A/N: Hiya! Here's chapter eight! I'm so glad to see that so many people are liking this story; I've got so many reviews it really is amazing. I just sat there, staring wide-mouthed at the screen when I saw them. 38 reviews for just seven tiny chapters… I'm gobsmacked! Thank-you all so much for your support; it really makes my day!
Disclaimer: If not for Sylvia and Gerry Anderson, I would not be able to play in this wonderful playground, so no, I do not own the Thunderbirds.
The hour-long ride back to earth was possibly one of the most painful things I have ever experienced.
The combined effects of a churning stomach, throbbing head and the utter agony of a bruised and possibly shattered spine did not do anything at all to soothe my terrible mood, and I found myself heartily wishing that I could again go blank to the world around me.
Despite the fact that the effects of my concussion seemed to be receding slightly; the dizziness and overall fogginess of my thoughts at least, it rather seemed that in defiance, my nausea had somehow increased exponentially. I hadn't even realised that it was possible.
Although we had long since levelled out from our launch from the docking station of Thunderbird Five, I found that I had to give myself a private pep talk on how to not pass out from pain and queasiness.
I'd closed my eyes in an attempt to keep my mind from spinning out on me again, but I must have dozed off as a result of the pain and overall exhaustion I was feeling, because the next thing I knew, Virgil's face was floating in front of my bleary eyes, and there was no sign of any of the others that I could see.
Like anyone who had just woken up, I was understandably confused. "We 'ere already?" I slurred, attempting, despite the dense fog in my brain, to understand exactly where 'here' was.
Virgil looked at me worriedly, hand braced on my shoulder as he bent in front of me. Apparently not seeing anything of concern, he raised the stupid penlight he had been frequently flashing at my face up in readiness to repeat the process. "Yes, John. Just one last check, and then we'll get you ready to hand over to the paramedics."
Since my mind seemed finally ready to cooperate and actually allow me to function in the logical thoughts department, I obligingly followed the yellow light as it danced in front of my eyes. "Hey, Virge." I ventured, as my brother placed the torch back in his pocket. "Where's Dad and the others? Have they found Penny and the kids yet?" I knew that as soon as we'd landed, Dad, and most likely Scott would have torn over to Thunderbird One and tied the three teenagers down to prevent them from going anywhere else that even vaguely represented danger.
"Not exactly." Virgil sighed. "The Hood used The Mole to drill beneath the river bed. One of the support pylons from the Thames collapsed and it took one of the monorail cars with it, remember?" I didn't, but that was irrelevant. I must have dozed off again. I had a vague recollection of running and pain, and then nothing. I wasn't worried. Not like I was about other things.
My mouth opened in silent shock, but Virgil interrupted me before I could ask the obvious question.
"We're lucky that the kids got here when they did. Alan took 'Four down and Tin-Tin managed to put the winch on the car when Fermat couldn't get a lock with the clamps. There were only a couple of broken bones from the people inside, thank God. They pulled her to the surface just as we landed. Dad, Gordy and Scott went tearing out there like nothing else." I could imagine. "They've been closing down the accident scene; they won't be much longer, I'm sure." He paused, smiling. "I'm so proud of the Sprout, he's done us well today…"
I nodded only slightly, as I considered the immense wave of pride I felt for my littlest brother; wary of descending into haziness and unbearable agony again.
As my eyes travelled over the interior of 'Three, I groaned at seeing the item that my brother had apparently commandeered from the medical personnel that were undoubtedly on the scene. "I guess it's an ambulance trip for me now huh?" I joked lightly, pleased when I saw Virgil's grin in response.
"So…" I asked, when it appeared that we were going to be sat there a while. "I'm assuming that you guys are gonna want to come to the hospital with me. How're you gonna manage with the secrecy act and all? I'm guessing there's already a story as to how I got my injuries?"
"Got that right in one, John." My brother smiled appreciatively. "So the tale goes like this. We get a rescue call from you in your private lab, after your power has blown and everything, and while we're away, some lunatic comes and steals one of our ships. Figuring we'll drop you off in London while we're here, we've joined our base operatives in order to retrieve our other ship as well."
Looking at the questioning expression I wore, Virgil chuckled. "The others have their helmets on, so they'll most likely be joining you later. Penny will probably stay with you until Dad can come back as Jeff Tracy rather than International Rescue's Commander."
He saw the downcast look on my face and, demonstrating his new mind-reading capabilities, said. "I'll be there for sure. Nobody's seen my face either, so you'll be stuck with the lot of us." I smiled dazedly, exhaustion sweeping through me all of a sudden, despite the little snooze I'd apparently just had.
I thought that there was still something missing, but in my rapidly fuzzing mind, there wasn't really much I could do to work it out. Feeling the encroaching darkness descend on me once again, it was with great relief that I let it drag me down. I knew that it was fine, as Virgil hadn't yet said anything to the contrary about me remaining awake for any particular reason. Anyway, in comparison to what my body was feeling right now, oblivion honestly looked like a much better place to be at the moment.
##
I knew without opening my eyes that I was in a hospital. There's just something that just makes them instantly recognisable, whether you are actually in control of your full capabilities or not.
Initially, there are the sounds; the beeping of monitors, the distant echoes of feet in corridors, the whispering of visitors, and then comes the specific sort of smell; a kind of disgusting mix of cheap, strong disinfectant, and the overwhelmingly un-masked scent of illness, though deeply altered to appear non-existent.
However, that was the one sensation that I didn't experience when I woke. Scent. That worried me inordinately, at least until I opened my eyes, and registered the oxygen mask, coming to the realisation that there was cool air streaming into my nose and trachea. Another thing I didn't register until I opened my eyes (obviously)—squinting against the cool white lights above my head— was the sight across from me.
Scott was in a bed that was assumedly the twin of the one that I was lying on. His face was pale, tired, and probably was made infinitely worse by the large patch of padded gauze that covered the side of his forehead.
As much as I registered the presence of my father and younger brothers scattered on the many couches and chairs throughout the room, distracted from their hushed conversations by my shout, it was only my eldest sibling's state of apparent unconsciousness that penetrated my mind completely.
It looked as though moving was not the best idea for someone in my condition. My half-yelp of "Scott!", muffled as it was by the mask, was quickly smothered by both my Dad and Virgil jumping up abruptly to lean over me, and the fact that an absolute agony of a coughing fit ripped through my lungs at the half-articulated sound.
"John… John!" I looked up at my dad through eyes streaming from pain and the panic fluttering in my chest about why Scott was laid out across from me, a tube trailing from an IV bag above his head. "He's okay; he's just asleep because of the pain meds."
As I relaxed a little, he continued, his fingers tracing soothing circles along the back of my left hand. "He's been admitted only for observation. The knock to his head has completely wiped him out. We've only been here for forty-five minutes but I swear he's woken up asking for you at least five times."
Now that my personal crisis was over, I found that I had the time to adequately assess the situation; the first point of which was my own physical condition.
I noticed, with a kind of amused grimness, that I once again, couldn't feel my arm. The fact that it was still bound across my chest indicated that it was still there, but it was still an immensely strange feeling to feel as though it weren't actually attached. Next was my head, which I noticed was the clearest it had been since the first explosion, and actually didn't really hurt as much. That I registered with heavy relief. I was assuming that I had already been fed painkillers; they were the only thing that would have deadened the agony I had been in the last couple hours.
The thing that caught my attention, however, was the fact that there was a hard, rigid brace wrapped around my lower back and chest; only leaving movement for breaths of a limited capacity. It was no wonder it had been so difficult to catch my breath a couple seconds ago. Really, the only thing that hadn't seemed to be changed was my overly-hot body, and the ill feeling that was still swimming determinedly in my stomach and beneath my ribs.
The idea that my back was braced, even after my entrance into a hospital, very nearly sent me into hysterics, and really, could you have blamed me after everything I'd been hit with, both literally and figuratively? If it weren't for Virgil and Dad, calming me down as they did, I didn't know what I might have done. I looked immediately to Virgil; the one I trusted the most in medical situations, in the hope that he might have been able to give meaning to the object that was causing me so much angst.
"John. Dad just said you've only been here forty-five minutes. You've only just come back from MRI and X-Ray about twenty minutes ago. We've got to give them some time to come back with your results."
I grinned as Gordon added his two cents worth; stepping up behind Dad to quip, "As much as we want them to, they just can't teleport yet."
The sense of once more having a modicum of control over the situation was deepened as Virgil retreated a bit to let Alan step up to me. I beamed at him more brightly than Mom's star, as he hesitated slightly before moving forward eagerly as I gestured with my good arm for him to move to my side.
"Al." I breathed, shifting the mask off of my mouth, despite Virgil's protests, to ensure that my younger brother could understand every word I spoke. "For someone who can be so daft sometimes you have no idea how proud I am of you, Kid."
The tense look that was set on Alan's face melted, to be replaced by a smile that I felt made the room glow so much brighter. I coughed slightly, and I saw with regret as his face twitched slightly. "'M'ok." I said, my voice becoming a little dry. "It's probably just the smoke…?"
My answer-turned-question was answered by a small nod of Virgil's head. I held my arm out for Alan, and he practically launched himself into my one-armed embrace. I held him tight. Though I really wasn't usually one for hugs, Alan was, and I knew that the contact would do wonders for easing the kid's mind.
The moment was shattered however, as a person in a white lab-coat entered the room; a large envelope held against his chest. "Ah. Mr Tracy! Nice to see you awake. I'm assuming your family has filled you in?" Guessing that the Mr Tracy in this instance was me, I nodded my head, hurriedly placing the mask back over my nose and mouth.
"I'm Doctor Abdul." He introduced himself, though I could see from the recognition in the eyes of my Dad and siblings that he was only doing it for my benefit. He was relatively young; maybe two or three years older than Scott, I guessed, as he pulled a data-pad out of his pocket to read something. I sensed rather than saw Gordon dart over to gently coax our eldest brother awake; there would be no way in hell that he would want to miss this…
The tension in the room was so thick that if I had had a knife, I could have sliced right through it. Scott edged his way over to my bed with Gordon's help, before he sat heavily in Virgil's vacated chair, smiling at me as reassuringly as he could.
"Would you prefer I tell you the results in confidence?" Dr. Abdul asked, brown hair flopping into his eyes.
"No." I shook my head, just imagining what any one of them would say to that statement.
"Well." The doctor paused a bit, and I braced myself for what was about to come out of his mouth. "I've got some good news, and I've got some bad news…."
A/N: Oooh! Aren't I nice? A cliffie…. I'll try and get the next one up by Sunday night, to spare you guys too much suspense. Please review!
-Pyre Xx
