A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I got behind on this! It wasn't my intention at all. The holiday's got crazy and I had to take a break to catch up with them. That and my mom recorded movies I actually really wanted to watch this time like Warm Bodies. And Beautiful Creatures – though I'll tell you now, with no spoilers involved, that after reading the book I was extremely disappointed in the movie. Anyway, on with the show! I've got the next chapter half done and in the works too so that should hopefully be up tonight after I get the kiddo's in bed and get a chance to sit down with it. Thanks for all of the reviews guys!

My Brother's Blessing

"What is Mars like?"

Modo shifted slightly, getting more comfortable with his position on the couch. Katrina was pressed trustingly against his side, curled up under a blanket that he'd graciously declined being under himself. The house itself was just shy of stifling for a mouse with a coat of fur already keeping him warm and the blanket would have made sitting beside her and watching a movie unbearable.

She'd insisted that he watch the movie with her, pulling him eagerly towards the couch while her dad grudgingly allowed "one movie" before bed. Cassie had decided to join them, making herself perfectly comfortable on the opposite side of the couch and Modo was relieved to have Katrina between them. Had it been Charley, it would have been a different story. But she'd decided to stay at the dining room table with Nate. They were talking quietly and he could, in large part thanks to his ears, hear bits and pieces of what they were saying. He tried to keep his focus on the movie but the pull of Charley's voice was always a temptation he couldn't resist. Especially when it was low like it was now, sliding over him like warm honey.

Katrina's question was a welcome one, allowing him to easily shift his focus since the movie was failing to do much to hold his attention.

"What's Mars like?" he repeated softly. "Well, right now it's not much. Not compared to what it used to be."

Katrina wiggled a bit and looked up at him. "What did it used to be like?"

"Amazing," he said with no hesitation. "It wasn't much different from Earth, really. Except the flowers were brighter and no matter where you were, the water was always clear. Used to have this lake back behind Mama's that me and my bro's would go swimmin' in when we were little, all surrounded by these huge trees with branches that hung near the water."

But then the stink-fish came and all of that just…went away, he thought, clearing his throat. It suddenly felt tight, too clogged with emotion to go on.

"Hey kiddo, its bed time."

Modo looked up, smiling gratefully at Charley. Sometimes he felt like she kept a closer eye on him than he kept on her with her uncanny timing.

"Aw, Aunt Charley, the movie's not over yet!" Katrina protested, snuggling closer to Modo and making the gray furred mouse smile.

"You're not even watching it or you'd know that the credits are rolling right now," Charley said, calling her bluff. "Come on. To bed. We've got a busy day tomorrow."

With plenty of grumbled protests, Katrina pushed the blankets back and stood. She caught him off guard, leaning over to give him a quick hug and he stiffened, not entirely gaining his bearings before she'd pulled back and rounded the couch to join Charley.

"Night, Modo," Katrina sang.

"Night kiddo."

Their footfalls on the steps had just started to fade when Cassie set aside the magazine she'd been looking over and shifted closer to him. Much closer. Any closer and she would have been in his lap. Modo swallowed hard and tried to move back, silently cursing the couch arm keeping him in place.

"Hey there, handsome," she nearly purred, tiptoeing her fingers up his arm. "You're amazing with kids. Do you have any?"

"I…what? No-."

"Could have fooled me. You're a natural." Something flashed in her eyes, eyes the color of Charley's but not quite. They lacked the maturity, the warmth. "So, is there someone back on Mars?"

There's someone on Earth, he thought, but couldn't get his voice to work past the nerves to inform her of that. Instead, he swallowed again and rubbed the back of his neck, looking for an easy escape.

"Cass, ease up on the guy," Nate muttered, coming to stand beside the couch. He gave Modo a sympathetic look. "Wanna join me for a drink?"

"That'd be nice. Thanks."

He couldn't get off the couch fast enough, pretending to ignore Cassie's pout and the dirty look she shot her brother as Modo followed him into the kitchen. The light over the sink had been left on, chasing away the darkness and bathing the room in a subtle glow that made it feel more welcoming, like a hole in the wall bar at the end of an incredibly long day where the bartender knew what you wanted and had it ready when you sat down.

"She's about as subtle as a freight train," Nate muttered, moving to a cupboard on the far side of the kitchen and pulling a bottle of amber liquid from the top shelf. "Whiskey okay?"

Modo nodded and pulled up a stool at the island. "Whiskey's fine. Thanks."

Nate started to fill two small tumblers, grinning up at Modo as he did so. "You have this stuff on Mars?"

"Stronger stuff." Modo accepted the drink and tipped it back, relishing the burn against his throat. He didn't drink often but when he did, he tended to savor the feel rather than the taste. Maybe it was a war thing – you learned to appreciate being able to feel above any other sense. Because feeling meant you were alive.

"Wow. So you're really…what, an alien?"

There was that word again. This time, however, he felt fine correcting Nate. "Actually, we prefer Martian. Alien sounds…" What did it sound like?

"Sci-Fi?" Nate offered, then laughed at Modo's confused look. "Science fiction. Like Men in Black or something. Martian then. When did you guys crash here?"

Modo settled back, feeling significantly comfortable. Nate had that same presence Charley did, the one that you couldn't help but feel relaxed around. "Little over two years ago. Been holdin' up in a revamped score board over Quiggley Field."

Nate leaned on the counter, taking a slow sip of his drink. "Ah, Quiggley Field. Great place. Charley took me and Kati to a game last time we were there. We don't get to Chicago much."

"Why's that?"

"Kimberly. She didn't…really care for Chicago."

"Kimberly's your wife?"

"Was. Was my wife." He leaned over the countertop to refill Modo's glass, then his own before setting the bottle aside. "She left us last year."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Eh, it's okay. Sometimes I don't blame her. I was unemployed at the time – in-between jobs so she was supporting all of us, working long hours, paying for drop in daycare when I was out looking for a job. And the whole parenting thing…well, she tried pretty damn hard but you could tell she just wasn't cut out for it."

"That ain't right," Modo muttered. None of his kind, no matter how cut out they were for parenting, would abandon their families. There took a definite lack of morals to do something so cowardly and if there was one thing he and his kind weren't, it was cowards. "I'm sorry for sayin' it but you don't just up and leave your family."

Nate released a humorless bark of laughter and tossed back the remainder of his drink. "Yeah, I would have loved to explain that to her but I just woke up one morning and she wasn't there. Her clothes weren't there, her purse wasn't there, her car wasn't there…she was just gone. Me and Kati…we're working our way through it. So, how long have you loved my sister?"

Modo wasn't entirely sure what stunned him into silence more, how quickly Nate had switched the subject or the ease with which he'd done so. He sat there staring at the other man for a handful of seconds before his brain caught up and his mouth stopped working to form words that wouldn't come.

"Take your time." Nate grinned, clearly amused. "Sorry if I took you off guard but you're about as obvious as they get. You've been watching her like she's a piece of cheese-."

"I don't like cheese," Modo said automatically.

"Well…regardless, you haven't taken your eyes off of her all night unless Kati snagged your attention. I'm going to guess from day one?"

With a sigh, Modo slid his glass across the counter for a refill. "About that, yeah. That obvious?"

"Yeah, that obvious." Nate finished refilling Modo's glass, filled his halfway and then returned the bottle of whiskey to the cupboard. "I'm surprised Cass is even trying but then again, she gets tunnel vision when she sees something she wants. I'll reign her in for ya."

Modo saluted him with his glass. "Appreciate it."

"Besides," Nate continued, his voice much softer. "You'd be good for Charley. Lord knows she didn't get much of a chance to date here. She needs to learn what it means to actually be with someone. Girl needs some romance in her life." Nate studied him shrewdly for a moment, looking so much like his father that it stirred a little of the dormant unease. "Can you give her that?"

Modo mulled that over. Knowing what he knew now, could he give Charley everything she'd missed out on – the first times, the romance, the affection, every good and bad moment that made up a solid relationship? Could he give it to her when he hadn't even experienced it himself?

He looked up at Nate and slowly nodded. "I think I could. I'd at least give it a damn good try."

"Good, that's what I like to hear."