Disclaimer: How I wish the boys were mine. But nope; they belong to someone else.
Thanks again to my beta Darkflame's Pyre for checking this over for me. *Smiles*.
Happy reading all.
Do you have any idea what a rally is? Well, the Tracy boys found out the meaning of it when they were asked by their sister Sherry to act as what she termed 'navigators' for the most recent event at her college.
Alan had been asked to be the driver of the car they were taking. He loved speed but hated the snail pace he was forced to drive for this event. Mindful of his brothers behind him however, he kept his thoughts to himself and focused on listening to what his sister was reading from the Braille map or road book that the rally personnel had given her.
How did they all get here and why? Well, six years ago Sherry's life was changed forever when an explosion blinded her up on the space station for International Rescue; Thunderbird Five. During these six years, Sherry had changed. She had become much quieter and reserved. She was still the happy little sister that her brothers loved.
But it made the boys wonder what she would have been able to become if she still had her sight. Yes, she was a Thunderbird just like them; like John she worked on the communications side of the outfit.
While she was still going through school, she and Alan had rotated one week each over a fortnightly basis with John doing the other six weeks out of the normal two-month cycle. Sherry hardly ever went out into the field, but on the rare occasions that she did, she became the sentry at Mobile Control so Scott would be able to add an extra set of hands to the rescue.
After she'd finished high school Sherry had gone to the Department for Career Development School in Worcester, South Africa, otherwise known as the Pioneer School. It was just like any other college, but it was specifically tailored for blind students. She had met some new friends and was sharing a room with another girl in the same year as her. Her dad wanted her to get an apartment or her own room but Sherry had turned it down. She was used to life in a dorm.
Every year there would be a few rallies for the blind in the same area as the college, which were sort of like a race in orienteering. The one Sherry was looking forward to be the celebrity rally. They usually only took the local celebrities, but when word got out that Sherry's brother Alan taking part in races around South Africa with his team, they hoped to get him part of the rally too.
At only twenty years old Alan had already made a good name for himself as a racing car driver. What better way to get more people flocking to the rally then to get the famous Alan Tracy to take part? The only problem was that the rally personnel had a hard time tracking him down. So what did they do? Simple. They asked Sherry to ask him to come instead.
Sherry was smart enough to tell them that she'd ask him if he could be her driver. Sherry herself had only started taking part in the rallies in the college that year, although it almost hadn't happened when she had told her father about it.
Jeff had thought that it was one of the rallies where the cars drive so fast around a track that lots of the people ended up in hospitals or six feet under.
Sherry had had a really hard time trying to explain it all to her dad. When her brothers had wrangled their way into the mix it was even harder. After yelling and shouting and finally talking to her brothers and dad one on one, they understood. Once he'd understood that his baby girl would be protected and safe, he'd even sponsored the rallies from the first one she had attended onwards.
So when news of the celebrity rally came around Sherry was all for it.
She'd received the email after classes one Friday, and after finishing her homework, Sherry got out her old iPhone. Although it was out of date Sherry loved using it. Alan had given it to her as a gift after getting it specially altered after her accident, and no matter what anyone said about the old device, she would use it until it gave out completely.
Holding the home button and waiting for the tone which would alert her to speak Sherry smiled and said: "Call Alan please?" Moments later the sound of the phone ringing on the other end could be heard.
Tapping her foot in time with the ringing, Sherry was about to end the call when her twin answered. "Hiya Sis. How's life at college?" Sherry knew that when Alan was sounding so upbeat it meant that he was around the racing cars again. She grinned when she thought of the red car Alan called his baby, wondering if he was at the track.
Wondering what his reaction to the celebrity rally would be Sherry asked: "Um, Al? Can I ask you a big favor? It's kinda important."
She heard Alan stop whatever it was he was doing, and give her his full attention. She hurriedly went on. "You know they rallies Al?"
Hearing her nervousness, Alan butted in, cutting off the end of her sentence. "What's up sis? Something wrong? Is someone bugging you?" Sherry couldn't help but laugh at her brother's protective streak. She heard Alan mutter on the other end of the line. "Guess not."
Sherry grinned to herself. "Well, I thought that since you like to drive and such. How would you like it to be my driver on the celebrity rally?"
Hearing something hit the floor at Alan's end of the line Sherry could just see him in her minds eye. Jumping up, maybe a bit flushed. And just maybe a bit angry.
"What? When? Where?" Not sure if Alan was going to blow his top at the short notice, or something else, Sherry started to explain why the people wanted him in the rally and that he would be her driver and no one else's.
Hearing a soft sigh, Sherry could hear a scraping as her brother bent down and picked up the object he had dropped. "When is this rally sis?" Smiling when she could hear no anger in Alan's voice Sherry spoke. "It's next Saturday. It'll be all day. Please Alan?"
"Let me check if I'm free and I'll send you a text. Is that okay?"
Hoping for the best Sherry said, "Cool with me. I'll be waiting for it."
Turning and walking to an office not far from where the racing cars were Alan said: "Cool. Then I'll hopefully see you then. Oh, with what are we driving?"
Smiling at her brother's predictability, Sherry shook her head. "We don't know, but I know that we might be getting a van. Scott and the others are coming along for the ride and Virg will be on hand for any mishaps. The rally welcomes all medics and doctors you know? Just in case."
"Righty. I'll text you soon. See you sis."
Smiling Sherry said: "See you Blondie."
#
An hour later Sherry got the affirming text message. Not caring if the people downstairs came running up to scold her for yelling the place down, Sherry jumped up and down and letting out a couple of whoops of joy. What she didn't realize was that she'd be waking her roommate up in the process.
Sitting up the girl said rather unhappily. "What the hell's wrong with you Tracy? I'm sleeping over here."
Turning to her roommate Sherry snapped. "Unlike you I have something to be happy about, and I don't sleep during the day. Stop hanging around in the mall in class time and bringing in boys at night and you won't have the need to sleep."
"Unlike you I'm not such a space case or someone who can't mix with others. So if I were you Tracy I would stay quiet."
That stung. Sherry knew that she and John were alike, and that they found it hard to mix with crowds. Turning away she wiped at a tear running down her face. She hated it when brats got away with what they wanted.
Sherry heard her roommate go back to bed. She really needed to talk to John. He always knew how to make her smile again. Suddenly realizing that she still had an astronomy assignment to finish, Sherry got to work. John was teaching her astronomy online and she didn't want to disappoint her brother. When she'd completed it, she wrote him a long letter telling him all about the rally and Alan and the dragon of a roommate she had. She attached the finished assignment to the message and sent it off.
She knew that in a matter of moments he would send her something back. She knew that there was no worry that John would miss her message. When she sent him a message a little shooting star would come on his screen and a chipmunk voice would tell him that he had a message. The poor star would then crash to the bottom of the screen, spilling the message out to him on the page. He had to accept the message though.
On her own laptop she had a little worm that would come out of the darkness on her screen. Groaning and moaning as he went. When he was right in front of the screen he would dump a letter and scurry off again.
A few moments later Sherry's watch started to vibrate. Lifting it up, she asked: "Caller ID?" The vibration stopped for only a short while and then the watch said: "John calling." Getting up and walking down the hall and then to the right and up the first flight of stairs Sherry sat down on the landing and lifted her watch again to her face until the watch gave one vibration to let her know that the watch camera was focused on her face. "Accept call."
After talking to John for a while, while he alleviated her fears, Sherry decided to head off and have a chat with a teacher she had made friends with. She was the only person in the college dorm who would be friends with her. Sherry and the teacher would sometimes walk to town or just walk around or sit and talk.
#
When the day of the rally came, Sherry couldn't sit still or stop talking to everyone who would care to listen. Even her roommate couldn't shoot her down that morning. When the bus came to pick everyone up there was a commotion when the students and other blind people who were taking part in the rally realized that they had a celebrity on the bus with them.
Everyone wanted a piece of Alan. How they'd noticed him in his cap, he didn't know. But when they did, he had to push heavily past them in order to guide his sister to sit next to him.
When Sherry was buckled in Alan said, "I thought that the newshounds and sighted people are bad. But the blind are worse than the both of them put together."
Not able to stop herself, Sherry started to laugh. It earned her a glare from her brother, but she didn't care. When she'd managed to calm down, Sherry said: "Good morning to you too. Sorry. It's just that I hadn't known that you were going to come with us. The celebrities have their own bus. How did you end up on this one anyway?"
Rubbing at his neck Alan said: "That bus was full. And there were a couple of reporters or two. So I asked if I could hitch a ride in this bus. So here I am."
As the bus left Worcester and got to Cape Town an hour later, everyone was excited and only wanted to get off the bus. When they pulled up at the starting point, Alan and Sherry followed the rest of the people into a big hall.
The newshounds were there too, but not one had dared to move. They were told that they could take pictures and video as the people came in and as they leave in their cars. If any other photos were taken without permission, the one who did take them would find themselves outside. Sherry was glad for that.
When Sherry and Alan had found themselves a spot to sit, Sherry let her head rest on the table. She nearly fell out of her chair when Alan asked in concern, "You okay?"
Lifting her head again Sherry said: "Do you see Virgil and the others anywhere? I hope he's got some meds for carsickness." Sherry promptly put her head back down again.
Looking around the hall Alan saw their oldest brother Scott looking left and right. He was no doubt looking for the two of them. Getting up he waved him over, the rest of their siblings trailing behind him.
Stopping at the table they all sat down and saw that their sister wasn't even lifting her head to greet them.
Looking at Alan Scott asked: "Is something wrong with Sherry?" Nodding his head Alan said: "Yeah, carsickness. Or bus-sickness again."
This time Sherry nearly took the chair with her when Virgil's hand touched the back of her head as she jumped. "How many times do I have to tell you guys not to do that?" she mumbled against the table.
Stroking Sherry's hair, Virgil smiled. "Sorry. Would you like something to make it go away?"
Lifting her head just a bit Sherry asked: "How about taking me to the toilet first?"
Looking at their sister the brothers could see that she didn't look good at all. Helping Sherry get up Virgil guided her to the nearest bathroom. Sherry never got sick so bad that she had to use the bathroom like that, but today she knew that there was no way that she would be able to keep her breakfast down.
Taking a glance into the bathroom to see if anyone else was inside, Virgil took Sherry to the toilet and when he turned to close the door he was startled when his sister started to moan. Turning back around, he was just in time to see his sister hiccup and sink to her knees.
Going down on his knees next to Sherry Virgil asked, "You alright?"
Letting her forehead rest against the wall Sherry shook her head. "I never ever get so sick in a car. Now that I want to get sick here at the toilet I can't. It won't come out and I know that I need it too. It's like it's stuck."
Virgil felt sorry for his sister. Getting up he took her out and back to the table. Once there he went off again in search of a glass of water.
Sherry could taste that something was in there. No doubt Virgil's doing. After finishing it Sherry felt much better. She knew that her brothers were watching her and gave them a reassuring smile.
After eating some lunch and listening to all the rules, Alan was called away with all of the other celebrities for the route instructions. When he came back, Alan had a smile on his face. "I've gotten a really nice high-tech van."
Seeing the little glint in Gordon's eyes Alan said: "It even has enough earphones in there to keep those who are getting bored busy."
Gordon grinned.
#
When the time came for everyone to move off to their cars, Sherry stopped without warning. Just one look at Sherry and John new what was about to happen. Rushing forward he grabbed her arm from Alan's and nearly run over another team as he guided her to the ladies' bathroom.
He could hear Virgil follow behind them, his footsteps loud against the floor.
He got Sherry to the toilet just in time.
Sherry bent over and the tears running down her face just made her feel worse. When she got up again she felt much, much better and gave a sigh. Looking up, she realized that two of her brothers were watching her. Turning she said: "I'm fine now guys. Guess I was just nervous."
After letting her brothers help her to clean her face and taking some meds from Virgil for her headache, Sherry was ready in no time.
When Scott saw Sherry he asked: "Are you alright? Because if you're not okay we're not taking part."
Knowing that Scott would watch her until she went mad Sherry nodded. "I was just a bit carsick and now I'm okay Scott. Really. I mean it."
When everyone was in their designated vans, Alan started the car and moved to the line of vans like theirs waiting to go forward.
From the backseat next to John, Gordon asked: "Which number are we for this one?"
Smiling Sherry said, "Number ten." A man and a woman were running to each car handing them their things.
When they came to the van they gave Alan a stop watch, a checkpoint table on a clip board and Sherry's book.
Opening the side door Virgil took the rest of the things. A road sign to put up when or if their van broke down, or if something else went wrong and a heavy fire extinguisher.
Virgil handed it to Scott who handed it to John who in turn dropped it all on Gordon's lap. Yelping in surprised annoyance, Gordon moved it out of the way and sent John a mock glare.
Pretty soon they were at the starting point. The lady who reached into Alan's window and took the watch and set it. Looking to John she said: "No GPSs."
Looking to John Scott couldn't help but smirk when he saw that was exactly what John had on the screen of his mobile tablet. Reaching out his hand Scott tapped the exit button. "No GPS mam." He said solemnly.
Up front Sherry was laughing softly. Turning to face the woman, she said: "Forgive my brother. He's a computer junky. He always has to track us when we are driving somewhere. It's a habit." Sherry grinned deviously.
Giving a sigh the woman started the count down. "Ten, Nine." While she was counting down Sherry opened the book and gave Alan the first instructions as to where to turn and what to look for. When Sherry gave Alan the speed which was five kilometers per hour he and the rest of her brothers spoke in unison. "What?"
The woman started laughing as she counted the last seconds. "Three, two, one. Off you go." She dropped the watch onto Alan's lap and while driving off at five kilometers per hour Alan found the watch and handed it over to Virgil who was sitting in the middle.
Alan had to look for checkpoints, street names, speed boards and turn offs.
He had a good eye for that. With Virgil keeping time and warning Alan when he would be too early or too late each checkpoint, they made good progress. If they were coming up too early to a checkpoint, Alan would let the van crawl along slowly and sometimes just stop a few meters away from the checkpoint until he had to drive forward to get there on time.
Every time they'd get there too early or late more points were added to the teams' score. The less points accumulated, the greater the chance to win.
Driving onto a dirt road Alan had to slow down. The road was really bad. Turning his head just a bit he asked, "You sure we have to drive here sis?" Nodding her head Sherry checked the book again. "Yes, it says so."
#
At some point Alan saw a car come speeding their way without slowing down. Seeing what was about to happen Alan slowed the van and pulled over while watching the speeding car come closer. Then without warning the car flipped over and over to the right.
Without hesitation, the boys got out and ran to the car.
Hoping that it wasn't a rally car, Sherry also got out and came around the van's front she stood there listening to her brothers work.
At the car Scott, Virgil and Alan had managed to wrench the door open and Gordon reached in to help the guy out. Little did he know that he had other ideas.
As he took hold of his helper's wrist, he twisted Gordon's arm around and shoved the redhead down the slope the car was balanced on.
Shocked, Gordon wasn't fast enough to slow his fall to prevent a fall into a thorn bush. His back was on fire. Hundreds of small thorns were getting a hold of him and they hurt!
The guy at the car got his feet kicked from out under him by Scott, and then Virgil pinned him down. John and Alan ran off to help their fallen brother.
A police car suddenly pulled up next to them and a policeman got out. Walking over to the three men he let Scott and Virgil hand the man over.
Over at the bush, Alan carefully pulled up Gordon's shirt and whistled. "Ouch. That looks painful."
Glaring at Alan Gordon said: "Would you get me out of here? My back is on fire."
Carefully walking over to Gordon, John helped Alan draw him to his feet. Walking passed them, Gordon nodded, moving stiffly. "Thank you."
The two blondes followed him back to the van where Scott, Virgil and Sherry were waiting. When Scott saw Gordon he asked: "Did you get hurt Gordon?"
Shaking his head just a bit Gordon said, "I ended up in a thorn bush."
Stopping at the van, he jumped a bit when Virgil spoke from behind him. "You better get that shirt off your back. Looks like the thorns have cut up your back pretty bad."
Getting into the van Gordon did as he was told. The others followed him into the van and when the van started and moved on Virgil looked at Gordon. "You better lie down."
Looking at Virgil as if he had two heads Gordon asked, "Where?"
Scott tapped his hand across his knees. "Here: Lie down across our legs."
In front Sherry felt sorry for Gordon. She knew what damage those small little thorns could do. They were buggers to get off. She herself had fallen into such a bush and ended up in the sickroom later that night screaming. One of the thorns had gone into her big tow and had caused a lot of pain for her, and had nearly gotten an infection from it. How she got down into the sickroom barely able to walk and how she had gotten into the bush in the first place was another story entirely.
Soon Sherry could hear her brother yelping as Virgil tried his best to pick the thorns out with a pair of tweezers and not hurt him.
John still had the little stop watch in his hand and was watching the time for Alan and Sherry. They were making up their lost time and did rather well as soon as they were back on a normal road again.
Soon they were at another checkpoint. Number Three, the sign proclaimed. When the guy took the clipboard with the checkpoint table on it, he wrote the time down from the stopwatch. They'd managed to avoid gaining any points. He spotted Gordon and what Virgil was doing.
Seeing where he was looking Alan said: "My brother got thrown into a thorn bush by a guy we helped out of his crashed car." The injustice of that still burned.
Giving the clipboard and stopwatch back to Alan the guy asked: "Do you guys have a first aid kit?"
Nodding his head Alan confirmed that. "And the brown haired brother with the tweezers is our resident medic. So don't worry. We're fine."
The guy moved away and the van was off once more.
#
It wasn't long before the van got stuck in a long line of rally cars.
Looking down the road in concern, Alan frowned. "I wonder what's going on here."
Reading some more in the book Sherry spoke. "Alan? Do you see a turn off around here? We might be too far back. The turn off should be on your right. That's on your side of the car"
Looking into the direction Sherry had said, Alan shook his head. "No, I can't see any. There is a turn off on the left though."
"Then let's go down that way."
Pulling out of the line of cars Alan nodded dubiously. "If you say so."
From the back Gordon lifted himself into a somewhat seated position and looked at the long line of cars. "Um, sis? You sure we should do it?"
Feeling a hand push him back down Gordon grunted in annoyance. "Oi! Can't a guy look?"
From where his head was resting on Scott's lap he could hear John say. "No, you're topless and you'll upset the ladies."
Realizing what he had just said John said softly, "Sorry Gordon. I didn't mean it in that way."
Gordon just shook his head. "Don't worry John. I know you didn't mean what I think you thought I would think. You're right. Everyone's dressed and to see a topless man in a rally van are not something we need right now."
Scott was glad that it didn't end up in a yelling match. He knew that Gordon could sometimes get upset about things that referred to his accident, despite the injuries being long-healed. He knew why too. He looked to the front of the van and remembered how people at Tracy Corporation had reacted to Sherry's injuries and how she had flipped out about it. Looking to the back Scott saw that a long tail of rally cars had begun to follow them.
Everyone nearly went flying when Alan suddenly stepped on the brakes. "Hey! That guy can't hide behind a tree like that. We nearly missed a check point." He put the van in reverse and backed up until he was next to the attendant. Taking the stopwatch from John and the clipboard from Sherry he gave it to the guy. Eyeing him as he in turn grinned down at Alan.
When the guy handed everything back he said. "Thought you racing car boys never miss a flag."
Feeling his face flush at that, Alan was about to say something scathing to the guy when a hand tapped him on the arm. Turning his head to see who it was, he saw Scott gave him a warning look. He's not worth it. Turning back to face the road again Alan drove off, his insides still burning.
Feeling someone tug on the clip board she had placed under the Braille book Sherry lifted the book and let the board be taken.
Looking down at the clip board John said, "Ten points at checkpoint number four." Hearing a soft growl from Alan John couldn't help to smile at that. Alan loved to get points when he was racing but hated to get points in a rally for the blind. It made sense though. Ten points meant a ten percent chance of not winning.
Giving a soft sigh, Sherry grinned. "From here on it's a straight drive through the tunnel and then the casino. Worcester; here we come!"
#
As soon as they got into the tunnel after the tollgate Sherry felt a bit hot. Too hot. She hated the tunnel sometimes. It meant that the windows were closed and even the air in the van smelled like gas. Sherry always thought of the day she had seen the horrible crash on television in some tunnel somewhere which was way longer than this one. She had been sighted then, but it was long before their father's organization was ready to go.
She felt a bit odd. She didn't even have to ask herself to know that it was slight claustrophobia.
When they got out the other end, Alan put a bit more speed into the van to get to the end, though he was mindful of the bends in the road.
When they finally got on a straight line again, Sherry let her head down in her hands. Nauseous again.
Looking over at his twin, Alan saw that she was again carsick.
Not wanting to get the mother hens on Sherry's case Alan asked in a whisper. "Want me to stop?"
Shaking her head, Sherry fumbled for the button on her door to open the window. As soon as the fresh air made its way to her Sherry gave a sigh and then read the last bit to Alan.
Alan could see Virgil watching him and Sherry. He knew that Virgil would corner his twin when they stopped.
Just as they were about to drive into town Gordon got a new shirt on, the antiseptic cream that Virgil had applied making it stick to his back over the scratches.
#
When the van stopped at the casino, everything was handed over to the people waiting there. That done, everyone moved into the hotel to use the bathroom downstairs and then moved to the dining hall for a quick lunch.
Sherry didn't make it far. She found two of her friends who were still in school and walked with them to prevent Virgil lecturing her.
Just as they were about to walk into the girls' bathroom, a hand came down on Sherry's arm. When her friends felt her stop they turned and blushed when they saw Virgil eyeing them.
Taking Sherry from her friend's arm Virgil said softly: "Sorry ladies. I need to check her over before she goes in there."
Walking Sherry past the bathroom and down the hall to one of the rooms where they were staying for the night, Virgil let himself and Sherry in and had her sit on his bed.
Sitting down next to her he looked at her seriously. "You have been getting sick lot more lately. Either you tell me what's up or I'll drag you to the nearest hospital to get you checked out. Your choice Sherry."
Kicking the bed with her shoes Sherry sighed. "I'm stressed and I was sick for a while. That's all. The other girls in the dorm are getting to me and I'm hardly sleeping because of her activities at night. John knows all about it and you can ask him. Now please let me go? I have to, or else you'll have a problem on your hands. Please Virgil? If I'm still sick tomorrow you can check me over and all that jazz."
Letting Sherry get up Virgil nodded, and took her to the bathroom he was sharing with their other brothers and closed the door. When Sherry came out she walked with her forehead smack into Virgil's hand.
Sighing in resignation, she knew that she should have expected that he'd check her anyway.
When his arm came around her shoulders she knew that he'd let her go for the moment but that he would be watching her every move.
When they got to the table their snacks were already waiting for them. Sherry was half way done when the bus driver called all the students who had to get back to their dorms to hurry up, before the bus left them behind. Leaving her plate on the table, Sherry got up and was led to the bus by Scott. The rest of her brothers followed behind them with two students each.
#
Back at the dorm Sherry again had to fight with two spiteful students who were blocking her way to the bathroom. She wanted to have a bath and the two girls didn't want her to use the bath. Not one to yell or hit someone she shoved them out of the way and slammed the door shut.
When she came out again she was angry to find three men in her room and one of them were snoring away on her bed. Dropping her things on her table she was about to flip when a voice from the door stopped her.
"What on earth is going on here?" Sherry new that voice. It was John. She also knew that it wasn't her brother speaking but the university astronomy professor. She wasn't the only one he tutored from onboard 'Five.
They were in for it now. She grinned as she heard the guy on her bed shoot up in alarm and the other two men along with the girl who she shared the room with jump up.
Stepping into the room John looked them over silently, disapproval clear in his gaze.
Looking to his sister's bed he saw that all her books and possessions were all carelessly thrown into one corner of the bed. He didn't even have to say a word before all three of the men suddenly vanished from the room.
Turning to the other girl John asked rhetorically "Whose room is this?"
Standing up to her full height, the girl met John's gaze haughtily. "Mine and Sherry's. Who the hell are you?"
Stepping a bit closer John said, "Watch your mouth. Do you talk to your teachers like this too?"
Realizing that the man in front of her was not someone she'd want to mess with, the girl sat down on her bed heavily. Playing with her bed covers she said, "No, sir."
Moving away from the girl John said, "If I hear that you bring boys into your room again at stupid hours of the night, or that you don't ask your roommate before you bring them in here, you'll be in trouble. You're here to learn. Not to party. Do you understand me?"
Nodding her head shamefacedly, the girl spoke quietly. "Yes, sir. Sorry sir."
#
Later that night Scott, Virgil, Gordon and John were sitting at a long table waiting for everyone to come in. John had told them about what had happened at the college dorm and that he hoped that the girl had learned her lesson. He'd taken Alan's rental car to go check up on Sherry and he was pleased that he had been able to help out his little sister.
When people started to walk into the hall with their drivers everyone started to clap. When it was Alan and Sherry's turn everyone went quiet. Most of the people couldn't believe that Alan was there. So when they said his name the whole place lit up like a disco. Camera lights flashed and Alan had to close his eyes for a moment and stop to wait for the little lights dancing in his eyes to go away.
Sherry felt sorry for Alan. She knew how much he disliked photography. When they got to their table, a guy on the stage started talking about the rally. People were thanked and then they spoke about the sponsors and then who would be singing and then they spoke of the auction that would be held.
When it was time for dinner, the drivers had to go get both their own food, and also the food of those they had driven for. When Alan came back and sat down he waited until his brothers could go get food for themselves. Both he and Sherry couldn't wait to hear who won. There was chit-chat along the table with drivers and navigators and sponsors alike.
When the guy on the stage returned, he spoke of how the day had gone and then they started calling out names and car numbers and how many points those people had. Thanks to Jeff Tracy everyone got a little something for participating. A small hamper and a little car to put somewhere to remember the rally by.
At last it was time for the last three teams to come up to the stage. Just for fun everyone had a team name. Team Three was called Team Dangerous; the second team was called Team Ego. And then came Team Tracy. When all three teams were standing on stage people had to guess as to who was third, second and first.
When that was done the spotlight was turning from one team to the other until it was going so fast that Alan thought that it might just fall out of the wall. He had to blink every time the blasted thing came around.
At some point a few tears had started to run down Alan's face and he cursed the spotlight for that.
When it stopped on he and Sherry and Alan the guy yelled out. "Team Tracy is the winner on fifteen points!"
Sherry jumped up and down and then Alan picked her up and swung her around. Down at the table Sherry's brothers all jumped up and whooped with joy, catcalls and cheering, as well as a loud, piercing whistle from Gordon. When Sherry got her prize she couldn't help but smile. She also got a large sum of money, which she then gave to the college dorm to get the computer labs upgraded.
The rest of her prize she would send home with her brothers. Part of this prize was a very heavy cup which she and Alan had to hold on to so she wouldn't drop it.
After that, the auction began. Sherry placed a bid on a music book with lots of old piano songs in it and won it for Virgil. When she came down the stage with Alan and the book she followed the table until she found her brother. Putting the book down in front of him after making sure that it didn't end up in an empty plate, she smiled. Finding his ear, she whispered, "Just for you Teddy Bear".
Virgil blushed and turned in his chair, hugging his sister tightly. There was also a shop where you could buy things if you wanted. For Gordon, Sherry got a yellow plush submarine bear which she dumped on his head when Alan helped her to the table.
Not able to hide the huge toy, Gordon could only blush as people looked at him. He was redder than his hair. His sister loved him and meant well, but jeez she could be embarrassing sometimes.
And Sherry knew that well.
Upon seeing it, his siblings sang the yellow submarine song and he could only hide his face behind the sub in embarrassment. Scott got a jacket and Alan a red hat which he had on his head even before it was paid for.
Sherry didn't know what to get John though. It made her feel bad. She nearly jumped a mile when the brother in question touched her arm.
Looking to John Sherry said miserably, "I don't know what to get you."
Feeling on the table Sherry looked at what was left. She felt so sad. There wasn't much left. Only a photo frame, a key holder, another little bear and a mug.
Sighing she asked the woman behind the table. "Isn't there anything else?" The woman got up and Sherry could hear her moving stuff around. A long box made its way onto the table.
Feeling it Sherry asked curiously, "What's in here?"
Smiling at Sherry the woman said: "It's a very old telescope."
Sherry's eyes widened, and without hesitation, Sherry nodded decisively. "I'll take it."
When she turned John was watching her. Pulling on the box to slide it off the table Sherry almost dropped it when she felt how heavy it is.
John saw what was about to happen and stopped the box before it hit the ground.
Lifting it firmly in one arm, he guided Sherry outside and got her to stand at the wall just a few steps away from where their van was.
When he came back he hugged her and for a moment she could feel him shudder.
Lifting her head she asked, "Are you okay? Did I make you sad?"
Feeling her brother rub her back she couldn't help but smile. He was trying to say thank you.
She knew that he was upset because they weren't able to share their experiences with their mother, who had taught them about the stars.
Pulling on his jacket she made her brother bend his knees just a bit and then she gave him a kiss on his cheek. "Don't worry big brother. I'm glad you like it."
Letting John go she laughed. "Don't blush like that." They both jumped when again the bus driver called the students to get on the bus. It was a great ending to a good night.
#
The next day Sherry was up early to say goodbye to her brothers. She knew that they all would be looking her over and that Virgil and Scott would be the ones to decide what her fate would be.
When they showed up to say goodbye she was happy to find that they were satisfied that it was just the car that had made her ill. She wasn't too sad to say goodbye to them in front of the dorm because she'd be going home in three weeks with Alan for the holidays and then come back for the last bit of her college year.
Promising Virgil that she would call if she felt sick again and telling them to fly safe she hugged them each one last time and took her med kit from Virgil. He had looked over it for her, and made sure that everything was there that she might need. She had that kit because it meant that Virgil wouldn't worry about her. So every time she went home she would take it with her and he would check it over and she would bring it with her again. It was an agreement on both their parts.
Listening to them leave Sherry closed the outside gate to the grounds and then the security one just before the door, and smiled.
This had been the most fun she could ask for with her brothers. She couldn't wait for the next rally to come around.