A BROTHER'S CRY

By: GrumpyMagrat & Magratconvert

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

Chapter Twenty-Three – A Brother Gives Up

Fifty-two hours later Scott was beside Gordon's bed again. He had absolutely refused to leave the sickroom. Even when his brothers had come down to take their turns sitting with Gordon, Scott insisted on staying.

After the first twenty hours, John convinced Scott to lie down in the bed next to Gordon's. Even with John's promise to wake him if Gordon woke up, Scott slept fitfully. After only two and a half hours, Scott was back by Gordon's bedside.

Jeff knew that he had to step in after forty hours when Scott looked like death warmed over. He had dark bags under his eyes and two days growth of stubble on his face. His shoulders drooped, and he leaned on Gordon's bed quietly talking to him encouraging him to wake up. Unfortunately Jeff's efforts to help his son resulted in a heated argument.

Begin Flashback

"Scott, you have got to get some rest." Jeff told him. "Two hours of sleep in two days is not enough. You are wearing yourself out just like Gordon did."

"I'm fine, Dad." Scott told his father.

"You are not 'fine', Scott." Jeff argued. "Have you taken a good look at yourself? You need to shower, shave and get at least six hours of sleep. I want you to go to your room and rest."

"I'm not leaving." Scott said emphatically.

"You are not going to be any help to Gordon if you don't take care of yourself." Jeff said. "If you won't listen to me as your father, then I am ordering you to rest as your commander."

"Screw you!" Scott yelled. "This is not an International Rescue operation. You can't order me to do anything."

Jeff was stung by Scott's words. Scott rarely lost his temper with his father. He hated what he was about to do, but he wasn't going to let another son make himself sick because of physical neglect.

Jeff prepared a cup of coffee for Scott. "Here, you look like you really need this." He said, handing the cup to Scott.

Scott looked at his dad and then at the cup. He sighed and took the cup. "Thanks, Dad." He said. Taking a drink of the coffee, he asked quietly. "Why hasn't he woken up yet? It's been almost two days. He should be awake by now."

"I don't know Scott." Jeff said. "Brains is going to do some more tests to make sure that he didn't miss anything."

Scott wanted to reply, but he felt woozy all of a sudden. He was having trouble organizing his thoughts. One thought did penetrate his fuzzy brain. "You put something in the coffee." Scott accused his father.

"I'm sorry Scott. I did what I thought was best." Jeff told him. Lifting his son from the chair, he guided him toward the other bed. "Let's get you in bed before the sedative knocks you out completely."

Scott felt himself being laid back on the bed. He wanted to fight his father, but he didn't have the strength. "You had no right." Scott said. He had wanted it to sound forceful, but it came out as a tired whisper. His eyes closed, and he couldn't fight it anymore.

The last thing Scott heard before he gave into the darkness was his father's voice saying, "Please forgive me, Scott."

Scott slept for almost nine hours. When he woke up, he had to admit that he did feel better physically. When he found out that Gordon was still unconscious, he asked John to get him some clean clothes. He used the bathroom in the sickroom to shower and shave. When he came out of the bathroom, he found his father in the sickroom waiting for him.

"You're looking better." Jeff said awkwardly.

"Yeah, I feel better, too." Scott said. "You were right. I needed the rest. I'm sorry that I yelled at you earlier. I just feel like everything is so out of control, and I hate not being in control."

"I would like to talk to you about this." Jeff said. "Why is this so personal to you? Why do you feel the need to sit with Gordon all the time?"

"I don't know, Dad." Scott told him. "Maybe it's because of how I treated him before the accident. It could be my way of trying to regain control. All I know is that I feel this 'need' to be here for Gordon."

"Have you tried talking to Dr. Shipman?" Jeff asked. "Maybe he could help you make sense of your feelings."

"No, I would like to try to work this out myself." Scott said.

"Ok." Jeff replied. "But just remember, you can talk to him at anytime, even after he goes back to the mainland in three days."

"Sure, Dad." Scott said. "Did Brains find out anything more about Gordon's condition while I was asleep?" He asked changing the subject.

"Not really," Jeff replied. "He ran another scan but still did not find anything that would cause this prolonged period of unconsciousness. He speculates that it might be psychological. He thinks that because of the stress he was under before the accident that maybe his mind has just withdrawn for a while."

"So, we don't know when he will wake up." Scott stated.

"No, we don't." Jeff said. "But Brains said that if we keep talking to Gordon, it may encourage him to wake up."

"Then why are we sitting here talking to each and not him?" Scott asked.

"I needed to know where your head was before I left you alone." Jeff answered. "I'm going to leave you with Gordon, but I'm going to send Virgil down here to relieve you in a few hours. When he gets here, I want you to come up and join us at the dinner table. Will you do that for me?"

Scott nodded his head. "Ok, Dad, I will see you at dinner."

End Flashback

It had been a couple of hours since his dad had left and Scott sat next to Gordon talking to him. He talked mostly about the good times that they had when they were children. The more Scott talked, the more emotional he became. Finally the ever-composed Scott Tracy gave into his tears. Holding Gordon's hand between his own, he laid his head on his brother's bed and sobbed. He begged through his tears. "Please, Gordon, come back to us. We need you. We love you. I love you. Please, Gordon, please wake up."

Through the darkness, Gordon heard his brother's voice. At least he thought it was Scott's voice, but there was something strange about it. It sounded like he was underwater. As he fought his way toward his brother's voice, he realized that Scott was crying. That confused him. Scott did not cry. He needed to find out what had upset his brother so much. He opened his eyes and saw Scott crying into his bed. He heard his brother sob, "I love you. Please, Gordon, please wake up."

Gordon reached with his free hand and stroked Scott's head. "Scott, what is happening?" He asked as his voice cracked with disuse. "Scott, what's wrong?"

It took a few seconds for Gordon's voice to register in Scott's brain. Scott raised his head and looked into his brother's opened eyes.

"Oh my God, Gordon, you're awake." Scott said as more tears flowed from his eyes. "This is great. I've got to let dad and Brains know. You don't know how worried we have been."

While Scott contacted his dad and Brains, Gordon was trying to figure out why he was back in the sickroom. The image of a falling tree branch flooded his memory. "Alan," he shouted. "Scott, is Alan alright? Where is he? Scott, answer me. Is Alan ok?"

Scott was suddenly back by Gordon's bedside. He placed his hands on Gordon's shoulders. "Gordon, calm down." Scott told him. "Alan is fine. You saved him. He will probably beat Dad down here. Just relax. Now that you're awake everything is going to be ok."

Gordon calmed down some when Scott told him that Alan was ok, but then realization hit him. "Scott? Scott something's wrong. Scott!" Gordon was getting worked up as he tried to move. "Scott, I can't move my legs! I can't feel them! Scott, help me!"

Scott could hear the panic in Gordon's voice. "Gordon, listen to me." Scott commanded. "It's going to be ok."

"But Scott…" Gordon said in near hysterics.

"No buts, Gordon." Scott said. "You have some swelling around your spinal column from where the tree branch hit you. Brains said the paralysis is probably temporary. As the swelling goes down, you should get the feeling back.

"What it the feeling doesn't come back?" Gordon asked tearfully.

"Then we'll deal with it." Scott answered. "You beat this once. You can beat this again. Remember, we are all here for you. We will do whatever it takes to help you."

"I can't." Gordon said in a quiet voice. "It was hard enough the first time. I can't do it again, Scott. I don't have the strength to do it again."

"Don't say that!" Scott said vehemently. "Don't even think like that. Don't you dare give up. I won't let you give up. Do you hear me? You have got to fight this."

Gordon was saved from having to give a response by the arrival of the rest of his family. He knew that they expected him to beat this again just like Scott did. He also knew that it was a miracle that he had beaten it the first time, a miracle and a lot of hard work, work that he did not feel up to doing again, physically or emotionally. Fate seemed determined to paralyze him one way or another. Who can fight fate?

TBC

Author's note – Oh my God, are we horrible or what? Grumpy has climbed back under her rock and Convert is trying to push her way under it too. Did you see how Gordon turned to Scott for help? Sometimes it takes a major crisis to put things in perspective.

Rachie Loves Donald Duck - Wow, a threat. Glad that you enjoyed the chapter. I would tell you if there is a happy ever after but that would give the ending away.

merryw – The stage is set for the emotional healing. As for the physical healing, well you saw how this chapter ended…

throwra-angel – Poor Gordon is right. As far as how much he can take, we will see in the next couple of chapters.