A Sacrifice Too Far?
Disclaimer: Nothing associated with the Thunderbirds belongs to me.
Is International Rescue really worth the sacrifices when one of them is in Mortal danger?
I'm dedicating this to Loopstagirl as it is her fave I'm messing with and she has been so lovely to me. Enjoy Honey.
Scott watched as Virgil skilfully manoeuvred the Mole back out of the ground. His brother's control of the various rescue vehicles had always amazed Scott. Especially when it came to Thunderbird 2, only Virgil could fly her with such grace. They were in England at a collapsed cave. It had recently become a tourist attraction but too many corners had been cut so Twenty people had been trapped and only 12 could be saved. So wrapped up in his thoughts, Scott never noticed a young woman approaching until she was right in his face.
"I thought you guys were supposed to save people?" she asked angrily.
Scott recognised her as the girlfriend of one of the victims. "I'm sorry but we did all we could," he replied, unsure of what to say to comfort the young woman who was clearly grief-stricken.
"My boyfriend died down there. You should have saved him; he was training to be a Doctor. Why call yourselves rescuers when people die?" shouted the young woman. She was completely hysterical now.
An older woman came over and wrapped her arms around the girl. "Come on honey, this won't help." As they turned and began to walk away, the older woman turned back to Scott. "She doesn't mean that. You guys did your best."
Scott watched them walk away and sighed. It seemed like all they had done lately was watch people die. He knew they couldn't save everyone but recently there had been more deaths then lives saved. Scott shook his head to shake the melancholy thoughts away as he still had a rescue to finish. He knew those thoughts would be back though.
It was late in the evening now and Scott was sat on the balcony with Virgil. They were the only ones up and were enjoying a beer, or two in Scott's case. Normally they didn't drink in case they were called out again but tonight they both needed one. Scott's mind kept going back to the woman at the rescue.
Finishing the last dregs of his drink he turned to his brother asking, "Do you ever wonder if we really make a difference?"
"What do you mean bro?" asked Virgil. He was a little confused as to what Scott meant and wondered if it was the extra drink. Scott hardly ever drank more then one beer or shot of whisky so when he did it often went straight to his head.
"Is International Rescue really worth it, I mean are we really making a difference or helping people. All we seem to do is recover bodies these days," he replied, staring out across the Island.
"They have all been major disasters though so it is to be expected," countered Virgil. He could see that this was really bothering Scott and it surprised him. Scott had never questioned their worth and had been the first to agree to help their Dad set up International Rescue. He had also been the one to convince John and Gordon to join.
Scott just shook his head at Virgil. "More people die a day from natural causes then we have saved. I just don't know if we are doing enough anymore. I don't know if it is worth all the sacrifices."
Virgil began to wonder if Scott felt like the last few rescues were a failure. He knew that Scott took the blame for everything that went wrong in a rescue even if it was something he couldn't control. The last few rescues had been hard and maybe it was finally starting to get to his older brother.
Scott suddenly stood up and walked over to the edge of the balcony. "Emma got married today," he said softly.
Standing up and walking over to him, Virgil asked, "Your ex Emma?" He now understood Scott's comment about sacrifices now as she had been one of them for Scott.
"Yep, her sister wrote to tell me that Emma still loved me. If I felt the same, I was to go to her and she would end her engagement." Emma was his girlfriend when Jeff came up with International Rescue. She was the only reason he had hesitated in joining but his brother didn't know that. They all assumed that Scott had found out when they did but he had known the week before. He hadn't said anything as he didn't want them to know he hadn't been sure. John and Gordon were both reluctant too but for different reasons. They didn't want to give up their careers in WASP and NASA but he had helped them to see the benefits. Now he wasn't so sure he had done the right thing. Maybe he should have let them have their own lives instead.
"You didn't feel the same way?" questioned Virgil, breaking into his older brother's thoughts.
Scott sighed, "I didn't get a chance her letter arrived today. By the time we got back, she was already married."
"I'm sorry Scott," said Virgil, realizing instantly that his brother did still have feelings for her. He knew that Emma and Scott had been together almost since he started training for the Air Force but it had never seemed all that serious. Clearly it had been.
"Doesn't really matter anyway. Dad would never have let her come to the Island and learn the big secret."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that. If Dad knew you truly loved her and wanted to spend the rest of your life with her, I think he would. Plus he never said we couldn't get married," replied Virgil, not very sure if what he was saying was true. Jeff hadn't said they couldn't get married but he had never said they could either.
Turning away from his younger brother and running his fingers through his hair, Scott continued. "Even if by some miracle Dad did allow her to know. Would she even want to? It's a lot to handle when your partner risks his life everyday and works all hours."
Virgil knew Scott had a point. They didn't lead normal lives, they were often called out in the middle of the night but then so did many others, and they made marriages work. "If she loves you then she will handle it. It's scary knowing that they may not come home but it's gotta be better to have a few months together then being alone."
Noticing Virgil suddenly yawn, Scott shrugged off his thoughts. He needed to get his younger brother to his bed or he would feel even worse if they were called out before Virgil got some sleep. "I'll be okay, Bro. It's just the drink talking and I think it's time we got some sleep," he said, picking up their glasses.
"Okay Scott," he replied, standing up. As Scott walked back into the lounge, Virgil spoke again quietly. "Don't think I am buying that, big brother. I know that wasn't just the drink talking. All the drink did was loosen you up enough to talk. This is not over." Virgil took one last look at the night sky. Glancing up to the star, John had named after their mother and then headed indoors.
Nope it's not over for poor Scott yet. Things are about to get much worse. Hope you enjoyed this and please let me know what you think.