"Don't drop me!"

"When have I ever dropped you?"

"You had better catch me!"

"Of course, I'll catch you!"

"Go slow!"

"I am!"

"Just trust us, will you?"

"Don't you dare let me fall!"

"Then stop making it so tempting!" Gordon yelled back, trying not to laugh at their predicament. He tightened his grip on her waist. "I promise I've got you, you can let go now."

Selene's fingers dug into the skin of Virgil's arm that he had locked across her chest, refusing to release him. He was the only solid thing she could clutch onto and she wasn't about to give that up for anything.

"Sel, that hurts," Virgil said placidly, trying to pull his arm out of her vice-like grip. Unfortunately, it only made her cling tighter. "I can't do anything unless you let go."

"If you drop me and I break my other ankle John is gonna be pissed," she warned him, tipping her head back to spear him with a warning glare.

"I know. Now retract your claws."

Selene narrowed her eyes but slackened her grip on his arm, though she didn't let go completely.

"No trust, no trust at all. Where's the love, Sel?" Gordon teased. Honestly, he couldn't blame her for being a bit nervous, she'd been through a terrifying ordeal and was still recovering. Besides, she'd never been overly adventurous in regards to being dangled or thrown around at the best of times, and this wasn't one. Not that they were doing that, but she did have a dramatic flair a mile wide.

"Don't flail," Virgil warned, lifting her as gently as possible and lowering her down into the water where Gordon was waiting. Gordon, even though he looked wiry, caught and held her easily, helping to slow her descent into the water.

Selene sucked in a breath as the water closed over her legs, bracing herself for the shock she always felt when entering a pool. But to her, very pleasant, surprise it wasn't anywhere near as cold as she had expected, they had heated the water far above its usual temperature. The water felt, well not quite bath-like, it wasn't hot enough to scald the flesh off her bones, but it was warm and infinitely more relaxing than she had thought it would be.

"See?" Gordon said, grinning that ridiculous smile of his that was all teeth and puppy eyes. "Now will you trust me?"

Virgil, who was currently trying to ignore the screaming of his knees where he was kneeling on the hard poolside tiles, and the less screaming more pained ache from his back where he hovered bent over the pool holding part of the weight of his sister, carefully slid his arm out from under hers, letting Gordon take the full burden.

Selene clamped her arms down, pinning Virgil's in place, trapping him for a moment or two before she carefully wrapped her arms around Gordon's neck, allowing Virgil to withdraw completely. He straightened up, stretching his back until it popped, then clambered awkwardly to his feet.

"Don't go too far," Gordon called after him as he settled himself on a distant lounger, intent on soaking up a little sun while they did their thing.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Virgil assured his brother, pulling out his phone to catch up on his latest podcasts.

While Virgil made the most of his precious downtime, Gordon got to work.

"Take it easy to start with," he instructed. "Keep hold of me if you need to, but don't stress because I'll be holding tight to you too. I won't let you down."

"Promise?"

"I promise," he assured her. "Let's start out nice and easy, just try to put your feet on the bottom, letting the water support you."

"I don't know if I can."

"You can, Sel, you've got this. Just your tippy toes, OK?"

She wanted to, she really did. She was willing to do anything she could to make sure that she was up and out of that damn chair as quickly as possible. She'd done her exercises from the second she'd been allowed. Small leg raises on both sides, ankle circling for her good ankle and just toe pointing for her bad one. She'd managed some knee bends and light hip raises from a flat position. But this was different, this was the first step towards full recovery. Literally.

Her legs felt so wobbly like all their strength had deserted them. Yoga and hula hooping were her exercises of choice and she'd been used to standing on one leg without any strain, could warrior and tree pose for hours if called to, but now she didn't even have the strength in her legs to leave the bed on her own. This was the first time she'd been properly upright in more than a month, it was bloody scary and her husband wasn't there. Oh, she didn't blame him, she knew he was working hard, spending every spare moment that he wasn't coordinating a rescue or looking after her, searching for some clue as to the identity of their mysterious enemy. The thought of someone he didn't know being out there, watching them, maybe plotting their next move at that very moment, was something he couldn't stand.

"Trust me," Gordon said again as if he were reading her mind.

"I do." And she did, she did trust him, she trusted them all. The fact was she didn't trust herself. She had never felt this weak, this useless, this vulnerable, not since her relationship with Nathaniel. She'd never wanted them to see her this way, yet here she was, too scared to try putting her feet on the floor.

Well, she would damn well do it. She would not allow herself to become the pathetic, useless lay-about that he-who-doesn't-deserve-to-be-named had accused her of being. Her father's words floated through her mind, "Sweetheart, the only person that can make you feel useless is yourself by not trying". He'd been right then when he'd sat with her while she cried late into the night, just the two of them, and he was right now. She'd thought that he and Adam would be the only men she would ever fully trust again.

But then John had come into her life, bringing with him the most amazing family in the world. Her daddy had believed in her then, and now they did too. She wouldn't let him down, she wouldn't let them down and, most importantly, she wouldn't let herself down.

Gritting her teeth, she lowered her legs from the sitting position she held them in. It felt unnatural, to not be lying down with the protective strength of a mattress under her. To be actively trying to put her legs down while upright was something she hadn't tried to do in more than a month and she was secretly worried that she wouldn't even remember how to do it.

"That's it, nice and easy," Gordon encouraged. "Just the tips of your toes."

Selene nodded as she slowly, painfully, continued to lower her legs. The very tips of her toes on her good foot brushed the bottom of the pool first and then, with a more solid feeling clunk, the front of her cast.

"That's great, Selly, you're doing it! Now slowly lower down flat."

Selene grit her teeth as she forced her ankle to bend, lowering her foot. It was slow, so incredibly slow, but it felt amazing when the sole of her foot finally touched down. Once she felt solid ground she straightened her knee, allowing the cast's bottom to connect fully with the floor. The tiles felt strange under her feet after so long of nothing but the footplate of her wheelchair or the lounge floor.

"That's amazing. You did it!" Gordon cheered, giving her a gentle high five.

"I did it!" she agreed, panting slightly from the exertion. "Now what?"

"Well, your physio at the hospital said that, if you were in water, you could try taking a few steps if your pelvis feels alright. Want to try?" He kept his tone gentle, not a hint of challenge in it, not wanting to push her in any way.

Selene chewed her lip as she thought about it, looking down at her feet, distorted through the water, but solidly there. Looking real, feeling real. She still hurt, especially in the pelvic area which was pretty much always there, a dull ache that could morph into a sharp stab if she moved too much or too quickly. Her wrist, even though it was out of its cast, still felt tender if she did too much with it and her ankle still throbbed when she put weight on it. But all of that was bearable, everything was, so long as she got herself back to normal at some point.

Finally, she nodded. "Yeah, I'll give it a go."

"That's our girl." Gordon moved a little way in front of her, transferring his grip from her waist to her arms. "Walk towards me. One step at a time."

"OK."

"Easy does it. Take it slow."

"Yeah," she mumbled, her face creased in concentration as she focused on the herculean task of lifting first her good leg, setting her foot firmly on the tile before she tried her hurt one. She had never felt so weak, she made Bambi look like a pro-runner. She felt her thigh muscles tremble as they fought valiantly to keep her upright. The water helped, it took some of the weight off her limbs and kept her upper body more buoyant, but it was still hard going.

"One step…two steps…" Gordon counted softly.

"I swear to fuck if you say 'tickle you under there' I'll smack you," Selene warned him in such a serious tone that he burst out laughing.

"Just keep walking," he said, tugging lightly on her arms to encourage her. "One step…"

She glared at him, but there was no real heat in it as she shuffled forward another two steps. Everything hurt. Her back felt like someone had parked a truck on her, her pelvis and hips ached like the devil and her ankle felt like it was on fire. But she would keep moving, even if one step more was all she could manage.

"You're doing great, Selly," Virgil encouraged her from his poolside viewpoint. She glanced over to see him sitting up on the end of the lounger, watching her progress. She gave him a weak smile which he returned with interest.

"OK, that's enough for now," Gordon told her when she had managed a total of twelve steps.

"I can do more," she insisted. Twelve steps were nothing, that wasn't even the width of their bedroom. She wanted to do more, she wanted to keep going, to keep pushing herself.

"No," Gordon told her firmly. "You don't want to push yourself too far. Little by little is key."

"When did you become a mind reader?"

"No such skill, I just know you."

"Harsh."

"Truth," he argued. "Plus, you forget, I've been where you are. I know what you're thinking because I've thought, and done, the same thing."

Selene huffed out a breath but gave in gracefully. "Then now what?"

"I'll show you."

He moved behind her, sliding his arms under hers so her back was against his chest. "Lean back, let the water take your weight, then you can give your legs a little exercise without putting too much pressure on them."

This time she didn't hesitate to put her full trust in him. This, this was their thing. She cast her mind back to the first time she had seen a rescue go wrong, as well as the impact that it had on her boys, specifically Gordon. The crew of an out-of-date submarine had gotten themselves caught in the middle of a tsunami, resulting in their sub being partially crushed by the shifting ocean floor. Gordon had gone down in Thunderbird Four to get them but had been too late.

He'd been devastated, seeing it as a failure on his part. He'd wanted to be alone, but she hadn't allowed it. She'd asked him to trust her, and he had. She'd dragged him out of his room and down to his favourite lagoon where she had done this very thing.

She'd gotten him into the water, made him lie back in her arms and had talked him through the process of water cleansing, letting the emotions out into his element. It had helped, and after that, it had been something they did whenever a rescue was particularly bad.

When he had been crushed in Thunderbird Four and was recovering in hospital, he'd confided in her that he'd worried he wouldn't be able to cope without their little ritual, not being able to release his feelings in a safe way. She'd promised him then that she would help, and she had. She'd taught him how to use other elements, how to work through things in a different way and, when he'd finally been allowed back in the water again, she had been right there beside him.

Now it was his turn.

Resting her head back onto his shoulder, she let him and the water take her weight, trusting him to keep her safe as she slowly, gently, kicked her legs up and down.

This was nice and relaxing. She hadn't been in the water for so long, sitting in the shower under the spray didn't count. She craved a hot bath with every fibre of her being. She wanted to be able to get in and out of chairs, beds, and bathtubs, by herself. She wanted to feel like herself again.

She closed her eyes, the sun above them too bright to be comfortable, and let her mind wander as Gordon slowly counted for her. In her mind's eye, she conjured up a picture, a simple thing to visualise and hold on to, feeding it power in order to make it a reality. She saw herself walking around the kitchen, making them food as she so often did. She pictured herself on her hands and knees indulging in a long cat/cow stretching session on a yoga mat beside Virgil's piano. She saw herself sitting in the gravity ring with john, looking down on the earth, and herself standing on her rooftop amongst her plants, the moon above her as she lifted her arms to the heavens, greeting her goddess…

The sound of the emergency alarm blasted out from the open lounge windows, shattering the relaxing atmosphere.

Virgil was on his feet in an instant, already leaning over the pool. Gordon wasted no time, moving towards the side, dragging her with him. He held her legs and supported her as Virgil slide his hands under her arms and hauled her unceremoniously out of the pool and into his arms like he'd just landed a fish, uncaring as to how wet she was.

"My chair," she protested, shocked at her sudden departure from the pool and the relief it had given her.

"No time," Virgil apologised, already heading to the kitchen entrance, carrying her as if she were nothing.

"Then at least get my robe!" She gestured to the towelling robe that she used for swimming, still draped over the back of her chair where she had left it.

Gordon grabbed it for her as he passed, struggling to drag on his own one-handed as he raced to catch up with his rapidly retreating brother.