Liseylou

A little bit of fluff and some angst... Jeff makes an unexpected trip home and gets grief from his sons. Kyrano offers words of wisdom... Alan loses it... Scott pleads...

Warnings for this chapter: some swearing. Earlier chapters may be found on AO3 here.

Chapter 14 - Heartache

Kyrano arrived with dinner.  Scott and John actually smelt the wonderful aroma before he arrived at the bedroom door, knocked and entered, carrying a tray with two plates of food and two glasses of juice.

“Master Scott, I am pleased to see you awake, and back here at home,” he said softly as he approached the bed.

“Thank you, Kyrano, but please, just call me Scott,” the invalid replied.  He sat up, clutching the sheet to his chest; oh so very self-conscious of the state his body was in as he gave John a glance, who got up, went to a drawer and found him a t-shirt to put on.

Kyrano put the tray down on Scott’s lap, then uncharacteristically placed a hand on the young man’s shoulder.

“Scott,” he began.  “I was in the Global Conflict and I saw many sights.  You are here on the island with your family and friends and have nothing whatsoever to be ashamed of.  We will get you through this.  I want you to look within yourself; find that courage that I have seen you exhibit on many occasions and let us help guide you back.  You have that strength, even though you doubt yourself at this precise moment.  I offer my services to you, should you wish to talk, even if it is only about the weather.”  He gave him a kindly smile and their eyes locked.

Moist blue ones looked into green-brown and saw nothing but love and affection.  “Thank you, Kyrano,” he mumbled in response.  “I will bear that in mind.”

“Good.  Now I need you to eat this.  I studied your diet plan and I disagree with some of it.  You know I have knowledge of many herbs and spices and when they can be used, so I have decided to make your meals more… interesting.”

“It smells lovely, Kyrano,” Scott said giving him a small smile.  “And it looks good too.”

“I expect to see an empty plate when I return… or else.”

Now that was a threat that Scott knew he had to take to heart.  In all honesty, he hadn’t been feeling particularly hungry because he’d seen the diet plan the hospital had come up with, until the wonderful aroma had assailed his nostrils and he realised he was starving; but there wasn’t a lot of his plate.

Kyrano knew his patient had to have a little and often and gradually build up after the abuse he had suffered.

“Or else, what?” Scott asked, his curiosity piqued.

“No apple pie for dessert,” Kyrano answered smugly; somehow managing not to laugh at the look on Scott’s face.  He knew the young man would literally ‘kill’ for his apple pie!

John was grinning broadly as he returned to Scott’s bedside and handed him a t-shirt to put on.  “Challenge accepted then?” he asked his brother.

“Yeah… definitely!  Kyrano’s apple pie…”  His eyes almost glazed off as he imagined a bowl before him.

“Thanks, Kyrano,” John said smirking.  “With you feeding him, he’ll soon put the weight back on!”

“I trust, Scott, that you will be starting your physio tomorrow?”  It came across slightly more like a statement than a question.

“I… guess,” came the somewhat stuttered response.

“I can assist you in that as well, if you’d permit me.  I know Master Gordon has plans, but we must take our time and not rush things.  Plus, he is supposed to be leaving for Marineville next week, although he has voiced that he may delay going so he can concentrate on helping you get well.”

“What?  No!  No, he mustn’t put his career on hold because of me!  I won’t have that hanging over me.  None of my brothers must put their lives on hold because of me!”

“We’ll do it if we want to, Scotty,” John broke in.  “Lord knows; you put your life on hold for us, so if we want to return the favour, you can’t do anything about it but, I think I’ve persuaded Gordon that he should go because, as you said, you don’t want to hold back his career.”

“Thanks, John.”

“You have not been physically active for a number of months, so we must take care not to cause further damage, like your little… escapade has done,” Kyrano continued.  “That also means not pushing yourself beyond your current limits.”  His green eyes locked in what appeared to be a warning.  “Getting into the pool would be of great—”

“NO!”  The rejection came quick and fast.

Kyrano saw the fear in Scott’s eyes and nodded acquiesce.  “Perhaps a little further down the line, then,” he soothed.  “As I say, there is no rush.  Now, eat your meal or no apple pie.”  He gave a slight bow and exited, leaving Scott staring after him.

“Come on Scott, do as you’re told!” John encouraged, smiling as he picked up a fork and took an experimental mouthful of his own food.  “Ohhhhh yyyeeessss… Kyrano’s outdone himself.  You’ve just got to taste it, Scotty!”

John’s somewhat rather orgasmic sounds brought the eldest back to the present and he tentatively put a forkful into his mouth.  It was not too spicy; Kyrano knew what he was doing, but the mildness still assailed his taste buds and without thinking, he was soon inhaling it as his senses went into overload.  John did his best not to smirk, but was delighted as Scott cleaned his plate and then eyed John’s.

“Don’t even think about it!” John almost snarled, rescuing his plate from beady blue eyes.  “A little and often, not a ‘let’s see how much I can stuff my face with!’”

Scott actually pouted which made John’s heart sing.  It was a small thing, but it indicated that the old Scott was still inside him somewhere; they just had to bring it to the fore.

Scott wondered if Kyrano had a hidden camera somewhere, for he reappeared about a minute or so after John had finished his food with the said apple pie and found his mouth watering in anticipation.

“I’m glad you’ve arrived with dessert, Kyrano,” John said.  “Scott’s been trying to steal my dinner!”

“That is good to hear.  I will bring you your next meal in three hours, Scott.  Then you will rest, get a good night’s sleep so you are prepared for tomorrow’s activities.”  He smiled as he took the plate from the tray on Scott’s lap and replaced it with a reasonable portion of apple pie with ice cream.  This was devoured with gusto, but then made him feel sleepy.  Both Kyrano and John assisted him to the bathroom—his little adventure had severely weakened him again— then put him back to bed once he’d finished.

Scott sighed.  “I’m sick of lying around,” he said as sleep began to take him once more.  “I’m fed up of being tired and useless and a burden…”

Kyrano sat down on the edge of the bed and gently massaged Scott’s head; a technique he was well skilled in.  He whispered words that Scott didn’t understand, but that made his eyelids droop and within five minutes, Scott was out for the count.

John went to say something, but Kyrano placed a finger against his lips, so the younger man remained quiet and followed the Malaysian out of the bedroom.

“How did you do that?” John asked quietly as Kyrano closed the door to Scott’s bedroom.

The elder man smiled knowingly.  “My people have many techniques for treating those who are ill or need soothing.  Come, Scott will sleep for those three hours, as long as it remains quiet.”

“I’ll tell Gordon and Alan to keep away from the bedrooms until later then.  Thank you for getting Scott to sleep… Kyrano, will our brother get better?  Will we get our Scott back?”

Kyrano sighed.  “A lot will depend on Scott himself.  He has it within him to recover, we just all need to work to make him recognise that.  As you heard him say, he is sick of being a burden, of lying around.  We need to use this to get him mobile again, to do his exercises.  I will assist in the mental side of things.  By tapping into his subconscious and his mental strength, disciplining it, he can take great strides forward, but you know Scott as well as I do.  He does nothing slow.  We must teach him patience or he is going to become frustrated and either give up or do himself harm.  I am just sorry that I wasn’t here when he made his escape attempt.”

“It wasn’t your fault.  You can’t be everywhere at once.  He’s back, he’s safe.  That’s all that matters for now,” John said quietly.  He knew there were going to be challenges ahead, but how tough they were going to be he didn’t know.

o0o

To everyone’s utmost surprise, the voice of their father requesting permission to land just over an hour later had a few mouths hanging open and ten minutes later he was in the lounge, facing them, a small bag in his hand.

“We didn’t expect you back this soon,” John said in a somewhat neutral voice.

“I wanted to get this to you as soon as possible,” he replied holding up the bag.

“What is it?” Virgil asked.

“Brains—Dr Hackenbacker—developed this with the aid of a dermatology expert.  It’s for Scott.  A special cream to use on his scars to help them shrink and fade.  I figured he’d want to start using it as soon as possible.”

Virgil stepped forward to take it from him, opened it and pulled out one of the jars to read the instructions, then nodded.  “Thanks, dad.”

“I also have a message from your grandmother.  She’s just finalising arrangements back in Kansas and should be arriving back here in the next day or so.”

Sally had flown out just before Jeff had announced he was leaving the boys to cope on their own, to arrange cover for her absence at the local hospital and find a permanent replacement, and issue instructions to the farm manager regarding the running of the property.

“It’ll be good to have her here,” John said.

“How’s Scotty doing?” Jeff asked.

“He was upset that you left,” John came back with, rather sharply.  “I could see it in his face even though he tried to hide it.”

Virgil tried to give him a warning glance which the elder brother promptly ignored.

“He gave us the run around this morning,” Gordon broke in, not seeing the subtle shakes of his older brothers’ heads that were saying ‘shut up Gordon!’  “Knocked Virgil unconscious and did a runner, but we got him back before he killed himself by falling over the cliff.”

Virgil was so tempted to do a face palm, but refrained.  John closed his eyes and waited for the expected outburst.

“What!” Jeff exploded.  “How did he get the drop on you, Virgil?”

“I checked him, he was asleep, so I decided to finish setting up the supplies in the cupboards.  I guess… I guess he wasn’t as asleep as I thought.  He jumped me as I was coming out of the stores cupboard, then ran.  It was an episode of PTSD.  He was totally disorientated.”

“I don’t know how he managed to get all the way up to the cliff path,” Gordon muttered.  “I mean, have you seen him?  He looks like he couldn’t even get across this lounge, but he did it!”

“You went after him with tranquiliser guns!” Alan broke in.

“What!” Jeff exclaimed again.  “You went after your own brother with the intention of shooting him?”

“In case you’ve forgotten, Scott’s been trained to kill.  Virgil’s damn lucky he wasn’t seriously injured.  We couldn’t take the chance of getting too close to him,” Gordon said matter-of-factly.

“So, you shot him?”

“Didn’t need to in the end,” John said.  “He backed himself up on the cliff and it um… kinda crumbled under his feet, but Virgil caught him and pulled him to safety, then he collapsed.  Virg carried him back.”

“Where is he now?  Back in the infirmary?”

“No, he’s in his bedroom,” John replied.  “We figured it was more… homely.  It’s got his stuff in there, familiar things.”

“So who’s with him at the moment?”

“No one.  Kyrano worked some of his magic on him and Scott’s out for the count.  I’m going back up there shortly,” John spoke again.  “Kyrano said he’d be asleep for three hours, but I’ve decided to play it safe and return after two.  Just needed to stretch my legs.”

“Dad, Scott looks awful,” Alan said quietly.

“What did I say to you about keeping that to yourself?” Virgil snapped at him.

“Not to… but it’s true!”

“Doesn’t matter!  You’re not to say things like that, just in case Scott hears you.”

“Virgil’s right, son.  Keep those kind of thoughts to yourself,” Jeff said.  “I’m just going to go see him, then I’ve got to leave.”

“But you’ve just got here!” Alan moaned.

“Boys,  believe it or not, I’m doing this for all your benefit.  I want to ensure you’re looked after for the rest of your lives.  Remember when we had almost nothing?  When I nearly lost the business, our home?  I never want us to be in that position again.  Once I know the business can almost take care of itself, then I promise you, I’ll be home a lot more often.”

“But what about Scott, dad?  You didn’t hear the disappointment in his voice when he found out you’d gone,” John said.

“He understands, John.”

“He may well understand, dad, but that doesn’t stop him having the feelings he has; that you think more of the business than of him.  Your eldest son, who’s been subjected to unspeakable horrors and once again you’re not there for him!”

“John…” Jeff’s voice took on a warning tone.

“No dad.  Right now, Scott desperately needs his father; he needs to hear that you’re proud of him, of his bravery and courage.  Why can’t you tell him you’re proud of him?”

“Wait… what?” Alan interrupted.  “Is this true?”

John turned to him.  “Why do you think Scott keeps pushing himself harder and harder?  Because he’s looking for approval from our father, but he never gets it.  Virgil and I have noticed it time and time again.”

“So have I,” Gordon added.  “It’s true.  You praise everyone else but never him.  It’s not fair.”

“Life isn’t fair, Gordon.  I’m preparing Scott to face whatever the world will throw at him,” Jeff retorted.

“So being tortured to within an inch of his life isn’t sufficient?  You’re unbelievable!”

“What?” Alan said.  “What do you mean tortured to within an inch of his life?”

“It doesn’t matter—” Jeff began replying only to be interrupted again.

“Like hell it doesn’t!” Virgil exclaimed.  He looked at Alan.  “Turns out, when Spectrum rescued Scott he wasn’t expected to last the day.  He stopped breathing and he crashed in the hospital and I thought we were—”

“Virgil!  That’s ENOUGH!” Jeff barked.  “Alan doesn’t need to know the details, he’s too—”

Alan began to bristle.  “I’m not a fucking child anymore, dad!  I’m an adult!  You shouldn’t keep things like this from me!  It’s Scott we’re talking about!”

“I know, and you’ll watch your language when you talk to me!”

They had been so busy arguing, they didn’t notice movement from the stairs until a weak voice spoke.

“S – stop… pl – please st – stop.”

They all turned as one to see a grey-faced Scott, clinging onto the door frame as if his life depended on it, tears coursing down his cheeks at hearing the argument.

“Scotty!”  Alan went to rush to his side until Virgil grabbed his arm and stopped him dead in his tracks.

“Slowly, Alan.  Slowly.  Don’t rush at him.”  He looked at his big brother, pale and trembling, let go of the youngest and walked slowly towards him.  “Do you need to sit down, bro?” he asked him quietly.

Scott’s face crumbled at his weakness and he nodded jerkily.

“Okay, I’m coming to give you a hand, all right?”  He took the feeble nod as a positive and moved carefully to his side.  “I’m putting my arms around you, Scott, to support you and then we’re going to move into the lounge properly and get you down on a sofa.”

“I’ll get some water,” Alan offered, disappearing slowly from view.

“And I’ll get the first aid kit.  Scott’s arm is bleeding.  I guess he pulled the IV out,” Gordon added and went to carry out his task.

Jeff watched as John went down into the lounge and rearranged the cushions on one of the sofas; one with a nice view out to the swimming pool, the beach beyond and the sea.  Then helped Virgil get Scott comfortable on the couch, carefully lifting his legs so he was laying across it, his body propped up against the cushions.

“Are you comfortable, Scotty?” John asked softly.

Scott nodded as Virgil grasped his arm and applied pressure to the wound whilst Jeff just continued to stand and watch.

Gordon came back with the first aid kit, set it down on the coffee table and quickly rummaged for the necessary supplies to clean Scott’s arm of the blood that had run down it.  Alan returned with the glass of water and put it down on the table whilst his two elder brothers fussed over his hero.

“You shouldn’t be up,” Virgil said gently as he inspected the wound to see if it had stopped bleeding.  It had, so Gordon cleaned it and put a plaster over it.

“I – I heard you… arguing.  I – I can’t be the… the cause of your disagreements.  Maybe it would be better if… if you sent… sent me away.”

“No, Scotty!  Never!” All four brothers protested together.

Alan picked up the glass of water and held it out to Scott, who took it with a shaking hand and managed to take a few sips before giving it back.

“Th – thanks, Allie.”

“I’m sorry we woke you up,” Virgil said, a hand on his big brother’s shoulder.  “But you need to know that we would never send you away.  This is your home; it’s where you belong; with your family, not with strangers who know nothing about you.”  He turned to face his father.  “Right, dad?”

Silence seemed to reign a little longer than necessary before Jeff replied.  “Of course,” he finally answered and started to move closer.  “We brought you home so you could recover by being surrounded by your family, Scott.”  He gingerly sat down on the edge of the couch and placed a hand on his son’s thigh, as both of Scott’s hands were currently being held by two brothers, and wondered how much of the ‘discussion’ his eldest had heard.  “Son, I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up… I had to go into the office to sort some work out.  I haven’t been in since I embarked on the mission to accompany Spectrum in my search for you.  I need to… what I’m doing, is to ensure you all have a secure future, I swear to you.  It’s not because I don’t care for you; I love every single one of you,” Jeff insisted.  He stared at Scott’s face; eyelashes made long and thick by the tears in his eyes, the blue extra bright.  Beautiful, expressive eyes that were currently expressing pain, anguish, sorrow and… fear.

The brothers waited; hoping to hear their father say what was desperately needed, but it didn’t come.  Instead, Jeff changed the subject.

“I’m sorry this is a flying visit.  I have to leave again, but I’ve delivered a special cream, Scott; it should help reduce the scarring.  Virgil’s got it and we’ll start the treatment as soon as possible.”  He patted his eldest’s leg gently and stood up.  “Hopefully I’ll be back at the end of next week to spend some time with you—with all of you.”  He looked around at his other sons and felt the displeasure emanating from them, so he bade a hasty retreat once he uttered his final words.  “Take care of each other.  Love you all.”

And then he was gone.

“Fucking unbelievable!” Alan muttered half to himself.

“Good job grandma’s not here,” John said looking at him.  “You’d be washing your mouth out with soap right about now.”

“Tell me you’re not thinking it, John,” Alan retorted and he raised his eyebrows as his brother made no response.  “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“Guys,” Scott said in almost a whisper.  “Dad’s right.  You know he is.  He’s securing our future, don’t be angry with him.”

Virgil’s shoulders slumped.  Time and time again, Scott defended their father’s actions, even though many of them had personally caused him a lot of pain and anguish.

“Scotty, you’re the best brother any of us could ever ask for,” he finally replied as he gently squeezed his shoulder.

“Yeah, we love you bro,” Gordon added, tightening his hold on Scott’s hand.

The tears that were threatening to start falling again, did so.  “I love you guys,” he said between sobs and slowly and gently they all gathered close for a group hug.

It’s still Wednesday somewhere…just

They’d left him alone for…a while. Scott no longer had any concept of what time was, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen the sky. The solitary lightbulb in his cell came and went with no regularity.

So. It had been a while.

Scott didn’t know whether he was thankful for it or not.

With thanks to @the-original-sineater and @mariashades

For @gala1981 who asked for @augustofwhump day 25 2025: Force fed, with Scott Tracy. Just for you, Gala, have some POW/Political Prisoner Scott. Mwah! Prequal to Old Enemies and New Friends.

Warnings: Medical treatments, force-feeding torture, mention of vomiting and blood, panic attack

~

This was new.

Scott had gone to sleep (read “was beaten unconscious again and dumped back in his godforsaken cell) but he certainly wasn’t there now.

This was a hospital room.

Thought it was about time to do a re-draw of this classic

John has guest lectured all across the world, but the University of Edinburgh’s School of Physics and Astronomy will forever be one of his favorite places to teach. The students there are bright and questioning, the staff room has an unlimited urn of hot tea, and there’s a great little park, quiet and square, towards the very edge of campus, to have his lunch in. Penelope, who John is starting to suspect invited herself along more for the wee bonny hats and Scottish shortbread than to actually see him, pointed him in its direction on his first day, and John quickly found himself spending not just his lunch break but his after-work hours too there, poring over his class notes and the stack of books he's borrowed from their library, all while the local residents build up enough curiosity to check the new not-squirrel out.

A white paper bag of mixed bird seed has started to live, full time, in the astronaut’s pocket, and the squirrels quickly come to recognize John as an easy, friendly, source of food. The students think it’s hilarious; these ginger balls of fluff tailing their gangly ginger professor, but John doesn’t much mind their light teasing. The kids are great, and he’s happy enough to be their weird, eccentric astronautics tutor. He snaps photos of the few squirrels he's come to recognize - the one with the stringy tail, the bent ear, the fat little tummy - and sends them to Gordon in lightly petty vengeance for the three hundred gormless fish photos he'd received from his brother during his latest reef trip.

@whumperless-whump-event Day 30: Inexperienced caretaker / "I don't know what to do."

Thunderbirds, Scott, Ruth and Jeff Tracy. 300 words, triple drabble.

Carries on from Day 9: Flies.

~

Ruth wouldn’t usually answer a call from home while she was in clinic, but her grandsons were all sick and she’d just stopped for a break, so she answered.

‘Lucy?’

‘I don’t know what to do, Grandma!’

For @augustwritingchallenge 2026. This fic will incorporate several of the prompts, but for now have the introduction for my first Steampunk Fic.

~

A hundred years ago a new and highly virulent disease rampaged across a world already devastated by the Global Conflict. Millions died.

There still is no cure.

Those that remain now live in sprawling cities with giant walls to keep the infected out. The GDF, once the global police force, now police those cities, removing any who show signs of infection.

Technology is all but non-existent. The world runs on steam once again, electricity reserved for only the most important inner-city functions run by the council and carefully hoarded as a valuable asset – the cities are too large for steam to support electricity for everyone.

And the GDF Inspectors police it all – ruthlessly.

John’s already lost his father to these Inspectors. And now he watches helplessly as they drag his older brother Scott away, leaving him in charge of his brothers along with their Grandma.

Following from this WIP Wednesday

~

He took his time finishing his meal, including a dessert and then coffee, before nonchalantly heading back to Tracy Towers and their - no, *his* - apartment.

Where he promptly threw up everything he’d eaten.

Once he’d cleaned up Jeff called John. His second eldest smiled in sympathy.

‘It’s done. Where is he, John?’

‘Not too far away. He’s holed up in Monkey Bar.’

Chapter 4 | 5 | AO3

@Maria asked: @augustofwhump 2025, Day 24 – Recovery, Gordon and @whumperless-whump-event Day Twenty: Here Comes Bad News: Scary diagnosis/ "I'll be right here the whole time."

~

Scott’s recovery wasn’t linear by any means. But being home, being around his family, gave Scott the one thing he’d been missing in the German hospital.

He was surrounded by people who loved him.

That love buoyed him up far more than the respect and treatment from the medical personnel.

Everyone rallied around him, both in person and long distance.

For @edutainer2022

Based on this post by @whumpologyy

~

He can’t feel his arms any more.

But that thought barely registers as there’s a commotion outside. He can hear muffled yelling, at least three voices, and a struggle…

“Enough!”

There’s a crack and all sound stops.

As does Scott’s heart.

He knows what metal against bone sounds like.

Wary of what’s about to happen he tries to get his feet a little more solid beneath him, an impossible task since he’s hanging high enough so just the tips of his bare toes are touching the ground.

The quiet murmur of moneyed people eating and chatting in The Polo Bar in NYC was shattered as Scott stood suddenly, tipping his chair backwards and almost taking out the waiter behind him.

He leaned across the table and snarled at his Father.

Jeff hadn’t even flinched, but he carefully and quietly put his cutlery down and dabbed at his mouth before sitting back and regarding his eldest.

A flash of irritation crossed his face.

‘Sit down, Scott. You’re making a scene.’

‘Making a scene? God forbid!’

Scott flung his napkin onto his plate and made to leave. The collective room held its breath.

‘You walk out now and that’s it.’

The two men stared at each other.

‘I mean it. I’ll cut you off completely. Totally disown you.’

‘Not if I disown you first! I’m done with you.’

Jeff watched his son storm out.

He sniffed quietly, picked up his knife and fork and continued eating.

The quiet murmur of moneyed people eating and chatting in The Polo Bar in NYC was shattered as Scott stood suddenly, tipping his chair backwards and almost taking out the waiter behind him.

He leaned across the table and snarled at his Father.

Jeff hadn’t even flinched, but he carefully and quietly put his cutlery down and dabbed at his mouth before sitting back and regarding his eldest.

A flash of irritation crossed his face.

‘Sit down, Scott. You’re making a scene.’

‘Making a scene? God forbid!’

Scott flung his napkin onto his plate and made to leave. The collective room held its breath.

‘You walk out now and that’s it.’

The two men stared at each other.

‘I mean it. I’ll cut you off completely. Totally disown you.’

‘Not if I disown you first! I’m done with you.’

Jeff watched his son storm out.

He sniffed quietly, picked up his knife and fork and continued eating.

Continuing Scott's long journey to full recovery. John, Virgil and Alan get him safely back to the villa, but Scott is feeling very sorry for himself and believes he is a burden and should be locked away.

Warnings for this chapter: self-loathing, depression, but finishes on an upbeat. Augmented material from Prompt 29.

Chapter 13 - You Didn't Need To Do This

“We need to get him back to the infirmary,” Virgil said, from where he was sitting on the ground, Scott clutched firmly against his chest, a hand gently carding through the chestnut brown hair as his head rested gently against his shoulder.

John shook  his head.  “No,” he replied as he knelt opposite Virgil and grasped his elder brother’s wrist to check his pulse.  “Not the infirmary.  It’s too cold and clinical.  We need to make him feel safe and secure, around familiar things so we can keep him grounded.  Believe me, Virgil, I know what he’s going through.”

His younger brother looked at him and frowned.  “There’s a story in there somewhere, isn’t there?”

“Yes, but that’s not important right now.  We need to concentrate on Scott.  I don’t know about you, but I can’t imagine getting through what he’s been subjected to in… that place.” He unconsciously stroked Scott’s shoulder.  “I always knew he was strong and tough but…”  He couldn’t finish the sentence.

“He looks so peaceful,” Virgil mumbled, looking at his eldest brother’s face, which was totally relaxed in his unconsciousness.  At that precise moment, Scott looked younger than his 23 years but he knew it wouldn’t last.  When Scott woke up, the pain, fear and uncertainty would be back in those oh, so blue eyes and seeing that would break Virgil’s heart all over again.

Gordon, who had kept quiet throughout that conversation, knelt next to Virgil and took hold of Scott’s other hand.  “I – I didn’t know he looked this bad… I know dad told us it was and not to be shocked when we saw him, but… this?  I – I hate to think what he looked like when he was first rescued.”

“It was far worse than this,” John said quietly.  “In fact, we thought dad had brought back the wrong man!  He’s improved a hundred percent.”

Gordon shuddered at that sentence, then took a deep breath and pulled himself together.  “We need to get him warmed up; in his weakened condition he’s heading for hypothermia.  And I don’t think he should be left on his own either,” he finally said in a quiet voice.  “Someone needs to be with him the whole time… just in case… you know…”

“Suicide watch?” Virgil whispered.  “Is that what you’re saying?”

Gordon flinched at hearing those two words, but nodded.

“You’re right Gordon, after what…” he stopped.  It wasn’t his right to divulge what Scott had said back in the hospital, about wanting to give up… to die, because he couldn’t take it anymore.

“After what?” Gordon prompted, but Virgil shook his head.

“I can’t tell you, Gordon.  If Scott wants to, then he will, but to be honest, as he’s so protective of us all, I don’t think he’ll speak of it again, especially because of your age.  I just can’t divulge what was said in confidence, so please don’t ask me to.”

Gordon looked upset, but nodded in understanding.  “Dammit, I’m an adult now though!  Do… do you think he’ll ever tell us what went on?  I mean… to start healing you have to acknowledge that… you know… it starts with admitting… and I want… I need Scotty to get better!  And I need to know so I can help him!”

“He gave what I think was a… doctored version of what went on to the JAG team and his CO because dad and I were there.  We didn’t want him to have to go through the interview and debrief without family support.”

“That’s the issue, Squid.  Dad drummed it into him that he had to fight his own battles, to man up.”  John gave a sort off choked off laugh and shook his head.  “Fine words coming from the man who ran off and left us to fend for ourselves for a year, left Scott to handle it all before Virgil and I finally stepped up to help him.  Hypocrite!  He’s not here now, when his eldest son so desperately needs his support.”  He stopped and looked at his two younger brothers.  “Come on, it looks like Scott isn’t going to regain consciousness at the moment.  Let’s start making our way back.  How do you want to do this Virg?”

“Well, Scott’s still underweight, I think I can manage him on my own—at least part of the way.  Hopefully he might regain consciousness in a bit.”

John and Gordon insisted on helping lift Scott into Virgil’s arms, then let him lead the way back to the villa, ready to offer assistance should it be required.

Scott didn’t regain consciousness on the journey back to the villa and Virgil managed to carry him all the way, finally depositing him on his own bed.  Gordon went down to the infirmary to fetch some medical supplies to treat the new injuries Scott had obtained in his bid for freedom.  When he returned to the bedroom, he’d found that John and Virgil had stripped Scott down to his boxers, dried him off and were just finishing cleaning him up.

Gordon couldn’t prevent a grimace crossing his features as he observed the still vivid scars on his eldest brother’s body; prominent due to them being only a few months old and Scott’s lack of physical condition.  “Oh God,” he whispered.  It was the first time he’d actually seen them.  “Scotty…”  He sniffed loudly and blinked the sting of tears from his eyes.  “I… I didn’t realise… they were this bad…”

“He tries to keep himself covered up,” Virgil said softly.

“That’s not right,” Gordon retorted.  “He shouldn’t be ashamed of his scars.  They’re his badge of courage; they show he’s lived.  And… he’s so… thin!”

“I know,” Virgil replied.

“At the moment, they are too much of a reminder of what he’s been through,” John added.  He was sitting on the edge of the bed, a hand holding one of Scott’s whilst his thumb gently drifted backwards and forwards over the back of it, as if to try and soothe away any hurt.  “They will fade; some will be almost invisible and we’re helping them along with a mixture of pure aloe vera and bee propolis.”

“He’s got the determination in him,” Gordon suddenly said.  “He shouldn’t have been able to get as far as he got in his condition.  If he’s got that kind of determination in him still, then he’s got the fight to recover, right?  We just need to bring it out… somehow.”

Virgil nodded as he took the medical supplies off his younger brother and carefully began to clean the fresh scrapes and cuts on Scott’s legs, hands and arms, before running the medical scanner over him.

“He’s dehydrated again and slightly hypothermic—we need to get some IVs from the infirmary supplies—he has a number of fresh bruises and a shoulder strain after his latest near miss.  He got off lightly.”  Virgil shuddered at the thought of how it could have ended as he indicated for John to get off the bed so he could draw the bed covers up over Scott’s body.  “Who wants to take the first watch?”

“I will,” John replied before Gordon could speak up.  “Just let me get my tablet.”

“We ought to let Alan see him, just so he can see that Scott’s okay, Gordon said.  “I’ll go get him.”

He disappeared and returned within a minute with Alan hot on his heels.  The youngest entered the bedroom eagerly but then skidded to a halt a little way from the bed; his expression said it all.

“That’s… Scott?” he asked in a strangled whisper.  “I – I can hardly recognise him! Look at him! And… oh God…” he stopped as he saw the scars and needlemarks on Scott’s arms and neck and Virgil was thankful he had covered his brother’s body so the youngest hadn’t seen the vivid ones on his chest and abdomen.  Alan felt the tears welling up in his eyes.  “He’s skin and bone!”

“Alan!” Virgil said slightly more sharply than he intended.  “Get rid of that expression on your face!  We need you to act as normal as you can around him.  Can you do that?  Scott’s self-conscious enough about his body being in the state it is.  He needs us more than ever before if he’s going to make a recovery.  Knowing Scott, he won’t want our pity, just our help and our support to get him back to full health.  He’s very depressed and it’s going to be really hard work.  He’s initially going to be down more than he’s up in these early days.  We have to keep positive to keep him feeling positive, to encourage him to recover.”

“Okay, I understand.  I’m 17, not 7!” Alan snapped back, but he couldn’t seem to drag his eyes away from the sight of Scott’s abused body and he wondered what the bedding was hiding beneath it.

“To Scott, you will always be his baby brother, no matter how old you get, so he will always want to protect you.”

“I want to do my bit to help, Virgil.”  The youngest carefully approached, leant over and kissed Scott’s forehead before straightening up and looking at his older brother.

“What’s wrong with him?  Why isn’t he waking up?” he asked, his voice fearful.

“He’s still weak and he’s over exerted himself today. It’s exhaustion mainly, with some dehydration and hypothermia,” Virgil explained.  “Okay, Alan off you go.  We need to let him rest.  I’m sure you have some school work to get finished?  And remember, next time, keep the look of horror off your face.”

“Of course I will,” Alan pouted, but did as he was told, turning on the threshold to take one last look at his sleeping brother before leaving.

“That goes for you too,” Virgil said to Gordon.  “Haven’t you got to prepare for leaving next week?”

“I was thinking of postponing it with, you know, Scott and everything.”

“You know perfectly well that Scott wouldn’t want you to jeopardize your career or put it on hold.  You need to report back to Marineville next week and embark on your own career, now that you’ve finished your training.  Besides, the WASP will really help prepare you for dad’s new rescue business when it gets off the ground.”

“Yeah… I guess.  I just don’t want Scott to think I’m deserting him, you know?”

“He would never think that.  You have your own life to lead and the last thing he would want is to feel like he’s being a burden and stopping you from following your dream.  Go on, off you go.”

“Okay Virg.  Thanks.”

Gordon and John passed one another just inside the doorway and nodded at each other, then the second eldest pulled a comfortable chair up to the side of Scott’s bed and made himself comfortable.

Virgil stood up.  “Can I get you anything?  A sandwich?  Some tea?” he asked.

“Would you mind?  That would be great, thank you.  Make a sandwich for Scott too.  We need to get some weight back on him.”

“Of course I don’t mind.  I wouldn’t have asked if I did.  Sure, I’ll bring both of you something to tie you over until Kyrano gets dinner ready.”  He paused in the doorway.  “We’re going to get through this, aren’t we John?”

There was a moment’s silence before the elder brother answered.  “Sure we will.  We just need to get Scott to come to terms with everything, accept help when it’s offered, then build him back up again.”

Virgil huffed.  “That’s going to be easier said than done.”  He sounded sad as he turned and left the room to carry out his task.

I know, John thought silently, looking at the peaceful features of his brother.  You helped me, Scotty.  Now it’s my turn to help you.  Please let me help you.

Virgil came back with the food about ten minutes later, placed it on the bedside cabinet, nodded at his immediate older brother and reluctantly left.

John was partway through eating his sandwich when Scott gave a little moan; his head jerked and then his breath hitched.

John leant forward.  “Easy, Scott.  You’re safe; everything’s okay.”  He carefully reached out and carded a hand through his brother’s hair in an attempt to soothe him.

Breathing became jagged as Scott’s body twitched a number of times, then his eyes flew open, wide with fear and he began panting.

“Hey, Scotty, steady.  It’s John; you’re safe okay?  Try and relax.”  He continued to run his fingers through his hair.

Scott looked about wildly, then finally managed to focus on his younger brother.  “J – John?” he questioned, as if not really believing he was actually there.  “J – John?”

“Yeah Scotty, it’s really me.”

Scott’s right hand moved surprisingly quickly and grasped John’s wrist, as if to confirm he wasn’t hallucinating and that he was really there.

“See, I’m real,” John reassured him in a soft voice.

“Wh – what happened?  I – I was in… that… that…”

“No, you weren’t, Scotty.  You were in our infirmary, here on the island.”

“No!  I – I jumped the medic and escaped, I—”

John shook his head.  “Scott, listen to me.  You’re here on the island.  We brought you home from the hospital yesterday, bro.”

Scott frowned.  “But I… then…”  He went white.  “Wh – who did I attack?”

“It doesn’t matter—”

“John!  Who!  Are they all right?  Did I hurt them?  John, tell me!”

John realised his brother was working himself up into a dangerous state, so told him.  “You attacked Virgil,” he said quietly.

The look on Scott’s face, broke his heart.

“Noooo!!  Did I… did I hurt him?  Is  he okay?  Please tell me he’s okay!”

“He’s fine, honest.”

“I – I didn’t mean it!  I didn’t know what I was doing, I need to see him, John, I need to see him!”  He attempted to get out of bed, but John held him in place.

“No Scott.  Stay where you are.  I’ll call him, but you need to rest.  You’re dehydrated, amongst other things.”

“Promise?”

“I’ll do it right now, as long as you stay where you are, okay?”

Scott nodded.

John got up slowly, moved to the door, warned Scott he was about to shout and called out for Virgil, who arrived a couple of minutes later.

“Something wrong?” he asked, concerned.

“Scott wants to see you; make sure you’re okay.”  He stood back and allowed his younger brother to enter.

Virgil saw the stricken expression on Scott’s face and moved towards him, sitting on the bed and slowly taking hold of his hand.  “Hey there, Scotty, how you feeling now?”

“I – I hurt you, Virgil!  I hurt you!”

“No, no you didn’t.  Look, I’m here, I’m fine, see?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”  He sat up quite sharply and Virgil very carefully pulled him into a hug.

“It’s okay, Scotty, it’s okay.  Shush now,  everything’s okay, everyone’s fine.  We just need you to get plenty of rest, eat and recover.  No serious harm was done.”  He rocked him in his arms and played with the hair at the nape of his neck.  “It’s okay, bro.”  Virgil felt him shaking slightly and knew he was crying.  Whether it was with relief, or self-loathing, he didn’t know and now was not the time to enquire.

“You – you know I wouldn’t… wouldn’t intentionally hurt any of you, right?”

“We know that bro.”  Virgil released him slightly so he could look into the tearful blue eyes.  They were such beautiful eyes, even if at the moment they were slightly bloodshot and not as bright as they usually were.  “Scotty, I’ve made you a sandwich, and I want you to eat it.  Will you do that for me… for all of us?”

“I don’t deserve—”

“Stop with the self-loathing,” John said firmly.  “You deserve our love and affection and always will, so do as you’re told and eat your sandwich and drink that water, you’ll feel better.”

Virgil let go of him and sat back a little.  The covers slipped down to expose Scott’s chest and he immediately made a grab for them to cover the ugly scars as if ashamed of them.

“Don’t do that, Scotty,” Virgil pleaded.  “You don’t have to cover up for us.  It won’t change the fact of what happened to you.  We know it upsets you, but never, ever be ashamed of your battle scars, okay?”

“I – I’m sorry,” he replied, still clutching the sheet to his chest.  It wasn’t only to hide the scars, but also what he looked like; ribs clearly visible, the lack of muscle and tone.  He didn’t recognise himself.

“And stop apologising,” John added.  “It is what it is.  If we had a time machine, we’d make sure this would never happen to you, but we haven’t and it did.  Life just sucks sometimes but the most important thing is, you’re alive, you’re home with us, you’re safe and you’re going to recover.”  He squeezed his brother’s bicep gently.  “And we’ll be by your side for as long as you need us to be.  Have you got that?”

The was a bit of a pause, then Scott nodded before speaking.  “What happened?” he asked softly.

“Uh huh, not telling you until you’ve eaten that sandwich,” John said firmly.

>Virgil did his best to suppress a grin.  Oh yeah… blackmail… he thought, then finally spoke.  “Okay, I’ll leave you two alone, I have things to do.  I’ll be back later.”  With that, he gave Scott a kiss on his forehead, got up and left.

Silence reigned for all of five seconds.

“You don’t have to stay if you’ve things to do,” Scott mumbled as he reluctantly nibbled at a corner of the chicken sandwich.

“I’m fine where I am.  Eat.”

Scott sighed and made a further attempt at the sandwich, whilst John fixed him with a stare that dared him to finish it, so he did.  Then he finished his water.  John disappeared to replenish it, then sat back down in his chair.  He was about to pick up his tablet again, when his brother spoke.

“What did I do?” he asked quietly.

John put the device down on his lap, took a deep breath and stared gently at him.  “You woke up disorientated.  We don’t know if you’d been dreaming or what, but you believed you were back… there.  You overpowered Virgil, managed to knock him out and escaped the villa…  Do you remember any of that?”

Scott looked stricken and shook his head.  “I – I attacked him; I could have seriously injured him! I – I could have killed him!”

“But you didn’t!  You’ve seen Virgil, he’s fine,” John said calmly.

“What happened next?”

“You found the trail up to the top of the ridge, towards the cliff path.  Virgil, Gordon and I followed you.  We knew you weren’t… fully cognisant with your surroundings and that we had to stop you.  Scott, we were terrified you would fall to your death, so Gordon got close enough to keep you distracted, whilst Virgil and I crept up on you from the sides.  We almost had you, but you got too close to the edge and it gave way and…”  John stopped, swallowed and took a deep breath.  “I still don’t know how Virgil managed to get close enough to grab your wrist and stop you falling to your death, but he did, then Gordon and I grabbed him and between us dragged you to safety.  You seemed to recognise us shortly after, and then you passed out and we brought you back here.”

Scott’s bottom lip trembled.  “I’m sorry, I – I don’t remember any of that.  I’m being a nuisance—”

“Scotty don’t.  Don’t say that.  You’re not a nuisance.  Why would you even think that?  You’re our brother and we love you.  You’re ill, but you’re recovering.  You will get better, we all believe that, and you need to believe it too.”

“I’m a danger to you all, perhaps you should have me locked away somewhere so I can’t hurt—”

“NO!” John barked, then apologised as Scott flinched away from him.  “No,” he repeated more gently.  “We’re not sending you to be locked away somewhere.  We’re going to take care of you and help you to get better, but you have to help yourself too, Scotty.  You’ve made a start; you’re talking to us.”

Silence reigned for a minute or so, then Scott sighed.

“You’re gonna be okay, Scotty.  You have to believe in yourself; you have to believe in us.”

“I – I don’t think I can be saved, Johnny.  I’m too broken.”

“Dammit Scotty, don’t talk like that!  You are worth saving and that’s what we’re going to do!  Do you hear me?  You are an incredible human being; you need to believe that!”  He suddenly moved off his chair, sending his tablet flying as he knelt by Scott’s bedside and grabbed his brother’s wrists before he could shrink back.  “You do want to get better, don’t you?” John asked him, a hint of fear in his voice.

Recovering his composure, Scott nodded slowly.  “Of – of course I do!  Do you think I like being like this?  Weak, useless, a burden?”

“Stop it!  Stop talking like that!”  John felt tears prickling his eyes.  “You’re not weak!  You can’t be weak or you wouldn’t be here!  Neither are you useless and you’re definitely not a burden.  Just stop with those kind of thoughts, please.”

“I’m sorry.”

“And stop apologising, or so help me…  Just accept the fact that your family love you beyond measure.  We’ll do anything for you Scotty; like we know you’d do anything for us, and right now, we want you to think positively about your recovery, okay?  No more self-doubt or self-recrimination.  We believe in you and you have to believe in yourself, understood?”

Scott nodded tentatively, but he looked exhausted.

“Now, lie down and get some sleep.  You’ll feel better once you’ve had some rest.  I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“You don’t have to stay—”

“I’m staying and that’s final.”

Scott studied him through tired eyes.  It took his brain a while to put the pieces of the puzzle together.  “Oh my God!  You’re on suicide watch aren’t you?”

“I’m not going to lie to you Scotty.  Yes,” John replied without hesitating.  “But it’s just a precaution, in case you have another PTSD episode. We managed to stop you falling to your death last time, if—and it’s only an if—you have another episode, we might not be so lucky and we would never forgive ourselves if something happened to you.  I don’t think we could bear it, so we’re being over cautious because we love you, okay?  It’s not because we don’t trust you, we just want to be a hundred percent sure we can keep you safe until you recover.  Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Scott stared at him.  “You don’t trust me.”

“Oh for God’s sake, listen to yourself!  Did you hear what I just said to you?  Because it certainly doesn’t sound like it!”  He got to his feet and instead, threw himself down beside Scott on the bed.  “Do you have any idea what it would do to us if we let something happen to you on our watch?  What would you feel like if one of us was ill and you left us alone and the worst happened?  You’d be blaming yourself, right?  So we’d do the same.  Better to be paranoic about keeping you safe, Scotty; you have to understand that, right?  I’m scared, Scott.  I’m more than scared, I’m terrified!  And none of us would ever forgive ourselves if we allowed something to happen to you because we weren’t paying attention.”

It was just too much for Scott to handle.  His mind was confused.  On one side he was angry, but on the other he was thankful for the love of his family, but whatever he was feeling, it made him so very tired and he surrendered to John’s ministrations.

He felt incredibly safe in John’s arms, and within just a few minutes, he had fallen asleep, and stayed that way for a number of hours.

When he next resurfaced, he still found John’s arms around him, and his younger brother looking at him gently.

“Feeling better?” John asked him softly.

Scott scrubbed his eyes as his brain slowly booted up again.  “How long…?” he asked.

“About five hours.”

“And you’ve been holding me all this time?”

“I guess.  I may have dozed a bit too but yeah.  That’s what brothers do, man.”

“You didn’t need to do this,” Scott mumbled.

“Of course I did, you idiot!  You slept well; that’s what we all wanted for you.”

“I – I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t need to say anything!  You’d do the same for us, so it evens out.  Simple as that.”

“Where… where’s dad?”  Scott felt John stiffen slightly, and sighed.  “He’s not here, is he?” he asked in a whisper.  The tone of his voice brought tears to John’s eyes.

“No, he isn’t, Scotty.  He said he needed to go into the office as he hasn’t been there for several weeks.  I’m sorry he’s not here, I tried to stop him.”

“It’s okay,” came the reply, but John understood the hidden undertones in those two words and in that moment, hated his father with a vengeance.  Unconsciously, he tightened his hold on his brother.

It’s not okay; not by a long shot, John thought.  Their dad thought more of his company than of his eldest child.  The child that had been through sheer hell and back; who was still struggling in his recovery; who desperately needed his father, but had been deserted by him yet again.  He thought desperately about what he could say in response.

“But you’ve got all of your brothers… that’s far better than a grumpy old man, isn’t it?”  He tried to keep his tone light.

There were a few moments silence, then Scott spoke again.  “I am truly blessed to have such caring brothers.”

“Yes, you are and don’t you forget it!”

Scott actually cracked a small smile.  “Thanks, Johnny.  For being you; for everything.”

“Any time, Scooter.  Just one thing?”

“What?”

“Don’t call me Johnny.”

And for the first time in quite a while, Scott laughed albeit a little nervously.

@whumperless-whump-event Day 14: The Final Straw: Grief / "You don't need to be okay right now." Thunderbirds, Jeff & Scott Tracy Part One: 200 words, Double Drabble Part Two: 200 words, Double Drabble

~ ‘And give my regards to your lovely wife.’

It had been kindly meant by a semi-regular customer but to Jeff it was the final straw.

All the walls he’d erected around his heart and his grief crumbled like a cookie dipped too long in milk.

He shattered.

@whumperless-whump-event Day Seventeen: We All Make Mistakes: Injury while cooking / Soft wound tending / "Let me take care of you this time."

Thunderbirds, Lilian, Aloysius Parker, Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward. 200 words, double drabble.

~

Lillian huffed angrily.

A little slip on a dribble of cooking oil she hadn’t noticed spilling…and wham!…a broken arm.

Parker had driven her to the hospital last night and brought her home early this morning with it in plaster. Now how was she going to do breakfast?

She’d try but…