Disclaimer: I don't own them, I'm not lucky enough.
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It was Scott's turn with Virgil, and he went in slowly. At first he stood at the foot of the bed, just looking over his brother. It was another minute before he sat down, taking Virgil's hand.
"Virge…" Scott sighed. "You know that words were never my strong point. I always left that to you and John."
"I'm so sorry…I let you down. I didn't get to you faster…I let you in there… Yeah, as if I could've kept you out. There's no way you would've stayed behind. I should've gotten to you faster. I don't know how, so far I haven't been able to come up with anything either. I just know I didn't do enough to help you."
"Remember when you were twelve, and we went to the park. We did that a lot…I was playing a pick-up game of soccer while John read, you watched me, and Dad watched Gordon and Alan. You wanted so bad to play with us…but we were all so much bigger. The others kept saying that you were too small and you couldn't play. Finally we relented, and you played forward. Turned out to be a better idea than I thought. You got a goal, and the way you looked at me…you were looking for my approval, like you still do. You got it then, you've always had it. You've always had my respect…my admiration."
"I know how hard you can be on yourself, always coming up with faults. You aren't perfect, Virge…no one is. But you've got more strengths than you give yourself credit for. That goal wasn't an accident, you earned it by being tenacious and determined. Then you broke your leg…you kept apologizing to me, though it wasn't your fault. You kept saying you wrecked my day…the day for all of us. And you wouldn't listen when we kept telling you that you did no such thing. At the hospital, you were so brave though I knew how much pain you were in. You struggled on the crutches, but you wouldn't let us help you much. You just had to insist that you would be fine on your own. Then there was the physical therapy…you made me so proud. You didn't complain once during it, though you could have."
"You'll make it through this, Virgil. Once you wake up, you'll make it through, no matter what happens. We'll help you. And you've got to finish that musical thing! You have no idea how that's been driving me crazy! Then there's the mural that I can't wait for you to finish since I know that's going to be awesome. And Gordon knows you've got something in mind for his birthday, so he's driving us nuts with it. So you've got to get that done too. And the piano…I don't think I can go back there unless you're going too. The house would seem so empty…so quiet without you on the piano."
Then Scott just sat there in silence, his thumb stroking the back of Virgil's hand. It was another minute before Scott said something, and he shocked himself when the words came out.
"I love you, Virgil."
Then Scott left the room. He saw Gordon still curled into John, who looked up at Scott pleadingly. And he knew what John was silently asking him. John wanted him to take Gordon so he could have his turn with Virgil.
"Come here, Gords," Scott said, shaking the sleeping redhead's shoulder slightly.
"Wha…" Gordon began, opening his eyes slowly to see Scott right in front of him.
"You gotta move so John can get up," Scott told his brother, who did so without another word.
Once John was on his feet and out of the way, Scott took his chair and let Gordon lean against him. The younger brother was soon outcold again.
"Where's Alan?" Scott asked just before John went into Virgil's room.
"Said something about the gift shop. I think he just needed to walk around," John answered.
Scott nodded, then watched John go in. In the room, John took the same chair that his brothers had, and he also took Virgil's hand.
"Virgil…you've been quite a worry lately," John said. "First you get us all worried by acting a little different, then there's the trip to the mainland, then you go get sick after telling us about it, and we find out that you've been bottling stuff up again. And now this. Trust me on this, little brother, you aren't going to be left alone much once you're awake. And we won't let you bottle this up at all, either."
"I'm probably repeating this since I'm sure I'm not the only one with the thought. You aren't leaving the island again. There will be fighting, there will be kicking and screaming, but you're staying put. The only chance you'll have to get off the island is to visit me."
"And it isn't going to work, is it, Virgil? We aren't going to be able to keep you on the island. Once you're back to 100, you'll be off with the others like always."
"Did I let you down? I feel like I did. I was so desperate to help you and I couldn't. I didn't do nearly enough. I just can't think of anything else I could've done…"
"Virgil, I know this is something we don't say often enough. I love you…we all do."
Then John switched hands, his left one holding Virgil's right one, and he moved his right hand onto his younger brother's chest. And just underneath his hand, he knew that his brother's heart was still beating. He didn't move for a while, lost in his own memories and guilt. It wasn't until he felt arms around him that he moved.
"Come on, son," Jeff quietly said.
"Dad?" John croaked, not realizing that he'd fallen asleep with his head resting on the edge of Virgil's bed and his hand still on Virgil's rising and falling chest.
"You've been in here for a while, and it was too quiet. So I peeked in to find you asleep," Jeff explained as John sat up, not moving his hand.
"The others?"
"Scott took Gordon to the cafeteria for some food. Alan's outside."
"He can come in too. I've said my piece…for now."
Jeff nodded knowingly, then went to get the youngest brother. John was almost surprised when he saw Alan, who was carrying a couple of shopping bags.
"There's a mall nearby," Alan told John when he saw the questioning look he was getting.
John nodded. "What did you get?"
"I got him a music player and got lots of classical stuff on it. Then there's a sketchpad and some pencils. He's picky about his paints, and I'd just get him the wrong stuff," Alan answered. "I also got some magazines for all of us."
John knew there was something else, but didn't ask after it. He could make out its shape in the bag. Gordon and Scott soon joined them, followed by Penelope. Alan set up the music player, turning the music on softly. Hearing the music provided them an unexpected sense of comfort since the music was familiar. Since Alan was still too restless to go back to the hotel, and John was strangely unsettled, plus he'd had a nap already. So Jeff first sent Scott and Gordon back.
"Something wrong, John?" Alan asked later, having noticed that John had yet to move his hand from Virgil's chest.
John shook his head. "No, why?"
"Just wondering," Alan answered, seeing no reason to ask the question aloud, though he eyed the hand curiously.
John noticed that Alan's gaze settle on his hand, but he offered no explanation since he wasn't quite sure himself. All he knew was that it was comforting for him.
"John, why don't you and Alan head down to the cafeteria for something?" Jeff suggested, knowing his two sons had to have been hungry.
But John only shook his head. "Not hungry, I had enough at the hotel."
"John, that was a while ago," Jeff replied.
John shrugged. "Still not hungry. I'm not a bottomless pit like three of your sons are."
That got him a snort from Alan. "Uh-huh. You're just as bad as the rest of us."
John shot a glare to his youngest brother, but said nothing else. Alan, Jeff and Penelope all looked at John curiously, but no one said anything. Then Jeff made a move, since he decided that he needed a word with his eldest blond. And it was a conversation that neither Alan nor Penelope needed to be in on.
