Title: Meet the Brothers
Rating: G
Author's Notes: Lady Jaye's siblings take Flint out for a night on the town.

Alison knocked gently on the door, unsure of what she would find on the other side. No answer. She smiled knowingly to herself; she knew exactly what was on the other side now. She picked up a tray carrying coffee, orange juice, eggs, bacon and Pepto-Bismol that she had placed on the hallway side table and, while carefully balancing it, she rapped a bit louder on the door. Her effort was greeted with a faint moan. She knocked again and announced her entry, "I'm coming in, better be decent."

Pushing open the door with her hip, she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. It was much worse than she expected. Dash lay in her brother John's old bed, but to say lay would be a stretch. His left arm and leg were hanging over the side and she couldn't be sure, but there was another leg somewhere tangled up in the mess of covers cascading down the foot of the bed. The pillow had long been abandoned in the night and Dash's head was resting upon the belly of Mr. Kippers, John's childhood teddy bear. Dash was a mess. His hair was beyond rumpled and he owed the airline extra for the amount of baggage he was carrying under his eyes. Alison couldn't help herself any longer and her laughter escaped. Dash moaned again, attempting to pull Mr. Kippers over his head to block out the hallway light.

"Honey I hate to say it but you need to get up. We have a full list of caterers to meet today." Alison placed the tray down on John's old desk and found a bit of space to sit on the bed. She began to massage Dash's neck. "Rough night?"

"You have no idea." Dash managed to croak.

"Oh Dash, what did they do to you?" He weakly lifted his head and stared straight into her eyes. Alison could tell he was not amused. Dash propped himself up on one arm and managed to pull himself up further into a semi-sitting position. It was then that Alison noticed he was still wearing his clothes from last night.

"Your brothers are animals." Dash spat out. "Pure animals with no love for all that is good and decent in this world." He moaned again, "Oh god, I'm going to die." He started to slide down the headboard. Alison propped him back up, shoving the warm cup of coffee into his hand.

"Here, this should help, a little joe and some hair of the dog that bit you. Although, from the looks of you, it was a couple of dogs."

"It was a ravenous pack of mongrels. Please, can't we cancel?"

"Dash, you know we can't. All we have is this weekend. You knew that before you left."

"And it was also before I knew what sadists your brothers are. The twin terrors, that's what they are."

Alison heard a cough at the door and looked up to see John standing there, fully dressed, with a smile on his face.

"How's he doing sis?"

"John, what the hell did you do to him!"

"Never worry there little Al, wasn't me I confess. Designated Driver. William had all the fun last night. He's still passed out on the couch. Don't worry, dad's taking care of him. I just came to check up on our rock star here." Dash groaned and attempted to hide his face behind Mr. Kippers.

Alison looked back and forth between the two of them. "Ok, will one of you please tell me what happened and why my fiancé is about to die of alcohol poisoning?"

John entered the room and leaned back casually against the wall, arms folded in from of him. "Well, we went to Mulroney's like we said. You know, have a few beers, play some pool, a chance to get to know your boy. Will happened to let it slip to the old man that Dash here was your fiancé."

"You told old man Mulroney?" Alison's eyes opened wide in horror and then she grimaced in guilt. "Oh Dash, I'm so sorry."

John continued. "Yeah, well, Will wasn't thinking too clearly. So, Mulroney announces to everybody that Dash was your fellow and the shots began." Flint groaned and just shook his head. "I have to hand it to him, Dash, my hat's off to you, you held your own for quite a bit, but then the 23rd arrived on the scene."

Alison looked sympathetically at Dash, "Oh Dash, was it the entire 23rd?"

Dash glared at her. "Yes Ali, it was the entire 23rd." He set down the coffee cup and began to unbutton his shirt. There, written in large black letters across his chest, was the tell-tale mark: "The 23rd Was Here- Good Luck Ali!" Alison stifled a giggle.

"Oh my," was all she could manage to muster. John continued with the story.

"Well, Dash was a bit confused at that point; you see he referred to Will and his boys as policemen. You know how they get, they don't like to be mistaken and, well after a few more shots, again Dash, you handled yourself brilliantly to that point, they managed to hold him down and leave you a message. Oh, by the way, Brian says nice choice, but he would have been better."

"Brian was there."

"Yep, he was there."

"So… oh dear."

"Yeah, oh dear might be a bit of an understatement there Al. I think, at this point, getting married to you, there's a special place in heaven for Dash."

Alison turned to look at Dash again. He was leaning against the headboard, eyes half closed, trying his best not to relive too much of the evening's events. Dash opened his eyes and gave her an angry stare. "Yes Ali, Brian was there and he does indeed say hello." Dash finished unbuttoning his shirt and gingerly pulled it away from his right shoulder, exposing a nasty bruise.

"Oh Dash." Alison had a feeling she was going to be indebted to him for a while. She hesitantly reached out to touch his shoulder. Dash grimaced in pain and pulled away.

"It still hurts," he explained. Alison withdrew her hand and felt responsible for his injury. Brian had been her on-again and off-again high school sweetheart. They had dated some in college, but the distance got in the way and she broke it off during a winter break visit. Brian hadn't taken it well and showed up at her dorm unannounced, seeking a reconciliation. Brian had also shown up drunk. Campus security called the police and he was arrested. Things went downhill from there. When Will joined the fire department, Brian signed up right after him. When he and Will were transferred into the same unit, Brian had made some attempts at getting back together, but nothing like this.

"Brian was ok at first," John picked up his story thread, "but as the night progressed, he was less apt to judge the situation and decided it was a good idea to fight for your honor. Dash managed to draw back in time and took the brunt of the blow on his shoulder. Brian swung again and Dash deflected it. Third time's always a charm, but Dash here managed in his drunken state to step out of Brian's path entirely. It was a sight. Brian went flying past and crashed right into a table. Old man was a bit pissed about that and ordered the 23rd out the door. Dash was the man of the night so first courtesy was extended to him."

"First courtesy, Dash, Mulroney must have liked you. Not everyone gets first courtesy. The 23rd usually trumps." Ali smiled at the good impression Dash had been making on everyone.

Dash did not quite see it that way. "If by liking me you mean a careful and strategic attack on my liver, the man treated me like the pope."

"Ah, don't put yourself down," John jumped in, "The man adored you. But, there's only so much fun to be had at Mulroney's when Will had a better idea. You see, there was a cover band playing over at Bill's Bar that Will thought we should go see."

"Bill's Bar, but that place is a… um, aren't you guys kind of old to be going there?"

"Yeah, we were the oldest ones there, but Dash made up for it."

"I can't wait to hear this one." Alison settled back into the bed, pushing Dash's legs over for a more comfortable seat. Dash scowled at John, daggers coming out of his eyes. He obviously was in no mood for John to relay the remaining events.

John took it in stride. "Sorry man, Alison has the details about the summer of Peggy. Sibling blackmail trumps future brother-in-law evil looks. Besides, it isn't that bad." John's explanation did nothing to lighten Dash's mood.

"Well, we arrived at Bill's and the show was sold out."

"What show, you forgot that part."

"It really doesn't matter."

"It does matter. What was so important to drive all the way to Bill's?"

"Les Zeppelin baby!" Everyone looked up toward the door and standing there, hands on either side of the doorframe, swinging into view was John, or rather, a very worn-out, tired looking John. The initial sight of them together always jarred Dash. They looked exactly alike. The only distinction was their hair. Where John's hair was always perfect, Will's hair has never known a brush. Will released his hold on the door frame and stumbled into the room. He made a grand gesture and fell to the ground, spread-eagle. "It was Les Zeppelin, the greatest band ever."

Alison looked perplexed, "Les who?"

"Not Les Who, Les Zeppelin, an all-female Led Zeppelin tribute band. Man, those chicks are hot." Will looked up at his sister. "Sorry Al, but man, they are hot and they play Led Zeppelin. It's the whole package, every guys dream." Will rested his hands under his head, glanced over up at John, "continue on, I came in time to hear the good stuff."

"Ok, there you have it, Les Zeppelin, an all female Led Zeppelin tribute band actually managed to sell out Bill's. Will here was not to be discouraged. Will approached the ticket window and did his best to sweet talk the woman behind the window. She would have none of Will though. He tried everything, even promised her a ride on the fire truck. Thought he had her there for sure, but no such luck."

"No, she was digging the fire truck ride, but you stepped in and killed the mood."

John just shook his head, "Whatever you need to tell yourself to sleep at night my brother." He continued on, "Will then decided he'd have better luck with the ticket taker."

"If you can't go with the source, you go to the middle man. Learned that one in econ."

"The middle man wasn't having too much of it either. Will begged and pleaded. He told the poor girl he was Les Zeppelin's greatest fan. He then said he only had a week to live and this was his dying wish. He then offered money."

"You did what?" Alison looked down at her brother. Will shrugged his shoulders.

"I think he offered her a twenty."

Alison interrupted, "You thought you could bribe the ticket girl for a twenty? You were drunk."

"Yep, the twenty wouldn't do it. The girl held her ground. So, our boy Will here pulled out his entire stash of cash. Must have been at least a hundred. The girl, she wasn't having any of it and wandered off to find security. We booked."

"Hold on a sec," Alison was perplexed. "You offered her how much?"

"Just my beer and cab money. To get in and see Les Zeppelin was worth it. I was trying to show Dash a good time. I'm such a good future brother-in-law that I would give up my beer money."

Alison kicked her brother in the side. "Don't play angel with me, you know John would have spotted you."

Will protested, "Ow! You know what a cheapskate John is, I was doing this solely out of the goodness of my heart."

John nudged his other side, "Nice try pal, you did it for yourself. Anyway, Will was not to be deterred. We walked around the side of the building to avoid security and a guy popped out of a door with a bag of garbage. Will's eyes lit up at the next challenge. He approached the guy and offered to help out with dishes if the guy would let us in. The guy said no. Will went to the thing he knows best and pulled out the wad of cash once more. It looked like the guy was going to take it, we were finally in, but, he suddenly turned his head to the side, and yelled something to someone beyond the door. Shook his head no, said sorry man, and walked back inside, closing the door behind him. Will tried to open the door but it was locked. He pounded on it for a minute or two, but no one was coming back. We continued our walk around the building, Will trying to devise a way in.

"On the other side of the building was the VIP entrance guarded by a rather large former pro-wrestler. Or at least he should have been."

"My man Johnson, good man." Will nodded his head. "Johnson was huge Al, makes your fellow look like a dwarf."

"Johnson?" Alison looked questioningly at her brothers.

"I'll get to that." John assured her. "Yes, Johnson was big, but Will's desire to gain admission was even bigger. Will approached the guy and gave him the same song and dance, begging to be let in. Johnson just sat there, arms folded, staring him down. Will went for the money, Johnson just sat there, arms folded, staring him down. Johnson was smart though, think about it. He probably nets maybe $25k or so under the table for the gig. No way was Will's paltry offering worth risking his job. Will wouldn't let up though so Johnson stood up and calmly announced that we had ten seconds to vacate the premises, or he would personally see to it himself."

"Let me guess . . ." Alison began to chuckle.

"Yes, we cleared out of there fast. That brought us back to the front of the bar with no hope left."

"Until . . ." Will shouted out.

"Yes, until Will noticed people were actually leaving the bar for the night."

Will glanced up at Alison, "Can you imagine that? People actually leaving a Les Zeppelin show early?"

"The travesty!" Alison mocked.

"Yes, the travesty indeed!" Will exclaimed. "I wasn't going to call them on it and instead decided to use their foolishness to my advantage. I walked up to them and asked if we could have their wrist bands. That's all you needed to get in to the show. It was a fool proof plan."

"Let me guess . . ." Alison was beginning to feel like a broken record.

"Again, you would be correct." John picked up the story once more. "We had the wrist bands in our possession and were trying to figure out how to get them on when out of nowhere, the night lit up and we were staring down the barrel of Johnson's flashlight. We were deer caught in headlights. Johnson had a smirk on his face as we took in the scene, for there, standing right next to him, was Bill's owner, Bill himself. We were busted."

Will continued, "We were soooo busted. Bill asked us where we got the wristbands. We remained quiet. He repeated himself and asked if we had gotten them from someone leaving the club. A million lies passed through my mind, I tried to think of a good story when Dash suddenly spoke up. He'd been quiet for so long, I kind of forgot he was with us. Dash spoke up and told the truth. Just like that. He told Bill that we were desperate to get into the show and that this was my favorite band of all time. Dash said we were lovers of music and had no other way. He then apologized and held out the wristband, like a general giving back his star.

"Bill just looked at Dash like he was crazy. I don't think Bill expected to hear the truth. Bill looked at each one of us, kind of did this weird shaking up and down thing with his head, turned to Johnson and said, 'Johnson, take them inside and see that they get new wristbands.' With that, he was off to bust more wanna-be patrons no doubt.

"Johnson seemed impressed. He introduced himself and escorted us right back to the ticket window and requested fresh wristbands for us. She recognized me but wasn't about to argue with Johnson. Johnson then took us past the ticket taker, she recognized me, but again, no arguing with Johnson, and we were in. Johnson said his good byes and Les Zeppelin was ours."

Alison looked at Dash and then her brothers, "Well, that doesn't seem too bad."

John spoke up first, "Well, that doesn't quite end it."

"It doesn't?"

"No, it doesn't. Will? Should I or do you?"

"You'll do well, please continue on."

"Ok, well Al, we didn't realize what a music buff Dash here is. Turns out, he knew every word to every song Les Zeppelin sang. It was impressive. Did you know he used to be in a band? Dash was a force on the floor and managed to work his way to the front. Les Zeppelin was also impressed and invited him up to sing a rousing rendition of Rock and Roll.

"Dash was on stage? Wait, you're telling me he was on stage and sang?"

Dash pretended to become engrossed with a spot on the floor.

"Yep, he was up there until he took a stage dive right into a big mess of nobody."

"What?" Alison turned to Dash, "You what?"

Dash grimaced at the memory. He would make the brothers pay. Someday, when they forgot, he would remember. Right now, with his head pounding, just wasn't the right time. "It seemed like a perfectly reasonable thing to do at the time. I though the crowd was there with me." He half-shrugged, letting his explanation stand.

Will tried to cover, "It was the reasonable thing and the crowd was with you until they realized how much you probably weigh. After that, you were on your own." Will directed his story to Alison, "He held his arms up like the rock and roll god he was and opened his arms wide to embrace the throngs swaying below, falling into a most impressive swan dive to end his swan song. He crashed onto the hard floor below just as Les Zeppelin struck the final chord. I think some people thought it was planned for they broke out into raucous applause.

"We had tried to run up to stop him, but couldn't get through the crowds in time. We reached him, helped him up and he was ready for some more. We worried about the nasty bruise forming on his chin and what you would do, to us, that is. We figured he could handle himself"

"Clearly we were wrong." John added.

"Nasty bruise?" Alison reached over for Dash's chin, trying to glimpse the mark. Dash batted her hand away, "Hang on a minute there now." She looked up at John, "I don't see anything."

"Well, Les Zeppelin took care of it."

"Took care of it?" Alison raised her eyebrows. "Somebody better explain fast."

Will chimed in, "You see, Les Zeppelin was quite ecstatic with Dash's crowd warming skills that they felt slightly guilty for not stopping his dive. Taryn brought out her make-up kit and made Dash up. Great job really. You have to look super close to even notice the concealer."

Alison looked from brother to brother, settling her eyes on Will, "You mean to tell me…"

"Yep."

Alison shook her head, looked at Dash and burst out laughing. "You, you're, you're wearing make-up? Oh, this is priceless."

Dash slumped down in the bed. "Thanks guys, I'll always remember this. Some day, somewhere, when you're resting peacefully in your bed, smiling at a thought, I'll strike." He furled his brown and fought against an onset of nausea to appear menacing. Alison's continuous laughter made it hard and he found himself chuckling at the thought. Who would have ever thought that he, Dash, male extraordinaire, would wake up after sleeping the night on a teddy bear, wearing make-up? He reached out for Alison and drew her into a hug.

"Yes dear, I'm wearing make-up." Dash looked up, catching everyone's eyes. "And, if it ever leaves this room, the world shall know about the summer of Peggy," he looked at John, John eyed him suspiciously, "the summer of Peggy part two," he grinned at Will who looked back, perplexed, "and, lest we forget, the summer of Melvin." He smiled down at a gasping Alison.

"How did you…?" The Hart-Burnett siblings exclaimed in unison.

"Well, before I met the brothers, I had to meet the dad."