A/n: I do not own Four Brothers, written by David Elliott and Paul Lovett and directed by John Singleton. Also, I do not own the song Stairway to Heaven, written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, and performed by Led Zeppelin. Enjoy and a huge thanks to Marauder and the Q for beta-reading this for me!

Enjoy. Constructive criticism is gladly welcomed!

Circuit Breaker

Jack Mercer sat slouched on the couch, a can of beer in his hand. There were probably a million other things he could have been doing at the moment, but just didn't have the motivation for. He knew for a fact that he had math homework and was pretty sure he also reading for English. Still, the old movie on TV caught his interest much more than some math or John Steinbeck and there wasn't much else he could do with the storm outside.

He briefly took his attention from the TV and scooted over as Bobby took a seat next to him. "Jack, you know that beer stunts your growth, don't you? I mean unless you're looking to be a queer blond elf, I'd lay off."

"You're thinking of caffeine, Bobby. But if it was true, then that'd explain a lot about you," Jack retorted. Bobby's teasing was nothing new, but he didn't figure the gay jokes would ever stop, so he just ignored it mostly.

Bobby responded by grabbing Jack's beer and taking a swig.

"Hey, give it back!"

"Shouldn't have made fun of me, Jackie. But I'll fight you for it."

Jack tried to grab the beer, but Bobby was too fast.

"So close."

"Fuck you, Bobby." Jack stood up and stalked off to the kitchen. "I'll just grab another."

"Jack, you know I'm flattered, and trust me, I'm sure you'd love to, but I know for a fact that incest is illegal."

"I like it better when you're not home, you know that?"

Bobby only smirked, sure it wasn't really true, and followed his younger brother to the kitchen. "Oh, yeah? Who buys you cigarettes and beer when I'm not home?"

Jack didn't respond immediately. Instead he dug through the fridge, trying to find a can. Bobby couldn't have possibly taken the last one. "Angel does." Jack stuck his head further into the fridge and came out empty-handed. "You took the last damn beer, you asshole."

"Sure did, sweetheart." Bobby leaned back against the counter and took a large gulp. Truth be told, he was glad that there was no more beer in the house. Sure, it meant that he'd have to go out and buy more sooner or later, but he was still relived. Jack didn't need to be drinking without him, Angel, or Jerry. Jack didn't need to be developing a taste for beer at sixteen … at least not without someone responsible around.

Jack was about to respond when he heard the low, electrical buzz of the power going out.

"If Angel's been fucking with the circuit breaker again I'm gonna kick his ass," Bobby grumbled.

"Fucking the circuit breaker? I didn't know Angel was into that kinky stuff."

"Shut up, Jack, and get me a damn flashlight."

"Yes, ma'am," Jack murmured, feeling his way out of the kitchen.

There was always a flashlight by the front door for occasions just like this. He'd used it before to sneak back in without waking the whole house. As he was bending down to pick the light up, he felt someone stumble into him and jumped.

"Bobby?"

Jack sighed in relief, realizing it was just Angel.

"Nah, it's Jack. Jesus, man. You scared me."

"Sorry, Jackie. Was Bobby messing around with the power box again?"

Jack laughed quietly and turned the flashlight on.

"No, he thought you were. He's back in the kitchen."

In the new light they made their way to the kitchen, where Bobby was now on the phone. After a moment he sighed and slammed the receiver down.

"Damn phone lines are out."

"Where's Ma?" Angel asked.

"If I knew, I wouldn't be trying to call her, idiot. She should be getting home from work soon."

Jack turned his gaze outside. He could hear the wind howling and rain pelting the roof. "Not in this weather. She's probably still at the office." After a moment, Jack felt a wave of anxiety rush over him. "Do you think she'd try to drive home in this weather?"

"Probably," Angel muttered. "Just like Ma to try and get home in shitty weather like this."

Bobby shook his head. "Nah, she's probably got enough sense to stay put until the weather's a little clearer. She's always telling us not to do stupid shit like driving out in the rain. I don't see why she would do it."

"Jack, will you stop shining that damn thing in my eyes?"

Jack immediately realized that he'd been idly swinging the flashlight and stopped. "Sorry, Ang."

"Just get some damn candles and stop swinging the frigging thing."

Jack nodded and walked to the living room, still swinging the flashlight. "Candles … candles." Where did Ma even keep her candles? Obviously not in the open for a bunch of pyromaniacs like him and Bobby.

"Hey, where's Mom even keep that shit?" Jack shouted back into the kitchen.

"Hell, I don't know. Ever since you and Bobby messed around with the gasoline out back she's been hiding them," Angel called back.

"It was those damn punks down the street's fault. Besides, we were just scaring them," Bobby muttered.

Jack shook his head knowing Bobby had instigated just as much as they had.

He leaned down to a crawlspace below the stairs and began to dig around. There were table cloths and bags in there, but Ma must have really put the candles far back. Finally, after a few minutes, he found some oil lamps and candles. He gathered a bunch in his arms, as well as some extra oil, and backed out.

"Found 'em!"

"Good. I can't see a fucking thing and I think Angel's making a move on me."

"Man, why do you think everyone's onto your tiny-ass dick? Unless you really are gay."

"Excuse me for thinking you had some taste. I guess not. Just go fuck yourself in a corner, then. Quietly."

"Man, you're just jealous that I've got Sofi."

"You can keep her ugly ass. I don't want my girl screaming the wrong name while I'm banging her."

"She only did that once, man! Three years ago."

"And how many more names you think'll come up now? You can get a lot of fuckin' done in three years."

Jack laughed, setting the candles and lamps on the kitchen table. "Besides, it doesn't change the fact that it still happened."

"Shut up, Cracker Jack. I don't see you with a girlfriend."

"I've got plenty of girlfriends. And none of them have some annoying, whiney voice like La Vida Loca, either."

Bobby seemed to have lost interest in the conversation, not giving Angel enough time to retort. "Let's light these mo-fo bitches."

"Man, I ain't getting anywhere near you when you've got oil and a match." Angel took the remainder of Bobby's beer and stepped back in the open door to watch.

"Too bad La Vida Loca's not here to protect you, big guy."

"Fuck you."

"Jackie said the same thing. I said as much as he'd love to, incest is illegal."

"You're one sick mother, you know that, Bobby?"

"Only when it involves a good hooker."

"I'm sure that's only 'cause you're desperate and can't get a good girlfriend. Even Jackie-O has a boyfriend."

Jack looked up and glared at Angel. "Asshole. You're the one planning on going on a ship with a bunch of men for weeks at a time."

"Oh, then you can give him some good tips, right Jackie-poo?"

"Just light the fucking candles, Bobby. It's dark in here."

"God forbid Angel makes a move on you, right?"

Jack rolled his eyes and pulled out a carton of ice cream from the freezer.

"You sure like the creamy stuff, don't you?"

Jack glared and pulled out an ice cube, throwing it at Bobby.

"Alright, alright. I'm done. For now. Be glad I'm a nice guy and don't kick your ass for throwing shit at me."

Bobby had lit another oil lamp by now and was filling a third.

"I'm gonna grab a book or something to do. Better than sitting here with you two idiots."

Jack grabbed a lamp off the table and walked out, only to hear Angel laughing.

"Jackie with a book? Man, you must really smell, Bobby."

Jack laughed again and made his way up the stairs. Walking down the hall, he began to realize how much he hated power outages. The dark in general was the worst. He hated not knowing what was around the corner, or worse, who. Even in his own house, he was scared.

Jack shook his head. He wasn't scared. First, Mercers weren't afraid of the dark, and second, this was his own damn house. No one was gonna pop out and just jump him. But still, things seemed much different in the dark. He noticed that as he walked past Ma's room, seeing a tall shadow cast across the floor. The rain had cleared up, but the wind was still blowing, distorting shapes in the room.

Jack shook his head and made his way to his room. He supposed he could have been reading, but in all honesty, he just didn't have the patience to. Instead, Jack picked up his guitar, and began to strummed lazily at it. It'd been a gift for his fourteenth birthday from Ma and as Bobby called it, "his own flesh and blood child." Jack supposed it was actually kind of accurate. He tuned it and cleaned the thing excessively and made sure it was in the best shape possible.

In the back of his mind he tried to remember all the tabs of Stairway to Heaven, but found himself forgetting. Instead, he started to strum lazily, making up his own song. Before he knew it, he was shaken out of his music by the high-pitched sound of the power coming back to life.

He sat in bed for a few more minutes, still strumming the guitar before getting up and walking back down the stairs. He set himself on the couch where he'd started in the first place and waited for the Cable to reset, his guitar still over his shoulder. As he got comfortable, he heard the front door open and Evelyn walked in.

"Have you been sitting on the couch all day, Jack?"

"Just for a little. The power went out."

"I can see that," she said, glancing at the Cable box as it reset itself. "Driving wasn't much fun, either, but I wanted to get home as soon as possible and I couldn't reach you. Did you play your guitar?" she asked, glancing at it, where it was slung over Jack's shoulder.

"Yeah. And Bobby said the phone lines were out. Did you really drive home in this weather, Mom?"

Evelyn laughed quietly. "Yes, honey, I did. I couldn't have just stayed at the office all night. If the weather had really gotten too bad I wouldn't have."

Jack shrugged, still thinking it was stupid to brave weather like that.

"I'm gonna put dinner on. I'm guessing none of you have eaten yet."

"Jack was stuffing his face with ice cream, Ma. We tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen," Bobby called. "He even tried to kill poor Angel for taking a spoonful. Isn't that right, Angel?"

Evelyn laughed and shook her head. "Oh, Bobby."

Jack stayed in his seat as Evelyn walked off into the kitchen, chatting with Angel and Bobby. Bobby and Angel were in a heated argument, and Jack was only half listening, still playing random chords on his guitar.

"Hey, Jack, why don't you stop your incestuous love affair with that damn guitar and help Ma with dinner?" Bobby called from the kitchen.

"Oh, Bobby, that's ugly," Evelyn muttered.

"Screw you, Bobby." Jack stayed seated for a moment longer, then pushed himself off the couch and set the guitar down. He hadn't realized how hungry he was and decided that if he helped cook, he could slip a poison into Bobby's dinner. He smirked, walking past his older brother.

"You fuck with my dinner and I'll kill you, Jackie."

"Sure thing, Bobby." He smirked again. "Sure thing."