Disclaimer: Not mine, Mr Andersons. This is a sequel of sorts to A Hard Place. It's a Scott and John fic, nice and dark and angsty. I've re-formatted and re-written so hopefully it flows better. Cheers. AM Feb 2010.

A Brothers Bond

by Angel Mouse

It had been almost a nine months since John's abduction and subsequent adventures, as he liked to call them now and things had settled down nicely for the Tracy family. John was currently down on Tracy Island from his latest tour, Alan having kept his word and not asking John to extend or cut short his duty stays on Thunderbird Five since his rescue and return.

John had been amazed that his brother had kept to his word - as much as he loved Alan, he knew that his baby brother may not have kept to it but for the moment, he was. So it had been really nice for him. And that's where they were at right now.

He was home, sitting outside in the sun with his other three brothers enjoying the afternoon sun. His Father came walking out and sat down next them on the patio. He looked over his four sons and smiled sweetly. Scott caught the look and groaned softly, knowing exactly what that look meant for them all from previous experience.

Virgil looked at Scott to see what was wrong and when he saw what Scott was looking at, he groaned as well as he realised exactly what was about to happen. Gordon and John exchanged glances and frowned. John bit the bullet.

"Scott why the groan?" Scott looked at his younger brother and suddenly got an innocent looking grin on his face, Virgil quickly followed suite and then Gordon suddenly groaned, covering his face with his hand as he finally caught on. Now John was really confused, he hadn't seen his brother's act like this before. "What's going on Scott?"

"Oh nothing much John, nothing much at all. Dad, you know what, I was just thinking." Jeff just looked at Scott, knowing where his eldest son was going as soon as he had groaned. He caught on quick, and winked at his eldest son.

"And what was that Scott?" Jeff was quite willing to play along with Scott's teasing of John. Gordon however wasn't about to let his big brother be conned into something. After all, it was John, his favourite of his big brothers.

"If you run now John you might escape." John just looked even more confused.

"Escape what? Just what is going on?" Gordon groaned again, shaking his head, John was a lost cause. Scott just smiled at John, his expression almost angelic.

"Well, Dad will correct me if I'm wrong, but it's about that time of the month where one of us Tracy boys goes and shows the Tracy face at the office." John was still confused and just looked at Scott.

"So?" Gordon just exchanged sympathetic glances with Virgil, who was trying not to laugh. Poor John didn't stand a chance. For the smart one of the family, he sure was gullible sometimes.

"Well I was just thinking, and I'm sure Dad agrees with me, that you haven't been to the office in a very long time John, so I think it'd be a good idea if you went this month. After all, Virgil, Gordon, Alan and I have been holding up the family business for a while now." John suddenly felt trapped and his eyes darted everywhere, looking for an escape. Jeff now let the huge grin he was feeling show on his face.

"I think your right Scott. John hasn't been to the office in a very long time." The smile on the brother's faces was huge and Gordon stood up, clapping John on the back, heading for the house.

"Sorry big brother did try to warn you." John just sighed and then managed a smile for his brothers and his Father. He had been manoeuvred into a corner and so he might as well give in gracefully. But revenge would be sweet, later on.

"Alright, you've had your fun. Would you like me to go to the office this week for you Dad?" The laughter from Scott and Virgil was unrestrained and Jeff smiled at his son.

"Why thank you for volunteering John, I really appreciate it." John threw his eldest brother a wry smile as he answered his Father.

"Not a problem Dad. I'm sure Scott will be eager to do next month's weekly rotation." Scott's look practically threw daggers at John and John just stuck his tongue out at his older brother. That'd teach Scott to try to con John into doing something he didn't really want to do.

John and Alan were fairly lucky, as they both rarely got to go into the office so to speak. Although Alan went more than John did, he usually he took Tin-Tin with him as they used it as an excuse to spend time together. Looks like John's luck had run out on him finally. But then as he thought about it, it was actually a good idea. He'd finally finished proofing his book and needed to take it to his publisher anyways, and getting off the island for a few days would be good for a change of scenery.

"Thank you John. Scott can fly you over tomorrow afternoon. There's a fairly important board meeting on Tuesday that I want you to attend in my place, but other than that, there's nothing really urgent that requires our attention. I'll have all the paperwork I've already done ready for you to take with you tomorrow."

Every couple of days Jeff received a package of papers that required his personal attention from the office on the mail plane, which he then actioned and sent back a few days later via the mail plane or with one of his boys when they went into the office. John turned his attention back to his Father and nodded. Even in this digital age, there was still paperwork to be signed and filed.

"Not a problem Dad." John smiled. "I need to see my publisher anyway so that works out well really." Scott looked at him, a pleased smile on his face as he realised what that meant.

"You've finally finished your new book?" John nodded and Scott grinned. "That's great John. I can't wait to read it." John blushed slightly as his Father chimed in, pride and surprise colouring his tone.

"That's terrific John. I'm proud of you. When do you think it'll be published?" John shrugged.

"Well I've just finished the final proofing, so hopefully sometime next month." Scott smiled.

"That's great John. That'll make book number five won't it?"

"Yes." John looked at him, thinking a moment and then grinned suddenly at his big brother. His gaze turned to his father. "I was just thinking Father," Scott's expression turned worried, he'd seen that look in John's eyes before and heard that tone of voice before as well.

"Yes John?"

"Well Scott and I haven't had a lot of chance to spend some time having fun together lately. So, how about he comes over on Friday night, we can go out for dinner, catch a show, have some fun and then fly back Saturday morning. Would that be okay Dad?" Jeff grinned at his two eldest sons, knowing that it was rare that they did get to do anything together. One night wouldn't hurt their operations any.

"I think that's a great idea John." Scott just smiled at John; trust his brother to think of something like that for him. "What do you think Scott?"

"I think John's planning something to get back at me for suggesting he should go to the office, but otherwise, yeah, I'm all for it. Are you sure that's okay Dad?"

"Fine. You two have a night off, enjoy yourselves." The two brothers shared a wicked grin with each other and John answered his Father.

"Thanks Dad."

"You're welcome John. Come by the study later and I'll give you all the information you need." Jeff stood up and left the three brothers to it. A few moments later Gordon came back out from the kitchen with a tray of drinks. He passed his Father and put the drinks down on the table. He grinned at John.

"So, John's going to the office then." Scott began pouring the drinks and handing them around. He winked at John and spoke, making his voice sombre. Time to tease the red haired terror of a younger brother that they had.

"Yep, and Dad's making me go pick him up early. He's making me take a night off." John joined in then, making his tone mournful as well.

"Yeah. He's making us go out to dinner, then a show. It's such a terrible burden to bear." The two brothers put on mournful expressions and looked at their ginger haired baby brother. Gordon looked flabbergasted and then the three older brothers burst into laughter.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Monday Morning - New York City

John paid the sidewalk flower seller for the single red rose and smiled his thanks. He continued walking along and was quickly in front of the Tracy Industries Corporate Headquarters building. He glanced up; always amazed at such an innocuous looking building housed one of the worlds largest and most well respected corporations. It was a master piece of engineering and one of the most environmentally efficient buildings in the world. Virgil and his Father had spent several years designing it and it was the home to over a thousand employees.

He smiled to himself and walked into the building. It had been over a year since he'd been here so he had made sure he had a present for Mrs Edwards, his Father's secretary/executive assistant and the most important person in the entire Tracy Corporation - besides his Father that is. You never messed with Mrs Edwards if you could help it. She knew where all tricks of the trade when it came to the Tracy boys.

John placed his hand on the palm scanner to sign into the building and said good morning to the guards. He went to the bank of elevators and swiped his ID card to open the express elevator, getting in and heading up to the top floor where his Father's office was located. The elevator took only moments to go to the top floor and he got out, heading for the executive offices.

He made his way along, saying hello to the faces he knew and smiling at the ones he didn't, grinning inwardly at the strange looks he was getting. John really didn't like the whole corporate thing but he knew it was a vital part of his families operations and therefore his occasional stints in New York weren't that much of a trail for him. But it surely felt strange to wear a suit and tie like he was at the moment. He'd chosen a nice dark blue suit with a pale lavender tie today, which brought out his bright blue eyes.

He grinned as he walked to where Mrs Edwards was standing and trying to keep a straight face he held out the rose as she turned around, sensing someone behind her. He loved surprising her as she was the heart of Tracy Enterprises.

"Surprise."

Mrs Rebecca Edwards was an extremely smart, intelligent, resourceful and lovely woman. She had been with the Tracy Corporation since its very beginnings and Jeff Tracy readily admitted to his boys that when their mother had died, she had been the only thing that had helped him with the company and kept it afloat as his grief had overtaken him.

She knew everything that was going on with all their operations any where in the world and had a knack for knowing what person would be best for what job. She also had managed to guess what Jeff Tracy was going to do and had become one of the very first people apart from Brains that knew about International Rescue.

She had felt honoured and glad to be able to help keep things going on this end so he and his boys could carry out their work. She looked forward to each month to see which son Jeff would send to take care of things with her. Occasionally he did manage to surprise her and today she was completely stunned to see John grinning at her, holding out a red rose to her.

She laughed and took the rose off him, reaching out and enfolding him in a hug. She loved all the Tracy boys like her own boys - she had two of her own - and each of them loved her back.

"John Tracy. Just what are you doing here?" John laughed and hugged her back, releasing her after a moment and grinned.

"Well, I've finally finished my latest book and so Dad reckoned it was about time I pulled my weight around the office, so he sent me this month." She laughed and put the rose on her desk as she looked him over, out of all the boys she had a soft spot for John.

"That would explain why I haven't seen you for so long. I bet you've been off and about watching your stars." John grinned.

"Yes I have, among other things." She smiled warmly at him, as she was one of the few International Rescue agents that knew John spent most of the year in Thunderbird Five.

"So, you're here for the board meeting tomorrow." John grinned as he rolled his eyes at her.

"Yeah, Scott thought it'd be funny to send me along to it. You know how much I love those things." She laughed along with him and he put the briefcase his Father had given him on her desk and opened it.

"Now Dad said I had to give you all these as soon as I saw you." John threw her a wry smile as she laughed. "I'm sure he thought I'd forget or something." She smiled and took the folders out of his hand that he held out.

"I'll get to these straight away." John closed the briefcase and smiled.

"Great. So, what sort of torture for me do you have planned?" She grinned and picked up the day planner, her practiced eye running down it.

"Not a lot for this morning. A meeting with the chief engineer on the Bangladesh Dam project, three conference calls and then a personal review on some the senior staff." John groaned and then shrugged.

"Oh well. It'll keep me busy. Now, if I could get you to give my publisher a call and arrange an appointment for me for later on this week sometime, that'd be great." She made a note on the day planner and looked up at him.

"Not a problem. Anything else I can do for you while I'm at it?" John nodded at her, pleased she was so on the ball.

"Yes please. Scott is coming over on Friday afternoon and we're taking the night off. So we want to go out to dinner somewhere nice and then to a show. Could you see what's playing at the moment and make a booking for us somewhere nice and that we haven't been before?" John smiled gently at her and she smiled back at him; trust him to think of doing something nice like that for his older brother.

"It'd be my pleasure John. I know you and Scott haven't had a break together for a very long time. Every time that older brother of yours comes here it's usually Virgil that'll pick him up on the Friday night and they go out for drinks or something. So it'll be a nice change to send you somewhere different like a show on Broadway. I'll see what I can do." John beamed at her.

"Thanks Mrs Edwards. What would we do without you?"

"Not a lot John, not a lot. Now get in there and get to work." John grabbed the briefcase and grinned at her, giving her an abbreviated salute.

"Yes Mrs Edwards." They both shared and laugh and John left her to it, going into his Father's office. John closed the door behind him and sighed, looking around. His Father's office was always so imposing, even though it wasn't that big. It just felt big.

He went over to the desk and put down the briefcase and shrugged out of his suit jacket. He went over to the small kitchenette and closet, hanging up his jacket and making himself a coffee. He took the coffee back over to the desk and rolled up his sleeve. He sat down and picking up the briefcase he opened it and took out another pile of papers. Time to get down to work, the sooner he was finished, the better as far as he was concerned..

Friday Evening

Scott walked out of the lift and along the corridor. He said hello to a few people, occasionally stopping to chat for a moment or two and then went on. He reached Mrs Edwards's desk and gave her a big hug. She laughed and smiled warmly at him. It was early evening and John was almost finished with his work. He had been working hard all week, having managed to keep

"Scott, it's nice to see you again."

"You to Mrs Edwards. Little brother been behaving himself has he?" She laughed with him and pushed him gently towards his Father's office.

"He has, unlike the rest of you. Now get in there and get him out of here, he's been working too hard this week. Unlike the rest of you slackers."

"Hey!" Scott just let her push him along and gave an indignant yelp as he walked through the door, her laughter following him. John looked up from where he was writing something down and a wide smile appeared on his face as Scott closed the door.

He put down the pen and stood up, coming around the desk and greeting Scott with a bone-crushing hug. Scott returned it and the two brothers laughed. John let him go and moved over to the small kitchenette.

"Coffee Scott?"

"Please, it was a long flight. Weather was a bit iffy and had to make a slight detour to avoid some of it."

"Nothing too bad I hope." John bustled around in the kitchenette while Scott went over to the window and looked out over the city.

"No, nothing major. So, how's this week been?" Scott's grin was wicked as he accepted the mug of coffee of his brother with a nod of thanks. "How was Tuesday's meeting?" John threw him a nasty look as he picked up his own mug of coffee to finish it as he came over and stood next to Scott.

"Oh that was just a bundle of joy, thank you so bloody much for conning me into this." Scott laughed and the two brothers shared a grin. John just shrugged then. "It was fine. I don't know how Dad puts up with some of this stuff, but it's all worth it in the end. I honestly didn't realise that you guys put up with all this, so you have my profound apologies that I haven't pulled my weight as much around the office. I'll try and make sure that change in the future."

Scott just looked at his brother, amazed once more at how selfless John was. He spent the majority of his life stuck in a space station and now on the rare times he was down on the planet here he was offering to spend more time away from them to give them a break. Scott clapped him on the shoulder.

"We'll see Star boy. So are you about done here? I'm starving." John laughed and moved back over to the desk.

"Almost, just have to sign off on these couple of things then I'm done." Scott grinned as he sipped his coffee.

"Great. I'm all set to have some fun tonight." John laughed.

"So I am. Been a while since we've had a boy's night out, just the two of us." The two eldest Tracy boys shared a grin and then burst out laughing.

Meanwhile, on the street

The phone gave half a dozen rings before it was answered.

"You have something for me Captain?" Nigel Striker paused and then closing his eyes, he spoke softly.

"Yes, I do."

"What is it?" Nigel opened his eyes and watched the two brothers walking along towards the restaurant. He had been following them for a few blocks and had overheard what they had been planning.

"Two of them are here. They are eating at La'Roche's and then going to the theatre."

"Which one?"

"The Apollo."

"Understood. Thank you Captain. Your debt is now paid. I'd appreciate it if you'd lose the phone in your hands. It will destruct by itself in five minutes, I'd hate for you to get injured." The line went dead and Nigel stared at the handset. What had he done?

Tbc…

In our next chapter things turn nasty for our brothers..