Hey, guys! It's been a minute, hasn't it? I've been working on some of my original work so fanfics had taken a backseat, but I knew I wanted to get something else up before the New Year, so here you go! This story's been collecting dust on my computer for over a year and while I was organizing my drive I stumbled across it. This story is kind of a reflection of me. When I started writing it I had just transferred to public high school after being homeschooled for many years and was having some trouble adjusting to the schedule and workload and unfortunately developed insomnia. The story was originally titled "Sleepless" but I changed it to better reflect the intentions I had for writing it, which were comfort. I hope you enjoy! ~Lou

Dedicated to my mom, for being the Lucy of my own story.

Rating: K

Genre: Family/Comfort

Summary: The hour is late and Lucy once again discovers John unable to sleep. Gently, she works through her quiet son's walls to discover what is bothering him so he can finally rest.

Ginger Tea

Lucy's eyes opened to the sound of footsteps in the hall. They were gentle and quiet, but her ears were tuned to even the faintest sounds of her sons, even as she slept. She moved to get out of bed when Jeff shifted next to her.

"Lucy?"

"It's John again." She whispered back to him.

He turned over and rubbed his eyes. "Do you want me to check up on him?"

"No, no. You've got all those meetings in the morning. Go back to sleep, I'll check on him." Jeff mumbled something by way of an answer, but he was really already asleep again. Lucy slipped on a sweater over her pajamas, then moved silently down the hall to where Virgil and John shared a room.

Looking in, she saw John sitting up in bed, a water bottle in his hand, his eyes gazing at the sky beyond his window.

"John?" Lucy asked quietly over Virgil's snores. Her son started, then turned to look at her, his eyes sheepish.

"Yes, Mom?"

"I thought I heard footsteps, was that you?"

"Yeah, I was thirsty." He said holding up the bottle. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up."

Lucy waved his concerns away. "Don't give it another thought, Johnny." She said and sat down next to him. Lucy glanced at his clock, her brow furrowing slightly as she read the numbers. 4:16. "How long have you been up, John?"

John shrugged. He hadn't counted the hours, but he knew it'd been far too long.

Lucy frowned as she came to a new conclusion. "John, did you sleep at all tonight?"

John shook his head, his eyes on the floor. "Don't think so."

Lucy placed a hand on his cheek and looked into his exhausted face. Deep shadows had settled under his eyes and stress wrinkled his brow. He still wouldn't look at her, his gaze remaining firmly on the floor.

Lucy traced a thumb across his cheek. "Would you like to help me make some tea, John?" He nodded and she took his hand, leading him downstairs to the kitchen.

Lucy filled the kettle and set it on the stove. "Why can't you sleep, John?"

Her son shrugged 'I don't know', opening the cabinets and reaching for a mug. John did know, Lucy was sure, but if she pressed him he'd never tell her, so Lucy switched the conversation to lighter topics.

She spoke amiably of Gordon's next swim meet and Alan's new sweater already with holes. She tried to get John to talk, but his answers were single words and his smiles were superficial.

After the water boiled, Lucy and John settled onto the couch with their mugs of tea. John stared straight ahead as he drank his, a spicy-sweet smell wafting from his cup.

"Mm, ginger." Lucy smiled, taking in the scent. "What made you choose that kind?"

He shrugged. "I just like the taste, I guess."

"Ginger's good for stomach aches. Did you know that?"

John nodded. Lucy searched his face again, sighing. "You're not sick are you, John?"

He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head.

"No, I didn't think so. You would've told me if you were sick." She set down her cup. "Stress, then?"

John nodded simply. "I have a big test tomorrow."

Lucy knew about the physics test, John had been studying for it all week. She also knew that while the test was part of the problem, it was not the root of it. This year, John had been moved ahead two grades, and her fourteen year old son was now sharing classes with juniors and seniors.

Unfortunately, it had not been the smoothest of transitions, and John had been having trouble adjusting not only to high school in general, but being the youngest in every class. Lucy was sure John's quiet nature had done him no favors, and the added stress had left him struggling to fall asleep.

"Johnny, we've been over this." Lucy said, a hand on his chin so he would finally look at her. "You'll do fine, physics is one of your best subjects."

John only sighed, letting his head fall on her shoulder, hands fiddling with the handle on his mug. He stayed silent for so long Lucy didn't think he would say anything more that night, but then he mumbled, "That's the problem."

"What's that?"

"I'm good at it. That's the problem."

Lucy leaned forward to try and see her son's face. "What do you mean, John?"

"There's this guy in my physics class, Mike Stewart. He was having trouble with the lesson so I offered to tutor him." John lifted his head, looking at Lucy of his own accord for the first time all night. "I wasn't trying to be rude, Mom, really. But the guy, he's in Scott's grade, and he thought I was making fun of him because I understand it and he doesn't. He hates me now."

John's emotions were plain on his face now that he'd decided to open up, Lucy didn't even have to ask how miserable this Stewart boy had been making her son.

"Oh, Johnny." Lucy pulled John in for a hug, but inwardly she was kicking herself. She should've known. She kissed his forehead and cupped his face in her hands. "Come on, John, bedtime."

Lucy's eyes glanced over at the wall clock as they stood. It was now almost five, and her other sons would be up and about in just over two hours. Lucy watched John's face settle into a weary frown as he too came to that conclusion. Lucy put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close. "You can stay home from school today."

The two made their way back to John and Virgil's bedroom, and John slipped under his comforters, finally ready to rest. Lucy sat on the edge of his bed, running her fingers through his hair as she hummed an old lullaby about promises and dreams, singing the words when she remembered them. Very soon, John's breaths evened out and he was asleep.

Lucy smiled sadly down at him. She certainly had a lot to tell Jeff tomorrow. She rose to leave, feeling very tired herself, when the voice of her middle son stopped her.

"Is Johnny okay, Mom?"

Lucy turned to see Virgil looking up at her, brown eyes wide and concerned. Lucy couldn't help the smile on her lips. Her eleven year old could snore through screaming alarm clocks but a gentle lullaby managed to rouse to him? She'd tuck that tidbit away for future use.

"Johnny's fine, Virgil. He just had trouble sleeping. You can go back to sleep."

Virgil's eyes flickered over to his brother then back to his mom. "You're sure?"

"I'm sure." She said, tucking him back in. "Good night, Virgil."

Virgil gave a sleepy smile. "It's morning time, Mom."

Lucy glanced through the window at the sunrise sky.

So it was.

~TB~

John sighed, turning over in bed once more before finally letting himself admit that he wasn't going to get any sleep this way. He got up from bed and made his way to the kitchen, setting the kettle on for a cup of ginger tea.

John gazed through the glass of the gravity ring as Earth came into view below him, his eyes zeroing in on the Category 4 steadily making its way across the Atlantic. The hurricane would hit shore by morning.

"Big test tomorrow." John murmured.

The kettle whistled and John made his tea, taking the mug back to his bedroom and settling on his bed. It was about one a.m. and while that was by no means a terribly late night for him, he had an early morning tomorrow, and a hurricane to guide his brothers through.

John smiled ruefully as he remembered his high school days, it'd been a long while since he'd found himself unable to sleep. But his expression became wistful as he remembered that one night with his mom. He'd been miserable that night, but it was one of his favorite memories of her.

John suddenly found himself with an ache in his chest. He missed his mother most at night, quite an ironic fact considering he'd chosen to surround himself with stars.

John picked up his watch of his bedside table, hesitating for only a moment before he hailed Tracy Island, opening a private line straight to Virgil's room. John smiled when his little brother picked up on the second beep, Virgil didn't sleep through alarms anymore.

"John?" Came Virgil's bleary voice. He sat up in the dark and rubbed his eyes, taking in his brother, dressed in pajamas and calling from his bedroom. "You alright, Johnny?"

John quickly put his brother's mind at ease. "I'm fine, Virge. Not sick, just can't sleep."

Virgil's face softened at the words, while he did not hear them often, they were not unfamiliar. "Do you want me to play you something?"

John nodded, smiling. Virgil never made anyone ask, he always seemed to know just what they needed.

John waited a minute while Virgil made his way downstairs, feeling a bit guilty for it considering the time of night, but Virgil told him not to think anything of it. His little brother settled at the piano bench, playing a few bars to warm himself up, then slowly easing into a gentle lullaby about promises and dreams.

The first time Virgil had played it for him was shortly after their mother's passing, and John had cried while listening to it. He'd been sure he'd never hear it again. Tonight, John hummed softly as Virgil played, eyes closed as he listened to the music, only remembering the words his mother had and breathing in the spicy-sweet scent of ginger.