A/n: I decided to set a good example and post an update. maybe that will encourage other people to do so as well. Please?!
Chapter Four
"Joe!" Frank took off at a dead run, not heeding the possibility of additional fire from the treeline. At the moment he didn't give a damn about himself, only that he reach his brother. As he raced closer to where he had seen Joe fall, he cursed the lack of communication. He should have insisted on radios or walkie talkies. He could have at least called for help that way.
He came to the approximate area where he thought Joe had been when he lost sight of him. He stopped short, having come upon a ravine that was not visible from his earlier vantage point. Breathing heavily, he had just enough presence of mind to crouch, making himself a smaller target. He frantically swept his gaze around but it was an eternity before he glimpsed a flash of the bright red plaid shirt his brother had been wearing. Frank's heart constricted as he discerned no movement at all. "Joe!" he screamed again, and when he got no response, he spent a precious few minutes looking for a safe way to get down the ravine. When he finally saw what he thought may provide a relatively safe descent, a good five minutes had passed. It was another 5 to get to the spot where he began slowly picking his way down amidst loose rocks, all to aware that one misstep and he could end up breaking a leg or worse.
By now Frank was frantic with worry. There was still no sign of life from his brother, despite his never taking his eyes off the still blond form. That fact greatly hindered his progress as he desperately tried to reach his sibling. So it was nearly 20 minutes after he had begun his descent into what was ultimately a fairly shallow ravine before he reached his brother.
Joe was face down on the ground, one arm flung above his head and the other apparently trapped beneath his body. The was a deep gash along his hairline, and the blood staining the jagged rock next to his head explained how that came to be there. Frank's heart leapt into his throat and he tried swallowing the lump that threatened to turn into a full blown sob. Chest heaving from his exertion, he fell to his knees and with nerveless fingers reached out to check for a pulse.
His own heart began beating again as he felt the steady throb of his brother's pulse. Shoulders sagging in minute relief, he gingerly turned Joe over. "Joe?" he asked softly, afraid to speak louder. Joe's eyes were closed but his breathing was steady. Then Frank's eyes lit upon the jagged hole in his brother's shirt, directly above his heart "Oh , gawd, no" he moaned until something nagged at the back of his brain. Where was all the blood? The only stuff he had seen so far was on the rock and Joe's scalp. With sudden trepidation, Frank ripped open his brother's shirt, expecting to find (another) hole in his brother's chest.
What he beheld then shocked the hell out of him. The slug from the weapon that had fired lay directly above Joe's heart. Firmly imbedded in the Kevlar of the bullet proof vest his brother was wearing. Frank gave a strangled laugh/sob and for the first time an half an hour was no longer terrified for his brother. "So help me I am going to kill you, little brother." Frank whispered fondly. "Quit scaring the shit out of me like that." The bottom of the ravine was yet another almost dry stream, but Frank was able to tear a strip of fabric off of Joe's shirt, moisten it and dab away at the clotted wound on Joe's head. It was another ten minutes but Joe finally began showing signs of waking up.
"Ow." it came out in a mumble as Joe weakly raised a hand to his head. Frank grabbed it and gently pulled it back down.
"Easy, Bro. You had a bit of a tumble." Frank soothed.
"Since when are you prone to understatement?!" Joe's voice grew stronger and he attempted to sit up, gingerly. He winced as the ache in his head upped the ante to a deep throb. Frank slipped a strong arm behind him and held him steady as he gasped, hand going to his chest. "I say again, Ow."
"You scared me to death Joe. I thought you were..." Frank choked up, unable to completely hold back the sob in his throat.
"Sorry." Joe shifted, trying to get his legs underneath him and stand up, but Frank pulled him back down. The wave of nausea convince him to take it easy. "Ya know I think I'll rest here a bit, if that's okay." Frank responded by cupping his brother's face in his hands and looking intently into his eyes.
"You have a concussion." Frank said the words flatly, it was a statement not a question. "Stay here, do not move and I will be right back." At Joe's questioning look and head tilt, Frank continued. "I am just going back to get our back packs. It'll be dark soon and I am not going to try getting back to the cabin without a flashlight."
"Ahh. Umm, yeah I think that might be wise." Joe smiled wanly. "Look on the bright side, Bro. We didn't waste the weekend after all." Frank half heartedly whapped his brother on the shoulder, causing Joe to move too fast in an attempt to avoid it, eliciting a gasping groan. Joe wasn't sure which hurt more, his head or his chest. "I can't wait to see the bruise." he said sarcastically.
"Might be more than a bruise. You could have cracked ribs. Or broken. So sit still while I am gone. Unless you wanna risk another pneumothorax?!"
"Not my first choice, no." Joe smiled wanly. His head was pounding, he was decidedly dizzy and nauseous and his entire torso hurt like hell. And yet he still knew he wasn't hurt that badly. He unconsciously fingered the heavy ballistic nylon that had saved his life and didn't even realize he shuddered as he did so. But Frank caught the movement. Lips thinning in concern, Frank heaved himself to his feet and repeated the admonishment to stay put. He'd interrogate his brother about the protective gear later.
Frank was true to his word and wasted no time clambering up the side of the ravine and quickly returned to the spot where their backpacks still lay, thankfully. He was half afraid that whoever had shot Joe had doubled back and absconded with their supplies. It was pretty much dusk by then, so he grabbed the one flashlight out of his pack and switched it on before settling his on his back and grabbing Joe's. The return trip was much faster, since he didn't need to look for a safe path, nor was he hampered by his need to stare at his brother the entire time. Not that he would have been able to in the growing darkness.
When he reached Joe's side again, he was momentarily alarmed as his brother's eyes were closed and he was breathing very shallowly. "Joe?" He gave a sigh of relief when Joe's eyes opened immediately. Had he fallen asleep or lost consciousness with a concussion the results could be very bad.
"Hey." Joe's voice was very quiet. "My butt's asleep." his mouth quirked in a tiny grin. "Help me up?" Joe stuck out a hand. Frank grasped his wrist with one hand and a shoulder with the other, pulling him upright with a bit of a stumble. They stood there a moment, Joe fighting the wave of dizziness and Frank noting with alarm that Joe was shaking. He couldn't tell if it was from cold or shock, though.
"Let's get you back to the cabin where I can take a proper look at your chest." Frank started, only to be interrupted by a strangled laugh from his brother.
"Dude, do you have any idea at all how that sounded?!" Joe ginned affectionately. "You forget? I am am happily engaged, thankyewverymuch." he poked Frank with a forefinger. "Besides incest is so Game of Thrones."
"Okay first off, ewwww." Frank grimaced. "You know damn well I didn't mean it that way." He slipped his free hand around Joe's waist and steered him to the safe passage up the side of the ravine. Since he was familiar with it by then, it was no trouble at all to get back to the top , even with Joe being hampered by the concussion. They soon found themselves back in the clearing, on the way to the cabin. The one hour trek from earlier in the day doubled on the way back as Joe needed to stop several times times to catch his breath. Eventually, however, both men gave sighs of relief as they reached the cabin.
Frank pushed open the door and gently maneuvered Joe straight into the bedroom where he immediately had him sit on the edge of the bed and removed the vest. Both men hissed at the movement, Joe from pain and Frank from shock at the sight of the ugly mottled bruise that covered the entire left side of Joe's chest from shoulder to navel. "Just tape me up good and tight, Frank." Joe requested. "You can have Bruce take a look in the morning. Check the bathroom, I think I left some T3 in there from when I twisted my knee up at the Youth Center." He wanted very badly to lay down, but knew if he did so, sitting back up to have the ribs taped would be agony. With a small frown of disapproval, Frank went into the bathroom and after a few minutes returned with a few ace bandages from the first aid kit and a small bottle of Tylenol with codeine. He silently but gently wound the bandages around Joe's ribcage, taking great care not to jostle his brother too much while still pulling the bandages tight. There was little conversation, Joe spending his time focusing on not letting the pain get to him and Frank concentrating on getting his brother settled. Once the final bandage was secured, though, Frank asked "You hungry?"
Joe nodded tiredly. "Yeah, but nothing fancy. Should be some soup in the cupboard." He gingerly swung his legs up on the bed and leaned against the headboard. "I'll just hang here for a bit..." Frank frowned again but left the room and rustled up a light dinner. Opting to use the propane grill instead of wrestling with the wood burning stove, he soon had a pan of vegetable soup bubbling away. It was warm enough that he decided it wasn't necessary to build a fire in the living room. He poked around and found a large serving tray, so he placed two bowls full of soup on it and added a sleeve of crackers. He slipped back into the bedroom,where he found Joe asleep. He set the tray down and nudged his brother. "Wha'?! I'm awake, quit poking me." Joe responded a little peevishly.
Frank chuckled as he handed his brother a bowl and a spoon. "My my aren't we grumpy. How's your head?"
"Throbbing in perfect harmony with my ribs, lucky me. I suppose you are going to wake me up every 15 minutes all night to make sure I haven't fallen into a coma?" he groused.
Frank chucked a finger under Joe's chin and looked into his eyes again. "Pupils aren't too bad. I may be magnanimous and stretch it to every 30 minutes."
"Gee. Thanks ever so." he said between slurps.
"You know me, always the nice guy." Frank sat on the vanity chair and slurped his own soup. They finished dinner in relative silence, the only sounds being the crunch of crackers being crumbled into the soup and the continued slurping. At one point Joe made a comment that Aunt Gertrude would have reamed them out for being so noisy. Frank just replied that in some cultures it was considered the highest compliment to slurp. Once the bowls were empty, Frank took them back out to the kitchen and set the kettle on to boil, fixing some tea. Liberally dousing them with honey, he returned to the bedroom with 2 mugs.
"So, feel like explaining the fashion accessory?" Frank asked as he handed Joe his tea.
Joe had a look cross his face that was a strange combination of fear, embarrassment and shame. "Ummm..."
"Don't get me wrong, I couldn't be more relieved, but, Joe? Since when do you wear a bullet proof vest?"
Joe sighed. "Promise not to laugh? Or be disappointed?"
"That you are still alive? And not seriously hurt? I think I can manage. What's up?"
Joe took a deep breath, wincing as he did so. "It was something Greg said once. About how a lot of the guys were wearing them all the time, and not just on raids." Joe shifted so that he could more easily look Frank in the eye straight on. "He said nearly all of the guys with families did so as a matter of course. Sort if like an additional insurance policy." He nervously picked at the quilt he was laying on. "I don't have to tell you, of all people, how reckless I can be, and have been. And while I know I have mellowed a lot, and even you have to admit I take fewer idiotic chances , I also am also man enough to admit that I still backslide once in a while." he stopped, gathering his thoughts. " I have offered to quit, twice now, if Hall wasn't comfortable with the dangers. Both times she insisted it was okay, but I still see the worry in her face. She's already lost too many men she loved, Frank. I don't want to be the next one on the list." Joe's eyes shown with unshed tears.
Frank sat back, digesting the explanation. He was silent so long that Joe started to get nervous. "Frank? Say something!"
"I guess I can understand that point of view, Joe. And if it means that you are safer, I am all for it." Frank smiled gently.
"So you don't think I've lost my edge? Or that I am turning into a scaredy cat?" Joe pleaded.
"Pretty sure this afternoon proved the exact opposite, little brother. So as long as you don't suddenly start thinking you are invincible again, or that the vest will protect you from everything, causing you to regress back into Headstrong Hardy, I'm okay with it." Frank peered deeper into his brother's eyes. "That why you never said anything? You thought I'd stop trusting you to have my back or think less of you for finally doing what I have been begging you to do for the past 15 years?!"
Joe smiled sheepishly in admission. "I didn't want to you think I'd panic, or freeze if things got too hot. And yeah, Greg did warn me not to fall into the trap of thinking it wasn't necessary to take precautions just because I was wearing. I just..want to give Halloran as much peace of mind as I can give her, you know?"
Actually, Frank didn't know, at least not personally. But his mind flashed back on the many times his father had downplayed or hidden his injuries and those of his sons from Laura. Not because he thought their mother couldn't handle the truth but because he didn't want to cause her more distress than she already dealt with. "I have a pretty good idea, yeah. You really are head over heels for her, aren't you?" he asked fondly.
"You have no idea, Bro. It's like there's a big empty space in my gut when we aren't together. Not to sound like a lovesick teenager, but it was all I could do last night to not run back to the car and find a signal just so I could text her goodnight." Joe's eyes softened and took on a faraway gaze as he spoke. The moment ended though, with a jaw breaking yawn. "45 minutes between checks? Please?!" he begged with his trademark puppy dog eyes.
"I'll think about it." Frank chuckled as he stood up. He helped Joe get under the covers but before leaving the room, he bent over and pressed his lips to his brother's tousled head. "Next time warn me that you are playing it safe. My nerves can't handle the excitement" He whispered before shutting his eyes against the tears that threatened to spill and thus embarrass them both. He softly closed the door behind him and padded out to the living room where he made himself comfortable on the couch.
Throughout the night, he continued to check on Joe, making sure that he could be roused without any more than the usual difficulty. About midnight he decided to make it 2 hours between attempts, figuring Joe had kept down the soup and his pupils had returned to their normal state fairly early on. But at 4 am, he fell asleep and slept right through the rest of the night until the pounding of a very angry fist on the door woke him up just before 10 am.
A/n: See? that wasn't so bad was it?! bet you are sorry you all came after me with pitchforks now.