Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of this work of fiction, and no profit, monetary or otherwise, is being made through the writing of this.

A/N: Just a short, drabble-like piece inspired by part of a prompt from the Spinny Thing, which gave me the animal, alligator (among other things).


"You ever wrestled an alligator, Heath?" Nick asked, quirking an eyebrow. He'd just learned that Heath had been in Florida, briefly, and was curious.

Jarrod's lips twitched upward slightly, but he shook his head at his younger brother's antics. "Leave the boy alone, Nick. Ain't no one here wrestled an alligator."

Heath shrugged, and just smiled, not answering the question.

"Well?" Nick asked, pressing the issue.

Again, Heath shrugged. He picked at a piece of lint on his shirt, tossed it in the general direction of their campfire, and looked out toward the horizon. The sun was about to set, the sky getting that deep blue, almost purple coloring it got when the sun was ready to give up the day to the moon and her cohorts.

"That does it," Nick said, his voice rising. He tossed a stick into the fire, and watched as sparks flew up from the center of it, spilling out over the edges, onto the white stones they'd set up around the pit. "You're not gonna just sit there, and claim to have wrestled an alligator and not tell us about it, are you Heath?"

Jarrod frowned. "Now hold on, brother, Heath hasn't said a word."

Nick shook his head and tossed another stick into the fire, stirring up more sparks. "That don't mean nothing. It's more what that brother of ours doesn't say that tells us what is, and what isn't."

"Oh, and his not saying whether or not he's wrestled an alligator means that he has?" Jarrod laughed and shook his head. "Well, don't that just beat all?"

"Laugh all you want, big brother," Nick said, tossing in yet another stick, and kicking up sparks and smoke. "But, you don't know Heath like I do."

Choking, Heath wiped at his eyes, and sent a pointed look at Nick. Nick dropped the stick that he'd been about to feed to the fire, and wiped his hands off on his pants. Clearing his throat, Nick leaned back against a log, and settled in for the night.

Jarrod watched his two brothers and shook his head. Nick sure did understand Heath, perhaps a little better than Jarrod did, but Jarrod, from where he was sitting, could tell that Heath understood Nick, too.


Reviews would be greatly appreciated. If there is interest, this could be expanded into a series of drabble-like, or even longer, one-shot, pieces exploring this concept.