Two very short chapters. Sorry about that guys. Still trying to get my barings after loosing my laptop. But I promise they will get longer. ;)

Two Days Later

The first thing that Walker heard as his mind slowly fought through the medication fog was Jarod's rather loud voice. Does he ever stop talking? He turned his head towards his brother's voice then tried to open his good eye. After several failed attempts he just lifted his hand which felt extremely heavy. Was he that tired? Or was there something on his hand?

"Walker, are you awake?" Came Alex's voice to his right. "If you are, nod your head." Walker did just that then rolled his head towards Alex. "Welcome back, cowboy."

He swallowed hard, wincing as the motion caused pain inside his mouth. "How long have I been out for?" His voice was rather weak and harsh which told him he had a breathing tube once again shoved down his throat. "Jarod, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Cordell." A hand fell against his left arm, but Walker could barely feel anything. "Doctor has you on some good pain medications. Doubt you're feeling anything right now." Said Jarod as though reading Walker's mind. "Listen, your left eye is completely swollen shut. Doc says you'll be blind for a few more days till the swelling goes down."

Walker slowly nodded his head in understanding as memories of the brutal torture came back to him. He was beaten, burned and starved for nearly a day till help arrived. Throughout his ordeal it took all he had to not let himself crack under the immense pain and humiliation. What helped him through the hours of torment was thinking about his family. Wonder how Angela and Ray was dealing with the fact he was once again back in the hospital?

He felt a light weight on his right hand. "Doctor Miller and Doctor Jenkins are here." Explained Alex as she gently kissed him on the forehead. "Don't worry, they're just here to see how well you're healing."

"Walker, it's Miller." Pain intensified in his chest as somebody gently pressed down against his ribs. "You gave us a scare. You've had five grand mal seizures in the last two days and dozens of little ones." He felt a hand gently press against his scalp which quickly got him to pull away at the pain it caused. "You suffered another head injury, though minor it might have made your current brain injury slightly worse."

Walker instinctively reached up and could feel the cast on his left hand scrape against his tender scalp. "I got my head shaven again, didn't I?"

"Unfortunately, yes. And we were kind this time and shaved your whole head." Joked Miller as Walker felt him check a certain spot right above his right ear. "You suffered a skull fracture. Had to staple it close then stitch you up." He sighed heavily then began to tape a bandage over the wound. "Your body suffered quite an ordeal."

"That's right and I'm surprised to see you so coherent after what you've been through." Said a male voice on Walker's right. "I'm Doctor Jenkins, I worked on your right shoulder." He felt somebody take off a large bandage from his chest. "I know you just had surgery on it, but I would like for you to try and move it for me."

Alex watched on as her husband did as the doctors told him to do, happy to see him moving after being heavily sedated for a few days. She sat across from Jarod and both watched on as Walker attempted to move his right shoulder which was badly injured while a hostage to Marcellinio. She could see the pain etched in her husband's face as he slowly raised his arm off the bed then laid it back down. Doctor Jenkins told her the damage was extensive and involved several muscle grafts. Unfortunately Walker's shoulder may never be the same again. But at least he was alive. She could have lost him that day.

Jarod patted Walker's arm then slowly got up and went around to stand by Alex's side. "Let's give him some time alone. We'll come back after the doctors finish their job."

"How long will you two be in here?" She asked as she stood to her feet.

Miller took out a pin light then turned to her. "Come back in two hours. Since he's awake, we're going to run some tests." He heard Walker heave a heavy sigh and chuckled. "Yeah, I know the tests can get tedious. Sorry, but they have to be done."

Walker slowly nodded as he turned to Alex. "You two go ahead, I'll still be here." He gave both of them a weak smile. "Tell the kids, especially Angela that I'm sorry. I'll see them soon."

Alex gave Walker a gentle kiss on the forehead. "Take it easy and don't fight the doctor's too much."

Once outside the room she leaned against the wall then placed her head in her hands. It was just too much to take in all at one time. It seemed Walker was destined to remain forever chained to a hospital either by his epilepsy or an attack on his life. Why did this always happen to her husband? Why was he the one always getting hurt?

"It's going to be okay, don't worry."

Alex glanced up at Jarod and saw compassion that she usually only saw in Walker. It was eerie to see how similar they really were, especially now since both were clean shaven. And though both had black eyes, she can now clearly see their facial features were near identical. Jarod however had more of a square jaw line which made him look younger than Walker.

"I'm just tired seeing him in the hospital." Alex sighed heavily then shook her head. "And it's not because of you. Ever since I've known him he's always been getting hurt either by accidents or shootings. One time he was even attacked by a mother bear." She saw the quizzical look on Jarod's face which actually got her to chuckle. "Long story, but definitely something he and Gage can both share."

"Can share what?" Gage came walking up to them and shook Jarod's hand and gave Alex a friendly hug.

"The bear attacks." Alex saw her friend visibly shiver and smiled. "How is Sydney?"

"Doing good. She and Erica are taking the kids out for pizza and ice cream. Angela's with them." His voice faded as he shook his head. "According to Syd, she's really upset."

"I'll have to talk to her later tonight." She turned as a team of nurses went into Walker's room. "All of this has been really hard on her." She quickly wiped her face as tears escaped from her eyes. "Ray is just too young to understand everything that has been going on."

Jarod stepped forward and gave her a hug. "Angela and Ray will make it through this just fine." He pulled back to look down at Alex. "They're strong willed kids, after all look who their parents are. Just let her go through this phase. She'll understand eventually."

"Thank you." She slowly nodded her head as Walker's bed was rolled out and into the hallway. Quickly she wiped her eyes again and went to her husband's side. "Hey cowboy. We're going to grab something to eat. We'll be back in a few hours." She gave him a kiss.

He smiled up at her. "Thought you two were gone already."

"Nah, I grabbed them before they could." Gage patted Walker's good shoulder. "See you in a bit, Walker. Don't fight them too much."

Later that day Jarod walked into Walker's room hoping to spend some time alone with his brother. As he stepped up to the bed he could see black stitching on several parts of Walker's body, the most dominant being on his right shoulder. He gently took his brother's left hand into his then sat down.

"Hey, Cordell, you awake?" When he didn't get a response he sighed heavily then shook his head. "I'm so sorry about what had happened to you. Just wish I could make it up somehow." He glanced up at Walker's bruised and swollen face to see the deep cut on his left cheek. "Your life may never be the same…"

"Don't blame yourself." Walker's head slowly turned towards him as his good eye opened a slit. "You've done nothing wrong." His voice showed Jarod the pain he was in. "When did you decide to call me Cordell?"

Jarod felt extremely embarrassed at this question. "If you don't want me to…"

A smile spread across Walker's chapped lips. "I don't mind." He swallowed hard then tried to shift his weight which seemed to cause him a lot of pain. Walker winced loudly as a grimace came across his face. "Just don't worry…"

Jarod patted Walker's good shoulder. "I won't." His eyes fell upon deep burn marks on Walker's chest. "How's the pain?"

"I can deal with it…tired of being drugged." He sighed heavily which got another grimace to cross his face. "Don't worry about me. Just take care of yourself, Jarod." He slightly lifted his left hand then placed it over Jarod's. "Thank you."

"For what? I've done nothing to deserve…"

Walker gave Jarod a big smile. "You saved my life." His voice showed Jarod the morphine had kicked in and he was now fighting its effects. "Really appreciate it."

Jarod nodded, feeling as though he was about to break down and cry. Why did he feel this way? What was wrong with him? He quickly wiped his sore eyes as tears came to them. Just a few months ago Walker was just a target, a person he needed to kill. And now he had feelings for the man before him almost like a brother would. How did his attitude change so quickly? Was it his desire to have family?

He glanced at Walker once again to see his brother breathing evenly and knew he had fallen asleep. Brother. Though he has lived with Walker for awhile he truly didn't understand the meaning of the word till now. He had somebody who was his blood, somebody who he could actually call family. Wonder how Walker felt about it? He made a mental note to ask him when he was out of the hospital. Hopefully he felt the same way. If he didn't, Jarod would fill rather silly.

"Why…" Walker's head lifted off the pillow slightly. "Are you crying?"

"No, of course not." Jarod quickly wiped his face with a chuckle. "Thought you were asleep?"

Walker smiled at Jarod. "Don't worry, I won't tell anybody."