Chapter 26: Jeff's POV
I can't believe it. After two years of scouring the globe, my daughters were finally found, even though it was under dramatic circumstances, they're alive and well. I hold both of them close as I kiss their hair, until I feel Alan and Gordon surrounding them, then I had seven Tracys surrounding me, almost tipping me over. "You two haven't changed one bit" I say, it's all I can say, I'm still trying to wrap my head around last nights events and the girls coming back. "What happened?" I ask as the boys release their grip and stand aside, the girls changing their attitudes. "Where were you? Why didn't you come home earlier?" These are the questions I've been wanting to know for two whole years and the boys know more than I do at the moment. Gordon walked Billie back to her bed, lifting her bridal style and laying her down, John stood behind Alice in her seat and placed her safely in his arms, both making sure that the sisters were comfortable but most importantly, safe. The rooms went quiet and all you could hear was the rhythmic timing of the machines in the surrounding rooms. "Dad, the past two years weren't the best we've had" Alice starts, she lets out a sigh, showing me that she is extremely scared of retelling her story, but she has to let it go sometimes. "It started out on that rescue 2 years at Portsmouth Coast, we were just rounding up and about to leave, when Billie + I heard screams of a man and a little girl, supposingly his daughter. We jumped at the screams and at the time had 5 voices yelling in our years. But International Rescues motto simply states not to give up at any cost." I had to smile at that, when we came up with that motto, we stood there and hugged each other to an extent in which we could kill each other.
"We called Thunderbirds 1 and 2 as we ran along the aftermath to the coastline to the screams. When we got there, they were on a ledge, John + Gordon were on the platform as Thunderbird 2 hovered above us. When the two of us climbed down, the man gladly gave his daughter up to us, then we passed it to John where then she went to Virgil. We then yelled at the man, who was unidentifiable at the time, and he was being, mind my French, a f*****g moronic stubborn asshole. They side was shifting and the man disappeared somewhere and somehow, we jumped up to get on the platform, when the man grabbed us and pulled us down towards the ocean along the coastline."
"Gordon and I instantly put on our safety cables and jumped down to grab them, but they were too far down, besides the fog was too thick to identify anything. We lost the girls and we didn't know where they went" John continued, just retelling that made him wish that it never happened. The past couple of years had only been filled with fights and brawls. "We then sent Scott to fly over the area and we found nothing"
"However, we did land in, what seemed to be, a military plane. We heard the shouts of the boys and Thunderbird One's rockets over us, but we couldn't see anything but a flashing red light, then we lost consciousness." Alice continued "After what seemed to be 2 hours, we woke up in a run down warehouse, it was torn apart and dripping liquids everywhere. We saw Matt and Jessica and we instantly panicked and fought them for about a minute before they beat us down." As she was reselling the events, she ran her hands over her arms and shoulders, John sat down next to Alice and held held her tightly. "They would sell us off to a buyer and use us for various purposes, we even caused some of the rescues that International Rescue had to resolve and we watched you save innocent people. We never meant to harm them, it was so that we could get something for our buyer. We went all over the world, never stayed in one place."
Scott and Virgil were about to ask something before Billie shut them up by already answering the question. "And before you ask- if we escaped, we would be beaten to a pulp, possibly killed and you'd find us in two coffins sent to Tracy Island. It was either escape and Matt kills us and you five including dad or stay and you'd be safe. What do you think we went with?" The past two years have been more dramatic than I thought, so that's why they couldn't come home, they protected us, but just got themselves hurt more. "He's also done some very sickening things to us, I'm guessing Alice already told you guys, except dad." What exactly is she talking about? Alice looks at me before walking up to me and leading me out the room, we stop just in front of the nurses desk.
"Dad, when he held us captive, he didn't just abuse and shoot at us...there were also occasions in which he sexually assaulted us and did...you know..."
"How can you put up with all of that? The trauma? The scars are going to stay with you for life!" I'm guessing I am just as surprised when the boys found out. The girls have had a traumatic experience with Matt and it hurts me knowing that they'll have those memories for the rest of their lives. Alice looks down at the ground, she's going to tell me something's wrong. "What's wrong Alice?" I don't get an answer, but instead she rushes into my arms and breaks down crying.
"Billie's sick daddy, she can't have kids, her reproductive organs are damaged! It's all my fault, I'm sorry daddy!" I caress her hair in order to clam her down, I hold her out in front of me and I tell her; "it's going to be ok. Lucy kept you girls alive and well and that's all that matters." Alice looks up to me and smiles before we walk in, to find Billie pushing and crying herself into Gordons chest. Alice walks up to her and sways her to calm her down, Gordon doing the same but on her left. Virgil and Alan walked to Billie and hugged her, while Scott came up to me, a sad look on his face.
"Billie knows and I'm guessing you do to" Scott started
"I do, I can't believe it. Do you think she's ready to come back to Tracy Island? She's still getting used to everything." I stated.
"I'm ready dad. I want to come home. It's better that I leave all of this behind and come back to International Rescu-"
"No you're not. Not even you Alice!" Scott said
"WHAT?!" Both girls yelled.
"You girls are still in recovery from your injuries, you're not going back out into the field until the 27th of May. You won't even man the Command and Control" Scott ordered
"But that's two weeks away! You guys need all the help you can! Gordon, back me up on this!" Billie argued.
"I never thought I'd say this, but I have to go with Scott on this one. You girls need all the rest you can and you have to get your vitals up as well as getting used to everything." Gordon stated whilst smiling, Billie then looked to Alice who was just shocked. The boys have a point, the girls need to get used to everything and get their vitals up.
"Traitor" Billie stated "I can't believe Alice and I have to put up with smother hens 1,2 and 3 here!" She motions to Scott, Virgil and Gordon.
"Whoa whoa whoa!" Gordon yells. "Don't start classing me with these two!" He points towards the two of the three older brothers. "I'm just a deeply concerned younger brother!"
"Come on Gordon face it! You're a smother hen and so is Virgil and Scott!" Alice rebutted.
"I can assure you I'm not a smother hen Alice. That's Scotts duty as the eldest Tracy." Virgil argued. Geez, my kids can get so worked up because they don't want to be classified as a smother hen. And I thought my mother was bad. "And I hope that nothing ever happens to him, because I would have to put as Smother He- wait, what about John and Alan? How come they're not smother not hens?!"
Billie and Alice looked at each other before looking at the Space twins. "Because" Billie started "John listens to you and always is the shoulder to cry on. He doesn't yell at you if he's gotten a prank pulled on you, he laughs it off, then sorts it out with you."
"And besides" Alice continued "Scott's the Mother Hen of all Smother Hens, Virgil's the Mama Bear and Gordon's the-" she stopped trying to think of a very protective animal "a giant squid who will suffocate with his smothering tentacles!" The three of them look at the girls with their arms crossed and very confused faces "John's the lovable space panda and Alan? He's too young to be a smother hen, although he is a smother hen in training and it's starting to piss Billie and I off. In other words- THEY'RE NORMAL!"
John and Alan look to each other, point their fingers at each other, then turn to us. "We're normal?" They say in unison, the kids couldn't help but crack up laughing. It's good to have the girls back, really it is. We concluded the family war- peace is once again upon us. However that will last until we get back on the island, for where the boys will throw the girls in the pool. The reasons why is (1) just for old times sake and (2) Scott, Virgil + Gordon getting their revenge for being told their smother hens.