Welcome to the Family

The guys all stared open mouthed at Brian's outburst. None of them could comprehend what he had just said at the moment. It was too shocking. Neither of them knew how to respond to such a bold statement, especially coming from Brian's mouth. He had never shown any interest in something like this, but he managed to really shock them all.

"Why the hell would you do that?" Johnny finally managed to spit out.

"I thought that if we were all her guardians and on the off chance that something were to happen to any of us that she wouldn't be in the system," Brian answered, raising his hand to scratch his neck.

"Brian, it's a good thought and everything like that, but to be honest it's up to Rebecca first and foremost if she even wants to stay with us, and you should have talked to us all before just doing something like this," Matt tried to reason.

"I know I should have at least talked to you all before just doing it, but Social Services wasn't giving me much time to make a decision. The lady I talked to was hell bent on sending out someone to claim her the next day. I couldn't let her be snatched by police and then forced to live in the system, it's an ugly world," Brian retorted.

"The more we fight about this here, the more attention you'll gain from all the people here. Let's discuss this once Rebecca's out of the ER and when we have a clearer head to understand the situation," Papa Gates cut in, before Zacky had a chance to retaliate.

Jimmy had been silent through the whole discussion. He wasn't sure what to think. On the one hand, he thought Brian did a good job in claiming custody of her so soon, but on the other, he knew that Matt was right. It was up to Rebecca to decide on if she would rather stay with them until eighteen or if she was going to run off and live off of the streets until she was legal age to get a job and actually live a life. He hoped that she would choose the right decision by staying with them, but he also had an inkling of a feeling that if she ever figured out what happened to her family then she would want to seek revenge.

*****

Rebecca was being wheeled out by McKenna again. Her writing hand, which was her right hand, was broken. It was now in a cast in order to make sure that it healed properly. They had to reset it since it had started to heal already, but in the wrong way. It hurt like a bitch, but Rebecca had kept her cool and didn't scream in pain like she thought she would. It was her left ankle that had been broken and that too was in a cast in order to heal. Normally, she would be able to use crutches to keep off of her foot, but because her wrist was broken she was stuck using a wheelchair or being carried around everywhere.

It wasn't going to be a fun time because now she had to depend on people. She hated depending on people since she's been on her own for the last ten years or so. She still wanted to find her parents and her family. She didn't know why she had woken up by herself in a strange place, but she knew that if she found her family then they might be able to provide information to her. At least that's what she was hoping. For right now though, she had to face the five men who have sort of become family to her since she stowed away on their bus.

She didn't exactly think of them as family, but they were the only people she really knew in this state and the doctor had told her that she needed to be looked after until she got her casts off. She wasn't looking forward to any of it, but she did know who she'd like to take care of her. She just had to ask him first and she was scared that he would reject her. She's never been scared in her life, but for some odd reason, being rejected terrified her.

Suzy, McKenna's mom, had offered for her to stay at their house until she got better, but she didn't know them. Hell, she hardly knew the other five men out in the waiting room, but at least she had spent some time with them. She knew that they liked to joke around and fuck with people all the time just by observing how they acted when they were performing live shows. That much was about all she knew about those men. She sighed as McKenna continued to push her out into the waiting room of the ER. She was so not looking forward to being dependant on anyone.

******

The guys turned their attention towards the revolving doors of the ER when they heard them open. They saw McKenna and Suzy coming out with Rebecca still in the wheelchair. They knew why though. Her wrist was in a blue cast, which prevented her from using crutches to stay off of her purple casted ankle. They waited for the three girls to come to them before heading back out to the cars. When they reached Matt's Escalade Jimmy helped Rebecca into the car while Zacky took her wheelchair to the trunk. He climbed in next to her once he was done. Johnny was once again up front and Brian was in the way back with the wheelchair.

Matt drove back to Papa Gates' house since the rest of the guy's cars were there. They still needed to discuss things with everyone. Matt turned the car off and Zacky helped Rebecca out while Brian climbed out the back with the wheelchair and brought it towards Rebecca. She sat down with a huff and crossed her arms rather awkwardly across her chest. Jimmy smiled at her behavior. He could clearly see that she wasn't happy about any of this. She was a rather independent girl and he knew why she had to be at such a young age to. It killed him to know this information, but he wasn't sure how to break the news to her.

They all trekked inside the house, and by now it was close to eight in the morning. They had been at the ER for nearly three hours. Rebecca was wheeled into the living room and then was stopped at the end of the couch or rather next to the couch. She really didn’t want to sit in the wheelchair at this point, but she wasn't sure what was going to happen next or how long she was going to stay here since she had turned down Suzy's offer. Suzy was the first to speak.

"So, the doctor said that her right hand and wrist were broken. It had started to heal unevenly so they had to re-break it and then set it properly before wrapping it up in a cast. He also said that her left ankle was broken, which is why she's in a wheelchair until one of them heals completely. He didn't confirm for how long she needed to be in a cast, but said that in a couple of weeks they could take an X-ray to see the progression. He said that she might be in a cast for close to a couple of months for both breaks depending on how fast she heals," she stopped to take a breath, "the cuts and bruises she sustained, he said would go away with time, but he also took a look at her head since she was complaining about that hurting and he said that there might be a small concussion and made sure to explain how to keep a close watch on her in case she feels dizzy," Suzy finished explaining the extent of Rebecca's injuries.

"Did he prescribe any kind of pain medication?" Matt asked.

"No, he said that some aspirin should help with the headaches, but he made sure to explain how to take care of the casts when she wanted to take a shower, and basically she can't get them wet," Suzy replied.

"Okay, so Rebecca who do you want to help you in the next couple of months?" Zacky prompted the next question to her.

Rebecca sat frozen in her wheelchair as everyone stared at her. She wasn't expecting them to ask her this. She knew that they would since she had turned down Suzy's offer, but she wasn't expecting them to ask her so soon. She needed time to think about how to word her question to the one she wanted to take care of her and being put on the spot like this wasn't helping.

"Rebecca?" Johnny asked.

"I don't really know actually. I don't trust people easily and since I don't know much about you, any of you, to be honest, so I don't know who to choose," Rebecca answered.

"That's understandable, but you do know that you can't live on the streets with two casts and be able to manage on your own," Papa Gates said.

She looked at him and nodded her head knowing that he was right. She knew that she had to choose, but she was honestly terrified of rejection. She wasn't sure if she would be able to handle it, so she didn't want to choose.

"Rebecca, whoever you choose to take care of you, none of us will be offended by your choice. It's why we are giving you one in the first place, because we can all see that you are an independent person," Matt said kneeling down in front of her.

"Matt's right Rebecca, none of us will be offended, promise you that," Jimmy said smiling at her from across the room.

Rebecca lowered her head in shame. She didn't want to make them fight or hate each other, but she couldn't think with them all staring at her like that. It was too overwhelming.

"Can I have some help taking a shower please?" She asked, lifting her head up.

"Of course sweetie," Suzy smiled at her.

Rebecca was lifted out of her chair by Matt and carried up the stairs to the bathroom that McKenna used. Suzy followed with the necessary supplies to protect the casts and then waited for Matt to leave the room. When he did Suzy got to work with putting plastic around the casts so that they wouldn't get wet. Rebecca thanked her and then stepped into the shower. She managed to wash her body with one hand, but her hair was starting to prove to be quite difficult. She sighed when the fourth attempt failed and finally asked Suzy to help her out.

After her shower was finished and Suzy had helped her into some clean clothes Matt had come back up the stairs to carry Rebecca back down. He gently placed her in the wheelchair and she smiled gratefully. He returned the smile letting his dimples show before standing and then sitting next to her, or rather on the couch side that was by her wheelchair.

Rebecca knew that she had to make her decision soon because they couldn't stay here all day and all night long. Rebecca took a deep breath and then looked at every single guy in the room. Her eyes landed on Brian first. She studied his expression for a minute before turning her attention to Johnny next. Again, she studied him, but she wasn’t sure what she was looking for exactly. After Johnny she turned her attention to Matt who was sitting next to her. He had helped her and was very kind about it too.

She then turned her attention to Zacky. She liked how green his eyes were, but she didn't think she could ask him to take care of her. She finally turned her attention to Jimmy, the one who seemed to care a lot more about her than the others ever did. He had shown the interest in her from the get go, and he had been pretty persistent about her speaking to him. If she chose him then maybe he would open up to her more. She wasn't sure, but she knew that she had to try.

"Rebecca have you made up your mind yet?" Matt prompted her.

"I think so," Rebecca answered.

They all waited for her to announce her choice. Rebecca closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She did make her decision as she was washing up in the shower. She hoped that they would understand like they said they would. After another deep breath she opened her eyes and then looked at everyone.

"Alright , so since you're all wondering who I chose to look after me until I get my casts off I'll let you know, but you all have to promise me that you won't interrupt me," Rebecca said staring them all down.

They all nodded their heads and waited patiently.

"As I said before, I can't choose because I can't bring myself to trust people that I barely know, but I have decided that if I spend a little time with you all that I might be able to get to know you enough that I start to trust you more," Rebecca stated.

"What do you mean?" Jimmy asked.

"I mean that at this point in time I'm only looking for help until I'm out of my two casts and can do stuff on my own again. I understand that it might take longer than just me getting out of my casts, but I'm willing to stay with each and every one of you for a small amount of time if that's alright," Rebecca answered.

"Is that the only way you'll accept help?" Papa Gates asked.

"It's the only way that I can come to terms with accepting help from other people yes," Rebecca stated.

"Rebecca that's perfectly fine and understandable," Matt said from beside her.

Rebecca looked at him and gave him a half smile of gratitude. She really enjoyed how much he seemed to care. She turned her attention to the others and noticed that they all looks of approval and understanding on their faces as well. She gave them all smiles of gratitude as well.

"I don't know why I have such heavy trust issues, but I'm hoping that I found out as I'm healing. When I was on the bus with you all I got to thinking about my situation sometimes and why I have been living on the streets. I came to the conclusion that I want to find my family and hope that they'll take me back even though I've been gone so long," Rebecca said with a determined note in her voice.

"Sounds like a good thing to keep you occupied," Johnny grinned at her.

"So, Rebecca, whose house are you staying at first?" Zacky asked her.

"I don't want to seem like a burden to any of you, but I'd like to stay with Jimmy first if it's not too much to ask," she said looking at him.

"Of course it's not," Jimmy said, with a tight smile on his face.

Rebecca smiled back happy that she didn't get rejected and happy that they were accepting of her decision when it came to asking for help and depending on other people. She knew that it was something that she needed to work on and she hoped that with time it would change. She didn't want to act like a bitch anymore. These guys, this whole family, as she seemed to notice, were the first people to actually show interest and concern for her whereabouts.

Jimmy looked at Zacky and they both connected eyes with Brian. At the comment about looking for her parents they had visibly shuddered. Those three were the only three that knew of what truly happened to her family and they weren't sure if she was strong enough to handle the truth. They knew that they couldn't keep it from her though because it would definitely make her not trust any of them. They had to come up with a way to break the news gently to her before she did any major research.

Brian was happy that she had decided to stay with all of them in moderation during her time in the wheelchair. He was afraid that she wouldn't give him a chance to redeem himself at all, but he planned to do just that. He also knew that he would have to let her know about the adoption, but it was a subject for her to find out after she figured out about her family. That was the first and foremost topic that she needed to figure out. He hated knowing something about her that she clearly had no clue about, but until now she never really questioned where she came from or why she was living on the streets.

He hoped that she would be able to trust them soon because he had a feeling that she might need a few shoulders to cry on. He wasn't sure how emotionally strong she was or mentally for that matter, but the news about her family might just tear down that hard wall she always seemed to keep up. He just hoped that she wouldn't withdraw from them once she did find out.