Fiction Post

She watched her husband while trying not to be too obvious about it.

Nate put up with her hovering. He’d waited years for this - just him, her and no regrets - but he knew it wasn’t going to last.

He just didn’t get to keep the people that made him happy. Ironic that it was him that was leaving this time.

They’d not long been back from another hospital stay. Prognosis…well, they’d had a good run, hadn’t they?

“I thought you were getting better.” “I was, I did...For you.”

Truth was…the team had made him better. The job had made him better. Sophie had made him better.

And it had been enough. For a long time it had been enough.

The anger had receded but the damage…the damage had been done.

This was his second heart attack. They’d changed their diet and lifestyle as much as possible after the first, added exercise and even joined the high-end gym but still…

This heart attack had been worse than the first. And the damage done this time…

He stumbled and Scott was there, holding his elbow, a concerned look on his face.

‘Are you alright Al? Do you need a break?’ ‘Nah, I’m good for a little longer.’ ‘You sure? There’s no shame in stopping before we’d planned.’ ‘I’m good, Scott. Honest.’

Scott clapped him on the shoulder and carried on walking and with a sigh Alan pulled his backpack up and set off after him. He stumbled a little but had just managed to catch himself when a sharp pain shot through his ankle.

His gasp had Scott turning back around. Alan was bent over, holding his ankle but as he glanced up he saw the look of horror appear on Scott’s face.

‘Sc-Scotty?’ ‘Stay still, Alan.’

Alan immediately stilled, for it was the Commander who had spoken. He watched as Scott slowly moved around him and slowly crouched down before backing away. But Alan was already distracted by the rapidly growing pain.

‘Scott? Aren’t you and Alan hiking…’ ‘Alan’s been bitten by a Mojave Rattlesnake. I need course of action and immediate treatment.’ ‘You need to lie Alan down, remove any tight clothing and keep him as calm as possible.’ ‘Thank you, EOS.’ ‘Two is launching now and I have called the local emergency services. They will get to you first. Can you wash the wound with plain water?’ ‘On it. Should I bandage it afterwards?’ ‘Only if you have a loose wrap bandage, not a compression bandage.’ ‘I do.’ ‘Scott, I have Phoenix emergency services online for you.’ ‘Thanks John, EOS. Please stay on the line.’ ‘FAB.’ ‘Hello, this is Scott.’ ‘The Medical Helicopter has been scrambled. Can you give me any stats on the victim?’

Scott looked at Alan. He was pale and sweating, biting his lip in an effort to control the pain. As Scott watched he shuddered once. And then again. He rapidly fired the stats

‘S-S-Sco…’ ‘Alan?’ ‘S-S-Sco…’

Scott swore softly and manoeuvred Alan so that he was propped against his chest with his leg raised on a pile of rocks. He was twitching occasionally, trying to talk but not getting a complete word out. Scott felt helpless as Alan spasmed against him.

‘John, how much longer for the helo? Alan’s dropping fast.’ ‘The helo’s on its way, ETA another 20 minutes.’ ‘And Two?’ ‘Virgil’s redlining her but he’s still a couple hours out.’ ‘Ok. Ok. What can I do to help?’ ‘You’re doing it. Keep Alan as calm as you can. That’s literally all you can. The calmer he is the less the venom is going to pump around his body. How is the wound?’ ‘He’s bled through the bandage I applied.’ ‘The venom is coagulopathic, can you wrap another bandage around it?’ ‘No, I only brought the tiny kit.’ ‘Ok. Ok. Just…concentrate on keeping him calm.’ ‘FAB.’

Scott started rocking Alan gently and began humming their Mom’s favourite lullaby. Alan was too young to remember the tune but his brothers had made sure Alan hadn’t missed out, using it quite ruthlessly to comfort the youngster.

He felt his brother relax against him and continued humming. And then Scott paused and looked to the sky.

The whomp-whomp of an approaching helicopter was a welcome noise and he relaxed.

Of course that’s when Alan stopped breathing.

Scott shifted Alan to the ground quickly and began CPR as the helo settled down to land. He was aware of the two medics who jumped down and set up around Alan, but he ignored them until they were ready and all but pushed him aside.

He paced around them, practically pulling his hair out as he couldn’t do anything more than watch. John was a comforting voice in his ear but there was only so much he could do.

The AED had to be fired three times before the medics were happy that Alan was safe to move and they rolled him onto a gurney and loaded him into the copter. Scott made to climb up but one of the medics stopped him, shut the door and Scott stepped back as they took off.

‘Scott?’ ‘Ah…yes, John?’ ‘The quads will be with you in an hour.’ ‘An hour? Two will be here a little after that.’ ‘What are you thinking, big brother?’ ‘I can jog towards them, cut that time down or I can send them back in case anyone else is injured and wait for Virgil.’ ‘Your call.’ ‘Send the rescue team back. They’ll not get me there any quicker than Two.’ ‘FAB, I’ll let them know.’ ‘Tell Virgil I’m heading back so he’ll know I’m on the move.’ ‘Will do, Scott.’

Scott snatched up Alan’s backpack and the detritus they had caused and set off at a gentle jog back the way he’d come. He knew that John would track him and inform Virgil accordingly.

While he was jogging John kept him informed of Alan’s status. They’d got him breathing and had already began the IV infusion of antivenom. So far Alan hadn’t had an allergic reaction and Scott found immediate relief from that particular news.

John also played a news item regarding the specific air ambulance company that had flown Alan out, how they had always been at the forefront of carrying antivenom on their helos and had not only saved lives but also cut down the hospital stay of their patients.

As Scott relaxed he sped up, and as a consequence once Two finally landed they were much closer to Phoenix and subsequently Banner University Medical Centre. By the time they’d landed Alan had been installed in the ICU and hooked up to all kinds of monitoring systems and IVs.

He was asleep when they arrived, for which Virgil was very thankful for when he had the opportunity to actually regard Scott, who had immediately sat in the chair nearest the bed and taken gentle hold of Alan’s hand.

The guilt was already piling up on the man. His shoulders were hunched right up to his ears – in fact his whole body was curled into himself – and Virgil stifled a sigh.

It was so like his brother to crush himself under the guilt of what happened. As if everything was his fault.

Virgil’s hand on his shoulder had Scott startle even though he knew his brother was here. He gave a squeeze and expected Scott to relax but he didn’t, impossibly he tensed even more, so Virgil did the only thing left open to him – he pulled Scott back against him in the tightest bear hug he could from his position.

At first Scott tensed again before relaxing and then melting into the hug. Virgil didn’t release his hold until Scott let go of the breath he’d been holding and patted his arm. Only then did he let go and pull up the second chair in the room and sit down.

They’d not been there long when the doctor came. He looked over Alan’s stats and checked the two IVs. Alan was currently on his second dose of antivenom and would potentially have to have several more over the coming hours depending on how well he was responding, and the second IV contained saline and morphine to help him with the pain.

The doctor shook hands with both of them and proceeded to run down what had been done and what was going to be done for Alan.

‘Alan received the full initial dose of Anavip onboard the air ambulance and did not have a reaction. He was also treated with some antihistamines and a shot of Dilaudid. Thankfully he responded quickly to the CPR and didn’t need any further invention. Mojave Rattlesnake venom can cause a lot of issues not only with clotting but with tissue damage to the affected area. Whoever applied the first aid did a great job and it hopefully limited any permanent damage.’ ‘Permanent damage?’ ‘Alan’s young and very fit, and he was treated very promptly so we’re not expecting any complications. What we’re doing in the immediate is managing the pain – rattler bites are one of most painful – and keeping a close eye on Alan’s blood in regards to his clotting and blood pressure, and on the swelling around the wound.’ ‘How long are you planning on keeping him in?’ ‘Ideally three-seven days in case he needs further antivenom.’ ‘Is that likely?’ ‘Unfortunately no one can predict how a patient reacts to a bite. Now, that’s a lot to digest and Alan will be awake soon so you’ll need some time to discuss things. We’ll be doing regular blood draws but unless there’s an issue we’ll stay out of your hair for as long as we can.’ ‘Thank you, Doctor.’

He shook hands with Scott and Virgil, and left, and they settled down for the wait – both for Alan to wake up and for the rest of the family to arrive.

They didn’t have too long to wait.

Alan stirred and Scott sat forward immediately, laser-focused on his brother’s face. He didn’t stir even when the door opened and Kayo slipped into the room. She hugged Virgil and leant against Scott before kissing Alan’s forehead as his eyes fluttered open.

‘Kay?’ ‘Hey Alan. You good?’ ‘Yeah.’

She grinned at him, ruffled his hair and stepped back so Scott could talk to him. She paused by Virgil and murmured that she was going to fix security before slipping out as quietly as she’d arrived.

Within the next couple of hours the rest of the family arrived and Alan fell asleep and woke up twice. This last time, though, he was more aware of what was going on, and stretched his hand out to Scott, who took it and held it tightly.

John booked the nearest hotel and for the next four days they took it in turns to sit with Alan and Scott, who only moved when Alan insisted he sleep. But they were all together when Alan was given the all-clear – with one proviso.

Since it had been less than 48 hours since his last shot of antivenom the doctor had advised no flying to reduce the continued risk of clots and swelling.

Alan huffed and pouted but Scott lit up. He winked at Virgil and John, who immediately understood what he wanted, and John slipped out to order what his brothers needed while Virgil and Gordon tried to cheer a glum Alan.

It didn’t take John long, and on his return he handed Scott a set of keys. Alan frowned and waited for an explanation while, with a not-too-subtle nudge the rest of the family said goodbye and left the two brothers alone.

There was a slightly uncomfortable pause before Scott once again leaned forward, passing Alan the keys. He watched the frown deepen as he regarded the keys for a moment before speaking.

‘Sprout? I am so, so sorry.’ ‘Sorry? What for?’ ‘You got bitten. That’s on me.’ ‘No – what? How the…Scotty!’ ‘Um…Alan?’ ‘This is not your fault. I should have been looking where I was going. How many times did you tell me to watch where I was going?’ ‘Yeah, but I should have taken you on a shorter trip. I knew walking wasn’t your favourite pastime.’ ‘Stop it. I wanted to share this with you. Get over here.’

Gladly Scott sat on the bed and folded Alan into a gentle hug.

‘So…how are we getting home?’ ‘Well, since you can’t fly for a few more days, how about a drive?’ ‘A drive?’ ‘Let’s go home to the ranch. John’s hired us a car and we can take our time.’ ‘That sounds sweet! What’s the car?’ ‘What do you want it to be?’

Alan thought for a moment. He’d wanted to do a road trip for a long time, but he hadn’t really given any thought to the car itself. But then a memory surfaced.

‘Wait – do you have a Mustang?’ ‘Nope. Try again.’

He frowned again and thought hard, causing Scott to laugh. Scott helped him to stand and they made their slow way outside while Alan continued asking questions.

‘A Corvette?’ ‘Nope.’ ‘A…Thunderbird?’ ‘Better.’ ‘What’s better than a T-Bird?’

They made their way outside to see the car waiting, bright blue with darker blue and silver highlights. Alan turned to his brother with his eyes alight and astonishment clear on his face.

His stomach gurgled and Jeff bolted…

He didn’t have time for this! He had a meeting…he wasn’t going to make it… Jeff hit his comm as he ran.

‘Dad?’ ‘John. I have a…problem.’ ‘What kind of problem?’

Jeff didn’t reply but the sound of vomiting said everything.

Bruce and Alfred have filled the Manor with balloons. (Alfred has made his favourite cake.)

Finally the hospital agree to release him. (A moment longer and Bruce would have acted…)

The drive home is silent. (But not awkward, thank goodness.)

He helps Dick up the stairs. (And holds him a touch longer than necessary.)

‘Welcome home, Master Dick.’ (It’s so good you’ve returned.)

‘Thank you, Alfred! I’m so glad to be home!’ (Does he mean it???)

Dick looks at Bruce. (Bruce tried hard not to look at the cast…)

(Does he blame me?) (Will he ever forgive me?)

‘You scared me so badly…’ (Why had he said that?)

Dick grins at him. Impishly. (Bruce lives for that smile.)

‘Don’t worry, Bruce. I promise I won’t try and swing from the chandelier again!’ (Bruce doesn’t tell him he’s spent all week reinforcing them all.)

He ruffles Dick’s hair and pretends not to see the flash of delight on the boy’s face. (He sees it!)

Even Gordon had been a little put out by Penny’s insistence but she stuck to her guns and now Scott and Penny were on a train travelling through Europe on a train with various security services in attendance and quite a target.

A target for all kinds of terrorist organisations and for her uncle.

If her Uncle got his hands on Scott…

She paused at the desk and jabbed at the comm button. Again.

‘Anything, John?’ ‘Not in the 90 seconds since you last asked.’

Kayo sighed and resumed pacing faster.

~

In the carriage set aside for Penny she and Scott were deep in conversation about the variety of delegates present.

‘So we have Spectrum, WASP and the GDF represented.’ ‘Yes. There were a few people there I didn’t recognise but I noticed you did.’ ‘I did, Scott. From several intelligence agencies as a matter of fact.’ ‘Anyone we need to take a closer look at?’ ‘There’s only one person I have no knowledge of. I’ve already put some feelers out on Captain Foster. I can’t put my finger on it but there’s something odd about her.’ ‘Fair enough. Are we going to ask John to look into her?’ ‘Parker is looking, if he doesn’t turn up anything then we’ll ask John. Now, have you seen who Colonel Gray and Commander Shore have brought with them?’ ‘Yes. I know Atlanta, obviously, but I don’t know the Colour Captain with Charles.’ ‘Two. Two Colour Captains, if I’m not mistaken. One with the Colonel and one in the background.’ ‘Makes sense. I didn’t see anyone else from WASP I know but Unc…Sam Shore will probably have someone else here. In fact, almost everyone seems to have two escorts.’

Penny nodded. They had been over everything in depth. It was time to retire for the night and start again in the morning. They’d agreed to talk to John in the morning before breakfast.

With a hug and forehead kiss Scott left Penny for his own bunk.

~

‘Well, Dad, what do your sea legs say?’

Shore laughed. He always appreciated his daughter’s wicked sense of humour, and Atlanta wielded that power ruthlessly whenever he needed it.

‘This is an odd assortment of people our World President has invited onto this train.’ ‘I agree.’ ‘I’m sure that you’ve seen our mutual friends?’ ‘I have. Haven’t had the chance to talk to either of them yet but I intend to talk to Scott before we leave.’ ‘Good. We should have him and his brothers over once this is done.’ ‘I’d like that, Dad.’

Sam grinned impishly.

‘I’ll make sure Troy isn’t anywhere around…’

It was Atlanta’s turn to laugh. She kissed her father goodnight.

~

Weston sighed.

Seeing Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward had thrown him. FAB and WIN had a fractious relationship. Ostentatiously they operated in the same circles but they didn’t work well together.

President Younger had thought about folding both agencies into the GDF but had been persuaded that keeping the peacekeeping force separate from the intelligence forces would be better. It hadn’t stopped him from snapping up certain officers from all agencies into the new one he set up, creating lasting animosity from all agencies towards Spectrum.

Sam himself was a little…jealous. He’d have loved to have been asked to move to Spectrum but he had not been selected. Unlike everyone else Weston had not brought a co-worker with him. He hadn’t felt the need to and his boss hadn’t offered.

Now he knew why.

He wasn’t really here to represent WIN. He was here to support the Lady. She’d once been head of FAB at a very young age. Not many knew that but he did. WIN did.

So he read through his notes and put them away and went to bed.

If Lady Penelope wanted to share intel with him she knew where he was.

~

Val Casey pinched her nose to try and ease the growing tension headache.

Rigby had given her a concise report of all the delegates and Foster had agreed with everything he’d said but, while there was no one untoward on the train, she worried.

There was so much that could go wrong…

Eventually she called it a night and sent Rigby and Foster to their own sleeping quarters before rereading all the notes and finally settling down for the night.

Something was going to go wrong. She could feel it.

~

Rigby went straight to sleep in the top bunk but Foster lay back, hands under her head. She grinned and waited for her bunkmate’s snoring to even out before soundlessly getting up.

This was going to be…lucrative.

~

Captains Ochre and Blue had delivered their reports and Charles had dismissed them for the night. Or should he say early morning…

It was closer to two in the morning and Charles was feeling restless. They had been told that they had the run of the main carriages but not the personal ones – which was fair enough and a rule Charles was thankful for – so he made his way through to the dining car. There was tea and coffee available in their quarters but Charles was craving something different, sweeter.

Something to help him sleep. He shouldn’t really be going where he was without letting his Captains know, but for some reason Charles needed to be there.

When he entered the dining car he wasn’t really surprised to see someone else already sitting at the bar nursing exactly what he was after. He sat down beside the man.

‘Uncle Charlie.’ ‘Scooter.’ ‘Ha. I forgot you used to call me that.’ ‘I think it’s about time you called me Charles, Scott. You have more than earned the right.’ ‘I’d like that, Charles. Thank you.’ ‘What can I get you, Sir?’ ‘I’ll have a hot chocolate too, please.’

The waiter placed a tall glass of hot chocolate on the counter and discreetly withdrew.

The two men didn’t say anything for a moment, just took a sip and put their glasses down in unison.

And turned when a third person entered the carriage.

Captain Foster cursed the presence of Colonel White and Scott Tracy – trust those two to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were spoiling her plans! But she couldn’t very well carry on now – they would be suspicious if she did. So she nodded to them, asked the waiter for a bottle of sparkling water and returned the way she had come. There would be plenty of time to do what she had planned…

Scott frowned as the Captain left and opened his mouth to say something when the train started shaking more than a top-of-the-range train should do…

But before he could hit his comm to call John the lights went out and they were both thrown to the floor.

~

‘John!’ ‘EOS?’ ‘There has been an earthquake.’

John’s fingers flew as he pulled up the data, paling when he saw what…or rather where this was happening. He hit the emergency klaxon and was gratified as always when his brothers and sister were ready and waiting in seconds.

‘Guys, we have a situation.’ ‘What is it, John?’ ‘Earthquake in Switzerland. The Alps to be exact.’ ‘The Alps…’ ‘Yes. The train that Scott is on is in the epicentre of the quake. EOS is trying to raise him but by my calculations they would be in the Gotthard Base Tunnel and that alone would create communication difficulties without the earthquake.’ ‘How large is it?’ ‘As earthquakes go it isn’t the biggest but it has combined with extra snowfall after a wet summer…Alan, you have One.’ ‘FAB. We’re on our way, John. Keep trying to get through to Scott. Thunderbirds are go.’

It took One less than an hour to get to the epicentre. It was an hour too long.

Alan circled the area, taking aerial images for Five and Two, and he had a lump in his throat the entire time.

Where the mountainside should be, where the Gotthard tunnel ran through…was just a pile of debris and snow.

So Charles found himself on one of the most luxurious trains he’d ever seen in the company of men and women who in general hated Spectrum and some even hated him personally… but there was one person who had smiled at him – smirked actually – and Charles had relaxed a little.

He and Sam Shore had some catching up to do when they had a moment.

But today’s session was really just a meet-and-greet for those invited to get to know each other a little. They were, after all, going to spend the next 10 days in close quarters discussing some of the most important information in the world.

There were many familiar faces present. Some Charles knew by name only, others he’d worked with – and on occasion against – in his various roles.

Colonel Valerie Casey, present as representative of the GDF along with Captains Rigby and Foster. The two Captains looked to have different roles, Rigby standing by the Colonel wherever she went and Foster acting more like an aide than a bodyguard.

Charles looked across to his own ‘aide’. Ochre also stood beside him but, while he was in uniform he was relaxed as befit his role this time. Charles knew that with his close protection training Fraser had been the perfect choice for his aide, and while he couldn’t see Blue, Charles knew his Captain wouldn’t be far as his unofficial role was to blend in and hide in plain sight.

In the centre of the room Younger was talking to Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, whose aide was a surprise to Charles in particular. Scott Tracy wasn’t the kind of man to play the role of “second” to anyone other than his Father, and Charles wondered what his old friend Jeff was up to, but that was a question for later, and as he watched the Lady’s well-known shadow detached from the wall and discreetly touched her shoulder. Lady Penelope inclined her head to him, they had a short conversation before the man left. Scott chose that moment to look over and cast a brilliant grin at Charles on seeing him, and once more he wondered what on earth the Field Commander of International Rescue was doing at a security conference…

Sam had not acknowledged him since the grin earlier, but Charles was aware of him making the rounds of the room. As he himself turned to greet Shane Weston, head of the London division of WIN Charles could see Shore and his daughter Atlanta heading towards Lady Penelope and Scott.

There were other players at the table, but Charles had yet to find out who some of them were.

The only organisations Charles had yet to lay eyes on was FAB – although he was pretty certain that that was who Lady Penelope was representing – and USS, though that was less of a surprise.

It wasn’t as if the Supreme Commander of Earth Forces could just amble around the room…although, as he thought that, one person in particular caught his eye. The man nodded and Charles reciprocated and Agent 21 melted away.

Interesting…

But then they were called to order and everyone moved to the larger carriage that had been designed for the conference. Charles took his seat with Ochre sat behind him to the side.

And they began.

By the end of the first day Charles was so glad he was able to keep a passive face. He knew that it was only the outlining of what they were going to discuss for the rest of the time, but some of the others obviously didn’t know that day one was not the time to be questioning things…

Ochre and Blue joined him for a late drink and to discuss their own observations of the attendees. They all agreed on some of the unexpected delegates and there were some discussions around what to expect going forward. They also discussed if there were any signs of outside influences likely to make a play…

Sophie sighs, and she can’t hide the pain. She turns a little and it doesn’t help, but she’s facing Eliot and she rests her head against his thigh with another sigh.

She asks again, a whisper of a request.

‘Can you sing, please, until I fall asleep?’

Eliot swallows thickly. He’d do anything for her. Especially now.

Sophie reaches out and he takes her hand gently, conscious of the broken fingers.

‘What would you like?’ ‘Anything.’

He swallows again and starts, low and slow, the country bleeding into his pitch.

“Break on me Shatter like glass Come apart in my hands Take as long as it takes girl

Break on me Put your head on my chest Let me help you forget When you heart needs to break Just break on me”

Sophie’s sleeping before he finishes the last line.

He doesn’t let her hand go.

His eyes are infinite wells of sadness. It radiates off him and she can feel it.

‘There isn’t anyone else who can.’

Can what? Survive??

Donna wants to scream at him.

Why can’t he put himself first for once? Be selfish…stay alive.

Stay himself?

But that’s the crux of the matter, isn’t it?

If he stayed he wouldn’t be himself. Wouldn’t be The Doctor.