A/N: Sorry to be absent for so long, I recently obtained a second job and have been working on trying to find a groove with working two fulltime - flex jobs...yes...two full time - flex jobs. I really only have two days to edit anything though I hope that will change as I find a rhythm.

This is a story I started working on a few months ago, and have only just gotten to a point where I feel comfortable posting at least the first chapter. I hope you all will like it.

Please no flames. I don't know when I'll get another chance to update anything but I'm striving for sometime soon.

Hope you enjoy, please leave a review or some constructive criticism and all mistakes are my own. Non-Canon

Gordon was sitting on the beach, watching Alan. His younger brother wanted to go play in the water and free-dive, Gordon on the other hand wasn't permitted into the water. He'd gotten grounded by his father from swimming because he'd gotten into a fight with Scott over what…Gordon couldn't remember off hand. The redheaded aquanaut sucked in a deep breath before turning his gaze to the water. There he saw Alan come up for a breath of air before submerging once more.

Alan was just minding his own business, watching the varieties of fish as he swam beneath the surface of the deep blue ocean waters. Diving down further, Alan went to grab a cockle in hopes that it would cheer Gordon up. His older brother liked to study cockles in his lab and upon turning around Alan noticed that the fish that had previously been all over the area were gone. Alan looked to his left and right and didn't immediately see the cause of the fish fleeing. Kicking off the ocean floor, Alan proceeded to try to get to the surface. Along the way, Alan felt like a stone hit the pit of his stomach and without meaning to, he glanced over his shoulder.

Gordon decided he'd lay down and get some sun since he was stuck out here with his brother enjoying the waves. Closing his eyes, Gordon reclined back and just as he was getting comfortable, he felt sick to his stomach. Sitting up quickly Gordon looked to the water. He felt chills race up and down his spine and he hurriedly stood to watch for his baby brother. In place of where Alan was last seen, there was a huge swath of pure red. Feeling dread settle, Gordon felt frozen in place until he realized that he hadn't seen Alan for just shy of a minute. He didn't know how, but he just knew there was something wrong with his brother.

Running at full speed, Gordon hit the water and didn't dive until he was deep enough to swim. Once he'd submerged under the water, Gordon swam as fast as he could go. Where the swath of red was, Gordon followed it down and saw the swath trail lead down to Alan who was floating motionless surrounded by a pool of deep red. The aquanaut didn't look around to find the source of the blood, his sole focus was Alan and getting him out of the water. Because where there was blood, there were sure to be predators. Wrapping an arm around Alan's frame, Gordon swam for the surface. His kicks were powerful and propelled the brothers to the surface with little difficulty. Once above the water, Gordon looked around to figure out how he was to get back to shore and then he swam for all he was worth.

Alan's head was lolled back against Gordon's shoulder, unmoving. Gordon felt the weight of his brother increase as they left the depth of the water and with one lift, the redhead managed to pull Alan to the beach. He gave a mighty heave and hefted Alan back further up the beach. Once on the shore and fully out of the water, Gordon looked down to Alan and he just stared. Despite his International Rescue training, Gordon was never taught what to do when dealing with a shark attack. Alan lay motionless, his right arm missing just above the elbow. It was a jagged bite, looked more like someone had just torn his arm from his body.

Gordon felt like he had pebbles for brains, and he hated that he was unable to form a coherent thought. Raising his arm, Gordon sent an urgent alert to John, their space bound brother. He felt like every single thought that came to him was forced and he knew it was a form of shock that left him operating at less than half speed. John seemed to realize that something was wrong because he came available on the watch face and everything he said was mottled. Gordon felt useless before John managed to get his attention and break him out of his reverie. The aquanaut stared dumbly at his holographic brother until the older of the two threatened to tell their father that Gordon disobeyed their father's strict orders to stay out of the water. That seemed to be what drew Gordon out of his shock and he hurriedly explained.

"I had no choice! I need help! A-Alan wanted to go free-diving and he got b-bit by a shark."

As if John could become paler than he was already, his face went stark white and he shook his head. To prove he wasn't lying, Gordon turned his watch to show Alan to John and the space monitor just stared. What got the brothers moving was that Alan had begun to show pain. He started mumbling unintelligible ramblings. John caught himself before he cursed aloud, and he started trying to wrack his brain on ways to stop or at the very least slow Alan's bleeding. He asked himself what in everyday life could be used to stem the blood and then he looked at Gordon critically through the web connection.

"Do you have shoelaces or a belt on right this moment?" John asked hurriedly as he started trying to connect with Scott and his dad who were in a board meeting in New York meanwhile Virgil was out with friends at Christchurch.

"No, I don't really wear belts and I'm barefoot!" Gordon said as he started looking around in a frenzy before his eyes met on the equipment bag that Alan brought his free-diving gear to the beach. It had a strap for carrying over the shoulder and Alan's bag usually held a knife for those times that they got tangled in fishing line that occasionally washed up on shore. Running over, Gordon used the knife and sliced the strap from both ends. He'd buy Alan a new equipment bag. Finding the buckle strap, Gordon used Alan's towel to staunch the blood and he slipped the strap over Alan's arm and pulled it to it's tightest. "Alan, stay with me!"

"How is he?" John inquired as he forced past the sleep mode of Scott's cell phone.

"How do you think he's doing? He's missing an arm!" Gordon felt too young to be dealing with this. He wasn't but a tender age of nineteen. Throwing caution to the wind, Gordon slipped his arms beneath Alan's knees and neck and hefted up his full weight. Hurrying up the beach, Gordon counted the seconds. He knew that bleeding didn't usually slow without constant pressure and Gordon did the best he could forming a crude tourniquet in a hurry. Once he got up to the villa, Gordon set his little brother down to relieve the strain of his arms and back. "Oh god, I don't know what to do."

Another look back at Alan soured Gordon's stomach because he looked directly at what was left of Alan's arm and the accumulating blood soaking the towel. Feeling his stomach lurch, Gordon staggered a few feet away and bent over when he felt like he was going to be sick.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

John sent an alert to Scott who silenced the urgent bleeping. With every attempt, John began to get angry that Scott was ignoring his signals and he cursed out loud. Any other time Scott would answer John hailing him continuously, but for some reason Scott felt that John's calls weren't important. Turning his attention from his brother to his father's phone, John called repeatedly until he got results.

The space monitor flinched when he heard retching over the comm, and he waited a beat before he asked Gordon if he was alright. The redhead was breathing heavy with intermittent spitting before he spoke, his voice ragged from the stomach acid burning his throat.

"Yeah, I forgot how squeamish I get with a whole hell of a lot of blood." Gordon said as he stood back up while wiping his mouth. "Kyrano is going to kill me for puking in his scaevola bushes."

"You're going to have to conquer that if you're going to join IR full time." John said factually before he went quiet as he heard Gordon curse under his breath, he chose not to address Gordon's concern for Kyrano's scaevola bushes. "I know you haven't had to deal with many gruesome rescues yet, but it's hard on a person and even harder on their stomach if they're squeamish."

"Hey Al, are you still with me?" Gordon asked as he squatted next to his semi-conscious brother. "John, he's barely there. I don't know what I can do! I need to keep Alan with me, but dad will also kill me if I let him bleed all over the cockpit and we're too far from land to take one of the boats."

"Upholstery can be replaced, Alan can't. I'd say you need to make a choice and just load Alan into the jet and fly. Virgil isn't there to stabilize him, you're going to need to take him yourself. Time is of the essence, and you can't sit around on your laurels waiting for someone to be the hero. You've got to be Alan's hero. I can talk you through everything, but that's all I can provide. I'm not there to pilot for you." John said before he initiated the startup sequence on the jet remotely. "I'll get into contact with the nearest trauma center and once I get a green light from them, I'll tell you where to go. Just get him to the jet."

Gordon looked down at Alan and felt his stomach do a somersault at the blood pooling lazily around Alan's midsection. Sucking up his queasiness, Gordon once more hefted his brother into his arms and made for the silos where the family stored all of their air crafts. It was slow going, but before long Gordon reached the jet in question and breathed a sigh of relief that the jet was ready to go. Gordon took the steps one at a time and soon they were within the family aircraft.

Gordon hauled Alan into the cockpit and placed him upright before he checked on Alan again. It wouldn't do for his little brother to have perished because Gordon was not keeping a close enough eye on him during the flight.

"Alan? Please tell me you're still with me." Gordon begged as he knelt beside his brother and nearly cried in relief when he watched Alan's eyes flutter open. "I'm going to get help, but I need you to hang in there. Don't give up on me!"

Without further argument, Gordon jumped into the pilot's seat and ran through every step as if he'd been flying his whole life. Soon the jet had taken to the skies, and Gordon kept looking at his brother hoping he'd survive. He felt the familiar burn in his eyes and the telltale knot in his throat that told him he was about to cry and Gordon forced it back. He'd asked Alan to hang in there, his younger brother needed him to stay strong.

… … … … … … … … … … …

Meanwhile John was trying every option until it was exhausted. He called Virgil and almost immediately got a response. The young man answered his phone, but it was so loud in the club Virgil was in that John didn't know if he even heard him. John had to repeat himself several times before Virgil asked John to hold on while he got to a quieter environment. John could barely wait and as soon as the young medic said he was outside, John unloaded double barrel.

"I need you to get to the hospital, just get to the hospital! Gordon is in flight right now, he's taking Alan to the hospital!"

Virgil, it seemed took him several moments before he could reply. The younger gave a kind of chuckle, believing it to be a prank before it occurred to him that John was serious.

"What did the kid do that he needs a hospital?" Virgil asked, not meaning to sound callous but thought that maybe Alan got hurt because of Gordon's antics.

"Gordon was letting him free-dive and a shark attacked him, he's in urgent need of medical attention." John said as he heard an alert from Gordon. "Hold on a second."

Virgil ran back inside the club, told his friends that he had a family emergency and ran out faster than he could ever remember running.

… … … … … … … … … … …

Meanwhile with Gordon, he got coordinates from John after he managed to get in contact with a trauma center that was willing to take Alan in. The aquanaut felt sweat beading on his upper lip as he pushed the jet to it's absolute limit. He kept up a steady stream of conversation, telling Alan everything from what he remembered of his excitement when he was told he was going to be a big brother, to when he felt anger that their mom was gone after Alan was born. A quick glance at Alan from Gordon told the older that the younger boy was in and out of consciousness, and likely not hearing anything Gordon was rambling about. But that didn't stop Gordon.

"I've always loved you; you were my first little brother. The anger I felt was childish and pointless. It wasn't your fault that mom died, and I no longer feel anger or contempt. If anything, I cherish you even more. That's why I'm not going to let you die." Gordon said as he put the jet on autopilot and crouched beside Alan to check that the crude tourniquet was still holding, and that Alan was hanging on. "Alan, you with me?"

"G-Gordon…h-help…me." Alan whimpered brokenly as he opened his eyes and pleaded with his older brother to be his hero.

"Just hang on. Stay with me, promise me that you won't give up." Gordon insisted before he patted Alan's cheek to keep him awake if not aware. Pressing his forehead against Alan's, Gordon whispered a plea to his brother. "Hang on!"

… … … … … … … … … … …

Scott silenced his phone yet again and he rolled his eyes when he saw it was John calling him. A part of him, his instincts maybe were sounding the alarm that John wouldn't be calling him for a pleasure call knowing he was in the middle of a big meeting with his father and several corporations planning a merge. When his phone started to ring yet again, Jeff heaved a terse breath and he stopped the meeting briefly.

"Scott, don't you think you ought to answer that? It hasn't quit ringing in almost an hour." Jeff said before he looked at the crowded conference room. "I'm sorry ladies and gentlemen."

Scott didn't say anything, but he did swiftly stand and walk to a distant corner of the room, turning his back before he answered the call. He spoke in a hushed voice, careful not to disrupt the meeting any more than intended. He leaned his elbow and forearm against the wall and hung his head as he listened to John light into him for not answering the first couple dozen plus calls and with the tongue lashing, came news that seemingly stopped his heart. His head snapped up and he whipped around to look back at his father before he exited the room to go into the hall so he could talk easier.

… … … … … … … … … … …

When John was finally able to get ahold of Scott, he let his older brother have it. He ripped into Scott for ignoring his call not once, not twice but forty-five times in under an hour that John was trying to call Scott. Their younger brothers needed them, and this wasn't just a simple squabble that could wait until their dad and oldest brother returned home from work, this was a matter of life and death. Scott in his defense had obviously not listened to any of his many voicemails from John and he just blurted out what happened without so much as prefacing the oldest son.

"Alan was attacked by a shark and now Gordon is midflight over the Pacific Ocean to try to get to the closest trauma center that would take him at such short notice!" John felt his mouth go dry at his admission and he waited for Scott to accuse him of lying and all he heard was a loud thump as Scott's knees hit the ground. "Scott?"

"No, that's impossible. What the hell was he even doing in the water? He was grounded!" Scott argued, forgetting in his haste that it was Gordon not Alan that was grounded this time.

"You've got the wrong brother, Gordon saved Alan. He's still saving Alan; he's flying to the number one trauma hospital closest to our home in Auckland. I've already been in contact and Gordon needs us now to be there for him, he was there when Alan was attacked." John urged as he tracked Gordon's progress. They were half an hour out from the hospital and John could see from the indicator that Gordon was pushing the jet to its fastest possible speed. The jet was traveling at approximately 617 miles per hour which at present, didn't seem fast enough.

The time that passed felt like a lifetime to John who kept an eye on his brother's progress to the hospital. The closer they got, the more it felt like the seconds ticked by slower than the last. When the jet touched down, John bit his lip. He was stuck, at least until someone thought to come retrieve him and he doubted he'd get to see Alan soon no matter how much he begged. True he hadn't been there, but he felt like he had been because John was who Gordon called for help in the moments immediately after.

… … … … … … … … … … …

The moment John disconnected the call left Scott with his ears ringing. He snapped his phone shut and put it in his pocket, noticing his hands were shaking with nervous energy. He didn't know how to tell his father, that was partly what scared him. The other part that scared him was that Alan was in the hospital again. Never mind the fact that his birth had been traumatic and then the hood infiltrating their home which caused Alan to be admitted for observation after his being strangled in midair. It just unsettled Scott because while Alan was a walking trouble magnet, their family had been fortunate to not have many instances where they depended on hospital care. Gordon notwithstanding his hydrofoil crash when he was a member of WASP ever so briefly.

But because they considered themselves lucky didn't mean they didn't have the occasional occurrence. Like now, only this wasn't just an occurrence that blew over easily. This was life changing and Scott didn't know the full extent of Alan's injuries. All he knew, all John told him was that Alan had been attacked. Now he had to go into a board room filled with powerful men and women and watch his father lose face because his children were his weakness and Scott didn't want that to lose his father the years of respect he'd had to gain on his own. Steeling his nerves, Scott readjusted his tie before he walked back in and made a spectacle by none other than his own father.

"Oh Scott, so glad you could re-join us." Jeff said, mildly irritable with Scott for not just telling whoever calling that he was in a meeting. But his ire didn't linger for long when the closer Scott got to the boardroom table, the more his pale skin showed to everyone. One of the men attending the meeting stood up, recognizing there to be something wrong with Scott and he went to the water dispenser to get some water for Scott while another person helped to get Scott seated when it seemed like he was unresponsive. "Scott, what is the matter with you?"

"Alan is being taken to the hospital…" Scott uttered in a hushed whisper. He accepted the paper cup of water and drained it in a matter of seconds before he stood back up and went for the door. Jeff was lighting quick and he stopped Scott before he demanded an explanation. He was unaware of what was wrong with Alan and locked eyes with his oldest. That seemed to snap Scott out of whatever trance he was in and what he'd been told just fell from his lips. "Gordon, he's taking Alan to the h-hospital…he was attacked b-by a shark. John didn't tell me what the extent of Alan's injuries are. But they're flying to Auckland."

Jeff felt like someone sucker punched him and then it was his turn to freeze up momentarily. The man that stood first to help Scott piped up and spoke for everyone collected in the conference room.

"You two need to go. We can reschedule, right now your boys need you more."

… … … … … … … … … … …

As soon as Gordon landed the jet, he fumbled with the release on the safety belt. Once out of the safety harness, Gordon picked up Alan and carried him from the cockpit. He could see the emergency services waiting outside the jet and he carried his brother down the steps before Alan was taken from Gordon. The nineteen-year-old stood stock still as he watched Alan be strapped to the gurney preceding when he was loaded up. One of the personnel ushered Gordon into the cab of the ambulance to keep him from the back where they worked to stabilize Alan. The aquanaut stared out the windscreen, numbness setting in as he heard the muted pandemonium in the back.

"Blood Pressure…falling… shock…65/30…dropping…go…faster!"

The driver reached up to his CB radio and started rattling information. Gordon barely understood anything that was said. He recalled hearing the word amputation, blood loss, shock but other than that he couldn't handle any other information. The drive to the hospital went by in a blur, Gordon hardly heard the siren, the sun was setting and so the lights from the ambulance mirrored back off any reflective surface. Vehicles driving down the road veered onto the shoulder as soon as the ambulance caught up with them and in no time at all the ambulance whipped into the emergency bay of the trauma hospital. Gordon's brain seemed to come moderately back online enough that he was able to jump out of the cab and run after the medical personnel as they whisked Alan further and further into the hospital. Gordon followed as far as he was able to until he was stopped by a well-meaning nurse who threw his hands up to keep Gordon at bay.

Gordon watched as Alan was raced into a surgical theatre and the door beyond slammed shut. The aquanaut pressed his face against the glass until his legs gave out on him and he hit the floor. Hours passed before the same nurse that stopped Gordon in his tracks came from the surgical theatre and knelt in front of the young aquanaut. Gordon had by this time curled in on himself, pulling his knees to his chest and resting his forehead on the tops of said knees. He had sat there alone the whole time, waiting to hear how his little brother was doing. He'd heard a couple of code blues over the intercom an hour earlier and had been passed by several doctors and nurses running through the same set of doors that led to the surgical theatre Alan was currently inside.

The nurse that had stopped him earlier put his hand on Gordon's back, jolting the second youngest Tracy son back to the present. His hazel eyes were filled with tears and he had dried tear tracks on his cheeks. He looked at him, knelt at his level and met his tearful stare with his compassionate gaze. Gordon started to move fast struggling to get up, but the nurse stayed his movement.

"Your brother is still in surgery, but I've been tasked with trying to get you taken care of. Come on." The nurse pulled Gordon up by hand and it didn't occur to him that his hands were coated in his brothers' blood until he had taken him to the employee locker room to give him a spare set of throwaway scrubs to get him out of the blood encrusted clothes that he'd come dressed in. When Gordon looked down at his hands, he felt the room grow hot and nausea settled in the pit of his stomach. The nurse had sat Gordon down on a bench and pushed a waste basket in front of his face where he'd surrendered all that was left in his stomach from earlier. The nurse had sat beside him, rubbing him on the back and telling him he was okay all while he struggled to accept that Alan was now going to have to go through life unable to do what he'd previously dreamed of doing. And for that Gordon couldn't help but to blame himself.

Once Gordon had made it past his nausea, the nurse insisted he get a shower if nothing else than to wash the blood off. He left the throwaway scrubs beside a garbage bag for him to put his soiled clothes in. Gordon stared down at his hands once he'd gotten in the shower and he watched as the blood gradually washed away. Once he'd gotten washed up, Gordon dried off and dressed. He looked down at his feet, realizing that he'd flown from their house barefooted as he'd previously been down on the beach where he hadn't worn neither his sneakers nor his sandals. When he exited the locker room, he was greeted by the nurse and he led the younger boy to the waiting room. There he saw his next two older brothers seated with a clipboard and John stood from his spot and rushed to Gordon the moment he detected his presence.

… … … … … … … … … … …

Virgil had flown back to the villa and had gone up to retrieve John. It wasn't likely that International Rescue would be called as they were still in their infancy of the rescue organization. They'd been on a few missions but rescues at this point were few and far between. They could afford to put the rescues on hold for the time being. And not a moment too soon after the other two brothers arrived did the surgeon exit the personnel only doors to the surprise of the family. It'd been close to night fall when Gordon had arrived on land with his brother in tow. And it was only just now two in the morning. Gordon felt exhausted, but he didn't dare voice his exhaustion. At least not until he knew how his brother did during surgery.

"Gentlemen, which of you are my patient's father or guardian?" The surgeon inquired as he looked between the boys, slowly gaging for himself that none of them were who he was looking for. The surgeon's eyes were drawn to Gordon's bare feet and he looked up slowly to look at the child that stood before him. He went to say something more but was silenced when Virgil spoke up.

"None of us are. We're Alan's older brothers. Our father and oldest brother are flying in from New York but won't be here for about another sixteen hours. It takes twenty-one hours to fly into Auckland. And they were in New York for business and left our brothers in the care of our housekeeper and her family."

"Well, I will need further permission from a guardian or parental unit before I discuss my patient's injuries. It's nothing against you all, it's regulations." The doctor said before Gordon snapped out of his shock enough to speak.

"Don't give us that bullshit! I realize my brother is a minor, but we have all his necessary paperwork and information at your disposal! I must know how my little brother is! The last time I saw him, he was as gray as ash, barely conscious and I know he was dying! If I'd have known you'd withhold the information on my brother I wouldn't have brought him here!" Gordon retorted, voice growing louder the longer his tirade went and so it came as a surprise when a gentle and soft hand was lightly placed on Gordon's shoulder. As if it were magic, Gordon's attitude changed dramatically.

"Now, now darling. Is that anyway to talk to this man who's working so hard to aid in saving your brother's life? And might I add, where are your shoes my dear?"

"Penny?" Gordon asked as he turned to look at the owner of the hand.

"Excuse me, who are you?" The surgeon inquired as he felt like he was in the midst of a rather emotional upheaval.

"Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward acting guardian of one Alan S. Tracy. His father called me and asked me to intercede on his behalf as he's attempting to travel to our location as we speak. I believe this is the documentation you'll need to determine myself to be of sufficient requirement in making medical decisions in-lieu of his father's presence." Penny said as she smiled at the surgeon before she extended a hand in greeting after handing the surgeon a document folder. "If you would please, I'm sure Alan's brothers have also been kept waiting long enough to know the condition of their youngest brother."

"Oh yes…Alan has suffered what's known as a traumatic amputation. The shark bite left a pretty clean bite so there were no torn nerve endings, which typically cause intense pain. All we had to do, was go in and cauterize the blood vessels and major arteries as I'd imagine that with the fact young Alan's arm was taken by a shark that there was no salvaging the missing limb. We also had to clean up the bite and make sure there was no further trauma to Alan's body. But I also must ask if anyone is a definite match to Alan's blood. He's in severe need of a blood transfusion and we'd rather do a transfusion from family if we are able."

"I believe Alan is AB positive…the only one of us present that would possibly be capable of donation is…" John said as he looked at Virgil. The middle son, though a medic for International Rescue was not a fan of needles and tried to avoid them at all cost. The look on his face said he didn't want to donate blood, but he suddenly felt a gentle nudge in his back.

"You are an exact match to your brother, I know you are not a fan of needles, but Alan can use all the help he can get." Penny suggested as she smoothed a hand across Virgil's shoulders.

It was more than the medic wanted to admit, but he knew it was definitely a help to Alan if he got even a smidgen of his blood.

"Alright, I'll give some of my blood to Alan." The medic said under his breath before he followed the surgeon who offered to escort him to the phlebotomy department. Virgil turned and grabbed John's sleeve determined not to be alone with anyone handling a needle and the space monitor followed willingly. With both older brothers gone for the time being, Penelope decided to undertake another task in caring for the boys she saw as family.

"Now what do you say to getting some shoes?" Penny asked before she led Gordon to the hospital gift shop where they at least had slippers for sale. Those would suffice for the time being until they could get back home to get proper footwear for Gordon.