Disclaimer: Neither Me or my co-writer own Four Brothers of course. Nor do we own the songs we use in the chapters.
This idea of course was sprouted by the movie.

This takes place after the movie basically. Warning this story contains: Cursing, Sex, Drugs (Dealers), Alcohol, Prostitution, Death (And Lots of It), As well as racist comments and refferences (Most Used Jokingly). This is all I can think of for right now but we'll try to let our readers know in advance, as in the beginning of the chapter.

Sorry to disappoint but the story is going to start out a little slow in the beginning so bear with us lovely readers. It'll definately pick up in the next few chapters.

Enjoy!

For once in my life I won't let sorrow hurt me
Not like it's hurt me before
For once, I have something I know won't desert me
I'm not alone anymore

For once, I can say, this is mine, you can't take it
As long as I know I have love, I know I can make it
For once in my life, I have someone who needs me!
-Stevie Wonder

A young girl rushed up the front steps of the Mercer home. It was winter, one of the many coldest and she found herself out of breath. As she rapidly knocked on the door she looked over her shoulder, clasping onto her coat as if for dear life, the heat of her breath showing in puffs of smoke as she parted her lips. She was around ten years old her hair black and curly, her skin rich and dark. She had urgent news to report to the old woman that stayed in this house. Her hazel eyes looking anxiously at the door still silent and closed, the world and air crisp and bright by the surrounding snow. She stamped her feet, the cold piercing through her old boots, the hand me downs from her older brother. They didn't really fit her, but they would have to do. In the poor parts of Detroit, there wasn't much protesting you could really do against anything.

"Ms. Evelyn! Ms. Evelyn are you in there!?" She knocked harder on the door, her small-gloved hand burning beneath the yarn, knuckles sore and frozen. She waited a few moments longer before rushing over to the side of the house, looking through the window. The door swung open, and there stood a short but sturdy old woman. Her smile and eyes soft and kind, she patted her hands on her apron, motioning for the young girl to come over.

"Now then Kira…what's all this about?"

She smiled, a hand lightly placed at the small of the girls back as she led her inside the warm house. She wasn't surprised when Kira suddenly stopped, appearing frantic and nervous. Something was obviously wrong.

"It's Bobby! Bobby is in trouble again Ms. Evelyn! He's down at the lake so you have to come! You have to come get'm! His nose is bleeding and he's arguing with Eugene Lights again! Eugene, Christopher and Jordan saids they was gonna jump him Ms. Evelyn! They said they was tired of the Mercer boys always cheatin'! You have to come get'm, you just have to come now!"

Ms. Mercer shook her head as she listened to the excited Kira, brushing the girl off with a worried smile as she tried to pull her out the house.

"Now now Kira, let me at least get my boots and coat on. I can't do much to help him if I'm frozen now can I?"

Kira stamped her feet as she looked outside, Nikki had said she would stay behind to make sure things wouldn't go too far. Knowing Nikki, if there was a fight the older girl was definitely jumping in it.

"Please hurry Ms. Evelyn," she called as she rubbed her arms, "They're really serious this time!"

Evelyn shook her head as she looked through her closet for her largest coat. This wasn't the first and probably wasn't the last time that Bobby had gotten into a confrontation with those three boys. There were too many gangs and drugs going on in this city and she only wished that she could move the boys away. Away to somewhere peaceful where they weren't surrounded by the depressing world they were born into. To think of them made her smile though, each one changing each day. Bobby growing older, finally starting to think of things other than the next persons ass he was going to kick. Jerry excelling in school and Angel…well at least he wasn't being as annoying. Jack was beginning to open up more so with each passing day, week and month. As for the girls, Nikki and Kira, they were always around the house it seemed. Nikki to hang out with the boys and Kira to help out around the house, because as she always said 'there's never anyone at home, can't let good skills go to waste.' As Nikki grew it seemed she was realizing she actually was a girl and as Kira spent less time at home her accent slowly began to disappear, and her once odd blurting out of Spanish words while speaking excitedly was beginning to diminish as well.

Once downstairs and all prepared to fight the cold of winter that her boys so loved, she followed an already running Kira out the door. She only hoped with all her might that she wouldn't fall on her face as she did the winter before. Seemed the little girl was a lot steadier now though, her first winter was having been horrible. She especially remembered having to bring soup to the girl's house everyday, for she had caught the worst sickness due to the drastic climate change.

"There Ms. Evelyn! They're right there!" Kira rushed out onto the snow that surrounded the small lake, the boys split up into groups, basically the entire team against the Mercer boys. It seemed for right now the boys were simply arguing, she still had time to go break it up and get Bobby home fast enough to get his face cleaned off and food in all their stomachs.

"You're full of shit Eugene," Bobby called out tauntingly, throwing his hockey stick down and spreading out his arms. Blood dripped out of his nose, his tongue sliding over his upper lip to keep the blood away. "You punch like a bitch!"

"You're always shit talking Bobby! You cheated," the boy yelled back, he was taller than Bobby by a head, "I know you cheated and we're tired of your shit talking!"

"Then fucking do something about punk ass bitch!" Angel laughed as he threw a snowball at the group causing one of the boys to lunge out at him. Eugene, the 'leader' of the group, instantly held him back.

"Don't waste your time on Angel. He's full of shit too!"
"Come say that to my mother fuckin' face Eugene Lights! I'll give you something to talk about!"
"Man Eugene why are you starting all this crap? You already know how Bobby is," Jerry sighed, having sat down to the side to change his shoes. He wasn't very concerned with there arguments, they happened every week after all.

"Bobby didn't cheat! I saw you push Jack out of the way just so you could stick that lousy piece of wood you call a hockey stick out to trip him! You know that's against the rules! You're the one cheating!"

Eugene looked to Nikki, his eyes narrowing, he was tired of her, and she always had something to say if Bobby did. He knew she could hold her own pretty well against any guy though as the years went by they began to out grow her. She'd get hers one day, but sadly she was the twelve year old kicking the asses of teenagers left and right. She was lucky he promised his mom he wouldn't fight girls anymore.

"Shut the fuck up Nikki! Why the hell are you even out here!?"

"Take yo dumb ass home Christopher before I kick your ass again like I did last weekend!"

The arguing swelled once again, some of the kids wandering home, the boys having ruined the fun all over again. There was hardly ever a full game played when Eugene and Bobby played against each other. Hell! They even argued when they were on the same damn team!

"Man I'm going home. You can kiss my ass Eugene," Bobby turned to leave, he and Angel sharing a smile and high-five as they wandered off towards Jerry.

"Bobby watch out!!"

As Jerry yelled out in warning, Eugene dropped his stick and ran after Bobby, the few boys that remained him right behind him to 'have his back.' Bobby was tackled to the snow, punches he could barely block coming swiftly to his face before as he tried to push the larger boy off.
"Get the hell off me you fucking monster! You're way to damn big to be tackling people! Does this look like a damn football team!?"

"I hate you Bobby Mercer," the boy yelled, giving Bobby a clean punch to the jaw. The hit almost caused Bobby to black out, blinking slowly and shaking his head as he still struggled beneath the boy. He could hear the grunts, yells and muffled punches that surrounded him, Nikki holding up well against Jordan, Eugene's younger brother. Of course his brothers had no problem with fighting, this was a day-to-day event sadly and they almost looked forward to a good fight every time they left the house. They had been caught off guard this time though, so it seemed they were on the defensive. Surprisingly the punches from Eugene stopped though…he no longer looking down at Bobby but up…

"M-ms. Mercer…I-I…" Eugene looked up at the woman, a little dumbfounded as to how he could explain himself. She placed her hands on her hips, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the boys who now stood before her. They stood in a line, mostly avoiding eye contact.
"Now you boys can't possibly be ashamed. Someone tells me you've been planning to beat up my boys for day's…even weeks. And now those consciouses are kicking in? Now tell me what this is all about…or I'm going to have to tell all your mothers what it looks like," she crossed her arms over her chest, patient for a reply.

Bobby stood up, dusting himself off; he now officially had a busted lip to go with his probably broken nose. He'd set it later in the bathroom so nobody would see him cry.

"Bobby was cheating Ms. Mercer and—"

"Don't listen to him he's lying out his fucking ass!" Angel yelled, pointing an accusing twelve-year-old finger at Eugene, only to have his hand slapped down.

"What did I tell all of you about that cursing? Now you boys listen here…get home before I get to your houses. And as for you Eugene, you're too old for all of this, especially since you're on probation," she turned to Bobby, grabbing his ear, "And you're too old for this too. Fifteen years old and still acting like a little kid," she led the boys away from the lake, completely unaware of the birds that flew off the boys hands, meant with the most love and care for Eugene and his 'posse.'

"I was kickn' his ass!"
"You mean you were getting your butt kicked," Jerry laughed as he watched Bobby jab at the air, fighting an invisible opponent. He dodged as Bobby swung at him, running up the stairs with his older brother hot on his tail.

Ms. Mercer had followed a wary Jack and excited Kira into the kitchen to finish cooking. A tired Angel and Nikki sitting on the couch to watch TV lazily fought over the remote control.

"Ma! I'm going out!" Bobby yelled as he ran down the stairs, Angel quickly lifting from the couch to go with him.

"Oh no you're not! You just got in this house, come over here and let me look at that face of yours," she rushed out of the kitchen, luckily able to catch up to the fleeting boy before he disappeared out into the streets of Detroit. She grabbed the sleeve of his coat, pulling him back and turning him around to look into his face. "I thought you…you popped your nose back into place, eh? Rough and tough are you?" Her blue eyes pierced, laughing and smiling as they looked down at an irritated and impatient Bobby. "Be careful out there…and don't go looking for Eugene."

"Yea yeah…"

"Bobby I'm serious…stay away from those boys before you get yourself into some deep trouble," he had turned his face away from her, "Bobby…Bobby? Look at me," he turned to face her once again, sighing loudly. "Now I want you to be careful. Look out for your little brothers Bobby…we're all you have. I wont lose one of my sons to Detroit, Bobby, not one of mines."

"I got it ma," he grumbled, pulling away and running out the door with Angel following close behind him.

"Later Ma!" Angel yelled with an excited smile, waving feverishly, before turning to catch up with his brother.

"Ms. Evelyn…"

She turned to look down at a wide-eyed Kira, something else having brought out the sadness in her usually happy, shinning little brown face.

"Nikki messed up your cake," she sniffled, never being the one to feel guilty about telling on anyone, especially Nikki, the girl she wasn't too fond of and wasn't fond of her either.

"Now now Kira…that's okay. I'll make another one and Nikki can just take that one home."

Kira followed behind the woman into the kitchen, her eyes cast to the floor as she sat at the table to finish with the green beans she had been helping to prepare. Ms. Mercer smiled, seeing as to Nikki already cut herself a slice of cake. She sat down, long legs kicking lightly against the floor as she hummed in complete satisfaction, chocolate being her favorite kind of cake.

"Ahem…Now Ms. Nikki, I know this wont be the first or last time I've told you to wait for everyone else to sit down to eat before you do."

With a gulp Nikki looked up to the older woman, before smiling mischievously and pointing to Jerry who sat quietly across from her reading a book. "Jerry said I could have a slice Evelyn," she said happily, always the one to call the blue-eyed woman by her first name and that only.

Jerry looked up from his book quickly, in utter shot that she would so blatantly lie on him. She had said it so smoothly too as if it was the actual truth. He glared across the table at her, the band-aid on her forehead from being pushed into a pole, her dirtied face from roughhousing with the boys. She had might as well been a boy herself. "Now don't lie on me Nikki. You know you came in here and cut that cake yourself. Kira and Jack even told you that you weren't supposed to eat it yet."

Nikki simply shrugged, sticking her tongue out at Jerry as she returned to eating her cake.

"Now Nikki…you know better than to lie like that…especially in my house. It's okay though…luckily I was prepared for any problems with that cake. I have another one all ready to be dressed up, you can take that one home if you'd like," she smiled to the young girl before returning to the stove to stir what seemed to be soup. The house was warm with the delicious smell, causing mouths to water and stomachs to speak.

That day had been one of the many days that the Mercer's ate as a family, with the company of a few friends that were down on there luck when it came to a real family. Ms. Mercer had been a mother to everyone, always seeking out the good and in a way turning a blind eye to whatever bad attributes a child, and sometimes even an adult, may have. Almost everyone knew Ms. Mercer; she was at all the charity events, all the food drives, and helped out as many kids as possible. She also placed many children in permanent homes, children who seemed to be hopeless when it came to finding them families of there own and when it came down to it she took in the ones that couldn't find a place to stay, those being the boys that now were an important part of her life. Bobby, Jeremiah, Angel and Jack, they were her sons, her pride and joy. These four boys changed her life for the better and she changed the lives of others for the best.

Which is why it was so hard to understand why anyone would kill her.

"Kira, can you get that can up there?"

Nikki pointed to a can of pineapple on the top shelf of the grocery store they had stopped by. They were back in town for a funeral of a close friend. It had been twelve years ago that the girls had left Detroit to go separate ways. Nikki leaving the boys after seven years of knowing them and Kira leaving after only four. Twelve years ago, Nikki had been in the eighth grade, it was the end of eighth grade too, she had been sad, actually cried to learn that she was once again moving to another city, to another family. Ms. Mercer had tried to take her in but she was told that it was unacceptable, being that there were so many boys in the house and she being the only girl. They had said it was a bad environment; it would only promote her being more like a boy, which was something they didn't want. The new family had lived in Los Angeles and surprisingly she hadn't been moved again after that. She managed to stay average in high school, taking a career in mechanics once out. She was doing something she loved, working on cars, and as long as she loved her job, nothing else mattered.

Kira on the other hand had been taken to Mexico with her aunt, her brother staying in Detroit, considered old enough to take care of himself though he was only seventeen then. She had cried as well, learning that she had to leave her brother, that he wasn't going with her and even worse that she had to leave the Mercer family, another home she was so attached to. She had faired out well though, finally moving to Panama her sophomore year of high school and graduating the top of her class. She went off to college but didn't stay very long, finding it too constricting not really what she wanted. She became an unlicensed researcher, and was pulled away from her two-year study when she got the call of her old friend having been shot.

"I'm going to go get some meat, be right back," Nikki called, already at the other end of the aisle with the basket, causing Kira to glare in frustration. After all what was she supposed to do now? Walk around with a can of pineapple till she got back?

"Daniela, can you grab that for me?" A young woman stood beside Nikki on the meat aisle of the store. Nikki smiled as she watched the little girl reach for the package of chicken thighs, seeing that it was a little too far from her, she reached out herself and handed it to her.

"Thank you!" The girl beamed up at her, rocking back and forth on her heels.

The woman, Nikki assumed to be the girl's mother nodded in appreciation, looking over her shoulder at the sound of her name. At this Nikki returned to her cart, placing the chicken breast at the bottom of the basket before pushing off to go get Kira and get back to the hotel they were staying together in.

"Nikki…?"

Nikki stopped, her body stiff as she heard her name, not by the woman or child but by a male…a man to be exact. Who would know her here in Detroit? At least who would recognize and remember her? Slowly she turned around to face the man who knew her name, but as she stared into his face, she had no idea who she was looking at.

"It is you Nikki…You don't recognize me? It's me…Jeremiah…Jeremiah Mercer," he said slowly, smiling, amused at her complete confusion as to who was speaking to her. His smile only grew though as he watched her baffled expression change to one of shock, then excitement, then what seemed to be…relief.

"Jeremiah…Oh wow…. I-I didn't know who you were! I didn't recognize…I mean…Are these your girls!? I know you sent me a letter saying you were married but…you didn't say anything about little girls!"

Jeremiah laughed, as he looked to Amelia, his youngest that he held on his side. She laid her head against his shoulder, no longer interested in the new woman.
"Oh! Right. Camille, this is my old friend Nikki I told you about. Nikki this is my family, Camille, my wife, my oldest daughter Daniela and my youngest Amelia," he sat Amelia down, looking over Nikki quietly. She had changed so much, Ma had always said she would be short and beautiful, but never had he expected this. She was so petite, yet her face still held that fierceness from her younger years, she no longer seemed so big like when they were younger and they were all basically the same size. Now she was just a beautiful little woman with a lion heart.

"You said you'd be right back, wench!"

Nikki turned around quickly to wave to a fuming Kira over before turning back to Jerry.

"There's Kira, she's a little upset but uh…she's here," she gave an embarrassed laugh at how wild her friend was acting in front of there old friend and his family. Did Kira always have to embarrass them out in public like this?

"Don't wave me over you dumb broad. Had me waitn' on that damn aisle for too damn long," she trailed off, a hand on her hip, the other holding the hand suspended in the air. She raised a brow in question as she looked at the family before her.

"Hello Kira," Jerry smiled surprised that her face had changed so quickly to pure astonishment.

"Jeremiah Mercer is that really you!? God, Nikki! Why didn't you tell me Jeremiah was over here!? Or at least that this was Jeremiah! You get on my damn nerves!"

Putting the pineapple's in the cart she rushed over to Jeremiah to give him a hug, Nikki giving him one soon after. They talked awhile longer before Camille disappeared with the girls to finish shopping. Jeremiah deciding that he would ride with Nikki and Kira back to the old house so they could check it out.

"You guys have been gone a long time…a lot has happened…"

Courtney: And well lovely readers, that marks the end of our first chapter. Did you enjoy it? If you did can you tell us? Hell if you didnt tell us!
Ajia: Especially if you didnt cause we want to know why. That way we can use it for future refference you know?!
Courtney: I think that was pretty good...
Ajia: Yeah, I did too, but you know those readers...they like it perfect.
Courtney: True but...but I was up all night for this particular chapter...not to mention it took me a good month after we thought of this idea just to type up the first chapter!
Ajia: Now now Courtney...it'll be okay. [Pats her friends back.]
Courtney: [Sniffles, then cries.] I was just...just so sure of myself this time...I just felt that...that...Umph!...You know? [Wipes nose on sleeve]
Ajia: [Clears throat and hands tissue.] Right....well uh...join us for our next chapter ay!? While I uh...pull Courtney together.....;;;