Disclaimer: See Chapter 1 folks.

Well I've decided to crawl out from underneath my rock. I'm SOOO sorry for the late post. Life has been crazy. The WPP hasn't kept me from living a normal life unfortunately. I've been working a ton of hours, studying for my finals that were last week, homework, and to top things off I had a not so fun experience this week with an allergic reaction. Something the WPP didn't foresee to protect me from, lol. It seems besides being allergic to bananas and cantaloupe, I am now also allergic to watermelon. I felt like Alan in Inisya's story where he reacts badly to a nut allergy. Not a fun experience I'll tell ya! So Alan I can now say I feel your pain. Mine wasn't as drastic and life threatening but it could've been. Thank the Lord for Benadryl.

Well lets see what has happened to our favorite family since I last left them…

Holding On

Gordon's mind kept drifting back to one thing: his only baby brother, Alan. He prayed that Alan was safe, but everything seemed to be getting steadily worse for them. The only thing keeping Gordon from going crazy was focusing on his part of the mission - operating the Firefly. He could now focus on the classrooms as the machine had pretty much extinguished the flames that ate at the main building.

Even as Gordon focused on the task at hand, John's shaky voice kept running through his head.

"What is it, John?" he heard Scott ask over the radio.

"I'm no longer getting a signal from Alan's watch." Both brothers froze at the heart-wrenching words that escaped John's mouth.

"No, there has to be glitch or something," Gordon told his brothers, in denial of accepting anything else.

"Maybe Alan hit something, and it broke," he heard Virgil say.

The next voice Gordon heard silenced the thoughts running through his mind. "We can't let ourselves go crazy wondering what-ifs, boys. Let's focus on this mission. We'll find your brother."

Gordon prayed their father was right. He couldn't bear to think that they could lose the baby of the family. Alan was his rock, the one person who actually kept him sane. After all, the two were wonderful pranksters and the unstoppable Terrible Two, a nickname given to them when they were very little. If it weren't for the four year age gap, you could almost swear the two were twins.

Guiding the Firefly, the redhead extinguished the last of the flames that burned the main building. With a satisfied smile, he looked toward the dormitory. I'm coming, Alan. Just hang on.

-TB-

The thick haze that filled the room that now held four Wharton students seemed to grow. An eerie calm surrounded the room as the dust began to settle. The only sound heard was the popping of wood.

A single harsh cough began to shake the occupants as a pair of scared eyes scanned the room. The student tried to comprehend the events that had just happened. Ignoring the throbbing pain that filled his body, Tony yelled for each of his classmates. Rummaging the best he could through the debris around him, he found Jared, who was still unconscious. "Jared, wake up, man. I need you right now." He received no response.

Looking around the room, he searched for his friend Alex, who had helped them get help from the two seniors. He could see no sign of him. "Alex! Where are you?"

He heard a sudden movement to his right. "Alex?"

"Yeah. It's me," a weak voice responded as Alex tried to move the rubble that covered him.

"Are you okay?" Tony asked him.

"Yeah, I-I think so," the freshman answered, a little shaken. "How about you? Is Jared by you?"

"I'm okay. Jared is still out for the count here," Tony told him, wincing as his headache was starting to get worse. "Are we the only ones left up here?" he asked.

Alex scanned the room. "I don't know. Everything happened so fast. The last thing I remember is Alan and Zach arguing, and then everything goes blank. How long was I out?"

"Not long. You were maybe out a few minutes," Tony told his friend. "Do you think Alan and the others made it out?"

A sudden moan filled the room, causing both freshmen to try and locate the sound. Harsh coughs began to follow the groan, as the person became more aware.

"Who's there?" Alex called as he tried to unbury himself. Luckily, only small pieces of debris covered him. Throwing it all to the side, he stood. Now getting a different glimpse of the room, Alex was shocked as he got the full picture of what their situation indeed was. The area looked like a bomb had gone off.

Carefully, Alex tried to make his way over to the figure. "Can you hear me?" he called. The freshman stumbled, climbing around the flames that threatened them, reminding him of their presence. The kid was shocked as he realized who he was addressing. "ALAN!" he exclaimed as he tried to help the senior clear the rubble around him.

"H-hey," Alan smiled weakly.

"Are you okay?" Alex asked. Debris covered the blonde senior up to his face, making his breathing sound very ragged.

"I'll be okay," Alan answered, ignoring the pain that flared through his entire body. "Who else do we have with us?" he asked Alex as the two tried to clear the debris that laid on top of his body. Alan's abdomen and lower body remained covered. His left shoulder throbbed, making Alan assume that it likely was broken or dislocated. Just my luck.

"You, me, Tony, and Jared - I haven't heard anyone else."

"Are Tony and Jared conscious?" Alan asked.

"I am, but Jared is still out of it," Tony called.

Alex tried to move some of the rubble that covered Alan's lower waist but quickly stopped as Alan cried out in pain. "I'm sorry! Are you okay?" he frantically asked, scared he had done something seriously wrong.

"I-I'm fine," Alan lied. Pain flared through his lower body, shocking him as it was now worse than before. "I-I don't think I'm going anywhere soon, though."

"How are we going to get out of here?" Alex asked, fearful.

"We'll get out, I promise. Help is on the way," Alan reassured the freshman, putting a comforting hand on the boy's arm. Above, he could hear a familiar sound fill his ears, smiling.

"How can you be so sure?" Tony asked.

"Trust me; we're gonna get out of here."

-TB-

Thunderbird 2 loomed above the dormitory as Virgil positioned her for the rescue. As much as they tried to concentrate on the mission as a whole, the only thing on the minds of the three occupants of the massive ship was their youngest family member.

"Firefly to Thunderbird 2," Gordon's voice rang through the speakers.

"We read you, Gordon," Jeff answered.

"The fire from the classrooms has been extinguished. I'm heading over to the dormitory now. Any news?" the redhead asked.

"You know as much as we do, Gordy," Scott told him.

"F.A.B," Gordon responded, disappointment clear in his voice.

Scott met his father's worried glance. "What's the plan?" he asked, trying to get their minds on track.

Jeff stood as Virgil placed Thunderbird 2 on autopilot. The ship was now in a position for them to lower the platform. "I want you and Virgil to go down in the rescue platform. I'll handle things from up here. Gordon and the rest of the firemen should be in a position to help tame the fire."

"F.A.B," both Scott and Virgil responded, heading for the cargo hold.

"Thunderbird 5 to Thunderbird 2," John's voice rang across the speakers.

Jeff walked to the control panel and opened the link. "I read you, John. What can you tell me?"

"Firefighters have tried to reach the sixth floor but have been unable to. Debris is blocking them from breaking through the area. They're afraid if they mess with the clutter too much, the building may become even more unstable. Fire Chief is ordering them out. It looks like it's up to us now," John told his father.

Jeff shook his head, reluctantly understanding. "I'm sending Scott and Virgil down on the platform. Gordon is already on the dormitory with the Firefly."

"I've spoken to the Fire Chief, and they plan to surround the fire from the north and south hallways. According to the student that was with Alan, they are trapped in the west and east hallways. Alan appears to be quite the hero in the kids' eyes," John smiled.

Jeff allowed a small grin to appear. "Yes, it does." His smile quickly faded as the seriousness of the situation came flooding back to him. "I just pray this stunt of playing hero doesn't get your brother seriously injured."

"Alan is strong, Dad. He's been in training for several years now. We have to trust he'll know what to do when it gets dire. The rest we can leave to chewing his behind out later, and I want a part of it."

Jeff smiled slightly. "Let's just get your brother out safely first."

"We will, Dad. We will. Thunderbird Five out," John smirked and closed the link between them.

Jeff prayed that all the training would be enough to keep his baby safe. Touching his ear, he spoke into his earpiece. "Boys, I want you to get in and get out as fast as you can," he told Scott and Virgil. "John has informed me that the firefighters are unable to reach the top floors. It is unknown how stable this building is."

"Find Alan and the rest of the students and skedaddle," Scott spoke. "Got it."

"Yes," Jeff confirmed. "Gordon and the firefighters are going to surround the fire at the north and south halls. Alan and the rest of the students are in the east and west hallways. We are at the start of the west hall. Do you have the necessary medical equipment?"

"Yes, sir. We have several backboards, and I've got my med bag. I'm hoping we'll only need what Alan told his friend and nothing more," Virgil confessed. They each hoped Alan wasn't hurt, but they knew it was a far cry considering the situation. They could only pray.

-TB-

Alan's head was beginning to feel foggy, and he was finding his eyelids were feeling very heavy. He knew he had to fight against the need to sleep. Looking off to his left, he tried to see the other students trapped with him. He watched as best he could as Alex tried to free Tony and Jared. The kid was good at taking instructions, especially from a senior. Of course, it seemed most kids knew who he was merely from his track records and who his father was. He could tell just by how they acted around him. Of course, that could be from just shock and fear, he thought to himself.

Seeing that Alex was still preoccupied with his task, Alan decided to figure out his condition. Besides having a whopper of a headache and no doubt a nasty concussion, he knew something was wrong with his left shoulder. What was yet to be determined was his lower torso, which was his most significant concern.

Looking at his lower body, Alan fought another coughing fit - which only added to his discomfort - and frowned at the amount of debris that had fallen on top of him. He could still feel his legs, which, he decided, was always a good thing. Looking at the debris, Alan decided to try and shift the rubbish from his legs. As he began to move, an immediate sharp pain erupted from below. Alan tried to stop himself from crying out in pain, but he failed.

"Alan! Are you okay?" he heard a worried Alex call.

Alan grunted through the pain. "I-I'm fine," he coughed, increasing his agony. Damn! Dumb move, dumb move. He turned his head toward the younger teen. "Just get them uncovered, don't worry about me. How's it coming over there?" He needed a distraction and fast.

"Good. I've got Jared uncovered, and I've almost got Tony," Alex told him.

"Has Jared woken up at all?" Alan asked, trying to move again. He hissed again as the pain came back stronger. He sighed in frustration. I'm stuck solid. Damnit! How the hell am I supposed to help now? Virgil and who knows who else will be here soon, and here I am stuck. Just where I want to be when they get here.

"Alan?" he heard Alex call.

"Hmm?"

"You didn't answer me when I told you about Jared. Are you sure you're okay?"

Alan smirked. Of course, I'm not okay, kid. "I'm fine," he reassured. His facade was falling slightly as another coughing fit filled his body. Breathing was becoming more difficult for him, which seemed only to make his headache worse. "So how's Jared?"

Alex frowned, not wholly buying the blonde senior's story that he was fine. "He stirred for maybe a few seconds but was out of it again."

Damn. "If Jared awakes again, we need to try and keep him awake. How are you feeling, Tony?"

"I'm okay. My head hurts bad but not as much as my leg," Tony said, coughing a little. The smoke was starting to get to all of them.

Alan frowned. "From what I got a look at, it looks like its broken. Just keep it as still as you can. How bad does the head hurt? Is it like a dull throb, like a headache or a migraine?"

Tony paused pondering the question. "More a headache but it's an annoying one, I'll tell you that. It's not as bad as a migraine. I hate those."

Alan laughed, instantly cursing himself for doing so. Waiting for the pain to pass in his head and his body, he smiled toward the freshman. "You and me both." He could feel the pull of darkness edging at him again. Alan knew he had to keep fighting against it. Not only for his own well being but the scared freshmen he was looking after. His head throbbed, and the pressure that laid on his lower body was starting to eat at him more and more. He just had to hold on. They all did. He knew his brothers were minutes away from rescuing them. He just had to hold on a little while longer.

TBC

I hope that makes up for my lateness a little…. *smiles* a little? Okay, I'm running off to my "safe" undisclosed location. I have a feeling it's not safe to return fully yet. I'm bringing my allergy medicine with me in case one of you tries to poison me with fruit. REMEMBER - If you kill me then you'll never find out what happens next.

More soon I promise. Finals are over! Yay!

Please review and make me feel better.