Virgil tapped his fingers impatiently against the steering wheel of Thunderbird 2 as he waited for the rig to be pulled away, and presently Kayo returned in FAB1 to take Thunderbird Shadow home, Virgil looked down at the car landing and called his sister.

"So Kayo, I won't help you tell Brains but I'll help you home."

"Thunderbird Shadow will be fine Virgil."

"You won't make it without me, I've done a full system scan whilst you've been gone. Trust me."

Kayo sighed, "fine. I'll go with you."

Penelope smiled at her, "he's only being a caring brother."

"I know, but I have to face his twin of care when I get home," Kayo shook her head. "Help me?"

Penelope laughed, "I'm sure Scott will be as affectionate as always."

Kayo watched as the grabs of Thunderbird 2 lifted Shadow up and tucked her under the module before the platform lowered down from the nose cone to the rig. "I guess my ride is here. Thanks for the help today, Penelope."

"Always Kayo."

Kayo stood upon the platform and waved before she was taken into Thunderbird 2, she walked to the front of the cockpit and sat beside Virgil in the co-pilot's seat, "I'm sure I could've flown back."

"Hello to you too."

"I'm sorry, it hasn't been a good day for me. I failed that mission. Scott won't forgive me, I'm sure of that."

"You didn't go out today for a mission, you ended up having to supervise one. Don't blame yourself, it wasn't your fault."

Kayo nodded as she looked down at her feet, "it was my fault though. I was in charge of that operation."

"Kayo, accidents happen and your ship isn't designed for lifts like that. The grabs are strong as you said, but you don't have the power to pull things like that up," Virgil looked across at her sympathetically.

"That's not an excuse."

Virgil sighed, "you'll see it is when we get home."

Back in England, Lady Penelope had arrived home and was making a call to Gordon and projected him onto the window ledge.

"Hello, Gordon."

"Lady Penelope, what an unexpected pleasure," Gordon grinned as he ran a hand through his wet hair. "You've just caught me after a swim, I'm by the pool," he turned the camera down onto his legs before the image panned around and showed the pool.

"Looks lovely."

Gordon's face turned serious as he turned the camera back on himself, "I know about the mission Penny, John filled me in. You were almost crushed underwater. I've told you to be careful on these missions."

"I was fine."

Gordon rolled his eyes with a smile, "you weren't fine, you could've died if that crane had crushed you."

"I wriggled through the gaps, there was no problem," Penelope smiled as Sherbet jumped onto her lap. "I would've called you had there been a problem."

"So I would've been in time for your funeral?"

"Gordon, you worry too much. I'm vigilant and careful. Now relax."

Gordon sighed, "your solo missions always make me nervous, mainly because you never tell me when you're going on one."

"And you repeatedly remind me why I don't tell you because you would force yourself upon me the way Scott does on all of you. You don't want me to smother you do you?"

Gordon blushed as he looked down, "well..."

Penelope giggled as she ran her hand through her hair, "I wouldn't have made it had it not been for the training sessions you gave me."

Gordon nodded, "that's still one of my favourite days with you I've ever had."

"That's because you like to show off. Those skills saved me today, so thank you. Oh, and pass along my compliments to Brains for the suit design."

"You wore it?"

"What else was I going to wear?"

Gordon swooned slightly, "I bet you looked great."

"What a charmer."

"How did it feel in the water?"

"I felt like a mermaid. It was very flexible to move in. Much nicer than the test suit I wore in training."

Gordon laughed. "We all hated our first test suits too. Virgil ripped his on the first trial because Brains hadn't designed it for his muscles, and mine was too fiddly with the extra equipment."

Penelope smiled, "it's good to know I have a working suit for missions now."

"I hope we get to do something together at some point," he blushed again.

"That would be nice. Oh, I must dash, I need to check in with Colonel Casey about Malloy and his attempted murder of his entire crew."

Gordon nodded, "speak to you soon."

"Thank you, Gordon, until next time."

Scott walked out to the pool as Gordon hung up and smirked, "just saying goodbye are we?"

"Urgh, leave me alone."

"I just came out for a swim. Are Virgil and Kayo not back yet?"

"Nope. You've got plenty of time, big brother."

Scott undid the buttons on his shirt and tossed it aside onto one of the loungers, "is Penny alright after today?"

"Yeah she's alright, I think she's just a little shaken up."

Scott nodded as he stood on the diving board, "I'm sure hearing from you has sorted everything though."

Gordon opened his mouth to protest, but his brother had already dived into the pool, "meh. Very funny."

Thunderbird 2 lowered Shadow gently onto her launchpad on the cliff face as Kayo automated the grabs of her ship, "thanks, Virgil."

Virgil smiled, "not a problem. Man, I can't wait for a coffee."

"At three in the afternoon?"

"I want to keep awake in case there's another call."

Kayo stretched as the craft came to a stop in the hangar, "I better go and find Scott I guess."

Virgil followed her out, "good luck. I'll be in the lounge."

Kayo rolled her eyes and left the hangar to get changed in her room. She tidied her hair up then decided to check on Brains who had already started working on Shadow.

"Hi Brains."

"Kayo, good timing. You'll be pleased to know that Shadow isn't too damaged."

"So, could I have flown back or not?"

"It's hard to say, but it was probably best that Virgil did fly you home. She just needs some work on her engines."

Kayo nodded, "thanks, Brains. I'm afraid I've scratched her up a bit too."

"Not a problem, you know I've seen worse," Brains chuckled as Max handed him the scanner. "Thanks, Max."

"I'll leave you to it then," Kayo smiled and opened the side door out to the garden, she walked down to the pool and spotted Scott talking with Gordon.

Scott lay back on his lounger, "fancy a drink Gordo?"

"Sure would."

"Go get one then," Scott yawned as he closed his eyes.

"Urgh, you always...I always fall into that trap!"

"That's because you never learn," Scott laughed.

Gordon got up from his lounger as Kayo approached them, "hey Kayo, welcome back."

"Hi, Gordon."

Scott sat up, "Kayo, how was the mission?"

"Yeah, the mission. Well, I need some advice."

Gordon smiled, "I'll leave you to it."

Kayo took Gordon's lounger as she listened to the sound of the piano from up in the lounge then sighed, "how do you cope after failing a mission?

Scott frowned. "Did something go wrong?"

Kayo rubbed her arm subconsciously, "kinda."

"What happened?"

"I just wasn't strong enough, it was Virgil who saved the day in the end. I didn't do anything useful."

Scott sat forward on the edge of his lounger, his knees touching hers, "honey, I bet you were a star. Was it a difficult mission?"

"Not that difficult really. Oh, Scott. I feel rubbish."

Scott held her hands in his, "you're not rubbish. We can't do everything, my love. The crew got to safety, so that's a win. What went wrong from your perspective?"

"The rig was too heavy for Shadow to lift, and I had to abandon it. I put the crew in danger of being drowned," Kayo bowed her head. "I mean, it's really only thanks to Virgil that we got that platform to the surface in the end. Shadow was a tool."

Scott rolled his eyes, "Thunderbird Shadow isn't a crane. You're safe and that's what matters. I'm proud of you K."

Kayo smiled up at him, "really?"

"Of course. I always am."

Kayo leaned forwards and cupped her hand under his chin to kiss him, he kissed her back and then stroked her cheek making her smile. "At least Shadow isn't too damaged."

Scott chuckled, "Brains will fix her, don't worry. Well, it looks like I'm not getting that drink, want to get one with me?"

Kayo nodded as she took Scott's hand in hers, and they walked back to the house, "I'd love one."

The couple went up to the lounge with their drinks where Virgil was composing at the piano. They walked over to him and set their glasses down on the desk before starting a game of pool.

"Hey Kayo, how's Brains?" Virgil asked, letting the melody hold in the air.

"He's alright about everything. You saved me today Virgil, and I won't forget that."

Virgil smiled, "you had it all under control, don't feel guilty about anything."

Kayo nodded, "I think I'm beginning to see that."

Scott smiled, "both of you did really well today, and I hope Penny was okay too?"

Virgil nodded, "she did a great job, she should go out on more missions."

"Great. Well then, I think today was a success wasn't it?"

Kayo laughed, "yeah, looking back, I guess it was."

Virgil resumed playing, "of course it was."

Kayo smiled at the pianist, "but I think I will leave the lifting for you Virgil, it's clear Shadow can't."

"Well I've said it once and I'll say it again, it's what I was made for," Virgil smiled as he played, and Scott laughed shooting a ball into a pocket. "It's the beauty of flying the big Bird."