When Brandon pulled into the parking garage, things were obviously not any better than they had been when Donna had called him. A small crowd had gathered and Brandon knew it was only a matter of time before security was called.
Donna was standing with Steve, wringing her hands as she watched him try to stanch the flow of blood from his nose. Looking at Steve, he could tell that the man had taken a beating. Looking over at Dylan, it was clear that the beating had been one sided; Dylan didn't have a scratch on him. David was standing in front of Dylan, talking to him in a low voice. Dylan kept shooting daggers at Steve with his eyes, not even acknowledging that David was there.
Making a decision, he waved at Donna, then walked to where Dylan and David were standing. "Dylan," he said, walking up to one of his oldest friends. Dylan looked over at Brandon and Brandon could see the rage in his eyes. Dylan wasn't calmed down at all. He was probably waiting for David to relax and then he was going to charge Steve again. Brandon raised his eyebrow at Dylan, then looked over at Donna. "Hey, Donna," he called, getting her attention. "Why don't you and Steve go to the bathroom and get cleaned up, okay? We'll be there shortly." At Donnas' questioning look, he nodded. She and Steve walked off, the small crowd parting for them.
Dylan rushed past Brandon, running for Steve but Brandon had been ready for the action. Reaching his friend, he pulled on his arm, stopping him. "Let go of me, Brandon," Dylan said through clenched teeth, not looking at him.
"Dylan," Brandon said, "look at me." Dylan cocked his head toward Brandon, anger clearly written on his face. "We need to talk about this."
"What is there to talk about B?" Dylan asked him. "The fact that my good buddy Steve is really Sammy's dad? How about me thinking I had a son for four years only to find out it was all a joke?" Dylan rubbed his face with his hands. "I can't believe Sammy isn't mine." He looked at Brandon helplessly, "Sammy isn't mine, Brandon. He's not mine…"
David had joined them, looking at Brandon for guidance. Brandon could have told the man he was looking in the wrong place; this situation was way out of his knowledge base. Dylan looked at David. "Did you know about this?" David shook his head, backing off a little. "No way man. And I had no clue Steve was involved at all, I swear."
Dylan nodded, looking at Brandon with his eyebrow raised. "I had no clue, D. It's hard for me to believe," Brandon said honestly. "I knew Kelly had been tense, but I never imagined any of this. I feel like I never really knew her at all."
Dylan sighed, telling the guys, "Kelly told me the reason she picked me was because I was going to go to London and fight Rick for Brenda. She said she didn't want me to. She hated the idea of me and Brenda being together so much, she lied to me about having a son." Dylan shook his head, snorting disbelievingly.
"Wow, did she say that? That's messed up," David said. Thinking about how honest Donna was, David was once again overwhelmed with gratefulness that she was his.
Brandon and Dylan nodded, each lost in their own thoughts. How much must Kelly have loved Dylan? Brandon was thinking. Dylan was wondering how Kelly could hate him so much. "Steve and I had problems, but he was one of my best friends. How could he do this? What the hell was either of them thinking?" Dylan wondered aloud.
"Did you ask him that?" Brandon asked his friend.
Shaking his head, Dylan said, "When he told me that he's Sammy's dad, I just lost it. I wanted to kill him," Dylan said honestly. "I couldn't stop hitting him. He wasn't even fighting back, but I didn't care." He took a deep breath, looking up at the garage ceiling. Most of the anger seemed to have left Dylan, replaced by sadness and confusion.
"How's Bren, Dylan?" he asked his friend, hoping to calm him with the mention of Brenda's name.
It seemed to work when Dylan smiled slightly. "She's amazing," the man said. "She's really coming around. She's already asking the doctors when she can leave."
"I wonder how things are going with her and Kelly," David questioned out loud.
The smile immediately dropped from Dylan's face. "What did you say?" he demanded.
"Oh, well, I just thought that since Kelly's car was over there, she was probably in visiting Bren. Maybe it's not her car though," he finished lamely, finally realizing he should have kept his mouth shut. Brandon closed his eyes for a moment, praying for patience.
Dylan took off toward the hospital entrance, Brandon and David close behind him. Dylan didn't know how Brenda would react to Kelly's visit, and he didn't want her to be alone.
Brenda was thinking about the play Dylan was reading to her. It was the one she'd gotten in the mail the day she'd been shot; she'd asked him to pick it up for her- it and Mr. Pony. When she heard Dylan read the words, there was a power to them she didn't quite understand.
The story was tragic. A man and a woman were deeply in love, but because of things that had happened in the man's life, he didn't fully trust himself or her. Because of this, he was always leaving her, hurting them both and making himself miserable. Something about the tone of the work struck a chord in Brenda.
She stretched, wincing. She hated this bed. She hated this place. She hated the monitors and machines…and needles. Man, she hated the needles. She sighed, annoyed. She needed to be out of here. She had a baby girl to raise, a company to run. A man to love. Thinking about Dylan, she wondered what was going to happen from here. He had a life in Wyoming, her life was here. He'd just lost his son, she had a daughter…they had years of heartbreak to get through and so much to learn about each other.
"Dylan?" she called, hearing someone walk into the room.
Kelly stepped into Brenda's line of vision. "Brenda," Kelly said, moving to the side of the bed.
"Kelly," Brenda said, surprised. She hadn't heard from Kelly but hadn't really expected to. Honestly, she'd wondered if she'd ever talk to or see Kelly again.
Tears ran unchecked down Kelly's face as she took in Brenda's appearance. Though her friend was conscious and talking, it was clear that she wasn't well. Brenda was more pale than usual, her eyes sunken and her lips chapped. The weight of her guilt fell upon her, almost crushing her. "Oh God, Brenda, I'm so sorry," Kelly sobbed, reaching out to touch Brenda's hand. "I know I should have called or came by before now, but I didn't know what to say." She looked down, then back at Brenda. "When I thought that you were dead, I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. I can't explain it, it was as if I was the one who died." She stopped talking, unable to continue through her tears.
Brenda looked at the woman who she'd been so close to for so long, surprised at the lack of emotion she felt. She knew she should feel hurt, anger, indifference, love, pity, something. But she didn't. She felt empty when she looked at Kelly. It was a very odd feeling, one she wasn't sure she liked. "Yes, well, neither of us died."
Kelly searched Brenda's face for some idea of how the woman was feeling. "Brenda, do you think you can ever forgive me?"
Brenda closed her eyes for a moment. "I don't know, Kelly. I can't imagine being close to you again." She opened them and looked at her friend. "How could I ever trust you?"
"Brenda, I swear, I didn't mean for you to get hurt," Kelly started.
Brenda lifted her arm, waving away Kelly's words. "I know you didn't mean to shoot me. But you've gone out of your way since I've known you to hurt me. Why?"
Kelly swallowed, looking down. "I don't know, Bren," she whispered. Looking back at her friend, she leaned in to kiss her on the forehead. "I love you, Brenda." She turned to walk away, leaving Brenda alone with her thoughts.
Walking out of Brenda's room, Kelly ran into Dylan. "What the hell are you doing here Kelly?" he demanded.
Pushing past Dylan, she kept walking. Dylan grabbed her arm, forcing her to look at him. "You stay away from her," he told her lowly. "You've done enough to hurt her, Kelly. Unless she calls you and asks you to come, you stay away."
"Let me go, Dylan," Kelly told him.
Brandon and David walked up as Kelly jerked her arm from Dylan's hand. "What's going on?" Brandon asked, taking in the scene.
Dylan didn't take his eyes from Kelly. "Kelly was just leaving," he said.
Kelly turned and fled, not looking at Brandon or David. David hesitated for a moment, torn. "I'm going to look for Donna," he said, walking toward the bathrooms.
"I'm going to check on Bren," Dylan said, studying Brandon's face.
"I'll go talk to Kelly," Brandon told him. "We all need to talk, Dylan. All of us, together. We can't go on like this."
Dylan nodded. "I'm not doing anything without Brenda and she can't leave this room for a while." He shook his head. "We'll get to it, Brandon," he sighed. "Be careful, man." With that, Dylan went into Brenda's room.