AN: YAY CUTENESS AND HAPPINESS

Louis was the first of them to start treatment, four days after they'd arrived at the asylum. One of the nurses called him away after lunch, and Jack could only assume that's what was happening. They'd both been waiting for it, and Jack was secretly a little disappointed that they'd chosen the day they did. The two of them had planned on being there for each other after each session, so they could talk about things if they needed to. 

But as it happened, Louis's treatment began on the same day that visitors were allowed to see the patients, and Jack wouldn't miss that for anything. If Louis needed someone to talk to, he'd have to wait an hour or so.

As one of the nurses led him into a room he'd never been to before, presumably the room the visitors would be brought to, he realized the he could potentially be here for a while. All of the boys would surely want to come see him, at least, he hoped they did. Would they all be allowed to come? The nurses had better not turn any of them away.

He sat down on the couch, surprised at how soft it felt. This piece of furniture in this one room was more comfortable than anything anywhere else in the asylum. It was to give the visitors a good impression, he supposed. Still, he leaned back with a sigh, determined to take advantage of this comfort for as long as he could.

This plan was quickly abandoned, however, when the door opened again and Jack turned to see Crutchie being ushered inside the room. Jack grinned and quickly sprang up from the couch, practically tackling the other boy in a hug.

Crutchie grinned as well and reciprocated the hug just as tightly. "Hi, Jack."

Jack pulled away. "Good to see you, Crutchie."

"You too." The two of them moved back over to the couch, Crutchie looking just as amazed by how soft it was. "They ain't too much to you yet, huh Jack? You seem pretty much the same to me."

Jack nodded. "They ain't done nothing yet. Said they want me to get use to being here first." He rolled his eyes. "Probably gonna be getting started soon though, my... roommate, I guess you'd call it, his name's Louis, he's started treatment today."

Crutchie nodded. "So you're still having the... you'se still seeing things at night, then?"

"Yeah." Jack said shortly. "What about you though, huh?" He quickly changed the subject. "How're you and the boys?"

"We're fine." Crutchie smiled, though it wasn't as genuine as usual. "We miss you lots, but it's easier this time. Least we know where you are now."

Jack nodded and slipped an arm around his brother's shoulders in a subtle gesture of comfort. "Yeah, I'm always right here, and you can come see me anytime between two to six o'clock every other Wednesday." He joked, and Crutchie let out a small chuckle. "Any of the other boys out there today, or is it just you?"

"Just me, we decided only of us should come at a time, don't wanna keep you too long." Jack couldn't help but think that he'd rather stay in this room all day than go back and sit around all day with nothing to do. "Kath's waiting out there, though."

Jack's heart leapt, not being able to stop himself from glancing at the door, acknowledging that Katherine was just on the other side. He must have been fairly obvious with his reaction, because Crutchie grinned.

"Want me to send her in?"

"You don't have to - "

But Crutchie was already standing, so Jack rose with him, pulling him into another tight hug.

"Love you, Jack." Crutchie whispered.

"Love you too, Crutchie." Jack responded, and they pulled away, Jack watching his brother limp away.

He was momentarily sad to see Crutchie leave, but all his sadness went away when he saw the face of an angel.

"Ace!" His voice cracked slightly with emotion, and he rushed towards his wife. She laughed softly as he hugged her so tightly that her feet lifted off the ground slightly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and ran her fingers through his hair as he pressed his face into her hair, inhaling deeply.

They both had tears in their eyes.

Jack lowered Katherine back down onto the ground, but other than that, neither of them moved. They simply stood there, holding onto each other. It had only been four days since he'd left, but, as they'd quickly discovered, being apart from each other had become considerably more difficult since the war.

After a good full minute or so, they both reluctantly pulled away from each other.

"Hey, Ace." Jack said softly, and Katherine grinned.

"Hi, Jack."

Jack took her hand tightly in his and led her back over to the couch. They didn't say anything for a long time - they didn't need to. Just sitting next to each other, so close they were both practically leaning on the other, was enough for them.

"Are you okay here?" Katherine asked, and Jack shrugged.

"'Okay' is about as good as I am, but yeah. I mean, they haven't done anything to me yet."

Katherine didn't know whether she should be disappointed or relieved by that.

"I hope you get better soon. I need you to come home." She felt like a child saying things like that, but it was true. She needed him.

"I'll do my best. I'd rather be home with you than here with these scary nurses, after all."

Katherine grinned at 'scary nurses', and they both laughed. "They do look pretty intimidating."

"Yeah, they are." He assured her with a grin.

For the rest of Katherine's visit, they tried to keep the mood as light as possible. They were sad all the time, and they didn't want to be sad around each other. And when they couldn't think of anything more to say, they decided that a kiss said more than enough.