SECOND THOUGHTS
[A/N: So this is a something I've been working on for a few months now, it started as a oneshot but as I got more into it…it got a LOT longer so there's around five more chapters to come. :)
And to those of you who are still awaiting an update of 'Trouble', once again this isn't it and I'm sorry but I promise it is still in the works!]
Disclaimer: I don't own Thunderbirds, I'm just having a little fun with my imagination.
"Base from Thunderbird One, do you read me?"
"Loud and clear, Scott," Jeff acknowledged. Flicking the switch from his seated position at Command and Control to activate the communications link, he smiled fondly as the image of his eldest son appeared on the monitor before him.
No matter how hard he tried, Scott could never fully mask how he was feeling from him, Jeff just simply knew how to read him and that stood for all of his boys. And right now, despite the light tone and smile beaming back at him, something in Scott's eyes showed how he was feeling and it made the father chuckle.
His eldest was looking ever so slightly put out, and Jeff had no doubt that it was because he'd been forcibly confined to his Thunderbird for the entire rescue, manning Mobile Control from his pilot seat. Landing the hypersonic rocket on the deck of a sinking ship wouldn't have been the brightest of ideas, though there was no denying Scott would have had the best view of the situation from the air, especially in the middle of the night out at sea. Sensible was one thing, Scott Tracy was another. He was simply disappointed that he was missing out on the brunt of the action.
His tone didn't portray any of this however as he spoke. "The cruise liner is secure, all 63 passengers and crew accounted for and on their way back to shore; we're heading home. Virg is collecting Gords, Al and Johnny, ETA 0300."
"FAB, Scott," Jeff replied with a nod before initiating contact with One's sister ship, keeping Scott's feed active. "Thunderbird Two, how's it going?"
"Great, Dad," Virgil replied, his expression a mixture of awe and accomplishment.
"John's on his way up as we speak and Four's heading back to rendezvous with me now. Gordon and Alan managed to plug the hull breach and the USS Atlanta has arrived to tow the liner back. John got the passengers off and out of the water with the rescue platform and onto the W.A.S.P relief vessel. No casualties to report and the President will have her children back in time for breakfast."
Jeff saw Scott chuckle, his attention focused out the right cockpit window, no doubt looking at the giant green transporter as his brother continued.
"Allie did real good, Dad. Gords panicked when it appeared the magnetic claws were more likely to cause an even larger hole, but Alan suggested they go out in their diving gear and do it themselves and that's just what they did. I think we've finally turned Gordo into a flapping hen the way he was fussing over the sprout's oxygen tank!"
Smirking at the mental picture that created, Jeff put out a call to his two youngest, greeting John as he appeared in the cockpit of Two behind Virgil. All of his sons (though particularly Scott) were known to smother each other whenever any of them was sick or injured. But there was absolutely no doubt that Alan received the most as he was the youngest, even when he wasn't hurt.
"Hi guys," came Gordon's voice from the monitor, waving enthusiastically. The screen was now split three ways so Jeff could talk to all of his sons at once.
The pair of them made quite a picture. Gordon's damp copper hair was stuck up and the diving suit was rolled down to his waist. Alan stood behind him; his appearance identical, though his blond hair was even more mussed than Gordon's, no doubt indicating the latter had already congratulated his brother.
"The hull is secure so there's no chance of the liner sinking any further. Bringing my baby back up to the surface now."
"Which one, Gords?" John asked with a smirk, causing all but the aquanaut to laugh.
"Aww I didn't think you loved anything more than Four, Gords, I'm touched," Alan replied in mock surprise, a hand on his chest. The death glare on his immediate older brother's face demanding he apologise only caused him to roar with laughter.
"Oi watch it, else next time I won't check your oxygen tank, Sprout." Gordon shot back playfully.
"You mean, triple-check?" the teen asked innocently.
"Smother Hen!" Scott, Virgil and John cried out in unison.
"Virgil, we're on the surface. Ready when you are." Jeff found he couldn't help himself joining in the laughter at Gordon's deadpan expression and tone.
"Time to come back to the coop, Mother Hen, we've missed you terribly!" Virgil teased in a childish voice.
"Alright, boys, enough with the teasing. Great job all of you, that includes you too, Alan, well done. Right now I'd love another coffee so I'll leave you to it. See you in the next half hour."
"FAB," the boys chorused before all three screens went blank as the links were disconnected. Jeff knew they'd still be open their end and the patriarch wasn't going to intrude on their celebratory flight home. The boys had shown great teamwork and deserved the brother-bonding time to themselves.
Sighing contentedly as he made his way to the kitchen, upon entering the father grinned as he picked up a mug. The first mission with all five of his boys officially involved had gone smoothly; better than he dared to have hoped for. None of them had been injured, there'd been no casualties or fatalities and even the President's cruise liner would make it home in one piece.
Following the events of Spring Break and The Hood's attack on Thunderbird Five, the communications satellite was temporarily out of action while she was being repaired. Brains and Fermat both had that job in hand, though they had both returned yesterday for a respite and for the special gathering they'd had as a belated celebration of the success in London all those weeks ago. Until Five was fully operational, all emergency communications had been rerouted to the island for the time being.
The US President, however, had insisted calling International Rescue's Commander personally if any trouble were to arise and so had Jeff's own cell phone number in case of any emergencies in Washington DC, or anything to do with Madam President herself. Jeff had to admit that the sinking of her very own cruise ship appeared suspicious, prompting a terrorist investigation which would be left to the CIA and any other number of agents at the President's disposal.
Penny had already left for the States by request of the US Government, her ties with the British Secret Service known and admired but not her connection to International Rescue. Given she usually resided in London and not the middle of the Pacific Ocean, she'd gracefully accepted the callout at the ungodly hour as it would have been mid-afternoon back in England. Jeff knew she'd report back with updates whenever she could to keep them in the loop.
Activating the coffee machine, Jeff smiled fondly as he spotted a familiar device on the counter. Picking up Alan's rock skimmer gadget, which had been deposited there earlier in his haste to change into his flight suit ready for the rescue, Jeff found his thoughts drifting to his youngest son as he turned the ingenious device over in his hands before glancing out towards the pool.
It was the early hours of the morning and the rest of the island was asleep. Even Tin-Tin, who had initially stayed in Command and Control intent on watching the entire rescue. That was, until she had fallen asleep on one of the couches and Jeff hadn't had the heart to wake her. Before turning in themselves, satisfied the rescue was in hand, Onaha and Kyrano had taken her upstairs to bed. Fermat and Brains, having headed back up to Five in Thunderbird Three around the same time the boys left for the Caribbean, were aware of the rescue via their watch feeds as both geniuses worked on bringing the communications satellite back online.
Jeff thought of the two youngsters as two of his own children. Not eight hours previous had he made all three teens official members of International Rescue, and already Alan had proven himself again. Their performance in the face of danger over Spring Break had both shocked and impressed him. Alan had well and truly proven himself a Tracy and a formidable asset to the Thunderbirds despite his tender age.
He remembered with a shudder that for a time stranded up in Five, surrounded by his four eldest sons floating helplessly around him, that there was every possibility they wouldn't have made it. The Hood had taken control of the systems and they were well and truly done for. But Alan had managed to evade capture and fight back, with the aid of Lady Penelope, Parker, Fermat and Tin-Tin. Jeff couldn't be more proud of his family, related or not, on that day.
As he made his way back to his office, which was still set as Command and Control, a very familiar engine noise filled his ears. As he looked towards the horizon, the first strip of sunlight of a new day visible, he saw the sleek, silver rocket in the distance. Scott was back.
"Base from Thunderbird One. On final approach to the island," he announced.
"Welcome home, Scott," Jeff replied, pressing the button on the control panel to activate the pool mechanism, drawing it back to allow One back into her silo. Half a minute later he watched fondly as Scott slid the rocket through the hole where the pool had been with effortlessly precision.
Perfect as always, Scotty, couldn't have done it better myself.
A few minutes later Scott's portrait slid open and the eldest Tracy walked out still in his flight suit, a satisfied grin plastered on his face. Jeff placed the steaming mug of caffeine on the desk as he strode over to embrace him.
"Hey son, good job out there."
"Thanks but I didn't do much, the others had all of the action and had it all under control. You should have seen the look on Allie's face when we Okayed his decision to manually plug the hull."
Jeff smiled and shook his head at his eldest son. Scott was indirectly proving his earlier point about being left out of the action, yet at the same time swimming with modesty as he willingly played down his part in favour of his younger brothers. Scott was a complex human being and yet Jeff could read him like a book.
"They're just a few minutes behind me."
"Well as soon as they get back I'm going to congratulate them all, no one's getting any sleep tonight until I've told them in person and given them each a bear hug – especially Alan."
At that, Scott's whole demeanour changed. He cast his eyes to the floor and around the room, anywhere to avoid his father's gaze. He was shifting nervously on the balls of his feet and a hand flew to his hair and began raking through it causing the already untidy mop to be mussed up even more.
"What's up, Scott?" Jeff asked softly, eventually gaining eye contact with his eldest son. Scott's cobalt eyes showed a mixture of apprehension and fear, making the patriarch almost flinch. He hadn't seen his son like this for a while. As if he had read Jeff's mind and realised he was letting his emotions show, Scott immediately closed back up again, clearing his throat self-consciously.
"Are you gonna let Alan stay on the team?" he asked, and Jeff could clearly see the fear had gone, replaced by hope that now shined from those blue eyes.
Realising what Scott was getting at, Jeff let go of the breath he hadn't been aware he'd been holding and nodded with a reassuring grin, which grew wider upon seeing his eldest visibly relax.
"I don't think he could have done a better job, Scotty. Now go and get cleaned up," he replied, smiling as he took in the physical appearance of his eldest son. His usually pristine hair was ruffled and his slightly sweaty face only just hid the blush of embarrassment at being caught in his brief moment of vulnerability.
"Okay, I'll be seconds!" Scott called as he raced out of the office, leaving Jeff chuckling. Although Alan and Gordon were known as the pranksters of the family, all of his boys could still act like children when they wanted to. But under the circumstances Jeff didn't mind one bit. The rescue had been a success and it might even turn out to be the brand new start the family needed.
Scott was back in the office just as Two was coming in to land. From the uncontrollable giggles erupting from Virgil on the transmissions, meaning John had had to ask for permission to land, Jeff guessed the flight back for his four other boys had been far from silent.
His deductions proved correct as when the four other portraits opened the air was filled with the noise of laughter and good-natured teasing. Gordon was doubled over with tears of mirth streaming down his face, while Virgil and John were conversing with grins on their faces as Virgil flicked what looked like a piece of fluff of his blond brother's shoulder. Alan was watching the exchange with a satisfied look identical to Scott's earlier.
"He got you good, Johnny, I can't believe you fell for it!" Virgil exclaimed.
Judging by the way John shot a playful glare at Gordon, Jeff instantly guessed what had happened and began sniggering himself. Scott went over to hug Alan, ruffling his hair affectionately.
"Ha sorry, Johnny, I…couldn't…resist!" Gordon gasped, barely able to breathe through hysterics. In response, John seized the aquanaut in a headlock before rubbing his head with his knuckles.
Jeff aimed a questioning look at Gordon and John, the former descending into further fits of laughter while the latter explained.
"Fish-face over here thought it funny to scare me to death. Neither Gords nor Alan showed up for ten minutes after they'd returned Four to the pod and we couldn't contact them. It's obvious now they were concocting their plan."
Alan sniggered as the astronaut continued. "I was about to go down to the pod to check on them but then Alan calls for help, sounding panicked and distressed saying Gordon had collapsed. Turns out he was just waiting to ambush me at the door making me fall head over heels into a pile of burst pillows. Feathers everywhere."
He then made a dramatic gesture with his hands to emphasise the last sentence, making his brothers laugh all the more.
"Well, they're not called the Terrible Two for nothing!" Scott said fondly, ruffling Alan's hair again.
"Gordon, what are pillows even doing on Four?" Jeff inquired lightly. "Do I need to do a sweep and confiscate your prank kits?"
The aquanaut's expression immediately changed to a look of mock outrange before he stood up, shrugging and smiling innocently.
"Simple. I have them in case of an emergency and have to spend the night." But catching the pointed glare on his father's face he puffed out a breath. "Okay fine they were from the medical bay. But they all called me a Smother Hen so Al decided to make a nest!" he whined, pouting and sticking his tongue out at said brother.
"Well, yeah." Alan blushed. "But it was your idea to get John to run down to us."
"Yeah, well, he refused to acknowledge that Four is my baby! You had it coming, Johnny!"
"I'll show you what's coming, Fish." And with that, John made a grab for Gordon who took off out of the room like a whippet with the space monitor hot on his tail.
When everyone had recovered from another round of laughter, Jeff sighed. "What am I going to do with you boys, you'll be the death of me mark my words!" he grinned. "No one would take International Rescue seriously if they ever saw you like this. Right come on, off to bed with you all."
As the remaining young men made to exit the room, Jeff collared his youngest.
"Alan, can I speak to you for a moment please?"
The teen's mouth twitched as he gave a half shrug. "Sure, Dad."
Jeff saw Scott raise his eyebrows in question and the patriarch winked back, sending the silent message across. In response the pilot grinned before clapping Virgil on the back as they turned and made their way out.
Once the pair had disappeared from sight and Command and Control was back to Jeff Tracy's study once more, Jeff invited Alan to take a seat before smiling fondly at the blond who was still dressed in his flight suit. Then he took a deep breath and began to talk; there was a lot he wanted to get off his chest even if it was the early hours of the morning. He'd been chewing things over for the past eight weeks and the events of tonight had enabled him to break through the indecision that had been plaguing him.
"I'm very proud of you, Alan. Today, and in the events over Spring Break, you've proven to your brothers and I that we've been wrong to doubt you. We wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for your actions. I love you so much, and you must realise that by sending you off to school I was both protecting you and giving you the opportunity to make your own way in life. It wasn't that we didn't care about you it was quite the opposite. Your brothers Scott, John, Virgil and Gordon all joined IR by choice. I gave them their opportunities to do other things and they did. Scott joined the Air Force, John NASA, Virgil went to Denver and Gordon joined W.A.S.P. But when the appropriate time came for each of them they opted to come back to the island."
He was pleased to see that Alan was sat attentive with a smile on his face, listening to every word.
"With the rescue today you demonstrated maturity beyond your age, level-headedness, quick thinking and leadership, all attributes I require from my operatives. But Alan, you are just fifteen years old and I want you to remember that. I'm not going to be naïve and just drag you out of school and shove you on the team without first thinking things through and discussing them with you. You've had the privilege of joining IR much earlier than your brothers, which to an extent can't be helped, and trust me they are delighted, and equally so am I. This is merely something for you to think about before I move onto my next train of thought, are you following so far?"
Alan nodded, a thoughtful look on his face. "Yeah, please continue."
"Okay. Well as it's now the summer holidays I thought it appropriate to start getting you familiar with the Birds. There are simulation programmes as you well know but I think it would be more beneficial if you were to experience each Bird in turn with each one of your brothers and see how that goes. This makes twice you've piloted Four.
"That day in Spring Break you piloted 3 out of 5 crafts, as well as saving us, the island, maintaining secrecy, and saving the lives of those in the monorail. I'm very proud of you Alan, and I have full confidence that in the next coming years you could become a full-time member of International Rescue, maybe even from September. After all, your teachers have informed me that you have really excelled since Spring Break and proven them all wrong. I'll consider home-schooling you so you can take part in more rescues. Now the obvious craft to become yours is, of course, Three."
Jeff stopped himself, smiling softly as he took in the look of pure delight on Alan's face.
"Dad, are you serious?" he asked excitedly, practically leaping out of the chair.
"Well, your latest report from Wharton's details a recent interest in astronomy and engineering. Plus more than a few visits to the Boston racetrack, which tells me you're a fan of high speeds. Do you want to enlighten me?"
Alan blushed, rubbing the back of his neck as he replied. "Well, I used to love Johnny taking me out in the back garden in Kansas and showing me the constellations. We've actually done a recent module in Physics about the stars and I got a high grade as I already knew a lot. And then Virg sometimes asks me to help tinker with parts in Two when I'm home. As for the racing, Jed in our dorm room has family who work there and he's had backstage access, including the cars. Me and Fermat tag along every time."
"That's good to hear. John's due back on Five in the next week or so, do you want to tag along in Three?"
Alan grinned, nodding vigorously and his voice hopeful. "Do you think Johnny would let me do a rotation with him?"
"I don't see why not," Jeff replied. "You fancy being a spaceman, Sprout?"
"Wouldn't hurt to try it out," Alan shrugged casually, but the excitement was crystal clear.
"All right then, I'll have a word with the boys and see if we can sort something out." Jeff stood up and made his way around the desk to hug the teenager. "I'm proud of you Alan, and I love you. Never forget that. Now go and get some shut-eye, you must be exhausted."
"Love you too, Dad. But first I'm going to wake Fermat and Tin-Tin, they've so gotta hear about this!"