Epilogue

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The jet was small, sleek and black. Her smooth curves made her look as if she were soaring just standing on the ground, and the thought of the technology hidden inside made his hands itch. It was love at first sight.

"She's beautiful!" Scott whispered, standing in the part-open door of the hangar. He came forward, reaching up to touch the leading edge of her wing and stopping with his hand hovering above it. "I love it, Virge!" He grinned, glancing towards the back of the hangar. "I want one!"

Chestnut brown eyes crinkled in amusement. Virgil was sitting on a bench, level with the rear of the 'plane, arms around his knees and head resting on them as he watched his brother.

"Don't say that near Dad. He'll get you one. Maybe one day, anyway. When he's rich. He'll find someone to make the fastest 'plane ever, and give it to you as a present."

Scott couldn't help pulling a face. He grimaced as he circled the 'plane and dropped onto the bench beside the younger boy.

"Don't. It's getting kind of embarrassing."

Their father had started buying his sons gifts even before they'd left the hospital, showering them with everything they might want or need. Scott was pretty sure it had started as an effort to shake all five boys out of their somewhat shocked reaction to what had happened. By the time Jeff himself went back to work it seemed to have evolved into an unconscious effort to explain to them that his sons were still more important to him than the money. Now, a month after Scott and Gordon rejoined their family, it was starting to look a lot like a compulsion.

Virgil laughed softly. "Johnny reckons that Mom will make him stop after all this." He waved a hand, taking in the NASA headquarters surrounding them, the sounds drifting from the marquee that had been set up next to the airstrip, and the reason for it all. "Gordon and Alan have decided to just make the most of it while it lasts."

Scott nodded, leaning back against the wall and tilting his head back to enjoy the sight of the lovely little aircraft.

"You realise people will be looking for you?" Virgil asked after a few moments.

"Looking for both of us," Scott corrected. He shrugged, rolling his shoulders to work out the kinks after the long ceremony. They seemed to have spent most of the day either sitting rigidly on uncomfortable chairs, or on their best behaviour as they were introduced to very important people. "I don't think it will take Mr Vaughan three days to find us this time."

Scott had intended the comment to be light-hearted. The look Virgil gave him told him it was still far too recent a memory to be joking about. Scott sighed.

"They could always ask John. He told me where you'd gone." He shot a sideways glance at his closest brother and frowned a little. "How did Johnny get the codes for this place, anyway?"

Now Virgil did smile. "Some fiendishly complicated plan using Gordon as a distraction for Mr Vaughan, and Allie to get Mom out of the room, as far as I can tell. While we were waiting with Dad for Inspector Travis and Doctor Mina to arrive, and everyone else was in Mr Vaughan's office." Scott shot his brother a mildly reproving look and Virgil held up a hand in protest. "Hey, I just told John I wanted to show you Mr Vaughan's jet. He was the one who said to leave it to him."

Scott laughed, giving Virgil a sidelong glance. "And that didn't make you suspicious?"

Virgil grinned back at him, changing the subject.

"Is Uncle Jim still apologising to Dad?" he asked curiously.

Now it was Scott's turn to feel uncomfortable with the memories. He shifted on the bench, turning to face his brother.

"Dad told him that if he didn't shut up, he'd hit him, and then invited him around for dinner."

Virgil laughed. "It's sort of nice to see things getting back to normal."

Scott nodded, closing his eyes for a few moments.

"Gordy's still talking a lot," he said quietly. "Mom says he needs to think things through, and get what happened out of his system. She says it's a good thing."

He could kind of see what she meant. Scott guessed it was better for Gordon to talk about anything and everything on his mind than to bottle it all up. That didn't make it any easier for the thirteen-year-old to listen to their ordeal described over and over again through his little brother's eyes. He'd barely spoken about it himself, going through it once for the police report and then flatly refusing to say anything more. Why should he, when Gordon was more than happy to tell everyone whatever they wanted to know? He opened his eyes to find Virgil looking at him, a little concerned.

"He's been quieter lately," the younger boy offered. He frowned. "And I think he's worked out that everyone gets worried when he babbles like that. He's starting to do it deliberately."

Scott sat up, startled. "You're kidding?"

"Uh-uh," Virgil shook his head. "I heard him explaining to Allie yesterday. He said that if everyone expected him to talk a lot, he could say anything he wanted and no one would tell him off. Alan didn't really get it."

"Thank goodness – I don't think I could deal with two of them! Wait 'till I get my hands on… Oh!" Scott laughed, realisation striking. Virgil gave him an enquiring look. Scott grinned back. "You'd already sneaked off. You didn't hear what Gordy said about his medal."

"I never sneak!" Virgil protested. He frowned, curious as to what had amused his brother. "So what did Gordon say?"

"He'd given it to Allie to play with. He said that it was very nice and kind of shiny, and that saving the world was good and all that, but that he'd kind of done it by accident, and next time he got a medal he wanted it to be for something he was actually good at, like swimming or something, because that would be more fun."

Virgil stared at him, wide-eyed. "He said that?"

"Very loudly. To the World President."

Virgil stared for a couple of seconds longer before dissolving into the giggles that Scott had heard from him far too seldom of late. He chuckled himself, leaning back against the wall and closing his eyes again.

"Yup, definitely nice to see things getting back to normal."

Virgil's laughter subsided. "You're not quite there yet, are you, Scott?"

Scott let the question fall into silence, knowing that Virgil didn't need his answer. He kept his eyes closed, fighting off the lingering memories with his brother's wordless support. It was a minute or two before he felt a tug on his shirt. The ribbons from his medal had been trailing from his breast pocket. Now Virgil pulled it free, turning the silver disk over in his hand and rubbing a finger across the carved surface.

"It is kind of shiny."

"You've got mine, now show me yours." Scott made the instruction soft. Virgil wouldn't meet his eyes, hands dipping into the pocket of his slacks to bring out a slightly less ornate medal on a bright red ribbon. He dropped it into Scott's outstretched palm without comment.

It had been a long ceremony. It had started with commendations for Inspector Travis from the President of Dominga and for Mr Vaughan from the President of the United States. Uncle Jim, Commander of the World Weather Control System, had got his award from the World President himself, congratulated for his quick thinking and actions. Scott would have rather it had stopped there, and knew that Virgil felt the same. The younger boy hadn't wanted to go on stage to accept his bravery award, not even when the World President read out a citation saying that saving the world had to start with valuing every human life, and that Virgil's courage in saving his father demonstrated that. Flushed red and uncomfortable, Scott's younger brother been grateful to sit down again, and Scott hadn't had a chance to speak to him before he and Gordon were bundled up to the stage for their own presentation – rewarded not only for saving the lives of the Weather Station crew, but also potentially millions of others.

"I don't want it. Not really. But Dad said…" Virgil was looking down at his hands, turning Scott's medal over and over. "Dad said that even if something goes wrong, whatever happens afterwards, and even if you were scared or angry or whatever when you did it, it doesn't stop something being brave."

Scott looked down at the disk cradled in his own hand. The miniature carving in its middle was of a boat foundering in towering waves. There were two figures in the water, bobbing heads no more than pinhead-sized. It was beautiful, and perhaps one day Virgil would be able to treasure it. For now, though, it felt as catastrophically insensitive as the intricately carved picture of San Fernando on his own medal. They didn't need the reminders.

"We didn't do it because we thought there'd be medals at the end of it. We didn't think we were being brave, or do it to feel good about ourselves later. We just kept going, because it was what needed to be done, and because if we didn't, that would be giving up."

"We couldn't do that." Virgil met Scott's eyes, the two of them understanding one another perfectly. "We had too much to lose."

Scott nodded.

"I'm proud of you, Virge," he said seriously.

The younger boy grinned. "And if anyone was going to get shipwrecked and end up saving the world, it was going to be my big brother," he said, shuffling down the bench so he could get an arm around Scott's shoulders and pull him into a hug. "You're amazing sometimes, Scotty."

Scott pouted. "Only sometimes?" he protested, lips twitching into a smile.

He slipped Virgil's medal into his own pocket for safe-keeping, knowing without looking that his brother was mirroring his action.

"So, do you think Mom and Dad have missed us yet?" he asked idly, enjoying the quiet of the cool hangar interior.

"Scott! Virgil!"

Virgil cocked his head to one side, hearing the near-panic in their father's rapidly-approaching call.

"I guess so." He raised an eyebrow at his older brother. "Ready to face the world again?"

Scott Tracy climbed to his feet. He raised his head, shaking his dark hair back from intense blue eyes and setting his shoulders firmly. Virgil stood too, quiet but confident, and there beside his brother every step of the way.

"Let's go," Scott told him, leading Virgil out into the bright sunshine.

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The End