Disclaimer: I don't own Thunderbirds.
"Which of us is Father's favourite son?"
This was the question which had been lingering on the minds of the Tracy brothers all day. It was something not one of them could shake off, so they had decided to come together to work out an answer. Scott, Virgil, Alan and Gordon were sitting together in the lounge. All were certain they knew which of them their father liked above the others.
"We'll it's obviously gotta be me!" Scott decided. "If I weren't Father's favourite son, he wouldn't have given me the duty of piloting Thunderbird 1!"
"Now wait just a minute, Scott!" Virgil exclaimed. "Everyone knows Thunderbird 2 is the most important of the five. And who has Dad entrusted to pilot it?! Me!"
"Most important of the five?!" Scott scoffed. "How the heck can Thunderbird 2 be more important than Thunderbird 1, Virg?"
"Because it carries all the necessary equipment to the scene of rescue. So many lives have been saved with all the vehicles that are carried in the pods of Thunderbird 2. Father obviously knows I'm the one to be entrusted with such vitally important machinery. That's why I'm undoubtedly his favourite son!"
"Now wait a minute there, fellas!" Alan held up a hand. "Thunderbirds 1 and 2 are all good and that, but they can't fly high into space like Thunderbird 3 can! By giving me the duty of flying such a machine which can go out of this world, that's Dad's way of showing I'm his favourite son!"
"Unless that's really Dad's way of saying he wants you off the face of this planet," Virgil murmured.
"Why would he?!" Alan huffed. "I'm the youngest son, so I'm clearly the most adorable one! Just look at my face!"
"We've seen your pouty face enough times, Alan," Scott said. "It could turn sour the milk you have with that kids' cereal you always eat for breakfast."
Alan pouted bitterly.
"Now hold on here!" Gordon put in. "If we're talking favourites here, fellas, it's gotta be me!"
"And just what makes you think you're Dad's favourite?!" Alan asked.
"Because he put me in charge of Thunderbird 4!"
"What?!" Virgil exclaimed. "That makes no sense! How does being in charge of Thunderbird 4 make you Father's favourite?! It's the smallest of the five!"
"Exactly! And you know what they say!" Gordon grinned. "Good things come in small packages!"
The others groaned loudly.
"There's no way you can be Dad's favourite, Gordon!" Alan muttered. "We all know your lame attempts to be funny never amuse him!"
"Lame?!" Gordon exclaimed, aghast at Alan's remark. "How can you say that, Alan?!"
"Because it's the truth!" Virgil said. "Dad doesn't find you funny, Gordon!"
"That I can agree with!" Scott nodded. "And you fellas are gonna have to agree that I'm Father's favourite son!"
"No!" Alan shouted, raising his voice. "I'm Dad's favourite!"
"I am!" Gordon hollered.
"I am!" Virgil yelled.
"What's going on in here?!"
The four young men froze upon hearing the stern voice of their father suddenly come from nearby. They turned their heads meekly to see Jeff had just entered the lounge. Having heard his sons arguing heatedly, the head of International Rescue did not look pleased.
"What are you boys bickering about?!" Jeff demanded.
"We, erm…" Scott stammered. "We were debating about which one of us is your favourite son, Father…"
"My favourite son?" Jeff exclaimed, raising an eyebrow.
"It's obviously me!" Alan piped. "Isn't it, Dad?"
Jeff frowned irritably. "That's utterly ridiculous…"
Alan's face fell, his hopes of being liked more than his brothers by his father dashed.
"Told ya, Alan!" Gordon grinned. "Your favourite son is obviously me! Isn't it, Father?"
"No!" Jeff snapped. "This whole thing about me having a favourite son is nonsense!"
"It is?!" Virgil asked, blinking with bemusement.
"Of course it is, Virgil! You are all my sons - and you are all a vital part of International Rescue! You are all here to work as a team in order to save people's lives. What one of you does in a mission impacts and depends on another! You are all just as important as each other! So you can just drop this silly depart of which one of you is my favourite son!"
Jeff turned and walked out of the lounge with a shake of his head. He hoped he had managed to hammer some sense into his sons. For a bunch of grown men with the duty of taking the Thunderbirds to rescue people in trouble, they sure acted like a bunch of children sometimes, much to his ire.
The Tracy brothers watched as their father left the room. They were quiet for a moment as they glanced at one another. Each of them was digesting the lecture Jeff had given them. It was what they needed to come to a very important conclusion about their debate.
"Well…" Scott broke the silence. "I guess we learnt a lesson here, fellas…"
"We sure did…" Virgil nodded. "And that is - we'll never know which of us is Father's favourite son…"
The others nodded as they concurred together, affirming that the important lesson which Jeff had attempted to teach them all had gone straight over their heads.
"Although I think we all know who is Father's least favourite son!" Gordon added.
"Right! It's gotta be John!" Alan deduced as he glanced at the portrait of the space monitor on the wall. "Otherwise Dad wouldn't have stuck him up in space on board Thunderbird 5! John would be down here with the rest of us on Tracy Island - if Father actually liked him!"
The end.
