For Love of a Brother Ch. 01

Prologue: Spring 1962

The room was quiet except for the occasional whimpering of the baby in his mother's arms. She continued to rock gently, all the while kissing him and whispering sweet things in his ear. Although the nurses tried every night to rock him to sleep, it was she who had the touch he wanted and needed.

Exhausted and fighting sleep herself, she knew her husband would be picking her up soon to take her home for a few pitiful hours of rest. He cared for their 15-month-old daughter while she kept the vigil at the hospital.

He stirred a little, waking her with a start from her doze before he settled into a sound sleep. Silently, she admonished herself for falling asleep as she looked down at her son, so small and frail in her arms. How she loved him so, even more than life itself. He would have surgery soon to remove the kidney that was poisoning him and she was dreading it. Another operation for her Andy and he wasn't even six months old yet! Perhaps, this would be the last one. She could only hope.

Carefully, she stood up on shaky legs and prayed he wouldn't wake. She tenderly placed him on the bed, trying to avoid moving the tubes sticking out from his sides that drained the waste his good kidney had missed. Good kidney? The doctors told them it was damaged, too, but it still worked. When they removed the bad kidney, they would repair the other and hope for the best. Even then, sadly, they said he probably wouldn't live to see his fifth birthday.

Tears rolled down her face as she lifted the gate into place, securing it so he couldn't accidently roll out. As she had done every night since he was hospitalized, she sat in the rocking chair again, weeping and praying until her husband arrived to take her home.

February 1979

A cold wind blew through the trees that early morning. Overgrown bare branches scraped against the sides of the house as bits of rain splashed against the window panes that were next to Serena's bed.

It awakened her slightly, but she merely flipped onto her stomach in search of a more comfortable position. She could sleep through a tornado, or so it was suggested by her brother, teasing her as he always did.

Diane heard the wind and cocked an ear toward the ceiling to see if it waked her children. Hearing nothing, she went back to her breakfast and newspaper. It was almost six o'clock and soon it would be time for her to go to work and for the kids to get up and get ready for school. She heard a faint beeping sound coming from above and knew Serena's alarm was going off. Smiling to herself, she took another sip from her coffee cup.

Serena groaned when she heard the familiarbeep, beep, beeps, coming from her alarm clock. Another full week of school greeted her and she was not amused. Grumbling, she threw off her covers and stumbled across her room to the alarm where she silenced the annoying noise with the flick of her finger. Fighting the urge to flop back into her bed, she instead fumbled around in the dark for her robe and slippers, disdaining a light for fear of blinding herself that early. Once she shrugged on her robe, she made her way out of her room and went down the dimly lit staircase to the kitchen.

"Morning, bright eyes," her mom greeted her. Squinting, Serena mumbled something and waved her hand weakly. She shuffled to the fridge and pulled out a carton of orange juice. Tempted to drink straight out of the carton, she glanced at her mom and thought better of it. Instead, she poured herself a glass and gulped it down.

"Some storm, huh?"

"I guess," Serena shrugged.

"I hope your dad's had an easy night."

"He usually does. Criminals don't like to come out and play in bad weather." Her father, Joe, was a police officer. Serena gulped down another glass and put the carton back in the fridge. She then rinsed her glass and set it in the sink.

"I hope you're more awake during practice today than you are now," Diane said.

Serena looked at her strangely as if the last sentence hadn't registered. Practice? Practice! Serena had almost forgotten about. It was the first day of practice for the girl's softball team and the boy's baseball team at McKinley High School. Serena was a senior and played centerfield, while her brother, Andy, a junior, played second base.

Serena had already made the team, being her team's most valuable player the past two years, the league's player of the year last season, all-state the previous two years, and the pre-season pick for player of the year in Ohio. Other than that, she was pretty good.

Andy, on the other hand, hoped to catch on as an extra infielder for the varsity. He didn't want to play on the junior varsity again, even though he was assured of being a starter. Andy didn't care if he sat the bench, he wanted to be on the varsity team.

"I should be awake by then," Serena answered.

"Well, I've got to run," Diane said as she threw on her coat. "Your dad should be home soon, unless he has a lot of reports to write." She put her purse over her shoulder. "Tell Andy 'good luck' for me."

"I will."

Diane brushed past her, kissing her on her forehead as she went by. "See you at supper," she called before she was out the door.

Serena went back upstairs and into the bathroom where she took a quick shower. After toweling off, she put her robe back on and went back to her room. Once there, she found the clothes she wanted to wear that day and dressed quickly. She combed her short, brown hair into place and glanced at the clock. It was almost six-thirty and time to wake her brother.

Andy never liked being waked by an alarm. It always made him jump out of his skin, no matter how low the setting. He mentioned this to Serena one time and from then on, she took it upon herself to wake him. Like her mother, Serena was always looking out for her little brother. They never fought, seldom argued, and genuinely liked being around each other.

She strode to his door and knocked softly before letting herself in, as was her custom. He was still asleep, his face buried into his pillow. Serena touched him lightly on his shoulder and he woke instantly, turning to her.

"Shit!" he exclaimed softly, eyeing her. "I was in a good dream. If you only could have waited a few minutes."

"Sorry," she said, straightening up, "I can't schedule waking you up around your dreams. Which girl was it about this time?" she smiled sweetly.

Andy stretched and yawned. "No girls, this time. It was about practice. Man, I was hitting everything out of sight, running strong, catching everything. I couldn't do anything wrong. I wish it would happen in real life."

"You'll do fine," she said as she walked to the door. "It's getting late. You better get moving."

"Thanks, sis."

"No problem."

Like his sister before him, he took a quick shower and found clothes to wear. After dressing, he packed his gym bag with his sweat pants, baseball shirt, jock strap with a protective cup, his shoes and his glove. The first few practices would be in the gym until it got a little warmer. The temperature that day was only supposed to get into the low twenties. He grabbed his backpack full of schoolbooks and ambled down the stairs to the kitchen.

After a breakfast of cereal and toast, Andy took his stuff to the garage and threw them into the trunk of the car, a late model '68 Chevelle he and his sister shared. He didn't see his sister's bag, so he knew he'd have to remind her before they left. Coming back into the house, he found her in her room getting her books together.

"I didn't see your stuff in the car," he said, hands on his hips outside her door.

"They're in the back seat. I threw them in Saturday."

"Oh. You about ready to go?"

"Yeah, give me a couple of minutes. I'll be down soon. Warm up the car if you like."

"Okay." Andy went back down, shrugged on a heavy coat, and made his way back to the garage. After opening the garage door, he started the car and backed it onto the driveway. He closed the garage door and waited patiently for his sister.

"Miss Burleson," Mr. Hilliard glared at her from the chalkboard, "if you must daydream, please do it outside my classroom. Now that I've got your attention, what was Lincoln's thoughts during the time in question? Did he want to end the war by any means?"

Serena returned the stare, but she wasn't angry at him. In fact, he was one of the few teachers who kept her interest. Her thoughts had been far away on the softball field. She was anxious to get the season underway and prove to everyone she was the best player in the state.

"Lincoln wanted to end the war no matter what. He didn't care if slavery was ended or if things stayed the same," she answered. She really liked history.

"Very good, Miss Burleson," he said, lightly applauding her. "You weren't quite comatose, were you?"

Serena shook her head and smiled slightly.

"Miss Burleson is correct. Lincoln...."

Serena's thoughts went back to softball. She thought she should have been named the best player in the state the previous year, but it rarely was given to juniors. Serena's stats were better than the girl who won, but it wasn't to be. The girl went on to receive a scholarship to UCLA and Serena was happy for her. Serena, however, had no intention of going that far away to go to school. She received offers from all of the top softball schools in the country, but she wanted to be within a days drive from home. So, when Indiana University beckoned, Serena visited the campus, fell in love with it, and the rest was history. It was a good fit for her, too. Indiana was graduating two of their outfielders, so she could step right in and start in her freshman year. She was happy with her decision and couldn't wait for practice to start.

After a hot post-practice shower, Andy walked up the stairs from the locker room with his buddy, Jim Schaeffer. They had been put through a grueling practice and both were tired. When they reached the student's lounge, Andy looked for Serena, but he didn't see his brown haired, brown eyed, superstar sister anywhere. Jim left and Andy wandered to an unoccupied chair near the door. While putting his bags in the chair next to him, he saw a pair of shoes stop in front of him. Looking up, he saw a blond haired, green eyed girl staring at him. It was Jenny Hobbs, a girl with whom he had been partnered during their sophomore biology class. They had gotten along very well doing experiments and dissections together, but never dated, both having been involved with someone else at the time. She was of medium height and build and he remembered her being on Serena's team, but he couldn't remember her position.

"Hi Andy," she said, still looking down at him. "Can I sit with you?"

Andy blinked for a second, trying to get his thoughts together. Very few girls talked to him out of the blue, especially one as pretty as Jenny. Grabbing his books once again and emptying the seat, he said, "Uh, sure, Jenny. Sit down."

She tossed her bags to the floor and sat down, her body turned his way. "Wow, what a practice! Don't ask how it went." She pushed her wavy blonde hair away from her eyes. "How have you been, Andy?" Her eyes shone and she smiled at him. She had really liked him when they were partners, but they went different directions once the experiments ended. Thinking back, she would have liked to have dated him if she hadn't been dating someone else at the time.

"So, so. Practice was a pain. I think Anderson was trying to coach track instead of baseball. All we did was run. I feel about as good as that frog we cut up last year." He liked her smile. It was friendly and genuine.

"Yeah, I know that feeling," she agreed, her smile wider. "I'm pretty sore." She looked around and saw they were somewhat alone, with only a few people hanging around nearby. "So, are you and Kathy still dating?"

"Nah," he said, "we were never a real couple. We just sort of hung out together, you know, just as friends. She's dating Keith Ross now, I think."

"Hanging around with anyone in particular now?"

"No. How about you and Terry?"

Jenny and Terry Kell had been dating at the time a year before. "No, we split up a few months ago. The Christmas Dance, I think. He wanted to get more serious, a lot more serious, if you get my drift, and I didn't."

Andy's eyes widened and he understood very well. "Oh."

"So, you waiting on Serena?"

"Yeah, we drive together every day, or at least try to. Most of the time, there's no conflict. If there is, one of us takes the bus. No problem. The bus stop's only a block away." He looked around, but didn't see her. Not that he was in any hurry for her arrival. He was quite content talking to Jenny and he was starting to relax a bit. Looking back, he really missed being partners with her. She had been a lot of fun and she wasn't squeamish when it came to the dissections. In fact, she was quite skilled with the knife and could find things easier than he. She was the main reason they got mostly "A's" on their reports.

"Yeah, my mom's picking me up in a few minutes. I wish I had a car to drive, but my folks need them. It's not so bad, I guess."

Andy looked down at his hands as he was starting to get nervous again. He wanted to offer to take her home, but he didn't know how to approach it. He wanted to ask her out, but he was afraid to be turned down. He hated being shy. Here was a really sweet, pretty girl talking to him and he couldn't keep a conversation going. Andy looked back at her and she was smiling at him, obviously enjoying being in his company. He couldn't remember being nervous around her before. Maybe it was because she was dating someone then and she was safe. Andy smiled and looked down again.

"I guess so," he said softly, sighing and looking the other way. "So," he said, bringing his attention back to her, "how's school going for you?"

"Not too bad. I wish you were still my lab partner. I haven't had a decent one this year."

"You know I hate science. I bitched about it enough last year." Although he loved biology for a time last year, he mused. "Give me math and business and I'm a happy camper."

"Hey guys," Serena said, leaning over the back of the chairs between the two. She had been watching from a safe distance before she decided to make her entrance.

"Damn," Andy muttered to himself. "Hey Serena," he said, trying to be cheerful. At any other time, he would have been glad to see his sister and go home. This time was different. "You're out kind of early."

"Same time as usual. Hey Jenny!" she turned her attention to her teammate.

"Hey Serena, long time, no see."

"You're interrupting us," Andy said quietly, looking up at her.

"What?" she asked.

"You interrupted us. You interrupted a great dream this morning and now, you've interrupted us."

"Sorry. It's the sister in me."

Andy turned to Jenny. "What's a guy supposed to do with a sister like that?"

Jenny eyed the door leading to the parking lot and saw her mom's car at the curb. "I know what you can do, but I have to go. Mom's here." Jenny stood up and gathered her books and gym bag.

"What?" he stammered, as she began to walk to the door. Jenny looked behind her and laughed softly, her soft curled hair bouncing lightly on her collar. He looked at his sister for help. She jerked her head in Jenny's direction and motioned to her.

My God, she thought, do I have to write him directions?

Andy finally got the hint, getting up quickly. "Hey Jenny," he called, "wait up. I'll walk with you." Jenny stopped at the door and waited patiently as Andy gathered his belongings.

They met at the door, with Serena trailing a safe distance behind, and walked to her mom's car, a brown Toyota. They walked slowly, not in any hurry to get there. Andy saw the silhouette in the driver's seat and he assumed it was Jenny's mom. They got to the car too fast for Andy. Jenny opened the back seat door and put her books and gym bag inside before she shut it.

"See you tomorrow after practice?" Jenny asked, her hand on the door handle.

"Sure," Andy answered. He looked down and scuffed his shoe against the wet pavement. Hands in his pockets, he looked back at Jenny, who had a bemused look on her face. He glanced back at Serena and said, "You know, back in the lounge, you said you had a solution to Serena interrupting me. What is it?"

Jenny smiled and reached into her pockets. She produced a scrap piece of paper and a pen and wrote something on it. Taking a step forward, she pressed the note into his hand. "Call me," she said softly before turning and opening the door. Before he knew it, she was gone and he was staring at the red tail lights of their car as they disappeared around the corner. Serena was at his side and nudged him. Wordlessly, they walked together toward their car.

Diane loved it when Joe was spontaneous. When he beckoned her upstairs to the bedroom when she came home from work, she didn't question it. She knew they had at least an hour before the kids were due home after their practice, plenty of time for them to have some fun. Except on weekends, it was difficult for them to get together because of their differing schedules.

After almost twenty years of marriage, Joe lusted for Diane as much as when they were newlyweds. Even after two kids and thirty extra pounds, he thought she still looked fantastic and felt she was as sexy as ever. When they were able to sleep together, he couldn't keep his hands off of her, playing with her and teasing her. Their sessions were usually long, slow, and sensual, taking their time and reveling in the moment.

This was not one of those times, but Diane enjoyed a little "quickie" after work if she wasn't too tired. He helped her undress quickly and soon, they were naked and under the covers. She was already getting moist from anticipation as his hands roamed between her legs. Her kisses, soft and sensual at first, soon became hot and fiery against his lips. It had been a while since they had made love and she missed it terribly.

Diane climaxed loudly and quickly once his mouth and tongue found her clitoris. He attacked it with fervor and gusto, savoring her special taste and enjoying the sounds she made. He never tired of doing that for her.

Joe didn't last long once he was inside her. She seemed tighter than usual as she ground her pelvis against him, urging him to thrust harder and not hold back. She wrapped her hands around his buttocks and pulled him into her as hard as she could stand it. His release was strong and powerful and Diane could feel each and every burst that came from him, filling her and satiating her.

They rested for awhile as he toyed with her delicate nipples, teasing them with the tips of his fingers. Oh, how she wanted to lay with him for the rest of the evening! But, the kids would be home soon and there was supper to be fixed, although Joe had started a pot roast. With a contented sigh, Diane kissed him, and they got dressed again before heading down to the kitchen

"So, when is he going to call me?" Jenny asked Serena as they got dressed for practice that Friday.

"I don't know," Serena answered as she tugged a sports bra over her small, pert breasts. "He's been pretty busy with practice and school work. I think he had a few tests this week, too."

"I mean, I gave him my number. What more does he want?" Jenny sat down on the bench in front of her locker. "We sit and talk after practice. I know he likes me." She looked up at Serena as she pulled on a sweatshirt. "We had such a great time in biology last year."

"He likes you, Jenny, he really does," Serena said. "He talks about you a lot when we drive home. He's just really shy about calling girls."

"But, we're friends," Jenny protested.

"I know that, but he was even weird about calling Kathy on the phone, and they were pretty tight, no matter what Andy says. Even when they were dating, he always had to get up the courage to call her."