Summer of Jonnor

Aftermath

"The boy shoved him and he went down hard," the paramedic said to Stef. "He's got a bit of road rash on his shoulders, but other than that he seems okay. We want to take him in though just to check for a concussion. It's a good thing he was wearing a helmet, his head hit pretty hard."

Stef clasped her hand to her mouth and nodded. She watched as they loaded Jude in the stretcher into the back of the ambulance.

Mike Foster came over to her. "We've got a possible ID on one of the perps. "Jared and I are going over to check it out."

She nodded curtly.

He took her arm. "Are you okay?"

"More like mad as hell. We have fought so hard to be treated equally and have the same rights and protections as everyone else and all it takes is one mean kid to tear it down."

"What he did was illegal, and we'll catch him, Stef. Don't let this bring your whole world apart."

The anger in her eyes didn't soften. "I'm just glad it's you going over there and not me. I seriously don't think I could be professional. Not this close."

"Trust me, if we catch these dimwits I'm not going easy on them. Go take care of your son, I got it."

Stef smiled a little at the "your son" remark. She nodded. "Lena, ride with Jude. I'll follow." She got into her police vehicle and started the engine.

Connor's dad drove up and got out. He ran over to the ambulance, saw Lena and Connor sitting next to Jude in the ambulance. "What can I do?"

"They're just going to check him out because he hit his head."

"Can I ride with him?" Connor asked.

"Of course," Adam said. He looked at Lena. "Sacred Cross?" She nodded. "Any word on the creeps who did this?"

"Mike's taking care of it."

He nodded grimly. "Connor, I'll meet you down there."

***

In the back of the ambulance, Lena held Connor, who was crying uncontrollably. "Is this what it's gonna be like for us?" he asked, the words barely recognizable through the sobs.

"Oh no honey," she said, rubbing his back. "There will be a lot more people who are supportive than those who are not. You just need to be aware of your surroundings and if something doesn't feel right or safe, call us or get out of there."

"It happened so fast," he said, heaving.

Jude reached out and squeezed Connor's hand. "I'm okay baby, you don't have to cry. I just had the wind knocked out of me. Or do I have to use reverse psychology and tell you to cry?"

Connor laughed a bit. "I was so scared."

"I wasn't," Jude said. "I knew you were there. You always keep me safe." He squeezed Connor's hand.

"It'll be okay, honey," Lena said to Connor. "We're very lucky to have you. You've always been Jude's protector."

He looked down. "Not today."

"You're wrong. You may not be able to stop every bad thing from happening, but you can stand up for what's right, and you always do that, sweetie."

Jude looked at Connor, nodded, and squeezed his hand again.

***

"He's being released," Stef said. "Everything was fine on the scan."