International Rescue and the Tracy Family belong to Gerry and Sylvia Anderson
Chapter 28
"I can take that out for you this afternoon, if you feel up to it," Jenna said kindly, indicating his feed tube. "Then we can get you started on some real food," she added with a smile, "build you up a bit."
"Yeah, that'd be great," Scott replied tiredly, feeling considerably weakened by the bout of fever.
"You have been through a time of it since you woke up, haven't you?" she responded sympathetically, stroking his hair. "But you've done great, really great," she said encouragingly, admiring his strength of will.
When afternoon came and Jenna was about ready to take his feed tube out, Virgil came in. She asked Scott if he wanted his brother to stay and Scott indicated that he would. Turning to Virgil she grinned mischievously. "How are you with puke?" Jenna asked him bluntly.
Virgil screwed his face up in puzzlement. "Why, you're not gonna throw up all over Scott, are you Jen?" he joked, still wondering why she should ask.
Jenna smacked him playfully across the shoulder. "No, of course not, silly," Jenna sighed exasperatedly. "But your brother's liable to when I take this out," she explained, indicating the feed tube. "I do have a job for you though. I want you to sit by Scott and let him take a grip of your hand while I take this out," she added. "Well, are you up for it or are you gonna woose out on us," Jenna challenged him, looking at Scott in a conspiratorial manner.
"I ain't gonna woose out," Virgil stated adamantly and grinned. "I've cleaned up his puke many's a time when he can't hold his liquor," he added, grinning at Scott the way brothers do when telling tales.
"Not true," Scott retaliated indignantly, pulling his face into a frown, not wishing to be embarrassed in front of Jenna. "And I'm not gonna throw up," Scott stated firmly in a male pride sort of way.
"No, of course you're not," Jenna agreed but in an 'I know different' kind of way. "I'll just go and get the basin, shall I?" she continued with a smile as though she hadn't listened to what he said. She came back moments later with the basin, cloth and some towels, then proceeded to clamp of the tube and disconnect it. Discarding the bag she came back and sat facing him. "Are you ready, Scott," Jenna asked kindly. He nodded. "Just keep focused on me," she smiled gently. Well that wouldn't be hard for him, would it? "I want you to try and relax and take nice deep breaths for me," Jenna encouraged him, "and try not to swallow against it."
She nodded to Virgil she was ready and he took a grip of his brother's hand. Slowly, the tube was pulled out and Scott tried to relax and breathe, he really did. "You're doin' really well," she smiled encouragingly.
But in the end he couldn't refrain from gagging and choking and eventually he threw up.
"You did great, really great," Jenna said softly. She might as well have said 'I'm so proud of you' as though he had achieved some greatness in life. In her eyes he had for it was, indeed, not a pleasant experience by any means. "And you did good too," she soothed sympathetically, turning to Virgil and grinning, noticing he had turned rather pale.
Scott kept his eyes fixed on her the whole time as she now tenderly cleaned him, gave him a drink and laid him back against the pillows. She had eyes only for him as she urged him to rest while stroking his forehead and playing with his hair. "Why don't you get some rest for a while and I'll get you something to eat when you wake up," she smiled soothingly.
"Yeah, thanks," he said wearily, "but just forget about the steak." He didn't need that much encouragement, already he was drifting under the sound of her reassuring voice; glad to be one more step on his road to recovery.
Jenna winced a smile, knowing he must be feeling too ill even to face the thought of his favourite steak. "Guess you could do with a coffee," she said to Virgil with a wry grin on returning from discarding the basin and seeing his colour had returned.
"Only if you think I'm man enough to drink it," he grinned back, reminding her of her former innuendo.
"Touche, Virgil, Touche," Jenna laughed, bowing in acknowledgement to his quick wit as she went to the coffee maker and fixed them a coffee.
He smiled inwardly as he caught her watching his sleeping eldest brother. "You really like him, don't you?" Virgil asked suddenly, catching her unawares.
Taking a little breath and jolting from her trance-like thoughts she quickly composed herself as she turned to him. "Of course I like him, what's not to like," Jenna replied casually, taking another sip of her coffee.
"He likes you," Virgil told her, watching to see what her reaction would be.
"Well I should hope so," she returned with a light laugh, knowing very well that he was fishing. "It wouldn't do for him not to like his nurse, would it, there's too many nasty things I could do to him," Jenna added with a wry grin, giving nothing away.
"He really likes you," Virgil grinned, trying again in case she hadn't fully understood his meaning.
"Virgil Tracy, I know what you're up to and you can stop that fishin' right now," she mockingly scolded him. "And besides, you shouldn't be telling tales out of school," she added continuing to scold, shaking her head and smiling but secretly she was pleased and her heart beat that little bit faster.
He could see he wasn't going to get anywhere with that line of inquiry so he gave up and they chatted a while; Jenna asking him about his music and telling him he was very good. "Now shoo, I have work to do," she told him on finishing her coffee, smiling to herself at his feeble attempts to find out her feelings for his brother as she watched him leave.
It was later in the evening when Scott gave a deep sigh and woke, causing Jenna to look up from the desk where she was writing and give him a smile. "I guess you must be hungry," she said, raising him up a little more, "I asked Grandma earlier to fix you something for when you wakened." "She said she'd make you her special 'fruity oatmeal', sounds delicious," Jenna declared. "Says she always makes it for you boys when you're not well," she added, giving him an encouraging smile, "Tin-Tin's going to bring it down."
Scott smiled weakly at the thought of his favourite 'comfort food' that his Grandma would always make them when they were feeling poorly and wondered if she thought he had merely nothing worse than a cold. His thoughts drifted back to when he was a boy and his mom soothing and comforting him through childhood illnesses, giving him Grandma's fruity oatmeal to encourage him to eat when he didn't feel like it. When she hadn't been around any more and he was ill Grandma would always be there with her special recipe, though it always made him think of his mom even when he reached adulthood. Perhaps now he could make new memories.
He watched her intently as she dipped the spoon into the creamy mixture, evoking the warm smell of oatmeal and a hint of fruit. Watched her as, if in slow motion, she carefully placed the spoon in his mouth, his lips closing over it. Watched her as she slowly withdrew the now empty spoon ready to begin the process all over again. She was feeding him but definitely not like his mom fed him, more like in the seductive manner of young lovers.
Carefully she placed the spoon in his mouth, watching as his lips closed over it before slowly withdrawing the empty spoon. She watched his throat muscles contract as he swallowed his first meal in a long while and she was very much aware that he was watching her. "Do you mind if I try some?" she asked, trying to be light and casual in an effort to break the intensity of the moment.
"You would rob an ill guy of his first meal?" he tiredly quipped, making her laugh. He watched her put the spoon in her mouth, very much aware it had been in his own not seconds earlier. Watched her as she closed her eyes, enjoying the ecstasy of the moment you taste something new and his heart beat a little faster.
She closed her eyes, as she slowly pulled the spoon from her mouth, enjoying the warm sensation of this new taste and not unaware that the spoon had been in his mouth not seconds earlier. Licking her lips, she opened her eyes to realise he had been watching her, which made her heart beat that little bit faster. Trying to ignore the feelings he was stirring in her she continued to feed him until it was finished, whereupon she couldn't help but smile broadly.
"What?" Scott asked, puzzled by what she was finding amusing.
"Nothing, it's just you've got… a..little…bit…of..oatmeal….right..there," she grinned as she pushed the stray piece of oatmeal from the corner of his mouth to his lips. He sucked it from her finger causing her to close her eyes and take a deep breath against the sensation he was creating.
The heavy tension was broken by the swish of the door opening, making her jump and withdrawing her finger rather quickly. Two cheery faces peered round the door making Scott inwardly groan. "Just wanted to see what you looked like tubeless, bro," Alan quipped, referring to the feed tubes that Virgil had informed them Scott had had removed.
"Well he's not entirely tubeless," Gordon sniggered, looking in a certain direction while making sure he was standing well out of his eldest brother's reach.
(Authors Note: You'll just have to wait until later to find out)
Scott shot his youngest brothers a disdainful look, not least because yet again he had been interrupted in a moment they had both been enjoying.
"Can I trust you two guys here while I take this back to the kitchen?" Jenna asked, indicating the empty dish.
"Sure you can, Jen," Gordon assured her. "You know us," he grinned, digging Alan in the ribs.
"Yeah, that's the problem. I do know you guys," she said with a wry grin. "But I'm being serious, I don't want to come back and find Scott with another blinding headache," Jenna warned in a light-hearted yet serious way. "Is that understood?" she added, looking at two innocent faces and wondering if she was wasting her breath.
"Of course, no sweat," Alan replied.
"No, seriously Jen, we know. You can trust us," Gordon reassured her, the events of that last afternoon fixed firmly in his mind. He had no wish to put his eldest brother through that kind of pain again. Gordon may be a prankster but he can be serious when he wants to be and in truth, Gordon and Alan had come down to spend some time with Scott on their own, wanting to let him know how glad they were that he got through that bout of fever.
Jenna promised she wouldn't be long, leaving Scott to the mercy of his brothers but surprisingly they did keep their promise and behaved themselves. By the time she returned he had fallen asleep, still weakened from the fever. After seeing the boys out Jenna sat on his bed and checked his vitals just to make sure there was no danger of the fever flaring up again and that it had been well and truly dealt with. He stirred slightly as she checked his pulse but such was his exhaustion he didn't wake and slept until mid-morning of the next day.
Perhaps the fever had drained him mentally and emotionally as well as physically but for the next two days Scott was on a downer; by the second day his mood was black.
