Don't ask that question
It was one of those things that when they set to trying to unravel exactly how it happened, it was a complicated snarl of favours and requests that had somehow 'obliged' them into an interview, conducted by remote for security's sake, because the GDF were doing a recruitment drive and it would look ever so good for them if International Rescue could say something about how they liked working with the GDF.
They'd established a few ground rules (the media at large had taken their limited cooperation with Kat Cavanaugh to mean that their repeated efforts to wear down the Tracys were working so some firm barriers had to be put in place to declare it was most certainly not open season with International Rescue or the Tracy family) and requested a list of questions for pre-approval and firmly declared that the signal was to be piped through Five for security and they held right of veto over everything. John would make the final edit of what they'd agree to release and send it to the GDF.
So it was that Scott and Virgil (because Alan had schoolwork to catch up on and no way were they going to throw him to the media, they knew better than to ask Kayo or John and no one in their right mind would ask Gordon to do an interview, recorded or otherwise) ended up in their uniforms, seated on chairs they'd carried down from the dining room into a nondescript corner of the main hanger (the bare rock was generic enough to be untraceable and Virgil said it looked good as a backdrop) and answering questions from their interviewer who was beaming in. John also was beaming in, his hologram hovering off to the side outside the camera's pick up (for moral support, as he explained) to keep an eye on things.
They'd both clearly been reluctant to start with, but to her credit, the woman was a skilled interviewer who first put them at ease with some chit chat and small talk, then progressed to the scripted questions- what sort of people do you work with, how does IR and the GDF work together, things they enjoy about working with the GDF- that sort of thing. All harmless and made for good soundbites and clips for ads.
Sensing they'd relaxed now, she ventured a little off script with variations of pre-agreed questions. That had earned an out of shot eyebrow quirk from John and a glance between the brothers, but they continued.
That having gone unchallenged, she went completely off script with a new question. "So, tell me, what's the worst thing you've ever seen?" She asked, leaning forward with the air of someone looking to get some juicy tidbit of gossip.
With barely a flicker of change of expression, Scott simply got up and left, leaving the interviewer staring after him, gobsmacked.
"I'm going to give you this one for free." Virgil replied, his tone even but his eyes hard as agate as he gave her a chance to salvage the interview. "Never, ever ask that question of us, military or any emergency services. I know you're about to protest that he could have just not answered, but the brain does this thing where as soon as you ask it a question it starts looking for the answer, it's involuntary. Like the old joke, don't think about pink elephants, as soon as you say that you think of pink elephants. To you, it's a story, to us, well, you just asked us to relive the worst experiences of our lives." He sat back and waited for her response, hoping she'd take the opportunity to apologise.
"But…!" She tried to protest.
His expression resigned and disappointed, Virgil looked to where John was hovering. "Cut the feed and delete the recording, the GDF recruiters can get their soundbites somewhere else."
A/N: Seriously, don't ask that question unless you are completely prepared for an honest answer. I will make you question humanity and/or throw up if you catch me in the wrong mood because I've already lived through those days enough times. I don't want to drag them up from my memory's secure vault for someone's entertainment because I have to shove those memories back into the vault afterwards and they don't always go quietly.
If you want stories ask about the funny stuff, the weird stuff, the 'how on earth did you manage that?' stuff, the cute stuff. Ask us about the days that made us feel like rock stars, the times when we felt like we changed the world, the things that make us love our jobs. Those are nice stories, I like reliving those days.