Disclaimer: I still don't own anything!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Angel-Sue! Time to repay the favour with birthday stories! Hope you like it, honey, and happy birthday once again, even though I'm a bit late with this!
Virgil lay staring at his ceiling for a few moments, a sense of excitement building up through the pit of his stomach, causing his heart to begin racing slightly as a smile leapt onto his face. Scrambling out of bed so fast the covers latched themselves around his foot and caused the artistic child to trip, Virgil quickly bounced up again, untangling said foot and forcing himself to walk at a slower rate out of his slightly cluttered bedroom. Nothing was going to hold him down today, he was sure of it. Navigating his way around a broken easel, the replacement standing directly in front of it, he carefully eased open his bedroom door, his smile widening as he heard the telltale thud from downstairs that could only belong to Gordon. Good. If Gordon was up, so was Alan, and that meant the chestnut haired Tracy wouldn't have to wait for his brothers to wake up.
Pulling the door shut – for a Tracy could never be too careful, something Scott had desperately tried to drive into his brothers before leaving for college – Virgil wandered down the corridor at a slower rate, his smile slipping slightly at his train of thought. Running a hand through his hair with a sigh, Virgil knew he was mirroring the noises his father made. He couldn't help it; he just really wished that Scott was back home today. John as well. His older brothers were away at college and a school camp respectively, leaving the house seeming uncannily quiet, despite three of the boys still being there. Virgil knew that Scott had tried to come home, but knowing that his eldest child had a paper due in, Jeff had forbidden it, saying that he could come back that weekend, but needed to focus on his studies for now. John too had attempted to postpone going on the camp until the next year, knowing that the dates would be slightly different, but this time, it was Virgil who had insisted. He knew how hard his brother had worked to be accepted onto it, for once being around people who had a brain like him, rather being mocked for it at school, and Virgil was not going to let him give up the opportunity. Even so, it was strange neither of them being there, and Virgil wasn't sure how much he liked it.
Hearing his grandmother scold his younger siblings for something, Virgil felt his smile return. His older brothers may not have been able to make it home, but his grandmother – and her famous cooking – had quickly appeared on the doorstep as soon as she had heard. Despite missing them, Virgil knew he would still be able to spend the day with the majority of his family.
Grin firmly back in place, Virgil pushed open the kitchen door with a flourish, announcing his presence to the rest of the family. Grandma immediately turned from where she was bent over the hob, a wide smile stretching across her face when she caught sight of her middle grandson. Virgil, however, couldn't help but note that it didn't quite reach her eyes, and letting his own roam across the room, he couldn't help feeling like his heart was sinking again.
"Virgil, sweetheart. There's my birthday boy."
"Where's Dad?" Virgil asked quietly, any sense of excitement vanishing as quickly as it had descended upon him that morning. His father had promised that he would be around for his son's twelfth birthday, knowing how disappointed Virgil was that Scott especially was not going to be there. And then with John being absent as well, there could be no denying the look of disappointment in Virgil's eyes when he had heard the dates his brother would be away for. Birthdays for the whole family had been more than shaken up with their mother's death the year beforehand, meaning this year was supposed to set things right again. It was once more supposed to be the day the family could spend it all together, nothing else getting in the way. It was how Gordon's and Alan's had been earlier in the year. Apparently the same could not happen with Virgil's however.
"He just had to pop out, darling, he'll be back soon." Trying to keep the irritation out of her voice, Grandma knew by the look on Virgil's face that he was not buying it for a moment. In all honesty, she had no idea where Jeff was. She had heard the phone ring around 6am that morning, followed by the sounds of her son heading out of the door almost as quickly as she knew he could physically dress. Knowing how distracted he had been since Lucille's death, Grandma could only assume that there had once again been some emergency in the office with the budding business, and Jeff didn't think that anyone else could handle it in the way he could.
"Come now, sweetheart, I've made some pancakes just for the birthday boy."
"Why can't I have pancakes?" Gordon declared loudly. Pausing for a moment, Alan shot his immediate older brother a quick look before voicing his opinion.
"Yeah, Gran'ma, me wanted pancakes too." Fixing both the eight and five year old with her piercing look, Grandma raised her eyebrows.
"On your birthdays, you can. Today, however, it's Virgil's turn."
"Let them have the pancakes, Grandma, I'm not really hungry." And so saying, Virgil turned and walked back out of the kitchen, heading towards the stairs in order to get ready for school. His appetite had vanished just as quickly and without warning as his father. He had been so positive when he had awoken, so determined to think that just this once, Jeff would put his family before his business, but as always, the father had managed to crush his son's hopes, probably without realising what it was that he had done.
Making to move after him, Grandma sighed when the phone suddenly rang, a shrill noise breaking its way through the silence that had fallen over the kitchen. Gordon had sensed enough to pick up that something was wrong by Virgil's tone, and true to form, Alan was simply copying his big brother. With one last longing glance at the bottom of the stairs still visible through the open door, Grandma sighed, turning her attention back to the phone.
Up in his room, Virgil sat down heavily on his bed, resting his head in his hands. He had trusted that his father was going to make it up to him for the fact that his birthday had practically been overlooked the year before because of how close it had been to the accident. Scott had done his best to take his brother's mind of their missing father, but it still wasn't the same. Virgil hadn't yet got used to the idea that it wasn't only their father who wasn't there for the boys anymore, if he was completely honest. His mother's loss still sat heavily on him, especially as strangers to the child seemed to believe it was comforting him by telling him how much like his mother he looked, not realising that it was just making him feel Jeff's absence even more. He had managed to be at home for Gordon's and Alan's birthdays, after all. Why did the office meeting – for he was sure that was where his father truly was – have to emerge on Virgil's special day?
"Virgy?" Hearing an uncharacteristically quiet voice, Virgil glanced up to see Gordon poking his head around the door, almost looking guilty. Glancing down, Virgil was more than surprised that there wasn't a blond head poking around Gordon's legs, for Alan had taken to following the water-loving Tracy wherever he went of late. On good days, Gordon loved it, a clear reminder that he too was a big brother and could do the same things that Scott, John and even Virgil were allowed. On bad days, however, the entire household heard just how unfair it was.
"You alright, Gordon?" Gordon didn't answer his brother verbally, instead glancing around him once more and darting into the room. Catapulting himself at his big brother in a way only the prankster could manage, Gordon almost knocked Virgil off balance as he jumped on the bed, throwing his arms around the older boy and hugging him fiercely. For a moment, Virgil was too stunned to be able to react, but his senses finally returned to him, and he returned the embrace, gently at first, then with more strength as he tried to vent out his frustrations at his missing father and instead focused on the family members that were still present for his day.
"Happy birthday, Virg." And with that, Gordon was gone again, slithering down from the bed and practically springing across the room, automatically avoiding the mess littering his brother's floor and bounding out of the room.
Shaking his head fondly after him, Virgil shook himself out of his musings and slowly began to pull out the first clothes he could find. He had kept the fact that it was his birthday quiet at school, so knew not to expect anything from there. And his father clearly had more important things to do than worry about his son's birthday. Even so, Virgil was not going to let it spoil his day. Scott was coming home at the weekend, and Virgil had enough faith in his biggest brother to know that the aspiring pilot would make up for not being there on the actual day. He would have to wait and see John, but Virgil was adamant that the day was not going to be ruined, not whilst he had Gordon, Alan and Grandma around to make him feel better.
His smile returning to him as the sparkle once more enlightened his eyes, Virgil began to dress. By the time his grandmother had got off the phone and headed up the stairs to find her middle grandson, the artistic Tracy was once more excited about the fact that it was the day he turned twelve, and had found that the idea of pancakes was once more appealing. With an added plea for his brothers to be allowed some as well, Virgil set off to school in high spirits, desperately trying to push from his mind the lack of parent present when he had woken up.
TBTBTB
Jeff tapped his fingers somewhat irritably on the steering wheel, clucking his tongue in time with the moving digits as a way of venting his frustration with the volume of traffic. Sparing his sleeping son a sideways glance, he instead sighed deeply, ceasing the motion so as not to disturb John. Despite his mother's thoughts, the message that had arrived early that morning was nothing to do with work. With one thunderstorm having already broken, and more on the way, the camp had been forced to pack up early, the flooding fields already causing chaos with the thirty odd boys they had running around all over the place. Knowing what these sort of things entailed, Jeff was not the slightest bit surprised when John had quickly succumbed to sleep, but even so, the father had been hoping that they would be able to make it back before Virgil went to school. Sparing the traffic an irritated glance, Jeff couldn't help but think that they would be lucky to be back by the time his sons finished school, let alone anything else.
Eventually though, the cars started moving, and despite having been stuck in the same position for over an hour, Jeff was soon teasing more and more speed out of the family car, desperately hoping there was still a chance of beating his son. He knew full well what would be going through Virgil's mind at not having his father there when he woke up, and it was with a stab of guilt that Jeff knew precisely why that was. Now, however, he was adamant that he was going to make it up to the boys; he just hoped that John's arrival would be enough to make Virgil forgive him for disappearing without a word. He hadn't wanted to tell anyone, hoping that they would be back for the rest of the family were up, and Virgil would awaken to have one of his big brothers at home for his birthday.
"Dad?"
"Hey, Johnny." Glancing again at his son as he swung into the winding country lanes that lead to the farmhouse, Jeff had to smile at John's appearance. The blond looked nothing short of exhausted, his blond hair sticking up at odd angles, something not helped by the numerous times he had run his hand through it whilst trying to fight off sleep. Deep circles shadowed his eyes, and whilst he was more than used to finding his son still up at random times of the night, Jeff was not sure when he had last seen John this tired.
"Where are we?" The blond's exhaustion was more than apparent in his voice, his words coming out slightly croaked as he sat up straighter in his seat, rubbing a hand across his eyes, not noticing he was only widening his father's smile. John didn't seem to realise just how much like Alan he looked when he pulled that particular expression.
"Nearly home, son. I'm sorry, John, the boys would have already left for school by the time we get there."
"What about Virg?"
"He's just going to have to wait until he gets home." Trying to keep the emotion out of his voice, Jeff shot John a searching look, knowing that his second oldest knew what was going through his father's mind. John too had suffered his fair share in Jeff's absence, and knew without having to think about it what would be going through his little brother's head with their father not being there. Jeff had already told John that no one knew the blond was coming home, that they were hoping it would be a surprise for the artist when he woke up.
For a while, a companionable silence fell across the vehicle, John attempting to keep his eyes open. If he was this tired now, the teenager didn't want to even contemplate how exhausted he would have been if the camp had run its full length. Jeff had just moved out into the middle of the road a little to overtake a stopped car when his son suddenly let out an exclamation of surprise.
"Dad, stop!" Immediately catching onto the note in John's voice, Jeff immediately hit the brakes, swinging the car smoothly into the side of the road and coming to a stop.
"John, what was that?" Knowing that out of all of his sons, John was the most sensible, Jeff was fully aware that his boy wouldn't have asked him to stop unless it was for a very good reason. Slipping his belt over his shoulder slightly, Jeff turned to face John properly.
"That's Scott's car."
"What?" Shock lining his own tone, Jeff twisted back in his seat, squinting down the road in order to get a proper look at the vehicle stopped on the edge of the road. Sure enough, now he was looking at it properly, there could be no denying who it was. Even as Jeff and John watched, a familiar looking figure emerged from the far side of the car, leaning casually on the side.
"Scott!" John was almost out of the car before Jeff had got his mind around his eldest son's sudden appearance, but quickly following suit, Jeff too climbed out. Glancing back down the road, he could see that John had at least halved the space between the two cars, Scott straightening up. Even from the distance he was at, Jeff could see that Scott was more than surprised to see his younger brother running down the road towards him. Jogging forward, Jeff was just in time to catch the words being exchanged between his sons.
"John? What the hell are you doing here? I thought you were at that camp across state."
"I thought you were still at college, Dad said something about a paper due in?"
"I got it...Dad?"
"Scott. Care to explain why you are parked up half way down a road when you should still be at school."
"I got my paper finished early," Scott responded, with a casual and non-committal shrug of his shoulders. Knowing how desperate Scott had been to make it home for Virgil's birthday, Jeff narrowed his eyes.
"You better not be lying to me, son."
"Honest, Dad, I got it in, I've got the stamped receipt as proof if you want to see it. Thought I'd come home and surprise the kid before he got up, but the damn car now won't start."
"Mind your language, Scott Tracy," Jeff responded warningly. He knew full well that he could never really stop Scott from saying what he wanted, but he hoped that his son would show more restraint around his younger brothers. "Now, have you looked at it?"
"Yeah, I know what is wrong as well, only can't fix it here. I was about to call the guys out."
"You look frozen, how long have you been out here for?"
"About three hours."
"Get in the car, Scott, now. We'll call the guys when we get home. John, come on, back to the car."
And so saying, Jeff lead the way back to the car, his mind reeling over what was happening. Despite not wanting to admit it to anyone, even his mother, Jeff had wished desperately the night before that the family would be together on Virgil's birthday. He had meant more in emotions than anything else, that his two elder sons would make contact with their brother and he himself would be able to spend the day with his now-twelve year old. Instead, it seemed someone really was up there watching over the family, making his wish come true in a way he could have only dreamed of.
TBTBTB
Dropping his bag sullenly in the middle of the hallway, Virgil found that he didn't particularly care that it was against one of his grandmother's rules. He had not had a good day. Despite keeping it quiet, part of Virgil had still been hoping for someone to notice that he was now a whole year older, a small section of himself wanting them to react in the way Gordon had, just without the hugs. Instead, he had to sit through a science test he had forgotten he even had, followed by double math. John may have enjoyed a day like that, but that was why it was his brother that was away on some camp for people that liked that sort of thing, not him.
Sighing at the quietness of the house, Virgil let a smirk wash over his face momentarily when he considered how much like his father he was sounding, especially considering that had to be at least the tenth time he had sighed in today alone. He knew he was getting older now, but Virgil couldn't help but hope he still had a long way to go until he became as paranoid as his father regarding certain activities. Scott did enough worrying for the whole family, he certainly didn't need Virgil going down that route as well.
Smiling somewhat sadly at the thought of his missing older brother, Virgil let his gaze rest on the carpet as he meandered slowly into the lounge. There was something wrong with the house, not just because he seemed to be home alone on his birthday. He shouldn't have been though, Grandma should have been back with Gordon and Alan by now, Virgil knew how much the old woman hated leaving the boys unattended, more because she had found out how often Jeff used to rather than any mistrust regarding the boys' behaviour.
Entering the room, Virgil felt his frown deepen at the fact that the drapes had been closed across the window, effectively blocking any light out from the room. Knowing that Alan had been playing with his cars in the room, Virgil knew better than to try and cross it in the dark. Instead, he felt his way carefully along the wall, feeling for the light switch. Stumbling slightly when it seemed to be further over than he had originally thought, the boy finally managed to hit down on the switch, the light momentarily blinding him.
"Surprise!" Blinking the spots out of his vision, Virgil felt his mouth drop at the sight in front of him. Grandma and Gordon were sitting on the edge of the sofa, the latter having to practically be restrained by the former from where he was bouncing up and down with impatience. But that wasn't what drew Virgil's attention. Alan was wriggling from where he was being held...in Jeff's arms. But not only was his father standing there, a wide grin on his face as he took in the stunned look on Virgil's face. Scott was standing next to him, John beside their brother.
"How?"
"Happy birthday, kiddo." As Scott moved forward, the rest of the family seem to snap back into action, and before Virgil had time to comprehend what was happening, let alone he thought at least three of the family members should be in other parts of the country, he was being showered with hugs and presents alike, Scott and Jeff finally stepping back to let the younger members of the family spoil Virgil.
"Time to blow out the candles, Virgy!" Alan exclaimed loudly, tugging on his big brother's hand and pulling him towards where his grandmother was waiting patiently, keeping an expert eye on both the excited babble of children – and not just her grandsons, either – and the flickering flames licking their way up the candles resting atop the magnificent cake that Virgil had yet to notice. Letting Alan drag him over, Virgil couldn't keep the smile off his face as the family burst into a chorus of "happy birthday", Gordon changing the words and receiving a pointed glare from both his father and his grandmother at the same time, Scott cuffing the redhead lightly over the head.
As they finished, Virgil took in a deep breath, adamant that he was going to be able to blow them all out at once.
"Make a wish, Virg," John said quietly, a wide grin on his face. For the first time since hearing the news that camp would be breaking up early, John was glad. He already felt bad enough as it was that he had to miss his brother's birthday before he had even gone, and couldn't express how pleased he was that he was able to see this. After all, it wasn't just Virgil that remembered the failed birthday's of the year before.
"I don't need too," Virgil responded, his eyes shining as he looked around at his family. Short of a miracle that the accident had never happened, what else did a twelve year old need when he had his family surrounding him, defying the odds simply to be there on his special day? With one big blow, Virgil successfully managed to extinguish all the candles in one go, and as his grandmother immediately moved in to start handing the cake out, Virgil stepped back, a wide grin on his face.
As his father draped his arm around Virgil's shoulders, the young artist couldn't help but think that he was the luckiest twelve year old in the world.