25. Scott, Alan, and the colour of rain

Alan's taken a significant knock to the head, and Virgil's still on his way in the POD. These are the only two things Scott can think about. Never mind the torrent of rain, never mind the gouge under his own eye. It's all about baby bro and whether or not Virg is going to get there on time.

"Scott?" Alan asks. His words are little more than a murmur.

"Yeah, bud?" Scott's just glad he's kept the waver from his voice.

Alan's in the recovery postion, but Scott yearns to pull his head onto his lap and cradle the broken bones. But he can't. All he can do is watch, and lick the raindrops from his lips.

"Scott…" Alan pauses, his eyelids closing as if they're lead. "What colour is the rain?"

"Open your eyes, fella," Scott says. He gives the most gentle of prods to his younger brother's arm. "C'mon. Then I'll tell you."

With the utmost concentration, Alan manages to open his baby blues. He manages to look expectantly at Scott, who starts. Of course. The answer.

"Well," he begins. "I think rain is the colour of…everything. Anything. Whatever you want. It can be red like Three, or green like Two–and best of all, silver and blue, like you know who."

He chuckles at his own rhyme. Alan's chuckling too. The sound is music to Scott's panicked ears.

"What about you?" he asks. "What colour is the rain for you?"

Droplets course across Alan's face, and he looks away, eyes unfocused.

"It's…the colour of family," he replies.

Scott doesn't question the logic. He's just glad Alan's brain is still fighting.

"It's…all of us, together, on an autumn afternoon. The first big rain after the sunny season…" Alan goes on. "It's the colour of Dad making a huge pot of tea, and everyone sitting around the fire. It's…the colour of…happiness."

If Scott wasn't choked up enough before, he's just about to snap now.

"Well, I tell you what," he says. "When we get home, we'll do just that. Maybe not the fire, but the tea, and everyone together. How does that sound?"

"Sounds…amazin', Scott."

"Just hold on then, bud. Virgil's coming. Just hold on."