Disclaimer: don't own…never will, just borrowing =) and yes I know many don't like fictional sisters, but I'll have stories with just the boys too...eventually.

"ASH!" Alan screamed as his sister vanished beneath a particularly large wave. They shouldn't have been in the water anyway, as their brothers were away on a mission and the two youngest Tracys were stuck at home-again. Alan actually knew better; why had he let Ash talk him into this? He growled in frustration at himself. If she got hurt…he winced at the thought.

Frantically, he scanned the deceivingly clear blue water. No sign of his dark-haired sister. A dark dread settled in the pit of his stomach. He swam to where she had disappeared and called again. "ASH! Come on! Where are you?" he yelled. It had been minutes since she had gone. He was almost hysterical now. Just as he was about to give in and call his father and brothers to search for his missing sister, her dark head appeared.

"Ash!" Alan yelled and hurriedly swam over to his sister. "Aislinn, are you ok?"

She looked at him, startled by his concern. "I wasn't under that long, Al. What's got you freaked?"

He looked at her incredibility written across his features. "You were under almost three minutes! I didn't know what happened to you and-sheesh Ash don't do that me!"

Ash sighed. "Sorry Al, didn't know you'd freak. I guess I didn't realize how long I was under. We should probably be getting out anyway 'cause rest of them will be back soon."

Alan nodded, still visibly shaken by his sister's sudden disappearance. Together, the siblings walked out of the water and hurried back to the villa to shower away the sea salt.

...

That had been just over a year ago. It had been during Christmas break, before the Hood's attack and Alan, Tin-Tin, and Fermat's induction into the ranks of IR. Ash had been at school that week, working on advanced geometry and science classes and practicing with her lacrosse and soccer teams. She had been sick for a week before and had lots of work to make up.

Now she sighed as her brothers again jetted off to go rescue the survivors of an earthquake in Indonesia. She watched until they disappeared over the horizon then walked to a cove. She pulled out a plastic-wrapped bundle and unwrapped the object. A scarred surfboard peeked out of its coverings. Ash made quick work of the wrap and tossed herself to the waves.

...

"OK, boys, there's still the threat of aftershocks, so watch it." Jeff's voice came over the comm system. "The major damage was done outside of the cities and one large village was hit pretty bad, but other than that local rescue can handle it."

"FAB, dad" the voices of his five sons reached him. They surveyed the damage as they came in for a landing. There were a few collapsed buildings, but other than that, there didn't seem to be too much rubble.

"No fires, no floods, no screaming people. Shouldn't be too hard" Gordon commented.

"Don't jinx it!" said Alan in mock horror.

"Boys" Jeff said warningly. "Let's just get this done and over with."

Alan and Scott took over the job of going into building and digging through rubble for those too injured to move. Virgil treated the slightly wounded and Gordon and Jeff transported the ones with major wounds to a hospital that had made itself available for the job.

In all, it was uneventful mission. The situation was handled in a matter of mere hours."Let's go home" Jeff said as the family got into their respective 'birds.

...

Ash glanced at the sky. Just a few minutes it had been an idyllic blue. She frowned. It was now a threatening grey. The waves had grown in size, and she could feel a faint rip forming. Her feet dangled off both sides of the board as she contemplated her position. Probably just enough time for one more wave, she mused.

Aislinn surveyed the waves now rolling toward her. She chose a nice-looking 6 footer and pushed her board along with it. It picked up the board easily and Ash stood as the beach neared. Suddenly, she felt a slight tug at the bottom of her board. The wave suddenly gained height and crashed over her. Her body was slammed to the sandy ground and tossed in the roiling current.

The wave receded and she lifted her head from the sand, just to be blinsided by another wave. "Ouch" she muttered, carefully brushing sand from her tender skin. She rewrapped her board and stowed it away under a log. Sore, she started walking home as the wind picked up and the first fat raindrops slammed into the earth. She was still quite a ways from the villa when she heard the unmistakeable rumble of the 'birds as they came in. "I'm so toast" she muttered to the wind.

...

Scott happily landed his 'bird as the downpour began in earnest. His brothers looked around contentedly. "Glad that's over" Scott said.

"If we could hurry through debriefing, I could still catch the 450cc race today" Alan said.

Jeff grinned. "I can take a hint, Alan. Let's get the debriefing over with so we can all go take a shower and relax" he said with a chuckle. "We couldn't possibly let Alan miss this race"

Gordon grinned evilly. "That would be absolutely torturous, wouldn't it?"

Alan groaned and joined his brothers as they entered the debriefing room. The debrief went quickly and Alan vanished as soon as he was allowed. The brothers were all chatting and joking about the mission as they walked to their respective rooms when Virgil suddenly stopped dead. "Where's Ash? She usually meets us as soon as we're off the 'birds, and we haven't seen her at all."

Scott stopped and turned to his brother. "She does, usually" he mused. He felt his big-brother over-protectiveness kick in. He glanced worriedly at the torrent of lashing rain drumming on the window. "She wouldn't be out in this would she? She knows better than to go out when we're gone." He said, worry creased in his features.

...

Ash wearily trudged through the sheets of rain. Lightning slashed across purple-grey clouds and the wind whipped stray debris through the air. She walked through the storm, desperate to get home and dreading the lecture she was bound to receive. Her body was sore and she could feel bruises forming on her shoulders and back. Her skin stung from the sand that had scoured it and there was a burning pain in her ankle. Yep, she was going to get it.

She could now see the faint fuzziness of lights in the distance. She sighed and would have walked faster to get out of the downpour, but her ankle hurt too much.

"Lovely" she muttered as she neared the villa and the lights lost their fuzziness and became clear. Dejectedly, she pushed the door open and was immediately set upon by three anxious brothers. "Aislinn, where have you been?"

Her dark hair was plastered to her pale face and her clothes hung, dripping, from her slim frame. Her lips had a bluish tinge and beneath the pallor, her skin was raw and torn. A myriad of tiny cuts covered her body and she looked absolutely exhausted.

"What happened?"

"Are you ok?"

"You know not to go out without one of us!"

Ash held up a hand. "Interrogation later. Shower first" she said and slowly walked toward her room.

Jeff appeared a moment later. "What's this about Ash missing?" he demanded.

Scott sighed, knowing it was up to him to inform his father. "Ash just walked through the door. She said she was going to take a shower, then answer questions."

Jeff's face was a map of anger and concern. "Have her come to my office ASAP." He said and turned to leave.

Ash sighed in relief as the hot water washed over her battered body. It stung her cold skin, but it felt good. Really, really good. She washed what little sand was left in her hair out and carefully washed her body. Soap pricked the tiny lacerations in her skin. She ignored the pain and savored the warmth.

After showering, she dressed in comfortable shorts and a t-shirt. Cautiously, she emerged from her room. She walked slowly down the hall, her movement inhibited by her ankle. She rounded a corner and ran right into Virgil. Snap. "Dad wants to see you, Ash, in his office." He told her. "And as soon as he's done with you I want you in the infirmary, got it?" he added.

She tried to protest. "Virge, really, I didn't hurt myself or anything."

He gave her a skeptical glance. "Infirmary" he said, his voice commanding.

She shrugged in submission. "Fine" she muttered and walked up to her father's office. She took a steadying breath; her father was going to kill her.