For Gumnut-Logic, who requested a fainting Virgil
Scott sighed. Another late night, and still he hadn't finished writing up the reports. He was too tired to continue now though, and he made his way through to his room, checking on his brothers as he went.
All was well except…Virgil was not in bed. Scott frowned. His brother was not in his room, he was not in his studio, he was not at the piano. There was only one other place Scott could think Virgil would be, and in reflection he should have known that was where he would be.
He was right. Two was up on her struts. There was clanging. And a curse word. And more clanging. Scott waited patiently outside, understanding Virgil's need to fix Two now, but also realising that his brother would be as exhausted as he was and unlikely to last much longer.
Even as he thought it, the clanging stopped and he heard the hammer drop and his brother sigh.
Virgil clambered down and was only a little surprised that Scott was waiting. His brother looked wiped out, and for a moment he wondered why Scott was here instead of in bed. Then he shook his head, amused. He was here, there would be no other place Scott would be.
He stretched his hand out and clasped Scott's shoulder, to which his brother responded by putting his arm around his shoulders, and the two made their way out of the hangars and upstairs.
Yes, Virgil was tired. Scott wasn't even sure if he was aware that his brother was trembling slightly. They made their way through the lounge and to their rooms, Virgil surprised at how late the hour actually was, he'd been working on Two for hours! As they reached the stairs Virgil stumbled, falling and pulling Scott down with him. The two dissolved into giggles, but they eventually managed to get to Virgil's room, where they both settled for the night, what was left of the night.
The next day Virgil awoke at some ungodly hour to kind that Scott had already left for his morning run. He sighed. He had so much work to do to make sure that Two was ready for the next call out. So he swung by the kitchen to grab coffee and headed down to the hanger.
Where he spent the entire day fixing Two.
Scott had a callout in the late afternoon, and he had asked Gordon to keep an eye on Virgil, which ultimately meant that Gordon helped Virgil for a few hours, but left for dinner, curtesy of Scott's pitstop. Virgil did not appear, so Scott snagged one and made his way down to stop his brother working.
Calling Virgil's name several times had no effect. John tried to get through via comms and his watch. Nothing. Scott knew what that meant. Virgil had his headphones in. Just when he thought he would need to climb up, Virgil's head appeared, face full of curiosity as to what Scott wanted. Scott rolled his eyes and held up the pizza box. Virgil opened his mouth to speak when his stomach spoke for him. He smiled sheepishly, and disappeared, reappearing seconds later facing the right way up so that he could climb down the ladder.
It happened in such slow motion that Scott was able to put the box down and dive to catch his brother. Not entirely sure whether Virgil had slipped or had fainted, he suddenly found himself on the ground, hugging his brother close. If a couple of ribs creaked then it was worth it so that Virgil hadn't landed on his head.
It was minutes before Virgil came round, and by the time he did Scott had multiplied into Grandma and Gordon too. He was also in the infirmary. He looked at his two brothers at the foot of the bed. They both had their arms crossed and identical frowns, and he suddenly bit his lip to stop laughing.
But it was Grandma who spoke. Exhaustion. Coupled with lack of food and drink and alongside exertion. Sally was almost amused. Her boys were all the same. Their 'birds were always more important than anything else. True, Virgil rarely did it to the degree of Scott or Gordon, but he was by no means immune.