Chapter 46

There was an intense flash of light and the plane felt as if it had been struck by turbulence. Virgil's grip on the controls tightened as he fought to bring the plane back under control. Yet just as quickly as it had started, it stopped. Blinking the spots away from his vision, Virgil looked out of the cockpit window but all he saw was blue; the blue of the sky above them and the blue of the ocean below.

"Did it work?" Avery asked after letting out a deep breath. Virgil glanced over at her, she looked pale.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

Avery looked over at him and gave him a quick smile. "I'm okay," she reassured him, "But that turbulence did not help my nausea," she added with a small chuckle as she rubbed her right hand across her belly.

Virgil gave a small chuckle of his own "Sorry about that."

Avery shook her head, she knew that he had nothing to apologise for "Well at least we're still conscious and airborne this time," she commented, reminding them of what had happened to her the first time she had experienced it.

"I guess that means that Brains' modifications did the trick…unless it didn't work," he added sounding a little deflated.

"There's only one way to find out."

Virgil gave a nod and set a heading for Tracy Island.

"I was thinking," Virgil said, breaking the silence that had descended over the plane, "How do you think they're going to react…you know, when I step out of the plane?"

Avery opened her mouth, then shut it again, unsure what to say in response to his query. The truth was she had no idea how any of them would react to seeing Virgil. She thought back to how she had felt the first time she saw him, but for her the situation had been different, hadn't it? She thought that it was someone trying to trick her to get information from her about the organisation and their technology. But since she had found out the truth, she had found Virgil's presence to have been a comfort to her and she had automatically thought that her family would feel the same way.

But what if she was wrong?

However before she had a chance to voice any of the concerns that she had wished she had addressed before they had even started out on this flight, she was distracted by a cry from Virgil.

"Over there," he indicated on the horizon. Sure enough in the distance the shape of a small land mass had appeared. As they got nearer a smile spread across Avery's face.

"That's it…I'm home," she gasped her voice thick with emotion. Despite all her previous fears about returning home, the instant the familiar shape loomed in front of them all her doubt had vanished. She really did feel glad to be back.

"Are you sure?" Virgil asked. However as he looked again he saw the familiarity in the shape of the land that they were approaching. It looked a lot like the Tracy Island that he called home, only the buildings he had expected to see where not there. That was when he remembered what Avery had said about the modifications that Brains had made to camouflage the Island.

"Wow, that's some impressive camouflage work," Virgil said before letting out a small whistle.

"Told you that your Brains wasn't the only genius," she replied with a laugh as she grabbed the radio and took a deep breath before pressing the button.

"Tracy Island, do you receive me…over," Virgil noticed that both her voice and the hand that was holding the radio's microphone were shaking as she spoke. After nothing more than static as a response, she tried again. "Tracy Island, this is Avery, do you read me?"

Again there was more static, when suddenly the radio burst to life with a voice that Virgil recognised.

"Avery? Is that really you?" an emotional Jeff asked in response. For Virgil, hearing his father's voice was very surreal. Although the voice sounded the same as the Jeff he knew, there was tiredness in the voice that told Virgil that the voice came from a man who was not his father.

"Yeah Dad it's me," Avery replied. "It's a very long story. Permission to land?"

"Permission granted," Jeff responded "Its' good to have you home."

Virgil gently and expertly brought the plane down and they came to a stop at the end of the runway. Once they had come to a stop, Virgil cut the engine and as soon as he did, the nerves started to kick in.

"Are you sure this is going to be a good idea?" he asked, suddenly beginning to worry about the impact that his presence would have on this island's occupants; the last thing he wanted to do was to cause a grieving family more pain. "They're going to have enough to deal with having you home…and finding out about the baby…the last thing they need is me stepping off the plane and traumatising them…"

"Hey, it's going to be okay," Avery reassured him, "I'll go out there and speak to them first and let them know about you." Virgil gave her a quick nod, and then Avery was out of her seat and heading towards the door at the side of the plane. Virgil remained in his seat trying to regain his composure.

As Avery made her way down the few steps from the plane, she saw that Jeff and her brothers were making their way towards her. In that moment, seeing them there, she felt the ache at the realisation of her Virgil not being there with them. As they approached, Avery could see them looking between her and the plane that she was standing in front of.

"Avery," Alan cried out, as he rushed forward in excitement, oblivious to the reluctance of his father and brothers while they approached. Seeing their wariness, Avery understood how they were feeling considering how long she had been away from home. It reminded her of the way she felt when she woke up in the other reality.

"Hey Alan," she said as he wrapped her in a big hug. In that moment she realised that she had actually missed her family. Moments later, Alan broke the hug and stepped away from her, a surprised look on his face as he stared down at her belly, which was partially hidden under the baggy top she was wearing. Then a grin spread across his face, but before he could say anything, Jeff was next to them.

"Welcome home Avery," he said as he continued to scrutinize her; it was almost as if he was looking for something to prove that it really was her. Then he too wrapped her up in a hug, moments later he had the same reaction as Alan. But before he had a chance to ask her anything about her condition, there was a commotion from the plane behind.

As Avery had been enjoying her reunion with Jeff and Alan, she had failed to notice that Scott had stepped away from where he had been standing by Gordon and John and had approached the plane. She had noticed them all scrutinizing the plane after she stepped out of it, as it was different from the plane that she had left in. Although like the plane she had been flying, this one also had Tracy 1 written on its nose. She had then failed to notice that Scott had climbed inside the plane until…

"What the hell?" Scott gasped as he practically fell back out of the plane moments later. As soon as his feet hit the dirt of the runway, he staggered and fell so he was then shuffling backwards away from the plane, his features were suddenly pale and he was shaking.

"Scott, what is it?" Jeff asked, when he saw how shaken up his eldest son had become, as John and Gordon moved along side Scott and helped him to his feet. But before Scott could answer, there was a shocked gasp from Gordon. The red heads stare was fixed on the plane. Following Gordon's gaze Jeff saw what it was that had shook up his sons. The figure of someone they never thought they would see again standing in the doorway of the plane.

"Virgil!"