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Family Emergency	By : Bloodylocks Category: G through L > Heroes Views: 6221 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Heroes, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 12
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- 14
Chapter 13

Though he had some vague memories of being brought in here by Cusack in a wheelchair, Nathan's recollections of last night were hazy, to say the least. Peter. Oh God, what had happened to Peter while he was slumbering away in this uncomfortable and too-small bed? No, wait... it wasn't a bed at all, but some kind of studio couch. No wonder all his muscles were sore and aching.

Nathan stretched and shakily stood up, still not fully recovered from last night's extensive blood loss. He was dimly aware of the fact that he would have bled himself dry for Peter had Cusack not stopped him.

He was still wearing his jeans and shirt - very wrinkled by now - but his shoes had been taken off, and he found them neatly laid side by side a few feet from the bed. Cusack must have tucked him in like a little baby.
The thought instantly brought back the memories of the child Peter had given birth to. Nathan's heart held no love whatsoever for the disfigured little creature that had almost claimed his brother's life.
Standing made Nathan sit back down, as he was still groggy from giving blood and lack of proper rest. How desperately he wanted to go and see if his baby brother was alright... but here he was, stuck where he sat, the possibility of passing out keeping him on the sofa. All he could do was wait.
Cusack arrived minutes later, possibly from sensing Nathan awaking from his dreamless sleep. Nathan looked up, his eyes fearful, but he did not care anymore what she might think of him.
"Well?" he inquired.
Roberta Cusack looked beyond tired, and her expression was otherwise grave. She did not have to be a telepath to know what the man asked for.
"He's sleeping now."
A brief flash of puzzlement flickered in Nathan's eyes, so she rephrased. "He's alright, Mr. Petrelli. Your brother's going to be just fine."
"Thank God..." Nathan sighed and he buried his face in his hands as the immense relief washed through every last cell in his body. "Thank God."
Peter would be alright. That was all that mattered now, and all that would ever matter anything; Nathan realized that he considered his own life worth very little compared to Peter's.
"Would you like something to eat, Mr. Petrelli?" Cusack asked out of politeness, probably noticing how washed out Nathan looked.
"No thanks," the lawyer replied. "Not hungry."
"Then how about a glass of water?"
"Let's skip the pleasantries, shall we?" Nathan broke in. "We both know what you came to tell me. So, how much do you want?"
Cusack was actually taken aback by the question and she stepped away from him. "I beg your pardon?"
"Don't play stupid, just tell me how much you want for keeping quiet."
The doctor's look of bewilderment became one of betrayal and she frowned at him as though reprimanding a child.
"How dare you accuse me of something like that?" she demanded. "Do you know how much I had to go through to keep Michael a secret from the entire world? How I had to make sure he was buried in a place where he couldn't be found, where no one could see it happen, like I was some kind of murderer?! I went through everything to keep Hope as an abandoned child I had found on the streets so that nobody would think I ever knew her before then."
Nathan had actually become the one to step away from the female doctor as she stepped forward at him, and eventually he found his back hitting the nearby wall behind the sofa.
"You know full well that the revelation of something like this would ruin my political career, not to mention my entire life," Nathan said darkly. "Knowing that a person holds such power over me is... unsettling."
"You should be ashamed of yourself!" Cusack spat out, her face dark red with fury.
Nathan briefly thought that he should be grateful that her power was telepathy and not something more volatile like radioactivity or seismic control.
"Peter is my patient, and I would never betray his trust in me! Not for anything. Ever heard of doctor-patient confidentiality, Mr. Petrelli? Besides, your family's blood money is the last thing I want."
"And you expect me to just take your word for it and pretend like you never found out?"
"You have issues with trust, Mr. Petrelli," the woman said with a humorless scoff. "What I'm trying to say is that you can't buy me, because you don't have to. Your little "secret" is safe with me."
The way the described his relationship with Peter made Nathan lower his eyes in shame.
"I... I didn't force him..." he said, wanting her to know that their relationship, screwed as it was, at least was consensual.

"I know, he told me," Cusack said, her anger seemingly spent. While Nathan had slept, she most likely did not even sit down ever since they entered her clinic hours before. It was no wonder she had little energy.
"I could not help but read his mind when I realized you were the father. What he said was the truth and so I believe the both of you."
Though he avoided looking at her, Nathan listened to every word. He could only hope she really was truthful in her promise to never tell anyone else of the situation at hand.
"I don't approve, and this relationship nearly cost Peter his life, but... it is blatantly clear that you two would do anything for one another. You sincerely love each other, and that does give me a bit of comfort."
Sighing, Nathan finally looked at her when he realized she was finished.
"May I see him?"
"Of course. He's sleeping now, so..."
"I will," he replied solemnly as he followed her, knowing what she would advise.
They entered the examination room where the drama had played out hours before, and Nathan's heart took a leap at the sight of his brother lying motionless in a still-bloodied hospital bed. Peter was also hooked to several devices used to monitor his heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, and surely lots of other things Nathan did not understand. The oxygen mask, however, had been replaced by a nasal cannula which allowed him to see Peter's serene face.
Instinctively reaching out for his brother, Nathan brushed back some of the dark curls from the young man's forehead, grateful to feel that Peter's skin still felt warm and alive and not like that of a corpse.
"Hey there, little buddy..." he whispered, letting his hand slide down to a soft, pale cheek.

"Can I have a moment alone with him?"
"Of course," Cusack replied. "I'll go check on the baby. You know what to do if you need me."
Giving a nearly imperceptible nod, Nathan waited until she was gone before turning back to his brother. Now that he was alone with Peter, he could finally let go.
He was not sure what finally set him off, whether it was the sight of his unconscious baby brother no longer in danger of death, or even the real physical touch of his skin beneath a broad hand. Perhaps his exhaustion was to blame, or the vast variety of emotions he had felt within a single twenty-four hour period. Whatever the reason, looking back at his brother now and realizing it was only the two of them now, Nathan suddenly found himself crying.
The contact between face and hand caused Peter's lips to part for a moment in another one of his dream induced wordless murmurs, and Nathan smiled through his tears. Carefully, as gently as possible, he stood up, knelt forward, and kissed the motionless face.
Peter's eyes opened seconds later, and the first thing he could see was Nathan's face hovering inches above his. As the image slowly cleared, Peter realized that his brother was crying. His muddled mind was not really able to piece together simple facts like where they were or what day it was; he could, however, remember that he had never seen Nathan cry before.
"Nathan...?" Peter slurred, and he weakly lifted right hand with the pulse oximeter attached to it to Nathan's rugged, unshaven face.
"Yes, baby, yes?" the older man said breathlessly, and immediately afterwards more sobs exited his throat.
"Wh-where are we...?" Peter did not recognize the surroundings, and that made him frightened. Had they been captured? Why was he in a bed, feeling like he'd been given enough sedatives to knock out an elephant? As he steadily regained more consciousness, Peter became aware of another unpleasant sensation - he was in a great deal of pain, and the source of it seemed to be his pelvic region.
Red, glistening eyes watching protectively over his baby brother, Nathan stroked his thumb over a still boyish cheek.
"How much do you remember?"
"Remember... I..." the young nurse glanced himself over as he tried to ignore that pain... that pain which had been there even before he passed out. From...
"Oh god," he finally breathed out, looking at his bloated stomach, which had still not shrunk from its formerly fully rounded shape.
"Oh my god, I'm alive," he softly exclaimed, hands shaking even more than they did seconds earlier. One hand landed on his mouth in shock but his brother remained by his side, kissing his cheek.
"You're okay now," Nathan whispered. "You're here."
"... and the baby?"
"Alive. Look at what you did, buddy," Nathan had to laugh as his tears still refused to subside. "You just became a goddamn mother."
"When... when I was unconscious," Peter finally said when he had to ability to speak again. "I had some really crazy dreams. Like I was giving birth to giant maggots, and the lights were all purple... I think we were knee deep in fluids because my water broke too... but then you showed up."
"And then what happened?" Nathan softly inquired.
"You took me in your arms and flew away with me," Peter replied. "You saved me, Nathan. You're my hero."
"Are you sure it wasn't the other way around?" the older man said with a small chuckle, withdrawing from Peter but not letting go of his brother's hand. The simple fact that Peter was squeezing back now made him unwilling to part from it.
"I don't think I've ever seen you cry before, Nathan," Peter suddenly remarked, his voice almost awe-struck. "I cry all the time, but you never"�
"There's a first time for everything," Nathan said. "Almost losing you and returning to your bed to find you alive was just too much to hold in, even for me."
"Don't be ashamed, Nathan. I like it," Peter slowly lifted a still-weak hand to his brother's face and caught a tear-drop. "Where's Cusack...?"
"With the baby."
Peter's eyes widened and he suddenly looked both excited and frightened. "The baby... was it a boy or a girl?"
"A girl."
"W-what did she look like...?"
He saw Nathan's jaw tighten and his eyes lower. Thought he was silent, his answer was obvious.
"How bad?" Peter asked.
"You don't want to know."
"Of course I do," Peter tiredly snapped. �I know I'll dream about it for the rest of my life unless I see her."
Looking as defeated as he felt, he closed his eyes and called out silently.
//Doctor?//
//Yes, Mr. Petrelli?//
//Peter wants to see the baby//
Less than a minute later, the two brothers turned at the sound of approaching footsteps. In walked Dr. Cusack, holding a small, wiggling bundle. She smiled sweetly, but her expression also held apprehension at what may unfold.
"Your daughter, Peter."
The baby's face as well as her entire body were hidden by the blanket Cusack had wrapped her in, and remained so until the doctor carefully lowered the bundle into Peter's weary, slightly trembling arms. He tried to stay as still as possible due to the dull pain in his nether regions, briefly wondering if there was anything analgesic in the IV bag he was hooked to. He sure needed some.
His hand was trembling considerably more when he finally pushed the blanket away from the baby's head in order to see her visage. The micro-seconds before everything was revealed a series of horrific images passed through his mind; babies with hydrocephalic heads, babies with protruding bug eyes, babies too badly deformed to even be identified as human...
His own newborn was not nearly as bad as any of those images, but her appearance still brought tears to Peter's eyes. Though he did not want to look at her, Nathan had to, as he stood there next to the bed side, hand on a skinny shoulder and lips against a head of tangled black hair.
"I'm sorry, Pete," he said.
Wiping his eyes, Peter forced himself to continue to look at her. She sleepily regarded him but otherwise remained silent.
"It's not your fault. It's mine. It's my power."
"You didn't know you had it. Perhaps we're both to blame, huh? For our lifestyle?"
Peter hardly knew what to say, but instead his daughter spoke for him. She began to squawl louder and louder.
"God, I'll get the doctor," Nathan immediately said, wincing at the loud noise.
Peter only stared at the misshapen mouth crying out. "She's hungry."

"So? Cusack can feed her," Nathan blurted out, annoyed. He wanted the wretched thing out of the room as soon as possible, because he despised the things she kept reminding him of; Peter's near-death, the unfortunate result of a forbidden relationship, his obligations to find it a good home... The list only got longer.
"M-maybe I should..." Peter murmured, confused at the whole situation. *This* was the reason his teats had been lactating for over three excruciating months.
"No!" Nathan snapped. "You've seen her, let's get her out. You don�t need to be near that thing for longer than necessary." He did not want to touch the infant himself, and yet he reached out for it, motioning at Peter to hand it over to him.
"Just... give me a moment, Nathan..." Peter pleaded. "Just five minutes. Please?"
Glaring, Nathan finally wiped his eyes free of the still present tears and walked out of the door.
Peter did not want to bond with the infant. He never even wanted her, and he had not planned to have children whatsoever for years yet. Even now, holding an infant he had just birthed, deformed or healthy, had a horribly uncomfortable effect on him. Even so, he pulled up the hospital gown he was still wearing, and carefully shortened the distance between himself and the baby. Once her toothless, gaping mouth found one of his dark areolas, she immediately attached herself to him, suckling covetously.
The baby - he had no names in mind; it was better for everyone if he'd only think of her as "the baby" - had soft, downy dark brown hair and big brown eyes, two trademark features of both himself and Nathan. Seen only above the nose, one could even have mistaken her for beautiful.
Some of the milk she so eagerly suckled poured out of her disfigured mouth, which could not fully close. Her insistent wriggling had made the blanket come loose around her arms, as well, and a tiny, pink fist emerged, opening and closing reflexively. It was then Peter noticed that she had two fingers missing on her left hand. The pinky was entirely missing and the finger he assumed was the middle one was much thicker than normally.
Lord. What other deformities could she be hiding?
He peeked beyond the blanket only long enough to find any obvious exterior disfigurements. An ugly, bent foot, more missing digits, and an abundance of hair traveling from the back of the skull down the neck. Peter had to do a double take to be certain that there indeed was a vestigial tail attached to the spine. He then quickly wrapped her up again, not only to remove the sight from his eyes, but to keep her warm.

The baby coughed from the awkward formation of her mouth and the drinking of milk, but thankfully she cleared her throat rather quickly. Peter stared at her again as she continued to feed for another minute, eventually drifting into sleep.

He could not take it anymore. A healthy baby alone would have been given up for adoption. This kind of event would cause scandal, not to mention Peter hardly able to take care of himself most of the time without a baby complicating things. Someone else could take care of her far better. Someone else not ashamed of what they had done.
Although, who would want to adopt a baby that looked like this? The future he could currently see for the little one did not include a nice, sheltered upbringing with loving adoptive parents and lots of friends. What he saw instead consisted of various foster homes with uncaring, disinterested "caretakers", images of a little girl with a cleft lip and malformed hand standing alone on a schoolyard while her peers gathered in a ring around her, shouting and throwing things.
No, everything would not be alright. Why did fate have to be so cruel and let her be born into his world?
"I can't take care of you..." he whispered at the sleeping bundle. "I just can't... I can't even take care of myself, and Nathan would never approve..."
Tears rolled down his cheeks onto her blanket. "I'm sorry."
Finally, after wiping his eyes until he was convinced he no longer looked as though he had been weeping, he called his brother back in, who willingly took the infant away so that he could pass it on to Cusack.
Before once more entering the room where his little brother lay, Nathan hesitated, lost in thought. What the hell was he going to do with the infant now? He shook his head and took a deep breath before joining Peter once more. The younger man was now laying on his side, his expression drowsy. Inspired by his need to comfort his baby brother, as well as the relief and joy he felt in not losing him, he eased himself onto the bed with him and took the smaller body in his arms. Peter welcomed the warm body against him and it took his mind off of the slight pain.
"When do you suppose I can leave?"
"That's up to Cusack," Nathan replied. "But you almost died last night, Peter. I wouldn't be in too much of a hurry if I were you."
Peter sighed, realizing that his brother was right. Now that he thought about it, he was still far from well. Even the smallest movement sent stabs of pain to his nether regions, and last night's excessive blood loss, despite Nathan's generous donation, had taken its toll on him. Peter feared that if he tried to get up in his current state, he would probably faint. Cusack kept the young nurse continuously hooked to a saline infusion to keep his pressure up, and Peter had to be careful not to disrupt the infusion device or the peripheral line in his forearm.

"Can I touch your stomach?" Nathan suddenly asked, and his brother's large hand started moving discreetly toward Peter's middle.
Peter figured that Nathan was curious whether or not his belly had regained any of its normal, flat shape yet. He nodded hesitantly, and even though he trusted his brother to be gentle, every muscle in his body tensed at the thought of being touched where he hurt the most.
The following minute passed in silence, Nathan doing his slow, careful exploration of Peter's body shape. Suddenly the older man's hand jerked, and Peter felt a stinging pain in his penis.
"Jesus, Pete! She's put a catheter on you?!" Nathan exclaimed, hand still tugging on the tube.
"YES," his brother felt the need to exclaim, his tone mirroring the pain he felt. "So please let go."
"Okay." And in an instant, Nathan's hand was completely removed from Peter's body. "Did I hurt you badly?"
"No, I suppose not," Peter sighed. When his big brother's hand continued to hover above his skin, he took it in his own and placed it against his belly. The swelling had not yet gone down and Peter had a feeling he would still be wearing his maternity clothes for the next few months. Though he still felt self conscious about this, the touch of his brother's hand was a great comfort to him. Nathan must have been touched by the gesture, because he kissed the back of Peter's head.
"I'm so glad you're here, Pete," he said. "Even now I can't help but wonder if I'm dreaming and really just clinging to a dead body."
Peter wanted to turn over and look his brother straight in the eye, but to do so would have made him regret it. Instead he squeezed the large hand against his tummy.
"I kind of thought the same thing when I woke up. Like maybe I was just a ghost. But I'm here. This sort of pain is making it that obvious. I'm still alive."
The bed in Cusack's examination room was not very comfortable and certainly not big enough for two adults, but at the moment Nathan couldn't have cared any less. He was with Peter, and that was all that mattered. His brother was alive and doing well under the circumstances.
Suddenly the smatter of high heels against the floor could he heard, and the doctor entered, pushing a cart loaded with all kinds of instruments, of which Nathan only recognized a blood pressure manometer and tubes for blood testing. Her eyebrows shot up at the sight of the two of them in bed together, but she did not speak up about it.
Peter's face flushed in slight shame, well aware of what she thought about their relationship. "Nathan was just comforting me..." he murmured.
"So I see," Cusack replied, pulling on a pair of sterile gloves. Her voice was impassive, but only because she fought to keep it so. "I need to clean Peter's surgery wounds and take a few tests. So Mr. Petrelli, if you'll excuse me..."
Nathan's eyes had become dark, but not due to the doctor's intrusion. He was not even looking at her and instead seemed to be lost in thought.
"Yes... I need to get back..." he said under his breath. Good lord, he had left Heidi and had not been home since last night. "I need to get home. People will wonder what happened."
As he shuffled off of the cramped space of the bed, he could feel that Peter had not let go of his hand.
"God, I hate leaving you here," the lawyer said with regret.
"You're right though, Nathan," Peter replied. "You're a little too important to just disappear without notice. I'll be alright."
Nathan tightened his grip on his brother's hand, forcing a smile past his worry. "I'll visit every chance I get until we can get you out of here."
Kissing Peter's forehead, Nathan then regretfully left the room in order to go find his coat and leave. He was exiting the clinic, car keys already in hand, when it occurred to him that he did not have his car here. In yesterday evening's panic, he had left it in an alley somewhere on the way and flown Peter to the clinic.
Damn. Not that any car, even one as fine as his BMW, could compare with saving his brother's life, but still... People were going to wonder about it once they found out it was his. Supposedly he could report it stolen to cover things up.
Walking the long way back to wherever he had left it, he went over the details of said lie in his head. Hell, he had Lord knew how much money and all the secrets friend the likes of Jimmy Hoffa could envy.
When he finally made it to the alleyway, his car was gone, most likely towed, and so he flagged down a taxi and made his way to the nearest impound lot. He could have had someone else do it while he snuck away and went to the safety and comfort of his home, but frankly the mansion seemed like anything but safe and comfortable. Heidi would be waiting, if not wondering what the hell had happened to him, and she would have called up his mother too.
Shutting his eyes in defeat, he realized what would happen. Angela was smart and knew her boys too well. She would find out eventually what was going on.
*
Nathan took a cab back to his home, figuring it was no use going to work now, with more than two thirds of the workday over already. As he'd suspected, Heidi wheeled out to meet him before he'd even made it out of the lobby.
His wife's eyes were red and bloodshot, and it was not difficult to guess that she'd been crying fairly recently.
"Nathan," she said in a barely controlled voice. "I've been waiting up since midnight. Where were you? You leave late in the evening, you don't bring your cell phone, and no one answered at Peter's when I tried to call you."
"Heidi..." He rubbed his temples, hoping she'd get the hint and save the discussion for another time.
"Don't you dare ignore me now, Nathan!" Heidi almost screamed. "You weren't with Peter at all, were you? Be honest with me, for once in your life. At least show me the dignity and do not lie to me. Who is she?"
He knew the response to his statement, but he said it anyway. "There is no 'she'. There's no woman."
"Bullshit, I don't believe a word of it, Nathan. To think I've spent years with you and done all I can to be there for you and this is how you repay my heart and my loyalty?"
"I'm not with another woman!" Nathan yelled back.
"Then who is this?" she lifted up Nathan's cell phone, summoning the list of people on the caller ID.
"Who is this Roberta Cusack? You might as well come clean now before I shove this phone down your throat."
In all the commotion, Nathan finally had an idea: tell the truth. Or at least most of it.
"She's a fucking doctor!" he snapped at his wife. "Alright?? She's been looking after Peter."
Heidi's gaze wavered for a moment. "And why should I believe you?" she then retorted.
"Because I'm telling the truth. Seriously, Heidi; would I label someone I was having an affair with by their last name?"
"Alright, what kind of doctor is she?"
Nathan had the word "obstretician" on his tongue but stopped himself just in time. It wouldn't make any sense; why would Peter - in Heidi's world - need an obstretician?
"She's a surgeon," he said instead, knowing that he wasn't being entirely untruthful. Traumatology, which was Cusack's specialty, was indeed a subset of surgery.
Heidi was still not convinced. "Let me guess... she's in her late twenties and blonde, isn't she?"
Nathan's eyes narrowed irritably. "She's older than me. And I can't stand her but she's been taking care of Peter and staying in contact with me because of it."
Heidi looked away, anger still in her expression. "And I suppose that's why you just had to leave, because of something your precious brother did."
Nathan let the mockery slide, as he hardly felt like getting angry over her attempts to spite him.
"He almost died, in case you care to know. That's the reason no one answered at Peter's. We were at her clinic, trying to save his life."
"Call her," Heidi said.
"What?"
She threw the phone at him, and he caught it clumsily with one hand, not prepared for the assault. "You heard me, Nathan! Call your "doctor" and speak to her in front of me. I want to hear every word exchanged between you."
"Heidi, for heaven's sake...!" Nathan's large hands slowly balled into fists, almost crushing the small black cell phone trapped within them. "You can't be serious."
"If you want me to believe you, then yes."
Giving a heavy sigh, Nathan fought not to spit an insult back at her and opened his phone. At least it gave him the chance to see how his brother was doing.
"... Dr. Cusack's office," came a tired voice. God, did this woman get ANY sleep in her life?
"This is Nathan Petrelli," the lawyer replied, glancing in annoyance at his wife. "I just wanted to check on Peter."
"Oh, he's doing well, Mr. Petrelli. He's sleeping right now."
"Is he still in pain? He kept mentioning that."
"He was, but I've given him something and he went right to sleep. Did you wish to speak with him?"
"Well... if he's asleep, I don't want to wake him up. He's had a hell of a day." He continued to glance at Heidi, who regarded him with the trust of a weasel sharing space with a rat terrier.
"I'll come by later this evening to see him," Nathan added. "I promised Peter I'd visit him as often as I could."
"That's fine, Mr. Petrelli," Cusack replied, and he could hear her suppress a yawn on her end of the line. "I'll be here all night, as you know."
"Go get some rest yourself," he suggested, although it sounded more like a command. "I don't want to trust you with my brother's life if you're exhausted and unfocused."
"I can't right now. I have to pick up Hope from the baby sitter in two hours."
"You're leaving Peter alone?!"
"Only for a maximum of twenty minutes." The first spike of annoyance could be detected in Cusack's previously weary voice. "He'll be fine."
"Why can't you just have someone drop your kid off?" Nathan questioned, sounding more unfeeling than he would have cared to. Everyone's exhaustion was clearly getting to them and the only one getting any proper rest right now was Peter.
"And have her ask questions about why I'm still at my clinic at this hour?" she asked, perplexed at situation. "Any chance of risking exposure to your brother is not one I'd like to take."
"You have to understand that I'm incredibly concerned for by brother's well-being right now," the man argued, trying hard to stay calm. Losing his temper had already made things difficult enough with Heidi.
"When he's just gotten out of an operation that he nearly didn't survive, even five minutes is too long away from him."
"I'm sorry, but there's just me. Hope doesn't have anyone else," Cusack said with defiance to her voice that did not leave room for arguments. "Your brother is a grown man, and I've made sure he's out of danger for the time being. If you want someone to stay with him during that short time, you're going to have to do it yourself. I'm a telepath, not Multiple Woman."
Nathan gritted his teeth, his anger demanding that he insult her again. Why did it have to be that the person responsible for saving Peter's life had to be someone he absolutely couldn't stand?
"Fine, what time do you have to go?" he snapped, giving Heidi a sidelong glance to check if she was still suspicious of his relationship with Cusack. There was still a crease between her brows, but instead of angry, she now looked perplexed.
"At six."
"I'll be there." Closing his phone, he looked once more at his wife, who continued to appear confused.
"Happy now?" he asked nearly in a tone that demanded he be left alone.
"I'm not sure," she replied, and she observed his walk over to a chair where he took a seat.
His body seemed to crumple under its own weight. Sighing heavily, he took his face in his hands and rubbed at his tired eyes. He only did this when he was under to most dire stress, and Heidi finally approached him.
"So..." she started, "You�re really telling the truth...?"
He looked up at her with bloodshot eyes, brow wrinkled deeply. "Of course."
"Then what happened to him?"
"He's requested that I don't tell anybody," Nathan replied, figuring it was the best thing to say. If he tried to concoct a somewhat believable lie at a time like this, he would most certainly regret it later.
"I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you told me," Heidi insisted. "You can trust me, Nathan. Who would I tell?"
"All I can tell you is that it nearly killed him."
"He wasn't... assaulted, was he?"
"No. He had something... inside of him that needed to be removed."
Heidi inhaled sharply. "Oh my God... Peter has cancer?"
Nathan almost said yes. It would have been enough to end the conversation. The baby Peter had given birth to was like a cancer to the lawyer anyway. She had eaten away at his body and weakened him until she almost ended his life. But such an answer would have required visible proof, although from the way the younger man looked, he could have passed for a cancer patient. Were the operation not such a serious situation, Nathan could have found humor in the idea of shaving Peter's hair.
"We... we don't know yet. And either way, Dr. Cusack said everything is out of him and that he should recover from surgery. Truthfully, I didn't think he would."
A finely shaped hand touched his own, pale skin against tanned. The thought of the same comparison with his hand and Peter's caused Nathan to relive his moments of waiting to know if his brother was still alive.
"I'm sorry, Nathan."
"Yeah... I'm sorry too," Nathan said bitterly.
"No, I mean... I'm sorry I didn't trust you earlier," Heidi continued, visibly bothered. She was obviously ashamed of her earlier behaviour, which gave Nathan a small feeling of triumph.
"It's just that you've been gone so much lately, and I assumed... You've been with Peter every time, haven't you?"
"Of course. Just like I've told you," the lawyer said with a snort.
"I'm sorry. If I'd really known how ill he was..."
"Like I said, he doesn't want anyone to know. Not even Mom."
"Angela? But she's your mother. Doesn't she deserve to know if her son is seriously ill?"
"Promise me you won't tell her, Heidi," Nathan said with a sudden fervour. "I need you to promise."
His wife's expression read of a strange defiance, one of sympathy clashing with confusion."But..."
"If it were me, I would have told her a long time ago. But Peter's different." Nathan pushed several stray strands of hair out of his face before his continued. "Her way of helping is far too different with Peter's way, and you have to have noticed it in the past. If she got involved it would have upset him too much. For all I know whatever was inside him could have gotten worse. And I never want it to come back either. It's better this way."
Eyes falling down to view her lap, Heidi eventually nodded. Her hand remained on his the whole time they sat in their conversation.
"Will you be leaving at six?"
"I will."
"When will you be back?"
"I'm not sure yet. Depends on how Peter's doing. He needs me."
Heidi nodded sympathetically. "Yes, of course. I understand. He's lucky to have you, Nathan. You take such good care of him. You've been a good big brother."
Nathan couldn't help but give a sarcastic scoff. If only she knew the truth about his relationship with Peter...
//Yes, I've been an ideal big brother, surely. I've fucked him for years, and now because of some weird genetic trait I was also able to knock him up, which almost killed him. Despite all this, he loves me more than anything in the world, and I feel the same way about him.//
Nathan stood up, and Heidi's hand fell off his. "I'm going to go lie down for a while," he announced. "I need some time alone." And a Vicodin, most likely. This whole ordeal had given him a splitting headache.
TBC...
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Family Emergency