A Hard Place part 12 – Almost Home
by Angel Mouse
Tracy Island.
Only twice before in his life had Jeff Tracy felt this helpless. The first time was when he lost his beloved Lucille when she had died after giving birth to Alan. For the longest time he had fallen into despair and heartache and if it wasn't for his mother he don't know how he would have gotten through that traumatic time.
And then the second time was when he watched Gordon fighting for his life after his hydrofoil accident. Both times he had felt helpless to do anything and both times it had taken the family a long time to heal. And now he felt the same way again.
Ever since Scott had called from the rescue site six days ago to say that John had been kidnapped his stomach had been in knots and the fear he felt for his quietest son had been almost over whelming. It was only the need to find John and to co-ordinate the massive machine of International Rescue agents that had managed to keep him focussed, that had kept him from going off the deep end with worry.
And then when he got confirmation of John's location, and had even gotten a radio message from his extremely resourceful son, it had taken all the strength of will he possessed to hold back Scott and the others from going and getting his son immediately.
He knew that any action taken without planning would most likely end up in disaster. It had turned into the hardest thing he'd ever had to do in his entire life - listen to that message from John and hearing the beating his son was given because of his actions.
Jeff took a deep drink of his coffee as he leaned back in his chair, trying to focus on his work. But he was finding it hard as he looked at the clock. If all had gone to plan then any moment now Virgil would be taking off, bringing all his sons home. But as a wise man once said, if something can go wrong, it will go wrong. Apparently a guy named Murphy said it and he couldn't be more right.
Jeff took a deep breath and closed his eyes a moment, listening to the silence of the island. Tin-Tin had taken her father to the mainland for their weekly shopping trip. Jeff had tried to keep a level of normalcy on the island during the week but it hadn't been easy.
Parker, who had stayed on the island while Penelope was away helping the boys rescue John, was in the kitchen helping his mother re-organise the cupboards. Jeff smiled slightly as he heard them talking softly at the other end of the house. When ever there was something worrying her she tended to clean or organise or do something to keep her hands occupied.
He opened his eyes and stood up, moving over to the railing and standing there, he let the sounds of the waves crashing against the beach below. He felt rather than saw Brains come into the room and moments later his friend came and stood beside him. After a long moment Brains finally broke the silence between them both.
"Your boys are strong Mist…Mist ...Mister Tracy. They will be fine." Jeff sighed.
"I know Brains. But I can't help but worry." Jeff didn't continue saying what he wanted to but Brains just looked at him for a long moment and then spoke softly.
"But because it's John, you worry more?" Jeff just looked at the ocean a long moment and then nodded, finally speaking softly.
"Yes. Because it's John I worry more." Jeff shook his head and looked at Brains finally. "I know I shouldn't but I do. If it was Scott or Virgil, I wouldn't be as worried. They have been on every single rescue since we began operations. They can take care of themselves in almost any situation. They have been through a lot more than any of their brothers. Gordon and Alan are the same. They have been on quite a large number of rescues themselves, they have been in many terrible and dangerous situations. But John, John's barely been on a dozen rescues and has never been in a situation like this."
Jeff paused a moment, taking a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves as his eyes automatically rose to the sky. "He's always; almost always up in Thunderbird Five. I guess I'm just used to him being safe and away from things up there." Jeff sighed as he turned his back on the ocean view and looked out into the lounge room. His eyes fell onto the portraits of his five sons and he couldn't help the small smile of pride that appeared on his face as he looked at them all.
His eyes rested on the first portrait, that of his eldest son, Scott. Scott had always looked out for his brothers, ever since they were all born. He was strong, honest and kind hearted. He always looked after his brothers before himself. A born pilot, decision maker and he had turned into a man that Jeff was extremely proud of. Scott had proved himself time and time again as the field leader for International Rescue.
His eyes drifted over to Virgil's portrait. His second son was the artist of the family. Extremely gifted in music and painting, his off hours spent either painting or playing gave his family countless hours of pleasure. But put him in a rescue situation with Scott and he turns into a focussed, competent, resourceful person. A brilliant engineer in his own right, Virgil had made his father proud with the numerous changes, ideas and designs he had come up with for International Rescue and Tracy Industries. He was such a good person at heart.
His eyes then turned to Gordon and the smile of his face widened. The jokester of the family yet so dedicated at his work that sometimes Jeff forgot that, especially after a joke or two went astray around the island. He had overcome so much in his short life and had achieved so much. His Olympic gold medal took pride of place in the Tracy lounge room. And Gordon thought Jeff didn't know, but he knew, that spending time in Thunderbird Four, especially on long, protracted missions like he had to sometimes, caused him much pain. But Gordon never complained, never said anything in fact and so Jeff just ignored the fact and went on being immensely proud of him.
He then looked at Alan's portrait and kept on smiling. His youngest son, the baby of the family, had always felt he had so much to prove. But he was an excellent operative, had extremely good skills and was extremely calm in intense and bad situations. It took nerves of steel and reflexes to be a Formula One race Car Driver and he brought those skills with him when they began operations. His championship trophies sat next to Gordon's swimming medals. Jeff was proud of all his boys' achievements.
And then his eyes went to John's portrait. Ever since John was born he knew he was different. He had been Lucille's special joy but he was also his father's son. Sharing Jeff's love of the stars it had taken no encouragement at all for him to study astrology and become an astronaut. His published books had taken pride of place on Jeff's book shelf ever since they had been published. Alan's training as an Astronaut had been slightly half hearted at best, and he was a reluctant astronaut in fact.
Jeff wasn't ignorant to the fact that Alan sometimes weaselled his way out of his duties on Thunderbird Five, but Jeff sometimes found it hard to say no to his youngest. He would put his foot down more if John seemed to mind, but almost all of the time, John never said anything. John was the one brother they all depended on.
He was quiet, responsible, most probably the smartest of all his boys put together but he always put his brother's happiness before his own. He was always the one his brothers turned to when they had a problem or wanted to talk to someone. When they were younger he was the one his boys turned to when they had a scraped knee or a problem with their school work or wanted something electronic fixed.
John was a genius when it came to anything electronic and often Jeff would come home late at night from the office to find John working away in his study or garage on something for his brothers. Or he would be sitting on the roof of the garage or in the boy's cubby house, watching the stars through his telescope. But he never complained about anything, ever. He never asked his father or brothers for anything.
But his quiet nature and intelligence had made him a target all through his school years. Scott thought he had hidden it from their father, but Jeff knew the signs. A few quiet, discreet words with John's teachers and he had never discussed the matter with John, because he knew that John would handle it in his own way.
Jeff closed his eyes a moment as memories overwhelmed him. After a long moment he opened his eyes and took a deep breath. He had a job to do and he had to concentrate on that for the moment. Just then Alan's portrait lit up and Jeff practically flew across the floor and hit the button to answer the call.
"Go ahead Alan." This was the news he was waiting for.
Thunderbird Five
Alan took a deep breath, looking down at the copious notes he had made from Virgil's transmission a few minutes ago. He was relieved his brothers would be fine, but still extremely worried. John and Scott had both been shot and injured by this madman, and it was something he didn't want to contemplate. He looked up to Scott immensely.
His oldest brother always looked after them all; he was their anchor in rough times. He always struck Alan as the strongest in the family and always made sure that his brothers never wanted for anything. And John, John was so special to them all. Always so willing to do anything for his brothers, including letting his baby brother get out of his rightful Thunderbird Five duty a lot of time.
Ever since this whole mess had started Alan had felt so guilty about the numerous times he had wheedled his way out of his duties. Once he had his entire cadre of brother's home he resolved to treat John a hell of a lot better than he had been, no more wheedling his way out of his responsibilities, no more skiving off his duties.
He would make sure that John got to spend more time at home with his family. So, pushing his new resolution to the back of his mind, he took a deep breath and managing to keep his voice steady, began to give his report to his father.
"Father, I've heard from Virgil. They are all aboard the World Navy Carrier Enterprise and are all safe. John's got a gun shot wound to his arm that's being looked at right now. Scott's also been shot." Alan watched his father's face pale and then his father took a deep breath, nodding at his son to continue his report.
"According to Virgil, the soldiers arrested Meriza and Scott and John were returning to Thunderbird Two when Meriza got away from them and fired at them both. He hit Scott, but luckily not badly. The soldiers attempted to recapture him and he resisted, so they had no choice and he's dead. Now to Scott's condition, the doctor said the bullet went straight through his shoulder and there was no major damage, just blood loss. He's examining John right now. Virgil said as soon as Scott's finished receiving a transfusion and John has been given the okay the doctor's, they'll be on their way home." Jeff just slumped in sheer relief and nodded after a moment.
"Thank you Alan." Alan watched as his father glanced at Brains who was standing beside him and Brains smiled.
"I'll get going straight away Mis… Mister Tracy. I'll be ready to leave in about ten minutes."
"Thank you Brains." Brains just smiled and left the room and Alan looked at his father.
"Dad?" He was confused about what was going on.
"Brains will come and get you Alan. I think you need to be home for your brothers when they get here, don't you?" Alan didn't know what to say and after a moment he nodded.
"Thanks Dad. I, I didn't want to ask but I wanted to come down." Jeff just smiled.
"It's okay Alan. I'd be doing the same thing in your position. You can switch the calls down here for a few days, until things are back to normal."
"Thanks again Dad. I'll get things ready up here."
"Good work Alan, I'm very proud of you. Of the way you've handled yourself during this whole thing." Alan blushed; his father didn't give out praise lightly.
"Thanks Dad. Thunderbird Five out." Alan closed the channel before his father could embarrass him even further. He didn't feel that he did anything special during this whole trying time but his father never gave praise lightly. Sighing, Alan left the control panel and headed for his room, he had time to pack a few things before fixing things ready for Brains to take Thunderbird Five duty for a few days. He couldn't wait to get home and give John, all his brothers in fact, a great big huge hug.
World Navy Carrier Enterprise
The doctor finished examining Scott and making sure the transfusion was running smoothly before he went over to where John was sitting on a bed. The nurse had cleaned the wound up and the doctor now went to examine it. He smiled gently at John, glancing at the chart the nurse had done up already. He frowned slightly, John's vital signs were a little low and he was concerned about the young man's colour, it was a little to pale but his cheeks were flushed and his temperature was up.
"Now young man, how are you feeling?" John gave him a tiny smile and the doctor was aware of the stares he was receiving from the other two International Rescue operatives that were leaning against the wall.
"I've had better days Doctor I can tell you." The doctor smiled and began examining the wound on his arm, frowning as he did so.
"Have you been experiencing any loss of sensation in your hand?" John just looked at him and frowned.
"Yes actually. I've been having a tingling sensation in my fingers for a little while. But I didn't want to say anything; I didn't want to be a bother." Virgil noticed the doctors frown about the same time Gordon did and they exchanged glances. Pushing themselves off the wall they walked over to the bed just in time to hear John's words. They flashed each other a grin, how typical of John. Virgil spoke first when they got to his side.
"Doctor, what's wrong?" The doctor frowned as he finished examining the wound on John's arm.
"Well I'm afraid the bullet has done some minor nerve damage. It won't take me to long to repair it but you will need some physio therapy to regain full control of your hand again. I can have you in and out of surgery within the hour."
John glanced down at his left hand, noticing for the first time the tremors that it was experiencing. Virgil and Gordon saw the look as well and they just looked at each other, then back at John. John sighed and looked at the doctor.
"No surgery Doctor, just patch me up here and now. No putting me under. How long is it going to take to patch me up, I really want to get home." Virgil could hear the longing in John's tone. The doctor smiled and shook his head at his patient's stubbornness. Sighing he nodded in agreement of his request.
"I'll give you a general anaesthetic and then get the patching up done." John shook his head.
"No general anaesthetic. Just give me a local." The doctor frowned at him but he then looked into the clear blue eyes and saw the determination in them. He took a deep breath and then nodded.
"Alright then, just let me get my things." He moved away and Virgil looked at John.
"Are you sure about this Johnny?" John's eyes looked up and met Virgil's brown ones. John smiled but Virgil was worried as he saw the glazed look in John's eyes. He knew that it meant John was in pain and not well but still determined.
"I'm sure Virgil. I just want to get home."
"Okay Johnny, it's your call." The doctor came back and got ready, a nurse moving to assistant him. Gordon began to look a little uncomfortable with the doctor getting ready and John saw it.
"Gordon go and sit with Scott for a little bit. Just in case he wakes up and no one's with him." Gordon looked torn for a moment and John gave him a smile. "It's okay Gordon, Virgil will sit with me." Gordon looked at him a moment and then nodded.
"Okay John, if you're sure."
"Sure I am. Go." Gordon looked grateful and moved away, heading into the room where Scott was lying getting his transfusion. Virgil sat down next to the bed and took John's free hand as the Doctor gave him an injection. John turned his head away and locked eyes with Virgil. Virgil just smiled as he held John's hand tight, John returning the squeeze.
"So Virgil, when we get home you'll have to make some more recordings for me." Virgil gave a small laugh.
"Sure I will. And you'll have to take me through your latest hacking jaunt." John raised an eyebrow and tried to look all innocent and Virgil laughed. "Don't look at me like that Johnny, I know who hacked Alan's e-mail address and set him up on all those spam lists." John just grinned.
"Hey, got to get Alan back somehow for all the extra work I end up doing for him." The two brothers laughed as the doctor worked quickly and quietly. The two of them chatted softly while he worked, and he frowned more and more as worked. Virgil saw this but kept his face calm and his voice light, distracting John like he knew his brother needed.
Gordon sat by Scott's side, waiting for him to wake. He tried not to watch John being worked on and suddenly found himself staring into a set of blue eyes. He grinned and smiled widely.
"Hey Scotty, your awake." Scott just laughed softly and Gordon joined him. Just then a nurse came in and began to take his vital signs.
"Yes I am. How's John?"
"Okay. The doctors working on him right now, Virgil's with him." The nurse began to disconnect the IV and after a few moments finished by wrapping a bandage on his wrist. She left them to it and Scott looked at Gordon.
"So how is John?" Gordon frowned slightly.
"The doctor says that there is some minor nerve damage in his arm, he'll need physical therapy to help in his recovery." Scott frowned.
"That's no good." Gordon reached out and rested his hand on Scott's arm.
"It'll be okay Scott. Virgil's with him right now, keeping him distracted. He didn't want to take a general anaesthetic and have the surgery he needs in an operating theatre so the doctor gave him a local and is having the surgery on the bed out there." Gordon glanced out of the room and saw the doctor's face looking grim. J
ohn's head was firmly turned away so he couldn't see the doctor but Virgil could. "I don't think it's going so well Scott. The doctors frowning real hard and he doesn't look like he's having a lot of luck." Scott struggled to see and Gordon stood up, helping Scott turn around slightly to watch. Scott frowned at the site and he saw Virgil see him. Virgil waved and John turned his head slightly to see Scott watching them both. John smiled warmly and Scott returned it. John turned his attention back to Virgil, not wanting to watch the doctor work. The doctor and nurse were working fast on John's arm and Virgil was keeping him distracted.
"Scott, what if the doctor can't fix the nerve damage?" Scott just watched the doctor for a few minutes and then turned back to Gordon. He could see the worry in his younger brother's eyes and gave him a warm smile.
"It'll be fine Gordon. John's strong, he'll get through this." Gordon took heart at Scott's words and nodded. If anyone knew John it was Scott and he took faith in his older brother's words.
"Yeah I know. I just can't wait to get home Scott. He's been missing for so long and I just want to make sure he's okay." Scott nodded in agreement as they watched the doctor finish up.
"So do I Gordon. Hey, looks like they're finishing up. Let's go say hi to our brother." Gordon just looked at him and then sighed as he knew trying to talk Scott out of doing anything would be impossible. Just then the nurse came back in and taking one look at him she knew what he was going to do. With a sigh she came over with a sling.
"Doctor thought you might be like this, so he sent me in with a sling and some orders." Gordon wisely stayed out of it. This was the same nurse that had bullied John earlier. She had finished assisting the doctor. She began to place the sling around Scott's shoulder as she chatted warmly.
"Now, he said not to stress the arm or shoulder for at least two weeks. He wants you to get it checked by a doctor every couple of days and then some physio therapy to strengthen your arm. I am assuming that you have some sort of medical equipment and personal at your disposal?" Gordon was hard pressed to keep the smile off his face. Scott nodded to her.
"Yes ma'am. We have a fully qualified medical doctor on staff." The nurse laughed as she tightened the sling.
"Considering your line of work, that would have to be a given I would think. There you go. Now, you might feel a little weak from the transfusion and the small amount of surgery the doctor had to do on your shoulder, so take it easy." The nurse rounded on Gordon. "You'll make sure he does won't you?" Gordon straightened up like he was in a military parade or something.
"Yes ma'am, I'll make sure of it." The nurse smiled warmly at the two of them.
"Good. Now go on, I know you're dying to make sure your friend is okay."
"Thank you ma'am for looking after us both, it's greatly appreciated." The nurse just smiled and shooed them out. They walked into the other part of sickbay, Gordon helping Scott slightly. His older brother didn't want to admit it, but he was feeling a bit weak. But nothing was going to keep him from John's side any longer.
The doctor finished sewing the last of his stiches and then began to bandage John's arm.
"There we go, all finished. Now, the nerve damage isn't as bad as I first thought, I've repaired it best I can but you'll have to go extremely easy on your arm for at least three to four weeks. Now, do you have access to medical facilities? I assume you would do." Virgil nodded at the Doctor.
"Yes we do sir. We have a fully trained medical doctor on staff, so you don't have to worry about that." The doctor nodded as he finished bandaging John's arm and began to fix it in a sling.
"Good. I'll write a letter in a moment outlining all the injuries. Now, I'm going to give you a shot to combat that fever I know you're running and also prevent infection. It'll also help with the shock your feeling, so just watch yourself for the next day or so okay, take it easy. The anaesthetic should wear off in an hour or so. If you still have tingling in your hand in a week's time, you'll need to get it looked at again by a surgeon. I also want your wound dressed every day for the first week." John looked ready to protest but was stopped by Scott's entrance. His face lit up to see his brother on his feet and Scott smiled at him. Virgil stood up to let Gordon help Scott to the chair next to John's bed. Virgil smiled at the doctor.
"Don't worry doc, we'll make sure we take good care of them both. Come on Gordon, we have work to do. You need to get Thunderbird Four in the pod and I need to get Thunderbird Two ready for take off." Gordon nodded and looked at his two older brothers.
"Okay. I'll be back as soon as I've got Thunderbird Four loaded onto Thunderbird Two. Then we'll take you guys back to base, okay?" Scott nodded and the two brothers left sickbay. The doctor finished tying John's arm up and quickly gave him an injection. Seeing that the two of them wanted to be alone for a few moments the doctor smiled at them both.
"I'll just go and write that letter up for your doctor. Neither of you move a muscle until your friend comes and gets you." With that he moved away, leaving the two of them alone. Scott looked at John and smiled, gesturing to the two of them in matching slings.
"You know, the guys are so going to tease us about this when we get home." John managed a soft laugh, glancing down at his arm before locking eyes with Scott.
"Yeah, I think they will. Gordon's going to have a field day with this one." John paused a moment and then continued. "I'm sorry Scott. This whole mess is my fault." Scott raised an eyebrow.
"And you figure that because?" Scott was intrigued to see how John got at that conclusion.
"If you hadn't come after me, you wouldn't have gotten hurt!" John's tone was worried, tired, confused and strained slightly. Scott could see the slight sheen of sweat on his forehead and how his eyes looked a little glazed over. But the doctor had said it was just shock that was setting in. Scott admitted to himself he didn't feel all that crash hot but the transfusion had helped and the pain killers were definitely working their magic. He reached over and took John's free hand in his and squeezed it tight.
"Johnny, I told you this before. None of this is your fault. You know I would move heaven and earth to find you and come and get you. I did what I had to do. What I'd do for any of you. You know that." Scott lowered his voice so it wouldn't carry passed the two of them. "You're my brother John and I love you to death. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you and I could have prevented it. This is not your fault. And if you keep thinking that, I will whack you around the head young man until you see sense." At Scott's threat John just gave a startled laugh and shook his head.
"I don't know who's more stubborn, you or me." Scott grinned.
"You by a long shot John my boy. And don't think you and I are finished this discussion, because we haven't. Once we're back home, got a decent meal and a decent night's sleep behind us, you and I are going to have a long chat." John's smile faded and he looked away from his brother. Scott squeezed his hand and continued to speak, his tone reassuring. "Look John, this hasn't been easy on any of us, least of all you. I just want to make sure you're going to be okay." John looked down at their intertwined hands and nodded after a moment. When he finally spoke, his voice was soft and a bare shadow of what it normally was.
"I will be Scott, now that you're here." Scott managed to stand up and sit on the bed, facing John, all without letting his hand go.
"And I'm not going anywhere John. I promise." John nodded, locking eyes with his big brother and with a stifled cry; he took his hand from Scott's and threw his good arm around his big brother, hugging him gently. Scott returned the hug as best he could, both of them being mindful of each other's injuries. They sat that way for what seemed a long time until the sound of someone clearing their throat intruded. Scott let John go reluctantly; he could feel his brother trembling, wether it was from fear, shock or injury he couldn't tell. He turned to find Gordon and Lady Penelope waiting for them. Gordon grinned as he walked towards his big brothers.
"Come on you two, we've got a ride waiting. And you know how he hates to be kept waiting." Scott just laughed, John joining in a moment later. They were on their way home, and for John there was no better feeling.
