The Navigator

41. Fractured

Author's Note:

Song Credit: In the Name of Nothing, Lawless

This Chapter contains some mature language and sexual themes. This story is rated mature so discretion is advised.

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Light slowly infused itself back into her vision as oxygen made its way into her brain. She became aware of the arms wrapped around her, the hand that was patting her face, and a familiar voice ghosting against her. She could hear, but not understand. Nothing made any sense yet, it was all still fuzzing shapes and buzzing sound.

Other noises, beyond the feminine voice at her ear, were vaguely inserting themselves. Sharp cracks and exclamations that made little sense to her. Not yet. Soon.

With a few more deep and beautiful breaths, Addy came to appreciate Brookes' sheltering form, pleading with her.

"Addy! ADDY! Are you with me, babe! Talk to me!" The strain in her friend's usually lyrical voice was the perfect harmony to the tears that were streaking down her face. Addy tried to answer her, but could only croak softly as she nodded. "Oh, thank Miri." Brooke looked away from her, relief plain on her face, towards the other sounds, raising her volume to speak to someone else. "She's awake!"

Addy was settled sitting up against the wall as Brooke left her to lunge towards what was still just blurred shapes on the other side of the alley.

"JAX! Stop! You're going to kill him!"

The shapes started to clear, separate from one amorphous blob to two men, one laying on the ground, and one straddling the prone figure's chest. The man below was broken and bloody as fists struck into his face, delivered by violence personified. The other figure was being partially restrained by Brooke, but he still connected occasionally as he struggled against her. The woman won out by physically turning his head to look at Addy, still slumped and panting.

Jax, she knew who he was now, abandoned his victim and crawled across the distance between them, his hands reaching for her, heedless of the blood staining them. Addy's first coherent thought was for his newly split knuckles, damaged again so soon after she had patched them up a few weeks before. It wasn't logical that in all this chaos, her only thoughts were focused on the hands of her defender.

"You're alive?"

She found herself pulled against him in a tight embrace, his shaking body rattling her. "Fuck, I thought..." his grip tightened, holding to her fiercely, like she would vanish if he let her go.

Brooke settled herself on the other side of Addy and, without any hesitation, threaded her own arms around her friend's waist and Jax adjusted his grip to include the other woman. Bringing sister and lover together, surrounding their commonality with a layer of protection as Addy caught her breath and regained her full awareness.

"What happened?" Brooke was crying, or at least it sounded that way, Addy couldn't actually see her face while her own was buried in Jax's chest.

"He...uck," Addy coughed lightly, getting a feel for her throat, trying to work around the swelling. "He said I was pregnant." The humans on either side of her reacted immediately. Brooke inhaled sharply, cursing lowly before starting to make slow circles on Addy's back, just as she had when morning sickness had taken over so much of her life. Jax stiffened, like he wanted to crush her against him with all his strength and was restraining himself. Keeping his reaction from affecting her own feelings, as usual.

"Are you?" It was Brooke who asked, a new tremble in her voice.

"Don't know," Addy pushed out, sounding less and less like a frog. "Couldn't check, told him baby's not his, so he..." She couldn't finish, but she didn't need to. It was obvious what he had done in response. The chest she was held against gave a shuddering breath.