Chapter Seven

Thank you all for your reviews, and please keep them coming, I am sorry that there are now longer intervals between updates, but I am training at Tae Kwon Do three times a week, plus house hunting, but I will try my best to post at least every other day!

Chapter Seven

"Um nothing important dad" Scot stammered in response, and Virgil shot him a sharp look. Jeff looked between the two boys, puzzled about what they were up to.

"Is it your leg son, is it hurting?" Jeff asked noticing his son's pallor and the compress wrapped around his knee.

"No dad, honestly I'm fine, just tired" Scott responded, and it was true, he felt much older than his twenty odd years at that moment, every bone in his body ached and his father hovering wasn't going to help matter. Jeff nodded, not totally believing his son but willing to let it slide.

"Okay then I'll let you rest, night boys" he told them both then leaving the room.

"Scott you should have told him" Virgil hissed at his brother, not wanting to have to keep secrets from his father.

"I know, I know, but it didn't seem like the right time" Scot whispered in response, afraid that his father was still lurking and would hear what they were saying.

"And when is going to be the right time?" Virgil asked desperate not to be caught in the middle of the deception.

"Tomorrow" Scott replied quietly, and Virgil whipped his head round in surprise.

"Really?" he asked shocked.

"Yep, I am going to tell him tomorrow, too much has happened in the last year to let this come between us" Scott told his younger brother, and at that moment Virgil saw just how mature his brother was, but also how tired he looked.

"Okay, I'm glad, really. I think it's the right thing to do. Now I'm going to let you get some sleep before you pass out" Virgil told his brother ruffling his hair like he would a child. Scott shied away, but grinned despite himself.

"Thanks Virgil and I'm sorry for putting you in a position I promise I'll talk to him tomorrow and tell him everything" Scott replied.

"Okay, night hen Scotty"

"Night Virgil" Scott replied feeling happier than he had for months, that night he went to sleep with dreams of Lucy for company.

The next morning Scott paced his room nervously, he knew he was only delaying the inevitable, as Virgil was right he did need to tell his dad, but he was terrified by how his father would react. He pulled his hand away from his mouth, as he had been biting his nails down the quick in his anxiety. He took a deep breath and made hi sway into the lounge, where his father sat reading the paper and Virgil was playing a soft tune on the piano. As soon as he saw his brother enter the room, one look at the expression on his face told Virgil what Scott was about to do, so the younger man got to his feet stretched and left the room.

"Good luck" he whispered to Scott as he walked past, and Scott shot him a weak smile in response.

"Hey Dad" Scott greeted his father quietly; Jeff looked up to see his son stood beside him nervously.

"Hi Scott, what's up?" he asked concerned by his son's expression.

"Do you have time to talk?" Scott asked, still not meeting his father's eyes.

"Of course son, I always have time for you boys" Jeff responded. "Do you want to talk in the kitchen?"

"No do you mind if we walk down to the beach?" Scott asked, keen to ensure that they weren't interrupted. Jeff nodded, and the two men made their way to the beach in silence, Scott awkwardly starring down at the ground the whole way only heightened Jeff's concern. As soon as they got there Scott sat down on the soft sand and pulled his knees up to his chest.

"Okay son, what do you want to talk about?" Jeff asked after his son made no move to speak.

"Just give me a minute Dad" Scott whispered, trying to gather his courage and form the words he wanted to say to his father. Jeff nodded, preparing to wait, as whatever his son had to say to him was obviously very important to him. He sat down next to his son and the two Tracy stared out across the deep blue calm ocean.

"I haven't always been entirely honest with you" Scott blurted out of the blue, Jeff looked up in surprise.

"In what way?" Jeff asked, not sure he really wanted to know what was coming. Scott rocked back where he sat and took a deep breath to steel his nerves, and then he began to really his tale.

"Back to when I was in the Air Force I met this girl. Her name was Lucy, I met her one night in a bar, I was feeling really low at the time, really homesick and depressed, scared I wasn't living up to expectations. Anyway one night I went to this bar, and I was getting kind of drunk, and then there she was, she was so beautiful she just stood out from the crowd. When I saw her there in front of me it was like the rest of the World no longer existed. We got talking and pretty soon we moved in together" Scott told his father only pausing at the sharp intake of breath he heard from the man beside him, he closed his eyes against the pain in his heart, he knew that his father hadn't seen this coming. "The time I spent living with her was the happiest of my life" Scott continued, remembering all the fun they had had together.

Flashback

"Ah come on Lucy please let me have some more?" Scott begged as his girlfriend teased him by waving the rich chocolate in front of his face.

"Nope you have had your share and this is mine" she replied taunting him.

"Ah come on I'm a growing man I need my sugar to keep my strength up" he replied with a pout, she backed away from him still waving the chocolate and he moved like a horse following a carrot, she only stopped when she was backed against the sink. He placed one arm on either side so she was effectively trapped.

"So what are you going to do to me now Mr Tracy, torture me?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. He grinned wickedly at her.

"Maybe!" he replied then promptly tickled her. She squealed at the unexpected playful attack, and he laughed at her reaction whilst promptly taking a bite out of the chocolate bar still held possessively in her hand.

"You rotten sod" the Australian girl shouted as she chased after him, he sprinted through the house and she chased after him, determined to get her revenge for his crime. She caught up with him in the bedroom, where he waited leaning seductively against the door, with a gleam in his eye and a grin on his face.

"Oh no Mr Tracy, you are not getting away with it just with the puppy dog eyes and that washboard stomach of yours, you are going to pay" she told him as she launched a pillow at him. He didn't duck in time and it got him square in the face. He grabbed the pillow and ran towards her, tackling her so they both fell onto the bed, she giggled helplessly at his playful behaviour, but her laughter was smothered by his passionate kiss, she melted into his embrace, and the two made love on top of their bed. When they woke up some hours later they shared the chocolate bar as they sat and talked.

End of flashback

"Why didn't you tell me?" Jeff asked bringing Scott out of his reverie.

"To be honest Dad I ask myself that same question ever day. Things were going great we had been together for two years, and I was planning on telling you and the family, even thinking about marriage. Then I got a call from you about IR. I couldn't force her to give up her life and come and live out of here, without telling her why, and you were so strict on the secrecy thing that I ended it. That is the one decision I have regretted every day since" Scott told his father.

"I'm sorry" Jeff told his son. "I'm sorry that you didn't feel you could tell me at the time, and I am so very sorry that you lost so much to follow my dream. What has made you tell me all of this now?" he asked confused by his son's timing, Scott looked down at his feet and took another breath before replying.

"You recall the rescue a few days ago to a fire on a horse station? Well when I got there I bumped into Lucy, it was her Grandma's place" Scott replied in one breath.

"Did she recognise you?" Jeff asked quietly, and at Scott's nod continued. "Do you trust her?"

"With my life and my heart" Scott replied, meeting his father's eyes for the first time.

"That's good enough for me, but why do I get the feeling that there's more?" Jeff asked not enthused by the idea of someone else knowing IR's identity, but trusting his son's instinct.

"Well when I said I was visiting an old air force buddy, well that was Lucy, and I want to see her again" Scott replied, and closed his eyes in anticipation of his father's reaction.

End of Chapter Seven

That's it for now folks, well at least it was longer!! I should be able to post again tomorrow night!!! Please R+R!!!!!