Disclaimer

Thunderbirds and all the characters etc. belong to Gerry Anderson and Working Title films, I'm just borrowing them.

A/N

Most of this chapter is taken up by a flashback, so I'm sorry if it's rather boring to read. I wasn't intending it to be quite as long as it is but when I started writing it, I realised that I couldn't really make it any shorter – it even goes on into chapter 7! Well, one good thing, John is finally going to wake up in this chapter. Hope you like!

I'm also sorry that it took me soooooo long to write this chapter, but the next is already partly written so it shouldn't be as long a wait next time.

I was looking through my notes for this story, and I think it will have about 12 chapters in all, possibly more. So there's still a lot more going to happen!

Accidents

Chapter 6 – Memories

What happened? Where am I? John thought groggily, trying to remember what happened before he blacked out. Why am I lying…? Ahhhhh! John immediately regretted trying to move his arms and then found that practically everywhere hurt. He lay there for a few seconds before the memories came back to him. Oh, no, the missile! I have to get word to the others, but I think I have to get up first. He added sarcastically.

Slowly, and very painfully, John attempted to sit up. He quickly realised that his left arm was rather useless, as a sharp fragment had broken off of the larger piece of shrapnel when it had hit John and was now embedded in his left forearm and wrist. As it had also hit his watch-face, it effectively cut off the only way that anyone on Tracy Island had to know that he was still alive, as the bio-transmitter inside it had been destroyed. There's no way I can remove that on my own, he thought. This is going to be difficult.

After a few agonising minutes, when John knew that his arm and a headache were far from his only problems, he managed to pull himself up and lean against the computer bank behind him. He had limped part way across the room before he had to grab the wall with his right hand to stop himself collapsing again. Forcing down the wave of pain that spread over him, he realised he would have to see to his own injuries first.

"Any progress?" Jeff called as Brains walked slowly into the lounge, where the whole family were sitting, not really knowing what to do. Tin Tin had taken her father exploring in the caverns under the Island, knowing that the family needed some time together for a while.

"Well, I was going over the information I got from Thunderbird 5's computers, I recorded all of it in case we could find some way to help him."

"Well, what did you find?" Scott demanded. Brains nervously looked down at the floor, not wanting to answer.

"What is it?" Jeff urged

"I found that the…the computer systems controlling the environmental settings on board Thunderbird 5 were damaged in the explosion. They were…gradually building towards an overload and…" Brains explained hesitantly

"How much damage could it cause?" Alan interrupted. Everyone had now gathered around Brains, dreading what he might say next.

"It could knock out all the life support systems on the ship…and there's no way I can stop it." Brains practically whispered

"How long?"

"By my calculations…3 hours from now."

"You remember that time when John tried to break up one of our arguments, and ran off when he thought we didn't appreciate him." Scott asked his brothers, trying to cheer them up a bit, by remembering happier times. Since Brains' 'announcement', everyone had just been sitting around with their own thoughts, but Scott knew that the only way they were all going to get through this was with each other's help.

"You mean that time around 10 years ago? You're right, he really got the wrong idea about that didn't he?" Gordon said, laughing hollowly, glad of the change of subject.

"Well, it wasn't funny then. Dad wasn't too happy when he found out" Scott explained, realising he had found a way to pull his brothers out of their depression.

"Yeah, I know, but at least it turned out alright in the end" Alan added

"What happened. I don't remember being there." Brains asked. The only person to have left the room since the announcement was Jeff, and Brains had a sneaky suspicion as to where he had gone.

"Oh, it was before you came to the island. Well, it was during the October holiday, not long after John's 14th birthday. You remember the way that John always tried to break up arguments between us, to stop anyone getting hurt and stuff. Well, Virgil, Gordon and I were having a bit of a…disagreement…" Scott started to explain

– Start Flashback –

"What did you do that for Virgil? It isn't yours!" 11-year-old Gordon shouted, grabbing the book off the table next to him and throwing it. 13-year-old Virgil ducked, but unfortunately it hit 15-year-old Scott, who was sitting on the sofa behind trying to stay out of the argument, but really agreeing with Virgil. "Oops. Sorry Scott." Gordon muttered

"Too late Gordon. He won't believe you" Virgil mumbled, knowing that Scott hadn't believed Gordon when he had tried to tell their father earlier.

"Why you little…" Scott started at Gordon about the book. Within a few minutes, the argument was completely out of hand and the three of them were very close to coming to blows

"What the heck is going on in here?!" John asked incredulously as he walked in, dropping the book he had been reading on one of the chairs before trying to break it up "Come on you three. I'm sure there's some other way to sort…"

"Stay out of this John, you don't know what you're talking about." Scott snapped

"I'm trying to…"

"This is between us John, so we'll sort it out on our own. Stop meddling in things that aren't your business" Virgil shouted. Both Scott and Virgil were rather angry, and so they didn't notice the effect their words had on their brother.

"But Virgil…" John tried yet again

"Go away John!" Scott said, pushing him towards the door, before ducking a blow from Gordon who had finally lost control and decided to try to hit his older brothers. John could feel tears coming to his eyes, but although he knew that his brothers wouldn't normally say anything like that, he walked off in a huff. Scott, Virgil and Gordon, still engrossed in their fight, didn't notice him leave.

John ran down the steps and out of the house, careful to avoid the swimming pool and the windows from their father's office as he didn't want to be seen. He ran into the rocky area to the right of the Tracy villa, not really seeing where he was going but just trying to get as far away as possible. By the time he finally stopped, about 10 minutes later, he found himself in a small alcove in the side of a steep, rocky hill. He had a clear view of the beach and Tracy villa, which is what had drawn him to the place several years earlier. He had found it when he had gone exploring soon after they had first move to the island after his mother's death. It was somewhere where he knew he could be alone with his own thoughts, and he had made sure that he kept the place a secret from his family.

Right now, he felt that he needed to be alone to think, and he knew no one would find him there.

"I bet they haven't even noticed I'm not there" John muttered sadly to himself. "They never do. That's the problem with being the quiet, reliable one. Everyone just relies on you all the time, but it's as if I'm not even there half the time…" John had been feeling left out for a while now, especially at school, and even though his heart was telling him that his brothers and father would never think like that, he couldn't shake the feelings that they didn't love him.

After nearly an hour of berating himself and his family, John finally curled up and fell asleep, covering his tear-stained face with his hand to block out the late afternoon sun.

"Dad, have you seen John? He said he was going to meet us for a swim earlier and he never showed up." 10-year-old Alan asked his father as he walked into the house from the pool with Tin Tin. It was beginning to get dark, so the two of them had decided to come in for something to eat. Kyrano, who had been in the garden for several hours, was now in the kitchen starting to make tea.

"No Alan, I haven't. I've been rather busy." Jeff replied tiredly. He had been interrupted from his work when he had heard the argument earlier, and it had taken him nearly an hour to get Scott, Virgil and Gordon to tell him what had happened. He wasn't too happy at having lost the time.

"Oh well. I'll see if I can find him. I'll be back in a minute." Alan said, walking out into the hallway

"I can't seem to find him anywhere." Alan said as he came back in 10 minutes later "I've been all around the villa"

"He'll come in if he's hungry." Jeff said reassuringly. He knew that John would come in eventually so he wasn't really worried.

2 hours later – after tea

"I'm beginning to get worried now dad. Where the heck is he?" Alan asked, looking out the window. It was dark now and raining slightly

"I don't know. Are you sure you haven't seen him?" Jeff asked everyone

"I think I may have seen him earlier…" Virgil started

"Oh, yeah." Gordon gasped. Scott looked between the two of them for a moment, confused.

"Oh no." Everyone looked at Scott when he said this "I'm sorry father, but I think we may have rather snapped at him, and he may not have taken it too well." Scott admitted, finally realising what they had said to him in their argument

"What do you mean?" Jeff asked, concerned.

"That's just it, we didn't mean it." Virgil carried on quickly "But we weren't exactly thinking straight at the time."

"That's quite an understatement." Jeff muttered "I want you to search the grounds around the house to find him and…" Scott and Virgil both got up to head to the door, but turned around at the tone in Jeff's voice. "Boys, apologise." He continued simply

"Yes father." They said together

"What shall we do father?" Gordon asked

"We wait. If Scott and Virgil don't find him, we'll all go out and look." Jeff said finally

Meanwhile, the rain echoing in the caves around him had woken John up. He stretches and just sits there looking up at the stars, somewhat surprised he had slept for so long. He knows he should be getting back, but doesn't want to face everyone's questions as to where he has been. Finally, he decides to stay where he is for the moment, and just to enjoy the view of the sea and the stars.

"We've been all the way round the house twice father, and we still can't find him." Virgil complained. Neither of them had bothered with coats when they left, but it was now raining heavily and they had both got rather wet coming back inside. In fact, it was the only reason they had stopped looking.

"Besides, it's so dark out there you can't see a thing anyway," Scott added, taking the towel Kyrano handed him. Obviously, he had seen the pair come in.

"Right, this is what we do." Jeff started. "It doesn't look like it's going to stop raining, so we'll have to go out now, but with coats this time." He looked suspiciously at Scott and Virgil. "Kyrano, can you go and get 5 torches and walkie-talkies from the cupboard. Scott, go to the medical room and grab a first aid kit and some blankets, we may need them." The two of them nodded and left. "Now, let's go and grab some waterproof clothing" he said to Virgil, Gordon and Alan, who left to go to their rooms.

"It's really raining now, I'd better get back" John muttered, looking around him for anything that could keep him dry. Unfortunately, everything outside was already soaked, and he hadn't brought anything with him. "I hope I can find my way back down. I can hardly see a thing."

John carefully started climbing back down the steep side of the hill, having to feel for the next ledge rather than seeing it. Accidentally, he put his foot down on some wet moss growing between the rocks, causing him to lose his balance slightly and hold on with his hands only. The extra weight on the not entirely stable ledge was too much, making it shift suddenly downwards and John lost his grip entirely, falling about a metre to the ledge below. He landed hard on his feet, causing them to twist beneath him and he collapsed, the impact of his head against the rock face causing him to fall unconscious almost immediately.

– End flashback –

"Don't stop there Scott. What happened next?" Brains asked when Scott stopped talking. The other brothers, although they knew what happened, were also listening intently and were as annoyed at Scott's 'cliff-hanger'.

"Sorry guys, but I need to get something to eat. I'm starving."

TBC…