared he was of this moment but he could feel his hands shaking some and he tried to focus his breathing as the feeling of the walls closing in started, obvious signs of panic starting.

There was too much silence in between the doctors and machines, and the countless words and reassurances that everyone kept sending her that Javi was going to be okay. Even when he spoke, Logan swore that she missed half of what he said only because she was barely coming to terms with that he was seriously hurt but also going to be alright. She wanted to believe that he would be alright, more than anything, but it was hard when she didn’t know everything that was going on even though everyone spoke to her like she knew it all. All except for Javi. “You could have told me. I would have understood and I could have helped you,” she spoke with a faint smile, wishing that she had been able to do more than call 911 for him as she squeezed his hand before he was wheeled away again.

She glanced up again, another doctor in another sterile coat and expression was talking to her about surgery and aftercare, which had her wondering again how much of this was news to anyone else in the room. “I can.. do that. I can handle that.” Though she knew that she sounded like a broken record, clearly exhausted as not going to leave any time soon if they were about to wheel him out again. “When, when are you taking him for surgery?” She asked, though her eyes were on her brother that she’d only barely gotten back in her life and didn’t want to lose again.

[jupiterwriteshere]

Finn held onto her as long as she wanted him to hold her and when she started to pull away, he let her go, letting her pull away from him. "You may not think you're strong, but I do believe that you are. I mean you've been through a lot and you came out the other side." He said with a small smile. "Well, I don't exactly know what's happening with him, but he's a man, so doctor's aren't our favorite things in the world. I'm sure he is dramatic when he has a cold too." He said moved to sit down, gently patting the seat next to him. "If you want me to, I can stay with you, while he's getting whatever is being done, done."

Her body practically folded against his chest, feeling the way her tears fell silently as both relief and fear coursed through her which was overwhelming her other common sense to push back away from him. Finn wasn't the answer to her problems, or so she told herself but she couldn't remember the past few hours as she texted plenty of numbers looking for something. She hadn't expected it to be him. "I am not.. as strong as people think I am," she all but mumbled against his chest, not ready to pull away just yet as she closed her eyes to hold onto the moment before reality sunk in and she slowly started to untangle herself from him. "Stubborn maybe, but strong?" She shook her head. "And definitely not smart. He should have seen a doctor far sooner than this."

[jupiterwriteshere]

"I...don't know." Charlie said as she looked over towards Logan. She really had no clue how she was feeling about having a baby herself. There were a lot of things floating in her mind but she knew Logan knew how she was feeling and there was a small part of her that was relieved they were going to be going through it at the same time. "Ask away, I don't even know where to start..."

"Are we.. are we happy about it?" Logan's mind was reeling, having gone through finding out herself and the reaction having been one of the worst moments of her life in the past decade. And more recently, she'd slowly been coming to terms with it even though she hadn't broken the news to her brother. He was going through enough with being in the hospital, that she hadn't wanted to add anymore stress to him just yet as she chewed on her bottom lip. "I.. I have so many questions and I don't know which one to ask first."

[jupiterwriteshere]

"You asked me to." Teo said as he looked at Chance and took the bottle from the other, quickly taking a swig of the drink. "Shall we?" He asked as he looked towards the stairs.

Chance made quick work of slipping in to grab the beers before he head back towards their meet up point, seeing Teo already there as he smiled and handed over a bottle. "You waited."

[jupiterwriteshere]

Isaac had been looking for his would have been family for years, ever since he had turned 18 and had been allowed to look for them or have any contact. What he thought would have been as simple as calling the numbers he used to have for them, was difficult because numbers had changed and life had moved on, what he hoped was for the better for Waylon and Banks. It certainly was not for the better for himself as the blood relative that took him in was not the best home for him. In fact, it probably could not be worse and it certainly wasn't happy. He wondered why they had even stepped forward at all as it seemed like they didn't want a family after all.

The family he had ended up with liked their alcohol and drugs and didn't end up wanting to raise a then teenager who would have rather been with the family he had come to love. Isaac had been pulled from his biological parents when he was only 4 years old due to neglect and he had bounced around foster homes for a bit before he landed with Waylon when he was 7 years old. He helped welcome multiple foster kids into the home, all of whom were reunited with their biological families or had found permanent placement elsewhere and he didn't really understand why he couldn't go with them at first. This was until he witnessed a disgruntled family member try to forcibly take back their child from Waylon, injuring the man he had come to know as his father, that the memories that his brain had hidden from him, that he realized he was home. Things were going well and he was thriving under Waylon's care and things only got better once Banks arrived in their care.

He loved Banks, as a little brother he had always dreamed of. Isaac dreamed of being a family officially and it almost happened for him when Waylon asked him if he wanted to become official and be adopted by the older man who had already filed the paperwork for Banks. Isaac's situation was a little more complicated as he still had 'family' fighting to take him and one day, at 16 years old, just about ten years since he had been taken, he got the news he would be sent back to his mother's sister and brother in law, his aunt and uncle, who he had never met. They were awarded custody of him, even though he said no, that he didn't want to go. He was old enough to make his own decisions, according to him. The court didn't care and he was taken from the only family he had ever known.

Isaac wasn't cared about though, that much was obvious. Just like his parents, his aunt and uncle were consumed by drugs and alcohol and used him to get more, in whatever way they could. The minute that he turned 18, he got out of there and tried his best to find Waylon and Banks, however they had moved since and he was told no to getting any information. He dedicated his future to getting back to the only family he had ever known. He became a blogger, which started when he had used the blogging site to just write about his experiences and found that people were drawn to his writings. He decided to use that in order to find his family and it finally worked.

He had found them, well rather, found Banks, which meant he found Waylon. He packed his bags and his laptop and left his New York apartment. He found a flight and now he found himself standing outside of the door of the person he thought of as a brother once upon and time. He knocked on the door and waited for it to open before speaking. "Hi...uh this may sound weird...." He looked up.

@kiplingwriter

[jupiterwriteshere]

Finn was relieved to hear that she wasn't at the hospital for her but he didn't like that it was someone she cared about. While he had never met her brother himself, as he was off in the military, he knew that Logan loved him a lot, which meant that he would be worried about her brother himself. He frowned as she started to cry, pulling her into his arms. He didn't know if she would be 100% comfortable with a hug from him of all people after having the time apart that they did but he honestly would rather be yelled at later but be able to hold her while she cried. "He'll be okay Logan, I promise." He ran a few fingers through her hair. "If he's anything like you, he is going to be strong because he's related to you."

"I'm.. I.. It's not me. It's Javi," she managed to get out with a shake of her head, ready to shrug off everything that she'd walked away from when the doctors didn't have anything for her. They took him away and left her with more questions than answers, which rattled her to the core that something was seriously wrong with her brother. She hadn't even remembered that she'd texted Finn, mostly because she'd been doing her best to avoid him since the funeral and the transition of the ranch. Too much had been on her plate had been her excuse, her pregnancy had been the reality, and Charlie should have been the one that she texted and yet her fingers had selected his number.

She stared at him for a moment as if seeing him for the first time despite knowing he was talking to her. "How'd you get here?" Logan looked down at her hands which were still shaking. "He.. I found him on the ground and he wasn't conscious, but the doctors.. they don't know what's wrong or they won't tell me.. they won't let me see him yet." He had been awake barely when they loaded him into the ambulance, but Logan hadn't seen him since they wheeled him into the back. Her voice cracked and nearly turned into a sob. "I know something's wrong with him and they won't tell me."

[jupiterwriteshere]

Charlie could feel the relief go through her when she heard that Javi was going to be ok. She knew how much Logan's brother meant to her. "I bet. I can't even imagine how I would be feeling if that were me." She said as she looked down, biting her lip. "Yeah, I uh....just found out." She said as she looked over at her best friend. She hadn't been nervous to tell Logan until just now that she had just told her, wondering how the other was going to react to the news. "I haven't told anyone else but you..."

Logan needed to see Charlie. After everything that had happened in the past twenty four hours, there was a part of her that knew that she wasn't going to be any good to anyone if she went to work after spending the night at the hospital, which meant that her saving grace was her best friend. She might have stunk and looked like she hadn't slept much at all, because she hadn't, but none of that mattered when she saw her favorite person in the entire world waiting for her. "He's... he's going to be okay." Logan leaned into the hug and breathed out, holding onto her best friend for another beat before they separated and she took the seat across from the other. "It was so scary seeing him like that and knowing that there wasn't anything I could do." It was one of the most terrifying things that she'd ever been through, only Charlie knew the one that was worse than that as she watched her friend. "Are you... okay?"

No matter what she thought Charlie was going to say, it wasn't that as she felt her jaw go slack only slightly before she caught herself and shut her mouth for a moment. "Wait, you're pregnant?"

[jupiterwriteshere]

Javi looked towards Logan and frowned, hating that he had made her feel like that. He carefully squeezed her hand with his. "I'm sorry Logan...I didn't want to make you feel like that. I didn't know it had gotten to that point yet..." He watched her for a moment before sighing softly, mostly to himself. "That's why I was able to get out of the military but I was always going to come back to you Logan, always." He said as he watched her. "I promise, I was always going to find you." He offered a small smile. "It's okay Logan, I didn't want to impose any more than I already have." He said and sat up some in the bed.

The doctor came back after a little while and took Javi away for just a little bit for the scan before bringing him back. He pulled up the scans which showed some shrapnel very close to the spine and the spinal cord. "As you can see, it's moved and we cannot wait any further to do surgery. We will do our best to get all of it out as there seemed to be a bit more floating around your abdomen as well." He said and looked between Javi and Logan. "We will get that going and I will go over aftercare with you for later." He said turning to Logan.

Logan had lost too much over the years, most of it because it being her own fault but to think that she was this close to having her brother back and only to lose him again - she wasn’t going to handle that at all. Her words were all a lie, even when she reached out for her hand to hold it did she even believe that she would be able to handle losing him. Though when he said that he wasn’t dying, only then was she able to let go of the breath that she’d been holding onto out of the pure fear of seeing him lying there on the floor of her place. “I thought… when I saw you like that, I thought the worst and I thought I was out of time with you,” she managed to get out, squeezing his hand and then fearfully watching him try to sit up a bit more than before.

Not only did she fear losing him, but also the fact that she’d been keeping something from him too until she could figure out the right way to say that she was pregnant. She hadn’t told anyone other than her best friend that she were, not even someone who might have been the father or her brother now as she pressed her lips together and listened. “So that’s why you came back after all these years.. you’re hurting. And I didn’t know, all the moving things.. you should have said something, I would have helped you sooner than this.” There was no anger in her words, just a slight helplessness at not being able to do anything.

[jupiterwriteshere]

Teo couldn't help but smirk as he watched the other walk away from him. He leaned against the wall, hands shoved in his pockets until he saw the other come back.

"You hold that thought. I'm going to be two seconds," he spoke with a smile as he head back towards the kitchen to grab the drinks and would meet the other at the stairs.

[jupiterwriteshere]

"I wouldn't dream of going anywhere without you babe. so don't you worry about that."

"You know when you say things like that, it's bound to go to my head. So you better watch out there. And watch the stairs. I'll be right back with the drinks, so you.. don't go anywhere. I wouldn't want you to get lost or disappear on me."

[jupiterwriteshere]

"I got the stairs, easy. We will definitely have to see what happens next. Anything for you. You call me, I'll be there. If it means I get to see your pretty face, I'll definitely be there."

"I'll grab the drinks, you scope out the stairs for the best time to sneak up there where no one catches us and we'll see what happens next. School night, work night, it's the same thing. I appreciate that you showed up at all. This definitely wouldn't be as much fun if you weren't here."

[jupiterwriteshere]

"That is exactly what I'm saying here. All you have to do is get some drinks in me and you'll be able to know just about everything. Not that it's hard to tell you things anyway. School night? What are we, 15?"

"So what you're telling me is if I get you drinking, then I get to know more about you. I think that's a pretty good deal and one that I didn't know was even on the table before tonight. I guess I'm even happier that you came out on a school night than I already was seeing you here."