George Ross sighed as he went through his mail. 'Junk, junk, bill, junk, magazine, bill, bill, jun- wait what?' George stopped leafing through his mail as he sat at the table in his office. He took a sip from his coffee mug as he opened the letter, folded thrice. Unfolding the official paper, George glanced over it before he heaved a sigh. He'd been selected as a juror in a case local to the area. Checking the calendar, George nodded with a sigh when he spotted the trial date that he'd need to be present for and he circled it with a red Sharpie.

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Virgil answered the door to the hotel room the following morning and smiled at the bellhop that had brought room service up. He accepted the cart and tipped the bellhop before he closed the door. Pushing the cart in front of him, Virgil quietly poured a cup of coffee for John from the carafe. He kept his gaze on Gordon who was snoozing still. Quirking his head towards the bathroom door, Virgil noted he could still hear the pitter patter of water from Scott's shower.

"Here you go bro." Virgil said as he handed John the coffee drowning more in creamer and sugar than actual caffeine.

"Thanks." John said as he popped a couple of pain medications into his mouth, chasing it with a swig from his mug.

"Here, eat this muffin. You know you shouldn't take those on an empty stomach." Virgil said as he peeled the wrapper off of a double chocolate chip muffin and handed it to his elder brother.

"Thanks mom." John said with an eye roll as he took a bite of said muffin. After he swallowed, John was quick to rinse his mouth with the coffee. "Is there any way we can get room service from Onaha and have her ship it to us? I miss her cooking."

"I know what you mean." Virgil said as he took a bite of his own muffin. "Maybe we can convince dad to let us go back to visit and get some actual nourishment for a few days since Onaha is likely to scream when she finds out we're living off of fast food and un-home cooked meals.

"There's a plan."

Virgil and John looked over to see Gordon had rolled over and was rubbing his eyes tiredly. "I'd personally like to sleep in my own bed. Don't get me wrong these beds are comfortable it's just not comfortable to my standards like home is."

"Do you think it'd be a bad thing to ask dad if we could go back for a few days?" John asked tentatively. He was craving the sunshine on their island and he knew his brothers were missing the fresh air associated with their island. This air here in the city was stifling and weighed down with smog.

"Wouldn't hurt, you know? I mean if anything maybe we can convince grandma and dad to come along just to get out of the rut we've all gotten stuck in." Scott said as he exited the bathroom, t-shirt tossed over one shoulder as he went for his duffle to dig out a pair of socks. "It'd be good for us to get out of the hustle and bustle. I mean we're not doing anything right now. Not with Alan in isolation and Johnny recovering from surgery."

The four nodded their agreement that they'd all like to talk to their dad about the possibility of returning home for a few days. There seriously wasn't much they could do with Alan in isolation and the trial at a standstill while the jurors were being selected.

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A few hours passed and found the brothers in route the island. Their dad had agreed that they should take a mini vacation from the stress and he'd told them to take their grandmother back to the island. When the boys asked Jeff to go along, Jeff smiled sadly but shook his head in the negative. He couldn't go. The question that coming to mind was: what if Alan needed him and he was six hours away on the island? No he needed to stay close by in case there were any developments that happened with Alan and required Jeff be present for those developments.

To be honest, Jeff was wondering when he and Alan could talk. He hadn't heard from his little boy in a couple days, not since he'd called Jeff just to talk before he'd fallen asleep while talking to his dad on the web cam. Jeff had stayed silent then, just watching his son sleep when it became apparent that he'd unintentionally fallen asleep. Jeff found it endearing, that Alan felt so comfortable to fall asleep despite talking to his dad. Jeff wished more than once that he could reach through the screen and run his fingers through his son's blonde hair. Even though he was looking at his son via a computer screen, he was not keen on not seeing his son in person.

Jeff wondered how Alan was supposed to go before the courts when he wasn't exactly whole and he'd intended on going to speak with Alan's doctor to get the scoop. The judge was adamantly saying that both Alan and Fermat had to make an appearance at the courthouse to testify and despite Jeff telling Barrett and subsequently the judge that neither boy was whole enough yet to leave their hospital rooms the judge was insistent that to make sure they got justice for either boy that both Alan and Fermat go and testify in person. Jeff felt like screaming into a pillow multiple times as he tried to make the courts understand that it wasn't safe for Alan and Fermat to leave the hospital. Not in their conditions.

That's where it brings him now, sitting in Dr. Warner's office, with Drs. McNulty and Andreessen present since both boys were still under their care.

"Hello Jeff, how are you this afternoon?" Dr. Andreessen asked cordially as he extended a hand to the Tracy patriarch.

"I'm okay." Jeff said tiredly as he shook Dr. Andreessen's hand. "Tired, but I'm okay."

"Now why don't I believe that?" Dr. McNulty asked as he perched on the edge of Dr. Warner's desk.

Jeff remained silent, fearing that to speak of the turbulence of the case would jinx Alan and Fermat, causing their recovery to become just as turbulent.

"What's going on Jeff? There must be a reason you requested a meeting with the three of us." Dr. Warner asked, knowing that the patriarch didn't back down easily.

"The judge wants Alan and Fermat present to testify in person." Jeff blurted, not seeing a point beating around the bush. "I wanted your opinions on the matter."

The three doctors stayed silent as the news made itself known and the three of them looked at each other before blinking. Dr. McNulty was the first to speak up.

"Why, if neither boy has been cleared by their doctors are they being required to show up in person?"

"Because the courts want the boys to evoke pity and sympathy from the jurors." Jeff replied sharply. He didn't like the idea of taking his son and surrogate nephew from the safety of the hospital to make them sit for several hours around people that could judge, scorn or gossip about the boys and their injuries.

"Can't they do that over a monitor system?" Dr. Andreessen asked, not understanding either why Alan and Fermat were being made to go in front of a jury of their peers and testify when the results of their injuries were quite plainly in the open for all to see.

"My family's lawyer already made the request and it was refused. Alan and Fermat are being made to go and testify, and I wanted to know your opinions of the matter and whether or not you could do something to make the courts see that neither boy is fit to leave quite yet." Jeff asked, more like pleaded with the doctors in hopes that they could offer some insight.

"The most that I could do would be to testify before the courts and state my professional opinion if asked." Dr. Warner offered, knowing he was to testify on Alan's behalf. He'd already been asked by the Tracy family lawyer to testify about Alan's injuries and the many surgeries Alan would be required to go through in order to be made whole once more.

"What is your opinion if I may ask?" Jeff inquired, hoping beyond all hope that the doctor agreed that Alan was unfit to leave yet.

"I do not feel he is healed enough to leave yet. He could leave the hospital, but his immune system is weak if non existent right now due to the transplant surgeries. I personally fear that Alan could take a hit and not come back up." Dr. Warner said cautiously. He knew that Alan probably could survive outside of a hospital setting at this point, but he'd be weak and he'd have to take precautions that would prevent him coming into close contact with anyone. He'd have to wear a surgical mask to cover his nose and mouth and everything would need to be sanitized before Alan could touch it.

"Is there anything you can do to maybe get Alan out of needing to testify in person?" Jeff asked, fearing for Alan's wellbeing more than the trial at this point. Nothing was worth it if it did harm to Alan.

"All I can do is if asked by the judge and lawyer if I feel Alan is okay to stand trial would be to say no. I can't speak for Fermat since he isn't under my care, but if Drs. Andreessen and McNulty feel he isn't fit to stand trial either; then they can state their opinions and we hope the courts consider it from a professional's standpoint." Dr. Warner replied, knowing that what he said was the truth but still frustrating. Despite what the doctors said, the courts could decide to ignore it.

Jeff sighed. That was the best the doctor could do. Unfortunately no matter how small it was, that was the best.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

"Good afternoon Alan. How're you feeling?" Karen asked as she started going about her routine of waking Alan from his mid-morning – afternoon nap. He'd been sleeping a lot more, but Karen figured it was more because of Alan needing the energy to recover than him being bored or depressed.

Alan gave a yawn and stretched carefully, craning his neck and giving a sigh when he felt a pop between his shoulder blades. "I'm okay."

"What's the matter?" Karen asked as she went to the sink to dampen a washcloth. She wanted to give Alan a bed bath, but she wanted to start with washing his face while she got the basin ready.

"I'm hungry and everything I try to eat makes me sick to my stomach." Alan pouted, embarrassed that he'd called a nurse earlier that morning when his stomach started cramping something fierce and he had to get it taken care of. When the nurse returned to help him, she gave him some stuff that was like Pepto Bismuth and just as nasty. Alan wrinkled his nose at the chalky pink medicine, but he just dealt with it. It soon kicked in and calmed his stomach and he was able to take a nap.

"I'm sorry honey…is there anything you want that you think your stomach can handle?" Karen asked as she bustled around the room, preparing the large pink basin so she could give Alan his bed bath.

"There's a lot of stuff that I want, I'm just afraid that my stomach won't take kindly to it and I'm tired of throwing up. And it's not something hospital permitted." Alan pouted as he rubbed his stomach delicately. He was hungry very much so, but with his nose malfunctioning and making everything smell like something died and his stomach acting up; there wasn't much Alan could eat or think he could.

"Try me? You'd be surprised what medical staff can do for their patients." Karen said as she quirked an eyebrow at Alan as she lifted his arm to wash his armpit.

"I want a blizzard from Dairy Queen." Alan said as his stomach gave a gurgle which Alan took to be his stomach backing up the desire for ice cream among other things.

Karen smiled. She'd see what she could do. Sometimes with a little arm twisting the dietician in their hospital would bend the rules a little so that patients could have a craving of theirs every once in a while.

"What's your favorite flavor?" Karen asked as she rinsed the cloth and began washing under Alan's other arm, she was gentle when Alan squirmed with a snicker. He'd warned her during one of the first bed bathes he'd gotten from Karen that he was ticklish along the ribs and under the arms. They'd had fun trying to figure out the best way to bathe Alan without making him squirm around too much to evade the nurse's hands.

"I love the brownie batter blizzard more than anything. Every time I get to hang out with my brother John, just the two of us; he'll treat me to ice cream from Dairy Queen. We both have a weakness for chocolate and we're both guilty of indulging in something chocolate every once in a while." Alan replied as he grabbed the rails on his bed to lift his back off the bed enough for Karen to quickly wash his back.

"You're burns are looking better back here Alan." Karen commented as she took care with drying Alan's back. She'd stopped the bath long enough to apply a new dressing on Alan's back before allowing him to rest back so she could start on washing more private areas.

"I know, they still hurt, but I guess I'd be worried if they didn't hurt." Alan said as he rolled over with the aid of the rail so that Karen could check a few of the bed sores he still had. He couldn't find it in him to be embarrassed around Karen much anymore. She'd seen more intimate areas of him and had made it clear to Alan that no matter the problem she wanted to know. Even if it was an itch that he couldn't scratch, she wanted to know so she could check to make sure it wouldn't bother Alan in the long run. "You know what I mean?"

"Oh yeah, I know perfectly well what you mean. And it would be bad if you couldn't feel them. I'd be worried too." Karen said as she put some ointment on Alan's bedsores. "Your sores are looking much better Alan."

"Really?" Alan asked as he glanced behind him at Karen when he heard a wrapper being opened. He saw her pull out a dressing and apply it along his lower back but didn't ask what it was for. He had so many dressing on his body that he didn't really care what they were for as long as they were helping him to get better.

"Yes." Karen said as she went silent for a few moments. Alan himself went silent as he contemplated whether he wanted to ask such a personal question. "You want to know what made me want to go into the nursing profession Alan?"

Alan was startled out of his reverie and found it eerie that Karen seemed to read his thoughts. But he nodded none the less.

"When I was a little girl, I was in your situation myself. Almost exact situation too. Except it wasn't a school fire that put me in the hospital. It was a house fire, that almost took the life of my younger sister. We went to spend the night at a friend's house for her tenth birthday party and the chimney was clogged, my sister and I were asleep in the living room with a few of our friends and we hadn't noticed the stove was having trouble. We were kids, none of us knew the first thing about stoves and it was cold outside." Karen paused as she helped Alan to roll to his other side. "Anyway, we woke up when our friend's mastiff started barking and discovered the living room in flames. We were terrified and didn't know what to do and then there were a bunch of people in the house…firefighters and they'd grabbed me and my friends. My little sister had hidden because she was scared so no one knew she was there. The mastiff wouldn't leave though and helped my sister escape by dragging her out by her nightgown."

Alan's eyes misted at the thought and he put a hand over Karen's when she stopped speaking to compose herself. She smiled her thanks but continued on none the less.

"My friend's parents didn't survive the fire, the smoke got to them and incapacitated them. But my little sister escaped with burns similar to yours only she had them on her face too. Doctor's didn't think she'd make it and she was taken to a burn center in San Antonio. My family adopted our friend since we were so close to her and her family and we all lived in San Antonio for almost a year while my sister recovered from her burns. She was only nine and had to have four facial reconstructive surgeries to make her look whole again. People in our hometown raised the money to help pay for the medical expenses for our family. I was burned too, but I was burned on my hands mostly."

Karen showed Alan a scar along her wrist which looked to Alan exactly like how a few of his burn scars were beginning to look themselves. "My sister came home though, she's still wary of fire which is understandable; I am too. But she's gotten married and has a couple little ones of her own. Her husband doesn't care about the scars she's still got, he's told me that he thinks they're beautiful even if she doesn't. The point of my story is though, it was because of the care my sister got when she was fighting for her life in the hospital that made me strive to go into the medical field and work primarily with burn patients."

"What happened to the dog that saved your sister?" Alan asked, his love for animals concerned for the dog as well.

"He lived with my family until he died. I was twenty when he died, but he was a hero in my family, still is." Karen said as she sniffled, thinking of the dog that if he hadn't been there her little sister might not be either.

"What was his name?" Alan asked, curious about the dog.

"Hercules…he was a lovable teddy bear though. He stayed right with my sister when she was recovering, slept in her hospital bed even though the staff hated having to check my sister at night and have this large and hulking bulk of a dog stare them down." Karen chuckled as the memory of this large bull mastiff guarding her sister as she slept came to the forefront of her mind.

"Thank you for telling me your story Karen." Alan said, genuinely moved that people had different reasons to be invested in the care of others. For Karen and Dr. Andreessen even it was personal – held a deeper meaning to care for others just as they would family. Same as Virgil. Alan didn't know the reason Virgil chose a medical profession when he was so musically inclined as well as artistic, now Alan wondered why Virgil wanted to work with medicine – and not just for the Thunderbirds.

"You're welcome Alan." Karen said as she finished drying Alan after his bed bath was completed. "Now you're all nice and squeaky clean."

"Oh yay, all cleaned up and…nowhere to go." Alan said softly, a sad smile playing across his lips.

"Hmm, we'll have to figure out a way to remedy that." Karen said, playing along with Alan. "I suppose if we were to get permission for it, you could always go and sit with the other kids in the sun room. Maybe get to know a few other kids and form friendships." Karen suggested as she tapped her finger against her chin.

"Really? But I thought I had to stay in here until all of my surgeries were finished." Alan said, cocking his head to the side.

"Well, usually patients do have to…but sometimes if we think a patient is stable enough we can take them to the sun room. There are other children that are on immunosuppressant drugs that go there every day to interact with others." Karen said thoughtfully.

The smile that came across Alan's face practically blinded Karen and she smiled also as Alan's smile was infectious.

"What would I have to do to be able to go to the sun room? Please, I've got to do something and get out of here even if it's for a few hours. Please, I'm going crazy in here." Alan pleaded while gently taking Karen's hand and gripping her fingers, using his patented puppy pout. Poking out his bottom lip and holding his eyes just so, Alan let the light in the room work its magic, thus making his eyes look shiny. Karen gave in faster than Alan thought she would.

"Well, I'd have to talk to your doctor first; but if he gives his permission for it…you would need to be transported onto a gurney, wear a mask and a protective gown to ensure you are protected. Then all that's left to do would be to take you down for as long as you wanted and let you mingle." Karen said, a gentle smile shining through. "Would you like me to talk to your doctor?"

"Yes! Yes please!" Alan said, begging Karen to do what she could to free him from his proclaimed prison. "I'll wear whatever I need to if I can only get out of here for a few hours. I'm going crazy in here!"

"Okay, Okay." Karen said, shushing Alan when his voice cracked. "I'll talk to your doctor and see if we can get you acquainted with everyone.

Alan's response sent Karen into a chuckle fit when the teen threw both arms in the air dramatically with a whispered, "Yes!"

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

John sighed as he reclined the seat in the family jet. It felt good to be in the air again. Tilting his head to the side, John smiled at Gordon who had fallen asleep playing Nintendogs on Alan's DS. John reached across the aisle and plucked the console from Gordon's fingers and resumed playing, if anything to keep himself occupied.

Scribbling the stylus, John saw the tiny icon of the hand rubbing the puppy's head and he found himself smiling. Now he understood why Alan was so in love with animals. He never could figure out what it was that Alan loved about animals, he loved animals as well as did each of his brothers…but Alan's love for animals was obviously something more. He truly cared for animals. Like Gordon, John felt his eyes beginning to droop and he knew it was from his pain medications he was still taking. He saved the game and shut off the console before he leaned back into his seat, closing his eyes with a sigh.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

"Alan! Come on where are you?" John stood in the back door of their home in New York. They lived in a condo and it had a backyard with a playground for the kids that lived in the condo with their families. The nineteen year old gazed around slowly until he spotted his little brother's wisp of blonde hair. The kid was kneeling beneath a tree, head bowed and John was curious about why his brother who could obviously hear him was ignoring him. Striding toward the blonde, John squatted down beside his brother and peered over his shoulder. "What'cha got there Sprout?"

"The mama didn't want him anymore." Alan replied forlornly as he bowed his head sadly. "Can we keep him Johnny?"

John leaned forward slightly and made a tsk sound as he saw Alan was holding a baby eastern bluebird. The baby bird looked barely a few days old, still naked and missing it's downy fluff. John initially thought the bird was ugly, but he was quick to agree with Alan when the little boy began fawning over the baby bird.

"Sprout…" John was about to tell Alan that the mama bird had abandoned her baby because something was wrong with it, because that's what he'd been told – but one look at Alan's face had John keeping his facts to himself and helping Alan cradle the baby bird. "We can try to raise him up on our own, but please don't be sad when we have to release it. We're only keeping it until it's well enough to go back to the wild."

Once John and Alan got the baby bird back up to their condo, John helped Alan create a nest for the baby bird out of an old shoebox. Both boys worked together and while John did research on what to feed a baby bird so young, Alan spent his time loving on the tiny creature. He gave it a bath using a soft rag and a small bowl of water, before he kissed the baby bird gently on its head. The baby bird made a small chirp noise as Alan tended to it.

Looking back at Alan, John picked up his phone and programmed the number of a wildlife rehabilitation center before he stepped out into the hall. He wanted to talk to someone who knew their stuff as opposed to flying by the seat of his pants and possibly doing harm to the baby bird. Pressing the phone to his ear, John waited for someone from the center to answer the phone.

"Hi, um…I had a couple of questions about raising an abandoned baby eastern bluebird. I was wonder if you could help me?" John said as soon as he was speaking to the avian specialist.

After explaining to the specialist the situation and what Alan had told him. How he'd been sitting under the tree reading when the baby bird fell into his lap from the nest above him. How he put the baby back in the nest and continued reading and finding the baby bird back in his lap again. Apparently Alan had tried more than once to put the baby back in the nest and each time the baby bird would wind up in his lap, thus helping Alan conclude that the mama didn't want the baby and was pushing him out of the nest. The specialist suggested that since it was too far to drive to their center (two hours away) that John grinds up oatmeal or wheat germ and feed it to the baby bird. Once he'd gotten off the phone with the specialist, John returned to grind up some oatmeal for the baby bird to eat. He smiled when he found Alan lying back on the couch, the baby bird snuggled up in one of Alan's old t-shirts both of them asleep.

Gradually over the next few weeks, with Alan's tender loving care, the baby bird began to grow its downy fluff and it gradually got bigger. During the time that Jeff was away for work, and Scott was away for boot camp…John felt like he'd done a pretty decent job raising Alan and the baby bird Artemis. Virgil and Gordon weren't due back from school until mid-June and that left John and Alan to raise Artemis alone. John smiled at the name Alan picked out, he wondered why Alan chose Artemis for a name and when he questioned Alan about it…John quickly discovered that Artemis was the name of main character in the book Alan had been reading when the baby bird had fallen from the nest.

Waking up one morning several weeks after adopting Artemis, John was woken up early by Alan. The child was beside himself with worry and had gone to John in his time of need.

"Johnny, I can't find Artemis!" Alan stood beside John's bed, shaking his older brother's shoulder. John rolled over and pried his sleep glazed eyes open to look at his brother. The younger blonde had stress lines that didn't belong on such a young and youthful face. Sitting up, John gave a big yawn before he climbed from his bed and followed Alan to his bedroom. Entering the younger boy's bedroom, John looked around for Artemis and found no sign of the bird.

Kneeling down on the floor, John checked beneath Alan's bed and desk until he felt a breeze. Looking up above Alan's desk, John felt his stomach drop. Alan's bedroom window was open and the door to Artemis's cage was open. Putting two and two together, John placed a sympathetic hand on Alan's shoulder. Alan looked ready to cry as he looked to his brother and John knew that what he had to say would break Alan's heart.

"I'm sorry Sprout…it looks like Artemis is gone." John pointed to Alan's bedroom window and watched as Alan's face crumbled with despair.

"I didn't mean to…I forgot my window was open when I let Artemis out of his cage last night." Alan sobbed. "I'm sorry!"

"Don't be sorry Sprout. It was time for Artemis to go back. He'll have a family and he'll always be there for everybody else's enjoyment too." John said as he hugged his baby brother, comforting him. Hearing a flutter against the glass, John looked over and pointed. "Look who's come to say goodbye kiddo."

"Artemis!" Alan scrambled over to the window and opened the pane wider before he held his hand out. Artemis landed on his finger and began to preen before fluffing up. "Have you come to say good bye? Huh buddy?"

Artemis chirped a few times before taking flight. He hovered in front of Alan and John as if trying to decide whether to stay with Alan or to go back to his own kind. Turning, Artemis took off out the window, giving another chirp. Alan waved sadly, but in the end he was smiling.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Startling awake, John looked around. Washing his hands over his face, John rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He gazed around and looked up, offering a sleepy smile to Scott when the older brother leaned over the younger brother.

"Hey bro, time to wake up." Scott said as he gently shook John's shoulder. "We're home."

AN: So I hope these last two chapters were enjoyable. I'll admit I've been uber distracted what with finals fast approaching, the fact that I am finally moving out of my apartment (can I get a hallelujah?!) and into an actual house, trying to pack and work on my two newer stories, one of which I am planning to dedicate to my mentor and her son who after a brave fight was finally set free from the pain to go home with our Lord. Honestly, I'm still not sure which one I want to dedicate to my mentor and her son...I guess I'll go with the one I finish first.

If anybody has any ideas that they'd like to see happen in this story, suggestions are always greatly appreciated.

~Angel~