A/N: So this chapter centers moreso on Fermat's struggle with equalizing his new normal with his old normal and it's not my best chapter, but I felt satisfied with it by the time I finished it. I hope you like it and thank you all again for being so patient with me.
Might I point out that I do not utilize a beta reader and claim fault of all errors found. I read through each chapter and correct if I find mistakes but sometimes I miss a few because fatigued eyes don't always catch things. I'm not going to do my usual spiel of no flames and yada yada yada, but I will ask that if you do find fault in anything I write, please put comments in form of constructive criticism. I welcome all comments.
Fermat laid in his bed later that evening, after he and Alan had returned from the beach. They'd stayed out until after two in the morning, Alan having fallen asleep to the beachside lullaby meanwhile Fermat stayed awake; what Alan said rolling around in his head. 'You've always been different from the rest of the crowd, so maybe you need to figure out what works best for you.' When Alan woke from his slumber, he sat up with a groan. The beach was nice and all, but nothing beat a pillowtop mattress. Fermat and Alan then stood before they went on to walk back up to the villa.
"Sorry, Ferm. I didn't mean to fall asleep." Alan apologized around a big yawn.
"It's o-okay, it's late s-so we should r-realistically be t-tired." Fermat replied before he opened the door to the kitchen. Both boys deposited their flip-flops at the door where they'd previously been and they went up to their respective bedrooms. Fermat stopped at his room first, leaving Alan to wander sleepily back to his own room.
Once settled back into his bed, Fermat stared up at his ceiling. What Alan had previously said just wouldn't stop resurfacing. What would work for Fermat that would allow him to re-integrate back into what he considered to be a normal life? He'd already tried immersing himself back into his satellite education and he had to discontinue lessons after two weeks because he just couldn't focus on the lessons. Even puzzles which he'd normally found to be relaxing, he couldn't concentrate on for more than a couple minutes at a time. The longer Fermat pondered to himself, the more puzzled he became. Everything he thought of he'd already formerly tried and failed at doing. So, nothing he thought of seemed to succeed at making Fermat feel like he could resume life as he'd known it prior to the fire.
The longer Fermat wondered to himself, the more he found sleep to be impossible to attain. His thoughts remained loud and the next thing Fermat knew he glanced at his bedside clock to see that it was ten minutes until seven in the morning. The sun had come up at some point while Fermat remained lost in thought, not that its surprised Fermat much. The sun usually came up early at the Tracy villa, most of the Tracy men in the household being early risers apart from Virgil who valued his sleep. Not finding the desire to remain in bed, Fermat rose from his bed before gathering his clothing and going to take a shower. Fermat didn't see the point of not taking a shower, especially if it'd provide the illusion that he'd gotten a restful night's sleep.
Fermat knew though that almost everyone would know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he hadn't slept a wink all night. Once in the shower, Fermat simply stood under the spray of the water, letting the water wash away the tiredness he felt weighing down his bones. Once he'd finished his shower, Fermat went about getting ready for the rest of the day. He could smell pancakes cooking downstairs and knew he'd probably be one of the first to surface from the many bedrooms in the household.
Onaha and Kyrano were always the first ones to awaken in the house, usually up before five in the morning to start their daily duties. Not that Mr. Tracy required they awaken early, he actually told them many times that they didn't have to wake up quite so early every day, but Kyrano often quoted Benjamin Franklin to Mr. Tracy, which Fermat frequently found humorous simply being that Jeff also woke early due to being a staunch business man. Nevertheless, when Fermat exited his bedroom, he rounded the corner and came face to face with Gordon who was returning from the pool. He had a towel wrapped around his waist as well as a second towel draped over his shoulders. Fermat briefly wondered if he should ask Gordon to teach him to swim.
Knowing Gordon, he would mean well if Fermat asked him to genuinely teach him but Fermat didn't think he'd find swimming quite as relaxing as Gordon does. Dismissing the thought as soon as it surfaced, Fermat continued his way downstairs. He passed by Alan's room and glanced in the open doorway to see Alan splayed out on his bed like a starfish, sound asleep and snoring much like Virgil does. The young island resident smirked at Alan, knowing he hadn't changed much from the time they were little. When Fermat did enter the kitchen, he saw Mr. Tracy, pushing his plate away having finished everything that'd been served to him. When Mr. Tracy saw Fermat, he greeted him with a smile.
"Good morning Fermat. How'd you sleep last night?" Jeff asked as he stood to refresh his mug of coffee before sitting back down at the table.
Fermat didn't actually answer, choosing instead to shrug not wanting to answer the question either way. Mr. Tracy was perceptive however and his raised eyebrow told Fermat that he'd probably have his dad pestering him later.
"Why don't you come have a seat and a bite to eat. Onaha outdid herself." Jeff said, making Fermat approach the table before he was served a plate with his usual three stack pancake breakfast. When he did take a bite of breakfast, Fermat found his appetite renewed. Onaha really did outdo herself and she continued going about her regular business in the kitchen. Fermat finished his breakfast faster than he'd realized. He stood and took his dirtied dishes to the kitchen to be washed and when he stopped at the sink, he took a few moments to simply watch Onaha. She glided around the kitchen effortlessly, pouring the pancake batter in equal circles before she took to checking the scrambled eggs.
She took notice of Fermat after several minutes of him watching her and she turned to him with a smile. "Good morning Fermat. How was your breakfast?"
"It w-was good, t-thank you." Fermat said before he glanced over his shoulder for a second as if having second thoughts. "C-Can you teach m-me?"
"Teach you what hon?" Onaha walked over, looking down at the boy with a motherly smile.
"T-To cook." Fermat said before he felt like backing away. He'd never lifted a finger to help with cooking before and now he just felt bad asking Onaha to teach him how to cook when she already had so much to do. But the pleased smile on Onaha's face told him she wasn't bothered by the request, in fact she seemed almost ecstatic to teach him what she knew.
"Absolutely. Just tell me when you'd like to begin, and we can get started." Onaha said before she glided back over to flip the pancakes that were ready to be flipped.
"D-Do you t-think we c-can start t-this afternoon? I c-can come i-in to observe y-you cooking l-lunch and learn t-then." Fermat asked. Normally he wouldn't have gotten involved in the cooking, figuring himself to be too young. But as far as he was concerned, this was no better time to start cooking. Then at least he could cook more than ramen in a microwave if he and Alan ever returned to boarding school. Most of the dorms had kitchenettes for those students that preferred cooking for themselves as opposed to going to the canteen.
The look on Onaha's face said it all and it made Fermat feel a little bit better about his decision to request Onaha teach him how to cook. She probably appreciated the opportunity to tutor Fermat, especially since she offered multiple times in the past to the other boys and they always presented excuses of reasons not to learn.
"Yes, that works perfectly. Maybe then I can also show you my secret behind my banana-nut breakfast muffins that you and Alan seem to like for breakfast when I send you weekly care packages at school." Onaha said before she walked over to the broom closet to retrieve a spare apron that hung on a lone coat hanger. "You will need to wear an apron however, I'm kind of picky about clothes getting stained."
"U-Understood." Fermat said, knowing completely Onaha's reason behind the use of an apron. She usually had to clean the clothes and that would add to her work to have to save a shirt from an unsightly stain.
"On you go, be back here at a quarter to eleven." Onaha said before she shooed Fermat from the kitchen with a bemused grin. "I'll have to finish making breakfast and get the dishes washed up before I start on lunch."
"Okay, thank you." Fermat said before he left the kitchen with a smile. He felt a little more at ease with Onaha's promise to teach him how to cook. Before when Onaha made the offer to teach any of the Tracy brothers, Fermat always felt bad that he was too young to be of any real use in the kitchen. Now though, he was thirteen and that was around the time that Onaha first made the offer to teach Alan how to cook if Fermat recalled correctly. Perhaps what Alan had previously said to him the night prior held some water. Maybe Fermat was trying to reintegrate back into life too quickly. Maybe his former way of life was too fast paced and maybe he had to start off a little bit slower and build his way back up to what he was previously used to. It was a start as far as Fermat was concerned, and maybe he'd figure out that cooking was cathartic just like how for Scott, John and Alan was running and Gordon was swimming and Virgil was either painting or playing piano. Everybody had something, everyone it seemed except for Fermat.
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Over the next week and a half, Fermat slowly started to feel more relaxed, enough that he was able to turn his thoughts off long enough to get good sleep. He also was finding himself re-discovering interest in his former activities again. He, Alan and Tin-Tin were able to laugh more readily again, and Fermat was beginning to feel more like himself. It was refreshing to feel like he was human once more and not just a shell of his previous self.
Fermat had woken up with the chickens to help Onaha fix breakfast, she'd given him the task of slicing fruit and cleaning the seeds from within. The only thing they did different that Fermat knew people on the mainland rarely did was Onaha helped the boy separate the seeds before giving them to Kyrano to harvest. The older Malaysian man offered to show Fermat how to tend to the garden and how to raise the plants to grow an optimal yield. Fermat had accepted the offer because Kyrano often would abstain from offering anyone entrance to the garden aside from Onaha and Tin-Tin. He never gave a reason, but everyone also seemed to acknowledge the unspoken prohibition of entrance and nobody gave a reason to argue.
Presently, Onaha was showing Fermat how to prepare her 'famous' in their household Au Gratin potatoes. Fermat was standing at the counter, holding a knife far sharper than he was used to using. Onaha stood behind him, her hands guiding his on how to hold the potatoes and how to properly hold the blade to get a decent slice without taking off too much and wasting a slice of potato. Fermat was attentive to how Onaha instructed him step by step. She was incredibly patient with him if he missed a step and would suggest he try again. Before long he began to feel more confident in his abilities. He did wonder if Onaha was joking when she'd say she'd let him cook one of the family meals completely by himself if he continued to progress. Once they'd finished slicing the potatoes, Onaha took the time to walk Fermat through each and every step with the same level and care she took when preparing the household meals. Fermat personally found it fun and relaxing. He could lose himself in the rhythm of chopping onions, and surprisingly not getting teary-eyed thanks to Onaha's guidance. Every time he finished making a meal, he felt the anxiety in him lessen with each gratuitous remark from the gathered family after they got to indulge in every meal he helped to make.
Originally Fermat wasn't going to say anything about helping Onaha in the kitchen, not wanting to be teased about his love of food…even though Alan and his brothers weren't the old bullies Fermat had once dealt with. Before Wharton's, when Fermat attended a completely different school than Alan, he dealt with his fair share of people that ridiculed him. It was awful and Fermat who loved school made excuses that his grades declined simply because he wasn't challenged enough. After saying it to his dad enough and many parent-teacher conferences, his dad finally took him seriously and transferred him to Alan's private school. Shortly after he'd transferred there Alan got himself expelled and because of having to move Alan to a different school, Mr. Tracy offered to transfer Fermat also and Brains accepted the offer.
By the end of that week, Fermat had effectively diminished his rising anxiety levels to something manageable. He sank down into the couch after he helped Onaha clean the kitchen after they'd served dessert to the entire household. Alan and Tin-Tin were playing a video game and Fermat felt like he could join in and not let his character be defeated thirty seconds into the game. After Alan and Tin-Tin found a save point, they discontinued the game they were playing in favor of a three or more-person game. Fermat joined in and the friends all played until late into the night. Fermat was the first to fall asleep, the first real sleep he'd gotten in a long while. Alan and Tin-Tin turned off the video game and turned down the lights, talking softly whilst Fermat slept at the foot of the couch.
Tin-Tin had pulled one of the handmade afghans off the back of the couch and was covered up meanwhile Alan was sitting similarly, a second afghan draped over his lap; hiding his feet from view. The two teens sat up a little while longer strictly whispering about Alan and Fermat's recovery and how they hoped to see themselves a year from then. Alan hoped that they'd both someday soon be able to resume life where it'd left off. If both boys continued to do well in their home studies, they'd be able to continue school the following term, though it hadn't been determined as of yet just where they'd be doing school. Alan and Fermat both seemed to be of the mindset that they'd like to continue school, but both were divided. Alan was tempted to resume school on the mainland instead of his previously requested home studies that he'd pestered his dad for at every argument. Meanwhile Fermat seemed to want to continue home studies instead of his previously desired face-to-face education.
Fermat was realistically afraid that something similar could happen at another school, though he knew it more than likely was an isolated incident that at other boarding schools wouldn't progress as bad as it had at their old school. Wharton's although boasted they had a zero-tolerance policy when in regard to bullying, their staff had turned a blind eye on more than one occasion. That hadn't instilled any of their household with enough confidence that Alan and Fermat would be safe returning to Wharton's after it re-opened the following spring. Alan and Fermat both were content in the knowledge that their fathers refused to send them back to their old school. Now it was just a matter of finding suitable school that both Brains and Jeff felt safe in sending their boys to attend. If they found a school that was suitable by their standards.
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Over the next month, Alan and Fermat both felt that they were sufficiently recovering. Alan's dad had lightened up on his restrictions that Alan wasn't permitted to go for walks on the beach. Now his restriction was solely that Alan couldn't stay out in the sunlight for more than an hour. Not that Alan was complaining, his skin was still tender from the burns that occurred previously, and he didn't dare aggravate those like new wounds with a sunburn or worse. Every morning he and Fermat both sat in the living room to get their daily sunscreen applied which was required until further notice by their doctors. Then after the sunscreen was applied, both boys had to put on their tank tops and over shirts. Alan however wished he could go back to his t-shirts, but Virgil had convinced him that layers would be better in the long term simply because a tank top and an open over shirt would let the boys cool down faster than they might previously. Alan wasn't as concerned with staying cool; he was comfortable on the island and it didn't matter what he wore. He just felt more comfortable all around in his clothing that completely covered him almost from head to toe simply because he wasn't on display.
Alan was still self-conscious about his healing burns, not liking anyone aside from Fermat or his immediate family being able to see his wounds. Alan noticed Tin-Tin glance down at his legs earlier that day when Alan came downstairs for breakfast, and he was wearing full length khaki's. He tended to keep his healing wounds covered even though he knew Tin-Tin wouldn't judge him.
"So Alan, do you think you'd like to come with me to Lady Penelope's vacation home for the weekend?" Jeff asked as he sipped from his coffee mug at the breakfast table. "It might be just what you need to get away and relax."
"But dad, this is getting away and relaxing for me. I'm back at home and out of the hospital." Alan said, a little perturbed that his dad was content to up and leave after a month of being back home.
"Alan, that's not what I meant. It's just for the weekend and I have to attend a meeting that Penny is hostess of and I figured I'd extend the invite to you because you've always seemed to enjoy being at Penny's. I'm not making it mandatory if you don't want to go."
"Can't I just stay home dad?" Alan asked, content to stay there. Normally he'd jump at the opportunity to go visit Penny and to have the freedom of exploring the sprawling landscape that was her estate. But so soon after being discharged from the hospital was an exhausting idea. Alan couldn't drum up the energy to go to Penny's and have the freedom to go do what he felt like doing. He was content with staying home and trying to adjust to his new normal. It wasn't necessarily what anyone thought Alan would want, but he'd made his decision.
"Sure son, besides there's always next time." Jeff said before he stood up and walked over to Alan before ruffling his hair playfully.
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Robert sat with his back against the wall in his cell. He had dark rings under his eyes, having not been sleeping well since the conclusion of the trial. He felt like he was going stir crazy being kept in isolation and he didn't know if he could handle much more. It'd only been a couple months and Robert was truly wondering how he'd be after 75 years behind bars. Originally, the Tracy's family lawyer had been pushing for Robert to be sentenced life, but the judge determined that seventy five years behind bars would suffice. Robert would be ineligible for parole and there would be no reduced sentence. Robert heaved a sigh when he heard the determination and knew he'd more than likely die in jail. Seventy-five years added to his age of fifteen and that'd put him at ninety years old when he was released, if he lived that long.
Robert leaned his head back against the wall as he stared at the ceiling. He'd asked himself time and again since the conclusion of the trial why he'd been such a hot head. But time and again, the irrational and immature part of his brain told him his actions were justified. Even if he was probably never going to get visitors. His sister had declined one of his earlier phone calls he'd placed after she'd come to the prison to tell him to never reach out to her or her son. His mother had washed her hands of him after the police came looking for him and he refused his father every time he came to visit. He didn't want to see anybody, and he doubted Alan or Jamie for that matter would give him a second try.
Shaking his head, Robert tried to forget the idea of those to nuisances coming to visit him. He'd probably just as soon as kill himself than ever accept a visit from anyone at that wretched school. Closing his eyes, Robert figured he'd try to sleep if he couldn't sleep during normal hours and since he didn't have anyone around to keep him company, he might as well try to snooze.
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The following morning found Alan waking to a semi-quiet household. His dad had left at dawn that morning to go to Penny's. Scott had seen him off that morning before returning back to the house and doing his usual routine. When Alan had woken up, he exited his bedroom still clad in his pajamas. It was out of his norm, but Alan hadn't cared much. He was hungry, having gone to bed after a light dinner. He wondered if this meeting his dad was attending with Penny had anything to do with re-starting operations. Alan would prefer if his father and brothers would go back to doing what they do best, but he decided not to push it. He'd already made it known to his family that he'd rather they all got back to saving the world, but they'd all come to a mutual understanding that they'd get back to it soon. Jeff hadn't announced a date, having determined they should all have time together as a family before going back online. Not that Alan liked that decision, but he knew better than to give his family hell about it.
Fermat for that matter was enjoying his time catching up once more. He was spending a lot of time with his father now that he'd figured out how to unwind in the kitchen alongside Onaha. Life felt like the puzzle pieces were getting themselves organized. When Alan did go outside, he found Gordon just surfacing from the pool water. He walked over to sit in the lounge chair by the pool and Gordon popped up like a mole popped out of the ground.
"Al, why are you still dressed for bed?" Gordon asked after he wiped the water from his eyes.
"Oh, just didn't feel like getting dressed." Alan replied. He felt okay, but he just felt like being lazy. He hadn't even gotten his sunscreen applied yet. It was still early and Alan could feel the cool bite to the morning air. It was relaxing if Alan had to say so. Like his weekends when he was away at Wharton's. He and Fermat, if they didn't have to go anywhere would lounge around in their PJ's in their room watching movies and eating junk food.
"Well, why don't you go back in and get dressed and then the two of us can go for a walk or something. It's been awhile since we've been able to just hang out the two of us." Gordon suggested as he pulled himself from the pool to sit on the side. He reached out to grab his towel and smiled up at his brother simultaneously. It made Alan feel more human. Not like he was a subject to be studied under a microscope. He nodded at Gordon before turning to go back in the house to dress. When he came out of his room about ten minutes later, Gordon met him at the French door in the living room. The red-headed aquanaut had dressed in the meantime too and was standing by talking to Onaha with a relaxed smile. When the matronly housekeeper turned, she opened her arms and walked over to Alan before giving him a hug and a brief kiss on his cheek.
"I know I've said this before but I'll say it again. I'm so glad you're home sweetheart." Onaha said before she pulled away to gently cradle Alan's face between her palms. "This house was much too quiet while you were away."
"It's good to be home." Alan said as he smiled at Onaha, glad to be back home where he could get enough motherly hugs to soothe the hurt in his soul that his own mother was no longer around.
"I told Onaha we were going for a walk and she packed us a lunch." Gordon offered as he picked up his satchel before slipping the strap over his head where the bag was safely in place across his body.
"Come here Alan, let me put your sunscreen on. We don't want you getting sunburned now." Onaha said as she picked up one of the many bottles of sunscreen now kept around the house for the sole purpose of making sure both Alan and Fermat could keep a near constant application applied to protect their sensitive skin. Alan allowed Onaha to take his over shirt off before lifting the hem of his tank top. Once that was done, Onaha squirted a bit of sunscreen into her palms before she rubbed her hands together in attempt to warm the lotion before she went about applying it to Alan's back, neck and shoulders. Before Alan could give argument though, Onaha beat him to the punch. "I'm only doing this because I know you my dear. You're a hard one to keep fully clothed and before the incident you nearly always went without a shirt on and I don't want you to do damage to your delicate skin."
"Well, it's not delicate…not really. Damaged, yes…but not delicate." Alan replied though he knew when not to argue with Onaha.
"Whatever you say honey." Onaha said before she turned Alan so she could apply come sunscreen to his neck and face. "Okay, now you two be safe. Gordon you watch out for your brother and the both of you stay out of the jungle."
"We will Onaha. See you in a few hours." Gordon said before he led his little brother from the living room to stand out of the lanai. A gentle breeze blew over them and Alan sighed as he felt the breeze ruffle his hair. It was always perfect when the weather welcomed him back home in this manner. It was part of why he loved being back on the island. "Come on, might as well seize the day."
Gordon led the way, making sure to slow his pace in order to match Alan's. His kid brother hadn't built his endurance back up yet and it'd be unfair to Alan to have to run to keep up. The older of the two stopped after some time to allow Alan who was gradually falling behind to stop and catch his breath. Alan had doubled over with his hands on his knees as he huffed and puffed to catch his breath. Gordon dug into his satchel to grab a bottle of water before he walked over to Alan to offer his brother something to wet his whistle. Alan glanced up before he accepted Gordon's offering.
"Thanks Gordon." Alan said as he took a nice sized drink off his water bottle. He and Gordon stood by for a moment. Alan drinking in the view of his surroundings as well as his water bottle. "This feels so good."
"You're telling me. It feels like it's been forever since we got to go out like this and just be brothers." Gordon said in agreement to Alan's statement. "We've got maybe another two miles until we reach where I wanted us to go. Think you can manage or do you want to stop and turn around?"
"I think I'll be fine. All I ask is that we take lots of breaks, it's been a while since I got out and about like this." Alan said before he handed Gordon the water bottle to be put back in the satchel until later. "But thanks anyway."
Gordon continued leading the way until they reached the far side of the island. Once there, both brothers stopped to enjoy the view. Gordon chose a nice spot at the edge of the beach, overlooking the ocean before he unloaded his satchel. Alan joined his brother and took a seat in the soft grass, extending his legs out in front of him before reclining back to rest. A breeze blew through and Alan being Alan he removed his over shirt and threw his arms out over his head.
"Don't let anyone back home know I'm letting you show off your skin. I'd like to keep my head where it belongs." Gordon said before he unwrapped the bundle of sandwiches and took one off the top and taking a healthy bite. He bumped arms with Alan to get his attention before handing him the other sandwich. "Eat this, you've got to keep your energy up."
"Thank you, Dr. Gordo." Alan said with a cheeky grin. He tore into his sandwich and before he knew it his food was finished. Feeling fatigue fall over him like a vail, Alan once again laid back, using his over shirt as a light blanket to cover his arms from direct sunlight. "I'm not sleeping, but I'm just going to rest my eyes for a few minutes."