John stumbled up the steps, making it none-too-gracefully through the glass doors into the lounge. The sounds of drunken singing and laughter faded behind him as he stood in the middle of the lounge.

"Now, 'f I were Brainsssss, wherrrre would I be?" he slurred to the empty room. "A-ha!" he crowed, finger raised in the air triumphantly as though he'd just solved the secrets of the universe. "Lab!"

Weaving his way into the hall, John hit the call button and waited for the elevator to arrive, using its door to hold himself up. When it opened he fell inside, the back wall catching him. "Oops," he mumbled as he tried to punch the button that would take him to the laboratory level. He kept trying and missing. "Oh, fuggit," he complained, but finally his thumb caught the right spot on the keypad and the doors closed.

"Goddamn, I'm drunk."

Brains sighed and leaned back in his stool. In his mind he was working on two separate equations, plus calculating the amount of fuel they would need for the upcoming test of Four and several other things. But what occupied most of his consciousness were John's earlier comments about Ben.

Yes, Brains had thought of it himself. But he'd simultaneously thought he was just nuts. That it was nothing more than the desperation he'd always felt over not knowing his lineage. That he'd been with the Tracys for so long, had become such a part of their family, that recent events had forced him to finally go insane thinking he had any sort of cosmic connection to this family other than the obvious current one.

It was wishful thinking. That was all it was.

But then why...and more importantly, how...had John come up with it? He'd never said anything before. Indeed, it seemed to have come after his unauthorized trip to visit Ben in the other dimension. Had Ben revealed something to him? Had he seen something that had put the idea in his head?

Or...maybe he'd overheard what Brains had said and in his moment of not having gotten what he'd wanted from Ben...perhaps it was John who was going insane.

Brains bounced to his feet at the sudden clattering and general sounds of mayhem that came from the front room of the gigantic lab. "What the-?" He raced out there only to discover John leaning against the front metal table looking sheepishly at a large pile of pans, broken glass and various and sundry other lab instruments on the concrete floor. "What happened? Are you okay?" he asked, rushing to John's side.

"Sssorry, Brainsss," John said, leaning heavily on his friend. "I guessss I didn't sssee the table."

"You're drunk."

"Asssstute as always," John remarked as Brains helped him to a nearby stool.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be going to bed?"

"Not yet," John replied. "Not untillll I tell you about the drrream."

"The dream?" Brains sat down on the stool next to him. "Yes. The one you mentioned earlier." He cocked his head. "But are you certain you don't want a hangover pill first?"

"Nnno!" John said, shaking his head and waving his arms dramatically. "Ifff I sober up, I migh' not have the nerve."

Brains leaned back into the stool and crossed his arms. He eyed John, who seemed to be trying to gather his thoughts.

"Ookay, it'ssss short. Here't is: I dreamed that I saw Ben's face...or wasss it all of 'im? Hell, I don' remember. Anyway, I saw Ben's face an' then I saw you-you-yoursss," he hiccupped. "Sorry."

Brains waved the apology away.

"You were right nex' to each other an' then without warning, POOF!" John jumped out of his chair, throwing his hands toward the sky, making Brains jump. "You merged and became one."

Brains waited, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart. When John did nothing but sit back down...or rather, thump back down...onto the stool, he raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"An' what?"

"And? We merged and then what happened?"

"That wazzit."

"That was it? That was what you had to be drunk to tell me?" Brains got up and rolled his eyes. He moved to a cabinet against a far wall, took something out of it, then returned to John with his hand outstretched.

"What's 'is?"

"Take it," Brains said. "And that's an order."

"You're not my boss."

"For right now, I am. Take it, John."

John sighed and took the pill, popping it into his mouth and swallowing it dry. Slowly his eyes began to clear. Slowly he began to sit up straighter. And slowly he began to realize what state he'd been in and how silly the 'dream' had sounded.

"I think I'll go to bed."

"That's probably a good i-idea."

"I...Brains, do you think I'm crazy?"

"Why would I think that?"

"You do think I'm crazy." John turned back around and stood right in front of him. "Do you believe in reincarnation?"

"I suppose I do, yes."

"Well, if you think about it, it is possible. Isn't it?"

"It would depend on when I was actually born. Everyone's always assumed you and I are the same age, but if I'm older, even by a minute, then the reincarnation theory wouldn't hold water."

"You're not stammering."

Brains smiled a lopsided smile. "One shouldn't have to keep up acts around one's best friends."

John chuckled. "I knew there was something fishy about it. You never seemed to stammer in the same places!"

Brains shook his head. "It doesn't matter, really. What matters is that unless and until we know exactly when I was born, it does us no good to postulate about your twin's soul."

"But what if you are him, Brains? Even if you were born a second after he died it would be possible. Don't you want to know?"

"I just told you, we can't know unless we find out when I was born."

"But why do you need that much proof?" John asked. "You can't tell me you haven't felt it. You're the one who brought it up, after all."

"Then you did hear me in the hospital ward," Brains said, looking down at the floor.

"Yes, I did. And...well, even if you're not my Ben's soul, even if you didn't come in as Brains after you died as Ben to provide me with the brother I wasn't going to be allowed to have, you were right."

"I...I was?"

"Yes," John nodded. "Because you have been my brother in every way. Even without Tracy blood flowing in your veins."

With that, John turned and walked out of the lab. As the doors swished shut behind him, Brains allowed the ghost of a smile to creep across his face. "Wouldn't that be the shit," he whispered, "if it turned out that's why I don't have an identity?" He turned the lab lights off and exited into the hall. "Wouldn't that just be the shit."

The sun was just breaking over the horizon the next morning when Virgil taxied Tracy Two out of the hangar and onto the runway. "Virgil to Base. Request permission to take off."

"This is Base. Permission granted. Be safe, son."

"I will, Father. See you in a few."

With that, Virgil revved up the engines, sped along the tarmac and took off just before reaching the end of the runway. He soared into the sky and before an entire minute had passed, was just a dark dot against the pinks and purples of the early morning sky.

Penelope turned at the sound of the suite door hissing open. She smiled as Jeff walked through the sitting room, through his bedroom proper and out onto the balcony. He enveloped her in his arms and they kissed passionately.

"My goodness, Jeff, but you're an animal."

"You unleashed it, Penny, it's your fault."

"Well, let's just see if we can't tame that beast, then, shall we?"

Jeff laughed as she led him to the bed. "What are my sons going to say when they find out what old Dad's been up to?"

"I'll tell you what they'll say, Jeff," Penny purred as she pushed him back onto the bed. "They'll say it's about fucking time."

Jeff laughed even harder as Penelope pounced.

"Crap. If it's not one thing it's another," Scott sighed, closing the vidphone connection with much more force than was necessary.

"What's going on?" Alan asked as he ambled into the lounge.

"Oh, hey, Al. It's not huge huge, really, but there's been a snag in Rocky Ford. I guess Virg and I'll have to handle it what with all of you leaving here in a few hours."

Alan approached the desk and leaned against it. He said nothing, just looked at Scott for several long moments until at last Scott asked, "What? Do I have a booger or something?"

Alan laughed. "No. And even if you did, I wouldn't tell you."

"I know. You're a real pain-in-the-ass, you know that?"

"I'm going to miss you."

Scott smiled. "Me too. Just take care over there, will you? I brought you into this world-"

"I know, I know," Alan chuckled, holding his hands up in mock surrender, "and therefore you'd damn well better be the one who gets to take me out." He moved closer and put a hand on Scott's shoulder. "Don't work too hard, okay?"

"You know me."

"Yeah, that's why I said it." Alan stood and headed out to the middle of the lounge. He took a few moments to look at the row of portraits on the wall.

Scott came up and stood next to him. "Sometimes I wish things could go back to before Manhattan."

"A lot of people do," Alan sighed. "Well, I'd better finish packing. Tin-Tin's already telling me what I can and can't bring to the palace."

Scott laughed. "The palace. My little brother a sultan."

"Whoa, now, Nellie, don't put the cart before the horse. I'm not sultaning anything."

"Nothing except the sultana, that is."

"Hey!" Alan said, shoving into him. He looked over at Scott and smiled sadly. "Damn, bro."

"Yeah, Al," Scott nodded, looking back at the portraits. "Damn."

"Aren't you afraid of...I don't know...something being wrong with the boy?"

"Sure, I've thought about it. I used it as my argument to try and get her to have an abortion, but she absolutely refused." Ned leaned back in the cockpit chair he occupied next to Virgil and sighed loudly. "Women."

"Well, I think it's pretty magnanimous of you to even offer to help with it."

"You know me, I'm just an old softy."

"Yeah," Virgil snorted. "Old softy, that's you." Virgil eyed him for a moment before opening his mouth again. "You know, Ned, I've sometimes thought you were the biggest fool I'd ever met...at other times, the bravest. But I have to say no matter how I've felt in the past, I'm glad you're going with Dad on this."

"You are?" Ned asked, quirking a brow. "Why?"

"Because if you're there, the world will know exactly what's happening. And if things get bad, it won't get brushed under the rug."

"You're damn right, it won't," Ned nodded, closing his eyes. "And I'm not leaving Malaysia unless and until things settle down enough there as to become utterly boring."

"Then may you come back quickly, Ned," Virgil said with all the reverence of prayer. "And may you be bored to tears."

"Take care of yourself, Al," Gordon said, gripping his brother in a tight bear hug.

"I will, Gordo. I'll call. Often."

"Well, not too often. He needs his beauty sleep, you know," Virgil said, yanking Gordon away by the collar. He next enveloped Alan in a hug. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Been there, done that."

"And bought the tee shirt, no doubt," Scott added as Virgil backed away. "Come here." Scott hugged him hard, but quickly let go. He then took Alan's hand and shook it. "Promise me you won't get hitched without us there, huh?"

"I won't, Scott," Alan said, blushing. "I promise. You guys...you all take care of each other." He turned to where John stood slightly back. "And you," he said, awkwardly raising his hand.

Alan and John had never been close, per se. Well, John wasn't really close with any of his brothers, but he and Alan just hadn't ever had much in common aside from being spacegoing sons of a former astronaut. That was about the only thing they ever discussed at any length or with any depth. As such, a full-blown relationship had never really developed - compounded by the fact that they were rarely around each other for more than a few hours per month during the change in shift aboard Thunderbird Five.

Now, however, John figured if his brothers had done it, he could, too. And so he shoved past Alan's hand and gave him a quick hug. "Keep that little sister of mine safe, Al," he said gruffly.

"I will," Alan grinned as Brains approached. "I might be calling you for some gadgets."

Brains smiled and nodded as he shook Alan's hand. At last the good-byes had been said. Tears filled Tin-Tin's eyes as she turned from the steps up to the jet and waved at everyone. Ned, Jeff, Penny and Kyrano had already boarded and were ready to go. Tin-Tin disappeared into the body of Tracy Four. Gordon high-tailed it into the elevator. Scott frowned, but knew he needed to let Gordon be alone right now.

They waited until Alan had boarded the jet and closed the door securely, then Scott and Virgil pulled the steps away and into the hangar. As the two of them joined Brains and John on the tarmac, Jeff fired the jet up and taxied down the runway. It took off, landing gear disappearing into its belly.

"There they go," Scott said softly. He turned to look at Virgil, took a deep breath and forced a smile. "Let's get our asses to Kans-ess and find out what's wrong with that damn contractor."

Virgil nodded as he and Scott went back into Two's hangar.

"I guess that leaves us holding down the fort," John commented. "Hey, I was wondering, Brains..."

"Yes?"

"Did I see you talking with Kyrano earlier this morning?"

"Yes, you did."

"Well? Were you talking to him about...you know."

"As a matter of fact, I was."

"And?"

Brains smiled. "All he said was that we should never close our minds off to possibilities."

"You know, ever since he regained his memories, he's become more cryptic than he ever was before."

"I know," Brains nodded as Tracy One moved out of the hangar. Scott waved from the cockpit and before long, Brains and John were truly alone, having no idea where Gordon had disappeared to.

"It's quiet here," John commented, looking around.

"Thank God," Brains said. "Now I can actually get something done!"

John chuckled and the men made their way to the elevator as Brains used his watch to close Two's hangar door. "Let's raid the fridge first."

"You're hungry?"

"Famished."

"Good. I have a recipe I've been wanting to try out on someone."

"Brains? You cook?"

"It's not any more difficult than basic algebra, John," Brains said arrogantly.

"That depends on whether or not you have a penchant for burning things on low heat," John replied knowingly. "All right, I'm game. What's the concoction called?"

"Steak a la Brains."

"That sounds disgusting."

"It'll be good, trust me."

John frowned as they exited the elevator and headed for the kitchen. "You know, I think the last time you told me that I wound up in the hospital ward with a first degree burn on my hand."

Brains stiffened and turned to look at him in horror. Then just as quickly the look melted and he elbowed him. "That is not true!"

"But I had you."

"No, you didn't."

"Sure, I did. For at least...five seconds."

"Maybe two."

"No way, man. Four."

"Three."

"You start counting down Thunderbirds and I'm out of here, steak or no steak."

Brains and John chuckled, but John suddenly stopped up short as they entered the kitchen. Because he'd just realized...they were bantering. Bantering! Just like brothers. Maybe even just like he would've with his twin.

He liked this idea. He liked this idea a lot.

Not many words were exchanged as they began what was sure to be a life-changing journey for them all. Penelope leaned back in her seat and just listened to the sounds of the plane, but more importantly the sounds of Jeff's heart beating...something she would swear she could hear, though she couldn't fathom how.

Her thoughts traveled to Parker, who had nearly died himself and had been so heroic and instrumental in the most recent events. Parker, what would she do without him? She heard the not-so-soft snores that told her he'd fallen asleep already. Smiling to herself, she mused that the man could fall asleep even if the atom were split right next to his head. He'd follow her to the ends of the Earth and she knew it.

Though she had tried to dissuade him from making this journey, she was more than glad he'd been pig-headed enough to tell her, not in so many words, to sod off. "H'I'm goin' wi' you, Mee-lady, or y'her not going!" with the emphasis on that last 'g' that she so adored. Bless him, if he'd been anyone else she may have found it was he who held her heart rather than Jeff Tracy. But if he'd been anyone else, she wouldn't even have felt affection.

And Jeff? Ker-thump...ker-thump...ker-thump. After the animal he'd proven himself to be in the bedroom, she was quite certain...ker-thump...ker-thump...ker-thump...that even his sons would have a hard time keeping up with him. All in all, she was happy. She was with the man she loved and he finally...finally...had let her in.

Ker-thump...ker-thump...ker-ker-thump...

Her eyes opened wide and she turned to look at him. The standard headset was in place; his eyes were focused on the instrument panel. She glanced at it but saw no alarm indicators. She looked back at his face, a slight wrinkle forming between her brows. Had she heard that right?

Ker-thump...thump-thump...ker-thump...

Penny sat straight up in her seat. "Jeff."

"Mm?" he replied softly, looking her way.

"Are you feeling all right?"

"Sure I am, Penny. Why do you ask?"

Shaking her head, she mumbled, "No reason," and closed her eyes. Had to be her imagination. No one could hear another person's heartbeat without at least a stethoscope, let alone the usual medical equipment they had on hand.

But Alan wasn't so dismissive. Kyrano rested comfortably in the seat next to Parker, and when Alan turned to look at Tin-Tin, he found those large, hazel eyes looking right back at him. "You heard?" he whispered.

She nodded. Then she placed her hand on the back of Jeff's seat, which she was directly behind, and closed her eyes. Alan clasped her hand. He, too, closed his eyes, and reached for Penny. His fingers touched her arm. She turned to look inquisitively at the pair and saw Alan's outstretched fingers. Instinctively she took his right hand with her left, leaned back and closed her eyes.

"Listen to me...open your mind...hear Jeff's heart..."

Kyrano's eyes snapped open. He sat bolt upright and immediately reached his right hand forward to touch Penny's right shoulder. From his seat directly behind her, it was easy for her to reach back and grasp his hand firmly.

"My daughter, let us concentrate..."

They all heard voices, which faded away and left them with a near cacophony of thoughts, feelings, desires, words and emotions. Kyrano quickly shut Parker's messy subconscious out of the equation and silently admonished Alan for his stray thoughts. Deeper they dove into the sound...listening...

"I can hear it," came Penny's thought. "I could hear it when I was awake."

"You are in tune with him now," Kyrano advised. "Let us hear."

Penny concentrated on bringing her mind back to the present enough until once again she could hear the beating of Jeff's heart.

Ker-thump...ker-thump...ker-thump...

"It was there. It was irregular."

They listened as it chugged away, happily oblivious to be the focus of such a group of minds.

Ker-thump...ker-thump...ker-thump...

"Maybe it was only my imagination."

"No," was Kyrano's concerned thought in reply. "We must be certain."

Thump...ker-thump...thump-thump...ker-thump..."There!"

"She's right!" Alan's thought came over so forcefully it caused Tin-Tin to cringe.

Ker-ker-thump...thump-thump-ker-thump...ker-thump...thump...ker-ker-ker-thump...

Four pairs of eyes snapped open. Hands left one another.

"Dad?"

"What is it, son?"

"Mr. Tracy?"

"Tin-Tin, I told you to-"

"Jeff!" Penny cried as Jeff slumped forward against the yoke. The plane began to dive.

"Oh, God," Alan said as he leapt forward and pulled his dad from the seat. "Tin-Tin get the controls."

She slid over Jeff's body and lifted the headset from him, settling it over her ears before opening an emergency channel to Tracy Island. "Come in, John! Brains!"

Alan laid his father along the center aisle as Parker grabbed the med-kit from a nearby compartment. Ripping his father's shirt open, the youngest Tracy kept his cool, doing what he knew how to do best: save a life.

"I hate to admit it, Brains, but that steak would've put Tomás's to shame."

"I've never been to Tomás's."

"What, in Manhattan?"

"Nope."

"Hell, I'll have to take you there."

"It's a date," Brains replied, then reddened as he put the last of the dishes in the auto-washer.

John chuckled. "You watch out, I'll hold you to that." He watched as Brains finished up. "So? Now what?"

"Work."

"Work? You are no fun. Worse than dad."

Brains walked right up to him so they were face-to-face, the few inches John had on Brains being the only thing keeping them from touching noses. "Luke, I am not your father."

"Oh, dear God!" John guffawed. "You watched Alan's last Star Wars marathon!"

"The force will be with you."

John howled as the image of Brains dressed like Princess Leia on the barge came to mind. "Oh my God you don't want to know the mental images!"

"Something skimpy and feminine?"

John stopped laughing, his jaw dropping very nearly to the ground. It was Brains' turn to chortle.

"Gotcha."

"No."

"No?"

"No. That's exactly what I was thinking. How did you know that?"

"It's only logical."

"It's nothing of the sort!"

Brains hurried out into the hall and hit the elevator's call button.

"You get back here!"

"Why? So you can go one further than what we're already freaking out about and say that not only am I the reincarnation of your lost twin but we can also read each others' minds?"

John crossed his arms over his broad chest and rocked back on his heels. "You want to tell me why that is any farther-fetched than transferring essences from one body to another or crossing into other dimensions where our family exists completely apart from us?"

The doors swished open but Brains didn't board. "You have a point, I guess. But why does it matter so much that you keep harping on it?"

"Dad told Al something," John said, eyes taking on a faraway look. "He said that once you find what you've been looking for, never let go no matter how hard it is to hold on." He seemed to come back to himself, light blue eyes meeting darker ones. "You know?"

"I think I do, John," Brains replied, looking away. "But we have so much to do and we're alone here to do it."

"I know," John said, placing a hand on Brains' shoulder and guiding him into the elevator. His eyes never left him as the doors slowly swished closed. "I know."

As the familiar whir of the machinery told him the elevator was taking Brains down into the bowels of the island, another whir caught his attention; only this one was much, much louder and more insistent. It was coming from the lounge. And he knew exactly what it was.

Three long strides and he arrived in the middle of a blinding white light that forced him to shield his eyes.

"John?"

"Ben?"

By the time he could see, Ben was nothing but a crumpled heap on the floor, with smoke rising from what was left of his burned jeans and tee shirt.

"Ben!" John knelt next to his twin and jerked his hand away as the heat from Ben's body nearly burned him. He raised his wrist. "Brains! Get up here with a med-kit now!"

Before John could assess Ben's medical condition, the alarm sounded. He looked up to find Scott's portrait replaced by a frantic-looking Tin-Tin with a lot of commotion behind her.

"John! Come in!"

"Tin-Tin? What the hell?"

"It's your father! Something's happened with his heart! We have to make an emergency landing!"

"Is he okay? Shit!"

"Stable, John!" came Alan's voice over the intercom. "Kyrano's with him!"

John knew innately what that meant. "Got problems of my own, keep me informed!"

"What's going on?" Penny asked over Tin-Tin's shoulder.

"I don't know. Ben just showed up and he's hurt bad."

"Ben?" came a chorus of questioning voices.

Brains ran into the room. "What's going on?"

"Don't know, check him over."

Brains set to work while John turned to look at the portrait filled with concerned faces. "Guys, I don't have a clue. The portal opened and when I could see again, Ben was at my feet with smoke coming off him. Brains is checking him out. Father?"

"I've stabilized him with the synthetic vasodilator and Kyrano's got him in a mind-meld."

John almost thought the phrase would be funny if not for the circumstances.

"Good, Alan," Brains confirmed from his place on the floor behind John. "Send his vitals to my comm."

Brains watched the readout from the portable Life Sign Indicator he'd attached to Ben's forehead while at the same time checking Jeff's vitals as Alan fed them through. "How's it look?" John asked anxiously.

"You've got Jeff a-okay, Alan," Brains called out. "But he'll need a hospital."

"I've got us clearance to land in Los Angeles, Brains. They're going to have an ambulance waiting."

"F.A.B., Tin-Tin."

"And Ben?" Alan asked, remembering how he and Kyrano had gone to fetch the missing brother in their hour of need.

"He appears to be stable but something is making his heart skip around in a way I don't like at all. John, help me get him to the sick ward."

"All right, you keep me informed, Tin-Tin."

"I will, John."

"You likewise about Ben," Alan said. "I like that guy."

John's mouth quirked in a half-smile he didn't quite feel as he lifted Ben under his arms and Brains lifted his ankles.

"Shit, it's always something," he muttered as they made their way to the elevator. "I give up."

"What exactly is Kyrano doing?" Penny asked, feeling decidedly left out and helpless.

"Keeping Dad calm and making sure he doesn't get lonely out there."

"H'out where?"

Penny let the ghost of a smile appear on her face. "In a place only he can lead him to, I suspect, Parker." She looked at the placid face of the man she loved. "A place he'd only ever let Kyrano into."

Tin-Tin looked briefly over her shoulder at Alan. Alan looked at Penny, who turned in her seat and stared out the window. "Uh-oh," he thought.

"Uh-oh is right," he heard in reply. "She just doesn't understand."

Alan's head whipped around to stare at Tin-Tin's profile. He saw her cheekbone rise and knew she was smiling. Confident that his father would be okay under Kyrano's care, he allowed himself to smile as well. There was a lot he had to get used to. A lot.

"He's stable, John."

John breathed an audible sigh of relief. "I don't know how much more of this we can take."

"We?"

"Yeah. You, me, all of us." John looked strangely at Brains. "What's wrong? Is there something you're not telling me?"

"Well, I'm just trying to figure you out."

John snorted. "Good luck. I haven't even done that yet."

Brains turned around, leaned against Ben's bed and folded his arms across his chest.

"I'm not one of your experiments."

"You're turning into one."

John threw his hands up in the air as he crossed from the far wall to stand closer to his friend. "All right, what do you want to know?"

"Why are you acting like it's no big deal that Ben is here?"

John's mouth opened, then closed, then opened...mindful of the fact he looked like a dying fish, he clamped his jaw shut and looked away.

"Come on, John. One minute you risk everything by using the IDT to go over there, you have a complete aversion to the family. The next you're saying I'm your twin's reincarnation and then Ben comes back and you barely bat an eye."

"I will have you know I batted several eyes before Tin-Tin called and before you got up to the lounge."

"You're not batting them anymore."

"What do you want me to say?"

"You're the one so all-fired ready to take this to the next level, so how about we start with the truth?"

"Fine. The truth? The truth."

"Yes. No theories. No postulates. No verbal fruit salad. The truth."

"The truth is I kind of liked that I had started thinking of you as my long-lost twin."

"And?"

"And?"

"When Ben reappeared just now?"

John looked away.

"Oh."

He looked back. "Oh?"

"Oh, no."

"What?"

Brains seemed to sway, but steadied himself on the bed behind him, his elbow slipping to rest on Ben's hip.

"Brains!" John was at his side in an instant. He held Brains' arm and led him to a nearby chair. "What's wrong?"

"I just...I don't know, I felt dizzy."

"You okay?"

"I think so. Maybe some water. I haven't had much hydration these last few days."

Nodding, John went to the fridge in the sick ward entry. He pulled out a bottle of water. As the fridge door swung closed, there was a loud clatter from the first ward room. "Brains!" He ran back inside and stopped dead in his tracks. Brains was lying on the floor in a heap. Standing over him, hypo in hand, was Ben.

"Hello, John."

The last thing he saw were Ben's eyes looking directly into his own.