A/N: A lot of this story so far has been Anne integrating with Scott's family stuff. Time for him to return the favour. This chapter also contains a scene set in a supermarket. I wrote it before all this madness started, and now it seems really bizarre to write about food shopping as if it's perfectly fine and normal. But there you go. This is the future!
To Guest: Thank you, glad you're enjoying it :)
Trigger warning (and mild spoiler): This chapter references emotional abuse. Due to the overall tone of this story and the TAG universe, I'm not going into gritty detail about it, but it is a thing that happened.
Chapter Sixteen – Family Matters.
Anne had successfully deflected all suspicions about her trip to Australia, and things had settled down into a normal routine at Tracy Enterprises. It had been just over two weeks since Scott had reported the truth about Jeff, and since then his calls had been regular catch-ups about his day. She was glad he had something else to think about other than his father's distress call. Rescues didn't stop just because the Tracys had other things to work on.
He hadn't called the day before, but had sent her an apologetic message pleading family movie night. Since she knew how important family time was, she didn't begrudge him the time. She could relate, even though her family life had been different to his. Her mom had done well raising two girls after their dad had died when Anne was only four, but since she'd reached adulthood, Anne had found that her mother seemed to believe her priorities should be different. Anne had focused on her career, whereas her mother had been looking at a different sort of long-term plan. Since Cathy had found a partner, their mom thought it was only fair that Anne should too. Anne fervently disagreed. She knew her mom was a romantic, having lived through a loving, if short, marriage, and that she wanted her daughters to find partners equally as wonderful. Anne tried not to be too harsh, as she realised that her mom only wanted the best, (as she saw it), for Cathy and her. But Anne had found fulfilment elsewhere. She'd had a rewarding life without any long-term relationships. The fact that she had met and fallen for Scott was unrelated to that, a bonus in her eyes rather than the only achievement. She was putting off telling her mom for as long as possible, well aware that once she did, she'd get no peace.
It was Saturday, and she was just starting her weekly food shopping. It was a horrible day to choose for shopping of any kind, and she was trying her best to get round the store as quickly as possible. She picked up an onion and inspected it, trying to gauge whether it would last until Friday.
The beeping of her wrist comm made her jump, and she studied the caller in surprise.
"Two calls in a month? You're honouring me, sis," she mumbled before hitting the button to answer. "Hi, Cath."
"Anne!"
Anne stared at her sister's hologram, alarm immediately coursing through her. Cathy was crouched as if she was hiding, her face wet with tears, her hair a mess.
"Cathy, what's happening?" she asked urgently.
"He's…he's gone crazy, Anne," Cathy told her in a small voice, craning her neck to peer at something. "I'm scared, I've never seen him like this."
"Who, Ed?"
Cathy nodded, her face miserable.
"Get out, Cath. Get out of there right now!"
"I can't, he's overridden the locks and he's got the password." She glanced up in fright.
Anne let the onion drop, clenching her hand into a fist. "Where are you? Are you at home?"
"No, I'm at his place."
"Where is that?" she demanded, then changed her mind. "Scratch that. Get off the line and call the cops!"
Cathy whimpered, her eyes widening at something Anne couldn't see. "Oh shit!"
"Call the cops, Cathy!"
"Oh my," Anne heard from behind her, becoming aware of the attention she was drawing. She didn't have time to think about it. Cathy's image winked out.
"Damn it!"
Almost immediately, John's replaced it. "Anne, is that you? What's the matter?"
She stared at him, wondering if she'd somehow called him telepathically. "How did you…?"
"I monitor key words and tone of voice," he explained quickly. "What do you need?"
In the face of his calm, no-nonsense manner, Anne snapped to focus. "Can you trace the location of the person I was talking to?" she asked.
"That's International Rescue!" someone behind her hissed loudly.
She considered heading outside, but suspected they'd just follow her. Best to continue ignoring them.
"Should be able to," John said.
"I need to talk to Scott. Is he on a mission?"
"He's just on his way back from one. I'll patch you through."
She nodded. "Thanks."
"I'll get back to you," he said before disconnecting.
Scott took his place. "Hi," he greeted her, frowning when he took in her expression. "Everything okay?"
"No," she burst out, hearing her voice start to tremble. "I need your help. I know you don't normally do this, but I…I need to go and rescue my sister."
"Okay," he said at once. "Where are you?"
"At the grocery store downtown."
"Be there in five."
She didn't bother to hide her surprised relief. "Really?" She'd expected a much longer wait.
"Fastest ship in the fleet," he reminded her with a reassuring smile. "And I'm already in the sky. Hang tight, I'm coming."
She exhaled a shaky breath, cutting the call and heading out to the packed parking lot, her basket forgotten. She couldn't fathom where he would land, but she knew he'd manage something. As she'd predicted, some of the nosier people who'd overheard her calls followed her outside, eager for something to tell their friends about. By the time Thunderbird 1 arrived, the sound of its engines had drawn even more people. Most of them fell back towards the building, which Anne was thankful for. She didn't want anyone injured by a downdraught.
Scott brought the ship in low above the roofs of the cars, and opened the bottom hatch. When the pilot's seat had lowered, he bent forward, offering her a hand. By her estimation, she still wouldn't quite reach him, so she gave herself a running start and leapt, grateful that she was wearing jeans. His hand gripped hers firmly, and he pulled her up onto the footplate, hitting the control to retract the chair and close the hatch.
The movement sent her tumbling onto his lap, and she leaned back against his chest so he could see around her, thankful that she didn't have to be awkward this time.
"Well, this is familiar," he said.
She managed a small smile at his tone, already reassured just by his presence.
Scott guided the ship back up, adjusting his course. When they were a little more stable, she got out of his way, standing behind him and resting a steadying hand on the back of his seat.
"What happened?" he asked her.
As succinctly as she could, she told him, remembering as much of her conversation with Cathy as she could. "I'm sorry, I know this isn't exactly what International Rescue was meant for, but…I didn't have enough information for the police, and I don't know if she got through to them."
"It's okay," he assured her. "You did the right thing. We'll get her out."
"Scott," John began, popping up from the emitters in the walls. "I'm sending the exact coordinates to you now. Are you going to have enough fuel to get home after this detour or do I need to send Virgil out to you?"
"I'll let you know."
"Thank you, John," Anne spoke up. "I really appreciate it."
"Don't mention it," he said with a smile before vanishing.
"ETA twelve minutes," Scott reported. "Are you all right?"
"I'm just worried," she admitted, gripping the back of his seat. "I've never seen her like that, Scott."
"I know, honey. It'll be okay."
Anne watched the world whip by below, trying not to think about what they might find. Eventually, Scott broke through her thoughts.
"Better go and strap in. I'm putting her down as fast as possible."
She nodded and retreated to the passenger seat. Scott was true to his word, and the vertical descent made her stomach flip. When they emerged, she saw that he'd parked in the middle of the street, and they were already drawing stares. Anne and Scott ignored them, running towards an unassuming house that looked the same as every other one around.
"Is this it?" she asked.
"I sure hope so," Scott said, plucking a device from his belt, "because I'm about to fry the lock." He aimed it at the door, and she saw the metal start to glow. When it had cut through, he attached a small magnet to the door and pulled it open. Anne ducked through the gap as soon as it was wide enough.
"Anne!" he hissed, following as soon as he was able.
"Cathy!" she yelled.
A muffled cry had them both running for the stairs. An additional frantic yelp sent warning bells ringing, and she was already ducking when Scott dragged her down. A baseball bat swung over her head, chipping the paint on the wall. Scott leapt up and seized it, preventing Ed from swinging it again. Anne scrambled underneath their arms, running to the hunched figure in the next room. Cathy was slumped as if she'd fallen, but there were no obvious signs of injury.
"It's okay," Anne told her, forcing her shaking hands into submission as she crouched and checked her over. "I'm here."
Cathy gripped her arms, shaking like a leaf.
Anne supported her as best she could and helped her sister to her feet. Out on the landing, Scott had just divested Ed of the baseball bat, throwing it over the bannister. Ed snarled and lunged at him, and Scott dodged, spinning him and sending him running into a wall. Ed stumbled unsteadily, and Scott pushed him to the floor, aiming a device at his chest.
"Don't move, pal," he growled.
"Anne," John said, popping up from her wrist comm. "I took the liberty of calling the police. They should be there any minute."
"You're a wonderful person, John Tracy," Anne said with a weary exhale, squeezing Cathy's shoulder.
"I try."
Sure enough, two officers darted through the front door, taking in the situation and heading up the stairs. Scott stepped back to let them handcuff Ed, lowering his arm.
"Nice job," one of them praised. "Didn't think you boys did this kind of work."
"We don't, usually," Scott said, and did not elaborate.
"Are you okay, miss?" the other asked, peering at Cathy.
She nodded, sniffling.
"Are you able to come down to the station to make a statement?"
"I'm taking her to the hospital," Anne said firmly. "Then she'll make a statement."
Scott moved to stand on Cathy's other side, silently showing a united front. The officer nodded. "Sure thing, I'll send an officer to meet you there. Any information you can give us will help put this guy away."
Cathy nodded her understanding, and the three of them watched as Ed was escorted out.
Puzzled, Anne turned to look at Scott. "You're not armed," she stated.
"Huh?"
"You're not armed," she repeated, nodding to the device that he still held. "That's your grapple."
He flashed her a grin. "Yeah, but he didn't know that."
Between them, Cathy laughed, but it quickly dissolved into tears, and she covered her face with her hands.
"Okay, come on, we're taking you to a hospital," Anne said decisively.
"I'm not hurt," Cathy insisted. "I'm just…god, Anne, I'm so stupid. I should have seen…"
Feeling a flash of guilt, Anne shook her head. "No, Cathy, I should have seen. You were having doubts about Ed and I didn't pay attention. I'm sorry."
"No, it's not your fault."
"Can you walk?" Anne asked her. "We need to head out to the ship."
"I don't know, I feel kind of weird." Cathy's face was paper pale, and she was shivering. The last thing they needed was for her to pass out before they could get her to a doctor.
Anne looked entreatingly at Scott, and he nodded.
"Hold on to me," he told Cathy gently.
She rested a hand on his shoulder and he picked her up.
"Want to go and glare at anyone standing too close to my ship?" he said to Anne.
His calm and light tone made her smile, easing some of the tension she still held, making her finally feel that everything was going to be okay. Belatedly, she realised that he was probably trained to do just that, and she found herself grateful.
"You think glaring will make them move?" she said sceptically as they started down the stairs. "Don't you have a claxon or something?"
"I've seen the power of your glares."
She shot him a look over her shoulder.
"Yeah," he said brightly, "like that one."
Cathy let out a small giggle, and Anne was glad that their banter was putting her at ease.
Scott needn't have worried, as the police were still outside, and were ushering people to a safe distance. "Thanks," he said to the nearest officer. "Make sure you stay back too. These jets are pretty powerful."
"Don't have to tell me twice!"
Scott somehow managed to climb the ladder up to the passenger seats while still holding Cathy, which was impressive, and it wasn't long before they were airborne. He waited with Anne at the hospital while Cathy got checked over, even though his uniform attracted a lot of attention.
"This is why I should keep a spare set of clothes on board, I guess," he muttered, waving to a gawking child who was walking past with their parents.
Anne smiled. Their hands were next to each other on the bench, not quite touching seeing as they were in public. It was practically torture to maintain the distance. She could have done with a comforting hug.
"Thank you," she said sincerely. "I know you don't normally step on the police department's toes, but I didn't know what else to do."
"I told you, it's fine. As long as we don't make a habit of it, the police won't care. I'm glad you called me."
She met his gaze. "Me too. It gave me a chance to see you, if nothing else."
Cathy returned to them when she'd seen a doctor and spoken to the police, having been treated for shock and given the comm details of a good therapist. She seemed calmer than she had, and she could walk on her own now that her limbs had stopped shaking. She made it very clear that she was determined to start moving forward right away. Anne wasn't sure whether the therapist would agree, but for the moment she'd do as her sister requested. Despite Cathy's calm demeanour, there was a shadow behind her eyes that Anne knew she'd have to deal with sooner rather than later. All she could do was make sure that Cathy had the support network she needed.
"Where's home?" Scott asked her with a kind smile.
"Not far, but I don't want to go there. Except to pack." She looked to Anne. "Can I stay with you? I don't even want to be in this city."
Anne nodded at once. "Of course. We'll get what you need and get a flight back to L.A.."
"It's okay, I can take you," Scott offered.
She sent him a look of gratitude, but argued, "You're not a taxi service. We can manage."
"Anne," he said firmly, "I can take you. It's fine."
"What about your fuel situation?"
"I'll call Virgil to come and meet me. I can refuel in L.A. and head home from there."
She nodded her assent, an idea sparking. She let Scott walk a little ahead as they exited the hospital and turned to Cathy. "How would you feel about a little company for dinner? You can be honest, I won't mind either way."
"No, I…I'd rather be around other people," Cathy said. "Why, what are you thinking?"
Anne quickened her pace to catch back up, Cathy doing the same. Scott was already talking to Virgil.
"Hey, uh, Virgil," she interrupted, leaning over Scott's arm so the holo would pick her up, "would you two like to stay for dinner? I'm not cooking, it'll just be pizza, but it would be better than you just flying in and flying straight back."
"Sounds good to me," Virgil replied with a smile. "Thanks."
A tone of dismay filtered through. "Uh, you get pizza? That is so unfair!"
Anne smothered a laugh. "Gordon, you can come too if you're up to it."
"Yes! Anne you're my favourite person!"
"I know that's not true, but thanks."
She dropped back to let Scott sign off, and looked at Cathy. "Just three of the guys, is that okay?"
"That's fine," Cathy assured her with a nod. "I told you, I'd rather be with people. I don't want to over-think right now. Besides, it'll be cool to meet them."
Anne nodded back to her. She knew her sister didn't want to talk about what had happened just yet, and she was happy to provide a distraction until she did.
"Damn," Scott said, lowering his arm. "I should have asked them to bring me some clothes."
"I'd lend you something, but…" Anne trailed off, indicating his height.
"You're all heart," he said dryly.
She laughed. "So, uh, I guess there was no time to do this earlier, but…Scott, this is my sister, Cathy. Cathy, this is Scott Tracy."
Scott offered a hand. "Nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you."
Cathy shook it, looking surprised. "Really? Well, likewise. I've seen you on the internet. Is my sister good at her job?"
"Cath…" Anne grumbled.
Scott pretended to consider the question. "Can't complain."
Cathy managed a laugh, Anne glared, and Scott simply smirked benevolently at her.
"Come on," he said, "let's get out of here."
A/N: Next chapter: family bonding.
