the-original-sineater asked: For Febuwhump. DAY 7: suffering in silence with John Tracy.

Alan's scream was short but it curdled his brothers' blood.

The ground had given way underneath him, despite John's warning. Several warnings, in fact. Scott, sat at mobile control, had cursed and leapt up, slamming the automatic shutdown button and racing across the area to get to his youngest brother.

The building had been creaking and groaning as Alan had checked for any missing life signs. John had told him there were none, Scott had told him to leave it and move on, but Alan had insisted that he'd heard something. Neither would insist when it could mean the difference between life and death.

Scott soon emerged with Alan. He had the boy's arm around his neck and his arm was supporting Alan around his waist as he limped along. There was blood running down his cheek and he was holding his arm tightly to his chest.

Virgil and Gordon were waiting for them, Gordon taking over Alan from Scott while Virgil got some bits and pieces from the infirmary cupboards to sort the boy out.

Jeff left them to it, knowing that any interruptions would just delay everything. John, too, stayed quiet. Scott and Gordon had left to finish off the rescue while Virgil worked his magic. By the time the DOMO was back in its module the medic had finished doing what he could until Brains could take over. He looked up as his brothers joined them, and waited a moment while Scott connected their Dad and John.

'Virgil, report.'

'Alan has a sprained ankle and a broken arm. He has some scrapes and grazes that I've cleaned up and I've bound the arm as best I can. Brains will need to double check with the x-ray machine and he can use the bone regeneriser.'

'Bottom line, Virgil?'

'Bottom line, Dad, is Alan is grounded for at least four weeks.'

'FAB, Virgil. Come home, all of you.'

Scott glanced up at where John's hologram was – but he'd already gone. He sighed and looked at his Dad. Jeff shook his head minutely. *Not now – later* was what his Dad meant.

'FAB, Dad. We're on our way.'

Scott spared a glance at his youngest brother and frowned. Alan looked…pleased, just for a second. And Scott's heart dropped.

He didn't want to believe it, not of anyone but especially not of his brother, but his suspicions were aroused. But Scott could play the long game. His brothers may think he was impetuous and reckless, but he knew when patience was needed. And right now he needed to make sure of his facts before he did anything.

John had heard Virgil's sentence and immediately signed off. He needed a moment. Because he knew, he knew that this event would mean his stint on Five would now be a minimum of eight weeks.

He loved Five. He loved being in space. But sometimes he just missed his family, missed having real food and real people to talk to. And while he may never say so out loud he missed the touch of another human being.

But he was a Tracy. And he was the Voice that Listens. He was used to being alone in space for long periods of time. Alan often cut short his stints, mostly because he had his racing and those meetings didn't always run to a suitable schedule.

John didn't mind, most of the time. All the four eldest had had lives outside of International Rescue but Alan had had little chance for that. Racing was his outlet and they all bent over backwards to let him have that small piece of normal life.

Sometimes, though, John thought that that had been a mistake. Out of all of them Alan was the baby, the last gift of their mother. And as such he was spoilt. Very spoilt. And it also meant the boy had a temper which burned hot like Scott's but without the ability to moderate it.

John had already agreed to do Alan's last stint because there was some meet he didn't want to miss. This would make it 16 weeks since he'd been on Earth.

'John?'

He swallowed and wiped his eyes. No way he would appear anything less than perfect before their Father.

'Father?'

'John, are you alright?'

'Yes, I'm fine.'

'I know you heard Virgil. Are you going to be alright?'

'Of course I will be. I can use the extra time to get some more studying in for my next book. Tell Alan I hope that he feels better soon.'

'You're sure now?'

'Yes, I'm sure.'

'FAB, Son.'

John waited until he was sure his Dad had signed off before retreating to his room and curling up into a ball and pulling his covers over himself.

He wept.

'Dad? Permission to land.'

'Scott. Permission granted. Welcome home.'

'Thanks Dad. Is – can we talk?'

'Of course, son. Before Two gets home or do you want to wait for debrief?'

'Before Two gets home.'

'Sure. See you in a minute.'

'FAB, Father.'

It was the fastest change that Scott had done. While One was so much faster than Two he didn't want to waste any time on this discussion. He detoured via the kitchen where a smiling Kyrano passed him a tray with two coffees and a plate of cookies. He would never know how the man always knew what any of the family wanted but he was eternally grateful.

Jeff broke out into a grin at the sight of the coffee and for a moment the two men drank in silence for a moment. Kyrano's coffee was too good to ruin with talk. But that time was soon over and Jeff sat forward to pay attention to whatever his eldest had to say. For Scott to ask to do this is person was unusual.

'Dad, I want to go and relieve John.'

'What? What's happened?'

'I don't think you've realised this, Dad, but John's already been on Five for 12 weeks. If he does Alan's shift again that will be 16 weeks. He can't stay there that long. It's not good for him.'

Jeff frowned. He hadn't realised that John had been up there for so long. When he was with NASA they often did longer stints, but they were never alone. But John loved being up in Five, and he was such a solitary boy, always happy in his own company sometimes for hours on end. Besides, they couldn't spare Scott. John would have to make do.

'No.'

'No?!'

'Scott – I need you here. You're my Field Commander and I need you here for that. Virgil needs you too for the same reason, and before you suggest either he or Gordon go neither of them can cope with space, you know that they don't.'

'So let John be Field Commander. It would be good practice for him. God knows I need more than just Alan as back-up.'

'That won't work. I don't have the time to train John up on what he would need to do. I'm sorry, Scott. The answer is no.'

His answer given, Jeff returned to the report he'd been reading before Scott had called.

His Dad might have been finished but Scott was not. He slapped his hands down on the desk.

'I will not let John suffer in silence. You know he won't say anything to you, he'll just nod and say he's fine.'

'I would be careful what you say, Scott.'

'NO, Dad. I will not stand by and let you lose John like you almost lost Mom, like you lost us. Like you lost me. As soon as Two is back Gordon and I will taking Three up and getting John. This is not a negotiation. As Field Commander I am making a decision. Leaving John up on Five is compromising our family and I will not stand aside while that happens again.'

And Scott turned on his heel and walked out, not even looking at his astonished Father.

Jeff blinked. He and Scott so rarely butted heads that sometimes he forgot just what a temper his eldest had. And to bring his Mom into this had taken away his breath.

The time after Lucy had died had seen Jeff retreat from them all and Scott become de facto parent. It was a time that they still never talked about, but every now and then Jeff would do something that Scott thought would hurt his brothers and he would put his foot down. Hard.

He flicked the communicator on and had a chat with Brains before coming to a decision and called Scott back. The son that stood before him was all blazing eyes and righteous fury and he sighed.

'Scott. You can take Three up and collect John. Brains is getting Braman ready and he will run Five for a week.'

'No. *All* four weeks.'

Jeff threw his pen down in exasperation.

'Braman cannot run Five for four weeks. It's too long.'

'Then I will go up after one week. Whatever happens, John is staying down here for his full four weeks. That is non-negotiable.'

'Fine! Four weeks. I'll see if Tin Tin would like to take a shift.'

'Good.'

Scott turned to go but paused in the doorway as Virgil's request for clearance to land came in, a hand resting on the door handle.

'Thank you, Dad. You won't regret it.'

'I trust you when it comes to your brothers. I always have.'

Scott blushed ever so slightly, the boy hated praise of any sort, and Jeff smiled back before giving Virgil permission to land and Gordon direction to head straight to Three. He had no doubt that if Scott thought it was the right thing to do then his other boys would agree. Gordon indeed had been pleased to head straight to the rocket.

Speaking of which, he should let John know.

'Base calling Five. John, you there?'

He had to call several times before John appeared. Jeff was shocked by his boy's appearance. He'd only been speaking to him less than 30 minutes before but the change had him realise just how right Scott had been.

John's clothing and hair was a mess, a state he would never usually allow himself to be seen in. It was clear that he'd been crying and Jeff felt his heart clench.

'Son, pack your bags.'

'Wh-what?'

'Scott's on his way up to relieve you and bring you home.'

'Really?'

The sudden burst of hope on his boy's face broke Jeff's heart.

'Really, John. And Son?'

'Yes, Father?'

'Don't suffer in silence again, John. You need to come home you just say so. I will always put you first. Please, believe that.'

'I believe you, Dad.'

'Come home.'

'Thank you.'