Doctor Megan Carter stared at the two men in front of her. The vast differences in their age and size were noticeable. And that meant though they were in the same place, their experiences were different. When Mercedes called her to help Sam and Joey, she wasn't sure she should take the case; her methods were proven, but they were also, in some cases, extreme, and sometimes patients were not ready to relive those moments. Removing her glasses, she stared at the two withdrawn men. "Sam, would you like to tell me what you are feeling right now?"

Sam shifted a bit. "I don't belong here..." he finally whispered.

She tilted her head. "Belong where?"

"Here. In the real world. I don't d-deserve to be here.*

"In the real world? So you belong at the Elite?"

He nodded sadly. "Instead of Merce."

She shifted to him. "So tell me, what would you be doing there right now?"

"Getting used."

"I am getting the feeling that you are feeling very guilty right now. Why is that?"

"Because I shouldn't be free if she's not."

"I see, and did you ask her to take your place? Force her to do this for you?"

"I would never do that," he whispered. "I d-d-didn't want her to."

She nodded. "So it's safe to say she has her own mind, and she made this choice, correct?"

Sam hesitated. "She should have asked m-me.."

"So you guys never had this discussion, where she would take your place?"

He shook his head and looked down at his shaking hands.

"Sam, what is bothering you most about her being there and not you?"

"They're hurting her..." They were using her like they used him.

She sat up straight. "How, how are they hurting her?"

"I d-don't wanna talk about it."

She shook her head. "You have to talk about it Sam, how are they hurting her?"

"I don't," he pleaded. "P-please d-don't make me."

And here was where the push came in, the hard part. "What are they doing to her, Sam? Are they touching her? Forcing her on her knees? Forcing her to have sex with them?"

Her words pulled a broken sob out of Sam as he nodded. "She d-d-doesn't deserve that."

"Did you deserve it? Did you deserve it when they did that to you?"

"Yes," he whispered.

"Why? Why did you deserve it?"

"Because I was their slut, their whore, their toy..."

"That doesn't mean you deserved it. No one deserves to be tortured that way. How long did it take them to break you, Sam?"

"Three months," he whispered.

She nodded, writing something down. "Three long months of being abused, starved, tortured, and yet you are here; you survived."

"Did I?" he asked, his voice sad.

"You are sitting here alive; I would say so."

"There's a difference between being alive and being... sane."

"You don't think you are sane?"

He shook his head. "No."

"Why not?" She questioned.

"Nightmares, flashbacks... I snapped in front of Stacey."

"Sam, no one expects you to just get back to normal. You spent ten years in that place. Ten years of your life being tortured. It takes time."

"They killed me... the old me."

"And so tell me about this new you then?"

"I d-don't like him."

"Why?" she asked.

Sam hesitated. "I'm not supposed to."

"Why not? To me, this Sam is strong, he's brave and a protector, not much different from the Sam you were, I am told. But, unfortunately, this one is just a little more broken."

Sammy rubbed his eyes with shaking hands. "I d-don't want to b-be broken."

"Broken doesn't mean you are unfixable."

"I'm shattered," he sighed. "And shattered things can't be fixed."

She shook her head. "Your family doesn't think that; Mercedes didn't think that."

Sam clung to one of the throw pillows. "They should."

"I think you want to believe that because then you don't have to fight anymore. But Sam, if you stop fighting, everything Mercedes did for you will be in vain."

Sam shook slightly. "I miss her."

"I know she misses you too, Sam. She did this for you."

Sam started crying again. It felt like all he did anymore was cry.

She smiled. "Did you know it is okay to cry? It's healing. "

"I was never... allowed to before."

"But you are free now, so you can."

That pulled a small sob out of him.

She frowned. "Let go, Sam. It's okay to feel to mourn."

"I feel so guilty," he admitted

"Why?"

"Because I'm here... I'm free." The word felt foreign on his tongue.

"It's going to take some time to get used to it time to realize you deserve freedom."

Sam wrung his hands. "You're right.*

"And you are not responsible for what other people do. So you can not like it, you can hate it, but you can't blame yourself for it."

Sam looked over at Joey.

Joey avoided Sam and Megan frowned. "Joey, you have something on your mind?"

"Sam can't blame himself, but I have to...I told her that I would die if I went back there, and now she took our place. My place."

Sam reached over and squeezed his hand. "Joey..."

"You should hate me. We know how it starts; we know what this week is like for newbies, and Master River is a sadist Sam."

Sam scooted over next to him. He pulled him in for a hug. *I could never hate you."

"But you can blame me." Joey looked at Megan. "I was dying in there, they didn't feed me all the time, they beat me constantly, and the torture... So I didn't want to go back."

Megan shook her head. "It's not your fault. You said what you felt, and she took it and did what she did. That isn't your fault."

Sam nodded. "You didn't have long left in there, Joey, and we both knew it."

Joey let the tears fall. Megan sighed. "Tell me about River."

Sam held Joey. "He's awful. He'd take you and break you and make you feel like nothing."

Megan nodded. "Keep going."

Joey looked at the ground. "He would force you to do things, saying if you weren't good, then you would be punished. It was his way of saying let him have his way, or you would starve...you give in, and then you starve anyways..."

Sam continued to hold him. "He'd threatened Stevie with me. They'd bring him in anyways.*

She looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"The deal was if I d-don't perform to their standards... they'd bring Stevie to the Elite as soon as he turned 18."

"And now you don't have to worry about that; how do you feel?"

"Relieved and worried."

Megan wrote something and nodded. "Worried about what?"

"Mercedes."

Joey nodded. "Me too, I am worried too."

"Now, what all worries you? That she is there, what's happening to her?"

"All of the above."

She sat back and sighed. "Now that you are out, what do you want to do?"

Sam sighed. "I wanna feel better about it all."

"And you are taking the first steps, Sam talking about it, no matter how bad it is, that is how you get past it."

"but what if I don't wanna..."

"Sam, you guys will never heal if you don't talk about it. If you don't work through it."

"I... I don't understand...*

Joey sighed, closing his eyes; he didn't either.

She frowned. "How can you move on if you keep holding on to the pain?"

Sam worried more about Joey than himself. He bit his lip for a few moments. "Joey?" He paused. "If I say something, you say something... and we trade-off?"

Joey nodded. "Okay."

Sam offered him a forced smile. "So. Where first?"

Joey swallowed, then took a deep breath. "When I first got there... didn't submit right, and M-master River tied me up, forced me to take a group for hours...to break me in..."

Sam didn't let go of Joey. He felt sick hearing what he had to go through. He met Joey a few weeks after he arrived.

"He was awful. One time he... he forced me under his desk and locked my collar into a p-position where I couldn't move my mouth away from his... cock without choking myself." Sam reached up to where the collar once resided.

Megan kept her face neutral. "Take your power back, stop calling him Master because he's not your Master. He's a man who lives to torture people. "

Joey nodded. "R...River liked to torture...but Jericho... liked to be humiliated.

Sam rubbed Joey's arm. "Get them b-both together... it was horrific."

Megan raised an eyebrow. "What happened when they got together?"

Joey shook his head. "I-I can't."

Sam took over. "Mas... Jericho played mind games. He blindfolded me one night and brought Joey in... tortured him while River and Rose took turns with me." Only they never had Joey in there. They recorded his screams.

Joey looked at Sam. "I-that never happened Sam."

Sam shook his head. "I r-remember that so clearly..."

Joey frowned. "I wasn't in there... I never was tortured when you were blindfolded.." He said shamefully. He hoped he hadn't blacked it out, but he was sure that it didn't happen.

"They like control, and when things get stale, they up their game. I have seen this before." Megan sighed. "I think that is all for today, but I have a lot of exercises you can do for when you feel overwhelmed. None of this was your fault. If you don't take anything from this session, take that with you."

Sam felt sick. He let go of Joey and took a few deep breaths.

Joey wiped his eyes.

Megan closed her book, "Can you say that with me? Say that you know this isn't your fault."

Joey frowned. "That is hard..."

"This... isn't my fault..."

Joey looked at Sam, then down to his hands. "This isn't my fault."

She stood. "This was really good, guys. we made a lot of progress."

Sam didn't move from the couch. He had a pounding headache and really just wanted to go to bed.

"I will see you guys later. Please get some rest and let me know if you need me." She gave them a smile as she walked away.

Joey looked at Sam. "Are you going to be okay?"

Sam nodded. "Just n-need some sleep."

Joey nodded. "Go get some sleep...I am going to stay in here for a while."

Sam nodded and stumbled towards the room he shared with Joey. The Evans home was small but cozy.

After a few minutes, Stevie slowly walked in. "You okay?"

Joey looked over to the male who looked just like Sam, just younger. He nodded. "Im...no, I am not. I am so used to lying. But I am not okay."

"Mind if I sit?"

Joey took a breath. "You can sit."

Stevie slowly sat down on the opposite side of the couch. "You look pale. Did you eat enough today?"

Joey frowned. "To be honest, I haven't been able to eat since I learned what Mercedes did."

"You need to, though. I don't think she'd be happy with you starving yourself.*

Joey shook his head, "She fed me more than that place ever did."

"Mom might not be Mercedes, but she looks pretty good."

Joey looked at him. "She said your mom taught her a few things..."

He smiled. "Then maybe you should try some of it. She makes these killer brownies.*

Joey's eyes brightened up. "Brownies...I really like them."

When Joey's face brightened, so did Stevie's smile. "Yeah. I could ask her to make some."

"Can you?"

"Of course! She's worried about you."

"About me? Why?"

"Because you're Sammy's best friend."

Joey looked at Stevie. "He talked about you all the time."

"He did? All good things, I hope."

Joey looked down at his hands. "He just wanted to protect you; he wished he could see you, talk to you. Know you were okay."

Stevie's smile faded. "I'm sorry... for what it's worth."

"You didn't do this to us; I am starting to realize that none of this is any of our faults."

"It's not. but I still feel bad for everything."

Joey nodded. "Been there..."

He offered him another sad smile. "Sam really loves you."

Joey nodded. "He really loves you too...and my heart breaks for him right now."

"He's going through so much. He won't talk to me much."

"He feels so guilty...Mercedes left in the middle of the night, and now we are free, and she is going through hell."

"He hasn't eaten since he got home. I know some of it is detox, but he's scaring me."

"Sam was there for a long time...and he took the punishments for a lot of us." Joey ran his hands through his hair. "he's a good guy. too good for his own good."

"Sam is a protector and going through detox while the woman you love can't be protected...He opened up today, and I hope he means it, but I just wish he would let us help."

"He won't..." Joey whispered.

"I know," Stevie said softly. "He's always been that way, especially when we were kids."

"He was?" Joey smiled. "What was he like back then?"

"Picture perfect big brother. He would take care of us when mom and dad were working. Then Stace got sick and..."

"That's when he took out the loan?" Joey frowned. "He would talk about you guys as kids. He wanted so bad to go back there."

"Yeah. We didn't have the money. We were living out of suitcases in a hotel room."

Joey sighed. "I lived on the streets...so I know about not having money..."

"Sam made the decision to help. Stace wouldn't be here without him."

"Yeah, he doesn't seem like the type to take no for an answer when it comes to family."

"You're family now too.*

Joey looked at him. "I never..." Tears fell from his eyes. "I never had a family."

Stevie offered him a smile. "Well, you do now."

Joey wiped his eyes; he didn't have anything to say. He was just so touched.

Stevie patted him on the shoulder.

Joey wiped his eyes again. "I will clean and help out what I can do. I promise."

"Worry about healing first."

He swallowed. "Heal? I'm not...I don't think it can really happen."

"I think you're stronger than you realize."

Joey looked at his hands. "I am not strong...if I were..." He shook his head. "I am not strong."

"If you were?" he asked gently. "You don't have to tell me, though. I can't even imagine what you've been through."

"I am the reason Sam is hurting..." Joey looked at Stevie with red eyes. "I told her I wanted to kill myself...that I didn't want to go back, I couldn't go back!"

Stevie's heart broke. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "But... this isn't your fault.."

"Everyone should blame me, and yet you guys are welcoming me into this house."

"You're family, Joey," Stevie repeated.

Joey broke down, how he found a home, such a great family he didn't know how he got so lucky.

Stevie didn't know what to do as the other man completely broke down. He watched him for a moment. "Can I hug you?"

Joey nodded; he really needed a hug right now.

Stevie moved over and wrapped his arms around Joey in a hug. He wasn't as strong as his brother, but he still held Joey close.

Joey wrapped his arms around Stevie. "Thank you, thank you so much."

"No need to thank me," he replied easily as he rubbed at his back.

"I never had a brother, and now I have two."

He smiled and squeezed him. "And a sister."

Joey nodded. "And a sister."

Stevie fell silent for a few long moments. Then, "Do you need anything from me?"

Joey sniffed. "Show me how to be a brother. I don't want to fail, make you guys regret accepting me."

"You don't have to be anything other than yourself. We already accept you."

After being told his whole life that no one wanted him, this was hard to believe.

"One day, you'll believe me."

He nodded. "Maybe one day I will feel worthy of this family."

"I'll try to help you."

"Thank you, Stevie. I mean that."

"You're welcome, Joey. We'll get you where you need to be." It wasn't going to be easy, with one more mouth to feed. Yes, they had some of Mercedes' money, but right now, things were still hard.

Joey leaned against Stevie. "I am fortunate; it's hard to believe thought."

"You're safe now."

Joey sighed and wiped his eyes again. "You think we can talk about the brownies now?"

"Sure! Let's go, bug mom."

Joey laughed. "Mom... never really had one of those."

"Well, you do now. Mom just wants to feed you."

"And I just want to eat, so it kind of works..."

"We'll feed you all you want."

Joey stood. "Being here, it's all Sam ever dreamed of. I can see why. I just hope he lets us help him. Lets us protect him."

"He's been gone for almost ten years," Stevie sighed as he stood up as well. "We thought he died."

Joey looked at him. "Sometimes, I thought that would be easier..." He froze. "I am sorry..."

Stevie froze for a moment as well before relaxing. "It might have been," he replied sadly. "But I'm glad you didn't."

"Me too." He said softly. "Me too."

"Well... that's a step in the right direction."

Joey felt his stomach grumble. "I think that sound is one you will hear a lot."

"Good."