Last chapter! I just want to say thanks to everyone for taking the time to read this. I had a lot of fun writing it!

Chapter 4

It was the sound of voices that finally woke him. They weren't screaming his name or wailing in pain, which was a novel change. These voices didn't sound angry at all.

There was a quiet peal of laughter before someone made a shushing sound that was louder than laughter had been in the first place.

There was silence for a moment before the conversational murmur started up again and Klaus found himself relaxing as he let the sound wash over him.

He was so warm and comfortable. He had no interest in ever moving again. A slow sigh of contentment escaped him.

"Klaus?"

He winced slightly at the sound of his name, but the tone was soft, questioning, and familiar . . .

"Vanya?" Klaus asked in surprise. His voice was scratchy and sounded like he'd been screaming. To be fair, he was pretty sure he had been at some point. He opened his eyes and blinked to try and bring the world into focus. The room was thankfully dim. Klaus didn't think he could stand anything too bright. Consciousness reminded him that his head still ached miserably, though the pain was nothing compared to what it had been. All things considered, it wasn't like he hadn't dealt with pain before. He would live.

It took him a moment to realize that he was lying on one of the living room couches in the Academy. It took him a moment longer to realize that his head was resting in Vanya's lap. She had her hand wrapped over him protectively and the sheer novelty of finding himself being cuddled had Klaus looking up at her in confusion.

She smiled down at him, the expression still looking out of place and hesitant on her features. After everything that had happened, it was that one uncertain gesture that perfectly encapsulated just how alone Vanya had been all her life. It made Klaus sad.

He tried to smile back at her, ignoring the throbbing in his brain.

"How did I get here?" he muttered, wincing at the dryness in his mouth. He was pretty sure his breath was foul.

"Klaus? You with us, buddy?" Diego's voice sounded very close and Klaus barely had time to redirect his attention before his brother was in his field of view. Diego looked concerned as he lowered himself gingerly to sit on the coffee table. His face was marked by stitches along his brow and Klaus winced in sympathy as he took in the sling and the careful way Diego was holding himself.

"You look like you had a very bad night," Klaus observed.

"I was going to tell you the same thing," Diego retorted. "You have no idea what kind of trouble we-"

"You're okay, Klaus," Vanya said evenly, cutting off whatever verbal barrage Diego was about to unleash. "The guys brought you back here after the hospital."

Right.

The hospital.

Klaus couldn't help the shudder that ran through him as the memories of the dead came rushing back. It had seemed like a bad dream - like he had only been having a terrible nightmare, but it had been real. He had never seen so many spirits at once before, and even the memory of their screams made Klaus want to cover his ears.

Where was Ben?

He glanced around, hoping that the room would have only one ghost in it. If any of the hospital spirits followed him home . . .

Ben was perched on the arm of the couch by Klaus's feet, a look of schooled indifference on his face as he watched his brother. At first glance, it was the same look he always had when Klaus regained consciousness from a night of overindulgence, but even with the pain in his head, Klaus could see right through the act.

Ben was feeling guilty.

He managed a small smile for his dead brother; Ben had nothing to feel guilty about. He wasn't entirely sure what had happened after the ghosts started screaming, but Klaus knew for certain that it wasn't Ben's fault. He remembered his brother's voice comforting him through the wails of the spectres that mobbed him. He remembered knowing that no matter how bad it got, Ben was by his side. Ben was his sanity, which was a difficult and pretty much thankless task at the best of times. He held Ben's gaze until there was the hint of an answering smile.

Much better.

Klaus looked around the room then, surprised to see the rest of his siblings were nearby. Five and Luther were sitting on the opposite couch and Allison was in the chair by the fireplace. All of them were watching him attentively.

"Hey, guys," Klaus greeted them.

Allison smiled back at him, a look of profound relief on her face. She held up her notepad, but Klaus couldn't convince his eyes to make sense of it quite yet. He squinted, then winced as his head throbbed in response.

Concussion . . . right. Why couldn't he have gotten super-healing as a power?

"Sorry, sis," Klaus said with a groan. "I don't think the old melon is up to reading quite yet."

Allison nodded sadly, but Luther got up from his place on the couch and walked over to her. Allison handed him the notepad.

"She says she's very glad to see you're okay," Luther read. "You had her worried and she's never letting any of us go anywhere without her again, because apparently we can't be trusted not to get ourselves killed."

"You either wrote that very quickly," Five chimed in suspiciously, "or you were just waiting for a good time to tell us we're all idiots."

Allison shrugged slightly, but the answering smile gave her away.

"You're not wrong," Diego said to Allison. He turned and gave a small nod to Vanya, too. "Stuck in that hospital with gunmen after us . . . we could have used a little backup."

Luther passed the notebook back to Allison and nodded his agreement. "As much as I hate to admit it, things got pretty out of hand. It wasn't really our fault, but we didn't deal with it the way we were trained. We didn't adapt and we got split up -"

Klaus coughed dryly, interrupting Luther's speech. He wasn't trying to be disruptive, really, but he was parched. So thirsty . . . he kept his expression innocent and vaguely pathetic as Luther fell silent.

Ben smirked knowingly and Klaus didn't dare meet his gaze. If he started laughing, Luther would go right back to his lecture.

Vanya seemed to take the hint and she nudged Klaus gently. "You want some water?"

Klaus moaned at the thought of sitting up, but despite his theatrics, the promise of water was far too appealing to deny. With an exaggerated sigh, he let Vanya and Diego help him up. It was a simple movement, one he'd done thousands of times in his life, but it left his head spinning. Klaus closed his eyes and hoped the world would stop wobbling before he threw up.

The blanket settled in his lap, leaving his arms feeling cold. He shivered slightly and was grateful when Vanya put her arm around him again, hesitating as though to make sure it was okay. Klaus sighed and leaned into her embrace. Vanya hugged him tighter in response. It didn't fully banish the chill, but it helped.

When he finally felt like he could manage it, Klaus opened his eyes and accepted the glass that Diego had procured from somewhere. He wondered vaguely how long he had been sitting there with his eyes closed for his brother to have left and returned without him noticing.

"Still with the delightfully dull hospital gown, I see," Klaus noted dryly as he glanced down at himself. No wonder he was freezing. "The very best in hospital chic."

"Just be glad Diego isn't wearing his anymore," Five muttered.

Diego rolled his eyes, but nodded sympathetically at Klaus's words. "I hear you. Those things are the worst, but we thought it was more important to get you horizontal than to try squeezing your unconscious ass into those crimes against fashion that you call pants."

"Says the guy who accessorizes with knives." Klaus took a drink and could have cried at how good it tasted. He hadn't even realized how thirsty he was until he had taken that first sip.

"Not too fast," Luther warned. "If you throw up, I think Vanya is in your blast range."

Diego shot Luther an annoyed look. "I'm the one sitting right in front of him."

"Yeah, but if he throws up on you, it'd be funny."

Ben gave a snort of laughter and Klaus couldn't help but smile in response. The water helped clear his head. Already, he felt a little bit better.

Klaus turned to Luther as a thought hit him. "Where were you guys? What happened after the explosion?"

Everyone else turned to Five, who rolled his eyes in response. "You guys are enjoying this way too much."

"Enjoying it?" Klaus asked. "What's he talking about?"

"Apparently, they would have made it to the hospital sooner, but Five fainted," Diego said with a tone that strongly implied that he actually had been teasing his brother about it.

"I didn't faint," Five protested. "I passed out because I saved Luther's gigantic ass."

Klaus frowned. "You guys were at the hospital?"

"Maybe you should start at the beginning?" Vanya suggested.

Luther nodded. "Back at the drug lab, Five jumped inside the building to get a lay of the land before we stormed the place. When he was in there, he noticed there was some sort of chemical mixture that was unsafe-"

"Not just some mixture," Five interrupted. "Those guys had absolutely zero knowledge about working with dangerous chemicals and containing them properly. I'm surprised they hadn't blown themselves up earlier."

"-and when he saw things take a turn for the worse-"

"There were three men with lit cigarettes in the work area. They shouldn't have been surprised when it caught fire - they were totally asking for it."

"- he jumped back out and grabbed me-"

"Very heroically."

"-and he somehow managed to jump us away from the building before it blew."

Klaus blinked in surprise. "You jumped while carrying Luther? You can do that?"

Five shrugged. "I wasn't sure. It was worth a shot. I was going to come back for you guys, but apparently carrying someone with me took a lot out of me."

"That's when he fainted," Luther confirmed sombrely. "I grabbed him and started back for you two, but the place was already crawling with bad guys and they thought we were responsible for blowing the place up. We only started getting the upper hand after the police and fire trucks rolled in and the gang started scattering."

Klaus nodded slowly, trying to picture the scene. "So, you were being chased by armed gunmen while carrying poor little Five over your shoulder? Or was it bridal style?" He grinned cheekily, ignoring his headache in favour of teasing his brother.

"You're lucky you're already concussed or I'd be inclined to hit you myself," Five muttered. "And you can't make jokes about being carried bridal style."

"What do you-"

"And while we were playing cat-and-mouse with them, some of their buddies were following you guys to the hospital," Luther added, cutting off Klaus's question before he could finish.

Klaus turned wide-eyes to Diego, who nodded.

The vigilante looked almost embarrassed. "There was a bit of a shootout there, too."

"Turns out, one of the bad guys was a long-time comic book fan," Five interjected with sarcastic cheer. "He recognized our car as they were chasing us down the block and was apparently capable of putting it together to get a working theory. You know, I always thought vanity plates were a bad idea - makes it impossible to blend in." He paused, but no one commented on his observation, so Five continued. "Anyway, the Umbrella Academy car and a giant strong man throwing heavy things at them made it pretty obvious that we weren't just passers-by. Luther found out that little tidbit later when he finally got the opportunity to bang some heads together."

Luther nodded. "The fellows I spoke to were very clear on that point. If the Umbrella Academy was making a comeback, they wanted to make sure to whittle down our numbers while they could. They watched you both get taken away in ambulances; they knew you were injured and alone, and they probably wouldn't get another chance at you. They sent some guys to kill you and by the time we realized that, they had a pretty good head start."

"Then I woke up and we went to rescue you two damsels in distress," Five added.

"My heroes," Klaus snorted in amusement.

"So, they knew they were facing Luther in the streets, but they didn't know who had been taken to the hospital," Diego clarified. "They had a guy pose as Luther so the hospital staff would lead him right to us. If I hadn't already been leaving at the time, it might have worked. They could have cornered us in our rooms, killed us quietly, and slipped away without anyone being the wiser. Nice, simple revenge."

"Well, it sounds like I missed quite a bit," Klaus mused, unsure how he felt about that.

"Diego was pretty badass," Ben piped up. "He was pushing your hospital bed all over the place while dodging bullets."

"Really?" Klaus asked, his eyes widening in surprise. It wasn't surprising that Diego was a badass, not really, but the fact that he had carted Klaus around with him made the medium a little sad that he couldn't remember it happening. At the very least, racing a gurney around the hospital would have been pretty awesome.

Ben nodded. "Complete badass. He even threw a stapler at someone."

"What did he say?" Diego nudged Klaus's knee.

"Just that you were a stupendous brother, heroically risking your life to whisk me away from danger," Klaus answered with a smile. "That, and how you couldn't stand the thought of something happening to your very, very favourite sibling and you swore if we got out of it all alive, you'd never complain about driving me anywhere ever again."

Diego sighed and shook his head. "Well, he got the heroic part right, at least."

"In honour of your heroics, we should watch The Bodyguard," Klaus announced suddenly.

Diego barely reacted to the change in topics. "No, we really shouldn't."

"Ben loves that movie! We could do a family movie night!"

"I don't think I've ever seen that movie," Ben corrected him.

"Well, you'll love it when you see it," Klaus told him.

"That sounds like it could be fun," Vanya said quietly.

"See?" Klaus patted Vanya's knee. "Vanya's in . . . and so is Allison, right?"

Allison nodded thoughtfully and Luther sighed in response. He looked unhappy, but Klaus knew that Allison's assent meant he would be watching the movie, too. Even Five didn't look horribly opposed to the idea.

"Fine," Diego agreed reluctantly. "You need to rest, anyway. At least if you're watching a movie, you're sitting still somewhere."

Klaus didn't bother to point out that Diego probably needed the rest more. He looked far worse than Klaus felt, and that was saying something.

Luther cleared his throat. "It will have to wait until a little later, though. I have a meeting with some of Dad's old contacts at city hall. The hospital shootout ruffled some feathers and Pogo told me how they used to smooth these things over in the old days. I'm going to try my hand at it."

"Bribery?" Vanya guessed, her tone slightly bitter. "Weird favours, blood diamonds, selling kids? It can't be anything good, can it? Not if Reginald Hargreeves thought it was a viable plan."

Luther shrugged. "Money and a team of superheroes protecting a city can do a lot to calm people down. I'll keep things as up-and-up as I can manage, I promise, and I'll tell you everything when I get back. Our family is through with underhanded schemes and secrets."

The look that passed between Luther and Vanya was more than just a promise to avoid breaking the law; even Klaus could see that through his still-blurred vision. Vanya was trying to learn how to trust him again, but Luther was still the man who had locked her in the basement when she had been terrified out of her mind. If he showed signs of turning into anything resembling their father, all bets were off. For his part, Luther seemed to be aware of that fact.

Allison rose from her seat, moving to stand beside Luther with a pointed look.

"You're coming?" Luther asked in surprise.

Allison nodded firmly before writing a message her notepad. She turned the book to Vanya, but even as close as she was to the couch, Klaus still couldn't quite make sense of the blurred letters. Stupid concussion.

"We won't be like him," Vanya read aloud. She sighed softly. "That's good. That's very, very good."

The Umbrella Academy would smooth things over with the authorities, but they would not compromise their newfound morals. Luther just looked relieved that he wasn't going to have to bear the weight of responsibility alone.

Vanya managed another tentative smile. "Good luck."

Allison smiled back and Klaus felt Vanya relax beside him. It was slow going, but they were getting there.

"You're staying here," Luther said with a quick glance at Five. "One look at your scowling face and they'll take their chances with the drug lords."

"I didn't want to go anyway," Five replied indifferently. "Call me when it's time for the movie." He disappeared from the couch in a flash and Allison gave a huff of amusement.

"We'll be back soon," Luther promised as he and Allison headed to the door. "Try to stay out of trouble."

The room suddenly felt too quiet with just the four of them in it. From the looks of things, Vanya and Diego felt it, too. Ben seemed unconcerned.

"I think I want to have a bath," Klaus announced, moving to push himself to his feet. "I feel gross."

"Let us help you," Diego said firmly. "Your leg is a mess."

Diego used his good arm to steady Klaus as Vanya helped untangle him from the stolen hospital blanket.

"Oh, no," Vanya exclaimed, blushing violently as she caught an unimpeded view of her brother's ass through his open-backed hospital gown.

"Right. Forgot to warn you about that," Diego winced. "Sorry."

"I'll just go start the water," she stammered, making a hasty and embarrassed exit.

Klaus couldn't help but grin as she fled. "Did you see that? My ass is so nice, it rendered her speechless."

Diego rolled his eyes.

"Don't put weight on his shoulder," Ben warned from his place on the arm of the couch.

"Mom can help me upstairs," Klaus offered. "You're hurt."

"We can handle this," Diego replied firmly. He put Klaus's arm over his good shoulder and Klaus was careful not to lean too heavily into him. Diego's grip was firm around his waist. "Are you ready?"

Klaus gave a non-committal grunt in reply as he took a tentative step. His leg hurt and he still felt dizzy, but just having someone to keep him from tilting too much was proving helpful.

"I'm sorry," Diego said softly.

"About what?" Klaus couldn't keep the hint of confusion out of his voice.

Diego gave a bitter laugh. "About everything. I keep messing up with you and I don't even know why."

Klaus frowned. "You saved my life -"

"I took too damn long to get to you," Diego countered, keeping his gaze studiously forward. "You were drugged and trapped . . . and it wasn't just this time. Hazel and Cha-Cha . . . that shouldn't have happened. I just keep coming in too late, or I don't pay enough attention and you always seem to pay the price for that. I hate that people keep hurting you and I hate that I can't seem to stop it from happening."

"Don't do that," Klaus sighed. "Not everything is your fault, you know. As for missing things, it's not like our family has a history of good communication. We're learning, though; we're trying."

"Well, we should try harder," Diego countered. "With everything that's happened-"

"With everything that's happened," Klaus interrupted, "I have come to realize that my family is messed up and all kinds of crazy."

Diego looked at him in surprise.

"I've also realized that we've gone from strangers who always thought the worst of each other to the kind of people who sit around and wait for someone to wake up after a gunfight. Or the kind of people who throw staplers to save their brother from a gun-toting lunatic. We're more of a family now than we ever were before. We're crazy, but we're our crazy and it will work out. You'll see, mon frère."

Diego seemed to mull that over, finally nodding slowly. "I guess."

"Nicely put," Ben commented. "Weird, but nice."

"He's a good bro," Klaus replied. "Doesn't even care that his hand is literally almost on my bare ass."

Diego gave a sound of disgust, but didn't jeopardize Klaus's stability to change his grip.

Klaus didn't even try to hide his grin. "If you really want to help, I might need assistance raiding Allison's closet later."

"I guess I could help with that," Diego sighed, "but if she catches us, it's all on you."

"Fair enough."

The brothers made their way slowly across the room, tired and hurt, but helping each other along every step of the way. If this was what family was like, Klaus was certain he could get used to it.

And if Diego's grip felt suspiciously like a sneaky hug . . . well, Klaus could get used to that, too.

The End

Thanks again for reading! I hope you liked it!

(I was planning to give Allison and Vanya a little more to do, but the story was not cooperating. I think my next fic will have to be about what they were up to when the boys were dodging bullets . . .)