"Where is he…where is he?" Caitlin's voice was almost hysterical as she arrived at the hospital. She limped heavily with her swollen ankle and sunk to her knees as one of Virgil's colleagues came towards her. He was shocked at her tear stained face, her crumpled clothes and disheveled hair.

"You're hurt…come on, lean on me," he said, putting his arms around her middle and helping her walk to the ward where Virgil lay. She felt her gut drop when she saw his motionless figure lying on the sterile, white hospital sheets.

"Oh my God…Virgil," she whispered, lowering herself into the chair beside his bed. His face was sliced with small cuts, but nothing that would not heal. His chest had some extensive bruising and his left leg and arm were in casts. Caitlin took his hand and rubbed it between both of hers.

"I love you so much…" she said quietly, brushing his hair off his forehead. "Please be ok Virgil…" She glanced up as a shadow darkened the doorway.

"You must be Caitlin…I'm Dr. Richard." She shook his hand and smiled at the older man, but her eyes were drawn back to the sleeping figure in front of her.

"Virgil was incredibly lucky," Dr Richard told her, peering down at the scribbled notes he held. "He managed to protect himself from the full force of the blast. His injuries mainly come from flying debris and glass. He suffered mild concussion, but will be just fine. His broken bones will heal in time as well and I don't imagine they will cause him any problems afterwards."

"Oh thank you," Caitlin said, her smile lightening up her whole face. Dr Richard smiled with her as slowly Virgil stirred in his bed.

"He was given something to help him sleep, so don't be alarmed if he seems a little woozy and confused. It's perfectly normal." Virgil's eyes opened once, briefly, before closing over again. Caitlin leaned into him, placing her lips on his cheek. His eyes flickered opened and this time remained open as he slowly focused on her face. She waited as he smiled weakly and squeezed her hand.

"Where's Scott…?" he managed to croak. His eyes were filled with concern and Caitlin shook her head.

"Scott?"

"Yeah…the boy, the boy I went in to get…you must have found him beside me…"

"Sweetheart, they only found you in the rubble," she whispered, helpless as Virgil shook his head and looked at her in shock. His eyes began to fill and she looked away as the first tears she had ever seen Virgil cry made their way down his cheeks.

Virgil's absence still seemed painfully obvious to John every time he returned to the island for a break from Thunderbird 5. His older brother Scott seemed to mope around the house; he was obviously troubled by something he'd chosen not to share with any of the others…something he'd probably want Virgil to hear though. Gordon was trying his hardest to get a laugh out of Scott, but usually it was Virgil he spent most time entertaining with his awful jokes and harmless pranks. Alan seemed continually restless; his time being taken up by learning the basics of some of the machines that Virgil would have been in charge of. Gordon and Alan were always sent in Thunderbird 2 together, neither confident enough to take Virgil's ship on their own. John went to his father's office, where he'd spent so much time and his usual place to hide whenever some kind of family crisis loomed. For two years John had witnessed this scene when he'd come home and it angered him more and more. With Scott not being his usual commandeering self, John as second oldest brother, decided to take control. He stepped into his father's office without waiting for an invitation.

"Ah…John, welcome back," his father said, getting to his feet and shaking his hand. It felt like an overly formal gesture between father and son and John eased his hand back.

"When was the last time you asked the guys how they felt Dad?" John asked.

"I ask them all the time and they tell me everything is fine," Jeff replied, a smile on his face, but all an act.

"They are not ok," John said frankly. "Virgil is such an important part of this family…we've lost a brother and we need him back Dad."

"He obviously doesn't want to come back…that's why he ran off in the first place," Jeff snapped, meeting John's sad eyes.

"You could trace him…go and find him and tell him what's going on. You know Virgil, he'd crack up if he knew how everyone was acting here…"

"I don't want to track my own son as if he's some kind of ship John…he chose to leave and he'll choose when and if to come back..."

"He's in New York Dad," John interrupted. "I've been following him ever since he left. I don't know what he's doing…"

"Why did you do this John?" his father asked, keeping his voice steady. His tone had suddenly lowered, but carried a hint of a threat.

"I care about Virgil…he's my little brother and I wanted to make sure he was safe…he was still alive Dad…"

"The resources on Thunderbird 5 are not for this use," Jeff seethed, glowering at John. "I don't care where he is, what he's doing…"

"You've got to care that he's alive though…" Jeff ignored this, carrying on with his lecture.

"I don't want you to tell the others where he is. The last thing we need is some kind of fake rescue mission to see who can find him and bring him back the fastest…we're a professional organization for God's sake!" John looked at his father in absolute shock, the respect he'd always had beginning to wear away.

"Why are you doing this Dad?"

"He walked out on this family…"

"No, he left International Rescue…unfortunately that meant he had to leave us behind as well," John said slowly. Jeff sat down in his chair and swung it back to face his desk.

"I have no time for this," he muttered. "Look at this paperwork…"

"Virgil didn't mean to hurt anyone…God, he couldn't hurt anyone. It's just not him…"

"Well he's done a very good job of it this time." Jeff's voice sounded almost fragile, his aggressive stance being replaced by honest fatherly concern. John opened his mouth to speak, but no words left his throat. He slowly left the office, closing the door quietly behind him. John wandered back to the lounge where Scott sat, pretending to read a newspaper, but failing.

"Hey," he said quietly as Scott placed the paper down and smiled.

"Hey, nice to have you back John," Scott said honestly, getting up and hugging his brother. John felt Scott gripping him tightly and placed his hand on Scott's back, rubbing it slightly.

"John…if you knew something about Virgil…if you knew something had happened, you'd tell me, right?" Scott said, his voice on the brink of trembling. John held him back at arms length and took in Scott's weary smile and tired eyes.

"He's alive Scott…" John whispered and Scott slumped back into the couch, closing his eyes and murmuring under his breath.

"Oh thank God…I really thought he was dead John…I had this dream and I…" Scott trailed off, opening his eyes and shaking his head softly.

"It doesn't matter now," he stopped himself. John smiled wearily and placed his hand on Scott's shoulder, the information Scott so desired on the tip of his tongue.

"You know where he is, don't you?" Scott asked, keeping his voice low. John made no movement, but the momentary flicker of fear in his eyes gave Scott the answer.

"I can't Scott…" John whispered, lowering his head.

"Please John…he's my brother…"

"He's my brother too…and he doesn't want us to chase after him."

"You don't understand," Scott begged and John turned away, embarrassed by the sight of his eldest brother pleading with him.

"Scott…think of what Virgil wants right now…"

"He needs me John, he's always needed me!"

"Listen to yourself Scott! Virgil is more than capable of standing on his own two feet…clearly he's happy doing it as well. He's moved on…maybe you should as well?" Scott was on the verge of tears and John shook his head apologetically.

"Sorry…that came out wrong Scott," John began, but Scott cut him off with a glower.

"No, I got the point John. Thanks."

Virgil lay in the hospital listening to the night time sounds of the ward. Three beds down, he could hear the old man in for heart surgery coughing quietly. Beside him, a middle aged man snored softly, muttering in his sleep. A form lay discarded in front of him. It asked for his personal details, next of kin…Virgil had scribbled his name, his apartment address, Caitlin as his emergency contact, but his pen had hovered over next of kin. Caitlin had sat next to him, watching him quietly as he'd placed the pen down and pushed the sheet aside.

"What about your family Virgil?" she had finally asked, tracing her fingers across the rough skin on his palm.

"I don't need to concern them," he'd replied sharply, indicating he didn't want to talk. Since the accident, he'd pushed her away. He didn't want her holding his hand, kissing him when she arrived, telling him about how their friends were asking for him. What Virgil wanted right then, he couldn't have. He wanted Scott. He needed Scott. But he knew Scott wouldn't want anything to do with a brother than ran out on him. Virgil lifted the form with a shaky hand and crumpled up, throwing it to the other side of the ward with a silent yell.

i wasn't going to update for while and let everyone get a littleworried about the fate of poor virgil, but it would be evil of me so hereit is! i feel like this chapter is a bit routine after the adventure of the last one, but never mind. there will be more excitement soon, i promise! thank you all for the reviews, i'm so glad you are enjoying it! oh one lastthing, i always thought john was younger then virgil, but some website told me that john is in fact older so i'm using that for this story.