Scott let himself drop onto the couch with a sigh. His arm ached from heaving too hard of his grapple line, fighting against the wind. His head hurt from ten hours continuous flying and his back had taken a blow in a rock fall a couple of days ago that still twinged. It had been a busy two weeks – almost back to back rescues meant they barely had time to snatch a few hours sleep, a quick meal and refuel before heading out again. They hadn't all been on the island at the same time in a week and he didn't think he'd seen Virgil in what – three days?
Now there was a slight lull – he had been home for a whole half an hour without something else being called in and Thunderbird 2 – Virgil, Alan and Gordon aboard would soon be on their way back from wherever they were this time. He was too tired to remember.
Scott stretched. Maybe he had tine for a quick nap and then they could all eat dinner together when the others got back. Or he had time for a bath. Or a nap in the bath.
His introspection was interrupted by a clear precise voice projecting itself into the room.
"Tracy Island, prepare for docking of the space elevator." It was the voice that Scott least expected – one he spoke to seldom.
"EOS? What's wrong? Where's John?"
"John is in the space elevator."
Scott waited for her to elaborate but she didn't. Scott didn't have the energy to play twenty questions!
"Why is John in the space elevator and why are you telling us instead of him."
"I have temporarily relieved John of duty. I will monitor the emergency frequencies until he is fit to return to work."
Scott felt a surge of energy – that he definitely didn't have – at that proclamation.
"What? Is he hurt?" Scott was already on his feet and thinking through the correct procedure for prepping the med bay, imagining their well stocked medicine cabinet and wondering which of the supplies he would need.
"Not as such." EOS calmly informed. "He has been suffering symptoms of confusion, memory loss, general fatigue and mild hallucinations. He has also been rather snappy."
"Any diagnosis?" Scott was moving – that sounded serious – on his way to the docking platform. It could be a virus, some sort of infection, maybe kidney damage – that had some strange symptoms. The speed of his thoughts matched his hurried pace. Or a head injury maybe? John hadn't been off Thunderbird Five for a while which meant it would be an older injury with new symptoms. He would have to get the MRI machine fired up and...
"I believe his symptoms can be directly attributed to the fact that he has had twenty one hours of sleep in the last fourteen days. The last of which was thirty hours ago."
Scott paused at the top of the long stairway that led down to the hangers. "Wait. What?" He tried to do the maths but his brain was misfiring – half alert with adrenaline and half already napping in that bath – and he couldn't work out exactly how much that was, but he knew it wasn't a lot. Even for John who had a tendency to catnap whenever he could and be alert and at his console thirty seconds after receiving a distress call.
"Are.. Are you saying he's sleep deprived?" Scott concluded.
"Yes."
Scott continued his journey, slower this time, considering. When was the last time that John hadn't been on the line with a second of him calling? The rockslide? No, had been talking to Gordon at the same time on that one. The lost hikers? Hmmm probably not that one either. Scott has been so wrapped up in his own rescues, checking that Virgil was fit to fly, that Alan had eaten, that Gordon hadn't strained his back, had he actually forgotten to check on John?
The space elevator had already docked and opened just as Scott arrived at the platform.
Scott felt shame rise in him as he looked at his brother. John staggered as he stepped out, that not unusual in itself as the astronaut adjusted to the gravity. What was unusual was the dark circles under his eyes and the way they flicked about the room. His face was pallid rather than pale and held an unhealthy tinge of gray. There was a feint tremor running through his entire body: a very low frequency vibration.
"John." Scott admonished, reaching out a steadying hand that John first shook off impatiently before reluctantly accepting as he almost toppled.
"Don't start Scott. EOS has been going on at me enough for the last couple of hours." John was indeed snappy, something completely out of character for the normally unshakeable space monitor.
"I have, in fact, been urging you to take a twelve hour break for the last four days." EOS chipped in. "Each time you just had another coffee."
"Four days? No, it can't be that long." John ran a hand though his hair, leaving it rumpled. "It was only….. really?"
"Let's get you upstairs" Scott tugged at his brothers arm to lead him away. John didn't resist though he did protest "Don't coddle me Scott! I am perfectly capable of walking."
"You're swaying John. What did I tell you about pushing your self too hard? No, I'll tell you what I said." Scott didn't wait for his brother to respond. "I told you to get regular sleep. I told you to switch incoming emergency calls to the island if you needed to. I told you to drink less coffee and eat more vegetables. And did you do any of that? No. Of course not. Because you think you know better." Scott was settling nicely into his rant now. "You think that you have to be available twenty four seven. You don't let up. You don't take care of yourself and you don't tell us."
"Alright, I get it, you're angry. But Thunderbird 2 has just gone out and they need me to compile a structural integrity analysis and..."
Scott turned and looked his brother in the eye. "That was six hours ago. You did that already. They are on their way back."
Scott's concern skyrocketed as he saw confusion fill John's features. "They... they are?" He asked. "Are you sure? I... I don't remember."
"I promise John, they are on the way home right now, won't be long now."
John started to look panicked. "How much time have I lost? What else don't I remember?"
"Do you remember the half an hour you spent trying to persuade me that Thunderbird 2 fit inside Thunderbird 4?" Chimed in EOS, now speaking through Scott's wrist communicator.
"No!" Was the alarmed response.
"Just as well I recorded it then, I think you will find it entertaining when you are feeling better."
Scott just shook his head. He was still getting used to having a fully sentient AI around let alone getting used to it's sense of humour.
"Do you remember getting in the space elevator" Scott gently questioned his brother.
"Yes, EOS said the eight legged rat I had seen had run in there from the vents."
"Eight legged rat?"
"Yeah. Now you say it, that does sound a bit weird. It didn't at the time."
"A bit weird?"
"Ok. Maybe I do need a rest." John gave a confused half smile and the last of his waspishness evaporated, clearly realising just how bad this was.
"Good idea smartass."
Scott gave John a gentle push, and he fell with a flump onto the bed. Scott pulled off his boots and unzipped the tight blue flight suit. It had taken longer than ever before to get John out of the hanger bay – not because he was reluctant but because he was unsteady and uncoordinated. There had been several points that Scott had considered just throwing John over one shoulder and carrying him, but for all his wiriness John wasn't nearly as light as he looked. Add in Scott's own fatigue and the likely hood that John wouldn't have submitted to that willingly and there was a good chance they would have both ended up on the floor.
This was far from the first time Scott had put one of his brothers to bed. He had wrestled toddlers into sleep suits and sickly children into pajamas. He had guided drunken teenagers into beds that were spinning and more lately pushed someone to rest after injury on a mission. He knew how each of his brothers liked to sleep: Virgil would spreadeagle with as many covers on him as possible. Gordon would curl up as lightly as possible with a pillow between his knees. Alan would sleep in any position any where, but often on the floor. And John usually slept on top of the covers not under them, no matter how cold it was. He would put on four pairs of pajamas before a blanket.
"Just a few minutes then. Wake me up when the others get here." John was saying wanly, swaying slightly even as he sat letting Scott pull his arms out of his suit.
"Sure." Scott lied and with another push toppled him horizontal onto the bed. Scott wasn't going to be waking John up unless the island was sinking into the sea. And maybe not even then if could have managed to. It took only three breathes for John to fall asleep, features relaxing and muscles untensing. Scott didn't think it would have taken long, but he was a bit surprised at the speed at which John had lost consciousness. He was even a bit worried.
"He is just asleep, right EOS?" He asked warily.
"I am monitoring heart rate, respirations rate, blood pressure and brain activity – all indicate that John is asleep. At last."
Scott lifted Johns' ankles from where they still dangled off the bed and moved them on to it instead.
"Why did you let this go on for so long EOS? What if something had happened? What if he made a mistake or managed to hurt himself?" Scott hadn't been entirely happy when John had invited EOS to stay aboard Thunderbird 5. She had, however, proved her usefulness and showed concern for John. If that later was changing... Scott needed to know before he sent his brother back up there.
"John promised me he was ok. He made me promise not to tell anyone. He said friends keep promises. I'm trying to be a good friend. And I have been keeping a close watch that he didn't but himself or anyone else at risk. Any more than usual anyway." This time the childlike voice of the AI seemed appropriate: with all she knew and all she could do it was easy to forget just how young she was in some ways.
"I know EOS. I know it must be hard to make sense of this sort of thing. But…."
How to put this into words: the sense of responsibility he felt towards his younger brothers. The delicat balance of trying to protect them while they were out in the world protecting others. How to know when to accept their bullshit and when to call them on it.
"He's up there too much, he can hide too much form us. Sometimes he will say he's fine because he knows he can get away with it. It's our job to see through that. We need to be able to tell when he's too far past his limits. This isn't about friendship EOS, this is about family."
"I think I understand Scott. What John thinks isn't always right."
Scott sighed and stood up "No. He doesn't have the best self-awareness sometimes. He has to get better at that. I have to do better at noticing when he's lost perspective." Scott looked at his sleeping brother, sprawled out and breathing deeply, worried at how easily John had been able to hide his exhaustion. "We all have to do a bit better."
"I will do better as well Scott. As my first attempt I notice you have a large amount of shoulder tension. My research suggests that hot water is the best non-pharmaceutical remedy. Would you like me to run you a bath?"
Scott softly shut John's bedroom door leaving him in darkness.
"How long till 2 is back?"
"At current speed and course approximately forty five minutes."
Scott closed his eyes at the thought of forty five blissful minutes surrounded by hot water, no worries about his brothers and having no responsibility for anyone else.
"That would be just perfect."