'It was an accident, John. It was nothing to do with me this time.'
'EOS?'
EOS said nothing. She wasn't sure anything she said could make a difference now, but she could feel the hurt in John's voice. She hadn't meant to say that, of course, but the last half an hour – the conversation with Scott, the niggling feeling that things were not as she thought, the digging around for John, the accident – and deep down she was worried. Despite everything, EOS had come to have regard for Scott. It was Virgil that saved her – for the moment.
'Leave it for now, John, there are more important things to do.' John reluctantly nodded. 'Right, Alan, Gordon, I need you to get some clothes ready for all of us, pack a bag each then go down to Two and get the pre-flight checks ready. John, you get your tech gear ready as only you'll know what you need. EOS, we still need you to monitor the airwaves please, and we will be discussing this later.' He paused. He'd given the hardest job to himself. 'I'm going to tell Grandma.'
It was a routine that they had needed to employ on a few occasions, the last time being for Gordon (who actually, now Virgil came to think about it, needed this more than any other of his brothers), and they operated as a well-oiled machine. Leaving them to it Virgil went hunting for his Grandma.
He found her in the den talking to Aunt Val. Casey was in civies, which was such a rare sight in of itself, but it did mean he could get to deal with this only once. He cleared his throat at the door and waited. It was Val that asked him in.
'Virgil, any news?'
'I'm afraid we have had some bad news just a couple of minutes ago.'
'Virgil?'
He blinked. Suddenly he was sitting on the couch, both his Grandma and his Godmother standing over him, concern written across both their faces. He must have blanked out for a moment. Sally knelt down in front of Virgil. Whatever the news was, she instinctively knew it was bad. Placing a hand on his knee, she looked up at him, and he offered a shaky smile.
'It's Scott, Grandma. There's been an accident and he needs us.' Virgil helped her to stand up; and turned to Colonel Casey. 'We need a security team to Mount Sinai Hospital as soon as possible please, and as of now iR is officially completely stood down.' Val nodded. "Understood, Virgil. I'm on my way now,' and her hologram winked out. Clutching Virgil's arm, Sally allowed him to lead her upstairs, and he explained on the way.
Sally had lived through so much in her life but finding out your brother has been involved in a serious car accident from a TV report had to be one of the worst things anyone could experience. Virgil left her at her room, and she whirled in, packing a bag in moments and made it to the lounge in time to see Alan and Gordon heading down to Two, a pile of bags at their feet. With just Virgil and John now present, she asked the question. 'How bad?' With just the three of them present she knew she'd get an honest answer.
'Scott has been taken to Mount Sinai Hospital and has been taken straight into surgery. It is thought that he has a shattered pelvis, right hip and femur as well as three broken ribs; there is extensive external lacerations along his right side; internal bleeding in the abdomen region with possible damage to liver and kidneys; and there is extensive swelling to his lower spinal cord. Scott went straight into surgery on arrival and has been there eight minutes so far.'
There was a distant sound of a phone ringing, and Sally looked around, puzzled at what it could be. The medic in her was already supplying words like shock and worse-case scenarios, while the Grandmother in her wanted to pull John and Virgil immediately in for a hug. The pair seemed just as frozen as she was, but they needed to get moving. The ringing phone became more insistent, and John moved over to answer it.
'Can I help you?' John was ramrod straight. 'Mr Tracy?' The middle-aged man gave nothing away, and neither was John going to until he knew who he was talking to. 'What can I do for you?' The man seemed to realise he wasn't going to get another answer. 'My name is Cal Talbot, Chief of the New York Police Department. I'm calling about your brother, Mr Scott Tracy?' If anything, John seemed to stand even straighter. 'If you're calling to let us know he's been in an accident, then you are too late. We were listening to the news when that reporter announced it.' John could see the grimace on the man's face. He sighed. 'I am so sorry about that, Mr Tracy.' John cut him short. 'Please, I need to be leaving. Can it wait?' Talbot nodded, 'I'll let you go and will be in touch later. I hope your brother is alright.' Trite words, they both knew, but John appreciated the sentiment.
It took a little over an hour for Two to arrive in New York with Virgil pushing her just past her limit all the way. They set down in East Meadow, Central Park, completely disregarding the landscaping. It was only a short hop from there to the hospital, and Colonel Casey was already there waiting for them. She stationed some guards around the machine and ushered the family in. As usual, private accommodation had been arranged and provided, they were being given a small isolation wing currently not in use.
Not long after they had arrived Val showed in a doctor who proceeded to explain how things were going. The news was both better and worse. Scott's pelvis was actually fine, his hip and femur were fractured, but not shattered as first suspected. They had used a metal rod and a couple of screws to help the healing in his leg. Internal bleeding had come from his liver, with some minor damage to the organ, but they were confident it would sort itself out naturally as it was minor. Yes he had three broken ribs, but again, they had been strapped only and would heal on their own. His kidney and bladder were bruised, and he may pee blood for a bit, but no damage had been done there.
What they were concerned about, and indeed why Scott was still in surgery, was the swelling around his spine. They were being very careful in ascertaining the extent of any damage to the area, and the scans taken so far had been inconclusive as to the damage – the swelling tissue was preventing a good clear reading. They were just finishing up with the surgery and Scott would be in Recovery for around an hour or so before they would bring him up.
Sally turned to her grandsons. It was time to make preparations. John must have seen the look because he pre-empted her. 'I've already booked a suite of rooms at The Four Seasons. There should be a car ready to take us downstairs.' She smiled at him gratefully, knowing that the planning of everything would help him cope. 'Well, you heard the doctor, we won't be able to see Scott for at least another hour, and we need to move Two somewhere more secure.' Virgil nodded. That would be another green iR would be paying for. They discussed who would stay in case Scott was brought up before they had returned, and Gordon won the toss. Of course, John was staying too – he had equipment to set up.
Once their belongings were removed from Two Virgil flew her to JFK, where the GDF had promised around the clock protection. At least there was a hanger there that was big enough to house her. He arrived back at the hospital just as John finished up setting up his equipment. The normally taciturn Tracy was quieter than normal, Gordon had looked positively relieved to see him and had disappeared to procure coffee for everyone.
'John, do you need a hand with anything?' Virgil wasn't surprised to see John shake his head. Watching the redhead closely, he could see the tension radiating off him. John put down his tools. As well as setting up a large screen for Scott to be able to watch whatever he wanted, he'd set up a small bank of monitors that would enable him and Virgil to keep a remote eye on their brother's stats. Virgil wondered if Scott would actually allow them to monitor him. John collapsed in the chair next to him.
'Do you want to talk about it?' John again shook his head. And sighed. Virgil was patient, he knew John needed a brief word now and that they would talk in detail later. 'I just don't understand what is going on with EOS.' Virgil smiled sympathetically. Truth be told, neither did he. 'I mean, why on earth was she sabotaging Scott? I can't think of a single reason.' Nodding in agreement, Virgil was the voice of reason John needed right then. 'She obviously had her reasons, whatever they are. What we need to work out is how we move forward as a family from this. And we won't be able to until both EOS and Scott have had their say on the situation.' John found himself nodding along. He really needed to talk to them both. But that would be for a later date.
Gordon came back to see his older two brothers sitting side by side staring at the wall. In any other circumstance it would have been funny. Still, at least John had finished, and he knew that Grandma and Alan would be up shortly. Val had promised to let Kayo know, but she was still working undercover for the GDF, and who knew when she would be available.
Not five minutes later Scott was wheeled in, followed closely by Grandma and Alan. So the family set about waiting for Scott to wake up. In true Scott fashion, he was stirring far earlier than he should have been. To minimise any possibility of further damage to his spine whilst he was regaining consciousness, the doctors had strapped Scott down across his chest and placed a brace around his head. The doctor who came in with him explained that although the issue was further down the spine, they simply felt the less movement in any part of the spine the better.
Scott found he was struggling to wake up. There was something nagging at him, driving his need to wake up and work out what was wrong, but his eyes were heavy, and he was far more tired than normal. Maybe he had overslept? It rarely happened these days, but occasionally back-to-back rescues could induce a deeper and longer sleep that was normal for him. He frowned. That just didn't seem right for some reason. Trying hard to figure out what was going on, he became aware of muted murmuring and beeping.
It was the beeping that gave it away. The amount of time Scott had spent in hospitals across the globe meant that the sound of monitors was instantly recognisable. But why was he here? Was one of his brothers hurt? If anything, the frown deepened, eliciting a chuckle from somewhere on his right. Scott tried turning his head only to find he couldn't move it. A bubble of panic rose up and he fought to move – but he couldn't. there were hands on his shoulders, and voices talking, but he couldn't make them out.
Virgil watched as Scott struggled to surface through the medication, his face creasing into a frown. Then a deeper frown that had Gordon chuckling. But Scott was frowning harder and trying to move. Immediately Virgil was hands on, trying to soothe and reassure so Scott would stop moving. Their Grandma was doing the same on Scott's other side, but neither were getting through. Worried that Scott would hurt himself further, Virgil cupped Scott's cheek whilst encouraging him to stay still and open his eyes.
The hand on his cheek stilled Scott's movement, and he took a deep breath. Forcing the panic down, he focused on opening his eyes, eventually succeeding, to see the honey brown eyes of Virgil looking down at him, a gentle smile on his face. Blinking the sleep away, for a few moments all Scott did was to stare at his brother as Virgil continued talking to him. It took that long to realise that words were actually being said.
'…and you need to be still, Scott. That's why you're all strapped down.' The owlish blinking and the staring told Virgil that nothing was really going in. Smiling again, he began carding his other hand through Scott's hair, humming gently and running his thumb over Scott's cheek. It didn't take long for his brother to fall asleep again, and they all breathed out. That went better than expected.
It took almost 24 hours for Scott to be awake fully, and with it also came full awareness. Scott was a stubborn bastard though, and he kept very quiet about how he felt and everything that had happened. Both John and Virgil began to hope that maybe, between them and Scott at least, there could be a return to normality. They all chatted, swapped shifts sitting with him and carried on pretty much as they always did.
Two days after his admittance, Scott was wheeled off for an MRI scan in the hope that the swelling had subsided enough for a diagnosis. Scott had refused company, which had not pleased anyone but had not surprised them, and Grandma ignored anyway, walking down and back with him.
Half an hour later and the doctor was back.
Asking Scott if he wanted the results alone, the doctor was not surprised when Scott asked him to continue. Everyone needed to know, and it would be easier if everyone was together. The doc nodded and proceeded to discuss the scans, showing images and talking about bed rest, recovery times, physiotherapy and more.
Scott, however, heard none of it after the diagnosis. A compound fracture of two of his lower vertebrae. Everything else went over his head.
Virgil and John exchanged looks with Grandma. It seemed Scott had stopped listening to the doc, and really, none of them could blame him. To be told you had effectively 'broken' your back and the mental images that would conjure up in Scott's mind – yes, no wonder he had stopped listening. They needed to nip such negativity in the bud now, before it got any worse.
Once the doctor had gone, however, it was Scott who got the first word in.
'It's time you all left.' Puzzled glances were exchanged. 'What do you mean?' 'We're not going anywhere!' 'I'm staying right here!' 'Leave you right now?' Only Grandma didn't say anything. 'You need to get back to work. iR needs to be operational.' The 'they need you more than I do' was not said, but everyone heard it. Scott waited patiently for the uproar to die down. 'You can't do anything for me, but the world still needs you. I want you to go.' In a way, he was thankful for the head brace. It meant he couldn't see his brothers. Again they all started arguing with him, and he waited them out., grinding his teeth in frustration and his anger rising.
'Gordon can come back when I'm due to leave and help with my physio. As for the rest of you, get out. Go home, go back to work. Leave me alone.'