Day twenty-one: Bleeding Through The Bandages/Blood-Matted Hair
Someone requested some Scott whump with a dash of Alan angst? For Uniwolfcorn, who asked for Virgil or Scott with Allie after an extremely risky avalanche mission: 'You could have died!' It's not quite the avalanche rescue you may have had in mind but…
Alan absolutely hated being the youngest. Hated it with a passion. His older brothers may be cool, and he would do anything for them, but really, why couldn't they see that he was one of them?
Growing up with four very over-achieving brothers did not make Alan feel cool. The fact that they all towered (well, two towered, the other two maybe not quite as much) didn't help. And they smothered him, even Gordon did, and he was by far the most likely to make sure Alan was included…most of the time.
While rescuing Brandon 'The Bear' Barringer there had been filming and he had been glossed over and once again Alan Tracy Was Not Cool.
What did he have to do?
Scott and Gordon both tried to talk to him about it, but he wasn't in the mood, and then time and rescues intervened and life moved on.
Yet still that feeling nagged at him. Was being thought of as cool such a bad thing?
Brandon became one of their Gold-Plated Rescuee's. Someone who they had needed to rescue more than three times. And he certainly earned that title the hard way. Being an adrenaline junkie, something he shared with Alan's oldest brother (not that Scott, or more importantly, John, would let anything slip), had put the teen in some hair-raising situations. He was due to host a snowboarding competition in a few weeks, and had invited Alan along.
Wanting to get some practice in before he went boarding with Brandon, and Scott not about to let him loose on a snow-covered mountain without an older brother in tow, Alan was enjoying the rare downtime with his brother.
Scott and Alan had just arrived at the top of the slope when the tell-tale sign of an avalanche began. They both had their own avalanche pods, but Alan watched with horror as Scott was caught by a falling strut from the ski lift before he could activate his.
Without considering consequences other than not leaving Scott to a fate that their family had suffered more than once, Alan leapt after him, catching his hand and activating his own pod. It wasn't built for two people, though, and only partially inflated. As the snow carried them down the slope Alan felt everything they hit, and boy was he going to have some bruises to show, but he clung on to Scott in the hope of minimising any further injuries to him.
It felt like they were falling forever, but by the dim light of his watch it had only been about a minute by the time they stopped. The pod had been firm enough that Alan hadn't been knocked out or injured more than bruising, but they were still buried under the snow, the weight on them obvious from the position of the pod. And he was still suspended from the straps.
Scott was out cold, a trickle of blood down one side of his face and as Alan carefully brushed his hair back off his face there was a matted section of hair that was definitely caused by blood. Alan didn't have a first aid kit as such, but he was pretty sure his brother would have something, the Rescue Scout and International Rescue Commander and Big Brother in him was always prepared for an injury.
Alan released the straps suspending him from the pod and as he searched the pockets of Scott's coat he called John.
'Hey, John.'
'Alan! Are you guys ok? Sensors are indicating an avalanche in your area.'
'Scott and I are caught right up in it. We're sharing a pod right now because Scott's been knocked out.'
'Status?' Virgil's voice echoed the request by John.
'He got knocked out by a piece of the ski lift, nasty head wound that's bleeding and he's been unconscious throughout.'
'Al, we're on our way. There's quite a few trapped skiers, will you be alright for a bit?'
'Yeah, the pod hasn't inflated properly, but we'll be fine for a while.'
'FAB, little bro. Will be there shortly.'
Just as both brothers signed off Alan's questing hand found a small first aid kit as expected. It was tiny but it had exactly what he needed – a gauze and a bandage. Carefully holding the gauze over the wound Alan quickly bandaged his brother's head, then positioned Scott in his lap with his head resting on Alan's chest.
Alan smiled fondly down at Scott, remembering all the times his big brother had done this for him, whether he had been injured or just sad or just wanted to hang out. There was nothing more to do now but wait.
Scott stirred not long after. Alan held him just that little bit tighter, not wanting him to move just in case, and Scott relaxed into the hold. It caused a moment of panic, Scott was not usually a compliant patient, but Alan put it down to the probable concussion. He found himself humming one of Virgil's compositions, and Scott relaxed even further. Alan tried to ignore the fact that Scott was already bleeding through the bandage he had applied.
The welcome sounds of people on the outside heralded their rescue, and before long Gordon had them out in the open. He signalled Virgil and Two dropped the rescue platform, and between them they manoeuvred Scott into a seat and Alan went up with him while Gordon carried on. By this time Scott's bandage was becoming bloody.
Virgil looked Scott over, running the standard neuro checks and confirming that he definitely had a concussion, quite a bad one if the frown was anything to go by. Alan sat by the bedside, clasping Scott's hand gently.
Once Scott's head had been better wrapped and his brother was prone on the bed semi-conscious, Virgil left Alan to care for him while he went back to the rescue. Alan stayed holding his brother's hand as he listened in on the remnants.
'You could have died.' The quiet rasp of his big brother's voice made Alan jump. He squeezed tighter. 'You shouldn't have done that.'
'You could have died if I hadn't,' he retorted, and Scott smiled.
'You could have died, but thank you.'
Alan stared at him for a heartbeat, then threw himself at Scott, and his brother pulled him in for a tight hug. There were mumbled 'thank you's in his ear and equally mumbled replies.
Virgil looked in on them before leaving the site once they had finished, smiling softly at the sight of his youngest and oldest brothers curled up together.
Later that evening John screened footage taken from a drone that had been surveying the slopes. It had caught the second that the avalanche had begun, and the moment that Scott had been knocked out.
It caught Alan's mad leap and the snagging of Scott's hand in mid-air, and the moment the pod activated. His brothers all stared at him, and Alan felt his ears going red.
'Very cool moves, bro!' Gordon crowed, clapping him on the back. Scott grinned, head still bandaged and a black eye beginning to make an appearance. Alan flushed.
'Al, there's someone on comms for you,' said John, eyes sparkling and grinning broadly. 'You want to take it there?' Alan nodded, confused as to who it could be. His mouth fell open when the person appeared.
'Hey Brandon!' Alan practically bounced on the spot.
'Hey, Alan! I saw the footage! Man, that was extreme!'
The two continued chatting as Alan left the room. The last thing they hear Brandon say was how cool Alan was.
'You know, he's right,' Scott said in the sudden quiet. 'Alan was very cool, he kept his head. He didn't panic or anything.' The other three nodded in agreement. 'Maybe we should tell him that.'
When Alan came back into the room later he was met by a holographic banner over hot chocolate muffins. It wasn't his birthday or anything, but the banner read:
'Alan Tracy Is Kool'