2nd chances

Chapter 21:

Flying over to the island

(In Scott's point of view)

All the adults had already arrived at the door by the time I had stepped through it, their various forms of packing surrounding us. Catching Virgil's eye, I grinned to see him looking so relaxed at the idea of Jo and Robyn coming back with us, I had to admit I had been worried that it would be too much for him. After everything that had happened, I wasn't sure whether I would have been able to deal with it the way Virgil had, but I was proud of my little brother. A commotion on the stairs, however, quickly drew my attention from my brother and onto his daughter. Robyn was running down the stairs in only the way a child could, clearly having realised that everyone was waiting for her. I could see what was about to happen at the same time as Virgil, both of us moving forward even as Robyn's foot caught on the discarded toy, pitching her forward with a cry of alarm.

Instinct honed from the rescue business and from helping raise four younger brothers, I was across the floor like a shot, sliding underneath Robyn and quickly stopping her fall. Somehow in the process, I seemed to end up with an elbow in my eye, but as Jo hurried over, I set Robyn back on her feet.

"Robyn, honey, are you ok?" asked Jo frantically, running her eyes over her daughter as she spoke, clearly checking for any sign that Robyn had hurt herself. Nodding mutely, Robyn gave a small sniffle of surprise, before grinning.

"Uncle Scotty softened my blow." She said, causing me to smile down at her and tip her a wink, causing a small giggle to be emitted. Whist Jo was checking on Robyn, Virgil finally came sauntering over, casually offering me his hand. Accepting it gratefully, I couldn't help but glare at him as he pulled me to my feet as he made no effort to disguise his laughter.

"Did you enjoy your trip, Scotty?" asked Virgil

"The things I do for my family," I muttered under my breath, trying to stop the corners of my lips from turning up as I spoke.

"Are you sure you don't hurt anywhere else, Angel?" I should have known that Virgil's attention wouldn't stay on me for long. I had to admit, I was glad it was that way. He had a responsibility to Robyn now, and as he crouched in front of her, I knew that he was taking it seriously. Virgil quickly lifted Robyn into his arms and carried her through to the lounge. Just visible through the door, I can see him place her on the sofa, once more crouching in front of her as he had a look at the injured limb. Ever the rescuer was my little brother. Pausing before following them through, Jo shot me a grateful smile, causing me to dip my head in response. Before I could follow them through, however, Penny walked over to me, stopping me in my tracks.

"Are you alright, Scott, dear" She asked quietly, her hands going to my face as she tried to have a look. With a fond smile, I batted them away again, hearing a snort of amusement from my brother.

"I'm, fine Penny, I'll live," I replied as I looked over at Virgil. By this point, he had a really cheeky grin on his face, and groaning, I knew precisely what that meant.

"No, you are not going to tell anyone what happened here tonight." I said firmly. The way his grin simply widened gave me enough of a clue to know that I had interpreted his expression accurately once again.

"Oh it's not me you have to worry about, bro," Virgil responded with a smirk, finally standing back up properly. "But you are going to have a real shiner in the morning, with a five year old who I'm sure will want to tell a certain couple of brothers precisely what caused it."

Fixing him with a glare, I held his gaze for a moment before deliberately turning my back on him and addressing Penny once again. The laughter that followed my actions meant I knew Virgil was aware of precisely what I was doing, but I didn't care.

"Hey Penny, are you and Parker coming over to the island with us?"

"That is the plan. If, of course, that suits the pilot?" Penny asked, ever the diplomat.

"That's fine by me, Penny." Knowing that we needed to make a move in order to make the most of any of the daylight left, I stuck my head around the door to the lounge, grinning as Robyn looked up at me.

"Did I hurt you?" Robyn asked tentatively, chewing on her lip as she looked up at me. For a moment, I could just see a five year old Virgil again, wondering whether he had managed to get paint on the sofa, but then the moment passed and I was faced with Robyn's anxious expression again.

"I'm just fine, sweetie. How about you?" I asked, pointedly trying to ignore Virgil's ever widening smirk.

"I am fine. Daddy fixed me up good, I got a pink plaster now." said Robyn, sounding proud as she gestured to the leg in question. Smiling, I voiced my admiration before turning back to the rest of the group, voicing my opinion that we needed to move. Luckily for me, everyone else seemed to agree, and within no time at all – especially considering we were trying to move five people along with their luggage – everyone was aboard.

"You sure you're ok to fly us home there, Scotty, with that eye of yours?" Virgil asked, his eyes twinkling as he moved past me to store something. Halfway through entering the cockpit, I glanced at him over my shoulder.

"Yeah I'll be fine, kiddo, trust me." I replied, the unspoken threat of retribution reaching my brother anyway.

"Uncle Scotty?"

"Yes, Robyn?" Glancing down at her as I spoke, I could see a look of true confusion on her face.

"Why did you call daddy kiddo? He's all grown up."

"Why don't you ask your daddy?" I responded innocently. Finally, it was my turn to smirk at my younger sibling as Virgil took Robyn by the hand, leading her towards the back of the plane as a distraction for him to avoid the question. It was nice to know he wasn't holding all the cards yet, despite me knowing that I was in for a teasing at the very least regarding what I knew was going to be a black eye.

We were all aboard the jet by this point. Virgil and Jo are getting Robyn settled in the pull down camp bed that we keep in the jet, normally in case we need to rush anyone from the island over to a hospital in the mainland. But who knew, maybe a more positive use for it other than injury would work wonders for everyone. Thinking about the upcoming days as I finally strapped myself in, hands automatically dancing through the checks, I couldn't help but feel we weren't exactly going to be seeing a lot of Virgil over the next few days.

"Earth to Scott, come in Scott." Blinking, I suddenly found myself staring at Virgil's waving hand.

"Oh sorry Virgil, you were calling me?"

"Yeah bro we are all in and ready to go." replied Virgil.

"I take it Robyn is asleep then?" I asked Virgil, making the engines flare into life as I spoke.

"Yeah just about," Virgil said, ducking back out of the cockpit and heading towards the back of the plane once more, clearly intending to make himself secure for the flight over now that everyone else was settled.

"Ok we better head off then." I muttered, more to myself than anyone in particular.

Taxing the plane out of the hanger, I brought it speeding skilfully down the runway before gracefully lifting it into the air, barely thinking about what I was doing. With a smooth tug of the controls, I pointed her towards Tracy Island, and towards home.

first off a big big thank you to my lovely beta reader for helping me out again with this chapter. thanks so much honey. A/N: another thank you to my best friend Robyn who came up with this idea for this chapter over the weekend. which was why i was able to update a wee bit earlier this week. also everyone please please hit that review buttom. thanks again for everyone who has reviewed this so far.