Well, here we are - the seventh and final chapter for a story that I've thoroughly enjoyed writing. I'm so glad so many of you have enjoyed it with me. Thank you again, to all of you, for your comments and encouragement. It really has meant a lot.
A massive thank you, too, to Madilayn for letting me borrow the wonderful image that's inspired this closing chapter. I can't think of a better way for this story to end.
So, the crisis has passed, and life on Tracy Island can finally get back to normal. Or as normal as the base for IR is ever likely to get!
Thanks again for sharing this story with me, and I'm looking forward to seeing what my plot bunnies come up with next. Tunnels Of Time have already got them rather hyper-hoppy!
Crash 'n' Burn
Chapter Seven - We Are Family
Lie-ins on Tracy Island were a rare and welcome luxury. When they happened, you made the most of them.
Which was why, at 06:45, and with no calls to disturb the peaceful quiet, Virgil Tracy felt more than a bit miffed. Of all the mornings to wake up with the twittering birds outside, and find yourself unable to settle again, this had to be it.
Still, now that he was awake, he'd be as well to put the time to good use. Get down to the kitchen, and enjoy a quiet breakfast before three other ravenous vultures swooped down for the spoils.
First, though, he just had to make a quick call.
Pausing outside Scott's bedroom, he listened in quiet amusement to the duet of snores that were coming from inside. Yep, still lost to the world, but - well, what kind of Smother Brother in training would he be if he didn't just check to make sure?
Or maybe he just wanted another glimpse of those incredible socks.
Easing the door open, Virgil padded through it, and crept with the same stealth to Scott's bedside. Somewhere in a tangle of bedclothes, oldest and youngest brother were still curled up in the deepest comfort of sleep. From their peaceful expressions, they were also safe in the happiest of dreams.
More than happy himself to leave them there, Virgil padded back out again, and moved on along the hall into the den. Duty done. Now he could get down for some breakfast, and - oookaaay. Maybe not.
"Hey, Virgil. Guess you couldn't sleep either."
Still mentally scraping himself off the ceiling, Virgil threw a glare towards John's ghostly form. Well, his upper half, at least. The lower half seemed to be merged into the floor, and - damn, did he have to do that?
From the smirk on his face - apparently, yes.
When that grin turned to a frown, though, Virgil already knew its cause. Just as he'd experienced the previous morning, he knew his brother would be looking at this scene in front of him, and sensing that something wasn't quite right.
Sure enough, the question he'd already anticipated was already being asked.
"Hey, not to sound unbrotherly here, but... where's Scott? Is everything okay?"
'Okay, Virgil. You're always being told you've got the perfect poker face. Now's the time to use it.'
"Yeah, he's fine, John, he's, uh... just sleeping in... so's Alan."
Was there the slightest chance that his all-seeing, all knowing brother would buy that? Was there hell. However far he was from them in terms of physical distance... no, nothing, but nothing, got past John.
And when he saw those aqua-green eyes narrow even further, Virgil felt another flash of deja vu. To that time he'd assured his two oldest brothers that he was fine after a recent, especially strenuous rescue - and promptly keeled over into Scott's arms.
Smother Brother One had read him the riot act for that. And Smother Brother In Space had followed on right behind. By the time Grandma had finished with him, he'd felt like a damn five year old.
Before he could avoid a repeat run, though, Virgil's eyes caught movement over John's shoulder, and it was his turn to frown. Okay, so the only threat that EOS now posed to his brother were flying bagels, but - well, yesterday's far more terrifying events were still a touch on the raw side.
John had already recognized the warning signs on a face that was usually so warm and friendly, since he acted to head them off. Smiling back at his brother, he then turned to address the little box of tricks that said brother was still glaring at.
"I think some proper introductions are in order. Virgil, this is EOS. EOS, this is my next youngest brother, Virgil."
For several more seconds, this strangest of stalemates continued. Then EOS changed her circle of lights from icy white to a friendlier green. Changed the petulant voice she'd used before into a warm and, to Virgil's surprise, almost humanly friendly greeting.
"Good morning, Virgil. I am pleased to meet you."
Virgil blinked at that. Yeah, this ranked right up there on the Tracy scale of 'weird.' Still, if she was willing to bury her mechanical hatchet, then so was he.
"Yeah, um, hi... and, uh, likewise."
Between them, John grinned. Ah, the joys of being a new parent. The relief of seeing the kids, playing happily together, and -
"Are you sure that you and John are related, Virgil? You do not look anything like him, and neither do your other brothers."
- yeah, now he understood why his father had always had to field the same question. How could five boys with the same parents all look so strikingly different?
Of course, he'd still smiled in that private moment when he didn't think anyone had seen him. In Virgil's case, though, he didn't stop there. Starting with a priceless 'what-the-hell?' stare, his brother then roared with laughter.
"Yeah, EOS, I can assure you, we are all related. Some of us are just better looking than others."
"Not to mention modest," John shot back, enjoying this exchange for several more moments, before returning to more puzzling matters.
"So, how did you manage to persuade Scott to sleep in? Don't tell me you had Gordon tie him into bed? Again."
"You're just never gonna let us forget that, are you?" Virgil grinned, throwing another measuring glance towards EOS, then deciding there was enough understanding between them now to continue.
"Yeah, he just had a late night. By the time he got back from that oil fire, and talked some stuff through with Alan..."
As he'd hoped, the message had reached its intended recipient without interference. Before John could respond, though, a quiet voice beat him to it.
"Because of me. Because I threatened to kill him. And you."
Both now thrown for a total loop, Virgil and John traded 'now what?' glances. But it was John's extra sense of duty that made him react first.
"Yes, EOS. You see, Alan is the youngest, and... well, we're all very protective towards him."
"Yes, I have seen that," EOS replied softly, accessing her systems and studying the image within them. A tiny blond human, the one they called Alan, sleeping peacefully in the arms of the one they called Scott.
Against the far greater size of his brother, he looked so small. So vulnerable. But safe, too. Protected. Loved.
Everything that her new sentience yearned to feel too. That, after what she'd done yesterday, would be so much harder to secure.
But she was EOS. And, if less angrily and violently than she'd shown yesterday, she knew exactly what she wanted. She wanted to be a part, a real part, of this family. The duty that they'd all sworn their lives to had given her the best calculable chance to do it.
"But there are other differences between you. A duty the rest of you share, John, but that he does not. At least, not yet."
The eyes of her creator widened in what he would call 'surprise.' The eyes of his brother did the same. Another glance between them suggested they weren't quite sure how to respond to it. And for a newly sentient AI, the silence that followed was... unsettling.
"Have I said the wrong thing, John? Have I upset you, by reminding you of what I did?"
Even for an AI, her voice sounded warningly small. For the human who'd created her, it tugged at every part of his humanity, and couldn't be ignored.
"No, EOS. No, you haven't upset me. If you're going to be my friend, you need to know these things," John assured her, smiling warmly into the face of the entity he now felt obligated to protect.
He'd promised to show her the world that now surrounded her. A world that he, and his brothers, constantly risked their lives to keep safe.
A world that was as filled with threat and danger as it was with peace and beauty.
"International Rescue. International Rescue, we have an emergency!"
"International Rescue, this is the cruise ship Pacifica. We need help!"
Unpredictable, too. With one hell of a sense of timing.
Through her mechanised senses, EOS now saw a blur of movement. Her creator was already working at the displays in front of him, locating the source of each call in the same second that he identified their need for help.
"Schilthorn Control and Pacifica, this is International Rescue... we are responding, stand by. Virgil..."
"Right with you, John. All hands on deck."
In the same second, a klaxon sounded. Through its blaring call, three multi-sized figures came running into the den. Two that EOS instantly recognized. Another that she didn't. And one whose height alone matched his natural air of command.
"Full scramble... okay, John, what's the situation?"
"A cable car stuck in the Swiss Alps, and a cruise ship with an engine fire that's run aground near Fiji. No casualties yet, but..."
"Yeah, that could soon change... for both of them," Scott agreed, already striding towards the wall ahead of him. "Right, I'll take the cable car... Virgil, Gordon, Alan, you take the cruise ship. Let's go!"
"FAB."
Through a fourway chorus of voices, EOS watched their respective owners leave the den as quickly as they'd entered it. But not so fast that she missed a fleeting glance between two of them. The two with which she'd already made a special connection.
It was just one of them, though, that she now focussed on. Who impressed her with his gentleness as he led so many scared people to safety. Who inspired her with his courage as he fought the fires that had endangered them. Who surprised her with his strength as he fought to repair the damage.
And so young, too. He was a child, just as she was. And in just those few hours, he'd already taught her so much.
It was her creator, though, who she now asked to explain what she'd seen.
"And this, John. What is this called?"
Still monitoring his brothers' actions, John smiled. Her voice hadn't just registered a natural curiosity, but something more. Something even more precious, that he'd gladly encourage.
"This is humanity, EOS. This is what we do. Help those in need. Save those in danger. It's everything we stand for."
Such a simple term for him to understand, of course, but one still full of complexity for her. And one that kept her quietly occupied for the rest of the day, as she watched it at its best.
Without a human face to convey it, he couldn't see how it had affected her. But he heard it in her voice as she watched her new family come home. And it was everything he'd hoped he'd hear.
"Yes, John, it is. And I would be very proud to be a part of it."
"Well, we'd be more than happy to have you, EOS," John grinned, all ready to impress her further with the unique closeness of his family - then watching in fond exasperation as that family beat him to it.
It all started so innocently, too. All Virgil did was flop gratefully onto the couch, glance round at his equally tired but happy brothers - and open his mouth.
"Yeah, another action packed day for Team Tracy. And an early night won't do any of us any harm."
Rolling his eyes, Alan threw a 'here-we-go-again' glance towards his oldest brother. Then he saw the grin that spread over Scott's face. Saw the glint of mischief in his eyes. And from that moment, Smother Brother Two was doomed.
In perfect harmony, they started to cluck like chickens. With the same synchronization, they started to waggle their arms.
As Gordon caught on, and gleefully joined in, Virgil folded his non-waggling arms, and glared. Beside him, the holographic form of his brother just shook his head, and sighed.
He was used to it, of course. These moments of Tracy madness that bound all of them together. But now, for the first time, he had to try and explain it to an equally mischievous new life form. Even now, he still didn't think he'd gotten all that cream cheese out of his hair.
"I... do not recognize that sound, John. What is that?"
The sigh came out again. Except this time, it had some rueful words attached to it.
"The main reason why, for the sake of my sanity, I try to stay up here for as long as possible."
Yeah, wasn't that the truth? And at least it kept him safe from the mayhem that now erupted below him.
"Oh, you think that's funny?" Virgil asked pleasantly, in that tone of voice that told the whole household it was time to start running.
For three bok-bokking brothers with a death wish, of course - yes, it was. In Alan's case, though, that fun was about to come to an equally familiar end.
Grabbing the closest, and thankfully smallest body beside him, Virgil then flung it over his shoulder - unmoved by its yelps of protesting laughter as he dumped his wriggling cargo back onto the couch.
"Okay, Baby Face, you asked for it... yeah, chicken dance your way out of this!"
From that moment on, it was every Tracy for himself - all of them piling on top of the brother who was just so irresistibly ticklish.
"Ow!"
"Hey!"
"Aww, c'mon, Virg! Can't - Can't you take a joke?!"
"When it means payback as good as this?! Hell, no!"
Immersed in howls of laughter, it was inevitable that John had joined in too. And after what he'd been through the previous day - yes, it felt good. Indescribably good. Almost as good as watching the tangle of arms and legs on the couch turn into something that he instantly recognized.
As always, Scott was at its centre, his head resting easily against Virgil's shoulder. Gordon was curled snugly into Virgil's other side, while Alan lay in his familiar sprawl across both of their laps. And, as always, every brother had some form of contact with each of the others. An outstretched arm. A head. An ever protective hand.
With four bodies in such close proximity, it was hard to tell where one brother started, and another one ended. And for EOS, it was a curious but strangely endearing sight.
"And that, John? What is... that?"
Still smiling, John proudly watched his brothers settle into their own, truly unique form of creature comforts.
"That, EOS, is what we Tracys call the 'puppy pile.'
A pause, that he took to be satisfaction with his answer. Then yet another question, that again reminded him how challenging life as a big brother, and creator, and mentoring friend could be.
"John? What is a... puppy?"