Disclaimer: I do not own.
A/N: I decided to re-write this because I didn't like the old one. Sorry if any of you lot preferred the old one but meh, I delaeted that one and I'm putting this in it's place.
A Tracy Childhood. (Re-Write.)
Chapter One
"Scott! Stop doing that right now! Gordon, please stand up...Alan, Alan look at the camera, look at daddy," Jeff Tracy said, trying to get all his children looking respectable for the group photo with their beautiful mother. "John, hold Gordon up please. Scott, if you don't stop making that signal behind Virgil's head and act your age you'll go straight back to the chalet and stay there for the rest of the week." Scott's hand immediately dropped to his side and a smile of innocence covered his face. John laughed and hauled Gordon to his feet, holding him gently by his upper arms to keep him up.
"Hurry up and take the photo Jeff," Lucille Tracy said as she held 4 year old Alan in her arms gently.
"Alright, now everyone smile!" The camera clicked as the photo was taken and Jeff dropped it so that it hung around his neck and took Gordon from John.
"Can we go to the slopes now?" Scott asked, impatient as ever.
"Yes dear, but stay on the practice slopes," Lucille said kindly.
"We'll meet you back here at 1.00 so we can get something to eat," Jeff said, kissing Alice gently on the lips and taking Alan so he had one boy on each arm. "What shall we do first boys? Make a snowman..." he suggested as they walked off. Scott had already run off towards the smaller slopes, ski's on his shoulder.
"Can I stay with you mummy, Scott will just leave me behind?" 10 year old Virgil asked quietly. He was her favourite child, all sweetness and innocence and looked allot like his father had when he was younger.
"Of course you can baby. What are you planning on doing John?" Alice asked, pulling Virgil against her gently while resting a hand on his little head.
"I think I'll stay with you 2, but can I go off every now and then?" John liked his privacy, but being the second eldest of 5 brothers it was often hard to come by.
"Of course darling, but keep an eye on Virgil in case he gets into trouble with the skis," Alice said, smiling fondly at her gentlest boy.
So for the day they skied, Scott careering down yelling for people to get out of his way. Gordon and Alan built a snow man with their father before having a rather large snowball fight, 2 against 1. Jeff loved every minute of it. Virgil had quite a few accidents resulting with him falling or tripping but each time Alice or John picked him up.
John strayed away from them for a few minutes, keeping within visual range of them when it happened. A sickening sound, like cracking ice, filled the air before panic rose around him and everyone's screams dominated the slopes.
"Avalanche!"
John was terrified as he watched the white mass building up behind his mother and brother. People further up were swept away like it was the sea and even trees were disappearing. John watched in horror as Alice picked up Virgil just as the wave of snow reached them. She curled her body protectively around him just as the snow hit them and she disappeared from view.
"Mum!" John screamed. He could see people around him running in terror but he was frozen with fear, staring at the place his mother and Virgil had been. A man from the resort literally picked him up and dragged him behind a shelter, specifically made to withstand avalanches. "Mum..." John began sobbing and the man pushed him into the arms of a kind-looking woman as the snow hit. The shelter groaned but held, if only just and snow poured through the gaps around the door.
Then an eery silence filled the air, no sound except for the frantic breathing of the 20 or so people in the small shelter room. A torch was switched on somewhere. Some men managed to pull open the door and began to dig through the snow. John braced himself for a long wait to see the light again and prayed silently that somehow his family had survived.
Scott had been in another avalanche shelter so he was safe but he had never been so scared in his short life. He had been happily skiing when the snow started to come and luckily for him an old couple had dragged him to the shelter. He was now clinging to the woman, crying with fear as the shelter creaked and groaned in protest to the snow, terrifying even for a boy of 14.
Jeff had picked up his 2 sons and run for the nearest building, the diner, along with everyone else in the area. The diner wasn't specifically avalanche proof but as it was at the bottom the snow's momentum wasn't very strong. But even though they were safe he was still terrified, terrified for his other 3 sons and his wife who were further up the slopes. Alan was crying hysterically for his mother and Gordon wasn't much better, the only problem was Jeff couldn't give them their mother to calm them, there was only him.
John watched as the rescue crews were helicoptered in with dogs to sniff out people buried beneath the snow. His was cold and wet but he didn't care, instead he pulled off his skis and ran awkwardly after the rescuers. A dog suddenly barked and started digging in the snow, his handler joining in with a spade as other dogs started doing the same.
"I've got a young boy here!" the handler called. "And a woman!" John suddenly recognised the screams coming from the hole as the boy was pulled out, it was Virgil.
"Virgil!" John shouted, falling to his knees by Virgil and taking him into his arms. Virgil clung to him and cried loudly. He was soaking wet and shaking so the rescuer put a thick blanket around him and John tucked it in securely while trying to calm his distraught brother. He watched over Virgil's shoulder as the rescuer checked for his mum's pulse before looking at the ground sadly. "Mum?" Only now did he notice the odd angle that her neck was at and the lack of breathing in her body. Only now did he see that she was dead. Tears fell down his cheeks as the revelation sunk in. Slowly he looked away from her and into the face of Virgil's rescuer.
"I'm so sorry kid. Is your father here?" the man asked as the dog went off with another man.
"He was with our other brothers," John choked, placing his hand on the back of Virgil's head and making him press his face into the crook of John's shoulder.
"And what are your names?" the man asked while getting out a walkie talkie.
"John Tracy and this is Virgil," John mumbled, pressing his cheek to the top of Virgil's head. His eyes however stayed on the man and he watched as he called the main room, the Diner.
"This is rescue One. We have recovered 11 people from the snow, 5 living, 6 dead," he had been handed a clipboard with a basic tally of how many and if they were male and female on it. "Could John and Virgil Tracy's father please report to the medical cabin, i repeat John and Virgil Tracy's father report to the medical cabin."
John was frantically trying to keep Virgil both warm and calm. When the rescue team were ready to take them down to the Medical Cabin instead of letting one of them carry Virgil he lifted his brother into his arms. Virgil was small for his age and quite light so it wasn't that hard, and he himself followed some of the rescuers down to the Medical Cabin while the rest carried on searching.
Down in the diner Jeff had listened to the report with the other people but at the mention of his sons he'd cried out in shock and nearly dropped Alan who he was holding to him tightly. Gordon looked up at him, tears forming in his eyes.
"Daddy? Where mummy? Why did the box say Virgil and John's name?" he asked innocently. Jeff couldn't answer but picked up Gordon as well and walked to the desk. Luckily he was a strong man from all his training with NASA so he could carry both of his children easily and having 5 in total he'd always found himself carrying at least 2 of them.
"Excuse me, where's the medical cabin?" he asked the lady behind the counter in a choked voice, it was as controlled as he could get without crying. The lady pointed out of the window at a building and smiled apologetically at the poor man. Jeff left the room and trudged through the snow to the cabin. Inside he found Virgil being changed into thick fleecy clothes borrowed from the shop and wrapped in blankets by 2 men. John was sat next to him, holding one of his hands and looked up and saw his father and brothers enter the room.
"Dad," he gasped, rushing to him and throwing his arms around him, not bothering to hide his tears. Virgil was still sobbing but had stopped shaking, unfortunately to the medics this was a bad sign because he was drowsy and his lips and fingers were blue. Jeff put Gordon and Alan down and took Virgil into his arms.
"We need to get him to hospital quickly, we think he's got hypothermia," the doctor said to Jeff who just nodded. "We've called in the helicopter for him and all the others."
"Where Scott?" Alan asked the man who gently picked him up.
"Oh god, where is Scott?" Jeff suddenly realised who was missing. "He's my eldest son, he's 14..."
"I'll go find him. Do you know where he was?" a man asked.
"He should have been on the small slopes," Jeff said, holding Virgil close to him. Oh he hoped Scott had stayed where he was told, and that he hadn't been caught by the avalanche.
"Don't let him go to sleep," he was ordered as the doctors went on to someone else with injuries in need of treatment.
"Virgil? Virgil look at me son," Jeff commanded. Virgil looked at him weakly. John took Alan from the man and sat with him in his lap. Gordon, feeling left out climbed onto the seat by John and leaned against him with his little arms around John's waist. John moved so he had one arm around each brother but his gaze was on his dad and Virgil. "Virgil, I need you to say something, please..."
"I want mummy," was the very quiet mumble that escaped Virgil's blue lips.
"Your mother's had to go away for a while," Jeff said, equally quiet.
"I'm tired, I want to go to bed," Virgil didn't understand what was going on and why everyone had been fussing over him.
"You can't do that now Virgil, you need to stay awake," Jeff said.
"Why?" Virgil murmured.
"Because you're going to have a ride in a helicopter, you'll enjoy that won't you?" Jeff said, trying to sound as if the most terrible thing in his life hadn't happened that day. Virgil nodded slowly. The door opened to allow another rescue party in with a bleeding man, but the family was more interested in the small figure being led in by the man from earlier. "Scott."
"Dad!" Scott ran to his father and yet again there was a big group hug. Jeff continued to talk to Virgil, trying desperately to keep his son awake. Later he'd ask John what had happened, much later. John was so pale he looked ill but he made room on the seat for Scott and pulled him against his free side, even though Scott was the elder of the two. Alan had fallen asleep with his arms around John's neck and his head resting on his shoulder. Gordon's head now rested in John's lap so John was able to put an arm around Scott.
It took the helicopter 5 minutes to arrive, 5 long agonising minutes, and when it did it turned out to be a Chinook. It was a large one, designed to fit lots of people either on stretchers or sitting. The crew got the worst patients, the ones on stretchers on first and then the others.
"We can't have a whole family of 6, there isn't room with all the other patients, I'm sorry," the pilot said to Jeff and the doctor.
"I can't leave any of them," Jeff said angrily.
"Can't some go to their mother?" the pilot asked the wrong question.
"Their mother was caught in the avalanche," Jeff said curtly.
"Oh, I'm sorry sir. Theres only 2 seat's left but...well...oh I'll figure something out. I know. Take the injured one will go on your lap and the toddler can you with the oldest boy's lap. The other 2 will have to go on someone else's lap," the pilot compromised. "It's not allowed but we'll let it slip this time." They climbed into the Chinook and got strapped in with the straps going around both people on the chairs instead of the usual one. As the Chinook took off it woke Alan who started crying while Virgil, trying to stay awake, gazed around in wonder. John was on an old man's lap and Gordon on one of the medic's.
When they reached the hospital a nurse snatched Virgil from Jeff's arms and rushed inside with him leaving the family to huddle in the waiting room until the nurse came out again half an hour later. Gordon and Scott were asleep, Scott with his head on his dad's shoulder and Gordon lying on John's lap. Alan was also fast asleep on Jeff's lap.
"The Tracy's?" Jeff looked up and the nurse came over. "Your son is no longer in a critical state. He will recover with time and rest but we're going to keep him in over night just in case, you can take him home tomorrow. You may go see him if you like," the nurse said kindly.
"I'll stay with this lot dad, go and see Virgil," John said. In the few hours since the avalanche he'd seemed to grow up, dramatically. Even though he was only 12 and the second of five sons, he was behaving like a level headed 16 year old. Jeff smiled gratefully and moved Scott so he rested on John's shoulder and put Alan down gently on the seat before he followed the nurse to Virgil's side. His lip's were no longer blue and some colour had returned to his cheeks.
"Daddy?" he asked weakly. Jeff noticed he was in hospital pyjama's and was swathed in blankets. Jeff took his face in his hands and kissed his forehead gently.
"Do you feel better?" Jeff asked, sitting by his son. Virgil nodded before sneezing, remarkably loudly for such a small boy.
"They said I just have a cold now, not hyper-hypo-the thing I had," Virgil said innocently, rubbing at his nose with his hand.
"That's alright then, you've had colds before haven't you?" Jeff asked, smiling. Virgil nodded happily. "Well, I think you need to get some sleep. We'll be back tomorrow to pick you up," Jeff said, kissing his son once more. "I love you."
"I love you too daddy," Virgil whispered as Jeff left, before he closed his eyes and slept as if nothing had happened at all that day and dreamed of his mother, his smiling, happy beautiful mother.