Disclaimer: I don't own 'Four Brother's' but I do love the characters in it...

Summary: Jack tries hard core drugs for the fist time with lasting results… what will his brother's do when they can't see their baby brother's life careen out of control.

Author Notes: I hope you all enjoy this first chapter of my multi-chapter fic!

"Four Brothers"

Jack tries hard core drugs for the fist time with lasting results… what will his brother's do when they can't see their baby brother's life careen out of control.

Bobby sighed as he clambered from his car and stood back to view the condition of his childhood home. His attention graced the horrible condition of the paint that was chipping from the sides of the house. The porch did seem to be in the same condition as it had when he'd left nearly six months ago.

He'd been gone for too long… too long for an oldest brother to be away from the nest that is. The twenty-three-year-old allowed memories of his brother's to assault him and just stared at the house.

"Well if it isn't Bobby Mercer…"

Bobby's eyes snapped to the door where is adoptive mother stood smiling at him. "Hey Ma," he replied softly. He walked up the porch and fisted the handle that connected to the bag he had full of clothes and essential items for a short visit home.

"You look good," Evelyn Mercer approved as she took both his cheeks in her palms and kissed his forehead. She pulled back and looked at him again, searching for any new wounds. "But you need a haircut."

Bobby snorted before following his mother inside. His eyes scanned the familiar living room that was so casually cluttered with schoolbooks that were undeniably Jack's scattered across the coffee table. He smirked knowing that everything that littered the ground now was there because Jack had 'cleaned' the table surface so he could do his work…

"It looks like you've misplaced your bookworm," Bobby pointed to the mess with a laugh.

Evelyn's eyes lightened to her eldest sons laugh. "Angel decided to take a break from Sophie tonight and I asked him to run to the grocery store. He insisted that Jack come with him… I couldn't imagine why, but Jackie went with him anyway."

Bobby raised an eyebrow. "He better not be using a fifteen-year-old to pick up women…"

Evelyn laughed at that. "Oh, and when he first came here you never did that… right?"

Her eldest regarded her with feigned hurt. "What kind of brother do you think I am?"

The older woman laughed lightly as she rolled her eyes and slapped Bobby lightly on the shoulder. Realization set in and Evelyn stopped laughing. "Bobby… where have you been?"

Suddenly Bobby found his shoes very interesting and kept his eyes trained on them.

"Bobby…" Evelyn whispered.

Brown eyes went up to meet blue ones. "Ma, I've just been busy lately and…"

Evelyn's eyes hardened at the lie. "You've been busy…" she strained. "Busy for six months Bobby." Evelyn shook her head at him. "I'll admit that this family isn't perfect and we've worked through a lot of things Bobby… whatever made you think you couldn't come home?"

A sense of frustration built up in his chest, he hated to fight with his mother, and she was always the one giving comfort and giving advice and let him be the ignorant prick he was. "Ma…"

"No, I'm not finished yet," Evelyn Mercer declared as she held up a hand to stop his helpless plea. "We've needed you Bobby, Jackie… well he's not been doing so well…"

"Ma, stop!" Bobby shouted. "I didn't come back for so long because I couldn't let you take a fall for me."

Shock mixed with confusion surfaced on Evelyn Mercer's face. "What do you mean Bobby?" The woman studied her eldest son for a moment and waited patiently for an answer. For nearly six months she had feared the worst when one night Bobby just disappeared. Relief had absolutely come at the perfect time when he'd called at nearly 3 a.m. that morning to inform her that he was on his way home… and for some reason she hadn't had the heart to tell his brother's who had believed he was a rotting corpse lying in some ditch.

"I left because I got mixed up in some stuff… I threw them off my trail for while and just kept moving… look Ma, it's all over now. Mr. Sheeler is letting me pick my apartment back up, it's only a few blocks away," Bobby prattled.

"You'll be staying here," Evelyn informed him.

Bobby fought to keep his mouth from falling open. His mother was hardly a forceful woman, but looks as if months of silence had broken her will to be soft-spoken in the matter. He gave her a crooked smile and nodded. "For a while," he confirmed.

Remembrance found Bobby again. "What the hell is wrong with the fairy?"

Evelyn shook her head as she wondered how to explain the situation. "I think he's doing drugs…"

Bobby's boisterous laughing flittered into the small room but was cut off abruptly when Evelyn glared at him. "Ma… its Jackie… I mean come on. His last parents would do that shit and beat im'…" Bobby trailed off and held back an unconscious shiver as he remembered how black and blue Jack was the first time they'd met nearly eight years ago.

"But you know how kids in Detroit try that stuff to get into gangs…"

"Ma… I wouldn't even let Jack into a girl run gang… I highly doubt anyone else would," Bobby explained knowing what he'd just said to be fact.

Evelyn shook her head again. "Bobby, you know as well as I that you, Angel, and Jeremiah have built up a reputation with the Mercer name," the older woman smiled at the apparent wince at being found out so clearly. "Every gang seems to either fear you boys or try to befriend you."

"Befriend?" Bobby asked with a trace of disgust in his voice.

Evelyn scowled. "Yes Bobby, befriend."

Malice shone in Bobby's eyes. "Do you know any of these kids names?"

"No… but Bobby, I haven't actually seen Jack do any of this…" Evelyn trailed off. She knew it sounded silly, even to her, but something persisted in the back of her mind that led her to grounding Jack for the silliest things. She could tell that he was getting increasingly despondent of it and it was beginning to worry her.

Bobby sighed and hugged his mother. "I'll have little chat with the fairy when he gets home Ma." In the back of his mind he sighed in relief. He was going to talk to Jack anyway, even in absence he'd kept tabs on all of his brothers who were all going to get a face-full of bitch-slapping from their dear older brother.

Bobby pushed his oak door open and walked in. He took a breath and inhaled the scents of his room, even when he'd had his apartment he'd still come home and eat dinner. His mother had always told him kindly that he couldn't cook well and would probably end up accidentally poisoning himself.

He threw his duffel bag onto the floor and laid on the bed, his hand cupped beneath his head. God he was tired. He'd have to damage control in the morning… there would be a whole bunch of words set between the four Mercer boys, but they would be said and he'd make things right.

A few minutes after thinking, Bobby had fallen asleep.

"Ma, we're back," Angel yelled as he pulled along several plastic bags filled with junk food into the house. He turned his head to see Jack struggling with some plastic bags out in the car. "Jack, quite srewin' around!"

"Shut up Angel," Jack growled from the car as he finally secured the bag handles around his wrist. With a deep sigh he shut the car door and walked into the house. He remained silent, but listened to the conversation Angel and Evelyn were having.

"Whose car is that Ma?" Angel asked curiously. He'd noticed the car immediately when he'd pulled into the driveway and he didn't recognize it.

Evelyn gave him a thin lipped smiled and replied, "It's Bobby's."

Jack immediately looked up and searched his mother's face for confirmation. The relief in her eyes gave him the clear answer that his oldest brother was home. "He's home?" Jack asked softly. A bit of dread accompanied his subtle happiness when he knew that Bobby would be having a few words with him. God can only imagine the things he's been involved in that his mother would have told Bobby when he'd gotten back.

"Is he alright?" Jack asked timidly.

Angel raised an eyebrow before howling with laughter, he ruffled his baby brother's hair. "I told you Bobby's invincible. Where is the little shit?"

"Don't use that word Angel. He's sleeping in his room, don't wake him up he's been driving for hours and he needs his rest," Evelyn made clear.

Angel pouted. "Jer isn't comin' home tonight Ma… he's with… what's her name? Oh yeah… Camille."

Evelyn smiled and pattered her sons arm. "I'm glad he's found such a nice girl. Maybe he'll be the one to give me grandkids…"

"Don't start Ma… I'm too young to be chained to some woman and kids," Angel shivered as he began helping Jack unload the groceries and putting them away.

"Speaking of some woman how is Sofi?" Evelyn asked clued-up a smirk.

"Sofi and her new boyfriend are fine Ma," Angel informed her.

Evelyn nodded and let the subject slide. "So what do you boys want for dinner? Pasta? Chicken…"

"I'm not really hungry Ma, I think I'm just gonna go to bed," Jack said sensitively. He wouldn't meet her eyes and used the toe of his shoe to scuff the ground.

"Hunny, are you still mad at me?" Evelyn asked with a lilt of sadness in her tone.

Jack looked up hurriedly and shook his head. "I'm just gonna go to sleep." And with that, Jack was out of the kitchen and up stairs in a flash.

"That boy sure does know how to make himself scarce," Evelyn sighed. This is why she needed Bobby home, a mother cannot take care of all of her boys problems… sometimes she needs help, and seemed that Bobby would be the only one to break Jack from his depression.

"Lord help us," Evelyn whispered.

TBC... Review are always welcomed and apreciated.