Disclaim - If I owned the Thunderbirds, I would not have to put up with a thoughtless (expletive deleted) boss.
Thank you to Sam1 - you are the best! Her beta'ing is great, any errors are my fault not hers!
Chapter 18 – An Angel for Alan
Gordon had come back for his brother alone. With fifteen boys in sickbay, all frightened, dirty and having a variety of minor injuries, Kate was needed there. Since only Alan was left, Gordon was sure he could get him by himself and Kate was not needed to monitor the payload. But when Alan did not appear at the window, Gordon became frightened. There seemed to be a great deal more smoke in the room then before. Could Alan have passed out from smoke inhalation?
Back in the room, Alan lay helpless. While his assailant had closed the door again once he had left, without the linens at the bottom, smoke was filling the room. Even if he woke from the blow to the head, the smoke was robbing him of precious oxygen. It was then that the voice seemed to rouse him for a moment.
"Alan? Baby, wake up. Please Baby, Mama needs you to wake up." Alan forced his eyes open. "Mom? Am I dead too?"
Tears in her eyes, Lucille Tracy bent over her son. "No, Baby. But you need to wake up. I know, it hurts, but your father and brothers are here. Kate will be waiting for you; you don't want her to be upset, do you? And Emily will be back home, waiting to take care of you." Looking up at the door, she smiled. Gently brushing back his hair, she kissed her son's forehead. "I am sending you an angel, Baby. I promise. Just hold on and your angel will guide you home."
Blinking, Alan realized his mother was gone. But she was never there, right? It was just his injuries, he was delusional.
So why did his forehead still tingle where she had kissed him?
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Tomlinson and Woodbury – better known as Tommy and Woody – were fast becoming the hotshot rescue team of the Boston Fire Department. For better or worse, Tommy knew much of that could be credited to the fact that Woody would risk everything to save someone else. At times, he wondered what drove his partner. He suspected Captain Goya knew, but if he did, Cap wasn't talking. As they made their way down from the 21st floor where a member of the housekeeping staff had been trapped, more afraid of being caught without a green card than the flames, Tommy noticed his partner had suddenly frozen.
"Woody? What is it? C'mon, we gotta get the hell out of here, the structure is becoming unstable."
Woody backed up, head shaking. "I thought I heard something on the twentieth floor."
"Probably the Thunderbirds. They are getting the kids who are trapped on that floor. The door to the stairwell is locked. Someone is going to catch hell for that. That is against so many regs I can't begin to go there. Come on, lets get our vic out of here."
Woody, head cocked, went back up and tested the hall door, staring in shock as the door easily opened. "Tommy, get her down. I need to check. I'll be right down."
"Woody, are you nuts? What are you gonna be able to do? No one should be left, you heard Cap, the Thunderbirds got them!" By this time Tomlinson was talking to air, his partner was gone. "Cap," he muttered as he continued down with his victim, "isn't gonna like this."
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Boston Firefighter/ Paramedic Woodbury felt gingerly through the flames, going into the room that had appeared to have a light in it. On the floor, blond hair catching the light coming in from the window – was that a spotlight? Woodbury removed an oxygen mask to share with the teenager and began to "buddy-breath" the youth, while guiding him to the window. Once at the window, the paramedic saw the Thunderbirds' rescue platform swaying in the strong winds. The Thunderbird on board was trying to reach the window but couldn't. He – or was it she – motioned the firefighter to step back. Getting out of range, the paramedic was amazed when a grappling hook of some kind was shot into room, securing the platform to the window frame. Heading back to the window, Woody helped to pass the unconscious teenager out the window, jumping onto the platform just ahead of the flames that had burst into the room from the hallway.
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Up on Thunderbird Two, Woodbury clutched the teen and was helped with the burden by another Thunderbird who had run to them when the platform had been secured. Kate guided the duo back to a bed in sickbay. Once Alan Tracy's unconscious body was secured on the bed, Woody finally answered the radio that had been calling "Woodbury! Woody! Answer!" Pulling off the sooty helmet, Sarah Woodbury ignored the hair falling out of her once tight bun, answering her frantic captain. "Cap, I'm fine. Some smoke, a few light burns, found an unconscious kid and got him to the Thunderbirds' rescue platform. We are on their vehicle now; we need to get this kid to the hospital. I'll call back in with specifics."
The picture of professionalism, Sarah "Woody" Woodbury began to treat the young man lying before her. While she did not have the usual supplies since she and her partner had left the majority of their medical supplies at their squad vehicle, choosing to travel light and get as many people out as possible, the Thunderbird standing nearby seemed to know what she needed before she could ask for it.
Virgil Tracy stood by, handing supplies to the paramedic – Woody? - as she treated his injured baby brother. Alan had cuts along his hands and arms, more on the bottom of his feet, even some glass slivers trapped in his skin. There were some burns, mainly first degree but the blisters emerging on his skin showed some second degree burns. They had secured an oxygen mask on the teenager's face and his breathing was labored, Alan was obviously suffering from smoke inhalation. But with treatment, his little brother should have regained consciousness. Yet Alan's eyes remained closed, and he was unresponsive. Suddenly, Woody called in on her radio. "Dispatch? Patch me through to Mass General." Once the connection was made, the paramedic began to relay Alan's vitals. The only time she acknowledged Virgil was when she made the comment "I will send a rhythm strip as soon as I get…" pausing when the middle Tracy son hooked Alan up to machinery, allowing the paramedic to send Alan's EKG to the hospital. After an odd look, the medic returned all her attention to the teenager.
OK, she was glad for the help and she knew that the Thunderbirds operated under anonymity, but having a guy in a flight suit and tinted helmet standing nearby the whole time was kinda creepy. Never acknowledging anyone else, Sarah continued to treat Alan, hearing the occasional comments. No names were ever used, though sometimes certain voices acknowledged certain titles. Apparently, there was a commander, she heard that at least twice. Everything else was pushed aside as irrelevant. As she continued to treat the youth, Woody kept trying to get a response. "C'mon, kid. Wake up. We need to see those eyes. I bet with your hair and those features, they are blue. Am I right? C'mon, kid, wake up. How about your name? I bet your family is worried sick about you. How about waking up and telling me your name?" She was so busy treating her patient, she never noticed a smaller, bespeckled boy approach her.
"Alan. His name is A-Alan." Fermat added. Kate had whispered to him that Alan would be fine, but he had to see for himself. Alan and Fermat had always had each others backs, and the younger boy had been worried about being separated from his life-long friend. Even though that was a year out, Tin-Tin had confided that Alan had been depressed after finding out that the plan for both boys to stick together for college had fallen through. Fermat knew Alan had selected Harvard as his first choice so he could focus on a dual major of Engineering and English Lit., but also that he knew Fermat was looking at MIT. Not wanting anyone to feel bad if he was not one of only five people selected annually for pre-admission and full scholarship for Cal-Sci, Fermat had not even told Alan or his father. While he knew Alan was genuinely happy for him, he also knew his friend was scared of being on his own. Alan hid it from most, but the blond suffered from separation anxiety and always became nervous and exhausted from leaving his family. Usually, Fermat would help him work through it. What would his friend do without him? And what would he do without his best friend?
Sarah briefly acknowledged the boy. "Alan, huh? I use to baby-sit a kid named Alan. Cute kid, he'd be about your age now. I also tutored his brother Virgil in calculus. He was pretty cute too. Actually, he was very cute. I had the biggest crush on him. That would be the older brother, not the younger one. Actually, they were two of five brothers…"
"Scott, John, Virgil, Gordon and Alan." Sarah once more looked at the boy standing nearby, nodding. Looking back at her patient, her eyes filled with tears as she continued talking to and treating him. "Alan Shepard Tracy? Is that really you baby? It's me, Sarah, Sarah Woodbury. Remember, I use to make peanut butter chocolate chip cookies while Virg would do his work. I've missed you guys. C'mon baby, don't do this. You need to wake up. I know how much your Daddy and brothers love you. They missed your Momma so much and you were so much a part of her. My, you look like her. Bet your brothers can still be horses asses about teasing you. Remember when we spiked their hot chocolate by melting the Ex-Lax into them?" Kate, having overheard this, snickered as she put burn ointment on one boy's arm.
The Thunderbirds continued to listen as Sarah treated the still unresponsive Alan. Small smiles with the occasional frown played on their faces. All of them remembered the young woman who had often been at their house during Virgil's senior year. Though only sixteen, she was in Virgil's senior class, along with her older sister, a popular cheerleader named Holly. It was due to Sarah's relentless tutoring, not only in the calculus that she had been hired for, that Virgil was able to get into the college of his choice. The girl had been chubby, with thick glasses, braces and was painfully shy, having grown up in the shadow of her pretty, popular sister. Only Virgil was seeing the girl, now a woman, in person and he was shocked. Gone was the added weight, having shed her heavy coat, it was obvious she know had a lithe, athletic form. Straight teeth, what lasix?, and a sheen of confidence came through that had never existed before. Sarah's bright red hair had toned to a softer auburn and her green eyes, no longer hidden behind glasses, met you boldly.
Realizing that the Thunderbird was landing at the hospital, having changed its plans to drop the boys off near the fire due to Alan's more serious injuries, Virgil began to help Sarah to prep his brother for transfer to a gurney. Suddenly, he turned, hearing her intake of breath. That was when he saw it. There was blood on the pillow that Alan's head had been resting on. His younger brother had a head injury and no one had spotted it. What could have caused such an injury; and was that why Alan was still unconscious? Virgil knew none of them would rest until they got an answer.
a/n - Ooh poor Alan. How he suffers on my watch. But it does make the story move along, doesn't it? So two women from the Tracy boys pasts came back. Of course, only you can decide if Lucy was really there.