Fix Me, Fix You

It had been a little over three weeks since Jesse started working for Cooper Quinn, and he was enjoying every minute of it. He helped Coop make custom cabinets, bookshelves, chests, and even a headboard for a bed. He was amazed at all the beautiful things they created together. He couldn't engrave the pieces with the intricate woodworking details like his boss could, but he enjoyed being able to sand, saw, and oil all the pieces. Plus it helped Coop tremendously by saving him a lot of time and work.

Jesse would prep and prepare all of the items, and Coop would put it all together and finish it off.

It was eerily similar to how Jesse and Heisenberg would work together.

It was just another beautiful thing that reminded him of his ugly past.

"You boys want turkey sandwiches for lunch?" Linda asked as she walked into the shop through the open garage door, donning the same stained apron she always wore. "I've got a ton of leftover turkey from dinner last night."

"Fine with me," Coop answered from his desk where he was staining cypress cabinets.

"What about you, hon?" She asked Jesse as she turned to him. "Turkey sandwich okay with you?"

"Oh, you don't have to do that; I'm okay," he replied, looking up from the pegs he was inserting into a chest. "Thank you though."

"Nonsense," Linda brushed him off. "Do you eat turkey?"

"Yes ma'am," he answered honestly.

"Then I'm making you a turkey sandwich," she insisted.

Jesse smiled at her. "Thank you."

"You're quite welcome," she responded. "Y'all come inside in about fifteen minutes. I'll have everything ready."

"Thanks, Lin," Coop called as his wife exited the shop. He looked over his shoulder at Jesse. "I can tell you're not used to people taking care of you, kid, but that's what Lin does - she takes care of people. She wants to do things like make you a turkey sandwich."

Jesse nodded, understanding. "I just don't want to put anyone out or bum off of anyone."

"If that were the case, she wouldn't offer," his boss reassured.

Although Jesse appreciated the gesture, Coop was right about him not being used to being taken care of. It had been 'Jesse against the world' for as long as he could remember. Well, that wasn't necessarily true. He could remember a time - when he was very young - when his family felt close-knit and supportive of one another, but it had been so long ago that it was just a distant memory now. He had burned so many bridges with his family over the years; he didn't look to them for support at all anymore.

But it was nice to have the Quinns as a somewhat surrogate family.

"So, Jesse," Linda asked a few minutes later, as she sat a plate down in front of him, then one in front of Coop, then she sat down with her own plate. "Where are you from?"

He looked at the turkey sandwich on the plate in front of him. He didn't want to lie, not to the incredibly generous woman, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to tell the truth.

"New Mexico," he replied, hoping that his answer was specific enough yet vague enough.

"I could tell you were a southern boy," she said with a smirk as picked up her sandwich to eat. "So polite. What brought you to Louisiana?"

Jesse's heart began to race in his chest. Again, he didn't want to lie, but he certainly could not tell the truth.

"I, um... I lost my job," he sighed, unsure of where he was going with his answer. "My boss... passed away and the company, uh, went under... I lost my car and I had to sell my house... Kinda had my life flipped upside down, you know?"

"Oh, absolutely; we know how that is," she sympathized, understanding what he meant.

"I just felt like it was time for a change," he continued as he took a bite of his sandwich. "I was planning on moving to Florida actually, but I stopped in New Orleans along the way and was just drawn to it."

"It's a magical place, isn't it?" Linda replied.

"It is," he agreed, silently commending himself for fabricating such a smooth, yet honest, answer about his past.

"So where are you staying, hon?" Linda asked.

"Ah, jeez, why're you interrogating the poor boy, Lin?" Coop wondered.

"Oh, hush! I'm just making small talk!" She defended. "I know you don't sit out there chit-chatting with the boy, but I would like to know more about him!"

Jesse chuckled. "It's okay, I don't mind. I'm staying at the Magnolia Inn."

Linda's eyes grew wide. Even Coop glanced up in disbelief.

"What?" Jesse wondered with a slight smile.

"You're staying at the Magnolia Inn?" Linda questioned. "Why didn't you say so, honey? We've got an empty guest room above the garage! You'd have your own bathroom, your own door to come and go as you please, and tons of privacy - you'd be the only one on that side of the house. "

"Oh, no, that's really nice of you, but I couldn't do that. I'm fine where I am, and I couldn't put you guys out like that," Jesse respectfully declined. "You've already gone out of your way to give me a job that I didn't deserve and feed me lunch and bring me drinks."

"You wouldn't be putting us out!" Linda insisted. "It's not debatable, hon. Coop, I should smack you for letting that boy stay in the Inn!"

"Ah, jeez, I didn't know he was staying there!" Coop defended, throwing his hands up in the air in a defeated manner.

Jesse chuckled at their constant husband-wife banter.

"I'm serious, sweetheart," Linda turned back to him. "It's not debatable. When you're done here, you go grab your things and come back. I'll have a hot supper ready and the room will be all set up." She stood up from the table. "In fact, I'm going to go put a set of fresh sheets on the bed now."

"You really don't have to do all that," Jesse sighed, feeling overwhelmed with gratitude, but unsure how to process her extreme kindness. It was very foreign and new to him, and though he appreciated it, he didn't like someone making such a big fuss over him.

"Hush," she instructed. "I want to do this and you deserve a better place to lay your head at night."

His mouth curved up into a smile, realizing she would not let him refuse. "Thank you."

She smiled back at him with a nod then left the room.

"She really doesn't have to do that, Coop," Jesse insisted. "I'm okay at the Inn."

"Oh, just let her do this for ya, kid," Coop replied. "I told you earlier - she loves taking care of people. It's just what she does. It makes her feel needed. Plus it sounds like you could stand to be taken care of for once."

Jesse shrugged.

"Look, son, if you aren't comfortable staying here, that's one thing, but don't feel like you'd be imposing on us. We both think the world of you, and I know I'd appreciate the extra company just as much as Linda would," Coop said honestly.

He looked over at his boss silently, but his eyes said it all. Coop could see the gratitude written all over his face. One of the things he loved the most about his wife was her need to take care of others. She was the most loving and giving person he had ever met, and he was glad she was doing such a nice thing for such a nice kid. After seeing the expression on Jesse's face and seeing how much his wife's compassion affected the kid, he fell in love with her all over again.

Staying with the Quinns would save Jesse a lot of time and money, but he still wasn't sure how he felt about letting someone else take care of him. He had always taken care of himself.

But he was at a point in his life where he wondered if maybe it would be nice to have someone else look out for him for once.

Later that night, when he arrived back at the Quinn house, Linda immediately took him up to the bedroom that was perched above the garage at the back of their house. The walls were painted a very subtle yellow. A queen bed took up most of the room, fitted with light blue sheets and a soft white quilt. An outdated tube TV sat on top of a wooden chest of drawers in front of the bed, and a window air conditioning unit was fitted in the window next to the bed. It was small, but it was perfect for him.

He stood in the doorway, clutching the strap of his backpack, watching as she showed him around.

"Okay, hon, the bathroom is over there," Linda explained, pointing to a shut door. "I put about five or six towels in the cabinet next to the sink. I didn't know what type of soap or shampoo you used, so I bought a few different brands. I emptied the drawers under the TV if you want to put your clothes in there, but I also put a few hangers in the closet in case you wanted to hang anything up. If you need more hangers, just let me know, I've got plenty."

Jesse felt a lump rise up in his throat at the fact that she had gone out of her way to get him set up and comfortable in the guest room.

"Let's see... you've got extra blankets and pillows above the closet shelf up there," she continued as she pointed to the top of the closet. "And sometimes this room gets a little warm, even when the cool air is on, so we got you a window unit in case it gets too hot."

He tried to keep it together, but the rims of his eyes reddened as they lined with subtle tears. He couldn't remember his own mother ever treating him that well, even when he was on good terms with his family.

"You didn't have to do all of this, Linda," Jesse said softly, making sure not to blink so the tears wouldn't fall. "Just the room alone was plenty enough."

When she noticed he was on the verge of tears, her face softened. "We want to do this for you."

"Thank you," he responded earnestly. "Thank you for making me feel like I'm a part of your family." He wanted to give a full-blown speech at how much he appreciated what she did for him and how much it meant to him, but he knew he would break down and sob if he tried to utter any more words.

"Oh, honey," she sighed, placing her hand on his arm lovingly. "You are part of the family now." She smiled at him, able to see the gratitude in his eyes. "I'll let you get situated. Dinner will be ready in about an hour."

He nodded, still unable to speak. When he heard the door shut behind him, he blinked a few times, allowing the tears that had built up to fall. He sniffled and quickly wiped away the trail left on his cheeks and walked over to the bed where he dropped his backpack.

He didn't deserve their kindness.

He felt so unworthy of being treated so well. If Linda and Coop knew what kind of life he had lived, they would be so disgusted and ashamed. Coop would've never hired him or let him into his home.

He felt like he was fooling them.