Work Text:
"Merril... please it's not- it's not what it looks like..."
Fuck... no... it'd all gone wrong. Sean just needed the cash. He hadn't told anyone about his plan, which had been simple. Steal Big Joe's truck. Drive to the farm. Break into the safe.
Don't get caught.
Yeah, he'd managed it all, except for the last part.
"I thought you were different, Sean. Smart. Was this your plan all along? Stall here, using me. I gave you a job, Sean. A place to stay. I could have turned you in to the police." Merril's gun was pointed straight at Sean, right at his head, grip trembling with rage. "This is how you repay me? By breaking into my safe?"
"I-I'm sorry." Sean's voice trembled, he'd never been so petrified in his life.
He just- really needed that money. After being fired, Merril unfairly took everything from him. He needed to leave, he was desperate.
If only Daniel had done as he was told.
He could hear... footsteps behind him. Light, quick footsteps. Fuck- Daniel? How'd he follow him here? Everything was going so smoothly, how'd it all come crashing down so fast?
And Merril heard it too.
"Oh, so you bought company with you?"
"N-no!" Sean stepped back towards the door, silently begging for Daniel to just... disappear. He couldn't get Daniel involved in all this shit. He promised to keep him safe!
"Get out of the way. Now. Before I put a bullet in between your eyes."
Sean forced his shaking legs to inch away from the door, hands still raised in the air. The door practically flew open, handle chipping into the wall.
And then, everything happened so fast.
Sean snapped at the speed of light just as Merril was about to pull the trigger. He shoved Daniel to the ground within life-saving seconds an earsplitting gunshot ringing through his head.
Sean stumbled, a sharp pain splitting through his skull. His breath hitched in his throat, he stumbled, dizziness taking over completely.
"S-Sean?"
Sean couldn't register what happened. Everything was so eerily silent... and he could barely see. He sucked in a breath he didn't know he was holding. The agony in his head was fracturing, splintering pain so intense Sean felt his blood run cold. He slowly lifted his hand to his face, bright scarlet blood stained his fingertips.
Sean lifted his head, blood now pouring from the gunshot wound right where his left eye should've been.
"D-Daniel...?" He croaked out before darkness overtook him, Daniel's scream is the last thing he heard as he collapsed to the ground.
"Sean!" Daniel screamed, running over to his brother and desperately shaking him. "Sean! Wake up! Wake up please, wake up!"
Daniel shrieked out as his brother lay limp like a ragdoll. And then he couldn't control himself anymore, almost as if he was possessed.
Merill was flung across the building, slammed into a wall. Window smashed, furniture destroyed, Daniel couldn't stop his screams as the building collapsed around him.
His legs buckled and gave way. Merril was laying under a heap of debris and glass shards, a pool of blood surrounding him. Daniel didn't care. He took his brother from him... he deserved to die.
"Sean..." Daniel was light-headed from exhaustion, crawling over to his brother.
Sean's skin was paling, a crimson puddle forming around his head.
Daniel took Sean's hand into his own as sirens could be heard faintly, passing out on top of his brother out of sheer exhaustion.
-
He didn't remember waking up. His instinct told him to run. But he couldn't leave Sean...
Broken cries and whimpers spilt from his lips. Sean was surrounded by paramedics, grabbing him all over and pricking him with needles and other things Daniel wasn't sure of. They were trying to help him, but Daniel had to suppress the urge to scream at them all, to get off him... he didn't want anyone touching his brother.
An officer by the name of Agent Flores dragged Daniel away from the scene, despite his screams and protests. He would have torn her to shreds if his power hadn't been completely exhausted.
"Let me stay with him!" The nine-year old's voice was a desperate whimper now, his throat hurt too much to scream. He just watched as he was roughly dragged towards a police car, and Sean was taken away in an ambulance. The brothers were apart.
Daniel just bowed his head and sobbed as he was driven away in the police car with Agent Flores. He'd messed up. It was all his fault. Now Sean was going to die.
If he wasn't dead already.
The police station was cold, everything was a depressing shade of grey or black. Daniel kept his head bowed, hands in his lap.
It was now the early hours of the morning, and if it wasn't for his pure terror he would've nodded off by now. The small boy was exhausted, he hadn't been able to stop shaking since Sean was shot.
Agent Flores sat on the other side of the desk, dropping down a pile of paperwork with a soft thud.
"Daniel, you aren't in any trouble okay? I just want to ask you a few questions."
"I-Is Sean okay?" Daniel couldn't meet her gaze, he was frightened of what the answer would be.
"I will always be honest with you, Daniel. Sean was severely injured. He's... very poorly at the moment." Agent Flores reached over to put a hand on Daniel's shoulder.
"I-Is he going to die?" The touch barely registered, his eyes flooding with tears.
"The doctors... I'm sure they're doing their best. But... he might not make it." Agent Flores did feel pity for the boy, he was merely a child. "I'm sorry Daniel."
Daniel shook her grip off him, bursting into choking sobs. "It's all my fault! I killed him... I killed my brother..."
"Daniel... Why do you think it's your fault?"
"I-I'm... I'm cursed... I k-killed my dad... and now I've killed my brother." Daniel just stared at the floor, hiccuping and choking on his sobs. "My fault... all my fault."
"Can you tell me what happened in Seattle?" Agent Flores' gaze was piercing through him like a knife.
Hide your power. That's what Sean always told him.
But Daniel was sick of hiding it. He wanted to just tell the truth, what actually happened on the day his dad was killed. If he just told her, she'd just think he was crazy.
He tried to concentrate on the mug of coffee sitting on the desk. But no matter how hard he tried, it wouldn't budge an inch. Maybe his powers were truly gone now, and it was all too late.
"The police officer... he shot dad. A-and then there was an explosion. I passed out. I couldn't remember anything... I only remember things when I have nightmares." Daniel shifted, fidgeting uncomfortably with his hands. "Sean never hurt anyone. H-he's not like that. He's only ever tried to protect me."
"Are you trying to take the blame so Sean doesn't get into trouble?"
"No!" Daniel cried out. "Why doesn't anyone believe us! Why can't you just leave us alone!"
"I want to believe you, Daniel." The FBI agent sighed. "But your story doesn't make sense. How did Officer Matthews die? You didn't see it- you can't be sure that Sean didn't lash out"
"No!" Daniel yelled, leaping up from his seat and knocking his chair back. "Sean didn't hurt anyone! He's innocent!"
"Alright... I think we'll leave it at that." Agent Flores stood up, grabbing her paperwork. "You have to open up if you want me to help you and your brother. You're going to have to tell me the truth, eventually."
"I am..." Daniel whispered helplessly under his breath. He wanted Sean so badly. He was the only person who made him feel okay, almost as if everything was fine again. He couldn't do this without him.
-
Daniel was taken to a hotel for the night. It reminded him of the motel that he and Sean had stayed in after Brody had picked them up. He'd watched his favourite television show with Mushroom, Sean ran him a warm bath with lots of bubbles and they danced together on the bed. That was the last memory he had of before he knew their father was dead.
The hotel wasn't like that at all. There was no bath, just a tiny shower cubicle that he didn't know how to work. One uncomfortable bed had springs that would dig into his back and a window that couldn't open further than a couple of inches. On top of that, guards stayed outside the room, constantly watching him like a hawk.
His powers still weren't working, there was no escape this time. Daniel was just an ordinary, defenceless, scared little boy.
Nothing he could do could take his mind off Sean. The room had no TV, not even a phone. It was like a prison cell.
He barely slept that night. When he closed his eyes, all he could see was Sean with a bullet right in his eye. All he could hear was Sean stuttering out his name before collapsing to the floor.
-
Agent Flores came to get him the next day. She didn't need to wake him, he was already awake.
"H-how's Sean? Can I see him?" Daniel jumped up instantly, he was still sick with worry.
"Not right now Daniel. After some questions... I'll let you see him." The hatred he'd developed for the woman almost dispersed completely at the thought of seeing his brother again.
He could almost hug her. Almost.
Daniel hated that cold, horrible police station, a place clearly not meant for children. He was left in the cold, metallic room whilst Agent Flores had left to take a phone call.
The coffee mug from yesterday was still there. Daniel focused hard, tensing every muscle in his body. But somehow it just still wasn't working. Daniel sighed in frustration, kicking the table leg. He needed to blow this place apart, he needed to get Sean, he needed to get the Hell out of there. But he couldn't.
Agent Flores came back, setting a glass of milk and a Choc-o-crisp in front of Daniel. Usually, he'd be ecstatic about having his favourite snack, but now he couldn't bring himself to care at all.
"You need to eat, Daniel. Then we can talk. Then you can see your brother."
Daniel unwrapped the chocolate bar, but it didn't taste right anymore. The sickly chocolate made him feel nauseous and stuck together like a lump in his throat.
Still, he forced it down and drank the milk he was given whilst Agent Flores sipped her coffee.
"So, Daniel. Can you tell me about what happened on the farm?" Agent Flores was staring at him with a cold gaze, one that set Daniel on edge.
"It... It was my fault. I went into the back office whilst Sean and the others went to collect their pay. I just... felt left out." Daniel closed his eyes, the lump in his throat refusing to go down. "Merrill and Big Joe... they were mad. Merrill fired us, he took all Sean's money. So Sean said we couldn't stay there any longer. A-And he woke me up by leaving the tent in the middle of the night. So I followed him."
Daniel took a breath before continuing, hating the jumpscare of Sean's bloodied face that kept flashing in his mind.
"He didn't notice me. He just wanted to get to the safe and take his money back. So we could leave. But I heard Merrill- I panicked. I ran in to help Sean. Merrill t-tried to shoot me, but Sean pushed me out the way. A-And then Sean got shot... he shot him."
Daniel began to sob for what felt like the hundredth time in the past couple of days. He felt like a broken faucet.
"So... Sean was shot. Then what happened? That entire building was completely wiped out." Agent Flores said.
"I-I don't know. Things just... happened. I was angry. I thought Sean was dead."
"You can't expect me to believe a little boy was capable of all that mess?"
"It's true- I just got mad and threw some things."
"Daniel. A man was killed. The place looked like a tornado had hit it. This isn't getting us anywhere. Just tell me the truth."
"That is the truth!" Daniel snapped.
"That's enough for now." Agent Flores rose from her seat, seeing Daniel become agitated. "I've got into contact with your grandparents. You're going to be staying with them for a while."
"Wait, so can I see Sean now?"
"Sorry Daniel. Sean is in intensive care. He's not allowed any visitors."
"B-But..." Daniel froze. "You told me I could..."
"Wait here, Daniel. Your grandparents should be here soon." Agent Flores ignored Daniel's visible distress, it seemed she had already grown tired of pretending to care.
"You... You lied!"