Thank you so much for the lovely reviews, they really meant a lot. Special thanks to Whirlgirl, thank you so much!

Well, after being blackmailed by a certain person, here I am with an update! I've had so much fun writing this, I think mainly because so many people have been involved with discussions about it. At the same time, it certainly has been very stubborn!

Silver Bee, see if you can spot the line that is in it for you. A hint? Something you said the other day! (And no, I don't mean stabbing Alan in the head!) And you are right, what is it with me and John's shoulder? I think I might actually hurt John more than I do Scott, stuff is always happening to him on the side!

Angel-Sue76 – please, please, please, don't talk to Sam1! Well, just not about what you are threatening! And Sam1 – don't tell her anything! Or I'll think you're ganging up on me! *pout* And thanking you for putting up with me moaning about this today!

And as for you, sister of mine, where have you been hiding all of those ideas this whole time? I was impressed!

Ok, crazily long A/N over, enjoy!

"Virgil, come on!"

"I'm trying, my legs aren't as long as yours." Trying to hide the fact he was getting seriously out of breath, Virgil jogged a few steps, desperately attempting to keep up with his brother's long strides. One glance over his shoulder had Scott slowing down, smiling apologetically at his soaked brother.

"Where are we going?" Despite his best efforts, Virgil was unable to hide the fact his teeth were chattering. Fixing a smile onto his face as Scott peered at him, the young artist seriously hoped that Scott hadn't noticed. He knew it was pointless, however. Scott always noticed.

"Maybe you should go back."

"No."

"Virg..."

"You'd have to take me back, I don't know the way from here," Virgil invented stubbornly, knowing that Scott wasn't going to believe him; the house was still in view. It had the desired effect, however, as his brother merely sighed, seemingly accepting his argument. Silently handing Virgil the flashlight, Scott grinned at his apparent confusion. With his hands free, he reached over; pulling up Virgil's collar and doing his zip up as far as it would go, trying to keep his kid brother as dry as possible.

"Scott, I am thirteen," Virgil instantly whined, sounding far younger. Secretly, though, he was touched. It was nice to have Scott acting like the big brother rather than the enemy for once.

"I know you are, kiddo," Scott responded with a rueful grin, taking the torch back again. Oh, but did he know that his brother had just become a teenager. That was one of the main reasons behind the tension that had been resting over the household.

"And I'm certainly not a kid!"

"Mm hmm. Come on, short stuff."

Grumbling under his breath, Virgil followed his brother, hoping that Scott didn't realise he was trying to keep as close as possible. There was no way Virgil Tracy was afraid of the dark. Tracys did not get scared, that was something his dad had always taught him. He was just feeling slightly uncomfortable about being out in the middle of a thunderstorm in the pitch black with only Scott's flashlight leading the way.

It's more than Johnny's got. A snide voice whispered in his head, causing a stab of guilt to be sent into the teenager. He knew that the arguments between him and Scott were getting John down, he hated it when any of them argued. In fact, considering John's loathing of their fights, it was quite a miracle that he got on so well with Gordon, the kid was always making trouble deliberately.

"Scott?"

"Yep?"

"Do you think John is scared?" Coming to a stop, Scott turned, frowning down at Virgil in the dim light of his torch. The kid's eyes were wide, and despite the fact he was trying to hide it, he was clearly scared. Running a hand distractedly through his wet hair, Scott sighed. This was all his fault. If only he had made more of an effort with his brothers, John wouldn't be out here and Virgil wouldn't look like it was taking all his courage not to simply bolt.

"Course not. You know how much Johnny loves the dark. He's probably having a great time. Which is more than he'll be having when I catch up with him." Adding the last part under his breath, Scott tried to smile reassuringly at Virgil, only knew by the glare that the younger boy was shooting him that he had heard it. Striding past Scott, Virgil made to set off into the darkness, determined to find his brother. Unfortunately for him, in comparison to some of his recent stormings out, it didn't have the desired effect. He instead got three paces in front of Scott, decided that he really needed the flashlight if he was going to take the lead and had to wait for his brother to move pass him again. As if knowing what Virgil's intention had been, Scott, instead of moving past him, fell into step with him.

"Don't take off on me, Virg, I can't lose you too." Frowning at the way Scott's voice seemed to tremble slightly, Virgil peered up at him.

"Are you cold too, Scott?" He asked innocently, causing his brother to smile gently down at him.

"I'm fine, kid." Swallowing hard, Scott turned his attention to back in front of them, determined to keep them on the path. The weather had been so uncertain lately that Scott was sure that the original path would no longer be there. He was cold, no matter what he told Virgil, but that certainly wasn't the only reason for the shivers making their way up and down his spine. John was out here somewhere, in the cold and wet, adamant that Scott didn't care. And Scott knew he had let it happen. He had pushed the boys away from him, and it was only now, surrounded by the blackness that his light was barely making an impression on, he realised.

"Virg?" Waiting until he had his brother's attention, Scott looped his arm around the artist's shoulders, suddenly noticing that Virgil had clearly hit another growth spurt.

"I'm sorry." And in that instant, Virgil was no longer the rebellious teenager determined to have his own way. He was the little brother again. Pressing into Scott's side, Virgil slipped his hand into his big brother's.

"Me too, Scotty." One hand holding tightly onto the flashlight, the other holding just as firmly onto Virgil's hand, Scott led the way into the darkness of the field. Silence had fallen between the two boys, but unlike the moody silences that had often fallen between the pair of them, this one was the way it used to be. Silence not because they had nothing to say to one another, but because words were not needed.

They had not been walking for long when something caught Virgil's eye, making him tug on Scott's hand frantically. Up until now, he had wondered where he was being lead too, curious as to how Scott knew John had even crossed the fields. Now, however, as the shadow of the barn came into his sight, he knew. John had had tonight marked on his calendar for ages, it was obviously some star gazing thing going on that Virgil didn't understand. But as the rain still managed to trickle its way down his collar, he knew why John would have come out. He had only experienced one of the nights out in the barn once, just before their mother had died. Jeff had taken John and Virgil over, knowing that they needed an escape from the younger two, but Scott hadn't joined them. A small smile tugging on the corners of his lips, Virgil seemed to remember his brother had been grounded at the time. He obviously wasn't the only one that had no problem in expressing his feelings then.

"What's so funny, Virg?" At Scott's innocent questioning, Virgil couldn't help it and burst out laughing. Up until now, he had always had memories of Scott doing as he was told, being the good son. It was partly why he had been so annoyed at him lately, everything felt like it was Virgil's fault. But the memory, having sprung unbidden into his mind, was a welcome reminder that Scott was only human, that he too had rows with their father as much as Virgil did.

"Nothing," Virgil practically spluttered, trying to bite back his laughter. Despite the comforting companionship that had fallen over the brothers, Virgil knew that it wouldn't last long if he mentioned what he was finding so amusing, and he had no desire for another argument with his brother. If he was honest, he was slightly scared that Scott would leave him, taking the torch and leave the young musician in the darkness on his own. The rational part of him knew it would never happen, but the fear was stronger than reality, so Virgil kept his mouth shut.

"Come on, Virgil, tell me. What's so funny?"

"Scott, look!" In a desperate bid to divert Scott's attention, Virgil quickly pointed in the direction of the barn. How his brother hadn't noticed, Virgil had no idea, Scott saw everything. But for some reason, the older boy had been keeping his gaze on the ground. Little did Virgil realise precisely how much he had been relying on his brother to steer them in the right direction, he hadn't even noticed they had left the path as they strode towards the barns. Hearing Scott let out an audible sigh of relief, Virgil spared his brother a glance. The tension in Scott's posture – something Virgil hadn't even noticed being there – suddenly disappeared, his shoulders dropping as he rolled his neck.

"Damn, Johnny, you know how to scare a guy." Muttering quietly, Scott forgot that his kid brother seemed to have superhuman hearing.

"You weren't scared, were you, Scotty?"

"Course not, Virg," Scott replied lightly, making to ruffle Virgil's hair, but finding the action somewhat restricted by the fact the artist had his hood up. "Come on, let's get John and go home, I'm soaked."

Their pace increasing once more with the prospect of being able to get into the warm and dry, silence fell between the brothers again, Virgil practically running to keep up with Scott. Within a matter of moments, they had reached the barns, Scott automatically helping Virgil up over the fallen beam. The beam had been fallen for as long as he could remember, yet their father had never shown any desire to fix it. Not that Scott wanted him too, it was part of what made the barn theirs. Clambering over it himself, Scott allowed the light from the torch illuminate the space.

"Where is he?" Virgil muttered quietly, his eyes following the light in an attempt to find John.

"In the loft, probably," Scott responded, desperately trying to keep his voice sounding neutral. The cold feeling was once more settling in his stomach, and despite not wanting Virgil to worry, Scott knew he was being hypocritical. He just had this feeling that something was very wrong.

"Stay here, Virg, see if you can see him."

"I'm not staying down here on my own!" Virgil protested strongly, making his way towards the ladder. This time, however, Scott gently held him back.

"Virgil, please. You know it's dangerous up there." Hearing a slight pleading note enter Scott's voice, Virgil nodded, biting his lip as he watched Scott approach the ladder. In the same second, they both realised that Scott wouldn't be able to get up there and keep hold of the torch, he would need both hands to climb. Turning towards his brother, Scott couldn't help but smile when he saw Virgil hold out his hand, already anticipating the next move. Taking the torch, Virgil shone the beam of light up towards the rafters as Scott began to climb. Pausing on the topmost rung of the ladder, soon all Virgil could see of his brother was the bottoms of Scott's feet.

"John? Hey, bro, you here? Come on, John, I'm sorry for being a jerk. Johnny?"

The silence that met Scott's call, however, was almost expected by the oldest brother. The niggling feeling in his gut had begun ever since he had led Virgil away from the path, only having noticed by the light of his torch that it curved away. He knew that there was no way John would have remembered to bring out a light with him. Whilst not the most impulsive of the brothers, when John decided to do something rebellious, he certainly went the whole way.

"Scott, is he ok?" Sighing, Scott breathed out sharply, not wanting to tell Virgil that they were going to have to go back out into the rain. Climbing down the ladder, Scott said not a word until he was level with his brother again. Looking Virgil directly in the eye, Scott softly shook his head.

"He's not here, Virg."

"What?" Virgil's yelp summed up quite nicely how Scott was feeling at the moment. He had refused to let the worry dominate, being certain that they would find John here, go back home, probably have a yelling match and that would be the end of that. Now, however, despite having a feeling he roughly knew his brother's whereabouts, Scott couldn't help but feel very young again. He wished Jeff was here, his dad would know how to fix things.

"It's alright, I think I know where he is. You remember the path turned away?" As Virgil shook his head, Scott gave up. "Alright, never mind. Come on, let's find John."

A few moments later, and it was a very subdued pair that re-emerged from the barn. All thoughts of soon being warm and dry, safely back at home with their brother had disappeared in the short time they had been in there. Now they were faced with the task of simply trying to find John. Scott knew the surrounding area well, his grandfather had taken him on many `adventures` when he was significantly younger, but John had never shown any interest, instead preferring to curl up with their mother with a book. Now though, Scott wished his brother had shown more interest, at least it would mean he would have been aware when the path turned away.

TBTBTB

"Ow!" John cursed softly to himself, attempting to rotate his shoulder whilst hopping at the same time. He knew this had been a bad idea, and now, stumbling through the trees, no longer even sure what direction he was going on, he was being forcibly reminded. His shoulder was aching slightly, but it was his ankle that was giving him the most grief, throbbing mercilessly. John wanted nothing more than to sit down, he didn't want to have to put any more weight on it, but as the rain trickled down his collar, he knew he had to keep moving. Any thoughts of the meteor shower had left his mind, all the blond was now worried about was finding his way home. Especially since their mother's death, John had prided himself on how independent he had become. He may not have helped Scott out with the others as much as he could have, but John certainly hadn't needed his big brother to look out for him for a very long time. Now, however, he hated that. He would do anything for Scott to be here now, tell him that he was an idiot and what did he think he was doing, running out like that? For if Scott were here, John knew that his big brother would be able to find the way home again.

Using the nearest tree as a support, John sagged against it, letting the wood take his weight. Switching his bag from his aching shoulder to his good one, the teenager pushed his sopping hair away from his eyes, sighing deeply as he looked towards the heavens, the rain hitting him in the face as he did so. Pushing himself upright, he stared about him for a moment, trying to work out what direction he had come from and where he should aim to go next. He knew he couldn't be far away from home, he hadn't even been walking for that long when he realised that he had lost his bearings, but for all John knew, he could have been in a different country, he simply did not recognise the surrounding area. Making to walk – or hobble – off again, something caught John's eye. A small beam of light was wavering in the distance, only just visible. But visible it was, and feeling a relieved smile cross his face, John set off towards the beacon that was guiding him forth.

His eyes locked on the light, John only glanced down occasionally to check where he was putting his feet, trying desperately to avoid anything that looked like it could possible snag on his sore ankle. As the light grew closer and closer, John found his speed picking up, a sense of excitement relighting his determination. His ankle, however, did not like that, and no sooner had he gone a couple of paces, he found that it suddenly gave out, causing him to once more sit rather suddenly on the floor. Pulling it into him with a hiss, John glanced up, feeling his heart sink. The light was gone.

"No! No, Scott, come on, where are you? Come and find me, big brother." His heart wrenching plea, however, only fell on his ears.

"Sitting here sulking isn't going to help," John quietly scolded himself, after a few moments of silent desperation, trying to force his heart to stop its erratic rhythm. He was logical, he could do this. First step, stand back up again.

Hauling himself to his feet with a groan, John locked his eyes on where he had last seen the light, and very slowly, began dragging himself forward again. The fact that he knew Scott was out here looking for him gave him courage, and as he stumbled forward, John suddenly realised why the light had disappeared. It wasn't that Scott had gone. No, it was because his brother was looking for him at the destination John himself had been aiming for. With a sense of purpose and the hope that he was beginning to regain his bearings, John kept his head down, walking forward with a dodgy determination as he aimed towards what he was desperately hoping was the barns.

He could not have been walking for any more than about ten minutes, but by the time John reached the barns, he felt like it had been a lifetime. He was cold, wet and sore, not to mention was suddenly finding himself feeling exhausted. He could barely even remember his reasoning behind coming out here, the meteors were certainly not this important. It seemed somewhat ironic that he had been so desperate for Scott to take notice of what it was his brother wanted to that had lead to him running out. That had certainly got the older Tracy's attention. Stumbling into the barn, John automatically pulled himself up the ladder before realising that he hadn't got here to star gaze. He had come looking for his brothers.

"No," his voice close to cracking, it suddenly dawned on the teenager that the barn was deserted. If Scott had been here, he certainly wasn't any more. Pulling himself wearily to his feet, John gazed out of the top of the barn, his eyes not really focusing on anything as he stared across the field. Sure his eyes were playing tricks on him, John blinked, peering again at a more specific point. There! It could not be denied, a light was weaving its way back across the field. With a sigh, John began to climb back down the ladder. He knew precisely where it was heading this time. Scott would have realised that John had followed the path rather than the route to the barn, and had now gone looking for him over there. Looked like John had to head right back over to where he had started.

TBTBTBTB

John had no idea how long he had been walking for this time when he decided that he really didn't know where he was. He was definitely back among the trees, of that he was certain, but the blond didn't know if he had been in this part already tonight or not. Not to mention that almost as soon as he had left his vantage point in the top of the barn, he had lost sight of the light again, meaning he had been stumbling in the dark in an attempt to find his brother. Shaking his head at the absurdity of the situation, John vowed there and then that he was never going to do anything irrational again.

"Don't you dare!" Blinking in surprise, John stopped suddenly, his heart pounding slightly faster than normal. He knew that voice. Scott was close.

"I'm going to get help." Freezing as he was about to take another step, John couldn't stop the small exclamation of astonishment slip past his lips. It hadn't even crossed his mind that Virgil would be out here as well, he had just assumed that Scott would have forbidden their younger brother to come out with him. Now feeling even guiltier, John felt a small smile slip onto his face as he heard Scott's angry retort. Even out here, in the middle of the cold and wet, his older and younger brothers were still bickering.

"Virgil, don't you take another step or so help me, I'll..."

"You'll what?" Rounding a tree, John found himself stumbling into a clearing, and out of the darkness, Scott and Virgil appeared. Scott was sitting on the floor, one hand used to hold his weight. The other hand, however, had the bottom of Virgil's coat in a firm grasp, stopping his younger brother from slipping away. The torch that had been leading John on the wild goose chase across the field was in Virgil's hand, his free one attempting to prise Scott's fingers away. At the sound of John's footsteps, both froze, their heads swivelling simultaneously, making John smirk at their impersonations of a meerkat.

"Hey, guys," John muttered softly, suddenly not finding himself able to meet their gaze. Within a second, Virgil had somehow pulled himself free of Scott's grip and threw himself at his brother, crushing the wind out of John as he subjected him to a firm embrace.

"Whoa, python, I kinda need to breath."

"Johnny, Scott's hurt."

"So are you, John." Scott suddenly announced, finally pulling himself to his feet and limping over. It wasn't his fault that the root had come out of nowhere and decided to trip him up! Running his eyes over his brother, Scott merely looked at him for a long moment, causing John to squirm slightly under the gaze before clapping him on the shoulder. Luckily for John, it was the one holding the bag, the one that didn't feel like it was developing a massive bruise.

"I'm fine." John murmured quickly. It was going to be bad enough that he had run out on Scott, he didn't want his brother knowing that he had managed to get himself hurt in the process. Especially as it looked like Scott had done the same thing. With a sudden realisation, John knew precisely where he was. They were in the exact same clearing where the root had tripped him. And judging from where Scott had been sitting, it was the same root.

"What did you do to your foot?"

"Same as you, Scotty." Finally meeting Scott's gazed head on, John swallowed hard at the look in his brother's eye. He had been expecting the seventeen year old to be angry, frustrated at the very least. What he hadn't expected to see was concerned mingled in with an apology.

"So what did you do to your shoulder?"

"What? Nothing, see..." Swinging his good arm freely, John knew instantly by the way Scott merely raised an eyebrow that his brother was not fooled for a second.

"John, you never carry your bag on your left shoulder."

"It's fine." Before Scott could make a further comment, however, Virgil got in first.

"Can we please go home now?" The quiet tone of his voice made both of his big brothers look towards him, just as he tried to stifle a yawn. He had no idea how long they had been out in the rain for, but Virgil knew that he really wanted to go to sleep now. It had to be past his bed time, and the constant trekking through the fields was beginning to take its toll on the young artist.

"Come on then, short stuff," Scott muttered fondly, looping his arm around Virgil's shoulders and giving them a quick squeeze before nudging his brother in the back. To John's amazement, Virgil didn't rise to the name, instead merely shot Scott a tired grin. Leading the way, Virgil didn't manage to get very far.

"Whoa!" His arms doing a wild impression of a windmill, Virgil felt like time was going in slow motion as the same root snagged around his foot. He was acutely aware of both Scott and John limping forward as fast as they could, but somehow –he had no idea how – Virgil managed to stay upright.

"Oh yeah, still standing." He said smugly, shooting his elder brothers a satisfied grin.

"Go you," Scott responded tonelessly, stumbling forward himself. If he was honest, it wasn't just Virgil that was feeling tired. It had certainly been an eventful night for him. Seeing Virgil stumble slightly in weariness, Scott smiled softly. Now this particular big brother role was one he had been doing for as long as he could remember. Reaching forward, he plucked the torch out of Virgil's hand and handed it to John without a word. Knowing what his brother was about to do, John took it, smiling softly. As Virgil peered towards them, confusion more than apparent, Scott bent down, his arms held out behind him invitingly.

"Hop on, kiddo." With a bigger grin than anyone had seen for a long time, Virgil scurried around his brother, clambering up onto Scott's back. With a slight huff as he straightened up again, Scott set off, John next to him and Virgil on his back.

Between Scott's navigation and John guiding them with the light, it only took the boys another ten minutes or so before the house came into view. Allowing Virgil to slither down from his back, Scott took the torch and John's bag from his other brother.

"Go and get changed and dry. I'll be up in a minute." Virgil hurried off without a word, obviously more than pleased to be home and about to be able to get out of the rain. John, however, made it as far as the back door, where he paused. One hand on the handle, he turned to face his big brother.

"Scott, I-,"

"No, John. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been such an idiot. I'm so sorry. Forgive me?"

"Who are you and what have you done with Scott Tracy?"

"Go on, star man," Scott responded with a soft laugh, wondering whether it was his imagine, but the rain appeared to be letting up. "Go and dry off."

"I am sorry, Scotty." And before his brother had the chance to answer, John also disappeared through the door. Striding forward as best as he could, Scott paused in the same spot John had. He was now convinced the rain was letting up, and glancing over his shoulder, he saw a small break in the clouds. Just visible, a single star shone through. Smiling, Scott sighed deeply before letting himself in.

"Thanks, Mom."

And believe it or not, it was not my decision to hurt Scott! I may have kidnapped him, drugged him, poisoned him, restrained him and given him more melt downs than I want to recall, but it was NOT my fault he tripped up! *looks pointedly at a certain sister* Oh… maybe it just runs in the family?

One more chapter to go after this! Reviews, anyone?