Jared Booth left the train station in Bethesda and headed towards Walter Reed Medical Center. It had been two weeks since they had found out Seeley was still alive, and 3 days since he'd arrived stateside. This was his first visit to his brother. Hank hadn't let him skip school to come with him earlier in the week, insisting that his youngest grandson needed to buckle down for his last year at high school. That, and the staff had warned them to not overwhelm Seeley. Keeping that in mind Pops had suggested that Jared take the train in and he would come by later and bring him back after checking in on Seeley himself.

He was scared for his big brother. Pops had said that Seeley would be okay eventually, but it was going to take a while. Physically the Iraqis had messed him up. He'd already had two surgeries on his feet and was likely looking at two more, and there was still a slight chance that he'd walk with a limp. Jared couldn't imagine his brother handling that well. Mentally it was hard to say how long the recovery would be, Seeley wasn't talking too much, he'd give one word answers to questions but it wasn't clear whether his silence was due to drugs, pain or trauma. Thankfully, they had pretty much ruled out brain damage.

He checked in at the front desk and got Seeley's room number. There was no one at the nursing station so he just headed towards his brother's room. Once he found it he stopped in the doorway, shocked for an instant.

Seeley was lying on his left side with his back to the door. His hospital gown was untied, a sheet covered him from the waist down but wasn't tucked in, showing his legs encased in plaster, a pillow between his knees. Fading bruises and cuts in various stages of healing, some of which still had stitches in them, covered his back. His spine and ribs were much more prominent than they should have been. His right arm was in a cast from fingertips to mid bicep. The exposed skin that wasn't bruised or slashed was almost as pale as the bandages on his wounds. His head was shaved revealing more gashes on his scalp.

Taking a deep breath, he walked around the bed and pulled a chair up. Seeley's eyes were closed and more bruises were visible on his face through the stubble. Pillows blocked the view of his chest but from his shallow breathing it was obvious that ribs were broken. An IV was attached to his left hand and the little two fingers were splinted together. He was glad Seeley wasn't awake yet, he needed a chance to get it together. They weren't really close any more, but this was still his big brother and it was horrible to see him like this again. Jared clenched his fists and fought back the memories of other times when he'd seen his brother lying bruised and battered on a bed.

Booth knew, or thought he knew, that someone was in the room with him. He was very confused right now. Every time he managed to wake up someone new was telling him he was in a different place. First in Kuwait, then Frankfurt and now supposedly in Maryland. They kept telling him everything was fine and he was safe, but he had dreamed that a lot between beatings. In an case, it seemed like a long dream now, so maybe he had been rescued, but time was confusing too. For a while it was always dark and now it was always bright. It seemed like maybe a doctor or nurse had just left after saying something about his back, maybe that's who was in the room. He hoped so because they had rolled him on his side and it was harder to breathe this way.

He managed to open his eyes, or at least one eye, the left one didn't work so well. But then again, most of his body parts didn't seem to work too well right now. He knew they were all still attached because they hurt like hell. Focusing wasn't his strong point but it looked like Jared was staring at him. The hallucination lightly touched his wrist and said, "Hey Seeley". It seemed rude to ignore his brother even if he wasn't real so he croaked out, "Hey."

Before Jared could respond another voice said, "Hey Booth, I'm back. Hi, I'm Amy." Jared nodded, "Nice to meet you, I'm Seeley's younger brother Jared." Ok, both of his imaginary friends were talking to each other, so maybe they were real. He'd never been that creative.

"Booth, I'm going to take your stitches out now. Jared, if you want to wait in the lounge, I'll come get you when I'm done."

"Unless I'll be in the way, I'll hang here. " He did not want to leave his brother yet.

"I don't mind if he doesn't mind." She waited for a response, but was not surprised when none was given from the injured soldier. "I imagine that he'd be glad to have this done as quickly as possible. " A hand touched his back. "Ok, Seeley, this shouldn't hurt, but you may feel some pinching. "

Jared slid his chair back and leaned forward so that Seeley didn't have to strain to see him, and found an unmarked part of his arm to hold lightly. His brother's expression was still a little unfocused and he hoped the contact would help. Jared was suddenly taken back 10 years to the months before Pops had taken them in. Their father was getting more and more out of control, and Seeley was most often the target of his anger. After one particularly brutal round they cleaned up the mess and then headed to their room. Seeley was so sore that he didn't bother to change into pajamas just laid on his side, trying not to move. Jared, already scared, became terrified when his older brother's eyes filled with tears. He had knelt next to the bed crying, not sure what to do. Seeley, seeing how scared his little brother was picked that moment to tell a fart joke. They laughed a lot harder than the joke warranted, then exchanged others. Eventually Jared had drug his mattress to the floor next to Seeley's bed and fallen asleep. It was a ritual repeated often that summer.

Booth kept watching his brother. He had a funny feeling that they had done this before, but the damn drugs were making it hard to think. Finally it clicked and he mumbled, "Know any good fart jokes?" Jared made a noise somewhere between a laugh and a sob and replied, "No, but I've got a couple of dirty limericks." He proceeded to rattle off one and Seeley snorted in response.

Amy had to smile at the exchange. That was the longest string of words Seeley had put together since he'd arrived, and Jared had lost his panicked look as soon as his brother spoke. While the jokes weren't necessarily in line with her sense of humor her patient was visibly relaxing as his younger brother kept up a running monologue. As she worked she had noticed faint scars on Seeley's back and was guessing that they had been through some stuff. She finished with the last of the stitches and wiped off his back. "Ok, all done. Let's get your ribs re-taped. Jared, do you mind giving me a hand? Otherwise I have to wait for an orderly."

Following her instructions they managed to get Seeley turned over and then in a sitting position to wrap his chest with a minimum of discomfort. Jared had paled each time Seeley winced, but Seeley kept muttering "I'm ok" which kept the younger Booth calm and focused. Once they got him settled and coaxed some water into him, Seeley closed his eyes, exhausted by all the activity. Amy noticed the concern on Jared's face and motioned him out of the room. Once out of earshot of Seeley she told him, "Thanks. You really helped him a lot. He's going to be out of it for a little while, so go down to the cafeteria and get yourself a soda or something. I'll have some lunch sent in, once you get back see if you can get him to eat and drink. He hasn't been terribly interested in food yet, but if you can convince him to eat, that will help. Anything in particular that he likes? Soft foods are best."

"When we were sick, grandma always made us pudding." Jared offered, " and he likes coffee."

"Well, he'll have to stick to decaf, but pudding is definitely on the menu. " She squeezed the teenager's arm gently and added, "And stop worrying, it's going to take a while, but your brother is going to be fine."

Jared nodded, not entirely convinced. He headed down to the cafeteria and bought his own coffee and then headed back to see Seeley.

When Hank arrived a couple hours later, his grandsons were discussing Jared's latest football game. Granted, most of the talking was done by the younger Booth, but Seeley was at least making some conversation. Another good sign was the empty bowls and cups on the bedside table. He stood in the doorway observing for a bit and was cheered when BOTH of the boys noticed and greeted him with "Hey Pops."