AN: The next couple of chapters are being bears to right so updates may be slow. Please be patient with me.

shadowwolf919- glad your enjoying the story. Here's what happens next!

criminallycharmed - thanks for taking the time to respond and I'm glad you decided to stick the story out. No death, I promise. Besides I like John too much to kill him off.

team.aaf - thanks for the review. Glad you enjoyed the bit with Virgil.

bluesweetie1978- thanks!

Boleyn- I see you've been reading some of my other stories too! Thanks for all your reviews. I'm trying to wrap this one up but it just seems to get more complicated.

Alan's POV:

I was sitting on the beach with Tin-Tin. The sun was setting and in the sky above tiny sparks of light were appearing as the stars came out. It was nice to just be sitting here with her. No worries on my mind.

My hand right hand tingled from the touch of her hand resting on top of mine. I turned to look at her. She looked so beautiful. As beautiful as the stars in the night sky. Yeah, I liked just being here with her but there was something else I wanted to do.

Tin-Tin turned and looked at me. The smile on her face, melting my heart. Did I dare?

Taking a chance, I leaned toward her. She started leaning toward me. Our lips began . . .

"Alan, wake up."

The sound of Uncle Mark's voice woke me up. As I opened my eyes I could make out the outline of him from the light coming into the room from the corridor.

"What time is it?"

"A little past midnight," he replied. It took a moment for the time to sink in.

"Johh?" I asked growing alarmed. Had my brother taken a turn for the worse? That was the only reason I could think of that Uncle Mark would be waking me up at this hour.

"Relax. He's still stable. John's awake though and insisting on seeing you. He wants to see that your okay for himself."

I nodded relieved. Throwing back the blankets I climbed out of bed. I didn't really want to be out of bed but if John wanted to see me then he was going to see me.

"He's remembering things then. That's a good sign isn't it?" I asked, as I headed out into the corridor with him. I remembered Virgil saying earlier that when John had been awake earlier that he hadn't recognized Virgil or Uncle Mark.

"It is a good sign Alan," Uncle Mark said, "But its no guarantee. There might still be lingering affects from his injuries."

I nodded. I knew he was just trying to keep me from being disappointed later. Still, I preferred to look on the bright side of things. To keep hoping for the best.

The rest of the walk to the med bay was silent. Walking into the room where John was I found my dad perched on the side of the bed, holding one of John's hands in his.

"Alan," John exclaimed upon seeing me enter the room. He tried to sit up, but Dad placed a hand on his shoulder to restrain him.

"You need to take it easy," Dad told him while motioning me over with his other hand. "I told you Alan was fine."

I was at the bedside by this time. Dad got up to let me get closer to John. I sat down on the edge of the bed where Dad had been sitting. Carefully, I took John's hand in my own. His wrists were still bandaged.

"Mark can I talk to you out in the corridor?" My Dad asked.

"I'm fine John," I told my big brother as I listened to the retreating footsteps of my father and Uncle Mark, "although you gave us quite a scare." Behind me the door opened and shut. "You shouldn't have resisted him so much John. What if he had kil . . ."

I let my words trail off, unable to actually say the word.

"All that mattered to me was keeping you safe Alan," John told me softly. "It didn't matter what The Hood did to me as long as you were safe."

I couldn't speak. There was no doubt in my mind that John meant every word he had just said. What could I possibly say that would tell him how much that kind of sacrifice meant to me. Everything that came to mind seemed inadequate.

I leaned over and put my arms around John's neck. I felt him put an arm around me. For the first time since all this had started, I felt as though things might actually work out. That we would get some semblance of normal back in the house.

"I love you John," I said, finally managing to get the words out despite the lump that had formed in my throat.

"I love you too," he replied, sleepily.

Jeff's POV:

Leaving Alan and John alone, in the room I headed toward the door, Mark right beside me. I wanted to talk to him without anyone overhearing.

"Jeff what is it?" Mark asked me as the door shut behind him. I glanced at him to see concern written on his face.

I hesitated, partly because I was trying to figure out how to say what I wanted to say and partly because I was trying to figure out if it was really important. It have been my imagination. It could mean nothing. Man I hoped it was nothing but if it wasn't, well then Mark needed to know.

"When John was hugging me, the hug felt off balance. Like he was holding me tighter with one arm than the other," I told him.

Just by the look on his face I knew it wasn't something that could just simply be dismissed. I could read the increased concern on his face.

"Its not a good sign is it?" I asked. It wasn't so much that I needed an answer to that question as I just wanted to hear him say it out loud. This whole situation was one big nightmare and only Mark's words seemed to anchor me in reality.

"No it isn't," Mark admitted. "I really wish I could tell you otherwise, but there's a good chance it was caused by a lingering effect of the brain trauma. Now that's not to say it won't still go away, John still has a lot of healing to do. I'll wait until morning and then do a full examination of him."

"I wish this whole nightmare was over," I said leaning back against the wall and closing my eyes. I felt Mark rest a hand on my shoulder.

"We'll get through this Jeff," he told me.

I just nodded. I was glad Mark was here. I knew I had to be strong for my kids but I needed someone to lean on myself.

Once again, I found myself wishing I had never started International Rescue. If it wasn't for IR, The Hood would have never come after my family in the first place. He quite possibly would have been killed when his illegal diamond mind had collapsed but how many of those that we had saved would have died with him. Kryano was among those we had rescued. He could have died that day and then Onaha would have been a widow and Tin-Tin would have grown up without a father.

Mark was right. International Rescue made a positive difference in the world. We saved lives. Helped keep families intact. I hadn't forced my kids to join - it had been their choice. It still didn't mean that I was going to stop trying to protect them. Keep them as safe as possible. I was just going to have to accept that it wasn't always within my control to do so.

"You're not blaming yourself for this again are you?" Mark asked breaking the silence. I had to smile at the slight scolding tone to his words and at how well he knew me.

"I'm trying not to," I told him.

"Try harder," Mark told me. "John getting hurt isn't your fault. You did everything you possibly could do. Life happens Jeff."

"I keep replaying the events over and over. Trying to figure out if I missed something. If I had done something different, would things have turned out better."

"And if you could do things over Jeff, what would you have done?"

I looked up at him. I knew where he was going with this. Knew he was trying to get me to admit out loud the conclusion that I had come to every time I analyzed the last mission.

"I would have done exactly the same thing."

Mark just smiled but the smile said everything for him. It was the same smile that I had known for as long as I knew him. One that simply said that he knew he had proved his point. That he was right once again.

"Maybe you should get some rest," I told him. "I know where you're at if I need you for something."

"What about you?"

"I'm staying down here," I told him. "I can get some sleep tomorrow. Right now I want to be near John."

"Fine," Mark said with a sigh, probably realizing he wasn't going to change my mind. "However, when I come down here in the morning your heading to bed, even if its only for a few hours."

"But . . ."

"Jeff, I know you're worried about John but, you need your rest too. You either go peacefully in the morning or I'll sedate you," Mark said in a no nonsense tone.

"Fine," I said giving in. He'd probably carry out his threat if I didn't.

I turned and headed toward the door which opened as I approached.

"Good night Jeff," Mark said as he headed down the corridor.

"Night," I said brusquely. I hated being told what to do. Deep down though I knew Mark was only looking out for me both as a friend and as my doctor.

Walking into the room, I saw that both my sons had fallen asleep. Alan had managed to curl up beside John on the bed, his head resting on John's shoulder. John had that arm draped protectively around his younger brother.

I walked over to one of the closets and grabbed another blanket. Walking back to the bed, I put the blanket over my youngest son. I couldn't see waking him up a second time.

I sat down in the chair and tried to get comfortable.

John's POV:

"Okay now try to push with your left leg," Uncle Mark told me. Once again I tried to follow his instructions.

I didn't know how long we had been at it, but I was hoping we were about done. Even the simple movements were taxing. Not to mention some of the tasks seemed harder than they should have. It didn't escape my attention that they were all on my left side.

"Good. We're done," he told me as he pulled the blanket back up over me.

"Something's wrong isn't it?"

"John don't w . . ."

"I want to know the truth Uncle Mark.."

"Okay," he said with a sigh. He sat down on the edge of the bed and looked down at me. "The truth is that there is a noticeable difference in strength, and response time for you left side compared to your right side."

"Is it permanent?"

"It's too early to tell. However, I do want to take you to the mainland. I want a more detailed scan than what we can do here and I also want to consult with a specialist."

"I don't want to stay in a hospital."

"Relax John," Uncle Mark told me resting a hand on my shoulder. "I didn't say anything about admitting you. I just want to run some tests that I can't do here on the island. You'll be back on the island tonight."

I nodded.

"Okay then. I'm going to change these bandages and then go talk to your father," he told me standing up.

Uncle Mark to my left hand gently in his though even the slightest touch hurt some. It also hurt to move it. Why did it hurt so bad and why was it so hard to remember? He started to unwrap the bandage on it. I wondered how many times he had done this that I hadn't been aware of. How long had I been out of it? No one had volunteered that information and I had been afraid to ask.

I looked down at my hand. Uncle Mark had the bandage off now. It looked bad. No wonder it hurt so much. How did it happen? I tried to remember.

The Hood had come on board the station. He wanted to know where Alan was. I gasped as the memory suddenly came back to me.

"I'm slowly breaking you John, I can see that. Just give me the name of the school and all of this will be over," The Hood had told me. He was inside my head trying to get the information he wanted forcibly.

It hurt. I could feel tears rolling down my cheeks. I didn't know how much longer I would be able to hold on but I had to. I couldn't let him find Alan. No matter what I had to keep Alan safe.

They were talking around me, but I wasn't sure what they were saying. I was too busy trying to keep the Hood out. Then Mullion had shoved me toward the bulkhead. My head made contact first. I tried to cry out but nothing came out as the air was forced out of my lungs.

I laid there, trying to get air back into my lungs. The Hood had momentarily stopped his assault but I knew the relief wouldn't last long. Then Mullion had come at me again, a heavy chain in his hands. I tried to get away from him but he grabbed my wrist and twisted my arm behind my back.

"I don't mind hurting you, so go ahead and struggle, it will make my day," he told me menacingly in my ear.

I let myself go limp. He was right. I was no match for him. Whatever he was going to do, he'd eventually do.

"Ah, too bad," Mullion said disappointedly even as he pulled me into a sitting position.

My head was still pounding. The left side of my body hurt from the impact with the bulkhead. The wrist mullion had grabbed ached. It was probably sprained.

Mullion, started wrapping one end of the chains around my wrists. He pulled them tight. Already the chains were cutting into my skin. Securing the chains, he pulled me to my feet and drug me toward the center of the command deck. Using his powers, the Hood had gotten the other end of the chain over a support beam. Mullion had started pulling the end of the chain lifting my arms into the air. He didn't stop until I felt my feet leave the deck below. I heard yelling. It took me a moment to realize it was my own scream.

"John, what's wrong?"

Uncle Mark's words cut through my flashback. I became aware of him hovering over me, concern written on his face. My hand was resting on the bed beside me again.

"Just a flashback," I told him. A shiver went through my body. I had never felt so hopeless as I had that day.

"About the attack?"

I nodded.

"When you started yelling, I thought it was because of me cleaning your wounds."

I shook my head.

"Mullion was tying me up with the chains. I remember yelling from the pain then. I must have yelled out again," I told him. "I felt so helpless. The Hood was attacking my mind. Mullion had me physically overpowered. It felt like I couldn't fight back. That I was weak."

"You did fight back John. You resisted him. You kept him from finding out Alan's location . . ."

"No, no I didn't. He knew Dad had lied to him. I was so tired by then, I couldn't keep that from him."

"It doesn't matter. You stalled him long enough to give your Dad and brothers time to get ready to face him and Scott and Gordon told me what you did when they freed you. How you were able to give your Dad the warning. Again, you gave them the time they needed to stay ahead of The Hood and given the state you were in when they got you down here John, I don't know how you did that. You're one of the strongest people I know John Tracy. Don't for a second think you were weak."

I was crying again. I didn't want to but I couldn't help it. Here, Uncle Mark was telling me how strong I was and I was crying. I felt him slip his arms around me and pull me into a hug. I rested my head on his shoulder, sobbing. Trying to forget what had happened on the station.

After awhile I got control of myself. Taking deep breaths, I tried to calm down. Tried to stop the tears. Even after that I clung to my 'uncle', not wanting to lose the feeling of safety that he was providing me.

"You better now?" Uncle Mark asked softly, not yet letting me go.

"Yeah," I replied. Uncle Mark eased me back down into a lying position.

"I'm going to get your Dad. He was waiting outside and he's probably worried now. I'm surprised he hasn't come in here yet. Then I'll finish with these bandages."

"Has he seen them yet?" I asked, remembering how bad my wrists had looked.

"No?" Uncle Mark answered.

"I don't want him in here then. He's worried enough about me. I don't want to make him worry even more," I said. It wasn't much but it was one thing I could protect my father from.

"Okay, then just let me got talk to him. Reassure him that everything is okay."

He turned and headed toward the door.

"Uncle Mark?"

"Yeah?" he asked turning by the door.

"I'd like to see Scott."

Mark's POV:

"I'll see what I can do," I told John in reply to his request to see his brother.

I turned again and walked through the door. When I had come back down at five this morning, I had woken Jeff who had fallen asleep in the chair and sent him off to bed. Begrudgingly he had gone only to be back three hours later. When John had awoken a half hour ago, I had shooed his father and Alan from the room to do my examination.

Jeff was standing just out of range of the door sensor. I could tell he had been about ready to come in even though I had requested he stayed out while I was examining John. Scott and Gordon were right behind him.

"I heard a scream. Is he okay?"

"Relax Jeff. He had a flashback that's all."

"Can I see him?"

"Not quite yet. I need to finish cleaning and replacing the bandages on his wrists. He doesn't want you in there. I think he's trying to spare you that much. It won't take me long," I added as I saw the disappointment come to my friend's face. I turned to Jeff's eldest son. "He did ask for you though Scott."

"He wants to see me and not Dad? What's the difference?"

"You've already seen how bad his wrists were when you were on the station. I think that's the difference," I told him. "Jeff, there is something else. I'd like to take John to Walt Disney Memorial today and run some tests. Consult with Dr. Jackson, who's one of the top neurologists in the nation. You weren't imagining things last night. Compared to his right side the left side is considerably weaker."

"Is he strong enough for the flight."

"He's strong enough. You know I wouldn't suggest it otherwise. However, I think we should definitely use Thunderbird 2 and not Tracy 1. We can keep Thunderbird 2 closer to sea level and I don't want to risk high altitudes yet. We can land somewhere near the coast and I'll have Jade, a regular member of my med team I use who is licensed to drive an ambulance, meet us."

"When do you want to leave?" Jeff asked.

"As soon as possible."

"I'll tell Virgil to start preparations."

"Good," I said. "Let me go take care of my patient now," I told him turning and heading back into the room.

"I'll be right in," Scott said.

"I'll let John know," I told him.