TAG universe. Also, I can't say I remember exactly where the GDF base was that the Mechanic was after, so I kinda just made it in general west Europe, since Tracy Island is somewhere in the Pacific. Just coz.

Not completely pleased with the ending, but it is what it is. Probably will come back and edit it.

Who's older, John or Virgil? Who knows? This story really doesn't care.

Dedicated to Preludeinz and Darkflames_Pyre, who've been having bad days. To both of you: you're as strong as a Tracy brother; you'll get through all your struggles, including this one! Sending supportive fist-bumps your way.

"Where is he heading, John?" Scott asked, giving his brother's hologram a quick glance before adjusting his course.

"Just head home, Scott," John replied tiredly, and Virgil made a note to bring him down after this whole fiasco was over. It'd been a while and they'd been having more missions than usual. John was due some downtime. "I'm keeping track of the TV-21. If he stops, I'll tell you."

"I want to know where he's headed, Thunderbird Five." Scott's voice turned deeper and Virgil marveled at the Dad-ness in it. A glance at John showed the ginger was less focused on that, and Virgil closed his eyes at the potential fight.

"You've been ordered back to base, One," John's voice carried the same even tone it always had, but Virgil could hear the ice underneath. "If there's a development in the Mechanic's position, Tracy Island will be notified."

"John -"

"Scott," Virgil interrupted, glad that neither of their younger brothers were with them. "Lay off on John. You know he'll tell us of any changes. And John, please. Where's he headed to?" Another minute and a mini staring contest between their holographic figures later, and John sighed, turning and playing with his screens.

"His trajectory is mapped towards western Europe, but we have no way of knowing where until he stops."

Virgil nodded. "FAB, John. Scott, ETA?"

"13 minutes." A pause and then he continued, "I could make it to Europe in just over an hour." Virgil sighed when he heard the steel still prevalent in Scott's voice. This time, Virgil risked a glance at John and saw concern overriding his previous prim face.

Sure enough, John's voice was softer when he said, "Scott, it's better that you get home first. Thunderbird One is in no condition to chase after him. You can pick up Virgil as back-up, too, once we get an idea of where the Mechanic's going."

Scott didn't look at either of them, focusing on his controls. But both John and Virgil were patient, long used to out-waiting their eldest brother. It didn't take long for Scott to reply, though both brothers were taking aback from the quietness in his voice. "I don't like him having TV-21."

"Neither do we, but we have to be smart about this," Virgil replied. "Dad wouldn't want any of us hurt over it."

"He bailed, remember," John added. Scott instantly turned a glare towards him, and John held his hands out in front of him and amended, "I mean when the Hood attacked the TV-21. It was the smartest option. You know that."

"He didn't want to."

"But he knew what he had to do," John insisted.

Scott shook his head. "He was heartbroken, John. TV-21 was his pride."

"His pride maybe, but not his joy. He wouldn't want you killing yourself trying to get it."

"If I remember right, you nearly killed yourself and Alan saving Five and EOS!" As soon as the words were out, John reeled back a bit and Virgil flinched. John hadn't known Alan was in danger until after the fact, and Virgil was privy to the knowledge that nightmares had haunted him for weeks after. Scott, knowing his words had done more damage than he intended to, frowned apologetically. "John…"

But even the ever level-headed John could be relentless and cruel when targeted. "Getting TV-21 isn't going to bring Dad back."

Silence reigned after the red-head's words, and Virgil bit his lip, unnoticed by either of his brothers. Scott was staring straight ahead, seemingly focused on his flying, while John had his eyes drilling into his older brother's face. Virgil wondered if he should interrupt, but waited instead. He knew of the conversations Scott and John shared over their father's death, and of the pressure Scott was sure laid directly on his shoulders. He couldn't fault him for imagining this would fix everything. But John was - as always - right. TV-21 wasn't Dad, and Scott needed to see that.

But maybe just then wasn't the proper time to fix that. Virgil had no doubt that Grandma had plans of her own. Maybe they all needed something to relax them.

"Remember when he first finished the plane?" he ventured, breaking the silence. Both John and Scott blinked at him, seemingly forgotten he was there. "He was jumpier than Gordon at the beach."

John sent him a small smile and picked up on the thread. "It was strange seeing Uncle Lee act like the responsible one in the duo."

"It was nearly midnight and he wanted to take it out for a test flight."

"Mom locked him out of the hanger."

"She wouldn't let him drive home either - remember, she thought he was too hyped."

"First time Uncle Lee got to touch the truck."

"He woke us all up," Scott interjected, a smile breaking across his face too. Instantly, both John and Virgil went quiet, faces eager as they turned to the oldest. "Well kind of. Gordon and Alan slept through it all - they spent all day at the beach and were absolutely exhausted. John was up on the roof, coz you claimed it was the only night Saturn was in direct opposition and you just had to see it. You only came down when you saw Dad's truck in the driveway and didn't want to get caught. But you managed to trip and fall onto Virgil's bed and his squawks woke me up across the hall. Dad didn't even notice, but Mom sure did. Man, was she mad. But we all got swept up in Dad's excitement and we didn't even get grounded. Mom managed to get us all back to bed with promises to fly with Dad."

"Is that how it happened?" Virgil asked. "I barely remember it."

"You two were what, like seven and eight? Dude, you two and Gordon were right terrors the next day. We went to the hanger and you three were playing hide-n-seek. I think it was one of the first times you were all allowed in there and you instantly took to your shenanigans. Grandpa, Dad, and Uncle Lee just barely managed to round all three of you up so we could launch."

"Now that, I remember," John grinned. "I won," he added to Virgil.

"No you didn't! Grandpa found you in the dumbest spot."

"But you and Gordon didn't find me, now did you?"

"It was fifteen years ago!"

"Doesn't matter." Virgil gaped at his brother, but John just smirked back. Scott started laughing, and Virgil turned to question him.

He pointed at John. "You had the same argument then too. You guys really don't change."

Virgil dug through his mind to change the subject. "The test flight was amazing though." Instantly, the grins on their faces turned to softer smiles.

"It really was," Scott agreed. "Best flight I ever had."

"Better than One's test flight?" Virgil teased.

"Whoa, let's not go that far," Scott shot back, petting his console. John rolled his eyes, but didn't respond to Virgil's pointed glance. They all loved their 'birds too much.

Scott was relaxed in his seat now, previous anger and stress all but disappeared from his posture. Though he knew it'd all be back once they got news on the Mechanic's location, Virgil counted it as a win, and from John's face, he did too. Once Scott arrived, they'd all get back to work. One needed to get fixed up, Four needed to practically be rebuilt. Alan was sure to have thousands of questions and John needed to check in with GDF. They'd get Kayo and Lady Penelope's status and be back to scanning the frequency for rescues. The Mechanic wouldn't get away again, and they were going to bring TV-21 home.

They'd get through it all, Virgil knew. Their father's legacy would be protected. And that was both his family, and International Rescue.

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