Legal stuff- No animals were injured in the making of this story...oops, wrong one...I don't own Four Brothers, don't make any money :)

Thanks to those of you who have reviewed, I'm surprised by so many nice comments!


Chapter 7: The Lawyer's Office

Jack came down the stairs just as Bobby was walking through the door ten minutes later. Craig had finished setting the table and was now sitting at it, drinking his milk, getting more and more nervous about having to face Bobby. He was afraid Bobby would keep giving him the silent treatment, and at the same time he was afraid he would start yelling at him. His brothers stayed in the kitchen while Angel cooked breakfast. He heard Angel telling his brothers the least they could do was make the toast. Craig heard the four slice toaster 'pop' a few minutes later. Jack walked in carrying a platter of bacon and Angel followed with bowl of scrambled eggs and a plate of toast. Craig was sitting in his old seat, the one furthest from Bobby's. He hadn't done it on purpose, mostly out of habit. Bobby walked in with the jug of orange juice and his mug of coffee and sat in his chair. He started filling his plate without saying a word. The man didn't look at the boy, or say a word about him moving to the chair he had previously assigned to him. Angel sat in the seat that Jeremiah used to occupy when he was home for meals. Jack looked at Craig, then at Bobby. The boy was staring down at his plate; Bobby was busy filling his own with scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. Jack took the bowl of eggs after Angel dished out his own. He put some eggs on his plate, and then scooped some out for Craig. Craig watched silently as Jack gave him a piece of bacon and a slice of toast.

Craig picked up the bacon and took a small bite, not looking at Bobby, who was eating quietly.

"So, what time is Jerry supposed to pick us up?" Jack asked after several minutes of silence.

"He's supposed to be here about ten thirty. We need to be at the lawyer's office at eleven." Angel answered as he chewed on some eggs.

"What time is it now?" Bobby looked at Angel.

"It's going on eight." Angel shrugged his shoulders. "I still need to get a shower, and since I cooked the meal, someone else is cleaning up." He spoke quickly.

"Yeah, yeah," Bobby laughed. "You can cook almost as well as Jackie here." He started poking fun at Angel, and that turned into poking fun at Jack. It didn't take long for the three of them to start cracking jokes back and forth at each other. Things seemed normal, and it felt strange to Craig that they could act like that. He felt miserable inside, and he kept waiting for Bobby to look at him and start yelling, but that never happened. His brothers seemed to finish their breakfast quickly, got up from the table and walked out of the dining room.

Craig didn't look up from his plate, which was still full. He had taken a few small bites out of his bacon. He wasn't hungry. He swallowed hard at the tightness in his throat, wishing the chunk of ice in his gut would go away. He remembered what Bobby had said about not dumping food. He remembered what both Bobby and Angel had said about not putting up with his shit. He didn't mean to be causing problems. He thought that maybe if he ate, if he did what he was supposed to that maybe Bobby would look at him at least. He didn't understand why it was bothering him so much that his oldest brother wouldn't look at him, or talk to him. He had wanted Bobby to leave him alone, didn't he?

He forced himself to take a bite of the eggs. It took some effort to swallow them. Then he picked up the toast and took a bite of that. He chewed slowly, wondering where his brothers had gone to. He knew Angel was in the shower, he heard the pipes rattle and bang. He couldn't hear Bobby or Jack. He didn't hear any footsteps on the floors above him. He managed to eat his food, though it took him a while, and once he was done his stomach felt as if it might rebel against him. He was thankful that Jack hadn't given him too much. He gave his stomach some time to settle down to a dull ache before he started clearing the table. He waited until the water upstairs stopped running before running the dishwater. He washed the dishes; put away the leftover eggs and bacon, thinking that Sofi might want them later. He washed off the counters and the dining room table. He didn't rush through the work, hoping that Jerry would be there soon. Maybe Jerry's presence would ease some of the tension. Then he remembered that Bobby had talked to Jerry on the phone the night before, and more than likely Jerry knew what Craig had said. He would probably be pissed, just like Bobby. Jack didn't seem that upset now, but he hadn't talked to him either. He reminded himself that Jack had always been mostly quiet. He would have to remember to apologize to Jack the first chance he got. Angel was the only one who had spoken to him at all. He was the only one who had given him the chance to say he was sorry.

Craig walked into the living room, and looked out the front window. Bobby and Jack were standing out front, laughing and talking. Jack was smoking a cigarette. He turned and made his way up the stairs, heading to his room. He sat on his bed and waited. He figured one of his brothers would yell for him when Jerry got there. He was supposed to go to Mr.Bradley's office with them. Of course that was before he'd screwed up again and told Bobby he wasn't his real brother. Maybe because he'd said that Bobby wouldn't want him to go. Then a thought struck him. Bobby was supposed to sign papers that would make him Craig's legal guardian. What if Bobby decided now that he wasn't going to sign the papers? The fear grew stronger the longer the boy sat in his room.


Bobby had gone outside with Jack while Jack smoked a cigarette. Jack had always been thoughtful not to smoke downstairs in the house. Their mother had never liked smoking, but she had never badgered Jack for picking up the habit. He kept it outside, or in his room, and had never smoked around her out of respect.

Jack looked at Bobby after several minutes of silence. "You're awfully quiet." He commented.

Bobby shook his head. "I just don't know what to hell to do with him." Bobby spoke quietly.

Jack smiled. "Craig?" He asked.

Bobby looked down the street. "Yeah, Craig," he nodded his head.

"Damn Bobby, just take it easy. Like Jerry says, you're always hard on Craig. You were never hard on me like that, and God knows I've given you reason to be." Jack laughed and inhaled deeply on his cigarette.

"Yeah, well it was different with you. He's my responsibility. You were Ma's responsibility." Bobby turned his head and looked up the street in the other direction.

Jack laughed. "He was Mom's responsibility. You have always been like that with him."

"No, he was my responsibility. He was little, and he needed food, and clothes and someone had to make sure he had that." Bobby finally looked at Jack.

Jack looked at his brother for a long moment. "Man that was Mom's job, not yours. You are his brother, not his father. None of us could really relate to him before, it wasn't just you, but you always came down hard on him."

"I know I'm his brother." Bobby looked at Jack. "But you know I had never had to deal with a kid brother who was like, knee high to me before. None of us were that young when Ma took us in. None of us were that quiet, and for damn sure none of us were that innocent." He talked quietly. "It's not like I could take him to the places I went to back then. I didn't want him to see the things I did when I wasn't home."

Jack laughed. "Besides, you already had me to carry the gas can."

Bobby laughed. "That's just it, you knew how it was. We all did, but he never had to know. There was no need." He drew in a deep breath. "I didn't want him turning out like us Jack. I didn't want him to be angry inside and not know how to let it out. And now that's exactly what's happening. Mom showed us how to get over it, but damn, I don't know what to do with him."

Jack shook his head. "He didn't mean what he said last night Bobby."

"Yes he did." Bobby didn't hesitate. "He meant it. That's okay though, I can deal with that. I'm pissed off at him, but I can deal with it. He's right. I never treated him the same way I treated you. I couldn't. I was working long hours, and trying to bring in money so the kid didn't have to go without shit. I didn't want him to grow up with so little. I wanted him to be happy."

"You were trying to be a parent." Jack asked. "Like I said, that was Mom's job."

"No, Jack, I was trying to be a big brother. I'm twelve years older than him. You really think I could act the same way with a seven year old as I acted with you? I didn't know when Mom brought him home that being a brother to such a little kid would be so fucking hard. It nearly gave me panic attacks. I could only imagine what Mom went through with us, and I didn't want it to be that hard for her with him. Can you understand that?"

Jack smiled. Very few people could understand the Bobby's reasoning, but Jack could see it, though it didn't make much sense to him, he knew Bobby well enough to read between the lines. "You need to give it some time Bobby." He tried to be reassuring.

"Time hell, I need him to talk to me. He won't tell me what happened. If Ma were here he'd tell her what the hell had happened." Bobby sounded frustrated.

"Well, you aren't her, and she's not here." Jack pointed out. "He worships the ground you walk on Bobby. You know that, right? Eventually he will tell you everything that happened; you just have to give him time."

"I'm not used to asking someone a question and not getting an answer. Most people are too fucking scared of me to not answer. I don't want him scared of me, so I can't push him. We don't have TIME. We need to find the sons of bitches that killed Ma." Bobby cried out.

"Well, it looks like we're gonna have to find them without him telling us shit then, right? If he hadn't been in that store with Mom, then we'd have to do it with out any information from him anyway." Jack pointed out. "We can do this without making him talk about it right now."


Craig sat on his bed, listening to the radio that sat on his dresser. His mind was running through all the scenerios he could think of with Bobby not signing the custody papers. He imagined going back to St. Vincents, and he imagined other foster homes. What kept coming back to his mind was his father. If Bobby didn't sign the papers, he would probably end up back with his father. The man had tried to kill him, he'd killed his real mother. He'd held a gun to her and pulled the trigger without even thinking. The reason for it? She'd walked in and caught him on top of his own son, hurting him. It hadn't been the first time, but it had been the first time she'd caught him. his father was tripped out on drugs and booze and he'd just lost it when his wife started her screaming and making threats. Craig had been six at the time, and his memories from that night weren't very vivid. His father had told him that his mother would hate him if she ever knew, and that was what he remembered most, the fear that his mother wouldn't love him anymore.

His father should have been in prison, but some idiot cop screwed up and didn't read him his rights when he was arrested, at least that was what Evelyn had said. That arguement had won him another trial, and freedom. It seemed as if he were doomed to end up back with the man and the more he thought about that the more scared he was that Bobby wouldn't sign the papers.

It was quarter after ten when Angel poked his head in the door. "Come on, we need to go. Jerry's here." He walked out without closing the door after him.

Craig felt himself rise off of his bed. He followed Angel down the stairs and put on his jacket. Angel yelled up at Sofi that they were leaving, and motioned for Craig to walk out ahead of him.

Craig rode in the back of the Volvo with Angel and Jack sandwiched on either side of him. No one talked much on the drive. Craig hadn't missed the fact that Jerry didn't say hello to him when he got into the car, in fact Jerry didn't look at him the same as Bobby.

Jerry parked the car in a parking garage and they all got out. The four older Mercers seemed to group together. Bobby and Jeremiah in the front, walking so close together their arms was rubbing together. Angel walked behind Bobby, Jack walked behind Jeremiah, looking as if they were attached to the older brothers in the lead. Craig followed a few feet back, watching his brothers' strides. They all seemed to have the same swagger about them. The four of them swung their arms the same. They all slowed down at the same time, and they sped up at the same time. It amazed the boy how they all seemed so much alike. If all four had been born with the same color of skin there would have been no way anyone could tell they were adopted brothers and not blood brothers.

They had to walk out of the garage, down the street and cross over at the intersection to the tall office building where Mr. Bradford's firm had their offices. Craig had been there a few times. He hadn't seen Mr. Bradford for a while, and was hoping the man didn't say too much about how well he knew Evelyn Mercer. His mother hadn't wanted too many people to know. She told Craig that she didn't think it was anyone else's business, and besides, she knew how her older boys were. They were liable threaten the man if they knew he was 'seeing' their mother for more than business purposes. She had laughed and made jokes, but she had told her youngest son that Robert Bradford was their secret. Craig had agreed. He liked having private secrets with his mother.

While they waited at the corner for the light to change so they could cross, Bobby finally spoke. "So, how did Ma find this guy anyway?" He spoke loud enough for Craig to hear him; even as far back as he was from the man.

"I think she first seen him last year, when she was having all the trouble from that asshole." Jerry answered.

"What asshole?" Angel asked.

Jerry glanced back at Angel. "I don't know all of the details, but some guy was trying to sue her for something. Mom wouldn't tell me anything about it. Hell I found out about it by accident. Seen some papers on the dining room table one day and asked her about it. You know how she was. Whatever it was she got a lawyer and she won the case."

"Well, apparently she said enough that you just called him an asshole." Bobby spoke sarcastically. "What did she tell you?"

"She said that she'd had to call the police on him a couple of times because he showed up at the house, raising all kinds of hell." Jerry shrugged his shoulders. "I tried to get her to bring Craig and come and stay with me until it was cleared up, but she just laughed it off and said she could handle any asshole that tried to come around causing trouble."

Jack laughed. "Well she obviously took care of it. Maybe we can get this lawyer to tell us something about that while we're here."

Craig felt his stomach twist up on him. His brothers were going to ask Mr. Bradford about the asshole that had given his mother a hard time the year before. The asshole would be his father, and he was sure if they found out about that they would just hate him even more than they already did. His mother had been dead for less than a week and with each passing hour he could feel his whole life being ripped away.

The light changed and group started walking again. It took Craig a moment to realize they were moving. He checked the street for cars, and followed, but not as quickly as he probably should have. There was close to twenty feet separating him and his brothers now. He could see they were talking, but he could no longer hear what they were saying. He didn't try to catch up to them; he just tried to not lose any more ground. The four men walked through the lobby doors of the building and disappeared. He was almost to the doors when he felt as if someone was staring at him. He stopped at the corner of the building and turned around to look at the crowded sidewalk. His gaze fell on a man thirty yards behind him, just standing there, looking at him. From that distance he couldn't make out any details, but he could have sworn it was his father. He shivered as a chill ran down his spine. He was just standing there, looking at him. A long grey coat and a black hat was all he was sure of. The shape of the man reminded him eerily of the form that had been watching him the night before at the bridge. He turned and walked over to the door, pulling it open quickly. His brothers were waiting for the elevator, and they didn't seem to notice that he'd been lagging so far behind. He glanced back at the glass lobby door, but didn't see the man again. The elevator door opened and they got on. The elevator was big, and Craig managed to lean against a wall, unnoticed. The air seemed to grow thick. It was obvious that the four men were starting to feel nervous about seeing this lawyer.

Mr. Bradford met them in the outer office, and led them to the conference room. Craig was all too familiar with the room. He'd had to sit in that room and tell Mr. Bradford some very unpleasant things about his life with his father. He hadn't really relayed memories, only the vague feelings he could grasp a hold of. He'd had to bring some of his sketches to, at Evelyn's insistence. He didn't want to sit down, not this time. He stood back next to the window while his brothers pulled off their coats and hung them on the back of the four chairs lining one side of the table before sitting down. Mr. Bradford sat opposite of them. He looked at Craig and motioned to a chair at the end of the table.

Craig shook his head but didn't say anything.

Robert Bradford started talking quietly. He remarked to the men that he had only met their mother the one time; but she had made quite an impression. Craig let the man have a small smile, letting him know he knew what he was doing, and he understood why.

"But, I thought she hired you last year as well." Jerry spoke quickly.

Mr. Bradford glanced at Craig nervously, long enough for the boy to simply shake his head. Evelyn had told Robert that her older boys didn't know what was going on with Craig's father and she wanted to keep it that way. She'd also told him that she hadn't mentioned their relationship to them either. He knew Craig was reinforcing that by simply shaking his head.

"That matter was quite brief, and to be honest, my aid spoke with her, not I." He shook his head. "I did handle her final arrangements though." He cleared his throat. "I know its difficult dealing with mundane financial matters while your heart still grieves for a loved one." He tried to steer the conversation in another direction.

"Mr. Bradford, our mother never told us about the problem she was having before. Could you tell us about that?" Jerry asked again.

Frank Bradford glanced up at Craig quickly and it was obvious that he could read the look of desperation on the boy's face.

Angel followed the man's gaze, looking behind him at Craig. The boy noticed and quickly tried to hide his fear. He glanced at Angel, and then turned to look out the window. Angel looked back at Mr. Bradford.

Robert Bradford cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, but that is not something I can discuss. Even though Ms. Mercer has passed on, we still have to honor the lawyer/client confidentiality." He spoke carefully. Craig hoped it only sounded bogus to him and that his brothers didn't pick up on it.

There was a moment of silence before Jack spoke. "So, how much do we get?"

"Jack!" Bobby spoke quietly and Craig could see him smack Jack in the back of the head. Jerry and Angel both moaned and mumbled things under their breath.

Mr. Bradford stood quickly and walked over to the desk at the end of the room. He picked a metal box and walked over with it. "Here are the contents of your mother's safety deposit box." He set it down on the table. "I'll leave you to look through it." He turned and walked out of the room quickly.

Craig turned and watched as Bobby opened the box. All four of the men seemed to lean in to look. Jack pulled out what appeared to be tickets and laughed, saying something about their mother being at Woodstock.

"Didn't you know Ma was a hippie?" Bobby laughed as he handed Jack a pack of papers and then pulled an envelope out and looked at it. He reached past Jack and handed the envelope to Jerry. Jack soon revealed his to be adoption papers and birth certificate. Jerry seemed happy to find out he'd been born right there in Detroit. Both made other quiet remarks that Craig couldn't quite make out.

"I got any papers in there?" Angel asked.

Bobby shook his head. "No." He spoke quietly.

"You got any papers in there?" Angel leaned closer to look into the metal box better.

"No." Bobby picked up another envelope, a little bigger and thicker than the one he'd given Jerry.

"Is that Craig's?" Angel asked.

Bobby nodded his head but didn't say anything for a long moment. He laid the envelope on the table and poked around in the box. "Here we go." All four men stood as Bobby pulled out a large roll of bills. He quickly counted the money once, and then divided it between Jerry, Angel and himself. When Jack asked what about him Bobby reached into the box and pulled out what appeared to be a necklace. He smiled when he handed it to Jack. "There you go, that will look good on you."

Angel and Jerry both laughed. Bobby picked the envelope up off of the table, and dropped it back in the box. He picked up box, and they all grabbed their coats and headed for the door. Craig followed slowly, wondering what was in the envelope. That was a secret Evelyn had not let him in on and he didn't like that. The fourteen year old felt sick inside. It seemed wrong that all of the important things in his mother's life fit into such a small box, but at the same time, it seemed that the items that came out of the box had fit what she was.

Mr. Bradford met them in the hall just outside of the conference room. "Well, I guess now we can go to my office and take care of the custody papers." He looked at Bobby.

Bobby nodded his head and followed Mr. Bradford down the hall. Jerry and Jack followed. Craig didn't move. He was sure that Bobby would back out, and he didn't really want to watch him not sign. This was where Bobby would refuse to sign any papers and then he'd tell Mr.Bradford he didn't want his youngest brother that he wasn't a real Mercer. He didn't walk like them or talk like them. He messed up too much. They never wanted him from the start.

"Don't you want to be there for this?" Angel's voice brought him out of his thoughts with a start. He hadn't noticed that Angel hadn't gone with them.

Craig shook his head slowly, looking away from the man. He walked over to the small lounge area and sat in a chair. He held his arms across his stomach.

Angel looked down the hall and then walked over and sat in a chair across from the boy. He looked at him for a long moment. "Are you okay?" He asked.

Craig didn't look at Angel. "I'm fine." He muttered. They sat in silence for a long time. Craig could feel Angel's stare on him.

"So, why don't you tell me what Mom hired this guy for last year?" Angel finally spoke quietly.

Craig shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know." He lied.

"You don't know why Ma hired him?" Angel obviously didn't believe him.

"Like Jerry said, some asshole was giving her a hard time." Craig muttered.

"Who was the asshole and what was he giving her a hard time about?" Angel asked.

"I don't know." Craig didn't look up at the man. He prayed Angel would just let it be.

"Look, you were there, you know what happened. Why don't you just tell me?"Angel leaned forward.

Craig finally looked at his older brother. "Mom handled it. She didn't want to tell anyone." He spoke weakly. "What makes you think she told me anything?"

"Because I seen the looks between you and that lawyer." Angel answered the question quickly. "I also see fear on your face right now. Whatever it was it had to do with you. Did you get into some kind of trouble?" Angel asked.

Craig laughed at the thought. He was the straightest member of his family. He didn't even jay-walk. Okay, there was the graffiti thing at the school, but that was a dare and he hadn't been able to resist. Besides, his mother hadn't let him run the way she'd let her four older boys run. Shehad said he didn't like the same things his brothers liked, and there was no need to be acting like he did. His curfew was early, and he wasn't allowed to go anywhere by himself. "Me?" He asked.

Angel let a small smile slip and he shook his head. "It was that graffiti wasn't it? The school sued and they were buggin' Ma for money." He seemed proud of himself for coming up with an answer.

Craig shook his head. "No, the school didn't have to sue, Mom paid a fine and she paid to have it cleaned off. They just never cleaned it off." He felt bad about that. His mother had paid a lot of money out because of his stupidity. "I paid her back." He added quickly, afraid that Angel would get mad about his mother having to pay out a lot of money because of him.

Angel laughed. "I bet you did." He sighed. "Look, whatever it was I'm sure Mom handled it. There would be no reason for anyone to be angry about it now. So why don't you just tell me?"

Craig steadied his eyes on Angel. "I don't know." He repeated his lie. "If Mom had wanted anyone to know she would have said something."

"If we had been here she would have said something." Angel leaned back in his chair.

The silence fell over them again. The minutes seemed to drag by. After what seemed like an hour, but couldn't have been that long, Jerry, Bobby and Jack came walking up to them.

"What the hell happened to you?" Jerry looked at Angel as the man stood.

"I figured I'd sit this one out." He smiled. "The lawyer thing was starting to get to be too much." He looked down at Craig, then over to Bobby. "So, are we ready to go?"

"Yeah, we're ready." Bobby turned and walked towards the elevator.

Craig stood slowly as his brothers walked away. He'd been sure that Bobby would back out of signing the papers. He followed the men the same as he had earlier. They all grouped together, just as they always did. On the elevator he leaned against the wall, not looking at any of them, holding his arms across his aching stomach.

When they reached the street he found himself looking for the gray coat and black hat, but he didn't see the man. He felt a little bit of relief. His brothers were talking with each other and laughing. Apparently they were happy to get the whole lawyer thing over with. Jerry announced he had something he wanted to show them. Bobby made Jerry stop at a convenient store and he went in and bought a six pack of beer.

Craig's stomach was feeling nauseous and his left arm was aching from his scratching. He wished he'd taken some aspirin before they'd left. When they got into the car he'd found himself sandwiched between Jack and Angel again so he couldn't check out his arm. Jerry started talking about having a big project. Craig only half listened. He'd heard about Jerry's project before. He knew that for some reason it had been delayed, but he didn't know why. Twenty minutes later his brothers were climbing out of the car again. Craig hoped he could just sit in the car. Angel looked back at him. "You are coming with us. You aren't staying out here in this neighborhood." He glanced at Bobby and Jerry who were both walking away, with Jack right behind them.

Craig got out of the car and followed Angel who was quickly catching up to the other three. Craig let himself lag behind, but stayed close enough that when Angel looked back to check on him he was in sight. Jerry started talking about his plans for the building and how it was going to look. Bobby, Jack and Angel were nursing beers as they listened and cracked jokes about how rundown the warehouse was. Craig stood over next to a window, looking out at the street. He couldn't shake the feeling that his someone was watching them from somewhere.

His brothers' laughter drew his attention to them at the end of the warehouse. Jack was taking a piss and they were making jokes about it. He was too far away from them to hear exactly what was being said. Angel laughed a few moments later and said something about nipples. Craig really didn't want to know what that was about. He watched Bobby toss his beer bottle and he was sure he heard the man say something about going to get a drink. He watched the four of them walking back the way they had come. He took another look out the window and then followed.

Angel waited until they were all in the car before looking down at Craig. "We can't take the kid to a bar." He spoke up.

Bobby looked over at Jerry, and then he stared straight ahead. "He can drink soda." He spoke flatly.

"Bobby, we can't take him to a bar." Jerry shook his head.

"We ain't taking him to the fucking house." Bobby didn't move his gaze.

"You guys took me to bars when I was his age." Jack looked at Angel.

"We were young and stupid." Angel was sitting right behind Bobby. He leaned forward, closer to the back of Bobby's seat. "He looks like shit. He doesn't need to go to no damn bar."

Bobby drew in a deep breath. "We drop him off at the house and he's gonna take his fucking ass for a fucking walk!" His voice rose. "He's going with us." He finally looked back at Angel.

Angel shook his head. "Sofi is there. She can keep an eye on him." He suggested.

Bobby shook his head. "Drop it Angel." He spoke with a hard tone.

"Fine," Angel muttered and sat back in his seat.

So, it looked like Craig was going to a bar for the first time in his life. He couldn't help but think of how thrilled Evelyn Mercer would be with that.