A shocked, surprised silence descended across the kitchen table. Eyes were wide, mouths open as if wanted to proclaim what they were seeing, but unable to. It was their grandma who was able to make the first move. She got to her feet, pulling out Scott's chair at the table.

"Here darling," she said. Scott slowly made his way to the chair, still a little unsteady on his feet, one hand on Virgil's shoulder for support. He lowered himself into the chair looking at the two youngest brothers and smiling.

"I thought you were…"

"Scott…you're…" Both trailed off and Scott rolled his eyes, swiping a piece of toast from Gordon's plate.

"Yeah I'm walking," he said with a casual shrug. Virgil hid a smile as his younger brothers continued to gaze in wonder at Scott. His grandma placed a pancake down on his plate leaning into him.

"I knew you could do it," she whispered. Virgil glanced up at her.

"I didn't do anything," he protested. His grandma smiled knowingly.

"Oh you did." She moved away, frowning in confusion before his attention was drawn back to his pancake.

"So…what happened? Did the good doctor fix you then?" Gordon asked, finally able to crack a joke about the situation.

"Not really…" Virgil began, but Scott spoke quickly, flashing a small smile in Virgil's direction.

"Yeah. I guess he did." Conversation faded as Jeff cleared his throat.

"Gordon, Alan, can you leave Scott, Virgil and I alone for a moment?" The stern look on their father's face meant questions were not welcomed and silently Gordon and Alan left the kitchen, Alan pausing in the doorway, only to be dragged out by Gordon. Virgil chewed on his thumbnail, refusing to meet his father's eye, waiting for the outburst. Calmly, Scott looked at his father.

"Guess I don't need treatment after all," he said.

"Indeed," Jeff replied stiffly. He looked towards Virgil, sighing when Virgil met his eyes for a second before the flicked to the side, the bottle of maple syrup providing something a little easier to rest his eyes on.

"I have a few things I want to say to both of you. Firstly, it's great news that you're on the road to recovery Scott, and thanks to Virgil, you'll be back to normal in no time. Secondly, I want Virgil to assess you in terms of going out on rescues. Lastly, we need to deal with you two being shown on television, but I'll address that in front of everyone later." Jeff clasped his hands in front of him and waited for a response.

"That's it?" Scott asked.

"Have I forgotten something?" Jeff asked good-naturedly. Virgil looked towards Scott and Jeff saw him shake his head quickly, a warning not to address whatever was causing him some concern.

"How about an apology?" Scott continued, ignoring Virgil's groan. Jeff frowned, which received another groan from Virgil.

"An apology?"

"You weren't going to send me for treatment. And you put a load of pressure on Virgil," Scott shot back, as soon as his father finished speaking. Virgil jumped in, not wanting to be caught up in the ensuing argument that was about to explode between father and son.

"Scott I…" he tried to protest, but Jeff raised his hand. Virgil stopped, looking somewhere between apprehensive and angry. Scott's cold eyes were fixed firmly on his father, as if he could drag an apology out of him. He looked at both his sons before speaking.

"I can explain Scott. You were at risk…people know the kinds of machines we use…the kind of influence we might have…and I believed that Virgil would be able to do something…" At this, Virgil's head shot up, looking at his father in shock. It was the first time he'd heard this and felt almost proud, if it wasn't for the nagging voice inside which told him he was using his pride in Virgil's efforts to cover up an ultimately bad decision. Scott shook his head, laughing under his breath.

"I don't hear an apology…" he said softly. Jeff got to his feet, lifting his mug and walking towards the door.

"Dad…" Virgil tried to intervene, the tension between the patriarch and his eldest son thick, almost suffocating. One look from his father killed any hope he had of stopping his father walking out.

"I want you to join your brothers in the living room at 7 o'clock this evening. Alan is going to get John and we are going to sit down as a family and try and resolve the situation we are in."

"You mean you'll dictate what happens…" Scott scowled.

"I expect you both there," Jeff finished, speaking over Scott, before leaving the kitchen, the door swinging shut behind him. Scott glowered at the door before shuffling in his seat so he was facing the table and began picking at the remains of his breakfast angrily.

"Stupid son of a…"

"Will you just drop it Scott?" Virgil snapped. "For one minute can we just be happy that you're ok?"

"He'd have let me go without treatment…"

"I know…I know," Virgil sighed. "But look, you're walking about now. It won't take long before you're back steady on your feet. No damage done. You know Dad, he's not going to back down on this. Just like you won't back down on your opinion." Virgil looked pointedly at Scott who pushed his empty plate away and sat back in his chair.

"Dammit Virgil. Why do you have to be so right about stuff like this?" he moaned, but smiled at his younger brother.

"Scott, I'm mad at him too for what happened, but we need to drop it. There are other problems to deal with and the last thing anyone needs is for you and Dad to be at each others throats all the time." Scott reached over and placed his hand on Virgil's.

"When did you become Mr. Sensible?" Virgil smiled and shrugged.

"Thanks for saying I fixed you up," he said instead. It was Scott's turn to smile and shrug.

"I was just telling the truth."

XXXX

The sun glistened against her hair, dark like obsidian, resting against the creamy skin of her shoulder as she brushed it back from her face, her eyes finding Gordon and Lucy, splashing each other in the pool. Lucy's giggle floated up to the balcony and Alan saw Tin Tin smile softly before turning to look at him.

"I…um…I've been a bit of an idiot," Alan said scuffling his feet against the balcony railings. Tin Tin reached out and placed her hand on his arm gently. Alan looked down at her before squatting down beside her.

"I'm really…really, really sorry Tin Tin," he said, taking both her hands and smiling fondly at her.

"It's been a terrible time Alan…I think I made it worse for you," she said softly, reaching out and brushing her fingers against his cheek. He reached up and took her hand, bringing it to his lips.

"I love you…" he said, gazing at her.

"I love you too," she replied, leaning in and kissing him softly. Alan moved back, his eyes twinkling as the corner of his mouth turned up in a smile.

"This probably isn't the right way to do this…but I'm going to Tin Tin," he said in a rush. Tin Tin looked confused, but when Alan got on to one knee and took her hand, her eyes widened and her free hand rushed to her mouth.

"Alan…" she whispered, but he smiled widely at her, his face lighting up, just as it had when he'd seen Lucy for the first time.

"Um…Tin Tin, will you marry me?" Her smile was dazzling as she wrapped her arms around Alan's neck.

"Yes!" she squealed as they fell back against the floor. She lifted her head and Alan tucked her hair behind her ear, kissing her softly.

"They always say making up is the best part," he whispered. She giggled and hit him playfully.

"Alan, you're awful!"

"Hey, we're almost man and wife…" Tin Tin smiled sweetly, kissing him and getting to her feet, brushing herself down and flattening her hair. She blew Alan a kiss before gliding from the room, leaving him lying on the floor, looking longingly after his new fiancée. As she closed the door, he looked up at the ceiling, a huge grin splitting across his face.

"YEAH!"