The setting was one that no one had ever seen before. Scott was standing outside an unfamiliar house (to most, at least. Those who had done a lot of research on the Tracy family would recognize it), and the background was that of rolling fields of what looked like wheat. There was a barn off in the distance, and the driveway was nothing more than crushed rock.

The house itself was a large farmhouse Victorian. It looked old, although it had obviously been updated and renovated over the years. There was a large addition off to the side, even, that looked far more modern than anything else. Scott was standing on the drive, hands shoved in his pockets, staring at the camera with one raised eyebrow. A light breeze caught his open button-down shirt, causing it to flutter and cover the black t-shirt he was wearing underneath it. His jeans were a bit dusty, and he was wearing boots, instead of his usual loafers.

"Why are we doing this again?" Scott asked, sounding very much like he had in the very first video that they had ever made.

Kayo's voice came from behind the camera, sounding just a tad exasperated. "Because you were driving everyone crazy back at the island and Grandma has now forced both of us into a vacation. Of sorts."

Scott rolled his eyes, rocking back onto his heels. "Some vacation," he muttered. "I have a lot of meetings to catch up on at TI and my ten-year high-school reunion tomorrow." He huffed, giving a small smile. "At least you're with me," he murmured. "I don't like being grounded."

Kayo laughed, her low voice sounding rather relaxed at the moment. "Are we going to tour the ranch house?" she asked.

Scott shrugged a little. "I guess." He focused on the camera, smiling a bit. "Hello world," he said. "Welcome to the Tracy Ranch." He waved an arm, encompassing the entirety of the house and the land it sat on. "The town's just about five minutes down the road," he said, pointing to the left of him. "We're sitting on about fifteen acres here, but the real ranch is about ten minutes away and was owned by Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Jack." He shrugged a little. "Mom inherited it when her parents died when I was…twelve? Or thirteen, I think. But we never moved onto the ranch itself. We have a couple living there now, taking care of the ranch for us."

"So this house?" Kayo prompted.

"This house is the one that Mom and Dad bought right after they got married," Scott said, turning to the house. "It was a massive fixer-upper at the time, and Mom was the one that really got it into good shape since Dad was usually in space. We all grew up here, until Alan was about eight or nine and we moved to the island permanently."

He turned, walking up the drive to the large wraparound front porch, smiling at the sight of the old porch swing sitting there. There was a sign, near the front door, the paint faded but still readable. Tracy, it read, and was surrounded by handprints of different colors and sizes. Scott gave a wave and ushered Kayo through the front door.

They stepped into a large foyer space, with a big staircase leading up to the top floor. The space was bright, painted a light blue with white wainscoting. The floors were a lightly stained maple, which seemed to run throughout the entirety of the house, from what little could be seen from the front hall. A large rag rug lay on the floor, next to a cabinet that was meant to hold shoes.

"I don't know why people are always so interested in house tours," Scott said, sounding a little befuddled. "They're literally just houses."

"I think it has to do with the stories that come with the houses, honestly," Kayo said softly, panning the camera around. There was art on the walls, simple paintings of landscapes, all signed with either an 'LT' or a 'VT' in the corner. There were also a few photographs scattered in with the paintings, happy family times visible in the frames.

"Stories, huh," Scott hummed thoughtfully. He shook his head with a rueful smile. "Gordon used to run down these stairs so fast," he recalled. "He'd hit the rug at the bottom and if the door was open, he'd go flying out." He pointed to a permanent scuff mark on the bottom half of the door. "This is what happened when the door was closed."

Kayo laughed, and then followed Scott into the room on the right. "This is our living room," Scott said, giving a wave. "When we moved to the island, we bought all new furniture so everything here could stay. Except for a few pieces, like Mom's piano." He pointed to a spot near the bay window, that looked rather empty. "It used to go there."

This room was painted a light green, with the same white wainscoting running throughout. There was the bay window, still empty despite years of being able to fill it. Kayo made a soft comment about Virgil thinking about getting another piano for the spot, but Scott just shrugged. The back wall, across from the window, had a large fireplace with a television mounted above it. There were white bookcases on either side of the fireplace, filled with books and movies. Two large gray couches dominated the majority of the floor space, with a big gray chair also present.

"We spent a lot of time in this room," Scott said with a smile. He waved Kayo over to one wall, grinning when he revealed a little framed section that contained a bunch of scribbling that vaguely resembled a group of five people. Possibly two parents and three children? It was hard to figure out, definitely made by a hand that was very, very young. "When Virge was little, he would scribble on everything," Scott explained. "Couldn't get him to stop drawing. Mom repainted the wainscoting so many times, that when this happened, she just gave up and framed it instead."

There was a little card by the frame, stating, "A Family Portrait, by Virgil Tracy, age Two". Gordon hadn't been born yet, but the purple person with yellow hair in the drawing was fatter than the others, so Kayo snickered a little. The dad in the picture was a bright blue, two of the 'children' were gray and orange, respectively, and the last one was just black. "Do the colors mean anything?" Kayo asked, curious herself. Virgil didn't often comment on how he saw the world.

Scott shrugged. "They're our colors," he said, carefully straightening from where he'd crouched to show that picture. Kayo's hand came into frame, helping him up. Scott still wasn't fully healed, but bullets did a lot of damage so people weren't exactly surprised by that. "Except for Virgil. He says he can't see a color for his own voice."

"That's interesting," Kayo hummed. Scott nodded, walking out of the room and into the one across the hall.

"This was supposed to be the dining room," Scott said, which was clear by the way the room had an open door into the kitchen, but there was no dining table. "But Mom didn't see the point in that since the kitchen was so big. So, she made it a library and homework space." There was a big window with a small desk beneath it, but pretty much every other wall was covered in bookcases. There was a set of low couches in the middle of the room, set up in a square, with a large coffee table in the middle. The shelves were surprisingly empty of books, but then, the Tracys had a library on the island and it stood to reason that they'd taken all the books with them.

"We would spend every afternoon in here, finishing our homework," Scott explained. "The access to the kitchen made it an ideal place, because we could easily get snacks." He gave a bit of a sad smile. "Mom made the best cookies."

"Same recipe Virgil makes?" Kayo asked, sounding a bit wistful. Scott nodded and she hummed. "I can believe it." Apparently, they were very good cookies.

Scott led the way into the kitchen, which was bright and open. It was a big space, all white and bright blue with chrome appliances. There was a massive table near door leading to the side of the wraparound porch. There was a large family portrait on the wall above the table, with the entire family, Alan only a toddler. "Our kitchen," Scott explained a little needlessly. He leaned back against one counter, smiling at the camera. Or, more likely, at Kayo. He nodded towards an opening along the back wall, and Kayo paced over, pointing the camera inside. It was a combination pantry and laundry room, with a large board hanging on the wall next to the washer and dryer.

A chore chart, just like the one that hung in the kitchen at Tracy Island. Although this one, while having the names of all the people in the house painted onto it, was empty of any chores. "Mom started the chore chart when I was six," Scott said, coming up behind Kayo and causing her to turn. "We kept it going, because why change what works most efficiently?"

"I always thought it was Grandma Tracy that started the chore chart," Kayo admitted.

Scott laughed softly. "Nah, that was all Mom," he said. "Had to keep the household organized or she would go nuts. Dad would often be on space missions for months at a time and the family kept getting bigger and more chaotic. The chore chart was a way to handle that."

"And you kept it up after," Kayo nodded, the camera bobbing just a bit.

Scott shrugged. "I will admit to having a bit of an OCD issue where everything needs to be organized," he said, not looking all that bothered. "And running herd on little brothers means that chaos was bound to be part of my life. Any bit of help I could get was necessary. Also," he paused a bit, tilting his head to one side. "A little familiarity was good for us. Things were rough after Mom died."

That went without saying, and everyone watching could remember how Scott had explained that he had practically taken over the family after that tragedy. A chore chart would have been both a help and a comfort.

An arched doorway to the side of the kitchen, across from the door to the porch, led back into the main hall, behind the staircase. Under the stairs was a small half-bath. Across from the kitchen was another door. Scott hesitated, just a fraction of a second, and then opened the door and stepped inside.

It was an office. There was a single window, looking out to the back, and bookcases dominating the space. A large desk took up most of one side of the room, a computer sitting on top. The desk chair was a big leather affair. There was a nice-looking couch under the window, one which looked like it could hold a fold-out bed.

"Dad's office," Scott explained, running a hand across the desk. He looked around a bit and then shrugged. "We didn't come in here much," he said. "It also doubled as a guest room when people were over, but mostly it was just Dad's office. When he started Tracy Industries it all started here." He paused a bit, propping himself against the desk and crossing his arms across his chest. "Tracy Industries started as just Tracy Aeronautics."

"And then Jeff moved into other fields as well," Kayo added. She was quiet as well, this room seeming to demand respect for some reason. It was probably the memory of the man the room had belonged to, more than the room itself. Kayo focused the camera on something in the corner. "There's a baseball bat in the corner," she commented.

Scott laughed, although it was a bit sardonic. "Yeah," he said, giving a wry grin. "Dad kept that bat in here as a reminder." He didn't need to explain what the reminder was for. "To be fair, after that night, Dad cut back on work a lot. He scheduled every Friday and Saturday as time off, refusing to go into the office or take meetings those days. Sometimes he had to run in for an emergency, but we saw him a lot more often. And he always tried to be home in time for dinner."

The baseball bat had clearly done its job, then.

Scott straightened with a sigh, moving back out into the hall and shutting the door behind him. There was the door to the backyard, and another door, a metal one, leading into the addition off the back of the house. Scott pointed to it but didn't actually go near it. "When we started International Rescue, we built a training facility onto this house," he explained. "That door leads to it, but I've been told I'm not allowed anywhere near the facility on pains of pain," he said, grinning at the camera.

Kayo gave an audible huff. "Because you're known to push the limits a little too much, dear," she said, and her voice was thick with warning. Clearly, the threats of pain had come from her. "Let's go upstairs."

Scott led the way up the stairs, running his hand along the banister thoughtfully. "So this house has four bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms," he explained. "Mom and Dad's room has an on-suite," he said, stopping at the first door. They opened it and stepped inside, showing off the silver and blue painted space. It was the first room they'd come across that was carpeted, having thick gray carpet beneath their feet. A large king-sized bed stood prominently in the middle of the wall, with two end tables on either side. A dresser was across from the bed, between the bathroom and closet doors.

There wasn't much to say about this room, although the camera panned over the little knickknacks and pictures that seemed to limit the space. It was clear that it had been decorated by a woman, and that Jeff Tracy hadn't gotten rid of much of anything after his wife had died. No wonder he'd had such a hard time staying at home, where he'd been surrounded by memories of her.

They left the room after a moment, Scott closing the door behind him again. "Okay," the man said, looking into the camera. "So, we boys mostly shared rooms growing up. John and I took the first one," he explained, pointing at a door. "It had a balcony that John could use his telescope on." He opened the door and they peered inside. The room wasn't the largest, but it was big enough to hold two full sized beds and a small table between them. "We've obviously remodeled in more recent years, considering we used to have twin beds," Scott explained. "But it's hard to fit in a twin bed when you're over six feet."

"How tall are you?" Kayo asked, probably more for the camera than anything else. There was no way she didn't know how tall her own husband was. She was aiming the camera at the ceiling, decorated with glow in the dark stars, much like John's room back at the island.

"I'm six foot two. John's six foot one. Virgil's six foot even," Scott said, smiling as he watched Kayo pace around the room, the camera gliding over him. The room was decorated with random posters of planes and astronomical things. Old text books littered a bookcase near the door. "Alan's five foot eleven and Gordon is five foot nine or ten, depending on the day."

"Depending on the day?" Kayo asked, her voice a little deadpan.

Scott shrugged. "When his back is acting up, his stance changes and his height gets a bit affected." He led the way out of the room and to the next one in line. The door at the end of the hall was open, showing a bathroom. "This is Virgil's room. He didn't share with anyone."

"Why not?" Kayo asked, honestly curious, although she could probably guess the answer.

Scott grinned, rolling his eyes. "Virgil has always liked his sleep and has always been a little growly if woken up. Ever since he was a baby, honestly. What did Gordon used to call him?" he asked himself, humming thoughtfully. "Beary-scary," he finally said. "Gordon, when he was little, called him beary-scary when woken. So, Virgil got his own room."

He opened the door, showing off a gray and green space that was quite a bit smaller than the other bedrooms they'd seen so far. It was, probably, the smallest room in the house, but it was big enough to hold a queen-sized bed and a small desk. The walls were littered with drawings, most done by a small child and never having been painted over. It was kind of cute. There was a keyboard sitting on to of the desk, with a pair of headphones tossed nearby.

Unlike Virgil's bedroom on the island, this space was a little more chaotically messy. There were art books stacked in one corner, and engineering magazines in another. A shelf above the desk held a collection of medical books as well. Virgil didn't have a studio at the ranch house, and so his room had to absorb all the chaos that he usually kept contained away from it.

Scott wandered out of the room and to the last door in the hall, smiling to himself. "And finally, Gordon and Alan's room," he said, opening the door and stepping inside. This room was a bit different in that it had been painted into two halves, one red and the other yellow. There were two full sized beds here as well, one covered in plushies of sea life, and the other having a bedspread decorated with little rockets. One of the yellow walls held a shelf system that was proudly decorated with McDonald's toys, all nicely lined up.

"Gordon keeps his plushies and McDonalds collections here," Scott explained with a bit of a shrug. "I don't know why, you'd have to ask him."

"And Alan?" Kayo asked, panning the camera to the other side of the room, which was almost starkly clean.

"Alan doesn't really keep anything here," Scott said softly. "He doesn't quite remember this house the same way the rest of us do." He gave a wry smile. "Not that all the memories for him are bad or anything, but there's just not the sentimentality that the rest of us have."

"I suppose that makes sense," Kayo said. "The rest of you remember times here when you had your whole family present. Alan doesn't have those memories."

"No," Scott replied, shaking his head. He was frowning a little, brow furrowed. Alan had told him what his main memories from his younger years were and not many of them had been that great. His first memory was of blood on snow. Things were disjointed after that, good and bad and happy and sad all mixed, but Alan clearly remembered blood on tile as well. His memories got a bit more solid at about age seven, after they'd started going to the island for the winters. His therapist had said it was a coping mechanism of some sort.

Kid had had it a bit rough in his seventeen years. Scott wasn't about to mention that to the camera. "That's all?" Kayo asked, and you could hear the smile in her voice. "The end of your castle?"

Scott laughed, clearly remembering the first video they'd done. "That's it," he said. "Except for the training facility, which I'm currently not allowed in."

"I had John revoke your permissions," Kayo admitted. Scott shot her a bit of a betrayed look, just short of actually pouting. "It's not that I don't trust you, Scooter," she said loftily. "It's just that I don't trust you."

"Harsh," he said, this time fully pouting.

She laughed, and again it was a low, sultry sound. "I trust you with my life, with the lives of your brothers and the lives of practically everyone on the planet. I just don't trust you with your own."

Scott sighed, wincing just a bit. "I guess that's fair," he grumbled. He looked at the camera then, shrugging, just a bit. "Guess that's all, then, world. Goodbye."

"Goodbye," Kayo echoed.

And the camera went dark.

AdeleMcSaintly 9 hours ago
Wow, I forget that they grew up on a ranch. But…they have the island house, and this house and their grandparents old house? How many houses do they have?
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ListenToMeNow22 8 hours ago
Ten-year high school reunion? Dude. Scott isn't really that old, is he? It's hard to remember he hasn't even hit thirty yet.
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PernDragonsRock 7 hours ago
That house was clearly decorated by their mother and loved enough that they never really changed it.
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ChocolateTrufflesWin 6 hours ago
Virgil was 'beary-scary'? My sister is 'beary-scary'. I understand. Some people just need their sleep. Or copious amounts of coffee.
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NatetheGreat293 5 hours ago
Lol. They locked him out of the training facility. That's awesome.
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Note: I fully intend to do a chapter where Scott attends his high-school reunion. Should be fun.