This fic is heavy with MAJOR SPOILERS FOR 3.25 &3.26. Please be warned. It is using a lot of material from these episodes at the moment, but ultimately it is a continuation of Thunderbird X and may deviate slightly from canon for that reason. Or do whatever the heck it wants to because all my fics do that, damnit.
Many thanks to scribbles97 for the advice and read-through. This does contain the bit from this morning, but there is lots more to follow.
-o-o-o-
Two was so familiar it hurt.
One was his daydream, but Two was his reassurance.
Virgil didn't say anything as he helped him through the corridors. A mop of black hair was his only sight as he looked down at the big man under his arm.
The shoulders supporting him were far broader than he remembered. It slowly began to sink in exactly how much he didn't know. The uniform was familiar. The green baldric and kit. The tools were new and Jeff frowned at them as if to accuse them of betraying his faith in his knowledge. Why Virgil felt he had to carry a screwdriver around with him everywhere, he had no doubt his son could tell him if he asked.
But he didn't.
They arrived at the room he expected and it was with some relief that it was what he expected.
It wasn't until Virgil velcroed him to the bed that he saw the dent in the ceiling. "How did that happen?" It was out before he could think twice.
Virgil looked up from the tray of supplies that were not designed for an antigravity environment and frowned at the bulkhead above them.
"Oh, the exo-suit."
"What was the exo-suit doing in here?"
Virgil pulled out a palm scanner and began a methodical examination. "Got myself trapped in it. Tried to get myself out. Didn't go well."
Jeff stared at the side of his son's head, but didn't ask the obvious question as Virgil stared at the hologram of a very battered old body above the bed.
Virgil's hitched breath was the only sound in the room.
"I-I need to give you some supplements. A painkiller would probably be a good idea."
"No, son. I can last a little longer. Need a clear head."
Brown eyes caught his for just a moment before looking away. "There isn't much else I can do until we get you to a hospital." Virgil turned away, once again fiddling with equipment, unwrapping a hypodermic needle and fussing with a small bottle of liquid. "This is a basic dose of necessary vitamins and minerals."
Virgil's eyes were on anything but his father and the hologram above him.
Jeff reached over to one of the many patches on his suit and unwrapped the seal on his arm. "You'll need to secure it again."
His son blinked but said nothing, administering the dose to his father and rebinding his suit with tape. "We need to get you a new uniform."
"It is enough for the moment, Virgil. We need to get back up top and get out of here."
He saw the hesitation flicker across that longed-for face. "You're lying down on one of the medbeds in the cockpit. You're going to let the medscan finish so when we reach home, we have enough data to know what we have to do."
Jeff eyed him. The changes were subtle. The confidence level was much stronger, more assured, despite the situation.
"Virgil, we need you up here."
John's voice would forever be music to his ears.
"FAB." A swallow, and Jeff could see his son visibly gather himself. "C'mon, Dad. We have a rescue to complete."
Detaching him from the bed, Virgil again wrapped his arm around his father and helped him through the great green ship.
Both Gordon and John were in the cockpit. The medbed had already been deployed and was ready waiting.
It very quickly became clear that he had no say in whether he was going to lie on it or not.
Virgil's directions stood for no argument and to be honest, Jeff didn't really want to put up a fight, but there was so much to see! After so long alone with only rock and the same broken ship to stare at, everything was so rich in colour.
And his sons. His beloved sons.
He watched their every move, part of him still unable to believe that they were really there.
Virgil fussed, obviously fighting his own demons. Gordon chattered incessantly, but Jeff was so happy to hear and see him, he had no protest.
And John, his saviour…Jeff had never been one for the musical arts, that was always Lucy's department, but to hear his boy's voice free of static and interruption…
Reality threatened to fracture.
So, he obeyed his worrying sons and lay down on the medbed. Gravity, wasn't a factor at the moment, but when they reached Earth it was going to be a definite problem.
Reached Earth?
He swallowed a lump in his throat as Virgil was finally urged to the pilot's seat and the great 'bird around them came to life.
He had to see this, so he sat up on the bed and watched.
John contacted the Zero XL. The name of the ship that had brought his boys here felt wrong, as if he had been aboard the Titanic and was now being saved by the Titanic II, but the moment the ship answered…
Brains.
The joy in the man's stuttering voice had Jeff's heart stuttering along with it. Not only had his boys come all this way, but Brains as well?
The Brains he knew wasn't a physically active man. His specialities were academic. He had never been comfortable in space or even aboard the Thunderbirds he had designed, yet here he was, out here where literally only one man had gone before.
Jeff's heart swelled almost to breaking.
John cut off the connection and that voice was gone. Only to be replaced by those of his sons as they coordinated the return trip.
Scott was clearly in command, but Virgil had his own responses and John was sharp and sure. Gordon sat back quietly, his stream of excited words apparently spent, but his posture was active, as if he was ready to move at a moment's notice. He turned, looked at Jeff and smiled, his eyes glittering in the overhead lighting.
It became apparent very quickly that his boys' skillsets had advanced considerably while he was gone.
Which really? Was to be expected, but time and memory were two different things.
The red of Thunderbird Three coasted effortlessly between spinning and colliding rocks, One and Two following best they could.
"Who taught Alan to fly like that?"
Gordon snorted. "He's pretty much a natural."
"Dad, you need to lie down flat and let the medscan finish." Virgil threw it over his shoulder and Jeff got the impression that if the man didn't have to fly his 'bird, he would still be fussing.
"You sound like your Grandma."
His mom.
Mom.
Virgil's tone lightened and his voice was grinning. "Yeah. Who is always right."
Hmmm. Perhaps some things hadn't changed.
-o-o-o-
He did lie down eventually, if only to stop his second eldest from fretting. Gordon turned around at one point and whispered that if he didn't do what Virgil said, things could get scary. Apparently, he was speaking from experience.
So, the medscan was completed and the nagging stopped.
But then they arrived at the Zero XL and Brains refused to respond. It appeared that his Titanic analogy may be far too possible.
Was fate really going to do this to him? Dangle rescue and then snatch it away?
And leave his boys stranded with him?
Then International Rescue responded.
Situation called, examined, orders issued, resolution found and executed.
A moment of panic to a moment of shocked stillness. The Zero XL floated silent in space, the emptiness eating it with its lack of light.
For all its nomenclature, the ship looked nothing like its predecessor.
Was that Thunderbird Five on its bow?
"Thunderbird Two, I need options. How do we get onboard?" His eldest's son's voice was a balm against the emptiness. "The docking ports are still closed."
"I'm working on it, Thunderbird One." John's voice was ever so calm. The communications expert flicked a switch on the dash. "Eos, do you read?"
"I'm here, John. Though I would appreciate you never doing that again."
His son sighed. "You were safe, Eos. We've gone over this before."
The female voice was strident. "That is all very well for you to say, you weren't the one being shot at."
Jeff frowned. Who else was aboard the Zero XL? The voice was unfamiliar and sounded very young.
"We have a time limit, Eos. Do you still have access to the Zero XL's systems?"
"Some. You did do damage with that little trick."
"We need to dock, Eos."
"Do you have the password?"
"Eos!"
"You did say I should work on my humour."
Despite the playful tone, it appeared that Eos knew what she was doing as the Xero XL at least partially came to life, sections opening. He watched as Alan slid Three into a port at the rear. One settled into something similar, and then Two slipped under the ship's belly and docked with a soft thud.
Virgil spoke briefly with Alan and his 'bird was secured.
The moment Virgil was out of his pilot's seat, he was beside Jeff, unstrapping him.
"Gordon, meet with Scott and secure the ship."
"FAB." The aquanaut's eyes sparkled at Jeff again as Gordon briefly touched his shoulder before turning sharply and leaving through the rear door.
John was still sitting in his chair, speaking to the woman who continued to be both efficient and difficult.
"Who is she?" He said the words quietly, but Virgil heard him, his head coming up with a small smile.
"She's Eos. John can fill you in."
"Okay." There was obviously a story there. "So, what's with the EMP weaponry?" He arched an eyebrow.
Virgil's smile vanished to be replaced with a frown and he looked down. "Brains designed it after the incident with the GDF's rescue robots." He cleared his throat. "A lot has happened."
Quiet. "I'm sure it has."
His son's frown was targeted at the bed's readout before Virgil reached over and lifted Jeff gently off the mattress and set him floating vertical again. "How does that feel?"
Jeff smiled just a little. "It does the job."
Regardless, Virgil slipped his arm around his waist again and led him out of Thunderbird Two.
The difference between the interior of Two and the Zero XL was vast. He went from reassuringly familiar to alien in moments.
He missed the green immediately.
"Who built it?"
"Mostly Brains."
"Mostly?"
Virgil didn't answer and Alan joined them, again reaching out to hug Jeff, chattering just as happily, if not more than Gordon earlier. Virgil didn't join in, but neither did he let go.
And then they were at the bridge of the ship. Virgil let him go and Brains was smiling up at him. It was so good to see him.
"It's good to see you, Jeff."
His own name forced his heart into his stomach. The man was an older version of his business partner, but his expression, his complete lack of stutter…it had been eight years, but Jeff Tracy had worked so many hours alongside this man, he knew him.
And it wasn't him.
There was only one person it could be and for a split second, part of him wailed at the injustice that Gaat had followed his sons out here to corrupt these moments as he had corrupted everything else ever since he had met the man.
"It's good to see you, too." And he offered his hand.
As Gaat reached to shake, Jeff could see fear in his eyes. Perhaps that was what kept the bastard going all these years. A need to prove that he wasn't afraid, that he wouldn't run again when faced with the one man who had managed to prevent him from succeeding all those years ago.
The grip of his limp hand closed the deal.
Jeff spun the man around, wrenched his arm up his back and shoved him face first into the bulkhead.
-o-o-o-
End Part Two