The beeping was annoying. How was anyone supposed to sleep?
His eyes felt heavy, but Jak forced them open. His vision was blurry, and he had to blink slowly. His head and face hurt so he couldn't really do much.
He looked at his surroundings. He was in a hospital room. The last time he'd been in one had been two years ago with Damian. This time, it was him laying in the hospital bed. He had several IVs sticking out of his arms. One was transfusing blood. He was in bad shape.
He hurt all over. Every inch of his body screamed in agony. Even with the slightest touch or movement he hurt. He couldn't explain that kind of pain. A person just just had to live through it to understand. But if he tried, it felt like his entire body had been put through a blender.
Jak tried to adjust, but agony ripped through him. He felt his side and noticed a bandage over his stomach. He could feel stitches under the fabric just above his belly button. There was no way he was going to be doing any extracurricular activities any time soon. The fact he could think like that meant he was going to be okay eventually.
He looked over and saw his mother reading a book. Her glasses sat on the brim of her nose as her eyes flickered all over the page. Beside her was the ever present turquoise Yeti cup. During the day, she had sweet tea. At night, it became home to her favorite mixed drinks.
He watched her read for a while, contentment settling within him. This wasn't how he wanted to spend time with her, but he would enjoy it as much as he could. She was always on the go so he rarely got time to spend with her. She never expected him to give up his plans to take time for family unless it was Christmas. Even birthdays weren't a big deal for them which was why Reaux made a big deal about them.
Jak coughed then groaned at the pain that lanced through him. He looked at his mother. She was looking at him. A smile spread across her lips, and her eyes lit up. She put her bag on the floor and her book aside then leaned over to gently touch his face.
"What day is it?" he croaked. He knew his face looked confused because his mother smiled at it.
"Saturday," she replied. His eyes widened a bit. "You've been asleep for four days."
"So I missed graduation?" He asked but he already knew the answer. If he was in the hospital like this, he knew he'd missed a lot.
"Do you remember what happened?" she asked. She smoothed out his blankets to give her hands something to do. They were shaking slightly.
Jak sighed. "I wish I didn't. Getting hit by a car is not fun."
"Being called by your daughter that your son has been hit by a car is not fun either." Jak flashed his famous smile at her. Though it was a toned down version, she accepted it. "Did you have anything to do with the boy who pushed you?"
Her son shook her head though it hurt to do so. "No. He was a thug who was friends with the second guy." He sighed and let his head fall back gently to his pillow. "Mom, do you know anything about the girl who was holding my head?"
"Your father has been trying to find her. She was a nursing student by her scrubs. But school is out now so she may have gone home."
Jak figured as much. He knew he may have to wait to thank her. He didn't want to think about what would have happened had she not shown up. She had stabilized his head to make sure he didn't have a spinal injury. She'd talked to him as if nothing was wrong.
Karen started fussing. Was he warm enough? Was he in pain? Did she need to press the call button for pain medication? Was he thirsty? She kept asking so many questions that Jak wanted to pull his hair out.
She went to pull on his blankets again. Jak grabbed her hand to stop her, pulling on everything in the process. He let out a breathy gasp and dropped his hand. Karen began to panic more until he stopped her. She held his hand even though hers shook.
His pain subsided, and he settled back in his bed. It just hurt to move, and arguing wasn't going to make it better. He just wanted to relax, but he knew his mother. She had to be doing something, and he was in her line of sight.
She called the nurse so she knew he was awake which then prompted the doctors to come in. Sutures and staples were checked, and bandages were changed. He was given the all clear to eat, but it had to be all liquids. They didn't want to overload his system.
When his lunch came, he sucked down the chicken broth and tea quickly. Karen filled his water jug, and he sucked that down too. He was working on vanilla pudding when she spoke up.
"Jak, why didn't you tell us about Reaux?" she asked. He looked funny with his spoon sticking out of his mouth and his bruised eyes as wide as he could get them. "Alana let it slip while on vacation."
"I didn't know how to tell you," he answered. He finished his pudding then pushed his tray away. "It took me a long time to accept it myself. Sometimes I still can't believe it."
"Do you think it's a phase?"
Jak stared at her. Was she asking him to walk away from Reaux? Did she not realize the whole reason he was in the hospital was because someone wanted to take him away from the other Alpha? He may not completely understand why it was this way, but that didn't mean he wanted to leave.
Was she embarrassed that her son was claimed by another man? Was that it? All because he couldn't have kids to carry on the Olson name? Was she really that shallow?
He closed his eyes and let all of his emotions settle. He couldn't let her bother him. He needed to get better so he could go home, home to Reaux.
They sat in silence for a long time. Karen wasn't sure where she went wrong, but she'd upset Jak with her simple curiosity. He stared at the television without seeing it. He only did that when he was upset. Jak didn't like arguing with them -his parents- because he didn't want to drive a wedge between them. He wanted to be able to talk to them about anything and not let hard feelings get in the way. But to do so meant he had to keep all his emotions bottled up so he didn't hurt them.
The door opened around late afternoon. John returned with dinner for Karen. He smiled when he saw Jak awake. He ruffled his hair then sat by his wife. He gave Jak a sip of his tea then settled in the chair beside his wife.
When the door opened again, this time the person was the one Jak wanted to see. His battered face lit up almost instantly, the bruising almost disappearing with his bright smile. Reaux came in with a large drink and what could only be his leftovers. He smiled when he saw Jak awake and nearly tripped over his own feet in his haste to get to him. He put his stuff down on the table and wrapped Jak up as gently as he could.
Karen watched as the two held each other as if their lives depended on it. Reaux shed tears as he stroked Jak's head softly. They pulled away then stared at each other for a long time, a silent conversation passing between them. Reaux pressed a soft kiss to Jak's forehead then sat in the empty chair on the other side. His fingers laced with the younger man's and he held on tightly.
They lapsed into a whispered conversation as Reaux told him everything. Jak chewed on the straw of the cup Reaux had brought in as he listened to his surgeries and injuries. His brow crinkled when he was told about his fractured sinus cavity and bleeding on the brain. He wanted to laugh at the stupidity of it all, but that would hurt. He didn't want to hurt anymore than he already was.
Jak adjusted their hands as the detective continued talking. His hand was beginning to hurt with the needle stuck in it. Reaux told about the bust and how he wasn't allowed to go. Jak was grateful they hadn't allowed him to go because one of them in the hospital was enough. He would have figured out a way to get to Reaux if he was, even with all his injuries.
Reaux's thumb rubbed gently over the IV needle, trying to ease the discomfort he was feeling. He was glad Jak was awake. As groggy as he was and as much pain as he was in, he was awake and talking. He was alive. When he'd first come out of recovery, he didn't think he was going to make it. His injuries were too severe and he was going to die because of them. But now he was awake and talking albeit hoarsely.
"Jak," Reaux whispered. Jak lifted his head from where he'd been staring at their hands and looked at him. "Dante and Mateo are going to prison on various charges. You won't have to worry about them anymore."
"I didn't worry about them to begin with," Jak said. He picked up Reaux's hand and kissed his knuckles. "If anyone else tries to come between us, we should beat the shit out of them."
"Jak!" his mother scolded. It was more about his choice of words than what he'd said.
He smiled at her. "Mom. Dad. This is Reaux Grant. Detective, royal pain in my ass, and…" He paused to look at Reaux with the biggest blue eyes despite what the face around them looked like. "And the person I'm head over heels in love with."
Reaux smiled and lifted his hand to his mouth, kissing his palm. It was the only undamaged part of his hand. They settled into an easy conversation with Jak's parents. It was better than either expected to be, but they knew no one could separate them. They'd die before that.