Unexpected 7: Franken Doc

Chapter 8: Big man

"So?" Hondo asked, "What do we do now?"

They had been hugging for some minutes, not moving. They needed each other! They grabbed hold of each other as if they were just shot out of a plane going a gazillion miles per hour! Nichelle snapped back to reality and pulled away slowly, so she could look at him in the eyes.

"How about we start with breakfast and then get an appointment with the doc?" she said, standing up.

"Shrink or physician?" asked Hondo, curiously.

"Both!"  she said sternly as he rolled his eyes.

He knew he had a problem, but he needed to stay positive. After all, the first step to solving an issue is admitting there is one!

Luca's Place, 5:30 am...

"Yo, Terry!" Luca called. He had stepped out of his room and into the bathroom when he heard the front door slam.

The door next to the bathroom was closed, which Luca assumed meant Terry had gone in straight to his office. After Street moved out, he turned that room into an office and studio space, and spent the most amount of time in it. Luca washed up, ready for the day. Then, he stepped outside of the bathroom and called Terry again.

"Hey!" Terry answered from behind the door. Then, he slowly opened it and stared at his big brother.

"Good morning. You good?" Luca asked with sleepy eyes

"Yeah." he said looking weirdly, "You finished there? Can I use it?" asked Terry moving into the bathroom quickly, making Luca jolt away.

"Yeah, sure" Luca said confused. What is wrong with him? Why is he acting so weird?

He kept trying to figure out why his brother was acting oddly, but nothing came to mind. Besides, he couldn't really think before his morning coffee. He set up the coffee maker, and as the machine worked its magic, he went towards the living room and opened the blinds. He immediately noticed a black Sedan parked just in front of his front porch, with what seemed to be four men inside of it. Luca spotted it and immediately felt something was wrong. It was the same car that spooked Terry in the supermarket the other day.

Quickly, Luca went to his room and retrieved his badge and service weapon. He put on a hoodie jacket and tucked his weapon on his pants, behind his back. He opened the door and began whistling as he nonchalantly went towards the mailbox, pretending to retrieve his mail.

Immediately he heard the wheels scratching the surface as the vehicle sped off. He responded by taking out his gun and pointing it at the vehicle, with no use because the mystery car sped off into the distance. However, Luca had enough of a look to lock down the license plate.

He took out his cellphone, but before he could finish dialing up 9-1-1, he heard Terry's call.

"Luca, don't!" he said as he hook his head

The two brothers went inside, while Luca interrogated Terry. The youngest brother kept silent as he tried to organize his thoughts.

"Look!" he said interrupting the other

"Terry, what the hell is going on?" Luca said desperately

Terry exhaled dramatically, then walked towards the kitchen. He grabbed his forehead for some seconds, then placed both hands on his hips and turned to face Luca.

"Don't freak out but...somebody's out to kill me"

"WHAT?" Luca asked freaked out.

5:45 am, Kay's house...

RIIING

RIIING

Deacon had just finished his toast when his cellphone began to ring. Matthew was to his left and Sammy to his right, both eagerly telling him all about the camping trip and asking for new accessories. On the table, the two girls ate their breakfast hurriedly as Lyla had a major presentation in school and Victoria was going over the choreography for her dance recital in her head, and at times right next to the table.

"Hurry up, kids. We're leaving in 3 minutes!" called Annie from the kitchen sink where she was washing the dirty pots.

"Matty? Sammy? Give me a second, please" Deacon repeated over his sons' voice.

"Dad! It's Matthew!"

 "Fine. Matthew!" he snapped an annoyed look at the boy as he went for the mobile

"Hey!" he answered as he saw Hondo's name in the screen

"Yo, Deac! Good morning" the man greeted, "How's the family doing?"

"Driving me crazy, as usual" he answered with a smirk, moving away from the kitchen and dining room, "Matthew's going on and on about how much I have to give him for new camping gear, Sammy talking about badges, Tory dancing around in the kitchen and Lyla talking to herself. Nice quiet morning for me of course!" he finished with a smirk

Hondo giggled, as he too moved around. "Listen, Deac, I'ma be out for a couple of days, gonna take care of some personal stuff. I know Hicks said to take today, but me and Nichelle gonna do some stuff these next couple of days."

"Take care of yourself, man." Deacon said nodding. He was glad that for once Hondo was taking time for himself.

"Yeah, she worried bout me and I can't blame her, man. Don't tell the team but I've been downing pain meds like crazy, busting up my knee and sleeping for an hour or two tops. I'm spiraling, dawg!"

Deacon shook his head slowly, "You've been through a lot, Hondo. You tend to take on much more than you can handle because you think you have superpowers or something. It takes a man to recognize when he needs help and getting it is the best choice to start healing and feeling better. Trust me, it helps a ton!"

"Yeah, I figured I can be more useful to the team if I take some time first to work on some personal stuff. You know? Coz my muscles are getting weaker every day."

"It's not about muscles, Hondo. It's about your head! Your as strong as you think and feel!"

"You're right...Nichelle told me I might be depressed and I thought that's what you kinda told me the other day in HQ."

"I did. I wasn't sure how to tell you, but the self destructing path you were going down was dangerous, Hondo."

"I know and I appreciate it, man."

"No problem. Just take your time, ok?"

"I will...and hey!" he called, as Deacon had finished getting ready and was already out the door, "I talked with Calvin. Sign us up for that camping trip."

"Alright, that's awesome."

"Street confirmed already?"

"No, I'm hoping to catch him at HQ before shift today."

"Aight, aight...and hey!  Another thing, Deac."

"What's that?" he asked dumping his bag on the passenger seat and turning on the car

"Do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"Pay close attention to Luca for me. My gut's telling me there's something going on. Keep me on a loop, aight?"

"You got it, boss!"