"Virgil!"
There were two voices and he knew both of them, but he was barely keeping his feet. His good shoulder hit what had to be the elevator doors and someone grabbed at him to stop him from falling.
Unfortunately, they grabbed the wrong arm.
"Don't!" He desperately stumbled away, stepping back into the elevator and curling up in one of the corners.
God.
His breathing was harsh and loud in his ears.
His stomach rolled over and he found himself swallowing yet again.
Pull it together…
Another breath…
Opening his eyes and peering up revealed exactly what he expected. IR responder Gordon Tracy inspecting him with laser beam eyes and Dr Sally Tracy frowning enough to crush him with her eyebrows.
"Virgil? What's wrong?" It was said by his grandmother but the expression on Gordon's face was punctuation.
There was no getting out of this.
Another swallow.
He uncurled and straightened as two pairs of concerned eyes tracked his every move.
"I had a bit of an accident."
"Well, that much is obvious." Gordon was not impressed.
Grandma reached out and touched his little brother's arm. "Virgil, what happened? You are obviously seriously injured."
"I fell and dislocated my shoulder." His eyes were held by his grandmother.
"And?" Gordon knew him too damn well.
"Broken wrist."
Grandma stepped forward, grabbing Gordon and taking him with her. It removed the both of them from the elevator door sensors and she turned to hit the controls.
The infirmary level lit up.
Virgil would have wilted, but it would have hurt too much.
Grandma didn't say anything the entire trip down. Admittedly, it wasn't a long trip, only a matter of seconds, but it took forever.
He was in so much shit.
The doors opened again and his grandmother stepped back, gesturing he exit the car.
He really wished she would say something.
But she didn't, so he levered himself off the elevator wall and took the steps needed to get himself to the infirmary. His arm dangled and screamed at him the entire way. By the time he reached a bed he had to grip it to prevent himself from falling flat on his face.
"C'mon, Virg, let's get you up there." Gordon carefully lowered the bed and guided him onto it. His butt hit the mattress and he was hard put to stay upright, but he had to. He had to look his grandmother in the eye and answer for his own stupidity.
"Lie down, Virgil." Responder Gordon was firm, but not firm enough.
"Grandma?"
There must have been something in his voice because her whole body language changed. It softened and she reached out, her hand brushing the side of his good arm. "Honey, lie down."
It helped more than any demand could have.
He wasn't forgiven, but he was loved.
-o-o-o-
Yes, Sally Tracy loved her boys more than life itself, but there were times they baffled her beyond comprehension.
Virgil was her sensible boy. She could trust him to keep a calm head and corral his brothers if necessary. She felt just that touch closer to Virgil, more a case of mutual understanding, than she had with her other boys, including her son. But every now and then even Virgil proved exactly how Tracy he was.
How much of an idiot.
"Honey, lie down." It was obvious he was in a lot of pain and her heart hurt for him. Why he hadn't called for help? She had no idea any more than she did the time she found Scott trying to stitch himself up. Or the time she discovered John melting away quietly in his room so feverish she was surprised he hadn't lit it on fire. Gordon was a little more sensible, likely due to his medical history, but there was the incident with the clam. As for Alan, she just ticked all the boxes above as the teenager was notorious for following his brothers off their respective cliffs and laughing while jumping.
But Virgil, her sweet Virgil…it was almost a betrayal of her trust in him. The surety that he would act in his and his brothers' best interests.
Why hadn't he reported the injury?
How did he get hurt?
She raised the head of the bed and gently nudged him to relax against it. Her hand landed on his chest and she could feel the tension in his body through the flannel of his shirt.
Part of her, deep down, hidden under the professional and the grandmother, wanted to cry at the pain in those tight muscles.
But instead she began undoing buttons.
His eyes followed her every movement, his healthy hand reaching up to help.
"Gordon, find me a laser scalpel. I'm going to have to cut his shirt off."
Virgil's expression wilted. Well, there was no choice. He would just have to buy a new one.
She moved further down and unbuckled the safety harness. He must have been working on his 'bird.
She brushed away his hand as he again tried to help her. "Rest, Virgil. I've got this."
His expression immediately tightened up and she realised he was embarrassed.
"There is nothing to be embarrassed about, my boy. You haven't got anything I haven't seen before."
"Grandma…"
A tug and she was able to pull the harness loose. She handed it to Gordon who stashed it on a chair before handing her the laser scalpel.
"Now, honey, you are going to tell me exactly what happened so I know how to treat you."
His eyes immediately darted to Gordon and with some concern she realised there was fear in his gaze.
What on Earth had happened? What was he afraid of?
Gordon's expression grew quizzical.
Virgil looked like he was facing a firing squad.
She got an inkling of Virgil's reasoning. Perhaps his embarrassment had a more solid foundation.
"Gordon, could you please wait outside?"
The aquanaut jumped, his eyes darting at her. "Grandma?"
"Go and notify your father and Scott about this while I speak to Virgil."
Carnelian eyes darted back and forth between brother and grandmother and she could tell he was reluctant to leave. Her bet was it was concern about his brother, but also an insatiable curiosity as to what had happened.
She could understand that.
"Please, Gordon."
That did it. Gordon grabbed at Virgil's leg and squeezed gently. "Okay, Grandma." But his eyes pinned his brother where he sat. There was no doubt Gordon was going to find out what happened come hell or high water. And then he would probably instigate both considering how much fear was in Virgil's eyes.
The moment the aquanaut left the room, she turned back to Virgil. "Honey, tell me what happened?"
-o-o-o-
End Part Two.
TBC