Waking up a few days later found Alan feeling something akin to relief. He'd made it a point to go to the sun room for a few hours a day and he longer felt like he was drowning in his own misery. The plus side to his daily visit to the sun room meant that Fermat could go too. Alan had told Fermat during one of their daily chats what he'd done during his day that thankfully didn't involve wallowing in his bed and stewing over his feelings. Instead, Fermat had talked to his own nurse and Mary took Fermat to the sun room when Alan was going to be there. Fermat fit into the little group like he was made for it. It didn't matter that his age made him a kid, he was older than Ben and everyone got along great.

Like they'd done a few days prior, they all explained what happened to them so that everyone knew their story. The group was surprised to find out that Fermat was Alan's roommate that escaped the fire with him. They'd grilled the stuttering boy a little more on details that Alan couldn't answer but Fermat was just as tight lipped at Alan was. If not a little more so.

That left Alan now to relax in his bed, feeling for the first time in a long time like he didn't have the weight of the world bearing down on his shoulders. It felt spectacular. He'd even felt up to calling his father and talking with him for a little bit in the morning before his dad had to go to the courthouse to meet with the lawyer. Heaving a sigh Alan stretched out and took comfort in the fact that he could do so comfortably. His pain was easing up day by day and that made Alan feel so much better knowing that slowly he was getting better. He wished so badly that he'd get better quicker, but he knew that wasn't possible.

Lying in bed Alan pushed his blankets off and tried not to grumble over his distinct lack of boxers. He wished he could tolerate at least wearing underwear but the one time he'd tried he felt like the fabric was too restricting on his burns. He kept them on for about thirty minutes before peeling them off and covering himself with his thin hospital blanket. Tracing his fingertips over the scarring, Alan tried not to think of the future he held. If he ever built up the courage to go to college now, live in another dorm; run the risk of being hurt again when next time his family may not get word until it's too late.

Before he got too absorbed in his thoughts, Alan turned his head at the tap on the glass. He covered up marginally, just enough so that his privates weren't on display but he smiled at the sight of Brook at the window. The scarred girl seemed to grow attached to Alan and he kind of liked it. It was the first time that he felt himself growing some form of attachment to a girl and he enjoyed her company, even if she couldn't enter his room. Brook pushed on the button which connected the intercom and together the two of them started talking.

"How's it going Alan?" Brook asked, shy smile in place.

"It's going okay. How'd you sleep?" Alan asked, genuinely curious how the girl slept. She'd come to him during the night because of a nightmare, managed to evade the nurses and she'd stayed outside of his room for about half an hour before Alan managed to convince Brook to go back to bed.

"I slept better after talking to you." Brook said before turning bashful eyes at Alan. "Um, the gang is kind of off doing their own thing…did you want to join me in the sun room?"

Alan hadn't considered going to the sun room today, honestly he didn't see a point in being there if the gang wasn't meeting to play video games or chat. But if Brook was wanting to hang out, Alan guessed he could.

"Oh, um sure. I haven't had my breakfast yet though." Alan admitted since he'd woken up late.

"That's okay, I haven't either. I was thinking maybe we could have breakfast together." Brook admitted as she looked like she was scuffing her foot. The shy stare at her feet sure gave that appearance to Alan.

"Sure, let me call my nurse to help me get dressed and I'll meet you in the sun lounge." Alan said with his own shy smile. He hadn't told any of his brothers about the little crush he was developing on the girl, not wanting to be teased. Brook nodded excitedly before she practically scampered down the hall. That left Alan to contact his nurse via the nurse call button and the teen soon found himself dressed in a loose hospital gown and escorted to the sun room where breakfast was waiting as well as Brook.

Once he was settled beside Brook, Alan smiled at Karen as she left the two teens to themselves. Silence fell over the two teens as they began to eat when Brook broke the silence.

"So Alan, what do you want to talk about?"

Alan looked at Brook before he shrugged. After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence Brook directed the conversation. "How about we play twenty questions? We each answer ten questions the other asks and after we answer those questions we'll know ten more things about the other that we never knew before."

Alan shrugged, sounded okay to him. "Sure…so did you want to go first?"

"Sure." Brook paused after a moment to think up a question to ask Alan. "What is your favorite color?"

"Favorite color is red. Now let's see…?" Alan hesitated before asking the question. "You mentioned the other day that you have siblings…how many?"

"I'm the middle of nine. My oldest brother is twenty years my senior so he's thirty four." Brook answered honestly, smiling at Alan's look of amazement. "I have a very big family."

"I'll say." Alan replied before he corrected himself. "I have lots of siblings like you."

"Really?" Brook asked, curious to the information Alan was willing to provide.

"Well, since the gang knows that I'm Jeff Tracy's son, I'm sure everyone knows that I am the youngest of five, the oldest being ten years my senior." Alan admitted.

"Do you want to know a secret?" Brook asked with a playful smile.

"Hmm…" Alan pretended to ponder the answer to that question. A sharp look from Brook though made the two begin laughing. "Okay, okay…What is the secret you wanted to tell me?"

"I didn't know you were the youngest of five. To be honest I didn't hear much about Jeff Tracy and his sons until I got put in the hospital." Brook replied.

Alan placed a hand over his heart as though Brook's words wounded him. "Blasphemy!"

"My granddad nor my parents saw a point in buying those gossip magazines. None of that stuff is true and it was pointless to spend the money…but I'm not sorry." Brook said as she gifted Alan with a dazzling smile.

Alan looked at Brook before looking away, pretending to be offended when Brook said what she wanted.

"I'm not sorry because I got to get to know the real you. The tabloids, they always lie or add some untrue idea and that can be either bad or good. Because I never read the tabloids, I assume that your father though he is famous adores his children and loves you just as much as your brothers. Then with you, I don't have to assume that you're a rich, stuck up spoiled brat. From what I've seen of you so far, you've been nothing but nice, quiet and caring. You're also shy and I think that is adorable." Brook said before covering her mouth. Her face lit up in a dark red blush and Alan found himself thinking how much the blush looked good on her.

"Well thanks." Alan said before reaching across from his bed to the couch where Brook was sitting. Gently holding her hand Alan gave the girl a brilliant smile. "You know you're awesome right?"

"Oh I doubt that." Brook said dismissing Alan's statement. But Alan wasn't gonna take it.

"I'm serious. You are awesome." Alan said, trying to reaffirm what he was saying to his new friend. "You're smart, pretty, funny and I think you are just amazing."

Brook blushed but didn't refute Alan's statement again. "Thanks."

"No problem." Alan said before he and Brook turned on the television so they could try to advance in whatever game they chose to play.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Jeff sighed as he sat in the judge's chambers with Alan and Fermat's lawyer as well as the woman who was hired to represent Robert in place of O'Toole. The judge was remaining steadfast that Alan and Fermat needed to testify in person – the woman supposedly representing Robert saying the same while Barrett, Jeff and Brains argued against them making a public appearance.

"Mr. Tracy, Mr. Hackenbacker I know with you two gentlemen being these boy's fathers that you only want what's best for them, but I must insist that by not testifying in person these two boys will not feel happy over their decision. Whatever the outcome of the trial, Alan and Fermat may always wonder if things would have been different had they given a public statement." The judge said as she straightened papers and the like on her desk. "I'm sorry; we the courts are going to need Alan and Fermat to testify in person. We can drag the first meeting out, but we'll need to figure out a date when both Alan and Fermat can be present to testify."

Jeff and Brains just stared at the judge, mouths hanging open.

"I'm sorry, I think I misheard you…are you telling me that Hiram and I have no choice but to take our sons away from the hospital where they are getting treatment for their injuries caused by her client…" Jeff said as he pointed accusingly at the female lawyer who was staring down her nose through her glasses at Jeff. "My son is on immunosuppressant medications, if he leaves the hospital he could very well get sick and die. He has virtually no immune system right now! The doctors are giving him all they've got and it'll be more than two weeks until they are out of his system. You can't be expecting me to bring my son when he is immunocompromised into a packed courtroom filled with people that will be coughing or sneezing. I won't! I love my son very much and I refuse to see him fighting for his life because the courts refuse to let him testify from his hospital room!"

"Mr. Tracy, I understand you don't want Alan to leave the hospital, but surely you understand where the courts are coming from?" The judge said as she looked at Jeff, knowing just from the look on the father's face that he was in angry papa bear mode. "I know you don't want to hear it, but yes. Alan needs to be here within the next week."

Jeff was sputtering angrily by this time and he told the judge and Robert's lawyer just what he thought of the judicial system before storming out of the judges chambers. Brains hurried after Jeff but when he tried to put a hand on Jeff's shoulder, the older man shook off the contact, continuing on down the hall. Barrett came out a few minutes to see Brains sitting on a bench by the door looking irritated.

"What's going on Hiram? Where is Jeff?" Barrett asked as he looked at his younger friend.

"Jeff didn't want to talk to me and he took the car." Brains said, stutter free. Barrett gulped quietly. He knew his younger friend enough to know that when he wasn't stuttering he was usually incensed about something.

"Come on then, I'll give you a lift back to the hotel." Barrett said as he motioned for his friend to join him.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Jeff pulled up outside the hospital before he sighed angrily. He didn't want to tell Alan this but he had no choice. Alan wasn't being given a choice for whether or not he could testify in person and that infuriated Jeff. Sighing angrily again, Jeff closed his eyes and took several deep cleansing breaths before he counted backward from ten.

When he opened his eyes again he felt calmer and he climbed from the car. It was better he got this out of the way now so he could also inform Alan's doctor that the courts were requiring Alan to attend despite the doctor's mandating that neither Alan nor Fermat were well enough to leave the hospital.

As he entered the hospital, a sense of calm settled over him and instantly Jeff knew Lucy was with him. Smiling softly, Jeff spoke to her hoping she understood what he was thinking.

'My love, I don't know how to break the news to Alan…he needs to know but he's told me he's terrified of facing Robert.'

Like the snap of a finger, Jeff felt the words he'd imagine Lucy telling him so as to make sure he understands what his role is.

'Just be there for him and let know you'll back him up in the courtroom. You're his father; you'll know how to provide the support he needs when he needs it.'

Nodding more to himself, Jeff felt like those were the words he needed to hear. Sure he was unsure. He'd always be unsure when he wasn't quite positive how to properly handle his son and any new bumps that came up in Alan's life. He was unsure when Scott told him that he'd wanted to marry his high school girlfriend, though he was glad that hadn't happened. He was unsure when John was going through his emo phase, writing dark poetry because Jeff didn't know exactly why. He was unsure when Virgil begged that he wanted a tattoo for his 18th birthday and was more than relieved when Virgil turned tail and run from the tattoo parlor after he'd gotten cold feet at the look of pain on the girl's face who was getting a tattoo on her collarbone. He was also unsure when Gordon declared that he'd walk again after his accident and watched as his son did just that.

'Just be there for him and let know you'll back him up in the courtroom. You're his father; you'll know how to provide the support he needs when he needs it.'

The words echoed around in his head and gave Jeff the strength he needed to walk up to the elevator and go upstairs so that he could talk to Alan's doctor and hopefully persuade him to let him see his son. When he made it upstairs, he was greeted cordially by the nurses at the station. They all knew him on a first name basis and he was often welcome around the floor. To be honest, Jeff was approached several times by some of the nurses that knew he was there for his son and he accepted that they sometimes had kids in the burn ward that were familiar with the name Jeff Tracy. He'd given a few children autographs when approached and the nurses knew when best to approach him.

"Hello Jeff, how are you today?" Karen asked as she filed a medical file away.

"I'm alright Karen, and how are you?" Jeff asked tiredly.

"I'm well Jeff. And what may I ask brings you here?" Karen inquired as she took in Jeff's haggard appearance.

"I've come to speak with Alan's doctor and hope that I may visit with my son since I am here." Jeff said as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Well, you're in luck. Alan is in the sun room with one of his new friends." Karen said before she pointed off in the direction of the sun lounge. I can take you to go get scrubbed in if you'd like to go to the lounge and visit with him."

"I would greatly appreciate that Karen, thank you. And may I also speak with Alan's doctor?" Jeff replied, thankful that he could see his son after so long. He missed his son and though he occasionally spoke to him on the computer, it never satisfied his longing to see his son in person. He missed him when he was away at school and looked forward to their visits, though he wished they could do without the arguments.

"Alright, then let's go and get you scrubbed in so that you can go visit your son." Karen said before she stood up and led the way down the hall.

Jeff followed Karen down the hall and entered the room. Karen handed him the scrubs, mask, gown as an extra precaution, booties to go over his shoes and helped him into the gloves. Once he was all decked out in his gear, Jeff followed Karen back down the hall and smiled beneath the mask as he saw Alan through the window talking to one of his new friends he'd apparently made in the hospital.

When Karen opened the door, she gestured for Jeff to walk through the door and he breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of his son. Alan looked better. He had a smile on his face, looked at peace and was laughing with his new friend. As Jeff got closer, he heard almost musical laughter coming from Alan's friend and when they turned around, it occurred to Jeff that Alan's new friend was in fact a girl.

It didn't bother him, not at all. Alan had always had better luck befriending girls while his older brothers had better luck befriending boys. Jeff just assumed it was the baby face Alan had that let girls make friends easier with the youngest Tracy.

As he got closer yet, Brook turned around and smiled at Jeff.

"Hello, can we help you?" Brook asked, attracting Alan's attention over.

"Dad? What are you doing here?" Alan asked as soon as he saw his dad. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine Alan." Jeff said, seeing his son relax after his reassurance.

"Then what's up?" Alan asked, finding it odd that his dad was in visiting.

Jeff sighed before he claimed the seat Brook vacated in order to sit at the foot of Alan's bed. The teenage girl ever so gently laid her hand on Alan's shin. It was more of a blanket of comfort than a means of causing further injury.

"Aside from wanting to visit with you, I had some news to tell you." Jeff said instantly sensing the dread which showed strongly on Alan's face. "It's nothing bad, just…you may not like it."

"What is it?" Alan asked, unsure look on his face.

"I just left a meeting with the judge, she and the courts have ruled you and Fermat need to testify in person. Brains, Barrett and I tried arguing against the ruling, but the judge wasn't having it. She's instructed me and Barrett to talk to your doctor about getting you taken off the immunosuppressant medications so that you have a modicum of an immune system to protect you." Jeff said as he saw the look of happiness fall from Alan's face. "I tried talking to them, get them to allow you to testify from your hospital room via web link and they won't allow it. I'm sorry Alan."

"How can they do this dad? I mean, I'm sick! Should I be outside of the hospital in my condition?" Alan asked incredulous of the judge's decision.

"The judge doesn't have an exact date yet, but she wants you off the medicine and you'll have two weeks at least…I think." Jeff replied.

"What do you think of this dad?" Alan asked, wondering just what his dad's opinion of this was.

"I'm not happy Alan. I tried getting the judge to change her decision, but she wasn't having it. I'm scared that you'll get sick and I don't want you getting sick because I know that will make everything just that much harder on you." Jeff said as he accepted Alan's hand when his son offered it to squeeze his hand in comfort.

"You'll be there won't you?" Alan asked, his boyishness coming out despite there being an audience. "Please?"

Jeff saw the begging puppy dog look on Alan's face and he moved to sit at the head of the bed. Putting an arm over Alan's shoulder, Jeff pulled his youngest closer so that he could rest his head on his shoulder, hopefully drawing strength from the patriarch. "Of course I will, and your grandma and brothers will be there too."

"Thanks." Alan simply said as he nuzzled his dad's shoulder, before letting his head simply rest.

"No problem son." Jeff whispered as he returned the gesture, resting his own head on top of Alan's.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Gordon hugged the newly printed picture of his mom, surprisingly the same picture that had been destroyed in the fire. Gordon was unaware that his grandma had had all of the pictures scanned and duplicated, but Scott called their grandma to find out if she knew where the box of pictures were as she'd brought them when she went to visit them last on the island. She told Scott they were in a couple of albums in her bedroom and that they could take whichever album they wanted. She'd thought ahead and made an album for each grandson and it thankfully had the picture that Gordon treasured in it and he'd glommed onto it the instant he saw it.

"I can't believe Grandma had these pre-duplicated." Gordon remarked as he pulled the picture away to look lovingly at the picture. He had adored his mom when she'd been alive, but realized he'd taken for granted the love he got from her. She'd died before his ninth birthday and while it broke his heart, he'd rather she have tried to protect his baby brother instead of sacrificing her youngest in order to live. He didn't know if he could forgive anyone for sacrificing the life of a child for their life.

"Grandma is one smart lady. I tell you." Virgil said as he patted Gordon on the back.

"We all knew that. She and grandpa had to be smart in order for dad to be where he is today." Scott replied in jest and sarcasm.

"Duh Scott, we know." John said, grinning slightly.

A knock at the door drew the brother's attention and they grinned a welcoming grin at their visitor.

"Hey Kyrano!" Scott greeted. "What's going on?"

"I was just stopping by to let you boys know that dinner would be done about 6. My wife has requested that you bring a healthy appetite." Kyrano said softly.

"You bet! We've missed Onaha's fabulous cooking." Virgil said as his stomach answered with a purring growl of some kind. "Take out just isn't cutting it for us anymore."

"Don't let my wife know you've been surviving on take out." Kyrano wisely suggested before he left the room. "She would be most displeased."

After Kyrano left, that left the brothers to their own devices and that was interesting. They managed to drag John outside with the promise of taking the 4 wheeler's for a spin. Gordon rode on the 4 wheeler with Virgil, reclining back slightly to allow the breeze to flow through his hair. Despite the helmet he wore, the wind felt great whipping against his face. Going out like this with his brothers reminded Gordon of simpler times, just before IR was founded and they lived on the island.

Gordon looked out across the layout of the land and spotted one of his and Alan's spots where they liked to go to get away from their older brothers. Seeing that place again brought back old memories, fun memories and he tugged on Virgil's shirt to get his attention. Pointing off in the direction, Virgil nodded his understanding before driving off where Gordon pointed. Scott and John had no choice but to follow and follow they did. Once they'd stopped, Gordon was the first to get off the 4 wheeler and he removed his helmet with a soft sigh. His brothers followed his lead, albeit a bit confused.

"Gordon, why'd you want to stop?" Scott asked as he looked around.

"This was our place…one of them anyway. Al and I…we'd come here to get away from you guys when we felt like we were bothering you." Gordon replied as he looked around and admired his and Alan's playground. "We set this stuff up and we'd play for hours until it was time to head inside for lunch or dinner."

"What is this place?" John asked. He recognized it as an obstacle course, but for what he didn't know.

"Parkour."

"Parkour? What is that?" Scott asked as he looked at Gordon, mildly confused. It sounded familiar, but he wasn't certain he knew what it was.

"It's a sport, but its goal is to propel oneself using just the human body and your surroundings. Alan taught me how and we both liked it enough that we built our own obstacle course to practice on." Gordon explained as he looked around at the obstacle course, small smile on his face. He'd forgotten about it when he went away to join WASP and got hurt, then he started working for his father in IR and there just wasn't any time to make it out there anymore. "I can demonstrate what he taught me if you don't believe me."

"Is it dangerous?" Virgil asked.

"It can be depending on the stunts, but Alan and I never went for extreme. It was just something to do so we focused on free running and jumping over obstacles." Gordon said.

"Free running?" John asked, trying to figure out what Gordon meant.

"Here, I'll show you." Gordon said before he took off his shirt and handed it to Scott. "I don't like my arms being restricted when I do this, neither does Alan."

"You and Alan would take off your shirts out here in the jungle? Weren't you worried about poisonous spiders?" Virgil asked in shock.

"We weren't worried. Tin-Tin would bring out a mix of oils that repelled the spiders so we could make sure our clothes didn't become infested." Gordon said as he began to stretch.

"Tin-Tin knew you guys did this? And she never said anything?" Scott asked.

"No, she joined us on occasion. It's not just a guy sport. And Tin-Tin is good. Really good." Gordon said before he went to his starting point. "Don't talk to me right now. I've got to get in the zone."

Scott, John and Virgil were all quiet per Gordon's request. They all watched in awe as Gordon began to run around the obstacle course before vaulting over a partially fallen tree. As they watched Gordon jump over the obstacles, they felt in awe. When he'd finished, Gordon stopped his running around and looked at his brothers to make sure they were watching. If he hadn't been fighting to catch his breath, he might have started laughing at the look on their faces.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Jeff gently ran his fingers through Alan's hair. He'd spent almost the entire day with his son and his son's new friend in the sun lounge and his youngest had long since fallen asleep. He and Jeff had discussed the plan, Alan's doctor even stopped in to take part in the discussion. The plan? After Alan was determined to be "clean" from his medications, the night before the actual trial Alan would be released from the hospital with a one day 'get out of jail free' card and could go back to the hotel. He'd spend the night with his family, get up the following morning and go to the courthouse. There he'd give his testimony and when everything was adjourned, Alan would need to be taken directly back to the hospital and readmitted. Then doctors would clean his wounds and reapply ointments before they'd leave him to his own devices. They'd wait about a week before beginning his immunosuppressant medications once more and then they'd try to see if Alan could withstand another surgery…this time on his shins.

It'd be another big surgery, like the ones on his thighs had been and when that was done they'd hopefully hear back whether or not the surgery took and if things were moving along as they should…Alan could have his final surgery with taking skin from his brothers and then he'd need to begin his physical therapy. That'd be a trial in and of itself because it'd mean Alan relearning how to walk on limbs that had been strong enough to hold his weight for the last four almost five months. Alan would need a few months of surgery at least to be considered healed and able to be permanently discharged to go home.

Brook had so far proved to be Alan's cheerleader. She told him she thought he could do it and Jeff could see more than a friendship beginning to blossom between the two teens. It didn't matter to Jeff that Brook was missing a couple fingers or had physical scarring; all that mattered to Jeff was that Brook made Alan happy. Which she was proving adept at doing; just after delivering the news to Alan of the judge's decision, Brook had been the one to remind Alan that while he didn't like the decision, he'd need to do the testimony in person if he wanted closure. It'd be hard; nobody was saying that it'd be easy. But she believed he could do it. That had given Alan the vote of confidence that he'd needed and he nodded his acceptance of the situation, more understanding after having a talk with not only his dad but with Brook.