A/N this is just a short little fic. Completely unrelated to my other Thunderbirds works. It's a revised version of something I wrote in 2007. As usual I do not own the rights to the Thunderbirds and this is just for entertainment, I get no monetary value from my writing.
"Come on Alan," Jeff said, spreading his arms wide. "You can do it!"
Baby Alan looked at his father in confusion.
Lucille Tracy came into the room, and sighed when she saw what was taking place:
Scott was sitting a foot or two away from Alan, smiling at him in the special way the 9 year old did when doing something with his brothers; John was sitting on the ground trying to do his reader for class, the 8 year old was sticking his tongue between his teeth while stealing glances at his younger brothers.
Virgil was sitting cross-legged staring at his fingers while trying to count to eleven on them, the four year old looking more and more annoyed each time he failed. While the three year old Gordon was staring at the chaos in confusion, while trying to get someone to play with him.
Alan looked up and squealed with delight when he saw his mother looking at them, a gentle smile on her face. He stood up on his shaky legs and looked around, as if trying to decide who to walk to.
Lucille sat down a few feet away from her husband and started encouraging the infant as well. Alan smiled and gurgled happily and took a step towards her. But then Scott stood up; Gordon had started pulling Virgil's hair, annoyed that his older brother wouldn't play with him and Virgil retaliated in kind. Scott knew that he would be the only one able to split the two of them up when they got like this.
Alan let out a small squeal of excitement spying his brothers movements, took five tottering steps and fell into his surprised brothers arms. Lucille and Jeff laughed, well aware of the special bond that was shared between all their boys.
John stood up from the ground, and picked up his youngest brother from Scott's arms, walking over with him to Virgil and Gordon, who had both started to cry and hit each other with their small fists. Scott quietly pulled them apart while John bounced Alan, keeping the little blond happy as their oldest brother gently encouraged the two to stop fighting and to apologise to each other.
Soon Gordon was laughing again, pleased at the attention. The happy little blond couldn't stay mad for long and he reached out to John, asking for his brother to let him hold Alan. The red head agreed, sitting his little brother down on a chair, squished himself in next to Gordon and handed him Alan to hold.
Virgil, who had been fine until then got upset and Scott picked up the little boy, sitting him down on the couch in his lap and cuddling the little boy close.
"What's wrong Virgie?" he questioned, drying his brothers eyes. Virgil snuggled into his older brother, looking up at him knowing that Scott could fix anything
"Scotty, I can't count to 'leven. When I gets to ten I runs out of fingers!"
Scott laughed, tickling the little boy when he pouted. "Look Virgie. See I have 10 fingers as well but I can count to eleven," he said spreading his fingers wide and putting them near Virgil's hands, and adding his two hands to Virgil's.
"But how Scotty? I have tried lots and lottsa times!"
"Virgil, have you thought about your toes? You have 10 toes as well."
"Oh…. Okay!" Virgil pulled off his socks and began to count, "1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11! YAY! Scotty! Johnny! I did it!"
Virgil jumped off Scott's knee and started jumping around. Scott and John laughed, the elder picking up the little boy to spin him around happily, while John tickled Gordon and Alan who both started giggling happily.
Jeff and Lucille joined in the laughter, glad to see their children so happy. Jeff stood up and scooped Alan and Gordon up from the couch, one on each arm and rocked them gently while Lucille got the other three settled on the couch, John and Scott curling up protectively around their younger brother in what the adults called the 'Tracy puppy pile'.
Lucille plucked her youngest son from her husband's arms and hugged him gently to her. The little blond smiled sleepily up at his mother as he cuddled into her, his head coming down to rest on her chest. Alan slowly fell asleep in her arms. Carefully, in order not to wake the little boy, she carried him up the stairs to his and Gordon's shared bedroom, knowing Jeff was right behind her with Gordon. Tucking him into his crib, she kissed him on the forehead before doing the same with Gordon who Jeff had tucked in. The little water lover rubbed his eyes with his fists before murmuring goodnight sleepily to his parents. Jeff flicked on the little nightlight and turned off the light, the glow in the dark stars that he had put up when Scott first used the room lighting up the ceiling.
Lucille walked back downstairs slowly, arm in arm with Jeff to see that the older three had fallen asleep curled up on one another, Virgil sucking his thumb contentedly leaning against Scott's chest, with one fist clutched tightly onto John's pyjama shirt. Together they managed to collect all three boys without waking them and carried them quietly up the stairs and into their shared bedroom. They had tried to offer Scott a separate room but they all had kicked up such a fuss that they thought it would be better to just leave them together, as they seemed happiest like that.
Jeff and Lucille looked through the doors of both rooms at the sleeping children and then back at each other, smiling contentedly.
"We did good didn't we," Lucille said, hugging her husband; smiled with tears of happiness in her eyes.
"Yeah, we did" Jeff said, kissing her softly on the temple, before gently breaking the embrace, leading his wife by the hand to their room. Lucille turned and looked at the sleeping forms and whispered, just audibly:
"Good night. My angels."