Virgil stirred.
All eyes, which had been looking towards Brains, now turned to Virgil. Jeff put his hand on Virgil's arm and said softly, "Virgil? son?"
No answer.
With a sigh, Jeff turned back to Brains. "What happened to Thunderbird 2?"
"W-W-Well, when Scott t-t-took us home earlier I-I-I asked him to s-s-slow d-d-down over the c-c-crash site so that I could t-t-take some r-r-readings of the crater and s-s-surrounding area. When I g-g-got home I f-f-fed that information into m-m-my computer then accessed the g-g-geological information of that area."
Brains continued, "I r-r-ran the t-t-test several t-t-times and asked the c- c-computer to give me p-p-percentage results with what I f-f-found. You are n-n-not going to b-b-believe this."
Scott yelled impatiently, "Brains, what happened?!"
"It s-s-seems that there are p-p-pockets of natural g-g-gas all around the area and there w-w-was one particularly large p-p-pocket sitting just below the s-s-surface at the precise location that V-V-Virgil had TB2's l-l- landing thrusters on f-f-full. Because the g-g-gas was so close to the s-s- surface, and there were some g-g-gas escaping. Thunderbird 2's jet set off the explosion."
Scott and Jeff just stood there; mouths open, in shock. "Are you sure Brains?" Scott asked.
"W-W-Well, Scott. That is the b-b-best scenario I have. The c-c- computer has it at 93% as the c-c-cause of explosion. Yes it p-p-probably could be sabotage I s-s-suppose, or something else. B-B-But I do think th- th-that is r-r-really what h-h-happened. Virgil b-b-blew himself up."
Jeff and Scott stood there in stunned silence.
"I heard that." Croaked Virgil.
Jeff looked at Virgil, surprised, then turned to Scott, "Scott, go get the nurse, she wanted to know when Virgil woke up."
"Ok." Scott then turned and left.
Jeff turned to Virgil. His face was still swollen, but was turning more colorful. His left eye was still closed. But he looked at his dad with his right eye. Jeff put his hand on his son's arm.
"I destroyed Thunderbird 2?" Virgil barely whispered the words, but was visibly upset.
"Virgil," Jeff said in a stern voice. "Thunderbird 2 can be rebuilt. We can take advantage of this tragedy and change the original design flaws. I want you to concentrate on you getting better. I want you well and back home. I don't give a damn about a broken cargo ship. You are not to blame for the explosion! Do you hear me!"
Virgil just looked at him and swallowed hard. The nurse walked in then. "Would you all please wait outside for a few minutes while I examine him? Thanks."
The three men hesitantly left the room. They all wanted to talk to Virgil.
The nurse went to Virgil's side. "Hi, Virgil, my name is Jeanine. I'm your RN for today. Other than feeling like you were run over by a three-ton steamroller, how do you feel? Can you give me specifics?"
Virgil looked up at her, but his first attempt to speak failed. She picked up a cup that was next to his bed. It contained ice. She took a spoon and picked out a small piece and brought it to his lips. When he took it, she said, "Don't chew it, let it melt in your mouth. It will help take away the dryness."
When he tried to speak again, there was some noise that escaped his lips. In a soft whisper he said, "I hurt all over, especially my face."
She asked, "What do you know of your injuries?" He answered, "Nothing."
She asked, "Do you know what happened to you?" He hesitated for a moment, "I was in a crash."
"Your memory is fine", she said, then she went onto explained what happened to him and what his injuries were then asked, " Do you have any pain that may not be explained by any of your injuries?"
Virgil thought for a moment, "Can't tell."
She said, "Ok, we'll keep an eye on you. Do you have any questions?"
Virgil nodded, "Why do I have to wait for surgery on my face?"
Jeanine replied, "Your body needs to rest before you undergo more surgery and you were in surgery way too long repairing the rest of you to have your face worked on last night. But the plastic surgeon we have is excellent. You will be just as handsome as you always were."
Virgil asked, "How do you know I was handsome?"
She smiled, she could see he was troubled, which is only natural for people with facial trauma. "Only the left side is swollen, your right side looks just fine." She patted him on the arm then said, "Your doctor will be here tomorrow to talk to you. You can ask him any questions you'd like. Now, just relax, I do have to check you over and make sure all the wires, tubes and pipes sticking out all over your body are still working."
He closed his eyes then slept.
Jeff and the others were disappointed that they were unable to talk to Virgil.
Walt came by at 11:00 PM as promised and Scott and Brains bid their good- byes. They 'parked' TB1 in the field a little ways from the hospital so has not to hog the heliport in case there was an emergency helicopter that needed to land there. Jeff left with Walt in his jeep.
Jeff awoke from a deep sleep. He didn't realize how exhausted he had gotten. The stress of the past two days had taken its toll. It was just after 10:00 AM. He had wanted to get up early and get back to the hospital but Walt didn't wake him up. He couldn't be mad at Walt, though. He would have done the same thing to any one else if the situation was reversed. Walt's wife, Anita, had breakfast ready for Jeff so that he didn't have to wait. She told him that Walt was at the store and she would call him back home to take Jeff back to the hospital. He should eat while Walt was enroute.
When Jeff was back at the hospital, he was once again asked to remain outside Virgil's room. Several doctors were working on Virgil, checking his chart, examining his surgical sites, and whatever else doctor's do. The nurse, seeing Jeff's worried look, assured him that nothing has happened, this is the normal routine with ICU patients. With that Jeff went downstairs to visit John. When he got into his room, John wasn't in bed. Jeff looked around worried. Was he so concerned about Virgil that he didn't notice how bad John really was? He didn't know what tests John would be undergoing, or his prognosis or anything. He looked around the room repeatedly, when John opened the bathroom door. He was still attached to an I.V. so he was pushing his I.V.pole next to him as he came out. "Oh, hi, dad" he said cheerily, "uh, what's wrong, you look white as a ghost."
Jeff replied, "Oh, uh, just tired I guess." Hiding the fact that he just got so worried and he failed to think of the bathroom as a logical place for John to be. "John you look terrific, how do you feel?"
"Well, I seem to have trouble catching my breath, and the arm is achy, but other than that, I feel fine. I just run out of steam easily." And with that he laid back down on the bed. "Can I visit Virgil this afternoon? How is he?"
Jeff said, "He woke up briefly last night, but I didn't get to talk to him much. Scott and Brains didn't get to talk to him at all. The nurse needed to speak with him. But I am just glad that he woke up."
Jeff looked down for a moment, looking uncomfortable, but before John ask anything, he said, "I'm sorry I'm not spending as much time with you." John butted in before Jeff could say anymore, "Dad, I know that you have two injured sons on two different floors. One is in very bad shape. Don't worry. I'm doing fine. I actually would prefer to be at Virgil's side instead of my own room right now, too. Don't apologize for being worried. I wasn't the one being crushed under the Mole for the better part of a day. Please, don't apologize."
Jeff was still feeling guilty about not spending more time with John when John's doctor came in. "How are we feeling today, young man?"
The doctor came over, listened to his heart, lungs, checked his back then his arm and said, "You seem to be doing excellently. I am thinking you can probably go home tomorrow evening if you continue to improve." John seemed genuinely pleased.
Jeff asked, "Will there be any permanent problems associated with his injuries?"
The doctor answered, "No, not unless he re-damages what we fixed because he didn't remain quiet," and he shot a quick look at John, "or he develops complications in the next several days, which I am not anticipating."
"Thanks, doc" said Jeff as the doctor left. Turning to John he said, "I will come get you later this afternoon for a Virgil visit if you are up to it."
"Yeah, father, that would be terrific. Looking forward to it." He said with a smile.
The next week flew by. Jeff stayed with Walt a couple of nights more before going back to the island. The rest of the Tracy clan kept Thunderbird 1 busy ferrying them back and forth at different times to visit Virgil. He had his facial surgery, and the doctor who performed it was thrilled with the results. He told the men from International Rescue that he was able to do the repairs microscopically, thus minimizing the scarring, which will be hidden at the hairline anyway. By week's end, Virgil was moved to room 328 since it had been recently vacated.
John visited Virgil several days later and spent the day there just the two of them. That was the day that Thunderbird 2 was being taken home. John was not fit enough to help with the salvage operation. Besides, Jeff still wanted someone with Virgil, who was now awake during most the day, and sitting up a little. During this visit Virgil finally decided to ask John the question everyone else was avoiding answering.
"How bad is Thunderbird 2, John. Be honest, please." Pleaded Virgil. John, who had his left arm in a sling, sat next to Virgil. He thought for a moment, then said, "If you let onto dad, that I told you anything, I won't save you the next time this happens." He paused, then continued, "I don't remember what the outside looks like. But she was on her side. All the windows were broken and dirt had poured through in the cockpit. I think her whole nose was embedded.." John continued on for over an hour describing the ordeal that he went through, the problems he had climbing over debris, how and where he found Virgil, etc. Virgil listened intently, incredible sadness in his eyes. As John was describing what he went through, Virgil kept thinking that he was the one responsible for putting John through that nightmare. "... that was the wildest ride you ever put me on Virgil. I think I will enjoy the peace and quiet of Thunderbird 5 for a while." John finished up with a glint to his eye at the joke. He looked over at Virgil and said, "Hey, don't worry about TB2, she will be back at base and started under repair by tomorrow." Virgil responded, "I wasn't thinking of what I did to her, I was thinking of what I did to you." John sat stunned, he never thought of it that way. "What do you mean, me? We were going on a rescue. It was Mother Nature who told us not to land there. You didn't do anything to me. Listen Virgil, you had better get that thought, that you caused this, out of your head right now. It will just eat you up inside. There was no way you could have known there were gas pockets under us. Beside, there is no way I would have been able to sit up in TB5 during a rescue like that. I am much happier to have been there, even if I was the one of the ones being rescued. Poor Alan must have been going nuts." Although he knew Virgil heard him, he also knew that Virgil was going to have to come to the right conclusion by himself.
At the crash site, several townsfolk came back to help with the loading. Brains was right, she did fit inside that big cargo carrier, but barely. There was plenty of metal scraping against metal as she was being pulled in. With the help of so many people, TB2 was loaded, transported, unloaded back home (with just the Tracys) and the carrier returned to Jeff's buddy all within one day. Jeff was hoping to have some repairs done to TB2 before Virgil came home. The last thing he wanted was for Virgil to have a heart attack at the sight of his beloved ship that he now feels he destroyed. Jeff had Brains working almost non-stop on redesigning TB2. He didn't want major changes, more like enhancements that would never have occurred if TB2 wasn't so badly damaged. He had the rest of the boys working hard to fix the pieces that were not going to be enhanced, except John who spent a lot of time with Virgil. As soon as Brains would be finished with the plans for one upgrade the boys would start in on it. The first upgrade that went into TB2 was a landing detector. It would scan the ground beneath TB2 to check for such things as gas pockets, cracks, underground rivers or caves, and any other flaw in the earth's crust that would cause a problem with Virgil landing such a large heavy craft. The new and improved Thunderbird 2 was going to be unstoppable.
**************************************************************************** ************
2 months later
Jerry and Walt were sitting in their chairs in front of Jerry's store admiring the beautiful day and watching the world go by. "Say, Walt, do you remember the last name of those International Rescue folks? Wasn't it Racy?" asked Jerry.
"Nah, I think it was Spacey as in the Hollywood actor, Kevin. I think there is some resemblance, maybe they are related, you think?" Replied Walt.
"Nope, I don't think it was Spacey, I woulda remembered that, maybe it was Stacy."
The two men looked at each other and winked. They had quietly gone around town periodically testing the waters, so to speak, to see if anyone remembered Jeff's last name. Nobody had paid attention. No one could tell either of the two men what Jeff's last name was or even the first names of the rescued men. They were so wrapped up in the rescue itself. One guy, George, an amateur photographer and video nut recorded the whole rescue. He came up to Walt several days after the rescue and presented the video to Walt. He said that he had no plans of selling it or making money from it. He wanted to give it to International Rescue as a momento of what Hogs Hollow did for them. He asked Walt that if he ever saw them, would he give them the video. And Walt agreed. Walt and Jerry remembered full well what their last name was. They even came to the conclusion that some of them, if not all of them were related. But they also realized at the same time, that if their knowledge was to get out, International Rescue would probably cease to exist and neither of the men wanted to be responsible for all those lives that would not get saved in the future. They really had a high regard for that organization. They heard that the hospital received a huge donation. The check had a Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward signature on it. But they didn't know why such a socialite would suddenly bestow such a gift on them, and she didn't say why other than a small hand written note stating, "thank you for taking such good care of some friends of mine."
As they were chatting away, a stretch limo pulled up in front followed by three pickup trucks and a large SUV. The front passenger door opened up and both Walt and Jerry assumed that whoever got out was going to open the back door for some hotshot. They were both puzzled, who the heck would visit Hogs Hollow with such a large entourage? What they saw first was a pair of crutches coming out the door, followed gingerly by a young man, obviously needing them. He slowly and very carefully walked back along the limo to greet a dark haired man that just drove up in a Dodge Ram and took something from him. Walt and Jerry recognized Scott who then got into the back of the limo. Then they recognized John, Brains and Gordon as they each went up to the young man and handed him something. Brains and Gordon got into the limo and John went to the back of the third pickup, a Toyota to fish something out. When the young man on crutches collected something from all the drivers, he slowly walked up to Walt and Jerry. When he got closer they could see that his face exhibited some recent but healing trauma. He spoke in an incredibly rich soothing voice, "Uh, sorry for the show," he said, pointing to the stretch limo, "but it was the only thing we could find to rent that would hold all of us for the ride back to the airport. I'm looking for Walter and Jerry?"
"I'm Walt and this here is Jerry." Walt said as he extended his hand in a handshake. Leaning on his crutches, the young man reached out with his hand and said, "Hi, I'm Virgil."
Both Walt's and Jerry's eye lit up as they stood up. Jerry spoke first, "Hey, I didn't recognize you at all, you look terrific, how are you doing?"
"I'm recovering just fine, thank you," said Virgil, "and I owe it all to you."
Blushing, both men talked over each other. But Virgil was able to understand "Oh, it was nothing, glad we could help".
Virgil held up his hand to quiet the two men, "I believe that you have some people who damaged their trucks while trying to get me out of Thunderbird 2, correct? If I am not mistaken, they were a Dodge Ram, Toyota Tundra, Chevy 3500 and a Ford Escalade, right? Would you please see to it that the owners received these new vehicles to show my appreciation and gratitude." And Virgil handed Walt the four sets of keys that the others gave him. Walt then excused himself and went inside.
While Walt was inside, Virgil reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope and handed it to Jerry. Maybe you two can start that little tourist trade showing off 'Little Grand Canyon'. As Virgil turned towards John who had been standing by the back of the pickup with what looked to be a large painting wrapped in brown paper, Jerry opened up the envelope. He fell back hard on his chair almost falling over. Walt had just come back out and caught him and said, "What's the matter?!! What's in that envelope?" Jerry just shoved the envelope into Walt's hand and tried to catch his breath. Walt handed the video George took to Virgil then looked at the check inside and also sat down hard. There were seven zeros on the check. He had never held so much money in his whole life. Then he noticed whose signature was on the bottom. One Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward. He pointed that out to Jerry who was still fanning himself with his hand. He just raised an eyebrow and looked up at Virgil who was holding the video and a puzzled look on his face.
Walt said, "Someone in town video'd the rescue for you. There are no copies made or anything that you have to worry about. It is strictly for you." Virgil said, "Since I don't remember any of it, I would like to see what happened. Thank you, and thank George for me." He now motioned John to come over. John greeted them when he approached, "Hi fellas!" Walt chimed in, "You're looking a lot better too from the last time I saw you. Hey, your arm must be doing pretty well to be able to carry that heavy thing." John replied, "yeah, I have been doing a lot of physical therapy and the arm is as good as new."
John placed the object in front of the two still seated men. "Virgil and I personally got this for the town. We hope you like it." The young men shook both Walt's and Jerry's hands, turned and walked slowly back to the limo. They both climbed in back and the limo left. Walt and Jerry tore the paper from the large heavy object, thinking it was a fancy painting for the town hall. They took a look at it and smiled.
It was a fancy wooden sign, painted teal, with gold engraved lettering:
WELCOME TO HOGS HOLLOW HOME OF THE LITTLE GRAND CANYON AND THE TOWN THAT RESCUED INTERNATIONAL RESCUE.
****Author's note:
I want to thank everyone for their reviews. Reading them was becoming very addicting. It not only drove me to finish the story, but I was actually looking forward to writing it. I did not know what was going to happen until the words flowed from my fingers. I just started with the idea of TB2 crashing. Everything else was just as new to me as it was to you. As soon as I come up with another base idea, another story will start to flow.
And now for the disclaimer: I do not own Thunderbirds, but I thank Gerry Anderson and Sylvia for the original idea and Carlson for allowing me to write a story on something they own.
All eyes, which had been looking towards Brains, now turned to Virgil. Jeff put his hand on Virgil's arm and said softly, "Virgil? son?"
No answer.
With a sigh, Jeff turned back to Brains. "What happened to Thunderbird 2?"
"W-W-Well, when Scott t-t-took us home earlier I-I-I asked him to s-s-slow d-d-down over the c-c-crash site so that I could t-t-take some r-r-readings of the crater and s-s-surrounding area. When I g-g-got home I f-f-fed that information into m-m-my computer then accessed the g-g-geological information of that area."
Brains continued, "I r-r-ran the t-t-test several t-t-times and asked the c- c-computer to give me p-p-percentage results with what I f-f-found. You are n-n-not going to b-b-believe this."
Scott yelled impatiently, "Brains, what happened?!"
"It s-s-seems that there are p-p-pockets of natural g-g-gas all around the area and there w-w-was one particularly large p-p-pocket sitting just below the s-s-surface at the precise location that V-V-Virgil had TB2's l-l- landing thrusters on f-f-full. Because the g-g-gas was so close to the s-s- surface, and there were some g-g-gas escaping. Thunderbird 2's jet set off the explosion."
Scott and Jeff just stood there; mouths open, in shock. "Are you sure Brains?" Scott asked.
"W-W-Well, Scott. That is the b-b-best scenario I have. The c-c- computer has it at 93% as the c-c-cause of explosion. Yes it p-p-probably could be sabotage I s-s-suppose, or something else. B-B-But I do think th- th-that is r-r-really what h-h-happened. Virgil b-b-blew himself up."
Jeff and Scott stood there in stunned silence.
"I heard that." Croaked Virgil.
Jeff looked at Virgil, surprised, then turned to Scott, "Scott, go get the nurse, she wanted to know when Virgil woke up."
"Ok." Scott then turned and left.
Jeff turned to Virgil. His face was still swollen, but was turning more colorful. His left eye was still closed. But he looked at his dad with his right eye. Jeff put his hand on his son's arm.
"I destroyed Thunderbird 2?" Virgil barely whispered the words, but was visibly upset.
"Virgil," Jeff said in a stern voice. "Thunderbird 2 can be rebuilt. We can take advantage of this tragedy and change the original design flaws. I want you to concentrate on you getting better. I want you well and back home. I don't give a damn about a broken cargo ship. You are not to blame for the explosion! Do you hear me!"
Virgil just looked at him and swallowed hard. The nurse walked in then. "Would you all please wait outside for a few minutes while I examine him? Thanks."
The three men hesitantly left the room. They all wanted to talk to Virgil.
The nurse went to Virgil's side. "Hi, Virgil, my name is Jeanine. I'm your RN for today. Other than feeling like you were run over by a three-ton steamroller, how do you feel? Can you give me specifics?"
Virgil looked up at her, but his first attempt to speak failed. She picked up a cup that was next to his bed. It contained ice. She took a spoon and picked out a small piece and brought it to his lips. When he took it, she said, "Don't chew it, let it melt in your mouth. It will help take away the dryness."
When he tried to speak again, there was some noise that escaped his lips. In a soft whisper he said, "I hurt all over, especially my face."
She asked, "What do you know of your injuries?" He answered, "Nothing."
She asked, "Do you know what happened to you?" He hesitated for a moment, "I was in a crash."
"Your memory is fine", she said, then she went onto explained what happened to him and what his injuries were then asked, " Do you have any pain that may not be explained by any of your injuries?"
Virgil thought for a moment, "Can't tell."
She said, "Ok, we'll keep an eye on you. Do you have any questions?"
Virgil nodded, "Why do I have to wait for surgery on my face?"
Jeanine replied, "Your body needs to rest before you undergo more surgery and you were in surgery way too long repairing the rest of you to have your face worked on last night. But the plastic surgeon we have is excellent. You will be just as handsome as you always were."
Virgil asked, "How do you know I was handsome?"
She smiled, she could see he was troubled, which is only natural for people with facial trauma. "Only the left side is swollen, your right side looks just fine." She patted him on the arm then said, "Your doctor will be here tomorrow to talk to you. You can ask him any questions you'd like. Now, just relax, I do have to check you over and make sure all the wires, tubes and pipes sticking out all over your body are still working."
He closed his eyes then slept.
Jeff and the others were disappointed that they were unable to talk to Virgil.
Walt came by at 11:00 PM as promised and Scott and Brains bid their good- byes. They 'parked' TB1 in the field a little ways from the hospital so has not to hog the heliport in case there was an emergency helicopter that needed to land there. Jeff left with Walt in his jeep.
Jeff awoke from a deep sleep. He didn't realize how exhausted he had gotten. The stress of the past two days had taken its toll. It was just after 10:00 AM. He had wanted to get up early and get back to the hospital but Walt didn't wake him up. He couldn't be mad at Walt, though. He would have done the same thing to any one else if the situation was reversed. Walt's wife, Anita, had breakfast ready for Jeff so that he didn't have to wait. She told him that Walt was at the store and she would call him back home to take Jeff back to the hospital. He should eat while Walt was enroute.
When Jeff was back at the hospital, he was once again asked to remain outside Virgil's room. Several doctors were working on Virgil, checking his chart, examining his surgical sites, and whatever else doctor's do. The nurse, seeing Jeff's worried look, assured him that nothing has happened, this is the normal routine with ICU patients. With that Jeff went downstairs to visit John. When he got into his room, John wasn't in bed. Jeff looked around worried. Was he so concerned about Virgil that he didn't notice how bad John really was? He didn't know what tests John would be undergoing, or his prognosis or anything. He looked around the room repeatedly, when John opened the bathroom door. He was still attached to an I.V. so he was pushing his I.V.pole next to him as he came out. "Oh, hi, dad" he said cheerily, "uh, what's wrong, you look white as a ghost."
Jeff replied, "Oh, uh, just tired I guess." Hiding the fact that he just got so worried and he failed to think of the bathroom as a logical place for John to be. "John you look terrific, how do you feel?"
"Well, I seem to have trouble catching my breath, and the arm is achy, but other than that, I feel fine. I just run out of steam easily." And with that he laid back down on the bed. "Can I visit Virgil this afternoon? How is he?"
Jeff said, "He woke up briefly last night, but I didn't get to talk to him much. Scott and Brains didn't get to talk to him at all. The nurse needed to speak with him. But I am just glad that he woke up."
Jeff looked down for a moment, looking uncomfortable, but before John ask anything, he said, "I'm sorry I'm not spending as much time with you." John butted in before Jeff could say anymore, "Dad, I know that you have two injured sons on two different floors. One is in very bad shape. Don't worry. I'm doing fine. I actually would prefer to be at Virgil's side instead of my own room right now, too. Don't apologize for being worried. I wasn't the one being crushed under the Mole for the better part of a day. Please, don't apologize."
Jeff was still feeling guilty about not spending more time with John when John's doctor came in. "How are we feeling today, young man?"
The doctor came over, listened to his heart, lungs, checked his back then his arm and said, "You seem to be doing excellently. I am thinking you can probably go home tomorrow evening if you continue to improve." John seemed genuinely pleased.
Jeff asked, "Will there be any permanent problems associated with his injuries?"
The doctor answered, "No, not unless he re-damages what we fixed because he didn't remain quiet," and he shot a quick look at John, "or he develops complications in the next several days, which I am not anticipating."
"Thanks, doc" said Jeff as the doctor left. Turning to John he said, "I will come get you later this afternoon for a Virgil visit if you are up to it."
"Yeah, father, that would be terrific. Looking forward to it." He said with a smile.
The next week flew by. Jeff stayed with Walt a couple of nights more before going back to the island. The rest of the Tracy clan kept Thunderbird 1 busy ferrying them back and forth at different times to visit Virgil. He had his facial surgery, and the doctor who performed it was thrilled with the results. He told the men from International Rescue that he was able to do the repairs microscopically, thus minimizing the scarring, which will be hidden at the hairline anyway. By week's end, Virgil was moved to room 328 since it had been recently vacated.
John visited Virgil several days later and spent the day there just the two of them. That was the day that Thunderbird 2 was being taken home. John was not fit enough to help with the salvage operation. Besides, Jeff still wanted someone with Virgil, who was now awake during most the day, and sitting up a little. During this visit Virgil finally decided to ask John the question everyone else was avoiding answering.
"How bad is Thunderbird 2, John. Be honest, please." Pleaded Virgil. John, who had his left arm in a sling, sat next to Virgil. He thought for a moment, then said, "If you let onto dad, that I told you anything, I won't save you the next time this happens." He paused, then continued, "I don't remember what the outside looks like. But she was on her side. All the windows were broken and dirt had poured through in the cockpit. I think her whole nose was embedded.." John continued on for over an hour describing the ordeal that he went through, the problems he had climbing over debris, how and where he found Virgil, etc. Virgil listened intently, incredible sadness in his eyes. As John was describing what he went through, Virgil kept thinking that he was the one responsible for putting John through that nightmare. "... that was the wildest ride you ever put me on Virgil. I think I will enjoy the peace and quiet of Thunderbird 5 for a while." John finished up with a glint to his eye at the joke. He looked over at Virgil and said, "Hey, don't worry about TB2, she will be back at base and started under repair by tomorrow." Virgil responded, "I wasn't thinking of what I did to her, I was thinking of what I did to you." John sat stunned, he never thought of it that way. "What do you mean, me? We were going on a rescue. It was Mother Nature who told us not to land there. You didn't do anything to me. Listen Virgil, you had better get that thought, that you caused this, out of your head right now. It will just eat you up inside. There was no way you could have known there were gas pockets under us. Beside, there is no way I would have been able to sit up in TB5 during a rescue like that. I am much happier to have been there, even if I was the one of the ones being rescued. Poor Alan must have been going nuts." Although he knew Virgil heard him, he also knew that Virgil was going to have to come to the right conclusion by himself.
At the crash site, several townsfolk came back to help with the loading. Brains was right, she did fit inside that big cargo carrier, but barely. There was plenty of metal scraping against metal as she was being pulled in. With the help of so many people, TB2 was loaded, transported, unloaded back home (with just the Tracys) and the carrier returned to Jeff's buddy all within one day. Jeff was hoping to have some repairs done to TB2 before Virgil came home. The last thing he wanted was for Virgil to have a heart attack at the sight of his beloved ship that he now feels he destroyed. Jeff had Brains working almost non-stop on redesigning TB2. He didn't want major changes, more like enhancements that would never have occurred if TB2 wasn't so badly damaged. He had the rest of the boys working hard to fix the pieces that were not going to be enhanced, except John who spent a lot of time with Virgil. As soon as Brains would be finished with the plans for one upgrade the boys would start in on it. The first upgrade that went into TB2 was a landing detector. It would scan the ground beneath TB2 to check for such things as gas pockets, cracks, underground rivers or caves, and any other flaw in the earth's crust that would cause a problem with Virgil landing such a large heavy craft. The new and improved Thunderbird 2 was going to be unstoppable.
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2 months later
Jerry and Walt were sitting in their chairs in front of Jerry's store admiring the beautiful day and watching the world go by. "Say, Walt, do you remember the last name of those International Rescue folks? Wasn't it Racy?" asked Jerry.
"Nah, I think it was Spacey as in the Hollywood actor, Kevin. I think there is some resemblance, maybe they are related, you think?" Replied Walt.
"Nope, I don't think it was Spacey, I woulda remembered that, maybe it was Stacy."
The two men looked at each other and winked. They had quietly gone around town periodically testing the waters, so to speak, to see if anyone remembered Jeff's last name. Nobody had paid attention. No one could tell either of the two men what Jeff's last name was or even the first names of the rescued men. They were so wrapped up in the rescue itself. One guy, George, an amateur photographer and video nut recorded the whole rescue. He came up to Walt several days after the rescue and presented the video to Walt. He said that he had no plans of selling it or making money from it. He wanted to give it to International Rescue as a momento of what Hogs Hollow did for them. He asked Walt that if he ever saw them, would he give them the video. And Walt agreed. Walt and Jerry remembered full well what their last name was. They even came to the conclusion that some of them, if not all of them were related. But they also realized at the same time, that if their knowledge was to get out, International Rescue would probably cease to exist and neither of the men wanted to be responsible for all those lives that would not get saved in the future. They really had a high regard for that organization. They heard that the hospital received a huge donation. The check had a Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward signature on it. But they didn't know why such a socialite would suddenly bestow such a gift on them, and she didn't say why other than a small hand written note stating, "thank you for taking such good care of some friends of mine."
As they were chatting away, a stretch limo pulled up in front followed by three pickup trucks and a large SUV. The front passenger door opened up and both Walt and Jerry assumed that whoever got out was going to open the back door for some hotshot. They were both puzzled, who the heck would visit Hogs Hollow with such a large entourage? What they saw first was a pair of crutches coming out the door, followed gingerly by a young man, obviously needing them. He slowly and very carefully walked back along the limo to greet a dark haired man that just drove up in a Dodge Ram and took something from him. Walt and Jerry recognized Scott who then got into the back of the limo. Then they recognized John, Brains and Gordon as they each went up to the young man and handed him something. Brains and Gordon got into the limo and John went to the back of the third pickup, a Toyota to fish something out. When the young man on crutches collected something from all the drivers, he slowly walked up to Walt and Jerry. When he got closer they could see that his face exhibited some recent but healing trauma. He spoke in an incredibly rich soothing voice, "Uh, sorry for the show," he said, pointing to the stretch limo, "but it was the only thing we could find to rent that would hold all of us for the ride back to the airport. I'm looking for Walter and Jerry?"
"I'm Walt and this here is Jerry." Walt said as he extended his hand in a handshake. Leaning on his crutches, the young man reached out with his hand and said, "Hi, I'm Virgil."
Both Walt's and Jerry's eye lit up as they stood up. Jerry spoke first, "Hey, I didn't recognize you at all, you look terrific, how are you doing?"
"I'm recovering just fine, thank you," said Virgil, "and I owe it all to you."
Blushing, both men talked over each other. But Virgil was able to understand "Oh, it was nothing, glad we could help".
Virgil held up his hand to quiet the two men, "I believe that you have some people who damaged their trucks while trying to get me out of Thunderbird 2, correct? If I am not mistaken, they were a Dodge Ram, Toyota Tundra, Chevy 3500 and a Ford Escalade, right? Would you please see to it that the owners received these new vehicles to show my appreciation and gratitude." And Virgil handed Walt the four sets of keys that the others gave him. Walt then excused himself and went inside.
While Walt was inside, Virgil reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope and handed it to Jerry. Maybe you two can start that little tourist trade showing off 'Little Grand Canyon'. As Virgil turned towards John who had been standing by the back of the pickup with what looked to be a large painting wrapped in brown paper, Jerry opened up the envelope. He fell back hard on his chair almost falling over. Walt had just come back out and caught him and said, "What's the matter?!! What's in that envelope?" Jerry just shoved the envelope into Walt's hand and tried to catch his breath. Walt handed the video George took to Virgil then looked at the check inside and also sat down hard. There were seven zeros on the check. He had never held so much money in his whole life. Then he noticed whose signature was on the bottom. One Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward. He pointed that out to Jerry who was still fanning himself with his hand. He just raised an eyebrow and looked up at Virgil who was holding the video and a puzzled look on his face.
Walt said, "Someone in town video'd the rescue for you. There are no copies made or anything that you have to worry about. It is strictly for you." Virgil said, "Since I don't remember any of it, I would like to see what happened. Thank you, and thank George for me." He now motioned John to come over. John greeted them when he approached, "Hi fellas!" Walt chimed in, "You're looking a lot better too from the last time I saw you. Hey, your arm must be doing pretty well to be able to carry that heavy thing." John replied, "yeah, I have been doing a lot of physical therapy and the arm is as good as new."
John placed the object in front of the two still seated men. "Virgil and I personally got this for the town. We hope you like it." The young men shook both Walt's and Jerry's hands, turned and walked slowly back to the limo. They both climbed in back and the limo left. Walt and Jerry tore the paper from the large heavy object, thinking it was a fancy painting for the town hall. They took a look at it and smiled.
It was a fancy wooden sign, painted teal, with gold engraved lettering:
WELCOME TO HOGS HOLLOW HOME OF THE LITTLE GRAND CANYON AND THE TOWN THAT RESCUED INTERNATIONAL RESCUE.
****Author's note:
I want to thank everyone for their reviews. Reading them was becoming very addicting. It not only drove me to finish the story, but I was actually looking forward to writing it. I did not know what was going to happen until the words flowed from my fingers. I just started with the idea of TB2 crashing. Everything else was just as new to me as it was to you. As soon as I come up with another base idea, another story will start to flow.
And now for the disclaimer: I do not own Thunderbirds, but I thank Gerry Anderson and Sylvia for the original idea and Carlson for allowing me to write a story on something they own.