#janetm74

These last three months he’d gone from being completely alone to suddenly finding he had been enfolded into a Very Loud, Very American family via this five-years-younger-than-him blue-eyed Math genius who’d rescued him from the fountain he’d been dumped in by the jocks, picked him up, insisted that he move in with him once he’d seen the tiny studio flat Brains had, and then had flown him to America – in a private jet of all things – and introduced him to his father.

His father.

Jeff Tracy.

Who had been at first bemused by the excitement Scott had shown over his rough idea of a Mach 21 engine, had listened intently to him and before the dinner was served had already offered him a job once his latest degree was finished…

He had gone from Hiram Hackenbacker to “Brains” in less than an hour, and even Scott began to call him that despite initially correcting everyone. Hiram had never been given a nice nickname before…he quite liked it.

He’d thought that that was it – Scott and he had returned to Oxford, England and both carried on classes until it was time for the Christmas break.

Brains had planned a quiet few days at home in Cambridge with his adopted father – if *he* could be dragged away from his work – and to concentrate on his engine plans now that Mr Tracy had promised an investment of both interest and money.

Scott had no idea of Brains’ plans, but in typical Scott-fashion he had already promised his Dad that Brains would be with him for Christmas at the Creighton-Ward manor. And he’d proceeded to explain to Brains why he absolutely needed to attend…and Brains began to nod in agreement.

So here he was, watching Scott bandage his finger while waiting for some kind of driver called “Parker” to arrive and pick them up.

‘Is whatever you’re working on ok?’

‘It’s fine.’

He watched as Scott picked up what he’d been working on, looking it over before handing it back to him with a lopsided grin.

‘Nice servos. You should show Virgil. He’d love this.’

‘D-D-Do you know what it is?’

‘Nope. But I know engineering when I see it. And I promise that Virgil will speak your language.’

‘O-O-Okay. I look forward to discussing M-M-MAX with him.’

‘Max?’

Brains reached out and took the housing off Scott with a shy grin. He took a small data chip  housed in a protective case out of his pocket and held it up to show Scott.

‘M-M-MAX m-m-meet Scott.’

Scott’s grin grew wider and he waved at the chip.

‘Hi Max! I look forward to meeting you properly.’

A car horn sounded and Scott practically jogged to the window, pulled back the curtain and waved.

‘That’s Parker. Let’s go!’

And before Brains could blink Scott had grabbed his own bags, Brains’ bag and was holding the door open with his hip, hopping from foot to foot like he always did when he was excited about something.

Brains’ put MAX back in his pocket, grabbed the box of bits and pieces he’d been working through, threw in his lucky screwdriver and followed Scott out the door.

And stopped short at the sight of a shockingly bright pink Rolls Royce.

Parker had taken their bags and stored them in the back and was currently holding the door open for him, Scott already having taken his seat.

‘P-P-Pink…’

‘Yes, Sir.’

‘Pi-Pi-Pink.’

‘Indeed. May h’I take h’yawr box?’

‘Pink. Er…thank you?’

Brains blinked rapidly as his box was gently removed from his arms and placed on the seat beside Scott and he slid onto the seat.

He was still blinking when they drove off, the pink having absolutely short-fused his brain. Scott laughed and settled back to enjoy the ride and with a start Brains realised he was talking, but Brains hadn’t heard a thing. He relaxed back and picked up the tiny casing he’d put together and carried right on working, thinking that it was a great start for MAX.

They travelled for a couple of hours – not that Brains realised that much time had passed – and suddenly the door was being held open and Brains was once again blinking at the change of scenery as he climbed out of the car. Scott slipped out beside him and waved before grabbing his arm and dragging him up the stairs.

On the top of the short staircase stood a girl, somewhat younger than Scott but not by much. He watched as Scott grabbed her around the waist and swung her around to giggling and a fake-outraged *”put me down, Scott Tracy, you heathen,”* and then Brains was shaking hands with a Lady.

‘Mr Hackenbacker, welcome. I am Penelope Creighton-Ward, but you can call me Penny.’

‘Th-Th-Thank you. Please c-c-call me Brains.’

‘Brains then. Parker will show you both to your rooms and give you some time to freshen up. Scott – your father has messaged to say they’ll be here in around an hour.’

‘Great! Lead on, Parker.’

‘Very good, Master Scott.’

There was something amusing in what Parker had said and Brains had no idea what it was, but there were twinkles in both men’s eyes. Brains didn’t ask what was going on, just followed the two up the stairs to his room (which was thankfully not pink) and he took his time unpacking his bag. He placed his box on the table, wondering if he’d even get the chance to use anything…

Whether he was to return downstairs now or later was solved by Scott knocking on his door. Once Brains opened to him Scott threw himself onto one of the chairs – this whole bedroom was larger than Brains’ studio flat! – and grinned.

‘You’ll like Penny. She’s fun.’

“Fun” was not a word Brains would have used of a younger member of the opposite sex let alone a member of the aristocracy…this was a completely foreign concept for him. He resolved to follow Scott’s lead – although he didn’t think that he’d be picking Penny up and swinging her around by her waist…

Brains flushed scarlet at the thought.

‘Is she alone here?’

‘Nah, her Dad will be back tomorrow.’

‘Oh g-g-good.’

‘You ready to explore?’

‘Explore?’

‘Yes! I need to show you how to get around, where the kitchen is and the dining room and the like. Although Penny will tell you to just pull the bell cord if you need anything and Parker will sort it out for you.’

He wasn’t sure if Scott was joking or not until the man sprang from the chair to show the yellow embroidered chord hanging beside the ornate fireplace.

‘Oh. Y-Y-Yes please, I would l-l-like to know my way around.’

They spent some time exploring. Scott introduced him to the cook, Lillian, who pressed a cup of tea into his hands, and then he followed his friend around the large mansion.

Time flew and the next thing he knew the main door was opening and a 7-year-old blonde whirlwind had almost knocked him over in his haste to get to Scott, who swung him into the air before settling him on his shoulders.

And Brains jumped aside as a second blonde crashed into Scott’s legs, almost toppling him if it hadn’t been for the black haired one Brains recalled as being called Virgil racing around to brace Scott from behind in an obviously well-rehearsed manoeuvre.

Then John was there, standing beside his brothers but not engaging in any horseplay, and Penny was nudging John with a smile and Brains remembered how loud they all were together.

‘Brains! So glad you could make it!’

And Mr Tracy was shaking his hand before moving forward into the house, trailing children in his wake. And then came Parker with his arms loaded down.

It was organised chaos.

They settled into the large sitting room. Parker had laid the fire before leaving to pick up Scott and Brains, and it was now roaring away. The Tracys settled around it, John sitting the closest  and Brains watching in amusement as he shed the many layers he was wearing. Scott settled in the middle of one couch and was immediately swamped by Alan on one side and Gordon on the other, the two youngest talking over themselves to Scott, who was somehow able to hear both of them and hold two conversations at once.

Virgil and Mr Tracy settled with him and seamlessly continued the conversation they had left at Thanksgiving, asking about his doctorate and any further designs that he had planned. It could have been an excellent point to bring MAX out and the housing he’d just began to make. But he hadn’t grabbed either, and to leave now would be rude, so Brains contented himself with discussing the refinements he’d been making on the Mach 21 engine he’d been designing when he’d met Scott on that fateful day.

Conversations flowed – something that still surprised Brains as he’d not ever experienced this level of ease in like…forever – and pretty soon the day had turned into evening and Parker was ushering them into the dining room for dinner.

Just as they were seated at dinner what Brains assumed was the front door sounded and Parker left to answer it. It explained why there was a spare seat at the table between Scott and John, and not too long after Parker arrived and announced their guest.

‘Miss Kyrano.’

“Miss Kyrano” turned out to be the girl Brains had only seen via holo on Scott’s watch and had been introduced to him as “Kayo” and as their sister. Brains had been confused about her absence when the rest of the Tracys came together but seeing her in the flesh made him realise that she must be adopted, and his heart swelled at such a generous family.

All the boys’ faces lit up at her appearance, and once more chatter flowed easily as a three-course meal was consumed by all. Brains couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten so much but he was pleasantly full of food and good company, and by the time they all returned to the sitting room he was nodding off.

He hadn’t even noticed the large Christmas tree in the back corner of the room until Alan and Gordon began clamouring to open one present. He watched in amusement as Mr Tracy pulled out a huge bag of gifts and began arranging them around the base. Scott pulled a bag out that he’d hidden earlier and joined him.

Alan and Gordon fairly bounced on the sidelines, watching closely as the presents piled up.

Eventually the tree had an impressive pile beneath it and everyone sat back down, this time Scott with John, Virgil and himself, and Mr Tracy with Gordon, Alan and Kayo. Penny was seated on a chair beside the couch and was quietly chatting with John.

‘Please, Dad! Please can we…’

Mr Tracy laughed and pretended to think about it as Scott explained that it had been a family tradition that they could all open just one present on Christmas Eve.

‘Alright. One present only. But!’

The two youngsters waited for him to carry on, almost bursting at the seams with excitement.

‘You must hand out one present for everyone present first before you can open your own.’

‘Cool!’

‘Ok!”

There was much amusement as the pair ran back and forth between the couches and the tree but eventually everyone but Brains had a gift in their hands.

Alan looked at Brains, a small frown on his face.

‘You don’t have a gift. Why don’t you have a gift? Why doesn’t Brains have a gift?’

That last sentence was addressed to Scott, an accusing tone in his voice. Scott smiled but didn’t answer him, instead leaving it for Brains to explain.

‘I d-d-don’t celebrate Chr-Chr-Christmas.’

‘You don’t? Why not?’

‘Alan…’

‘No, I d-d-don’t mind. I was r-r-raised Hindu. We d-d-don’t celebrate this religious d-d-day, but we celebrate many others.’

‘Oh. I thought everyone celebrated Christmas.’

‘Sorry, Sprout. Not everyone does.’

‘I don’t either, not really.’

Kayo’s warm voice filled the pause as Alan took this new information in. He looked from Brains to Kayo in confusion.

‘But…I don’t understand.’

‘Brains doesn’t celebrate Christmas because he is a different religion. I was also brought up in a different religion but I choose to buy you all gifts. It doesn’t mean I actually celebrate Christmas though. Not everyone you meet will celebrate, Alan.’

‘Oh.’

The blonde thought for a moment, shrugged his shoulders and sat back next to his Dad. Mr Tracy nodded approvingly at Kayo and she blushed slightly. Brains wanted to thank her for explaining it so well but a knock at the door had him pausing, especially when Penny frowned.

‘I’m not expecting anyone else,’ she said, looking to Parker who totally failed to keep his face expressionless.

‘Oh, sorry, Penelope. That would be me.’

‘Jeff?’

‘This one is a gift for Kayo.’

Kayo stared at Jeff, and Brains found himself holding his breath. Everyone’s eyes followed Parker as he left and opened the door. Everyone strained to hear what was being said as footsteps and very quiet voices got closer.

And then the door opened and a man stood on the threshold.

‘Ayah?’

‘My blessing.’

‘Ayah!’

And Kyrano was hugging his daughter tightly while mouthing “thank you” to Jeff.

‘I know you don’t celebrate, Kayo, but I hope you don’t mind this gift I got for you.’

She turned to Jeff, still holding onto her father tightly, and gestured for him to come over, and Kayo enfolded him into the hug too. The Tracy boys weren’t too far behind until only Brains, Penny and Parker were left.

Penny turned to Brains and laid a hand on his forearm.

‘Welcome to the Tracy family and friends, Mr Hackenbacker. We are most wonderfully blessed to have them.’

So used to suiting up at a moment’s notice for his work, it took John very little time to get ready for the day. He was dressed and presentable within minutes. Before he left the solitude of his room, he grabbed one of his cameras; if he was up this early, he might as well take the opportunity to shoot some shots.

He traipsed down to the kitchen, being as quiet as his stumbling legs would allow him to be so he wouldn’t wake the rest of his family. A couple of his brothers, he knew, would already have been awake, but the rest of the household deserved all the rest they could get. It had been a difficult week readjusting Dad back into life back on Earth. The break they had requested from the GDF — or rather had asserted the organisation was going to be taking — had been desperately needed. 

John’s idea had been to grab a quick morning snack before heading out onto the peaks but, as he entered the kitchen and noticed the small figure sitting alone on the edge of the pool, John’s plan quickly changed.

He abandoned the idea of breakfast and stepped out onto the cool concrete of the patio. If the sun hadn’t yet risen and the darkness of night had still been reigning supreme, John might have mistaken him for Gordon. But, as the golden rays shone down onto Alan, they made him look like the kid he still barely was.

John quietly stood beside him. “Are you normally up this early?”

Alan, who had his pyjama bottoms rolled up to his knees so his feet could be dipped into the pool, gently shook his head. “Couldn’t sleep.”

Many-a-time had John struggled to wake Alan up, even during one of his naps in the middle of the day. When the kid was out, he was out, so the easy confession made John’s instincts kick in.

Alan not being able to sleep wasn’t normal.

Worried, but determined not to show it, John casually sat himself down beside Alan. His jean cuffs were rolled up to match his little brother’s so he too could dip his feet into the pool.

“Jesus, Alan! This water is freezing!”

“Sun hasn’t warmed it up yet.”

“That’s why the pool has a heating system, you know?”

Alan shrugged. “Seemed like a waste to put it on if it was just my feet in there. It’s okay, they’ve got used to the temperature now.”

Pulling himself back up to stand, John huffed. He didn’t want to calculate how long that meant Alan had been out there. He walked over to the controls, set the pool heater to a sensible temperature, and then made his way back to his brother. When he sat himself back down, he crossed his legs and avoided touching the pool until the water had warmed up.

“What kept you awake?”

Again, Alan shrugged. “Dunno.”

“Nightmares?” John carefully probed. It wouldn’t have been the first time Alan had suffered from night terrors.

To his initial relief, Alan shook his head. His lack of a further verbal response, however, had John still worrying. 

Trust me, he thought to himself. Let me in, Allie. 

He cast a glance over. Sometimes it was easy to forget how young Alan was. Their work with International Rescue had all of them pulling crazy stunts and impossible feats, and Alan made it all look so easy. Sometimes they were all guilty of forgetting that Alan was still technically just a kid. Recently graduating high school didn’t change any of that over-night.

John’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not worrying about college, are you?”

He had thought the idea had been ridiculous to even suggest. This was Alan he was talking to. The kid would not only get the best pick of schools but he was also incredibly capable of doing anything he set his mind to.

The way Alan froze at his question, however, seemed to suggest that John had accidentally hit the nail on the head.

“Really? You know you have nothing to worry about there.” John continued, but when his brother still didn’t give him an answer, he coaxed, “Alan, come on. Talk to me. What’s going on in that mind of yours?”

For a moment, John wasn’t sure whether Alan was going to say anything ever again. His blue eyes were fixed on a lone canary coloured float that was drifting at the far end of the pool.

“Nothing’s going— My mind isn’t— I’m just…” Alan sighed deeply, squeezing his eyes tightly shut. “I don’t know.”

“That’s useful.”

John’s dry sarcasm was unusually welcomed by his younger brother, who cracked a small smile.

“Is it about choosing the college? Or the major? Or about making friends? Because, you do know that you will excel at all of that, regardless of anything that’s thrown in your way, right?”

Alan’s head shook. “No. No, it’s none of that.”

“Then what is it? Surely nothing is worse than those things. Are you worried about living away from home? Or—” 

“It’s Dad.”

John stopped mid-sentence and watched as his brother inhaled sharply.

“Dad?”

Alan’s fingers picked nervously at the hem of his pyjama shirt. A thread that had come loose was in danger of being completely pulled out. “Well, not Dad himself… It’s my… I don’t know. Maybe it is…”

Without checking the temperature, John dangled his legs over the edge of the pool once again so he could more easily shuffle closer to his younger brother. He was thankful the water had begun to heat up nicely so his feet didn’t freeze this time around. John placed his camera down beside him and gently took Alan’s hands in his in a feeble attempt to save the pyjama top from further destruction.

“Having Dad home is great, that’s not what I’m trying to say, by the way.” Alan quickly blurted out. “But, up until now, he was always, like, a figment of my imagination. He wasn’t real. There was no-one that I needed to impress, you know? I mean, other than Scott but… Scotty’s different. Dad’s… Dad.”

“Alan, you don’t need to worry about impressing him.”

“You don’t get it.”

“As the middle child of four impressive brothers, I think I do.” John attempted a soft smile, but Alan didn’t seem to notice.

“Try being the youngest of four impressive brothers.” He sighed again. “That’s not the point, though. Dad being back… I always dreamed of that day, no matter how impossible it seemed, and now that it’s happened and it’s real… I don’t know. Living up to whatever it is he’s hoped for us is kind of… scary?”

John wrapped an arm around Alan’s shoulders, but his brother remained as stiff as a rod. Softly, he attempted to pull him closer, but Alan shook him off.

He stood up, splashing John as his feet snapped out of the water with haste. “I’m fine.”

“Don’t pick up bad habits from Scott.”

“But I am, okay? I don’t need to be hugged or coddled, I just need to… I just need to grow up.”

The assertion had John stumped for a moment. Whilst Alan had been the youngest of them all, never had he shows signs of immaturity when it mattered. In some ways, John grieved the fact that Alan was never able to experience a normal childhood as he and his two older brothers had done. Even Gordon had received a semblance of normality before they’d all uprooted and moved to the island. Alan had been “grown up” for a far longer amount of time than he should have been. 

“Don’t say that.”

“What, the truth?”

“Alan…”

With less speed than his brother, John lifted his feet from the pool and stood himself up too.

“What if I’m not good enough, Johnny?” Alan’s voice broke, his face contorted to try and keep the tears at bay. “What if I’m a disappointment to Dad?”

“You’re not going to be.”

“You don’t know that!”

“Yeah, I do. You want to know why?”

Alan seemed unsure as to whether he should have allowed John to continue. He fidgeted, swaying from one leg to the other as his fingers pulled at that single thread of his shirt once again.

John didn’t wait for Alan to offer up an answer. He knew that an answer wasn’t going to be in the cards. “I know because of all the things I’ve seen you do, Alan. You say that you’re worried you won’t impress Dad but you impress us all every single day.”

He took a pause, allowing Alan a chance to try and negate that comment. When he didn’t, John stepped towards him and placed his hands on his shoulders. Alan’s watery eyes lifted to meet John’s.

“You’re already an amazing person, Alan, regardless of what Dad thinks, though I know he thinks it too.”

“How?”

“When we were in the Oort Cloud, I was co-piloting with Virgil and we had Dad onboard. You were flying ahead in Three and Dad was watching you pilot that craft with such awe, Alan. He asked us who taught you to fly like that. We told him you were a natural and he looked so proud of you, Allie. You don’t need to worry about proving yourself to him. That’s not something you’ve ever needed to be worried about.”

Alan crumbled at that. He fell forward and into John’s arms. The outburst was no doubt at least partly due to the fact that none of them had yet taken the time that week to fully process the fact that Dad was home. If John thought too hard about it, about what Alan had just confessed and what he’d said in response, he might have risked becoming overwhelmed too. No longer did they have to come up with imaginary what-ifs when it came to their father. Anything they wondered about, they could now confirm with a simple conversation and that… That was going to take some getting used to again.

Alan sobbed into John’s shirt, but John just held him. Their conjoined shadow began to show on the rocks behind them as the sun rose higher and higher in the sky.

“It’s okay, Allie. I’ve got you. You’re okay.”

“Sorry… ‘m sorry…”

John pulled him in tighter. “You don’t need to be sorry.”

“But you shouldn’t… need… I’m fine.”

His lips dared a smile. “I know, but I am and it’s alright. It’s always alright.”

Alan broke away and roughly wiped his cheeks with the back on his hand. “You were busy.”

“I wasn’t.”

He followed Alan’s gaze as it trailed over to the abandoned camera still sitting by the poolside.

“I was just going to take some photos of the sunrise.” John clarified.

“And I ruined that.”

“Hey, no. No, you didn’t.”

“Yeah, I did.” Alan hiccuped through a sniffle. “You had to become my emotional support again.”

“You know that I’m always willing to be that, Alan. You know you can lean on me whenever you need to, no matter what, okay?”

“But your photos!”

“I can still take some.” 

John observed the sky quickly, squinting as the warm sunlight bathed the pool in morning light, and then glanced back at Alan. “You can join me if you like? That way we can talk more, if you wanted?”