Author's General Note: I used to answer any questions and points raised by reviewers in an Author's Note at the beginning of the next chapter I uploaded, but since that's not allowed anymore, if there's anything you want answered, just drop me a PM or email.

Author's Note: The background used for Lucille and her relationship with Jeff in "Seeing Double" is taken from my first Thunderbirds fan fiction,"Ties That Bind".

Seeing Double

Chapter One: Deja-vu

The sun shone down brightly through the skies above New York City. It was yet another beautiful summer's day, the kind where you wished you didn't have to be stuck in the midst of a busy, sprawling metropolis, pushing past people who were so wrapped up in themselves that if they sent you flying into the road, they didn't notice. Or didn't care. The stream of traffic was constant, though it was not as busy as in years gone by, thanks to redevelopment of the city centre and the fact that public transport was so much more in favour these days.

The newness of the buildings and the blackness of near-fresh tarmac couldn't hide the scars though. For the older generation, the ghost of 2001 still hung in the air, whilst for the younger inhabitants, 2026 was still fresh in the mind. Two great icons of the twentieth century hadn't even made it halfway through the twenty-first century. Yet, all over the world there were monuments and other remnants of bygone civilizations that had lasted for thousands of years. Perhaps it was the price to pay for living in the modern age, where life could move so fast it was over before you realised that you hadn't done much with yourself. Well, at least that couldn't be said of him. Jeff Tracy folded up his newspaper and put it in the recycling bin near the bench he was sat on. Everything was recycled if possible these days. He looked around him and let out a small sigh. New York always gave him mixed feelings when he visited. He had done many business deals here, made many friends – and one or two enemies, which he had always supposed was to be expected when dealing with the corporate world. He had met Lucille here, who later became his wife. Jeff got up and began making his way back to where the conference he was attending was being held. As he walked along, he mused that Lucy wouldn't have liked how Manhattan had changed almost beyond recognition. To be honest, it was probably how he coped with coming here. Most of the streets that they had walked together that evening all those years ago either didn't exist anymore or had new buildings lining them. He had the memories of how it used to be, but they had been blurred by the new layout. It was like seeing something in a dream, and then seeing it in reality.

But, the past was the past. It couldn't be changed, however much you wanted things to be different. Even Brains doubted the possibility of time travel. Besides, even if it ever happened, it would be more trouble than it was worth. Too many temptations to be had, too many consequences as a result. And what of the argument that things happen for a reason? That was a perspective that Jeff still found difficult to reason with sometimes. He usually mulled over it when he thought about Lucy. Did she have to die in order that he would eventually set up International Rescue? Even if he had been able to go back and save her, would she still have died through some other circumstances?

Jeff shook his head, berating himself for allowing his thoughts to get too pensive for the time of day. He should be focusing his mind on the task in hand. People from major companies around the world were meeting up here in New York for three days of presentations and discussions on how the trillions of currency accumulated by big corporations could be put to better use than being pumped back into areas where the money wasn't really needed. Some things never did seem to change. Jeff's own company, Tracy Industries, was now a global enterprise that dealt with several areas, ranging from his original aerospace engineering firm, through to pharmaceuticals. Jeff had always strived to help people, and as soon as his fledgling company had started making big profits, he had made sure that the spare change went to good causes. He had been in business for over twenty years now, and still found it hard to understand why some other companies had such a hard time over putting their cash to good use. Though the protests that dominated the first decade of the century no longer happened, capitalism was still considered a dirty word by many people.

Jeff may have got International Rescue under his belt, but he felt that he wouldn't truly make a difference to the world unless he could change the way people thought. The public face of Jeff Tracy was well respected for his innovative thoughts, however, there were some who thought that he was too much of a do-gooder and tried to undermine him, even at this conference, even after all these years. He had very little patience with such people. In fact, he tended to pity them. Most of them wouldn't dare speak to his face, which Jeff found to be as big an indication of their character than anything else.

He arrived back at the building where the conference was being held. Three more hours and it would be over. He was hopeful that something would come out of it. He wouldn't have left his desk back home if he didn't think that the trip would be worth it. Even though International Rescue had been running for just over two years now, Jeff still didn't like leaving Scott in charge, despite knowing that his eldest son was perfectly capable of handling things. He had never been able to shake off the feeling that he was missing something or that his help was needed when he left the island. Yet, he'd be the first to admit that the head of Tracy Industries couldn't stay permanently in the South Pacific, and it was nice to meet up with old friends and see some people other than his family and the other members of International Rescue. His mother often berated him for only leaving the island for occasions such as this, and not taking a proper holiday. But Jeff was a true workaholic, finding work preferable to lazing around on a beach. He had always worked hard and if it hadn't been for his five sons, he might well have immersed himself in his business and never come out again after Lucy died. In those long passed days, he had envisaged himself slowing down when he was about his current age. Instead, he was still at it. Jeff shook his head. It wasn't like him to be so melancholy at times like this. Maybe his mother was right and he needed to get out more. No, there were no maybes with his mother. She was always right. Jeff again tried to clear his mind as he went along to the room where the next presentation was being held.

"Hey, Jeff! Where've you been?"

"I had one or two things to sort out during lunch," Jeff replied, as his new companion fell into stride with him. Bill, as the man was called, was one of Jeff's longest associates. They had done a lot of business together, but Bill's ultimate aim had never come true; to have one of his two daughter's married to one of Jeff's son's. Each time they met, Bill enquired as to how the boys were, at the same time remarking on how Freya or Yasmin – or even both – were available. He said it in jest, but Jeff could tell that behind the jolly façade, Bill was serious. It could never happen though – it would mean revealing to Bill the secret of International Rescue. Besides, Jeff wasn't into pushing his boys into some marriage of convenience for his sake. He didn't need the benefits of being related through marriage to another family business. Bill didn't really need it either, but it would be something for him to drop into conversation when networking with other people. Bill was like that. However, overall he was a nice guy, and Jeff was prepared to put up with his constant hinting.

"Coming to the dinner afterwards?" Bill asked.

"No, I have to be somewhere else tonight," Jeff replied.

"Jeez, Jeff, when are you going to stop running around and lie back and enjoy that island of yours?" Bill asked.

"I'll stop when I feel like it, which isn't yet," Jeff told him. Bill just shook his head in amusement.

"I just don't know where you get the motivation from. I can't wait to retire."

"Surely you can afford to do that right this minute?" Jeff asked.

"Yeah, but I need everything to be right with the company before I hand over the keys," Bill replied. "You know how it is."

"Yes, I suppose I do," Jeff replied. The two men entered the room where the presentation was being held, found their seats and got themselves settled down.

The presentation and the rest of the afternoon probably hadn't been the most interesting that Jeff had ever had, but he got plenty of useful stuff out of it. After making his excuses and goodbyes, he started to make his way back to the hotel that he was staying in. It wasn't too far away, so as he had done the past couple of nights, he walked back. The streets were as busy as ever, with people coming out of work or simply rushing from A to B. Jeff felt relieved that he was finally able to go back home and get on with what had become the centre of his life. He walked down the street, unnoticed. It hadn't always been that way, but he couldn't say he missed the attention. He never became an astronaut for the fame, only for the sense of achievement. Jeff sighed to himself. Thinking about the past again. At this rate he was in danger of becoming an old codger. He looked at the people around him as he approached a crossing. A woman a yard or two in front of him glanced over her shoulder, her eyes meeting his. For a split second, Jeff literally felt as if he were in the past again, back at the charity function, back at the instant where he had first laid eyes on…

"Lucy?"