Meanwhile, Alan and Gordon sat in the lounge together. Gordon felt all shades of sick. He couldn't believe what their „experiment" had caused. If only could he take it all back! But all he could do now was to pray for John to be all right.

As if reading his thoughts, Alan asked "You think he'll be okay?"And suddenly all doubts had to be gone. Gordon was the older brother here, and it was his responsibility to assure Alan that everything's going to be fine.

"Of course he'll be okay," he tried to keep his voice from trembling "John's head is the hardest thing out there in space!" He attempted for a joke, but failed to laugh. Alan looked at him, all worried.

"Think Scott will really send me back to school?" Gordon bit his lip thoughtfully. "I don't know, Alan, he was pretty unnerved…"Alan shifted in his seat.

"But we didn't know…" Alan started, but Gordon interrupted him. "Yeah, Alan, we didn't, but Scott's right – what we did was wrong. And I wouldn't argue with him right now. Wait till John's better, maybe then Scott will calm down and change his mind," Gordon advised.

"If John gets better," Alan piped up.

"Don't say that!" Gordon scowled at him, horrified. There was a moment of silence when both brothers considered what they did and what it caused.

"Al?" Gordon asked after a while. Alan slowly raised his eyes to meet Gordon's. "Yes?"

"What exactly Brains told you when you showed him our plans for Thunderbird 3?" Gordon asked carefully. Alan was suddenly preoccupied with watching his own hands. After a pause, he said: "He said it looks interesting, might be good. That he'll study it more thoroughly when he's got time." Gordon did not look at Alan either.

"So you lied to me?" he asked his younger brother in a very small voice, but there was no anger in it, only sadness.

"I'm sorry, Gordon! I'll go and tell Scott as soon as possible. Just please don't be mad at me. Not you, too," Alan pleaded.

"No, don't tell him," Gordon surprised Alan. "No matter the circumstances, I've been there with you and this is as much my fault as it is yours. Just please don't lie to me ever again." Gordon studied Alan's face as he waited for his answer. Alan looked up at him, his eyes full of appreciation.

"Thank you, Gordon! I won't!" And then he nearly smiled. At least Gordon's still on his side, still have his back.

At that moment Virgil entered the room. Gordon jumped to his feet.

"How is he?" he asked at the same time as Alan said "Is John awake?"

"No, he's not," Virgil answered Alan first "but he's gonna be okay," he continued "as far as I can say, he's got just the concussion."

Relief flooded the faces of both the younger boys.

"Look, Virgil, we really are sorry. We did knot know… Never guessed John would find himself in such a situation…" Alan's voice trailed off as he looked at Virgil's face.

"Look, Alan," Virgil said with a bit of irony in his voice "and what did you think we have Thunderbird 3 for? Never mind. You shouldn't have had messed with it anyway," he growled.

"We thought…" Gordon started, ready to defend his younger brother, but Virgil cut him off.

"And you! I actually thought you had a brain in your skull! I should put you through a CT as well!" he yelled. Gordon lowered his eyes, hurt, and Virgil turned back to Alan.

"Of course I'll try to talk to Scott, make him reconsider his decisions," he assured the youngest Tracy "but that doesn't mean that I think what you did was OK," he added.

"It wasn't," Alan said "and we are sorry."

"That's not what I want to hear," Virgil demanded firmly.

"And we won't do anything like that again," Alan promised. Virgil nodded.

"Can we go see John now?" Gordon asked in a tight voice. Virgil looked him up and down, remembering how Gordon's been trembling supporting his unconscious brother – he should let him see John. But…

"Yeah, and join him in the infirmary after Scott lays his hands on you, sure," he snorted. "You should hide somewhere he can't see you," he added wisely. Gordon hung his head and Alan sighed. "Let us know when he wakes up?" he asked hopefully. Virgil nodded.

He stayed there a minute longer, thinking about what he could say to make the boys feel better. But he still was a little bit angry with them himself, so after a while of silence he left to make Scott the tea.