Put Your Life Back Together

Rating: Mature

Characters/Pairings: Brandon/Andrea; Brenda/Dylan; minor mentions of other pairings and principle cast.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Beverly Hills, 90210.

Notes: Alternate Universe… obviously.

Prompt: Brenda plays matchmaker for Brandon and Andrea by Ember1313

Description: Brenda decides to help her brother put his life back together… starting with getting him the right woman.

Part One: The Reunion

"When did you become such a bitch?" a male voice asked with clear disdain.

"Gee, I don't know, probably about the same time you became a coward," a female voice responded in the same tone of voice.

Over the music playing loudly, their voices could be heard and many of the other people in close vicinity stopped dancing and stared at the two people in disbelief. No one could believe, their friends especially, that Brandon Walsh and Andrea Zuckerman would be standing in the middle of their ten-year high school reunion having an argument that was close to becoming physical. Andrea, with her short dark brown hair, looked as though she was two seconds away from slapping Brandon.

"It's not being a coward to walk away from making a mistake," Brandon all but yelled back. The moment the words left his mouth, he knew he'd said the wrong thing. The second he saw her eyes narrow into dangerous slits he knew he'd hurt her. He didn't evade the strike as her hand collided with his face, nor did his ears miss the collective gasps of his friends.

Tears pricked Andrea's eyes but she wouldn't let them fall; she'd cried enough over Brandon Walsh. "Well," she began shakily, blowing out a breath she wasn't aware she'd been holding. "at least we agree on something. It would have been a mistake," she said finally and stomped off amid watching eyes.

Everyone seemed to return to what they were doing before the show, but Brandon knew they were watching him. He could feel his friend's questioning gazes on him and he wished, for the millionth time tonight, that he'd never let his sister talk him into coming to this damn reunion.

Walking off the floor back to the table he shared with his twin sister Brenda and her newlywed husband Dylan McKay, he brushed off questions from his friend Steve Sanders, and evaded the looks ex-fiancée Kelly Taylor gave him.

He sat down unceremoniously in his seat and glared at his sister when she reached out and touched the red mark on his cheek. "Thanks so much for talking me into coming to this thing instead of staying in Washington, Bren." He grabbed the water off the table and wished it was something a bit stronger. "It's been a real blast," he finished and took a sip, missing the smile his brother-in-law didn't bother to hide.

Brenda bit back a smile and playfully hit her husband's shoulder when his grin grew wider. "When I asked you to come, I wasn't aware that you were going to get into an argument… with Andrea Zuckerman of all people." She dropped her hand and gave her brother a soft look. "What happened between the two of you? You used to be so close."

"Too close," Brandon admitted softly; an even softer look crept into his eyes and he felt his sister's intrigue growing. His head snapped in her direction, his eyes glaring. "People change, Bren."

"But…" Brenda started to say but Dylan decided to cut Brandon some slack.

"Come on, Bren," he said while standing and grabbing her hand. "You owe me a dance." When he helped her up from the chair, his hand immediately fell to her growing belly. At four months pregnant, Brenda was really beginning to show.

"But I want to know what happened…" she was saying as Dylan helped her around the table. She grabbed her brother's shoulder. "You owe me a dance and some answers, Brandon," she threatened him.

"You can torture him later," Dylan said and finally pulled her out onto the dance floor.

Left alone at the table, Brandon wondered how mad his sister would be if he just left. He was almost ready to get up from the table when Steve sat down at the table. "Steve," he sighed, trying to sound jovial but it came out more exasperated than anything else. He slapped the man's hand. "How's fatherhood and the magazine?"

"Fine and fine," Steve said quickly. The impish grin that he was famous for crossed his lips. "But enough about me… what's going on with you and Andrea Zuckerman?"

Sighing again, Brandon decided he wasn't going to let his sister talk him into attending anything else… ever.

Dancing with his sister felt weird, and not just because of his niece or nephew moving around in her belly, but he was thankful that she'd saved him from Steve's dizzying questions. Brandon never would have guessed that his friend would have made such an excellent reporter, but he could see now why he did.

Unfortunately, he knew his sister was dying to ask him the same questions his friend had. However, he knew that if he didn't answer her questions, she'd practically read his mind. He knew he didn't owe anyone any answers, but of anyone, he'd answer to Brenda.

"You've really changed, Bren," he said softly, a wistful smile on his face. "I can remember a time not so long ago when you didn't want Kelly in the same room with Dylan and now you're letting her dance with him." He grinned at her. "I'm proud of you."

Brenda rolled her eyes. Her brother was right, there was a time when she didn't want Kelly anywhere near her husband, but now that she was pregnant and she and Dylan had settled down in his old house, both of them eager to meet their child, she found Dylan's past with Kelly didn't bother he so much. Of course, if the blonde made a move on him, she would get the slap of her life.

"Speaking of changing, how did Andrea go from being one of your best friends to being someone you call a bitch in public?"

Leave it to his sister to cut straight to the chase. No way out of this one, he figured. He shrugged. "Things happen, people change."

It was Brenda's turn to grin; hers wasn't as light-hearted as his had been. In fact, she looked as if she wanted to cause him bodily harm. "I can see why you work in politics now," she told him. "You evade a simple question better than anyone I've ever met."

He gave her an incredulous look. "Simple question," he repeated. "That was not a simple question."

"Well, what do you call it?"

"You prying into my life," he replied and earned a slap to his shoulder. "I've had enough slaps tonight, don't you think?"

Brenda growled annoyed. "Brandon, something happened between the two of you and I want to know what it is," she all but demanded. Suddenly, her expression softened and she felt him tensing. He knew what she was about to do… they were twins after all. "You guys used to be so close. I just want to help."

Brandon made a face at her. "What makes you think I need any help?" When she simply hitched an eyebrow at him, he grew defensive. "I'm serious, Brenda. I have a great life. I'm doing work that some people only dream of doing. I live in the nation's capital." He didn't get a chance to say anything else because his sister cut him off.

"Yep, you sure do live in the nation's capital… alone. You work incredibly long hours. You're never home. I don't even think you sleep more than three or four hours a night. You never visit." Her eyes grew darker when she said, "You hardly made it to my wedding."

"You can't possibly still be mad at me about that," he said. "I made it in the end, didn't I?"

"Do you want the other cheek to be red before you leave here tonight?" she asked; Brandon didn't respond. "Brandon, I'm serious. Your life is moving so fast. I don't think you even enjoy it anymore."

"Brenda…" He sighed, there was no way he could lie to her face.

Over the phone was different. He could pretend when they called each other that his job wasn't taking it's toll on him. He could pretend that he wasn't lonely because he filled his days with work - nights, too - and he could always make up a quick date with some female staffer. But face to face, he knew just by her looking into his eyes that she could see the loneliness he tried to hide. He knew she could feel it, even if he did his best to conceal it because she was his twin. She felt was he felt…and she hurt just as much as he did.

"When I was in New York for that year…" he began softly, his eyes clouding with memories of the past. "Andrea and Hannah lived there, too. She was working for the Times and covered the election. We worked…" He paused to search for the right word. "…closely together."

"You fell in love," she said, and he knew it wasn't a question. Brandon simply nodded, unable to do anything else. "What happened?"

"Douglass was elected to the Senate and offered me Chief of Staff…" His voice trailed off. He didn't need to finish what happened because Brenda already knew. "She wanted me to stay… I'd been offered another job at the newspaper. I went to Washington instead."

Brenda sensed there was a part of the story her brother wasn't telling her. She could feel it. Something other than him leaving had caused the large rift between him and Andrea… she decided to leave it alone for now.

Sighing, she hugged him as best she could as they continued to dance. "It's okay, Brandon. You're here now and I'm going to help you put your life back together."

Brandon simply nodded again; no need in arguing with his twin when she had her mind set. Besides, he knew if he told her the truth about Andrea catching him in bed with Kelly, he'd get the slap she'd previously threatened him with…he'd had quite enough of that for one night.