Okay, so I was planning a different story for J - with some difficulty - but got a second vote for this challenge word. (I always go for the most popular vote, if there is one, and in the case of a tie go for the one with the better chance of injury.) This is why I am posting at 2:30am; I only just finished and got it back from my beta. (It also didn't want to end ...)

I'm going to say right now that I have never encountered a jellyfish and the research I did was not the most helpful, but I did the best I can so please be kind if I got something wrong. (Remember, this story was written between 10pm and 2am, including research.)

This chapter is dedicated to the two reviewers who selected the challenge word, TheFABFive2015 and CyanB, the latter of which added a suggestion for John. (Luckily, it was his turn anyway.)

A bigger than usual thanks to my beta, 1monster2, for going over the chapter at 2am so that I could post tonight.

Enjoy ...

Chapter 10: J is for Jellyfish

John had never been more nervous to take the space elevator. It wasn't that he didn't trust the cable or the pod, both had been designed and built by the best engineer on the planet. No, what made him pause was what would be waiting for him on the other side – or rather, who would be waiting.

"Hey, John," Scott's hologram appeared before him. "You coming? Dad said you would be here an hour ago."

"Yeah, I just had a few things to … uh … take care of."

Like his fear of returning to Earth. It was completely irrational, but he couldn't help it. He was still having nightmares about that stupid asteroid …

"So … Alan still hasn't got his certification?"

"No, he still has about five hours left."

John sighed, silently berating himself about how stupid he was being. It wasn't like anyone was going to tell him to take Alan back up in Thunderbird Three, not after last time, but the kid had a way of getting people to do things they never planned on …

"Don't worry, John," Scott assured him with a comforting smile. "Dad already talked to Alan and, unless it's an emergency, Thunderbird Three is grounded until you're back up there."

It was as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. With Alan's membership to International Rescue still pending, any call out to space would probably be handled by him and Scott. He could handle that. Besides, he had kept his family waiting long enough and Gordon was only going to turn 19 once.

The ride down was as smooth as ever, and John was really looking forward to spending time with his family. Birthdays in particular were always special on Tracy Island. Dad usually took time off –providing there wasn't a call out– and the whole family spend the day together swapping stories and sharing food. It wasn't exactly a party per say, but the festivities lasted from sun-up until the last person crashed for the night.

"Hey, John!" Alan greeted, the second he stepped out of the elevator pod. "It's good to see you."

"Good to see you too," he replied, wrapping his arm around his youngest brother. "So, where is the usual welcome wagon?"

"The others headed to take care of an earthquake in Italy."

John frowned. Earthquakes were never a good thing, but in places where cities were built on the water, they were even more dangerous. Luckily, for the people of Venice, the epicenter was in the southern part of the country. Still bad, but not as much as it could have been.

"So …" Alan started, using his casual-I-want-something voice. "Since they're gonna be gone for a few hours-"

"I'm not taking you up in Thunderbird Three," John stated firmly.

"Of course not," he said, eyes wide with forced innocence. "I was thinking more like jetting over to Brisbane."

The way he talked, flying to Australia was no different than walking down to the corner store to buy some milk. Then again, that was where they usually went for groceries … However, John had gone on enough outings with Alan to know that simple trips were rarely simple, and without a good reason he wasn't going to the cove with the kid. He just go back to terra firma as it was!

"Sorry, but I was gonna change and take a nap."

"You could always sleep on the plane," Alan offered.

John's eyes widened slightly as he realized what that would mean. While there were no asteroids in the Pacific, he wasn't exactly eager to put his brother at the helm of anything bigger than a red wagon. The kid seemed to catch on to what he was thinking and quickly brought up auto pilot as an option. Still, he couldn't see any good reason to go tearing off to Australia.

"Why do you even want to go to Brisbane?"

"I gotta pick up Gordon's birthday present."

Oh … that's a good reason. Letting out a sigh of resignation, he went to go change while Alan fueled up the jet –with the firm understanding that he was to leave all flying to John and not touch the navigation computer. After checking in with his dad to let him know where they were going, and ask if he needed anything, the astronaut joined his eager little brother in the small hanger. Suddenly, he was having a very disturbing flashback …

There were no asteroids in the Pacific.

Take off went as smooth as could be expected and –for once– Alan was behaving himself. They had clear skies ahead and would be landing in Brisbane within the hour. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Do you think I can fly on the way back?"

There were no asteroids in the Pacific.

"Um, maybe Scott can take you out later, or Virgil."

Though he looked like he wanted to protest, Alan accepted that he would be nothing more than a passenger this trip. Smart kid. He was quiet the rest of the flight and they made it to Brisbane without incident. So far so good.

"Okay, so where is the gift you want to pick up?"

"Montgomery Sea Life Center."

Of course it was.

*J*E*L*L*Y*F*I*S*H*

Alan hurried up to the gate of the aquatic zoo and immediately started a search for their main offices. He had figured out the best gift ever for his sea loving brother … and fortunately his father had agreed to pay for the bulk of it. He would stop by the gift shop on the way out for his contribution, but Dad had said that it could be from him since it was his idea. Gordon was going to flip over this … if he just had to find the director …

"Hey," John called, jogging up to him. "You know you passed the gift shop, right?"

"Yeah, they don't sell what I'm looking for."

"And what are you looking for?"

"A great white … or a killer whale … maybe a dolphin … I haven't decided yet."

John blinked at him, wheels almost visibly turning. But before he could start lecturing about how they couldn't put any of those on the jet, Alan caught sight of an employee and hurried off to find out where the director was. Luckily, it wasn't far.

"Alan, have you lost your mind?" John asked, following him to the conservation building. "You can give Gordon a shark for his birthday?"

"It doesn't have to be a shark," he shot back, finally seeing the director.

Leaving his gaping brother behind, Alan rushed over to the only man he had seen so far wearing a suit. The minute he introduced himself, the director's eyes lit up and he pumped Alan's hand long enough for John to join them and figure out what was happening.

"We were so pleased to get your call," Mr. Bryant gushed. "And I think what you are doing for your brother is incredible. I mean, adopting one of our animals in his name, your family's contribution to our park is greatly appreciated."

"Uh … you're welcome," Alan mumbled, finally prying his arm free. "So, which one do we get? Can we have one of the sharks? Or maybe a killer whale?"

"At the amount your father gave us, you can select any animal in the park," Mr. Bryant said with a wide grin. "Of course, he did explain that whichever one you chose, it will remain here?"

"Oh, yeah, he made that really clear."

"Alright then. I will take care of the paperwork, you just let me know which of one you want to adopt."

Alan nodded and headed back into the park, John close behind. His brother was quiet –even more than usual– and he couldn't resist giving him a sideways glance … only to find that he was staring at him … smirking.

"You're getting Gordon a baby sea creature?"

"It might not be a baby," Alan shrugged. "But can you think of anything better?"

"No," John admitted. "Although, you do know what this makes you, right?"

"What?"

"A stork."

Alan gave his brother a light jab in the ribs, which he dodged, but suddenly the teen didn't care anymore. Following the signs, he went into a exhibit with a huge glass wall separating him from the biggest fish-tank he had ever seen, and the biggest sea creature he had ever seen. Only one eye was visible among the mass of tentacles, but it seemed to have locked onto him.

"He's perfect," Alan breathed.

"He's actually a she," John said, reading the plaque next to the squid.

"Gordon won't care. Come on, we have to go tell the director."

"Lead the way, Mr. Stork."

He was never going to forget that, was he? Well, he could deal with payback later. It seemed that finding the center's director so easily the first time had been a fluke as the man roamed the aquatic park the a speed that was super-human. Deciding the best way to locate Mr. Bryant quickly was to split up, Alan took the northern half of the grounds and John –reluctantly– headed south. Finally, the teen came across someone who had just seen the director heading back to the conservation labs.

Alan sent a quick call to John, telling him to meet him there, and headed into the labs. It seemed word had spread about who he was –and how much money his family had donated to the park– since he met with no resistance and was ushered back to where the boss was inspecting several tanks with blue goo floating in them.

"Mr. Bryant," Alan called. "We would like to adopt the giant squid."

"Excellent!" the man beamed. "I've already had the paperwork drawn up, we just have to add the names. What is your brother's name, again?"

"Gordon Cooper Tracy," he replied. "Just curious, what's the squid's name?"

"Goldilocks."

Alan bit back a laugh, thinking back to his brother's aquarium back home. This was just too perfect! As Mr. Bryant called the main office to have the paperwork finished and brought over, the teen casually moved to the edge of the walkway so he could look down into the tank of blue goo. Something about the blobs seemed familiar to him, but his visits to Australia rarely included the beach. Why would they need to? He lived on a beach!

"Make way!" a voice yelled –a little too close to where he was standing.

The teen looked up to see a box rolling toward him, taking up the entire walkway and not giving him much room –or time – to get out of the way. His only option was to hop up on the railing above the goo-tanks and hope it didn't hit him.

"Alan!" he heard John yell, as his brother came racing across the room. "Get down!"

How? The giant crate was in the way, there was nowhere to go! But before he could even open his mouth, the guy pushing the load reached him and an elbow knocked the teen off balance. Alan fell back, going headfirst into the water. Now, that would normally not be a problem – he had been tossed into the pool at home enough times – however, the goo seemed to set his back on fire. The burning sensation spread, wrapping over his shoulder, and it was all he could do not to scream.

The next thing he knew, he was back on the walkway and someone was dumping water on him. There was also someone kneeling in front of him –a very comforting someone.

"John?"

"I'm right here, Alan. You're gonna be okay."

He nodded, letting whoever it was take the sting away. Of course it didn't really go away, but at least he didn't feel like he was burning anymore. Furthermore, whoever it was treating him was definitely not Virgil and could take a few lessons on gentleness. Finally, they declared Alan fit to move and instructed John to take him to the hospital if his symptoms get worse.

"I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Tracy," Mr. Bryant gushed, though Alan wasn't sure which of them he was addressing. "I promise you that worker will be severely reprimanded."

"No sweat," Alan said, putting on a grin. "It was an accident. Do you have those papers?"

Finishing up their business under John's constant scowl, Alan got the necessary documents and headed toward the gift shop. His shoulders ached, but it could have been worse … probably.

"Hey John, what kind of goo was that?"

"That 'goo,' as you so elegantly put it, was a tank of bluebottle jellyfish. What were you thinking climbing up on the rail? Don't you know those things are poisonous?"

He did now. Alan made a mental note to ask Gordon about what other harmless-looking sea creatures it was best to avoid, but that could wait until after his birthday. Speaking of which-

"Hello, Goldilocks," he greeted a large, plush squid. "Ready to go home and meet your new daddy?"

"Don't think this is over," John said, as the two headed for the check out. "Virgil is going to have to look at those burns and you know what will happen when he does."

Alan shuddered at the thought. You couldn't stub your toe on the island without their resident medic finding out about it, and he tended to report everything up the chain of command – which usually meant Scott. Yup, he was going to have a long night.

Luckily, they managed to beat the others back and Alan was able to get his burns treated by Brains while being fussed over by his Dad. Not ideal, but it beat than the alternative. He was feeling better anyway, mostly because he was able to get immediate treatment after the sting and had almost forgotten about it by the time dinner rolled around. Thunderbird One arrived while they were setting the table and Scott went straight to the grill to help their father. So far so good.

Thunderbird Two showed up half an hour later and, after a quick shower, Virgil and Gordon joined the rest of the family by the pool. After they ate, Gordon opened his presents. First he got a new diving computer from Brains, to keep track of his depth and oxygen supply. Then he opened a copy of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea from John, to replace the one Alan had accidentally dropped in the pool a month before. After that was new goggles from Grandma, a t-shirt from Scott, a four-inch diving knife from Kayo, and then it was Alan's turn.

Still moving a little stiff, he pushed the giant gift bag across the pool deck and stood back, eager to see his brother's reaction. Suspicious at first, Gordon tore away the tissue paper and laughed, pulling out the toy to show everyone else. Alan had pinned a card to one of the tentacles and the birthday boy ripped open the envelope, and frowned.

"Happy Birthday … Daddy? What the-"

He opened the card and the adoption papers dropped onto his lap. Gordon took a minute to read them over, his eyes growing wider every second. Alan grinned at John, but his older brother just rolled his eyes. He was just jealous because his gift wasn't as cool.

"You got me my own squid?!" he cheered, jumping up to give Alan a hug.

"Yup," John answered for him. "And he has the scars to prove it."

Now Gordon may not be as bad as certain older brothers – who had now abandoned their cake and were headed Alan's way – but he was still one of them. Holding the younger teen at arms length, he looked him up and down, finally giving up and just asking what John was talking about.

"It's not a big deal," Alan insisted. "Brains already took care of it."

"Yes," the scientist agreed, more than likely trying to be helpful. "He was only stung twice and the jellyfish were removed immediately."

It was so easy to forget that Brains was an only child.

The rest of Gordon's birthday was spent with Alan rotating from one brother to the next. First it was Virgil, wanting to get a look at the damage himself. Then came Scott, who wanted a detailed account of what happened and to lecture on how things like that could be prevented in the future. Last came Gordon, who pulled out one of his oceanic encyclopedias and showed him every poisonous sea creature known to man –with pictures– and how to survive them. But the time they got to the end of the list, Alan realized John was gone.

"Hey, aren't we missing someone?" he asked, looking around the pool.

"He said he was going back up to Thunderbird Five," Virgil explained. "Something about there being no jellyfish in space."

So, do you like my take on Gordon's birthday?

I'm off to bed now, but I eagerly await my next challenge word and suggestions as to which brother will be featured. (I've used each twice now, so anything goes ... except John, because he was in this one.)

Goodnight.