Chapter Four: A Decision

A day passed, and Jeff was no closer to achieving his aim. He had been distracted by the need to coordinate a rescue during the middle of the night, and he was now beginning to feel the effects of having had no sleep for over twenty-four hours. His mother had literally threatened to hit him with her rolling pin in order to make him go to bed. Still, even though he did get changed for bed, and even lay down on his bed, he didn't go to sleep. He wouldn't allow himself to. Instead, he lay there, mulling over things. He glanced over at his bedside table, where he kept the only picture of Lucy that was on display in the house. It had been taken on a visit to his parent's farm in Kansas, just before the corn had been harvested. She was leaning on a fence, smiling, russet hair lifted slightly by a passing breeze. The green fields and bright blue sky were providing a serene background. She had been pregnant with Scott at the time the picture was taken, but only Jeff knew that. It was one of his favourite pictures of her, perhaps because it showed off her natural beauty so well, but perhaps because on a subconscious level, it trapped her in a sort of eternal youth. No matter how long he kept the picture there, Lucy would never age. She would never die. It struck him at that moment, that when he had seen her in New York, she hadn't been old. He sat bolt upright, cursing himself for somehow overlooking what seemed an obvious fact. If Lucy were still alive, she should be fifty-six years old. From his memory, she hadn't looked a day over thirty-five, the age she had been when she died.

"My God," Jeff said out loud. "But she can't…I was there when…" He trailed off into nothing, and he found that his mind was dredging up a question that had played on his thoughts for a long time after Lucy had died.

What if I was wrong to allow the life-support machine to be turned off?

Jeff closed his eyes. He thought that he had managed to deal with that notion a long time ago, but it had surfaced again, and was still just as painful for him. All of a sudden, he was at a complete loss. As the wall of will that he had built up over the past couple of days crumbled, a tide of exhaustion came rushing through. Unable to fight any more, Jeff fell into a deep sleep.

He awoke some hours later with a start. For a moment he felt disorientated, but soon regained his composure. He got up, noting that it was mid afternoon. He scowled, having half a mind to berate someone, anyone, for not waking him up sooner. Jeff had never been a person to spend all day lying in bed. He got himself washed and dressed, then proceeded to make his way to the lounge, which was empty. Everyone else was obviously engaged in their own activities. Jeff decided to get himself a cup of coffee before settling down at his desk.

"Base to Thunderbird Five." A few seconds later, John's portrait vanished and was replaced by a live image of Jeff's middle child.

"Thunderbird Five receiving. What's up, Dad? Have a good sleep?"

"Fine, thank you, John. I'm just checking in on the aftermath of the fire in Havana, that's all," Jeff said.

"They're still damping down, and they'll have their work cut out to remove the remains of the buildings, but apart from that, they've got no problems," John replied, in his calm, affable voice.

"Good, that's what I like to hear," Jeff said. "Well, I'll leave you to it."

"Sure, Dad. I just hope it stays quiet. There's a meteor shower reaching its peak in a few hours, and I'd like to catch it."

"Ah…wish I'd be able to see it," Jeff said, a little wistfully. Seeing some of nature's phenomenon from the other side, as it were, had been one of the things he had missed since he resigned from being an astronaut.

"Well, you've always welcome next time Thunderbird Three comes up here," John replied, only half joking. Jeff simply let out a chuckle.

"I think I'm quite out of practice for that sort of thing, John," he replied.

"It's not like being in one of those tin cans you used to travel in," John teased.

"I hardly think that 'tin can' is an appropriate description for a pioneering piece of engineering like the space shuttle was," Jeff retorted. John laughed.

"I know, I know. Well, I'll speak to you later, Father."

"Bye John," Jeff returned, and watched as the live feed returned to the still portrait. John, John. Stuck in the middle, yet he never complained about it. At least, he never had done to Jeff. Added to that the fact that he was of a quiet disposition, and it had actually been easy to forget that he was there as a child. Well, Lucy couldn't forget him. John had stuck to her like glue as a toddler, and even when the youngest two came along, he never seemed to be far away. That memory triggered his mind into thinking about 'Lucy' again. He glanced at the portrait next to John's. It was Scott's. He thought of Scott's suggestion again. Despite the value he placed on International Rescue and how he disliked being away, it was so tempting to escape for a few days…and go looking for this woman. He had to admit that he was getting nowhere in his search by using the resources he had here on the island. He supposed that just a few days wouldn't hurt too much. It would give him a tight deadline, but he thrived under those sorts of conditions. He'd had to work to tight deadlines for nearly all of his life. He tried to put the notion out of his head. He knew that for everyone's sakes, he should really dismiss the apparent sighting of Lucy as some weird case of mistaken identity and get back to focusing on International Rescue. But Jeff was not the sort of person to pretend he was wrong when he knew he wasn't, nor the sort of person to let something pass him by. He gritted his teeth. This was probably the toughest personal decision that he had had to make in some time. He was needed here…but if he didn't at least try to get to the bottom of things in New York, it would send him up the wall.

"Afternoon, Father."

"Scott. Just the person I wanted to see."

"Really?" Scott took a seat.

"Yes. I've been thinking about your suggestion. I'm going to take some time out from running International Rescue. Not a lot of time, mind, but I've decided that I need a few days away," Jeff told him. Inwardly, Scott was pleased that his idea had got into his father's head. Outwardly, he feigned a little surprise.

"Gee, Dad, I never thought that you'd take me seriously."

"This time I have my reasons, Scott."

"What reasons?" Scott mentally crossed his fingers and hoped that his father would spill the beans about his true intentions. He saw his father frown slightly and swallow, which meant that he was thinking of a way to put something.

"Here it comes," Scott thought. He was unsure of how this was going to sound, coming from his father's mouth rather than through his grandmother. Jeff looked him in the eyes.

"Son, what I'm going to tell you isn't going to be easy for you to hear, but I think that it is only right that you should know why I'm taking time out."

"Go on," Scott said.

"When I was in New York, just before I was due to return here, I saw someone who looked like your mother walking in front of me."

"How's that possible?"

"I don't know. I know that I probably sound crazy to you, but I know that I haven't mistaken her for someone else. I intend to use my time away to find her," Jeff said. Scott actually felt a little uneasy now. When his grandmother had told him, it sounded mad enough, but hearing his father talk about it, in earnest, as if he'd been presented with a wonderful opportunity, was unsettling. Scott saw the look in his father's eyes, and could see that he truly believed in what he was saying. Well, he'd put his father on this path, so he supposed that he'd have to play along until Jeff reached the end. He took a deep breath.

"I don't know what to say, Father. If you really saw Mom…I don't see how…but I don't see how I'm supposed to stop you from looking," he said.

"I have to, Scott. I need answers. I've told Grandma, and I'm telling you because I know that you're able to deal with it. I know I can trust you to keep this secret from your brothers," Jeff said.

"I guess that's the best thing," Scott agreed, though he thought that Virgil might be okay with it, after a little persuasion, but the other three wouldn't. He looked at his father. "So, what's the cover story?"

"I'll think of that later," Jeff replied. "I want to prepare for going away first."

"Do you think you really can do this alone?" Scott asked.

"You can't come with me, Scott. You'll be running things here."

"No, not me. What about asking Lady Penelope to help? She's good at mysteries."

"No," Jeff snapped.

"She's the best person I can think of, Dad. You can't search all of New York by yourself. This woman might not even be in New York now. Penelope won't mind. I'm sure she'd be more than happy to give you a hand," Scott replied. In the back of his mind, he didn't want his father to be alone. Penelope was more than capable of keeping him in line.

"I said no," Jeff replied, shortly. Scott knew to leave the matter, at least, for the moment. It was never a good idea to make his father angry, whatever his state of mind.

"Where's Grandma?" Jeff asked.

"I think that she's out in the garden with Kyrano. Something to do with the vegetables," Scott replied.

"Fine. I'll talk to her when she comes in," Jeff said. He noted a pile of paperwork on the corner of his desk. "I'd better get this out of the way first," he said.

"I'll be in the gym," Scott replied. Jeff simply nodded as he left, his mind already focusing in on the tasks at hand.

Unknown to the two of them, someone not too far away had overheard their conversation.