Why is this chapter being uploaded at such a late hour? Was I doing something exciting? Did I have a late shift at work? Perhaps my WiFi crashed again? No. None of those would be accurate. In reality, my cat fell asleep in my lap and I didn't have the heart to disturb her so I could go get my laptop, so instead I just waited for her to wake up. In my defence, she's very cute and very fluffy and her lil toe beans are adorable!


In an ideal world they'd have taken John to a hospital or at least used the infirmary, but the former was not an option and the latter didn't contain barricaded walls or a reinforced lockable door to prevent any possible zombie-related escapades, so they were stuck with one of the spare rooms attached to Brains' lab that had originally been intended for toxic experiments. Of course, in an ideal world John would still be up on Thunderbird Five lecturing them all on proper safety protocols and why their actions in the field were idiotic and 'would it kill you to listen to me for once?'

But they weren't living in an ideal world. They weren't even living in a normal world. They were living in the goddam zombie apocalypse and Scott still wasn't completely convinced that he hadn't been drugged at some point and that this was actually all his subconscious while in reality he was passed out somewhere. All the evidence suggested that this was real however, which was rather unfortunate to say the least.

He was still itching for a run.

Or maybe a punching bag.

Just not a gun, because holy hell, he was so done with guns at this point. If the world ever returned to normality he was going to ask Brains to switch up the grapples design because the idea of pulling any trigger had him tasting bile.

The main entrance to Brains' lab was via the Thunderbirds' hangar, but Gordon took the long way around, leading the path down never-ending steps and spindly corridors. LEDs lit up, filling the previously dark hallway with a harsh white glare. One of the speakers on the wall – meant for sounding the rescue alarm to alert them all of a launch – stuttered into life.

"Fancy seeing you here." EOS's words suggested that she was trying to sound upbeat. Instead, she just sounded exhausted – which, given she was an Artificial Intelligence who didn't require sleep, was rather concerning. "John hasn't shown any signs of waking up. Kayo is with him."

"And you've been watching over them both?"

Scott didn't really need to ask but he got the impression that EOS was craving interaction. She'd never been apart from John for this long and it had been years since she'd been left entirely on her own. She wasn't just worried, she was scared, he realised, and that was made worse by the fact she had no body with which to offer physical comfort. All she could do was listen and hope. No wonder she sounded tired – she'd probably been monitoring John's vitals the entire time. Which, given John had been wearing his suit which fed bio-readouts directly back to Five, led to a horrifying conclusion – EOS had witnessed him flatline, unable to do anything but watch. Her childlike voice only made this realisation worse.

Gordon frowned. "You alright?"

EOS unlocked the door ahead of them without a word.

Scott tried not to look at the speaker she'd taken over. "Fine," he replied before Gordon could proceed to panic again. "Just thinking."

"That's dangerous."

"Tell me about it." He paused in the doorway. Brains' lab was a mess – more so than usual. MAX trundled in slow circles, head bowed mournfully. A sorrowful chirp turned into more of a questioning note when the robot registered new company and launched across the room to greet them, practically barrelling into Gordon's legs.

"Hey, MAX." Gordon knelt down so that MAX could examine his face, a soft whirring proof that the robot was scanning him for injury. "How's it going, buddy?" He patted Max's head, just above the lenses, and was rewarded by an affectionate chirp. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Been keeping an eye on Johnny for us?"

"I think you'll find that's my job," Kayo interjected quietly from a dark corner where she'd been lurking unnoticed. "But MAX has been good company and it's always better to have a second pair of eyes. Mind you," her gaze flickered to the hologram projector on the table, "EOS has been more help in that regard."

Gordon let MAX scurry back to the other side of the room where he was attempting to gather together smashed test tubes and discarded medical equipment. There was a defibrillator parked in the centre of the floor, protective casing shoved aside, clearly having been used not too long ago.

Scott let the door hiss shut behind him. Kayo slid off the chair she'd been curled on and moved to greet them, keeping close to the locked door that led to the room that was currently serving as a hospital/zombie quarantine zone.

"Are we not allowed in?" Scott asked, nodding to the door as if it wasn't already obvious what he was referring to.

Kayo shrugged. "Brains' orders. Virgil's too, actually." She twisted her hands, eyes suspiciously bright with unshed tears. "He's not technically alone in there. EOS is with him. But it doesn't make me feel any better."

EOS's hologram hovered above the projector, flushed a pale purple with anxiety. Kayo didn't bother with forcing a smile but nodded slightly to acknowledge the AI's presence. EOS remained silent. Gordon reached out and tapped the edge of the hologram teasingly, still trying to lighten the mood even when on the verge of tears himself.

There was no window into the room. Just four plain walls, all painted with an inhuman white. Even with EOS's presence and reassuring words, waking to a world without colour would be disconcerting at best and petrifying at worst. Scott pressed a hand to the door. It was several inches of cold metal. He tipped forwards to lean his forehead against it.

"There's a camera feed," Kayo murmured, stepping up to stand at his side. "Just in case. For monitoring purposes."

Scott frowned. "I thought there was nothing more we can do except wait."

"Yeah, medically speaking there isn't, but until we hit twenty-four hours we can't be completely certain that he's not still at risk of turning."

"Twenty-four hours is excessive."

Kayo arched a brow. "I'd rather be safe than sorry, don't you agree?" She sighed, gnawing on a thumbnail. Her knuckles were bruised. Doubtless a punching bag had been beaten into submission at some point in the past few hours. "Look, I love John like a brother, but I can't put everyone else on this island at risk by opening this door early, just in case. I know you understand that, so please don't ask me. Besides…" Her shoulders slumped. "It wasn't even my call."

Scott stepped back from the door in order to get a better look at his sister. Kayo stared resolutely at the floor and refused to lift her head. Whether she was hiding tears or if it was something else keeping her from making eye contact – misplaced guilt perhaps – Scott wasn't sure. He looked to Gordon who was still balanced on the table, watching MAX sweep away broken glass without actually seeing him at all.

EOS's hologram blinked out to give them the impression of privacy, despite the fact they were all perfectly aware that she had eyes and ears all over the island whenever and wherever she pleased. She was probably still listening in for any mention of John. Scott didn't blame her. The one-time Brains had landed himself with a concussion MAX had refused to leave his side, and that had been a relatively minor injury. EOS had to be beside herself with worry, especially given she'd witnessed everything happen in real-time – clearly she'd inherited the trick of a maintaining a good poker face from her creator.

Gordon slid off the table and stumbled a little on shaky legs. MAX rocketed across and caught him with a concerned chirp.

"I'm cool, Maximillian," Gordon attempted to joke. The words were flat. He wiped a hand down his face, all that nervous energy suddenly dissipating. MAX nudged Gordon's hand and received a quick pat for his efforts. "It's chill."

"It is not chill," Kayo said, finally lifting her chin and straightening up. Caring for someone else was a good way to take her mind off the main situation. She caught Gordon's hand before he could bat her away, studying him with narrowed eyes. "When was the last time you slept?"

"Uh…"

"Gordon," Scott sighed. "Seriously?"

Gordon yanked his hand away from Kayo and crossed his arms. "Okay, of all people you guys can't criticise me for this." His voice rose defensively. "I've had a lot on my plate."

"We all have," Kayo replied without missing a beat. "But we still managed to find time to catch a quick nap."

"Okay, I'd like to point out that technically Scott did not take a nap, he full on passed out. That does not count."

"Scott's an idiot," Kayo announced. "Do not use Scott as an example."

"I'm literally standing right here," Scott muttered.

Kayo side-eyed him. "Yes. I'm aware of that. Do you have a point?"

He held up his hands in surrender. "Nope. Please continue."

Kayo let her hands fall to her sides with a heavy sigh. All the fight drained from her voice and left a worried weariness in its wake. "Just try to get some sleep before I have to scrape you off the floor. Please."

Gordon's defensive stance relaxed. "Hey," he said gently, putting a hand on Kayo's shoulder and looking a little surprised when she didn't stiffen or try to pull away. "Kay, are you alright?"

Kayo's flinch was almost imperceptible, but it was so out of character for her that both Scott and Gordon noticed it.

"Kayo," Scott began and trailed off again. What was there to say?

Gordon was a few steps ahead of him. "It wasn't your fault."

Kayo slammed her hand against the table. MAX skittered away to hide behind Scott's legs. Gordon didn't step back, just faced her fury head on without hesitation, because they all knew that the only person Kayo wanted to hurt right now was whoever had caused this whole mess.

"Wasn't it my fault?" she snapped, voice twisting with grief into a snarl. "I had one goddam job. Survey. Scout. Keep you safe. And look what happened."

"You warned us," Gordon pointed out. "You warned us as soon as you realised there was a pack incoming. It's not your fault that we didn't get out in time."

"I should have seen them quicker."

"Timing had nothing to do with it," Scott spoke up, because they were going around in circles here and there was one very crucial point that they were all missing. "John turned off the radio."

Gordon stopped short. "Wait… what? John turned off the radio? John, as in our brother John, as in the same John who constantly lectures us for doing just that?"

"Yes, well apparently being a hypocrite is just as much of a Tracy trait as the stubbornness." Scott shifted his attention to Kayo. "Gordon's right. It wasn't your fault. John and I broke protocol and everything went to shit from there. But you are not at fault here, Kayo. You did your best and I'm proud of you."

Kayo's expression crumpled. "I'm not proud of me," she whispered, and it sounded broken and wrong and heart-wrenching. "I should have gone with you, not John."

Gordon let out a damp laugh. "Yeah, right. Johnny had made his mind up. You'd never have been able to convince him not to go. He's nearly as stubborn as Scooter here."

"Thanks," Scott deadpanned, well aware that it was not a compliment.

Gordon shot him a sunny smile. "No problemo, mi hermano."

Kayo clasped her hands to her mouth as she let out a strangled sound that was undeniably a sob.

Gordon shot Scott a horrified look. "Oh, no. No, no, no, Kayo, c'mon, no, stop that. Don't cry. No, see it's okay, Johnny's gonna be fine, you heard what Brains said. Don't cry, Kay, please."

"I'm not crying," Kayo spat, followed by another sob. Her hair was loose and tangled and she tugged it around her face to hide her tears. Her shoulders were trembling. She was a house of cards tumbling down.

Gordon hovered at her side, clearly at a loss, unsure whether comfort was welcome or if it would simply end with one of Kayo's many knives at his throat. Scott had no such qualms. Right now Kayo wasn't their super-skilled badass Head of Security, she was their family, and more importantly she was his little sister who was hurting. He wrapped his arms around her and tugged her close to his chest, coaxing her hands away from her face.

"Kayo, it's okay," he murmured.

"It's not okay. How is anything okay?"

"It's not," he agreed, brushing Kayo's hair away from her face as she attempted to rub stray tears from her cheeks. "But we're all still here and we'll be okay again eventually."

"You should know better than to lie to me."

"Maybe it's not a lie," Scott suggested, catching Gordon's eye over the top of Kayo's head. "Maybe it's just a work in progress."

Kayo gave up on trying to hold back tears. The reality of the past twenty-four hours was finally beginning to hit her and it seemed more like Scott was keeping her upright than she was standing of her own accord. Small wasn't an adjective that he associated with Kayo but currently it was the only one that fit, alongside vulnerable.

"I'm a mess," she muttered, vaguely disgusted but mostly exhausted.

"Eh, who cares?" Gordon slid off the table to join the hug. "We're all messes," he joked, dropping a kiss on the top of Kayo's head and proceeding to muss up her hair teasingly. Kayo glared at him balefully and he chuckled. "We've got ya, Kay. Besides, you've seen me in far worse states."

"Thank you for putting the memory back into my head of you puking all over my shoes."

"In my defence, I was very, very drunk."

Scott was slightly scared to ask. "Do I want to know?"

"Nope," Gordon replied cheerfully.

Kayo shuddered. "Never go clubbing with this one. He's a gremlin who doesn't know his own limits."

"Hey!"

"You nearly drank the bar dry."

"What else was there to do? I'd hooked up with pretty much everyone there on previous visits. Hey, when this is all over, we seriously need to find a new bar."

Kayo elbowed him. Gordon sniggered. MAX crept over and skulked around their legs, bopping their knees in an attempt to feel included.

Scott held them all close and shut his eyes for a second. He just needed this moment, without the interrupting thoughts of all that they'd lost.

Someone rapped their knuckles on his forehead. He opened his eyes to spy Gordon.

"You alright?" Gordon mouthed.

Scott nodded.

Gordon didn't look convinced.

"Later," Scott signed at him, reluctant to speak and let Kayo know that there was something wrong. Gordon took a moment to comprehend, which was fair enough because Alan and Virgil were the best signers in the family anyway and Gordon had enough trouble remembering even English some days.

"Hugs are proven to lower stress, produce oxytocin and can even reduce pain levels," EOS announced out of nowhere, and Scott tried not to laugh as both Gordon and Kayo startled. "I hope this hug is helping you as I'm unable to provide this form of comfort and I know that touch is a very important love language in your family."

There was a brief pause.

"Who let EOS read Johnny's psych books?" Gordon stage whispered.

Kayo swatted him. "Don't be mean. EOS, thank you. Yes, this hug is helping, but having you around is comforting too."

"Oh." EOS sounded touched, possibly even slightly shy. "Well then. That's good. I'm glad."

"Is it just me or is she getting more like John by the day?" Gordon faltered, unable to finish the joke. His gaze fell on the locked door. "You know what's dumb? I know he's gonna be okay, but I still feel like… I don't even know."

"I get it," Kayo murmured.

Scott reluctantly let his siblings go.

"Do you want the camera feed?" Kayo asked quietly.

He nodded.

Kayo pointed to the hologram projector. "EOS can show you. Gords, c'mon. I need to eat and you need to sleep."

"Woah, hold your horses, what about Scott?" Gordon dug his heels into the ground as Kayo unceremoniously shoved him towards the door.

"Gordon, go. I'm alright, I promise."

"That's what you always say."

The faint note of panic in his brother's voice had Scott hesitating. "Really, Gords," he promised. "I'm alright for now. I'll call you if I need you."

"Promise?"

"I swear it."

"Swear on Mom."

"Okay, okay."

Gordon finally stopped fighting Kayo. "You get half an hour, then I'm coming back."

Scott tried not to sound too snappy, but he seriously wasn't in the mood to be smothered. The irony did not escape him.

"FAB," he sighed, and practically slumped over the table as the door hissed shut behind the pair. "Just you and me EOS, huh?" MAX chirped. "And you, bud, I know."

EOS waited patiently above the projector, not prompting or pushing, simply anticipating the moment he'd ask for the camera feed. She'd grown a lot since her original murderous intentions that had brought her to Five. Now she wasn't just a friend, but she was family too, and Scott found himself strangely grateful for her presence. Or perhaps it was just the fact that she was John's creation and, while his brother was alive, it still didn't feel as though they'd safely gotten him back.

MAX gently pushed the projector closer with one claw.

Scott examined the closed door.

"EOS."

He didn't need to say anything else.

"His vitals are stable," EOS reminded him gently as he stared at the projected live feed, finding the words escaping him and vanishing into the atmosphere along with any sense of calm he'd achieved in the past hour. "He's just sleeping now. Projections show that he should wake in around thirteen hours."

"Thirteen?"

"In some cultures, that number is actually considered lucky."

"I don't believe in luck either way."

EOS grew quiet. "There's nothing wrong with a little bit of hope. John always says that there must be someone watching over all of you."

Scott buried his face in his hands. "Yeah," he replied softly. "And I reckon I know who."

He watched the heartrate monitor and took comfort in the steady beats. This was as close to reassurance as he was going to get save for kicking the door down and seeing his brother for himself.

"He'll be alright." EOS sounded confident.

"Yeah?"

"Of course." EOS gave a light giggle. "He's a Tracy."

Scott couldn't help but smile at that. "Yes," he agreed, shooting EOS's avatar a fond look. "He is."


Kayo crept back into the room around an hour later, looking distinctly more refreshed and put together. She pulled out a chair and planted a sandwich in front of Scott, propping her chin in one palm and watching him expectantly. Scott tore his gaze away from John's vitals with some reluctance and examined the food in front of him.

Kayo shoved the plate closer. "Eat."

"Doctor's orders, huh?" Scott tried to joke, picking at the crust.

Kayo rolled her eyes. "Something like that." She cracked a grin. "Grandma's orders, anyway."

Scott pulled a face. "Even scarier."

"Exactly." Kayo looked pointedly at his plate. "So eat."

She tugged the projector so that it was sat squarely between them and shuffled down in her chair to rest her head on the table. The pale blue of holographic light reflected in her eyes, seemingly greener than usual and a sharp contrast with the faint redness of past tears not so long banished. She tucked her hair behind her ears, still loose, and sighed, watching the rise and fall of the cardiac monitor. Plagued by dark circles of waking nightmares, she looked young and lost. Her guard was down. Scott knew how much it took for her to trust people like his. He tore the sandwich in half and pushed the plate towards her.

"That's meant for you," Kayo mumbled into the tabletop, not bothering to lift her chin.

Scott sat back in his chair. "You look like you need it."

"I need a drink."

"Dad's cabinet is always an option."

Kayo snorted. "Aren't you supposed to be the responsible one?"

"You and I both know that title belongs to Virgil."

Kayo lifted her sandwich-half in a mock toast. "To the future, whatever the hell that may be."

"Cheers to that."

EOS had left the predicted thirteen-hour countdown running alongside the live feed and vital readouts. Scott watched the seconds tick by, turning to minutes and eventually crossing the boundary of hours. Kayo took the empty plate back upstairs and returned with Virgil in tow.

"Picked up a hitchhiker," she quipped, jerking a thumb over her shoulder at Virgil. "Hope that's okay with you, Scooter."

Scott looked away from the hologram projections just long enough to lift a hand in greeting. "Hey, Virg."

"Have you been down here the entire time?" Virgil sounded equal parts impressed and concerned, but not in the least surprised. He stole the chair beside Scott out from under Kayo's reaching hands and shrugged at their sister when she hissed at him in annoyance, skulking away to find another seat.

Scott didn't comment. His focus was too caught up on John's vitals. For a second he'd sworn he'd seen the cardiac monitor stutter. He rubbed his eyes. The mind liked to play tricks on the tired and the stressed and he fit into both categories.

"Is it just me, or is it frickin' freezing in here?" Kayo yanked the hood of her sweatshirt over her head with a full-body shiver.

"Cryogenic approach," Virgil explained quietly, stumbling over his words as his gaze was caught by the live feed video. "Trying to fight off any signs of infection by any means possible. It's not as if we can burn it out."

"He'd hate this," Scott murmured. "You know he feels the cold easily."

Kayo dropped into the chair opposite. "No kidding. He's the only person I know who wears a coat in Hawaii."

Virgil's smile was wistful. "God, I'd forgotten that trip. Gordon made fun of him the entire time for that coat."

"It was a little excessive," Kayo mused. "Wasn't he recovering from the flu though?"

"Something like that." Virgil sounded distracted as he examined the bio-readouts. "You know John – if there's something going around, he's bound to catch it."

Kayo winced. "Just… not this."

Virgil looked up from the holograms littering his hands. "No," he said softly. "Not this."

That closed door seemed like a mountain. Scott longed to kick it down. All he could do was keep watching that video feed and count down the seconds. The sudden touch to his shoulder made him jump.

Virgil was looking at him with open concern.

Scott gathered he'd missed the final part of that conversation. "Sorry, what?"

Kayo bit her lip and looked away.

Scott sat up straight. "Seriously, what did I miss?"

"Nothing," Virgil replied after a moment. He'd have been more convincing had his words not been laden with a heavy sadness that sounded a lot like grief for the living who had not been lost and yet seemed to drift away right in front of you. Scott knew what that sounded like. So when Virgil offered him his hoodie, he took it.

"Thanks."

"You looked cold."

"Virg…"

"I'm not going to force you to talk to me."

But I wish you would went unspoken. Scott slipped on the hoodie and was surprised to find he genuinely was cold. He pulled the fabric closer and tried to keep his shivering unnoticeable.

Kayo drew her knees up to her chest and rested her arms on top, curled into her chair, gnawing on a thumbnail in an unfortunate habit she had definitely picked up from Alan. Virgil kept scrolling through the medical notes. Scott just watched the clock until the numbers blurred in front of him and he was forced to blink. He had the strangest urge to cry again. In the blue tinge of the holograms, John looked ghostly, like he was fading away.

Virgil pushed his chair back. "Oh, screw this."

"What are you on about?" Kayo looked startled, feet slamming into the floor as she sat upright. "Virgil? Brains said to quarantine until we hit the twenty-four-hour mark."

Virgil pressed his thumb to the fingerprint scanner on the door. "You do realise that I have more medical training than him, right? I know the risks. I know John's readouts right now. And I'm making this call. Scott, get over here."

"What are you doing?" Scott asked, moving to join his brother at the door.

Virgil shot him an unreadable look. "Doing what I should have done hours ago." He tapped in the override codes as the alarm began to wail. "Letting you in that room."

The alarm cut out leaving a deafening silence. Kayo remained standing by the table and although her eyes were dark with warning, she didn't move to stop them. She activated the stun-function on her wrist consoles and crossed her arms, hoping for the best-case scenario but prepared for the worst, unwilling to be caught out by an infected again, even if that infected happened to be their brother.

"Are you sure about this?" Scott wasn't about to argue but he was equally unwilling to put the rest of his family at risk. Virgil wasn't the only one who knew the override codes – there was a reason why Scott had chosen to leave the door locked, no matter how human John seemed over the holograms.

Virgil didn't pause. "Nope, but you need to see John and he probably needs you too." He glared at the keypad under his fingers. "I don't know if he can hear us right now, but if he can… he's alone in there and I just…" His voice grew distant, almost dazed. "Like you said… John hates the cold."

There was a faint buzz as Kayo's stuns deactivated. She lowered her hands to her sides, suddenly blinking back tears, but her words were stable and unwavering. "Do it."

Scott caught Virgil's shoulder. "Close the door behind me."

Virgil blinked. "Uh, Scott, I'm only ninety-eight percent sure about this. Probably even less in reality because I've had a lot of caffeine. If I'm wrong, then…"

"The restraints will hold," Kayo muttered. "And even if they don't, they'll still give us enough time to get Scott out of there before John can break free."

"I'm sorry, what?" Scott whirled around. "Restraints? What the hell are you talking about? Did you cuff him to the bed?"

"Yes," Kayo shot back, without hesitation or a single second of regret. "John would agree with us if he were awake, and you know it. Safety above all else, remember? It applies to everything, not just our equipment."

Logic and emotion were not compatible. This had always been the case. It was the reason why, at the end of the day, if they were brutally honest, they would all be prepared to fail a mission rather than let one of their own fall. It hadn't ever reached that point yet, but they'd come close. A classic example was Gordon abandoning Fischler's ridiculous CIRRUS station in order to save Virgil from plummeting into a hurricane. So yes, logically Scott understood Kayo's reasoning but all he could focus on was the part where his little brother was handcuffed to a bed.

Kayo stared him down, unapologetic. Scott reminded himself of the logic and nodded. Kayo relaxed.

"Close the door," Scott repeated. He wasn't above pulling rank and making it an order, but he was hoping it wouldn't come to that.

Virgil still looked reluctant, but Scott could read him well enough to know that his brother had accepted the request.

"Any chance of turning up the heating or am I going to be walking into an ice box?"

Virgil shook his head with a smile. "I'll ease up on the aircon, but it'll take a while to heat up." He prodded Scott's shoulder. "You should probably keep that hoodie for the time-being."

"I'll keep it in mind."

Virgil's hand hovered above the handle. "God, Brains is going to murder me for this."

"Oh, I don't know," Kayo drawled, smirking. "Somehow I suspect you'll manage to get back on his good side fairly quickly."

Virgil shot her a glare. "Watch it, or you'll be the one restrained in a minute."

Kayo arched a brow. "Kinky."

Virgil knocked his head against the door with an irritated whine. "Why are you like this?"

"It's the trauma," Kayo announced cheerfully.

Virgil choked. Kayo beamed at him. Scott decided he'd had more than enough of his siblings for the time-being and pulled the door open. An icy gust of air rushed out, as though he'd opened a freezer.

"Wow," Kayo whispered from somewhere behind him. "Someone needs to tell Elsa to ease off. That is intense."

"I'm removing Frozen from the downloads," Virgil informed her, "because Gordon and you cannot behave like mature adults." There was a pause, then, "did you just flip me off with a knife?"

"A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do." Kayo slipped into a more serious tone. "Scott, if you want out for any reason, just call me. I'll be on this side of the door the entire time."

Scott stepped over the threshold. "Thanks," he replied distractedly. "But I'm finally where I need to be."

Virgil hesitated. "I'll be waiting."

"I know." Scott couldn't fight the fond smile. "You always are."


Over the years, Scott had found himself keeping vigil at John's beside far too often. Virgil hadn't been joking when he'd claimed that John seemed to catch every illness under the sun. If there was a cold going around that Scott would shake off in a couple of days, John's case would nearly turn to pneumonia. Gordon's childhood chicken pox hopped brothers and rendered John bed-bound for over a week. Alan picked up the flu from somewhere and passed it along, landing his brother in hospital. Scott could vividly recall sitting in the waiting room and genuinely questioning whether there was something wrong with John's immune system. Apparently there wasn't: John was just that unlucky. All in all, watching over a sick John wasn't an uncommon experience, but Scott found himself hard-pressed to remember an incident where his brother had looked quite this ill.

Space wasn't a good source of a suntan any day of the week, but when you added significant blood loss to the mix – enough blood loss to stop a heart – suddenly you had a patient pale enough to rival a corpse. Given the infection that they were currently monitoring for, this was an unnerving look. As for bandages – Scott was reminded of a childhood Halloween party where Alan had decided to dress as an Egyptian mummy. Even then he wasn't sure there'd been quite as many bandages wrapped around a single person. They were crisp, snowy white, clearly recently replaced. He recalled the sodden cloth on the floor of Thunderbird Two, abandoned by slack hands.

The camera in the corner moved ever-so-slightly. EOS was watching. Scott suspected this was as much on Kayo's orders as it was the AI's own volition. He tugged the only chair in the room over to the bedside and sat down gingerly, unable to drag his eyes away from cuffs fastened so tightly that they weren't too far away from digging into bony wrists.

His immediate thought was enough to make him nauseous, as the little voice in his head announced, he looks dead.

Not dead. Alive. Still here. Still breathing.

But hurt so, so badly.

Scott found his voice. It came out as more of a croak, but breaking the silence seemed the first step towards recovery, even if there was very little chance that John could actually hear him.

"Hi, Johnny."

Part of him was waiting for the familiar retort of 'don't call me Johnny'.

He was met with a deathly silence.

"I told you that you were going to be okay, didn't I?"

Admittedly, this didn't count as okay in anyone's books, but it was better than nothing. Far better than the alternative, anyway. He wanted to be sick just thinking about it.

He shifted a little closer to the bed and propped his elbows on the edge of the mattress. EOS didn't protest and John didn't move, so he took that as confirmation that he was safe to continue.

It was freezing. Beyond cold, entering the realm where it hurt to breathe. Scott couldn't tell if he was shaking from the temperature or anxiety. It was probably a mixture of both. If he was cold, he could only imagine how John would feel when he finally woke up. Only a few hours were left. Not long at all in the grand scheme of things.

"I'm right here with you. Not leaving. Like I promised, remember?"

He paused. He wasn't entirely sure why. It wasn't as if he was expecting a reply. There wasn't much left to say anyway, except a faint whisper of "I'm sorry" and the words stung. He reached for John's hand and held on tightly until he could feel his brother's sluggish pulse against his skin, a sharp contrast with his own racing heart. There was still blood crusted under John's nails. He'd hate that.

"EOS?"

"Yes?"

"Can you give me a minute?"

EOS faltered. "I've been instructed to keep an eye on you, in case of…"

"You can monitor his vitals still. That'll tell you if there's something wrong. I just need thirty seconds."

EOS agreed surprisingly easily. "Alright. Thirty seconds." Her voice rose with a hint of light teasing. "I'll be counting."

Scott counted to five just to be certain that she'd gone. It seemed colder than ever. John felt borderline hypothermic. Scott resisted the urge to tuck his hoodie over his brother. He squeezed John's hand and swallowed past the lump in his throat when there was no response. The chair squeaked slightly as he rose to his feet and leant over the bed to press their foreheads together.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry. I know you won't want to hear it when you wake up, so I'm telling you now. This never should have happened. It's my fault and I'm sorry."

He estimated he had five seconds left. It was enough time to brush the stray hair back from John's forehead and sit back down at a more sensible distance where he couldn't be criticised for breaking all safety rules. He propped himself against the bed, rubbing a thumb along John's wrist where the cuffs threatened to break skin.

"Scott?" EOS asked as she returned to the camera.

"I'm alright."

He lifted their joined hands to his chest and held them there against his heart. The projected countdown blurred in front of his eyes. He blinked. The readouts stabilised. He sat back in his chair and settled in for a long wait.

After an hour, Virgil attempted to talk him into leaving and left unsuccessful, but came back with a blanket and stayed too, the fabric draped around both their shoulders. Gordon crept into the room with Grandma. Kayo appeared alongside Penelope and Parker. Brains sat with a hologram projector and stared at the bio readouts without blinking until Virgil put an arm around the scientist's waist and tugged him under the protective warmth of the blanket.

"How's Alan?" Virgil was signing to Gordon.

Gordon winced. "Still won't let anyone in. If we hit twenty-four hours I'm just gonna break his door down."

Virgil didn't reply for a moment. He was tapping rhythms against Brains' bicep. "I'll help you," he signed back at last. "Are you sure he's okay for now?"

"I have no idea. The only person he might talk to is Scott, but I don't think dragging Scott away from John is going to be good for anyone at the moment."

Virgil considered. "Only two hours left on the clock. Let's wait until John wakes up."

Gordon worried one of his bracelets between chewed nails. Virgil lowered his head to Brains' shoulder and watched the holograms lazily spinning above the projector.

On John's other side, Penelope was holding his free hand. She caught Scott's gaze and held it. Scott offered her a wavering smile. She returned it slightly tearfully. Neither of them let go.


I'm sorry, did you think Johnny was gonna wake up in this chapter? Did you forget that I am evil?

Review?

Kat x