A BROTHER'S CRY
By GrumpyMagrat & Magratconvert
Disclaimer: We don't own the Thunderbirds. Not now, not ever.
Chapter Eleven – A Brother Is FoundIt was shortly after 7 am when Virgil and Scott entered Thunderbird 2's hanger.
"Scott, I want to thank you for helping me." Virgil said.
"Didn't you run the post flight check when we got back yesterday?" Asked Scott.
"Of course I did," replied Virgil indignantly. "It is SOP. I can't explain it, Scott. But when I woke up this morning, I just had this feeling that I should check things out again."
"Well, better safe than sorry." Scott started to laugh but stopped. "Hey Virg, did you leave Pod 4 open for some reason?"
Virgil looked at the open pod door. "No Scott, we didn't use Pod 4 yesterday. The last time I was in there was probably a week ago. Maybe Gordon was down here."
"I doubt it." Scott said with a snort. "He has been avoiding all the 'birds, just like he has been avoiding us."
When the brothers reached the open pod door, they were horrified at the sight that greeted them. Alan lay unmoving on his side on the pod floor next to Thunderbird 4.
"O my God, Alan!" Scott yelled. "Virgil, call Brains. Alan, Alan, can you hear me?"
Virgil called Brains on his watch. "Brains, where are you?"
"I-I-I'm in the lab, V-V-Virgil." Came Brains' reply.
"Get an emergency kit and stretcher down to Pod 4. Hurry. Alan has been hurt."
Scott was still trying to get a response from Alan. He was holding a gauze pad from the first aid kit to the back of Alan's head. "Alan, come on. It's Scott. Please you need to wake up and talk to me. Alan, Alan, come on."
Virgil could hear the panic in Scott's voice. "How is he, Scott?"
"Well, his pulse is steady. So is his breathing. He is bleeding from a head wound. I don't want to move him around too much until Brains gets here. He is coming, right?"
"Yeah, he should be here in a few minutes. What about Dad?" Should I call him?"
"Go ahead and call him. He would want to know ASAP."
Virgil stepped away from Scott and Alan to call his dad. When he had established a link with his dad, he plunged right in. "Dad, you had better get down here to Pod 4. Alan has been hurt."
"What!" Jeff thundered. "Hurt? How bad? Do you know what happened?"
"No, Dad, Scott and I found him unconscious in the pod." Virgil turned when he heard a noise at the door. "Dad, Brains just got here. I'm going to help him."
"I'm on my down." Jeff said as he closed the link.
Virgil stepped back to Alan's side. "What can I do, Brains?"
"W-Well, once I g-g-get the n-n-neck b-brace on him, w-we n-n-need to g-get him on the b-b-back b-board." His stutter was even more pronounced as he fought with his emotions. "W-We n-need to g-get him b-b-back to the s-s-sickroom so that I c-c-can examine h-him f-f-further."
Virgil and Scott got Alan onto the backboard and were on their way to the elevator when they ran into Jeff.
"How is he, Brains?" Jeff wanted to know.
"I w-w-will give you a r-r-report a-after I d-do a d-d-detailed s-scan in the s-s-sickroom." Brains answered.
"Ok, let's get him there." Jeff ordered.
Jeff, Scott and Virgil huddled together at the back of the sickroom while Brains examined Alan.
"Ok," Jeff said. "Any ideas on how this happened?"
"Not really, hopefully when Alan wakes up, he can explain what happened." Virgil said.
"I'm sure that you both noticed that Alan reeked of whiskey. I noticed an almost empty bottle next to Thunderbird 4's port fin. It is possible that he fell or something because he was drunk." Scott stated.
"Well, let's reserve judgment until we get a chance to talk to Alan." Jeff said.
"M-Mr. T-Tracy" Brains interrupted. "We can r-r-remove the c-collar and b-backboard now."
"What have you found?" Asked Scott as he moved to help Brains.
"He has a l-laceration on the b-b-back of his h-head. He also has a m-mild c-concussion. He has a d-d-dislocated shoulder and a b-broken wrist." Brains said.
"Any idea of how long he was lying there?" Asked Virgil.
"I c-can't say for s-sure. M-Maybe an hour or an h-hour and a h-half."
Scott looked at Virgil. "It's a good thing that you had that feeling to come check things out."
"Yeah," Virgil started to say, but he stopped when he heard a soft moan from the bed.
Scott was the first one by Alan's bedside. "Alan, can you hear me? Come on Alan, wake up please."
"No, Gordon," Alan moaned. "Let me go. Please, you are hurting me, Gordon."
The three Tracys were dumbfounded.
"Alan, Alan," Jeff said. "I need you to wake up."
Alan slowly opened his eyes. "Dad," his voice was soft and pain-filled. "Where is Gordon?"
"I don't know, son. Did he do this to you?"
"He was so angry, Dad. I've never seen him like that before. I just wanted to help him." Alan's voiced drifted off to a whisper as his eyes slid closed.
Scott clenched his hands into fists. "I am going to kill him."
"Wait a minute, Scott." Jeff ordered. "We still don't know what happened. Alan is in a lot of pain right now. He is probably confused.
"I don't know, Dad. He sounded pretty clear. Gordon was angry and he took it out on Alan." Scott said angrily.
"Does anyone know where Gordon is right now?" Jeff asked.
"No and right now I don't give a damn." Scott said angrily.
Jeff knew that he needed to take a step back before he and Scott ended up in a fight. Motioning Virgil toward the door, Jeff told him. "I am going to call John and try to find Gordon. Keep an eye on Scott, ok."
"Sure, Dad." Virgil answered.
Jeff sat at his desk trying to reign in his emotions. He tried to reach Gordon on his watch but did not get an answer. He couldn't help but wonder, "How did things get so far out of hand?"
"Base to Thunderbird Five," Jeff said establishing contact with John.
"Hi Dad," John answered cheerily. The smile on his face faded when he looked at his dad. "What's wrong?"
"Alan's hurt."
"Alan?" John was confused. He thought something had happened to Gordon. To find out that Alan was hurt didn't make sense. "What happened? Is he ok?"
"Yes, he will be fine. Brains said that he has a concussion, broken wrist and dislocated shoulder." Jeff said. "Look John, I need to find Gordon. Can you track him?"
"I show his comm-link is at the lagoon." John said.
"I tried to call him, but he didn't answer. Can you tell if he is actually wearing his watch?"
"Hold on Dad." John pushed a few buttons. "Yes, he is. I am reading his bio-signs."
"Ok, John, can you try to call him? Maybe he will answer you." Jeff suggested.
"F-A-B, Dad. I will call you right back." John said as he closed the link.
Gordon's watch beeped. He ignored it. He didn't want to talk to anyone. He was really feeling out of it. He had hoped to sleep off his drunken stupor, but that hadn't happened. Somehow after his fight with Alan, he had made his way down to the lagoon. He really felt lousy. His stomach was twisting into knots. He had already thrown up twice. He should have known better than to drink on an empty stomach. Trying to run from the villa wasn't particularly smart either. Which shouldn't be too surprising. He hadn't done many smart things in the last few weeks. He lay on his back with his arm thrown over his eyes to block out the sun that had now risen.
His watched beeped again. He tried to ignore it again, but after a few seconds, John's voice broke the silence.
"Gordon, It's John. I have to talk to you. There is an emergency at the villa. Gordon!" John was yelling now.
"Yeah right." Gordon thought. "This is just a trick to get me back to the house. By now, I am sure that Alan has told Dad about my drinking party last night."
"Gordon, answer me right now." John commanded.
Gordon brought his watch to in front of his face. "Alright John, I'm here. What is the big emergency?"
John couldn't believe how pale and exhausted Gordon looked. "Gordon, Alan is hurt. He is in the sickroom."
"Alan," Gordon said alarmed. He winced as he sat up. "What happened?"
"I don't have all the particulars. Dad just said to call you and let you know."
"Ok John, I am on my way back to the house." Gordon said as he got to unsteady feet.
Ok Gordon, I will let Dad know." John said as he closed the link.
Most of the night was a blur for Gordon. He knew that he had been drinking. He also knew without being told that he was somehow responsible for Alan being hurt. His gut was twisting again, but this time with guilt. He had to get back there for Alan. He began to run.
End Flashback
TBC
Author's note – Boy, are Scott and Virgil mad. Now the question is: How to heal this family?
throwra-angel – Yes, it is definitely going to take a while for Gordon to get over it…if he does.
numbah 14 – We're glad you like it. Grumpy has named her muse "Gordon" because most of the ideas do seem to come from his point of view.
Darkangel2005 – Next up, the emotions of the family members who are trying to deal with all this.
Audra – What have you got against poor Alan? There will be more injuries but we are not saying who.
barb from utah – Thanks for the great review. We had our concerns about the realism of emotion.
AngelMouse5 – Thanks for the review and the invitation. Wow, it really made us feel good that you like it so much. When it is complete we'll need to get it set up on "The Lair."
Vorserkeien - A lot of people felt that way.