A/N Hi. First story on here, be nice? Rated M to be on the safe side, because I honestly have no idea where it's gonna go from here. This is mainly movieverse by the way, or at least the ages and stuff are. But I don't like the movie so much, so the content will probably be mostly from the TV show. I'm to lazy to proof read it, so could you maybe point out any mistakes nicely? Thanks :) I can't think of anything else important.

Enjoy!

IWriteSomeThings

Chapter 1

"Dad, are you coming to see Al and me at the talent show?" I whined for the fifty seven billionth time.

"Lily, I'll have to think about it. I'm not sure yet. I'm very busy."

"Yes, but…"

"No buts Lily, I don't know yet."

"Fine," I huffed, glaring through the vid-com from my bedroom at school.

"I'm sorry Lily."

I didn't stop glaring. The exact sentence running through my head was 'I bet if Alan asked you'd have said yes', but there's only three weeks left until Spring Break, so I'm gonna try and end this term on a good note. For the first time ever, perhaps.

"Whatever. Is John there?"

"No, he's on 'Five."

When I'm at school I forget the shifts on 'Five.

"Virg?"

"He's painting."

"Gordo?"

"Swimming."

"Scott?"

"Flying."

"Right, so it's just me and you then."

"Pretty much, yeah."

This is the sort of love-hate relationship I have with my father.

There was a knock at the door.

"Yeah?"

"Lily, I'm going to track practise. If dad's there, tell him I said hi. See you later."

"See ya Al." I turned back to dad. "Al says hi," I informed him.

"I heard," he replied dryly.

"That's good then."

I felt somewhat like we were both forcing conversation out, and neither of us particularly felt the need to be speaking to each other.

"How are you Lily?"

"What?" I asked, taken aback.

"I asked how you were."

"Right…" I said suspiciously. "Well, I'm fine I guess."

"How are your grades?"

So that was what the question was actually about.

"Oh, they're fine…" I trailed off.

"Really?"

"I'm averaging C+ in English, Maths and History dad. There's not much I can do to improve them in the next three weeks!" I snapped.

"What about everything else? What about French, Italian and Japanese?"

"Equally badly," I muttered quietly. "I'm not John. I'm not bi-friggin'-lingual. I'm not an artist like Virg. I'm not anything like Scott anyway, and I'm not a damn fish like Gordon. I'm not like Alan either. I'm me, and being me involves being terrible at school."

Although I wasn't happy with my French grade. French is my subject, and I've been trying harder in French than anything else. The highest I was getting was B-.

"I know that you're your own person Lily. I was just wondering how your grades are doing."

"Just wondering… like you were just wondering on Tuesday as well? And last week? And the week before that? You always seem to be 'just wondering' about my grades dad. Always!"

"Lily, don't bite my head off."

"I'm not," I muttered sulkily. "Anyway I have to go and do some homework. Speak to you soon."

"Bye Lily."

"Bye dad."

The line went dead, and I was left alone again. I did think about calling John, but I worried that I'd disturb him, so I decided not to. He could call me if he wanted.

Alan was at track practise, and he had a band rehearsal for the talent show after that. I'm close to Alan, but at school we just don't speak much. He's the tall, hot, blonde Tracy boy, and I'm the trouble maker. I haven't got a problem with it; it's just the way things work.

See, after the incident with the Hood at Spring break four years ago exactly, Dad moved Alan to a new school. Wharton's wasn't teaching him anything, so he found another private boarding school in America, one which took girls and boys, and he booted us of to there. Originally, I lived in England with Lady Penelope, but after dad found this school, I decided I wanted to go with Alan. So I did.

Thing is, Alan's eighteen now. He's leaving at the end of this year to go to college, and then I'll be left alone. I don't really want to be alone in this school. I'll forever be remembered as 'Alan Tracy's little sister'. Guess what. I don't want that.

Tin-Tin went to a girl's school somewhere in Switzerland after the… incident. I didn't want to go there. Fermat moved to a smart-arse school somewhere in California, but he went to University last year. Man, what wouldn't I give to be that smart?

Well there are a few things, but I really would love to be smart like Johnny, and Fermat, and Brains, and Dad, and most of the rest of my family. Seriously, the whole of my family are smart. I'm not. Simples. Eek.

Anyway, so Alan's leaving soon, and Fermat's already in Uni, and Tin-Tin's in Switzerland. Do I look a little bit like the odd one out or is it just me?

I don't spend enough time with my family, I'm already aware of that, but in my defence, it's pretty damn difficult. They run International Rescue. They're the guys behind the Thunderbirds. When I'm not at school, they always seem to be on Rescues. Keeping up with them is like riding a Rollercoaster without being strapped in (not that I've ever done that…). You have to seriously hold on tight, or you lose everything that keeps you grounded to life.

Alright that might be exaggerating a little, but it's really quite hard keeping up with the guys. Half the time, I don't even know where they are.

As if on cue, my watch beeped manically.

"Scott, Virg, Gordon, my office now," a voice said from my wrist.

Ah. So they were going on another rescue. I sat back on my bed and flicked on the Vid-com thingy with the remote.

"Hey Lils," Gordon said smiling at me.

"Hi Gords, good swim?" I replied smirking at his soaking wet hair, and shirtlessness.

"Well I bet it was more fun than your homework," he retorted. Ouch.

Luckily at that moment Scott and Virg walked into the office, stopping me from saying any more. I think Gordon and I are the most similar out of everyone, because we grate on each other's nerves so damn much.

"Hi Lily," Virgil said, catching sight of me in the screen.

"Hey Virg, Scotty. I'm gonna shut up now so you can get on," I said, leaning back comfortably. Right now, this is the best method of keeping up with my brothers while not being in the danger zone. As much as I hate to admit it, if I actually had to go on rescues then I'd just panic. I'm only fifteen. Even Alan isn't a full member yet, and he's eighteen. I've got no chance.

"Thank you Lily," dad said with a 'look', and pushed a button on the screen, watching as John's face appeared. "So John, debrief us," he began, before he was interrupted.

"Johnny!"

"Hi Lils," he replied smiling, as he appeared on my screen.

"Thank you Lily," dad repeated pointedly.

"Yes, right, sorry," I muttered, actually shutting up this time.

"Right guys, well there's a fire in South America- Brazil- on the edge of the Rainforest. It's pretty big. There's a tribe of Amazonians, who have never seen other humans before, caught up in this. You gotta get them out, but you gotta be careful with them. The local firemen are on their way, but it's not gonna do much. We're talking BIG scale fires here, huge in fact. Bigger than most, due to the scale of the rainforest, and spreading. Scott you need to suit up and get to 'One. You need to be there first, if only to do a damage assessment and set up Mobile Control. Virg, Gords, you need to follow in 'Two with the Firefly and start putting the fire out. Main priority however, as always, is to save the people. Once they're safe, hopefully you'll be able to get it under control. Fireproof suits obviously, and all that jazz. Anything else you need to know?" John finished off.

"Co-ordinates?" Scott asked. John listed off lots of numbers in response, and Scott nodded satisfied. They all looked worried. This was a damn big Rescue Mission; at least it seemed like it from where I was sitting.

"Right boys. Scott, hurry, Virgil and Gordon will be following you," dad said, getting back in control of the situation. He looked worried too, and he had every right to be. It seemed fairly stupid, sending your sons off into a fire, but it's what we do.

I sat on my bed, gripping a cushion tightly. They hadn't even left yet, and already I was freaking out quite a bit. No matter how hard I tried to convince myself, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with this Rescue. Badly wrong.

"Dad I-" I began. He held up a finger.

"Not now Lily."

He looked worried so I didn't push it.

"Yes Lil?" John asked from the screen.

"Johnny, dontcha get the feeling something's wrong with this mission?" I asked.

"Like what?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the computers on 'Five.

"I don't know… Like there's something suspicious about it…"

"Lily, I know you're worried, but don't panic. It's just a 'normal' Rescue, everything's fine… well as fine as it could be you know…" he trailed off, still watching the screens.

Another voice cut in on my screen.

"Father, I'm ready to launch," Scott said.

"Ok Scott. Opening the pool now."

"FAB dad."

"Be carefully son," he replied. He sounded a bit emotional. Maybe I wasn't the only one who sensed something wrong with this?

"Will do, dad," Scott replied, and even he sounded oddly choked up. Maybe the, you know, sad vibes, were getting to all of us or something, but it seemed weirdly like dad was sending Scott to his own funeral.

No, this is me panicking. I need to stop; otherwise I'll have to turn the screen off. Nothing is gonna go wrong. Everything is fine. Shut up Lily.

I think John must have seen my internal debate, because he smiled sympathetically at me. "It'll be alright."

"I know," I muttered. "It just doesn't feel like it."

"Lily, don't panic dad, he's already really stressed," John whispered at me.

I looked over at dad and scowled. "Fine. Whatever."

"Don't be like this Lily. They will be fine. You don't have to watch if you don't want to."

"Are you insane John? Of course I want to. They're my brothers!"

"Fine, fine," he held up his hands in surrender.

We had had this whole argument in a whisper.

"Dad, we're ready," Virgil said.

"Right Virgil, Gordon, clear for takeoff."

"Thanks dad. See you later."

"Be careful boys."

"FAB dad."

"Hey Lil, where's Allie?" John asked suddenly.

"Um, track meet I think?"

"It's just, there's gonna be a massive storm over your end pretty soon, and you all need to be inside."

"I'll let him know in a sec Johnny," I said reassuringly.

"Thanks Lily."

We fell silent. This was the worst bit of a rescue, waiting for the boys to fly to the rescue site. Until then, no one knew the situation or the danger, not even John.

He was still monitoring the screens when I looked up.

"What are you looking for Johnny?"

He shrugged. "Anything. Anything that will make this just a little bit easier."

See, when John's worried, or nervous, or panicked, or any other negative emotion really, he looks for details. Which is why he never actually seems worried or nervous. He just seems like a guy utterly in control of his fear, but he isn't. He becomes pretty obsessive over detail. I've read a couple of his rescue reports, and I'm not sure how much detail the people that read them (dad) actually notice, but the amount of stuff in there is unbelievable. I once saw a report from a particularly dangerous rescue in Russia that had the depth of 'One's and 'Two's landing prints. John had used some computer thing to register exactly how deep they were, and then in his extremely intelligent brain, he had worked out how heavily both 'Birds had landed. If that isn't detail, then I don't know what is.

"John, there isn't anything that can make this easier. Stop panicking."

"I'm not," he lied.

"Don't lie to me."

John is notoriously good at lying. He always has been. But a lie as stupid as that would be seen through by anyone. You'd have to be blind to not get that one.

He glared at me a little bit. I just laughed. Anything to ease the tension.

What seemed like hours later, Scott radioed in. "Thunderbird One to base?"

"Come in Thunderbird One."

"I'm landing now."

"Great. Be careful son."

"Dad, I'm 29. How many times do you need to tell me to be careful?"

"As many as it takes Scott," he smiled sadly.

"Keep going then," Scott smirked, before falling serious. "I can't see too much from here, but it looks bad. Really bad. I don't know how much we'll be able to do, or how much we'll be able to do that's safe for that matter."

"I know it will be hard Scott, but this is what you train for. You can do this between you. It's just a fire. It's like that one that happened when you were in Elementary School with John and Virgil. Everyone else was terrified, but you were fascinated. Not so much by the fire, but by the way they put it out. You know what to do Scott. Just remember, we can't save everyone. No matter how hard we try," dad said soothingly.

"I know dad."

"Great. Then go set up Mobile Control and do a damage assessment Scotty. Virg and Gords will be there soon."

On cue, Virgil's portrait began to flash.

"Yes Virgil?"

"We're nearly there dad."

"How far away?"

"Umm ETA six minutes. I can see the fire, and it looks real bad."

"That's what Scott said. Do you want to have the same lecture I gave him, or are you ready to face it Virg?"

"We'll be fine dad. See you on the other side then, I guess. No- wait- that sounds a bit weird. Just, just, see you later dad."

"Yes son."

Virgil shut down the comm. link, and dad sighed.

"Dad its fine," John tried to reassure him.

"I know John. It's difficult though."

"Yeah dad, it's difficult for all of us. But it's going to be fine."

He nodded tiredly.

"Do you want a nap dad?" John asked.

"I couldn't. I wouldn't be able to sleep."

"I'll man base if you want."

"This one's pretty big John. If I fall asleep at the desk, then don't wake me, but otherwise, I'm staying up."

"Fine. Whatever. Scott'll be radioing in anytime soon to give his damage assessment."

"Yeah," dad muttered.

"Oh for heaven's sake go to sleep dad!" John said.

"Five minutes," he mumbled. "Then wake me up. Alright?"

"Yeah…" John replied, not looking at the screen, but at me, mouthing 'no way'.

"Thanks Johnny."

"'S alright dad."

In seconds, his head was resting on the table as he snored softly.

"Scott to base, come in base."

"Scooter, dad's asleep, so I'm base for the next couple of hours," John intervened.

"Ooo-k Johnny. Well I've done a damage assessment, and it's quite bad, but I reckon we can handle it. Our main priority is saving the natives, and then we just have to put the fire out, which shouldn't be too hard. We have the best equipment in the world for that sort of stuff. We can probably manage a forest fire," he said wryly. John nodded, looking pleased that Scott looked happier than last time he radioed in.

"Great. Are you just gonna go then?"

"I guess. It's pretty simple, albeit dangerous."

"Yeah," John agreed. "I'm not really in a position to direct you, and I'm not gonna tell you to be careful, but Scott?"

"Yeah?"

"You know… Well, I dunno, I mean…"

"I know what you mean Johnny. Same to you," Scott smiled a bit, and cut the call.

Seconds later, Virgil radioed in. I could see Gordon behind him.

"Thunderbird Two to base?"

"Virg, dad fell asleep, he's been high on caffeine for days now," John said significantly, and Virgil, the field medic, nodded in understanding. "So I'm playing 'base' for a few hours," John finished off.

"Alright John. Well I've just landed 'Two and I'm ready to go with Gords."

"That's great. Scott's done his damage assessment, did he tell you?"

"Yeah, it doesn't look so big. We'll be fine."

"I know you will. Just, well, be careful guys."

"We will. See you Johnny. Over and out."

John nodded, and cut communications with Virgil.

"So what happens now John?"

"Now," he breathed heavily, "now we wait."

He wasn't buying the false optimism or Scott and Virgil any more than I was. This situation had gone from being quite dangerous to shit-scary in seconds, and I didn't like it.

A few hours, and some vid-calls from the guys later, there was a knock at the door.

"Yeah?"

"Lily it's me," Alan called back.

"Hey Allie," I called, getting up to open the door.

"You alright Lil?" he asked, squeezing me pretty tight.

I nodded into his shirt. "Have you heard about, well, everything?"

"Pretty much. I just finished speaking to John. He suggested you might want a brother in here, and seeing as the others appear to be a bit tied up, I thought I'd volunteer."

"Oh. So I'm stuck with you?"

"Pretty much," he replied, punching my arm lightly.

"Thanks Al. That hurt," I whined rubbing my arm.

"Wimp."

"Git."

"Little girl."

"Annoying."

"Same to you."

I didn't want to say anything else; because with this amount of tension either of us could say something we could upset each other without trying. So I just mock-glared at Alan and returned to my comfortable bed.

He followed me, sitting right next to me and wrapping his arms round my body.

"It's alright Lily. The guys are fine. It's just another rescue," he said in my ear.

"I know Al, but…"

"No buts. Go to sleep for a bit, there's a storm coming."

"I know. Johnny said."

"Smart guy, that John Tracy."

I murmured in agreement. My eyes were half closed. But they suddenly snapped open at the thought of something.

"Allie, don't you want some company?"

Alan hates thunderstorms. Just thought I'd clarify that.

"I'll be fine Lil. I've got my iPod, and maybe I'll chat to John. I want you to go to sleep."

"Fine," I huffed closing my eyes again. Before I knew it, I was snoring gently on Alan's chest, in time with his heartbeat.