Title: Swamped
Author: Gumnut
23 Jun 2019
Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS
Rating: Teen
Summary: So here he was standing in his undershorts on top of his bird in the middle of the ocean for all nearby female aristocrats to see.
Word count: 1782
Spoilers & warnings: SPOILERS FOR 3.15, episode tag, Gordon/Penelope.
Timeline: Sometime before the last scene of the episode.
Author's note: This is for thunderstorm-bay for being wonderful. Many thanks to i-am-chidorixblossom and scribbles97 for the read throughs. This is really just a single scene that came to mind. Also, I apparently can't help myself. I hope you enjoy it :D
Disclaimer: Mine? You've got to be kidding. Money? Don't have any, don't bother.
-o-o-o-
"Virgil?"
He sighed, slammed the wrench down on Two's hull and grabbed another one. "Yes, Gordon, what do you want now?"
"No need to be snappy there, bro."
"Gordon, my 'bird is currently floating in the Pacific with her engines full of water. In what way do you think this would put me in a good mood?"
"You have Penny on board."
"What?"
"What is she doing right now?"
"Uh, helping Scott clean sand out of the intakes. Why?"
"Oh, just interested."
Can you be interested silently? But he didn't say it. A calming breath and he dove back into the hatch. The sun near the equator was expectedly hot, and in a breach of protocol, he had removed his baldric, stashed it nearby for the comm signal, and unzipped the top half of his uniform. He would have loved to throw the whole thing off, but safety concerns, a frowning Scott and, of course, the Penny presence vetoed that.
But man, it would be nice to be cool.
His girl was swamped with water and she wasn't going to fly until that water was flushed out and all her engines checked and double checked. As it was it was likely they would have to airlift her back to the Island using the heavy-duty pods that had dragged her space-damaged carcass out of the ocean last time. It had taken a week to clean her out.
Thunderbird Two was not a submarine.
"So, she was a good co-pilot?"
"Yes, Gordon."
"Reckon she might come out of rescues?"
"Why?"
"Maybe she wants to become a more active member of International Rescue?"
"Say that to her face and you are likely to lose yours. In no way is Lady Penelope inactive."
"Uh, you might have a point." A sigh. "So, what do you think of Penny?"
"Gordon, I'm not going to gossip about your girlfriend."
"She's not my girlfriend!"
"But you wouldn't mind if she was."
"Um..."
"Obvious, Gordo, obvious."
"You have a point."
"Ask her out and put us out of our misery."
"Hey, timing, Virg. It isn't like I can escort her anywhere at the moment."
"You don't have to, Gordon, or haven't you noticed that, she has been on Tracy Island more since you were injured than she has in the past ten years?"
"Uh, yeah?"
"Ask her out, Gordon. Use one of the hoverbikes and take her down to your favourite beach for a picnic. I'll even tie up Alan for you." He swapped wrenches again. Damn, this vent was being stubborn. He whacked it and narrowly missed his thumb, but the housing shifted and he was finally able to open the access.
"Ugh, crap."
"What?"
"Mulched sea life in the aft dorsal vent."
"Mulched?"
"Well, if you went through the forward intake, you'd come out mulched too. Two is not a submersible."
"You keep saying that, yet you didn't hesitate to take her under."
"I had good reason."
"Yes, an older brother who wouldn't listen to his resident aquanaut." Gordon's voice took on a frustrated tone. "If he had just waited, we wouldn't have had the problem."
"Scott was just anxious."
"Virgil, if I had done that you would be ripping me a new one."
A swallow. Gordon was right. There was a stern discussion to be had in the future. But the hope regarding their father was like a light at the end of the tunnel and it shone everything else into insignificance.
"We need to focus on Dad right now."
"I will be as happy as you to find Dad, Virgil, but I don't want to lose the brothers I have in the process."
He put the wrench down and it clattered against Two's hull. Gordon was right. Scott had been in some serious danger of never getting out of that sludge. Alan and Kayo were lucky to be alive. They had almost lost a Thunderbird to the Chaos Crew. And Thunderbird Two...both he and Penny had been at risk.
All for just the chance of more information.
"You have a point."
"I know I do."
Perhaps they had been a bit obsessed. But the chance, Dad needing their help, stranded so far away. Could he still be alive? This could be the rescue of their lives. But at what risk? Gordon had been stuck at home watching all of them cheat death on a simple hope.
That capsule still sat snug in the module and had yet to reveal whether it was all worth it.
Virgil bit his lip. "Dad might be still alive."
"I really hope so. I really do, Virg. Just don't do anything stupid and keep that eldest brother of ours from killing himself in the process."
"I'll do my best."
"I know you will." A pause. "Just sucks to be me at the moment."
"Should I leave Penny with you next time?"
"You'd need to tie her to the chair, Virg. As you said, she's not one to sit and watch."
"Neither are you."
Silence from the comms for the first time in a long time. Virgil sighed. "Ask her out, Gords. If she knows what's good for her, she'll say yes."
"Yeah, maybe." But his brother's tone said the absolute opposite.
Looks like he would be pulling out some kind of motivational speech for his little brother in the near future. Who thought Gordon would ever need motivation of any kind? The aquanaut was usually a power source for the rest of them.
"Think about it, bro. She'd be the luckiest woman on the planet."
"Heh." A pause. "So, what wildlife did you puree? Got enough for identification?" That was an obvious subject change if he'd ever heard one. Okay, if that is how he wanted to play it.
"I'm thinking squid." He reached in and grabbed a pile of jellied mush in his fortunately gloved hand and held it up so his holoreceiver could grab it. "What do you think? Look like something for dinner?"
"You took out a squid? You keep that killing green behemoth out of my ocean, Virgil."
"Hey, it's not like she did it on purpose."
"Can you bring it closer?" There was a frown in his brother's voice.
Virgil complied. Pieces of the slush slid down his arm and splashed on his undershirt. "Gross."
"Uh, Virgil, put it down now."
"What?"
"That's not squid. That's jellyfish."
The sludge landed with a splat on Two's hull. It left residue all over his glove and arm and shirt. "Shit!"
"Tell me you didn't get it on your skin, Virgil. Stinger cells don't puree."
"Damnit!"
"Virgil!"
The gloves were tossed, the uniform followed in the most awkward undressing he had ever managed. His boots were stumbled off even more awkwardly. But nothing could hide the sudden tingling on his chest. Goddamnit, so stupid!
"Virgil, talk to me! I'm sending Scott up."
"I'm okay. Just stupid."
"TB4's packs have some sting neutralising spray. I'm notifying Scott."
His undershirt was flung onto the hull. He was never going to live this down. The tingling was fast becoming painful. A lovely array of welts outlining where the sludge had soaked through his shirt was appearing on his chest. "Unbelievable!"
"Virgil?" Scott appeared up through the forward hatch. "What the hell?"
"It was an accident."
Of course, Penelope just had to follow his brother. So here he was standing in his undershorts on top of his bird in the middle of the ocean for all nearby female aristocrats to see.
Neither his brother or their London agent appeared to care in the slightest as they clambered across Two's hull to reach him. "What happened? Gordon said you came in contact with a jellyfish?" Scott dumped a medkit on the hull and, opening it, pulled out a bottle of the sting spray. "Do we know what kind?"
Virgil grit his teeth. Yes, it was definitely hurting now. "Scan the slush. Just don't touch it."
"Send the readings to me and I'll do the identification." Gordon voice had lost any and all joviality.
Penny fished the scanner from Scott's kit and did as the aquanaut asked.
"Virg?" Scott approached him with care. "Where and how bad?"
"Chest and bad enough."
The spray was heaven on earth. Scott drenched him liberally in the chemical foam. "Anywhere else?"
"No, that little bit was enough." Virgil let a breath out.
"Any sign of additional symptoms? C'mon, sit down, just in case."
With a frustrated sigh, Virgil parked himself crosslegged on Two's warm hull a decent distance from the slush scattered around the vent hatch. He glared at it. "Revenge from beyond the grave."
"Got it." Gordon's voice held relief even before he spouted the needed information. "You've been Cannonballed, Virg."
"What?"
"Cannonball Jellyfish. Stomolophus meleagris. You must have hit a swarm because that pile of slush makes up more than one. And don't worry, not deadly. Usually a mild sting, but can get nasty in your eyes. I suspect that you're really feeling it, because you're playing with the pureed version."
"Great." Well, at least he wasn't dying.
"Source says a few hours of ouch and the next day lots of itch."
"Fantastic." Just to make dragging his girl out of the ocean that little bit more entertaining. A put-upon sigh.
"Sit for a minute while I pump some seawater up here and wash off the living dead jellyfish." Scott wasn't smiling, but since it was clear now that Virgil wasn't going to keel over on him, he could relax just a little.
"Fine."
Penny looked up and smiled at him. It was a kind smile, despite his predicament.
He let his shoulders drop. At least the sun was warm and the breeze gentle as they danced across his shoulder blades. In a minute he would wash the mess off his chest, apply some anaesthetic cream, don a clean uniform and get back to work. But for the moment he was content to sit and watch Scott scrub down his 'bird.
"Gordon?"
"Yeah?"
"I'll leave the water rescues to you from now on."
His little brother laughed over the comms. "Aww, Virg, but you did so well."
"Hmph." A smirk. "Penny says hi." The blonde woman looked up at him in question.
"Virgil!"
"Yes, little bro?"
"Watch it."
"Well, she's now seen me in my underwear and she makes a great co-pilot..."
"As if she'd look at you twice."
"Oh, I don't know. She's looking at me quite bit at the moment." He grinned at her.
"No flexing your pecs, you hulk."
If was Virgil's turn to laugh. "You are aware I have you on speaker, aren't you?"
"Shit!"
Penny's laugh was as delicate as she.
-o-o-o-