*J* (the continuation)

Part Forty-Eight: Chapter 374: Parenthood Is A Mental Illness

Jester and Julia arrive at Maxim's penthouse. Julia is taken in one direction and Jester in the other. "Where are you taking her?" Jester insists.

"No harm vill come to girlfriend," the man says shoving Jester down a hallway and to a door. He opens it and motions for Jester to go inside. Jester can see a baby lying in the center of a bed. His tiny body twitching in the throws of a seizure.

"I'm going to need medical supplies," Jester says as he goes over to the bed. Before he even has the chance to look down at the baby a cart of medical equipment is being pushed into the room. "I'm going to have to take blood and analyze it. Does Maxim have a lab?"

"I vill take you to lab as soon as you geet blood sample," the man nods.

Jester gets a few vials and an infant needle from the cart and sits on the bed next to the child. It couldn't have been any more than a day old. The child was pale. Jester carefully takes the child into his arms and looks down at it twitching. He could see the child was exhausted. He lays it on his lap and sticks the needle into the child's femeral artery and draws blood.

As he struggles to hold the infant, steady the needle in the artery, and fill a vial, he looks more closely at the child's face. There was something familiar about the child, though it looked nothing like Maxim. Wait a minute... Jester looks even closer. He realized the familiarity. He was seeing his own features in the child. Oh my God...was this J's child?

"What's the child's name?" Jester asks Maxim's goon.

"Hees name ees unimportant," the man says.

"I only wish to comfort the child," Jester says.

The man's finger goes to an earpiece in his ear, as if he's listening to someone talk. Finally, after a long pause, he speaks. "Jackson. Hees name ees Jackson."

"Jack's son," Jester says softly with a smile. Of course. Jester looks up, "J, if you can hear me, I just want you to know that I'm sorry for what I did to you. I was wrong about you. But you knew I'd eventually see the truth, didn't you? That's why you left me a trail to follow you by, isn't it? I promise to never doubt you again brother. Jackson is going to be ok, I'll make sure of it, but it would be a lot easier with your help."

Jester looks back down at Jackson in his arms. If he ever had a son of his own this was what it could look like. Jester knew in that moment how truly blessed J was. Jackson was a miracle. And there was no way Jester was going to let him die.

Jester carefully pulls the needle out of the artery and presses a gauze square down on the bleeding pinprick. After a moment the bleeding stops. Jester brings the gauze with Jackson"s blood on it up to his nose. He takes a whiff. It was faint, but there was no denying that chemical smell. This child was definitely family.

"The child requires Diazepam to attempt to slow down and stop the seizures. Can you get me that?" Jester asks the henchmen.

"It will be seen to sir," the man nods.

"I'll be needing that lab now," Jester tells the henchmen.

"Right there's vaay," the goon motions for Jester to follow him.

Jester carefully lays Jackson back in the center of the bed. His sizing has momentarily stopped and Jackson lets out a weak cry. Jester reaches out and gently strokes his head of black hair. "I know, I know..." He whispers , "it'll all be over soon. Uncle Jester will fix you. I promise. You just hang on and be a brave boy like your daddy. He couldn't bear to lose you. You're everything he's ever wanted." Jester slowly backs away as he softly hums a lullaby.

He follows the henchmen to the elevator and down three floors. He's then led down a hallway and to a lab. It was small, but it had everything essential that he needed. He starts preparing blood drops onto slides to examine under a microscope. He lays a slide on the microscope tray and peers into the lens.