A/N: Sooo, looks like it's been quite awhile since I last updated this story and I just have to apologize to my story followers that have been waiting for updates. Life has gotten hectic and I recently got a job that has kept me going like crazy. I haven't felt up to writing except for a few sentences every other day. I made it a point to prepare an update and hoped to do it several days ago but again, life got in the way.
Hope you all enjoy and I'll try to be better with posting updates now that my work schedule seems to be finding it's rhythm. I appreciate seeing reviews, but please keep in mind that kind words and/or constructive criticism is all that I'll accept.
Once more, enjoy and hope you all have fantastic days!
Sad-Blue-Eyed-Angel 2010
The next two days for Alan and Fermat consisted of an increase of sleep, relaxing and more sleep. Lacey popped in intermittently to assess both boys. She was pleased to see Alan and Fermat taking advantage of their time to rest and recuperate from their time at the dance. On the third day, Lacey came in and was pleased to see Alan stretching a little like she'd taught him to.
"So, are you ready to get back on the wagon today?" Lacey inquired with a smile when she greeted Alan and Fermat. "Nice specs kiddo."
Fermat smiled at Lacey, readjusting his glasses proudly. He loved the new glasses that Gordon got for him. They were a different style than he usually had, and they looked better than his old pair. Tin-Tin had come with Gordon the evening that his glasses were delivered, and she'd told Fermat the glasses were very becoming of him. Fermat had to agree, the glasses fit his face differently and they didn't make him look boyish.
"T-Thanks." Fermat said in reply to the compliment and he sat up straighter. Alan smirked at Fermat's reaction to the compliments. He didn't know giving Fermat a well-placed compliment would make his younger friend perk up as much as he had.
"Do you mind if I combine your appointments today? If not I can work you two around my other appointments." Lacey asked as she updated the exercise charts in the corner of the room.
"I'm fine combining our appointments, how about you Fermat?" Alan asked, grinning when his younger friend nodded. "Awesome!"
"Alright. Well then I'll go on ahead and pencil you boys in, so I don't forget." Lacey said as she turned to leave. As if it were an afterthought, Lacey pivoted on the ball of her foot and turned back to address the boys. "Oh, and if you can I'd contact your family to see if they can bring you boys some tennis shoes. We're going to up your activity level a little bit. Nothing too overpowering, but you'll need tennis shoes."
"I'll call my dad to see if he can get us some tennis shoes." Alan said as he sank back into his bed. He was curious about what Lacey had up her sleeve but all he cared about at this point in his recovery was how much longer it'd take him to get back home. He was not a fan of hospitals nor was he a fan of bed rest. He was practically bouncing off the walls from the start of each day and he knew his family knew he was chomping at the bit to get home.
"Good, I'll see you boys later." Lacey said before she left again. "Your appointment will be around 1:30, so if you can get your family to bring you both some shoes that'd be awesome!"
"A-Alright. Thank you, Lacey." Fermat said as he took to scrolling on his laptop. "H-Hey Alan?"
"What's up?" Alan asked in reply as he picked up his crutches so that he could go sit in the recliner by the window. It was a little rear-window of him, but he'd taken up people watching during his time in the hospital…at least people watching to an extent. Before moving to Blythedale, he and Fermat were several floors up and Alan couldn't have people watched even if he'd wanted to. Now though, his and Fermat's room was on the ground floor so that made it significantly easier for Alan to take up people watching. He saw a bunch of patients and their families going for a stroll around the grounds, there were a couple topiary bushes outside his and Fermat's hospital room window.
"H-Have you given a-any t-thought to whether y-you wanted to s-stay on the m-mainland for s-school? O-Or do you w-want to do s-satellite s-schooling?" Fermat asked as he looked across at his best friend.
"Honestly? I haven't given it any thought. My education has been the last thing on my mind, though dad will probably want me to go to mainland education. I suppose though that if he does have me do such that I could go stay with grandma again and attend public school." Alan said, giving the barest of thoughts to Fermat's query. "I mean, I'd love to have a home education personally. But dad has always maintained that operations will just distract me."
"But i-if you could m-make a decision-based o-on your preferences i-instead of w-what your d-dad says?" Fermat asked, watching Alan's expression change as he gave Fermat's question further thought. "W-Would you still p-pursue a home e-education instead of o-one on the m-mainland?"
Once faced with Fermat's question, Alan genuinely weighed the pros and cons. If he stayed on the island, true he'd be home with his family where he was safe and comfortable. But he could be distracted by International Rescue operations. His dad likely wouldn't agree to integrating Thunderbirds training with his home studies, so he'd still have to finish after he graduated from school. Or he could stay in the family penthouse on top of Tracy Towers and attend a public school with his friends.
"I don't know, I guess I'd choose an education on the mainland." Alan started before noticing Fermat's mouth fall open in his peripheral vision. "Let me explain. We both know I get incredibly distracted by…you know what. It's just that perhaps my dad is right. It won't be good for me to constantly want to be involved in operations of the family business. Especially now. I mean I can barely walk without my crutches and feeling like I need to be involved with the business will probably just distract me from my education as well as my recovery. I didn't agree with dad prior to the fire, but now…I think I understand where he's coming from."
"B-But Alan, what if y-your dad gave y-you the chance t-to study at h-home and he d-doesn't allow y-you to pursue a-an education on t-the mainland? Will y-you still t-try to argue the p-point with him or j-just do as he s-says?" Fermat inquired with shock written boldly across his face.
"I don't know. I mean, my dad will probably want me to pursue an education on the mainland. Not just a public school either. I know he said otherwise shortly after the fire, but then I think he was still in shock himself over the school he thought we'd both be safe in was actually what almost killed us." Alan said as he allowed his thoughts to stray marginally to the what-if scenario.
"B-But is that w-what you want? Or w-would you prefer to a-attend a home s-studies program?" Fermat pushed, making Alan question why Fermat was asking in the first place.
"Is there something you aren't telling me?" Alan inquired wondering if Fermat was planning to drop a bomb on him like he was hoping to attend a school separate from Alan.
"N-No, just c-curious." Fermat replied before explaining further his reasoning behind the questions. "As m-much as I'd like to see the o-others, I'm n-not really k-keen on a-attending a p-public school or a-another private s-school. I'm s-scared it'll h-happen again."
Hearing Fermat out made Alan second guess his previous thought and he understood completely. Having lived through the fire, recovering alongside Fermat in the hospital and receiving the court's findings. It made perfect sense, but a part of Alan didn't want to give Robert the satisfaction of making Alan sequester himself away at home where he'd likely be coddled by his family. He was a fighter and he wasn't about to let Robert win.
"I know you're scared Ferm, I'm terrified of it happening again too. But I'm not going to go down without a fight. Sure, Robert selfishly took my self-confidence and made me wonder if I have a good reason to look over my shoulder every minute of every day and I am not about to let Robert continue to run my life from his jail cell. I'm going to live my life. Whether that's at home on the island, pursuing a home education or attending another public or private school on the mainland is still to be decided. If you decide you'd rather attend a home-based study, then that's your decision…same as if you decide to attend school stateside." Alan said before reaching down along the cushion of the recliner and grabbing the remote control and raising the footrest. Lacey still recommended that Alan and Fermat both lift their feet periodically and he was just following doctor's orders. Reaching out with one of his crutches, Alan hooked the rolling stand with the extra phone and pulled it closer. "I'm gonna call our dads and see if they can get us some new shoes."
"O-Okay." Fermat said before raising the head of his hospital bed so he could work on the word search book that Gordon got for him. The younger had rolled his eyes when he saw the book. At the time when Gordon gave it to Fermat, the younger couldn't see the attraction. But now that he's had it and worked on a couple puzzles, he's developed a liking for the search puzzles.
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Jeff was just sitting down with Scott at a café to have some coffee when his cell phone began to ring. He was going to ignore it, until he realized the number calling was from Blythedale. Swiftly answering the phone Jeff held up a finger to stay what Scott was about to talk about.
"Hello?" Jeff asked into the cell, frown changing to a smile when he heard Alan speak. "Good morning son how are you doing today?"
"I'm okay. Unfortunately, no better than I was yesterday." Alan replied rolling his eyes at the same question his dad, brothers, grandmother, doctors and nurses asked him every day.
"Scott says, 'hi' son." Jeff said as he settled into the booth before talking with Alan. "What's the reason behind the call? Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, everything's fine dad. Just calling for a favor actually." Alan started to explain. "Lacey told me and Fermat that we're going to need shoes for our therapy today and I was wondering if you could get me and Fermat some shoes."
"Some shoes, yeah I can do that." Jeff replied before a thought occurred to him. "Oh, and what size shoes does Fermat wear again?"
"He wears a five normally, but since we still have to wear compression socks with those little gripper socks we might want to go a half size up…maybe." Alan said before going silent.
"I'll get both for Fermat and both for you also. I can return the shoes that don't fit." Jeff started before continuing. "Or keep them for when you two grow into them unless they're too small for the both of you."
"Whatever's fine with me." Alan said before sinking back into the recliner. "Lacey said we have a few more hours until our therapy sessions, so no rush but we will need the shoes in a couple hours."
"Alright, see you two in a little bit." Jeff said before he wished Alan a warm goodbye. Once he'd hung up the phone, Jeff checked his watch to be sure it wasn't going to be much but a little over three hours until the estimated time of the appointment. "Feel like going shopping with me?"
"Why do Alan and Fermat need shoes?" Scott inquired curiously before pocketing his cell phone. He took to reading emails while his dad was on the phone with his youngest brother.
"I guess their physical therapist wants to start them out on some new exercises that will involve more walking." Jeff said before flagging the server for his bill. Once he saw how much he owed, Jeff took out his wallet and paid while leaving a nice tip for the server to find when she returned to take his and Scott's mugs. "Come on, let's go. If we get that done quick enough, we might be able to get a visit in with your brother."
"Okay." Scott replied as he went to stand with his father. With that they both exited the little café and walked to one of the local shopping districts. It was decent enough weather when they left the hotel they were staying in that they decided to walk.
When father and son made it to the shopping district, they quickly located a foot ware store and went in to get shoes for both boys so they could do whatever Lacey had in mind. Scott left his dad to look at the different shoes to grab some socks in both boys' sizes. Once they'd made their selections, Jeff and Scott went to the counter to pay for their purchase. Scott smiled at the clerk, frowning suddenly when his dad took his purchase and combined it with his own.
"Dad?" Scott inquired before his dad smirked at him.
"I'll buy this if you want to get your brother some new magazines? He's got to be bored to tears with the old issues he's got." Jeff said before running his credit card through the machine.
"Okay, I can do that. Then we can get to the hospital." Scott said as he smiled at the clerk again, taking the shopping bag from his dad before turning to exit the store.
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Later that afternoon, Alan and Fermat greeted Jeff and Scott who entered their room with wide smiles adorning their faces. Alan leaned up in the recliner and hugged Scott and his dad when they leaned down close to Alan. Fermat also accepted a hug from the two older men and he smiled up at Scott when the older ruffled his hair much like he does to Alan.
"Okay, I wanted to make sure these shoes fit you two okay?" Jeff said, getting straight down to business. He opened the packs of socks he and Scott got for each boy and helped them put the socks on over their Thrombo-Embolic Deterrent Hose and then checked that the fit of the shoes was okay for the boys to begin increasing their fitness for therapy. "Do the shoes fit boys?"
"Yes sir, t-thank you." Fermat replied, happy that he could wear shoes again. It may not seem like much, but Fermat never thought he took being able to wear shoes for granted and once he wasn't able to wear shoes, he began to miss them. So, he was happy to wear shoes again.
"Yeah, they do. Thanks dad, Scott." Alan said, also excited to have shoes on. He much like Fermat never thought he'd be one of those that would miss shoes once he was deemed unable to wear them. Usually when he was on the island or even at the school, he wore sandals, or his sneakers. He never in his wildest dreams thought he'd miss wearing shoes.
"No problem Alan. So, when is yours and Fermat's appointment with Lacey?" Scott inquired as he walked over and sat on the arm of Alan's seat, carefully slinging his arm over Alan's shoulders.
"It's in another hour. I don't have any idea what Lacey's got up her sleeves, so don't ask about what we're doing." Alan advised, leaning into Scott's side with an easygoing smile plastered across his face.
"I wasn't going to ask." Scott said in reply, ruffling Alan's hair and smirking when his kid brother squawked over his hair being messed up.
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Later at Alan and Fermat's physical therapy appointment with Lacey, the boys marveled at their mini field trip. The increase of activity that Lacey mentioned was that she wanted to take Alan and Fermat outside for a walk around the grounds. She didn't want to push them into an increase of activity too quickly, but she wanted to introduce them to the increase at a leisurely pace.
Alan was still allowed to use his crutches which he'd mastered pretty well and Fermat was upgraded from a walker to crutches as well. Fermat had been measured so that Lacey could get the crutches adjusted prior to their meeting and his face lit up when Lacey handed him the forest green crutches. She made sure he was okay standing unassisted when she began trying to make sure the crutches would work for the smaller boy. Once Lacey finished getting Fermat set up with his crutches, she suggested they walk around the activity room before they go outside and enjoy the weather.
Once they'd gotten outside, Alan and Fermat paused in the sun, closed their eyes and turned their faces upwards. Lacey smiled at the two boys in her stead, feeling like a mom watching two boys complete one of many milestones.
"Thank you for bringing us out here Lacey." Alan said, his voice soft as if speaking too loudly would shatter the illusion of the warm sunny day.
"No problem Alan. I'm just glad you like my little surprise. I know it's not much." Lacey began before being interrupted by Fermat.
"We h-haven't been a-able to enjoy t-the sun in m-months. This is p-perfect." Fermat said, finishing his statement with a deep breath and a sigh.
"There's also another reason I wanted to talk to the both of you." Lacey said as she led Alan and Fermat to a bench seat. Lacey climbed up the bench seat and sat on the rim while both boys sat on the seat below. "It feels like both you boys just got here, but you've already been here for a little over a month. Once we begin working on stepping up your endurance and gradually integrate more exercises into your repertoire, there won't be much more that I can teach you. The rest will be up to the both of you."
Alan and Fermat were both left speechless by what Lacey had just said and they stared at her in silence. Lacey smiled before interjecting their pregnant pause.
"Well, don't go speaking all at once." Lacey said, chuckling when Alan managed to shake himself from his reverie.
"Sorry, did you just seriously say what I think you're saying?" Alan asked, his mouth falling open in surprise by the news from Lacey.
"What do you think I'm saying?" Lacey inquired, noticing that Fermat's mouth was still gaping open and catching flies. "Are you going to keep trying to catch flies there Fermat?"
Fermat managed to snap his mouth closed and he sucked in another deep breath. Alan went on to continue. "Are you saying we're almost done?"
"Well not almost, but you're getting very close. The both of you are. Soon there won't be much more that I can work on with you, unless of course you want me to talk to my bodybuilder friend to see if I can get some exercises for you boys to begin building muscle." Lacey said, being facetious.
"No! I mean, I appreciate what you're saying but I kind of like how small I am. Helps me find hiding spots where my brothers won't find me when I hit them with a prank." Alan said, grinning when Lacey gave him a look of reproach. "I'll be careful."
"See that you do." Lacey said before getting back to the matter at hand.
"So how long do you think we'll need to keep on doing therapy?" Alan asked, taking the words right out of Fermat's mouth.
"Well, I figure that if we set a goal date of three more months, you'll find yourselves being pleasantly surprised at how much you can accomplish in this timeframe." Lacey explained, seeing Alan's face fall at the idea of three more months of hospital living. "I didn't say you would without a doubt still be here in three months, I'm just saying that if you set a goal date, you'll be surprised at how quickly you can accomplish the things you set your mind to."
"So, if we do set a goal date…let's say we go with your suggestion of three months and finish all that you can teach us in a month in a half. Would you recommend that Fermat and I stay in our sick room back at home?" Alan asked as he recalled what his brothers had told him and Fermat a little while back.
"What?" Lacey asked around a smirk as she tried to figure out what Alan's question meant. "Of course, you won't have to stay in your sick room. As soon as I clear you and Fermat for regular activity, you'll be free to do as you please…within reason of course. Why do you think you'll have to stay in your sick room at home?"
"O-One of Alan's b-brothers said we'd h-have to stay i-inside our s-sick room." Fermat said to Lacey who also received an emphatic nod from Alan who agreed with what Fermat was saying.
"No, you boys won't have to stay in the sick room. As soon as I release you boys back to regular activity, your doctors Juno and Andreesen will assess you and follow suit in releasing the both of you to do as you will…like I said though…within reason." Lacey reiterated firmly. "I'm guessing your brothers told you boys that just because they just want to keep you were they can keep an eye on you."
Fermat looked at Alan as if to ask if the older boys would do that and Alan sighed deeply. He shook his head, partly because he couldn't believe that he hadn't already thought of that. He knew his brothers like the back of his own hand and he should have known that this would be his brother's way of keeping him and Fermat where they could monitor them both. Scott already was more of a helicopter parent than his older brother and for that matter each of his brothers had the tendency to helicopter parent regardless of being his brothers.
"Yep, that sounds like something they'd do." Alan replied before heaving a sigh. Now that Lacey assuaged his worries he wasn't as concerned about going home and being kept like prisoner in the infirmary. He had his ways of sneaking out of the hated room and he knew his grandma would also likely put her foot down when Virgil and Scott tried to insist that Alan and Fermat move semi-permanently into the infirmary. "So, you think it'd be safe to set a goal date for three more months?"
"Hmm?" Lacey asked before she fully processed what Alan asked. "Oh, yeah…I don't see why you can't set a goal date three month from now. You're already a lot farther along the schedule I had intended for you both."
Alan and Fermat couldn't help but to look at each other before returning their gazes back to Lacey. As if they were waiting on an explanation from Lacey, she continued from her previous statement.
"You both have done amazing at mastering walking, all that's left is to get the both of you used to balancing when going up and down the stairs which we can do here and running then jumping. There's not much you two will have to work on. That's why I figure you'll be able to set an ending goal date of three months because those three milestones will be easy-peasy once you get used to the actions."
"You're joking…we're only going to need to cover those last few things and then we'll be able to go home?" Alan asked, feeling his spirits raise from their previous lowered stature. Now he was excited.
"Nope, I'm not joking. I figure today we'll work on conditioning the both of you for the new exercises and tasks and then we'll get down to business." Lacey said as she watched both Alan and Fermat smile widely in excitement. "Then once I release the two of you to regular activity, you'll just have to check in with me periodically for about a year, so I can make sure you don't need additional therapy. But you're already doing so well, I'm not worried."
Alan's face started hurting he was smiling so much and he hugged Lacey in his excitement. She returned the hug to the older boy and was soon hugged tightly by Fermat also. And she couldn't help it, she hugged them both back tightly. It was moments like this that made it worth it. Made leaving her home in Nebraska to pursue a career in physical therapy worth it. She truly cherished these moments and it made her happy that she hadn't just settled for staying in her hometown. She was meant for bigger and better things and this was what made it all worth it to her.
"So, what do you say that we finish our walk and we go on ahead and get you both familiar with some of the other equipment that I'll have you two begin to use in the next couple of days?" Lacey inquired as she stood from the bench and proceeded to offer a hand to both Alan and Fermat as they followed her and stood also.
"So, do you really think that setting a goal date is a good idea?" Alan asked again as he walked a few steps behind Lacey who was leading their small group back to the rehab center.
"Most definitely. I have all my patients that I work with set ending goal dates when they get close and nearly all of them are finished with therapy well in advance of their end date." Lacey explained with a smile.
They spent the rest of their appointment time with Lacey looking at the treadmill which Lacey said she'd eventually start them on increasing their speed with walking to one day wean them off of the crutches. Alan and Fermat were both excited with the prospect of one day hatch.
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Robert sighed as he laid on his bunk in the correctional facility he'd remain in until a better facility could be found where Robert wouldn't be in danger of future attacks. He snorted to himself at the idea of no more attacks, he had a feeling that no matter what he did or where he went, he'd always have a target on his back. After all, the trial of Tracy-Hackenbacker VS. Flynn was a widely televised trial and even a few of the inmates at this new correctional facility were familiar with who he was and already a few had made threats against Robert simply because they looked up to Tracy's father.
His new cellmate had told Robert that he wouldn't be protecting him from any inmates that wanted to wipe the floor with him, whilst trying to keep a good behavior record so he could get out before his eighteenth birthday. He did however question Robert why he did what he did and Robert couldn't even answer the question adequately. He still wasn't 100% sure of why he did what he did either. He knew what he'd told the courts, but he knew he was just angry and said what he felt like saying.
"You know, when I stole that vehicle I never thought I'd get caught…but then I also wasn't thinking rationally either." Robert's cellmate said from his bunk where he was writing in a journal. "You know, they say that hindsight is 20/20 and I find myself thinking back on it and I can't help but think how I was a stupid kid for making those kinds of choices."
"What made you change?" Robert asked for the first time, genuinely interested and a little perplexed that he hadn't ever given why he did what he did any afterthought. For so long he's maintained that he was simply mad at Alan and by proxy was also angry with anyone associated with Alan.
"Nothing made me 'change'…just being locked up has given me time to reflect and think about the things I've done that in hindsight were stupid mistakes that have made it hard for me to live my life. And I got to talking to some of the other guys in here that have been here longer and they all told me that like them what I did was just a dumb mistake and as long as I serve my time I should be able to continue my life once I get out as long as I know that doing what I did before won't be a good idea and that I should look at the consequences before continuing on my way." Robert's cellmate explained from his bed.
"Interesting outlook you've got there." Robert commented dryly.
"Hey, it's better to have this kind of outlook than it would to have no outlook. Better positive than nothing…and better positive than negative." Robert's cellmate replied with a smirk. "I'd honestly rather spend the remaining time I have behind bars, broadening my horizons. You ought to think about it sometime. You're going to be super bored the longer you stay in here with a chip on your shoulder. Not trying to pick a fight, I'm just saying."
"Yeah, well it's kind of late for that. I've already been sentenced, and I'll be behind bars for most of my natural life. It's my own fault for getting myself put behind bars." Robert said, not even caring any longer about getting out. He knew he was in for the long haul and there wasn't much left he could do to convince anybody that he he'd been doing a lot of thinking recently and knew now how stupid and impulsive he'd been.
"Better late than never, then if you ever do get the opportunity to get out then you have a different mindset." Robert's cellmate said as he closed his journal and stuffed it under his mattress before rolling over onto his back and closing his eyes. "I'm going to catch some Zzz's."
"Whatever." Robert replied before he rolled onto his side and closed his eyes also. He hadn't had very much in the way of sleep for the last few months, the guilt of what he'd done eating at him to the point of losing sleep over his actions. Now that he was locked up behind bars he'd had to make peace with everything. That he'd allowed his temper to get him in hot water and that those consequences had ended his life as he knew it. Being imprisoned wasn't exactly the best way to continue living.