~#~ (Chapter 3)

Several hours later, Virgil stuck his head into the hospital tent. He looked around briefly and then disappeared again, only to return a moment later with a puzzled look on his face. This time he stepped fully inside the temporary building and looked around, eventually spotting someone filling in forms at a table tucked away in the farthest corner away from the door. He looked around again, cleared his throat to announce his presence and then stepped towards the table.

Derek looked up at Virgil's cough and rose to his feet. He smiled a greeting and held his hand out as the International Rescue agent approached him. Virgil shook his hand and then gasped as his eyes fell on the cot which had been tucked against the wall behind a hospital-type privacy shield. Scott was lying insensate on the bed and had a couple of thin blankets wrapped tightly around his body. His boots sat just under the foot of the bed and his uniform top and sash were missing.

Virgil hurried over to the cot and gingerly perched beside his brother. "It's no wonder we couldn't find him," he said quietly, noting the wires of a portable heart monitor snaking their way beneath Scott's clothing. "Pulse is a bit fast but not too bad, bearing in mind who we're talking about. What happened to him?"

The doctor smiled softly and crouched on the floor, level with Scott's head. "He had a syncopathic episode," he replied quietly. "That means…"

"I know what it means," Virgil interrupted sharply. "…but you're wrong. Scott doesn't faint. He just…doesn't. Never has and never will."

Derek shook his head sadly. "Everyone has their limits," he replied. "Even those of us with a cast iron constitution will eventually come across something that…upsets their sensitivities. It doesn't mean that you should think any less of him and for all we know it will never happen again."

A crinkle formed on Virgil's forehead and he leaned over to rest his hand on Scott's cheek. "I…we…no-one would think any less of him. It's…he's…" Virgil gave up with a shrug. "You still haven't told me what happened."

The doctor shook his head. "No, I'm sorry, I haven't. What took place today was...unusual, upsetting and…potentially disturbing, especially because Scott seemed to have developed something of a rapport with the young lady in question."

"Young lady?" Virgil asked. "That sounds more like Scott." He stopped and frowned again. "Something happened to her? She…she didn't make it?"

Derek shook his head again. "No, she didn't," he said softly. "I tried. Really I did but the damage…it was just too extensive. Her death doesn't appear to be what affected him though. From what the fire-fighters told me, he only started to struggle once I began to deliver her baby. The mother had passed on but I had asked for CPR to be continued to allow for the slightest of hopes that the baby might be delivered alive. Luckily fate was on his side and he arrived safely; albeit a little on the small side at just under 5lbs but that's to be expected at 36 weeks gestation. I heard, about thirty minutes ago, that he and his brother, who was travelling in the car with his mother, had been reunited with their father. It'll be hard work, bringing up two youngsters alone but it could have so, so easily been just the one of them that survived. That baby had a guardian angel looking out for him today and I thank the powers that be for letting him live."

The whole time Derek had been speaking, Virgil had been stroking Scott's face. The eldest Tracy boy remained steadfastly insentient but Virgil kept up the gentle massage in an attempt to at least let his brother know that he was finally back in Virgil's capable hands. He looked sadly across at Derek and frowned again. "I still don't fully understand," he admitted. "Sure, Scott would have been upset when the girl passed away, any one of us would; we're only human, after all. This one though…" Virgil smiled down at his brother. "…well, he's military, ex-Air Force and he's tough. He's not squeamish, he doesn't have a problem with blood, vomit or anything else that the human body can excrete and he certainly doesn't have any issues with assisting in the birthing of babies. Hell, he's delivered several himself…and single-handedly at that. No," Virgil paused and shook his head again. "…something else must have happened. Something wrong…different…way out of the ordinary. Tell me again, please. From the beginning. Tell me what happened, when it happened and exactly what was said."

Derek nodded but went and fetched a coffee for himself and Virgil before he began. When he returned he retook his spot on the floor beside Scott's bed and quietly relayed everything he could remember from the moment he had walked up to the station wagon to the moment that Charlie told him that Scott had collapsed. Virgil looked thoughtfully at his brother, frowned and then shook his head. "I still don't understand," he admitted quietly. "…and Scott's not the best at talking about personal problems so he's unlikely to tell me what happened himself. Wake up and talk to me, Scotty. Please." Virgil's words had been getting softer and softer until his plea to Scott was barely audible.

Derek rested his hand on Virgil's shoulder, intending to offer the other man his support. Virgil hadn't expected the touch and startled badly, slopping a large amount of his now luke-warm coffee all over Scott's blankets.

"Damn it all to hell," the usually mild-mannered artist cursed, jumping to his feet. "Scotty, I need you up and awake. I don't need you lying here idling the day away. We're done now; everything's sorted and we can go home but I refuse to take you back in this state. Get your eyes open and your ass out of that bed. Now."

Derek raised his eyebrows and stood up. He pulled the soiled blankets from Scott's bed and paced around the privacy screen to grab a couple of clean ones. Unsettled by Virgil's reaction to a little spilt coffee, he quietly wrapped the clean blankets around Scott and tucked them tightly beneath his extremities. He smiled gently when the pilot's nose wrinkled slightly in response to the disturbance. "That's a positive sign," he said softly. "I'm taking that to mean that he'll be up and about again soon. It's more of a reaction than I've had from him for the past few hours; it's almost like he knows you're here now and that you're...upset."

Virgil screwed his nose up completely. "I'm not upset," he argued. "I might be later but now…now I think I'm more frustrated than upset. I…"

John chose that moment to call in and cut of his brother's tirade. "Thunderbird 5 calling Virgil. Thunderbird 5 calling Virgil. Come in please."

Virgil stared at his watch for a moment and then sucked in a deep breath and pressed the transmit button. "Virgil here. I've got him but he's unconscious. He has no obvious injuries and I have no real idea what happened. The doctor who brought him in was told that he was swaying before he collapsed and he's been showing all the classic signs of shock but I don't know why. I need you to contact Da…um…base and fill them in on the situation. Tell them I'll be in touch if anything changes but that Scott will be travelling back with me, no matter what. Oh and John, can you tell Alan to get One out of here. I need to make sure that someone doesn't get any stupid ideas about flying himself home…when he finally wakes up."