A BROTHER'S CRY

By: GrumpyMagrat & Magratconvert

Disclaimer: We don't own the Thunderbirds. Not now, not ever.

Chapter Fifteen – A Brother's Loyalty

When Scott saw Alan in Gordon's arms, he exploded. Before John or Virgil had a chance to react, Scott had crossed to where Gordon and Alan were. He grabbed Gordon by the shirt and pulled him into a standing position.

"Get your filthy hands off him!" Scott yelled at Gordon. "Don't you ever touch him again! Do you hear me! I won't let you hurt him again!"

Virgil and John tried to break up Scott and Gordon.

"Scott, let go of him. What is wrong with you? Scott!" John yelled.

"Come on man, get a grip. Let him go!" Virgil tried to get through to his brother.

Gordon was still trying to get his bearings after being rudely woken up. Scott was yelling at him. His brain was having trouble making sense of what was going on. One sentence broke through the fog that he was in. "I won't let you hurt him again!"

Gordon thought. "Did I hurt Alan again? All I remember is talking to him. He made me promise to stay and talk to Dr. Shipman." He saw Alan try to get up from the floor. Alan seemed to be struggling to get to his feet. John had to help him up. "Oh my God," Gordon's tortured brain thought. "I did hurt him again. I don't remember doing anything. I am losing my mind." Gordon's mind was screaming but he could not seem to get his mouth to work.

Scott shoved Gordon into Virgil's arms. "Take him back to the sickroom and make sure that he stays there. Sedate him, lock him in the closet, tie him to the bed, I don't care what you do but don't let him leave. Just get him out of my sight."

Virgil could see the anguish on Gordon's face, and the fury on Scott's face. He decided that it would be best to separate the two of them. "Come on Gordon," Virgil said in a quiet, comforting voice. "Let's get you out of here while we get things sorted out. It will be ok. I promise."

Gordon just nodded his head and allowed Virgil to lead him out of the pod. He knew that Virgil was trying to comfort him, but he was too upset to accept that comfort.

Meanwhile Alan's sleepy mind was trying to grasp what was happening. There was movement next to him, and then he heard Scott yelling. Alan opened his eyes and saw Scott holding Gordon. "That would have been the movement." He thought. John and Virgil were trying to get him to let go. Alan tried to get to his feet. Having his arm in the sling was throwing him off-balance and making it hard for him to get up from the floor. Suddenly John was there and helped him up. He heard Scott tell Virgil to take Gordon back to the sickroom. Alan had never seen Scott this angry, but it was the utter look of despair on Gordon's face that scared him the most.

After Virgil and Gordon left the pod, Scott put an arm around Alan's shoulder. "It's all right Alan, we found you. I won't let him hurt you." He said.

Alan shoved Scott away. "What the hell are you talking about? Did you say that to him?"

"Alan, I am just trying to protect you." Scott said trying to calm his youngest brother.

"I don't need you to protect me. In case you haven't noticed I am not a little kid anymore. I don't need my big brother to stop the playground bullies." Alan shouts at Scott. "And I especially don't need you to protect me from my own brother."

"Need I remind you," Scott said through gritted teeth. "That it is because of that brother your arm is in that sling. He gave you a concussion. He attacked you for God's sake."

"And why was that Scott?" Alan interrupted. "Maybe it was because he was in so much emotional pain that he couldn't cope with it. Then to top it off, his older brothers, who he thought that he could depend on, were too busy to notice. You are so hell bent on protecting me from Gordon, but where were you when Gordon needed help? Well, Scott? What's your excuse? Come on Scott, I'm listening."

"Don't you dare try to make this my fault!" Scott yelled, his anger getting the better of him. "Gordon is the one who hid out from us. I tried to talk to him, but he refused to talk to me. I can't help him if we won't let me."

"Help him? You haven't even talked to him since the accident." Alan saw Scott roll his eyes. "Yes Scott, it was an accident. We were arguing and our emotions were running high. He didn't realize that I was hurt when he left."

"I have already hear the explanation…" Scott began.

Alan interrupted. "Well, you may have heard but you aren't listening. Gordon was in a fragile emotional state. Hell, he still is, but you are so wrapped up in your anger that you can't see it. He desperately needs your forgiveness. I've forgiven him. Why can't you? He needs you, Scott. He needs your support. He needs to know that you still love him."

Scott stopped short. "Gordon is my brother, Alan. He knows that I love him."

Alan stood face to face with Scott. Anger flashed in his eyes and he did nothing to hide the anger in his voice. "Then explain to me Scott, why did I find Gordon down here two hours ago saying goodbye to his 'Bird. He told me that he had to leave because you hate him. I tried to tell him that he was wrong, but after seeing you jump all over him just now, I'm beginning to think that he is right. Ever since Mom died, you were always there to protect us from the bullies, but now you have become the bully, Scott. Well, this time I am going to protect Gordon. Listen to me and listen good. Until you are able to let this go and make things right with Gordon, just stay the hell away from him." Alan turned and headed to the door.

Scott was in a state of shock. Yes, he was angry with Gordon and it was clouding his judgment, but he didn't hate him. He needed to talk to Alan. "Alan, let me explain…"

"There is nothing to explain, Scott." Alan said in a surprisingly calm but determined voice. "I will tell you one more thing. If Gordon still decides to leave because of you, I will be leaving with him." With that statement, Alan left the pod.

Scott stood there shell-shocked. How did his life get so far out of control? More importantly, how can he fix the mess that he had made? He jumped when he felt a hand touch his shoulder. He turned to find John standing next to him. John had stayed so quiet during the argument with Alan that Scott had forgotten that he was still there.

"He's right you know." John said quietly.

Scott looked at John. "It's late. We need to get some sleep."

John wanted to say more, but he did not want to risk an argument between Scott and himself. John just nodded and headed out of the pod. Maybe things would look better in the morning.

Scott watched John leave. He knew that he should have said more to his brother, but he just couldn't bring himself to talk about it. To his brother's retreating back, he whispered. "Yeah John, I know he is right."

TBC

Author's note – Talk about Scott being a beast. Can you believe him? Way to go Alan to stand up to him. Ok folks, here's some bad news. I have been called out of town. (Please don't kill me.) That is one of the reasons that we have been posting more often. I will be back on Sunday the 31st. I promise to post as soon as I get home. The end is in sight I swear, just some more typing to do.