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Chapter Text

Scott figured it was probably time for a coffee break.

He had been looking at the same document for… a while now. After reading the same page for the 4th time, all the words were beginning to look the same, and he had processed none of it. Unfortunately, he was going to have to read it again, but first, coffee.

He stood from his desk.

Immediately his hands slammed down as he tilted forward. The papers slid slightly under his hands, crumpling under his fingers. Well. That wasn’t good.

Scott blinked hard, willing his vision to clear. He took a couple of steadying breaths. The world came back into focus. He thought he had at least one more day before his body crashed, but with these symptoms, he had a couple of hours, tops.

He probably needed sleep. But sleep was… not an option. Work doesn’t get done when you’re sleeping. And Scott has much too much work to be sleeping.

Plus, he already slept. He got a whole 3 hours of sleep after that 48-hour rescue in… Peru? A mudslide in Peru? Or was that last week’s mission? No, no, last week he was in Chile. He just came back from Peru… yes. It was a rescue that, thankfully, happened after (and not before) a very important and very long meeting with Tracy Industries’ board of directors. He had been preparing for all week in advance for that meeting.

Hopefully some coffee will help.

Sleep was a luxury that Scott couldn’t afford.

“Scott?”

Scott looked up to see Alan, who was helping out with some paperwork and was currently sitting in a messy layout of various business proposals, looking back at him with a slight crease between his eyebrows.

Well, that’s not good.

He can’t have Alan worrying about him. 

Scott straightened up and plastered on his best, hopefully heartwarming, smile. “Come on, Sprout,” he said, tilting his head toward the stairs. “Break time.” 

Honestly, Scott had been so surprised when Alan approached him earlier and asked if he could help out with the paperwork, that he had nearly fallen out of his chair.

Alan usually complained whenever he had to do anything related to Tracy Industries. From wearing stuffy suits to galas to taking business and marketing classes with John, Alan groaned and gripped about all of it. 

Scott hardly ever pushed him about it. Alan should enjoy being a teen while he could.

However, if the kid really wanted to help out, Scott wasn’t going to deny him. There was a lot of work to do, and Alan could use the experience. So, Scott had him read various new venture proposals, decide which ones he thought would best fit Tracy Industries, then create a presentation he would later give, convincing Scott why they should pursue his chosen venture.

It was something Scott had his interns do… when he had time to talk to the interns.

From the mess of papers Alan had around him, Scott guessed the kid was still in the process of choosing a proposal.

The sight brought a tired smile to his face. 

Scott pushed off from the desk, rolled his shoulders back with a tired sigh, and strode to the kitchen in what he hoped looked like a confident steady stroll and didn’t betray the way exhaustion seemed to pull at his shoulders. He heard the hurried shuffle of papers then the soft thuds of footsteps pattering after him.

The coffee was cold.

This made sense. Scott made the pot early in the morning and now it was… late afternoon, nearing dinner time, if the setting sun is anything to go by. Scott still frowned at it.

If he was alone, he would just pour himself a cup, gulp it down cold, then return to his work. 

But he wasn’t alone. 

Alan was here. Scott looked up from the cold pot of coffee to Alan, who was currently digging through the fridge. The kid deserved more of a break than the few seconds it would take for Scott to drink a cold cup of coffee.

So Scott poured himself a mug full of coffee and put it in the microwave. It beeped as he set the timer then the low drone of the microwave sounded out. Scott leaned back against the counter. If he was going to drink his coffee in more than a couple of gulps, he wanted it to at least be warm. 

Scott crossed his arms as a shiver ran through his body. He’ll have to ask John if anyone has messed with the thermostat recently. It was oddly cold in the villa today. He’d even gone through the trouble of putting on two shirts under his button-up, although it doesn’t seem to have helped much.

The microwave beep pierced through his skull. Scott had to suppress a wince as he retrieved his coffee.

He let the heat warm up his fingers before taking a swig. It stung his throat going down but helped chase away this chill that he just couldn’t seem to shake, if only for a moment.

Alan didn’t quite have a taste for coffee yet and had opted instead for a cold Coke. The teen was leaning against the counter across from Scott, soda in hand, staring listlessly at the floor. 

Scott considered the scene for a moment. The tropical breeze rustled through the palm trees outside. Distantly, the birds chirped. The low hum of the refrigerator bounced off the walls.

“Everything ok?” Scott asked. Alan was unusually quiet. The teenager was always blabbing on and on about whatever he was interested in at the time, but now it seemed like he had nothing to say.

Alan shrugged.

Ok, that set off some alarms in his head. Scott put down his coffee. “Did something bother you about one of the new venture proposals?”

Alan shrugged again.

Growing increasingly concerned, Scott moved until he was standing directly in front of the kid. 

Alan looked up at him briefly before looking at the floor again. “My head kinda hurts.”

Alarm bells were blaring now. 

In Alan’s vocabulary, kind hurts meant it definitely hurt. The kid had used the same phrase after bruising three ribs on a rescue and giving Scott a near heart attack.

“Did you get enough sleep last night?” Scott asked.

A slight blush rose to Alan’s cheeks. “Cavern Quest had an update last night,” he said sheepishly. Before Scott could reprimand him for pulling an all-nighter for video games, Alan added, “But I wasn’t expecting to spend 7 hours doing straight paperwork today either!”

A part of Scott was surprised because he didn’t think they spent that long on paperwork. Another part of him flared up in anger because Alan asked to help with the paperwork. 

Just as quickly as the anger came, it left with the reminder that Alan was just a teenager. A teenager who flew a rocket and went on high-risk rescues, but a teenager nonetheless. 

“Alright,” Scott said tiredly. He ruffled one hand through Alan’s blond mop. “Why don’t you run upstairs and take a nap in the lounge? I’ll be up there in a bit with some Advil.”

“Really?” Alan’s eyes shot up to meet Scott’s. “You’re not mad?”

“Nope. I didn’t realize we had worked for so long without a break. Sorry about that.”

Alan bit his lip. “But,” he said hesitantly, “you always push yourself without a break.”

For a moment, a small agonizing moment, Scott recalled John lecturing him about appearances and setting an example and how they all look up to him for guidance and what kind of lesson is he teaching their brothers by constantly running himself into the ground and John can only do so much from space. But the moment passed quickly enough and Scott gave Alan a soft smile.

“Don’t you worry about that,” he said as he pushed the teen toward the lounge. “Go on. I’ll be there soon.”

Alan hesitated for just a moment before nodding and trudging up the stairs.

Scott rustled through the kitchen for their bottle of Advil. In his concern for Alan, he had been able to ignore how exhausted he felt but now that the kid was gone he felt like he was moving through tar.

He popped a couple of pills in his mouth, washed them down with a swig of coffee, and belatedly wondered if it was smart to take Advil with a stomach that only had coffee in it. Then he remembered that Alan also most likely hadn’t eaten anything either, so he snagged a granola bar before heading up to the lounge.

Alan was sitting scrunched up in the corner of the couch with his arms wrapped around his stomach, legs pulled up, and his head tucked against his chest. 

Scott rubbed a hand over his face. Concern and guilt pulled at his core.

In the short amount of time between being in the kitchen to going to the lounge Alan had gone from looking alright to downright miserable.

“Hey,” Scott crouched before the kid and gently shook his shoulder. “Do you want to lay in your room instead?”

Alan rubbed at his eyes. “Can I sleep in your room?”

Scott frowned. Alan hadn’t asked to sleep in Scott’s bed since he was small. “Yeah, bud.” 

Scott stood, fully intending to lead his younger brother to his room, but his body chose that moment to remind him just how close to crashing he actually was. The room swayed greatly. There was a brief moment of dizzying weightlessness that Scott can only associate with 2 things: Thunderbird 1 suddenly dropping altitude and being on the verge of losing consciousness. 

Before the floor could come up to meet him, he felt something press against his side and grab his arm. He leaned heavily to the side. After a few steadying seconds, he looked down to see Alan under his arm, trying his best to support his weight. 

“Let’s go?” Alan asked as he stepped forward, taking Scott with him.

From an outside perspective, it looked like Scott was guiding Alan by the shoulders up the stairs. Scott would never admit to how much he leaned on Alan at that moment.

By the time they reached the top of the stairs Scott was shaking and out of breath. If Alan noticed, he didn’t say anything.

Scott’s bedroom was… neat. Neat in the way only an un-lived-in room can look. Almost like a guest room that isn’t often used or a model room set up to showcase a house on the market.

Scott’s number one rule, when it came to his bedroom, was: no work. This was a rule proposed by John and approved by everyone else, but Scott. John even set up a blackout code over Scott’s bedroom that would block any electric signal. It was annoying at first but over the years he began to appreciate it. His life was full of enough work. This was supposed to be one of the few spaces he could get away from it.

The downside was that Scott always had work that needed to be done, and it he can’t bring his work into his bedroom then the solution is simple. Don’t go into the bedroom. Scott began to spend more time at his desk than in his room.

Crossing through the door felt almost like crossing into a different world. He felt his shoulder relax instantly. Here, he didn’t have to worry about doing work.

He sat heavily on the bed while Alan all but threw himself onto the neatly made, hardly used mattress. 

“Go get changed,” Scott said as he reached behind him and smacked the teenager’s ankle. The idea of someone lying in his bed while wearing scratchy everyday clothes made his skin crawl.

The teenager grumbled but he climbed out of the bed and left the room, presumably to grab a change of clothes.

Scott should probably change too. While he preferred to keep his everyday civil clothes on, his jeans felt stiff, his belt too tight, and while the two shirts were keeping him warm before, he felt like he was melting now. 

He didn’t have to go anywhere today, nor did he have any meeting scheduled, and if they had a rescue, he had to change into his uniform anyway so it didn’t really matter if he wore loungewear for the rest of the day. Having made up his mind, Scott changed into a loose t-shirt and sweats.

He had just finished pulling down his shirt when Alan walked back in.

“Woah,” He remarked as he entered the room wearing a pair of plaid pajamas. “You changed.”

“Yeah,” Scott sighed as he sat back on the bed. He didn’t feel the need to explain himself so instead, he tossed the Advil and granola bar he had brought with him to Alan. “Take those and eat that before you sleep. I’ll let Virgil know you aren’t feeling well when he gets back from the supply run.”

Alan caught them with ease and looked at them in his hands like he was trying to solve some sort of puzzle. 

Scott watched him with mild interest. A nagging voice in the back of his mind reminded him that he was supposed to only be taking a short coffee break. He only had a couple of hours left before he crashed, then who knows how long he’d be out. He had things he needed to get done. The sanctuary of his room wasn’t going to get those things done.

The problem was he didn’t really want to do any more work. His eyes stung, throat itched, joints ached, and tiredness seemed to pull on every bone. While he could ignore all of that, he’s worked through worse, what he couldn’t ignore was one of his younger brothers feeling under the weather. Especially one that was feeling so bad, that he wanted to sleep in Scott’s room.

Once Alan fell asleep, he would head back to his desk and finish as much work as he could.

So he stood, his knees popping as he did, and stepped aside for Alan to climb into the bed. 

Alan didn’t climb into the bed. Instead, he tugged on Scott’s arm. “Will you lay down with me?”

Scott furrowed his eyebrows. The bed was plenty big, and many a younger brother had snuck into it in the past, but even for Alan, this was a strange request.

“Please, Scott?” Alan pleaded with big blue puppy eyes. “My head really hurts. Can you just stay until I fall asleep?”

Scott was torn. He still had so much work to do. He always had so much work to do. If he didn’t finish his work today, then he would be behind tomorrow, and tomorrow was always uncertain. 

It was that uncertainty that kept Scott working. 

Scott knew that the moment he laid down, he wouldn’t want to get up. He doesn’t even want to go now. He needed to be able to get up. He couldn’t allow himself a moment’s rest.

He was so tired. 

Alan has their mom’s hair and their dad’s eyes. When Scott looked at his youngest brother he saw a perfect mix of their parents. He was kind like their mom but bold like their dad. Scott himself was nearly a carbon copy of their dad. This was something he took pride in, but sometimes he wondered if he was too much like their dad and not enough like their mom.

What would their mom say if Scott denied cuddles with Alan because he was too busy doing as much work as he physically could before his body crashed?

Scott only nodded and let Alan pull him onto the bed. The moment Scott was fully onto the bed, Alan plastered himself to his side, as if he was afraid Scott might try to leave. Scott breathlessly chuckled. He would have expected that behavior from Gordon. Alan had been full of surprises today.

With some effort, Scott lifted his hand and ran his fingers through Alan’s hair. “Sleep, Sprout. You’ll feel better after.”

Even as he uttered the words Scott felt himself slipping away from consciousness. He felt Alan nod against him before sleep fully took over.

Chapter Text

There was darkness.

The blaring crescendo of emergency sirens filled the air.

“Scott!”

Flashing red light broke and shattered the darkness into brief dizzying moments of shadow. 

“Scott!” Alan cried. His hands gripped at his baldric until his knuckles turned white. His eyes were wide and his face was a picture of pure fear. “What do we do?”

Scott took a step forward. They must be on a mission. Some distant part of his recognized their surroundings as the interior of Thunderbird 1. Although the importance of where they were paled in comparison to how shaken Alan looked. 

The ground shook and Alan stumbled to the side. He caught himself on Thunderbird 1’s interior wall. He looked up at Scott in panic.

What do we do?

What would Dad do?

Scott raised his hands, with the full intention of gripping Alan’s shoulders to steady him but-

Then the room shook again and Alan was thrown backward, consumed by the red darkness.

 Scott stubbled forward, his voice died on the tip of his tongue as he reached out to catch the air where his brother had been standing when suddenly a hand gripped his shoulder. He was violently spun around to meet the golden brown eyes of his immediate younger brother. His right-hand man. His back-up. His number two.

“What is wrong with you?” Virgil’s words were harsh. They were meant to cut and cut they did. “You keep pushing everyone and everything to their limits.”

“We’re on a rescue,” Scott managed to get out. “Limits need to be pushed.”

“Not like this,” Virgil shoved at Scott’s shoulder, causing him to reel back. “You’re so focused on pushing everyone, you don’t see the danger.”

“You’re not in danger,” Scott felt the heat of anger rise in his cheeks. He stepped up and looked Virgil dead in the face. “I’m doing this so you’ll be out of danger.”

“Oh yeah? Just look around.” His brother waved his hand out.

When Scott turned, he was in the desert. Red sirens became flames that licked at his side, but he hardly cared compared to what he saw before him. Thunderbird 1 laid crashed headfirst into the sand mounds of the desert. Her whole body was bent and twisted. Metal peeled away from the frame.

Scott took a stumbling step back. No. It couldn’t be. He couldn’t, wouldn’t, crash her. Ever.

“You never listen to me.” John appeared beside him.

The world tilted and warped but when Scott looked at John he wasn’t in the desert anymore. Instead, he was in the lounge on Tracy Island looking at a hologram of his brother.

“I tell you to slow down, you speed up. I tell you the ground is unstable, you keep going forward. I tell you to take backup, you go alone. Do you want to be like Dad?”

“There was nothing we could have done,” Scott said, but it came out in a rasp.

“You put us in danger, Scott.”

Scott felt his heart plummet. No. Family first. Family has always come first. He wouldn’t put his family in danger. He would never. 

But John looked at him like a stranger in their own home. 

Gordon said nothing. They were standing on the beach. The Villa had faded away so fast it left Scott’s head swimming and the blazing sun beating down on his neck. The sun was so close, he could have sworn he could make out each individual flame, but Gordon seemed unaffected. 

Gordon didn’t even look at Scott. His gaze was focused on the ocean. 

Scott sat heavily on the sand and rested his head on his knees. He couldn’t seem to get enough air in.

“Aren’t you going to say something?” Scott questioned in between breaths. 

Gordon said nothing. He simply got up and walked into the ocean. The water curled around his ankles, then pulled on his torso, before finally the waves swallowed him whole.

Scott was stuck to the sand. He watched his brother go without so much as a goodbye.

Then the water stretched up the shore directly to Scott. It tugged and pulled on him until he was submerged in the inky darkness. 

——-

Scott woke up gasping. He was drenched in sweat. The sheets stuck uncomfortably to him. He felt like he was burning from the inside out, yet a part of his mind told him if he took off the blankets he would freeze in an instant.

Alan was gone.

Scott stared at the empty space where his younger brother was laying. His sluggish mind struggled to process the absence. 

“Oh good, you’re awake now.”

With a tremendous amount of effort, Scott blinked and turned his head to look toward the door. Gordon walked in with a tray in his hands.

“You missed dinner last night but John said to let you sleep,” Gordon rambled on as he set the tray on the nightstand. “Then you slept through breakfast and Virge said you needed to eat eventually but he didn’t want to wake you and I was like ‘well I don’t want to wake him either’. That’s when Virge said he has to write the mission report from last night and unless I wanted to write it, I have to wake you up to eat. And you know how I hate writing those reports. Too much technical writing.

But you’re awake! So, you know, no need to wake you up,” Gordon said as he looked down at Scott with a sun-kissed smile. Scott never knew how grateful he could be to hear Gordon’s joking and rambling. “Anyway, Virge made this omelet over rice that’s pretty good. I brought you some water too.”

Gordon pulled up a chair and sat down. He looked at Scott expectantly, but Scott made no move to sit up or grab the plate. Instead, he stared at Gordon. Gordon stayed. He didn’t walk away. He didn’t give Scott the silent treatment. 

“How long has it been since your last meal, Scotty?” Gordon spoke to fill the silence. His voice was slightly edged with concern. “Think you broke your record this time?”

Scott, honestly, didn’t know. He thought he might have had a sandwich before the board meeting but the past week seemed like a blur now. His mind could hardly focus beyond the fact that Gordon was sitting here beside him.

“I had a nightmare,” Scott rasped. The words caught in his throat and caused him to cough slightly. 

Even as he said it, the idea was revolutionary to him. He had had a nightmare. Usually, Scott doesn’t dream. He’s too tired for dreams, and if he does dream, he doesn’t remember them.

Gordon’s eyebrows creased together and that sun-kissed smile faltered. He brought a hand to Scott’s forehead. It was blissfully cool against his melting skin.

“You were all in it,” Scott mumbled. “You wouldn’t talk to me. Everyone was…”

Scott trailed off. What were they in his nightmare? Were they all upset with him? Why? His head hurt. Thinking hurt.

Gordon swore under his breath. “Everyone is safe and on the island, Scott,” he said. “Do you think you eat?”

“Where’s Alan?” Scott asked. He looked back over to the empty space beside him and let his eyes trace over the folds in the crumpled sheets.

“Alan’s fine,” Gordon replied. “He’s probably getting spoiled by John. I can’t believe his little acting trick to get you to rest actually worked. Now I owe John twenty bucks. But Scott, I need you to focus. Can you eat?”

Scott slowly looked back at Gordon. His mind felt sluggish and hazy. Gordon’s smile was gone. He sat forward in his chair and studied Scott with a serious expression. Then Scott remembered why they had been so upset with him.

“Do I put you in danger?” He asked.

Which must have been the wrong thing to say, because a frown tugged at the corners of Gordon’s mouth.

“Scott,” he said, “if you can’t focus, then I’ll have to call Virgil up here.”

Oh. Scott didn’t want that.

With shaking arms, he pushed himself up to rest against the headboard. Gordon first handed him a glass of water. He took a couple of sips of water, which felt heavenly on his throat, before the cup was replaced by a plate of egg and rice. 

Scott took two bites before his stomach clenched and nausea washed over him. He tried to hand the plate back but Gordon only gave him an unimpressed look.

“You took two bites,” Gordon said flatly.

“If I eat any more, it’ll make a reappearance,” Scott said. Although it was only two bites, eating woke him up slightly. His mind felt clearer than it had when he woke up. Since the fog was dissipating he remembered what he was doing before his impromptu nap. “There was some Advil up here earlier. Is it still here?”

Gordon raised one eyebrow, took the plate from Scott, then tossed him the bottle of pills from his pocket. “I was going to take it back down to the kitchen.”

Scott hummed, opened the bottle, took out two pills, and dry swallowed them. Gordon made a face as he did so.

Then Scott lifted the blankets, shivered as the cold air assaulted his skin, and swung his legs over the bed. He steadied himself as the room spun.

“Woah,” Gordon stood and placed a hand on Scott’s shoulder. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“I have work to do.”

“Sure,” Gordon commented. “If that work is laying back in bed and sleeping.”

“Gordon,” Scott tried to shrug him off, but the blond didn’t move. “I’m being serious. I have work to do.”

“And I’m being serious. You can’t stomach more than two bites of food, let alone get work done. You need to lay back down and sleep.”

Scott glared at him. 

Gordon glared back.

Which, honestly was more intimidating than it should have been. Although most of that intimidation might have come from the fact that Gordon was keeping him pinned with just one hand. If Scott tried to fight, it would be over he could say ‘thunderbirds’.

“Don’t worry,” Gordon said, “John is looking at what you were last working on.”

Scott contemplated his brother for several moments.

“Grandma and Brains are helping him too. As much as they can anyways.” Gordon tacked on. 

Scott’s shoulders slumped down in defeat. “Alright. Can I at least get a fresh shirt?”

“Sure,” Gordon said before he looked around the room. “Stay right there.”

Scott peeled off his sweat-soaked shirt and Gordon handed him a fresh one. By the time he pulled the shirt over his torso, he felt wiped out. How was it that something so simple made him so tired?

“Go to sleep, Scott,” Gordon said as he picked up the plate and again pocketed the Advil. “We’ll be here.”

Sleep claimed him the moment his head hit the pillow.

——-

Scott wasn’t even fully awake when his body scrambled out of bed in a rush to get to the en-suite bathroom.

He made it to the toilet in time for his stomach to clench so painfully that his whole body arched forward and he threw up the two bites of egg he ate earlier along with a bunch of coffee and stomach bile. 

Footsteps pounded after him but Scott could only focus on taking a couple of measured breaths as he tried to abate his growing nausea.

It didn’t work. Scott’s stomach forced itself up his throat again and he spat up a couple more mouthfuls of bile. It was an unimpressive display of his recent diet.

Amid his stomach trying its best to turn itself inside out, a steadying hand touched his back. Scott thought the other person might have said something but it was difficult to hear them over the roaring in his ears.

Tears pricked at his eyes as his body convulsed again. There was only so much he could bring up, but his body seemed determined to get everything it could out. Eventually, the gags tampered off and he was left feeling like a wrung-out rag.

He slumped back against the wall. 

“There we go,” the other person said. Scott looked up to see Virgil kneeling beside him. Once his immediate younger brother saw that Scott had settled a bit, he got up and wet a cloth in the sink. “Just take it easy. How do you feel?”

Scott took the cloth and wiped his face. The cold felt nice against his burning skin. “What’s wrong with me?” he croaked out.

“My best guess?” Virgil paused. “Exhaustion combined with stress and the fact that you're not in your 20s anymore.”

Scott nodded but immediately regretted it when it made his head pound. He brought a hand up to rub at his forehead. That logic tracked.

Virgil took the cloth from him and pressed a glass of water into his hand. “You know the drill. Small sips. And you didn’t answer the question. How do you feel?”

Scott’s hands shook as he gripped the glass and took a sip of the water. Skies above, he felt so weak. “I could be better,” he said. “I’m tired and achy.”

Virgil hummed. His mouth set into a slight frown. “Do you think you're done here? We could go back to your bed. You can sleep more.”

Scott considered himself for a moment. He didn’t feel like was going to be sick at this moment but he did feel like any movement could set him off. So he gently shook his head. “Just a couple of minutes.”

Virgil nodded and sat beside him on the bathroom floor.

Seconds ticked by in silence.

His dream nagged at him.

“Do you,” Scott licked his lips, “Do you ever worry I’ll end up like Dad?”

The question echoed into the silence. Scott felt Virgil stiffen beside him.

“If I’m being honest,” Virgil began hesitantly, “Sometimes I do.”

Silence again.

“I know what happened to Dad was an accident,” Virgil continued. “But you push yourself so hard to be like him, to lead us as he did, and sometimes I worry you’ll end up like him too. Then we’re out on the field and all that hard work pays off and you save lives.”

“I won’t,” Scott said past the lump in his throat, “end up like him.”

“You can’t promise that.”

Scott closed his eyes and leaned his head back. Virgil was right. He couldn’t promise that. He loved his family too much. He wanted to keep them safe. He wanted to carry on his father’s dream. They all did. Scott did what he thought he needed to do to keep up both desires. 

What happened to their mom and what happened to their dad were both accidents. There was no way to foresee what had happened to them. 

What could Scott do other than make the most of today? Tomorrow is uncertain. He needs to make the most of today.

“Hey, come on,” Virgil nudged his shoulder. Scott peeled his eyes open. Did he fall asleep? His brother was a blurry figure in front of him. How was he still so tired? Virgil took his hand and pulled him to his feet. “Let’s go together.”

Scott doesn’t remember making it back to his bed before falling asleep.

——-

When Scott woke up again, he felt… better. A lot better. His mind felt clearer. He felt like he could still sleep for a couple of hours more but he didn’t feel like he was melting anymore and the aches in his body felt significantly muted. 

The room was dimly lit. The sky outside was dotted with millions of little bright stars. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes. 

“Good to have you back with us.”

Scott looked to his side. “John,” he breathed out in surprise. His brother was sitting in a chair that had been pulled up to the bedside. He had the lamp turned on low and a book open in his lap. Scott pushed himself up to sit against the headboard.

“In the flesh,” the redhead said as he closed the book. “You’re looking better.”

“I feel better. What are you doing down here?”

“I came to see you,” John said. “Well, actually Virgil and Gordon got called out on a rescue and Virgil wanted someone to watch over you.”

“What about Alan?”

“Alan’s overseeing the rescue… and EOS is overseeing Alan. It’s good experience for him.”

Scott gazed at John. It was nice to see his brother, not a hologram of him. John looked older. He had wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. His hair had a few strands of silver. He had bags under his eyes. That was something that was hard to see over the blue filter of the hologram.

“How long?” Scott asked.

“A little over 24 hours. Your fever broke about an hour ago,” John replied. “I have some rice porridge here for you. It’s on a warming plate so it should be hot still.”

Food sounded… good. “Yeah. I could eat.”

The rice porridge was delicious. The flavor wasn’t too strong. It was soft, warm, and easy on his throat as it went down. It pooled gently in his stomach. After the first few bites went well, Scott practically inhaled the rest of it. 

John chuckled. Scott lowered his bowl to glance at the redhead. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” John said as smiled softly at Scott. “It’s just nice to see this side of you.”

“Sick and in bed?”

“In-person and taking care of himself.”

That made Scott pause. 

“I’ve watched you destroy yourself too many times for the sake of work,” John continued. “It’s hard to be so close yet too far away to do anything. This is a nice sight to see.”

Scott gripped the bowl. “I’m,” he began, “I listen to you, you know?”

John’s eyes widened slightly. But he quickly hid his surprise. He took the empty bowl from Scott. “That’s hard to believe given how many risks you take.”

“You’ve saved me more times than I’ll admit, but sometimes I have to take risks on a mission.”

John stayed silent. His eyes were downcast.

“But…” Scott began. Then he paused. But what? He didn’t know what to tell John.

“But…?” John asked.

“I’m going to take more breaks.”

John sat up slightly straighter. “Do you mean that?"

“I do, John,” Scott said firmly. “I… I don’t want to end up like Dad.”

This time John struggled to hide the surprise on his face. “We couldn’t have done anything.”

“I know that, but… even before Dad left us, he missed so much because of work. I can’t stop working but I can try to take more breaks.”

“Wow,” John said. “I thought there was nothing that could tame the great Scott Tracy.”

“Quiet,” Scott chuckled and lightly hit John’s knees. “This flamboyant flyboy won’t be tamed yet.”

“Good to hear it,” John chuckled. “Although with Alan taking after you more and more, I have a feeling I’m going to have my hand full of reckless brothers very soon.”

“Well, we wouldn’t want you to get bored up there, Johnny.”

“Don’t call me that,” John groaned.

Scott’s smile pulled at his cheeks. It had been so long since he had spent time with John. They continued the light chatter for several moments. He didn’t want this time to end. But with a stomach full and warm it was getting difficult to keep his eyes open.

A yawn betrayed him.

“You should sleep,” John said.

“I feel like I’ve slept enough for a lifetime,” Scott replied. He didn’t want to sleep just yet.

“Trust me when I say you haven't,” John got up, “Go to sleep, I’ll still be around when you wake up.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Scott said as he laid back down, his eyes already closing.

——-

“Alan!” Gordon whispered harshly. “If you wake him up, Virge’ll kill me!”

“I want to show him my presentation,” Alan whispered back. His footsteps thudded closer. 

Scott had been coasting on the edge of wakefulness for a few minutes. Not quite asleep but not quite awake. Gordon and Alan had trouble being stealthy at the best of times, although Gordon was certainly improving, and he was certainly awake now. 

“Now is not the time for that!” Gordon whispered. 

“John said it was good! I can’t not show Scott!” Alan whispered back.

“You can show him when he’s feeling better!”

Scott felt the bed dip beside him. He had to control his face to keep from breaking out in a smile. 

He could feel eyes looking at him. “He’s still sleeping.” The kid said with disappointment, his voice right above him. 

“Not for long with you breathing over him,” Gordon kept his voice low.

“What are you two doing?” John’s voice joined the mix.

“Virgil asked us to check on Scott,” Alan replied.

“He asked me to check on Scott,” Gordon said. “You just want to wake him up.”

“Do not!”

“Shhh!”

“With all the noise you guys are making, I might as well have checked on him myself,” Virgil said. His voice sounded far away as if he were still in the hallway.

Scott crack one eye open and looked above him while trying to keep as still as possible. Sure enough, Alan was kneeling above him, but the kid was looking toward the door where Gordon and John were looking in.

Scott caught Gordon’s eyes and gave him a soft smile. But before Gordon could say anything Scott reached up, grabbed Alan around the stomach, and pulled him down onto the bed. Alan gave an undignified squawk as he fell beside him. 

“S-Scott!” he sputtered.

“Dog pile!” Gordon exclaimed.

“Wait guys,” Virgil tried to speak up but it was too late. Gordon threw himself on the bed.

Scott made an ‘oomph’ noise as Gordon landed on him but still opened his arms to receive him. Scott found himself sandwiched between his two youngest brothers. 

Then, much to his surprise, John joined the pile-on.

“Not you too, John,” Virgil groaned.

“Join us, Virge!” Gordon shouted.

Virgil smiled and shook his head. “If we all get sick, this is on you Gords.”

Then Virgil climbed onto the pile as well. Alan and Gordon burst into laughter as Virgil poked at their sides. John had on the biggest smile Scott had ever seen. Scott thought that he himself must also have a massive smile on his face given how much his cheeks ached.

He tried his best to wrap his arms around all his brothers. Sure, they were kinda crushing him and it was getting hard to breathe, but, for once in a very long time, they were all here together.