Disclaimer: AJ's mine, but that's about it. The rest belong to Gerry Anderson and Carlton, and the songs I borrow (thankyou kindly to those who own them)

And yes, I know my taste in music is bad! (blame my parents!)

Again, thanks to my reviewers – makes me feel warm and fuzzy! (and inspires me to keep writing!)

This chapter's song is for Alex, a) 'cause he's gonna be a star, and b) 'cause this is the first song he ever owned on CD - I remember! Congrats again, and keep on shining!

Chapter Five – Spaceman

Spaceman,

I always wanted you to go,

Into space, man…

'Spaceman' by Babylon Zoo

Space. To some, the universe was just a cold, massive expanse that was both intimidating and eerie. Others, however, relished the experience of being up with the stars – thousands of constellations highlighting the beauty of this relatively unknown realm.

John Tracy was a 'relisher'. Spending every other month up in what was affectionately known as 'the tin-can' gave him ample opportunity to study the cosmos. His hot-headed and energetic little brother who was here the other six months of the year watched programmes from around the world (the advantage of living in a telecommunications satellite) and made use of the games consoles Brains had installed over a year ago for entertainment (virtual reality racing was a favourite).

John caught a fair amount of network broadcasts too, but the gentler of the brothers usually abandoned the screens and chose the surrounding galaxies as his entertainment. Fascinated by the myriad of stars, planets and other space debris he'd become a part of, John dedicated his month to gazing beyond Thunderbird 5 and wondering what, if anything, was out there.

"Hey John! You with us still?"

Returning from his musings Jeff's middle son focused on the here and now – and the hand that was waving in front of his face.

"Alan! Cut that out!"

"You were ignoring me"

"So? You should be used to it by now"

Alan's response was to pout at his brother.

"And stop making faces – oh wait! You always look like that!"

"Yeah, and we share the same genes bro', so quit laughing"

"Touche" John grinned. A burst of static over the comm. signified a new voice

"When you two have finished goofing around, can we think about leaving? I'm not getting any younger here"

"No kidding" Alan's evil reply caused Scott to sigh, immediately regretting his choice of words.

"I'm on my way Scott, just give me a second"

"See you in a bit then" Scott signed off. John had a last look around before picking up his bag and hitting his brother's shoulder lightly "I'd better head off – you got everything you need?"

"Yes" Alan answered heavily "I have done this before, y'know"

"I'm your brother, I'm allowed to check"

"Whatever" Alan brightened "Hey, do me a favour will ya?"

"Sure, what?"

"Hassle Scott about his love-life"

John frowned "What did I miss?"

"He's got a date"

"You're kidding? Mr. Workaholic?"

"Nope. Remember Petra and the French fiasco?"

"Yeah?"

"Turns out her real name is AJ, and she's a friend of Lady Penelope's. She and Scott bumped into one another when he was over there fixing FAB 1 and he asked her out!"
"Whoa. He told you this?"

"Don't be dense. Virgil slipped up and said something to Grandma."

John winced "Ouch. And she told Dad? What did he say, the whole it'll-jeopardize-our-secret-organisation trip?"

"Weirdly enough, no. Said Scott deserved some time off"

"Jeez, what happened? I'm away for a few weeks and everyone gets a personality transplant!"

"You have some catching up to do"

"No kidding"

They were interrupted by the comm. again.

"John, are you coming or do I have to physically drag onto Thunderbird Three?"

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Thanks for the heads up, Al. See you in a month!"

"See ya – and don't forget to wind him up!"

"Sure thing"

One short trip through the access tunnel, and John was greeted by the sight of his eldest brother at the controls of Thunderbird Three.

"Hi John, how goes it?"

"Good, thanks. Phew" Bag thrown to one side, John seated himself next to Scott.

"Thunderbird 5 from Thunderbird 3, docking and transfer complete. We're good to go"

"Thunderbird 3 from Thunderbird 5, boarding tube has been retracted, you are free to leave"

"Take it easy Al"

"FAB. See you in four weeks, guys. Au revoir!"

Scott ignored this, and turned to his brother "You want this Johnny?"

"Please"

Scott sat back and allowed John to ease the rocket away from the space station and turn smoothly, setting a return course for Earth. John caught a glimpse of star lines as Thunderbird Three picked up speed, and smiled. Yep, up here was truly spectacular – but right now the only place he wanted to be was on a small island in the Pacific.

"Base from Thunderbird 3"

"Go ahead son"

"Alan's all up and settled, and we're heading home now"

"FAB, John. See you boys in a while"

Having set Thunderbird Three onto auto, John stretched and yawned.

"Tired?"

"Ah, nothing that one of Grandma's desserts and a good night won't sort. And I'm sure as hell not too tired to hear all about this upcoming date of yours"

Scott groaned "I'm gonna kill that kid, I swear. You heard about those damn songs he and Gordon sang for days?"

John chuckled "Alan did mention they were gonna put them on a disc labelled 'French Adventure' and give it to you"

"Not unless they wanna eat it" came the growl.

"Heh. So, give me the lowdown – I feel outta the loop here"

"What do you know already?"

"Only something about you and Petra meeting up at Lady Penelope's – except she's really called AJ and she's not a French tour-guide. What's with that?"

"I didn't wanna push for info – I mean, I gave her a false name and had to concoct some lame-ass story as to why, so grilling her is hardly fair! But she works as a translator, travels a lot and sometimes the stuff she translates is sensitive, so she uses a different name"

"Not usual though. What languages does she speak?"

Scott looked blank "Uh – I dunno, I never asked"

"Typical" his brother shook his head. John had a passion for languages and spoke several, which was a great help in his communications role. He was the only brother who'd shown an aptitude for speaking something other than English, and he welcomed any chance to practise his skills. "You are useless. So, fill me in – what's she like? I want full name, age, description…"

"Alyssa-Joelle Anderton, but AJ for short. She 25…"

"Between me and Virg then – carry on"

"Er…"

John sighed "Hair colour?"

"Brown – but lighter than mine. It's kinda long – way past her shoulders"

"Eyes?"

"Green"

"Emerald, olive…?"

"Sea-green"

"Build?"

"Uh – she's average height, maybe a bit taller than Tin-Tin…"

"'Bout 5'8 then"

"And she's slim…not like model skinny, but…toned, I guess you'd say"

John gave him an amused look.

"What?!? She was in a soccer kit at Lady Penelope's!"

"Nice legs?"

Scott grinned.

"Go bro'! She sounds pretty cute"

"She is. Smart too – got a real way with words. Funny as hell"

"Don't tell me – she has an accent"

"Yeah – how'd you know?"

"Because you're a sucker for them! So you asked her out then?"

Scott's features gained a tinge of pink "As thanks – for helping me out in Paris"

"Nice line, what were you planning?"

"Well…" his elder brother squirmed a little "…I was kinda hoping maybe you could help me out on that one"

The blonde next to him chuckled "How did I guess?"

To an outsider, it might've appeared that John had less of a role in the family than his other brothers. Scott was obviously the leader – and had been fiercely protective of his siblings ever since they were small. He was most like their father, and could go overboard with rules and regulations at times ('Dad-clone' Gordon would tease him with) but his ability to keep a cool head in almost any situation made him the obvious choice for the others to go to when they were in hot water of any kind.

Virgil was similar to some extent – he was still 'big brother' to three of the boys, but less authoritative. He and Scott were close, but Virgil was the one the others went to when they were worn down and depressed and needed a few words of reassurance or just a sounding board for their worries.

Alan was the baby of the family – no matter how much he denied it – and even though he was as capable as any of the others, he still had a special eye kept on him. Hot-tempered as he was, it was rare the others came to him for advice, but he was the most outspoken in the family and could be relied on to say what everyone else was thinking – bluntly.

Gordon was 14 months older than Alan and consequently the two were pretty close. Gordon brought levity to the family, and though he frequently drove them mad with jokes and schemes (aided and abetted by his younger brother) the humour would've been sorely missed by the others, and the atmosphere on the island a lot more tense.

Which left John – 'the spaceman' as he was known. Calm and soft-spoken, serious but still up for a laugh, he was the balance between the brothers that kept the five as close as they were. And he was the source of all knowledge when it came to culture, relationships and – women. When advice was needed on what to do, how to approach and even what to wear, they all turned to John.

Scott shrugged, as if resigning himself "You're the man, John"

"You asking' for my help?"

"I'm begging. Help me, Obi-John Kenobi"

"Okay, okay. Anything in particular?"

"Everything" Scott groaned "I'm useless at this"

John silently agreed. Dependable, solid and responsible his brother might be – but when it came to romance he tended to flounder.

"Alright – so it's dinner, yeah? Where do you want to take her?"

"Er…"

John rolled his eyes "Where does she live?"

"On the outskirts of London"

"Okay, I suggest you choose a restaurant in the city then"

Scott frowned "But she'll have been to all those. We could go anywhere in the world!"

"It's unlikely she's eaten in all the good places – London's a big place. And it'll look really good if you make the effort and fly all the way to her – not meet up halfway somewhere"

"Hadn't thought of that"

"What sort of food d'you want to eat?"

"I was thinking maybe Italian"

"Not bad – but it could get messy. All those pasta sauces – recipe for looking less-than-clean at the end"

"Good point. What do you reckon then?"

"I'd avoid Thai, Mexican etc – too spicy. Sushi bar maybe – but you're not keen on Japanese are you?"

Scott shook his head.

"Personally, I'm leaning towards Chinese. Huge range of food so there'll be something you both like, no lingering after-tastes and since you get a lot of dishes to serve yourselves from there'll be plenty of opportunity for you guys to brush hands across the table"

"Wow. You've really thought about this!"

"What can I say, I am the Master"

"Okay master – so what do I wear?"

"How formal do you wanna be?"

Scott shrugged

"Well, odds are she'll be pretty well-dressed – women are good at that sort of thing, but a suit's too over-the-top"

"I was thinking maybe just dark pants and a shirt?"

"Still a little too dressy. How about that dark long-sleeved polo of yours?"

"Okay"

"Oh – and a jacket of some kind so you can offer it if she gets cold"

"Nice touch!"

"Works every time. Anything else while I'm here? You said it was just dinner, but – "

"I wanna make a good impression"

"Fair enough. Just be your usual charming self then – don't give me that look! Remember back in high school you had that entire volleyball team eating out of the palm of your hand?"

Scott grinned "Good times"

"Not to mention the two guys who were on the squad as well"

The grin faded "Don't remind me"

"Well, if you were that way inclined…"

"Very funny"

"Seriously Scott, you're a nice enough guy. Just be yourself"

"Can I get that in writing?"

John laughed "Nah. And I'll deny I ever said it"

"Figures. But thanks – it's appreciated, bro'"

"Hey, no problem. S'what I'm here for. And besides, you're outta practice"

"It's been a while"

"All the more reason for you to get back into practice"

"Don't get too excited John – it's just one date"

Next chapter – dinner! And for those of you wanting the date this chapter, sorry, but this piece with John just came outta nowhere, and demanded to be written. Especially since he's not had a lot to say so far! Hope you liked.