Sineater asked: 'You tell me to hurry one more time…' Brains or Virgil. How about both? And one irritating Commander?
He was irritated, no – he was more than irritated, he was getting angry.
'Brains….'
If he didn't know any better, Brains would have thought the man before him was the youngest Tracy, not the oldest.
Scott was practically hopping from foot to foot in the hangar behind him while he and Virgil were running diagnostics on One.
'D-D-Don't worry, Scott. We will be done on the r-r-repairs in no time,' he said out loud. Under his breath he added: 'and we would be f-f-faster if you left us to it.'
Virgil must have heard him because he spoke those words almost verbatim.
'Scott, if you hadn't have pushed One past her limits we wouldn't be in this situation, so cool it. Brains and I would be able to work faster if you would just leave us to it.'
Even the family peacekeeper sounded a little short, and Brains was glad that Scott couldn't see the smirk he was sure was on his face.
The man muttered as he left the hangar, and Virgil's hand landed on Brains' shoulder. Nothing was said, the two were used to working closely together, and now that there was no distraction in the form of the eldest Tracy brother it meant that they would be able to get working much faster.
The rescue of the Icarus had seen Scott push Thunderbird One beyond her limits to try and rescue the pilot, Professor Kwark. The resultant stresses had caused damage to both engines and One's structure that was going to take time to fix.
Time that Scott was chafing at. Both because One was out of commission until she was repaired but more importantly because the whole process was talking Brains away from working on the T-Drive.
He was feeling guilty. And that guilt was driving him to be overbearing and annoying. Virgil knew it and understood, Brains did too. It didn't help them to get the job done, though.
Fifteen minutes later footsteps heralded Scott's return, and with him was the welcome aroma of coffee and fresh baked apple pastries. He put them on the table next to One's schematics and couldn't resist looking over Virgil's shoulder.
'Can you hurry…'
He was not prepared for the explosion that followed as Brains, on the other side of Virgil, withdrew from the housing and glared at him. Glared!
'You tell me to hurry one more time….' Brains was breathing hard, and anger was pouring out of him. 'One more time and I will…I will…*scream*'
With that Brains chucked the tool he was holding at Scott, who caught it one-handed, and stormed out, snatching up a coffee on his way.
Scott stared after him, shock written all over him. Virgil stood up and wiped his hands on a rag that was already oily.
'Scott, you are my brother and my best friend and I love you with all my heart. But you are also an idiot of the highest degree sometimes. You know you can't rush fixing One, she's too much of a thoroughbred.'
He placed a still-greasy hand on Scott's shoulder and squeezed as Scott nodded glumly. Virgil felt for his brother, none of them liked being grounded and especially in these circumstances.
The appearance of John could only mean one thing, and it could either be good or bad for Scott.
'We have a rescue that will require Four. A simple task of picking up three fishermen whose boat has collapsed. Gordon is already getting suited up.'
John looked to his two brothers. Scott's shoulders had slumped slightly.
'Scott, you take Two. You won't need to do anything more than drop the module off and pick it up.'
The look Scott shot John and Virgil was quite comical, but he wasted no time and shot off to get ready.
Virgil saluted John with his coffee cup and John nodded and disappeared. He seldom relinquished control of his 'bird to anyone, but this time it was a necessary sacrifice. At least he could be sure Scott would return her unscathed, something neither Gordon or Alan could guarantee.
As Two departed Brains reappeared, and the two of them set about repairing One unhindered.