No Place Like Home

by Criminally Charmed

Disclaimer - Don't own but I am nice enough to update. Oh, and thanks to Sammygirl1963 I corrected which chapter went here. Otherwise, you would be as screwed up as a politician...well, ANYWHERE.


Chapter Eight

Tara drove along, even more frantic to get as far from Bailey as possible. She had recognized the Lexus as being the one Alan Tracy had been standing next to earlier that day. The farmer in the dell she drove off the road in spite was one thing – causing Bailey's "favorite son" and one of his sons to go off the road? She'd be locked up so fast her head would spin.

The driving rain was now coming down in wide bands, combining with high winds, was making it almost impossible to see. It was in these conditions that Tara almost hit an overturned school bus. She could see there were people on board. As a nurse, she should get out and try and help. It was her moral – nay, legal – responsibility.

With a smirk, Tara turned around in the road, heading back about fifty feet. There was another bridge, if she remembered correctly, and from there she could skip County Road Fifteen and jump onto County Road Eight. Hell, she was already packed for a week off – and she remembered that she still had a copy of the credit card Peter had used for "professional purposes only". The bill was delivered directly to his office and the good Dr. Houle would not see it until he came back from him and his wife's vacation. Screw Kansas City. She would head for Topeka, get a hotel room, a good meal…maybe do a bit of shopping before she started looking for a new job there.

It wouldn't be the first time the card had been used to satisfy Tara's material needs…


Alan froze for half a second before quickly considering his options. He considered how fast the water was approaching and knew there was no way he could exit the vehicle, make his way through the muck and climb out of the formerly dried out riverbed without getting caught in the rolling water. In the car, however, he had some degree of protection.

"I'll have a bit more with this on," Alan murmured to himself as he buckled himself into the driver's seat.

His hands had barely completed their task when the water slammed into the side of the vehicle with the force of a semi-truck. The car rocked and twisted, water leaking in and metal groaning with the strength of the power of nature. Alan gripped the wheel as if by sheer will alone he could command where he would end up. Leaning his head against the wheel, the teenager began to quietly pray, tears slipping from his azure eyes.

But his prayers went unanswered as the car was pushed away from its safety zone, tumbling alone with the swiftly moving waters, and taking Alan with them. As the car rolled once, then twice, Alan found his head slamming into the window each time. The first time he was dazed. The second time, all awareness was lost and the world went dark…


Jeff froze in horror at the water rapidly heading straight towards the car – and his youngest son trapped within.

Forcing himself up, ignoring his throbbing hand, Jeff ran to the edge of the old river bed, screaming Alan's name.

"Alan!" Jeff frantically cried. But even as he reached the once more active river's edge, Jeff saw a rotting tree trunk slam into the rental car, forcing it from its safety spot under the bridge. The Lexus bounced against the cement pylon before rolling over and begin to travel with the rushing waters.

"Alan," Jeff whispered before shaking himself and began to head further down the river, running furiously as he attempted to keep up with the automotive turned flotsam that currently held his child.

But Jeff was so focused on trying to keep up with Alan that he wasn't paying attention to the damage the high winds and driving rain had done to the area. When his foot landed on a weakened portion of the river bank, the drenched soil gave way, causing Jeff to loose his footing, tumbling down into the surging waters below…


Scott thumped his fingers impatiently as he waited for John to finish his conversation with the head of Kansas State Office of Emergency Management.

"OK, Guys," John reported back. "The middle school in Bailey has a partial collapse. Because of some problems with the bridges, the National Guard may be running a bit behind schedule. The OEM would appreciate if we started there. It would also be a good place to set up Command, Scott."

"Sounds good," Scott responded.

"Only problem is we were told to coordinate all efforts with the Bailey's Sheriff Office. They have been speaking with a Deputy Landman and she is working as point."

Scott softly pounded his head against the wheel before answering. "What are the odds that Jeannie won't recognize one or more of us?"

Gordon's voice was the responder.

"Does the phrase "snowball chance in hell" mean anything to you, big brother?"

"That's what I thought, too," Scott muttered before sending word to Kate as to where they were headed.

He so didn't need her amused answer.


Jean Landman hung up her phone – thanking God that Jeff Tracy had funded satellite phones for emergency services in Bailey since most landlines and many cell phone towers were down or overtaxed – relief flooding through her.

"OK, Amos," she grinned. "Now keep that on your head." Jean pressed the pad to the Sheriff's forehead and reached for the tape. Securing the gauze over the head wound, Jean smiled as her husband came up behind her.

"Good job, Jeannie," he nodded in approval. "You'd make a good nurse."

"Why, you wanna play doctor?" Jeannie smiled, relieved at something to laugh at.

Billy blushed, while Millie rushed over, tsk'ing her daughter's ribald humor.

"What do you want me to do?" Millie asked Amos.

"Can you organize a canteen, Millie?" Amos questioned. "We might not have much damage in town – mainly just flying glass and what-not," he explained, pointed at his own injury. "But the reports coming in from the outlying areas aren't good. The National Guard is on its way but once they get here with the Red Cross, we'll be doing better."

Jean nodded. "International Rescue is on the way as well. They had a call up in Canada and were headed home when they heard about what happened and offered their services. I'm to meet them at the Middle School."

"The Middle School?" Millie asked, horrified.

"Should be OK," Jean said. "Worse damage was to the gym and the class that was to be having gym actually was headed to Kansas City for a field trip. Problem was that a lot of kids are trapped in the school itself. No serious injuries so far but still – a bunch of pre-teens trapped? Not good."

"Where's Keifer?" Amos asked.

"I have him coordinating local resources," Jean said. "He does know how to be anal with details and he will take care of things."

Jean kissed her mother and husband before giving Amos a small salute. As stressful as the situation was, she couldn't help but be excited. Wait until she told Scott that she met the Thunderbirds!


TJ Adair grimaced as he struggled to keep the truck on the road. He finally pulled up behind what was once a Texaco station. Crawling down, TJ sat on the floor, covering his head and started to pray. Years of living in the region told him that it was maybe an F-1, possibly an F-2, passing about a mile or two to the east. But even if he wasn't in the direct path of the twister, the winds could still toss him about pretty good.

With his heart in his throat, TJ flicked his eyes up when he heard a sick, twisting groan. A sharp snap and a crash followed and what was once the Texaco star rolled away, just missing the truck, cracking and leaving a trail of debris as it disappeared among the rest of the shattered world.

In minutes, the twister had passed and TJ unfolded himself from the floor of the truck. His eyes went wide at what was left of the station.

One of the three pumps was still standing. A second lay on the ground and the location of the third was a mystery. Fortunately, the station had been closed long enough that there was no gas, but still –

And the station…The wall next to where TJ had taken shelter was still standing. But that was all that was still standing. The rest of the building was gone.

With shaking hands, TJ restarted the truck and began to head back down the road, occasionally driving around pieces of nature or someone's life…At the sight of a shattered tricycle TJ could only hope that the child who owned the toy had gotten to safety. A new bike could be bought but a child was too precious.

As he approached the bridge that merged County Road 15 with the back road that he had been following, TJ froze when he saw Jeff Tracy near what had once been Widow's Peak River before storms had diverted it. TJ watched the man suddenly drop whatever it had been he was carrying a run frantically back to the dried out riverbed…

- Which was no longer dried out. Water and debris rolled fiercely down the way, filling the riverbed to the brim. Seeing Jeff Tracy, his terror as he ran to the river, TJ knew what was the man was trying to protect.

"Alan," TJ whispered, pushing down on accelerator. He could see the green top of a car – a sickly familiar car. When Jeff lost his balance, TJ hoped the man could catch himself. He knew there was no way the Tracy father could reach Alan in the Lexus. However, TJ used to drive delivery trucks in the region. He knew there was a bridge further down the way and the river would once more run under it. If he could take a short-cut, TJ could get there ahead of the rental car and he might – just might – be able to save Alan Tracy.

TJ figured he owed it to the family.


Jean pulled in front of the middle school, grimacing at the sight of the totaled gymnasium. Some children and a couple of adults were milling around but most were still inside the building.

"Mrs. Harris!" Jean called out to the vice-principal.

The administrator – and Jeannie's seventh grade science teacher – turned at the sound of her voice, sighing in relief.

"Jeannie Bates," Mrs. Harris smiled as she headed towards her former student. "Thank goodness."

Jean didn't bother to correct the name change, knowing that too many would always see her as Jeannie Bates. "Mrs. Harris, I need you to lead these kids to the clubhouse on the athletic field. Is the nurse in?"

Mrs. Harris shook her head. "No, we share her with the primary school – budget cuts. She is here in the afternoon."

The sound of a text arriving made Jean look at her cell phone, making her nod before speaking again. "OK, Amos says the nurse contacted him from the elementary school. She's turning over care to some parents who have arrived. It was mainly scrapes, a few bruises and a lot of scared kids."

"I don't think most of the kids are hurt," Mrs. Harris said. "The children outside now were in groundkeeper's shed during the storm. It was such a nice day and after the rain – well, I am covering for Mr. Adams's science class. His wife went into labor two weeks early, so we didn't have a substitute lined up. I thought after the bad weather, a nature walk would be good. So we took the seventh graders for a nature walk. Then the storm came up and I tried to get them back to the school, only for the twister…"

"I'm just glad you had a key to the shed," Jean joked with her former teacher.

"I broke the lock," Mrs. Harris whimpered. "Oh, dear – do you think I will be in trouble for that?"

Looking at the school with a large tree blocking the main entrance and the damage from the destroyed gym blocking the alternative entrance, Jean shook her head. "Mrs. Harris, you kept these kids safe. Now, get them to the athletic field. If they are ok, tell them to take a seat. International Rescue is on the way to give a hand and those kids will have some of the best seats in the house to watch real-life heroes at work."

Mrs. Harris nodded and smiled, gathering up the children and the other two teachers who had been corralled into assisting with the nature walk during their free periods. Together, the group headed to the athletic field, anxious to watch the drama unfold. More than one whispered that they were glad none of their parents had arrived yet. They weren't about to miss this!


TJ pushed the old truck as hard as he could but worried it wouldn't be enough. He didn't just need to keep up with Alan, he needed to get to the Route Three bridge before the boy.

Looking down at the speedometer, TJ's eyes caught sight of something that made him grin. It was a definite post-factory install. If it hadn't been for the drag racing he had done back in high school, there was a good chance he wouldn't have known what the small switch was for.

Knowing that he would have to time it perfectly, TJ waited until the bridge was in sight, revving the engine before hitting the switch and praying that the NOX was still active.

As the nitrous oxide was activated, TJ was practically pushed through the back of the seat, racing towards the bridge. With skill he had almost forgotten, TJ swung the truck onto the bridge.

Climbing out, TJ grimaced as another quick rain storm began to pass by, making the bridge slicker than it already had been. Wiping the water from his eyes, TJ pulled some cables he always carried with him as part of his kit. Looking upstream, he nodded when he saw the Lexus making its way down the river. TJ was fairly sure he could see Alan in the car, but the teen wasn't moving. Debris was slowing the path of the car, but TJ would still have to move quickly to get down to him in time…

Securing the cables to the hitch of the truck, TJ made sure his emergency glass break tool – he knew it had a better name, he just couldn't recall it – was tucked in an inside pocket of his windbreaker and a harness he used when going under cars was secured around his waist and groin. Looking down, TJ grinned when he saw the debris gathered under the bridge. It would slow the car as it reached the bridge and give TJ as long as two or three minutes to get Alan out of the car. Not as long as he would have liked, but at least now the kid would have a chance.

TJ climbed onto the guardrail and was about to jump when he almost lost his balance. The rapid rainstorms hadn't made the slick metal the most stable launching point. Sucking in his breath, TJ regained his balance and prepared himself once more when a flash of light caught his eyes. Looking up, TJ was horrified to see a red car headed straight towards him!


Tara had gotten lost twice and cursed viciously when another rainstorm started up again. With the blue skies visible on either side, she knew the rain wouldn't last long, but still…

Fumbling around for her cell phone, desperate to get a location on the closest gas station – she really should have filled up before leaving Bailey – Tara took her eyes from the road just as she reached the bridge. Snagging the device triumphantly, Tara looked up in horror as she realized that an old truck, one headlight damaged and both powered off, was parked on the bridge, blocking her path. She wrenched the wheel, hoping to avoid the vehicle completely…

She wasn't going to be that lucky.


Jeff rolled down the now slippery slope, landing with a dull splash in the water. With a desperate lunge, he tried to throw himself out of the rushing river and managed to grasp something – it turned out to be the root of what had been a tree – and began to draw his body from the water.

Just as he was half way free of the water, a piece of debris slammed into his knee. Jeff bit back a whimper of pain and continued to pull himself up. But the fall and the new injury weakened him, and he found himself sitting in the shallow water, occasionally buffeted by debris that came close, although luckily he was now enough out of the deluge to avoid the worst of it.

Looking around, Jeff was horrified to realize that the car with his son trapped within was now out of sight. Leaning back against the embankment, Jeff felt tears of frustration and anxiety run down his face as his body sunk a bit further into the mud.


TJ had been about to grab his gloves from the truck when he saw the headlights of the approaching car. Knowing this may be the only chance for both himself and Alan Tracy, he jumped off the bridge and prayed that he had secured his tow cable well enough that any impact wouldn't kill him.

Up on the bridge, Tara swerved the car causing a glancing blow on the corner of the truck. The damaged headlight was no longer the only problem – the whole right front end would now need replaced.

Tara didn't notice however – she had problems of her own. The sporty car may have been stylish and in the right hands a competent driver could have avoided any complications from a minor accident, even on a rain slicked metal bridge.

But Tara wasn't a very good driver in the first place.

As she over-compensated, Tara twisted the wheel sharply, and the glancing blow – which only moved the truck slightly – made her lose all control. Soon the red sports car was flipping over before heading straight towards the guard rail. In her panic, Tara slammed on the gas instead of the brakes and instead of just crashing through the rail, she headed straight through it.

Landing in the water below, Tara shook her head. Her vision was fuzzy – the bloody cracked glass of the window beside her may have explained that. Doing a quick mental evaluation, the nurse realized that she had probably broken a few ribs and may even have internal injuries. Like so many others, Tara was now beginning to admit that all those admonishments to wear a seat belt may have been a good idea after all.

Looking around, Tara smiled when she saw the man from the bridge. He looked to be alright. The man was reaching into another car where Tara thought she saw someone else. Fine – he could rescue that person since he was already on that side of the bridge, then he damn well better come and get Tara. After all – this was his entire fault anyways.

Making her breaths shallower – damn, it was really starting to hurt – Tara tried to focus on the man, but everything seemed to be getting dark. She hoped it wasn't about to rain again.

That was Tara's last thought before the rotted tree trunk slammed into her car, trapping her and forcing the convertible's top to rip open. As the dirty water filled her lungs and silt and debris wrapped around her, Tara's world faded to nothing…

TJ rocked back and forth for a moment, putting his booted feet out to bounce off of a stone pylon. A loud noise from above made him flinch, but TJ tried to focus on his mission. The motion eventually stilled and he continued to make his way to the trapped Lexus, praying he could reach the trapped teen within.

The car was slightly tipped on its side, the driver's side more out of the water than within. Pulling on the door, TJ was dismayed to realize it was jammed. Even though the back door had taken more of a blow than the front, it must have still caused some damage. Pulling out his emergency device, TJ looked carefully and decided his best bet was to break the windshield and pull Alan out that way.

Standing on the hood, TJ knelt on his right knee, and knocked on the window. Alan stirred slightly but failed to react further.

"Sorry, kid," TJ muttered. "But this is our only chance."

Luckily, it worked as advertised and the glass broke. It didn't shatter completely, but it did break enough that TJ could work his hand in. Wrapping his left hand with a handkerchief, he pulled the glass up and away, creating a large enough hole to pull Alan out of. The windshield glass cut at his hands, already scrapped raw from holding the rope without gloves.

Reaching into the car, TJ unbuckled Alan's seatbelt and pulled him up and out of the Lexus. He had barely secured Alan within the harness when something made him look up.

A large tree trunk was headed straight towards them. Swinging them away from the car, TJ watched, horrified as the debris hit the rental car, forcing it down into the river and under the bridge. As he swung back and forth, desperately clinging to the injured teenager, TJ thought he saw the debris hit something else further down river.

Deciding he could do nothing about that, TJ glanced down at the unconscious Alan before murmuring, "Now would be a good time to wake up, kid."

When Alan didn't stir, TJ sighed and began to pull them up, inch by agonizing inch, with the steel reinforced cable forcing the glass slivers further into his hands.

This was gonna hurt.


A/N - BUSTED! Review and help me decide who needs to help Alan - he's back from the movies - answer your reviews. No OC's. - CC