Brotherhood

Fifteen Minutes

True to his word, Nevaeh held tightly to One. Adam clung to them both, forcing Blake and the girls to waste time prying him loose. Adam fought like a tiger, screaming and cursing at them while desperately trying to get back to his brothers. But Blake was just as determined. Brushing off the girls' offer to help, Blake wrapped Adam in a reverse bear hug and started away with him. He'd always been stronger than Adam. Now, separated by the field from Five, Adam was noticeably weaker. It wasn't difficult to carry him away. Despite the fact that it made this slightly easier, it still hurt Blake a bit. It was another reminder of how drastically different Adam was now.

Behind him, he could hear One yell once to bring his brother back and the girls trying to calm him. Oddly enough, One immediately went quiet. But then again, his emotions were numbed down without Adam. Blake didn't hear anything from Nevaeh, and that worried him a little. But one thing at a time.

"Let go of me, Blake!" Adam was yelling, clearly very emotional. "Let me go back to my brothers!"

Blake held on, wincing as Adam's damned motorcycle boots battered his shins. He was going to be black and blue. "Hey, buddy, how about we let the girls talk to your brothers, and you and I have a chat of our own?"

"Fuck you! I'm not going anywhere with you!"

"You don't have a choice in this one, pal."

"What the hell do you want from me?"

"The truth," Blake replied. "At long last, the truth!" He reached another large obstacle that provided some privacy and moved behind it. He considered the handcuffs as Adam continued to kick and struggle, but decided against it. Adam was upset enough. If he was going to have any chance at reaching him, Blake realized, he'd have to manage without making things worse. He sat down, dragging Adam into his lap, and wrapped his arms and legs around him to hold him still. "Ok. Now we'll talk."

Adam squirmed. "I have nothing to say to you. You took me away from my brothers! You've left me all alone!"

"You're not alone. I'm right here!"

"I don't want  you, Blake! I want my brothers!" He peered anxiously around, confusion evident on his face. "Why can't I feel them? Where did they go?"

Of course. Cut off from One, Adam was having trouble thinking straight. He was worse now than Five was the night of the bar fight. "They're fine, buddy," he assured.

"Where are they? Where?" He was struggling again. "Let go of me!"

"Not a chance." Blake held on stubbornly as a few precious minutes went by. But Adam seemed to run out of energy quickly, and he finally stopped struggling. For a moment, he rested his head against Blake's shoulder, and it was like it was before, just him and Adam. He was here, Adam was in his arms again, and it felt so good, so incredibly right that Blake didn't want to let go. He couldn't keep from kissing Adam just behind his ear, even though Adam twisted away and started trying again to squirm free.

"Don't kiss me!" Adam pleaded. "I don't belong with you. I'm with Unum now!"

"Adam, do you remember back in Oklahoma, in the field? What you told me?"

"That's not my name!"

"Do you remember it or not?"

"Of course I fucking remember it!"

"You told me then that you loved me. Did you lie?"

"No, but I'm not him anymore, Blake!"