The taekwondo school, though small was perfect for John who wanted to teach his brother a few things about the sport that he loved. At a young age he got involved in taekwondo, a way for his adopted parents to make sure he didn't end up like a stereotypical foster kid. He had taken to it quite well and would have trained for the Olympics had he not joined the Marines.
He patted Michael's back then sat down on a plastic chair that sat right by the door. "Owner said we can have two hours of dojo time."
"Two hours?" Michael shook his head with a laugh. "I hope I last."
"You're a Marine sniper, I think you can actually kick my butt out there." Once his shoes and socks were off he made his way across the mats till he got to the middle of the floor. "Just going to run you through some simple drills."
A student from the school walked up to them with a smile on his face. "Nice to have you here. I'll be working in the office, filling out paper work and such. If you have any questions don't be afraid to ask. Take it easy and most of all have fun."
Michael grinned at the man. "Thank you, sir." He was just about to began stretching when his cell phone began to buzz. He quickly jumped up, picked it off the chair then flipped it open. "Hello. Oh, hey Ranger Trivette, how is everything today?"
"Doing rather well. Walker is talking a lot more now." Michael could since the older man hesitating. "It's about time we tell him the news."
"Understandable." He glanced over to John to see his brother stretching. "We'll be right over there…"
"Take your time. He's sleeping right now. Usually he's out for three hours." Trivette took a deep breath. "The men that attacked him got out of jail today. Apparently there wasn't enough evidence to keep them in."
Michael began to pace, shaking his head as he did. "The man that actually beat Walker, he got off too?"
"Yep, apparently his bond got paid. All one hundred thousand dollars of it." Trivette sighed heavily. "Anyway, just wanted to let you know what's happening. Talk to you when you get to the hospital."
"All right, will do." Michael closed the cell phone then shook his head. "The men who attacked Walker got off. One, his bond got paid for and the others, not enough evidence." He turned to his brother to see his shocked look. "Yeah, good news, Walker is doing much better, in fact he's talking. Trivette says it's time to tell him about you and me."
John slowly stood up and began to rotate his shoulders. "What do you think he'll say about us?"
Michael shook his head. "Honestly, I have no idea. Are you nervous?"
"Hell ya!" John stopped his stretches to get a good look at his twin brother. "Once we do, our lives may never be the same again."
"John, when we walked into that alley and saved Walker's life that night, our lives had already changed." Michael went to the chair and sat down with a sigh. "I hope he can remember our mother. With the head injury he suffered, who knows. I know it's asking a lot, but I want him to tell us why he didn't stay with our mother, why he left her pregnant with twins." Michael rubbed his face then glanced up at John. "Is that too much to ask?"
"I think it's the perfect question to ask." John smiled. "Come on, let's work out a little bit. It'll help with the anxiety."
A hand patting him on the shoulder awoke him from light nap and as Walker opened his eyes he saw Gage and Sydney standing by his bed. It's been awhile since he has seen them and would have smiled if he could. Alex did tell him they visited him, unfortunately they tend to catch him while he was going into surgery or in a deep sleep. He raised his hand which Gage took into his, clasping it firmly.
"It's been awhile, boss." Gage shrugged as he sat down on a chair next to Walker's bed. "Always tend to come and visit you when you're either asleep or going into surgery." He patted Walker's hand as he beamed that smile of his. "Hear your finally sitting up and eating."
"All I need to do now is start walking." Walker glanced behind them to make sure Alex wasn't in the room before he asked his question. "What's going on guys?"
Gage appeared genuinely confused. "What do you mean?"
Walker sighed heavily, coughing as the air caught in his throat. "Jimmy and Alex, they've been acting weird. Do I look that bad?" He chuckled, wishing he could smile. When would he be able to even move his mouth without pain? "Don't try to lie to me."
This got a laugh from Sydney. "That's the Walker that I've been hoping to see." She patted his shoulder. "Don't worry about Alex. She's stressed out right now. She'll be fine. As for Trivette," She sighed heavily as her eyes went to look at Gage. "He's busy with a case."
"It's the guys who did this to me, right?" His voice was getting raspier the more he spoke. "Thought they were in jail?"
"They were." Gage glanced backwards as Robert came walking into the room with a white strap in his hands. "Couldn't hold them though, sorry Walker."
"I doesn't help that I can't remember the attack." His voice was weak as he began to lightly shake his head as dizziness began to take over his mind which soon turned into slight nausea. He began to get some numbness in his limbs as his mind began to fade off.
Gage took a step back as he watched on as Walker began to twitch his limbs as he let out a few grunts. He assumed when people had seizures they would just flop around, their arms flailing all over the place. What he saw in front of him was much calmer, though still terrifying too watch. Walker's eyes had rolled back into his head, showing only the whites. He turned to Syd to see her covering her mouth in horror while Robert checked Walker's vitals.
"Don't worry, he's doing good. Heart rate is a little high, but that tends to happen during a seizure." He smiled as Walker's body began to visibly relax, the twitching and grunting coming only in sporadic intervals. As his eyes began to flutter, Robert patted Walker's shoulder. "And here I was wanting you to start moving today."
"Is this going to be recurring?" Gage could barely get his voice out as he watched his dear friend roll his eyes around as though he was really confused at what just happened.
Robert shrugged. "His brain suffered severe damage during the attack." He grabbed a small cup from the side table. "Usually, in head traumas like his, the seizures only last a year or so while the brain is still in healing mode. When he is released from here he will have to keep a log." He gently smiled at Walker, held the cup to his chapped lips then slowly tipped it. "Slow sips, Walker."
Doctor Miller walked in, instantly going to Walker's chart at the foot of the bed. "Robert, did he just have a seizure?"
"Yeah." He pulled the cup away from Walker's lips then grabbed the chart. "Sorry, Gage and Sydney, looks like he's going to be sleeping again during your visit."
Sydney slowly nodded her head. "It's okay." She glanced down to see Walker looking up at them. "How you feeling?"
Walker swallowed hard as he closed his eyes. "Sorry." His voice was rather weak as he fought off sleep. "Sorry."
Gage smiled down at his dear friend. "Don't you worry, boss." He patted Walker's shoulder. "Just get some sleep now."
Later that night John and Michael made their way down the hall, both of them slightly shaking from what they were about to do. They rounded a corner and headed towards the waiting room where they were to meet Mrs. Cahill-Walker. As they approached she was talking with two young Rangers who looked at them in complete shock. Both of the twins quickly came to a realization their appearances will get them stares when in Texas.
John stepped up to Mrs. Cahill-Walker as she stood up from her chair. "Ma'am, how are you today?"
"I'm doing rather good." She sighed heavily as she smiled at them. "He's awake right now, come follow me. He may be weak, he began to do physical therapy a few hours ago."
Michael slowly nodded. "Understandable."
Walker couldn't believe how tired he had become just by taking three very short steps. It was going to take some time for him to get back into the physical shape he once was in. He laid on his hospital bed, his arms crossed over his chest as the heart monitor beeped next to him. His mouth ached so badly he wondered if the pain would ever go away. He gently touched his cheek surprised he could actually feel the wire work. He had become so thin while in the hospital, Doctor Miller estimated he lost about twenty pounds and most of his muscle tone. Which meant he will have hours of physical therapy ahead of him once he lives here.
His door slowly opened and in walked Alex with the twins right behind her. She whispered something to them, smiled then left the room. That was odd, why would she leave the room? Maybe the twins wanted to see him alone, which was weird, but definitely not something he should worry about.
"Hello, Mr. Walker good to see you awake, sir." The twin with the stockier build sat down next to his bed. "My name is John and this is Michael."
Michael waved and sat down by his brother. "Hey there, Mr. Walker."
"It's good to see you here." Walker would love to have smiled to the young men, but found moving his mouth just the slightest hurt. "How is everything?"
John took a deep breath. "Going good, sir." He laced his hands, his demeanor showing Walker he was hiding something rather important. "I don't know how to say this, but I'm just going to be blunt." He rubbed his face obviously nervous about something. "Our mother passed away and she gave us this picture." He pulled out a small picture from his shirt pocket. "It's you."
Walker took the picture from John, his eyes getting wide as he saw himself as a young Ranger. His breath caught in his throat as he turned the picture around to read the writing on the back. Ever since he had become more aware he realized words jumbled together. And this time was no different. He really needed to bring that up with Doctor Miller, but his stubborn pride made it difficult to do so. He didn't want to look weaker then he already was.
"It's me, back in the mid-eighties." He glanced up at the men, realization suddenly hitting him hard. These men looked just like him when he was younger, so much so he they could only be his sons. "No, that can't be." His voice was just a whisper. "But, it was a one time thing…"
"Tests proved positive, we're your sons." John smiled and patted Walker's hand. "Listen, we don't fault you one bit. You didn't know."
Walker's heart began to race, his mind a jumbled mess of emotions. How could he have sons? Why didn't Ellen tell him? How could she have hidden it from him? How could he have been so stupid? What drove him to make such a mistake? His male ego, that had to have been it. After all he was the youngest Ranger to ever make the forces in quite some time, unfortunately that boosted his pride just a little too much. He had learned a lesson that day, however these men next to him showed that he had made a huge mistake. How was he suppose to make up for this?
Doctor Miller stepped in rather worried. "Walker, you're high rate is rather high. If you don't calm down you might suffer another seizure." He saw the twins, a look of understanding sweeping across his face. "Just try to relax, Walker. I'll be back in thirty to check on you."
After Doctor Miller left Walker grabbed John's hand. "I'm so sorry. If I had known, I would have been there," He took a deep breath as it became harder for him talk. "I'll try my best to be there for you two, from now on." He then took hold of Michael's hand and squeezed it tightly as he began to get really drowsy. "Again, I'm sorry."
Michael watched Walker fall sleep then turned to John. "You know, it could be nice to have a father. We now have an excuse to use up those holiday leaves." He patted Walker's hand. "We'll have to try and make it for Christmas." He smiled. "God is sure amazing to bring us together like this."
