Jade-
Carrying Jake's dozing body inside took little effort, but Jade could already feel exhaustion creeping in. His mind was going a mile a minute as he got the young man tucked in in the guest bedroom. When he was sure that Jake was breathing well and wasn't going to wake for a bit, he fished his phone out of his pocket and headed downstairs, dialing when he reached the bottom floor.
Adam picked up on the second ring with a calm "Hello?"
Not wanting to waste time, Jade did his best to explain what had gone on and that Jake would likely stay over at his place for the evening. He also told Adam that he intended to call Chris, explaining that he was a doctor, right after he hung up. Adam didn't seem pleased, but he was also extremely busy with work and couldn't talk for too long. Jade reassured him that he'd bring Jake back the following day, and Adam grudgingly accepted the idea before saying his goodbyes.
Once he'd hung up, Jade found his way into the kitchen, intent on figuring out something to make for Jake. That's about the time he realized that he could smell something delicious cooking... and also just how much he loved Rose at that point.
"Please tell me that's lasagna." He said as he walked over with a tired smile for the old woman. She nodded, making him sigh with relief as leaned against the counter.
"I figured that you might bring home someone to spend the evening with since you've seemed so stressed. I must admit, though, that I wasn't expecting to see A.J. again."
He couldn't blame her for being a bit surprised. He never usually brought someone back after letting them go. It wasn't what he did. If they broke a rule, they never stepped foot in his home again, yet he'd carried Jake back completely on instinct instead of taking him back over to Adam's. I need to look after him. He's still not out of the woods. Need to call Chris. He knew that his excuses were just that, but he pushed aside his thoughts and dialed the number he'd plugged into his phone, glad that it had already been given to him.
Christopher picked up on the first ring. "Where do you live? I need to come check on Jake after I drop Tommy off in a second."
Jade felt slightly protective about having another dominant come to his house, let alone demanding to, but he knew that Chris was a trained doctor and only wanted to make sure that Jake was okay. So, he gave him the address, then hung up to go back upstairs and check on Jake.
Thankfully, the man seemed to be resting well. He didn't look completely relaxed, his mind possibly replaying what had happened as a nightmare, but at least he was able to try and sleep.
Jade wasn't sure how long he stood at the side of Jake's bed, but when the doorbell chime rang throughout the house, he snapped his head toward the bedroom door and promptly hurried out. By the time he got to the door, Rosie had already glanced through the peephole.
"I believe the man you called is here. Dinner will be done in just a moment, so perhaps you'd like for him to stay?" The idea was a nice gesture, but Jade wasn't sure if he wanted a guest. Especially after what had happened earlier.
"Yes, thank you. Please help yourself to a meal, then leave the remainder sitting on the stove. I'll get to it when I'm finish speaking with Christopher.'
Rose nodded to him and walked back toward the kitchen, leaving Jade to turn his attention back to the door. He opened it with a nod, then gestured for Christopher to follow him. Both of them were silent as they climbed the stairs and stepped into the guest room Jake was resting in. Jade followed Christopher right up to the bed, but stepped slightly to the side, as to not crowd the man, yet still be able to watch what he was doing carefully.
Christopher set a bag down next to the bed and began fishing items out of it. He quickly checked his temperature, heart rate, and pulse. When he had finished, he set aside the items he'd used and gently grasped Jake's shoulder and shook it.
Jade fidgeted, not wanting Christopher to wake Jake up so soon after he'd managed to get to sleep. He didn't stop him, though. He wasn't a doctor, so he bit his tongue and just watched as Jake slowly began to awaken. When he was just about coherent, he shot up into a sitting position, gasping for breath as his hands grabbed for his neck and his wide eyes scanned the room frantically for Jana.
"It's alright, Jake. Look at me, please." Christopher said, trying to get Jake's attention, but it almost seemed like the other man couldn't even hear him, let alone see him.
Christopher pursed his lips as he gave Jake's shoulder another shake, but when that did nothing, Jade gently nudged the other man back and slid into the bed, easily pulling Jake's weight into his lap.
"Jake?" He whispered against the man's ear.
There was no response. Not a single sign that Jake had recognized Jade, or his voice. Jade took a calming breath and wrapped Jake in a strong hug as he leaned his back against the headboard and tilted his head forward. His lips moved as he spoke again, whispering against Jake's hair. "Look at me now, Jacob."
There was no room for argument in his tone, and somehow, some way, Jake seemed to hear Jade just enough to tilt his head and press his cheek against Jade's chest. Jade was going to tell him that he needed to look at him, but when he felt Jake begin to shiver, he hurried to pull the blanket back up and wrap him tightly in it.
"I've got you. You aren't going to be hurt by him again." He stated.
Jake nuzzled against his chest slightly, but didn't try to look at him or move anymore. Another minute of silence passed before Christopher began putting his things away, drawing Jade's attention.
"He's falling back to sleep. It's not uncommon, but you need to watch him tonight. Things could still go south if he has sudden troubles breathing or he gets another panic attack. He doesn't seem to have swallowed enough water to affect his breathing, which is what I was worried might have happened."
Jade nodded as he blew a quiet breath against Jake's hair. He was fine with watching over Jake for the evening. He had planned to do just that, anyways. After Christopher was all packed up, he stood to leave right as his phone chime went off.
Fishing it out of his pocket, Christopher eyed the device, then he pressed a button and held it up to his ear. There was some muffled talking on the other end before Christopher gave a few simple answers such as yes or no, then he glanced over at Jake, then up to Jade before lowering the phone slightly.
"They... want him to try and talk to Jana."
Jade didn't even need to think before he was declining. "He is never going near that man again, let alone speak with him. He tried to kill him, Christopher!" Jade rarely got angry enough to shout, but he wasn't okay with the situation that had occurred, nor the aftermath of it. Jana should be in prison, not sitting in Domino's apartment wanting to chat with the little brother he just tried to drown!
"I know that you're mad about what happened, and we should have dealt with it much better than we did, but Jade, Jana has a lot of problems. I'm not trying to give you excuses to try and convince you that what he did was okay, because it wasn't, but this is really important. Them being brothers. Jana might have reacted terribly, but his life has been shit almost since he was born and Jake doesn't seem to have pulled such great straws, either. Perhaps, if Jana could somehow learn how to control himself better, they might be good for each other."
Jade hated the idea. Jana could go rot in prison for what he had tried to do, and he was about to tell Christopher exactly that, and that he could leave since he was finished checking on Jake, but when he felt the young man in his arms begin to shift, he glanced down. In the back of his mind, he could hear Christopher's phone being switched to speaker, and the sound of someone pacing in the background while a muffled voice spoke in hushed tones, but his attention was solely focused on the dark blue eyes staring cautiously up at him.
There was silence on the phone for a moment before an extremely hesitant, scratching "Hi..." whispered over the receiver. The word held so many different emotions. It was definitely Jana who had spoken, but it didn't seem like it, at the same time. Whoever was on the other side of the phone call, was extremely unsure. Worried. Afraid. Hesitant. Very, very hesitant.
When Jake didn't respond, the sound of pacing footsteps increased, as well as the other muffled voice. Jade assumed that it was likely Domino trying to calm Jana, but it clearly didn't seem to be working. The sounds on the other end of the phone began to grow as Jake pressed even closer against him. Jade was about to tell Christopher to end the call, but then he felt one of Jake's hands gently grasp his forearm as his eyes turned toward the phone.
"...Jana?"
Jake's voice was scratchy and he winced at the soreness he no-doubt felt in his throat, but when silence suddenly took over the other side of the phone, Jade held his breath. The quiet continued for nearly three full minutes before there was a faint shuffling sound, then an even quieter, slow intake of breath. After the following exhale and a slightly pained sound that spoke to Jade's dominant side as relief, likely through pain caused by Domino, if he had to guess, Jana replied.
"Hi."