"Robin, are you watching?"

Robin stuck a thumbs up from his position on the gnarled apple tree, balancing precariously with one hand propping himself up on the trunk and the other holding a camcorder, blinking with the red light of recording. "Got a good shot!"

"Perfect!" Liam grinned from his position on top of the make-shift ramp that pointed towards the bridge. He was older than Robin by four years and it was a couple of days until his eighteenth birthday. Despite this, Liam had gotten a new skateboard early and was keen to try it out. Robin was the camera-man – he always had been ever since he was old enough to work the buttons. The camcorder belonged to Liam at first but Liam got tired of filming and wanted to participate. Robin was happy with the camera though, it gave him some sense of responsibility, some sense of recording memories.

Liam's tongue stuck out from the top of the ramp made of corkboard and stray wooden slats they had found around the old campsite and he positioned himself carefully. Robin trained the camcorder on Liam's form, his own stuck out in a mimic of concentration. Liam's foot pressed against the front of the skateboard and he was off, rolling down the ramp. He gained a small bit of speed, bent his knees, and hopped up onto the edge of the metal bridge railing. Despite the camcorder trained on the trick with professional standards, Robin himself closed his eyes and looked away. The bridge hovered over a small chasm of sorts filled with loose rocks and shrubbery.

Robin heard the curse shouted out loud and opened his eyes, watching his brother tumble head-over-heels at the base of the bridge, his skateboard shooting out from under him and disappearing down the valley, but Liam himself staying on the other side of the bridge. "Liam!" Robin hopped down from his perch and ran over to his brother. "Liam, are you okay?"

As soon as Robin got over to the tumbled form of Liam, his brother popped up with a wide grin, covered in dirt and a small scratch above his left eye. "Oh man, that was a tumble and a half!" He quickly got beside Robin. "Did you get it?"

Robin nodded, quickly pressing buttons to show the recording. Liam watched and gave an appropriate whistle of the lips. "Oh man, that looked badass. That's going on YouTube for sure. Might hit over 10,000 views with that."

"What about the skateboard?" Robin asked, pointing to the valley.

"We'll find it in a minute, let's patch me up first. Throw me the wipes in my bag." Liam sat down there on the dirt pathway in front of the bridge, surrounded by woods, and caught the box of wipes that Robin threw. Robin watched in admiration as Liam nonchalantly wiped down the small scratch before passing a plaster over to his brother. For Robin, this was peace incarnate. Away from town in the wild pathways in the woods. Robin loved it like it was now, in the afternoon. He loved it in the morning, with the birds singing their sunrise song. He loved it in the evening, with the stars above the canopy. He often came with Liam for his tricks – the bridge was a popular spot for his big brother – but he also snuck out sometimes when times were tough.

"Hang on," Robin suddenly pointed at Liam's left ear. "You got a scratch behind there as well."

"That's impressive." Liam started blindly wiping behind his ear.

"Urgh, you're missing it completely. Here, let me." Robin hopped to his feet and reached up to his taller brother, wiping the scratch gently. "What are you gonna do without me? You always manage to injure yourself somehow."

"It's the mark of a good skateboarder. I wear my injuries with pride!" Liam grinned his crooked grin, which was missing a tooth, one such prideful injury. "I love your nails today, Robin."

Robin beamed as he threw the slightly bloody tissue back in the pack and held up both hands to Liam. His nails were painted a sparkling gold. "Fiona said this was all the rage at the moment. Apparently DeLux Magazine says it brings you luck and such. I thought it looked pretty and she did them for me this morning at school. She says I got very pretty nails which is really cool."

"That is cool," Liam smiled warmly before the smile seemed to sharpen somewhat. "Have you… been home yet?"

Robin faltered and he dropped his hands. "No. I came straight here. You asked me to hang out with you."

"I did," Liam said. "But you're gonna have to go home already."

"I don't want to get rid of them."

"You shouldn't antagonize them like that."

"They're just nails, Liam, it's hardly the end of the world!" Robin huffed. "I don't care what either of those people think!"

Liam let out a small chuckle, distracting Robin from his temper. "I love that about you, little brother." He stood up and ruffled Robin's tousled brown hair. "You stick to your guns and you'll go far in life. Don't ever let anyone tell you what to do, alright? Well, apart from your big brother of course." Liam chuckled again but paused upon Robin's silence. "What's up, Robin? Silence was never your strong suit."

"Why is it only mum and dad?" Robin looked up at his big brother with wide eyes. "Fiona and the girls at school let me hang out with them. You let me hang out with you. None of you bat an eyelid. And then when I get home…" Robin shivered and looked to his feet. "I can't hide them like you do. I can't use skateboarding as an excuse."

Liam's eyes narrowed and a flare of anger pushed through his nostrils. "Robin. Did you go home?"

"It wasn't too bad…"

"Show me!" Liam growled. It was a side of his brother that Robin rarely saw except when it came to their parents. Robin sheepishly raised the hem of his shirt. Thick bruising spread across his pale belly like a belt. Any good nature left in Liam's face was replaced by a fierce, angry protectiveness.

"It didn't hurt, Liam! I swear! Not that bad. They can't do anything to my face or my hands anyway otherwise people at school'll get suspicious! It's not too bad a cost."

"You shouldn't have to pay to be who you are!" Liam growled. "They promised me they would change! They always fucking promise! I've had enough, Robin, enough! When I turn eighteen, I'm moving out and you're going to come with me. I've saved up over the last two years, we can manage. I can't let them keep doing this to you."

"And what about when they do it to you?" Robin sniffed, tears welling up. "You don't deserve it either Liam."

"I can take it!"

"And I can't?!" Robin cried, hugging himself tightly. "Why do you always have to protect me?"

"…Because I'm your big brother." Liam put his hand on Robin's head again. "It's what big brothers do. It's okay to be protected, Robin. It's okay to be vulnerable." Robin looked up at his big brother and saw Liam's own eyes were wet now. "You have a heart of gold as pretty as those nails, Robin. You inspire the people around you. You inspire me. Mum and dad, they don't see that, and they never will. They want to mould you into their idea of a perfect son. I'm not kidding, Robin. We can move out, move to Birmingham or London or some other big city, just catch a train and we can be out of there, anywhere we want. Let them rot in their own prison. I will not let you be punished for their prejudice. I can love you enough for the both of them."

"You always were a good speaker," Robin sniffed. "Can I put that on your YouTube as well." He sheepishly raised the camera. It was still recording. Liam went red with embarrassment.

"Oh you bastard! Delete that now!"

"Maybe I'll just watch it again later…" Robin grinned and laughed, the tears disappearing as quick as they had come.

"You definitely are not! You'll be deleting that later! But since it's recording anyway, let's go find my board. I bet we can get some good climbing shots."

Liam went bounding off and if Robin only knew he would never have let Liam leave him alone like that. They would have gone home and moved out and been happy. If only.

Robyn watched the door swing shut after Conner's disappearing back and found that memory of her big brother seeping into her brain. It hit her hard and she clutched at her chest from where she sat on the bed. She had let Liam go. She had let Noah go. Robyn truly believed Conner was a good man whatever the rumours against him were. He had treated her… well, he had treated her like Liam would have. Like Noah had. She almost laughed in her melancholy thoughts at what the doctors would say. Some kind of Big Brother syndrome. Well, be that as it may, it made her happy to be treated that way and she could not let Conner go. Not like the others who she would never see again, no matter how much she tried and persuaded herself.

She threw the sheets aside and pushed open the door, eyes already searching. "Conner!" One end of the corridor was empty. Robyn swung her head to the other side and saw two orderlies approaching quickly. "He didn't do anything wrong!" Robyn recognised the orderlies. One was a balloon of a man called Dave while the other had slicked back hair and wore glasses, looking like a professor; Derrick, Robyn thought to herself, that was it. "I don't know why—"

Robyn let out a surprised gasp as Dave grabbed her collar and used his massive girth to press her against the wall. Robyn froze, feeling his weight against her back, his breath on her ear.

"Where did Conner go, Robyn?"

Robyn bit her tongue, fear springing into her. She felt Dave push harder, his rotund belly pressing against her back. "Y-You're hurting me…"

"He'll hurt you worse if you don't cooperate," the hissing voice of Derrick came into her other ear. Robyn didn't understand. The orderlies were supposed to be good people. She had conversations with Dave about his lorry driving days and used to exchange fun facts with Derrick on a daily basis. Why were they doing this? "You've clearly been buddy-buddy with him, tell us where he is?"

"I can feel how thin you are," Dave breathed. "I could break you like a twig."

Strangely, another thought overrode Robyn's fear. She needed her camera. Where was her camera? She had to record this, she had to have evidence, she had to—

"What in the hell are the two of you doing?" A voice boomed through the corridor. Robyn immediately felt Dave's weight come off her as she turned away, pressing herself against the wall with wide, trembling eyes. Dave and Derrick had both jolted back like naughty schoolchildren. Marching up the corridor with four equally black-garbed figures was the man with the friendly green eyes and the scar. The man who had been in John's notebook. Those green eyes were now narrowed in eyes that looked just like Liam's that day; Somewhere in her fear Robyn wryly noted a bland doctor's voice telling her: big brother syndrome.

"We are looking for Conner Shepher-" Derrick started but the man with green eyes got right up into Derrick's face. He was surprisingly tall and Derrick's frame shuddered and shrunk under the man's fierce gaze.

"It doesn't look to me like you are looking for Conner Shepherd. It looks to me like you are harassing a patient of this hospital. It looks to me like you were about to harm her. It looks to me that if you do not leave my sight this instant that I will have my men arrest you and put you in the cells, do you understand me?"

"Y-Yes, sir." Derrick said meekly and went to walk off but Dave, whether in stupidity or bravery, put a hand out.

"Don't 'sir' him. We don't work for you, son." The man cracked his neck and stood in front of Dave. Dave was shorter but certainly wider by a considerable amount. Nevertheless, the man with the green eyes crossed his arms and stared the fat man in the eyes. Dave seemed to tremble but did not back away. "We work for Warden Hearthome."

"Uh-huh."

"We have permission to do as we need to find Conner Shepherd."

"Yep."

"And-And we were only questioning Robyn here-"

"Enough," the man shook his head like a disappointed teacher. "I swear to Christ that if you are the kind of people Hearthome employs then it's time to re-evaluate our staff. What's your name, son."

"D-Dave."

"Full name."

Dave swallowed, his big throat wobbling. "D-David Barberry, s-s-sir." Any bravery had disappeared immediately.

"Do you know who the warden works for?"

"I-"

"The warden works for us," the man said firmly. "Therefore you work for us. Therefore, you do what I say, when I say, without questioning why I say it! And considering the two of you saw Conner Shepherd running that way down the corridor, how about you get to moving and go chase after him, instead of abusing innocent residents of our hospital and wasting all of our times!"

It took only a second for both Dave and Derrick to nod hesitantly and walk off down the corridor.

"You're not going for a leisurely stroll down by the lake! Get to running! Now! He's probably found himself a hole to hide in by now! Go! Go!" With the man's encouragement, the two residents sprinted at full speed, Dave noticeably behind, panting and wheezing, before they both rounded the corner. The man with green eyes took a long breath and looked back to Robyn. "I am sorry about that."

"No, that was… impressive. Wow…" Robyn smiled weakly before straightening up. "Conner didn't do anything, I've been with him practically all of the time. Whatever people think he's done—" She stopped as the man in black raised a gloved hand.

"It's okay. Conner's resourceful enough to find somewhere to lay low until I can find him. I'm not worried about Conner. Robyn, I asked you to trust me and we have completed our investigation." The man with green eyes stepped aside. The four people behind him stepped aside. Robyn couldn't help but feel her eyes well up again. Despite her optimism, she truly believed she would never see him again. She always had been a cry-baby. "We concluded, of course, that Noah Barker was not responsible for Charles Evans' accident."

Noah raised a quiet hand, his right eye covered with a white pad, looking surprisingly healthy considering the state he had been in when he had left the administrative building only a short time before. "Hi."

Whatever walls Robyn had held up crumbled and she practically leaped forward, embracing the surprised Noah with a particularly tight hug, weeping openly into his chest. Noah glanced awkwardly at the man with green eyes, who only shrugged with an amused grin. Uncertain on what to do, Noah found his hand resting gently on Robyn's tousled brown hair. For the first time in her life, Robyn truly had no words to speak as she cried openly and freely with no shame, holding onto Noah as if her life depended on it.