Disclaimer: I own nothing, all rights belong to their respective owners.
This one is based on Cry Wolf. Hope you like it.
Virgil sighed from where he was stretched back on the sun lounger, letting the sun warm him. It had felt like a long flight back from Australia and he was glad to be home. Rescues involving children always put him on edge more than any other – it always felt like there was so much more at stake. It had felt like a close one this time as well with the mine coming down, but Virgil knew full well why he was feeling like that.
It was because he hadn't had Scott with him, but Alan. It wasn't that he didn't trust his little brother on a rescue, they had all proved themselves time and time again. But for the amount of times they had saved the world, Virgil could count on one hand the amount of times he had done it without Scott's voice in his ear, telling him to be careful or where to go. Not that Virgil didn't know himself, he too was more than capable of handling things without Scott. But it felt like something was missing; it had been too quiet and every falling rock had seemed louder without Scott there to drown it out with his nagging.
Shaking his head, Virgil ran a hand over his eyes and climbed to his feet. He didn't see the point of staying out here if this was the route his thoughts were going to take him down. He was better doing some maintenance on his 'bird than lying here moping. Maybe he would make up for the lack of big brother earlier and see if Scott was out of the shower yet in order to give him hand.
It was natural for the brothers to arrive home from a rescue completely covered in dirt. But their grandmother had taken one look at Scott and sent him straight for the shower. There had been a smile tugging at her lips and Virgil knew seeing her grandson covered in dirt from a farmyard was bringing back fond memories for her. They had never been able to get through a day without being covered in dirt when they were back in Kansas, and it seemed growing up and moving to a tropical island hadn't changed anything.
Knocking on Scott's door, Virgil grinned when he heard movement beyond. The door slid open to reveal a now clean Scott. At least, almost clean for Virgil snorted as he leant forward and picked a stray piece of straw from his brother's hair. How Scott could have been in the shower for so long and still miss it was beyond Virgil.
"I'm going down to the silos," he said, the grin still on his face. "Coming?"
Only a few moments later saw both brothers overlooking Thunderbird Two. Virgil knew this would happen as soon as he asked his brother to come with him, but neither of them were doing any work. Instead, they were both sitting above the craft, their legs dangling through the railings and a pile of tools they had no intention of actually using spread about them. They always seemed to come down here when they wanted some privacy. Neither Gordon nor Alan would venture here voluntarily. They would seek out their own machines if they wanted to tinker; their father had to force them to help when it had only been One and Two in use and the older ones needed a break.
As he sat there, everything right with the world again, Virgil found himself thinking over the last couple of days. They had felt surreal to say the least, ever since Scott had radio-d in his plan to bring the boys to the base in order to give them a treat. Virgil had spent the whole time since then trying to figure out what had made his brother act so spontaneously. They had enjoyed being able to show off their machines, but it was unlike Scott to have done something so rash.
Glancing sideways at his brother, watching as the man simply stared into space, Virgil suddenly felt a flash of understanding. Everyone said that he was the brother who most resembled his mother, but looking at Scott's profile like this, he was sure he could see her in him as well.
"I know why you wanted the boys to come here," Virgil said quietly. Scott glanced at him.
"So do I; they deserved a treat."
"You wouldn't have done it for anyone else."
"I might have done," Scott protested, twisting slightly so that he could face Virgil. "They must have just caught me in the right mood."
"I don't think it was anything they did," Virgil murmured, thinking back to Scott's account of what had happened. Virgil had wondered at the time whether it had felt natural to Scott to scold the boys; he had grown up handling four younger brothers, after all. Despite them having grown up now, sometimes it didn't feel as if that had changed at all, especially not for the younger two and the mischief they still managed to get up to despite being on an island.
"It wasn't?" Scott sounded so bewildered that Virgil smiled. While he might have figured it out, he wasn't sure whether it had even been a conscious thought on Scott's behalf. It was one of the moments that revealed sometimes Virgil really did know Scott better than his brother knew himself.
"It was something the father said."
"Virg, will you please stop being all cryptic and get to the point or I'm going to set John on you to make you understand just what cryptic means."
"Fine," Virgil rolled his eyes, knowing Scott would make good on his threat. But he was unable to stop the soft smile from playing over his face when he thought about what he was about to say. "You made up your mind the second their dad said they had lost their mother and he worked too much."
Scott was silent as he stared at Virgil. Now that he had said it out loud, Virgil knew he had been right. Scott had acted the way he did because he recognised in the boys himself and his brothers. How many times had they been forced to make their own entertainment because their father was too busy in order to pay them any attention when they were young? How many times had they wished that someone would come and take them out for the day just as a way of having a change of scenery?
The silos might have been dimly lit, but Virgil could see the blush working its way across Scott's face as he sat there. Virgil chuckled slightly and nudged him with his elbow.
"I think it is good that you did, if that helps," he muttered. He knew Scott was currently trying to think of an excuse to justify why he had done what he did. They had long ago made it a rule that emotions were not to play a part in rescues; it made it too personal. Scott finally smiled.
"Would you have done the same thing?" He asked quietly. Virgil thought about it for a moment before nodding.
"Probably. I'm not sure I would have put the case so eloquently to Dad, mind you, but you always had a certain knack of getting your way with him when it came to looking out for someone else."
Scott's blush deepened, causing Virgil to snort as he climbed to his feet. He offered down his hand in order to help his brother up. Scott gratefully took it and Virgil hauled him up. He dropped his hand afterwards, but watched his brother closely. He could just tell this whole thing had affected Scott more than he had wanted to let on, especially if that was his reasons for acting. Virgil just wondered if his brother had been actually thinking of their own mother at the time or whether it had all been subconscious. He didn't ask those; Scott's thoughts were his own and he knew the older man would share if he wanted to. Virgil wasn't going to pry.
"You gave them a day they wouldn't forget, Scott. I know how much we longed for that. And who knows, maybe all of our involvement and everything that happened will make their father realise he needs to spend more time with them."
"I wish that had happened to us," Scott muttered. Virgil gripped his shoulder. Scott rarely spoke about that part of their childhood. He had never complained about being forced to look after his brothers because their father was working but Virgil knew how much it troubled him. Not because of his role he had played, but because they all missed out.
"C'mon," Virgil murmured, jerking his head towards his 'bird and indicating they should actually get on with some work. Scott followed him down and Virgil smiled. So often once they were down here, Scott disappeared to Thunderbird One instead. There was nothing that technically needed doing with Two, but Virgil always liked to tinker a little. It calmed his mind being able to work with metal. Unlike his art, it normally did exactly what he wanted it too.
But half an hour later, while Scott was checking the fire equipment inside the craft, Virgil was staring at a vent in one hand and a spanner in the other. He had only wanted to see if moving over the ventilation piece would have made a difference when another thought occurred to him. Rather than shouting, he pressed a button on his watch and connected back through to his big brother. He could see the top of Scott's head from where he was, despite the fact that the other man was in the craft. He saw Scott jerk when he felt his watch vibrate.
"Why did you join IR?" Virgil asked as soon as Scott connected. He could picture the confused look on Scott's face even though he couldn't actually see it.
"You know why. To help people."
"To stop them going through what we did and growing up without a parent?" Virgil kept his voice soft, knowing this was a sensitive topic for all of them. Despite not involving emotions with rescues, it was because of those emotions that led them to do the work they did in the first place.
"Yeah. You know this, Virg. What's up?"
"Nothing. Sorry." Virgil disconnected and continued to stare at the vent in his hand. Slowly, a smile unfurled on his face when he thought about what his brother had said and Scott's reasons for doing this. He knew his were the same. But although they had been happy as children and not really understood precisely how much their father had drawn away until they looked back on it at a later date, Virgil knew Scott was finding other ways to stop others going through the same. It wasn't just saving the world that he was interested in, it was saving families.
Whatever that took.
With a smile on his face and a deeper understanding of his brother, Virgil went back to work. If they had a call-out now, he would have a slight problem if he still had the grating in his hand rather than fixed to his machine. But it had been troubling him why his brother had acted the way he had with the children; Scott was the first after their father to maintain that security was of the utmost importance, especially after what had happened with the imposters not that long ago.
But now he knew why he had acted as he had done, Virgil felt better. His brother hadn't been spontaneous after all, he had just been acting the same way he would have done on any rescue; make sure the victims were happy and safe when he left. If that involved bending the rules for a couple of small boys, then so be it.
Virgil grinned. It seemed his big brother wasn't so much of a stickler for the rules as Virgil had thought.