Disclaimer: Did I get my very belated Christmas present? Nope... still don't own them and never will.
Stepping Forward
Three days had passed since Alan's awakening. The teen had only been visited by their current enemy once, or so the family thought. This fact worried each of them. They worried what the enemy was planning in his absence as well as the harm he could bring to Alan's recovery.
Alan's recovery was sadly going quite slow. The fifteen year old had remained in the infirmary and slept most of the time. This fact worried most of the family but Dan assured them that it was all part of his recovery. The teen's body was fighting to regain the strength he had lost. His body had experienced a lot a trauma; trauma someone his age never should have experienced.
The news both Gordon and Alan had shared with the family was definitely a break through, especially Alan's news. The fact that their threat was the Hood's son didn't ease any of them. They all knew they had a lot of work to do and against Alan's wishes they were going to keep him safe no matter what. Time was of the essence and if they wanted to defeat Merinder Belangant then they were going to have to be tactful in their actions. They were going to have to take one day at a time, and they just preyed they wouldn't be overloaded with rescue missions. With Gordon on light duty and Alan unable to train they were down on help and they knew their threat wasn't going to make it easy on them.
As the three days had passed they had already had to answer five calls. Jeff had a feeling Merinder was finding a way to make their lives even harder by throwing innocent people in the mix.
-TB-
Today was like any other day for Alan. It was already midday and his body protested against every movement. His head already ached but regardless he was going to get out of bed today whether his body or anyone else liked it. He was tired of being cooped up in the same stale room for so long. The hardest part of his task was getting out of his bed with four broken ribs and a left arm that was restricted from movement thanks to his bruised collar bone.
Easing his body forward, Alan turned off the machine that recorded his vitals. The last thing he needed was alarms going off letting everyone know he was escaping his so called "prison". Next he gently pulled off the wires that were hooked up to him. With this task done he looked to the door. No one had entered the room yet, thankfully. He knew his family had been called out on another rescue but they could return at any time and that was the last thing he needed, especially Dr. Jamison.
Sliding forward he was thankful for the sweats that fit him so loosely. As he sat at the edge of his bed he stared at the square tiled floor that was going to lead him to his freedom. His body protested against his thoughts to touch it. Ignoring his fearful thoughts the blonde pushed himself steadily off the bed. Touching the floor, he legs immediately protested against the pressure and he found himself on the floor as his head swam.
"Damnit," the teen hissed as the abrupt fall sent pain throughout his whole entire body. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.
Waiting a few minutes he pushed his body back up. He was going to do this. Grabbing a set of crutches, he used one to lean against. This was going to have to do if he wanted to get out of this room.
Taking each step slowly, he was glad to finally reach the door. It felt so good to know he was leaving that dreadful room. If all he did was make it to his room he would be happy. He wanted a different choice of scenery. Making his way down the hallway, he felt like the hall dragged on forever. His room was the closest to the infirmary but it seemed so far away. Rounding the corner that led to the infirmary he paused as he felt his vision swam once again. Leaning against the cool wall, he closed his eyes as his head pounded. He just needed to make it to his room. Taking a deep breath, he pushed himself forward bent on his destination. As he turned the corner he could see his room was within view.
Limping his way along, he finally reached his closed door. Leaning heavily against the door, Alan knew that as much as he wanted to escape the infirmary his move was a mistake. His head pounded severely and his body felt heavy. All he needed was his bed, that's all he needed. Turning the knob on his door he felt the door swing open. As his body fell to the floor he felt someone's arms suddenly wrap around him. Closing his eyes he heard this person call his name in concern. Slowly reopening his eyes his vision remained blurry but he could make out one figure. "Gordon?"
"What are doing, Alan? You should be in the infirmary!" Gordon exclaimed.
Alan had to laugh a little. "You should know I hate that room. I just want to be in my own bed, Gordo. I want to feel free, not imprisoned in that dreadful room."
Gordon smiled. "I know what you mean. Look, as much as you want to stay in your room you can't until Dr. Jamison gives the okay. As you can see little brother, your body isn't ready yet. We need to get you back to the infirmary."
Alan sighed, feeling his headache getting worse. "Fine I'll go but promise not to tell Dad or anyone. I will be so dead."
"Agreed. Now, we better hurry before they get back."
Gently, Gordon pulled Alan's heavy body up being mindful of his own injuries and Alan's. Slowly but surely the duo made it back to the infirmary. Helping Alan climb back into bed he smiled as the teen was finally put back in place. "There. Home sweet home."
Alan glared at his brother. "You are so lucky that I have zero energy right now."
"Serves you right for escaping," Gordon returned.
"You hate being cooped up in this room as much as I do. You should have expected me to escape sooner or later."
"True. We both need some healing, huh? I say we use this time to devise some good pranks. What do ya say?" Gordon said with a cheeky smile.
Alan had to laugh. "As good as that sounds right now Gordo, I think we best stay away from making Dad and everyone else mad. You must be really bored during rescues."
Gordon rolled his eyes. "Operating Command and Control is not my idea of fun. I'd rather be out there in the field."
"Hey, at least you get to do that much. I'm stuck in this room, counting away the tiles."
"Yeah, you're life does kind of suck right now. Even Tintin is getting more action than you," Gordon smiled as he received an instant glare. "Oh come on, you know you like her. I wish you two would just admit your feelings for one another."
"Ya know what Gordon, stay out of it. We've talked and that's all you get to know," Alan said as he closed his eyes again.
"Come on, Al. You can't tell your best bud?"
"Gordon, we have more pressing issues to worry about than my love life," Alan replied as he rubbed his temples.
"So, since I'm not going to tell Dad that you escaped um... how are you going to explain the fact that the machine is no longer hooked up to you?" Gordon asked as he noticed Alan's increasing discomfort.
"I don't know and I don't really care. I guess I can just tell them that the noise was getting on my nerves so I decided to take care of it. It's not like I need that thing. I'm alive and breathing. I don't need a machine to tell me that," the teen stated quietly.
"Sounds like a good idea to me. So what kind of killer would you like?"
Alan opened his eyes in confusion. "What?"
"Pain killer. You need one bad and don't tell me you don't," Gordon said as he walked over to the medicine cabinet.
"I don't care, something that will get rid of this stupid headache."
Taking two pills over to his brother's bed, Gordon handed Alan a glass of water. "Here."
Slowly, Alan took the pills from him. Popping them into his mouth he drank the water. "This better work. I swear if Merinder bugs me again I will scream."
Gordon looked at him in concern as he took the glass from him. "Has he contacted you more than once?"
Alan sighed. He had opened up his big mouth. They weren't supposed to know. It was his job to find a way to get rid of this man. He decided it was best to just pretend he was falling asleep, maybe then Gordon would leave him alone. "Alan, you better answer me or I'll tell Dad you escaped." Damn, no such luck. Opening his tired eyes, Alan looked at his older brother. "Yes he has but you aren't supposed to know that, okay. This stays between us. You've been visited by him so you know what it's like. I don't want to worry anyone. I've dealt with this man before and I'll do it again. We are close to bringing him down and I'll make sure it happens."
Gordon sighed, shaking his head. Moving to the left side of Alan's bed he sat in the chair that resided beside it. "Alan, you need to tell us when he contacts you. It could affect your health and besides there isn't much you can do right now. Look at what happened when you tried to travel from here to your room. I know you want to save this family on your own but we need to save you. This man not only wants revenge on us but he wants revenge on you. He nearly succeeded."
Alan met Gordon's brown orbs. "He almost succeeded in killing you and that's something I could have prevented, Gordon. If anything happens to this family it will be my fault. Don't you see I'm the only one who can stop him?"
"No, Alan. You are not the only one who can stop him. Why do you keep on thinking you can?"
"Because I know what he's thinking. He's just like his father, Gordon."
"There you are Gordon. I should have figured you'd be in here," Scott said cutting off any chance Gordon had of knocking some sense into Alan. Walking into the room, Scott stopped at the bed. "Glad to see you're awake, Alan. How are you feeling?"
"Fine, Scott. You are worse than Dad sometimes," Alan replied.
"I am not," Scott immediately rebutted.
"You are too," Gordon said with a chuckle. "So why did you need to know where I was?"
Scott shook his head. "No reason." Scott watched Alan. "Are you okay Alan? You look really pale."
"I told you I'm fine, Scott. A headache but fine," the teen said as he looked at Gordon pleading for the redhead to keep his promise.
Gordon winked at him. His secret was safe. "I already gave him some Vicodin."
"Why is the machine off?" Scott asked as he noticed the wires were no longer hooked up to his baby brother.
"It annoyed me so I fixed it," was the quiet reply Alan gave as he closed his eyes. He wasn't in the mood for another round of twenty questions that concerned his health.
"You should keep that on, Alan."
"I don't need a machine to tell me that I'm alive, Scott," Alan said.
Gordon snorted quietly. "He's fine, Scott. Ya know you're proving our theory."
Scott rolled his eyes. "I'm just a worried brother, okay. We nearly lost you Alan I don't want to take any chances."
Alan smiled, finally reopening his eyes. "I'm alive Scott don't worry. I won't let someone like the Hood's son bring me down."
Scott smiled. "I know you won't. So has he tried to contact you again?"
Alan looked at Gordon slightly and then closed his eyes again. "No, thankfully," was his short response.
Scott bought his reply. "That's good to hear buddy. I just hope he isn't planning something worse, but you'll let us know when he does, right?"
"Mmm," was the sleepy reply Alan gave.
Scott smiled. "We better let you get some rest. Come on, Gordon. Dad wants to debrief in fifteen minutes so you probably should come."
"You go ahead, I'll be there in a second," Gordon said. Waiting for their oldest brother to leave the room Gordon looked at Alan. "Our conversation isn't finished, Alan. I'll be back later," he stated and left the room.
Alan sighed opening his eyes. Scott was right, Merinder was planning something and it was going to be the straw if he had anything to do with it. He didn't care what Gordon or anyone else said. He was going to protect this family from this man. He had made them vulnerable while he was in the coma and he wasn't going to do that again. All he needed was a couple more days of rest and then he would answer the Hood's son. If the man wanted a showdown then he was going to get one. He didn't care how he felt. His family needed him and he was going to be there. He wasn't going to be the selfish kid he used to be. He was going to save his family.
TBC...
I know, I know. It's short and I'm really sorry for that but life isn't being very nice to me at the moment. I'm having school, work, and health problems all at once. Plus to top it all off my boyfriend(now ex-boyfriend) was a complete jerk right after Valentine's Day. Who buys a girl flowers that says they love you on them and then tries to break up with you a week later? Honestly! Ahhh!!! So anyways, now I'm dealing with work problems. I'm only a senior in high school! What more does my boss want! This job is only temporary not my career! Ahh!!!!
-sighs heavily- Well now that you got a glimpse at what my life has been like for the last 4 weeks... you should understand the shortness of my post. I haven't had time and my brain has been on the fritz.
So... I hope I didn't leave any loop holes in this chapter about what is going on right now and if I did I'm really really sorry. Mention it in the darling review or PM me and I'll clear anything up. We are nearing the end! I will tell you that. Depending on how much time I have we have about 3 more chapters left. That could change though. How exciting!!!!
You know my motto and boy do I need some luv from you guys!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!!!
