Alan Hart

Alan Joseph Hart (21 November 1979) is the only child of Nicole and Scott Hart. Growing up in Thorn, Surrey, he became practically inseperable from his friends Adrien, Mel, Geoff, and Gaél. In particular, he became very, very close with Geoff.

Shortly before his 9th birthday, he and his parents were in a horrific car wreck that killed both Scott and Nicole and left Alan deeply traumatized. After a short run in the hospital, Alan was turned over to the care of not his godparents (Jenny and Robert Fairchild)) but of his maternal aunt and her husband, Linda and Steven Logan. During his eight year stint with the Logans, Alan was physically and emotionally abused, not only by his aunt and uncle, but also by his two older cousins, Noah and Will. Though he was often teased there for his hair and his natty clothes, school became something of a sanctuary for him and weekends were dreaded. Any time he could get away from his uncle's house to be with his friends was a blessing. When he was sixteen his uncle finally crossed well over the line of former abuse, choking Alan to unconsciousness in the bathroom before school one morning. When Alan wasn't in class, his friends came looking for him. Mel, Geoff, Adge, and Gael found him where his uncle had left him, in the loo, in shock, his neck a mess of black and blue marks. After yet another trip to the hospital, custody of Alan was granted to his godparents, Rob and Jenny, who treated the damaged young man with kindness.

Alan was left completely devastated by the murder of one of his closest friends, Gaél. Around the time of Gaél's funeral, Alan began dating Gina King (Gaél's cousin, whom Alan had long had feelings for). The two eventually parted ways in 2000.

Earning his medical degree at The University of London, Alan eventually went on to become a paediatrician. He married girlfriend, Kate Brennan in 2005, going on to have five children: Nicole (b. 2006), Peter (b. 2011), Maggie (b. 2011), Sadie (b. 2014), Toby Hart (b. 2007; adopted 2012)

Etymology
The name Alan is of uncertain origin. It is often interpreted as eaning either "little rock" or "handsome" in Breton and "harmony" in some Celtic languages.

Joseph is originally derived from the Hebrew name (Yosef), meaning "he will add". In the Bible, Joseph is the name of the eleventh son of Jacob, who was given premonition from God int he form of dreams. It is also the name of Saint Joseph, husband of Mary.

The surname Hart, in Ireland, is the Anglicized for of Gaelic Ó hAirt, meaning "descendant of Art", which in turn means "bear" and "hero". In the 17th century, the English version on the name came to Ireland, here meaning "stag" (a male red deer).

Appearances

 * Somewhere a Clock is Ticking
 * Book 2
 * Paper Tigers
 * Book 4 (as a baby)