Disclaimer: I don't own the Thunderbirds, International Rescue, or the Tracys.
A/N: Isn't funny how a song can inspire a story as much as real life? A tissue warning is being issued as Sammygirl1963 said it made her cry.
I'm Already There
"Hello?"
Taking a moment just to hear her voice again, I could hear the impatience in her tone as she spoke again.
Hello? Tracy residence, may I help you?"
The sound of my sons laughing in the background carried through to my ear and I felt a pang of loneliness. "Hi, Honey, it's me," I replied, smiling as I pictured her tucking her hair behind her ear. "I finally got a free moment to call you. How are you doing?"
A sudden commotion sounded from her end and I could feel the tears stinging my eyes. "Mommy, why is you crying? Is that Daddy? I want to talk to Daddy, please?"
"You can talk to Daddy for a few minutes, okay? Then you need to sit down and eat lunch with Virgil."
"Daddy, when you coming home? Me and Virgie miss you and…and we want you to come home and play with us," Scott's little voice cracked as he gave a small cry. "We want you to read us a story before bed."
"Scotty, I'm already there. Look around you and you'll see me. I'm the whisper in the wind."
Picking up on the lyrics from a song Lucy sang to him, he asked, "Are you our imaginary friend, Daddy?"
The tears that had been stinging my eyes finally escaped and trailed down my face. "Yeah, Scotty, I'm yours and Virgil's imaginary friend."
"Okay, Daddy, I love you. Virgie wants to say something." I could hear my boys as Scotty held the phone for Virgil. "Tell Daddy you love him, Virgie."
"Daddy…me love…Daddy…want Daddy…NOW!" My baby boy's words broke my heart and my tears flowed faster than I could wipe them away. Glancing around, I noticed that I wasn't the only one with obvious tear streaks. This was the longest my unit had been away from home and it was weighing heavily on each airman's heart.
"I love you, Virgil, and I'll be home as soon as I can," I said.
"It's me, Jeff."
I could hear my sons' crying in the background. "Lucy, I called to let you know that we'll be coming home before too long. I miss you and the boys and the day I'm out of this godforsaken place won't come soon enough." Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed another pilot tapping his watch, signaling that my time was just about up. I nodded and quickly said what I needed to my wife. "I can't wait to hold you again, Honey. I've missed your touch, your laugh, and being with you."
A small cry tore from her lips. "I'm the sunshine in your hair…the shadow on the ground." Her voice soothed yet crushed my heart that much more as I could hear the tears she was fighting to hold back. And I loved her even more because I knew she was trying not to make this any harder on me. She had the boys and the comforts of home. I had only my unit and an unfamiliar and hostile country around me.
"I have to go, Honey, my time is up. I love you."
"I love you too. Stay safe and come back to us as soon as you can." The dial tone sounded and I gently placed the receiver down on the base.
"I'm already there, Baby, I'm the moonlight shining down on you as you sleep," I whispered.
A/N: I don't own the lyrics that were interspaced throughout the story. They belong to Lonestar.