#trigger warning overdose

Jessie, Jonathan, and Jerico were sitting around with a few high school seniors, blasting White Rabbit through the record player speakers as there were all the things, future rock and roll stars of their time, boozing, ladies, and "I got the drugs, boys!" one boy shouted as Jessie cheered, Jerico and Jonathan were only there for the drinks and dabbling of weed. But Jessie, he was there for the hard stuff. After all, he'd been hiding LSD and PCP in his room lately. 

"Whatcha got, Steve."

"Well, Jessie Garon.. We got blow, we got poppers..." 

"What're those?"

"Disco biscuits, they're far out, man." 

"I'll try... four."

"Jessie, you-"

"Jerry Jerico, I got this..." He winked

The party at Graceland was wrapping on Cecelia's end as she was dancing and kissing Elvis. Elaine watched, nervous for her brother. As her foot was tapping, Elaine could feel her chest tightening and her body. Feeling numb. Something was happening to Jessie. She could feel it. 

"Elaine, have you seen Jessie?" Elvis asked as she froze,

"Uh, no, I haven't..." Elaine smiled as Elvis looked at her. She was hiding something, 

"Little Biscuit, did Estella break your heart again..."

"No... We're fine." She smiled, "Just please go enjoy your birthday with Mama... You've only got 15 minutes before it's your turn." She smiled as Elvis kissed her forehead and smiled, 

"Alright, but you know you can tell me anything."

"Mhmm..." She smiled, watching him walk off.

"Please pick up..." Jonathan said, clutching the phone in his hand as he was shaking. Jerico watched as the ambulance came, picked up Jessie, and put him on the stretcher, 

"Who's this..."

"It's Jonathan,"

"What's wrong?" 

"Jessie's in the hospital... He overdosed." 

"FUCK!" Elaine shouted as she threw the kitchen phone at the wall. Elvis and Cecelia had just cut their separate cakes when they heard their daughter screaming in the kitchen. Running towards her. Elaine had been crouching down, rocking herself. This was her fault, and she knew it. 

"Hey... Hey...Hey... What happened." Elvis asked. He never liked seeing his favorite girl cry, and Elaine never liked lying to her parents, 

"It's Jessie..." 

"What happened to Jessie..." Cecelia asked as Elaine sniffled,

 "H-He's in the hospital..."

Memphis Hospital January, 8th, 1977, 3:30 am

It had been four hours, and they heard nothing, absolutely nothing. Elaine was pacing in the hallways. Cecelia was saying every prayer she could think of. Elvis was smoking a Cigarillo and shaking like a leaf. 

"ELVIS, HOW CAN YOU SMOKE AT A TIME LIKE THIS!"

" DAMNIT, HOW CAN I NOT!" Elvis's leg began to shake, and his heart was racing. The two got into a heated argument. Elaine was rocking again. Her family was falling apart. Before her eyes, it was her fault. Clutching onto his Nipper hound-dog stuffed animal,  

"MAYBE IF YOU WEREN'T SO DAMN FOCUSED ON YOUR STATEWIDE TOUR WE'D HAVE CAUGHT THIS BEFORE IT GOT TO THIS!"

"I'M SORRY, BUT AREN'T YOU THE ONE WORKIN ON A MOVIE AND TWO ALBUMS AND RUNNIN A RECORD COMPANY. DON'T TELL ME ABOUT NOT BEING THERE!"

"stop yelling...." Elaine said. Softly, as they kept arguing, "STOP IT NOW, BOTH OF YOU!"  Elvis and Cecelia stopped as they looked at their daughter. She was heartbroken, torn even. She felt unseen and unheard in this very room. That should be filled with love right now. "I should be in there... not him!" Elaine shouted, her voice was tired and weak,

"Ellie..." Cecelia sat next to her, "It's not your fault..."

"It is... I let him do this to himself... I-I didn't stop him. I-I'd let him go and do this anytime he needed a fix! "Taking her fist and pounding it into her forehead, "I'm stupid... WHY WOULD I LET HIM DO THAT WHY!" Elvis and Cecelia hugged her as she sobbed into Elvis's lap, Cecelia petting her hair. 

"Little Biscuit, it ain't your fault..."

"But it is daddy... I-I already caused this family enough pain now, Jessie." She sniffled, 

"Ellie, you tried to protect him the best you could." 

"Mama, it wasn't enough... He shouldn't be here. You two shouldn't be here! It's Daddy's birthday, and you're both here!" She screamed, storming off, 

"Where you going!" Cecelia asked,

"To have a long conversation with GOD!" She turned to look at her parents, " ON MY OWN!" Cecelia and Elvis didn't know to be mad at her or pleased, a mix, maybe, as the two huddled together in the hospital. Cecelia then laughed a little. She had been thinking of something,

"What's so funny..."

"I stopped by the gift shop and got you a little gift." It was a horribly made Elvis doll, which made him laugh as he looked at it, 

"Happy birthday..." 

"Oh, man. Lord have mercy, baby, it's ugly." He laughed as he kissed her forehead, "And to think I got you an I Heart Elvis mug."

"We'll have matching sets. I got you a mug too." On it, it said I Heart Cecelia.

"Is this chapel taken..." Estella asked. as Jonathan and Jerico stood behind her, "Tell 'em I don't want to talk..." Elaine glared at the two boys, "Ellie Bear..." Estella mumbled, "NO!" She stood up, "What kind of God gives my brother friends like you!" Elaine said, with a tone that was venomous. "El..." Estella tried to reach out for her as she backed away, "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT HIM, AND YOU ALL SAT THERE AND LET HIM DO THAT!"  

"You ain't no saint either, Elaine!" Jerico laughed,

"I don't know what you mean..."

"Jessie got into drinkin cause your little accident..." Jonathan smirked, "So maybe get off your high horse." Elaine ran off crying as Estella slapped her brother, 

"Mr. and Mrs. Presley, you're welcome to see him now." The Nurse said. Jessie was sleeping as they were detoxing him of all the toxins in his body. His skin was sweaty, but he was safe. Kissing his forehead, Cecelia hugged his body as Elvis shed a few tears. That was his baby boy lying right there in the same bed he was birthed on, "He'll be able to go home when he wakes up." 

Graceland Memphis, Tennessee, January 8th, 7am

"Lord...Please save him. He's all I got, amen..."  Was all Jessie heard when he woke up to an IV drip in his arm and a massive headache? There was a trashcan by his bed, a rag on his forehead, and he felt like, 

"Shit, what happened to me..."

"You almost died. You had LSD, PCP, and Disco biscuits in your system along with Whiskey." Elaine sighed, 

"They know, don't they..." Jessie asked as Elaine nodded, "Yeah, daddy ain't pleased, and Mama's been fightin' the press all night."

"What about you?"

"Well, Jerico hates me, Jonathan hates me, Estella said we should take a break."

"I knew I heard Rocketman, but I thought I was still tripping." Elaine nudged him, as he nudged her back,

 "I'm sorry I scared you so bad."

"Promise me you won't do any of that crap again!" 

"Laine..."

"Jessie Vernon Presley, I will shove that IV needle up your ass."

"Fine, fine!" He then heard a knock at his bedroom door, Elvis couldn't look Jessie in the eye, and Jessie couldn't look to face Elvis, 

"Mornin Daddy,"

"Elaine..."

"I'll let you two uh talk." She raced out of the room. The air was thick with tension as the man who "Pushed" him opened his mouth to speak.

"Jessie, I'm sorry."

"For trying to make me like you!"

"Jessie..."

"You don't care about me! You're so caught up with Mama, and y'all's career that you don't even notice me!" Jessie laughed, "So, no, you're not sorry!" 

"Jessie!" Elvis grabbed his face to get his son to look at him, "You're a spoiled, selfish brat, and you're stubborn. You think you know every damn thing, and you don't!" Elvis growled in anger, 

"Oh, yeah, like you ever had it hard!"

"You don't know how your on ass from your head!" Elvis laughed, "I've been through so much that I pray you and your sister never had to." Jessie rolled his eyes, 

"Yeah, like running outta money or what jumpsuit to wear!"

"Like making sure I never had to be the sixteen-year-old boy in the streets workin trying to keep food on the table to feed his family so he'd never have to get kicked out in the streets lookin for food in a trashcan!" Jessie looked at his father. As Elvis began to cry, 

"I try so much to be the perfect father 'cause your mama... she didn't have that growin up, I-I-I try..."

"You didn't try hard enough, nor did Mama..." Jessie smirked, 

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!"

" I JUST WANT YOUR ATTENTION!" Jessie looked up at him, tears in his eyes as Elvis hugged him tightly, 

"I want your love..." 

"Jessie, you have my love..." 

"No, I don't. You're not always here, neither is Mama..." He cried, and Elvis's heart broke. Jessie sounded like the little seven-year-old boy who would sneak into bed because he had a nightmare. He sounded like he did once when he was his age. The whole world was on his shoulders, and he needed help carrying it.

"Jessie... What can I do to make it better?"

"I liked when we'd have our boy's night out with Uncle, Jerry, and Lamar, and Red, Joe, and Billy..."  

"Me too, kid..." Elvis smiled,

 "I'd like to tell you things again..."

"Like what." Elvis smiled

"Like how I'm interning under Mama, cause her assistants cute." He laughed as Elvis chuckled, 

"Or how I secretly buy your records 'cause I think you're so cool, and I'll never be you."

"Takin' drugs and living your life like this, ain't it. That's not being cool. Being true to you is." Elvis smiled as Cecelia watched from the door, 

"You think so..."

"I know so," He kissed his forehead, "We love you, I love you,"

"I love you too Pa." Jessie hugged his dad as Elvis smiled, 

And I think it's gonna be a long, long time

'Til touchdown brings me round again to find

I'm not the man they think I am at home

"Estella broke up with Elaine again..."

"Yeah..."

"God grants me more years, but less patience." He laughed as Jessie and Elvis laughed, 

*Bonus*

"Cece..." 

"Hmm..." 

"Being a parent may be the hardest career ever." He kissed his wife on the forehead, "Who're you tellin." She kissed his neck as he moaned,

 "Happy birthday to"

KNOCK 

         KNOCK

KNOCK

"What!"

"Can we sleep with y'all!" Jessie asked as Cecelia and Elvis laughed, 

"Happy birthday my beloved."

"Some birthday." He smiled, "Come on in, guys!" Elaine and Jessie walked in with pillows, a cake, and blankets. Making a fort on the ground, the four of them watching TV all snuggled up together, It was true what they said,