Austin entered the room filled with his fellow bandmates. Normally he welcomed the group gathering but this time was different, this time was for explaining his actions, his fear.

"Would you like a drink" Tim asked as he poured a shot for Chance.

"I thought you stopped drinking" Austin remarked.

"Doesn't mean I can't tend bar" Tim answered handing him a shot.

Austin pound it down and handed the glass back for another. He needed all the courage he could gather to even begin the long overdue conversation.

"We need to set some ground rules" Rob  stated.

Both men raised their brows as they turned towards him.

"Ahem....what I meant was" he continued.

"We know what you mean, Rob. We're not gonna beat on each other, are we" Tim remarked now looking back at Austin.

"Nope, no ass whoopins here" Austin replied, throwing back another shot.

Chance sat off in the corner giving Tim and Austin room to converse. If it was true that he was the cause of any problems between the two he wanted to be sure to stay out of the way.

"So little brother, tell me, what's wrong" Tim began sitting in a chair across from Austin.

Austin shook his head, "I can't do this"  he told himself. "He's gonna laugh, they're all gonna laugh. It's stupid, childish, I can't ".

"You need to tell me, Red. I can't fix this, this whatever it is, until you do" Tim told him.

Tim meant the words he was saying, he wanted to fix whatever was wrong between them. He had racked his brain for the last several hours since Adam spoke to him, desperate to figure out exactly what he'd done wrong.

Austin ran his hands through his hair, leaning forward enveloping his head with his arms. He began to rock back and forth.

The others watched at his strange behavior, but it wasn't strange to Tim. He'd seen it before, years ago and again when Olena left him.

"Hey guys, how about you leave Austin and I to discuss this alone, in private" Tim suggested.

"Are you sure" Adam asked cautiously .

"But I thought you wanted us all here, that it involved all of us" Rob commented as Adam and Chance stood to leave.

"Come on, Rob. Let's leave them alone" Adam replied, pulling at his friends arm. Standing, utterly confused, Rob followed behind Adam as he opened the door.  Chance looked back at Tim, asking with his eyes if he was sure this was how he wanted to handle it. Tim blinked a slight nod to answer.

As the door to his room shut, Tim centered himself in front of Austin. Taking his hands from around his head, he placed them in his own. "Talk to me, please, just talk to me" he asked.

****
"I've got a bad feeling about this guys" Rob remarked as the three entered the elevator.

"They will be fine, they need this" Adam stated pushing the button for the lobby.

"Tim knows what he's doing, Rob. Neither is in any danger from the other. They're family" Chance replied as the elevator doors opened.

"Yeah, well I've seen some knock down drag outs by family before, not this family per say, but well you know what I mean" Rob retorted.

"Buddy, you worry too much. Let's get a drink" Chance stated tapping him on the shoulder.

****
"You used to come to me with everything" Tim stated looking at his friends hands.

"You used to be there for me, no questions asked" Austin replied.

"Nothings changed, I'm still here for you" Tim told him.

"Really? If that were true we wouldn't be here right now" Austin replied.

"Then explain, tell me, what's changed" Tim asked trying to look his brother in the eye.

Austin refused all eye contact with Tim. He slipped his hands out and stood taking the bottle of tequila from the table. Pouring the liquid courage down his throat, then wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he finally stated "You've replaced me, just like she did".

"I haven't replaced you with anyone" Tim stated "and neither did she".

"There you go siding with her again. Just like when she left, all you could say to me was how I didn't man up, how all I did was cling, didn't let her be who she was, who she wanted to be" he told him.

"This is because of Olena?" Tim asked, slightly confused.

"Don't act surprised, you know it is, at least part of it" he replied.

"So, you're pissed at me because I told you what you wanted me to, what you asked me to point out to help you understand" Tim stated.

"You showed me how I wasn't good enough for her, that I wasn't allowing her to grow, to have her own interests" he retorted before tipping the bottle back again.

Tim stood and took the bottle away from him "You don't need this".

Austin tried to take the bottle away from Tim but tripped and landed back onto the bed. Covering his face with his hands he began to cry.

"You were supposed to side with me, that's what family does, they take care of their own" Austin sobbed, "you don't care about me anymore. You haven't asked me how I am for months since she's been gone. You've spent all your time with Chance, you've replaced me just like she did".

"You are so wrong, Austin. If I made you feel inadequate in any way, I never meant to. You're a grown man, you asked for my opinion, my advice when it came to Olena and your relationship" Tim stated.

"Yeah, great advise. How'd that work out for you, following your own got your ass kicked by your father in law, how am I not supposed to blame you for mine" Austin stated sarcastically.

"That's two entirely different situations.  Your relationship, you both out grew one another, you just wouldn't admit it. Mine, yeah some relationship, mine was totally based on a lieing, conniving bitch" Tim stated.

"Yeah and then you get all buddy buddy with the guy who brought the bitch into your life to begin with" he replied.

"What the hell Austin, she lied to him too. For years, even broke up his engagement to Mina. What don't you understand about this" Tim retorted.

"What I dont understand is why, why after all our years together, you've left me to fend for myself" Austin cried.

"You're not making any sense. I haven't left you. Have you not see what I've been going through here? I never thought I would love anyone again after Caroline, you know that, I told you. And when I gave in to what I thought was love again only to have my life ripped out from under me. Excuse me but I've had a crisis of my own to deal with" Tim barked back.

"But, you didn't come to me, you didn't lean on me like a brother would. You, you leaned on Chance" he cried in response.

"I didn't come to you because you were tied up in your own hell you didn't need mine on top of it" Tim told him.

"Maybe if you had I wouldn't be.." Austin trailed off.

"Wouldn't be what?" Tim asked.

"Jealous damn it..there I said it... you happy now" Austin yelled out.

"Austin, there's no reason for you to be jealous. You've always been a brother to me, you always will. And Chance is your brother, just like Rob and Adam. We are family" Tim replied. " And families have misunderstandings, arguments but it doesn't mean we love each other any less"

Austin covered his eyes, he felt like a ridiculous child. He knew Tim was right, he knew they were family but yet he felt so alone.

"Red, listen to me. I say this with love, you need help. More help than I or any of the others can give you. You're not over Olena, you need professional help. I'm not saying this to push you away, I'm saying this because I care. And, I will be there to help you, just like I always have. Please Austin, you need to talk to someone who isn't close to the situation, an impartial party to help you figure it out, figure you out" Tim told him taking his hands from his face. "I'm sorry,  so very sorry for making you feel like I didn't care. I swear, no one will ever take your place. We've been brothers since the beginning of this whole crazy ride together, nothing will change that, believe me".

Austin looked at Tim, the sincerity in his eyes, his voice reassured him for the first time in a very long time that indeed nothing had changed, they were and always would be, family.