Hello everyone, this is going to be the last update for a while because I'm going to be focussing on fluffember. Please review and if there are any characters/situations/general dynamics you want to see explored in future chapters (no matter what season it's from) tell me cos I love hearing from you xx
Scott woke up with a loud incessant beeping in his ear. After a few terrifying moments he managed to locate his earpiece and stop the noise.
"Wha?"
"You have a meeting in the lounge in fifteen minutes." EOS said.
"I'm in the…" he looked around and realised that he was not in the lounge, he was in his bedroom. How did that happen?
"What's the meeting about?"
"You'll have to go and find out." Oh god, she was learning from John. As if she wasn't unmanageable enough already.
"Who's it with? Do I need a suit?"
"It's a family meeting." Shit. Are they even allowed to call a meeting on me?
Scott pulled himself out of bed and straightened his shirt.
"Thanks EOS."
"No problem."
He picked his phone up, then frowned. "EOS, I know you're still there."
There was a giggle and a fizz as she disconnected. God she was learning from Gordon too.
"Okay, what's going on?"
Virgil was sat at dad's desk looking tired but determined (never a good combination to be on the receiving end of), and John floated just above it, obviously busy with something else.
"We need to talk."
"Where's everyone else?"
"In bed."
"I thought this was a family meeting."
"Stop prevaricating and sit down." Scott sat down, trying to supress sudden high school flashbacks and failing horribly.
"We're worried about your behaviour," Virgil said gently. "Scott if you need to talk to, you know we're always here. You don't need to hide it from us."
"I'm not hiding anything, I'm fine."
"Dad's death affected all of us and we know you feel you have a lot to live up to, but you don't need to be dad."
"But-"
"No, just listen to what I'm saying. You don't have to do everything-"
Virgil couldn't understand. He didn't need to, he wasn't the eldest. "If I'm not strong enough-"
"Bullshit Scott. You've always been strong."
"Sometimes strength is knowing when to delegate and when to take someone else's orders," John raised half an eyebrow. "We're a team and we will only work as a team. There needs to be balance, if you push everyone to the breaking point the team will fall apart."
"But we need to push-"
"Scott, what we're trying to say is that you don't have to do everything alone. We're here and we're perfectly capable of doing stuff, you don't need to do everything by yourself."
"Dad did."
They exchanged a look. "Dad relied heavily on you and me. You aren't letting us help as much as we could."
"And you don't listen."
"That's not fair Virgil."
John's hands danced in front of him and the tablet on the desk lit up. "That file documents every time you've ignored our advice and done something that could have injured or killed you or another operative."
Scott stared at it then looked up at John. "You haven't."
"I have. I'm not asking you to read it you just need to acknowledge its existence. There were twenty two incidents within the last week, half of those happened in the last two days."
Scott didn't dare open it.
"We," Virgil glanced at John. "Think that maybe you should-"
"I am not taking a break. I can't."
"Because International Rescue can't run without you or because you're scared?"
"I'm not scared."
"I know some brilliant therapists and counsellors-"
"There's nothing wrong with me John."
"I'm not saying there is. You need to talk to someone, if not us a professional."
"Please Scott, try. You can't keep going like this."
Maybe talking to someone would help. Maybe it would stop him from seeing the explosion night after night in his dreams. Maybe it would stop the icy terror every time he sent one of his brothers out knowing that they might never come back, and it would be his fault. Maybe it would let him trust his brothers to handle themselves.
He took a deep breath. "Okay, where do we start?"