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Brother's Keeper	By : Bloodylocks Category: G through L > Heroes Views: 3679 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Heroes or the characters, and no financial gain is made from this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Brother's Keeper
- 2-Ch. 2
- 3-Ch. 3
- 4-Ch. 4
- 5-Ch. 5
- 6-Ch. 6
- 7-Chapter 7
- 8-Chapter 8
- 9-Chapter 9
- 10-Chapter 10
- 11-Chapter 11
- 12-Ch 12
- 13-Ch 13
- 14-Ch 14
- 15-Ch 15
- 16-Ch 16
- 17-Ch 17
- 18-Ch 18
- 19-Ch 19
- 20-Ch 20
- 21-Ch 21
- 22-Ch 22
- 23-Ch 23
- 24-Ch 24
- 25-Ch 25
- 26-Ch 26
- 27-Ch 27
- 28-Ch 28
- 29-Ch 29
- 30-Ch 30
- 31-Ch 31
- 22
- 23
- 24
Chapter 23
A month had passed and Nathan found that he and his brother were adjusting well to normal life once again. Of course Peter still healed slowly from his emotional wounds, but the lawyer had a feeling the recovery would have taken even longer had his little brother been under the care - or lack thereof - of their father. On occasion, Peter would actually act very much like his old self, but those moments were few and far in between, and yet they gave Nathan a bit of hope. Perhaps one day, sooner or later, his young brother could find himself feeling the same way he used to before their horrible abduction.
One morning, Peter awoke rather early, even earlier than Nathan regularly did. The sky outside was still dark, and Nathan was motionless as a rock. Carefully easing himself out of bed so as not to awake his brother, Peter walked out of the room, heading for the bathroom.
The bright bathroom lights hurt his eyes when he switched them on, but they were necessary since Nathan's bathroom had no window and also because it was still dark outside. Peter could not quite specify what had awoken him. It was not as though he had a pressuring need to urinate; when trying, he only managed to produce a faint jet of yellowish fluid.
The boy, now shivering, sat down on the toilet seat instead, suspecting that if not the need to pee had dragged him out of bed, it had to be the other way of relieving himself.
"Damn..." he muttered after two full minutes of pushing without results. Why did it feel weird down there when nothing was coming out? The discomfort he felt was almost as though something was there. The very thought was a little frightening. Peter's wandering mind came across the idea that something had come loose from his digestive system and was now blocking his anal passage. No, that couldn't be correct... it would not make sense...
Would it?
Breathing slowly in an attempt to calm himself, he wondered if perhaps his anus was swollen. Reaching behind him, he inspected the area and realized he had no idea what he was looking for by simple touch. Perhaps it was nothing, but he did not want to assume nothing if there really was something. Maybe he should ask Nathan.
The mere location of the problem was unsettling. Ever since the abduction, Peter had shied away from even touching the area if possible; Nathan still helped by cleaning his rump for him during showers, but despite his inhibitions, Peter had managed his visits to the toilet fairly well. Sometimes he was mildly constipated, and at one time there had been a small stain of blood on the toilet paper after he wiped himself, and expectedly, this had frightened him beyond words. Even Nathan's gentle reassurance that it was nothing dangerous and happened to everyone occasionally had not managed to calm him. Only time had eventually convinced the boy that his bowels were not prolapsing once more, and there had been no blood or even minor discomfort since then. Until now.
Peter returned to the bedroom and crawled into the bed he still shared with his big brother. Nathan, now on his back, was still soundly asleep, and Peter did not have the heart to wake him up. Instead he rested his head on a steadily rising and falling chest, hoping the problem would be gone in the morning so he didn't have to bother Nathan with it.
Peter fell asleep, but the next time he awoke, he glanced at the nearby clock and saw that he had only been asleep for a half hour. He had been roused from his sleep once more by the discomfort of his rear end, but this time the sensation was even greater, and now his anus was itching. Even trying to scratch it now made him feel even worse. Feeling frustrated, he looked at his brother's still face. He felt awful at the thought of waking Nathan, but he was growing more and more frightened by the minute.
Nathan was drawn out of dreamland when two hands insistently shook him. The state of the outside world revealed that it was not even close to his wake up time, and a moment of irritation caused him to swat at the hands shaking him.
Peter. Of course.
"Pete...? What in the name of...?" the lawyer grunted, blinking imagined grit from his eyes. The sparse illumination at first hid the agitated state of his brother.
"Nathan..." Peter's voice finally revealed the boy's emotional condition. "I have this weird feeling... and it won't go away..."
Still slightly unhappy at being awoken so early, he assumed Peter was plagued by another erection. Clearing his throat, he reasoned that such could not be the case, based on the panic in the voice alone.
"What's up, bud?" he asked, sitting up.
"I woke up earlier and I thought I had to... well... Number Two. But nothing happened. But then it didn't really feel like that anymore. I just felt uncomfortable."
"You sure it's not constipation?" Nathan asked, with no idea as to what was bothering his younger brother.
"Uh huh. And just now I woke up again and it feels itchy. I don't know what it is, but it's still itching no matter what."
Yawning, Nathan pulled his covers aside and edged off of the mattress. "Okay, let's have a better look."
The room was overflowing with light in an instant when Nathan turned on the ceiling lights. The abrupt shift made the lawyer see white spots, but he needed it in order to see properly. Though almost certain that Peter was exaggerating his plight - the kid did that a lot nowadays - he still had to be on the safe side. He owed his brother that much.
"Okay, buddy, shall I take a look at your rump?"
"It feels really bad..." Peter murmured as he slowly assumed a position with his face against the mattress and posterior up high and jutting out for better access.
Nathan almost felt like a pervert for what he was about to do. "Okay..." he said, and he knew the uncertainty in his voice rang clear as a bell. "Here we go..."
Though he did not admit it to his brother, Nathan was unsure of what to look for. Obviously he did not look at anuses that often, so for all he knew, he was looking at a perfectly healthy one. Peter's certainly looked red, but this could have merely been from the boy scratching at it.
Peter winced when he felt hands on his backside. Being in this position made him feel vulnerable enough, even without thinking about how similar it felt to moments unwillingly shared with the horrible men from the woods.
"I should have told you ahead of time. Sorry," Nathan apologized. "Just getting a closer look here, but so far I don't see anything too out of the ordinary..."
"You don't?" Peter asked, and judging by his voice, he was surprised.
"No, not that I can tell. It looks perfectly fine, buddy."
"Isn't it swollen?" the boy persisted. "It feels swollen, like I have a balloon down there."
"No, Peter, it looks normal. You have to believe what I'm telling you, okay?"
"What else? Is it red?"
"A little, but you've been scratching it, haven't you?"
There was a pause before Peter's answer, and Nathan could tell his brother was sulking.
"So what? I'm sure it was red already before I did that."
The lawyer delivered a half playful, half annoyed smack to the buttocks before him. "Everything's fine, you little hypochondriac. It's probably something in your head that makes it itch. If it's still bothering you tomorrow morning, you can have some of my Preparation H."
"Okay," Peter responded, dragging out the end of his answer as though in a half-hearted attempt to whine.
"I promise, buddy," Nathan insisted, "if it still bothers you, I'll be more than willing to help? Just like with your foot, remember?"
"Yeah..." the younger man said, smiling a little. Nathan grinned back and glanced for a second at the sole of his brother's foot. Thankfully the wound had healed marvelously, and now only a flushed mark remained, which would likely fade over time as well. Giving a playful smirk, Nathan sat down and tickled the back of his little brother's knee, causing a giggle from Peter, who collapsed onto his side.
"Now come on," Nathan said, hopping off the bed and turning out the ceiling light. "Let's try to get a few more hours of sleep in."
Peter was not sure if he would be able to go back to sleep, but he agreed anyway, hoping his brother was right about there being nothing wrong with his rump. Nathan was usually right, wasn't he? Comforted by the thought, Peter allowed his body to relax with Nathan beside him, close enough to reach out and touch in case he felt like it.
The older man was asleep within minutes; his steady, monotonous breathing always gave him away. Peter, however, spent the remaining hours of the night drifting in and out of a restless slumber; his mind demanding sleep and his body refusing to comply. When he finally woke up by eight o'clock and found Nathan already out of bed, he was immediately disheartened by the fact that the itch and burn in his nether regions was still very much present.
Minutes later he heard the chime of the toaster releasing newly toasted bread, so he decided to go to the kitchen and see what was for breakfast. Mindful of what his mother had said over a month ago, Peter quickly put on some clothes - a typical t-shirt and set of blue jeans - and left the bedroom.
Closing the door behind him, Peter felt an urge that was not hunger. In fact he did not have much of an appetite at all. Instead he needed to empty his bladder before he would be sitting down at the table.
"Morning, Peter," he heard from the kitchen. "You want some breakfast?"
"I'm just gonna use the toilet," the boy called back, and he proceeded to the bathroom with the intent of not only urinating, but inspecting the area which still caused him discomfort.
He was actually fearful of what he might find. For all he knew, the area was full of blisters, sores, or some other kind of nastiness. Once he had emptied his bladder - at least urinating still went smoothly - and was ready to examine himself, Peter faced a problem. There was no way he could take a look at his anal opening without risking permanent distortion of his spine and limbs. The only mirror in his big brother's bathroom was firmly attached to the bathroom cabinet, and in order to study that particular part of his anatomy in it, he would have needed a bar stool.
"Peter?" Nathan's voice called, and the boy realized he had been inside the bathroom long enough to arouse suspicion in his brother.
"I'll be right out..." Peter muttered, pulling up his pants and buttoning them. He had to tell Nathan. His big brother would know what to do.
The kitchen table was set for two and buttered toast was on both plates. Peter's plate was recognizable from the bits of dry parsley peppered onto his toast. It would probably be cold before he touched it if the boy wanted to give Nathan the news.
"What's the matter, bud?" the older man asked, from Peter's solemn face alone, the lawyer could tell something was wrong.
"I still feel... weird back there."
"That bad, huh?" Nathan replied.
"Yeah..." Peter answered, never looking at his brother's face. "It still feels swollen and stuff. What if there's something really wrong back there?"
"I'm sure that's not the case," Nathan automatically reassured his little brother. The two Petrellis had not experienced much in the way of panic attacks or dramatic situations within the month since the sleepwalking incident, and Nathan was hoping this would not become the hitch in their steady progress. "Go back into the bathroom and we'll take a closer look."
Once Nathan entered the bathroom, Peter was already leaning against the bathtub with his pants around his ankles, and Nathan was overwhelmed by how deeply his brother trusted him. Still wary of men he didn't know, the lawyer knew that Peter would object vehemently to any other man closely examining his intimate parts. Nathan, however, did not intimidate him in the slightest.
"What does it feel like now? Any change since last night?" Nathan inquired while kneeling behind the boy to inspect the end of his GI tract.
"No change..." Peter murmured. "Feels pretty much the same."
"Uh huh... I see..." Though he pretty much knew every inch of his little brother's body by now, Nathan sometimes still marveled over Peter's soft, smooth skin, especially in the pubic area, where most other men had a jungle of hair. The dark pink ring of his anus - the doctors had really done a fantastic job fixing it up after the abuse - looked just as it had last night.
"It looks fine, little guy. Nothing seems to be amiss."
"Are you really sure?" Peter asked, his voice small.
"Pete, I'm not a doctor, but"--
"Then maybe we should go see a doctor."
"As I was saying..." Nathan continued desperate to keep his patience, "I'm not a doctor but I think your rear end is doing just fine. I think it might just be your nerves affecting you."
Nathan was telling the truth. He did not see anything that would have signaled any sort of warning bell in his mind, and his little brother was partial to overreacting as of late, due to his newfound childlike ways. For all he knew, this was another example of that behavior.
"You think so?" Peter inquired, sounding skeptical.
"Yes, I truly do. I think it's all in your head. We just have to get your mind off of it."
"Okay... I guess I believe you..." Peter responded, pulling up his pants and standing up with his brother though he still stared at the floor. "My toast is probably cold now..."
"If it is, then that's okay," Nathan replied, ruffling his brother's hair. "We'll make some more."
*
Peter expected the unpleasant itch and burn in his rectum to go away, just like Nathan said it would. Nathan had to know what he was talking about, or at least that was what Peter tried to convince himself. Throughout the day, he tried to ignore the itch, focus on other, positive things, but it persistently remained, like a stubborn wasp, drawn to a source of sugar.
Despite knowing that scratching a place that itched was never a good thing to do, Peter could occasionally not resist and reached into his pants to alleviate the discomfort for the time being. It helped, but only for a few minutes at a time, and when the itch returned, it came back stronger and even more unbearable than before.
Later the same evening, while Peter was in the bathroom, getting ready for bed and Nathan patiently waiting outside for his turn, the boy found blood on his fingers after scratching this time. A cold, paralyzing fear gripped his entire body, and for a moment he found it difficult to breathe. It was definitely time to tell Nathan about this.
Hearing his name cried out so desperately caused Nathan to bolt up from his seat on a chair and cross the very short distance across the hall, yanking the door open. There only two feet away was Peter, sitting hunched over on the toilet, bright red staining his hands. His eyes were glassy from terror.
"It's bleeding, Nathan!" he cried out. "I'M bleeding!"
Without so much as a second thought, he was on his knees and taking his little brother's face in his hands. "Baby?" he addressed the younger man. "Calm down and tell me: where are you bleeding?"
Peter was gasping for air in a way that was reminiscent of his panic attacks, which he had not experienced for a very long time. With large, warm, comforting hands against his skin, the boy tried to calm himself, but his thoughts on the blood made the process difficult.
"Where, Peter?" Nathan repeated. "Talk to me."
"Down there," Peter finally answered in a shaking voice. "I'm bleeding where it itches."
The boy's hands, now with smears of blood staining them, were shaking uncontrollably. Nathan was slightly apprehensive that Peter would grab at him with those hands and thus smear the blood all over his sweater, but that thankfully did not happen. Peter kept his unsteady hands tightly balled and pressed against his chest. There were, however, red stains on his own T-shirt.
"Buddy," Nathan said, trying to catch his brother's attention. "Did you empty your bowels?"
A small headshake was all he received in reply.
"You must have done something to get the blood on your hands. How did you notice you were bleeding?"
"It's itching, okay!" Peter snapped, fear and frustration resulting in a brief outburst of aggression. "It's itching all the time!"
Closing his eyes so that his brother would not see an eye-roll, Nathan's jaw tightened for a moment as he considered counting to ten before answering. "Peter. I told you that it would be better to ignore it."
"But it itches way too much!" Peter argued, frustrated and still on the verge of total panic. "I can't ignore it, it's too much to handle!"
"Don't you think that maybe it's bleeding because you've scratched it so much?"
If Peter had noticed any sort of sharpness in his brother's tone - and Nathan doubted that - he would have ignored it.
"I told you, it's something bad! First it's swelling, then it itches and now this!"
"You've taken a harmless little itch and turned it into something big," Nathan stated. "Everyone gets anal itch every once in a while. It's totally harmless and will go away on its own if left alone. For God's sake, your bowels are not going fall out!"
"Fine, then don't believe me!" Peter spat out and balled his fists again, though in anger this time. His normally creamy pale face was turning a deep shade of pink. "Maybe you will when my intestines rot from the inside out and I die!"
"Enough of this." Nathan got back up to his feet from his kneeling position and threw an aggravated glance on his little brother still sitting on the toilet. "There's some Preparation H in the bathroom cabinet. It should take the itch away."
He took one step toward the door when Peter called out his name.
"Wait! Aren't you gonna help me with it?"
Nathan failed to suppress a contemptuous snort. "If you're well enough to scratch your ass, you're also fit to put salve in it."
Though he did not slam the door, Nathan shut it with enough force that Peter flinched at the sound. Now he had done it. He had made Nathan angry.
Glancing down at his hands, he could not tear his gaze away from the offensive red. The blood was drying now and the color was fading, but the stains were of blood all the same. Reaching behind for the toilet paper, he wiped himself, wincing at the uncomfortable sensation of both the itch and the presumably broken skin, and flushed the contents of the toilet.
Washing his hands, Peter could have sworn that his skin was still stained in dull reds. If Nathan had been present, the boy was sure that he would not still feel dirty. But Nathan was not going to help him now. Sighing in a depressed manner, he opened the cabinet and found the tube of salve he was looking for.
Approximately an hour later, when Peter was already tucked underneath the covers of his big brother's bed, surrounded by darkness, the bedroom door slowly opened and Nathan entered, his footsteps light and careful so as not to wake Peter.
So Nathan thought he was asleep. Just as well. Peter did his best to mimic the breathing of a sleeping person, but he was not sure how convincing he was. His big brother knew him from the inside and out, after all. He did not turn around to watch Nathan undress - something he usually enjoyed to do, although furtively - and he tried hard not to react when the older man got into bed, causing a slight vibration in the mattress. A minute and a half passed, and the two brothers lay in silence.
Finally Nathan spoke up, the oppressing silence making him feel heavy at heart. "Pete?" he said. "I know you're awake. You don't have to try to feign sleep."
A while passed before a response came. A sniffle preceded it. "Are you mad at me, Nathan?"
He heard a heavy sigh and wondered if that meant that his brother was mad at him after all. However, Nathan turned over and faced Peter, his face close enough to be visible in the dark. "Pete... I'm not mad. I just got a little annoyed today."
Shame marking his features, Peter avoided the older man's gaze. "I'm sorry I annoyed you."
"Oh, sweetheart," Nathan responded, instinctively smiling at his brother's need to apologize. "I was impatient today. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. That was wrong." He pulled Peter into a hug, and though the younger man was initially stiff in response, he relaxed against the hold.
"So... you're really not mad?"
"I'm really not mad."
After a few silent minutes of being held in the bed, Peter spoke once more. "I put the cream on by myself."
"That's very good, sweetie. Hopefully it will take the itch away."
"Nathan, I'm scared."
"Why, Pete?"
"I... I don't know... I'm not feeling well..."
"It'll get better, buddy," Nathan said reassuringly, stroking the boy's back with a soothing, warm hand. He also couldn't help but notice that he could feel his brother's ribs through the skin. He swallowed. "I promise it'll get better."
*
Two days passed but Peter's condition did not get better as his brother claimed. In fact he felt as though his symptoms were getting worse. The burning had become strong enough that scratching would exacerbate it, although at least this gave Peter the incentive not to scratch.
Afraid of what sort of reaction he might receive for his troubles, Peter felt it best to be discreet around Nathan. Anytime he was asked of his condition, the boy only shrugged and said it itched when he thought about it. The statement easily kept Nathan confident that his theory was correct, while at the same time the words were proof. Peter only neglected to mentioned he thought about the itch all of the time.
At nights Peter would sneak out of bed with the utmost care in order to go to the bathroom and apply more cream. The bleeding had stopped since he gave up scratching, but the itch was now becoming painful.
Nathan had told him that Preparation H would help, and thus it was the product he put his faith in. Only he had been using it for five days, and the itch had gotten worse, not better. Yet Peter continued to apply it, hoping that he would wake up feeling better the next morning. Every time he reached inside with his fingers, he was wary at what he might find. Despite his big brother's promises that everything was fine and that his rectum was not going to prolapse, Peter was frightened. Something was definitely not right, no matter what Nathan said. What could he do to get his brother to take him seriously?
This particular evening, a Thursday, Peter applied a more generous amount of the ointment, vainly hoping that he simply hadn't used enough until now. He was washing his hands in the sink when there was a knock on the bathroom door and Nathan's voice asked how much longer he was going to stay in there.
"I'll be right out," Peter replied, wiped his hands dry, and moved to exit the bathroom.
"We�ve got an early morning with the therapist tomorrow," Nathan announced as his brother opened the door. "Are you alright?"
The look on Peter's face said it all, and the boy knew it. He certainly did not feel like hiding it anymore either. "No," he admitted. "I don't feel good at all."
"It's that problem downstairs, isn't it?" Nathan inquired, eyebrow raised. His brother nodded and he rolled his eyes. "Have you been using the cream I gave you?"
"Yeah... I dunno if I'm not putting enough on or if it's just not working. But I'm really worried about it."
"Of course you are," Nathan said immediately, his tone someone tired. "You've been worrying about it ever since you scratched it too hard."
"I didn't scratch too hard," Peter insisted. "It just happened. I'm trying not to scratch, but it itches so much! And now it hurts!"
"Try not to think about it, and it will be fine," Nathan said, ruffling his brother's hair. Truth was he had no idea what could be causing the boy's discomfort. Hemorrhoids? None were visible, so that option could be ruled out. A yeast infection? Only women got those, Nathan reasoned. Women who were stressed out and wore pants too tight.
The only explanation that made sense was that the problem his brother had was psychological. Who knew what Peter's fragile psyche could conjure up?
"You tired, buddy?" Nathan put his hand on one small, sloping shoulder.
Peter nodded. He was always tired, because the itch and burn downstairs prevented him from getting a good night's sleep. This, however, he failed to mention to his brother.
"You go to bed, Pete, and I'll be right with you. I'll just brush my teeth first."
Sighing, Peter let Nathan go about his business, and he undressed and settled underneath the blankets. The discomfort of what was happening to him was only worsened by the effect such a thing had on him mentally. Was he really so irrational that he could not even allow himself to stay healthy? Normally such discomfort, even physically, could be lessened a little if Nathan was there to hold and soothe his worries. But Nathan didn't believe his condition.
Nathan came back minutes later, changed into his night clothes, and joined his little brother under the covers. Peter of course curled up against him, but he remained silent otherwise about how he felt.
"Good night sweetie," Nathan whispered with a kiss to his brother's crown.
"Good night," the boy replied, his expression hidden from the older man. Thankfully, all of the nights of lost sleep finally caught up with him, and his exhaustion allowed him to pass into troubled slumber.

TBC...
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Brother's Keeper