Summer of Jonnor

The Getty Principle

Connor ducked back around the corner and started around the house in the other direction, lapping it quickly even though it was getting steadily darker. He stopped when he was behind the man who had a gun on Jude. Now the trick was getting himself into the wind correctly...

Jude tried not to tense up at the sensation of the gun muzzle jammed into his temple. He had seen Connor disappear and had a good idea of what he was going to try to do. Jude emptied his lungs and took a few deep breaths. The man holding him was telling Stef, Taylor and Sophia to drop their weapons in very badly accented English. Jude's nose twitched. Connor was behind them. Jude dropped his head, stomped on the man's foot and dived to the left. Connor grabbed the guy's arm from behind and wrestled it, he was much stronger and more muscled and the guy dropped the gun. Connor pushed the guy down on his knees and Stef threw him her handcuffs. Connor cuffed him.

Ian crackled in Stef's ear. "San Diego County Search and Rescue is on the way, the Sheriff's office is sending units and the Coast Guard has a helicopter en route."

"10-4," Stef said. 

Connor helped Robin up while Jude, Stef and the girls hauled the assailant towards the dock. "Connor Stevens," he said. "You must be Robin Getty?"

"Yes," she said. "So is Jude your brother?"

He blinked. "Why do you say that?"

"You have the same last name. At least, I thought Jude said he was Jude Adams Foster Stevens."

Connor's eyes got bigger. "He did? Wow. No, we're not brothers, we're boyfriends."

She raised an eyebrow. "Must be serious if he's already using your name."

"Yeah. I don't think he's actually...done that before. I mean, he has to me, but he's never said that to anyone else before." He looked over at Stef and Jude talking.

"Well, you should go to him," Robin said. "I'm fine." She patted his arm.

Connor looked at her and nodded, and walked over to Jude, hugged him from behind.

Jude was getting the "Stefrimand" from his mom. "And stealing a boat?"

"I was just borrowing it," Jude said. "I didn't think it was that far to here, and if Robin was here—and she was—it would mean Robert would get out of jail. I had to know. I thought I'd be here and back before anyone missed me. I'm sorry, I know it was a wrong thing to do."

"It's party my fault," Connor interjected. "If I hadn't made him mad he would probably have been thinking more clearly."

Stef shook her head. "Getting mad is something he chose to do, as was taking the boat. We'll deal with the punishment later when I have a chance to catch up with momma but you can expect to be grounded."

Jude nodded and went off to the side with Connor, who wrapped him in his arms. "Are you still mad at me?"

"No," Jude said, his voice sort of a low muffle as he was pressed into Connor's jacket.

"Jude, I'm sorry. I should have told you that I was going to see Miguel. I just didn't know how you would feel about that."

"I don't care that you went to see him," Jude said. "The thing that made me mad was that you thought you needed to hide it from me, like it was some bad thing. Please don't do that again."

Connor nodded seriously at him. "It's just, the reason I agreed to go see him is I told him I wouldn't be coming back again, and that you're the reason why."

Jude looked down. "Now I really feel like an ass, because I asked moms to think about taking him as a foster, but they wanted to talk it over first, so I didn't say anything to you."

Connor shook his head. "No, that's different. You weren't trying to hide anything by not telling me that. The Miguel thing was something I hid from you. I've learned my lesson though. The washing the sheets really got me."

Jude looked into his eyes. "It was a spur of the moment thing. I wanted to hug my pillow but the whole bed was Connor pheromones and I was mad with it. It wasn't really supposed to be punishment."

"Could have fooled me. Sure felt like it. Ask Callie how long I was in the washroom crying into the clean sheets." Connor took his hand. "Robin said you told her your name was Jude Adams Foster Stevens. Did it just come out that way because you've gotten used to saying it to me?"

Jude squeezed his hand. "If you're asking if it was an accident, well...it wasn't." He gave Connor a little smile and then looked down. "And I'm sorry about getting mad with it, I shouldn't have overreacted so much."

Connor hugged him. "No, Jude, I love that about you...you seem cool and collected on the outside but you're so passionate under the surface, you love and hate and feel everything so, so intensely. It's one of the most beautiful things about you." He kissed Jude. Over by the dock the helicopter was landing, Connor turned his back to it so that Jude was blocked from the wind.

"I shouldn't have left you," Jude said. "I always feel safe with you. And it was you coming to the rescue this time."

Stef motioned them over. She had to yell over the helicopter noise. "They can't take all of us inside. Sophia and Taylor are going in with him, they'll have to haul the rest of us up on a rope. Can you do that?"

Jude and Connor nodded. They watched as the assailant was loaded into the helicopter, followed by Taylor and Sophia. One of the rescue guys gave them harnesses for the rope tow. The helicopter lifted off and the rescue guy threw the rope down.

"You go first," Connor said to Jude. Jude nodded. He took his jacket off and gave it back to Mrs. Getty.

She gave him a hug. "Hey, don't let a good thing go to waste, eh?" She glanced at Connor. "You can call that the Getty principle."

Jude nodded and Connor hugged and kissed him. "I'll be right behind you," Connor said tenderly. "I love you."

"I love you most," Jude said with a smile. He fastened his harness and Stef clipped the rope to it and gave the rescue guy a thumb-up. The helicopter lifted up, pulling Jude off the ground into the air. He was reminded of when they had jumped from the warehouse, the air blowing through his hair and in his face.

Connor saw something move out of the corner of his eye. There were three bright flashes and the sound of gunfire. Someone was shooting at the helicopter!

Stef ducked and got her gun out, swinging around to where the shots had come from.

Up above, the helicopter had gone over the water. When Jude heard and saw the gunshots he tensed up as one of the bullets went past him. He could smell its gunpowder as it zinged by. He was very exposed and decided the water was a safer place to be. He unlatched himself and dropped towards the water.

When Connor saw Jude falling he burst into action, running for the water at full speed. He bounded across the dock and dived into the water right after Jude plunged in.

Jude broke the surface and gasped. He saw Connor swimming towards him and he swam towards Connor. There was just one problem—the tide was going out and the water was sweeping him away faster than he could swim.