"I got here as fast as I could," Mikey panted, skidding to a stop on the linoleum next to his brother. Gerard immediately abandoned biting his fingernails to hug him tightly, while Mikey asked: "What's going on? All you said was that Frank was here."

"He got attacked or jumped or... Hell, I don't know," Gerard mumbled. "But I know that Dad made it happen."

"What?" Mikey cried as Gerard's arms fell from around him. "How do you... Why do you... What?"

"He asked to talk to me after the show and we went inside the venue so we could talk and, when we came out, I heard Frank cry out and I went to the back of the building and, there he was, being beaten. When I tried to ask Dad something, he wasn't anywhere," Gerard explained, sniffing and wiping tears off of his face.

"Gerard," Mikey said, taking his brother's arm in his vise-like grip. "Calm down. Look, Frank is going to be okay. He's here and he's getting taken care of, and everything will be okay. Got it?"

Gerard nodded and sank down into one of the waiting area chairs, bringing his legs up and burying his face in his knees. "Fuck," he breathed, trying not to start crying again.

"Hey, Gee?" Mikey asked as he sat down in the next chair. "Where exactly is Frank?"

"In a coma," Gerard said. "They put him under because he had to have surgery because of internal bleeding, and he hasn't come out of it yet. I tried staying in the room, but I couldn't do it. He looked... Dead."

"Which room?" Mikey asked.

"126," Gerard answered, looking up.

"C'mon, Gee," Mikey said quietly, standing up and bringing his brother with him. "Frank'll never happy to see you when he wakes up."

"No, Mikey, I can't—" Gerard started but Mikey cut him off.

"Yes, you can," he said. "It's Frank. I know that you can do it."

Gerard took a deep breath and said: "Okay. To room 126."

Gerard was right: Frank looked deathly. Deep purple and red bruises covered the skin on his face, neck, and arms, various rows of stitches went through part of his right eyebrow, and his nose was bruised and swollen from being broken. His eyes were closed, and he had different needles and tubes stuck into the vein on the inside of his arm. If it wasn't for the heart rate monitor or the subtle rises and falls of his chest, no-one would be able to tell that he was alive.

Gerard gasped and held back a sob when he walked into the room. "Frankie," he muttered, immediately rushing to his side and dropping to the ground next to his bed.

"Christ," Mikey whispered. "When is he supposed to wake up?"

"Doctor said within the hour," Gerard said, standing up and pulling a chair up to Frank's bedside. He delicately took Frank's hand in his own and jolted when the heart rate monitor sped up ever so slightly.
"Oh," Mikey whispered and pulled a second chair up next to Gerard's. "Who else did you call?"

"Mom— her line was busy, though— Ray, and Lindsey," Gerard told him. "Lin really liked Frank when she met him back in January or whenever the fuck it was. Shit, this year has passed so quickly."

"Yeah," Mikey agreed. After a moment of silence, he added: "Our father is a prick."

"He really is," Gerard agreed.

"Frank was almost killed," Mikey continued. "I'm sure that, if you hadn't heard Frank when you did, he really would be..." He trailed off when he noticed that Gerard had started crying again. "I'll shut up," he added in a whisper.

"It was a nice gesture, but a little too much," Gerard said. He placed his free hand on his brother's knee and sighed heavily, keeping his gaze on Frank.

"I'm going to tell you something that someone once told me," Mikey said, taking Gerard's hand in his own. "It was the night of September 11 last year, and I was scared out of my mind. This person told me 'We're the Way brothers. We can do this shit'. That helped me a lot, and I think that it'll help you, too. You've worked through all of your darkest moments, and I guarantee that you'll work through this too. And I'll be right there next to you the whole time. Remind me, why will I do that?"

Gerard smiled through his sadness and looked over at his brother. "Because we're the Way brothers," he said in a choked voice, as if trying not to break down crying.

"And we can do this shit," Mikey finished, squeezing Gerard's hand.

After a split second, Gerard said: "I'm really glad you're my brother. I love you, Mikey."

"I'm glad you're my brother," Mikey repeated, leaning his head on Gerard's shoulder. "Love you too."

---

"I got here as fast as I could!" Lindsey exclaimed. It was a half hour after Ray showed up, which was an hour after Mikey. "I was stuck in this weird subway holdup. I don't know what the deal was."

"Lindsey," Gerard said quietly and got up from his chair next to Frank to hug her tightly. She smelled like nicotine and fabric softener, just like Frank, and it made Gerard start to cry again.

"Oh, Gee," Lindsey cooed, running her hand down his back. "It's be okay, sweetheart. Frank'll wake up soon."

"The doctor said within the hour two hours ago," Gerard mumbled, pulling away from Lindsey. She looked like she rolled out of bed just to be by Gerard's side, which he suspected is what happened: she had on a pair of wrinkled black jeans, meaning they were on the floor, along with an Joy Division t-shirt that Gerard recognized as the one Lindsey always slept in, and her usual black Converse. Her hair was in a messy ponytail and she had on no makeup. No makeup on Lindsey Ballato signified a real emergency.

"He'll wake up soon, Gee, I promise," Lindsey said comfortingly, then noticed Ray sitting next to Mikey. "Oh, you don't know who I am, do you? I'm—"

"Lyn-Z from Mindless Self Indulgence," Ray said immediately. "No, I know who you are. You're awesome."

"Oh, God, I wouldn't go that far," Lindsey said. "I have your record and, goddamn, Ray Toro, you can play. You're like a god! Are you a god?"

"Not really," Ray said and laughed.

"Ray, if someone asks if you're a god, say 'yes'," Lindsey said and Ray's eyes widened.

He looked from Lindsey to Gerard, trying to say something. "Did... Did you just quote Ghostbusters?" He asked finally.

"Yep."

"Gerard, this girl is special. Never let her go."

"Moving past the fact that I'm as gay as they come, yeah, she's mine," Gerard said, sitting back down in his chair.

"Alright," Lindsey laughed and leaned against the wall since there was a lack of chairs. "So, MikeyWay, how're you doing lately? It's been a while."

"I've been okay," Mikey shrugged.

"Good for you," Lindsey said.

The room fell into silence after that. The window outside showed a pink-and-orange streaked sky, the veins of morning creeping into the world. It seemed like a perfect morning, except for the obvious fact that Frank laid unresponsive in the hospital bed.

The ringing of Gerard's phone interrupted that silence, and he pulled it out of his pocket to find his mother calling him. "It's Mom," he said to the room. "I'll be right back."

He stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him, flipping open his phone. "Hi, Mama," he said, then stopped when he heard his mother crying. "Mom, what's wrong?"

"Gerard," she said tearily. "Where's your brother? Is he with you?"

"He's not by my side, but I know where he is," Gerard said, suddenly getting worried.

"Oh, Lord, baby," Donna whimpered. "Something's happened, and I need you boys to get home immediately."

"What? What's happened?" Gerard asked as he heard a commotion from inside the room.

The door to the room opened and Mikey poked his head out. He spoke at the same time Donna did through the phone, and Gerard cried out at both statements.

"Frank's awake."

"Grandma Elena died this morning."

Notes

Sorry for everything.
xoKristin