SURPRISE!

I bet you weren't expecting an update this soon were you?

This chapter is dedicated to coralie14 and CyanB who gave me the challenge words "glitter" and "gravity," as well as Oblivion03 for the challenge word for this chapter.

A big thanks to my beta, 1monster2, for once again taking a break from her studies to help me out.

Enjoy ...

H is for Holly

Virgil dropped a cardboard box with the ones his brothers had retrieved before joining Scott on the couch with a sigh. The most wonderful time of the years seemed to always begin with a great amount of physical labor. From hauling in a giant tree to pulling all the decorations out of storage, preparation was almost as much work as the decorating itself.

"Should we start with the tree or the garland?" Gordon asked, sprawled out on the other couch.

"Let's just give it a minute," Scott suggested, massaging his forearm.

The sight of it made Virgil far more alert and he sat up with a frown. Some of those boxes were pretty heavy and it would be easy to strain a muscle or tendon. On that note, a full-blown sprain was not out of the question.

"Watch out, Scott," Gordon warned. "You're giving Dr. Bloodhound a scent."

Immediately, their eldest brother dropped his hands into his lap and schooled his features to appear calm, almost innocent. Virgil took a minute to shoot a glare at the aquanaut before turning to Scott. It might be nothing, but an arm injury could be very dangerous in their line of work.

"Let me see," he instructed.

"See what?"

Knowing verbal arguments never went anywhere, Virgil took the initiative – and Scott's arm – to check for himself. Ignoring the protests from one brother and the annoying commentary from the other, he checked for the usual signs of bruising or tenderness. Thankfully, there was none, and the worst Scott had was a strained muscle.

"If I were you, I'd lay off decorating for a few days," he advised. "It wouldn't hurt to put some ice on it while you're at it."

"So, he rubs his arm and gets out of decoration duty?" Gordon asked. "Ow, my knee!"

Virgil rolled his eyes and headed for the first of the boxes. Inside he found long ropes of holly and red velvet bows. Fate has dictated that they would start decorating with the garland. However, just as he pulled out the first of the ropes, fate intervened once again in the form of John.

"International Rescue, we have a situation."

Within minutes, the three brothers were on their way to help a group of scientists whose lab was about to slip into the ocean. While none of them were particularly upset about missing out on decorating, Virgil was a little concerned about leaving the task to Alan and Kayo. They had a big house and decorating it for the holidays involved a lot of heavy lifting. If his eldest brother could hurt himself just bringing a box out of storage –

"They'll be fine," Scott assured him. "The hard part is over anyway."

"Yeah," Gordon agreed from the seat beside him. "Kayo is a ninja and Alan is … well, the important thing is that Kayo is a ninja."

Virgil allowed himself to relax so he could concentrate on the rescue. His brothers were right, Kayo would make sure Alan didn't do anything too stupid before they got back. Besides, they are just hanging garland. What could happen?

^H^O^L^L^Y^

"I am SO sorry."

Kayo held up her non-throbbing hand to silence her youngest surrogate brother. Alan meant well, but she had no time for apologies. What she needed now was an ice pack and a good cover story for when people started asking why her wrist was purple. As long as the swelling didn't get too bad, she could likely pass it off as a bruise. Then again – when it came to a certain medic in their family – a bruise was more than enough reason for a series of tests and bedrest.

"Do you think we should call-"

"Alan," she said between clenched teeth, "if you are going to suggest calling Virgil, I would advise against it."

"But he's the one who can treat that."

"And I'm the one who can give him something else to treat."

The teen wisely heeded the not-so-veiled threat and decided to refocus his energy on helping her cover up the incident. He righted the lander and shoved the garland out of the way. Then he ran down to the infirmary to get an ice pack while Kayo did her own examination of her wrist. She wasn't worried about being caught – not yet anyway – as the boys were busy with a rescue and everyone else was running errands on the mainland. Even Alan's subpar stealth abilities would not be a hindrance – however, she would have to educate him on the proper way to detangle garland from a ladder without tipping it.

"Here," Alan said, offering an icepack and elastic bandage.

"I won't be needing that," Kayo said, taking the ice and applying it to her wrist.

"You sure? Because Virgil always uses this thing."

"Exactly, and what do you suppose he will think when he comes back and finds me wearing it?"

Alan paused as understanding dawned across his features. They loved Virgil, all of them did, but when it came to injuries he could be a little overbearing. The last time Kayo fell off a ladder, he treated her for a concussion and prescribed three days of bedrest. The injury hardly qualified for one night of rest, but there was no telling that to their island's medicine man. No, it was best Virgil never found out about this little escapade.

"So … what are we going to do about the garland?" Alan asked after a minute. "I mean, if it's not up by the time they get back-"

"They'll know something happened," Kayo finished.

Pushing past the pain, she helped the teen finish what they had started. It was slow going and there were times when she had to stop for a minute, but they got it done just before the return of Thunderbird One. Knowing she didn't have much time, Kayo hurried to her room and applied make up to the bruise. It wasn't perfect, but it should pass inspection. Minutes after she finished, Thunderbird Two arrived.

"The place looks good," Virgil commented, taking a seat on the couch. "I see you left the tree for the rest of us."

"Well, we couldn't take all the fun," she shrugged, careful not to jostle her arm.

Luck was on her side and the boys were paying more attention to the décor than anything else. Kayo took the opportunity to give Alan a look, reminding him not to say anything to tip them off. Virgil may be the only medic, but the members of International Rescue were not known for taking injuries lightly. If even Gordon got an idea of what happened, the might of their organization would come down on her like an overly helpful tidal wave.

"Hey, what are the candles doing on the floor?" Scott asked, pointing to the decarded decorations.

"Oh," Alan muttered. "They must have fallen off the table when the ladder tipped."

Kayo resisted the urge to close her eyes and bring more attention to the slip up. This allowed her to see the implications of the kid's words register with the brothers, one by one. The worst part was that this happened right after a rescue when the boys were still halfway in their job mode. For his part, Alan tried to cover his tracks.

"I mean it tipped, but didn't really fall … I mean nothing fell, except the candles. … I mean …"

"I think I get it," Virgil said, getting to his feet. "Where are you hurt?"

"Me?" Alan scoffed. "I'm not hurt! Do I look hurt?"

"I wasn't talking to you."

Kayo shot the teen another look before schooling her features. There was still a chance she could bluff her way out of this. It was a good thing she had a high pain tolerance. Dutifully, she approached the medic looking as calm and bored as possible.

"Nothing happened," she insisted.

"Right," Virgil murmured. "Can you hold your arms out to your sides?"

She did as she was told, managing it without moving her wrist. So far so good. She lifted each leg, twisted her foot, and put it back down. The problem came when she was asked to bend her arm and rotate her wrist. The right arm was not a problem. The left …

"Stop," Virgil snapped the second she attempted to move her hand.

He hurried forward, gently probing the injured area before ushering her down to the infirmary. After cleaning off the make-up and taking a few scans, Virgil handed her an ice pack to apply to the bruise while he raided the supply closet.

"I think you are overreacting. It's just a sprain."

"I would be overreacting, if it was just a sprain," Virgil replied, removing a splint from the closet. "Fractures are a little more serious. Don't worry, no bedrest needed this time."

That wasn't much comfort when she realized that the splint was going to be replaced by plaster as soon as the swelling went down. Kayo hoped that Virgil was stocked up. If this cast got in the way of doing her work, Alan would need all the medical supplies they had at hand.

So, has my writing held up during my absence?

Let me know what you think, any challenge words for I, and whether Scott or John should be the next victim.