Chapter 2

Virgil breathed a sigh of relief as his home slowly came into view, the past 24 hours had been long and tiring to say the least.

The mountain rescuer/medic had been called out to assist in the retrieval of several groups of hikers that had gotten lost when a thick fog bank had rolled in faster then what was predicted. The near no-visibility conditions had made mountain paths treacherous and hard to see. Luckily there had only been one major injury, one member of a small group had fallen several feet down into a deep ravine, breaking his leg and knocking himself unconscious in the fall. Virgil being the only qualified medic in the area had attended the scene, abseiling down to help the young hiker.

Parking his truck in the driveway the brunet smiled, hanging on the garage door in front of him, a large sheet had been hung the words 'Happy Birthday Daddy!' Had been painted in bold green letters, several green hand prints could also be seen.

He'd completely forgotten about his birthday. But then the realisation hit him. Had it really 10 years since he'd left Tracy Island, 10 years since he had even spoken to any of his family, 10 years where he could make his own decisions and had been free of the celebrity lime light of being a 'Tracy'.

He knew his family were all safe of course. The Middle Tracy child had kept a close eye on the operation of both 'family business's'. Watching any rescues that were broadcast on the news, waiting with baited breath and white knuckles as he watched his family risk their own lives and watched until the mighty Thunderbirds took off from the danger zones and the news feeds would then continued with the rest of the worlds news. And of course any media gossip or business news concerning Tracy Industries or his family was also followed.

Many a time he had wished he had been with them out on the field, helping them, making sure that they were safe. The medic in him wanting to know the extent of any injuries after seeing one of his brothers helped of the field by one of the others or even his father. The urge to call and rip them a new one, when he had seen Thunderbird 2 sustain any damage at all. He could tell when one of his younger brothers were piloting his 'bird'.

But his father had made his decision, had not approved of Virgil's choice in wife or liked the idea of his middle child wanting to fly the he had left, packed his bag and gone.

The young couple had soon married and moved to the mountain parks of Canada, changing their married name to Travis and disappearing into the masses of the general public. Buying a cabin on the outskirts of a small town and both taking a job with the local Search and Rescue Mountain devision.

Even when his family had made a very public campaign for his son to return home, 3 years after he had left. His Tracy Stubbornness had prevailed and the young brunet had stood his ground, 'we don't need him!' Had been his argument to His wife at the time, Kate had come so close to hitting his head against a wall, she had know how much family meant to her husband, how much he missed his brothers.

For a good 8 years the couple had been happy. They had made a good life for themselves in the small Canadian town, Blessed with three adorable children. The family had thrived, and if anyone suspected that Virgil Travis had any resemblance to the missing Tracy brother, then they kept their opinions to themselves.

That was until tragedy had struck, 2 years ago his beloved Kate had been taken from them. Called out on a rescue, not to dis-similar to the one he had just returned from.

A trapped hiker on a cliff face had fallen in a landslide, trapping her legs in the rubble and debris. Kate had been the one to go down and help the young girl, getting her out and back up the mountain side. Virgil had shown up just as the mountain rescue chopper had taken off, only for a shout to alert him of another landslide and to watch as his wife's line failed and to see her be carried off by the mass of loose dirt and boulders.

The months that followed had been hard. Especially on his young children, who hadn't fully understood what was going on and why mummy wasn't there for bedtime. Many a time Virgil had been on the brink of pulling his hair out or throwing something (no wonder his dad had been completely grey at the age of 40) If it hadn't of been for the kind words and help from there friends and neighbours, Virgil wouldn't of known if he was even sane or not.

There closest neighbour, Trish Dawson had been a god send. Taking the children when Virgil had been at his wits end and continuing to help the single parent when needed - including being a 24 hour on call babysitter, when he himself was on duty or called out.

Smiling and shaking away any unwanted memories, Virgil entered the house, placing his bag on the floor and hanging up his coat.

"Hello!" He called into the darkening house. "Anyone home?"

He just prayed that after being on a rescue for 24hours, Trish she had fed, bathed and Pj'd his zoo.

"DADDY!" came the shout of his middle and most hyper child. The 'brown hair'd bomb' as Virgil liked to call the 7 year old, looked the spitting image of himself, brown hair and darker eyes, thou Virgil often saw traits of his oldest and second youngest brothers in the little tyke, ferociously protective of his other siblings and a down right prankster to boot. God he could give Gordon a run for his money any day in a prank war.

Turning to catch the little speed demon and using the fast reflexes he had acquired since becoming a father himself (Virgil swore he could hear Scott and his father laughing) stopped his own Wednesday child, before he too was covered in whatever was trailing behind the kid in his haste to reach his father.

"Woah woah woah Champ! Hold on a minuet! What's all this Ben?" He asked, wincing as he looked in the direction his son had come in, a white powder following in his wake, a feeling of dread coming over the single parent. "Where are your sisters? Mrs Dawson?"

"In the kitchen! We made a surprise Daddy!"

He was guessing this 'surprise' included a bomb site of a kitchen, if his sons appearance had anything to go by. Picking the boy up and walking further into the house, that feeling of dread was becoming more obvious. Virgil stopped at the kitchen entrance

Not a speck was to be seen, a small birthday cake was on the breakfast bar.

"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY/VIRGIL!"

Jumping slightly as his 9 year old daughter Melanie, jumped out from behind the breakfast bar, along with Mrs Dawson who held his youngest Evie, in her arms. Both along with his son began to sing 'happy birthday' the 3 year old clapping along.

"Haha! We got you good daddy! Did you think we made a mess?" The little boy in his arms giggled!

"Yes I did" Laughed Virgil giving his son a quick kiss on the forehead before putting him down and inviting his eldest daughter in for a hug, before taking the toddler from his neighbour and placing another kiss on her head.

"Thanks Trish!" He said giving the older lady a kiss on the cheek. "How were they?"

"As good as gold!" The elderly woman smiled. "How did it go? All good?" She asked referring to the rescue.

"yes! We finally found them, just one casualty, airlifted out. Everyone else is safe and accounted for"

"Great! You are our own little International Rescue Virgil" she said giving him a wink, obviously he had told the lady his biggest kept secret.

"Look Daddy! International Rescue are on TV.!"

Walking over to the TV, 'BUSH FIRES IN AUSTRALIA IR ON SCENE' was scrolled across the bottom of the telecast, sitting next to his daughter, with the youngest on his lap and son on the floor, the Tracy brother watched as his siblings once more, helped the rest of the world. Thunderbird One and Firefly could be seen tackling the blaze.

"When I grow up! I want to be a thunderbird!" The little boy declared to the room

Virgil smiled to himself, "your Grand-pa would no doubt soon train you up" he thought to himself, concentrating once more on the screen and saying a silent pray to his mother once again to 'keep his brothers save'.

Trish came round placing a hand on his shoulder "They'll be fine!" She whispered