The Past Returns

Disclaimer: I don't own High Mountain Rangers, not making any money, just cheap thrills.

Warnings: Angst, disturbing themes, violence

Rating: FRT

The Past Returns
Chapter 10


It hadn't been easy, but somehow Matt had managed to keep his mind on the wreck, in spite of his dad's call. Finally though it was over, three people were dead, four others in critical condition, a dozen more with minor injuries. Now all that was left was the clean-up, something the others could easily handle on their own. Not even taking the time to change clothes, Matt jumped into his truck and headed for his dad's, wondering the whole time what could've happened, praying it was nothing bad.


Cody lay on the couch again, the warm soup had left him feeling relaxed and sleepy, in spite of his worry for his brother. The sound of an engine jerked him fully awake. Abruptly, he sat up, looking frantically around the room for his father.

"Cody," Jesse quietly called in order not to startle him.

Cody sagged with relief, "Somebody's here," he nervously told his dad.

Jesse nodded, and looked out the window, a smile crossing his face. "It's Matt," he informed his youngest just as the door opened, admitting his oldest to the cabin.

"Matt!" Cody cried out, relieved to see his brother.

Matt's eyes widened as a grin blossomed on his handsome face; his brother was back! Turning towards his little brother, he quickly closed the distance between them. Coming to a sudden stop, he watched Cody with concern as fear entered his eyes and his face paled. "Cody? What is it?" he quietly asked, taking a step closer.

Cody wore a grin to match his brother's, the grin quickly fading as he took in Matt's blood stained clothes. "Wh...what did he do to you?" he stuttered.

Matt glanced between his father and brother, confused by the question. "Who?"

"Uuncle Rrroy, I'm sorry Matt I didn't mean for you to get hurt. I never should've told, I'm so sorry, you're okay aren't you? Please say you're not hurt bad, but there's so much blood, you must be. Why aren't you at the hospital?" Cody bombarded his brother with questions, his fear growing, threatening to overwhelm him.

"I'm not hurt Cody, this isn't my blood," Matt quickly assured him, deciding he should address his brother's fear first.

"It's not?"

"No," he calmly replied, taking Cody's arm and lowering him back to the couch. "I just came from working an accident scene. I wanted to find out what Dad wanted, so I didn't take the time to change," he explained. "Hey, what's going on?" his arms automatically coming around his brother who had suddenly decided to bury his face in his chest.

"Roy told him he'd kill you if Cody ever told anybody what he'd done," Jesse explained, his voice tight with anger.

Matt's hold tightened protectively, "I'm so sorry he did that to you little brother. I wish I'd never gone away that summer," he sighed.

"No, I was wrong to blame you," Cody mumbled. "It wasn't your fault, you were just a kid, ya didn't know."

Matt looked over Cody's head at his father, his eyes shimmering suspiciously, "We have to make sure he pays for what he did to Cody."

Jesse nodded, he just hoped that Cody could handle what would be coming. "McBride came up yesterday," he quietly told them.

"That explains why he kept giving me strange looks at the accident site."

Cody pulled away from Matt to stare at his father, "You told him?"

"I had to son, I needed to know what, if anything could be done to Roy."

Cody licked suddenly dry lips, "You mean like having him arrested?"

Jesse sat down on the couch, his hand coming up to grasp the back of Cody's neck in a comforting gesture. "He said it's not too late, but it's up to you son."

Cody looked from Jesse to Matt and back again, "You want me to do it, don't you?"

"I won't pretend I don't want to see that man behind bars for what he did to you, but I won't ask you to do something you don't think you can," Jesse assured him.

"What about you?" Cody asked, turning to his brother.

"I want him in jail Cody, I don't want him to ever be able to hurt you or any other boys," Matt honestly replied. "Cody?" Matt watched his brother with concerned eyes, not liking the way he paled or the way he seemed to shrink in on himself.

Cody could see his brother's lips moving, but he didn't hear anything over the roaring in his ears. Other boys? No! It couldn't be, please don't let it be true. "Do, do you think there are?"

Matt stared at his brother uncomprehendingly, then as he went back over the conversation, he realized what Cody meant. "I'm sorry Code, but it wouldn't surprise me," he reluctantly answered, knowing it wasn't what his brother wanted to hear.

"There wouldn't be, if I had told, would there?"

"Cody, look at me son," Jesse gently ordered. "You were six years old, hardly more than a baby, you're not responsible for what Roy did to you or anybody else."

"But..."

"No son, there are no buts, not on this. There are only two people to be blamed for what happened to you and you're not either of the two."

"If," Cody swallowed hard, "if I have him arrested and he's convicted, what will happen to him?"

Jesse considered the question carefully, unsure about how much Cody could handle. In the end, he decided to keep it simple, "He'll go to prison for a long time."

"If he's not?"

"He will be," Matt promised from beside him.

"You don't know that Matt, what happens if he's not convicted? What if he goes after you like he..."

"Cody he's not going to come after me, I don't care what threats he made," Matt quickly assured him. "He only told you that so you wouldn't tell anybody what was happening. It's not uncommon for people who abuse kids to make threats like that to keep them quiet."

"Your brother's right son, Roy never had any intentions of hurting Matt," Jesse confirmed.

"Would Mom get in trouble too?"

"I doubt it, the way she handled it was wrong, but since she got you away from the danger the prosecutor probably wouldn't want to charge her."

"Oh," Cody quietly responded. Dropping his eyes to the floor, he stared at a swirl in the natural grain of the wood, unable to look his dad or brother in the eye.

"Do you want her to go to jail?" Matt asked.

Cody shrugged, he really wasn't sure how he felt about it. A part of him wanted to see her punished, but she was his mom, he shouldn't want to see her in jail. It wasn't right, he told himself, "Wasn't right what she did either," he whispered, unaware he'd spoken.

"No it wasn't," Matt agreed. "I'd sure want her to go to jail if I was in your shoes," he added. He had a feeling that Cody was feeling guilty and ashamed of wanting their mom to be punished.

"You don't think it's wrong?"

"No Cody, I think it's completely natural. She may not have been the one that hurt you, but she didn't do all she could to stop him from hurting you."

"She sent me away to protect me from him, isn't that what you said Dad?" He turned to his father, almost afraid to look at him, sure that he would see condemnation for the way he felt.

"It's what she said," Jesse confirmed. Reaching out, he placed his fingers under Cody's chin, lifting until he could look into the boy's eyes. "Even if that's true, she should've done more. She should've made sure Roy was arrested, instead she let him remain free. He could've decided to come after you, or he might've gone after other boys, something he couldn't have done if she had done all she could to protect you. I agree with Matt, if I were in your place I'd want everybody at fault to pay, no matter who it was."

"Thanks," Cody mumbled. “If I want him arrested, what do I do?”

“We go to the sheriff's office and swear out a complaint, then McBride will arrest him. There'd be a bail hearing and then a hearing to figure out if there's enough evidence to warrant a trial,” Jesse explained.

“They'll let him go then,” Cody sighed. “I mean, it's just my word against his,” he quickly added. He didn't want Matt and his dad to think he was making excuses for not doing the right thing.

Jesse laid his hand on Cody's back, both as an anchor and to be ready to grab him if he bolted. “Actually son, it's not just your word against his.”

“It's not?”

“When you were in the hospital, the doctor performed an exam, he found scar tissue,” Jesse gently explained.

“Scar?” Cody whispered, at first not understanding what his dad meant. “Could they tell it was from what he did?” he quietly asked, when comprehension dawned.

Jesse nodded, “Doc said the type of scarring there was couldn't be caused by anything except sexual abuse.”

Cody shivered. It was easier when they only talked around it, didn't name it for what it was, easier to pretend it was something other than what it was. He knew he'd have to get used to it, if he was going to have his uncle arrested.

“You okay son?”

“It's just hard, hearing the words said like that,” Cody replied with a nod. “I'll have to testify, won't I?” he asked. He sighed as his father confirmed it with a dip of his head. “He'll be there, watching me the whole time?” he asked in a small voice.

“I don't know son, sometimes the judge in these cases will allow the victim to testify in chambers.”

“Victim? That's what I am, isn't it? I'll always be a victim from now on. When people see me that's what they'll see, isn't it?” Instinctively, Cody's arms wrapped around himself, man, he hated the thought of his few friends knowing. What would they say? Would they stop talking to him? Would they look at him differently? Whenever he went into town, would people point and whisper? There's the boy that let his uncle...with a pained gasp, he turned to his father shoving his face into his shoulder as though, by doing so, he could hide from the reality of it all.

Jesse wrapped his arms around him, his heart breaking a little more at the anguish he could hear in his son's voice. “I don't see a victim when I look at you, I see a survivor,” he quietly and firmly vowed.

“Dad's right Cody,” Matt chimed in. “You're a survivor, a victim couldn't do what you're doing.”

Cody bit back a bark of laughter, “A victim couldn't fall apart?”

“A victim couldn't have the person who hurt him arrested. A victim wouldn't be willing to testify against the man who hurt him,” Matt clarified. “Those are things a survivor does.”

“You really think that?” Cody knew that his brother was usually honest with him, but he had to know that he wasn't just trying to make him feel better.

“I really do,” Matt confirmed.

“Before I go to the sheriff's office, I need to know one thing. What did he say to you Matt?”

Matt shook his head, a look of disgust crossing his face as he remembered his uncle's words. “Not anything worth repeating.”

“Did he threaten you?”

“No Cody, he just tried to convince me that it wasn't true. Robin interrupted us before he could say much else. I told him to leave and to not come back.”

Cody sagged with relief, “Good.”

“Cody,” Jesse softly spoke, bringing the boy's attention to him. “When do you want to go to the sheriff's office?”

“Guess the sooner the better, huh?”

“I suppose, but I don't want you pushing yourself.”

“Thanks,” Cody smiled. “I don't guess it's gonna get any easier if I wait,” he quietly added. Turning to his brother, he couldn't help gaining some strength from the look of quiet determination in the older boy's eyes. “Think you could drive us to town?”

“Think I can handle that,” Matt smiled grimly. Pushing himself to his feet, he held out a hand to his little brother, pulling him up.

Jesse smiled, his heart swelling with pride over both his boys. Standing up, he followed behind them, letting Matt offer his brother the comfort and support he needed.

As they drove down the mountain, Cody leaned against his father, his anxiety growing with each passing mile. It was a good thing he was sitting in the middle, the urge to jump from the moving vehicle nearly overwhelming him as Tahoe came into sight.

“It'll be alright son, we'll get you through this,” Jesse soothed, giving Cody's shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Cody just nodded, his tongue suddenly growing too thick to talk as they pulled into the parking lot at the sheriff's office. Nervously he followed his father from the truck, letting the feel of his hand on his back anchor him, keeping the panic at bay. “I can do this,” he whispered, too quietly for anybody else to hear as he eyed the building. He'd been here lots of times with both his dad and his brother, but it had never before seemed so foreboding. He remembered reading about the French revolution in History and he wondered if this is what the nobles heading for the guillotine had felt like. Feeling like he was once again in that fog he'd been lost in before, he let his dad lead him into the sheriff's office. He saw one of the deputies coming towards them, felt his dad's arm replaced by his brother's as his father stepped forward to talk to the deputy. The next thing he knew, they were in McBride's office and the sheriff was asking questions. If somebody had asked him later what was said, he couldn't have told them. From somewhere far away, he heard himself telling the sheriff what his uncle had done to him years before. When he was finished, he leaned back in the chair, vaguely aware of Matt's hand on one shoulder, his father's on the other. The sheriff excused himself, returning, Cody wasn't sure how much later, with a paper. Though he couldn't seem to focus on anything clearly, he somehow realized this was his statement and they wanted him to sign it. Taking the pen the sheriff offered in his trembling hand, he shakily wrote his name next to the red x at the bottom of the page.

“Roy came to see Matt earlier,” Jesse told the sheriff. “He's probably staying at Jackie's place.”

“Thanks Jesse,” Mike acknowledged the information. Glancing down at Cody, he narrowed his eyes, he hated to see the boy like this and silently he promised that he would find Roy. If he had anything to say about it, that man would never get the chance to hurt Cody or any other boy. “Maybe you should take Cody home now,” he quietly suggested.

“I think you're right,” Jesse agreed without hesitation. Dropping to one knee, he placed his hand on Cody's leg, giving it a slight shake to get his attention. “You ready to go home son?” he softly asked.

“Is Matt coming too?”

“I ca...” Matt began, quickly changing his mind when he saw the flash of fear in Cody's eyes. “Of course I am,” he replied. The rangers would just have to get by without him for a little while, this was more important. “Come on Toad, let's get you home.” Putting action to words, he gently pulled Cody to his feet, wrapping his arm around the younger boy's shoulders as he led him out of the building. It wasn't until they were outside that he realized Cody hadn't even protested being called Toad, a clear sign of how upset he was. In that instant he knew, without a doubt, that he had made the right decision. He had failed his brother before, silently he vowed that it would never happen again.

TBC

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