#i figured swanson would have to do fbi stuff and i dont know that shed want to go

[set-phasers-to-whump]

aftermath

here’s a little thing set right after last night’s episode!! i don’t know if it’s any good or not, please lmk what you think if you want!

It’s late as the Whitly family makes its way out of the house to the sound of police sirens. Several officers move quickly around them, hurrying into the house to apprehend their killer at long last. 

Jessica wraps protective arms around both of her children's shoulders, leading them down the steps to the chaos that is the exterior of the Junkyard Killer’s arrest. Before they even make it to the nearest police car, the officers are emerging from the house, dragging one handcuffed John Watkins with them. Malcolm looks away as they shove him into the car, and it, along with two other cars, drives off. 

The occupants of the remaining car-Powell, Tarmel, Swanson, and Gil-remain behind, as do two ambulances. 

Malcolm, chain still dragging from his ankle, hand wrapped in bloody cloth, clothes filthy and bloodstained, heads for the former, while Jessica ushers Ainsley to one of the latter, which speeds off quickly. 

He comes to a halt in front of them, and for a moment, no one speaks. The silence, surprisingly, is broken by JT.

“Glad you’re okay, man. We were worried about you.” Short and to the point, as always. Malcolm looks up at him, hair hanging over his face, and tries to say, “thanks,” or something similarly short and to the point. Instead, however, he sobs, pushing himself forward and into JT, who doesn’t stumble backwards even a little. His arms come up to wrap gently around Malcolm, and a hesitant hand strokes through his matted hair. 

“It’s okay now,” he says quietly, though it really probably isn’t. “He won’t hurt you, or your family, or anyone else, ever again.”

“I know,” Malcolm whispers, fisting his uninjured hand into the back of JT’s coat. “I know,” he repeats, like he’s trying to convince himself of it.

They remain like that for a moment, until Malcolm remembers that he’s been stabbed, and helpfully points this out by collapsing into JT, mumbling, “almost forgot about that.”

Gil gently grabs Malcolm’s shoulders and spins him around, steadying him when he sways. “Forgot about what?” he asks.

“Got stabbed. ‘While ago,” Malcolm adds. He gestures halfheartedly to his abdomen and his bloodstained clothes. 

Gil doesn’t bother to make any further comments, opting instead to lead Malcolm slowly to the second ambulance. The rest of their little team head back to their car. “We’re gonna stop by the precinct, and then we’ll be right behind you,” Dani promises. “See you soon, Malcolm.” 

“Stay strong, kid,” JT adds. “We’ll be waiting for you.”

Swanson says nothing, then opens her mouth and shuts it again. Finally, she says, “Good work, Bright. You saved a lot of lives tonight.” 

He nods at her says goodbye to the others, before turning around and leaning into Gil, who wraps an arm around Malcolm’s shoulders and helps him the rest of the way to the ambulance. 

The ride to the hospital is spent informing the paramedics of all the drugs Malcolm cannot take, as well as the ones he needs. This is done mostly by Gil, with Malcolm drifting in and out of the conversation, too tired to speak but too full of adrenaline to sleep. 

Once they reach the hospital, Malcolm is immediately taken away to surgery. Gil walks with them as far as he’s allowed, keeping a gentle hold on Malcolm’s uninjured hand the whole time. As they reach the doors, Malcolm tightens his grip on Gil’s hand. 

“You’re gonna be okay,” Gil reassures him. 

“I know,” Malcolm says quietly. 

“I’m proud of you, kid.”

Malcolm smiles softly at that. “Thanks,” he whispers, relinquishing his hold on Gil’s hand as he is pushed through the doors.

It’s only a couple hours, but it feels like it’s been forever when the doctor finally comes out and says, “Family of Malcolm Bright?”

Jessica, Ainsley, Gil, Dani, JT, and Edrisa stand simultaneously. The doctor looks them over. “No more than three at a time, no more than five minutes,” she tells them.

Jessica and a freshly-bandaged, mildly concussed Ainsley go first. In the room, none of them talk. Jessica and Ainsley sit on opposite sides of the bed, and Jessica holds her children’s hands. They have escaped another horrible fragment of Martin Whitly, and for now, that is enough. 

Dani, JT, and Edrisa take their turns together. Malcolm wants to talk about the arrest. JT and Dani launch into a discussion of the latest baseball game instead, talking animatedly, and Edrisa chimes in with interesting facts about crushed digits. Malcolm, for his part, doesn’t talk much, but he doesn’t need to. His team is here. His family is here. He listens to them speak, and he smiles. For just a second, he is okay.

Gil goes last. As soon as the door shuts behind him, Malcolm is crying. He’s learned so much, remembered so much, and all of it hurts. He had tried to kill a man. His father had tried to kill him. His family had nearly died. He had nearly died. He had tried not to think about these things before, but at last, they have forced their way to the front of his mind.

“It hurts,” he whispers, tears still streaking down his face.

“Did they give you anything to numb the pain?”

“Not that. No. It hurts. The things I remember now. What happened to me, what I did. Hurts.”

Gil says nothing. There is nothing he can say. Instead, he sits down carefully on the edge of the bed and pulls Malcolm’s shaking body towards him, being careful not to jostle his new stitches. He rubs soft circles onto Malcolm’s back and just lets him cry. 

Finally, Malcolm stops shaking and sniffs. “I’m tired,” he whispers. 

“You can sleep. It’s okay.”

Malcolm, for once, doesn’t fight him, doesn’t try to insist that he’ll have a night terror. He just leans back slowly onto the pillow and closes his eyes. 

Gil stands up and hesitates for a minute before bending down and pressing a soft kiss to Malcolm’s temple. “I love you, kid,” he says quietly, and turns to leave. 

He’s nearly out the door when Malcolm’s voice calls out, hoarse but there. “Love you, too.”

idk this might be really bad but oh well!! posting it anyway lol