Prompt by letitbehurt: Whumpees who sleep on the floor because they grew so accustomed to the hard concrete of a cell during their captivity that they can't fall asleep in a normal bed anymore.
Characters: Scott, Jeff, John, Virgil
Warnings: Implied Trauma
Jeff brought Scott home the second, the very second, he didn't need to be strapped to any machines or needles.
Once Scott was home the family hoped everything would go back to normal, whatever 'normal' was.
It was kinda weird…Scott was there but he also wasn't…
He was like a ghost that moved through the farmhouse. Sometimes he'd hear his family talking to him, other times he'd pass them by as if they were no more than an hallucination.
That first night had been hard.
They all wanted to puppy-pile him but their Dad had said no. It would be too much for Scott and only Jeff would stay for the first few nights. Just until Scott settled.
The next morning their Dad sported a black eye and his boys suddenly understood. Scott wasn't back. Not yet.
It wasn't until a couple of nights later that the oldest two found out about the bed.
Their Dad, of course, hadn't said anything, but they'd noticed how stiffly he moved once they got over the shock of his face and what that meant.
A couple more mornings and while the bruise faded the stiffness did not, and both brothers decided to investigate.
Waiting until Scott was out of his room and in the kitchen where their Dad would be trying to coax him to eat something, anything, they crept up to Scott's room and got yet another shock.
Scott's bed, his extra-large bed that was big enough and comfortable enough to sleep all five of them on, was dismantled. The mattress was tucked behind the wardrobe and the fittings on the top.
On the floor were two sheets, one pillow, one blanket and one quilt.
The pillow and quilt were obviously their Dad's, but that meant Scott was sleeping on a sheet with only one blanket and a pillow.
'He spent months sleeping on the concrete floor of a cell. The bed is too soft for him, too overwhelming.'
Jeff, noticing his missing boys and the silence they left behind, had come to find out what they were up to.
Both boys jumped at his words, but the devastation of what he was saying was clear on their faces, and he opened his arms to them, gratified when both allowed him to envelop them in a tight hug.
He kissed the tops of their heads and held them close until they were ready to be released.
'Will Scott get better?'
'Of course he will. He's a Tracy and he has the love and support of us all. It's going to take time, that's all. Time and lots of love, boys.'
'We can do that.'
They took one last look at the bedding on the floor before Jeff steered them to the kitchen.
Where - to everyone's delight - Scott was eating a small square of toast.