THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO
SHE WOULD'NT TELL
WRITTEN BY ZARIUS
(contains spoilers for "Deep Water")
Why didn't he say something?
Anything, even the faintest whisper would suffice.
She would pick up on it; it'd be so easy for her. That was how well she listened.
Parker had been keeping tabs on the sustainability levels in Gordon's gear as he continued to navigate through the supreme barrier reef, trying to make it back to Thunderbird 4 before the acidic waters cut into his suit and inflicted damage on him.
Every time he updated, it was with bad news as the percentage dropped.
And with each drop, came the cold and unnerving possibility Gordon's durability would waver, and it chilled her. Every raw nerve she usually kept restrained was shot.
She was normally collected, consistent, but not this time. This was a sensation she felt all too sparingly, she wasn't used to it, and she could not bear to have it travel along with her as she observed the activity on the bed of the reef.
Say something, anything, she said, not even restraining it in her subconscious mind, she wanted Parker to hear it; she wanted God to hear it.
Maybe Parker would update her with something more positive, maybe the good graces of the heavens would push Gordon further when he felt tired, felt mortal.
Parker could tell the tortured gaze on his employer's face was cause for concern, but he could only permit himself to offer the truth, to dash her hopes would be unkindly on his part.
"15%" he said as he gave his latest update
Penelope's eyes widened, she tensely bit her lips, and she clasped her hands together. She would not permit tears just yet.
Finally, Gordon said something to indicate he was alright, that he had made it back to Thunderbird 4 safe and sound.
Penelope felt relief followed by supreme frustration.
When the time came to reunite on the surface, she would let Gordon know just how upset she was.
He was aloof, brash, and all too eager to go in to a rescue mission all quips blazing. The insistence on clowning around verbally while being in a place of great danger equally amused and angered her, especially when he had no back up, as this case had proven. He only had her and Parker to assist, and that's why she felt all the more furious.
When push came to shove, she just stood back and watched helplessly, she should have just braved the acid, found a way to clamber into Thunderbird 4 and brought it to him quicker, she should have stepped forward, instead she held back.
Gordon's predicament scared her, but refusing to budge from where she was when he clearly needed her was what had inflicted a lasting scar on her mentally.
He needn't ever know.
She wouldn't tell.
