Author's Note 1: This story was revisited in 2021. Not sure if anyone cares or remembers stuff from a story published nearly 20 years ago (!), but nothing fundamental to the plot has changed; most of the work was just tidying up sentence structure and dialogue and minor reworking of a couple of bits to make more sense/clearer/better reading. The only chapter that effectively got a partial rewrite was Part 6, though none of the events changed.

Author's Note 2: I am basing this story on the premise that Thunderbirds was set in 2026. I am also using the following order for the brothers: Scott, Virgil, John, Gordon, Alan. I know some people prefer the alternative, that John is the second son, then Virgil. The tie-in material published for the classic series over the years conflicts on several aspects of the Tracy backstory. So there is no "right" or "wrong" for me on some matters; I just enjoy a good Thunderbirds fanfiction and I hope you will enjoy my contribution.


Ties That Bind

Part One

"Lucy!"

"What is it?"

"Dinner's ready!"

"Okay."

Lucille Evans jumped reluctantly off her bed. She had been reading an interesting book, and when she got into interesting books, she didn't like to be interrupted. Lucy was twenty-one and had just finished doing an English Literature degree. She was currently looking for a job, but she wasn't really sure what she wanted to do. Nothing seemed to grab her attention. Her father, a well-known author in his genre, suggested that she should take up a temporary office job, but Lucy didn't like the idea of being a nine-to-five desk jockey, even for a short time. She'd done retail work during university, but that was definitely not a career she envisioned carrying on. Lucy knew her own mind and wouldn't be pushed into anything. She made her way into the dining room and sat down. Her younger brother was already there, tucking into the meal.

"Where's Dad?" Lucy asked her mother.

"He'll be along in a minute. And don't disappear after you've finished. Your father wants to speak to you," her mother replied.

"Oh. What about? He's not found another job for me, has he?" Lucy said, flippantly. Her mother looked at her sharply.

"At least he's looking, which is more than you seem to be doing," she said.

"I'm not going to do something just for the sake of it," Lucy replied, defiantly. Her mother simply let out a little exasperated sigh. Lucille could be so very trying at times, sometimes deliberately so. Perhaps the suggestion that her father was about to put forward would be some respite for them all. At that point Lucy's father, John, joined his family. The conversation over the meal was typical family talk – Peter's grades, John's current novel that he was working on, and what Lucy was going to do with herself. After dinner, John spoke to his daughter.

"Lucy, come into my study, will you?" Lucy did as she was asked and sat down on the comfiest chair. Her father sat down next to her.

"Well Lucy, I have a suggestion for you. No, don't pull that face. It's not about a job," he said.

"So, what is it about?" asked Lucy.

"I've been invited to a big social event and I'd like you to come with me," her father said.

"A social event? For what?" Lucy asked, not keen. She liked people and wasn't averse to a party, but 'social event' in her father's circles suggested a bunch of luvvie, artsy, airy-fairy types that she found draining to be around after a time.

"One of the charities," her father replied. "There's going to be a lot of famous people there."

"I don't know…" Lucy began, but her father cut her off.

"What if I told you that it's in New York?" he said, knowing full well that his daughter had an ambition to visit that city.

"When is it?" she asked, her face brightening.

"Next month. We'll make a holiday out of it. You can bring one of your friends with you, if you like," her father said.

"What about Peter?" Lucy said.

"It clashes with his exams. But I'll make it up to him," John said. Lucy grinned and hugged her father, suddenly feeling excited.

"I take that as a yes?" her father said.

"Yes!" Lucy replied.

Impatiently, Lucy waited for the month to pass by. She was taking her best friend Karen with her. They would be spending a fortnight in America in total, touring up and down the East Coast. For the umpteenth time, she checked she had her passport with her. Lucy was a meticulous person when it mattered, but she still worried about whether or not she had got everything with her. At the airport, she kissed her mother goodbye, and boarded the plane with her father and Karen. Her father and Karen both dozed on the flight, but Lucy was too excited to sleep. She had always dreamed of touring America, especially the big cities. She had been to Florida on a family holiday before, but this was something different. At least when she went back home, she could say she'd met someone famous other than Mickey Mouse. She peered out of the window, looking down hundreds of feet at the ocean, then she looked back at the map on the screen in front of her. Not much further!


Two days after their arrival and rested following their journey, the three of them were ready for the charity function. As it was a formal event, they were all dressed up. John wore a suit, whilst Karen wore a burgundy gown and the biggest heels that she could walk in. Lucy had brought her favourite dress, a long black item, with a halter neck, and no sleeves. She had debated over whether she should wear her hair up or down, and in the end decided to keep it loose and styled into soft waves, accented with a couple of pretty hair clips. Normally, Lucy didn't wear make-up, but Karen had insisted that she should for the occasion and had done it for her. Both the girls looked and felt quite grown-up. Alongside John, they entered the room and were immediately swept up in the atmosphere.

"Oh, look! There's that man from…"

"Isn't that…?"

"Doesn't she look old in real life?"

"Where's Dad?" Lucy looked around for her father, but he had disappeared into the crowd after an old friend. The two girls each took a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, and stood a little out of the way, so that they could observe their surroundings better. Two men came up to them.

"What are you two pretty young ladies doing here?" one of them asked, pleasantly.

"I'm here with my father," Lucy replied.

"And who's that?" the other one asked.

"John Evans. He's an author," Lucy said.

"Yes, I think I've read some of his stuff. Very good," the first man said. At that moment, John himself came up to them.

"Mr Evans! What an honour to meet you!" the first man said, shaking his hand.

"Thank you," he replied. With the attention of the two men on Lucy's father, the two girls slipped away.

"That's the thing with these events, you never know whether people are genuine or not," Lucy said. "Let's go and see if there's some food."

"We had a meal before we came out!"

"I know, but I'm hungry already." They found some nibbles and helped themselves, continuing to enjoy people watching.

"There's a lot of good-looking men here," Karen said, a gleam in her eyes.

"Karen!" Lucy exclaimed.

"There's no harm in looking, is there?" Karen grinned. "I mean, it's not like we're going to get the attention of any of them. Anyway, I need the loo. That champagne's gone right through me." Karen tottered off in search of a toilet, leaving Lucy alone. She suddenly felt a little bit apprehensive about being by herself in a room full of strangers in an unknown city in a foreign country and awkwardly tried to look casual by sipping at her nearly empty flute of champagne. She moved aside to let two people through to the buffet table and steeled her nerves enough to look around the room to see if she could see her father. As she looked behind her, her eyes met with those of a dark-haired young man. He smiled at her, and out of politeness she gave him a fleeting smile in return, before looking away, wishing that Karen would hurry up and return.

"Would you like another drink?" Lucy was startled by the voice beside her. She looked round, and saw the young man standing there, holding two flutes of champagne. It was difficult to say no whilst she was holding an empty glass, but Karen should be back soon if she needed an extraction from her new companion. So, she smiled at the man and took one of the flutes from him.

"Thank you," she said.

"Are you here alone?" he asked.

"No. I'm here with my father and a friend. My father was invited to this event and brought me along."

"Who's your father?"

"John Evans," Lucy replied.

"The author? I've heard of him, but I'm afraid I've never read any of his books," the man said. He had an honesty about him that Lucy couldn't help but like. It stood him out from the other people she had so far met.

"I'm Jeff, by the way," he said, extending a hand.

"Lucy," she replied, taking his hand and shaking it. "Well, actually, it's Lucille. But nobody really calls me that except for my mum. I was named after my grandmother." She grinned at Jeff, and he returned the smile, his deep blue eyes crinkling at the corners. She felt some of her initial reticence disappear.

"I'm actually Jefferson, but funnily enough only my mom uses it." He glanced at the crowded room. "Do you want to go somewhere a bit quieter? It's a bit hard to have a conversation when there's fifty other people talking at the same time," Jeff said. Lucy looked around her, searching for Karen.

"Well, I was… Actually yes, why not?" she said, changing her mind. She followed Jeff out of the room, into a lounge area. It was much quieter, and at least there was somewhere comfy to sit down. She didn't notice her friend returning to the party and tailing them, only for her recognise Jeff and deciding to leave them to it, a grin on her face. Meanwhile, Jeff and Lucy settled into a pleasant conversation.

"So, whereabouts in England do you come from?" he asked.

"I was born in Portsmouth, on the south coast, but I currently live in Canterbury, in the south east," Lucy said.

"As in the Canterbury Tales?" asked Jeff.

"Yes," said Lucy. "Have you been to England?"

"No, but I'd like to one day," he replied. "My great-grandfather was English."

"Do you live around here?" Lucy asked.

"I was born in Kansas – my dad is a wheat farmer," Jeff told her.

"You've not followed into the family business then?" Lucy asked.

"No, farming isn't my thing. I'm in the air force at the moment," Jeff replied.

"I wish I knew what I was going to do with my life," Lucy said, wistfully. "Nothing seems to appeal to me."

"I'm sure you'll find something."

"Well, I know what I don't want to do, so I suppose that's a start," said Lucy, breezily. Jeff smiled at her.

"How long are you here for?" he asked.

"Two weeks. We're going to be travelling up and down the coast, to fit in as much as possible. After all, it's not every day that we can afford to come here, even if dad does make a good income," Lucy said.

"Do you write as well?"

"Nothing serious. I did some creative writing as part of my English Lit degree, but I don't think I've got the patience to attempt to churn out a novel. I prefer reading them."

"I have to admit, I'm not much of a reader. Unless it's about aerospace or aeronautics. All I ever wanted to do was to fly," said Jeff.

"Why the air force and not commercial aviation?"

"Fast planes," Jeff chuckled. "And it was a way for me to… Well, I'm pleased with how things are progressing. I guess at the end of the day, if you can, do what makes you happy." Lucy felt that she couldn't really disagree with that.

They continued to chat away, only interrupting to grab some food. Lucy had to admit that she found herself drawn to Jeff. He appeared to be very intelligent, thoughtful and had a wonderfully dry sense of humour. They seemed to share some similar interests too. She left his side temporarily to go and find some water. She bumped into her father.

"There you are! I've been trying to find you for ages. I want to leave in a few minutes," he told her.

"Already?" Lucy exclaimed.

"It's gone midnight!" her father said.

"Has it?" Lucy asked. She had completely lost track of time. "I have to go and say goodbye to someone."

"Well, be quick about it," her father replied. Lucy sped off back to Jeff.

"Jeff, I'm so sorry. I've got to go. My father wants to leave," she said. He looked disappointed for a moment, but a second later the look had gone.

"Can I contact you?"

"Oh, sure." She recited an email address and social messenger ID.

"I'd like to see you again," Jeff told her, after providing the same details in kind. Lucy was taken aback.

"Umm…thanks," was all she could manage. Jeff looked at her, his deep blue eyes holding her hazel-brown ones. If she wasn't already blushing, then she was now.

"I'm serious. How much longer are you going to be in New York for?"

"Two days. But my father and…"

"Your dad won't mind you meeting me for lunch or dinner, will he? I'm sure we could find somewhere near your hotel?"

"Yes… I…I suppose so," Lucy said, not really able to think straight.

"I'll contact you tomorrow," Jeff smiled at her.

"Okay," Lucy managed what she felt was a weak smile back. The evening had certainly taken an unexpected turn. "Bye for now, I guess?"

"Bye," Jeff replied. Lucy gave him a last look before heading to where her impatient father was waiting with Karen.

"What took you so long?" he asked as they began to make their way out.

"I was saying goodbye to Jeff," replied Lucy. Before her father could ask who on earth Jeff was, Karen squealed in excitement.

"You were talking to him all evening?"

"Yes, I was. What about it?" Lucy said.

"Don't you know who you were talking to?" Karen asked. Lucy looked blank. "Lucy, you idiot. Don't you keep up with current affairs? That was Jeff Tracy, one of the people chosen to make the return trip to the moon!"

"He said he was in the air force," Lucy said, unable to comprehend.

"Yes, that's his current job. But he's been hand-picked to train as an astronaut," Karen said.

"He didn't say anything about that to me. Anyway, he wants me to have a meal with him tomorrow or the day after."

"Where?" her father asked, sharply.

"I don't know yet. He said it'd be somewhere near our hotel."

"You lucky cow!" Karen exclaimed. Lucy poked her in the ribs.

"Hmm. I don't know if I want you going off round New York with a stranger, whatever his occupation," her father said.

"Dad, please! Jeff's really nice. You'd like him – I should have introduced you," begged Lucy.

"Well, we'll see," her father replied, not keen on the idea at all. He privately hoped that this Jeff was just flattering his daughter after an evening socialising. Never mind, he'd deal with the matter in the morning after a good night's sleep.