#ibrokehim

“I bet Scott had some choice words for that.”  Kayo supplied as she leaned up and into him, her arms settling around his neck.

“There are some Forestry personnel seriously considering career changes at the moment.” Here he drew her in and kissed her forehead. “That’s once they find a why to extract the size elevens out of their posteriors.”

Kayo winced at that pleasant picture.  Scott angry could be an impressive thing to behold. Scared for his brother and royal pissed off,  that was ‘End of Days’ petrifying. As in, you better hope the world explodes and your well and truly dusted before big brother sets his chilly sights on you.

“Speaking of …where is he?” Her peridot green scanning around.  Even at this hour, the commander of iR and acting president a TI would usually be found at his father’s desk plugging away at some random report or cost analysis what-not. 

Virgil dragged in a breath, held it a moment and let it out on a slow exhale.  Dual purpose to expand his sore rib cage fully and to gather his scattered thoughts accomplished. 

“Bed”

“No way,  at this hour?”

The mmhmm that followed that was loaded. “I convinced him, through no small amount of grief and threat of physical pain, that should he not get some rack time I would tranq his ass.” Kayo was impressed,  getting the great Scott Tracy to concede to something as logical as sleep was no simple task.  It was Virgil though that had made the request but still.. would have been easier to convince John out of orbit…

A sleep tousled head nodded.  “He had a raging tension headache and was sniping at everything with a pulse.”

Kayo had an ‘ah ha’ moment, “That explains why Grandma has fled the island.”  Tracy 1 had curiously been missing from the hanger and there had been no mention of the family Matriarch having mainland plans. 

“I would have tagged along but someone had to be here to keep the island afloat.”  Leaning back against the couch with a groan he dragged her with him.  She acquiesced and settling down beside him, tucked her legs up under herself.  “That and I wanted to warn you that Scottzilla was in residence.”

She chuckled at this and leaning in caught his lips with her own by way of thanks. “Well, my report will hold until he unhulks…dehulks..?”  She blinked as she thought on this.  

Virgil chuckled softly her ear,  his scruff scratching against the sensitive skin reminding her that her lover was a little worse for wear and in dire need of a proper bed and a solid 8 hours horizontal. FAA regulation dictated that duration of sleep as a minimum between long haul flights and though they couldn’t always abide by the rules in this regard - people needing rescuing didn’t prescribe to a schedule - they did their best to at least try to.  

Unsanctioned as they were they still had to keep the GDF happy. Since their Godmother knew where the island was located, Virgil was fairly certain she would ground their asses if there was any outward signs of blatant disrespect for the rules that governed the rest of the planet’s aviation stock.  So to keep their tickets they made sure to toe the line between what was regulation and what was not. 

Taking a moment to enjoy the relative silence the night brought with it, Kayo allowed her head to list to the side and settle on Virgil’s strong, solid shoulder.   Hearing the deep intake of air through his chest as he sighed, Kayo glanced up at his profile.  

“It’s been a shit 48 hours.” 

Brow dropping, Kayo turned his face towards hers.  Looking into his tired face, her thumbing brushing back and forth across his cheek.  “Tell me.” She prompted gently.

Drawing in a breath, Kayo picked up on clinical scent of antiseptic and the faint, acridness of wood smoke.   It spoke volumes to her that the remnants of the day still clung to him. Like the morose set of his mind needed a fetid specter so it wouldn’t be easily forgotten.  Not like that would  happen with any haste, anytime soon.

The rock of her adopted family, felt things deeply and she knew this well.  The calm surface of his demeanor was but a thin curtain to the depth of his feelings. The emotional scars he carried ran deep and were kept private for the sake of his brothers.  A front in place that he needed to maintain so he could help keep his family on an even keel. 

As close as Virgil was to Scott, Kayo was the one person privy to everything that lay beyond it.  Providing what comfort she could when he needed it and even sometimes when he refused to accept it.  Even now as she wove her fingers through the inky black of his hair, she could feel the tension in his frame.  Pained as he was from injury, his tightness in his shoulders was not likely to depart until he fought his way tooth and nail back to his center. 

The familiar  sound of Gordon doing late night laps in the pool drifting up from below caused Kayo to check the time.  It was rather late for the athlete to be doing circuits though not completely unheard of. Even recovering from his near fatal crash in Four, they were hard pressed to try and keep him out of the pool once his casts had been removed. The only visible remnants of which was a knee brace that he grudgingly wore and some biodegradable stitches.

Kayo was aware that the aquatic expert’s physio was progressing well but even so it would be a while before he was fit for active rotation. The steady pace of him powering through the water was proof that he was bound and determined to speed that process up. Pursing her lips though, Kayo made a mental note to make sure the fish wasn’t over doing it to his detriment. Last thing they needed was an irate Lady Penelope.  

Pulling her mind back from her ruminations, she stowed the thoughts aware for later. One of her other tasks on the island was to aid with the physical condition or its inhabitants. Sorting out appropriate activities that were low impact enough for an injury during an operatives recovery was part of that.   It was something she was going to have to work with Gordon.  The Fish knew his body and what he could tolerate better then anyone through so she’d have to take her cues from him.   

Taking a breath, she let the other island sounds envelop her as her tired frame got reacquainted with the peace of paradise. The  chirping rhythm of the islands’ resident cicadas and the distant crash of the storm surge having an instant lolling effect better than any form of mediation she’d ever tried.  

After a moment Kayo registered the faint, tinny sound of music and she turned her head to zero in on its origins.  Her brows dipping down as on quiet, leather soled feet she crept across the wood flooring.

Approaching the lowered circular arrangement of seats, her lips quirked as a solitary, sprawled figure came into view. One thick leg clad in soft, dove grey sweats hung off an arm rest,  his socked foot dangling on the too short couch. His familiar plaid flannel riding up his solid torso, a hint of dark hair peeking out and disappearing into the low slung waist band. Watching his  broad, muscular chest rising evenly in sleep brought a soft smile to Kayo’s lips 

Stepping into the recessed lounge, she popped the hidden closures of her nomex (1) flight jacket and pulled the fitted material from her shoulders. Shivering slightly as the night air met the skin left exposed by the singlet underneath. Jacket tossed on the circular table, she knelt on the strip of flooring adjacent to her other half.  Virgil was well known for sleeping like the dead when he was tired, and now was no exception.  He worked too hard and his thickly, muscled body was proof of that.  

She frowned as she took in the dark, smudges below his eyes, the result of the call out the day prior no doubt.  Virgil’s exhaustion was evident in his haphazard, supine posture. The little she had garnered from John on her return flight to the island inferred it had not been an easy rescue and by the looks of things, it hadn’t.  

Reluctantly reaching out, Kayo plucked out a small, silver earbud,  the tinny sound becoming slightly more audible with its release.  He couldn’t stay here, the regret for the decision would be bear like in the morning when the early risers in the house invaded the quiet space and Kayo had grown rather fond of her adopted family.   

“Virgil…”  She called softly, leaning in to brush her lips across his stubbled jaw line.  “Babe, you can’t spend the night here.”  Fingers ghosted across his brow, her own furrowed at the light sheen of perspiration that greeted her fingers.  It wasn’t that warm in the villa. 

Her bear was a difficult one to rouse, but experience taught her the soft approach was the best course with him.  Less chance of growling that way. 

Rubbing a hand in a careful circle over the thick pads of his pecs, her encouragement to wakefulness continued  “Come on, love.” 

As the flannel of his shirt caught up slightly her focus shifted. Her deft fingers made short work of of the fastened buttons and she carefully pulled one side back shaking her head in disapproval.

“Shit, what did you do to yourself this time?” Her words slipped out on a sigh of frustration.  Virgil’s broad chest was swathed in gauze, the bruising already apparent despite the loose binding that circled his chest.  One side was heavily padded with packing and an obvious slash of red was a stark contrast to the clinical white. 

“I’m OK.”

Breath catching,  Kayo looked up at the gruff voice and was greeted by a  hooded, tourmaline gaze. Brow arching is disbelief Kayo sat back on her haunches the ‘Ya, right. Try that again’  blatant in her expression. 

Stretching, he was careful to catch his wince of discomforted behind a rough swip of his hand over his face.  Hiding behind the act of rubbing the fog of sleep away, he came to the conclusion that it was easier to capitulate to her silent demand than to continue his charade of denial. That, and he hated worrying her.  

“Bruising,  couple cracked ribs, minor laceration. A round of antibiotics chased with some NSAIDS (2) and icing.”  Shifting he sat up and settled his feet on the floor on either side of her, catching her hands in his as she moved to take a closer look at his injury. 

“I’ll be back up in the air in a couple weeks.”  He brought her fingers up and brushed her knuckles with his lips.  Her eyes narrowing at the distraction, she’d seen his wince of pain and even now as she watched his arm slipped around his torso to brace against his ribs.  

Shaking her head she resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him. He knew as well as she, more so even with his extensive medical knowledge that cracked ribs were not something that just healed overnight. 

Stealing her hand back from him, she cupped his cheek and frown at his tired expression. Her scowl softening as he turned into the contact and placed a kiss on her palm. “What happened?” 

Virgil sighed,  tucking loose strands of her hair off her face. “Water drop too close the fire break.” He didn’t supply that the 4000 gallons of water he’d been caught up in had sent him on a jolly trip down a ravine. A sharp dip in the landscape where he was promptly introduced to previously toppled, denuded Douglas fir.   The evidence of that meeting spoke for itself in his beaten body so there was no need to waste the energy vocalizing it..

“Ouch”

“Yup,  that about sums it up.”

“I bet Scott had some choice words for that.”  Kayo supplied as she leaned up and into him, her arms settling around his neck.

“There are some Forestry personnel seriously considering career changes at the moment.” Here he drew her in and kissed her forehead. “That’s once they find a why to extract the size elevens out of their posteriors.”

Kayo winced at that pleasant picture.  Scott angry could be an impressive thing to behold. Scared for his brother and royal pissed off,  that was ‘End of Days’ petrifying. As in, you better hope the world explodes and your well and truly dusted before big brother sets his chilly sights on you.

“Speaking of ...where is he?” Her peridot green scanning around.  Even at this hour, the commander of iR and acting president a TI would usually be found at his father’s desk plugging away at some random report or cost analysis what-not. 

Virgil dragged in a breath, held it a moment and let it out on a slow exhale.  Dual purpose to expand his sore rib cage fully and to gather his scattered thoughts accomplished. 

“Bed”

“No way,  at this hour?”

The mmhmm that followed that was loaded. “I convinced him, through no small amount of grief and threat of physical pain, that should he not get some rack time I would tranq’ his ass.” Kayo was impressed,  getting the great Scott Tracy to concede to something as logical as sleep was no simple task.  It was Virgil though that had requested it but still.. would have been easier to convince John out of orbit…

A sleep tousled head nodded.  “He had a raging tension headache and was sniping at everything with a pulse.”

Kayo had an ‘ah ha’ moment, “That explains why Grandma has fled the island.”  Tracy 1 had been curiously missing from the hanger and there had been no mention of the family Matriarch having any mainland plans. 

“I would have tagged along but someone had to be here to keep the island afloat.”  Leaning back against the couch with a groan he dragged her with him.  She acquiesced and settling down beside him, tucked her legs up under herself.  “That and I wanted to warn you that Scottzilla was in residence.”

She chuckled at this and leaning in caught his lips with her own by way of thanks. “Well, my report will hold until he unhulks...dehulks..?”  She blinked as she thought on this.  

Virgil chuckled softly her ear,  his scruff scratching against the sensitive skin reminding her that her lover was a little worse for wear and in dire need of a proper bed and a solid 8 hours horizontal. FAA regulation dictated that duration of sleep as a minimum between long haul flights and though they couldn’t always abide by the rules in this regard - people needing rescuing didn’t prescribe to a schedule - they did their best to at least try to.  

Unsanctioned as they were they still had keep the GDF happy. Since their Godmother knew where the island was located, Virgil was fairly certain she would ground their asses if there was any outward signs of blatant disrespect for the rules that governed the rest of the planet’s aviation stock.  So to keep their tickets they made sure to toe the line between what was regulation and what was not. 

Taking a moment to enjoy the relative silence the night brought with it, Kayo allowed her head to list to the side and settle on Virgil’s strong, solid shoulder.   Hearing the deep intake of air through his chest as he sighed, Kayo glanced up at his profile.  

“It’s been a shit 48 hours.” 

Brow dropping, Kayo turned his face towards hers.   Looking into his tired face, her thumbing brushing back and forth across his cheek.  “Tell me.” She prompted gently.  

Virgil closed tired eyes and winced. Pain apparent in his pinched lines between his dark brows. “Firefly pod had a drive sprocket failure...must of been a micro fissure in the alloy that didn’t get picked up on its recent maintenance inspection.  Slipped a tread and we missed an evac window when the wind suddenly shifted.” 

“Equipment failures aren’t unheard of even for us. It happens..”

“It’s my job, Tawny.” 

“Virgil..”

“There was a logging crew up the backside of Butlers Peak....” Virgil started and stalled out.  Forcing himself up to his feet with a grunt as his pent up emotions threatening to explode all over the room, he started to pace. Hands dragging angrily through his already disheveled hair.

A grimace passed over Kayo’s features.  It was never easy to lose a rescue but casualties happened in their line of work.  There was just no way to save them all.  This though, was different.   Losing a person due to circumstances out of their control was one thing. Losing someone due to something they could prevent was another thing entirely  

“I’m sorry,”  It was the only thing she could think of to say.  “Have you spoken to Scott about this?” 

The one shouldered shrug she got by way or response not really providing the answer she was looking for.   John had warned her just prior to landing that things were a bit tense, he just hadn’t elaborate on how much.  His over-professional manner and quick dismissal should have been enough of a hint.  John tended to mask himself behind professionalism and distance when he was stressed.

Scott and Virgil had clearly had words on the topic..a lot of good that had accomplished by the looks of things.. and she was fairly certain Johnny could have heard it from 22,000 kilometers away. Their Grandmother must have put some sort of cease fire into effect and was the likely reason she had vacated the island.  The space provided by her absence meant to allow the two brothers to sort things out without fear of her intervening if things were to escalate. 

Kayo watched him pace around the table knowing that in his current frame of mind there was no guarantee anything she said was going to help. For one, Virgil needed to be open to hearing her first. For another, he was just done - physically, mentally and emotionally.  What he really required was time and a piece of furniture better suited for sleep other than the couch   

Bringing his trek around the coffee table and the still muted holo-vid to an abrupt stop, Virgil dropped his head. He was turned away from her,  his shoulders hunched with discomfort and exhaustion.  His previous efforts to physically exorcise whatever storm was churning in his head too much for what his usually robust frame could currently handle.  

Swaying had Kayo on her feet and at his side in a blink, her lean strength steadying him.  “You need to be off your feet. Preferably sleeping.”  

“Ow..”  He said through gritted teeth.  

“You idiot,” Came Kayo’s chiding remark.  Facing him she peaked up at him through the tangle of his limp hair, his forehead coming to rest against hers. 

Drawing in a breath, Kayo picked up on clinical scent of antiseptic and the faint, acridness of wood smoke.   It spoke volumes to her that the remnants of the day still clung to him. Like the morose set of his mind needed a fetid spectre so it wouldn’t be easily forgotten.  Not like that would  happen with any haste, anytime soon.

The rock of her adopted family, felt things deeply and she knew this well.  The calm surface of his demeanor was but a thin curtain to the depth of his feelings. The emotional scars he carried ran deep and were kept private for the sake of his brothers.  A front in place that he needed to maintain so he could help keep his family on an even keel. 

As close as Virgil was to Scott, Kayo was the one person privy to everything that lay beyond it.  Providing what comfort she could when he needed it and even sometimes when he refused to accept it.  Even now as she wove her fingers through the inky black of his hair, she could feel the tension in his frame.  Pained as he was from injury, the tightness in his shoulders was not likely to depart until he fought his way tooth and nail back to his center. 

For now though, Kayo would stand guard. 

8-8-8

Gordon paused at the door to his older brothers set of rooms and knocked lightly. Surprised but really not all that shocked when the door slid open and Kayo was standing on the other side.  Hair hanging in loose waves around her shoulders,  the dark chestnut strands catching the subdued light from the hallway in halo of hickey. 

Garbed in an over-sized Denver Tech shirt that he was pretty sure belonged to his brother, he blinked and tried his best to school his emotive features. The healing aquanaut had only recently lost his walking cast and the last thing he wanted to do was set Tanusha Kyrano on irritation warpath.  

Glancing into the room at her back,  Kayo stepped out into the fall and with arms crossed leaked against the door jam, her brow raised in question.  If looks could kill Gordon was pretty sure he would be a tiny pile of sand at her feet so he resisted the smart ass comment that was brewing on his tongue. 

“Yes, Gordon?,”  she said with a bored expression, adjusting the crew neck collar of the faded, maroon shirt as it slipped to one side off her shoulder.  The BEST, worst kept secret on the island, his brother’s relationship with the security expert. Gordon had always been curious on how that had started but hadn’t wanted to intrude on the elder’s privacy.   For all of Virgil’s attention to the going-ons in his siblings’ lives, he was extremely private about his own. A thought that perhaps that was why his adoptive sister was drawn to him came floating through his mind. 

Stowing that epiphany away for later,  Gordon gave himself a shake.  “Oh.. uh, I brought this up.” Holding a cold gel pack out and a soft hand towel. “Figured he could use it. I know how much he hates to admit to discomfort and this is better than Grandma setting her sights on him… I should know.”  His stomach was still recuperating from that attention. 

Taking the offerings, a soft smile lit Kayo’s face.  “I’ll make sure he uses it”  

“I’m sure you will”  Turning to head off to his own room for the night,  he stopped. “How’s he doing?”  

Gordon was only too aware that if he asked Virgil himself, his brothers would be less than forthcoming. Virgil despised worrying the others and if anyone had the inside scoop, it was the slender woman standing in front of him.

“Tired. Sore. Exhausted.”  In more ways than one. “He’ll be alright.”  

Gordon gave a nod, he knew what that was like...they all did. 

“‘I’ll, uh...leave you to it then.”  He remarked and turned to leave.  

“Gordon?”  Her quiet voice drifted out to his retreating back and he did an about face, walking backwards down the hallway. “Take care”  Seeing her gaze drop to the knee he was favouring, he knew he was busted for his late night swimming marathon.  Before he could respond though, she ghosted back into the dark room and the door shut with a gentle click. 

TBC

Notes:

(1) Nomex - fire retardant, synthetic fabric

(2) NSAIDS - smart way of saying Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs