Selene had gotten a few emails sorted, some items ordered and a cup of Virgil's good coffee inside herself. She'd spoken to each of the boys on the rescue, encouraging them as the exhaustion started to creep in. Even Scott had managed to call during a brief recess in the meeting, asking after his son. A sad smile crossed his face when he realised the child was asleep. Over Scott's shoulder, Jeff nodded with a knowing smile, having stood in the same shoes years ago. Refreshed and relaxed, Selene wasn't surprised when her pendant buzzed gently, letting her know that her nephew was awake. After dumping her cup in the kitchen sink, she headed up the stairs towards the bedroom only to find a small face peering through the stair gate.

"Selene!"

"Hello sweetie."

She knelt as she opened the gate, accepting the child into a big hug. His messy hair brushed against her cheek as she picked him up and carried him down the stairs. With him already wriggling in her arms, Selene let him loose the moment she had reached the bottom. He was off like a flash in the direction of Sally.

"Grammie!"

The woman's face lit up, her eyes leaving the screens before her so she could pick him up. The rescue was at the stage where her input was less frequent, but also when her grandchildren would start to ignore their bodies' complaints. She had already reminded Alan to drink something and point Gordon in the direction of fresh celery crunch bars. Selene sauntered over and lent against the table, knowing too well that the cuddles wouldn't last long. The child was a fresh bundle of energy and was never going to sit still for long. True to form, her nephew was bouncing on Sally's lap, leaning forward in an attempt to poke the screens. Rolling the chair back, Sally grasped her great-grandson under the arms, pecked his cheek and plonked him on the floor to her right.

"I'm not a climbing frame, young man." Sally grumbled, rubbing the rib that had been kicked moments before. "Be a dear, Selene, and take him elsewhere."

Selene nodded, holding out her hand to her nephew, who bounded over and grabbed it enthusiastically. It wasn't hard to start guiding him towards the elevator.

"How about we go see what's hidden in Kayo's studio?"

"Kayo!"

The boy's eyes sparkled with excitement as he peered up at her. Selene wanted to take back what she had said, knowing the disappointment ahead. Kayo was not going to be in her studio. Her nephew scurried off when the elevator doors opened, seeming to know exactly where he was going. How many times had this kid been to the studio for him to remember the way? What was in there that Scott had kept secret? Opening the door for them both, they stepped into the Kayo's workout space which appeared as it normally did. The mirrored wall reflected the empty room complete with a wall of cupboards, in which Kayo's equipment was stored. There was a curious look on the boy's face as he glanced around, probably due to the lack of a second aunt, but he wasn't as upset as she expected. Instead he ran towards cupboard four before turning to her expectantly. Okay, he'd done this before. With her curiosity well and truly piqued, Selene strode over to the door. Placing her thumb placed on the pad, which flashed green, unlocked the cupboard and allowed her to twist the handle.

Selene blinked, totally surprised by what she was seeing. In place of any fitness equipment was a stash of indoor toys. A small slide, a bag of foam cubes with faces, a balance bike, a tricycle, brightly coloured foam mats and a sack of plastic balls were just the first things her eyes registered. It was a child's treasure trove. No wonder her nephew had been so eager to come down here. Why had John kept this from her? Kayo and Scott were a sneaky pair. Her nephew wasted no time and grabbed the balance bike and dragged it out. Moments later he was racing around the room giggling away. After watching the toddler for a minute, Selene turned back to the cupboard and grabbed the coloured mats. There was no way her nephew would be occupied all afternoon by the bike. She slotted the giant jigsaw pieces together to create a soft play space in the middle of the studio. Pausing to let her nephew pass by, she headed back and dragged out the slide, which came with a rocking horse caught beneath it. Selene ignored the bag of plastic balls, not wanting to deal with picking them up, in favour of the more sedate box of bean bags and cones. She shut the cupboard and let herself fall back onto the mats. A bang at her feet was followed by a small body flopping down onto her stomach. Selene gasped as she pulled the child higher and into a hug. She received a squeeze back before he rolled himself off. Selene expected him to run off again, however instead he crawled up so his face was directly above hers. Those sweet blue eyes gazing directly into her own.

"Thank you Selene."

Then he was gone with a patter of feet. To her left the rocking horse was mounted and an imaginary race started. Selene pushed herself up and sat cross legged. Scott had mentioned moments like that. Moments his son did something sweet, totally out the blue and unprovoked that filled his heart with joy. It certain did warm the heart. With her nephew happily burning his energy safely beside her, Selene closed her eyes and allowed her body to relax. Taking deep breaths in time with the rhythmic rocking of the horse, she continued to listen to her nephew's mutterings until they stopped. The soft sound of his feet against foam crept closer, along with the new, yet familiar sound of beads rubbing together. Before Selene could open her eyes something was dropped into her lap. She knew instantly from the weight and texture that it was one of the beanbags. Deliberately keeping her eyes shut and her face straight, she wondered what he would do next. A beanbag was placed on her shoulder, followed by a few chuckles. Fighting not to smile, Selene allowed one eye to open and watched the child place a beanbag on her other shoulder. His cheeky grin matched the mischief that radiated from him. Holding back, Selene allowed another three beanbags to be placed on her body. As he went to put a seventh on her head she grabbed him. He fell into her lap and they laughed together as the bean bags fell around them.

"My turn," Selene stated, "lie on the mat and we can see how many I can balance on you."

Her nephew followed her orders, though his small body was shaking with anticipation. Collecting up the seven bean bags that had been placed on her, Selene started to lay them across her nephew's tummy. His giggles started to rock the pile vigorously after the fifth bean bag was placed upon him. Selene managed to get another two on before it was too much for the toddler and they came tumbling down. He swept the rest off before grabbing one and throwing it at her.

"Catch!"

Selene ducked. The bean bag only just made it over her head.

"Catch, Selene."

Her nephew already had another bag in hand. Seconds later it was flying towards her. Selene stayed down, but this time it hit her head. The child giggled as the green bag flopped to the ground, but Selene was less than impressed.

"I don't want to play catch, but we can play a throwing game."

Eyes widened as curiosity filled the child's face. All Tracy's were competitive and loved a competition; her nephew was no different. Selene grabbed some cones from the box as well as a few more bags. She placed the cones upside-down in a triangle, just like pins in a bowling alley, before placing the last one the right way up, a few paces away from the triangle. Her nephew watched eagerly, a yellow bean bag gripped in his fingers.

"Bean bag bowling," she announced. "We each have ten bean bags and we have to throw them so they land in the cones. The person with the most bags in cones at the end wins. You have to stand by this blue cone to throw them."

An enthusiastic nod was the child's response.

"I'll go first to show you."

Collecting up ten bean bags, Selene stood by the blue cone and lobbed the bags at the target. Six of the bags missed, falling between the upturned cones.

"I got four. Your turn."

A squeal of glee came from the boy as he jumped up to the cone. Selene quickly collected up her bean bags, discreetly discarding one to the side, before dropping them by the blue cone. Her nephew's fingers kept scrunching up the yellow bag and he waited for her signal.

"Ready?" Selene cheered, "Go!"

The toddler snorted and bounced before raising the bean bag and throwing it at the cones. It only just missed, rocking a red cone as it fell. He quickly got through the pile at his feet and managed to get five to land in the cones. Selene received a smile as the child clapped his hands.

"I win."

"You won this time."

"Again."

The rematch went to Selene and before she knew it she was in a bean bag battle with the toddler. It was a close competition, but he won after eventually tiring of the game, though long after Selene had become tired of being beaten. He left her side and ran to the slide, quickly scaling the ladder. He stood proudly at the top and Selene suddenly worried about the height of it and how unstable it appeared, thanks to it being on the foam mats. Her nephew was completely oblivious to any danger.

"Selene watch me!"

Selene's eyes never left him as wiggled to a sitting position and pushed himself down the slide. The frame wobbled but it appeared steady enough. Her nephew stood heroically at the bottom and gave her a smile. She clapped and grinned, giving him the attention he craved. This was the start of Selene spending the afternoon chasing after the child, sloping from toy to toy as he slowly burnt through seemingly endless energy reserves. Selene was thankful when the little boy plodded over while rubbing his eye and plonked himself in her lap. His weight forced her legs into the foam as she wrapped her arms around him and rested her chin against his head. Even in its wild state, his hair was soft against her skin. The small body relaxed into hers.

"Shall we head upstairs for some dinner?"

His hair tickled her chin as he nodded, too tired for words. Selene stayed as she was, enjoying the moment of closeness. When her legs started to complain and threatened to go numb, she carefully lifted her nephew from her lap. She managed to stand before he tried to hug her, but she had to carefully unwrap him from her legs so she could take his hand and lead him out the studio. His footsteps were slow and he gazed up with tired pleading eyes. That look may work on his father, but there was no way she was going to carry the child all the way to the kitchen.

When they finally arrived at the kitchen, Selene opened the fridge and surveyed the meagre pickings. There wasn't much choice as tomorrow was the scheduled visit to the supermarket, rescue permitting. There was a clunk at her feet and a bottom slid down her leg and onto her foot. She rolled her eyes at the sight of her nephew unsuccessfully trying to unscrew the cap off the milk bottle. He complained when she took it from him, following the carton and allowing her to close the fridge behind them. Selene poured him a cup and handed it to him. He plopped himself down in the middle of the kitchen and happily slurped his drink. Checking the freezer, Selene grabbed a bag of chicken dinosaurs, smiley faces and mixed vegetables for the perfect easy dinner. Tipping the shapes onto a tray, she whacked them into the automated kitchen module and set it going. An empty cup was waved from the floor, which she swilled out and filled with water. She got a frown at the exchange. After popping the frozen vegetables in the microwave, she grabbed two plates and served up their dinner. The pair sat side by side at the table, an occasional roar coming from her nephew as he played with his food. After clearing her plate, Selene headed into the kitchen and sliced an apple for the child, and swapped his empty own plate for the fruit. There was no hesitation, and the apple quickly went the same way as the dinosaurs. She gave him some more water as she put all the dishes in the dishwasher, and was grateful he managed not to spill anything as he bounced beside her. It appeared feeding him had recharged his batteries.

"Shall we go see if Grandma wants to play?"

His face lit up and Selene almost had to run to keep up with him. Taking the cup so she could hold his hand, they made it up the stairs safely. Sally had just walked into the living room and the boy was wrapped around her legs a minute later.

"Hello young man. Did you and Selene have fun?"

"Yes!"

Selene joined the pair on the couches, thankful that Sally was able to take over entertaining the child, allowing her to put her legs up. She sighed as the table took the weight off her feet and she sank back into the cushions. The room filled with the sound of clapping as the eldest and youngest Tracy played pattercake. Selene closed her eyes to relax, only to open them when a squeal of delight made her jump.

"Daddy!"

She thought she had seen the child move fast before but this was on another level. Scott was grinning ear to ear, despite the tired air he extruded, as he scooped up his son. He was still in his suit and appeared to have come straight up from the hangar and left Jeff to do all the postflight checks. The hug between the pair was the biggest Selene had seen since Virgil had grabbed Gordon a couple of months ago. A smile crossed her face. She only turned away when someone sat down beside her. The familiar scent had already filled her nose as she snuggled into her husband. He was fresh out the shower, his body still radiating heat and his damp hair had been swept into its usual quiff. Those emerald eyes regarded her with love as he slipped his arm around her. A paper bag was placed into her lap and she peered inside.

"Kayo's choice."

"Have I told you how much I love you?"

"You have," John chuckled, rocking her body as she fished out the thai green curry. It had obviously been reheated, but it still smelled amazing. She mixed the rice and curry together before scooping up a forkful and shovelling it into her mouth. It tasted better than it smelled.

"How was the rescue?" Scott quizzed, completely unaffected by the fact his son was giggling like a banshee while completely destroying his perfectly styled hair. Selene tried not to choke as Scott's hair started to poke out at odd angles thanks to all the gel he used.

"Standard search and rescue. Virgil, Gordon and Alan did the bulk of it while Kayo and I rounded up any outliers. Thunderbird One was no longer needed so we left them with Thunderbird Two to finish off."

"And how was this one while I was gone?"

"As energetic and demanding as ever," Selene replied after swallowing.

"Thank you, Selene."

"No problem."

Selene waved it off as her nephew started poking his father's dimples.

"Fancy a shower sport?"

"With singway?"

"Yes, you can bring Stingray with you."

John's little chuckle rocked Selene again as Scott rolled his eyes. Gordon was intent on making an aquanaut out of the boy. The pair left, allowing Selene to finish her second dinner in peace. Once finished, she slung the bag with the empty carton onto the table before laying her head against John's shoulder.

"Did you use Kayo's studio?"

"We did."

"Did you tidy everything away?"

Selene opened her mouth but those eyes already told her he knew the answer.

"Let's sort it out before you get too comfortable and Kayo finds the mess."

Selene groaned as John unwrapped himself, shifting her off him as he stood.

John's muscles ached, the lack of substantial lifting equipment on Thunderbird One meant his body had taken the strain. It had been worth it though. He turned the page of his book as a soft snore came from Selene. Her head was resting in his lap as her body lay across the sofa. The phone she had been reading had fallen to the floor when she had lost her battle with sleep. John just sat, enjoying the peace knowing Thunderbird Two was heading back to destroy it. A glance at his older brother confirmed there was another sleeping occupant in the room. Scott was rubbing the back of the small bundle that was sleeping against his chest. Scott's eyes met his and despite being dulled by tiredness they were still full of warmth, love and care.

"I don't know who wore out who," Scott's voice was soft as he nodded towards Selene, "but we had better get them to bed before the others get home."

John nodded in agreement, closing his book and balancing it on the arm of the sofa. He could wake Selene up and force her to walk, but he didn't fancy dealing with a grumpy witch. Instead, he carefully removed her from his lap and gently placed her head on the cushion, before slipping one arm behind her back and the other under her knees. She shifted in his arms, snuggling closer to him. John placed a kiss on her forehead and watched a small smile spread across her face. He took a moment to admire her before following Scott and his sleeping nephew to the lift.