Author's Note: Hey fellow Tbirds! Each chapter focuses on a different Tracy handling their respective ache or pain and how Scott comforts them through the injury. In the last chapter, the others must come together and aid their unofficial team leader in his time of need! I hope you enjoy it! On a side note, the last thirteen episodes of the first season of Thunderbirds Are Go will be released in the US in November and I'm so excited! I can't wait to see our boys face off against the Hood!
Scott balanced two mugs in his hands as he carefully navigated the stairs. He smiled, noticing Gordon's bedroom door slightly ajar, and gave it a light push with his shoulder as he entered.
"I come bearing gifts," he said, lifting the two mugs for emphasis. Gordon snickered from his place on the bed.
"Scott, you don't have to do this EVERY time." Scott glanced at his younger sibling's wrapped ankle with a sigh before taking a seat next to Gordon. He pressed the drink into his hands.
"Yeah, well, what are big brothers for?" he replied. He waited for Gordon to take a sip.
"Hot chocolate! Now you're really spoiling me." Scott gave his brother a good-natured nudge in the ribs.
"Something tells me you got injured on purpose," he joked.
"All part of my master plan," came the reply as Gordon took another swig. Scott smiled a little sadly.
Dad was the one who used to check up on them after missions, spending time at their bedsides when they brought back the occasional ache or pain. Now, as the oldest, Scott felt that responsibility pass to him, at least until Dad returned. This time the injury belonged to Gordon. The sprain was minor, but it would be enough to keep their resident swimmer out of the pool for a few days. When Virgil had given Gordon the official diagnosis, the blonde had laughed it off with a joke then joined Alan for a round of video games. However, despite Gordon's bravado, Scott knew the truth. He could see the slight dip in his brother's shoulders, the falter in his smile. The loss of aquatic privileges pained him more than the swollen ankle ever could. If the past few months had taught Scott anything, it was that there were only three things his younger brother needed to lift his dampened spirits: swimming, chocolate and good company. Swimming was out of the question, but he had the chocolate part down…as for good company…
Scott pulled out a shabby set of cards from the nightstand and shuffled them with ease. He would've preferred to play hearts, but with Gordon, there was only one card game that held his interest.
"Go Fish! My favorite!" his brother exclaimed. "You're going down, Scott! And don't think I'll go easy on you just because you bribed me with hot chocolate." The flimsy cards yielded effortlessly under Scott's touch, a testament to Gordon's affinity for the game.
"I have an idea. Why don't we make this a little more interesting? Something to raise the stakes," Scott said, garnering Gordon's interest even more. He leaned forward from his place on the bed.
"A bet? Sounds like fun. But you do realize that I'm the undefeated Go Fish champion, right?"
"There's a first time for everything, Gords." He pulled up a spare chair and sat across from Gordon as he dealt the cards across the bedspread. "Hmm…if I win you have to take over laundry duty for me this week. Even with your busted ankle." Scott was hopeless with the washer and dryer and on more than one occasion had sabotaged a load of whites with a colored sock or two. Gordon knew his older brother's aversion for the laundry rotation and grinned.
"And if I win you have to clean the pool and make it nice and pretty for my glorious homecoming."
"Deal," Scott said and the pair cemented the bet with a firm handshake. "Maybe you should bunk down in the laundry room for the night. You know, just to get used to your new home for the next week."
"You'll be eating those words before you know it! Better get your swim trunks ready," Gordon bantered. He glanced at the cards in his hand. "Do you have any fives?"
Scott lost both the game and a chip of his pride as he plodded past Gordon's door the next morning in a pair of blue swim trunks. Virgil and Alan intercepted him in the hallway with an armful of dirty laundry. They shoved the clothes into his chest.
"Thanks, bro!" Virgil said over his shoulder as he corralled Alan away before Scott could toss the bundle back. Gordon appeared, as if on cue, and added his own laundry to the collection.
"Have fun cleaning the pool! Well, after finishing our laundry, that is!"
"That's it! Get the cards back out! I want a rematch!" Gordon rushed down the stairs—swollen ankle and all—with a pleading older brother in tow.