Disclaimer: I don't own the Thunderbirds or the Tracys with the exception of Sam.
A/N: Darn plot-bunny got me again. Thankfully school won't suffer while I'm being attacked by the darn thing.
Overcoming the Odds
"Pain, intense and total. There is not a part of my body that isn't screaming out in agony as I try to find a comfortable position to rest in," I thought. "I've been awake for two days and have seen my family come in to visit me and then leave but the pain has been a constant companion despite the pain medications. Sam is watching me and I think she can see what the others don't." Sam gently took my hand in hers and with her free hand she brushed a few errant hairs out of my face.
"Gordy, is there anything I can do to help ease the pain?" she asked quietly. She leaned down and kissed my forehead carefully so as not to cause me any more pain. My eyes slowly closed as Sam gently brushed her fingers through my hair. It was the one habit Sam had learned from our mother. When we were all children and before Mom had died in an avalanche, she would comfort us in this manner. Sam had continued it when she comforted any of us.
"Sammie, I can't take much more of this," I admitted. "Not being able to move without someone doing it for me is so humiliating and I can't do anything for myself."
"Gordon Cooper Tracy, you will take whatever comes your way and you will overcome the pain, embarrassment, and anything else that is set before you. You will not endure any of it alone. I will be with you every step of the way just like all of our brothers and Dad," she said. "Always remember this, we are always here for you and just as you have always been there for us." Unable to hold back my emotions anymore, I let the tears loose from my eyes. Sam tenderly wiped them away as she put her face next to mine.
"Let it out, Gordy," she whispered. She shielded me as the tears streamed down my face. She continued to wipe my face until I fell asleep, completely exhausted. Sam kissed me again.
When I woke again, I felt more like the old Gordon and was ready to fight the odds. Step by small step, I achieved small successes in my recovery. True to her word, Sam and our brothers were right there with me. After a couple of months in the hospital, I was released into Sam, Alex, and John's care.
"We changed the office into a bedroom for you," said John as he pushed my wheelchair into the condo. "Do you want to sit out on the deck for awhile? Sam, will be fixing lunch after she takes care of Johnny and Lucy." Sam and Alex came down the stairs, each held a baby in their arms. Sam's face lit up when she saw me and she hurried to my side. She handed Johnny to John and hugged me and kissed my forehead.
"Oh, Gordy, I'm so happy that you're finally home with us," she said as her eyes began to tear up. I lifted my hand and wiped her tears away just as she had done mine in the hospital.
"Thanks for letting me live with you instead of the rehabilitation house," he said. Sam took her son back from John as I stared out the back door and at the ocean.
"Take our little brother outside to the deck, John," she said. "I'll fix lunch for all of us. Gordon, is grilled chicken salad and iced tea alright with you?" I looked up at her and grinned.
"Home cooked food after two months of hospital food," I replied. "Whatever you fix will be great Sammie." John pushed me out to the deck as Alex lay Lucy on the blanket he'd spread out on the living room floor. Sam laid Johnny next to her and then went to the kitchen and began preparing lunch for her family. Alex sat on the deck with me and John. We were all joking around and enjoying the weather. I was especially more relaxed and lively. I was finally with some of my family and out of the hospital. Sam brought our lunch outside and I grinned when I saw the simple yet delicious meal my sister had fixed for us.
"Thanks, Sammie," I said as I began to eat. Sam watched me and noticed that I was beginning to tire.
"After you eat, I would feel better if you lay down for a rest," she said neutrally. She was holding Lucy with one arm as she ate her lunch. Johnny was resting comfortably in Alex's arm. I finished my lunch and to John's surprise asked him to help me get into my bed.
"Sis, is right, I am tired," I admitted. John and Alex worked together and got me into my bed just as the nurse that Dad had hired came into my room. John and Alex left her to take care of my drainage bags. I would continue to have a catheter until I could stand on my own.
I quickly adapted to living with my brother and sister and her husband and babies. Sam spent a majority of her day helping me with my exercises and taking care of her twins. Alex and John helped out when they were home from work while Sam fixed dinner for all of us.
After a period of another month, the casts came off of my legs and Sam drove me to physical therapy sessions at the hospital. She would sit and watch me while she held my niece and nephew in her arms. I poured every bit of my determination into those sessions and was always grateful for the hydrotherapy that followed. I was in my element and completely at ease. Sam would smile as I moved about in the water in ways that I couldn't yet on land. She would take me home afterwards and tell me how proud she was of me. Inevitably, I would fall asleep in the car on the way home. She and the nurse would help me out of the car and into the house. Sam always made me lie down for awhile longer. She would sit on the couch and nurse Johnny and Lucy.
One day, John came home from work and told us that he'd been selected for another mission. I watched Sam as a wistful look appeared in her eyes and then disappeared. I made up my mind that I would be walking on my own by the time John came back from his mission.
I doubled my efforts and was walking with just the help of a cane by the time John came back from his mission. Sam had cheered me along and kept my spirits high even when the doctors kept saying that I couldn't do it. They paid for that remark when my big sister tore them up. I could hear her telling them exactly what they could do with their theories and diagnosis. I was so proud when I heard her say these words.
"He is a Tracy and he will do everything you say that he can't," she snapped. "I was told the same thing twice and I'm walking. If you tell my baby brother that he can't walk again despite the fact that is exactly what he is doing I want a new doctor for him." I never heard anything contrary to her belief again.
The day John came home, we met him at the gates. I was in my wheelchair and when I saw him I carefully stood up and took my cane from Sam and walked up to my big brother. The expression on his face was wonderful to see.
"You did it, Gordy," he said as he hugged me. I slowly walked back to the wheelchair and stared down at it. Without a second glance, I walked around it and my family walked along side me, every step of the way just like Sam had said they would.