No, I don't own the Tracys. The estate of the late Gerry Anderson, may he rest in peace, and his lawyers own 'em all. The chances of my ever owning Tracy Island or the Thunderbirds is approximately the same as the chances of my winning the Lottery and/or Mega Millions, roughly 5 gazillion to 1!
Thanks to all who have been so kind with their reviews and support. Here's a quick one-shot to enliven the day!
TBTBTB
It was now two weeks and four days since Alan had replaced John to work his rotation on Thunderbird 5. Happily for the world, there weren't any emergencies which local authorities were unprepared to deal with. One didn't request Thunderbird 2 to rescue a kitty from a tree, or put out a small kitchen fire, or pick up an elderly lady or gentleman who had fallen (again!) and cried, "Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!" Unhappily for the sole occupant of Thunderbird 5, and the inhabitants of Tracy Island, boredom was not one of their favorite emotions. Sure, they didn't want anyone to be hurt and in need of rescue, but even the occasional false alarm would be preferable to watching Gordon throw one of his brothers in the pool–for the 724th time that week. Things were so quiet on Tracy Island that even the usually unperturbable Kyrano had requested a few days off the island. Kyrano guessed that a lull such as this one would be followed by a busier than usual time, so he was off to try to find some undiscovered native flora in the Mariana Islands. Then, while International Rescue dashed all over the globe, he'd have something to occupy himself with, besides serving endless cups of strong coffee and soothing platitudes to his good friend Jeff Tracy. With a quick goodbye to Tin-Tin, reminding her to behave herself, he flew away from Tracy Island bound for Guam and the tiny little green creeping plants among that island's many hidden coves and crevices.
Tin-Tin ambled down the long staircase to the pool, sat down in a lounge chair and sighed heavily. "I'm so lonely! This isn't much fun, being stuck here with no one and nothing to do!"
Scott howled with laughter, "Hold on, Tin-Tin! Remember the famous words of Albert Einstein, 'I am living, I occupy space, I have a mass, I matter!' It's not like you're stranded on a desert island all by your lonesome, you know. How about a quick run around the island before lunch?"
"Or a game of pool?" chimed in Virgil.
"Maybe a game of poker?" queried John. "We don't have to play for money this time, I took enough of your money the last game we played."
"Fifty cents is not a lot of money for anyone, especially you John Tracy!" Instead of smiling back at her friend Tin-Tin scowled for a minute and then pouted, almost whining, "None of you are half as much fun as Alan! When he's here, I'm not half as bored as I am now!"
Tilting his head and peering at the young girl over his sunglasses, Jeff Tracy acknowledged, "Honey, I know things have been rather quiet here for the past month or so. Why don't you take my mother with you and spend the rest of the day shopping on the mainland? You ladies can go and enjoy yourselves, we'll hold down the fort, er, island, such as it is." Jeff smiled at his mother and said, "Well, mother, are you up for a shopping excursion today?"
"Not today, thank you kindly son. I was just getting ready to go inside and start sewing some new uniforms for these grandsons of mine. If just one more of them comes home from the next rescue with split pants, we just won't have anything else for them to wear unless I get busy at that sewing machine!"
Jeff threw his head back and laughed, "No, that wouldn't do at all! We are professionals, we wear uniforms, not birthday suits! Thanks for thinking of the boys before your own fun day out shopping, mother." Turning back towards Tin-Tin, he asked, "Would you like to speak to Alan for a few minutes?"
"Yes, please. I'll go into your office and give him a quick call, if that's alright, Mr. Tracy."
"Go right ahead. Just please let me know if there's anything which might require the services of International Rescue soon, okay?"
"Certainly, Mr. Tracy." Almost leaping from her seat Tin-Tin hurried inside. Speedily calling the space station, which was in geosynchronous orbit above Tracy Island, Tin-Tin smiled broadly as the baby-faced blond greeted her.
"Say, good morning little lady! How are you today? Are you as bored to tears as I am?"
"I definitely am, Alan. It seems like it's been forever since you've been up in that tin can, and even longer since we've had any rescue calls at all! I can't wait for you to get home, I'm really missing you a lot."
"Aw, gee Tin, I miss you so much too. We'll have good times again when I get back, it won't be long now."
"You're going to laugh, Alan, but all last night I dreamed I was cuddling you. I woke up this morning and felt absolutely awful."
"Well, I guess I'll just have to get you a life-sized teddy bear and put a nice blue uniform on him so you have something to cuddle while I'm gone," chuckled Alan fondly.
"What a splendid idea! I was going to go shopping on the mainland, now I know what I'll get!"
"What's that? A new recipe book or two to bake me some nice cakes, puddings and desserts for when I get back home?"
"No Alan, Thunderbird 3 does have a gross maximum takeoff weight limit, you know." She looked lovingly at her dear friend. "But now I know exactly what I'll be looking for when I hit the shops on the mainland. Anything happening up there that IR should know about? Your father asked me to see if you were listening in on any potential emergencies."
"Nope, all quiet on the Western front, and all the other spots on the compass too. Operation 'Go Shop Til You Drop' is a go! I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"Alright, Alan. Bye for now!"
"Fly safe, honey."
With that, Tin-Tin went first to her luxurious suite for her purse, then back to the pool to report to Mr. Tracy that Alan was fine and all seemed quiet for the moment, and then went and preflighted the small jet she'd be using for the day. After getting a weather report and clearance, she proceeded to fly directly towards the mainland. Today she was most definitely a girl on a mission of her own!
Hours later, as the sun painted yet another gloriously colorful sunset in the western skies over the Pacific waters which surrounded Tracy Island, Tin-Tin returned to a raucous houseful of Tracys who were getting ready to enjoy a movie night. As it was Gordon's turn to select a movie, no one was surprised to be watching, yet again, "20000 Leagues Under The Sea." Scott and Virgil were promising John that they could all repeat the dialogue of the movie word for word, while Grandma Tracy good-humoredly hushed them all.
"Tin-Tin! How was your shopping, dear? Would you care for some dinner? I left a plate for you in the kitchen," smiled the older woman.
"No, thank you very much, Mrs. Tracy. I grabbed a bite to eat before returning. I am a little tired, I did quite a bit of walking today, so I'll just say good night to you all now. Enjoy the movie, yet again!" Tin-Tin winked at Gordon. "What is this, the only movie they ever made about the ocean, Gords?"
"Of course not, Tin-Tin! Why, there's 'Titanic,' 'Das Boot,' and of course, 'Admiral Gordon Saves The WASPS Singlehandedly Yet Again!' Gordon had to duck rapidly after this last, as his brothers began hurling handfuls of popcorn in his direction.
Laughing now, Tin-Tin wished all a pleasant evening and seemed to be headed in the direction of her room. As soon as she saw that the coast was clear, however, she ran towards the hangar she had just come from. As quietly as she could, Tin-Tin made several trips between the hangar and her room, heavily laden with packages on each trip.
Later that evening, after all had retired to their respective bedrooms…
The klaxon hadn't sounded an emergency, yet some of the occupants of Tracy Island were startled awake by a loud series of thumps and crashes. Arising from their beds to investigate, Jeff and Scott couldn't seem to locate the source of the disturbance. As quickly as the noises had begun, they abated. Guessing that a giant lizard or bird of some kind had gotten on the patio, they returned to bed and were soon promptly asleep.
At breakfast the next morning, Jeff greeted Tin-Tin pleasantly and asked, "Did you sleep well? You seem a bit tired this morning."
"Oh no sir, I'm fine. I slept almost as soon as my head hit the pillow."
"Did you hear any noises last night?"
"Noises? What-er-what kind of noises, Mr. Tracy?"
"Some bumps, some crashes. They were pretty loud!"
"No sir, I didn't hear anything like that."
As soon as breakfast was over Ruth Tracy sat next to her son. "Jeff, did you see Tin-Tin almost jump out of her skin when you asked if she heard those noises last night?"
"I sure did, mother."
"She wouldn't have broken security by bringing someone back to the island with her, do you think?"
Jeff's mouth drew into a hard, straight line. "No mother, I can't imagine she would ever do that. I am wondering, however, if someone wasn't in her room with her."
"You can't be serious, son. That girl's head over heels in love with Alan, she wouldn't even look at another boy."
"I'd thought that too, mother, but something's going on here and I mean to get to the bottom of this. I think I'll call Alan and see if he has any ideas on the subject. Why don't you take Tin-Tin for a walk around the gardens and see if you can get her to open up a bit and give you some information?" As his mother nodded her acquiescense and went to find Tin-Tin, Jeff brooded darkly. A few minutes later, in his office drinking his fourth cup of coffee of the morning, Jeff bought his son up to speed about the incidents of the previous night.
"I don't get it, father. Just yesterday morning she was telling me how much she missed me, how she had dreamed of cuddling me the night before, and how lonely she was. I had hoped she'd have a nice day out shopping and would come home feeling better. You and I both know that Tin-Tin wouldn't even dream of bringing anyone back to the Island. It must have been an animal making those noises, father."
"We'll see, son. All quiet with the world, still?"
"Yes sir. Please let me know what goes on with Tin-Tin. I hope she's not ill, you said she looks as if she hadn't slept at all last night."
"Don't worry, boy. We'll find out what goes on and let you know as soon as we know the truth." With that, Jeff signed off and stared off into the distance for a few minutes, when his thoughts were interrupted by yet another series of loud bumps and crashes. Calling to his sons, he ran towards the direction of the mysterious noises: Tin-Tin's room! Breathing quite heavily, he considered once more about cutting down to two packs of cigarettes a day instead of his customary three. He looked at the four boys and Brains, who had also arrived on the double. Lowering his voice, he addressed the assembled men. "Right! There's someone in there besides Tin-Tin, is anyone here armed?"
"I have a trank gun, father," quietly responded his older blond son. "Do you think it's possible that someone stowed away on the aircraft yesterday, or is threatening to harm Tin-Tin?"
"I don't know, John. We'll know shortly!"
As Jeff tried to open the door to Tin-Tin's suite, he was stunned to find the door locked. Trying the override code, the door still wouldn't open. Turning to Brains, Jeff motioned to the young engineer to hurry and open the door. After a few minutes fiddling with the security codes, Brains nodded to the Tracys.
"Alright! Let's check out every inch of this room. Someone's definitely in there who is not Tin-Tin, she's out for a walk with Grandma. Be careful, boys!"
As the door opened there was another series of crashes and loud noises. The Tracys and Brains entered in a state of high alert, and were amazed at the sight which greeted them.
Grandma Tracy and Tin-Tin were in the gardens directly below Tin-Tin's room, and heard the commotion made by the men entering the room and the laughter and howls which followed directly.
Worriedly, the older lady cried up through the patio door, "Jeff! Are you and the boys alright? What's going on? Did you find someone? Has an intruder been in Tin-Tin's room?"
"Yes mother! There's someone here, you bet! Just give us a moment to catch him, he seems to want to escape now!"
Mrs. Tracy looked sadly at Tin-Tin, shaking her head and saying, "Oh, Tin-Tin! I thought I'd be sewing you a wedding gown soon to wear for young Alan. I'm ever so disappointed!"
"Mother, no, you don't need to be disappointed!" Jeff's voice rang down loud and clear to the gardens. "Congratulations, mother! In addition to your grandsons, you've got a new great-grandBUN!" While the rest of the fellows guffawed until their sides ached, Jeff stood at the patio railing holding up an adorable golden-colored baby bunny rabbit! "Here's our noisy intruder! Guess he was looking for some more hay, right Tin-Tin?"
Poor Tin-Tin didn't know whether to laugh or cry. With a trembling lower lip she began to apologize to the Tracys and was rapidly interrupted by Jeff.
"Don't worry, honey. I understand about being lonely at times. He's a real cute little guy. Have you given him a name yet?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I've named him Mr. Sunshine, Mr. Tracy."
"Well, that's a curious name for a bunny. Any particular reason for it?"
"Yes, you see, I was missing Alan a great deal. Since my little baby bunny has fur almost the color of Alan's hair, I named him Mr. Sunshine, Alan's hair looks like the sun, too."
Virgil appeared on the patio and softly patted the bunny on his head and ears. "Well Tin-Tin, you have definitely given us some excitement here today. Would you like some help making Mr. Sunshine a larger cage? This way he won't be kicking at the smaller cage and making so much noise at night."
"Thanks, I'd appreciate that, and so would he! He woke me up when he tossed his food bowl around last night, I'm sorry that it woke some of you as well."
Scott came out and scooped up the bunny. Looking at him up and down, he declared, "Well well well! What have we here? Some tasty bunny stew for this evening's dinner?"
"Scott Tracy!" cried the girl as she threw an imaginary punch in his direction, "I promise you if you even dream of saying that ever again, all of your clothes will turn pink in the next washing!"
"No no, he's too cute to cook," quickly smiled Scott. "Why don't you and Grandma come up and calm the bunny down while we organize a larger hutch for him?"
After the bunny was settled in his comfortable new digs, Jeff called Alan up in Thunderbird 5 via his wristwatch. Pointing the camera towards Mr. Sunshine, Jeff informed Alan of the reason for the weird noises in the night, while everyone chuckled.
"Tin-Tin! You're too much!" Alan beamed happily at all assembled back at his home. "I'm sure it's okay if you cuddle Mr. Sunshine as much as you want to! Just don't forget about me, I'll be home in a few days now."
"I'll be waiting, Alan." Tin-Tin lowered her eyes demurely and petted her rabbit, who snuggled comfortably against her.
"And I'll be off to start sewing that wedding gown now," murmured Grandma Tracy as she smiled a warm and delighted smile, as she made her way to her sewing studio. "I sure hope I get a great-grandson instead of a great-grandbun, next time!"
The End
See what happens when a Plot BUNNY gets on Tracy Island?! Seriously, I am a proud "mom" of a real bunny rabbit, who just happens to be named Mr. Sunshine. I hope you've enjoyed this little story. Please review, thank you!