Family Emergency

Chapter 10

Nathan had given his brother a promise to wear the empathy belly for 24 hours, which included sleeping in it. It was something he did not look forward to. Hell, he had work tomorrow, he needed a good night's sleep. Still he was afraid of backing out on his promise, knowing that he'd make Peter disappointed.

At nine PM the younger Petrelli was already nodding off, and Nathan eagerly tucked him in under the covers, hoping that Peter would fall asleep fast and deep and not notice if Nathan discreetly slipped out of the empathy belly once he was out.

"Goodnight, little guy," Nathan said lovingly, brushing his brother's long bangs from his face. Peter wore nothing underneath and Nathan made sure the blankets were drawn up to his neck. He could recall all the times he'd tucked Peter in as a kid when their parents weren't home for one reason or another. Not much had changed since then.

Peter's cherubic lips mumbled soundlessly for a second and Nathan could not help but smile at the innocent manner portrayed even in sleep. Despite that ever present innocence, the hospice nurse had proven today that even he could be spiteful. The lawyer of course could not blame him, but as he struggled to rise from the bed, his back reminded him of how hard being an expectant mother really was. Stretching with a grimace on his tired face, Nathan looked down at the peaceful, sleeping figure, and found himself formulating another idea.

*~*~*

Sleep began to retreat from Peter's mind the next morning and as he awoke, he remembered how wonderful yesterday had been. Musing on about how much he loved his big brother, he was about to rise from bed when he discovered with faint alarm that he was not able to rise. Eyes wide for a moment, he tried to figure out why he could not move and why turning over was impossible. Reaching behind himself, he soon found out the answer.

"I hate him."

While Peter was asleep, Nathan had apparently gotten the brilliant idea to strap the empathy belly to his back. How he'd managed without waking Peter up the nurse did not know, and frankly, he did not care either. All he could care about at the moment was to get it off, as his bladder was starting to remind him of a pressing urge to use the toilet.

Loosening the straps turned out to be nigh impossible when one could not see what one was doing, and Peter worked hard for a few agonizing minutes, sweat dripping off his face and with an increasing pressure in his lower abdomen. Then, after what seemed like an eon, there was finally a click and one of the straps came loose. Only three more to go...

Christ, he was never going to make it in time if he struggled any further. Any more attempts to remove the damned thing would make him pee in the bed. Groaning, Peter looked up from his activity and saw the phone on the bedside table.

Oh you're gonna get it, you assbag.

Teeth gritting, he reached for the phone and dialed his brother's number.

*

Nathan meanwhile was exiting a successful meeting when his cell phone rang. In his pleased mood, he totally forgot to check the caller ID before he answered it. He barely got out his greeting before he received a blaring reprimand that he was sure plenty of people around him could hear. Peter seemed to have lost control entirely. Among the words that were thrown at him through the phone were "asshole", "cocksucker" "motherfucker" and "fuckface".

"Now calm down, for Christ's sake!" Nathan hissed, hurriedly looking for a more private spot to tackle the embarrassing phone call.

"Calm down? Calm DOWN?!" Peter was practically howling now. "Get your ass over here and get me OUT OF THIS FUCKING THING!"

"Peter, I'm in the middle of a very important meeting. It's going to have to"—

Instead of screaming, his little brother's voice became dark and trembling with barely contained fury. "You get over here now, Nathan, or I swear to god I'm gonna kill you."

"How if you can't even get up?" Nathan finally asked, exasperated.

The line on the cell went dead. Nathan's eyes widened and he immediately regretted what he had said. Peter had hung up on him. He cursed at himself and speed dialed his brother's number, but got no answer. As if the fates wanted to be kind on him, he saw one of his associates pass by and flagged him down.

"Hey, could you stand in for me..."

*

The taxi ride back to Peter's apartment could not have gone any slower. Running to the front door of the apartment building, he had to use his over coat as a shield from the rain pounding down. Dripping wet anyway, he punched the elevator button but was too impatient to wait. By the time Nathan had reached Peter's floor via the stairs, he was out of breath and drenched in rain and sweat. Entering Peter apartment, he called out to him, only to be answered by the sounds of struggling and frustration.

Nathan found his brother lying naked on the bedroom floor, the fake belly still clinging onto his round torso. Immediately after Peter spotted him in the doorway, a stream of the most obscene curse words possible were hurled at Nathan.

"You fucking asshole! What the fuck were you thinking, putting this fucking thing on me?"

Peter's angelic face was bright red from fury and his eyes were practically giving off sparks. Nathan could see that Peter's portable phone had been violently thrown into the wall and now lay on the floor in pieces. No wonder his brother had not answered when Nathan tried to call him.

"Well, don't just stare at me, you stupid motherfucker! Help me out of this thing!"

"Don't speak to me like that," the lawyer retorted. "Even if you're mad, I don't deserve to be called such"—

"Motherfucker!"

Nathan snorted. "At least gets the facts right, you little brat. That would be 'brotherfucker'."

If looks could kill...

Peter, in a sudden feat of strength due to his anger, lifted himself up by his arms and Nathan had to admit to himself that he was shocked at the display. But almost immediately following this, Peter cried out. At first the older man had thought it was the start of another rant, but instantly he realized the short, quick nature of the sound and he knew Peter was in pain. Seconds following his rise, the young nurse fell back down on the floor, his face twisted in pain.

In no time Nathan was on the carpet by his brother's side, unfastening the empathy belly.

"What happened?!"

"I hurt my back," Peter managed to moan, hiding his face.

"Here, it's off now," Nathan said, his composure all but gone and his sentences running together. "I'm sorry, buddy. That was stupid of me. I should have worn it longer like you wanted."

When he lifted Peter into a sitting position again, the young man winced at the twinge in his back, but this was not why he was now crying.

"I just fucking pissed on myself.”

Gazing down, Nathan could see that a yellowish, sour-smelling puddle of urine had formed under Peter's rump. The sight made him want to throw up. Not because he was disgusted at Peter wetting himself, but the realization of what he'd done - the consequences of what he'd considered to be a harmless little prank - made him feel like a complete and utter bastard.

"Peter... God..." Hand covering his mouth, Nathan had to look away. "I... I didn't think it would be that hard to get off..."

Peter, still crying, did not answer. His back hurt - with his usual luck it was probably a lumbago or even a slipped disc - and he was sitting in his own foul-smelling piss. At this moment, he really wished he could just die.

After a few agonizing minutes of silence, Nathan decided to break it. He could not stand listening to Peter's soft, quiet sobs any longer.

"Hey... Let's go to the bathroom and get you cleaned off, shall we...?"

*

After a long a soothing bath Peter still found his back was giving sharp little pains whenever he moved. Nathan grew more and more concerned about the complaints and after his own quick, cold shower, he found his baby brother squirming about on the couch and flinching with every movement of his spine.

"I think we should call Dr. Cusack."

*~*~*

"He needs a little less stress right now," the doctor said as Peter awkwardly buttoned up his shirt following the examination. Nathan's expression read of total guilt, but his hand was grasped gently by his brother.

"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" Peter asked.

"Well..." the older woman said with a sympathetic tone, "I'm going to recommend you get as much rest as possible until the due date. Stay off of your feet and try to keep the tension down."

Peter grimaced. He knew it. He knew he would end up confined to his bed during the last few weeks.

Cusack gave Peter a shot of Petidin for the pain and once the pregnant young man was resting down comfortably, she took Nathan aside and asked to speak with him in private.

"What could possibly be too "private" for Peter to hear?" the lawyer asked suspiciously, one eyebrow raised.

The doctor did not speak until she was sure they were out of earshot of Peter. "The estimated birth is only three weeks away," she said gravely. "I believe it's time we make some... preparations."

"Preparations?" Nathan asked with a scowl. He did not like the sound of this one bit.

"Yes, for Peter," Cusack explained. "I want him to have the best possible chances to survive this, and I know you do, as well."

"Of course!"

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried. He's going to lose a lot of blood, no matter what we do. So this time, I want to be prepared. Mr. Petrelli, what is your blood type?"

"It's A-positive," Nathan replied, swiftly catching on to what she was implying. "The same as his."

"Good," Cusack said, scribbling down the note in her papers. "If you don't mind, we could take some of your blood now ahead of time."

"Yes, of course. That would be fine."

*

When he heard footsteps again, Peter opened his eyes to see a slightly dazed looking Nathan Petrelli enter the room and take a seat next to him.

"What happened?"

"I gave some blood. The doctor said it would be good to prepare, in case... well, you know."

Glancing aside, Peter fully knew what the blood was for, but he preferred not to talk about it either, so he instead changed the subject.

"I'm sorry about this morning," he said, his voice raspy and tired.

"No, don't you dare apologize for that one," Nathan answered, taking his brother's hand in his own. "I was displeased with the language, but I kind of deserved it."

Looking at his and his baby brother's hands joined, his own fingers nearly covered Peter's lax palm. The size difference made the older man hold back a shiver at how delicate Peter seemed.

"Your hands are really small and girly," he said as an attempt at lightening the mood.

"No, they're not," Peter objected, pouting. "You just say that because yours are like toilet lids."

Nathan chuckled. His baby brother always had a fitting retort ready. In that department, he would have done well as a lawyer. "That's cruel, little buddy."

"I could probably fit your ring on my big toe," Peter smirked, attempting to pull off the golden ring with the big stone, which he'd always referred to as Nathan's "pimp ring".

"And you call me evil?" The older man mock-swatted at his brother's head, eliciting a high-pitched giggle from Peter when he tried to dodge it.

Peter rubbed his hand over Nathan's face as though he were wiping something disgusting onto him. This was a move he had learned annoyed Nathan ever since they were young, as his big brother was so held up on appearance. Chuckling, Nathan knew the hair would be next, but Peter's grin suddenly became an uncomfortable wince. He placed a hand over his belly in discomfort.

"What's the matter?" the lawyer asked, instantly concerned.

"Nothing, it just dropped kicked me in the spleen."

"Awww," Nathan murmured in his brother's ear, ruffling the hair to soothe him. "You want me to wear the stupid empathy belly?"

Peter laughed again, genuinely amused. "No, it's alright. I tortured you enough."

*

After being declared fit to leave by Cusack, Peter was sent on his way with a package of opioid pills given to him for the recent back pains. Just a stretched muscle, she'd assured him. Something that would heal in a few days.

"You don't have to go back home with me," Peter told his brother while they were waiting for a cab outside Cusack's clinic. "You should go back to work. I... I think I can make it on my own."

"Of course I'm making sure you get home safely," Nathan declared in a tone that left no room for arguments. "If something happened to you now..."

Even though Nathan's over-protective attitude annoyed him a bit, Peter was deeply grateful for how well Nathan looked after him. He took his brother's hand despite the fact that they were out on a crowded street and leaned against him. Instead of discreetly shoving Peter away - which was what usually happened if the younger Petrelli tried anything "improper" in public - Nathan drew Peter into a warm and comforting hug.

To be continued...