2nd chances
Chapter 28: still more people to meet.
A/N: A REALLY BIG THANK YOU AGAIN TO MY WONDERFUL BETA READER LOOPSTAGIRL FOR HER WONDERFUL SUPPORT THOUGH OUT THIS STORY. WOULD NOT HAVE GOT THIS FAR WITHOUT YOU HONEY X XX
ONLY TWO MORE CHAPTERS TO GO NOW GUYS. THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL THE REVIEWS SO FAR. REALLY MEANS A LOT TO KNOW THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE TAKING AN INTEREST IN THIS STORY. SO SORRY ABOUT THE LATE UPDATE GUYS XXXX
ENJOY XX
(In Virgil's point of view)
Now that most of my family have met Jo and Robyn, there are only a few more people left to meet. I know for sure that John is going to love Robyn. It is going to make things like eager babysitters a lot easier. It was strange how I wasn't even thinking about any alternative; I didn't see my life without Jo and Robyn now.
"You ok, Virgil?" Jo asked me, even though she still looked a little nervous, but she doesn't seem as bad now as what she was when she met dad. She's taking it much better than I think I would have been if our positions were reverses. Taking her hand in mine, I smiled.
"I am fine, honey. In fact, why don't we head back to Dad's office so we can give Alan a quick call? I don't think he'll remember you, but Alan has grown up a lot over the last few years or so." I said, taking the lead back towards the office and hoping Dad wasn't too busy.
"Mummy! Daddy!"
"Yes, Angel?" I answered, glancing down at Robyn skipping in between us.
"Why is Uncle Gordon really funny?"
"Because he is the joker of the family, Angel. You can't take everything he says seriously, you understand? But he likes playing jokes on people. Maybe when you get to know him a little better, he'll let you help him. I winced at that slightly. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to put thoughts in her head, but reaching Dad's office pushed any other thoughts out of my head. Pushing the door open, I led the way in.
"Hi, son. You three ok?" Dad asked, glancing up from what he was doing as we walked in.
"Yeah we are fine, Dad. Just wondering would it be ok to give Alan a call to make the introductions?"
"Sure Virgil, go ahead." My father stood up and moved out of his office, ruffling Robyn's hair on the way out as he gave us some privacy.
"Base calling TB5."
"Go ahead base," Alan was immediately on the line, sounding professional. His act slipped slightly when he saw it was just me rather than any type of emergency however.
"Hey, kiddo. You alright up there?" I asked him, grinning as I sat down. I didn't wait for an answer though – knowing Alan he would start talking and not stop again. "I would like you to meet two special people here."
"Really?" Alan looked around confused until Jo stepped into view, standing next to me as I picked up Robyn and put her on my lap.
"Hi Alan it's so nice to meet you, I'm Jo." I was glad that she was more confident about meeting some of my family now that the majority were out of the way. Sure enough, Alan grinned.
"Hi!" Alan waved cheerfully. Rolling my eyes, I drew his attention to the child on my lap.
"And this little lady in my arms is Robyn, bro." I smirked as I watched Alan's gaze fall on Robyn and his eyes widened dramatically.
"Wow Virg, didn't expect that." He said softly, and I knew he was thinking exactly the same as everyone else.
"That Robyn is the double of me?" He nodded, but Robyn cut in before he could say anything else.
"Daddy, who's that?" Robyn asked.
"That, Robyn, is your uncle Alan and I am sure will love you when you meet him in person." I explained quietly, hugging her close.
"You bet I will!" replied Alan as he looked down and smiled at Robyn from the screen, eyes twinkling. Between him and Gordon, there was no way Robyn was going to get bored.
"Anyway Alan I better let you go and get on with doing some work, don't want you crashing the computers before Johnny gets back there."
"Ha ha really funny Virg," Alan scoffed, but I still noticed that he suddenly looked slightly worried. "Nice to meet you Jo."
"You too, Alan. It will be good to properly meet you in person." Jo responded with a smile of her own.
"Thunderbird Five out."
"Everything okay?" Dad asked casually, taking up position at his desk again whilst Scott stood off to one side, lounging in the corner. I nodded. There was no need to go into details.
"Virg?"
"Yes Jo?"
"I am going to go into the kitchen and give your grandmother a hand with starting lunch. Robyn, do you want to come too, sweetie, or stay with Daddy?" Jo's words made me smile. Apart from during the night, this was the first time we would have been apart since we came to the island, and I was glad she was feeling relaxed enough to do so.
"I think I will stay with daddy." Robyn said quietly, almost sounding a little nervous as she glanced up at me. I smiled at her and hugged her close, my heart soaring. She had chosen to stay with me rather than go with her mother! I couldn't begin to process how that felt.
"Be good sweetie."
"I will mummy." Robyn promised, turning wide eyes onto Jo once again.
"Good girl." Jo smiled around at the room and disappeared out of the door, heading towards the kitchen.
I realised that gave me the chance to have a really good talk with my dad and eldest brother together.
"You ok, Virg?"
"I am fine, Scott. Just still trying to process all of this, you know?"
"By the looks of it, son, you are going to make a great father now that you know about Robyn. Jo and Robyn will not want for anything now." Dad replied softly, smiling as I caught his eye. I tentatively smiled back, working myself up to my next big announcement.
"I really need to tell you two something." I admitted quietly, seeing Dad tense slightly out of the corner of my eye as I studied the floor. As if I hadn't dumped enough on him. But Scott seemed far more relaxed.
"Sure, what's on your mind?" asked Scott
"While Jo is staying here I think I am going to ask her to marry me. I know it's only been a few days but I feel that I want to spend the rest of my life with her now."
"Son, before you think about doing that, I think you need to have a talk with Jo about what to expect with IR and make sure that she knows about the risks that are involved." Dad's voice was quiet and almost apologetic, but I knew he had a point. I wasn't just asking her into the family here, I was asking her to take on the world's biggest kept secret. She still had time to back away from all of this if she wanted. I would still be there for them, no matter what, but no one should have that thrust upon them without realising what they were taking on board.
"Yes, Dad. I did actually plan to have a chat with her about it."
"You sure you are ready for this Virgil? I mean you said it yourself, it has only been a few days. What if something goes wrong between you two now , we don't want to see you get hurt." Scott said as he put a hand on my shoulder.
"I know you don't Scott but I feel really strongly about this and I don't want Jo to be left on her own again."Sliding off the seat, I led Robyn over to the piano once again as I spoke, finding that I needed a distraction. They were both right, it was just hard to keep thinking straight after everything the last week had thrown at me. Thrown at the whole family really, I wasn't the only one involved with this, and I knew my brother just wanted to keep me safe, as always.
"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said that Robyn could play." Scott said as he listened to me helping Robyn to play again.
"You know Scott seeing Virgil and Robyn like this reminds me of your mother teaching Virgil when he was Robyn's age." I didn't need to look over to know that Scott would be looking at Dad in surprise, no doubt he too having a faint recollection of those days as well, even though he would have been very young himself. A knock on the door steered the conversation away from any awkwardness.
"Come in." Dad called, and Brains poked his head around the door.
"Hi Mr T-Tracy."
"Brains." He acknowledged with a smile, gesturing for the man to come in.
"Just t-to l-let you know that I have completed the checks on the T-Thunderbirds and everything is working a ok."
"Thanks Brains."
"Hi Brains," I called from over at the piano, deciding it was about time that I made my presence known.
"Hi Virgil. Who is t-this sitting with y-you?" Asked Brains, looking bewildered.
"This is Robyn. Robyn say hi to Brains." As she had done with the others, Robyn pulled herself closer to me again as she stared up at Brains. Hopefully in a few days, she would overcome her shyness. There were a lot of people to meet, no wonder she had felt a little overwhelmed. At least it was only Tin-Tin and Kyrano left now.
"Daddy?"
"Yes, Angel?"
"Can I go and see mummy?" Robyn's voice was almost a whisper, a clear sign she was a little nervous about being in the room with all of us without Jo. I smiled at her.
"Course you can," I said gently even as Scott came over.
"Why don't I take you to see mummy, I need to get a drink anyway?"
"Yes please, Uncle Scott," Robyn said with a smile. She slid off my lap and took Scott's hand, letting him lead her through to the kitchen. She was settling.
(In Jo's point of View)
I am so glad now that I have met all of Virgil's family and I am looking forward to getting to know them again. I made my way into the kitchen to see Mrs Tracy and see if I could help.
"Hi, Mrs Tracy," I said, feeling really nervous as I was now facing Mrs Tracy on my own without Virgil being nearby.
"Hello, Jo dear. Please call me Grandma. Where is your Robyn now?" Mrs Tracy asked me with a welcoming smile. As quickly as they had arrived, my nerves vanished again. There was something comforting about the old woman, something that made me feel more at home.
"She stayed with Virgil, she wanted to play the piano with him." I found myself automatically beginning to help, dishing the food out onto the plates as Mrs Tracy handed me more.
"When did Virgil start teaching Robyn?" Mrs Tracy said with a big smile, sounding so genuinely interested that I couldn't help but smile back.
"A couple of days ago and she picked it up really quickly too." We didn't stay alone for long, for as soon as the food began to be sorted, Tin-Tin walked into the room.
"Anything else you want me to do Mrs Tracy?" said Tin-Tin
"I want you to meet someone." Grandma said to Tin-Tin as I was standing beside her. "Tin-Tin, this is Jo."
"Hi," I said with a small smile. Virgil had told me about Tin-Tin, and just by looking at her I could see that she seemed to be a lovely girl
"Hi, Jo. It's lovely to meet you at last." Tin-Tin replied with the same welcoming voice that Mrs Tracy had, making me relax even further.
"Thanks." Before anything else could be said, Scott walked into the room, a grinning five-year old clutching onto one hand. I inwardly groaned. She had that look as if she was up to something, and that was only being on the island for a day.
"Guess who was missing her mommy?" Scott said with a smile, letting go of Robyn's hand and nudging her in my direction.
"Are you alright, sweetie?" I asked Robyn gently, kneeling down to her level to make sure she looked me in the eye when answering. She had a talent of being able to get away with things, and I had no desire for that to start now.
"I just wanted to see you." She mumbled, wrapping her arms around my neck. I hugged her back, but found my attention was distracted by Grandma.
"Scott dear, is there any reason why you are in here?" asked Mrs Tracy with a grin. I knew by the look on her face that I wasn't the only one thinking they were up to something, for Scott was wearing a look scarily similar to Robyn's.
"Just want to get a drink that's all," he said innocently, but I could tell that she didn't believe it one bit.
"Mummy?" Robyn's voice was a whisper, but I could hear the way she was trying not to laugh, especially as Scott shot her a teasing look.
"Yes, sweetie?" I decided to play it along, even though I knew I would probably regret it.
"Uncle Scotty told me that he wanted a cookie as well as a drink too." Scott made a noise of mock outrage, but his grandmother just laughed.
"Well he will just have to wait until after lunch time before he can get one won't he?" Mrs Tracy said firmly, glancing at Scott as if to make sure he got the message. Robyn giggled, wrapping her arms more securely around my neck as she poked her tongue out at Scott before suddenly hiding away again.
"Looks like you are already under her spell there, Scott." Mrs Tracy said with a laugh.
"Oh there is no doubt about it," Scott began, but Tin-Tin caught sight of Robyn, interrupting the conversation as she crouched down.
"Oh my goodness is this Robyn?"
"Robyn why don't you say hi to Tin-Tin there?"
"Hi" Robyn whispered in a low shy voice, turning her head for long enough to look at Tin-Tin before hiding again.
"You know, Tin-Tin, you are the very first person that Robyn has spoke to out of everyone here so far," I explained feeling relived that Robyn spoke to someone today. I think it might have been because it was another girl, someone not as old as Grandma.
"We're going to have good fun together, aren't we?" Tin-Tin smiled at Robyn, who was once again beginning to come out of hiding. She smiled shyly back, and began to let go of my neck slightly, clearly starting to relax. I found myself returning Tin-Tin's smile myself. There was something about the girl, I could just feel like we were going to get on well.
