Again, I don't own Thunderbirds or its characters, just the ones I made up.
Jeff and Virgil entered the hospital early the next morning. Dr. MacLeod met them in front of Parker's room.
"Doctor, how is he this morning?" Jeff asked.
MacLeod smiled. "He woke up during the night. He was fairly lucid and asking for you and some one he referred to as 'Milady.' Any idea who that might be?"
"His cat." Virgil replied quickly. "He's probably wondering who's taking care of her while he's here."
The doctor nodded. "I figured it was something like that." He pulled out Parker's medical chart. "His vitals are good. He was complaining of a severe headache, so we ran another head series."
Both Jeff and Virgil caught the doctor's hesitation. "What's wrong?" Jeff asked.
MacLeod shook his head. "Nothing's wrong per se, but…Here take a look." He tacked the CAT scan flimsy to a screen. "See these areas here, they're indicative of head trauma. But he has no outward signs of having hit his head. It could have been a stroke, but again, the symptoms just don't add up."
Virgil peered closely at the results. "That is strange…"
MacLeod shrugged. "Maybe we'll have a better idea after you talk to him. He hasn't said much to us."
Jeff nodded thoughtfully, then straightened. "All right, let's see what he has to say." He nudged Virgil away from the screen and the three of them entered Parker's room.
A nurse was standing next to the bed taking his pulse and both looked up when the Tracy's entered the room. "Mister Tracy! Master Virgil!" Parker struggled to sit up. "Milady, the young Masters!" He began to get agitated.
Jeff placed a hand on Parker's shoulder, easing the man back down on the bed. "Your cat and the puppies are fine Parker. They're being taken care of." Jeff widened his eyes at Parker, arching an eyebrow. Parker nodded and settled down. Jeff turned to the doctor. "Could we have a few moments please?"
MacLeod nodded and he and the nurse left the room. Jeff turned to his friend. "Parker, what happened?"
"It was the Hood Mister Tracy." The English butler replied. "He ambushed us a few miles outside of the school."
"The Hood?" Jeff sat down in a chair next to the bed. "Fill me in Parker."
Parker proceeded to tell Jeff and Virgil the tale. When he finished, he looked up at Jeff with haunted eyes. "I am so sorry Mister Tracy. I failed you."
Jeff's gaze bore into Parker's. "You did no such thing and I don't want to hear another word about it, do you hear me. You weren't even expected to survive this attack. Thanks to you we know what happened and now we can start looking."
Parker lay back on the bed, clearly exhausted. "Rest Parker. We'll find them. John and Brains are working on it now." Jeff told him. Parker closed his eyes and was asleep within moments.
Virgil pressed his communicator. "Gord, did you get all that?"
"Sure did. I'll talk to you when you get to the brownstone. Brains is pretty upset."
"FAB Gordon." Virgil looked up at his father. Jeff was staring out the window, his chin resting in his hand. "Dad?"
Jeff looked up. "One thing's for sure, John and Scott are staying where they are. Hood's targeted us before, and the defense modifications haven't been made to Thunderbird 3 yet. I'm not risking any of your safety on the return trip."
Virgil started to protest, but then thought better of it and let the matter drop. "So, do we leave Parker here, or bring him back to the island?" He asked quietly.
Jeff paused. "My gut says to bring him home, but I don't know if it's safe to move him. I am going to post security guards at his door. The Hood's not going to be able to get to him again." Jeff said firmly.
Just then, the door opened and MacLeod walked in. Glancing at Parker's sleeping form, he turned to the Tracy's. "Was he able to tell you anything?"
Jeff shook his head. "No, he doesn't remember. He's more concerned with his pets."
"Hmmm…" The doctor looked down at the chart in his hands. "We'll run a few more tests."
Virgil met his father's eyes. Jeff shook his head slightly before turning back to the doctor. "Is he able to be moved?"
MacLeod shook his head. "Not just yet, no. Why?"
Jeff shook his head. "No reason. I want to place a few of my men at the door as an added security measure." Jeff told him.
MacLeod looked puzzled. "Why on earth would you need to post security?" Suddenly realization dawned in his green eyes. "My God, you're Jeff Tracy. The billionaire and founder of Tracy Enterprises!"
Jeff rolled his eyes and Virgil tried, unsuccessfully, to hide a snicker. MacLeod recovered quickly. "I mean, sir, security guards, do you really think that's necessary?"
Jeff nodded. "This man is an associate and a personal friend of mine. Once this leaks out to the press, it'll be bedlam in here."
MacLeod nodded thoughtfully. "I see your point. All right, post your guards, and I'll limit visitors to yourselves."
Jeff smiled. "Thank-you Doctor. Virgil." With one last glance at Parker's sleeping form, Jeff and his son left for the brownstone.
Once there, Virgil disappeared into the main office, while Jeff made some lunch and a large pot of coffee. With a mug in one hand, and a sandwich in the other, he wandered in search of his son. Hearing voices, he paused outside the door to the study.
"So that's the scoop. Have you figured out what John's up to yet?" Jeff heard Virgil ask.
"No, he's been holed up at the computer since yesterday. I had to practically drag him away from it so he could eat something." Scott sighed audibly. "Virg, he doesn't sleep, he wakes screaming almost every night with nightmares. He's losing weight because he's barely eating. We need to get him out of here."
"I know. I'll talk to Dad. See if he'll change his mind and send us up as soon as we get back to the island." Virgil replied.
"When's that going to be?"
Jeff stepped into the room. "We're leaving for home now."
Virgil turned, startled. "Dad!"
Jeff stepped up to the screen. "Scott, where's John?"
"He's up on the main bridge." Scott answered. "Doing God knows what with the computers."
"Start packing. We'll be there as soon as I get back home." Jeff told his eldest.
"FAB Dad. See ya soon Virgil." Scott's face disappeared.
Virgil turned to his father. "We're leaving?"
Jeff nodded. "There's nothing we can do for Parker at this point. We're best off getting your brothers home, and finding Alan, Fermat and Penny."
Virgil smiled thinly, then hurried off to his room. Less than an hour later, they were taking off in the jet, heading back towards Tracy Island.
This time it was Virgil who was quiet. He sat in the co-pilot's chair, idly staring out the window. Jeff glanced at his middle son. Virgil didn't notice his father's scrutiny, but continued staring out at nothing, his forehead furrowed in thought.
"Virgil? Virgil!" Virgil started. "What's on your mind son?" Jeff asked.
Virgil turned back towards the widow. "Nothing."
"Vir-gil."
He sighed. "Dad, I think we're in real trouble this time. I mean, we could handle the Hood, but what about John? We need his help, and I don't think he's up to it." Virgil sighed again. "Dad, what are we going to do?" There was a touch of desperation in his voice.
Jeff put the plane on auto-pilot and turned to his son. "Virgil, we'll get through this." Jeff's words echoed his son's earlier conversation.
Virgil was quiet a while before turning back to his father. "I've been thinking…"
"About what?"
"We really need a doctor on the team. I mean, there's only so much I can do. My training's pretty limited. I can patch us up, administer some meds, do minor surgery, that sort of thing." Virgil told his father.
"And you think we need more than that?" Jeff asked. Virgil never did anything without thinking things through completely. He was going somewhere with this, and Jeff sat back to hear what his son had to say.
Virgil nodded. "I've been thinking about it for a while, but last month's incident with the Hood proves that I'm right. If we had our own doc, we could have brought John straight home and taken care of him there, instead of compromising our identities in a public hospital."
"Or you could have told us the true extent of John's injuries, and we could have sought help sooner rather than later." Jeff said, a touch of irritation in his voice.
Virgil looked away again. "There wasn't time Dad, and you know that. John knew we needed to stop the Hood and save the monorail victims before anything else. Besides, John didn't exactly tell me how badly he was hurt." He shook his head. "But that's not the point. Dad, I really want a doctor on the team."
Jeff was still a few minutes. "I take it you have some one in mind."
Virgil nodded. "MacLeod. Parker's doctor back in Boston. I've done some background research." He pulled a sheaf of papers out of a folder next to his seat. "His parents were killed in a car accident when he was sixteen and he became a ward of the state. He put himself through Harvard Medical School, double majoring in Emergency Medicine and Psychiatry. He graduated with honors and has been working at Boston General for the past five years. He has no family to speak of, no close friends only acquaintances, instead, he devotes his little free time volunteering at a local children's charity. He's exactly what we're looking for." Virgil finished.
"I'll think about it." Jeff told him. He was quiet a few minutes. "Have you given any thought to your brother's opinions?"
Virgil nodded. "Scott, Gordon and I talked about it while we were in London waiting on John. They agree with me. We just didn't know who to approach."
"And you like this MacLeod character?"
"You met him Dad. What do you think?"
Jeff nodded thoughtfully. "All right. It looks like you've done your homework. I'll make some calls to MacLeod when we get home."
Virgil broke into a grin. "Thanks Dad."
Jeff turned back to the controls. "Don't thank me yet. He might not want the job."
"He'll take it."
"You sound pretty sure of yourse—"
"Tracy Island calling Mobile Command. Dad? Do you read me?" Gordon's voice sounded tense.
"We're here Gordon, what's up?" Jeff answered.
"What's your ETA?"
Jeff glanced down at his watch. "About an hour, why?"
"We've just been pinged."