Empty Spaces: A Jonnor Fanfic

Part three.

But that's all I wanna do right now

And I wanna get close to you
Cause your hands and lips still know their way around
And I know I like to draw that line, when it starts to get too real
But the less time that I spend with you, the less you need to heal

I wanna sleep next to you
But that's all I wanna do right now
So come over now and talk me down...

Connor was laying on the bed, tubes everywhere, covered in a blanket. The various machines next to him kept beeping. Jude gingerly grabbed his hand and stroked it, squeezing it lightly. "I can't believe this happened to you." He whispered, sitting in the chair next to his bed. His eyes never left Connor's face. "I'm here for you. We're all here for you!" Jude exclaimed softly. "You have people that love you. People that don't want to see you go. I don't want you gone." He buried his head in the crook of Connor's elbow. After a few minutes, he lifted his head. "Your grandma and grandpa are here. They're waiting outside in the waiting room along with Stef, Lena, and everyone else. We've been waiting for hours for news." Connor continued to breathe, eyes closed, non-responsive.
"You scared me Connor." Jude said, sobbing. "Never do that again." He squeezed Connor's hand and leaned into his face. "I love you so much, never do that again." He kissed his forehead, eventually let go, and got up. "We'll talk again later, okay? Your grandparents want to see you." He left the room and migrated back to the waiting room.
"How is he?" Connie asked.
Jude gave a sad smile, another tear escaping his eye. "
"You sure you don't want more time?" Joe asked.
He shook his head and motioned towards the hallway.
Joe and Connie gave a grateful nod and small smile, and headed down the corridor to Connor's room.

Connie gripped Joe's hand tight as they slowly opened the door. Once Connor was in full view, they gasped. Joe put his hand up to his mouth. "How could Adam drive him to do something like this?" she said in dumbfounded shock, shaking her head. They walked towards his bed and stopped right next to it. Connie stroked his forehead. "Oh god Connor." Joe said quietly, shakily breathing out. "We love you Connor. We love you."
"We need you." Connie added.
"There are so many people that love you, Connor. We want you to stay." Joe said.
"You're too young to die." Connie gave him one last kiss on the forehead and turned to walk out. "This is a lot. I can't bear to see him like this...I need some air." she said. "You coming?"
"I want a moment alone with him. I'll join you in a bit." She nodded and left.

"If this has anything to do with that Jude boy, just know I don't condone any of Adam's viewpoints, or his actions. Who you love...it's got nothing to do with me and I could care less whether you love girls, or boys, or anyone else. You are still my grandson just the same. And Jude? He loves you. He's head over heels for you. I could see it in his eyes. D'ya know when we found out you made it through surgery he collapsed?" His eyes got misty at the memory of what happened just moments before. "He actually fell to the ground in sobs, relieved that you were still here. I haven't seen that kind of thing in a long time." He let go of Connor's hand and started pacing around the room. "I'm happy for you. Adam is even bigger than an asshole if he thinks you are any different than you were before any of these feelings." He stopped dead center in front of Connor's bed. "I don't know exactly what he did, but I do know he's going to pay. I'm going to make sure of that. No son of mine will treat anyone, especially a member of his own family, so horribly." He wiped a tear from his eyes and walked back to the chair. "You are wanted, and you are loved. Don't leave us." Brushing the hair from his forehead, he kissed Connor and left the room.

Mariana, Jesus, Brandon, and Callie all had their turns, going in to Connor's room and leaving words of encouragement, calling him a 'fighter' and that 'he'll get through this'. Lena and Stef were the last to go. They walked to Connor's room hand in hand and stopped dead in their tracks when they were finally able to see inside. "Oh god." Lena said. Stef looked at Connor lovingly and nodded. "He looked way worse when we found him though. Trust me, he's doing so much better." "From what it sounds, I believe you." Lena answered back. They walked over to the bed. Stef took Connor's hand, and Lena put an arm around Stef's shoulders.
"Connor, we love you. And all we want is for you to get better." Lena said.
"That's what we said when we found you in the park, and that's never going to change." Stef said. "You're like family to us, and you can always come to us for anything."
"You know that." Lena replied. "If you're going through something like this, you always have people you can turn to. Everyone is here and even your grandparents are too because we believe in you."
"You are not a failure. You are not a burden. You are special, and amazing, and one of the kindest boys I know."
"Please get better Connor. We need you."
"Jude needs you." A tear slipped down Stef's face, and Lena's. "Stay strong love. Pull through this." They both squeezed Connor's and, and walked out of the room, arm in arm.