~#~ (Chapter 10)

During the afternoon, Doctor Levenson, Brains and Virgil subjected Gordon to a barrage of non-invasive tests and by the time the evening meal came around they were confident that he was strong enough to be operated upon.

~#~

After dinner, Brains printed a life-sized picture of the scan of Gordon's back and pinned it on the wall above the aquanaut's bed. Alan had a queasy moment when he walked in and saw it but eventually smiled when he worked out why Brains had put it there. "You're going to put the 'after' shot beside it, once he's fixed," he murmured. "So that Gordy can see what's been done to him. That's the idea, isn't it?"

Brains stepped up beside the youngest Tracy and nodded. "That was my intention, y-yes. I-i-if Doctor Levenson manages to make things as-as-as tidy as last time then the a-a-after shot should look pretty…ah…impressive."

Alan nodded. "Well hopefully it'll work better than last time…or at the very least it needs to last longer or be…um…stronger or else Gords is going to be living in fear of the common cold. If this happens simply from coughing then…well…" Alan shrugged and Brains reached up to pat him on the shoulder.

"There's nothing s-s-simple about this at all, A-Alan," the bespectacled genius replied. "Doctor Levenson estimates tha-that the…ah…operation will take in excess of eight hours to complete."

Alan blanched. "Eight hours?"

"Y-yes." Brains nodded. "He's aiming to begin shortly after b-breakfast tomorrow a-a-and will hopefully be finished in time for a l-l-late dinner."

Alan wrapped his arms around himself. "Gee, that's…that's like all day. What if we get a call out?"

"Then Two will answer the call; piloted by John with you as his second and Scott as his third if he really needs one." Alan jumped at his father's quiet words, having been unaware that Jeff had stepped into the room behind him. "It's an odd combination of vehicles and pilots but needs must, as they say…"

Alan nodded. "And you'll explain to Doctor Levenson about International Rescue?"

"Yes," Jeff agreed. "I've already said that I'll tell him if necessary and I'll stand by that. Only if it becomes necessary though; remember that the sickroom and operating theatre are both soundproofed. One or Two should, theoretically, be able to leave without anyone noticing but Three's a different matter entirely. It's all explainable though, Alan; so don't worry."

Alan shrugged. "Where's the doctor now?" he asked. "I would have thought there were preparations or something that he'd need to do in here to make sure that Gordon's completely ready for tomorrow."

Jeff smiled at his youngest son and hooked an arm across his shoulders. "Andre's doing exactly what he should be doing at the moment, Alan. He's sleeping. We can pay for the best, most up to date equipment in the world but if the human element, in this case Doctor Levenson, isn't on form then Gordon won't stand a chance. A piece of equipment can be replaced, a well-honed, well-trained human mind cannot. Andre's experience is vital and something that cannot and should not EVER be discounted."

Alan wriggled slightly until he could wrap his arm around Jeff without dislodging the arm from around his shoulders. "I understand," he murmured. "It's just…I was expecting to find at least one of the others in here. Gordon doesn't have anyone with him."

Jeff nodded in the direction of the chair beside the bed. "He had Kyrano with him while we were eating and Brains was with him when you walked in. In fact, if you care to look in the office, I think you'll find that Brains is still with him, albeit slightly removed. What say you and I gang up and send him to bed then we can have Gordon to ourselves for a while? I was intending to spend the night in here but you're more than welcome to keep me company until bedtime."

~#~

There was a nervous tension in the villa the next morning. Everyone rose early, ate breakfast and then gathered in the sickroom. Only Jeff, Scott, John and Doctor Levenson knew about Gordon's DNR order but the others were all fully aware of the risks involved in such a long and complicated surgery and despite Gordon being still fully sedated, they all wanted to wish him luck and to send him into the operation with their love.

John and Virgil between them jury-rigged a screen so that Ruth could 'have a chat' with Gordon. The old woman grumbled loudly about not being able to take care of him in person and made everyone promise to keep her informed of his progress throughout the day. They agreed and kept Ruth in the sickroom 'with them' until Brains and Andre Levenson walked in from the office and announced that the time had come to prepare Gordon prior to moving him into the operating theatre.

~#~

Brains, Doctor Levenson, Tin-Tin and Virgil all went through the usual sterilisation procedures as Scott took control of Alan and ushered him from the room. John followed the pair for a short while but then diverted away and headed into his room. Jeff stayed with Gordon until the last possible moment and placed a gentle but slightly shaky kiss on his forehead. "Behave yourself in there, Little Fish. I need you to fight with everything you have and I need you to believe that this is going to work. You're going to walk again, Gords; just please, keep believing that. You ARE going to walk."

Tin-Tin peeked through the door and looked knowingly at her father who was standing a respectful distance behind Jeff. Kyrano stepped forwards and rested a hand on his long-time friend's shoulder. "They are ready to take Master Gordon now, Mr Tracy." He spoke softly in the usual soft tone that tended to be reserved particularly for Jeff and Tin-Tin. "Please, come with me."

Jeff hesitated and a single tear rolled down his face as his hand hovered beside Gordon's head. He stroked his son's soft, warm cheek, kissed him again and then turned and left the room without uttering a word. Kyrano nodded briefly to his daughter and hurried after Jeff.

~#~

The short pause to acknowledge Tin-Tin proved to be Kyrano's undoing and by the time he stepped into the corridor he realised that he had no clue where Jeff had gone. He checked the office, found it empty and then followed his nose through into the kitchen where he found Scott making coffee for himself and Alan.

Both boys looked up as he entered. "Hi, Kyrano," Scott said softly. "Has Gordon gone in?"

Kyrano nodded. "Tin-Tin was preparing to move him as Mr Tracy and myself were leaving," he replied. "…but Master Scott, I fear that your father was more nimble than myself and as such he has evaded me. I called at his office but he was not there. I then hoped that yourself and Master Alan were he but alas I was wrong."

Scott frowned. "Did you check he hadn't doubled back on himself and gone straight back to the sickroom?"

Kyrano shook his head. "I would have passed him if he had attempted that. I was only moments behind him but the elevator doors closed before I had the chance to catch up and enter. I used the passageways to return to the main body of the house and fully expected to find that Mr Tracy had taken refuge in his office."

"But he was nowhere to be seen when you got there?" Scott clarified. "Kyrano, I'll do you a swap. You take this one…" He nodded at Alan who looked silently between his brother and Kyrano with a suspicious look on his face. "…and leave Dad to me. I reckon I know where he is…or at least where he went because he may have moved by the time I get there. Al, stay with Kyrano and do what he tells you, OK?"

Alan raised an eyebrow at this but settled on a shrug rather than a grumbled reply. Scott patted him on the back and nodded approvingly. "I don't intend to be long. I need to get onto door duty soon or else I'm not going to be there if they need me to help with Gordon. I've got my watch, shout me if you need me."