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Remember When...

On a beautiful cloudy day, a day like any other, where one wouldn't suspect any unusual incidents, the Kratt brothers were out exploring the rainforest of Borneo, wandering through the trees while listening to every whistle, every rustle, and every sound.

"Hush... Did you hear that?" Chris stopped all of a sudden, not moving a muscle.

"...I don't hear anything," Martin said in a hushed tone, coming to a halt right behind his brother.

"There it is again!"

This time, Martin heard it. "Oh yeah... Sounds like a monkey," he supposed. They both looked around for the source of the sound, until-

"Martin, heads up!" Chris alerted as a fruit came falling right on Martin's head. "Ow!" he yelped as the fruit bounced off his head and on the ground. Curious, he picked up and analyzed the mysterious fruit, which looked like a sea urchin.

"A rambutan?" He raised an eyebrow. Chris tilted his head, a grin on his face. "Do you know which creature eats rambutans?" He asked rhetorically.

"If I'm not mistaken, it can be none other than-" he looked up with confidence at the tree the fruit had fallen from.

"A rhinoceros hornbill!" He pointed at a funny looking bird with black feathers on its body and white feathers on its legs, along with a white tail with a black band, both the beak and casque orange and red in color.

"Wow!" Let out the brothers in awe, admiring the creature as it made that same sound from earlier, almost similar to dog barks echoing through the trees.

"So that's what a rhinoceros hornbill chirp sounds like," Martin said. "And he already comes with a name: Rhino!" He happily declared.

"Rhino?" Chris chuckled.

"Yeah, Rhino!" Martin looked back up at the bird...only to find that it was gone.

"Rhino?" He called out. "Where'd he go?" He squinted his eyes through the tree branches above them, yet nothing.

"Dunno, but let's find out." Martin heard his brother say, as he turned around, finding he had already started climbing the tree. "Uhh, Chris... What are you doing?" He crossed his arms.

"Getting a bird's eye-view," Chris was putting all his focus into climbing. Martin observed him, amused, a genuine chuckle escaping him. "Any reason to climb, huh?" He teased, a smug look on his face.

Chris rolled his eyes, secretly smiling himself, finally reaching the branch they last saw the bird perch on. He carefully sat on the branch and squinted his eyes, looking around for any sign of Rhino.

A sudden harsh breeze, followed by a strike of lightning!

"Woah!" Martin yelped, almost jumping from fright. "Uhh, Chris... I think we should go-"

CRACK.

The Kratt in blue looked up to find the branch his brother was sitting on starting to crack, his eyes widened.

"CHRIS GET DOWN FROM THERE!" He yelled out, but before Chris could react, it was too late.

At that moment, the branch completely broke, sending him falling hard on the ground. "AAAAH!"

THUD.

"CHRIS NO!" Martin immediately came running to his brother, who was laying on the ground near a rock. He knelt on his knees and, with shaky hands, reached out to hold him in his arms, but gasped when he felt his hand getting covered by...blood!

He looked down with wide eyes to find a serious injury on the right side of his head; blood was covering his cheek, leaking down from a wound on his forehead, which he had gotten from hitting it hard on that same rock.

"Oh, no..." Martin held his unconscious brother closer to his chest, tears of inquietude forming in his eyes. Then, he regained himself, knowing what he had to do.

He took off his sweatshirt and rolled it before placing it beneath Chris' head, then he reached for the first aid-kit in his bag. He took out some bandages and a bottle of wound cleaning solution and, with a white cloth, he cautiously started wiping off the blood that was still running down his brother's face.

As soon as he pressed the cloth on the wound, Chris winced in pain, his eyes still closed shut, letting out silent cries. Martin sighed as he continued the process, putting aside a now half blood covered piece of cloth and grabbing a second one, when-

"M-Martin..." He looked down to find Chris looking up at him with half-opened eyes. "W-What happened?" his voice was weak.

"Shh... Don't move, bro. You hit your head pretty hard," Martin whispered, wiping off the last bit of blood from his forehead.

"Don't worry, I'll get you back to the Tortuga." He gave him a sad smile, the green Kratt only closing his eyes with a quivering sigh, slipping back into unconsciousness.

As soon as Martin finished wrapping his brother's head using the bandage, he placed everything back in his bag, grabbed his sweatshirt and gently picked up Chris bridal-style, before heading back to the HQ.

A few hours had passed, and Martin was now sitting on a chair beside his brother's bed where he was lying, still unconscious, holding his hand and not leaving his sight for one second. He sighed anxiously, remembering the moment Chris fell from that tree, and all that blood... He shook his head trying to forget the unpleasant scene.

He suddenly heard a few faint moans. "Chris?" Martin tightened the grip on his hand, when finally, he started coming back to the world of living.

Chris groaned as he looked up at his brother with half opened eyes. "Martin, wh-" he gritted his teeth at the intense sharp pain in his head.

"Easy there, bro." Martin leaned the back of his hand on Chris' bandaged head, but backed up when he flinched at the contact. "Sorry," he sighed.

A moment of silence...

"How are you feeling?" Martin asked with hesitance.

"M'head hurts," Chris muttered, slowly sitting up in bed, the heavy headedness not helping much.

"Thought so, Aviva suspects a concussion... Hey, look at me for a sec?" Martin squinted his eyes, observing Chris' pupils, that's when a sudden look of worry painted his face.

"Martin?" Chris gave him a confused look.

"Chris, your pupils are wider than usual, that means you might have a pressure in your head," Martin sighed, giving him a sad look.

Though, just as he sensed panic rise up in his brother, he put a comforting hand on his shoulder, smiling reassuringly.

"But don't worry, Aviva says if this happens you gotta stay awake until the pressure passes, since you might feel a little sleepy."

And as if Fate wanted to prove what he was saying, Chris suddenly yawned, almost abnormally, before looking at his brother with sleepy eyes. "Speaking of sleeping..." Chris mumbled while rubbing his eye, strange exhaustion taking over.

Martin's eyes widened, knowing he couldn't let his brother fall asleep, not on his watch, not under any circumstances. He then tried thinking of something, as in improvising, before having a lightbulb moment.

"Say, bro..." He positioned his seat closer to the bed, leaning his arms on the matress. "Remember the time we went out in the creek on our own?" He grinned.

Chris gave him a surprised yet amused look. "How could I forget?" He chuckled, the memory flashing before his eyes...

Flashback

It was an early Saturday morning, and two young brothers were sneaking out of their house, one green and one blue, swiftly making their way to the creek not far from their backyard.

"Hurry up, Chris," whispered the nine year old. "M'coming," let out the five year old.

They skidded to a stop at a narrow, sheltered waterway - the water glimmering from the sunlight reflecting off its surface - wanting to get across it and to the other side, where they hoped to find cool creatures to hang out with.

Martin looked around before spotting something. "Look, Chris! We can get across by jumping on those rocks," he said, pointing to a trail of rocks connecting the opposite side to theirs.

"Okay!" Chris nodded happily. And after being signaled to stay put, he watched his brother swiftly jump on each rock and get clean across the waterway, not breaking a sweat. Then he turned around and called for him. "You can come over, now!"

Cautiously, Chris followed the same trail as Martin, taking a little longer as he was much younger than him, his little five year old feet losing more and more precision with each jump, until he ended up slipping on the last rock and falling on his back, landing in the mucky water and getting a bruised knee in the process.

The little boy instantly cried out in pain as Martin rushed down in the water and knelt by his side, he sniffled and held onto his hurt knee, heavy tears quickly escaping his eyes.

"I-It hurts! sniff," he managed with shaky lips.

"Here, let me have a look," Martin offered, tenderly tending to his wound. Chris flinched at the contact, but it was enough for him to catch a glance of a reddish mark on his knee.

"It's not so bad, we just need to get it cleaned and patched up. Let's head back home before mom and dad realize we're gone," he said reassuringly, forcing a chuckle which helped Chris tremendously. He wiped away his tears before looking at his bro with needy eyes, extending his arms.

Martin knew what he wanted. He reached out to grab him in his arms, lifting him off the ground and on his back, piggy back style.

"Hang on!" He let out as he prepared to run back home, Chris holding on as tight as he could. And just like that, they found themselves heading back home, Martin running with the speed of light.

End of flashback

The Kratt brothers cackled at the memory, Chris seeming to be less tired than before, which brought a sense of satisfaction to Martin.

"Oh, I still remember mom's face when she found out we went out without permission," Martin chuckled.

"Told you we should've stayed in the backyard," Chris laughed in turn, not noticing Martin stealing a small glance of his eyes, a perturbed look on his face... The backyard!

By instinct, another memory flashed by.

"Remember when we found that hurt bird in our backyard?"

Chris looked at him, as if taken by surprise, but then a wide smile spread across his face.

Flashback

Two young boys' laughs filled the Kratt family's house backyard. There they were, young Chris and Martin, playing around like the ten and six year olds that they were.

"You can't catch me!" Chris laughed, dodging Martin's arms, who intended to capture him in a hug.

"Oh yeah?" Martin leaped for it, imprisoning his brother in a tight bear hug.

"Let go!" Chris demanded, trying to escape, while Martin chuckled.

"Martin, stop teasing your brother!" They suddenly heard their mother's voice call out from inside the house and Martin reluctantly let go of his brother, dropping him on the ground.

"Hmph," Chris groaned, getting back on his feet before shooting Martin a death glare, but he just grinned in response.

At that moment, they heard a weird chirping noise coming from behind some buiches. They looked at each other, then followed the source of the sound, until they eventually stumbled upon-

"A bird!" Chris gasped, pointing at a tiny blue bird laying on the grass near their backyard tree, not looking in shape. Martin knelt beside the vulnerable creature, examining it.

"Hmm, looks like his wing's hurt," he said.

"Aw, is he gonna be okay?" Chris asked, a sad look on his face. Martin looked up with a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, go get me an ice cream stick from the fridge and a bandage." Chris nodded, dashing off inside the house.

Moments later, he returned with the needed material, and...with a mouthful? Martin raised an eyebrow.

"What? I can't let a good ice cream go to waste," he muffled, before gulping down the icy goodness, earning a slight chuckle from his brother.

Martin then turned to the injured bird, slowly reaching out with one hand while holding the stick with the other, gently lifting its fragile wing and parallelically pressing the stick on it. Next, he grabbed the bandage and cautiously wrapped it around the wing, making sure to tie it properly at the end.

"Done," he wiped the sweat off his forehead, filled with satisfaction.

"Alright! Way to go bro," Chris cheered, but then he looked down at the bird... "Now what?"

"Now, we need to get him back to his nest," Martin pointed at a small nest hanging from a tree branch. Then, at his bother, he smiled confidently. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, bro?"

Chris beamed, almost bouncing from excitement. "I think I'm thinking what you're thinking!"

And before they knew it, Chris was standing on Martin's shoulders, holding up a small basket that they attached to a long stick, with the bird in it. Determined, Chris stretched out his little body and, with the help of his brother who was practically standing on his toes, got the basket close enough to the branch for the bird to finally hop off and safely land in his nest.

"Woohoo!" Chris cheered, making his brother lose balance and sending the both of them crashing on the ground in a pile. They broke into laughter as the bird started chirping again, this time sounding a lot happier. The brothers got on their feet and contemplated the petit creature. "Nice work, bro." Martin complimented, ruffling his brother's hair.

"Thanks," Chris smiled, hugging him. Martin gladly returned the hug.

Then, a thought dawned on the youngest. "Hey, we didn't even name him!"

Martin looked at him, then went into thinking mode. "Hmm..."

"How about Icey?" He heard Chris suggest. "What do you think?"

He looked down at him with a smile. "I think it's a perfect name...and that you ate too much ice cream," he teased, a smug look on his face.

"Hey!" Chris let out, slightly offended. But quickly laughed it off with his brother as they watched their new friend, back living free and in the wild...

End of flashback

"It was a successful creature rescue, I'd say," Chris chuckled.

"And you got to name an animal for a change," Martin teased. "I'm still better at naming, though."

"Hey, come one, it was a good name!" Chris let out in defense, yet couldn't help but laugh at the thought.

"If you say so," Martin smiled warmly, satisfied that his attempts of keeping his brother awake were successful.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a familiar picture on the desk; he and Chris, both teenagers, side hugging in front of their high school, the older boy wearing a graduation uniform: it was Martin's graduation picture.

He smiled, one final souvenir rushing through his mind.

"Remember when you wouldn't let me leave for college?" He gave him a smug look, Chris' attention turning to that same picture.

"I was- not so happy about you leaving home," he laughed nervously, almost embarrassed from his past self.

"I could tell," Martin chuckled.

They remembered it like it was yesterday...

Flashback

It was the last day of Summer, and that could only mean one thing-

"Martin's leaving for college, tomorrow!" A fourteen year old Chris complained while staring at his calendar, he groaned in frustration as he threw himself on his bed, not wanting to accept the fact that his older brother, his best friend, was going to spend the entire year away from him and his family, and the year after, and after... The thought made him want to scream!

He couldn't believe Summer had gone by so fast, but now he had to face the reality. He slowly got up on his feet and started heading downstairs, where he found Martin packing the rest of his stuff, seeming overly excited and enthusiastic.

"Boy, I can't wait to go to college and get my own dorm and learn all sorts of cool things about animals and-" he stopped when he realized Chris was standing near the living room entrance, looking at him longingly.

However, Martin wore a casual smile. "Hey, bro. Need anything?"

Dead silence. Martin straightened up and looked at his brother up close; he could've sworn his eyes were getting watery... Was he about to cry?!

"Umm, Chris. Are you-" Before he could finish his sentence, he found himself trapped in his brother's embrace, his arms wrapped around him tight, as if he was never letting go.

Out of shock and confusion, he looked down at him to find his face buried in his chest. "Chris?" He cautiously placed a hand on his head, but then he could hear quiet sobs escaping him.

Genuinely concerned for his brother's well-being, Martin gently grabbed Chris' face and looked him deep in the eyes. "Brother, what's the matter?" His voice was soft and caring.

Through heavy tears that made his vision blurry, Chris faced his brother with pure sincerity. "I don't want you to leave!"

"What?" Martin raised an eyebrow.

"I don't want you to spend the whole year away from us!" That phrase clarified everything for him.

Gently, Martin grabbed Chris by the shoulders and gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, bro. I won't be gone forever you know, there will always be holidays and-"

"But you won't be my best friend anymore, and you might even forget about me!" Chris' voice cracked.

"Forget about you? No way that's gonna happen," Martin let out, almost amused by how silly it sounded to his ears, but the way his brother felt was one thing he took very seriously. "Chris..."

Chris sniffled and looked up with glassy eyes. "Huh?"

"No matter what happens, no matter how far apart we are, you will always be my best friend, 'cause we're a team, and we'll always be."

Sensing the sincerity in his words, Chris couldn't help but hug his brother even tighter. "Thanks, bro." He let out, weak.

Martin hugged back, letting the warmth of the embrace sink in.

He would always be there for his brother, always...

End of flashback

"You really did give me a hard time getting in my car," Martin teased.

Chris simply rolled his eyes, but deep down he was just as amused.

A moment of silence, during which Martin got another look at Chris' eyes, this time, to his relief, he found that his brother's pupils were back to normal.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Looks like the pressure passed," he informed Chris, who was just as relieved.

"Finally! I'm really tired," he yawned while rubbing his eye.

"You get some rest, you've had a rough day." Martin said, squeezing his shoulder before getting up to leave the room.

"Hey, Martin..." He immediately turned around. "Thanks," Chris gave him a smile of gratitude.

"...No problem, bro." Martin whispered, wearing a comforting smile, before exiting the room, leaving his brother to get the rest he needed, but he was already feeling better, all thanks to the caring brother he had.

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