Fix Me

7: Jax

The weather is beginning to get colder now, faster than the hospital has started supplying heating, so Jax stays in Oliver's bed more often. They hold hands, Oliver wrapped around Jax like a human blanket, the two of them huddled together.

It's the warmest Jax has felt in months.

On one of the colder days, Max knocks on the door as usual. "Jack, sweetheart, your parents are here to see you."

Jax sits up a little bit. "Both of them?" His voice is shaky, still a bit gravely, but it comes out stronger than it used to.

Max, pleased that he's speaking, nods. "Yes, both of them. Should I send them in?"

"Y-yes. Go ahead." He squeezes the bedsheets tightly in dry hands, pressing himself against Oliver a little more than before.

Once Max has left, he whispers, "I'm scared." His voice is already starting to become detached, and he fights to stay in the moment.

Oliver rubs his hand in circles on Jax's back, bumping against shoulder blades that stick out a little more than they should. "Do you want me to do something? If it's your dad..."

"Fuck my dad," Jax blurts, voice shaky and a little too harsh. "He won't do anything with my mom here. I'm more worried about... Us. This. This is me showing them... Who I am more." Jax glances at Oliver, then shakes his head a bit. "I want them to know you, I guess... You know, since I'm going to be living and all."

Jax turns away, missing Oliver's proud grin. He doesn't miss the way Oliver snuggles him closer, though.

After a few moments of serene quiet, Jax's parents appear in the doorway. His father seems much less intimidating, his stormy disposition seemingly quelled by the small Asian woman with her arm looped through his.

She carefully scrutinized the way that Oliver's arms were circled around Jax's torso, her son's head leaning on Oliver's chest, his grey eyes peering up at her through his eyelashes. Jax's mother extracts her arm from her husband's grip slowly, eyes locked with Jax's. "What's this?"

"Th-this is my... Oliver. This is Oliver." Jax plays with his fingers in his lap, trying to keep himself from breaking eye contact. "He's my, um, my roommate, or co-patient... Um. We're quite close, as you can... You can probably see that..." He shakes his head, mumbling under his breath, angry with himself for stumbling over his words so severely, too on edge to make a proper sentence.

Oliver gently squeezes his knee, then says, "Nice to properly meet you both, Mr. and Mrs....?" He's put on a brilliantly polite smile that uses a few more teeth than necessary, which seems to catch Jax's mother off guard.

"Carter," her husband booms. The man's voice doesn't really have a volume level lower than the jolly green giant's, and Jax wants to cover his ears.

Oliver nods, smile still glued in place. "Carter, right." An awkward silence settles into the ceiling tiles; Jax wants it to end, but he doesn't know what to say. Oliver, thankfully, senses his distress. "How have the two of you been?" he asks easily.

"Fine. Just fine. Do they have you on many medications, Jax?" Mrs. Carter's voice is clipped, lips pinched into a tight circle, painted red.

"Yes," Jax lies. It isn't technically a complete lie; he's been prescribed several antidepressants and anti- anxiety pills. Taking them, however, is another story. "They're working well."

Another bit of inconvenient silence. It feels as though they're performing a mediocre play and someone's forgotten their line, missed an important cue. Then, suddenly, Mr. Carter says, "Oliver, may I have a word with you in the hall, man to man?"

Instead of replying, Oliver looks down at Jax, who bites his lip. He taps his fingers nervously on his knee, then nods, breathing a rushed, "Hurry back," as Oliver slides away from him.

Once the two men are out of the room, Jax's mother whirls toward him, eyebrows furrowed. "Is this what you've been doing in here? Engaging in homosexual activities? I thought you were in here to get better," she hisses, frowning down at him.

Jax's cheeks flush pink as he stutters. "I-I'm not engaging in h-homosexual activities... He's just, he's special, and he makes me feel... Um. Safe? Yeah. He makes me feel safe. He's part of m-my getting better." On the last word, his voice gets a little wobbly, and he clears his throat.

"He's not making you better. He's distracting you! You aren't--" Mrs. Carter is cut off by a loud smacking noise from the hall, and the hurried thumping of the shoes of orderlies. She glances nervously at the door, rushing through her words. "Listen, Jaxon, you are not gay. You will not see this boy anymore. We'll move you out of here, he will not infect you. Do you understand?"

Jax shakes his head, moonbeam eyes wide. "No, mom, please don't--" A tall man in scrubs rushes in, tells Mrs. Carter that she and her husband must leave, and that her husband must not return to the hospital. She gives Max one last look, then rushes out into the hallway, high heels clicking on the linoleum.

Jax sits in the bed, knees pulled up to his chest, one hand pulling at his hair. He buries his face into his kneecaps, eyes screwed shut. Taking a few deep breaths, he tries to convince himself that everything will be okay. Oliver will not let him go.

Jax feels warm arms wrap around him from behind and jerks his head up. Oliver has a bruise on his cheekbone, his smile not as bright, eyes looking a little watered down. "What did he say?"

Oliver clears his throat before speaking. "He said that he's taking you away from me and my 'faggot ways', and that, if I try and see you again, he'll kill me."

Jax bites his lip, keeping his head down. He doesn't want to think about leaving; he just wants to lay down, falling asleep to the beat of Oliver's heart. Oliver pulls him close, rubs his back. "I'm so sorry... This is all my f-fault," Jax whispers.

"Shh... Don't blame yourself, love. It'll be okay." Jax feels himself starting to tear up, tries to hold back from crying. "You are my sunshine..." Oliver sings softly, directly into Jax's ear, trying to soothe him.

Jax lets the tears come, snuggling closer to Oliver, hiding his face in his shirt. He sobs, and Oliver holds him the whole while, rocking the two of them back and forth gently.

"Please don't take my sunshine away..."

A/N: ...

I hope you guys enjoyed this one? I dunno. It was kinda sad, so... Vote and comment if you feel the urge. I love you all.

xx