A Brother

Garret quirked an eyebrow as he tried to make sense of Sapphire's system...or lack thereof. How did a place like this function with such a lack of structure and organization? He knew people who would be shot for keeping sloppy records. But here...what was the key? What was the most important thing, if not the system?

He shook his head to clear his mind, and set to work. It wasn't hard...actually it was a little boring. But it was far better than sitting alone in his cell.

Time moved rather quickly, despite the mundane task, and before he knew it, the job was done and the Mountain Dew can was empty. Sapphire wasn't a bad woman to work with either. A little talkative, and she did seem to know more about him than he preferred - it was difficult not to assume his usual dominant stance - but overall, she was just the distraction he needed.

"And that..." He hit the enter key once more. "Is that." He swiveled in his chair and looked to Sapphire with a short nod. "Now you'll be able to find those files and Reese will never know what kind of shape the system was in."


Gunner glanced first to one shoulder then the other before spotting Bree and grinning. "Nah. They've abducted me before. Nobody else believes me though."

"I believe you!"

He looked down at the little girl and laughed. "I'm not sure that's a compliment, but I'll take it as one anyway." He knelt down to give her a gentle hug. "I'll see you next time, sweetie." Once she was headed back towards the hall with a nurse, Gunner straightened to wrap his arms around Bree in a bear hug. "Mmmm.... I know you weren't expecting me, but I just couldn't stand one more second without seeing you."

He pulled back, and thumbed towards the nurse at the counter who was keeping a watchful eye on him. "Think she'd let you go for an hour? I was thinking rootbeer floats...ones that don't float this time."


Rosalyn stifled a laugh. She'd forgotten all about her two friends. "Oh yes... If I don't introduce you, they'll kill me for sure." She bit her lip as her cheeks flushed slightly. "They knew I missed you terribly, even if I couldn't admit it." Prying herself away, she stood up and waited for Chad to rise before taking his hand and leading him inside. This...this was what she'd always wanted. To proudly introduce her to her friends without fear of ridicule.  

"Hey, guys?" She wandered to the living room. "I know you're not far," she teased. "We've heard you whispering clear out on the porch." 

Both girls sprang up from the couch. "It was Lizzie," Hannah retorted. "Sorry."

Rosalyn grinned and pulled Chad into the room. "Hannah, Lizzie...this is Chad. Chad, these are my roommate and...very good friends." 

Hannah stepped forward first to politely offer a handshake. "So nice to finally meet you." 

Lizzie cocked her head and gave Chad a long once-over before also approaching. "Dude... next time Rosalyn pulls a stunt like not contacting you, how about calling me instead?"

Rosalyn's jaw dropped. "Lizzie!"

"Or a brother. I'd take a brother. Do you have a brother?"

Hannah swatted her arm. "Behave yourself!"

A quirky smile finally came to Lizzie's face, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "Honesty is the best policy," she drawled. "Least ways, that's what I always say." She gave Chad's hand a strong handshake. "Welcome to our humble abode." She glanced down at the floor where popcorn and playing cards were strewn all over the place. "Where we apparently eat off the floor like pigs. But don't mind us. We're house-trained. Promise."


Though struggling just as much as usual, Jared was finally able to get his jeans on, now fully dressed. Each day it took all his energy to simply get himself out of bed, cleaned up and dressed. Each day it was the same routine that left him exhausted. He knew he’d come a long way since the accident, but if he didn’t look back far enough, it felt as if he’d gotten nowhere.

At least his crutches had gotten easier to use…sort of. He could handle them better, but his legs still didn’t like how much work it took to walk. Just as he was situating his arms into the crutches above the handles, his ears picked up the sound of the front door, and Justin’s voice.

“Ma?” Justin wandered into the kitchen, grocery sacks in hand. “You around?” he called.

“Yes, yes, I’m here.” Lydia came quickly from the laundry room. “Oh, bless you. I wasn’t sure when I would be able to get a ride to the store this week.”

“It’s no biggie. I had to come through town anyway.” He set the bags on the counter and started helping put some of the items in the refrigerator. When he got to the strawberries though, he did have to pause and eat one, despite the smirk from his mother.

Jared had made it with some difficulty down the hall to where he now stood watching his brother and mother interact. Justin never stayed long enough to see him. They rarely spoke at all, and Jared knew it was because of him. He could only hope that his mother wouldn’t come to despise him being here since it obviously affected Justin’s visits. “Hey…”

Justin turned quickly as he finished chewing the strawberry. He was rather surprised to see Jared up on his own two feet. “Hi… What’s up?”

“Not much.” Jared shrugged and wandered into the kitchen, leaning heavily on his crutches as his legs tried to buckle. “Just got started on the day, to be honest.”

Justin had been up, mowed the lawn, been to the Elite, seen Carson, shopped at three places and had come here already. It was hard to imagine taking that same amount of time just to get up and going. But when it came to Jared…Justin didn’t know if he felt more sympathy, pity or a guilty sense of justice. He turned to go back to helping Lydia. “I was just running some errands.” What else was there to say? He hated this awkwardness and just wanted to leave. He handed his mother the eggs. “I gotta make a run out to Brookshire, then I’m headed back home.”

She nodded. “Are you sure you could not stay for an early supper?”

Justin sighed. The less time spent around Jared, the better. “It depends on what happens today,” he stalled. “I’ll call you later and let you know, alright?”

Still just listening, Jared was ready to turn and leave, when a sudden and severe wave of dizziness came over him. The sound of one of his crutches being dropped turned both Lydia’s and Justin’s heads just in time for them to see Jared’s eyes roll back in his head as he crumbled to the floor.

“Jared!” Lydia dropped the eggs and rushed to him. “Jared, are you alright?”

No response came, and within seconds, Jared’s body began to violently convulse. Realizing what was happening, Justin wasted no time in kneeling next to his brother and getting him onto his side as his body continued to shake. “Ma...”

Lydia was frozen in fear.

“Ma!” Justin snapped her out of it. “He’s having a seizure. Has this happened before?”

“I…I don’t…I…”

Justin forced her to look at him. “Yes, or no?”

“Um…no…no nothing like this.”

“Go call 911 and tell them what’s going on.” Justin made sure his mother was on her way to the phone before he turned his attention back to Jared. There was little he could do, other than move the crutches out of the way and wait until the full-body spasms would subside.

It was a full two minutes before Jared was finally still again. Justin remained on the floor with him and held his head, not caring about the mess. “Jared…can you hear me?”

“They are on their way.” Lydia came back, her eyes still full of panic.

“Good.” Justin remained completely calm and pointed to the sink. “The seizure emptied his stomach. Grab a couple towels.”

Lydia did as she was told, and helped clean Jared’s face and the floor.

“Jared?” Justin kept trying as he checked his brother’s pulse and listened to his shallow breaths. “Come on, Jared…”

It was another couple minutes before Jared’s eyes finally fluttered open, and any words came out as a garbled mumble.

“Hey, hey…” Justin kept Jared on his side, letting his head rest on his leg. “Take it easy. Do you know were you are?”

Jared’s eyes groggily roamed the kitchen and he slowly shook his head.

“You had a seizure. Do you hurt anywhere?”

Jared shook hi head again. “I don’t…” He swallowed hard. “Not…more than usual.”

Only now did Justin’s own body relax enough to produce an adrenaline dump large enough to make his hands tremble, though he hid it well. “Alright, well just lie still. We called for an ambulance.”

Jared groaned. “Not again. Not the hospital again.”

The desperation in his voice struck a new cord deep in Justin’s heart, whether he’d admit it or not. This poor man – his brother – had been through so much. Maybe it really wasn’t deserved. “They’ll just figure out what’s going on,” he assured. “The worst is over…”

…Justin leaned on the doorway of the hospital room and looked in at his brother’s sleeping form. They’d been there for a couple hours now. Jared had had another, less severe seizure in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, then another one while waiting in the ER. The doctors had been able to stabilize him, but were going to have to perform a series of tests to find out why this had happened. The theory at the moment though, was that these episodes were a result of Jared’s initial head trauma, just now surfacing.

Watching his brother, Justin sighed. This whole thing was a mess. Everything from when Jared had first arrived, to his accident, and everything after that. Desiring normalcy was a joke. Having a loving brotherly relationship was impossible. Too much damage had been done. And yet…

Justin hooked his thumbs in his jeans pockets as his mind continued to work. Being there when Jared had collapsed…sitting on the floor and holding his head…it had been so different. He hadn’t thought twice about stepping in to help. For a few moments, he’d feared for Jared’s life. He’d seen a broken, helpless man, not an arrogant jerk like Jared had been for so many years. Despite ill feelings, something had stirred within Justin to set aside his bitterness for long enough to help. To comfort, even. For just those few minutes, they’d been on the same side. No malice. No arguing. Just a quiet, calmness. Brothers. That man lying in the bed now…he wasn’t the same man who had come to Nevada in the first place. He wasn’t lying, cheating or causing trouble on purpose now. He was just a very broken man both physically and emotionally. And all Justin had done was turn a cold shoulder. Didn’t he have a right to, though, after everything? But that coldness…it didn’t feel so good anymore. And his sharp observing…it only told him he’d been wrong.

“Do you want coffee?”

Justin jumped at his mother’s voice, and he tried to refocus. “Um…no. Thanks. I, um...” He glanced at his watch. He’d already had to cancel one appointment. “I need to go.” They’d kept Jared in Truman, so he still had a good ways to drive, and he was already going to be a few minutes late. “But I’ll be back in a few hours. Did you call Grace?”

Lydia nodded. “I left her a message and told her what happened. I imagine she is busy, but I would not be surprised if she came tonight.”

“Mm.” Justin had a pretty good suspicion that his brother and the nurse had formed more than just a patient/doctor friendship. “I wouldn’t be surprised either.” He leaned over to give Lydia’s forehead a kiss. “I’ll see you later.”

“Yes, okay. I will call you if anything changes.”