Chapter 6: Waiting
The wait was interminable. The room that the brothers had been provided with was small, although pleasantly furnished. The three strapping men filled it and they soon got fed up with tripping over each other. Scott kept himself busy keeping track of the rest of the family's journey to the hospital. He spoke many times to John who, on Thunderbird 5, was feeling frustrated and useless. He dealt with the members of hospital management who couldn't resist coming to introduce themselves to their important visitors. Alan was in charge of the coffee run, making sure everyone had a hot cup to keep them going. Virgil stared at a mark on the floor, barely acknowledging anyone.
Finally, a tired looking man in scrubs arrived in the room. The brothers leapt to their feet in anticipation.
"We've moved him to Intensive Care."
"How is he?" asked Scott.
"Well, we've patched up his wounds and plastered his arm which had a small fracture. I know you were worried about his back but the scan showed that the work that has been done on it previously has not been affected so that isn't an issue."
"Great, just great," Scott couldn't help but say with relief.
"Can we see him? Is he awake?" asked Virgil.
"Well…no he isn't. The main problem is the wound inflicted on his skull. Your colleague is currently in a coma. He is responding to some stimuli but we will have to play a waiting game for now. I hope your friend will come around soon but nothing is absolute with head trauma."
"His name is Gordon," said Alan, irritated by how dispassionately the surgeon was talking about his brother.
"Gordon. Right. Well, you can go and look at him but don't expect too much."
The brothers were taken to the Intensive Care ward and shown into Gordon's room. Gordon appeared to be wired up to just about every machine in the hospital. He was breathing without a ventilator but that was as much as could be said for him. He had a thick white bandage around his head and a cast on his arm. Here and there were dotted other repairs to small cuts. Gordon was completely still apart from the rise and fall of his chest. The three looked at him, words seeming pointless. Virgil spotted a chair by the head of the bed. He sat down in it and decided he wasn't moving from it until Gordon was better.
………………………………………….
Not long after, the others arrived. Kyrano had stayed at Tracy Island but Jeff, Grandma, Tin Tin and Brains had all made the trip. Scott found himself demoted to second-in-command as his father took over, quizzing the doctors and dealing with the security and administration of Gordon's admission to the hospital. Alan was reassured by Tin Tin's arrival and allowed her to slip her hand into his and murmur encouraging words in his ear. Grandma decided it was time her grandsons ate and, after tutting loudly at a nearby vending machine, went in search of 'proper food'. Virgil hardly noticed his family's presence.
A couple of hours later, Scott went into Gordon's room to speak to Virgil. His eyes flicked over the body of his ginger-haired brother but he could not bear to let them linger on the motionless form.
"Virgil, we have to get the Thunderbirds back to Base."
There were a few seconds pause before Virgil stirred himself and looked in puzzlement at Scott.
"What?" he asked, vaguely.
"Thunderbird 2. We have to get her home."
"Screw Thunderbird 2." Virgil suddenly registered the shock on Scott's face and mentally rewound to find out what he had said to so astonish his eldest brother. "Oh, yeh, right. What I meant was that Alan is perfectly capable of piloting Thunderbird 2 back to Base. No, delete that, you are perfectly capable of piloting Thunderbird 2. Alan's used to Thunderbird 1. Let him fly her."
"You're not coming, then?"
"No." Virgil seemed pretty definite in his reply. Scott stood up and walked over to the door, more worried than ever. Virgil's voice stopped him.
"Not a scratch on her and you know I'll check. And that port-side ram-jet needs babying for the first 2 minutes after ignition."
The touch of normality from Virgil made Scott give an inward sigh of relief. Virgil was just worried as they all were. Gordon would be fine. He was like a rubber ball, he just kept bouncing back. There was no way Gordon would die. He wouldn't let it happen. But deep down, Scott knew that Gordon's condition was one of those things that he had to accept was outside of his control. Scott didn't like not being in control: things usually went wrong when he wasn't.
