Thy'lek made great strides on the rehabilitation unit. He was willing to work very hard for Talla because she always respected him and told him the truth. He trusted her and wanted her to be proud of him. It also certainly helped that he saw his parents from time to time and could sense them again in the family bond. He was reassured that he was still loved and wanted and that he still had a family and a home to which he could return. To be honest, though, he was particularly pleased to learn that his sister was in big trouble for lying to him and scaring him half to death.
There came a time, however, when no matter how hard he worked, his improvement hit a plateau. He just couldn't seem to summon the strength or coordination to bring himself to a standing position from a seated one. Even when Talla helped him and put him between the parallel bars, he couldn't stand for very long at all, much less walk. The regenerated nerves in his legs protested with a burning pain and sometimes sent pains like electric shocks into his back, and standing up sometimes still made him feel dizzy. Talla had warned him from the beginning that there would be times when he would want to stay in bed and not work because he was too tired and in too much pain. One of those times was now. He just didn't have the motivation.
Talla knew she would have to do something soon before her little patient lost the gains he had fought so hard to achieve. She knew he missed his big brother Tren terribly, although he didn't mention it much anymore, so she approached their parents about letting their eldest son come visit their youngest. It took a bit more persuasion than she had expected, but it was finally agreed that Tren would come visit over the long weekend when school would be closed in celebration of the Emperor's birthday.
Little Thy'lek was overjoyed when Talla told him Tren would be coming to see him at the end of the week. Where she had lately had to coax and cajole him to work, she now had to restrain him from trying to do too much too fast. He wanted so badly to be able to stand up and even walk a little way so his brother would know he would soon be well and would be proud of him. Of course, he also wanted to show Tren the motorized wheelchair he had for getting around by himself. On one of his explorations off the floor in this chair, he had found the nursery with its big glass window so he could see all the babies. If he had time, he would show Tren where it was and explain that it was just so families and friends could come and see the babies the same way Tren had come to see him. He would make it clear, with his superior knowledge, that despite what their sister had said, it was not a display window where they could pick out one they wanted to buy. Mostly, though, he just wanted to play with his big brother in the main playroom that looked out on the docking port for the medical evacuation airships. If they were really lucky, one might come in.
The big day finally arrived. Thy'lek, in his motorized wheelchair, was racing down the hall on his way to the playroom. "Thy'lek, pull over! What did I tell you about speeding? You'll run over somebody, probably me," Talla scolded him gently.
"I'm sorry, Talla. I want to be ready for Tren. I want to find the good toys. Are you going to write me a ticket?" He tried to be contrite but couldn't suppress his excitement.
"Well, maybe not this time, but you do need to be careful. That chair is not a toy. People can get hurt, including you. Do you understand me, Thy'lek Shran?" She had knelt down so she was looking him straight in the eye. He nodded his head quickly. "I would like to hear you tell me what you understand, please," Talla said quietly. This was a serious safety issue and she wasn't going to let it go.
"My chair is not a toy. I'm not supposed to go fast. I could get hurt or hurt you." Talla inclined her head slightly. "Or somebody else," Thy'lek added quickly. "I promise I won't forget this time!" Talla saw the increased anxiety on Thy'lek's face and thought it perhaps equal measures of fear of displeasing her, fear that the good toys (and she knew exactly which ones he meant) would be gone and fear that Tren had come and left without waiting for him.
"Very good, Thy'lek. I'm proud of you, and I'll be even prouder if you really do remember this time." She saw him blush a deeper shade of blue in both pleasure and embarrassment. She reached out to ruffle his hair as she often did when she was pleased with him but caught herself just in time. He had spent a great deal of time carefully brushing his hair so he would look nice for his brother, and she, more than anyone else, knew how much energy that had taken. She checked her watch. "Tren won't be here for awhile yet. You have plenty of time to pick out your favorite toys. Why don't we go down to the playroom together?" It was one way to make sure he obeyed the speed limit.
Talla went into the nurses' station between the elevators and the playroom entrance. She had some therapy notes to dictate, but she wanted to keep an eye on her little patient and meet his brother. She watched Thy'lek rummage through the shelves of toys until he found the big model of the Andorian battle cruiser and its smaller shuttlepod (exactly as she had expected). He carefully put the toys in his lap and turned his chair around so he faced the entrance and could watch for his brother. He saw Talla in the nurses' station and waved almost shyly.
Thy'lek saw his brother get off the elevator and immediately called to him. Talla looked up and saw a handsome, well-developed, young Andorian male of medium height of about 5'8" (173 cm) – most full-grown Andorian males are at least 6' (183 cm) or taller - with the same large brown eyes as his little brother. He was dressed in a black leather jacket and black leather pants with low black boots, the combat fatigues of the Imperial Guard and a popular fashion statement among Andorian teenage boys. He wore the security bracelet necessary to gain admittance to a pediatric unit on his left wrist.
"Tren! Tren! I'm over here. Come play with me. Look! I've got the best toys!" Talla saw that Thy'lek's small face was radiant when he caught sight of his brother and held up the prized toys. Tren stopped at the entrance to the playroom. His back was to the nurses' station so Talla couldn't see the look of horror on his face. His parents had tried to prepare him for what Thy'lek would look like, but their words hadn't done justice to the reality. The previously study and active child now had matchstick-thin arms and legs, and his legs were encased in heavy metal braces that looked to weigh more than he did. The skin on his extremities was a mishmash of shades of blue with occasional white patches and all covered with a thin, translucent layer of pink. A few thick scars remained, although most were pale white lines that would eventually fade. To Tren, the motorized pediatric wheelchair that was Thy'lek's pride and joy, was a horrible contraption that seemed to engulf and entrap his little brother. He saw that it exhausted Thy'lek to even hold the large toy battle cruiser out to him. He couldn't image Thy'lek ever walking, running or skating again. This was all his fault! If only he had resisted the temptation to join his friends in a game he knew would exclude his little brother. If only he had continued to watch him and play with him as he should have done. Thy'lek's face was so full of love. Didn't he understand what he had done to him, how he had ruined his life? Tren felt like the massive iceberg that had sank the ice cutter Leviathan had landed on his chest. He could hardly breathe, and any minute now he was going to start crying, although big guys like him who wanted to be Imperial Guardsmen weren't supposed to cry. He had to get out of there! Without saying a word to his little brother, he turned on his heel and bolted for the elevator. He made it inside just as the door was closing.
Thy'lek didn't understand why his brother had stopped at the entrance to the playroom. He was so happy to see him that he didn't notice how distressed his big brother was. He had intended to give him the shuttlepod to play with, but since Tren seemed reluctant to come play, his child's mind reasoned that his big brother knew what he had planned and was holding out for the bigger toy. "Tren, come play with me. You can have the battle cruiser. I'll play with the shuttlepod. It's all right. It's a nice toy too!" He held the big toy out toward his brother but was stunned to see him turn away without a word and sprint toward the elevator. Thy'lek dropped the shuttlepod and used his stronger left arm to help push himself to a standing position. "Tren? Tren? What's the matter? What did I do?" He wanted to try to go after his brother, but it had taken him too long to stand up, and Tren had already disappeared into the elevator. He collapsed heavily into his chair. He slowly turned it around and moved to the window. He was still clutching the toy battle cruiser. For the longest time he watched the big snowflakes fall in front of the multicolored lights of the docking area. From the nurses' station, Talla could see the reflection of Thy'lek's face in the windowpane. She saw the silent tears coursing down his face. Eventually, he turned away from the window and carefully put the battle cruiser back on the shelf. He came out to the nurses' station and found Talla. Like most children, Thy'lek normally hated bedtime, but not tonight. "Talla, I'm tired. I want to go to bed. Will you help me, please?" Now she did gently ruffle his hair and stroke the little drooping antennae as they headed back to his room.
"Thy'lek?" His eyes popped open. Had someone called his name? His door was ajar as it always was at night, and the low light from the hall allowed him to survey his room. No one was there, and no one was in the hall either. He didn't think he'd dreamed it because he didn't think he'd been asleep yet, but he wasn't sure. "Thy'lek, are you awake?" The voice sounded sort of like Tren's, but Tren was gone, and Tren was big and brave and never cried. The voice sounded little and scared and like it had been crying.
"Tren, is that you? Are you all right? Why did you leave? What did I do?"
"Thy'lek, I'm so sorry! You didn't do anything, little brother. It's what I did to you. It's all my fault! All the pain and all the really bad, scary stuff that's happened to you – it's all my fault! If I had watched you and played with you like mom and dad told me to instead of playing that stupid game with my stupid so-called friends, then none of this would have happened. You'd be at home, and we'd be skating and having snowball fights and building a snow fort and harassing our sisters when mom and dad weren't looking. I'm so sorry! I'm so ashamed!" It was Tren and he was crying, deep, choking sobs.
"Stop it, Tren! You're scaring me! It's not all your fault. Mom and dad told me to stay away from the ice borers, but I didn't listen. Mom and dad told me to pay attention to you when you baby-sit me, but I didn't because I'm not a baby. I got you in big trouble. I'm sorry, Tren. I love you! I miss you!" Within the family bond, memory is as alive as reality. Within the bond, a healthy little boy stood on his own strong legs and reached out to his big brother with two strong arms like he always did whenever he'd had a nightmare and needed comfort. Like always, his big brother picked him up, gently rubbed his back and gave him a quick kiss on the top of his head. The little boy's two strong arms wrapped themselves around his big brother's neck and his two strong legs wrapped themselves around his big brother's body as far as they could go. The little boy nuzzled his face into his big brother's chest and savored the lingering scent of the leather jacket he loved to wear, the warmth of his body and the strong, steady beat of his heart. The little boy was content. The little boy felt safe.
Being a little boy, however, he eventually couldn't resist tickling his big brother's neck and under his chin with his antennae.
"Stop it, Bug! I mean it!" The big brother was laughing so hard, though, that it was almost impossible to take him seriously.
"I'm not a bug! I'm an Andorian!" The little boy said this with mock indignation. It was an old joke between them. His big brother stopped rubbing his back and brought that hand around to his front where he began to tickle the little boy's tummy and ribs. The little boy squirmed and squealed with delight, but his little antennae didn't stop tickling his big brother.
"Fine, you win! I surrender!" That always happened, too.
"Tren, promise you'll never leave me again. I get scared when you're not around." The little boy was serious now.
"All right, Thy'lek. I promise."
"No, I mean really promise. Promise three times."
Now the big brother was equally serious. "Thy'lek, I promise I will never, ever leave you again. One. Two. Three." As he said each number, the big brother's index finger made the sign of an "X" over a chamber of the little boy's heart. "Now, it's time for you to go to sleep." Within the bond, the big brother got into bed and settled the little boy down next to him, but the little boy wiggled just enough to put his head over the main chamber of his big brother's heart. The big brother reached down to pull up the light silk blanket and left his arm around the little boy. "Good night, Thy'lek."
"Good night, Tren." Alone in his hospital bed, little Thy'lek was deeply and peacefully asleep at last.