INVISIBLE
by Spense
CHAPTER TEN
When Alan woke up the next morning, he was shocked to see that it was nearly time for lunch. He couldn't believe that he had slept that long. The last thing he remembered was being on the plane coming home. That brought back to mind the whole fiasco of the day before. Scowling to himself, and rubbing his eyes, he got up to look outside.
Both pools were empty and quiet, so Gordon must be in the gym in the back of the house, near the infirmary. He couldn't hear anything except the normal sounds of the island, so everybody else was probably working. Good. He didn't want to have to see anybody in the family if at all possible.
He frowned as he remembered more about the day before. It was going to be worse now that everybody knew they'd missed his birthday. He shouldn't have told them. He shouldn't have HAD to tell them, either. Now they'd try to make it up to him, and try to make out like they hadn't meant it, but he knew better. They were just feeling guilty and he didn't want any part of it.
So stalling, he checked his computer for any news from Mr. McCutcheon. What he saw made him smile for the first time in a very long time. The offer on the Kansas farm had been accepted. Mr. McCutcheon informed him that the real estate agent he had hired would take care of all tasks involved in the closing, and since Alan was a minor, and the lock company was actually buying the property, he would have the accountant he'd hired sign for the company, since she would actually be wiring the money.
Alan felt a weight leave his shoulders. He had his home. Whatever happened in the future, he could always go home, and now nobody would be able to take it away from him. It would still be a long time before he was a grown up, though.
Feeling restless, he didn't feel like working on his locks right now. He wasn't getting very much done anyway. Aimlessly he headed for his door. He wasn't hungry, and there really wasn't much else to do except maybe play a video game or watch TV. And those were all in the lounge. Jeff didn't allow video games in any of the bedrooms.
He had just opened his door when a loud klaxon went off, making him jump. The villa erupted into action. Running feet, his brother's voices, and commotion from his father's office downstairs on the second floor. Ducking back into his room, Alan sat on the end of his bed and covered his ears. It was loud, and one more indicator of the hated family business. That was the only thing that he hadn't heard before. That or the shouting orders that nobody was making any attempt to hide anymore.
The klaxon cut off, and Alan heard the sound of the Thunderbird One's engines. All the noises that everybody had always tried to tell him were thunder, or planes overhead, or some other idiotic suggestion. Alan scowled. They always thought he was so stupid.
Once the house was quiet again, Alan sighed and headed once again for the lounge and the video games. At least his family was out of the way and nobody would bug him. But he was absolutely bored out of his mind, as usual. Nothing to do, nobody to play with, and people who didn't want him around. He just sighed again and headed for the stairs. He really wished he was back in Kansas. There was always somebody to play with there.
Reaching the lounge, Alan was surprised to see Onaha still puttering in the kitchen. She looked up when she saw him, her face concerned. Putting down the towel she'd been holding, she just walked out of the kitchen, sat down on the couch and held her arms out, without saying a word.
That did it. Running to her, Alan just buried his face in her shoulder, and sobbed out his unhappiness. He just let himself be comforted by one of the few people on the island that actually seemed to like him, at least a little.
TB TB TB TB TB
To Alan's everlasting gratitude Onaha didn't make a big deal out of it. Clearly she'd been told, as had his brothers, that he knew about IR, because they were making no effort to hide it anymore. He assumed they all knew everything else too. But Onaha just waited until he'd calmed down, then asked if he wanted to help her make sandwiches for the guys when they got back. And how about baking some cookies?
That seemed like a good idea to Alan. He was so tired of thinking, and it was nice to hear what Tin Tin was doing and how she liked Malaysia. They talked quietly as they worked, about school, his little league team in Kansas, and other routine, everyday things. Alan felt like he had back in Kansas, helping his Grandmother in the kitchen as they baked, or made the evening meal. This was familiar and normal.
They finished making a huge meal of sandwiches, soup and salad. The kind of food that would keep for however long it took for the rescue to finish up. It could be a few hours, or it could be many, there was just no way of knowing. To fill the time, they baked several batches of cookies, as well as a few pies. Onaha wasn't surprised that Alan was a great help in the kitchen, and knew quite a bit about cooking as well as seeming to enjoy it. Since Ruth Tracy had been an excellent cook and had enjoyed puttering in the kitchen, it made sense that she had passed that onto her youngest grandson.
Finally, in the early evening, Onaha was pulling out the last of the pies, and telling Alan some of the amusing things TinTin had said about her extended family as he cleaned up the last cookies sheets, when Jeff came down, looking tired. He should be tired, Onaha thought, as Kyrano came up silently behind Jeff. They'd both been in Command and Control, along with Brains, and they'd been working for nearly 7 hours straight. And that was after Jeff had come back very late last night, with Alan. She was grateful that she had had so much to do in the kitchen, and that she'd been able to keep the youngest Tracy busy all afternoon and into the evening.
"Is everything all right?" Onaha asked carefully, making sure that he noted Alan's presence, who was in the process of drying the cookie sheets and studiously ignoring his father.
He nodded at her, indicating he got her point. "Fine. Pretty routine, actually," he was happy to report. "Just long. There was a lot of debris."
A bridge had collapsed due to a flash flood. They got everybody out and accounted for, and really just needed to have Thunderbird 2 do some heavy lifting. Gordon and John had both gone along in case there was an issue in the water below, which there wasn't. They were just doing some final checks of the area, and then were going to head back.
"Good," Onaha said, relieved.
Kyrano smiled at Alan as he took a cookie, who grinned back, making Jeff's heart ache and feel slightly jealous.
"I saw you sent the whole complement. They weren't needed, I take it?" Onaha asked.
"No, thank heavens," Jeff sighed in relief.
The Beleghants both nodded in silent agreement. This could often be the hardest part – taking care of the aftermath.
"Glad to see you've made a lot of food. Gordon has already said he's starved."
"He always is," Onaha laughed. "Alan and I made plenty.
Jeff smiled at his son. "Good job, Alan."
Alan didn't look up from wiping down the counters. Kyrano looked at him. "Thunderbird One is going to land soon. Why don't you and your father go watch it? It's an amazing sight."
That got an instant response.
"No!" Alan shouted, coming alive, clearly angry at the very suggestion. Whether it was the Thunderbird, or going with his father, none knew. But, throwing his towel onto the counter, Alan darted out of the room and quickly disappeared deeper into the house.
The three adults watched after him sadly. "I'm sorry, Mr. Tracy," Kyrano said quietly, looking at his employer, who was looking devastated.
"Don't be," Jeff said, "I certainly can't do anything right in Alan's eyes right now, and I think I can safely assume that anything to do with International Rescue is going to be off limits as well. All we can do is try."
"It will get better," Onaha commented firmly. "Two steps forward, one back. Leave him alone for now. And by the way, I did manage to get him to eat a sandwich. And some cookies. Give him time. It's only been a few weeks since Ruth died. You are all still adjusting. And Alan is a Tracy through and through. You all deal with fear by turning it into anger. None of you ever turn passive. Nor do any of you tend to be subtle."
Jeff had to laugh at that observation. There was absolute truth to that. The 'Tracy Temper' wasn't a catch phrase in his family for nothing. Lucy had been the same, so it was no wonder all five of their sons reacted the same way.
"Thank you. For everything." He looked at the couple who were family to himself and his sons, grateful yet again to have them in their lives. He knew that as a single parent, he lacked the things that Lucy had been able to provide. The empathy, and the loving touch of a mother. It was so hard trying to be both a mother and father, and he knew he wasn't doing such a hot job at either, right at the moment.
But even as he was aware of his lack, and the frustrations of being a single father, he also knew he was blessed with the people around him. Kyrano and Onaha were prime examples. The quiet guidance they both provided him (and his sons) was heartfelt, meaningful, and absolutely priceless. He looked at them once more, feeling unending gratitude.
"I absolutely can't thank you enough for everything you've done. I know you've gone out of your way to help Alan. I know that both of you have been spending a lot of time with him. I'm just now starting to realize how much damage I've done, and that you've both been doing your best to mitigate it. I don't know what I'd do without you. What any of us would do."
Onaha just smiled and waved her hand dismissively. "Part of being family," she said, unconsciously echoing Jeff's own thoughts. "Now, you best come get something to eat before your boys get back and there isn't anything left."