Decisions

Disclaimer: Please see Chapter 1.

Thanks for the reviews everyone and thanks to my beta for just being amazing and putting up with my stressing. love ya.

Chapter 3: Blame and Guilt

Virgil opened his eyes and then closed them again as he was dazzled by the bright lights above him. Where the hell was he? It didn't look like his bedroom or his studio where he had been known to doze off in. He also had no idea why his head felt like someone had attacked him with a sledgehammer. Feeling something touch his hand and turned his head in that direction, forcing his eyes open again. He'd only managed to force his eyes open again when another unwelcomed sensation began to overtake him. He swallowed hard but knew he wasn't going to be able to fight this down. He tried to force himself upright but the action made his head spin.

Gordon had grabbed a bowl and turned his brother's head before it even fully registered in his mind what Virgil was about to do. He then rubbed his back gently until Virgil was done. Virgil lay back down and glanced gratefully at Gordon. Gordon just gripped his shoulder for a moment and smiled back. Now his stomach was empty he tried to concentrate on what had caused him to be in the sickbay. That much he had figured out but the why eluded him. He needed help. "What happened?" he asked, trying to ignore the incessant pounding in his head.

"You tried to fly Thunderbird Two home, injured and told no one that you were," replied Scott, the anger evident in his words.

"What?" asked Virgil, feeling stunned by his brother's words and the barely suppressed anger that went with them.

Jeff could see the confusion in his middle son's eyes and placed his hand on his shoulder. Virgil's eyes met his and he could see the fear building in those, honey darkened eyes. "You suffered a head injury that gave you delayed concussion, Son," explained Jeff.

"No wonder my head hurts," he replied, wincing and closing his eyes against the brilliant white of the sickbay.

Alan wandered over to the wall and dimmed the lights allowing his brother some relief from their intensity. Virgil slowly opened his eyes once more and turned to Gordon. "Was I flying?" he asked, suddenly wondering if he had been at the helm of Thunderbird Two.

"Yeah, you were but Al and I took over so it was all good," lied Gordon, knowing this was not the time to explain what really happened. His eyes locked with Alan and he could tell his youngest brother was still siding with him. The only hope was that John wouldn't say anything either.

Scott had stayed quiet allowing Jeff to explain but finally the question he had been dying to ask burst out of his mouth. "Why didn't you tell us you were injured?"

"What?" asked Virgil, turning to face Scott. He looked more confused than he had earlier and it was becoming clear that Virgil had no memory of the injury or the incident that followed.

Jeff quickly spoke before Scott could say anymore, knowing that his son was not ready for this yet. "Why don't you try and sleep for a while, Virgil. We can sort all this out later," said Jeff, smiling down at the artist.

Virgil made to argue but knew he couldn't, the pull of sleep was too strong. Maybe when he awoke he would understand what had happened and how he got here. His eyes drifted shut and his breathing deepened.

"Can someone tell me exactly what happened?" asked Scott, turning to his two younger brothers.

Jeff knew that John was involved in this too so decided to move the conversation upstairs allowing Virgil some peace. "I need to contact John and let him know what is going on. Join me in the lounge when you have all cleaned up and we will debrief. Brains, will you keep an eye on Virgil for me?" asked Jeff.

"Y-Yes, Mr. Tracy," replied the young scientist.

Jeff then led his sons out of the room and they all headed off in different directions.

Gordon stepped out of the shower and rubbed his back. Although the hot water had eased some of the pain, it still hurt more then he liked so he knew he would have to take something for it. He hated relying on the painkillers but there were just some times when he had to. Luckily he kept a supply in his room so he had no reason to let the others know when it was really bad. Dry swallowing them, he made his way down to the lounge and saw that his other brothers were there waiting.

"So what actually happened then?" repeated Scott.

Gordon and Alan glanced at each other and then over at John. Would he go along with their story? John decided to start as he knew his two brothers wouldn't actually know what happened. "Everything was fine and I was talking to Virgil when suddenly he zoned out on me. I got his attention back and then he just keeled over," explained John.

Gordon then quickly jumped in before his brother could say what they were doing. "Al and I then took control of Thunderbird Two. We moved Virgil to the rear seats and noticed an abrasion to his forehead. Then I flew Thunderbird Two home and well you know the rest."

John looked over at his two brothers knowing that wasn't the truth but he could tell their reasoning for staying quiet. A part of him knew that he should tell his Father and older brother what happened but he could see Scott was fairly angry as it was. There would be no reason to make it worse. Plus Virgil's guilt when he did awaken was going to be bad enough as it was.

"Did either of you two see any sign that your brother had injured himself?" asked Jeff, turning to his two youngest. He wondered if there had been any hint of an injury.

"Not until after he had collapsed and he seemed fine as we took off right John?" said Alan, turning to the space bound brother.

John nodded at Alan before adding, "He was fine and chatting normally to me then suddenly he was gone." Over the last couple of hours John had played that conversation over and over in his head looking for any sign that Virgil was injured. He hadn't been able to find anything. He still couldn't help but feel like he should have noticed something though. Knowing that his brothers were all watching him John plastered a fake smile onto his face. "I guess now we just wait for Virgil to wake up and find out what he remembers."

Before anyone else could respond, Lady Penelope's portrait began to flash. Jeff quickly opened up a line to her, leaving his connection open with John too. "Hello Penny, how are you?" he asked, smiling at the young aristocrat.

"Good evening Jeff. We are very well thank you and how are all of you?" she asked in response.

"Not as well as you I'm afraid. Virgil was injured during a rescue today and has a case of delayed concussion," explained Jeff, leaving out the fact that Virgil had kept it a secret.

"Oh I do hope he feels better soon," she replied. Then moved onto the reason she had called. "I have some information for you."

Jeff knew instantly what Penny was referring to and knew it was time he told his sons about it. He turned to face them explaining, "I asked Penny to look into what happened to the man who shot Scott."

"I thought the guy's body was found a few days later and he'd shot himself," said Gordon.

"He was but I wanted to find out who helped him escape the Police Officers and whether he actually killed himself. Something about the whole thing didn't seem right," replied Jeff. He then turned back to Penny. "What have you found out?"

"That you were right Jeff. He had help escaping those officers and he didn't shoot himself," she paused for a moment. "My information suggests that it was a set up possibly going as far back as the arson attack on the Industrial Estate."

"What the hell!" said Scott. "Are you saying that someone set that fire just to kidnap me?" he asked, moving closer to Penny's image.

"It's beginning to look that way. Michael Richards was not the man's true identity. He is in fact a convicted criminal and has been known to work for other criminals. It appears that as he failed his task, he lost his life," replied Penny.

"What about his wife who died in the explosion? Was she actually his wife?" asked John.

"She was married to a Michael Richards but whether he was actually the man she married, we are not sure yet. I'm still looking into it. What we do know is that he set the initial explosion which brought you to that location," she replied.

"Do you know who is behind this?" asked Gordon. It was a scary thought that someone had been willing to endanger hundreds of lives just to take one of them out.

Penny shook her head. "I'm afraid not but I will keep searching for more information."

"Thank you," said Jeff, knowing that the young woman would do anything in her power to discover the truth.

Scott stood up knowing there was something he had to do. There was someone else who needed to know all this and it was a conversation he didn't want to have.

"Scott?" questioned Jeff, wondering where his eldest was going.

"I need to call Kate. If this guy was working for someone else then they could easily try again. They could also go after her as she was responsible for him failing the first time," he explained.

Jeff knew that his eldest was right. If it hadn't been for Kate, Scott would have died in those woods. If the people out to get International Rescue know this then her life could be in danger. Jeff quickly turned to Penny.

Before he could even utter a word she spoke. "Already arranged, Jeff dear. I have some people watching over her so she is in safe hands."

"Thanks Penny," said Scott. He was relieved to know that Kate was safe but she still needed to know what was going on.

"Is that really a conversation that should be had through the telephone?" questioned the young aristocrat.

Scott hesitated knowing that Penny was right. However, with Virgil being out of action there was no way he could leave to see her so it would have to be this way.

"The weather is frightful here at the moment so I was thinking about enjoying a few days of leisure in paradise. I'm sure Parker could make a detour to pick Miss Langdon up," suggested Penny, turning her attention to Jeff. After all it would be his decision and she knew how fiercely private he was. She hoped he wouldn't think she had overstepped the mark.

"We would love to have you here, Penny and I can see no problem with Katherine coming as well," he replied and smiled at the slightly shocked look on his eldest son's face. She already knew their secret and Jeff had investigated her thoroughly so knew she could be trusted. He also knew that Scott had grown quite close to the young English woman so he wanted a chance to get to know her better.

"I better give Kate a call and see if she can get some time off then," said Scott and he jogged out the room.

Alan and Gordon both looked at each other with matching grins and John knew that meant trouble for his older sibling. The next few days were definitely going to be interesting. Maybe being stuck up on Thunderbird Five wouldn't be so bad after all.

So will Kate come to the Island and what will Virgil remember when he wakes up next?