Caught up in Virgil and Erin. Although I have plans for the meeting the parents scene (which I have to admit will be based on real life events. I have a big family and we've had a lot of fun over the years) I just need to decide which stories to use. For now you have the in between bit where Virgil gets a bit insecure. Bless the poor bugger.

Virgil calls Erin to finalise their plans for Christmas about a week the school closes for the holidays. He can tell that there is something bothering her as soon as she answers. The men of the Tracy family may not be the best at reading people's emotions when directed at them, but they can see when something is upsetting another person and Erin's whole demeanour screams that something or another has gone wrong somewhere.

"Mom pitched a fit when I told her I wasn't coming home for Christmas," she says when he asks her what is wrong. "She wants me to spend a few days with them when school finishes and then leave with you on Christmas Eve." Virgil cannot help the rush of disappointment at having his time with her cut even shorter but he does not say anything, knowing how hard he would find it to be torn between his family and that of his lover.

"I can get you there, it isn't a problem to keep your parents happy," he assures her.

"It's not just that," she sighs. "They want to meet you." Which is big, really big, far more than Virgil had thought it was going to be. Given the conversation that he overheard at Thanksgiving. "It won't just be Mom and Dad either. Eric and the others will be there."

Virgil has to force himself to smile at that, has to clamp down on the nerves that flash through him and the instinct that tells him to run, run, run. His heart and his head tell him that he could be happy with Erin for the rest of his life but the old habit of fleeing when things seem to be getting more serious is hard to ignore and he knows that she sees it from the way that she looks away from the screen and closes her eyes.

"I shouldn't have said anything, I'm sorry," she whispers after a moment and she rubs a hand across her forehead.

"If it's what you want," he forces himself to say and he can see a long conversation with Scott in his future at the rate things are going. "Whatever they come up with can't be any worse than the way you met my family." He adds and he can tell from the way that she grimaces that he would probably be both surprised and terrified when he finally does encounter them.

Later on that day Virgil tracks Scott down in Thunderbird One's hanger. His older brother is covered in grease and talking quietly to Brains and Tin Tin about something he has found during his examination of his craft. Even now that Thunderbird Five has been fully repaired and Alan is back on board after John had taken a two week stint up there to finish his rotation the family are still wary that the rest of their equipment could also have been affected by general wear and tear and Virgil knows that it will take them a while to reassure themselves that everything is functioning normally.

"Got a minute?" He asks his brother when Scott approaches and leaves Tin Tin and Brains with their heads together over Scott's notes. The young Malasian woman's cheeks are also streaked with grease, as is the pale pink bandanna that she has used to keep her hair out of her face, and Virgil is once again struck by how completely she has thrown herself into their choice of lifestyle. She did not have to join them, he reasons, did not have to have a part of this life of solitude and isolation. Watching her with Brains he finds himself pleased that she has found a friend in the young scientist, Brains is at least completely impartial to anything that may happen between her and Alan.

"Sure, what's up?" Scott grabs a cloth from a tool box as he walks past it, wiping his hands on it almost ineffectually as they leave the hanger.

"Erin wants me to meet her family," he blurts when he is certain that no one else is listening. He expected a number of different reactions, Scott laughing was not one of them. "It's not funny," he grumbles.

"Even you have to admit that it is a little bit amusing."

"I don't do meeting the parents, Scott," Virgil reminds him. "The last time that happened I was eighteen and we both know how that worked out." Scott laughs softly and shakes his head at his brother before sobering as he grabs a bottle of water from the small fridge they keep in each of the work rooms.

"You're thirty, Virgil," Scott points out and in an instant all mirth and humour has drained out of him. "What the hell is it that you're so frightened of?"

"I didn't say I was frightened," Virgil hisses. "I'm just not good with parents, heck I'm not good with relationships at all."

"I'm not saying parents are easy, Virg," Scott says after a moment, "Father's a prime example of that, but if you feel anything for Erin at all you're going to have to suck this up." Both men are silent for a few minutes, both thinking about their own meet the family experiences and it is clear that there has been few encounters that they would both rather forget, but from the way that Scott smiles Virgil knows that he is thinking about Amelia and Michael. He knows that Scott is thinking about the love that his friend managed to bring into his life and he realises that he wants that. He realises that he wants to be able to think back on times with Erin and times when he has panicked and fretted with a fondness and long suffering amusement at his own stupidity.

"You don't think it's too soon?" He asks.

"You brought her to meet us on a first date," his brother replies, "and I met Hollie's parents before we were even dating. I'm hardly the right person to ask. Anyway, her parents can't really be more scary than Father, or Gordon when he's in one of his moods for that matter. Just get it over and done with." Scott glances down at his watch and swears viciously, biting off curses and turning to march from the room. "I'd love to continue the girly bonding thing we've got going here, but Hollie has an appointment and I've got to get showered before we can go."

"Good to know that impending fatherhood hasn't changed your personality," Virgil mutters as he follows his brother.

"I'll change a dirt diaper with the best of them," Scott shrugs, "doesn't mean I have to turn into a girl to do it." He stops. "Look, John's better at the whole relationship thing than I am anyway, and Tin Tin and Hollie probably have a better grasp on it than anyone on the island except Grandma. Just go with what feels right," he pauses. "And try not to screw this up, Hollie'll kill me if you do."

Virgil watches his brother walk away feeling no more certain now than he did an hour before. He does conclude, however, that meeting Erin's family might not be such a bad thing.

Artemis