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.
A/N: I'm not a doctor, nor do I watch ER on a regular basis. I just remember a bit of what my momma went through when she got bronchitis. Also, this is set in the future, so medical procedures may have changed. And now that we know he has a mutated version of the flu…it's all mine! Don't worry though, I'll make sure he's taken care of.
---
By now tears were streaming down Virgil's face, which was a bright shade of red. Virgil brought the tissues to his face and coughed into them. The choking coughing continued for a few seconds more when Virgil moved the tissues. And what Gordon saw frightened him. Red, so much red.
"Dad!" Gordon yelled, using his communicator as well.
And as Virgil continued this fit, Gordon rubbed his back, striking it firmly every so often in hopes of getting the choking sound to go away.
In the kitchen, Jeff was completely unaware of what was happening upstairs. He was just trying to prepare a cup of coffee before heading back to the command area. So when he heard Gordon shout from the upstairs and from his own communicator, it startled him to the point that the mug hit the floor and shattered. But Jeff ignored it. Something was wrong.
He raced upstairs to find Virgil leaning heavily against Gordon, who had his arms around his brother's shaking body. Virgil was still coughing a little. It was Gordon's face that told him something had indeed happened. Gordon gave Virgil the water, who drank it gratefully. The cool water soothed his raw throat a bit.
"Better?" Gordon asked, his voice a little shaky.
Virgil nodded, but said nothing. Neither had acknowledged or realized Jeff's presence. Virgil closed his eyes and fell asleep against Gordon. Gordon was able to get Virgil lying down without waking him. Gordon went back to sitting on Virgil's bed, this time so he was able to watch him sleep.
"Gordon?" Jeff asked gently.
Gordon looked up, and Jeff could see the tears in his son's eyes.
"Let me get one of your brothers up here. Then you can tell me what happened," Jeff suggested, getting a nod from Gordon.
Since John was still working on the database search, Scott came up. He asked about what happened, having seen Gordon's face, but went in only being told by Gordon to watch Virgil carefully, especially if he started coughing.
Jeff led Gordon into his office, Gordon didn't want to talk about it in his own bedroom since it was next to Virgil's.
"He sounded like he was choking," Gordon explained. "And he just wouldn't stop, he kept coughing, kept sounding like he was choking. Then I gave him tissues and…"
"Gordon?"
"Blood, Dad! He was coughing up blood!"
Jeff was more worried for Virgil then ever. He embraced Gordon before he reported this to Brains. Gordon needed some measure of comfort.
"Why is everything really bad happening with me?" Gordon asked.
"It's isn't just you. John and I had our things with him as well."
"He's so much worse than before. I don't know medical things, but I know that can't be good."
"I know, Gordon. I know. Come on, we better tell Brains about this."
They found Brains in the lab and it looked like he was working on some kind of experiment. Brains looked up when he saw Jeff and Gordon enter, and from the look on Gordon's face, something was wrong.
"What h…h…is wrong?" Brains asked.
Gordon told him the story about what had happened. And Brains expressed his concern for Virgil.
"I w…w…need to do more tests," Brains said. "I sh…sh…ought to check his lungs again."
Jeff nodded, then looked over at a still visibly shaken Gordon.
"Go with Brains to the infirmary," Jeff gently told him. "I'll bring Virgil down."
Gordon nodded. "But I'm staying with him in there."
"I wasn't going to ask you to leave him," Jeff replied.
While Gordon went to the infirmary with Brains, Jeff went back upstairs. He found Scott reading a magazine while Virgil slept.
"Nothing," Scott reported.
"Brains wants him back in the infirmary," Jeff replied.
"What happened?"
"I'll tell you after. Right now, I'd just feel better with him being in the infirmary now."
Scott nodded. They were able to wake Virgil enough so that Jeff could pick him up and carry him downstairs while Scott held the IV bag. Virgil had fallen back asleep in Jeff's arms on the way down and needed to be woken back up. Gordon took Virgil's hand, and waited for Brains to say what he was going to do.
"First I'll ch…ch…scan his lungs," Brains said, bringing out a contraption that Gordon had seen only once before, when Virgil was checking his arm after a rescue.
Gordon had to take a few steps back, but his gaze never left Virgil. And Virgil's never left Gordon.
Outside, Jeff explained the incident to Scott, Alan, and John. Tin-Tin had heard Gordon's yell and went to find Alan, feeling that something had happened. And they all watched with concern. It was a few minutes later when they could tell that Brains didn't like what he saw. Jeff was the first inside, after telling the others to stay put.
"Brains, what is it?" Jeff asked anxiously.
Brains showed the scan to Jeff, but it meant nothing to him.
"Fluid in my lungs," Virgil explained.
"How bad?"
"We'll have to d…d…empty his lungs to a…a…prevent an infection," Brains answered.
Jeff's face paled. He then looked down at Virgil and took his free hand since Gordon had the other.
"I did it well," Virgil whispered, not seeing the questioning glance from Gordon since he was looking at his father.
"When I told you that when you do something, to do it well, this isn't what I meant," Jeff replied.
"Now what?" Gordon asked.
"The s…s…earlier we do this, the better," Brains answered.
"Virgil?" Jeff asked, and he only nodded.
"Gordon, you'll h…h…must wait outside, please," Brains said.
Gordon squeezed Virgil's hand, and said, "Nothing funny, you hear me. You pull a stunt while I'm gone and I'll prank you unmercifully. And I'll paint your 'Bird something real hideous too."
"Promise," Virgil replied softly. "Sleep for a while though."
"That's all you've been doing for the past couple of days," Gordon said. "I'll be right outside, okay?"
Virgil nodded, and Gordon left the room. Jeff didn't need to be told that he'd have to leave, he knew it already.
"I'll be outside too," Jeff told his son.
"Watch him, please," Virgil said.
"I will," Jeff replied, knowing that Virgil was referring to Gordon.
Jeff left the room, and stood by Gordon.
"What'd he say?" Gordon asked.
"He just wants me to keep an eye on you."
Gordon shook his head with a sad smile. "Typical. He's sicker than anything and he wants you to keep an eye on me."
"He is your older brother," Jeff reminded him.
"I know."
Since the only person besides Brains that could explain the procedure to them was the one it was being performed on, no one really knew what was going on. They saw an oxygen mask being placed over Virgil's nose and mouth. After a minute, it was switched with another one.
"What was that about?" Alan asked.
"I think the first was an anesthesia and that's regular oxygen," John guessed.
Then they saw Brains prodding Virgil's ribcage, holding two fingers in place. With his other hand, they saw a huge needle and they knew that it was going into Virgil's ribcage.
Gordon grabbed Jeff's hand in a near panic once he saw the needle go in. Jeff squeezed reassuringly, but said nothing.
They all watched with anxiety until Brains came out a while later.
