liesorlife requested: How about disappearance with Gordon 😊
A/N: I'm putting this fic up to an M rating, hope this is alright!
Warnings for suicide attempt, overdosing, drug use, vomit
"Gordon's missing."
Virgil clenched the steering wheel as he remembered those words. The conversation that had rocked his world.
"What do you mean missing?"
He had just been on his way back to the airport when he got the call. A supply run to the mainland to pick up some things before he was planning on heading straight back to the island.
His dad sighed deeply on the other end of the line, and Virgil knew the man was worried, which did nothing to help the vice that had suddenly clamped onto his heart.
"The rehab centre called. They said he had a bad day and when they went to check on him later, he was gone. Not in his room or anywhere in the building."
Virgil couldn't breathe. His little brother, his injured brother, was gone.
He was startled by the honking of a horn behind him, and Virgil realised the traffic light in front of him had turned to green.
With arms that felt like jelly, he drove forward until he found a spot where he could pull over.
"I'm on my way, but you're closest to the facility," Jeff spoke as Virgil haphazardly parked on the sidewalk. "I need you to head there for me."
Virgil could hear the frustration in the man's voice. With the Thunderbirds yet to be built, they were limited in how they could travel off the island. They still had their own transport, but it wasn't nearly as fast as what they were planning on building.
For now, Virgil was on his own.
"S-sure." He wasn't expecting his voice to shake so much. He had to take some deep breaths before he continued. "He couldn't have gotten far, could he?"
Gordon couldn't walk unaided yet, and he got exhausted easily. Surely he wouldn't get far before someone found him.
"I hope not, but that kid has a way of doing whatever he puts his mind to. I wouldn't put it past him to find a way."
Virgil swallowed, and tried to press down all the possibilities of where Gordon could be right now. He could only hope that Gordon had been sensible and headed somewhere safe, or was already on his way back to the facility after realising how idiotic he was being.
After taking a deep breath, he started the car again.
"I'm heading there now, but it'll still take me thirty minutes."
"Better than me." There was a frustrated growl at the back of Jeff's throat.
Virgil didn't know what he was going to do when he got to the rehab centre, but it was better than just waiting around.
It was twenty minutes into his journey when his dad called again. Virgil was never so quick to answer.
"Dad? Did they find him?" His heart was in his throat and he could barely concentrate on the road ahead of him.
"Not quite, but we have a lead."
Although Virgil's hope had deflated a little, it wasn't completely gone after hearing his dad's words.
"Brains has been keeping an eye on any transactions that have gone through on the emergency card I gave Gordon," Jeff informed him.
"And?" His fingers tapped against the steering wheel as he waited for his father's next words.
"About five minutes ago he paid for a room at the Hotel Fleuve."
"I know where that is!" Virgil felt his heart soar at the familiar name.
He and his brothers had stayed there one night whilst they spent the weekend visiting Gordon about a month ago.
But then his heart came crashing down again as he remembered where it was.
"It's on the other side of town. It'll still take me another twenty minutes." Still, the fact they had a lead on Gordon's location, and knowing he was safe inside, was enough to comfort Virgil in that moment.
"Just... get there as fast as you can."
Virgil frowned. He knew his dad was worried, but there was something else Virgil heard in his voice, something he knew that Virgil didn't.
"What is it?"
"The centre called just before I called you. Now, they don't know for sure if it was Gordon, but... there's some medicines missing from the medication room."
Virgil let that information settle over him, and what it meant. Neither of them voiced out loud what they were thinking, but they both knew what was implied by that information.
Gordon wouldn't, he wasn't like that... was he?
"Virgil?"
Several long moments had passed and it was only the voice of his dad that made Virgil realise he hadn't said anything. He snapped out of his thoughts, and concentrated on the road.
"I'll find him, dad."
Virgil pressed harder on the gas.
Now, he was stuck in traffic only five minutes out from the hotel. He clenched his jaw as he glanced at the clock, his grip tightening on the wheel.
Every second that passed was another moment that Gordon could be doing something he'd regret. Virgil had never thought his brother would be capable of doing such a thing, and he could only hope that they were wrong, that the rehab centre had miscounted their supply.
And if they weren't wrong, then Virgil had to hope that he wasn't too late.
He was an awful brother. He had been so close, less than an hour away. It wouldn't have taken much out of his day to give his brother a visit.
But he had been selfish. He wanted to make his supply trip as quick as possible, so he could get back to the island and back to working on designs for Thunderbird 2. He didn't think Gordon would mind as Virgil had only gone to visit him just a couple weeks ago.
If only he had gone to see him, it might have prevented him from running away. Virgil could have seen the signs that Gordon was struggling and helped him before it got to this.
His leg started to bounce as he waited for the car in front of him to move. He was tempted to just jump out the car and run the rest of the way, but logic told him that would take longer than just sitting here.
Finally, the cars began to move, and Virgil drove as fast as the traffic in front would allow him.
After the longest car journey in his life, he made it. He didn't even care about parking, and just pulled up on the sidewalk outside the hotel. If the car got towed, it didn't matter. It was just a rental anyway.
After barely remembering to turn the engine off, Virgil flew out of the car and burst through the front door of the hotel. He barrelled over to the front desk, startling the receptionist.
"Can I-"
"I need the room number for my brother," Virgil cut her off before she could finish. He didn't have time for formalities. "He just checked in. Gordon Tracy."
Her lips pursed at his rudeness.
"I'm sorry, but I can't give that information out."
Virgil resisted the urge to get angry and yell at her. Instead, he took a deep breath, and let the desperation seep into his voice.
"Please, I-" It was hard to say outloud and admit it. "I think he's going to hurt himself."
Her face softened, and as she analysed his, she could tell he wasn't lying.
"Alright."
She quickly turned to her computer and typed in Gordon's name. Virgil knew she was being as quick as she could, but he still wanted to tell her to go faster.
"Room 304," she eventually said as the seconds dragged on.
Virgil didn't hesitate to turn on his heel and head towards the elevator.
"Wait! The key!" The woman yelled after him, and Virgil spared a second to hurry back and grab the room key she was handing out to him.
"Thanks," he muttered between breaths, and ran off.
"Do you want me to call for help?" She called, but Virgil was already gone. He was wasting too much time already.
He couldn't stand still as he waited for the elevator to reach the third floor, and as soon as the doors opened he was running again, searching for Gordon's room.
When he reached the door marked 304, he wasted no time in swiping the key card at the door and twisting the handle.
The room was dark with the curtains drawn, despite it still being the afternoon, and the smell of vomit hit him immediately. There was a stillness to the air, and Virgil was starting to struggle to breathe.
There was a short hallway with a door to the bathroom on the right, and despite Virgil's panic, he was scared to see what he would find when the rest of the room came into view.
As he reached the end of the hallway and saw what he had walked in on, he knew his nightmare had come true.
On the floor were Gordon's crutches, left like they had been dumped there. They were surrounded by medicine packages and empty pill bottles.
This mess continued onto the bed in the middle of the room, where more blister packs and scattered pills lay on the duvet.
Amongst it all, was Gordon, not moving and unresponsive.
Virgil took long strides as he made his way around to the other side of the bed.
"Gordon?"
He rolled his brother onto his back, and noted the pile of vomit on the bed next to him. His lips were blue.
Virgil had been taking first aid courses for a while now in preparation for their dad's new organisation, and he called on everything he had learnt.
He checked Gordon's breathing and pulse, and found nothing there.
"No no no no no-"
He pulled out his phone and dialled emergency services, before he put it on loud speaker and swiftly scooped Gordon off the bed and onto the floor.
"What's your emergency?" The voice on the other end of the line spoke up.
"I need an a-ambulance." Virgil's voice shook as he checked Gordon's airways, and then began chest compressions. "The Hotel Fleuve. Room 304. My brother's overdosed and isn't breathing."
His arms shook as he pounded on his little brother's chest, feeling breathless with the exertion. His own heart was pounding, which was a cruel juxtaposition to the lifeless one beneath his hands.
"You don't get to do this, Gordon," he said through gritted teeth, before he took a deep breath which he sent into Gordon's lungs. "You don't get to give up."
Gordon didn't say anything. The only response he gave was the sound of his ribs cracking, which made Virgil flinch, but he didn't stop. He would never stop.
Virgil's leg bounced as he sat in the waiting room seat, his elbows on his thighs as he hunched over. He wrung his hands together as he sat in anticipation for someone to come and tell him if his brother was okay.
When a doctor did eventually show up and tell him that Gordon was awake, Virgil finally felt like he could breathe properly, if only for a moment. They were going to keep him at the hospital for a few more days for monitoring, but the doctor didn't think there would be any further damage, at least not physically.
He told Virgil that he saved Gordon just in time, but all Virgil could think was that he showed up way too late.
Gordon was awake when Virgil was shown to his room, but he was staring at the wall and barely seemed to acknowledge Virgil entering the room.
Seeing Gordon awake and alive washed away Virgil's initial worry, and the guilt he felt before from letting his brother down was suddenly clouded by anger.
"What were you thinking?" He started to speak before he knew it, and he couldn't stop himself. "Do you know how worried we've all been?"
Gordon didn't say anything or even react. The only movement he made was how he clenched the sheets beneath his fingers.
"And do you know what that was like for me? Having to see you like that?" Virgil began to pace the room, unable to contain his sudden energy. Visions of what he saw in that room flashed before his eyes. "Your heart had stopped! I had to bring you back myself."
He didn't think he would ever forget the feeling of his brother's ribs breaking beneath his hands.
A sob from the bed made Virgil pause, and he turned to look at his brother.
Gordon sobbed again, and then his hands went to his face as his tears began to fall.
Suddenly, Virgil's anger had dissipated, and his guilt and concern came back tenfold. His brother was suffering, and Virgil was blaming him. He was the selfish one.
"Oh, Gordo. I'm so sorry."
Virgil quickly rushed over to the bed and pulled Gordon into a hug. Gordon didn't resist, and cried into Virgil's shirt as Virgil tucked him into his side.
How could Virgil not see how much Gordon was suffering? He was his big brother, he was meant to know these things. He was supposed to protect his little brothers, and here he was yelling at Gordon for something that wasn't his fault.
"Everything will be okay, Gordon." Virgil pulled him in closer as he rubbed his back. Gordon trembled in his arms. "We'll get you help, and everything will be okay."
Virgil was determined to not let his brother down again.