Jeff glanced over at the co-pilot's seat as he flew the massive jet to upstate New York. Alan was sitting curled up, his ashen face giving way to the nausea Alan experienced thanks to his motion sickness. He'd thrown up at least three times before falling asleep and for that Jeff was thankful. Alan wasn't yet completely comfortable with Jeff and while it hurt Jeff that he couldn't properly comfort his son…it gave him the comfort of knowing that Alan hadn't completely shut him out.

He'd felt sick shortly after Jeff got the jet leveled out and Jeff had to practically force Alan to sit on his lap so he could hold an air sickness bag for the boy as he heaved up his breakfast. Thankful for an auto-pilot button, Jeff rubbed Alan's back as he coughed and gagged. Placing Alan in the co-pilot seat facing towards him, Jeff watched as Alan slipped into a fitful sleep. Removing his jacket which he'd worn onto the jet, he covered Alan with it to ensure he'd be warm and comfortable.

Alan had asked if he was due for his one month checkup like he'd grown accustomed to while in foster care and while Jeff knew it wasn't necessary, he'd still gone on ahead and scheduled an appointment to give Alan some semblance of normalcy; which is where they were headed to now. Jeff left International Rescue in his eldest son's capable hands while he took Alan to go see the family doctor.

Hearing a soft sigh, Jeff looked over to see Alan rubbing at one of his eyes blearily. The boy still looked pale, but he looked much better than he had earlier.

"Hey Alan, have a nice nap?" Jeff inquired of his son when he sat up and looked around.

"Where are we?" Alan peered out the windscreen and couldn't see anything. The low thrum of the jet's engines was the only clue to Alan that they were still airborne.

"Coming up on Boston in about thirty minutes. We'll be in New York in about another forty-five minutes." Jeff replied softly, seeing Alan rub his stomach slowly. "Are you still feeling sick Al?"

Alan shook his head slowly, instead looking down at his stomach when it gave a guttural growl. "Nuh-uh…I'm hungry."

"Well, if you go back into the passenger cabin, I think you may find one of John's chocolate bar stashes in the overhead compartment." Jeff motioned with his free hand at Alan to go get himself a chocolate bar, it wasn't the healthiest to eat, but it'd put something in the boy's stomach after he'd thrown it all up earlier.

"Okay, do you want one sir?" Alan slipped back into his default naming of father figures and called his own dad 'sir'. He didn't shy away or act shocked by the automatic response of sir, but Jeff felt a tug at his heart. It hurt that his own son feared a reprisal by calling his own father dad – even papa would be better than sir.

"No thank you Alan. But thank you." Jeff continued to pilot but regardless he tossed a cheerful smile over his shoulder at his little boy and watched as the boy walked with a slight limp. Though his ankle was healed and only wore a walking boot part time anymore – he still carried a slight limp especially if he put too much weight on his bad foot.

Alan left the cockpit and ventured into the passenger compartment. Glancing around Alan tried to think like his brother John and imagine where he'd hide a stash of chocolate bars. Practically hearing the 'ding' sound as the proverbial light bulb flickered to life over his head, Alan dropped onto his hands and knees and checked one of the floor hatches and found the stash almost immediately.

Grabbing one of the chocolate bars, Alan quickly replaced the hatch door and stood back up. Taking a couple steps forward, Alan smiled as he unwrapped his chocolate prize. True he did still feel a little queasy, but usually a small something tamed his upset stomach. Taking a small tentative bite, Alan hurried back to the cockpit to take his seat as co-pilot.

Jeff turned slightly as he heard the uneven thumps of Alan's limping gait. "Hey Alan, you find John's chocolate stash?"

"Yes sir." Alan curled back up in the copilot seat and pulled his father's jacket up over his small frame, relishing in the warmth the jacket provided. Holding out the chocolate bar, Alan offered again to his father. "Do you want a bite of my chocolate bar sir?"

Jeff was about to refuse again, but one look over at his youngest son proved him otherwise. Alan was looking at him with what Scott and his other sons called Alan's puppy dog pout. It was a very effective way to get what he wanted and Jeff couldn't resist the look.

"Okay, but I'll take a small chunk." Jeff reached out to snap off a chunk of chocolate, but Alan relinquished his hold on the chocolate bar so that Jeff was holding it in his hand. Looking over at Alan, Jeff found the boy to be grinning.

"You can take a bite sir, I'm use to sharing with Johnny." Alan grinned up at his father, an almost apologetic look on the boy's face.

"Okay, you win…but I'll only take one bite." Jeff nibbled on the chocolate bar before handing it back to his youngest son. He was happy his youngest son was making an effort to bond, especially since he still didn't like hugs from anybody except John. True he'd hugged Jeff upon being reunited, but that was really the last hug Jeff had gotten from his youngest.

"When's my checkup sir?" Alan took another healthy bite from his chocolate bar before burrowing down inside of his father's jacket.

"Tomorrow at eleven." Jeff checked his coordinates and continued flying, glancing every so often over at Alan. "Is there something you wanted to do tonight?"

Alan tilted his head as he thought. To be honest, he didn't know what there was to do. He had never been asked what he wanted to go do before and that left Alan pondering on an activity that he and his father could do. What did normal father and sons do when they had an evening to themselves?

Jeff noticed Alan thinking about what there was to do and he thought back on what he used to do with his four other sons. With Scott it'd been playing catch with a baseball and mitt in the backyard, with John it'd been going out to sit in the backyard in a lawn chair and looking up at the constellations, with Virgil it'd been going to an art museum or concert hall – or a music store just to listen to different styles of music together. Gordon – it'd been going to either the beach or lake and swimming or going to the aquatic center and taking in the sights of porpoises and marine life.

"Are you interested in soccer? Perhaps we could go to a soccer game, or go get a kite and fly that around?" Jeff realized he still didn't know his youngest son's favorite activities. He'd only known his youngest for about a month since being reunited and found he still didn't know his son any better than if he was still gone. "Are you interested in video games?"

Alan blinked and thought hard. He liked space ships…was interested in space and space travel and he bit his lip as he tried to work up the courage to ask his dad if there was anywhere the two of them could go to look at planes or space ships. "Rockets."

"Rockets, like bottle rockets?" Jeff looked over at his youngest with a questioning look and watched Alan shake his head. He wasn't interested in blowing things up, but rockets?

"Like space travel." Alan looked out the window and tried not to think of the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was a stupid idea to mention it.

Jeff blinked wide eyed. He didn't think Alan was interested in space travel. However if space ships was something Alan was interested in, then he knew of just the place.

"Well, we could go to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum." Jeff suggested off handedly and watched a smile blossom on Alan's face at the suggestion.

"Really?!" Alan squeaked, his voice rising an octave in excitement. He'd always dreamt of going there, but none of his previous foster parents ever wanted to take him. He'd never asked Pastor Woods if they could go because they were too far away to go, but when he'd lived with some of his previous foster families in New York he'd practically begged to go and none of his requests were honored.

Jeff chuckled at Alan's unconcealed excitement and nodded. "Yes son, really. So do you want to go?"

"You bet!" Alan really wanted the jet to land right about now. Never before had he ever been given this opportunity to go and he wasn't about to pass it up.

"Okay, well after we land we'll go drop off our luggage in the penthouse and then we'll go. Alright bud?" Jeff grinned happily at Alan's excitement.

"How much longer till we land?" Alan was practically bouncing in his seat and he couldn't wait to go.

"Maybe another twenty minutes or so then we'll be on the ground." Jeff checked his flight time and nodded silently to himself. They were really close and getting ready to land. Jeff went ahead and called in to the airstrip for clearance to land and as he brought the craft down – he smiled as he watched Alan's smile become so big it looked as though his face would split in two.

… … … … … … …

"Alan, hold my hand while we cross the street please!" Jeff held his hand out and grasped Alan's hand in his as he looked around at the bustling traffic.

"Come on dad! Come on!" Alan was so excited, he just wanted to get to the museum.

Jeff smiled warmly as he heard Alan's slip of the tongue. He'd just unknowingly called his father dad instead of sir and it warmed Jeff's heart to hear his youngest son's voice say dad. As Jeff and Alan walked, they passed a couple of street vendors and Jeff noticed Alan looking around at all the trinkets.

"Hey Al?" Jeff stopped at a vendor and looked around at something to get for Alan, wanting to get him something as a memory of this day the father and son got to spend together. Spotting something he'd figured Alan would like, Jeff pointed at it and handed the handful of bills to the vendor before turning and plunking it onto Alan's head.

"Sir?" Alan raised the bill of the baseball cap his dad had just put on his head and looked up at his dad with questioning eyes.

"Something to remember this day son." Jeff tapped the bill of the baseball cap and he patted Alan's back when the boy hugged him tightly around the waist. It was the first hug he'd gotten from Alan since the first day of being reunited and Jeff wasn't about to pass up the opportunity. Hugging Alan back, he gently rubbed Alan's shoulder before leading him down the sidewalk.

"So where is the museum sir?" Alan practically skipped down the sidewalk as he continued to hold his dad's hand.

"It's not far from here, a couple blocks." Passing a couple more vendors, Jeff noticed Alan sniffing the air – they were now walking past food vendors and it was obvious Alan was hungry. "You want a hotdog or a pretzel with cheese?"

Alan looked up at Jeff with a puppy dog like pout and Jeff smiled to himself as he realized the dilemma…Alan wanted both.

"I don't know…you choose." Alan's shoulder sagged as he left the decision up to his father.

"How about we get both and split them? You get half a hotdog and half a pretzel while I get the other halves - that and a bottle of water?" Jeff bargained with his son, not really caring that what he was feeding Alan really wasn't healthy. Anything to make his boy happy and they were having a father son outing; they could afford to eat a little junk food every so often. Seeing the smile on Alan's face again made it all worth it to Jeff.

Stopping in line Jeff continued to hold Alan's hand as they waited for their hotdog. The two of them looked around and talked amongst themselves – finding they had an affinity for space ships. Jeff told Alan a short tale about when he was in NASA and watched the boy's eyes grow to the size of dinner plates. After they got their hotdog, Jeff let Alan have his fill before taking the remaining half with a smile and devouring it. When they'd finished their hotdog, they grabbed a cheese pretzel and a couple bottles of water and finding a spot in the grass to sit and eat the pretzel.

Jeff took one look at Alan as they finished their cheese pretzel and had to stifle a laugh. Alan had a cheese mustache and looked as though he didn't know it. "Alan…you've got a little…" Jeff trailed off as he pointed at his own upper lip to give Alan a clue.

"What?" Alan looked up at his dad with a questioning look, not getting the gist of what his dad was hinting at.

"Here." Jeff licked the corner edge of a tissue and proceeded to wipe the cheese sauce from Alan's face. When Alan's face was clean and clear he smiled at his youngest fondly, eliciting a smile from the boy also.

"Thanks dad." Alan said once more interchanging 'sir' for 'dad'.

"No problem son." Jeff glanced down at his watch to check the time and he prodded Alan gently in the shoulder. "Let's go son."

"Okay!" Alan jumped up and stood by eagerly awaiting his father to get up from the little grassy knoll where they'd been sitting and go walking with him. He was having a blast just hanging out with his dad, finally feeling as though he was beginning to belong – unlike when he'd been in foster care and placed with families that tolerated his presence rather than make him feel at home.

… … … … … … …

Alan sidled up close to his father as they walked through the museum. There were surprisingly a lot of people around and while he liked people okay – he just was shocked at the large mass of people bouncing from pillar to post in the large museum.

"You okay there buddy?" Jeff glanced down to see Alan practically glommed onto his side.

"I can't see." Alan wasn't lying; he was still so short that he couldn't see through the throngs of people in order to see the display of neat aircrafts.

Jeff looked around to make sure nobody was going to run into him before he crouched down to give Alan a lift. Jeff couldn't exactly expect the boy to enjoy his outing with his father if he couldn't see the exhibits. "Alan, come on I'll give you a piggy back ride."

Alan paused and turned around to see his dad kneeling on the ground. Nodding shyly, Alan went over and climbed onto Jeff's back. When his dad stood up, Alan marveled at the view.

Jeff motioned with his head at a fighter jet and started narrating to Alan. "You see that jet over there son? That is the type of jet your big brother Scotty used to fly when he was in the Air Force."

"Really? Scott got to fly one of those?" Alan leaned down over his father's shoulder.

"Yep, for a few years anyway." Jeff paused before continuing on. "Your brother also got to do some of those barrel rolls for stunt flights. Maybe sometime Scott will take you to see some flight acrobatics." Jeff walked through the exhibits and he and Alan talked and discussed the flight mechanics. Jeff learned so much about Alan in just that day alone than he did in the last month. One thing he learned was that Alan was determined to get over his motion sickness so he could get a pilot's license when he was old enough to fly and he dreamed about going into space one day.

Smiling to himself, Jeff continued to carry Alan on his back as they left the museum. Alan was tuckered out after his outing with his father and had fallen asleep during the last ten minutes of the tour. Jeff gently shifted Alan on his back before hailing a cab to take them back up to where they were staying. Alan remained asleep during the entire car trip and Jeff carried him into the elevator which took them up to the penthouse.

Unlocking the door, Jeff made his way into the living room before depositing Alan on the couch and covering him with the afghan which lay across the back of the couch. Walking through the apartment, Jeff turned the lights on, but dimmed them in order to make the room bright enough to see but not bright enough to disturb Alan's slumber.

… … … … … … …

Jeff ran into Alan's bedroom after the first scream of terror and he sat on Alan's bed and gently stroked the side of Alan's face prompting the boy to awaken. The little boy was drenched in sweat and even in the dark; Jeff could see Alan's pupils were the size of pinpricks. The boy was downright terrified.

"It's okay son, it's okay." Jeff spoke softly to Alan and he pulled the boy into his arms and gently ran his fingers through Alan's hair. "Ssh, it's okay Alan. You're safe, nobody can hurt you."

Alan panted heavily as he fought to regain control over his breathing. It felt like a heavy weight was bearing down on his chest and it hurt to breath. Snuggling into his father's hold, Alan allowed the tears to lightly trickle down into his father's t-shirt. He was so scared.

"It's okay Alan…ssh." Jeff continually soothed his boy from his night terror he'd just awoken from. After Alan managed to calm down a bit Jeff pulled away. He knew from experience that sometimes talking about it could help. "Do you feel up to talking about it son?"

Alan shook as the memory ran through his mind and he wanted to shake his head no, but he nodded instead.

"Let's go fix ourselves some hot chocolate huh?" Jeff stood and held his hand out to his son who accepted the hand graciously. Leading the way, Jeff made his way into the kitchen and fixed a couple mugs of hot chocolate for he and Alan before going into the living room and wrapping themselves in the afghan. "What was your bad dream about son?"

Alan remained quiet for a while, contemplating whether or not it'd been a good idea to say he wanted to talk about his nightmare before he opened his mouth to speak. His voice trembled as he spoke. "R-Ray, he…he killed Judy. Then he came after me and D-Devon."

Jeff nodded slowly at the mention of the family which reportedly purchased his baby boy from the man who'd been a known human trafficker. Rizzoli had been murdered by this Ray guy and Ray had been arrested for the murder of his wife Judy and child abuse of both Devon and Alan. Devon fell from contact with Alan and yet Alan still hung on his every word – even after all these years. Devon had been the one to protect Alan in his family's place.

"Did Ray hurt you and Devon in your dream?" Jeff gently nudged Alan's knee with his own in order to reassure Alan that it was him and not Ray he was conversing with.

"He killed Devon…started hitting me with his belt." Alan's voice choked up at the mention of what Ray did in his dream…and had done in real life too. Jeff saw the scars, once when John convinced Alan to go swimming without a t-shirt on, Jeff saw the scars. Nobody else had been awake at the time, Alan wanted to go swimming with John, but didn't feel comfortable with his brothers quite yet.

It angered Jeff to see the lashing marks splayed in a crisscross fashion across Alan's back, but John who had been there for Alan hadn't said anything about the marks. Instead the older blonde held onto Alan and eased him into the water without the hindering walking boot Alan had been wearing before splashing him with a smile. The two blondes giggled like two little boys and continued swimming around and splashing each other before they clambered out at the first signs of life. Hurriedly throwing on his older brother's t-shirt Alan and John scurried through the kitchen up to their bedrooms to dress and be present for breakfast.

"You're okay…Ray can't hurt you anymore." Jeff soothed and continued to run his fingers through Alan's hair. At the first sign of Alan slumping down with fatigue, Jeff gently prodded the boy's shoulder. "Alan, come on buddy…time to go back to bed."

Alan didn't say anything, but allowed himself to be directed back to his bedroom and after Jeff got Alan comfortable and situated, he gently kissed Alan's forehead before getting up to leave. A tiny tug on his pajama pants had him stopping and looking back. Alan was gripping his pant leg and looking up at him with the puppy pout.

"Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?" Alan's bottom lip trembled as he asked the favor of his father. Jeff nodded silently at Alan and took up his place on Alan's bed and continued to run his fingers through Alan's hair, not stopping even after Alan had fallen asleep once more.