-1Life can certainly be cruel. The family member who's life has been in the balance was my grandma and well we just found out she may only have 6 months to live and thats being gracious, I heard someone say possibly only a month. All I have to say as a word of advice is life comes at you fast and it is never fair.

Anyways enough of my sappiness, I'm sure you don't really care. Thanks to all of you who have reviewed. I've wanted to thank all of you individually but time hasn't granted it, I'm sorry. I thank you all so much. Without your words this story wouldn't go on.

One thing I wanted to say was in this chapter Dan talks to Jeff about Alan's condition and I'm sure as you notice he doesn't remain completely professional. He is Jeff's friend remember so naturally he will be open and be honest with him about what he thinks. You will probably already understand this but I just wanted to clear this up.

Well enough so on with the story...

Facing The Challenge

Challenges...

They can big or small.

Over-powering or gracious.

But most of all...

They can be mind breaking.

The biggest thing is to remember strength...

strength to over take the challenge

strength to be willing to except help

and

strength to win the battle.

You can do anything you put your mind to, it's that simple.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Dan walked into Alan's room to find Jeff resting in a chair near his son's bed in a restless sleep. Walking up to his old friend he gently shook the man's shoulder. "Jeff?"

Jeff awoke with a jolt, instantly looking at Alan. "He's okay, I have the results of the tests," Dan said softly. Nodding, Jeff followed Dan over to a far corner of the room, both settling at a table that was surrounded with two chairs.

"Here, take this," Dan said with a smile handing the tired father a cup of freshly brewed coffee.

"Thank you," Jeff said gratefully.

Opening a file, Dan looked up at the creator of International Rescue. "I know the last twenty-four hours have not been easy for you and your family, and I wish I could make it easier but I can't. Jeff, I never expected Alan to regress to such a state. Medically it doesn't really make sense which only makes this even more frustrating," he said with a sigh. Pulling out a piece of paper he showed Jeff a scan of Alan's brain. In the middle of the x-ray was a circle indicating the area of worry.

"So, what does this mean?" Jeff asked.

"Well, in a way it can mean a lot of things. I have some answers for you right now but others will depend on Alan and what signs he shows. The CT showed as you see a small mass of blood build up. There are no signs of hemophilia nor are there any signs of any damage to warrant a subdural hematoma. However, I am afraid that seizures may be a common occurrence until his brain heals."

"What about a stroke? You said earlier that he may suffer a stroke."

"I cannot ruled this out completely because the body can be funny sometimes but as of right now I don't foresee any signs of Alan suffering a stroke of any kind. Now, I have ordered a prescription that will help control Alan's occurrences of seizures-"

"-so you are saying he will have them?" Jeff asked interrupting him.

"Sadly, yes I do see them as being a problem. The concussion does not seem to be the cause of this, though," Dan said, pausing as he handed him another sheet that showed the waves of Alan's heart rate and blood pressure. "After reviewing this information several times I believe whatever your son was dreaming about upset him enough that it was too much stress on his body. The drastic change from lowering his heart rate to suddenly increasing it to a dangerous level caused something to rupture. As you see Alan was off the charts."

"Is there anything we can do to help his brain heal and keep the seizures under control?" Jeff asked, as stared at the papers before him. There was just so much to take in.

"The best thing for Alan is to keep him calm. The more stress his body experiences the worse his chances are for a seizure. Now I'm not saying that this will be the same all the time. He may have episodes for no reason, for that I have no explanation. For at least the next few months things will be touchy as far as how his body will react. He could have quite a few episodes and then he could go a long time without any. The best thing I can tell you is to make sure he takes the medication, which will help big time." The stout man watched Jeff as he slowly took in all the information he was relaying. This isn't fair, he shouldn't be going through this. Sighing, Dan placed a comforting hand on Jeff's. "I'm so sorry this has happened. I never wanted this to happen to your son. If I could change time and go back I would. None of this is fair to you. You have done such good over the last decade Jeff and none of you deserve this."

Jeff looked up from the paperwork before him. "I know you never meant for any of this to happen. This is just a little bump in the road that we have to face. We've faced worse in some cases, I guess you could say. This is just one challenge out of the many that goes along with the package of being a Thunderbird. I just wish Alan didn't have to be a prime example of the price we have to face as part of our job. I'm just happy he's alive, Dan. I came so close to losing him and I never want to feel that way again. You saved him and don't forget that. This may be a set back but you are still helping all of us get through it and I thank you for that." Taking another drink of his coffee, Jeff met the eyes of his son's physician. "Now, I do have one favor to ask of you."

"And what is that?" the stout man asked suspiciously.

"I want you to go home to your family and get some sleep. In a couple of hours it will be morning and you'll have to be back here. You said it yourself Alan is fine for now so go. If anything happens you're only a phone call away and I have faith in your staff."

"I don't know, Jeff. I-"

"No, I want you to do this for me. You look exhausted and I hate to be the one responsible for your collapse so go home. I'll see you in about five hours, alright. No arguments, go," Jeff said walking his friend to the door. "I really appreciate everything you have done and sleep is one thing I can give back to you, so go."

"Alright, I'm going. If anything goes wrong make sure they page me and I'll be her asap," Dan said as he smiled at his friend and walked out the door.

Smiling with satisfaction, Jeff walked back to his son's side. Moving a stray hair away from his son's face he sat back down in the chair beside the bed. Taking Alan's hand in his, he frowned watching the sleeping form of his youngest son. "Things are going to be tough for us Alan, but you have to be that fighter I know you are. You can't let this get you down. The Alan I know wouldn't let this stop him and I know you can show me that you will get through this. I have faith in you son. Never forget that."

-TB-

The next morning Alan awoke feeling very hazy. Slowly opening his eyes he noticed no one hovered over him like before. Looking as best he could he noticed someone standing near the window, admiring the morning sun. "Dad?" he called, realizing how pathetic his voice sounded, but was glad to notice his voice was no longer constricted by an oxygen mask.

Turning away from the window, Jeff smiled. "Well good morning. How do you feel?" he asked sitting down in the chair beside the bed.

"The usual, except I feel really groggy," his son responded, closing his eyes for a moment.

"That's probably a side effect from the sedative."

"Sedative?"

"Do you remember anything from last night?" Jeff asked, watching his son.

"Not really," his son recited sadly. "The only thing I remember is having the worst dream possible."

"Whatever you were dreaming about signaled a dramatic effect in your body. I will explain more of that later. If you don't mind me asking, what was your dream about?" Jeff said, taking Alan's left hand in his.

Alan sighed, he really didn't want to relieve the horrible nightmare again. Looking to his father he met his eyes. "It was more a nightmare than a simple dream. It was the Hood... he was inside my head and I couldn't get him out. You were all trapped on five and I couldn't do anything about it but watch. It was horrible, Dad. He haunted me every second. He said-" Alan stopped as he fought a sob that threatened to release. Jeff met his eyes, pleading him to continue. He squeezed his hand tightly, comforting his son.

"He blamed you for Mom's death. He kept saying that it was your fault that she died and that none of you loved me, but what hurt the most was when he said I had failed you," Alan stated, as a tear rolled down his check.

"Oh, Alan. It was just a dream, remember that. Nothing that was said was true. This family loves you so much. Never doubt that, alright," Jeff said hugging him. "You could never fail this family," he said into Alan's ear. "You've made this family very proud of you."

Alan smiled at his father. "Really?"

"Yeah," Jeff smiled. "Each of your brother's have been wanting to tell you that but they just haven't found the right time. I'll let them fill you in more when the time is right, but you stepped up. Each of them are very proud of their baby brother."

Alan remained silent. His brother's were actually proud of him? After so many years of trying to prove himself to them had he actually done it? This was something he had waited years to hear. Life seemed just right at this moment but he knew it wouldn't last this way. He sensed that something was wrong. Looking back at his father, he met the man's eyes. "Dad, something happened last night. Tell me what happened, I know something is wrong."

Jeff smirked, looking away from his son for a moment. He couldn't get anything past him. "Alan," he began. He had no idea how to tell his son he would suffer seizures for the next couple of months. How do you tell your son that he has a battle to win that he never even chose to fight? "Alan, your body has been put under a lot of stress over the last twenty-four hours. The dream you had last night sent your body into an extremely stressed state that enabled your heart rate to increase greatly to a dangerous level. As you know, previously your heart rate had already dropped, well the two combined caused something to rupture."

"What do you mean rupture?" Alan asked shakily. He wasn't so sure he wanted to know the truth now.

Jeff positioned himself next to Alan on his bed, taking both of his son's hands in his he looked up to meet the solid but fearful eyes of his youngest. "When your heart rate increased your body was put under too much stress. This resulted in a build of liquid, a blood clot, in your brain. You're smart enough to know that blood clots can cause some problems. Well, you're no different than anyone else in this situation, Alan."

"Dad, please tell me. I can handle it," Alan spoke. He was getting some what frustrated as he noticed his father was dancing around the real issue.

Jeff sighed, looking at his son. "Do you remember anything happening when you had some tests done last night?"

"No. Last night actually seems like a blur. I don't really remember much of anything."

"Alan, when you were having one of your tests your body began to convulse. You suffered a seizure last night, son. Dr. Jamison believes that within the next few months your brain will heal itself and you will return to normal."

"What do you mean I will return to normal? What's wrong with me?" Alan asked starting to feel panic rise within him. He had suffered a seizure last night and he couldn't remember it. What else was there?

"I'm sorry, I'm not being quite up front with you am I? Alan, there is no easy way to say this. I don't even know how to say this. The seizure you had last night will not be your last. For the next couple of months you will most likely suffer more episodes-"

"-episodes? Are you saying that I will have seizures on a regular basis?" Alan spat out as he couldn't believe the words he was hearing.

"Yes, but Dr. Jamison has ordered some medication that will help you for the next couple of months. This is only temporary Alan, remember that. Within time your brain will heal and this will be behind us. Promise that you won't let this stop you Alan. I know you. Something like this is a littler speed bump that you will trample over in no time."

"I..I just don't understand, Dad. How did this happen? I thought I was fine, banged up, but fine. Now I'm going to have to live the next couple of months in fear of not knowing when or where I may lose control of my body. I'm scared Dad. How do I do this?" Alan sputtered.

"Sshh, everything will be okay. It's alright to be afraid, Alan. Quite frankly I would be worried if you weren't. You won't be alone in this. I will be there for you and so will your brothers. I've already spoken to them and they wanted to be by your side right now, but I told them they needed their rest. So you see, you won't be alone at any moment through out the next few months. When you do suffer an episode someone will be there no matter what. We will get you through this as a family, alright. You're strong Alan, don't forget that. You've always been able to do anything you put your mind to. This time is no different. You have the spirit of your mother in you and even though she isn't here right now she is with us at this very moment." Jeff hugged his son tightly. "We'll get through this Alan. One step at a time. This may be one of the biggest challenges you have faced but we'll face it together. No challenge is too big for the Tracy family and you and I both know it."

Alan remained in his father's arms. He just couldn't believe that things had turned to this. Life had changed within a matter of a day for him. He had felt like he was on top of the world. He had saved his family and proved to his father that he could be worthy enough of being a Thunderbird, but now everything had been crushed by one incident, a dream. Even now the evil being called the Hood haunted their family.

"Alan, you okay?" Jeff asked worried at how silent he was.

"I'm fine, I just can't believe it. I guess I'm just in shock," he said looking up at his father. "So, where are my brothers now?"

"Right here," Gordon said entering the room as his older brothers followed.

Each entered looking at their father, acknowledging the gesture that showed Alan knew of his condition. "How's it hanging, little brother?" Gordon perked, hoping to lighten up Alan's mood, but was shot down.

"I've been better," was the simple answer Alan gave.

"You won't be alone in this, sprout. None of us are going anywhere," Virgil said, patting his leg.

"I know, its just that this is something I didn't expect I would have had to deal with. I guess I'm going to be more of a pain to you guys now than I was before, huh? I guess that's me."

"Hey, don't think like that. Didn't we have this conversation earlier. We're your family and we're supposed to give each other trouble. This challenge doesn't mean that you will be a pain it just means that we will have to give you more attention, which was something we should have done in the first place, Alan. I'll admit, I haven't been the easiest on you, but what you did yesterday was amazing, Al. We definitely underestimated you when it came to Thunderbird duty. You've made your big brother proud," Scott said.

"Exactly. Alan, no matter how many times it has seemed like we just wanted you out of our hair and didn't want to listen we just didn't understand one another. There has been a lot of miscommunication going on. I know you have felt cheated out in a lot of stuff because you're the youngest. I also know that in some ways you feel like we are unfair about a lot of the organization stuff because of your age, and that is true but we only want to protect you Alan. If anything would happen none of us would forgive ourselves. This mishap put us in a spot we never want to experience again. So you see, sprout. We all are proud to call you our brother, one because you saved our tails up in five and two because we love you and nothing will ever change that, not even what is happening now," Virgil stated, speaking the words all of them had discussed earlier. They all knew they needed to talk to their brother and make him understand their ways before things got out of control. At least this was one challenge that had hopefully conquered.

Alan smiled. "Thanks guys, that means a lot."

"Well it's the truth and you better believe it," Gordon retorted, but frowned as he noticed something still bothered him. They each noticed that there was something still on the youngest Tracy's mind.

John knew just what would help his little brother. "Guys, can I talk to Alan alone for a bit?" he said next to Gordon.

"Sure, we'll be right outside," Jeff said eyeing his son with question. He wondered what he had in mind to get Alan out of his stupor.

"Thanks," John said with a smile of gratitude. "We won't be long."

John walked over, occupying the now vacant spot his father had held. "You know we don't get to talk much with me being up in five all the time, so I thought this would be the perfect time," he started, frowning as he noticed that Alan remained fixated with a spot on his sheets. "It's okay to be scared, Alan. The uncertainty can be overwhelming, but you can't let this eat at you. Trust me, I was quite scared yesterday up in five. Not knowing what was going to happen, well I'm sure you can imagine."

"You were really scared?" Alan asked quietly. He found it hard for any of his brothers to be afraid. They were Thunderbirds. Thunderbirds are supposed to be fearless and strong.

"Yeah. When the alarm went off signifying the projection of the missile I froze. I didn't know what to do. Sending out the Mayday seemed like it made the most sense, but in all truth I had no sense of thought or time. When the missile had actually hit I was so scared that I was going to die right there. Even though I know Dad and the others rushed to five as quick as they could the uncertainty of not knowing if the power source would hold out until they got there was frightening. You know, usually being alone up there hasn't bothered me, but yesterday it was the worst. I would have done anything to have someone up there, telling me that everything was going to be alright. So you see, even with all the training and years of experience up in five I still got scared. Being scared doesn't make you any less of a person and none of us will think any less of you. I know that's what's bugging you, Alan. Am I right?" John stated, placing his hand over his little brother's left hand.

Alan looked up from the spot he had become so fixated with. "Yeah," was the simple response he gave. "I guess I just have to accept that this will take time."

"Exactly, Alan. Like both Scott and Virgil said, we are all going to be there for you, even me. I don't know when repairs for five will happen, but if I have to go back up before things clear up you can talk to me anytime and I will check up on you regularly. So, don't worry no one will desert you. This is something the family will face together. Come on, we're the Thunderbirds. There's nothing we can't do," John said cheerfully, nudging his brother's leg slightly.

Alan laughed. "That's exactly what Dad said, except not as cheesy."

"Hey, it made you laugh didn't it," John said with a smirk, squeezing Alan's hand.

"Thanks, John," Alan said, returning the gesture.

"I thought you could use a talk. Well, I better go get the others. They're probably wondering what we're planning. Oh wait, sorry I'm the wrong brother, that's you and Gordon," John said with a chuckle.

"Hey, that's not fair. Gordon is the whole master mind. I'm innocent," Alan said cheekishly. However, the horns holding up his halo didn't fool his older brother one bit.

"Right, let me tell that one to Scott and Virgil. I'm sure they'll believe you. I'll be right back," John said, closing the door behind him. A small smile of satisfaction crept across his face. He hoped he had given his brother some comfort. The next couple of months were going to be hard on all of them, most of all Alan.

TBC...

Well, good or bad? Did you like the twist? You'll have to let me know. Honestly I really appreciate all the support from you all so let me know what you think.

Next chapter is the last chapter and I will reveal some parts for the upcoming sequel... so stay tuned!

See ya next chapter, and hopefully in a better mood

shadowfox8