DISCLAIMER: STILL DON'T OWN THEM... STILL WISH I DID...

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Notes:

* I have no medical training and very little knowledge - Any medical stuff mentioned in this chapter (Quite a lot!) is the result of research on internet search engines and the NHS website: Please forgive me for any mistakes - Hopefully, not too many!

* The SEDATIVE DRUG that I name in this chapter is completely made up (Although it is based on drugs that are around) I decided to do this because of Thunderbirds being set in the future and unfortunately, illegal drugs do keep changing.

* Thank you to Helen Williams for pointing out something I should have mentioned in the previous chapter about the blood transfusion (Details put in this chapter)

* Anyway, here is chapter 26. Hope you enjoy and reviews are welcome. :)

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Chapter 26: Injuries.

Upon reaching the cockpit of Thunderbird 2 and receiving the coordinates, Gordon with Alan by his side took to the controls and safely flew them to the airfield in Auckland, New Zealand. As soon as they had landed they both made their way back into the medical bay and were greeted by Scott and John who had both changed out of their International Rescue uniforms.

"How's he been?" Alan asked.

Scott sighed. "Not too good, he's still drifting in and out of consciousness... Is the ambulance ready?"

"Yes, they are," Gordon confirmed.

"Good, then let's get him out of here!" John added.

They all carefully lifted Virgil's stretcher and made their way out of Thunderbird 2.

They were quickly met by a plump friendly looking man, who was slightly balding and looked around 50. "Hello there, I'm Doctor Gerry Sylvia."

"Hey, I'm Scott, this is my brother John. We will be coming with you in the ambulance. These are my other brothers Gordon and Alan."

"It's nice to meet you all. Although, I wish it was under better circumstances!" Doctor Sylvia gave a concerned look towards Virgil. "And this must be Virgil?"

"Yes," Scott confirmed.

"Okay, let's get him into the ambulance," Gerry said.

Scott and John promised to keep Gordon and Alan updated on Virgil's condition, until they arrived with their father and grandma. They then made their way with the doctor and Virgil into the ambulance and headed towards the hospital.

... ...

A short time later:

Scott and John, not wanting to leave Virgil's side, followed closely behind him as he was pushed down the hospital aisle. Eventually, Virgil was taken into a room while the two brothers were reluctantly ushered into a small waiting room by a young nurse.

"If you both take a seat, I will fetch you both a drink." The nurse said with a smile.

"Can we stay with him?" Scott pleaded.

"I'm afraid not. He will need a lot of tests… He's your little brother, right?" The nurse questioned.

"Yes," Scott and John both nodded.

The nurse looked at them both sympathetically. "I have three younger siblings myself. I know they can cause a lot of stress and worry. Doctor Sylvia will update you as soon as he can." At that moment, the door to the waiting room opened and Doctor Gerry Sylvia entered. "And here he is!" The nurse added with a smile.

"Hello Nurse Andrews," Doctor Sylvia said, "thank you for bringing them in here."

"No problem doctor, now, coffee for you both?" She asked.

"Yes please." Scott and John replied.

The nurse smiled at them all and left the room.

Doctor Sylvia sat down in one of the chairs and signalled for Scott and John to do the same. "Okay, we will be continuing with the blood transfusion. You said in the ambulance that you did an auto transfuse?"

"Yes, it was, we always have some of our own blood on standby in case of an emergency," Scott answered.

"That's good!" Doctor Sylvia responded. "We will need to run some blood tests to discover what sedative they gave your brother and to make sure that he's got no other drugs in his system. I have also scheduled Virgil to undergo various scans, so we can discover the extent of his injuries and figure out the best way to proceed with his treatment."

"How long will we have to wait?" John questioned.

"If everything goes well then, an hour or maybe two, it depends on what we find and if that opens up the need to run further examinations." The door opened, and Nurse Andrews re-entered with Scott and John's coffees. They took their drinks and said thank you to the young nurse. Once she had left Doctor Sylvia lowered his voice and continued. "Now, for security purposes I will be keeping Virgil in this section of the hospital only, I have assembled a small team who will be overseeing all his treatment and all of them have signed a confidentiality agreement. They all believe that the reason for security and privacy is because of your fathers' public profile. The only information they have been given is Virgil's name, that he was kidnapped, tortured and eventually saved; and he was brought here with the help of International Rescue… Now, I would advise you to use the entrance that we came in earlier as it offers the most privacy. The code for the door is 22720." Doctor Gerry Sylvia stood from his chair. "Okay, I need to go now and see how the tests are going. As soon as I have any information I promise I will come and speak with you."

"Thank you," Scott and John both said, rising from their chairs and shaking the doctors hand.

"No problem," He replied, smiling at them both before leaving the room.

"I better call dad… Scott to base."

"Hi son, how is he?" Jeff asked, as soon as he saw his oldest child's image. Scott sighed and relayed all the information that the doctor had just given him. "Okay, thank you Scott and please keep us updated." Jeff added.

"I will dad, have Gordon and Alan arrived back yet?"

"No, they are due to land in about five minutes." Jeff confirmed. "As soon as they arrive we will be heading straight to you."

"Okay, we'll see you when you get here."

"FAB! See you soon son."

Scott ended the call and began pacing while John sank back down into his chair and buried his head in his hands.

… …

Two Hours Later:

Jeff, his mother, Gordon and Alan had all arrived at Good Hope Hospital and had joined both Scott and John in the waiting room. They had been receiving brief updates from Nurse Andrews throughout their wait, but had not heard back from Doctor Sylvia. They all continued to wait silently, Jeff and Scott stood next to each other leaning against a wall and both stared intently at the door, willing it to open and reveal the doctor. Ruth sat next to Alan, her arm draped around him, while he leant his head against her shoulders. John still sat on the same chair from earlier with his head still buried in his hands, while Gordon sat on the floor next to him with his knees pulled up to his chest.

After another ten minutes, the waiting room doors finally swung open to reveal Doctor Gerry Sylvia. As The doctor entered the room both Jeff and Ruth stood and walked over to him, he shook their hands, introduced himself, and suggested they both sat down. Once everyone was sitting Doctor Sylvia sat himself down on one of the spare chairs and began.

"Now, has I mentioned to both Scott and John earlier we have continued treating Virgil with the blood transfusion, which has now been completed, and we have also started him on an Intravenous line to help treat him for dehydration and lack of food nutrients in his system. We are also administering him with some antibiotics, as he also seems to have developed a chest infection."

Jeff sighed. "What drugs did they give him?"

"It seems they have been injecting him with an illegal drug called Rynax, which is closely related to Rohypnol. The drug causes an instant sedation effect on anyone it is injected into. It will generally knock the victim out for several hours, and unfortunately, over the last few years it has become very popular within certain crime rings. Side effects will depend on how the victim tolerates the drug and how much has been injected into their system."

"What kind of side effects?" Ruth Tracy asked with concern.

"Previous victims of this drug have suffered sickness, migraines, insomnia, stomach cramps and muscle spasms. The harsher reactions have included brain haemorrhages, amnesia, and death," Gerry answered. "The people who held Virgil have injected him quite a few times. Luckily, he hasn't shown any side effects, but we will need to continue monitoring him until the drug is completely out of his system."

Alan looked up at the doctor. "Has he been able to have any pain relief because of these drugs?"

Gerry nodded. "We have given him some pain relief that will not interact with the Rynax. Ideally, we would like to move him onto something a bit stronger but because of the potency of the Rynax, we will need to wait for the drug to leave his body which should take another 48 hours."

Jeff pushed his hands through his hair and breathed out. "And Virgil's other injuries?"

"We have undertaken a variety of scans to determine the extent of Virgil's injuries. Now the good news, although he's suffered some bruising to his abdomen he doesn't have any internal bleeding and none of his organs have been damaged. His ribs are severely bruised, and he does have a few broken ribs. However, he's managing to breathe without too much pain, and there doesn't seem to be any major damage, so they should heal on their own accord. Also, the dislocated shoulder will not need an operation, there are no further breaks to the arm, and although his hand is badly bruised it isn't broken. If everything heals as it should then he will be able to start using his arm and hand in a couple of weeks, although it will be up to six weeks before I recommend anything to physical."

They all looked at each other and sighed in relief at the news.

Scott glanced back towards the Doctor when he hadn't continued. "And the bad news?"

"Well, as you know Virgil suffered a break to both legs. The left leg has suffered a closed fracture in the middle part of the thighbone and because of the damage we will need to operate."

John sighed. "An operation?"

"I'm afraid so." Doctor Gerry Sylvia confirmed. "We will need to place a metal rod through the centre of the bone. The right leg will also need some wires inserted to help hold the bones together. Normally I would have taken him in for surgery straight away, however because of the Rynax still being in his system, and the extent of the injuries to his back, we have chosen to delay the surgery."

"His back… How bad is it?" Gordon stuttered, knowing all too well how bad a back injury could be.

"The damage from the Cat O Nine Tails is extensive. The whips caused burning to Virgil's skin, which with treatment will heal. The lacerations to his back are quite deep and we have sutured the wounds. However, with cuts like these it's best to stitch them up within six hours of the injury taking place… So, the probability of scarring is high, thankfully none of the wounds are infected."

"And further damage to his back?" Scott queried with a shaky voice.

"The bruising to Virgil's back from the beatings and initial fall were quite significant, because of the extent of the damage I ordered a radiologic evaluation, this included X-Rays, a CT scan, and a MRI scan of the thoracic and lumbar spine. The results show that he got an Extension Fracture through the vertebral body. Now, typically this can be treated without surgery and hopefully this will remain the case for Virgil. We will continue to observe him, and we will carry out some more scans later. If there are any further problems with his back and everything is not healing properly, then we may need to consider an operation. Meanwhile, I would like Virgil to wear a brace for up to 12 weeks."

"So, when will you be doing the operation on his legs?" John questioned.

"If Virgil doesn't have any reactions to the Rynax and the antibiotics begin to clear up the chest infection, then hopefully in the next 48 hours."

"Can we see him?" Jeff asked hopefully.

Doctor Sylvia smiled and stood up. "Yes, you can. My team are just preparing him in his room. If you would like to follow me then I'll take you to him."

Jeff, his mother and all four boys stood and followed the doctor out of the waiting room.