A/N: I don't utilize the aid of a beta reader, all mistakes are my own.

Please, read and enjoy, comments appreciated and no flames.

Sad-Blue-Eyed-Angel 2010

The following day, Jeff, Virgil and Alan set out early in the morning. Alan was reading an assignment in the backseat and Jeff and Virgil were talking about operations in the front seat. After a little bit, when there was a lull in conversation Jeff glanced in the rearview mirror at Alan and couldn't help but think that his youngest was in dire need of a haircut. None of his other sons had such shaggy hair and he thought about bringing it up to Scott when they got back.

"So, Alan I don't know if you've been listening to Virgil and I but have you given any thought to coming to our home this summer when you're out of school? I know I speak for everyone when I say that we'd love to have you." Jeff said, catching Alan's eye in the back and smiling at his youngest.

Alan closed the packet he was reading, marking it with his finger as he looked into the mirror to meet his dad's eyes.

"To be honest, I haven't. I kind of figured that with Scott's work schedule and the monthly budget that we wouldn't be able to afford a trip away from home." Alan said in reply, not letting on that he was thinking of getting a job to pay for Mae's ballet classes. He didn't want to ask Scott for money and he didn't want Scott to tell Mae that she'd have to discontinue her ballet lessons.

"He should be able to take vacation for about a week or two, shouldn't he?" Virgil inquired, knowing that finances should be better now that their dad had reinstated Scott's International Rescue pay.

"I don't know. I suppose he could, but it also depends on Scott. I can't speak for him." Alan said before returning his attention to the packet. While Alan was finished talking for the time being, he did keep an ear open and listened to his dad and older brother while they continued talking.

… … … … … … … … … … …

When they got back to the house, Alan was knocked off his feet by Mae who was sitting by the window anxiously watching for them. When they came in the house, Mae barreled across the room and jumped on Alan and nobody was able to catch them before they fell.

"Ow!" Alan groaned as he hugged Mae to his chest with one hand and proceeded to roll on his side to feel the back of his head with the other. He knew Mae was small but didn't realize she packed that much oomph with so little momentum.

"Mae! Alan!" Scott hurried around the corner and grabbed Alan by the arms and pulled him up to standing and hovering annoyingly close when Alan swayed from side to side as he tried to get his equilibrium back after the knock to the head. Turning to Mae, Scott chided her for knocking Alan to the ground before he knelt to her level and told her that she must be careful when running at people because they may not be expecting to catch someone and that could really hurt them. "Alan, are you okay?"

"I'm fine…I could go for some ice though." Alan said as he accepted Virgil leading him to sit at the table and his dad handing him a bag of frozen peas from the freezer. Alan laid his head down on his arms after carefully flattening the bag of peas over the back of his head.

"I'm not mad at you Mae, but you just have to be careful. You're stronger than you look, and you could have hurt both him and you." Scott finished his lecture before sending the little girl to apologize to Alan. Mae walked over, and Alan held out an arm for a hug without picking up his head. Virgil went out to the car with John to get their bags while Gordon grabbed the bowl of potato salad their grandma sent home with the boys.

"Is this one of grandma's ploys to come visit?" Gordon inquired as he glimpsed his grandmother's best ceramic bowl filled with potato salad.

"I think it was because when she gave it to me, she said she'd come get it or Scott, Alan and Mae can return it." Virgil said before he looked at his brother with a grin. "Grandma was thrilled to see that play and she's hoping Alan will get back in the plays."

"He should, he was good. I didn't know he could sing like that and his acting was awesome. What'd be cool is if you gave the director that took over for Brandon your name so maybe you can be involved also. It'd give you another hobby that'd get you off the island periodically." Gordon said before he smirked. "It'd be drama nerd paradise for you both."

Virgil leveled an unamused glare at Gordon but could see it from Gordon's point of view. It would be fun if he could get involved with Alan's school and become more involved in Alan's life now before he got much older. He had a lot of making up to do and he could think of no better way.

"Let's get these bags inside. If Alan's in any shape to complete his homework, he's got a couple of assignments to do." Virgil said as he hefted Alan's backpack on one shoulder and the duffel that'd been packed for Virgil and their dad on the other shoulder.

When they got back in, Scott was looking at Alan's head after it'd been iced for a little bit. Virgil walked over and grimaced at the goose egg sized lump on the back of Alan's head.

"Hey kiddo, how's the head?" Virgil inquired as he leaned around Alan to look at his eyes. His pupils were equal from what he could see but made a mental note to check again in a little bit.

"Hurts…" Alan mumbled as his gaze met Virgil's. The younger winced when he rolled his eyes before standing to put the bag of peas back in the freezer. He made sure he put the bag label side up where his mom had previously written on it with permanent marker, labeling it as the family use ice pack. "I'm going to go try to do some homework."

"Don't push yourself too hard, okay kiddo? If your head starts hurting more, come let one of us know." Scott instructed as he hugged his kid brother and smiled at him. "Did you grow over the weekend kiddo?"

"Probably." Alan replied before he turned to leave the kitchen. He smiled when he glanced in the living room to see John laying on his side on the floor, playing with Mae's plastic horses with her. Knowing Mae was in good hands currently, Alan went upstairs to work on his homework. Once Alan had made it upstairs, he realized that he'd forgotten his backpack downstairs. He heaved a sigh and turned to go back down to get his backpack and assignments. Once he'd gotten that taken care of, Alan went back upstairs and got started on his homework.

Over the next two hours, Alan whittled away at his assignments until his stomach growled at him. He glanced at his clock, blinking several times to clear his vision before he stood to go down for a snack of some sort. He didn't smell dinner cooking, so he figured it'd be a 'fend for yourself' kind of night.

… … … … … … … … … … …

Jeff was on his cell phone when Alan came down stairs and he stood and stepped out of the room, replying with a litany of yes's as he exited the room. Alan raised an eyebrow at that but didn't say anything about his father's phone conversation. Glancing into the living room, Alan saw Mae playing with her dolls, making them climb up Gordon's pantleg. Alan walked past the living room and went to the kitchen where he found Scott just coming in from the back porch holding tongs and a stack of polish dogs and buns on a platter.

"Hey kiddo, do you feel up to having a bite of dinner?" Scott inquired as he set the platter on the counter before going to the door and leaning through the frame. "Dinner's done, come get it while it's hot!"

With that said, Scott and Alan took first dibs and filled their plates with chips, potato salad and polish dogs. Once everyone had loaded their plates, they all walked out onto the patio to eat and take in the last of the evening. Jeff announced that he was needed in Manhattan for some business at Tracy Corp and he'd need to leave in the next day. Virgil, John and Gordon looked sad at the fact that they'd need to leave but they also knew that this was just a temporary visit. It was only until they got word that the equipment needed to update the 'Birds' had arrived and it looked like that time had come.

"So, are you going to go and come back or…?" Scott asked as he left his paper napkin wadded up on his paper plate before picking up his iced tea and taking a sip.

"No, unfortunately. One of those calls was from Brains and he was calling to say that the equipment was delivered. He's going through and doing an itemized list to make sure we got everything. I'm sure it's all in, but he's going to double check before I head home. We head home." Jeff explained as he also looked around at his sons. "I'm sorry to cut this visit short. I thought for sure that it would take longer to get those parts."

"No, it's okay. It's been a nice break, but it'll also be nice to get back into the routine we'd gotten into." Scott replied before he reached down and picked up Mae to sit her on his lap. "And it's time for your bath missy. Come on."

With that, Scott stood up and hefted Mae up into his arms. Before he entered the house, Scott turned back to speak. "Alan, have you finished your homework?"

"Yes, well all but one assignment. I have to read a chapter out of 'A Step from Heaven" and write a paragraph about it by fourth period tomorrow. I'll do that after I get my shower tonight if that's okay." Alan replied after he chewed a handful of chips enough to talk around the food in his mouth.

"Yeah, that'll be fine Al. But you have to wash the dishes tonight, unless you want to give Mae her bath." Scott said.

"I'll wash the dishes after I finish eating." Alan said as he continued eating.

"Cool." Scott said before he rolled Mae up in his arms and proceeded to tickle her belly making her squeal.

With Scott and Mae gone upstairs, that gave Alan some time more with Virgil, John, Gordon and their dad. He sat in silence though as he focused on his dinner. He didn't know what to say to his dad and brothers though he knew he should talk to them since he knew that their visit wasn't going to be a full visit as was planned. He supposed he'd figure out what to say in a little bit. He still had homework he needed to do but he also needed to finish his homework. After finishing his dinner, Alan stood with his dirty plate and took it to the sink to wash.

"I'm going to go and pack my bag." Jeff said, sensing Alan's unlikelihood of talking.

With that, the room seemed slightly emptier with Jeff's presence gone. Alan began to run wash water, so he could put the dishes on to soak. He noticed, John, Virgil and Gordon still lingered in the room but neither of them spoke up. Alan proceeded to wash the dishes, focusing on the troubled dishes that had food stuck after the last wash.

He started to hum, uncaring that his brothers were still in the room. He knew they were likely to give him a hard time if they'd heard him, though somehow, he didn't care. They knew he sang when he felt like it and they knew from Scott, that Alan sang when he was thinking.

"So Al, did you want to go to the movies on your next day off before we have to go back home?" Gordon asked as he tentatively stepped next to his younger brother to help him with the dishes. "Or did you want to go bowling? Something we can all do together as a family?"

"I don't know. I have to go back to school tomorrow and I'll be at school all week unless we choose to do something after school." Alan said as he passed a couple plates he'd washed to Gordon so they could be rinsed.

"Well, maybe Scott could call you out of school one of the days and you wouldn't have to miss out on a family day." Gordon suggested before he frowned when Alan shook his head in the negative.

"I can't miss anymore school. The school excused my absences earlier this year because I had a doctor's note due to having been in a wreck. But I don't and won't have a doctor's note and I'll have to go to detention if I have an unexcused absence." After a moment's hesitation, Alan continued. "I mean, it's a great idea, but I'd rather not get detention. It's painfully boring."

"Well, maybe after school one of these days we could all go get dinner. I mean, we don't have to go bowling. We could all go out for dinner tomorrow and get an ice cream afterwards like the good old days." Virgil suggested with a shrug. Alan didn't know what to say in reply so he kept it simple with a shrug.

"Maybe." Alan said before he pulled the plug in the sink to drain the soapy water. "I've got homework to do."

With that, Alan took his leave and made his exit at the doorway and the brothers could hear thumping from Alan going up to the landing on the second floor. Gordon, Virgil and John looked between each other before following their father's lead and going to their guest room to pack their bags.

… … … … … … … … … … …

The day that Scott, Mae and Alan followed the family to the door came much faster than they expected. Scott was holding Mae on his hip like a baby and Alan was standing off to his side. They all hugged, Jeff being the last to take his leave. He told Scott and Alan that he and their brothers were only a phone call away. With that he leaned in and hugged Alan, pulling him in tight and kissing his forehead. Alan didn't pull away and that made Jeff's heart soar. He never thought Alan would ever allow him to show affection of any kind and he felt bad that it'd taken him so many lost years to get his head out of the sand and realize that he'd lost his one and only love because he wasn't smart enough to realize that he was neglecting her and he pushed her into another man's arms.

"I love you Alan. Love you Scott, you too Mae. Be good for your brother." Jeff said before he pulled away from Alan and turned away to get in the car. It was either that or ask Scott to reconsider staying in Kansas and pack up both Alan and Mae to bring them to the island, but he knew he couldn't do that. Scott told him he wasn't going to budge, and he wasn't going to make Alan leave the life he's known for a life of isolation. As much as it bothered Jeff to leave Alan, Scott and Mae behind, he knew it was for the best. And Scott was right even if Jeff didn't necessarily agree, Alan and Mae both needed contact with the outside world in order to flourish and recover from this tragedy, keeping them at the island would only prove to them that it was okay to run away from their troubles and that wasn't what Jeff wanted to instill in two young minds.

As much as it bothered Jeff to leave his kin behind, he knew it was for the best. He climbed in the driver's seat of the rental car and waved at Alan, Mae and Scott as he backed the car out of the driveway and out into the street. Once the car was out of sight, Scott sighed before he turned to go back into the house with Alan not far behind him. Once they'd closed the door, Scott set Mae on the floor and she ran away from her brothers to go dig through her toy box. Scott and Alan seemed to wait several moments without moving as if they were waiting for the ball to drop metaphorically speaking. When nothing happened, Alan said he was going to go upstairs to work on his homework while Scott was left to sift through the bi-weekly bills to determine what could be paid at a later date and what needed to be paid immediately.

Several hours passed with nary a thing disturbing the peace until everyone seemed to get hungry all at once. Alan ventured down the stairs where he met up with Scott and eventually with Mae.

"Do we want to go into town to grab some pizzas and a movie?" Scott asked as he looked up from where he was sitting at the table with his checkbook, where he was dating the checks to be sent in on specific dates.

"Sure, sounds good." Alan said before he turned to go back into the living room. "Let me go put on my shoes and we can go."

"Okay, works for me." Scott said before he went over to the whiteboard set up by the garage door to write dates up for when he'll need to send payments in.

A few moments later, Alan was re-entering the kitchen with his shoes on and Mae's shoes in hand. Alan picked up his baby sister and put her up on the counter before he picked up her left foot and put her shoe on for her. Once Mae's shoes were on, Alan led her out behind Scott who had stepped into the garage to start the car and make sure Mae's car seat was safely fastened in the backseat. Once that was done, Scott picked up Mae and put her in her car seat and fastened her in.

"Alright, lets go." Scott said as he climbed behind the steering wheel before fastening his seatbelt.