Disclaimer: I still own absolutely nothing!
Well, here it is. The sequel to Never too Late. A huge, huge thank you to Silver Bee. Apparently I didn't scar her for life with my grammar during the first one, and she is very kindly beta-ing this one for me as well!
In case you haven't read the first, here is a quick summary. But it would make more sense if you had read it, things aren't going to necessarily be explained in depth here (it is a sequel after all!)
Summary of Never too Late: Jeff shuts himself off from the boys after his wife's death, determined that he would be able to do what is best for them by establishing himself a firm business. After refusing a deal with a potential business partner, the man kidnaps Scott, threatening to go after the others if Jeff doesn't sign the business over. Events unfold quicker than the Tracy's can keep up with them, resulting in John getting shot and Scott witnessing more than one murder. Whilst Scott is eventually rescued, is the ordeal really behind them? Or is it only the beginning?
Enjoy!
Jeff found that he was not listening to a word that the man sitting opposite him was saying, instead watching the clock hanging above his head. His attention had been diverted for the last half an hour or so, knowing that it was getting to the time when he would be able to escape from his – somewhat luxurious – office and race home, picking his boys up on the way. He had only been back at work for just over a week, having taken the time off until his elder two were released from the hospital and Scott had felt ready to return to school. Jeff had to admit he had been concerned by how readily his oldest boy had begged to get back, but after speaking to the counsellor who had been assigned to the children, had agreed. It would do him good, do them all good, to have a return to normality. Apparently it would help them come to terms with what had happened and allow them to move on with their lives. It was for that very reason Jeff had reluctantly agreed to return to work. He didn't particularly care that his business had just increased tenfold because of what had happened, he was more anxious about how short he could keep his hours in order to be around for the boys.
"Mr Tracy?"
"Hmm?" Blinking himself out of his musings, Jeff finally made eye contact with the man offering partnership. He hadn't been listening to a word, his thoughts being too preoccupied by his sons, but there was something in the way the man was practically sitting on the edge of his seat, his hands alternating between clenching and relaxing that gave Jeff the answer he needed.
"Please accept my apologies, but I do not feel that an alliance between our two companies would be beneficial to either of them at the present time."
"Why you-" Any pretence the man had was suddenly gone as his face morphed into one of anger. To his surprise, Jeff merely laughed at him.
"That certainly isn't going to help matters. Now, if you'll excuse me..?" Showing the man the door, Jeff gave him a few moments head start before heading out himself. If the guy had really thought showing an angry front would make Jeff change his mind, he certainly had something else coming. Compared to the last business meeting Jeff had sat in, this guy had a long way to go. Glancing up at the clock once more, Jeff sighed, shaking his head. He never thought the day would have come when he was like a schoolboy waiting for the bell, but that was indeed what he was doing. As the minute hand clicked over one more time, Jeff all but sprinted from the office.
"Are you off, Mr Tracy?" Spinning on the spot, half way through his mad dash, Jeff grinned ruefully at the amused expression on his secretary's face. He didn't know what he would have done without her over the last couple of weeks. After having watched her boss work himself into the ground and then fall apart on finding out what had happened to his son, Nicole was more than prepared to keep things ticking over whilst normality returned to the Tracy household. She had worked under Jeff for a long time, long before his wife's death. She knew that he would get there, and although she hadn't seen the boys for a few years, knew that they followed closely in their father's footsteps. They too would overcome what had happened and be even stronger for it. It was just a matter of time.
"Yep, sorry, Nicole. I need to beat the traffic. Gordon may not forgive me if I make him wait again. I got caught yesterday, and you should have seen the reaction that came from it."
"Talking about Gordon," Nicole began hesitantly, not wanting to have to tell her boss this, but knowing that she had no choice. "The school was on the phone again earlier when you were in the meeting."
"Another fight?" Jeff sighed, rubbing his hand over his eyes wearily. He was losing track of how many this made.
"'Fraid so."
"Right, I better dash. See you tomorrow, Nicole." Not waiting to hear her response, Jeff sprinted from the building, almost stalling the car in his haste to pull out of the parking lot. Gordon had only been back at school for just over a week himself, the counsellor suggesting that Jeff kept all the boys together whilst Scott and John recovered physically from the ordeal. But even in that short space of time, Gordon must have lashed out at least half a dozen times, the smallest and most innocent of comments making what had previously been his most laidback son react violently. He wouldn't even tell Jeff what was being said, but his father had a good enough idea. Virgil was coming home with the same sort of stories; the smallest of comments about something going missing was provoking a reaction in the boys. Luckily, for the sake of Jeff's sanity if nothing else, the artist had a better sense of control over his temper than his immediate younger brother. Apart from a scuffle on the very first day back, his little musician had managed rather well, although Jeff had a feeling that Brian Samson's timely arrival may have had something to do with that.
Swerving out into the traffic, Jeff cursed under his breath when he caught sight of the volume of it that was littering the roads. He couldn't face another reaction like yesterday's. There had been an accident on the road, causing a major traffic jam. Despite having phoned the school to tell them what had happened and that he was going to be late, Jeff had not expected the reaction that had erupted from his second youngest son. He could practically hear the screams even before he got out of the car, and on racing into the school, found three teachers trying to calm a hysterical Gordon, who had been adamant that his father had disappeared and left him. It had taken a while for Jeff to calm his son down, and then it had ended up with him being in a strange mood for the rest of the day because he had been so exhausted from his outburst. Jeff had been hoping that, fights aside, Gordon had been coping reasonably well - at least he was escaping the nightmares that were disrupting his older brothers' sleep - but now he was not so sure. The seven year old clearly had a long way to go.
Luckily, despite the volume, the traffic was moving steadily, and Jeff eventually relaxed into his seat, knowing that he was making good time and there would be no need to have a repeat performance. With the older three still insisting that they got the bus home, all Jeff had to do was pick up Gordon, swing by the nursery to collect Alan and he would arrive home at the same time as the rest of the family. It was an arrangement that was working well, but Jeff couldn't help but feel there was something forced about it, something that was false. He couldn't put his finger on what it was, but he was sure that it wasn't going to go this smoothly for long: yesterday had proven that to him.
Before long, Jeff was pulling into the school's parking lot. Locking the car behind him, he tried to ignore the gossiping mothers as he moved past them, disregarding their piercing stares. Everyone seemed to have some idea of what had happened, despite the police keeping everything quiet. He had received Matt's word on that: no names would be mentioned in order to give the boys some sense of security. But knowing what schools were like, Jeff knew for a fact that both here and with his older boys, everyone had somehow found out. Although he should have known that was coming - sending John back into school with his arm still in a sling was bound to provoke some questions.
Moving past all the children spilling eagerly out of the doors, Jeff waited for a moment until the mad rush had ended before entering the building. It was agreed from the moment that Jeff had allowed his son to return to school that they would keep him inside at the end of the day - for a few weeks at least -until Gordon was more comfortable around strangers. The corridor he was now purposefully striding down was a route that was fast becoming familiar to the father, and sure enough, he soon came to a stop outside a partly open door. Knocking softly, Jeff poked his head around just as Gordon looked up.
"Dad!" The shout practically deafened Jeff. He had no time to react before Gordon had thrown himself at his father, hugging Jeff's midriff fiercely and almost driving the breath out of him.
"Whoa, fish, let your old man breathe!"
"Sorry, Dad," Gordon responded sheepishly, stepping back slightly and glancing up at his father. Immediately frowning, Jeff caught Gordon's chin in his hand, turning the boy's head towards the light to admire the split lip and the slight bruise around his left eye more clearly.
"What happened this time?" Jeff sighed, letting go and pulling out the nearest chair, perching on the edge so that he was at eye level with his son. Scuffing his feet, Gordon suddenly found the floor very interesting, and uncharacteristically for him, didn't seem to have anything to say.
"Gordon." Jeff said warningly, catching the teacher's eye. He knew that she expected him to sort things out before they left here, it was her way of making sure that problems were dealt with. Jeff couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed. Whilst it was a great principle for the children with parents who didn't care what they got up to, when considering the circumstances that had led to Gordon being involved in the fights, Jeff would have preferred to do this at home, giving his son the chance to break down if he should need to. He knew full well that Gordon would keep everything bottled up whilst there was someone else in the room.
"I'm not going to ask again, Gordon. What happened?"
"S'not my fault!" Gordon suddenly yelled, stalking away from his father and staring out of the window. Sensing the teacher about to open her mouth to admonish his son for his tone of voice, Jeff shook his head. He knew what the tone meant. It meant that Gordon was letting down his defences, letting people in. It was how he always managed to appear cheerful, he simply hid how he was really feeling. If she said anything now, he would simply close back up again and Jeff knew that it wouldn't matter what he did or said, he wouldn't be able to get the full story out of his son.
"What wasn't your fault, son?" Jeff prompted, his voice far gentler now that he knew he was getting through to Gordon.
"It was Jimmy Hanks' fault. He was saying stuff about wanting..." Swallowing hard, Gordon broke off his sentence, turning back to face his father. Biting his lip, Gordon couldn't deny the tears swimming in his eyes.
"Wanting what, Gords?" Jeff asked, his voice getting even softer. He had a horrible feeling he knew where this was going, and it was not going to make it easier to deal with.
"He said he wanted his big brother to disappear because he was annoying."
"So you hit him?" Jeff said quietly. Whilst he could tell how much this was affecting his son, part of the reason behind letting them all return to school was to return to normality. And whilst at this moment in time, Jeff just wanted to hug his son and tell him everything was going to be alright, he knew that everyone was expecting him to drive home how wrong the fighting was. Mutely shaking his head, Gordon glanced away again, not wanting his dad to see the tears spill over.
"I told him he shouldn't want that. And then..." his breath hitching slightly, Gordon paused again. Standing up, Jeff crossed the room, running his hands down Gordon's arms as he crouched down in front of his child. Holding Gordon's hands in his own, Jeff gently brushed away a few tears.
"And then?"
Taking a deep breath, Gordon looked his father directly in the eye, his voice remarkably steady.
"And then he said I was an idiot for wanting mine back and that it was babyish." His voice cracking again, Gordon glanced away. "And that's when I hit him. But he hit me back, Daddy."
"Gordon, that doesn't make it right." Jeff gently admonished. "You should have walked away, son, you know that. We talked about this the other day."
"I know," Gordon responded miserably, going back to examining his feet. "I was just so angry at him. He has no idea, Dad."
"No, Gordon, he doesn't. And with any luck, he never will. Next time something like this happens, I want you to promise me something, fish."
As Gordon somewhat glumly nodded, Jeff reached out and ruffled his hair.
"I want you to take a deep breath and count to ten, the way Mr Samson taught Virgil. And then I want you to turn around, and walk off. If you are really angry, go and find a teacher. Can you do that for me, Gords? Can you be grown up and walk away?"
Hoping that his words were not falling on deaf ears, Jeff smiled gently as Gordon nodded, swallowing the last of his tears and looking up again.
"Atta boy. Now, can you just wait in the corridor whilst I have a word with your teacher?" Subconsciously tensing as Gordon glanced anxiously towards the door before looking back at his father, Jeff couldn't stop a rush of relief as he nodded, crossing the room and shutting the door behind him. Standing upright, Jeff quickly found himself perched on the edge of the nearest desk, running a hand through his hair in agitation.
"Is there any way you can stop them making comments?" he asked quietly. "The only reason he is lashing out is because they are making him afraid of losing Scott again. You saw how he reacted yesterday when I was late, he is terrified of being left. It was the first nightmare he had, that first night Scott was missing, being left on his own. If they don't say anything, he won't react."
"I thought it would have been something like this that sparked him off," the young woman admitted, causing Jeff to look up at her in surprise.
"You didn't know what caused it?"
"Jimmy came running in saying that Gordon had hit him, and when we tried to ask Gordon what had happened, he wouldn't say anything. At all. That's why we needed you to deal with it here. We needed to know what happened. I'm planning on ringing Jimmy's mother tonight; hopefully she will be able to stop him. How is he coping at home, Mr Tracy?"
"Better than at school, apparently," Jeff muttered, glancing out the door as he spoke. Gordon was leaning against the opposite wall, looking as sullen as only a seven year old could manage. "He's escaped mainly the nightmares, apart from that one, which is more than can be said for the others. He is extremely clingy around his two oldest brothers, and quiet, but apart from that, he isn't doing badly."
For a moment, silence fell as both of the adults in the room contemplated ways they could help Gordon get back to his usual bubbly self. When no solution sprang to mind, Jeff stood up.
"I better be off. See you tomorrow, I suppose."
"I highly doubt that, Mr Tracy," the young teacher said with a laugh, turning away and shuffling some of the papers on her desk. At Jeff's confused look, she laughed again.
"It's Saturday tomorrow."
"Oh." Jeff blinked, unable to believe quite how much he had lost track of the days of the week. Everything seemed so chaotic lately. It was proving more confusing trying to return to normality than when the days were spent in a hard wooden chair in between two hospital beds.
Exiting the room, he offered his hand to his son without a word, causing Gordon to latch on. Father and son walked out of the building in silence, but as Jeff opened the car door for Gordon, the young child looked up at his father.
"Are you angry, Daddy?" he asked quietly, his voice trembling slightly. Once more bending down so he was on the same level as the child, Jeff softly shook his head.
"Not angry, no. I'm disappointed that you didn't do what you promised you would do when we spoke about this the other day, Gordon. You have to promise me that you will try your hardest this time."
"I promise, Daddy." Gordon whispered, suddenly flinging his arms around his father's neck and burying his face in Jeff's shoulder. Returning the hug, Jeff tried to pour his love into the simple motion.
"Love you, kiddo."
"Love you too, Daddy."
Lifting Gordon up, Jeff placed him on the seat, smiling with pride as Gordon immediately pulled himself together and strapped himself in. With a quick double check to make sure it was fastened properly, Jeff shut the door before climbing in himself. Flicking the car into gear, he sighed deeply, hoping that Alan's pick up was going to run slightly smoother than Gordon's.
Luckily, the traffic was on Jeff's side, and in no time at all, he was pulling into another familiar place. Gordon had decided that he wanted to come in too rather than waiting in the car, but Jeff had a feeling that his son was hoping that another father was going to turn up at the nursery, although he would never say anything. Letting him go in first, Jeff grinned ruefully at the look on Miss Starle's face when she caught sight of the bruise on Gordon's.
"Before you say anything, yep, another one."
"They'll get there," she said with a small smile, but before anything more could be said, Jeff's youngest son came running into view, almost tripping over the strap on his bag. To Jeff's delight, he had a big smile on his face at seeing his father. On Alan's first day back, it had all but broken Jeff's heart to see his baby looking out for Scott, calling for his brother when he saw it was his father picking him up. But now the youngster had more than accepted having his father back, and, as Jeff swung him into his arms, the delighted giggle made that more than apparent.
"Hey, Allie."
"Daddy," Alan giggled, nestling into his father's arms and wrapping his own around his dad's neck and nuzzling into his shoulder in the exact same way his older brother had done not twenty minutes ago.
"Tracy." Hearing his name, Jeff twisted his head awkwardly over the shoulder that did not contain a toddler, a smile immediately jumping onto his face as he caught sight of the man who had helped his family.
"Brian."
"Mr Samson!" Gordon suddenly squealed excitedly, his eyes shining and making his father's smile widen. Ever since the events at the hospital, the child had practically worshipped the teacher, already telling his father just how excited he would be when he could get into "big" school and be able to take gym with the sports coach.
"Hey buddy," Brian smiled down at Gordon, winking at the apologetic look that Jeff sent him. "That's a good ole' bruise you got there, mate."
"S'not my fault," Gordon muttered darkly, causing his father to roll his eyes.
"Come on, fish, time we got your brother home." As Gordon nodded, a much happier expression crossing his face as he scampered for the door, Jeff felt his own expression turn more serious.
"Anything?"
"Nope, pretty good day for all three. Scott still isn't saying much, but Virgil managed to walk away from a situation that could have ended up with him having a bruise to rival Gordon's. They're getting there, Jeff."
"I hope so," Jeff muttered, tightening his grip on Alan. Seeing Gordon watching him impatiently, Jeff nodded to Brian before following his son out of the door. All in all, he would be more than glad when he got home.
TBTBTB
A good half an hour later and Jeff had finally managed to change out of his suit and was crashed out on the sofa, a coffee in his hand. He knew he would need the caffeine to get through the next few hours; the boys weren't the only ones that were suffering from nightmares. In the small amounts of rest he managed to catch between soothing frightened sons back to sleep, Jeff too was plagued with visions. More often than not, it was Scott about to be shot, his father arriving a second too late, but more than once he'd found himself reliving walking in on the men attempting to take Virgil, or being forced to listen to the gun going off and John's scream as the bullet hit him. Shuddering slightly, Jeff glanced down at his feet, smiling gently at seeing Alan playing so contently. The toddler was more confused than anything else, not being able to understand why the rest of the family were so on edge. Jeff had tried to protect him as much as he could, making sure he was out of the room whenever they were talking about what had happened or when one of the boys broke down, but he knew that Alan was more aware of what was happening than his father gave him credit for.
Hearing the door burst open rather violently, Jeff set his mug down with a sigh. He knew what that meant. At least one of the three remaining sons that had yet to make it home was not in a good mood.
"I don't need my kid brother fighting my battles for me!"
"He had no right saying that!"
"And you had no right reacting the way you did, Virgil, it wasn't you he said it to!"
Hauling himself off the sofa, Jeff made it out into the corridor just in time to see a livid John try to stalk up the stairs. Clearing his throat meaningfully, Jeff raised his eyebrows.
"Just one moment, John Tracy." Waiting until John had reached the bottom of the stairs again, Jeff looked pointedly between the furious blond and his brunette brother. Virgil looked a mixture of angry and upset, although Jeff knew that it was probably more to do with John's reaction to whatever it was that had happened rather than the actual incident. When the boys stayed silent, Jeff sighed again.
"Are either of you going to explain yourselves, or do I have to stand here all night?"
As John fidgeted uncomfortably with his sling, Jeff knew he would not be able to get an answer out of that son. When John decided that he didn't want to talk about something, nothing or no one would make him talk.
"Virgil?" Virgil glanced at his father, then at John before switching his gaze back to Jeff again. At his father's look, he glanced down, knowing that John wasn't going to say anything, but that he wouldn't be able to get away with not saying anything.
"Some creep on the bus wouldn't move out the way, and when John asked him to move he turned around and called him a cripple."
"And what was it you did, Virgil?" This time, however, it was his middle son that refused to give Jeff an answer, instead mirroring Gordon's earlier actions and studying the floor. Flicking his gaze back to John, Jeff managed to catch his son's eye, an unspoken message darting out that demanded an answer in such a way that John knew better than to refuse.
"He tried to deck the guy. He was at least three times your size, Virg, he is in Scott's year."
"It was better than just standing there taking it like you did!" Virgil yelled back, anger spiralling out of his overly bright eyes.
"There is a difference between taking it and being an idiot!" John responded, his voice also growing louder. Feeling a small hand clutch at his leg, Jeff glanced down to see that Alan had come to see what all the noise was about, his eyes wide as he glanced between his fighting brothers. Bending down, Jeff picked him up, hoisting him into a secure position in his arms.
"Don't call me an idiot!"
"Enough!" His tone more forceful than either of the boys' angry voices, Jeff immediately brought silence into the hallway. One glance up the stairs showed that Gordon had reappeared, also coming to investigate the noise. Turning his attention towards his middle son, Jeff groaned at the look on the eleven year-old's face. This was not going to be an easy conversation.
"Virgil, John is right, son. We've had this conversation; you shouldn't simply lash out at people."
"But Dad, he had no right saying that!"
"No, Virgil, he didn't. But if you react like that, what makes you any better? I know you were trying to help Johnny, and that is good, son. But fighting is not the way to do it."
Glancing up the stairs as he spoke the last few words, Jeff also managed to catch Gordon's eye at the same time, the message hopefully going out to both of them. Unfortunately, whilst Gordon nodded somewhat seriously, Virgil all but exploded.
"Of course John's right, John's always right. It's never him that does anything wrong, everything is always my fault!"
"Virgil!" Before Jeff could say anything else, however, his middle son took off up the stairs, almost flattening Gordon in the process and causing him to let out a slightly startled yelp. Slowly making his way down the stairs, Gordon came to a stop next to John, slipping his hand into his big brother's free one.
"I'll pro'ect you, Johnny." John looked like he wanted to once more complain about not needing his younger brothers looking out for him, but found the words caught in his throat when he glanced down at the redhead. Gordon's eyes were wide and innocent, only the utmost sincerity reflected within them as he tried to make things better for his brother.
"Thanks, Gords," he muttered softly, giving the smaller boy a one armed hug before brushing past his father and collapsing onto the sofa, letting out a long breath as he did so. Following him in, Jeff placed Alan back on the floor, giving the blond locks a quick ruffle before sitting down next to the elder of his blonds.
"How's the pain, John?"
"Why don't you ask him, he is upstairs sulking," John responded bitterly, his tone showing just how exhausted the teenager was. Last night had been a particularly hard one for John. Not only had the usual nightmare awoken him, but he had managed to shift into a bad position for his arm and caused his shoulder to flare up, meaning Jeff had spent most of the night in his room, trying to soothe his son the best he could, his heart clenching when he realised there was actually very little he could do to help.
"John, that was uncalled for. You know that he was only trying to help, even if he didn't go about it in the right way."
"Yeah, because that is precisely what I need, everyone thinking that I need my little brother's help."
"John, that's enough!" Jeff said sharply. His sons weren't the only ones who were tired, and considering all of the messes he had been trying to sort out since leaving work, Jeff had had enough. Luckily, John caught onto his father's tone and backed down, shutting his eyes and sagging into the cushions instead.
Shaking his head with a sense of sadness, Jeff picked up his mug and made to head back to the kitchen for a refill. The kidnap had torn the family apart in more ways than one. The boys didn't know how to react to each other anymore. There was this burning desire in each of them, especially the older three, and even to some extent, Gordon, to protect each other. Yet at the same time, they didn't seem to want the others to know, seeing it as a weakness that they were all afraid of being on their own. This was not the first time there had been a clash between John and Virgil. Gordon somehow seemed to undermine both of their defences and make them melt, no matter how annoyed at him they had been, and Scott simply wasn't reacting.
Thinking about his oldest son, Jeff suddenly gasped, slamming his mug down on the worktop and all but sprinting into the lounge to find that Gordon had joined in with Alan's game, John opening his eyes sleepily to watch his two little brothers. But John himself was still a little brother, and that was what had his father so frantic.
"John, where's Scott?"
More coming soon! Let me know what you thought?