InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Checkmate, Ringo!"

Jess Van der berg (insolentia_) wrote in nevermore_logs,
@ 2017-09-17 15:45:00

Current mood:	distressed
Entry tags:	jameson kemp, jess van der berg, jesse delacroix, victor brannigan

Who: Jess van der Berg, Victor Brannigan, and open to their friends and families
What: Hospital aftertimes
When: Saturday late night/Sunday early morning
Where: Hospital
Warnings/Notes: Aftermath of torture, maybe descriptions

While Victor required a lot more medical attention that JJ herself did, now that she was safe she felt like something had snapped inside her. She didn't want to be out of Victor's sight for a second and, thankfully, it seemed like he felt the same way. And so they had been given a room together, and she had watched while the doctors and nurses patched him up and did what they could to address his physical wounds. She felt like she was half his watchdog and half like she needed him to protect her still. To stand between herself and everything bad.

Had he broken at the last second? Yes. Did she blame him for even a moment? No.

"Hey," she said to him, when they were finally alone. She knew the waiting room would be full of their people and the onslaught of them was about to begin. She was so pleased she was about to see them again, but for this last second alone, there was something she needed to say. "It's okay."

"It's not," Victor sniffed hard as he ran the fingers of his one good hand over the bandage on the other. "I told them- I told them to hurt you."

"You couldn't take any more," JJ said with feeling. "I know. I know you couldn't. It's okay. They didn't hurt me, Michael got there in time. And even if they had, it's not your fault. Victor. It's not your fault." She could be strong for him here, in this place of safety. How strong had he been for her when the circumstances were so much worse. "You reached your limit."

Victor just covered his face with his good hand, and waited for the door to open, admitting the people they loved into the room.

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amending
2017-10-07 10:37 am UTC (link)

"That's what I told him," JJ said, shooting Victor an 'I told you' look he couldn't even get angry about. "You kept me safe for weeks. That's longer than I would have lasted."

Nicholas gently stepped across the room and offered a hand to Victor, who took it because what else was he supposed to do? "That bastard had me for over a month," he said quietly, but as he spoke it seemed like the room got quieter. The evidence of Nicholas' torture was still written all over his body as he struggled to put the weight back on that Joshua had forced him to lose. "I like to think of myself as strong and protective, but I can't honestly say whether or not I would have let any one of you go hungry so I could have- fuck, even a sandwich. Half a sandwich. I was starved out of my mind, and that made me desperate. Pretty sure you were in the same place. Even if they had hurt JJ, which I am going to send Michael a cookie bouquet every week for the rest of my life because his arrival meant that didn't happen, it wouldn't have been your fault. You're still coming to our house. We'll feed you up and look after you."

There wasn't much Victor could really say to that, and then Kat leaned up to kiss the corner of his mouth and Victor burst into tears.

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jdelacroix
2017-11-10 07:41 am UTC (link)

"And for that we owe you our thanks," Jesse agreed.

He sat silently as Nicholas started to talk, because even though he'd heard it before, that didn't make it any easier to bear. He nodded as Nicholas finished, turning to smile gently at Victor. "I'll cook you so much Cajun food," he promised. "We'll make sure you're feeling more like yourself before you go back home."

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sciomachy
2017-11-10 08:00 am UTC (link)

Victor sniffed hard and he gave both Nicholas and Jesse grateful looks as he cried. "I don't even know what to say," he wailed.

"You don't have to say anything," JJ assured him. "You're my hero."

"Mine too," Kat informed him quietly. "Deirdre and I can go with you anywhere you want. Whatever makes you feel better."

Victor nodded and even though he was still slightly crying, he did feel a bit better. "Alright. Yes. Yes I would like to come home with you."

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	jdelacroix 2017-12-04 04:42 am UTC (link)
	Jesse just smiled and patted Victor's hand. "You don't have to say anything," he echoed JJ. "We've got the space, and you're always welcome in our house. Now more than ever." (Reply to this) (Parent)

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