A/N: So, countdown to move is three days and counting. I know I posted for A Walk To Remember that I wasn't going to post again for a while, but I finished Chapter 44 and felt ya'll have waited long enough for an update to this story. Thank you for your continued support. Between various members of extended family dying, I lost one of my pets which was like my son for the last 11 years and have had trouble concentrating on writing on my stories let alone homework. Which by the way i have two more weeks of school before I am done! No school in September and I am so stoked.
Additional A/N at the bottom.
No need to remind ya'll that if you have to provide criticism, that it be constructive. Otherwise enjoy!
Sad-Blue-Eyed-Angel 2010
Alan tried to imagine he was elsewhere when Dr. Juno said he could have his catheter removed. He looked away from those that were all up in his business and focused on petting Gemma whom the hospital kindly allowed Alan to keep. She was written in his medical file as a prescribed companion animal, he's seen the document. Currently the baby bunny was laying up by Alan's head in his pillows, chewing on a strand of Alan's hair and oddly enough trying to lick his forehead.
"Okay Alan, you might feel a bit of pressure." Dr. Juno said as she focused on the task at hand, making Alan grimace.
"I'm trying not to think about it." Alan said as he indeed felt pressure. Biting a knuckle, Alan tried not to make a sound. Not that he really cared if the medical personnel heard him, it was just that Fermat and his dad were spending time behind the curtain on the other side of the room and Alan didn't want them to know what was occurring. To the best of his knowledge, they thought he was off in his own little world watching a movie on his laptop or talking to Brook.
"Okay, there we go." Dr. Juno said as she prepared the catheter and other materials to be disposed of. She stepped back while the in-facility urologist made sure everything was done appropriately. Dr. Juno had helped the urologist when he asked for her help in removing the catheter, now he was just making sure Alan was okay.
"Do you feel any pain there Alan?" The urologist asked.
"Am I supposed to?" Alan asked, his voice partially an octave higher. He was biting his lip to refrain from cursing worse than Gordon when he stubbed his pinky toe on the edge of his bed frame. It wasn't as bad as he thought it'd be *read it was horrifically awful and he'd rather die a thousand deaths by zombie apocalypse before he ever, EVER resorted to getting another.* Now he knew to be afraid anytime Virgil used catheters as a form of friendly suggestion to coerce Alan into compliance. As soon as Virgil ever uttered the C word, Alan knew to be running for the hills.
"You might feel some discomfort for a little while, but you should get back to normal shortly." The urologist said as he picked up Alan's chart and noted in the file what Alan had done to him.
"You don't say?" Alan asked as his voice slowly started to return to normal.
"Okay, well we'll let you rest up until your next therapy appointment with Lacey." Dr. Juno said as she ushered everyone from the room save for herself.
"Great, thanks." Alan muttered, not at all enthused about moving in any way shape or form.
"Hey, we could probably go ahead and put you in scrub pants and a shirt if you're willing." Dr. Juno said, though the thought of being in more constricting clothing just made Alan hurt.
"Can I get a different gown? One of those that tie in the front instead of the back?" Alan asked, hoping his request was honored.
"Sure thing. I'll be right back." Dr. Juno said as she gathered everything she'd needed to assist the urologist with Alan's catheter removal before breezing from the room to go retrieve a new gown for Alan. When she returned, Alan heard Gordon talking with her. "Alan, I've got a visitor for you. Did you want to wait or go ahead with the gown change?"
Alan gave it some thought for a few moments before figuring he'd go ahead and let Gordon in. His brother had seen him at his worst quite a bit growing up and Alan would deny it if asked, but he appreciated his closest older brother being there when he needed him.
"Let's go ahead with the gown change." Alan said. Alan knew Gordon would be needed to help keep him upright while Dr. Juno exchanged the back-tie gown for the front-tie gown, so he decided to suck it up and do it. He'd rather his brother see him in his birthday suit instead of yet another stranger. This was the same brother that took baths with Alan when the younger was two and Gordon was six. And the same brother that had shared a room with Alan just after they moved to the island, when Alan was having trouble acclimating to the differences in temperature and would routinely strip down for bed regardless of sharing a room. Gordon got used to Alan being naked a lot when he was young. All the brothers did. They all still teased Alan when he'd streak through the house naked as the day he was born every time the word 'bath' was mentioned up until Alan was five.
"Gordon, you want to help Alan to sit up on the edge of his bed?" Dr. Juno asked before opening the curtain just enough to let Gordon and herself in.
"Yeah." Gordon waited for Dr. Juno to give him instructions on how to proceed before he was peeling back Alan's blanket and helping to pull Alan's legs over the edge. Alan could help a little bit, but it'd been several months since he could voluntarily move so he was incredibly stiff. Alan put a steadying hand on Gordon's shoulder when his equilibrium shifted and made him a little dizzy.
"Alright, just let me do all the work Alan." Dr. Juno said before instructing Gordon to help Alan lift up so he wasn't sitting on his gown. When they got Alan changed, the younger though sporting a beet red blush felt more comfortable. He hadn't ever said anything about it, but laying on those blasted ties in the back had caused him to lose sleep on more than one occasion. "Okay, now if you'll excuse me. I'll give you boys time to talk until Lacey returns for more therapy."
Once Dr. Juno had left, Alan and Gordon both kept their gazes averted from the other. It was more than a little embarrassing for Alan to be seen fully naked by his brother, regardless of being in the hospital. Alan refused to speak, his voice was temporarily gone in his embarrassment. Gordon on the other hand was trying to find the right thing to say to Alan. He knew from personal experience how embarrassing things could get when in hospital. He'd lived it.
"So…you're finally free of that catheter now huh?" Gordon asked, kicking himself mentally for opening a conversation like that. The look on Alan's face might have been funny if in a different setting. But as it were, Gordon didn't find any amusement.
"You looked?" Alan asked, his voice softer than a whisper.
"No, I saw the urologist leaving your room before Dr. Juno brought me along to help. Then I noticed the lonely little hook at the foot of your bed. Not hard to come to the same conclusion when that hook had a bag hanging from it since you got admitted. I've had a catheter before, I know what that little hook at the foot of your bed is for." Gordon said as he sat beside Alan. He looked down at Alan's feet and legs that were still dangling over the edge and took notice how much more color Alan's legs had than the last time he saw them.
No longer were Alan's feet almost charcoal grey. Instead they were an odd mix of sickly white and pinkish. Gordon could see the tremors in Alan's feet and legs as well as his hands, hated Robert a little bit more than he had previously because it was his fault that his brother was injured. Without thinking about it, Gordon was balling up his fist and could feel his anger increasing by degrees.
It was Robert's fault. Alan and Fermat shouldn't have to be in hospital, recovering because of a child with mommy and daddy issues, anger problems and a complete lack of regard for anyone but himself. It was Robert's fault.
Gordon didn't even realize he was getting to his boiling point until a lightly shaking hand gripped his balled-up fist. When Gordon opened his eyes, he was looking at his little brother's scarred hand on his. That hand was shaking and it wasn't from fear. It was nerve damage done to his hand from the burns. Gordon allowed his gaze to travel from his gradually relaxing hand up Alan's arm to meet his gaze. His brother's blue eyes weren't angry, scared, anxious nor happy. His eyes contained a depth of understanding which Gordon was having trouble wrapping his head around.
"I should be the one comforting you…not the other way around." Gordon said as he turned his hand palm up and held his little brother's hand gently. He could feel the scar tissue marring his brother's once flawless skin and it still angered him. But this wasn't the time nor place to release that anger. He was here visiting his baby brother, and be there for his therapy appointment later.
"Please…don't…be angry at Robert on my behalf. I know it's no excuse for what he did, what he was found guilty for, but let it go." Alan asked, voice soft. Gordon was taken aback at his brother's seeming willingness to forgive. If it was him he'd hope Robert burned in the deepest pits of Hell, he still did.
"Alan…he almost killed you and Fermat. Where would we have been if the two of you had died because of his actions?" Gordon asked in hushed tones, quieting his voice a little more when he heard Fermat laughing at something his father said. "I'll never forgive him."
"Nobody says you have to, but don't hold on to your anger for me. I've made my peace with it and what's done is done. There's no going back. Yes, Fermat and I were severely injured and spent almost half of a year in a medical facility recovering, but being angry about it isn't going to change the fact that Fermat and I will never be the same again." Alan said, sounding wiser than his age.
"When did you get to be so forgiving?" Gordon asked as he leaned in close so he and Alan could talk without being overheard.
"Since you dropped a bucket of ice water over my shower curtain five years ago." Alan said before weakly punching Gordon's bicep. "I'll never forgive you for that by the way."
"Hey that was funny. You should have heard yourself." Gordon smiled, glad for the change of subject to lighthearted times. Gordon guffawed after doing a near perfect imitation of Alan's squawk from five years ago and soon the older brother found himself tipped on his side by Alan who pushed him away with a sardonic grin.
"Shut up." Alan said before shifting his legs slightly with a hiss. Gordon immediately quit laughing and focused on his little brother.
"What hurts?" Gordon asked as he watched Alan shift his legs again.
"Nothing hurts, this is the first time I've sat up and let my legs hang over the edge of the bed. I feel like I've got ants biting me." Alan's leg jerked before he shifted his legs again with a wince. "Lacey says the more I work on my legs, the better my circulation will get and my legs might regain feeling. I hope she's right."
"I'm sure she is. You have to trust her Sprout." Gordon said as he watched Alan shift his legs again. "Do you need to lay down?"
"No, it feels good to sit up." Alan said as he glanced at the clock. "You'll get to meet Lacey if you don't have anywhere to go. She's supposed to come meet with me in a bit and she'll work with me before she works with Fermat."
"I thought she was working with the two of you together?" Gordon asked, mildly surprised that his brother and Fermat had separate appointments. They did everything together.
"We usually do, but because we both have dissimilar needs, Lacey decided it'd be more beneficial to work with the both of us one on one. I'm first because Fermat wanted to hang out with his dad. I've gotten pretty used to you all popping in periodically so I never know when someone is coming to visit." Alan said with a shrug.
"Sorry if our visits are inconveniencing at times." Gordon apologized ahead of time with a frown.
"It's not your visits that are an inconvenience. It's being in this hospital bed. Besides Lacey won't mind…she's kind of the more the merrier type of person." Alan said before smirking when he heard the knock that Lacey usually did before entering the room. It wasn't a standard knock, but almost like she's tapping out a tune. "Here she is."
"Alan, you decent?"
"Yes ma'am." Alan replied before smiling at the therapist when she peeked in past the curtain.
"What've I said about you calling me ma'am?" Lacey asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Don't do it because you're not your mother." Alan replied with a smirk.
"Exactly, it's Lacey to you." Lacey said as she stepped in past the curtain and stood in front of Alan and Gordon. "You must be…Scott?"
Gordon barked a laugh and shook his head before shaking one of Lacey hands. "Nice try, but no. I'm Gordon." The redhead said as he introduced himself.
"Pleasure to meet you Gordon." Lacey said as she smiled at the redhead. "Are you going to hang out and help with Alan's PT?"
"Sure am…I want to help Alan recover." Gordon said before he turned to Alan to see the sad smile. He felt his happiness dwindle at his brother's sad smile and he reached out and chucked his brother under the chin. "Hey, you will recover. Soon you'll be running circles around all of us back at home."
"He's right Alan. I know it doesn't seem like it now, but it's all about baby steps. If you don't get it today, then just keep trying. You'll get it eventually." Lacey said before she went about setting up the equipment to help Alan regain a bit of motor function. Gordon watched as Lacey instructed Alan how to do a stretch in his bed and various exercises to warm up his muscle. "You might be a little sore tonight. Let me know if anything I do causes you more pain than you can handle. Okay?"
"Yes Lacey." Alan said as he prepared to have his legs worked on. Lacey knelt on the floor in front of him and asked Gordon to join her while she showed him how to help Alan stretch and extend his legs without causing further injury. Under Lacey's careful guidance, Gordon began to help Alan with his leg exercises.
Being up close and personal to Alan's legs, Gordon couldn't help but to look at his brother's legs and surveying the damage done. Alan groaned above him, biting his lip when Gordon pushed a little too hard when extending Alan's legs. Gordon stopped looking back up at his brother with concern.
"Am I hurting you Al?" Gordon asked tentatively.
"No, it's just been a while since my legs have stretched that far." Alan said as he looked down at Gordon and offered a tremulous smile. "You can keep going, I'll let you know if it gets to be too much."
"I don't want to hurt you…so speak up if I'm being too rough." Gordon said before he started lightly squeezing Alan's leg so as prevent muscle spasms.
"I will, keep going." Alan said as he braced for more discomfort. He wasn't lying to Gordon when he said he could handle it. It's not that the movements were causing him legitimate pain, it really was because he hadn't been able to move his legs when they'd been bound tightly in bandages. His legs had been kept straight, feet wrapped equally as tight so the best Alan could do to move was to lay completely rigid. After he'd been brought into the hospital after the fire, he'd had immediate surgery on his arm which had been badly broken. With the arm surgery and the burns over his body, he couldn't afford to move even an inch without help from a nurse or one of his doctors.
"How're you doing there Gordon?" Lacey asked as she observed Gordon following the steps she'd provided. After working on the same exercise for a few minutes, Lacey showed Gordon a few new ones. The last one was one they didn't expect with Lacey trying to coax Alan to scoot further down his mattress to rest his bare feet on the cool linoleum. "I'm not going to make you try to stand just yet, but I wanted to see if you could describe what the floor feels like to me and your brother. Close your eyes and just focus on the feeling on your feet."
Alan did as Lacey instructed, closing his eyes to take away one of his senses. With his focus solely dedicated on the sensation on his feet, Alan began to feel like maybe there was hope to his hopeless situation.
"What do you feel?"
"It's cold." Alan said, in slight awe that not only could he feel, but that the pain he'd assumed would be his constant companion, wasn't there for the first time in all his time spent in the hospital. He slowly slid his feet forward and Gordon watched as his brother brushed his toes across the fabric of Gordon's pantleg. "Denim?"
"Yes…you can feel that?" Gordon answered, happily surprised to see that Alan could accurately identify things he touched.
"Yeah, feels weird." Alan replied, using his toes to touch Gordon's sneakers.
"I know, it feels odd wearing jeans. Normally we don't wear jeans unless we're visiting grandma on the farm. It's too hot to wear jeans back home." Gordon said, reassuring Alan that he was correct in his guesses. At Lacey's odd look, Gordon felt it necessary to explain. "We live in a warmer climate, so jeans are kind of out of the question among me and my brothers. We all prefer wearing shorts, but it's too nippy outside to wear shorts like I would back home."
Lacey didn't immediately say anything, helping Gordon guide Alan's legs back more towards the bed and against the frame. The little shiver from Alan made her slow and look at the boy. "Am I hurting you?"
"No…it's cold." Alan said before turning his head in the direction his leg was angled. "Can I open my eyes to see what I'm touching?"
"Yes." Lacey said watching as Alan pried his eyes open and looking mildly surprised that he hadn't known what he was touching.
"What's next?" Alan asked, hoping it was more of the same.
"Just some more stretches, then I wanted to take you on a little field trip. We're not going in the water just yet, but I know you weren't shown our rehabilitating pool room. It's where you're going to build up your muscle tone in your legs before we try standing unassisted." Lacey said as she nodded her head to a direction behind her. "I brought a wheel chair in for you to catch a lift in. Gordon was kind enough to offer to join us."
TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB
It was a little while later that Gordon was walking from Blythedale when he saw another kid in a wheelchair, being pushed from behind by a woman slightly older than Gordon. Watching them in silence, Gordon observed their interaction and couldn't help but to smile. The kid was likely the young woman's child. The kid had a robe in their lap and their leg was propped up on a leg support. It was clear to Gordon the kid was recovering from what appeared to be a broken leg. It was something he and his brothers weren't unfamiliar with. They'd all broken bones a time or two during their youth and during IR rescues, so it didn't do much but stir up question in Gordon's head.
Sure, the test that Lacey had Alan do…with closing his eyes give the appearance that Alan would regain feeling in his limbs. But Gordon was determined to not get his hopes up. The fire, the extent of Alan's burns was way worse than Gordon had ever seen before and he was in IR. He and at least one of his brothers had had to rescue somebody with severe injuries before, it still didn't make it any easier to stomach.
Gordon knew that to hope that Alan would one day play soccer or basketball again was hoping for too much. John would say it's about baby steps, but Gordon wanted so badly to see his little brother kick the winning goal like when he and his brothers watched the video of Alan's epic bicycle kick. He wanted to be there in the stands, watching Alan play his heart out. He wished he'd known that Alan was in soccer, prior to the fire. He'd have been there cheering Alan on. He enjoyed watching soccer.
Burying his hands in his pockets, Gordon left Blythedale and walked in the direction of the hotel he and his family had relocated to. They'd moved into a standard hotel, not wanting to really stay in "luxury" for an extended time. Standard was fine by them, it's what they had before their dad made his fortune just a month after Alan's birth. It was no time at all that Gordon was entering the hotel and going to the elevator. He was silent as he went up to the third floor where the room that he and his brothers were sharing was located. Thankfully they could get a room that had adjoining doors to the next room over so their dad could access their room if he needed to.
"Hey, Gordon you're back." Virgil said, looking up from the sketchbook lying in his lap.
"Yep." Gordon said before he kicked his shoes off and went to lay crossways on the bed.
"How'd the visit with the Sprout go?" Scott asked from where he was sitting on the couch.
"It was good." Gordon said before he grabbed the remote and started flipping channels. He ignored the disgruntled look from John at having the show he was watching changed. Scott got up from the couch to go sit by Gordon and ruffle his hair like he'd normally do to Alan.
"What's up?" Scott asked, cluing the other two in that Scott detected an anomaly with his big brother radar.
"Nothing, just glad to be back." Gordon said before settling on PBS and glancing briefly at a show that looked oddly like the Teletubbies. "Would you stop touching me?"
"Touchy, what's eating you?" Scott asked, none too gently grabbing Gordon's shoulder and flipping him onto his back.
"Nothing!" Gordon replied before pushing Scott's hand off his shoulder and flipping back onto his stomach. "Would you just leave me alone? Please?"
"Uh-oh, it's really bad. Gordon used the P word." Virgil stage whispered to John intentionally trying to get Gordon's goat.
"Lay off!" Gordon growled before he stood to pace. "Yes, I've got something on my mind, but it's nothing you need to worry about."
"It wouldn't happen to be about a certain little brother…would it?" John asked, sensing his little brother was indeed upset concerning their little brother.
"How'd you guess?" Gordon said sinking back onto his bed with his back facing his brothers. "He's worried."
"Who is?" Scott asked going to crouch in front of his second youngest brother.
"Who do you think? Alan's physical therapist had Alan test out his ability to feel and determine if he could tell what he was touching without looking at it." Gordon bowed his head, sensing the other two come closer also. "He was on par but I'm worried that he'll only be able to feel. What if he can feel but can't bear weight or can't walk? That's no life, I would know. I've faced the same issue."
"Do you believe he can do it?" Virgil asked.
"Well yeah, but what I believe doesn't matter." Gordon said not shrugging off the hand Virgil placed on his shoulder.
"Yes, it does. If you show this side to Alan, show him you have doubts…how's that gonna make him feel? You can't show him that you're worried, you know how perceptive the kid is. If he gets even the slightest hint that you doubt in his ability to recover wholly, he's likely to give up before he starts because he'll doubt he can do it. We have to be his cheerleaders." Virgil said gently.
"Oh god, the mental image that created is disturbing." Gordon facepalmed with a snort.
"Fine, his cheering section. Quit imagining us in those fluffy skirts with pom-poms." Virgil moved his hand from Gordon's shoulder to smack him in the back of the head.
"Hate to break it to you Virge, but cheerleader skirts are formfitting now, not the fluffy you're thinking they are anymore." Scott said, biting his lip to keep from laughing.
"Quit imagining us in skirts period!" Virgil squawked indignantly. His face was a fiery red when he knocked his knuckles against both Scott and Gordon's skulls. "God, you guys need to get your heads out of the gutter."
"I think what Virgil meant was that we need to be Alan's support when he has doubts, he can't get better or progress very far if we show him we have our doubts." John said, changing the subject back from dangerous territory. "You understand Gordon? Like you said, you know better than all of us combined the kind of effort it takes to come back from such a life changing injury. Do you think you'd have pushed or tried as hard as you did if we'd listened to the doctor and gave up hope that one day you'd swim again or be walking?"
"You're right. I don't know why I'm thinking so negatively." Gordon said, shaking his head at the notion of doubting his brother. Yeah, he had his worries, had his concerns but it wouldn't benefit Alan to know that Gordon was reserved in his little brother's recovery. He wanted Alan, more than anything to stand up from the side of his bed or his wheelchair without assistance and walk more than a few feet. He wanted Alan to play tag with him like they used to as little boys. Hell, he'd initiate the childish game if it got Alan up and running around.
"It's okay to be worried, but don't show Alan you doubt him or are worried that he'll never recover. All that will do is make him not want to try his hardest at recovery. It's not healthy and it's not what he needs from us. He needs our full support, just like you did after your accident." John said, wisely summing up their little heart to heart between brothers. "Believe in him. Let him see that. He looks up to you and he'll use you as his inspiration to walk again. He will walk again, just like you did."
TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB
It couldn't have been any more than three days since Lacey had engaged Alan's ability to distinguish things he was touching without seeing. He still needed help, had to still ring the nurse when he had business to take care of and needed help moving from his bed to his wheelchair to the bathroom and back but he was certainly happy to be free of the catheter. So, forgive him for being a little surprised when Lacey entered his room holding swim shorts and a baggy t-shirt. She wasn't dressed in her typical scrub set that she came in wearing, but swim trunks and a tank top under her Blythedale staff cardigan. Lacey handed the clothes to Alan before she pulled the curtain closed.
"What am I doing with these?" Alan asked, surprised by the change in wardrobe.
"We're doing therapy in the water today. Time to get you back on your feet. Get dressed and I'll help you into your wheelchair." Lacey said before she ventured over by the window to look outside at the plants in blossom. She could hear the fain rustle of clothing before Alan called out to her.
"I'm ready." Alan said, reaching out to swat at the curtain, making it wave. He looked back up at Lacey when she opened the curtain with a smile.
"Hand me downs…huh?" Lacey asked as she pulled the wheelchair along Alan's bedside and locked the brakes before helping Alan down into the contraption.
"No, these are my oldest brother's. I'm much smaller than him and I think he wants to make sure I'm comfortable." Alan remarked holding his arms up to prove how much smaller he was than Scott. While Alan wore small in adult clothing, Scott was the tallest of the brothers and he built muscle in basic training for the air force as well as being in IR; so, he often wore large clothing. Extra-large if he desired room to move and liked things roomy.
Alan grasped the collar of the oversized t-shirt he wore and pulled it back up when it sank down to reveal his shoulder.
"I was always stealing my older sister's clothes, my older brothers sometimes got nicked also." Lacey said with a smile. "Drove them crazy."
"My brothers are constantly finding clothes from another brother in their laundry. I'm positive we all borrow from each other. I have at least one shirt that I can't find anywhere and I'd guarantee it's back home in one of my brother's closets." Alan said before he was finally comfortable in the wheelchair and was being wheeled out of the room to the pool room. He was surprised when they were making their way to the pool and Gordon entered the hall after exiting one of the facility bathrooms holding a gym bag. The telltale swim shorts told Alan what Gordon was doing there, but it still floored the youngest enough that he started laughing and hid behind his hands.
Okay, maybe it wasn't quite the fact that Gordon surprised him. Maybe it was the fact that what stood before Lacey and Alan was Gordon in all his garish flamingo patterned swim short glory. Lacey could barely hold back her bark of laughter, but Alan failed miserably. He covered his eyes, peeking between two spread fingers at his brother before covering his eyes once more and laughing.
"Oh god! Gordon! Why?! Now I've been blinded by your horrible fashion sense!" Alan crowed behind his hands. When he did finally uncover his face, it was beet red though whether it was from embarrassment or laughter Alan couldn't immediately tell. "Gordon!"
"What? I think I look amazing, and these flamingos are awesome." Gordon said as he put his hands on his hips and pretended to pose just to embarrass Alan a little more. It made Alan laugh so it was worth killing his ego a little on the inside at his gaudy outfit of choice.
"And who says those flamingos are awesome?" Alan asked between chortles.
"Dad." Gordon said as if it was a matter of fact.
"And you listened to him? The guy who liked the idea of that awful couch in his office back home?" Alan asked as he gave Gordon a wide-eyed look.
Gordon pretended to give it a little thought but when he did come to his conclusion he threw his arms out to the side as if to say he gave up. "You're right, what was I thinking listening to dad? His fashion sense is just about as bad as his ability to interior design. I should have listened to grandma and gone with the pineapple pattern instead."
At the mention of the pineapple, Alan started laughing anew. He slumped over in his seat as he held his stomach, the laughter making him wheeze and tear up.
"Stop, stop, you're killing me." Alan begged as he continued laughing. When he was finally able to pull himself together he couldn't wipe his smile off his face. They resumed their journey to the pool and when they reached it, Lacey went to help Alan out of the chair but it was Gordon who asked to do the honors instead of some handy-dandy crane system designed to pick up people with limited movement.
Walking over to where Lacey was supporting Alan's shaky attempt at sitting on the edge of his chair, Gordon knelt close to Alan and supporting his younger brother's shoulders and knees and lifted him from his chair. Alan who probably wasn't expecting to be picked up wrapped his arms tightly around Gordon's neck before marginally relaxing.
"I'm not gonna drop you kiddo." Gordon said as he shifted Alan's weight and slightly tipping his brother towards him so his weight was evenly distributed. The last thing Gordon wanted to do was throw out his back helping his brother. "Bout to get a little cold."
Gordon walked close to the railing of the pool as he descended the steps into the water. He didn't notice the shock of the slightly heated pool, but he knew Alan did when his kid brother tensed in his arms as his legs and backside were the first to enter the water.
"You alright Alan?" Gordon asked, hoping Alan wouldn't beg him to get him out of the pool.
"Yeah…it's just…cold." Alan said, voice shivering along with his body as he got acclimated to the temperature of the water.
"Okay Gordon, if you think Alan will be comfortable in the deeper water I want you to take him out where it'll be easy to float. Alan, you know how to swim?" Lacey asked as a precaution. She could have sworn that Alan said he was a decent swimmer.
"Yes, I do. Thanks for checking." Alan said as he nodded at Gordon to go out in the six-foot-deep water. Truthfully, they could have gone deeper, but Alan was glad Gordon stopped in water where Alan could still potentially touch the bottom of the pool. He didn't know how well his feet and legs would work after the damage caused by the fire and he didn't want to risk drowning himself to find out.
2nd A/N: In addition, with the increased free time I'll have within the next fortnight I wanted to say that I've been dabbling in a story using the bullying I endured in high school as inspiration. It's still a rough draft, but how many of you might want to read it? It'd be a hurtAlan story because like I usually do in my stories, I make Alan my victim. Reason behind this new story, I was recently contacted by the person that picked on me relentlessly for a little over three months my sophomore year of high school and it dredged up painful memories of when I was in a very dark place and I needed an outlet to get rid of the negativity. Usually I can be the bigger person and forgive a person for their transgressions, but I can't forgive this bully for the pain and humiliation she caused me or hell she put me through. Thus the need for an outlet. It may contain touchy subject matter, but it was my life for several months.
Let me know a P/M or review what you think.