This is my second thunderbirds fic, so still pretty new to the fandom. Reviews are much appreciated, I don't mind people telling me stuff I've done wrong, any feedback at all would be great. Hope you like it.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Scott looked around at the ruined village International Rescue were in the middle of evacuating. A tsunami had hit just over a couple of hours ago and IR had immediately been called to the scene to look for survivors. The destruction was momentous, majority of the houses and building had been reduced to ruins and there were too many casualties to count. Families were in tears and hysterics all around them, grieving for their lost loved ones.
Scott hated this type of rescue, there was already so much damage done, too many lives lost. He had to keep reminding himself that they couldn't save everyone, that there was nothing they could have done to prevent the disaster.
It didn't help with so many families and children caught up in the tragedy, it only reminded Scott of his own family. With that in mind Scott snapped himself back to the situation at hand.
"Come in Thunderbird Five, are you there John?"
Johns hologram appeared out of Scott's watch "I'm here Scott, what do you need?"
Scott with a nod of his head to acknowledge his brother went on "I've cleared out Section 4, do any of the others need my help?"
"Alan and Gordon are both back at the shelter helping with the injured but Virgil's found a family trapped in Section 2, he could probably use a hand, by the sound of it some of them are injured"
"FAB John, send me the coordinates, I'll head over there now."
With that Scott started making his way over to Virgil's location. He was careful to keep his feet under him as he ran through the ruins of the village. Although most of the water had run into the river to the south of the village, the ground was more like a swamp. Scott's boots squelched in the wet mud every step he took, it was becoming very difficult to keep from slipping.
As Scott approached the coordinates John had sent him, he immediately identified the building the family was trapped in - or used to be at least. From what Scott could see, a lot of the family had already been evacuated and were sitting with blankets around them, being checked over by paramedics. There was a very distraught looking mother holding on to two young children with tear stricken faces.
Scott couldn't see Virgil and his heart clenched when he looked at the house he presumed belonged to the family. Unlike most of the other building around, it was still standing and looked mostly whole. However, Scott knew it was on it's last legs, the entirely wooden home was soaked through and he could almost see it groaning under the weight.
Sprinting the last twenty metres or so Scott made his way over to the paramedics. They looked up as they heard him approaching, both were men and looked rather young to Scott but thinking about it, they were a lot older than Alan so if he could be here, so could they.
Scott immediately took a commanding tone to address them "Is my colleague still here?"
One of the men stood up from where he had been crouching next to the family and motioned to the building "He's still inside, there's another kid who's quite badly hurt." At his words, the women sitting with the children let out a distressed whimper.
Scott didn't like the arrogance in the mans tone, there was no compassion in his voice and certainly no desire to help.
His face darkened "If the kids hurt, shouldn't you be in there helping them?"
The man just raised his eyebrows "That whole buildings about to collapse! Your buddy told us to wait here"
Scott's face darkened even more. These men had just let his brother go into a collapsing building with no support and no help for this kid. To stop himself from punching the man square in the face, Scott just turned on his heels without another word and headed towards the building.
Upon entering the door - or at least where the door should have been - Scott saw that the inside looked no better than the outside. Support beams had broken and the front room was a mess of wood fragments.
"Virgil!" Scott called out.
"Back here Scott!" Came the distant reply.
Scott made his way towards where he had heard his brother, stepping over beams of wood and being careful not to further damage the structural integrity of the weakened house. Rounding a corner into another room, Scott was relieved to see Virgil at the far end. Navigating his way across to him, he caught sight of a brown-haired boy leaning against the wall, a pained look etched onto his face, Scott thought he couldn't have been more than 15.
Catching sight of Scott the boy looked pleading at him "Have you seen my little brothers? Are they alright?"
Scott was a little taken back at the boys question, considering the condition he was in but he was quick to reassure "Yeah, of course, they're both fine, they're with your mum"
The boy sagged back in relief and Scott looked to Virgil. His younger brother had a sad smile on his face, motioning to the boy he muttered "Remind you of anyone?"
Scott couldn't help the smile that made its way onto his face. He knew Virgil was talking about him, he had always put his younger brothers ahead of himself and apparently so did this boy.
Crouching down next to him Scott took in the situation. The boy was white as a sheet, he had a bandage wrapped tightly around his leg but Scott could already see the blood seeping through it.
Virgil updated him in a hushed whisper "He's alright for the moment but we need to get him out of this building, it's going to collapse any moment now"
"I can hear you, you know"
Scott turned towards the boy who was now glaring at them both "I'm not scared and I'm not a child so stop talking about me like I am"
Despite his words, Scott could see the worry and fear in his eyes. It was a feeling Scott knew all too well, trying to put on a brave front for his younger brothers and the feeling that he wasn't respected by his elders.
His face softened "We know that, sorry, I'm Scott. What's your name?"
The boy averted his gaze towards the floor "Daniel."
"Well Daniel, I bet you want to get outside to your brothers so lets get out of here, yeah?"
Daniel met his eyes once more "Okay"
Virgil gave the boy a smile, "I can't get a stretcher in here so I'm afraid we're going to have to go on foot" Seeing the worried look on Daniels face as he glanced down at his injured leg Virgil was quick to add "But me and Scott here are going to help you as much as we can"
Daniel gave a quick nod and sucked in a deep breathe, Scott smiled at him while getting to his feet "That's the attitude I like to see. I knew you were a brave one"
Daniel returned the smile and took Scott's outstretched hands, he forced all his weight onto his good leg as Scott hauled him off the ground. Despite the lack of weight, Daniel still let loose a hiss of pain as his leg was jarred in the process.
Scott tried to encourage him "That was great, lets keep moving"
Scott hooked one of Daniel's arms around his shoulder while Virgil did the same to the other. The teenager wasn't exactly heavy and the two brothers took majority of his weight as he hopped across the destroyed room. Looking down at him, Scott couldn't help but smile with pride, Daniel was obviously in a lot of pain yet he didn't make a sound. He was visibly keeping his breathing steady as he looked at the floor navigating across the room.
They reached the front room once more and Scott could see the light streaming in from the door. Just as he thought they were home free a shout came from outside "ITS COMING DOWN! GET OUT OF THERE!"
It was too late.
Scott could hear the building groaning and it started to shake. The two brothers looked at each other with determination. Scott doubled back, heading to the corner of the room, pulling Daniel with him as Virgil let go of his other side. Daniel let out a cry of pain as his bad leg was forcibly dragged across the ground.
"Sorry Daniel" Scott quickly apologised but knew he didn't have any other choice. Depositing the young boy in the corner Scott knew it wasn't ideal but it was better than the middle of the room.
"Virgil! What are you doing? Get over here!" Scott was quick to realise his brother was not with them and his heart clenched. Virgil quickly came barrelling into the room with his med-bag slung over his shoulder.
Then chaos erupted. More support beams came crashing down from the ceiling and Scott was quick to see Virgil was in the direct line of another about to come down.
"VIRGIL! MOVE!"
The call wasn't needed as Scott dived at his brother at the same time, bodily shoving him out of harms way.
He wasn't so lucky himself.
In the next few moments everything went a bit fuzzy. Scott fell back as he felt searing pain in his legs, blocking out everything around him. His vision darkened and all he could focus on was the pain. His legs were on fire and it was shooting up every nerve in his body. He heard an agonised yell and quickly realised it had been his own. Clenching his teeth together, he focused on breathing through the pain. The air felt thick and he couldn't draw in a proper breathe.
"Scott! SCOTT!"
His senses slowly returning to him, Scott heard what sounded like his name being called. Then it clicked into place, Virgil. Forcing himself to focus as he attempted to call out.
However, the second he tried he started coughing which sent more pain radiating through him. When the coughing attack finally ended he heard the familiar voice again.
"Scott! Are you okay?"
"Virg..."
Wow that sounded pathetic Scott thought to himself. Clearing his throat he tried again.
"Virgil?"
"Yeah I'm here Scott" Scott looked around his peripheral vision but couldn't see any sight of his younger brother, which worried him.
He called out again "Are you alright Virg?"
He heard a scoff in reply "Jesus Christ Scott! You're the one with a freaking building on top of you and your asking how I am!"
Scott felt his heart beating faster, it unsettled him not being able to see his brother. In fact he couldn't see much of anything, the debris were blocking out most of the light from outside.
"Please Virg, tell me, are you alright?"
Virgil sighed "Yes Scott, I'm completely fine"
Scott let out a sigh of relief at hearing this, but Virgil didn't stop there.
"Your such an idiot Scott. What the hell were you thinking!"
Scott could hear the anguish in his brothers voice and bit his lip. He would do the same thing a hundred times over if it meant saving his brother but he knew Virgil would be feeling guilty about it.
"Don't worry Virgil, I'm alright" Scott didn't think Virgil was going to believe that for a second and the snort he heard shortly after confirmed his thoughts.
"You're not fine Scott! Actually your about as far from fine as you could get. Literally all I can see are your feet under all the ruins!"
Scott heard the almost hysterical tone in his brothers words and was quick to reassure "It's just my legs stuck, don't worry"
Virgil almost laughed " 'Don't worry' Yeah right!" then sighed "Okay Scott hang in there, I'll get Gordon and Alan over here and we'll get you out." After a pause he added "Is the kid alright back there?"
Scott immediately kicked himself for not thinking about him sooner.
"Daniel!?" He yelled "Are you alright?"
"Um...Yeah I-I think so"
The shaky voice was a lot closer than Scott thought it would be and he probably would have jumped if he could actually move at all. Twisting his head up to his left with great effort Scott could see Daniel still leaning against the wall where he had left him, looking relatively unharmed.
"It's going to be alright, we'll get out of here soon, my teams coming" Scott's voice cracked on the last part. Despite what he had told Virgil, he knew he wasn't doing great and the thought of his family cracked his facade slightly.
Scott, pulling himself together, shouted back to his brother "Yeah he's good for now." Scott stiffened as he heard the building groan again "You need to get out of here Virgil"
Virgil's defiant tone came back to him "No way Scott! I'm not leaving you here"
Scott signed "I'm not asking you to Virg, just stay outside until Gordon and Alan get here and then you can all come in and rescue me in true hero style" Scott quickly added "And make sure you keep John informed of what's going on, you know how he hates being left out of the loop."
Scott could hear clearly that Virgil didn't like his plan but he ultimately knew it was the best course of action "FAB Scott. Hang in there."
With that said, Scott could hear Virgil making his way out of the destroyed building.
A quiet voice broke through the silence "Are you alright, Sir?"
Scott realised he must look in pretty bad shape and Daniel was worried enough without having to see his supposed rescuer trapped underneath a building which he was also stuck in.
"Yeah, I'm alright or at least I will be when our rescue party arrives." Pausing as he remembered Daniels words "And its Scott remember. Being called 'Sir' makes me feel old"
Scott heard a slight chuckle coming from the boy. "That was really brave, what you did for your friend."
Scott was slightly a taken back, not realising that Daniel had witnessed what he'd done.
"Well Daniel, that was my little brother. I'm sure you would have done the same for one of yours"
Daniel sucked in a breathe through his teeth "Wow, you have a little brother too? I would never be able to do something like this with my little brothers. I would go out of my freaking mind worrying about them!"
Scott laughed but Daniels words hit him hard. He was constantly worried about all his brothers and he would never let them do this if it had been up to him but they had all chosen to be a part of International Rescue and he wasn't going to be the one to stand in their way.
"I actually have four younger brothers and unfortunately they are all in this line of work. And yes I'm constantly worried about them all. Honestly I'm surprised I don't have a head full of grey hairs with all the stress they put me through"
Daniel laughed "God, four younger brothers. Two is enough for me."
Scott enjoying how the conversation was taking away from the pain radiating through his legs kept it up "I can tell your a great older brother, Daniel."
There was silence for a minute before Daniel spoke up "Maybe, but clearly not as great as you"
Before Scott could reply, Virgil's voice sounded through the ruins "Scott! Alan and Gordon are here we're going to get you out"
Scott shouted back "Thank Virg! Come in through the back and get Daniel out first"
"FAB Scott"
Soon enough Scott could hear banging from the room they had previously been in and heard as whoever it was broke through the wooden wall. The room got slightly brighter as light came through the door from the room his brothers were coming in from.
"Scott!?"
Scott sighed at Gordon voice, happy they were finally getting out. His legs were going a bit numb and it was getting harder to keep his eyes open.
"In here, Gordo!"
"This another of your brothers?"
Scott smiled at him "Yeah they're going to get you out"
Daniel still looked worried "What about you?"
"Don't worry, they aren't going to leave until I'm out too"
Daniel seemed more reassured and gave a slight nod as Gordon burst into the room, Alan hot on his heels.
Gordon stopped abruptly as his eyes found Scott, causing Alan to walk into the back of him.
"Scott..."
"Don't worry guys, I'll be fine. Can you get my buddy Daniel here out? His legs hurt."
Gordon visibly swallowed, nodding and motioning to Alan to help him made his way over to Daniel. While picking him up Gordon, ever the professional greeted calmly "Hey Daniel, I'm Gordon, this is Alan, we'll have you out in no time."
Daniel glanced down at him and Scott forced a smile "See you on the outside Daniel"
With that, they disappeared out of the door and Scott lay back in the silence, closing his eyes.
"Hey there Sport, no sleeping on the job now!"
The light-hearted words were riddled with worry as Scott squinted his eyes open to see Virgil kneeling by his head.
Scott's reassurance reserves were empty as he moaned "m'tired Virg"
Virgil sucked in a sharp breathe at seeing his older brother so out of it.
"Hang on Scott, just stay awake for a little bit longer okay?"
"m'kay"
Luckily, Gordon reappeared very soon, squinting slightly trying to get his eyes to adjust to the darker light.
Scott shook himself out of his dreary state slightly "S'Daniel alright?"
Hearing the slur in his brothers words, Gordon faltered slightly "Uh, Yeah he's going to be fine. The paramedics are taking care of him."
Scott nodded in approval. Virgil quickly snapped into action. "Ok, lets get this beam off of him. Where's Alan?"
"He went round the other side to lift from there" Gordon replied then yelled "YOU THERE AL?"
"YEAH, READY!"
Virgil noticing Scott gaze focus slightly bent down to talk him through the situation, putting on his best reassuring rescuer voice.
"Right, Gordon and Alan are going to lift this beam up and I'll pull you out from underneath. I'm not going to lie to you Scott, it's going to hurt a lot when the pressure is released from your legs but hang in there. Two's right outside and I've got the med-bay prepped."
Scott gave a quick nod "Do it quick"
Virgil stood "Okay guys lift away"
Gordon positioned himself with his hands under the beam "Okay Alan, on three. One. Two. THREE."
As the beam lifted Scott let out an agonising cry of pain that left his brothers hearts clenching. Virgil, with his hands hooked under Scott's arms, was quick to pull Scott clear of the beam, knowing his little brothers wouldn't be able to hold it for long.
"CLEAR!"
The beam crashed to the ground with an almighty bang reverberating around the room. Gordon had to jump back to avoid his toes getting crushed underneath it.
Virgil looked down at Scott who had passed out from the pain and as Gordon came over to help lift him, Virgil raised a hand, instead grabbing his older brothers arms and, grunting under the weight, hoisted him up into a fireman's lift.
"I've got him. Make sure I've got a clear path."
Gordon ran ahead and Virgil whispered "You gotta lay off the pie Scott!"
Struggling with his brother, but knowing he would never drop him, Virgil made his way after Gordon.
...
Scott woke to the familiar sound of Thunderbird Two's engines taking off. He squinted his eyes open in the harsh light. Noting immediately that he was in Two's med-bay. Then suddenly a head appeared above him blocking out some of the light.
"Hey sleeping beauty, nice of you to grace us with your presence"
Scott groaned "Virg, I am far too tired to do witty at the moment"
Virgil chuckled. Scott looked down at his legs, they were covered in blanket. "What's the diagnosis, doc?"
Virgil scowled at the use of the name but quickly took on a look of sympathy "I've dressed them both to stop the bleeding, but they're both broken pretty badly. Sorry Scott, we'll get them in casts back on the island."
Scott groaned yet again. Both legs broken! This was not going to be a good few months.
Virgil gave a sad smile "I thought that'd be your reaction, but it could have been a whole lot worse. You were actually unbelievably lucky.
Scott sighed. He knew that too. He easily could have died from today's events.
"How come I'm not currently in agony?"
Virgil tapped his arm bringing Scott's attention to his own, looking down he saw a needle inserted "Morphine?" He questioned.
Virgil nodded "Yep, got you on the good stuff"
Virgil then looked to the floor and spoke quietly "Please tell me you'll never do that again."
"You know I can't Virg, we can't help getting hurt in this line of work."
Virg sighed and looked him straight in the eyes "No Scott, that's not what I meant. Promise me you won't try and sacrifice yourself for me again."
Scott knew this had been coming "I can't promise that either Virg. You know you'd do the same for me so don't be a hypocrite"
Virgil was a little startled at this retaliation and realised Scott was indeed right, nodding he turned around to the other bed.
Scott followed his gaze and was surprised to see Daniel sitting up on the bed next to him, his legs hanging off the edge, the injured one wrapped in fresh bandaging. His family surrounded him. His youngest brother couldn't have been older than three and was currently perched on Daniels uninjured leg, clutching onto him like he was a lifeline. His other brother looked to be about eight and was sat next to him on the bed leaning into his brother. The mother was on a chair next to the bed unable to take her eyes off of her sons.
"Daniel!" Scott greeted in his surprise "Are you alright?"
Daniel gave him a small smile "Yeah, Scott I'm good. Your brother here patched me up."
Scott nodded "Good to hear" then turned to Virgil asking a question with his eyes.
Virgil understood and cleared it up "We're dropping Daniel off at the nearest hospital, lets just say the paramedics on sight were lacking in competence slightly."
Scott nodded, remembering his previous dealings with them.
"Are these your brothers then?"
Daniel nodded looking down at them proudly. "Yeah, this is Matt" he motioned to the older boy next to him and looking down at the youngest continued "And this little trouble maker is Tommy"
Tommy squirmed in apparent embarrassment and managed to kick out at Daniel's injured leg. Scott winced for him as he let out a tiny squeak of pain. Scott thought he held it in pretty well all things considered but Daniel immediately looked worriedly down at Tommy. The young boy burst into tears "I'm sorry Danny! I didn' mean to"
Daniel quickly shushing the boy reassured "Hey kiddo, it's alright, I'm okay. Don't cry" He gently wiped away the stray tears on the young boys face as Tommy quietly sniffed up at him. "You 'kay"
"Yeah buddy I'm okay"
Tommy gently snuggled back up to his brother apparently accepting his words. Scott smiled as he was reminded of his own dealings with upset younger brothers.
Before long they landed at said hospital and one of the staff rolled a wheelchair to take Daniel in. Hopping in Daniel turned to Scott.
"I hope you get better quickly Scott and thanks for today, International Rescue really are heroes, I hope I can be like you someday."
Scott smiled genuinely at his words "Thanks kiddo, just make sure you look after those brothers of yours."
Daniel smiled and gave a quick wave as he was wheeled away, his family following immediately after. His mother paused at the door for a second before turning to face the boys "Thank-You for saving my son" With that said she quickly departed, walking swiftly to catch up to her sons, leaving the two Tracy brothers with lighter hearts.
As Thunderbird Two took off again Virgil pulled a chair up to the side of Scott's bed. A thought suddenly struck Scott and he propped himself up on his elbows to look at his brother. "Hang on, if you're here, who's flying?"
Virgil smirked "Gordon"
"Wow, I never thought I'd see the day you let Gordon pilot your thunderbird solo."
Virgil raised his eyebrows "Well, unfortunately, that's what happens when my older brother tries to get himself killed then needs me to patch him up again."
Scott snorted leaning back down before immediately shooting up, wincing in pain slightly as his legs were jarred.
"Wait, who's flying one!?"
Virgil smirked evilly while pushing Scott gently back down onto the bed.
"Alan."
"WHAT!?"
The End.