Disclaimer: I don't own either the Tracys or Thunderbirds.

Close Call

How does someone overcome the soul crushing pain of losing a brother? A best friend? Glancing at a picture that John had taken not so long ago, I felt yet another tear fall. The picture beneath the glass was distorted with the tears that would not stop falling. I'd hidden in the room that we had claimed as our refuge from nosy, younger brothers. A watery grin tugged at my mouth, "Dad never did let them have access to this room. He let it stay ours. A place where we could get away from them." Leaning my head back against the sofa, I sighed again. "You're supposed to be here now, you know?" I rolled my head to look at the old upright that Dad had brought to the Island from Kansas. A layer of dust gave testament to the last time that it had been touched. "You were so excited about that piece you'd been writing. Now it's just sitting there incomplete."

"Every time I get inspired, we get a call out," Virgil groused into his earpiece. He knew that I'd be listening. It had become our ritual to chat on our way back to Base after a rescue.

I couldn't help but chuckle, "I'm sure that this emergency call out was not placed just to drag you from your masterpiece."

The only answer I received was a snort of disbelief before all hell broke loose and warning alarms flooded the flight deck of Thunderbird Two. "Scott, something has locked onto Two. Taking evasive measures now."

"Alan, find out what the hell how locked onto Two. Thunderbird One to Base, we're going to have to detour to keep anyone from finding where we're ---"

"SHIT, I CAN'T SHAKE IT, SCOTT…" A loud blast echoed through the open com and then dead silence. I'd only been a short distance ahead of Virgil when the alarms had begun to blare. A huge fireball erupted right where Two had been then one of my worst nightmares continued to play out. The burnt and heavily damaged 'bird that my closest brother was pilot of fell to the Earth. Racing towards the blackened husk that hopefully protected my brother, I prayed as I hadn't since that horrible day Gordon's hydrofoil had disintegrated around him. I set One down as close as I could and quickly shut her down so that I could get to Virgil.

Shaking my head, I tried to block the images from replaying in my mind. The tears came faster further distorting the image of the picture. "It should never have happened, Virg." A small creaking noise from near the door had me snapping my head up. I quickly wiped the tears from my face, a watery grin taking shape when I saw who had dared come into the room.

Slow and awkwardly, he grimaced as he shuffled behind the aluminum walker. "Thought I'd find you up here."

Seeing that he was exhausted, I got up and grabbed a chair to place behind him. "Sit."

Winded and tired, he didn't complain. "Thanks, that was a longer trip than I expected." He stared hard at me for a moment before a soft yet teasing smile lit up his face. "Up here thinking of what might have been?"

I knew there was no way to fool him. Virgil was a part of me and knew me as well as I knew myself. "It was a close call, Virg." Pausing for a moment, I tried to compose myself. "What if you wouldn't have made it?"

"But I did, Scott. I'm here even if I'm a little beat up," he said.

"I know but I had to—"

Gently, he interrupted me, "You had to let the what-may-have-been out and try to hide the tears, right?"

"Yeah." Embarrassed, I shrugged. "You know I hate crying."

Leaning forward on the walker, he studied me. "I know but you know that you don't have to hide from me, Scott. I know you and I know your fears." Pointing down at himself, "This is just temporary. I'll be up and on my own two feet before too long."

"We don't know that yet."

"I do. I refuse to be any other way. We're Tracys and we don't give up. We don't give in. And we don't back down from a challenge." Glancing over at the piano, he grinned. "Would you do me a favor and wipe the dust from my piano? I believe that I was rudely interrupted from something I was working on."

A sense of hope flared within my soul and I hurried to do as my brother and best friend asked. In just a short time, a soft melody could be heard throughout the main house's hallways and open rooms.

Sitting in his study with the door opened, Jeff stared at the pictures of his boys scattered about the room and on his desk. "Thank you, Lucy, for watching over our boys once again."

For the briefest of seconds, a shadowy form took shape and a scent of soft lavender filled the study and wafted throughout the house to each of the Tracy brothers.

A/N: I had fully planned on killing Virgil off but every time I tried, a promise I made to lissysue85 kept replaying in my head. I promised her that I'd never kill Virgil off and so far I've managed to uphold that promise. sam1