FicWad

You'll be in my heart

You'll be in my heart


A/N: Hey sorry this has taken so long to write but it has been a little difficult in starting this one with so many options and yet too little at the same time.

The songs have all come from Disney films, the first chapter's song /Baby Mine /was from Dumbo, the second chapter's song /Someone's waiting for you /was from The Rescuers and this chapter's song /You'll be in my heart /from Tarzan.


**
Come stop your crying

It will be all right

**

The Tracy family all sat around the table nursing hot drinks, hot chocolates for the four boys and coffees for the two parents. They waited in silence for the doctor to come from upstairs, and checking John hoping that he was alright.

Scott had found him in the town park with a temperature, he was tucked up in the bandstand when his elder brother found him. Scott had called Lucille immediately to say where they were, he had then taken off his jacket and wrapt it around his brother and waited for their parents to arrive.


**
Just take my hand

Hold it tight

**


Doctor Hollis climbed down the stairs, he had just finished checking out the second born son that was found somewhere in town after the storm had hit the town.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs he found the father of the five sons, Jefferson Tracy holding a cup of coffee and watched the doctor climb down the stairs.

"How is he?" Jeff asked before sipping some of his coffee.

"Give him plenty of fluids and make sure he gets some rest, and your son will be fine" Doctor Hollis said as he put his black case down and got his coat on.

Lucille came out of the kitchen with her other sons following, "How is John? Is he ok?" She asked as Alan grabbed her hand.

"Your son has a mild flu, its nothing too serious... just like I said to your husband, just make sure that he gets plenty of rest, lots to drink and he should be fine" The doctor said as he finished doing his coat up.

"Thank you Doctor, sorry for calling you out like this" Lucille said as Scott showed his brothers upstairs to their rooms.

"Its ok we'll keep in touch, just remember that I'm only a call away" Doctor Hollis said before being shown out by Jeff.

**

I will protect you

from all around you

**

Having got his brothers into their rooms with their promises that they would get ready for bed due to the lateness and that they had school the next day, Scott finally got the chance to check on John.

Stepping silently he winced feeling like he had just walked into a sauna from where Lucille had turned up the heating in John's room. Scott sighed and moved through John's small but neatly organised room towards the bed.

John was deeply burried amongst the large bundle of blankets, the only sign of him being in bed was his body outline barely amongst the blankets.

"John? Are you awake?" Scott called softly as he bend down near the edge of the bed.

"I don't want to talk Scott" The muffled reply was followed by a cough.

"I just want to help" Scott said trying to find a opening in the cocoon of blankets.

"I don't need this, you don't love me... you probably didn't even notice I was gone" Was the muffled reply followed by the blankets shuddering.

"Oh Johnny is that what you think? Just because that it seems that we're too busy to notice you that we don't?" Scott said and rested a hand on what he guessed was John's shoulder.

"Mom was upset to realise that she forgot about your science fair, I would have come, you know I would if no one else could make it" He carried on only caring about his brother.

**
I will be here

Don't you cry

**

Lucille sighed as she finished cleaning the kitchen and felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you ok?" Jeff asked moving his wife around to face him.

"Just worried, I know that John would go off stargazing whenever he is upset though he would do his best to hide it... but to runaway?" Lucille said as she dried her hands.

Jeff sighed and pulled Lucille into a embrace, "Its ok now, he's here home and safe... it is hard for us at teh moment with me busy at work and you trying to keep the house running by yourself" He said as he rocked his wife soothingly in his arms.

Lucille felt warm and secure in her husband's arms, "I know, we will get through this" She said moving out of Jeff's arms, kissed him on the cheek before moving out of the kitchen.

"Are you going to check on the boys?" Jeff asked as he followed.

"Yes, but knowing Scott, he would have them in bed already" Lucille said with a smile thinking that if she didn't have Scott then the family would be a mess.

Jeff nodded and followed Lucille along the corridor to the bedrooms.

**

For one so small,

you seem so strong

**

John moved out of the cocoon he had created from the mass of blankets, his eyes red and sore as well as his nose. His cheeks were flushed from signs of a temperature but he continued to shiver as if he didn't feel the heat.

Scott could see that this time John had caught the flu badly but he was also depressed, he moved up and sat on the edge of the bed. "You know that is true" He said with a slight smile.

John nodded a little and sniffed using one of the blankets to wipe the tears forming at his eyes.

Scott inwardly sighed and pulled his brother into a hug, "Its ok John, we will always be there for you... no matter what" He said as he soothed his brother closest by age.

John cried silently into his brother's t-shirt feeling foolish for thinking that his family didn't love him, he also felt low from being caught out in the storm that had been predicted that morning on the news.


**
My arms will hold you,

keep you safe and warm

**

Lucille closed the door silently to Virgil's room as Jeff tucked Gordon in and wished him good night.


Together they quietly opened the door to John's room to find Scott on John's bed with a sleeping John in his arms.

"Scott?" Lucille asked quietly but stayed in the doorway with Jeff.

Scott was fast asleep, when he heard voices he just held his brother tighter.

Jeff smiled and placed a hand on his wife's shoulder, "Leave him be" He whispered and led Lucille out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"Do you think he will be ok?" Lucille asked as she was led to their room.

"I'm sure, Scott has always been there for his brothers and we will do the same" Jeff said and pulled Lucille into a hug as they entered the room.

**
This bond between us

can't be broken

**

Breakfast, the next morning.

Lucille and Jeff worked around each other as toast was cooked, coffee was made and orange juice was squeezed.

Around the table was three out of four of their sons all looking worn out and worried as they quietly munched on their chosen cereal.

Jeff moved to sit down with the morning paper folded next to him so he could read it while having his own breakfast, a steaming mug of coffee sat nearby while Lucille came in with the large rack of toast and a jug of orange juice.

"Are you all ready for school? I don't need you to be late now" Lucille said with a smile as she poured a glass of orange juice for Alan who slowly munched on a piece of plain toast.

"W...will John be ok?" Virgil asked as he buttered his own toast slowly.

Lucille glanced over at Jeff, who looked up from reading his paper and looked up at the ceiling before going back to his paper.

"I'm sure he will be fine, you heard the doctor... there is nothing but rest can cure" She said with a smile as she sat down at the table.


**
I will be here

Don't you cry

**


John coughed fighting against the tickle in his throat, waking his borhter up with a jump.

"Hey John, just lean back ok?" Scott said as John tried to bend over double as he continued to cough but was help upright to help with his breathing.

Soon the coughing fit passed leaving John breathless and his throat hoarse. Scott released his brother's shoulders and reach over for the glass of water from the bedside table.

John looked up and reached for the glass to take a sip, but as he grasped the glass it shook in his hands so Scott kept a hand on the glass to steady it.

A knock on the door made both brothers look up, "Come in" Scott called as John pushed the drink away so that it could be put back on the table.

Lucille opened the door and peeked around it, "Just wanting to see if you all awake" She said with a smile.

With the bedroom door open, the smell of breakfast wavered through. This caused the sounds of rumbling stomachs to come from both of the boys.

"Sounds like you're hungry, I suggest Scott that you should go and get ready for school while I go and get John some breakfast as he's not allowed to leave his bed" Lucille said in her stern mother tone.

John flinched and dived under the covers as Scott freed himself and headed out of John's bedroom, down the hall to his own room.


**

'Cause you'll be in my heart

Yes, you'll be in my heart

**

Having been allowed to be downstairs, as long as he promised to stay in the lounge and not move, John was glad to be out of his room but under the nest of blankets his mom had placed upon him. He could feel the top of his pyjamas sticking to his back from the sweat his fever produced but was actually feeling cold himself.

If John listened closely, he could hear his mom moving around the kitchen cleaning up after her husband and other sons as they had all left for school, Jeff doing the school run instead of Lucille so she could stay and keep an eye on John while getting the housework done.

But this caused him to be a burden on his very busy mother, or at least that was how he felt. Sighing deeply, he just pushed himself deeper under the blankets and tried to get some sleep if the dull throbing coming from his blocked up nose would allow him.

Lucille looked out from the kitchen to see John had disappeared back under the blankets, shaking her head she had tried previous times that John had fallen ill, and done just that, to try and stop the habit but according to Jeff she did the same when she fell ill.

Disappearing back into the kitchen, Lucille retrieved a glass of water and the flu medicine that the doctor had said would help to make John better quicker. Checking to see if the spoon was still in there, she moved back into the lounge and leaned down, placing the glass of water and the medicine on the table just in front of the couch John was led on.

"John, honey.. are you awake?" She asked quietly and was greeted by a pair of tired blue eyes looking out from under the blankets. "Come on, I'll give you some medicine.. it will help" She said as she reached behind her for the medicine.

John inwardly sighed and moved to sit up gently being careful not to cause the dizzy spell he had earlier, soon he was upright and leaning against the mix of cusions and pillows.

Lucille smiled softly and burshed the hair covering his eyes away gently, she could feel the heat coming up off her son's face. "It will be ok, you'll see" Lucille said with a soft but firm voice as she opened the medicine bottle.

John sniffed and rubbed his eyes to brush away the tears that were forming.

Noticing the movement Lucille frowned, "John?" She asked looking up and saw that he was starting to cry. Placing the bottle back on the table and moved closer to the couch where John laid. "Hey, its ok" Lucille said in a hushed tone and pulled him into a small hug.

John wrapt his own arms around his mom, feeling the tears come freely and get absorbed by her sweatshirt she was wearing.

**
From this day on

Now and forever more

**

Having seen that he had cried himself back to sleep, Lucille gently and slowly moved John back to lay on the pillows and couch instead of leaning against her. Once that was done, she rose carefully back to her feet before tucking her son back into the nest of blankets that was helping keeping him warm during his sleep.

Smiling and sighing softly, Lucille collected the bottle of medicine and went back into the kitchen to start work on the evening meal once everyone had arrived back from school or, in Jeff's case, work.

Lucille lost herself in thought as she busied herself around the kitchen, remembering seeing how much suffering John had gone under, not only because he was ill but because of that he had run away in the first place. She didn't realise that he felt that left out, just because he wasn't into the sports side of the world like most of his other brothers even his father but because he was the only one in the family that was the most quiet. Unlike Virgil, Gordon and Alan, he didn't call out and beg for attention or unlike Scott who would lend her a hand to getting the boys either ready for school or to bed, or to just to spend time with them.

Thinking about it now, she had rarely seen John play with his brothers like Scott would, where ever they played there would be a chance that John would be close by but keeping a distance away from the action. Instead of doing what normal boys did, he would be somewhere closeby with his nose in a book or something similar. Even with encouragement, it took a lot to have John become involved in the games feeling that he had to join in with their games instead of them joining his favourite activities.

Once they visited the observatory between their home and the next town, the others found some of it boring while John felt that he was in heaven. He whispered that he could spend days just walking around it or the museum that was set up or just by asking the scientists questions, once she had heard him say that he wanted to be a astronaut when he had left school then college.

But each boy had a fantasy like John's, Scott was fasinated by fast jets, Virgil was into construction or into music and art just like Lucille was, Gordon was a fish out of water and loved everything about the ocean and Alan, though being young, was into fast cars and was always, when he had a chance, watch the races that took place on the television.

Keeping up with the boys, Jeff was busy at work in setting up his own business empire, which was slowly growing, after leaving NASA he had used the knowledge and experience to start creating space craft like technology, and sell it to anyone that was interested. This had grown but still meant that most of his time was spent in meetings and long hours away from his family.

Lucille sighed finishing cooking the parts of the meal, checking the clock above the main counter seeing that there was still a hour before the rest of the family arrived back at home.


**

You'll be in my heart

No matter what they say

**


"Ok boys, we're home... now remember that he might be asleep so take it easy going in" Jeff said to his four sons as he parked up the family car instead of his own.

"We will Dad" The boys chorsed as they climbed out of the car one by one before heading to their house, opening the door and walking in gently.

The smell of their supper was in the air and the sounds of their mom busy in the kitchen, looking around Scott could see that the place had been cleaned like it always was during the day and headed into the lounge to be greeted by John sat upright on the couch looking a little flushed in the face with one of his books propped up against his legs.

His other brothers had disappeared upstairs to either get changed out of their sports clothes or to drop off their bags and homework.

"Hey John" He spoke quietly, putting his bag down by the armchair nearby and moved closer to his brother.

"Hi Scott" John said hoarsely, he was feeling a little better since his sleep but still felt rough and sore in the throat, the temperature wasn't that much better but he wasn't as hot as he was.

"I told your teachers that you've caught the flu... I know that Mom would have called the school but thought its better that I did" Scott said as he sat down in the armchair and could see that there were signs of tiredness in his brother.

"I'm fine Scott, you really didn't need to do that but thanks" John said as he placed his bookmark in his book before closing it.

Scott shook his head, "It's fine John, I'm just glad that you're ok..." He said with a smile and remembered how he found John compared to how he looked now.

Moving upright slowly, John made himself more comfortable on the pillows from his bed and the couch's cusions. "I'm sorry for causing you the trouble..." He said quietly before coughing.

"No John, I'm sorry... I should have seen that you were being left out, I'm your big brother, its my job to make sure that you're happy" Scott said reaching forward for the glass of water that rested on the table and handed it over to John. "I should have seen that you were unhappy and done something about it instead of trying to make sure that everyone else was ok... not let it get that bad that..." He stopped and rubbed his face.

John took a sip of the water, soothing his throat. "That I runaway... I..it didn't start like that, I just wanted to clear my head you know... but seeing that everyone didn't notice me then I just felt that I didn't belong" He muttered as he looked into the glass and sniffed.

Scott looked up, unshed tears shone his blue eyes. "Oh John, we do notice that you're there but you know how crazy it can be..." He said as he moved over and sat next to John, being careful not to sit on his feet.

John nodded, keeping his head low and a tight hold on the glass so not to spill its contents.

"Apart from Gordon, I was the first one to check to see if you were in your room as you're usually the first one back here... when you weren't here I was worried" Scott said looking down too. "I saw your science fair project and realised that you had been here, I did hear about your science fair from the guys and knew that you would win it... I tried to explain to the coach that I wanted just ten minutes at the beginning of practise to go and see you" He carried on remembering talking to his coach but the coach of the soccer team was a stubborn middle aged man that only cared for the game.

"You tried?" John's voice asked sounding more cracked and hoarse.

"Yes I did but you've met my coach... besides I could always ask you to show me your project, I'm not much of a fan of space but the way you tell it makes it sound more exciting than Ms Fink anyday" Scott said looking up with a smile knowing that one thing John and himself had in common was that they had the same science teacher.

John looked up with a smile, "Ms Fink thinks that space is just some sort of science, but I believe that its not just that but one big adventure for the whole of mankind to explore" He said placing the glass back on the table next to his book.

Scott smiled a little more, "I knew you would say that, the way that I've seen you help us with our homework when it came to the solar system or when you're working on a small project, or just working on adjusting your telescope, I can tell that one day you will be a great astronaut like Dad was" He said hearing the noise coming from the kitchen realising that everyone was getting ready for their supper.

John sniffed slightly, "Do you really think that?" He asked with a slight cough.

"I do and you know that I will always be there to help you if I can, though how you can read and keep track with some of this stuff still confuses me" Scott said and that earned a laugh from his brother, hearing this, even though it was a little cracked and ended with a cough, made him happy.

"I think everyone is getting ready for supper in there" John said once he caught his breath.

"Are you going to join us? Or do you want me to fetch you a plate and we can eat together in here? I'm sure Mom will allow it" Scott asked hearing the noise increase slightly in the kitchen.

John thought for a moment and feeling that he could barely sit up without the support of the pillows and cusions behind him, he thought that it would be best that he would have a plate. "Think eating in here is best" He said as he gently reached forward for his glass again.

"Ok, I'll be back in a minute" Scott said as he got up onto his feet and disappeared into the kitchen.

**
You'll be here

in my heart always

**

Later that night

Scott and John was sat in the large window frame in John's room with the telescope between them, it was a clear night and the only light came from a small lamp John had setted up on the floor next to his bed.

"Can you see it? We're so lucky that the night is this clear and that there isn't too much pollution clogging up the sky" John said as he adjusted the telescope slightly as Scott looked through it.

"It is beautiful John, I just can't believe how graceful it looks" Scott said moving away and allowed John to look through.

"I know but meteor showers are the best... though would love to see a supernova one day, but this telescope isn't powerful enough... but then there is suppose to be a lunar eclipse coming up soon" John said as he watched the comet pass gracefully across the sky, its tail shining brightly behind it.

He knew that comets were just balls of ice and rock while its tail was made up of any of the ice that broke free off it, but still it was beautiful to see it pass by.

Scott laughed quietly, "Hey calm down bro, maybe you should get to bed... I'll pick up your magazine on the way home tomorrow" He said realising that his brother was hinting about the astronaut journal that he collected was due out tomorrow.

"Thanks Scott, though thought Dad was picking you all up again tomorrow" John asked and coughed slightly. A few hours after their supper, his Mom had given him his medicine and made his throat feel a little better.

"Well I was able to fix my bike back up while you were asleep after supper, so I'm taking that to school tomorrow and I haven't got soccer practise" Scott explained as his bike did suffer some damage from the shortcut he took through the woods while searching for John.

"Oh right... I think I better get to bed" John said as he put his telescope away in its case.

"Ok John, I better go too... it is getting late" Scott half yawned and stretched as he rose up out of the window still.

John climbed over into his bed and under the covers, "Scott..." He muttered as he watched his brother cross the small room.

"Yeah bro?" Scott asked stopping in the doorway.

"Thanks" John said in the same quiet tone before switching off the lamp and closed his eyes.

"Welcome, just glad you're safe... night Johnny" Scott said in the quiet tone before closing the door to John's room.


**
Always

~Fin~