It was another one of those days. Jack was home alone with Jeremy while his parents were out at some lawn party. Jeremy sat in the middle of the floor in the great room, playing with some blocks Jack had found for him. The older boy had never finished the toy that was meant for his little brother, but he figured that changing diapers was a good enough exchange for a teddy bear. Jack sat on the couch watching his brother closely. The dark rings around his eyes were finally beginning to fade now that Jeremy was sleeping again. Even though he was finally getting sleep, Jack was still tired. The distant memory of war between good and evil echoed through his mind. He had given that up to raise his brother, but now that Jeremy was nearly walking, Jack wanted to be on his own again. He wanted to have the power of the Shen Gong Wu with him once more, but he feared that coming back into the game this late would leave him with nothing to fight for. Not that he ever had anything to fight for in the first place. The sun shined in through a skylight high in the tall ceiling and bathed Jeremy in a soft, golden glow that lit up his pale complexion.

"Hey, buddy," Jack murmured, "Wanna try walking again?"

Jeremy turned to Jack with a goofy smile in his violet eyes.

Jack stood up and walked over to his little brother.

"Okay, you remember the deal," Jack crouched down and took Jeremy's arms, "I hold you up, you move those little legs of yours."

Jack lifted Jeremy up so that he was on his feet. Jeremy wobbled a moment before steadying his balance.

"Okay, now, walk," Jack said softly.

Putting one foot forward, Jeremy began to move. Jack walked with him a bit as he wobbled forward. After they got a good distance, Jack let go and Jeremy was on his own. He wobbled a bit at first, threatening to fall, but Jeremy Spicer wasn't going down easily. He made it to the far wall before leaning on it to turn around to face Jack.

"You gonna come back?" his brother smiled.

Yeah, he was coming back, but to him, his brother looked miles away. He leaned back against the wall and reached out for Jack to come and get him, but Jack just shook his head and smiled. Jeremy was about to cry, but Jack just shook his head and smiled once more. When he realized the big brother wasn't coming to get him, Jeremy decided to try walking back. He pushed himself from the wall and struggled to catch his balance. He moved forward slowly; methodically putting each foot before the other. Jack smiled as his little brother made his way back to him. At about half way, Jeremy fell down. Jack just smiled, but Jeremy wanted to cry.

"It's okay," Jack walked over to him, "You did very well."

Jeremy sniffed and reached up to his brother. Jack mussed his dark brown hair before lifting him into his arms and carrying him into the kitchen.

"You hungry? 'Cause I am," Jack set Jeremy down in his highchair.

In the fridge, Jack found a small jar of broccoli, carrots, and cheese baby food. He took it out and showed it to Jeremy.

"Is this good?" Jack asked.

Jeremy clapped his hands and laughed.

"Okay, lemme get a spoon."

Jack moved Jeremy and himself into the breakfast nook where he opened the jar and began feeding his brother.

Jack always made strange faces when he fed his brother. Jeremy loved it. His big brother always seemed to make him laugh.

Jeremy had officially become Jack's child a few months ago when his parents realized that Jeremy would only let Jack hold him without screaming at the top of his lungs. Like Jack, they cast him aside, but Jeremy never felt neglected or alone. His brother would do anything with him. Jeremy had yet to figure out what exactly he liked to do, but he did know that as long as he was with Jack, he was happy.

Once the jar was empty, Jack rinsed it out and tossed it in the garbage. Jack lifted little Jeremy out of the highchair and set him back down on the great room floor.

"I think I need a nap," Jack yawned, "But I'm still hungry."

Jack left for a moment and came back into the room with a pudding cup. Jeremy stared at him like he had multiple heads.

"I know," Jack sighed as he opened the cup, "These aren't any good for me."

Jack sat on the couch and slowly ate his pudding.

Jeremy sat in the center of the room thinking. Jack was happiest when he was walking. Jeremy liked seeing his brother smile. So, this 'walking' entailed him standing on these 'legs' and moving around with them. Jeremy thought a moment before making his move.

Jack watched the dust settle down from the rays of light from the skylights. They floated and drifted carelessly to the ground. Jack became mesmerized by these simple motions and allowed himself to zone out of the world and into another far off place. He spaced out so much, that the cow that appeared before him made him jump a bit.

"Jeremy," he sighed.

Standing before him was Jeremy with a block in his hands. The smiling cow was facing Jack. The older Spicer boy sighed.

"What's this?" he said as he took the block away.

Jeremy walked back over to his pile of blocks and brought another back with a rooster on it.

"What the…" Jack took the block and Jeremy went back for another.

As the younger boy came to him again, Jack dropped his blocks to the floor and lifted his little brother into the air.

"You're walking!" he shouted, "You're walking! For real! This is amazing! I can't believe it! All by yourself! Oh, Jeremy! All by yourself!"

Jeremy smiled in his brother's arms. The Spicer brothers were always happy when they were together.

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A/N: Senachan141 asked about an image of Jeremy. I cannot draw and no one I know looks like him. As a result, I was wondering if someone here who is half-way descent in the art department could draw an illustration for the story. It could be Jeremy or Jack and Jeremy. I don't care. I've described him in this chapter so you would have something to go on: purple eyes, pale skin, and dark brown hair. If you do choose to make an illustration, please make sure you remember that Jeremy belongs to me and you will allow me to post this picture at my descretion. If you have a DeviantArt account or something of the like, feel free to post it there too, just remember to give me some credit for the subject. I will not take credit for the illustration, only the character. Everyone knows that I can't draw anyway, so it would look pretty weird if I all of a sudden turned out a master piece. PM me if you want to give it a shot. Thanks!

Also: I will be turning up the rating in a few chapters for reasons of self mutilation.