Thunderbirds Are Go!

The Stories Between.

Disclaimer: A collection of my early one shots set in the TAG world. All are strictly non canon.

Virgil and Gordon's Drunken Endeavour.

This is the story of a rescue that went successfully. In fact, it went a little too well. After Scott checked back in with the island, things quickly settled in the family lounge. There were no calls from John, everybody seemed to be busy, but for Scott, one question lingered in his head. Where were Virgil and Gordon? It had been over three hours since he returned to the island and he had received nothing. He sat there in the lounge, immersed in deep thought when Kayo entered the lounge. She sat down next to him and placed her hand on his arm.

"Still heard nothing from them then?" she asked.

Scott frowned. "No. Not a peep. It doesn't make sense. It's not like them not to check in." I could have sworn that they took off not long after I did."

"Well if John hasn't called through then he must be tracking them," Kayo replied. "You need to chill out."

However, before Scott could reply. Virgil's signal appeared on the projection screen. He was approaching the island, but height and speed were all off. He also noted that his flying style was erratic, almost as if he had no control of the craft.

Scott opened a call. "Base calling Thunderbird Two. Virgil, we're reading you. Come in."

A few seconds later, Virgil's hologram appeared. He appeared to be singing and giggling away to himself. Scott looked at his eyes. They were glazed over. As he began to speak, Virgil belched loudly.

"Did somebody order a pizza. Hahaha! Hey, dude. Can we...*burp* can we land or something because we're totally tired and that." He said.

Scott raised an eyebrow. "Wait a second. Have you been drinking?"

"N-no. I'm perfectly sober." Virgil snickered as he swayed in his seat. "But Gordon is. He totally drank too much. *burp* that was a lie. I did drink but I only had a pint. That was also a lie."

Gordon's image materialised behind Virgil's. Scott scowled at the sight of his intoxicated younger brother. Gordon looked a little rough around the edges. His hair was ruffled, his lip was split and parts of his utility harness were hanging off his suit.

"Hey, Virgieee. That guy looks blue... Hello, little blue guy! Who do you belong to?" he babbled.

Scott grumbled as he heard Kayo snigger behind him. "Okay, that's it. I'm bringing you down on auto-pilot. You two better have a good explanation for this! Gordon, you should know better!"

"Scott! His name is Scott!" Virgil continued. His state of awareness had completely blanked everything.

Gordon rubbed his head. "Is it? I thought it was "Dave" for some reason."

Virgil gave him a look and paused. "We know a Dave?"

Scott huffed. He shut off the transmission and activated the new auto-piloting system. It was the first time that he had used the machine. Its initial purpose was to guide in the crafts if they were damaged or suffered malfunctions of any kind. He just didn't expect drunk flying to be one of them. He guided Thunderbird Two gently onto the runway and steered her into the hangar.

Twenty minutes elapsed. Scott sat there patiently as he waited for two bumbling brothers to enter the lounge. He had Grandma on standby with a mop and bucket. Kayo had spread the news to Alan which had him giggling like a child. They both sat on the staircase, displaying huge grins on their faces. They knew it was going to be good entertainment.

Virgil was the first to enter the lounge. He felt his way into the lounge, using the furniture to support him. He had his shirt on backwards and both his boots on the wrong feet. Gordon shortly followed, clutching his stomach with a groan.

"Clean up in...Aisle...Hangar..ohh."

Scott folded his arms. "I take it that you both had a successful trip back? Where did you go?"

Virgil swayed around. "Scott...we...*hic* we went and found a little place on the way back. It's so good. We didn't drink much. That was a lie too. I'm so good at them. Haa!"

Scott sighed. "Alright. How much did you both have to drink?"

Virgil and Gordon looked at each other with blank expressions. They tried to think, but it clearly wasn't happening.

Gordon kept shaking his head as Virgil tried to remember. "How much did we drink, G-Gordo? Was it Two... Four?...Five?"

Gordon held up six fingers.

"So three?" Virgil continued as he struggled with his blurred vision.

"Six, Virg. We had six!" Gordon replied as he flung his arms about.

Virgil put a finger to his lips. "Shhh, Scott's right there. H-Hey Scott, how did you get there?"

Kayo and Alan giggled away with amusement. Grandma entered the lounge with a disgruntled look on her face.

"What these boys need is some food to soak up all that liquor," she said. "Fortunately we have some stuff left over from Sunday roast."

Virgil staggered towards the kitchen. "I could use... a sandwich. *burp* Let's g-go."

Scott stood there concealing a smile. Not long after the two brothers entered the kitchen, a large metallic crashing sound reverberated off the walls. Gordon's face peered around the door frame.

"Don't worry. W-we got this... I think."

Scott rubbed his temples. He could no longer hide the laughter that brewed within. Brains entered the lounge with a clipboard in his hand. He had been down in the hangar bay, reviewing Thunderbird Two's flight data. He just knew that Scott was going to love what he discovered.

"S-Scott, I was able to trace back to the rescue site and I was able to find where they w-went for the following two hours."

"Oh, this is going to be classic," Scott replied as he folded his arms. "Where were they?"

"I-It seems that they flew to a nightclub about a few miles away from the rescue zone. The audio transcripts say t-that Gordon felt like celebrating and he enticed Virgil to go there. H-Have you ever heard of a place called "The Asteroid Bar?"

"The Asteroid Bar? Isn't that like a micro pub?" Scott asked.

"Yes well, there's more. Virgil didn't bother to activate the security fields. So he landed casually and well..."

Scott's eyes widened. "Stop! He didn't did he?"

Brains adjusted his specs. "H-He landed straight in the parking lot where anybody could get to her."

Scott rubbed his temples harder than before. "Oh, my god! What was he thinking!?"

"W-What are you going to do?" Brains asked innocently.

"Whatever dad would do, if I knew what that was. Fortunately, nobody tried to break into Thunderbird Two, not that they could anyway. Thanks, Brains but maybe you better get Max to clean her cabin out. I hate to think what Gordon has done up there."

Meanwhile, in the Kitchen, Virgil and Gordon's attempts to make a simple sandwich hadn't quite gone to plan. Virgil's distorted eyesight prevented him from seeing his hands. He thought he was spreading a slice of bread. However, he had actually spread the breadboard in a coat of Peanut Butter. Gordon had used his time wisely as he studied the microwave, only he didn't know what it was.

"Is this..a TV?" He asked as he slumped over the counter. "It's so shiny."

"It's a Microwave you dingus. You heat your...food in it."

Gordon stroked the small door. "Wow..Wow...Wow. I can...cook dinner in this? I should show this to P-Penelope."

Virgil stumbled back. He pointed at his brother and laughed. "You love Penny!"

"Hey.. shut up!"

"You love her.. Haa!"

"Shhh Shhhut up you!"

Kayo entered the kitchen to see what was the commotion. Highly amused by their antics, the sat up on a stool and observed them with a smile.

"So boys, how are the sandwiches coming along?"

Gordon stopped what he was doing. He already forgot what he was doing.

"We were making S-sandwiches?" he slurred.

Virgil leant over towards Kayo. His strong whiskey-sodden breath impacted with her sinuses. Fortunately, she had a stomach of iron and had smelt far worse in the hangar.

"Hey Kayo, let me tell you a secret." He whispered in a daze. "We've made a bit of a mess here. It's like we don't know how to make Sandwiches."

Kayo maintained a straight face. "Oh, I can see that. You know what you boys really need? You need to cool off. You both look a little flustered in here."

Gordon agreed with a heavy nod.

"Why don't you both go out to the Pool and lie down under the cool air for awhile huh?" She went on as she gently guided the pair out of the kitchen.

The brothers looked at each other for a moment. "S-sure pretty lady. Lead the way."

Kayo calmly and casually led the drunken wrecks out towards the patio doors. Scott, Alan, and Brains kept their calm composures. Despite the entertainment, they were still running a rescue organisation. They just hoped that John wouldn't call in with a distress call anytime soon.

Outside on the patio, Virgil began to lose consciousness. He eventually blacked out and landed on a sun lounger. He legs dangled off the end. While he snored away, Gordon drifted dangerously close to the pool's edge. He swayed around in the cool summer breeze when he spotted his reflection in the water.

"Oh, my god! I'm drowning! Hang on I'll save you!"

Without hesitation, he dived headfirst into the pool. The cold temperature caused his body to jolt, but the water did have its uses. At that point, his head became a little clearer. Scott rushed outside. He stood there with a look of amusement as Gordon shivered away.

"Can I h-have a towel please?"

"I think it's best we got you to bed, don't you bro?" Scott replied as he helped his little brother out of the pool.

"What about Virgil?" Kayo asked him, as they headed on inside.

"He's out for the count, I'm afraid," Scott replied. "Leave him there. Let him think about what he's done."

"Well, he's going to be in for one hell of a headache in the morning." Kayo sighed as Alan helped her carry Gordon to his room. "Well, they both will."

"Serves them right," Scott replied. "I would have words with them, but I think it's best to leave them with Grandma. She'll probably make them scrub the toilet again."

Virgil awoke to the sun beating down directly on his face. His lips felt cracked as he ran his tongue along them. As he tried to lift himself up off the sun lounger, the strength of a hundred weights hit his head.

"What happened last night?" he moaned. "How did I get out here?"

Before he could react, he groaned at the sound of a bucket hitting the concrete. He looked up to see the vengeful, authoritative face of Grandma looming over him.

"Rise and shine, young man!" She said as she helped him to his feet. "You've had your fun last night. Now I'm going to have mine."

"Please be fair," Virgil begged her. "I don't feel very well."

"Well, you should have thought about that before you destroyed my breadboard," Grandma replied as he forced a mop handle into his hand. "Now I want you to scrub the patio from top to bottom. Then afterwards, you can get to work on the woodwork. It could use a good polish."

As he began to recover, Virgil took on his task. Sloshing his mop around in his bucket of water, he began to wash away the dirt that had encased the patio deck. As he worked away by himself, he whistled a gentle tune to himself. The tune became repetitive. So much so that the lone Tracy brother decided to sing it.

It's a hard-knocked life for us. It's hard-knocked life for us. No one cares for you, a smidge. No, When you're in an Orphanage. It's a hard-knocked life.

Yes, indeed Virgil had learnt his lesson. As for Gordon? Well, Grandma had placed him on kitchen detail. It's important folks. Never drink and operate heavy rescue machinery, for it could leave you in the hands of a hard authority driven old lady.

The End.