RP Log with rhythmictherapy | Brotherly-Sisterly Bonding

[cutandlearn]

It had been a couple of days since Serena and Chris got away, and the decision to tell Proctor was still fresh on her mind. Only Serena wasn't about to make a move until Chris did. He had said he wanted to talk to Proctor, and Serena respected that. She wanted to get things right. She also just wanted to done and over with in the hopes that she could start to move on and leave behind the knot of nerves that had taken up residence in her stomach.

Her saving grace was the fact that Drew was now staying at her place, even if he had had a date or two with a nurse. She dropped on the sofa beside him after finishing her latest shift and curled up with her head on his shoulder as she just stared at the TV. She had no idea what he was watching, her eyes locked in a stare that meant her mind probably needed break. It just wasn't going to get one. She couldn't blame Chris for spending time with Rick, or even Eva. They were solid enough again to know that time apart wasn't going to dampen their feelings for each other, and Chris also understood that Serena wanted to spend time with her own brother while she could.


She found herself grinning and blinked herself back to the moment as she patted Drew's knee. "Only my brother could have supremely bad sunburn and peeling, and still manage to score with a cute nurse. Do I need to give her the sister talk yet?"

"Hey, last time you gave the sister talk, you made my date throw up," Drew reminded her, sniggering. "All over my car, and then didn't even offer to pay for the cleaning. I think I should ban you from all future sister talks. Especially considering I haven't even had the chance to give the brother talk to your other half yet. I haven't even met him," he added, throwing her a distinctly pointed look. Truth was, it had been the bad sunburn and peeling that gave Drew the opening with the nurse in the first place. Serena had been off playing surgeons with her team when Drew got discharged, but he had been struggling to try and get his pants on to leave. The nurse gave him a helping hand, which actually resulted in an accidental brushing of her fingers over his assets, and she pretty much had him hooked from that moment. Boner at first sight. It just helped even more that she was gorgeous with a sweet smile and a really nice bum in those scrubs. Drew just hadn't shared the finer details with his sister, being that the night she was away for her shag with Dr Genius, Drew had spent the night at her apartment getting well-laid. Better than he had been in some time.

Serena lifted her head to meet his gaze, her smile a little sheepish as she remembered that particular sister talk. "Well, he's been a little busy between work and Rick. It's not that I don't want you to meet him. Of course I do. And even more so now that we've... Well, we want to tell Proctor. We don't want to do the ninja thing anymore. We want open and proud." She tilted her head as she watched her brother for a moment. She still wasn't completely sure which nurse it was. She'd expected whichever one it was to be avoiding her, or acting weird but it was possible the nurse had been a loaner, and not an MT1 regular. "If it makes you feel better, I promise not to make this one puke."

Drew laughed and shrugged. "She has an iron stomach, I think. Seriously, this teenage kid was walking by us on the way out. Total projectile puke all over the place, right in front of us. Of course, I went out in sympathy because who the fuck wouldn't? But this chick didn't bat an eyelid. Take the puke out of the equation, and it was totally hot. I've decided I want to marry a nurse. You get the scrubs, and free healthcare all in one hot little package. I'm so there." He scratched at his nose a little now, knowing it was definitely peeling and had that uncomfortable itch about it that kept making him sneeze. Plus, he could see the dry skin and it kept making him go cross-eyed. "So, what happens if the dude takes it badly?"

Serena had to smile and ruffled her brother's hair affectionately. "Aw, my big brother's all grown up now. He's thinking about love and marriage. Guess that lifeguard didn't have anything special after all, huh? Us medical professionals are totally the keepers. If you ask her nicely enough she might even switch her scrubs for a different uniform when you're feeling sick and poorly." She rest her head back on the sofa and gave a small shrug. "I don't know. I really don't. Chris is in a lot more danger than me. I'm actually scared for him."

"A nurse's schedule is far more likely to be appropriate for my sex life," Drew couldn't help but throw back cheekily. "You're my hero, sis, but if I'm getting it on and reaching that gorgeous point right before an orgasm where the world feels like heaven, I don't want any pagers interrupting my moment." Drew relaxed back and rubbed his palm over his stomach. He couldn't deny the night with the nurse had left him feeling extremely chilled with a renewed love for Miami. "There's not a lot you can do about it, you know. It's a shit situation, sure, and maybe you should have been honest from the get go, but whatever is going to happen is going to happen. From what you've told me, anyway, surely his work and what the dude does with a scalpel is going to outweight the fact he shares your bed when you aren't at work, right?"

"When are you going to see her again? Have you even spoken to her since?" Serena just smirked at Drew's comment. "Might happen anyway if I'm actually home when you bring her over again. Just remember to have a sock hanging on the door so I know you have company. Well, there's already history of Proctor sending Chris home for protecting me. What if he just assumes Chris' loyalty to the team really is worth shit? Or that mine is? I hate having to try and anticipate how he might react. Chris did say that things have changed. Since finding out about his brother, and his best mate... He's worked out some things are more important than his job."

Drew nodded. "Yeah, we've spoken on the phone, sent a few texts. It's been fun. Fun is good. Way better than getting burnt to a crisp to the point it even hurts to take a wiz," he said, looking at his hands that had gone a bit freckly since the sunburn. The joys of coming from a fair family. "I dunno, though. Didn't the guy go down a sinkhole to save a patient's life? That sounds like some loyalty right there. No matter how scary this all is, his work still has to speak too. No bloke, no matter how English he is or likes treating his staff like naughty school kids, will just make a ruling like firing someone based on something like an adult consensual relationship when it's not affected your jobs. I mean, unless you're playing footsie under the op table instead of re-plugging someone's heart in, or having a good fuck on an exam table while you have four ambulances waiting, there's not a lot he can do. Sure, he can frown upon the guy's residency and recommend some sort of disciplinary action if he decides it has affected how you work, but I can't buy the dude is that much of a bastard."

Serena let out a low whistle. "Ooh, texting and phone calls! It must be lurrrrrrrrve!" She giggled as she nudged her brother gently in the ribs. She couldn't deny she was the tiniest bit happy that he had found someone to have some fun with. She was selfish enough to believe it might increase the likelihood of him sticking around if it became serious. She missed Drew. There really had been a piece of her missing without her brother around. "The sinkhole was against Proctor's wishes," she murmured after a moment. "But still, I know what you mean. He's been nothing short of an amazing surgeon. I'd be a freaking superstar if I was anywhere near Chris' level. We've been careful to keep it away from work. We're never having sex in a supply closet or anything like that."

"And you don't need to, either. Keep it real, S. Don't turn it into something dirty like needing to resort to sex at work. Not that there is anything wrong with that if people manage to make it work for themselves, but it sounds like you lot are on display a lot. People are watching what you are doing and there are consequences if you don't do it right. Keep your love life separate. If you can do that, the guy can only be reasonable. This isn't school. It's not student and teacher, and there's, what, barely a couple of years between you in age difference. The medical industry, workplace relationships happen. You work close, you work long enough. You can't help how you feel, and obviously you and Dr Feelgood spent time together away from work to get this thing off the ground." Drew pulled away from her a little at the nudge and smirked. "If it was love, you must have been head over for all the dudes you've had sexting obsessions with recently. Does that make you an iTart?"

"All the dudes? There's been like... three. And one only lasted a day. Chris is the only one that's stuck. And he's the only one I need to stick. He's not just sexting, he's real and he loves me. I'm important to him, and he's important to me. I'm also not to sure how he'd feel about me being known as an iTart..." She raised her eyebrows a little as she looked her brother. "When do you want to meet him? You could always ask your little nurse to dinner too and we'll have like a double date. Or is that weird?"

Drew sniggered and pointed. "Three is a bloody lot of dudes to be sexting with in a short period of time. I also don't want to talk about you sticking him. He said he loves you?! When did he say this? You did not tell me that! There was no love... okay, there may have been you loving him, but there was no him loving you, and I still haven't met him! I'm your brother, I can call you anything I like and get away with it. I'd like to see him take me on anyway." He held his hand up. "It's weird, considering I have never met your dude, and I have had one date and one shag, so no... no double date yet, thank you very much. I don't want to scare her off, and she works at your place. Don't you think that's just a little bit risky?"

Serena pointed her finger at Drew. "Good point. Clearly this iTart is a little iStupid. Okay, so no double dates. Maybe I could just ask Chris over for dinner anyway? Or he could bring Rick and you two can have like a big brother meet and greet. I think Rick might be getting sent home, and Chris wants him staying at his apartment. He's making sure his brother gets looked after. No chemo just yet. And yes, there was love! But he was falling asleep and I wasn't sure it was really true until he sent me flowers to the nurses' station in MT1." She pressed her lips together, and tried to contain her goofy love-struck grin that was threatening to blossom. "You need to meet him."

Drew raised his eyebrows. "You know that's going to be pretty intense, right? You and Chrissy Boy might not actually have much time together anymore if he's taking care of his brother. Have you stopped and thought about that? Especially if things with them are all tense and shit. Not to mention when the chemo does start, which would be soon, right?" He gave her arm a squeeze, understanding her excitement, but he could see this could be only the beginning of a very bumpy road.

Serena nodded as she reigned in her excitement and moved to tuck her knees against her chest. "Of course I do. And I know this is probably easier said than done, but I get it. Chris will be where he should be right now, and it's not like I thought I'd be able to hog him forever. I'll just take what I can get, and try and help him with his brother as well. I'll just get used to a pseudo long distance exclusive thing."

"So, you've met the brother, right? Any intense threats there I need to know about, because if the fucker wants to threaten my sister, I'll tell him where he can stick his kidney cancer. I'm completely sympathetic, but I'll also kick his ass if I need to. I'll kick Christer's ass too if he puts a foot wrong. Just saying," Drew resolved with a determined nod. "Do they even have parents on the scene? That's a lot for your dude to be taking on singlehandedly. If that was one of us, Mom and Dad wouldn't leave our sides. They would be like gigantic blow flies."

She gave another nod. "There was some mutual threatening. I think Rick knows I'll rip his balls off myself if he hurts his brother. I could never hurt Chris as much as Rick has done over the years. At least I hope not... This is their big chance to make it right. Aw, you're already giving him nicknames. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside." Her expression fell though at the mention of Chris' parents. After a moment she gave a shake of her head. "Their Dad's an alcoholic, and Chris barely talks about his mom. I've never asked where she is now. I just know they got a divorce finally."

Drew tilted his head with another small shrug. "Still, blood is thicker than water. It would be interesting to see how your other half coped if you and Rick ever butted heads. Who's side he would take. The bro could probably keep on hurting Chris for the rest of his life, and he would still be his brother and would still have his kid brother sticking at his side. I'm reserving judgment on him until I meet him," he added, with emphasis again. He scrunched his nose up and whistled. "So, I take it you won't have to worry too much about the whole meet your parents ordeal."

"Meet his parents? No. He will still have to meet ours... And you." Serena tugged on a lock of her brother's hair as she stuck out her tongue playfully. "Well, if we ever butt heads he probably would land on Rick's side unless he really did insult me. He growled at Rick when Rick made some comment about me being cute... There's history of girl stealage apparently. You didn't answer my offer of dinner with his brother."

"Hmm, yes, I think I got the memo that he has to meet me," Drew teased, it too much of a temptation to keep teasing her on this point. "I feel extremely discriminated against, you know. Cancer dude got to meet you because he's cancer dude. I'm just stupid heat stroke dude who looks like a leper, and what do I get? Okay, so I get a sexy nurse to play with, but that's beside the point. Yeah, see, I wouldn't be so confident on that fact. The way you're talking, sounds like the guy has your back. You could end up being the thing that makes him cut the brother ties. Is his brother up for dinner? Chemo soon, he might not want to spend his last days of freedom with weirdo strangers from Chicago."

"His brother loves one of us weirdo strangers from Chicago, so..." Serena pulled her mouth to the side as she shrugged to say the rest was pretty much history. "We'd just need to make sure the dinner fit in with Rick's diet. He might not like being kept on a strict regime but it'll help with his system. And a dinner might be the kind of distraction he needs this far out from chemo. What else is he going to do? He'll just sit around moping, and counting down the days."

Drew hummed in thought. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean he has a liking for all things Windy. Which sounds so bloody wrong in that context, and I knew that as soon as the words were out of my mouth, but hey, it's still home, right? Where are they from, anyway? Are they Miami locals? Your guy looks like a local, to say the least. To get a tan like that, I'd have to colour myself in with magic marker and try to pretend I'm awesome in the sun. And you're all tanned too. Sort of. As tanned as you're going to be. I'm so jealous. But at least I don't have tanlines. No, see, I think we would sit around moping and counting the days, but he might not. He might want to go and bungee jump or swim with sharks."

Serena just laughed at her brother's slip before blowing a raspberry against his arm and just making herself laugh even more. "I think they're Florida locals. Raised in some fishing village. I haven't actually seen much of the state outside Miami. Chris is a beach bum plain and simple. He loves the water, he loves surfing. Sometimes I think he's not quite right until he's had some contact with the beach. I'm not sure about Rick. Since he's all Mr Pilot Man, maybe he prefers the sky to the ocean? Hey, hey, don't knock our Chicago tans. Your nurse mustn't have any complaints if she's still sleeping with you while you're peeling."

"She's a nurse. Flakey body parts evidently don't bother her, and I'm not peeling where it counts," Drew added with a devious smirk and stuck his tongue out at her in return. "Some fishing village? Like all those you see in horror movies where the local beauty queen goes all psycho and stabs people, but no one suspects her? Coooooool. So, how was your dirty weekend away then? I Googled the place. What the fuck? Is he rolling in cash or something?"

"No, he's not. Rick's taken most of it. I think he just wanted somewhere special for us. It wasn't really that dirty, I mean, it was a little... Mostly we just talked. I nearly fucked up. I nearly lost him. I felt so stupid. Do you ever have that thing where you just keep talking, and you know what you're saying is so monumentally fucked up, but you just can't stop the words coming out? I had that. I just couldn't stop talking like I was trying to talk to a patient. There's a reason I hate talking to the families, and having to tell people they're dying. I just spout stupidity." Serena covered her face in shame. "Well, I don't know if was a fishing village, but they seem to both like fishing."

"What? His brother pinches his money? Dude, that's totally low. I mean, there's helping out, and there's that. Are you sure cancer dude has good intentions? Hmm, actually no. I think that's an infliction you have all to yourself, sis. But it was a tough thing, yeah? Makes sense you try and lock into some sort of comfortable easy way to cope with it. But ye-ah... talking to the boyfriend like he's a patient, not really in the realms of good. But he pointed it out to you, didn't he? He didn't just take it, so you could see what you were doing. Talking to people in regards to death and serious illness is tough, sure. You know that. And that's the hard part right there. This time, those 'people' is the dude you love. Even if for no one else, you need to find a way to help him with that because his brother could die. If he doesn't die, he could still be seriously sick before he gets better. You need to stop spouting stupidity, he needs to know he can offload to you if it comes to that or... he just won't. He'll stop, and a gap will appear between you that you might not be able to fix. Just make sure neither of them catch any lobsters."

Serena nodded slowly. "Well, not pinches. Borrows. He left Chris with the bill from the experimental surgery. Now you get why they're so... you know. Estranged. I want to be there for him. I want to be the one he offloads to, but it's just... It's... I've never been good at it. Can't you just give me one inside tip? Please? As a big brother help me out here. Just give me one thing I can do that doesn't make me an idiot. And yeah, he pointed it out. That's why I know I nearly lost him. I'm just glad we got past it. He was thinking about giving his brother his kidney too if it came to Rick needing dialysis."

"Oh hell, that's a tough call. Aren't all big brothers supposed to think their sisters are idiots by default? And I'm supposed to train you in how not to be one? That's like denying myself on of life's little pleasures." Drew heaved a heavy, feigned sigh of impatience. "Oh, alright then. Only because if you make a douche out of yourself, it impacts on the whole family. Remember who you're talking to. Remember he's the guy you liked enough to fall for, he's the guy you let touch you naked... which I have issues with, by the way, but I'll let it slide this once... and he's the guy, what was it, fixed your clicker? Now he's the guy worried about his brother dying and worried his mate might get sick again and die too. But he's still the same guy. The words coming out of his mouth aren't the big bad, they're honesty because he wants you to hear them. Don't look at them like a trial, really listen to what he's saying and don't try to save him. Just share your own thoughts and feelings. His kidney? Holy fuck! You saved that little snippet of info til last, didn't you? His kidney, S. That's a whole body part. What happens if his one left gets a sickness in it down the track?"

Serena looped her arm around Drew in a hug as she rest her head back down on his shoulder. "You really are the greatest big brother a sister could ask for, and I promise I won't ever tell anyone you gave me advice on how not to be an idiot. I just know I couldn't do this without you here. I need my big brother around. If you want any insider information on your nurse just give me the word. I'm your girl, D. Just ignore the naked issues when we're having dinner though, okay? I don't need you giving any embarrassing speeches about him not getting to see me naked." She nodded against his shoulder as she hugged him a little tighter. "Well, I had to lead up to it. He just blurted it out on me. But... It's just who Chris is. And I don't know. I don't know what to tell him because I know he'll do it if he really feels Rick needs it. I just wouldn't go anywhere. I wouldn't leave him because his kidney got infected. It would hurt, and it would suck, and it would be hard, but he's Chris. I'd look after him."

"Okay, but he did take you away to talk, right? You told me that. Maybe the kidney thing was just one of those things. It's not exactly something he's going to want to throw at you in the cafeteria at work, is it? I'll give him that, the guy seems to have the chivalry thing working. He wants to do things right. He had the thought and respect for you to take you somewhere alone so he could give you his full attention. Not many dudes would have that much forethought. There's probably no easy way to bring something like that up, blurting is sometimes just necessary. If dialysis comes into it and the guy's already lost one kidney, it could pretty much mean a transplant or he dies right? You're the medical one here. I'd give you my kidney, just not sure you'd want it some days," Drew couldn't help but laugh. "You told me to stick my licked ice cream that time. Lots more than a bit of brother spit running through a kidney. So, how do you feel about it all? I'm getting a lot of what he's feeling, but you have to have things going through your head too."

"I'd give you my kidney. I'd give Chris my kidney. That was what I was thinking when he told me. There's only two people in this world I'd do that for, and you guys are it. It was freaking me out when I realised I'd do the same for Chris, but I wasn't really sure why. I think... I think I just love him that much. I'd do anything for him. I'm just not sure how he's going to cope if his brother gets worse. He's barely holding on as it is, and it's hard watching him. I just want to be able to hug him, or hold his hand sometimes, but I can't because most times we're at work." She bit her lip as she looked up at Drew. "I think it's part of why I just want us to be open. That way it's not weird if I'm in a corner with Chris talking while we have a chance, or with him when Rick's in the hospital. I can't just stand by and watch him go through this."

Drew pulled his lips to the side. "Well, hey. Chris can give his brother his kidney, then if something fucks up, you can give Chris yours, and then if your good one goes up the shit, I can give you mine. It will be musical kidneys," he joked with a smirk, glad he could at least still see some humour in the subject. "Think we'd get a discount on the bulk deal? Generally, if someone is taking care of someone in that capacity, they need taking care of themselves. I see it a lot with my clients. It takes it's toll on the family members, and they need support too. He still needs to eat, and sleep properly, he needs to be able to still function for work. Maybe that's where your place is in all this, not just the helpless girlfriend? And say you were out in the open, all this shit with Doc Proc goes cool... you realise the whole hugging and hand-holding at work could still be off the menu right. You still need to be professional. The patients don't want to see their doctors all in PDAs all over the place. It will make them wonder if your minds are on them."

Serena threw her hand up as she huffed out a breath. "I'm not talking about PDAs all willy nilly! I just mean, in little quiet moments there might be a chance just to at least give his hand a squeeze, or a quick peck when we're alone in the doctors' lounge, or something. I don't know. I don't know what I mean! Maybe just a whispered word here and there. Like, some code that we know it stands for a hug. I didn't exactly think it through, okay? But I get what you mean, and I would never risk our professionalism." She sat there for a moment before a smile tugged at her lips. "There might be a bulk discount available. And a free set of steak knives."

"Pfft, those steak knives are overrated. I bought this chopping thing once, with all these cool attachments that washed your car and whatever they bullshit about to get you to buy it. But I got the steak knives and they were bollocks. They got chucked in my bottom drawer along with the rest of the chopping crap. You never get anything practical, do you? You don't hear them offering you a free month's supply of condoms or an orgasmatron or anything. It's always with the knives. Someone has a pointy thing complex, I swear," Drew decided. "How long have you been seeing him, anyway?"

Serena smirked as she shook her head. "So what exactly do you do if you need something chopped? Just stare at it until you manage to cut it with the power of your mind?" Serena frowned a little as she tried to work out the timeframe. "Um... few months? Definitely a few months... Maybe over? Crap, I don't know. It's been all with the ninja so it's not like I kept track."

Drew shrugged. "I use my normal boring Walmart knives. Had them ever since Mom bought them for me when I moved out. Damn, I still remember that shopping trip. She bought me everything from towels to toilet paper because she was worried I wouldn't be okay on my own. I'm surprised she didn't rig up a nanny cam in my flat to watch and make sure I was eating properly. Do you know it's your dude's birthday soon? Ahhh, see. I have inside knowledge. Actually, I heard Dr Zambrano talking to Nurse Tuck about a party."

Serena grinned. "I remember that, too. You were just lucky you weren't still at home to hear her go on and on about all the trouble you must be getting into and how you were probably going to burn the house down while boiling water." She blinked and shook her head before she started to nod, her blue eyes wide as they looked at her brother. "Yeah, I knew. Wait, party?"

"And Dad telling her to leave me alone because I was a man now," Drew laughed and rubbed a hand gently over his face at the memory. "It was even worse when you wanted to leave Chicago. Mom and her crying that her baby was going. Oh man. Yep, a surprise party. You didn't know about it? There was definitely surprise party covert ninja discussions. Something about a shoe cake? Do I even want to ask?"

"Calle Cubana," Serena murmured as her features fell a little. "Chris hooked up with a waitress but had to bail when the partner showed up. He literally picked up a patient from the street. A man with a knife wound..." Serena shuddered as she thought about the man. The one she thought was interested in her, but he was just playing her. The one that stabbed Tuck. He was also the reason why Chris had fixed her clicker and their hook-up had taken a turn. Maybe the shoe cake wasn't such a bad choice after all. "I had no idea. About the party, I mean."

Drew watched his sister's face closely, trying to figure out if she was bothered by this point or not. "Well, it was only the other day. Maybe they'll let you know when things aren't so busy. Plus, Chris is probably around all the time, and you've been making with the covert time with him at work when you can, maybe they haven't been able to get you alone? So, the shoe isn't a good? You don't want him to have a party? You want him all to yourself?"

Serena nodded briefly. "Yeah, I know. I guess I have been hard to pin down. Although Tuck was quizzing me about the roses when I got them. It's not like that's a gesture you can miss, right?" She rubbed her fingers against her forehead before shaking her head. "No, no. Of course he should have a party. It's his birthday. He's even got his big brother around to join in. I guess... The shoe. I mean, it's not really a good memory object. It did kind of eventually lead to him fixing my clicker, but everything that came before that was just... It was a bad day."

"Yeah, but come on. You have to admit that must've been extremely fucking funny. It sounds like something he'll never live down and why shouldn't you have something of the bad day to laugh at? Isn't Tuck the one who got stabbed? The shoe was his idea, so he can laugh about it. To be honest, it sounds like everyone could just use a really damn good laugh right now. It's not going to stop any of the bad crap going on, but no one is dead yet. Everyone is still here. A party could be fun," Drew coaxed and then smirked at her. "C'mon, S. I know you hang onto bad stuff way longer than you need to, so is it any wonder you keep slotting into trying to treat him like a patient?"

"Yeah, same day. I mean, I flirted with him! The knife guy... I thought he liked me. I was just so stupid and then Chris had lost his shoe and I just wanted to lose my shoe. But you're right. It was probably the brightest part of that day until Chris came to find me. It just makes me wonder what they have in mind. I might need to make myself more available to them so I can find out the details of the party." She pressed her lips together before shaking her head. "No, I guess it's not. This is me officially letting the bad stuff out. All gone."

Drew gave her a weird look. "You wanted to lose your shoe too? I don't even know what that comment is supposed to mean! Are you telling me you were shagging the dude when this shoe thing happened? Maybe they just figure you'll roll with whatever. It's not like they know you're anything beyond a work mate to him. I can't see it being a huge rave or anything. They know his brother is sick and he's got a lot on his plate." He looked at her uncertainly. "That wasn't really convincing, you know."

Serena shrugged, not about to even try and explain the comment when she was probably as clueless as Drew and it had come out of her mouth. She got to her feet and started to move her arms like she was conducting some sort of prayer ritual. She finished by clapping her hands and gesturing like she was throwing something to the wind. "Better?"

"Uh, no. Now I'm just wondering if you need a straight jacket," Drew joked and stretched his feet out in front of him. "So, what's gonna be the lay of the land, then, when his bro gets home? Sure you don't want me to go crash at a hotel? I don't mind. You two will have your space then."

Serena gave a shake of her head as she sat back down and laughed softly. "You never know, I could really work a straight jacket. I might bring it into fashion. I don't know what the lay of the land is gonna be. I think we'll just have to find out as it happens. Don't go crash at a hotel, okay? I don't think Chris is going to want to spend much time away from Rick anyway."

"No mutual covert ninja handjobs if you're in a straight jacket," Drew pointed out with a smirk. "It'll depend how the dude is. I've had cancer clients. Some are just awesome, they cope really well, others it hits like a hundred tonnes of bricks and they need help with a lot of things. I can't even imagine going through that, but it's everywhere. It's why no one should ever take their lives for granted. You don't know what's around the corner. Time together for them will be a good thing, right? They won't kill each other, will they?"

Serena sucked on her bottom lip. "No, I don't think they will. They're still brothers deep down..." She frowned. "I really hope they don't kill each other."

Drew shrugged. "Just going on what you've told me. That's all. Cancer doesn't miraculously change people. It just makes those people people with an illness. If they didn't get along before, I don't know if there'll be any quick fix."

Serena reached out to take Drew's hand. "I'm just thankful I got you, big brother. Cootie covered kidney and all."