A/N: I apologize if my stories haven't been showing up. I seem to be experiencing glitches with the system and even some of the links haven't been working (at least for me). Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter however short it may be.

Reviews are greatly appreciated and the last update for this story will be taking place next week. Provided I get what I'm working on done, I may have an additional story or follow-up chapter ready to post in time for my birthday at the end of this month.

I am my own beta reader, and all mistakes are my own.

Thanks!

Sad-Blue-Eyed-Angel 2010

The doctor wasn't lying when he said he was going to wean Alan off the medication. It took several days before Alan started trying to come around. John stayed by Alan's side, insisting that he wasn't going to leave Alan to wake up alone. He stayed round the clock, only stepping away when he had to use the restroom or when he was made to leave and get food by medical staff. Other than that John remained by Alan's side.

John lay his head down on the mattress beside Alan's shoulder, humming softly to his kid brother. It wasn't exactly in tune, but John wasn't known for his singing abilities. He just hummed to fill the quiet void between beeps from the medical equipment. Glancing at the whiteboard on the wall, John read the writing.

It listed Alan's name, age, his blood type, and what medications he was on. There was also the name of the nurse in charge of his care for the day and the daily greetings, not that Alan could read them yet.

"Hmm."

John picked up his head from where it lay on the bed beside Alan, and he gazed up at his baby brother. The look on Alan's face was that of pain mixed with an obvious unwillingness to wake up. Alan never was a morning person, usually sleeping so deeply that their brothers often joked he was the male version of sleeping beauty. But John still claimed that was Virgil's title.

"Come on Munchie, wake up. I'm here." John murmured, brushing a bit of hair from Alan's forehead. Alan gave a whimper and John shushed him. Lowering his voice, John started reiterating to Alan how much he loved him and how much he missed him. How much they all missed him. Gradually Alan struggled to wakefulness, and he opened his eyes long enough to quirk a lop-sided smile at John before he sank back into the blissful unconsciousness. Okay, John could handle this. Alan seemed to be doing fine at the moment.

Alan remained in and out of consciousness for the better part of three additional days. He'd wake up, look around and if he didn't immediately see a familiar face he'd begin whimpering. That was part of the reason behind John insisting on staying. He could be scary when he felt like it, and the dangerous glint in his eyes at being made to leave Alan made anyone that tried to separate the brothers back down from any possible confrontation.

Soon though, John's efforts were rewarded, and he was the first-person Alan saw as he pried his sleep heavy eyes open. Alan expelled a breathless whisper, calling John by name. The older blonde smiled back, tears welling in his eyes at being able to talk to Alan. Finally.

"Hey little man." John whispered as he leaned in to hug his baby brother gently. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"Johnny, everything hurts." Alan whimpered.

John frowned at that, and he pressed the nurse call button, summoning a nurse to his brother's room.

"It's gonna be okay Munchie, Johnny will make the pain stop." John murmured as he took Alan by the hand and gave a small squeeze. When a nurse did enter the room, she left after assessing Alan's injuries with the promise of getting Alan pain relief. It took ten minutes. John was livid at that point. He hated it when any of his brothers were in pain, but none more so than his baby brother. The eleven-year old's bottom lip and chin wobbled as he struggled to control his tears. John watched Alan's chest as he gave a hiccup. The action igniting a burning pain in his chest that made Alan give in to his tears.

A hitched sob, followed by a pained whimper was what John had to deal with. Scott entered the room with their grandma as Alan's tears slipped down his cheeks and Alan began crying. John just about bit the nurse's head off for taking so long. At least that was supposed to be the outcome if Alan didn't find relief soon.

"Okay, here we are." The nurse said as she handed Alan a small paper cup of water as well as a second paper cup that contained some pills. "Meds should kick in shortly."

"Is that all you can give him?" John questioned, his blue eyes narrowing. He wasn't happy to see the medication was a tablet.

"Easy John, down boy." Scott said as he sat opposite Alan and John on the other side of the bed. He gently squeezed Alan's knee, lightly pinching Alan's cheek and playfully nibbling on one of Alan's ears. It successfully made Alan giggle, but it did nothing to stop his tears. The ending result was a tearful giggle. "The meds will kick in soon kiddo. You just need to get them on board."

Alan hesitated in taking the pills, having difficulty in swallowing them but he got them down eventually. Then it was a matter of waiting for the medication to kick in. When it did eventually begin lessening Alan's pain, the boy started sinking down into sleep.

Once Alan was asleep, his grandmother leaned down to kiss his cheek. She stood back up, taking great care to keep her voice down.

"You know your father finally called. He got your message John when Alan was first hurt. He's apologized for not returning your call sooner. He was relieved to hear that Alan is doing relatively okay."

John released a hollow chuckle, his lip trembled slightly before John got control. He covered his eyes with one hand and sucked in as deep a breath as he could manage.

"So, he returns your calls, but not mine. I…I needed him here. Not out there. I needed his help, even his presence, when the whole world was crumbling down around me. I needed him and he finally decides to call back over almost a week. He could have called, should have instead of leaving me to deal with this on my own! Alan is his son! Not mine! He is my little…my baby brother! I shouldn't have been put in a situation, where I had to be the one to make calls for Alan's best interests." John was beyond angry at this point. Ordinarily he never lost his temper, having an exceedingly long fuse for the most part, but he felt hurt that he had to be the one that Alan relied on while they waited for their grandma to get to the hospital.

Scott seemed to take notice of this, and he stood swiftly, grabbing John up and hugging him fiercely. John tried to resist Scott, but soon his anger snuffed out and with it came the tears that John had been struggling to hold back unless he was alone. Their grandma had left the room, intentioned to keep Virgil and Gordon away until Scott could get John to calm. John lay his head on Scott's shoulder, tears coursing a boiling hot trail down John's cheeks to be absorbed by Scott's shirt. The oldest son hugged John, whispering words of encouragement as he patted his back. When John was finally able to bring himself under control, he backed away from Scott, using an open palm to wipe at his eyes and dry his cheeks.

"Are you feeling better now?" Scott questioned as he grabbed a couple tissues from the box by Alan's hospital bed, handing them to his younger brother.

"A little, but…I'm still pissed at him." John said as he sank back into his previously vacated seat and proceeded to dry his eyes. Scott crouched in front of John and looked at him.

"Who?" Scott asked.

"Who do you think? Certainly not Alan." John said as he took to blowing his nose when it wouldn't stop running after his crying jag. "I mean, dad."

"Why are you pissed at him?" Scott questioned as he tilted his head in question.

"Why aren't you? He left us here, to fend for ourselves with grandma! She's doing the best she can, but even she's said one son was almost too much for her to handle and now she's got five to raise at once." John said. "It just feels like he's abandoning us, and now with Al in the hospital…I just can't shake the feeling that if Bane hadn't been there. Alan wouldn't be here. We came too close to losing him the other day and then to be holding him as he lay bleeding in my arms…it's just more than a little traumatic."

"I get that bro, put yourself in my shoes. I thought I was going to drop from a heart attack when I listened to that voicemail you left and then I couldn't get in touch with you. James couldn't drive fast enough for my liking, and I thought he was going to hogtie me in the back of the truck, especially with as much as I kept urging him to go faster." Scott said. He knew they came way too close for comfort. "But it's better to not think that way. Alan is here and he's going to be okay. Maybe not able to run around outside anytime soon, but he's still here."

"I know…I know. But I'm still terrified of losing him." John said as he sucked in a shaky breath.

"We're just gonna have to take this one day at a time. And the same goes for you, if you feel like the world is crumbling down around you, say something! Tell me or tell grandma. But don't bottle it up." Scott said as he squeezed John's knee.

"Okay, you have my word." John said, sinking down in his seat.

"Great, now that you've found your common sense…I think it's high time you head over to the hotel room and catch some Z's. Lord knows you've barely slept, and Alan will be discharged soon." Scott said as he ducked his head to meet John's eyes when the younger boy ran his hands over his head to rub at the back of his neck.

"That's another thing, I was going to let Alan sleep in my room. He can have my bed; I'll sleep on the floor. With his injuries, there's no possible way he can manage those stairs. And if he falls!"

"Hey, baby steps Johnny. Let's get the kid out of the hospital and back home first."

~.~.~.~.~

When Alan was permitted to leave the hospital a week later, he was sat up in a wheelchair completely ramrod straight. He couldn't slouch, the brace he was wearing wouldn't allow for it. The brace was a bulky hard plastic device that fit around Alan as snug as a glove. It could even be a modernized corset.

Grandma had the vehicle pulled close to the exit, meanwhile Scott and John were both prepared to help Alan maneuver into the van. Virgil and Gordon were both left at home, putting the finishing touches on all their preparations. Alan didn't know it, but the town had heard about Alan's attack, and everyone was planning a get together to welcome Alan home. His friends from school were going to be there and Gordon as well as Virgil oversaw getting the decorations completed.

By the time Alan was discharged and loaded into the van, he was a very tired and grumpy little boy. John sat in the back with Alan, and he tried his best to calm Alan down. The eleven-year-old growled at his brother and he said something unbecoming of a child Alan's age and Scott hissed at him in reproach. Thankfully their grandmother hadn't heard what Alan said or she'd have thumped Alan for sure, regardless of injuries.

"Okay boys. Are we all ready to go? No last-minute potty breaks?" Grandma asked as she put her seatbelt on. They had a little over six hours until they got home, and everyone hoped Alan would sleep the whole way. He'd been practically insufferable since he came out of his induced coma.

"I think we're going to be fine. Al knows to let us know if he's got to go. Don't you buddy?" John asked to which he got a glare in response. Alan was not happy in the least little bit. He was tired, sore, and very unhappy.

"Yes, Johnny." Alan snapped.

"Hey, lose the attitude. Don't take it out on John." Scott chastised. He glanced over his shoulder at Alan to see he was staring resolutely out the window with his arms carefully crossed over his chest.

"Whatever." Alan snarked. When Scott looked like he was going to further chastise Alan, John waved it away. He shook his head at his brother and Scott discontinued his scolding.

Their trip carried on without further upheaval and the next thing anyone knew, Alan was asleep; leaned back against John with his head pillowed on his brother's arm. John moved his arm up to allow Alan to lay beneath his arm, nestled in against his chest. John forgave Alan's earlier catty behavior, knowing he was usually unruly when he either didn't feel good, was sleepy, or was in pain which Alan was all the above and would be for a while yet.

After they'd been on the road for a couple hours, they pulled off at a rest area to allow Alan to get out and stretch his legs. Scott took Alan to the bathroom, helping his kid brother so he wouldn't have to contort to use the bathroom. When they'd all finished, the family got back in the van and situated accordingly for the last leg of their journey. Scott drove this time, meanwhile Alan and John sat in the back again. Ruth sat passenger and she told Scott directions for getting back to Galena.

It seemed like no time at all that they'd arrived home. The plan had been to stop off at Mr. Carlson's so Bane could be reunited with Alan. The little boy barely remembered Bane standing over him, snarling at Lucifer and keeping point. The German shepherd himself had needed stitches to repair the gouges that he'd suffered in defense of Alan. Mr. Carlson had been able to fill in a few blanks as Bane hadn't yet gone to Alan for the day.

Mr. Carlson had taken Bane outside, going through his usual tasks of watering his growing crops as well as tending to his late wife's flower patch along the front of the homestead. Bane had fallen asleep, laying comfortably on his side, and snoring loud enough to rival a chainsaw. He'd woken suddenly which Mr. Carlson had later remarked was odd for the dog. He didn't typically awaken the way he had nor snap to attention either.

The German shepherd had immediately begun to growl, standing swiftly, and running in the direction of the Tracy family homestead. Mr. Carlson hadn't bothered to call the shepherd back, knowing the dog had taken a liking to Ruth's youngest grandchild. Whatever else had happened would remain a mystery however unless someone one day invented a device that could play a dog's memory on a screen for all to watch.

"Take it easy baby." Ruth urged as she helped to guide a slow-moving Alan to sit on Mr. Carlson's porch swing. They all wanted to get Alan comfortable before they let Bane out of the house. Once Alan was situated, he allowed Mr. Carlson to hug him. The older gentleman put a hat on Alan's head, declaring Alan a junior officer for the local squad. It was a gift from the precinct, a means to cheer up the injured child and to raise spirits for the whole lot of them. They also gifted Alan an honorary badge with a written consent that Alan could spend a day touring the community with an off-duty officer and do anything. Go see a movie, play at the arcade, go see a baseball game. The possibilities were endless, and the best part was Mr. Carlson's own son had followed in his father's footsteps and took the pledge. He'd been the officer that responded to Mr. Carlson's call and had flown on angel's wings to get Alan the help he'd so urgently needed.

After all, had settled, Bane was let out of the house. The German Shepard had sauntered closely to Alan, head down and tail tucked slightly until he sniffed the hand that was extended out to him. Then he seemed to come alive with excitement. It was all anyone could do to try to calm the dog down. Bane acted like a puppy again and he bounced from foot to foot then lay on the porch on his side, whimpering and whining, asking Alan through body language for pets and belly rubs. Alan leaned as far forward as he was able in the brace and allowed Bane to sit back against his knee and lick his face. He gave soft breathy chuckles as Bane whimpered happily at having his boy back safe and sound. Ruth wiped at one of her eyes as she watched her grandson that had been so terrified of dogs, allow a dog – an intimidating one at that lick his face so much it's a wonder he had any skin left on his face.

Alan groaned with a grimace as he attempted to sit back up when his back and ribs began protesting his treatment. John came to Alan's rescue, and he helped ease Alan back to sit up. Alan was a little short of breath from the position he'd been in, but his breathing got a little easier as he relaxed.

"Thanks Bane, you saved my life." Alan said, smiling painfully at the dog that rested his head atop Alan's lap.

"He's glad that you're okay sonny. We all are." Mr. Carlson said as he chucked Alan beneath the chin. "Now, I think it's high time we get you on home. You need your rest after such a long car ride. Bane can come visit you tomorrow if you feel up to it."

"Kay, thanks Mr. Carlson." Alan said, feeling the earlier fatigue like a fifty-thousand-ton weighted blanket. It was heavy and stifling at the same time.