📎A/N. Hello my lovelies... thanks for all your feedback so far... it's been interesting to see the pendulum swing and comments made about Ethan are the exact same ones now being leveled at Sydney... just goes to prove no one is perfect and we all make silly decisions at least once in our lives.

Hope you enjoy this chapter... if you do, don't forget to push that little star :-)

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"You!"

Sydney felt ill. The way in which he said the simple word held a powerful accusation.  One that she knew she was guilty of.

Ethan was staring wide-eyed at her, almost through her.  His expression was slack, mouth hung slightly open as his faced drained of all colour. She was sure that he had stopped breathing from the rigid stance he had frozen in. It was obvious that she was the last person Ethan had expected to see. 

For her part, Sydney was a deer caught in headlights.  She was unable to move from the absolute shock of seeing him. Before her brain could engage, a ruckus on the other side of the gym had everyone swivelling their heads to see what was going on.  Everyone that is, except her and Ethan.

"Jeremy's having another seizure." Bernie sprung into action. As he pushed passed Ethan, he called over his shoulder, "Stay with Walter."

Sydney continued to meet Ethan's gaze as she watched his shock melt.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded as his surprise morphed into anger.

At first, she thought her voice would fail her.  Her first attempt at speech only emitted a small squeaking sound.  Sydney cleared her throat and tried again. "Me? They said you didn't visit in the mornings." Her voice came out strained as she struggled to justify her presence. 

This was her worst nightmare.  Part of her knew that being here ‑ pushing herself into Walter's life ‑ was far from normal.  The situation had been a ticking time bomb the moment she stepped foot through the hospital doors.

Ethan's eyes grew stormy as they drilled through her. She recoiled; it felt as if he had physically burnt her skin. His lips curled with bitter contempt and his nostrils flared.  Sydney cringed knowing the tirade that was about to rain down on her with the force of an avalanche.  In all honesty, it was justified.  She braced herself.

Whatever he was about to say died on his lips as he glanced to his right.  His angry expression instantly replaced by a flash of fear tinged with a hint of panic.

Sydney glanced back at the direction his had taken.  A sinking feeling overtook her as she was hit with the realisation that Walter's happy expression had taken on one of confusion.  His eyes darted uncertainly between Ethan and herself.  The smile that had adorned his face at seeing his brother was now caught between a frown and indecision. 

They couldn't do this.  Not here.  Not now.

With as much effort as she could muster, she plastered an encouraging smile on her face to alleviate Walter's concern, and patted him on the leg.

"Walter and I are working out," she said in an even and bright tone as if reassuring a child. "I didn't realise you'd be visiting this morning."

Sydney looked over at Ethan, silently imploring him to follow suit and not upset his brother.

It was taking a considerable amount of effort to reign in his temper.  His inhale was laboured as he schooled his features and briefly closed his eyes.  As he opened them again, his face mimicked her false smile.  She noticed, however, his fists were still clenched firmly by his side. "I bet you didn't," he said in a fake cheerful tone.

They both glanced back at Walter.  Nervous they had unnecessarily worked him up. Sydney was relieved when his wary expression relaxed and the drama unfolding across the room held more of his attention than the near volatile scene.

"What exactly are you doing here?" Ethan said, keeping up with the pretense.

While his voice came out upbeat, his glare indicated his mood was anything but.

"What does it look like? I've been helping out with some of Walter's sessions."

The object of their discussion took that moment to let his body sink down to the bottom to the glide rail, his knees bent ready for another push upwards.  He has obviously grown bored with watching the others crowd around the other patient.

"M-M-Mac, w-w-w-wa-watch th-this," he boasted as he reached for the hand pullies to assist with the exercise.

Sydney quickly placed her hands on his legs to help apply the right amount of pressure.  "That's it, Walter," she encouraged, "two more after this one and I am officially poor.  You will have robbed me of all my Butterfingers."

She added more pressure to his knees. "It was your email that told me about him," she said without taking her eyes off Walter.

Her temporary charge's face was strained as he attempted to put as much force as possible into his legs.

"My God Walter, you're doing great," Ethan said, his anger temporarily suspended as pride at his brother's achievements pushed through to the surface.  She grimaced when his cutting words returned with false saccharine sweetness. "And you took that as permission to invade my personal affairs?"

"Actually, I took that to mean..." she trailed off, not able to find the words to justify her rash decision.  One that she now regretted.

Sydney glanced up at Walter, who had reached the top.  From the way in which he was looking at Ethan, it was clear he needed affirmation from his brother of the achievement.

He didn't need to wait long. She swung her head round to glance at Ethan and was struck by the tender look of pride and love directed at Walter.  The rapid blinking and glazed eyes were indication enough that he recognised the effort Walter had put into that single move.

Ethan closed the short distance and placed a hand on Walter's shoulder. "Keep this up buddy and you'll be out of here in no time," he smiled. 

Walter continued to beam.  He was basking in the achievement and having his brother as a witness to it.

Sydney hauled in a breath. Her throat became sore and her chest tightened painfully.  She fought back the tears that threatened to well over as she witnessed the touching moment.

It was at that instant she realised she didn't regret what she had done. It may have been foolhardy, reckless and stupid.  However, to be a bystander to even the smallest of miracles was worth whatever wrath was about to pour from Ethan.

Walter returned to completing his set repetitions.  As he had put everything into showing Ethan what he could do, he was unable to finish without a considerable amount Sydney's help.  She could feel that he was only using his arms to pull himself up the glides.

Ethan watched in silence.  She was on tenterhooks waiting for him to say something – anything. 

"I should have you removed by security," he said after what seemed a lifetime.

Sydney's heart skipped a beat at his words.  Walter's shoelace had come untied and she took a moment to gather her thoughts as she reached for the laces. "But you won't," she replied quietly once they were done up.

"And why is that?"

She played the only card she had.  "We both know you love your brother too much to do that to him."  She winced, regretting the words the moment they were out.

Walter's expression was again hovering between confusion and concern.  She could tell he was finding it hard to follow their conversation.  Their words didn't match the happy sing-song tones he was hearing.

"D-D-Do you k-k-know S-Snee?" he asked Ethan.

Ethan nodded. "Yes, I know Sydney."

"S-Snee's b-b-been h-helping m-m-m-me."

"I know she has Walter."

"W-W-Why are y-y-you angry w-with her?"

Ethan tensed.  His eyes darted towards Sydney.  "I'm not angry with her," he assured his brother, "we're just talking."

She could tell from the way Walter squinted at both of them he wasn't convinced.

"Sorry about that," Bernie said materialising at Ethan's side.

"Not a problem.  How's the other guy?" Ethan asked as he nodded towards the door in which Jeremy had been wheeled away.

"He'll be okay. We'll know better once they run some tests."  He turned back to Walter. "So we all finished here?"

Walter nodded. "How about I get you organised for your next session," said Bernie.  He then reached for Walter's wheelchair tucked behind the TG.  Sydney threw her leg over the back of the squat stand to get out of Bernie's way.

"Mac, I know you are here to speak to Sydney.  I'll finish up here and you can use my office."

"Thanks," Ethan said, "I'll come find you when I'm done."

With that, he reached out, grabbed Sydney by the arm, and pulled her out of the gym.  She had no alternative but to go with him.  To refuse would cause questions to be asked.  Questions she had no intention of answering.

They had only gotten halfway down the corridor when Ethan rounded on her, not able to wait until they had reached Bernie's small office. "What game are you playing," he hissed at her.

Sydney stood her ground, meeting his angry glare.  She needed to apologise before it was too late and she never saw him again. "Look, I'm sorry I didn't come clean and let you know what I was doing.  It was wrong of me.  By the time I worked up the courage to tell you it was too late, I'd already started here and knew you would feel violated by what I'd done.  I couldn't bring myself to stop."

"Why?" 

The single tortured word was almost her undoing.

Her shoulders slumped and she shook her head biting her bottom lip.  Taking a deep breath, she leaned back against the nearest wall and slid to the ground, her arms resting on her knees.  "I don't know.  I suppose I just needed to see for myself," she paused, "Up until that point, I knew about the damage my father caused.  I'd never come into direct contact with any of it so it didn't seem real.  I only knew how it affected me.  How it damaged me."

"And now?"

"And now I hate him even more than I did before ‑ if that's possible." She felt broken, drifting without an anchor to keep her safe.

A nurse passed by, temporarily halting the conversation.  A silence fell over the corridor as they both stared into the abyss fighting their own demons. 

Sydney looked up at Ethan, who was half staring out the nearest window, hands pushed into his pocket.  His profile was to her, obstructing any ability to work out what was running through his mind.

"Why are there no photos of his children?" Sydney asked quietly.  If she was to be banned from seeing her new friend, she at least wanted some answers to the questions that had been plaguing her.

His head snapped down to face her. "Pardon?"

"His kids," she clarified, "In his room he has dozens of photos.  There are a few from before the accident of the both of you.  But none includes his children.  Don't they visit?"

It was fleeting, but the pain that streaked across his face told her this was a story she was not going to like.  Ethan slid down the wall opposite her so that they were now facing each other in similar poses.

"Tracey, Walters ex-wife, remarried and took the kids to France. She found herself a genuine Baron and latched onto him like a leech," he said bitterly. "There was nothing I could do to change her mind from taking them from him.  I did everything in my power to stop it from happening.  But short of kidnapping them, there was nothing I could do."

The anger she had witnessed from him was now deflated. In its place, was a man who loved his brother enough to fight for him.  Protect him from those that might hurt him.  Protect him from people like her and Tracey.

"I've lost count of the time's I've brought in photo's of Dawn and Quentin," he admitted. "From before the accident and after.  I have PI's checking in on them regularly.  They send me photos and reports on how they're going."  He broke off and studied the floor between his legs.

Sydney waited for him to continue.  The subject was clearly painful for him to talk about.

"Each time I bring them in and show Walter, he just shuts down for days.  The doctors think he's not ready to accept all that's happened to him yet.  He doesn't remember everything before the accident, just enough to know his life was different – he was different."

With each word, Sydney's heart broke a little more.  A tear escaped and fell down her cheek, leaving a damp path in its wake.  "I want you to understand," she pled, "I wasn't trying to do anything that would have caused Walter harm, emotionally or otherwise.  I only wanted to help."

Ethan ran his fingers through his hair as he considered her confession.  She was sure he would never forgive her.  He was as much a victim in all this as she was.  And selfishly she had intruded into their lives, not thinking of how it would appear.  It was if the entire Hutton family was trying to destroy Walter and Ethan a second time.

The realisation that she was about to be evicted from Walter's life brought her physical pain.  Working with him had given her a sense of purpose.  She knew she had made a difference.  All-be-it a minuscule one.  But a difference none-the-less.

She was surprised when Ethan asked, "Were you really just going to leave at the end of the week?"

Sydney met his questioning gaze and considered whether she should tell him the truth.  Either way she was doomed.  However, not giving him full disclosure had gotten her into this mess.  A mess she was not about to extend on.

She shook her head from side to side. "No. I was trying to work out an agreement with the hospital to let me help with Walter's rehab at least two mornings a week.  If they agreed to it, I was going to come clean."

"And Miriam, will verify this?" he asked, referring the hospital's General Manager.

She nodded, hoping he would see she was sorry for her impulsive actions.

Ethan leaned his head back against the wall and stared at the ceiling.  Sydney kept quiet allowing him to be with his own thoughts.  Grey eyes eventually sought out hers.

"I will not allow Walter to be hurt or used in any way," he said staring fixedly at her.

"I know.  I've already said I'm genuinely sorry. And I regret the damage I have caused."

"That's the problem," Ethan sighed, "the damage was to me, not Walter.  The reason I came today was to ask you to stay on and help with Walter's rehab.  At the moment, you seem to have a positive influence on him.  And after seeing it with my own eyes, Bernie's assessment was correct."

Ethan looked down at the floor between his legs.  She could see he was waging an internal battle. "You were right before," he said looking back up at her.

Sydney was confused. "About what?"

"I love my brother too much to not take a chance that you may be able to help in his recovery," he admitted.

Sydney felt a charge of excitement run through her.  "Are you sure?" she whispered bringing up her hands to cover her mouth.  While this wasn't forgiveness for her actions, it was better than she could ever have hoped for.  For some reason, she felt the only way she would find the strength to move beyond the guilt and torment, to move beyond the shadow of her father and free herself, was through these two brothers.  She had some insane thought that if she could help put a piece of Walter's puzzle back together, she could fix what was broken in her.

"I think we have both said and done things we regret," Ethan said as he pulled himself up from the floor, "but I'm willing to take the chance that you genuinely wish to help Walter."

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📎A/N... phew ... that went better than I expected... ;-)

... do you think Ethan made the right choice? Did his love for his brother cloud his better judgement??

Should make things interesting now...

Till next time. Have a fantastic day and take care ... Oh, and don't forget to vote!

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