It was Sally that eventually shooed them all away, sending them for coffee. She knew Scott wouldn't want them there, would want them to restart iR, to get on with everything, and to a certain extent she agreed. They would all cope better if they got back into routine. They had done it with Gordon before, and the lack of habitualness had made the days and weeks seem even longer.

Sitting down beside him, Sally took Scott's hand and simply sat there, waiting for him to open up. You couldn't push the man, he either took his time or said nothing. So she waited. And waited.

Scott was relieved when Grandma hustled everyone else out. He needed time to process everything. Although he had switched off when the doctor was explaining everything, he had taken some information in. There would be an operation soon, more bedrest before physio. At best, he'd be using a chair for three to four months, with total recovery time around ten months to a year. And that was only if there were no complications.

He felt Grandma's hand tighten a little and he reciprocated. But still he said nothing. He'd need a base of operations once he had been discharged, probably closer to Tracy Island than he was currently so that Gordon could still be available for rescues. Scott was quite adamant that iR be restarted, he refused to be the reason why people died unnecessarily.

'Grandma?' He sounded hesitant, so she squeezed his hand harder. 'You understand that they have to get back to work, don't you? Dad wouldn't want them to shut down over this.' Sally nodded. If any one of her grandsons was going to reflect their dad in this issue, it would have been Scott. And she agreed with him. They had been on minimal callouts for three days, shut down for a further two. Scott would not need them in the same way as the world would. 'I'll talk to them, Scott. I don't want you to worry about that now.' Scott gave a bitter laugh. 'Don't worry about that, Grandma? If only I could. Still, I better get used to it.'

Sally frowned at Scott's words. No-one had yet discussed the events that precipitated Scott leaving the island, and now she was beginning to wonder if that had been a mistake. John had virtually ignored EOS these last two weeks, and the dynamic of the whole family was just that little bit off-kilter. She had thought that, once they had cleared the air between the brothers – EOS would take a little more time – that things might go back to normal, but Scott's words indicated that he believed the opposite to be true.

'Scott, honey,' she tentatively began. He hemmed a reply. 'Do you want to talk about what happened with me while your brothers are not here?' Sally held her breath. Please talk to me, she pleaded in her head. He sighed in reply. 'What do you want to talk about?' Well, it was a start. But before she could get any further the boys all came back. She couldn't very well send them away again, and maybe having them here would actually be of some benefit. After all, they needed to talk before Scott went in for his operation.

Virgil handed his Grandmother a flat white and claimed the chair on the other side of Scott, leaving John to perch carefully on the end of the bed while Gordon and Alan pulled up the floor. The hospital had long ago given up on their 'two visitors only' policy but that hadn't persuaded them to provide additional chairs. They had been adamant that they were not going to bend the rules 'just' for them. Virgil grinned at the fit the hospital had thrown when they had seen all the extra tech John had installed. There was no doubt in his mind that they would be leaving here after a sizable donation to smooth ruffled feathers. Although Scott's doctor seemed to find the whole thing quite amusing.

Scott cleared his throat. Grandma was right, they needed to talk some things over. And if he was going under soon he should get it out of the way first. So much was still going on in his mind, and he wondered how he could limit the damage this conversation was bound to have. He knew he had to stop them getting their hopes up. He hated talking to them when he was lying down and couldn't see their faces, and was more than pleased when Grandma automatically tilted the bed so he could see them.

'So, I guess we ought to talk about things then.' He could have heard a pin drop in the silence that followed. He guessed that they had become so used to him not discussing anything with them. Scott sighed. Where did he start? As if his brother could see the difficulty he was having, John spoke first.

'I think you should know that EOS has admitted to doing something, although we haven't talked it through yet. And I'm so sorry that I didn't listen to you.' Virgil was nodding along. 'I'm really sorry too, Scott. We never meant to hurt you in suggesting you needed a break.' The two youngest nodded along, even though they hadn't really been involved in it.

Scott stayed silent, thinking through what he was going to say. It was surprising to hear that EOS had said anything to John about what was going on, but it didn't really change things. He really didn't want to get into a debate about EOS right now, he wanted to talk about them getting back to work. As far as he was concerned he and EOS had discussed things.

The doc had decided to leave the head brace on, even though it technically wasn't needed, because there were so many people and Scott couldn't be sure to keep still. This meant that his eyes were fixed firmly on John, Gordon and Alan, he couldn't see Grandma or Virgil. As if sensing that this was uncomfortable for him, Virgil moved to sit at the other end of the bed. Scott gave a small smile. His brother could still read his thoughts then.

'I don't want to talk about EOS just yet. I want to talk about you all getting back to work.' He paused here as he knew they would have the same responses as before. Sure enough, there was a lot of 'no way, we're staying here with you,' mainly from Alan and Gordon. Even John was refusing. Only Virgil stayed silent until everyone had finished.

'You think that we've been offline long enough, don't you?' he queried. Scott wanted to nod but thought better of it. 'I refuse to be the reason that people may die because iR is not operating, or not operating fully. You need to get back in the field.' Virgil nodded slowly. He had thought about Scott's request while they were getting coffee, and he knew in his heart that this was the only way the conversation was going to go.

'Ok, I agree. But – I think we should have a rota whereby one of us is here with you.' His other brothers nodded at this; it seemed a good compromise. But Scott wasn't having any of that. 'Stay with me why? What point is there in that? I'm having the op and then I'll be flat out for a further three-four weeks before physio starts. No, there is no reason why any of you should stay with me when International Rescue will be a man down anyway. You will need all hands on deck.' Again there was a chorus of discontent at his words.

Sally closed her eyes at the scene. She knew what Scott was doing, he was pushing them away, and she wished that she could stop him. But he was foremost a man who looked out for others and not himself, and she really wouldn't change him – even if she wished he would be a little more conscious of his own needs. She could only do so much, though, and so she did the little she could.

'Scott's right. You all need to get back to work. The world still needs you. Don't worry about Scott. I will stay here with him until he is back on his feet.' Those simple words stopped the flow of complaints, but none of her boys were happy, including Scott. But they all knew better than to try to get her to change her mind.

Scott looked at his two older brothers. If they thought the last part of the conversation was hard, goodness knew how they were going to take the next part.

'John, I'm placing you and Virgil as joint Commanders of iR. As of right now. I know that you will work well together as you have always done and take the organisation forward.'

There was absolute silence to that statement. Scott counted in his head – he reckoned he could count to seven before they realised what he was saying. And yep – six and Virgil was talking.

'What do you mean, Scott. I don't want to be Commander, you're our Commander.' John nodded vigorously. 'Yeah, Scott. I don't want it either. It's only a few weeks you won't be on the island. Sure, you might not be able to go out on rescues for quite a while, but you can direct as always.'

Scott sighed. 'I'm not coming back to the island. And I'm not coming back to iR. I was quite serious when I said that I quit. Nothing about that has changed except my accident. If anything, it has been made clear to me that it is time I stood aside and let you get on.'

The silence and the frowns as they all digested what was being said would have been funny under different circumstances.

'Is this because of EOS?' Surprisingly, this came from Alan, not John, but Scott knew they all must be thinking it. How could he answer that? Did it come from EOS? The answer was yes, but she had shown him faultless reasoning, and he honestly did not blame her for her actions, as underhanded as she was.

'EOS and I have spoken, Al. While we disagreed on the method she chose to highlight the issues as she saw them, we have come to an agreement. She will look after you all.' If he thought the explosion he'd seen when he told them to get out was bad, this was ten times worse. He might have known that they wouldn't trust the AI, especially if she had confirmed that she had been involved in everything that had gone wrong over the last few months, but he understood her motives probably better than they ever would. After all, he'd been putting them first since they had been born, and EOS had only done the same.

'ENOUGH!'

That shut them all up. Sally rarely shouted, in fact, Scott didn't think he'd heard her raise her voice since their dad had returned to them after their mother's death.

'Enough, boys. Arguing will get you nowhere. Scott, I can see that you have made your mind up. Nevertheless, the door will always be open to you. John, if Scott says he has cleared things with EOS then you know that he has. However, you will need to have a long and hard discussion with her about her behaviour. Virgil, Gordon, Alan, it's time to get back out into the world. I am only going to say this once. This family needs a lot of healing to be done, but it will not be done today. It will not be done while Scott is out of action. It will be done, I will not allow our family to continue fractured, but now is not the time. I suggest you all go back to the hotel, get a good night's sleep and be back here in the morning for your brother's surgery.'

Scott could have kissed, would have kissed, his Grandma. She was right, they were fractured, and they would heal, but now was not the time. His only regret in all of this was Virgil. His brother refused to look at him, refused to meet his eye.

Virgil shot off the bed, face like thunder. If that was the way Scott wanted it then fine, he could have it his way. Without looking at anyone and without a backwards glance, he shot out of the room, slamming the door behind him. John, Gordon and Alan shared a glance, then followed him. None of them said anything to Scott.

'They'll come around, Scott,' Sally said, seeing the sadness on his face. 'No, Grandma,' he replied. 'I don't think that they will, this time.'