This is going to be a mix of views. Also the partner climb is a Jacob's ladder which for those who don't know is like a giant rope ladder but the gap between rungs gradually increases and it takes two people to get anywhere from the 4th rung up. The aim is to both reach the top.
Thanks to bubzchoc (again)
_my limit
Part 4:
Scott's P.O.V.
I wake to a voice pulling me from sleep. "Come on Scott, please. Just open your eyes. Please." I can't work out who it is but they sound desperate. Another voice, female, joins, first directed to the original speaker "Hey, let me try," And then towards me, "Hey Scott. I thought you would like to know that while you were out of it Gordon and Alan painted One Barbie pink." I snap my eyes open and instantly regret it with light flooding in. I squeeze them shut again, my head pounding. "What? They did what?" My voice is oddly weak and the yell comes out as a whimper. "Easy Scott" the first voice commands. I now recognise it to be Virgil. "Easy, you're going to be ok."
(Yes, Barbie is also still going because there are some franchises you just cannot kill.)
Third person P.O.V.
With Scott awake (despite him being weak, tired and pale with bags under his eyes) the majority of the household felt the crisis was over but Virgil and John were as angry as 1000 raging bulls. How dare their eldest brother let it all build up into one almighty tsunami of emotions all over again? How dare he scare them again? How dare he let it happen when they were actively saving lives in dangerous places all around the world and collapsing in any one of them could lead to both his death and the deaths of the people he was saving as well? How dare he let himself get hurt when he was all they really had left? Grandma was there but Scott had always been the parental figure for Alan and they guess for the rest of us as well. Virgil knows he saw it in the arctic but Scott seemed better after their heart-to-heart. Guilt washed over him as he speculated that, if he had looked closer he would have realised Scott was more compromised than anyone realised. Did Scott even realise how much they needed him there? How much he meant to them?
Scott flopped onto the sofa with his brothers safely in his arms but they knew they were protecting him too.
They were in a huge hug.
Memory:
Grandma's P.O.V. (Fri evening)
From the minute I had entered the house I knew something was off. Scott hugged me in a clingy, childish way like he needed to be protected cared for. I didn't react however because Scott wouldn't want me too. I knew it from the self-restraint behind the hug.
Then there was the house itself. It was clean and orderly (minus Fort GA in the living room) but it was not cleaned the way my son cleans and more the way Lucille cleaned.
His brothers also seemed shocked that he had homework to do but that was probably acting. At his age Scott would have piles of homework they would see him do.
At dinner the boys were all showing off what they did and it surprised me that it seemed natural that they were after Scott's approval. Like that was how it happened every night. (It was but grandma doesn't know that).
Scott also put them to bed with practiced ease and all the boys listened to him the way a child listens to their parent.
Scott's reaction to going to Discover was odd as well. It was as though he was calculating the benefits it would have on this brothers rather than the fact that he could go to have fun.
The next morning when Scott didn't wake up quickly I saw how pale he was and how predominant the bags under his eyes were. Then there were Alan's comments about Scott being both the first one up and waking quickly for Alan's nightmares. There was also the issue of Scott being Alan's comfort and not my son but I didn't think I needed to consider why. The picture was becoming pretty clear. At Alan's voice he instantly roused lifting an arm for Alan to jump under and cuddle in. It was like watching a well-practiced routine preformed every night. The others jumped in too and it was very cute.
As we drove I mulled over everything. It formed a clear, disturbing picture. Scott was playing parent to 4 younger brothers and probably had been for just over a year. My son and I were going to be having a long talk about this.
Virgil's P.O.V.
I had just finished scaling a wall and I made my way over to the Jacob's Ladder. I was partnered with a girl and we chatted whilst climbing:
Girl: Hi I am Tinusha but everyone calls me tin-tin. I am 12 years old.
Virgil: Nice to meet you. I'm Virgil and I'm 8.
Tin-Tin: Nice to meet you too.
Virgil: Great, my brother Scott is watching us.
Tin-Tin: We better get to the top I guess.
We both raced up laughing. On the 12th rung I found myself slipping off and was scared beyond belief. Then she did something he never thought someone who he had just met would do. She caught him. She also pulled him up. He was shocked to say the least. She didn't seem like the kind of girl who would instinctively catch someone else forgetting the harnesses.
Tin-Tin's P.O.V.
Virgil had just sat back up again. He was a nice kid and I saved him on instinct. He looked up at his brother and I followed his gaze. Scott was sitting with relief on his face and she knew from that look he wanted to thank her.
Then he fell.
Virgil yelled "Scott!" and began to climb down. I followed him. We pushed through the crowd and pleaded to be let through. The confident kid I had met not 10 minutes beforehand had disappeared and when they finally let us through he looked crushed. Scott was surrounded by medics. "Tin-Tin could you please go to the Aquarium and find my Grandma Ruth and brother Gordon. Please."
I ran and soon found them. I explained everything quickly and I was sent now to the planetarium to find John and Alan. I explained everything and they came too. We all ran to the main area and were met with the paramedics who were moving Scott to a hospital. The brothers went too and I wave goodbye to Virgil and wished them good luck.
France (Jeff's P.O.V.)
I have just left a meeting that will push my company into global knowledge. I cannot wait until I get home to see my sons. It feels like it has been ages. Now that I think about it has been ages since I spent time or even talked to them. I will make it up to them soon. I know leaving Scott in charge was pressurising him but he was fine. So are all my boys. I am sure of it.
The Hospital (John's voice):
It's my fault. I should have helped him. I should have talked to dad when we were on the roof 3 months ago. I should have taken on some responsibility. Now the exhaustion and stress have caused him to collapse and the force when he hit his head has according to the doctors sent him into a coma. I hug Alan who keeps asking for Scott. "Johnny, where is Scotty? I am scared and I want him. Where is he?" It didn't stop and I couldn't do anything but hug him and Gordon and Virgil and hope to heaven that Scott would be ok because I sure as hell don't know how to deal with all of them. That's his job. Grandma is calling dad and I wish I had done something, anything because I don't want dad to go through this. He will recede into stress filled grief and I cannot manage like Scott has. I don't know what to do.
France (Jeff's P.O.V.)
My mother's call was unpleasant and horrifying. It went like this:
R: Jeff to need to come back now.
J: Mother?
R: Scott's in hospital and we can discuss why later.
J: Why not now?
R: Because it's going to be a long conversation about you leaving them.
J: About me… How did you find out?
R: There are clues Jefferson. I am not blind.
Then she hung up.
Oh god, this is not good!
3 months later (Virgil's P.O.V.)
"Hey Scotty" I slipped my hand into his and I smiled sadly knowing Scott could hear me but seeing Scott lying on the Hospital bed breaks my heart. Grandma has been looking after us but Alan has gone silent. He hasn't talked since Scott went into a coma. Psychologists say its normal but it's abnormal to sit in such a quiet house. Even Gordon's stopped messing about. Our family seems broken. "Please wake up Scotty. I want to show you my art and Gordon's medals and John's report and I want Alan to talk again so please wake up. Please Scotty we need you." His fingers clenched mine and he groaned. "Please come quick." The Doctors began to help and soon I was sitting beside a smiling Scott with the others coming.
The other boys were soon on the bed in a giant hug.
"I love you Scotty" Alan smiled "I really do"