"Hey bro, time to wake up." Scott said as he gently shook John's shoulder. "We're home."
"We are?" John asked as he turned his gaze out the window of the jet. "It feels like I just fell asleep."
"Yeah, well that had everything to do with the pain meds and nothing to do with the fact that you obviously haven't been sleeping as soundly as you claim you have been." Scott said as he playfully tousled John's hair "Come on, let's get you in the house and you can finish getting rest sleeping beauty."
Scott helped John up and together they shuffled down the aisle of the jet until they reached the staircase. Standing at the open door, John and Scott both took a deep inhale of the air. They swore they could taste the difference in the air and it was a welcome change than that of the city air. This was more pure, warm and familiar…the air in the city felt heavy, and dirty…thick with smog.
"Well, better get the fanfare out of the way." John commented as Scott led him down the staircase. Once they'd reached the ground, John found Gordon with a hover sled and a mischievous grin in place. What is this Gordon?"
"I asked Brains if we could use his hover sled for shuttling supplies from the platform to get you from the hangar to the house. He said as long as we were careful he'd let us use it." Gordon replied as he waggled his eyebrows excitedly. "I bet we make it back up to the house in less than five minutes unlike if we had to walk."
"And what made you think this was a good idea?" John asked as he looked at the hover craft his little brother was sitting on.
"Because the doctor asked that you not push yourself when it came to getting around and I know how thick that Tracy skull can be at the best of times. I should know, I can be just as pig headed as Alan and Scott if not more when I set my mind to it and you my dear brother are just as stubborn." Gordon replied calmly. "Your chariot awaits my liege."
"Watch where you walk Gordon, or else you could very well find yourself trying to wash some oil found in T4 and a little something extra out of your nose, eyes and mouth for a month." John snarked, as he hobbled over and claimed the seat behind Gordon while Scott and Virgil hopped on the dingy that could be dragged behind the hover sled.
"Hold on tight John." Gordon said before making sure his brothers were holding on. Once he was sure he set the cruise on the craft and gave the gas it needed to go.
TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB
Alan held his breath as his gurney was pushed over the threshold of the sun lounge. He smiled and took a deep breath once he'd made it over and he smiled at Candy as she wheeled him over to a place he'd pointed out and locked his brakes.
"There are a couple of nurses that walks around periodically to check on the patients, just let one of them know when you are ready to return to your room and they'll give us a call." Candy said as she smiled at Alan, squeezing his hand gently after he'd taken her hand and shook it with gratitude. "Enjoy Alan. We'll be back around lunch to see if you want to eat here or in your room unless we hear you've returned to your bedroom."
Once Candy left, Alan was left to his own devices and thankfully he'd pointed over towards the television. There were other kids – boys and girls in hospital gowns of varying ages playing video games. Alan wasn't usually shy, he'd grown out of that when he hit puberty and he'd bite the proverbial bullet.
"Hi…need another player?" Alan asked, drawing the eyes of the other kids in his situation to look at him. Alan turned insecure eyes to his hospital bedding at their close scrutinizing. He'd asked Karen and Candy for his gown and they'd also given him a robe to place over his back if he got cold.
The first boy looked Alan up and down before he stood up, grabbing a crutch and hobbling over to Alan.
"I'm Danny, what's your name kid?" Danny looked to be eighteen, maybe seventeen to Alan and the younger boy looked at the scarred hand that had been held out to him as an offer to shake the older boy's hand.
"It's Alan." Introducing himself had never been more nerve-wracking and it wasn't because he was shy, not by a long shot. Now it had to do with the fact that Alan felt inadequate and unsure, the voices of Robert, Kolby and Mason echoing around in his head.
"Hey Alan…come meet the gang." Danny said as he motioned to a few of the other kids that had sat up and looked at the two boys. Danny carefully used the tip of his crutch to unlock the brakes of Alan's bed before he and another boy managed to maneuver the bed closer to the gathered group of kids. "So what are you in for?"
"Um, burns…I take it I'm not the only one?" Alan asked as he looked around at the other kids that had flocked around his bed.
"Ya got that right. The sun room is the only recreational gathering spot for the kids in this same environment. It is the pediatric burn unit and honestly we should all be there, unless you ask me why I'm still here." Danny replied before pointing to a couple other kids. "This is Chad, Brook, Skye and Ben."
The kids Danny pointed out all waved at Alan with smiles and grins. Chad looked to be about fifteen or sixteen and he had spiky blond hair. It stuck up in patches and Alan could see scarring on the side of the boy's head. Despite the burns, Chad seemed happy. Brook was pretty and Alan felt his heart thump nervously in his chest. She was on par with Tin-Tin to Alan. She had darker skin and almost black hair. She appeared to be the same age as Alan and she waved at Alan, unfortunately drawing Alan's attention to her hand. Her left hand was covered in scarred skin and Alan realized she was missing a couple of fingers. Despite her injuries, Brook still sent Alan a pretty smile and wink, making him blush at the attention.
Skye smiled shyly and waved at Alan before turning her attention back to the television. She had a boyish haircut and green eyes. Chad started haranguing Skye until the girl turned to punch him in the arm. Alan felt himself vowing never to piss off Skye. She was scary despite her shy nature. Alan looked over Skye and surprisingly couldn't find any signs of burns on the girl. He wondered if she was due to be discharged soon, but didn't ask. Then there was Ben, by far the youngest in the group so far. Ben had almost platinum white hair and hazel eyes from what Alan could tell.
Danny let Alan look at everyone before he gently tapped the younger boy on the shoulder. "Hey, grab a controller and let's get this party started."
Alan nodded as Brook stood up and handed Alan another controller, a wireless one so Alan could still play from the distance. Together the group fell into silence, occasionally throwing jabs at the other for the characters defeating the other. Once they'd exhausted themselves with video games, they just shut off the system and sat in a semi-circle.
"So, Alan…since you're still new to the sun room d'ya have any questions for us?" Danny asked, making Alan believe that because he was the oldest out of them all; he was the more dominant person in the group.
Alan was at a loss for words and didn't quite know what to say. Staying quiet as he chewed on his lip, Alan tried to ignore the lingering question. A hand touched his forearm, making Alan look up. Brook was smiling at him again before she mouthed the words 'come on' to Alan.
"Um…I guess my question is how did you all meet?" Alan asked as he looked between the group of kids. They all looked at each other before Chad shrugged and raised his hand.
"I call dibs!" Chad replied as he smiled at the younger kid. "To start I think we should all tell why we're here in the hospital.
Everybody in the group groaned and Skye punched Chad in the arm again before they all settled down. Chad cleared his throat before he began to speak. "Well, as you all know…my name is Chad. To start with a little background, I was with my now ex-girlfriend and a couple of ex-friends camping when I was burned. It was entirely accidental how it happened and I wish I could go back to stop it from happening." Chad reached across and threaded his fingers with Skye's fingers as he smiled at her. "My ex-girlfriend asked me to add some lighter fluid to the fire to give it a little more oomph after we'd added some logs to it. I dropped the jug of lighter fluid and some of it spilled on my clothes but I didn't realize it until my clothes caught on fire. I had third degree burns over a quarter of my body; some of it ignited my hair which I was unaware that some hair gel was flammable. That was seven months ago and I'll be ready for discharge in a few more months after I have my last surgery."
Alan stared in shocked silence as Chad lifted the scrub top he wore in place of a hospital gown revealing a few scars scattered around his chest, before he turned around and showed where he'd been burned on his head.
"Why do you always insist on flashing your scars around? Is that something you're proud of?" Skye asked with a bored attitude and if Alan was correct in his guess, a little irritation.
"Yes, as a matter of fact I am very proud of them. I may not be proud that my girlfriend broke up with me because I was disfigured by the accident or that I lost what few friends I had, but I am proud that though the fire took me down for the count it isn't keeping me out. I am going to graduate high school and face my fears of being around fire and I'm going to go to college to be a fireman, like I've dreamed of doing since I was a little boy." Chad said with a determination in his eyes that Alan knew was the truth. He'd seen the same spark in his brother's eyes when they set their minds to something. "But I'm not alone…I've got a beautiful new girlfriend who is my rock and I love her to death and I'm surrounded by amazing friends that keep me going no matter my mood."
Chad kissed Skye's hand and offered her an adoring smile which made the girl melt. Skye snuggled in the seat she and Chad were sharing and leaned her head against his shoulder. Alan could see just from the actions that Skye was Chad's girl and this new side of Skye was less shy or brusque and more warm, loving.
"Well, since Chad went…I might as well go next." Skye said as her head remained on Chad's shoulder. "I still can't believe a fire occurred at the event, but it did. To explain I was at a dance competition and the venue we were using caught on fire. I couldn't get out of the fire because the smoke made me pass out…I have asthma and I couldn't breathe. I don't remember getting out of the fire, I just remember waking up in the hospital, lying on my stomach with bandages wrapped tightly around me."
Alan bit his lip, what Skye just said sounded like a similar mission his brothers had gone on about eight months ago. They'd been called out because of a hotel fire and Gordon described finding a young girl that had "god awful burns" over the entirety of her back. Virgil had triaged as best as he could, but couldn't do much because he was not experienced in severe burn trauma. He could only do minor medical treatment without the say so, but chose not to go back to school to get his doctorate in multiple levels of medicine.
Tuning back in, Alan continued to listen to Skye.
"I've been in the hospital for almost nine months and while I'm getting better, I still have a ways to go. I have deep muscle burns that take a while to recover from and if it wasn't for my family, friends and my…boyfriend I think I'd probably have given up by now and just let go." Skye said before nuzzling Chad's neck. He kissed her on the nose as he gently hugged her.
Alan was left to wonder just from listening to Skye and Chad as they told their stories, what would Tin-Tin think? Would he have a chance with her or would she be disgusted with his scars that littered over half of his body? Would the guys, Jem, Eddy, Todd and Josh outside of Fermat still want to be his friends if he were to consider homeschool after this was all over? As his thoughts were consumed with questions, Brook took the opportunity to speak.
"Well, I guess my story is more of an unusual circumstance as any…I played with fire. It was more of a hobby, but I was a working at my grandfather's Polynesian restaurant. It had live entertainment and I was one of the fire dancers. It's been a tradition in my family for everyone to learn how to fire dance and my mother taught me how. My sisters and brother know how as well and even my father who was an expert at fire breathing knows how to fire dance." Brook lifted a scarred hand and ran it through her dark brown hair. "A stunt went out of control and the metal on the handles got too hot. Unfortunately I got the chain wrapped around my fingers and it burned so deeply that the doctors had no choice but to amputate."
Alan tried to think if he'd ever seen fire dancing before and had no idea what it actually was. Tentatively raising his hand, Alan asked the question on his mind. "What is fire dancing?"
Brook stilled as she looked over to Alan with a look that asked 'how do you not know what fire dancing is' before she looked at Danny and took his controller from him. Going to YouTube on the gaming console, Brook looked up fire dancing before she showed the group of gathered teens what it was she did before the accident. Alan watched with wide and mystified eyes. It was beautiful, there was no other way to word it. Once the video ended, Brook with a look of longing asked. "Any other questions?"
Alan didn't have any other questions and thus the introductions and storytelling moved on to Danny. He explained that his situation was similar to Alan's only that the fire occurred in his uncle's place, whom he'd lived with since he was nine. He was trying to rescue one of his little cousins and suffered a broken leg and third degree burns deep into the muscle and tissue in both his thigh and calf. He was proud to admit that though he was injured, his little cousin wasn't hurt. Sparky as he called his little cousin was just fine and barely remembered the fire though he'd occasionally wake up with nightmares of that night.
Alan nodded silently as they continued going through the group. Ben was by far the saddest story out of them all and everyone sat in total silence as Ben who was eleven told his sordid tale.
"My mom was dating this new guy, I could care less what his name was. All I know is that he was abusive and he'd always wipe the floor with my mother. The few times he'd hit me were easy to forget because he never beat on me like he did my mom. When my mom left, she left me with him. Packed her bag and just left. My mom's boyfriend went insane and set the apartment on fire. I remember him saying that if he couldn't have my mom, then she'd never see me again and he…locked me inside the apartment." Ben's eyes misted over, but he carried on like a trooper. "He opened the stove and turned on the burners, I guess to try to make the apartment explode, but something went wrong and it never blew up. When a glass bottle flew in the window and spread liquid and fire everywhere I thought I was done for."
Alan was frozen as he listened to Ben. What Robert did to him was nothing like what happened to Ben. As he continued to listen to Ben he found himself silently cheering on the kid.
"Fire spread in the apartment and I'm honestly surprised I wasn't hurt more than I was. The fire burned my feet and legs, but then the neighbor I guess heard my screams and broke down the door to rescue me. He carried me out and the next thing I knew I was waking up in the hospital."
Everyone was silent as Ben finished telling his story and nobody bat an eyelash when he sniffled loudly and used the neck of his hospital gown to dry his misty eyes. Everyone turned their gaze to Alan after giving Ben time to compose himself. Danny looped an arm over Ben's tiny shoulders and pulling him into his side. Ben looked to be accepting the comfort from the older boy and Alan knew it was his turn to explain.
"Well, as you all now I'm Alan…I was at school asleep in my dorm with my roommate when we woke up to find our room on fire." Alan felt the pull, the feeling like he was slipping back into his worst nightmare and was surprised when he felt a gentle and reassuring hand slip into his. Looking up, Alan smiled his thanks when he realized the one offering comfort was Brook. Nodding, Alan took a deep breath before continuing. "My roommate and I were on one of the upper floors of our school dormitory, so we were left with the only choice of leaving our room to escape."
Chad, Skye, Ben, Danny and Brook all sat in silence as Alan explained.
"A falling beam caught me on the arm and my roommate on the leg. We both were pinned before we were able to escape and the both of us got pretty devastating burns. I was the worst out of the two of us injured."
"What school did this fire take place at?" Chad asked, interrupting Alan's story. "It wasn't that preppy school was it? Willard's or something like that?"
"Um, that school was called Wharton's and yes…same school." Alan confirmed.
"Oh my god…you're Jeff Tracy's kid!" Chad said before clapping a hand over his mouth with a look around the room to make sure people weren't flocking over at the mention of some famous kid in their midst.
Alan deflated some before he nodded. "Yeah, same kid."
Skye punched Chad in the arm again and Brook hissed at the loudmouthed blonde before she started practically clucking over Alan. Danny sat in stunned silence but gestured at Alan to continue.
"Anyway, like Ben and Skye…I don't really remember actually getting out of the fire. I remember waking up in the hospital and I had a tube in my throat initially. My doctor said that I was having hard time breathing so they intubated me to give me a hand. I only needed it for a little while, and then I graduated to a mask before I got to wear a cannula." Once he'd finished Alan returned the gentle squeeze from Brook.
"Wow, we're a sorry lot aren't we?" Danny asked sardonically.
"I have a question."
Everyone looked at Ben before nodding at the kid.
"If your school caught on fire…did they ever find out what caused it?" Ben asked innocently.
Alan was left to wonder honestly if he'd ever find out. He suspected Robert caused the fire, as payback for something Alan did to him – but Alan couldn't believe that Robert would be so jaded over losing the kitty for a contest that he'd try to kill Alan. Despite everything, Alan wanted to believe there was some good in Robert, but so far he'd passed his third strike and was quickly shaping up to be a big fat thumbs down. Shrugging, Alan answered Ben.
"I don't know…I have my suspicions but I haven't been told anything solid yet." Alan admitted.
"You mean it's still pending investigation?" Danny asked in surprise.
"Got it in one. I doubt I'll find out before the end of the trial." Alan said.
"Whoa, trial? Who's suing?" Chad asked. "You and your family have plenty of money, why would you sue the school?"
"It's not money we're after…its justice. I was bullied daily by a group of guys and one of them…the one I suspect started the fire handed my ass to me on more than one occasion because he thought he ruled the roost. My dad is suing the school not for money, but because he wants to make an example of the school's zero tolerance policy which failed at protecting me."
"Not everybody is out for gain in lawsuits Chad." Skye said as she could see where Alan was going. "I know my parents sued the hotel for pain and suffering on my part, but that was because the hotel failed to have the state in to check the electrical workings and for forging their documents so that they wouldn't need to have an exam."
"I don't understand it, but it's your prerogative." Chad said before reclining on the couch. "Is anyone else hungry? I'm starving."
"You're always hungry Chad." Brook commented.
"Hey, I'm a growing boy still that's recovering from injuries…I need all the food I can get." Chad argued back before he'd called one of the nurses that was periodically meandering around the room over to ask if he could have his tray of lunch sent to the sun lounge instead of to his room. Skye, Danny, Brook and Ben did the same – all choosing to eat among company than by themselves. Alan was left to wonder if he'd prefer to go back to his room or if he'd like to eat with his newly made friends. Seeing them all looking at him expectantly, Alan asked for his tray too.
TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB
Scott, John, Virgil and Gordon practically inhaled their lunch that Onaha had made with a flourish. If anyone had been brave enough to try to take any of the boy's plates, they might have come back missing a hand…or a few fingers. Kyrano, Onaha and Tin-Tin all stared in surprise at the way the Tracy boys inhaled their meal. They knew the boys could eat, but never like this. It was like the boys hadn't been fed in weeks. When the meal was finished, John who prided himself on his table manners gave a healthy burp before he could stop it. Scott, Gordon and Virgil all began teasing him for it, but it didn't offend anyone, not even Onaha.
"A healthy burp means you thoroughly enjoyed my meal, do so all you want." Onaha said as she cleared the table of the empty dishes. The brothers moved from the table in the dining room to lay around in the living room. They were all satisfied, they'd gotten some good food in their gullets and now they were getting some optimal relaxation in.
After an hour and a half, Gordon couldn't take it any longer and he ran up to his bedroom to get changed into his trunks to go for a dip. Scott, John and Virgil watched as Gordon made a running cannonball into the pool before Scott and Virgil joined their younger brother. John who wasn't permitted to swim just yet, via doctor's order *cough* Virgil's orders lounged out in the sun on a sun lounger. He'd slathered the sun cream on to protect his pale skin from some extraordinary sun burn and he settled in with a book that Tin-Tin was kind enough to run to his room to retrieve.
Scott, Virgil and Gordon all swam or played for a little bit until they'd tired out then they'd all gone in for dinner. Onaha outdid herself once again before the brothers retired to bed. The following morning found each of the brothers hanging back, not wanting to leave their beds. Virgil was the first to surface from his room which was a surprise among surprises. Next came Scott and John the last being Gordon.
That morning at breakfast, now that the brothers were all properly fed a healthy breakfast, they all felt it okay to discuss with Kyrano and his family about what was going on with Alan and Fermat.
"So how is Alan doing? He rarely calls me anymore with updates." Tin-Tin said softly, feeling mildly hurt that neither Alan nor Fermat were calling her as often as they said they would.
"He's doing okay. We don't hear much from Fermat either, notwithstanding Brain's updates when he goes to visit. Alan's been going through occasional bouts of depression since being put in isolation and will sometimes call us other times he ignores us for days. The doctor and nurses have been keeping an eye on Alan and making sure to keep us updated when he has a gloomy day." Virgil said since he was the one that mostly understood the doctor's comments about Alan's treatment. "I've told Alan's doctor to call me if Alan ever feels like he needs to talk to someone to bring him out of his funk and there have been occasions since I've gotten out of the hospital when the doctor calls at an ungodly hour because Alan can't sleep and needs to talk."
"So that's why you woke up before us, you're getting into a routine with talking at odd hours in the night." Gordon teased, whimpering a breathless 'Ow' when Virgil smacked the back of his head.
"I don't understand, why is Alan suffering from depression?" Onaha asked as she tried to wrap her head around how the happy go lucky sunshine of a boy could feel so melancholy.
"We believe he's also suffering from PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder. That would explain his flashbacks and occasional hostility to us when we try to talk to him and PTSD can make a person feel like they aren't in control of their lives…it's common among people that went off to war, were abused and some people that were raped suffer from it. It's just how the body handles extreme stress." Virgil explained. "Alan from what we can understand was bullied to the extremes and though it wasn't sexual, he was in a way raped of his security. He was threatened practically every second of every day and when it reached its boiling point – it just blew up. Alan was robbed of his material belongings, things he'll never get back and he was almost killed because of the actions of another."
Hearing the mention of material belongings, Gordon felt his heart plummet to the pit of his stomach. Gordon hadn't realized he'd gasped until all eyes were on him.
"What is it?" Scott asked as he looked at his second youngest brother with concern at his pallor.
"I just thought of something and I don't know if it's here." Gordon said before he dashed from the room to check Alan's bedroom. It had to be there. 'It couldn't have been at the school. Please not the school!'
After ransacking Alan's bedroom, Gordon felt dismayed that he couldn't find it. Walking slowly back to the living room, Gordon sank down onto the couch.
"What is it Gordon?" John asked as he practically felt Gordon's heartbreak.
"It was my picture of mom…I let Alan take it with him to school because he didn't have one of his own. I think it got burned in the fire." Gordon said with a sad sigh. No use crying over spilt milk.
"Why'd you let Alan have your picture of mom?" Scott asked, surprised that Gordon would give up his prized picture of their mom. He wouldn't let anybody touch it and usually went berserk if anyone joked about confiscating it when he'd pulled a prank on them.
"He called me a few months back, he asked me that I never breath aloud what I'm about to say. But he called me late one night, crying because he'd had a nightmare. It was before spring break last spring. Anyway, he told me that he'd dreamed of mom and the day she died. He described in great detail how mom died and was so terrified that he refused to go back to sleep. I put my picture of mom in the mail and overnighted it to him so he could have a picture of mom to look at instead of thinking of that nightmare. He tried to give it back to me when he came home for the summer but I told him that I'd loan it to him for an extended period and that he was free to take it back with him when he went back to school." Gordon now felt sad knowing that the picture he'd loaned to Alan, the same picture that his dad had given him because he always looked at it was now lost to the flames of the Wharton fire. As far as Gordon knew that picture was the only copy. And now it was gone.
AN: Finally finished this chapter and another! So sorry for having not updated in a while, was hard pressed to pass my skills test and written state exam to get my nursing assistant license...good news I passed and am now a certified nursing assistant...other good news with this license I can begin to get enrolled in the licensed practical nursing part of college in the fall so I can continue on with my dream of entering the medical field. I was a super excited practically screaming fan girl (I know...scary right?) when on my first night in my new home my brother managed to find Thunderbirds Are Go 1966 movie version on our new cable box...I stayed up until 2am watching it despite being crazy stupid tired especially after having finished moving that day and working at my night job. I loved it and look forward to watching the others when I get the chance.
So I hope ya'll enjoy this chapter and the next and if there is anything you'd like to see added into the story, please PM me no idea will be rejected unless it just doesn't fit(Alan not surviving a surgery perchance...not happening so don't ask)...but I promise to try to work it in if it fits otherwise I'll maybe create a sister chapter that includes an idea.
Hope to see some reviews, if not I understand.
~Angel~