Theo was still awake when Alvie melted through the wall. The first time he had done that, Theo had had the life scared out of him. The second and third time, Alvie had told him beforehand he would be back. The fourth time, Theo forgot Alvie was supposed to be coming for another nightly visit and was half-dozing and half-trying to keep himself awake.

"Hello." Alvie smiled, gently touching Theo's shoulder to draw his attention. "Feeling any better?"

"I don't know." Theo said hoarsely. Alvie nodded, as though he had expected as much, and turned to fill a glass of water for Theo. Theo hadn't spoken for nearly a fortnight now, about an eighth of his time there. "Alvie?" Theo didn't take the offered glass, looking fearfully up at his brother. "What do I do?" Alvie set the glass down.

"We'll work on that later. You're more important right now."

"So you know?"

"I have a hunch." Theo slumped forward against Alvie. The older brother said nothing, resting his hand in Theo's hair. He had to clear up the mess in his little brother's mind before anything else. It was a little easier to fix a male mind than a female mind as female minds were far more complex. There was actually a theory behind this, one Alvie could relate to. A guy's way of thinking was very straightforward and their thoughts were organised into compartments. That was it. A woman's brain had these compartments too, but there were hundreds and thousands of links between them all and all the emotional ties that were involved... it was bedlam, but Alvie was slowly getting used to it. All he had to do for Theo's mind was arrange everything back into the correct compartments and hopefully clear up Theo's confusion and panic. "Theo?" Theo stirred feebly. His cold fingers latched onto Alvie's hand and Alvie realised he was shaking. Quickly, Alvie delved into his mind and picked up on the thought first and foremost there. It was a hazy image and a swarm of angry voices. Theo had never said anything about hearing things. Alvie tapped his fingers gently on Theo's head, drawing the thought free. The voices bounced around the room and Theo cowered, covering his ears and crying out. Alvie flicked his hand and the racket died with a stricken wail. "All gone?" Theo, still trembling, nodded. He looked up hesitantly, clinging to his brother, terrified grey eyes scanning the room for any sign of a threat. "It's alright, Theo. I'm here to help."

"Don't leave me."

"I won't."

"Promise?" Theo's eyes locked onto Alvie's, who nodded and carefully brushed away tears staining Theo's face.

"Promise." Alvie let Theo calm down for a minute, keeping his arms reassuringly about his shoulders. When Theo's breathing eased and he had stopped shaking, Alvie leant him back against the pillows. He sat on the bed, Theo's grip strengthening on his hand. "Again, I'm going to try and sort your mind out. Is that OK?" Theo nodded. "If you want me to stop or you don't feel well, just hit me. Yeah?" Theo nodded again. Alvie gave a small, comforting smile and closed his eyes to focus. Theo watched him for a moment and then felt Alvie's presence in his mind. He didn't fight it, letting Alvie work. He never recalled much from these sessions, but his mind did feel a little clearer afterwards.

Alvie worked for over an hour, but he couldn't tell that and neither could Theo. He learnt quite a bit about his little brother in that time. He pulled away when he noticed his nose was beginning to bleed. Theo took a couple of minutes to come around, a little dazed at first and then focusing on his brother. "How do you feel?"

"A little better."

"And the voices?" Theo shook his head. "I've worked a little extra protection into your mind so hopefully they don't come back."

"Why did you get a nosebleed?" Alvie watched him for a minute, pressing the tissues against the bloodflow.

"This goddess of yours has put serious magic in your head and I'm trying to get rid of it. It's not easy and it will take me a while, but I should be able to make it go."

"Thank you." Alvie nodded. "I mean it. Thank you."

"Theo, you're my brother. I will help you whenever I can. You don't need to thank me, I'm just happy to be useful for once." Theo frowned.

"What do you mean 'for once'? You've always been useful."

"No. I can't fight. I didn't know I had powers for years." Alvie paused, chewing his lip and looking nervous to share more. "Growing up with Tobias and Max... you know what they're like. They've always been out there and... ready to fight for... for what they thought was right." Alvie studied him. "I was always the... the little Jackson, even when Sage was born."

"But look at you now. You could take us all out with a wave of your hand." Alvie smiled weakly.

"We need to talk."

"Aren't we already?"

"The smoking." Theo's smile slid from his face and he couldn't meet Alvie's gaze. "Your own choice, yes, but why?" Theo shrugged. "How long for?"

"A few months."

"And it calms you down?"

"It helps."

"Is that why you're so on edge?"

"Part of it." Theo looked at his hands.

"And this Danielle?"

"I've only really talked to her once."

"That's it?" Theo nodded. "Does anyone else know about the smoking?" Theo silently denied it. "Not even Lilly or Callum?" No. "Are you planning to tell them?" No. "Alright." And just like that, Alvie let the subject drop. "What about the other problem?"

"Not really a problem. More of a risk."

"And what are you going to do about it?"

"What can I do about it?" Theo shrugged. "I don't have a lot of options- do you?" Alvie pressed his lips together and glanced at the door. Theo waited silently. Alvie had sensed someone coming nearer before Theo heard their footsteps. Alvie's eyes paled and the footsteps retreated. "You're not leaving, are you?"

"Not yet." Alvie's attention returned to him at their normal colour. "The other thing is risky to heal and can take alot of time. I'm better at mental wounds than physical ones, but I can try."

"Is it worth it?"

"What do you mean?" Theo made to answer, but stopped himself. Alvie frowned. "Theo?" When the younger Jackson said nothing, only looked at his hands, Alvie's expression softened. He moved closer and put his arm about Theo's shoulders like Tobias had done a million times for him. "Focus on getting better for now, alright? One step at a time." Theo nodded absent-mindedly. "Sleep." Alvie said. "No more nightmares." And there weren't.


See, vovo611- I told you he'd be more helpful!

Also, as usual, apologies for any spelling mistakes because of the whole WordPad thing and blah blah blah...