another late update, but i've made it a longer one! thanks again for all reads and reviews

Virgil glanced over his shoulder at the relieved faces of the family, stifling a cough as he felt the smoke tickling the back of his throat. The mother pushed back sweaty strands of hair from the youngest of her children, smiling her thanks to Virgil. The heat and smoke had intensified in the last few minutes and Virgil knew they had to get out as soon as possible.

"Virgil to the Extinguisher, we're all ready to go here." There was an ominous silence and Virgil tried another tactic.

"Virgil calling Gordon, can you hear me?" He tried to keep his voice steady and calm, but he had an uneasy feeling that something had gone wrong. He wasn't entirely sure why.

"Gordon? Gordon…"

With no response, Virgil felt the familiar tightening of his gut, the same worry they all faced when experiencing loss of contact with any of the others. He gave the family a reassuring smile.

"Virgil to Scott, Scott can you hear me?" Virgil tried, but there was still no response. He made his way to the doorway, trying to peer through thick acrid smoke, but unable to see anything more than about a meter or so in front of him.

"Virgil to Thunderbird Five, John can you hear me?" Virgil spoke quickly, trying to quash the slight panic he felt as once again, his call went unheard. With no one answering his call and a brother lost out in the dense flames surrounding them, Virgil had no choice but to find Gordon. He knew that kitted up in his heat-resistant suit, he could withstand the heat for a while longer. Unfortunately, without the breathing apparatus, he would need to work twice as quickly.

He took a few hesitant steps away from the smouldering house, trying to get some idea of what direction he was heading in.

Despite being surrounded by flames, Virgil felt his whole body grow cold as in the shimmering heat, he could make out a blurry figure, making its way through the smoke. Virgil took off after the figure, yelling to attract their attention. They seemed intent on leading him as far into the forest as possible and Virgil stopped.

"Hey!" he called out. The figure stopped as Virgil took a few tentative steps towards them.

"What are you doing out here?" Virgil asked. "You need to get back to the house, there's a family there and we're going to get out of here…" The figure turned around and Virgil stopped, stumbling back.

"You've lost Gordon," the figure said. "You sent him into this Godforsaken part of the forest, leaving him without enough oxygen and now that your equipment has failed, he has no idea where he is and neither do you…"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Virgil demanded. "I didn't tell him to come here!"

"You did…although you might not have realised it. Virgil, haven't you realised what is going on?"

Belah Gaat seemed to disappear into the dense smoke and flames and suddenly, Virgil remembered where he was and who he was looking for.

"Gordon!" Virgil yelled, his eyes finding the scorched remains of The Extinguisher abandoned. His eyes stung from the smoke, involuntary watering. Tears streaking through the soot coating his face.

"Gordon!" Virgil shouted again, leaning over as he was overcome for a moment by the smoke. He'd given the family his own breathing equipment, which he now realised could become a fatal error.

"I'll take them one by one Virgil…but it will be your hand that causes the damage."

The voice was so clear he would have thought Belah was standing next to him. He looked around, the air shimmering with the heat from the surrounding flames.

"There is no way in hell I'd let you do that!" Virgil spat, stumbling past their machine to find a motionless Gordon, collapsed on the other side.

"No…" Virgil whispered softly, placing his ear to Gordon's mouth and laughing in delight as he felt the moist puffs of air against his cheek. He checked him over for any injuries and when satisfied that Gordon could be moved without causing further damage, he eased him into a sitting position.

Gordon's eyes flickered open as Virgil hauled him into a fireman's carry.

"Vir'…what'cha doin'…" Gordon croaky voice began to slur and Virgil pushed himself into a quicker pace, heading back towards the house he'd left the family sheltering in. As he moved further from the rescue zone, his earpiece crackled into life.

"Mobile control calling Virgil…Virgil, can you hear me?"

"Alan! Where have you been? I've been trying to contact you…"

"All I've been getting from you was static…Scott's with the family you were supposed to be with…he called me when he arrived and you weren't there. What's going on? Where's Gordon?"

"Look, prepare the sick bay in Thunderbird 2, I've got Gordon, but he's unconscious…I don't know how much smoke he's inhaled…" Virgil trailed off with his own cough. Immediately, Scott's voice could be heard.

"What about you? You don't sound good…"

"The family of four was actually a family of five. I gave them my oxygen mask…I didn't think I was going to be in the smoke looking for Gordon for so long…" Another painful cough found Virgil almost collapsing to his knees, bracing himself and his brother against a tree for a moment.

"Where's the Extinguisher?" Scott asked.

"Gone…" Virgil trailed off as he felt Gordon shift and cough weakly.

"I need to get Gordon to the sickbay…"

"FAB Virg, let me get this family out of here, you get Gordon to the sickbay." At another soft groan from Gordon, Virgil summoned the last reserves of strength to push himself towards Mobile Control.

XXXXXXXXX

As Scott carried Gordon towards the sick bay, Virgil let himself collapse to the ground, sitting watching the firemen dousing the flames close to them. He closed his eyes over wearily before falling back into the scorched grass, the crackling from the remaining flames filling his ears. He pushed his hand into his sweat dampened hair and opened his eyes as he heard Alan's voice.

"Virgil!" Alan called to him, kneeling down beside him and helping him sit up.

"I'm ok, Al," he reassured him. "I just needed to rest that's all. Carrying Gordon took it out of me…" He offered a half smile which seemed to placate Alan for a moment.

"What happened?" Alan asked him. "Gordon wasn't supposed to be that far into the forest…Scott had said he was to stay with you and then help you get the family out of the fire."

"Must have been some misunderstanding," Virgil said flatly, his eyes gazing past Alan, back towards the forest. Alan glanced over his shoulder, trying to see whatever it was that had distracted Virgil, but could only see clumps of smouldering wood.

"I want to get you checked out before you fly," Scott said as he approached them.

"Smoke inhalation," Virgil self-diagnosed. "I'll be fine." Scott gave him a warning glance before turning to Alan.

"Alan, you should pilot Thunderbird Two home…"

"No Scott," Virgil interrupted, his dark eyes widening. "I'll be fine. Al can co-pilot and he'll be there if I need him, but honestly, I'm okay…" Scott turned to Alan, giving him sharp orders to check on Gordon and to prepare Thunderbird 2 for take-off. Alan hesitated, his eyes darting between Scott and Virgil. He was reminded of the words Gordon had spoken to him in the passenger lift earlier that day.

"Now Alan!" Scott snapped and Alan quickly trotted back towards Thunderbird Two, casting a few glances over his shoulders.

"I'm okay to fly," Virgil protested again, but Scott waved aside his arguments.

"That's not what I want to talk about. You were ill-equipped in there," he said. "You told me you had more than enough oxygen masks…you had to give yours away and you left Gordon without one!"

"I counted them Scott, I swear…" Virgil protested, trailing off as he thought back to the orders he'd apparently given Gordon. He paled suddenly and Scott placed a hand on his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" he asked him. Virgil shook his head before easing himself to his feet, glancing around him wearily.

"I…" Virgil stopped. Scott watched his brother and was reminded of the moments after he'd found him in Thunderbird Two, terrified having claimed he'd seen Belah Gaat. Virgil had the same uneasy look in his eye, the same pale and shaken complexion. Virgil took hold of his wrist, his fingers tightening around it as he started intently into the forest behind them.

"What happened in there Virg?" Scott asked him gently.

"Nothing," Virgil replied shortly, turning his attention back to Scott and dropping his wrist quickly. "We better get back and get Gordon checked out." Reluctantly, Scott let Virgil push past him, making his way determinedly back towards Thunderbird Two. Scott watched him go, still chilled by the troubled, scared look in Virgil's eyes.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Scott accepted the invitation of a drink on the balcony of the lounge with his father after a quick dinner.

"Gordon's resting up now. Both he and Virgil are receiving treatment for smoke inhalation in the Infirmary." Jeff nodded as he and Scott raised the glasses in a mutual toast to another job well done. They nursed their whiskey's silently for a while before Jeff decided to approach the subject of Scott and Virgil's recovery.

"Virgil did well getting Gordon out of there…how did he know…?"

"I guess maybe Gordon had given him details of where he was headed," Scott mused. "I was too relieved to see them both out of there that I didn't really think about it."

"He's still not himself."

"I don't think me and Virgil could ever be the same after what happened Dad. It was…awful." Scott took a sip of his whiskey with a look that told his father he didn't want to discuss what had or hadn't happened in Malaysia.

"I heard him crying last night," Jeff said, watching Scott try and fail to hide a flinch.

"He...if I say he had a nightmare, it sounds pathetic, but that's what it was I guess."

"What did he dream about?"

"He wouldn't say."

XXXXXXXXXX

John smiled as the call from Tracy Island came in. He'd expected his father, bidding him good night, or perhaps a joke from Alan. Instead, he was greeted by Virgil, all mussed hair and unshaven.

"Hey, I thought you were in the infirmary," John said.

"Hey to you too," Virgil replied dryly, his voice still scratching in his throat.

"You know what I mean. You don't look all that great. Or sound that great either."

"I'm fine. I need you to send me the recordings from our earpieces during the rescue." John blinked in surprise before he frowned.

"Uh, can I ask why?"

"Just do it, John."

Virgil cut the link to Thunderbird 5, interrupting John's protests. He opened the sound file, scrolling through their communications during the journey to the rescue zone, the discussion about how to tackle the flames and rescue the trapped families, until he reached his own discussion with Gordon.

"You need to go and tackle the flames in the forest."

He heard his own voice giving Gordon the order, which had nearly killed him. He paused the track, scrolling it back and played it again.

"You need to go and tackle the flames in the forest."

A second listen only confirmed the chilling truth. Virgil had spoken the order.

He slammed the lid of his laptop down and folded his arms on top of it, resting his head on them. He had no recollection of speaking those words to Gordon, but there was the evidence, their conversation recorded by their earpieces.

Without even knowing it, Virgil had sent Gordon into the situation that had almost cost him his life.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Virgil returned to the infirmary, sitting by Gordon's beside, staring at the scorched ends of his hair. The stench of singed hair clung to him. He'd scrubbed himself raw in the shower, using a concoction of all sorts of fragrant soaps, but he could still smell the warm smoky scent through the mulberry and almond shower gel. He glanced at Gordon's heart rate, monitored by a tiny clip on his finger, out of habit. It was normal. Gordon was fine. He shifted uncertainly in the chair as he saw Gordon's eyelids flicker before they opened slowly, sluggishly looking around the infirmary before settling on his brother.

Virgil watched him wearily as Gordon blinked before a slow smile crept across his face.

"Hey," he said, his voice breaking like glass in his dry throat.

"Hey," Virgil returned. "How are you feeling?" Gordon half smiled, as though contemplating the question for a moment.

"I'm okay I think. What about you? Al said you got me out of there…" Gordon's voice faded into nothing and Virgil was glad of the opportunity to leave his brother's bed side and get him a glass of water.

"Do you know what happened?" Virgil asked him as he helped him sit up and handed him the glass. Gordon frowned before shaking his head.

"I just remember being really hot and I'd left the Extinguisher although I don't really know why…"

"Do you know why you went to that part of the forest?" Gordon looked at Virgil and shook his head.

"I can't really remember much after dropping you off at the house," he admitted. "Maybe the heat got to me or something…" At Gordon's subdued response, Virgil looked away. Gordon was blaming himself for what had happened. He thought he had been responsible for getting himself into danger and that he hadn't been concentrating and hadn't seen the potential danger. Even though the five brothers had been well trained and would have immediately spotted the signs that they were a liability and called for help.

He looked almost miserable and Virgil's heart went out to him. He wanted to reassure him he wasn't to blame, that he suspected he was.

But he couldn't. To admit that to Gordon would terrify him. Virgil wasn't entirely sure what was going on himself, never mind trying to explain Belah's words to Gordon.

"Don't worry about it, Gordon," Virgil said softly, placing a steady hand on his shoulder. "It happens to us all." He swallowed thickly as Gordon managed a weak smile and nodded.

"You should sleep," Virgil continued. "I'll see you in the morning." Gordon nodded again, settling back against his pillows and letting his eyes drift shut. Virgil pushed himself to his feet, trying to squash the tremendous guilt that was turning his stomach and left the infirmary, dimming the lights and silently letting the door swish shut behind him.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Scott enjoyed the peaceful tranquillity of the island before everyone else woke. It was still dark, although the deep violet of night time was beginning to lighten, the beginnings of sunrise appearing over the ocean. Scott would often enjoy some time to think, to reflect and prepare himself for what rescues might lie ahead. He needed to keep a focused mind.

However, his quiet reflection was disturbed as Scott spotted a figure sitting beside the swimming pool. The soft orange glow and wisp of silver smoke gave away the identity of the person, although Scott had known as soon as he'd seen the figure that it was Virgil. Scott returned to the kitchen, quickly collecting two mugs and filling them with strong, black coffee before making his way down towards the poolside.

The palm trees rustled in the warm breeze as Virgil glanced around on hearing the approaching footsteps. Scott smiled as he held out the mug.

"I thought you might need this," Scott said. Virgil's eyes passed over the cup with a wry smile before he reached out and took it, taking a sip. Scott noted the dark red vessels bright against the dull whites of Virgil's eyes. He looked exhausted, his posture that of a defeated man. Scott was aware they were both trying to put the events of their abduction behind them, but it seemed Virgil had slipped backwards, back into sullen silences.

"Thanks," Virgil muttered after a moment and Scott smiled.

"You're up early," Scott commented, watching the ripples flicker across the swimming pool surface.

"Couldn't sleep," Virgil replied. "Gordon was snoring in the infirmary all last night…" Scott chucked as Virgil took another sip of coffee followed by another draw on his cigarette.

"Thought you'd finally given up for good."

"So did I," Virgil sighed. "But it's a distraction for now. I'll work on quitting later." Scott understood completely and smiled sadly.

"Tough rescue, huh?" Scott said after a period of comfortable silence.

"Yeah." Virgil looked away, trying not to replay the events of the rescue in his mind. Gordon's snoring had been annoying, but it was the real fear that something, or someone else, had control over him for those long minutes in the fire. He tried not to shudder as Scott placed a hand on his shoulder, reminded of Belah's words to him.

"Have you slept this week Virg?" Scott asked him.

"How can I..." Virgil sighed wearily, rubbing his eye.

"What do you dream about?" Scott asked him. Virgil shook his head.

"I don't want to talk about it…" Scott sipped his coffee, letting the conversation drift into another period of silence. Virgil stubbed out his cigarette against the pale patio tiles, kicking it to the side and cupping both hands around the mug, absorbing the last of the warmth from it. Scott glanced at him out of the corner of his eye as he spoke.

"You know, when I came back from Somalia, some of those who were with me suffered from post-traumatic stress. They had nightmares, they had anxiety attacks…"

"Months later?" Virgil asked him with a note of scepticism. Scott shrugged.

"There are things that you can do…" he tried to reason, tried to offer some help to his brother.

"Things I can take?" Virgil interrupted. "Look, you're acting like I'm going crazy…" Scott fixed him with a steady gaze.

"It would be no wonder after what happened…" Virgil looked away, sighing heavily.

"Don't Scott…" Virgil snapped. "It's not…it's nothing that I can't deal with. I'll be fine. You don't need to worry about me." He got to his feet, knocking over his discarded coffee mug accidentally. He stopped, leaning over to pick it up. Scott reached over and took his wrist in his hand gently.

"That's my job Virg," Scott sighed. "Don't shut me out. I know what happened. I was there…" Virgil looked away from Scott's pleading look, snatching his wrist from his grasp with a grunt.

"I'll be fine," Virgil repeated firmly.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Scott decided to run out the worry and stress in the gym, close enough that he could check up on Gordon and keep an eye out for Virgil. He let his feet pound to the rhythm of the music Alan was blasting out from the weight room next door. Scott closed his eyes, letting his breathing match his pace, in through the nose, out through the mouth…his mind beginning to relax and the tension beginning to leave his shoulders. He rolled his neck round slowly, feeling the uncomfortable click of the muscles loosening up.

His meditation was interrupted by a loud chime from the speaker next to him. Scott's eyes opened suddenly and he momentarily lost his pace, stumbling for a moment.

"Hey John," Scott said as his brother appeared on the screen in the gym. He looked immaculate as ever in his freshly pressed blue uniform and gave Scott a warm smile.

"Hello yourself. I thought I'd find you here," John said.

"I'm that predictable?" Scott asked with a soft laugh.

"These days you are," John returned. "How are things after the rescue? I spoke to Gordon, he seems to be okay."

"Yeah, he's recovered well. Thanks to Virgil for getting him out of there so quickly," Scott said. "It could have been far worse though…"

"But it wasn't, so let's not dwell on it, huh?" John interrupted quickly, realising the dark turn Scott's mind was taking.

"Yeah. What's done is done. There are some actions we will need to take to make sure something like that doesn't happen again, but we're all still here."

"So is that why Virgil wanted the audio from the rescue the other day?" John asked, almost off hand.

"Why would Virg what now?" John paused, before answering slowly, carefully choosing his words.

"He called me and asked me to send it to his laptop. I did, but he wouldn't tell me why he needed it so urgently. It was about three am island time." Scott stopped the running machine, letting his pace slow up as the treadmill eased to a halt. He picked up his towel, wiping his face and shaking his head.

"You don't know either?" John asked him.

"I didn't even know he'd asked for the audio. He's kinda been keeping a low profile. I thought it was to do with…look, it doesn't matter. I'll speak to him."

"What's wrong with him?" John pressed.

"It's no big deal, John," Scott assured him.

"Look, I know I'm not part of the 'Scott and Virgil' circle of trust or whatever, but you're my brothers and I'm worried."

"We're fine," Scott tried to assure him, watching as John's face flickered uncertainly.

"It's to do with Malaysia, I get it," he said after a moment. "It's to do with The Hood." Scott's eyes flashed warningly, a silent threat to John to drop the subject.

"I could just call Virgil…"

"Don't you dare, John. He's not in a good place and I don't want you or anyone else talking about it. I'm dealing with it, ok?"

"You're dealing with it? If something is going on, you know it could affect us on a rescue Scott…"

"Don't you think I know that?" Scott demanded. "Let me talk to him. For all we know, he might have wanted to check on communications he had between Thunderbird 2 and base…we can't jump to the worst possible conclusion." John relented with a small sigh.

"It's just that things have been a bit strained with Virg recently, you know? He's just not himself right now…we're worried about him, Scott." Scott held John's gaze for a moment.

"I know. But it'll be all right," Scott assured him. "We always work things out."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

A sliver of moonlight trickled between the blinds, slicing through the darkness of the room. Virgil sat up, fumbling for the light switch, but paused when he saw the figure in the light.

He could only see part of an eye, the corner of a mouth, but it was enough to identify the man.

It was Belah Gaat.

Virgil froze. Belah stared at him, not moving, not blinking, barely breathing. A contrast to Virgil who's breathing was becoming more laboured as his fear intensified.

The silent stand-off continued, Virgil hardly daring to move and very much aware of the danger this man posed not only to himself, but to the rest of his family.

Virgil turned on the light, closing his eyes against the sudden brightness. He opened them quickly, aware of putting himself into an unnecessary danger. As the spots before his eyes faded, he saw his bedroom was empty.

He kicked himself free of the covers, stumbling out of his bed and pulling open his cupboard doors, throwing wide the door to his en-suite.

No sign of Belah Gaat.

Virgil stood in the middle of his room, feeling warm beads of sweat trickling down the back of his neck. He clenched and unclenched his fists methodically as he tried to control his rapid heartbeat, pounding in his ears.

He wasn't aware he'd been crying until a sob burst from between pinched lips.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Scott was a man that coped with few hours of sleep and he liked to be up long before the sun peeked over the horizon, but the soft, yet frantic, knock on his door at three am yanked him from a peaceful sleep. He padded softly to the door, opening it.

"Virg…"

"Scott, can I…" Virgil trailed off, his usually sun-blushed face looking pale and washed out, his bare chest was covered with a sheen of sweat.

"God Virg, what's the matter?" Scott asked him, taking his wrist softly and easing him into his bedroom. Virgil's eyes nervously scanned the room before he sat at the edge of Scott's bed, looking as though he was about to be sick.

"Virg, you're scaring me…" Scott said with a nervous laugh, catching the tell-tale redness around Virgil's eyes. He swallowed thickly as he sat down next to his brother. He could feel the slight trembling of Virgil's body and reached out to place a steadying hand on his shoulder.

"Remember when I said I saw him in Two…after that rescue…" Virgil began, his voice shaking slightly, but he did nothing to hide it. Scott felt his heart jump, panic rising inside of him as he watched his usually calm, steady and collected brother being anything but calm, steady and collected.

"Uh, yeah…" Scott agreed.

"I saw him again. In my room…just there…"

"What the hell…he's on the island? We've got to get the others out of here Virgil…" Virgil's iron grip on his arm prevented him from moving into action however.

"No. He's not…"

"Not what?"

"He's not on the island Scott." Virgil turned to look at him and Scott wanted to be sick as he looked at Virgil's haunted gaze.

"He's in my head Scott…"