Upon reaching the boat house, Jeff decided to call Brains and have him bring their new anti-gravity stretcher down, after making sure that Fermat would not come with him. Jeff didn't
want the young boy to see his friends in this condition.
The trip to the infirmary was uneventful, once the realized that they had to move the boys together, since Gordon refused to let go and Alan began screaming every time they tried to
pull him away. Jeff, Scott, and Virgil working together, lifted both boys onto the stretcher, and again onto one of the medical beds, once they reached the infirmary.
Max, after assessing his options, decided to sedate them both so he could check them over. Scott and Jeff wrapped their arms around both boys, ignoring the fearful cries of the
youngest and straining against Gordon's silent struggling, while Max injected them both with a very mild sedative. Thankfully, the sedative was fast and, untangling the two, Max
placed Alan on a nearby bed.
Max, slipping the cloth from Alan's hands, quietly handed it to Brains while the others were occupied with shifting Gordon into a more comfortable position, asking him to run
some tests on it. Brains disappeared into his lab with a quick nod, and Max began his examination. He did not ask the family to leave, as their stress levels were already too high, and
from the looks of their faces, Max would have had a huge fight on his hands if he had.
Twenty minutes later, Max announced both boys fit, except for the shock and fatigue from their experiences. Then he disappeared into Brain's lab, leaving the family to their pain
and worry.
Jeff stood between the two beds, one hand on the arm of each sleeping son, his expression pensive and dark. Scott glanced at his father, biting his lip in worry, "Dad, what
about John. The way they were acting...I mean...you don't think..."
Jeff sighed and, looking down to hide the tears, ran his hand gently through Alan's hair, his voice full of anguish, "I'm afraid ...that's exactly what I think, Scott. ...Alan's
reactions...him holding that...piece of cloth. The things...the things Gordon said,... it all adds up to just that. ...I can't..."
Max's voice interrupted him, startling all of them "Or it could add up to a really good hoax."