25

Struggled with this one a little bit, the next chapter is so substantial I've had to split it up a bit. The next one is pretty much written as it flowed more easily so fingers crossed I will update again soon.

It had been a quiet trip back; they were all still getting to grips with the fact that their dad was really coming home whereas Jeff was trying to come to terms with returning to reality. Although their dad had only been missing just over a week, they hadn't really seen him since the avalanche incident. They were struggling to gage the level of interaction he wanted or could cope with. Their relationship despite everyone's best intentions felt strained. Scott had chatted briefly to his father who agreed a night's stay would be a good thing before heading home tomorrow. Jeff would be sharing a room with Scott. They had all booked twins as there hadn't been much availability at the time and it meant that one of them could keep a close eye on their dad. The other boys were also unnaturally subdued, their earlier bickering long forgotten. Maybe on a subconscious level they also felt their mother's absence more strongly, she was after all the only one missing from the family unit now. Scott felt sure his mom would have known just what to say and do to support their dad but he just felt helpless which was not something Scott often felt. The only other time recently was when his mom and grandpa had died. Not a lot you could do when you were unconscious at the bottom of a ski slope only to wake in the back of an ambulance on route to the same hospital where he was then told his mom was dead and then grandpa was gone too. Scott busied himself with a comms update he couldn't revisit that memory, not now. He needed to get these guys back safely.

Back at the hotel, Jeff was pleased to see that the boys had brought some of his clothes for him along with his reading glasses. Although reluctant to leave so soon, the boys had retired to each other's rooms at Jeff's request just to give himself a chance to change. Virgil suggested they could all go to dinner but Jeff was still uncomfortable with how public that would be so when Scott suggested they could just eat it on the veranda of his room here, Jeff had jumped on the idea. He didn't want to leave the hotel, he wasn't ready yet. He was starting to realise what a benefit it had been to experience such a sheltered life for the last week or so. It had allowed him to sift through his emotions in relative privacy. He hadn't had to worry about projecting an image that he thought people would expect to see. He appraised himself in the bathroom mirror, the harsh vibrant white light doing no favours for his complexion. It accentuated the black bags under his eyes and the dark creases of his wrinkles. He sighed and splashed cool water on his face. He shrugged off the tunic and looked at his healing wounds, another reason why he hadn't wanted Scott in the room when he changed. He didn't want to worry him anymore than he already had. he ran a hand over the biggest wound across his chest. It still had Tin-tins expert stitches in but he guessed he ought to get checked out at clinic when he returned home. He had been worried he'd torn a few stitches earlier as the boys had been a bit overzealous in their greeting but thankfully they had remained in tact.

It was so good to see the boys and he was thankful that they weren't pushing him too fast however Jeff felt he owed his son's an explanation as to why he acted like he had. Jeff was in awe at how the boys had all coped with their grief. None of them could have imagined they would have lost their mother before they were out of their twenties, it was beyond devastating. Just thinking that their mother would never be at the future graduations, their weddings or the birth of any potential grandchildren was agony to him let alone them. All those key moments she would never be part of (Jeff could feel the pain tightening in his chest but it didn't overwhelm him like it had before.) So many family moments had been snatched away prematurely for his sons. Then losing their grandfather who was like a father to them during Jeff's prolonged absences from home must have hit them like a train. If the tragedy had taught him one thing it was that he wanted to be more present for his sons, no more long business trips or late hours at the office. His family came first now. He and his mother were all they had left now bar a few distant relations.

Jeff headed out of the bathroom and picked up his phone which his boys had also brought with them (Jeff largely suspected his mother had packed his bag). It was no surprise his voicemail was rammed and his inbox overloaded. strangely this didn't seem to bother him. He had always been able to manage high workloads, granted there was going to be a lot to catch up on but right now he had some priorities. First, he messaged his mother to say the boys had picked him up and they would be home tomorrow most likely late pm. He was and wasn't looking forward to seeing her again, he knew he could be strong for the boys but he was likely to lose his resolve when it came to his mother. He shook his head as if it would shake that train of thought away, then he pulled out the note with Kyrano's number. He punched it into his phone and automatically saved it to the contacts.

"Hello?"

"Kyrano it's me Jeff."

"Mr. Tracy I didn't expect to hear from you so soon. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, I just wanted to let you know that as we were taking off, I saw your brother."

"Where?"

"In the tree line just off the beach."

"Thank you for the warning I will be careful. Where are you now?"

"We're mid flight on our way home, I better go I'm meant to be co-piloting. Give me a call tomorrow 8.30am your time just so I know you're ok."

"Very well, Goodbye Mr. Tracy."

"Goodbye Kyrano."

Jeff hated lying but if Kyrano's brother was listening in he didn't want him to know their true location. He still couldn't guarantee Kyrano was safe but at least he had spoken with him and he could hear Tin-tin in the background asking after him which he took to be a good thing. He felt better for warning Kyrano of what he had seen. The sooner he could help Kyrano the better. Jeff had a firm idea but he would need to run it past his family first but he knew that time was of the essence if he was to ensure Kyrano and Tin-tin's safety.

Jeff got changed slowly, it felt strange to be back in his own clothes. The fit seemed tighter than he remembered, especially around the collar but if anything, he had lost weight since wearing them. The clothes felt familiar yet he didn't feel like the man who had worn them before. I'm not I guess he thought to himself. Not yet anyway, maybe in time. He straightened his Cuffs in the mirror before lacing up his shoes. He looked at the clock and sighed. He couldn't delay the inevitable any longer. He needed to talk to his boys.