Disclaimer: I don't own the Thunderbirds or any of the Tracy family except Sam, who is truly of my own imagination.

Author's Note: Again, I'd like to thank those who have reviewed and the continued support of Bluegrass and fellowriverrat. I'd also like to thank several of my coworkers who unwittingly became characters in Chapter 9. Danielle, you're friendship and support of my story has been awesome.

The Tribeca Grand Hotel is a hotel in NYC that I researched for the Tracy's trip. I have never been to NYC but still wanted to make it authentic.

Chapter 11

"Dad, which hotel are we staying at in NYC?" asked Sam as she sat in the cockpit with her dad. John and the rest of her brothers had fallen asleep.

"I thought that we would stay at the Tribeca Grand Hotel," responded Jeff as he glanced at Sam. "Can you bring me a cup of coffee and a sandwich?" Sam nodded and made her way to the back of the plane to where they had a small fridge. Grandma had sent a couple of thermos of coffee for Jeff on the flight to New York. Grabbing a couple of sandwiches and an apple as well as a thermos, she made her way back to the cockpit. Handing the food and drink to her dad, she decided to go back to her seat and try to sleep.

"Dad, I'm going to try and get some sleep, okay?" she asked.

"Sure Sam. Are you feeling alright?" her dad asked. He was trying not to sound worried or smothering. He had Brains send her pain medications and the signed form stating that the nurse at school had permission to administer the medication should the need arise.

"Yeah Dad, I just want to get some rest so that I will be ready for the shopping that we're going to be doing in NYC," she said with a huge smile. Jeff groaned inwardly when he realized that Sam was going to make the most of the shopping and that the boys were not going to be too happy about waiting around while she picked out what she wanted. Giving Jeff a quick kiss on the cheek, she left the cockpit and returned to her seat. Instead of trying to squeeze by John and run the risk of waking him up she sat in the seats behind him and let the gentle sounds made by her sleeping brothers lull her to sleep.

"I dare ya to pull her hair," whispered a voice from behind Sam's seat.

"Nuh-uh, she'll pound me like she did John," retorted another whispered voice. As Sam began to wake up she realized that Alan and Gordon were behind her. She also knew that as usual Gordon was trying to get Alan to do the dirty work. Looking up to where John was sitting she was surprised to see him facing her with his arms on the back of the seats. Winking her eye, she let him know that she was aware of the Terrible Two. Slowly, she felt her long hair being pulled between the seats.

"GORDON AND ALAN! If you continue to pull my hair you will be very sorry. Alan was right, I will pound you but it will be worse than what John got," she warned in her quiet yet evil voice. Instantly her hair was released and she was on her feet and had her baby brothers cornered in their seats.

"Now as punishment what should I do to you?" she asked sweetly.

"Nothing because we didn't pull hard," suggested Gordon as he looked at her innocently and Alan nodded his head in agreement.

"No, I think that as punishment, I will give you girl cooties," she said. "John, could you please hold Gordon so that I can give Alan my cooties?"

"Sure Sis," said John in a gleeful voice. He came around and held Gordon while Sam grabbed Alan and gave him a big wet juicy kiss on his face and then rubbed it in. Turning to Gordon, she did the same thing.

"YUCK, girl cooties!" both boys cried as they tried to rub the cooties off of their faces.

"Sorry boys but you can't rub them off. They can only be rubbed in and that makes them worse," giggled Sam. Virgil, John, and Scott all busted out laughing as they saw the expression of horror on their baby brothers' faces.

"Alright, I want everyone in their seats and fastened in, we're approaching the airport and will be landing shortly," said Jeff's voice over the intercom. Sitting down in their seats quickly and fastening the seat belts, Scott doubled checked everyone before doing his own. Before long the plane was landing and taxiing to a stop at a private airport that Jeff used when conducting business at Tracy Enterprises in NYC. After they had loaded everything into the limo that would take them to the hotel, Jeff completed his post flight work and moved the plane into its hangar. Soon the family was being shown the rooms that Jeff had reserved for them. Gordon and Alan would be sleeping in the same room as their dad while John, Scott, Sam, and Virgil would be in the next room. Sam was going to sleep on a rollaway bed that was being brought up.

"Since we had a long flight today, I thought that we could order room service and eat in my room tonight and then tomorrow we could go shopping. I have tickets to a Broadway show tomorrow evening and reservations to a nice restaurant with American cuisine," said Jeff as he and his kids sat in his room. He had made sure that Connie would make reservations at a restaurant that his children would eat the food. Alan and Gordon could be picky eaters when foreign food was introduced.

"When are we ordering dinner, Dad?" asked Scott just as his stomach gave a loud rumble. As if in response, Alan's stomach gave a similar rumble. The Tracy family looked at each other and began to laugh.

"Better order now before you two keel over from hunger," answered Jeff. "Look at the menu and write down what you want." After everyone had decided what they wanted for dinner, they gave their orders to Jeff. A short time later their dinner was served and they all sat down to eat a nice dinner together. Sam and Virgil had ordered grilled chicken breast with a salad and baked potato. John, Jeff, and Scott ordered steak with a salad and a baked potato. Alan and Gordon stuck with a cheeseburger and steak fries. They all had apple pie for desert. Feeling full and comfortable, they all sat on the beds and watched television until bed time.

"Lights out in one hour," said Jeff to the oldest as they headed to their room. He stood in the hall to make sure they got into their room and heard the locks on the door. Turning back into his room, he looked at Gordon and Alan.

"Alan, go take a shower before bed. Gordon, you take yours after Alan comes out," he said.

Meanwhile

Sam was in the middle of making her bed while her brothers flipped through the channels on the TV.

"Sam, why don't you just sleep on my bed?" John asked.

"Because you move around too much if there aren't six of us in the same bed," replied Sam. "Besides, it's not like I'm not right next to you anyway. My bed is not even an arm's length from you. I'll be out of the shower in twenty minutes then one of you can have it. I'll try not to use all the hot water." Grabbing her pajamas and her hairbrush, she headed into the bathroom. Twenty minutes later she came out with her long hair pulled up into a ponytail that still reached past the middle of her back and her favorite pajamas on.

"Saved you guys a little bit of hot water," she said. "I just wouldn't want to be the last one in." Suddenly, all three of her brothers made a mad dash for the bathroom. Scott pushed his way in first and quickly closed the door and locked it.

"John, come here," said Sam. John walked over to her as Virgil walked back to his bed and began to sketch in a sketch pad that he'd brought.

"Sit outside the door. That way when Scott comes out you can rush in and lock the door before Virgil gets a chance," she whispered in John's ear. John decided to take her advice and quietly gathered his stuff while Virgil was distracted. Sam sat on John's bed and pretended to read an astronomy book that belonged to John. As soon as Scott opened the bathroom door, John grabbed his arm and pulled him out and quickly stepped in and locked the door. Scott stood looking at the door trying to understand how he had ended up in the room so quickly. Sam was sitting on John's bed howling with laughter at the expression on Virgil's face as he realized that the twins had conspired against him. Standing up, he caught Scott's eye and jerked his head towards Sam as she continued to laugh. Before she knew they were next to her, they quickly pinned her to the bed and tickled her.

"It's a shame Johnny ran into take his shower or he could be out here helping you," said Virgil as he and Scott continued their tickling torture.

"I-I-I'm s-s-s-sorry V-V-Virgil," she gasped as she tried to stop laughing. None of them were aware that John had rushed through his shower and was sneaking up on Virgil. Quietly, he grabbed Virgil and threw him onto the other bed and quickly began tickling him.

"You should know better than to pick on my twin, Virgil," he mock threatened. After a few minutes, John helped him up.

"Better go get into the shower and ready for bed," he said. Virgil grabbed his pajama bottoms and boxers and made his way to the bathroom. Scott and Sam were sitting on John's bed looking at the astronomy book and pointing out things that caught their interest. John pushed Sam over so that he could sit next to them and look at the book too. The phone next to Scott began to ring and he reached over to answer it.

"Dad, said that he wants ready for lights out in five minutes but he is trusting us to do it ourselves cus he doesn't want to leave Gordy and Ally alone," he relayed to Sam and John. Sam closed the book and climbed onto her bed as Scott went to his bed. John propped his pillows up and looked towards the window.

"Do you want me to open the curtains so that you can see out?" asked Sam. Before he could respond, she pulled the curtains back so that he could see the night sky.

"Goodnight guys," said Virgil and Scott together as they looked over at the twins.

"Goodnight Virg and Scott," said John and Sam as they continued to stare out the window. Scott leaned over and shut the lights out while Virgil shut off the television. After awhile the only sound in the room was the even and rhythmic breathing of the siblings.

Waking up to someone shaking him, John looked up and saw that Sam was sitting on his bed and shaking him.

"Time to get up for breakfast. Dad ordered for us and we have ten minutes to get dressed and get to his room," she informed him as he stretched out in his bed. "I'm going to dress in the bathroom and you guys can change out here." Picking up her clothes she went into the bathroom to change and quickly fix her hair. Within ten minutes, she had gotten dressed and put her hair into a French braid. Together they went to their dad's room to eat breakfast. When everyone was done, they went back to the correct room to brush their teeth. Meeting back out in the hall, the Tracy family went downstairs to the lobby to meet their limo.

"Before we go shopping, I have to stop at the office and drop off some paperwork," said Jeff as they got situated in the limo. "We'll shop for Sam's clothes first and then clothes for you boys. I also want to get your laptops while we are here so that you can use them at school. Not to mention all of your school supplies."

"Dad, can we stop at a bookstore? There are some foreign languages books that I would like to get as well as a few new astronomy books," asked Sam.

"Yeah, and I need some more sketch pads and pencils," added Virgil.

"Okay, we'll stop at a bookstore and hobby store. Anything else?" asked Jeff.

"Can we get back to you on that?" asked Scott. As everyone thought what else that they might need. The limo stopped and Jeff quickly got out of the car and ran the papers into the office building. The children sat in the car and waited patiently for him to return. A half hour passed and Jeff ran out to the car and climbed back in.

"Sorry kids," he apologized. "Driver, take us to the nearest shopping center."

"Everyone out," ordered Jeff as the limo came to a stop. "We'll be done in five hours but will be dropping off packages as we do our shopping." Together they walked into the shopping center. Sam went into her favorite store and picked out several pairs of blue jeans and some sweaters. She also picked out some more pajamas and a robe. For lazing around, she got a couple of athletic suits and several pairs of sweatpants and sweatshirts. The one store that she wouldn't let any of the guys go into was the lingerie store. She had her dad wait until everything had been rung up and put in a bag before he could come in and pay. All of them picked out a nice winter coat from an outdoor sporting good's store as well as their athletic shoes and a pair of snow boots. They each got three pairs of athletic shoes to last for awhile. They took Sam's packages to the limo and went back into the shopping center to get clothes for the boys. Within forty-five minutes the boys had picked out everything that they would need for the coming months. They made a second trip to the limo to drop off the packages.

The third trip in they stopped to eat at the food court before heading to the specialty shops. They stopped at the art and craft store to get Virgil's art supplies. Jeff bought enough to last him until December. At the bookstore they all scattered to the areas that held their interest. Sam and John each picked out several astronomy books that they could share. Sam picked out a few books on a foreign language that she was interested in learning. Virgil got a couple of music books and a book on painting. The three books Scott picked out were all about aviation and flight theory. Alan found several books on race cars and motorcycles. Gordon wandered back to the group with a book on the Olympics and three thick joke books. Jeff paid for their choices and they headed for the electronics store. Once inside he told the sales clerk that he needed six laptops that were top of the line. They finished that transaction and went back to the limo to drop everything off again.

"Now all we need to get is school supplies," said Jeff in a tired voice. He hated shopping and generally left it to someone else. Going to one last store, he bought everything that they would need until December. Finally, they were all in the limo and heading back to the hotel to get ready for dinner and the theater.

"I want all of you boys dressed in the suits and ties that you brought and dress shoes. Sam, wear one of the dresses you brought," said Jeff as they went into their hotel room.

"Yes, sir," responded the older children at once. Entering their room, Sam opened the garment bag that had their dress clothes in it. Carefully, she handed them out and took her dress to the bathroom to change. Coming back out into the room, she grabbed her nylons and dress shoes and makeup kit.

Twenty minutes later, she was dressed and had fixed her hair and had put just a touch of blush on her cheeks and just a hint of lipstick. She had arranged her hair in a loose bun and had a few tendrils framing her face. Opening the door just a crack she asked her brothers if they were decent.

"You can come out now Sam. We are all dressed but need help with our ties," said John as he came to the bathroom door.

She walked out and looked at how handsome all of her brothers were. She went to each of them and helped them with their ties and cufflinks. When they were all ready they went next door to wait with Gordon, Alan and their dad.

"Let's go," said Jeff as he looked over his children with pride. They were all dressed nicely and were behaving well. John looked at Sam and offered his arm to escort her to the limo. Giggling, Sam took it and stood tall and proud when they walked through the lobby. At the restaurant, Scott escorted her in while Virgil helped her into her chair and pushed her in. When they left the restaurant Gordon and Alan both escorted her to the limo. They were all having so much fun and enjoying their night out on the town.

When they got to the theater, Jeff surprised her and held out his arm.

"May I escort my lovely daughter to her seat?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"Why certainly you may Daddy," she replied with a giggle. The Tracy family had a wonderful evening that they would reminisce about for years to come. It was quite late when they returned to the hotel and both Gordon and Alan had fallen asleep. Jeff carried Gordon and Scott carried Alan. Virgil and John offered their arm to escort Sam back upstairs to their room. After she helped her dad get the younger boys into their pajamas and tucked into bed, she gave them a kiss and hug telling them sweet dreams. She then went to the next room and knocked. John opened the door and let her in. Her brothers had already changed into their pajamas and had hung their suits back in the garment bag. Sam quickly changed into her pajamas and washed her face and brushed her teeth before she hung up her dress and zipped the garment bag. She double checked that the door was locked and then went over to Scott and Virgil. Leaning over each of them she gave them a quick hug and kiss on the cheek.

"Love you guys," she said as she went over to John's bed. She climbed up next to him and gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek like she had the other two.

"Love you, John. More than you will ever know," she whispered as she realized that Scott and Virgil were beginning to dose off. "I still think Mom and Dad gave us the best gift of all-each other." John just pulled her closer to him and silently thanked their mom for saving Sam during the avalanche. He had been devastated to hear that their mother had died but when Sam had been unconscious and unresponsive he had felt like giving up. The only thing that kept him going was the dreams he had. His mother had said to hang on because Sam was fighting her way back to him.

Slowly, John began to drift off to sleep holding Sam in his arms. Once he was asleep, Sam eased out of his embrace and moved him so that he was lying in a more comfortable position and pulled his blankets up over him. She gave him a kiss goodnight and went to her bed. She laid down on her side so that she could see all three of her brothers as she fell asleep.

The next morning they quickly showered and got dressed and ready to head to their new school that was a one and one-half hour drive from NYC. Packing up everything from the rooms, they watched the bellhop take the luggage down to the limo. Sam noticed that Virgil had a small box in his hands and gave him a soft smile to encourage him.

"Um, before we head to school I have something that I want to give each of you," he said shyly. Looking at the floor, he passed out a painting to each of his siblings. "I wanted us to have something in our dorm room to remind us of home."

"This is wonderful," exclaimed John and Scott at the same time.

"I won't feel as lonely when I am alone in my room," said Gordon in a very subdued voice.

"Thank you Virgil. I wanted one of these after you gave the first one to Sam," Alan said. Sam went up to Virgil and whispered something in his ear that made him blush.

"Come on. We need to get going," said Jeff in a gruff voice. He was surprised that Virgil had kept quiet about the gifts that he had made for his brothers and sister. Though he had a feeling that Sam had known about it. They all climbed into the limo and were soon on their way to the new school.

Too quickly it seemed to the Tracy children, they arrived at the school. They walked with their father into the admissions office to find out what rooms they had been assigned and also to get a class schedule. The secretary led them to the boys' dorm and escorted them to their new rooms. They were all on the third floor and all grouped together.

"They kept us together," said Virgil with a shocked look on his face. Looking at their dad they were surprised to see the big grin on his face.

"I know that this was hard enough but I thought that all of you would feel better if you were next to each other," he explained to his children. They all went to him and gave him a big hug.

"Dad, you don't know how much this means to all of us," said Scott as their spokesperson. They went back downstairs and began to unload the limo and take their belongings to their rooms. Like they had been promised, John, Sam, and Virgil were on one side of the hallway and Gordon, Alan, and Scott were directly across from them. They would have those rooms until they graduated. Jeff stayed and helped them unpack their stuff and organize their rooms. Before he left he stopped at the admissions office and left Sam's pain medications and note from Brains. Giving his children a final hug, he climbed back into the limo and headed back to NYC.

"Guess we're on our own for now," said John as they watched the limo drive off. Alan and Gordon each sniffled and Sam turned towards them. She knelt down and drew them into her loving embrace.

"It's alright, you still have all of us even if you do miss Dad," Sam said softly. Truth be told this was harder on her than she thought it would be. She had noticed some of the funny looks that she had gotten when she went into the boys' dorm. The rest of their brothers joined in to comfort their baby brothers as well as each other. Feeling the other students staring at them, they headed back into their dorm rooms.

A short while later, they were called to dinner in the main dining hall. As they would do for the time that they were at the boarding school, they sat together. The students were told that lights out would be at 9:30P.M. no exceptions. The Tracy children made their way back to their dorm rooms and finished unpacking everything. Sam went to Gordon and Alan's rooms to make sure that they were ready for their first day of classes. She helped them to hang the uniforms they were expected to wear in the closet and organized their desks so that they knew where everything was. She waited on them to get ready for bed and then tucked them in. Telling them each goodnight she went to her own room to prepare for the next day.