When Brian made his way down the stairs the house was still quiet. He was dressed in his work suit with his hair combed neatly to the side but was still barefoot. This way he didn't make too much noise. Usually Letty slept pretty long and Jack and his new 'friend' probably needed their beauty sleep as well.

In the kitchen he found some coffee and a slice of bread, which he put into the toaster and pushed it down.
"Buster, paper!" He called and opened the door for his four legged friend. The dog shot out the door, peed on the tree in front of Brian's house and came back with the rolled up news paper.
"Good boy." Brian petted him on the head.
He grabbed the paper and sat down waiting for the toast to pop out. It smelled pretty good already.

With a groan Jack slowly sat up from an uncomfortable position, the early sunlight causing his already splitting headache to make itself even more present.
"Shit..." How much painkillers would it take to knock him out again? Dragging his sorry ass all the way to the kitchen wasn't exactly on his list of favorite things to do right now, nor was moving in general, but if he wanted the throbbing to stop or at least ease up a bit he had no choice. Those things didn't come to you after all.
With another groan, he finally pushed himself off the couch and made his way to the kitchen with nothing else on his mind but finding those damned pills.

Brian got up when the toast popped up and grabbed a knife and the butter.
A sound behind him made him jump. The knife slipped out of his hand and landed right between his bare toes. "Shit!" Damn, he was jumpy. This whole jail break plus Angel on his back made him awefully nervous. Something that was quite unusual for Mr. FBI.
He spun around and recognised Jack at the door.
"Holy shit, Jack!" He muttered. "Didn't expect you up so early."
When he noticed the pained expression combined with Jack's hair sticking up in all kinds of directions and his shirt on backwards he couldn't help but laugh.

"Ha fucking ha ha. Wanna get your ass kicked?" Jack glared at Brian, though it probably didn't look too intimidating with his current not by choice fashion statement. He'd noticed his appearance in the reflection of the kitchen window the moment Brian had started laughing.
With a sigh he adjusted his shirt back to the way it was meant to be worn and ran a hand through his out of control hair in the hopes of taming it a little. Fuck it if he still didn't look presentable enough now.

Another protest of his brain once again reminded him why he was in the kitchen at this early hour. Aspirin, lots of it and fast.
He took the last step to the cupboard and grabbed the bottle of aspirin out of it. Without bothering to check the maximum dosage, he shook an undefined amount out of the bottle and into his mouth before chasing them down with some water straight from the tap.
"So what makes you so jumpy this morning?" He turned towards Brian while he wiped the left over water of his mouth. "Bad conscious maybe?"

Brian watched Jack gulp down the aspirin and knitted his brow. He raised the slice of toast motioning for the package. "Two...I think is the recommended amount."
For a moment he still smiled at Jack and his apparently huge hang over.
Then he picked up the knife and almost dropped it again when Jack asked the next question.
"Nosy little fart." He muttered. Obviously Jack was very observant and not as brain dead this morning as Brian thought.
He contemplated whether it would make sense to deny it or serve his brother some kind of lame excuse but knew pretty well that Jack had a radar for bullshit. he took a bite of the still warm bread and chewed before he asnwered with his mouth full.
"My job...Angel and an escaped convict." That's all Jack needed to know.
He raised his eyebrows and offered Jack some coffee. "Want some?"

With a wave of his hand, Jack brushed off the offer on the coffee and leaned against the kitchen counter while he eyed Brian. Why did he get the feeling there was more to the jumpiness than Brian let on?
"So it has nothing to do with last night's little 'get together' and the fact that I wasn't allowed to be there." He paused for a moment when he suddenly remembered the map that had been on the table and that Brian had hidden it as fast as he could. He hadn't given it much thought last night, not that he'd been in any state to do so then, but it hit him all the harder now that the headache was slowly subsiding and his mind clearing.
"That map.. Is it really part of an assignment?" He searched his brothers face for a reaction. He had no idea what else it could possibly be for, but he was intent on finding out on what was up with all the secrecy last night. Something told him the map might have something to do with that.

Brian stopped chewing and stared Jack square in the eye. Blue eyes met blue eyes. He could tell by Jack's expression that he clearly had his doubts about the explanation about the map. Aparently he had already put things together in his own little mind. How do you protect a brother that's a nosy as Jack and a magnet for all sorts of trouble be it the kind that makes you end up in cuffs or the one on two pretty long legs in high heels. He had to admit the latter seemed to be a character trait they had in common. At least before Brian met Mia.
Angel on his back, a weird partner sniffing around in the office and Dom in prison for life if they didn't use their chance. How was Brian supposed to remain cool?

After a good two minutes of stared down he threw the slice of bread onto the counter and angrily replied. "What the fuck, Jack. Why the hell are you so nosy?"
"Just..."His fist hit the counter top out of a lack of other possible targets. "listen to me once in your life. Let it go, man. Let it go!" He crossed the room and brushed by Jack, shoulders connecting, and started digging in the fridge for whatever he could find.

Jack huffed when Brian pushed past him. He hadn't expected the staring contest nor the angry outburst that had followed soon after. For a couple of seconds he was actually rendered speechless which was something that didn't happen very often in his life. How could he let it go after this?
The O'Conner's were an extremely stubborn bunch and Jack was definitely no exception. He'd be damned if he would just stand there and take it.

He turned around towards his brother's back, a scowl present on his face.
"I'm fucking nosy? You're the one acting all secretive yet you're leaving your 'top-secret' shit lying around for anyone to see and you don't expect to get questions?!" He snorted. "I'm starting to think you found your FBI badge in a cereal box instead of earning it considering how sloppy you are."
He instantly regretted his last words. He knew Brian was good at his job and worked hard for it, but as usual, the shit came pouring out of his mouth before he even realized what he was saying.
"Shit.."

Now Jack had done it. The mentioning of Brian's badge hit a nerve. Brian was well aware that springing a convict could easily lead to him loosing his badge or worse but what was almost worse was the fact that Brian had a feeling he didn't deserve it anymore after this stunt. Everything he'd worked for and dedicated most of his life to would be a big joke if he engaged in something highly illegal himself.
'Cereal box...badge...fuck that' he snapped.
Faster than anybody could realize it he spun around leaving the fridge wide open, grabbed a hold of Jack's shirt and shoved him against the next wall ignoring the fact that he had a broken hand.
"Watch what you say!" he muttered through gritted teeth.
All he tried to do was to protect Jack from the shit he was about to get into. How could he possibly convince him? Not with words it seemed. For a lack of better options he punched his brother. Not hard just a bit to put him in his place and shut him up.

For a moment Jack stared at Brian in disbelieve after he received the punch, though he could barely call it that. His brother seemed full of surprises this morning and not the ones you could appreciate.
He had enough of this shit. At this point he could care less about what the map was about or his brother's strange behavior.

With his temper rising, his expression changed from disbelieve to anger in a split second as he growled in a low voice. "No, YOU watch what I say." He made sure he said the next two simple words in as much of an articulate way as one possibly could. "Fuck. You."
He practically spit the words in Brian's face before he shoved him off of him with force.
"I'm out of here." Now it was his turn to push past his brother in a less than friendly way.

Brian could barely beleive what had just happened himself. The last time he had punched Jack was probably 10 years ago.

He watched him storm away. "Shit, Jack. Wait! I didn't mean to..."
Unfortunately Jack was in no mood to wait and Brian wasn't really in a mood for apologies. After all Jack had pushed him like he always did with his comments and pain-in-the-ass attitude.
Maybe it was better to let him walk away. That way he at least didn't have to explain about the map or why he was so on edge.

A bad feeling spread in his stomache though. The feeling of guilt.
"Shit."
This time it was the walls turn to receive a punch before Brian let himself sink onto the chair, that was previously occupied by his brother, and let his head fall in his hands.

What a great morning.

After a minute of rubbing his head and feeling like shit Brian got up and decided to look for his brother. He knew he was wrong and didn't want him to get to tangled up in his anger.

With the morning being as early as it was, there weren't many things to do or places to go to. Something Jack hadn't thought about before storming out of the house.
He could of course just walk right back in, but after the fight with his brother and his pride getting in the way, he decided against it. He'd rather be bored out here than to admit that maybe, just maybe, he had pushed Brian a little too far this time.

With a sigh he sat down on the curb while he searched his pockets for a smoke. He could definitely use one right now with his pissed off mood still present and nothing or no one around to take it out on. Grateful to find the almost empty pack, he lit one up, savoring the calming effect of the nicotine while he took a long drag. How the morning could've gone from shit to worse, he could only wonder while he idly blew out the smoke.

And that was exactly why he never got up early. Mornings simply just didn't do it for him.

A quick look into the living room and out the back confirmed that Jack wasn't there anymore.
The longer Brian had to look for him the more he felt sorry for what he'd just done. Jack would have deserved a punch much harder than the one he received on many occasions but not today. Also Brian knew that he would most likely act like a stubburn kid from now on. So he had to find him soon than later.
Unfortunately his younger brother was nowhere to be found.

So he grabbed his gun and badge from upstairs and the car keys from the kitchen counter and made his way outside.
To his suprise Jack hadn't stormed off but sat near the front lawn on the curb and blew out little clouds of smoke. Had he grown up?
Brian took a deep breath and sat down next to him. Quite the wierd sight for a guy in a black suit and tie.
"Do you have another one?"

Jack barely payed attention to the front door opening and the footsteps heading his way.
Without looking, he could already guess who they belonged to and it didn't take long before his suspicions were confirmed when his brother sat down next to him.
Ignoring Brian's presence, he stared at the house across the street as if it was the most interesting thing he'd ever seen. He didn't quite care for another lecture and if it came to things, he was still willing to return the favor on the punch.
However, when Brian posed the question for a smoke he slightly relaxed. If his brother was willing to act normal, than maybe he should be a little more mature for a change too.
Taking another drag, he tossed what was left of his current stash in Brian's lap along with the lighter and nodded, still staring out ahead of him. "Help yourself."

Then he finally glanced at his brother and couldn't help the smirk from appearing on his face. With the black suit and the frown Brian was sporting it looked as if he was about to attend a funeral or something. "Damn bro, who died?"
Jack could only remain somewhat mature for so long.

Dani woke up from Brian and Jacks arguing, she slowly sat up from her curled up position on the couch. She placed her hands over her head moaning "ahh! Do you boys have to be so loud?" She walked into the kitchen to take some aspirin, she opened up the cabinet where Brain had showed her where the aspirin was last night but it wasn't there. "Where is the aspirin?" as she looked around she realized that no one was in the house.

Dani walked out the back door on to the porch and there she saw Brian with his keys and Jack smoking a cigarette. She was so hungover she had to sit on the steps for a few minutes, she yelled out to them "Where is the Aspirin?"

Brian picked up the pack of cigarets and shoved one in the corner of his mouth. The day started like crap-why not get into old crappy habbits?
Before he could light it he looked up in Jacks face and saw the grin and sparkle in his eyes. He couldn't help but smile as well.
"Curiousity killed the cat...don't you know!" He remarked and lit it. A deep drag and his back relaxed slightly.
"Damn, kid." Brian muttered.
Then he heard Dani behind them on the porch and turned to see her wrapped in a blanket but with her bare long legs sticking out and her tossled hair she looked pretty hot.
"Maybe you're not such a kid anymore." He nudged him.
Then he passed the lighter back and lowered his eyes. "I'm sorry." A little louder he added. "You nosy, little pain."

Jack couldn't help but roll his eyes when Brian called him a kid, but the smirk stayed never the less.
He could let that one slide this time.

Just as he was about to put his cigarette out Dani's voice called out behind them, causing him to turn around as well. Even with a hangover she still looked smoking hot, though he had a feeling she probably didn't agree with him at the moment.
When he realized he still had the aspirin on him, he pointed a finger at Brian before he got up.
"Don't even think about. " He saw the way his brother was looking at her.
He stopped long enough to take his lighter back and catch Brian's words at the same time.
With a reassuring pat on his brother's shoulder, he let out a short laugh. "You punch like a girl anyway." With those words, he snatched the cigarette from Brian's mouth and shrugged in a mock apologizing way. "Consider this my pay-back."
Clearly his earlier mood had changed for the better when he made his way over to Dani and held out his hand to help her up.

maybe Jack was really about to grow up. His reaction was unexpected and unusual. Brian raised his eyebrows and watched him take the cigarret out of his mouth.
Then Jack walked to Dani who gratefully took the box of Aspirin.
Brian nodded at her and Jack. "Make yourselves at home."
Then he got up, brushed a few leaves of his suit and unlocked his car.
When he was about to drive off he shot one more glance at the house and wondered whether he should go back inside and grab the map.
He decided against it and turned the key in the ingnition making the engine purr. A sound that immediately made him feel at ease.
'Highway-here I come.'

Dani reached out for Jacks hand while rapping the blanket around herself. She took the box of Aspirin from him, taking two to re leave her headache. As Jack and Dani walked into the house Brian got into his car and drove off to work.

Jack and Dani then sat inside for a few minutes talking about a piece of paper that was stick up from underneath the coffee table. Debating on if they should look at it. She then decided that she was going to go home and take a shower and get clean cloths. She had told Jack that she would be back later on in the night.

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