ok this is the last chapter! thank you to everyone that has reviewed. i'm glad you liked it and i hope this chapterdoesn't disappoint!

"Scott…Scott, talk to me…is Virgil ok?" Alan's panicked voice sent jolts through Scott's body as he looked at the two crumpled figures, hugging each other tightly. Scott heard a stifled sob behind him and saw tears shamelessly running down Gordon's face.

"Paramedics are trying to…resuscitate…they think maybe…they might be able to…" Scott couldn't complete a sentence as he watched his brother lifted from the girl he'd been holding.

"What was her job?" Gordon asked the chief that had addressed them earlier. His eyes were red rimmed as he placed his hand on hers.

"Caitlin…she was one of our rescue crew members…specialized in helping kids…" Gordon shakily nodded and looked down on the girl he'd adored while helping her soothe a swollen sprained ankle. She was still beautiful, covered in dirt and dust, blood smeared across her cheeks, sticking to her messy hair.

"I'm sorry…" Gordon offered before he heard a shout.

"They've got a heart beat!" someone yelled and Gordon fell to the ground. Scott shakily walked over to where his little brother lay.

"Stick with us Virg," he pleaded. "We've only just found you…"

"Are you going to be okay Scott?" John asked his brother. Scott sat against the wall on the opposite side of the corridor from where John and Alan sat. Gordon lay across the chairs, his head in Alan's lap. Alan was also beginning to dose off, his head rolling backwards slowly.

"The sleep of innocents, eh?" John continued, slightly concerned by Scott's lapse into silence. Scott chewed at his fingernails before glancing up at John.

"I told Dad that knowing Virgil was gone, but not knowing where was worse that all the times I thought he had died," he said suddenly, his eyes full of tears waiting to fall. John watched Scott glance at the scratched tiled floor before meeting his eyes.

"God…I was so wrong…" he finished, his last word turning into a sob. John, silent until that moment, got to his feet and walked away from his brothers, towards the room where his father sat, alone. He entered and Jeff looked up at him, his eyes full of concern, his forehead knotted with worry lines.

"Has there been any news?" he asked John, who shook his head swiftly.

"I think you need to be out there Dad," John said quietly. "We need you out there."

"I can't John," Jeff said softly, his voice taking on the same fragility John had heard when he thought Virgil was dead.

"I knew where he was…you told me. I keep thinking maybe if I wasn't so stubborn, I'd have saved him from this…I could have gone to him, told him everything…begged him to come home and he wouldn't be here now…we wouldn't be here now…"

"I doubt he'd have gone so easy Dad…the girl, Caitlin…he was going to propose. Alan found the ring in his belongings…"

"Oh dear Lord," Jeff murmured, rubbing his eyes. Slowly he felt the same dread he'd felt when he knew of the fate of his own wife. He would never have wished that upon anyone, and now his middle son was about to face the same gut wrenching grief.

"Look…Scott's going to fall apart if you don't go out there and tell him everything will be fine…he needs to hear that Dad…and from you, not anyone else," Jeff took a deep breath and nodded.

"Yes…I know…I don't know what's come over me…" Pressing his hand down on John's shoulder, Jeff Tracy stood a little taller and made his way to his sons, ready to be the father they needed at that moment.

He woke up a few hours later in the hospital, his fearful eyes wide as he tried to sit up.

"Calm down…whoa," said a deep voice and Virgil saw his father's face before him, his hand placed on his chest, easing him back.

"It's ok now," he said softly. Virgil's eyes softened as tears began to well up in the corners.

"I know we have…we have things to talk about Virgil, but right now, it's not important," his father continued in his soothing voice, reaching out for his hand.

"How are you feeling?" he asked him finally. Virgil smiled, pulling away the oxygen mask at his face.

"I'm sorry…" he croaked.

Outside the ward, four brothers were desperate for news of their sibling. Gordon jiggled his foot nervously, Scott chewed on his thumbnail, John walked up and down in front of the ward. Alan watched them all, feeling somewhat detached from the emotion the rest of his family were enduring at that moment. He'd watched the trauma through a fuzzy television screen, he'd heard the sobbing from Gordon, the panicked breathing from Scott through a static filled radio link. Even John had experienced the event better than him, John had perfect vision of what was happening on the rescue, perfect sound, every whispered curse, every muttered plea that had come from Scott and Gordon. Alan was shocked to see tears in John and Scott's eyes when he had been woken by his father, telling them Virgil had woken up. The eldest of the brothers, John and Scott were expected to hold everything together. John got away with this by being rather distance, both physically with his long stints on Thunderbird 5 and having a slightly quieter personality that the other brothers. The tension around them was unbearable and Alan cleared his throat quietly, watching as three very different pairs of eyes turned to look at him. He felt obliged to speak.

"Who's going to tell Virgil about his girlfriend?" Alan asked finally, shattering the silence that had engulfed the brothers since their father had entered the ward. Gordon looked back at the floor in front of him, his eyes fixed on a tiny speck of mud.

"Caitlin…" he murmured. "Her name was Caitlin." Scott glanced at his younger brother and pressed his hand down on his shoulder.

"Virgil is tough, he'll be on his feet before you know it…" Alan continued weakly.
"I have no doubt…it's how he'll handle losing someone I'm more concerned about…" Scott shot back, looking towards the ward where his brother lay.

"Maybe he'll come back to us since she's not around…" Alan began, but Scott cut him off with a yell.

"You don't understand!" Alan looked at his brother in shock before he got to his feet, storming towards the doors at the end of the corridor.

"Oh..dammit…Alan…" Scott pleaded, but John shook his head once, quickly, telling him he would deal with it and without a further word, followed the youngest brother down the corridor.

Inside the ward, Virgil glanced towards the door upon hearing Scott's shout. He looked to his father for an explanation and after a few heavy sighs, Jeff spoke softly to him.

"A lot has happened…they found you, which caused all sorts of emotions to come out and they almost lost you…" Virgil's eyes slowly closed over and he shook his head.

"There's a reason I stayed…" Virgil began, but his father shook his head.

"Son…Virgil, I need to tell you something. I know what you're going to feel, I've felt it myself…you've got to promise me you will be a better and stronger man that I ever was…" Virgil's eyes began to run automatically as he realized what his father was referring to.

"Dad…don't say it…oh God please don't…" Virgil pleaded in a whispering voice. Jeff's eyes filled and for the first time, Virgil watched his father break down in front of him.

"I love her…she can't be…" Virgil sobbed, his voice breaking. Jeff took his sons head, his fingers running through his soft hair, placing it against his shoulder. Jeff was helpless as he felt Virgil's hot tears against his neck, his body shaking against his. Rather than hide his pain, Jeff let his own tears fall; they meandered down his cheeks before dripping off the end of his chin down on Virgil's head.

"I thought you could do with this," Scott said as he watched his father leave the ward. Jeff's red-rimmed eyes and pale cheeks caught Scott off guard, but he remained strong for his father's sake.

"Thanks Scott," Jeff said, taking the polystyrene cup with shaky hands and sitting down beside Scott. They sat in silence for a while, both contemplating the last twenty-four hours before Scott spoke.

"Is he sleeping?"

"Yeah…they had to give him something though, but he needs to rest to regain his strength," Jeff told him and Scott nodded, getting to his feet and peering through the window in the door. Virgil was as pale as his father, his cheeks still moist from his endless tears, but at least he looked somewhat peaceful.

"He loved her a lot, didn't he?" Scott said.

"Yes…he did," Jeff murmured. "Loosing someone you love that much can destroy you…I hope Virgil can be stronger than that…stronger than me…" Scott couldn't bear to look at his father, but instead concentrated his gaze on Virgil.

"When he wakes up…I want to see him Dad…I need to see him…"

"I think he will want to see you too."

Virgil was shocked by his brother's haggard appearance and gestured for him to sit down next to him.

"Scott…I'm so sorry about what I did…I hurt you, more than anyone else Scott and I'm sorry…"

"Hey, I understand why you left…I understand why you didn't come back," Scott assured him, reaching out to take his brother's hand, but hesitated.

"I need to say sorry…I was so cold to you…I want you to know I don't know what I would have done if Gordon hadn't of got you out of there…I need you Virgil, we all need you and we all want you to let us be there for you…" Virgil's eyes filled with pain and he bit his bottom lip, looking towards the wall. Scott took his brother's hand and, squeezing it gently, coaxing Virgil to look at him.

"Thank you…" he whispered, stagnant tears trembling in his eyes. Scott smiled sadly, as Virgil wearily closed his eyes and wiped away the moisture that gathered under them, the tears having been released.

"Scott?" he asked suddenly, his eyes open and alert.

"Yeah?"

"Stay here with me…stay with me while I sleep…don't let me lose anyone else, please…" Scott tried to reply, but his voice left his throat as he truly understood his brother's fear and pain. Tightening his grip on Virgil's hand, Scott kissed his brother's cheek, an unusually intimate gesture for someone like Scott who was not even comfortable hugging any of his brothers. Virgil's eyes opened for a moment, warm brown meeting steely blue, an understanding reached between the two.

"I'll be right here Virgil," Scott said gently as Virgil closed his eyes, the last of his tears trickling down his cheeks and leaving damp patches on his pillow.

Jeff returned to the ward later that evening, to order Scott home and to spend some time alone, hoping to convince Virgil to return to the island with him. He paused at the doorway, the scene in front of him moving him to near tears. Virgil slept silently, a natural sleep and seemingly painless sleep. His hand clung to Scott's, who had also fallen asleep, leaning forward, his head on Virgil's pillow, their foreheads touching as they breathed in unison. A deep set frown which had crossed Jeff's face since finding out about Virgil's accident slowly faded, a small smile appearing on his face. There was hope, he thought. He closed over the door quietly and stepped back, taking in the picture perfect scene before him one last time.