The Grieving Process
McRaider
Summary: Follow Up to Grieving-Miles by Steph-Schell, Ben brought his little brother home, but getting him off the streets is only one step in recovery from loosing his best friend.
Author's Note: Thanks to Steph-Schell for permission to use her beautiful story, I definitely encourage you to read it! It was perfect for me. I'm a Billy Burke girl, love the man, can't get enough of him, so this is to show all his emotions cause god knows we don't see enough. All errors are mine, sorry.

Chapter One

As Ben led his limping brother to the car, he couldn't help but notice that his brother looked stiff, and tired. He understood a little bit of what had happened, their mother explaining what she knew to him. But he couldn't help but want to know more. As he opened the back door for him he smirked as the dog jumped into the back of the car and sat there patiently, the guitar was put in the back as well.

Ben reached to open the other door and his brother swatted his hand away, "I'm injured, not a damn invalid."

Ben raised both of his hands in a defense posture, trying not to laugh. As soon as he was in the driver's seat and closed the door he glanced over at his brother, "You okay?" The man was slightly pale, and looked as though he was having some trouble breathing. Ben wondered if he'd been too late picking the man up, winter was on it's way, but the brisk weather was already here.

"Quit mothering me," the grumbled reply came.

Ben sighed, Miles hadn't always been like this, he could remember his easy going brother who was full of smiles and laughter. Then again, Bass had always been around. Ben adored his younger brother, only about four years between him, they'd been close enough as brothers, but Bass was different. Bass brought out the absolute best in Miles-and sometimes even the worst. Ben honestly wasn't sure how they were going to get Miles through this. "Charlie's gotten big, she's been asking about you so I know she'll be thrilled to see you," Ben offered, hoping to pull his brother out of his funk.

Charlie was the light of the Matheson family, or at least the men in the family. Eldest of Ben's children, she'd been born seven years earlier and was with her father's eyes and hair; she had her mother's spirit and her Uncle Miles' snarkiness. Miles, who had been ecstatic about becoming an uncle at the time, had a special place in his heart for the girl.

"She pissing Rachel off at every turn yet?" Miles asked.

Ben chuckled, despite their affair, Miles and Rachel didn't much care for one another anymore, which was another reason he wasn't overly concerned about having his brother in his house, "A little, yes. Miles, we'll get through this," Ben offered as he glanced over at his brother.

Miles didn't reply, he just continued staring out his window. As Ben stopped at a nearby light he took a moment to study his younger brother, the man's hair was always dark, but it was greasy and clearly dirty. He had smudges on his face, of which, only the ones under his eyes were natural. He smelled, so hopefully he'd appreciate a hot shower. He could see just from his angular face he'd lost weight, Miles had never been a heavy set man, always simply broad and deadly. Now he looked almost fragile, like someone blowing a fan at him would knock him over.

"You know you could've called when you were evicted," Ben offered quietly, he wished his brother would rely on him just a little bit more.

"Come on, Ben," he finally answered, he looked over at his brother and Ben could see how deeply Miles was hurting. "You've got two young kids. And Rachel pretty much hates me."

"You're family, Miles," That's all Ben ever said, he pulled into the driveway and looked over at his brother, "Has Seabass been potty trained?"

Miles nodded, so Ben climbed out of the car, letting the dog out of the back and grabbed the guitar. He kept an eye on Miles as he climbed slowly out of the car, he was again moving very stiffly, like he wasn't quite steady on his feet. "Uncle Miles!" A young voice screeched and a moment later Miles was on his ass, crying out in pain briefly, all the while he'd managed to shield the girl from hurting herself.

"Jesus! Miles are you all right, Charlie—" Miles held up his hand and smiled, despite the pain in his eyes, he hugged her close.

"Just caught me off balance," he replied. Ben kept the 'you look constantly off balance' reply to himself. Miles smiled, gently stroking the girl's cheek as he looked at her, she really had grown, she was tall and looked confident, not the shy little girl he'd seen before his last tour. "Hey Peanut," he murmured.

"I missed you so much, Uncle Mi, you smell funny," she crinkled her adorable little nose. A moment later she was being swept up in her father's arms, while Miles delicately tried to get himself back on his feet.

"That's rude, Charlie. Here, take Seabass," he offered the dog over while he reached out a free hand to his brother.

"Ohh, we got a doggy!"

Miles gripped his brother's hand this time as he struggled to get to his feet, the pain in his leg had doubled as she'd run head into him, but now his back hurt and his chest ached. He bit back a groan, "I'm sorry, Mi, I should've told her to be careful," he apologized profusely.

Miles shook his head, "She's a kid, Ben. She should be a kid," he offered, he'd never deny his little niece anything.

Once he was sure his brother was on steadier feet they headed towards the front door, which was now currently open, his wife shouting inside about dirty dogs. "I don't think you have to worry about me and your wife, man," Miles offered smirking.

Ben chuckled; Miles had always been the kind of guy who enjoyed rubbing people the wrong way. "Yeah well, I'm sure he'll grow on her."

Miles stopped short at the doorway though, he appeared unsure about something, "Ben, you don't owe me anything, you know," he whispered.

Ben stepped closer to his baby brother, "I know I don't. Miles, we're family; I love you, brother, no matter what. I can't stand the idea of you suffering because of this with no place to go. You're welcome here until you're back on your own two feet, okay."

Miles gave him a solemn nod and stepped into the house, Ben closed the door as he stepped into the house and chuckled as Danny and Charlie were already squealing over their new dog. Rachel glanced over at Miles, she looked ready to say something, but instead she offered a brief smile, before turning back to whatever she'd been doing prior to the dog entering the house.

TBC