Author's note: Many thanks to my beta reader who was especially helpful with the American speech.

"Scott! Can you still hear me? I need help, here!" John was trying to keep calm but there was clear panic in his voice. Blood was still oozing between his fingers and he pressed even harder. "Gordon! How're you doing?"

TBTBTBTBTBTTB

The beautiful morning on a sun-drenched Tracy Island gave no warning of the traumas of the day to come. John had recently come off his tour on Thunderbird 5 and was sitting on the swimming pool edge with his feet in the water, feeling the warmth of the sun on his back. The majority of the time he wasn't affected by the weather; rain or shine didn't change his temperament as it did some people. He was used to the excitement of looking into dark skies at far off twinkling constellations so the only time weather bothered him was when he was on Earth looking up and there were clouds to spoil the view.

However, during the first couple of days back on Tracy Island, after a month in space, he couldn't help but become aware of certain sensations. The sun warmed his bones. In space the sun was something to be feared if you got too close but on Earth it could be enjoyed. The water lapping against his bare toes and ankles was pleasurable. In Thunderbird 5 water was a precious commodity and enjoying a whole pool's worth on Earth seemed decadent. The sound of the breeze in the trees and his brothers shouting to one another was something to be relished. In space lives depended on him concentrating on the sounds of the feeds of chatter from around the world and, in doing so, identifying trouble. Here, someone else would inform him of trouble and he could relax.

In the pool Gordon was powering back and forth. Gravity, buoyancy, action and reaction forces were all playing their part in a way they didn't in space. But despite his head being full of science, John was not so green that he didn't pull his feet out of the water when Gordon swam up to him. He had ended up fully dressed in the pool enough times thanks to the water baby.

"Come for a swim," said Gordon, and John thought how Gordon always looked most happy when surrounded by water.

"Maybe in a while. Do you still time your lengths?"

"Rarely; it's just for fun these days. Seriously, it's lovely in here. Grab some trunks!" Gordon propelled himself backwards from the pool wall and went beneath the water executing an elegant backward flip as he did. Simultaneously the emergency klaxon went off to alert the inhabitants of the island to a rescue. John sighed and got to his feet. A bemused looking Gordon popped his head out of the water and John beckoned to him.

"Come on, kid, time to get to work. Thunderbirds are go!"

TBTBTBTBTBTBT

In the last couple of days life has gone from the sublime to the ridiculous thought John as he stood knee deep in snow. Not long ago he'd been in the sterile world of space wearing his uniform and this had been followed by his shorts and t-shirt pool-side on Tracy Island. Now he was in his cold-weather gear in a frozen hell hole. Life was never stagnant in International Rescue, that was for sure.

They had been called to a village on the Italian/Swiss border where there had been an avalanche. For as long as anyone could remember the village at the base of a mountain had never been touched by the avalanches that occasionally tumbled down the mountain but always stopped well short of the village outskirts. A once in 500 year event had sent an avalanche so large and fast that it had enveloped the whole inhabited area, crushing and burying buildings and the people within them.

There was still hope for some survivors and International Rescue had been asked by the local agencies to help out. They didn't need asking twice.

John was standing next to the Snow Loader, a Thunderbird 2 pod vehicle that was bright orange and so more easily seen in the blizzard conditions it was often used in. It had a big snow plough type of attachment on the front and also a backhoe for scooping piles of snow out of the way. There were several places around the vehicle where de-icing liquid could be pumped out from and there was the capacity to spread a salt/grit mix on the road behind it. There was also a well-insulated and heated cabin for the operator to sit in without a heavy coat or gloves, enabling them to use the controls with more dexterity.

It was Virgil who was toasty warm at this point and John who was dealing with a biting wind, although the sky was clear blue and the sun had a bit of warmth. The Snow Loader was approaching a half-buried and collapsed house, with Virgil hoping to clear an access to search the interior. Experience had taught International Rescue that all sorts of things could be buried in the snow near a residential structure, such as a swimming pool or landscaping feature, which could de-stablise or swallow up a heavy, tracked vehicle. John was just in front of the Snow Loader, keeping an eye out for trouble, instructing Virgil to move forward when he felt it was safe.

Virgil was alert to what his brother was doing and when John raised his hand and shouted "Stop!" into his wrist comm, the Snow Loader was brought to an immediate halt and Virgil turned off the engine. John was digging at the snow in front of it as Virgil swung down from the cabin, pulling on his jacket.

"What is it?" he asked John.

"Hang on, I just caught a glimpse of something odd. There's a bit of a hole here and now that it's quiet I think I can hear whimpering." John carefully moved some more snow to the side. "Oh, it's a dog kennel, I think."

Virgil sighed. He was well aware that their priorities did not include family pets while there were people still unaccounted for but he did not relish the idea of running the dog over, either. Then John became agitated.

"Good grief!" He was bending right down into the hole now and pulled something out but it wasn't a dog, it was toddler, a little girl of about two or three. John started opening his coat. "Looks like the kid crawled into the kennel when the avalanche hit. It was her whimpering. She was hugging the dog and its body heat must have kept her warm. I'm not sure the dog survived, though." John had undone his jacket enough to be able to pull the girl inside and next to his own warm torso.

"Get going to where the emergency services are parked," instructed Virgil. "I'll tell Scott to make sure someone is there to receive her."

Back on Tracy Island John would have laughed in the face of Virgil giving him an order but it was a different situation on a rescue. Instead, zipping his jacket up, he grinned at Virgil as he started off through the snow.

"Best job ever!" he shouted over his shoulder cheerfully, as he waded towards the medical vehicles. Virgil couldn't help but smile, also, as he contacted Scott.

If only John could have held on to his thought during that trials that followed.