Thanks guys! You all rock. I love how a tiny fandom like Home and Away and an old storyline like the Braxtons is still so lively - and lovely!
Makes it fun to write for you all! :)
I'm thinking there'll be one or two more chapters after this one. I hadn't intended this story to be very long, but this chapter kinda wrote itself again and it felt like a good point ending it where I did.
…
"I see it." The doctor put the portable ultrasound machine away, gently cleaning the cool gel off the left side of Kyle's stomach. Then she gave him a pat on the shoulder, smiling at him encouragingly. "Mr. Braxton. Kyle… There seems to be some more blood in your abdomen. Probably nothing serious, but I'd like to open it up again and re-suture if necessary. With your history of kidney failure we need to be extra careful."
Kyle nodded, trying his best to comprehend. He was vaguely aware that he was still holding Tamara's hand but he couldn't for the life of him let go. She was his lifeline, his anchor keeping him from drifting off.
Sweat was pearling on his forehead as he fought the pain, almost relieved that they'd get him back into the OR. At least there they'd knock him out.
"We're a little worried about your transplant," the doctor, Emily Rosen, continued, "The readings are not too concerning, but the organ can't handle too much stress so we'll have to be quick."
"Okay," he pressed out between harsh breaths, staring at the woman.
Her smile was unwavering. "I hear you saved someone's life."
He grimaced, feeling stupid. What did that matter now anyways?
"You did good, Kyle. Let me help you feel good again, too," Dr. Rosen said, still smiling sympathetically. When she talked again, she was addressing someone else. "Let's get him ready. Quick."
Tamara gave a grave nod before he watched her unhook him from the monitors, busy hands everywhere now, until the doctor touched the chain of his handcuffs.
"These will have to come off now," she said, and only then did Kyle become aware of the policeman that must have guarded him this whole time.
"Ma'am, he's an inmate, I can't-"
"Here he's my patient. Take them off."
"I will, for the surgery."
"No. Now." The doctor looked at the guard sternly. "Does it look like he is about to go anywhere?"
Grudgingly the man shook his head before he eventually complied. Kyle's arms fell onto the mattress, his legs finally free too, and Tamara smiled down on him, grabbing his hand again.
"It'll be over soon," she told him, her voice calm and soothing, reminding him of other days. Better days.
As they wheeled him away, he tried to focus on that voice, on her face, and not on his too fast breathing or the pain or the glaring lights above.
…
The hallways felt like a damn maze, and Heath found himself lost. Looking around, he spotted a nurse and quickly jogged over to her, asking for the way.
"Excuse me," he said, "I'm looking for my brother. He was admitted yesterday after the prison riot?"
When those last words had left him, the nurse's expression changed into one of recognition. "The inmate."
"Yes," he gritted out, ready for the nurse to become stand-offish and disrespectful. Kyle didn't deserve this stigma. Heath knew all too well what it meant. All of the Braxton brothers had at one point been in prison, but Kyle's sentence had been longer than anyone else's.
To his surprise, the nurse gave him a sympathetic look. "They had to take him back into the OR about an hour ago. Let me check whether he's out yet."
"Back into the OR?" Heath exhaled in a puff. "What does that mean? He needed more surgery? Is he alright?" Crap, that didn't sound good at all.
"Mr…"
"Heath. Braxton…"
"Mr. Braxton, your brother was bleeding internally. Dr. Rosen picked it up early and is taking care of it as we speak." She had walked him over to the nurse station, where she was typing something quickly, checking her computer. "I see here that they just finished in there. He should be out in a little bit."
"So is he okay?"
"I'll tell Dr. Rosen you're here. She will give you the update. - Why don't you have a seat over there and she'll be with you in a moment."
Heath forced himself to take a few breaths and just nod, when all he really wanted to do was explode, bang his hand into the wall and yell at the poor woman in front of him to give him the information already. But what good would that do? So he kept his mouth shut and simply walked over to the designated area, hoping to see the doc soon and find out whether Kyle was okay.
…
He had been waiting for way longer than a bloody moment when Brax came strutting down the hallway, pushing his sleeves up as he went, as if he was preparing for a sparring match.
"Where's he? What are you doing out here?"
"Good to see you too," Heath mumbled half to himself as he slowly got up to give his oldest brother a handshake that felt hollow and too distant. Before he had finished that thought, Brax pulled him in for an actual hug, surprising Heath. But then they both didn't care as seconds ticked by and they still clung to each other.
Eventually, they both pulled away, and Heath looked at his brother grimly. "His doc is supposed to come out here and fill me in. Looks like they had to operate again. Something about an internal bleed they caught…"
Brax pressed his lips together, folding his arms behind his head as he began pacing. "They say anything about how serious it was? What about his kidney issues?"
"His kidney…?" Heath felt like an idiot. In all this he hadn't even made that connection. What if the injury had affected the transplant after all? Bending over, he took a deep breath, trying to clear his head. "Crap, mate. I don't know." Suddenly he felt lightheaded, memories coming back to him he hadn't ever wanted to relive. Baby Rocco… The day Kyle had called to tell him about Casey, because Brax had been hurting too much to do it himself. Or the moment he had called to tell Heath that Brax was dead, even if they had all later found out it wasn't true. The pain had been all too real for way too long anyways. And when Ricky had called him to say that Kyle was in kidney failure… He had been away on some stupid "business trip" with the husband of one of Bianca's coworkers and friends, trying to make friends and acquire a position in the guy's stupid sports retail company, only to get stuck out there, needing days before he could make it to the hospital. Thankfully Kyle had made it alright back then, even without Heath, but…
He hadn't been there for him. The guilt he carried because of it was still there.
"Mate." Brax patted his back now and Heath slowly straightened, just in time to see a tall black haired woman walk toward them, all business and curt.
"Mr. Braxton?"
"Yeah. Yeah, Heath. This is my other brother…"
"Darryl Braxton," Brax introduced himself, shaking the doctor's hand. "Heath said Kyle had to go back into the OR?"
The woman nodded, her gaze wandering between Heath and Brax. Motioning with her hand, she said, "Why don't you follow me to his room. He should be back in a few minutes. He's still waking up, but the surgery went well. - We were a bit worried about his transplant. Turns out the bullet he received to the stomach nicked his kidney, but the damage was thankfully minor, and we're hoping he will recover without further procedures becoming necessary."
"If he needs a new one, I was told I can be a donor."
Heath shot Brax a look as the doctor said, "I hope that won't be necessary, but it's good to know we have a backup." She smiled, and all Heath could think was that Brax hadn't even been there back when Kyle had gone into kidney failure. He hadn't even known about their youngest brother's struggles, instead learning about it all well after the fact. Because he had made them all believe he was dead. So no, he had not been "told" he could be a donor. He had been informed that he could have been one, could have made things so much easier for Kyle…
He swallowed, realizing that he was upset and being unfair. Brax had done all of that to protect them all. It had been a screwed up way of doing it, but he had had his reasons. And now was not the time to be angry about it. They had more urgent matters to deal with.
Like their little brother.
"Heath?"
He turned around to see a petite blonde walk toward him, and he instantly remembered her from the prison. Isla. Clenching his jaw, he turned around again, following the doctor.
"Not now, Isla."
It was Brax's turn to shoot him a glance, mouthing, "That her?" And Heath nodded.
"I just want to visit Kyle, see how he's doing."
The doctor was talking to them about their youngest brother, about the surgery, but Heath couldn't focus, not when this woman was here, following in their tracks like a little duckling. Whirling around, he stopped her, feeling a little satisfied when he noticed her flinch away.
"He's not doing good, what do you think?" he shot, and she looked visibly taken aback.
"I…"
He waved her off. "Don't answer that. - He was in that place because of you! He almost got killed yesterday, because the idiot loves you for some reason and felt like he needed to make up for your mistakes. So that your kids wouldn't have to suffer because of it! You know why he did that? Because he knows what it's like to be taken away from your family. He knows what being a foster child feels like and he didn't want that for your daughters. Because in our family, we've learned from the mistakes of our parents. We stick by our kids, always."
"You're right. I screwed up. I never wanted this to happen."
Heath sighed, deflating a bit. "I know you didn't," he allowed, but then Brax put up a hand and took a step forward, the doctor waiting for them with an exasperated expression.
"Gentlemen. Can this wait? This has no place here," she said with a stern voice.
"Of course," Heath was quick to say, then he patted Brax's chest, already turning to walk with the doctor again when he heard Brax address Isla after all, and he grimaced to himself as he couldn't help but listen while slowly walking away.
"Isla, right? Listen. We've all screwed up on many occasions, trust me. I get it. We all make mistakes, and Kyle is a grown man who can make his own decisions. But what he did? His decision?" Brax shook his head, sniffing. "It was too big a mistake. You screwed up, Isla, but he is paying for it. If you really care about him, you pull yourself together and sort your own mess. Be an example for your daughters. Allow them to grow up with a responsible adult. Anything else will screw them over, too. Do you want that?"
She shook her head, noticeably quiet.
"Mate," Heath urged, walking back a bit to come and get the big fella, but Brax stretched out an arm as if to ward him off.
"In a second," he told Heath, then focused back on Isla. "Let him go," he muttered, a hand on her shoulder, his head down at her level. "Let Kyle go. Turn yourself in and give him back his life."
"I love him. He… he loves me. I don't-"
"Sometimes loving someone means making the hard decision and letting them go. If you really do love him, you won't allow him to go back there. A man with a kidney transplant, with as big a heart as his, he is not made for a place like prison. Trust me, I've been there."
Isla took a deep breath. For a moment it looked like she was about to say something else, to argue, but then she nodded, tears now making their way down her cheeks. "Tell him… never mind. Don't tell him anything," she said, stifling a sob, then she turned around and walked away. Just like that.
Brax and Heath exchanged a glance.
"Let's hope that's it," Heath muttered as Brax caught up with him, and his brother rolled his eyes.
"It will be. I'll make sure of it if I have to."
"Kyle won't like it…"
Brax raised an eyebrow. "Kid needs to focus on getting better. He'll get over her. She's not the first woman to break his fragile heart."
Heath chuckled despite himself. The big fella had a point.
…
"Oi!"
Kyle blinked, feeling groggy. Like he had a hangover or something.
"Oi, Kylie. Come on, you got visitors."
Heath… With a scoff, he turned his head to look at his older brother, a bit shocked when he saw that Brax was there, too.
"Brax?"
The oldest smiled at him, looking rather relieved and Kyle felt a pang of guilt.
"I'm sorry," he muttered, indicating the place and himself. "Didn't mean to make you come out here. I'm fine though."
"Yeah, no," Heath said, slapping him over the head and making Kyle roll his eyes. "Mate, you're far from fine and if it takes the big fella and me being here to put some sense back into you, so be it."
Kyle sighed, wincing a bit when he tried to sit up straighter.
Immediately, Brax's flat hand was on his chest, keeping him down, and Kyle glared up, suddenly defensive as he grabbed his oldest brother's arm to try and push him away, to no avail.
"You'll stay put," Brax told him, his tone stern, making Kyle feel like a small boy being reprimanded by a parent. He scoffed, annoyed.
"Take your hand off me."
Brax pressed his lips together, shaking his head. "Mate. How do I need to put this: you are a danger to yourself and before we haven't screwed your head on straight again, we won't leave you alone. Not even here."
"What are you even talking about?! I didn't shoot myself if that's-"
"No, you didn't. But you got yourself a twenty year prison sentence over a woman you barely even know. A woman who does not deserve your help."
"Isla-"
"Is not worth it. Kyle."
After Brax interrupted him again, Kyle flared his nostrils, anger rising in him.
"You don't know her."
"Neither do you."
Kyle scoffed, grinning with disbelief. "Did you come here just to slander my girlfriend and drag my life through the dirt?"
Brax's features softened unexpectedly. "No, mate. I came here because I'm worried about you and I'm done sitting idly by while you ruin your life."
This was stupid. He wasn't ruining his life, and it wasn't like Brax to be so melodramatic. And besides… Yeah, what?
He didn't quite know where it was coming from, but with sudden spite he asked his oldest brother, "Where the hell were you before, huh? When we really needed you? I don't need you here now. I don't need this…" Kyle abruptly tried ripping off the cords to the IV and monitors, making Heath jump forward to stop him, Brax, too. But he didn't care. This was all stupid and he was so done with it. With Brax's big brother act and the tough lecture the big fella thought he could give Kyle.
"Kylie. Oi. Mate…" Heath suddenly came real close and moved to hold Kyle's face in both hands, forcing him to look him in the eyes. "Calm down, or the coppers are just gonna send you right back."
"Did you ask him to come?!" Kyle asked, gritting his teeth. "Did you? Because I don't want him here. He left you to deal with Gunno by yourself, he just… left us and now we're supposed to welcome him back with open arms and let him trample over our lives? I'm done with that."
He hadn't realized he had started to goddamn cry until he felt a sob rise in him, his traitorous body, his traitorous emotions betraying him in front of Brax, and Heath, and…
Pressing his lips together, he tried to breathe as Heath shook him, if gently.
"Mate, I get that you're upset. I was, too. But it's done now. We can talk about this another time and I promise you we will. But right now, the big fella and I are here to help you."
"I don't need your help," Kyle muttered petulantly, unable to stop himself. He was hurting, and not just because of his body…
Heath scoffed, grinning as he shook his head. Behind him, Kyle could see Brax roll his eyes and he was ready to lash out at him again, but before he had a chance, his middle brother jolted him out of his thoughts. "You sure needed my help back at the prison. Where Ash and I found you bleeding out in a heap on the floor, in case you don't remember."
Kyle made a face, trying to look away, but Heath held him in an unrelenting grip.
"Kylie. You can't go back to prison. Not for this woman."
"You don't understand. She… is not a bad person. She made a few bad decisions. But her daughters can't pay the price for that. They deserve a mother-"
"Mate," Brax chimed in, and his tone had taken on a soft if insistent tone. "The girls will be alright. We'll make sure of that. I've done some recon. The dad seems like a fine bloke. They'll be okay with him, they'll be okay…"
"You don't know that!" Kyle knew he probably sounded irrational, but he couldn't help it. This just hit too close to him, and of course his brothers couldn't understand. "What if something happens to him? What… - You don't know what it's like to end up in foster care because the only parent you ever really knew died and the other one, the one who you know is out there somewhere, won't come to get you."
A sudden silence filled the room, only interrupted by Kyle's harsh breathing and stifled sobs, and when Heath moved to hug him, he accepted it without fight, without caring whether it made him seem soft or weak or whatever. He just couldn't help but cling to his brother, trying to catch his breath.
…
Brax exchanged a look with Heath, the younger one shrugging briefly as he held their crying brother.
Sighing, Brax rubbed his neck, starting to pace. The world outside the window was unaware of what was going on inside, but in his own heart, Brax could feel the despair of their little brother as if it was his own. No, part of it was his own. He had let the kid down more than he had thought - or had dared to admit.
Things with Ricky had been rocky for a while after his reappearance, and that should have clued him in on the fact of just how much they had all suffered during his absence. But he had tried to block it out so he could focus on his girlfriend and baby son.
Case had come around rather quickly once they had made their escape as a family, had built their new life together. The little guy had soon accepted Brax as his dad and had showered him in all the hugs and cuddles and drool he could muster, and the thought made Brax smile even now.
But Ricky, Kyle, and even Heath were no children anymore, and they couldn't forgive as easily, even if they understood his reasons for disappearing on them and keeping up the ruse of having died. Still, the pain they had felt, that had been real and couldn't just be eradicated. Seeing now just how much it had thrown Kyle off the rails, how much the kid had begun to struggle after everything, pained him.
Ricky hadn't held back. She had confronted him often in the first few weeks, had had a need to talk that he had found exhausting, but had accepted, and eventually they had managed to get past all the anger and grief, and even the guilt.
Now, however, that guilt was back with a vengeance, and Brax was determined to make up for it by helping Kyle out of this mess, no matter the cost. He was going to get that kid back to his old self. He was going to get him out of prison and away from that girl, and if he had to, he'd take Kyle to the farm with him. Everything to not have to see him so broken anymore.
Kid had suffered enough. The whole family had suffered enough.
