Disclaimer: Why is it this never changes? Is it too much to ask for a tiny ownership of them?
A/N: Thanks to everyone who continues to read this story. If I missed anyone who reviewed, I apologize and will try to get a response out to you ASAP. My newest family additions…thanks for being so supportive and keeping me in good spirits. You guys are great. The 2 youngest…back away from the skittles. –sam1
Chapter 14
"That helps so much," Jeff snapped. "Would you please just tell me which son and how bad is he hurt?"
"Two sons and I'm not a doctor so I won't even begin to diagnose either of them." Pushing a wall plate, he led the way through the door and into the ER. Stopping at a nurse's desk, he leaned on the counter. "Kerrie, can you point us in the direction of a Scott and John Tracy?"
"Just follow the yelling. The dark-haired one is not a very good patient and is giving the staff a rough way to go." Glancing up, she saw Jeff. "Oops, you must be Mr. Tracy. Gordon said you'd be down here. John is in cubicle 29 and Scott is in cubicle 30." A loud commotion drew the attention of everyone at the nurse's station. "Well, he was in cubicle 30."
Scott stumbled out of the small cubicle, trying to hold the hospital gown closed while arguing with someone hidden behind the curtains, "I don't need to be treated. What I NEED is to check on my brother." Wincing, he looked up and down the exam cubicles. "Which room is he in, Gordon?"
Gordon stepped out from behind the curtained area, glaring at his oldest brother. Just as Alan popped out of the curtained area John had been assigned to. "Scott, the doctor has to clean and sew that gash. And you still have to go for a CT scan to find out why you blacked out. So, how about you get your butt back in here and let the man do what has to be done."
Before Scott could argue back or Jeff could move from the desk, John's voice carried over the din of the ER. "SCOOTER, GET YOUR ASS BACK ON THAT CART AND LET THE DOCTOR DO WHAT HE HAS TO!" A brief pause and Gordon and Scott heard him mutter, "Ouch! That hurt."
Alan had just started for John's bedside when he quickly backed up and the unmistakable sounds of the middle brother retching and then getting violently sick reached the ears of the gathered Tracys. "Aw, man that is just gross." Smirking up at his oldest brother, he waved him towards the cubicle. "Have at it big brother. Johnny needs to be cleaned up and I'm not volunteering."
Jeff hurried to where three of his sons were gathered just outside the curtained area that hid John. "Scott, get back in that room and do what the doctor says?"
Facing his dad, Scott shook his head. "Not until I know Johnny is alright."
Groaning from his bed, John managed, "Give me something for the pain, damn it." Gordon and Alan looked at one another, astonished. None of the Tracys were cooperative patients and none liked to admit that they were hurting. And it was clear that the security guard wasn't too far off the mark about the Tracys being a nuisance. With Scott ignoring his doctor and John being demanding, the staff had their hands full.
"Mr. Tracy, you just took two T3s," the nurse argued.
Squinting up at the nurse, he glared before snapping, "And I just threw up." Wincing at the pain in his back, he rolled onto his side. "Any time you'd like to get that medicine would be great."
"John Tracy, that is no way to speak to anyone," Jeff snapped, entering the cubicle. "Nurse, I apologize for his behavior as he most certainly wasn't raised that way."
Irritably, John mumbled an apology while trying to find a position to lie in that didn't hurt. "Stupid reporter…fault…didn't see…and got hit."
Jeff missed half of what his son had mumbled. "John, would you care to repeat that?"
"I said, it's the stupid reporter's fault that I didn't see the car and got hit." Gently he massaged around his temples. "Nurse, please, I'm begging you for something to stop the pain. My back is killing me and my head is pounding worse than the drums Gordy used to beat on."
"I was and still am a talented musician, John. And I didn't beat on the drums, I played music and kept the beat." Gordon argued from just outside the cubicle.
Choking on his laughter, Alan clapped Gordon on the shoulder, "Music? That's what you called it?"
With a mock-glare, Gordon gave Alan a noogie, "So that's how you're going to play it, eh? Teaming up with one of the invalids?" Scott shoved past the Terrible Two and into John's room. "Dad, since you've got these two, we're going up to check on Virgil."
"Wait, Boys." Jeff stepped out into the hall again. "Virgil is on a ventilator right now."
"WHAT? WHY?" Alan demanded, worry shining in his eyes.
"Calm down, Alan. He suffered an allergic reaction to a sedative that he was given. Once the drug is gone from his system and the swelling goes down, they'll remove the vent."
Thoughtful, Gordon looked up at his dad, "He's never had an allergic reaction to any sedative Brains has given him. What brought this on?"
"The doctor chose to use a faster acting sedative that also wears off faster instead of something Virgil has had before."
"Why did he do that?" Alan asked, annoyed.
Jeff shrugged. "I'm not sure but the staff doctor is going to find out and get back to me. Well, he was but then I got called down here instead. Can either of you tell me what happened?"
Surreptitiously glancing at each other, Alan motioned to their dad. "Go ahead, Gords, you can tell him."
"Thanks, Al, you're all heart," Gordon grumbled. "Jensen was lying in wait for one of us." His trademark grin changed his features from a worried brother to his cheeky self. "So, Al and I decided to wind him up with what we've been doing since disappearing from the high-society and sports' world radars." Eyes dancing with impish delight, he chuckled. "All was fine until John came out with Scott and saw us. We heard Scott yell for John to stop and then the brakes squealing." Sobering, Gordon glanced towards the curtain that hid two of his brothers from view. Alan noticed his next oldest brother's hidden distress and took up for him.
"We saw the car hit Scott and John. Though it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Scott had seen the car and ran after John, tackling him. John hit the ground face-up with the kerb digging in his lower back. He cracked his head on the ground." Alan cleared his throat. "Scotty…he took the brunt of the car. That's where the gash in his leg came from and something shredded his sweatshirt causing some cuts and scrapes on his left side."
Gordon put a hand on Alan's shoulder and picked up the story. "When Scotty first got to the exam room, he blacked out. I don't recall him hitting his head so the doctors want a complete scan to make sure they're not missing something. Personally, I think it's from blood loss."
A loud clattering from John's room had the three men shoving the curtain aside. Scott had his hands gripping the head of John's bed. His eyes were shut tightly and his breathing ragged. A small tray table, a syringe, and a vial of medication lay on the floor next to where he stood. John had rolled on his side, facing Scott and had gripped his forearms. "Scotty? Talk to me, man."
Swaying on the spot, Scott managed to look up at his dad just as his legs started to buckle. "D-dizzy…"
Jeff closed the distance between father and son before his son had the chance to fall. Shoving Scott down on the lone chair in the exam room, he was thankful that he had been right outside the room. Had Scott fallen, he'd have knocked his head on a very hard and unyielding concrete floor.
"Scott, I'm going to help you back to your cubicle and the doctor is going to clean your leg and sew it up. And you're going to lie there and do whatever you're told, understood?"
He knew he was beat and nodded. "Okay, Dad. Still…think it's dumb. Just a little scratch."
"Yeah, we'll see just how small that scratch is." Jeff took on a lot of Scott's weight as he wrapped an arm around Scott's waist. "Let's go, Son." Slowly and awkwardly, the two men made their way back to Scott's cubicle and the waiting doctor. "You shouldn't have any more problems, Doctor. My son is going to be on his best behavior now." With the doctor's help, Jeff got Scott back on the bed and lying down.
"Having any more problems, Scott?"
Sulking, Scott tried to ignore the doctor's questions. Until Jeff lightly flicked his son's ear. "Yes, I got dizzy over in my brother's cubicle."
"Is that what the clattering noise was?"
"No, that would be the little tray table that I knocked over while trying to maintain my balance." Hissing, he looked down at his leg. While he'd been talking, the doctor had been cleaning the wound and was preparing to sew it shut. "What the heck did you clean that with?"
"Just a standard cleanser for open wounds, Scott. Just as a precaution, I'm going to prescribe antibiotics." He held up a small spray bottle. "This is a topical anesthetic that we use when sutures are needed."
"Whatever." Scott closed his eyes and tried to relax. But the need to be at both John's and Virgil's bedside was beginning to get to him. And the worry that Gordon and Alan were out and about on their own just added to his agitation. "I don't know how much more I can take. Virgil needs me. I've always been by his side when he's hurt or sick. It's my job as big brother. And John, well, he needs someone as well. Maybe I should send Dad back to him. But I like having Dad here with me. Man, that makes me sound selfish."
"There, all done, Scott." The doctor quickly tied off the last suture and then applied a dressing. "We're going to watch you for a couple of hours to make sure the dizziness and the blackout episode aren't repeated."
"Can I please go sit with my brother? He's just in the next cubicle."
Patting Scott on the shoulder, Jeff shook his head. "Why don't you just lie back and relax. I'll go and check on John and report back to you. I'll be your go-between until you're released, okay?"
"I guess. I'd rather be over there with him…" A jaw-popping yawn interrupted whatever he was going to say. "Sorry, Dad." The last couple of days caught up with him and his eyelids drooped lower and lower until he fell asleep.
"Get some sleep, Son," Jeff said quietly. He unfolded the blanket that was at the end of the bed and covered his eldest son. Leaning over him, he brushed back Scott's dark hair and noticed the worry lines etched in his forehead. "Scotty, my little fly-boy, you need to not worry over everything concerning your brothers. They're grown and now is your time to sit back and watch them. Take pride in how well they've turned out because you've earned it. Without your help for all these years, I'd never have managed. Have I ever thanked you for stepping up and taking on the responsibility of watching over and guiding your brothers? I don't think that I have. Once we're all back home, I'm going to take a weekend away. Wherever you want to go, Scotty. And just have some father/son time. No brothers. No IR. And no Tracy Enterprises. Just the two of us like before Virgil was born."
"Mr. Tracy, John is asking for you." John's nurse appeared at the break of curtains.
"I'll be right over." Jeff glanced again at Scott's sleeping form before ducking into John's room. John was lying on his side with a pillow wedged behind his upper back and another behind his thighs. Even with the lights dimmed, John had a washcloth covering his eyes. "John?" Jeff kept his voice pitched low so as to not make John's headache worse.
"The docs have finally decided that I have a mild concussion," John said, quietly. "They are willing to release me into your care but I can't drive or operate heavy machinery."
"I think we can manage to avoid the heavy machinery." A slight grin stole across his face as he watched his son. "What about your back?"
"Bruised and hurting but the doctor gave me some intravenous pain medicine since I was throwing up." He took the washcloth off his face and gazed up at Jeff. "Dad, I'm ready to get out of here. It's not quiet enough in here for my headache to go away."
"Do you want to go back to the hotel?"
"Yeah, I can use the pillows to keep from rolling on my back and close the blinds and curtains to keep the room dark and quiet." Sitting up, he reached for the bag that held his clothes and then stopped, looking up at Jeff. "Dad, you have to stay with Scott. And Brains is with Virgil. So who is going with me?"
"I can have Brains go with you and Gordon and Alan can sit with Virgil until Scott is released and then they can take him to the hotel and I can stay with Virgil," Jeff explained.
Wincing as he tried to process everything his dad had just said, John just held up a hand. "Whatever you decide." He pulled his gown up and slipped his long legs into his blue jeans on. Slowly and carefully, he stood up and pulled the jeans up the rest of the way and fastened them. He took off the hospital gown and quickly pulled his sweatshirt. Cramming his feet into his shoes, he sighed and decided to ignore the untied laces.
"Brains?" John looked up when he heard his father speak. Jeff stood facing the wall so nobody would see him talking into his watch.
"Y-Yes, Mr. T-T-Tracy?"
"Would you please be so kind as to accompany John back to the hotel? Gordon and Alan should be up there at any moment."
"S-s-sure, Mr. Tracy."
Jeff took in John's unusually pale face and pointed to the bed. "Relax a bit, John. You still have to wait to sign the discharge papers and Brains is waiting for Gordon and Alan to show up."
John sighed but didn't complain or try to avoid the bed. Instead, he climbed up on it and leaned back. Unfortunately, he forgot about his back and groaned in pain before rolling on his side. Within moments, he was lightly dozing. Jeff took the opportunity to look in on Scott and smiled when he saw that his son was still asleep.
Brains was sitting next to Virgil's bed, reading a magazine he'd bought in the gift shop. The steady hiss of the ventilator and beeping of various monitors were the only sounds in the room. Out of the corner of his eye, Brains noticed more movement from Virgil. Turning his full attention to his friend, he was surprised to see that he was awake.
Eyes wide with fear and uncertainty, Virgil's gaze darted around the room.
A/N: I know, I'm mean for leaving you wondering what is going to happen next. I would say I'm sorry but then I'd be lying. But I can tell you this…I will have another update posted this week.-sam1