Chapter 38

Hi guys

so sorry for the delay with this update, have been so busy with work, studies, assignments and getting sorted for Christmas. But I was determined that I would have this one done in time for Christmas, and I'm so glad I managed to do it. It's also a bit of a longer chapter too, so a bit of an early Christmas present for all my loyal followers, to thank you for your patience and support with this story.

Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all. Jo xx

"Gordon...what happened?" Scott croaked, wincing as he tried to lift his head up.

"Stay still Scott," Gordon scolded as the redhead placed his left hand on Scott's shoulders, gently holding him in place. "You took a nasty knock to the head," he informed his older brother as he carefully peeled back the dressing that was placed on the wound just above Scott's right eye.

"There was an explosion?" Scott asked as the memory of what had happened before he passed out came back to him.

"It appears so," a familiar voice replied. It belonged to Robert Peters, one of the rescue workers who made up the rest of the team that Scott and Gordon had been on.

"How's he doing?" Peters asked Gordon, although he kept his gaze fixed on Scott as he spoke.

"I'm fine," Scott answered. His response making it clear that he didn't like being talked about like he wasn't even there.

"Some minor cuts and bruises..." Gordon informed the rescue worker "...and a nasty concussion. I'll be a lot happier once we can get him out of here and checked out properly."

"I said I'm fine."

"Sure Scott. You'd say that even if your arm was hanging off."

Peters gave a small chuckle at Gordon's response, when one of his team mates called over to him.

"Excuse me," he told Gordon as he walked off in the direction of his colleagues.

"Gordon, I told you I was fine..." Scott's words stopped abruptly as he properly took in the state of his younger brother. Apart from being covered in dust and dried blood from his own cuts and bruises, Scott noticed that Gordon's right arm was secured against his chest in a sling.

"How bad it is Gordon," he snapped harshly. The harshness of his tone wasn't only because of his worry about Gordon's injuries, but because he hadn't noticed his brother's injuries sooner. That alone told Scott that he wasn't as fine as he was claiming. What made things worse was that Gordon had already realised it.

"I've already been checked out before you start on the smothering," Gordon told him. "Besides you're concussion is a bigger concern than a possible fractured arm."

"Fracture...but..."

"No buts' Scott. You were unconscious for almost 15 minutes. You had me really worried."

Scott let out a deep breath. As much as he hated to admit it, Gordon was right. No matter how many times he told his younger brother he was fine, it wasn't making the excruciating pounding in his head any better. Plus hearing the usually playful and laid-back Gordon sounding so serious and scared brought home the harsh reality of their situation; yet he also knew that he could rely on Gordon to do what he could not...get them out of there.

"So what's the plan?" Scott asked.

"Peters and his men are checking the vicinity. After he helped fix me up, I asked him to take charge in finding us a way out of here while I concentrated on patching you up."

"Have they found out anything so far?"

"Apart from the corridor being totally blocked several yards towards the east side of the building and a fire burning towards the west side, nothing looking like an escape route so far, but they are still looking," Gordon informed him. "Plus there is one other thing I should let you know."

"What's that?"

"I haven't been able to get in touch with anyone via my communicator. As far as I can tell it hasn't been damaged, but if I try and call through to Virgil or Alan, all I'm getting in response is static."

"Do you think they got caught up in the explosion?" Scott asked, trying once again to get up.

"I'm not sure...Scott stop moving." Gordon once again used is good arm to stop Scott form trying to sit up. "Besides, I'm not able to get through to Thunderbird 5 either, so either our communicators have been damaged, or something is interfering with the signal."

Reluctantly Scott lay back down. He was glad to no longer be in an upright position as the dizziness and nausea that had suddenly overwhelmed him as he tried to sit up had meant he had nearly brought up his breakfast all over his brother's lap. But the fear that had ran through him at hearing that they had no contact with either Virgil or Alan had been even more consuming.

His brothers' needed him and there was nothing he could do to help them. It wasn't a feeling he liked experiencing. He was their big brother, he was supposed to protect them and keep them safe and he was in no position to do that. Firstly because they were trapped; and secondly due to his head injury which was preventing him from doing anything useful. He wasn't even able to help Gordon with his injured arm. If there was one thing that Scott Tracy hated...it was feeling helpless.

"They'll be okay," Gordon said trying his best to reassure him as he sensed his older brother's frustration and worry. "From what we can tell, the explosion only affected our area of the complex, so they should be out of harm's way."

"Should be, but you have no way to know for sure," Scott retorted, the frustration Gordon knew was there making itself known.

Reluctantly Gordon shook his head. He didn't know what else to say. Usually he would try to break the tension with a joke or sarcastic comment, but the truth was he was just as worried about their brother's as Scott was. It was then that he had realised that he hadn't believed his words any more than Scott had.

"They just have to be, we can't lose them Scott...we just can't."

Jeff sat at his desk, staring blankly into the space in front of him. Since John had told him that there had been no contact from his brothers, the Tracy patriarch had been consumed by an intense fear and dread. He knew the risks that his boys faced every time they went out on a call...they all did. But having lost contact with all of them at the same time was something that he had never had to experience before; and it was something he didn't want to experience again.

Plus since Avery's arrival in their world, and Virgil's reaction to her story of losing her Virgil, it had opened Jeff's eyes to the true reality of what his son's did on an almost daily basis. Putting their lives at risk to help others; and although he knew that none of them would regret doing it, he himself had been having a few moments of doubt whenever a call came in. Could he continue doing this?

At that moment his thoughts were interrupted from the familiar beeping of an incoming communication. As Jeff's awareness came back to the present moment, he heard a gasp from Avery and Tin Tin who were sat on the opposite side of the room. He looked up at the wall, expecting to see the eyes flashing on John's portrait, but he was shocked to see that it wasn't John calling in at all, it was Virgil.

"Virgil! Thank goodness...are you and Alan okay?" he asked, relief washing over him as Virgil's face appeared on the monitor. Other than appearing somewhat dishevelled, his son looked to be okay.

"I'm fine dad...we both are. There was an issue with our communications after the explosion, but I asked John to patch me through so we could let you know what was going on."

"Still no word from Scott or Gordon?" Jeff asked anxiously.

"Not yet. We are just heading out in their direction to go and look for them. Unfortunately it will undoubtedly mean that we won't be able to communicate with you until we are away from the area again...unless John can come up with something."

Jeff gave a nod. He didn't like the idea of losing contact with Virgil and Alan again, but he knew that it was unavoidable if they were going to have any chance of finding Scott and Gordon.

"FAB Son. Be careful, both of you."

"We will dad."

"And Virgil..."

"Yes Sir?"

"Bring your brothers home."

Virgil gave a nod before the image disconnected and Jeff was left staring at the portrait of a clean and smiling Virgil once again.

"They'll be okay," Avery told him, conviction in her voice. "If there's one thing I've learned about your son's since I've been here, is that they'll do anything they can to keep each other safe."

Jeff nodded. He knew that Avery was right. Knowing that Virgil and Alan were okay had partially lifted the shroud of worry and despair that had covered him since news of the explosion had come in. He also knew that having Virgil and Alan out there looking for Scott and Gordon had increased their chances of being found. Yet Jeff also knew that his son's would do what they could to protect each other, regardless of the risk it brought to themselves.

That was the part that was worried about.

"It's definitely getting warmer," Alan commented as they turned a corner in the corridor, "You have got to be kidding me," he added angrily.

They had been cautiously been making their way through the facility in the direction that the other team had taken for almost twenty minutes. Although the distance they had covered hadn't been as far as the team would have liked. Several times their progress had been slowed down by fallen debris...and it was only getting worse.

Also as had been expected, their ability to send out any communications had been hindered, and they were still unable to get any response in their attempts to contact Scott or Gordon. Virgil had been hoping that the closer they got to their brothers, the greater the chance they would have had to be able to get through.

"Damn it!" Virgil cried out as he too turned the corner that his younger brother had just rounded, and saw what it was that had angered him. Despite only having the light from their torches cutting thought the darkness and the smoke, Virgil could see that the far end of the corridor was completely blocked off.

"We'll have to clear a way through," Alan said as he walked over to his older brother. Virgil nodded.

"I'm guessing we're getting closer to the explosion site, especially from the increase in heat."

"Are we sure that moving that is the best thing to do?" Goodson asked as he joined them. "Like you said, the heat has increased, which means there's got to be fires burning on the other side of that rubble. If we..."

"I'm not giving up on them now that we've come this far" Virgil responded harshly through gritted teeth. Usually Virgil had no problem handling the pressures of a difficult rescue, but with his brothers trapped on the other side of that rubble, he wasn't about to turn back now.

"I understand that they are your team mates trapped behind there, but..." Goodson began to argue.

"No, you don't understand," Virgil snapped, cutting the other man off, "They aren't just our team mates, they are our family. We are not going to give up on them."

"Okay," the other man replied his hands up defensively as he took a step back, "but we need to do this slowly, and the minute this seems unsafe, we stop...okay?"

Virgil took in a deep breath and reluctantly gave a nod. He didn't want to have to give up on finding his brothers; he had promised their father he would bring them both home. Virgil knew that both he and Alan would do whatever they could to get Scott and Gordon to safety. Yet he also knew that his father wouldn't want the two of them risking their own lives, even though he understood that any of them would do it in a heartbeat. Virgil also knew that he wasn't willing to put his father through the pain of losing the four of them; he just couldn't do that do him. He also knew that if anyone would understand that, it would be Scott.

Slowly they got to work clearing a way through the wall of fallen debris in front of them. Virgil hated that their progress was so slow, but just concentrated on getting the rubble cleared. He knew that dwelling on anything else would just be a waste of his energy and his brothers needed him to stay focused. So he pushed the thought of them from his mind, and instead found himself thinking about Avery. Again he tried to clear his mind, but thoughts of her just wouldn't go away. He was angry at himself for what had happened between them before he had been called out on this mission. He also knew that it had distracted him on the way over and that his brothers had noticed that something was wrong, especially Scott. Virgil knew that once he and his brothers were safely home after this mission, that Scott would start questioning him about it. He also knew that he had no idea what it was he was going to tell him. With these thoughts playing over and over in his mind, Virgil felt anger building up inside of him that he used to fuel his efforts to clear their path. His thoughts had also distracted him so much that he hadn't noticed their progress until he heard a voice call out.

"That should do it," one of Goodson's men commented as he passed over another piece of rubble that was blocking their path, but they had finally made a gap big enough for them to get through.

They had been lucky, that although they had felt more heat coming through the bigger the gap had become, they could also see that there looked to be a way through the fires that were burning on the other side. They would have to be careful but at least it appeared to be doable.

"I'll go through first," Virgil offered stepping forward. Goodson looked ready to argue, but the determined look in Virgil's eye was enough to stop him. Plus in a small way he was kind of relieved that someone had offered to take the lead.

Cautiously Virgil disappeared through the gap and into the smoke filled darkness on the other side. After what felt like an eternity, he finally called back through.

"Right whose next?"

"I'll go," Alan said before he followed his brother through the gap they had cleared. After several more minutes all members of the team were through and ready to continue.

"I think we may have found a way out of here," Peters said as he approached Scott and Gordon.

"Great," Scott replied and once again he tried to sit up; but one look from Gordon stopped him before his red haired brother physically restrained him once again.

"The only problem is that my guys say that we won't be able to fit through the gap in the wall wearing our protective gear."

"So we'll just take it off and squeeze through. Easy," Gordon commented cheerfully as he got to his feet and started to unzip his fire protection suit. "I might need a hand," he added sheepishly as he indicated to his bad arm.

Peters stepped forward and helped Gordon to remove his suit before helping Scott out of his. Then carefully they both helped to get Scott to his feet and the three of them slowly made their way over to the hole that was their only way out.

"Surely we must be there by now," Alan said, his voice almost a whine as he spoke out loud what Virgil himself had been thinking.

"Hopefully it will just be around this next corner," Virgil replied, doing his best to encourage his youngest sibling regardless of how deflated he was feeling himself. Again their progress had been slowed by debris and poor visibility due to the smoke, which was to be expected but it was really starting to get on both brothers nerves. They were getting more and more impatient – they just wanted to reach Scott and Gordon and find out if they were okay.

"I hope you're right," Alan muttered under his breath as he approached the corner that Virgil was referring to. To Virgil it seemed like Alan had hesitated before he turned, almost as if he was afraid of what he might find around it. As Virgil followed and rounded the corner, he bumped into Alan who had come to a complete stop.

"Al, what the..." he exclaimed before he saw what it was that has stopped his brother in his tracks.

Before them in the light of their torches, Virgil could make out piles of clothing. But after taking a better look he could tell that what he was looking at was the protective clothing worn by a fire and rescue team. He stepped around Alan and walked towards the distinctive IR fire gear that his brothers had been wearing. It too had been discarded along with the rest. Crouching down he picked one up and saw what he was sure was dried blood. Inwardly he cursed as it indicated that one of his brothers may have been injured.

Movement to his left drew Virgil's attention away from the garment for a moment as he turned his head to look at Alan who had finally found the ability to move, and had joined him.

"Is that blood?" he asked quietly, when he saw what it was that had drawn in his oldest brothers attention. Virgil gave a small nod, which if Alan hadn't been looking at him, he would have missed beneath Virgil's protective headgear.

"Do you think...?" Alan asked again, his voice shaking slightly as he tried to ask his question.

"It doesn't look much, hopefully it's nothing serious. Besides it might be from someone else and got on their clothing while they tried to help them."

"So what happened to them?" Goodson asked as he and his men had too been looking through the gear that they had last seen on the backs of their colleagues. "What would have compelled them to remove their protective gear in these conditions?"

As he had looked up at Goodson, Alan's attention was diverted to what looked like a stream of light just behind the older man. Drawn to it, Alan got to his feet and walked towards it, ignoring the conversation that was going on behind him.

"Hey guys...over here," he called out.

"What is it Alan?" Virgil asked as he walked over to his brother. As he got closer he too saw what had got his brother's attention; a hole in the wall. Looking at it, Virgil realised that the hole wasn't that big and that was when he realised what had happened.

"The gap was too small for them to fit through in their gear, that's why it's still here, but they aren't," Virgil commented. Alan gave a small grunt in agreement.

"All team members gear is accounted for," Goodson told the Tracy's as he approached them.

"So it looks like everyone made it out safely," Alan said.

"And we have a way out of here...the same way they went," Virgil added indicating the hole before them.

"Agreed," Goodson responded, before calling the rest of his men over to them and filling them in on what they were going to do next. Within minutes they were all following what the other team had done before them and were removing their gear.

Suddenly there was the sound of crashing followed by a loud rumble in the distance.

"We need to speed this up," Virgil barked out over the noise.

They didn't need telling twice, as they began helping each other remove enough of their gear so they were able to fit through the gap.

"As soon as you're ready, start moving out," Goodson told his guys. He hung back until the last of his men had climbed through before he went to follow. "See you on the other side," he told Virgil and Alan before he too climbed through.

In that same instant there was a deafening roar and the ground shook beneath Virgil and Alan's feet; both of them holding on to each other to be able to stay upright.

"That sounded like another explosion," Virgil shouted. "We need to get out of here now."

Virgil pushed Alan towards the wall, indicating for his younger brother to go first. Alan almost looked like he was about to argue. "Alan you go. I'll be right behind you."

Alan gave a nod and went through. Once out the other side Alan looked back in through the gap he had just climbed out of to see Virgil about to make his way through. However at the moment that he had turned there was another explosion. This one was bigger than the previous one, knocking Alan off his feet.

When the ground has stopped shaking, Alan scrambled to his feet and rushed over to the hole – to where he had last seen Virgil. Looking in, he found that he could not see passed all the dust that was now clouding the air and obscuring his view.

But most importantly he realised that he could no longer see Virgil.

A/N sorry for another cliff hanger ending (or am I lol xx) but it is starting to feel like this story has taken on a life of its own and I'm just being taken along for the ride