Disclaimer: We still don't own them.

A/N: Fluff warning with this update. Oh, the fluff bit has the Tracy brothers as little boys so the language is appropriate.

Chapter 21

Moving as fast as he could, Jeff managed to get John out of the chair and on the floor. He tried to protect John from hitting his head against the hard tile flooring. "It's okay, Johnny, I've got you. Try to relax."

Staring up at his father's face, he pleaded with his eyes. "Dad, make it stop. Please make it stop." Just as his eyes rolled back in his head, he had one last conscious thought. "Virgil."

Jeff held his son's unconscious body, his voice gruff with worry. "I've got you, Johnny." His eyes misted over as a memory he'd long forgotten resurfaced.

The late spring day had been perfect as far as Jeff was concerned. He and Lucy had taken their sons to Kansas Splashdown. Lucy had laughed at her husband when she saw the theme for the indoor water park. "I should have known it would have a space theme to it, Jeff."

Her soft laughter was quickly drowned out by her water-loving son. "Mommy, I wants to go swimming now."

He tugged on her hand whilst Alan tugged on her other hand. "Yeah, Mommy, I wants to swim wif Gordy."

"Daddy, is that where's you was when you was an astr'naut?" Five-year-old Virgil gaped at the replica moon base that was part of the water park.

Scott blew out an exasperated breath. "This isn't the moon, Virgie, duh. Dad went to the moon in a real rocket ship." Virgil looked down at his feet, embarrassed. Scott instantly realized that he'd embarrassed and hurt his little brother's feelings. "I bet we can have more fun here, Virgie. Dad had to work but we get to play." He hugged his favorite and closest little brother, smiling back at him when Virgil's face lit up with a huge smile of his own.

Six-year-old John crowded next to his dad's legs, staring up at the "astronauts" that seemed to float above the pool. "Daddy, I wants to be an astr'naut."

Jeff picked up his blond-haired son. "You can be anything you want to be, Johnny. All it takes is determination and perseverance."

"What's determnation and pers'verance, Daddy?"

Scott had overheard his brother's question and offered his own meaning. "Daddy just means that you have to work hard and not give up on what you want, Johnny."

"Oh, I can do that." He looked back at his dad. "Daddy, I wants to be up with the stars."

Hugging him close, he smiled at his family. "If that is what you want then you will. Now, how about some play time before Gordy and Allie pull your mom's arms off." Giggling, John nodded his head. Each of his boys had a great time playing in and exploring the water park.

As the water park began to fill with more children and parents, Jeff momentarily lost sight of his second-born son. He walked around the pools, searching for him. Lucy was with Gordon and Alan enjoying the lazy river. Virgil and Scott were spraying water from the lunar lander. He had just passed the area where the Mercury rocket lifted off, dumping gallons of water when several whistles blew.

Quickly, he looked around to make sure that Lucy, Gordon, Alan, Scott, and Virgil were still where he'd last seen them. His gaze had just skimmed past one of the lifeguards and the small form he held when Jeff felt his heart drop. He ran towards the small circle of onlookers and pushed his way through them. A lifeguard had begun chest compressions whilst another waited to give rescue breaths for the unnaturally still child.

"Johnny!" Jeff dropped to his knees right next to his son's legs. He had ignored the glares he'd received when he pushed past the growing number of onlookers. He'd even ignored the orders to stand back that the lifeguards had given.

His expression of shocked horror gave way to a sigh of relief when water poured from John's mouth and he started coughing. The coughing gave way to crying. "Daddy…I wants my daddy."

Jeff scooped his boy up and held him close. "Daddy's here, baby. Daddy's got you."

The memory merged with present time and he stared down at his son's face. "Daddy has you, Johnny." It took a moment before he realized that John's breathing was becoming labored. "BRAINS!"

He tapped John's face. "BRAINS, GET IN HERE!" Reluctantly, Jeff laid John down completely on the floor so that he could grab an oxygen mask. As soon as he had one in hand, he fitted it over John's face and turned on the oxygen. "It's going to be okay, Johnny."

"Mr. T-Tracy?" Brains looked around the seemingly empty infirmary. His view of Jeff and John was blocked by the bed.

"Over here, Brains." He raised his hand so that Brains could see him. "C'mon, Son, wake up. Your brothers are on their way home."

Brains knelt down beside the two men. His sharp gaze quickly picked out minute details that gave him an idea as to what happened. "He h-had another s-se-seizure, didn't h-he?" Taking in the oxygen mask, he shifted his gaze to Jeff's face. "W-wh-what's with the m-mask?"

"After the seizure, he fell unconscious again and then his breathing became labored," Jeff explained. His hand brushed John's hair out of his face. "He seems so young when he's asleep."

After a quick yet thorough exam, Brains said, "Mr. T-Tracy, we n-ne-need to get h-him up on t-the bed." Jeff had just maneuvered John into a sitting position when he started to wake.

Not quite awake or sure of what had happened, John clawed at the oxygen mask that covered his face. Jeff grabbed his hands. "Leave it on, John. It's helping you."

Confused, John twisted his hands so that he was gripping his dad's hands. "D-dad?" His head fell back against Jeff's chest. "Wh-what happened?"

"You had another seizure."

Jeff's voice startled him and his confusion grew. "Where's…Virgil?"

"He's with your brothers. Remember?"

Shaking his head, he again tried to pull the mask from his face. "I was just talking to him. And Kerrie." A tear slid down his face.

Worried about his son's confused state, Jeff nodded at Brains. "Brains and I are going to help you up so that you can lie down on the bed."

"Dad, where is Virgil?" His agitation grew and his gaze shifted around the room, searching out his younger brother.

"He's on his way home with your brothers, John." Suddenly, he thought of something. The last time John had a seizure was when Virgil had coded at the hospital in Canada. "He woke up, demanding to know where Virgil was."

"NO! He was next to me whilst Kerrie was talking to us." Pushing away from his dad, he scrambled ungraciously to his feet. "Kerrie said that I had to keep watching out for him. That we needed to talk…That …" He stopped talking and stared at Jeff. "I'm sorry, Dad. I'm so sorry for…all the mean things I…That I did to you after Mom died."

Jeff was having a hard time following his son's confused ramblings. It wasn't until he apologized for the mean things he'd done that Jeff realized that his son remembered parts of their talk. "You remembered our talk?"

"I think so…You apologized for not always being there for us." Reaching out to his dad, he continued, "I love you, Dad. I'm sorry for everything I did to make your life hell."

Embracing his second born, Jeff smiled. "I've got my boy back."

"You always had him, Jeff. Even when he was angry at you, he loved you more than he could express. Our son is much like his father in that regard."

A silent figure slipped back into the shadows of the hallway. As predicted, a Tracy son followed his father's lead in ridding himself of the guilt and anger that had plagued each of them since Lucy's death. His soft words were heard by the one who needed to hear them. "The bonds that connect father and son are once again strong. Your celestial presence will continue to guide and aid each of them until they are called to your side."

"Thank you for looking after my boys and Jeff. Your calm influence has helped them."