Okay, folks, here's chapter six! It's the longest one yet, with some serious soul searching for Scott, and a big decision to make for Alan. But there's some lighter moments in there too. After all, these wonderful characters wouldn't be the same without their brotherly bits, right?

There's also quick references to Space Race, and yesterday's episode, Slingshot. Enjoy!

Crash 'n' Burn

Chapter Six - Choices

The shower felt wonderful. Standing under its torrents of water, Scott felt himself come alive again. Cleaned, warmed, and comforted all at the same time, he really didn't want to leave it. If he stayed in here much longer, though, he'd either wrinkle up into a human prune, or Alan would offer to -

"Hey, Scott! I'm back, and... hey, you're still in there? You okay, you need me to go get Virg-...?"

- set Smother Brother Two back on him, and... yeah, Smother Brother Three was more than enough.

"No, kiddo, I'm fine. Just, uh... go find me some fresh clothes, okay?"

Still smiling at the nicknames he'd wisely keep to himself, Scott rinsed himself down and turned off the water. Listening to the sound of closets and drawers being opened, searched, and thumped shut again, he rolled his eyes. Good grief, just two pieces of clothing! How hard could it be?

"It's okay, Alan, just grab anything. I'm going to bed, not my High School Prom!"

By the time he'd towelled down and snuggled into his bathrobe, the search had thankfully ended. When he opened the door, though, and saw what his new valet had left for him outside it... yee-ah.

Tatty old surfer shorts, and that flowery green sweater that he'd deliberately hidden in the depths of his closet? Oh, and not forgetting the socks. Bright pink socks, that made him blink to protect his eyesight. How the hell had they gotten in there?

More to the point, who the hell did they belong to?

Still, it could have been worse. If Alan's taste in clothes was bad, then Gordon's was all out awful. And he couldn't stop a smile from spreading over his face as he put them on and studied his 'new look' in the mirror beside him.

It may have been a fashion disaster, that not even Gordon would dare to toss together. But it had been chosen with love - and that was all that mattered.

The same went for the tray of goodies that Alan set on his lap as soon as he'd settled onto his bed. Cookies, blueberry muffins, and a pot of hot chocolate. No wonder his stomach was doing flip flops. Maybe not the healthiest things to be eating at this time of night, but... hell, right now, he didn't care.

At the rate those cookies were disappearing, the bottomless pit beside him didn't care much either. Snagging some for himself while he had the chance, Scott glanced across at his brother, and grinned - both happy to just sit quietly, huddled snugly together, and enjoy the unique closeness between them.

It had always been there. The uniquely special bond between an oldest brother and the youngest. But part of that relationship had changed today. Through sobering thoughts, Scott already knew it. The quiet, strangely subdued voice that finally broke into those thoughts told him that Alan knew it too.

"I know I'm the baby of the family to you, Scott. And everyone else. I'll always be the baby."

Damn. Nothing like getting right down to business. It was enough to make you choke on your cookie. And just as you manage to get your breath back, out comes a follow up that makes you lose it all over again.

"And I know you're all bigger than me, and stronger, and older than me... but I'm not a baby."

At any other time, Scott would have teased him. Set off that famous sulk, and smirked back at it. Now, though, he acknowledged this moment, and its significance, with all the seriousness it deserved. Hugged his brother closer against him, for one of the most difficult debriefs they were ever likely to face.

"Yeah, Alan, I know. And it shouldn't have taken what happened today to make me see that."

When the bright grin he'd hoped to see didn't quite arrive, Scott sighed, re-assessing his options. Then he sighed again, shaking his head as he allowed a far greater, more precious instinct to take over. Time to stop thinking like a military strategist, and more like the proudest big brother on the planet.

"And I'm sorry it's taken me so long to say it, too... but I am so very, very proud of you."

Still no smile. Just a telltale tremor through the body beside him. A choked whisper, that kicked those instincts back to full alert, and light years beyond.

"I - I was so scared, Scott... when I saw John lying there, so still, and - and I couldn't get him to wake up..."

Wincing too at that still painfully raw memory, Scott had already wrapped his brother into a full, double-armed hug. Painfully aware that he still had so much to explain, and wondering how the hell he was going to do it.

"That's why you won't let me go on any real missions, isn't it? 'cos of EOS... and - and John... what you had to tell him to do."

Or he could leave it to the little brother who, more than ever before, was completely freaking him out. Who'd brought tears of pride to his eyes, and a shared point in their lives that Scott knew he had to acknowledge.

'Damn it, Allie... when did I blink, and miss so much of you growing up?'

Even when those words were whispered into a mop of tousled hair - no, he knew Alan would still hear them. He just hoped he'd understand them.

"I forget sometimes how fast you're growing up. That you're old enough now to make your own decisions. And even the easy missions that I do send you on still hold risks that not even I can see coming."

Waiting until he'd regained a bit more of his composure, he gently nudged Alan away from him. Smiled so proudly into those bright, idolising eyes, while part of him mourned the innocence that the day's events had taken away from them.

Tears of so many emotions still glistened within them. Nothing could dim that smile, though, or the spirit and courage that lay beyond it.

"Yeah, who knew collecting old space junk could be so dangerous?"

Recalling that seemingly routine mission, and how helpless he'd felt as it had put his brother's life at such risk, Scott just nodded. Then again, he'd never anticipated a kid in AI's clothing to take control of Thunderbird Five either, and - yeah, look how that had turned out. How close that scared and angry entity had come to tearing his family apart, and -

"...I'm starting to understand now, Scott... why you all do what you do to protect me. What you all try and protect me from."

- there was a silent 'but' in the words that had pulled Scott out of his thoughts. That he knew he couldn't avoid any longer.

"...and I've gone through all the training for it, too. But if I'm to be part of International Rescue, Scott, a real part of it, I need to commit to all of it. I have to face what you, and John, and Virgil, and Gordon, have to face every day. And be trusted to make the same choices you need to make, otherwise... well, how can I live with myself? Knowing you've all agreed to give your lives to save others, when I've not had the chance to make that decision?"

And there it was. Quiet words from a kid still not out of his teens, but who'd just shown a lifetime's worth of maturity. And commitment. And a depth of courage that, again, had taken Scott's breath away.

For that, and so many other reasons, it took several seconds for him to find the right words in return. To keep the emotions in his voice in check for long enough to say them.

"You're right, Alan. Yes, I have tried to protect you from making the choice that the rest of us have. I guess I have to ask myself now if I had the right to do that."

Pausing to try and answer that question, he then smiled when a soft voice kindly saved him the trouble.

"Hey, it's a big brother thing, Scott. It's what you've always done, for all of us. What we understand you'll always do."

"Yeah, and with four of you to do it for, I doubt I'll ever get out of practice," Scott grinned, gently tousling Alan's hair while he thought through what had to be said next.

"But I've also got to recognize when it's time to step back, let all of that go... and trust you to make your own decisions. Including the one that John had to make today."

"Yeah, when he did that, I - I couldn't believe what I was hearing," Alan agreed just as quietly, seeking out the reassurance that he suddenly needed, and finding it where it had always been. In the eyes of his most devoted protector, and the gentle strength of his voice.

"Me either, kiddo... I think in that moment, the same went for all of us."

Anxious not to let that memory stall the progress they'd made, Scott then did what he'd always done best. Took a moment of complete terror, and found a way to turn that terror into hope. Belief. The strength to defeat it.

"But you saw how John used his training, and his experience, but most of all his instincts, to handle that situation. How he realized what he had to do to make EOS trust him. And how he used those instincts to save her... and Thunderbird Five..."

'...and most of all, to save himself,' he thought, not at all surprised now to see his brother smile back at him, already nodding agreement.

There was the question in his eyes, too, that Scott had already anticipated. That he knew only one person could answer.

"I can't make that choice for you, Alan. I didn't for John, or Virgil, or Gordon," he added softly, drawing Alan into the same hug that he'd already given to three, equally serious brothers.

"The only person who can make that decision is you. But I can promise you this. As you learn, and gain the experience that we have, and learn to trust your instincts, I'm gonna do all I can to make sure you, and John, and Virgil, and Gordon, never have to go through what we had to go through today."

From the way Alan had watched him through every word, Scott knew he'd taken every one of them to heart. Yes, it was one hell of a decision. And, he thought more dryly, really not the kind to be making at half past one in the morning.

"And I don't want you to rush into this decision either. I want you to think long and hard about it, for... oh, at least the next twenty years."

Met with an eye-roll that even he'd struggle to beat, Scott allowed them to enjoy this moment for a few more beyond it, before gently turning them back to its more serious meaning.

"Or, at the very least, a few more nights when we haven't had days like this one. Okay?"

Smiling back at him, Alan then frowned against a sudden tide of tiredness. Not out of concern for himself, though, but for the brother who looked, and sounded, twice as exhausted as he did. Who bore a burden of responsibility that, maybe for the first time, he was starting to fully appreciate.

"You gonna be okay too now, right? I mean, you know... for what happened today, with EOS? And John?"

A weary but immeasurably proud smile lit up Scott's face. God, could he possibly love this kid more? Hell, yes!

"I'm gonna be fine, kiddo. It's you I'm worried about. We've talked through a lot of heavy stuff tonight."

Stuff that would give most normal teenagers a serious case of the heebies. But as that priceless grin reminded him, Alan Shepard Tracy was no normal teenager. No normal human being either. But then there was one part of the child in him that, Scott hoped, he'd just never grow out of.

"Nah, I'm good. I'm bunking down with you tonight, remember?"

"Yeah, it's the only time you ever sleep in a bed, like a normal person, instead of the floor," Scott grinned, rolling his eyes as one of the pillows behind them was prodded and thumped to within an inch of its life. Quickly rescuing the one beneath it, he tucked it under his head, and rolled onto his side, snugging his brother back against the support of his chest.

"Okay, Shortstop... buckle up."

As he felt Alan's arms link themselves around his, Scott lightly kissed the back of his brother's head. The last part of a ritual that, he quietly hoped, would just never get old.

The answer came through a sleepy yawn - and three, eternally priceless words.

"Love you, Scooter."

Then an arm appeared, its hand raised in an irresistible request. One perfect high five later, Scott tucked it back with its owner, and snuggled his happily laughing brother back against him.

"Love you too, Shortstop. More than you'll ever know."

Feeling Alan settle back against him, Scott then closed his eyes - idly wondering how long it would take for him to do the same. Ages, surely? With so much still buzzing around his mind, it would be ages yet, before -

He never finished the thought. Less than halfway through it, he, too, was out for the count. Snug and safe in each other's arms, two exhausted brothers slept in complete contentment - oblivious to the shadow that fell silently over them.

Tucking the bedclothes around Scott's shoulders, Virgil allowed himself a tired but wholly satisfied smile - unable to resist a whispered thought as he padded out of his brother's room, and closed the door behind him.

"Yep, no doubt about it. We're a family of damn bears."