Perfect Imperfections

Ten

Jake's Ford Raptor

~*-*~

"Eat it!"

"Hell no, get that away from me!" I laughed as she tried to force me to eat the hospital Jell-O.

"If I have to eat it, so do you!" She grinned, taking a bite of the Jell-O and wincing.

"Blech!" She set the green goo down then I grinned as she chose to eat her soup instead, which also made her wince.

"Food!" Jessie called as she came in and I saw AJ light up.

"I love you, Jessie!" AJ grinned then took the fast food as Jess took the tray of hospital crap away.

"I work in a hospital, baby girl. The food here would make a starved man cry!" She said, which made us laugh as AJ dug into her burger.

"Jake, I might just marry your sister!" AJ moaned into her food, which made me smirk.

"If I wasn't legally required to be here, AJ, I'd go and get you food." I said and sat up, stealing a fry from her.

"Hey, my potato pole!" She whined, which made me snort on my food as Jessie busted out laughing.

"You're what?!" I asked and AJ smirked.

"My potato pole, duh!" She said and kept eating, her smile dropping as Miss Valente came in.

"More questions?" I asked, but the woman shook her head and handed me some papers.

"Not necessarily. Well, not about the investigation." She said as I flipped through the papers, finally understanding what they were as I looked at the woman.

"Are you serious?! She can do this?!" I asked and Mary nodded.

"She's seventeen, Jake, and you're only twenty two-"

"He's twenty three in December though." Jess said as she read over my shoulder.

"And Adalyn Jade will be eighteen in late February, that's within six months. It'll still be legal even if he is twenty three." Mary explained and I looked at the papers, reading over the rules and requirements.

"This says I have to have at least fifteen thousand for my annual income." I said and looked at Mary.

"Your daddy pays you well enough for you to easily get that, boy! And don't think I don't know about your little side business of building for the town!" She said and I smiled as I looked at AJ.

"What is going on here? I am so confused." She said then I stood, sitting on the bed next to her.

"See this, Smarty? It say-"

"I can read, jack-hole!" She said and took the papers from me as we laughed. As Adalyn read over the papers, her eyes lit up and she slowly looked up at Mary.

"I-I can legally be in his care until I'm eighteen?" She asked and Mary nodded.

"If you look at the rules, you'll notice that an intimate relationship isn't banned!" Jessie whispered with a rhythmic tone and I glared at my sister.

"Jessica, seriously?!" I asked, but she shrugged.

"Just saying, Jake! You're a serious catch and that girl there is drop dead gorgeous, enough to turn me into a full blown lesbian-"

"Whoa, hey, you got Carlos or whatever his name is!" I said and she grinned.

"Yes, and my trans ass loves my husband!" She said, which made me smile.

"Wait, you're trans?!" AJ asked and I looked at her, worried for a split second, until I saw her light up.

"God, you're a hot dude turned woman!" She said, which made me laugh so hard, my stomach hurt.

"Adalyn Jade, you can't say that!" I said and she looked confused.

"Why not? Your sister is seriously hot, Jake." She said and I managed to calm down, looking at Jess to see her on the verge of tears with a big smile on her face.

"Thank you, Adalyn." Jess said and I looked at AJ.

"Well? You wanna sign this or not?" I asked and AJ grinned.

"Got a pen, dungeon boy?" She asked, only for Mary to give her a pen. As AJ signed the papers, I watched and smiled as I waited for her to give me the pen. When she did, I quickly squiggled out my signature then handed the packet of paper to Valente with her pen.

"I will mail a copy of this to your house, Jake. Oh, and these are her discharge papers." She said and handed me another packet of papers.

"Thanks."

"I'M FREE!" AJ yelled and threw her hands up in triumph, making us laugh.

"Yes, AJ, you're free." I said and stood, grabbing her go-bag and handing her a change of clothes.

"Jess, you mind helping her?" I asked, but my sister shook her head and I left so that Jessie could help AJ change into her clothes. When the door opened and AJ was wheeled out in the wheelchair, I smirked when I saw AJ stull munching on her 'potato poles'.

"Ready to go?" I asked and AJ nodded. As we got into the elevator, I held the handles on her chair as Jessie held all of AJ's personal things. When the doors to the elevator slid open, I saw people standing outside the hospital and knew they were here to see Adalyn.

"Smarty, you don't have to face them-"

"They're townsfolk, right?" AJ asked and I nodded.

"Then I want to see them, so they know I'm okay." She said and I smiled, kissing her head then pushing her outside. Instantly, people cheered when they saw her alive.

"I'm happy you're okay, Adalyn!" I heard a girl yell and smiled as I got to the truck, lifting her up and into the cab.

"Jess, get that inside?" I asked, but a doctor took the chair then Jessie climbed into the truck. I got behind the wheel then turned the vehicle on, leaving the parking lot.

"So... my new home is that beautiful little lake house, huh?" AJ asked as she leaned on the center console, looking at me with a wide grin.

"It is, but we need to get your things from your house first." I said and her smile fell.

"Hey, you're going to have an army of cops there to keep you safe, AJ." Jess said and AJ nodded, looking scared as I drove for the house I'd never even seen the inside of.