Hey peoples! Miss me? Sorry about the long wait. I had a bit of writer's block with this one. But, I rented the Thunderbirds movie the other day (I have yet to buy it…) so hopefully that might help me with John's and Scott's. And thanks to my beta, criminally charmed.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Thunderbirds. I wish I did, I really do, but alas, I do not …
Summary: When his mother died, Virgil felt lost. Nine years later, that feeling has returned. Can a certain two brothers help him? Part three of five
Warning: This is movie-verse; if you don't like that type of story, then please kindly press the back button. Also, there are talks of "wanting to join Lucy" who, as we know, is dead. If you're uncomfortable with this, then please refrain from reading. Thank you.
Virgil's fingers brushed lightly over the keys of the grand piano in the Music Room of the Tracy's home. Sitting in the room, also dubbed 'Virgil's Room' by his brothers, he tended to spend a lot of his time here, in the same position he's in now. When he was troubled, Virgil could be found just sitting at the piano, his fingers on the keys, pressing down lightly, his forehead on the piano perched on the edge. Many a night was spent down here, playing softly or not even playing at all. Just pretending to play is enough for him, the very motion soothing to his soul.
Currently it is 12:30am on the island, a time where Virgil, if not on a rescue, may secretly be down here at the piano, if he can't sleep. He suspects his family knows of this, he has been coming down here since the moved to Tracy Island, but they never said anything. This was his time to himself. They respected his privacy.
For a time after his mother died, Virgil had felt somewhat ashamed to play or draw. Music and drawing were his passions, but they had been his mother's as well. Lucy loved to play the piano at any given chance, and, in their Kansas home, many of the paintings in the house were ones that Lucy had painted. After she died, the paintings were put in storage, the piano left unused by the Tracy family. Though Virgil had played it the most of the boys, they all could play, at least at a basic level. But, like the artwork, no one wanted to look at it, let alone use it.
Virgil used to play his keyboard in his room, in secret, as he pretended to be working on a project for school or reading. But it never helped the shame. He didn't want to upset his family at the time. His father only came home to sleep, and on the rare occasion, eat. Scott was just fifteen, yet he was trying to be mother and father to five-year-old Alan and nine-year-old Gordon, while thirteen year-old John kept busy keeping the house clean and cooking the meals. Virgil's eleven year-old self felt more like a dead weight than a part of the family.
But a year after Lucy's death, things changed. Grandma arranged it so all of the boys went to a therapist. There Virgil revealed his shame and depression. Soon after, his father set him straight. Jeff made it clear that Virgil was to play the piano and draw whenever he wanted. Words couldn't describe how he felt when he drew his first picture, or played at the baby grand, after Lucy's death. It was, to this day, one of the best days of his life. He felt reborn.
Things had changed. Their father stopped being a workaholic and started to be a father again. Scott was still a mother hen, but at least he was not trying to be both parents. Gordon and Alan seemed to be more secure; John still cooked and cleaned –with some help from Dad and Grandma - until they met Kyrano Belegate and his family. They even began International Rescue, in tribute to Lucy.
But over night, they seemed to have gone back nine years. Jeff was always in his office doing something with IR. Scott was going into mother hen overload, keeping an especially close eye on Alan since his panic attack a few weeks ago, as well as Gordon who had suffered an emotional melt down a few days earlier. John was back to cooking most of the meals as Ohana broke her wrist during the attack, with Tin-Tin helping him as she helped her mother. The Hackenbackers and Belegates' had helped clean up much of the physical damage. And Virgil was, once again, dead weight.
Virgil thought of the day Gordon had his melt down. Virgil had run to his piano in anger, but no one really knew why he was angry – not even Virgil. Scott followed after him, his mind set on tickling him to death, Virgil was sure, but Scott stopped suddenly and just listened to him play. Maybe it was because it was the first time that he hasn't actually played the piano when he was upset. He hasn't played it yet. Because it is too afraid he'll upset his brothers.
His brothers don't know that though. Scott talked to him, and Virgil somehow got him to believe that he was tired as his laughing fit of tickles triggered the asthma that he used have, that also occasionally acts up.
'I thought that Scotty was smart enough to see through me. But he didn't this time...' Virgil thought in self-pity,
He shook his head, attempting to clear his thoughts as tears started to well up in his eyes. He just forced his eyes shut and started to breathe through his nose. He began to run his hands along the keys as a few tears slipped down his face. Soon, his tears were flowing freely and he was quietly sobbing.
"Maybe I am just dead weight to this family. It's obvious that no one cares about me anymore. It's just like nine years ago. I should just join mom, nobody cares about me…"Virgil sobbed. He sat up and put his head in his hands.
"Virg, did you just say what I think you said?" a voice rang out in horror. Virgil's head shot up to see his two older brothers standing in the doorway, looking at him in shock and horror. You would be horrified too, if one of your little brothers had just said he wanted to join your dead mother, because he thinks no one cares. Virgil didn't stop crying; instead he turned around, his back against the piano, away from them. And then he started to cry harder.
"Why would you guys care…" he said through his sobs. His big brothers were at his side in seconds, John sitting beside him on the piano bench with his arms wrapped around the middle Tracy son, as Scott crouched down in front of him with his hands on Virgil's.
"Because we do care about you Virg, we're you older brothers. We'll always love you no matter what." Scott told him gently, as if he would scare the twenty year-old away of he spoke any louder.
"Yeah," John agreed, speaking in the same tone as Scott. "You'll ways be one of our baby brothers. We're both sorry that you feel this way. And you're not dead weight!"
Scott smiled lightly. "Yeah, that's space-case over here. I keep telling him to stop eating all that chocolate…" Virgil laughed through his tears as John took one of his arms off Virgil to hit their older brother in the head. Wiping away his tears, Virgil shook his head.
"No, it's my fault for thinking that way." He told them, slight guilt in his voice, "I'm sorry…"
Scott sighed and shook his head at Virgil as John hugged their little brother to his chest, being a head taller then him.
"Virgil, we're sorry. It's not you that's at a fault, it's us. Now that I think about it, Alan and Gordon were my main priority, and I assumed that John was taking care of you, just like I had nine years ago after mom died. And, just like before, I was wrong." Scott said to Virgil, who looked him he was about to fall asleep from John rocking him gently.
"Yeah, and since Scotty here was going into mother hen overload," John said, earning himself a laugh and a slap on the head. "I just figured he talked to you. Now I see that I was wrong too. I am sorry Virgie."
Smiling at his older brothers, Virgil took his hands from Scott, and hugged John back. Scott, in turn, hugged both of his brothers.
"I forgive you" Virgil said, slightly muffled. Chuckling, his brothers pulled away. "But I am sorry for saying I wanted to die. That was… I don't even know…"
"Me and fatty, I mean Scotty, forgive you" John said, with a cheeky grin, the first the boys had seen in weeks. Scott glared at John, and was about to retaliate, but then noticed Virgil's droopy eyes as they all stood up.
"Okay, bedtime" Scott said quietly, with a small grin on his face. They all knew that after Virgil cried, he got very tired. John let go of Virgil, but smiled at Scott put his arm around the boy.
Virgil smiled, even though he was really tired, he smiled. His brothers didn't forget about him. Of course, Virgil knew that they never did, or could. But a little while there, his mind went back to an eleven year-old boy, who spent a year thinking his family had forgotten. But that was changed now, and even though he was twenty now, it just proved one thing he knew all along. No matter how old he got, he would always need his big brothers.
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