Chapter 59.

Jeff Tracy had yet to encounter a problem that pizza couldn't solve.

He'd fully expected the boys to aggravate Tanusha in some way. Since Lucy's passing their lives had lacked any sort of female influence other than their grandmother. Scott, Virgil, and John got some exposure at school, but if Jeff's plan to pull them out and educate them at home went ahead, then they'd be denied even that.

He desperately hoped the price tag for International Rescue wouldn't be five bachelor brothers. The image of his sons cooped up in a retirement home, fussing over their balding heads and aching backs with only each other for company was enough to make him consider the legality of arranged marriages.

One more reason why he desperately wanted Tanusha to step into her father's shoes. The boys would benefit hugely from having a sister figure around twenty-four seven, especially one as tough as her. Plus, she would go some way towards correcting the gender imbalance. Unfortunately, Jeff's inability to produce X chromosomes had landed him with an all testosterone team. Not that he minded in the slightest, but equal gender representation was an important consideration.

As were pizza toppings.

"Since my sons appear to have forgotten their manners, I'll take care of the introductions," Jeff declared, depositing two huge pizza trays on the kitchen table, "Boys, this is Uncle Kyrano's daughter, Tanusha. She wants to be a policewoman, however might honour us by joining International Rescue."

Across the table, Scott's eyes widened. He had memories of his mom buying Christmas presents and writing birthday cards to a girl named Tanusha.

Jeff gestured towards the small blond thing that was sat in a high chair, "This is my youngest boy, Alan. He's a sweet kid, but if his screams are anything to go by, then I reckon he's destined for a career in opera rather than International Rescue."

Tanusha allowed a small smile to grace her face.

"This here is young Gordon," Jeff continued, motioning towards the strawberry blond hurricane who was eagerly seizing a slice of Hawaiian, "A professional cuddler and prankster. Be warned, he's quite clingy. You may need to pry him off with a wrench from time to time."

Tanusha inclined her head. This particular hurricane seemed harmless.

Jeff planted his hands on the shoulders of the lanky redhead next, "This fine young specimen is John. You need help with homework, he's your lad. If you ever require anything from him, just buy him a book. Make sure it's one he hasn't already got though, otherwise he won't speak to you for a week."

John didn't bother to look up, his energy focussed on painstakingly removing all of the tomatoes, pepperoni, onions, basil, and mushrooms from his pizza. Tanusha was only too happy to return his rudeness.

"This is Virgil," Jeff ploughed on, acutely aware that most family introductions didn't drag on for as long as his, "The finest little mechanic this side of Mars. He started his training a couple of years ago, so is already familiar with basic International Rescue protocol. He's also a pretty good artist and takes piano lessons in his spare time. It's not all work, work, work around here, is it Virgil?"

Around a mouthful of cheesy pizza, Virgil shook his head.

Jeff's eyes positively shone as he stepped up and wrapped an arm around the last remaining boy's shoulders, "Old Scotty here is my number one. He's already showing great proficiency as a pilot and is also undertaking paramedic training on the side. Got a question about International Rescue, he's your boy."

Under normal circumstances, Tanusha suspected that Scott would have glowed in response to his father's praise. As it was, he seemed more concerned with blowing on Alan's bowl of alphabet spaghetti.

Thankfully, neither Jeff nor Kyrano motioned for Tanusha to make her own introduction. The boy's earlier interest in her appeared to have waned as well, replaced instead with excitement over the pizza slices and spaghetti vowels in front of them.

Tanusha felt herself relax as she reached for a slice of margherita pizza. Uncle Jeff had remembered her favourite.

Maybe living on Tracy Island wouldn't be so bad after all.

Eight and a half minutes later…

"You did that on purpose!" Tanusha screamed, her voice ricocheting around the kitchen and causing several reef herons to flee from their roosts in terror.

Up in the lounge, safely removed from the insanity of his children, Jeff sighed.

Five minutes, that was all he'd needed. Five minutes to have a quick catch up with Kyrano over a beer, sans children. Was that really so unreasonable? Should he have only asked for three?

"Did what?" came the disbelieving reply, uttered in Scott's voice.

Kyrano rolled his eyes and placed his beer on the holotable, "My apologies, Jeff. Tanusha can be rather argumentative when she's tired. I'll send her up to bed."

"No, it's probably the boy's fault," Jeff assured, "We don't get many visitors, let alone girls their age. I'll go and investigate before food starts getting thrown."

Kyrano stood up and marched towards the staircase that connected the lounge to the kitchen, "I'll come with you. I doubt Tanusha is completely blameless."

Jeff frowned as he followed his Head of Security downstairs. He'd overseen too many missing toy cases to share Kyrano's doubt.

"Give it back!" Tanusha bellowed, her eyes widening in relief when Kyrano and Jeff came into view, "Daddy! Scott ate the final piece of pizza without asking!"

"I didn't know it was yours," Scott retaliated, his tone borderline aggressive, "And we're supposed to share, you know. You've had three slices. That was only my second."

Down on the floor, Alan reacted to his eldest brother's distress and let out a loud wail of discontent.

Tanusha's nostrils flared as she glowered up at Scott, "You could have had a slice of the Hawaiian or the BBQ one instead. Margherita pizza is my favourite. You should have at least asked before scoffing it!"

A sinister smile spread across Scott's face as he mimed being sick, "Want me to barf it up for you?"

"Daddy!" Tanusha thundered, her eyes watering, "They're bullying me! I want to go home!"

Kyrano quirked a brow. He was well accustomed to his daughter's temper tantrums and had zero intention of contributing to the scene she was creating. The Tracy boys were, on the whole, very well-behaved kids. On the contrary, it looked as if Tanusha was the one doing all the bullying.

Despite Scott's defiant expression, Kyrano couldn't help but notice how harassed he looked. He was hunkered down on the floor next to Alan, who was sat inside a portable sand pit and excitedly constructing a sandcastle with the aid of a plastic knife and fork. While the rest of the brothers were sat comfortably at the kitchen table, Scott's plate was on the floor between his feet. Jeff was a doting father, but it was obvious that Alan had, for reasons unknown, decided that Scott was his favourite person.

Kyrano crossed his arms and stared down at his pouting daughter, "Tanusha, that is no way to behave in someone else's house. Scott's had a busy day and is being a responsible brother by taking care of Alan. You should be grateful that the boys shared their pizza with you at all. I want you to apologise for your behaviour before you go to bed."

Tanusha's eyes widened to the point of bulging. Scott opened his mouth to comment, but was distracted by Alan trying to eat a mouthful of sand.

"No arguments," Kyrano interjected, holding a hand up to stop the conveyor belt of excuses he knew his daughter was preparing, "You can start by apologising to John."

The glare that Tanusha shot the redhead almost scorched his eyebrows off. She paused to scuff the toe of her shoe against the floor before sighing begrudgingly, "Sorry."

Kyrano frowned. He'd heard better apologies, "Now Virgil."

An identical lame expression of regret was dutifully forced out

"Now Gordon," Kyrano ordered, motioning with his eyes towards the blond who was busy shovelling a third slice of Hawaiian pizza into his mouth.

"Sorry," Tanusha huffed, not even bothering to make eye contact. The floor was ten times more interesting.

"That's okay!" Gordon pepped, taking a large bite out of the crust before offering Tanusha what remained of his slice, "Here you go, you can have my pizza instead of Scotty's."

Jeff snorted and affectionately dragged his knuckles along his fourth son's scalp, "I'm sure Tanusha would feel much better if you finished it yourself, Gordon. You've put so much effort into licking all the cheese off, it would be a shame to have to share it!"

Gordon paused to consider his daddy's point. Nibbling all the lovely cheesy bits off had indeed cost him a significant amount of time and saliva. Plus, his tummy was starting to feel funny. Maybe if he finished his current slice, his tummy would reward him by settling down.

"And now Scott," Kyrano finished, his eyes narrowing when Tanusha hesitated, "Either you apologise, or you go back to being a policewoman. There's no room for bullies at International Rescue."

Scott's face flushed crimson. He hated making other people uncomfortable, regardless of whether they'd wronged him or not.

Tanusha hesitated for a second, battling with her pride. Despite possessing fairly sound judgement for a ten-year-old, it was darn hard to tell right from wrong when blinded by the red mist of embarrassment.

In the end, she opted for a truce. Dignity could be repaired, but the opportunity to have a career with International Rescue probably wouldn't wander past again.

"Sorry," Tanusha muttered, her eyes welling. Oh, how she wished they would all stop staring at her.

Scott glanced up, his expression tense.

"Gordon!" Virgil hissed, slapping the little blond's hand away as he reached for his fourth slice of pizza. Clearly, he was the only one who liked pineapple as a topping, "Stop eating! For goodness sake, you'll be the size of a walrus if you carry on gorging like that."

Gordon's pout of disappointment turned into a beam of delight as Jeff reached over and deposited the final piece onto his plate, "He's a growing boy, Virgil. Let him enjoy an after-school treat. Ahem, Scott? Is there something you'd like to say to Tanusha?"

Milk sprayed out of Alan's nose as Scott began to anxiously bounce the knee he was balanced on, "Sorry for not asking if I could have the last piece. I was hungry and didn't think."

Tanusha sniffed and dragged the back of her hand across her eyes. Scott's confession at least meant she could salvage some of her dignity.

The tension in the kitchen was broken somewhat by Gordon cramming the last piece of crust into his mouth before loudly demanding that John take him to the toilet. Jeff smiled and shook his head as the little rapscallion dragged his redheaded brother, seemingly against his will, off in the direction of the ground floor bathroom.

While Scott and Virgil were busy complimenting Alan on his sandcastle, which looked more like a sand shack, Tanusha took the opportunity to quietly slip back upstairs. Kyrano sighed and massaged his temple, "I honestly don't know how you manage to do it with five, Jeff."

Jeff snorted and began clearing away the dirty plates, "I don't always. Last week I got so depressed I went to Legoland for a whole day by myself. Don't tell the boys, though. They think I was at the dentist."

Kyrano bit back a laugh at the mental image of the great Jeff Tracy toddling around an amusement park by himself, "I love being a dad, but I sometimes feel as though life has passed me by. Do you ever feel that way?"

Scott, Virgil, and Alan jumped as a loud crash suddenly shook the foundation of the house. Two seconds later, water began to leak out from underneath the bathroom door. Jeff barely twitched, opting instead to pull out his phone and run a quick search on nearby boarding schools he could potentially pack the boys off to.

Kyrano raised an eyebrow, "Well, old friend? Do you ever feel as if life has passed you by?"

"Not at all," Jeff replied, idly studying the website for a prestigious looking establishment in Brisbane, "I feel as if it's flattened me with a steamroller and then walked all over me in stiletto heels."