Author's Note: Hey guys I'm back with another chapter. It's funny every time I hear the song Be Like That it reminds that I seriously need to update this fic. I'm sorry for the wait guys. I think your going to like this one. So of course picking up where we last left off. Tara had just discovered her brother alive in a hospital and ran like a bat out of hell to see him. Who can blame her right? Hope you guys like it.

Be Like That

Chapter 7

Bryan Returns

"Who's there?" the young man asked.

As Tara inched across she saw her brother lying in bed with a bandage wrapped around his brow.

"Do you know who I am?" she asked and cautiously entered his side of the room.

"Yeah your Tara." He smiled. His sister breathed a huge sigh of relief and made her way over to him.

"You do remember. How are you feeling?" she asked, as she got ready to hug him.

"A little sore." He warned. The girl lurched back for a second not wanting to hurt him until he nodded and gestured her over.

"Come on give your brother a hug." He said inviting her over. He regretted it the next instant as she spilled over him and hugged him tight.

"Ok Tara! Tara!" he groaned.

"Oh I'm sorry!" she flew up and away from his body.

"Still a little sore." He said gruffly.

"What happened to you? Where have you been?! I thought you were dead!" she yelled.

Brian groaned as he tried to recall what happened.

"Ugh, I'm not entirely sure still a little fuzzy. From what I remember nurses said I was found wondering the streets think they said I was hit by a car or something." He said touching his temple as he tried to remember.

"No I'm sorry I don't remember anything else about It." he said.

"That's all right, I'm just glad your back." She said with tears forming in her eyes. He then turned his attention to Gar.

"So who's this guy?" he asked.

"This is Gar Logan, he's been looking after me for a while." She told him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Bryan." He said sticking out his hand to shake Bryan's.

"Yeah likewise bro." he said shaking his hand warmly.

"So then what have you been up to since…you know?" he asked Tara.

His sister paused and wouldn't answer him. The elder Markov looked back at her concerned.

"Tara it's all right, you can tell Me." he said sitting up in his bed.

"You want me to tell him or should I?" Gar asked.

"No it's ok…I can tell him. Let's just say things have been easy for me for some time." she opened up.

"When our place burned down, I tried getting up mom and dad…" she told him.

** The apartment building was engulfed in flames with it eating away at the flooring Tara raced down the hallway wearing just a nightgown as she pounded on her parents' door.

"Guys can you hear me? Open up the house is on fire!" she yelled pounding her hand against the door.

There was no answer Tara coughed and held her hand against her nose and mouth as she slammed her shoulder into the door in an attempt to jar it open, the door splintered and gave a little but it wasn't enough to open the door on her own and rammed the door two, three times with her skinny shoulder but it wasn't enough. The girl coughed as she fell to her knees at the foot of the door. The flames had begun to spread igniting the railing. Finding the strength she raced down the hallway to her brother's bedroom and began beating on it.

"Bryan!" she yelled. The door flew open as he took her in his arms.

"Come on let's get out of here!" he said ushering her across the burning hallway.

"I can't get their door open, I don't know if they're in there or not!" she yelled.

"Their fine we got to get you out of here." He said remaining brave for his sister.

They made their way to the stairs as the sides started to burn.

"We can't make it down there!" she told him.

"Oh yes we can!" he said taking her up in her arms and raced down the stairs as fast as he could carry her.

The top of the stairway started to collapse. The rest of the staircase gave way on them halfway down. Bryan and Tara yelled as he fell back and slid down the disintegrating stairway beneath them. Falling into the landing, never missing a beat he scooped her up in his arms again and made a break for the front door.

"Get your head down!" he yelled as she did so.

Crashing through the window the fell into the bushes outside the home tumbled through the foliage and got her to safety as the fire department arrived. Bryan delivered his sister into the arms of a fireman and collapsed on his hip.

"Son are you all right?" he asked the fireman bent down with Tara still in his arms.

"Yeah I'm good, get her to safety." He instructed as he tried to get up.

"We got to treat you as well." The fireman advised the boy.

"No I'm fine get her out of here!" he demanded.

The fireman turned and walked over to the ambulance. Bryan coughed covered in smoke and ash wheeled around to his hands and feet before rushing back inside. The fireman turned and saw him run back towards the house.

"Hey!" he yelled.

"Bryan!" she yelled.

"Stop that man!" he yelled.

Bryan managed to dodge the other firemen and went around the back of the house.

"Damn kid's going to get himself killed!" the fireman said still holding Tara.

"Let me go!" Tara yelled and struggled to get loose.

"I can't let you do that." he said tightening his grip on the girl.

"Let me go!" she yelled and thrashed. The fireman handed her over to a waiting paramedic in an ambulance.

"Bryan! Bryan!" she yelled as the paramedic strapped her down in a stretcher.

On the other side of the house her brother mounted the fire escape and made his accent to the second story. A dog could be heard barking inside as Bryan forced open the bay window. A golden lab jumped into his arms as he stood at the entrance.

"Good boy Rob!" he said as he put the dog out on the fire escape.

The dog yelped as he jumped around on the iron grates scared out of his wits his fur badly singed. A fireman started to climb the ladder to reach the dog. Outside a ladder truck had begun dousing the fire with its powerful hose. Another fireman went ahead of the first one on the ladder as he went to retrieve Bryan while the second one went for the dog. Inside the floor was starting to give way in areas as the young adult went to find his parents and brother. With a running charge Bryan busted through the door into his parents bedroom splitting it in thirds. Getting a lay of the room he saw his parents in bed.

"No." he said. The ceiling was starting to crumble with hot embers raining down around him.

The second fireman entered the premises soon afterward and started screaming to grab the man's attention.

"Heeeey! You in here?! Answer me!!!" he yelled as he stepped lightly around the deteriorating floor. Until a section of it plunged in after one misstep. The flames were starting to overtake the house.

He saw an opening and rushed towards it.

"Kid are you in here?" he yelled.

Seeing Bryan he grabbed the young man by the back of his collar and pulled him out of the room.

"No! Stop! My parents are in there!" he yelled reaching out towards their bodies.

"There's nothing we can do for them!" the fireman yelled forcing him across the room.

"My brother's Greg's in the next room!" he yelled.

"All right!" the fireman nodded as they made their way down the hallway to the next room.

The two men kicked in the door and entered the room.

"Greg are you in here?!" yelled Brian.

The ceiling had finally collapsed where their parents' room was the wreckage now blocked the doorway to their room. Bryan went over to his brother's bed and shook him awake.

"Come on bro we don't have time for this!" he said.

"Forget it man he's gone." The fireman told him.

"I am not leaving him behind!" he yelled.

"There's no time. This place is coming down!" the fireman warned and pulled him away from his brother.

"No! Greg! Come on! Get up damn you! You bastard! Get the f#ck up now!" he screamed as the fireman dragged him out.

"It's too late! We have to get out of here now!" the fireman yelled trying to reason with him.

"That's my family! That's my whole god forsaken world!" he yelled fighting the fire fighter's grasp.

"I know that, but if we don't get out of here you'll be joining them." the fireman said as he led him towards the window.

"Well maybe I want to!" he yelled freeing his arm from his grasp.

"What about your sister? You want to leave her alone out there?" he said verbally slapping some sense into the elder Markov.

"With half her family gone, she needs you now more than ever." He said.

"All right let's get out of here." Bryan said.

"Now your thinking." He said the last section of the floor finally gave on them.

"Come on!" the fireman yelled getting them to the window.

"You go first, I'll follow." Bryan said.

As the fire ate away at the house three quarters of the floor collapsed into the level below and the ceiling along with it. The fireman began his decent as Bryan stood with one foot outside the window. As the rest of the house gave Bryan tumbled out the fire escape broke free of the wall and started to lean outward. The two men clung to dear life as it waned more and more laying out an angle. Out front everyone watched in horror as the house began to cave in. Fire fighters got back but continued blasting the blaze with their hoses Tara watched from the back of the ambulance as her house started to collapse. Bolts shot out of place as the fire escape went into it's final decent. The fire fighter lost his grip and fell to the ground below Bryan was still on top as it went down and knocked him into a nearby tree branch caught him by the midsection and knocked him out. The young man then toppled out of the branch and landed in the forest behind the house. The house finally caved in on itself and was a total loss. Tara couldn't believe it, everything she knew and loved gone in a flash. **

"After the fire I did the only thing I could, I live in one homeless shelter after another for a time before being kicked out on the streets…I lived in a refrigerator box for six months." She said with tears in her eyes. The look on his face was etched out of concern and disbelief.

"That was when Gar found Me." she said turning to him her voice breaking.

"He found me in North Park of all places and invited me out. I hid that I was homeless from him for quite a while till he finally dragged it out of Me." she said with a soft smile.

"And he invited me into his house." Fighting back tears.

"And he's been so good to me these past few days." She shook her head eyes puffy and on the brink of tears. Before finally succumbing to them and wrapped her arms around Gar. Bryan watched the exchange knowing that this guy has changed her life.

The young adult nodded his head before speaking.

"I commend you for helping her out. I can tell you guys mean a lot to each other." He said.

"Thanks man." Said Gar.

"I'm glad you were there for her when she needed you." he replied. Gar nodded his agreement.

"Hey I just did what any guy would do." he said meekly.

"Well it's an awesome thing you did for my sister, I really appreciate it bro." he said holding out his fist. Gar reached across the foot of the bed and bumped fists with him.

"Your all right, you know that?" he smiled.

"You too dude." Gar said.

"So anyway bro I have one question." Bryan said.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Why are you dressed like Michael Jackson?" he asked.

Author's Note: All right so what did you think of that? I decided to finally explain what happened to Bryan and reveal what went down the night of the fire. So what did you think of Bryan's characterization in the chapter? Let me know what you thought of everything and Happy Holidays.

Please review

Green Gallant.