Chapter 13!

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When Sirius Black opened his eyes, he was once again faced with an utterly white room. The walls were white; the tiled floor was white; even the blanket he was under was white.

Sirius blinked a few times, trying to get his bearings.

He was obviously in a hospital and for good reason. An IV was stuck in his elbow, pumping clear fluid into his body. Tubes slithered over his body like snakes, and there was a sharp pang in his stomach. A dull ache had settled in his skull, making the room fuzzy; the bright lights only made the ache worse. His back throbbed, and something warm trickled down his skin.

Sirius stopped focusing on the pain and looked at himself, trying to see if the injuries were worse than the pain was telling him or better.

His arm was in a cast, and he was wearing a hospital gown. When Sirius shifted, he felt something rub against his torso: bandages. Slowly, he lifted the hand that wasn't in a cast and touched it to his forehead, where his fingers met the slightly rough patch that covered the left side of his forehead.

"Sirius?" A familiar voice whispered, and a hand touched his shoulder. Sirius jumped and spun around to face... his father.

"Dad? Dad!" Sirius cried, tossing himself into his father's arms.

Immediately, he regretted it. Pain spread through his body; the ache in his head intensified, and the sharp pain in his stomach screamed in agony. His back sang a hundred different harmonies of pain. His arm suddenly went numb and tingled under the cast.

Sirius gasped in pain as he collapsed backwards, his elbows hitting the mattress to avoid slamming his back against it.

"Be careful, Sirius," his father instructed. "We almost lost you once; we can't risk losing you for real."

Sirius nodded, and he allowed his father to rest his hands on Sirius's shoulders and gently lower Sirius back onto the bed.

Sirius breathed in, deeply, trying to rid his body of the burning sensation that raced through his veins.

As the dark spots vanished from his vision, he noticed that his father and him weren't the only ones in the room.

"Mum? What am I doing here?" Sirius mumbled, trying to focus on her, although his vision remained blurry at the edges.

His parents exchanged worried glances, but before either could say a word, it all came rushing back.

Reggie getting kidnapped...

Joining forces with Lily, Severus, Peter, James, and Remus...

Jumping off the Hogwarts Express to search for his brother...

The mirror conversation...

Finding Reggie...

Running with him...

Sending the Patronous...

Getting tossed to the ground and a searing pain in his head before darkness engulfed his vision...

White... Fate... avoid the future...

Sirius bolted right back up, but this time, he was able to completely ignore the pain in order to ask the question that circulated through his mind...

"Where's Reggie?" He demanded.

"He's right down the hall, Sirius," his father said, attempting and failing to push Sirius back to the mattress.

Regulus needed him!

Sirius's mind was a jumble of anxiety and paranoia and memories, and he couldn't focus on anything except for the crushing apprehension that enveloped him.

All of a sudden, he couldn't breathe. His heart was pounding, and he felt sick; he was sweating and shivering at the same time. It was as though he were still running from The Man. Fear coursed through his body, and adrenaline began pumping through his system.

"I wanna see Reggie," Sirius choked out.

"Sirius, you need to get your strength back first," his father said, sternly. "Now, I need you to calm down."

"No! He needs me! I wanna see him!" Sirius screamed.

He was battling against his dad, thrashing and screeching and punching whatever he could reach.

Didn't they understand? The Man would come back, and he'd take Reggie, and Sirius had to be there for him.

He wouldn't fail him. Not again.

Hands were holding him down, trying to stop Sirius's struggles. Sirius was screaming so loud, the yelling was heard on the other side of the hospital.

"Sirius, calm down!" His father shouted.

Sirius shook his head, and his struggles only intensified.

The Man was coming back. He'd hurt Reggie; he'd kill him. Sirius couldn't let that happen. He absolutely refused.

More than one set of hands was present now. Men and women wearing white (nurses or doctors, probably) were standing around his bed; they were doing things Sirius couldn't comprehend, but he knew he couldn't let it happen.

A needle appeared in his view, and Sirius fought harder. He'd seen what drugs did to Reggie; if he let them drug him, too, who would save Regulus?

"We need to sedate him!" An unfamiliar voice shouted.

A face appeared above him: a man with black hair and brown eyes was gazing down at him.

"No!" Sirius begged. "No!"

He was sobbing so hard, they couldn't even understand him anymore.

The sharp needle pricked his arm, and at first, it burned; after a few moments, though, Sirius felt his movements become sluggish. He was relaxing against his will, and he felt his entire body become still. All he wanted to do was sleep...

But he couldn't sleep. He had to save... Regulus...

Sirius fought against the sedative with all he had, but in the end, he still lost.

When Sirius awakened, his parents were gone, and someone else had taken their place. James, covered in bruises and wearing a cast on his right arm, smiled from the chair beside Sirius's bed.

"James," Sirius smiled, weakly, still weighed down by the aftermath of the sedative. "Are the others all right?"

"That is so like you," James chuckled, throwing his head back and surprising the boy in the bed. "Worrying about other people when you're the one who's been knocked out for three days."

"Three days?!" Sirius cried.

He attempted to sit up, but when he reached for something to support him, he found nothing and fell back to the mattress. Frustrated, he pounded against the white sheets, groaning.

James simply laughed. "Yeah. When they sedated you, they expected you to wake up in a few hours or even a day, but apparently, the shock was still weighing you down," James told him, his smile turning into a frown. "And if you really want to know, the others are fine. Severus cracked a few ribs, and he'd be here, but the nurses sentenced him to bed rest for at least a week. Lily sprained an ankle, and she'd be right here, but her mom said she can't leave the house until she got some decent sleep. Remus has a nasty cut on his forehead, but it's healing, nicely; he's down in the cafeteria with Peter. Peter broke three fingers and dislocated a shoulder, but he's doing much better."

"And... Reggie?" Sirius asked, not meeting James's eyes. He really wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer. "How's he doing?"

Right away, Sirius knew it wasn't good. James's eyes were focused on the floor, not on Sirius.

James hesitated before sighing. "I don't know, Sir. They won't let anyone see him."

Sirius leaned back against the pillows, feeling his heart rate pick up. Panic was already gripping his body in a vice grip, but before Sirius could freak out, he had more questions to ask.

The doctors weren't letting anyone see Reggie, not even family. That only happened when things weren't looking good.

"If my parents aren't with Reggie, then... where are they?" Sirius asked.

A part of him wanted to know the answer, and another didn't, but there was a small area in the back of his mind that was telling him that he already knew the answer. He just didn't want to admit it.

James shrugged, pursing his lips and staring at his lap. His hands twisted around each other, dancing in his lap; it was an old nervous habit of his, and Sirius almost wished that he hadn't asked. Almost.

"My dad's friend saw your dad in a bar last night," James finally answered. "I don't think your mom's left the house since you were sedated. A few of your other relatives dropped in, but they only stayed in shifts."

Sirius nodded, having expected this.

His dad was trying to forget by chugging beer and wine and whiskey until he couldn't stand straight. His mom was seeking a paradise that didn't exist by swallowing pills and smoking Merlin knows what. Forgetting was the only thing that kept them sane; Sirius could understand that, even if he didn't like it.

But Sirius couldn't forget. He remembered the future fate had shown them; he wasn't going to allow that to happen. Not in this life or the next or the one after that.

As Sirius tried to swallow the information, guilt began overtaking him. He'd caused this. If he'd only looked out for Reggie, none of this would've happened.

But what about changing fate? A small voice whispered in the back of Sirius's mind.

Sirius didn't know what to feel anymore.

As though reading his mind, a hand touched his shoulder, and James narrowed his eyes in a strict manner that reminded Sirius oddly of a father.

"Sirius Orion Black, don't even try to blame yourself," James stated, sternly. "If it weren't for you, Regulus would be dead. Your parents made their choices; you can't control what they do."

"But if I had just watched out for Reggie, then we wouldn't even be in this mess!" Sirius bawled.

"Sirius, you didn't know that that man was going to do that. There is evil in this world, and you can't protect Regulus from it forever," James pointed out.

Sirius offered a watery smile. "When did you get so deep, Jamie?"

James shrugged. "I have no idea, but don't worry. I'm still the immature toe rag that you know and love."

Sirius chuckled. "Toe rag? You're hanging out with Lily too much."

James nodded. "And I am more than okay with that."

"Jamie's got a crush!" Sirius sing songed, his voice breaking due to his dry throat.

James punched Sirius in the arm, making sure to be gentle.

"Shut up," he laughed.

For a moment, the room was quiet before Sirius finally made the request.

"Hey, James, could I be alone for a second?"

James nodded in understanding. "Of course. I'll go meet Rem and Pete down in the cafeteria, and we'll come back in an hour or two. We'll bring you something to eat. Whatever is in those tubes cannot be appetizing."

Sirius nodded, chuckling. "Thanks. And James, if you... you know... hear anything..."

"You'll be the first to know," James assured him.

James headed for the door, glancing over his shoulder, nervously, as though he was worried Sirius might do something. He was right to worry.

After the door shut, Sirius counted to thirty before slipping out of the bed and leaving the room in search of his little brother.

This was more of a filler chapter, but still, REVIEW!