Author's Note: Sorry I left it for so long. I have had this chapter written for a bit and sitting in reserve. Just got super busy with getting ready for sending my son to Preschool. Hopefully I won't leave it so long again.

"How can you just give up like that Virg." It was Alan's voice that cut over the coms before Scott's could. Yeah his older brother was always the calm, level headed one but Lucia had been with them three months now. She was practically family now, so was Ellie and you just didn't leave family behind. "I'm not giving up Alan, I'm being realistic about the situation. Now we have men counting on us to get them to safety. That is our job. I don't like the thought of leaving Lucia behind any more than you do." Usually this was something Scott would say, but as their older brother had gone silent, Virgil had easily stepped into that role. "He's right Alan," The words were like a kick in the gut to Scott and he hated to admit the fact Virgil had made a call the he normally would have been the one forced to do so. So for a moment they sat, trying to work out a plan of action, they would need to get Gordon and Ellie back on Two some how. But with Alan's hands fried it was going to be hard. Ellie wasn't able to fly Two and Gordon was under strict instructions to be a bystander. However it meant that Scott would have to come and fly Two over to collect the pod. Then they would likely have to rely on Gordon to fly the workers to safety and then home. But with so much ship shuffling people were bound to know something was wrong. It was Lucia and Ellie's voices that rang in Scott's mind reminding him the world was watching and to find out they had injured personnel was not going to go down well. There was a loud crack and Scott found himself lifting his head to watch more of the rig collapse into the ocean, the fire now being more effectively doused by the tanker's foam and dispersants. He could get closer now and the black smoke looked like It was beginning to blow the other way again. One last look and then they would go through with whatever plan they had managed to decide. This time there was a 'thunk' noise, that was almost swallowed up by the crack of the remaining part of the helipad and rig collapsing into the ocean. Compared to the crack, the thunk made Thunderbird one vibrate in a way that made him look down through the glass canopy beneath his feet.

Lucia watched as Thunderbird 1 moved into position to pick her up, 'Hurry Scott' she thought before she heard a loud bang behind her. Turning around she watched as a giant plume of fire and smoke blasted out towards Thunderbird 1. She could feel and see the wind change as the thick black smoke rushed towards her across the helipad. Before she could turn and run for the edge there was another bang. This one threw her off her feet, sending her flying across the platform and knocking her helmet from her head. The last thing she remembered was hitting something solid before it all went black. A few moments later she came to and slowly sitting herself up against the panel of some sort she had collided with she calmly began to go through her checklist. She coughed as she experimentally stretched each of her limbs out, which to her satisfaction all turned out fine. She would be hurting tonight if she ever got off this rig, but at least that didn't prevent her from doing her duty as 2's pilot. That's if the smoke didn't get to her first, she could barely see ahead of her, let alone find where her helmet had gone. Apparently not far as she reached around in the gloom for it. Pulling it back on she breathed a sigh of relief when it connected the filter system back up. At least that was working, but her wrist pad and com's were fried, oh Brain's wouldn't be happy with that she groaned. Would the even be able to find her or had they already left. The questions weighed on her mind for a moment and she couldn't tell at first if it was her imagining the noise above the roaring fire or if the idling hover noise of Thunderbird 1 could still be heard. Her questions were answered when the wind began to shift again and she could just make out the shape of Thunderbird 1 getting closer to the rig again.

Ignoring the aches in her body she pushed herself upright and pulled out a grapple pack. Usually this was something Scott carried but she had Brain's include one in her uniform just in case she needed it. She really only had one chance at it, she realised when the ground beneath her feet began to rumble and sway. Lining up the shot, she waited for Thunderbird one to come just a little bit closer. Then without hesitation she fired it at Thunderbird one, the moment she felt it take purchase she clipped herself into it. Good timing too as the moment she had herself hooked up the helipad beneath her gave way and Lucia found herself swinging in mid air. Hitting the button to retract the line she looked up at the glass window and watched as she got closer and was able to see Scott better. The myriad of emotions that crossed over his face when he saw she was okay made her voice stick in her throat. By his lips moving she could tell he was trying to talk to her over the coms and letting everyone know she was alive. All she could do was use hand signs to explain her radio was out, while she was retracted up the line towards the cockpit. The moment Lucia's hands touched the glass of the cockpit, Scott rolled Thunderbird 1 and opened the cockpit. There was a startled squeal from Lucia as she found herself going from hanging from the cockpit to lying on it. Then shortly after dropping into it as the glass split in half to open and she found herself falling into the cockpit. Her hand reflexively moved to release herself from the line before she got stuck hanging awkwardly. With a soft thud she felt an arm wrap around her as she landed on Scott. The cockpit was quickly closed and Thunderbird 1 rolled back around. Back the right way around again, Lucia found herself sitting on Scott's lap now, one arm still tightly wrapped around her waist. In a swift move her helmet had been removed and she found a pair of lips pressed desperately against hers. As quickly as they were there, they were gone again. "I… I'm sorry, I'm just so glad you are alive." His voice wavered as he apologised and Lucia could tell he was trying to keep himself together. Wrapping her arms around his neck she embraced him tightly, "So I am, I'm sorry I scared you." She couldn't really think of anything else to say, except she knew right now they needed to finish their job. They could talk about it all when they got home.

"Can you drop me at Two, we've got a job to finish." She worded it slowly and gently as she pulled back from him. "Yeah, let's finish this, I'm ready to go home." His voice sounded tired, she knew how harrowing it was to think or even know someone was gone and having to watch knowing there was nothing you could do. The arm from around her waist, moved back to the controls and she watched as they expertly steered Thunderbird 1 away from the now sunken oil rig and back towards Thunderbird 2. She had to get Scott to radio Alan to hit the button to open the top hatch, as her wrist pad was fried. They waited until it had opened and Scott positioned 1's cockpit over 2's top hatch and opened it. Lucia paused before she jumped and looked up at Scott. Resting her hand against his cheek she smiled at him, "We will talk when we get home.". With that said she jumped, there was an overwhelming sense of relief that came over her when she landed within the cockpit of 2. She was safe, she was home. The moment she stood up she looked up to Scott and gave him a little salute to let him know she was safe, before she was almost tackled to the ground by Alan's arms around her waist. Wrapping her arms around him she held him tightly back. "I'm okay Alan. Now let's get these workers to safety." Lucia calmly said as she rubbed his back. Slowly he disengaged from her and she could see his eyes were red. Reaching up she put her hands on his cheeks and drew his forehead down to meet hers. "See I'm okay." She said softly and then lifting her head pressed a kiss on his forehead. Removing her hands she slid past him and jumped into the pilot's seat and pulled on a headset.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting. Ellie, Gordon, how's the leak going? Ready to go home?"

Now she was in a place of comfort and she swung Thunderbird 2 around to survey the scene. The ships that had been present were now swooping in to try and contain the surface spill and put out the remaining fire that spread across the water's surface. If Ellie and Gordon weren't ready she would have to double back for them after taking the workers to the nearest hospital. She didn't really have time to hang around when she knew the injury of last worker they pulled out would probably mean he would lose his arm, or even his life if she didn't get him to a hospital ASAP. "Boy are we glad to hear your voice again. Looks like our measures are holding and there is no more leak, so we are ready to go when you are. I'll check with Dad if we can come back in a few days and check that it's still looking good." It was Gordon who answered and by the sob in the background she knew Ellie was most likely crying. Lucia knew she would have to do some big time apologising to everyone when she got home. Well aware of how reckless what she did was. She was just lucky that the gamble she had taken had paid off, next time however she might not be quite so lucky. "John, can you find me the nearest hospital that can take a possible amputation?" her words were clinical perhaps as she concentrated on manoeuvring Thunderbird 2 over the pod to pick up Ellie and Gordon in Thunderbird 4. As soon as she had the pod secured, John came over the coms and gave her co-ordinates and told her they were awaiting their arrival. "Hey Scott, I'll see you back home." Lucia called over the coms as she put the co-ordinates into the computer and fired up her rear thrusters. She knew he had to tie up the incident and report the outcome to the GDF and EPA before he could go home. "FAB Lucia" where the short words of reply she got before she left the scene.

The flight home after dropping the rig workers at the hospital and finding out the man they had rescued first more than likely would need an amputation and was displaying crush injury symptoms was perhaps the longest flight home she had. Well the longest flight home since the day she lost her father. There was a sense of dread about seeing everyone again, knowing that for a while they had probably all thought she was dead. There was partly a sense of relief as well, she was going home safe. She got to see everyone again. But then there was that sense of dread again. Was everyone okay? She might be okay but in those few moments until they heard her voice again they were all convinced she was a goner. Alan's voice had been low and shaky when he told her Virgil said they needed to focus on the rescue and not on her. How he didn't want to think that she was gone. How small and childlike he looked sitting in the co-pilots chair with his knees to his chest and arms wrapped tightly around them. How she wanted to go give him another hug and stay there until he was sure that she was safe and it was all okay. How long would it be until they were okay? Would they ever be okay? How much damage had her actions caused everyone? Shaking her head she forced herself to focus back on the task at hand which was to bring Thunderbird 2 and everyone on it safely home. Though by the way of Scott and Alan's reactions when they saw her safe and alive she knew it would be a while before those feelings subsided and went away. She certainly had not expected Scott's kiss and while it was brief, it was nice. Though she couldn't tell if it was out of sheer relief at seeing her again or whether he felt something for her. Pushing it to the back of her mind she rationalised she would cross that bridge with him if and when it came to it. At the moment she viewed the Tracy boys as family, though she was closer with Scott and Virgil out of all of them. She was also close with Alan, though with him she knew she definitely viewed him as a brother, much like she did with Gordon. Then again she already knew Gordon and Ellie were a thing after they had come back from visiting Ellie's little brother. Tracy Island was in sight again and she had to admit she never got tired of seeing her when she flew home from a rescue be it day or night. It had become like home now, Tracy Island was her home now.

Landing Thunderbird 2 without a hitch she manoeuvred it into the hangar wondering if Scott had made it back before her. Once they were all safely ensconced in the hangar and Thunderbird 2 back where she belonged, Lucia left her seat. She reached her arms out to Alan who instantly leaned into her when he had escaped his seat. She held him and whispered sweet nothings to soothe him before pulling back. "Come on lets go get these hands of yours fixed up." Lucia said softly as she led him over to the platform in the cockpit that would take them down. His hands were really bound to be smarting something awful and the only way to get over her sense of dread at seeing the others was to focus on him. Focus on her job that was providing medical aid to people and assessing the severity of their injuries. She was just about blindsided by Ellie when they reached the ground. Only having just enough time to disengage herself from Alan and catch Ellie as she practically threw herself at Lucia. "You're okay, You're alive!. I'm so glad you're alive." Ellie whispered over and over again and Lucia could hear her begin to choke up again and cry. "Glad to have you back" Gordon whispered to her as he wrapped his arms around her and Ellie. With an arm around Ellie and one around Gordon she squeeze them both tightly and closed her eyes for a moment to just really feel it. "I got to fix up Alan's hands, we'll see you in the lounge after." Lucia said as she disengaged herself from both of them. She knew Ellie wasn't happy about letting go but she would talk with her later. They were all safe back on the island again, so she would be seeing her again. On the walk to the infirmary, Lucia apologised to Brains about wrecking her wrist pad and coms, "T..t. that's okay, Lucia.. glad, you are okay. T..That's important." He had replied to her and Alan had made a half hearted joke about her being lucky he wasn't angry at her for breaking them like he usually got with the rest of them.

At the infirmary, Lucia helped Alan slowly peel back his suit off his arms and down to his waist. Before she undid the bandages she put on his hands and tried to remove the suit from his hands, she went to the cabinet and drew up a syringe of pain relief. Administering it to Alan she sat with him for a few minutes, giving it time to kick in before she attempted his hands. It was very slow going as she pulled the remaining bit of sleeve over his hands. She had cut the suit at the wrists so she could better work on removing the suit from his hands first. It was slow delicate work that she did with calm precision, working to check on how Alan was taking it before she pulled a little more off. By the time she had managed that, she had gained some more company, it seemed they couldn't wait for her to come up so they would come to her instead. She forced herself to focus on making sure Alan's hands were okay, last thing they needed was another one of them unable to perform active duty. For the most part the fabric of his gloves had peeled away from his skin when it burned rather than sticking. Judging by the nasty shade of red his hands were the gloves had managed to protect him from a burn much worse. Directing Alan over to the sink she got him to stick his hands under the cold tap she had just turned on. She watched as Scott came over to check on his baby brother while she went through the cupboards to grab what she needed while Alan cooled off his burns. Gordon had moved to sit down to the side with Ellie beside him and left his arm wrapped around one of her shoulders. When she glanced over her shoulder Lucia could see Jeff walking towards her with John much to her surprise, behind them in the doorway she could see Virgil arriving with Grandma Tracy and Brains. Putting the last of what she needed into the tray she had on the cabinet she turned to meet Jeff as he came to stop in front of her. There was a misty look in his eyes and they stared at each other for a long moment before Jeff stepped forwards and warmly embraced her. "It seems we keep owing you a debt of gratitude." He muttered gruffly before pulling back, leaving his hands on her shoulders as he did. "But I am glad you are both safe." Jeff had barely removed his arms when Lucia found herself embraced tightly by John, "For a moment I thought we had lost you, I couldn't hear you, I couldn't find you and I couldn't see you." He spoke into her ear and then realising what he had said and how it could be taken he pulled back from her. "I'm sorry I just had to come see you with my own eyes, to make sure you're okay." He rubbed the back of his head with one of his hands.

Lucia smiled softly at him, "I know John and I'm okay. I really am. I'm sorry for scaring you all." She apologised softly and grabbing her tray excused herself and beckoned Alan back over again. The water had definitely taken a lot of heat out of the burn, though it still looked very painful. She breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed that it didn't seem like any blisters would be forming. Gently she dried his hands before reaching for the burn cream from the tray. She applied it liberally before she reached for the not stick dressings. It didn't take long her to have them on and his hands bandaged up. "Let's see how they look tomorrow and we can go from there. Should be right to use them again in a few days." Lucia said and she reached out to affectionately ruffle his hair. She found herself once again encircled by his arms and held tightly, Lucia's smile dropped and she held Alan tightly until he began to let go. After tidying up Lucia turned and found she was being watched by them all. It was Grandma Tracy that spoke up first, "Glad to see you're alright. You had us all worried there for a moment." She said as she moved forwards to wrap Lucia up in a tight hug. Lucia didn't think she had ever had quite as many arms around her in one day as she had on this one. Quite honestly she didn't know whether she should laugh or cry. Granted she really didn't want to cry. It was going to be a long night she realised when Jeff had her sit down. He could see how this rescue was effecting them all, together they needed to talk about what had happened. Of course Lucia could already see the distress she had caused everyone and she found herself wanting to apologise over and over again. For a moment on the rig she truly believed she was a goner, she reckoned if it had not been for that last minute wind change and Scott being so determined in not giving up on her she probably would have been.