Next chapter is up. I know this it technically my second post this week, but i had planned to post the last chapter last Saturday and with everything that is going on in my life at the moment i forgot. So decided to treat you by posting this one too. Enjoy
Chapter 47
They all made their way inside the villa, once they had moved the plane into a small hangar that was off to the side of the runway, so that it wouldn't be visible if there were any passing planes. Virgil walked up the villa alongside Avery, but he could feel the stare of the other versions of his brother's boring into him as they walked behind him.
Once inside, Avery told everyone a brief explanation of what had happened to her, how she had ended up in another reality and that the Tracy's from that reality had taken her in and helped her get home. She explained as best as she could how the other Brains had been able to figure out how the rift between the realities had been opened, so that they could find a way to recreate it so that she was able to get home. She also told them that the Tracy 1 she had left in had been damaged so that was why she had to use another Tracy 1 to get home; explaining why the plane she had arrived in had looked different but also familiar.
Throughout her explanation, Avery noticed that Brains was the only one who was listening intently to her explanation, everyone else's gaze had remained fixed on Virgil; and she could tell it was starting to make him feel uncomfortable. He had stayed out of the way, standing in the background, near the doorway that led into the lounge. He wanted to allow Avery to have this moment, now that she was back with her family. But instead he had been their main focus. He realised that it was foolish of him to think it would be any other way considering the circumstances.
The family was still trying to come to terms with the death of their Virgil, and here he was practically rubbing their faces in it, reminding them of what they had lost. He couldn't blame them all for staring. But it was the angry stare from Scott that was making him feel uncomfortable.
"Also, I'm sure that you've noticed by now that I am pregnant," Avery's words brought Virgil's attentions back to the room, especially because it had mean that all the eyes that were staring at him, were once again directed at her.
"Well I did," Alan commented.
"As did I," Jeff confirmed, "I was about to ask you about it when…well you know," he added as he waved his hand in the air. Avery nodded that she understood.
"I'm sure you're all wondering about…" she began, before she was interrupted by a growling Scott."
"Whose it is," he asked as his gaze returned to Virgil. The intensity of the stare made Virgil wish that he could just disappear into the floor. He had been subjected to similar looks from his Scott over the years and no matter how old he was it always made him feel the same way; like when he had first experienced that look when he was 8 years old that had dented his brother's bike. Even this Scott could make him feel the same way. But this time he knew that the reason why he was giving him the look had nothing to do with a bike – Scott was thinking that he was the reason why Avery was with child.
"Who do you think? It's Virgil's."
The instant that the words left her lips, she realised that she had said the wrong thing, as Scott looked like he was about to jump on Virgil and beat him to a pulp.
"Not that Virgil," she added quickly, almost rolling her eyes; then she breathed a small sigh of relief as she saw the anger that was burning in Scott's eyes diminish somewhat, although not completely.
"The day I went missing, I was heading to the mainland for an appointment with the doctor. I was supposed to have had my first scan," she continued "But obviously I never made it. However I have been assured that everything is going well." She lovingly patted her bump, a movement that Virgil realised he was going to miss once he returned home without her.
"So it's…" Jeff began but was unable to finish his sentence, as he was overcome with emotion. Not only had Avery returned home to them as if by some miracle, she had brought a piece of Virgil back with her too.
"Yes," she said as she walked over to Jeff where she grabbed his hand and placed it on her stomach. Jeff's gaze remained fixed on his hand that was now under Avery's, "And yes he did know he was going to be a father." Jeff's gaze flicked up to hers, and Avery could see that his eyes were filled with unshed tears.
"He knew," he managed in a whisper, "So when he died…"
"He did it to save his unborn baby too," Avery said as tears began to stream down her face. Jeff gently reached up and cupped Avery's right cheek; it was obvious to her how much this meant to him.
"Gordon!" John gasped as a visibly distraught Gordon had got up from where he was sitting and had fled from the room. John ran out after him. In that instant Virgil wanted to go after him to check upon him, but he knew that it wasn't his place. Despite them not being his family he still felt that same brotherly concern that he knew he would have felt if it had been one of his actual brothers who were in distress.
"That's enough now boys," Jeff said suddenly, breaking Virgil from his thoughts and concerns. ""Why don't you all go and help Avery to settle back in while I have a chat with Virgil."
Once again all eyes turned to him, and once again he got that same look from Scott. Although he looked a lot like his older brother, Virgil didn't particularly like this version of Scott. The anger he was feeling towards Virgil was radiating off him in waves. He definitely wasn't the same as his brother. In fact as he looked around the room watching as Alan and Scott turned to follow Avery out of the room, he realised that Avery had been right; they were different to his family. In the way they behaved around each other, the way they looked…everything. It felt a little unnerving and in that moment he dreaded to think what this reality's version of himself had really been like.
Avery glanced back at Virgil briefly before she left the room, the look on her face telling him that she was sorry for having to leave him. Once they were alone, Virgil asked Jeff "Shouldn't you go and see if Gordon is okay?"
"He'll be fine, he's always been like this," Jeff remarked as he made his way over to the cabinet next to his desk and poured them both a drink. Turning he went to hand one over to Virgil. Virgil stared at the glass that the older man was holding out to him but didn't reach for it.
"Sorry…habit," Jeff shrugged and was about to move the glass away when Virgil gently took it from him.
"Thanks," he said before taking a sip. The instant the liquid burnt the back of his throat, he realised that he needed it; if only for the sensation to make him realise that he wasn't dreaming all of this. 'Was this how Avery felt when she found herself among my family?' he thought as he took a second sip from his glass. He keep his gaze locked on Jeff as he did so, watching as the older man drank the contents of his glass in a single mouthful before returning to the decanter and pouring himself another. When he was done he indicated over towards the open balcony door, he began walking over to it. Virgil followed.
As they got closer, Virgil realised that there was no longer a balcony there for them to stand on. He then remembered the way Avery had reacted that first night when she had stayed in the guest bedroom and how she had said that standing out and enjoying the night air had been something they were unable to do in her world. So instead they just stood by the door.
They stood there silently. Virgil didn't know what to say, despite the numerous questions that were racing around in his head. Jeff didn't speak either; instead his eyes were fixed on Virgil's face. At the same time Virgil looked back at Jeff, taking in how much this Jeff looked just like the man he knew; only he looked older somehow. Virgil put it down to the impact of living through a potential war and of course, losing a son. As well as having to deal with the disappearance of his daughter-in-law. It had been clear to Virgil since he had arrived here, how important Avery was to the family
"I don't know what to say," Jeff said under his breath, his voice shaking before he took another mouthful from the glass in his hands; almost draining it completely. "You look and sound so much like my son. If I hadn't seen his body with my own eyes, or felt how cold his skin was…I'd have thought that you were really him and that there had been some huge mistake."
"I'm sorry," Virgil told him sincerely, "I didn't come here with the intention of hurting you. I just wanted to make sure that Avery got home safely."
"And I am truly grateful to you for that; and to your family for taking such good care of her," Jeff told Virgil as he indicated for him to take a seat in the chairs that were situated near the door. Virgil sat down at the seat nearest to him and his gaze went around the room. There were many things in the room that were so familiar to him, yet there were obvious differences too. Where the portraits hung on the wall, there was an additional one of Avery, although they were fixed as images of them in their everyday clothes. He also noticed that there were many other frames scattered around the room, many of them holding photographs of Virgil, either on his own or with Avery. But Virgil's attention was caught by the familiar photograph which had been taken on Virgil and Avery's wedding day. It was a larger version of the image that Avery carried with her in the Thunderbird 2 locket that hung around her neck. The joy they were feeling almost visibly leaping towards him from the image.
However the biggest difference he noticed was the piano in the corner; opposite to where he was seated. It was where he was used to it be, the major difference was that here it was covered over.
"I just couldn't bear to look at," Jeff told him when he saw that Virgil's gaze was fixed on the piano, "yet I can't bear the thought of it not being there either…so this felt like a fair compromise."
Virgil just gave a small nod. Seeing the piano covered over like it was had brought up some mixed emotions within him, he could understand this Jeff's pain at seeing it as the piano was such as huge part of his own identity and he knew from what Avery had told him that the same was true for the other Virgil.
"It was such a huge part of who he was," Jeff continued as if reading Virgil's thoughts, "I just couldn't bring myself to have it put away," he admitted, his voice now thick with emotion.
In that moment, hearing Jeff's words, Virgil was overcome with a sense of guilt. Not because he could tell that his presence there was bringing up painful memories. No, he felt guilty because he was alive and the other Virgil wasn't. He knew that what he was feeling was irrational but he couldn't help it. He felt guilty that this Jeff's son had sacrificed himself when he had so much to live for, his father, brothers, a wife and a baby on the way.
"I can't begin to imagine what you've all been through."
"I don't know how much Avery has told you about us," Jeff replied "But I lost my wife when my sons were young." Virgil nodded to confirm that he already knew this.
"At first, I couldn't even bear to listen to Virgil playing the piano…it was too painful. But eventually I realised that listening to him play was like having Lucy here with me in some small way. Like a part of her was still here with me even though she wasn't."
Again Virgil gave a small nod. He wanted to say something to try and give this Jeff some sort of comfort, but what could he say? Also he didn't feel like he could trust his voice in that moment. Jeff's words had brought up some painful memories for Virgil about the loss of his own mother and he could feel a knot forming in his throat.
"And now that Virgil's gone…it's as if I've lost her all over again," Jeff's voice was low and as Virgil looked at him, he could see the pain and tears that filled the older man's eyes; and he felt the tears that were prickling at the back of his own in response.
"My father struggled after we lost our mum too," Virgil found himself saying. He didn't want to say something that would upset Jeff further, but he couldn't stop the words from leaving his lips. "His work became more important to him for a while and he barely had any time for us, if it hadn't been for Scott, I don't think any of us would have gotten through it."
Jeff looked at him in surprise. "It's surprising how many things are the same and how many are different," Virgil then added.
"What else is different?" Jeff asked curiously.
"Well besides the obvious," he began, "In my reality there is no 'war'…"
"So you didn't almost lose your Alan?" Jeff asked, with a hint of surprise and something else that Virgil couldn't recognise.
"No," Virgil replied with a shake of his head. He knew that Alan had had a near fatal incident several months prior to them losing Virgil after an explosion had occurred during a rescue. He had also noticed the scar that was on the youngest family members face – not that it could be missed. It had taken everything Virgil had in him not to react when he saw it for himself after he had first arrived.
"It sounds like your father has been lucky not having to deal with the loss of a son. I thought that losing Lucy was going to have been the worst thing I would ever have to experience in my life…but it was nothing compared to losing Virgil…"
"We've experienced some close calls during rescues," Virgil explained, "plus there was the hydrofoil accident…"
"The hydrofoil?"
Of course, Avery had mentioned that in her reality, Gordon had not been a part of the team who had been on the Hydrofoil the day of the accident. Virgil briefly told Jeff the details surrounding Gordon's accident and how the red head had been the only one to survive the crash.
"We nearly lost him so many times," Virgil concluded, his eyes staring off into space as he spoke. "Even now I struggle to understand how he managed to survive it."
"So you're close with your Gordon?" Jeff asked curiously.
"Yeah, I'm close with all of my brothers," Virgil informed him "Especially Scott. I'd say I'm closest to him. I couldn't imagine what my life would be like without any of my brothers in it. I can't even imagine how difficult it was for Gordon to have had to go and rescue his brother like that..."
As his words trailed off, Virgil was certain he saw anger wash over Jeff's features. At first he thought that it was at the loss of his son, but then he thought about the way that Jeff had reacted at Gordon's outburst earlier; he hadn't seemed concerned. Also the words he had said.
"What did you mean earlier when you said that Gordon had always been like that?"
The look that crossed Jeff's face made Virgil regret asking the question, but just as quickly the look disappeared as Jeff gave a sad sigh. "He had always been very sensitive and after losing their mother he became even more of a handful. So as soon as a position came up within WASP, I pulled some strings and got him in. I thought that the discipline would help sort him out."
Virgil tried his best not to show how horrified he felt at Jeff's admission. The man had as good as confessed that he had forced his son to leave home and join WASP. His own memory of Gordon leaving to join WASP had been the polar opposite. They had been glad to see Gordon go, but only because Gordon had been so excited at being accepted; it was something that the aquanaut had worked so hard for. They had all been so proud of him. But to have this Jeff tell him that he had signed this Gordon up because he wanted to be rid of his own son…he couldn't believe what he was hearing. The way that Jeff continued talking, it was clear to Virgil that the older man had not picked up on his disgust.
"It worked out for the best because he was then ready for when I set up International Rescue," he added looking quite pleased with himself. "But since losing Virgil, it's like he's gone back to his old ways and there have been numerous outbursts like that one."
Avery was right. They were nothing like his family. There was no way that his father would speak this way about any of his brothers. In that moment he wanted to do nothing more than to get Avery and take her as far away from these people as he could. But he knew he couldn't do that. No matter how they behaved or what they said, they were still her family.
"If you want to freshen up, you're more than welcome to use the guest bedroom," Jeff told him before he added "It's been nice talking to you again son," Jeff said as he gently placed his hand on Virgil's right cheek; clearly oblivious to Virgil's inner turmoil. "You were always my voice of reason…the one I could confide in about anything…I've missed that." He added as tears fell down his cheeks. He then turned and slowly left the lounge, leaving Virgil alone.
