AN: Well, guys. Here's the next chapter. I will soon be having this beta'd. Joanne Brandon is helping me so give her a hand. Also, thanks to my reviewers. You guys are awesome!

Six hours.

He'd been out in the little shed for six hours.

And he was still debating whether or not to just stay there for the night.

He'd planned on charging out and going head to head with his brothers about what they'd said - it was, according to them, a typical 'Alan' way to act and he'd hopefully get some answers as well. If he acted differently, there'd probably be a few comments about how the 'Sprout' was trying to fit in with the grown-ups and other little things that would make him stop.

Those little actions of his brothers were the reasons that he still acted so immature. His brothers may have repeatedly expressed their desire for him to start 'acting his age' and 'grow up' but when he actually started to do it, he was mocked and, depending on who it was, accused of trying to behave to cover up some other mischief that he'd made. So he'd stopped trying to be more mature and acted like the same old Alan that he'd always been.

Only around his family, though.

At school and with other people, he was still a joker, but he could be serious when need be. On the island, however, he still had to act as though he was unaware of which situations dictated a need for sobriety which led to his family's belief about his immaturity being recemented. It was a vicious circle and sadly one that he didn't seem to be able to break.

He looked at his wristwatch. 01:23 blinked up at him.

Late. Too late for him to try creeping back into the house. Besides, the shed was water-tight and pretty safe - it had a lock and a light and could serve as a perfectly good shelter. There was even a blanket if he got cold and his watch would allow him to signal for help if it was truly needed. And with the hostility between Scott and him, the possibility that his brother would check on him in the middle of the night was low. His mind made up, Alan settled down to sleep, pausing momentarily to set an alarm for five.

Understanding

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Alan woke up to the sound of his alarm. Where was he? This wasn't his bed. This was cold and hard and… uncomfortable. Alan's eyes flew open. Memory returned quickly, reminding him of the events that had led to him spending the night in a shed. He was still just as reluctant to leave and confront his brothers as he'd been the previous night.

And it was worse now.

Because now, he'd have to make up a convincing excuse for being absent from the dinner table the previous night. And Scott had probably informed their father of the mistakes he'd made yesterday so he would probably be receiving a punishment for that. Add ignoring his brothers and acting in a way that would communicate itself as sulking to his father and he'd be lucky if he escaped being grounded for the entire break.

Oh well. Nothing he could do about it now. Best to just take his punishment with a minimum of grumbling. And, of course, he'd have to make sure his behaviour was typically 'Alan' as well. It was going to be a long few weeks.

Understanding

"Alan. Where have you been?" Jeff's voice was shaking with barely controlled anger.

Apparently, his father had woken up early and had decided to get the lecture about Alan being to old to throw tantrums and sulk out of the way early.

Small problem. Alan wasn't there.

Now, normally, this wouldn't be much cause for concern. Alan often went for runs and he was known for waking up early no matter how late he'd slept. It had been a constant source of annoyance for the rest of the household when he'd been too little to remember that the other people in the house weren't morning people and would likely yell at him for waking them.

The only reason his father had been worried was because he'd checked the security cameras to find out where he'd gone and hadn't found him on any of the footage. Which had led to his realization that the youngest hadn't come back to the house since he'd left the previous afternoon.

And that was problem.

No matter that no one had even realized he wasn't there until ten minutes before he'd gotten back. Him not being there was still a problem. He had no doubt that he'd be spending his break grounded now.

Alan sighed as another thought struck him. IR training was definitely over. Between this and his and Scott's fight, his father would almost certainly have decided that he still wasn't mature enough to start training. His chance of proving to his family that he wasn't still the little boy who didn't understand social niceties and had no opinions of worth had just evaporated.

Wonderful.

"Alan! Are you even listening?" Jeff shook him hard. Alan's eyes snapped back up to his father.

"What was I just saying? You don't even know, do you? You've been daydreaming again instead of paying attention to me. For God's sake Alan! For once, just show a bit of maturity and act your age! You've disobeyed me, you've inconvenienced everyone and you still don't care! You're still ignoring me and being disrespectful! This is why I'm not letting you into IR. You can't follow even the smallest of orders and you don't have even the littlest bit of compassion for me or your brothers! Did you even stop to think that we'd be worried?"

Alan hadn't said anything, knowing that interrupting his father in this mood was asking for trouble. Trying to defend himself would just enrage his father more. Even so, he couldn't keep his mouth shut when his father accused him of being compassionless.

"That's not-" he started hotly. But Jeff didn't give him a chance, cutting him off almost immediately.

"I don't want to hear it! I'm tired of it, Alan. I'm tired of having to tolerate it. Your selfishness, your inconsiderateness, your disrespectfulness. Everything about you right now! I'm tired of it and I'm tired of you! I can't deal with you now. Go to your room, stay there until I call you. Don't come out. I don't care what's happening, I want you to stay there. Understand? Do you understand me, Alan?"

Alan nodded, unable to speak.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Jeff demanded. "Go!"

"Sorry." Alan choked out. He turned and left.

Jeff sighed, running a hand through his hair. He hadn't intended to say all of that to Alan. But it was true. The teenager had started to become someone that Jeff didn't recognize, someone he didn't even like. It had been slow, starting with Alan's refusal to mature but it had gotten to more than that and now, Alan was being disrespectful, questioning Jeff and his brothers all the time. And even after he'd just been chastised, he wasn't sorry. The teen had walked out of the room arrogantly, not even seeming to care that his father disapproved of his actions.

But it was his fault. He'd always been lenient with Alan. The fifteen-year-old was his baby and he looked so much like Lucy…

Jeff sighed again.

But he couldn't afford to do that again. He loved his son and he owed it to him to make sure that the child became the best that he could be. He wouldn't stand by and watch as his son grew into the type of person that he definitely would become without immediate intervention.

The father of five turned to his laptop, already making plans to save his son from himself.

Understanding

Alan ran from his father's study, barely managing to hold himself together until he got to the privacy of his room.

Thankfully, his brothers were nowhere to be seen. He wouldn't have been able to hold it together long enough to talk and they'd definitely have made fun of him for crying. Gordon and Virgil were always telling him to suck it up and while Scott had never actually voiced it, he'd seen a vaguely approving look in the man's eyes when he saw Gordon or Virgil at it. John was the only one who'd never said or implied something like that and it was doubtlessly just because the middle Tracy didn't even know him well enough to say something like that.

He threw himself on his bed and sobbed. He couldn't believe half the things his father had said to him. They'd had some pretty spectacular fights before but that's what they'd always been. Fights. His father had never simply laid into him like that. He'd lecture and yell but he'd always let Alan have his say. He'd even asked for it on the occasions when he hadn't offered it!

Having Jeff verbally attack him that way had been incredibly upsetting. He'd always been calm when he disciplined them. His father almost never lost it that quickly. And if he did, he'd send Alan away immediately. He'd never previously launched that type of attack.

And the things he'd said. Alan was used to his father criticizing parts of him. Jeff had been doing it forever, and he'd learned to brush it off. But his father had never before been that vicious. The man's words rang in his head. 'I'm tired of you! You can't follow even the smallest of orders and you don't have even the littlest bit of compassion for me or your brothers! I don't care'

Alan buried his head in his pillows. He hated this. He hated that his father was angry with him, hated that Scott was angry too, hated that he couldn't go to Virgil or Gordon because they'd tell him to grow up, hated that he couldn't go to John because he didn't even know the man.

But most of all, Alan hated himself.

Because it was his fault. It was all his fault.

If he'd just went with Virgil and Gordon when they'd called him. Even better, if he hadn't fought with Scott. Then there'd be nothing wrong and he would've been able to have a good time with his family. But he hadn't been able to please his family for even one day.

And it was only when he was around that there were so many fights. He'd been told so frequently.

It was one of his greatest fears. That his father would realize that and send him away permanently. He was already in boarding school but the fact that he Whartons allowed students to leave for the weekends had made him feel a bit better. And all his brothers had gone there so it wasn't because of him. It was just something that his Dad had wanted them all to do.

But one of Alan's greatest fears was being sent away from his family permanently. Because they were the most important thing to him.

Even if they underestimated him.

Even if they hurt him.

AN: Let me know how it was!