Disclaimer: I don't own them, I'm not lucky enough.
A/N: Set quite a while after the movie. John's back in the rebuilt/repaired Thunderbird Five.
-I'm going by the ages provided by the site, with the exception of Alan. So the ages are: Scott- 24, John- 22, Virgil- 20, Gordon- 18 and Alan- 16 (the site had Alan at 14).
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Once Jeff and Tin-Tin arrived, Jeff tried to get Virgil's attention, since he hadn't moved when they entered. But Virgil didn't move at all when his name was being called. It was then that Scott stood up, and put a hand on his father's arm.
"Let me," was all he said before going over to Virgil.
Everyone watched intently, as they weren't sure what was happening. Scott stood next to Virgil, who had yet to move. Scott placed a gentle hand on Virgil's arm and said his name softly. It took a second, but Virgil turned to glance at Scott. Then Virgil touched Scott's arm for a second.
"Welcome back," Scott said, his volume low.
Virgil smiled slightly before turning around. Scott sat back down on the sofa and Virgil remained on his feet.
"Okay," Jeff said. "We're all here. What happened?"
"I was stopped by a reporter," Virgil began. "He said he was from the New York Post. He just said he had a few questions. His first was fine, it was about the Nictvi project. I just told him to contact the press office since that isn't my area."
"And then?" Jeff prodded.
"He asked me if I'd ever heard of The Hood," Virgil answered, looking at everyone's faces. No one reacted strongly, they were just watching him.
"How did you answer that?" Jeff asked.
"Just that I'd heard about him on TV. That he was the one who attacked the Thunderbirds and tried to rob a bank. And that it was horrible and I was glad he was stopped and is in jail."
"I'm guessing there's more," Scott asked.
Virgil nodded, but didn't immediately start. He took a deep breath, and glanced at the screen where he saw John looking back at him.
"What is it, Virgil?" John asked when he saw his younger brother looking at him.
"He asked what I thought when I heard that Thunderbird Five had been hit," Virgil said, and after another deep breath he added, "And that if I thought John was dead."
No one said a word when Virgil was finished. Virgil kept his head down and his eyes on his feet, he didn't dare look up until he'd gotten himself calmed down. He especially didn't want to look at John, since he knew this had to have brought a lot up in his older brother as well.
It wasn't until he felt a hand on his shoulder that Virgil moved. He slowly looked up, and saw that it was Scott in front of him.
"You ok?" he asked.
"Yeah," Virgil lied, and immediately saw that Scott didn't believe him.
"He's ok," Scott whispered. "John's just fine."
Virgil looked over Scott's shoulder to see John on the screen, staring at him. John smiled and waved.
"I know," Virgil replied. He allowed Scott to guide him to the sofa.
"How did you answer those?" Jeff asked.
"I just said that if there was a John on Thunderbird Five, it wasn't my brother. My brother's working on a communications project for Tracy Industries," Virgil answered. "But I don't think he believed me."
"Why not?" Jeff asked.
"Just the way he looked. I don't think he believed anything I said after the Nictvi project question."
"And then what?" Scott asked.
"That was it for then. I went back to completing the lists that you all gave me. I was about to meet Onaha and Tin-Tin when he stopped me again."
And then Virgil added to Tin-Tin, "That was what you saw."
She nodded, but said nothing. Jeff urged his son to continue, although he sensed that this was going to be a difficult thing to do. Scott, who had sat next to his brother, placed a hand on his shoulder.
"He asked…" Virgil paused, taking a deep breath. "He asked what it was like to almost die on Thunderbird Five."
"What?" Scott asked in disbelief.
Virgil simply nodded, locking eyes with John once again. John offered a supportive look, but didn't say anything.
"And?" Jeff prompted.
"I just told him that since I'd never been on Thunderbird Five, I wouldn't know," Virgil whispered.
They all sat in silence, absorbing the latest bit and letting Virgil get himself calmed down.
"Please tell me that was it," Jeff said.
He was disheartened to see Virgil shake his head. And with the way things had been going, Jeff wasn't sure if he really wanted to hear what else there was. But he knew he had to, so he asked Virgil what it was.
"He said that the rescue business is dangerous. And then he asked me if I was afraid that I would die."
"That son of a…" Scott began before a look from his father silenced him.
"What did you say to that?" Jeff asked.
"Nothing. He vanished into the crowd just after."
"Alright," Jeff sighed. "We need to find out who that reporter is and how he got that information."
"He said his name was Kevin Reilly," Virgil offered, realizing he hadn't mentioned it earlier.
"John, could you…" Jeff began.
"I'm running it now," John answered before the request was fully completed.
Virgil, who suddenly didn't feel well, put his head between his knees and wrapped his arms around his shins. Scott rubbed his back in an effort to comfort his younger brother. John, who was waiting for the computer to give him something, watched with concern, as did the rest of the room's occupants.
"What's going on, little brother?" Scott said softly.
"I think I'm going to be sick," Virgil answered, just as softly.
"You want to go upstairs for a few minutes?" Scott asked, looking over Virgil to their father, who nodded his head.
"Yeah."
Scott moved so that Virgil could sit up. Then Scott stood and watched his brother slowly stand, and then they left the room with Scott following Virgil.
"What do you think is wrong?" Alan asked.
"I'd say all of the stress," John guessed. "Knowing him, Virgil buried it the entire time. Now everything's hitting him all at once and his body's reacting."
Once in the bathroom, Virgil leaned over the sink, his head in his arms. Scott stood back, watching intently. This had happened before and he knew that it was best to give Virgil some space. If he really did get sick, it would happen rather suddenly and it was best to be out of the way.
Scott was glad he wasn't standing nearby, since Virgil went to the toilet in flash. Scott immediately followed, kneeling by his brother and rubbing his back until he was finished.
When he was done, Virgil rested his head on his arms and tried to calm his breathing.
"Better?" Scott asked.
"A little," Virgil replied.
"You up to going back downstairs?"
"In a minute," Virgil answered, then started to stand.
Scott helped him up, and then over to the sink. Virgil rinsed his mouth out, then splashed his face a few times. Once his face was dry, Virgil led the way back downstairs.
"Sorry," he said when he arrived back.
"You ok now?" Jeff asked, going over to his son.
Virgil nodded, but only said, "I'm sorry about that."
"Nothing to apologize for," Jeff said. "Sit back down and we'll continue this."
Virgil sat back down next to Scott, who handed him the water bottle that he'd originally brought in with him.
"Drink up," Scott said, his voice low. "You need it."
Virgil nodded, took the cap off and took a few sips before replacing the cap. The room remained quiet until John reported that the computer had found a match.
