Disclaimer: I do not own the Thunderbirds.

CHAPTER 4

Scott darted up the stairs after Alan. He needed to get to the bottom of this mess before anyone else got hurt. Alan must have known Scott was following, because he attempted to slam the door in his face. Luckily Scott was faster. Jeff had disabled Alan's door lock after they discovered the pills.

"I don't want to talk to you." Alan stated bluntly as Scott entered the room.

"Well that's tough, because I'm not leaving." Scott could always handle Alan's temper even if he wasn't a huge fan.

Alan sat down on the bed and tried his best to ignore his brother. Scott was over being mad at Alan for his actions. The only thing Scott could muster was concern. "What happened, Sprout? Tell me what's going through that insanely stubborn head of yours."

Alan still ignored his brother. He wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. "Are you having trouble in school?" Scott guessed. "No, that can't be it. You got A's and B's other than history."

"Are you having a rough time with your friends?" Scott was drawing at straws.

The younger boy shook his head. He didn't have friends anymore thanks to the resident history professor. "Talk to me, Alan. Tell me why you're doing this to yourself. I know you better than anyone." Scott had practically raised Alan after their mother had passed away. "This is about more than boarding school." Scott glanced at his brother's gashed hand. It had to be causing him pain.

"I've already said everything I need to say." Alan answered tonelessly. If they really wanted to know they should have listened to him before. How many times had Alan begged them not to send him back? They always ignored him.

Scott was glad he got a response for once. "You haven't said anything, Sprout." Scott reasoned.

"I don't want to talk. Please leave." Alan pleaded.

Scott raised his eyebrows at Alan's determination. Alan had always been stubborn and secretive even as a child. He placed a hand on his arm in an attempt to connect. Alan jerked away and moved to the other side of the bed. "Don't touch me!" Alan screamed.

Gordon and Virgil had both witnessed the same reaction previously. When did Alan develop this phobia of being touched and why had he never noticed before? Gordon though it was out of anger, but the fear in Alan's eyes spoke to the root of the problem.

"Has someone been hurting you at school?" Scott's heart was beating a mile a minute.

Alan's eyes snapped away to ignore the question. Scott knelt down on his knees in front of his brother. "Who is hurting you Alan?" He rephrased specifically. Virgil and John had been beating around the problem too long for his liking. Alan obviously wasn't going to open up unless he was forced.

Alan still refused to look at Scott. The older boy could see the tears swelling in his brother's eyes. "Please go away. I can't talk about this." Alan whispered.

Scott hesitated at his brother's voice. It was broken and tormented. Much like when he was crying on the bathroom floor yesterday. "Was it another boy? Is there a kid messing with you?" He tried.

Alan shook his head again. What if Scott got mad at him like Dr. Lancaster? "Was it an adult?" His mind instantly snapped back to the professor slapping his face in anger.

"Stop," Alan muttered as he closed his eyes.

The older boy hesitated at the reaction. He was getting somewhere. "Was it a professor?" Scott repeated firmly.

Alan didn't answer, but tears running down his cheeks were an answer in itself. Scott got up from the floor without thinking and made a beeline for the door. Someone was hurting his little brother. An adult was hurting Alan. Everything flipped on like a switch.

Alan's hand stopped him in his tracks. "You can't tell anyone." The younger boy stated.

"If someone is hurting you, then I have to tell Dad." Scott argued calmly.

"Please don't say anything to Dad it will only make things worse." Alan begged.

Scott was at a loss for words. He knew he couldn't let Alan go back to school. "If we don't tell Dad he will send you back to school again." Scott attempted to reason.

"I can't have Dad look at me that way." Alan cried.

"Look at you what way Sprout?" Scott was confused.

"I don't want him to look at me like you're looking at me now, like I'm broken beyond repair." Alan babbled.

Scott felt all of his resentment melt away. "I'm sorry, Allie. I'm just worried about you." Scott reached out to hug Alan. This time Alan allowed the embrace for a few seconds before pulling away. He knew his brother needed to hold him.

"He didn't touch you in that way, did he?" Scott inquired remembering Virgil's reference to PTSD.

Alan backed away from Scott and sat down on the bed. "Please don't make me go through it again." The boy sobbed.

Scott sat down on the bed next to him, but refrained from touching him. He could tell how wounded Alan was by the discussion. He had been suffering in silence for a long time. Alan immediately started gagging and ran to the bathroom. Scott followed close behind and sat with him while he emptied his stomach into the toilet. The older brother rubbed his brother's back as he finished vomiting. Scott was going to kill whoever did this to his baby brother. He didn't care if he had to storm the school and question ever single professor. This monster wasn't going to be allowed to walk free while his brother was suffering.

After the breakdown Alan had fallen asleep. Scott lifted Alan up and carried him to his bed. An adult had molested his little brother. An adult that was supposed to be protecting his brother had hurt him in the worse way imaginable. When Scott was certain that Alan was asleep he brushed the hair from his forehead and placed a kiss on his temple. Before he left the room he pulled the blankets over his little brother. "Goodnight, Allie."

"Is everything okay? You were up there awhile." Jeff asked.

The others were still gathered in the living room. "It's the furthest thing from okay." Scott admitted.

Scott told the others of his conversation with Alan and its revelations. "How long has it been going on?" Jeff wondered.

"I didn't ask and he didn't say, long enough for him to flinch every time sometime someone touches him." Scott informed.

"And you didn't think to ask?" Gordon accused.

"Of course I did. Do you think I liked learning that my little brother was hurt that way? Alan could hardly look at me. He was so scared of me he vomited. I couldn't force him to go through it all again." Scott confessed.

"Unfortunately, Alan needs to Scott. It may be the only way he can move on from it." Virgil suggested.

"Did you at least get a name?" Jeff hoped that he had.

Scott shook his head. "I think it's a professor at Wharton's, but I can't say for sure."

"Alan failed history. If someone was hurting you and using your grade as leverage wouldn't you keep your mouth shut?" Gordon guessed.

"We can't just throw accusations around boys. The only way we're going to get to the bottom of what happened is through Alan." Jeff resolved.

Alan woke up the next morning feeling better than he had in the past week. Alan couldn't believe he had told Scott. It was finally over. Alan had refused Professor Lancaster and he had failed him. Alan was free at last and now it was going to be dug up again. Alan knew his father wasn't going to stop until he found out the truth.

There was a knock on his door causing him to jump. "Alan, are you awake?" Jeff asked before entering the room.

"Stop looking at me like that." Alan looked away instantly.

"We need to talk." Jeff said sternly.

Alan avoided his gaze. "I can't do this Dad." He started to move towards the door. The youngest wanted to be anywhere, but alone with his father.

Jeff blocked his way easy enough. "I'm not asking you to do anything, Alan. I just want to talk." He reasoned.

"I don't want to talk about what happened." Alan stated firmly.

"We need to talk about it son." Jeff wasn't going to let Alan go without the truth.

Alan sat down on the bed in defeat. He buried his face in his hands. "Scott already told you everything."

"You didn't tell him everything." Scott had told them as much.

"There's nothing more to say." Alan lied.

Jeff could see that Alan was hiding and had been hiding for a long time. "You were molested, Alan. It wasn't your fault." Jeff was trying to understand what was going on in Alan's head.

Alan shot up instantly. "You think I don't know that." He let his anger get the best of him. "I'm the one who has to live with what happened. Not you. So you can spare me the lecture."

Jeff took a deep breath before speaking. "I wasn't going to lecture you."

"That's all you ever do is lecture me." Alan shouted.

Jeff held up his hands to calm Alan down. "You're right, but I'm ready to listen now." He promised.

"I wanted to tell you, but I was scared." Alan confessed.

"You were scared that the man would hurt you more." Jeff added.

Alan shook his head. "That didn't even cross my mind."

"Then what were you scared of?" Jeff was confused.

"I didn't think you would believe me and I knew you wouldn't let it go." Alan's voice shook at the confession.

"That man hurt you Alan. You honestly believed I would to leave things as they are, not file criminal charges?" Jeff grew more concerned.

"I need to forget about it." Alan admitted. "I was afraid if you found out you wouldn't let me move on."

"What are you talking about?" Jeff questioned.

"Charges would be filed against him. You wouldn't have stopped. I would have been called to testify." Alan babbled.

Jeff placed his hands on Alan shoulders. "I would have listened to you. I want to get you the help you need." Jeff insisted.

"Then don't make me do this anymore." Alan pleaded. "I just want to forget."

Jeff felt like he was seeing Alan for the first time. Alan would rather forget what happened than face his fears head on. He had learned a long time ago not to trust anyone. Alan didn't trust Jeff with his safety. If he did than he would have come to them.

"If this man hurt you, then he could be hurting others." Jeff explained. "I have to report it."

Alan looked betrayed. "Please don't."

"What if he hurts someone else?" Jeff inquired.

Alan lost control. "What about me?" He started throwing things out of anger. "It's always about someone else with you. We have to do the right thing. Tracy's always do the right thing. Be a hero. Make good choices. For once, can't I just be enough?"

Jeff ran his hand over his face at the outburst. He couldn't seem to find the words. It was obvious that Jeff and Alan were not going to see eye to eye on the situation. Alan didn't want Jeff's help. In Alan's eyes he was untrustworthy.