Chapter 5
"Johns having a seizure!" The words no parent wants to hear about their children. Why was he fitting? Was the injury more serious than they first thought? Virgil couldn't do anything but wait for the seizure to pass.
"Virgil, listen to me, I want you to take John to hospital with the other casualties. I need you boys to make sure he is out of his uniform and into civilian clothes so our identity is protected. Once you drop off the casualties, make your way back to the island. I will make my way over to Sydney hospital and Mike can help." Mike Burnett was an old friend of Jeff's during his NASA days before he went into medical training. Mike knew about international rescue so having a family doctor help out with John would be the best decision.
"FAB dad" Virgil smiled at his father and ended the communication. He looked up at Gordon and patted him on his shoulder,
"Everything's going to be ok Gords, if Johnny can survive a missile, he can survive this." Gordon nodded sadly, he didn't know whether to believe Virgil or not.
They transported John into Thunderbird 2 and strapped him into the medibay. Scott went back to pilot Thunderbird One. He knew the plan, he wasn't happy with the plan but he knew he couldn't argue with his father.
"Gordon, you're going to have to pilot Thunderbird 2 yourself." Rules are there to be broken, right? Dad would have done the same thing, thought Virgil. They made their way to Sydney Hospital.
Jeff took off from Tracy Island in no time at all. Worried was an understatement, he was scared. He had to phone Mike, he trusted him, he needed Mike.
"Hey Jeff, how's things?" A happy sounding man picked up the phone.
"Hey Mike, I need your help, It's really urgent"
"Sure thing buddy, what can I do for you?"
"John has been injured in a rescue, they're taking him to the hospital now. I really need you to be in charge of his care." Mike was concerned for his old friend, hearing the pure panic in his voice.
"Jeff, I need you to breathe deeply for me before you lose control. What's the status of John?"
"Virgil mentioned John being in pain with his head again before collapsing, then the cave collapsed with him in it." That's all Jeff could remember, he was worried, he could feel his heart racing. He didn't know what sort of state John would be in when he arrived at the hospital. He felt guilty, he should have grounded him until further notice.
"Ok buddy, I want you to get to the hospital safely and I'll make sure John is in the best possible hands until I arrive. I promise we'll keep him safe." Jeff nodded and smiled, he could feel himself tearing up. He disconnected his call with Mike and proceeded to the hospital. He knew that the boys would be nearly there.
Thunderbird 2 landed and a rush of medical teams made their way to meet Virgil and Gordon. They did a handover with John being announced as an unidentified male just until Jeff and Mike got to him. Once they had handed over everyone, Thunderbird 2 took off again and they made their way back to Tracy Island.
Mike arrived at the hospital and immediately found John. He was on a bed, pale, bruised with an oxygen mask over his face. He was grazed from head to toe.
Jeff arrived at the hospital and went straight to John. Jeff stroked John's hair out of his face, wincing at the painful looking grazes on his face. Mike walked into John's room and smiled at Jeff.
"Good to see you again Jeff, shame it's not on better circumstances" Jeff walked over to Mike and embraced him in a hug. It had been a long time and he had wished he could see his old friend in better circumstances but for now he needed to focus on John.
"What's wrong with him Mike?" Mike sighed and looked at his datapad.
"I'm not going to sugar coat this Jeff. He's fractured both of his legs and has a bruised spine. I'm just waiting for a slot in CT then we can get a scan of his head done. I spoke to Virgil, there was no reason for him to collapse like he did so we'll investigate." Jeff nodded and looked at John and whispered in his ear.
"You'll be ok John, I promise." He looked back at Mike.
"He collapsed in his room earlier today, shouting for my help. He was clutching his head. He said he was fine and it was just a migraine. Why didn't I do something" Mike shook his head. He didn't like seeing Jeff like this, he knew he would beat himself up over this for a long time.
"You didn't know Jeff. Once we get all the scans back then we will know what we're dealing with. Now, get some rest. You can stay here but rest otherwise out you go, do you understand?" Jeff did a mock salute and smiled warmly at Mike. He had missed his sense of humour after all this time.
It was dark, he felt lonely, he was cold. Shivers ran down his spine. He gasped for breath but couldn't fill his weak lungs with air. Was he dying? Was this the end? He felt a warm hand grab his hand. Who was this?
You've done a great job since mom died
He's a Tracy
"Hello John" the deep, evil voice said in his head.
Jeff bolted upright in his chair and looked at John who had started fitting again.