Rating: PG
Feedback: Yes. [email protected]
Disclaimer: Don�t own them!
Summary: The guys are all brothers and alone. Chris is 18, JC is 9, Joey is 8, Lance is 6 and Justin is 4.
~*~
Chris looked over at JC and smiled. JC was packing up his things and trying to hold Joey�s backpack also.
�Here, let me.�
�Chris?�
�Yeah?� Chris looked back at JC from where Justin was sitting with Joey eating some crackers.
�Where is Lance�s daddy?�
Chris stopped and looked at his little brother. Chris took his brother�s hand and sat him down at a table.
�Joey, Justin, come here.�
Joey and Justin walked over and Chris put Justin in his lap.
�You guys�I need to find Lance�s real daddy. Now, I don�t know where he is. All I know is he has blonde hair and Lance�s eyes and that his name is James Bass. It�s going to take time and I will have to go a long way to find him. Now I can either take you guys or leave you here.�
�Chris, me stay with you!�
Chris sighed and rubbed Justin�s head. �Are you sure, buddy?�
�Uh-huh!�
Chris looked at the oldest ones.
�Who�s going to watch over Lance?� Joey asked. He loved Lance; he didn�t want his brother to leave him.
Chris sighed. �I have an idea�but I really don�t know if it�s worth it.�
�Do it for Lance, Chris! Do it for our brother.� JC said.
Chris looked at JC. He nodded. �Okay.�
JC and Joey hugged him, along with Justin.
~*~
�Look, I don�t care if the doctors had you signed permission to take care of Lance and I don�t care if you do it. All I care is finding the real man who fathered him. Just promise me one thing. Watch him and call me if anything happens. Don�t lie to me and don�t think that you can just get up and leave after this.� Chris sighed after telling his dad. Justin was sitting on Lance�s bed, telling him about their adventure.
�And we�re going to get you all better, Lance! I love you Lance!�
�I love you too, Juju. Come here.� Lance opened his arms and Justin crawled into them.
Chris looked at them and back at his father.
His dad nodded. �I�ll look after him.�
�Justin, come on bud.�
Justin didn�t want to leave Lance but he knew he had to. He ran to Chris and reached for him. Chris picked him up and looked at his dad.
�Just because you�re doing this won�t mean that everything you did to us will go away.�
Chris turned around and hugged and kissed Lance good-bye. He led JC and Joey out the door and they left the hospital.
~*~
Justin sat in the car seat picking at his lip. JC was next to him playing a video game. Joey was up in the passenger�s side reading while Chris drove.
�Are we there yet?� Justin asked.
Chris smiled. �Not yet, buddy. But we will be soon.�
Just how soon Chris didn�t know.
~*~
Chris walked into the social services office and looked around.
�Joey, JC, sit right here, ok? Justin, sit with JC, I�ll be at the counter.�
�Okay.�
Chris went up to the counter and glanced at his brother occasionally while waiting.
�May I help you sir?� a woman�s voice asked.
Chris turned from checking to see which of his brothers had nearly dropped a picture frame.
�Oh yes, um�my brother has Leukemia and he needs bone marrow but he has a separate father than us and I need to find him.�
�All right. Do you have the father�s name?�
�James Bass.�
The woman typed it up. �We have 25 records of a James Bass.�
Chris sighed and looked over at his brothers. JC gave him a pitiful look.
Chris nodded. �Could I check?�
�Sure. Do you need someone to watch those kids?�
�Oh�they don�t get into things, they are pretty mellow. I�ll take them with me as long as they can play by themselves.�
�Okay. Bring them and come with me.�
Chris got his brothers and ventured to the room where all the files were. JC was occupied with his play station while Justin colored his book and Joey sat with Chris. For the next hour, Chris took down notes and compared information with what he knew from the two pictures and the one diary entry his mother had written when she was five months pregnant with Lance about the real father. Pretty soon, Chris had the list narrowed down to five James Bass�. He put all the files away, copied the ones he needed and took his brothers back to the car and headed for a drive through so he could feed the kids. While they were occupied with their sandwiches, Chris studied his mother�s journal entry and the pictures while reading the files. At last, he came to the last file. Chris sighed, drank his coke and opened up the file. He compared notes and saw that this was definitely the same man.
�We found him guys�we found him.�
�Yay!� Justin cheered chewing on a fry. Joey looked at Chris and smiled. Chris smiled back until he saw where Lance�s father lived.
�What�s wrong, Chris?�
Chris looked back at JC. �We need to go far, far away to get him.�
Chris looked back at the name of where he was. �India.� He said softly.
~*~
The only money Chris had in his wallet was the inheritance from his mother, the money he saved in the bank and the kids� college funds. He really didn�t want to use the money on a trip to India when they needed it for Lance. But he needed to. He used the money he didn�t need to buy 4 plane tickets, he got all their things together and drove them down to the airport. Justin was now asleep so Chris carried him inside. They waited by the gate while Joey stared at a picture of Lance�s dad.
�Chris?�
Chris looked at him from cradling Justin. �Yeah?�
Joey looked at him. �When we get to India, how are we going to get his dad?�
Chris sighed. �I�ll figure that out when we get there.�
Joey buried his face in Chris�s arm. Chris wrapped an arm around him.
~*~
In a cold hospital room, Lance Kirkpatrick lay in bed, watching TV. He looked at the pictures next to his bed. One of his mother and another of all the brothers together for a family portrait taken when Justin was one. He reached out for it and held it to his chest.
�Help me, Chris, don�t let me die.� A single tear fell down the boy�s cheek.