Jack Comes Back [A Four Brothers Fanfic]

Part 1

(A/N: Set right before Jack dies)

Jack lay on the street, surrounded by his brothers, the gunshot wound in his shoulder bleeding freely. He convulsed as waves of pain racked his weakening body. He thought he saw his mother, off to the side...coming towards him...

"Please hold on Jack!"

The illusion of Evelyn fell away as Jack heard Bobby's voice. Bobby's eyes brimmed with tears, and he tried to scrub them away frantically with one hand, gripping Jack's shirt with the other. "Jackie please you gotta stay with me!"

"Get out of the way! Move over!"

A running blur suddenly shoved Bobby out of the way, hitting him, accidentally or on purpose, with a brown leather, medical-looking case she was carrying with her, for Bobby suddenly realized it was a chick of about Jack's age. She knelt down next to Jack, who was trying hard not to black out, lightly but firmly pushing Angel away as well.

"What the fuck are you doin?" Bobby ran forwards but stopped short as Jeremiah lay a hand on his chest.

"I think she might be able to help."

"Bull shit Jerry bull -"

There were two sharp clicks as the girl opened the tarnished golden clasps that adorned the leather case. Inside there were various containers and bottles, some holding what looked to be herbs, and some holding balms or salves.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Bobby said, trying to stop her the only way he could, since Jeremiah still had a firm grasp on his shirt.

"Don't mess with me!"

She spoke exasperatedly, green eyes flashing, "Do you want him to fuckin die?!"

Angel and Sofie stood frozen, half in shock and half wanting to see what the girl could do - because to them, it already seemed a lost cause.

"Get the fuck...away from...him!"

Bobby struggled and freed himself from Jerry's grip but now both Jerry and Angel were on him, holding him back. The girl suddenly turned to him, her expression strangely empathetic but fierce all the same.

"Don't fuck with me! Do you want him to die?" She repeated, looking straight, unwaveringly into his eyes and speaking calmly and quietly.

Bobby finally relented, and sat down in the wet blacktop, not caring that he was already shivering. He put his head in his hands, shoulders shaking. Angel and Jerry looked at him with new eyes, seeing him cry for perhaps the first time in their lives. Jerry was crying himself - worried for his little brother.

Meanwhile, the girl was taking bandages and various bottles out of her case. She took out an IV bag filled with clear fluid, motioning for Bobby to hold it. He held it as steady as he could in his shaking hands as she put the needle connected to it into his forearm. She brought out a medical extractor and the brothers were stonefaced, immune to the bloodshed, as she took the bullet from his wound. Jack was gasping for air now, and as he opened his mouth, you could see blood on his tongue. The three brothers' apprehension and confusion finally got the better of them and formed a circle as the girl finished her apparently-professional medical work.

"Do you think we can trust her?" Angel asked.

"She seems like she's really trying to help him." Jeremiah pointed out.

"I don't know." Bobby interjected. "I just...don't know..." He paused and then a thought came to him.

"But anyone who can talk like that to a Mercer either has to be someone we can trust, or someone we gotta watch out for."

Angel spoke again. "Well, what if she doesn't know we're Mercers?"

Bobby sighed and broke up the circle. "Always see the fuckin other way out, Angel."

The girl, finished sterilizing Jack's wound, had started to bandage it. As she secured the final piece of gauze, Bobby pounced on her, grabbing her by her long hair and holding her up against the lamppost.

"Bobby!" Jeremiah warned. The girl squirmed under Bobby's glare.

"Who the hell are you, and why are you even caring that he's shot down right now? Because no one cares but you do! Why! Tell me everything about you. NOW."

The girl suddenly met his iron gaze.

"My name's Jessica. I'm 18. I used to go to school with Jack."

Bobby didn't let her go. "And why are you helping him?"

Jessica spat on the ground, narrowly missing Bobby's shoe. "I don't have to tell you bull shit."

Bobby held her tighter, but froze when Jack coughed and groaned, choking on blood.

"Are you going to let me go, so your brother doesn't die of hypothermia, or are you going to interrogate me some more?"

Jessica glared as Bobby put her down. "Now, help me get him inside."

As Bobby gently picked Jack up and carried the moaning teen inside his house, Jerry shook his head in disbelief. He'd never seen Bobby this...gentle. Or obedient.

"Hey!"

A man ran at them from down the street. Jessica and the others whirled around, ready for a fight.