WARNING: graphic descriptions of injury.

Pushed To the Limit

'Kayo, I need you to show me your eyes, please.'

Her eyelids fluttered open, Gordon's smile blurring into view. She blinked a few times to clear her vision and looked around. There was dust and rubble everywhere. She groaned.

'Attagirl,' he said. 'Wanna sit up? Nice and slowly now, there we go.'

Shaking her head, she reorientated herself. Dust, rubble – rescue. Right. She remembered now. They were at a newly built shopping centre in Istanbul. The structure had been severely compromised following a 5.6 magnitude earthquake. More damaged than it should have been, which was causing major concerns. But there were people trapped inside, so the why was put on the backburner for now. Evacuation was their priority.

Only, they'd been mid-evac when the earth began to move again. The 5.6, it turned out, was just a taste of what was to come. A foreshock. The main event was much, much worse. Kayo had been making her way to another life sign at the time and ended up buried in rubble herself. Specifically, under a section of what she believed had once been a wall. Gordon had found her, and a med-scan had determined that she, miraculously, was relatively unharmed. Just trapped and very bruised – not least of all her ego. He had been in the process of freeing her and –

Kayo groaned. 'I fainted, didn't I?'

'I think you sat up too quickly the first time,' Gordon replied with a chuckle. 'Happens to the best of us.'

'You tell anyone, you die. Understand?' Kayo glared, pointing her finger at him.

Gordon raised his hands. 'Woah, okay. Won't tell a soul. You have my word.'

'Your word?'

'Yes?'

'I'm curious; does anyone actually believe you when you give them your word?'

Gordon laughed. 'Um, no. But have I ever broken a promise I've made you?'

'Um –' Kayo considered this for a moment. It was true, Gordon had a way of getting around promises he'd made people, but never one he'd made her. 'No.'

'Exactly. I value my life.' He extended a hand and helped her to her feet. 'You, Miss Kyrano, are very lucky.'

She rolled her eyes. Yes, lucky to have been caught up in an earthquake. Only Gordon could put those two things in a sentence together and make it sound legitimate. Or maybe that was just something people said when other people survived things. Personally, it wasn't something Kayo believed in.

Her retort to that extent was cut short by a muffled scream. She and Gordon both froze. Muted though it may be, they both knew that scream. They knew exactly who it belonged to.

Alan.

xxxxx

'I know, darling, I know,' Penelope soothed. 'I'm sorry. I'm sorry, it's done. There now, you're okay. Shhh. You're okay.'

Even as she spoke, she pressed down hard, trying to staunch the flow of blood. It was everywhere. On the floor, on the rubble, on Alan's uniform… on her. She swallowed down the bile rising in her throat. It wasn't like she'd never seen this amount of blood. It was just that some part of her had never expected to see Alan, of all people, in this state. He was still just a child.

Alan panted hard, clearly trying to get a handle on himself. The selfish part of Penny – the part that recognised that she was supposed to be the victim here – hoped he'd do so soon. The rest of her wished he would stop trying to be so brave. She'd known Alan his whole life. Always toddling after his brothers, trying to be exactly like them. Trying to grow up too soon. It was only at times like this that she realised exactly how heart-breaking that was.

'I'm sorry,' he groaned at last. 'I'm sorry.'

Penelope shook her head. 'No. No, you have nothing to apologise for. I should have realised. I'm so sorry.'

Alan had found her moments before the second earthquake had struck. There had just been enough time for him to make a witty remark – something like, 'Fancy meeting you here, your Ladyship!' – when it started to rain rubble on them. They'd both stumbled. Both thrown off their balance. They both fell to the ground. Only, whereas Penny managed to avoid any major hits, Alan's legs had been pinned down by a large beam.

When the trembling stopped, he'd looked at her, white as a sheet, and asked her if she was okay, like he wasn't the one who was trapped. Typical Tracy. Of course, she'd brushed him off – she had a few bumps and bruises, that was all. Under Alan's instruction, she attempted to lift the beam so he could wiggle free. Which is where everything went wrong.

She hadn't seen the blood. Evidently, he hadn't felt it either, pain masked by the rush of adrenaline. When she removed the beam, it momentarily tried to take his leg with it. Alan's sudden scream had startled her, but by the time she'd processed what was happening, his leg had come free. What was once keeping all that vital blood inside him was now free, leaving the young Tracy with a gaping wound in his leg. Her cardigan was made of the finest cashmere, and frightfully expensive, but she didn't think twice before whipping it off and using it as a compress.

Alan sent her a lopsided, pain-filled grin. 'No, 's fine. I told you to. We're good.'

'Alan.' She shook her head and sighed. 'This is not good. This is… a lot of blood, and I only have very basic first aid training. You could be bleeding out for all I know.'

'Just –' His breathing hitched, forehead creasing in pain – 'keep up the pressure. I – I can call for help. Maybe.'

She opened her mouth to reply that that would be a good idea, when a noise caught her attention. Voices. Two of them. Shouting. 'Alan? Alan, where are you?'

'Do you hear that, Alan? Sounds like help's already on the way.' She smiled down at him, then froze. He was – he was conscious a moment ago. She'd just been talking to him, he was fine. But now… 'Gordon!' she screamed. 'Kayo! Over here!'

xxxxx

Alan peeled his eyes open to a harsh white light. Ugh, returning to consciousness was a bitch sometimes. Not that he was in any pain at all, but waking up in hospital always made his head feel funny. He suspected it was the drugs. God, he hated being in hospital.

Rolling his head to the side, his eyes met Kayo's. She grinned at him as she lounged back in an uncomfortable looking chair.

'Morning,' she acknowledged.

'Hey,' he replied. 'Where is everyone? How long was I out?'

'You were out for a few hours – lost a lot of blood, but luckily no arteries were nicked in today's maiming, so you get to live.'

'Yay me.'

'Parker took Lady Penelope home. She's okay, thanks to you. Well, physically she's okay. You've got a few mental scars to answer for, she'll bill you for the therapy sessions.'

'Think she'll let me off the hook if I buy her a gift basket of her favourite teas?'

'She will, I won't,' Kayo said, shooting him a wicked grin. 'While we're on that subject, you might want to write your will because when Scott gets here he will bore you to tears with a lecture about not removing non-life-threatening debris from injures without taking the proper precautions. You could have bled out, but that's all I'll say on the matter because Scott will inevitably be right when he says you know better.'

Alan nodded solemnly. 'I leave to you my video game collection and access to my Cavern Quest account.'

'You do have a bit of time though. Scott is finishing up his Everest rescue as we speak, then he'll be returning to the island to pick up Grandma Tracy and John because they want to see you. Virgil is still quarantining but will probably call when I tell him you're awake.'

'Miss me with that flu virus, thank you very much,' Alan said. 'Why isn't Gordon the one going home to get the others?'

Kayo grimaced. 'No injuries, but he's way past his flight hours now. He was here, but he hotfooted it back to Thunderbird Two when they declared you out of danger.'

'Understandable.'

'I can go get him, if you want?'

Alan hesitated. Gordon hated hospitals; couldn't stand to be in them a moment more than he had to be. He didn't want to put his brother through that, but… in that moment, he felt really small. He just wanted one of his brothers. And, unfortunately for him, Gordon was closest.

'Yes, please,' he whispered.

With a smile, Kayo squeezed his hand and took her leave. Alan didn't miss the slight wince but decided not to ask. If Kayo had been allowed to sit next to him in a crappy hospital chair, then she wasn't in any danger.

By the sounds of it, everyone was physically okay except for him. No matter how much his brothers hated it, he could definitely live with that.

xxxxx

The clunking of boots on metal jolted him awake. Well, not awake, because he wouldn't really call what he'd been doing sleeping, but certainly back to awareness. The tread was definitely Kayo's – for once she wasn't trying to be sneaky. With a sigh, he spun his chair and waited.

Kayo frowned at him as she entered the cockpit. 'I told you to get some rest.'

'I was,' Gordon replied. 'I was resting my eyes.'

'You know that's not what I meant.' She glowered. 'I meant sleep.'

'Same thing.' He shrugged. 'Alan awake?'

'Yes, he's asked for you.'

Gordon nodded. Honestly, he'd been expecting it. It killed him that he hadn't been able to keep himself together enough to stay until his brother had woken up, but sitting in hospitals made his insides shrivel up. So, even though there was part of him throwing a two-year-old tantrum at the thought of going back in, it was the very least he could do. He'd taken a break, now he could stay until Scott arrived… just as long as Scott arrived soon.

He stumbled as he stood, the world tilting. Kayo's steady hands caught him. She winced and he mumbled an apology. 'How bad?'

'It's just bruising,' she dismissed. 'I did get it double checked, like you asked. They've advised two days rest and then I can go back to work – and, yes, I got the paperwork.'

'Kayo, you're an angel. At least Virgil has no excuse to kill me.'

'He will when John tells him you worked way past your limit.'

'Three things: one –' he counted them off on his fingers – 'I had no choice. The rescue was longer than anticipated and what was I supposed to do? Say, 'Whoops, sorry, Al. I'm off the clock'? None of us would do that. Two, I'll sleep when I'm dead. Three, he'll have to catch me first.'

Kayo laughed, looping one of his arms around her shoulders to support him. 'Flu-ridden bear vs. exhausted squid. My money's on the bear.'

'Squid have more arms,' Gordon argued.

By the time they reached Alan's room, the argument was still inconclusive.