And here it is, I actually finished something, yay! I hope it measures up to your expectations :D Many thanks to onereyofstarlight for helping me out with character actions and a partway read through :D
I should also acknowledge the complete lack of Kayo, Grandma and Brains in this fic. I kinda ignored them, sorry. I wanted to focus on the boys :D
-o-o-o-
John Tracy was generally a calm man, but watching his big brother fall apart at the mere sight of this asshole was enough to fuel a rage burning so brightly it took out the sun.
And the worst of it? He could do nothing. All those responsible were dead. His parents weren't here to ask why this hadn't been followed up at the time. His maternal grandparents were long gone. The dentist himself, may he rot in hell, was hopefully doing exactly that. The one last remaining life to ask was taken from them by the onset of dementia.
John had stayed behind to keep an eye on Virgil while Scott flew to the nursing home. The nurse was there for a very good reason and no longer knew his own name, much less remembered a little four-year-old from quarter of a century ago.
So they were left with so few answers, no option for retribution, and a brother forever scarred by a dentist who got his jollies from children's pain.
He had already chased down some experts who might be able to help Virgil. Ultimately it was up to his brother, but he was here and ready if he was needed.
Which led his thoughts to exactly this moment. Scott had Virgil in his arms, just holding him. There were no tears. If John was to assess Virgil's condition, it would be closer to emotional exhaustion than grief. Perhaps there was relief in finally knowing the cause.
John felt mostly violation and rage.
But this wasn't about John. This was about Virgil and helping him the best he could. But with Scott providing the comfort, John felt like a fifth wheel.
Scott had requested his presence in this discussion specifically for back up. It was unusual for him to be included is such a big brother moment, simply because the two eldest usually worked things out between them, except on the rare occasion they exploded at each other and John had to drop down from orbit to kick their asses.
But this kind of thing, this emotional support, was a Scott and Virgil exclusivity. John corralled the two youngest and monitored and listened to them. Scott and Virgil were older and regardless of them all being adults, it was a pecking order that had been maintained for years.
The fact Scott had asked for his help was a sign of the seriousness, the fear in this situation and the worry he had for Virgil.
But now he was stuck, unable to do anything.
A pair of brown eyes were staring at him.
Virgil straightened, separating himself from Scott, and John knew he had been discovered. Virgil, despite whatever was going on, always had a radar running on his younger brothers and could pick up their emotional state from miles off.
Literally, Virgil could read him in space.
"John?" The 'are you okay' was a redundant question. None of them were okay.
"I'm sorry, Virgil."
Those hollow eyes frowned. "For what? Not your fault." And the direction of comfort flipped. Virgil closed the distance between them, his stocky brother reaching up to put his hands on John's shoulders for a moment, before pulling him into a hug. "I'll be fine."
The simple words knotted a lump in John's throat and he found himself blinking. Sad blue eyes caught his and he drew strength from them.
His arms tightened around Virgil.
-o-o-o-
Gordon and Alan didn't end up playing any games. Neither felt inclined in the slightest. Instead they sat together on Alan's bed and stared at the ceiling.
"You think they've told him yet?" Alan's voice was small and fearful, reminiscent of the little boy who used to climb into his bed at night in the thunderstorms.
"Maybe." The light outside was dimming. It was past dinner but Gordon didn't feel like eating and Alan hadn't mentioned it either.
"How do you think he will react?"
It was a stupid question, but Gordon understood Alan's need to ask it. "Virgil is the strongest of us. He'll be fine." He said the words, but he wasn't sure he believed them. To discover such a horrible violation in his past...Gordon grit his teeth.
"Why would someone do something like that?"
There was profanity in his preferred answer. "The man was mentally ill, who knows what he was thinking."
"The thought of being a kid and trapped in that chair-"
"Alan, try not to think of it that way."
"Why not? It is what Virgil had to go through; shouldn't we acknowledge it at least?"
"I have acknowledged it." It was why he currently felt like tearing something to shreds. "But putting yourself through thoughts like that benefits no one."
"It helps to understand what Virgil is going through."
"What is there to understand? Our brother was violated and tortured when he was very little. It scarred him for life. The bastard who did it is dead and I can't do anything to fix it."
Alan shifted on the bed beside him, rolling over to face Gordon. A hand landed on his arm. Alan didn't say anything, just stared at him with those baby blue eyes. A moment and his little brother lay his head on Gordon's shoulder and curled up beside him. "I'm sorry, Gords."
Gordon let out a shaky sigh and wrapped an arm around his little brother. "I know."
-o-o-o-
It was strange learning about something that happened to you so long ago. Even stranger discovering that you had been violated in such a way.
His mind edged away from the memories. They were becoming clearer as the experience was uncovered moment by moment. How he had forgotten it all, he didn't know. Part of him wished he had never remembered, but he understood why Scott had told him. He had needed to know.
But god...
This was hard.
So, he disassociated. Stepped back. Let it happen to somebody else. Put up a protective shield between himself and his experiences.
Watched it through a lens.
Scott eyed him warily as they packed up the table and took it inside.
"Virg?"
"Huh?" The table caught and refused to slide into storage smoothly. A shove and something snapped. Damn.
A hand landed on his shoulder.
"I'm fine."
"We both know that is not true." He found himself in a one-armed hug and he didn't know whether to feel grateful or frustrated, so ended up feeling both.
"Yeah, well, call it a work in progress."
"Wanna watcha movie with us?"
His instinctive response was a firm no. But what else was he going to do? Hole up in his room and let the memories take over? The mere thought of that made him shiver.
"Yeah, sure."
"Should we invite Gordon and Alan?" Scott's voice was quiet, giving him an out if he needed it.
"Sure." He said it before his brain could come up with why he should be hiding from his little brothers. But then he remembered the fear in Allie's eyes and wanted nothing more than to extinguish it.
So, he found himself seated on the lounge when Alan dashed into the room. Wordlessly, his little brother jumped the sofa and flew into his arms. "I'm so sorry, Virgil. So sorry."
Virgil held Alan tight and found himself blinking away tears. "Not your fault, Allie. Not your fault."
Gordon hovered his way down into the lounge and gently kicked Virgil's leg. He didn't say anything, but he didn't have to. His expression spoke of the worry and the anger and the frustration. Virgil frowned. Gordon couldn't use the pool at the moment. He glanced at Scott and found his big brother frowning with likely a similar thought. Virgil would have to make sure they found a way to help Gordon vent his frustrations. The aquanaut could get volatile.
Alan climbed off Virgil eventually and curled up beside him. John found a movie, one with ridiculous space aliens made out of plasticine. Scott made popcorn and a family evening fell upon them for a couple of hours.
It was the best they could do. A lot of their laughter was forced and there was a lack of brotherly chattering and popcorn throwing, but they were together.
Virgil let himself sink into the sofa, each muscle mentally releasing from its clench. He found himself exhausted. His head was still pounding, but he didn't want to risk any medication. Alan stayed curled up at his side the entire time. Gordon had clambered out of his chair and onto the lounge on Virgil's other side and Virgil found himself sliding in his direction. The aquanaut didn't seem to mind.
John sat next to Alan, his eyes tracking over all his brothers monitoring like the beloved monitor he was.
Scott sat on the floor between Virgil and Gordon.
Virgil stared at the top of his brother's dark auburn crown, the flecks of grey and red dominated by deep brown. He reached out and touched Scott's hair. It was soft from the shower earlier, lacking its more familiar product. As Scott turned to look up at him, a strand fell into his eyes. "Virg?"
"You're going grey."
At any other time, his brother would have shot off a barb of a response to such an accusation, but not tonight. "Yeah?" Blue eyes frowned a little worriedly at him as one alien shot another on the screen behind.
Virgil reached out and brushed the strand from his brother's eyes. "Thank you." It was whispered.
He felt every eye on him and the tear that tracked down his cheek was honesty itself.
Scott turned around and knelt before him, grabbing his hand. "You know you've always got us, Virgil. You know that, don't you?"
And despite everything, he found himself caught up in fondness despite the tears. His hand tightened around his big brother's fingers while Alan snuggled into one side and Gordon the other. A cool hand touched the nape of his neck and he glanced up to find John wrapped around Alan, reaching out to touch him.
His eyes turned back to Scott and managed a fragile smile. His voice was broken by exhaustion as yet another silent tear ran down his cheek. "I know."
"I know."
-o-o-o-
FIN.