A little over a week later Gordon stood at the admissions desk in the lobby of the hospital, holding his wrist out to accept the hospital bracelets. He was surprised at the sheer number of bracelets he was being made to wear. Four bracelets…really? Couldn't they just put all the information necessary on one bracelet? He glanced over his shoulder at Scott who was being given his own set of bracelets to adorn his wrist.
"You boys be good and don't pester the nurses." Jeff said as he hugged Scott and Gordon goodbye once they'd gotten the last of their bracelets applied to their wrists. John and Virgil both were watching from the sidelines as their oldest and second youngest brothers were going in to soon complete the last of the surgeries hopefully that would restore Alan. Hopefully restore him completely anyway. Virgil knew in the back of his mind that this wouldn't be the last of Alan's surgeries. If the kid chose to later, they could hire a plastic surgeon to try to lessen the scarring that would later adorn Alan once he'd fully healed.
"Come on and give us a hug boys. We won't be around to pester you for a few weeks." Scott said as he held his arms open for his two younger brothers to come give him a hug. Virgil and John both smiled a sad yet bemused smile as they hugged their older and younger brothers' farewell.
"Hang in there and don't try to kill each other." John said as he ruffled Gordon's hair much in the same manner that he did with Alan.
"We'll be fine dude. Come on this is me you're talking about. If anyone's going to cause trouble in this joint it's gonna be fly boy behind me." Gordon replied with an amused and mischievous grin.
"It doesn't matter, just don't do anything that will get either of you kicked out of the hospital…either of you." John said with plea heavy in his voice.
"Fine…no atomic wedgies for Scott." Gordon said as he crossed his arms over his chest playfully pouting. Though his brothers and father knew it was an act. Gordon had to be in some kind of trouble in order to be having a normal day, if he wasn't playing pranks or causing hysteria among his family members, then it just wasn't a good day.
"Thank you." Scott replied as he turned to follow the nurse who had come to retrieve him and Gordon.
With that Gordon and Scott went beyond the doors and they both swallowed nervously. They were both concerned about the actual surgery date, but really could you blame them? They both were going to be cut on, no matter how minimal the doctors tried to express the surgery to be. They'd still be having surgery and anyone who wasn't even remotely nervous in their minds was insane. Or just very used to having surgery. Which they however were not.
"So, how are we doing this?" Gordon inquired as he and Scott were brought to a shower room.
"You two gentlemen will be taking a shower and donning these gowns. I will then take you on up to your floor and get you two settled in your beds and hooked up to receive your IV medications." The nurse said before extending a hand to them both. "I am your nurse Karen. It's a pleasure to meet you both."
"Karen, you're our little brother's nurse aren't you?" Scott asked as the name rang a bell with him.
Karen looked around with a small nod. Scott knew from hearing Virgil talk about HIPPA regulations, so he knew Karen wasn't permitted to divulge anything about Alan unless he was a listed guardian for his baby brother.
"Thank you for all you're doing to keep our brother as comfortable as possible. You have no idea how much we appreciate your help." Scott said as he shook Karen's hand.
"It's no problem. Alan is a treasure." Karen said as she thought of the quiet and actually very docile boy in her care. Alan had only recently begun receiving his medications again and the poor boy hated it, but the medications were a necessary evil.
TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB
"I hate this, just pull the plug…stick a fork in me. I'm done." Alan moaned as he held a pillow over his face. The medicines he'd recently been restarted on were giving him the granddaddy of all headaches and every little noise in the room ratcheted the pain up for him.
"Come on Alan, it's time for lunch." Candy said as she tried to feed Alan the hospital's version of Swedish meatballs, which smelled awful and Alan figured if they smelled as bad as they looked – he'd without a doubt toss his cookies if he tried eating anything.
"I'm not hungry." Alan groaned as he pressed the pillow tighter to his face. Maybe he could smother himself with the pillow, at least then his headache would go away…right?
"You need to eat Alan. The medicine will make you sick to your stomach if you don't eat anything." Candy said, a little too chipper to match Alan's mood.
"I can't eat if I'm not hungry." Alan groaned as he rolled onto his side, still pressing his face into his pillow.
"Alan, if you don't at least take a bite – I have to tell the doctor you aren't eating again." Candy said as she lowered the fork after her failed attempt at feeding Alan.
"Then go ahead and tell him, I can't eat anything if my stomach is telling me I'm not hungry. I'm going to puke it back up if I try to eat when I'm not hungry." Alan said as he moved the pillow a fraction of an inch to talk to Candy. "Please, I have a headache and the smell of the food is making me sick. Can you just go?"
Candy sighed as she realized she wasn't going to make any headway with the teen. He wasn't going to eat, just like he hadn't this morning or the night previous. Truth be told, he hadn't eaten much of anything in the last few days. Not since he'd been put on a new medication meant to help keep his immune system healthy while lowering it enough to accept the latest donor surgery. The doctor switched up his medication because he feared Alan coming down ill after being exposed to the public.
"I guess I'll come back later." Candy said as she placed the lid over the plates on Alan's tray and left without another word.
Alan groaned from within the depths of his pillow. He wanted to eat, but he knew his own body. For as long as he could remember, any time he ate when he wasn't hungry – he usually threw it back up or felt like throwing up. It was one thing that Virgil was constantly obsessing over, Alan's inability to eat most days.
Alan couldn't remember a time when he'd been able to inhale food and keep it down without having an appetite. It was a source of irritation on Virgil's part. The medic thought Alan was anorexic – but after studying Alan a little, realized Alan wasn't doing it intentionally. Alan was aware of Virgil asking Fermat to monitor his eating habits and even after all that, Virgil knew Alan ate only when he was hungry. He wasn't a glutton like a few of his brothers.
A knock made Alan groan just a little bit louder, when Karen entered the room. Alan knew it was Karen just by her actions. He'd been in isolation enough to recognize her soft knock and gentle steps.
"Alan, Candy tells me you aren't eating." Karen said as she stopped beside Alan's bed. She observed the pillow over Alan's head and sighed. "What's the matter dear?"
"My head hurts Karen and the smell of the food was making me feel sick." Alan mumbled even as he kept his head buried.
"Do you want a Tylenol for your head honey?" Karen inquired softly.
Alan gave a gentle shake of the head. He had enough medications in his system to last him a lifetime, he didn't need to be drugged out of his gourd.
"Are you sure dear? I don't want that headache of yours to get worse." Karen said as she checked the IV lines and Alan's catheter drain bag.
"I'm sure Karen. Thanks though." Alan mumbled.
Karen moved across the room and dimmed the lights before she also closed the curtains to darken Alan's room. Once she'd finished that she gently took the pillow from Alan, taking care with tucking it under Alan's elbow. Once Alan was out from under his pillow, Karen grabbed Alan's comb before taking a seat on Alan's bed.
"Maybe a little brushing will make your head feel better. I know it helped my kids when they were younger." Karen slowly began running the comb through Alan's hair while also running her fingers through Alan's hair making the teen moan and tilt his head more into Karen's hand.
"Feels good." Alan groaned.
"Nice to hear." Karen said as she set Alan's comb to the side before focusing on just rubbing the junction where Alan's head met his neck and further down where the neck met the shoulders. Alan's muscles were tense all the way up and Karen focused on massaging the tense muscles. "You're too stressed darling."
"How can I be stressed out if I'm not doing anything?" Alan asked incredulously as he threw his arms up. He grunted in pain at lifting his bad arm too high too fast but other than that he was fine.
"This whole situation is stressful, whether or not you are laying in a bed like you currently are or like your father and brothers who are out in the world and staying close by. It may not seem like it, but you are practically baring the weight of the world on your shoulders right now." Karen replied as she moved down to rub Alan's shoulders gently. "Do you want to roll over onto your stomach so I can better rub your shoulders?"
Alan grunted in agreement and rolled over with Karen's help. Once he was positioned comfortably, he practically moaned in pleasure when Karen began kneading a tight spot in his shoulders.
"Hey Karen?" Alan asked softly.
"Yes honey?" Karen inquired as she continually rubbed Alan's shoulders.
"Did you check my brothers into their rooms already?" Alan asked, knowing ahead of time that Karen would handle getting his brothers settled in their rooms.
"Yes I have." Karen said. "Why do you ask?"
"Did you get a good look at my brother Gordon?" Alan inquired.
"That is the brunette or the red head?" Karen asked, wanting to be sure she was talking about the right brother.
"Red head, hazel eyes, thin." Alan said, knowing how best to describe his brother. "Likely a firecracker waiting to explode?"
"Yes, I saw him. Why do you ask?" Karen asked, she was curious if Alan wanted to talk to his brother.
"Did he seem unnecessarily nervous too you?" Alan questioned. He couldn't get the thought of his brother chickening out to leave his head.
"Not really. He seemed almost happy to be checking into the hospital." Karen said. "Why?"
"Can I tell you a secret about my brother? I don't want you to tell anyone else." Alan said, glancing over his shoulders at his nurse.
"I cross my heart and hope to die…you can trust me." Karen said, gesturing a cross being made over her heart.
"Well, it's common knowledge that my brother could have been killed in a Hydrofoil accident a little over a year ago. When we found out he'd been stabilized by doctors, we were told he may never walk again." Alan said. "The doctor that told us said that because of where the break was located in Gordo's vertebrae, we should expect that he'd never walk again."
"Your brother is walking though." Karen pointed out unnecessarily.
"Yeah, he had a boatload of surgeries and lots of PT. But eventually he regained his ability to walk." Alan said. "My question though was – if the doctor that told us Gordo would never walk again because of a break in his spine was wrong then what if the doctors that are overseeing my treatment are wrong also?"
Karen stopped Alan's shoulder massage to look down at her charge.
"Darling, having that mindset is what will prevent you from eventually taking those first steps again when you are ready for PT yourself. You have to have confidence in yourself." Karen said as she tried to make Alan sure he could do it when his time came. "Let me ask you this. What did Gordon think of what the doctor said about him never walking again? Did he let what the doctor said dictate how he lived? Or did he prove that doctor wrong and work hard to reach his goals of walking again?"
"He got pissed with a capital P when the doctor told him he'd never walk again. Threw a bunch of random objects at the doctor yelling and screaming despite being drugged to the gills with medications. I've never seen anyone move quite as fast as that doctor did to escape being hit with any projectiles." Alan said, smirking to himself at seeing his forever goofy and calm brother flip his lid and bombard the doctor with insults that Alan wasn't willing to repeat.
"And did he prove that doctor wrong?" Karen asked.
"He did." Alan smiled. "He started walking again less than seven months after the accident first occurred. He practically lived in the wading pool at our house because it took the stress off his joints and vertebrae while he tried to walk.
"Do you think that if your brother could achieve that monumental accomplishment with devastating injuries like he had that you could accomplish the same thing if given the chance?" Karen questioned.
"Of course I might, but it doesn't make me feel certain. Just because Gordo could doesn't necessarily mean I'll be able to." Alan said as he shifted on the bed, moving his feet enough to kick off the blankets that obscured his injuries. "After all, my nerves may stay somewhat numb."
"You'll get there Alan." Karen said. "You'll get there and when you're up walking again, you be pleasantly surprised in yourself."
TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB
Gordon sighed to himself as he reclined back in his bed, arms folded behind his head. He wasn't sure about his bed, but it'd do for the time being.
Gordon glanced around his room, taking in the lack of room decoration. What was it about hospital rooms always needing to be stark and completely colorless? Even he could think of some interesting color choices to try to express the room.
"This place is in utter need of an interior decorator." Gordon mumbled to himself before he climbed out of bed to shuffle around his room.
When he stood up, Gordon glanced down at his wardrobe and wrinkled his nose at the tasteless gown he was being made to wear. Thankful for small favors, Karen had given both him and Scott scrub pants to wear beneath their gowns and special gripper socks to wear. Thinking back to a summer project that Tin-Tin busied not only herself, but Alan with too – Gordon found himself longing for some of Tin-Tin's clothes dye and rubber bands. Fermat had been wise to stay clear of Tin-Tin and Alan with clothes dye, it'd been an interesting spectacle to happen upon.
Alan and Tin-Tin got themselves grounded by both Jeff and Kyrano, for dyeing not only their clothes, but each other groovy colors. Poor Alan was so pale, his skin retained some of the colors for several days and no amount of scrubbing with soap and water or rubbing alcohol could get it removed from Alan's skin.
Walking over to the window, Gordon gazed outside and watched the people wander around. From his vantage point the people looked like ants scurrying around back and forth. He tried to imagine what life would have been like had the fire never happened, had Alan never got injured as bad as he had, therefore requiring surgery.
"Mom, if you're truly up there. Could you make it possible for Alan to heal quickly? I'd like for this surgery to not be all for naught." Gordon prayed as he gazed toward the sky. He honestly was tired of living in the hotel. He missed the rescues his family went on with IR and he wanted to get back into the swing of things. Just waiting on Alan and his surgeries made Gordon feel restless. He didn't have his pool, he didn't have the ability to prank his brothers – he felt like his skin was prickling with agitation.
A knock on the door made Gordon turn around and he heaved a sigh when a nurse and a man in a long white coat entered the room. Gordon recognized the nurse to be Candy, she'd been present when Virgil was checked out of the hospital and the man he recognized to be Dr. Warner. The doctor looked different with his lab coat on.
"Hello Gordon. I'm here to get you started on your IV medications. Want to come have a seat right here?" Dr. Warner said as he patted the spot on Gordon's bed. When Gordon reclaimed his seat on the bed, he held out his arm for the doctor to clean. "Do you have any questions for me before we get started?"
"Will I be able to leave my room if I get bored and feel like I need to create havoc?" Gordon asked, genuinely curious.
"You could, but we may not be able to use your donation especially if you get sick." Dr. Warner said even as he swabbed the inside bend of Gordon's arm with betadine before he inserted the IV needle.
"Okay, good to know. Note to self, any pranks that are to be initiated shall remain within the barriers of this room." Gordon replied, eyes glinting mischievously.
"Okay, Candy you heard the man. Better warn Karen so she doesn't accidently step into a trap." Dr. Warner said even as he taped the IV to Gordon's arm. "You'd better restrain yourself. I know for a fact that Karen does not like pranks."
"Again…good to know." Gordon said, wisely making note that if he was going to prank hospital staff, he should probably limit it to the day he was leaving.
TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB
Alan grinned to himself as he watched a video of him and a few of his dorm mates playing video games and he groaned when he watched himself and a few friends dancing to pound the alarm by Nicki Minaj. He absolutely hated the song, but he had to admit it was fun while it lasted. It wasn't the first time several guys that lived in the same block of dorms got together in the common room to play video games. In fact they used to do it every Friday night. People that wanted to often came in their PJ's since they were all more comfortable without their uniforms. They'd meet in the common room and they'd select a list of games they'd play, and they never really played just one game. They'd usually play each selected game for an hour or until curfew required them to return to their rooms to go to sleep.
On Friday nights however, because it was a weeknight that heralded in the weekend, their curfew was set to 11:30 pm, whereas on weekdays curfew was 9 and be in bed by ten. He didn't regret making himself look like a total spaz. It was his thing and how he operated. His friends knew him to be a spaz also, and he was okay with that.
'Come on Alan. Sing!'
Alan's attention was redirected to the screen of his laptop and he groaned with an eye roll at what he was seeing. He'd forgotten he'd done this.
The footage showed him standing with his back to the group of gathered dorm mates. He was holding a microphone that was connected to the gaming console on the entertainment center's shelf.
Alan covered his eyes in embarrassment when he began singing in the video. The song was Careless Whisper by George Michael. Tin-Tin had seen the video when she hacked his account and saw the video footage stored in a folder on his desktop. That was on his old laptop, the same one that was destroyed in the fire. It was thanks to Tin-Tin insisting he save his videos to the cloud that he still had the footage. Alan would never admit it, but it meant a lot to him when Tin-Tin complimented his singing.
He didn't sing for any reason, he enjoyed it the same as Virgil enjoyed his art or piano music. It was a hobby for Alan. Back before the fire occurred he used to sing when he was bored…sang or whistled. It was a constant source of annoyance for Alan's friends who were saddled with Alan and his hobbies.
He wished he had something more to do than what he had currently. Lying in bed was only so much fun for however long it lasted and for Alan, this wasn't fun at all. Not only that, but there were only so many times he could watch these videos before he felt tempted to begin deleting those videos. He blew past a few other videos and he focused on life outside of the hospital and what it'd consist of.
TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB
Fermat sighed as he heard the knock on his hospital room door. He knew it was Officer Pellegrini. He'd requested to speak with the officer in regards to what he knew about Robert and what he'd heard when he'd been in the boy's room back at Wharton. He'd made the decision that he'd tell the police one last bit of information, before he'd have to go to trial himself.
"C-Come in." Fermat granted. He sent a withering smile towards the officer when he entered his room. To be honest, Fermat thought it was sad that he was beginning to recognize the room to be his and not just a hospital room.
Officer Pellegrini smiled at Fermat. He approached Fermat and claimed the chair that was beside the young preteen.
"Hello Fermat, how are you today?" Officer Pellegrini inquired.
"I've been b-better. And as for you?" Fermat asked. He glanced around briefly and took notice of someone who always accompanied the officer wherever he went was missing. "W-where's Lulu Bell?"
Officer Pellegrini paused for a moment before smiling warmly.
"She's hanging out with Alan, keeping him company for a little bit. I think having her around makes him feel safe." Officer Pellegrini replied. "And she does offer a good listening ear if he needs to talk. Can't say she's very good about replying, but she tries."
"S-She's a cool d-dog." Fermat said with a small smile.
"Yeah, she's a good girl. And she's truly man's best friend. I know she's definitely mine." Officer Pellegrini stated. "So, what did you want to talk about today Fermat?"
"O-Oh…yeah." Fermat said, swallowing deeply. "I w-wanted to discuss w-with you something I h-heard b-back before t-the fire t-too-happened." Fermat stumbled his way through what he wanted to tell the officer.
"Okay." Officer Pellegrini said, before he pulled a mini recorder from his pocket. "We'll get started when you're ready."
"I'm r-ready whenever y-you are." Fermat replied, desiring to only get this finished.
TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB
Scott crossed his eyes and stuck his tongue out, trying to achieve a dare that John insisted he try. He knows he could do it! He'd done it before when he was a kid, why couldn't he do it again now as an adult.
'I know I can do it!' Scott thought to himself as he tried to touch his tongue to the tip of his nose. He made a grunt like noise as he came within inches of touching his tongue to his nose. Closing his eyes, Scott pushed himself a little harder and finally felt the satisfying and yet slightly gross feeling of his tongue on his nose. Throwing his arms up in the air, Scott crowed. "Hell yeah! Scott Tracy you've outdone yourself once again!"
"You know I was super tempted to interrupt you, but I had to know if you could do it."
Scott jumped at hearing his younger brother – the same one that dared him to try touching his nose with his tongue.
"John! How long have you been watching me?" Scott asked as he raised his arm to look at his watch which thankfully he was not made to take off.
"Long enough to figure out what you do with your day." John replied, making Scott look at his smirking face via their comm watch. Scott wrinkled his nose in a half snarl, causing John to begin laughing. "Okay, you're secrets safe with me. I swear I won't tell."
"You'd better not!" Scott said. "What is it? Why did you pop in?"
"Just calling to chat. Do I really need a reason?" John asked with a gentle smile.
"No I guess not." Scott replied softly. "Just trying to understand you and your reasons, I just saw you barely two hours ago."
"I was actually calling to let you know that Virge and I have talked dad and grandma into going to Kansas for a few days. We're not immediately needed and grandma needs to check the few animals she does have at the farm. Not only that but I think grandma misses Beth." John said.
"That old cow is still alive?" Scott asked, forgetting that yes she was still alive.
"Now Scott that's not a very nice thing to say." John scolded with a grin.
"What? It's true! She's an old dairy cow, why grandma bought that cow for the farm I have no idea, she hasn't gotten any yield from her in years." Scott said, reminded that it must be a family trait for everyone to be fond of animals. His grandma adored animals and the same goes for Virgil and Alan. Scott, John and Gordon liked animals okay, but they weren't the brothers that turned into liquid gelatinous piles of goo at the sight of a sweet animal. Virgil and Alan on the other hand, well Scott would beg to differ on them.
"Still Scott, you know what Beth means to grandma. It was the last animal that grandpa bought for grandma before he passed away." John responded thoughtfully. "And where do you think all the milk came from to make those glasses of warm milk that always helped you go to sleep after mom died?"
"Alright, I get it. Grandma misses her best friend." Scott said. "So when are ya'll leaving?"
"Tomorrow morning and we'll be gone for about a week." John replied. "We'll be getting back in time to attend Fermat's trial and offer him support."
"Oh right, that's next week isn't it?" Scott asked. "Damn, I was hoping to see that Robert kid squirm in his seat when Fermat unveils any further proof that Robert's guilty."
"Well yes, Brains told Fermat that you and Gordo would be missing the trial." John said. "It's gonna be hard not having you there."
"Why do you say that?" Scott asked, knowing his brother better than practically anyone.
"You make Fermat feel safe, just as much as you make anyone feel safe." John said. "You know he looks up to you just as much as Alan does."
"Well yeah, I mean he's like a packaged deal when it comes to Alan. They both look up to all of us though." Scott replied wisely. "They just look up to us for different reasons."
"Oh really? And what reasons might those be?" John asked.
"Well, Alan and Fermat look up to you because come on, you are the mind and voice to our family business. You were the one that answered their call and you didn't leave them even though I know you were terrified for their safety. You reassure them, make them just as comfortable as I do. Virge is good at soothing them with his music and Gordo, he's the comic relief." Scott said, trying to make his brother understand what he was getting at.
"Ok, I see where you're going. But seriously, it's going to be odd without you being there to make the kid squirm with your 'if-looks-could-kill-glare'. John replied softly.
TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB
Jeff sighed as he sent the email to his secretary. He hoped that she wouldn't oppose him popping in on occasions to get some work done. He felt like he'd been away from work too long and he couldn't sit around and do nothing. He was going crazy waiting to hear back from anyone. He'd been emailing his secretary back and forth for a while and she thankfully had been keeping him appraised to things going on at the office. The fellow who'd stepped into his position as acting president had been following the rules and had been manning the ship perfectly according to Jeff's secretary.
An email popped up barely five minutes after Jeff sent it to the woman.
"NO!"
Jeff chuckled when he read the single word response from his secretary. She was probably one of three women who could talk to him like that and not be made to fear his ire, but his secretary wasn't a woman to back down tucking her tail between her legs. She and Jeff had known each other since before he'd opened his business, had actually met at NASA and became fast friends. She wasn't afraid of her bull headed friend and she'd smack him across the back of the head to get his attention. She was his boys' godmother for a reason.
'Okay, but if anything happens, that you need me will you please let me know?' Jeff emailed in reply.
Within a few moments, he had another response.
"If anything happens where the building or business looks like it may collapse in on itself, then yes you will be the first to know. But stay there and focus on your son, no matter how bored you are, he'll still need you there and you can't be there for him with your nose buried in work."
A/N: Hey, so I apologize for not updating in hmm, the last two months..life got crazy and still is. I hope ya'll liked the chapters, I feel like the last one was a bit forced, but I tried to keep to the plot. I've been so busy with work and school I haven't really had time to even look at my laptop (well I have but with longing glances wishing I could be typing instead of doing other things) I am not going to promise any updates because to be honest I don't know when I'll be able to update next. I will try to get something written soon, but I am not making any promises. Thanks for the birthday wishes, they meant a lot to me.
Keep up the reviews, ya'll are awesome!
Sad-Blue-Eyed-Angel 2010