Do you guys like this new version? I guess I could have published it separately, but I just really wasn't happy with the last one.

"John?"

John jumped, glancing round over his shoulder as he registered that he was being spoken to. Virgil appeared beside him, sitting down on the steps as he looked out to the shimmering sea before them.

"If you used metallic paints and used a dabbing brush stroke you could really get that shimmering affect of the light on the water," Virgil whispered, glancing at John, who looked down at his feet.

"Did Scott send you?" He asked defensively.

"I don't obey his every command you know. I do have thoughts of my own, no matter what you may think." Virgil told him, leaning forwards to inspect a beetle that was climbing steadily over his trainer.

"Right. Sorry." John frowned, still considering the possibility that his younger brother had spoken to Scott. It seemed a bit of a coincidence that he should turn up straight after the disagreement he'd had with the pilot. Sighing, he lay back under the palm tree. Tom had disappeared, apparently heading off to look for some other officer of his. To be perfectly honest, John had been relieved, just like he was secretly glad of Virgil's company. Not that his brother was saying that much other than considering painting techniques.

"You would tell me if something was wrong, wouldn't you?" Virgil asked him suddenly. John stared up at the green fronds above him, wondering why Virgil had chosen that moment to ask him that. Clearly he had been talking to their older brother.

"Yes," He answered the middle Tracy, but found himself unable to look at Virgil as if his younger brother would be able to instantly tell that John was lying.

"Liar."

"What?" John scrambled to his feet, shocked at the exclamation. Virgil stared stonily in the opposite direction, towards a small fishing boat was bobbing up and down on the horizon, the white sail contrasting with the ocean surrounding it.

"You heard me." Oh damn, Virgil genuinely did sound hurt.

"Virg, I..." John trailed off. Of course Virgil was right, but he hadn't told him because he didn't want to have someone able to stop him from going, and as long as Virgil was in Bermuda, and therefore able to stop him, John wasn't going to confide in him.

"What? Finally going to tell me you don't trust me?" Virgil laughed, and John didn't think he'd ever heard his brother sound so cold. Whilst he may not have had the military training that Scott and Gordon had, he certainly had a way of sounding harsh when he wanted to.

"Of course I trust you!" John retorted, sitting up and trying to move round so he could face his younger brother.

"You know, sometimes I really sympathise with Alan. Sometimes I think I know how he feels. And right now is one of those moments."

"Virg..."

"What's wrong? What's going on John? All Scott will tell me is that you're making a big mistake, so clearly he doesn't trust me either. At least Gordon and Alan talked to me when something was bothering them."

"Virg, I..."

"Don't call me that!"

John closed his eyes and counted to ten before looking at Virgil again. He couldn't remember when he'd last seen his brother so angry...or upset. "Why not?" He asked him quietly.

Virgil stared at him. "Because the last person who called me that who genuinely meant it disappeared and somehow I can't help thinking that I'm losing you and Scott as well sometimes."

"W-what?" He hadn't been prepared for that. John stood up, and tried to take a step closer to Virgil, who looked away again.

"You heard me John. And you're not denying it either."

"But...it's not true! I trust you and you're not losing me...or Scott."

"I know when you guys are lying, and right now it's pretty obvious you're lying."

"Virg, what do you want me to say?"

"What do I want you to say?" Virgil swung round to face him, clearly furious. "You know what I want?" Clenching his hands into fists, he took a step towards John, who started to feel a little nervous. "I would like you to tell me the truth."

"Tell you the truth?" John repeated slowly, and frowned. Oh yeah, Virg, and how does that go? Oh hi bro, just to let you know I'm going on what is probably a suicide mission, have a good day! As if!

"Yes." Virgil waited for a second and then collapsed down on the steps, unable to look at him. "Exactly...you're not saying anything. That just proves everything I just told you is so true."

"No it's not!" John repeated yet again, feeling a lot like he was going round in circles. A bit like that irritating hamster Alan had as a kid which used to spend its entire time on the squeaky wheel, especially when John had been trying to write history essays.

"Oh really? When was the last time we just chatted, and I don't mean about IR work."

"Um..." He couldn't remember, John realised with growing horror. How had he even let this happen?

"I just want to actually feel like someone wants me around, rather than just being used as a member of the IR team because you need someone to fly Thunderbird 2."

"We do want you around!" Yeah, he was really failing at this conversation. This was suspiciously like a talk he'd had with Alan a couple of years before. Why did they always end up accidentally leaving someone out. The first year it had been Alan. Then last year it was Gordon. And this year…was Virgil? Bit of a worrying pattern. Was he going to be next? Somehow he couldn't imagine Scott being ignored, as he was Field Commander.

"Prove it to me. Because right now I'm really wondering what the hell I'm doing with my life? Gordon's missing, you're not talking to me, all Scott does is ask favours of me...Jeez, do you realise Alan's the only one who genuinely seems to want to talk to me since Gordon went missing?"

"Virg..." He had two choices now, John realised. He could apologise and let his brother feel worse when he went missing in the search and rescue sub, or he could pretend to be furious back, therefore not letting his younger brother be as hurt when he was gone. After a second, he decided on the second choice. After all, he doubted Virgil would allow him to go if he told him the truth. Scott had freaked out big time – Virgil would be even worse.

"What? Yet another lie to pretend again?"

"You know what? Fine! I just want you to go away! Clear off! I don't need you around! Go and speak to Alan, he clearly seems to tolerate you!"

"What?" Virgil stared at him.

"Yeah, you heard me! Oh poor old me, no one wants me around! You're not the one who's stuck on Thunderbird 5 all the time! Oh yes, everyone ignores me! Well you know what? Who cares?"

"You really mean that?" Virgil looked like he'd been hit and John was inwardly killing himself. He was only doing this for his younger brother's own good! Or maybe that was just his twisted logic? Oh shit!

"Yes! I mean it. Go away; I don't want you to talk to me. I don't want your company, I don't need it."

"I..." Virgil stumbled backwards, stumbling over a rock in the process. "John...what did I do? To make you feel like this?"

"Absolutely nothing."

"So...you just find me annoying?"

No! No, I really, really, really don't mean any of this! John, what are you saying, you idiot!

"Yes. And it's high time you knew that. Go away."

"Okay." Virgil turned, heading back towards Thunderbird 2. "And for the record John, I've never ever disliked you. Even when you have annoyed me or, insulted Thunderbird 2, or joked about my stuff. You're my brother...So...I..." He trailed off, and broke into a jog.

John sank to the floor, his back resting against the tree. "What have I done?" He whispered aloud. "What the hell have I done?"

Sat on a large rock that was still damp on the beach, Scott found himself staring at the waves that seemed to tower over him only to fall back at the last minute. The tide was going out, but the waves were still impressive.

His watch vibrated and he glanced down at it, surprised to see John's name appeared on the screen. Frowning, he accepted the call, settling back against the rock. He had to admit that he was surprised to hear from his younger brother, especially considering how they'd last spoken. If anything, he'd been expecting Alan to call. He'd been hiding on the beach for over an hour, and his brother would have noticed, if not Natasha. God that woman was perceptive. Probably why she got on so well with John.

"Hi John-"

John cut him off, and Scott paused, trying to figure out what exactly had got John so worked up. "Scott, I have just made possibly the worst mistake of my entire life."

"Right, so you may be the one with the most natural dramatic talent, but I'm sure you're over-reacting." He sat on the sand with his back against the rock, ready for the familiar art of advice giving that for some reason he was getting all too used to.

"I'm really not. I'm being serious. Scott...when did you last...you know...just chat with Virgil? As friends, not as IR colleagues?"

"Um...couple of weeks ago? Maybe a couple of days before that? Why?" Scott ran a hand through his hair in annoyance as sea spray was flung through the air at him.

"Well I can't remember when I last did, and we've both messed up this time."

"John, slow down. Now breathe." Scott instructed him, waiting until the space-loving Tracy had caught his breath. "Right, now tell me what's happened."

"Virgil thinks that we hate him. Well, more specifically that I hate him. But he thinks you dislike him as well."

"What happened?" Scott groaned as John looked guiltily at him.

"Well...he came to talk to me and then suddenly announced that he didn't think I trusted him. So I didn't know what to say to that, and while I was thinking of a reply, to quote him, he said 'I can't help thinking I'm losing you and Scott sometimes as well.'"

"What did I do?" Scott exclaimed, regretting it instantly as he caught sight of the exasperated look on John's face. "Right, just kidding. But how could he think that?"

"Beats me. But did you ever see him actually let out any emotions when Gords disappeared?"

"So you think he's been bottling it up? Same train of thoughts as me."

"Yeah. I just kind of stared at him and then I thought that if I...don't come back then he wouldn't miss me as much?"

Scott whistled. "Some pretty twisted logic there Johnny."

"Oh shut up. I know that now. But the point is he thinks it's all true and that I hate him. If he speaks to you...pretend you don't know about any of this."

"So you do want me to lie to him?"

"Not lie as such," John explained. "More sort of twisting the truth." He offered Scott a smile as his older brother cast his eyes skyward.

"Which is the same as lying. The things I do for younger brothers," he muttered. "Alright Johnny. Leave it with me."

John looked relieved as he went to end the call. "Thanks Scooter. Oh...and Scott?"

"Yeah?"

"Just in case...I'll miss you."

"You'll come back John." Scott told him firmly. "As your Field Commander, I'm ordering you to come back."

"FAB." John agreed, smiling.

Scott sighed, looking down at his now blank watch when it flashed again. "Go ahead Virgil."

"Coming into land. Be ready." Virgil told him sharply and then cut the connection. Scott frowned. Whatever had really gone on between him and John, it must have been bad for Virgil to have been affected in the way he had. Scott couldn't remember when he'd ever heard Virgil sound that hurt before.

Sitting by the rock, he wasn't focusing on his surroundings until a hand tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey." Virgil greeted him, not looking at him, instead finding the sand at his feet very interesting. Scott double checked that there genuinely wasn't anything like a crab there before speaking. The last time he'd thought there was something wrong when his brother had been staring at the ground there had been a chameleon there, and he'd looked like an idiot for asking if 'everything was alright?'

"Hey Virg." The way his brother tensed confirmed his suspicions.

"Whatever." The whisper was barely audible, especially over the crashing of the waves and Scott found it hard to hear him. Grabbing up the backpack that lay at his feet, he threw it at his younger brother, who caught it and glanced at him.

"What's this?"

"You haven't eaten since you got to Bermuda and you won't have eaten any of the old supplies on '2. Now eat." He was aware he sounded harsh but he knew from experience that when Virgil was upset he responded better to direct orders.

Virgil opened the pack, selected a chocolate bar, sniffed it and frowned before taking a bite. Scott double checked his brother was actually eating before getting to his feet.

"What's happened?" He asked Virgil quietly.

"Do you mind having me around?" Virgil didn't look up, instead choosing to continue staring at his chocolate.

"No," Scott answered him honestly. "You're my brother as well as my friend. Why wouldn't I want you around?"

"John...never mind." Virgil bent down, scooping up a handful of sand and let the grains filter through his fingers.

"John did what? You can speak to me." Scott sank down to the same level as his brother, hoping that Virgil would chose to tell him all that had happened rather than making out that everything was fine. It seemed that today was just going to be one of those days...

"Do you find me irritating sometimes? Or...you know..."

"If I knew then I wouldn't be waiting for you to finish that sentence." He pointed out gently.

"Do you ever wonder why we do this?"

"International Rescue?"

"Yep." Virgil sat back against the rock, tossing the handful of sand back on the beach. "I can't help but wonder why we risk everything for strangers sometimes."

"That's not what this is about."

"True."

"So what is it about?" It was taking all of his self-control not to yell at Virgil that he would never hate him.

"Nothing. I'm probably being childish."

"Oh, really? I hadn't noticed the difference!" Scott teased him, frowning when he didn't even get a small smile in reply. Okay, so that failed.

"Yeah, great. But in all seriousness, do you and John dislike me?"

"What made you think that?"

"John basically shouted in my face that he hated me and wished I would disappear. But not in so many words."

"He was joking...right?"

"No."

"Oh come on Virg, you know John would never mean that."

"You didn't hear his voice. He meant it all right."

"You really believe that?" Scott asked him, hoping for a no.

"Yes." The reply was so quiet he almost didn't hear it. Yep, John had definitely messed up. Damn Johnny's acting abilities. They got on his nerves sometimes. Probably because he was the one left to pick up the pieces after the arguments.

"Then you're an idiot. Look, I'm going to tell you what John's planning to do, because I think that will help you understand why he's lied to you like this. Just don't tell him I told you or he'll probably throw me out Thunderbird 5 into the depths of space without an oxygen tank on."

"Okay. What's he going to do?"

"Eat that." Scott had noticed the energy bar heading towards a rock pool, where it could be easily disguised behind a large clump of slimy green seaweed. Virgil glanced at it, and then took a bite of it.

"Ugh, I'm telling you, that stuff tastes like sawdust. It's worse than the old supplies of water on Thunderbird 2!"

"Maybe. Right, now John's planning on going on this search and rescue submarine to look for Gordon, but the thing is that they're not to make any radio contact or turn on any trackers. The point is so that they'll be invisible to any other subs, as they believe Gordon's somehow got into trouble with this old enemy guy. But the main problem is that if they don't find Gords, they won't be able to come home again...they'd be leading this man straight towards the residents, which would put them in danger. This guy's creepy."

"So...John's not coming home ever again and he pretended to hate me so that I would feel sort of secretly glad when he doesn't return?"

"If he doesn't return." Scott corrected. "And yes."

"Wow. That's...deep."

They both grinned and Virgil groaned. "And I thought John meant all that!" He muttered.

"Yeah...no offence, but that was kind of crazy. All these years and then you suddenly think he'd start disliking you?"

"You can't tell me that there weren't times you thought of murdering us all?"

"What?"

"When we were kids." Virgil shot him a sly grin. "I heard that phone call to whoever was your friend at that time."

"Whoever was my friend?"

"Oh come off it, you always were the most popular kid in your class."

"No I wasn't!"

"Well that's not the point. I'm telling you, you could have been arrested with the plans you were making! I think you even considered burning me at the stake."

"I was eleven and you'd just messed up my history project!" Scott protested. "And I had to deal with the racket Gords and Alan were making downstairs. We were kids."

"I know," Virgil grinned. "I guess I just wanted to remember the times when we used to tell each other the truth."

"You know John was just trying to protect you, right?" Scott glanced across at Virgil, who was now lying on his front in the sand. Virgil frowned, watching the waves in front of them.

"I guess."

"Did you ever really believe him? Honestly?"

"John always was the one with the best dramatic talents," Virgil admitted, which Scott translated as a yes. Dragging Virgil upright, he headed towards Thunderbird 2.

"What's the hurry?" Virgil asked him, struggling to zip up the backpack as his older brother half carried him towards the giant green aircraft that was waiting in front of them.

"When does that search and rescue submarine set off?" Scott asked him, knowing the answer himself, but not wanting to explain why he was hurrying fully. Virgil paused in the entrance to Thunderbird 2, thinking before realising with a gasp.

"Tomorrow!"

Scott cast his eyes skyward. "Finally it sinks in."

Virgil gave him a light punch to the shoulder. "Watch it."

"Watch what?" Scott pretended to act confused. "The mud that's covering the entire floor of the sick-bay?" He asked as they passed the sick-bay on their way to the cockpit.

Virgil swung round on the spot, yanking the door fully open. "Johnny!" He whined. "I knew I should have double checked to make sure he hadn't ruined anything!"

Crouched on the floor trying to fiddle with an oxygen tank you've nicked from the now dead crew's survival gear on board a submarine is not the best of things to complete during your life span on earth, Gordon decided. He tried to shove the door back in place as best he could at a feeble attempt to stay at least three steps ahead of the guy. He still was none the wiser as to the intentions of him, other than the fact he probably wanted him dead. Quite way he had no clew, but then again, he'd sure as hell pissed off a lot of people during his life, many of whom were rich enough to organise an assassin or someone.

"Great." His fingers had gone numb and he shoved his hands into his pockets. He dumped the pack, apart from his own things which he kept, instead leaving the rest on the floor and refilling the pack. Creating a false trail, he quickly swung the pack back onto his shoulders and setting off at a jog through the corridor. He still wasn't sure what had happened to drain him of so much energy in such a short period of time, but he'd put it down to lack of food.

"Hello!" The guy was yelling out, but his voice was ice cold, the same tone that Gordon had heard only once before, in Scott's voice when his brother had spoken to the Hood. Maybe this guy was working for the Hood? Nah, it seemed too much of a coincidence. Besides, the Hood preferred to plain torture them - this was far too kind for a Hood plan.

"Clear off," Gordon muttered, holding his breath as he silently hoped the guy would find the false trail. The shadows he was surrounded by could have the darkness hiding in anywhere. He was pretty much running blind unless he got the man to speak again, or follow the false trail.

"Good plan. But I'm not fooled."

Wait...what? Oh damn, that failed! Wincing as he heard his own footsteps echoing loudly off the harsh metal walls surrounding him, reminding him ironically of a prison - ironic as the sub had originally been intended to be used for something that could save people's lives. He guessed.

"Why don't you wait around for a bit? We could have a chat. I have a lot to discuss with you."

"Dream on." Gordon muttered, skidding to a halt as he came to a dead end. The footsteps approaching behind him made matters even more urgent. Okay, don't panic!

"Well hello again." The smirk stretched across the man face, sinister in the yellow torchlight as the spotlights illuminating the sub began to go out whilst the liquid ate through the wiring.

On second thoughts - panic!

Yup...so, reviews?

Kat x