Work Text:
If you love somebody enough
You'll follow wherever they go
That's how I got to Memphis
That's how I got to Memphis
About a year or so ago, the Bionic Academy was founded. It was a big deal. Adam, Bree, and Chase got pulled out of high school to help run the place. Not questions asked. Leo, on the other hand, had to convince his mom a bit more.
“Leo, honey, are you sure you want to go off this ‘Bionic High’?”
“Mom, it’s not ‘Bionic High’. It’s the Bionic Academy and, yes, I’m sure! How could I not?”
“Honey, I’m just not sure you thought this all the way through.”
“Adam, Bree, and Chase are going…” Leo trails off.
Tasha sighs. “If I make you stay, you’ll just be miserable. There will be some conditions like you are finishing high school.”
Leo smiles. It’s a wide grin. He is practically jumping out of his skin. “So, this means I can go?!”
Tasha looks at her son with sadness and understanding. She knows. She can’t hold him here, in Mission Creek with her. “Yes, honey, you can go.”
Leo wonders sometimes what his life would have been like if he never met Adam, Bree, and Chase. Every time, he finds he can’t really imagine that life. Strange, how in such a short amount of time they have become such a part of him.
If you love somebody enough
You'll go where your heart wants to go
That's how I got to Memphis
That's how I got to Memphis
Worry is often Leo’s mind as he wonders how Chase and Bree are doing out in Centium City. He tries to keep his worries out of his mind, but he can’t help it. Chase and Bree are his family, of course, he worries about them. How could he not?
Leo wonders sometimes why he chose to stay at the academy rather than move onto Centium City. Maybe it was because most of Leo’s life was spent moving around. Then Big D came around and it seemed like moving was a thing of the past. Then, the Academy and the island move happened. Maybe, that’s why Leo stayed on the island… maybe, Leo just wanted to avoid another move.
Tasha, Leo’s mom, has had many jobs before being a TV reporter in Mission Creek. She had been a waitress, retail worker, secretary, and even at one point a janitor. Leo knew his mom was trying back then to be both his mom and his dad, but it wasn’t easy. He spent a lot of time alone. When jobs stopped working out or Tasha found a new job in a new town, then mother and son moved to a new town. It got old real fast being the new kid in school and always having to pretend he had a dad when he had none.
Leo never knew what it was like to have a dad until Big D came along and he supposes Douglas too in a weird way. Douglas is like a sort of father or weird Uncle to him. Leo doesn’t quite understand it, but it’s true.
“Leo,” Big D starts. Leo can practically feel his step-dad’s nervousness on the other end of the phone. “I need to tell you something.”
“No one is dead, right?”
“No…” Donald pauses. “I don’t know how to tell you this.”
Leo feels himself panic. This can’t be good. Something bad has happened. At least no one is dead. Is Chase hurt or dying? Or is Bree who is hurt or dying? Leo can just see it. Both of them lying there alone in a hospital room hurting. This isn’t good.
Big D has been quiet too long. Why isn’t he saying anything? Is the news so bad that he can’t speak? This isn’t good. Not at all. Wait, why does it feel like there’s no air? Okay. Okay. Leo needs to calm down. This isn’t helping anything, but he needs to know. He needs to know just how much trouble his family is in. He won’t be calm till he knows. “Just tell me!”
“Woah, Leo, calm down.” Donald sighs. He chose to tell Leo over Adam because he thought Leo would be calmer. It’s easy to forget that, besides Namoi, Leo is the youngest. Leo has always had a level head and looked out for his family. “I didn’t mean to scare you…” Donald pauses. “Leo, are you with me?”
Leo takes a deep breath, nodding. He, then, remembers Big D can’t hear him over the phone. “Yeah, I’m here and listening, Big D.” Leo’s voice sounds strained.
“Okay…” Big D pauses. It’s a short pause this time. He doesn’t want to risk upsetting Leo again. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen Leo ever lose it like that before. Despite what most might think Leo is actually quite calm in stressful situations. Another reason that Donald chose to tell Leo over Adam. “Douglas got hurt and is in the hospital.”
Leo doesn’t hear much after that. He can somewhat make out the words and understands them. Douglas got hurt. Douglas got hurt due to some girl named Reese. Douglas got hurt. Leo wonders if this what shock feels like?
It was funny how fast things can change. Leo remembers the day when Adam, Bree, and Chase came into life. He wasn’t alone anymore. He had a family. Then, the whole Elite Force team-up thing happened and things changed again. It split up Leo’s family. Leo didn’t like it. Now, Douglas is hurt. Splitting up the family and the Elite Force, was that really such a good idea?
I know if you'd seen her you'd tell me 'cause you are my friend
I've got to find her and find out the trouble she's in
After finding out about Douglas, the first thing Leo wants to do is find the fastest way to get the hospital in Centium City to check up on Douglas, along with checking on Bree and Chase. That’s not what is supposed to happen. It’s not right.
Leo supposed that Chase and Bree getting into some kind of trouble is nothing new. It’s just— he’s worried. He’s not used to being so far away when his family needs help. Or at the very least, he is able to get to his family.
Douglas is hurt. He should have been there. If he was there, then maybe… Leo sighs. What-ifs are not going to help anyone, much less Douglas. Still… Leo should have been there.
What do you mean, Big D? You can't just... can't just break us up.
It’s times like this Leo wonders if he made the right choice to stay at the Academy rather than go to Big D’s new project, the Elite Force. Leo never liked this “Elite Force”. It broke up his family. Maybe it’s petty, slightly selfish to think like that. Leo can’t help it. This never would have happened if the four of them had been together.
“Hey Leo, what are we going to do,” Adam asks, referring to Douglas being in the hospital. Leo told Adam what was going on only a few minutes after his phone call with Big D.
“To see Douglas. I don’t care what it takes, we are going..” Leo pauses, looking at his older brother. He is not his boss or anything. “At the very least I’m going…” Leo pauses, sighing. “Oh, and, just remembered, I better call Daniel and tell him what’s going on. Don’t know if Big D told him or if Big D even has his number…”
Adam nods, putting a reassuring hand on his younger brother. “So, when are we leaving?”
Leo could almost smile at that.
If you tell me that she's not here
I'll follow the trail of her tears
That's how I got to Memphis
That's how I got to Memphis
Douglas lays still in hospital. Douglas could be mistaken for just being asleep at home, if it weren’t for the sickenly white walls. It’s strange. Douglas is suffering and fighting for his life, but this room is oddly calm… peaceful even.
It’s hard to believe Douglas got hurt. He seems so indestructible. Now he seems so… so human.. so mortal.
Bree sits down by the man who is technically her father. Bree has never really considered him as such, but biologically Douglas is her father. Bree has come to love Douglas over the years, but he is not her father.
“Davenport never should have split us up,” Bree thinks bitterly. “This wouldn’t have happened if the four of us had been together.”
Skylar sits down next to Bree. “You doing okay, Bree?”
“I’m fine, Skylar.” Bree doesn’t look at Skylar, instead keeping her eyes on Douglas.
Skylar raises an eyebrow. “You don’t look fine. You know,” Skylar puts a hand on Bree's shoulder. “It’s okay to not be fine.”
Bree pulls away, removing Skylar’s hand. Dead angry eyes stare down Skylar Storm. “I KNOW THAT!” Then she pauses, turning away. Bree’s body retreats inwards leading forward towards Douglas. Then, she speaks again, her voice has gone soft. “It’s just he shouldn’t have gotten hurt.. this wouldn’t have happened if-if..” If only we were together… Bree’s voice trails off.
Skylar doesn’t force Bree to finish her statement. Guilt and what-ifs are tricky things that come with the whole ‘superhero-thing’. She wonders what is going on Bree’s head, before sighing. What-ifs don’t fix anything.
“Bree, I just wanted to let you know I’m here. If you need me.”
Bree nods. “Do you think that anything could have prevented this?” Bree’s gaze is intensely focused on Douglas.
“I don’t know.” Skylar sighs. “Nothing can change what has happened. Why do you even want to torture yourself like this?”
“I don’t know… and maybe I want to know if there was something I could have done.”
“And what-if there was? What then? More guilt? What does your guilt solve?”
Bree mutters, “I don’t feel guilty.”
Skylar gives a pointed-look at her friend. “Really? Then what’s this?”
“Being worried about my family. He is family.”
Skylar never really had any family. She did have Horace and Alan back at Mighty Med, but they are both gone now. She supposes she has Kaz, Oliver, and the rest of the Elite Force. Heck, she considers Bree to be like her sister. Still, it doesn’t make the hurt of what she lost go away. “Okay. I give.” Skylar knows when she’s been beaten. “Just, please, don’t beat yourself over this.” Skylar pauses a moment, then adds. “I know guilt and I know how it eats at you. Please don’t let this eat at you.”
Bree turns to glance at her friend, nods, then looks back at Douglas.
She would get mad and she used to say
That she'd come back to Memphis someday
That's how I got to Memphis
That's how I got to Memphis
Oliver and Kaz stare at Leo and Adam, studying them. Kaz doesn’t know what to make of the famous Leo and Adam. Out of the two, Kaz did spend the most time with Leo trying to help save Chase back when Mighty Med was still around. Honestly, Kaz doesn’t remember much about Leo or Adam. Although, did he even have full conversion with Adam back when they first met? He really needs to start paying more attention to things.
Oliver holds out his hand. “So, I know we’ve met before, but I’m glad to meet both of you again.”
Leo nods, taking Oliver’s hand, and shaking it. “Glad to see you guys again too.”
Kaz and Chase are working down in Mission Control on some kind of robot. “So, Chase, you know we can enter this thing into that robot competition at the park.”
“No.”
“What do you mean ‘no’.”
“What I said, Kaz, no.”
“Why?”
“Just.. just..” Chase exhales. “Leo and I used to enter a robot competition every year in Mission Creek. It doesn’t feel right doing without him, you know.”
“Not really, but I guess you’re not going to budge on this, are you?”
“No. I am not.”
A few moments pass before Kaz speaks again. “Leo is your brother, right?”
Chase nods, “yes.”
“I have eleven siblings, so I guess I get it.”
“Do you miss them? You family, I mean.”
“Not really. I’m not really close with any of my siblings or my parents. Oliver is the closest thing I have to family that I’ve got, being honest.”
“So,” Leo starts. “Where’s Chase and Bree?”
“Yeah, that’s sort of why we came.”
“Adam,” Leo slaps him on the arm. “But yeah, that is sort of why we came. Not that you’re not all lovely people. Just that we want to check in on Bree and Chase.”
“It’s cool.” Kaz shrugs. “I think Bree is at the hospital and Chase has locked himself down in Mission Control.”
“Adam, you head on down to the hospital and I’ll—“ Leo pauses, mentally sighing, “get our brother.”
***
After Adam leaves, Leo turns back towards Oliver and Kaz, “how long has Chase been down there?”
Oliver answers, “since Douglas got settled down at the hospital. He doesn’t really come up here unless he has to.”
“Great…” Leo sighs. Chase has never been good at handling what he sees as personal failure.
I haven't eaten a bite
Or slept for three days and nights
That's how I got to Memphis
That's how I got to Memphis
Since the whole Reese and Douglas getting hurt dilemma, Chase has practically locked himself down in the Mission Command committing himself to trying to fix things. It’s not exactly easy to find shape-shifters, especially when they don’t want to be found. Chase doesn’t eat or sleep much. He doesn’t really shower either. He just sits here or attempts to find the shapeshifters. He needs to figure this out. Needs to pay for what he caused. He needs to fix what he broke.
A warm welcoming voice calls Chase out of his thoughts, “Thought I’d find you down here.”
“Leo?” Chase’s eyes go wide as he whips his head around to see the source of the voice. Chase feels like he’s in a dream. Hope is a wonderfully dangerous thing. It’s like fire, it gives life, but also destroys. “What are you doing here?” Chase’s voice is barely even a whisper thick in disbelief. Maybe he’s starting to go crazy down here and starting to hallucate. Maybe he should get some sleep. When was the last time he slept?
“Looking for you, duh.” The weight of it being Leo’s first time here in Centium City and Mission Command isn’t lost on Leo. He looks around the Mission Command only for a second or two, but he doesn’t have time to let his eyes wander. He can’t. Not right now. Despite circumstances, Leo is.. glad he is finally able to see the place.
Leo notices a faint odor in the room. It’s not a good smell. It reminds Leo of one of those porter-potties at the school carnival or Adam’s B.O. Leo really hopes the smell isn’t coming from Chase. As Leo walks closer to his brother, it becomes clear, that yes, the smell is coming from Chase. When was the last time he had a shower?
Leo walks closer to Chase sitting down next to his brother at the workbench. He does his best to ignore the stink coming from Chase. He has changed his sister’s dirty diapers and shares a room with Adam, this smell isn’t so bad in comparison. “Want to talk about it? You don’t have to. We can just sit and talk or not.” Leo pauses. “I’m just saying here.” Leo puts his hand on Chase’s shoulder.
Chase nods. “I’m glad you are.” Chase looks over at his brother, weakly smiling. Then he whispers, “really glad.”
***
Eventually, Chase speaks. “Why do I keep doing this?”
Leo doesn’t quite follow his brother's train of thought, but knowing Chase it’s the whole reason he’s locked himself down here. “Doing what?”
“Messing up like this? Trusting the wrong people…” Marcus, Sebastian, now Reese.
Leo nods, slowly. “None of it is your fault, you know.” Leo knows Adam, Bree, and Chase have always been a little naive and trusting, but that’s a good thing usually. That trust in people is what makes his siblings heroes. “They were never really your friends.”
Chase rolls his eyes. “That makes me feel so much better.”
“I’m serious, Chase. They were all terrible people. They aren’t worth the time of day. Just forget about them.”
“Then why do all my friends end up like them?”
“Chase, let’s get a few things straight. Marcus was evil from the get-go. He came to us wanting to hurt us.” Chase opens his mouth to interrupt. Leo puts his hand to stop him. “Trust on Marcus, he tried to kill me more than once when you guys weren’t watching. Seb—.”
Leo stops, this time, Chase is able to interrupt Leo. “Do you think Marcus cared about us at all?”
Leo is thrown into a whiplash. It takes him a moment to process the question. “I don’t know. From what I saw—,” Chase’s confused and vulnerable face causes Leo to pause. “I don’t know. The Marcus I knew hated my guts and wanted me dead. He tried to kill me more than once. I don’t know if he cared or if you were just a mission to him. To me, he was just some crazy evil guy trying to hurt my family.”
“Even though it’s been years, I still think of Marcus as my friend despite everything. I keep wondering where it all went wrong.”
“I can see that. I never really saw that side of Marcus.” Leo sighs. “What happened with Marcus really wasn’t your fault.”
“How did you know?” Chase pauses, before adding. “About Marcus, I mean.”
“Because, the first time you guys left the room he threatened me.” Leo says, flatly. A long time ago, he would have sounded offended and upset, but now he’s sort of neutral about it.
Chase looks down, shaking his head. Leo hears Chase mutter something, but he can’t quite make out the words.
For a moment, Leo sees Chase as a fifteen year old just leaving the lab once again. The Chase that was so excited and naive about the world, but then life happened. Chase is still Chase, but he’s no longer the boy who left the lab. “I’m sorry we didn’t believe you…” Chase looks back up at his little brother. “We should have believed you…”
“It’s fine. I get it.. sort of.” Leo understands now how he sounded talking about Marcus being evil. He sounded like he was jealous or lost his mind. Or possibly, both. Some part of him gets it while the other part wishes they would have believed him back then. Still, now, he’s not upset over it anymore and left with understanding.
Chase lets out a bitter laugh. “I’m just now realizing this is the first time we are actually talking about Marcus.”
“You never wanted to talk about it before and I didn’t want to hurt you by bringing him up.”
“I am sorry for that whole mess.” Chase pauses.
Then he speaks, his voice barely above a whisper. “You don’t think that Sebastian was my fault, do you? I am the one who made him all crazy evil bionic soldiers again by telling him about Krane.”
Leo gives an almost pointed look at his brother. “Sebastian, I’m not entirely sure what happened with him, but I know it wasn’t your fault. At least not totally.” Chase opens his mouth to object. “Because—.” Leo puts his hand up to silence him. “Because I know you. Look, I didn’t know Sebastian, but I do know you. You are not the type of guy who turns people evil, okay. There are just people in this world who are out to hurt you.”
“You think that’s the same thing that happened with Reese?”
“Yeah, I do.” Leo smiles.
“Then why can’t I make a friend that doesn’t turn out to be evil? Why do I keep making the wrong choices in who to trust?”
“What about me, then?” Leo gives Chase one of his offended and surprised dead-glares.
Leo sounds almost offended. Chase doesn’t understand. Why would Leo be upset? It doesn’t make sense. “What about you?”
Leo huffs. Sometimes for someone so smart, Chase could be a real idiot. “Before we were really brothers, we were friends. Did I turn out like them?”
“No! Of course, not! You’re different…” Chase doesn’t know how to explain it. Leo is just different. He’s Leo. Maybe it’s because he’s the one ‘friend’ who’s never betrayed him. Or maybe because Leo is his brother. Or maybe just because Leo is Leo.
“See my point? You can make real friends. You’ve just had some bad luck.”
Chase smiles. Leo knows that he hasn’t eased all of his fears, but today is a start.
I've got to find her and tell her that I love her so
I'll never rest 'til I find out why she had to go
Leo leads Chase upstairs and into the showers. Leo leaves his brother to clean himself up and waits for him in the living room area. Oliver and Kaz are still in the living room when Leo reenters the room. Leo hopes that they don’t want to do any small talk.
“Glad we finally figured out how to land,” Oliver tells Kaz as the duo lands on a rooftop, letting go of Kaz. The duo had been holding onto one another the whole flight. This was their first ever flight. Oliver was a little worried they’d be stuck in the air forever.
The landing is far from graceful. It is rough. The duo nearly fell flat on their faces. Still, they did land. Maybe not even half bad for their first time flying.
“Yeah, me too.” Kaz looks over at Oliver. “You okay? You know with your mom and everything.”
Only a few hours ago, Oliver’s mom revealed herself to be the supervillain Mr. Terror. She tried to kill Horace, Alan, Skylar, along with a lot of other people. She also got powers from Arcturion. The same object gave Oliver and Kaz powers as well. It has been one of those days.
“I don’t know. My mom turned out to be some kind of super villain trying to take over the world and also now we have super powers. I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel. Am I supposed to be mad and upset with mom?! Or happy that I got powers?! I just know I’m not okay.”
Kaz pauses. “I—.” Kaz stops. “I don’t know what to say, other than I’m here.” He looks at his friend. “Are you going to sleep at your house tonight?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Don’t. Stay at my house. I know it’s loud and crowded, but my place is far away from anything to do with your mom.”
“Kaz. I can’t just decide to stay at your house.”
“Why not? It’s not like my parents will care and your mom is not around to say ‘no’. Plus, do you really want to sleep at home?”
“No, but, Kaz—”.
Kaz cuts Oliver off. “No buts. You are sleeping over at my place tonight whether you like it or not.”
Oliver looks at Leo standing by stairs. He starts to wonder how Leo is related to everyone else? Is he like a half-brother? Or a step-brother? Or is he adopted? Or something? “So, Leo, Tasha is your mom, right?”
Leo turns his head. “Yeah. She is. Why are you asking?”
“She brought Namoi over one time and I was curious. So, Mr. Davenport, he’s your dad?”
“No. Stepdad.” Leo raises his hand as if to say ‘stop talking’. “And let me guess, just curious.”
“Yeah…” Oliver trails off.
Kaz jumps in. “We’ve heard Chase and Bree talk about Adam and you so much, I guess we were curious. Especially, considering, well, you don’t look like you’re related.”
“Oh, that’s what this is about. While it is technically none of your business,” Leo slumps his shoulders. “I guess I can see why anyone would wonder.”
“Yeah,” Oliver starts. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine…”
“So, you guys were raised together?”
“You two aren’t going to stop until I tell you everything about my relationship to Adam, Bree, and Chase, are you?”
Both Kaz and Oliver both nod ‘no’. Then Kaz adds, “It doesn’t help that when we first met you we just thought you were some random guy that hung out with Adam, Bree, and Chase all the time.”
Leo sighs. “Yeah… I get that a lot.” Leo doesn’t know why he bothers getting upset over having to explain how he related. It’s not like he’s actually blood or anything. Still, to Leo, it bothers him. He knows logically, from the outside, he looks like a strange abnormal addition to the family rather than what he is a normal accepted family member of the family. “Alright, what do you two want to know?”
Oliver asks, “Well, how are you related?”
“My mom,” Leo sees the confusion on Kaz and Oliver’s faces. “Uh, Tasha, my mom, married Big D.” Leo stops. “You know, Mr. Davenport. The rest is sort of history.” Leo shrugs.
“But they call you their brother. How can that be true if you are their stepbrother?”
“I’ve never considered myself their step or adopted anything. I’m just their brother. It’s just how we see each other.”
“Even though you’re not related?”
“Yes.” Leo sounds exasperated.
“Wow, I wouldn’t want to add on more siblings.”
“Kaz, you have eleven siblings. Your family doesn’t need more people in it.”
Kaz shrugs, nodding. “That’s true.”
“Wait, that guy,” Leo points towards Kaz. “Has eleven siblings?!” Both Kaz and Oliver nod. “Wow, that’s just plain crazy.”
“You’re telling me. My mom for the longest time was, like, always pregnant and she was not a happy pregnant lady.”
“Okay, that was a little too much information.” Leo stares at Kaz for a moment. He reminds Leo of Adam. He doesn’t have much of a filter of what he says like Adam. He hopes that maybe Kaz is a little bit smarter than his brother.
“Sorry, but she was. You were there. You know.”
“Kaz, drop it.”
“Fine.”
“So, how does Douglas fit into all this? I’ve heard Chase called him dad before but Mr. Davenport is his dad right?”
“That’s sort of complicated.”
“Can you uncomplicate it?”
“I can try. Douglas is Adam, Bree, and Chase’s dad biologically, but he didn’t actually raise them. Big D raised them, so that’s why they consider him their dad. Douglas is also Big D's little brother. Like I said, it’s complicated.”
Both Kaz and Oliver nod. Neither one completely understands what Leo has just told them. “Although,” Oliver wonders. “Does even Leo know what he just said?”
An air of awkward silence fell over Oliver, Kaz, and Leo. No one knows exactly what to say next.
“So,” Kaz starts. “What do you think is taking Chase so long?”
Leo shrugs. “From my understanding, he hasn’t bathed since this whole thing went down. Knowing my brother, he’s finally realized how much he stinks and is now obsessively getting himself clean.”
“Yeah, that sounds about right.”
The room is silent except for the faint sound of the shower running upstairs. The silence isn’t awkward or anything, but it also isn’t a comfortable silence either. It’s a passable silence, not all that different from that of the waiting room at a doctor’s office.
“So, do I mind if we, well,” Oliver starts. He stops, then starts again. “Can I ask when was it that you met Adam, Bree, and Chase?”
Leo looks up. “It was only a few years ago..” Leo’s eyes drift off towards the ceiling as if it holds all the answers he seeks. “Let me think, I was thirteen when we met.. after mom married Big D and we moved into the house.” Leo’s face takes on a look of sweet nogolstiga, an almost wistful look. His eyes are hazy, glazed over, far away as if trapped within some memory from long ago. Leo’s mouth begins to curl into a smile. “And I’m eighteen now, so like it was five years ago we met.” Leo’s eyes return to look at Oliver and Kaz. Leo’s smile remains. The smile is gentle and warm. Somehow this smile makes Leo look almost— younger.
“Leo was raised by a single mom”, Oliver realizes. It is something that is a common thread between Leo and Oliver. Oliver feels something like kinship to Leo. “Granted,” Oliver notes, “my mom decided to be evil while Leo’s still normal and acts like his mom.” Oliver misses his mom more than he wants to admit. There are some days when all he wants is his mom back. She may have been evil, but she was still his mom and he loves her. He wants to have her back in his life in some form, but he doesn’t know how with her still being evil and all.
Kaz glances over at Oliver. Something is wrong, well off with Oliver. He put his hand on Oliver’s shoulder. He doesn’t know exactly what is wrong or how to fix whatever is bothering Oliver. Kaz just hopes that being here will help. For Kaz, just having Oliver around always helped him when he was sad or something. Maybe, Kaz can do the same for Oliver.
Leo’s eyes dart between Kaz and Oliver. There’s some kind of unspoken understanding and deep connection between those two. Leo sees it in the way Kaz just instinctively moves to comfort Oliver before even Oliver knows he needs it. Leo almost chuckles at the display. They are like brothers.
“Okay, Leo,” Chase's voice rings out. “Ready to go?” Although it is phrased as a question, it’s really more of a statement.
“Yeah, I’m ready,” Leo shouts back, with a light teasing tone. “Been ready for a while. Just been waiting on you.”
Chase walks in. “Oh, hey, you two,” Chase says, looking over at Kaz and Oliver.
Leo rolls his eyes. “Chase, let’s go.” Leo grabs Chase’s arm and starts escorting him out of the room. “We’ll be back later,” Leo shouts as he closes the door.
***
Adam walks into the hospital room where he knows his sister and Douglas are at. The room is white and smells like chemicals. It’s the kind of thing that could make someone go insane.
Adam notes the room is fairly large. That surprises Adam. He didn’t expect the room to be this big. He thought hospital rooms were supposed to be small. The room comes with its own bathroom and sink. He doesn’t know why there’s a sink in the bathroom and another sink inside the room. That’s weird.
There’s a TV on the wall in front of the bed. The TV isn’t on. There’s a board with some writing on it on the wall near the door. There’s a couch by the window and a chair by the bed. Bree is sitting in the chair. She appears to be half asleep and half awake.
Adam then looks down at Douglas in the bed. Douglas looks wrong. He doesn’t belong in that room or in that bed or hooked up to all those machines. It’s just wrong.
Adam quietly stands behind his sister. “Hey.” He puts his hand on Bree and gently shakes her awake.
Bree looks around, confused, then her eyes find her older brother. “Adam?” Bree’s voice is husky and full of sleep.
“Yeah, it’s me.” Adam smiles. “Are you doing okay?”
Bree stands up. “Well,” she pauses. “I don’t know. I am glad that you are.” Bree gives a weak smile. It doesn’t quite meet her eyes, but there is some kind of relief in her eyes. Adam counts that as a win.
Adam nods, “Leo‘s here too, you know. He’s trying to drag Chase down here.”
“If you’re both here, who’s watching the Academy?"
Adam shrugs. “I don’t know. Leo took care of it all.”
The dinging of the phones interrupts whatever thought Adam and Bree had as Leo was texting asking what the room is.
The room is soon quiet after answering Leo. The sound of monitors is the only sound to be heard.
Adam and Bree move to sit down. Adam feels like he should say something… something to make Bree feel better. He doesn’t like Bree feeling bad. He wants to fix things. “Think Douglas will be okay,” Adam asks.
Bree sighs. “The doctors say they don’t know yet.”
Adam nods. “I’m sure he’ll be fine. He seems to always be okay in the end.”
“I hope you’re right.”
Thank you for your precious time
Forgive me if I start to cryin'
That's how I got to Memphis
That's how I got to Memphis
As the car drives up to the hospital building, Chase feels the building looming over him, taunting him with promises of sickness and death. Leo parks the car in the parking lot.
“It's going to be okay, Chase,” Leo says, as if he just knew what Chase needed to hear. Leo shuts the car off and pulls out his phone. Chase watches as Leo looks for some old text conversation that has the room number, exits the car, then gestures for Chase to follow inside the building.
After entering the large prison-like hospital building, Leo looks around and finds the front desk of the hospital. Leo then asks for directions to the room. Chase finds it odd that Leo is surprisingly good at navigating this whole thing at the hospital.
Leo walks over to Chase who has been frozen near the front entrance doors. “Come on, buddy, let’s go.” Leo gestures for Chase to follow him.
The duo of brothers walk in silence to the room. Leo glances over at Chase every once and awhile, checking to make sure his brother is still there.
Eventually, Chase speaks as the duo enters an elevator, “Uh, Leo?” Leo turns to his brother and nods. “Why are you so.. so, I don’t know, relaxed about all this?”
Leo chuckles. “I’m really not. I’m just focusing on you guys and what needs to happen..” Leo pauses. “I guess it sort of keeps my mind off Douglas.”
“So, you’re not really relaxed?”
“No…” Leo sighs. “Truth be told, once I don’t have anything to do, then I’ll be freaking out. Right now, I’m not freaking out, but, yeah, I am worried.”
Chase nods. He thinks for a moment. He wants to say something. He wants to make Leo feel better. He’s not sure what to say. “I’m worried too.”
Leo smiles, gently. “I know. It’ll be okay.” Leo doesn’t know who he is trying to convince. Still, it will be okay. It has to be okay.
The duo stand in silence for a moment, then the ding of the elevator announces their floor and the duo exits. Chase stands frozen as Leo searches the area. Leo spots signs that point towards the correct room. He starts to lead his brother to the room.
Leo watches the doors looking for the right number as he tries to keep an eye on Chase. Leo finds the right number. The duo pauses outside the room. “Okay,” Leo starts. “Ready to go in?”
Chase nods and opens the door.
Small. That’s how Douglas looked in that hospital bed. He’s hooked up to all these machines and wires. It looks wrong. It doesn't make sense. This shouldn’t have happened.
“Hey guys,” Leo announces. “Look who I brought.” Leo gestures to Chase, who’s lingering by the door, not wanting to fully enter the room. Chase meekly waves. Bree and Adam, looking up from Douglas, wave just as meekly back.
“So, how’s Douglas doing,” Leo asks, as goes to stand next to Adam. Adam is next to Bree who is in the chair next to the bed. Chase stands awkwardly next to Leo.
“The doctors say they don’t know yet,” Bree says.
Leo mentally sighs. “When was this?”
“I don’t know. A while ago..” Bree tries to think back to the last time she got an update. She can’t seem to place it. Time passes strangely in the hospital. Everything here is slow and almost dreamlike. A nightmare of a dream, but dreamlike never the least. “Yesterday I think.”
“So, they haven’t given you an update in a whole day?” That just ticks Leo off. Hospitals are supposed to help and keep people informed yet it rarely works that way.
Bree shrugs. “I think so, yeah. Not really sure.”
“Okay, great.” Leo turns toward the door and starts marching back towards the door. Leo carries himself with calm, purposeful, and righteous anger. “I’m going to find the doctor or nurse in charge and figure out what’s going on.”
“Woah, Leo, calm down.” Bree runs up to stand in front of Leo. “You don’t need to do that.”
Leo crosses his arms, tapping his foot. “And why shouldn’t I? It’s their job!”
“We don’t need to start making a fuss,” Chase adds, moving to stand next to Bree.
Leo sighs. “It’s their job. I am not going to sit around doing nothing when I can go ask and find out what’s actually going on.”
Chase’s shoulders slump. “Nothing we say is going to stop you, is it?”
Leo nods, “nope.” Then, Leo walks around his sister and brother and out the door.
As the door closes, Chase takes a second glance at Douglas, then back at Bree. “Well, at least Leo is going to find out what’s going on.”
“I just hope he doesn’t make the nurses mad and they try to kill Douglas or something,” Adam bluntly comments.
“ADAM!” Both Bree and Chase cry out.
“What? It could happen.” Adam shrugs. “Especially knowing how pushy Leo can be.”
“Yeah,” Chase huffs. “He is pushy.”
A heavy silence falls over the trio with no one wanting to address the elephant in the room. Douglas is hurt, possibly dying, and there’s nothing the three of them can do about it.
A few moments later, Leo walks back in. “Well, they said no change. Something about Douglas being in a coma and they trying to find a way to wake him up. No one here is of any help. Big shocker.” There is a tone of bitterness in Leo’s voice.
“You sure have strong opinions about the hospital,” Bree notices.
“Yeah, I guess I do.”
“Why is that?” Bree stares at Leo as if she could decipher the answer from his face alone.
“I don’t know.” Leo glances up at ceiling. “In my experience, hospitals are slow, unhelpful, and just depressing."
“So, you have a lot of experience?” Bree feels taken back by this. “Like when?”
“HEY! I had a life before you guys, you know?”
Adam, Bree, and Chase all look at Leo. They don’t often think or wonder what Leo’s life must have been like before they all met. For Adam, Bree, and Chase their life began the moment they met Leo.
He showed them the real world. He was their first real friend and became their brother. It’s hard to imagine Leo before. It seems almost an impossible task to even imagine Leo before.
“Why were you in the hospital so much?”
Leo sighs, glancing back down at his siblings for a moment. “My grandfather. You know, my grandma Rose’s husband is, well, dead.” Leo stutters. “Well, he got sick a lot and died when I was like ten...” Leo pauses.
Leo remembers thinking back then that somehow his grandfather would be okay in the end. He supposes that’s what being a kid means always believing things will turn out alright. Kids don’t know about death and that’s good. Leo didn’t fully understand at the time why his grandfather didn’t come back from the hospital one day or why he was there in the first place. Then one day his mom gave him this ‘talk’ about death. It wasn’t fun.
Leo grows quiet. There is something almost somber about him. “I don’t really want to talk about it.”
Chase puts his hand on Leo’s shoulder. “You never brought this up before.”
“Well, you never asked…” Leo mutters, trailing off. “Mom and I don’t talk about him all that much… Not ‘cause we don’t care, but ‘cause it’s hard… you know..” Leo trails off again.
Leo looks down back at Adam, Bree, and Chase. He sees it. The almost naive childlike untouched by personal loss mindset of his three siblings. They may be older than him, but somehow often Leo finds himself looking out and protecting them.
Leo smiles, adding an almost chipper tone to his voice. “Anyways, the past is the past. I’m sure Douglas will be okay. Don’t worry about it.”
“You really think that,” Chase questions.
Leo sees the naive wide childlike eyes of Adam, Bree, and Chase and now what he must do. “Sure. Why not? We are all together and I often think if we are together, then everything will be okay.”
Maybe it's a lie or maybe it's wishful thinking. Leo doesn’t know. The truth is he doesn’t know. The doctors don’t know either. It's an uncertain thing. He didn’t want to tell his siblings that. He doesn’t want to possibly shatter fragile hope the trio of Davenports have. Telling a half-truth is just another way Leo tries to protect them. For now, for as long as possible, he will let them live in a world where everything is always alright in the end.
“Yeah!” Adam exclaims. “Leo’s right! We are together!”
“I don’t think that's what he meant, Adam,” Chase rebuts.
“Not exactly, no.” Leo says. “I just meant, I think everything will work out fine, in the end…” Leo trails off.. then adds. “Besides, it’s nice that we are all together again. You know, despite the circumstances.” Leo smiles.
Bree dreamily smiles, adding, “Yeah, it is.”
The room falls into comfortable silence. While Douglas’ future is uncertain, the siblings have a strange sense of peace and solace now that they are all together once again. None of the siblings are sure how it happened, but somehow the four of them end up in a tight embrace.
Hey, don't worry, guys. We'll be back together before you know it.