A/N: This mission is similar to the one in Ring of Fire, but I hope you like it anyway.

Gordon's POV

Thunderbird Four glided through the water, its lights cutting through surrounding darkness. I had only been in the water for two minutes before I caught glimpse of the mining machine dangling on the cliff it had made for itself. This is not going to be easy.

"Virgil, I'm about to attach the mining machine. Stand by to receive the crew," I called over the radio.

"FAB, Gordon. I'm launching my cables now to stabilize the machine," came his reply. Almost immediately, I saw Thunderbird Two's cables shoot past him and heard the distinctive clink of metal against metal. Shortly, I reached a place that I could attach to.

Okay, now I have to actually get in the water, I thought. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply and closed my eyes. I can do this. I am not going to drown. I exhaled and reopened my eyes. I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned backwards. The bottom of Four opened and I quickly found myself surrounded by cold water.

"I can do this," I whispered.

"Yes, you can," Virgil said.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Your radio was on, and I was only agreeing with you. You can do this. There is nothing to be afraid of," he replied.

I smiled, but then I remembered he could not see me, so I said, "Yeah, you're right." I swam over to the mining machine and found a hatch.

I opened another radio channel and called, "This is International Rescue. If you can hear me, I need you to open the hatch on the east side." I did not have to wait long before the hatch opened. Once inside, I brought up a map of the machine and headed for the bridge, hoping that the whole crew would be in the same place.

I reached the bridge in a little under five minutes and tried to open the metal door, but found it closed tight. So I knocked.

"Are you in there? My name's Gordon, and I'm here to help you," I called.

"We're here, all three of us, but the door is stuck. I think there was a malfunction in the electrical system when the ground collapsed," a woman's voice replied.

"Okay, stand back. I'm going to cut through the door. Once there's an opening, you all can come out," I called.

I started cutting through the door when another voice said, "Please be quick. When the ground collapsed, it also caused a rock to puncture the floor of the bridge. We're almost shoulder deep in water."

I froze.

No. No, this cannot be happening.

"Why did you stop cutting?" I heard.

Right. These people need help. I can't let them drown. I can't. I resumed cutting through the door then. Within minutes, the hole was complete. Without warning, the freed piece of metal flew out at me, thrusting me into the wall behind me. The water that was once in the bridge was now flowing over me.

Oh, God. No. No no no.

"Gordon," I heard. "Pull yourself together, take a deep breath, and help those people. Your suit is not damaged and you are not going to drown."

Virgil's right. I can still breathe; the water is not hurting me. The metal door, however . . . Damn, my head hurts . . .

I rose to my feet and gestured for the crew to follow me. When we reached the hatch, I handed each of them a rebreather.

"I can only take one of you at a time," I said. The woman who seemed to be the leader of the crew pushed who I assumed was the youngest towards me.

I led the crew member to Four, sent out her dry-tube, then headed back for the others, and repeated the process without a hitch. I detached from the mining machine and headed for the surface.

"Virgil, I'm on my way up," I called.

"FAB. I have the crew, so we're just waiting on you," he replied. I chuckled then turned off my radio. On my way up, I noticed things that I had not on my way down. Things like large schools of fish and a small reef about four meters away.

Man, what was I afraid of? This is great, I thought. When I reached the surface and was finally docked in Two, I asked to speak to Virgil in private.

"What's up, Gordon?" he asked.

"Thank you, Virgil. What happened last time terrified me, but you were a big help while I was down there," I said quietly. As I finished my statement, my head pounded a couple of times causing me wince to instinctively rub it.

"No problem, but are you alright?" he asked, his Medic Mode kicking in.

"Yeah, my head just hurts. I think I hit it really hard when the door flew out at me," I replied, still rubbing the sore spot. "Don't worry about it."

"I'm worrying about it, but I can withhold from smothering you until we and the miners are home," Virgil said, smiling. "I'm glad that you're not afraid anymore. I really was worried about you. Scotty knew, by the way. I just managed to convince him to not say anything about it." Virgil laughed then turned and headed for the cockpit.

"Wait. Virg, wait! Did the others know?" I called, quickly following him.

"Yes!" he called back.

I caught up with Virgil before he reached the cockpit and asked, "How did you get them to not smother me?"

Virgil chuckled and replied, "I just told them that you could handle it. Mind you, I had to tell them that several times. John almost came down from Five to talk to you face-to-face at one point. Every time that one of them tried to ask you about it, I just told them not to. It was hard for them, but they listened. I figured that you would talk to us when you were ready, but when two weeks had gone by and you didn't seem be getting over it, I decided that it was time to confront you. Then this mission came up, and you had that anxiety attack. I wasn't sure that you'd get the mission done. I shouldn't have doubted you."

"Hm. Well, don't blame you. To be perfectly honest, I didn't think I'd get the job done either, but you helped me. When the water from the bridge started flowing over me, I was scared. Had you not said anything to me, I would not have been able to get the miners out. Thanks again, Virgil," I said.

"Like I said, no problem. Now, let's get the miners home, so we can relax."

"FAB, Virgil," I said, chuckling.

A/N: Yes, this was kind of sappy at the end, but whatever. Now, to address the fact that the brothers did not smother Gordon. I feel that if one of the brothers—one that wasn't hurt/sick/upset/etc.—told the others to not bother the hurt/sick/upset brother, then they wouldn't. There will be one or two more chapters. Feel free to comment your thoughts.