Chapter Ten

Scott cut the motors and let the speedboat glide the last few yards, drifting to a gentle halt against the dock. He sighed wearily and rolled his shoulders – the tension of the past few days had left him sore and achy. Punching out a few pirates probably hadn't helped, although it had felt fantastic at the time.

The remainder of the island's residents were all waiting on the dock, their faces alight with eager anticipation, all of their eyes going straight to the figure bundled up in blankets on the speedboat's bench seat. Scott wasn't surprised to see John among them; he must have had Brains and Tintin go up in Three to get him.

John was in the boat before it had stopped moving, slipping onto the seat beside Gordon and carefully pulling the edge of the blanket back. He looked down at Gordon for a moment, his face softening, before glancing back up at Scott and Virgil. "How is he?" he asked quietly.

Virgil shrugged, slinging on his backpack full of medical supplies with slow, tired motions. "I think he's more or less okay. I haven't really had a chance to look him over yet, though."

"Should I wake him up?" John asked.

A mumbled voice answered John's question before Virgil could. "I'm up."

John bent over Gordon, grinning. "Hey, kiddo! Nice to see you! How are you feeling?"

"I'm good," Gordon replied, although it was clearly an automatic response, as he flinched while pushing himself up into a sitting position. He looked pale and drawn, but he smiled around at his family and friends. "Welcome home," he told John.

John laughed. "Uh, thanks. Same to you!"

Virgil stepped to Gordon's side; together, he and John gently eased Gordon to his feet.

Gordon rolled his eyes. "Guys, I'm not an invalid," he complained halfheartedly.

They ignored his protests, helping him up onto the dock.

Scott stayed behind to help Alan secure the boat and gather up the supplies they'd brought along, but he watched the reunion out of the corner of his eye.

Grandma met Gordon with a warm embrace, holding him tight for a long moment, tears sparkling in her eyes. "Welcome home, sweetie," she murmured.

"Thanks, Grandma," Gordon replied. He winked at her. "Hey, so I told those pirates about the way you cook, and they were thinking about switching the ransom to a home-cooked meal instead of the five million in cash."

She laughed at the compliment and took the thinly-veiled hint. Smiling, she gestured up toward the house. "Well, come on up, and I'll have breakfast ready in just a few minutes!"

"Lead the way!" Gordon sang out, looping his arm through Grandma's.

Scott frowned as he noticed that Gordon was only using his left arm; the right hung limp at his side most of the time.

"But – but – the infirmary," Virgil sputtered. "I need to look him over!"

"After breakfast," Grandma told him firmly. "I'm sure you're all hungry, and you'll be able to think better after you've eaten."

Scott was inclined to agree with Virgil – he didn't think he could really relax until he knew for certain that Gordon was okay – but it was an unspoken Tracy rule to never argue with Grandma. And besides, she was right – after the long, active night, he was ravenously hungry, and he was sure everyone else must be as well.

Ten minutes later, Scott let out a sigh of pure happiness as he took a bite of fluffy pancakes dripping with butter and maple syrup. Grandma had whipped up all of Gordon's favorite breakfast foods – and most of them just so happened to be Scott's favorites too.

Gordon praised Grandma's cooking profusely, his face blissful as he ate. He only finished half his food, though, before he began to visibly droop, clearly struggling to keep his eyes open. He dropped out of the conversation, sagging back in his chair.

Scott caught Virgil's eye, and they both nodded at the same time.

Virgil set his napkin aside and stood up. "C'mon, Gords," he said. "Let me check you out really quick, and then you can get to bed."

Gordon groaned and grumbled, but obeyed, slowly pushing himself to his feet. "Thanks for breakfast, Grandma," he said, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before trailing after Virgil.

Scott gave the food on his plate one quick, regretful glance before excusing himself as well, hurrying after his brothers. John and Alan caught up with him at the infirmary door.

Virgil was standing in front of the exam table, blocking their view. As they stepped up to the doorway, he turned to look at them, and the mix of sorrow and rage in his eyes sent a jolt through Scott. Virgil moved out of the way so they could see Gordon, and Scott felt rage cloud his own vision as he took in his younger brother's injuries.

Gordon's bare torso was covered with bruises, including a particularly dark one on his left side that was just beginning to fade into shades of yellow and green. It had a distinct shape, like the toe of a boot.

Gordon was sunburned, and raw red marks encircled his wrists, evidently from ropes. He had finger-shaped bruises on his arms, as well as on his throat from the pirate captain's last-ditch attempt to kill him.

What really made Scott's blood boil, though, was the six-inch-long gash running down Gordon's upper arm. The skin around it was darkly bruised, suggesting that Gordon had been struck with considerable force. There were long lines of dried blood that had trickled down his arm.

"Gordon," Alan breathed. "How did that happen?"

Gordon glanced down at the gash. "This?" He winced as Virgil began cleaning the wound out. "This is what happens when you get clobbered by an oar." He looked around at all of their faces. "C'mon, don't be like that, guys," he said in a low voice. "You've seen way worse than this!"

John shook his head. "Sure, you've had worse injuries, but never at the hands of people who intended you harm. That makes this very different." He crossed his arms over his chest.

Gordon sighed. "Okay, you have a point, I guess. But you guys got your revenge, and the pirates are going to jail. Can we just call this a happy ending and move on?"

John looked disgruntled. "But I didn't get to punch anyone," he complained, glancing at his brothers' raw knuckles.

Gordon laughed. "Well, Scotty can help you with the punching bag later," he said. "Maybe Virgil will even paint you a picture of a pirate to stick on it!"

The conversation went on in a similar fashion, and Scott leaned against the doorframe, watching with a smile as Gordon's indomitable sense of humor quickly got his brothers laughing and relaxed the tense set of their shoulders.

Life on the island had been far too quiet without their resident prankster around, he reflected. Gordon's role on the team went far beyond his ability to operate equipment at a rescue – he was the one who made sure they retained their sense of humor and kept things in perspective. He brought joy, energy and a sometimes overwhelming sense of life to the team. Scott shuddered to think what would have happened to their family – and International Rescue – if they had not succeeded in bringing Gordon home.

There he was, though – dirty, tired, and a little battered, but smiling, that mischievous spark in his eye undimmed by the ordeal he'd been through.

Scott shook his head fondly as Gordon lost his train of thought mid-sentence and ended up yawning hugely.

Virgil finished wrapping a bandage around the wound and nodded to Scott.

Scott stepped forward. "All right, Squirt, let's get you to bed."

Gordon simply nodded and slid off the table, eyelids drooping.

Scott decided that Gordon would be more comfortable in his own bed rather than in the infirmary, so he led the way up to the bedrooms, Gordon trailing sleepily after him.

Gordon flopped into his bed and was asleep before Scott had finished tucking the blankets in around him.

Scott looked down at Gordon's peaceful face, and found that, as tired as he was, he didn't really want to leave. He stood by Gordon's bed, fingers gently smoothing down Gordon's hair, heart overflowing with gratitude as he watched the steady rise and fall of his little brother's chest.

Virgil came in after a few minutes and quietly pulled him away, his warm brown eyes amused but understanding.

The house was very quiet for the rest of the day as tired island residents caught up on lost sleep. It was a different kind of quiet than the breath-holding tension of the previous few days, though – it was peaceful.

Epilogue

"Ouch, I stubbed my toe!"

"Gordon, are the blindfolds really necessary?"

"Where are you taking us?"

"This had better be worth getting up early for."

Gordon grinned. "Just a little bit further, guys. You'll see!" He noticed Alan's hand creeping up toward the blindfold on his face and slapped it back down, ignoring his brother's yelp of protest. "No peeking, Al!"

Gordon strode easily along a narrow jungle trail, while his brothers shuffled warily behind him, keeping up a constant grumbling murmur. Even John was present, Gordon having asked him to come down from Five for the day.

After a couple more minutes, they broke out into a clearing, and Gordon came to a halt. He remembered belatedly to tell his brothers to stop too, after Scott ran into his back. "Okay, guys, stop – stop! We're here! You can take the blindfolds off now."

His brothers quickly obeyed, blinking in the sunlight. They stared around, looking confused.

"Look up," Gordon told them.

As one, their heads tilted back, and the expressions on their faces changed to awe. Wary awe, but awe nonetheless.

"Uh, Gords…" Scott began.

"What is it?" Virgil finished.

Comprehension flashed across Alan's face, and he laughed. "It's a ropes course," he exclaimed. "I've done this kind of thing before – you wear a safety harness and you have to climb around and go through all kinds of obstacles."

"You built all this?" Virgil demanded, studying the intricate arrangement of ropes, nets, ladders and wooden platforms.

"Yeah," Gordon said. "I got the idea on the Sea Bird – it's good exercise."

It had been two months since Gordon's kidnapping. Once his shoulder had mostly healed, he had taken to disappearing into the jungle for hours at a time, acting very mysterious. Alan had tried to follow him a few times, but Gordon had always managed to lose him in the dense foliage.

"Who wants to go first?" Gordon asked, rubbing his hands together in glee. "Or do you want me to demonstrate so you guys know you don't have to be scared?"

That challenge got all four of his brothers up in the treetops at once, and they ended up spending all day conquering Gordon's rope course together – including dealing with a few traps he'd set for them. Gordon had even packed a picnic lunch for them; they sat on one of the bigger platforms to eat.

Later, watching his brothers swing from platform to platform, climb rope ladders and navigate nets – all while laughing like little kids – Gordon had a satisfied smile on his face. If the pirates of the Sea Bird had had their way, he knew his family wouldn't be laughing right now. But the pirates hadn't counted on what happens when you mess with a Tracy.

"You coming, Gordon?" Alan called down to him from a platform fifteen feet higher.

Gordon began pulling himself hand over hand up the rope and heaved himself up onto the platform. Two narrow bridges stretched across a wide gap to the next platform. Gordon clipped his safety line in place and glanced over to make sure Alan's was attached too. "Right. Ready?"

In response, Alan grinned and began a countdown. "Three…two…one….go!"

Far below, Jeff smiled as he watched his youngest two sons race across the bridges. Gordon had shown him the ropes course while it was still in progress, and Jeff had been impressed. It was fun to see his sons getting good use out of it, especially considering the many hours of work Gordon had put into it.

He shook his head as he watched Gordon swing fearlessly across a horizontal line, fifty feet over the jungle floor. He'd kept an eye on his redheaded son over the eight weeks since the kidnapping, watching for signs that Gordon was troubled by the incident. He hadn't been too surprised when Gordon had simply moved on with life – he was just that sort of person. He took things a day at a time and did his best to enjoy every good moment and put bad moments in the past.

As for the rest of the family, they had mostly put the incident behind them as well, although Jeff knew that Scott still checked on Gordon regularly during the night, and Virgil could occasionally be seen staring broodingly at the scar on Gordon's shoulder. John called to chat more than usual, and Alan had accompanied Gordon every time he went fishing.

Jeff headed back to the house, a thought crossing his mind – as long as he was thinking about moving on, he really needed to make a trip to the mainland to return the suitcase full of ransom money so he could have more space under his desk!

Thanks to everyone for the great reviews along the way! I really appreciate your support, and I'm glad you enjoyed the story!