A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews! They're amazing. :) See the first chapter for the disclaimer. And now, for the moment you all have been waiting for... I hope you guys enjoy this one, and please review. :)

Chapter Eleven

His chest felt like it was on fire.

Breathing was shallow, when it happened.

So much pain…

Must keep going…

He was running on what was likely a broken leg. With ribs that were probably broken as well. His wrist was hanging in a way it shouldn't be. And his head… God, did his head hurt.

No more than the rest of him, though.

His whole torso burned, front and back. Yet, he kept running. He had to keep running. He needed to get away from them.

Who were they, again?

He ran as long as he could, but then, he couldn't run anymore. His body was finally giving up on him. And as he collapsed to the dirty pavement in the alley, he found himself wondering if this was the end.

They couldn't be that far behind him. They were relatively healthy. Him… well… he was… injured.

He couldn't breathe. He couldn't move. He tried to cough, but all that came up was blood.

Okay, so maybe he was a little more than injured…

The world around him began to dull to a painful black, and he absently wondered why he couldn't even have less pain as he slipped toward unconsciousness. After all, wasn't that how it was supposed to happen? Succumb to the painless instead of choking on your own blood and gasping for air while your body felt like it was shattered into a million pieces?

He closed his eyes, and it wasn't long before he faintly heard a woman's scream…

He gripped the bed sheets below his hands, clenching his fists tightly. The world was still dark, the pain still in existence, but he was laying on something a lot softer than dirty pavement. And someone was beside him, sitting next to his right hand. The one that was casted. The one attached to the broken wrist.

He kept his eyes closed, groaning softly. He wanted to go back to a painless oblivion. He didn't want this reality.

"Jamie."

Danny's voice was a soft whisper, and Jamie couldn't be sure that it was actually Danny's voice that was that soft, or if Jamie just couldn't hear him. But Jamie felt the warmth of Danny's hand hovering over his long before their skin ever made contact.

"It's okay, Jamie. You're safe now."

That's a matter of opinion.

Jamie tried to swallow, but his mouth was dry and his throat was sore and scratchy. He wanted to move, but everything hurt so damn bad…

The door opened, and he heard Danny say quietly, "I think he's waking up."

"Jamie?" a woman's voice said. "I'm Sarah. I'm a nurse here. Can you hear me?"

Jamie wasn't sure how exactly to respond. His head hurt too much to move, and his throat was too dry and sore to speak.

He felt Danny squeeze the fingers of his right hand gently. "If you can hear us, squeeze my hand," Danny said softly.

How cheesy. Jamie, however, obliged Danny's request with a gentle squeeze.

A straw soon made its way against Jamie's lips, and he took a sip of the cool liquid. It did little to soothe his throat pain, but it definitely helped his dry condition…

"Can you open your eyes?" Danny asked.

"Hurts," Jamie whispered.

"I know, kid. But you gotta look at me."

"Why?"

"Yeah, you're fine," Danny retorted gently.

Jamie took another sip from the cup, wincing with swallowing. He felt Sarah assessing him, checking his wounds, and he quietly followed her directions as best he could without causing himself more pain. Which was incredibly difficult when she was asking for deep breaths…

"I'm gonna come right back with some pain medicine," Sarah said. "And some ice. That should help your throat a little."

"Thanks," Jamie whispered.

He heard her departing footsteps, and allowed his head to drift toward his right side slowly. He kept his eyes closed, though, as his head and neck throbbed, along with the rest of his body, in time with the rhythm of his heartbeat.

"I can make the room darker, if you want," Danny offered quietly.

Jamie didn't say anything, but he felt Danny get up and heard him walk around the room. He was making his way back to the bed when Sarah walked in.

"Here's the ice," she said. "And I'm gonna inject this into your IV, okay? That should get it to start working fastest."

"Thanks," Jamie whispered again.

Sarah worked quickly, and after a few minutes, Jamie felt her hand against his left shoulder. "Do you need anything else?" she asked softly.

"No," he replied.

"Okay. I'm gonna come back and check in with you in a few minutes, okay?"

"'Kay."

She left the room again, leaving the two brothers alone. Danny chose to sit on Jamie's left side this time, though.

"Here," Danny said, practically shoving an ice chip into Jamie's mouth.

"Don't," Jamie said as he sucked on the ice. "Don' need you babyin' me."

"When have I ever babied you?"

"Don' care."

"How're you feelin'?"

"Shit hurts," Jamie whispered harshly, finally peeking his right eye open.

Danny nodded quietly, sitting back slightly.

And though Jamie knew he should feel bad for snapping at Danny when Danny was only admitting he was concerned, part of Jamie didn't want to deal with it right now. He didn't want Danny's sympathy. He just wanted to be left alone.

"M'sorry," Jamie said half-heartedly. "M'tired."

"Get some sleep," Danny told him, standing.

"Mmmm."

"I'll be here."

Jamie didn't want Danny to hang around, but he knew he'd never get rid of his older brother no matter how hard he tried. He heard the creaking of the cot across the room, and Jamie gathered that Danny's quick concession had a lot to do with sleep deprivation.

"D'nny?" Jamie asked quietly after a moment.

"Yeah, kid?" he replied.

"What day 'sit?"

"Sunday. You were out for about five days."

"When's last time you slept?"

Danny scoffed slightly. "Don't worry about me."

Jamie didn't reply, but he knew it wasn't long after lying down that Danny was out on the cot.

Jamie opened his eyes, looking over at his older brother as he slept. Danny was doing everything he could to make Jamie more comfortable right now, and Jamie… Jamie was having a hard time caring too much about that at the moment. All he wanted to do was get away from everyone and go home.

He shifted his weight in the bed, and though it did nothing to make him more comfortable, he started to realize nothing would right now. Hospital beds weren't exactly the most conducive things for sleep, but Jamie figured he should try anyway.

If not for himself, for his family.