For Rachenfielden-xo and her prompt: Alan snuggling up to Scott because it's freezing cold.

Reference made to Avalanche, owned by ITV

Scott's first thought on waking up was that he was cold. And uncomfortable. And wet. But mostly, he was cold. He squeezed his eyes and scrunched his nose.

Something was not right.

He almost jumped out of his skin when there was movement in his arms – and it was not him. Scott tried hard to open his eyes, he really did, but for some reason they were not responding, and he was suddenly acutely aware that he was tired.

The wiggling hit a sensitive spot and he gasped. This time his eyes opened. He couldn't see much because there was something in the way, but there was the most eerie blue light surrounding him. It was almost serene.

Until he tried to move.

He couldn't move. The blue light had him trapped and he sucked in a cold, cold breath. Control your breathing, Tracy, the voice of his coach said in his head, otherwise you will hyperventilate. He focused on in. Out. In. Out. The wiggling stopped.

Scott managed to look down, and actually, now he tried, there was room to move his head and shoulders, it was just the rest of him that was trapped. His arms were pinned. But they held something so precious to him that he subconsciously hugged tighter. The wriggling returned.

Alan. He was hugging his two-year-old brother. And judging from the wriggling his brother was relatively alright. Now he just needed to piece together what happened. But his brain was a foggy mess of snow and screaming and…

'MOM!'

The scream tore from his lips before he had time to think straight, and he felt Alan jump slightly as he yelled into the toddlers ears. Alan began to cry, asking for Mom, and Scott tried the best he could with the limited movement he had to comfort the child.

It was cold.

He could feel himself getting drowsy, and somewhere in the back of his thirteen-year-old brain there was a nagging that sleep was not good in this situation. But Alan was already still in his arms, and he just wanted to close his eyes for five minutes.

Five minutes, Mom, please. Just five more minutes…

Scott startled awake.

He hadn't had that particular nightmare for years. Certainly not since they had moved to the island and cold had not been much of a problem anymore. Still, even at this time in the evening, in the warmth of a tropical summer night, Scott shivered.

There was no way he was getting any sleep now.

He rummaged around his drawers for a seldom-used sweater and snagged his seldom-used Yale hoodie. Shrugging it on as he made his way to the kitchen, he almost knocked Alan over, instinct saving both of them at the last second.

Alan was also dressed in a hoodie – but with the word Harvard emblazoned on it, it was clear he'd snagged it from John. Scott slung his arm over Alan's shoulder, and he led his youngest brother into the kitchen.

Nothing was said as Scott prepared two hot chocolates and snagged a bag of marshmallows, and the two repaired to the couch in the lounge. He placed his goods down on the table as Alan grabbed the spare blanket kept for the times Scott fell asleep at the desk.

They sat down together, snuggling under the blanket and sipping their hot drinks. Neither wanted to say anything, but they were both acutely aware of what had happened today. It wasn't really that cold, but inside both were feeling freezing. Memories for Scott, ghosts of memories for Alan.

Avalanche.

They may not have to rescue people so dramatically every time, but this one was cut very close to memories. Alan, suggesting he be buried in the avalanche with Brendon Berringer whilst in the Sherpa pod, had stirred up a lot of memories for Scott, and he was totally unsure how he had managed to leave his baby brother to be potentially buried again without him there to protect him as he had that first time.

Scott shivered again at the thought, and Alan unconsciously snuggled deeper.

Neither noticed an hour later when a very sleepy Virgil joined them, having had his own nightmare about missing the pod and the two teens being swept away. He sat the other side of Alan and was completely unaware when Grandma pulled the blanket over him too.

Three hours later and Gordon stumbled upon the three of them, all cosy on the couch and fast asleep with John looking on. No-one even thought about taking photos for blackmail material.

That rescue had hit closer to home for all of them.