Fork in the Road

By Sapphire

Disclaimer: see first chapter.

Part 2 - Fight or Flight

"You're dead!" were the first words he blurted out, not thinking. He couldn't think. It wasn't possible. His mind was running in a tight circle, repeating over and over, 'Mom' and 'but she's dead'.

The woman's eyes widened. She took a small step backwards. Dropping the glass she'd been holding, it exploded into a million shards on the floor. Nobody noticed. Her hand flew to her mouth.

"Scott!" his father called out. "What are you doing?"

Scott didn't look at his father. His eyes were fixed on the woman who sounded and looked so much like his mother. But who couldn't be his mother. This wasn't possible.

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice shaking.

"Scott, what is the matter with you?" came from his right. "Don't you know your mother?"

"You are dead," he repeated more forceful. "You are not my mother."

"Honey," the woman started, but was interrupted by Scott. He couldn't listen to her. He wouldn't accept the oh-so-familiar endearment from this impostor. Yes, that was it. She had to be an impostor.

"You. Are. Not. My. Mother!" Scott all but screamed.

Wildly he looked around. He had to get out of here. Adrenalin was pumping through his veins, the 'fight-or-flight' reaction strong. Something was not right here. Heck, nothing was right here.

He had to get out.

He tossed off the blanket covering his legs and bounced off the bed. Shoving his father aside, he tried to get to the door.

But his father wouldn't allow it. The older Tracy wrapped his arms around Scott's middle just as he was trying to push by him. He held him in a vice grip. Scott struggled, but his father wouldn't let go.

"Scott," he grunted, "stop that."

"No! Let me go!"

"No, Scott. Calm down!"

"No."

They struggled on. Scott was beyond reason or rhyme, his whole world up side down. He wasn't thinking clearly, his only thought to get out, to get away. He wasn't even sure why, he just knew he had to.

Finally, he managed to plant an elbow in his father's face, and the older Tracy's hold loosened a little. Scott twisted and almost got out of his father's grip when he heard a low hiss. There was a small pinprick as something cold touched his upper arm.

The drug worked fast and the world turned black and then disappeared altogether.

ooooo

When he woke up the next time, the headache was gone. The whole world seemed to be packed in cotton and he felt a little bit like floating.

He had no problem remembering what happened, but for some reason he didn't seem to mind at all. Yes, his mother was back from the dead, but there was no reason to be concerned about this. He even knew that his present mood of tranquillity was most likely due to the drug that had knocked him out, but that same drug prevented him from being too concerned about that as well.

He opened his eyes. The room was in semi-darkness. Still he could make out the form of somebody sitting in a chair next to his bed.

Alerted by some movement, the form got up and Scott could see that it was his father. He sported a large bruise on the side of his chin where Scott's elbow had connected. He reached out and felt Scott's forehead gently.

"How do you feel, son?" he asked, concern evident in his voice and eyes.

Right now, Scott didn't feel anything so he didn't speak.

"You have us worried, you know. I wanted to take you to the mainland, but Joyce thinks you'll be better off here."

'Joyce'. So it hadn't been a dream – this had been a possibility after all. This 'Joyce' did exist.

But was she really his mother?

Was she really alive?

Strange. For the last thirteen years there had rarely been a day he hadn't wished his mother had somehow survived the avalanche. For his father's sake, who had suffered so much when she had died; for the sake of his younger brothers, who had never really had the pleasure of knowing her like he had; and, most of all, for his own sake. He had missed her so much, had missed her smile and her laugh, and how she had made him feel always at home and loved.

Still, he knew she was dead – there was nothing that could bring her back. Over the years, he had learned to accept that fact. He had never forgotten her, though. He honoured her memory every time he stepped into the cockpit of Thunderbird 1 at the beginning of a rescue. And thanked her every time for looking out for him and his brothers from the Beyond, when they all came back to the island in one piece.

She was dead – and here she was alive.

It was a dilemma, which was impossible to solve.

So he decided not to solve it. He would wait and see.

"I'm fine, father," he said, his voice rough.

His father's face split into a wide grin, immediately followed by a wince, as the skin over his bruise shifted.

"Sorry about that," Scott said truthfully.

"It's all right, son," Jeff said, resting his hand on Scott's shoulder. "You'd had quite a knock on your head. It must have confused you a bit, that's all."

Yeah, maybe it was the knock on his head. Maybe he was the problem. Maybe he was going crazy.

Feeling suddenly tired, he closed his eyes.

"Rest, son. Tomorrow, everything will be all right."

This was the last thing he heard before he fell asleep again.

Tbc

Poor Scott. And it's not going to get any better in the next chapter …

Review response:

Wow!!! I would never had thought I would get that much response. Thanks a bundle to anybody who had reviewed.

Regarding the whole 'Lucille/Joyce' issue: I know her name (and she, for that matter) was never actually mentioned in the TV show. As Tikatu pointed out (thank you), her name did come from a secondary source (which I haven't read – you wouldn't believe how difficult it is to find anything Thunderbird related here in Germany). As I wasn't sure if the name was canon or 'fanon', I decided to go with my own. If somebody can't stand 'Joyce', he's free to use the 'Find and Replace' function in your word processing software. I just liked the sound of it: Jeff & Joyce Tracy

I know that the 'Skiing accident' scenario was mentioned in the movie. Again, as there was no mentioning of how she died in the TV show, I thought, why not, and ran with it.

Another warning, I'll also go with the birth order Scott – Virgil – John – Gordon – Alan. That's the order I somehow remembered from when I watched the show some ten years ago, and only recently saw that there was a different order given on the DVDs.

Fen: To be honest, I didn't make a difference between dormant and extinct. Probably extinct. I can't see Jeff building the base of IR on a volcano that could break out any day. No plans for lava flows in this story.

Andrewjameswilliams: Good question. You will see.