A BROTHER'S CRY

Disclaimer: We don't own the Thunderbirds. Not now, not ever

Chapter 5 – A Brother's Living Nightmare

Gordon made his way back to the cave opening. As he made his approach, he noticed that rocks were again sliding over the opening. "Oh no, an aftershock" was his first thought. There was no way he could fit Thunderbird 4 through the opening now. The new rocks seemed to have wedged themselves into the opening but there was still enough room for an individual to get through. He would have to swim to reach Jennifer. He grabbed the emergency kit and made his way out the air lock.

Gordon swam through the opening and surfaced in the cave. What he saw horrified him. Jennifer floated facedown in the water a few feet from him. Rocks continued to rain down from the ceiling.

"No," yelled Gordon as he swan over to her. Gently turning her over, he checked her vitals. He was relieved to find that she had a pulse and was still breathing although shallowly. Apparently she had only just fallen in the water. She had a small gash on her forehead. He tried to wake her up. "Jennifer, I'm back. Can you hear me? Jennifer, open your eyes." His only response was a groan.

More rocks fell. Gordon tried to protect Jennifer the best he could. He hissed in pained as a rock hit him creating a four inch long jagged cut on his upper arm. He knew that they needed to get out of the cave, now. Gordon was torn. He didn't know what injuries Jennifer had. He could make things worse by moving her. On the other hand, it wasn't safe to wait with the cave collapsing around them. Gordon noticed the emergency air tank that he left with Jennifer was floating in the water on the other side of the cave. Gordon went to retrieve it. He was mildly surprised to find it still in working order. On his way back he was hit by more falling rocks. He was pushed under the water. As he surfaced he tried to draw a deep breath but his ribs protested strenuously. Gordon groaned. "Great, just great, bruised maybe even broken ribs. This is just what I didn't need."

Gordon returned to Jennifer's side. He put the mask on Jennifer's face. Then he put on his own. His mind was made up. They were getting out of that damn cave. He knew that it would be a struggle to get back to Thunderbird 4 with Jennifer because of his ribs. He also knew that if any more rocks hit him, the situation would only grow worse.

Gordon looped his cut arm around Jennifer and began swimming toward the cave opening. He tried to keep his breathing somewhat shallow to ease the pain in his ribs. His cut arm burned with the salt water. When they reached the cave entrance, Gordon noticed that more rocks had blocked the entrance even further. He could see that it would be a tight fit and some extra maneuvering would be required, but they could still get out. That is exactly what they did. Once out of the cave, it was only a matter of minutes before they were back on Thunderbird 4.

When he opened the air lock he could hear Virgil's panicked voice over the comm. "Gordon, are you there? Can you hear me? Damn it, answer me!"

Gordon ignored the calls while he got Jennifer settled. He put a neck collar on her and put her on a backboard. He prayed that moving her didn't hurt her worse, but he just couldn't seem to shake the knot that was twisting in his gut.

Once he was satisfied that he had done all that he could for her at the moment. He returned to the cockpit. "Virgil, I'm here. I read you."

"Gordon, where the hell have you been? We have been trying to reach you since the after-shock. Are you ok? You scared…"

Virgil would have gone on but Gordon interrupted him. "Virgil, when I got back to the cave, it was collapsing. Jennifer was knocked out. It took me awhile to get her out. Have the paramedics meet me. ETA is 3.1 minutes."

"Why didn't you answer on your portable comm.?" Virgil asked.

"I never heard anything over that comm.. It's either broken or something in the cave was causing interference. I'll have Brains check it out once we get back home. I'm almost back. Be ready to meet me."

"F-A-B Gordon, are you ok?"

"I'm fine Virg. I just want to get this rescue over with."

Virgil could tell that Gordon was lying. He could hear the pain in his voice, but he decided that he could wait a few minutes to find out what was really wrong.

Scott and Virgil helped Gordon remove Jennifer from Thunderbird 4 and turned her over to the paramedics.

"Alright, I am going to go load up Thunderbird 4 into her pod." Said Gordon as he turned to walk away.

"Whoa, wait a minute." Scott said grabbing his good arm. "Let Virgil take care of Thunderbird 4. You need to be looked at by a paramedic."

"But Scott…"

"No buts, Gordon. Do you really think that we haven't noticed your bloody arm or that you wince whenever you take a deep breath? What's going on?"

"Look Scott, It's no big deal. I got hit by a couple of falling rocks. One cut my arm and I have a couple of bruised ribs. Brains can take care of it when we get home."

"I still want you to be looked at by a medic just to be sure. Virgil, go load up Thunderbird 4."

"F-A-B, Scott." Virgil said as he turned to leave thankful that Scott had also noticed that their little brother was in pain.

"Come on Gordon." Scott said as he steered him over to the paramedics who were still working on Jennifer." Let's get you checked out.'

Gordon rolled his eyes but he allowed himself to be examined. The medic irrigated the cut and probed his ribs, which brought a hiss of pain from Gordon.

"Well," The paramedic started while looking between Gordon and Scott. "The cut on your arm will need stitches and you will probably need an antibiotic since you were in the ocean. You never know what nasty little bugs are floating around out there. You are probably right about your ribs being bruised but you'll need x-rays just to make sure that none are broken."

"Hey Chuck," The other paramedic called. "I think she is waking up."

"Ok Hank," Chuck said. Turning back to Gordon, "Alright guys, I will be right back." Then he moved over to help Hank with Jennifer.

Gordon sat and stared at Jennifer. He could hear her moans as she rose to consciousness. "Welcome back," Hank said as she opened her eyes. "Do you think that you could answer a few questions for us?"

"Sure," she replied unable to keep the pain out of her voice.

"Can you tell me where you hurt?" Hank asked.

"My head and my shoulders are the worst. My ribs ache and I feel nauseous."

"Anything else? How about your legs and arms? Does your knee feel any worse?"

Jennifer contemplated the questions. "My arms are ok, but I can't feel my legs."

Gordon hung his head when he heard her last statement. He was trying to keep the tears from falling when he heard Virgil return.

"How is he?" Virgil asked Scott.

"He needs stitches and x-rays, but he'll be ok."

Chuck returned to Gordon's side. "Ok, I'm back. We are almost ready to transport Jennifer. You can ride in the same ambulance."

"No." Gordon interrupted. "I am going home." Gordon started to walk away with Virgil beside him.

"But sir," said Chuck. "You still need medical attention."

Scott did not argue with Gordon. He knew Brains could deal with the injuries back on the island. Turning to Chuck, "Don't worry about it. I'll make sure that he is taken care of." Then he followed his brothers to Thunderbird 2.

Virgil was settling Gordon into a bed in the medical unit when Scott joined them. He had not said a word since he walked away from the paramedics.

Scott quietly asked him. "Are you sure that you are ok?"

"Sure Scott, I'm not the one that is paralyzed." Gordon closed his eyes as one lone tear escaped and made it's way down his cheek.

TBC

Authors note – We want to thank everyone for the great reviews. We are still new to fan fiction and your encouragement is very meaningful to us.

numbah 14, throwra-angel – The revelation of the whole sad tale will still take a few more chapters until the confrontation.

Darkangel2005 – Are you psychic or something? You will understand that comment in a future chapter.

AngelMouse5, barb from utah – Scott is going to be a beast for a while, unfortunately. Siblings can get so stubborn when it comes to fights between themselves.

Aussie Munckin – We are more than willing to accept cyber-hugs. Thanks

rozzy07 – We are pleased to welcome you to our story. We are glad that you are enjoying it.