Okay, the last chapter was really fast and didn't flow very well. After several days of rewrites, I think I finally accomplished what I was hoping for. Apologize for any confusion. Going to take the story to a different level than what I was originally going to take it.

An hour later the brother's found themselves back at the hotel so Walker could start his daily reading and pattern exercises. Even though he hated it, Walker knew it had to be done. So here he sat at the small table in their room with his workbook before him. On the page was several pattern drills, which to several people would seem simple. But to him it might as well be ancient hieroglyphs.

Jarod sat down across from Walker eating some of the grape dumplings he had bought the day before. "Man, these things can get addicting. Want one?"

"Sure." After eating one of the dumplings Walker returned to his drills. "I can't figure out this problem." Walker began to tap his pencil against the table top. "I don't get what I'm suppose to do here." His voice showed his humiliation. "Can you help me?"

"No problem." Jarod leaned over and put his finger over one of the symbols. "Just think one at a time."

Walker took a deep breath and did as Jarod told him to do. There, a triangle with slash marks. He smiled at his brother then went to finish the problem using this new technique. Once he picked what he hoped to be the correct symbol he started a new problem.

Jarod took a glance out the window and quickly got up. "It's Billy."

Walker snapped his head up to see Jarod opening the door to allow Billy in. "Billy, what are you doing here?"

Billy smiled at Walker then gave Jarod a nod. "How are you two doing today?"

"Good. Cordell's doing his exercises." Jarod took a look at Walker then at Billy. "I'm going to go for a little walk. Be back in about an hour."

Once Jarod had left, Billy sat across from Walker with a frown on his face. "It has been too long, my friend since we have talked."

"What do you want to know?" Walker tried to focus on the problems before him which by now have returned to a blur. "If you want to hear it, I'm sorry."

Billy shook his head. "What has gotten into you, Washo?"

Walker closed the book then leaned backwards into his chair. "To put it bluntly," he slowly traced the scar on his hairline. "I suffered a severe brain injury. Unfortunately, it took away my ability to read, to write and to recognize patterns." He shook his head. "That's mild compared to the seizures."

"Washo, don't let that control who you are. The Washo I knew would never let that get in the way…"

"You try to deal with this, day in and day out!" Walker took a deep breath to try and control the anger inside of him. "I'm no longer the man you use to know, Billy. Please just understand that. The damage done to my brain is irreversible."

Billy took a long look at his friend to see the many scars that traced his scalp and face. One could see very clearly where Washo had surgery to remove the blood clots in his brain. Why did his friend never call him? What was he so ashamed of? He took a glance down at the textbook before them then back up at Washo.

Washo shook his head and slid the book towards Billy. "Go ahead, look through it. See that your once smart friend is now stupid."

"You are not stupid…"

"My eight year old daughter can read better than me now! You know how embarrassing it is when your own daughter corrects you!" Walker's face flushed with anger. "I can no longer read a newspaper or a menu! I'm stuck getting help with the most simple of reading problems. You will never understand how it feels!"

The anger he saw in Washo took Billy aback. Ever since he knew Walker his friend never acted like this. Was this another side effect of the head trauma? He stared into his friend's good eye, still not accustomed to seeing the eye patch. According to recent news reports, Walker had lost his right eye after a gang of kids attacked him. How much more trauma could his friend's body go through?

Billy took a deep breath then nodded his head. "No, I don't know how it feels, but I'm here for you Washo. This whole tribe is here for you." He pointed at his friend. "We watch over our people." He shook his head. "Why did you say the things you did to Running Bull?"

"I can't control my anger." Washo's voice was very low. "It's getting worse." He shook his head. "Ever since I was hit in the head last time, it seems that something was switched in my brain. I can't control my emotions, especially my anger and depression."

His attention went to a bright pink scar above Washo's right ear. "Washo, don't ever be ashamed of what had happened to you." He laced his hands on the tabletop. "You are much better than this." He leaned forward. "I heard you went to the lodge this morning. How did that work for you?"

Walker shook his head. "Not good."

"I will join you and Jarod at seven o'clock." He slowly got up. "I hope you and your brother find out something when you visit the elders." Billy went up to Washo and tried to pat his shoulder, but his friend quickly pulled away. "I would like for you two to come over for dinner tomorrow night."

"I owe you that much." Walker slowly stood to his feet. "Sorry, I had surgery on my right shoulder a few weeks ago. Still tender." He stuck his right hand out, or the best he could and Billy gave it a gentle shake. "Thanks for visiting. See you tonight."

XXXX

Few hours later Jarod found himself inside a small, sparsely decorated room sitting at a large table with Running Bull and Robert, both Elders at the Reservation. Robert sat with his arms laced on the table top, his attention on Cordell. As for Running Bull, he looked at Jarod for a long time before a smile spread across his face.

"Washo, how are you?" He asked.

"Been better, Harris." Cordell sheepishly shook his head. "I'm sorry for the words that I have said to the both of you. I hope you two will forgive me."

Logan Robert slowly nodded. "The words you said were very hateful. But I will forgive you." He took a look at Jarod then at Cordell. "I had heard what happened at Sally's…"

Cordell took a deep breath. "What's in the folder?"

Harris rubbed his hand over the worn manila envelope then slid it across the table to Jarod. No words were said as Jarod picked the packet up, his hands shaking with anticipation. He turned to Cordell to see his brother looking at him then urging him on with a smile.

Jarod took a deep breath then opened the torn flap and a smell of musty old paperwork hit his senses. What laid inside was as old as he was and might hold the secret to his life. Very carefully he pulled out a piece of paper to see it was his original birth certificate. A huge smile spread across his face as Cordell inched closer to get a better look at the document.

He shifted the paper just right so his brother could see it. "Its says here that my name is, Corbett Ezekiel Firewalker." He gently nudged Cordell's arm. "What's your middle name?"

Cordell let out a chuckle. "Nathanial." He pointed to the envelope. "What else is in there?"

Jarod slid the birth certificate to the side then reached in for another piece of paper. This one was much thicker, kind of like thin cardboard. As he pulled it out he saw it was a picture of two infant boys laying in a crib.

Cordell pointed to the bigger of the infants. "That's me, right there. If that's me, then that has to be you." He shook his head. "You were so small."

Harris nodded in agreement. "You two came prematurely and doctors told John and Elizabeth that Corbett will not make it to see his first birthday." He sighed heavily. "Washo weighed little over six pounds and you, Jarod barely weighed five. Your parents decided to keep the strongest and put the other twin up for adoption." He shook his head. "They didn't have the money to keep you alive, Jarod. It shamed your parents. So, they put all the paperwork in this folder, gave it to me and told me to not say a word."

The news hit Jarod hard enough to get him to clear his throat as tears threaten to come to his eyes. He rubbed the picture of him knowing now the reason why his parents gave him up for adoption. It was love for Jarod that had made the difficult decision. Cordell had told Jarod he had grown up poor, his father, their father unable to keep a steady job.

"John and Elizabeth loved the both of you so very much. They made sure that you went to a loving family." Harris slowly nodded. "I will give you and Washo some time to think."

The two elders left leaving the brothers alone with their thoughts. Walker took a deep breath as he glanced down at the photo of him and Jarod. Here was undeniable proof he had a brother. Wonder if he reacted at all when Jarod was taken away?

He reached for the envelope to see there was a note inside of it. "Hey Jarod, there's another piece of paper in here."

Jarod took the envelope from Walker. "Let me see." He took out the piece of paper then slowly unfolded it. "It's a letter."

Walker glanced at the paper to see only black blurs. "What does it say?"

"Dear Corbett, This is your mother, Elizabeth. Me and John so much wanted to keep you, to take care of you but you needed so much medical attention and we couldn't afford it. If you are reading this, you have found Cordell. I hope you two have found each other early in life and was able to spend time together. I love you and Cordell so much. Take care of each other. Though time may have passed, don't forget, you two are brothers. Love, Mother." Jarod took a deep breath. "Wow, I…I'm speechless."

The tears almost came to Walker's good eye as he stared at the letter with his mother's hand writing on it. He wished he could read her words, instead all he could see was a giant, garbled mess. This realization got him to finally shed a tear which ran down his cheek to fall on his shirt sleeve.

"I can't read it." Walker's voice wavered as he ran a finger along the yellowed paper.

He felt a gentle hand rub his back. "You want to walk around a bit. I brought the chair."

Walker slowly nodded his head. "Yeah, I would love that."

Once outside, Walker went to his truck then leaned against it. He watched as Jarod got out the wheelchair from the backseat. He hated using the chair, but long distances were still tough for him to walk because of his legs. And since his shoulder was injured, along with both of his hands he had to have somebody push him as well. It was downright humiliating for him to get so much help from people.

Jarod began to push the chair through the small parking lot. "How you doing, Cordell?"

"I don't know." Walker shook his head. "Just wish our parents didn't give you up for adoption. Just makes me feel…" He took a deep breath. "Why was I the lucky one to stay?"

"Don't worry about it too much." Jarod pushed Walker down the street. "The family that adopted me was extremely loving and caring." He paused for several minutes. "You should meet them sometime. Christopher and Helen are great people, you'll love them."

"Could invite them down for Christmas." Walker suddenly felt jealous towards his brother who had lived and still talked to people who he considered parents. "Would love to meet them someday."

Jarod stopped the chair then made his way to Walker's front. "Chris and Helen raised me almost from day one." He bent down to get a look into Walker's only eye. "I'm jealous of you. You knew mom and dad. I never got a chance to." Jarod then gave him a huge smile, one eerily similar to Walker's own. "So, you think I should change my name to Corbett?"

Walker actually had to chuckle. "You sure don't look like a Corbett." He tilted his head ever so slightly as he studied his brother's face. "Are you serious about it?"

"Why not? Got nothing to loose." He gave a shrug then patted Walker's knee. "Hell, I'll go all the way." He went to the back of the chair and began to push once again. "Corbett Walker. I like the sound of it."

"Yeah, same here." Walker was stunned at Jarod's acceptance of who he really was. "Wonder how the guys back home will say about it."

Jarod had a laugh at this. "In a few days we'll find out."

Two Hours Later

The sweat lodge experience was definitely something that Jarod will never forget any time soon. What his brother had told him at the restaurant had proven to be right. He was a bit self conscious stripping down and walking into a hut with only a towel wrapped around his waist, but after seeing Cordell do it so nonchalantly it made him realize it was just like going into a sauna. And once inside he was told by Cordell and Billy to let his mind free.

And now, an hour later Jarod sat in a locker room waiting for his brother to put his clothes back on. His mind went back to what had come to him while in the sweat lodge. While in the lodge, thoughts of his current situation made him realize how fortunate he was to have met Walker when he did. If it wasn't for meeting his brother, who knew where he would be at right now. Let's just hope, he can now be there for Cordell.

Cordell slowly made his way towards Jarod, his face etched in pain. "Think I did something to my shoulder when trying to put my shirt on."

Jarod stood and shook his head. "How bad is the pain?"

"Enough, to even cause me problems." He gently rubbed at his shoulder, grimacing as he did so. "Where's Billy?"

"Waiting outside by the truck." He gave Cordell a huge grin. "So, that's the lodge, huh?"

"Yeah." Cordell gave him a sheepish grin. "Nothing really fancy about it."

"True, but it was definitely an experience." He put his hands on his hips. "It made me think, about us." He cleared his throat as his emotions made his voice crack. "I have decided, as soon as we get back to Dallas, I'm no longer Jarod Williamson. I will be Corbett Walker." He took a deep breath. "Now, it's going to take some getting use to, but it will honor mother and father."

Cordell nodded as his grin got bigger. "That it will." His smile slowly faded. "I was thinking about my life now." He shook his head. "I have to find a way to harness my anger and frustration. Unfortunately, it seems I have no control over my feelings. Just wish you knew me before the attacks."

Jarod gave Cordell a smile. "Well, I'm here now. And about your anger, have you tried to harness it creatively?" His brother gave him a puzzled look. "I mean, with me, even though I had gymnastics and martial arts to keep me in line, I still suffered from anger outbursts. So, Christopher introduced me to the guitar." He sheepishly shrugged at Cordell. "Been playing off and on for several years."

"Wait, you play guitar?" Cordell shook his head with a smile. "I guess apparently you got the talent side of the Walker family. Do you sing?"

"Yeah, I actually do." Jarod shrugged. "Use to lead my church's youth musical department." He beamed at Walker. "So, do you do anything creative?"

Cordell laughed. "Not that I know of. Can't draw, play any musical instruments or sing."

"Well, we might have to change that." He sighed heavily. "Let's head back to the truck."

"Listen, tomorrow you want to visit mother and father?"

Jarod smiled at Cordell. "Yeah, I would like that."