Author's Note – A Tracy son in turmoil. A Father who has to make a choice. It's time to get back on track and get on with the telling of this story. I'm sorry this Chapter is somewhat brief. I'm afraid my recent travels have been a very big diversion…. mcj
CHAPTER THREE
THERE'S ONLY SO MUCH A MAN CAN TAKE
There was only so much a man could take without a second cup of coffee and he didn't give a damn if it was only seven o'clock in the morning.
He guessed the lack of sleep had something to do with it and he probably should have gone to bed last night instead of gluing himself to the television. But he had become way too engrossed in the newscasts concerning a dangerous series of landslides and his involvement was starting to become personal. As far as he was concerned there had been too much inaction from the Emergency Services from the outset and it didn't surprise him at all that the call had now been received from Thunderbird Five.
"The Emergency authorities require our immediate assistance Father," the tired but efficient voice informed him from the screen. "Things sound pretty bad."
Alan glanced from left to right, flicked a couple of switches in the satellite and tried not to look like he was agitated.
"From what I've managed to determine so far, a couple of houses are gone already and there's nine people missing under the rubble."
His eyes mirrored his own Fatherly concern.
"One's only a baby Dad and the Mother's hysterical."
Jeff Tracy gave his youngest son the required nod of assurance. Even at age twenty-three and almost two years of marriage under his belt, Alan never seemed comfortable in a crisis.
"All right Alan. Thanks a lot for the update. Continue to monitor the situation and Scott will contact you from the air."
The worried young features relaxed when he heard his brothers would soon be on their way to Mexico. He'd been listening to the panic on the mountainside all night and the situation wasn't getting any better. All road access to the slope had been lost and with no suitable equipment available to clear a path; the rescue efforts had ground to a standstill.
"OK Sir. I'll keep all lines of communication open."
The familiar biting of his son's bottom lip soon told Jeff Tracy the call wasn't about to end there. He had always been able to read Alan like a book and it was obvious when he had something bothering him.
"Dad…" he faltered, trying to find the words.
"Son please …" came the gruff but understanding response. "As Grandma said to you last night, they're only restless at the moment because the two of them are cutting teeth."
Then he gave him a knowing smile.
" …and before you start asking me again how Tin-Tin's coping, she's doing fine too all right? Grandma's keeping an eye on her for you and just for the record so are the rest of us."
The tall, blonde figure in the International Rescue uniform coloured a little.
"I know you are Dad. It's not that..."
He paused feeling a little foolish.
"It's just that … well … Grandma also told me something else last night and I have to say it bothers me."
"Oh?" Jeff Tracy frowned, wondering what his Mother had gone and stuck her nose into this time. "And what's that then?"
Alan bit his lips together again but he felt strongly about what he had been told by his Grandmother and he'd been worrying himself sick about it all night.
"Father … Tin-Tin isn't getting any sleep at the moment and you know what I think about her overdoing things."
"She won't ask anyone for help Dad. She's too independent." he ended quietly.
The blue eyes clouded and looked away with awkwardness, unable to say what he really wanted to say. He wanted to come home and be a proper Father to his babies. He wanted to come home for Tin-Tin. A month away was acceptable before they had the children but a month away now was too far long.
Jeff Tracy had been a Father himself too long not to pick up the signs.
"I know how much you miss them son." he sympathised. "But International Rescue has a very important job to do and without someone monitoring things in Thunderbird Five we wouldn't be able to do it."
A very important job.
He held that thought in his head as he sat on the corner of his desk, arms folded, waiting for his Field Commander. A display of tardiness wasn't what he particularly needed to deal with right now, especially from the son he needed the most.
He glanced at the clock as the minutes ticked slowly by.
Scott was always the first to respond to the emergency indicator. He would stride into the lounge within minutes of being called, demanding to know everything and anxious to get himself airborne. It was the trademark of his commitment to getting the job done fast and it instilled a certain confidence and urgency into his brothers. This morning it was completely the opposite. He was the first one summoned when Alan contacted him from the satellite, and he was the only one who hadn't responded to the call.
Jeff Tracy sighed inwardly and continued to wait. He thought being thrown into a rescue situation might be the catalyst Scott needed to forget about Daniel for a while. He loved the rush of an emergency and thrived on counting down the clock. But the noticeably empty space where Scott always stood to receive his orders was slowly but surely starting to tell him it would take a heck of a lot more than a rescue to make him forget.
He turned to look at his other sons who had all assembled in response to the call. Virgil was fully alert and ready to fly out. Cleanly shaven and dressed, he sat on the couch with his usual calmness, waiting to be instructed. Gordon sat next to him still half asleep, red hair standing on end, completely oblivious to everything. John stood behind the couch in his pyjamas wanting to know if he was needed.
At the sight of his Father's frown Virgil's face immediately lined with worry. He knew every second counted for those people on the mountainside and he knew his Father knew they counted too.
"He won't be much longer Dad." he faltered, his brown eyes darting nervously towards the door. "He was getting dressed when I was coming down."
John's eyes followed Virgil's .
"I heard him too Dad." he added in support.
"Mmmm." was the unhappy growl before the focus centred on what seemed to be an unacceptable lack of activity in the kitchen.
"For goodness sake Kyrano." he grumbled loudly. "What's stopping that coffee coming?"
Virgil swallowed and looked over his shoulder at John who in turn locked eyes with Gordon. Their Father rarely complained about anything, least of all Kyrano's impeccable service. He was never this edgy about a rescue situation, but with Scott continuing to be conspicuous by his absence with each passing moment, all three of them had a pretty good idea they knew the reason why.
Fortunately Kyrano entered the Lounge room not ten seconds later with a pot of fresh coffee, six cups and a plate crammed full of warm buttered toast.
"I am sorry for the delay Mr Tracy." he apologised setting the tray down on the desk and motioning them towards it. "I trust what I have prepared will be satisfactory Sir."
The inviting smell wafted through the lounge and it didn't take Gordon long to take on a whole new lease of life. Unable to resist food of any kind, his sleepy eyes opened wide and within moments he was on his feet and helping himself to the toast.
"What?" he frowned as both Virgil and John rolled their eyes. "If I'm going out on a mountainside for goodness knows how long I'm not going to be the one who starves to death."
The rolling of the eyes intensified.
"You? Starve to death? That'll be the day." John exclaimed dryly. "Try to find time to eat up in Thunderbird Five during one of these calls Gordon. Now that's starving to death!"
Gordon smirked, picked up the plate and thrust it in John's direction.
"OK then hero. Make the most of things while you're not up in Thunderbird Five. Besides by the sound of these landslides you'll need every little bit of your strength. We'll all have to go out there today if we're going to pull this one off."
Jeff Tracy ignored both the conversation and the food, preferring to reach over and pour himself a cup of coffee.
"Thanks Kyrano." he mumbled, his mind totally preoccupied with the landslides. Thanks a lot."
The elderly Malaysian retainer inclined his head graciously.
"Always a pleasure Mr. Tracy. Please forgive my further intrusion Sir but will this situation in Mexico require the services of my daughter?"
He nodded grimly. "Yes Kyrano, I'm afraid by the looks of things it will."
But before he went any further, a firm and insistent voice echoed from the other side of the lounge room.
"Now Jeff surely you can attend to those people without involving young Tin-Tin. The poor child's been up half the night with her babies."
As usual the face of Josephine Tracy said everything as she looked from Kyrano to her son and back to Kyrano again.
She took a sip of her orange juice before she continued.
"I don't know about you men and your priorities sometimes. You seem to forget Tin-Tin's coping with two little ones under two …," she bristled, keen to make her point. "…not to mention the fact that the youngest one is still relying on her for his nourishment."
Jeff Tracy looked repentantly at Kyrano but made it clear he had no intention of backing down.
"Mother I appreciate the difficulty." he agreed stiffly, "But with Brains away on the mainland at the moment, it simply can't be helped. Please go upstairs and wake her for me."
Josephine Tracy frowned and grumbled all the way to the door.
"You may not be able to help it son but that doesn't mean it's right. You're not the only one around here who needs her. It's a known fact that a Mother doesn't feed her baby properly if she has to constantly worry if X plus Y equals Z."
"I'll do my best to remember that Mother." he promised, this time with more than a little tightness in his voice. "Now would you mind hurrying along a little faster please? I'd like to include her in the brief."
Kyrano also moved in the direction of the door.
"I will ensure the needs of the little ones are met Mr Tracy."
"Father they don't have any needs at the moment. Both of them are still asleep."
The husky voice was weary and the usually happy demeanour was lacking as Tin-Tin, still clad in her bathrobe, brushed past both Kyrano and Josephine Tracy and went to sit beside Gordon on the couch.
She yawned and turned her tired eyes towards the desk.
"Thank you for not sounding the emergency signal in our apartment this morning Mr Tracy." she said gratefully. "The sound of it would have woken both of them again for sure."
Jeff Tracy tense expression melted. It always did where Tin-Tin was concerned. The beautiful young woman who had stolen the heart of his youngest son had, and always would have, a very special place in his heart. He had heard her trying to settle the babies while he was busy watching the newscast and he knew from his own miserable experience as a widower, settling two babies less than thirteen months apart wasn't an easy task.
The newscast.
Almost instantly, his tender expression changed.
Thinking about the newscast only reminded him of why they were assembled and with that thought uppermost in his mind; his impatience returned. His fingers began to tap. It had been well over ten minutes since he had called Scott on his wrist communicator and ten minutes later, there was still no sign of him to be had.
"For the life of me I don't know what's keeping your …" he snapped, only to be silenced as Scott finally made his way through the door and hurriedly strode towards the desk.
Scott looked terrible.
"I'm sorry I'm so late Dad." he apologised, trying to disguise his exhaustion. "I didn't sleep too well last night Sir."
His Father eyed him up and down as his impatience now turned to displeasure.
"You look dreadful Scott." he thundered making no secret of his disapproval. "It's obvious to me you haven't had any kind of sleep at all."
His brow furrowed.
"Again."
Scott reddened. There was no mistaking that tone. Jeff Tracy was the old school when it came to adequate rest before flight and part of their undertaking to him in joining International Rescue had been that they took the necessary steps to make sure they were ready to fly at any time … early nights if they needed them … adequate recreation …fit bodies …limited alcohol.
Standing up as straight as his physically tortured body would allow, he lifted his chin in denial.
"I'm feeling OK Sir." he insisted. "I'm just a little tired that's all."
It didn't take long to receive a very terse reply.
"No son. A man who takes over ten minutes to respond to an emergency call around here is not considered to be OK and it doesn't take me to be any sort of genius to figure that out."
Scott scowled silently at the admonishment and continued on as if nothing had been said. There were more important things to think about right now than how much sleep Scott Tracy had managed to get and he was surprised his Father wasn't thinking the same.
"Father enough time's been wasted already. Please just give me the run-down." he demanded and reached over to pour himself only enough coffee to swallow during the brief. "Where are we required and how bad is it?"
But Jeff Tracy was not so easily dissuaded. His discerning eyes never left the face of his eldest son watching with consternation the robotic way he downed the coffee to prepare himself for flight. The blackened circles under his eyes were the worst he'd ever seen them and the unmistakeable drooping of his eyelids concerned him beyond belief. Even though he was vital to International Rescue's operations, it was clear Scott wasn't in any sort of condition to fly Thunderbird One let alone take control of a major rescue operation if or when he got there.
Decision made, he proceeded to look Scott squarely in the eye.
"You're right son." he agreed in a firm and authoritative voice. "Enough time has been wasted. That mountainside could give away at any moment and Alan's already said there are nine people under the rubble."
Without flinching he turned towards the couch.
"John …"
John startled and looked up from his coffee with surprise.
"Yes Dad?"
"John I want you to launch Thunderbird One."
John locked eyes with Scott in immediate disbelief. Virgil and Gordon sat open-mouthed on the couch. He may not be exactly acting like himself at the moment, but nobody flew Thunderbird One faster and better in an emergency than Scott. This was one heck of an emergency. What was their Father thinking?
It was John who queried the order first.
"Pardon me ummm … Dad did I just hear you right?" he faltered, confusion written all over his face.
Jeff Tracy soon made it very clear there was nothing whatsoever wrong with his hearing.
"I said get moving John." was the direct re-iteration. "Alan will contact you with the details."
John hesitated, still not quite believing what he had heard. Flying Thunderbird One didn't bother him, in fact if the truth was known, he really rather enjoyed it; but like Alan, he knew he was only ever allowed to take control of "Scott's baby" when Scott wasn't in a position to do it himself. At the moment Scott stood less than five feet away from him and he wasn't looking very happy.
"He'll flip if I do that Dad " rang the warning bells in his head.
Scott certainly didn't let him down. Before John had time to take one step in the direction of Thunderbird One, the expected reaction came.
"You're standing me down Father?"
John Tracy froze.
Scott Tracy's voice held more than disbelief. Scott's voice held challenge too.
"Scott …not now. We'll talk about it later." was the rumble.
John's eyes flickered nervously in the direction of Scott's imposing figure and then towards the equally imposing figure of their Father.
"Dad…Sir..." he stammered. "If Scott's feeling up to taking her I won't mind if he goes."
If the third Tracy son didn't know how it felt to be invisible, he certainly knew how it felt to be invisible now. Both his Father and his brother ignored everything and everyone as they stood face-to-face in front of the desk heading towards a direct altercation.
"What do you mean not now Father?" Scott glowered. "There are nine people out there who need our help. NINE. Give me one good reason why you don't need me out there for you to give it to them."
"Scott …" Jeff Tracy rumbled again. "I have already said not now."
But like Father, like son Scott was not so easily dissuaded either.
"Dad I'm your Field Commander." he stated forcefully and squared his jaw expecting for the fact to be acknowledged. When the acknowledgement didn't come, his defences quickly escalated.
"I have already said I was OK to flyDad."
Still no acknowledgement came.
"Í am Dad." he insisted.
Jeff Tracy fought to keep himself in check as his eldest son continued to argue, refusing to face the reality of his dreadful physical condition. The reply came and when it did, it was through rigid and fiercely disciplined lips.
"Son for the last time you are not OK to fly anywhere and I have no doubt in my head that you know it. You can call this a stand-down if you wish but I'm not prepared to risk lives by sending you into a danger zone when you're not in a fit enough state to be there."
Scott's voice began to rise with his temper.
"Dad; that's a heap of crock. There are lives at risk already and you need me on that mountainside."
Jeff Tracy's voice began to rise too.
"Don't tell me who or what I need Scott. The lives I'm talking about here are the lives of your brothers. Lives which happen to be important to both of us. What I need is a Field Commander who's fit to oversee a very dangerous situation in Mexico, and I think it's fair to say at the moment that someone isn't you."
Scott's voice lowered dangerously.
"No Father that's where you're wrong. I am fit to be there and I am not standing down. Send John with Virgil."
Jeff Tracy's voice lowered too.
"Scott I'm obviously not making myself clear to you. What part of "you are not required this time" are you having trouble understanding? "
Fuming, Scott swung around on his heel and began to move towards the hangar of Thunderbird One.
"I have trouble with all of it Father. My place is in Thunderbird One and that's where the hell I'm gonna be."
Jeff Tracy strode across the room behind him, determined not to let him go.
"Your place is anywhere I order you to be." he growled grasping his shoulder forcefully.
His chest rose and fell as time stood still in the Tracy villa.
"And I swear while there's still one iota of breath in my body Scott, you are not going anywhere in that Thunderbird."
Scott slowly turned around to face him, his face a pillar of stone.
Two sets of powerful blue eyes burned.
"I mean what I'm saying to you son." he thundered. "John will handle things this time. Take my advice and go on up to your bed."
He knew he should have taken the option. Deep down inside he knew his Father was right. But angry at himself, angry at her and angry at what he'd lost three days ago in the middle of that courtroom, he wasn't about to lose anything else without a fight of some sort. Not his place as Field Commander. Not to one of his brothers.
"No Dad..." he choked, his voice grating with emotionless ire," Three years ago I gave up everything because you said you needed me to make International Rescue work for you. Me Dad not John."
He turned his face away and once again began to move towards the hangar.
"So how about you just let me get the hell on with doing it for you Sir."
Jeff Tracy was powerless to control his worry and frustration at the situation any longer. The cold, hard military words sounded before he could make any reasonable attempt to stop them.
"Maybe if you started acting rationally for a change I might be able to believe you're still capable of doing it."
Scott's face fell. Those words hit him between the eyes like the blade of a blunted axe. His Father never spoke to him in front of his brothers with anything but the utmost confidence and respect. He was completely stunned.
The silence in the room was absolute.
Even Jeff Tracy, furious as he was, stood unhappily, disappointed he'd let his emotions get the better of him.
"John" he finally said, more in distress than anger. "Get going son. People are in trouble on that mountainside and they're expecting to receive our help."
Without another word John nodded and exited towards Thunderbird One.
Then he turned to Tin-Tin, still trying to regain his composure. Tin-Tin looked up at him with anxious tear-filled eyes.
"I'm sorry. " he apologised. "Please ... these land-slides have covered the most of the infrastructure. Those people are buried somewhere underneath and they don't have very long. I need to you to figure out where we're going to have to dig to find them… and how deep. Can you get to work on that for me?"
"All right Mr. Tracy." Tin-Tin murmured not knowing where to look. "I'll contact Alan and see if he can get me some accurate information on the gradients."
"Yes by all means do that." he said, indicating she had unrestricted use of his desk.
Finally he looked towards Virgil and Gordon.
"Boys there are only the three of you so you need to work fast. Take as much excavation equipment as you can carry and make sure you have all the ultrasonic heat detectors. John can brief you on what's required once he's over there and Tin-Tin's done all the calculations."
Virgil and Gordon rose to their feet and only Virgil had the courage to lift his eyes to Scott's. Scott looked at him without expression. Virgil bit his lip and looked away. He wished he could say something useful, but with emotions running at an all time boiling point at the moment, common sense told him to remain silent.
Why, he worried, as he made the all too familiar descent into Thunderbird Two. Why are you doing this to yourself Scott? Why are you shutting everything and everybody out? Why are you so totally hell bent on punishing yourself for something you know you can't change?
"I'll tell you why …" he vocalised loudly as he seated himself at the console in the huge Thunderbird craft. "…because shouldering the burden and blaming yourself for everything that goes wrong around here is the only way you know how to live your life big brother and for once I'm glad Dad's making the effort to stop you."
"Amen, alleluia and let's hear it from brother number two." was the cheeky and unexpected response from behind him. Virgil turned to see Gordon grinning in the rear of the cabin as he casually pulled on his uniform.
"Pity you couldn't bring yourself to say it a little earlier though." he smirked.
"You didn't hear me say anything Gordon." Virgil warned, guarded as always when it came to matters involving Scott. "You hear me? Any of it."
"Oh chill out Virg who the heck am I gonna tell?" Gordon replied, allowing his mischievous eyes to grow wider. "But as a word of warning from one who knows, you'd better not let Scott "not" hear you either … not if you still want to be standing up straight when you finish."
Virgil looked his red haired brother up and down.
"Scott probably needs to hear more things like that Gordon." he said with all seriousness. "That's been the trouble with him since this whole Adelaide Washington thing began. He put Tracy Enterprises on the line when made the mistake with the legal agreement and he can't seem come to grips with the cold hard fact that he did. Now he's acting like he has to prove to Dad he's some sort of superman or something."
He made the selection of the pod required for the rescue with a sore and heavy heart.
"Gordie, Scott isn't superman." he added almost with a kind of sadness. "He's just a man; the same as you and me. I know I shouldn't say this and I'll deny it if you tell anyone I did, but this time Dad's right. Scott's a mess right now and he shouldn't be up there giving orders until he pulls himself together."
He began his pre-flight check and mumbled to himself unhappily. "For his own sake as well as our own."
"I dunno." Gordon shrugged dubiously. "Messed up or not Scott's makes a pretty good call in a crisis."
Gordon's innocent remark really made Virgil burn. That was the whole problem and he wished someone else besides him could see it. Scott felt he had to be perfect all the time. He knew they all expected him to be there for them when they needed him ... so he was. He knew they all expected him to make the right call in a crisis ... so he did. He knew they all relied on him to lead them...
Virgil frowned.
And they shouldn't.
They weren't little motherless boys any longer. They were men.
All of them.
"Gordon, your never-ending adulation of our big brother is admirable as always," he replied in a voice laced with sarcasm. "But I'm sure human as he is, Johnny is more than capable of handling things too."
Gordon's smile faded. Virgil always knew how to let him know when he had taken things too far.
"Virg I wasn't saying John isn't capable." he began in earnest. "I'm just saying …"
"Look Gordon how about you don't say anything at all right now huh? " Virgil snapped as the mighty engines began to roar. "I've got enough on my mind already."
The cabin fell silent as Virgil prepared himself for take-off and tried to not to think about what his Father would be saying to Scott right now.
He shuddered.
Somehow he got the feeling it was probably better not to think about it.
He sighed and began to taxi forward.
Whatever was being said he hoped this time it would be enough to make Scott turn the page in his life that once was Adelaide Washington. Watching him punish himself for his past like this was truly breaking his heart.
The eyes that burrowed into his were angry and had burrowed into him too many times over the years not to know what was coming. As he sat there waiting for the inevitable, to his mind came the night he'd come home three hours late from the library… the night he'd produced a fake ID to get himself into a nightclub… and the night he came home drunk from a friend's house and had fallen asleep on the porch.
His Father's eyes had made his feelings known then and they were certainly making his feelings known now. But as the sun rose over Tracy Island and the Thunderbird craft disappeared in the direction of Mexico, those eyes had never held so much fire, so much fury and despite everything he had said only a few moments ago, so much genuine worry and concern.
They were the same height. They had the same features. They had the same drive and visions of greatness. They had same relentless outlook in life.
But that was where their similarity ended.
There was one important difference; he began in his matter-of-fact Tracy manner.
He was the Father in this family and in the Tracy family a Father deserved nothing less than his son's respect.
The livid dark blue eyes continued to burn through him like a furnace.
He was also in charge of things around here and he wanted to make it pointedly clear that until such time as he was officially handed the reins of International Rescue at some obscure time in the future, not only was he expected to set the example for his brothers; he was also expected to obey his orders.
This whole issue of who did and who didn't act as Field Commander when required had been completely blown out of proportion and he needed to get things very straight in his head about the way things
were.
Point number one.
He didn't care a damn who had been appointed as the Field Commander when International Rescue began. Back then he'd been given the job because he had his head together and after the scene he'd just created in front of his brothers and worse still in front of young Tin-Tin, he was sure he didn't reminding of the fact that he didn't have his head together now.
Point number two.
Raised voices had never been required to get a point across in this house and no matter how tough things had been over the years in bringing them up without their mother; his voice had never been raised unless it was a last resort.
"You know that Scott." he boomed. "I only need one hand to count the number of times I've ever had to raise my voice to you."
The "discussion" continued.
To say what had just happened was disturbing was an understatement to say the least and thanks to him, he'd be hearing about it from his Grandmother for the next six months straight.
What had happened had nothing to do with the urgency to save nine innocent people. It'd all been about his ego. Let him make himself loud and clear right now; when there were lives at stake and International Rescue had been asked to help, he didn't give a damn about anybody's ego. John was placed in charge of the rescue because John was a damned good pilot and John was more than capable of getting the job done when it was blatantly clear he wasn't.
His "Point taken Dad." was barely a whisper.
It didn't end there.
He could sit there and deny he was falling apart. He could sit there and deny any damn thing he wanted. But no matter what he choose to deny at the moment, no son of his was ever going to take the controls of an aircraft when he wasn't in a position to handle himself. Not now. Not ever. He had been grounded this morning for his own good and he was staying on the ground from now until he could clearly demonstrate he had a grip on things again.
"The first step towards that son," he stressed, "Is getting some decent sleep."
The eyes continued to burn.
He'd tried to be sympathetic. He'd tried to be understanding. He'd tried to be everything a Father was supposed to be. All he wanted to know was what the hell he was trying to do to himself. Running on the beach at all hours of the night until he collapsed on the sand in exhaustion; not eating or sleeping when he should; not communicating with his brothers; stupidly drowning himself in the scotch.
"Punishing yourself like this isn't going to make what happened go away Scott." he re-iterated wishing he didn't have to sound so hard. "Mistakes are made by even the best of men and whether you want to hear this or not …that includes you. You need to accept you made a mistake with the legal agreement in Manhattan and the mistake has cost you Daniel. That's the reality of your situation son and that reality isn't going to change by dealing with things like this."
The breath he took was momentary.
Look he knew that probably sounded like he thought Daniel was just some sort of possession instead of a little boy but someone needed to keep a level head around here. It wasn't as if he didn't understand how he must be feeling. He and his brothers were the most important things in the world to him. He just knew what the legalities were. The law was the law and whether the Tracy family had one dollar or one billion, the law would always be the law.
"Scott if nothing else you have to understand that."
The real warning sounded and like every other warning Jefferson Tracy had given over the years, there was no room to negotiate and definitely no room to argue.
He had to understand; because if he didn't, it wouldn't only be today that he was stood down as the Field Commander of International Rescue.
If he didn't pull himself together soon, the stand down was going to be permanent.
"Base to Thunderbird Five. Alan it's me."
The screen that came into focus in Thunderbird Five was separate to the normal communication screens and one his Father would literally bust a nut over if he ever found out it existed. It was their private screen, set up with the help of Brains and carefully concealed behind volumes on mathematical theories so they could secretly communicate with each other whenever he was in the satellite.
"Tin-Tin you know I can't talk to you right now." Alan berated her; nevertheless delighted she'd taken the time to call him again.. "I'm in the middle of rescue operation at the moment and Dad expects me to concentrate."
He winked.
"You know I can't concentrate whenever I see you."
Tin-Tin blushed at the compliment but tried to focus on the reason for the call.
"I know you're busy Alan and I don't intend to hold you up for long. I only wanted to know if you'd managed to get the information on the gradients for me yet."
"Of course I have Madam Engineer." Alan sniffed, pretending to be miffed, "I radioed what you needed through to Dad a few moments ago. I thought you'd be waiting for it in the lounge."
He grinned and winked at her again.
"You and me don't usually talk about gradients on our frequency baby. Not geographical ones anyway."
"Don't be dreadful Alan, "she scolded him. "I was waiting for the information but I needed to come upstairs and dress. I can't sit in a bathrobe when I'm working right next to your Father. "
"Well don't mind me then Mrs Tracy." he joked, leaning closer to the console, "By the sounds of things I'd better stick around for a while and fulfil the requirements of my job."
A coy smile tempered her lips.
"And what's that supposed to mean then Mr Tracy?" she demanded, folding her arms and trying to look serious.
Alan laughed and continued with the joke.
"Tin-Tin you know as well as I do that Dad expects me to keep a close eye on anything and everything that might escalate into an emergency or rescue."
"Well for your information there's no emergency around here Mr. Thunderbird Five." Tin-Tin warned, reaching out for her clothes and beginning to loosen her bathrobe.
"Boy this will sure rescue me though." he teased. "After three whole weeks without you baby, what's under that bathrobe's liable to give me more than just one big emergency."
He was happy to see his efforts rewarded with the "look" and the bathrobe being thrown at the screen in disgust.
"That's obscene Alan and I don't even want to think about it."
"Hey no fair. " he exclaimed in his best fifth grade voice as she turned her back on him and walked in the direction of their bathroom, "I can't see anything if you go dressing yourself in there!"
"Exactly right." she called back. "If you want to see anything else you fancy Mr Tracy, you come home from that satellite."
Alan's smile faded instantly. Not being home was a subject he didn't find funny anymore.
"I do want to come home Tin-Tin." he swallowed despondently "But you should know by now there's nothing I can do about it."
"Say that again Alan?" was her response over the noise of the running tap.
Alan didn't reply knowing full well that even if he did she wasn't in a position to hear him. His blue eyes looked around the satellite with discontent while he listened to the frantic conversations of the emergency teams awaiting the arrival of International Rescue. It wasn't as if this wasn't worthwhile or anything. Like his Father had said to him earlier, International Rescue had a very important job to do and accurately monitoring things in Thunderbird Five was more than necessary to do it.
But there were other things in his life now. Things that were more important.
Like her …
Like Lucy Josephine…
Like the son he'd only been home long enough to hold for three of his five months of life.
He frowned.
He really hated coming home after a month away to see Lucy Josephine happily sitting on Gordon's lap when the lap she sat on should have been reserved as his. He hated not being there when Baby AJ cried. Above all he hated Tin-in having to spend six months of the year without him and then to hear from his Grandmother that she wasn't coping with things in his absence.
His frown deepened.
He couldn't help the way he was feeling. All he wanted to do was to be at home with his family.
"Look I gotta go Tin-Tin." he mumbled discontentedly. "If you need any more information on gradients you know where you have to come to find me."
Alan's sudden change in mood worried Tin-Tin. She hurried back into the room when she heard him, her beautiful brown eyes inquisitive and querying his.
"Alan?"
Alan looked away.
"I'm not talking rocket science Tin-Tin. Like I said before; Dad expects me to concentrate and we're not supposed to mix International Rescue with what we do in private. You've got a job to do and so have I. I'll see you later OK? Alan Tracy out."
Tin-Tin's stood in bewilderment when he cut the communication short without so much as a further word. She stood replaying their conversation over and over in her head.
"you come home from that satellite."
Her hand flew to her mouth. The teasing was only meant to be innocent fun. She hadn't thought anything of it. Why all of a sudden had he? If anyone fooled around when they were supposed to be being serious, it was him.
Her heart sank. She really should have guessed.
He had always been extremely sensitive about their relationship and whilst he never said anything, even to her, she knew how inadequate being stuck up in Thunderbird Five sometimes made him feel.
"Oh Alan." she sighed, staring at the blackened screen. "This isn't getting any easier for either of us."
The flashing of her wrist communicator soon reminded her that she didn't have time to think about it. Like him, International Rescue needed her and nine people's lives were hanging in the balance. Personal relationships took a back seat in International Rescue when it came to the business of saving lives. That was the way it was and that was the way it was always going to be.
She blinked away the tiredness and quickly responded to the communicator.
As expected it was Jefferson Tracy.
"I'm sorry Mr.Tracy." she apologised. "I'll be down in just a few more minutes. I was … ummm …"
Her mind went into overdrive. She couldn't say she had been talking to Alan.
" …ummm ….checking on the children.'"
Jeff Tracy's voice was bleak. His last thing on his mind right now was his Grandchildren.
"Tin-Tin." he said and his voice never wavered. "I'm afraid we can't put these calculations off any longer honey. John's fifteen minutes away from the danger zone…."
He shuddered as he worst fears were verbalised.
"…and we've got twenty under that rubble now."
Author's Note – The writings of mcj, good and not so good have never been intended to upset, insult or offend anyone. Thanks for reading them these last 3 years.
"Write because you love to write and only stop when the love of the written word is gone."