Chapter 38 - Blood Brothers

When Caleb and Maggie told Jed that his friend had returned, it was all they could do to stop him from going over there immediately. They made him promise to wait until the next morning and he reluctantly agreed.

Their mistake was in not specifying what time the next morning. As soon as the sun rose, Jed hurried to the kitchen and grabbed some bread and cheese before heading over to see his friend. He had promised to wait until the next morning, but that was all. Now, he would wait no longer. He was going to see his friend at last.

Jed still wasn't sure what had happened. His parents had tried to explain it, but Jed couldn't understand how Doctor Masterson could have made such a huge mistake. Jed had been horrified; he'd known how much Han had hated the orphanage in New York. Han didn't like to talk about it, but occasionally he'd let things slip and Jed had started to get a glimpse of what Han's life there had been like. Jed was glad when he heard that Han hadn't been sent back to New York, but it seemed to him that he still had to wait far too long to see his friend again.

He ran most of the way across the fields and made it to the house in record time.

He knew they had been fixing up the storage room as a bedroom for Han, so he walked around to the back window. While they had been waiting for the doctor to return, Caleb had taken over Adam's old bed and during the long days of waiting, the house had been a mess of fabric scraps, as his mother and Leah had helped to finish the quilt.

Since it was too early to knock on their door, he tapped his hand against the glass. It seemed like forever before he saw Han's shadow behind the curtain. When he pushed the window open, Jed climbed up and into the room.

"Han!" He grabbed hold of his friend and hugged him hard. He was startled to feel how thin Han was and pushed him back to take a better look at him.

Han looked thinner than he had been when he had first arrived from the orphanage, but Jed supposed it was because Han had been ill. Everybody that had been sick was thinner, he just hadn't seen Han since then. The others had already put some of the weight back on; perhaps Han just didn't gain weight very quickly.

But Jed didn't like how pale Han was or how fragile he looked. "You alright, Han? You look awful."

Han grinned. "Thanks!"

They both laughed, but when he saw that Jed was waiting for an answer, he said, "I'm great now. It's just been a tough few weeks; you know, after getting sick an' all. I'll be better now that I'm home again."

"You feel okay, though?"

"Yeah." Then, feeling the need to be honest with his friend, he added, "I get real tired sometimes, but other than that, I'm good."

Jed gave a sly smile. "You're never GOOD!"

They both laughed at that - far more than the joke deserved - and only stopped when the bedroom door opened.

David peered in. "Han? Everything okay… oh! Hello, Jed! I knew it was only a matter of time before you showed up!" David smiled to show that he didn't mind. "Hope this isn't going to be a regular thing, though. It's a mite early to be getting up this time every morning." He yawned. He and Elizabeth had sat by Han's bedside until midnight, unable to tear themselves away. "You boys ready for some breakfast?"

Jed nodded eagerly. "Yes please, Uncle David! I'm real hungry, I ran most of the way here." The bread and cheese had been finished before he'd even left their farm.

"Alright. Give me a few minutes to get dressed and I'll make you something." He walked over and hugged Han. "Morning, son. Sleep alright?"

They exchanged a smile. "Yes, Pa."

"Good! You boys catch up and I'll get started on that breakfast."

Han had thrown on some clothes before he'd gone to the window - the early morning air was cold. Now he finished dressing while Jed filled him in on everything he'd missed.

"Mrs. Benton left town when everyone got sick and now she says she ain't comin' back until the spring." He frowned. "Ma says she's 'pectin'."

"Expecting," Han corrected, unaware of how much like Elizabeth he sounded.

Jed grinned. "Yeah! Anyway, it means there won't be any school till they can find someone. Isn't that great?"

Han smiled weakly, unable to share his friend's excitement. He'd already missed enough schooling. "Yeah, that's... great, Kid," he said unenthusiastically. At this rate, he thought, Jed's baby sister would be better at writing than he was.

They headed out to the kitchen and Jed jumped up onto a chair. "Breakfast ready yet, Uncle David?"

"Almost. Jed, could you pour out some milk for the two of you? Han, sit down, it'll be ready in a minute."

They sat and ate companionably. Jed kept up a steady stream of chatter and the others laughed at the stories of his adventures with Grandpa Curry.

Halfway through their breakfast, Elizabeth came into the kitchen. Her relief at having her family back together had meant that she had enjoyed a good night's sleep for once, and she had slept for longer than usual.

She looked surprised to see everyone eating there. "Goodness, what is everyone doing up and around so early? Hello, Jed."

"Hello, Aunt Elizabeth. I wanted to come and see Han; they told me he was back."

"Yes, isn't it wonderful?" She smiled a little awkwardly, still feeling unsure of herself and uncertain about her relationship with Han.

Jed sensed that something was wrong, but since he'd always felt uncomfortable around his aunt, he thought nothing of it.

David stood up to prepare something for her as well, but she waved him away. "No, it's alright, I'll do it. More coffee?"

He nodded and she refilled his cup. "Han, Jed, would you like anything else?"

Han shook his head and answered politely, "No, thank you, ma'am."

"Jed?"

Jed would really have liked some more bacon but didn't feel that he should ask. "No thanks, Aunt Elizabeth."

She stared at him for a moment. "You wouldn't like some more bacon, perhaps?"

He looked up quickly, surprised that she'd guessed.

"I thought so. I'll start some now. Perhaps you can persuade Han to eat a little more?"

"I'll try!"

She started to fry the rest of the bacon and the others continued to eat, but the mood around the table had changed somehow. The easy atmosphere now felt forced. Jed had always been a little tongue tied around his aunt and Han was quiet. David tried to keep the conversation going, but he could see the sadness on Elizabeth's face.

As she poured more coffee, he whispered in her ear, "Just give it time. It'll be okay."

She wished she could believe him.

David was pleased to note that Han ate a good breakfast, although he couldn't manage to eat any more, despite Jed's urgings.

At the end of the meal, the boys asked to be excused and ran outside to play. Han wanted to explore the farm and see what changes there had been while he was away.

As they ran from place to place, Jed said, "Han, what happened? Why d'ya go away again?"

Han seemed to study the chickens very intently while he considered his answer. "What did they tell you?"

"They said there'd been a mistake and you got sent back to the orphanage, but they were gonna get you back real soon. No-one knew you'd gone - yours was one of the last houses to be unquarantined!"

Han wasn't sure if 'unquarantined' was a word, but since he didn't know, he wasn't going to correct his cousin.

He didn't know what to say, but Jed was his best friend and best friends told everything. "Uncle Caleb told me that Elizabeth couldn't cope when Pa got sick as well. She couldn't look after us both and Doc Masterson told her that Pa was going to die. She asked him to take me away and look after me, but the doctor got confused and sent me back to the orphanage."

Jed's watched him very carefully. He could tell from the way Han spoke that his friend didn't quite believe the story.

Han sat down on the grass beside the chicken coop and rested his chin on his knees. "It all happened while I was asleep, I didn't even know what was going on. I woke up at the doctor's office. He paid a man to take me to the train station so I could go back on the orphan train, but he didn't have the time so he took me to the home in Valparaiso instead. I was there until Uncle Caleb came and got me."

"Were you scared?"

Han closed his eyes for a moment, remembering, and answered so quietly that Jed almost didn't hear him.

"Yeah." He paused, remembering. "Not so much at first, I've been in orphanages before; but later…" He trailed off as his voice began to shake.

After a few minutes, he continued, "I thought it was my fault. I'd thought I'd killed all those people - your brother and Pa..." Suddenly realizing, he turned to Jed. "I'm sorry about Adam."

"Thanks." Jed didn't want to admit that he'd missed Han more, that Han had been more of a brother to him than either of his real brothers. It felt wrong to think such a thing. He did miss Adam, sure he did. They'd grown up together. But they'd never been close, not like Jed and Han. Adam had only really spoken to Jed to tease him or to tell him he was too little to play with rest of them. When Han had been gone, Jed had felt it every day, an aching loneliness that couldn't be ignored.

"Why d'you think it was your fault?"

"The doctor said it must have been me that spread it around. I didn't know how, but I figured he would know. Your pa told me that wasn't true, but I didn't know that then. I felt really guilty. It's a horrible feeling."

Jed spoke without thinking. "Yeah, I know."

Han turned his eyes curiously to his friend. Jed sighed and smiled at him, sheepishly. "I missed you more than I miss Adam. I know it's wrong, but I can't help it."

Han leaned forward and hugged him. "Blood brothers."

Jed squeezed him back. "Yeah. Blood brothers!"

They smiled and started walking back towards the house. Han stumbled slightly and Jed reached out to steady him.

"You alright?"

"Kinda tired, that's all."

David had been watching them from the porch and came up beside them. "Han, are you okay?"

Before Han could answer, Jed volunteered, "He says he's tired."

"Shouldn't have been running around so much on your first day back! I think you need to rest for a while."

Jed thought his friend would object when David leaned forward and lifted Han into his arms, but Han simply put his arms around David's neck and rested his head against his father's shoulder.

David smiled and reached out a hand for Jed. "Come on, let's head back to the house."

Jed was surprised to see that Han was already asleep by the time they got back. Elizabeth was laying blankets on the sofa.

David quirked an eyebrow at her. "Here? Not in his room?"

She gave an odd smile. "I think we both need to see him, to know that he's here and safe."

David laid him gently on the sofa and pulled the sheets up over him. Han barely stirred.

Jed stood in the doorway, worriedly watching. "Is he okay, Uncle David?"

David ruffled the boy's hair before turning to Jed. "He's been through a lot and he's still very weak. He hasn't had the chance to recover like the rest of us and he needs to get his strength back. Once he's had a few good meals and plenty of rest, he'll soon be back to normal."