Drew stood leaning against the door frame, sporting a black eye.

"Drew!" Brianna shouted.

He hurried to her and took her in his arms before she managed to crawl out of the bed. Rick moved over for Drew to sit between them with his arms tightly around Brianna.

"Hi guys." Drew gave them small smile.

"Hey." Rick was torn between an overwhelming relief that Drew was here, alive and well, and the need to yell at him.

"I heard awesome news," Drew breathed out, as if he could not believe it was true. "How do you feel, Bri?"

Brianna mumbled something, burst into tears and hid her face in Drews' shirt.

"Bri? What's wrong?" Drew asked, aghast. "Has Rick been that bad of a company?"

"Haha," Rick muttered, patting Briannas' shoulder.

"I didn't think… you… would… come," she mumbled between sniffles. Drews' brow creased.

"Of course I wouldn't miss this for anything in the world…"

"I didn't… know that!" She hissed, punching Drews' chest several times. A shard of pain in his eyes that was not caused by her fist.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, stroking her back. "Forgive me, Bri." He turnd to Rick. "I really am sorry."

"Well, what happened?" Rick muttered.

Drew rubbed tiredly at his face and explained shortly what had transpired.

"Thank you for getting me out," he finished, his hand on Ricks arm.

Alright. He was forgiven. Rick tried to look important.

"I know a guy."

Drew smiled.

"Of course you do."

Briannas' sniffles had calmed down and Drew had a big, wet spot on his shirt.

"You could… have called," she muttered.

"Unfortunately not. The rules in jail. And…" Drew pulled his phone out of his pocket. It was broken and totally dead.

"So what did the two of you do all night?" He asked.

Brianna scrubbed at her face with her sleeve.

"Rick said… that we… can go to… Hawaii!" She said between breaths, her countenance lighter. "Is that… true?"

Drews' eyebrows clearly said it was a bad idea. Probably because of some medical reason or other. Rick would definitely hear about it later. But Brianna only got a soft smile.

"Well, if he does the paying. Did you spend all night planning the vacation?"

"Nah… Rick told stories… and showed me… his robot leg."

"He did?" Drew smiled.

"Yes! It's really… cool!" She thought for a while. "But it… would have been… even cooler… if it had… a superpower!"

Drew snorted with laughter.

"I totally agree," he grinned. His hand squeezed Ricks arm.

"And Brianna told me she likes boys," Rick said with his most serious face on.

"Ah. That's good to know." Drew cracked his knuckles. Brianna laughed and hit him on the shoulder.

"You have… to tell me… about… when you… got out of… Narnia!" She breathed in and out several times.

"Narnia?" Drew repeated, confused.

"The closet," Rick supplied.

Drew paused for a few seconds, probably to process that information.

"How did that particular topic arise?"

"Jocelyn…" Brianna said. "She said… that you… had a girlfriend… before. Krista."

Drew turned an interesting shade of red.

"She was not my girlfriend in any way," his voice rough. "But she is a close friend of mine. We… started a rumor that we where together… because we both had… undesired… admirers."

"You did?" Brianna grinned.

"Yes." Drew sounded annoyed. "Apparently a guy is obligated to go out with all single girls in a one mile radius."

"Oh yes," Rick pointed out. "Especially if he is good looking, physically fit and a doctor."

Drew turned even redder, if possible. Rick winked at him. Brianna laughed until she started to cough.

"You have… to tell me… what happened!" She stared at him with expectation. "Jocelyn said… that you… kissed… in front of… everyone!"

Drews' brow creased and he looked at Rick with a question in his eyes. Silence filled the room. Rick rubbed at his neck.

"I think she should hear it from us," he managed at last. "But… You should be the one to tell…"

He didn't want to put this on Drew, he really didn't. It hadn't been a good night for him either. But at least he had been conscious all night, and not high on pain meds, none of which could be said about Rick.

Brianna looked back and forth between them. And suddenly, all her enthusiasm seemed to disappear.

"It… doesn't matter…" she mumbled. "Sorry… that I… asked."

Rick was starting to suspect that she was just as clever as Drew has claimed all the time.

Drews' hand found Ricks and squeezed.

"Bri, at this point you have probably heard all the rumors there is about that," he said with a deep sigh. "It's probably best that we tell you the truth."

Drew understood. Rick loved him for that. And Brianna looked very pleased.

"We had not seen each other in fourteen months," Drew started with his best story-teller voice.

"Fourteen months?" Brianna repeated with chock.

"I had been deployed. Afghanistan," Rick explained. "Had just gotten back to San Antonio."

Brianna listened quietly when Drew told her what had happened that night. The bus accident and all the soldiers that came to the hospital, Rick one of them. TC, in vain, tried to save Ricks leg.

Rick held Drews' hand so hard that his fingers started to ache.

Drews' voice became quiet when he talked about how he tried to hide who Rick was to him, and how Krista finally had berated him and called him a coward.

"Which made me see that I was acting like an idiot," his voice no more than a whisper now. "And that I spent enough time in Narnia. So I kissed Rick."

"In the hallway. In front of a lot of people. That I remember," Rick chimed in, trying to lighten the mood.

Drew gave him a tender kiss on the cheek.

"After that we were officially out of the closet," Drew continued, turned again to Brianna.

Her eyes were big.

"But… what did… everyone say?"

Drew hesitated. His thumb stroked the back of Ricks hand.

"Well. Most people… didn't think it was a big deal. Mostly, they where excited to meet my partner. Rick hardly got a minute alone during his stay here after the amputation."

"Entertaining them all was hard work, I tell you," Rick added.

"There. We told you. Are you satisfied?" Drew gave Brianna a small smile.

Brianna smiled broadly.

"Yes! Does Krista… work here now? She seems… cool."

Drew grinned.

"No, but I suppose the two of you would get along well. She will probably be the first one I call when we need a babysitter for you."

"I don't… need a sitter! I am… thirteen years… old!"

"You will not be able to convince Drew of that," Rick pointed out. "You are aware that he will wrap you in bubble wrap and styrofoam and never let you out of sight, right?"

"I would never do that!" Drew said indignantly. "Pillows, however…"

A knock on the door made them all jump. Doctor Clemmens entered the room. Brianna crawled closer to Drew, who tightened his grip on her.

"It's not time for you just yet, Brianna." Doctor Clemmens seemed to be in a hurry. "Drew, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Ricks mouth was suddenly completely dry, and his heart pounded so violently that he could not hear Drew, despite clearly seeing his lips move.

He wanted to grab Drew, to stop him from leaving, but his hands didn't obey him. He wanted to say something, but couldn't draw in enough air. He stared helplessly at Drews' back when he left the room.

...

He stared at the curtain that moved were Drew had left. Heard himself yell at the other doctor. The surgeon. Until he, too, left the room.

They wanted to chop his leg of.

For real. The wanted, for real, to separate his leg from his body.

It was not a joke.

And Drew had walked away.

They had said that he would die if he didn't let them do it.

As if they seriously meant that he would be able to live with only one leg. Like some kind of… half person.

Half a soldier.

Half a boyfriend.

A… cripple.

He wanted nothing more than holding on to Drew and never let go.

But Drew had walked away.

...

"Rick? Rick!"

Somebody shouted and pulled at his sleeve. He had a feeling he should know who it was.

"Rick. Listen to my voice."

That was Drew. He knew that. And he could feel Drews' warm, protective arm around his shoulders.

He fought to fill his lungs.

"You are safe." Drews' voice, calm and steady close to his ear. Rick did all he could to focus on Drews' voice. "You are in Texas, at SAMH. You are not hurt. Me and Brianna is here with you."

Brianna? Why was she here now? And he was hurt alright, his leg was on fire. Drew had heard when Doctor Clemmens said it needed to be amputated…

"Rick! Please…"

That was… Briannas' voice. Wait. Was she the one going to surgery tonight? Something about the lungs…

Rick shook his head in an attempt to focus his thoughts. He heard someone pant loudly and realized belatedly it was himself. Drew really close, the smell of his after shave, the heaviness of his arms around Rick. Brianna, her fingers digging into his arm. Fear in her face. A bed under him. And the feeling of the prosthetic on his residual limb.

And reality was back.

They had taken his leg. But it was two years ago.

Drew had come back to him, and stayed.

And Rick wasn't afraid anymore.

"Rick? Are you with us?" Drew asked softly.

Rick let out a deep breath.

"Yes…" He wiped at his face. His cheeks were wet.

"Do you know where you are?" Drew asked. He sat on the bed, as close to Rick as he came.

"SAMH," Rick forced out, drawing in jagged breaths. "Bri will get her lungs." Because he knew that would be the next question.

"Correct," Drew said softly. He caught Ricks hand between both of his own, and that was when Rick realized he had been rubbing at his leg. His foot that didn't exist was still burning with pain.

"What… happened?" Brianna pulled at Ricks sleeve. "Are you okay?" She, also, had tears on her face.

"Yes," Rick choked out.

"Where you scared, Bri?" Drew asked and put his hand on her arm. The other held on to Ricks hand. It felt good. Drew was there. The phantom pains was starting to fade now that he knew when he was.

"What happened?" She asked again. "You just went… really weird." She stared worried at Rick. He wanted to comfort her, but didn't know how. His heart was still pounding.

"It was a flashback," Drew explained. "It is when you relive experiences that have been traumatic. It becomes very real."

"Oh," she said. Rick could see a thousand questions forming in her head. Drew could apparently also see them, because he continued.

"It is part of something called PTSD. It is common in soldiers who have been in combat. Both of us have it. We rarely get flashbacks, but it happens. As demonstrated." He touched Ricks cheek. "Was it the night after the accident?"

Rick nodded jerkily and wiped at his face again. He could not tell if he had been babbling during the episode or if Drew just guessed.

"Is it… because I asked… about that?" Brianna whispered, sounding completely crushed.

"No!" They both said at the same time. "It was not your fault," Drew added. "Do you hear me?"

She didn't seem convinced.

Rick drew in some deep breaths, trying to find words to explain.

"It is… this place," he pulled a face. "Makes it all… come back. Not your fault."

She looked at him thoughtfully, and it hit him how strange that must seem to her, who had spent nearly half her life in hospital and for now it was her home. He untangled his arm from her grip and put it around her shoulders.

"I am sorry." He tried to smile. "You probably have enough to worry about tonight without me going all drama on you."

"Whatever," she said, shrugging. Then she smiled shyly. "You did try… to distract me… before, right? That worked."

Drew started to laugh. Brianna began to giggle, and soon Rick was laughing too. It felt good. His shoulders started to relax.

When the laughter had calmed down, Brianna tentatively touched Ricks arm.

"Are you… sure you are… okay?"

"Yeah. Don't worry." He sounded almost convincing now.

And then a little miracle happened. She crawled closer and hugged him. Rick, surprised, wrapped his arms around her.

"Thank you… for coming here… to be with me," she mumbled against his chest.

"Of course. Anytime, sweetheart." He held her even closer. "Welcome to the crazy family."

His throat went tight when he said that, and he realized that Brianna at some point had stopped being foreign and somehow become his.

Brianna gave him a big smile.

"I like crazy. I think… I will fit in… perfectly."

"I don't doubt that," Drew teased with a big smile.

Rick had to dry his cheeks again. For a while they just sat there and held each other. He felt his heart calm down and his hands finally stopped shaking.

"May I ask… another question?" Brianna whispered at last. She looked at Rick.

He nodded.

"Of course."

"If all that… hadn't happen… do you think… that you would… still have been… in Narnia?"

They exchanged looks.

"Probably," Drew admitted.

"Yes," Rick agreed, wishing he could have said something else.

Brianna watched them for a long time.

"In that case… you wouldn't have… been able to… adopt me, would you?"

They looked at each other. Drew started to say something, as if he had an answer.

Right then, there was a knock on the door and Paul stepped into the room. Drew grabbed Ricks arm so hard it hurt.

"Brianna," Paul said, and the gravity in his voice worried Rick. "Are you ready? It's time."

And time came to a stop.

…

To be concluded…

Authors note: Hope you enjoy. =) Only one part left now. I am not completely happy with this part but can't put my finger on why.

It would make my day if you let me know what you think in a review. =)Thank you for reading!