A/N: Hello to all you lovely reviewers out there that are still hanging with me. I apologize once more for delaying in posting an update to the story, life has been on it's head for the last three weeks. I recently adopted and it's taken some getting used to sleep schedules, food schedules and yes...the teething and I've been looking for work. Kibble only satisfies little tummies for so long and I can't have them being dissatisfied with me, what kind of pet parent would that make me?

Reviews appreciated, but please no flames. I want to smile when I read reviews - not contemplate removing the stories I write and discontinuing my account...course now that I've said that...I'll probably have a troll somewhere in my reviews saying something about 'burn the witch', sorry I have an odd sense of humor when I'm tired. I've had little to no time for writing, chasing puppies around and job searching takes up so much time in a day and I usually only have an hour to write before I'm clawing my way to my bed. When I do get more than an hour, I'm tying up some loose ends on my next new story that I've decided to call "Alone in the Wilderness", was debating on changing the title but it's kind of grown on me so I'm keeping it. Keep your eyes peeled, won't be immediately posted - I'm my own Beta reader so I have to look carefully or else there are typos and grammatical errors that I do miss on occasion.

Stay kind lovely followers!

To say that Jeff was happy over the idea that Alan was requesting to attend a dance was so far from the truth. Jeff was far from happy when Scott and Virgil approached him with the request. Grandma wasn't particularly happy with it either, but she began to side with Scott and Virgil when the boys argued that Alan would probably never get to attend a dance if he doesn't get the chance to attend this one.

"The dances in college are so lame and you know Alan has said before that he's not really interested in college. What harm could there be in allowing him this one off? He's had no fun for the past few months." Virgil said as he looked at his dad with a raised eyebrow.

"You went to a dance when you were in college?" John asked as he leaned back in his chair and balanced on the back legs.

"Yes, and it was lamer than when I went to my senior prom. At least my senior prom was on a party boat on the lake, the dance I attended in college was in one of the college meeting rooms and it was so lame." Virgil said as he rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "They couldn't fork out the money for proper decorations, so we had black plastic hanging on the walls with handmade ornaments to accentuate the room and you would have had to have been drunk to enjoy the dance."

"Wasn't that last year?" Gordon inquired.

"Yes, and I wasn't legal to drink quite yet so I wasn't drunk. I took my date to the local pancake house and we stayed there shooting spitballs at each other for about three hours. It was more fun shooting spitballs at my date than it was at that dance." Virgil said before he looked at his father. "Dad, please let Alan go to that dance, it's at the hospital and you know they'll keep a close eye on the kids to make sure nobody spikes the punch or anything else. They'll even have security there to make sure nothing gets out of hand."

"It's not that I don't trust your brother. I do trust him, I just don't feel comfortable with the idea of him attending a dance at that hospital." Jeff said before he looked away from his sons and mother. He took a few minutes to think before he looked back over at his family sans their two youngest family members. "Barrett called me yesterday to inform me that Robert was moved into the step-down unit because he recently woke up from his coma. He's at the same hospital that Alan and Fermat are asking to return to and I don't feel comfortable with the idea of them going when Robert is there. Call me paranoid, but I just have a bad feeling about this."

"Jeff, I know you feel like you failed at protecting Alan from this psychotic child, but you can't protect him all his life. He's going to need to face his demons if he expects to have a normal life." Ruth said as she tried to persuade Jeff to think otherwise. "And like you said, that psychotic child is in the step-down unit, isn't the dance not for another month? I'm sure he'll be long gone before the dance even occurs."

Jeff heaved a sigh when his mother made a valid point. The dance according to Scott and Virgil was a few weeks away and with any luck Robert would be back in juvie.

"So, can we tell Alan you give your permission?" Virgil asked, looking hopeful.

"I know I'm going to regret this, but…yes. But I want you to tell Alan that while I give him permission, I still reserve the right to change my mind if Robert is still there." Jeff said giving Scott and Virgil the look that told them that he was serious. "I nearly lost your brother once, I won't be that close again."

"Thank you, dad, I'm gonna go give him a call now before Brooke and the others leave." Virgil said as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Over the next two weeks, after Virgil informed Alan that their dad agreed to let Alan attend the dance – Alan pushed himself harder in therapy. Lacey kept commenting how impressed she was with Alan and Fermat's determination to get better walking. Fermat had slowly graduated from using his walker all the time to using it every so often. Alan also began needing his crutches less and less. Now he used one crutch and had almost full mobility. Lacey couldn't quit praising Alan and Fermat with their growing independence.

"You two just continue to wow me." Lacey said as she knelt in front of Alan and took off his TED hose before rubbing his foot and using a bit of dorsiflexion to help Alan stretch his muscles. Alan glanced down at his foot and grimaced at his scars. He wasn't impressed with the scarring, which he'd been told would heal well. He could still see the discoloration and could pick out which brother donated skin. "Come on Alan, time to change up your exercises a little."

"What are we doing?" Alan asked when Lacey had him stand up and come with her to the middle of the activity room floor.

"I know you want to take your little friend to the dance, so I'm going to help you with a dance or two so you know what your limits are." Lacey said before she left Alan standing alone in the middle of the activity room floor to go to her portable speaker and MP3. "Are you okay with the exercise Alan?"

"Yeah, I mean I don't know how to dance anyway and I'd hate to hurt Brook by stepping on her feet." Alan said shyly. He was a little embarrassed to admit that he couldn't dance.

"We're not going to do anything too strenuous or weird. I'm just going to turn on some music and lead you through a few steps and the rest is just swaying and acting goofy." Lacey said confidently. She turned on a song, turning to make a goofy face at Alan seeing that it worked to make him laugh. She came over and showed Alan how to dance a couple songs, playing the role of Brooke so Alan would know which steps to take. After a few songs, Lacey backed away to turn off the music. She smiled at Alan and gave him a high five before handing him a water bottle. "You did good Alan."

"Thanks, and thanks for not being too hard on me for stepping on your feet." Alan said with a smile. It was too late to back out now and he was thankful of Virgil and Scott going out to get him and Fermat some nice clothes to wear for the dance. Fermat on the other hand hadn't called Tin-Tin yet to ask her if she wanted to come to the dance. Alan figured he'd need to spur his friend on or else he wouldn't have a date to the dance.

"No problem kiddo, let's get you back to your room so I can see if Fermat wants to learn how to dance or not. Don't tell him that's what on the agenda, with as shy as he is he's bound to be more stubborn than a mule." Lacey said before she handed Alan his crutch and walked with him back to their room.

When they made it back to Alan and Fermat's room, Alan heard Fermat stumbling his way through how he's planning to ask Tin-Tin to the dance. He smiled at his friend before he let Lacey push open the room door.

"Hey Ferm, why don't you just send her an email?" Alan asked when he saw how much Fermat was struggling through rehearsing how he was going to ask their mutual friend to the dance.

"A-Alan! D-Don't sneak up on m-me like t-that!" Fermat cried indignantly before he locked eyes with Alan. "I c-can't just ask her t-to the dance t-through email, t-that's just so…i-impersonal."

"I don't think Tin would find it impersonal, she knows it's hard for us to video call her. And if you just sent her like a little card or something from the internet with a moving picture she'd get the meaning." Alan said before he sat on his bed. He leaned his crutch against the night stand before he leaned back in his pillows. "Unless you'd rather I ask her for you."

"No, s-she might think you're a-asking her for y-you and you've a-already committed t-to t-taking B-Brook." Fermat said sadly as he seemed down. "I d-don't think I'll g-go on s-second t-thought."

"No Fermat, you should go." Alan replied from his bed. "Please? I've never been to a dance before, I need you there as my wingman."

"Alan's right Fermat, and if you don't want to dance you'll recall that Dr. Andreesen said there'd be TV and video games there if you're not keen on dancing." Lacey said as she tried to encourage Fermat to give it a go. "Tell you what, while we do your therapy you can ask me as if I were your friend to the dance until you figure out the way you want to ask her."

"O-Okay." Fermat replied softly before he slid from his own bed. He'd gotten better much like Alan had and now he didn't absolutely need his walker unless he felt like walking with it. Lacey had helped him enough in therapy that she was close to weaning Fermat away from his walker altogether.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Brook squealed with glee when her mom and grandmother brought in a garment bag. She was practically bouncing with excitement over being able to try on the dresses her mother brought. Granted they were hand me down dresses from her cousins, but they'd only been worn once, and they were still gorgeous. And while Brook had been hoping Alan would ask her to the dance, she certainly hadn't expected him to tell her his dad gave permission for him to go.

Regardless, Brook took the first dress her mom handed to her and stepped into the bathroom to change. The dress however needed to be zipped in the back and she asked her mom to help her. Once the dress was zipped up, Brook turned to her mom and grandma who smiled widely at her.

"My baby girl looks so grown up." Brooks mom said as she angled her daughter to face the bathroom mirror.

Brook however hadn't been expecting to look as beautiful as she did. She gasped in awe at her own image. The midnight blue ball gown looked beautiful, but while it was stunning it just hadn't seemed right for a hospital sponsored dance. Brook asked for the next dress and she was stunned by the beauty of this dress also. Turning to her mother and grandmother, Brook smiled like a bashful four-year-old.

"Oh honey, that dress is beautiful also." Brook's mother sighed before she looked to her mother. "What do you think of our Brookie-Cookie momma?"

"Stunning. I think your little date will be floored." Grandma replied as she took in her granddaughter's look. She turned her to face the mirror same as her mother had done and winked over her granddaughter's shoulder. "He's a lucky boy."

"Grandma." Brook said with a fiery blush.

"I'm just saying sweetheart. You deserve this, especially since you missed your prom." Brook's grandma said before she reached up and pulled Brook's long dark hair into a mock up-do. "You shine up like a new penny."

"So, tell me about your date honey, who is he and how did you meet him?" Brook's mother inquired as she sat on Brook's bed to stare at her daughter.

"His name's Alan, I met him here. He used to be another patient here." Brook said before she turned away from the mirror to look at her mother out the bathroom door. "I told you about him already mom."

"He's that billionaire's son, isn't he?" Brook's mother inquired softly, almost worried now.

"He's Jeff Tracy's son yes, but he's not just a billionaire's son." Brook replied with a sigh. "Mommy, I already told you and daddy and you were both so happy that I'd made a new friend here."

"I know honey, but this is a dance that he's asked you to. We don't know if the paparazzi are going to try to make an appearance and I don't want you get caught in the middle of it." Brook's mother said as she stood to go over to Brook. "I just want you to be careful."

"I am being careful mom, besides – I asked him to the dance. He didn't want to ask me until he knew his dad would let him attend." Brook said in Alan's defense. "He's really quite the sweetheart and I think you would like him if you met him."

"All boys are a sweetheart…unless you're into bad boys." Brook's grandma commented, looking away when her daughter and granddaughter looked at her in shock over what she just said.

"I'm sure I would like your date honey, I'm just warning you to be careful. A lot of boys will be nice just to use you and I don't want that for you." Brook's mom continued as if they hadn't just been interrupted by her own mother.

"Alan is not like that mom, he's already told me that his dad talked to him and his brothers and has stressed the importance of abstinence and Alan's told me that he wants to go to his wedding bed without experience." Brook noticed her mom gaping at her and she rushed to explain. "Alan asked about the ring I wear on a chain and I told him it was my purity ring."

Brook held up her hand to prove that the ring which once stayed on her ring finger no longer could due to having her fingers amputated from the burns. "He wanted to make sure I didn't have a boyfriend, trust me – Alan and I won't do any of that. I trust him and I know he trusts me."

"Just make sure you keep that pretty head of yours on your shoulders where it belongs. Handsome rich boys have a funny way of making smart girl's brains turn to goo." Brook's mom remarked as she brought her daughter's forehead to her lips to kiss. "I know you're a smart girl, but just remember that God gave you a brain for a reason, use it."

"Yes mom." Brook said before she walked back over to look at her dress in the mirror. She beamed at the dress, knowing it corresponded with Alan's favorite color. She smiled excitedly at her grandma when she bent over to help Brook fasten her heals. She looked back at the mirror, she squealed in excitement. "This is it, this is my dress. I just hope Alan likes it."

"He will honey." Brook's grandma said before she mimicked her daughter and kissed Brook on the forehead. "You're going to blow him away."

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Alan sat against Fermat's bed, leaned back against the head of his bed as the two boys waited for the video call to connect. Prior to moving to a new hospital facility, Alan and Fermat could have a duel video chat with their island friend. But since relocating, the connection had become terrible and Tin-Tin complained of not hearing either boy. She emailed to report that their voices broke up and she missed entire segments of what they were saying. So, to kill two birds with one stone so to speak, Alan and Fermat agreed that from here on out one or the other would come sit with the other on their respective beds and chat with Tin-Tin.

Alan crisscrossed his legs as he leaned back against the headboard. To pass the time while he and Fermat waited on a connection to be established, Alan engaged Fermat in a game of rock, paper, scissors. They'd decided to play best out of three as they'd figured the time it took to connect would take a few seconds. They'd just started their last game, when Tin-Tin's picture came over the feed and the girl smiled at them.

"Hey guys! Wow, this is a surprise, I get both of you in the same screen like before when you two were away at school." Tin-Tin said excitedly.

"Yeah, we figured it'd be better to talk in the same screen rather than to bog down the connection with two computers at the same time." Alan replied coolly. He smirked at Tin-Tin before continuing. "How're you doing? Soaking up enough sun for me and Ferm?"

"Oh yeah, my dad is still trying to figure out how to send the Tracy Island sunshine to the both of you in a bottle. I can't keep it all to myself, now can I?" Tin-Tin inquired with a similar smirk in Alan's direction. "How're you two?"

"I'm good, just still bed bound for the most part." Alan replied before nudging Fermat.

"I-I'm good t-too Tin-Tin. J-Just bored m-mostly." Fermat replied truthfully. He was like Alan in the sense that neither boy enjoyed being confined to a bed. When they were back on the island, they were always either off exploring or they were getting into some form of mischief. Now though, they weren't allowed to leave their beds unless they were either going to the bathroom, going to therapy or were on a walk about with one of their family. It was very boring indeed.

"I know what you mean about being bored. I miss you two. I feel like I'm missing two halves of my own body with you two gone." Tin-Tin replied while looking down at her lap.

"But we're always gone." Alan retorted with a questioning look. "We're gone 9 months out of the year, do you feel that way all the time?"

"No, just this time. I usually get to see you two for school breaks and the occasional weekend. But I saw you at Thanksgiving and it's been months. This is the longest we haven't seen each other face to face." Tin-Tin replied softly. "I miss you two, so sue me."

"Nah, I can't sue you for missing us. I'd miss us too if I were in your shoes." Alan said, trying to be understanding. "So, what are you up to now besides talking to me and Ferm?"

"Just finished my homework and I was getting ready to go help my dad in the garden. Dad was going to show me how to make some new tea he's working on." Tin-Tin said before pausing. She seemed to look thoughtful before she picked up where she left off. "I can't wait for you two to come back home, I have so much that I want to show you."

"Like w-what?" Fermat asked, butting in to Alan and Tin-Tin's two-way conversation.

"Just some recipes that I hope will satisfy even your infuriating penchant for sweets." Tin-Tin said. "Some of them are really difficult."

"Any that are like grandma's?" Alan inquired, now interested since the topic had turned to food. It was a joke around their house that a way to a Tracy heart was through their stomach. Alan and by association Fermat however required sweets, not just food. It was funny to learn which new foods would speak the right language to Alan and Fermat's respective stomach.

"A few actually. Your grandma was kind enough the last time she was over to visit to show me a few of her secret family recipes." Tin-Tin admitted with a beaming smile.

"Secret family recipes? How come she won't show them to me?" Alan asked with mock surprise.

"Because your grandma knows you can't cook to save your life and she's afraid you're going to burn something." Tin-Tin said jokingly. "Don't worry, I'll cook for us all when we go away to college and get an apartment together."

Alan and Fermat didn't miss her playful wink and they played along.

"How're you so sure you're going to want to be our roommate when we reach college age? Are you sure you won't be sick of us by then?" Alan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh please, I just admitted that you two are like the other halves of me. I couldn't live without you two around to keep me laughing." Tin-Tin said with a shake of her head. "Now, what did you two want to talk about? I know you didn't just call to find out about the new things I'm learning to cook."

"Well, yeah." Fermat said, facing going bright red. "T-There was something I w-wanted to a-ask you."

"Ask away Fermat." Tin-Tin said, looking at Fermat expectantly.

"W-W-Would…um…n-never mind." Fermat started to ask before he started to get cold feet.

"Keep going dude." Alan tried to encourage, sadly to no avail. Fermat turned the laptop to angle away from him, leaving Alan to be the sole occupant in the screen.

"I-I can't." Fermat whispered under his breath, his face bright red.

"Do you want me to ask?" Alan asked, noticing Fermat shake his head. "Dude, you can't just leave her hanging like this."

"What did you want to ask me Fermat?" Tin-Tin asked, hoping Fermat would come out and ask her whatever it was he wanted to ask her.

Fermat again, shook his head in the negative. Alan rolled his eyes before he looked at Tin-Tin.

"You can thank me for this later." Alan mumbled before he looked Tin-Tin in the eye. "Fermat wanted to ask you if you'd like to be his date to the spring dance the hospital is hosting."

Fermat lightly punched Alan in the shoulder, he wasn't mad…he just wasn't happy about Alan asking Tin-Tin out for him.

"I'd love to." Tin-Tin replied with a smile. Her face was alight with a pretty blush and when Alan turned the laptop to face both he and Fermat, both of his friends noticed the blush that covered both their faces. "Thank you for asking Fermat. I'd be honored."

"Mm." Fermat muttered, not looking at the screen because of how embarrassed he was.

"So, what about you Alan, what are you doing about a date?" Tin-Tin inquired.

"Another patient asked me to the dance, so I'll be going with her." Alan admitted, seeing Tin-Tin beaming happily at him.

"Too cool! That means I can get a dance with both of my best fellows." Tin-Tin said with a positively radiant grin. "What can you tell me about your date?"

"She's a really sweet girl. Our age and she used to dance at her grandfather's Polynesian restaurant." Alan said, glad he remembered a lot of what Brook told him about her.

"She danced?" Tin-Tin asked, eyebrows shooting up as the interest spiked. "What kind of dancing, did she say?"

"Yeah, she used to do fire dancing. She showed me a video of it and I think it'd be cool to learn a skill like that." Alan admitted before adding as an afterthought. "If I wasn't afraid of being burned again, I'd say sign me up for the next class – but…I don't think I want to get that close to fire again."

"Well, just know that if you ever want to follow through on that desire to learn, just know I'll gladly be your buddy because that sounds cool." Tin-Tin said, making note that maybe they could learn sometime after Alan and Fermat get out of the hospital. Even if it wasn't fire dancing, they could at least learn something new together.

"I'll keep that in mind." Alan said, looking away as he tried to think of something else to talk about, but Tin-Tin saved him from a long pregnant pause.

"So, how're you two doing? Are you making any headway with your recovery? I mean, I don't mean any offence by bringing it up, but it'd be kind of hard to attend a dance if you can't walk." Tin-Tin inquired, making Alan and Fermat looking meaningfully at each other. "Why are you two looking at each other like that?"

"Well, that's the thing." Alan started, before he completely turned the laptop around to face the foot of Fermat's bed. As soon as the laptop was turned, both Alan and Fermat climbed off the bed and grabbed their walking aids. Together, Alan and Fermat made their way in front of the laptop and stopped a few feet back so Tin-Tin could see them. "We're both making a little headway."

Tin-Tin covered her mouth as she screamed happily at seeing Alan and Fermat both standing, with walking aids.

"Oh my god! Oh my God! When did you both get back to walking?!" Tin-Tin asked excitedly.

"We've been working on it a little bit each day since we've been here. It's been a long time coming." Alan said with a bashful smile. "We're nowhere close to running circles yet, but eventually we may be able to walk normally again."

"But this is a huge improvement!" Tin-Tin gushed. "Show me again. Please walk around for me."

"Which one of us?" Alan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you mean, which one? Both of you! I haven't seen you up walking since the fire!" Tin-Tin cried to them. "Please, just show me what you can do!"

"Okay, okay." Alan said before looking at Fermat. "Hey, you want to do the honors?"

"S-Sure." Fermat said before he gave Alan his walker and took a few steps unassisted. He walked the length of the room before turning to walk back towards Alan. When he made it to Alan's side, he took his walker back and went to sit in the reclining chair. "W-What'd you think?"

"Wow." Tin-Tin said, almost breathless at how improved Fermat was. She was now eager to see Alan. "What about you Al?"

"I'm not as improved as Fermat. I can't walk unassisted yet. But…" Alan started. He took a step and walked the same length of floor that Fermat had. When he turned however, he figured he'd gotten a little over enthusiastic because he stumbled and fell back against the wall.

"Alan!" Tin-Tin cried worriedly, meanwhile Fermat stood to help even though they were across the room from each other. Alan waved off their concern and righted himself.

"I'm fine…see. No problem." Alan said determinedly as he picked up where he'd left off and walked across the floor. When he made it back to the foot of Fermat's bed, Alan sank down onto it and smiled reassuringly at Tin-Tin and Fermat. "See? What'd I tell you two…no problem."

"You're lucky I'm an ocean away from you right now, otherwise I'd be punching you in the shoulder." Tin-Tin said, meaning to rip Alan a new one for scaring her, but she was happy none the less. Alan and Fermat just showed her that while they weren't quite ready to come home, they were making some serious headway. She was pleased with her friend's progress. "Changing the subject back to the dance, what should I wear?"

"Does it matter?" Alan inquired with a shrug. He didn't really think that clothing style mattered for a dance, but then in truth he'd never actually been to a dance. He remembered Scott, John and Virgil attending their respective high school dances. He also recalled Scott attending a military ball, but he'd worn his dress uniform from the Air Force.

"Of course, it matters!" Tin-Tin cried indignantly. "I have to know what the dress code is or what color you and Fermat are wearing so I know to dress accordingly!"

Alan rolled his eyes at Tin-Tin's attitude regarding clothes. She was just as bad as Lady P, not that he'd ever tell her that to her face. He may be a jackass at times, but he wasn't suicidal.

"Any idea what your date is wearing for the dance?" Tin-Tin asked as she tried to figure out what to wear.

"Not a clue, she hasn't told me what color her dress is yet or if she's even planning to get dressed up." Alan said with yet another shrug. He didn't care about clothes. As long as he looked nice and not like a slob then he'd be happy.

"Get a clue Alan! I want her to have fun just like I want to have fun." Tin-Tin replied with a huff. "Surely you'd be more interested in the latest fashions if you had any sense of style."

"Ouch, burn." Alan replied with a mocking wince. "You know just how to rip my heart out and smash it into tiny little pieces."

"Oh, there's more where that came from too." Tin-Tin said coolly.

Fermat however turned his head from side to side, watching Alan and Tin-Tin volley jabs and insults at each other like they were talking about the weather on any given Sunday afternoon. He didn't understand it, never was able to issue verbal barbs like Alan and Tin-Tin could. Personally, he felt like if he tried, it'd result in just making him out to be a fool, so he knew it was best not to try it.

"So anyway, you two are going to have to keep me posted about when the dance is going to be and what you two are wearing so I know to dress accordingly." Tin-Tin said before she came up with something else. "Oh, and let your date know that she's more than welcome to contact me if she's interested. I'd love to get to know her and maybe get an idea of what she's going to be wearing for the dance just, so I know along the lines of what I should wear."

"I'll let her know, but I will warn you. Don't take it personally if she doesn't contact you. She's kind of self-conscious…about her…burns."

"Oh dear. I don't mean her any harm. I just figure that she has to be one awesome gal if she likes you since…well, me and Fermat like you too." Tin-Tin said. "I just want to get to know her and let her know that she's got my friend vote."

"I'm sure she'll be cool when I tell her that you're one of my friends, but I'm just warning you like I'll warn my brothers not to stare. I know you won't and I know my brothers won't try to make her feel singled out – I'm just kind of protective of her." Alan said as he visibly deflated.

"Alan, you've got a crush on her?" Tin-Tin asked with a playful smirk and a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Uh…no?" Alan said hurriedly, though the blush on his face was a dead giveaway.

"Ah-ha-ha! I knew it! I knew it!" Tin-Tin crowed excitedly. "Alan Tracy you've got a crush on her!"

"Ssh! Not so loud!" Alan hissed at one of his best friends.