…

Let's talk about Isla real quick. Anyone else hate that storyline? I was with Ricky the entire time. She tried to warn Kyle but the stubborn romantic that he is, he wouldn't listen.

I wanted to shake him so bad. Even Isla's ex seemed like a nice level-headed guy and he should have for sure gotten through to Kyle, but no…

I honestly feel like it was bad writing, too. And when they kind of implied at the end of All or Nothing that Isla and Kyle were going to stay together, I didn't like it either. Poor guy wants a real family of his own. He doesn't need this crap.

So… I decided to try and work with what we got. We shall see where it'll take us. If anywhere. lol. For now it's a start.

Special shoutout to vane84, who kindly pointed me in the right direction on where to find more of All or Nothing!

… ...

Heath was reeling. The recent events had all taken a toll. The whole ordeal with Bianca kidnapped, then the prison incident where he'd had to see his little brother almost bleed out and then still treated like a criminal, and now the news about a baby.

For Bianca he had to try and keep it together, but when he looked over at her sleeping form now, so close to him that he could feel her soft breaths against his skin, it all came crashing down on him.

The pain at losing Rocco was still so raw, it was downright scary. He was both excited and terrified of this new life growing inside of Bianca.

Images of Rocco flickered through his mind, of Darce and Harley.

And then, Kyle. Shot, in a heap on the floor… The kid had talked about this girl, Isla, about taking the fall for her and suddenly things had made so much more sense. He had puzzled over this for too long. How the hell Kyle had lost touch that much that he had done this thing they had accused him of.

Now that it turned out he hadn't, Heath was ready to get his brother the hell out of prison.

With a sigh, he finally allowed sleep to come drag him away. Tomorrow, though, tomorrow he'd get on it. All of it. Snaking his arms around Bianca to hold her close, he closed his eyes.

…

Kyle closed his eyes, digging his heel into the bed over and over again. The pain was awful, and since he was an inmate, they had only allowed him the bare minimum of pain meds.

At least he was in a real hospital, not just the prison, so he was getting decent care. Of course they had chained him to the bed, both arms, both legs, even, like he was some murderer or monster, and it didn't help with trying to get comfortable one bit.

But he had finally seen Isla. Taking a few shuddering breaths, he thought of her as he tried to stop from writhing too much.

His breaths were starting to take on a weird staccato rhythm, the wound in his abdomen hurting too much, his shoulder revolting. Groans escaped him as he involuntarily shook the chains of the handcuffs binding him. Gritting his teeth he tried to breathe through the waves of pain that were beginning to obliterate him.

Something wasn't right.

Isla… He had been so glad to see her again, to know that she did care…

But the pain…

…

An alarm went off and Rachel groaned. "It's that inmate from the prison," she said, huffing. She wasn't a fan of having to deal with a criminal on her ward, at all. It didn't matter that apparently he had saved that guard. He was still a criminal, and she didn't want him here.

"You wanna go check on him or shall I?"

She smiled at the new nurse. The girl was a real gem, a sweet country girl that had somehow found her way into the city and didn't mind taking on the patients no one else liked to deal with.

"Thanks Tammy, that'd be amazing. I'll owe you one."

The girl returned the smile as she got up, finishing the last bite of her cookie - another thing that was great about her. For every night shift, she brought a treat.

Indeed, she was a fantastic addition to the ward.

Rachel turned around, calling her back before she could reach the hallway. "Tammy!"

"Yeah?" That sweet smile again.

"If he gives you trouble…"

"Trust me, I can handle myself."

Rachel had no doubt about that.

…

"Everything alright?"

A nurse had appeared in the doorframe, then slowly walked closer as Kyle turned his head to look at her.

Closing his eyes, then opening them again, he tried to focus, tried to keep breathing, too. He was probably sounding like a walrus right about now, but he couldn't care less. All he wanted was for that pain to stop.

"It hurts," he choked out, unbidden tears making their way down his temples as he lost the fight, slowly but surely, and something had brought the nurse over rather quickly because suddenly she was right there, looking down on him, her bored expression changed into one of genuine worry.

His heart made a jump. Was his mind playing tricks on him? The pain making him go crazy? No, this really was her.

"Tamara?"

"Kyle?! Oh my gosh! What… it's you? You're the…"

"... Inmate from the prison riot? Yeah… Things… went a little south after you left the Bay…" He had meant to make it sound light, but going by the look she gave him now before casting her eyes down and getting to work, examining him, he could tell that she had picked up on the underlying darkness.

They hadn't even spoken after Casey…

"Nngh," it escaped him as her fingers grazed his injured side, his train of thought completely derailing. He couldn't breathe…

"Kyle… it's okay, you're okay. I'm just going to call for the doc to have another look at you, alright?"

"Tam-" He tried to say something, but couldn't. Pressing the call button by his side, Tamara stroked his cheek with her other hand.

"You're going to be okay… Shhhh. Just try to breathe with me. In… and out…"

He stared at her, wide-eyed and panicked, clutching her wrist as she moved her hand toward his abdomen again, shaking his head.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Kyle." She smiled at him, holding his hand, just waiting with him until the doctor arrived. And even then, she stayed.

"You'll be okay," she kept saying, and he desperately wanted to believe her. But he hadn't been okay in a too damn long time…

…

"Did you know about this?"

"About what, mate? That he got himself into prison? Yeah."

"That he took the fall for this girl!"

Brax ran a hand through his hair, shooting Ricky a glance, where she sat on the ground, playing with Case. Heath sounded livid.

"Mate, Kyle's a grown man. He made a decision. Ricky tried to warn him, multiple times-"

"He's our brother, Brax. Our little brother. The only one we have left, by the way. That makes him our responsibility. Not Ricky's. I don't blame her. I know she tried, and all that while she had a bloody hard time herself. But you, mate…"

"Heath-"

"No, you listen to me now. We'll sort this, once and for all. We'll make this Isla fess up and get Kyle out of prison. - He almost bloody died in there, mate. You should have seen him…" Heath paused, and Brax's stomach turned. He had failed the boy. He had failed both of them.

He was supposed to be the big brother, taking care of his family, but lately he had done a pretty bad job.

"I know, alright," he now said, envisioning Heath on the other hand, clutching his phone, head against the cool wall before him, and he slumped down on the couch, his gaze holding Ricky's.

"Let me talk to him," she whispered, but he shook his head. Ricky felt guilty, even though she had tried to help Kyle see the light. The kid had simply been-

"He's in a bad place, Brax. We should have seen it. Should have been there for him. I should have come out to deal with him. Losing Case, then you… Breaking up with Phoebe, then the thing with his kidneys and losing the babies… Poor kid couldn't catch a break. It's no wonder he latched onto Isla and that false hope she brought with her. He was desperate to have someone. Anyone. And his brothers weren't there to fill that hole."

The truth stung. Brax clenched his teeth, closing his eyes. Heath was right. In his attempt to keep Ricky and baby Case safe, he had neglected his role as a brother. He hadn't looked out for either Heath or Kyle, simply assuming they'd be alright.

But they hadn't been.

Now Gunno had almost killed Bianca and Heath, had almost killed Kyle, too, and while he knew that Heath would be okay, he wasn't so sure about Kyle anymore.

Looking to Ricky as of for guidance, he got strength from the nod she gave him.

"Let's go visit him," she said, loud enough for Heath to hear her, "Talk to him again."

"He won't listen. I didn't get to stay with him for long, but he seemed determined to keep this whole thing up once Isla showed up. That woman is bad news, Brax. I don't doubt she didn't force him to, the idiot did that one himself, but she never came forward with the truth, either."

"I know." Brax ran a hand over his face again, trying to think. Ricky was right. They'd have to talk some sense into Kyle, get the authorities to pick up the case again and get him out. No way in hell would he let his brother pay for someone else's crime. Kyle didn't owe Isla anything, and she didn't have anything to offer, either.

"If Kyle so desperately wants a family, we'll make sure he knows he has one. Coming to the city," he told Heath, watching Ricky smile and nod at him, little Casey happily playing by her side. "I'll meet you at the hospital."

With that he ended the conversation, giving a loud sigh as he stretched on the couch.

"You sure you're up for it?" Ricky asked. "I could always go out there by myself and you and Case stay at the farm."

The farm… They had built themselves a new life out here, a very different one. A small farm with a few cows and sheep, and chickens, a few acres of farmland where they grew their own food. Not much, but enough to make a bit of money and stay away from the cities and towns. The city seemed farther away than it ever had.

"You know," Ricky said, "We don't talk about this all that often, but when you were… when we thought you were dead, Kyle and I… he really was my only family except for Case back then. We've been through some awful things together... I feel like I should have stuck around more after everything that happened. Maybe this time he'll listen when I-"

"Nah," Brax argued. "It'll have to be me. I mean… he'll need you there. I will need you, but… I gotta do this, Rick. He's my little brother and I… I screwed this up…" He felt a lump in his throat, tears burning in his eyes now, tears he was trying to hold back with a sniff and a few deep breaths, but they were undeniable.

The kid had almost died of kidney failure before and hadn't it been for Ash - for Martin Ashford rather than Darryl Braxton - Kyle would already be dead.

This one was on Brax to sort. No one else.

"Okay," Ricky said, sitting down beside him, handing over a bubbly Casey who quickly stalked over on wobbly legs to hug his dad. "Let's get ready then…"

…