Written on the train back from the Asylum. I get to say that twice a year and it never gets old. Totally different fandom, of course, but it's been a highlight of my year so it has to be said that I love it. Didn't manage to kill my Thunderbirds brain, though, which is a massive surprise. Let's see if Nano succeeds where Asylum has failed.

Scott is halfway through dialling Hollie's number when another thought filters through his mind. She has to know what has happened, it must be all over the news by now and clips of the radio broadcast will have been used, so she will be worried. He has to wonder who he is to put her through this, all this worry and fear, the concern that he might be hurt or killed while on a rescue. Hollie has already lost everything, her mother and father, her twin sister and brother-in-law, how can he possibly ask her to take the risk of losing him too. He has to ask himself if she would have been happier, better off, if he had never waltzed back into her life and back into her heart.

Nevertheless, there is no way that he can leave her waiting, no way that he can let her fret and worry and grieve when he has had such a lucky escape. The doubts and questions can come when he has reassured her.

As it happens, Hollie answers almost as soon as he has finished dialling and he knows that she has been waiting for this call. It makes him wonder how soon his family would have contacted her if the worst had come to pass.

"Scott!" His name is little more than a relieved whisper when she says it. It is obvious that she has been crying, her eyes red and her cheeks streaked with make-up.

"I'm alright," he is quick to reassure her, "he only grazed me." He sees her shift on the screen, watches as her eyes track across his face as though she is trying to tell whether or not he is lying to her. He supposes that he would do the same in her place.

"You're sure?" She demands softly, moving so that he can see her bedroom in the background and that immediately rings alarm bells in his mind. Hollie never uses the vid-phone in that room even though she had it installed there when she bought the house five years ago. She told him once that the idea that a person could see into her haven when talking to her made her uncomfortable.

"Positive." It is strange to have this conversation again, to once again have to convince someone that he is fine because they cannot see the real truth of the matter for themselves. He knows that he must look pale and tired, he knows that his voice sounds as worn out as he feels, but he also knows that he could not have rested without telling her he is alright first. She is silent for a long moment but he can see that she is trying to say something, trying to find a way to put her thoughts into words and it is rare to see her struggle like that.

"Does that offer still stand?" She asks suddenly and he stares, confused by the abrupt change of direction. "The one about me coming to the island," she elaborates, "does it still stand?"

"You know it does," he responds after a long moment where all of his concerns come rushing back at once. All of his fears about what might happen between them, all of his concerns about the uncertain future and the possibility that even after everything death could rip them apart again. It is the thought that Hollie might once again lose everything and everyone she loves that makes him hesitate before he answers.

"How soon can you come and get me?" The question is another one that catches him off guard.

"I won't be able to fly for a few days, not until I'm off the painkillers," he does not miss the disappointment on her face, mixed with a concern that he had hoped he had put to rest. "Are you sure about this, Hollie?" He has to ask it, has to know that she is aware of what she is getting herself into before she comes. Scott does not want to run the risk that she might get to the island and come to the conclusion that this is not the life she wants. He does not want her to get here and regret leaving her home and her friends.

"I can't do it anymore," she confesses softly, "I can't sit here or in coffee shops with friends and listen to the news that you've been called out. I can't sit there and hear about the danger you put yourself in for them and know that I'll have to wait until you get home to know if you're alright or not."

"It won't be any easier if you're here," the words are serious and not meant as a discouragement but as a reminder about the reality of the island. A reminder that this is a base of operations as well as a home. "You'll still have to watch me leave, you'll still have to wait for me."

"I know, but it won't be the same," she shakes her head, teeth worrying at her lower lip for a moment. "It won't be waiting for hours with only what reporters feel like telling us. It won't be hearing that you've been hurt and then having to sit here alone and frightened that I've lost you. I'm alone here, I can't tell my friends what's happening and I'm tired of hiding how much I worry about you when you're out there because I can't risk them finding out." Her voice starts rising towards the end, days and weeks and months of frustration all being aired at once. "I want to be with you, Scott, there, not here waiting for the odd day you can get when you can get it. Please don't try to talk me out of this, not now."

Which is when he realises that she really means all of this, she wants him to come and get her. From her expression he knows that waiting until Brains declares him fit to fly the family jet is going to be too long, for both of them. Now that she wants to come to the island, now that she so desperately wants to be there, he does not think that he wants to wait either.

"I'll talk to Virgil," he promises, of all of his brothers Virgil is the one that he would trust the most with taking him to go and get Hollie. Virgil is the one who knows when to tease and when to be serious, and he is the one that she knows best of all his family. "As soon as we've both got some sleep," he amends when he looks at the time. Much as he wants to leave straight away, much as he cannot wait to take her in his arms and know that he will not have to give her up this time, he also knows that Virgil needs rest as badly as he does. His brother will help them, but not until he has managed to get at least eight hours sleep, and Scott still has to give his father the good news.

That is going to be an interesting conversation.