AN: Please take medical matters in this chapter with a pinch of salt.

Isla Tracy clung to her husband, gasping in horror at the sight of her beloved brother-in-law on the floor in a slowly growing pool of blood.

His own blood.

Across the lobby, the gunman was groaning on the carpet, clutching his arm in agony whilst two security guards stood over him with their guns pointed at him. Kayo was speaking rapidly with the hotel manager, who nodded emphatically before grabbing the telephone and calling the police. Kayo herself turned away from him and raised her wrist to her face.

"Kayo calling the GDF. Colonel Casey, do you read me?"

"Loud and clear, Kayo."

The voice did not come from Kayo's wrist-com. She whipped around and saw Casey herself standing in the hotel doorway, flagged by several GDF men, heavily armed. Behind them in the hotel grounds, Kayo caught a glimpse of an immense GDF transport vehicle, its front hatch open, several armed men standing by on alert. Casey walked in, and sweeping her eyes around the lobby, took everything in, in that single practiced glance.

The gunman under control, clutching an obviously agonizing gunshot wound to his upper arm.

Scott Tracy unconscious on the floor bleeding from a gunshot wound to the head.

Virgil and Isla momentarily stunned at the chaos around them; then she saw Virgil drop to his haunches and gently examine his brother, Isla kneeling beside him.

First things first. Kayo.

Kayo was upset. An upset Kayo meant an angry Kayo. An upset Kayo meant an angry Kayo with only a limited ability to control her anger. And that anger was directed at Casey herself.

"So, Gerald Dunn is not under suspicion huh? Everything sorted is it? Everyone is safe?"

Grace Casey gazed coolly at her.

"He had not been proven guilty of anything. Circumstantial evidence is not acceptable in a court of law. We have been keeping a close but discreet watch on him."

"But…" Kayo blinked and shook her head. What was the point? Law was law, whether she agreed with it or not. What they knew to be true and what they could prove were often two totally different things.

"Fine, whatever. Thanks to your law-abiding citizen Gerald Dunn over there, Colonel, Scott has been shot!"

Kayo rushed to Scott's side, where Virgil and a team of paramedics were already loading Scott on to a stretcher.

"How is he Virgil? He's…he's not…? Will he be alright?"

Virgil looked up, and she could see devastation in his eyes.

"No way to know." he replied blandly. "A shot to the head should be instantly fatal. Maybe it was a glancing blow, which will likely mean at the very least a fractured skull."

He looked down at his big brother, as the stretcher was placed on a wheeled gurney.

"He saved me, Kayo. That should have been me!"

Virgil looked across the room to where a GDF paramedic was examining the wound to Gerald Dunn's arm, prior to his arrest. He pulled away from his wife and strode to the downed man. Gerald Dunn looked up as Virgil's shadow fell across his face. A GDF soldier took hold of Virgil's elbow, but he shook him off with such a look of restrained fury that the man backed away. Virgil crouched down so that he was eye to eye with Dunn.

"The Hood is a criminal mastermind determined to rule the world, or at least, own it all. Lucius Tock is obsessed with his own genius. But you? You could have chosen to be anything you wanted. You could have become a doctor, a librarian or a gardener. You had an ordinary upbringing by loving parents who did their best for you. And yet you chose this? Murder and assault? Attempted murder?"

Virgil felt the fury rising and closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, he had the satisfaction of seeing a hint of fear in the man's eyes. From across the room he heard Isla calling him.

"Virgil, Scott is in the ambulance!"

"Coming!" He shouted without breaking eye contact. He leaned close.

"This is for Captain James and my big brother from me!"

He punched the man on the nose.

As Gerald Dunn slid sideways, knocked unconscious, Virgil got up and hurried to the ambulance without looking back.

Colonel Casey watched the scene with troubled eyes. She knew she could not in all honesty have handled things too differently where Gerald Dunn was concerned, but she had never seen Virgil and Kayo as angry as that before. She would follow them to the hospital as soon as she could. First, though, she would have to see to her prisoner.

She would throw the book at him for this day's work, that was for sure!

John Tracy stood on the balcony outside his room, leaning on the rail and staring out to sea, his mind replaying his conversations and interactions with Ellie all the time he had known her; searching for the clue that he had missed. He could find, or at least remembered nothing. As far as he was concerned, she had given him every sign that she felt the same way about him as he did about her. All the choices had been hers.

He thought about the comment in her letter that she had at times wished he had gone to visit her.

Would she have changed her mind and come away with him if he had visited her? No. John knew enough about Ellie to know that she would never turn her back on a promise, even if she later learned it had been made in error. It was one thing they both had in common. He had been over this ground in his own mind countless times since she left him. The only thing he might have done differently was to have stayed for the entire ceremony. Watch her giving her life to a convent. The most tragic thing that brought a lump to John's throat, was her lament that she had not spoken to him about her yearning to help people. She had snatched at the first opportunity that had come her way; and according to her letter, she had been able to help many people throughout her life. John was glad about that. Would she, though, have managed to find…perhaps…even more satisfaction if she had had the patience to wait a couple of years? As his wife, she could have become a member of International Rescue.

He took a deep, slightly shaky breath and closed his eyes, lifting his head back a little to feel the light breeze on his face. Ellie had made her choices, and he had made his. He had already learned from watching his younger brother how destructive grief could potentially be. He had always loved her, and he always would, but she had been unavailable for a long time. She had been right. She had been the one to leave him. He could never have returned to visit her unless she had contacted him and specifically asked him to do so.

His wrist-com buzzed, and he activated it. Kayo's hologram popped up. He had never seen her look so angry, or so beautiful. As soon as she spoke, it was also evident that she was holding on to her emotions with difficulty. A sickening dread filled the pit of John's stomach.

No, it couldn't be! Not Isla this time? Or Virgil even?

Already he was running, through the house and down to the main lounge, where he knew everyone would congregate. At the same moment, he yelled out; "Eos, sound the alarm! Kayo, what's happened?"

"Gerald Dunn Happened John. He turned up at the hotel with a shotgun. Colonel Casey has him in custody now. We're o-on the way to the hospital."

Skidding to a halt in the lounge, where Gordon, Alan and his father were arriving at the same time, he barked; "Who, Kayo?"

"John it…it's Scott. Dunn was going to kill Virgil and Isla. Scott leapt in front of them and saved them. Look, we're arriving now. Have to go. Please…come quickly!"

Her image blinked out, and John continued to stare at the open space where it had been, his mouth hanging open in shock.

Scott. His big brother Scott. Kayo hadn't even said whether Scott's injury was superficial or life-threatening. Although judging by the expression in her eyes, John could hazard a guess. He Looked up at his father.

Jeff glanced around the room. Lee Taylor, Brains and grandma were now arriving in the lounge, Taylor and Brains covered in oil and Brains in industrial cabling.

"What's happened, Jeff?" Lee Taylor asked in a quiet voice, guessing correctly that something of import had occurred. Jeff turned to look at him.

"Lee, can you and Brains hold the fort here for a day or two? We're going to Africa. Scott's been seriously hurt."

Virgil and Isla sat wrapped in each other's arms in the family room of the Royal Hope hospital, while Kayo, arms folded across her front, paced back and forth. They had already been waiting for three hours, and still no news. Finally, Isla smiled at her husband, then pulled away and stood up. She met her adoptive sister-in-law halfway across the room and stood in front of her, reaching up to gently take hold on Kayo's elbows.

"Hey come on now. You're going to wear yourself out. Come and sit with us. Come on."

Virgil got to his feet and joined his wife in coaxing Kayo to come and sit between them. Reluctantly, Kayo did so, and leant forward, with her head in her hands. Virgil and Isla rubbed her back.

"What's the first thing you intend to say to Scott when he wakes up?" Isla asked her with a slightly mischievous twinkle in her eye.

"You mean after the hug?" Virgil reminded her. Isla nodded and Kayo smiled wanly.

"I'm going to give him the date of our wedding."

Isla giggled loudly at that, whilst Virgil's eyebrows shot up.

"You're not going to ask him then? You're going to tell him?"

Kayo nodded.

"Oh, I'm not going to risk losing him again. I want to make sure that next time he does something dumb, I have the authority to kick his butt from now to kingdom come."

Virgil cocked his head.

"You mean like saving our lives kind of dumb?"

Kayo shook her head impatiently.

"I mean Virgil, like jumping in front of the gun! If he had time to jump in front, he could have pushed or pulled you out of the way instead! I know what he'll say. `no time to think about it, I just did it!'"

Virgil sighed and nodded.

"You know Scott, Kayo. Scott will always go for the most certain choice, regardless of the outcome for himself. Stay here girls, I'm going to go and see if someone can tell us something."

Virgil ignored Kayo's eyeroll and left the room. Left alone together in the room, Kayo sat back in her chair and eyed her companion.

"Not quite the happy ending to your honeymoon that you were dreaming about. How are you holding up?"

Isla shrugged slightly and smiled.

"If you had told me eighteen months ago that I would soon be married to a wonderful man, expecting twins and living on a tropical island, I would have said you were dreaming. Now I feel like I really am dreaming. Is this how life goes for International Rescue all the time? Swinging between amazing highs down to horrendous pits of despair with never a sign of the space in between?"

Kayo gave her a reluctant grin. She nodded.

"Pretty much. Still up for it?"

Isla nodded.

"Choice between that and spending my life eating chips and working in the local convenience store? No competition. Kayo, Scott's one of the most determined people I've ever met. He'll fight this."

The two women sat, leaning against one another for comfort until twenty minutes later, Virgil returned with a doctor behind him. The doctor was removing a mask from his face. They stood up, and Virgil stood with them, wrapping an arm around both of them. The doctor then removed his hat and gestured for them to sit.

"Alright. We examined Scott Tracy, scans and ex-rays. He was hit on the side of the head by a bullet from a shotgun, as you know. The wound is a serious one, but although the bullet did penetrate his skull, his brain has not been damaged. We found the bullet was lodged in his skull, in a position delicate but possible for us to remove, but potentially dangerous to leave in situ. Scott has been left with a hole in his skull which we have repaired with a metal plate. Now, we have him deeply sedated and intubated for the time being, to give his body a chance to recover from the trauma. He has been extremely lucky. He could have been killed outright. However, we are hoping that if there are no further complications, Scott should eventually make a complete recovery. The next forty-eight hours are crucial. If he is making progress after that point, then I'd say he has a good chance."

He smiled and stood up.

"Do any of you have any questions?"

"Yes doctor. How long do you plan to keep him sedated? The full forty-eight hours?"

"Or possibly longer. His readings are very weak right now, but steady. His brain was not impacted by the bullet, but it has had a tremendous shock, and needs time to rest. We've not really had any problems during the operation Mrs. Tracy. Scott is an extremely fit and determined young man. He was fighting hard the whole time."

"Can we go in to see him?" Virgil asked. The doctor nodded.

"I'm sorry, but only two at a time are allowed in the intensive care room. There is waiting space outside where you can see through the screen if that helps."

Virgil nodded.

"Thanks doctor. Kayo, do you want to go in first?"

Kayo nodded tearfully, and the three of them followed the doctor to the intensive care room where two attentive nurses were caring for Scott. Kayo went inside, whilst Virgil put his arm around Isla's waist and they stood, their noses pressed against the glass screen.

They had never seen Scott like this before.

Pale and tousle-haired and hooked up to several different machines that winked and beeped away reassuringly. Virgil understood all the equipment and knew which vital task each one was performing. He was reluctant to explain it all to his wife. The more Isla knew, the more she would likely worry; and in her condition he didn't want her to worry any more than she was already.

Virgil, Isla and Kayo were later joined by Colonel Casey, and two hours later, by Penny and Parker. Parker, taking in the tired eyes and the sunken, pale cheeks, took charge and with Lady Penelope's help, bullied the three into a nearby motel and getting some food and proper sleep. Parker remained with them in the motel to make sure they stayed put. Thus it was that Casey and Penny were together with Scott when the rest of the family arrived.

Jeff Tracy had called ahead to the hospital and after proving his identity, had gotten the relieving news that his son was doing well and stood a good chance of recovering. Nodding to the two nurses, Lady Penelope left the colonel alone in the room for a moment, whilst she went outside to greet the family. She was pulled into a loving hug by Gordon.

"How is my big brother, Pen?"

"Being Scott. What more can I say? I think your brother is too stubborn to die. He's being kept heavily sedated, mostly I think because he is trying to wake up. They keep reading signs that he is coming round, and they don't want him to wake up yet. His head needs complete rest to recover."

Gordon nodded solemnly.

"Yes, that sounds like Scott. Let him wake up too soon and he'll give himself a relapse through doing too much too soon and worrying about everyone else. Have they said how long?"

Penny took him by the arm and led him into the hospital building, followed by the rest of the family.

"Another twenty-four hours and they will do some more tests. If he is still progressing, they'll let him wake up."

She felt a touch on her shoulder and turned. Jeff Tracy smiled at her, worry behind his eyes.

"How are Virgil and Isla doing? And Kayo?"

Penny smirked.

"When Parker and I arrived, we found them high on coffee, having had no food or sleep for far too long. They've checked into the motel over the road, where Parker is standing by making sure they obey orders and get at least eight hours sleep each and a decent meal before he will allow them to return."

Jeff nodded.

"Good man, Parker. So, who is with Scott now?"

"Colonel Casey."

Jeff nodded, his eyes narrowing slightly. Penny touched his arm.

"Jeff, Kayo had already been giving the colonel a hard time. You know she only acted within the constraints of the law…"

"Isn't it ironic how laws that are supposedly designed to keep law and order and protect honest citizens, seem to protect the criminal element even more, leaving their victims vulnerable?" Alan muttered unhappily from the rear. Jeff frowned, and Penelope raised her eyebrows at Alan.

"The alternative, Alan, would be anarchy. At least this way…look, I really don't want to get into this subject right now. I agree with you Alan, but this is the way things are and we just have to live with it."

John clapped a sympathetic arm around his little brother's shoulders, whilst Alan rubbed the back of his head.

"Sorry, Lady Penelope. I'm just worried about Scott."

Jeff tousled his son's hair.

"Come on son. Let's go inside and see your brother."

Scott had a simply awful, banging headache. A little thought located the worst of the pain somewhere above his right ear. He wanted to rub it, but he couldn't be bothered to try and move. Aside from the headache, he was feeling more rested than he had done in a long time.

He could hear low voices in the room. He strained to hear what they were saying, but all he could make out was the low rumble of two male voices in low whisper mode. One of them was definitely Virgil's voice…the other sounded like dad. As he concentrated, he started to make out the odd word here and there…then he could hear them. As though someone had removed cotton wool from his ears.

"Have you decided on names yet Virgil?"

"We've discussed it a couple of times dad, but…we think it's a bit soon really."

"You're worried about something going wrong?"

"Something like that. I know Isla was worrying about losing the babies. Considering the way they were…um…conceived and implanted…"

"Have you consulted a doctor yet? One of our IR doctors perhaps?"

Scott could almost see Virgil shaking his head.

"Grandma has examined her, as have Brains and I, and we gave her a full scan on the maternal setting. Everything looks good so far…although I do think we may have to induce her a month early…we'll be keeping an eye on it though."

"Your wife is a quite amazing person, Virgil. She'll make a wonderful mother."

There was a rumble from Virgil that Scott could not quite make out, then he heard his father give a soft bark of laughter.

"Oh Virge, every man worries about that! Believe me, the moment you sit beside your wife and hold your babies in your arms, you'll have no such qualms."

At that moment, Scott betrayed himself inadvertently by sneezing loudly three times. There was a startled silence, then Scott opened his eyes and saw both his father, his brother and two equally startled nurses looking down at him.

He grinned.

"Good morning. Any chance of a cup of coffee?"

Afternote: I assumed that being on lockdown would mean more time for writing, not less. My apologies for the long delay in posting this chapter. Just one more chapter to go now...(unless I start getting complaints from Scott and Virgil, that is!)