They all made their way outside to see what Zack needed. “I thought my Dad and Callan made it clear that you were to stay the hell away from me”, Miranda shouted.
“I had to see you again. I wanted to apologize”, he responded.
“Deaf ears, mother fucker! You disrespected me and called me a whore! You can take your apology and stick it.”
“I’m willing to take you back, Miranda, for the sake of the baby.”
“Oh, so now this is your baby? Since when? Since Callan beat your ass yesterday? Go to hell, you low life piece of shit!”
“Miranda, that’s no way to speak to the father of your child.”
Callan’s hands started to shake as he listened to the exchange between Miranda and Zack. “Mother fucker, you might share part of a genome with this baby, but you’re NOT the father. This man is the father. He’s the one stepping up to raise this baby with me. You’re not going to be allowed anywhere near my child because you’re a fucking moron!!”
“Listen, you stupid little bitch, you need to learn a little bit of respect and I’m more than happy to teach it to you.”
That did it. Callan looked at David who gave him a nod. He’d caught the look from the corner of his eye. The expression on Callan’s face pleaded, let me shut this mother fucker up, I’m begging you. Once he had the nod, Callan took off across the driveway to where Zack was standing and tackled Zack to the ground. Once Zack was on the concrete, Callan grabbed a fistful of his shirt and planted a straight right jab in Zack’s jaw. The sound of the crack echoed across the short distance. “From the sound of that, Zack’s jaw is going to have to be wired shut”, Jake commented. “That was nasty sounding.”
“Are you seeing the amount of blood I’m seeing, Jake?” David asked.
“I’m seeing quite a bit, that’s for sure. Apparently, the ass beatings Zack has sustained recently aren’t getting the message through his thick skull. Maybe Callan beating it in will knock some common sense into him.”
“I would have thought that being bested by an 81 year old woman would have taught him some manners”, Malachai laughed. “Apparently, the boy is stupid.”
“We’re going to have to stop this soon”, David said. “Morbus has gone back into retirement and Will and Travis aren’t as good destroying evidence as their father is.”
“Tell us when to call it and we’ll stop them”, Jake said.
“James, legally, would there be any repercussions for Callan beating the hell out of Zack?”
“According to Civilian law or the UCMJ?” James asked.
“Both.”
“No. The UCMJ has recently decided to catch up to Civilian law and he’s protected under the Cartwright- Tuchman Law. He’s protecting his girlfriend and their unborn child. He can’t be touched.”
“Jake, do you think you can patch Zack up here?”
“I’m missing a few things, maybe, to fix him here. The only thing I won’t be able to do is wire his jaw without making a phone call to a dentist friend of mine”, Jake answered.
“CALLAN!” David called out. “STOP SON! HE’S NOT WORTH KILLING!”
“Can’t you destroy the evidence that I killed him?” Callan shouted back.
“Destroying evidence is rather messy. Anyway, is it more embarrassing to him to say that his got his ass beat for being a puss or for him to be dead and no one knows how you went missing. That means cops digging and all that good shit”, Jake called back. “And we don’t bribe cops around here.”
Callan huffed. “Fine. I need to wash the blood off of my hands anyway.”
“You might want to change your clothes”, James said. “I might have something you can wear. If not me, then maybe Jeremiah will.”
“Anything for a Marine”, Jeremiah responded.
Callan stood and walked back over to where the family was watching and James and Jake went out to get Zack so that Zack could be taken care of. “I’m proud of the restraint you showed, baby”, Miranda said when he walked up and she carefully kissed his cheek.
“The only reason I tried to pound his face in was because he threatened you. No one threatens my girl and gets away with it.”
“Well, Callan, I think if you hadn’t had Malachai’s consent to marry his daughter before, you certainly have it now”, David said. He nodded to where Malachai was trying to help his younger brothers scrap Zack up off of the pavement to tend to his extensive wounds.
“Well, that’s another good thing that’s come from today I suppose. I impressed both you and her father. I’m two for two.”
“Honestly, I think you’re more like five for two”, Brie laughed as they headed in. “You’ve not only managed to impress my husband and our oldest son, but you’ve managed to impress our three middle sons as well. I know that wasn’t the intention, but it’s always nice to know you have the full support of the family, right?”
“Of course, Mrs. Draiman. I’m glad that your four oldest sons approve.”
---------------
Once they were inside, Jake called his dentist friend to come over and help with Zack’s jaw. While he waited, he took X-rays to see what kind of damage Callan had done to poo Zack’s face, because that’s where Callan concentrated every blow. “Well, it doesn’t take a genius to know that you’ve got concussions Zachary”, Jake said as he looked at the X-rays. “And Callan certainly did a number on your jaw. It’s like I said outside, it’s going to have to be wired shut. I guess you won’t be able to run your mouth to anyone for six to eight weeks.” He snapped on a pair of gloves after setting out the things he would need to stitch Zack up and get him ready to go back to the hotel. Miranda was calling a few of his friends to have them come pick him up and take him back to New York.
There was a knock on the door of the trauma room. “It’s open”, Jake called as he examined Zack’s face.
“Jake, baby, your dentist friend is here”, Delilah said when she opened the door.
“Thanks Baby. We’ll be out of here in a couple of hours. It’s gonna take some time to patch this moron up.” He looked at the good doctor that his wife has escorted back. “Thanks for coming over on your day off Pete.”
“Not a problem, Jake. You said that it was an interesting case when you called, so I had to jump and run over here. What happened?”
“I don’t know if you remember my niece Miranda, but she brought her new boyfriend over to meet everyone that’s here and this tool popped up. He’s her ex. He said stupid things in front of the new man and the new man beat this guy’s face in. And I mean that pretty literally. He’s still breathing and alive, but if my Dad hadn’t called the new guy off he would have killed the boy and I’d have had to call the morgue.”
“Priceless. You’re not kidding. This is an interesting case. Did you do a skull series?”
“Of course. His jaw is fractured pretty severely and he has several concussions. The fact that he’s not dead is a miracle to say the least. I guess God has a plan for him because Callan should have killed him with the beating he gave this boy.”
“May I see them?” Jake pulled the X-rays up on the android pad that he used for medical things there at the house. “Ouch. And I have to admit, I’m being nice. Do you mind if I go get my portable panoramic X-ray out of my car real fast? I’m going to need those to see where the best place to anchor the wire will be.”
“Be my guest, my friend. If you need help, I’ll have Seth out there to help you with a quick phone call.”
“It’s not that heavy. You know how big my car is, Jake.”
“Very true. Ok. Go on out. Did you bring any general anesthesia so that we can put him under while we wire his jaw?”
“I did. Give me just a moment.” Pete started digging though his medical bag. “Here you go. The strongest stuff I have in my cabinet at work.” He held out a vial to Jake.
“Cool. While you’re going to get your panoramic camera, I’ll start setting up to put him under.”
“You have all the things needed?”
“No”, Jake said. “I’m just saying that. We’re going to put him under and let him go into pulmonary arrest.” Jake rolled his eyes.
Pete- or Dr. Trumble- left the room as he shook his head and Jake started getting the intubation tray together. When the other doctor came in, they were ready to go. Jake had even gotten out the medical grade wire to fix Zack’s broken jaw.
The panoramic X-rays were taken and the pictures were taken and put directly into the android pad. Pete looked at the damage done to the young man’s jaw and picked to best places to put in the wire. Jake had already put in an IV so that they could give Zack whatever medication they needed to. There was no need to cause any further pain that he was already in. Once Zack was asleep, and intubated and bagged, they started doing what they needed to do with Jake acting as the anesthesiologist. He had a few good friends that taught him tricks of their trade.
It wasn’t long before they had Zack’s jaw wired and they were stitching up the cut on his face after the doctor’s traded places. Everything was done. They sat him up; keeping him intubated and gave them the medication it took to reverse the effects of the anesthesia they’d had him under.
“Isn’t it easier to have nurses and hygienists to help out with these things?” Jake joked.
“Much. I think I’m going to give all of my hygienists raises after doing this.”
“No shit. I’m going to do the same for my nurses.” They shook hands. “Thank you so much. This makes my life just a little easier. I would have been able to wire the jaw, but I wouldn’t have been able to put him under adequately enough not to cause him anymore pain than he’s already in.”
“Not a problem. I was glad to help, Jake. Oh, when is Miri going to come in for another cleaning?”
“Not for a while. She’s in veterinary school in Chicago pretty much year round. She doesn’t want to spend eight years in vet school before she can start doing it herself. She’s really good at it too. She actually rehabilitated a horse over the summer that was severely beaten and abused.”
“What came of the horse?”
“The good Professor ended up adopting it for his daughter.”
“Your brother?”
“One in the same.”
“Nice. Well doctor, I need to be headed home. My wife’s not too happy that I jumped and ran out while her parents were in town.”
“Ooh, the in laws. Yeah, you had better get out of here, brother. Thanks again.”
“No problem. Bye.”
---------------
While Uncle Jake was patching Zack up, Miranda placed a call to some of Zack’s friends to come pick him up. “Carter, come get your moron of a friend.”
“What has Zack done now?” Carter asked.
“He came to my uncle’s house after being warned several times not to and got his face beaten in.”
“Why am I still friends with that idiot?”
“I don’t know, dude. All I know is that I’m thirteen weeks pregnant and I can’t do this right now. The stress of him being around isn’t good for me or the baby.”
Congrats by the way though I’m sure it wasn’t completely happy news seeing as you and I both know who the father is. The last girl he was with is pregnant too. She’s about three weeks along. She’s pretty pissed.”
“Give her my email and we’ll talk. Either way, someone needs to come out here and get this moron.”
“You know how the other guys are. What do I tell them to keep them from doing stupid shit?”
“Tell them that Zack’s jaw has had to be wired shut and he got several concussions. There are several cuts on his face. If the loser squad decides to come to my grandfather’s property to start shit they will be shot on sight by the bodyguards. Their days will go very badly. My uncle- the doctor- is patching Zack up as we speak.”
“Well, I’ll let the guys know not to be stupid then. We’ll all do our best to be on our best behavior. Where is he going to be?” Miranda told him where her uncles were dropping Zack off. “Call me when you have a room number?”
“I’ll do you one better. I’ll meet you there to give you a key. Zack’s going to be high on pain meds. He’s going to be on baby food for a while, just to let you know.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Talk to ya later. I’ve got to call some of the guys and make travel arrangements. We should be there this evening.”
“See you when you get here.” They hung up. “They’ll be here this evening”, she told her grandparents.
“Good news there”, Brie said.
“You’re not meeting his friends at the hotel alone”, Malachai and Callan said in unison.
“I wasn’t planning on it”, she responded. “Callan, I was going to take you. I was going to ask Uncle Jake to come along as well so that the can tell Carter how to care for the moron. Eli, B; would you two come along as well?”
B shrugged. “I’m game. What about you, babe?”
Eli nodded. “Anything for my future niece or nephew.”
“I’ll go along with Jake to make sure that everything goes off without any problems”, Jeremiah volunteered.
“See Daddy? I’m going to have plenty of back up”, Miranda said. “Between Uncle Jake, Uncle ‘Miah, Callan, B, and Eli, what could go wrong?”
“Not to mention, Malachai, that Jake and I will probably be packing heat in case these boys decided to get stupid”, Jeremiah added. “They won’t get stupid and not regret it, ‘Chai. You know Jake and I don’t play.”
Malachai sighed. “Ok. Fine. Seeing as there are so many people going, I feel much better. I’ll stay here to keep Mom and Dad company while everyone else runs to town to make sure that Zack gets out of town.”
Jake came down the stairs. “That might be wise, Malachai. You being there would not only draw a lot of attention, but it would cause a multitude of problems.” He looked at James and Jeremiah. “We’ll let him sleep a little more of the anesthesia off before you guys take him to town to drop him in a hotel.”
“Sounds good”, James said.
“Just let us know when he’s ready to be moved and we’ll tell our wives we’ll be right back. After all this shit with Zack is handled, I have essays to grade”, Jeremiah said.
---------------
James and Jeremiah took Zack into town while he was half conscious and checked into a hotel using one of the credit cards in his wallet. Once he was settled in the room with the Do Not Disturb sign on the door, the twins left Zack with the TV on.
Of course when they got home they had quite the story to tell. “DUDE”, James said as he sat on the arm of the chair Kenna was sitting in, “that shit was too funny.”
“Hold on, Jay”, Jake said, looking to Jeremiah. “You and I have a similar sense of humor, ‘Miah. Did you laugh at what happened?”
“My ass off, Jake. I laughed my ass off. I was straight faced while we were at the counter. We both were”, Jeremiah explained. “But once we were on the elevator we laughed our asses off.”
Jake nodded. “Ok. Sorry, Jay. I wanted to be sure that I would find this funny.”
“Jake, Meagan would find this shit funny and we all know what her sense of humor is like”, James said. “I can’t help but laugh at the stupid little shit because he was warned that this would happen to him if he showed up here again. It just goes to show him.”
“What happened?” David asked.
“Dad, it was priceless”, Jeremiah said. “We got him to the hotel and were checking him in. The poor little girl at the desk had no idea what to make of this situation. Zack’s drooling everywhere because of his jaw. The girl asked who was paying and whose name to put the room in. Of course, neither of us was going to be that damn nice and check him in with one of our cards. So, I grabbed his wallet out of his ass pocket and gave her the first card I put my hands on as well as his drivers’ license. So far, the only funny thing about all this is that he can’t stand up straight on his own, can’t reach for his wallet himself, and he’s drooling like Niagara Falls. Then, it’s time for him to sign for the card and the room. This is where Jay and I both had trouble keeping from bursting into laughter. He’s apparently left handed, so Jay took his left hand and put it on the counter and put the stylus in his hand so that he could sign and shit hit the fan. He’s all trying sign his name and he knocks over a vase full of flowers. James is left to make the split second decision to let go of him and try to catch it or make a half assed attempt while trying to help me hold this little bastard up. Needless to say, the vase- full of flowers- hits the floor and shatters. The poor little girl behind the counter is horrified. She’s got this guy at the counter who can’t speak, can’t get his own wallet, is drooling everywhere, and now he’s breaking shit. As if that weren’t enough, she hands him his card back and starts trying to get him out of her lobby, and lo and behold, he pisses himself. That did it for the girl. She handed me the magnetic keys and asked me politely to get him out of her lobby before she called security. I just nodded, told her that he would be out of her sight shortly. We got him to the elevator and laughed our asses off all the way up to his floor. We got him settled into his room after stripping him down. We had a little compassion and weren’t going to leave him there in pissed soaked jeans. We’re not that heartless. We even got his prescriptions while were in town and gave him his medicine before we left because we’re nice guys.”
“He seriously pissed himself?” Miranda asked with a laugh.
“Oh yeah. Uncle ‘Miah and I wouldn’t lie about that, Miranda”, James said to his niece. “The front of his pants was soaked when we got him upstairs.”
“Oh, when Carter and the boys get here, I’m going to tell Carter that. If he’s still friends with Zack after all this, I’m done with the bastard.”
“Why?”
“He’s the only one of Zack’s friends that I can actually stand. I became good friends with him before we started RENT. He’s also an alumnus of Julliard, just a couple of years before Isaiah and I got there. He’s a really good guy. I hoped that his decency would rub off on Zack. Apparently not.”
“Well, I hope he’s got the patience to deal with Zack in the condition he’s in now”, Jake said, “because if he doesn’t this is sure to end their friendship for sure.”
“To tell the truth, everyone, I think it already did.”
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