Disclaimer: I don't own Thunderbirds.

Prompt from janetm74: "Can we stop for a moment? I think I need a break" with Scott

"Can we stop for a moment? I think I need a break."

Gordon hit the edge of the pool and caught the side of it, pulling himself vertical and looking over at his eldest brother, who was clinging to the side and looking absolutely exhausted. It wasn't an admittance Scott ever made lightly, but while he had his pride - especially in front of younger brothers - he did have some level of common sense.

The tongue-lashings Gordon had delivered in the past when he'd pushed himself beyond his limits in the pool and ended up cramping and in need of rescue himself might have also, finally, sunk in. You couldn't save someone else if you were in trouble yourself.

He eyed Scott anyway, because he was looking a little pale and he suspected he'd still pushed further than he should have done with their water training, but didn't hesitate to agree.

"We can take a break," he agreed. "Get up on the poolside and take a breather."

Chlorinated water plastering his hair down even more effectively than the handfuls of hair gel employed every morning, Scott nodded. He really was looking pale, now Gordon was looking at him properly, and he lingered back in the water as Scott turned and grasped the edge of the pool with a white-knuckled grip. Biceps rippled, Scott's arms tensing in preparation of the pull, and then Gordon was surging the foot or so between them and catching his brother as his grip failed and he vanished beneath the surface.

Yanking Scott back up, Gordon trod water as he patted his brother's cheek. His eyes were closed, face drained of all colour, and in the back of his mind Gordon retracted anything he'd thought about Scott learning not to overdo it. Then again, he should not have been exhausted to the point of fainting from what they'd done so far.

He frowned.

"C'mon, Scott," he urged, fingers slipping down to press against the pulse point beneath his brother's jaw. It was still there, slightly thready but not enough to be a concern. Wet fingers in front of a partially open mouth registered steady breathing, so with a scowl he returned to tapping Scott's cheek insistently. "Wake up."

There was a cough and a splutter, and he grasped at the side of the pool again, allowing his own legs a respite from treading water as Scott blinked his way back into consciousness.

"Gords?" His name was a little quiet and unsteady, confusion lacing though in the background.

"You fainted," Gordon told him bluntly. Scott blanched, as though he wasn't already pale enough, and Gordon's suspicions rose. There was something his brother wasn't telling him. "Training is over."

The sigh he got in response wasn't surprised, rather resigned. Gordon tightened his grip as Scott reached for the side of the pool again.

"You've been dunked enough," he said a little sharply. "I'm going to swim you back to the shallow end and we'll get out there."

"I can-"

"Absolutely not." Sometimes, Gordon couldn't believe his brother's stupidity. "Come on." He kicked away from the side, bringing Scott with him; despite his words, his brother didn't fight his hold. It didn't take long to get them back to the shallows, where both of them could stand easily on the bottom. "Out."

Scott grasped the side again, muscles rippling as he pulled himself up. Gordon took no chances, boosting him from the side until he was clear before bringing himself out alongside.

Any attempts his brother might have made to escape were scuppered by a hand on his wrist, keeping him by the poolside.

"Do I need to give you the water safety lecture again?" he demanded. "You do not push yourself to the point of collapse in the pool. Ever."

"I know." Scott looked slightly unsure, and Gordon paused. "I was fine, Gordon, I promise. I don't know what happened."

Gordon didn't like the sound of that at all; it made sense insofar as the fact that he also hadn't noticed anything was wrong until immediately before, but if Scott was fainting for no apparent reason, then that was potentially something a lot more serious.

"You didn't forget to eat earlier, did you?" Scott shook his head. "Sleepless night?" That headshake was less certain, but knowing his brother's sleeping habits, that didn't unduly surprise Gordon. Still, it was concerning. He reached out for Scott's pulse point again.

Scott didn't pull back.

"How are you feeling now?" he asked, feeling the thrumming pulse under his fingers. It was stronger than when he'd been unconscious, but still wasn't quite right.

"I'm fine," Scott promised. "Whatever it was has passed."

"I'll be more convinced once I've got a scan on you," Gordon muttered. Scott baulked at the idea, but he held firm. "Scott, if you're ill, we need to know." Just the idea of his brother having another fainting spell in the air, at the controls of Thunderbird One, or even in a danger zone…

No, Gordon couldn't let that happen.

"I'm not ill." On the plus side, Scott clearly felt fine enough to be a terrible patient. That being said, it wasn't a particularly high bar; keeping him pinned down if he was coherent was always a challenge.

"If you can stand up without a headrush or fainting again, I'll consider believing you," Gordon pointed out, bringing his hand back from Scott's throat and making his way to his feet. "Think you can?" He held out his hands for Scott to take. His stubborn brother didn't accept the help, so Gordon snatched his wrists anyway.

It turned out to be a good move, because Scott swayed slightly - not much, but more than he'd ever do if he was completely healthy - as he reached his full height. Gordon narrowed his eyes.

"Infirmary or den?" he asked, less because he wanted to give Scott an out and more because the den was closer.

"Den is fine," Scott replied, predictably. Well, if he wanted to play it that way.

"Den it is," Gordon agreed, and raised an eyebrow at Scott's suspicious look. "What? I gave you the choice, didn't I?"

The noise Scott made in his throat was just as suspicious as the look, but his brother didn't reply. Gordon grinned at him and led the way, not letting go. Scott stumbled after him until Gordon ducked underneath his arm. The stairs were, in Gordon's opinion, too much of a risk, so he dragged his brother towards the elevator and tried not to think about the trail of water they were traipsing all through the house.

Hopefully Grandma would understand.

Still, he snagged a towel in passing and slung it around his neck until the elevator spat them out upstairs. It was deployed on Scott upon arrival in the den, because the sofa cushions were only water resistant and Grandma got very upset if wet bodies sat on them for any length of time.

Scott grumbled protests that he was capable of drying himself, which Gordon ignored entirely, before sinking down entirely too gratefully onto the nearest sofa. Gordon hurriedly got rid of the worst of the water from his own body before he threw himself onto the sofa next to Scott.

"Virgil," he called, prodding at his wrist comm and leaning sharply out of Scott's reach as his brother reacted. "Could you bring a medscanner to the den?"

"What happened?" A grease-covered Virgil appeared in miniature, scowling up at him in concern. "Weren't you and Scott doing water training?"

"Until Scott fainted," Gordon agreed, ignoring the hiss of his name from said older brother and extending his arm so that it was out of Scott's reach. "As you can see, he's lively again now, but-"

"You have no idea why?" Whether Virgil was finishing his sentence or just guessing, he wasn't sure, but either way it was correct.

"Yup," he agreed. "So if you could..?"

"I'm on my way."

The call cut out just as Scott managed to grab his wrist.

"Gordon."

"What?" he asked. "You thought I was going to just leave you here while I fetched it so you could escape?" From the frustrated look on his brother's face, that was exactly what big brother had been hoping for. "If you didn't want Virgil involved, you should have picked the infirmary, bro."

He was fairly sure the growled words under Scott's breath were ones from the military-dictionary, and not the Grandma-approved one.

"Love you, too, bro." He pushed himself upright again and gave his brother another once-over. Scott really did look fine, and the chances were high that it was a random one-off - probably his sleep schedule catching up with him at last - but Gordon couldn't shake the unease. "Look, Scott. Just humour me, okay? If the scan doesn't show anything then that's fine. I just want to be sure."

Scott sighed, reluctance oozing from every pore, but he didn't argue.

"I'm fine."

Well, he didn't argue much.

"That's for the scanner to decide."

Booted feet all but running across the floor cut off any retort Scott might have been building, and Virgil appeared. Somehow he looked even more grease-stained than his hologram had, but Gordon was more interested in the medscanner he was clutching.

Scott endured it with bad grace.

"How long was he out?" Virgil demanded. Gordon shrugged.

"A few seconds," he said. "Thirty, tops." It wasn't long, but it was long enough.

Virgil's hum seemed to agree with him as the scanner beeped. Three pairs of eyes focused on it.

Nothing wrong.

Well, technically it was flagging up some minor exhaustion - no doubt from the training - and an advisory about sleep and electrolytes flashed up, but there was nothing dramatic.

Virgil scowled at Scott. "Electrolytes," he said. "And sleep. I'm grounding you for twelve hours, and it'll be longer if you don't spend at least half of them in bed." He brandished the scanner when Scott's mouth opened. "Preferably all of them."

Brown eyes glanced to Gordon, ignoring the protests coming from their big brother. "Get him to his room while I fix something up."

"F.A.B. Come on, Scotty. Bed time." He slipped off the sofa and grabbed Scott's arms. "Up you get." Blue eyes glowered at him in frustration, but with the dreaded g-word hanging over him, Scott was reluctantly compliant. Already he was steadier on his feet, to the point that Gordon was happy to risk the stairs up to the bedrooms.

There were, thankfully, no more incidents, and Scott sank down onto his bed with another glare. Gordon joined him, uninvited but equally not dismissed, and they sat shoulder to shoulder as they waited for Virgil.

The family medic didn't take long, appearing with a sports bottle in one hand and a glass of water in the other.

"Drink all of it," he instructed, pressing the bottle into Scott's hand. Big brother made a face but obediently took a few gulps. "Once you're done, get into pyjamas and go to bed." The water was placed on the bedside table, alongside a pill. "If you can't sleep, take that."

Scott's shoulders slumped but there was no protest. Then again, Gordon probably wasn't the only one who had thought about the what-ifs of a repeat on a rescue. Scott was many things, but sometimes he could see the same dangers the rest of them were scared of. Not always, but sometimes.

"Gordon Cooper Tracy!"

Oops. Grandma must have found the trail of water. He glanced at his older brothers, who both looked vaguely sympathetic - a first, but then he'd had good reason this time - but offered no support.

"I'd say that's my cue to leave," he said, dragging himself to his feet. He pressed a hand to Scott's shoulder. "See you in twelve hours, Scotty."

There was no agreement - then again, Scott staying in bed for twelve hours seemed less likely than John willingly going to a party - but there was a small quirk of his lips into what could be a smile.

"Thanks, Gordon."

Gordon huffed. "No more fainting during water training. I'm getting fed up of having to drag you out at the end."

"This was the first time!" Scott protested, but Gordon didn't bother answering that; the other occasions might have seen him still conscious, but they'd otherwise been no better. Instead, he gave a jaunty wave to his eldest brother, and offered Virgil a sloppy handover salute - big brother was his responsibility now - before slipping out of the room to face Grandma.

Scott was in good hands.

Happy Thunderbirds Day! There'll be the final Sicktember also coming out tonight, and I may, if my muses co-operate, even get one of my longfics updated at some point today as well. We'll see...

Thanks for reading!
Tsari