The hospital room was silent, except for the beeps from the heart monitor and a quiet, deep humming from Jonas. The rest of the group was asleep and did not stir. It was a long day for everyone, but Jonas remained awake, afraid to take his eyes off of his little brother.

A small groan from the bed made Jonas stop his humming and tense. He watched as Eli's eyes tremble and then opened. His eyes were unfocused at first but slowly cleared as they lingered on Jonas.

"Hey." Eli croaked out with a crooked smile.

Jonas sighed heavily. "Hey baby brother." He took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Eli's eyes shifted to the pressure and then flicked over to the blonde curled up next to him. "Angel." He said with a small smile.

"How are you feeling? Do you need me to get anything? Water?" Jonas asked.

"Water." He said quietly. Jonas reached over and grabbed a cup next to the table and helped him slowly drink it, making sure he didn't choke.

After he was done, Jonas set down the glass and gave him a concerned look. Eli looked down at his bandaged hands and his eyes trembled. Jonas noticed his gaze and his expression softened. He patted Eli's head gently. "Your hands only suffered a fracture. Once they're healed, we'll strengthen them up again and you'll be playing better than Mozart."

Eli nodded dully, unable to stop the tears that started to fall. "Jo, I'm so sorry."

Jonas jumped up and wrapped his arms around Eli. "No baby brother. Don't do that."

"That place... how did you handle it?" He asked in between his breaths.

Jonas sighed. "Not well, baby brother. But we're both out of there and we will never go back." Jonas swore to himself to never let him return. No matter what fight he would encounter in the future, he will persevere. Even if he had to become a criminal and steal his brother away, he would never let him disappear from his sight again.

All the shit they suffered through now has a light at the end of the tunnel. Although they were in the hospital, knowing that they finally broke away from that family felt like a stone was lifted from their shoulders.

"What now?" Eli sniffled a little and Jonas pulled back to wipe his tears.

"Alex and Chuck are working with protection services. They will also help you enroll in Hawkings and find a place for you in the dorms." Jonas said while straightening out his hair.

They both fell silent, Eli still sniffling. "Aren't you going to ask what happened?"

Jonas smiled a little. "Did you want to talk about it? I won't force you."

Eli sighed a little. "I'm officially out of the closet. No more hiding."

Jonas a pang in his heart, and deep emotion swirled in his eyes. He always felt guilty for making Eli stay silent about his sexual orientation. He loved him but was terrified about his parents' response. He never wanted him to hide any part of himself, but they had to survive.

Eli sighed. "Stop with the glum face, Jo. You kept me safe for so long despite our circumstances. But I couldn't hide anymore... You're not upset with me?" He asked quietly.

Jonas. "I am upset, but not with you baby brother."

He wasn't lying. He was furious with himself for letting Eli go back to that house and that he couldn't protect him well enough. He was enraged with his parents for inflicting this damage. He was irate with Lukas, because he somehow became the instigator.

"I should have taken you with me. I should have done better." Jonas growled. He knew he should have never left him alone. He would have just dealt with the consequences so Eli would have been safe and he could have lived and loved freely.

Eli shook his head. "Better? Jo, you raised me. You're not just my brother, you took on the role of a father and mother since before I could remember. And if you took me like you wanted to last year or after the Hunt, they would have had you in jail for kidnapping me and I would have suffered more. We had no one, Jo. No one to help us but each other and we did the best we could do."

Jonas wrapped him in a hug and buried his face in Eli's hair. He had some many regrets, but was overwhelmed by Eli's words.

"What are going to do with the Wolf Hunt? You know that 'no' isn't an option... and ignoring it will make it worse." Eli finally asked after another moment of silence.

Jonas' eyes turned wild and angry. Eli wasn't supposed to know about the Hunt, but this just added up all the facts. Lukas told him about the hunt and that he was holding Eli's sexulaity as a hostage to make Jonas comply with his terms.

Jonas stepped back and sighed. He rubbed his eyes as if this would remove his anger. "Not sure. We're going to have to talk about it."

He waved around the room. It was then that Eli realized how many people were in the room and his eyes widened. "But no matter what, I am going to make those bastards suffer."

Eli chuckled a little. "That sounds about right. Another infamous date with your boyfriend."

Jonas chuckled with him and his eyes swept over the slumbering figure who was leaning back in his chair, his head thrown back. "You know it." He sat back down and gently moved Hugh, allowing him to rest his head on Jonas' arm.

Hugh hummed in his sleep and nuzzled up against him.

"I'll definitely need his and the others' help." Jonas explained. "But I just let them know about it now, so we haven't had time to really come up with a plan."

Eli winced. "They must have been angry."

Jonas smiled sheepishly. "You have no idea. But I think we really need to worry what will happen when Hugh faces Lukas though. His dad is a great lawyer, but I don't know what he can do if Hugh kills him."

Eli snorted. "It's a well deserved death." He watched Jonas who was gently rubbing Hugh's arm. "I'm glad you found him. He's good for you."

Jonas grinned brightly. "He is. You and I used to talk about how 'true love' was nothing by rubbish, because socialites like the Spencers only cared about breeding... but this is it for me. He is my future and I'm going to marry him one day."

"The Big Bad Wolf found love." Eli said with a small laugh. "I'm happy for you brother."

Jonas could tell that Eli truly was happy for him. He nodded towards the slumbering figure in the bed. "That one's not so bad either."

Eli grinned. "My angel is the greatest."

Jonas nodded. "Get some more sleep baby brother."

Eli smiled and leaned back in the bed while Jonas hummed the familiar tune. Soon Eli's eyes grew heavy and he fell back to sleep.

The figure next to Jonas stirred and groggily sat up. Hugh examined Jonas' face and was relieved to see that he had a small smile.

Jonas noticed the movement and turned towards him. "He woke up just now." He said quietly, but his smile was bright.

Hugh kissed him on the cheek. "That's good. Did you want me to keep watch while you sleep?"

Jonas shook his head. "No. I'm still a little wired. You sleep a little more."

Hugh only leaned back and held Jonas's hand as they watched the sleeping figures.

Eli had to stay in the hospital for a while, and through Christmas. Jonas originally planned on visiting the Richards for the morning and then Chuck for dinner, but he stayed in the hospital all day. The Richards and Chuck ended up coming to him and spent time with the healing Eli.

They had been busy working with the child protection services and pressuring the Spencers to give up the kids.

On Christmas Day, the Spencers gave up their rights of the children. Jonas and Eli were properly emancipated and Jonas was named Eli's guardian. With Chuck's and Alex's help, the process was seamless.

They even had him enrolled in Hawkings in a heartbeat. The day was filled with a light spirit and tears. Jonas and Eli insisted on changing their last name, killing the Spencer dynasty.

By the new year, Jonas and Eli King were getting ready for the new school year. The last name started as a joke from Hugh, but Jonas always kept Hugh's words in his heart. Especially when he proposed it, he phrased it very particularly. "King would be a great last name. One, you will always be a King. Two, I will be Hugh King-Richards."

Eli knew that the battle was lost after Hugh said those sappy words, but he didn't mind much. He was no longer a Spencer, and he was living happily with his brother. He was free.