Dylan Anderson was feeling slightly groggy. He'd come out of surgery an hour ago to repair his wounds. Thankfully the knife hadn't been too sharp and the doctor said he was going to make it.

"Hey sleeping beauty, how are you?"

He looked up to see his younger siblings Katelyn and Blaine hovering in the doorway.

"I'm going to be all right" he told them and they both sighed in relief. Blaine looked guilty but before he could say anything Dylan stopped him.

"Hey, it's not your fault you hear me."

"You wouldn't have even been in prison if I hadn't..."

"No, it's the guys who attacked you at that dance who should be sorry. No-one hurts my little brother or sister and gets away with it understand. Besides I get out in two weeks."

Blaine nodded.

"Now get lost you two I need to sleep."

Kate kissed him goodbye and Blaine gave him a hug whispering "Thank you."

Dylan gazed at their retreating backs and allowed the medication to take him to sleep.

8888

"You suck Anderson that was a terrible shot." Ryan called across the pool table. Dylan stared at the balls as they rolled nowhere in particular.

"Have to agree with you there" he concluded with a sigh. Then his phone rang and after gazing at the caller ID he told his friend "It's Kate, scuse me for a sec."

"Dude can't you..."

"No Ry, you cannot date my sister."

Dylan answered the phone but for the first few seconds all he could make out was crying and half-words.

"Whoa calm down what's wrong."

"Blaine...St Andrews...the dance...they just left him there...really bad...hurry" was all he could make out. His blood ran cold and for a split second he stood frozen before taking off at a run to the hospital.

He stood outside his brother's room his blood pressure increasing with every word coming out of the doctor's mouth. They'd beaten him with baseball bats until he stopped screaming and then just left him in a parking lot to bleed to death. He wouldn't have made it if the ambulance had been a few minutes slower. All he could see were the bandages and his face was so swollen he couldn't recognise his brother besides the dark curls.

Grabbing Katelyn's wrist he hauled her out of Blaine's room.

"Ow Dylan your hurting me."

He released her wrist.

"Who Kate?"

"What?"

"He tells you everything, who could have done this?"

Kate looked at him with her hazel eyes so much like Blaine's it hurt. Dylan was the only one to have mom's blue eyes, but he shared their dad's dark curls with Blaine and Kate was honey blonde like mom.

"Carter Jones, Spencer Richards, Andrew Maloney."

The words were barely out of her mouth before Dylan took off ignoring Katelyn's pleas to not do something stupid. They would wish they'd never heard of the Andersons when he was done with them.

8888

Dylan awoke from the memory and thought about the past seventeen months, court cases and cold, damp prisons and considered whether he'd do it again if he go back in time.

He smiled.

In a heartbeat...