AUTHORS NOTES: WARNINGS: For this chapter there is talk of drug use and bad language. This chapter is a little short but I just needed to get the first reaction from the team out of the way. The next chapter will be longer. Happy reading!

Chapter#3

Getting out of the car proved to be a bit more difficult than getting in. It had been easy to slid into the seat with Brian tucked against his chest. Trying to climb out even when the guy weighed so little almost resulted in them both slamming against the ground. Once he was steady on his feet Vince followed Dom into the house. It was 6am by now but as soon as Vince walked through the doors with Brian curled around his chest looking half dead a collective gasp filled the crowded living room. Vince had hoped everyone had been asleep upon their return but it would seem by the tired looks in everyone eyes that no one had slept

"Oh God Brian!" Mia said

She was rushing towards Vince and Brian in seconds. Her dark knowing eyes took in the pale parlor of Brian's skin. The lack of weight and the numerous amounts of injuries. The smell of pure alcohol and the greasy strands of his hair

"Mia!" Dom barks out, his voice harsher than he intended with his worry "what happens when you mix Dilaudid and alcohol?"

"W-What?" Mia said. She blinks slowly, then she's grabbing Brian's arm and checking for track marks like Dom and Vince had "oh Brian" Mia glances between Dom and Vince "do you know how much he took?" Dom and Vince shake their heads no.

Brian was too light but standing in the doorway with the guy unconscious wasn't idea. So, while Dom riffled through the bag Vince moves towards the couch and sits with Brian still tucked safely in his arms. Letty raises an eyebrow at that but the curious look fades away when she sees just how bad Brian looks

"Jesus" Letty whispers before turning away.

Jesse is just standing there, to stunned to speak. To worried about how horrible Brian really looks to move. Leon is a silent pillar of comfort at Jesse's back, but even his normal calm stoic face was tense with worry. Mia was looking at the glass bottle Dom handed to her while Vince got comfortable

"He didn't take all of this in one night that's for sure" Mia said "his heart would have stopped already if he took this much in one go" Mia holds up and finger to tell everyone to wait as she rushes up stairs and returns with her bag, she takes to class with her every day. She pulls out a stethoscope and places it around her neck before pulling out a blood pressure cuff and wraps it around Brian's arm. Everyone watches as she frowns down at the reading on the dial, before she moves to listen to Brian's heart beat. The room is full of a tense silence as Mia slowly works. She pulls out a pin light and checks the reaction of Brian's pupils before pulling back "his heart rate and blood pressure are low. Not life threatening, it's not uncommon for that to happen when you mix those two things. He's breathing is a bit labored but that could be from the fluid I heard in his lungs" Mia smiles sadly as she brushes a dirty curl out of Brian's closed eyes "we'll just have to watch him for the next few hours to make sure his heart rate doesn't drop anymore"

"You don't think we should take him to the hospital, do you?" Jesse asked, finally getting the nerve to speak

"No, and I'm hoping we won't have to take him at all. If we did it's possible, they would take him back and we wouldn't hear anything. We aren't related to Brian; we would get no news on what was happening" Mia said

'He could slip away like he did all those years ago' Vince thinks. It would be so easy for Brian to move through a hospital unaware and disappear into the night. If he could do it as an eleven-year-old boy who was nearly beat to death. He could definitely do it as a twenty-four-year-old with nothing left to lose

"So we let him sleep it off?" Vince asked.

Hearing Brian breathing the whole way here had been comforting to an extent, but hearing Mia tell them like it is put Vince more at ease

"Yes, he'll probably been out for a good while. So, we might as well make him comfortable" Mia said.

No one dared to say a thing when Vince stood and carried Brian down stairs. There was no way in hell he was letting Brian sleep on the couch after seeing the monstrosity he had been using as a bed. And if Vince slipped into the bathroom he added to the basement, and gave Brian a bath then no one was the wiser. Getting Brian clean when he was nothing more then a rag doll had been challenging. Seeing the scars that littered his chest and back had been worse. But seeing the new wounds and discoloration of his skin from everything to his face to his feet had been hard to swallow. Vince made sure to keep the water away from the bandages on his throat the best he could. If Brian would have done his job like he was suppose to he could be at home. His proper home, making good money, feeding himself and having a good night's rest. Instead, he had turned his back to his badge and got sideswiped by life. Vince didn't know why Brian didn't go and find a proper job, but once Brian finally woke up and was coherent Vince would ask the questions that had been tormenting him. Once he had Brian clean, he dressed him in a pair of his sweats and a soft long sleeve shirt. Vince had noticed since entering the basement that Brian had shivered in his sleep several times, so once he was dressed, he tucked Brian into bed. The older male hurried his way through a shower. Being in those apartments had left his clothes, hair and skin smelling awful. The hallway had smelled of vomit and garbage. Not to mention the scent of weed and something dead. Brian's apartment hadn't smelled wonderful in the least but it had been better than the shit out in the halls. After dressing himself, he crawled into bed next to the blonde. He didn't want to sleep on the couch either, and if he was honest with himself being close to Brian and hearing his breathing relaxed him. If Brian flipped out about waking up next to Vince in bed with him, he was okay with that. Brian deserved to throw a fucking fit. Vince couldn't say he was the type of man to cuddle. Several women he had dated had bitched about that fact. But when Brian finally moved and showed some sign of life besides breathing as he curled himself around Vince, you bet your ass the older man cuddled the guy closer to his chest. The almost sad sigh Brian hummed out as he slid impossibly close to Vince pulled at the older man's heart. He prided himself on being a hard ass, but to see someone like Brian so hurt and down right broken take comfort in Vince in his sleep was like a kick to the balls. That how they slept. Brian warm and safe and unaware curled around Vince. Vince slept peacefully with Brian caged protectively against his chest. It maybe a drug induced sleep, but Vince was still glad none the less Brian was resting. At least with Brian pressed so tightly against his chest he could feel the guy's heart beat and hear his breathing. They could deal with the fall out of practically kidnapping Brian tomorrow