2nd chances
Chapter 16: having a proper chat with big brother
In Virgil's point of view
Jo and I were sitting side by side on the couch, a silence stretching between us. It wasn't that we had nothing to say to each other, but more that there was nothing that needed to be said. She knew how I felt about her coming to the island, and her reaction had been enough for me to know how she was feeling. After a while, however, I sighed heavily. There was someone else playing on my mind, someone that had seemed uncharacteristically quiet since they had got back.
"Jo, do you mind if I go and see if Scott is ok? I asked softly, knowing that I couldn't put it off for any longer. Now that I knew that I had Jo back, and that I wasn't going to be letting her go any time soon, I wanted to set my mind at ease in regards to my biggest brother as well.
"Go ahead. I knew you wanted to go after Scott anyway." Jo responded with a smile. I couldn't help but notice that it didn't seem to reach her eyes, however.
"What about you?" I asked gently, turning to face her properly. There was still a haunted look in her eye, one that made me frown in concern. I knew this wasn't over yet.
"I am going to go and check on Robyn. Then I think I will try and get some sleep." Jo replied, glancing towards the stairs as she did so, clearly anxious to make sure that her – our – daughter was settled. I wasn't fooled though; I could hear the tremor in her voice.
"You'll be ok Jo, you know that, don't you?" I whispered quietly, knowing immediately by the way she stiffened that I had hit on the problem. Taking her hands in mine, I tried to portray how much she meant to me in that simple action. Tried to get her to see that I was going to do everything in my power to make sure nothing like this happened again.
"I know I will be lucky if I get any sleep at all tonight." Jo admitted, dropping her eyes to her lap, almost as if she was ashamed that she could even be thinking such things. Biting my lip, I knew that I had to do something in order to try and make her feel safer. She certainly wasn't the only one hurting, seeing her like this was killing me. Drawing her attention back to me, I tried to smile reassuringly.
"Look if it helps I can stay with you in your bedroom tonight if you want so you are not on your own tonight?" I asked quietly, hoping that she was going to take it the right way. All I wanted was to be there for her, and if being on her own was what was providing the problem, then I would happily stay up all night.
"I don't know, Virg..." Jo began, clearly thinking about how the others would react to knowing that I had spent the night in her room. Interrupting her, I spoke again.
"Well at least think about it for me?"
"I will." Jo said, offering me a watery smile as she spoke and immediately causing my heart to soar. Already I could see that she was beginning to relax a little more. If I could get her to continue this, there would be hope for her to be able to get some rest after all. I knew nothing made things look better than a good night sleep.
"Are you sure you'll be okay whilst I talk to Scott?" I pressed, now even more reluctant to leave her than I was before.
"Yeah I'll be fine, Virg."
"I won't be long." Climbing to my feet, I still found that I was reluctant to slip my hand from hers. I knew that I needed to check on Scott, something had clearly been playing on his mind, and yet I equally didn't want to leave Jo, especially now I knew how insecure she was feeling.
"Get on with you," Jo responded with a laugh, slipping her hand out of mine and giving me a light shove towards the door, clearly sensing my reluctance. "Oh, and Virg?"
Pausing, I stopped and looked back towards her. The smile she offered me was a little stronger this time.
"Love you."
"You too." With a smile on my lips, I bounded out the door and up the stairs, aiming towards one of the guest rooms to talk to Scott. I had always had a special bond with my oldest brother, we had done everything together. And despite the fact that he was the first one to find out, I knew that the whole issue with Jo had shaken him up. Even that, however, I knew wasn't the full extent of it. He knew that I had been close to her in the past, but I could see by his face that he had never expected that I could possibly have a daughter. The fact that he had kept quiet downstairs was just another indication that something was wrong. This was not something I had considered before, but I knew what I needed to do. I needed to let Scott know that whilst I may now be a father, I was still his brother.
In Scott's point of view
When I looked over at Virgil and Robyn, I couldn't believe my eyes. Robyn really is the double of Virgil. I can tell that Robyn is going to have everyone on the island wrapped around her little finger that including her parents. By the look on Virgil's face when he saw Jo standing there beside me, he was crazy about her, his eyes had really lit up upon seeing her. I can tell how much he cares about Jo because when I last talked to Virgil before we went out to rescue Jo, he was nearly at breaking point and really upset about this whole thing. But seeing them together now, I could tell that they were both made for each other.
I really can't wait now for the others and Dad to meet Robyn and Jo. I know for sure that John is going to love Robyn. So Virgil and Jo will have a lot of baby sitters to watch Robyn, if the chance should ever arise. Although with a wry smile, I knew that both Gordon and Alan would spend more time working her up into excitement than looking after her. I am really amazed how well Jo took to me after everything that had happened, although I guess it helped that we had met before. When I tried to tell her how sorry I was for checking up on her like I did, she just shrugged. It was almost as if she had been expecting it, and with a slight smile, she had just told me to let it go.
As I was thinking about Virgil and Jo, there came a gentle knock on the guest bedroom door.
"Come in!" I yelled, wondering who was going to be coming to visit me. It came as no surprise when Virgil poked his head around the door.
"Hi Scott sorry I didn't get to speak to you downstairs." He muttered, sounding truly regretful as he slipped into the room. Without him saying anything else, I was already beginning to have an idea of why Virgil was up here.
"You were slightly distracted." I commented with a smile. My smile only widened when Virgil suddenly blushed, glancing down at his hands as he came to sit on the edge of the bed. It was a clear sign of embarrassment with Virgil when he refused to meet your eye.
"Yeah I was. You know how I feel about her, Scott." He said quietly, his tone reflecting quite what the night's events had put him through.
"I take it you didn't expect to fall in love with Jo just after a couple days of being with her?" I asked, trying to keep my voice neutral. I knew Dad would want to know how serious about this girl Virgil was. The only way I could think of finding out was to press the matter of whether or not Virgil truly loved her.
"Nope." Virgil responded, running a hand through his hair in distraction. "I didn't expect it to happen at all, to be honest. I still can't believe she showed up at the reunion."
"And I still can't believe how much Robyn looks like you. When I saw you both lying on the sofa together I couldn't believe what was seeing." I admitted, knowing that Virgil needed to know the impact he had on me. If I was honest, I was certain that was the reason why he had come upstairs, it would have taken a lot for him to leave Jo.
"I can't believe she is mine." Virgil muttered quietly, sounding nothing short of desperate. This was the first time I had properly had the chance to talk to my little brother in-between everything that had been happening over the last few days. I could hear now how out of his depth he was feeling.
"You'll be great, Virg." I responded gently, leaning forward and grasping him gently on the shoulder. For a moment, he remained tense, but suddenly let out a sharp breath.
"Thanks, Scott. That means a lot." Finally, I managed to get a small smile out of my brother. I was hoping for more, but it was a step in the right direction. As Virgil made no effort to move, I knew there was something else he wanted to talk about.
"You got anything else on your mind bro?" I asked casually, swinging my legs up on the bed and sitting back with a sigh.
"Penny wants to move Jo and Robyn over to the island with me for a few days." Virgil gabbled quickly, turning away from me as if worried of how I was going to react. In all honesty, it took his words a few moments to sink in.
"Why?" I asked somewhat bluntly. Immediately wincing at my tone of voice, I spared Virgil a quick glance, but if my brother had noticed, he certainly wasn't reacting to it. It was clear his mind was on other things.
"Penny says it's the only way to keep both Jo and Robyn safe while all this gets sorted out about this kidnapping." Virgil responded. Despite his neutral tone, I could hear the underlying excitement in his voice. He wanted this as much as Penny, I just knew.
"I can see Penny's point of view of that. Have you called Dad about it? I asked.
"We called him earlier and he said that Jo could come over with me. Don't get me wrong, bro I really want Jo to move over to the island for a few days. It's just going to be different when we are out on missions. I mean, Jo is going to be relying on me. Robyn is going to be relying on me." Virgil explained, his voice taking on that desperation tone once more that showed he didn't know how he was supposed to be reacting.
"Virgil, I just told you. You'll be great!" Speaking slowly to emphasise my point, I had to smirk that Virgil was feeling so confused about what to do, he was barely listening to me.
"You think?" Even now he had acknowledged my words, the doubt was still present in his voice. Rolling my eyes, I felt my smirk widen.
"I know, Virg. Trust me on this." I could only hope that using my best "big brother" voice would be enough to get through to him this time. There were only so many times I could repeat the same words.
"I know." Virgil replied, sighing deeply. "Oh and thanks for getting me these couple of days off to work things out with Jo." He suddenly continued, his mind finally starting to work enough to snap him out of the circles he had clearly been going in.
"You know you don't have to thank me, bro." I said softly, meaning every word.
"Thanks, Scott."
"Can I ask you something?" I suddenly said, after a comfortable silence had fallen over us. I knew that there was every chance that Virgil was going to take this the wrong way, but I had to know. Especially considering I knew what my brother was like.
"Sure, go ahead," Virgil muttered, sounding as exhausted as I was feeling.
"Where are you sleeping tonight?" I blurted out, almost holding my breath afterwards in the hope that my artistic brother wasn't about to explode on me.
"Hopefully in with Jo, I don't think she wants to be on her own tonight, it's going to take her some time to get over this kidnapping, Scott." Virgil explained, sounding exasperated. I could tell by his tone of voice that he knew where I was going with this, and was attempting to get me to back off. In true big brother style, however, I couldn't let it go.
"I don't think that is a great idea..." I began somewhat hesitantly. I knew Virgil had been through a lot tonight, but even so.
"Scott nothing is going to happen with Jo tonight, I just want to be in there for her if she has some sort of nightmare about this kidnapping, I don't want to leave her on her own!" Virgil cried, cutting off my arguments. To my mind, it just showed how exhausted he was; Virgil normally had a tight control over his emotions.
"Somehow I don't think Penny is going to be too happy about that." I muttered, determined to not be seen as the bad guy in this. Besides, Penny was an older sibling as much as I was, I knew that she would take my side.
"I'm not leaving her, Scott." Virgil responded stubbornly, clearly not going to back down. Before I could say anything else, Virgil took a stab at directing the conversation away from the awkward matters. "Anyway how are you doing? You looked like you were going to pass out there downstairs."
"I guess I am more tired then I thought I was," I replied quietly. I knew that he was just trying to stop me saying anything else, but hearing the tremor in his voice, I decided to let him have his way. Besides, I'm not sure Penny was going to back off that easily.
"I'm sorry, Scott."
"For what?" I couldn't help but sound confused at that, for I truly had no idea what my brother was talking about.
"For calling you out when you could have been dealing with something else." Virgil muttered. I swear my jaw dropped at that one. What did my brother think I was going to do, just sit back and watch?
"Your happiness comes first," I said gently, running my hand through his hair fondly. "Besides, it was still a rescue, not like it wasn't out of our league." Trying to lift the awkward tension that had fallen between us after the other topic, I was relieved when Virgil smiled.
"What age was Jo when she had Robyn?" I asked him suddenly, trying to piece together the mystery that seemed to be shrouding my little brother's past. And there I was, thinking I knew all about my brothers. Apparently not everything. The look on Virgil's face when he had come back inside the night of the reunion was still fresh in my mind, however. He clearly had had no idea either.
"She must have been 16 then, but I don't know how she managed on her own for 5 years with Robyn. If I had of known about Robyn, I swear, Scott I would have done something to help. Anything she would have let me do!" Virgil's exhaustion and emotions were clearly beginning to get the better of him again, and I knew it was my job as his big brother to try and calm him down again.
"You're here now, Virg."
"How I am going to make 5 years up to Robyn for not being there?" Virgil asked, sounding nothing short of desperate.
"You know bro as soon as I contacted Jo to make sure she was alright, she was more worried about you and Robyn than herself." I said gently, trying to make sure that Virgil saw Jo clearly didn't resent him for not being there. If she had, she certainly wouldn't have sounded like that. No, Virgil may have been worrying, but his daughter's mother clearly wasn't.
"Really?" Virgil asked, hope shining out of his eyes once again.
"She was definitely more worried about the pair of you than she was about herself." I reassured him, unable to stop myself from smiling as Virgil suddenly grinned, somewhat triumphantly.
"What were Alan and Gordon's reactions when they found out that I was a dad?" Virgil asked, the grin on his face not slipping in the slightest as he thought about our two youngest brothers. Alan's words playing over in my head, I had to grin back.
"There were both shocked but Alan's reaction was the best." I said, my grin widening as Virgil shot me a quizzical look.
"What did he say?"
"Well, his exact wards were "can't believe Virg got there before me"." I reported, chuckling at the look on Virgil's face. There was something else that had been playing on my mind though, something Dad had mentioned when I had called him before. "How did Grandma find out? I certainly never told her."
"She called me yesterday while we were in the park and she heard Robyn talking in the background so I had to tell her then." Virgil muttered, once more studying his hands. Raising my eyebrows, I had to let a low whistle of disbelief slide through my teeth. I really felt for my brother on that one.
"I bet Grandma was mad." I said quietly, not quite knowing how to react myself.
"She was actually very calm about it and said to that I had to marry Jo." Virgil said, almost sounding surprised himself about how well the old woman had taken it. I had to admit though, that was a typical Grandma reaction.
"Really, so are you planning on asking Jo to marry you?" Despite thinking that I already knew the answer, I still had to admit that I was curious.
"Yeah I going to give it a couple of months first, don't want to know where we are going from here." Virgil admitted, making me smile in pride. He had certainly thought this through, I couldn't deny that. Despite everything that had been thrown at him over the last couple of days, it was clear Virgil's mind was already thinking about the future, especially considering Jo was coming to the island for a few days.
"Probably the best plan. Look, Virg, go and get some sleep, you look beat."
"Might be easier said than done." Virgil muttered, climbing to his feet at the same time.
"You are worried about Jo." It was more of a statement than a question, but Virgil nodded anyway.
"I'm not sure how she is going to react." Virgil mumbled, glancing towards the door as he spoke. I couldn't help but feel a rush of sympathy towards my little brother. Finding out he was a father must have been a shock enough, but now for this on top of everything? It was only then I felt a rush of gratitude shoot through me that he had still taken the time to come and talk to me.
"Go and sleep, Virg. I'm glad you came though, we needed this, didn't we?"
"Yeah, we did." Turning to face me, I could see in Virgil's eyes that he had appreciated the chat as much as I had. His world was changing at the moment, and I was the only person around to keep him grounded. "Night, Scott."
"Sleep well, Virg," I responded gently. As I watched him leave, I couldn't help but sigh deeply. Virgil wasn't the only one out of his depth here. But as always, I knew without doubt that I was going to be here for him, whenever he needed me, just like always.