Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Naomi had never paid a moment's thought to JJ's health before. After all, why would she? She was the one who seemed to pick up every passing sickness as if they were smooth, silky pebbles from their secret cove, and somehow he always managed to avoid sharing her 'joy'. He was so full of energy and life that it had barely even occurred to her that underneath lay vulnerable, fallible flesh and blood.

But now the twisting dread of first hearing the news clings to her mind and heart.

"Naomi, I think you should know... James has been hurt. Badly."

It takes her a moment to register which of the numerous people with that name her father must be referring to. Her heart drops to the floor, and she's glad that she was instructed to sit down, or the rest of her would have followed. Her... well, what is he to her? She tries not to consider him a boyfriend, but-

Oh, does it really matter right now? "Oh my gosh... what happened? Is he okay?!"

"I don't know, darling. He must have been hit by something. There was a lot of blood..."

She doesn't want to hear about the freaking blood, she wants- needs, rather- to know whether her favourite person in the world is... oh, God...

"Dad, is he okay?!"

He sighs at length, then leans across to place a hand on her shoulder, as if preparing to tell her for a second time that her mother didn't survive the surgery. No, please no, please not J, don't take J from her too...

"He... no, love, I'm afraid not. They're trying to bring him back, but-"

"Bring him back...?" she echoes, her brain flipping into autopilot. This can't be real. Father must have seen somebody else. A simple case of mistaken identity. The real J is probably trying to help the poor soul. He must be. He can't... he can't be dying. He's too strong to die. Too alive.

"I'm sorry, Naomi, but... I think he's gone. So young, too... I'm so, so sorry."

Her voice screams from somewhere in the distance. Against her will, she pictures her best friend, her confidant, her saviour... bleeding out on the ground, his perfect hair soaked with-

A very familiar rhythm of knocking at the front door pulls her out of the hellish memory just in time. She tips her head back to trap the fresh budding tears in her eyes. JJ made her promise not to cry for him when she visited for his birthday last week, and if she breaks that promise now, he's right outside to see.

He's outside!

"JJ! How are you doing, son?" her dad is not usually this pleased to see him, to say the least. The whole town has become a bit protective of J recently, but she didn't expect to see that in action so close to home.

"I'm fine, sir," he tries, his voice slightly distorted by the pressure of what must be a very firm embrace. Even so, he sounds so much more like his normal self that Naomi's eyes prickle again- this time with relief.

"Oh, good. Don't worry us like that again, will you?" this is accompanied by a hollow thud as he claps him on the back. Naomi can't help but wince. The last time she saw J, he had to hold a mug of hot juice to his chest to dull the pain enough to simply take a deep breath, so this can't be comfortable for him...

"I don't plan on it."

"I sure hope not! She's waiting for you upstairs. Let me know if you need anything, alright, son?"

"Yeah, okay. Thank you..."

A bubble of last-minute apprehension builds as J climbs the stairs. Of course she wants to see him as much as possible, just like she always has, but... what if he isn't ready? It's already apparent that his recovery isn't going to be smooth or easy, and the last thing she wants is take up precious time and energy that he could have spent focusing on his health.

Then he's in her bedroom doorway, genuinely looking as healthy as ever, and none of that seems relevant any more. After sobbing herself to sleep in this very bed, almost fully convinced that she would be woken prematurely with some variant of 'I'm sorry, they did everything they could, but...', then staring idly at these walls whilst held under quarantine because she'd dared to associate with him days before anyone knew he was ill, constantly grappling with the knowledge that she could have obliviously signed her own death warrant- or worse, those of others- she will cling to this trace of normality as tightly as she can.

"Hi, stranger," is JJ's greeting of choice, accompanied by a heart-melting smile- oh, how she missed those smiles. Before she can think, her body decides that she also needs to cling to him, even if for no other reason but to physically pin down his soul and keep him here where he belongs. Upright and ready for adventure rather than lying pale and listless underneath a pile of blankets, she means, obviously- but she wouldn't be opposed to the idea of keeping him by her side...

"I'm alright, angel, I swear," J returns her hug, and her mask begins to crack around the edges once again as she melts into him. Between him being extremely contagious and the need to hide this aspect of their 'friendship' from their families for just a little longer, Naomi can't remember the last time they held each other like this, and until now, she had no clue just how much she'd been craving physical touch. She gives him an extra squidge for extra comfort- but he suddenly tenses up and inhales sharply. Oh gosh, his ribs! How could she forget?!

"Sorry!" she almost shrieks, releasing her grip in an instant, "I just missed you so much, and-"

"I know, I know. I- agh- I missed you too. Just... don't squeeze so hard, hey?"

"I didn't m-mean to hurt you..." this cherry on top of the bizarre cocktail of relief, excitement and concern proves too much, and hot tears finally spill from her eyes.

"Nooo, please don't cry. I'm fine, okay? Look at me. I'm fine," when Naomi fails to completely calm down that moment (which... who would?), JJ switches to another approach: distraction.

"By the way..." he closes the bedroom door, then points back towards it with a slightly dramatised baffled expression and barely whispers, "Did you know your dad called me 'son'?"

Unsure how to respond, Naomi just raises an eyebrow. She didn't read too far into the use of the word at the time, but it's definitely a new development, and an interesting one at that.

Chapter Text

It's taken fifteen minutes and a whole packet of tissues, but now that the dust has settled, the scene in Naomi's room is indistinguishable from a lazy afternoon before... before everything happened. And, as would be the norm on such a day, she's itching to get out of the house.

"Hey J, are you... would you be able to come out with me? Just for a little while?"

"Of course!" he blurts out without thinking, then his expression darkens, "I mean... I can, but I probably shouldn't go far. Perhaps we could head down to the lake, bring Ruby along for a walk? I won't be able to run or anything, but I think she'd like that."

Naomi isn't allowed to be in the same room as JJ, and as much as she does not want to catch the Plague, it's hard not to be irritated by that. His dad is right there on the same couch as him, but she can't even set foot inside the door? Anyway, at least Ruby- Sheriff O'Connor's rambunctious terrier- isn't subject to the same restrictions. She should be able to lift his spirits... if he wakes up at all during their visit, that is.

Without further ado, Ruby is unhooked from her leash, and she predictably rushes to J's side, tail swinging wildly from side to side. But as she draws closer, her excitement at seeing her playmate and running buddy vanishes in an instant, replaced by clear concern as she seemingly senses that he is gravely ill. Her ears pinned back, she jumps up to stand on her hind legs and tirelessly licks and nuzzles his face in an attempt to wake him. As an interlude to her efforts, she stops every so often to whine and look pleadingly from James to Naomi and back again, as if trying to warn them that something is wrong with the human.

"He'll be okay, girl..." James holds her ear between his finger and thumb and rubs soothingly, having realised that some reassurance is in order. Naomi prays that poor Ruby is somehow able to detect JJ's heartbeat or breathing or something, because... watching her mourn for him, even unnecessarily, would undoubtedly break her.

"She thought we were picking him up to go to the lake," Naomi feels the need to inform James, though she couldn't say exactly why. He just nods and frowns a little. She still hasn't dared to request the full story of what happened (and honestly, she'd rather not hear the gruesome details ever), but she has heard that James had to literally bring his son back to life, and the deep scored lines in his face speak for themselves as to his current emotional state, "Are... are you okay? After... you know..."

A single strained laugh, "I'm... well, I won't be 'okay' until he is, honey. But thank you for your concern."

"...Or if you had any other plans, that's cool too. It's your call, but... I'd really like to see Ruby. We have a lot to catch up on..." once again, an interruption from J snaps Naomi's back into the present. Evidently he's taken her silence on the matter of a beach walk for reluctance, which couldn't be much further from the truth.

"Oh, no, yeah, that sounds great. It hasn't been the same without you. Neither has she, really," Naomi is painfully aware all the while that he's unconvinced of her enthusiasm, and will probably remain so all day. Still, the fact that that need be her only concern regarding him is a huge improvement, and she won't complain. Her mind wanders back to James, and how undone the poor man had seemed that evening. Hopefully he's seen an improvement too... "Before I forget, how's your dad?"

He cocks his head to one side, likely puzzled as to how her train of thought found its way from one topic to the other, "Was that... a suggestion...?"

It takes a second. Then-

"Oh! No, no no no!"

Both laugh in unison as Naomi's cheeks assume the same crimson shade as Ruby's leash.