"Thinking 'bout something."

[slowsouthernstyle]

Who: Jesse Hartley and Autumn MacDonald
What: Results
Where: Home
When: Thursday morning

Jesse had landed himself on bed rest. It was the strict proviso from Evan that he be allowed home. The seizures had been bad for about a week there, so he had to rest and if he was in bed, at least he was safe if he had another one. If he had to use the bathroom, it had to be with help. He had to sit for a shower (but they had a shower chair for Jace's worst days anyway, so it wasn't a big deal) and unless there was a fire in the apartment, he had to keep his butt in bed, on orders of Evan, Christian, Nana, and most importantly, Jace in threatening bitch mode.

This whole thing had taken it out of Jace too. Which is why Jesse was, indeed, being a good boy on bed rest, but beside him, Jace was fast asleep curled up under the covers and out like a light. He was in a bit of shut-down mode. He had woken up that morning and couldn't remember how to coordinate dressing himself. Evan had shuffled him into the kitchen, gave him some toast to take his pills with and then steered him back to bed with Jesse. Jesse had is headphones in listening to some soft music and flicking through a magazine while Jace slept heavily. A heard of elephants trampling up the hall wouldn't wake him when he was like this. You could rouse him, but you couldn't get him to fully wake up.

He didn't hear when there was knock at the bedroom door but then it opened and he got a surprise to find it was Autumn. He tugged the earbuds from his ears and stopped the music. Along the way, with being sick and his head being a complete mess, he hadn't realised it had gone nearly a week since he and Callum had the sibling DNA test. "Autumn... is everything okay?" he asked her.

Comments

[warmredautumn]

It had been Evan who met Autumn at the door. He looked really tired, and when she told him she was looking for Jesse, he had told her that Jesse wasn't well, and needed his rest. It was almost kind of adorable how protective he was, something that Jace and Jesse had mentioned when they were at the MacDonald house. She kind of compared him to a watchdog in her head... Highly intelligent, extremely protective... but when she told him why she was there, to bring Jesse the DNA results from his test, Evan had stepped aside. It was clear he still wasn't a huge fan of the idea of letting someone into Jesse and Jace's room when they weren't at their best, but he'd given in because he knew Jesse was waiting for these results.

She made her way to Jesse and Jace's room per Evan's "Down the hall and to the left" instructions, and knocked gently. No one answered, and she was afraid Jesse might be asleep. But once the door was open she saw that he was awake... Just listening to music. "Hey," she said, crossing over and taking a seat beside him on the edge of the bed. "Yeah, everything's fine... We got the DNA results back this morning. I have to work later, so I wanted to get here as quick as I could to tell you what they said." She wasn't intentionally trying to build suspense here. She just knew Jesse wasn't well, and didn't want to overload him with information all at one time. "Evan said you're not feeling well, so I don't want to keep you awake if you need to sleep. I just wanted to come by and tell you."

[slowsouthernstyle]

The results. The way time was progressing was warped for Jesse because of the times his mind had disconnected the wifi connection, so to speak. The arrangement was that the results would be delivered to Callum at the MacDonald home, and to Jesse via Evan at Mount Sinai. Callum had to fly out to Africa on a tour with a bunch of his travel mates from college, so he gave his mom permission to open them as soon as they arrived. The only reason it was Callum who had taken the test was because he was the oldest, and Casey was ill. It was just the easiest and quickest option. But Evan, with his shift works, might not have been at work when the results arrived in his inbox. Had it really been a whole week?

"No, Jace is the one playing Sleepy Beauty for now. Don't worry, you won't wake him," he reassured her. He was propped up on some pillows so he could see the magazine and Jace's head was nuzzled in against his elbow, having cuddled up into Jesse's side in his sleep. He wasn't a snorer, he just slept like the dead when he was like this and had a hand resting on Jesse's thigh. He let out a slow but heavy breath. "Really? The results? Wow..." He wasn't sure if he was ready for this, but what good would it do trying to procrastinate about it?

[warmredautumn]

"He is pretty adorable, too," she said with a soft smile. Jesse and Jace were beautiful guys... A couple that anyone could look up to for the beautiful selfless natures they both had. "Yeah, they came in. Mom called me and Casey this morning when she checked the mail, and let us know what they said." She paused, watching Jesse's face because this was huge news, and would probably hit him heavily, regardless of how he felt about things. "The results said that you're our brother. Our dad, as they say on Maury, was the father. So... Yeah." She knew it would be a hell of a lot to take in for Jesse, even though they'd all been pretty damn sure from the start that he was their dad's son. Why else would his mother have remembered so much about their dad?

She paused only a moment before shifting on the King sized bed to lie down next to Jesse and snuggle close to him. "I hope you're a snuggler, because my brothers and I are in a big time way... Especially when we're dealing with heavy things, and you most definitely are. You don't have to say what you're thinking or feeling yet, because I'm sure it might take some time to even know the answer to that yourself. I sure as hell didn't know when I first heard. But I'll tell you one thing... I have three incredible, brave, and smart brothers, and I couldn't be more proud that you're one of them."

[slowsouthernstyle]

Jesse smiled softly down at Jace and stroked his fingers lightly through his blonde hair that was sticking up all over the place lacking it's usual trendy styling with product. Jace was extremely fashionable, and not afraid to be loud and proud in it either. Jesse was the Yin to his Yang, the much more conservative and simple person to Jace's bright, colourful and statement-making wardrobe. It was why he worked so well with Rian and Austin, because he had that natural flare. But without all that, he looked young and vulnerable, especially when he was asleep. It was days like this that really proved how close their relationship was. If they had to stop, they did it together. Even if Jace was feeling perfectly fine, he would have still been right there with Jesse resting with him. And right now, lying there in satin Ninja Turtle boxers and a red tank top, but what Autumn said next for some reason made this seem like the most natural thing in the world if she was family and his husband was in his PJs snoozing. Indeed, if she was family, this would be a frequent sight because it was often Jesse the one caring for Jace who was laid up. But still, he was speechless at first. He didn't know what he was really expecting, or had been stopping himself expecting anything. Whatever the situation, it was still a tough blow to learn his whole life really had been a huge lie. It made his head hurt.

Now he was suddenly in between two people. His husband, who was just second nature always at his side and his sister. One that wasn't ten years old and preaching at him from the bible. "Well... you kind of have four... five, six, if you include Evan and Christian," he was pointing out, nodding to Jace. "This is... shit, I wish I had a fully functioning brain right now, but I'm not sure that would even help. I never thought anything like this would be happening to someone like me."

[warmredautumn]

Autumn knew this might be an awkward moment, but she had known before they ever got the results that he was her brother. This just made it all official, and she couldn't have been happier to have Jesse as a brother. Still, she knew it wouldn't be as easy for Jesse as just accepting it and showing up to the next family barbecue. But she hoped that he would realize he was more than accepted as part of their family... They didn't just accept him. They wanted him here. Callum and Casey would deal with things in their own way, but ultimately, Autumn knew her brothers, and she knew that if there were a part of their dad that had been missing from them, in the long run, they would want to have that, and embrace it with open arms. Which in Autumn's mind literally meant embracing Jesse with open arms. Autumn had always been the kind of person to jump first and ask questions later, and this was no exception. She was going to spend time with her brother, and there would be snuggles, because Jesse was a sweetheart, and people damn well deserved snuggles when they were going through a tough time. It was gorgeous how gentle and tender Jesse was was with Jace, and she'd seen the opposite to be true, too... The loving way they stroked each other's hair, just wanting the soft reminder that they were there for each other.

"I get to adopt Jace's brother and his boyfriend, too?" she asked with a grin. "I feel like I just hit the fag hag jackpot to end all jackpots. But seriously... I think even with a functioning brain, it would be hard to figure out how to feel about all of this... But what do you mean by 'happening to someone like you'?" The words were gentle, not pushy, something Autumn had been working on, and she glanced up at her big brother's face. "I'm kind of in shock, too, if it helps."

[slowsouthernstyle]

There was an awkwardness to it, without a doubt. Mainly because Jesse wasn't sure where he was supposed to fit, or how. But that had been a wide-sweeping sensation for him his whole life. He had always felt like a fish out of water, not sure he belonged, not sure he could be himself around people for fear of judgement and being ostracised. It got to the point where he had to escape that. But it was Jace who couldn't changed the record, showed him what love felt like, how it was supposed to work, what it was like to be showered with affection, and how much you cherished just being near the person you loved, being in love. He was a compassionate and affectionate person himself, but only once he met Jace and his family had he had an unconditional outlet to give that and have it reciprocated. So that was where he was flip-flopping in his fish out of water feeling again here. He wasn't used to having family to this extent, save for the Turners.

He had to give a small laugh. "Jace sort of comes with an epic entourage of people who take care of him. He had an horrific past, but his family have done everything to surround him with love, care and protection. So, he's a package deal. Christian is the added extra, though he and Evan used to hate each other whilst simultaneously cyber-fucking in an online relationship." He shrugged and looked down at Jace while he thought about what he meant. "I was just raised in a very straight-to-line nuclear religious family. On the face of it, they were the perfect family unit and that was what they had to project to everyone in my home town, no matter what. If it came out that my mom not only fucked around on my dad, but got pregnant as a result of it, she would judged and probably even forced out of the church. It was no wonder she kept it all hushed and had the truth buried away. But at the same time, I feel now like maybe she lacked love for me because she resented that I was this massive sin and blight on her life. Someone like me, I just mean that I'm a boring, average person. Not someone in a Hollywood soap opera-like reality TV show."

[warmredautumn]

"There's nothing wrong with that," Autumn said softly, with a grin at Jesse. "I think everyone's family and friends should take care of them in their own way. Trust me, I'm not the best person to judge anyone on that, because I was a pretty epic selfish bitch most of my life, and I'll be the first to admit that I still can be. I'm working on it, and Case and Cal can tell you if you ask them that I'm better than I was before. I had a diva attitude. And then I got my ass handed to me when I tried to go to Juilliard, and learned quickly that the sun doesn't shine out of my asshole." She shrugged, having to laugh at herself. It had been a long road for her, growing up and realizing that she wasn't doing herself any favors acting like she was a top billed Broadway star when she was begging for roles in the chorus. Footloose was her first show as a lead, and she adored that feeling, but it was well tempered with knowing where she'd come from and how hard she'd worked to get there. "I'm kind of glad you didn't meet me when I was a twat nozzle."

"My family, from the sound of things, is a lot like the Turners in that. I've definitely been a diva bitch, but I've always been there for Casey and Cal, and them for me, too. We're a tight family, but not so tight that you can't find a place. Nobody sees you as a mistake or a sin in our family... I think the idea of sin is kind of foreign to us in general. You do good things because they're the right thing to do. You do wrong things because you make bad choices or you're just an asshole... It's not a matter of sinning and offending a zombie in the sky. Well, someone like you is a big brother to someone like me and Casey and Callum, so hopefully you can work with that," she said, but her tone was teasing and light as she glanced over him to where Jace was still sleeping soundly. "Poor guy must've been worn out. He's beautiful, you know. The two of you together are beautiful."

[slowsouthernstyle]

Jesse smirked with a small but fond shake of his head. "You'll love the Turners. They're a crazy bunch, but awesome. Nana Turner goes without saying, but Grandad is also a hoot. He has the biggest stock of jokes I've ever known anyone to have, and he's open and honest with his grandkids. I'm pretty sure Nana and Grandad hooked up after the wedding, but Jace doesn't know it. They've been divorced for ages, but they must still have an FWB arrangement. See, we can be in our grandparent age and hope isn't lost for us yet. They're a massive family, so there were some niggly issues when we got engaged and Jace started to make noises that he wanted me to take over being his primary carer. I felt a little left out in the cold, to say the least. So you can say it's a feeling I'm used to. My family, then a bit with Damien when I got here, then with Kevin... a whole story in itself, with the Turners. It's okay, though. It's all worked out in the end. Oh, hey, I have met many twat nozzles in my life, and I don't think you could have been remotely as bad as them. But sometimes reality can be a rude shock when it bites."

He nodded and looked down at Jace again for a few moments. He had this tiny frown on his face in his sleep, which he did sometimes when he was in a deep sleep. Nothing at all like the growly bitchface that could switch on when you tried to rouse him to make sure he was conscious. "I think your family are a lot like that. There's no judgement and battles are fought as a team. I've always felt like I didn't belong. Back in my hometown, I never even liked to go out because I felt uncomfortable. The tiny handful of times of I came so close to telling someone I thought I might be gay, I clammed up and didn't say anything. I tried to tell my father so many times. But every time he would give me this look and tell me how proud of me he was and what a fine husband I would make to a wonderful wife with children some day soon." He smiled and his hand went to Jace's back with a soft rob. "It's exhausting fighting against your own brain, which is what he does automatically each day. But he's the most beautiful person I've ever met, inside and out. I couldn't believe it when this gorgeous, bright, sweetheart was chatting away to me the day we met. Bright eyes, but smile, talking so easily and asking me about myself."

[warmredautumn]

"They sound pretty amazing," Autumn said with a grin. "I guess there's hope for us all after all. I've... kind of never had much of a relationship before. You make a girl think about it for damn sure," she added, glancing over at how Jesse loved on Jace even when he was sleeping. They had a very physical relationship no doubt, with the tender way they were almost always touching, whether it was a soft pat on the back, or holding hands, or whatever much more intensely intimate things they might have gotten up to when they were feeling well and alone. "I really liked this guy, but it just... Didn't really work out. He's a sweetheart, but I didn't pursue it the best way I could've, I guess. Ultimately, the chemistry was never really able to build up, and maybe it was just never really there to start with. But it would be nice one day in the future... To find someone special and have a real relationship and that person you just... want to be around." She listened, wanting more than anything to know more of her brother's story. "I'm glad you don't think so. But I was pretty awful. Then I came to New York and this incredible shock happened... In which I realized that Broadway roles weren't just going to fall into my lap a la Rachel Berry on Glee. I had to actually stop watching the show because it pissed me off that she got everything she wanted when I was busting my ass to land a role in a chorus on some show."

Autumn found herself wishing that every kid got the chance to have parents like she had. Her dad when he was alive, and her mom, were supportive, openminded, and always willing to listen to their kids. They never wanted them to be anything but exactly who they were as a person, and that was pretty incredible in itself. So many kids parents had these expectations that they were meant to fulfill, when all Autumn could think that should be important to a parent was that your kids be good people. "Honestly, if your kids aren't like... murderous sociopaths or child molesters or whatever, I'm pretty sure you should just be glad that they're healthy and support them in whatever they want to do and whoever they are. You'd think that would be common sense, but apparently, it's not. You do make a fine husband. To your fine husband, and I think that's fucking brilliant." She paused, looking him directly in the eye. "I'm really glad you're my brother. We're going to have a good time getting to know each other one way or another. I collect awesome brothers, both biological and not, apparently."

[slowsouthernstyle]

"Neither had I before. The one before I met Jace was... basically a complete disaster. I needed things he didn't know how to give me, and it all culminated in drinking when I shouldn't and getting really sick with a few bad seizures. Stress is basically my kryptonite. Anytime I feel really pressured or stressed, it's almost a sure-thing I'll end up sick. There's always the odd person who asks why I still have seizures if I take medication, but it doesn't really work like that. The meds stop your brain getting stuck in a constant cycle of fits, but it doesn't take them away completely. But I guess if your dad hit the mark with your mom, then bad relationships don't run in the blood," Jesse pointed out. "When I met Jace and it all flowed so easily, there was actually a few moments where I was thinking 'Shit, this is too easy, when's the axe going to drop?' Life should feel like that, though. All discontent and expecting to always feel miserable and alone."

He scrunched his nose up wryly. "Well, apparently even child molesters are protected by the church and if you're a murdering sociopath, you can find God in prison and be forgiven for your sins. But if you're gay, you should be burned at the stake like a witch and your ashes scattered all over a pile of Playboy magazines full of boobs. Also, steer clear of your family in case they catch fag cooties and taint the church with them." He just shook his head and lowered his gaze sadly. It was still upsetting for him. He didn't have any desire to reconnect with his family, but that didn't mean it didn't still hurt. He met her gaze with a small smile. "Thanks. I'm sorry it all had to happen, though. Shaking up your family like that after everything."