Title: My Baby Brother
Author: secd457
Summary: Hank has to take care of his baby brother...no matter what. Even after the betrayal.
Disclaimers: Story's mine, characters aren't
Notes: SPOILERS FOR THE SEASON FINALE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Later on, but still.
This will be about 2 or 3 parts. Not sure yet. Enjoy!!
Evan shot up in bed with a cry, remembering at the last second to throw a hand over his mouth. He didn't want to wake Hank. Slowly, he lay himself back down, ignoring the sweat-soaked sheets. He closed his eyes, hand still covering his mouth, his body trembling. Evan knew if he took his hand away, the whimpers would escape. The trembling escalated at not being able to let go. It finally overwhelmed him and he went into a panic, breathing heavy, eyes flitting around the room, sweat pouring down his face. He couldn't take it anymore.
Hank rolled over in bed, frustrated. He couldn't sleep. Something felt…off. Rolling his eyes, he mentally head-slapped himself. Idiot, just go to sleep. He closed his eyes and rolled back over to face the door. He was almost asleep when he heard heavy footsteps coming toward his room. Fast. Hank didn't even have a chance to sit up before the door burst open and a brunette blur slammed into him, knocking him flat on the bed.
"Evan! What the hell?!" Hank sat up, and nearly tore Evan a new one, when he noticed the sweat on the back of the neck that was connected to the head currently trying to get lost in his breast bone. The clammy arms that clung to his waist made him shiver and the trembling body scared him. Hank grabbed his t-shirt from the side of the bed and mopped Evan's back and neck with it, getting his shoulders and face as well as he could. Then he put his arms around the cool body and gently rocked his little brother, trying to get him to calm down. "Easy, easy. What's wrong, Evan? Talk to me."
His brother's whimpers and shaking body did nothing to ease his fears, especially when he didn't get an answer. Realizing he probably wouldn't at the moment, Hank pulled Evan closer and let him bury his face in his neck, clutching the younger man securely.
"Are you hurt, Ev?" Hank asked gently. Evan shook his head slightly. "Are you sick?" Another shake of the head. "Did something scare you?"
He hit the nail on the head. Evan nodded after a pause and Hank sighed.
"Okay. Let's get you cleaned up and then we can talk about it, okay?" Evan nodded again. Hank knew he wouldn't be saying anything else. Any time Evan had a nightmare, they went through a routine. Calm him down, clean him up, tuck him in. Sounds simple, right? Wrong. Actually, the hardest part was over, surprisingly. Hank slowly disentangled himself from Evan and stood before pulling the younger man up. Evan just looked so…lost. Pitiful, almost. It was enough to make Hank hug him one more time, kissing his temple and laying a hand on the back of his head. He felt Evan clutching him tightly, his fists flexing at his back where he would've been holding Hank's shirt. Evan was just itching to hold onto something. "It's okay. I've got you. You're all right. Just take it easy, Bro."
Hank pulled away, kissing his temple again, and led him to the bathroom. He sat Evan on the toilet, making sure he could sit up without falling over, and went to fill the tub. While they waited, Hank moved back to Evan and laid a hand on his shoulders. Evan leaned closer to him and rested his head against Hank's stomach, closing his eyes and latching a hand onto the cuff of Hank's shorts. No matter what the situation, if he was upset, Evan needed to be touched. It came from when their father left and Hank was the only one there to hold him when he cried about it, their mother being sick and all. That had created an odd bond between the two that had lasted since that fateful night. Hank ran a hand through the damp curls and reached over to turn of the faucet.
"Do you need help with your pants?" he asked, pulling Evan up to stand. Evan shook his head and moved to slide them off his hips, but the room started spinning and he fell into his brother, clutching his forearms. "Whoa. Okay, guess that's a 'yes.'"
Evan held onto the counter while Hank pulled the cotton pants off, along with his boxers. A flush of embarrassment touched his cheeks and Hank gave him a small smile.
"You? Embarrassed? Not hardly," Hank teased lightly. He managed to sit Evan in the steaming water and himself on the side of tub in one move. "Can you sit up by yourself? Seriously, Ev."
"I…don't know," Evan croaked softly, surprising and startling Hank. Usually, Evan wouldn't talk for the rest of the night, only grunts and soft moans being his methods of communication. Hank shook himself out of his daze and picked up a washcloth, shifting so he was sitting on the ledge behind Evan, his feet in the water on either side of the thin man. This way, he could reach everything and still be able to hold him up. Wringing the cloth out over Evan's shoulders, Hank pulled his shorts up high on his thighs, leaning Evan against his right leg. "Tired, Hank."
"I know you are, Little Buddy, but this'll help you feel better. I promise," Hank replied, using Evan's childhood nickname. He lathered the washcloth up with some soap and gently began to scrub the nightmare away, letting Evan lean back against his stomach when he washed his chest. "See? Feels good, doesn't it?"
Evan nodded and closed his eyes, letting his brother take care of him. It did make him feel better, the grime and sweat of the nightmare gone. The pain in his face was almost gone, Hank noticed. Sympathy flashed through him when he caught a glimpse of Evan's tired eyes before they closed, but he continued, using a cup to wet Evan's hair. He moved to sit on the outside edge, so he didn't get wet, and massaged the shampoo through Evan's curls, the young man barely able to hold his head up.
"Almost finished, Buddy. Just gotta rinse this out and then we can get you dressed." Hank quickly rid the curls of the soap and grabbed a towel, tossing it over his neck. He flipped the drain latch and got Evan to raise up onto his knees, so the towel didn't get wet, before wrapping it around his torso under his arms. Placing Evan's arms around his neck, Hank wrapped his own around Evan's chest and pulled him up carefully, not wanting him to slip. "Easy. Just take it slow. That's it."
Hank quickly dried Evan off, sitting him on the toilet again to do so. Then he ran and got a pair of his own boxers from the dresser and hurried back to Evan, catching him just before he fell off the toilet. This startled Evan so bad that tears sprang to his eyes, which were flitting around the room. He just wanted to get warm and go to sleep.
"I've got you. You're okay." Hank kissed his forehead, letting his lips linger, and slid the boxers on.
"Hank…wanna go to sleep…please," Evan whimpered. Hank nodded and led him back to the bedroom, laying him down.
"There you go. You did great, Buddy. I'm proud of you." Hank laid down next to him and immediately felt him curl up against his chest. Again, though, he felt Evan's fists just flexing, and the younger man rubbed his face against Hank's chest. He sighed before standing up again, moving before Evan could grab him. The whimper that was torn from Evan's throat just cut into his heart, but he kept moving toward the dresser, grabbing a wife beater and putting it on.
The first thing Evan did when Hank laid down again was latch on to the front of that shirt. The tall body relaxed in Hank's arms and let out a deep sigh. Hank rubbed Evan's back soothingly, feeling the tension leaving the muscles. He was finally letting go.
"Get some sleep, Ev," he whispered, watching the blue eyes fall shut.
"Don't leave, Hank," Evan croaked, his body tensing up again at the thought. He really didn't want to be by himself right now.
"I'm right here, Buddy. I'm not going anywhere. Go to sleep, now," Hank replied. He heard Evan's breathing even out and let out a wide yawn, nuzzling his face into Evan's hair. They'd be all right. He just had to find out what it was that had scared his little brother so badly.
So? How is it? It's my first Royal Pains fic, so bear with me. I'm still getting a feel for the characters.