Tsari asked Scott&John: Things you said under the stars and in the grass.

Lucy looked out the window and watched her three children. They weren't actually playing in the grass, not really. Scott and John were laying at right angles to each other, their heads touching. She couldn't quite hear what they were saying, but occasionally Scott would point to the sky so she assumed they were talking about flying. Even at five, Scott's passion for flying was as obvious as three-year-old Johnny's passion for the stars.

Virgil was currently sitting on Scott's other side, holding a worm and watching how it was moving across his hand. Without much hesitation he suddenly put the worm into his mouth, and Lucy started, only to see Scott's arm whip up and pull the poor creature out. She could hear him explaining that worms were not for eating, and she knew that Virgil would listen to his big brother. Even at two years of age his bond with Scott was obvious.

Curiosity was getting the better of her, and so she finished the dishes and headed outside, lowering herself into one of the chairs. Yep. Scott was talking about flying like the birds they could only just make out in the sky, and John was talking about the stars they couldn't see but were still there anyway. Lucy smiled softly to herself. How was she so lucky to have three beautiful and smart children?

She closed her eyes and listened to her children…

'And I'm gonna fly the fastest plane on earth, just you wait and see.'

'Ok, Scott, I will. And I'm going to live in space forever.'

'Sure you will! And I'll make sure you have a great glass elevator like that Willy Wonka guy so's I can come visit you all the time.'

'I come too!'

'Of course you will, Virg. We'll both be together anyway.'

…and slowly she drifted off to the soothing sounds of their chatter.

John lay on the roof, staring at the stars. He loved his new viewing platform and snuck out almost every night. Sometimes Scott joined him, sometimes Virgil did, but mostly he was alone. On rare occasions Dad joined him, and he would listen for hours about what it was like being up there.

Tonight he was extra excited. There was a meteor shower predicted, and John had been vibrating about it all week, much to everyone else's amusement. He had hoped to share it with his dad, but he had needed to go to the big town on business and wasn't due back. If John was disappointed he hoped that he had hidden it well.

There was a knock on the wood, and John tilted his head to see who on earth that could be. Everyone besides Mom would be in bed, and so should he be, although he suspected that everyone would know he wasn't. he had been – for John – pretty vocal about tonight's event.

Scott was standing in the entrance, blankets in his arms and grin upon his face. John smiled in return as he made his way over and dumped his load on the floor. Picking one blanket up, he gently placed it over John before snuggling into his own and lying next to John, heads just touching.

'Has it started yet?'

'There's been a couple, but not fully yet.'

'Ok, great! I didn't miss much then.'

The next hours passed in silence as the two boys watched hundreds of meteors streak through the atmosphere. As it eventually tailed off around 1am as the brightness of the moon couldn't be hidden from view anymore, Scott realised that they had been here for almost four hours.

He sat up and shuffled around, leaning back on his elbows and grinning at John.

'Still wanna live in space, John?'

'You betcha.'

'What you gonna do up there?'

'I'm going to discover new stars and write books.'

'That's cool, John. I'm still gonna come visit.'

'You better, hotshot.'

They grinned to each other, nine and eight years old with their futures all mapped out and not a care in the world.

Gordon was screaming. Alan was crying. Virgil was nowhere to be seen. And John…John was probably hiding on the roof. Scott sighed. He really needed to get through to Johnny, but his quiet brother was not talking, even to him, and was disappearing every opportunity there was. Scott got it, he really did, but it wasn't helpful to any of them.

Eventually he managed to get the two youngest to sleep and, checking in on Virgil, saw that the youngster was cocooned in his blankets. Three brothers down and one to go. John might be the quietest of the brothers, but that didn't make him any easier to corral. He was still a Tracy after all.

Sure enough, John was on the roof, sitting on the viewing platform and hugging his knees. And shivering. Scott, though, Scott was prepared, and he wrapped the blanket around his brother and sat down beside him. Taking the flask he had brought with him, he poured two cups of hot chocolate and passed one to John, gratified to see a small smile of thanks.

Nothing was said, and once the chocolate was drunk, the two lay back, heads touching and staring at the star-studded sky. Time passed.

'She'd out there. Somewhere. And I'm going to find her, Scott. I'm going to find her.'

'John, that's not how it works. You know that.'

'No! NO! Grandma Elsie said she is in heaven. I just gotta find her.'

Scott sighed. It had been three weeks, and every night John spent up here, wet or dry, searching for their mom. John, the genius, the most logical brain he had ever seen, had been convinced by words from their seldom-seen English grandma, and the twelve-year-old was obsessed.

'Well, Johnny, if anyone can find her, you can.'

John turned and looked at his brother in surprise. He'd expected another lecture about how stupid the notion was, his father's bitter words seared into his brain, but no, Scott had faith in him.

Before he realised what was happening, John was crying, and Scott folded him into a hug. And the two just lay there, hugging each other and crying over what had been lost.

Eventually John pulled away slightly, and Scott let him go. John got up and began scanning the sky through the telescope as faint cries came from downstairs. He knew Scott would have to go as both Gordon and Alan were stirring, but that moment of faith had bolstered John like nothing else. He turned and looked to Scott.

'I'll take Gordon and you can take Alan.'

It was an olive branch, and one Scott grabbed gladly. With John helping out, maybe they could survive this after all.

'I don't want you to go.'

The words pierced him. It had been weeks of torturous self-doubt and fear that he was doing The Wrong Thing By His Brothers, but Scott was leaving tomorrow for Yale and a new start. They all understood that it was about time their big brother had some time for himself, to pursue his own dreams, but that didn't make the parting any easier.

John was lying on the grass, staring up at the sky. Scott was beside him, lying at right angles as usual, heads touching. Only this time, John had a tight grip on Scott's hand too.

'I don't want you to go.'

'I know, Johnny, I know. In some ways I don't want to go either.'

'Then don't go.'

'You know it's not that easy. How am I going to become that hotshot pilot if I stay here?'

'I know.'

'And you'll be leaving next year. How you going to go live in space if you don't leave us too?'

'I know! I know. I just…I don't think I can look after them like you do.'

'John, I have absolute faith in you. You won't look after them like I do. You'll look after them like you do, and that will be as good, if not better.'

'I'm going to miss you.'

'I'll miss you too. But it's not forever, I'll still be back for vacations.'

'It won't be the same. But I'm so proud of you, Scott.'

'Thanks, man. And don't worry. You got this.'

They were lying on the hood of Scott's classic Mustang, staring at the sky. Here in Cambridge, on the outskirts, there were a few stars showing, but few was better than none. Scott had driven over, the journey taking a little over two hours, picked John up and they were currently parked in an abandoned parking lot on the outskirts.

Being away from each other for a year had been hard, and it was even harder now that John had arrived to begin his first year of Harvard. Scott was in his second year at Yale and had been given the opportunity to finish his degree off in Oxford, England. It seemed that no sooner had John arrived than Scott was leaving again.

Scott had been accepted into the USAF when his degree was finished, and he was on track to complete a double degree in two years instead of the usual three. John smiled to himself. Everyone might think he was the genius of the family, but all his brothers were exceptionally smart, especially Scott. He just hid it well, not liking to draw attention to himself.

They fell into the familiar pattern of their lives, John pointing out the stars that could be seen and Scott paying attention even though it didn't really interest him. He had confided in John that he would be going thought some sort of astronaut training, as the test piloting he was planning on doing required flying at the edge of space. John was intrigued and promised help where needed, sure in his own mind that Scott wouldn't need it.

'You are destined for great things, Scott.'

'Pfff. Yeah. Right.'

'No, I mean it.'

'Well, we both are, Johnny. We both are.'

'Of course we are. We're Tracy's'

That got a laugh, and the evening turned into night while they chatted about inconsequential things.

Lying in the grass just outside the villa on the island was not the same as lying in the grass at home in Kansas. He couldn't explain it, but it was different somehow. Maybe because Scott wasn't here with him. Or maybe because it just wasn't home.

Two space missions under his belt, he'd shocked his employers and friends at NASA when he had handed in his notice. Everyone knew John Tracy was destined for great things, as long as those great things included space. Yet at only 22 years of age, he had quit to…to do nothing it seemed. Ok, he had quit to go work for his father, but everyone knew that just meant dossing about.

John grinned to himself as that thought crossed his mind. If only they knew! How could yearly trips to the moon compare to a whole space station to himself? To the concept of living in space on an almost permanent basis? When his father had approached him with the concept of International Rescue John had been sceptical. Until he had met Brains and seen the plans for Five, as she was currently called.

But it was the discussion with Scott that had sealed the deal. Scott, still recovering from his ordeal and still unable to fly, had asked him to come over on his next time off, and they had spent hours talking while lying right here in the grass. Together they had thrashed out Dad's ideas and seen how they could make it work, how they could make a difference to the world.

A grunt, and John opened an eye to see Scott attempting to sit down in the grass. He didn't offer to help, knowing Scott would hate that, and sure enough his brother managed. They lay back, at right angles, heads touching, neither speaking. After a little while Virgil joined them, sitting next to Scott and drinking in the sights and sounds of the island they now called home. Eventually Gordon joined them too, sitting next to Virgil.

'Do you remember when you were five and I was three, lying in the grass at home?'

'Yeah. Blue sky. No clouds. Trying to stop Virg eating the worms.'

'Ha ha, Scott.'

'No, that's true, Virgil. Scott had to take one out of your mouth.'

'Gordon, you can shut up before you say anything.'

'Wha-at?'

'You were no better if I remember correctly. Do I remember correctly, John?'

'Of course you do, Scott. At least Virgil only tried worms.'

'Eww. I don't wanna know.'

'We couldn't trust you to be out in the garden alone. You ate everything.'

'Yes, thank you for that image.'

'Anyway, back to the topic at hand.'

'Thank you, Scott. Do you remember what we talked about?'

'Yeah, I do.'

'What did you two talk about?'

'The conversation went something like this:

'And I'm gonna fly the fastest plane on earth, just you wait and see.'

'Ok, Scott, I will. And I'm going to live in space forever.'

'Sure you will! And I'll make sure you have a great glass elevator like that Willy Wonka guy so's I can come visit you all the time.'

'I come too!'

'Of course you will, Virg. We'll both be together anyway.'

'Huh. So you had plans even that young?'

'Yeah, we both did.'

'And look at us now.'

'Yeah. Look at us now.'

And four men lay back in the grass, staring at the sky and wondering what life would throw at them once International Rescue was up and running.