Alan moaned upon waking up after he tried to snuggle down into his pillow. Gritting his teeth at the pulsating pain, Alan found himself frowning. His mouth hurt a lot. It hurt much more than it had earlier that morning. Opening his eyes, Alan glanced around the semi-darkened room. He could see the sun was still out, but it was obvious it was going down currently. Rolling over slowly, Alan checked the time. It was just after five in the evening. Frowning more at the increasing throb in his mouth Alan sat up.
The room spun and Alan braced himself, hands back against the mattress to wait out the vertigo, before standing ever so slowly. The room spun and whirled around him. As Alan tried to take a step he found himself incredibly disoriented. Stumbling, Alan fell with a loud thump to the floor. Looking around himself, Alan found he was puzzled by finding himself on the floor…he had been standing only moments before. Hearing rapid footsteps, Alan looked up and squinted at the hallway light which illuminated the room.
"Hey buddy, what are you doing down there?" John turned on the bedroom light to a dim setting before going to kneel beside his youngest brother who was sprawled out on the floor.
Alan gazed up at John and simply groaned in frustration. He didn't feel up to talking, his mouth hurt and his tongue felt about as swollen as it tended to get after getting stung by a giant hornet. He found out he was allergic to hornets the hard way, but that was a different story for a different time. Right now though, Alan settled for glowering at the impish grin on John's face as his older brother placed his hands on his knees and bent over to talk to Alan who was still lying on the floor.
"Well buddy, you gonna tell me why you're lying on the ground? I figured your bed would be more comfortable as opposed to the carpet." John adopted a lopsided grin when Alan growled at him. "Okay, no need to bite my head off Sprout, I'll help you up."
John crouched down before wrapping his arms around Alan's torso, just beneath his armpits in order to properly lift his jello-legged brother up off the floor. Alan grappled onto John as he was stood up on his own two feet again, before swaying at the sudden change to his equilibrium. Alan put a hand to his head and moaned as the room gradually quit spinning. Alan was aware of being sat down on the edge of his bed, before opening his eyes carefully to look at John.
"Ya got to be more careful Sprout. You'll be a little dizzy for a while because you haven't eaten for almost twenty-four hours." John perched on the bed beside Alan and rubbed his back comfortingly. "Feel up to eating some pudding? I made your favorite…butterscotch."
Alan groaned pitifully at the thought of even trying to eat something when he felt so lousy, but John just continued to rub Alan's back comfortingly.
"I know the last thing you probably even want to think about doing is eat, but you need to put something in your stomach. I can't give you any pain meds for your mouth without you having some food or at least a milkshake in your system to prevent your stomach from becoming upset." John spoke softly to Alan as though he were talking to a small child. "Can you try to eat a spoonful or two? Just so I know you've eaten something?"
Alan stuck out his bottom lip in displeasure at being made to eat when he obviously didn't feel up to consuming anything. However, despite his lack of appetite, Alan nodded in acceptance of food. It was only pudding, how bad could it possibly be? Alan loved butterscotch pudding. John smiled before gently ruffling Alan's hair.
"I'll go get you a small bowl; I'll just be a second." John made to get up, but Alan grabbed onto his arm. John stopped briefly to look down at his baby brother, before heaving a sigh. It was apparent that Alan wanted to come along, not being one for remaining in bed while awake. "Alright, but hang on to me, I don't want you to hurt yourself if you fall again."
Alan nodded, before carefully wrapping a hand around John's bicep and hoisting himself up to a standing position. John reached across and took Alan's hand firmly before removing Alan's hand from his arm. John wrapped an arm around Alan's waist and walked out of the bedroom with his baby brother.
John got Alan settled on the couch as he heard their father clanking around in the kitchen, preparing a bowl of pudding for Alan to have as dinner. Perching on the edge of the couch, John reached across to the coffee table and grabbed one of the prescribed pain pills to give Alan before he ate 'dinner'.
"Here you go Sprout." John picked up Alan's hand and placed the single pill in his brother's hand before handing him a bottle of water to help wash it down with. "How are you feeling? Thumbs up for good, thumbs down for bad."
Alan swallowed the pill and handed John the bottle of water before giving his brother two thumbs down. Alan adopted a hang dog look as he waited for his bowl of pudding that had been promised to him. When his dad finally brought it over to him, he sat on the other side of Alan and carded his fingers through his golden blonde hair.
"It's okay son, after you eat as much of the pudding as you can you can go back to bed if you're still tired." Jeff leaned sideways slightly when Alan propped heavily into his side. Alan tiredly laid his head on Jeff's shoulder as he nodded. Sleep sounded like a wonderful thing right now. "Do you want me to break out the airplane and feed you the pudding?" Jeff referenced one of the only tools that he and the entire family relied on when Alan had been a tiny babe in arms. He'd been a picky eater and wouldn't eat unless his family imitated an airplane or choo-choo train while pretending the spoon or fork was the machine.
Alan shook his head, before accepting the bowl from his father's hand. Leaning back into the couch, Alan stared glumly at the pudding. He really wasn't hungry, but he knew he had to eat. Tapping the spoon on the side of the bowl to knock all the pudding off, Alan scooped up a smaller amount of the creamy substance. Depositing it into his mouth, Alan merely swallowed it, not wanting to attempt to move his sore jaw around too much.
"How does it taste Al?" John inquired after seeing his brother frown after putting the substance in his mouth. "Does it taste bad?"
Alan shook his head, before attempting to speak as little as was possible. "Can't taste anything"
"How come?" John was hesitant to dip his finger in the pudding to taste it… he made for his brother, not for himself. Out of all the Tracy boys, only Alan really liked pudding.
"Tongue too numb." Alan barely opened his mouth, before swallowing the substance in his mouth.
"Yeah, I guess that would pose a problem when it comes to tasting wouldn't it?" John teased lightly. He held up a hand in surrender when he received a death glare from his little brother.
"John, don't pick on your brother…he's doesn't feel good." Jeff chided as he watched Alan slip another small spoonful of pudding into his mouth. The young blonde swallowed his food half-heartedly.
"Dad, I'm not hungry…can't I go back to bed?" Alan inquired pitifully as he raised a gentle hand to stroke the side of his own face.
"Just take one more bite and I'll be satisfied, okay Al…I know you don't feel good." Jeff consoled. "Can you manage one more bite son?"
Alan seemed to put some thought into whether or not he could truthfully stomach another bite of pudding when there was no appetite to make eating possible. Nodding slowly, Alan scooped another small spoonful into his mouth before relinquishing his grip on the bowl to his father. Jeff gave Alan a side hug before standing with him. Alan leaned into his father's grip and exhaled softly at the exhaustion that ensued from the simple act of standing.
"Go back to sleep son, we'll be getting up about five tomorrow morning and flying back to the island." Jeff carded his fingers through Alan's hair and smiled sadly when his youngest son shuffled back to his bedroom, ever present frown marring his handsome features.
The alarm blared loudly the following morning awakening Alan from a drugged sleep. The pain medications the doctor prescribed to help offset the level of pain that would be present post-op had helped to keep Alan asleep for the remaining twelve hours that they'd be stateside. Raising his head, Alan reached out a hand to groggily smack the snooze on the alarm clock.
"Rise and shine sleeping beauty, it's time to get ready to fly back home." John entered the room and stood above his sleep muddled baby brother with a playful grin. Alan usually was quite the morning person, being bright eyed and bushy tailed…but not today though. He was decidedly unresponsive. "Come on, you can sleep on the jet bud."
"Lemme fin'sh story…" Alan replied. John found himself trying not to laugh at his brother sleep talking. The younger blonde apparently did that at school a lot. According to Fermat, you could ask Alan questions when he was in an almost limbo like state between awake and asleep and he'd answer the question with any random thing that flitted through his sleep muddled mind. It certainly made for an entertaining conversation.
"What story are you reading Al?" John inquired. When Alan didn't immediately reply, John asked again. The second time he was successful in getting an answer.
"Wild th'ns are." Alan slurred.
"Where the Wild Things Are? That's a good book, I used to read it to you when you were a little guy." John placed a gentle hand on Alan's shoulder and he squeezed his brother's arm rather than shake him, it assured Alan would be woken up in a better mood. All the brothers learned that Alan did not like to be shook awake, it only irritated him because he was being jarred awake.
"Hnn." Alan shrugged John's hand away and snuggled down into his pillows.
"Oh no, get up sprout…if you don't get up willingly, I have no choice but to carry you." John turned Alan to face him and grinned at the younger blonde when he glared up at the older blonde. "How do you feel?"
"My face hurts." Alan whimpered as he pressed his face into his pillows.
"Let me take a look, huh sprout?" John squeezed Alan's arm again and got the younger blonde to lift his head slightly. "Open your mouth as wide as you can."
Alan opened his mouth as wide as he dared, which wasn't very wide and he groaned at the feeling of forcing his jaw open wider than it wanted to open. John covered Alan's eyes before he turned on the lamp beside Alan's bed so he could see into Alan's mouth. The spots were noticeably swollen and so was Alan's face.
"Well, everything looks good in my non-expert opinion…no bleeding or unusual bruising." John pulled away and allowed Alan to close his mouth. "You look like a chipmunk that packed his cheeks with pine nuts to prepare for winter though."
Alan opened his eyes to glare at John at his distasteful comment. John held his hands up in surrender at the death glare he'd received from Alan.
"I'm just saying." John replied while Alan continued to glare before sagging back into his pillows with a sigh. "Don't go back to sleep, we need to get ready to go and you need to ice your cheeks. It'll help with the swelling and pain."
Alan turned the puppy dog pout on 100% and John had to resist the temptation to allow Alan to burrow back into his tunnel of bedding and resume hibernation.
"It'll be okay Sprout…now come on. It's time for you to get a shower and then you can go back to sleep in the car then on the jet." John wrapped an arm around Alan and hefted him up and out of bed. The younger sibling closed his eyes to ward off vertigo and leaned into John's grasp as he waited to feel like the room wasn't spinning any longer. "Before we go though I want you to try to eat some more pudding. I don't want you hurling on the jet from taking pain meds on an empty stomach. Deal?"
Alan nodded mutely at the stern order he'd received from John. He knew his brother was bound to make up some sort of deal, he just wished it hadn't involved food. He still wasn't too hungry as it was. He could eat, but the appetite just wasn't there.
"Okay then." John guided Alan over to the bathroom before releasing the younger boy to go retrieve him some clothes to wear after his shower. "I'll come back with some pudding and then after you eat breakfast I want you to rinse with some warm salt water. The doctor said that would help with the swelling."
Alan nodded mutely at what he was being told and he'd accepted the clothes that John handed to him. He glared exasperatedly at John before he stepped into the bathroom to get his shower, in hopes that it would not only awaken him but hopefully it'd take some of his pain away also.
Scott walked down to the hangar with a small smile on his face. John hadn't yet told him or any of their brothers just what he had planned for them but Scott figured that John wasn't the most creative when it came to coming up with revenge or pranks to play…that was Alan and Gordon's specialty; so he figured he and his brothers were safe.
Waving from where he stood, he greeted his dad and two younger brothers as they disembarked the jet. His smile fell as he got closer to his family and noticed Alan's face was notably swollen and that he seemed to be either really tired or he really didn't feel good. His face was about as white as a sheet and Scott walked forward and gave his one and only baby brother a comforting hug…all intents of teasing Alan coming to a screeching halt.
"Hey Sprout, how was the flight?" Scott rubbed Alan's arm as he hugged the younger boy.
Alan didn't speak, he just remained silent with a groan as a sufficient answer.
"That good huh?" Scott pulled away to look at Alan and noticed that Alan looked like he'd stuffed a bunch of marshmallows in his mouth.
"He slept most of the flight. His mouth was burning after John had him rinse with some salt water." Jeff walked forward and placed a hand on Alan's shoulder as he tried to be of some comfort to his youngest child. "John…why don't you take Alan on up to his room and get him settled in bed, I'm sure the last thing he feels up to doing is sitting up and talking."
John nodded before draping an arm over Alan's shoulder and walking away whilst dragging his baby brother with him. Scott followed along as he watched Alan stumble along tiredly. Glancing over his shoulder, Scott noticed his father talking on his cell phone. It was obvious their father had a business meeting he had to attend to.
Scott waited patiently in the hall for John to exit Alan's bedroom. He'd already visited slightly with Alan and figured their dad was right. Alan was really in no condition to talk let alone want company, so with a light tousle of the hair, Scott left John in with Alan as the older blonde went about doctoring Alan up on the prescribed pain medications.
"Hey, what's going on?" Scott turned to greet his immediate younger brother and he smiled at his brother.
"Nothing, just wondering how Allie's doing." Scott glanced over John's shoulder at Alan's bedroom door.
"He's okay. His mouth is really hurting him right now." John glanced over his shoulder at Alan and with a sad smile he walked away, leaving Alan to sleep off the effects of his latest dose of pain medication.
"So…we don't have any rescues going on right now and the guys and I are feeling a little bit bored." Scott reached back and casually scratched the back of his head as he walked beside John. "What do you say to showing us the footage you got of Allie?"
John thought for a few minutes quietly before shaking his head.
"Nah, I think I'm good for now." John separated from Scott and started to head up the stairs towards his own bedroom but Scott stopped him.
"Hey! I thought you'd show us the dirt you got on Allie." Scott wasn't kidding, he was bored to tears.
"What's in it for me?" John turned to face Scott, standing at least a couple feet taller than Scott since he was raised up on the stair case. "And Alan?"
"Name your price." Scott folded his arms across his chest as he accepted the challenge that John was posing.
"I will, when I figure it out. In the meantime though, I think I'll hold onto that footage." John smirked at Scott and walked away with a gleam in his eye. Oh he would get the ultimate revenge on the guys for forcing him to blackmail Alan.
Virgil walked down the hall and passed Alan's bedroom and came to a screeching halt when he'd swear he'd heard a whimper of pain emanate from the inside of the closed bedroom. Knocking lightly on the door, the medic opened the door to see a lump curled up under Alan's blankets. The room was practically pitch black inside.
"Allie?" Virgil moved into the room, leaving the door cracked open so he could use the light by the hallway to see by. As he crept closer to the bed he couldn't help but notice how it seemed like Alan was either crying or in so much pain that his body was wracked with chills. His body was noticeably quivering. "Allie, what's the matter?"
Alan didn't answer, choosing instead to quiver rather harshly. Reaching out a hand, Virgil found Alan was only running what could be considered as a low grade fever – but that was normal especially after surgery. Raising his wrist to his face, Virgil called John.
"What's going on Virge?" John's voice inquired, sounding somewhat preoccupied.
"When was the last pill you gave to Alan?" Virgil sat on the bed and lent some of his body heat to Alan by reaching around his quivering frame only to pull him closer.
"It's almost time for his next dose…why?" What Virgil said seemed to catch John's attention. "Why do you ask?"
"I think Al needs his next dose of pain meds Johnny. He's shaking and I don't know where you put Al's pain medications." Virgil looked around at Alan's night stand and couldn't find the pain medications.
"I have them with me. They're really strong and I didn't want Alan to take too many." John sighed. "I'll be right there."
"Okay." Virgil remained where he sat and just rubbed Alan's shoulder and back comfortingly as he shivered. Virgil could feel the light fever through Alan's cotton t-shirt and he winced. He remembered when he'd gotten his own wisdom teeth removed that he too ran a low grade fever, like all of their brothers did. "It's okay Alan."
Alan gave a sniffle, completing the puzzle for Virgil. Alan wasn't shivering due to fever, he was shivering because of crying – the pain obviously being too much for the youngest to bear.
"Allie, can you let me take a look at your sutures?" Virgil gently caressed Alan's back, trying to comfort the boy.
Alan gave a weak shake of the head, but Virgil wouldn't take no for an answer. Without really trying, Virgil managed to flip Alan onto his back and sure enough Alan's cheeks were streaked with tears, his face red from a combination of crying and fever and the shivering becoming all the more noticeable now that Alan lay on his back rather than curled into a ball.
"Aw Allie." Virgil murmured as he leaned down and gave his baby brother a hug. He hated to see any of his brothers upset, but to see them cry? That was a whole new level of worry for the older brother. "Come're."
"My mouth hurts…" Alan mumbled through clenched teeth. Virgil used his thumb to wipe away Alan's tears.
"I know it does buddy, I'm sorry." Virgil held Alan close, trying practically anything to quiet Alan's soft sobs.
A knock at the door made Virgil turn and look over his shoulder. John stood in the doorway holding a fist loosely at his side. Turning his attention back to his little brother, Virgil continued to try to calm Alan's tears. The bed sunk slightly with John's added weight and John joined Virgil in soothing Alan.
"Here's your pill Al. Do you want some water?" John reached out and grasped Alan's hand in his, forcing Alan to release his grip on Virgil's pant leg. Slipping the pill into Alan's hand, John moved to stand up but Alan swiftly and shakily popped the pill into his mouth – dry swallowing the small oblong tablet. "It should kick in in about ten minutes okay Al?"
Alan gave a hiccup in response to John's statement. Another small teardrop slipped free from Alan's right eye as he closed his eyes tightly at the next wave of pain. Virgil used the pad of his thumb to brush Alan's tears aside once more. He hated to see his little brother cry, especially when it was so out of character.
"How's your nap been Al?" John leaned forward and palmed Alan's forehead gently.
"What nap?" Alan's bottom lip quivered as he took a shaky breath.
"How long have you been awake?" John frowned at the feel of Alan's forehead – he was still running a bit of a fever. Alan looked at his alarm clock on the bedside table.
"An hour." Alan admitted.
"But we've been home for about three hours, if your mouth was bothering you why didn't you come get a pill from me?" John squeezed the back of Alan's neck after the boy rolled over onto his side – leaving his back to face John.
"Because it wasn't time yet." Alan mumbled, trying not to open his mouth.
"The doctor said if the pain became too much to tolerate that it was okay to have one ahead of schedule. You have enough pills to last you until your gums have healed." John scratched Alan's scalp, trying to calm Alan when he gave another sniffle.
"I want the pain to stop." Alan begged, his back shuddering as he released a shaky exhale.
"I know you do buddy, try to go to sleep. The pain will go away here in a few minutes." John sympathized. He glanced over his shoulder when he felt a tap only to see Virgil standing behind him holding a cold compress for Alan's fever. "Here, Virge got you a cold cloth."
John draped it on Alan's forehead and he held his palm to it to make sure the cloth touched the too warm skin. Alan leaned into the cool cloth with a grunt of approval. Soon, the only sound John and Virgil could hear was Alan's soft snores. When Alan was asleep, both brothers heaved a sigh now that they could see Alan visibly relax.
"I wouldn't wish that pain on my worst enemies, it's bad enough seeing Alan have to deal with it." Virgil murmured as he stood to leave Alan's bedroom, but not before tucking the blankets around Alan's form.
"I hear that." John ushered Virgil out of the room and as he was the last in the room, he pulled the door closed.
A short while later found John practically running away from his other brothers who were pestering him about viewing the footage gotten of Alan while he'd been loopy on pain medications and anesthetics. Heaving a sigh, John swiftly closed the door to Alan's bedroom. It seemed to be the only place that received solace because nobody wanted to bother the sleeping teen.
"Hi John." John jumped at hearing Alan speak softly and he looked towards his brother's bed to see Alan lying on his stomach, arms folded beneath the pillow he was resting his head on.
"Hey bud, how're you feeling?" John stepped forward and sat on Alan's bed.
"Okay, mouth still hurts." Alan turned into his pillow, hoping the soft plushy pillow would take some of the discomfort after having teeth removed.
"It's going to for a while, but it'll get better soon." John smoothed some of Alan's hair back out of his eyes.
"What're you doing here?" Alan yawned before groaning with a frown.
"I'm hiding…the guys are pestering me to see the footage I got of you yesterday and I don't want to just give them a show with nothing in return. It's your comfort that allowed me to film this and I wanted to know what you wanted to make them do in return for seeing the footage – considering that you will be the laughing stock around here for a while." John rolled his eyes.
"You pick…"Alan felt too tired to pick so he was leaving it up to John.
"Well I'm about as creative as Van Gogh on anti-depressants…not very creative." John replied. "Please, I need you. Aren't you one of the masterminds behind the Terrible Two?"
Alan grinned at the almost compliment. Both he and Gordon when pulling off a prank fed off the creative energy the other exuded. Rolling over, Alan lay on his back, before speaking softly.
"We'll need Tin-Tin's help…she's good at guessing measurements." Alan smirked up at John. Texting her, Alan waited for her to show up.
"So what do you have in mind?" John sent a look at Alan when he shook his head whilst holding a finger before his mouth.
"It's a secret…at least until we know if she can help." Alan winked at John. Despite his pain, he was all for making his brothers a laughing stock – especially since the video made him one too.
"Okay…now you've caught my interest." John leaned back against Alan's headboard. "She coming to your bedroom?"
"Yeah, she'll be here in five." Alan replied softly after glancing at his phone.
"Good." John replied as he and Alan waited in silence for Tin-Tin to show up. A knock on the door had both blonde grinning.
"Come in." Alan called before gently rubbing his cheek. "Ow."
Alan's bedroom door opened not even a second later and Tin-Tin walked in.
"Hey Al." Tin-Tin strode over and sat on the bed beside Alan, taking his hand and interlocking their fingers. "How're you feeling?"
"My mouth hurts…but doctor said no kissing until my gums are healed." Alan warned when Tin-Tin leaned into his face.
"I figured that." Tin-Tin smiled before lightly pecking Alan on the cheek. "So what did you need my help with?"
"I wanted to make it impossible for the guys…minus John to be comfortable. Think you can give me and John a hand?" Alan danced around the subject of just what he wanted his brothers to have done to them.
"I'm not going to have to sneak into their underwear drawer with ghost peppers again am I? I felt bad for Gordon then." Tin-Tin stuck out her bottom lip.
"No, you aren't going to do that…you weren't my girlfriend then…do you really think I'd let you go near another guy's underwear drawer?" Alan cocked an eyebrow at Tin-Tin.
"Can't we get away from the subject of guys underwear and ghost peppers please?" John squirmed with discomfort – he didn't want to think how bad the burn had to have been for Gordon.
"Yeah…no Tin-Tin. I was just wondering if you'd fancy helping me alter some of the guy's clothing a bit." Alan smirked at Tin-Tin.
"We're not going to raise the hemline of their pants to create booty shorts are we, because while I like your brother's I DON'T like them that much." Tin-Tin adopted a pained expression.
"Bad image!" Alan covered his eyes as he pretended an image of his brothers wearing such outlandish clothing assaulted his vision. "No!"
"So what are we doing?" Tin-Tin crossed her arms as she looked at her boyfriend.
"Not that…no I was thinking that since you are due to head to the mainland, maybe you wouldn't mind purchasing a couple outfits for John and I to switch with their clothing…make them work for the opportunity of viewing the footage of me making an ass of myself." Alan smiled the best he could at Tin-Tin. "I'll pay for it all!"
"I'll chip in, what are you thinking Alan?" John was curious what his brother had in mind.
"A bit of cosplay…have Tin-Tin claim she needs to take measurements so she can get more material for more jumpsuits, then when she gets to the mainland, she go buy – not material…but costumes. Then you and me John, sneak into their rooms and steal their clothing forcing them to wear just the costume." Alan smirked. "I'll even make a couple nametags for them to wear."
"What type of costumes?" Tin-Tin began to smile.
"Flight attendant for Scott, Nurse for Virgil and…a saloon girl costume for Gordo." Alan started to chuckle. "All with skirts, the heels and stockings…won't know what hit them."
Alan, Tin-Tin and John all started laughing with force…or Alan was until his mouth started to hurt. "Think you can pull it off?"
"Oh yeah…that will be funny." Tin-Tin nodded in agreement.
Scott came out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist and strode to his wardrobe. Upon opening the doors, Scott blanched at the sight of a single set of clothing. Closing the door, Scott went to his desk to get his watch. Calling his dad, Scott tried not to blush.
"Dad, looks like I won't be coming down until Onaha is finished with the laundry…looks like I don't have an article of clothing to wear." Scott looked anywhere but at his father, whilst trying not to blush.
"Actually…I believe this might be whatever John had in store for you and you brothers. Remember you, Virgil and Gordon agreed to do something for John in return for watching the footage. Might as well go with it son." Jeff replied offhandedly.
"You want me to walk around the villa in a skirt and blouse? No thank you! I'd rather walk around naked!" Scott's eyebrows rose up.
"Please save us the mental image and just put on the skirt! Virge and Gordo are!" Alan responded over his dad's shoulder. Quickly, Alan disconnected the call and left Scott standing in his bedroom with a grey skirt of knee length, a white blouse and grey jacket…and a pair of fishnet stockings with pumps. Cursing the heavens, Scott reached into the wardrobe to retrieve the outfit. Of course John had help from Alan, he couldn't have been clever enough to come up with this on his own.
Alan covered his mouth to hide his smile when he heard the 'click-clack' of heeled pumps coming down the hall before entering the kitchen. Nudging John and Tin-Tin, they each fought not to smile. However, the three of them almost fell out of their chairs at the sight of Gordon wearing the corset, complete with the headdress, black gloves – black and red synched skirt and glittering red pumps.
"I hate you guys." Blushing as bright red as the dress he wore, Gordon held onto the counter so as to not stumble and fall. "How in the hell did girls wear these things? I can't breathe!"
"Don't think on it too much Gordo! Just be glad we stopped there and didn't have Tin-Tin do your makeup." John dropped his head down on the table as he guffawed.
"Guys! Why are you making us wear these? It's demeaning!" Virgil rounded the corner wearing white pumps, white stockings, a knee length white nurses dress complete with the nurses cap, stethoscope and clipboard. Gordon stifled a laugh at the sight of Virgil and turned around so his brother couldn't see him. "Nice dress Gordo."
"You know I could say the same thing back to you." Gordon put his hands on his hips, unintentionally completing the image of a female Gordon.
"Okay, you've got your revenge John, can we have our clothes back?" Virgil stood, gripping the hem of his dress in embarrassment.
"Nope, you have to wear this until I decide when you're done wearing it…then if you two…er three whenever Scott comes down feel like sitting through the video of Alan yesterday – then when its done you can change." John smirked at his two younger brothers that both tugged at their dresses. "Scott you can come out now!"
"How did you know I was there?" Scott asked with an incredulous tone.
"You're not as quiet as you like to think bro…just come on out and get it over with." John replied as he looked at Tin-Tin and Alan as they both grinned impishly.
"Fine." Scott heaved a sigh.
Gordon coughed and Virgil bit his lip when Scott stepped round the corner. Tin-Tin hid her head in Alan's shoulders and Alan dropped his head onto the table. John just stared stone faced at Scott.
"That looks good on you Scott, really brings out your girlish figure." Alan snorted a laugh and John finally laughed.
"Yeah, yeah – laugh it up yuk boy." Scott replied as he stood before his brothers in a shorter than knee length skirt and pumps.
"Oh I will." John smiled at each of his brothers.
Onaha entered the room and did an about face. "I don't want to know."
"So, what did you want us to do in these little get ups John? Just stand around and look pretty?" Scott stumbled and would have fallen if it wasn't for Virgil steadying him. "Thanks."
"No problem." Virgil moved over to sit in his seat so he could eat breakfast and found that crossing his legs – one ankle on his knee just wasn't appropriate so he crossed his legs like a girl would before tugging on the skirt part of his dress. "Can I at least have a pair of sweatpants John?" Virgil simpered.
"No, because I know that you guys will do your best to make Alan uncomfortable over his actions in the video – so its only right that you guys are made equally as uncomfortable." John reasoned.
"That's not fair John." Gordon replied as he followed Virgil's lead and crossed his legs. "Hmm, these fishnets make my legs look good."
A clanking of a spoon rang through the dining room and everyone looked at Alan as he choked on his oatmeal – Tin-Tin smacking him on the back. John handed Alan his glass of milk after Alan managed to catch his breath. When everything calmed down, Alan threw an orange at Gordon.
"That's for trying to kill me!" Alan leaned into Tin-Tin's touch as she kept her hands on his back.
"What? I was just making an observation." Gordon looked down at his legs again. "I think they look good."
"I don't want to hear how a pair of pantyhose accentuates your better features Gordon…that's just wrong." John replied. "Come on; let's take our breakfast to the movie room so we can watch the footage. Before we hear any other comments about how the dress makes Gordon look sexy or something."
Alan and Tin-Tin took their breakfast and hurried from the room. They wanted to have the camera ready for the guy's close up when they entered the movie room.
"You know this dress doesn't make me look as sexy as it does make Virgil look like a naughty nurse." Gordon mentioned just before he received a sharp whack to the head.
"Shut it Gordon." Virgil replied with a blush that took up his whole face.
"Hey dad, why do they call 'em wisdom teeth? They don't make people smarter…do they?" Alan sat in the back seat of the car and groaned when John reached back during a red light when Jeff was able to hold the phone so he could dab at his brother's chin which had drool coursing down.
"Course not kiddo, wisdom teeth come with age." John replied as he reclaimed his phone back from his dad.
""So…if I don't have wisdom teeth anymore…will I begin growing down?" Alan inquired as he made face at the camera. "I want some pudding dad."
"You can have pudding when we get back to the apartment Alan." Jeff replied as he continued to drive. "Why don't you take a nap?"
"I'm not tired…" Alan whimpered even as he scrubbed at his eyes.
"Just try kiddo." John turned to speak softly to his baby brother.
Scott, Virgil and Gordon just laughed and laughed and laughed at all of Alan's antics. Alan just sat by Tin-Tin, face burning red even as his girlfriend teased him about their supposed marriage the other day.
"Okay, maybe wearing a dress wasn't so bad – especially after watching that." Scott laughed as he wiped tears from his eyes. "Whoo, you are one funny kid when you're gorked out on pain pills Alan."
"Thanks, I'll try not to make a habit of it." Alan replied as he ducked down behind Tin-Tin's shoulder.
Jeff entered the living room at the sounds of his sons hooting with laughter and pinched the bridge of his nose at the sight of three of his sons wearing women's clothing.
"Just don't make a habit of it." Turning around, Jeff left the room not wanting to hear an explanation from his sons as to why they are wearing what they were wearing.
"That was awkward." Gordon said as he chewed on his lip.
"Like trying to put on pantyhose wasn't?" Turning to Tin-Tin Virgil spoke. "I don't envy girls, this stuff was a pain to put on."
Tin-Tin just smiled before patting Alan's leg.
"Let's continue shall we?" John said as he un-paused the video.
"Totally." Scott said with a grin.
"Dad, please shut off the camera." John requested as he knelt outside the car before standing with his little brother hanging limply from his back.
"Don't you think Alan will want to know how he made it from point A to point B?" Jeff inquired, smile obvious in his voice.
"No, we'll tell him he walked." John said as he slipped his hands beneath Alan's thighs to better support the lanky boy. "Geez, he's heavy."
"What do you expect? He's sixteen and almost five inches shorter than you, I think it's safe to say he is heavy." Jeff replied.
"Hey, I don't think I'm that heavy." Alan said with conviction.
"Don't always trust what the scale says Alan…You are by no means light. You were pure deadweight." John said as he draped his arm over Alan's shoulder.
"I still don't think I'm that heavy." Alan responded with a pout.
"Course you're not Alan." Gordon replied with a smirk.
"Can we continue? Or are you going to just keep interrupting?" Virgil asked as he tugged on the hem of his dress, willing it to grow a few more inches in order to cover his knees more.
"Sure." John hit play again.
John held the camera as he filmed Alan sitting up in bed, just after having eaten some pudding for dinner. John asked Alan something indistinguishable and Alan's response was to flip John the bird.
"Tut-tut Alan…didn't Scott teach you better?" Gordon asked with a grin.
"Oh you should see the kind of stuff I learned." Alan said as he laid his head on Tin-Tin's shoulder, liking that her hair acted as a pillow for his still swollen cheek.
The brothers continued to watch the video, uneventful dribble-drabble that made them smile, but not guffaw like they had been doing. When the video ended, everyone – but Alan had a smile on their face. Alan couldn't stand the act of smiling as his face was still noticeably swollen and smiling made his face hurt more.
"Well, as thrilling as today has been – I am going to go change. I need to regain some of my lost masculinity." Scott said as he stood, tugging the skirt which had hiked up slightly back down.
Gordon stood too as he offered a hand to Virgil. As the three brothers walked away – to return to their bedrooms in order to change. However, John couldn't help himself.
"I feel pretty, oh so pretty…" John, Alan and Tin-Tin howled with laughter as Scott, Virgil and Gordon ran from the room as best as they could in heeled pumps whilst covering their ears. "Feel like running and dancing for joy!"
~End~
A/N: So I hope you all enjoyed this latest installment to Wisdom Matters. I think its safe to say that the writer's block I had was due to depression - but that has since been eliminated since I left my last job for a newer better job which actually makes me happy and I don't dread going to each time. I actually was able to come up with something I felt was halfway decent enough to share. Got the idea from one of my college friends who was talking about dressing up in a corset for one of the local midnight viewings of Rocky Horror Picture Show reenactment this Halloween. Personally I wouldn't want to see him in a corset, but it's his prerogative.
~Angel~