DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to Thunderbird, nor do I intend to make any profit from this story. It is strictly for entertainment purposes only. I just paid my tuition fees, so I don't have any money to give anyone anyway.

Boarding School
Late August 2015

"This sucks," Alan Tracy complained for what was surely the tenth time in ten minutes, his baby-featured face crinkling up in a scowl. "I don't want to go to school here."

"You'll go to school here, all right," his father responded sternly, "and you won't give anyone any flack about it either. I haven't heard Virgil and Gordon complain once about it yet, not including when I first told them. You're just lucky that I was able to find a school where you could be in the same building as your brothers."

Jeff could see how much his youngest son had matured over the summer, and he didn't like it one bit. Though still a child in his own right, Alan was beginning to shows signs of wanting to grow up. He often tried to act older than he was, although most of his learned language was obviously inherited from either Gordon or Virgil.

The two stood at the front doors of a large stone boarding school, a structure made of white granite that was laced with long ivy vines. People bustled about, mostly students in stark white and black uniforms, rushing to class at some other point at the school. Their feet crunched upon red and orange oak leaves that drifted down from the heights of the canopy.

"It still sucks," Alan sighed, looking around at the students and wondering how long he would be at the school before he received a good paddling. Though his father had assured him that paddling was no longer acceptable in schools, he doubted that the other kids would care. He glanced forlornly at his suitcase lying on the ground, and scrunched his face up again. "You're leaving me here to die."

"Alan!" Jeff lectured, irritation building on his face. "Stop acting this way. This is hard enough for me as it is. I don't need you piling guilt on top of everything else. At least this way you'll be cared for by adults, and you won't have to worry about keeping house."

"I didn't do the laundry anyway."

"Well, neither did Gordon," the elder Tracy responded, "and he was supposed to. That's exactly the reason that you boys are staying here." Jeff glanced around, then shook his head. "I wonder where he is."

"Where who is," asked Gordon, who had just walked up with Virgil following closely beside him. Both were dressed in the school uniforms, and both carried with them a set of travelling bags. "Alan's got a girlfriend?"

"He said he," Alan muttered darkly, causing Gordon to snicker. "And I don't have a girlfriend."

Holding up a hand to his mouth, Virgil tried to suppress a snort.

"Whatever, Alan," Gordon teased innocently.

"Whatever, Gordon," Jeff mocked sternly, giving his redheaded son a fatherly look. "Leave your brother alone."

Gordon had opened his mouth and was about to respond, when another voice instead called from somewhere amongst the crowd. "M-m-m-mister Tracy, sir!"

Virgil and Gordon turned around as one, and stared blankly at the two individuals that were quickly approaching them. The taller one, a man with brown hair and large glasses, was dragging along with him a young boy that couldn't have been more than Alan's age. The child shared the man's rich hair, and he too wore glasses that were obviously too large for his face.

"Who the heck is that?"

Virgil shook his head, and shrugged. "Must be one of dad's employees or something like that."

Ignoring his sons' comments, Jeff strode forward towards the man, a huge smile plastered onto his face. "James!" He grinned broadly, and took the man's outstretched hand so that he could give it a good shake. "Glad that you could make it."

"I'm g-g-g-glad as well," James stuttered, looking down at the ground as he spoke.

Virgil and Gordon once again traded curious glances.

"How's Fermat," asked Jeff, looking down at the boy that stood below him.

At the mention of the boy's name, both Virgil and Gordon snickered between themselves.

"Oh, he's fine," James answered, patting his son on the shoulder. "Just fine. I-i-i-in fact, he's really excited to be coming here. It's a r-r-r-r-real step up for him, y-y-y-you know."

"I'm glad to help," the older man offered warmly, giving both James and Fermat a reassuring laugh. "A boy like that should be in a school like this. He has a lot of potential."

Still standing where his father had left him, Alan watched the entire display with mixed emotions. First his father had told him that he was sending him to boarding school - which, now that he understood it, he wasn't happy about - and now his father couldn't even say good-bye to him properly! He folded his arms across his chest, and stared in an angry fashion at the glasses-faced boy across the sidewalk.

Fermat, as if sensing Alan's gaze, turned a shade of red and looked down at his feet.

"So who is this, Dad?" Virgil and Gordon had finally approached the trio, and were now being introduced to them.

Jeff pointed at the two in front of him, and then gestured towards his sons. "James, these are two of my sons, Virgil and Gordon. Watch out for Gordon, he causes trouble sometimes." Gordon made a face, which Jeff completely ignored. "Virgil, on the other hand, is quite subdued, and a real blessing in that sense. Boys, this is James Wilson and his son Fermat. James works for me at Tracy Industries, and he'll be helping me with some work back at the island for the next little while."

"Have fun," Gordon murmured, laughing quite loudly on the inside. "The place turned into a pig-sty over the summer."

"I-i-i-i'm sure we'll manage," James replied, though his voice was a bit unsure. "Jeff has told me a g-g-g-great deal about you boys." He glanced past Jeff, his eyes finally settling on the youngest. "That m-m-m-must be Alan back there."

Hearing James' words quite clearly, Alan stuck out his tongue and turned his back to the group.

His face turning slightly red, Jeff raised an eyebrow in mild irritation. "I'm sorry about this, James. He's been in a horrendous mood all morning."

"I-i-i-it's all right, Jeff. Fermat," he pushed his son forward, "w-w-w-why don't you go say hi to him."

"Oh, that'll be great," Gordon snorted, poking Virgil in the side.

"Ow."

"It's true, though. Alan's being a demon child."

Jeff rolled his eyes, and turned to face his older children. "Don't you two start. Besides," he glanced down at his watch, "it's time for classes to start. You'd better hurry in and find out where you're supposed to be."

"Y-y-y-you too, Fermat." James bent down, and wrapped his son in a tight hug. "Y-y-y-you can talk to Alan later."

Returning the hug, Fermat nodded and quickly sprinted up the stairs into the school, dragging his large backpack behind him.

Unable to contain his laughter any longer, Gordon began to giggle in an uncontrollable manner. When Jeff gave him a bad look, he simply shrugged and grinned. "What can I say?"

"He's very cute," Virgil interrupted, in an obvious attempt to save his brother from a verbal beating. "A really adorable little boy. Well," he gave James a polite was of the hand. "It was good meeting you. We should be going." He unceremoniously grabbed Gordon by the collar, and began to drag him up the stairs and into the building.

"Boys!"

Virgil stopped for a moment, his face falling a bit when he remembered that his father would be leaving. "Yeah?"

"Take care of each other." Jeff's voice wavered slightly, though his smile overcame any difficulty that he had with the words. "Okay? And if you need anything at all, just give either Scott or me a call. We're just a quick plane-ride away."

"Just a plane-ride," Virgil echoed back, nodding slowly. "And, if we really need to, we can hop on a rented plane and I can fly us back home."

"You've got it. Heck, if you want, just buy the plane to begin with." Sighing, Jeff held up his hand and gave a quick wave. "Take care, boys. I'll see you at Christmas."

"Bye, dad," Gordon muttered softly, his usually loud and boisterous voice nearly inaudible. "See you later."

The two boys turned, and continued into the wooden entrance of the school. It was not long before they disappeared completely into the throng.

Finally, Jeff walked over to Alan, who had parked himself in a corner of the stairwell. He reached out his hands, and placed them gently on his son's shoulders. "You be careful, Alan. But have fun, and remember that your brothers are here to watch out for you."

Though he didn't turn around, the pain in Alan's voice was plain. "I guess so."

"I've got to go now," Jeff finished, giving his son a quick hug. "Just remember what I told you on the way here." He let go, and slowly backed away down the stairs. "I'm not really leaving, Alan. I'll always be there for you."

Alan didn't answer. Instead, he silently took his bag and walked into the front doors of the school.

Jeff Tracy stood for a long moment, staring at the wooden doorway, wondering if he had just made the biggest mistake of his life. He honestly didn't know if the school would be any better for his children. He could only hope that it was.

"M-m-m-mister Tracy."

James' voice woke Jeff from his momentary stupor, sending him spinning around to face the bespectacled engineer.

"Hmm?"

His face reddening ever so slightly, James shrugged as if in apology. "I-i-i-if it makes you feel better, I-i-i-i," he stopped, looked at his feet, then finally looked back up at Jeff. "I think you're being a wonderful father." The words came out completely clear, without a sign of stutter in them at all. "I wish I could do the same for my son."

It took a moment for James' words to truly sink in. When they finally did, Jeff nodded slowly, blinking in order to hold back the moisture in his eyes. "Thank you, James. I'm glad to hear that. But I think Fermat would argue your second point."

The remark was far from being lost on James. "T-t-t-thank you, Mister Tracy."

A/N: I had a huge choice to make when writing this chapter: should Fermat be/not be included in the story? I decided that yes he should be. I know some people are annoyed by his presence in the movie, but I think he adds a nice chemistry to the family and I couldn't leave him out. I hope that you all like him by the time the next two chapters are finished. I just couldn't resist. :)

Yikes! School starts and my muse decides to fire up again. I'm pleased to announce that I have three chapters left to write for the entire story! Also, I have a separate story planned for when this one is finished. I can't seem to put my finger on it, but something about the word 'hydrofoil' begs for more than a one-chapter ditty. ;)

(On a side note, I'd like to do a quick story with Virgil and Gordon at school that would fill in the time just after this chapter. If anyone is really interested in that, just let me know and I'll appease my muse when I have time. :) )

Before I forget I have to say a huge thank-you to my beta reader Ariel D . I don't know what was wrong with me when I wrote this chapter (and the two after it for that matter) but I think I took a bag of commas and chucked them randomly at the screen. Thank-you so much for wading through the mess and picking up the trash! ;)

Anywho, reviews, reviews!

A HUGE thank-you is due for everyone that dropped me a note for Snowday. I'm glad that you all liked the story, and I'm especially touched that you're all taking an active part in the efforts to help out the tsunami victims. Somehow I wasn't worried about the reviewers. ;) I just really hope that all of the unknown readers out there take some of it to heart!

ladc – I originally had it written so that John was fine during his flight, but then I realized that for later stuff to work his recovery couldn't be that simple. The exact reasons for his airsickness are given in the next chapter that he appears in. snickers I loved Lex Shrapnel, though he's a little 'bigger' in body than I pictured John to be. Ah well, we can't have it all I guess. ;) Thanks for the review, I'm glad to have you back! And, thanks for reviewing Snowday. snickers again Those mathematical'angels' are out to get me. ;)

Marblez – lol I'm Canadian, and I don't even know if we have boarding schools here. ;) I suppose I should have called it Private School. I'd offer you pointers, but I think some marvellous Americans have already offered their help. ;) They'll know it better than me anyway. Thanks for the support!

thunderbirdgirl – Thank you so much! The Gordon one is my fave, because I had the best pics to work with. I have one of Jeff finished, I just have to chuck it up to photobucket. Hope you like the story as much as the pics. ;)

zeilfanaat – I practically channelled Scott and John in that scene. My sis and I took a Tracy bros. quiz, and I ended up being Scott while she was Virgil. Sometimes though I act like John and she acts like Gordon. I just had to imagine one of our conversations, and Thunderbirds were set to go! :) Also, thanks for sharing with me what Holland (I think that's right? If not, shoot me.) is doing for the tsunami. It lifts my heart. :D

miz greenleaf – Out of curiosity, have you seen the original series? In it, Virgil would occasionally be painting something, or playing his white baby grand. I find him to be interesting to write because of that. I actually have a friend that's like a modern version of him, smart and extremely talented on the piano. :)

mcj – I'm glad that you enjoyed it. :) Fly Like aKite really didn't have a lot to do with the plot, but I wanted to have a scene that showed the four older boys interacting as a family without any 'tragic' angst. There's enough of that in some later chapters that I was in desperate need of something lighter! :D Once again, thanks for your kind words, on this and Snowday.

Okay, that's enough for now. Catch the next episode, a short little ditty called Alan, Meet Fermat, coming soon to a fanfic near you. (Gads, I must stop watching Saturday morning cartoons . . .)

FAB!