Family Matters
By GrumpyMagrat & Magratconvert
Disclaimer: We do not own the Thunderbirds neither are we making any money off this endeavor. This is strictly for our own enjoyment, and hopefully, the enjoyment of our readers. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 11 – The Beginning
Sharon followed Kyrano to the lounge. She was surprised to see the portraits of the brothers had changed to pictures of them in the familiar International Rescue uniforms. She slipped just inside the door and watched as Jeff gave out orders.
"Scott, coordinate your efforts with the local rescue agencies. I want drop-off points by the time that Thunderbird Two arrives."
"F-A-B," Scott replied.
Sharon expected him to walk by her on his way out the door. She was confused when he headed in the other direction. He headed to the wall that held an abstract painting. He caught sight of her when he turned away from the painting and gave her a wink. Grabbing the two lamps on the wall, he spun out of sight. Sharon cocked an eyebrow and muttered to herself. "The surprises keep coming." She turned her attention back to Jeff.
"This rescue area is huge. More than likely, you'll have to split up to maintain an effective rescue. I want you all to be diligent in your contact with each other. John, you're going to need the Firefly. Squeeze the Excavator and whatever other rescue equipment you can into the pod with it. Gordon, help John. Alan, stock some extra med packs in Two's sickbay. Virgil, have her ready to lift off as soon as they are done. I want you in the air as soon as possible."
A chorus of "F-A-B"s answered him as the brothers left for Thunderbird Two's hanger. Sharon couldn't help but drop her jaw as Virgil disappeared head first through the painting of the rocket. She wondered how many other hidden doors were in these walls.
"I see we've shocked you," Jeff said.
Sharon moved closer to his desk. "You know, when Scott told me about International Rescue, I never really thought about all this behind the scene stuff. It's pretty impressive. Where are they going?"
"To the Philippines. There was a massive earthquake off the coast."
"An earthquake? How bad? Will they be in danger?"
Jeff shook his head. "I don't have any specifics on the magnitude of it, but it caused significant damage in the islands, more than the local authorities can handle. They called us for help. As far as the danger, we won't know until they arrive. There could be unstable buildings, live utility lines, not to mention the possible aftershocks."
Sharon had forgotten that Kyrano was there until he asked. "Would you like me to bring you some coffee, Mr. Tracy?"
"Yes, please, Kyrano, it's going to be a long night."
"Is there anything that I can bring to you, Miss Sharon?"
"Just coffee is fine. Thank you, Kyrano."
Once Kyrano left, Jeff commented. "I see that you got him to stop calling you Mrs. Nettles. That's quite an accomplishment. You'll have to tell me your secret."
Sharon turned back to Jeff. "I simply made him a deal. I dropped the Mr. from his name, and he would call me Miss Sharon instead of Mrs. Nettles. Compromise…it works wonders." Changing topics, she asked, "Do you stay here the whole time they are out on a rescue?"
Jeff nodded. "As long as it's a short rescue, I normally remain at my desk, but if it's a long rescue like this one is going to be, I'll stretch out on the couch every now and then to catch a few winks. We also have protocols to ensure that they get rest periods out in the field. After all, a tired operative is a dangerous operative."
"That's good to hear."
Jeff leaned forward and rested his arms on his desk. "Sharon, I know…" He was interrupted by Virgil's voice over the comm.
"Thunderbird Two to command. Ready for lift-off."
"F-A-B, be careful, boys."
"What does that mean?" Sharon asked. "F-A-B?"
"It's our form of acknowledgement, like ten-four."
"Why not just use ten-four?"
Jeff shrugged. "We wanted something different. We batted around a few ideas before we settled on it."
"Is it short for something or the initials of something?"
"It's short for fabulous."
Sharon laughed lightly. "Fabulous? How do you go from ten-four to fabulous?"
Jeff smiled. "Blame Alan. He was trying to be a smart alec, but his brothers latched on to it. And it's fabulous with a heavy British accent. Don't ask me why, but the boys always say it that way when the subject is brought up." Getting a serious look on his face, he then shifted direction. "Look, Sharon, I don't you to think that I'm trying to meddle here, but I know Scott proposed to you, and I also know that you're concerned about the dangers of his job."
"I'd rather not discuss it right now."
"I can understand that, but just let me say this: I understand your fears. These are my sons, the people who mean the most to me in the world, who I send out on these rescues. It's not something I take lightly. I want to assure you that we take every feasible precaution to ensure their safety. If you and Scott do get married, and the unthinkable happens, I want you to know that you will always have a place here, and if you don't want to stay here, I will make sure that you and your children will be provided for. You won't want for anything."
"Except for the husband I lost. No amount of money can replace that."
"Yes, I'm well aware of that fact."
Sharon's face reddened. "God, I'm sorry, Mr. Tracy…uh…Jeff. I didn't mean it like that. I'm sure that it was just as painful when you lost your wife as it was when I lost Mike."
"I still miss her. Anyways, I just wanted you to know that I do understand your feelings, and if you want to talk about it, if there's anything I can do to make you more comfortable, just ask. I'm here."
"I'll remember that." Sharon stood and moved to the windows. She stared out at the ocean in an effort to calm herself. "How much longer before we hear from them?"
Jeff checked his watch. "Scott should be getting there soon. Two's a little slower. It'll take them about an hour. I'm sure we'll hear from them as soon as they have something to report."
"I don't know how you stand it, all this waiting." She gave a slight laugh. "And it hasn't even been that long. How pathetic am I? I'm sure you're thinking that I'm nowhere close to International Rescue material."
"You'd be surprised. I may appear calm right now, but that's just practice. It's a test of my willpower each time they go out. If I had my way, I'd have a two way comm. open the whole time they were out. Better yet, I want to be out there with them. I have my own uniform. Did you know that?"
"So, why don't you go out?"
"Security reasons. I may be labeled a recluse, but I'm still too recognizable."
"I see."
Kyrano returned at that moment with the coffee and even a plate of pastries and some fruit. "In case you change your mind, Mr. Tracy," he replied to Jeff's cocked eyebrow.
"Thank you, Kyrano. I'm grateful for your thoughtfulness."
"Is there anything else you need, Mr. Tracy?"
"No, I don't think so. How about you Sharon? Anything you need?"
"No, I'm fine. Thank you."
Kyrano bowed slightly. "I will take my leave then. I will be in my quarters if you should need me."
"We'll be fine. Thank you, anyways. Get some rest, Kyrano." Kyrano nodded and left the room. Jeff turned back to Sharon. "You should probably get some rest too. The children will be up at their normal time in the morning. They won't understand why you're so tired."
"Maybe in a bit. I'm too wired to sleep right now. Besides, if I'm to know if I have a shot at a life with Scott, I'm going to have to learn how to live like this."
"Okay, but keep one thing in mind. The most important lessons we learn in life are not learned in one day, one month or even one year. We continually learn, each and every day of our lives."
Sharon held Jeff's gaze for a moment and then turned and stared at the darkened skies outside the window. "I understand what you're trying to say. I wish I could be brave and declare that I'm looking forward to this challenge and the rewards that I stand to gain, but I'm not. Not right now. Yes, there are rewards to be had, but there is a price to be paid. I'm not sure that it's worth it."
"What will it take for you to know?"
She sighed heavily. "I don't know. God knows, I wish I had the answers, but I don't. I just don't."
"Sharon, I wish I could…" Whatever Jeff was going to say was interrupted by Scott's call.
"Mobile Control to command."
Jeff keyed the comm. "Go ahead Mobile Control."
Sharon moved closer to the desk and listened quietly.
"I've met with the local authorities here. The damage is extensive. We're going to be here for a while. I've decided the best course of action is to split up. I've determined three different cities that are in the danger zone. I figured they would be good starting spots. We can use local rescue personnel to help us, and work out to the outlying areas."
"Sounds like a plan. What cities are you going to? And how are you going to split up?"
"I'm going to set up the command center here in the city of Legazpi. I'm planning on keeping Alan and the Firefly here with me. I'm going to assign Virgil and Gordon to Virac on Catanduanes Island."
"What equipment will they have?"
"The Excavator and the Fire Tender. That'll leave the Domo for John. I'll be sending him to the seaside town of Daet."
"Do you have a plan of action?"
"The first step is to set up emergency shelters. We need to find places that are well away from possible falling debris. The aftershocks are still shaking this area pretty good. Hopefully, we can organize enough volunteers to handle the shelters so we can do the actual rescue work."
"Right, Mobile Control, keep me informed of your progress."
"F-A-B"
Once the comm. was disconnected, Jeff looked up at Sharon. "Well, it's a start. I guess we wait…again."
"The hardest part of our jobs," she gave him a wry smile. "I learned that much at least from my life with Mike."
"It's going to be a while. Why don't you stretch out on the sofa and get some rest?"
"Didn't you say that was your spot?"
"How about if we take turns? You go first."
"You're not going to let this go, are you?"
"Nope, we Tracys are a stubborn lot."
"So, I'm learning. Okay, I give in. I'll try to get some sleep, but I expect to be woken up as soon as you hear some more."
"You got it."
"Shouldn't that be F-A-B?"
Jeff rolled his eyes and tried to speak in his gruff, fatherly voice, but the lightness broke through. "Go to sleep. That's an order."
"Yes, sir." She gave him a mock salute and then curled up on her side on the couch. She figured that it would be impossible to go to sleep, but in less than ten minutes, she had drifted off.
Jeff pulled a light blanket out of a hidden closet and covered her with it. Looking into her peaceful face, he murmured to himself. "Oh, Scott, I certainly hope you two can work it out. You deserve to be happy." He went back to his desk and pulled some papers out of his inbox and began to work quietly.
TBTBTBTBTB
Scott locked down mobile control. It had been a long eight hours since they arrived. He was grateful that things had so far gone according to plan. The emergency shelters had been set up. There were a few volunteers helping transport and care for the victims. The fire chief figured there would be more once the sun came up. During the night, he and Alan had cleared about four city blocks. Since the quake happened shortly before nine in the evening (Philippine time), most of the office buildings were empty except for the occasional workaholic and the cleaning crews. The restaurants and apartment buildings were a different story. Even though, realistically, he knew there were going to be casualties, every dead body they pulled out of the buildings seemed as a personal attack against him.
After six hours of work, Scott ordered Alan, Gordon and John to take a four hour rest period. Normally, he would've waited until the eight or even the ten hour mark to order a rest, but they had the fishing trawler rescue with only a few hours of down time before this call came in. He knew that none of his brothers had gotten a good rest during that time. He planned that he and Virgil would take their rest period after the other three came back on duty. He called his father to apprise him of their schedule, and to check on Sharon.
"So, our progress will be cut during this time, but it can't be helped. We need to get some rest."
"It's perfectly understandable. Keep up the good work."
Scott sighed. "I don't know how much good we're doing. The devastation…well…It's just…"
"Scott, we've gone through this…"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I have to 'accept the fact that we can't save everyone'. Save the speech. I've given it myself enough times."
"Yet, you still have a hard time believing it."
"I will eventually. It just goes against all I want to accomplish in life. Switching gears, here, how's things back at base?"
"I'll assume you are interested in one new recruit in particular," Jeff used a code just in case someone was eavesdropping on Scott's end.
"That one, and the two 'Junior Thunderbirds' too."
"She spent the night in here quietly observing the operation. She left at breakfast to be with them. I overheard the kids saying they were going to the beach for a picnic lunch. Since it's almost noon, I'm assuming that's where they are."
"Did she get any rest?"
"She slept some in between your reports."
"I hope so. A picnic with the kids can be a handful if she's tired. Did she have any comments about the rescue so far?"
"Not really, I tried asking her some questions, but she didn't really respond. I felt like I was prying, so I stopped."
"All right, then. I have to get back to work. I'll be in the Firefly. Mobile Control, out." He disconnected the comm., and thought about Sharon. He knew that her decision could hang on this rescue. It was either going to alleviate her fears or scare her so badly that she'll never speak to him again. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He headed to the Firefly and the work still ahead of him. He would just have to let fate work things out.
Author's note – Neither of us have ever been to the Philippines. The three cities we named we got off of a map of the area. We did try to do some research on the internet about them. What we found showed them to be was modern and growing cities. If we are wrong, we apologize.
How will Sharon handle this rescue? Will she run into Scott's arms when he returns, or run from the Island? Only time will tell. (Of course, we could tell too, but we won't. hehe)
We hope you are still enjoying the story. Thanks again to our wonderful beta, Lillehafrue. She has been great at fitting it into her busy schedule. Thanks for reading.
