Sorry this is so short, I was going to continue (you'll see why and hate me for it) but there are only 2/3 chapters left, this seems to flow onto the next one quite well. Thank you so much for the reviews, they are lovely and so kind. There are kind thoughts going out to each of you.
This would have been uploaded sooner but I had a paper on evolution which has left my brain warped... how glad I am not to have to reference fanfics! x
Virgil was directed to a nurses station a few corridors away, following signs which seemed to be pasted on all the passing walls and intersections he found his way there without problem. The hospital had painted handy color strips along the corridor floors so it was basically just following them until he hit the large desk which stood on the centre of that floor of the hospital.
Thankfully the nurse who'd been with Tess before was behind the desk typing away at a computer, he caught her eye as she glanced up and offered to take him to the room Tess had been assigned.
"Did she get through her surgery ok?" Virgil questioned as he followed in the opposite direction to which he'd previously came.
The nurse, introduced as Mary, was dark haired and at the age where she could be described as motherly. She had a bit of extra weight to her and seemed to wear a constant smile, admirable in such a stressful profession.
"She went in not long after you saw her on your last visit." Mary nodded, holding a door open for him. "I can't discuss details with you without her consent but I can say that she's coping better than we would have expected, I know she'll be glad to see a familiar face." She frowned for a moment. "She'd rather be elsewhere, if you catch my drift."
"Ah, not an easy patient." Virgil knew exactly what Mary meant, years of chasing down his own family members who had escaped the infirmary had taught him that appreciation didn't always come with the job.
A few years ago John, the most laid back of the Tracy brothers, had received a knock to the head after a mountain rescue in Peru. He had no obvious injury but for safeties sake Virgil had decided to keep an eye on him for the following twenty four hours. It had taken John little over two hours to snap and go AWOL.
Unfortunately John had received a concussion, that much was made clear when he started using his com watch to 'radio in' that he was being followed by the secret service and that their thoughts were no longer safe. It had taken four hours to find him and another two to coax him down from the tree he'd somehow set up camp in. That was also the first time they'd discovered his inapt climbing ability.
Yes, Virgil knew what patients could be like. His three other brothers all had equal claims to fame when it came to ridiculous medical getaways.
"You could say that." Mary sighed but the smile on her face remained. They'd reached the elevator and took a moment to wait for the doors to open before stepping in. "She will appreciate your visit, we haven't found any family and she wouldn't allow us to call any of her close friends. How's your brother doing?"
"Alan's bearing up, all things considered you know?" He stared at the lit up buttons blankly for a second. "I don't know what we'd have done if we'd lost him." A gentle hand found its way into his own and he looked at Mary with a soft smile.
"Concentrate on the fact that he's here, he's healing and he's surrounded by family who love him. You need that as much as he does right now, so don't go feeling guilty or caught up in things past, there's nothing you can do about that. You hear me?"
"Yeah, I know. I keep telling myself over and over again, it'll just take a while to believe it."
When the elevator doors opened they stepped out onto a corridor that looked near enough identical to the last, but Mary seemed to know the layout like the back of her hand and set off to the right, drawing to a stop thirty yards down outside a darkened room.
"She may be sleeping, don't let it put you off though. Sitting with her may help calm both your nerves."
"Thanks." With a curt nod and tight smile Virgil entered the room, eyes taking a moment to adjust to the darkness.
Gordon was tired, hungry and in desperate need of seeing Alan. It had taken the best part of forty eight hours to control the flames enough to render their services no longer needed. Forty eight hours on a two man crew with only Brains there for guidance and relaying updates from the hospital.
The 'Alan's in surgery' update had been followed by a lot of dead air which left both Gordon and John with an empty feeling in the pit of their stomachs. They'd had to try and focus their full attention on the blaze though, the possibility of further problems involving the gas mains had kept them all on tender hooks. They wanted to visit the hospital, but not as patients.
The old building had burnt steadily but consistently, bringing it to a controlled level had taken some time and the cooperation of Justice Collins and all of his men. The police had been semi useful, keep back nosey bystanders as much as was possible whilst doing what seemed like as little work as possible in the process.
Eventually the gas terminals had been switched off which brought a huge weight off all of their shoulders, with that worry gone they could concentrate on the heart of the fire. John had taken off in Two in order to collect water to douse on top of the flames leaving Gordon an honorary firefighter on the ground.
His visor had come off after a while, the smoke and ash had rendered the visor blinding and his skin had long since blackened beyond recognition, it seemed the only good use the black billowing smoke bore. His Thunderbird's uniform, once a blue metallic symbol of International Rescue, had become grey and charred, almost unrecognizable amongst the faded red and yellow firefighters who were in the same predicament.
Forty eight hours later Gordon had joined John and they'd piloted Thunderbird Two back to the island, worn out and bodies begging for rest. Though rest wouldn't happen any time soon, they had both long since decided that as soon as the rescue was complete they'd be heading to their youngest brother's bedside.
"Shower, food and a return flight log?" John yawned, making his way down the lowered walkway from Two. His blonde hair had gone grey somewhere over the previous couple of days, it stuck to his skin and left tear lines down his face where the sweat had ran.
"Brains said he'd do the log for us as long as we agreed to rest en route to the hospital, we'll have to toss a coin for who co pilots first." Chewing his lip he was tempted not to mention the other instruction he'd been given but voiced it anyway. "We're also not to go over the engine limit, we have to stick to protocol or we'll be grounded."
"Right, now I just want to be clean and head stateside, as long as we're heading in the right direction I think we should count our blessings."
Heading up into the main house the two men split off in different directions heading to their own rooms. John stopping by the kitchen to gulp down a couple of glasses of water in an attempt to stop the sandpaper feeling in his mouth and chest.
The curtains were drawn against the brightness of the day, blacking out any stray rays of sunlight that threatened to encroach on the darkened bed and steadily beeping machines.
Virgil was surprised to see eyes blinking over at him, tired but awake.
"Hey." He breathed, frozen as the door clicked closed behind him.
Tess smiled faintly. Her arms were attached to wires and gauze covered sections of skin, but she waved her fingers lazily. "I'm still here."
"Yeah, I can see that."
"They told me you'd found Alan, how is he?"
"He's recovering, he was pretty messed up when they brought him in but they do good work here. When I left him he was making jokes about Scott going bald so I think he'll be ok."
Smiling Virgil pushed himself away from the wall and stood tentatively beside the bed, mindful of the mismatch of machines surrounding it. He recognized them but tried to ignore the body of medical knowledge inside of him crying out to diagnose the list of damage.
"How did your surgery go?"
"I hear it went well, they've stopped tiptoeing around me so much." Tess rolled her eyes towards the door. "Maybe it's the medication, but I don't think I'll die today. I am optimistic."
Letting out a breath he'd been holding for what felt an eternity Virgil finally allowed himself to snag the board at the end of the bed and read the notes attached. Admittedly she was on a lot of pain medication and various other drugs but the worst of the damage was under control and was being dealt with. As with Alan there could be complications, but she was in the right place and wasn't likely to go jumping in front of any more cars anytime soon.
"What made you do it, Tess?" He replaced the board, perching carefully on the edge of the bed. "Jumping in front of the car. You saved my life."
She didn't need time to think of a response. "You have more to live for Virgil, and I say that in the least morbid way possible. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to die but when I was stood there everything slowed down and it was you or me. That short time I spent with your family told me which loss of life would make the biggest effect, and it wasn't mine."
He didn't know how to respond, out of all the reasons she could have given that was one that had never crossed his mind. A selfish part of him had hoped she'd tripped and accidentally pushed him from the car's path, just so the weight of knowing she'd perhaps given her life for his would be taken from his shoulders. It was a selfish hope and a somewhat ridiculous and unlikely one, but it had been there.
When Tess Zucco had lost her mother her father had turned his back on her, when Jeff Tracy had lost him wife he'd done the same to his family… but only for a short while. He'd come back and built the family up stronger than ever before, the loss of their mother made the appreciation for one another a hundred times stronger. Even if it had take Alan a while to realize it.
Virgil couldn't imagine what life would be like if Jeff had never come back to them, if he'd followed Zucco's path instead of creating his own. Tess's answer was a reflection of what could have been.
"I wish you didn't think that." He breathed, hand reaching out to take hers. "But, for what you did, thank you."
"Yeah, I know." Smiling softly she swatted his hand away. "You can take that guilt off your shoulders. I had a few seconds to think and that's what I did, I don't for a second believe that you wouldn't have done the same for someone else."
"I hope that theory is never tested… what are you going to do once you get out of here? With your optimistic survival and all?"
"Could be a while, but I suppose I'm due a long holiday in the sun. Somewhere away from the rain and maybe away from speeding cars."
"Amen to that."
Her eyes lost focus for a minute as she stared off into space, perhaps thinking of a lapping shoreline and an endless beach. Virgil sure was; Tracy Island never felt so beautiful or so appealing.
The tiredness of the last few days and the darkness of the room relaxed him, watching the steady rise and fall of Tess's breathing, the soft beep of machines breaking the silence.
After a few minutes he stood, Tess's eyes had shut and her breathing had slowed. It was time to return to Alan, though by now the kid was probably doing the same as Tess and pushing out the Z's. She didn't have her usual spark but he was surprised to see her sat up and talking, it was no surprise that she couldn't keep it up for long. Her body had battles to fight.
Quietly he made his way out of the room, mind concerned with whether he'd find his way back down to the Alan's again, for a Doctor his sense of direction was somewhat lacking - as Scott often brought up when they were 'working', it was a good thing the 'birds had satellite positioning. Virgil really didn't want to have to face the shame of calling Scott or his dad for a reminder of the room number, but right then his sluggish mind wasn't helping and he had to blink back the idea of sleep.
Huffing he turned away from Tess's room to make his way to the elevator, hoping to find another friendly nurse or member of staff who could direct him on his way. For a lower end hospital they were going above and beyond with the patients.
Suddenly Virgil felt himself being pushed back, he stumbled, too surprised to make a sound as he tripped back into Tess's room and was backed up against the far wall. The door shutting with a thud behind. Looking up Virgil found himself face to face with Taio Zucco, and a very large knife.
"What the hell?"