"Ms Kent!"
His face was bright despite the remains of the black eye and the bandages swathing his head, and it lightened her heart.
"Alan, how are you feeling?"
She made her way over to a chair beside his bed and found herself quite happy to sit down.
"I'm okay." He grinned and pointed to his head. "Except for the hair. Look what they did to it."
She pressed her lips together. "It will grow back."
"Yeah, but even John won't be able to kill off all the photos. Gordon will be bringing this up for years to come." And that was a genuine pout on the eleven-year-old's face.
"You know, you shouldn't under estimate your brother. He's smarter than he acts."
Blue eyes caught hers and frowned just a little...until they slipped off and landed on Dee.
"Ms Kent?"
"Oh, yes, this is my sister, Dee."
"The D! You're who Gordy has been raving about. What is your name short for?"
Dee, being Dee, just curled her lips into a secretive smile.
"I like your hair." The fact Alan was still exuding energy, despite his injury, reassured her more than any words could. Sure, there were bags under his eyes and he was pale, but the spark that made Alan the eager student she knew was there.
Thank god.
"Ms Kent, you should dye your hair red. Not like Johnny's but bright, bright red. That would be so cool." A frown. "Hey, I could-"
"You're not dyeing your hair red, Alan." The deep baritone from beyond the curtain on the other side of the bed made Anna jump. She knew that voice.
A hand appeared and pushed the curtain aside to reveal Virgil sitting on the second bed in the room. He was almost as pale as his brother. Dressed in a comfortable t-shirt and loose sweatpants, he was smiling as he put his tablet down. "Hello, Ms Kent."
"Virgil! How are you?" Rib. He'd had a broken rib.
A bit of a lopsided smile. "Been better, been worse. I should be asking you that question. That was a nasty concussion you had."
She frowned at him, but then her eyes widened. "Oh god, I didn't throw up on you, did I?"
The smile split into a grin. "No. Though you wouldn't have been the first if you did."
Mortification hit her. She had brief images left from after being rescued. Virgil was in a lot of them, but she hadn't been all there herself. What had he witnessed?
The grin faded into a familiar gentle smile. "It is good to see you, in any case."
"Thank you." It burst out of her without thought and with so much passion. "Thank you for saving me. And for your kindness."
"You're welcome, though I have to say thank you to you for looking after sprout, here." Virgil gestured at Alan with an arm only to wince and pull it back to his side.
"Are you okay?" It was a stupid question. The man obviously wasn't, but part of her was tackling the fact that her rescue had likely injured him further.
"Virg broke another rib. Scott blew a gasket and made him stay to keep me company." Alan looked like he wasn't sure if this was a good or a bad thing. "He snores a lot."
The glare Virgil shot Alan was pure brother and it almost had Anna laughing.
Almost.
A concerned smile at Virgil. "I'm sorry to hear that."
He tilted his head to one side and shrugged with one shoulder. "I'll live."
A frown, but a twitch on the bed had her turning back to Alan. "What about you? I heard you had surgery?"
Virgil answered. "He's going to be okay. They just needed to put him under to straighten out that skull of his." It was said with a smile but there was an undercurrent of concern in those eyes. "The fracture was partially depressed."
"I'm okay...except for my hair. How am I going to go to school with hair like this?!"
Virgil didn't immediately answer and his hesitation communicated everything to Anna.
Alan wouldn't be going back to school.
Not her school, at least.
Her insides sank a little. She had no doubt that the family would see that Alan would receive the best education they could provide, but the part of her that wasn't a teacher, but more simply just Anna, saw it as an end to a relationship with the Tracys.
Not that she was clambering for buddy-buddies with these amazing people, but they were nice, she owed them and honestly, she just liked them.
Alan was a bright spark in her class. She could see the possibilities before him. She would have passed him onto high school in a short time anyway, but now...well, perhaps she wasn't ready to say goodbye.
But she was a professional.
She straightened in her seat.
Dee's eyes flicked over to her and frowned just a little.
"You'll be okay, Alan. It will grow back."
"That's what Virgil keeps saying. Yet, he's not the one with half his hair missing."
The older brother arched an eyebrow. "Would it help if I was?"
Alan stared at him. "You can't shave your hair off, Virg. It would look silly."
"Do you think people would make fun of me?"
"Gordon would."
Virgil sighed. "Gordon is Gordon. Do you think anyone else would say anything if I shaved half my hair off?"
"Scott might think you're a little crazy."
"True. That is what he said last time."
Alan blinked. "Last time?"
"Last time I shaved half my hair off."
"You shaved half your hair off?!"
He shrugged. "I was sixteen. It seemed like a good idea at the time." A smirk. "Dad didn't agree."
Eyes wide. "You did it without Dad's permission?"
"Just a little." Virgil held up a hand with two fingers a tiny amount apart. He shrugged...and grimaced. "It grew back."
Anna didn't miss Alan staring up at Virgil's thick black hair, a little scruffy and obviously finger combed into place from the standard bed head.
"You could always cut the other side shorter so it doesn't take as much time to catch up." Anna shifted in her seat.
Dee noticed and a hand landed gently on her shoulder.
A pair of brown eyes latched on to her. "You never answered me, Ms Kent. How are you feeling?"
Honestly? "Tired."
A single nod. "Yeah, concussions do that." His eyes flickered to Dee and back. "Make sure you take it easy for the next week at least. Don't mess with it. Treat yourself kindly."
Dee spoke up. "Don't worry, Mr Tracy, she's coming to stay with us." Her sister smiled at her. "Whether she likes it or not."
Anna sighed. Great, now her sister was going to smother her.
The giggle snort from the bed had her looking up in surprise. Alan was grinning fit to split his newly healed head. "You've got a Scott, too."
Huh?
"Except yours is a twin with purple hair." Alan frowned. "Hey, Virg, has Scott ever done anything with his hair I don't know about?"
A blink. "Uh, no. Apart from that time Gordon sprayed it with glitter hairspray. Took him weeks to get that out." Virgil was grinning at an obviously amusing memory.
"Can we do that again?"
Anna's smile split into a yawn.
"Okay, Sis, that's it. Time to bundle you into the car and take you home."
Anna wilted. A car ride was the last thing she felt like right now.
The hand on her shoulder squeezed. "You can lie down in the backseat if you want."
"Anna, you are welcome to stay at the hospital if you still feel unwell. There is no cost to you." There was concern in Virgil's eyes.
She held his gaze for a moment before turning to Alan. Blue eyes smiled at her.
A sudden flash of those eyes closed and that face unresponsive.
She shuddered.
"Anna?" Dee was crouching down beside her.
Uh.
"C'mon, let's get you home."
A single nod.
She forced herself to her feet.
A hand grabbed hers. "Are you okay?" Alan was frowning in concern. Virgil stood up with a groan.
She held up a hand. "I'm okay. Just tired." She frowned at Virgil until he sat down again. She let her hand drop and instead wrapped it around Alan's, holding his hand in hers. In her teacher voice. "You get well, Alan Tracy. You hear me? I want to see those grades hitting the roof." A glance at his bandaged head. "And don't let Gordon tease you. If he does, mention that I have dirt on him I'm willing to share with you if he doesn't stop."
That prompted an eager and evil gleam in the kid's eye. "Oooh, what, tell me."
"If I told you, it wouldn't be a threat anymore now, would it?" She smiled at him.
He blinked and for the first time since she had walked in she saw the weariness behind those young eyes.
"You need rest, Alan."
"It's boring." It was also a whine and ever so much the standard eleven-year-old.
"It's necessary."
Dee cut in. "Taking your own advice would be a good idea, Anna."
Her shoulders wilted. She had to say goodbye to students all the time, but Alan was special.
His whole family was special.
"Stay safe and well." She squeezed his hand and let it go. Stepping away from the bed, De wrapped an arm around Anna's shoulders and the weariness sunk in again.
One last glance at Virgil. "Thank you again."
His smile still held that hint of concern. "You're welcome."
With that Dee herded her out into the corridor. A breath and mentally wishing them well, Anna left the Tracys behind.
-o-o-o-
It took her a fortnight to start feeling like herself again. headaches, fatigue and nightmares haunted her. Waking up in the middle of the night yelling out student names wasn't listed in any of the healthy teacher texts.
Deidre banned her from the school the one time she called in to arrange a return to work. Apparently, she was as white as a sheet with caverns under her eyes.
Deidre was always dramatic.
Bob was taking her class...which likely meant their fitness level would be quite advanced by the time she got back. This was probably not a bad thing.
She received a bunch of flowers and about thirty odd handmade cards from that class. Deidre delivered them one day after school in what was likely a health check-up as well. The glaring pink ensemble she was sporting was enough to trigger another headache, so Anna doubted she passed.
Ultimately, it was three weeks of mostly sleep, a little TV and pyjamas before she could shed most of the fatigue and headaches. Whatever that bastard had hit her with, he'd hit hard.
Her doctor was satisfied, however, and it was with some relief and a little trepidation that she stepped foot back into the classroom on a Monday morning.
It was so normal, so average, it was reassuring.
Except...
She wasn't normal or average anymore. Shit had happened and it had changed her, messed her around.
She would get used to it. Get over it. She would make a new norm.
The kids bounced into the classroom and as each caught sight of her...the exclamations were heartening.
Two children were notably absent, but she had fully expected that. The empty chairs where Rory and Alan had sat stared at her all day.
But really, the day was a good one. Plenty of reassurance that she had been missed, though there was a groan when she removed the basketball hoop from above the recycling bin. Bob had been holding competitions.
The day moved quickly and she eventually found herself slumped at her desk in an empty classroom.
She must have closed her eyes a moment because the knock on the door startled her.
"Ms Kent?"
Two men in suits stood at the door.
One of them was Scott Tracy.
-o-o-o-