They all got nightmares. It went with the territory. It was not unusual to find one or more brother curled up in another's bed, ensconced in a comforting hug.
Today had been a particularly bad one. Virgil had barely made it back in one piece. Bad enough that Scott had even suggested the need to abandon Two to the ocean, not that Virgil would have done that to his precious ship.
No, he had made it home, but it had been a close call.
So close that the near-miss of his oldest brother had gone unnoticed by all.
Well, that wasn't quite true. She had seen it. She had been there. She had been the one who had stopped it with only seconds to spare before…
Sighing, Kayo got up. The boys were not the only ones who got nightmares from close calls. Padding silently into the kitchen to grab a glass of water, she was surprised to hear a thump from the lounge. Putting the empty glass down, she went to investigate.
Biting her lip, she took in the scene before her.
Scott was tangled up in the blanket they kept in the lounge for the times he passed out at their father's desk. But he wasn't at the desk now, he was on the couch. Why was he on the couch? More importantly, why wasn't he with Virgil? Usually this would have constituted a Brother Emergency.
Maybe Scott was having nightmares of his own.
She couldn't get out of her head the sight of Scott on the floor, about to be cut in half by that machine the Mechanic had been operating. And from the look of Scott, maybe he was having trouble too.
Falling off the couch had not woken him up, and he was letting out soft whimpers. It was tearing at her heart. But comfort was not a Kayo thing, and she wondered if she should get Virgil up here. Kayo was strong; but lifting the dead-weight of a sleeping Scott was almost beyond her. No, she decided, Virgil needed his own sleep after today, and she managed to get Scott back onto the couch.
She was just about to comm John when Scott let out a cry of 'Momma'.
Suddenly, she was ten years old again and crying out in her sleep in her room. She remembered strong arms around her whispering that she was alright, that she was safe. She remembered it was not the arms of her Papa, but the arms of the one who had saved her, a much younger Scott on his first rescue. The mine collapse had meant all hands on deck and it had been Scott who had picked her up, Scott that had carried her, Scott that had soothed her and Scott that had finally gotten through to her that she was safe. That she was loved.
Now, it was her time to repay the favour.
Kneeling down beside him, she carded her fingers through his hair as she had seen him do to all his brothers. He instantly relaxed. Sitting closer to him, Kayo was surprised to find he was crying in his sleep, and she gently wiped the tears away with her other hand.
All the while Scott was apologising to his mom. It broke her heart.
Kayo knew of the promise he had made when their mom died, the promise to keep his brothers safe. She guessed that today he had come so close to losing Virgil, that this was the source of his distress, and she knew instinctively that he would not like the others to see him in this state.
Kayo continued just sitting beside him, running her fingers through his hair as he relaxed, and his murmuring quietened. All the while thoughts assailed her. Thoughts of the care and affection he had shown her over the years, thoughts of the arguments they had been having recently.
Thoughts of his cry of horror when she was plummeting from the sky and he would not be able to save her.
She sighed again. It was no good. However she thought about it, she loved all her brothers dearly, but she did not look to Scott as a brother. She wasn't sure she ever had. And sitting here with him was not doing her peace of mind any good. Now he was settled, she should leave and fetch Virgil for him.
Turning to get up, she was surprised by Scott's hand on her wrist, holding her back. Turning to look at him, though, she could tell he was still fast asleep. Some unconscious knowledge that she was leaving him, and he did not want her to go. Or just her fanciful thinking.
She almost squealed out loud when his arms suddenly encircled her, pulling her onto the couch and into a full-on hug, tucking her head under his chin. She was stuck. She couldn't move.
She didn't want to move. He was not the only one who was having nightmares about the day. She had thought she had lost him.
It did not take long for Kayo to relax in Scott's arms, helped by the thought that she couldn't move anyway, not without waking him. And soon they had both drifted off into the peaceful sleep they had not found alone.
Virgil woke up ridiculously early – for him. He was stiff from wrestling the controls yesterday, so he decided he'd be better off getting up rather than stay lying in bed just getting worse. Besides, there was work to be done on Two.
He stumbled to a halt when he reached the lounge. The sight of his big brother wrapped up with Kayo on the couch was…unexpected. John was hovering over them, but his expression was almost amused, possibly even tender.
Quirking an eyebrow at John, he almost swore out loud as John replayed the footage from Scott's cam footage from One. Neither had realised how close they had come to losing their big brother yesterday. Both were horrified that a) it had happened and b) Scott had not told them about it – not that that was much of a surprise really. Kayo had only just managed to disable the machine in time.
No wonder the two were together.
But they had better get up soon. Another half an hour or so, and Gordon would be up. Catching those two together would be fodder for months of blackmailing and pranks. Virgil was just about to reach over to wake them when he realised Scott was looking up at him, a slightly puzzled look on his face.
Virgil and John could not help the broad grins that broke out simultaneously. It was not often Scott could be caught out. And he obviously had more no idea than they did as to what had happened here. John and Virgil shared one last look before John disappeared and Virgil, smiling again at Scott, did likewise.
Leaving a very confused Scott wondering how the hell he was going to explain this. He tried to move his arm from underneath Kayo, but he must have been lying like this for a while as his arm was dead. The movement woke Kayo up.
A little sleep-disorientated, she stared up into Scott's eyes before the reality of where she was hit her and she suddenly rolled away from him – straight onto the floor. At the same time, Scott shot forward in an attempt to catch her, his arm still beneath her, and the momentum carried him off the couch and on top of her.
They giggled. It developed into full laughter while they sorted themselves out so that they were sitting next to each other.
And that is how Gordon and Alan – both woken up by the noise – found them, side by side on the floor in front of the couch, laughing their heads off. They both backed off. It wasn't safe to question Kayo on the best of days. Goodness knew what she would be like on a day like today – not that they knew what today was.
Yes they did. Today was the day Gordon and Alan were actually going to show some restraint and self-preservation.
They were not was not going to ask. Turning to each other as they left, Gordon shrugged at Alan. Older brothers. They could be weird at times. Not to mention their sister could be just as bad.
NOTE:
This follows on from Earthbreaker, owned by ITV.
It also refers to my Whumptober story 'Where Do You Think You Are Going'.
