Upon seeing his entire family spill through the door, Jesse felt both cheered up, and a little overwhelmed. So he did what he always did-worry about his brothers first.
"Hey Jay, don't cry," he said, trying to calm his brother down. "I'm-well, I'm not OK, but I'm definitely not dead. So that's good, right?" He gave Adrian a small smile. "Hey, Ade. Thanks for coming."
"Not good when you're lying in a hospital bed, all banged up," Ceridwen answered, gently making her way through her sons. "Oh, cheri. I'm half-tempted to lock all of you in my house. That way I could look out for you."
"JJ's going to chip us," Jesse told her, smiling tiredly.
"Good," she said, nodding firmly, though her chin was trembling.
"Don't cry, maman, please, or y'all will set me off," he said.
"We were so worried," she told him. "I don't think any of us have hardly slept."