Disclaimer: As much as I wish I could lay claim to them, I can't. The Thunderbirds and those gorgeous Tracy brothers belong to others.
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It wasn't much later when Virgil woke on his own. He sat up for a moment, looked around, and started to stand.
"Where do you think you're going?" John asked the second Virgil's bare feet hit the floor.
"Bathroom," Virgil answered, putting a hand on his desk.
"First we're getting something on your feet. You aren't going anywhere barefoot."
Virgil didn't move, only watched John go into the dresser for a pair of socks. He handed them to Virgil, who slowly got them on his feet. Then John helped Virgil stand, letting Virgil lean rather heavily against him. Once standing, John was only a step behind Virgil until they reached the bathroom.
Virgil reopened the door, and John followed closely behind. So closely that he almost bumped into Virgil when he suddenly stopped. Virgil had a hand against the wall, his head slightly down.
"Virge?" John asked, slipping around his brother so that he was standing in front.
John bent over a little, wanting to get a better look. Virgil's eyes were squeezed shut, and he hadn't moved.
"Virge?" John repeated, a hand on the back of his younger brother's head.
"A little dizzy," Virgil finally answered, straightening up.
"Let's get you back to bed," John suggested, a hand on Virgil's back.
John guided him back into the bedroom and helped Virgil settle back into bed. Once Virgil was settled, he took a bottle of Gatorade off of the desk and unscrewed the cap.
"Drink some of this. It may help a little," John said, handing the bottle over.
Virgil nodded and took a sip. He didn't like the stuff normally, and now it was even worse. But he knew that John was right, so he made an effort. He drank about a third of the bottle before handing it back to John.
"We'll see how that does," John said, putting the bottle on the desk.
It didn't take Virgil long to fall back asleep, and once John saw that he was settled, he went in search of his father. He found Jeff by the pool, sitting alongside Scott while Gordon did laps in the pool.
"And?" Scott said when he saw John. They'd long since gotten used to giving each other updates whenever someone had checked on Virgil.
John told them what happened, and all three were understandably concerned, although Scott had to make a joke about the socks. Gordon, who had seen the looks that crossed Jeff and Scott's faces, got out of the pool and asked what had happened. John quickly retold the story, Gordon making a similar joke as Scott. And John hadn't failed to mention it.
"When did Scott get a sense of humor?" Gordon asked, barely avoiding the swat that Scott had tried to deliver.
"I never said it was a good joke," John commented. "I just said it was a joke."
And, unfortunately for John, he didn't miss the swat, getting lightly smacked upside the head. John rubbed the spot gingerly, glaring at his brother, all rather dramatically.
The three brothers laughed while their father smiled with amusement. Alan appeared soon after and asked about what he'd missed.
"I'll tell you later," Gordon said. "I better get dried off if I want to go in the house anytime soon."
Gordon went off in search of his towel, and Alan had mentioned that he was going to sit upstairs with Virgil for a little while. Virgil was sound asleep when Alan entered, as was expected. Alan sat in the desk chair, looking around the room. He hadn't thought to bring anything to do, and he knew he could only watch his brother sleep for so long. He took one of Virgil's many art books off the shelf, and flipped through it. He paused on the pages that were marked with little shreds of yellow paper, figuring those were ones that Virgil especially liked.
Alan had gone though two books without Virgil so much as turning over in his sleep. And Alan was stir-crazy by then. So he stood and quietly left, running into his father in the kitchen.
"Slept the entire time," Alan reported when his father had asked.
"That's good," Jeff sighed, then told Alan about the incident with John.
It was time for lunch, with Virgil the only one missing. Jeff had thought about trying to get Virgil to eat again, but decided against it for the time being. He'd go upstairs afterwards and gauge for himself. His sons were discussing theories about where Virgil had picked up the flu bug from. He himself had wondered about that, although he thought it was a relatively moot point.
"Could've been that rescue in Costa Rica," Gordon guessed.
"Too long ago," Scott said. "I'm thinking it has to be more recent."
"Well, the most recent rescues were in Massachusetts, Sri Lanka, Japan and Texas," John listed.
"I'm betting it's Massachusetts," Alan surmised.
The brothers nodded in agreement, and Gordon quipped, "Next year he gets a flu shot."
The table dissolved into laughter, although each had already seriously had that thought. Once lunch was finished, Jeff went upstairs to check on Virgil. Once awake, Virgil just turned onto his side to face his father, who sat in the chair.
"Would you try and eat something?" Jeff asked, receiving a shake of the head in reply.
"Please," Jeff pleaded. "Not much. But we need to get some nutrition into you to help you fight this thing."
Virgil closed his eyes for a second, but didn't move otherwise. He really didn't want to eat anything, especially after the previous day's roll. But it would make his father feel a little better, and he knew his father had a point. So he reluctantly nodded, although he knew it wasn't going to go well.
"Something small and something simple," Jeff said, a hand on his son's face. "I promise."
Then Jeff went back downstairs and talked with Onaha until they found something other than bread that might stay down. Jeff returned a little while later with a small bowl of steamed carrots and green beans, two vegetables he knew Virgil liked.
Virgil gave a disgusted look at the vegetables before him, and glanced up at his father. He swallowed the bile that'd come up, knowing he had to at least try. He took it slowly, knowing that going to fast was only inviting trouble. But it was a losing fight, and although he did try, his stomach just refused the food being put into it. He shoved the bowl onto the desk and grabbed the trashcan that was left within easy reach after the previous day's attempt. What had just been put into his body was coming back up, and the sight only made Jeff feel worse.
The retching led to coughing before Jeff could even get his son the water. Jeff held onto his son until the fit was over, helping his son lie back slowly.
Jeff kissed Virgil's forehead, and whispered, "I'm so sorry about that."
"Sorry too," Virgil added, his voice so hoarse.
"Not your fault," Jeff said. "Go back to sleep, I'll be back later."
Virgil nodded, then closed his eyes. Jeff left the room, taking the bowl and trashcan with him, walking down the hallway defeated. He left the trashcan in the bathroom, he'd take care of that afterwards, and headed into the kitchen to deposit the bowl and find Brains. If Virgil couldn't eat anything, then they needed to discuss their options of how to get some nutrition into him.
Along the way, he saw Gordon, who immediately asked after Virgil. Gordon shook his head when his father finished giving him the update.
"He'll hate having a needle in his arm," Gordon said when his father suggested an IV as an option.
"He may not have a choice," Jeff replied. "But let me and Brains worry about that."
Gordon nodded. "I'm going up for a nap. Between last night and the laps, I'm wiped already."
"Go ahead," Jeff said, having already noted a tired look on his son's face.
They went their separate ways, and just before Gordon went into his own room, he opened the door to Virgil's and peeked in. His brother was asleep on his side, curled up tightly. He sighed, leaning against the door held by his hand. He shut it, and went into his own room for a quick sleep.