Thanks to everyone who responded to the last chapter. Whirlgirl, thank you so much for the lovely review. I loved your image of Scott - you'd write a wonderful TB story. Anon Ymus, I'm really glad you liked it, thank you.

Chapter Eight

Unless a rescue was in progress, Tracy Island wasn't exactly a hive of activity. But never before had time seemed to stand as still as it did now whilst they awaited the return of the Thunderbirds. Despite Gordon's promise to push Thunderbird Two as hard as he could, there would still be a good hour before Tin-Tin came home.

Jeff wanted - needed - to be doing something, but for once in his life, he didn't know what. When a son was injured he'd keep the worry from overwhelming him by barking orders to Brains to ready the infirmary, by keeping in touch with John and demanding updates from those out on the rescue. But this time there was no medical equipment to set up, no anxious wait for news, hoping for the best but fearing the worst.

The worst had already happened.

He wasn't an emotionally demonstrative man - he'd spent much of his life masking his feelings with an air of professional detachment - but, as he looked around the lounge at the other occupants, he wished he could just get over his inhibitions and give them a little physical comfort. Penny was sitting with his mother, something he knew should be his job. The old lady had stopped crying some time ago, but she looked tired and ill. She'd aged ten years since news of Tin-Tin's death had come through and Jeff had a sudden misgiving that she wouldn't get through this. He started to get up from his desk to go to her, then, as Parker came back into the lounge, sat down once more.

"How is Brains?" Penny asked, smiling sadly as Parker informed her that he'd taken himself down to the lab to find some means of distraction. She couldn't get the genius's reaction to the news out of her head. When she'd gone into his room to tell him, he'd been completely thrown by her appearance. Penny had hoped he'd been listening in, or that John would already have called him - anything rather than have to break the news herself - but he'd cut off the transmissions once it appeared that all was well, engrossing himself in some scientific text book, comfortably settled in his bed and totally unaware of the fact that his world was about to come crashing down around him.

Penny had been in plenty of unpleasant situations over the years, but that had been one of the worst of them. There was no gentle way to break the news and, sure enough, Brains had been devastated. She had offered to stay with him but he'd refused. Speaking surprisingly coherently given his obvious grief, clearly fighting to stay in control as long as she was there, he'd asked her to leave him alone and reluctantly she'd done so. She'd paused outside his door for a moment, her own tears beginning to fall again as she heard Brains start to cry.

Kyrano was in Tin-Tin's room. Parker had found him in the kitchen when he'd gone to make tea for everyone. To Parker's surprise, he was busily clearing up the mess that he'd made earlier. Parker had tried to take over the job, but the man had quietly but emphatically refused his help. Parker had left him alone whilst he finished, but then, when Kyrano started gathering ingredients apparently in readiness to prepare dinner, he'd stepped in again. Kyrano had insisted that he be allowed to do his job. The boys would be hungry, he'd said, and no amount of pleading on the part of Parker could stop him. In the end Parker had gone to find Jeff, and the pair had returned to the kitchen to find Kyrano standing at the counter pouring rice into a bowl. The bowl had long since overflowed and the rice was piling up around it, but Kyrano didn't seem to notice. Jeff gently took the packet out of his hand and, when the man finally became aware of his surroundings again, tried to steer him towards the door. But Kyrano continued to insist that the boys would need something to eat when they returned. In the end, it was Parker who put an end to the argument, promising that he'd fix dinner. The chauffeur was glad to have something to do - he'd always had a soft spot for Tin-Tin and he'd openly cried for her. If it made Kyrano feel better to know there'd be a dinner for the boys, then a dinner there would be, even though Parker was sure that no one would want to eat it. The lump in his own throat right now made him certain that if he tried to eat anything he'd choke, and he knew there were others feeling a lot worse than him.

Finally the 'birds came in to land. Scott hovered above the island, watching as Gordon brought Thunderbird Two down and manoeuvred her into her hangar. Only when the hangar door began to close did he bring his own 'bird home. He shut down the engines then leaned back in his seat, dreading leaving the sanctuary of Thunderbird One. It wasn't as though he hadn't been aware that there could be a moment like this - he and his father, at the very start of International Rescue, had sat in Jeff's study one evening with a bottle of whiskey in front of them, and had discussed this very possibility. It hadn't been an easy or a pleasant conversation, but it had been a necessary one, one which his father had repeated with all his sons. Scott knew that in his father's safe sat a collection of envelopes in which all the brothers had placed instructions for what they wanted done in the event of their deaths. He wondered if Kyrano had asked Tin-Tin to do the same. Probably not, he thought. Kyrano had a habit of expecting things to turn out for the best and, up till now, he'd been right. Scott wondered what this would do to him. Surely he couldn't go on in the same way?

"Scott?" The voice belonged to Gordon. "You coming out?"

"Yeah. What's going on there?"

"Dad and Kyrano are coming down. Guess I should go and meet them."

"FAB."

Scott ran a hand over the controls of One once more, wishing he could just blast off and get as far away from this nightmare as he could. Instead, he dutifully got to his feet and set off for the house, for the first time in his life scared of what he was about to face.

Gordon made his way up to sickbay. It was a surprise when he found Virgil sitting outside, his knees pulled up to his chest and his head resting on his folded arms. Almost relieved that he had an excuse not to go into the room and witness Alan's grief once again, he dropped to his knees beside his brother.

"Virg?"

Virgil raised his head and looked at Gordon for the briefest of moments before dropping his eyes again.

"Couldn't stay in there," he said, so softly that his brother had to strain to hear him. "Couldn't look at her."

"Have you been sitting there all through the flight?" Gordon asked. He'd never seen Virgil look so lost before - and his brother had been through some terrible times over the years.

"Yeah. Al was... couldn't face it."

The sound of footsteps echoed down the corridor and Gordon quickly pulled Virgil to his feet. His father didn't need any more worry right now. And as for Kyrano... Gordon dreaded seeing the man.

As the footsteps grew closer, Gordon recognised his father's steady step along with Kyrano's soft, barely-there tread. But there was a third person with them and he knew from the slight shuffle of that person's feet that it had to be Parker. Sure enough, as the three figures appeared, Parker brought up the rear and Gordon guessed, with a slightly sick feeling, that he'd been charged with bringing up the body whilst his father dealt with Alan. He wondered if he should offer to help, but there was Virgil to look after and Gordon just wanted to get him up to the house.

Kyrano murmured something about being glad the brothers were back safely, thanking them for doing what they could for Tin-Tin. Before Gordon could say anything in return - Virgil clearly didn't have any words in him - the man was gone, stepping through the door to the sickbay with only a momentary hesitation.

Jeff paused to check on Virgil, squeezing his son's shoulder before doing the same to Gordon. Then he went after Kyrano, leaving Parker standing awkwardly at the door.

"I'll get Virg up to the infirmary," Gordon said, as Parker nodded sadly, his red-rimmed eyes conveying his feelings more than any words could. Gordon started to walk Virgil down the corridor, only for him to pull away.

"No," he said. "Not there."

Parker caught Gordon's eye, his face full of understanding.

"H'it's h'alright, Mister Virgil. Kyrano wants Miss Tin-Tin taken to 'er room."

Another reminder that there was nothing that could be done for the girl now. Gordon nodded sadly and Virgil gave up the fight, sagging against his brother and not making any further protest as Gordon got him moving down the corridor to the elevator. Parker watched them go before forcing himself to enter the sickbay.

The sight that greeted him was as terrible as he'd expected it to be. Kyrano had taken the seat Alan had reluctantly vacated - pulled out of it by his father. Jeff was trying to get him out of the room, telling him that Kyrano needed some time alone with his daughter, but Alan was having none of it, making a feeble but determined effort to get away from his father and back to Tin-Tin.

Parker hovered nearby, ready to step in if he was needed, but unwilling to do anything to distress Alan further. Jeff seemed to have it under control - the sedative Scott had administered was still having an effect and the young man's movements were clumsy, his words slurred. Jeff didn't need any help in steering him away towards the door, inclining his head to Parker as he did so, clearly indicating that they should leave Kyrano be.

Parker had to admit he was relieved to leave the sickbay. He shut the door behind him then flinched at Alan's moan of distress as he was finally cut off from Tin-Tin.

"Come on, son," Jeff murmured. "Let's get you upstairs. Parker, you'll wait here?"

Parker sniffed and nodded. He watched as Jeff supported Alan as they made their way down the corridor, much as Gordon had done for Virgil. He'd never seen the Tracys look so vulnerable before and that, as much as the tragedy which had hit them, upset him more than he could say. He took up a position beside the door - not too close, since he could hear Kyrano's soft voice as he began to talk to his daughter and he had no wish to intrude upon the man's privacy - then settled down to wait, hoping Kyrano wouldn't be too long, yet dreading the moment he emerged and asked that Tin-Tin finally be taken home.

When, later that evening, Tin-Tin lay in her room, her father keeping a vigil beside her body, everyone else left them in peace. Grandma had been in - just for a minute, before things got too much for her - along with Penny. The only person who hadn't made an appearance was Brains. He was back in his lab after checking over Virgil in the infirmary, responding mechanically whenever anyone called him to see if he was okay. He'd promised he'd come to pay his respects eventually, but everyone knew that it would be a long time before he could bring himself to do it, especially if there was anyone else around to witness his distress.

Grandma had resisted Penny's attempts to get her to lie down, instead insisting she'd keep an eye on Virgil. Her grandson was currently asleep, and the old lady, as much as she pitied him for his injury and the tragedy he'd witnessed, which she knew was going to be so hard for him to get over, couldn't help envying him right now. She doubted anyone else was going to get much rest that night.

Whilst Gordon took solace in his swimming, forcing his exhausted body up and down the pool long after he'd lost count of the number of lengths he'd swum, Scott sat with Alan, listening to his brother talk about Tin-Tin until finally he fell into a restless sleep from which he awoke every now and again, only to have the shock hit him once more.

Jeff spent the night discussing the next step with John. A death certificate would need to be obtained, but they needed this to be done as discreetly as possible. They could claim, easily enough, that she'd fallen from a cliff, hitting her head before drowning in the sea, but questions would be raised during the autopsy as to why her lungs were full of freshwater rather than seawater. They couldn't risk an investigation, not if International Rescue was to maintain its secrecy. Not that Jeff particularly cared anymore - right now he didn't know if he even wanted to carry on - but John insisted that Tin-Tin wouldn't have wanted him to give up. In the end it was agreed that John should do a little computer hacking in order to falsify the records and procure the necessary documentation that Kyrano would need to organise the funeral.

Jeff hated doing it. He felt it diminished Tin-Tin's death - that the world should know how bravely she'd died - but there was no other option. He apologised to John once again for the delay in bringing him down from Five. Alan obviously wasn't going to be able to fly Three, and Scott and Brains were in no fit state to do so just yet. John had quickly agreed to wait - too quickly - and Jeff knew his son was relieved he was able to stay up on the space station. It wasn't that he didn't grieve for Tin-Tin - Jeff could clearly see how devastated he was - but John didn't cope well with extreme displays of emotion and his father knew that he was dreading coming back to the island and having to deal first-hand with the grief-stricken members of the family.

When he signed off, he sat back in his chair, wearily running a hand over his tired eyes. Whenever he'd been stressed in the past, Kyrano had been there at his side, offering him support along with coffee, reassuring him that it was all worth it.

Jeff wondered if he still felt the same way.

Virgil awoke the next morning with a headache. He opened his eyes, immediately wondering why he was in the infirmary. Then it hit him and he felt a wave of misery such as he hadn't felt since the death of his mother, wash over him.

"How are you feeling?"

It was Scott, looking like he hadn't slept all night.

Virgil shrugged in response. "Really happened, huh?"

Scott smiled sadly. "Yeah. You didn't answer my question."

"How am I feeling? Lousy. You?"

"The same. But I don't have a concussion. Brains will be along to check you out soon."

"How's he taking it?"

"Not so well. Listen, Virg, if you're up to it, Dad wants a debriefing."

Virgil stared at his brother. The last thing he wanted was to relive what had happened.

"I know how you feel. It's the last thing I want, too. But Kyrano's been asking..."

"Oh." Virgil could hardly refuse the father's wish to find out exactly how and why his daughter had died.

"But if you don't feel up to it, he'll understand."

"No." Virgil slowly sat up and swung his legs out of the bed. "Let's get it over with."

"But Brains-"

"I'll see him later."

"Okay." Scott hovered over his brother until he was certain he was steady on his feet. "Go and get dressed. Be down in the lounge in half an hour."

"Sure." Virgil made his way slowly to the infirmary door then hesitated. It was usually a place he couldn't wait to get out of, but right now he wished he could stay there forever. Just go back to bed, pull the covers over his head and hide away from the guilt he felt and the blame he knew he deserved.

Half an hour later, Jeff, Scott and Gordon sat in the lounge. No one spoke, they just cast surreptitious looks at each other, thinking how terrible everyone looked and guessing that they looked just as bad.

"Is Al coming?" Gordon asked.

"No," Scott said. "He's still asleep."

"We thought it might be easier to do this without him," Jeff said, and Gordon couldn't help feeling relieved.

Virgil came in at that moment and Scott and Gordon shifted a little to make room between them on the couch. Virgil sat down and closed his eyes for a moment.

"Are you up to this, son?" Jeff asked. "We could leave it till later. I'm sure Kyrano would understand."

"No!" Virgil's tone was sharper than he'd expected - sharper than he'd believed possible given how utterly exhausted he felt right now. His headache was getting worse but he just wanted to get this over with.

Jeff was saved from replying by Kyrano's arrival.

"Mrs Tracy is with my daughter," he informed them. "I do not want to leave either of them for long, but I would like to know..." He tailed off and looked around at them steadily. "Please remember that I do not blame anyone. But my daughter's last moments... I have to know."

"Thank you, Kyrano." Jeff called John up on screen and the debrief began. They'd just got to the point where Tin-Tin had detonated the explosives when the door opened and Alan came in, still in the clothes he'd worn the night before. He looked around at them all before taking a seat.

"Started without me, then," he said bitterly.

"We thought you were asleep," Scott said.

"I woke up."

There was silence for a moment before Alan said impatiently, "So where did you get to?"

They carried on, Scott answering his father's questions about his and Alan's role in the disaster. For his part, Alan just sat there, barely reacting to anything that was said. But all that changed when Virgil began to relate what had happened in the last moments of Tin-Tin's life, his voice low and uncertain.

"She got me on the ladder," he told them. "And then... I don't know. I didn't feel so good. I didn't really know what was going on. She was trying to get higher up, I know that. But..." He stared at his hands, unable to meet anyone's eye. "Did I do something to make her fall? Did I move? Knock her off balance? I don't know. I wish I could remember but it's just a blur. She called my name, I remember that, and I knew I had to help her but I couldn't get the clip undone. I tried, really I did, but my fingers wouldn't work and I knew she was in trouble, but-"

"Okay, Virg." Both Scott and Gordon spoke at once. Virgil took a deep breath before carrying on.

"When I got free, I jumped, but I couldn't help her. I couldn't even help myself. I'm sorry. I should have done what Scott said and stayed where I was. Gordon wasted time rescuing me when he should have been looking for Tin-Tin. Kyrano... Alan... I'm so sorry."

Kyrano began to speak, but he stopped suddenly as Alan got to his feet and walked away without a word.

"Alan?" Jeff was on his feet, chasing after his son.

Gordon and Scott exchanged worried looks as Virgil buried his face in his hands. "He blames me, doesn't he?"

"No." Scott had never sounded less convincing. "I told you, Virg. The head injury... there was no way she'd have survived. You didn't do anything wrong."

"Mister Scott is right," Kyrano said. "Thank you for trying to help, Mister Virgil."

Virgil looked up at him miserably. He appreciated Kyrano's words, but then he'd never expected anything else from the man. The one person he'd really needed reassurance from had instead just confirmed his belief that even if it wasn't his fault - and Virgil still wasn't convinced of that - Alan certainly believed it was.