Double Trouble (CC, AU, Adult) - Part 71 - 11/25/09
Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 3:15 pm
Earth2Mama: And you were right! They’re gonna do their best to prevent their sister from being taken out of the country. Well, we’ve gotta admit, we think you’re right. Right now her safety is the most important thing to them, but the guys will definitely have to deal with their lack of knowledge in regards to Michael’s past.
Liz’ confidence is growing in leaps and bounds. She totally deserved the chance to go a little crazy on the field of battle, lol! Max will continue to be supportive as Liz begins to test out her newfound assertiveness and independence.
You can look for Liz to help Max out with that.
Cardinal: Max is a man who knows that it isn’t necessary to push; Liz will take things at her own pace and he’s perfectly comfortable to wait and be supportive while she makes new discoveries and learns what she is and isn’t ready for.
That is something that does happen all too often! Good question about the “oops!” defense, lol!
Michael and Tess have an interesting relationship. Kyle is patient and eventually Tess will either come around or he’ll have to say something.
There’s no way that Brendan could ever fully understand, but as you said, he doesn’t need to. The important thing is for them to move forward from this point and build a stronger relationship.
Michael may be reluctantly willing to bring that issue to light if it’ll help keep his parents from taking Brooke with them.
We’ll be posting a bit early since lots of folks are probably gonna be busy with family stuff on Turkey Day!
begonia9508: Hopefully the guys are able to stop their parents from taking Brooke out of the country!
They’re having a great time in Texas, huh?
keepsmiling7: LOL, thanks!
Natalie36: They’re gonna do their best!
80s_UnLove_Child: Michael isn’t gonna be easy to calm once he finds out about this. Liz is taking it one step at a time for now. How long do ya think she’ll be able to resist? Thanks!
mary mary: Awesome!
Jordyn deserved it.
Keep Michael calm… hmm, we’ll see. Sorry about that… this next update may not help to lower your blood pressure! Tell ya what, keep one of those days, lol, we’ll update a day early since Thursday is Turkey Day!
kismet: Tess wasn’t expecting it either!
We agree with you.
We’ll see… you never know with Michael.
Alien_Friend: Aww, we’re sorry! Um, this next update may have a few of those moments as well. The only thing that kept Alex calm was knowing that reacting any other way could have resulted in damaging any chance he has of gaining custody of his sister.
The twins are making good progress towards rebuilding their relationship.
Max has avoided facing that because he has some unresolved anger issues related to his brother’s death.
Aww, we don’t want you to be sad… and especially not super sad! How ‘bout we promise that it’ll be resolved soon?
sarammlover: Liz may have developed slowly, but now that she’s gotten out of her stagnant relationship with Sean she’s beginning to breathe and realize that she can set her own boundaries.
You can expect the twins’ relationship to get stronger from here on out.
LOL, okay, we won’t tell you.
Hey, look! We’re updating on Wednesday… why? ‘Cause Thursday is Turkey Day!
Maiqu: Yeah, we totally understand that!
Brendan will be pursuing things with Karen… look for it around Christmas, fic-time.
The boys are gonna do their best.
destinyc: Well, it’s all new to her, but don’t expect her to hold out too long!
Tess is making progress!
While it’s a horrible thing to happen, it’s another important significant thing for Michael and Maria.
LOL, we didn’t think of that!
Author’s Note: Hey, we wanted to post a little early for all of y’all goin’ home for the holiday! Happy Thanksgiving!
Part 71 – A Plan… Maybe
Brooke sat as far away from her father as she could get, hugging her dogs close and hoping that Alex could take her back from her parents. Her brothers wouldn’t abandon her; they would fight to keep her with them. Her gaze was blurry as she stared at the house that had become her home over the past few months, watching it disappear as they reached the end of the block and turned to head into the city.
She jumped when her father spoke unexpectedly, ordering the driver to pull over to the side of the road. She looked around, wondering why he would want to stop there, when he suddenly leaned forward and reached for Buffy. “What’re you doin’?” she asked, her voice trembling.
“When I told you to get your things together, I wasn’t talking about those mutts.” He jerked Buffy out of her arms and reached for Spike. The small dog growled, sensing his owner’s distress and he snapped at the large hand coming towards him. “If he bites me, I’ll break his neck before I dump him on the side of the road,” Hank threatened.
Brooke couldn’t control her tears any longer and she gave Spike the command to back off as her father took him from her. She knew if she fought to hold onto the dog he would only end up getting hurt and she had to hope that all of their training would keep the dogs from going out on the busy road. They were several miles from the house and she didn’t know if the dogs could make it back home; they had never walked in this direction because the road was too busy and she had been worried that they might get hurt.
She slumped down in the corner of the leather seat and her body shook with sobs when she heard a sharp squeal from Spike as Hank literally tossed them out of the car and slammed the door shut again. He ordered the driver to continue on his way and he reached for the phone in the console to make a business call, uncaring of his daughter’s pain.
*****
Alex and Isabel were in the kitchen making coffee when the front door slammed shut and seconds later the twins rushed into the room, demanding to know what was going on.
“You said you couldn’t talk on the phone,” Brendan said, leaning against the doorframe. “Well, we’re here now, so what’s goin’ on?”
“Yeah,” Michael agreed. He started to say more, but the silence in the house suddenly caught his attention and he looked around suspiciously. “Where’s Brooke?”
“That’s why you’re here,” Alex began slowly.
Michael straightened up from where he had been leaning on the island in the center of the kitchen. “Alex? Where’s the kid?”
“Hank...” His voice cracked and he took a deep breath to start again. “Hank’s got her.”
Brendan’s heart started to pound; his last meeting with their father was still too fresh in his mind. He reached out to place a calming hand on his twins’ shoulder when Michael’s hands clenched at his sides.
“What the fuck do you mean, ‘Hank’s got her’?” Michael asked.
“He came over with the police and took her with him,” Isabel said when she noticed that her boyfriend couldn’t answer.
Michael’s fists came down so hard on the counter in front of him that several tiles cracked under the pressure. “You let him take her?!” he shouted.
“What should I have done, Michael?” Alex yelled back.
Rationally he knew it wasn’t Alex’ fault, but he wasn’t thinking rationally; all he could see was the damage Hank could do in his state of mind.
“You should’ve fuckin’ stopped him!” His right hand waved around aimlessly. “Did you just let him walk in here and take her?”
“Michael,” Brendan called his name to get his attention, not surprised when it didn’t work. “Michael, hey, take it easy.” He wrapped his hand around his brother’s arm, tugging on it and taking a step back when Michael turned on him unexpectedly.
Michael just barely caught himself before he swung on Brendan. He wasn’t thinking straight, and he needed to get himself under control.
“Alright, what do we do now?” Brendan asked.
“Where did they go?” Michael asked, ready to go after them.
“You can’t go – “
He shook his head at Alex’s words, refusing to be placated. “Did they go back to the hotel?”
Alex sighed. He had hoped to avoid this, but realistically he had known that there could be no other reaction from Michael. “I would imagine that they went back to the hotel, yes.”
“Michael, you could jeopardize any chance we have of getting Brooke back if you go after your father like this,” Isabel said when he turned to leave the room. “I know your first reaction is to do whatever is necessary to protect her, but for her sake, you have got to control yourself for now.”
Michael stopped in the doorframe and hesitated; he knew that she was probably right, but he felt so damned helpless. “Damn it,” he muttered as he threw his car keys across the kitchen.
“What’s the plan?” Brendan asked, confident that Alex had one.
“My lawyer will be available soon, so I think I’m gonna drive over to his office to talk to him... see what we can do.”
“What d’you need to make this happen, Alex?” Michael asked, his jaw clenched tightly.
“I don’t know. We’re gonna have to come up with some good reasons... I... I don’t know if telling the law that she’d prefer to live with us will be enough.” He shook his head. “I don’t think it will be, but it’s a place to start.”
Michael drew in a shaky breath as he ran a hand over his face. “What if you told them that he’s an abusive monster?” he asked.
“Huh?” Alex looked at his brother, puzzled. Hank was an asshole, a cruel asshole, but they couldn’t just make something up, unless...
Michael looked away as his hand moved to his injured side out of habit. “I’m askin’ you if it would make a difference to tell them that he has a history of physical abuse.”
“Uh, well, I guess it might make a difference, but... did he hit you, Michael?” Alex asked, shocked. He had witnessed Hank’s behavior on Thanksgiving, but he hadn’t let himself actually consider what it meant.
“Yeah, okay? He liked to knock me around when I was younger, and no, I don’t wanna talk about it unless it’s gonna help Brooke.”
“Fuck,” Alex muttered. Sure, he had suspected that there was something going on; there had been little signs, like the way Michael would flinch if someone woke him unexpectedly, or the way he was so physically reserved, but he had never let himself try to get the truth out of his brother.
“Look, it’s not a big deal,” Michael mumbled. He didn’t want anyone’s pity.
“You’re willin’ to say that in front of my lawyer?” Alex asked.
“Yeah, if it’ll get the kid out of Hank’s hands, I’ll say it.”
“We have to try. Alright, I’ll drive,” he said as he grabbed his keys off of the hooks by the door.
“This won’t go any further, right?” Michael asked. It wasn’t something he talked about – ever – and he didn’t want the information going anywhere it didn’t need to go.
“No.” Alex shook his head, proud of Michael and his unexpected confession. His brother had made a lot of progress the last few months.
Michael nodded. “Okay an’... we don’t have to talk about it or anything either, right?”
“No, not if you don’t want to.”
“I don’t.”
“Okay, you... you’ll just have to answer my lawyer’s questions.”
He nodded again. He could do that... right? Tell a perfect stranger what Hank had done to him for most of his life. His palms were starting to sweat and his heart was racing at the thought of talking about it.
“We should probably leave. The sooner we get there the sooner we might get her back.”
*****
Ben Kingston looked up when his secretary knocked on his door and announced his unscheduled appointment. He had gotten the frantic message his client had left and he had been expecting the man to show up. What he hadn’t expected was the little group that rushed into his office as soon as his secretary stepped aside.
He shook Alex’ hand and motioned to the furniture in the spacious office. “Have a seat, everyone. Alex, I got your message, but didn’t receive an answer when I returned your call. Your message wasn’t very clear; you’re having some sort of problem with your sister?”
“My father took her from us a couple of hours ago.”
“Your father took her from you,” Ben said slowly. “Alex, your parents only gave you temporary guardianship of a minor... they have the right to revoke that at any time they choose.” He hated problems of this nature; there was never an easy solution and the cases often turned ugly.
“Yeah, I know that,” Alex said impatiently, “but, she didn’t want to go.”
“And again, I must remind you that she is a minor. Unless you have some proof that they’re unfit as parents, that she is in imminent danger by being in their care, we do not have a case.”
Michael knew this was cue to say something, but the words refused to come out.
“What if... what if there was a history of abuse?” Brendan asked, sensing that his twin was having a difficult time.
Ben sighed and rested one hip against his desk. “Is there?” He shook his head when they remained silent. “False allegations won’t help you to gain custody of your sister. Unless there were charges filed at the time that the alleged abuse occurred, unless there is official documentation that the alleged abuse occurred, you’re grasping at straws. If there is no official paper trail that will even lead up to your father being brought in for questioning then past charges of abuse won’t hold up in a court of law.”
“Fuck,” Michael hissed, kicking the desk.
Ben frowned at the younger man’s volatile response before turning back to his client. “Alex, I wish it were as simple as your sister saying she wanted to live with you, but it’s not. The only way to achieve the goal you’re after is for your parents to sign a document that will terminate their parental rights. That is really your only course of action at this point.”
“You pay this guy for advice like that?” Michael snarled, irritated with the response they were getting.
Alex glared at him. “That’s not helping.”
“Neither is this bullshit legal talk!” He shoved himself to his feet and prowled around the room. “What if we just... take her from them?”
“Then the police will be called, they will search for you, arrest you once you’ve been found, return your sister to your parents, and we’ll be sitting across from each other in a jail discussing your options,” Ben explained simply. “You would also lose your sister because no court in the world would ever give custody to you after a stunt like that.”
“There’s gotta be another option, Ben,” Alex said, grateful for Isabel’s quiet presence beside him.
“So, either way, we lose her,” Michael said, determined to hold his feelings together.
“The only legal way to gain custody of your sister is to find a way to get them to sign away their parental rights.” He stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Maybe there’s a way to force their hand.”
That got Michael's attention. “How?”
“Your father has been the focus of a lot of media attention lately with his acquisition of several new companies that are opening up a lot of new jobs, so the last thing he would want is bad publicity...”
“What’re you suggesting?” Brendan asked.
“The allegations of abuse... they may provide the leverage you would need to force his hand.”
“So, you’re suggesting we blackmail him?” Alex questioned, surprised that his lawyer would suggest such a thing.
“Blackmail is such an ugly word,” Ben said, shaking his head with a rueful smile. “No, I’m not suggesting blackmail; I’m simply suggesting that if you were to imply the possibility of that information leaking to the press – while the press is nearby – that he may be more receptive to your wishes.”
“I bet the press will be at the airport tomorrow,” Michael said. “We’d need to find out when his flight is... which gate... How’re we gonna get that information? We don’t even know which hotel they’re stayin’ at now.”
Alex ran his hand over his face tiredly. He had called the hotel, hoping to speak to his mother and find out what had set his father off, but he had been told that his parents had left the hotel earlier that afternoon.
“Damn it, so our only chance is to spend the next day at the airport waiting for them to show up,” Michael said, more than willing to do that for his little sister.
Ben watched them, wondering just how much of a mark Hank Guerin had left on them; emotional scars couldn’t be seen and physical scars faded with time, but it was obvious they had all been affected one way or another. “Don’t make plans to do that just yet; let me make a few calls and see what I can do about getting that information for you.”
“Alright, is there anything else we can do besides wait?” Alex wanted to know.
“Go home and get some rest,” he advised, knowing how meaningless the words were. “I’ll make some calls and I’ll draw up the papers for termination of parental rights; I’ll stop by your house this evening to drop them off and hopefully I’ll have the flight information for you as well at that time.”
“Thanks, Ben.” Alex got to his feet to shake the man’s hand.
“Alex, let me worry about this, okay? That’s what you pay me for; go home and take care of your family.”
“I’ll try.” He glanced at Michael; he had no idea how he would manage to calm him down until this mess was all over.
Ben walked them out, watching as his client’s girlfriend kept them all together and herded them out to the truck in the parking long. This was why he hated custody cases, he thought morosely. “Abby, get Detective Ranier on the phone for me,” he said to his secretary as he walked back to his office.
*****
Alex walked into the house behind Isabel, his mind running over the things his lawyer had said. Ben hadn’t exactly inspired a lot of confidence and now he was more worried than before. He dropped his keys on the table next to the phone and pressed the message button when he noticed the light blinking on the machine.
“This is Dr. Kelvin at the Pacific Veterinary Care office and I’m calling in regards to two Chihuahuas... a Spike and Buffy, that were dropped off in the office earlier today wearing tags with your number on them. Please give me a call if they belong to you.” The man’s voice rattled off a phone number and asked that they call before the office closed at six that evening.
“He dropped her dogs off?” Michael grated out.
“Unbelievable,” Brendan mumbled. He glanced at his watch. “It’s already quarter after five.”
Alex nodded. “Let me give them a call.” He picked the handset up and dialed the number the vet had left on the machine, talking to a receptionist for several minutes before he was able to speak with the man who had called.
After a short conversation he hung up and his hand wrapped around the phone tightly as he struggled to keep from throwing it. “He didn’t drop the dogs off,” he said finally.
“No? What’re you talkin’ about?” Michael asked, irritated because he already knew he wouldn’t like the answer.
“He dumped ‘em off on the highway; some lady picked them up when the car ahead of her swerved to avoid hitting them.”
“Fuckin’ bastard,” Michael hissed.
“Oh, my God,” Isabel murmured. Hank really had no conscience at all! She supposed it wasn’t that much of a leap considering the way he treated his own children.
“Okay, Michael, Brendan, why don’t you two go pick the dogs up,” Alex said as he wrote the address down and handed it to Brendan. He pulled his credit card out of his wallet and held that out as well. “There’s gonna be a bill; Spike had to be treated for a laceration to his right front leg, so treatment, medication, whatever else... just pay for it and bring them back here.”
“I’ll drive,” Michael said, heading for the door.
Brendan grabbed his oldest brother’s credit card and scrambled to follow Michael. He slid into the bucket seat and he barely had time to pull the door closed behind him before Michael was gunning the engine and pulling out of the driveway. “Okay, Michael, I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t have to take ME to the doctor today... so, let me get inside first, would ya?”
“Yeah, sorry,” Michael said, running his left hand through his hair.
Brendan hurried to pull the seatbelt over his body and snap it into place. “No, it’s cool, just... kinda wanna stay in one piece.”
Michael tugged at his seatbelt as he stared at the road ahead of them. “This’s my fault,” he said finally. “I should’ve just...” He didn’t know what he could’ve done, but he should’ve stopped this from happening.
Brendan shook his head. “You can blame me for this, Michael.”
“Why would you be to blame for this shit?”
Brendan stared out on the road for several long seconds before answering. “I got Hank pretty upset today when I went to him.”
“You’re not at fault for this, Bren, but you shouldn’t have done that.” His hand tightened on the steering wheel as he shook his head. “You have no idea what he’s capable of. He could’ve hurt you.”
“He almost did...” his twin confessed.
Michael’s head jerked to the side. “What’d he do to you?” he demanded.
“I attacked him with words and he came over and pushed me into the wall, ready to hit me.” Brendan frowned when he thought back to that moment. “But then he suddenly realized that it was me in front of him.”
He shifted uncomfortably and took a right turn. “But he didn’t hit you?” Not that hitting was the only way to hurt or intimidate someone, he thought.
“No, he let go of me then. I think the realization that it was me and not you surprised him.”
He reached up to scratch his eyebrow. “Look, Bren, we can sit here and blame ourselves for this, but the fact of the matter is that Hank is a mean, vindictive son of a bitch, and he would’ve come after Brooke regardless of anything you or I did or didn’t do.”
“I know, but I have a feeling that I kinda pushed him over the edge with my actions this mornin’.”
Michael shook his head. “It was only a matter of time before he did somethin’ like this.”
“Damn, I feel so stupid!” Brendan suddenly screamed and slammed his hand on the dashboard of the car.
“Whoa, let’s not damage the interior,” Michael said, leaning forward to run his right hand over the dashboard. “Easy, baby, he didn’t mean to be so rough with you,” he murmured to his car.
“Sorry,” Brendan muttered.
He shook his head at his twin as he leaned back in his seat once more. “I can see I’m gonna have to teach you some things about cars.”
The veterinarian’s office was only about five miles away and they reached it without incident. Michael pulled up in front of the brick building and he and Brendan hurried inside.
“We’re here for the Chihuahuas,” he said, not bothering with formalities as he glared at the woman behind the counter.
Brendan nudged his twin out of the way and spoke directly to the woman. “Hi, we got a call that our sister’s two dogs had been found out off of the highway and that someone had dropped them off here.” He glanced down at the paper Alex had given him. “Our brother spoke with a Dr. Kelvin a little while ago...”
“Oh, yes, of course!” She smiled at him and stood up. “I’ll go get him for you.”
Brendan’s mouth dropped open when she winked and sent him a flirtatious smile over her shoulder as she disappeared through a door on the opposite side of the room.
“Stop droolin’, Brendan,” Michael said, watching his brother’s expression as he tried to make sense of what had just happened.
“I’m not droolin’,” he denied, still in shock. As a rule women just didn’t flirt with him... or did they and he just missed it? He was so used to keeping his nose to the grindstone that he rarely paid much attention to what was going on around him.
“Must be your new look,” Michael said, grinning.
Brendan reached up to run his fingers through his hair as he glanced down at his clothes. “Oh, I forgot about that... yeah, that’s probably what it is.”
Michael rolled his eyes. “I was just kiddin’, bro.”
They looked up when the woman came back with a man in a white lab coat and the two dogs under her arms. Brendan quickly moved to speak with the vet before Michael could vocalize whatever rude thought was in his head. “Dr. Kelvin?”
“Yeah, you’re Mr. Guerin?”
“One of them, anyway. You spoke with our brother, Alex, about the dogs; he sent us to pick them up.”
“Yeah. You can count yourself lucky that they’re still alive. They were found on a very busy highway.”
Michael frowned when the vet started to speak, his tone directed at Brendan as if he were speaking to a child. “Hey,” he interrupted, “we’re not the ones who left the dogs out on the highway, so save the speech, Doc.”
Dr. Kelvin raised his eyebrows at the younger man's belligerent tone. “Young man, my point is that these dogs were found wandering around near one of the busiest highways in this part of the city. Responsible pet owners – “
“Look, Dr. Kelvin,” Brendan said, as he reached for the wounded dog and turned to hand Spike to Michael, knowing it would distract him, “the dogs were taken from our sister and obviously abandoned on the highway.”
Michael carefully cradled the small dog in his arms, running his fingers over the tiny leg encased in a heavy bandage before he settled for stroking the dog’s head. Spike pushed his muzzle into the crook of Michael's arm, snuffling softly and just lying there. “Are you sure he’s okay?" he demanded, motioning to the animal.
“Yeah, he’s just terribly frightened by his… accident, and it’ll take a few days before he starts to behave as usual.”
“What about her?” He lifted his chin to indicate Buffy as the receptionist transferred the little dog into Brendan’s arms.
“She’s fine; we checked both of them completely and couldn’t find any other injuries.”
Michael nodded, satisfied for the moment that the dogs would live.
“You’ll just need to sign these forms so we can release the dogs into your care and then you can take them with you,” the receptionist said after the vet had gone into the back once more. “You’ll want to make sure Spike has plenty of rest over the next few days, and he’ll need to stay off of his injured leg as much as possible.”
Michael took Buffy when Brendan handed her to him so he could pay the bill and get Spike’s prescription. He only half-listened as the receptionist rattled off a list of things to watch for and handed his brother a card with the vet’s information on it in case he had any questions.
He rolled his eyes when she lowered her voice, letting him know that her home number was on the back of the card in case he had any questions after hours. He nearly laughed aloud when Brendan actually blushed at the woman’s forward behavior. The poor kid stuttered his way through thanking her and nearly tripped over himself trying to get out the door ahead of Michael.
“You haven’t flirted with anyone in a while, huh?” Michael asked when they got into the car and he handed Brendan both dogs.
“In a while?” Brendan echoed as he settled the dogs in his lap. “Try since Karen. No one before and no one after.” He shook his head at his brother’s speculative expression. “Maria doesn’t count... and anything that might have been considered flirting with her only ended up bein’ a big embarrassment anyway.”
Michael laughed at that. “Well, I guess I can count myself lucky for that.”
Brendan snorted. “Yeah, because I existed in any sort of romantic notion once she realized you were around.” He grinned to let his brother know that he was teasing. “You were right when you said she was too much woman for me. You an’ Maria, you guys are perfectly matched, you balance each other; me an’ Maria... well, we never would’ve had that.”
“You think we balance each other?” Michael asked. “Right now I’ve got the feelin’ that one wrong word would be enough to fuck it all up again, ya know?” he admitted.
“Why?” Brendan asked, interested in his brother’s thoughts.
Michael sighed. “I don’t know, it’s just… we said some pretty bad things to each other in the past and, well, I don’t trust myself to keep things goin’ in the right direction, ‘cause I know I’m just gonna screw it up.”
“Do you trust her?”
“To keep things goin’ in the right direction?”
“In anything, everything... whatever... Do you trust her?”
Michael scratched his eyebrow and thought about it for a few seconds. “Yeah... yeah, I guess I do.”
“Then why are you so sure you’re gonna fuck it up?”
“Cause I’ve done that a lot the last few years, or have you forgotten?”
“You’ve kinda got a clean start with Maria though,” Brendan disagreed. “She’s aware of your flaws and for some reason, the girl still wants you.” He smiled to take the sting out of the words. “She’s not goin’ anywhere, Michael; so you’ve fucked some things up in the past... so what? Who hasn’t? You think she’s just waitin’ for you to fuck somethin’ up?”
“I hope not,” Michael said, almost sure she wasn’t waiting for that. “But, have you looked at her lately? The woman is so amazing, Bren, but she could have anyone she wants.”
“And yet she’s chosen your scruffy ass... why d’you think that is?”
He shrugged. “Because I’m irresistible,” he answered with a smirk. Maybe Brendan was right and he worried too much.
Brendan shook his head at Michael’s flippant reply. “Y’know, I can understand why you’d be scared that something’s gonna happen; it’s your first real relationship and you’re in completely new territory, but maybe you need to shift just a little of the energy you’re expending on those negative thoughts over to somethin’ positive.”
“Yeah, maybe… maybe when we get Brooke back.”
Brendan nodded. “Yeah, I can’t believe what’s happened.”
“We need to get her outta there.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “So, what d’you think about what Alex’s lawyer said? You think threatening to expose him to the press will actually make a difference?”
“I don’t know if it’ll be enough.”
Brendan scratched Buffy behind her ears when she nudged his hand. “Were you serious when you asked about just takin’ her from them?”
“I’m not lettin’ him take her to another continent, Brendan,” Michael answered and his tone made it obvious that he was serious.
He wondered if his brother would seriously engage in a kidnapping if it meant keeping Brooke from staying with their parents. No, scratch that, he thought, he had no doubts that Michael would do just that if he thought there was no other way to keep her safe. “But, you’ll let Alex try to get her back legally first, right?”
Michael nodded slightly. He hoped that their plan would work. If not he would have to do it in a different way, even if he knew that it would probably make things worse... at least for him.
Brendan glanced at their brother’s house when Michael pulled into the driveway. “Are you gonna talk to Maria about what’s goin’ on?”
“I don’t know, probably not.”
“Really?” Brendan supposed he shouldn’t be surprised; Michael wasn’t the type of person who just talked about things. He had to be drawn out and there were very few people who he allowed to pry that way.
“I don’t wanna worry her,” Michael lied, but in all honesty he just didn’t wanna talk about it. He felt so helpless and weak when it came to the situation with Brooke and he didn’t want anyone else to see it, especially not Maria.
Brendan bit his bottom lip as he debated whether he should say anything. He had a feeling Maria would be able to help Michael deal with what was going on, but he also knew how stubborn his twin was. He had obviously made his mind up and he didn’t like to be challenged... maybe he should leave it alone.
“Let’s see if Alex has any news for us,” Michael said as they got out of the car.
Brendan paused as he handed Spike to Michael, glancing over his shoulder at the unfamiliar car pulling up behind them. “Who’s that?”
“Hopefully someone with good news,” he muttered when he recognized Ben stepping out of the other car.
“Sorry it’s so late, guys,” Ben apologized as he joined them. “I was waiting on some last-minute information. I didn’t think it would be almost seven before I could make it over here.”
Seven? Michael hurriedly glanced at his watch. Damn it! He was supposed to be having dinner with Maria. He pulled his phone out of his pocket as he followed his brother and the lawyer up to the house.
He quickly punched in a message and sent it, letting her know that he wasn’t going to be able to make it. Her reply came back lightening fast and he wondered how she did that.
Why? Is Brendan okay? Will you come by later?
His thumb danced over the keys as he punched in another message.
Just got some stuff to do. Bren’s fine.
He sent it, turned the ringer off and sat on the arm of the couch as he waited for Alex to come back after speaking with his lawyer. The two men had retreated to the office, most likely to prevent anymore outbursts from him, and he slouched down on the couch with Spike propped up on his stomach. He tried not to be impatient, but it was difficult.
“Okay,” Alex said after seeing his lawyer out, “Ben got some information for us; they’re leavin’ tomorrow mornin’; they’ll be at the airport at 11am.”
“So, what’s the plan? Do we threaten exposing him to the media?”
“Yeah, we just have to make sure he believes it.”
“He’ll believe it,” Michael muttered, absently stroking Spike’s short fur. “Bastard won’t have a choice.”
“Okay, Michael,” Alex said as he sat down on the coffee table in front of his brother, “believe me, it would be a pleasure to kick Dad’s ass – not only in a literal sense, but we have to be calm; we can’t risk anything at this point.”
Michael smiled slowly. People were always so quick to assume that any threat he made involved the physical. “Oh, c’mon, Alex, even I can be calm and in control of my baser animal instincts when I need to be.”
“Even if this doesn’t work tomorrow and they take her with them?” Alex asked doubtfully.
“Like I said, Alex... when I need to be.”
“Alright. So how’re we gonna do this?” Brendan asked.
“We should be at the airport before they’re scheduled to arrive; we don’t wanna risk missin’ ‘em. We know the press will be there and I’d suggest one of us bein’ seen talkin' to the press while someone else confronts him just close enough to the press to make him uncomfortable.”
“And you think he’s gonna fall for that?” Michael asked, concerned that Alex’ plan wasn’t going to work.
Alex met his brother’s gaze evenly. “I guess a lot of that’s gonna depend on you, Michael.”
Michael sighed and drove his hand through his hair. “What’s that supposed to mean?” He stood up to walk around, his movements erratic.
“From what you’ve said... or better yet, from what you haven’t said, I believe that you’re the one who actually has leverage against him.” He shook his head when he saw Michael tensing up. “I’m not suggesting that you need to tell us all about it, although if you decide you need or want to, we’re here. That’s the main reason why I said we should confront him near the reporters instead of with them. I don’t want your hand forced so that you have to reveal anything that you’re not comfortable with in front of the press. I don’t want your personal life splashed across the newspapers.”
“I’m gonna do whatever is necessary to get Brooke away from them,” Michael said resolutely, even though he was scared of what that might require of him.
Alex nodded, hoping it wouldn’t come to that. Despite Michael’s popularity on campus he was an incredibly private person and having something so personal shared with anyone who read the paper or watched the news would be devastating for him.
“Did Ben bring that paper for them to sign?” Brendan wanted to know.
Alex held up a manila envelope. “Yeah, it’s all here.”
“I’m gonna get some air,” Michael said when he realized that there was nothing they could do now but wait until tomorrow.
Alex nodded and scratched his chin as he looked around. “I guess I’ll go give Isabel a hand with dinner; Brendan, you gonna stick around to eat?”
“Yeah, I guess I will”
“Good. Why don’t you find somethin’ to watch on TV? Play a video game or put a movie in.”
“Yeah, Alex, it’s okay; you can go. I’m a big boy, I know to entertain myself.”
“Right, well... I’ll just... go, then.”
Alex disappeared into the kitchen while Brendan slouched down on the couch and just stared at the blank television screen for several minutes.
Michael sat down on the porch swing, staring out at the ocean while the two dogs lay in his lap softly snoring.
He couldn’t keep his thoughts from Brooke. Where was she? How did she feel? Was she crying about her brothers and her dogs right now? He clenched his other hand into a fist and had a hard time not just screaming into the cooling night air. What if their plan didn’t work? He couldn’t get that question out of his head and it scared him that he didn’t have an answer. If they took her with them to another continent... what chance did they have of getting her back?
It would be different if he only knew where she was. Why hadn’t she called any of them? He suddenly remembered that he had turned the ringer off earlier and he shifted to get his phone out of his pocket. He noticed that Maria had called him twice after his last message and he wondered if he should call her back or not.
But she would know from his first message to her that something was wrong and he didn’t want to talk about it right then. But he couldn’t just ignore her either. So he turned the ringer on again and was about to push the call button when it rang again.
He waited to see Maria’s name show up on the caller ID again and his heart clenched at the thought of not answering it, but he froze in shock when he saw that it was Brooke. He almost dropped the phone when he opened it to answer the call. “Brooke? Are you okay?”
The dogs moved to jump out of his lap from the sudden movement and Michael just barely caught Spike.
“Michael?”
“Yeah.” He could tell that she was only whispering and she sounded scared.
Her voice was trembling as she tried to stay quiet so her father wouldn’t hear her and realize that she had her phone. “Michael, they’re gonna take me to Munich... and he... he...” She choked as the tears started to overwhelm her and she had to force the words out. “You’ve gotta go find Buffy an’ Spike... he threw them out of the car right on the highway.”
“Don’t cry, Brooke. We already got them and they’re okay. Where are you, do you know?”
She couldn’t think beyond knowing that he had her precious babies. “They’re okay? Are you sure? I heard Spike when Dad threw him out of the car... he was hurt, Michael!”
“Yeah, he has a little cut on his leg, but he’s okay. They’re both here with me, you can trust me to take care of ‘em for you.”
“They’re okay,” she breathed in relief. She had been so terrified that they would be killed by an oncoming car. She suddenly remembered him asking where they were staying. “I don’t even know what hotel we’re at, Michael; I just know they’re takin’ me outta the country tomorrow.”
“We’ll be at the airport tomorrow. We’re not gonna let that happen.”
Brooke felt a momentary sense of calm settle over her at his reassuring words. His voice was low, his tone fierce, and she knew he would keep his word.
“Have they anything done to you?” Michael asked, desperately needing to know.
“Besides manhandle me like some little ragdoll?” she asked, sounding annoyed. “No.”
“I’m sorry,” Michael whispered into the phone. Maybe he should’ve known this was coming after Thanksgiving. Maybe he should’ve taken her to his place after his parents had gone.
“Michael, you couldn’t have seen this comin’,” Brooke said, knowing that he had found some way to blame himself for her situation.
“I’m getting you outta there Brooke, I promise.”
Buffy barked at his words as if she understood what Michael had just said.
“Was that Buffy?” she asked excitedly. She was just about to speak again when the phone was snatched out of her grasp and a rough hand wrapped around her arm and yanked her up off of the floor, flinging her across the room to land on the bed.
“What’d I tell you about callin’ anyone?”
Michael froze when he heard his father’s voice followed by a fleshy smack. A moment later he heard his sister scream his name and the line went dead. “Brooke?” Michael almost screamed into the phone even thought he knew the call had been disconnected
Brendan came onto the porch when he heard Michael calling for their sister. “What’s wrong?”
Michael leaned forward, his head held in his hands as he fought to keep his temper from boiling over. “Brooke called and Hank caught her... slapped the shit out of her from the sounds of it... lost the connection after that.”
“Damn!” Brendan kicked one of the empty chairs on the porch.
Michael stood up from the swing and carefully set Spike down. He walked into the house, barely aware of the fact that Brendan was following him. “Where’re you goin’?”
“I don’t know... I just need to get out and clear my head.”
Brendan watched him leave and turned to Alex when he came out of the kitchen.
“What happened?”
He shrugged. He only knew the basics. “He got a call from Brooke, but Hank caught her and put an end to it... Michael said it sounded like he hit her.” He reached up to scratch his neck. “He said he needed some space.”
Liz’ confidence is growing in leaps and bounds. She totally deserved the chance to go a little crazy on the field of battle, lol! Max will continue to be supportive as Liz begins to test out her newfound assertiveness and independence.
You can look for Liz to help Max out with that.
Cardinal: Max is a man who knows that it isn’t necessary to push; Liz will take things at her own pace and he’s perfectly comfortable to wait and be supportive while she makes new discoveries and learns what she is and isn’t ready for.
That is something that does happen all too often! Good question about the “oops!” defense, lol!
Michael and Tess have an interesting relationship. Kyle is patient and eventually Tess will either come around or he’ll have to say something.
There’s no way that Brendan could ever fully understand, but as you said, he doesn’t need to. The important thing is for them to move forward from this point and build a stronger relationship.
Michael may be reluctantly willing to bring that issue to light if it’ll help keep his parents from taking Brooke with them.
We’ll be posting a bit early since lots of folks are probably gonna be busy with family stuff on Turkey Day!
begonia9508: Hopefully the guys are able to stop their parents from taking Brooke out of the country!
They’re having a great time in Texas, huh?
keepsmiling7: LOL, thanks!
Natalie36: They’re gonna do their best!
80s_UnLove_Child: Michael isn’t gonna be easy to calm once he finds out about this. Liz is taking it one step at a time for now. How long do ya think she’ll be able to resist? Thanks!
mary mary: Awesome!
Jordyn deserved it.
Keep Michael calm… hmm, we’ll see. Sorry about that… this next update may not help to lower your blood pressure! Tell ya what, keep one of those days, lol, we’ll update a day early since Thursday is Turkey Day!
kismet: Tess wasn’t expecting it either!
We agree with you.
We’ll see… you never know with Michael.
Alien_Friend: Aww, we’re sorry! Um, this next update may have a few of those moments as well. The only thing that kept Alex calm was knowing that reacting any other way could have resulted in damaging any chance he has of gaining custody of his sister.
The twins are making good progress towards rebuilding their relationship.
Max has avoided facing that because he has some unresolved anger issues related to his brother’s death.
Aww, we don’t want you to be sad… and especially not super sad! How ‘bout we promise that it’ll be resolved soon?
sarammlover: Liz may have developed slowly, but now that she’s gotten out of her stagnant relationship with Sean she’s beginning to breathe and realize that she can set her own boundaries.
You can expect the twins’ relationship to get stronger from here on out.
LOL, okay, we won’t tell you.
Hey, look! We’re updating on Wednesday… why? ‘Cause Thursday is Turkey Day!
Maiqu: Yeah, we totally understand that!
Brendan will be pursuing things with Karen… look for it around Christmas, fic-time.
The boys are gonna do their best.
destinyc: Well, it’s all new to her, but don’t expect her to hold out too long!
Tess is making progress!
While it’s a horrible thing to happen, it’s another important significant thing for Michael and Maria.
LOL, we didn’t think of that!
Author’s Note: Hey, we wanted to post a little early for all of y’all goin’ home for the holiday! Happy Thanksgiving!
Part 71 – A Plan… Maybe
Brooke sat as far away from her father as she could get, hugging her dogs close and hoping that Alex could take her back from her parents. Her brothers wouldn’t abandon her; they would fight to keep her with them. Her gaze was blurry as she stared at the house that had become her home over the past few months, watching it disappear as they reached the end of the block and turned to head into the city.
She jumped when her father spoke unexpectedly, ordering the driver to pull over to the side of the road. She looked around, wondering why he would want to stop there, when he suddenly leaned forward and reached for Buffy. “What’re you doin’?” she asked, her voice trembling.
“When I told you to get your things together, I wasn’t talking about those mutts.” He jerked Buffy out of her arms and reached for Spike. The small dog growled, sensing his owner’s distress and he snapped at the large hand coming towards him. “If he bites me, I’ll break his neck before I dump him on the side of the road,” Hank threatened.
Brooke couldn’t control her tears any longer and she gave Spike the command to back off as her father took him from her. She knew if she fought to hold onto the dog he would only end up getting hurt and she had to hope that all of their training would keep the dogs from going out on the busy road. They were several miles from the house and she didn’t know if the dogs could make it back home; they had never walked in this direction because the road was too busy and she had been worried that they might get hurt.
She slumped down in the corner of the leather seat and her body shook with sobs when she heard a sharp squeal from Spike as Hank literally tossed them out of the car and slammed the door shut again. He ordered the driver to continue on his way and he reached for the phone in the console to make a business call, uncaring of his daughter’s pain.
*****
Alex and Isabel were in the kitchen making coffee when the front door slammed shut and seconds later the twins rushed into the room, demanding to know what was going on.
“You said you couldn’t talk on the phone,” Brendan said, leaning against the doorframe. “Well, we’re here now, so what’s goin’ on?”
“Yeah,” Michael agreed. He started to say more, but the silence in the house suddenly caught his attention and he looked around suspiciously. “Where’s Brooke?”
“That’s why you’re here,” Alex began slowly.
Michael straightened up from where he had been leaning on the island in the center of the kitchen. “Alex? Where’s the kid?”
“Hank...” His voice cracked and he took a deep breath to start again. “Hank’s got her.”
Brendan’s heart started to pound; his last meeting with their father was still too fresh in his mind. He reached out to place a calming hand on his twins’ shoulder when Michael’s hands clenched at his sides.
“What the fuck do you mean, ‘Hank’s got her’?” Michael asked.
“He came over with the police and took her with him,” Isabel said when she noticed that her boyfriend couldn’t answer.
Michael’s fists came down so hard on the counter in front of him that several tiles cracked under the pressure. “You let him take her?!” he shouted.
“What should I have done, Michael?” Alex yelled back.
Rationally he knew it wasn’t Alex’ fault, but he wasn’t thinking rationally; all he could see was the damage Hank could do in his state of mind.
“You should’ve fuckin’ stopped him!” His right hand waved around aimlessly. “Did you just let him walk in here and take her?”
“Michael,” Brendan called his name to get his attention, not surprised when it didn’t work. “Michael, hey, take it easy.” He wrapped his hand around his brother’s arm, tugging on it and taking a step back when Michael turned on him unexpectedly.
Michael just barely caught himself before he swung on Brendan. He wasn’t thinking straight, and he needed to get himself under control.
“Alright, what do we do now?” Brendan asked.
“Where did they go?” Michael asked, ready to go after them.
“You can’t go – “
He shook his head at Alex’s words, refusing to be placated. “Did they go back to the hotel?”
Alex sighed. He had hoped to avoid this, but realistically he had known that there could be no other reaction from Michael. “I would imagine that they went back to the hotel, yes.”
“Michael, you could jeopardize any chance we have of getting Brooke back if you go after your father like this,” Isabel said when he turned to leave the room. “I know your first reaction is to do whatever is necessary to protect her, but for her sake, you have got to control yourself for now.”
Michael stopped in the doorframe and hesitated; he knew that she was probably right, but he felt so damned helpless. “Damn it,” he muttered as he threw his car keys across the kitchen.
“What’s the plan?” Brendan asked, confident that Alex had one.
“My lawyer will be available soon, so I think I’m gonna drive over to his office to talk to him... see what we can do.”
“What d’you need to make this happen, Alex?” Michael asked, his jaw clenched tightly.
“I don’t know. We’re gonna have to come up with some good reasons... I... I don’t know if telling the law that she’d prefer to live with us will be enough.” He shook his head. “I don’t think it will be, but it’s a place to start.”
Michael drew in a shaky breath as he ran a hand over his face. “What if you told them that he’s an abusive monster?” he asked.
“Huh?” Alex looked at his brother, puzzled. Hank was an asshole, a cruel asshole, but they couldn’t just make something up, unless...
Michael looked away as his hand moved to his injured side out of habit. “I’m askin’ you if it would make a difference to tell them that he has a history of physical abuse.”
“Uh, well, I guess it might make a difference, but... did he hit you, Michael?” Alex asked, shocked. He had witnessed Hank’s behavior on Thanksgiving, but he hadn’t let himself actually consider what it meant.
“Yeah, okay? He liked to knock me around when I was younger, and no, I don’t wanna talk about it unless it’s gonna help Brooke.”
“Fuck,” Alex muttered. Sure, he had suspected that there was something going on; there had been little signs, like the way Michael would flinch if someone woke him unexpectedly, or the way he was so physically reserved, but he had never let himself try to get the truth out of his brother.
“Look, it’s not a big deal,” Michael mumbled. He didn’t want anyone’s pity.
“You’re willin’ to say that in front of my lawyer?” Alex asked.
“Yeah, if it’ll get the kid out of Hank’s hands, I’ll say it.”
“We have to try. Alright, I’ll drive,” he said as he grabbed his keys off of the hooks by the door.
“This won’t go any further, right?” Michael asked. It wasn’t something he talked about – ever – and he didn’t want the information going anywhere it didn’t need to go.
“No.” Alex shook his head, proud of Michael and his unexpected confession. His brother had made a lot of progress the last few months.
Michael nodded. “Okay an’... we don’t have to talk about it or anything either, right?”
“No, not if you don’t want to.”
“I don’t.”
“Okay, you... you’ll just have to answer my lawyer’s questions.”
He nodded again. He could do that... right? Tell a perfect stranger what Hank had done to him for most of his life. His palms were starting to sweat and his heart was racing at the thought of talking about it.
“We should probably leave. The sooner we get there the sooner we might get her back.”
*****
Ben Kingston looked up when his secretary knocked on his door and announced his unscheduled appointment. He had gotten the frantic message his client had left and he had been expecting the man to show up. What he hadn’t expected was the little group that rushed into his office as soon as his secretary stepped aside.
He shook Alex’ hand and motioned to the furniture in the spacious office. “Have a seat, everyone. Alex, I got your message, but didn’t receive an answer when I returned your call. Your message wasn’t very clear; you’re having some sort of problem with your sister?”
“My father took her from us a couple of hours ago.”
“Your father took her from you,” Ben said slowly. “Alex, your parents only gave you temporary guardianship of a minor... they have the right to revoke that at any time they choose.” He hated problems of this nature; there was never an easy solution and the cases often turned ugly.
“Yeah, I know that,” Alex said impatiently, “but, she didn’t want to go.”
“And again, I must remind you that she is a minor. Unless you have some proof that they’re unfit as parents, that she is in imminent danger by being in their care, we do not have a case.”
Michael knew this was cue to say something, but the words refused to come out.
“What if... what if there was a history of abuse?” Brendan asked, sensing that his twin was having a difficult time.
Ben sighed and rested one hip against his desk. “Is there?” He shook his head when they remained silent. “False allegations won’t help you to gain custody of your sister. Unless there were charges filed at the time that the alleged abuse occurred, unless there is official documentation that the alleged abuse occurred, you’re grasping at straws. If there is no official paper trail that will even lead up to your father being brought in for questioning then past charges of abuse won’t hold up in a court of law.”
“Fuck,” Michael hissed, kicking the desk.
Ben frowned at the younger man’s volatile response before turning back to his client. “Alex, I wish it were as simple as your sister saying she wanted to live with you, but it’s not. The only way to achieve the goal you’re after is for your parents to sign a document that will terminate their parental rights. That is really your only course of action at this point.”
“You pay this guy for advice like that?” Michael snarled, irritated with the response they were getting.
Alex glared at him. “That’s not helping.”
“Neither is this bullshit legal talk!” He shoved himself to his feet and prowled around the room. “What if we just... take her from them?”
“Then the police will be called, they will search for you, arrest you once you’ve been found, return your sister to your parents, and we’ll be sitting across from each other in a jail discussing your options,” Ben explained simply. “You would also lose your sister because no court in the world would ever give custody to you after a stunt like that.”
“There’s gotta be another option, Ben,” Alex said, grateful for Isabel’s quiet presence beside him.
“So, either way, we lose her,” Michael said, determined to hold his feelings together.
“The only legal way to gain custody of your sister is to find a way to get them to sign away their parental rights.” He stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Maybe there’s a way to force their hand.”
That got Michael's attention. “How?”
“Your father has been the focus of a lot of media attention lately with his acquisition of several new companies that are opening up a lot of new jobs, so the last thing he would want is bad publicity...”
“What’re you suggesting?” Brendan asked.
“The allegations of abuse... they may provide the leverage you would need to force his hand.”
“So, you’re suggesting we blackmail him?” Alex questioned, surprised that his lawyer would suggest such a thing.
“Blackmail is such an ugly word,” Ben said, shaking his head with a rueful smile. “No, I’m not suggesting blackmail; I’m simply suggesting that if you were to imply the possibility of that information leaking to the press – while the press is nearby – that he may be more receptive to your wishes.”
“I bet the press will be at the airport tomorrow,” Michael said. “We’d need to find out when his flight is... which gate... How’re we gonna get that information? We don’t even know which hotel they’re stayin’ at now.”
Alex ran his hand over his face tiredly. He had called the hotel, hoping to speak to his mother and find out what had set his father off, but he had been told that his parents had left the hotel earlier that afternoon.
“Damn it, so our only chance is to spend the next day at the airport waiting for them to show up,” Michael said, more than willing to do that for his little sister.
Ben watched them, wondering just how much of a mark Hank Guerin had left on them; emotional scars couldn’t be seen and physical scars faded with time, but it was obvious they had all been affected one way or another. “Don’t make plans to do that just yet; let me make a few calls and see what I can do about getting that information for you.”
“Alright, is there anything else we can do besides wait?” Alex wanted to know.
“Go home and get some rest,” he advised, knowing how meaningless the words were. “I’ll make some calls and I’ll draw up the papers for termination of parental rights; I’ll stop by your house this evening to drop them off and hopefully I’ll have the flight information for you as well at that time.”
“Thanks, Ben.” Alex got to his feet to shake the man’s hand.
“Alex, let me worry about this, okay? That’s what you pay me for; go home and take care of your family.”
“I’ll try.” He glanced at Michael; he had no idea how he would manage to calm him down until this mess was all over.
Ben walked them out, watching as his client’s girlfriend kept them all together and herded them out to the truck in the parking long. This was why he hated custody cases, he thought morosely. “Abby, get Detective Ranier on the phone for me,” he said to his secretary as he walked back to his office.
*****
Alex walked into the house behind Isabel, his mind running over the things his lawyer had said. Ben hadn’t exactly inspired a lot of confidence and now he was more worried than before. He dropped his keys on the table next to the phone and pressed the message button when he noticed the light blinking on the machine.
“This is Dr. Kelvin at the Pacific Veterinary Care office and I’m calling in regards to two Chihuahuas... a Spike and Buffy, that were dropped off in the office earlier today wearing tags with your number on them. Please give me a call if they belong to you.” The man’s voice rattled off a phone number and asked that they call before the office closed at six that evening.
“He dropped her dogs off?” Michael grated out.
“Unbelievable,” Brendan mumbled. He glanced at his watch. “It’s already quarter after five.”
Alex nodded. “Let me give them a call.” He picked the handset up and dialed the number the vet had left on the machine, talking to a receptionist for several minutes before he was able to speak with the man who had called.
After a short conversation he hung up and his hand wrapped around the phone tightly as he struggled to keep from throwing it. “He didn’t drop the dogs off,” he said finally.
“No? What’re you talkin’ about?” Michael asked, irritated because he already knew he wouldn’t like the answer.
“He dumped ‘em off on the highway; some lady picked them up when the car ahead of her swerved to avoid hitting them.”
“Fuckin’ bastard,” Michael hissed.
“Oh, my God,” Isabel murmured. Hank really had no conscience at all! She supposed it wasn’t that much of a leap considering the way he treated his own children.
“Okay, Michael, Brendan, why don’t you two go pick the dogs up,” Alex said as he wrote the address down and handed it to Brendan. He pulled his credit card out of his wallet and held that out as well. “There’s gonna be a bill; Spike had to be treated for a laceration to his right front leg, so treatment, medication, whatever else... just pay for it and bring them back here.”
“I’ll drive,” Michael said, heading for the door.
Brendan grabbed his oldest brother’s credit card and scrambled to follow Michael. He slid into the bucket seat and he barely had time to pull the door closed behind him before Michael was gunning the engine and pulling out of the driveway. “Okay, Michael, I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t have to take ME to the doctor today... so, let me get inside first, would ya?”
“Yeah, sorry,” Michael said, running his left hand through his hair.
Brendan hurried to pull the seatbelt over his body and snap it into place. “No, it’s cool, just... kinda wanna stay in one piece.”
Michael tugged at his seatbelt as he stared at the road ahead of them. “This’s my fault,” he said finally. “I should’ve just...” He didn’t know what he could’ve done, but he should’ve stopped this from happening.
Brendan shook his head. “You can blame me for this, Michael.”
“Why would you be to blame for this shit?”
Brendan stared out on the road for several long seconds before answering. “I got Hank pretty upset today when I went to him.”
“You’re not at fault for this, Bren, but you shouldn’t have done that.” His hand tightened on the steering wheel as he shook his head. “You have no idea what he’s capable of. He could’ve hurt you.”
“He almost did...” his twin confessed.
Michael’s head jerked to the side. “What’d he do to you?” he demanded.
“I attacked him with words and he came over and pushed me into the wall, ready to hit me.” Brendan frowned when he thought back to that moment. “But then he suddenly realized that it was me in front of him.”
He shifted uncomfortably and took a right turn. “But he didn’t hit you?” Not that hitting was the only way to hurt or intimidate someone, he thought.
“No, he let go of me then. I think the realization that it was me and not you surprised him.”
He reached up to scratch his eyebrow. “Look, Bren, we can sit here and blame ourselves for this, but the fact of the matter is that Hank is a mean, vindictive son of a bitch, and he would’ve come after Brooke regardless of anything you or I did or didn’t do.”
“I know, but I have a feeling that I kinda pushed him over the edge with my actions this mornin’.”
Michael shook his head. “It was only a matter of time before he did somethin’ like this.”
“Damn, I feel so stupid!” Brendan suddenly screamed and slammed his hand on the dashboard of the car.
“Whoa, let’s not damage the interior,” Michael said, leaning forward to run his right hand over the dashboard. “Easy, baby, he didn’t mean to be so rough with you,” he murmured to his car.
“Sorry,” Brendan muttered.
He shook his head at his twin as he leaned back in his seat once more. “I can see I’m gonna have to teach you some things about cars.”
The veterinarian’s office was only about five miles away and they reached it without incident. Michael pulled up in front of the brick building and he and Brendan hurried inside.
“We’re here for the Chihuahuas,” he said, not bothering with formalities as he glared at the woman behind the counter.
Brendan nudged his twin out of the way and spoke directly to the woman. “Hi, we got a call that our sister’s two dogs had been found out off of the highway and that someone had dropped them off here.” He glanced down at the paper Alex had given him. “Our brother spoke with a Dr. Kelvin a little while ago...”
“Oh, yes, of course!” She smiled at him and stood up. “I’ll go get him for you.”
Brendan’s mouth dropped open when she winked and sent him a flirtatious smile over her shoulder as she disappeared through a door on the opposite side of the room.
“Stop droolin’, Brendan,” Michael said, watching his brother’s expression as he tried to make sense of what had just happened.
“I’m not droolin’,” he denied, still in shock. As a rule women just didn’t flirt with him... or did they and he just missed it? He was so used to keeping his nose to the grindstone that he rarely paid much attention to what was going on around him.
“Must be your new look,” Michael said, grinning.
Brendan reached up to run his fingers through his hair as he glanced down at his clothes. “Oh, I forgot about that... yeah, that’s probably what it is.”
Michael rolled his eyes. “I was just kiddin’, bro.”
They looked up when the woman came back with a man in a white lab coat and the two dogs under her arms. Brendan quickly moved to speak with the vet before Michael could vocalize whatever rude thought was in his head. “Dr. Kelvin?”
“Yeah, you’re Mr. Guerin?”
“One of them, anyway. You spoke with our brother, Alex, about the dogs; he sent us to pick them up.”
“Yeah. You can count yourself lucky that they’re still alive. They were found on a very busy highway.”
Michael frowned when the vet started to speak, his tone directed at Brendan as if he were speaking to a child. “Hey,” he interrupted, “we’re not the ones who left the dogs out on the highway, so save the speech, Doc.”
Dr. Kelvin raised his eyebrows at the younger man's belligerent tone. “Young man, my point is that these dogs were found wandering around near one of the busiest highways in this part of the city. Responsible pet owners – “
“Look, Dr. Kelvin,” Brendan said, as he reached for the wounded dog and turned to hand Spike to Michael, knowing it would distract him, “the dogs were taken from our sister and obviously abandoned on the highway.”
Michael carefully cradled the small dog in his arms, running his fingers over the tiny leg encased in a heavy bandage before he settled for stroking the dog’s head. Spike pushed his muzzle into the crook of Michael's arm, snuffling softly and just lying there. “Are you sure he’s okay?" he demanded, motioning to the animal.
“Yeah, he’s just terribly frightened by his… accident, and it’ll take a few days before he starts to behave as usual.”
“What about her?” He lifted his chin to indicate Buffy as the receptionist transferred the little dog into Brendan’s arms.
“She’s fine; we checked both of them completely and couldn’t find any other injuries.”
Michael nodded, satisfied for the moment that the dogs would live.
“You’ll just need to sign these forms so we can release the dogs into your care and then you can take them with you,” the receptionist said after the vet had gone into the back once more. “You’ll want to make sure Spike has plenty of rest over the next few days, and he’ll need to stay off of his injured leg as much as possible.”
Michael took Buffy when Brendan handed her to him so he could pay the bill and get Spike’s prescription. He only half-listened as the receptionist rattled off a list of things to watch for and handed his brother a card with the vet’s information on it in case he had any questions.
He rolled his eyes when she lowered her voice, letting him know that her home number was on the back of the card in case he had any questions after hours. He nearly laughed aloud when Brendan actually blushed at the woman’s forward behavior. The poor kid stuttered his way through thanking her and nearly tripped over himself trying to get out the door ahead of Michael.
“You haven’t flirted with anyone in a while, huh?” Michael asked when they got into the car and he handed Brendan both dogs.
“In a while?” Brendan echoed as he settled the dogs in his lap. “Try since Karen. No one before and no one after.” He shook his head at his brother’s speculative expression. “Maria doesn’t count... and anything that might have been considered flirting with her only ended up bein’ a big embarrassment anyway.”
Michael laughed at that. “Well, I guess I can count myself lucky for that.”
Brendan snorted. “Yeah, because I existed in any sort of romantic notion once she realized you were around.” He grinned to let his brother know that he was teasing. “You were right when you said she was too much woman for me. You an’ Maria, you guys are perfectly matched, you balance each other; me an’ Maria... well, we never would’ve had that.”
“You think we balance each other?” Michael asked. “Right now I’ve got the feelin’ that one wrong word would be enough to fuck it all up again, ya know?” he admitted.
“Why?” Brendan asked, interested in his brother’s thoughts.
Michael sighed. “I don’t know, it’s just… we said some pretty bad things to each other in the past and, well, I don’t trust myself to keep things goin’ in the right direction, ‘cause I know I’m just gonna screw it up.”
“Do you trust her?”
“To keep things goin’ in the right direction?”
“In anything, everything... whatever... Do you trust her?”
Michael scratched his eyebrow and thought about it for a few seconds. “Yeah... yeah, I guess I do.”
“Then why are you so sure you’re gonna fuck it up?”
“Cause I’ve done that a lot the last few years, or have you forgotten?”
“You’ve kinda got a clean start with Maria though,” Brendan disagreed. “She’s aware of your flaws and for some reason, the girl still wants you.” He smiled to take the sting out of the words. “She’s not goin’ anywhere, Michael; so you’ve fucked some things up in the past... so what? Who hasn’t? You think she’s just waitin’ for you to fuck somethin’ up?”
“I hope not,” Michael said, almost sure she wasn’t waiting for that. “But, have you looked at her lately? The woman is so amazing, Bren, but she could have anyone she wants.”
“And yet she’s chosen your scruffy ass... why d’you think that is?”
He shrugged. “Because I’m irresistible,” he answered with a smirk. Maybe Brendan was right and he worried too much.
Brendan shook his head at Michael’s flippant reply. “Y’know, I can understand why you’d be scared that something’s gonna happen; it’s your first real relationship and you’re in completely new territory, but maybe you need to shift just a little of the energy you’re expending on those negative thoughts over to somethin’ positive.”
“Yeah, maybe… maybe when we get Brooke back.”
Brendan nodded. “Yeah, I can’t believe what’s happened.”
“We need to get her outta there.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “So, what d’you think about what Alex’s lawyer said? You think threatening to expose him to the press will actually make a difference?”
“I don’t know if it’ll be enough.”
Brendan scratched Buffy behind her ears when she nudged his hand. “Were you serious when you asked about just takin’ her from them?”
“I’m not lettin’ him take her to another continent, Brendan,” Michael answered and his tone made it obvious that he was serious.
He wondered if his brother would seriously engage in a kidnapping if it meant keeping Brooke from staying with their parents. No, scratch that, he thought, he had no doubts that Michael would do just that if he thought there was no other way to keep her safe. “But, you’ll let Alex try to get her back legally first, right?”
Michael nodded slightly. He hoped that their plan would work. If not he would have to do it in a different way, even if he knew that it would probably make things worse... at least for him.
Brendan glanced at their brother’s house when Michael pulled into the driveway. “Are you gonna talk to Maria about what’s goin’ on?”
“I don’t know, probably not.”
“Really?” Brendan supposed he shouldn’t be surprised; Michael wasn’t the type of person who just talked about things. He had to be drawn out and there were very few people who he allowed to pry that way.
“I don’t wanna worry her,” Michael lied, but in all honesty he just didn’t wanna talk about it. He felt so helpless and weak when it came to the situation with Brooke and he didn’t want anyone else to see it, especially not Maria.
Brendan bit his bottom lip as he debated whether he should say anything. He had a feeling Maria would be able to help Michael deal with what was going on, but he also knew how stubborn his twin was. He had obviously made his mind up and he didn’t like to be challenged... maybe he should leave it alone.
“Let’s see if Alex has any news for us,” Michael said as they got out of the car.
Brendan paused as he handed Spike to Michael, glancing over his shoulder at the unfamiliar car pulling up behind them. “Who’s that?”
“Hopefully someone with good news,” he muttered when he recognized Ben stepping out of the other car.
“Sorry it’s so late, guys,” Ben apologized as he joined them. “I was waiting on some last-minute information. I didn’t think it would be almost seven before I could make it over here.”
Seven? Michael hurriedly glanced at his watch. Damn it! He was supposed to be having dinner with Maria. He pulled his phone out of his pocket as he followed his brother and the lawyer up to the house.
He quickly punched in a message and sent it, letting her know that he wasn’t going to be able to make it. Her reply came back lightening fast and he wondered how she did that.
Why? Is Brendan okay? Will you come by later?
His thumb danced over the keys as he punched in another message.
Just got some stuff to do. Bren’s fine.
He sent it, turned the ringer off and sat on the arm of the couch as he waited for Alex to come back after speaking with his lawyer. The two men had retreated to the office, most likely to prevent anymore outbursts from him, and he slouched down on the couch with Spike propped up on his stomach. He tried not to be impatient, but it was difficult.
“Okay,” Alex said after seeing his lawyer out, “Ben got some information for us; they’re leavin’ tomorrow mornin’; they’ll be at the airport at 11am.”
“So, what’s the plan? Do we threaten exposing him to the media?”
“Yeah, we just have to make sure he believes it.”
“He’ll believe it,” Michael muttered, absently stroking Spike’s short fur. “Bastard won’t have a choice.”
“Okay, Michael,” Alex said as he sat down on the coffee table in front of his brother, “believe me, it would be a pleasure to kick Dad’s ass – not only in a literal sense, but we have to be calm; we can’t risk anything at this point.”
Michael smiled slowly. People were always so quick to assume that any threat he made involved the physical. “Oh, c’mon, Alex, even I can be calm and in control of my baser animal instincts when I need to be.”
“Even if this doesn’t work tomorrow and they take her with them?” Alex asked doubtfully.
“Like I said, Alex... when I need to be.”
“Alright. So how’re we gonna do this?” Brendan asked.
“We should be at the airport before they’re scheduled to arrive; we don’t wanna risk missin’ ‘em. We know the press will be there and I’d suggest one of us bein’ seen talkin' to the press while someone else confronts him just close enough to the press to make him uncomfortable.”
“And you think he’s gonna fall for that?” Michael asked, concerned that Alex’ plan wasn’t going to work.
Alex met his brother’s gaze evenly. “I guess a lot of that’s gonna depend on you, Michael.”
Michael sighed and drove his hand through his hair. “What’s that supposed to mean?” He stood up to walk around, his movements erratic.
“From what you’ve said... or better yet, from what you haven’t said, I believe that you’re the one who actually has leverage against him.” He shook his head when he saw Michael tensing up. “I’m not suggesting that you need to tell us all about it, although if you decide you need or want to, we’re here. That’s the main reason why I said we should confront him near the reporters instead of with them. I don’t want your hand forced so that you have to reveal anything that you’re not comfortable with in front of the press. I don’t want your personal life splashed across the newspapers.”
“I’m gonna do whatever is necessary to get Brooke away from them,” Michael said resolutely, even though he was scared of what that might require of him.
Alex nodded, hoping it wouldn’t come to that. Despite Michael’s popularity on campus he was an incredibly private person and having something so personal shared with anyone who read the paper or watched the news would be devastating for him.
“Did Ben bring that paper for them to sign?” Brendan wanted to know.
Alex held up a manila envelope. “Yeah, it’s all here.”
“I’m gonna get some air,” Michael said when he realized that there was nothing they could do now but wait until tomorrow.
Alex nodded and scratched his chin as he looked around. “I guess I’ll go give Isabel a hand with dinner; Brendan, you gonna stick around to eat?”
“Yeah, I guess I will”
“Good. Why don’t you find somethin’ to watch on TV? Play a video game or put a movie in.”
“Yeah, Alex, it’s okay; you can go. I’m a big boy, I know to entertain myself.”
“Right, well... I’ll just... go, then.”
Alex disappeared into the kitchen while Brendan slouched down on the couch and just stared at the blank television screen for several minutes.
Michael sat down on the porch swing, staring out at the ocean while the two dogs lay in his lap softly snoring.
He couldn’t keep his thoughts from Brooke. Where was she? How did she feel? Was she crying about her brothers and her dogs right now? He clenched his other hand into a fist and had a hard time not just screaming into the cooling night air. What if their plan didn’t work? He couldn’t get that question out of his head and it scared him that he didn’t have an answer. If they took her with them to another continent... what chance did they have of getting her back?
It would be different if he only knew where she was. Why hadn’t she called any of them? He suddenly remembered that he had turned the ringer off earlier and he shifted to get his phone out of his pocket. He noticed that Maria had called him twice after his last message and he wondered if he should call her back or not.
But she would know from his first message to her that something was wrong and he didn’t want to talk about it right then. But he couldn’t just ignore her either. So he turned the ringer on again and was about to push the call button when it rang again.
He waited to see Maria’s name show up on the caller ID again and his heart clenched at the thought of not answering it, but he froze in shock when he saw that it was Brooke. He almost dropped the phone when he opened it to answer the call. “Brooke? Are you okay?”
The dogs moved to jump out of his lap from the sudden movement and Michael just barely caught Spike.
“Michael?”
“Yeah.” He could tell that she was only whispering and she sounded scared.
Her voice was trembling as she tried to stay quiet so her father wouldn’t hear her and realize that she had her phone. “Michael, they’re gonna take me to Munich... and he... he...” She choked as the tears started to overwhelm her and she had to force the words out. “You’ve gotta go find Buffy an’ Spike... he threw them out of the car right on the highway.”
“Don’t cry, Brooke. We already got them and they’re okay. Where are you, do you know?”
She couldn’t think beyond knowing that he had her precious babies. “They’re okay? Are you sure? I heard Spike when Dad threw him out of the car... he was hurt, Michael!”
“Yeah, he has a little cut on his leg, but he’s okay. They’re both here with me, you can trust me to take care of ‘em for you.”
“They’re okay,” she breathed in relief. She had been so terrified that they would be killed by an oncoming car. She suddenly remembered him asking where they were staying. “I don’t even know what hotel we’re at, Michael; I just know they’re takin’ me outta the country tomorrow.”
“We’ll be at the airport tomorrow. We’re not gonna let that happen.”
Brooke felt a momentary sense of calm settle over her at his reassuring words. His voice was low, his tone fierce, and she knew he would keep his word.
“Have they anything done to you?” Michael asked, desperately needing to know.
“Besides manhandle me like some little ragdoll?” she asked, sounding annoyed. “No.”
“I’m sorry,” Michael whispered into the phone. Maybe he should’ve known this was coming after Thanksgiving. Maybe he should’ve taken her to his place after his parents had gone.
“Michael, you couldn’t have seen this comin’,” Brooke said, knowing that he had found some way to blame himself for her situation.
“I’m getting you outta there Brooke, I promise.”
Buffy barked at his words as if she understood what Michael had just said.
“Was that Buffy?” she asked excitedly. She was just about to speak again when the phone was snatched out of her grasp and a rough hand wrapped around her arm and yanked her up off of the floor, flinging her across the room to land on the bed.
“What’d I tell you about callin’ anyone?”
Michael froze when he heard his father’s voice followed by a fleshy smack. A moment later he heard his sister scream his name and the line went dead. “Brooke?” Michael almost screamed into the phone even thought he knew the call had been disconnected
Brendan came onto the porch when he heard Michael calling for their sister. “What’s wrong?”
Michael leaned forward, his head held in his hands as he fought to keep his temper from boiling over. “Brooke called and Hank caught her... slapped the shit out of her from the sounds of it... lost the connection after that.”
“Damn!” Brendan kicked one of the empty chairs on the porch.
Michael stood up from the swing and carefully set Spike down. He walked into the house, barely aware of the fact that Brendan was following him. “Where’re you goin’?”
“I don’t know... I just need to get out and clear my head.”
Brendan watched him leave and turned to Alex when he came out of the kitchen.
“What happened?”
He shrugged. He only knew the basics. “He got a call from Brooke, but Hank caught her and put an end to it... Michael said it sounded like he hit her.” He reached up to scratch his neck. “He said he needed some space.”