A/N: Chapter 44! Finally, been several months...sorry about the delay. 'T_T

Please enjoy!

Request still stands, if you must criticize my work, it must be in the form of constructive criticism!

Thanks!

Sad-Blue-Eyed-Angel 2010

Chewing his lip, Alan kept his grip tight around Gordon's neck as his brother released his legs so they'd float. Gordon was tall enough that his feet skimmed the bottom of the pool. Alan on the other hand was still a short-fry as Scott would affectionately say, having not quite hit his growth spurt yet. He was still only 5'5" and that was small for their family. Gordon was the shrimp in his teens also not hitting his growth spurt until he was sixteen. Alan had an entire year to wait until he could possibly be 5'9" like the rest of his brothers.

"Okay Gordon, I want you to keep Alan close. If he's comfortable he can keep holding on to you for the time being until he gets used to floating." Lacey said as she knelt by the side of the pool and gestured for the brothers to come closer. When they were within arm's reach of the side of the pool, Lacey stopped them and instructed Alan on what he and Gordon were going to do in the pool. "I want you to hold on to your brother's shoulders and Gordon, if you can I want you to make sure Alan remains submerged. I don't want him swimming, this is an exercise for him to stretch his legs."

"So, what is Alan doing exactly?" Gordon asked, not quite understanding what Alan should be doing.

"I want Alan to be floating, but also to begin walking. Like he's walking through the air. You're going to walk backwards until you reach the other wall and turn around and come back this way. Alan's going to be water walking." Lacey said as she nodded at the brothers to begin.

Alan kept his grip tighter still as he let Gordon lead him through the water. He wasn't afraid to swim, far from it but he was afraid that his lower extremities wouldn't move if he wanted them to.

"I'm right here Alan, don't be scared." Gordon murmured under his breathe at his kid brother when he felt Alan's grip tighten hard enough to possibly bruise. He kept murmuring under his breathe, saying soft encouragements to his brother so he'd calm down. When he reached the wall, Gordon turned them both around and began in the other direction. Glancing down into the water, Gordon could see Alan's legs moving as if he were walking. He smiled at his kid brother proudly before whispering how happy Alan was making him.

Not quite used to the words of encouragement and pride from his most boastful brother, Alan couldn't stop the blush from creeping up to his face. "Thanks, Gords." Alan whispered to Gordon who was beaming at him when he heard the word of thanks. He knew Alan was saying thanks for more than just encouraging him to continue. When they completed a few more circuits, Lacey called a stop to what they'd been doing.

"Okay boys. Time to step up a notch." Lacey said, Alan's eyes going wide ever so slightly.

"What did you have in mind?" Alan asked more than a little worried that he'd have to try walking already without the water to cushion him should he fall. Lacey must have picked up on Alan's apprehension and she shook her head to discourage his worry.

"We're just going to come into slightly more shallow water and Alan, you're going to try to walk towards Gordon a few steps." Lacey instructed, moving down a few steps to indicate where she wanted Alan to try to walk. "I know you're a little under 5'6", so we're going to be here. Deep enough for you to still float if you fall but not so shallow that you'll be causing yourself pain."

"Okay, Alan you can do this." Gordon said as he pulled Alan through the water to the place where Lacey indicated she wanted Alan at.

"Gordon, we're going to do this a little differently. Instead of Alan holding on to your neck, I want him to hold your upper arms. I don't want you fully supporting his weight, but I want him to get used to standing." Lacey said as she saw Alan loosen his death grip around Gordon's neck.

Once Alan wasn't fully supported by his older brother, he did encounter a little difficulty standing. He wobbled precariously where he stood, taking notice of Gordon placing a steadying hand on his hip and shoulder each.

"You alright?" Gordon asked as he noticed his brother wobble.

"Yeah, thanks." Alan said as he tried to find his center of balance. Placing his hands-on Gordon's upper arms, Alan gipped tightly. Once Alan had quit wobbling as bad as he had been previously, Gordon felt sure enough to move his hands from Alan's hip and shoulder to grip Alan's forearms.

"Now Gordon, for every step Alan takes forward, you'll take one step back with him." Lacey instructed.

Alan looked Gordon dead in the eye and nodded that he was ready before they each took one step. Alan tentatively stepped forward while Gordon stepped back. And they walked like that until they reached the wall when Gordon turned them around so they'd head back in the other direction again. Alan was working up a sweat on his brow and Gordon could see how hard his brother was working to walk again. He knew from experience that it wouldn't be easy, but it'd be worth it.

"Stop…I need to catch my breath." Alan said between pants. He felt shaky but he didn't want to stop. He wanted to walk to that blasted wall, symbol enough for him that he'd at least been able to walk again, that there was hope that one day he'd be fortunate enough to walk outside of water, without needing a brother to be his walking aid.

"Take your time kiddo, this isn't a race." Gordon said as he dipped his hand in the water and used his wet fingers to comb Alan's hair back from his forehead. His brother's face was ruddy with the effort it took to walk. But it made Gordon happier than one would think possible that Alan was walking.

Once Alan had been given sufficient time to catch his breath, he wanted to finish the circuit. Together, Gordon and Alan continued their walk and when they reached the wall Lacey reached out and Alan grabbed her hand when she mouthed he do so.

"Time!" Lacey said as she gave Alan's hand a little shake. "You did it kiddo, you just completed your first actual circuit walking. How'd it feel?"

"Awesome." Alan whispered as it hit him that he'd walked. He thought he'd never be able to walk again after the fire, thought he'd never get to live out his dream of joining the family business. Forgive him for getting misty eyed over the revelation.

"Don't cry kiddo, you just did something that most people shrug off. We take walking for granted and it's not something to joke around with, trust me I'd know." Gordon said as he pulled his brother against him, wrapping him into a tight hug. "I'm so proud of you!"

"Thanks, Gords." Alan whispered as he hugged his brother back. He was more than just a little happy to have finally walked. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

"So, now the fun part of the assignment. I have to fill in some paper work on your progress for a few minutes, think you boys would like to just swim and play around for a few minutes while I fill in what I need to?" Lacey gestured at the folder that was obviously Alan's filled with all sorts of fun medical information. There was a small table in the pool room where Lacey would be to make her notes. Alan and Gordon beamed at her before nodding eagerly at the notion of having fun.

Lacey left the boys to have fun and they went to the deeper end of the pool so Gordon could help Alan with floating around. Much like when they were young children, Gordon coached Alan through kicking his legs until Alan picked it back up.

"Like riding a bicycle, isn't it?" Gordon asked, smiling widely.

"Yeah." Alan and Gordon swam around for a little bit until Lacey finished her paperwork. She called them back.

"Time to get you boys dried off and Alan back to his room, I have another patient I have to meet with." Lacey said watching as Gordon led Alan into shallow water. When they reached the depth that Alan had trouble walking, Gordon hoisted Alan up into his arms and carried his kid brother from the pool. Alan was relaxed this time though and had only one arm over Gordon's shoulder to support himself rather than the earlier death grip he had on his brother. Walking out of the pool had been an experience, this time Gordon was dripping wet and had to go carefully so as not to drop Alan. When he got close Lacey helped Gordon lower Alan into his wheelchair before Gordon went to his duffle bag and retrieved two towels.

Being the big brother he was, Gordon tossed the open towel at Alan and burst forth with a guffaw when it landed over Alan's head. Alan was laughing also and he peeked from under the towel before he used the towel for its originally intended use. Lacey rolled her eyes at the boy's antics and waited for them to get dried off before she wheeled them back to the ward. When they reached the ward, one of the nurses took over to go get Alan bathed and changed into hospital duds. Gordon took that opportunity to slip into the bathroom with his duffle bag to change out of his own wet attire, and when he was finished he went to Alan and Fermat's room to wait for Alan to return from his shower.

Fermat was laying in his bed, staring at the ceiling and if Gordon didn't know any better he'd think the kid fell asleep with his eyes open. Again. As it were, it took a few minutes before Fermat realized there was another person in the room and when he did look over it was for the briefest of moments before returning his gaze to the ceiling.

"What are you doing Fermat?" Gordon asked looking at the ceiling to see if he can figure out what his little brother's best friend was looking at.

"Counting." Fermat replied simply.

"What are you counting?" Gordon asked as he tried to understand. The tiles maybe but even he could count fifty-four of those. If Fermat was desperate enough to count those, then Gordon would willingly go buy a board game or something for the kid if it kept him occupied.

"The spots." Fermat replied shortly and even Gordon had to strain to see the spots that Fermat spoke of. They were teeny.

"Are you counting the spots on the ceiling again Fermat?" Alan asked as he was soon wheeled into the room by the nurse that had taken him for a bath.

"This is normal for him?" Gordon asked, making a face when Alan nodded.

"He asked how many rooms were in this hospital and their dimensions. He's trying to calculate how many spots are in this hospital since according to the nurses, all the ceiling panels are the same in every room. It's just something for him to do when he gets bored." Alan said as he was helped back into bed. "Honestly, I wish I'd never said anything."

"Wait, this was your brain child?" Gordon asked as he stared perplexed at Alan then Fermat. He'd never understand the intricacies of his brother and best friend. They could sometimes be in a whole league all their own.

"Well, when you put it that way it sounds creepy. But yes, essentially my big mouth is the reason he's counting." Alan said with a touch of humor.

"Dare I ask?" Gordon asked as he dreaded to hear just what made Alan question the conundrum that was 'how many spots were designed into the hospital ceiling?'

"A few days ago, neither of us could sleep. We were both wide awake and I was staring at the ceiling and I said I wonder how many spots are on the ceiling, like a dummy. Anyway, Fermat started counting out loud and we both finally fell asleep. When we woke up, Fermat picked up where he left off. He's been at it a few days now, primarily when he's bored or trying to fall asleep." Alan explained. "Hey Ferm, do you want to watch a movie with Gordo and I or do you want to keep counting?"

"M-Movie please." Fermat requested as he paused in counting to look at the brothers. Gordon knew he shouldn't have but somehow, he'd imagined when Fermat paused in his lengthy counting that he was hitting the 'save' button mentally like one would when they saved valuable information on a computer. He shook his head to keep from laughing until he was needed to help situate Alan in bed. Once Alan was squared away, Gordon reached for his duffel bag and pulled out a bunch of movies he'd brought from the apartment prior to them leaving for Valhalla.

"Okay kiddos, what do you want to watch out of this line up? I have nowhere to be today so I'll stick around for a marathon if that's what you want to watch." Gordon held up the movies and nodded when the boys picked a Pirates of the Caribbean flick to start things off. Standing to go dim the lights, Gordon smiled simply. He loved having movie marathons with the two younger boys. As much as he missed working IR, he missed spending time with the two younger boys more. When they were back on the island, IR was typically in full swing unless someone meaning everyone was injured in some way. But point was even back on the island, in the heart of paradise Gordon rarely if ever got to spend time with just the two younger boys.

Every time they'd begin a movie with the intent to have a marathon, a rescue interrupted them and Alan was usually the one left behind. They did use Fermat for some of the rescues, because of how freakishly smart he was. He and his dad would sit in the Command room and talk back and forth when there were questions involving angles and degrees needed on a rescue. Gordon wished that Alan could sit in on more rescues. He'd probably be able to help them much like John did with simple problem solving.

"You can sit up here with me Gords." Alan said when Gordon turned his chair so he could straddle it. Gordon paused for a moment before joining his brother on his bed. Alan would never admit it and neither would Gordon, but Alan usually would press in tight and snuggle against which ever brother would tolerate the proximity. Gordon appreciated being able to still be snuggle-able, because he wasn't the most soft-spoken brother he didn't get tasked with snuggle duty often. Alan seemed to sense though that Gordon did like the proximity to his brothers and would lean against him, using him as a pillow.

Once Alan was pressed snuggly in under Gordon's arm, the redhead started the movie.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Scott wandered out of the hotel that he and his family had since relocated to and he yawned and gave a big stretch. Shaking his head to get rid of the fatigue he felt, Scott looked at his surroundings. The weather was decent, sun was out and it was warm for a spring day. He was glad he didn't have any court cases to go to or travel that required his immediate attention, one never realized how tired you could get just by ensuring your younger siblings were taken care of and fighting for justice in their name. He slept well, but that wasn't the problem. He was just plain tired.

Tired of eating out, tired of sharing a hotel bed with one of his brother, tired of sharing a room with his brother's period, tired of having to check who was going where and when, tired of making frequent trips to the hospital day in and day out. He was just plain tired.

As easy as he made it seem watching out for his brothers, it just wasn't. His brothers despite most of them being young adults, he felt like his job as big brother never took a rest. Since Alan had been admitted to the hospital, Scott found he'd been in a state of hyper vigilance. He was waking over every little sound his brothers made, even when he went to visit Alan and dozed off – Alan shifting even the slightest caused Scott to wake up. He'd be glad when they were back on the island and he could have a moment of peace and quiet. He couldn't even get that in the bathroom when he was going in to shave. He'd close the door and be focused on the task at hand or off in his own little world and one of his brothers might knock or worse just open the door and come in.

As he began to walk across the parking lot, he heard running feet and turned only to see John.

"What's up Johnny?" Scott inquired when he saw his immediate younger brother.

"I was just wondering if I could join you on your walk?" John asked as he straightened up and gave his brother a hopeful look.

"Sure, I'm just going to the park down the street." Scott answered with a shrug.

"Everything okay? Usually you prefer going on walks when you want to be alone." John asked as he walked beside his brother.

"Everything is fine with me, I just need to get out of that stuffy room." Scott said before inhaling deeply and stretching his arms over his head. "I feel like I can breathe out here."

"Yeah, it is pretty intense in there with Virgil and his drawings." John said as he sunk his hands into his pockets and walked beside his older brother. He let his thoughts wander as he and Scott walked side by side and a thought occurred to John. "Gordon's been gone an awful lot here lately. Is it just me or has he been sneaking out and sneaking back in late?"

"He's probably visiting Alan and Fermat, you know how close they all were before Gordon's accident and he started working with the family. They were like three peas in a pod." Scott said, not at all concerned with Gordon's frequent disappearances. Scott knew how involved Gordon wanted to be in Alan's rehabilitation, if he only knew what all they were up to in the past few days since Alan started his hydrotherapy.

"I guess you're right, it's just whenever we go to visit Alan he never mentions having seen Gordon." John was still a little perplexed regarding his second youngest brother's whereabouts, especially since they've heard no mention of Alan beginning his water therapy. Their dad said that Alan's therapist wanted him to begin soon, but there'd been no further mentions.

"You know as well as I do that when the terrible two get a notion locked in their heads they're like a set of stubborn bulls when trying to change their minds. Gordon is probably learning the tricks of the trade from Alan's therapist and trying to help Alan and Fermat in his own way." If Scott only knew how right he was, he'd probably be surprised by Gordon's desire to help his brother and psudo brother with recovering especially considering Gordon wasn't one of the most affectionate and lovey dovey brothers. He was more boastful if Scott was being honest.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Gordon startled awake when Alan's head which had been wedged between a pillow and Gordon's shoulder slipped. Sitting up with a snort, Gordon rubbed at his eyes disbelieving that he, Alan and Fermat had all fallen asleep during the movie. It's not that the movie was boring, far from it in fact. Gordon looked at Alan who was slowly coming awake and looked across at Fermat who was blinking owlishly in the dimly lit room.

"What time is it?" Alan asked as he raised a hand to rub at his eyes. He couldn't believe he'd fallen asleep. He fell asleep at such odd times anymore and he knew that when he did get to go back to the villa he'd need to get back on a schedule so he'd sleep at reasonable times in the day rather whenever he felt like it.

Gordon checked his watch and shook his head. "It's almost two. You guys missed lunch." Gordon couldn't believe that nobody woke them up when the meal cart came around. He'd figured they'd have woken at least one of them up to eat rather than leave them without a meal.

"Did we really sleep for two hours?" Alan asked as he rubbed the back of his neck with a groan. Sleeping against Gordon made his neck stiff despite the exercise earlier in the day.

"You and Fermat slept for two hours, I fell asleep about a half hour after you two did." Gordon said before he sat up to stretch. "I can't believe I fell asleep, you two I can understand…but me? I've been sleeping like a log most nights."

"Y-You probably keep w-waking up during t-the night despite t-thinking you're getting a f-full night's sleep." Fermat said as he sat up on the side of his bed and reached out a hand to grab the walker he's been told to use when he gets up to stretch his legs. Alan wasn't the only one being given homework by his physical therapist, Fermat was tasked with trying to get out of bed to walk around the room with the aid of a walker to get used to the gait change so his limp wasn't as noticeable.

"Here let me help you Fermat." Gordon said, hopping up from Alan's bed and going to help steady Fermat. He wasn't unfamiliar with walking with a walker, had to use one every minute of every day when he'd graduated up from his wheelchair.

"T-Thanks Gordo." Fermat said as he tentatively stood, wobbling as he stood unsteadily, weight held steady against the walker.

"What do you want to do Fermat? Walk a bit?" Gordon asked as he tried to anticipate Fermat's movements.

"Y-Yeah." Fermat said looking up at Gordon with a quick nod.

"Okay, just take it easy kiddo. Don't push yourself too hard." Gordon said as he walked around with Fermat to catch him if he lost his balance.

Alan observed Gordon walking around the hospital room with Fermat and he couldn't help thinking how suited Gordon would be as a physical therapist especially with his knowledge of stretches and various styles to loosen up before exercises. He knew Gordon hadn't the interest to go to school to be a physical therapist, but he couldn't stop wondering if Gordon would be good at it.

"You're thinking loudly again Al. What's on your mind?" Gordon asked as he turned with Fermat and continued the laps.

"Nothing." Alan said with a shrug as he continued observing Gordon.

"Yeah right Pinocchio, tell me." Gordon said as he steadied Fermat when the younger boy stumbled over his own feet.

"Okay…have you ever given much thought to getting a degree in physical therapy? I think you'd be really good at it." Alan said, watching his immediate older brother's facial reaction.

When Gordon snorted, it surprised Alan slightly though he knew he shouldn't be surprised. Gordon had never wanted to go to college.

"I'm not cut out for that kind of stuff, you know that. Virgil is better suited for it. He's the medically minded brother." Gordon said before gracing his brother with an almost sad smile. "I'm not smart enough to attend college."

"You don't give yourself enough credit Gords. I've seen how smart you are, you know you…" Alan said soon being joined by Gordon.

"Need to apply myself. I know. It's just hard to apply oneself when they feel like they have no direction. That's why I joined WASP, I felt like there wasn't any particular calling that was drawing me to attend college." Gordon said, shrugging minutely. He really didn't feel drawn to attend college even though everyone in his family with the exception of Alan had attended college and earned honors.

"It's never too late, maybe you can go to college when I do and we can both further our educations." Alan said knowing it was pointless to even suggest, but just feeling like it needed to be said.

"Yeah, well let me know when you've picked out what you want to study and if it's not too far of a jump I might just attend with you." Gordon said not seeing any other possible way to refuse Alan without hurting his feelings.

With that, Gordon followed Fermat towards his bed and he helped the younger back into bed but not before offering to help ease any muscle tension in Fermat's calf from the exercise.

"I'm g-good for now G-Gordo, but t-thanks for offering." Fermat said as he got settled and relaxed back into his pillows with his leg propped up to ease the mild throbbing.

Alan waited a beat before his stomach spoke loud and clear, causing Gordon to chuckle.

"You must be really hungry for me to hear you from all the way over here." Gordon said before he stood up. "Want me to go check with the nurses about a snack since the both of you missed lunch?"

"Sure, thanks Gords." Alan said, glad that Gordon knew him well enough to know that Alan might want a little something to stave off his hunger until at least dinner trays were brought around.

"And how about you Fermat?" Gordon asked as he turned to the youngest occupant in the room.

"I c-could eat. Thanks G-Gordo." Fermat said as he smiled at his older friend. Gordon nodded at the both of them and stepped out of the room to go see if he could find some food for the boys.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

It was late at night when Alan couldn't sleep. Not even Fermat's soft breathing was enough to lull him to sleep and his younger friend's soft breathing was usually enough to make Alan tired. Lying flat on his back, Alan stared up at the ceiling; trying to count the little spots that were designed into the panels. He'd been at it for about an hour now and no matter how much counting he did he just couldn't fall asleep. He even grabbed the book Virgil left a few days ago accidently and tried reading it but he couldn't focus. His thoughts were bothering him and usually when that happened he was about to do something stupid.

He glanced across at his roommate and best friend, chewing on his lip. Fermat had left his walker between their beds, which was actually within arm's reach for Alan if he stretched to his max. Giving it some thought, Alan wondered if what he was about to do could really be considered a stupid idea or just an extra baby step. Weighing the pros and cons of what he was going to do, Alan figured the pros outweighed the cons altogether. Scooting over so he was resting just on the very edge of his bed, Alan reached out and wiggled his fingers as he tried to grasp the handles of the walker. He came up just a little shorter than anticipated, but that wasn't about to stop him. Gritting his teeth, Alan stretched his arm just that…much…more and finally touched his fingertips to the hard plastic. Grinning widely, Alan pulled the walker closer until it was right beside his bed.

'I'm such a genius!' Alan was more than excited that he'd grabbed his prize. Sitting up on the edge of his bed, Alan swung his legs over so his feet almost touched the ground. Taking a deep breathe, Alan prepared himself to stand up. He didn't think about what he'd do if he fell, no he was just happy to have something to hold onto. Counting silently to himself, Alan stood on three. Bracing his full weight on legs weakened by time and disuse, Alan shook from exertion. He had no intention of walking, knew he couldn't right now. But it didn't stop him from standing up and just holding perfectly still.

Alan released the breath he didn't know he was holding as he stood for over a minute without help or an audience to laugh at him if he fell. He could feel his legs shaking more than they were previously, but he just felt exhilarated to finally be standing. He didn't anticipate that the increased shaking was his body's way of trying to warn him that his legs were preparing to give out, but when they did he struggled to hold himself up using his arms. He was braced against the contraption, feeling his arms burn with exertion but he managed on his own. After giving his legs the briefest of breaks, Alan managed to get said limbs back under himself and stand long enough to sit back down in his bed.

Once settled on the firm mattress, Alan pushed the walker back over towards Fermat; hoping he got the angle right so Fermat wouldn't know it'd been tampered with. Once that was done, Alan laid back down with a smile.

He'd stood all on his own and while he could never speak of it, he was proud of his accomplishment. He closed his eyes with a smile on his face as he felt he could finally go to sleep without further delay. Once his eyes closed and he'd rolled over, quickly falling asleep Fermat opened his eyes and smiled. He'd intentionally left his walker within reach when he'd seen Alan eyeing it all evening, he hated to see his best friend down in the dumps and Fermat being able to walk around with the walking aid made Alan smile a fake smile, one that Fermat was familiar with. He knew Alan was happy for him now that he could walk around, but he knew Alan wanted the same for himself. Fermat wanted Alan to get better too. So, when he'd returned from the bathroom, having been able to stand at the sink and brush his teeth instead of spitting the toothpaste foam into an emesis bowl, he'd intentionally crossed the room and got into bed using the aisle between his and Alan's beds. Deliberately leaving his walker within arm's reach of his best friend. It'd be their little secret; one Alan wasn't aware that Fermat was in on. And as long as they didn't get caught, Fermat planned to keep doing that just to see Alan's spirits lift.