Hello everyone, and welcome to the final chapter of Now More Than Ever. It's very short, but I didn't think it would be a good idea to drag it out. So even if it's just over a thousand words, I hope you'll enjoy this final chapter/somewhat epilogue.

By the way, I listened to "Home" by Daughtry while I wrote this. I don't know if it fits completely, but it's a nice song. Random fact. :)

I don't own Lab Rats. Enjoy.

* * * Chapter 7: Come Home, Chase * * *

I put my hand on the brass doorknob and started to turn it. In a moment of hesitation, I turned back to Mrs. Lebowski. She smiled at me and gestured for me to continue. I took a deep breath and entered the room.

"Chase?" I called as I walked in. "Are you awake?"

My brother sat up on his bed and looked at me. He leaned against the wall and smiled—yes, smiled. It was his usual smirk, a happy look that spread across his whole face. I hadn't seen it in months. Looking at it now, tears were welling up in my eyes. No, I wouldn't cry.

"How are you feeling?" I asked as I sat down in the chair and put my purse on the table.

Chase shrugged. "Okay, I guess. Still feel a little woozy. Got a bajillion medications in my system, but I don't think that's going to change anytime soon."

From my spot, I could see the faint red line that ran up the side of my brother's neck. It only served as a reminder that Chase would never be bionic again. At that point, though, I didn't care about his abilities. All I wanted was my brother back. Besides, his smart-aleck comments did get a little old at times. Maybe it would be even better.

"How's everyone been?" he asked suddenly. He was staring right at me, and for the first time in a while, it looked like he actually cared about what I had to say.

"Pretty good. Um . . . we're all excited about you coming home next week."

"Me too," Chase said with a grin. "It'll be nice to be out of this place. It gets really depressing at times. How's Leo?"

"Good . . . good. He, uh, he's been training with his bionic arm a lot."

Chase's smirk got bigger. "He's replacing me, isn't he?"

That was exactly what I had been trying to avoid. Thanks a lot, Chase. "I wouldn't say replacing. But, yes, he's joining our team. We . . . kinda need his help on missions. Adam and I can't really do it by ourselves. But he's not replacing yo—"

"Bree," Chase said, holding up his hand. "I'm not mad. I know you need as much help as you can get. That's great for Leo. I know it's what he's always wanted. Maybe someday I'll even be able to help a little again—probably from the lab. It's like Leo and I have switched." He gave a soft laugh.

I couldn't help but smile. "You really do seem a lot better."

His smile faded. "Not completely. Yes, the medicine is helping. A lot. But . . . it's not going to fix me. Not all the way. Sometimes I can still hear them. Sometimes I still can't think straight. I know that things will never be the way they used to be."

"I don't care about that," I said, trying to show him how earnest I was. "All I care about is having you back."

"I'm still going to hate myself," he said. "I can't help it. I try so hard. But I really can't do any better."

"I know. I don't care."

"You're still going to have to deal with me hearing and seeing things you don't. I'll . . . I'll drift off and you can't get me back." He bit his lip and looked into my eyes. "What if I try to hurt you again?"

"You won't," I said with complete confidence. "We're going to help you get better, Chase. And even if you're still not completely healed, we won't give up on you or stop loving you."

"Thank you. I know . . . I know I haven't . . . been the best when you come." He took a deep, shuddering breath. "But I really appreciate you being here. Thank you f— . . . for not giving up. On me. Thanks."

"Of course. You're my brother; I have to love you." I winked.

Chase took another deep breath and pushed back into the wall. "It's going to be hard, though. I'll be around all the time. You'll have to deal with me every day instead of when you feel like visiting." He looked at me. "Can you do that?"

"I'll have to. And I can. I know I can. Besides, everyone else will help. We're so excited to have you come back."

"I'm not bionic." He paused. "Do you know how weird that is?"

"I'm sure it is strange. I'm sorry."

"I . . . almost feel like I lost a part of myself. But . . . I've lost so much already, I guess. I couldn't use my bionics in here anyway."

"I know it's going to be different."

"It's a nice different in some ways. They don't talk to me much anymore. I like it when they're quiet. When they don't tell me things that you say are lies. I . . . I never liked them, anyway."

"I'm glad that you don't hear them anymore."

"Much," he corrected. "They're still there."

"But they'll be a lot quieter, like you said."

"Yeah."

For several seconds everything was silent. Then Chase reached under his pillow and pulled something out. My heart sped up a bit when I saw the object in his hand: a Rubik's Cube. He looked down at it and began to turn the sides. He did it slowly and deliberately, almost as if I was no longer in the room. His full concentration was on the cube. I watched in silent fascination.

Chase clicked one more side. The Rubik's Cube was complete. Each of the six sides was one solid color. Chase stared down at it, his face expressionless. "Things won't be perfect again," he whispered, "but I . . . I think they'll be better."

That moment almost broke me. I reached up to rub my eyes, telling myself it was allergies. My brother was truly getting better. Maybe he would relapse—Dr. Nelson said it was a possibility—and he would never be the same as he was before this illness set in, but this was better than anything we had had to deal with for a long time. There was hope. There was joy. Chase was coming back to us. Broken and changed as he was, he was coming back. It was beautiful.

"I love you, Chase," I said.

He looked up at me with those amazing hazel eyes of his. The smile came back—that same joyful smile I had been missing. "I know," he said. "And . . . I love you too."

I thought that would be a good way to end the story. And maybe it was short, but I still think it turned out good. So, did you guys like it? Thanks again for all this support on this story. I really appreciate everyone who reviewed and helped me research different topics. And of course, all the readers too. Thanks so much.

There's a brand new poll on my profile, if you guys would like to check it out. I'm trying to decide which new story to post. Or maybe if I should just post all of them at once, and put up new chapters as I work on them. That might make updates a little slower, but you'd get a lot of material. Or I can wait and not post anything new right now. Then, once the stories are closer to being finished, I'll update them often. But it could be months before I publish them at all. A few I might need help on, so I've thought about posting them just so you guys can help me out. But anyway, vote on the poll or tell me in a review what you think I should do.

(And I know a lot of you want to see "You'll Go Down With Me," but I might have to drop that story, guys, I'm sorry. I really don't know what to do with it. I've got no plot and I can't come up with one. So I'm sorry. I'm not saying it is scrapped, but it might be soon. Sorry.)

Anyway, thanks again to all the readers/reviewers/favoriters/followers of this story. The support is much appreciated. Whatever I do next, I hope to see you guys there. Bye!