The Past Returns

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

Warnings: Angst, Mentions of Child Abuse

Rating: FRT

The Past Returns
Chapter 9

He supposed he had expected Cody to come back to them as soon as they walked through the front door of the cabin. He was destined to be disappointed. Matt couldn't believe it had been two days since they'd brought Cody home from the hospital and his brother was still locked in the past. He had wanted to stay at the cabin, wanted to be there when his younger brother came back to them. However, the morning after they brought him home the station had radioed, needing his help as the day was already shaping up to be a busy one. There were times when he wished he was just another one of the guys. What he wouldn't give to be free to ask for some time off without having to worry about the station and the Rangers. As Commander he couldn't do that, no matter how much he might like to.

So with a heavy heart, he had left his dad's and headed back down the mountain. Now here he was, stuck at the station when his brother needed him the most. He knew the guys were talking about him, had been pumping Robin for information. It hadn't done them any good of course, that girl could give a mule lessons in stubbornness if she wanted to. A fact he was grateful for, though he was sure the next time she was being stubborn about something he might not be so glad for that streak of mule. Matt looked up as the station door swung open; jumping to his feet he reached the visitor's side in a few angry strides. "Get out," he growled, just barely restraining himself from decking him. Only the thought of going to jail, of not being there for Cody, stopped him.

"Is that anyway to talk to your uncle?" Roy smirked.

"You're not my uncle, not anymore."

"I just want to talk to you Matt," the older man tried again.

Matt stared at him for a full minute, he couldn't believe the nerve of the man. "Well I don't want to talk to you," he snapped, turning to walk away.

Roy frowned, he'd known it wouldn't be easy, but he'd always been close to Matt, allowing him to hope he'd at least listen. "Look, I'm going to have my say," he vowed. "The only question is do I get that say here in front of everybody, or do we go somewhere private?"

Matt froze in his tracks, glancing around the room at the openly curious faces of his Rangers. Damn, he was going to have to listen to him. "My office," he barked over his shoulder. "Robin..."

"I'll take care of it Matt," the blonde quickly assured him. She glared at Jackie's brother as he passed her in route to Matt's office. The moment the door closed behind the two men, she was surrounded by the others as they threw questions at her.

"What's going on here Robin? Is he really Matt's uncle? Why doesn't he want to talk to him?"

"The only question I can answer is, yes, he really is Matt's uncle. Now," she continued, holding up her hand for silence, "you all have things to do, so go."

"I don't," Jim declared, plopping down on the couch.

"Then find something, outside."

"You're not in charge Robin."

"Didn't you hear Matt just now? What do you think he wanted me to take care of?" She sighed when the only response she got was an indifferent shrug of the shoulders. "You Jim, all of you," she looked around at the others. "He needs to talk to his uncle without worrying about any of you overhearing. You say you're his friends, so prove it," she challenged them. To his credit, Jim blushed as a feeling of shame washed over him. Without another word, he stood up and led the others out the back door. Robin smiled grimly and with one last look at the closed office door she sat down at the radio; somebody had to take care of the phones and radio.


"What do you want?" Matt demanded as soon as the door closed.

"Your mother told me what happened..."

"I hope you're not going to tell me that it's not true."

Roy sighed, "I won't deny I spanked the boy when he needed it, but not the other stuff. I'm not a pervert," Roy denied.

"You don't consider molesting a six year old perverted?" Matt growled.

"I didn't..."

"Save it," Matt cut him off again. "Do you really think my dad is stupid? He had Cody checked while we were at the hospital," he informed him, a smile of satisfaction crossing his face as his uncle paled beneath his tan. "They found scar tissue, but then you knew they would, didn't you? How could you rape a defenseless child?"

"I never raped him, I don't care what he says."

"Still going to deny it?"

"Damn right I'm denying it!" Roy was, by all standards, a despicable man, but he wasn't stupid. There was no way he was going to admit to a crime that could send him to prison for the next fifteen years. Besides, it wasn't rape if he'd only used his fingers.

"You son of a bitch," Matt snarled, his hand curling into a fist.

"Go ahead boy, hit me if you think you're man enough," Roy taunted.

Matt's hand itched to strike his uncle's smug face, sending him to the floor. God, he wanted to make the man cower, just like Cody had probably cowered all those years ago. He was fighting a losing battle and he knew it, just as he was about to give in to the urge there was a knock on the door and it swung open.

"I'm sorry to interrupt Matt," Robin apologized.

"What is it Robin?" Matt asked in an abrupt manner that was nothing like him.

Robin sighed, it was obvious his uncle had upset him, she only hoped he'd be able to keep his mind on the job. "McBride called, there's been an accident, a ten car pile-up. A couple of the cars went off the mountain, they need all the bodies they can get."

Matt nodded, "Get everybody together, I'll be out in a minute." Staring hard at his uncle, he didn't spare any consideration as he ordered him from the premises. "Roy," he called as the man headed for the door, "don't come back." The moment the door closed behind his uncle, Matt hurried outside to the truck, radioing his father on the way, he gave him a heads up about Roy's presence. Although he didn't really think the man would be stupid enough to go up to the cabin, even if he could find it, he wasn't taking any chances.


Jesse ran a hand through his hair, Roy's presence in Tahoe was making him wonder just how truthful Jackie had been. "Damn her," he quietly cursed. A part of him wanted to go after Roy, track him down and dispense a little mountain justice. Heaving a frustrated sigh, he walked over to the couch where Cody lay, sitting down on the edge of it. "Cody, son please come back to me," he plead, not for the first time. "You're safe here boy, it's just you and me, nobody here to hurt you," he quietly assured. Unlike Matt, he hadn't expected Cody to just wake up as soon as he came home, but he hadn't thought he'd still be lost to them two days later.

He could hear a voice, it was a voice he trusted but why couldn't he see him? As he looked around him, all he could see was a dense fog and there was something there. Something was in the fog, it wanted to hurt him. He didn't understand why it did, only that it did. Wait, there was the voice again. Where was it coming from? He spun around, desperately trying to see through the fog. Suddenly the fog began to thin, as it did he realized the voice was his dad. No wonder he felt safe, but he wouldn't really be safe until he found him. He started to walk through the fog, willing it to thin so he could find his dad. There! He could almost see him through the fog. That's strange, he thought, his dad was sitting next to him in their living room, how did a fog that thick seep into their home? It didn't make any sense. "Dad?" whispers, his throat dry and sore. Cody grunted as the air was suddenly forced from his lungs, his father's arms coming around him in a bear hug.

"Cody!" Jesse cried out, pulling his son into his arms and holding him tight. "Thank God," he whispered.

"Da..." Cody tried again, only to be forced to a halt by the dryness of his throat.

"You stay right here, I'll get you a glass of water," Jesse ordered, realizing what the problem was. He kept his eyes glued to his son, until the wall came between them. As if he were afraid the boy would sink back into the state he'd been in, Jesse hurried back with a glass of water in record time. "Here ya are son," he said as he sat down again and helped the boy to sip the water. "Better?"

"Yeah," Cody spoke in his usual soft voice. "Dad, weren't we at Mom's?" he asked, glancing around the room in confusion.

Jesse sighed, "We were, do you remember why?" he cautiously asked.

Cody thought back to the last thing he could clearly remember, his face paling as the scene at his mother's came back to him. "She tried to act like I was making it up," he whispered.

"What else do you remember?"

"I..." Cody shook his head, "I'm not sure." He admitted, upset by his inability to remember.

"It's okay son," Jesse soothed.

"Dad, how did I get home?"

"I brought you home."

"Why don't I remember it?" Cody asked in a voice that shook with fear. "Did I have another panic attack?"

"No son, not exactly," Jesse hedged. "Look, why don't you have something to eat? We can talk after you eat."

Cody eyed his father suspiciously, "What aren't you telling me?"

He sighed, he'd taught the boy how to read signs too well it seemed. "You were overwhelmed by the memories," he finally replied.

"What's that mean?"

"You weren't talking to us, you were trapped in the past and we didn't know if we'd ever get you back."

Cody stared at his father, hesitantly, he asked the question he wasn't sure he wanted the answer to. "How long have I been like that?"

"Two and a half days," Jesse reluctantly replied.

“What?” Cody cried out.

“Settle down,” Jesse calmly instructed, his hand on the boy's shoulder. “The doctor said it hit you so hard because you had buried the memories for so long.”

“Wish they'd stayed buried,” he mumbled.

“I know son, but it's better that they didn't.”

Cody shot him a disbelieving look, “How can it be better?”

“Well as bad as this was, can you imagine how much worse it would've been ten years down the road?”

Cody sighed, quickly seeing that his dad was right. “Is Mom still denying it?”

Jesse shook his head, “She said she sent you back to me to protect you from Roy.”

He could tell by his father's tone that he didn't fully believe her. Cody could understand that, he didn't believe her either.

“Cody, why didn't you tell me or your brother back then?”

“I don't know,” Cody replied. He didn't like lying to his dad, but he was mad enough already, he couldn't tell him the real reason he'd kept quiet. Then there was Matt, if he knew the truth it would tear him apart.

Jesse didn't believe him, but he worried that if he pushed the boy he'd retreat back into his mind. “There's something else you need to know son,” he reluctantly began. “Your brother called a little while ago, Roy's in town.”

“No! He knows I told doesn't he?” He didn't need to wait for his father's answer, he could tell by the look on his face that Roy knew. “We have to find him, it's all my fault,” he rambled as he swung his feet to the floor.

“Slow down son,” Jesse tried to calm him, shifting to hold him in place. “Roy isn't going to hurt you again, you don't have to be scared.”

Cody struggled to break his father's hold, “You don't understand, he's gonna kill him! We have to keep him safe, please Dad we have to find Matt.”

It took a minute for Jesse to process his son's words, a moment more to recognize the significance of them. It hit him with sickening clarity, the reason why Cody had never told him what Roy had done to him. “He threatened to kill Matt if you told, didn't he?”

Cody nodded miserably, “I didn't mean to tell! I swear I didn't mean it, please don't let him hurt Matt. Tell him I won't tell anybody else, I'll say I made it up, just don't let him hurt Matt.” Cody plead with his father as the panic welled up inside him, threatening to drown him in its wake.

“Shhh, it's okay son,” Jesse soothed, drawing Cody into his arms. “Matt's safe and so are you.”

“No he's not, Roy's gonna kill him cause I told.”

“Cody...”

“No,” Cody snapped, jerking away from his dad. “Don't tell me he won't do it, he will. You weren't there. You don't know the things he said. You didn't see his face. You didn't hear his voice. He meant it, oh God, what was I thinking?” Miserably he wrapped his arms around himself.

“You were thinking you were safe,” Jesse soothed. “Look son, would it make you feel better if I had Matt come up after work?”

“Can't he come up now?”

Jesse shook his head, “He's working a ten car pile-up with the other rangers and the sheriff's office, he's safe where he is. I promise, okay?”

Cody looked into his father's eyes, searching for any sign of deception. He sagged with relief, when he saw none. “Okay, and you'll ask him to come up when he's done?”

“I'll try him on the radio right now,” Jesse replied. Pushing himself to his feet, he walked over to the radio. As he depressed the button, he silently prayed that Matt would be able to answer. Within seconds his prayer was answered as the voice of his oldest came over the airwaves. Avoiding any details, he quickly elicited a promise from Matt that he would come to the cabin as soon as they were done working the accident. He turned back to his youngest, walking back to the couch in a few easy strides. “He'll be here as soon as he's done with the accident. You want something to eat while we're waiting?”

Cody offered his dad a small smile, “Thanks, maybe a little soup?”

“You got it, come on and keep me company while I fix it?”

“Sure,” Cody easily agreed. Rising to his feet, he leaned against his dad as they walked to the kitchen. As he watched his dad fixing the soup, he kept his attention focused outside, hoping to hear the sound of Matt's truck. It would only be when his family was together that he would start to feel safe again.

TBC

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