A Wolf's Purpose

•Chapter 102• Sweet Hospital

"Hello, sweetheart." Louis greeted his niece like he used to every morning when he had to wake her up when she was little. He would pick her up and take her downstairs to have breakfast before her brothers sometimes. Jade smiled up at her uncle. "Hi," She replied. She was still feeling a little tired but she managed to keep her eyes open. Louis just came back from outside the room. Ian wasn't with him, though, he was still outside. "Are you feeling okay?" Jade nodded slightly with her head still on the pillow. "Yeah. I am." She replied, "Thanks to you." She shot a glance up at the blood bag that Louis had brought in himself. "He doesn't need them anymore anyway." He sighed before moving to sit on the bed with her. Jade pushed herself up as well with the pillow between her back and the wall behind her. "There uh... there are some people outside for your brothers but they're also here for you. They want you to testify against your dad." Louis explained to her calmly. He wasn't certain how much Jade remembered from what her brothers had been telling her earlier. "I need to tell them that they had nothing to do with this. And they didn't. It was Dad and his stupid ideas."
"Yes, it was. But we're not going to let them in just yet, okay? You need to rest. Your brothers will go back home where they're safe. You've got nothing to worry about on that end. Just give your body a moment to get better. Does it still hurt?" Jade could still feel the aching and stinging in her stomach but it wasn't as bad as when she first opened her eyes. "Not as much." She answered. Louis reached out to touch her cheek. "Good. And you're already getting more color on your cheeks as well." He had something warm in both his voice and the way he looked at her. She felt safe. Her brothers were still fast asleep and snoring in their chairs. Liz had gone out with Henry and Andrew to get some drinks and snacks. Casper left to stand with Ian in case something happened. He didn't want to leave but Louis said he wanted to speak with Jade one on one. This was the best they could do for now.

Louis wanted to hold her like a baby and shield her from the world around them. Jade was looking more fragile than ever. Felt horrible for what happened. He should have never allowed this to happen. He couldn't have prevented Jade's illness, but he should've seen the signs and he should have been there for her. He should have been there with the boys too. This was the strangest form of survivor's guilt. "What's going to happen after that? After I talk to them. I mean... are we all just going home and pretend like it never happened? Can we even go home?" Jade asked her uncle. She never wanted to leave her home in the first place, and it broke her heart when she did. She wanted to sleep in her own bed and her own bedroom again not in some hotel or wherever they found a place to sleep along the way. Her brothers needed a home too, and they already had one. The painful memory of their father was still in that house – it was written all over the walls and captured in every picture – but then again, so was their mother's, and they learned to live with that. "You're all going home. All four of you. As long as you promise me that you'll figure out some sort of fair chore schedule. I'm not coming over to clean the kitchen or mob the floors." That didn't sound normal. They had all been living such non-normal lives, that the simplest things sounded strange now. "You all need a reset of all that stuff," Louis added. He would make sure they had their best lives from now on. No more trauma or difficulties caused by Bill's plans to have his revenge. "Don't you think it's a little soon to think like that? I mean, I'm barely alive, and I haven't even spoken to anyone aside from you or them. We all know what happened last time. They could lock them away again. And that's still my fault." Jade replied. She'd done a lot of bad things; she let her brothers get taken away, she helped her father, and she almost killed Andrew, Jayden, and Leah. What if Megan's efforts weren't enough? It could get a lot worse from here. A whole lot worse. "I'm not going to let that happen. There are multiple strings I'm able to pull that even the most corrupt judge can't dismiss. Your brothers are going to have a fair trial, little one. I'll make sure of it. You're all going home." He smiled at her again and Jade forced herself to do the same. Louis tapped her leg very lightly over the covers. "And after that, we're going to figure something about your position in... well, our little organization." Jade's eyes widened a bit. "You're kicking me out-"