Fixing Love

28

Everyone was silent as we waited for the doctors to show up. Ethan was holding his mother and Nick. James was holding Jenny's hand, while Marcus had her in his arms. Freddy was pacing in a circle, deep in thought. I was planning a man hunt in my head.

"McClain and Kingman?" We stood up as the doctor entered the room. "The good new is, they are out of critical condition. We managed to stabilized both of them." I think we all released a breath at the same time. "Alastor Kingman suffered a broken collar bone, damaged ribs, internal bleeding, a few scrapes and bruises, and a broken leg." Val only cried more as he told her everything that happened, but at least he wasn't in danger anymore. It would just take time to heal.

"And my dad?" I felt Ethan's warm hand in mine as I asked. Me and Freddy stood in front of the doctor. I forgot he is also my dad's son now. Weird having a brother, and now I have two.

"Charles suffered a bit more I'm afraid. He was hit on the side where the cars connected. He suffered from a punctured wound caused by part of the door stabbing his side, thankfully no major organs were hit. He has a broken arm, broken and fractured ribs, slight head trauma, but not fatal or life threatening. Damage to the left ear, but fixable with a hearing aid if needed. But he too is out of the danger zone." I swear I am killing the son of a bitch who did this.

"Thank you doctor. May we see them?" Thankfully Ethan spoke up. I don't think any of us were able to without breaking down.

"They are sleeping right now. We had to given them some medicine to have them sleep and rest their bodies. Come back tomorrow afternoon. We will call you if anything changes." I think he could tell we didn't want to leave. "I know it's a difficult thing to do. You want to stay with them. But right now they are still in the ICU, just to be on the safe side. They will be moved to a private room in the morning. You can come back then. Please get some rest." With that we walked out. We told Val to spend the night at the mansion with us. She agreed, only because she was scared to be alone tonight.

We got home, and no one said anything. Freddy took Nick from Ethan and went to get him ready for bed. Marcus took Jenny to their room. James, Ethan, Val and I sat in the living room. The fire burning in the background. Val would cry every now and then, but Ethan was quick to comfort her.

"James, gym, now." I stood up and heard him follow behind me. We grabbed our bags, and made our way to the cars. We drove to 24hour fitness in silence. We entered our numbers, and went to get changed. The second I set foot out the locker room, I started beating the shit out of the bag. I was letting all my anger out on it.

"Carter." I didn't stop. I kept hitting it. "Carter." I punched it harder, and harder. "Carter!"

"What?!" The last punch snapped the chain, and the bag hit he floor. I received looks, but one from me had everyone looking the other way. "Fuck." I picked up the bag, much to the surprise of James and everyone else. "What? Weights about as much as one of the monster truck tires at the shop." A little more actually, but they don't need to know. I place the bag on the counter, and pull out my wallet. "Sorry. How much?"

After paying for the broken gym equipment, and working out till my muscles burned, we started heading back home. James decided to drive.

"Bro, I know your pissed okay. But breaking shit isn't gonna do anything."

"So what do I do? The cops won't tell us who the fuck hit them." Apparently Val had talked to the cops. They left before any of us got to the hospital.

"I know this situation sucks! He may not be legally our father, but Jenny and I see Charles as one. And we even started treated Alastor and Valkyrie as parents too. We're all pissed off and angry, but we need to be patient. Once Charles and Alastor wake-up they might be able to tell us more. Till then. We just, have to wait." He gripped the steering wheel till his knuckles turned white. Have I really learned nothing in the year I've been gone?

It's the same thing as last time. I'm trying to shoulder all the responsibility again, and I'm letting it eat away at me. I can't do that again. I can't put this family through that again. James is right, I need to be patient. I have to remember there are other people hurting, not just me.

"You're right. I'm sorry." He mumbled something along the lines of 'you bet your ass I'm right'. It caused me to let out a small quiet laugh.

"When we get home, go straight to Ethan and Nick. You need them, and I know for a fact that he needs you too." We pulled into the mansion gates, and he parked the car in front by the fountain. I ran out the car, and straight inside the house. I must have taken those stairs two at a time, because I ended up on the third floor in no time. I opened my bedroom door, and saw a teary eyed Ethan holding a sleeping Nick.

"Welcome back." I ran to Ethan, and captured his lips into a fierce kiss. Our tears mixing in with the kiss. He pushed me away gently, and went to put Nick in his nursery. He came back, and sat on my lap. He wiped at my tears, even with his own sliding down his soft cheeks. "Carter." His voice was firm, but he couldn't hide the pain. Ethan has been saying he's tired of crying. He said he's sick of being weak. So I did it for him.

"Why can't anything stay right?! Why does something have to go wrong, just when things are getting good!" I hid my face in his firm chest, his strong but slender arms wrapped around me. I was enveloped in the warmth I have become addicted to. I am not normally considered a weak man. And I never once considered Ethan to be one either. It take strength to cry, but takes even more to do it in the presence of people you love. It's not a sign of weakness. But of a soul that has just been holding it all in, and has finally grown tired of keeping it hidden.

Right now, everyone is being strong. Val, Jenny, Marcus, James, Freddy. And I know that if they could, so would Nick and Michael. Dad and Alastor have been looking after this family for a long time. They work hard to keep us living the lives we are living. They brought two families together, and helped make it grow. They don't deserve to be in the situation they are in, but even that didn't stop them. They fought and came out of it. A few injuries, but it could have been worse. I wouldn't have just lost one more parents, I would have lost two. And everyone else would have suffered just as much.

"Our dads are fighters, aren't they Ethan." He chuckled, and ran his fingers through my hair.

"They are. They are some of the strongest men I know. And tomorrow, we're gonna show them how much they mean to us." Tomorrow. We just have to wait, until tomorrow.