BTS 8th Member

Lapse (Part Three)

Author's Note:

guys my notifications were literally flooded with so many comments about giving jae a happy ending during part 3 and literally y'all don't know how torn i was about writing a sad ending vs a happy ending. as sad as i am right now in light of some recent events at school, i decided to write this version out for publishing soooo enjoyyy. love y'all and take care!

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Weeks passed and Jae's condition only seemed to worsen. The boys continued their visits and for the few moments she got to spend with them, she was truly happy. Although she could barely hear them and couldn't even raise her arms to hug them back, she got to spend time with them and that's all she wanted.

Jimin walked down the now familiar hallway, reaching Jae's room and pushing the door open. He had a giant stuffed Chimmy in his arms to keep Jae company when he wasn't there. He walked in and saw her with her eyes closed, body relaxed against the bed she lay on. He pulled a chair over, setting the plushie next to her and taking her unnaturally cold hand into his.

"Why are you so cold?" he muttered to himself. He pulled her blankets up higher over her frail body and took her hand once again. "I miss my little princess. Come back to us baby, you've always been so strong. I know you can fight this," Jimin said.

It seemed as though Jae was always the one comforting Jimin when he had bad days or felt particularly low. And now the roles had been switched except Jae was in a much more severe condition. Her eyes slowly started to open and she tried to speak. Jimin noticed and grabbed the glass of water next to her, lifting it to her lips so she could drink.

"Hey JaeJae. The others are on their way, I decided to come early so I could bring you this!" he said, pointing to the Chimmy. She smiled faintly before opening her mouth to speak.

"Thank you Jiminie," she said.

"Jae, don't ever stop fighting this ok? I know you and I know you're so strong. You can do this. Come back to us fast ok?" he said, but she slowly shook her head side to side.

"I don't know how much longer I can keep this up Jiminie. I'm tired. I'm so tired." As if on cue, the heart rate machine next to her started to beep. The sound propelled Jimin into action as he slammed the button that would call for a doctor.

Doctor Han rushed into the room along with a couple nurses and one of the male nurses grabbed Jimin roughly, telling him that he had to leave. Jimin yelled and screamed for his dongsaeng, trying to fight the nurse and get back to her side. The last thing he saw before he was pushed out of the room was Jae's tiny body convulsing and her eyes wide with pain, fear, and panic.

He fell against the wall, sliding to the floor with his hands in his hair. He screamed in frustration as hot tears rolled down his face. He furiously wiped them away but they didn't stop falling. He slapped himself roughly.

"No Jimin! You have to be strong for her! She needs you!" he yelled at himself. But the tears kept coming and Jimin didn't know what to do.

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Jimin didn't know when the boys arrived. All he had done was cry and stare at the doors in front of him, hoping they would open and Jae would walk out perfectly fine like she was a few months ago. The group was silent, some in tears, all sprawled out in the hallway as they waited for news of their beloved youngest member.

It seemed as though an eternity had passed when an exhausted Doctor Han opened the doors. The entire group eagerly stood up, rushing towards the slightly overwhelmed doctor. Namjoon was the first to speak. "Please give us good news Doctor," he said, his eyes pleading that his request be fulfilled.

Aeri took a deep breath before opening her mouth to speak to the boys, who were hanging on her every word. "We almost lost her. Her body's breathing system went into shock and stopped working but she's back on track. I'm sure you've noticed that she's seemed to be getting worse recently. It's all led up to this unfortunate event. But I have excellent news. She'll only get better from here. She's going to recover quite quickly from now on and in no time, she'll be free of the effects of the syndromes she's been suffering from. As long as she's on treatment and has tons of love and support, she'll be fine in just under two months," Doctor Han smiled.

The boys were ecstatic as they looked at each other with wide smiles plastered on their faces. Yoongi spoke up asking, "Can we go see her now?"

"She's sleeping but she should be awake soon. You may go wait for her to wake up. Don't stress her out too much boys," the doctor said. Before the last word even left the doctor's mouth, all seven boys ran towards the doors of Jae's room, crashing into it to see her abnormally frail body resting peacefully for the first time in the last few months.

They each took seats, fighting over who gets to be closest to her. Jungkook smirked triumphantly when he won the game of rock, paper, scissors and he wasted no time in pulling a chair up right next to her bed, grabbing her small, delicate hand and enveloping it in his larger one. He stared at her fondly, waiting for her to wake up.

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Jae stirred, her eyes flitting open to see seven boys sprawled around her, some asleep, some on their phones. She looked to her side to see Jungkook's hand in hers and his head thrown back against the chair, eyes closed as he slept peacefully.

She tried to speak and at the first sounds of her raspy voice, Hoseok jolted up out of his seat and ran towards her. He helped her drink some water first and as she collected herself, he walked around waking everyone up.

The boys didn't hesitate to crowd around their little girl, piling onto her as they gave her hugs and kisses. "Jae-ah, you're gonna be all better soon!" Jimin said.

"Yeah, the doctor said in just two months you're going to be back to normal!" Taehyung added.

"Really?" she said excitedly.

The boys all nodded in confirmation.

"Yes! Finally! Jae's coming back baby!" she yelled.

The boys all smiled as they watched their precious youngest member smile and laugh in excitement for the first time in a long time. They couldn't help but be excited with her as her happiness was infectious. After all, they were a family and one member's happiness would always make the others happy. For them, staying strong meant that they never let their family's happiness lapse.