Scott sat up from his slouch and stretched his back. He looked across the high hospital bed to where his father sat, slumped over, head on the bed, fast asleep. A glance at his watch, and quick mental calculation told him it was after 3am.

Scott stared at his sleeping brother. The bruises on his face were just starting to yellow. Although he knew from the monitors that Gordon was doing okay, he couldn't stop his hand from moving to that face, tracing the bruises, feeling the warmth of the skin.

It had been a very long day, and one filled with emotional upheaval. The utter shock he had felt when Alan had blithely announced that Gordon was not lost to them after all had been no less gut-wrenching than those first few minutes after he realized what the presence of the intruder on the base had meant.

He'd been running on adrenaline for almost two days, not allowing himself to think, only forcing himself to act. It was the only way he'd been able to keep himself sane. Worry about the family, grief for his brother, fear for the future had all been pressed ruthlessly aside in favor of finding out the why and wherefore of the intrusion.

But now, in the wee hours of the morning, there was nothing to do except wait. And think. When they had landed at the airport and John had announced that Virgil had refused to come, Scott felt as if his heart was being ripped out of his body. He couldn't desert his brother, but he couldn't stay either. Not when staying kept him from his little brother's side.

He'd started to hyperventilate when his father had ordered him into the car, saying he and Virgil would be along shortly. He'd locked eyes with his father, and calmed down immediately, the unspoken reminder that he wasn't in this alone a balm on his tired soul. He climbed into the backseat of the car and listened as John used his laptop to order another car to come to the airport.

"Scott?" Scott had come out of a half daze in the backseat of that limo, and seen John looking… guilty. He raised an eyebrow, and John swallowed before speaking. "I, uh, that is… Scott, I'm sorry. I should have caught that hatch opening. If I'd been paying enough attention, we could have been on top of this before that guy made it to the island."

Scott sat staring at his brother for a moment, shocked. The same kind of thoughts had been going through his own mind. If he'd been paying close enough attention, the intruder would never have gotten close enough to hurt Gordon in the first place.

He swallowed against his dry throat and said, "Okay, here's the thing. We can all wallow in self-pity and cry mea culpa into our beer, or we can get over ourselves and figure out ways to prevent this from happening again. For me, I intend to fix this so I never have to feel this way again. What are you going to do?"

The challenge had brought John up and the guilt in his eyes was replaced by determination. "Yeah. You're right. Thanks."

"No problem. Let me say this, though. You've done a great job since it happened. You found out who that guy was, you tracked down where Gordon was… Oh yeah, I realize it was you who sent Alan to that hospital. And you've worked your tail off getting things taken care of here. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

John had eventually nodded, and Scott knew his brother would be all right. Later in the hospital, when his father had arrived with Virgil, Scott had relaxed further. Virgil was looking as exhausted as he felt, but the shattering tightness was gone, and Scott knew that his father had been able to get through to him.

When Alan had turned mulish about going to the hotel with Virgil and their grandmother, it was Virgil who had convinced him. He said sweetly that it was fine for him to stay, but in the morning, when they followed the ambulance to the Inskip Sanatorium, it'd be Virgil driving as he'd be the only one fresh enough to do it.

Scott allowed a tiny smile as he remembered the conflict on his youngest brother's face before he'd grudgingly given in, and gone to get some sleep. As soon as the young man had left, John had whipped out his laptop, and at Scott's questioning raised eyebrow, said wryly, "We need to rent more than one car. There's no way Al is going to give up the driver's seat, and there are other control freaks here who will need to be considered."

"Meaning me?"

John snorted. "Meaning you and Dad. And me too. If we're going to be there for any length of time, we're going to need wheels."

Scott nodded, and shortly thereafter, John had left for the hotel, saying he needed to crash. Scott and Jeff had discussed John's comment about staying long. Scott knew that his father didn't want to stay any longer than absolutely necessary, feeling the security on the island was far better despite recent events.

Scott agreed with him in theory, but knew the reality would be dictated by Gordon's injury. Although Tracy Enterprises had pioneered stable pressure airplanes, making it possible for head injury patients to travel even long distances in safety, no one in the family would risk any further pain for the red headed aquanaut. Scott and Jeff had agreed that Gordon would stay put until they were absolutely sure the transport home would do no additional harm.

Eventually, the two men fell silent, and Jeff fell asleep. Now Scott sighed, wishing his brother would wake up. It didn't seem a likely event, given how deeply he slept. Scott looked behind himself and lowered his aching body into the chair. He looked up again only to see Gordon blinking, trying to bring his eyes to focus.

Scott jumped up so quickly that the chair went flying. He leaned into his brother's line of sight, and said softly, "Hey, you waking up there?"

His brother winced at his voice. "How can I sleep with you yelling at me?"

Scott felt a wave of relief wash through him. The doctors had been very cautious, saying there might be brain damage because Gordon hadn't been able to speak before. "Sorry, squirt. I guess I can assume your head hurts?"

"It'd have to be a shitload better to only be hurting. Where'd you get the civvies? Who's watching One?"

"One's back home. I came in the family jet."

For a moment, Gordon's eyes glazed in panic. "Why'd you go home? Is Virgil all right? What happened?"

"Hey, hey, calm down, everything and everybody's all right, okay? You just take it easy."

"No, I want to see Virgil. Where's Virgil?"

Scott had to put a hand to Gordon's uninjured shoulder for fear the young man would try to sit up. Before he could say anything, Jeff lifted his head, "Gordon?"

Gordon was working himself into a full-blown panic. "Dad? What are you doing here? Where's Virgil, Dad? What happened to Virgil?"

"Calm down, son, your brother is fine. You were injured, but only you, and you're going to be fine." Jeff moved in so that he filled Gordon's line of sight.

The door opened, and a nurse came hustling over. Scott said, "See, now you've got the nurses in a tizzy. Virgil's at a hotel getting some sleep. He'll be here in the morning. You just take it easy."

The nurse insinuated herself between Scott and his brother, and he had to bite his lip to keep from snapping at her. She smiled down at Gordon as she injected medication into his IV. "Your father is right. Your brother Virgil was here earlier along with your brothers John and Alan and your grandmother. Here, let me do this… There, is that better?"

Gordon, who'd begun to calm at his father's words, let out a sigh, and closed his eyes against the newly fluffed pillow and fresh dose of painkiller. "Yes, thank you."

The nurse paused, then realizing things were in hand, did a quick check of the other two beds before leaving the room. Gordon cracked open an eye, "She's gone. Tell me what happened, Dad, I need to know."

"Why don't we leave that discussion for the morning, son. For now, just rest."

Gordon opened both eyes, "No, Dad, Scott, please… I need to know. I woke up here all alone. When the doctors asked me questions, I didn't know what to say. I didn't know if they knew I was with International Rescue or what. I didn't know what to say…"

"Easy, boy, take it easy." Jeff held tightly to his son's hand. Scott let out a pained sigh. His brother's confession broke his heart.

Scott could tell Jeff was agonizing over what to tell his brother, so he nodded, saying. "All right, Gordon, you were attacked at a rescue site. You were attacked from behind while you were loading up after the rescue. The bastard got on board Thunderbird Two and we didn't realize it until he tripped the alarms in Thunderbird Two's hangar. Virgil had no idea you weren't onboard."

Despite the obvious pain, Gordon's eyes widened. "Wow."

"Yeah. Wow," Scott said ironically. "Now, settle down and rest. You have a busy day ahead of you tomorrow."

"I do?"

Jeff nodded, "We're moving you to Inskip tomorrow, son."

What little color Gordon's face had drained away. "No."

Jeff shook his head. "Son, this hospital is not secure. We're just going to move you until you're well enough to come home. Just a few days, that's all."

"You're not listening to me, Dad. The answer is no. I'm not going to that place."

Jeff sighed. "We'll talk about it in the morning, son. For now, just relax and try to sleep."

Gordon looked over at Scott, the plea obvious in his eyes. "Tell you what. We'll wait until Dr. Halvorsen has a look at you, okay? We'll see what he says, then we'll talk about our options."

Jeff frowned, but seeing the relief in Gordon's eyes relented. "All right, we'll do that, but now, you need to rest. You know what your grandma says, sleep is the best medicine."

"She's really here?" Gordon asked wistfully.

"Yes, and she'll be here at the crack of dawn, so close your eyes now."

Finally reassured, Gordon slowly eased into sleep, helped, no doubt, by the painkillers in the IV. When he was sure his son was asleep, Jeff looked over at Scott, "He's going to Inskip."

Sighing, Scott looked his father in the eye. "Dad, there are other secure hospitals just as good. Inskip has nothing but bad memories for him, you know that."

"And you know that those other hospitals are all at least a thousand miles away. We know the doctors and staff at Inskip. Despite your brother's memories, it's the best place for him, and I'll expect you to back me up on this."

Scott felt a tickle of ire. "I promised my brother we would discuss options tomorrow, Dad, and that's what we're going to do. If Inskip is the best option, I will talk to him about it."

The two men faced off across the bed, neither willing to back down. Despite his obvious anger at Scott's insubordination, it was Jeff who finally eased back. "We're both very tired, son. I believe this is a conversation that we had best leave until tomorrow."

Scott nodded curtly. "Agreed, Dad. You want to head over to the hotel and get a couple of hours sleep?"

"No, you go ahead, son. Despite what John said, I can sleep on the way to the hospital. I'm no control freak."

The pious statement brought a short bark of laughter from Scott. "Oh, and I am, huh? Okay, I admit it. I'll be back in a few hours."

Jeff smiled tiredly, and settled back down as Scott trudged out the door.