A BROTHER'S CRY

By: GrumpyMagrat & Magratconvert

Disclaimer: We don't own the Thunderbirds. Not now, not ever.

Chapter Nineteen – More Brothers Seek Advice

After lunch, John walked Dr. Shipman back to his room. "Do you have some time to talk? John asked.

"Sure John, come on in." Dr. Shipman replied.

"Thanks Doc." John entered the guest room and began rambling. "I know that Dad has filled you in on the situation between Gordon and Alan. We all feel guilty over how bad things had gotten. But man, at times like this, I feel so left out of the loop. I mean I was up on Thunderbird 5, and it was two and a half weeks before I knew that Gordon was having a problem. I'm an International Rescue operative, sworn to help those in need, but I couldn't even help my brother because I was up in a space station. Don't get me wrong. I love Thunderbird 5. I love being among the stars. It's my passion, but it is also a burden. After being separated from my family like I am, I feel like an outsider even when I am at home."

"I always tell my brothers that they can talk to me about anything. Sometimes I feel like I'm their therapist, but who am I fooling. I wasn't trained to do counseling. What if the advice that I gave Alan was wrong? What if I made everything worse?"

"Whoa, whoa, John slow down." Dr. Shipman interrupted. "The first thing is: don't deal in 'what if'. You need to deal with facts. The fight happened, no 'what if', you deal with it."

"Let's start with why do your brothers come to you with their problems? From what your father has told me, it is because you are a good listener. You have a sensitive nature that makes you a natural when it comes to giving advice. They come to you because they trust you. They know that you will give them sound advice. Speaking as a trained therapist, we have our doubts too, especially after losing a patient. I have to remind myself that I can only do my best and that it is ultimately a person's choice as to what they do with that advice. No matter what profession a person chooses, everyone has doubts. It is part of the human nature."

"Yeah, I guess you are right." John said. "Sometimes a person just needs to rant and get it off their chest."

"Tell me about it." Dr. Shipman said with a laugh. "Most therapy is just that. Letting the person talk out their feelings. Now that you know about me, you can call me anytime that you feel the need to 'rant'."

Two hours later, John and Dr. Shipman were still talking. John wiped some tears from his eyes. "Wow, I didn't realize that confronting feelings could take so much out of a person physically."

"Most people don't." Dr. Shipman replied. "But it has been clearly documented the emotional stress can cause physical symptoms, and those symptoms can also vary from person to person."

John looked at his watch. "Oh my, look at the time. I can't believe we've been talking for two hours. I feel like a snack. Would you like to join me?" He asked as he stood up.

"Sounds good." Dr. Shipman said as he also stood. "What do you Tracy boys usually have for a snack?" He asked as the two men headed for the kitchen.

"Who, us?" John said with a smirk. "We are slaves to sugar. Grandma has us spoiled. Chocolate cakes, apple pies, cookies, she makes them all. She even freezes some so we have them even when she is gone. Kyrano, on the other hand, tries to get us to eat 'healthy' snacks. He always makes sure there are plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables."

"And you eat them just to make him happy, right?" The doctor asked with a laugh.

John laughed along with him. "Believe it or not, we do choose healthy foods a lot. After all, with our jobs, we need to stay fit."

John and Dr. Shipman entered the kitchen and found Scott, Virgil and Alan already enjoying a snack. They all had ice cream, but Scott and Virgil had topped theirs with some fresh berries.

"Hi Doc, are you getting settled in?" Virgil asked.

"I sure am. This really is a lovely home. John brought me down for a 'snack'." Dr. Shipman said.

"And I'm sure we all know what 'snack' John wants." Virgil said with a laugh.

"Grandma's apple pie," the three brothers said in unison.

Dr. Shipman raised an eyebrow at John. "A little predictable, are we?"

"So sue me." John said laughing while at the same time reaching for the apple pie.

"I thought Grandma was helping a friend recuperate." Dr. Shipman said, questioning the appearance of the pie.

"I told you that she freezes some for when she is away. We just bake them when we want them." John replied.

"Oh, that's right. You were telling me how you boys are slaves to sugar." Dr. Shipman laughed.

The three brothers reacted with indignation.

"Slaves to sugar?"

"Us!"

"What rumors are you spreading now?"

John knew that his brothers were just having some fun. He turned to Dr. Shipman. "What can I get for you, Doc?" He asked

The doctor started laughing. "I told you guys to call me Frank, but you all have seemed to have latched onto 'Doc'."

"Does that bother you?" Virgil asked.

"Nah, Doc is fine. It is just one of those sub-conscious things that all of you share. I find those kind of things interesting." The doctor said. "And John, I think that the ice cream with the fruit looks good."

"I'll get it." Alan volunteered. When he handed the doctor his ice cream, he asked. "Do you think that we could go somewhere and talk?"

"Why don't you let him finish his snack?" John asked.

"That's ok John, as long as Alan doesn't mind me eating while we talk, we can do it now." Dr Shipman said. "Where would you like to go, Alan?"

"Uhm, I guess, my room." Alan replied.

"Hey Alan." Virgil cut in. "Why don't you two go down to the pool? It's a lot nicer out there. We will give you privacy, won't we guys." The other brothers nodded their heads. "We will stay away until you bring your ice cream bowls back to the kitchen. That will be the signal that you are done, at least for now."

"I think that is a wonderful idea." Dr. Shipman said, grabbing his bowl, and he headed toward the door. "Come along Alan. Let's get some sun."

Alan grabbed his bowl and followed the doctor outside.

Dr. Shipman stretched out on one of the poolside loungers. "So Alan, what did you want to discuss?"

Alan dropped his bowl on the poolside table with a thud. "I wanted to talk about the fact that my family is falling apart and it is all my fault."

"Ok, how is this your fault? Weren't you the injured party?" The doctor asked.

"Well," Alan began to explain. "I knew something was wrong with Gordon. Maybe if I could have convinced Scott or Virgil to help earlier, things may have turned out different. Could I have handled the situation in the pod differently? I was so worried about him, especially after finding out about the drinking on top of the sleeping pills. I should have called for help. I should not have tried to handle it alone. Now because I screwed up, Scott is mad at Gordon. Gordon wants to leave because of how Scott is treating him. I just want things to go back to the way things were before. I love all my brothers, but right now I am really mad at both Scott and Gordon. I'm mad at Scott because he is being a know-it-all, I'm-in-charge jerk. But then I'm mad at Gordon for letting Scott treat him that way. I mean after all, I am the one that was injured. If I can let it go, why can't Scott? I tried to help Gordon. Why wouldn't he let me?"

Alan paused for a moment looking at Dr. Shipman. "I'm not making much sense, am I?"

"You would be surprised at how much I learn about a person while they are 'not making sense' as you called it." Dr. Shipman began. "First off: No 'what ifs'. Your brothers didn't get involved earlier. You didn't call for help in the pod. You don't deal with things that may or may not happen. You need to deal with facts. The confrontation happened. So did the fall out between your brothers. Which is point number two: You can't control them. You can tell them how you feel but ultimately the choice is theirs. The relationship between them is just that: It is between them, not you and them."

When Jeff entered the kitchen for dinner, he was surprised to find only Scott, Virgil and Brains at the table. "Hello, where is everybody?" He asked.

Virgil was the one who answered. "John took Gordon his dinner. Alan and Dr. Shipman are down by the pool talking."

"Has anyone informed them that it is time for dinner?" Jeff questioned his sons.

"No Dad, we haven't." Virgil explained. "We promised Alan that we would give them total privacy until he came back in. We need to respect that promise. Kyrano has already put some food back to keep warm for them."

"I see," Jeff replied. "A promise is a promise after all. Ok, let's eat."

TBC

Author's note - Ok, now we know how the other brothers feel. The action will be picking up soon.

barb from utah - You are right. Gordon is not about to let Scott off so easily.