Whumptober Day 1: Alt Prompt 3: Dazed and Confused.
For Tsari.
I discovered a conversation we once had on Discord that inspired this.
Characters: Jeff, Scott
Warnings: Drugged, Seizure
Jeff remembered when Scott was born.
One of the things that had fascinating Jeff was his son's blue, blue eyes. He himself had grey eyes and Lucy had hazel, and both had wondered what colour eyes he would end up. But they stayed blue, just turned slightly deeper.
Every child's eye colour was hotly debated every time they were having another child, but it wasn't until Alan that another blue-eyed child was born. For that first year of Alan's life Jeff watched to see if his youngest eyes would match his eldest, but Alan's stayed lighter.
Jeff found himself at odd moments reflecting on the eyes of all his children, especially in increasing moments during his near-eight years, but today, today he was reflecting on that specific difference.
Scott's eyes were darker than Alan's. It was an immutable truth.
But not today.
Today Scott's eyes are lighter, identical to Alan's, and that's causing such pain in Jeff's heart. For when Scott's eyes are that shade, then his father knows that there is something so fundamentally wrong with his eldest. It is when Scott is at his most vulnerable.
Jeff is in Two's medbay, where Scott is tightly strapped down and restless. Even now he his trying desperately to get free. Virgil and Gordon are trying to get a drip into him and it's Jeff's job to hold Scott still.
He's not doing a very good job of that.
Zoning out his two other boys and zeroing in on Scott, Jeff places a hand each side of his son's head and tries to hold him still, leaning over as much as he can to try and get Scott to look into his eyes. It's hard work with all the thrashing, and Jeff is repeating Scott's name over and over and over again.
Nothing is getting through to the man.
The rescue had been routine. Right up until a flash of purple, a slap of a small explosive device on a helmet, a tiny explosion, only enough to crack said helmet, and a cloud of gas had left Scott wide eyed and confused, backing away from his family and cowering in fear when he couldn't move any further.
Jeff, who had not long started going out on rescues, has no idea how they have managed to get the eldest back into Two, but not knowing what had been done to Scott means that they can't sedate him until tests had been run.
'Scott. Scott, son. Scotty. Scotty. Scott.'
But the dazed and confused man just can't hear him.
Scott continues to whimper and shake, and Jeff holds on tighter until at last his son stills.
Light blue eyes, several shades too light, focus on Jeff. His pupils are blown wide. Jeff smiles, hoping to get some response, but Scott just stares at him for a second and then starts to convulse. Jeff immediately lets go as Gordon and Virgil release the restraints.
'Shit! Dad – Dad, we gotta get Scott to a hospital – NOW!'
