Spring Break (Thunderbirds Are Go! / Thunderbirds Movie)

The Concern of a Brother

2060 - Tracy Island.

The oldest of the five brothers watched the projector, watching as the red dot that signified Thunderbird Three made it's way back to earth, and back to safety and help for his middle brother. Gordon stood by him, rich brown eyes full of worry, much like his own. Scott couldn't help but beat himself up over it. He should have known something was wrong. There was no way, not even in 2060, that someone could be put under 25Gs and brush it off like nothing had happened.

He should have made John come back down with Fishler. That way, they would have been prepared for his collapse, and his brother wouldn't have been stranded 22,000 miles above earth without medical help when he did collapse. Yes, his brother would have been mad at him, but it would have been worth it, to know that when John's body did finally react to the events of the day, he would have been taken care of straight away.

Gordon seemed to sense Scott's self-loathing--all of his little brothers seemed to have the sense that told them something was wrong with the eldest--and gently rested a hand on his shoulder, the loudest of the bunch un-usually quiet. John's sudden collapse had taken a toll on all of them. The middle child was so far removed from the action, that he rarely ever was injured, and even then it was minor injuries, not something of this caliber.

Gordon seemed about to say something, when something caught his attention, and his hand dropped away from Scott's shoulder. He turned his head to look at what the second youngest was looking at, and froze.

Thunderbird Three's tracking beacon was gone. Three of his little brothers had just vanished.

Scott nearly leapt for the comms system, immediately trying to get ahold of Alan, Virgil, or even John. Every time his calls went un-answered his stomach dropped more and more. Now he wasn't just in danger of losing one brother, but three of them, the twins and his littlest brother, one that he practically raised, where all missing. Gordon darted from the room, shouting for Brains, and getting the attention of their Grandma, who walked out of the kitchen, but Scott didn't really notice.

He practically just lost three brothers in one day.

A warm arm wrapped around his shoulders, a sign of his grandmother trying to comfort him, but he couldn't bring himself to look away. He failed. He was supposed to keep his brothers safe, and he failed to do that, losing three of them in one go.

Gordon returned with Brains and MAX, who immediately got to work on trying to re-establish contact with the three missing Tracy brothers, while the second youngest, and the matriarch of the family gently guided Scott over to the nearest couch and sat him down. Grandma sat down next to him, wrapping the eldest in a hug, being joined by Gordon shortly after. He knew they where trying to make him feel better, to comfort him.

It wasn't going to work. He broke his promise to his dad that he would protect his brothers. Virgil, John, and Alan could be dead now for all he knew. God.. Alan was only sixteen. He shouldn't have let him go out there. He should have done it. At least then his littlest brother would still have a chance at living his life. Scott was midway through his twenties and well on his way to his thirties, he had had his chance to grow up, Alan hadn't. And Virgil and John... they both still had promising futures ahead of them. They were just barely into their twenties.

Scott was an ex-USAF pilot, he'd had done what he planned to do with his life, and he had been shot down an honorable discharge. He had his chance. None of his brothers had that yet.

He didn't even notice that his fingernails had burrowed into his palm and broken skin, didn't notice the blood running down his palm until his grandmother had tried to gently pry his fingers apart and tell Gordon to get the first aid kit. His eyes found their way from the crimson liquid dribbling down his hand to the table the middle of the living room, where Brains and MAX still tried to regain contact with Thunderbird Three. He wanted to tell him that it was hopeless, that there was no chance he could do it, because he had a feeling deep down that there was no way that Alan, Virgil and John could be reached, but he couldn't. Gordon and Grandma still had hope that his brothers could be found, and he couldn't bring himself to squash that hope with his bad feelings.