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Welcome to my second Home & Away fanfic. This time we'll play out a "what if" scenario. Because I was devastated when they killed off Casey instead of sending him off to London or what have you.

So here we are. What if Jake hadn't killed Casey? What repercussion on everyone would it have had? Would someone else have suffered instead? Would the family have overcome this new challenge? Let's find out!

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Previously: Jake Pirovic kidnapped Josh to set a trap for the Braxtons. Casey and Andy show up to rescue him, while Brax learns about the trap and, taking Kyle with him, goes on his way to save his littlest brother.

…

Everything was a blur, and Kyle found himself in the middle of it all. There was Brax, angry and determined, yelling at Casey, and Casey yelling back. Josh, looking a bit dazed, Andy…

Kyle was trying to stay focused, to intervene, but later, he wouldn't quite be able to remember what happened after. How it happened.

"I don't want to lose you again, Brax,' Casey said urgently, "Now surely you can understand-"

But he didn't get to finish his sentence, was cut off abruptly by the harsh sound of a gun being fired. A sudden expression of shock came over him, his features growing slightly slack, and Kyle felt his heart pound in his chest and his throat as he rushed forward, following a sudden instinct.

"Casey," someone hissed. Brax perhaps.

And then he saw it: the blood spreading from Casey's arm, Casey's arm in Brax's too tight grip, Brax's ashen expression as a similar red stain appeared on his own shirt, across the chest. But the oldest Braxton seemed unaware of that, oblivious. He was only focused on his little brother.

"Case…"

"Oh God, Brax. You're… you're okay. I got you."

Kyle's eyes met his brother's, a panic in the younger one's gaze that made Kyle's hairs stand on end when it all finally sank in. His brothers had been shot. Jake and his people had one upped them after all, the trap had closed and they were right in the middle of it, with no way out.

"Casey."

"I got you, Brax."

Casey's eyes were wide and full of fear as he sank to the ground slowly, trying to soften his oldest brother's fall. "I got you," he said again and again, and it took everything for Kyle to finally jump start his brain again and spring into action.

"Shit shit shit." Andy ran a hand through his hair, a shocked looking Josh standing close, frozen to the spot, while Casey and Brax had sunken to the ground.

Kyle rushed over to them quickly, exchanging another quick glance with Casey before he focused on Brax.

"You alright, Case?" he asked, and what kind of stupid question was that? Of course he wasn't alright. Regardlessly, the younger one nodded his head.

"He's bleeding out, Kyle! We-"

"I know." Swallowing down a sudden wave of nausea, Kyle clenched his teeth hard and pressed a hand down on the growing stain on Brax's chest. A small gasping moan escaped his brother as his eyes briefly flickered up to meet Kyle's.

"You're gonna be okay, Brax," Kyle breathed, then forced himself to jerk his head up to get Andy's attention. "Oi!" he hollered, and thankfully the older Barrett brother was not as out of it as the younger one and immediately nodded, already knowing what Kyle wanted him to do.

Without another word, he took out his phone and called an ambulance, and all Kyle could do was hope that they would get there in time.

"Case is bleeding, you need to wrap his arm," Brax wheezed out, suddenly grabbing Kyle's arm with an urgency that was a little comical under the circumstances. After all, he was probably hurt worse than their little brother. Kyle couldn't help but smile, while Casey openly chuckled.

"Said the guy with the bleeding chest wound," he said, and Brax briefly rolled his eyes, hissing as he did. "You need to get outta here. Kyle, take Casey and-"

"We're not leaving you, mate." Kyle and Casey had spoken simultaneously, their eyes meeting once again.

"Ambulance is on its way," Andy piped up from the back. "What do we do now? Pirovic's people might still be out there…"

"You take Josh and go before the cops show up," Kyle urged, and Andy nodded, grabbing his reluctant brother.

"I'm not-" Josh fell silent when Kyle shot him a glance, shaking his head.

"It won't help anyone if you guys get caught up in this now, too. Leave. I'll deal with this." Kyle indicated Brax and Casey, unsure of how exactly he intended to do that. Brax was right. Casey was bleeding quite a bit too. But Kyle was sure he couldn't move his hands or Brax would bleed out right here in front of him. He needed that ambulance. Now.

Andy nodded again, pushing his brother along with him as he began moving, pausing briefly before they reached the door.

"Let me at least…" He didn't finish, just took off his shirt and tore it into strips, more pragmatic and alert than Kyle had been so far, a realization that made him clench his jaw even harder. Andy kneeled down, handing Kyle the torn up shirt that he accepted with a quiet thanks before using it to staunch the blood flow. Meanwhile, Andy used a large strip of it to wrap it around Casey's arm.

"Thanks," the youngest Braxton said, and Andy made a sympathetic face.

"Yeah…"

"Now go."

…

Brax was breathing too fast, too shallow. He knew it, but couldn't quite do anything about it. He had been shot before, so he knew the signs, and he knew damn well that this wasn't good.

But it could have been worse. It could have been Casey lying here like this, bleeding out…

"Brax…"

He looked up, frowning at his two kid brothers' worried faces, trying to focus as the world turned syrupy and slow around him. They needed to leave. Where was Jake? And his men? Probably still around here somewhere, waiting to end this.

Casey and Kyle weren't safe here.

"Get the hell outta here. Case-"

The kid scoffed disbelievingly. "We're not leaving you, Brax."

He rolled his eyes in frustration. Stubborn idiot, his brother. Forcing himself to turn to Kyle, he grabbed the kid's arm, hard. "Get him outta here, Kyle. Jake-"

Thankfully, the kid nodded, and Brax breathed a sigh of relief.

"I know…"

"Not leaving him here, Kyle." Casey had a pout on his face that made him look like his ten year younger self. Brax almost smiled.

"Casey-"

Brax was prepared for his brothers to start arguing, but it never came to that, for right then a shadow rushed past him, and he saw Kyle's head abruptly snap back as something hit his temple, and the kid fell to the side like a felled tree, Casey yelling out a loud, "No!" as someone grabbed him from behind, tearing him away from Brax, dragging him across the floor, just as Kyle was dragged away, too.

"Brax! Brax!"

"Casey." He wanted to yell and scream, but the words wouldn't quite come, his voice nothing but a whisper as his life seemed to seep out of him with his blood. "Casey… Kyle…"

No. No no no no no…

A face appeared above him then, a nasty grin on its features, and Brax bit down hard, grimacing against the pain and rising panic. He was dying and his brothers were being taken against their will while he had to watch helplessly.

"This ends now, Braxton. Know that while you'll die here, I'll have your brothers to play with for a while. And when I'm done, they can join you, and I'll find that last remaining brother of yours and do the same to him. And then, when you're all dead, I'll come for your mom, and your girl, until not a single one of your family is still alive. - You should have never messed with my family, Daryl…"

"You-" Brax tried to use his last strength to lift himself up, to do something, but Jake Pirovic merely laughed at him, pushed him down again with his foot against Brax's chest, making him yell out in pain as the world darkened around him.

No.