Disclaimer: Ok, just see previous chapter
A/N: I know it has been awhile and I am sorry. This has been a rather ruff chapter for me. I ju8st couldn't get it to flow right. Writer's block sucks!
Hope and Memory
Chapter 12: The Dree Dilemma
The tension in the front lobby of the 4:24 Free Clinic could make the hairs on the back of you neck tingle. Red Bud stood there and watched the frustration grow on Dree's face. He had to admit he had expected this, but even now he still wasn't sure how to handle the entire situation. Time was running out for him Gabe would be there in a few minutes.
Dree just stood there starring into space his mind doing summersaults. It had been hard enough two days ago when Red had told him that he had been at Gabe's all night helping him with a gunshot victim. That was work, which was saving someone's life; it's what we do. This was different. This was Gabe being here in his Clinic while he was at his clinic. The last time that happened He had ended up being thrown threw the front window thanks to Gabe. How do you deal with that? How do you make it okay? The answer. He didn't have a clue.
The silence was killing Red Bud. He had to say something other wise he was going to go insane. "Dree, You okay?" I was a stupid question he knew that, and by the look on Dree's face Dree thought it was stupid as well, but it was the first thing that had come into his mind.
"No! I'm not okay." And he really wasn't his brain hurt. And then he knew he had to leave and leave soon. Before Gabe got there. "I'm leaving now. You find some way to fix this little fuck up. And then call me when he is gone."
Red Bud watched him turn and start toward the back room. Shit! This wasn't happening. He had set this up to get them talking again. Gabe was willing why couldn't Dree just try as well. "Wait!" He shouted in the most commanding voice he could. "You are not going anywhere!" And with that he darted in front of Dree and put his hand on his chest.
"You have five seconds to get you hand off of me and out of my way or I will move you myself." Dree temper was flared now. What right did Red have to be doing this? It wasn't his problem. "One…two…three."
"Oh so now I'm the one you're going to vent your frustrations out on." Red Bud stated sternly interrupting the count and earning him a rather vicious stare from Dree. "You might not remember so well, but the last time you were being this much of an ass Gabe sent you though the front window. Of course that was after you took a swing at him for saving Anita's life."
"Don't start down with that shit again." Dree replied the count forgotten. All he wanted now was to leave and not talk about Gabe.
"What shit you talking about? The fact that your best friend saved you little sister's life, and what did he get for his troubles? Oh, I know the grief of losing another friend and oh yeah, the loss of his best friend in the form of an attempted punch to the head." After the last statement Red Bud moved back away from Dree. "We all miss Stephen. I miss him. Gabe misses him. Anita misses him. And by the way you just cringed when I said his name I know you miss him."
"Damn right I miss him," Dree stated quietly. "I deserve to miss him. He was my brother."
"And Stephen was Anita's brother and my friend and Gabe's friend as well." Red Bud put his hand softly on Dree's shoulder. "But blaming Gabe for his death isn't going to change that fact. Hell from what I can tell it's only made things worse."
"But he was there he should have been watching out for him." Dree's voice strained. "He was just a kid. Gabe shouldn't have let him go with."
"Do you think Gabe or you for that matter could have stopped him? Hell if I had found out a location where she was do you think anybody could have stopped me from going after her?" Well progress was being made. Red Bud could still see the sadness in Dree's eyes but at least the anger had faded. "And what about you. You mean to tell me you wouldn't have done the exact same thing?"
Dree hated to admit it but Red was right. The messed up part about this whole thing was that he had known it all along but it had just been too much to deal with at the time. Hell even now it hurt to talk about. So what should he do run away from it again or stay. The answer was simple. So simple that he wondered why he hadn't thought of it before. Oh that's right! My head's been up my ass.
Red Bud watch as the realization flowed though Dree. Finally he thought. "So what now?"
"Now we wait for Gabe and…what did you say the girls name was?"
"Well as for her real name, she doesn't remember. But they decided on a new one for her."
"And that would be?"
"Anne. Her name is Anne."
At that same instant Dree and Red Bud were startled as the door slammed shut. Both of them whipped around too see a gangly unkempt heavyset man in roughly his early twenties. He was dressed in sweat pants and an old ratty tee shirt. His chest was heaved from lack of breath and sweat ran down his face. A gun was in his left hand. "You have to help…they killed them…they killed them all." And with that he passed out his body hitting the floor with a heavy thud and the gun sliding across the lobby to rest at Dree's feet.
A/N: Man that was rough.
A/N: I know it has been awhile and I am sorry. This has been a rather ruff chapter for me. I ju8st couldn't get it to flow right. Writer's block sucks!
Hope and Memory
Chapter 12: The Dree Dilemma
The tension in the front lobby of the 4:24 Free Clinic could make the hairs on the back of you neck tingle. Red Bud stood there and watched the frustration grow on Dree's face. He had to admit he had expected this, but even now he still wasn't sure how to handle the entire situation. Time was running out for him Gabe would be there in a few minutes.
Dree just stood there starring into space his mind doing summersaults. It had been hard enough two days ago when Red had told him that he had been at Gabe's all night helping him with a gunshot victim. That was work, which was saving someone's life; it's what we do. This was different. This was Gabe being here in his Clinic while he was at his clinic. The last time that happened He had ended up being thrown threw the front window thanks to Gabe. How do you deal with that? How do you make it okay? The answer. He didn't have a clue.
The silence was killing Red Bud. He had to say something other wise he was going to go insane. "Dree, You okay?" I was a stupid question he knew that, and by the look on Dree's face Dree thought it was stupid as well, but it was the first thing that had come into his mind.
"No! I'm not okay." And he really wasn't his brain hurt. And then he knew he had to leave and leave soon. Before Gabe got there. "I'm leaving now. You find some way to fix this little fuck up. And then call me when he is gone."
Red Bud watched him turn and start toward the back room. Shit! This wasn't happening. He had set this up to get them talking again. Gabe was willing why couldn't Dree just try as well. "Wait!" He shouted in the most commanding voice he could. "You are not going anywhere!" And with that he darted in front of Dree and put his hand on his chest.
"You have five seconds to get you hand off of me and out of my way or I will move you myself." Dree temper was flared now. What right did Red have to be doing this? It wasn't his problem. "One…two…three."
"Oh so now I'm the one you're going to vent your frustrations out on." Red Bud stated sternly interrupting the count and earning him a rather vicious stare from Dree. "You might not remember so well, but the last time you were being this much of an ass Gabe sent you though the front window. Of course that was after you took a swing at him for saving Anita's life."
"Don't start down with that shit again." Dree replied the count forgotten. All he wanted now was to leave and not talk about Gabe.
"What shit you talking about? The fact that your best friend saved you little sister's life, and what did he get for his troubles? Oh, I know the grief of losing another friend and oh yeah, the loss of his best friend in the form of an attempted punch to the head." After the last statement Red Bud moved back away from Dree. "We all miss Stephen. I miss him. Gabe misses him. Anita misses him. And by the way you just cringed when I said his name I know you miss him."
"Damn right I miss him," Dree stated quietly. "I deserve to miss him. He was my brother."
"And Stephen was Anita's brother and my friend and Gabe's friend as well." Red Bud put his hand softly on Dree's shoulder. "But blaming Gabe for his death isn't going to change that fact. Hell from what I can tell it's only made things worse."
"But he was there he should have been watching out for him." Dree's voice strained. "He was just a kid. Gabe shouldn't have let him go with."
"Do you think Gabe or you for that matter could have stopped him? Hell if I had found out a location where she was do you think anybody could have stopped me from going after her?" Well progress was being made. Red Bud could still see the sadness in Dree's eyes but at least the anger had faded. "And what about you. You mean to tell me you wouldn't have done the exact same thing?"
Dree hated to admit it but Red was right. The messed up part about this whole thing was that he had known it all along but it had just been too much to deal with at the time. Hell even now it hurt to talk about. So what should he do run away from it again or stay. The answer was simple. So simple that he wondered why he hadn't thought of it before. Oh that's right! My head's been up my ass.
Red Bud watch as the realization flowed though Dree. Finally he thought. "So what now?"
"Now we wait for Gabe and…what did you say the girls name was?"
"Well as for her real name, she doesn't remember. But they decided on a new one for her."
"And that would be?"
"Anne. Her name is Anne."
At that same instant Dree and Red Bud were startled as the door slammed shut. Both of them whipped around too see a gangly unkempt heavyset man in roughly his early twenties. He was dressed in sweat pants and an old ratty tee shirt. His chest was heaved from lack of breath and sweat ran down his face. A gun was in his left hand. "You have to help…they killed them…they killed them all." And with that he passed out his body hitting the floor with a heavy thud and the gun sliding across the lobby to rest at Dree's feet.
A/N: Man that was rough.