For Love of a Brother Ch. 01

One person to whom she did speak was Sue Griffin, head softball coach at Indiana University. Serena wanted to make sure everything was out in the open for her in case there would be a problem. After checking with university doctors, Sue assured her that the transplant would not affect her standing after she recovered, that her scholarship would be waiting for her. The only thing she asked was that Serena let her know when the transplant would take place and Serena said she would. Relieved that her scholarship would remain intact, Serena turned her attention to softball and her family.

Once her softball season was completed, the family would travel to Ohio State to meet the transplant team and tour the facilities. One thing Serena wasn't sure about would be her interview with the staff psychologist. This was to make sure she was emotionally prepared and ready to go through with the transplant. In her mind, Serena knew she was ready to do it. No psychologist could tell her otherwise. There was also the possibility of her and Andy meeting transplant recipients and their living donors. This meeting would give them an idea of what to expect before and after the transplant from both sides of the spectrum. It was all starting to fall into place and only time stood between them and their destiny.

School continued to progress well for Andy as he caught up by his second week back. Now, firmly entrenched in a routine with his classes, dialysis treatments, homework, and finding time to spend with Jenny, things had returned almost to normal for him. He disliked his dialysis sessions, although the staff was wonderful to him, but he found it uncomfortable and boring. He didn't like feeling so drained afterward, too. His sessions were scheduled on Sunday morning, and Tuesday and Thursday evenings. He always had to make sure his homework was completed ahead of time because all he wanted to do was sleep afterward.

His strength and stamina peaked to about seventy percent and he felt it would get no better. He still had those days when he felt like sleeping forever, but Serena kept him in line. Andy went to one baseball game, but he found it too depressing to go back again. Everyone was glad to see him and he enjoyed seeing them, too, but one game was enough.

March turned into April and the season was winding down in preparation for the state playoffs. With a perfect record of 16-0 and only one more game to play, Serena had already set season and career records for hits, average, home runs, and runs batted in for her school. The accolades were starting to roll in for her. She was voted player of the year in her league, her district, and the state. She took it all in stride, of course, never letting it go to her head. It was just another part of her life, but she knew the most important thing she would ever do was but two months away. The transplant was never far from her thoughts and that helped her keep things in perspective.

It was a warm mid-April Saturday afternoon when Jenny showed up at Andy's house on her ten speed bicycle. Rare for a northern Ohio April, it was nice enough for her to wear shorts and a tank top, much to his delight. As he expected, she had great looking legs, muscular and well-toned, as were her arms and shoulders. Seeing her in less clothes than usual was a very pleasant surprise and Andy and he couldn't take his eyes off her as she stood in front of him.

"Okay, you can stop staring at me now," she laughed.

"Sorry, I haven't seen you I anything but jeans and long-sleeved shirts."

"Don't be sorry," she said as she stepped inside. Seeing no one around, she asked, "Where is everyone?"

"Mom and dad are out shopping and Serena is at the library doing some research. They should all be home pretty soon," he explained. "What are you doing here so early? I thought we weren't getting together until seven." They had made plans to see a movie. They had long since had their "first" date.

"Oh, I don't know," she said. "It's such a beautiful day, I didn't want to waste it just sitting at home, so I thought I'd ride over and visit for a while. So, do you want to take a walk or something?"

"Sounds great," he said. "Let me write a note in case they get back before we do." Andy went to the kitchen and wrote a short note for his parents. Clad in jeans and a sweatshirt, he started to walk Jenny to the door.

"You won't need a sweatshirt, Andy. It's pretty warm outside."

"Okay," he shrugged. Without hesitation, he started to pull off his top layer, taking his tee shirt with it and exposing his back and his scars he usually tried to hide. Jenny looked at them with fascination having not seen them before.

"What?" he said as he pulled down the tee shirt.

"I was just looking at your scars."

"Yeah, well, there's a lot of them," he said, a bit embarrassed.

"Can I look at them again?"

"Why?"

"I've never seen them before."

"Oh," he answered, not offering more.

After a few seconds of waiting, she asked again, "Can I?"

Andy thought about it for a few seconds before relenting. "I guess so," he said, finally. Reluctantly, he pulled his shirt up to his upper back. It exposed a nasty scar on each of his sides that extended to within a few inches his spine.

Jenny studied them intently, fascinated by the viciousness of them. It made her sad to think he had them since he was a baby. It must have been a terrible time, she thought. "Can I touch them?" she asked

"Sure, I guess so," he answered. He was beginning to feel a little less awkward about the whole thing. At least she didn't think they looked disgusting.

Slowly, she placed her fingers against the puckered skin. It felt odd to the touch, rough and ragged. She didn't find it unappealing at all, only fascinating. Jenny studied both sides and found them oddly symmetrical, as if the surgeon was trying to make it look equal. She brushed her fingers across it and Andy flinched slightly.

She stopped abruptly. "Did I hurt you?" she asked.

"Oh, no," he said. "It tickles a bit, that's all. You just hit some nerve endings. It's always been like that." She pulled her hand away and he pulled his shirt down and tucked it into his jeans. "So, what do you think?"

"They're pretty bad scars, but it's no big deal to me."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. They don't bother me at all." Jenny moved forward and hugged him. "You could have all the scars in the world and I'd still go out with you."

Andy grinned. "Good. They don't bother me, either."

"I would hope not since it's your body."

"Okay, it's your turn now."

"My turn for what?"

"To take off your shirt."

"What?" she squealed.

"You saw me without my shirt on. It's only fair."

"That's a little bit different and you know it." Jenny wasn't upset at all and thought he was being pretty funny.

"Geez," he said in mock disgust, "you see me half naked and it's okay, but I ask the same of you and you get bent out of shape."

Jenny thought to herself for a second. Why not give him a thrill? No one was home and she had a bra on. It wouldn't be any different than if she wore her bikini to a swimming pool or lake, plus her bikini was a lot skimpier. She moved away from the door and began pulling her shirt out of her shorts.

"What are you doing?" he stammered. He didn't actually think she was going to do it. He didn't mean it. He was joking, for God's sake!

"You're the one who wanted to see me without a shirt on, so here it goes." In one swift motion, her shirt was off and she was standing in front of him in just her bra and shorts. It was a plain white cotton bra, nothing fancy or frilly, but Andy was mesmerized. She was very average, probably a 36C, but the tops of her breasts were showing and she had very nice cleavage. Jenny was amused at the dopey look plastered on his face. She glanced out the window to make sure no one was coming home and she looked back at Andy.

She laughed as she began putting her shirt back on. "Just think, Andy, my bikini shows more than this!"

Andy felt a slight stirring beneath his belt, something he rarely felt unless they were into some very passionate kissing. "You have an awesome body," he managed to say. He wanted to say more, but he was suddenly tongue tied. How could he tell her he wanted to see her naked?

"You're so sweet," she said, touching his cheek before kissing him. She truthfully didn't think she was anything great, so his compliment was deeply appreciated. Then again, he complimented her quite often. "Come on," she said taking his hand, "let's take that walk."

"Sure," he said, glad to be in more familiar territory. After he locked the door behind them, they started their walk.

Hand in hand, they strolled the neighborhood, enjoying the warm weather and being with each other. After about fifteen minutes, they turned and began to walk back. Neither had said much and Jenny thought it to be a bit odd. As they got to know each other, Andy had opened up more and talked pretty freely to her. Although he didn't talk a lot, it was much more than when they first started to see each other.

"I hope I didn't scare you when I took my shirt off," she smiled.

"Well, scared wasn't exactly on my mind at that time," he managed to laugh.

"So, whatwere you thinking?" she asked coyly.

"Truthfully?"

"Sure."

"You won't get mad?"

"Nothing you say will get me mad at you. You know that." It was the truth. They had been going together for almost three months at she felt they could talk about anything.

"Well," he laughed nervously, "I was kinda hoping the bra would come off too!" She looked at him, her eyes narrowing slightly and she cocked her head a bit. He immediately thought she was pissed off at him.

Although the statement was a bit surprising to her, especially coming from Andy, she halfway expected it after the look she saw on his face at the house. She wasn't angry at all about the comment. In fact, it flattered her tremendously that he thought of her in that way. If her last boyfriend had said the same thing, she probably would have slapped him because she knew he was after only one thing. It would have just been a score without feeling or emotion. She knew in her heart Andy wasn't like that. If they ever did have sex together, it would be because they loved each other.

Jenny looked at him and smiled, blushing slightly. "All you had to do was ask," she said softly.

"What?" he said, shaking his head as if he hadn't heard right. She couldn't have possibly said what he thought she said. "What did you say?"

Jenny started to walk again, pulling him gently along. "You showed me something of yours that was very personal and very hard for you to do. I know you're self-conscious of your scars. I think you were pretty brave to do it."

"I wasn't being brave," he replied, "You'd probably see them this summer anyway."

"That could be true, but you showed them to me now when you didn't want to."

Andy stopped and pulled her to him. "Come on, Jenny," he said in a low voice, "that's entirely two different things and you know it. A scar is a scar...." He looked up the road and saw his house with a car parked in the driveway. His parents were home.

"You'd like to see them, though, wouldn't you?"

"Of course I would, Jenny," he admitted. "You would look fantastic."

"Then," she said softly, almost whispering, "it's something I want you to see."

"But Jen...." She put her hand to his mouth.

"If the timing is right and you want to see them, justask." She took her hand away from his mouth. "Okay?"

"You're serious about this, aren't you?" he said, not really sure what was going on.

"Of course I am," she said. "I wouldn't say it if I wasn't." She trusted him totally and would never have offered if she thought otherwise. She didn't think it wasthat big a deal. It wasn't like she was going to have sex with him. Most of her friends had already experienced that, but she hadn't. Deep in the recesses of her mind, she hoped they would make love sometime, but they didn't know each other that well and she wasn't going to rush into something she was going to regret forever.

"Okay," he said tentatively. How could he ask her to do that for him?

They walked back to the house and Jenny stayed for a while longer before she rode her bike back home. Still perplexed and out of sorts about the entire topic, Andy got ready for their date.

He picked her up after supper, as was his custom, and they went to the mall for the movie. They bought tickets to see "The China Syndrome" first and then walked the mall and browsed before the start of the movie. Nothing was said about their conversation from the afternoon and Andy was grateful for that. He was still uneasy about her wanting to do that for him, but he didn't know why. He really didn't know if he would ever get the courage to ask her to do it. Heck, he thought, he would probably sound pretty stupid if he did ask her. It was best just to forget about it and let it go. Once he made up his mind to do just that, Andy relaxed and enjoyed the evening with her.

For her part, Jenny thought he was being unusually quiet, even for him. She figured it had to do with the afternoon, so she didn't bring it up. She was surprised he put up that much of a fuss about it, thinking he would want to see her breasts as soon as possible. But, she wrong, as she often was about him. She still had a hard time figuring him out at times. He just didn't think and act like a normal teenager, at least not the ones she knew. He always seemed to have a melancholy calmness about him and never seemed to get overly excited about anything, acting much older and more mature than his age. Perhaps it was just his nature because he had been through so much in his young life. That is what she guessed. She only knew she was liking him more and more and wanted to spend all her free time with him. At times, she thought she was in love with him, especially the nights when she would lie awake thinking about him after a date or when they kissed and snuggled in the basement. Sometimes, her hand would find the soft, delicate folds of skin between her young, silky thighs and it would help her sleep once she was finished.

She was always happy to be around him, if only to hold hands or take a walk. She was used to him not talking much and didn't make a big deal out of it when he was quiet. His taste in music reflected much about his personality, especially his love of classical music, but he liked rock music as well, although he tended to gravitate towards bands that were more instrumental than loud. Groups like ELO, Fleetwood Mac, Kansas, and Blue Oyster Cult were among his favorites, although he liked Aerosmith and Black Sabbath, too. The more she got to know him, the more she liked him. Some would say she was in love with him, but in her mind, love was a very strong term that meant one thing, total commitment forever. And she thought she wasn't to that point yet.

The movie was very powerful and they talked about it all the way to her house. Contrary to most teenagers, they both liked movies that made them think and could give them fuel for discussion afterward. It was late when they arrived and Jenny asked if he would like to come in for a while. Against his true wishes, he begged off knowing he had to get up early for his dialysis treatment. As was the case the day before a treatment, he was very tired and just wanted to go to bed. Jenny understood. They kissed for a few minutes before she reluctantly got out and headed for her house.

She watched as he pulled away and she waved to him. Already starting to miss him, she put her key in the door, opened it, and stepped inside. Jenny glanced at the clock and it was after eleven-thirty. No one was up and only one small lamp was lit. She put her coat away in the closet and plopped down on the sofa to think. Jenny truly didn't regret saying what she did to Andy, but she sensed he took it the wrong way. It would now be an awkward topic between them and that is what she regretted. She said it only because she knew how close they were and that she loved him. She knew she loved him and it was stupid of her to think otherwise. It was just denying the obvious and it was time for her to accept and realize it. She thought about him all the time, loved it when she was around him, and was sad when they parted. Head in her hands, she sighed loudly and didn't notice her mom coming down the hall.

"Something wrong, Jenny?" she asked.

Jenny jumped from the sound, looked up and smiled weakly. "Oh, hi mom. Nothing wrong, just thinking."

"About?"

"You have to ask?"

Angie smiled. "I guess not. You guys have a fight or something?"

"No, no," Jenny said, shaking her head. "In fact, things are going great between us. I just needed to think."

"Anything you want to talk about?"

"Oh, I don't know. I think I've got it pretty much figured out." She looked down as Angie sat next to her. "When did you start falling in love with dad?"

Angie sighed. So this was what it was about, she thought. She looked thoughtfully at her daughter. She noticed how much more mature she was acting since she starting seeing Andy, more grown up and more responsible. Jenny wasn't as carefree and flighty as she used to be. Now, she was more serious and thoughtful. Angie noticed she rarely had a bad thing to say about Melissa and didn't argue with her as much. Her girl was becoming an adult right before her eyes and it saddened her a bit. Now she was in love and Angie knew it was serious this time. Jenny had never acted like this around her other boyfriends, but then again, Andy wasn't like her other boyfriends. Like Jenny already knew, Angie noticed how different he was from other boys his age, acting like a person five years older. He still acted like a kid sometimes, joking and teasing like he did, but she also sensed that touch of melancholy within him.

"Wow," she said softly, "I really don't know exactly when it was. I know we dated quite a while and it just naturally progressed to that."

"Oh," Jenny said, expecting a bit more help than that.

"Are you feeling that way with Andy?"

"Yeah."

"I see." Angie sat back in the sofa and looked at Jenny. "Does he feel the same about you?"

"I don't know. Right now, it doesn't matter to me if he loves me or not. It only matters in the end, doesn't it?"

"That's very true," Angie answered. She couldn't believe she was hearing this from her daughter.

"We've never really discussed it. I know he likes me a lot and that's all that counts. We're having too much fun right now. It'll get serious enough pretty soon, anyway."

"What do you mean? I'm not following."

"His transplant, mom," Jenny said.

"Oh."

"I mean, it'll be a really serious surgery and I won't be able to be near him for a few weeks afterward. Hopefully, he won't reject it. I know the doctor said it would be remote, but you never know. I don't know what would happen if he rejected it."

"I'm sure things will go just fine."

"I think they will, too, but I don't know. I've got so many thoughts going through me right now. I'm just very tired and my mind's in a whirl. Maybe I should just go to bed and try to forget about things for a while." She slapped her hands on her knees before she stood up.

"I'm sorry I wasn't much help to you," Angie said from the sofa.

"Oh, don't say that," Jenny replied, "you always help. Maybe I need to sort things out for myself and talk to you some more."

Angie stood up and hugged her daughter. "You're growing up too fast for me. When I stop and think that I wasn't too much older than you when I got pregnant, it scares me." She had gotten pregnant with Jenny shortly before her graduation.

"Don't worry, mom," Jenny said.

"I'll always worry," Angie replied.

The softball team breezed through their last game of the season, winning 18-1. Serena ended her season with fourteen home tuns, fifty-four runs batted in, and a .652 batting average. They won their first three games of the state playoffs without difficulty and would play Centerville for the championship game. Centerville had defeated them in the playoffs last season and the McKinley team was eager to face them again. They bussed to Columbus for the game on that last Saturday of April with a long caravan of friends and family trailing.