49.

Fashionably (extremely) late, but I have arrived.

~~~~~~

Austin's eyes were closed but he was not asleep. No, he was praying to whoever happened to be listening to give him strength to get through these next several hours. Surely the family was due for their come-to-Jesus moment any time now.

That would be helpful.

His head was leaning against the backrest of the chair Glen was sitting on. His right hand mindlessly rubbed his kid's left shoulder, reminding Smiley that he was safe at home.

Thankfully, all the excitement had quickly died down in the family room as soon as Hayes ran out of the house, Baker hot on her tail. That left Austin to focus on Glen for the time being, knowing Hayes was in safe hands.

Colton briskly returned from the kitchen with a bag of ice wrapped in a kitchen towel to be applied to Glen's face along with some more unused tissues. He then picked up Francis' phone from the coffee table, switching from facetime to a normal private phone call to put Emerson's mind at rest. Colton slipped outside into the backyard, leaving Glen in the overbearing hands of Austin and Dakota to recover in a calming silence.

It took a couple minutes after that until Glen was no longer looking like he was going to pass out from the sight of his own blood nor was he mumbling frantic apologies without taking a breath.

Glen could finally breathe somewhat functionally again.

With that, the boy slowly began to loosen up as he recognized his surroundings. His posture became less on the defensive side and more towards recovery from the surprise attack. It took a good five more minutes before Austin convinced Glen to allow him to check his injured left side.

Another scar, another piece of his story.

Austin exhaled, releasing Glen's shirt so it dropped back down after determining there was nothing to do for the tender spot. He pressed a kiss to the crown of his head, letting the questions go unasked.

Glen could share on his own terms.

The eldest brother didn't leave his side for even a second throughout all of this, remaining kneeling on the carpet right beside him. A comforting presence as they got consumed in their own thoughts.

Even Dakota, who had enough anger to throw arms but no one to attack, slouched moodily on the couch. The stress ball in his hand must be indestructible at this point. Deceivingly quiet, his mind was whirling as he scrutinized Glen's fraught reaction.

After a total of 20 minutes passed, Glen shifted in his seat, coming alive again.

"I think it stopped," he mumbled, his bleary eyes looking upward from where they were locked on the corner of the coffee table.

"Here, let me see," Austin replied, blinking his eyes several times until his vision unblurred. He straightened up his posture, gently easing Glen's hand away from his nose and plucking the ice pack and bloody tissues out of his grasp. Austin chucked the stuff onto the coffee table before turning back to Glen. His right hand gripped Glen's chin, lifting the kid's head up to get a better look. "I think so too," Austin finally murmured, dropping his hand. "I don't think it is broken. After we wash the blood off, you'll put the ice back on again for another 20 minutes, yes?"

"Okay," Glen easily agreed. Now that the adrenaline has worn off, he was left feeling exhausted.

Austin crossed his forearms, resting them on his right knee and took this next second to just look at his little brother. A faint blush crept over Glen's cheeks in embarrassment when he met his blue eyes.

The edges of Austin's lips twitched upward in mild amusement. "What'cha thinking there, Smiley?"

Glen's gaze flicked to Dakota whom remained dauntingly silent as he watched his younger brother, the red, heart-shaped stress ball being squeezed to death in his hand.

The kid shrugged, caught in a staring contest that he didn't want to partake in.

Dakota narrowed his eyebrows. Something wasn't sitting right in his head about Glen's response to the punch and Dakota didn't let things rest until he got his answers.

Sounds remarkably like a little girl they all love.

Glen finally averted his eyes from Dakota's pensive stare, going back to playing with his fingers on his lap before gingerly touching around his nose. He winced, more so from the aftershock than pain. He was used to the pain. Glen was no stranger to bloody noses, though it had been a while. Some may dare say he was out of practice.

Out of practice from taking a hit to the face... What a horrific thing to even think about.

Hayes' attack had caught him off guard more than anything, sending shock waves through his mind as snippets of his childhood flashed before his eyes.

He never imagined the next time it happened would be at the hands of his partner-in-crime.

"How many times?"

Glen snapped his head up in confusion. Did Dakota read his mind? "Huh?"

"Dakota, drop it," Austin warned in effort to ward off his brother's bluntness.

Dakota decidedly ignored Austin, tossing the stress ball between his hands. Behind his ice cold, blue eyes, the brother was brimming with intelligence that didn't miss a beat. "That wasn't the first time you've been popped in the face."

It wasn't phrased as a question, but the statement still gave Glen that uncomfortable feeling like he had to answer.

He really didn't want to.

Glen anxiously cracked one of his knuckles, buying himself some time.

Dakota nodded as he tossed the stress ball carelessly onto the couch beside him, smacking his thighs before standing up. He got his answer and now he had a whole lot of anger to go work out in the garage. RIP to the punching bag.

"I'm sorry, Glen," Austin apologized for the numberless time, shifting the attention from the gruff nature of Dakota. The guilt he was feeling was immense. He ran his fingers through Glen's messy blonde hair until he cupped the back of his neck. "Francis took me by surprise. But I should have seen that coming from Hayes and stopped it before she even had a chance to strike."

"Not your fault. I deserve it." Glen mumbled, scratching his arm. He whispered to himself still very much in disbelief, "I can't believe I yelled at her."

Austin squeezed the back of his neck, a silent disagreement at who was at fault.

Still hanging around in the room, Dakota chuckled humorlessly. "Dude, you're like the last person who deserves to be punched in the fucking face."

"No one deserves to be punched, end of story," Austin made sure to correct, making Dakota roll his eyes.

"Whatever, Mr. Goody-two-shoes."

The PG comment sounded so uncharacteristic coming from Dakota that Glen accidentally snorted like a child, which made him wince from a ping of pain, as he heard the sound of his eldest brother chuckling even if the insult was aimed at himself.

Dakota smirked.

The boy sheepishly swiped a hand through his hair and glanced around the room, taking note of all his siblings that were absent. His eyes fell to the stained carpet, where small droplets tarnished the rest of it.

Glen was stuck staring, though unseeing, as the prior events started rewinding in his head. He made a list in his head on what he had to do. First, he had to clean up the bloody mess he made before he got in trouble. But even more important than that, he had to find his sister to make sure she was safe and out of harms way. Then he'd beg for her forgiveness.

A body stepped into his line of sight, the unexpectant presence making Glen recoil back into the chair.  Dakota had acted with super sonic speed and snatched the kitchen towel rag off the coffee table, using it to cover the stain. When he turned back around, he saw mixed emotions flit across Glen's face, but were too fast for anyone to decipher except the final one, confusion.

Confusion as to why Dakota wasn't punishing him, but instead, helping him.

"Forget about it," Dakota grunted, referring to the carpet.

He seemed to be waiting for an acknowledgement from Glen, his gaze darkening until Glen meekly whispered in submission, "okay."

Dakota nodded stiffly, before storming out of the family room without an explanation for his sudden departure.

Glen felt his body relax again without Dakota breathing down his neck, subconsciously rubbing his forehead with the palm of his hand, as he began to feel the start of a headache. So much had happened in a span of minutes, maximum stress inducing.

As he tried to ease the throbbing pain, his ears picked up on a thumping noise coming from the outside. Along with it, was the sound of Chubba barking somewhere.

"What's that noise?" Glen asked curiously, looking up to Austin for the answer.

Austin had stood up properly now, his knees stiff from not moving for so long. "Oh that? Fran's probably throwing a tennis ball against the house even though I've told him a thousand times not to."

Glen's eyes widened. "But the windows?"

Austin shook his head and pointed to the windowless wall with the fireplace behind him. "No windows to worry about here. Don't worry, he learned that lesson a long time ago."

Glen felt his heart skip a beat just at the thought. The Bear would have busted his ass every color of the rainbow if he ever broke a window.

The Bear didn't give lessons, he gave consequences.

The heart palpitations stopped at the sound of Dakota's loud, barking laugh as he returned to the family room. "You do know he was covering for Emerson, right?" He gave no fucks about possibly ratting out his brothers.

"No, really?" Austin deadpanned, glancing at Dakota in the doorway. "Who would have thought that those two wouldn't be doing something stupid together."

"Dumb and fucking dumber," Dakota shook his head, walking back over to Austin and Glen. In his hands were damp paper towels, which he roughly shoved at Austin's chest.

Austin raised his eyebrows, impressed by Dakota's courtesy. He took the paper towels off of him and turned back to Glen. Nudging the boy's chin up, Austin did his best to wipe the dried blood off his face without hurting him too badly. His nose was definitely a tad swollen.

"Ow," Glen winced.

"Sorry. Almost done." Austin was extra delicate on the last bit before he stepped back. "Good as new," Austin remarked. "You're just going to have to take it easy for a day or so."

Glen sniffed and then wrinkled his nose, testing it out some more. Still very much tender, but do-able.

"Stop fretting, you're still pretty," Dakota snickered at Glen's glare. "So, who taught Hayes how to throw a punch like that?" Dakota asked casually over his shoulder, as he strolled to the back door to snoop out the window. It was getting dark outside relatively quickly, so he flipped the light switches on for Colton's and Francis' sake, sneakily locking the back door too, before returning to where he was previously standing next to Austin.

Only to have to turn back around and unlock the door, as Austin gave him a disapproving frown.

Damn, Austin just always had to ruin his fun, fucking buzz kill.

Anyways, Dakota's question was an observation that had been burning in the back of his mind since the babies returned, but it had never crossed his mind to ask until now. Honestly, he thought it was just a fluke, when she would punch their arms out of annoyance, but tonight showed him otherwise. Her throws may have been sloppy and chaotic in the moment, but her form was legit.

She knew what she was doing, physically.

Mentally, well they had some work to do on her emotional impulsivity.

But that's what made her human.

What it came down to though was either Glen was talented at hiding how much he was truly hurting or, the other option which made Dakota grit his teeth, Glen's pain tolerance was through the roof.

"Is Hayes in trouble?" Glen turned around from watching Dakota and peered up at Austin, reminding the eldest brother so much of the 7-year-old cherub that Austin forever remembered him as. So innocent back then, still untainted by the horrors of the world, who's only mission in life was to be just like his older brothers.

Austin smiled sadly, his hand reaching out and brushing Glen's messy hair back off of his face.

Before Austin could open his mouth, Glen word-vomited, "You know it wasn't her fault. She- she was taken by surprise, that's all, like you said. Francis just put it out there all of a sudden. It was my own fault. I'll take her punishment. I know you said I didn't deserve it, but I do.  She's probably so mad at me. She knows I didn't tell her now and she blames me. She should, blame me I mean. She thinks it was my fault. She trusted me and I didn't do anything. Maybe I should have. I just made everything worse. I fricking threw everything back in her face. I know she's sensitive about the Bear, and I don't get why she keeps protecting him. I just needed her to understand. Do you think she'll ever forgive me? Hell, I need to go talk to her." Glen tried to get up but Austin immediately pushed his shoulder back down.

"Smiley, listen to me," Austin requested, not missing a beat with backhanding Dakota's shoulder to shut him up when he rudely snickered at Glen's rant.

Glen took a sharp inhale before breathing out slowly. "You can't blame her. She didn't know grandpa died." Glen shook his head, correcting himself, distancing himself. "The Bear- she didn't know the Bear died."

"Hayes is not in trouble," Austin assured him, watching Glen's shoulders drop in relief.

"But do you think she will forgive me? Or did I just mess it all up again?" Glen solemnly repeated. He nervously wrung his hands together, awaiting Austin's answer.

Austin glanced at Dakota who stared right back at him. They both knew Dakota was spot on in recognizing Hayes' frantic need to escape because it was only so many years ago that Austin was dealing with his mental breakdown.

Austin turned his head back to Glen as he riskily sat his butt on the edge of the coffee table to be at eye level with the boy. "I don't think forgiving you is the problem here," Austin gently explained in his calming manner.

"What do you mean?" Confusion was painted on the kid's face as he frowned.

"I think she needs to figure out how to forgive herself."

"Well, how do I help her do that?" Eagerness shined in Glen's eyes, ready to get to work that very instant.

"We gotta give her time, Buddy."

"Time," Glen nodded, testing the word. "I can do that. Yeah, sure." He blinked and tilted his head to the side. "How much time are we talking exactly?"

He wanted his bestest best friend back, pronto.

Austin didn't have an answer.

————

Baker counted himself lucky that they didn't have that ice cream he promised the girl, because after the fifth mile, it would have been making a reappearance. He was certainly not out of shape as extreme fitness was part of his everyday life, but he just wasn't prepared for such a "leisurely stroll" around town.

The latter part was a joke.

What he meant by "leisurely stroll" was that Hayes was running herself to the ground and Baker was right there keeping an eye on her. Not even the blistering cold weather was about to slow Hayes down and by this point, Baker had even begun to start to sweat.

It was approaching half past 10 at night when Hayes slowed to a fast walking pace. Baker recognized the area immediately as they had ended up at the neighborhood park. Hayes knew the place like the back of her hand, she had ran it so many mornings with Austin.

Hayes moved quickly, climbing through the white fence with no hesitation, completely ignoring the Park Closed at Dusk sign.

It was merely a suggestion anyways.

Baker chuckled quietly to himself as he followed her, once on the other side, he briefly slipped his phone out of his pocket to check for any messages from Austin before tucking it back away.

He took the lack of texts and calls as a good indication that things at home were manageable.

Hopefully.

Baker honestly wasn't too concerned on Glen's account because the kid had proven time and time again his resilience when tough times occurred, but Francis made him worried all over again. He didn't think any of them realized the true extent of how hurt Francis had been feeling lately until it blew up in their faces, literally. The fact that he knew about the Bear but was waiting, trusting for his older brothers to tell him, that made him feel sick to his stomach.

Baker knew they dropped the ball on that one.

And then there was little Miss Sunshine.

She just always seemed to take them by surprise at every turn.

Baker stopped at the edge of the sidewalk, watching as Hayes continued on trampling down the grassy slope towards the lake. She paused about several feet back from the water, still as a statue with her hands by her sides. The breeze was whipping around her large sweatshirt and sweatpants but she paid no mind to it.

Baker crossed his arms, curious but not daring to disturb her. They hadn't shared many words thus far, other than "there's a car coming, hold on" when Hayes forgot twice to check both ways before running across the street.

He was aware that the secret to getting Hayes to speak her mind was playing the waiting game. So that's what Baker continued to do, wait and wait some more while the little girl was beating herself up on the inside.

The SWAT life prepared him for this moment, all that hanging around with the guys until the order came to infiltrate.

If Baker jumped in too soon, his sister's flighty nature would kick in. Either that, or she wouldn't  listen to a word he said.

After three minutes or so of just standing there lost to her thoughts, Hayes broke free from her mold and stooped down, gathering some of the rocks into her hands. After watching her chuck the fifth rock into the water, Baker felt comfortable enough to be able to take a breather and sat on the empty wooden bench that was right next to him.

Though he kept his eyes on her like a hawk, ready to jump up after her if at any moment she decided to take off sprinting.

🎶she's a runner, she's a track star🎶

Baker thought about suggesting the cross country team for her to join after this adventure, but he didn't think the girl would appreciate his humor very much.

Unbeknownst to him, luck turned in his favor as Hayes was done with running for the evening. Periodically, she checked over her left shoulder to make sure Baker hadn't left her, abandoned her, before facing forward again and watching the ripples dance across the water.

Baker was giving her the space she needed to clear her mind but was close enough to make her feel protected, comforted, and most importantly, never alone.

Time continued to pass on by, spent with Hayes cycling between pacing along the lake edge, throwing rocks into said lake, and sitting on the cold grass.

Like now for instance, Hayes was sitting on her butt, her knees bent and her heels tucked close to her bottom. Her sweatpants material prevented the cold from seeping uncomfortably into her skin. Her arms were wrapped protectively around herself in a hug. She had her chin resting atop her knees with the hood of the sweatshirt falling backwards off her head. The occasional breeze wisped her messy ponytail around.

The dim lighting of the night sky prevented Baker from getting a good angle of her face, hiding her previously flushed cheeks that were now slowly paling from the chilly air.

The temperature had dropped significantly more since the sun had fully disappeared for the night with no plans of returning until dawn.

Since an hour surely had gone since the siblings had stopped actively moving, Baker was no longer sweating. He instead had to quickly adapt to the wintry feel in the air with only a sweatshirt to keep him warm, which was no problem. But mixed with exhaustion, even he was beginning to reach his limits of being outside.

Alas, sacrifices existed for a reason and in this case, that sacrifice was warmth.

He rubbed his hands together, trying to warm them up a bit as he yawned. Although the little girl hadn't succumbed to sharing her thoughts yet, Baker was thinking it was time to go. His phone had sadly died a little while ago and they still had to walk the miles back home.

Before he could put his thoughts into action, footsteps pounded from behind him, putting Baker on alert. He turned around on the bench, his arm coming to rest on the top plank, squinting into the darkness to see who was approaching. He had an idea based on the sound of their footfall, his sight confirming it seconds later.

"Hey," Colton's wearied voice reached Baker's ears, the brother walking up to him. Colton was dressed similarly to Hayes in a pair of cozy-looking black sweatpants and a navy blue sweatshirt.

Baker sorely wished he had a pair of sweatpants of his own right about now.

"Hey, Cole," Baker greeted, his voice plagued by fatigue just the same, his eyes darting back to where Hayes was huddled up.

Colton looped around the bench to the front, pausing as he took in the sight of his little sister. He hooked his thumb in the direction of the girl. "How's it going?"

Baker silently shook his head. It was not going, at all.

Colton frowned, crossing his arms as he helped himself to the edge of the bench next to his older brother. He copied Baker, staring out into the grass where Hayes remained crouched.

"Did you drive here?" Baker asked curiously. "How'd you find us?"

Colton nodded, uncrossing his arms and stuffing his hands in the kangaroo sweatshirt pouch. "Kota is waiting in the car at the gate entrance. After three hours passed, he- we were getting concerned so we took an educated guess. It was either here or your house, but Chubba is at our home so process of elimination led us here."

Baker yawned again. Once the yawning starts, its all consuming. "What time even is it?"

Colton took a peek at the smart watch on his left wrist. "That would be 12:46."

"Fuck, really?" Baker's eyes mirrored his surprise as he rubbed a hand over his mouth, feeling the five o'clock stubbly shadow. Damn, it was later than he thought, no wonder he was so wiped. It was quite possible he'd been up for longer than 24 hours.

Made him wonder if he accidently fallen asleep at some point with his eyes open.

Where was that bastard Lindsey to smack him awake? Good for nothing, burrito-eating, dumb as fuck partner. But hey, he trusted Lindsey with his life. If that didn't scream Work Husband than Baker didn't know what did.

"You want to switch off?" Colton kindly offered, already getting as comfortable as one could on a hard-ass wooden bench. Which wasn't much, let him tell you.

Baker took a glimpse at Colton, pondering it. "No, it's alright," he eventually replied. "I was thinking of our exit plan, anyways."

"How's that going for you?" Colton chuckled, knowing how stubborn Hayes could be.

Baker held out his hands in front of him, making a swooping motion to encompass the area. "What do you think?" He bent over to rub his goosebump-ridden legs.

"I don't recall asking for sassiness," Colton gave Baker's upper arm a nudge with his elbow. "A 'Not so good' would have sufficed."

"Well, excuse me. My bad, Mr. Teach." Baker huffed out, giving Colton a shove sideways on the shoulder in return. They reveled in the sense of normalcy for a moment before they had to return to the 'sky is falling' catastrophe.

It was the bantering like this that made Baker miss living with his brothers. Don't get him wrong, he loved his wife. Peyton made him so incredibly happy. But there was just something special about the bond of brothers that was irreplaceable.

Plus now there was a little girl thrown into the mix which made their family that much more extraordinary.

Speaking of, their teasing calmed when there was a flicker of life coming from the grassy area. They lasered in on their little sister who had hopped up to her feet.

Sunshine was on the move.

Over.

Hayes bent down and picked up more rocks, juggling almost too many for her petite hand as a couple slipped through her fingers. She started throwing the rocks one by one into the lake, this time using every bit of her strength that she had left. There was an audible grunt from the effort of each throw, each rock seemingly landing further and further away.

Baker and Colton leant forward in closely resembled tripod positions. Baker's hands twitched as he fought against the urge to go embrace Hayes. He just wanted to grab her in his arms and go home to a warm bed and snuggle her to death.

"Was this what she's been doing the whole time?" Colton asked, his eyes squinted in concentration. His teacher brain was analyzing the girl's actions, coming to the conclusion that she was within reach of her breaking point.

"On and off," Baker muttered, his hand doing a little flip flop with the answer.

They watched Hayes as she tilted her head down towards her right hand, her fingers twirling the final rock that she held onto.

The final count down.

Hayes clenched the rock in her fist, her mouth moving in a silent whisper to herself. A curse.

I'm just like him.

Anger jolted through her as she repeated the words though it was still not loud enough for her brothers to hear. Her soft voice was like a ghost in the wind.

"I'm just like him."

Colton shifted in discomfort, pulling his hands out from the warmth of the pouch and onto the bench edge. He didn't like what he was seeing in Hayes' behavior and felt it was high time for someone to intervene before she hurt herself.

Enough was enough.

"What are you doing?" Baker hissed, stopping Colton from walking off. He was deviating from Baker's plan. Baker hadn't even attempted the negotiation stage yet.

"Fixing things. She could self-destruct if she stays out here any longer."

Baker dropped his hand from Colton's arm, his lips pressing together in a firm line. He wasn't against letting Colton give it a try. He trusted him, the brother worked with kids all day long so he had the appropriate skill set better than any of them.

Baker gave a sharp nod of the head, granting Cole permission.

They exchanged a grim look before Colton strolled off. Each heavy footstep he took became lighter as he shook off the sleepiness and became more alert, more attuned with his surroundings. Each step he took brought Colton that much closer to the little girl. He could now hear the little sniffles coming from Hayes, the winter weather giving her a runny nose.

"Sunshine," Colton said gently when he was two arms' length away, not wanting to spook her.

The little girl acted like she hadn't heard him. Her grip tightened around the single rock before she pulled her arm back and then launched the rock into the lake. "I'm just like him!"

Even Baker heard that shout clear as day from where he sat.

Her now empty hands tangled in her hair in frantic nature, tugging on the wild strands. "I'm just like him and I didn't even know it!"

Colton carefully moved in closer, aware of the ticking time bomb.

Hayes still took no notice, dipping down and picking up another handful of rocks. She flung multiple at a time, not caring where they plopped into the water.

The girl had years worth of suffering as the driving force behind her fury. Nothing was going to slow her down now.

"What is wrong with me! Why am I like him?" Hayes ran out of rocks again and resorted to kicking the dirt in the grass with a frustrated shout. "I hate him! You hear me? I said I HATE YOU!" She was screaming her heart out into the darkness.

Colton stepped on a twig he hadn't seen, snapping it. Hayes spun around, freezing when she saw him there. Her chest rose and fell rapidly with the energy she just expelled. Her lips were parted as she breathed heavily through her mouth, the words stuck in her throat.

Colton risked another step towards her. "Sunshine, hey." His deep voice was soft, calm, and familiar, penetrating Hayes' dissociation. He stretched out his hand, an anchor for her to grab hold of.

Hayes clumsily stumbled backwards, tripping over her feet and falling onto her butt. She crab-walked backwards out of reach when Colton crouched down to assist her. She shook her head, warning off his attempts, her fly-aways whipping her in the face.

"I just wanna talk," Colton told her, putting his knee down on the ground. "That's all, kiddo."

"No, don't touch me," Hayes was persistent in shaking her head as she scooted away. "I don't want to hurt you, too."

Colton's gaze softened even more, if possible. "You won't hurt me, Hayes. I promise."

"I hurt Glen," she whimpered. "I'm no good. I'm just like him."

"Like who, Sunshine?"

Hayes' eyes darted everywhere before landing back on Colton. She shook her head, unable to speak the very nightmare she was living in.

"Hayes," Colton's heart was breaking as he understood. "I swear to God, you are nothing like that pathetic excuse of a man."

"Yes I am! I punched Glen in the face! I hurt him!" She argued back, her voice cracking.

"Glen's okay," Colton said.

"Nooo he's not. He was bleeding! I- I punched him! I did that. He probably hates me now!"

"That boy does not hate you, Hayes. He could never hate you."

"Yes he can. And he does." Hayes lifted her arm and sloppily wiped her nose with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. She ignored the hot tears of frustration rolling down her face.

"He doesn't," Colton promised.

"How do you know?"

"Because that same kid fell asleep on the stairs while he waited all night. He refused to go to bed because he was waiting for you to come home." Colton stated.

"No," Hayes whispered, unbelieving.

"Yes," Colton counteracted, creeping forward a step when she had turned her head to look out at the lake.

Hayes whipped her head around, crawling backwards when she saw how close he was. "Stay back," She ordered, "I'm no good, Colton. Just leave me alone!"

"I can't do that," Colton replied back evenly.

"Please," Hayes begged, "just go already! Everyone leaves in the end, so just go now!"

Colton inched forward, keeping Hayes' vigilant eyes on him. He assumed Baker overheard Hayes' gloom perception on her life as he instantly caught on to Colton's SOS hand signal.

By keeping Hayes occupied on himself, it allowed Baker to stealthily walk around and cover the area behind her.

The brothers were on the same page with what their gut feelings were screaming. Hayes was about to make like a banana and split.

"I'm not leaving you," Colton reaffirmed, meaning now and for the future.

"You have to," she insisted, wincing when her palm landed atop a rock. Colton took advantage of his long legs, covering the space between them. But Hayes was faster and scurried to her feet. Her body twisted around as she got up to run away, but was unable to take more than a single step before crashing into Baker's chest.

Hayes' cries were heard as she tried to escape away from her older brother but his grip was unrelenting.

Five miles and some change later, and his little sister was finally safe in his arms once again. But she wasn't a happy camper.

"You're gonna make yourself sick, baby cakes," Baker pointed out, his embrace tightening with one hand around her midback, his other hand sprawled against the back of her head.

"I don't care," Hayes wailed, pressing her hands against his chest to push away. "I don't care, I don't care, I don't care! What's even the point?" She made a fist and punched his chest, but that did nothing. "Just freaking leave already!"

"Hayes," Colton moved within an arms' length, standing behind her now. "You don't mean that."

Hayes let out a shriek of frustration when her attempts didn't spare her an ounce of space.

Colton kept on talking, hoping his words would reach home with her. "I care and Baker cares. Dakota cares. He is sitting in the car right now, waiting for you. Austin, Glen, Emerson, and Francis, they all care. And not any one of us will ever stop caring about you."

"Stop it!" Hayes remained in denial. "You don't care. No one ever cares! I thought grandpa cared but Glen was right this whole time. I should have listened to him. I'm so stupid. I'm so freaking stupid. Now look, I'm just as bad as him!"

Hayes' eyes went wide when Baker suddenly gripped both of her forearms, forcing her to take a step back. He held her frame still in front of him. His face was serious as he made sure to catch her eye. "Listen to me. You are nothing like the Bear. Nothing."

"Not even close." Colton echoed, closing the gap so the excess fabric of her sweatshirt brushed against his own sweatsuit.

"Look at me." Baker bent down, shaking Hayes' arms a little when she tried to twist out of his hold. "Hey, I said look at me." Authority slipped into his voice like a flip of a switch.

Hayes stubbornly tried to take a step back, landing on Colton's foot. She was now officially and utterly stuck between her brothers as Colton reflexively caught her by the shoulders before she could teeter over.

Realizing she had no where to run, Hayes reluctantly brought her eyes back to meet Baker's stern gaze and her doom.

On a mission, Baker didn't bother filtering his thoughts. "None of us would ever compare you to that mean, old, son of a bitch. Do you understand that? I don't ever want to hear you say that again."

"Don't talk about grandpa like that." The words of defense just tumbled out, as if nothing had happened these past hours. It landed them right back to square one.

Baker's face dropped to defeat as Colton's grip tightened slightly from his frustration. Baker was correct in his earlier assessment, the words were going in one ear and out the other, no matter what they said or how she truly felt.

He really didn't want to play hardball, but the little girl left them no choice.

The truth hurt as she was about to find out.

Baker's palms cupped his sister's frigid cheeks, his thumbs lightly trailing over her skin. He planted a chaste kiss on her forehead where a wrinkle had formed in her confusion, whispering a silent love you.

The softness of the action confuzzled the heck out of her. Hayes didn't know what was happening to her brother and why he looked so sad, so crestfallen when seconds ago he looked so dead serious. She wanted to look behind her at Colton, to see his expression, but Baker's hands prohibited the movement.

She knew then, that this was it.

Baker had finally realized what a disappointment she was, how she was no good for them. They were going to leave her.

Unbeknownst to when she had even stopped crying initially, the tears restarted flowing down her cheeks as she braced herself for the abandonment. It's okay, she understood. She didn't blame her brothers for wanting to rid themselves of the trouble she brought with her. After all, she was the Bear's kid, right?  That was his special term of endearment when he was in a decent mood.

She could only hope Glennard wouldn't meet the same fate she did. He deserved to live a happy life without Hayes continuously present to bring him down.

Her hands released themselves from the subconscious death grip on her own sweatshirt and laid on top of his hands that remained on her cheeks. A wobbly smile graced her lips.

It's okay.

In an blink of an eye, Baker transformed into something fearsome. His face was blank but his eyes revealed all. She'd never seen this look on him before, and for sure never had been on the receiving end of it. Never have any of her siblings, as far as she knew.

A chill draped over Hayes, making her shiver. She was done for.

Colton noticed her fright immediately. He rubbed her shoulders trying to get her to relax. "Baker, you're scaring her."

Baker pinched his eyes closed for two seconds, long enough to become less threatening in the eyes of his sister. "Babe, I really need you to listen to me." He stared into her glistening blue eyes. "That man does not deserve your protection, ever. I need you to dig deep for me." he freed one of his hands and poked the middle of her chest, leaving his finger pressed firm. He tapped twice. "How you feel about punching Glen, you need to remember that the Bear hurt you in the same way. He was not a nice man, Hayes. He deserved to go to prison."

Hayes automatically opened her mouth to interrupt but stopped when Baker applied more pressure with his index finger.

"The second that Jane walked into his house dragging you and Glen with her, he should have called the police. But he didn't. The moment he saw drugs in his house, he should have gone to the police. But he didn't. He made his choice that day to be part of the problem. Do you understand that?"

"He went to jail for us," Hayes replied, albeit a little uncertain.

Baker shook his head. "He went to jail because he had nothing else. He killed himself because he had nothing left to lose. He had no more life ahead of him other than years of staring at the wall. There was nothing you or Glen or anybody could do to save him."

Baker watched his sister exhale a shaky breath. He watched her eyes, but couldn't decipher the emotion. He could only hope she was listening this time.

"Hayes," His voice turned soft to counteract the harsh truth. He curled his fingers around the back of her head, forcing her to stare at him. "The Bear dying was the best gift he could have ever given you. I know it feels like the nightmares will never leave you, but Sunshine, you're free. Do you get that? You don't need to be looking over your shoulder or be ready to hide at a moment's notice. You don't need to be afraid anymore. You don't need to be afraid of him anymore. You are free, baby. You can do whatever you want now, to hell with the Bear." Baker paused before adding responsibly, "within reason and Austin's approval, of course."

Hayes remained silent, her mind shuffling through the words Baker just proclaimed to her.

"I'm free?"

"You are," Baker agreed.

"But I hurt Glen," she couldn't let it go. What was her punishment?

Baker ran his fingers through her hair, twirling her ponytail before palming the side of her neck again. "He's not mad at you," Baker whispered back.

"It was an accident." She promised.

"We know," Colton broke in. He removed his hands from her shoulders in order to wrap his arms around her front for a hug.

"I'm not like him?" It was hard for her to believe that.

"Not even close," Baker wiggled his fingers under her chin, making her snuggle back into Colton's embrace. "Want to know why? Because you, my girl, are so special and so loving and so loved and that's not even half of it." Using the sleeve of his sweatshirt he began wiping some of the gunk off her face from all the crying and runny boogies.

Hayes batted his hand way and brought her sleeve-covered arms up, trapping Colton's arms to her. She chewed on the end of her sleeve, hiding her burning cheeks from the affectionate words.

"I don't know any other little girl who begs to take home every single dog she sees." Colton chuckled.

"Or who is the happiest having ice cream for every meal," Baker poked her nose.

"Or who simply enjoys spending time with her big old brothers." Colton squeezed her close.

"And joins in on their burping contests." Baker winked at his sister.

Hayes took another shaky exhale, dropping her hands and this time, gifting Baker the tiniest grin with the upturn of her lips.

"I'm free?" The concept was such foreign nature to her.

"Free as a bird, baby."

I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly. I'll do what it takes till I touch the sky.

————

The two decorative wall lanterns were on in the front of the house, illuminating the driveway as a welcome home to the four siblings. Not the porch light though, that was asking for too much.

Actually, the bulb had burnt out two weeks ago and no one, Austin, had gotten around to fixing it yet.

Colton smoothly parked his car behind Dakota's, switching off the brights and then the engine. Three car doors were pushed opened one after another, then two doors shut firmly and quietly to the best of their ability as to not disturb the sleeping neighbors.

Well Dakota didn't give two shits, but Colton tried to be respectful.

Baker spun around to help a zombie-like Hayes out of the back seat of the car. She stumbled into his side, her whole body feeling like she had just ran a marathon or two or three.

He reached over her head and shut his door before bending down to his sister's height.

"Up ya go," Baker kept his arm out, assisting Hayes with latching onto his back like a monkey just like he had done when they were leaving the park.

He heard Hayes yawn, feeling her blow hot air against his neck. It was way past her bedtime at this point. Past everyone's bedtime honestly, and Baker hoped the teen boys weren't awake.

Colton unlocked the front door, allowing his siblings to enter the home before him. Dakota took the initiative to walk in first, continuing his assholey nature of the late hours and trekking straight up the stairs to supposedly his bedroom.

Besides checking if Hayes was hurt when they had first reached the car, Dakota hadn't said a word the whole five minute ride back to their home. The brothers didn't take it personally, knowing how Dakota sucked with sharing his emotions and there was an overload of feels to comprehend for that night.

He rudely barged his shoulder into Austin whom was descending the stairs at the same time.

Such the mature adult, Austin simply ignored his grumpy brother and upon reaching the bottom step, he stopped in front of the remaining trio. Colton took this as his cue to leave, sweetly rubbing Hayes' back as he pressed a kiss to the side of her head. Then he squeezed Baker's shoulder and patted Austin on the back before excusing himself and going upstairs to use the bathroom real quick.

Austin glanced at Baker, to his sister who's face was hidden by Baker's neck, then back to his brother. The two conversed with no words but able to convey all that had happened. Austin finally nodded before stepping diagonal to Baker's right side where Hayes' leg dangled. His hands made quick work of untying the little girl's sneaker before slipping the shoe off her foot, revealing a sock covered in pineapples.

He repeated the same thing on the other side, uncovering guacamoles. Both foods that Hayes would rather die than eat. He took the sneakers into one hand and dropped them into the shoe bin where they belonged.

Throughout all of that, the girl didn't even twitch, certifying that she was zonked out. Within the matter of seconds too, which was very impressive.

"Where are the boys?" Baker kept his voice low to not attract said brothers or disturb Sunshine.

"Sound asleep... in my bed... with your dog," Austin replied, unamused. He was only joking, as everyone in the house knew that Chubba made the rules. If Chubba wanted to sleep on the bed, so be it.

Baker's lips quirked upward before he forced it into a frown. "Bad dog."

Austin's unsmiling façade quickly cracked as he yawned, setting off a cascade between the brothers. "You holding on to Hayes for tonight?"

As much as Austin wanted to steal his little sister straight off of Baker's back, he didn't. The two eldest brothers had a healthy relationship and respect for one another making for a shared balance of power. One was not deemed King over the other, but that didn't take away from Austin being the head of the family. Because he was.

And tonight, Austin was conscientious of the fact that it was the right move for Baker to take care of Hayes while he himself had his hands full with the two knucklehead teens.

"Abso-fucking-lutely," Baker had no qualms about it. He wasn't letting the girl out of his sight any time soon. He couldn't wait to have a sleepover in Hayes' room. Colton had left his mattress in the upstairs bedroom when he moved into the guest room, and it was top notch quality. Plus, of course, he got to have all the snuggles with Hayes.

Baker was ready to sleep goooooood.

"Alright," Austin chuckled, scratching the back of his head. He then turned his head to the side and covered his yawn with the back of his hand.

In 3.5 milliseconds, Baker had analyzed his brother's simple movement and came to a conclusion. He knew his brother well. "They both having nightmares?"

Austin nodded.

"Glen and Fran?" Baker double-checked.

"Yep."

"Fuck," Baker sighed, "And we know Dakota won't sleep much either. Tomorrow's going to be a crapshoot, huh." Baker t'sked, readjusting his sister on his back. "How bad is it?"

The last time that Baker could recall Francis having a true nightmare, rather than just plagued with anxiety, was that first night he slept alone in his bedroom after they moved Emerson into his college dormitory for freshman year. He spent the rest of that first week sleeping in Austin's room and then for the following weeks, it was actually dickwad Dakota who stepped up and slept in Emerson's empty bed until Francis got used to his best friend's absence.

It often didn't seem like it, but Dakota would go to bat for his siblings every time.

"Ah, well you know, I think Francis was overwhelmed with the Colton thing and then add in the guilt from his actions. The icing on the cake was when he couldn't find Glen because the kid was in my room. He was on the verge of tears when he came running."

God, poor Francis.

Baker shook his head, feeling pain for the teen. He reached down and gently rubbed Hayes' sweatpants-covered leg, reminding himself that they weren't going anywhere. Just minor bumps in the road. "And how is Smiley holding up?"

"Woke up, paralyzed and scared to death, twice. I don't think he'll go back to sleep if it happens again. You might end up with two kids in your bed by morning." Austin disclosed the rest of it. "And the dog."

He shuffled around Baker's side to wish his little girl a goodnight. The second he had heard the car pull into the driveway, a huge pressure was taken off his chest. Having almost everyone under one roof where he knew they were safe and sound was a gift he'd always be grateful for and never take for granted. He didn't forget about Emerson either, as Austin already made plans in his head to go take a drive up to visit Sonny the next weekend.

Austin tangled his fingers in Hayes' unkempt hair before pressing a lasting kiss to her temple. "I love you, sweet girl," He whispered against her skin, pressing a chaste kiss this time. His thumb gently skimmed the darkening spot under her eye before dropping his hand.

"Love you most-est," a soft sigh escaped Hayes as she remained comatose.

The simple words lit up the eldest brother's face as he pressed one last kiss against her messy hair before catching Baker's attention and nodding his head towards the stairs. He turned back around, checking to make sure the front door was locked up tight before following behind.

"Love you too, B," Baker mimicked Austin, walking ahead of him up the staircase and trying not to jostle Hayes around too much. He returned to his normal voice. "Aw, thanks AJ. I love you too, man."

Austin rolled his eyes, bringing up the rear. "You know I love you, you grown-ass man child."

"Psh, who doesn't love me?"

"I take it back."

~~~~