DISCLAIMER: Standard disclaimer applies. We don't own the Thunderbirds. Neither are we making any money off this endeavor.

WARNING: Better get the hanky ready.

Chapter 16 – TEARFUL GOODBYE

Scott woke up to the sound of the alarm. He checked his watch and saw that it had been a little over six hours since John had slipped into the coma. His father had insisted that Scott try to get some sleep. He had tried to argue, but Jeff had been adamant. Virgil, who had just gotten up from five hours of sleep, took his place sitting next to John. Gordon was asleep so Jeff insisted that Scott also get some down time. Scott was surprised that he had even fallen asleep, but being jerked awake by the alarm assured him that he had slept. Slipping quickly into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, he ran down the hall towards the command center.

When Scott reached the command center, he found that his dad and three brothers were already there. Alan was dressed similar to Scott. His hair was sticking out at odd angles indicating that he had also been sleeping.

Jeff looked up and saw that Scott had arrived. "Good, you're all here. We've received a call from southwest Oklahoma. They have a wild fire sweeping across the area. It is heading for a remote campground that has been evacuated. Unfortunately, there are two groups of campers that are unaccounted for. One group is three college kids out for an 'end-of-exams' excursion. The other is a father with his three teenage boys for a birthday camping trip. Now, I know that this is a horrible time to go out, but there are lives at stake out there. I made it clear to the authorities that we would only try to rescue the missing campers, but that fire containment is their responsibility. Scott, head out in Thunderbird 1. I want you to try to locate the missing campers by the time that Thunderbird 2 gets there. You can use the new bio-detector that Brains installed. Virgil, Gordon, you'll take Thunderbird 2. Make sure that you have plenty of burn packs and IVs. I've contacted Tin-Tin. I'm sending her with you. She has been studying first aid with Brains. She would be the best to help you with any injuries. She'll meet you in the silo."

Alan broke in. "What about me, Dad?"

"I'll let you know as soon as the boys are gone." Jeff said. Turning back to his older sons, he continued. "Head on out. Do the job, and then get back here as soon as you can."

"F-A-B." His three sons chorused as they headed off to their ships.

Once the boys had left, Jeff turned to Alan. "OK Alan, I need someone to sit with John. I know that this is a hard thing to do because we don't know when the end will come. Do you think that you can handle it? If not, I could set up a communication relay so that I can monitor the mission from the infirmary. It's your decision."

"I'll sit with John." Alan said.

"Are you sure?" Jeff asked with sympathy in his eyes. "Do you want me to have Fermat sit with you?"

Alan shook his head. "I'm sure that I want do this, but no, I don't need anyone to sit with me. I need this time alone with John, anyways."

Jeff nodded. "OK, if you're sure, but if you feel overwhelmed, let me know. We can always re-work the arrangement."

Alan returned the nod. "OK, I'll talk to you later. Let me know how the mission goes."

"F-A-B Alan, I'll keep you informed." Jeff said as Alan left the room.

A half hour later, Jeff was getting a mission update from Scott. "According to the authorities, the three college students were at a bar in a nearby town. At least they had the sense to contact the authorities when they found out about the fire. As far as the family, I'm going to start a circular search grid starting from their campsite. Tell Brains that this bio-detector is great. The way it's picking out animals so far is amazing. Wait a minute. There they are. Dad I've picked up four human bio-signs. They are by a lake about 250 yards from the fire."

"What is Thunderbird 2's ETA?" Jeff asked. "Can they get to them before the fire?"

"Thunderbird 2's ETA is about 12.3 minutes." Scott replied. "The fire is traveling southeast. The campers are to the west of the fire line. So as long as the wind doesn't shift, they should be OK."

"F-A-B Scott," Jeff said. "Let me know when Thunderbird 2 gets there or if the situation changes."

"F-A-B. Talk to you in a bit." Scott replied.

Another half hour later, the rescue was over and the Thunderbirds were on their way home. Jeff was talking with Alan. "Since Scott had the location already, Virgil came in with Two and Gordon pulled them up with the rescue platform. Then they dropped them off at the fire departments command center. It took less than fifteen minutes once Virgil and Gordon arrived. The boys should be back in about 22 minutes. How are you doing? Do you need me to come down there?"

"I'm fine.' Alan replied. "I've been reading John an article from one of his astronomy magazines."

"Are you sure?" Jeff asked. "I can tell the boys to use their own scanners for landing clearance."

"I'm sure Dad. Stay there and bring my brothers home." Alan said.

"OK Alan let me know if you need anything." Jeff said as he ended the communication.

Alan closed the magazine in his hand. He needed to talk to John, but he was having a hard time getting his courage up. He wanted to have his say before his brothers returned so he forced himself to begin. "Well, they're on their way back. From what dad said, it was a pretty easy rescue, thank to Brains' new invention. Brains is really beating himself up because he couldn't find an antidote. I don't know how he's going to get over it. Dad too, he won't admit it, but I know that he is feeling guilty for leading you guys into a trap. I probably shouldn't be saying anything about his feelings. They say that some people who are in comas can hear what's going on around them. Knowing you, you're feeling guilty for how the rest of us are feeling. I guess it's a family trait. Feeling guilty, I mean. Dad and Scott especially, but we all do it. If one of us gets hurt, the rest feel guilty for not stopping it. Anyways, I hope that people are right about people in comas hearing things, because I need to talk to you. I've been trying to build up my courage for the last hour. I don't know why I'm so scared. It's not like you're going to interrupt me."

Alan gasped when he realized what he said. "Oh God John, I didn't mean that how it sounds. I'm sorry." Alan paused for a moment. He picked up John's hand and lightly stroked it. "I'm sorry about a lot of things. We were so close at one time and I let it slip away. You were up on Thunderbird 5 a lot and didn't have all the exciting stories like the rest of them. I mean sure you had some stories, but you didn't really like to talk about the rescues. The others were more than happy to talk about the rescues. They fed off the adrenaline, but not you. You preferred to talk about the stars and that was 'boring' to me. I'd give anything if you would wake up and give me a lesson on the constellations. Anyways, I'm getting side tracked. I want to apologize for earlier. You wanted to talk, to say goodbye and I wouldn't let you. I was afraid. I thought if I let you say goodbye that you would die, but you're dying anyways. All I did was cause you more pain. I'm sorry. I was just being selfish. I love you John. I can't even remember when was the last time I told you that. I'm sorry for that too. I shouldn't have hid my emotions from you. I do love you John. I hope you know that. I've always known that you loved me. I will carry that with me always."

Tears were flowing down Alan's face. He stood up and walked to the window. The sun was shining brightly while a gentle breeze blew across the Island. Alan smiled wryly at the serene setting. No one who saw the peaceful outside of the Island could imagine the turmoil going on inside the villa. Alan ran his hand over his face in order to wipe his tears away.

Taking a deep breath, he abruptly changed subjects. "It's a beautiful day out there. It'd be a great day to go fishing. Do you remember those trips? We had a great time. I really enjoyed those times with you."

"If you let me get a little more sleep, I'll take you again." A weak voice said.

Alan whipped around to see who had come in the room. No one else was there. It was just him and John. Alan stared at John. His eyes were still closed. His chest rose and fell gently in a steady breathing pattern. Alan slowly made his way toward the bed. His mind was reeling. "Could it be?" Alan thought. He could feel the pounding building in his chest, but he was afraid to give in to the hope that was rising.

Finally getting his voice to work, he asked. "John, can you hear me? Are you awake?"

John's eyes slowly opened and settled on Alan's face. "What are you doing here, Alan? Shouldn't you be in school?"

"JOHN, OH MY GOD, JOHN." Alan exclaimed. It only took a second for Alan to finish crossing the room to John's bedside. He held John's hand in one of his and gently placed the other hand on John's forehead. He could feel that John's body no longer radiated the heat like before. He couldn't stop the tears of joy that slipped from his eyes. "Thank God. Your fever has broken. How are you feeling?" Alan stopped for a moment and keyed the comm. "Brains, I need you in the infirmary right now." He barely heard Brains acknowledge the call before he closed the comm.

John gave Alan a confused look. "Fever? What's going on Alan? Did I get sick on Thunderbird 5?"

"You don't remember what happened? You don't remember coming home or going out on the fake rescue call?" Alan asked impatiently.

John sighed in exasperation. "No, the last thing I remember was being on Five. We had just finished a rescue call in China. I still had two weeks before my rotation was over."

Alan rested a hand on John's shoulder. With a smile on his face, he said. "Don't worry, I'm sure that dad and Brains will explain everything." Suddenly a shocked look came over his face. "Dad! I have to let dad know!"

A voice questioned from behind him. "A-A-Alan?"

Alan turned to face Brains. His eyes shone with excitement. "Brains! You're here. He's awake! He's going to be OK!"

Brains was shocked. "W-W-W-How did this happen?"

"I guess your antidote worked after all." Alan said.

"L-L-I need to ex-ex-run some tests." Brains said.

"OK." Alan said as he moved away from his brother's bed. "I need to call dad anyways."

While Brains began to examine John, Alan moved to sit on the other bed. He keyed the comm.-link to his father. When his father's face appeared on the screen, he said. "Dad, you need to come to the infirmary. It's John…" Suddenly Alan found himself so overwhelmed by a sense of relief that he couldn't speak. A sob escaped his throat, and tears coursed down his face.

Jeff saw the tears on his son's face and immediately thought the worst. "I'll be right there." He said as he disconnected the comm.-link from his end.

Author's note: Ok folks, how many people really saw that coming? Happy now? We still have a couple more chapters to go just to tie up the loose ends.

From Convert: (states indignantly) I just want to go on the record that John was never, ever in danger of dying. It was ALWAYS my intention to heal him. Unfortunately for the dramatic factor I was unable to put your fears to rest. Come on, be honest. The goodbye scenes would never have been so heart-wrenching if you knew that he would survive. (Breathes a sigh of relief) At least now, I can come out of hiding. Yeah!