Alan exhaled nervously as he listened to the dial tone. He was hesitant to speak with Scott, especially after leaving the way he had the night previous. He hadn't done that in a long time, not since getting grounded by his mom for failing a history test. Last time though he didn't get plastered. This time he did.
"Hello?" Scott answered on the second ring and Alan was hoping Scott wouldn't.
"Hi Scott." Alan said, voice small in the shame he felt for walking out the night before.
"Thank God Alan, you had me so worried." Scott said, not at all angry with his brother for leaving when he couldn't handle the stress. "Where did you go?"
"I walked out to Jared's, spent the night when I realized how late it was." Alan said, offering a small fib. He didn't want to tell Scott that he'd been imbibing.
"Why didn't you call me to let me know? I'd have come out to give you a ride." Scott asked, curious to why his brother didn't call. He had on other occasions.
"I didn't want to come home, I was still too mad and I figured it'd be best if I was away until my temper cooled." Alan said, giving a half truth. He had been incredibly angry the night before and it was no secret that Alan had a scary temper when his buttons were pushed.
"Why didn't you at least call me to let me know where you were? I'd have given you space if I'd have known you weren't ready to come home yet. You had me so worried." Scott said, being unnaturally open with his baby brother.
"To be honest, I shut off my phone when it wouldn't quit ringing and I forgot I turned it off. I didn't want to answer the phone when I was mad, we both know that I'd have said something I'd later regret." Alan said truthfully. The last time Alan had taken a call when his temper was flaring, was after another Gordon wheedling incident and Alan had yelled at John, not realizing it was the older star gazer that was calling and had told him off before hanging up. John refused to talk to Alan for about two weeks.
"Just promise me that you'll at least try not to do that again. I don't like not knowing where you're at. I was ready to call the cops to file a missing person's report. That could have CPS on my ass faster than flies are attracted to honey and you and Mae would be taken from me. There'd be no guarantees either that the two of you would be kept together. I don't want you two taken from me nor do I want the two of you to grow up without the other. You've got to be more responsible than you were last night. I'm not mad at you, I can understand that you needed to clear your head, but please don't let it happen again." Scott asked, voice pleading with Alan to not only not get mad but to please see where Scott was coming from.
It was a low blow to bring up CPS, considering it'd been Child Protective Services that had taken Alan from their dad and them and placed him permanently with their mom. But it was necessary. Scott didn't want his brother taken from him again and he didn't want to lose the building relationship he was forming with his baby sister either. So as low as it was, it had to be said.
"I promise Scott." Alan said, honestly trying to be amiable with his brother. It wasn't Scott's fault either, Gordon had struck a nerve and it'd made Alan mad.
"I'll let you be for now, but just give me a call when you're ready to come home. I'm going over to get Mae, she spent the night with Mrs. Perkins. Later, I want us all to sit down together as a family and have dinner. No fighting, no verbal barbs, just dinner." Scott said, trying to make Alan understand that he wasn't mad, nor did he want the other brothers to get mad at Alan for leaving when he couldn't handle the pressure any longer.
"Okay, I'll let you know when I'm ready to come home." Alan said as he prepared to hang up with Scott.
"I love you Alan, I'm glad you're okay." Scott said, voice soft as he relayed how much Alan meant to him. It made Alan feel a knot of emotion build in his throat before he spoke up.
"Love you too Scott, and I'm sorry for scaring you." Alan murmured, blushing as he saw Chaz and Jared watching him.
The brothers hung up after that, Alan pocketing his cell phone.
… … … … … … …
Scott exhaled, placing a hand over his heart which was thrumming with relief. He was feeling much better now that he'd heard from his brother. Before the call, he'd feared that something bad had happened to Alan. Perhaps he'd run away, been kidnapped, hit by a car and left for dead, you name it he'd imagined it. Upon opening his eyes, Scott was met with three other gazes that were looking at him curiously.
"Was that him?" John asked, not needing to further specify who it was that 'him' had been.
"Yeah, he's out at a friend's place. Said his name was Jared." Scott said, seeing his other brothers looking relieved at the news. He spared at glance in Gordon's direction and he felt untrusting of his brother's relief. "Now that we know where Alan is, I'd like to lay down a few ground rules."
Scott had adopted a tone which his brothers had all learned to recognize as Scott's authoritative voice. When motioned to sit down, all the brothers sat down and Scott looked at each one of them.
"Considering what happened last night, I'd like to remind you all – this includes you Gordon. Alan is not what is keeping me here. If I recall hearing you say last night Gordon, I'm the adult in this house and I could pack up everything and move us all back to the island. That won't be happening. It wasn't Alan who begged me to stay, I was the one that made that decision to remain here until Alan's graduation." Scott said, looking at his brothers with a stern gaze. "None of you are to bring up remote schooling to Alan, moving to the island or him being the reason we're still here. We're here because I say so. If you've got a problem with that, then you take it up with me, you don't go and attack Alan for my decisions."
Scott looked from Virgil to John and finally to Gordon. He was waiting for someone to flip their lid and he was anticipating Gordon who'd been the original person that had rocked the boat. And he hadn't been far off from his assumptions that it'd be Gordon that'd have a bone to pick with him…again.
"What was that Gordon?" Scott asked, seeing Gordon shake his head with something mumbled under his breath. "I didn't catch what you said, do you have a problem?"
"I said, I don't understand why you're bending over backwards for his whims. He's sixteen and he's got you wrapped around his little finger. What happened to us? Your other family?" Gordon asked, displaying uncharacteristic anger.
"How many times must I say that just because I am here with Alan and Mae, doesn't mean that you'll never see me again?" Scott asked, growing irritated with Gordon and his immature demands that Scott pack up their little brother and sister and move them halfway around the world to suit their needs as a family and as International Rescue. "I'm not going to be the bad guy that takes Alan away from his friends and the life he has here. As much as I hate to say it, this is his home, not on the island. He's lived here and in New York, we let Alan be taken from us by child protective services and this is all he's known for the last six years"
"But you're the adult here and you're staying here to keep him happy! What about us? Doesn't our happiness matter to you?" Gordon asked sharply, his copper eyebrows narrowing in frustration.
"Of course, your happiness matters to me, but I've let Alan down once before and I don't intend to let it happen again! Why can't you see it from my perspective? Do you think I wanted to have custody of my own baby brother and sister? Do you think I wanted to leave you guys behind while I play happy families here, in a place I'm as unfamiliar with as I am with operating Thunderbird Five? Do you think I wanted to pay for our mother and step-father's funerals, burial costs, the mortgage or various other bills? What about the expenses to get Alan's teeth straight? He needs braces in case you haven't noticed! Do you think I wanted any of this? I don't! I wish the states hadn't given me custody of Alan or Mae! I wish they'd given it to dad! He's a dad! He understands the kinds of things I don't!" Scott said, voice shaking with tension. His fists were balled tightly and vibrating with indignant anger. His eyes were misted over as he allowed his anger to get the best of him. "You don't know a damn thing about how I'm feeling! Not only do I have to worry over things I never thought I'd deal with in my whole life, but I thought you of all people could understand that I'm not able to uproot the two kids that have been placed in my care and my care alone!"
Like it was timed, Scott's cell phone rang. He glanced at the face of his cell phone, seeing a picture of Alan and Scott at the roller skating rink. The brothers had taken Mae out to practice skating, going with Chaz and his mom to make it a bit of a party. Scott had his arm draped over Alan's shoulder and Alan was mirroring his brother's stance – smirking at the camera when Rebecca took a picture of them. He noticed the time and it was surprising that it'd already been two hours since he'd last talked to Alan. Needing an escape from the Spanish Inquisition, namely his brothers – Scott answered the call. He spoke with Alan for a few moments before he stood up and retrieved his keys from the hook by the garage door.
"I'm on my way, stay on the line with me and give me directions please." Scott said as he glared in Gordon's direction and motioned to his brothers to stay with a single palm facing them. 'Save it!' He couldn't be around any of them right now. He was too infuriated with Gordon. Heading into the garage, Scott climbed into the vehicle and turned over the engine. He opened the garage door and backed out onto the street before driving off in the direction that Alan said to go.
… … … … … … …
Scott felt tired after driving for a few minutes. Not tired enough to fall asleep, but tired like he'd been fighting an unending battle. He had Alan on speaker phone while he drove, following the directions Alan gave until he was driving down paved road on the outskirts of town. It was only two miles away from their house, so Scott knew it wasn't far away.
He pulled to a stop next to a little cabin. It was one of the manufactured cabins, made for a small family or someone that lived alone. The door opened and Alan walked out with the boy that Scott recognized as the one that introduced Alan last night at the Lean Bean. Alan accepted a high five from Jared before he turned to get in the car.
Scott remained quiet as Alan fastened his seat belt before backing up and turning the car around so he could drive back the way he came. Alan seemed to sense his brother's frustration and he apologized.
"I'm sorry for walking out on you all last night. I shouldn't have done…" Alan started but was cut off by Scott.
"It's not you I'm mad at Al." Scott said as he drove back into town. He contemplated going to town. He couldn't face his brothers barely twenty minutes after pouring out his frustrations to them all. He chose not to speak further on the matter, He reached across and turned up the volume on the radio. He needed to fill the void where speech wasn't possible without making either brother angry all over again.
A song came on the radio, and made Scott think. It seemed coincidental that this song would come on. Scott had a million reasons for not returning to the island, but the only actual reason was right here in the car with him. It wasn't that Scott didn't want to go back to the island, he really did. But he felt like staying was the key to making Alan open again. His brother had been guarded since Scott moved in to take care of them. A prime example of Alan's distrust of Scott was his secret that he played music.
If Scott were being honest and not the big brother that wanted to pick and tease his brother for liking something so, unnatural to him. He'd have to tell Alan how proud he was of him. When the song came to an end, Scott decided and pulled in to a burger joint that Alan had turned him onto.
"What're we doing here Scott?" Alan asked, curious about his brother's decision to stop.
"I'm not ready to go home yet, I just figured we could go in and share a boat of fries and get a couple milkshakes." Scott said, telling his brother without telling him that he was too frustrated to go home and deal with their brothers.
"Okay." Alan said, not even bothering to argue. If his brother wanted a milkshake after the stunt Alan pulled the night before, Alan could humor him.
Scott and Alan went in, ordering a large boat of fries and two medium milkshakes. Chocolate and strawberry. When they were given their order, the brothers went to sit in a corner booth. Sitting across from the other, they dug into the fries.
"Want to tell me what happened?" Alan asked, knowing his brother well enough to know that Scott who normally never craved sugar, liked milkshakes when he was stressed out. Call it comfort food or what you want, but Alan knew Scott was upset just by the milkshake and boat of fries.
"Gordon." Scott said, telling Alan once more without telling him what had him so riled up.
"Why is he so mad at me Scott?" Alan asked, his blue eyes looking all of six instead of sixteen. "I mean, we never used to fight like we did last night. He's like a different person, one I don't know anymore."
Scott didn't know what to say to comfort his brother. He didn't know what was up with Gordon either. The aquanaut was never this bad when Scott went into the Air Force, nor when John and Virgil went away to college. It was almost like he was jealous of the one on one time Scott and Alan were getting.
And just like that, the epiphany came to him about why Gordon was acting unruly towards Alan and Mae. Prior to the funerals, Gordon seemed like his old self. In the days leading up to everyone's imminent return to the island sans Scott, was roughly around the time that Gordon started acting out. Scott couldn't help but to scrub his hands down the front of his face as he came to the realization that Gordon wasn't mad or acting like a brat without a reason. He was jealous.
"I think I know why now." Scott said, peeking through his fingers at Alan who had paused in dunking a fry in his chocolate milkshake. His little brother had a single blonde eyebrow raised in question before popping the chocolate milkshake covered French fry into his mouth to chew slowly. "Gordon's jealous of you and Mae."
Alan was so shocked at the prospect that his own immediate older brother was jealous of not only him but the precocious four-year-old Mae, that he began to choke. Coughing in attempt to dislodge the fry that went down the wrong way, Alan was forced by Scott to raise his arms above his head, while the older thumped him on the back to get the fry out of his airway. When he did quit choking, Scott made him take a sip of water from the glass that one of the counter clerks brought over when the younger started to choke.
Alan waited a beat or two after his choking incident to speak and when he did, he looked at his brother with confusion. "Why is he jealous?"
"I don't know, I wish I did." Scott said as he reclaimed his seat across from Alan and returning his attention to his milkshake.
"I don't know what he'd be jealous over. We had the same mom and we lost her, he's at least got a dad that loves him. I lost the only dad that gave a damn about me." Alan said, shoulders slumping.
"Dad loves you too." Scott said in hopes of stopping Alan's thoughts before they became wild. He didn't bother correcting Alan's language. He'd been a little more lenient when it was just them. He did correct Alan if he cussed around Mae.
"He's got a funny way of showing it. All I ever get are blank birthday cards with a fifty-dollar bill in it. Not calls, no surprise visits, no gifts that randomly show up just because. Brandon at least tried to include me. When he and mom started dating, he was the one that suggested we all go when they'd go on a date to the movies and that we could see something age appropriate. Brandon didn't care that he had some bratty ten-year-old following him and his then romantic interest around. He'd stopped by on my birthday with a cupcake and surprised me with tickets to a Wichita Thunder's game. Got me and him a matching jersey, took me to the game and we had a blast. Every year for my birthday, even after Mae was born, he'd made it a tradition for us to go to a sporting event. Mom encouraged it and I always had so much fun." Alan said, telling Scott how much like a dad Brandon was to him. "My own dad never once took me to a game or a racing event. Didn't matter if I asked to go, dad was always too busy or just wasn't interested."
Scott understood where Alan was coming from sadly. He'd seen it firsthand after their mom and dad divorced how Alan had become like a chore, being foisted off on either him, John, Virgil or a nanny. Alan rarely got to see their dad even when he lived with them. There'd been countless times that their dad had to be reminded to put a fifty in a birthday card for Alan before it got put in the outgoing box. Scott was unaware that their dad wasn't writing anything in the cards. He'd always been the one to remind their dad of Alan's up and coming birthday.
"I just can't understand what Gordon could be jealous over. I lost both my parents in that accident, got to keep Mae and got you but…he at least has a dad." Alan said, looking miles away in his thoughts. "As far as I'm concerned, I'm an orphan. Both Mae and I are.
It was that very thought that made Scott have another epiphany. Gordon was jealous over Scott being here and not there. It had to be that. And to add another thing to his imposed to do list, Scott would need to try to get his dad more involved in Alan and Mae's lives. Scott wasn't going to allow Alan to be kept on the sidelines. Not anymore. Alan was still their dad's son and whether their dad liked it or not, Mae was his daughter now. Maybe not in the eyes of the law, but she was sister to each of their dad's sons so that made her his daughter by Scott's standards and it was time to get their dad involved in child-rearing again. No more of this, "I'll call you on your next birthday" crap. Sure, their dad had paid lots in child support for Alan, but that didn't mean he could remain removed from Alan or Mae's lives. He was Alan's father and as God as his witness, he wasn't going to let their dad walk away from Alan, not again. Not like last time.
A/N: So here you have it, Scott's feeling towards having his hand forced into becoming legal guardian to his younger siblings as well as his determination to convince his dad to get involved again. Sorry if Scott seemed O/C, but then he's been under a lot of stress and that can lead to blowing up with unreasonable actions or things said.
I'm still working on Rising From The Ashes, I've been busy with maintaining my grades in anatomy and physiology. Hope to get something posted soon, don't know when though. This adulting thing really sucks, all this responsibility to maintain grades and GPA's.
Sad-Blue-Eyed-Angel 2010
