Summary: A bullet, a question, and the unconditional love of a brother.<\/p>\n
Rating: K+<\/p>\n
Word Count: 978<\/p>\n
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Why?<\/i> The word echoed in my mind as I stared at the figure laying on the bed in front of me. He was still, too still. As far back as I could recall, he\u2019d never been still a moment in his life, not when he was a baby, not as a child, and certainly not as the young man he\u2019d grown into. His boundless energy meant he was always on the move.<\/p>\n
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Oh what it is to be young<\/i>, I mused, smiling softly, but the smile quickly faded as I eyed the blood stained bandages swathing his bare chest.<\/p>\n
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Why?<\/i> The question came again and my hands curled into fists. There were so many possible answers, but none of them brought me any comfort. There would be no comfort for me, not now, not ever.<\/p>\n
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A muscle ticked in my jaw as I clenched my teeth.<\/p>\n
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Of all the low down, dirty, rotten<\/i>\u2026. I broke off that line of thinking. No good would come of it. Cal Barlow, the man who\u2019d shot my brother, was dead, his soul burning in hellfire. Still, even if I could resurrect him only to kill him again and again, it would do nothing to ease the guilt churning in my belly.<\/p>\n
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Ultimately, this was my fault. I was the one who sacked Cal for drinking on the job. I was the one he had threatened to kill. I was the one he\u2019d aimed his gun at.<\/p>\n
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But Joe was the one who got hurt.<\/p>\n
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My brave, foolish, stupidly loyal younger brother had seen the flash of sunlight off of Cal\u2019s rifle barrel, where it stuck out from a window in the loft of the livery stable, and had pushed me out of the way just as the irate cowhand had fired. The slug had caught Joe high in the chest, whipping him around in a half circle before his knees buckled and he fell face down in the dust of Virginia City\u2019s main street.<\/p>\n
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Hoss, who had been a couple of steps ahead of us, turned and shot in one fluid movement. His bullet had been true, and the body of Cal Barlow fell headfirst out of the window to land in a crumpled heap before the doors of the livery stable. He was dead before he hit the ground.<\/p>\n
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Everything after that happened in a blur. One minute we\u2019d been in the street, and the next we were sitting in Paul Martin\u2019s waiting room, praying for news on Joe\u2019s condition. I vaguely remembered Roy Coffee showing up, trying to get our side of the story, but for the life of me, I couldn\u2019t recall a word I\u2019d said to him.<\/p>\n
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Now I was sitting beside the cot in Paul\u2019s office, gazing down at my baby brother.<\/p>\n
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\u201cDon\u2019t worry, Adam,\u201d the doctor placed a friendly hand on my shoulder and squeezed it gently, \u201cJoe\u2019s young and strong, and the wound isn\u2019t life threatening. He\u2019ll pull through,\u201d his words rang hollow in my ears even as the question bubbled up within me once more: why?<\/i><\/p>\n
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*<\/i><\/p>\n
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<\/i>\u201cAdam?\u201d my head snapped up as the hoarse whisper dragged me out of a light doze. A pair of pain-filled, green eyes peered up at me, causing a flood of relief to fill my being.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHey, buddy,\u201d I said as I reached over and brushed a few sweat-dampened curls from his forehead.<\/p>\n
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He blinked owlishly at me. \u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cYou…you got shot, Joe. Don\u2019t you remember?\u201d<\/p>\n
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His brow furrowed for a moment, then he slowly nodded. \u201cYeah. Cal…he was gonna shoot you,\u201d he murmured.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIf not for you, he would have,\u201d I said. Suddenly, a mixture of emotions boiled over within me: anger, fear, self loathing. \u201cWhy?\u201d the question slipped off of my tongue without my permission, \u201cWhy did you do it, Joe? You know, sometimes you\u2019re so stupid! Were you trying to get yourself killed?\u201d Unable to stay motionless a second longer, I stood up so fast the chair I\u2019d been sitting on nearly tipped over. I stomped over toward the only window in the room and gripped the sill so hard that my knuckles turned white. \u201cWhy? Why did you push me out of the way? You could have died,\u201d I said softly as the guilt threatened to overwhelm me.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWhat sort of man would I be if I stood by and did nothing to save you?\u201d his reply shook me to the core. Turning my head, I looked at him, tears filling my eyes. \u201cYou\u2019re my brother, Adam, I\u2019d do anything for you,\u201d one corner of his mouth twitched upwards and he added, \u201cBesides, you taught me to always help damsels in distress.\u201d<\/p>\n
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A bark of laughter escaped my lips and I shook my head, wiping the tears from my cheeks with one hand. \u201cAss,\u201d I muttered lovingly as I moved back over to his bedside.<\/p>\n
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\u201cTakes one to know one,\u201d he shot back and chuckled. His laugh quickly morphed into a groan of pain as the movement tugged at his wound.<\/p>\n
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\u201cEasy there, Joe. You don\u2019t want to go pulling out those nice stitches Doc Martin put into your shoulder now, do you?\u201d<\/p>\n
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He started to make a face at me, only to have it turn into a jaw cracking yawn.<\/p>\n
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\u201cGo back to sleep, buddy.\u201d<\/p>\n
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After pulling the blanket up over his chest, I headed for the door.<\/p>\n
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\u201cAdam?\u201d I halted, fingers wrapped around the doorknob and glanced back at him. His expression was more serious than I\u2019d ever seen before. \u201cIt\u2019s not your fault, you know? It was my choice and I\u2019d do it again in a heartbeat.\u201d<\/p>\n
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My throat filled with emotion as some of the guilt lifted off of my shoulders. \u201cThanks, buddy. I\u2019d do the same for you too.\u201d<\/p>\n
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He gave me a lopsided grin. \u201cI know you would, because that\u2019s what brother\u2019s do: watch each other\u2019s backs.\u201d<\/p>\n
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~ Finis<\/p>\n
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Tags: Adam, Joe, SJS, shooting, angst<\/p>\n