Hi all! So, this fanfic is just super fun and easy to write. I am having a blast! I hope you all are enjoying the story too! AS for posting... I'm thinking I'm going to stick posting 3 chapters at a time. It takes a little longer to write like that, but then ya'll get a bigger chunk to read. Let me know what you think! Or if you have some ideas for the upcoming chapters. I love being inspired by others :).

Joseph

John's pain radiated from him the moment he left the van. I could hear it in his voice when we spoke over the radio. It was the same voice I recall hearing the night he had etched his sin into his chest. Broken, frightened, and hurt. All the things an older brother never wanted to hear from his youngest sibling.

I had found him that night...covered in his own blood, laughing in the face of his pain, and could offer him nothing more than someone to lean on. But I knew I would not be enough to fix him. He had to want to be better on his own...and although it had pained me that it would not be for us that he would become better...God had told me that it would happen when he came to love another.

And here she was...bloodied, scarred, and abused by those horrible sinners. Those that she had sacrificed herself for, so they could leave us in peace. Bitterly I wished I had said no, that I had kept them locked in the bunker to undergo atonement...but if I had done so, John would not have found his own path to feeling another's love.

I sent him to go shower...remaining with Evangeline and gently washing her wounds. The water quickly became murky from her blood...and as I went to get more, her hand gently grasped mine and she whimpered.

"F-Father…" she sobbed. "I…"

I knelt down beside her, my fingers lightly squeezing her own.

"Shh…" I whispered. "I'm here with you, child. I'm here."

Tears rolled down her face in streams and my heart ached to see her experience such turmoil. She wanted to talk to me, I could feel it in her soul...but her body was so beaten and tired that she couldn't. I wanted to reassure her that I would be here when she woke, but I knew there was little to be done about the horrible things she had just endured.

"I...killed…" she cried. "I...I had no…"

"Oh my sweet child," I whispered, pressing my lips to her forehead. "You did what you needed to come home to us…"

I remained with her until she fell asleep once more and proceeded with getting more water and another set of towels. The water in the bathroom had stopped, and glancing into one of the bunkrooms I could see John laying awake. I frowned...but did nothing to disturb him. I had come to know that when my children needed me, they would come and find me.

They said that having patience was a virtue. Would that my younger brother felt the same way. Evangeline was sleeping...as she had done for the past day or so...and like the impulsive man he was, my brother didn't know what to do with himself. We took turns caring for Eva, but I knew he yearned to punish the sinners that had caused this. He wanted to wring them dry of all their evil and I could not judge him for it. My fear was that those responsible would not reach atonement if left to the rage felt by him.

With the prison now back under our control, Jacob and Faith soon joined us. I was grateful for their aid...and even more that Jacob could help John with his anger by going hunting early the one morning. Faith remained with me, humming softly as she lightly ran a damp cloth over Eva's forehead. Her fever had broken hours ago, but still...she would not wake. I prayed every night for God to heal His child...but he remained still. I wasn't deterred, I would pray until my dear sister awoke.

"Joseph…" Faith called to me. "Do you mind if I make some tea?"

I set down my journal and offered her a gentle nod. However, before she left I stopped her.

"It had better only be tea if you plan to share it with the Mother.'

She nodded and I took her place at Evangeline's side. Faith had let her hair out of the matted braid she had been forced to endure while with the resistance. Now it flowed in light golden waves to her shoulder. Evangeline's daughter would share those waves...with her father's deep blue eyes. A radiant little girl with a heart as big as her mother's. I had seen her...but...whereas I saw her and John...Evangeline remained lost in my vision.

"F-Father…"

I turned to the frail voice that called to me.

"I want to...go home…"

I couldn't allow that yet. The lodge was barely there...and the daycare that Evangeline had worked so tirelessly to create had been taken too. I worried that showing my dear child this would be too much evil for her to bear. When she was stronger...we would return home.

"We are all here with you, child…" I said, my hand gently caressing her face. "You are always home when you are with us."

She placed her hand over my own and I watched as her eyes slowly drifted closed once more. I brought my lips to her head and gently tucked the quilt from the sofa around her. Faith returned with three steaming mugs of tea. Although grateful she had thought of Evangeline, I put it to the side. The mother wouldn't wake soon enough to drink it. I took my own cup back to the dining room table and continued writing in my journal until Jacob and John both returned.

He wasted no time going to Evangeline...and finally, she opened her eyes to face him. They held each other's gaze and I frowned as Evangeline's expression crumpled and she began sobbing. John wrapped his arms around her and with a tug he held her in his lap, his hand resting on the back of her head as she realized that not only was she in the arms of the one she loved…but that it was more than just a dream.

He moved her to one of the beds and joined me at the kitchen table. Faith was working on a crocheted blanket in the living room and Jacob busily skinned a rabbit one of his traps had caught outside. I had been studying scripture...but I knew that John came to me so we could talk. I closed my Bible and offered him a warm smile.

"Did you want to talk brother?" I asked.

"...I wanted to ask you…" He began. "When you told me you were proud of me...what did you mean by that?"

I gave him a long look before responding.

"For years...I truly feared that you were lost to me, John. That so much pain had been afflicted on you that nothing would bring you back from the pit of despair you had dug yourself."

I felt my throat tighten with emotion.

"And...I would bear that failure for eternity… because I still feel there is no one I have failed more than you, brother."

"Joseph-"

"You were so broken...when we finally found you. If I had gotten to you sooner…"

Tears filled my eyes and I unashamedly sent them down my cheeks. I wasn't embarrassed of the sorrow I had felt for him. Nor was I so proud that I wouldn't praise God for the angel He had sent me to save him.

"I told you I am proud of you," I sniffed. "Because you had finally opened yourself to the love of another. And...not only were you receptive to it… but you were not afraid to give it back."

I didn't know how John would react to my confession, but I knew I never expected what he did. He came to me and for the first time in a very long time...he embraced me. I stood without hesitation and returned the gesture. My hand rested on the back of his neck and my eyes squeezed shut...it felt like God had finally given me my little brother back.

The days and nights felt so simpler in the Counselor Cabin. It was just the five of us...and though I would never spit in the face of my Lord and deny my flock...it did not change how exhausting it could be to lead them all to salvation. However...I recognized that we couldn't hide in this little haven forever. Jacob, Faith, and I had important duties that could not be left to tend themselves.

John would remain...he would help Evangeline heal...and when she was well, he was to join me at the main compound. I would ensure a cabin was made available for them both before they arrived.

(I HOPE YA'LL ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER! PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YA THINK :D)