Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine. Well, some of them are. But the important ones are all property of MTM and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this . . . . Blah, blah, blah. You know the drill.
Final Countdown
By Nicky
Chapter 12
"You didn't have to
come back. I didn't want you to,"
Jarod starts. He maneuvers around the
room on his crutches until he's at the chair by Willie's bed. It's been a week since he's been in that
place. A week and the hole in his leg
was healing quite nicely. He just
didn't realize he'd be leaving the hospital with a hole in his heart instead.
"I've got to make
this fast. Tori's coming to pick me up
in a little while. But I just had to
come. There are things I have to say to
you." He shifts his still sore leg
until it's in more of a comfortable position before he begins his speech.
"This shouldn't be so
hard. It shouldn't hurt so much. I hated you for so long. You were part of them. The people who stole my everything from me.
My identity. My family. My life.
You even almost took Tori from me forever. You certainly managed to take Sharisse," he sighs
lightly. "But I don't hate you
now. I can't.
"I remember the day I
first found out about or connection.
Not what we just learned, but years ago. When I saw you in those family pictures with Sharisse. I was jealous that you had so much time with
her. And I hated that she loved you,
even after all you'd done to her. But
we were happy. Without you in her
life. Without Tori in mine. We made our own family. And even though I hated you, I felt a sort
of bond with you because of her. Like
we were the only two people in the world to know of the wonderful secret of her
love. Thinking back, I realize that she
probably only loved me because I reminded her of you. Miss Dee used to say that all the time. How much alike the two of us were."
Jarod pauses for a minute
and lets a smile come to his face.
"Now that I know the
true reason I felt that bond with you, I sometimes wonder what it would have
been like for her to have raised the both of us?" He laughs a little at this thought. "I think we would have driven her
crazy."
Jarod pauses again as the
implications of his statement seep through his mind. Saddened by what life could have been like if he had been able to
live it with his brother.
"Would we have gotten
along? Would we have even loved each
other? Would it be possible to love
each other now? Because the fact is,
you're my brother. And that means
something to me. It means that I have
to look after you, and take care of you and keep you safe. It wasn't supposed to be the other way
around. My first official act as your
big brother, and I almost get you killed."
A few tears manage to
escape the barrier Jarod tried to erect, but he realizes it's useless to try to
fight them. He doesn't try to hold them
back any longer. He lets them fall,
grabbing Willie's hand and burying his face in it. The thought of someone walking in and wondering about the two
grown men in an embrace didn't faze him any.
He just allowed himself to grieve.
For the past years they missed.
And for the future years just stolen from them.
"I'm not going to go
through this," Jarod swears, wiping away the last of his tears. "I'm not going to lose another brother. Do you hear me, Willie? That's an order. For all the times I haven't been able to boss you around and tell
you what to do, I'm making up for it
now. You live. It's as simple as that. Live.
And give us a chance at a life they tried to take away. Give us a chance to get to know each
other. Give us a chance to grow to love
each other."
His words hang in the
silent heavy air and are soon swallowed up by the steady beep of the machine
delivering Willie's life sustaining fluids intraveneously. Jarod gives Willie's hand one last squeeze
before focusing on the daunting task of making his way to the door. He looks up and sees her standing there, a
few tears misting her clear blue eyes.
"Do you think he
heard me?" he asks her.
"I have the strangest
feeling that he did," Miss Parker tells him, flashing a smile that filled
his heart. "And I'm sure he'll
listen to you. You can be pretty
persuasive, you know." She smiles
again at him and pretty soon he can't help but do the same.
"I love you," he
whispers to her, gently capturing her lips in a delicate kiss.
"I love you too,
Jarod," she whispers back.
"Let's get out of here.
Let's go home."
She moves to the door and
holds it open for him while he hobbles out the room. Taking one last look at the man still lying unconscious in the
bed, he smiles somberly.
<' . . . don't think that just because you're older you'll be able to
boss me around like this . . .>, Jarod sadly remembers Willie
saying. His last words to him.
"Just wait, little
brother. This is only the beginning for
us." Jarod lets out one last sigh
before turning to walk down the hall, the clicking of the door closing marking
the shutting of one book of his life . . . or maybe the opening of another.
The end.
