The Secret Life of Brian
by LDEJRuff
Chapter 6 - Tracy Has Been Found
Later that night, back at the Flannigan house, Brian had received a text message from Vinny, saying that he has been welcomed into the family. Brian smiled.
"Hey, Dylan," Brian called. "Your Uncle Vinny's a Griffin now."
"Really?" Dylan replied, coming into the living room. "Oh, that's great! Now the void is filled."
"Yeah," Brian chuckled. "I guess the Griffins don't have to worry about me now."
Just then, he got another text.
"Oh," Brian continued, unimpressed. "He says that Stewie isn't used to him yet."
"Well," Dylan shrugged, "maybe someday, he will be."
"I dunno, Dylan," Brian replied, unsure. "Stewie doesn't like change pretty much. He didn't like his room having the walls temporarily broken."
Just then, before a cutaway could be set up, there was a knock on the door. Brian walked up to the door and saw that there was a policeman.
"Is this the Flannigan house?" the policeman asked.
Brian answered, "Yes."
"We've found Tracy," the policeman simply said. "She's currently at the hospital. I don't know how to tell you this, but she's..." Without continuing, the policeman bowed his head.
Brian feared the worst as his jaw dropped.
At the Rhode Island Hospital in Eddy Street, Dylan saw his mother lying on a bed, comatose.
"Mom's in a coma?" Dylan responded to the doctor. "How could this happen to her?"
"She was in a real bad wreck on her way to the Super Stop & Shop last month, Dylan," the doctor replied. "The only other individual, an elderly man, said he didn't see her coming, and that it was an accident. I believe he died sometime later, on account of that accident being the cause of his pubic area being ruptured."
"Pubic area being ruptured?" Dylan repeated before suddenly realizing. "Old man Leo."
"Wait," the doctor replied. "You know about the elderly person?"
"A talking dog said that he used to be owned by that man," Dylan said. "They did a Dateline special about his unexpected death, and he was pretty heartbroken."
"Well, where is his dog now?" the doctor asked.
"He just got adopted by a family that has lost another dog last month," Dylan answered. "They live in a city close to Providence. Anyway, how long before Mom regains consciousness?"
"I'd estimate that she'll regain consciousness in the next several months," the doctor replied. "You have a father or a guardian that can take you to school while your mother's laid up?"
"Well," Dylan began, "I do have a father, and he just came to take care of me last month. He's been doing so since then."
With that, Dylan looked out the window and saw the Prius sitting outside. He and Brian both knew that pets weren't allowed without permission from the nursing staff.
"May we see this father of yours?" the doctor asked.
"I'll have to have permission from the staff first," Dylan answered. "My father's something that you wouldn't expect from a fourteen-year-old teenager."
With that, Dylan asked the nurses to allow his father inside the hospital. When Brian came in, the nurses were surprised to see that he was a dog. Brian went inside the room where Tracy and Dylan were, and introduced himself.
"I'm Dylan's father, Brian Flannigan."
"Your..." the doctor gulped. "Your father's a dog?"
Dylan nodded. "I hope it's all right that he comes here momentarily to check on Mom."
The doctor and nurses looked at each other uneasily, then at Brian, and finally at Dylan.
"Okay," the doctor said. "He can come in here momentarily to check on your mother."
Dylan was overjoyed. "Thank you, doctor."
After the visit was over, both father and son were shook up.
"Oh," Brian moaned. "What am I going to tell your uncle?"
"You can't just tell him that his owner was involved in an accident that put Mom in a coma," Dylan shrugged. "It'd be way too hard for him to understand."
"I'd have to, Dylan," Brian replied. "After all, he did promise not to reveal my still being alive to the Griffins."
Dylan sighed. "I guess you're right."
With that, Brian texted Vinny about the accident, and that Tracy was in a coma as a result.
In split screen, Brian was in the living room on the left side, while Vinny was in the living room in the Griffin house on the right. He was quietly shocked, and texted Brian back his reaction.
The next messages go back and fourth.
"You still keeping your promise, Vin?"
"I am. And if I tell Stewie about how I lost Leo, I'll just tell him about the Dateline special."
"Maybe he can warm up to you then."
"Yeah, maybe he can."
"Well, have a good night, little brother."
"Good night to you, Brian."
With that last message, both dogs hung up their phones. The screen shifted to Vinny's side as he looked up the stairs, worried about what he was going to tell Stewie.
"Oh, Stewie," he whispered. "If only you and the rest of the family knew what really happened to Brian. But I made a promise, and am going to keep it." He then looked out the window. "Be careful out there, big brother."