Twenty One
The waiting at the hospital was nearly as bad as the waiting they'd endured at home. Jeff and his mother had been shown to a room as soon as they'd arrived at St Michael's Hospital. They'd been there ever since. At one point they'd stood up expectantly as the door had burst open, but it was only Alan, Gordon and John.
"Any word?" John had asked anxiously.
"They're both in surgery. We're still waiting." Jeff had said.
And still they waited.
Eventually a man entered the room. "Mr Tracy?"
"Yes." Jeff stood hastily. His mother rose more slowly and put her arm around his waist protectively.
"My name's Mr Frank. I've been treating Scott's burns..."
"Is he alright?" Jeff asked urgently.
The surgeon smiled. "He should be fine. I don't know what International Rescue put into their burn medication but it did the trick. None of the burns are too deep. It's almost as if they'd been treated as soon as the accident happened. He'll need a little more work, but there shouldn't be any long term scarring."
Grandma Tracy felt her son relax slightly.
"What about his eyesight?" John asked.
Jeff stiffened again. He'd forgotten about the damage to Scott's eyes in the relief he'd felt upon hearing that his eldest would be okay.
The surgeon's smile faded slightly. "That's not my department, the opthmologist will be in shortly to appraise you of..." The door opened again and another white coated figure entered. "Ah, here he is now. Mr Tracy, this is Mr Read.
Jeff shook the opthmologist's hand. "How..."
"It's too early to say. He has severe retinal burning. Sometimes patients with this condition make a full recovery, others..."
Jeff sat down as his legs turned to jelly. "When will we know?"
"We'll give it a week. They'll heal better in total darkness, so we won't uncover them till then. We should have a good idea as to whether healing will be total by then. We've moved him to Recovery. You should be there when he wakes, it'll be very disorientating for him and I don't want him panicking unnecessarily."
Despite their worries the Tracy's grinned to themselves. The idea of Scott Tracy panicking was unthinkable!
"Please follow me." Mr Read turned to go.
"What about Virgil?" Gordon asked.
The surgeon turned back. "Who?"
"Scott's... Our brother. He was injured at the same time." Alan explained.
Mr Read frowned. "I haven't heard anything about him. Was he burnt too?" He turned to his colleague.
"No. He broke his arm saving Scott. He had hypothermia too." Gordon said.
"I'm sorry. I'll get one of the nurses to find out. In the meantime..." he ushered them out of the room.
Scott was lying in a temporary bed when they reached him. Gordon was reminded irresistibly of how still he'd been when he'd dragged him out of that freezing water.
Jeff went to his son's side and took up a hand. "Scott?"
"That's good." Mr Read said. "Talk to him. Let him know you are here."
Jeff tried again. "Scott. Can you hear me son?"
"Come on Scotty." John said. "Come back to us."
Scott moved slightly.
"That's it Scott." Jeff encouraged him. "You're going to be alright."
Scott made a sound that could have been him trying to speak.
Jeff lent closer. "What's that son?"
"M-My eyes. Can't see." Scott mumbled.
"I know." Jeff said soothingly. "They're bandaged. It's going to be dark for a while."
"D-Dad?"
"It's me son. I'm here. The whole family's here."
Scott revolved his head as if he were trying to catch a sound. "V-Virgil?"
"No, he's not. He's being looked after. He was injured too, remember?"
"Yeah. Injured too. We couldn't get to Thunderbird Two..."
Jeff looked worried.
The surgeon misinterpreted the expression. "Don't worry, Mr Tracy. The pain killers have made him a little confused. He's probably mixing up his memories. When they wear off he'll be more lucid."
Till then Jeff decided that he'd better play it safe. "Just lie quietly Scott. Everything's going to be okay..."
***
Virgil lay in his hospital bed and stared at the ceiling. He felt sore and he felt alone - he'd never felt so alone. He'd promised Scott that he wouldn't leave him and now that they'd reached safety he'd been forced away from his brother. He hoped that someone was with Scott. He wished he knew how Scott was. None of the nursing staff seemed to know, although they all knew that both brothers had arrived in an International Rescue craft. The knowledge had made him a minor celebrity.
Virgil looked down at his arm. How long had he been in surgery? He thought someone had mentioned a number of hours, but his thought processes hadn't been clear enough to take it in at the time. A drip drained into his other arm. He could see cuts and scratches about much of his upper body. He felt so sore...
Surely the entire family weren't sitting with Scott. One of them could come and sit with him, keep him company. Maybe they hadn't reached the hospital yet? No. He knew which hospital he was in and knew it was close to home. They could get to it in under an hour in the family jet. Virgil was now not only feeling sore physically; he was also feeling a little sore with his family for abandoning him.
The door opened. Jeff Tracy came striding into the room, closely followed by Virgil's surgeon, Dr Carlow. "I'm sorry son. They've only just told us you were out of surgery."
"I was side-tracked by a minor emergency." The doctor explained. "How're you feeling?"
"Sore." Virgil said honestly.
"That's understandable. What can you remember about your accident?"
"My - My accident?" Virgil looked to his father for guidance.
"You and Scott were checking the generator at home, remember." Jeff said helpfully.
"Oh, yeah. We were checking the generator when it exploded." Virgil said carefully, hoping that his story was going to follow the 'official' one the family was spreading. "It caught Scott in the face. I tried to get him back home, but managed to fall down and break my arm... How is Scott?"
"He's going to be fine." Jeff said reassuringly. "His burns are going to heal up just fine."
"And his eyes?"
"The surgeon is pretty positive..." To Virgil's ears his father didn't sound too convinced.
"How positive is pretty positive?" Virgil pressed the point.
"There's always a chance..." Jeff said slowly.
"So what do you remember of your own accident?" Dr Carlow asked.
"Um..." Virgil didn't want to say anything that would concern his doctor. Too much and his story may differ from the families version. Too little and the thought might be that he'd suffered some kind of head trauma in his fall. "It's a little hazy. I fell down. I remember water and being very cold. When I came to I was in some kind of plane, being sick. They tell me it was a Thunderbird craft." He continued ruefully. "And I didn't even realise."
"You both fell into the cave with the subterranean stream." Jeff told him. "The only way we could get you out and get you to hospital was to call International Rescue."
"We'll keep you in overnight for observation." Dr Carlow said. "You should be able to go home tomorrow."
"Great." Virgil sounded pleased.
"I've got other patients I've got to check up on." The doctor said. "I'll come back shortly and check up on you. Rest Virgil."
When the doctor had left the room Virgil turned to his father. "I think you'd better give me a cheat sheet on what happened in my 'accident.'"
Jeff chuckled. "You did just fine. How much do you remember really?"
"Every painful detail, except the actual rescue."
Jeff smiled at him gently. "Don't worry about the story. You know the basics. Anything that happened to you before you were rescued, only you and Scott know about, and any difference in your stories can be put down to Scott not being able to see and in pain."
"How is he really?" Virgil asked urgently.
"Quite good considering. They're going to keep the bandages on for a week and give his eyes a chance to heal." Jeff looked down at his middle boy. It was frightening how pale and weak his normally tanned and healthy son was looking. "I'm proud of you Virgil. It's thanks to you that Scott's got a good chance of recovering 100%."
"I didn't do anything remarkable." Virgil waved aside the compliment and then yawned. "I just did what needed to be done."
"You look tired."
"I feel it." Virgil's eyelids were growing heavy.
Jeff patted him on the shoulder. "Get some rest. I'll come back later, or else I'll send someone else along."
"Mmn. Sounds good." Virgil settled down to sleep.
Jeff sat for a moment watching him. Just as he thought it was time to go back to Scott's room, Virgil's eyes snapped open. "What?" Jeff asked gently.
"Promise me that you won't leave Scott alone! Not while he can't see..."
"Relax. The whole families here. Between us we'll keep him company. Now get some sleep."
"Yes sir." Virgil's eyelids drooped again until he was asleep.
The waiting at the hospital was nearly as bad as the waiting they'd endured at home. Jeff and his mother had been shown to a room as soon as they'd arrived at St Michael's Hospital. They'd been there ever since. At one point they'd stood up expectantly as the door had burst open, but it was only Alan, Gordon and John.
"Any word?" John had asked anxiously.
"They're both in surgery. We're still waiting." Jeff had said.
And still they waited.
Eventually a man entered the room. "Mr Tracy?"
"Yes." Jeff stood hastily. His mother rose more slowly and put her arm around his waist protectively.
"My name's Mr Frank. I've been treating Scott's burns..."
"Is he alright?" Jeff asked urgently.
The surgeon smiled. "He should be fine. I don't know what International Rescue put into their burn medication but it did the trick. None of the burns are too deep. It's almost as if they'd been treated as soon as the accident happened. He'll need a little more work, but there shouldn't be any long term scarring."
Grandma Tracy felt her son relax slightly.
"What about his eyesight?" John asked.
Jeff stiffened again. He'd forgotten about the damage to Scott's eyes in the relief he'd felt upon hearing that his eldest would be okay.
The surgeon's smile faded slightly. "That's not my department, the opthmologist will be in shortly to appraise you of..." The door opened again and another white coated figure entered. "Ah, here he is now. Mr Tracy, this is Mr Read.
Jeff shook the opthmologist's hand. "How..."
"It's too early to say. He has severe retinal burning. Sometimes patients with this condition make a full recovery, others..."
Jeff sat down as his legs turned to jelly. "When will we know?"
"We'll give it a week. They'll heal better in total darkness, so we won't uncover them till then. We should have a good idea as to whether healing will be total by then. We've moved him to Recovery. You should be there when he wakes, it'll be very disorientating for him and I don't want him panicking unnecessarily."
Despite their worries the Tracy's grinned to themselves. The idea of Scott Tracy panicking was unthinkable!
"Please follow me." Mr Read turned to go.
"What about Virgil?" Gordon asked.
The surgeon turned back. "Who?"
"Scott's... Our brother. He was injured at the same time." Alan explained.
Mr Read frowned. "I haven't heard anything about him. Was he burnt too?" He turned to his colleague.
"No. He broke his arm saving Scott. He had hypothermia too." Gordon said.
"I'm sorry. I'll get one of the nurses to find out. In the meantime..." he ushered them out of the room.
Scott was lying in a temporary bed when they reached him. Gordon was reminded irresistibly of how still he'd been when he'd dragged him out of that freezing water.
Jeff went to his son's side and took up a hand. "Scott?"
"That's good." Mr Read said. "Talk to him. Let him know you are here."
Jeff tried again. "Scott. Can you hear me son?"
"Come on Scotty." John said. "Come back to us."
Scott moved slightly.
"That's it Scott." Jeff encouraged him. "You're going to be alright."
Scott made a sound that could have been him trying to speak.
Jeff lent closer. "What's that son?"
"M-My eyes. Can't see." Scott mumbled.
"I know." Jeff said soothingly. "They're bandaged. It's going to be dark for a while."
"D-Dad?"
"It's me son. I'm here. The whole family's here."
Scott revolved his head as if he were trying to catch a sound. "V-Virgil?"
"No, he's not. He's being looked after. He was injured too, remember?"
"Yeah. Injured too. We couldn't get to Thunderbird Two..."
Jeff looked worried.
The surgeon misinterpreted the expression. "Don't worry, Mr Tracy. The pain killers have made him a little confused. He's probably mixing up his memories. When they wear off he'll be more lucid."
Till then Jeff decided that he'd better play it safe. "Just lie quietly Scott. Everything's going to be okay..."
***
Virgil lay in his hospital bed and stared at the ceiling. He felt sore and he felt alone - he'd never felt so alone. He'd promised Scott that he wouldn't leave him and now that they'd reached safety he'd been forced away from his brother. He hoped that someone was with Scott. He wished he knew how Scott was. None of the nursing staff seemed to know, although they all knew that both brothers had arrived in an International Rescue craft. The knowledge had made him a minor celebrity.
Virgil looked down at his arm. How long had he been in surgery? He thought someone had mentioned a number of hours, but his thought processes hadn't been clear enough to take it in at the time. A drip drained into his other arm. He could see cuts and scratches about much of his upper body. He felt so sore...
Surely the entire family weren't sitting with Scott. One of them could come and sit with him, keep him company. Maybe they hadn't reached the hospital yet? No. He knew which hospital he was in and knew it was close to home. They could get to it in under an hour in the family jet. Virgil was now not only feeling sore physically; he was also feeling a little sore with his family for abandoning him.
The door opened. Jeff Tracy came striding into the room, closely followed by Virgil's surgeon, Dr Carlow. "I'm sorry son. They've only just told us you were out of surgery."
"I was side-tracked by a minor emergency." The doctor explained. "How're you feeling?"
"Sore." Virgil said honestly.
"That's understandable. What can you remember about your accident?"
"My - My accident?" Virgil looked to his father for guidance.
"You and Scott were checking the generator at home, remember." Jeff said helpfully.
"Oh, yeah. We were checking the generator when it exploded." Virgil said carefully, hoping that his story was going to follow the 'official' one the family was spreading. "It caught Scott in the face. I tried to get him back home, but managed to fall down and break my arm... How is Scott?"
"He's going to be fine." Jeff said reassuringly. "His burns are going to heal up just fine."
"And his eyes?"
"The surgeon is pretty positive..." To Virgil's ears his father didn't sound too convinced.
"How positive is pretty positive?" Virgil pressed the point.
"There's always a chance..." Jeff said slowly.
"So what do you remember of your own accident?" Dr Carlow asked.
"Um..." Virgil didn't want to say anything that would concern his doctor. Too much and his story may differ from the families version. Too little and the thought might be that he'd suffered some kind of head trauma in his fall. "It's a little hazy. I fell down. I remember water and being very cold. When I came to I was in some kind of plane, being sick. They tell me it was a Thunderbird craft." He continued ruefully. "And I didn't even realise."
"You both fell into the cave with the subterranean stream." Jeff told him. "The only way we could get you out and get you to hospital was to call International Rescue."
"We'll keep you in overnight for observation." Dr Carlow said. "You should be able to go home tomorrow."
"Great." Virgil sounded pleased.
"I've got other patients I've got to check up on." The doctor said. "I'll come back shortly and check up on you. Rest Virgil."
When the doctor had left the room Virgil turned to his father. "I think you'd better give me a cheat sheet on what happened in my 'accident.'"
Jeff chuckled. "You did just fine. How much do you remember really?"
"Every painful detail, except the actual rescue."
Jeff smiled at him gently. "Don't worry about the story. You know the basics. Anything that happened to you before you were rescued, only you and Scott know about, and any difference in your stories can be put down to Scott not being able to see and in pain."
"How is he really?" Virgil asked urgently.
"Quite good considering. They're going to keep the bandages on for a week and give his eyes a chance to heal." Jeff looked down at his middle boy. It was frightening how pale and weak his normally tanned and healthy son was looking. "I'm proud of you Virgil. It's thanks to you that Scott's got a good chance of recovering 100%."
"I didn't do anything remarkable." Virgil waved aside the compliment and then yawned. "I just did what needed to be done."
"You look tired."
"I feel it." Virgil's eyelids were growing heavy.
Jeff patted him on the shoulder. "Get some rest. I'll come back later, or else I'll send someone else along."
"Mmn. Sounds good." Virgil settled down to sleep.
Jeff sat for a moment watching him. Just as he thought it was time to go back to Scott's room, Virgil's eyes snapped open. "What?" Jeff asked gently.
"Promise me that you won't leave Scott alone! Not while he can't see..."
"Relax. The whole families here. Between us we'll keep him company. Now get some sleep."
"Yes sir." Virgil's eyelids drooped again until he was asleep.