Usual disclaimers apply.
Once again thanks for all the reviews, sorry it's taken a while
EPILOGUE
The conversation that had finally freed them both took place only a few months after the fight.
In those few months the conditions of both brothers had given cause for concern. Frank had in fact suffered multiple fractures and the standing joke was that he now set off every alarm in the country , he had that much metal pinning his legs together, but he was slowly getting back on his feet and was expected to make a full recovery.
Steven however would never leave his hospital bed
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------
The brothers came face to face for the first time since the fight, Steven lay prone and unmoving on the bed as Frank manouevred his wheelchair into the room.
Steven spoke first
"She never told me about no baby Frank"
"I figured that one out by your reaction" stated Frank
"Steven WHY????"
If ever one word held so much on the answer it was yet to be heard
"Why?" Steven sighed...." Do you want the real answer or the sugar coated version?"
"Ithink it's truth time for both of us don't you?"
Steven nodded his head and began to speak,
"You had it all didn't you bro'........ Mothers undying devotion, Dad's respect, job, Anna"
"I had to earn all those things" Frank interrupted.
Steven motioned for Frank to be quiet.
"I had nothing, I was the fly in the proverbial Rosen jam jar, the one thing spoiling the perfect family, there was no doubt you were mothers favourite Frank"
"No I wasn't" protested Frank and smiling slightly added "well maybe sometimes"
"I could never compete with you Frank, that's why I was so over the moon when Anna got in touch with me again, I'd spent years drifting from one thing to another, and after we had that big fight when you and Anna got engaged, it was made perfectly clear to me that Mom and Dad were washing their hands of me"
"But Steven, you just took off, no-one knew where to find you"
"Did anyone really look Frank?" asked Steven with sadness in his eyes.
"No, I suppose we didn't, I was too mad at you and Mom was heartbroken that you just left without a word"
Steven was laughing sadly now
"Was that the official line?"
"What do you mean" asked Frank
"Dad gave me five hundred dollars and told me to get the hell away from everyone, that I was poison and all I would do by staying would be to infect everyone else with it, he told me never to come home again and that he would consider me dead to him"
Frank was shaking his head "Steven, I never knew"
"You never bothered to ask either I bet"
"No I didn't, and for that I'm truly sorry" sighed Frank.
"By the way did you enjoy your stay in Rikers, not exactly the Ritz is it?" asked Steven.
Frank shook his head "You really need to ask" he sighed.
"Didn't think so" answered Steven with a dry smile on his face.
"That was my world, or what my world had become before I found Anna again, I had to make you experience my world, go through what I went through, feel the utter hopelessness of it all, I suppose I wanted to bring you down just to prove to myself that I could"
"Pretty drastic way of doing it, why didn't you just shoot me, and what did the girl do to deserve such a horrible death?" questioned Frank.
"I can't excuse what I did to Karen, I lost it completely there, and yes I do feel guilty and will take that guilt with me to my grave"
The conversation continued until both were satisfied with the answers being given.
"It's okay Frank, I don't hate you anymore, I've had long enough led in this bed to realise that" changing the subject he added "I never knew you had twins bro', girls huh? bet they're a handful?"
Franks face lit up at the mention of his daughters. "They're beautiful, just like their Mom"
He kept on pushing Steven for the answers he needed.
"Steven, don't change the subject on me, how long have you known the cancer was terminal?"
"About a year, I don't have that long left now, I came to terms with it a long time ago, my stupid pride was what pushed me into wanting my revenge on you for Anna's death, but now I know you weren't to blame, she played us both pretty damn well didn't she?
"I suppose she did" answered Frank "but I don't think she meant to, she was a troubled soul who just didn't know which way to turn, she didn't deserve do die how she did, there's not a day goes by when I don't think of her and what I could have done more for her, the image of her bloodsoaked body will be in my memory forever"
"Frank I need to ask something of you, I've paid my debt to you now, I broke your fall willingly, one way or another I was going to die and I knew at the very last minute that I couldn't let you die along with me, you're a very lucky man Frank, you have a beautiful family and everything to live for, be careful with it and protect it, if I've done one thing for you it's show you just how delicate things are and how easily they can be broken, but can you forgive me?"
"Yes you have Steven, and yes I didn't think I could imagine myself saying this but I do forgive you I'm just sorry that it had to come to this"
Steven took a deep breath before asking his brother for the one thing he needed above everything else.
"Will you let Anna come to me after I die Frank, will you bury me with her so she's not alone any more, I couldn't go to my grave with the thought that she's still alone." he sobbed " After all that I've found out especially about the baby, and I believe it was my baby she was carrying, can you find it in your heart to let me be with the woman that I still love and the child that I was never destined to get the chance to be a father to" pleaded Steven.
Frank could hardly bring himself to speak, his throat was tight, his eyes stinging with tears as he knew this was one request he could not deny. Steven had truly loved Anna.
"Yes, I'll make sure I put the family together, you'll all be together at last"
"Thankyou"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------
All agreed the timing could have been better, but it was just one of those things. They say one is born for every one that passes away, just the way of the world.
As Alex brought her son into the big wide world, Steven Rosen was leaving it, after finally finding peace. Bridges between the two brothers had been re-built and they finally could say they understood the other.
Frank Donovan stood at the graveside of his brother and his family, free from the guilt that had plagued him for years, safe in the knowledge that Anna was finally with the man she loved and Steven was with the family that was rightly his.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------
U.C. Building.
The team waited with bated breath, they hoped they hadn't gone over the top with the decorations.
Footsteps could be heard making their way up the stairs to the office where they all huddled in anticipation.
The footsteps stilled as their leader turned to look at them.
"Good morning" smiled Donovan "It's good to be back"
THE END
Once again thanks for all the reviews, sorry it's taken a while
EPILOGUE
The conversation that had finally freed them both took place only a few months after the fight.
In those few months the conditions of both brothers had given cause for concern. Frank had in fact suffered multiple fractures and the standing joke was that he now set off every alarm in the country , he had that much metal pinning his legs together, but he was slowly getting back on his feet and was expected to make a full recovery.
Steven however would never leave his hospital bed
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------
The brothers came face to face for the first time since the fight, Steven lay prone and unmoving on the bed as Frank manouevred his wheelchair into the room.
Steven spoke first
"She never told me about no baby Frank"
"I figured that one out by your reaction" stated Frank
"Steven WHY????"
If ever one word held so much on the answer it was yet to be heard
"Why?" Steven sighed...." Do you want the real answer or the sugar coated version?"
"Ithink it's truth time for both of us don't you?"
Steven nodded his head and began to speak,
"You had it all didn't you bro'........ Mothers undying devotion, Dad's respect, job, Anna"
"I had to earn all those things" Frank interrupted.
Steven motioned for Frank to be quiet.
"I had nothing, I was the fly in the proverbial Rosen jam jar, the one thing spoiling the perfect family, there was no doubt you were mothers favourite Frank"
"No I wasn't" protested Frank and smiling slightly added "well maybe sometimes"
"I could never compete with you Frank, that's why I was so over the moon when Anna got in touch with me again, I'd spent years drifting from one thing to another, and after we had that big fight when you and Anna got engaged, it was made perfectly clear to me that Mom and Dad were washing their hands of me"
"But Steven, you just took off, no-one knew where to find you"
"Did anyone really look Frank?" asked Steven with sadness in his eyes.
"No, I suppose we didn't, I was too mad at you and Mom was heartbroken that you just left without a word"
Steven was laughing sadly now
"Was that the official line?"
"What do you mean" asked Frank
"Dad gave me five hundred dollars and told me to get the hell away from everyone, that I was poison and all I would do by staying would be to infect everyone else with it, he told me never to come home again and that he would consider me dead to him"
Frank was shaking his head "Steven, I never knew"
"You never bothered to ask either I bet"
"No I didn't, and for that I'm truly sorry" sighed Frank.
"By the way did you enjoy your stay in Rikers, not exactly the Ritz is it?" asked Steven.
Frank shook his head "You really need to ask" he sighed.
"Didn't think so" answered Steven with a dry smile on his face.
"That was my world, or what my world had become before I found Anna again, I had to make you experience my world, go through what I went through, feel the utter hopelessness of it all, I suppose I wanted to bring you down just to prove to myself that I could"
"Pretty drastic way of doing it, why didn't you just shoot me, and what did the girl do to deserve such a horrible death?" questioned Frank.
"I can't excuse what I did to Karen, I lost it completely there, and yes I do feel guilty and will take that guilt with me to my grave"
The conversation continued until both were satisfied with the answers being given.
"It's okay Frank, I don't hate you anymore, I've had long enough led in this bed to realise that" changing the subject he added "I never knew you had twins bro', girls huh? bet they're a handful?"
Franks face lit up at the mention of his daughters. "They're beautiful, just like their Mom"
He kept on pushing Steven for the answers he needed.
"Steven, don't change the subject on me, how long have you known the cancer was terminal?"
"About a year, I don't have that long left now, I came to terms with it a long time ago, my stupid pride was what pushed me into wanting my revenge on you for Anna's death, but now I know you weren't to blame, she played us both pretty damn well didn't she?
"I suppose she did" answered Frank "but I don't think she meant to, she was a troubled soul who just didn't know which way to turn, she didn't deserve do die how she did, there's not a day goes by when I don't think of her and what I could have done more for her, the image of her bloodsoaked body will be in my memory forever"
"Frank I need to ask something of you, I've paid my debt to you now, I broke your fall willingly, one way or another I was going to die and I knew at the very last minute that I couldn't let you die along with me, you're a very lucky man Frank, you have a beautiful family and everything to live for, be careful with it and protect it, if I've done one thing for you it's show you just how delicate things are and how easily they can be broken, but can you forgive me?"
"Yes you have Steven, and yes I didn't think I could imagine myself saying this but I do forgive you I'm just sorry that it had to come to this"
Steven took a deep breath before asking his brother for the one thing he needed above everything else.
"Will you let Anna come to me after I die Frank, will you bury me with her so she's not alone any more, I couldn't go to my grave with the thought that she's still alone." he sobbed " After all that I've found out especially about the baby, and I believe it was my baby she was carrying, can you find it in your heart to let me be with the woman that I still love and the child that I was never destined to get the chance to be a father to" pleaded Steven.
Frank could hardly bring himself to speak, his throat was tight, his eyes stinging with tears as he knew this was one request he could not deny. Steven had truly loved Anna.
"Yes, I'll make sure I put the family together, you'll all be together at last"
"Thankyou"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------
All agreed the timing could have been better, but it was just one of those things. They say one is born for every one that passes away, just the way of the world.
As Alex brought her son into the big wide world, Steven Rosen was leaving it, after finally finding peace. Bridges between the two brothers had been re-built and they finally could say they understood the other.
Frank Donovan stood at the graveside of his brother and his family, free from the guilt that had plagued him for years, safe in the knowledge that Anna was finally with the man she loved and Steven was with the family that was rightly his.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------
U.C. Building.
The team waited with bated breath, they hoped they hadn't gone over the top with the decorations.
Footsteps could be heard making their way up the stairs to the office where they all huddled in anticipation.
The footsteps stilled as their leader turned to look at them.
"Good morning" smiled Donovan "It's good to be back"
THE END