#juxta position

A year did things to people.

A year dragged the whole family into this hellscape.

A year broke up families.

Juxta looked at the lions as they played with each other, wondering if they knew the extent to which their existence reached.

They seemed so happy.

In his hand, he held an old family photo, image faded behind the sun-beaten glass of the photo frame.

He looked down at the photo again, small smile beginning to tug at his lips as a memory began to surface.

The image showed all of the men when they were younger.

Juxta and Malvern stood side-by-side, both with natural black hair, Juxta without a scar on his face.

Chase and Jared pulled faces at each other, a blonde child sticking his tongue out at a brown-haired boy.

Hen and Alto stood to the side, Hen with a water gun pointed at the Brodsens and Alto watching some birds in the tree out of frame.

They all looked happy, innocent.

Juxta lowered the photo, staring at the wall leading to the void.

He blinked, feeling tears begin to fall down his cheeks.

When had things gone so wrong?

“Well, I never expected tears,” Death’s voice caused Juxta to hastily wipe his eyes, setting the photo aside.

What do you want?

Death smirked, picking up the photo to inspect it.

“I just wanted to see you, dear Juxta.”

The silent man glared at Death, refusing to move.

Chase and Jared have been away from the house for several months. Mayhem can’t happen if they’re not here.

Death put the photo down, placing a finger dramatically to her chin in thought.

“Yes, you’re quite right. But then, whatever shall we do?” She began to smile, making chills run down Juxta’s spine.

Death snapped her fingers, disappearing and leaving Juxta alone in his room with his lions.

He looked around, trying to see if anything had changed, but he couldn’t see any differences.

Confused, he stood up to head to the kitchen, but found that he couldn’t get up.

He looked frantically around, fear filling his stomach as he fought to breathe.

He pushed his arms on the bed, trying to launch himself up.

He landed on the ground, startling the lions and causing them to back away.

He feebly reached for the doorframe, before dropping his hand back down.

As the world around him faded to black, He managed to send a message to his brother.

“So what do you think happened?” Jared picked up an overgrown length of plant and cut it, placing the cutting into a box.

“I don’t know, Jar. She hasn’t spoken to me in months, and then I get a call from the landlord telling me that she’s left. I don’t even know if the kids are alright,” Chase replied, tossing some yellow fax paper into a wastebasket.

“There’s got to be some clues. She wouldn’t just leave like that.” Chase laughed bitterly at Jared’s statement, shaking his head and running a hand through his hair.

“You don’t know how she was before the divorce, Jared. I mean, yes, I wasn’t much help, but she wasn’t the woman I married.” Chase lifted a cracked photo frame, rubbing his thumb against the dusty glass to see the picture.

"It was almost as if something had gotten into her head.”

 Juxta sat in his room, stroking the fur of his lions as he made shapes out of the gloom.

“Something wrong?” He looked out the side of his eye to glare at Death, sighing silently.

If our mother had gotten a cure for her illness, would you still have taken her? Death sat beside the mute, bending to look at his face.

“She was on my list. I only take whoever’s on my list. Nothing could have –”

You said I was on your list the day we met! We made a deal, and I’m not dead. Why couldn’t you have made a deal with our mother?

“Jux, that’s not how I work. Theoretically, my predecessor took her. And he follows the rules.” Juxta stared at Death, eyes wide. The lions laid down, purring.

So why did you break the rules?

“I had already broken the rules with Alto before you came along. He was on his twelfth reset when you… died, so to speak.” She looked away, closing her eyes.

That doesn’t explain why you chose me. Death stood up with a sigh, taking a few steps toward the void.

“I saw something in your family. Call it promising, call it what you want. There was something about your family history that intrigued me. I felt like I had to keep you alive. And I felt like Alto had something about him, so I allowed his twenty resets. That’s all. That’s my reason. There’s nothing else to discuss.” With a blink, she was gone, and only the cold chill of the air reminded Juxta of the conversation.

As he looked away, his phone buzzed with a text alert. Picking it up, he surrounded himself in smoky wisps and left, taking one lion with him.

 Henrik jumped as Juxta appeared. Malvern walked around the desk, standing beside his brother and opening a file.

“I wanted to check up on some stuff for you, so Hen and I snuck in here to go through Chase’s files on our mother.”

“Malvern, when did Jux manage to do that? Just appear? You sent him the message thirty seconds ago…” he trailed off as Malvern raised a hand.

“Shut up for a minute, Hen. He could do this since the deal with Death. It’s a convenient thing. Jux, what do you think of this?”

I didn’t know Chase had taken charge of mother’s case. He told us he only diagnosed her. Malvern nodded, walking with the mute to the desk where he put the folder down and flipped a few pages.

“He was in charge of her whole case, and he made the surgical decisions… without us…” he looked up at the vlogger, eyes filling with tears.

“Did you know about this? About Chase’s decisions?” Henrik shook his head, raising his hands in defence.

“I knew nothing about this. Chase only asked me to file the folders. I never read them.” Juxta sent a solid, sharp wisp toward the window, stopping it just short of smashing point. Clenching his fist, his face crumpled as tears fell.

She was in so much pain, and Chase just experimented without us… he made her hurt so much… why… why would he do that? Malvern, why? The hero engulfed his brother in a hug, patting his back as his shoulders shook with silent tears.

“I don’t know, Jux. I don’t know why Chase did what he did. He must have had a reason.” Slowly Malvern pulled Juxta from his shoulder, looking into his eyes.

“Let’s go home. We’ll ask Chase about this later. I’ll get Hen to make you some stew, alright?” Juxta nodded, letting go of Malvern and disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Henrik stepped forward, picking up the folders.

“I’m sorry about the discovery, Malvern. If I had known…” he looked away, reaching for the door.

“It’s alright, Hen. I never thought Chase would do something like that. Let’s go home. Jux will be waiting for his stew.” The vlogger nodded, taking his car keys out of his pocket.

“We might need to stop for some lamb. I think we ran out.”

 Alto woke up in the middle of the night, tears almost cementing his eyes shut and fingers cramped. He stretched his hands, hearing the cracks and pops of his joints as he worked out the cramps, and rubbed at the dried tears on his eyelids.

“Good to see you’re awake,” a voice chuckled from beside him, making the actor turn and blink his eyes open. Henrik sat in the chair beside him, novel on his lap.

“I have been sitting here for… about ten hours now. The nurses tried to kick me out three times.” Alto tilted his head, clearing his throat.

“Why are you here? I told Chase nobody should come and see me.” Henrik closed his book and set it aside, crossing one leg over the other.

“I didn’t listen to Chase. Haven’t since we went our separate ways. Also a woman at the reception desk said you weren’t in the best mindset before falling asleep. She didn’t want you to wake up alone.”

Alto rolled his eyes with a smirk.

“She’s been like that this whole stay. I’m alright. I just – never mind.” Henrik leaned forward, squinting at his cousin with suspicious eyes.

“What happened before you went to sleep? You look like you’ve been crying.” With a sigh, Alto rolled onto his side to face the vlogger.

“I saw my wife. Esme, she was standing right beside me, I could smell her perfume, I could hear her voice, feel her hair against my cheek… then she was gone,” Alto looked at his hands, blinking back visions of the blood stains he had scrubbed off too many times.

“I wanted her to stay. I wanted to be with her, to hold her in my arms again. Do you know the feeling?”

“Alto, I know what happened to your wife was bad –”

“Which time? What do you know? Do you understand how many times I killed her? How many times I murdered my family? No, you don’t understand any of it. You’ll never understand.” Alto turned away, closing his eyes against the flood of flashbacks.

Henrik sighed, standing up.

“I made stew for the Positions. Juxta told me what had happened in the room during Mayhem. Twenty times does things. You’re one hundred per cent right about me never understanding. But it’s a different reason. My wife doesn’t want to see me.” He headed for the door, turning before leaving, eyes welling with tears.

“For the record, I was talking about the first time you killed her. And I’m considering moving out temporarily to try and fix things with my wife. So I can see my kids again.” Finishing his statement, Henrik closed the door and left.

Alto looked to the side, reflecting on the conversation. Slowly, a shining tear made it way down his cheek.

 “Jared, I need to see them. She can’t just take them from me,” Chase stated, picking up a piece of biscuit and munching on it. Jared sipped his tea, returning stares to patrons distracted by his scars.

“It’s really liberating to sit in a café without my mask on,” he said as he put his cup down. Chase snapped his fingers in front of the healer, eyes wide.

“Hey, I’m talking about serious stuff. What do you think?” Jared leaned back, chewing thoughtfully on some gum.

“About what? Italy?” Chase nodded, breaking another piece of biscuit.

“I mean, you’d get lost if I didn’t go with you, right?” The healer laughed as his brother reached across the table to box his ear.

Spring bloomed in the front garden of the family home with brightly coloured flowers and the chirping of baby birds.

Henrik stood in the garden, gloves on and cap askew. He planted another bulb into the ground, covering it with dirt and fertiliser. Straightening up, he wiped his brow, looking at the area.

“Morning, Hen!” He looked up to see Malvern sitting on the windowsill, smiling down at him.

“Good morning, Malvern. Did you sleep well?” The hero jumped down to stand opposite him, hands on his hips.

“Like a log. Jux did call once because he had a nightmare, but after that I slept relatively well.”

Henrik nodded, taking his gloves off and dropping them into his basket.

“When did you wake up? There’s a lot of bulbs in the garden.” The vlogger sighed, looking at the time on his phone.

“Maybe five hours ago? I could not sleep. Something was making me worried.” Malvern frowned, looking at his cousin with concern.

“Jared has some nice salve to help people sleep. He gave me some a few years back when I had nightmares. Maybe you could ask him for some help?”

Henrik considered the suggestion before bending to pick up his basket.

“I’ll think about it. Would you like some breakfast?”

 ----

Considering he had woken several times due to nightmares over the night, Juxta still woke up at his usual time. He stretched, gently pushing one of his lions off his legs, then rubbed his face.

He was still not used to a clean shaven face. He smiled fondly at his lions then swung his legs off the bed. With a yawn, he transported himself into the kitchen.

 ----

Jared was sitting in the kitchen, nursing a mug of coffee and glaring at a spot on the table. He hated mornings. Especially Monday mornings.

He had been getting bad dreams about the family falling apart. The dreams had kept him awake at night, wrapped in a cold sweat as fear coursed through his body. It was odd; seeing dreams where family members went away from home as though it was a flashback, but then seeing Jux with his weird power things.

“It doesn’t make any sense…”

What doesn’t make any sense? Juxta’s smoky writing pulled Jared from his thoughts, causing the healer to look up.

“I’ve been having these weird dreams. Dreams of the family moving apart. I thought they were flashbacks – memories at first, but then they were set in the present. I haven’t had dreams like that in ages.” Jared took a sip of coffee, looking away as the door opened.

“Morning, boys. I am going to make pancakes, do you want some?” The two nodded, watching as Henrik walked into the kitchen, whistling.

Maybe the dreams are trying to tell you something. I get dreams sometimes that sort of foretell how Mayhem will go that year. Maybe they’re foreshadowing something –

The sound of the ringing phone made Juxta stop, the words fading mid-sentence. Jared looked at the phone, waiting for someone to pick it up. Chase did, moving from his clinic to the phone while rubbing his eyes.

“Hello? Yes, this is he. Yes? No, I didn’t know that. Yes, I can do that. Yes, I’ll head over there today. Thank you for calling me. Bye.”

“Chase? Is everything ok?” Jared looked at his brother’s face with concern, hands bracing on the table to get up. The doctor ran a hand through his hair, chuckling to himself before looking up.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. That was just a call from the landlord of Stacy’s house. Apparently she left suddenly and wants me to go through her stuff.” He looked at his shaking hands, patting his clothes down before heading for the stairs.

The Brodsens rushed into the hospital, Chase pale and afraid.

“Is Alto Septicie alright?” The woman at the reception desk looked at the chart in front of her, then looked at Chase’s license.

“He’s just been taken in. They’ve got him in ICU. Mr. von Schnapple is with him. Room 12A.” Chase nodded, motioning for Jared to sit down and heading to the unit.

 Henrik stood, watching the doctors put IVs into Alto. I should have insisted. I should have been with you.

He turned as the door opened, seeing Chase come in.

“Is he…?” Henrik shook his head, placing a hand on Chase’s shoulder.

“He had a terrible accident. Blood alcohol level was really high.” Chase sighed in disappointment, shaking his head slowly.

“I thought the institute was supposed to help him.” The vlogger looked away, unsure if Alto wanted Chase to know what had happened. A doctor walked toward them, face grave.

“He’ll be awake in a few hours. We found him at the bottom of a ravine; his possessions are with the head surgeon.” Chase froze.

“Surgeon?”

 Juxta sat in his room, bowl of stew on his lap. His lions looked up as the phone rang down the hall, and Juxta closed his eyes to listen to Malvern’s voice.

“Hello? Yes… oh. Yes, we’ll be right there…”

Malvern poked his head through the doorway, face solemn.

“Alto’s in ICU. Chase wants us over there.” He looked at the bowl of stew on Juxta’s lap.

“I’ll get you an insulated cup for the stew.” Juxta stood, putting his bowl on the bed and grabbing a coat.

He ran his hand over his upper lip, not used to the absence of a moustache. Malvern came back in, and poured his stew into the cup. With a smile, he handed it to his brother.

“Can you smoke travel us?” With a nod, Juxta teleported them to the rooftop carpark of the hospital.

 Clean sheets. Soft pillows. Beeping machines.

Alto woke a few hours later to the realisation he was in the hospital. He turned his head, feeling an IV drip in his arm. Still, he refused to open his eyes, convincing himself that it was a dream.

“Alt?” That voice sounded so concerned and… heartbroken. What had happened? Alto’s head hurt, and he couldn’t remember much. He opened his eyes.

“Oh, thank God…” Chase whispered, sitting to Alto’s left side. The actor swallowed, clearing his throat to speak.

“What… happened?” he looked around to see everybody in the room: Jared leaning against the wall behind Chase, Henrik near the door, and the Positions on his right.

“We were hoping you could tell us,” the doctor said, holding Alto’s hand gently.

“I remember… I went for a drive,” he mumbled, furrowing his brow to remember.

Henrik ran a hand through his hair, eyes wide with guilt.

“I should have gone with you… I should have insisted.” Alto let go of Chase’s hand to reach out for his cousin.

“It wasn’t your fault… I thought I was finished with the drinking…” Tears streamed down Henrik’s face as he leaned closer to Alto.

“Alt, why did you buy the alcohol in the first place?” Chase looked disappointed, betrayed. Alto closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“I needed something to take my mind off the memories. I thought if I drank it in moderation, I’d be alright. But then I lost control of the car.”

 The doctors had sent half of them home, saying Alto needed to rest. Chase and Henrik had insisted on staying with the actor; Chase because he was a doctor and Henrik because he still felt guilty.

Juxta and Malvern arrived in the hero’s room, and Juxta put the thermos down.

“Jared’s not going to be back for another few minutes,” the hero stated, opening his window and pulling down a ladder.

Sit on the roof? Malvern nodded, climbing out of the window.

“Meet you up there.”

 Juxta walked through the smoke, sitting beside his brother on the roof.

What’s wrong, Mal? Malvern sighed, staring at the roof tiles.

“I miss dad. Don’t you miss him?”

I miss our mother more. Malvern chuckled, looking at his brother with shining eyes.

“She passed when we were little, Jux,” he said quietly, reminding Juxta.

But she taught me sign.

“Dad was misdiagnosed. At least mum knew she was going to die,” the hero reasoned, amused.

The two looked down at the sound of a car coming up the driveway. Malvern called down to Jared as the healer left his car.

 “Hey, guys,” Jared said as he climbed onto the roof, bag of take away food in his hand.

“I got us food, just in case you haven’t eaten yet.” Juxta stared at the food, eyes wide.

You… don’t have an opposition to sitting with us?

“Nope. You’re my favourite cousins.” Jared took a bite of food, smiling at the brothers.

Even after what I did to Chase? You still think of us like that? Jared put the food aside, resting his hands in his lap and looking at Juxta.

“Jux, my policy since we moved out has always been to forgive people. Don’t acknowledge what they did as bad; there’s always another side to the story.” Malvern took some food, leaning against Juxta.

“That’s a really good policy, Jar.”

What did you get to eat? Juxta leaned toward the bag, peering inside it with curiosity.

“I just got some charcoal chicken and chips. There should be some roast potatoes in there too.” Jared took a handful of chips from inside the bag and began to eat them.

Are the chips salted? Jared pulled a box of chips out of the bag, handing it to the mute.

“Only got one box of unsalted chips. I remembered you don’t eat salt.”

Thank you.

 “Chase?” The doctor stood by his side almost instantly, looking at him with concern.

“What’s wrong, Alto? Are you alright?” The actor closed his eyes, managing a small smile.

“I’m alright. Why are you here? You should be with your brother, not worrying over me.” Chase sighed, placing a hand over Alto’s forehead.

“It’s my job to worry over my family, Alt. I don’t want you to be hurt.” Alto frowned.

“Chase, just go. Stop worrying about me. I’m not going to get hurt in a hospital.” He turned his head away from Chase, sighing.

Alto opened his eyes.

He was in someone’s arms, being embraced tightly. Whose arms? At first he thought they were his wife’s, and he was happy for a minute. He smiled, closing his eyes and sinking into his embrace.

Then it hit him. The memories flooded his mind, images of the multiple murders of his family. Then came Mayhem memories, and Juxta’s face, and the terror of the past. Like a slap in the face.

Alto wrestled out of the grip, falling out of bed with his heart pounding.

“Alto?” The familiar yet groggy voice alerted him. He peered over the edge of the bed, staring into the sleepy eyes of Henrik.

“What’s wrong, my friend?” The actor slowly climbed back onto his bed, sitting opposite the vlogger.

“Nothing, I guess. Just… had a nightmare.” Alto looked down at his hands, staring at the blood that wasn’t there. Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?

“Alto, are you sure you’re alright?”

Alto frowned, then nodded.

“I’ll be alright.” He got out of bed and went into his closet, pulling a green sweater over his head and changing into a fresh pair of pants.

“I’m going for a drive.”

“Want me to go with you?” Alto considered Henrik’s offer, then shook his head with a smile.

“I’ll be back for dinner.”

 Chase had spent the night in the clinic, afraid to leave and bump into Juxta. His neck was sore and his bones hurt.

He climbed off the bed and walked to the sink, splashing cold water onto his face. It had been a horrible night. His dreams were filled with memories of what Juxta had done to him, images of what Juxta might have done to Alto, and just terrible nightmares.

He stared at his reflection in the broken mirror, seeing a distorted face staring back at him. This is what I am. Broken, disfigured. He chuckled to himself, drying his hands and adjusting the mirror.

Jared walked into the clinic, fixing the chair before sitting in it, watching his brother wander the room like a broken shell.

“Morning, Chase. How did you sleep?” The doctor stared at his brother, folding his arms over his chest.

“Why are you here, Jar?” The healer frowned, tilting his head. His hair fell over his eye.

“I wanted to check on my brother. You didn’t leave the clinic last night. I was worried. Are you alright?” Chase sighed, looking his brother in the eye.

“Honestly? No. I keep remembering what he did to me, thinking of what he did to Alto. I had a bad night. I can’t sleep properly because of the nightmares.” Jared gave a small smile, standing up to embrace his brother.

“I can make you something for that. Whatever happened in that room, it’s in the past. I know you’ll still remember everything, but the past cannot hurt you.” Jared let his brother go, childish smirk on his face.

“Go wash up. You smell horrible. I’ll meet you in my room.”

 Malvern sat on his bed, watching Juxta stare at his reflection in the mirror.

“It won’t shave itself, Jux.” The silent brother turned to look at the hero, holding the razor in his right hand.

I’m afraid, Mal. Malvern tilted his head in confusion, standing up to shadow his brother.

“Would you like me to help?” A nod.

Malvern took the razor from his brother, then gently applied shaving cream to his moustache. He smiled as he began to shave his brother, patting his shoulder with his free hand.

Thank you for sticking with me, Mal. The hero nodded, continuing to shave.

“You’re my brother. I have to look after you. It’s my job.” Juxta blinked, small smile creeping across his face.

But it’s my job to put the others through hell every year. Malvern stopped, wiping the razor with a cloth.

“Don’t talk like that. You know you had no choice.” Juxta lowered his gaze, tears welling in his eyes.

But you stayed. You could have left when the others did. You stuck with me.

“Head up. Because I’m your brother, I would never leave you. We need to stay together, Jux. We have nobody else.” Malvern finished shaving Juxta’s moustache, wiping excess cream from his face. Upon seeing the clean shaven face of his brother, he began to laugh.

“You look like a baby!” Malvern dropped the razor, laughing uncontrollably. Juxta glanced in the mirror, then smiled.

Thank you, Malvern. For this.

 It had been hours. Henrik sat in the kitchen, staring at the clock with concern. It was past dinner-time, and Alto hadn’t returned. He was getting worried.

“Jared?” The healer poked his head around the corner, face confused.

“Could you go find Alto with me please? I have a bad feeling.” Jared nodded, pausing his game and shrugging a jacket on.

“Let’s go.”

 Chase sat in his clinic, staring at the vial in his hands.

He looked up as Jared opened the door.

“Chase, you need to come with me.” Chase stood up, eyes wide.

“Alto? Is Henrik. Can I come in?”

Setting his neck scarf down and forcing himself to stand, Alto opened the door.

“Sure. Come in.” Henrik smiled, closing the door behind himself and sitting on the edge of the actor’s bed.

“What’s wrong? Do you want to talk about the institution?” Alto sighed, taking a deep breath before nodding.

“I don’t think Chase knew the full extent of that institution. Yes, they made me a bit better, but nobody knew the expense.” He looked at his shaking hands, resting in his lap.

“What do you mean? Chase said when you called you were fine.” Alto chuckled, bitter and pained.

“When I called, I was fine. The first week was not.” He took a deep breath, standing and moving to the window.

“I was put into a padded cell and left with my thoughts for a whole week. No food, no contact. The cell was horrible. When they finally took me out, I was a wreck. I didn’t want to talk to anyone, or even eat. My appetite was small, and whatever I actually ate, came back up later.” Alto touched a hand to his mouth, closing his eyes against the memory.

“The psychiatrists met me daily, talking to me about my thoughts and my actions. I took medication, I said what they wanted me to, but they still thought something was wrong. They sent me to the wing with the psychos and mentally unstable.” He turned, looking at Henrik with tears in his eyes.

“I almost went insane. They dragged me out of the wing in the final week, tossing me into my own room. The end of the week was when I called Chase, and returned home.” He sat beside Henrik, eyes wide and pleading.

“I don’t want to go back there. But with the Mayhem that happened, and with Juxta’s gift, there doesn’t seem to be any way out.” Finally, his tears spilled over, and he leaned forward to bury his head in Henrik’s shoulder. The vlogger patted his back, face downcast.

“I know not how to help, but I appreciate you telling me.” Henrik sighed, shaking his head and closing his eyes. He took Alto’s shoulder, pushing him away slightly to look at him.

“Nothing is the same anymore, Alto. We know that everything changes, and I agree that everything here is changing too fast. But trust me when I say that I will try to help you get through… this.” Alto nodded, hugging Henrik once more.

 Malvern and Juxta sat at a café, drinking coffee and chatting. The lions sat beside them, guarding their shopping bags and playing with each other.

“Jux, are you happy?” Juxta looked up from his coffee, staring at Malvern with wide eyes.

What do you mean by happy? Malvern read the writing that appeared in his cup, then looked at his brother.

“Like, are you happy right now? Are you mentally well?”

Loaded question, Mal. Right now, I’m happy. I’m with you. Mentally, I doubt I’ll ever be well.

“Since dad died, our lives have been pits of bad luck. Most people never get back to full health. I can’t say for certain if I’ll ever be alright, but I like to be optimistic.”

Death’s dealings with me changed everything. I don’t understand my powers yet. I barely understand myself anymore.

“We aren’t supposed to understand everything right away, Jux. That’s life-” The lights flickered for a second, making Malvern freeze. Juxta stared at him, eyes dark.

Life almost ended for me two years ago, Mal. If I hadn’t made that deal, I’d be dead. Malvern nodded, trying to calm Juxta down, as his words had started floating out of his mug.

“I understand. I’m sorry. Let’s try again. I didn’t mean to offend you, Jux.” Juxta nodded, calming down enough to crack a joke.

I’ve decided I want to shave my moustache.

“Sorry?”

I want to shave my moustache. It makes me look like a villain. I don’t want to be a villain.

“But, Jux, you’ve had that growing for so long! I barely remember what you looked like without it!”

Things need changing, Mal. It will be fine. I just got sick of the feel of it. I don’t want to be reminded of the past, of almost dying. The moustache needs to go. Malvern nodded, looking into his cup.

“Alright. Do you need me to help? Your first shave was a disaster,” Malvern chuckled as he remembered the incident, then calmed down when Juxta’s tiny yes surfaced in his coffee. The two continued to chat, smiles and laughter filling the air.

 Jared returned to his small clinic, washing his hands and tying his mask. Tears surfaced in his eyes, making him furiously wipe at them.

Damn it. He turned as a knock sounded at the door, adjusting his mask and opening it. Two people stood, staring at him with a baby between them. Jared’s eyes widened, recognising the couple from the past.

“Hello, sir. I hope you remember us.”

“Yes, of course. Come in, how did you find me?” The couple stepped in, woman limping slightly.

“We actually found a boarding house close by. She got her child back, and we’re safe now.” The woman sat forward, a smile on her tired face.

“We wanted to come by and thank you again for your help that time,” she said, taking Jared’s hands in her free one. The healer smiled, heart swelling at the news he was receiving.

“How have you been? We hope you’ve been well. She was so worried he would find you, after how much you helped.” Jared smiled, running a hand through his hair.

“Well, shortly after you left, I had to move back in with my family. It wasn’t your fault, it just seems like something’s pulling us back together.” Jared went into the kitchen to make some tea for everyone, then sat and spent the remainder of the day talking to his patients.

 Chase lifted his head from his hands, looking into his dark clinic with wide eyes. His hands shook as he rested them on his knees, and he took a deep breath.

The clinic was still in shambles, and a new mess lay in the corner where Chase had begun to break down. He wondered where Jared was, then shook his head to clear the thought. He stood, legs shaking as he regained his footing.

With a sigh, he began to clean up. He picked up broken syringes, disposing of them before righting his chairs and refolding the blanket on the stretcher. He froze when he heard the front door opening, peeking through the window in the door to find out who was home.

“Dear God…” Chase stared as Juxta and Malvern walked into the house, smiles on their faces and bags in their hands. He stepped away from the door, running stressed hands through his hair. I hoped they would stay out for longer. He checked the time, eyes widening as he realised it was already evening. He had been stressed for hours.

 Jared yawned, locking the door to his practice and turning to talk home. He tied his hair back, removing his mask and keeping to the shadows.