A/N: Sorry, it's been two weeks since an update. Things are moving pretty fast in my life these days. I finished my dissertation and have to be ready to defend. Plus, school is crazy busy. But I think there is a story worth telling here with Toby and Sylvester and the gang. I'm glad for every reader I can get. Thanks, Sheila

The Rooster

Sunlight came in when she opened the door and he looked up. There was a natural instinct to want to get up and assist, but he resisted the urge. He knew she was strong despite that braces she needed for walking.

"Hey good lookin'!"

"Toby, how you are doing? I hear you had kind of an exciting week."

"Yeah." He struggled to control the blush burning into his cheeks.

"How's the shoulder?" She pointed a brace at his sling.

"It's better."

"Where is everyone?"

He nodded at the stairs. "They're doing a flight simulation up there. We're playing NTSB today."

"Excuse me." She cocked her head.

"National Transportation Safety Board. We're reviewing a jet crash for the Air Force. Trying to determine if it was pilot error or not."

"Why aren't you up there?"

"I'm reviewing the psych profiles on the pilots."

"Why don't you just talk to them?"

He looked at her with hangdog eyes. "They died."

"Oh." She sat down carefully. "Sorry."

He got up. "Let me go get someone. You here for Walter or Sylvester?"

"Walter. He wants to test my range of motion for his research."

"I'll get him." He started toward the stairs.

"Hey Toby, can you slow down?"

He stopped and turned. "What's going on?"

"Can we talk?"

She was such a warm person that it amazed Toby that she and Walter shared genes. "Yeah. Can I get you anything? Thirsty?"

She smiled. "Sit down, Toby. Why are you always so nervous around me?"

"You trigger my insecurities," he responded automatically. "You're a really good person. You have a good soul. I'm a corrupter. Best for people like you to steer clear of people like me."

She laughed. "You don't hold anything back."

He sat down. "It's the only way I can protect myself and those around me. I have to be me, and you have to know what comes along with that."

"You don't hide from Sylvester. He's got the most gentle soul I've ever known."

He froze for a moment searching for a response. "I can't with Sylvester. I consider him family. You don't choose family. I try to be a good influence. I know I'm not most of the time, but I really try."

"I think you're a good person."

"Thank you."

"And I think Sylvester is lucky to have you watching his back."

Toby bit back a smile. "You've got to hang out here more often. Have you met Robert?"

She nodded.

"And what do you think?"

"I think he has secrets."

"Maybe you should have my job," he said.

"Too trusting. Just like Sylvester. You're better than anyone at this. Toby, he knows you're doing what you think is best. He's scared you're right. He doesn't want you to be."

"I know."

"What if we just let Sylvester work it out? Trust him to do what's right?"

He nodded. "Last time Robert was here, he left Syl holding the bag. He was facing ten years in the pen. Picture Sylvester trying to survive the exercise yard on a daily basis."

She closed her eyes. "Enough."

"Hey Megan, I'll be right down."

She swiveled her head and nodded to her brother as he disappeared back up the stairs. Then she turned back to Toby. "I know you'd do anything for him. He knows that too."

Toby nodded and got up. "I got a bird out back. Roscoe. I probably better check on him."

…..

He sat on the hot concrete cross-legged and watched Roscoe patrol his pen. Happy gave him lots of fencing and good shade. Cabe had brought in straw from somewhere and spread it around the ground. When he came out, he dropped ice cubes in the tub of water hoping to keep it cool for the bird. It was a pretty nice setup for a washed up cock fighter, but Toby wasn't satisfied. Roscoe needed a farm- one that could handle the needs of a fighting bird. He'd been doing research and there weren't many groups trying to rehabilitate birds like Roscoe, and the ones that were had long waiting lists.

The bird was a fish out of water, making due in a makeshift pen in the heart of downtown L.A. It was a condition that Toby understood. They all did. It's what brought them together, and why it would hurt so much if the cyclone didn't work. He thought about all that as he pushed bread crumbs through the wire at Roscoe's persistent beak.

"Hey Toby."

Toby looked up and saw Syl standing there, his hands deep in his pockets. "Hey."

"Walter wants to know if you think the pilot panicked when the left fuselage caught fire."

"I think the Dali Lama would've panicked under those circumstances. The question is whether or not he went through his emergency checklist in the right order."

"Do you think he did?"

"No, I do not."

Sylvester shook his head. "That's a lot to know about a person without knowing a person."

"It's what I do."

"Yeah." He rocked back and forth on his heels.

"Something on your mind?"

He shrugged. "You've always been the one I go to when I need advice about certain things."

"I'm right here."

"This time I don't think you're the right guy to talk to about this."

"Because it's about Robert."

"You're right a lot of the time, Toby, but not every time. I don't want you to be right about him."

"I know."

Sylvester stood there for a long moment. "I think this time I'm going to have to work it out on my own."

Toby shook his head in frustration. "If you can't talk to me, talk to someone else. Try Cabe. I mean, he was good with me after this last…mishap."

"He's a federal agent."

Toby jumped to his feet. "Exactly! This is what makes me nervous. Robert wants your help again, doesn't he? He wants you to do something illegal."

Sylvester backed up. "I can handle it, Toby. I'm not a little kid. I can figure this out."

"What? What does he want from you?"

Sylvester frowned and then shook his head sharply, walking back into the building.

…..

Robert opened the door smiling wide. "Hey Bro! Great surprise!"

Sylvester accepted his warm embrace. "What are you doing?"

Robert gestured at the laptop on the hotel bed. "Working, Syl. I'm trying to make connections. But it's hard to break into the market on the West Coast. It's all about who you know."

Sylvester nodded and sat down. "You can do it. I really have faith in you."

"That's sweet, Syl, but that's not how it works in the real world."

"Yeah, I guess."

Robert looked at him. "Syl, have you thought about what we talked about?"

"Yeah." Sylvester stiffened. "I don't want to do it. Deception isn't healthy. It isn't right."

Robert sat on the end of the bed. "This is about saving lives. You aren't going to be hurting anyone."

"It's a protected list. I would have to hack the kidney donor registry to get it. You would have the names of all of the people in California waiting for a kidney. It's a felony."

"Yeah, but no one will know. You are that good."

"That's not the point. I don't want to be duplicitous. And I thought you wanted the same thing. I thought reconnecting was about you showing me that you'd changed."

Robert hung his head and Sylvester could see the tension in his hands. "You don't understand, Bro. I don't have time to plan games with you. You got this talent, and you're not generous with it. It hurts, man. It hurts."

"Is it money? Is the hotel too expensive? Come stay with me. We'll hang out." Sylvester felt like something was slipping away.

Robert shook his head. "You're a genius, and I can't make you understand one very simple thing. So much is riding on this…you have no idea."

"I want to help."

"No, Bro, you don't want to help. You want to be superior just like you've always been. I'm your brother and I need this very simple thing."

Sylvester stood, feeling breathless. "This is just like last time."

Robert got to the door before him. "Syl, I promise you that this is nothing like last time. I'm legit this time. You just don't understand the pressures I'm facing right now."

"Tell me. I need to know. If you tell me, I'll know what to do."

Robert put hands on Sylvester's shoulders and took a deep breath. "People are dying because they don't have access to the right equipment. I can change that. For the first time in my life, I can do something that helps people. It's my chance to do something good. Don't you see that?"

Sylvester nodded. "I have friends. Connections. We're with Homeland. Maybe, we can get the list through Agent Cabe. Once he hears what's going on, he'll want to help."

Robert shook his head slowly. "No. You promised me you'd never tell anyone what we talked about. I'm holding you to that. It's you and me, Syl. You don't help me in the way that I asked, and I'll never see you again."

"Robert." Sylvester studied his brother's face. "Don't say that."

"I meant it. We do this my way or I'm gone. This is my last chance. You have no idea how important this is to me."

Sylvester looked down, and Robert patted his cheek. "I need this. I need this more than you can understand. Please be my brother, Syl. Please."

He nodded. "I'll do it tomorrow."

"Email it to me."

"It's too sensitive. I'll put it on a drive. We're having dinner tomorrow night with Megan and Walter. I'll give it to you then."

"I need it sooner, Syl."

Sylvester pulled away. "That's the best I can do, Robert. I have a lot of thinking to do."

Sylvester was a big man, but he was quick when he needed to be, and he was out the door before Robert could press him further.

…

The tension built throughout the afternoon. Toby could see it like a cloud over the room, and it amazed him sometimes how the people around him couldn't see it like he did. Paige knew something was up. She was part empath. He once tried calling her Deanna Troi before he realized she had no idea the reference. He still thought about finding a used box set of the Next Generation for her birthday. He loved the idea of gifts with meaning.

And so the cloud grew over the room while Sylvester sat and agonized over a decision he refused to share. Toby had to play it cool. Sylvester tensed whenever he caught his eye. There was a flash drive in his hand that he kept playing with, and Toby pretended not to notice. Toby knew Sylvester had to war over this on his own, and so while he stayed near, he kept his eyes on Freud's seminal text- the most soothing reading in his entire library.

The smell of baking had started about an hour earlier, and Toby knew that Paige was going to approach Sylvester through his stomach. He suspected it was going to be a miss but he couldn't blame her for trying.

"Hey Sly, I made cookies." Paige approached the big man with a smile.

He looked up from his computer and shook his head. "No, thanks."

"Chocolate chip pistachio. Your favorite."

He furrowed his brow. "I said no!"

Cabe and Walter stopped talking and stared. Happy slammed a wrench on the table. "Hey! She made you cookies, dude! What do you say when someone does that?"

Sly blinked. "My apologies. Thank you. Of course. I wasn't thinking. I'm just not hungry."

Toby looked at Happy. "You're going to be such a wonderful mother to our children."

Happy rolled her eyes and returned to her work.

Sylvester stood up. "I gotta go."

"Where you going, Sly?"

"I have a dinner tonight with Megan and Robert at the hotel."

Toby nodded at the clock. "It's only 3:00 in the afternoon. You got plenty of time. Besides, Walt here can ride with you."

Sly furrowed his brow. "I asked Walter yesterday and he said he wasn't coming out with us."

"Naw. I talked to him this morning. Turns out he wants to go."

Walter frowned. "What? We never—"

Cabe squeezed his arm. "I heard you say it too, Walter. It's okay. You can take a night off. There's not much left to do on this project."

"Uh, I guess."

"You remember what I suggested?"

Walter looked at Toby. "Uh, no I do not."

"I told you to ask Paige. I mean, you owe her a dinner, and Megan doesn't want to be the only female with three guys. You never asked her, did ya'."

Walter blinked. "I did not."

Paige watched the whole improvisation with her mouth open.

"Well, ask her, Walt!"

"Paige," he stammered. "Uh…would you like to go out to dinner with me and Sylvester?"

"Um, I would but I…what about Ralph?"

Toby chirped. "Happy will babysit."

Her dark head shot up from her project. "She will not!"

"Don't worry," Toby said. "We'll work it out."

"Well, I guess that's settled." Cabe clapped his hands. "Sly, why don't you wait and go with Paige and Walter."

Sylvester looked confused. "What?"

Paige smiled. "We can all drive together."

"No, I can't. I promised Robert I would meet him first. Alone."

Toby kept his eyes on the flash drive Sly kept fingering. "Okay buddy, you do what you gotta do."

"Yeah." Sylvester headed for the door. He stopped and closed his eyes. Then he turned around, headed for his desk, dropped the flash drive in a drawer, and left. After the door closed, Toby let out a deep sigh.

"What just happened?" Walter said throwing his hands up.

Cabe sat down. "Fill us in, Toby."

"It's on the flash drive. Robert must have asked him for something. He's been struggling over it all day long. He made the right decision."

Walter grimaced. "Are you sure?"

Toby nodded.

"So, why are Paige and I going out to dinner?"

"Robert is going to go ballastic over this. He's been trying to manipulate Sylvester for days. He's going to put a lot on pressure on him. I just think you should be there. Walter, you represent integrity for him. That'll help. Paige can read him better than you can. You need her to tell you what you're dealing with tonight."

Happy got up and headed for Sly's desk. She pulled the flash drive out of his drawer and headed for her computer. Toby watched her. "Whoa, baby. What are you up to?"

She turned her head. "You just call me baby?"

"Let's focus on what you're doing, Miss Quinn."

"I'm going to find out what the hell is going on," she said.

"Don't do it," he said softly.

She screwed up her face. "We're just guessing. Let's find out the truth."

Walter shook his head. "Toby's right. We can't invade his privacy. It would really hurt him."

"I hurt him enough for one week, don't you think?" Toby said.

"You didn't mean to," Paige said.

"I'm done guessing!" Happy slapped the flash drive down on the table.

Cabe smiled. "I wouldn't mind invading Robert's privacy."

"Me neither."

Happy smiled. "Let's do it."

Toby nodded. "We have to break into his room while you guys are downstairs eating."

"Who's we?" Paige had her hands on her hips. "Ralph is not going to be part of anything illegal, people."

"Well, I—"

Happy shook her head. "You're staying here, Doc."

"No! I can see things. I want to see what's in his room."

"We'll take pictures," Cabe said. "You're still bruised up in more ways than one. You get to babysit, pal."

"What?!"

…..

"You were supposed to meet me before dinner."

Sylvester looked up from his pasta. "Robert, we can talk about this later. We're eating with guests."

Even Walter could feel the tension.

"I thought we were starting fresh, little brother."

Megan put her hand on Sly's. "Hey guys, let's not fight. Let's just have a nice dinner."

Robert shook his head. "I needed you. You have no idea how badly I needed you."

Sylvester swallowed wine and stayed focused on his plate. "I couldn't make it. You just have to understand that, Robert."

Paige studied them carefully. "It's always hard with siblings, isn't it? You love each other like crazy, but sometimes, you just drive each other crazy. Right, Walter? I'm sure you and Megan have your moments."

Walter frowned. "No, not really."

"Of course!" Megan said, catching Paige's eye. "We have our moments. You certainly didn't enjoy bailing me out of jail a few months back."

Walter saw that both women required some sort of shift in his thinking. "Okay. A valid point."

Robert reached for the bottle of wine. "Alright. So, it is what it is. We all have to do what we have to, little brother. I'm sure glad you're buying dinner 'cause I'm going to order a helluva lot more wine."

…

Happy sat cross legged on the bed with Robert's computer in her lap. Cabe stood at the doorway. "Hurry it up! If Sylvester's brother leaves the table, he'll be able to get up here in less than two minutes. Doesn't give us much time to get out of here."

She gave him a look. "His laptop is full of weird firewalls. No sense of order. They're just random. Downloading his hard drive is going to take a few more minutes."

"I thought he wasn't a genius."

"He's not. That's the problem. There's no logic here. Just crap. Takes a bit to sift through it."

"Sift faster. If we get caught doing this, I got no backup explanation. No case to hang this on."

She frowned at the machine. "I wish the doc was here. He knows how I work. He's a lot of things but at least he isn't some nervous bureaucrat worried about his pension."

Cabe sighed. "You're right. You and I got no rhythm as a team, but if I lose my job over this, just know that your couch becomes my new home."

She looked at the ceiling and sighed. "Joy."

….

Roscoe perched on Walter's worktable and gobbled at the seed Ralph put down for him. Toby crouched next to him. "He's made the connection. He pecks at the sleeve of your shirt and you give him feed. Put your arm out again and wait."

Ralph did, and the rangy bird bobbed his head about impatiently. "He's not doing it."

"Be patient. He needs to think about it again."

Roscoe strutted about for a moment, making impatient noises in his throat. Ralph looked at Toby. "He's hungry."

"Give it a minute. Trust me."

Ralph focused on Roscoe. "Come on, Roscoe."

The bird bobbed his head, and then suddenly surged forward and pecked at his sleeve.

"Treat!" Toby said and Ralph slid a handful toward the bird. Roscoe gobbled at the seed in his hand.

"Good job!" Toby said squeezing Ralph's shoulder. There was something about the kid that was effortless for him. It felt good to give him the warmth he'd been long denied by his own father. And Ralph liked him with the guileless ease that children possessed. It made Toby want to be a part of good things just so he could deserve the love Ralph showed him.

"What else are we going to teach him tonight?"

"Patience, young Skywalker. Let's get Roscoe confident in this skill before we introduce something new."

Ralph bit his lip. "Are we keeping him forever?"

Toby knelt next to him awkwardly swallowing a moan as his bruised muscles settled onto the ground. "I don't know the answer, Ralph. We're doing good with him, but it's not the same for him as being on a farm, you know. Here it's concrete and cars. He's a bird, and I can't help thinking that he deserves some fresh country air."

Ralph pulled Roscoe off the table and sat next to Toby. "Maybe, he doesn't miss it. Maybe, he doesn't remember."

"Yeah, I don't think he remembers either, Ralph. It's complicated. We know that there's something out there that fits who he is better than we can. I think he might want that more than he wants us. He probably isn't going to get too attached to us- not like we will with him."

"I want to keep him."

Toby felt the emotion rise in the boy, and it reminded him of how lonely being a genius can be. "Let's make a deal. Roscoe doesn't go anywhere without you and I both agreeing it's the right decision."

"Fist bump?"

"Definitely," Toby said giving Ralph a solid bump.

The sound of breaking glass startled both of them, and Toby struggled to his feet, hissing. "Stay here, Ralph!"

He got to the top of the stairs, and saw a man climb through the window downstairs and run to unlock the door. He backed up slowly, turned, and put his finger to his mouth for Ralph. The boy, eyes wide, gathered Roscoe in his arms and crouched quietly. Toby looked around the room and saw the cabinets in back. They were large, and Ralph would fit inside easily. The thick concrete floor echoed no noise as he stepped lightly over to Ralph. He slung Ralph and Roscoe under his good arm and moved to the back of the room where it was darker. He wouldn't risk opening a cabinet unless there was no choice.

Downstairs, there were sounds. Several men were in the garage now. Toby counted four voices. They weren't very organized, and at first, it sounded like a run of the mill burglary. Then one of the men said, "Grab all the computers. Garza said that we take all of the computers, not just the big man's."

Toby's breath caught. Big man had to be Sly.

"We don't got no skills to get into them, man."

"That's Garza's problem, puto. Just grab 'em and then we call Garza. If he wants the big man too, we know exactamente where he is."

Toby felt for his phone, but it wasn't in his pocket. He remembered that he'd left it on his desk, and he cursed himself for his never ending string of bad habits.

Roscoe took that moment to protest the tight grip Ralph had on him with a gargled cry.

"What is that noise?!"

Toby heard the men scrambling around in search of the sound. He took that moment to open the cabinet and shove Ralph inside. The boy was scared but silent even when Toby pried Roscoe out of his hands. He couldn't risk more noises out of the bird. He touched Ralph's face in reassurance and then closed the cabinet.

He heard boots on stairs and straightened up. He pitched Roscoe to the top of the cabinet, and then moved toward the stairs, saying loudly, "What's the hell's going on down there? That better not be you, Cabe! I told you to be quiet when you got back. I need some damn rest up here!"

…

TBC