We drove the rest of the way in silence. I decided to study more for my history test, and Tom retreated to his room, probably to talk to Aftran, or maybe read.

Before I knew it, Mom was calling me to dinner. After we ate, Tom asked me if I was going to hang out with Marco that evening.

I shook my head. "He and his dad are seeing a movie."

He was looking forward to it, too. Marco and his dad hadn't been spending as much time together, since his dad had started dating Nora. Maybe his dad felt that way, too. I knew it was hard on Marco, since his mom might still be alive. Not to mention that Nora was his math teacher. At least, his dad was happy, now.

Anyway, I was glad that he and his dad were going to spend an evening together.

"That's cool," Tom answered.

"You got any plans?" I asked, hoping the answer was no.

Tom shrugged. "Homework's done for the weekend, and I don't have a Sharing meeting until next week. I'm pretty much free, if you want to hang out."

"There's an old movie on tonight, if you kids are interested," Dad spoke up. "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."

"Oh, I've seen that!" Mom piped up. "Let's all watch it. I'll make popcorn."

We exchanged looks of disbelief. No way did we want to watch a movie about alien invasion when we were living through it.

"You guys have fun. I think I'll pass," I answered, smiling at them, and trying not to make direct eye contact with Tom.

We'd probably start laughing. Not that this would be the worst thing in the world, but there was no reason to add to our parents' suspicion.

"Yeah, I'll pass on that," Tom put in. "I already saw it a couple of years ago. Once was plenty."

If I hadn't been avoiding looking at Tom before, I sure would have needed to now. Even so, I couldn't quite swallow a laugh. I ended up having a coughing fit. Tom grabbed a glass of water from the cabinet and handed it to me, looking both amused and sympathetic.

I took a few sips of water, which helped, and grinned at him. "Thanks, Tom. Don't know what came over me."

Tom wrapped an arm around my shoulder, giving him a quick squeeze. "Happy to help, Midget."

Our parents smiled at each other. You know, those looks parents give each other that when they're sharing a moment and think their kids have no idea what's going on. Well, to their credit, I guessed that our being friends again was still sort of new in their eyes.

To be honest, I was glad. If they noticed that we were spending a lot of time together, they wouldn't think anything was up. Not like we were fighting alien invaders or anything.

Well, okay. We were spending some of that time just being brothers. Then again, after nearly three years of distance, we were allowed to have some fun.

I gulped down the rest of the water, then rinsed out the glass and dried it with a towel.

"Hey, Jake?" he asked. "You want to shoot hoops outside? Should be light out for a little longer."

I nodded, smiling at him. "Yeah, sure. Sounds good."

"Have fun!" Dad told us, smiling.

Tom gave my shoulder another squeeze as we headed outside. It was perfect weather to shoot hoops. Not too hot, and a perfect amount of breeze.

I removed the ball from a crate in the garage, then tested to make sure it was okay. It was. Then, I took a shot at the basket, and it flew in perfectly. Almost on impulse, Tom caught the ball, just after it hit the asphalt from the driveway.

"Nice one, Midget," he grinned, dribbling the ball a couple of times before taking a shot at the basket. It flew in, and it was a race to grab the ball before Jake could.

We competed for a little, but after some time, Tom gave me some pointers. They helped, too. I realized, after a half hour, that I had this silly grin glued to my face. This was what I'd hoped for, all those times I'd fantasized about Tom being free again.

Now, it was real.

It felt like the perfect evening. The kind of normalcy I'd forgotten about during the last two years. Just two brothers playing basketball. Almost like a scene from one of those home movies parents would take.

After playing for half an hour or so, I tried to steal the ball away from Tom, without any luck. Even without practicing for two years, he could detect me creeping up behind him in an attempt to make a play against him. Oh well. Life couldn't be completely perfect, after all.

In a way, I was kind of proud of Tom.

More than kind of.

"If we weren't playing, that would have earned you a wedgie," he teased.

"Hey, I had to try, Tom," I laughed.

Tom rolled his eyes and gave me a punch on the shoulder.

It wasn't a hard punch. I mean, it hurt a little, but it was hardly the kind of punch that a school bully would give you. I probably would have laughed it off, except, somehow, the way I was standing or walking or something-I fell. Hard. Before I knew it, I was on my side on the driveway, and based on the shoot of pain going through my left side, my shoulder had taken the brunt of it.

It was all I could do not to shout out. Not that it mattered. Before I could look up, Tom was by my side, helping me up, asking me if I was okay. I nodded, and it was mostly true. The pain from my shoulder was fading, somewhat, as the seconds went by. I could see that my shirt had a tear in it, but there wasn't blood gushing down, or anything like that.

I tried to make a joke about it. "Yeah, I'm okay. Guess I'm just clumsy."

"Let me take a look," Tom urged.

I didn't bother to protest, and he carefully pulled the top of my shirt down to examine my shoulder. A memory came to my mind. I was ten, and Tom was almost thirteen. I'd scraped my knee after falling off my bicycle. Too old to cry about it, but I could still remember the tears falling down my face. Tom had helped me walk inside, reassuring me that it wouldn't hurt too much if I let him clean up the cut. I'd agreed, and later, he'd given me a big bowl of ice cream for being a "brave patient". Way too much for me to eat on my own, so Tom helped me finish it.

We weren't kids anymore, but I felt this mix of pain and nostalgia inside my chest when I realized Tom was still my protective big brother. Sure, I'd fought battles as an animal, and the first one had been even right in front of Tom. My attempt at freeing him from the Yeerk Pool. I'd been cut up way worse than this.

Still. Right now, he was the older brother, back to checking me for those regular, every day cuts and bruises.

I swallowed a lump inside my throat.

After a minute or so, Tom let go of the shirt. Put an arm around my shoulder.

"Am I going to live?" I joked.

"You'll make it through the night, but I'd get rid of that shirt, and definitely clean the cut in the shower. Tonight. You don't want that to get infected. Besides," Tom added, teasingly, "you need it, after all that running around."

I nodded. "Yeah, I'll do that."

I didn't point out that morphing would remove any chance of infection. Didn't want to make him feel stupid for forgetting about that.

Tom wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Maybe, that's enough practice for today? You have gotten pretty good, Midget."

Another nod. "Okay. We'll play again soon, though?"

I sort of let myself rest against Tom for a minute, then, out of impulse, hugged him. He squeezed me back, holding me for a good minute. "Definitely," he promised.

I was relieved. I didn't want this to be the end of playing basketball with Tom. I didn't want him thinking I was too weak to handle a couple of cuts.

We let go, and Tom picked up the ball from the ground, then walked with me to the garage, where he placed the ball back in the crate for safe keeping.

Afterwards, he placed an arm around me. "Hey...Midget? Have fun?"

I leaned against him. "Always, Tom."

Our parents were still watching the bodysnatchers movie, so we tried to head upstairs quietly, without disturbing them.

"I'm gonna take that shower," I told Tom. "Um, want to hang out, afterwards? I got this new video game we could try."

"Sure, sounds fun." Tom smiled as he looked down as his sweat soaked shirt. "Think I'll need to shower before that. You go first, though."

"I'll be quick," I promised.

Tom just ran a hand through my hair. "Take your time, Jake. Anyway, Aftran reminded me that I've got some reading to finish for school, and it would be great to have a homework free day tomorrow."

I nodded, and disappeared down the hall, to our shared bathroom.

There wasn't any dirt lodged in my shoulder, but it was still pretty raw. I cleaned it off, carefully, and then just relaxed under the hot water. Most, if not all, of the pain seemed to ease up in the water. Afterwards, I changed into an oversized pair of PJs that I wouldn't have worn normally, but everything else was waiting for Mom to wash. Afterwards, I noticed that at least some of the pain in my shoulder was back. Well, I'd just have to tough it out.

Anyway, it wasn't really that bad.

I headed back into Tom's room, and he smiled at me.

At first, I thought I managed the faking it pretty well. Tom made a remark about my pajamas being too big for me, still. Mom had bought them a year or so ago, and they practically swallowed me up. Like I said, I wouldn't have worn them, now, except everything else was dirty.

Tom went to take his shower, and, more out of boredom than anything else, I took him up on his offer to read Hemingway. One page in, my head hurt way worse than my shoulder from that attempt, and it made me wonder if Tom found schoolwork any easier for Aftran to help him.

Probably. I couldn't really imagine it. Was Aftran explain everything to Tom in a way he could understand? Did she sit back in his mind and take over if he had trouble understanding something?

Cassie had mentioned that her homework took way less time when Aftran helped, and Tom had said something like that, too. Maybe, if the war ever ended and we could trust some Yeerks, receiving tutoring from Yeerks would be a thing. Instead of going to a teacher for help, you'd just put a slug in your head for a couple of hours.

Maybe, it wouldn't be so bad. If they didn't take control or played back your worst memories. If they just talked to you, helped you to understand what you were missing in class.

I remembered that Cassie and Aftran had seen a movie together. Aftran hadn't taken control away from Cassie, hadn't locked her in her mind while she used Cassie's senses. They'd shared control, enjoying the movie, eating snacks together. Probably, talking throughout the movie, without bothering anyone. They'd had fun together.

I sort of frowned to myself, trying to imagine a world where Yeerks didn't treat humans like just bodies. When they-as a species-actually wanted to help us.

If I hadn't met Aftran, via Cassie, I would have claimed that it could never happen.

Even now, I thought that Yeerks like her were in the minority. Most wouldn't want to help us. They just wanted to use us.

I ended up spending the rest of the time reading one of Tom's comic books, laying on my stomach on his bed, knowing he wouldn't mind. I heard him enter the room, and he sat down next to me, running a hand along my still damp hair.

"Hey," I greeted, smiling.

"Hey, yourself," he laughed. Nodding at the comic, he asked, "Which one is that?"

"Batman," I answered, and turned it around to show him. "Read it before, but it's fun to reread them."

"Fun." Tom studied me. "That can't be comfortable?"

I just shrugged. "I read like that all the time. When I'm not sitting, or lying on my back in bed."

Tom raised an eyebrow at me. "How's your shoulder?"

I looked up at him, figuring I knew where this was headed. He was going to apologize for hurting me, even though he hadn't really hurt me. Not like a Yeerk could.

Anyway, it wasn't Tom's fault I had fallen on the driveway.

"My shoulder?" I echoed, stalling.

Tom eyed me. "Yeah, Midget. The one I punched, earlier? That you fell on?"

I could feel my face turn red. "Oh," I replied, lamely. "It's fine, Tom."

I had this feeling he didn't completely believe me.

"Great." Yeah, he definitely could tell I was not completely okay. Then, more gently, he asked, "Can I see it?"

"Well," I stalled, still not quite meeting his eyes, "it's a little sore. But, if it's not okay tomorrow, it will be back to normal the next time I morph. And it's really not too bad, now."

Another sigh. "Midget, come on," he practically pleaded. "Let me be your overprotective big brother?"

I forced myself into a sitting position, rolling my eyes at him, managing not to wince. I even managed to moved the fabric from my PJ top away from my bad shoulder without indicating that this hurt. I sat there while he prodded it, studying it. I waited until Tom's inspection was over, so he could see I was wasn't going to die that night.

"Well, I think you'll survive the night," he determined.

I was about to turn away, maybe retort with a, "I told you so!" when Tom spoke up again, a little more quietly, this time.

"That being said, how about a back rub?"

I didn't respond, or, not verbally. I just pulled the fabric from my pajamas over my shoulder. Any excuse to avoid his eyes.

Did Tom really think I was that weak? Did he pity me over such a minor injury, if you could even call it that?

"It's just...it could help you sleep easier," he explained, his voice gentle.

I stared at him, wondering how bad he thought I was hurt, to baby me this way. I wasn't some kid with a bruised knee. I didn't need the promise of ice cream to let him take care of cleaning up my scrapes.

I stared at the blankets. "Tom. You don't need to-to baby me. I'm fine, really."

I felt Tom wrap his arms around me, almost holding me. Funny, but that felt protective, not really babying.

"I know you'll be okay," he reassured me, his voice still gentle. "But...humor me. Let me be the overprotective big brother, tonight. All right?"

I had to sigh, just a little, but I nodded. Tom carefully positioned me I was laying on my stomach, my head was propped against the stack of his pillows.

"Comfortable?"

I managed a yes.

I felt my older brother place my hands together on the top of my neck, just below the ends of my hair.

"Okay." Tom began with my neck. His touch felt gentle, and he moved slowly. "I'm gonna start here, first. If anything starts to hurt, let me know, okay? Don't tough it out. Promise me, Jake?"

"Promise," I agreed, letting my eyes close.

By now, I figured that if Tom was that insistent on babying me, well, I might as well try to relax and let him get it over with.

At first, Tom kept working his hands along the top of my neck. I guessed he wanted to start above the bruised area before working his way around there. Or, maybe, he wanted me to feel more relaxed before moving towards my injured shoulder.

Okay, so it was relaxing. I could even feel myself getting sleepy, my breathing start to slow down, the way it did before I fell asleep at night. A few minutes in, I found myself wondering why I'd protested in the first place. Tom was my older brother. He cared about me. He knew what I went through, fighting the Yeerks. Letting him take care of me for once...okay, I could do that.

Suddenly, he was speaking to me, again.

"Jake? You still okay?" Tom asked, now gently massaging my shoulders.

I did feel a very brief sting of pain in my injured shoulder. I must have made a noise of protest, or something like that, because Tom abruptly moved his hands away from that particular part of my shoulder. After that, it just felt...good. I felt myself relax completely.

"Yeah," I managed to mumble. I managed turned his head towards Tom, and even though I kept my eyes closed, I hoped he could see that my face was relaxed. "It feels good, Tom."

"No pain, now?" he prodded.

"No," I answered, truthfully.

I thought I heard Tom laugh as I felt him move his hands to the middle of my back.

I half expected him to stop in a few minutes or so. I mean, I was already half asleep. But, he just kept it up, massaging all of my back under the fabric of my pajama top, then moving back to my shoulders again. He went over the injured area again, really gentle, and whether it was time or Tom's ministrations, it felt like that pain had mostly disappeared.

As the moments passed, it was like all of the tension I must have been carrying, ever since the beginning of the Yeerk invasion, was starting to fade away completely. I wasn't the Jake before the Yeerks invaded. That part of me was long gone. Still, right now, it felt like most of the weight I must have been carrying around for years was suddenly lifted from my body.

I felt light, lighter than I had in years.

I realized that I felt...completely safe.

I might have fallen asleep for real, because I almost started when I heard Tom's voice.

"Jake?" His face was right above mine. His hands were no longer working on my back.

I didn't answer right away, since I was in that hazy place between being awake and being asleep. "You say something?" I mumbled.

A laugh, and I noticed Tom stretching out his hands, cracking his knuckles. "Just checking that you were still awake."

Figuring that this was my cue that Tom was finished with the back rub, and still feeling more asleep than awake, I turned over on my side without any pain, hoping Tom would notice. "Yeah. Thanks...Tom."

Tom seemed relieved, tucked a piece of my hair around my right ear. "I know it's not that late, but maybe, we can skip the video game for tonight?"

"Sounds good," I mumbled. Figuring it was time to head to my bedroom, I started to get up, only to be stopped with Tom's hand on my uninjured shoulder, and the feeling of blankets being tucked in around my body.

"You're already half asleep, Midget," he pointed out, giving it a light squeeze. "I won't be cruel and kick you out."

I managed a smile, then stopped, making again as though to get up. "But, I didn't brush my teeth."

Tom joined me under the covers, wrapping me in a bear hug. "Jake," he laughed. "One night's not gonna kill you."

"Yeah. Guess not," I allowed, leaning against him. "Thanks, Tom."

I relaxed into the hug, letting my head rest against his shoulders.

"Any time, Midget." He squeezed me tighter, and, for the second time that night, I couldn't remember the last time I had felt so safe or comfortable.

Tom asked if I was comfortable, which I thought I answered, but maybe it was just in my head. Like I said, I was already more than half asleep from the back rub, and being held by Tom and wrapped up under the blankets, kind of like a giant caterpillar, eased my way to a complete and restful sleep.

My last thought, before sleep overtook me, was that it was kind of nice just to be the younger brother, again.

I had no nightmares that night.

"Morning, sleepyhead. How are you feeling?" Tom asked when I woke up.

"Pretty good," I answered, smiling. Remembering how safe I'd felt when I'd fallen asleep last night. How safe I still felt.

"Shoulder okay?" he pressed.

I nodded. "Good as new. Thanks, Tom."

Tom tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. "Glad to hear it. Still tired?"

"A little," I admitted, hiding a yawn.

"Yeah. Same here," he admitted, almost laughing.

Tentatively, I sort of leaned towards Tom, who reacted by wrapping his arms around me in a hug. "How's that?"

"Good."

This time, I didn't manage to hold back a yawn.

He was still holding me, and I was kind of glad when he didn't let go.

"Tom?" I asked, after a minute.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. For last night."

Tom turned his head towards me, smiling. "Which part? Basketball? Injuring you?" he teased. "The back rub?"

I winced, just a little. "Not the injuring me part, if you could call it that."

"I do," Tom retorted. "Midget, you could hardly move your shoulder."

I just shrugged. "Well, yeah. Anyway, I meant both...but the back rub. It helped."

He gave me a smile. "Any time, Midget."

Figuring Tom was joking, I laughed. "Yeah. Okay."

"Okay, not any time," Tom amended. "How about...once a week? Maybe twice, if you've had a battle, or, you know, just had a really hard week?"

I sort of did a double take. "You're...serious?"

Tom rolled his eyes at me. "You risk your life fighting the Yeerks on the regular. You've gone up against Visser Three and survived more times than anyone else I've known. Oh, and you saved me. Yes, Jake, I'm being serious."

I couldn't figure out what to say.

"You don't need to, Tom," I insisted. "You don't-you don't owe me anything."

That was why he was doing it, right? Because he felt grateful that we'd freed him?

No, it was probably because he felt sorry for me. That I'd been infested by Temrash.

Maybe both.

Tom sighed, then pulled me into another hug. "Jake," he began. "When are you going to get it through your smart, yet somehow incredibly thick skull that I want to help you? If you have a nightmare, if you want to talk or vent...yes, if you are just having a really rough day, and want to relax. I am here for you. Okay?"

"Okay," I agreed.

Still kind of, well, surprised.

I'd wanted my brother back for years. I'd known we'd always been close. Had I forgotten what things had been like between us, before he got involved in The Sharing? How distant had we become, before he'd gotten infested?

A few minutes later, still hugging me, Tom must have felt that something was wrong. Or, at least, unspoken.

"Midget?" he pressed me. "Come on. You can talk to me."

I swallowed, hard, moving out of his hug. Tom let me go. He must have known that I needed the physical distance.

"It's-it's not your fault, Tom," I began, awkwardly. "Just that...the last couple of years, and when you started going to The Sharing. Even before I knew about the Yeerks, it was like we weren't close anymore. It's why I tried out for the basketball team. I thought that, you know, if I had your old spot..."

Tom didn't respond, not at first. When he did, he started with wrapping an arm around my shoulder. I was glad.

"Jake. You're right. I'm sorry. I was a jerk. I guess you know why I joined The Sharing? From Temrash's memory dump at the end?"

I nodded. "You liked a girl who was a member."

"Yeah." He sighed. "And I had complete tunnel vision, and pretty much shut you out because I was so obsessed with her. By the time I knew what was going on...anyway, I'm sorry. You're right."

"It's not-" I started, then stopped, feeling my throat tighten. I inhaled, then exhaled. "I'm not angry at you, Tom. I-"

I couldn't get the thought out. Fortunately, Tom seemed to understand.

"I get it. Really." He hugged me, again. Whatever the world record for the most hugs given to a person in one day was, if this kept up, Tom and I were sure to break it. Not that I minded. "It's going to take time to be completely open, right? Because of everything that's happened."

"Also," I added, nodding, "I mean, I'm worried about you."

"Because I still get nightmares and have to have my body taken from me at the Yeerk Pool?" Tom guessed.

Another nod. "I don't want to add to it, Tom."

"Jake, remember what I said a few days ago? When I told you to come and get me if you had a nightmare?" I nodded my head. "Same thing applies with talking, okay? I have Aftran to help me. Right now, life is going to be pretty hard for both of us. Until we destroy the Yeerk empire, until the Andalites take over...whatever happens. The thing is, now we have each other. Now, I'm not a slave to some empire Yeerk. Whatever either of us is going through, whatever PTSD or whatever, we need to have someone to talk to. I have Aftran. You, Midget, have me. Okay?"

"Okay," I mumbled.

I guessed he was being serious. Or, sincere. Tom actually wanted me to go to him with the nitty gritty war stuff. I'd been trying to protect him from that, but...

He gave me a light nudge. "I'm holding you to that." Then, Tom paused. "I mean, I'm not going to, like, lock you in your room until you tell me everything that's on your mind. I get that you want some privacy. Just...talk to me. Don't keep it in. I'm your big brother, you know? I want to be there for you, and I can't do that if you won't let me."

I nodded. "Okay. I'll try."

"Okay," Tom, repeated, then yawned. "Now, I'm tired. Let's say we get a couple more hours of sleep, okay?"

"Sounds good."

We both lay back down, and Tom wrapped me up into another bear hug. I closed my eyes, feeling safer than I had in awhile.