The space front had been quiet for a whole twenty hours now and John was bored, he leant against his pillow and tossed his book aside.
"C'mon Earth, someone must need rescuing somewhere."
Down on the island his brothers were just as bored, quiet days meant that they could get extra hours of sleep if wanted but they also meant they couldn't be out in the danger zones saving lives. Twenty five year old Scott was lounging by the pool when his watch beeped.
"Hey John, any calls?"
"You wish."
"I do."
"Nah, sorry. What are you lot up to down there?"
Scott laughed to himself "nothing, we've run out of things to do, you?"
"Ditto, I've given myself more sleep but that's about it."
"Have you tried counting stars?"
"Is that meant to be funny?" John smirked.
Scott smiled back "how about your keyboard?"
"I haven't had time to play, this has been our quietest couple of days in almost two weeks."
"That'll move time along, playing the piano always seems to help Virgil."
"I'll give it a go, say hi to everyone for me."
"See you John" Scott smiled and went back to sunbathing.
John got out of bed and walked over to the keyboard by the viewing window, he sighed and pressed the switch, then sat on the stool.
"How does Virgil do this? I don't even know how to begin" he lifted his arm to call his brother then shook his head "no, I have another week of being up here, so I may as well teach myself."
He turned back to the keys and began to pick out some chords, suddenly he had an idea and went to get his Ipod, he went through his list and came across a few piano pieces that weren't too difficult to learn.
A couple of hours later he had accomplished two pieces, the first one was called 'How to save a life' and the second was The Cass Carnaby's piano version of 'Dangerous Game' which Virgil had made a copy of for him. John began to play 'Dangerous Game' again, this time determined not to make a single mistake, his fingers moved delicately across the keys and he smiled at the sound he was making as the tune carried into the main room of the space station, as he played, his ears caught the sound of a voice through the radio.
"Calling International Rescue, come in please?"
"Finally" John leapt up from the piano and skidded over to the radio "International Rescue receiving you strength five, go ahead."
Later in the week John had built up quite a substantial collection of pieces and the day before he was to return home he called Virgil.
"Hi John, what's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong Virgil, I was wondering if you'd like to play in the concert I'm putting on when I get home?"
"A concert?"
"Yes, I've taught myself some pieces on the piano, and, well I kinda feel like showing them off to the family."
"Sure, if you'd like me to be in it" Virgil smiled.
"Great."
"What pieces have you chosen?"
"Well, my top one is 'Dangerous Game', then I've thrown in a couple of Einaudi pieces and something I've composed myself."
Virgil's eyes widened "gosh, I better get myself a collection of pieces to play, you sound like you're preparing for a recital!"
"I guess in a way I am, by the way the others are welcome to play as well, if they'd like."
"I'll ask them. Looking forward to hearing you play John, I told you that keyboard would come in handy, see you tomorrow."
John laughed "see you."
John turned back to finish his packing then returned to the piano, he flicked his fringe out of his eyes and moved his foot onto the pedal to begin the Chopin Nocturne he had dug out from a pile of books Virgil had given him, he pressed down lightly and began to play in the silence of Thunderbird 5, the notes echoed around the satellite and he stopped for a moment to move the keyboard closer to the bed so that he could play and look out at the world below him, his blue boot depressed the pedal lovingly and John closed his eyes memorising each section. Dawn came to the Pacific and John, being connected to the clock at home, woke up ready to receive the call from his dad saying to expect Alan and some point, he didn't have to wait long.
"Jeff Tracy to Thunderbird 5?"
"Morning dad."
"I've just sent Alan down to Thunderbird 3, he'll be in orbit in two minutes."
"FAB dad, I'm packed and ready to go."
"See you soon son" Jeff ended the call and John picked up his bag from his room, double checking he had all the music he would need for the concert. It wasn't long before he heard his youngest brother's voice over the intercom.
"Ready for the boarding tube John."
"FAB Alan."
Moments later the younger blonde came through the door.
"Hasn't this month been all over the place, quiet some days, heaving on others" Alan laughed.
"I hope you can find something to do on the slow days."
"I'm sure I will, see you in a month John" Alan hugged his brother then sealed the exit as John made his way to Thunderbird 3 where Scott was waiting.
"Let's go Scott, I can't wait to get home."
"Yes, Virgil has told us everything" Scott frowned.
"You don't have to, I'm not forcing anyone."
Suddenly Scott laughed "of course I'll play in your concert John! Did you really think I'd be mad?"
"I can never tell with you Scott" John smiled as the ship turned back towards Earth.
"I'm afraid Gordon won't be playing anything."
"Why not?"
"He's in two minds, he loves playing casually but he doesn't like the idea of an audience."
"Well, he doesn't have to, I'm not going to hold him at gun point to play."
Thunderbird 3 landed safely and later in the afternoon John returned to the lounge, he walked over to the piano and sat down at the keys to practice for the concert. From the poolside Scott looked up expecting Virgil to be gone however Virgil was still sitting in the chair next to him.
"Who's playing?"
"It must be John, he's sounding good" Virgil smiled.
"He's really taking this concert seriously."
Virgil got up and looked up at the balcony above them "come on."
"Virg, that's mean. Let him be."
"What? You guys walk in on me all the time " Virgil rolled his eyes and ran up the steps followed closely by Scott, they walked along the balcony until they got to the open doors, they paused for a moment then looked in, John was happily playing and they walked in.
"Sounding good John" Scott smiled as John jumped.
"Oh, uh thanks Scott."
"When's the concert going to be?" Virgil asked leaning on the piano.
"I don't know, how about the weekend?"
"Sounds good to me, as long as we don't receive an emergency call that evening."
John stopped playing and looked up at Virgil "what are you going to play Virgil?"
"No idea at the moment, I'm sure I can find some pieces."
"Are you sure Gordon doesn't want to join in?"
"Ask him yourself, I can hear him coming."
No sooner had Scott said that, a whistling Gordon came into the lounge, he stopped short seeing the group around the piano "oh come on guys, don't make me feel guilty."
"We haven't even said anything" Virgil laughed.
"Join in on the concert Gordon, you'll regret it if you don't" John smiled.
"If you stop pestering me to be in it then I guess I could play something" Gordon grinned "well I'm off for a swim, see ya."
"How in the hell did you do that John!?" Scott asked watching the ginger leave.
"What?"
"Convince him to play?"
"I guess I know how to get around Gordon" John laughed and got up from the stool "here you are Virgil, you need it."
The days flew by and Saturday arrived, the day of John's concert, he had already spent half the morning just trying to find an outfit.
"If I can't find anything casual then it'll have to be formal wear" he sighed to himself looking at the various items of clothing laid out on his bed, Scott walked past his door and chuckled.
"That's quite a collection of clothes John, what's wrong?"
"I don't know what to wear tonight, do any of these combinations look right?"
Scott joined John and scanned the outfits before pausing at one "how about this one?"
"What about it? It's nothing special."
"Didn't you wear this to that award ceremony we all went to last year?"
"Yeah, but I wasn't the smartest looking person there."
"This is fine John, you know blue suits you."
"But it's our uniform colour, sometimes I feel trapped in blue."
Scott sighed "go for black then, you can't go wrong in that colour."
"I guess so, I just didn't want the outfit to become too formal."
"John, it's your concert. The outfit is your calling, we'll follow your lead, all you've said is to be smart, it doesn't have to be top hat and tails."
"What about Virgil? You know what he's like with piano concerts."
"Forget about Virgil, just wear what you think is comfortable" Scott smiled and squeezed his brother's shoulder before leaving the room.
John nodded and hung everything back up, all except the black suit he would be performing in later.
Eventually the time came to prepare for the concert, Jeff helped his sons to move Virgil's piano into the centre of the room and Grandma laid out snacks, then the house went quiet as the residents got ready. Tintin changed into a purple gown and began pinning her hair, down the corridor she could hear Virgil warming up on his keyboard and smiled.
In his room John was pacing, as he tried to keep down the nerves he drummed his fingers against each other, everyone sounded more prepared than himself, Gordon and Scott were tuning up their guitars together down the corridor, there was even laughter. He sighed and left the room to find Virgil, he knocked gently and Virgil called him to enter.
"What's the matter John? You're as white as a sheet" Virgil stopped playing and frowned.
"I'm so nervous Virg, I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life."
Virgil got up and led him to the bed "sit and breathe deeply, you're going to have a panic attack if you're not careful" he knelt in front of his brother "look at me John, this is a concert in front of your family, there's nothing to worry about alright?"
John nodded "I know, it's just, this is my first time playing to anyone."
"I understand John, I remember my first time too, but it's fine, it'll be over before you know it, and we're all here for you."
John smiled and Virgil winked "I'm going to go and warm up, are there any spare pianos?"
Virgil stood up and took a set of keys out of a drawer "here, go down to Thunderbird 2's hanger, there's a small office in there with a piano inside, never tell dad about it ok?"
"FAB, see you in the lounge."
John made his way to the hanger and found the room Virgil had been talking about, he unlocked the door and walked in, in front of him was a black stand up piano, John laughed quietly and began to warm up.
Eventually everyone was ready and sat in the lounge, Jeff opened radio contact with Alan so that his youngest son could watch the concert too, John stood up and made his way over to the white grand, he took a deep breath and settled himself down onto the padded stool.
"I'm starting with 'How to save a life', 'Moonlight Sonata' and 'Dangerous Game', Virgil will play then, followed by Scott. There'll be a short interval then I'll play one other piece followed by Gordon hopefully, after that, the piano is free to anyone" John smiled rubbing his hands together.
"Excellent son, when you're ready" Jeff said encouragingly.
John began the introduction to the song and relaxed into the rhythm of the verses, Alan grinned from the portrait and Virgil smiled relieved that John had found his confidence for the performance.
'Dangerous Game' came next and John moved through it like a fish in water, he depressed the pedal quickly as chords were placed delicately with each other and unlocked the passages with simple varied dynamics. He moved into the final piece of the section which was slow and lilting and he moved gently with the music, his blonde fringe swayed with his body movements and he closed his eyes forgetting about the audience for a short moment, then he re-opened them as he took in the applause, he stood and bowed slightly then sat down with his family as Virgil stood up.
"Virgil, you do not need to take your drink with you" Jeff rolled his eyes.
"Dad, it looks professional."
"More like showing off" Gordon coughed earning a glare from Virgil.
"Anyway, I'm playing a piece by Scriabin, Grieg and Rachmaninoff" Virgil smiled and sat down on the stool flicking his tails behind him.
"Dramatist at the piano here" Alan said with a laugh.
"Alan, if you were here right now, I would give you such a big high five" Gordon grinned.
"Oh shut up you two" Scott snapped "go on Virg."
"Thanks Scott" Virgil ran a hand through his hair and began to play, all three pieces were beyond difficult and John sat in awe of his brother. The final piece drew to a close and Virgil released the pedal with a delicate clunk.
"That was incredible Virgil" John said as Virgil sat down beside him.
"Nah, it was nothing, you were much better than me."
"Stop being modest, that was probably the greatest performance from you I've ever heard" John, overwhelmed, suddenly pulled Virgil into a hug.
"Gee, thanks space-case."
Jeff smiled then turned to Scott "well Scott, are you next?"
"Seems like it, although I'm afraid you won't hear me at the ivories, I'm playing the strings tonight."
"Which guitar?" Alan asked.
"The classical" Scott walked over to the desk and pulled up a stool "you can see me right Alan?"
"Yeah, don't worry Scott, I can hear you anyway if I can't see you."
"Alright then, I'm playing a piece I heard on one of the rescues and a piece I composed myself." Scott plucked the strings gently and Virgil recognised it to being the piece they had heard by the San Martino Dam. The melody sounded more like a lullaby and was very sweet to the ear, the final arpeggio drifted into the air and Scott looked up from the strings "after I've played this next one, could someone give me a title for it please?"
"Sure."
Scott turned back to the strings and began his composition, the room went silent as Scott played as everyone focused on the tune. The melody was sweet yet complicated with subtle lines of other tunes, including the piece Virgil had composed for their organisation, Scott smiled as the final chords disappeared from the guitar.
"That was great Scott" John said as Scott put the guitar down.
"Cheers. Gordon, do you still want to play?"
"I guess I don't really have a choice do I?" Gordon laughed and walked across to Scott who gave him the guitar.
"Ah man, I thought you were going to play the electric Gordy" Alan whined.
"Sorry bro, it would take too long to set up, it's easier just playing this one" Gordon said positioning the guitar across his knee.
"Alright then, I'm still looking forward to it."
Gordon began to play, reluctantly, and John chuckled to himself as his brother glared at him humorously. The piece was short and it wasn't long before the melody had stopped.
"Thanks for doing that Gordon."
"To be honest, I'd feel a bit rubbish if I hadn't performed."
"Well done boys, those were some lovely pieces" Jeff smiled "and great idea for organising this John."
"Thanks dad" John smiled "if you guys hadn't given me that keyboard for Thunderbird 5, it would never have happened, so thanks."