Owen Eberman lay in his hospital bed trying to make sense of the universe; he reflected on God, and his two favorite saints. In the end, there was really no way to find any good reason for their predicament. He pushed is head further into the flat pillows trying not to fall asleep; he wanted to focus on the movie they were watching, it was Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc. Rain was talking to him, at him, or around him he couldn't decide which. Her incessant babble was her coping method; a way she really didn't have to deal with being a victim. Owen's thoughts wandered to earlier in the day, there had been a commotion. Lots of people yelling, and running; he tried to get up and see what was going on but he just was too sick to move. He also noticed an increased presence of rent-a-cop security, regular cops walking the hallway. Nurses came in to check their vitals, meds, and their general well-being but none would answer his inquiries. He felt if he had been more forceful like Scott he would have at least gotten some answers. Where was his older brother anyway? Last time he had talked to him was several hours ago; Owen noticed the pallor, the sweat beads, and the dark sacks under his older brothers eyes. The guy was sick like them, but he refused to obey the orders he had doled out to the three of them. Owen thought back, and ever since he could remember it had been Scott taking care of him, washing his clothes, washing dishes, and making sure he ate, exercised, study and laughed
His Mom was a crusader for the down trodden in the world of Law, she was a charity Lawyer who worked hard to make a name for herself. Such dedication meant early mornings, late nights, no vacations, no sick days, and very little home and family time. At first he did not understand, but then he saw the joy on her face when a case went well after a long battle, or when she brought home awards for all her hard work. He and Scott were always there for her giving her support, and staying out of her way when she needed space.
When he got older, Scott was still the one cleaning house, and making sure everything was right in the old homestead all while balancing High School, sports, and a social life. Owen did not really help much in the home department, he was always couch-bound watching TV, hanging with his friends, and being a teenager. His friends would laugh at the upperclassman as he did laundry, and cleaned the house around them. They joked that Scott would make someone a real good wife, some day. His brother would retaliate by vacuuming, the living room just as the movie, or game they were watching was getting good.
Owen tried to get comfortable but his headache, congestion, and fever would not allow it. Finally Rain's dad came in their room and filled them in on what had happened a few hours ago. Someone had tried to kill Cora while she lay in a coma; Scott had alerted him, and they manage to capture the guy and save Cora. Owen couldn't believe it; it was all too much, Owen looked around he needed to see Scott. Alan Steckerman looked grim when Owen asked him about Scott; he shook his head and tried to explain. Owen did not get it, so what Scott had fainted, break open one of those stink packs and wake him up then, he thought. Thankfully Rain stayed silent while Owen tried to get more answers from Alan, the adult had none, other than Scott was in the ICU. Feeling useless Owen stayed in bed and tried not to throw up, or cry. It was like he was a kid again, scared out of his mind, like when a bad thunderstorm rolled through at night, but now there was no Scott to comfort him. He had always found ways to make the lightening and loud noises not such a bad thing.
Eventually a Doctor came in and filled Owen in on what happened to Scott, the older teen had collapsed because he had an aneurism in his heart and one in his brain. They also confirmed that he had been infected with the same virus they all had, and it had caused the aneurisms. They had put Scott in a medically induced coma to keep him calm and keep the vessels from bursting. It had been the stress and then sudden activity that caused the older teen's blood pressure to sky rocket. Scott's chances right now were not even good odds, the Doctor had gone on about keeping him monitored, and if there was any change he'd let Owen know. It was a lot to absorb, only a few hours ago Scott had been fine, he had checked in on all of them to make sure they had everything they needed. Now he was just one of them; slowly succumbing to some mutant bad ass virus, that was eating them all alive. He thought about his earlier conversation with Scott, the older teen had been finding answers about who did this to them; he was ramped up as he told him what they had found at the abandoned shoe store as well as all the other things he had heard. Scott found comfort in information; the more he knew about medicine, and procedures, the better he felt about doing his paramedic job. Owen could only talk about God, and how he felt that they somehow deserved this, but he couldn't think about anything else. The whole terrorist thing was huge, and it came surprisingly to their backyard. Scott tried to reason with him, but Owen wasn't hearing it. Now he felt his wall crumbling; he did not want the last things he said to Scott to be an argument. Rain asked if he was crying, he was, but he told her he was sweating because of his sinus pressure and fever. He swiped away the tears that ran down his cheeks, and he prayed for Scott.
In a few days Rain was moved into Cora's room, much to her disappointment, and Scott was wheeled into Owen's room. Owen looked at Scott and couldn't tell were the wires, tubes, and bandages stopped and where his brother began. He looked so small, pale, and quiet. There were bruises on his arms and face, probably more other places. He had a lot of hardware around him, beeping monitors, a humming machine with lines and peaks on it, and an IV stand like his but with more bags on it. The beds were not close enough, so Owen slowly got out of his bed, and scooted over to Scott's bed. He hooked a chair and brought it to Scott's bedside; he sat down and just talked to him about the computer kid he and Rain had met, along with all the cards and junk they were getting from strangers and celebs. Owen reached out and touched Scott's skin, it felt very warm, but dry. He tried to say something meaningful, but all he could do was lapse into prayer while holding on to his elder sibling. He must have dosed off because when he woke next his back and neck were sore, and someone was moaning nearby. He looked up and noticed Scott moving slightly; as his brother whimpered in pain, Owen got back into his bed. Owen watched as lines of pain and fever were etched over his brothers face, but he knew once Scott was awake he'd keep fighting, and he'd make sure they all were striving to live. Owen smiled ready to hear the orders his medic brother would dole out from his hospital bed.