Whumptober, 8. Head Injury - Scott. And Gordon.

Inspired by Teobi's fic on FFN 'Super Shiny'. I strongly recommend you read it.

Characters: Scott, Gordon, Virgil

Warnings: Head Injury, Head Shaved, Defenestration

Alan loved to roughhouse. He'd usually do so with Gordon, and the two could be quite vigorous about it. More than once an older brother or three had made comments in the region of 'calm down' or Gordon's personal favourite 'WATCH OUT!'

This time the shout to 'watch out' had come a modicum too late, as a hefty shove from Alan had unbalanced Gordon and sent him cannoning into Scott.

Scott, who had been walking past, concentrating on a folder of paperwork and hadn't even noticed them.

Scott, who had dropped a page and bent to pick it up just as Gordon careered into him.

Scott, who was then propelled head-first through the kitchen door.

Virgil, who had been the one to see the whole calamity unfold before his eyes and had yelled the warning, and Alan froze as their eldest brother disappeared and Gordon landed in a heap where Scott had just been standing.

The rush to get to Scott would have been comical in other circumstances. But both the youngest held back slightly to let Virgil get there first. In truth Gordon wanted to send Alan to go get their Grandmother so he wouldn't see the state Scott was in, but the words stuck to his tongue and then it was too late.

There was blood everywhere. Gordon had to remind himself that head wounds bleed a lot, but all he could see was blood covering his eldest brother's face and he felt the panic rise. He gave himself a mental slap and with a deep breath he morphed from scared younger brother to trained responder.

Virgil had already done preliminary checks. The man didn't go anywhere without the mini Medscanner Brains and John had presented to him. Small enough to be unobtrusive yet just as powerful as their handheld ones, the scanner had shown no spinal or neck injuries so Virgil had carefully placed Scott into the recovery position.

Without asking Alan had spun on his heel and grabbed the pan and brush set by the back door. He set about clearing up the glass that littered the back and steps. Gordon turned and charged through the house to get a hover-stretcher, snagging John on the way. John had already been informed by EOS as had Kayo, Grandma and Brains, so by the time they made it back outside the whole family was gathered.

Scott hadn't regained consciousness, a thought that worried them all, but then he had not only gone through the window he'd also gone down the small flight of brick stairs. While the Medscanner said no skull fracture that didn't mean there was no injury, and Gordon couldn't help but keep a hand on his brother's wrist, taking comfort from the pulse he could feel.

The journey to the nearest hospital was quite short, and before long they were ensconced in a room waiting for news. Virgil had spoken to the nurse and had returned with the news that they were having to shave Scott's hair to pick glass out and stitch some of the wounds.

That caused them all to fall silent. They all knew how important Scott's hair was to him, and Gordon's guilt ramped up. There were superficial bruising but no broken bones was a bonus.

When Scott was eventually wheeled into the room, still asleep, there was a collective sigh. He wouldn't be asleep for long, the sedation was only light, but he'd have a bit of a headache when he woke up. Everyone winced at the criss-cross of stitching and cuts over his head.

Fortunately he wouldn't need to stay more than overnight since there were no other major injuries, which was good news for both them and the hospital – a hospitalised Tracy was a tetchy Tracy.

Scott awoke with a pounding headache. The room was dark and he could hear breathing. He frowned as he moved, feeling the familiar pinch of an IV line. Huh. Something had obviously happened, but he couldn't remember what.

What he did know was that the person holding his hand was not Virgil as was customary. It was Gordon. His brother must not have been asleep for Gordon suddenly squeezed his hand and moved to catch Scott's eyes. He smiled and the relief that rolled of Gordon was palpable.

This time Scott squeezed Gordon's hand and gently pulled him into an embrace. Gordon didn't resist. By the time the others stirred both brothers were fast asleep, the younger firmly ensconced into the eldest's side.

Grandma took all the boys bar Virgil down for breakfast while he helped Scott get ready to leave. Neither medic had been surprised to find out Scott had no memory of getting injured, but there were no other memory issues and no concussion, although he wouldn't be allowed to pilot for a week to be on the safe side.

The drip had been removed before breakfast, and now Scott was in the bathroom. He'd gone in to have a shave, but Virgil was acutely aware that there were no sounds of running water, nothing that said his brother was completing his ablutions. He bit his lip in worry before knocking.

Nothing. No answer.

Worry increasing in case Scott had taken a turn for the worse, Virgil opened the door and came to an abrupt stop.

Scott was standing at the sink, one hand gripping it tight enough to show white knuckles. The other was ghosting over his head. Scott's eyes were suspiciously wet.

'Scott? You ok there, bud?'

'You said that they needed to shave my head but…'

Virgil strode over and enveloped his brother in a bear hug from behind. He was gratified when Scott grasped his hands and squeezed, leaning back into the embrace.

'Your hair will grow back, Scott, as thick and luxuriant as ever.'

'Do – do you remember Mom brushing our hair?'

'I remember I hated it. I do remember her taking lots of time to brush yours and she often looked at me while combing through your hair. Mom never asked me why I couldn't be more like you, but I'm sure that she thought it.'

'I used to love the feeling of her fingers through my hair, the rhythmic feel of the comb against my ears.'

'I also remember that day you had your hair cut.'

'Mom was so disappointed.'

'Gordon screamed the house down until Mom promised your hair would grow back.'

They chuckled together, and Scott nodded, patting his brother's hand in thanks.

It would grow back. Maybe he wouldn't have any greys when it did.

Until the next time something went wrong.