A/N: Here is chapter one of Rough Landings. There will be plenty of Alan "whump" in this fic, as well as some whump for the other characters, too. If you like it, please read and review. This is an updated version of the original chapter one. The main difference is simply spelling and grammar, although I added a few extra sentences, too.

Stop. Rewind. Hit Play.

Alan Tracy sobbed as he hugged his pillow. Tears fell freely from his expressive blue eyes. He felt like he was going to die. He'd been back from spring break for twenty-four hours, but already it seemed like no-one in his family wanted him. Why did he have to be born?

Why wasn't he wanted?

Why couldn't he just be loved, accepted, and cared for?

More importantly, why did Gordon suddenly hate him? Although Gordon and Virgil had always teased him before – in fact, their teasing was nothing new – they'd never been this bad, nor this mean. Gordon was 20, and Virgil was 22; weren't they grown-up enough not to make fun of their younger brother until he cried?

Apparently not; they had said some things that had sent Alan just reeling…

Alan longed for John to be there. While John might ignore Alan, he never just teased him endlessly.

And he never said that Alan was the family mistake!

## flashback ##

"Whoa, sprout, take it easy. You don't want to work too much, now do you?" Gordon taunted upon seeing Alan's entrance into the room.

"W-what?" Alan asked, wondering why his brother was suddenly up in arms against him.

"Yeah, you got to miss all the fun of cleaning the 'birds cause you were at school," Virgil said. He grinned back at Gordon. Seeing how quickly they could wind up Alan was their favorite past-time. It didn't make them sound very mature, but as long as no-one was around, who the hell cared?

"I had finals..." Alan said, glancing at the floor. He was proud of himself; straight A's, even in math. And now John was coming home for the weekend! He could finally say "thank you" to John. He had been accepted to the track team, and was in position to win the valedictorian slot - of course, that wouldn't be decided for another two years, but hey! So to come home and find that his brothers were still teasing him like a little kid...

"Finals, finals. Bet you blew them off like you did last time, huh? Dad pays what, thirty thousand dollars a year to send you to school, Alan? Can't you do better than that?" Gordon teased as he grinned at Virgil. It was his brother's turn.

"Yeah, Alan. That's more than some people charge for college," Virgil responded with a sneer.

"But I..." Alan started to say before he realized it would be no use. He sighed as he looked at the carpet floor. What he wouldn't give to be adopted... even if it meant that he wasn't rich. Then he wouldn't have four younger brothers, he wouldn't have been the son of so-and-so's family, and he certainly wouldn't have to deal with Gordon Tracy and Virgil Tracy.

Oh, he hated them.

"Oh, we found something else out when you were gone," Gordon said once Virgil had left the room. Alan met his brother's eyes, and he was terrified, even though he didn't know why. "You were a mistake. I mean, come on, think about it. You're five years younger than me. You really think dad wants you? You should just disappear and save us all a lot of trouble." Gordon swallowed hard after he said that, like he didn't really mean it. If Alan had thought to look, he would have seen Gordon touch his head as if he was in pain.

Mistake? Alan thought, a knife piercing to his heart. He remembered the bullying at school he'd had to deal with for the last term and sighed. So much for him getting a break here.

"Gordon, stop bothering Alan," Scott said as he came into the room. "I'm sure Dad'll give him enough grief over his report cards, so you don't have to... Alan, you can just go to your room until dinner, if you want."

"Why?" Alan demanded. He swallowed hard. "Getting rid of me already?"

Scott just left the room, having not heard his brother's comments. Gordon smirked before following his older brother's lead.

## end flashback ##

They hate me! Alan thought as he swallowed hard. He couldn't believe the harsh words that had come out of Gordon's mouth. Or that Scott was just brushing him off. Or that Virgil was openly mocking him. And his father, who had said he was going to pick him up, couldn't even bother to show up but had instead chartered Scott to do it.

"If you get good grades, I'll come down."

Yeah, right! Alan sighed. He'd really pushed himself hard this semester. While he usually got mostly A's and mostly one B, he'd gotten all "A'S" since his father said that he should improve. Had his father even looked at his report cards since middle school? No, he thought with a sigh, probably not.

He sighed as he drifted off to sleep, not even bothering to dry his tears.

Alan felt sick to his stomach as he made his way into the kitchen. He knew it was past breakfast time. He didn't care. He didn't bother to show up for breakfast, knowing that Gordon and Virgil - and probably Saint Scott - would be there. He figured if he was lucky, he could grab a bite to eat. He sighed upon seeing Gordon in the kitchen, and ducked out.

So what if he starved? He would be going back to Wharton's in a few days if his father had anything to say about it. Alan was startled by the sound of John arriving from the Thunderbird 5. He could always tell when his brother flew. His face light up as he thought about John. Even though Scott was the one that raised him, John was the one that had always done right by him.

He sighed as he made his way back to his room. Even if John was excited to see him, it would be awhile before he would. No doubt his other two brothers would just tie him up. Alan sighed as he heard his father welcome John home with a hearty laugh.

Alan heard Gordon's voice all over again:

You're a mistake... Nobody wants you... Just get over it.

Swallowing hard, Alan Tracy opened one of his college textbooks and began to read. Maybe when he was eighteen, he could change his name and get a college scholarship. They were out there, right? He swallowed hard, a lump forming in his throat. He'd never be a Thunderbird now. Sure, Brains could be one; other people could be one, but not him.

Because he, AlanTracy, was the family mistake that never should have existed; that never should have been born. Alan swallowed hard, not liking the thoughts that came to mind.

He just forced Gordon's tormenting comment out of his mind and opened the astronomy textbook... Ironically written by his brother, John, the only one who he felt really cared about him right now.

Alan Tracy cried himself to sleep that night.

The Hood smiled as he sat in his chair. He was having fun seeing what he could make different people think. It was startlingly easy to take advantage of the thoughts that were already in the minds of the Tracy family. He smirked, knowing that Jeff never would know what hit him. Soon, very soon, he would be able to take Alan from Jeff Tracy's fingers. International Rescue would be stopped. It had to be stopped. It was ruining all the fun for criminals like him, and more importantly, it was running his plans. It had already ruined his plans.

The Hood smiled. With the foolproof plan he put together with his wife, the Tracy family was toast, and Alan's relationship with his family would be a thing of the past... and the Tracy family would know the feeling off loss when he brutally murdered their son after holding him captive for four years.

At least those were the plans...

A/N: If you liked it and would like more, please review!