Disclaimer: I don't own them, I'm not lucky enough.
A/N: Set quite a while after the movie. John's back in the rebuilt/repaired Thunderbird Five.
I'm going by the ages provided by the site, with the exception of Alan. So the ages are: Scott- 24, John- 22, Virgil- 20, Gordon- 18 and Alan- 16 (the site had Alan at 14, but that didn't seem right to me at all, so I changed it).
The rest of the day went on much like that, with Virgil getting a list from his father, and one from Alan. When asked, Alan said that it was actually from John.
"But he's coming home soon," Virgil said after Alan had told him.
"There's some stellar event taking place that he really, really, really wants to be up there for. So he's staying an extra week," Alan explained. "Which means I'll have to stay an extra week when I go up."
"I don't think he'll ask you to stay for five weeks just because he wants to."
"Here's hoping," Alan replied.
"You sure you don't need anything while I'm on the mainland?" Virgil asked.
"I'm sure. I checked everything just in case. If I think of anything, I'll call," Alan answered with a smirk.
"I can't guarantee the completion of any last minute requests," Virgil replied. "Especially from smart aleck baby brothers."
Alan glared at the 'baby brother' remark since he really hated it, but said nothing. He then went off in search of Tin-Tin while Virgil went to his room. Instead of working on the mural, he began to work on Gordon's birthday present. He wanted to decoupage a fish, then paint it with bright colors. He had gotten the idea just before Christmas, but didn't have nearly enough time to get it done. So, while flipping through one of Gordon's aquatic magazines, he came across the picture of a fish and immediately knew that was the one he wanted to use. So when he realized that Gordon was done with the magazine, he took it up to his room and began to plan. Since the picture was only two-dimensional and his fish would be three-dimensional, he needed to plan accordingly. He also wanted to create a background for the fish to stand in front of, so he needed to get that planned out as well.
So he spent most of the afternoon between his bedroom and the studio, working mostly on that project, although every so often he'd go back to the mural. He was concentrating so much on sketching out the background on a large piece of paper that he didn't notice someone knocking on the studio door.
"Virgil?" he heard someone ask, taking him out of his concentration with a start.
He jumped, turning around to see his father standing in the doorway.
"Hi dad," he said a bit breathlessly.
"Sorry," Jeff smiled.
"What's up?"
"Just wanted to see what you're up to."
"Well, come in and I'll tell you."
Jeff entered the room, shutting the door behind him.
"Where's Gordon?" Virgil asked once his father was nearby.
"In the pool. He wanted to do some laps."
"Good. I'm working on my present to him."
Virgil then explained everything to his father, showing him what he'd already gotten done.
"Virgil, you've really outdone yourself," Jeff commented. "He'll love this."
"I just don't know where he's going to put it!" Virgil laughed. "There isn't enough room in his bedroom."
"Don't worry, we'll find somewhere."
Virgil then went over and got the mural sketch and showed that to his father. Although Jeff didn't understand art the way Virgil did, he still appreciated his son's talent and took a keen interest in what Virgil created.
"Sounds like you have a couple big projects," Jeff said once Virgil was done.
"That's not all," Virgil said with a sad smile.
"What else is there?" Jeff asked.
"I'm trying to recreate a song, except it isn't coming out so well."
"What seems to be the problem?"
"Well, it's a rock song that's mainly piano driven. But there are other instruments in there. Those are going to take some work to get recorded."
"Just wondering, why do you want to do this?"
Virgil shrugged. "Sounded like fun at the time."
Jeff smiled, "I'm sure you'll figure it out."
"Thanks, dad."
"You seem to be feeling better than before," Jeff commented.
"Just don't feel so…apart…anymore."
"Can't explain it?"
"No."
"Well, I'm just glad you're feeling better."
"I know, you and Scott were worried."
"That's my right as your father. And if you ask Scott, it's his right as older brother."
Later that night, after dinner, the family gathered in the rec room for a movie. Tin-Tin and Alan sat on the sofa with Gordon and Jeff while Scott and Virgil took their places on the floor, leaning against the ends of the sofa. The movie itself was rather horrible, but they all still had a good time making fun of it.
"Who accepted this script?" Gordon asked once the credits began.
"How was this ever allowed to be produced?" Alan added.
"How was this ever released for public viewing?" Gordon asked.
"At least we didn't have to pay money specifically to watch it," Virgil commented.
"I swear HBO shows some of the worst movies ever made," Scott said.
The room cleared out since it was getting late. Virgil, who had to get up extra early to prepare and do pre-flight checks on Tracy Three, headed up to bed.
