Author's note; The hotel mentioned in Gordon's dream actually exists in northern Sweden - I couldn't make up anything that weird!

Chapter 4

Gordon turned his head and used his lips on the switch to turn off the TV. By nature more of a do-er than a watcher, he had probably seen more TV in the past few days than he had so far this year. It seemed ironic that his family had sat around waiting while he was unconscious, then disappeared as soon as he woke up. No, he chided himself, that's not fair - they did all have their own lives to lead. Scott had had to go back to his squadron - but had promised to return the next time he was due some leave. Virgil and Alan had left the day after to return to college, and his father the day after that on business. He'd had a nice surprise yesterday when Grandma and Tin Tin had turned up unexpectedly. Grandma had brought enough cakes and cookies to feed the entire ward, if not the hospital. Tin Tin, looking stunning in a halter neck top and shorts, had given him a kiss that he joked would have brought any red-blooded male back from the dead, let alone a coma. In fact, after they had left, there had been so many ribald comments from some of the other guys on the ward that the head nurse had come out to scold them. Tomorrow John would be back from the space station, and had promised to come on the first available flight. He was looking forward to seeing his favourite brother again.

Something caught Gordon's eye and he pressed another switch to tip the bed up, giving him a better view. A small blond boy, probably about ten years old, in dressing gown and pyjamas, had just entered the ward. The small figure looked round, then avoiding the first bed, which was curtained off, approached the old Indian gentleman in the second bed.

"Good morning, Mr Chandrasekar" he heard the high clear voice say. "How are you today?"

"Not too well, I'm afraid, Sandy" replied the old man. (Gordon was sure his hearing was getting sharper. Lying here day after day, all he could do was watch and listen.) "My knee was hurting last night and kept me awake."

"I'm sorry to hear that," replied the small figure. "Would you like me to read to you today?"

"No thank you, Sandy. I think I'll just try to have a nap. Why don't you go and talk to young Gordon over there? I'm sure he'd love to chat to you."

The small form made its way across the room to Gordon, who pressed the switch to return his bed to horizontal, so they were at eye level. "Hallo, I'm Sandy Wilson. Well I'm Jeremy really, but everyone calls me Sandy 'cos of my hair."

"Well, hallo there, Sandy" replied Gordon. "I'm Gordon Tracy, and my brothers call me 'Coppertop' because of my hair."

"Do you mind if I talk to you?"

"No, I'd love to have someone to talk to. Pull up a chair."

Sandy climbed onto the chair, then looked down at Gordon. The tubes had all gone and most of the bruising had faded, but he was still pinned in the body braces. "Hey" exclaimed Sandy. "You're all beat up. Did you fall out of a window? Petey in our ward fell out of a window and he's all beat up like you."

"No, I didn't fall out of a window. I crashed my boat."

"Oh, dear" said Sandy gravely. "Is it going to cost a lot to fix?"

"I don't know, replied Gordon, amused, "it didn't belong to me. It was a WASP boat."

"Are they mad at you for crashing it?"

"They're still trying to make up their minds about that." In fact the inquiry board had already been in to see him, and the remains of the boat were being examined to see whether the crash had been caused by pilot error, or some mechanical fault.

"Would you like to play some games?"

"What sort of games?"

"Well" said Sandy, pulling things out of his pockets, "I've got Ludo, or Snakes 'n' Ladders, or Checkers or Snap."

"OK" said Gordon, "Let's play Snakes and ladders. I haven't played that for years. But you'll have to move for me."

"OK" replied Sandy, "but if you get tired, or you've had enough, you have to tell me and I have to go away. That's the rules, or the nurses won't let me play with you again. They don't mind me in here mainly. They say I'm inker, inker- something"

The game had just started when Tessa came up to the bed. "I see you've met our friend Sandy," she said. "But tell him when you've had enough and he'll go."

"I've already told him that," protested Sandy, turning to Gordon for confirmation. "Didn't I?"

"Yes, you did"

Tessa ruffled Sandy's hair. "Sandy Wilson, you're incorrigible!"

Sandy turned again to Gordon. "See? I told you that as well!"

Later that evening when Megan was giving Gordon his supper he asked, "What's young Sandy in here for? I didn't like to ask him."

Megan put down the spoon and looked at him. "He's got some weird form of cancer that won't respond to normal treatments."

"What are his chances?"

She pulled a face. "About fifty/fifty. That's why he's allowed so much freedom. He's a good kid"

"Yes, he reminds me of my younger brother, Alan at that age."

"Which one is Alan? I never did quite get all your brothers' names sorted out."

"Alan's the blond one."

"Oh, him - Golden Boy."

"What!" said Gordon, laughing.

"Don't tell them, but we nurses had our own names for your brothers. Alan was Golden Boy, and the tall dark one was Prince Charming. The other one, the serious one, I don't think we'd found a name for him yet. I think a few of the staff quite fancied your brothers."

"Well" said Gordon, still laughing, "looks like I woke up just in time!"

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The following day Gordon and Sandy were playing yet another game of Snakes and Ladders when John walked into the ward. "Hi, there, Coppertop," he said, ruffling Gordon's hair. "My, you look a mess!" He had been warned about Gordon's appearance, but it still came as a bit of a shock.

"Yeah," replied Gordon, "well you should see what the other guy looks like!"

Sandy looked up from the game. "Do you want me to go?"

"That's all right, kid," replied John. "You finish your game first".

"John" said Gordon, "this is my friend Sandy. Sandy, this is my big brother, John."

"Hi there, Sandy," said John. He looked down at the board, "Who's winning?"

"I think I am at the moment," said Gordon.

Sandy looked at John, pointing to the insignia over his breast pocket. "You've got 'NASA' on your jacket. Are you an astronaut?"

"That's right, Sandy. I've just got back from the space station. I was there when Gordon had his crash - that's why I haven't been to see him before."

"Hey, that's cool!" exclaimed Sandy. Then he paused and turned to Gordon, accusingly. "You didn't tell me your brother was an astronaut!"

"Didn't he?" cut in John. "Gordon, how could it have slipped your mind! I bet you didn't tell him your father was an astronaut too." He paused, looking at Sandy "Do you know the names of the men on the first expedition to the moon?"

"That's easy," replied Sandy. "David Brady, Lu Sin Cheung and Jefferson Tracy." He paused, turning to Gordon, "Your name's Tracy."

"That's right, and Jefferson Tracy is my father."

"Hey! Megacool! Does he come to visit you? Can I meet him? Just wait till I tell the guys on the ward about this!" Slipping down from his chair he ran out of the room.

Gordon looked at John. "Do you realise just how many games of Snakes and Ladders I will have to play now?" he said, laughing.

"He looks like a fine kid"

"He is. He keeps me entertained. He reminds me a lot of Alan at that age."

"Oh? I'd say he's more like you" He paused. "How are you feeling?"

"I think I'm more bored than anything," replied Gordon. "I haven't laid around this long since that time I had pneumonia as a kid - and I've still got another seven weeks to go."

"Do you remember anything about the crash?" asked John.

"Just fragments, really. I remember spinning out of control and thinking 'This is going to hurt'. Then I was looking at the underside of a helicopter - I suppose I was being winched into it. Next thing I knew I woke up here." He looked at his brother. "You know, I was dreaming about you just before I woke up - we were swimming through the caves under the island."

John shifted in his chair, uneasily. Fragments of his own dream came back to him He was going to have to do some serious thinking about this before he talked about it to anyone. If ever. "That sounds like a funny dream. Had any others?"

"Just one" Gordon hesitated. "I haven't told anyone else about this."

"Well, don't tell me if you don't want to."

"No, I think I need to talk about it to somebody" He paused, "You remember that hotel Dad took us to once in Sweden - the one that's carved into a glacier?"

"Yes I remember. All the rooms are ice, all the furniture too."

"Well, in my dream I was there. I think it must have been when I was in the cryo tank. I was walking along passages and through rooms, but couldn't find the way out. I'd hear voices, but they were always just up ahead, or round the next corner, and when I got there nobody was there. I seemed to have been walking for days. I was getting so tired, I just wanted to rest. Then I came to this doorway and looked in. It was a proper room, with curtains, and a carpet and real furniture. There was a fire burning, and next to it was Mom's favourite chair - you remember, the green one with the embroidered back? It all looked so warm and inviting, I thought I'd just go in and sit down for a few minutes. I sat in the chair, and it was so lovely to rest - I felt warm and relaxed for the first time for ages. Then I realised I could hear voices outside the door. It was Dad's voice, and Scott's. Dad sounded really angry. I looked up and saw that the door was closing. Somehow I knew I had to get out of there before the door closed. I jumped up, and just made it to the door in time. When I got out, Dad and Scott weren't there, and when I looked back the room had gone." He paused. "They told me I died at one point when I was in that cryo tank. Do you think that was it?"

"I don't think we'll ever know the answer to that," replied John.

Gordon lay back, looking up at the ceiling. "I don't think I'd mind dying if that's what it feels like - just being all warm and drifting off to sleep."

"Yeah, well don't go and die on us just yet, will you, kiddo?"

Gordon turned and looked at his brother. "What - when Dad's promised me my own submarine? Are you kidding?"

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