By the time Jeff arrived at the hospital Scott had been in with the doctors for almost three hours. The hospital had been kind enough to give them a private room with a side room, and this was where they found Gordon, curled up in a chair and staring into space. He jumped a mile as his dad sat next to him, and all but melted into his embrace.
'They haven't been in to say anything, Dad,' he whispered, and Jeff nodded, motioning for Virgil to sit with his brother while he went to find out what was going on. Virgil sat down, arm around Gordon's shoulders, and Alan sat next to him, calling John. They all knew how John felt when he was left out. Nothing was said. They just sat and waited.
Jeff made his way past several rooms until he found the nurses' desk. He waited for the man to be free before asking for news on his son. The man spoke to a doctor who said he would be out to discuss everything with Jeff as soon as he could.
True to his word, the doctor was out within half an hour. It didn't sound good. The collapse of the building had caused multiple broken bones, one of which had punctured his lung. He had several other damaged organs. He had drowned. He had a head injury that they were worried about. He was still in surgery.
Of course, the doctor was far more technical about it, but Jeff understood. Scott was lucky to be alive. He returned to the waiting room to let his sons know.
It was a couple of hours later that Scott was wheeled into the room. He was hooked up to all manner of monitors, including a ventilator to allow his damaged lungs to heal. His sons stayed in the side room allowing Jeff the first opportunity to see him.
Scott was stark against the white sheets. There seemed to be bandages everywhere. He was unconscious, the doctors deciding that for a couple of days at least they would keep him under to give him a maximum chance at healing. He sighed deeply. He needed to let his sons see their brother, and at some point soon he needed to have a talk with Alan.
Leaving the room to allow Virgil and Gordon to see Scott, Jeff was surprised to find Virgil on the phone, so he waved Gordon and Alan through. He moved to the point furthest from Virgil, not wanting to intrude in the phone call, even if he was curious as to who his son would think was more important to talk to then to visit Scott.
Virgil had sent a message to Kaya when they first arrived, promising when Scott was out of surgery he would call. He had been surprised when she hadn't immediately called back wanting to know where and details, but he guessed he had given her enough to be getting on with.
So as soon as Scott had been wheeled in and their father had left to see him, Virgil kept his word and called her. She sounded…wrong. Virgil couldn't put his finger on it, but she felt a little detached as she thanked him for keeping him informed and for giving her the address of the hospital. His dad had come through while they were talking, but she didn't stay much longer on the call, and Virgil wondered if he was missing something.
As Virgil finished his call Jeff started one of his own. Calling the island, he asked Brains to go pick up John, and then John could fly over in Tracy Two with Grandma and Tin-Tin. Alan needed her. Brains was more than happy to comply, agreeing to switch Five to automatic for a few days.
Lady Penelope prepared a press conference to say International Rescue would be offline for a while. Everyone had seen the building collapse and the lines of rescuers digging Scott out on the World News, so there wouldn't be any surprises at the announcement, but Jeff wanted everything done properly.
Although, he had the nagging feeling he had forgotten something.
Two days later and there was little change in Scott's condition. They had camped out in the hotel across the way, taking over the entire top floor for privacy. Virgil had been on and off the phone a couple of times, hushed discussions with whoever was on the other end.
Jeff had put off the discussion with Alan until Scott was conscious, feeling that it would be a little one-sided otherwise, yet he still felt he'd forgotten something important, he just couldn't put his finger on it.
'It' turned up the afternoon of the second day. Virgil had gone out for the morning, and when he arrived at the hospital he was not alone.
Kaya was with him. Having been kept in the loop about Scott's condition from both John and Virgil, at first she had been resolute to stay away. But her resolve soon crumbled as the news didn't improve, and she jumped at the offer of Virgil coming over and picking her up. Virgil had needed the distraction and the flight had helped clear his mind, and Kaya had kissed his cheek and hugged him when they met. The journey back was silent, but it was a comfortable one.
That didn't last as Kaya strode into the room. Taking in the sight of Scott on his bed with his brothers around him and his Grandmother sat to one side, she gave in to the two things she had promised herself she would not do.
The first was to kiss Scott on the forehead.
The second was to slap Jeff around the face.