(A/N: I DO NOT! Own the Hardy Boys. I wish I did...but I don't Beth owns Jeff...and I don't know who Owns Matt...but I wish I owned them. I do not claim to know anything about recovery.)
Recovery
"I just can't do this!" Jeff cried leaning down on his knees one day during training. The day was bright and sunny. Birds chirped around the wood surrounded vicinity. There was a slight breeze bringing with it the smells of that days lunch to the hungry runners. The sun was just about in the middle of the sky. Another hour or so and it would be noon. It was warm and you could taste the perfect humidity in the air. Not too humid, not too dry, perfect like everyday should be. They were running their mile while Jeff was struggling with breathing. His trainer ran back leaving the others.
"Jeff come on you gotta pick up the pace." He then left him there catching up with the others. "You wouldn't be here if you hadn't of been on drugs!" He yelled back. Jeff walked again catching his breath.
A couple of steps later his stomach revolted against him. The day was hot, his withdrawal was killing him, his lungs were screaming for oxygen, and on top of that if he didn't pass his tests he would have to repeat another whole month of this. He had a couple tests to go through, his fist one was the usual urine test to see if he had done any drugs. Jeff found it stupid and pointless since he hasn't been out of the facility for three months. Then his therapist needed to say he was alright to go home. That was going to be in a letter. He would get to read it once his urine test was done.
His brother stood at the stairs waiting. His first test was in an hour. His brother, and his best friend, is who he would be going home with. Oh, the things he would write about when he went home this time. He had poem after poem racing through his head, many night kept awake by the screams of others in the facility who were going through withdrawal just like him. Yelling for weed, for crack, for meth, all the drugs that had passed through his system. He saw their sunken faces and he could feel their anger as he walked by practically holding no signs of a drug addict.
His revolting stomach finished heaving and he stepped away from the vomit. He covered it up with dirt from the track and sighed.
"Three extra laps Hardy, Come on!" His trainer yelled from the other side of the track. Curses flew from Jeff's mouth in angry storms. He could barely finish these laps. He couldn't breath and this guy wanted him to do more. Jeff ran to catch up, maybe if he caught up his trainer wouldn't make him run the extra laps.
His feet pounded on the dirt rousing dust clouds behind him.
He had to get this done.
Heart racing in his head, throbbing.
Had to pass the tests.
Breathing harder, throat closing up.
Had to go home, go back to his fans.
Vision tunneling, his thoughts racing.
Had to stop shaming his brother.
He ran matching the needs for him to go faster.
'Faster Jeff, faster.' He thought, 'For Matt, for Dad, for Mom.' He looked up to the clouds. 'For Mom'
Matt watched his brother make a silent prayer to their mother. 'Please Jeff come home with us today.' He watched, waiting for the doctors to tell him yet again that he couldn't come home. Matt kicked a rock from the steps. Jeff didn't respond to pushing like that. Matt picked up a rock and threw it making up his mind. "Go Jeff!"
Jeff looked up from his prayer to his mother and caught his brother's eye. Matt believed in him, wanted him to go home badly. Jeff threw his multi-colored hair out of his face and ran faster. He would do it for his brother.
"Come on Jeff!" He heard his brother yell like when they were kids. He wasn't in recovery now, he was home on their vast lands running to catch up with Matt and jump the creek so they could go the the ring in the woods. The ring in the woods so they could be anything they wanted and win the titles. Mom long gone watching over them become everything they wanted to. "Go Jeff Go!" He was going home today he was going to go home!
Jeff walked out of the bathroom and handed to cup to the nurse and went to wash his hands again. Pissing in a cup with your pants down to your ankles while you have someone staring down at you to make sure you don't do anything to your piss is not comfortable at all. He had, had to do it a couple time in the past month. Once a week to be exact. Every timehe had this done it was another 100 out of his own pocket to pay for it. He hadn't had anything for three months and he was feigning. He had to get something in him or he felt like he was going to split in two, especially his head.
'Maybe Matt will stop on the way home at the waffle house so he could down some syrup to stop the withdrawal pains. Good old sugar, helps with everything when you can't get a fix.' Jeff thought and dried his hands.
"Your test results will be in by 4 O'clock Mr. Hardy" The nurse said smiling at him and handing him the dreaded letter.
The car tired rolled softly without making a sound on the asphalt of the recovery facility. Matt turned the wheels and made a left toward the gate. Passing car after car until he got to the security guard.
"Do you have everything Mr. Hardy?" He asked Matt taking his parking ticket.
"I think so Jim. Just call if you have anything else." Matt said paying the fee for parking and rolling out of the parking lot when the spikes went into the ground. The car was dark against the green and brown surroundings of the woods. The only sound that disturbed the wood was the crunch of the dirt under the wheels. Matt sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. "So things are going to be alright now Jeff?" He asked his little brother who still held the letter and test results in his hand.
"Yea Matt, I think things are going to be alright around here from now on." Jeff smiled at his brother. A genuine smile, one he hadn't given for a long time. Matt smiled back, glad to see his brother truly happy. He knew he hated the facility, but once he was in he was determined to get out the right way, and not the easy way. Jeff reread the letter silently to himself.
' Dear Mr Hardy,
We are pleased to inform you that we feel that you are ready to go home. You have made great progress. You have completed all the books and the group therapy sessions, along with private therapy sessions. We are glad that you have made such progress and we hope that we will not have to see you in the state you came here in again. We require one monthly visit to a therapist to talk about the problems you still have and we hope that this will further help you control your bottled up anger and sadness. Please continue to write in your journal and keep being creative because it is a wonderful outlet for you. We are pleased to have met you Mr. Hardy and we hope to see a full recovery in your visit with us next year to have your records abolished.
Sincerely,
The Therapy Department.'
Jeff folded the letter and leaned back in the seat. 'I did it Mom' He thought listening to the music come through the radio. "Hey Matt." Jeff said opening one eye to look at his brother.
"Yea Jeff?" Matt replied turning his head for a moment to look at his brother.
"Do you think we could go get some Pizza." Jeff smiled and patted his stomach. He hadn't had real pizza since he got to Recovery.
"Sure Jeff. Anywhere you wanna go." Matt smiled and turned onto the highway out of the woods and toward home.
