I thank all of you for reading the story and a special thank for the reviews. I'm sorry that the last chapter was obviously too short for a reviewer. I apprecciate your review anyway, but think that not every chapter has enough in it to use 1500/2000 or even more words. It's my first fanfiction that I write for other people than myself and it's not my native language, so just bare with me, friends. I try my best to make you happy:)

Emily left twenty minutes after dinner. Hank promised to follow her after talking to his brother and visiting his patient. He cleaned the table and the kitchen and started the dishwasher. Then he prepared a plate with some dinner and got a water bottle for his younger brother and walked to his room. He knocked on the door. No answer. He knocked again. No answer. He knocked again this time louder. Still no answer.

"Evan?" Hank called, but opened the door without waiting for an answer. The first thing he noticed was a chemical smell that he didn't recognize mixed with the smells of sweat and vomit. He opened a window and took a deep breath before he got on his brothers side and sat down. "Evan? Time to wake up."

Evan sighed. "Sleep!"

"Come on, Evan! You slept the whole day."

"But I'm still tired, Henry!"

"Okay, but I cooked and you know how rare that is. Don't miss your chance, buddy." He held the plate under his brothers nose. "Just for you with all m..." He couldn't finish his sentence. His brother pushed the plate away and bent over to throw up. Hank ignored the food that was on his shirt and jeans now, put the plate down and held his brother with one hand and rubbed his back with the other. "It's okay, just let it all out." He was worried, when he saw that there was some vomit that wasn't from now. "Just take your time and don't forget to breathe."

"Tha..." Evan was gasping for air and shaking. He could feel his brothers arms around him and allowed himself to fall back on Hanks chest. "Thank you," he whispered with closed eyes. "Why are you so wet and warm, Henry?"

"Well, I guess it's the second time you ruined one of my shirts today. What you feel is your dinner." He smiled.

"I'm sorry. Guess it's not the best day to be around me."

"I didn't know there were good ones..."

"Very funny. Can you do something for me?"

"Depends on wh..."

"I'm so cold can you just hold me tighter, please?"

"Of course, Evan." Hank got out of his shirt and laid down, held his brother very close and wrapped the blanket around them. "Better?"

"Yes, thank you." Silent tears fell down his cheeks.

"How are you? I think we stay a couple of minutes this way and then I help you to the couch and clean your room while you make yourself comfortable, I want you drink some tea and water. Maybe food isn't such a good idea today."

"Sounds good." Evan tried to sound smiling, but failed when he tried to joke. "See, this happens when you start cooking, imagine what would have been, if I ate it."

"Yeah..hey, are you crying?"

"No!" He said, but knew he was caught.

"It's okay, Evan. Just close your eyes and listen to me for a bit, will you?" He got a nod from his brother. "I know that I'm sometimes overreacting or unfair and I'm sorry. It's not always because I'm annoyed, you know you're good in that, but I also react this way, when I'm worried about you. It's wrong, but I just can't help it. But you have to understand that you can always count on me, no matter how pissed or stressed I am. You have a problem, you talk to me and we find a way out, that's just the way things work. There isn't anything you can't tell me."

Evan turned around and pulled his arms around his brother. They held each other close. The younger Lawson didn't say anything. He just cried like the sadness and pain of the whole world was washing out of him.

"I'm here, Evan, just let it out." It was hard for Hank to fight his own tears. To see his brother so sad and feel the convulsive body in his arms hurt him deeply. But there was something else causing pain in his heart. The bottles that Emily found, the strange and somewhat aggressive behavior that Evan has shown, the vomit in the room. Now that he held his brother tight, he could feel that he had lost much more weight than thought. God, he's so thin! I help you and you won't stop me this time. "Evan, please tell me what's wrong. Are you in trouble?" Are you drinking?

"Dunno, but I'll find out. I promise to tell you everything that's going on, if you give me a week or so more to figure a few things out on my own."

No! That's too long! But Hank knew pressure wouldn't help and agreed with his brother, promised him to let him do it his way.

"Thank you so very much, Henry. I won't disappoint you!"

"I'm sure, and Evan don't forget that I love you." His words just caused a new wave of tears and he tried to change the subject. "Listen, let's do what I said before about the couch and tea. I have a feeling that we get in trouble with Boris, if don't clean your room soon and we never get this smell out of here again."

"Okay, you're right, but I can help you cleaning."

"Oh no, you can't and you won't, you're in no shape!" Hank was in his "BBGO"-mode. Evan had come up with this in his teenager years. Big brother General's orders-mode. Only one of the silly names he had for his brother.

Hank helped Evan up and brought him to the living room, turned on the television and got to the kitchen to heat some water. He went back to his brothers room and started cleaning. Everything he needed was still standing in the bathroom where he had left it in the morning. He did his work, brought things back and stopped again in the room. He sat down on the bed. His brother had a frame with two pictures of them on his nightstand. One showed them as children. Their mother had taken the pic two years before she died.

He's excited. He told his parents for months that he would sell his old bike as soon as he got a new one and use the money for the summer camp. And today is the big day! He saved money for two long years now, because the summer camp is his biggest wish and their parents don't have the money. He can hear Ev crying and telling his father that he's always so mean. He goes around the corner to see what the two are talking about. He sees Evan on his knees holding his stomach and asking why Dad doesn't love him. Hank knows that there have been similar situations before and he often asked his parents and Evan what happened, because he always heard the argument, but saw what was going on. But he will know this time. His father screams at Evan: "You're a pain in my ass! I was out with some friends and had a good time. I need a time out, because you stress me. 'Dad, can we play this or that, can we go there?' Do you think I'm your private entertainer? I work, I try to help your mother and your brother is smart. He needs my attention and support, 'cos he's gonna be somebody. You're just untalented, school is obviously not yours either and you'll never be an important person."

"But I try my best to make Mum and you happy and it's not my fault that I'm here."

"You were an accident! Stop it! Do you need any more trouble?"

Hank sees that Evan holds his stomach even tighter than before... not his stomach, more his side. He can't believe he's father is saying such things to his younger son. Evan looks down. "No, Sir! I had enough. But what about my bike? Did you spend all the money for the time out? If you have some left, we can still buy my bike, can't we? I saved money to surprise you. I helped the people around here with some easy chores and used nothing of the money I got for my birthday. We don't need much more money to buy the bike and..."

"Shut up!" Eddie pulls his son up. "I said, we don't buy you a bike. The money is gone! Nothing of your saved money is left! Don't look so stupid, you didn't hide it well enough! I used that money to see the movie with your brother two days ago and to go to a great restaurant with your mother. She enjoyed the food so much and was so thankful that I made this possible. Go out of my way now! It's time to give your brother the new bike! Follow me and try to look happy!"

Hank hears and sees the whole scene, but he can't comprehend it – not yet. But now he's running inside the house and waits for his parents to call him outside. When time is finally come the most of his excitement about his new bike is gone, he's feeling a strange kind of sadness and he's feeling sorry for his always annoying little brother, but he smiles for his parents for the pictures they take. His father leaves after a few minutes and Hank talks to his mother in private. They both call his brother.

Evan comes and hugs his brother and tells him that he's happy for him that he has a new bike and is able now to pay the summer camp he wants to visit. But he's interrupted. "Evan, I'm not going."

"Why?"

"It's not important anymore." He lies, but he knows that it's the right thing to do.

"But you saved money and can sell your bike and then you have enough money!"

"I won't sell my bike."

"Why? You can't drive two bikes!"

Hank touches his brothers shoulder and notices for a moment that the sudden touch scares Evan. "I don't need two bikes, but I want you to have my bike. I'm not selling it. It's for you. You are a big boy now and you're my brother, you need a cool bike. You can't meet my friends with your old baby bike."

Evan cries, but this time it's because he's happy and feels loved. A feeling that he rarely had in his eight years on earth. Hank helps him on the bike. The boys smile for their mom and she takes the picture.

The second picture was taken on their first party in the Hamptons. But it wasn't important. Hank was touched by the thought that his brother had always liked the old picture so much, while Hank thought there were so many better ones of them. He put the frame back on it's place and got up to make some tea for his brother.

He brought water and tea to Evan and got ready for his patient. "I'll be back in an hour. I try to get some stuff that's easy on your tummy. You need food. I'll call Emily and tell her that I stay here."

"No!" What are you doing? He wants to stay with you instead of the snake, that's good. But I need time to rest and think and it's best, when I'm alone. "You've done enough. I'm not hungry, my tummy isn't ready yet. Go and see Emily. I'm sorry, I wasn't nice to her. Don't worry about me. I promise to call, when I need you."

"I don't know, Evan."

"But I do. Do it for me!"

"I don't feel good doing it, but if you promise to call as soon as you feel sick or dizzy or just like throwing up, I'll leave you alone."

"I already promised and I do it again! And you might end up planning a shopping tour with me, if you stay around me any longer. It's already 2:0 for me."

Hank laughed. "Okay, you seem to feel better. Keep the phone close to you and don't forget to call. Anyway, I call you before I go to bed to make sure you're alright."

"Yes, mother hen."

Hank left and Evan stopped smiling. He has been in pain since the moment Hank had waken him. He let out a deep moan.