AN: Hey everyone, Asori here. If you can't already tell by the title and the summary, this one-shot is my version of the sequel to daphrose's wonderfully written I Hate Me Too. To be honest, I wasn't sure how to write this, I just knew that I wanted to participate. But I did it! Anyways, I hope you enjoy the story!
Disclaimer: I don't own Lab Rats, the characters, or the initial idea for this one-shot.
Bree,
You are loved.
Big D took you in,
He claimed you as his own child.
He would make the ultimate sacrifice,
Big D does love you.
Mom understands you,
She's happy to have a daughter.
She likes your bonding time,
Mom does love you.
Adam protects you,
He doesn't care what anyone else thinks.
He likes hanging out with his sister,
Adam does love you.
Chase looks up to you,
He knows who he can count on.
He would do anything for you,
Chase does love you.
I know how great you are,
You're the best big sister ever.
I do love you,
I wish you could love yourself too.
And I suck at poetry. Sorry, Bree. I tried, though. I hope you understand that we all love you – you're an amazing sister, and you're cooler than all of us combined. Yes, I just admitted you're more awesome than me because it's true. You've saved Adam and Chase on missions countless times, and without you they couldn't have done it. You've taught me more about being social (especially with girls) than I was able to ever teach you. You make Big D proud – a lot. And Mom really likes having another girl to connect with.
You're really smart – smarter than Chase sometimes. You're really strong – stronger than Adam sometimes. And you're faster than all of us all the time. You're funny, really nice, understanding, focused, classy, friendly, a leader, a daughter, a sister, a friend.
Sure you've made mistakes, but haven't we all? Adam usually can't get anything right, Chase is just awkward, Big D is full of himself, Mom can be easily confused, and look at me – I mess things up so often that you guys have turned my name into a verb! But our mistakes don't define us – it's how we bounce back that determines what we're made of. And of all of us, you're made of the toughest stuff. And that's another reason we love you.
Big D loves you so much that even when he finds it hard to connect with you, he still hangs out with you – like the Concert-In-A-Can! Mom loves you so much that she gets really excited for and with you – like helping you with sleepovers and getting ready for dances! Adam loves you so much that when he was accepted to be with the cheerleaders and you weren't, he ditched them and helped you get back at them! And Chase – gosh, that sad little man – loves you so much that he covered for you at the last dance when you were stuck as Perry!
And Bree, you've taught me a ton about life in general. We've been through a lot together, and I don't regret a moment of the time we've had. Through both the big things and the little things, you have always been there for me – for all of us. Don't you get it? You. Are. AMAZING! We think you are, and you should too.
There's nothing I can say to prove that I'm not lying; I can only ask that you trust us when we say that we really do love you.
I love you,
Leo
Bree looked up from the letter, blinking back warm tears that glossed her eyes. She didn't know what to think anymore. On one hand Leo might mean every word that he wrote; on the other hand, he may be just saying that because he felt obligated to. There was no way for her to know.
Some of what he had said was true. But who was to say that if given the chance to undo it, the others would make the same choices again? Now that they had seen who she had become, why would they do anything for her? They shouldn't have been kind to her – she didn't deserve it.
Couldn't they see that? Didn't they care that she was a failure? Of course they do, she told herself. Leo's just too polite to say so.
Bree crumpled up the letter, crushing it as tightly as she could. But try as she might, she couldn't force herself to throw it away into the small wastebasket by the side-table. Part of her hoped that what it had said was true. The rest of her knew that it was only filled with lies from the lying lips of a liar. But she couldn't dismiss that small glimmer of hope that struggled to the surface of her roiling emotions.
Instead she shoved the letter into her pocket, squeezing her eyes shut. How could she face Leo now that he knew? And what if he had told the others? They would now step up their game of fool-Bree-so-she-thinks-she's-loved to the point where she would feel sick. She just wanted to get away, to escape from this nightmare and start over. A new Bree. A blank slate. No mistakes.
Bree knew what she was going to do.
She slowly rocked off the bed and onto her feet, swaying slightly where she stood. One step after another led her to the bedroom door, and she let her had rest on the smooth metal doorknob. It was cool to the touch, fitting comfortably within her fingers. She would miss this doorknob – it was the last thing she gripped in her safe-haven before she had to reenter the cold, hard world of liars. Liars.
She turned the knob and opened the door, silently slipping through it. She padded down the hallway, her feet sinking into the carpet. She would miss this carpet too.
She crept up to the railing, peering past the edge of the wall down into the living area where the rest of her 'loving' family resided.
Mr. Davenport was fiddling with one of his many gadgets. A gadget like the Concert-In-A-Can. The memory flashed before her eyes – she had been disappointed with him how he preferred the boys over her. But then he had kicked them out of the Can so that he could rock out with her in it instead.
Her gaze shifted to Tasha, who was scrubbing out the sink. Like the time she had cleaned Bree's capsule when she had temporarily moved out of the basement. Tasha had been so excited to spend time with her and share her space with the bionic that Bree had felt totally smothered. Smothered with affection.
Movement from the couch caught her eye, and she saw Adam and Chase playing video games like they usually did. Her brothers; brothers who she had spent her entire life with.
Adam. A dodo brain, but a sweet one nonetheless. The cheerleaders – the prettiest and most popular girls in the school – had let Adam join their ranks. But he had dropped them like a hot potato when he had seen how hurt Bree had been when they rejected her.
And Chase. Using his intelligence to beat Adam at video games. But he also used his intelligence to help Bree prank Adam – and when one of the best pranks had backfired at the worst possible moment, he had done his best to save her date for her.
What proof was all of this if it wasn't of love?
Her eyes filled with fresh tears, and she turned to go back to the room and rethink what she was about to do, but she was startled to see Leo standing there, watching her sadly. "Bree," he said softly.
Leo. He had accepted the bionics from the very beginning and had shown them the real world. While he often begged for favors, he never hesitated to return them. Desperate to be one of them, Leo had put himself in danger over and over again for their sake. And then the letter.
"Bree, believe me when I say that we love you," Leo pleaded.
Bree could only look at him steadily for a long moment before finally replying. "I do believe you," she croaked. Relief visibly washed over the younger boy, but before he could say anything, Bree continued. "But you shouldn't love me."
"Why not?" Leo asked sadly, stepping closer to her.
"Can't you see me? Can't you see what I am? Don't you remember all that I've done?"
"I see my strong older sister who uses her abilities to be a hero time and time again."
"Then you're blind!" Bree burst out, storming back to her room. She tried to shut the door behind her, but Leo was close behind and forced his way in after her.
"I'm not blind, Bree! I'm the one who can see!" Leo argued. "You have to listen to me!"
"No, you're blind if you can't see how awful of a person I am! I've hurt all of you far too many times and I keep hurting you all! I'm just a mistake!"
"No, you're not a mistake. You're a masterpiece."
"How can I be a masterpiece if I keep hurting people? How can any of you love me after all of the times I've hurt you?" Bree demanded.
"Bree, love and pain go hand in hand," Leo said quietly. "But so does forgiveness. Even if you hurt us, we forgive you and love you even more. Can't you see that?"
Bree remained silent, her mind whirling even in its numbness. Was that true?
"Do you love us?" Leo asked.
This question caught the bionic off guard. Did she love them? "Yes," she whispered.
"Have we hurt you?"
Bree paused. "Yes… but not like I've hurt you."
"What's different?" Leo asked.
Bree felt anger swell within her. "I don't know, it just is!"
"No, it's not. We've hurt you, but have you forgiven us?"
"...yes."
"Do you still love us?"
"Of course," Bree said softly.
"We love you too," Leo replied, and a silence blanketed the room. But he soon broke it suddenly, asking "Have you hurt yourself?"
"What?" the bionic asked in shocked anger.
"Have you hurt yourself?" the younger boy repeated.
"No!" Bree yelled.
Leo put his hands up. "I mean, have you hurt yourself with your words?" … "The answer is yes, Bree – you keep telling yourself that you're bad."
Bree only glared at him.
"Look, can you forgive yourself?"
Bree pursed her lips. "I don't deserve forgiveness."
"Yes, you do, Bree. No one is perfect, including you. Now I'm going to ask again: can you forgive yourself?"
Bree looked at him long and hard. Could she? She closed her eyes. "Yes," she breathed.
"If you've hurt yourself and you can forgive yourself, can you love yourself too?"
Bree didn't answer.
"Bree, can you love yourself?" Leo pressed.
Bree felt more tears coming yet again, and she collapsed onto the bed. "Yes, I can love myself," she said shakily.
Leo came over and sat on the bed next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders comfortingly. "Will you love yourself?" he asked.
Her tears flowing freely now, she answered "…yes."
"Do you love yourself?"
Bree buried her face in her step-brother's shoulder, gasping "Yes… I love myself."
"I love you too."