Rhapsody

I don't own the Four Brothers, but here's how things would have gone it I did

Author: Dimitri Aidan

Rating; R to NC-17, as with most things it's all about the site.

Warnings: Slash, Sex, Violence, Language, Alternate Ending, Incest but not in a biological sense, and …other stuff. I'm a man of few plans but many whims.

Notes: I wouldn't get overly attached to this chapter, as I'm not sure how much I like it. I wrote it around 3 AM and...well, it may vanish and show up re-done at some point, depending on how it looks after I've managed to get some sleep.

Pairings: Bobby/Jackie, Angel/Sophia, Jerry/…Jerry's wife.

Summery: In which Jack doesn't die, but Bobby does let a few things slip. As they try to rebuild and understand what's growing between them, someone seeks to tear it all down

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Chapter Two

Our Luck to Change

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Jackie was tired in a way that he'd never felt before. It wasn't just the urge to yawn and rub at his eyes, but a sort of weariness that curled inside of him and made it near impossible to keep his eyes open in order to hear the doctors talking about him over the top of his head, because heaven forbid they actually said a fucking word to his face.

Bastards.

He suspected what ever drug they were pumping in to him to keep the pain at bay was some really good stuff because he was barely aware of his body and what he was aware of was a tingling floating feeling. It would have been nice if it didn't annoy him so much. Pain meant he was still alive and the more places that hurt the better the chances that everything was in working order.

Jack had never been a real fan of hospitals or the numbness they liked to force onto people. He'd spent a lot of time in hospitals when he was younger. Hell, even after coming to live with Mom he'd spent a nice chunk of time in this particular hospital. Not for lack of trying to keep him safe and with all of his limbs intact on her part, but more an unwillingness to ever back down from anyone else.

He'd put up with a lot of shit as far as school went. Kids whispering about him and his 'unusual' family, to put it nicely. Everyone knew the Mercer Boys were rejects with no futures or anything going for them. Where other kids had two parents and siblings or even one parent they were just…mismatched and pushed together.

They were looked down at for that. They fact they'd all be violent pricks who'd knock the shit out of anyone they thought looked at them funny hadn't helped.

Except in hockey. For all Bobby's mocking Jackie wasn't bad; he was actually pretty good. He knew how the game worked at least and did more than just try to break the other guys nose like his brothers did.

Jackie blinked and choked by a yawn, glaring at the doctor standing next to his bed. Doctor Thomas or something like that. He was more familiar with the Nurse, Rebecca Collins. She'd been here, as a nurse, for longer than Jack was likely to remember and always had a soft spot for the four of them, taking special care to make them comfortable and sneak them candy. She also made the occasional house call, if they asked nicely enough and promised not to get in trouble again.

She had to know by now they never meant what they promised but she'd always come out anyway, ready to clean, stitch, and bandage them up with an exasperated smile.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Jackie sat, frowning at the cast that now covered his right arm. It itched and he hadn't been able to get the nice looking red one with the black flames. Ms. Mercer said breaking his arm while trying to shove Elden Coleman out the back of the bus wasn't something he was rewarded for.

Elden had managed to get away with only a scrap from tumbling out of the bus where as Jackie had been subject to a beating by some of the other boy's cousins. He was fine now of course and had gotten to see Ms. Collins, a woman Mrs. Mercer said was a friend of the family, for a little while. She hadn't stayed long, explaining with a tired smile that she had a 'house visit' to attend to but that she'd see him soon and then given him a kiss on the forehead.

Jackie wasn't sure why she'd done that, since he didn't know her and he wasn't part of the family but he'd liked it. She reminded him of the lady who'd lived down the hall from him, his mother, and his father. She'd been nice and always smiled at him and gave him hard candy.

She'd died a little bit after his mother had and he couldn't really remember her name anymore.

Ms. Mercer pulled into the driveway and, without a word and only a look, ordered him into the house and up to his room. He hurried inside, not wanting to risk further invoking her wrath. He didn't meant to upset her so much and knew it was only a matter of time before his constant fucking up made her get rid of him like all of the other people. He'd been here all of three months and managed to be in six fights, break another boy's nose, and now his own arm.

He could only imagine what Bobby, Angel, and Jerry would have to say when they saw him. They'd probably laugh at him and tell him what a wuss he was for getting jumped by those boys. The idea made his stomach hurt; he really wanted them to like him but they were older and had been with Mrs. Mercer.

He pushed the door open and was about the slink his way up the steps in hopes that no one would see him but Jerry poked his head out of the living room and into the front hall. Jackie stopped and stared at the older boy. Jerry's lip was swollen and he had a bunch of weird butterfly looking things on a cut above his left eye. Still he cracked a painful looking smile when he saw who it was.

"Hey Jackie."

"Um-"

"Jeremiah!" Ms. Mercer strode in after him and, putting a hand on the small of Jackie's back to push him along, walked into the living room. "What happened to you?"

Angel, who was sitting on the floor in front of Jerry and leaning back against the couch, laughed before making a face and touching his chest gingerly. He pulled up the hem of his t-shirt to reveal white bandages stretched over his skin.

"Nothing really." Jerry said with a shrug. "Just a little hockey accident."

"Hockey?" Something in the way she said it made Jackie think she didn't particularly believe what he was saying. "This doesn't have anything to do with what happened to Jack does it?"

"Of course not." Bobby's voice, thin and annoyed, floated from the kitchen. "Like we'd go through all of this for the fairy."

Jackie wound his good arm around himself, reminded of the things his father used to call him late at night. Loud words that hurt his ears, bitter breathe and angry hands all over.

He shivered then looked up at Ms. Mercer whose lips had pressed into a very thin line. "Bobby, don't make me-"

There was the sound of a chair scrapping over tile and then Bobby ambled out of the kitchen, flexing his hand, which had a white bandage on the palm, slowly. Behind him came Ms. Collins from the hospital, a small smile on her lips. Ms. Mercer went silent for a moment then sighed.

"Rebecca. I assume Jerry called you? I hope you didn't put yourself out to take care of these three, I could have-"

Ms. Collins laughed and made a dismissive gesture. "It's fine Evelyn, you know I don't mind. I was about to head home when he called the hospital and there is no reason to spend money on those doctors for what I can fix in a few minutes. Right boys?"

All three nodded their agreement, looking as innocent as three teenagers who looked like they'd been fighting could be. Ms. Mercer rolled her eyes then inclined her head towards the door.

"Let me walk you out then."

Ms. Collins nodded and walked over, stopping to smile at Jackie and press something smooth into his hand. He looked down to see a Hershey bar and when he looked up to say something she was already gone. He closed his fingers around it then looked over at the three teens that were staring back at him. He swallowed and shifted from one foot to the other nervously.

"Next time you plan to take on someone like Coleman let us know." Jerry said finally, sitting back and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Why?"

"So we can watch you get pummeled." Bobby said, looking up from his hand. Jackie winced without meaning too and the oldest boy rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me you're an idiot and a fag."

Angel laughed again, though this time he didn't wince. "We can't let anyone fuck with our little brother, especially not when they want to fight six on one. It's not how we do things."

"Yeah. Don't worry about Elden or his family. Most of them will be pissing blood for a while." Jerry's smile was nothing short of scary.

"They deserve it for being that damn stupid." Bobby muttered while limping over to the couch and sitting next to Jerry. "So, what made you finally crack? We've been making fun of you for months and you've haven't so much as said five words to us, let alone shoved us out of a bus and into traffic."

Jackie was silent for a moment, considering, before shrugging. "He touched me."

"Touched?" Angel repeated. "That's it?"

"He wasn't your type of something?" Bubby asked, shit-eating grin firmly in place.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

He wasn't surprised to see her there, one hand on her hip while the other played with a strand of silver hair, which was falling out of its normally flawlessly pinned up bun. Her coco colored skin had more creases than he remembered, though it was hard to focus on her, because his eyes kept sliding to the side where Thomas was saying something with a bunch of frantic arm waving that gave Jackie a serious headache. He closed his eyes, fully intending to open them once he was sure he wouldn't be sick.

He opened them again to find Collins smoothing down his sheets with a sad smile and the doctor nowhere in sight. The room was brighter, though the lights were off, and he could only assume daylight was coming in through a window he couldn't see.

He must have fallen asleep. Damn drugs.

"You're awake again." Her smile faltered for a moment. "You gave me quite the scare Jackie. I'm much too old to keep up with your antics these days."

He started to tell her she didn't look any older than he remembered but all that came out was a rough gasp and an annoying itching in the back of his throat. She chuckled and reached for something just out of his line of sight. A glass of water with a straw leaning against the edge. She held it while he drank and he fought to not be embarrassed that he couldn't do it himself.

Weakness like this in front of anyone else would have been impossible, but he knew she didn't care and wouldn't speak of it. He half expected her to pull a lollipop from her sweater pocket and tell him to be good. The cup was set aside and she reached for his rest, eyeing the tube with a frown.

"I know how much you hate these things but try to keep it in this time. You wouldn't believe the trouble I had assuring Thomas that you could have visitors without getting over excited so don't you go proving me wrong. He's a foolish man though, thinking he can keep the Mercers bound by silly rules; I'm sure Bobby will have you broken out of here the moment he can." She tugged at his sheet and again smoothed some wrinkle he doubted was there. "I'm so sorry about your mother. I wanted to come to the funeral but… well."

He nodded slightly and closed his eyes again. This time he was aware of the darkness of sleep creeping up on him, not nearly as black as the darkness that had taken him after being shot. He welcomed it and allowed himself to just be there, in the dark, for a while.

When he opened his eyes again it was Jerry he found sitting by his bed, chin resting on his folded hands while he watched with unblinking brown eyes. He scooted forward some when he saw Jackie was awake and smiled.

"Cracker Jack, glad to see you're still with us."

Jackie groaned, wanting to tell the older man that nearly dying didn't mean he'd suddenly think that damn nickname was acceptable. Jerry seemed to understand because his smile went from kind to mocking and Jackie felt strangely at ease.

"You missed a lot, so let me recap. I'm not mixed up with anything, mom tried to turn Sweet in to the cops but he had a few in his pocket, I gave away close to four hundred thousand dollars, Green is dead as is his dirty partner, Bobby kicked Sweet's ass and settled things."

Jack stared, letting that process for a moment before holding up four fingers, trying to communicate what exactly was on his mind. Jerry was silent for a moment then, before Jack could duck, smacked him in head.

"You almost got your ass killed, that money should be the least of your problems."

Jackie shrugged and, with no small amount of effort, pushed himself up so he was sitting. He felt a slight lick of pain from his shoulder but ignored it in favor of looking his brother over. He made a gesture towards his eye and Jerry started to reach up then smiled.

"The cops got a little annoyed when we couldn't tell them where Sweet was."

Jackie arched an eyebrow and swallowed, trying to wet his achingly dry throat. "Yeah?" His voice was hoarse and dry, cracking halfway through that one word. He swallowed again.

"Yeah. Nothing for you to worry about, it's over now."

"Missed the fun."

"If you say so. You always had the strangest idea of what was fun." Jerry said then tilted his head to the side slightly. "I'd stay longer but you can only have one visitor at a time and I know everyone else wants to see you."

"Cool." He really and truly hated his voice at the moment. It was so weak, brittle and threatening to just…shatter if he used it wrong.

Jerry started to get up then hesitated. "Bobby especially."

Jackie blinked then snorted. Doubtful. Bobby probably wanted to tell him how gay he'd been for screaming his name like he'd done and what a true twat he was for running out of the house like he'd done.

Angel and Sophia came in after Jerry, separately. It was for the best; Jackie didn't think he could psychically take the two of them and the drama that followed them all at once. She cried and he told him how glad he was that he was finally awake and that he couldn't wait until he was better so he could kick his sorry ass, because what the fuck had been thinking about. Angel knew he wasn't that fucking stupid and if it wasn't too much trouble maybe next time he could use his damn brain and not just go running off like some kind of idiot every time someone decided to bait him.

Jackie smiled wryly as Angel walked out and leaned back onto his pillows. He could feel the pain more now, and not just in his shoulder but his leg as well. He supposed if he was smart he'd be calling a nurse and asking for more painkillers but, even if he liked that shit, he didn't want to pass out half-way through what was sure to be a threat from Bobby.

Because the fact that he had lived meant that everyone now got to tell him what a stupid prick he was.

The door opened again and in walked Bobby, hands shoved into his coat pockets and with none of his usual confidence. He just looked tired. It was weird.

He didn't sit down, just stared at him until Jackie wanted to either throw something at him or hide, because it was…just damn. Intense and unnerving and it was like Bobby was trying to read his mind or something like that.

"I was worried about you."

Jackie's world did a fantastic job of screeching to a halt. That was Bobby's all too familiar voice, his lips forming the words but hell if that could be Bobby saying them. It was just…not Bobby. No insults or mocking or…

Worried about him?

"What?"

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Note: I checked some stuff out and Sophia is actually Sofi…eh. Too lazy to change it.

Scyllablue: I didn't really get Jack dying either…I just happened to get out of creative writing before I went to go see it and so ended up trying to find a deeper meaning. Now, a week later, I'm pretty much going 'that was so damn pointless' in my head. Jackie had such potential, what with altering between horror at seeing people get shot to almost setting a congressman on fire to screaming his lungs out when people were shooting around him…oh the issues that could lurk in his head. I love a guy with issues.

Zoe: Yes, I shall keep going. I have plans (That center around the laundry room, but I digress) and they must be realized! Or…something along those lines.

Sparkl: Normally I'm not one for altering character death, preferring to simply resurrect my characters from the grave later on, but I didn't see a point and there was UST and…yeah. I went with it.

Dark: Why thank you, thank you.

Mechante: That's right, actual movie viewage is optional more or less, since I pretty much explained the movie and all of the interesting stuff starts in the past anyway. The original storyline has been departed from, yes. It was stupid (the part I'm departing from) and…eh. My boyfriend and my brain know it's all love, just…an annoyed kind of love. Damn it, I wanted to see The Brothers Grimm…