A/N: Here is the next installment of A Home to Call His. I hope you enjoy it.

Reviews are appreciated.


The moment the family arrived home, Jeff took the lead and he carried Alan through the lobby in a piggyback carry. He wasn't about to allow Alan to slip out of his grasp. The boy clearly was unwell and he needed to be brought to good health. When they entered the lift, Jeff adjusted Alan so that his chin was propped on Jeff's shoulder. The patriarch could hear a strained whistle from Alan's breathing as he exhaled against the side of his neck. It seemed like forever until the door to the penthouse opened and a frantic Gordon stood, barring the family entry.

"Where was he?" Gordon asked, breathless as he was pushed aside by his father who immediately went to his bedroom and lay Alan on the duvet. He kept the door open as he dug into his dresser and pulled out some woolen socks and put them on Alan's feet. He wasn't going to worry about getting Alan to wake up, he needed the sleep more. Going to his closet, Jeff pulled down a hoodie he liked to wear on the rare lazy days in which he didn't leave the penthouse. Snagging a second sweater, Jeff pulled those over the gown Dr. Murphy said he'd retrieve the next day. Once Alan was wearing two layers of warm long sleeve shirts, Jeff accepted a pair of Gordon's sweats. He did the same as before and dressed Alan in a pair of Gordon's sweats soon followed by a pair that Jeff himself favored because the elastic was stretched out from years of wear and tear.

Once Alan was wrapped in layers of thick warm clothing, Gordon helped his dad pull Alan up the bed and tuck him beneath the thick, fluffy duvet. Jeff had resigned himself to watching Alan all night if nothing else than to make sure he didn't awake during the night and try to make a break for it. Something clearly happened during the time after Jeff left to return to work. He just wished he knew what. When he asked Scott what happened between the time of Scott talking to Taylor and Scott's discovery of Alan pulling a Houdini act; Scott hadn't been helpful. He told his father what he and Taylor spoke about. None of it seemed to be upsetting in the least little bit. So now, Jeff was left to wait until Alan was able to talk. But until that time, Jeff moved over to his armchair and picked up a book he'd left discarded. He began to read and soon was absorbed into the pages. Sinking gratefully down to where he'd chosen to sit, Jeff looked back at the slumbering form of Alan.

The teenager lay, sleeping fitfully. There was a soft knock on the door and Jeff called quietly to whomever it was that they were permitted to enter. Scott poked his head in the room, looking for all the world like a puppy that just lost his favorite tennis ball. Scott entered the room, keeping his head down and he walked over to crouch beside Jeff. The father of four lifted a foot and proceeded to prop his ankle on the top of his knee. "Yes, son? What is it?"

Scott looked over at Alan and dropped his head, expression looking shattered.

"I know what he must have overheard."

"What do you mean?" Jeff asked, using a finger as a placeholder to the book he'd just picked back up after a couple months.

"I was talking to Taylor, and he started asking me about that building we were looking into. The one that we were going to renovate." Scott started, watching his father's face for any sign of how he'd respond. "I spoke out of turn and was telling Taylor that once the renovations were done, we or rather you would hold a charity event and I phrased it as a charity case. I said that you would be through with the charity case, Taylor corrected me, and we kept talking. It wasn't much longer after that when I discovered Alan to be missing. He must have heard me, and Taylor talking and misinterpreted what I said to be about him, not the new…shelter. It's the only thing I can come up with as to why Alan took off."

Scott glanced over his shoulder at Alan and the look on his face told Jeff how sorry his oldest offspring was. Scott wasn't normally one that was lacking tact. Clearly, he thought Alan was out like a light and it was truly an accident that Alan misheard Scott's conversation.

"Scott, it's okay. We found him. That's all that matters now, and you can talk to him when he's awake next and able to have visitors. But in the meantime, I need you to go to bed. I'm going to stay home with him tomorrow so Dr. Murphy can come to give him a checkup. Just, sleep on it and try to remember if what you just told me is what happened.

~.~.~.~.~

The next few hours were consumed with Jeff completing menial tasks with the intention of making Alan comfortable. He steadily kept track of Alan's fluctuating temperatures, alternating between keeping a damp hand cloth draped on Alan's forehead and removing it when Alan shivered with the change in temperature. By early the next morning, a knock at the door drew Jeff's attention and he called permission to enter softly. Gordon poked his head in the room, and he entered the room tentatively. Jeff smiled at the boy. He was dressed for school, uniform blazer draped over his arm as it was kind of warm inside to wear the ensemble.

"Hey dad, how is he doing?" Gordon asked as he went to the side of his father's bed and lay the back of his hand against Alan's fevered cheek.

"Fever hasn't dropped any, but he's finally settled." Jeff whispered as he stood and went to his bathroom to refresh the hand cloth. Returning, Jeff draped it over Alan's forehead again. "He'll be fine son, better head on to school. Rest assured; I won't let him out of my sight."

Gordon hung his head, giving his father a look that asked, or rather quietly begged him for permission to skip class. Jeff shook his head.

"No son, you need to let Alan be. He's never going to settle if we don't let him do so on his own. He'll never feel like a part of this family if we coddle him." Jeff insisted. He turned to Gordon, cupping his son's cheek with one hand and he smiled. "I'm not going to give up on him. Granted, we've only had him for a few days, but I can already tell he's fit in well and your brothers adore him. Like he's always been here. Go, go on to school. Alan will still be here when you get back."

Gordon's lips thinned as he absorbed his father's instruction, but he nodded and stepped away. He paused in the doorway and looked back in his dad and Alan's direction. He was clearly torn between going to school, doing as his father insisted and staying behind for his own peace of mind. He was afraid of losing his best friend. Exiting his father's room, Gordon went to the front door where Virgil was standing with his book bag slung over his shoulder.

"Hey squirt, how's the runt?" Virgil asked, exchanging the nickname that John had bestowed on their newest family member for one that he deemed more fitting for the youngster.

"Still got that fever." Gordon sighed as he stepped into his dress shoes. He hated attending the blasted private school. He'd prefer a more relaxed atmosphere as opposed to the stuffy uniform and tie that he and the others were required to wear. Donning his blazer, Gordon buttoned the couple buttons and dug a pair of gloves from his pockets. Grabbing the beanie from the hat rack, Gordon pulled that on and down over his ears.

"Come on, we're going to be late if we don't leave now." Virgil insisted, tugging on Gordon's arm to pull his little brother from their residence.

Gordon left the penthouse, following Virgil closely as they exited the massive building. Turning, the brothers swiftly made their way in the direction of the private school they attended. Gordon was lost in thought as he recalled a near distant memory of how he and Alan had met.

Gordon sighed; he walked through the bustling streets of New York. He was splitting his attention on the goings on around him and the ice cream cone he was eating. Turning, Gordon slipped in between a couple fence posts to enter a park. Truthfully Gordon shouldn't be there, he was supposed to be in school. But Gordon just wasn't in the mood for listening to Ms. McDougal's boring lectures. She could at least try to act like she was interested in the materials she was teaching. Instead, she carried on and on and Gordon found he slept more often than not in her class.

Finding an empty bench Gordon sat down, and he focused solely on his ice cream. He turned his gaze around the park, watching the people jogging around the area, mothers talking as they walked with their baby prams and the distant basketball scrimmages at a nearby public court. Suddenly a blonde blur flew past him, damn near taking his head off at the shoulders when he quite literally flew overhead. Gordon was glad he'd since finished his ice cream cone because he'd have dropped it otherwise and that would have sucked out loud. He didn't call the blonde out though as he was blown away just simply watching the kid skirt around the obstacles and going to another corner of the park where there were a bevy of obstacle courses. Gordon watched from afar for a little bit, not even realizing that he'd lost track of time. Before long, he'd made his way towards the skate park and leaned on the fence, watching Alan fly through the course and jump around like a sprite in a magical forest.

At the time, Gordon had been absorbed in simply watching Alan, not even aware in the slightest that he'd been staring. It wasn't until Alan quit moving around long enough to take notice that he was being watched.

"Why don't you take a picture, it'll last longer."

"Huh?" Gordon was jarred from his thoughts by a distant voice, his face and the tips of his ears reddening when he realized he'd been caught by Alan. Though it's not like it was a crime. They were both kids and for that matter roughly the same age.

"Didn't your parents ever tell you it's impolite to stare?" The blonde teen asked, rolling backwards on his skates.

"Uh, no. To be honest, my brothers did. Dad was busy working." Gordon had keenly avoided mentions of his mom. It's not like she was there during his formative years.

"Well, it's impolite to stare. So please stop." Alan said as he used his weight to rock forward and back. He was staying in motion, for reasons that Gordon was completely unsure of. A frustrated growl came from Alan's direction and suddenly the boy was closer, standing so close that Gordon could hear his breathing. "What's with you? Never seen someone rollerblade before?"

"Not in person, no. Only on TV." Gordon admitted, his cheeks taking on a blush at having been caught unawares again. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to stare. You just make it look so flawless."

"Years of practice." Alan admitted, dropping into a crouch, and somehow staying upright on the skates. "So, got a name?"

"Gordon." The redhead said as he extended a hand for Alan to shake. The other boy looked at the hand but didn't accept the offer to shake. "What's yours?"

"Alan." A look from the blonde made the redhead realize that he must be drawing attention because of his uniform blazer. "So, what are you doing skipping school?

"I'm not…" Gordon began before he quieted. A glance at his watch told the redhead that he'd been there at the park far longer than he'd intended. He truthfully only meant to skip Ms. McDougal's class and return for his other classes. Now though, school was close to being finished and if he left now, he'd be able to catch up with Virgil before he caught wind of his skipping. "Damn."

"Sorry to break it to ya, but you've been watching me skate for the better part of two hours." Alan admitted as he stood, this time offering a hand to Gordon to pull the other boy up from the bench.

"You were aware that I was watching you this whole time?" Gordon asked, taken by surprise that Alan had been aware meanwhile Gordon had been woolgathering.

"Kind of hard to miss the laser beams boring into the back of my head. If you catch my drift." Alan said, snorting a laugh lightly. "Come on, I've got nowhere to be. I can at least skate while we head back to your school, so you don't miss your bus."

Gordon had smiled privately to himself. The was his first ever meeting with Alan, they'd talked the whole way back to the private day school where Gordon and Virgil were in attendance. Once there, Alan had made a hurried excuse about forgetting he had a dentist appointment he had to get to and he left conveniently before Virgil rounded the corner, face full of questions. Gordon hadn't made it back quite fast enough to avoid Virgil being caught by one of several of his teachers that passed Gordon's homework assignments off to the other boy because of his absences. Gordon would never forget being grounded by his father for that stunt. He carefully snuck away at odd times, never drawing the attention of his teachers after that. He still snuck away, that was a given. But he somehow missed the ever-watchful eyes of his teachers and would reappear when required to avoid suspicion.

It wasn't long after that that Alan and he had developed a rapport with each other. They only ever got to spend an hour a couple days a week with each other, but Gordon had soon learned that Alan was supposedly homeschooled and grew up a foster child. There was a brief period where Alan hadn't shown up at their designated meeting spot for about a month. Then suddenly the boy reappeared, just when Gordon was beginning to think that his blossoming friendship with Alan had dissolved. The only disconcerting thing was the black eye Alan was sporting.

"Dude, what happened?" Gordon questioned, quickly closing the distance to enter Alan's bubble and inspecting the damage for himself.

"Nothing, it's healing." Alan tried to brush off. Gordon wasn't one to back down however and he continuously wheedled until Alan spilled. "I got moved to a new foster home and Charles didn't appreciate me sassing him. Socked me a couple times to put me in my place and I've been under close watch at the group home after he was deemed to be unfit to be my foster father. I finally managed to sneak away."

Gordon had gone silent at Alan's admission. He'd always been ignorant to the world around him, that sketchy situations were real as well as poor excuses for foster homes. Alan had been moved a few times over the years, this one to be placed with Charles lasting all of a week according to Alan before he was removed. It wasn't long after that that Alan and Gordon had met some other boys, that like Alan were living in a foster home separate from Alan though all had known each other at times, having crossed paths briefly. They all formed a fast, tight friendship and would meet up on occasions over the passing year.

That summer however had been bad. Alan had been moved to another astoundingly bad living arrangement and he soon found himself in the hospital. Gordon hadn't been able to visit, having gone with his family back to their private island where they summered while the crafts for the dreamed about International Rescue were being built. It'd take another year and a half to two years to get everything underway. Gordon had taken the call to his room where he was told by one of their mutual friends that Alan had been admitted for head trauma after he and one of his new foster parents had been arguing and Alan had 'tripped' going down the stairs. Gordon and their mutual friends had said they thought Alan would be okay at this new place. But unfortunately they were wrong.

Fast forward again to the start of the new school term and the family returned. The moment they'd arrived at home, Gordon practically disappeared into the streets of New York, looking for Alan and their friends. When he found them, Alan was simply sitting on a bench. He wasn't skating, still recovering from his injuries after his fall down the stairs. Alan hadn't spoke much that day, too depressed about his situation and despite it all, he'd been thrilled to see Gordon. Alan was back at the group home and would be placed with another family soon.

Gordon recalled all the times he'd seen Alan after he'd been placed again. Alan had seemed happy, if a little down on occasions. This new family were the ones that kicked Alan to the curb in the middle of inclement weather, without proper clothing.

He and Virgil made it to their school with minutes to spare and they hustled in to their respective classrooms and claimed their seats. Gordon remained preoccupied a majority of the day, meanwhile Virgil worked hard to focus in class. He trusted Alan would be just fine. Dr. Murphy was amongst one of the best doctors ever employed by their father. Virgil believed that the physician wouldn't rest until he'd figured out the illness that had struck Alan down and he'd come up with a game plan to fight the illness. He just had to keep his younger brother from fretting himself into a frenzy over Alan's health.

~.~.~.~.~

Meanwhile, Jeff answered the door to the domicile. He greeted Arnie who had escorted Dr. Murphy up to the penthouse, not even questioning the parcels Arnie had set just inside the door.

"Gentlemen, would you please come in?" Jeff extended the offer for both the security guard and physician to enter the apartment and he closed the door behind both men when they accepted the offer. Arnie had been in the apartment a number of times over the years, he was used to coming up to visit the big man himself. "Alan is right this way."

Arnie stayed in the living area, claiming a seat on the couch as he waited for Dr. Murphy to assess his patient. A house call these days was rare for anyone, so Arnie knew Alan must be pretty sick.

Meanwhile, Dr. Murphy gently clamped a hand on Alan's shoulder to awaken the lad. He helped Alan up to sit against the headboard while Jeff stood back in the corner, supervising the doctor's assessment of Alan.

"Okay Alan, open up and say Ah." Dr. Murphy shone a light into Alan's mouth, checking his throat for any inflammation or indicators of a particular illness. Once done, Dr. Murphy listened to Alan's breathing, taking notice of crackling upon every inhale and exhale. "Alan, have you been coughing any?"

The blonde tiredly nodded his head, sniffling when he felt his nose begin to run a little. As if on cue, Alan began to cough. He hurriedly covered his mouth, coughing into his elbow. Dr. Murphy sat for a moment as he listened to Alan's cough change slightly from a dry barking cough to one that sounded like it was productive.

"Do you feel like you're trying to cough something up?" Dr. Murphy asked as he resumed listening to Alan's cough with a stethoscope. He had his hand under Alan's layered shirts and was performing chest auscultation to determine what Alan was sick with. Alan nodded amidst another bout of coughing. "Okay Alan, I know you probably don't want to; but I need you to keep coughing."

The physician turned to his bag, producing a specimen cup and uncapping it. He set it on the nightstand before he began to explain.

"What I want you to do is keep coughing to see if you can't give me a sample of the sputum in your lungs. That can tell me what you're sick with and how best to treat it. So keep coughing for me."

Alan had obliged the physician, unwillingly so. He kept continually coughing, every time a spell would end another would start immediately following the last. Alan gagged a few times, choking on the phlegm in his throat. Jeff had gone to sit on the opposite side of Alan, rubbing the teens back when it became apparent that the coughing wasn't just unpleasant but painful for the teen. Alan's face was red, the coughing sounds changing between barking and wet.

"Okay, here we go." Dr. Murphy picked up the specimen cup when Alan gave a particularly harsh cough and brought up whatever had been choking him. The doctor encouraged Alan to spit into the cup and he grunted as he looked into the receptacle.

"Gross." Alan groused, swallowing as he saw the sticky substance he'd coughed up. He tore his gaze away in disgust.

"That my boy is what is produced by an upper respiratory infection, though whether it's bacterial or viral is yet to be determined." Dr. Murphy screwed the lid on the specimen cup and sealed it into a baggy, marking it with Alan's name followed by the name of his guardian being Jeff. He stored it into his medical bag before he stood. "Now that I've got the sample, I'll be taking this to the lab and I'll be sure to put a rush on it. See if we can't get Alan started on the road to good health as soon as possible."

"Thank you doctor." Jeff said as he stood to shake Dr. Murphy's hand. He was wholly grateful to the man for taking time out of his busy day, rearranging his schedule to see Alan.

"My pleasure." Dr. Murphy said as he nodded at an exhausted Alan. He saw himself out of the room. Once with Arnie again, the two men left the residence and thereby Alan and Jeff alone. The teen was trying to clear his throat after all the coughing making his throat sore. Jeff stood, with a promise to return and when he did come back, he was carrying a mug of steaming hot tea that smelled of lemon and honey.

"Here you go son." Jeff said, handing the mug to Alan who sipped from it tentatively. He sighed gratefully when the hot liquid soothed his sore throat. Jeff sat for a few minutes, allowing Alan to settle down after the doctor left before he tilted his head in question. "Son, can I ask why you ran away?"

Alan immediately slumped at the question, and he set the mug on the nightstand. He studiously ignored Jeff's question, choosing instead to pick at his fingernails.

"Alan, can you please answer me? I promise I'm not mad. I just want to clear up any misunderstandings." Jeff said, keeping his voice even and gentle.

Alan continued picking at his nails, afraid of ruining yet another chance at having a home to call his. At Jeff's continued prodding, Alan finally relented and gave an answer.

"Do you consider me to be a charity case? Someone, that you just took in as a publicity stunt. Make me feel like I could have a chance at a home and kick me out when the going got real? Because if your answer is yes, then you might as well drop the act and tell me to get out. I won't darken your doorway ever again. Tell me now, and I'll go." Alan asked a series of his own questions, feeling the pit of his stomach twist sickeningly. He didn't know how much more of this he could take. He was growing tired of being everyone's pawn. It was unsatisfying being treated like a yoyo.

"No! That couldn't be further from the truth. True, I didn't anticipate keeping you but for a couple days when I went into this." Jeff said, taking notice of Alan's head dropping in despair. He continued. "But once I filed the emergency petition to become your legal guardian, I realized that to be your temporary guardian was unfair. You've had enough of those to last you a lifetime. I wanted to provide you a home, the safety and security that comes with it and more importantly, a family. You deserve all that, and so…so much more. What you heard; Scott is beating himself up over what you caught in his conversation. He wasn't talking about you…he was discussing a project we've decided to undertake. A new at-risk youth shelter."

Alan raised his gaze to meet Jeff's, the teenage boy's eyes showing his disbelief at what Jeff was telling him.

"I swear, I'm not lying to you. It's the truth…when you're better I can take you for a tour of the new facility. It's got to undergo a facelift, but it'll be nice once it's complete." Jeff said, watching Alan who wiped his nose on the sleeve of the hoodie Jeff put on Alan the night previous. "Now, I think it's time for you to get some more sleep. You can't get better without proper rest."

Alan nodded, sinking down into Jeff's bed and almost immediately falling asleep. It amazed Jeff that Alan fell asleep so easily. He stood up, gently brushing a little hair from Alan's forehead before he took his leave. He was going to see if he could fix something light for Alan to eat, should he wake up again any time soon.

~.~.~.~.~

Dr. Murphy sighed as he read the report on Alan's sputum sample. It was an upper respiratory infection, but it was the kind that required antibiotics. Bacterial. Dr. Murphy sighed as he consulted his on-site pharmacist. The woman had recommended erythromycin since neither were sure if Alan was allergic to penicillin. A quick call to Jeff and even the foster father was unsure. It wasn't well documented by the system what types of medications Alan was allergic to and Jeff didn't want to chance having to rush the boy to the emergency room due to a reaction to the antibiotic.

Dr. Murphy smiled his thanks to the on-site pharmacist as he signed for the antibiotic that he was going to deliver to Tracy Enterprises. When he'd arrived once more, it was a different guard than Arnie. This one was a younger man, seemingly a fresh out the gate tenderfoot. He hesitated in allowing Dr. Murphy through, following the physician to the elevator and going up with the man in question.

"So, a doctor…huh?" The guard questioned, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Yep." The physician said, choosing not to speak more as he waited for the lift to stop on the correct floor.

"Is Mr. Tracy alright? It's not often we have a doctor make a house call." The guard, Philips if his badge was anything to go by asked.

"He's fine." Doctor Murphy said, choosing not to elaborate further. Doctor/patient confidentiality clause and all that. When they made it to the front door to the apartment, Dr. Murphy knocked which was soon answered. The guard was in awe, having never seen Mr. Tracy up close and personal before.

"Dr. Murphy, thank you for returning. I assume you've gotten the results back?" Jeff said as he ushered the doctor and guard into the apartment once more.

"I have Mr. Tracy. He does have an upper respiratory infection, bacterial at that. I brought him some antibiotics to combat the illness." Dr. Murphy said before being interrupted by the flush of a nearby toilet.

Alan exited the hallway bathroom, face pale and features drawn. Jeff stepped forward, placing an arm around Alan's shoulders, and leading him to the living room. At Dr. Murphy's questioning look, Jeff explained. "Alan was coughing too much, it made him sick for a brief period. I think he's better for the moment."

The guard stared, surprised to see such a young teenager with his employer, having only known about the four sons and he was aware that the only blonde was an adult, not this boy. He didn't ask though because he knew it was none of his business. Shrugging internally to himself, Guard Philips dismissed the teenager's presence to be that of a nephew or grandson.

"Well, hopefully these antibiotics will do the trick." Doctor Murphy said as he directed Alan and Jeff across the room where he crouched to Alan's level. "I've also brought some probiotics, just so the antibiotics don't mess your stomach up too bad. Though just know that you may have an upset stomach while taking these."

"Great." Alan groused, rubbing his stomach with a grimace. "I just love getting sick."

"That's why I brought these probiotics. They should help with any nausea or other digestive distress symptoms you may experience." Alan accepted the two orange pill bottles, handing them off to Jeff for safe keeping. "Thanks doctor."

"My pleasure. Now, I'll be swinging by in a week to check on you. Regardless of how you feel after you begin the antibiotics, keep taking them unless you have difficulty breathing. I've also provided you a pamphlet of side effects that are to be expected with the use of these antibiotics."

Alan nodded and leaned into Jeff's side when his guardian sat beside him on the couch. Guard Philips still watched how Alan and Jeff behaved, curious as to their relationship. He'd have to ask Arnie.