Last one! Please don't mind the fluff. I just wanted this to be a true "fix it" type of fic. :)

Thank you guys so much for reading and especially for the kind feedback.


Kyle took a deep breath, relieved to notice that the pain had considerably subsided. The physical pain.

He scoffed to himself. He was an idiot. Once again, he had believed Isla when she had reassured him of her love and that he hadn't been as stupid as his brothers seemed to think he was.

But five days later, and she hadn't tried to visit again, or ask about him. It had taken him two days to suspect that his brothers could be to blame and when he had confronted them, they hadn't even tried to deny it.

"I simply told her that you don't belong in prison and that she needs to make a decision, for herself and for her children," Brax had said with an offhanded gesture.

"You threatened her."

His oldest brother had given him a look close to an eyeroll but not quite. "Mate. I know you're hurting right now and I'm sorry. But it's time to harden up and focus on yourself. That woman doesn't deserve you throwing your entire life away."

"So what do you want me to do? Tell the cops I was kidding?" Kyle had scoffed. "Yeah, that'll work well."

"It's a start." Brax had given him a hard glare, and Kyle hadn't had anything else to say. And he still didn't.

Isla had been supposed to be his way out of everything. He had been supposed to be her way out. And now, when he thought back on it all, all he could see was a stupid lovelorn idiot that hadn't seen the truth for what it was. That Isla might have liked him well enough, might have been attracted to him, but the only person she really cared about was herself. Not her daughters. Daughters that weren't and never would be his.

The kind of screwed up sense of family he had had landed him here. That he had ever thought he could save these three had been insane. The girls were safest with their dad. And Isla… she didn't know how to care for them or she would have never gotten back into so much trouble. She would always find excuses, she would never stop. He knew that now, had known it for a while, but accepting it was too bloody hard.

He winced as he turned the wrong way, aggravating his side, and clutching at it, he took a few deep breaths until it was better.

"Hey…"

He looked up to see Tamara standing by the door and his face lit up as if of its own accord.

"Hi Tamara."

"You doing okay?"

"Yeh, I'm… getting there."

Her smile felt like home, which was a stupid thought because he hadn't seen in her so long. He didn't know anything about her life anymore. Did she like her job? How was her family? Did she have a boyfriend?

"Your brothers not coming today?"

He grimaced, shrugging. "We had a bit of a… uh, thing."

"A thing, huh?" She chuckled. "Kyle Braxton. You and your brothers don't have things. You have fights. I was there. I've seen my fair share."

It was his turn to chuckle and soon she chimed in again, stepping closer until she was by his side. For a blissful moment, all was light and well, and then their smiles vanished, quiet entering the space between them.

Tamara licked her lips and Kyle couldn't help but stare. When he caught himself, he clenched his teeth, his jaw muscles tightening until they hurt. She still had that effect on him, after all this time, and once more he felt like he had back when she and Case had still been dating and he had tried so hard to keep away, keep his feelings in check.

He had failed then…

"I'm so sorry I never got in touch after Casey…" She trailed off, unable to say it, and Kyle hadn't realized how much it still hurt to talk about his "not-actually" brother's death until she did. A pang went through him and he had to cast his gaze down to collect himself.

"Yeah," he muttered, then looked up and directly at her.

"Can I tell you something?"

"Sure. Yeah…"

"I went to 'see' him. After… I went to his grave to say goodbye... I wanted to go check on you, but… I saw you with Phoebe and… I figured you had her and didn't really need me to stir up any trouble…"

He couldn't help but chuckle. Just thinking about it pained him and amused him simultaneously. "She and I… that didn't work out in the end. Too much… stuff…" He shook his head, changing directions. As much as he wanted to evade this, he owed Tamara honesty. "She got together with my brother's best friend and… then we all thought Brax had died and I… I'm not proud of it, but I kinda lost it there for a bit. I screwed up a lot, Tamara. Lost my kidneys because of it." He chuckled humorlessly. "I'm kinda glad you weren't there to see it…"

"Kyle…"

He waved her off. Because if he didn't say this now he wouldn't find the courage again. "You know, Phoebe was pregnant. They were my kids, too, but… that didn't work out either."

"You have twins?"

Shaking his head again, he wiped at his eyes, upset that he couldn't keep the tears at bay, and Tamara shot him a concerned glance. "Nah," he explained, "they… they weren't viable. She… we lost them both."

"Oh my gosh. Kyle, I'm so sorry." Her soft hand in his made him feel all the things, made him feel like maybe prison wasn't the end of everything. Maybe Brax and Heath were right and there was more out there for him. A life. And he realized that Isla had never once made him feel like that.

"It's alright," he now sad, smiling up, "I think I got enough wake up calls now. It's time I get it together and get out of prison and get my life back. I might just need a little help…"

"Um… I don't know about prison, but… I'm here for you. No. That sounds like a lie because I wasn't really there for you through all this mess, but… I'm here now, okay? And if you need someone to - I don't know - visit you in jail, or send you letters, or call, I will do it."

"Tam-"

"No, I mean it. I…" She bit her lip in a way that made him wonder whether she even know what effect she still had on him, then she leaned in and kissed his forehead. "You're not alone, Kyle Braxton. Okay? I need you to know that."

He smiled. "Okay…"


"Can I help you, ma'am?"

The police constable looked at the petite woman in front of him, scrutinizing her when she remained silent.

"Ma'am?"

A man stood next to her, giving her an encouraging look and a soft pat on the shoulder, and she took a deep breath, looking up to the man first, then at the constable.

"I have a confession to make?"

He frowned, looking from her to the man and back. And the woman smiled.

"He's the father of my children. I'm sorry, I needed some moral support for this and he… he offered to come. Constable, I have two daughters and I want to do right by them, I want to…" She chuckled, interrupting herself. "I'm sorry. You don't care about all that. What you need to know is that an innocent man is in prison for something I did. His name is Kyle Braxton. He's at the hospital right now, but please make sure he doesn't have to go back in."

"Hold on. You said he went to prison for a crime you committed? Is that correct?"

"Yes sir. Kyle Braxton. Please, this is very important to me. He's about to be sent back to prison after he got injured in that riot?"

Abruptly, the constable connected the dots. That name, he knew it had sounded familiar. The kid was the talk of the force. Had endangered his own life to save one of theirs.

"Come with me, please," he said, springing into action. This was going to change more than one person's life, and he knew that every minute counted.


"Is that… oi!" Heath hollered and Brax blinked, trying to see what his brother was seeing; and then he did. They were back at the hospital and that was indeed Tamara coming out of their brother's hospital room at that very moment.

She blushed as soon as she saw them, and Heath beamed, slapping Brax's shoulder.

"Mate, is she the answer to all our problems or what?"

"What are you on about?"

Heath slapped him over the head, Brax-style, and the big fella shot him a bemused look, slapping him right back.

"Oi, watch it," he said but Heath was already elsewhere with his thoughts.

"Kid never got over her. Trust me. Her being here is either gonna shove him straight into his next crisis or he's gonna forget he ever had a thing for Isla within seconds."

"Hiiiii…" Tamara stretched the word, clearly looking a bit awkward.

"Tamara, hey. Didn't know you had become a nurse, that's amazing!" Heath sounded way too happy even for Brax so he could understand why Tamara looked at him as if he had gone crazy.

"Yes. Thank you. It's been… quite the journey for all of us, I believe."

"You bet. Did you know that Bianca and I are gonna have a baby? - No?"

"That's amazing! I'm so happy for you." Tamara was a trooper. While Brax was still a bit perplexed about his brother's behavior, she was already giving Heath a hug, inquiring about Bianca soon after and it was as if she had never been gone.

And then he finally saw it too. That Heath was probably right. This could be something good for Kyle. Even as just a friend, Tamara had always been able to handle him and his moods, and in turn, he had been there for her. They had gone through tough times together before…

"You been in to see Kyle?" he now asked and Tamara nodded.

"He's doing much better today. Which is good and bad. The police said that they'll probably bring him over to the medical ward in prison soon."

Brax gritted his teeth, nodding grimly. They had all known this day would come.

"Is there nothing we can do?" Heath piped up and Tamara shook her head.

"It's out of our hands at this point. Dr. Rosen said he's cleared for transportation…" Tamara paused, beginning to fidget.

Brax frowned at her. "What?"

She looked up, tilting her head. "I might be able to transfer over there. The ward always needs new nurses, and… that way he'd have a friendly face around. I know that with his transplant he's on daily medication so I'd get to check on him at least once a day…"

A small smile appeared on Brax's face and he exchanged a look with Heath. "The second," he said, too cryptical for Tamara, and Heath grinned and nodded.

Tamara was going to help Kyle forget his pain over Isla, they were sure of it. Maybe not right away, maybe not in a week or a month, but her being here would help him.


They had just sat down with Kyle, when Dr. Rosen escorted a police Sergeant into the room.

"Kyle, this is Sergeant Abernathy. I believe he has some good news for you." She smiled at him, then at his brothers, before she stepped to the side, letting the man talk.

"Mr. Braxton. Someone has come forward claiming responsibility for the crime you were committed for."

Isla. Kyle looked over to his brothers briefly, his heart skipping a beat. No, he thought, ready to deny that whatever she had told the cops could be true, but the longer he stared over at Brax and Heath, the weaker his fighting spirit got. He had tried. He had tried to be a good man and do the right thing, but it hadn't really changed anything. It wouldn't change anything. He knew that Isla wouldn't necessarily have been scared enough to never do anything stupid again anyways and next time, he wouldn't have been able to help her anymore. Maybe her taking the initiative was a good thing.

Maybe it was time he accepted that.

Swallowing a lump he said, "So what does that mean?"

"We will reopen the case. If you tell me whether what she says is true. There were always doubts about your involvement, but since you pleaded guilty and because of your prior records-"

"Tell him, mate, now." Brax's stern voice brokered no argument, and for once, Kyle was relieved to be able to just listen to his orders. Have someone else make the decision for him.

So he nodded, looking away. "Yeah. It's true."

"The woman who said she did it-"

"Isla Schultz."

The Sergeant nodded, making a few notes.

"Sir. He's about to be sent back to prison. Can you… can you get his sentence revoked beforehand?"

Kyle listened with his heart beating in his throat as the man answered Brax's question. "It will take a few days, but if Dr. Rosen here is willing to keep him here at the hospital for a couple more days, we might be able to bridge that time without him having to spend it locked up in a prison ward."

"Absolutely," the doctor said, smiling over at Kyle, and he felt like he could finally breathe again.

Heath appeared by his side, moving to pat him on the injured shoulder, and before Kyle could really react, Brax's loud yell "Oi, you idiot, wrong shoulder!" stopped Heath's arm in mid-air.

"My bad, Kylie."

Kyle grinned, shoving him away. "Easy."

"That's great news, mate!"

Heath ruffled his hair, only to make room for Brax to do the same and Kyle rolled his eyes at both of them. "Alright, alright, stop it, you two."

Despite himself, he smiled up at his older brothers, his insides awhirl with a mix of opposing emotions. There was pain, and disappointment. He was also deeply upset still about Isla. He did love her, he really did, and he had hoped he could be the one to save her. But now he realized that she was finally trying to save herself, to make things better for everyone in her life, including herself, in a way he could have never done. And maybe that was a good thing.

It certainly felt good to know he wouldn't have to go back to prison. And to have his brothers around again was nice. All of them were together, at least for a little while.

As he grew wistful, zoning out a bit as the Sergeant discussed something or other with his brothers, his eyes fell on Tamara, who was walking down the hallway outside, passing by his room as she made her rounds again.

Their gazes met, and her eyes lit up with another smile as she waved to him, stopping in her tracks for a brief moment.

"Good news?" she mouthed, and Kyle nodded, making her smile grow wider as she gave him the thumbs up. And his smile grew wider too.

Maybe, just maybe, things weren't so stuffed up at all anymore.


One year later


...

"Aw, come here, little fella. You're alright. Let's wipe away those tears and put a fun bandaid on that knee, alright?"

Kyle had picked up his nephew where he had fallen off his little push bike, and was now carrying him into the house. Little Casey clutched his uncle's arm, holding on for dear life, as Kyle smiled at him sideways.

"You'll see. We'll clean it a bit, I'll give you some ointment, and then we'll put a nice Marshall band-aid on it or Chase or… what's the yellow pup's name again?"

"Rubble," Case said with a pout, his voice still a bit shaky from crying so hard, and Kyle beamed at him as if he had just told him the best secret.

"Rubble! Right!"

They had arrived at the bathroom, and Kyle sat the little boy down on a step stool, rummaging for the things he'd need to wrap the scraped knee. Then he went to work.

"This is gonna sting a bit, but I promise you'll be fine…"

As he cleaned the little knee, cheering Casey up as he went, Ricky poked her head into the room, then walked closer with a soft smile on her face.

"Aw, little man. Another scratch?"

"I fell," the kid muttered, extending his arms for his mom to pick him up just as Kyle finished putting the band-aid on.

"Ta da," he made, grinning as Casey beamed at him, suddenly looking proud as he stared at the knee.

"What do you say?" Ricky and Kyle said simultaneously and Casey went over to Kyle again, giving him a hug.

"Thanks uncle Kylie."

Kyle grinned as Ricky rolled her eyes.

"You've been around your uncle Heath a little too much lately, huh, little man?"

As the kid darted off with a grin, Kyle was about to follow when Ricky held him back.

"Let him run. Heath and Brax just got back from shearing. They're outside."

Kyle grinned, shaking his head as a wave of disbelief came over him. Ricky seemed to sense it immediately.

"Still a little crazy, eh? How quickly life can change?"

"Never thought I'd see Heath and Brax work on a farm together."

Ricky nudged him, smiling. "Never thought I'd see you so happy again…"

Kyle chuckled, running a hand over his neck in a self-conscious gesture. "Yeah," he allowed, "to be honest, there was a time when I thought I never would be…"

Ricky's smile faded a bit as she wrapped an arm around him, steering him toward the kitchen. "Come on. Let's have a tea together before all hell breaks loose in here. - Tam gonna be back today?"

"Yeah. Her training is over. She'll officially start working with the Flying Doctors next week."

"Exciting times!" Ricky smiled, cluttering a bit with the cups as she went to prepare the tea while Kyle went to the sink to get some water for the kettle.

"Times are always exciting lately. First I get out of prison, then the move out here, Heath's and Bianca's new baby… I wonder what's next." He chuckled, still not quite believing that they were really all happy, and had been for a while, that they all lived so close together again, under the same roof. That Tamara had followed him out here. And now…

"Can I tell you a secret, Rick?"

The water had boiled and she was pouring it into the prepared cups. Giving him a curious look, she then followed his gaze out the kitchen window, where they could see Brax pick up his son and whirl him around...

"What do you think, Case. Should we shear off your hair, too?" his voice could be heard through the half open window just like Casey's giggles.

"Noooo…"

"I bet mommy would like that… Oi, uncle Heath! Bring over the shears for this one here!"

"Oh, one got away, eh? Uncle Heath is on it!"

Just as he had said it, Harley came toddling along with his big sister in tow, and both older Braxton brothers turned in their direction.

"You all got away? Brax, you handle that one, I'll get these two!" Heath hollered, then broke into a run, trying to catch his kids who ran away laughing and yelling.

...

"Kyle?"

He had zoned out for a bit, following the goings-on out there, but Ricky's gentle voice brought him back in and he turned to face her, a small smile on his face.

"They're so happy…"

She smiled back, looking out again. "They really are… - Are you? Really? You're a city boy after all, and this…"

"Is far from the city." They both chuckled, before Kyle continued. "Yeah. But I'm happy here, teaching music online is better than I thought, and I mean - I get to fly out and play gigs every so often and enjoy the city life, so… It's pretty neat." He paused, taking her in how she looked at him with a genuine happy expression. He knew he didn't really need to ask, because it was so obvious, but he did anyways. "What about you? Are you happy? Brax and you seem to have gotten your groove back."

"We have…" Ricky's smile grew. "Let's talk about you, though. You wanted to tell me something, right?"

Kyle's heart jumped a bit as he cocked his head, looking at her with a smirk. "Tamara is pregnant," he eventually said, and Ricky beamed at him, her arms coming around him in a tight hug.

"Aw, Kyle! I'm so happy for you guys!"

When they parted, he rubbed his neck then held onto the kitchen counter, looking out again. Shooting her a sideways glance, he pressed his lips together, trying to keep his emotions in check and failing.

"You're scared," Ricky concluded, rubbing his back with one hand as she shot him a concerned look.

"It's just… after the first time…" He couldn't bring himself to say it, to talk about it again. But he didn't have to. Ricky knew. More than anyone else. She had been through it herself, and she had been there for him, too. She had been the only one who had been there for him then.

And she was here for him now…

"Hey," she muttered, leaning in, still rubbing his back as she nudged him. "I know. Losing a child is the worst thing anyone could possibly go through - and we've both been through a lot of awful things…"

They both gave dry chuckles, exchanging a glance.

"Yeah," Kyle muttered, then he took a deep breath, focusing on her voice rather than his memories when she continued.

"But this time will be different. Of course we can never be sure whether we'll be allowed to keep our children, but we're all here for you two, alright? And Tam… she's doing okay so far, yeah? Prenatal appointments all okay?"

Kyle nodded. "A healthy girl," he muttered, and Ricky's eyes widened as she gave him a sideways hug, resting her head against him as they both looked out.

"You already found out?"

"Just yesterday. I'm sorry I didn't say anything before. I'm just… I was just worried, you know…"

"I know... It's gonna be alright, Kyle. You're not alone, okay? I'm still right here." Ricky paused, stepping back a little until she could cup his face. "I'm sorry I wasn't there more when that thing with Isla went down-"

"You were, though. I was just too stubborn to listen."

"I should have visited you when you were in prison…"

He shrugged it off, shaking his head. "No. Isla… that was not on you. I was an idiot and I paid for it and now that's in the past. - You are my best friend, Rick. You're like the sister I always wanted and never had."

"Well, you have her now. If you'll let me. And if you and Tam need anything - anything - you know where to find me. We'll get this baby girl to grow up, Kyle. I can just feel it."

They both smiled. "Okay" Kyle muttered, then put an arm around her as they looked out again.

Brax was still joking around out there, Casey on his shoulders when he turned to beam at them both, waving, and Ricky and Kyle waved right back.

"Come on, let's go join these crazy folks out there," Ricky eventually said, taking a last sip of her tea, then she tugged at Kyle's hand and they both went out.