A/N: Thank you for the reviews!

Jarrod had successfully kept his siblings from seeing Audra, though he wasn't sure just why Nick hadn't fought him on it but he was grateful for it nonetheless. He knew that Nick and Heath had both seen their share of death during the war, but this was different. He knew after seeing his sweet baby sister this way, he was going to have nightmares, if he slept at all, and he didn't want his siblings remembering their sister in any other way than the vibrant beauty she'd been the last time they'd seen her.

Scrubbing a hand over his face, he moved back to the chair he'd spent the last two weeks in. His sister's funeral had come and gone, but his mother hadn't been in attendance. She was still in the same lost state she'd been in since he'd found her the day Audra died. He hadn't left her side, missing the funeral himself, knowing that his sister would have understood.

Nick, Heath, and Eugene had all offered to sit with their mother, but Jarrod had told them no. Nick and Heath needed to run the ranch and Eugene needed to get back to his studies. Jarrod explained that out of the four of them, he was the only one who wouldn't be missed if he didn't show up for work, or school, as the case may be.

Eugene had argued more than the other two, but he'd eventually given in, leaving yesterday to return to Berkley. Jarrod knew that it had been an awful struggle for his baby brother to go away, but he also knew that if their mother weren't as she was, she would have wanted him to go back so that he could finish and graduate with the friends he'd made.

Looking at his mother, Jarrod felt his heart clench. Her eyes were open but they were still blank, empty…unseeing. She hadn't made a sound since the wail of grief that had echoed through the valley. Since he'd gotten her home, the only movement from her had been when Dr. Merar and his wife were settling their patient into her bed.

Truth be told, he didn't want his siblings to see their mother this way for more than the little bit they did sitting with her in the evening before they went to bed.

"Pappy."

"There's no change, Nick."

"Let me sit with her. You're exhausted."

"I'm fine, Nick. I don't want…"

Nick clasped Jarrod's shoulder. "I let you protect me from seeing Audra because I could see in your eyes how badly you were suffering for having seen her, but Pappy…" he paused and waited for Jarrod to look up at him. "I can't let you continue to protect me when it's hurting you. She," he nodded toward the prone figure of their mother. "She will have my head if she wakes up and finds out I've let you make yourself sick."

Looking back at his mother, Jarrod shook his head. "I can't, Nick. Even if I weren't sitting with Mother, I wouldn't be sleeping. I can't. I…can't…" his voice trailed off.

Nick sighed, finally understanding more about why his brother wasn't sleeping. It wasn't just because he didn't want his brothers seeing their mother this way more than they did, or because he couldn't bear to not be there for her. His brother couldn't close his eyes for fear of seeing their sister as he'd seen her the day of the accident. "Fine then. I'll turn in," he gave in.

"Goodnight, Nick." Jarrod whispered.

"Goodnight, Jarrod." Nick returned, his mind already thinking of a way to talk to Dr. Merar tomorrow about giving Jarrod something to make him sleep. He hadn't been kidding about their mother waking up and having his head if he let Jarrod get sick. As he walked to his room, his heart ached with the fear that had been lurking there since the day this had happened.

"Please let Mother wake up," he whispered as he closed his bedroom door. He knew that he and his brothers wouldn't survive losing their mother so soon after their sister.

This house had lost its sunshine with the loss of Audra. Every person on the ranch felt her absence. Ciego had taken to giving Audra's horse extra care as a way to show how much he missed the young woman. Some of the other hands had started using their free time to go and visit the orphanage to do odd jobs around the place and play with the children in honor of Audra.

Stockton had been affected too. He'd realized the fact when he'd gone into town for supplies. Oh, not to the degree the ranch had been, but still enough for him to notice. Everyone stopped him to ask how his mother was doing, to offer whatever help they could give.

Pulling his boots off, he changed out of his clothes into his pajamas then flopped down on his bed, his thoughts once again turning to Jarrod. He felt badly for getting sleep when his brother couldn't, but it was just like Jarrod to take it all upon himself. Even before their father had been killed, Jarrod saw to his siblings more than their parents, as much as he was able to, simply because he wanted to keep their parents from being bothered unless it was something very important. Of course, being a busy lawyer had changed that, but then the younger ones hadn't been little anymore and it wasn't as much work.

As his eyes closed, Nick wondered if Heath had turned in yet. He'd stayed at one of the line shacks by where he'd been working on some of the fences that had been down, saying that he'd just stay there so he could get an early start in the morning. Not that Nick believed him. Heath had been even more quiet that usual since all this happened. Nick had tried to get him to talk, but that was like trying to get water from a rock so he'd left Heath alone, not having the energy to fight with his brother to get what he wanted as was their usual way of doing things.

Rolling over and shuffling around until he was under the covers and had his pillow in just the right shape, he sighed and gave into the fatigue. These worries would find him with the sunrise, he might as well try to meet them with a clear head.