Sally worried.
John and Virgil filled her waking moments when she wasn't busy with iR or her son. So did her missing three grandsons, but Scott had been adamant that she stay on the island. Sally knew Scott and Gordon could care for themselves…kinda. And Alan deserved the opportunity all his brothers had had – to go out in the world and make something of himself.
Didn't stop her worrying about them, but her priorities had to be with the two grandsons she could look after.
Virgil had missed dinner. Again. She couldn't blame the man, her son could be overwhelming at times, and at the moment he was full of himself after securing a deal on a small tech company he had been after for six months at a price he deemed acceptable.
The man was insufferable and not for the first time she wondered how the hell she'd raised such a selfish, self-centred man.
Sally sighed. That line of thinking would get her nowhere. It was a path to self-doubt, and her grandsons needed her to be the strong woman they had always needed her to be. She squared her shoulders.
Her grandsons were still suffering two years down the line, and she was going to make sure that the two she could look after she would. Virgil was getting skinny. It was difficult to tell with John, but it wouldn't surprise her that he was going the same way.
She collected a plate of Kayo's – and that was another grandchild Sally was really worried about – nasi lemak and made her way down to the hangars where she knew Virgil would be squirreled away in his workshop.
The sound of something hard clanging against something metal pulled her up short, but at Virgil's frustrated cry Sally dropped the plate and run forward. The scene she saw was devastating.
Virgil was sitting in the remains of his workshop. His tools, usually neatly placed (Scott wasn't the only one who kept things neatly in their place), were all over the floor. It looked like he had literally picked up the tabletop and thrown it across the room.
Throwing a wrench out of the way, Sally knelt in front of her obviously shocked boy and placed both hands on his shoulders as she looked him over. Definitely in shock. But even as she did this Virgil recovered, pulling her in close for a hug.
They clung to each other for a moment.
She felt the change in Virgil as he pulled himself together, and she released him as he leaned back slightly, watching as he wiped his eyes and set his face. Sally waited for what could only be bad news. Her grandson didn't keep her waiting.
'It's Scott. There's been a shooting.'
And he caught her as she crumpled beside him.
She'd always known it was a likelihood but hearing that it had happened was still a shock. Sally shuddered, sudden memories of the time when Scott had been shot down and was missing in action for almost six months. He'd survived back then; she had absolute faith he would survive now.
Now it was her turn to pull herself together.
'John's on his way to see him. EOS is covering. With what's happening in Indonesia right now I can't leave, International Rescue will be needed within the next 12 hours.'
'EOS will keep you in the loop, we both know that. Come, get something to eat. The kitchen is empty and I'm afraid I dropped your dinner but Kayo sent over plenty.'
Virgil looked at the mess around him, suddenly aware of what he'd done. Sally knew that, given the chance, he'd stay and clear up his mess and miss yet another meal, so she didn't give him the opportunity.
'Wayne and Sadie have eaten and rested. They'll come and clear up while you take your turn to eat and rest.'
She grasped his arm and Virgil let her lead him to the kitchen and he watched her as she dished him up food and brought it over. He placed a hand over hers when she placed the plate down.
'Thank you.'
Sally smiled as she watched Virgil eat as if he hadn't eaten in days – which could be quite a possibility, Scott had never been the only one to skip meals when stressed – and patted his hand.
There was a wealth of meaning behind that "thank you", and Sally heard every one of them.