Christmas

Where possible, the entire family would be together. There were some traditions that had stuck since as long as they could remember: presents first thing in the morning, a massive feast at lunchtime that rendered everyone incapable of movement for the remainder of the day, Virgil at the piano. Since moving to the island, it had also become tradition for someone (usually Gordon) to sneakily lower the thermostat just enough for them to willingly don the Christmas jumpers Grandma knits them.

It was silently accepted that whilst a large portion of the world was at peace, however, there were still people putting themselves in dangerous situations, still storms and quakes and tides that paid no attention to what day it was. There were always at least two brothers who didn't drink at all (they tried to take turns, but Scott and Virgil weren't very good with allowing their brothers to fly their 'birds), and everyone else rarely had more than one or two glasses.

Some years, the day would pass without incident. Others, they would rush from their half-eaten Christmas dinner, paper hats askew, or else spend the day yawning having only returned at five in the morning from a rescue.

The first couple of Christmases after International Rescue began operations, John had been stuck on Five. The first year, he'd agreed, knowing that next year it would be Alan's turn. Grandma had prepared a second feast on New Year's day, allowing John a belated Christmas celebration once he returned to Earth.

The second year, however, Alan broke his arm on a rescue shortly before he was due to switch with John. Normally, someone else would cover the rotation, or John would extend his; but since it meant someone would be on Five for Christmas, no one would agree. Hurt by his brothers' refusal to switch, John had closed the transmission halfway through Scott explaining why he couldn't possibly go up to Five and why Gordon had no excuse, really. He only spoke to his father and grandmother that Christmas, and Gordon, Virgil and Scott had to work hard to make up for that one.

Alan was prepared to do two years in a row, even if he secretly didn't like the idea of being alone in the old tin-can on Christmas day; but John had done it, and it wasn't fair for him to miss out. Alan took extra care throughout November, trying to avoid anything that might stop him from going into space.

He hadn't counted on Tin-Tin giving him the 'flu, however.

John's face had fallen as he took in his baby brother's pale face, blue eyes slightly glassy with fever. He simply nodded, not even bothering to try to persuade Scott, Virgil or Gordon to swap.

Virgil couldn't stand seeing John so resigned. After John's transmission ended, he turned to the others.

"We can't leave John up there again."

"Are you offering to swap?" Gordon looked uneasy, torn between wanting to spend Christmas with his family and feeling sorry for John.

"It's never been the same since we started operations, and it'll still feel weird regardless of who goes up. We need a better solution."

Scott sighed. "We can't leave the station unmanned."

"But what if we could?" Scott raised an eyebrow. He tapped his watch face.

"Brains, can you come up here a minute?"

TB

John sipped at his hot chocolate, grimacing at the watery taste. It was never the same as Grandma's hot chocolate, not as rich, as creamy, as thick. It was just sweetened, brown water that did nothing but scald his tongue; and yet John drank it anyway, hoping that this time, it'd turn out the way he wished. He knew he was due to call home again, but he didn't really want to. The lounge would be festooned with tinsel and ribbons, the tree would be stood proudly in the corner behind the piano, presents stacked underneath. Virgil was supposed to come up at some point with John's- John himself had had to ask Tin-Tin to sort and wrap all his (Tin-Tin's had been snuck away by Virgil for wrapping). Virgil hadn't yet said when, but John guessed it'd be soon; Christmas was only a few days away.

As if reading his thoughts, the proximity sensor began to beep just seconds before the radio crackled into life.

"Thunderbird Three to Thunderbird Five, come in."

"Thunderbird Five receiving you. Didn't realise you were coming over today, Virgil."

"Well, there's been a slight change in plans."

"Gordon? What are you doing on Three?"

"Oh, you'll see." A few minutes later, Three docked.

John opened the airlock to reveal three of his four brothers, a large box carried between them.

"What's this?"

"Your Christmas present." Without another word, Scott, Gordon and Virgil pushed past, heading straight to the console. John was just about to close the airlock when Brains shuffled past, a tablet inches from his nose.

"Brains?" The oblivious scientist continued past. John shut the airlock and strode across the control room, where his brothers appeared to be dismantling his 'bird.

"What are you doing?"

"Just wait and see," Gordon smirked, reaching underneath the desk and pulling at a bunch of wires. John resisted kicking the aquanaut's shin.

"Gordon, stop pulling my 'bird apart!"

"Relax," said Scott, resting a hand on John's shoulder. "Why don't you go make us some coffee, we'll be here a while. And then go pack."

"Pack?" Despite himself, John felt a glimmer of hope.

"Pack," Scott affirmed, dimples deepening as he grinned. "You're coming home for Christmas, Johnny."

"We're installing a, ah, automated m-monitoring system. I-i-i-it will allow you to c-c-conduct your work from the g-ground."

"It's not a replacement for having someone up here," Virgil warned, unscrewing an access panel, "but it's good enough as a temporary solution, enough for you to come home for a bit."

John couldn't speak. He just turned and embraced Scott in a rare hug.

I hope everyone had a wonderful day (even if Christmas isn't your thing). This is actually the most recent of the Cs, but I felt a more Christmassy one-shot was in order.

This is a lot longer than most of the other snippets, and it was definitely a bit tricky to write. Originally, Gordon was going to assist in a birth during a rescue, but if that's not a cliché I don't know what is =P (I'm sure that story'll make it in somewhere else ;) ). For me, Christmas is about family- I spend the whole day with them, a rarer occurrence now I don't live at home, I visit extended family in the morning to dish out presents. I hate the idea of John missing out; he wasn't included in the Christmas episode of the original series because Anderson hated him, but I felt like there needed to be some way of letting John spend Christmas with his whole family in person, rather than over a monitor.