Grandma entered the medical room and checked on her grandson. Sleeping uneasily, clearly still in pain even through the sleep and the drugs. Alan had never been one to complain of being in pain; especially if he knew that it would mean missing out on something he enjoyed. The poor kid was obviously feeling very poorly, but she knew Alan well enough. Once the headache and the nausea had gone, he would be sitting up in bed and itching to get up and be doing things, cracked ribs or no cracked ribs. Keeping him in bed for two weeks was going to be a major trial once he started feeling better. What was wrong with Jeff? Why had he rushed away? He had looked like he was upset...

Well, Jeff had a lot to do today,, so perhaps he was making a start? She pressed her comm, and spoke softly into it.

"John, you can come and sit with Alan now if you want to, but keep quiet."

"I'll be right down!"

Precisely seven seconds later, John skidded to a halt outside the medical room and earned himself a frown from his grandmother.

"You keep charging round the place like that, you'll end up hurting yourself as well. Take it slow. Alan isn't going anywhere. Go on."

She ruffled his hair, and he smiled sheepishly and went in.

Ruth Tracy knocked briefly on her son's bedroom door, but didn't wait to be asked to enter. She found him standing at the window with his back to her. She crept up to him and touched his shoulder with her hand. He half turned, nodded briefly and turned back to the view of the Island jungle. He seemed...wistful.

"Talk to me." she said in a gruff tone that attempted to hide her concern. He shrugged. She tutted.

"Finding things harder than you expected?"

He turned to face her and nodded. She was upset to see how sad he looked.

"As soon as I realised who I was, and where I came from, I knew where I belonged...but now I'm here I feel like a spare wheel...No one trusted me, no one believed that I wasn't The Hood up to some pretence. My dreams of a wonderful reunion with me striding in and everyone rushing in to welcome me, and then a big welcome home party with everyone celebrating...I know the reason, and they were all quite right too. It's just..."

He shook his head. His mother frowned.

"But son, you were fine with that just last night. We can still have that party, and invite Colonel Casey and Captain Taylor, doctor Whistler and everyone else once Alan is back on his feet and everything is official. Something else has happened."

She thought back to the way he had pushed past her out of the medical room.

"Something to do with Alan?"

"He turned away from me mother. My little boy...my little Alan opened his eyes and looked at me, and I spoke to him and said hello. He turned away and..."

He turned back to looking out at the jungle.

"He was calling for Scott...he used to call for me. It's just hard, that's all..."

It was as well that Jeff had his back to her, that he didn't see her put her hand across her mouth for a moment and hide a laugh, shaking her head.

"Son, sit down with me for just one minute, will you?"

Jeff sat, feeling like a little boy again. His mother hid her amusement admirably. What was it with men? Or was it just her son who could be so insufferably dim sometimes?

"Look at me Jefferson Tracy. You are wallowing here in self pity when your place is downstairs looking after your son. He is hurt, Jeff. Your son, your baby as you call him is downstairs with broken ribs and concussion after saving the lives of three people in space when most other boys of his age are hanging out with their friends, going to the cinema, playing video or hologames, or chasing girls. He saw you and turned away you said? Jeff, did it not occur to you that the poor boy is concussed and feverish? He has been dreaming of your return ever since you vanished. He opens his eyes in his fever and sees you sitting by his bed, he will think you are just a part of his dream. Of course he cried out for Scott. He knows Scott will always come running. The adored big brother. Make him realize that you are real my son, and he will call for you too."

Jeff hung his head. His son was feverish and suffering the effects of concussion. Of course he would not be himself. How could he have been so foolish? For a minute, he pictured himself back in the jungle where he had been for the past two or more years. He had been very happy and contented. The jungle had been home. Now, he would be yearning for his boys. He had yearned for them from the moment he first remembered their existence, even though at the time he had had no clue as to how to go about finding them. Once he knew, he couldn't have stayed if his life depended on it. No, spare wheel or not, this was where he belonged. Whether back at the helm of International Rescue, or simply as "dad", what the hell did it matter? He was here with his boys, where he should have been all along. He pulled the old lady into a tight embrace and kissed the top of her head.

"Don't you be disappearing off anywhere mother. I don't know what any of us would do without you."

She grinned impishly.

"Don't you be forgetting that son, next time you sit down to one of my home cooked meals."

He smiled.

"Well, I think I'll get Kayo to run Brains and I to the mainland, and get our business over with. When I get back, I'll camp beside Alan...I'll go in now and if he's awake, I'll say goodbye to him before I go."

TB TB TB TB TB TB TB TB TB TB TB TB TB TB

John sat hunched on the uncomfortable stool, watching his little brother's calm, easy breathing. What a blessing he had not been hurt worse. Mind you, things were bad enough. John could not forget the horror that had washed over him when Alan had passed out even whilst he was still talking. That had told him instantly that Alan was seriously injured.

He had already waded through the billions of what-ifs, and had only succeeded in getting himself a headache. The truth was he was pathetically fond of his youngest brother. He and Scott had assumed responsibility for Alan after dad's disappearance, and they had been united in their determination to keep him up to date with his schooling; with grandma's willing cooperation of course. They each had had their own things to teach the kid, and John had been astonished at the speed with which Alan soaked up information.

He had once tested him by presenting him with a large prepared folder full of news and technical data, several foolscap pages of it, and asked him to find all the errors in the information presented, and identify scenarios that could lead to disaster. He remembered dad presenting him with the same test, and he had studied that folder for two hours before he had found every single glitch. Alan had come back to him after twenty minutes. Not only had he identified all the errors and dangers, but had also identified several areas where a simple design change would drastically improve performance. He had made it seem so easy, but with such an unpretentious air...Alan was brilliant and didn't know it. The only thing he lacked was experience.

But more than his knowledge or cleverness or brilliance, was Alan himself. He was fourteen years old and instead of spending his spare time lounging around playing games, rock-climbing which had always been his other love, or even hanging around with school-friends on the mainland, he devoted every moment of his free time to International Rescue, saving people's lives. And he had proven that he was not doing it for the excitement, or the prestige or anything else, but because he cared about people.

Of course, Alan was also an extremely annoying individual at times, and when he and Gordon got bored, their brothers had all learned to watch their backs. As the youngest though, he was the one who got the brunt of the teasing, and the suffocating effects of four over-protective older brothers.

At one time Alan had been prone to frequent falls and tears, and there had always been a rush of worried brothers to his side to pick him up, brush him down, mend his sore knee, dry his tears and comfort him. John smiled as he reflected how difficult it still was sometimes to restrain that impulse to baby the boy, despite the fact that these days Alan rarely needed babying.

Except for now.

The fact that Alan lay here hurt and sick because of doing his job filled John equally with concern and pride.

"Scotty...Scotty..."

John took his little brother's hand.

"I'm here Allie. Ssshhh, it's okay, I'm here. Scott's out on a call right now, but I'm here."

The blue eyes opened a fraction again.

"John?"

"Yes, its me Alan. How are you doing?"

"I've been better. I think I'm gonna be sick again..."

It pained John to see the youthful and vibrant Alan so weak and hurt. He grabbed the kidney dish from the cabinet and supported Alan as he heaved and vomited into the dish, then gently wiped his face with a damp cloth and gave him some sips of water. Finally, he banked Alan's pillows so that he was slightly more upright.

"It's the concussion Alan. You know that, but it'll pass off soon enough."

"I had that dream again John. I haven't had that dream for months, but it just came back."

John was distressed to see the single tear that escaped his brother's eye. He wiped it tenderly away.

"What dream is that Allie?"

"I used to dream about dad. Every night I dreamt that he would come into my room to say goodnight, then I would wake up and he wasn't there. It happened again. I dreamt that dad was here with me, and I thought that I was awake, but then when I opened my eyes he was gone so it must have been that dream again..."

"Alan, don't you remember Scott telling us about dad?"

Alan looked confused.

"Wasn't that part of my dream? I dreamed that Scott said dad was alive and coming home, then he was by my bed and then he was gone. I must have dreamed it."

"No Alan, that was real. It was no dream, it was real. Dad is alive."

"If he is real why did he go away?"

"I don't know Allie, but he is really home again. He'll be here to see you again soon, but you are too sick to have more than one person here at a time. Shall I go and tell him you're awake?"

Alan clutched John's hand almost desperately.

"No don't go John. Please stay with me."

John held his little brother's hands tightly for reassurance, until Alan fell asleep. He sat still and silent, Alan's guardian angel, until he too slept.