21 Jump Street Shorts

The Funeral

Summary: AU oneshot based on a piece of the Dennis Booker deleted scene in '22 Jump Street'.

"You're Jump Street, right?!"
"How the fuck do you know that?"
"We met at Hanson's funeral. I'm Booker."

Characters: Doug Penhall, Dennis Booker, Judy Hoffs, H.T. Ioki, Adam Fuller, Schmidt, Jenko
Possible pairing: None
Genre: Friendship, Hurt/Comfort

The wind was blowing through his dark hair while he was slowly walking through the wet grass of the quiet graveyard to where the funeral was taking place. His eyes were locked on the scene before him, but his mind was racing backwards to when he first met the man lying now cold in the coffin. They butted heads more than they were actually friends, but everything changed when he took him out of jail sacrificing his job and his badge.

Twenty-four years had passed since he first stepped into the chapel. Twenty-four years since he first realized the true meaning of the word 'teamwork'. Twenty-four years since he made some of the best friends he'd ever have.

Twenty-four years that now felt like eternity.

With every step that was getting him closer to his destination he was finding it harder to keep his composure but he knew he had to be strong.

For his friends. For himself.

And for Hanson.

His eyes drifted from the coffin to the people around it. Doug Penhall was in a wheelchair and his eyes were hidden behind dark shades but there were strains of tears on his cheeks. Judy Hoffs was standing behind him, her hand on one of his shoulders and crying quietly. Harry Ioki was standing next to Judy and had his arm wrapped around her shoulders. Standing next to them was their former captain Adam Fuller who in his grief looked almost ancient. He was fighting hard to keep it together and had his arms wrapped around Hanson's mother who was crying with her head on Fuller's chest.

He finally reached the small group and put his hand on Penhall's free shoulder. Startled Doug spun his head but relaxed and lowered it again when he saw it was him, patting his hand in reassurance. When Judy felt movement next to her she lifted her head to look at her side. Her eyes widened at the sight of him and she pulled out of Harry's embrace only to run and throw herself into his arms.

"He's gone, Dennis. Tom's dead." She sobbed, her face buried in his neck.

He wrapped his arms around her and moved his hand up and down her small back in an attempt to comfort her.

"I know, Jude, I know." He whispered quietly trying to keep his voice from shaking.

They stood like that for a couple of minutes before Booker heard soft steps behind him and turned his head. There were two men walking towards them, dressed in dark suits. One of them was tall and quite muscular and the other was short and a bit rounded in the waist. They walked over and stood in front of Doug. Judy felt Dennis' hands slightly tightening their grip around her in a protective manner.

"We uh..we just wanted to apologize." The taller man began, but stopped when Penhall moved to take off his glasses revealing the tears and the anger in his eyes.

"You don't have business here. Leave." He hissed quietly.

The two men stared at each other.

"Please, we're really sorry for your partner."

Doug clenched his fists.

"This man wasn't just my partner. He was my best friend, the brother I never had. And your incompetence and stupidity are the reason why he is dead. I don't care how sorry you are, just go away!"

The two men looked at Penhall helplessly. Sensing Doug's body was starting to shake from fury Dennis quickly placed one of his hands on his shoulder squeezing slightly. His touch seemed to work and he felt the other man's body slightly relax.

"Ok, but if there's anything we can do for you and your friends...you know where you can find us." The shorter man said after a bit of a hesitation.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" Ioki's voice broke the tense silence.

"My name is Schmidt and he's Jenko. We're from the Jump Street division."

The two men watched as the expressions on the faces of Judy, Dennis, Ioki and Fuller changed at the mention of 'Jump Street'.

"You guys are 'Jump Street'?" Dennis asked, voice filled with nostalgy.

The two men nodded slightly in confirmation.

At the mention of the name Jenko, Judy lifted her head from Dennis' chest and shared a look of sadness with Harry. The small group then introduced itself to Schmidt and Jenko and explained they had also worked on Jump Street many years ago.

"I'm really sorry that we had to meet under such circumstances." Jenko looked back towards Doug's direction. "Again, my sincere apologies for what happened to your friend."

"Come on, let's go." The shorter man, Schmidt said and the two of them walked away.

The small group stared silently after them. Even Penhall moved his head to look at the two men leaving the graveyard. He'd never admit it but they reminded him so much of Tom and himself back when they were still Jump Street officers. New portion of tears filled his eyes and he put his shades back on. Turning back to look at the coffin he remembered what Tom had told him seconds before he had taken his last breath.

All the stuff I wore - the bracelets, the rings, the tight pants...it was just so that people would think I'm cool. But the only approval that I ever needed was from my best friend.

Choking back a quiet sob Doug pulled out a white bandana from his pocket and moving his wheelchair slightly forward with his free hand he tried to reach the coffin but it was too high. He tried to stand up slightly but sharp pain pierced his body 'causing him to groan and he sat down again. He felt someone moving before a hand was placed on his shoulder and looked up to see Booker standing next to him. Dennis reached and took the piece of cloth from Doug's hands before moving around to his other side and tying the bandana around Tom's forehead. Judy's quiet gasp reached his ears and then he heard her bursting into tears again.

Booker stared at his former partner's tranquil face. Tom Hanson looked so calm as if he was only sleeping and Dennis suddenly he felt like there was a lump in his throat and he couldn't breathe. Memories came flooding back on the surface of his mind, floating before his eyes. With the bandana tied around his head Tom looked just like he had when they had first met. However Booker's eyes caught sight of his ears that were now bare and realized something was missing. Lifting his hand he took of one of the earrings he was wearing and put it on Tom's ear. Moving his hand away he paused for a moment to hold it on Hanson's chest, at the place where the other man's heart once used to beat.

"It was an honor to be your partner. You were a great police officer and I'm glad I had the privilege to work with you and to call you a friend...even if we didn't get along when we first met." Booker paused, taking a breath and couldn't help the quiet chuckle that escaped his throat. "But I guess I'm the one to blame for that because I behaved like an insensitive jerk."

Dennis could swear that he had heard Doug's quiet chuckle through a quiet sob at his last words. He then felt someone moving to stand on his right side and turned to see Judy leaning her head against his shoulder. Penhall wheeled himself to Dennis' other side. Next to Doug's left side stood Ioki with a hand on the injured man's shoulder. Captain Fuller with his arms still around Hanson's mother was standing behind them.

"Goodbye, Tom." He said, voicing everyone's unspoken thoughts.

The six most important people in Tom's life were there for him in his last journey. Through his life they were his family, his relatives, his everything. With his arm around Judy's shoulders Dennis looked up to the sky before lowering his eyes to the coffin again. The wind suddenly blowed harder around them as if to fortify and emphasize the sense of finality.

Tom Hanson was gone and nothing was going to change that, but he would continue to live in their hearts and minds.

Forever.