The Return of Halleys Comet

by B1ueF1reRed1ce

In 2060, Alan Tracy got to visit the famous Halleys Comet in person; one of four in history who could claim to do so. Now, seventy-five years later, Halleys Comet has returned and Alan decides to visit his extraterrestrial friend one last time. On the flight there, he reflects on everything that's happened to him during their time apart.

Hi there!

I haven't posted on this website for years, simply because I kind of forgot about it! But I'm back now, and exploring other fandoms than what I'd originally started with; Thunderbirds being one of them!

This idea struck me some time back in November, and somehow managed to grow from what was going to be a one shot to this massive 14k fic that I finished writing back in early December, but decided to sit on for a while before editing. It's finally done now, thank god - I'm so relieved to be done with this as I can finally share it!

I was rewatching "Comet Chasers" and got this idea from Alan's comment of 'see you again in 75 years'. So, for anyone who didn't pick up on it, the passage of 75 years will be covered in this, including how the characters lived and died. I hope I did everyone's deaths justice - I'm a bit nervous as to what you'll think, given it is a one-shot beast and everyone dies, but I do hope you enjoy it regardless!

Also, this is dedicated to Silverstar who - if you haven't read their story Yesterday's Promise, you need to check out. I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading it, but I've been caught hook, line, and sinker and absolutely adore it. It's by far one of the best stories I've read for a long time, and can't recommend it highly enough.

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2135

"…The news has been covering it all week, it's all I can think about…"

"…Alan, it looks like you're going to see that Comet after all…"

"…I had to set foot on it, even if it's only a little bit…"

"Okay Halleys Comet, see you in seventy five years!"

Alan huffed a faint laugh, time and memories distorting the voice of his sixteen year old self, but the enthusiasm he'd felt back then was just as strong as it was now. Halleys Comet was a legend in their solar system, and the only difference between his first visit and now was that he was taller, and seventy-five years older. Oh, and he had a full head of white hair instead of blond.

A few more wrinkles, too.

"Dad? We're on final approach."

He opened his eyes and smiled at his daughter who was looking back at him fondly, as though she knew where his thoughts were. "Thanks, sweetheart," he replied, turning his attention to the viewport of his 'Bird and the stars beyond.

It was strange, no longer being in command of Thunderbird 3; the passage of time slowing his body and his reactions enough that it had long ago been deemed unsafe for him to fly alone. Not that that meant he'd been kept away from the controls entirely, mind you; trips to the Mars and Venus colonies were ones he got to pilot once they'd left Earth's orbit and cleared the space lanes, his daughter or grand-daughter in the co-pilot seat to take over should anything happen that… well. Required reflexes faster than what he had, these days.

It had been a hard won compromise, one he'd fought tooth and nail for, but it had been well worth it to continue doing what he loved for as long as he could.

Being at the controls of his 'Bird also gave him the chance to relive what his grandkids liked to refer to as his 'glory days'; where the feel of the controls under his fingertips transported him back to a time when he was the one running missions with John in his ear, and his brothers or sister next to him as they rescued those that needed their help.

His life was different now, certainly more laid back and stress free than it had been… and in all honesty, he missed it. He missed being the youngest – missed having his family to lean on, to look to, to follow behind, to learn from.

He missed the teamwork, the adrenaline, the movie nights, the star gazing, the games, the laughter, the banter, the hugs, the arguments, the pranks, the food fights, the comradery, the love.

He missed all of it. He missed them.

2062

Eight years stranded in space with limited supplies was, without a doubt, going to have some long term effects on their father's health; many of which no one on Tracy Island was qualified to handle.

John, Virgil, and Grandma had done their research trying to find a therapist who could not only help their dad with his recovery, both mentally and physically, but could also preempt any negative effects his time in space may have and lessen their impact by treating them early.

Not to mention that they needed someone who could keep Jeff's situation, and the identities of the International Rescue operatives a secret, given the world had no idea who the people behind the masks were; a secret they wanted to keep for as long as possible to ensure they could do their jobs without political powers interfering.

They found someone a lot faster than any of them anticipated, and Thea was good. Really good, in fact – more so than any of them could have hoped. She was kind, yet firm. Curious, yet patient. She pushed their dad, and she pushed him hard, leaving no stone unturned to the point where two months after rescuing him from the Oort Cloud, Thea told them that while progress was slow, Jeff was already exceeding her expectations, and that if he kept up the hard work, he'd eventually make a full recovery.

Being the overachiever he was, and determined to return to duty, their dad took his physical therapy and counselling sessions seriously. It was slow going, and he got frustrated with himself more often than not – Thea had certainly been put through her paces a time or two when dissecting some of the nightmares put before her - but he was determined to continue his sessions until he no longer needed the help.

One night, about four months after returning to Earth, at the end of a grueling day of rescues for his sons and a hard day of therapy for him, Jeff sat them all down for a talk - taking the five of them completely by surprise with the announcement that he wanted to make a few changes.

These changes weren't ones that he'd decided on a whim, he'd stressed. In fact, he'd spoken about his concerns with Thea extensively to ensure he was doing the right thing by his family – and he was, according to her – so after a discussion with Grandma Tracy and Brains to get other perspectives, he was now proceeding with his decision. The changes he wanted to make weren't to Tracy Industries or International Rescue like they'd thought, but to the family.

Changes that weren't open for negotiation, and were effective immediately.

Jeff had watched them all work hard since his return – too hard, in fact, to the point where they never seemed to have a break beyond a few hours, half a day if they were lucky, where they could relax, do their own thing, and not worry about work.

He'd stressed to them that while he admired their dedication to their jobs, he was also dismayed to learn that their personal lives were almost non-existent because of his dream – pointing out that International Rescue would be around for years to come; but so would his sons, who, if they were dedicated to their jobs only, would discover they'd missed out on a lot that life had to offer when they eventually retired.

Alan found it strange, at first; to suddenly have six weeks out of every thirty to himself where he could do what he wanted. He could pursue other ambitions, learn new hobbies, even visit locations as a tourist, rather than a rescuer. Mostly, he had the opportunity to build a name for himself outside of Tracy Industries, given no one knew his association with International Rescue, and so they didn't know anything about him beyond the fact that he was a member of one of the wealthiest families on the planet, and old enough to have graduated high school.

He had the chance to make his own mark on the world.

He actually got to meet people.

With his allotted free time, Alan got to see the world through the eyes of the everyday folk. He… wasn't that impressed, actually; deciding relatively quickly that people were far too whiny and self-absorbed for his liking, but he still had fun, and got to do things he'd never dreamed of doing before.

He had a few flings, painted the town red with Gordon a time or two, and made a name for himself on the NASCAR circuit. He'd completed various college degrees online that tickled his fancy – the stories he'd heard from his brothers put him off attending in person, despite their encouragements and promises that it'd be good for him – before taking some extra time off so he could officially go through NASA's space program, much to everyone's delight.

It was long, difficult, and downright frustrating at times, especially considering the fact he was the pilot of a rocket more powerful than NASA could ever hope to possess, like, ever; but standing on stage for his graduation ceremony, his family all whooping and hollering excitedly when he was officially recognized as an astronaut meant the world to him.

Most surprising of all was that he met the love of his life, Rosalie, through the space program; the brunet wide eyed and excited like the rest of their classmates. It was hard to explain, but there was something about her that stood out from the rest, and no matter how hard he tried to fight it, he found himself drawn in.

They hit it off straight away, spending time together and talking regularly, and it only took a few months for him to pluck up the courage to ask her out. It took a couple more years to tell her about his family, but it didn't take him as long to ask her to marry him – read: in the same rushed sentence as "MyfamilyrunsasecretrescueorganisationandI'mthepilotofThunderbird3andheywouldyoumarryme?" - but it was definitely the most nerve wracking out of the three.

She said yes – thankfully – and Rosalie quickly became an integral member of the family and International Rescue, as well as his wife, the mother of his children, his best friend, and partner in nearly everything he did.

Such happiness wasn't exclusive to him, and over the years he had the absolute pleasure of watching their family grow.

Gordon and Penelope finally stopped beating around the bush and married in 2064 once Jeff was back to full health and their lives had found a more even keel. The aquanaut split his time between Tracy Island and England in those early years, and Brains built a hangar for Thunderbird 4 under the estate they brought in Dover, located next to the sea so he could launch into rescues immediately – or go with Parker in FAB1 to meet Virgil when missions were further away.

They welcomed their first daughter, Lucille, into the world ten months after their wedding, followed by Diana in 2066, and Katherine in 2072. Parker doted on his three unofficial granddaughters much as he had with Penelope, especially when their parents were busy saving the world, and he was the reason they all knew how to pick locks and jump start cars before their fifth birthday – an important skill set, according to the former thief, in case they had to get themselves out of trouble in a hurry.

Not that anyone knew of this particular skill set until a five year old Diana jumped into the front seat of FAB1 on the day of her birthday party, and hotwired it so the engine was running as a pointed hint to her mother that she was taking too long to get in the car.

After attending a reunion with some Air Force buddies, Scott was set up on a date with Major Natalia Richardson, an Officer within WASP and the younger sister of one of his military friends. The way they told it when Natalia was introduced to the family, it was a meeting that had been several years late, given Scott was supposed to go on a blind date with her the day Jeff disappeared, and the rescheduling of said date was forgotten about entirely when Scott suddenly found himself the head of Tracy Industries, International Rescue, and his family – including becoming the legal guardian for his youngest brother.

Natalia had had a few relationships during that time, but nothing really stuck. When they finally got to meet, they hit it off immediately and were married within a year; starting their own family by welcoming a baby girl, Aria, into the world seven months after the wedding in 2065, and their twin boys JJ and Reece five years later.

Virgil and his husband, Sebastian, whom the older Tracy twin had met while helping Chief McCreedy on the Spire Tower mission, got on like a house on fire – Virgil's pun, not Alan's - and married in 2067. Amongst their duties aboard Thunderbird Two (which Sebastian became co-pilot of in Gordon's absence), they each had three children through the use of surrogates; including, surprisingly, their own set of fraternal twins.

The second eldest had apologised to their father repeatedly for any trouble he and John had caused as kids after realizing how difficult two babies could be, even when only a few months old – he practically burst into tears while apologizing when Elloise and Rochelle hit the Terrible Two's milestone; getting a front row seat to the utter chaos two rambunctious toddlers could cause when they put their minds to something.

Scott hadn't stopped laughing for weeks when he heard his brother's apology for the first time. He distinctly recalled Virgil and John being ten times more stubborn, mischievous, and downright problematic than his nieces.

He stopped laughing pretty quickly when his own twins hit the same milestone a year later.

Kayo and Rigby dated for several years until Kayo decided that she was ready to properly introduce him to her family and let him in on their secret. Apparently he'd had his suspicions for some time that her family weren't quite who they said they were, but he'd been willing to wait for her to come clean. He'd handed his resignation into the GDF the day after finding out, and joined Kayo as an International Rescue covert operative. In general, he was a perfect fit into the family dynamic.

The pair made a formidable security team for the Tracy family, and they made amazing parents, welcoming Cassidy into the world in 2070, and Jacob in 2073. The family had always joked that the mini-spies were kicking ass the moment they'd been born, which given how energetic they were as children, and nearly unstoppable as teens, wasn't too far from the truth.

Even Brains married; he and Moffie growing closer over the years as they worked together on a number of projects before eventually making it official in 2071. While they didn't have any children of their own, they did adopt two sisters who were orphaned when Moffie's close friends were killed in a car accident. Sophie and Alyssa were just as bright and creative as their biological and adoptive parents, and were officially recognized as engineers for International Rescue before they'd graduated university.

Only John remained unmarried and without children. It had worried Alan many times over the years, his brother attached to his Bird, EOS, and his family, but beyond that he mostly kept to himself.

There would be the odd time when John was sitting quietly in the lounge with a book, or entertaining one of the many rugrats rampaging through the house when Alan thought he'd glimpsed sadness in his brother's turquoise eyes.

He feared his brother was lonely, stressed over it many times, in fact, but whenever he asked the redhead about it John just smiled and asked how he could be lonely when he had everything he wanted already; laughing that he couldn't be lonely even if he wanted to be, given their family was nearly triple the size it had once been.

John's response always sounded genuine, but Alan saw it as a non-answer more than anything. His brother always knew what to say to comfort someone and take their mind off things; he had too, given the vital role he played in their organization. But he'd heard the same tone used when the redhead was promising someone who had no hope of surviving that everything would be okay; able to lie with the same ease with which he told the truth.

Unable to keep his concerns to himself any longer, he sat down with Virgil on the eve of his twin brothers fortieth birthday and confessed his fears. Virgil simply pulled him into a long, tight hug and asked him not to worry, but more importantly, to let it go.

The way he said it hadn't been convincing in the slightest, and rather than ease him like Virgil had probably hoped, it worried Alan further. There was obviously a story there; but whether it was a secret between twins, or something others in the family knew, it was something he was never told.

---

As their family grew, so too did the villa that housed them. Extensions were added for the various families further around the island so they had their own space, while the bedrooms of the married Tracy brothers were turned into guest rooms; their character kept in honor of the original occupants. John remained in his room, although it had work done on it to make it bigger; Jeff adding in an observatory and office so his son could stargaze or work on his personal research projects whenever he was earthbound, and in relative peace and quiet away from the numerous children or shouting parents about.

When age started slowing them down, and their children had children, the brothers and their partners moved back into their old rooms so the houses could be used by their families if they wanted them.

The fact that their old rooms were closer to the kitchen, the pool, and each other was definitely an undiscussed, but added, bonus.

Not all of Jeff's grandchildren joined International Rescue, but the drive to help others remained a core value for them all. Aria followed in her father's footsteps and joined the Air Force as a pilot, working her way up to the rank of Major before retiring to teach at a flying school, and helping International Rescue as needed. JJ and Reece followed in their father's and twin uncles footsteps; their academic backgrounds that of aeronautical engineering and programming, and they shared the piloting duties for Thunderbird 1.

Virgil and Sebastian's youngest son, Deke, became a successful actor who also worked closely with humanitarian organisations, while Annie, Carolyn, and Ethan entered the medical profession much like their first-responder fathers, long deceased grandmother, and their spry-and-you-know-it Great-Grandma; specialising in cardiology, neurology, and pediatrics respectively.

Their eldest daughters took after Virgil in the arts – Elloise as a successful photographer, and Rochelle a violinist, but their love of hard work, flying, and getting their hands dirty meant they succeeded their fathers in Thunderbird 2 when they both eventually decided to retire.

Two of Gordon's daughters took after both him and Penelope in their interests, whilst the third was more space oriented. Lucille became a renowned Marine Biologist, aquanaut, and the pilot of Thunderbird 4; achievements that all occurred after she turned twenty-one when she retired from competitive swimming. Prior to that, her swimming career had carried her through the 2081 and 2085 Olympics, winning a total of seven gold medals across both competitions in individual and team races.

Diana became an astronaut at eighteen, and she absolutely idolised her grandfather and space uncles, dedicating her book of deep space photography to her grandfather, and her two books of deep space research to John and Alan. When John was ready to retire, Diana succeeded him as the pilot of Thunderbird 5, much to her delight.

Their youngest, Katherine, majored in history and became a board member of England's Historical Preservation Society. She was also the aristocrat of the family, a model, and a media darling; attending functions and gala's on behalf of the Tracy and Creighton-Ward estates, and donating her time and money to worthy causes. She also followed her mother's passion for investing in green technologies, protecting wildlife and heritage buildings under threat, and helping disadvantaged communities.

Just like her mother had been for them, Katherine was her generation's undercover agent, working closely with Kayo's children to ensure any potential threats to International Rescue or the GDF were dealt with before they could become a greater, or deadlier, issue. The trio were kept surprisingly, worryingly, busy – including dealing with their own version of the Hood for many years until an accident instigated by the woman herself resulted in her death.

His own children were just as diverse. His eldest, Mary, followed in his and Rosalie's footsteps and joined NASA three months before her twenty-first birthday, spending four years with the space agency before dedicating her life to flying Thunderbird 3.

His eldest son, Mark, became a lecturer at university for physics and engineering – and spent months working alongside Katherine with poor communities to implement green technologies that would help them look after their people and the environment around them.

His two youngest sons – another set of twins, much to his dad's amusement - were the only two that were solely business focused; Edward becoming an accountant, and Grant a lawyer. Both boys took over the running of Tracy Industries with aplomb, and if an article from Time Magazine in 2099 was to be believed, the pair were some of the most influential and honourable businessmen of their generation.

The Tracy family couldn't have been prouder.

---

Time moved on, rescues continued, and the family grew. Achievements, challenges, and milestones were accomplished, weddings and yet more children were born into the family. For the most part, light and laughter permeated Tracy Island. But as time was wont to do, it started to catch up with them.

At the tail end of March in 2084, Grandma had been the first of them to pass away at the incredible age of ninety-nine; twenty two years after they'd rescued her only son from the Oort cloud.

During those years she'd travelled the world several times to tick off items on her bucket list, visited all the planets in the solar system, became a Great-Grandmother, learned to cook - a feat that all the Tracy brother's bemoaned that it took her until her late eighties to achieve, and even became a Great-Great Grandmother in her final year. She'd been happy, and content, but time had eventually caught up with her, taking her peacefully in her sleep during an extended stay in hospital after a battle with pneumonia.

The death of the Tracy matriarch hit them all hard, her loss leaving a gaping hole in their close-knit family. But they spoke of her often and kept her alive in the memories they shared – as well as the near obsessive need to ensure every one of her descendants knew how to cook so they didn't subject anyone to the foul, feet-tasting cookies that the brothers had suffered through most of their lives.

Five years after they lost their grandmother, Parker passed away in his sleep of natural causes – the old goat making it to a hundred and two years old, and just as mobile as he'd always been – according to him, anyway. At his memorial, Penelope had said through her tears that if his body had permitted it, she was certain he'd have lived forever to ensure her family was always watched over and protected; their own guardian angel forever disguised as the grey ninja.

In his honor, the entire family completed a round the world lap with every aviation machine they had, before they partied and consumed more alcohol than was probably respectable – at least for the older generation.

It had been a great night; one they were sure Parker would have loved.

As they soon learned, 2089 wasn't done with them yet, and unfortunately for their close-knit family, it wasn't in a good way.

Six months after losing Parker, at eighty-five years of age, the billionaire ex-astronaut, founder of Tracy Industries and International Rescue, a father of five beloved boys, eighteen cherished grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, Jeff Tracy passed away from a heart attack in his sleep.

The family physician told them it would've been relatively quick and painless, and while they were grateful he hadn't suffered, Jeff's loss devastated them; the entire family grieving as hard as they had the first time they'd lost him. Alan knew that for him, his brothers, Penelope, Brains, and Kayo, the grief was particularly sharp – mourning their dad and friend for the second time in their lives, with no hope of him returning once again.

Despite their loss, and the pain that came with it, the brothers shifted through the first four stages of grief a lot faster than any of them thought possible – which in turn made them all feel horribly guilty. Three weeks after losing their dad, when he and his brothers were curled up in the Observatory to watch the meteor shower their dad had been talking about prior to his death, Scott had confessed to the darkness that he wasn't grieving so much anymore, and that he felt like a terrible son for not doing so.

They'd all been quick to assure him that he wasn't, that they too weren't grieving as much as they'd thought they would – then John quietly told them that what they were going through wasn't uncommon, because in many ways, they'd been through his loss already so knew how to adjust to the hole that had been left behind.

"It's like when someone gets given a diagnosis for a terminal illness," the redhead said in a hushed voice, everything around them silent save for the soft wind rustling the leaves of the nearby trees. "They know they're going to die; their family know they're going to die, and so they all have time to prepare for the inevitable. They have time to go through the denial, anger, bargaining, and depression stages that comes with the impending loss, and so they're much closer to, if not already at, the stage of acceptance when their loved one passes on. It doesn't make them bad people, or make their grief any less, but they've had time to work through it.

"It's not the same for us, given we weren't expecting it, but based on his age I think we've all known for some time that it was coming, and have been subconsciously preparing for it. When we first lost him we had no body to grieve over, no answers as to what happened, and no time to prepare. Hell, we didn't even have proof that he was actually dead. This time there's no doubt - there's a… finality, I guess, and we've been able to accept it and grieve properly where we couldn't the first time."

"Thank you for that, mister psychology," Gordon laughed wetly, curling into the astronaut's side despite the verbal jab, his fingers toying with the cuff of John's sleeve. "Any other pearls of wisdom crammed into that brain of yours that you can impart upon us?"

"Fish would suffocate if they tried to chew, because chewing would interfere with water passing over their gills."

John's reply was so nonchalant, and so quick, that it caught them all off guard. Gordon in particular nearly toppled off his chair in fits of laughter.

"Is... is that a suggestion I shouldn't eat and breathe at the same time, Space Case?"

John smirked, and ruffled his cackling brother's hair. "You're the Fish, you figure it out."

It had been a good night, full of laughter, teasing, and reminiscing; and while the loss of their dad continued to hurt, the truth of John's words had brought them all some much needed closure and peace.

That night in the Observatory was one Alan thought back to often. Both to John's reasoning, and Gordon's teasing of their brother's intellect, because in a way it signaled what was in store for them.

He'd never been one for superstition, but given it was John they lost first, it was hard not to believe that his brother had somehow predicted his own future.

In 2108, nineteen years after their dad passed away, John was diagnosed with Alzheimer's at the age of seventy-five.

With all the advancements of technology and medicine, and cures for most illnesses that plagued the world, neurological diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's were still tricky to detect, harder to manage, and impossible to cure.

Virgil had been the first one to notice something was off, although when they'd looked back on it after the diagnosis, they'd all realized there'd been signs for some time – they'd just all been ignored or dismissed as old age.

After his twin spent a morning wandering around the island and growing increasingly agitated when he couldn't find who he was silently looking for – it was their dad, as it turned out – he begged John to go for a check to make sure everything was okay; the alarm bells starting to ring that there could be something seriously wrong with his brother beyond the general absentmindedness of age.

The diagnosis knocked them all for six when it came.

A cure for Alzheimer's was still a long way off, if one would ever be found, but the family spared no expense trying to find a way to lessen the effects of the disease and prolong John's life – Annie and Carolyn in particular doing everything they could to help their ailing uncle.

Despite all that effort, it wasn't meant to be. Two years was all they got with John, in the end; his Alzheimer's particularly aggressive and unforgiving on the man who had sacrificed so much and dedicated his life to saving others. They'd been lucky that there'd been more good days than bad for him, but for every month that passed, they'd been forced to watch as John's brilliant mind deteriorated at speeds beyond anyone's control.

It hit them all hard, but none more so than his siblings, Penelope, and EOS.

EOS had been frantic with worry when John gave her his diagnosis, the AI now sporting a body that many in the family had helped create for her, and stuck as close to her creator as John would allow, doing what she could to make his life easier.

Her years with them had served her well, her ability to understand emotion almost as good as any human, which meant she understood what was happening to her father, but more importantly, what would eventually happen when the disease beat him.

She wanted to help him. Tried to help him; but there was little more she could do than the rest of them.

On one of his more lucid days, John asked EOS to continue watching over his family when he was gone; his way of ensuring they were safe, and their legacy continued how his father had always wanted. On one of his worst days, he'd been stuck remembering the avalanche that had killed their mother, and nearly killed him and Gordon. Helpless, they hadn't been able to do anything for John that day beyond comfort him as he grieved their mother all over again.

It had been a traumatising day for all involved.

As though life hadn't been hard enough, six months before they lost John the family suffered an unexpected loss by the way of Sebastian, and very nearly Elloise and Deke. There'd been an accident on a building site that the trio had been passing while in Sydney; Sebastian shoving his children out of the way of falling debris when he realised what was happening. The pair escaped with minor injuries, but their father wasn't so lucky. Sebastian had managed to hang on long enough for Virgil to make it to the hospital, but he died that night, surrounded by his loved ones.

It had been a devastating blow for them all, but they managed to work through it as a family. Having his brothers and children there, and his twin to care for helped Virgil get through his grief, but no sooner had they found some semblance of peace again than rug was ripped out from under them.

2110

The night John died had been after a good day for the redhead, and it brought them all some comfort knowing that he'd remembered his life, and remembered he was loved, when he passed away.

After a week where he didn't recognise anyone beyond his siblings, and wasn't really interested in food or drink – which had been a warning sign, they eventually learned – John had asked for a night with his family where they could watch some of the home movies that had been put together over the years.

Most of them had been of occasions during their youth, John joking he didn't need the reminder that he was old when he just had to look in the mirror. The younger Tracy's took the beanbags and the smaller couches, while the brothers huddled together on the larger one, John sandwiched between Virgil, Scott, and Penelope, with the slightly more mobile Gordon, Alan, and Kayo curled around his legs in a mimicry of old times.

At the end of the video highlighting Scott's thirtieth birthday bash - of which there'd been far too much rum and glitter, thank you Alan and Gordon - John had told them, softly, that he loved them. That he knew what was happening to him, and that no matter what the disease made him say or do, he loved each and every one of them, more than they could ever know. The sentiment was returned, and hugs exchanged; the family cherishing the fact that for that night at least, they had their Starman back.

Despite his age, and the fact creeping around was nearly impossible in your seventies, no one heard John sneak out of his room in the dead of the night to go stargazing.

They found him the next morning on one of the deck chairs, a blanket tucked around him, a telescope at his side, and a picture of his brothers, parents and grandparents resting against his chest. At first they hadn't realised what happened, simply believing that he'd fallen asleep under the stars as he had so many times before.

When Virgil had tried to shake his brother awake, only to touch skin chilled by more than just the night, it had taken the combined efforts of Elloise and Rochelle to keep their father standing when he realised his twin was gone. Virgil's frantic cries for John brought the others running, and there by the pool, huddled around the astronaut, the Tracy family mourned for their brother who had forever returned to his home amongst the stars.

After losing John, Alan found himself struggling for a long time. His love for his brothers had always been fierce, but his earliest memories were of him toddling along behind the redhead, or curled up in his brother's lap as John explained all the stars they could see from the Ranch whenever they visited.

John had held a special place in his heart, and to lose him had been like losing a part of himself. His brother had been a quiet, but solid support at his shoulder – always there with a gentle word of encouragement, or a hand to guide him, and always, always, supporting him, no matter what he chose to do.

The void John had left in their lives had been far greater than Alan had ever thought possible, and more than once he'd found his brothers, Kayo, or Penelope curled up in the chair they deemed to be John's, tears on their faces as they mourned the loss of their guiding Star.

John's death... it hurt all of them, far more so than any of the previous deaths before them, it seemed.

To the world, John had been known as The Voice That Answers, or The One That Brings Hope, for he indeed brought hope to those on the other end of the call.

To their family, he had been their compass and the glue that kept them together, his calm demeanor and steady hands sometimes the only thing that stopped them from shattering over the years, even more so on their worst days.

To Alan, John had been his confidant, his hero, and the reason he loved space as much as he did. John's love of the stars had been a love he'd been more than happy to share with his little brother, teaching Alan all he knew, taking him to the museums and exhibits whenever he asked – especially when the others couldn't be bothered going back to the same places over and over – and he was the one who sat down with him and helped go through what qualifications and degrees he'd need in order to make it into NASA.

John's death had also forced Alan to face his own mortality and that of his brothers – and more importantly, what it would truly mean.

---

Ten months after they lost John, they lost Virgil.

Without Sebastian, and without his twin, Virgil's spark had started to fade. They'd all seen it coming, despite Virgil's insistence that he had plenty to live for; what with Elloise and Rochelle fast approaching their fifties, and Deke having just entered his thirties, plus having several grandchildren of his own to dote upon. He was happy, he promised them, and was looking forward to the future. But they'd all known that the loss of his husband and his redheaded shadow weighed heavily on his shoulders, sapping the life from him far quicker than he would admit.

There'd been no warning this time, no time to prepare, and yet none of the family had been overly surprised when they discovered the Tracy lumberjack had passed away peacefully in his sleep. It happened after a day spent close to his family, soaking in the love they had for him, and reminding them that he loved them in return.

Secretly, Alan had suspected that Virgil had realised he was two months shy of his seventy-eighth birthday and decided he didn't want to age another year when he'd have to mourn the fact his little brother wouldn't get to do the same.

Losing Virgil had been just as hard as losing John, but he took comfort in the fact his bear of a brother was back with his twin where he belonged; the two halves finally whole once more.

2116

The loss of his immediate younger brothers hit Scott hard, and both Alan and Gordon feared their oldest brother would leave them too, but Scott stubbornly hung in there.

Instead, it was Brain's and Moffie they lost next, five years later at the grand age of ninety-six and ninety-seven respectively. The scientists had lived long, fulfilling lives, their creations – both public and private – still making positive impacts on society long after they retired. Both had been in hospital at the time of their deaths due to a battle with pneumonia, much like Grandma Tracy all those years ago, and they passed away within hours of each other.

They lost Penny four months after Brains and Moffie.

The eighty-three year old aristocrat suffered a massive stroke during dinner with her husband and children, when they'd been in the process of telling them about Gordon's lung cancer diagnosis after he'd been unwell for weeks. Getting that phone call from his frantic brother... Alan was certain he, Kayo, and Scott hadn't moved so fast in years to get to him.

Due to her age, and the severity of the stroke, Penny died before they made it to her side, her strength remaining just long enough to tell her girls and her husband she loved them.

Gordon had been near inconsolable, while his daughters were left absolutely devastated by the sudden loss of their mother, and the deteriorating health of their father. Scott, Kayo, and Alan had been just as bad, having known Penny most of their lives, but they managed to pull themselves together enough to help their Fish and his family get through it.

In 2117, Aria Tracy nearly lost her life in a plane crash, but pulled through with her health and body intact, minus one leg, which was a miracle, all things considered. Then, as though the year had decided it hadn't had enough of the Tracy's, Natalia Tracy passed away three months after her daughter's crash from natural causes, devastating Scott, their children, and grand-children.

Despite the hurt, Scott soldiered on, working through the grief of losing those he'd loved to stay strong for those who still remained.

They lost Gordon the following year, three months after his eighty-second birthday.

Despite all the treatments, and his utter stubbornness to not let himself succumb to cancer, of all diseases, Gordon lost his battle in the middle of a stormy day, in a hospital by the seaside with his brothers, daughters, and their own families gathered around his bedside.

"I'll tell mum and... dad... a-and... Grandma 'n... Gramps," a pained wheeze broke through, and Scott smoothed his brother's hair back from his forehead with trembling fingers. "Johnny... and... and Virgy... and Pen you... said... hi... 'kay?"

"We'd appreciate it," Alan replied tearfully, squeezing his brother's hand. The responding squeeze was as strong as it'd always been. "Love you, Gordy."

"Love... ya too, Sprout. And... and you, Scooter. An… and you, K..Kayo. I'll... I'll be okay... promise. Okay?"

"Okay," Scott whispered, pressing a kiss to his brother's forehead. "Love you too. Always."

"Love you, Fish," Kayo murmured, giving the dying blond a shaky smile. "See you out there."

Gordon had asked to be by the window so he could watch the ocean during his stay, and passed away not long after his farewells with a smile on his face. When he drew his last breath, Katherine spotted whales playing in the roiling sea not far from them.

It could have been a coincidence, but Alan secretly believed the ocean was grieving with the knowledge it was going to lose one of its fiercest protectors, so had sent the whales in its own farewell to the beloved aquanaut.

Three months after the Tracy family buried Gordon, Scott decided that it was time to have a discussion about International Rescue and its future.

While they'd managed to maintain their anonymity since its inception, advancements in technology and social media had made it increasingly harder to hide their identities. While it wasn't impossible to continue that way, the big question was whether theyshould, or whether it was time to reveal themselves to the world, and give themselves more freedom in turn.

As the Patriarch of the family, Scott sat down with Alan, Edward, Grant, Kayo, Rigby, Cassidy, Jacob, and Katherine to discuss their options.

There was already plenty of speculation around International Rescue; about who they were and how those involved came into the business, but thanks to their strict protocols and technology, and EOS' constant vigil to wipe all traces of their identities from any association with International Rescue, they'd remained hidden.

When the question boiled down to whether or not they wanted to be in the spotlight, Grant, as the family lawyer, pointed out that if they were the ones to lift the lid, it meant they had control of the story – that they could decide what was revealed and how, and could make sure they protected their family, their livelihoods, and their companies.

The rest of the Tracy's agreed.

Being in the public eye was something they'd been preparing for from the moment International Rescue started. While their dad had preferred they remained anonymous to ensure there was no political accusations made when they crossed borders on a mission, he'd also been aware that the secrecy would eventually come to an end, willingly or not.

The concerns for accusations no longer existed, due to how long they'd been operating without any political interference, so now it was simply a matter of finding the best way to reveal their identities to the world.

In the end, as the artists of the family, Elloise, Rochelle, and her daughter Holly, an aspiring filmmaker, put together a documentary series that had six two-hour episodes and covered the history of International Rescue, each of the aircraft, their pilots, and the challenges and triumphs they'd experienced over the years.

Their first episode opened with footage of the brothers, their parents and grandparents at the top of a snow covered mountain in Switzerland, laughing and talking animatedly before Lucille and Grant took Gordon and John for a run on the slopes. No sooner had they left, than the ground began to tremble; a teenaged Scott's footage shaking both from the earthquake, and his own panic. The roar of the avalanche muffled a lot of the yelling, and there was a jumbled mess of images as Jeff grabbed his mother and three sons and sprinted to the nearby building – a small part of the stampede that was fleeing to safety.

The video then turned to the avalanche itself; capturing the raw power of snow and ice that bore down on those in its path, the crying of those in the building as they watched the avalanche overrun everyone on the slopes, and the quiet that settled the moment the snow stopped moving.

What aired in that first sequence was largely unedited, and included the jerky footage Scott had captured as he'd run, followed by the – right way up, thank you editing software – footage of people running, yelling, and screaming as they searched for survivors from where Scott had tossed his camera into the snow to help his dad dig up the rest of their family; the clip fading slowly when Jeff's cries of relief when he found his two sons unconscious but alive turned to screams of despair for his wife and father when he realized they were not.

One hundred and sixty two people died that day. As the Tracy women intended, it was raw, brutal evidence of what the Tracy's had lost when the brothers were so young, and revealed to the world the catalyst for International Rescue's inception.

After that shocking opening, Holly focused on the key news articles and scientific reports that were released about the avalanche, followed by recapping some of the investigations made into the response time of the rescue organisations – government and private – that were involved, and the numerous discussions from scientific communities about improvements that needed to be made to stop the worst tragedy on the Alps since the 1916 Winter of Terror from occurring ever again.

The first episode was clinical, in a way; throwing no blame on any one party, but emphasizing why the need for a rescue organization without the bureaucracy and red tape, and with advanced tools, near instant response times, and early warning systems had been so desperately needed.

They all struggled to watch that episode; the viewing made all the harder when they learned Holly had recorded their reactions to seeing the raw footage of the avalanche during the development of the series, and added it in to show the long term effects the disaster had had on the remaining members of the family.

For Scott, it brought back some horrific memories and nightmares that he'd long thought he'd gotten over. For Alan, who had only been two at the time, it explained why snow and avalanches had always given him a bad feeling, and traumatised his older brothers, particularly Gordon and John, for weeks after any avalanche call outs.

For everyone else it was their first time watching the video, and had left many of them pale and speechless. While the children and grandchildren knew the story of what happened, seeing it in person was sobering, and upsetting, and was discussed openly as a family – all of which was included in that first episode as a way to introduce them to the rest of the world.

The rest of the episodes were nowhere near as heavy. They focused on the original members of International Rescue; blending home movies with flight footage from rescues to show some of the challenges they faced; like Alan and Kayo's complicated rescue of Ned Tedford from the asteroid 21 Lutetia, as well as the utter debacle that had been Fischler's CIR.R.U.S Station mission, and the rocket the scientist stupidly stuck on a comet that very nearly destroyed Thunderbird 5 and Global One.

Interviews with him and Scott were scattered throughout the documentary, where they talked about their missions, their brothers, and how much they missed them - but mostly how they knew they would be proud of what International Rescue had become in the years since they'd gone, and what it did and would continue to mean to the world.

The documentary was a huge success and achieved exactly what they'd hoped it would; the world learning of their identities, what drove them, and even helped reduce the media's demands to talk to them now that their questions had finally been answered.

While there was plenty of interest and requests for further interviews or documentaries, the Tracy family declined to speak beyond what had been released, and their operations continued as normal. Alan, Scott, and Kayo had been relieved, because not only was their father's legacy intact, but they also got to honour their brothers memories in a way that ensured they'd never be forgotten.

The exposure also brought about two unexpected, but very welcome, surprises. The first were the statues or plaques that started popping up around the world that the locals dedicated to International Rescue, all of them placed in areas that would have suffered a disaster of some kind if the Thunderbirds hadn't been on hand to help.

The second was the Thunderbird museum that was requested by NASA. With the assistance of several in the family, and the official partnership of Tracy Industries, it was built next door to the Johnson Space Centre in Houston as it was where Jeff, John, and Alan had all trained - NASA wishing to honour the original Thunderbird crews, as well as those that came after them, properly.

It took a couple of years to open, and when it did it quickly ranked as one of the world's top attractions; giving visitors the chance to learn more about International Rescue, see displays of their old gear, and watch videos of all the Thunderbirds and their pilots in action.

There was a science section that would have made Brain's proud which had interactive displays like space rocks, science games, and gravity challenges. They even had an original version of MAX roaming around the section for the kids to interact with and marvel over. There was a world first interactive star map – John (through EOS' replication) and Alan's voices explaining stars or planets of interest – as well as a large engineering section that Sophie and Alyssa took great delight in designing; giving visitors the opportunity to construct many of Thunderbird 2's pod vehicles, both souvenir and life-sized. The sisters even created several virtual reality simulators that allowed the user to fly and work alongside International Rescue; giving them multi-choice scenarios that would affect the outcome of the mission, which was very popular with people of all ages, and gave them a greater appreciation of what the brothers had gone through on a mission.

Replicas of the interiors of the different ships provided photo opportunities and even more interactive displays, including holograms of the Tracy's moving about the cabins, discussing missions or bickering at random intervals, and there were a number of theme park rides for people to enjoy as well.

The Tracy Station, as it was fondly referred to, was a massive hit. Alan knew that it would only continue to grow with the newer generations adding to the displays as things within the organization changed, whilst continuing to honour their origins. The size and scale of the museum wasn't what interested him, personally – as long as, decades from now, children could look up at the mural and see his family, see his brothers, then that meant they'd always be remembered.

And that was all he really cared about.

---

2120

As though life had decided it wasn't quite through with him, Alan woke a few days after his and Rosalie's fifty-third wedding anniversary to find his wife had passed away in her sleep. She'd been battling a viral infection for some time, yet for all the medicinal treatments and herbal remedies she'd taken, she hadn't won. She'd been holding his hand during the night, which told him that she'd sought him out in her final moments, but the knowledge brought him little comfort.

He'd cherished every year he'd had with his wife, the highs and lows they'd been through, and missed her with every day that passed. The constant losses were beginning to wear him down; his heart aching from the battering it was taking, but still he soldiered on.

On the days when he was feeling particularly low, when the weight of the world sat heavy on his shoulders, he would look at the family he had left – his brother and sister, his children and grandchildren, nieces and nephews - and promised those long since gone that he'd hang in there, that he'd look after his family as they had looked after him over the years, for as long as he could.

He was a Tracy, after all. And Tracy's persevered.

The following year, Rigby was the next in their family to go, passing away at the age of eighty-eight in his sleep. It was revealed he'd had underlying health issues, but the ex-soldier lived up to his military upbringing and kept it to himself. Then Cassidy and Jacob were officially orphaned in 2124 when Kayo passed away from a heart attack at eighty-six years old; thankfully also in her sleep, which meant it was as pain free as possible.

The loss of their sister hit Alan and Scott hard. For six years, it had been the three of them, a close-knit unit that kept watch over the rest of their family, but with her passing it was just he and Scott left.

As though he hadn't been already, Alan kept a close eye on Scott as the years went on. With his brother pushing one hundred, Scott was certainly a lot more frail then he'd ever been. He tired easily, couldn't travel long distances, and tended to fall asleep more often than not; but when he was awake he was just as sharp and witty as ever.

Alan knew that Aria, JJ, and Reece had been watching their father closely for some time, and had been preparing to say goodbye to him for some time; sticking close to home so they could spend as much time as possible with him before he died.

In 2131, two weeks before Scott's one hundredth birthday, Alan had found his brother in his chair in the lounge, watching as Thunderbird 1 raced off to Argentina to deal with a landslide. Just by looking at the ex-pilot, he could to tell his brother was tired. Mentally tired, and, he suspected, tired of life too; more than ready to move on, but stubbornly hanging in there.

The reason Scott was clinging to life had been hard to stomach when he'd worked it out. He'd been grateful, truly he had, but it hurt just as much.

"How many weeks to go until your birthday, Scotty?" He asked as he took a seat beside him. "Two now, isn't it?"

Scott huffed a laugh, and pat his knee, his face wrinkled and weathered by age, but filled with as much warmth and love as it had been when they were kids. "You'd know better than I do," he croaked weakly. "How are you doing, Sprout?"

"I'm good," he replied softly, taking Scott's hand in his own. Alan bit his lip, and gave his brother a tremulous smile when he looked at him, taking a deep breath before letting it out slowly. "It's okay, Scott," he said quietly. When his older brother cocked his head, clearly confused, Alan leaned forward and pressed their foreheads together. "If you're ready to go, it's okay. You deserve to rest."

Blue eyes filled with tears on both sides, Scott's breathing shaky with emotion. "I don't want you to be on your own," he whispered, weakly ruffling his little brother's hair. "I always promised to look out for you; can't do that if I'm not here."

"And I always promised to look out for you, too." Alan smiled at him, pouring as much love and understanding as he could into his expression, despite the fact that it pained him to do so. He didn't want to lose Scott, and yet, he also didn't want his brother to suffer because of him. "I'll be okay, Scooter, I promise. Because I know that when it's my time, you'll be waiting for me to come home with everyone else."

Because Scott was stubborn, he made it a week after his hundredth birthday, as though deciding that because he was most of the way there, he might as well make it to his century milestone – an impressive feat, given the battering his body had taken over the years. But the signs he was fading were there.

With all those he'd lost over the years, all the signs he'd learned to read prior to their deaths, Alan had known what day would be Scott's last. That night, he'd shuffled into his brother's room and took the chair beside his bed, taking his sleeping brother's hand in his own.

The room had been quiet, peaceful. Nothing said because it didn't need to be. Right at the end, without quite knowing how he knew his time with Scott was finally up, Alan had leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his brother's forehead.

"I love you Scooter," he whispered into the darkness. "Thanks for being the best brother, and best friend, I could ever ask for."

"Love you too, Allie," Scott replied faintly, as though he'd been awake the whole time. His eyes opened just enough for him to give his brother his signature grin even as his heartbeat began to fade. "See you in the sky."

2135

"Dad? You okay?"

He blinked, eyes drifting to the console and he saw that it was powered down. Looking out the viewport revealed the vast expanse of space that surrounded them, chunks of rock and ice slowly tumbling past the window. "We've landed, then?"

"Yeah, Grandpa, we have," Haley replied, grinning at him from the co-pilot seat. His granddaughter reminded him so much of himself at her age; her love of space never ending, and she was practically a natural at the controls. The way she was going, Thunderbird 3 would be hers in no time.

When he'd mentioned to her that he wanted to go back to Halleys Comet, Haley was already halfway to launching before she'd been told it was still a few months away from arriving. "You ready?"

Nodding, Alan removed his harness and pushed to his feet, giving his granddaughter a smile when she came over to help him. Diana was sitting next to him, practically vibrating in excitement as she pieced her camera together; the opportunity to get some content for her new photography book too good to pass up.

They took three astroboards down to the surface, Alan and Mary on one, Diana and Holly on their own; and the three seniors – even his daughter and niece were a year off their seventieth milestone and ready to retire – were entertained by the young astronaut as she did a couple of barrel rolls on her way down. "Oh, to be young again," he said, making the girls laugh. They landed with little more than a bump, and with the help of his daughter, he set foot onto Halleys Comet for a second time.

It was almost the same as he remembered. Perhaps a little smaller, but then, the Comet had fractured in places when he'd been there last, not to mention whatever had happened to it since its last visit. If anything, the biggest difference on the Comet was him. Seventy-five years was nothing for space rock and ice, but for a human, it was an entire lifetime.

"Grandpa! Oh my god, look!" He turned to face his granddaughter, and couldn't stop the surprised laughter that bubbled free. There, in her hands, was a warped piece of yellow-painted metal, the International Rescue logo stamped onto the side. "Is this -"

"From the rescue pod Scott was flying, yeah!" he laughed, blinking away tears as the metal was handed over. After a rock had torn through the Solar Wind and the pod, he'd genuinely believed nothing had remained of either ship. To find it now, it felt a little like his brother was still watching over him, thrusting a piece of their history at him unexpectedly to remind him he wasn't alone. "After all this time, a piece of it survived." He shook his head, rubbing his gloved fingers over the surface before looking around. "Where did you find it?"

"It was wedged in here," Haley explained, grinning a mile wide. Alan joined her, and discovered that the metal had been trapped in nothing more than a deep gouge in the rock. How it had survived there for all those years, he had no idea, but he was glad for it. "How cool to find something from your original trip!"

He looked at the metal, weighing it in his hands. Cool indeed.

Diana set about taking her photos, and even took a couple of him with the artifact – Mary had called it that to annoy him, but as much as it served to make him feel old, she was technically correct, damn her.

While Diana focused on her work, he, Mary, and Haley shared the facts they knew of the comet – including a retelling of his first trip, and when Diana was done they decided it was time to leave. As nice as staying longer would have been, space was just as dangerous as ever; so the longer they stayed there the higher the chance of something going wrong became.

Before joining his family, he turned and stared into the coma, watching the debris as it slowly danced in the gravity that kept it together; rock and ice moving about lazily, as though putting on a show for him for its final farewell.

"Okay Halleys Comet, see you in seventy-five years!" His sixteen year old self had mused, buoyed by youthful optimism and riding the high of his latest adventure.

At the time it had been a simple statement, almost off the cuff, really, but he was glad that he'd made it, and had been able to visit the Comet again like he'd promised. "It's good to see you again, old friend," he whispered. Knees protesting the movement, he lowered himself into a crouch so he could pat the surface. "Take care."

As Thunderbird 3 lifted from the surface, the warped metal baring the International Rescue logo was back where it had been found, the numbers 2060 and 2135 etched into the surface with a laser. Maybe it'd be there the next time Halley's Comet passed Earth, maybe it wouldn't be.

It would be up to his descendants to find out.

---

Two hours after returning from his trip to the Comet, Alan found himself on the other side of the island at the bottom of the stairs that lead to the Peace Garden, transported to the site by Diana before she started reviewing her photos.

After making him promise to call her when he got tired, she'd left him to it. In his own time, with the wind sighing softly through the trees, and the gentle lapping of waves against the nearby shore, Alan climbed the short set of stairs that led to the family graveyard.

Framed by waist high shrubs on a small outcropping and overlooking the sea, the Peace Garden had been built after Grandma passed away, when they realised that having their family's ashes in a cemetery somewhere else in the world didn't sit right with any of them.

They'd wanted everyone close, where they could be visited at any time of the day or night, regardless of whether it was a quick visit, or one that would last hours as they slowly pulled themselves together after a difficult mission.

Alan could still remember the day his father and Scott came home with the ashes of Grandpa Tracy and his mother; the urns excavated from the North Shore Memorial Park in Auckland. It had been a somber day when they returned, to say the least, but having them on the island meant their family was complete once again.

As a group, they spent a weekend building the little oasis; the cemetery simple, but elegant, and designed to bring peace to those who visited while honouring all those who rested there.

In the center of the garden they'd erected a cenotaph in the shape of the TV-21 to commemorate the ship that had been the first of International Rescue's fleet. Dotted around it in various areas of the garden were statues that marked the location of everyone's ashes; each one unique to represent the individual it guarded.

To help the visitors see their loved ones, rather than just imagine them, a sensor had been installed on the staircase that when triggered would activate the holo-projectors attached to each stone. These would display a selection of pictures of each individual that was buried there, helping to show the visitors – present and future – the happier times of their loved one's life.

As Alan made his way towards the cenotaph, his fingers skimmed along the top of the nearest statues; John's, his parents, and Scott's, before he came to a standstill in front of the memorial.

It had been a few months since his last visit, which had been for the anniversary of Gordon's death. It was hard to believe it'd been seventeen years since he'd lost his best friend and partner in crime; seventeen years since he'd heard his Fish brother laugh hysterically over something, as wheezy and soft as it had been towards the end.

It was harder still to believe that he'd lived nearly half a century without his dad (and just over that without grandma), twenty five years without John and Virgil, eleven without Kayo, and four years without Scott.

Four years since he'd been left all alone, without his father and brothers by his side. Even though it was natural, and a part of life, the passage of time hadn't been kind, taking those he loved slowly and without remorse.

Banishing those thoughts away lest he make himself cry, Alan stood as close as he could to the base of the TV-21 and pressed his forehead against the smooth marble that had been inscribed with the names of his loved ones. It was a simple action, but one that made him feel close to them, as though they were huddled close, sheltering and protecting him with their love.

Grant Edward Tracy

1983 - 2043

Beloved Father, Husband, Grandfather
Farmer, Racer

Gone, But Not Forgotten
The Sky's Only The Limit If You Let It Be.

Lucille 'Lucy' Holly Tracy

2006 - 2043

Beloved Mother, Wife, Daughter
Nurse, Singer, Writer, Photographer

May Her Laughter Keep The Stars Shining
And Her Love Forever Protect Us

Sally Carolyn Tracy

1985 – 2084

Beloved Mother, Wife, Grandmother
Field Medic, Pilot, Explorer, Teacher

Life Is What You Make It, So Make It Spectacular

Aloysius Parker

1987 – 2089

Beloved Friend And Mentor
The Grey Ninja, Whose Loyalty To His Family Knew No Bounds

If You're Going To Wrong Someone
Make Sure It's For The Right Reasons

Jefferson 'Jeff' Edward Grant Tracy

2004 – 2089

Beloved Husband, Son, Father, Grandfather, Great-Grandfather
Protector Of The People
Astronaut, Billionaire, Inventor
Founder Of International Rescue

Rules Were Made To Be Broken
Especially When They Stand In The Way Of Saving A Life.

Sebastian Ryan Tracy-Jones

2030 – 2110

Beloved Son, Husband, Father, Grandfather, Uncle
Fire-Fighter, First Responder, Thrill-Junkie

There Was Never A Fire I Ran From
Unless It's Because I Burnt Dinner Again

John Glenn Tracy

2033 – 2110

Beloved Son, Brother, Twin, Uncle
Astronaut, Space Monitor, Genius, Astronomer
Thunderbird 5
The Voice Who Answers

Our Watcher, Our Soul, Our Starman
Whose Home And Heart Was Always Amongst The Stars

Virgil Grissom Tracy

2033 – 2111

Beloved Son, Brother, Twin, Husband, Father, Uncle, Grandfather
Pilot, First Responder, Artist, Engineer
Thunderbird 2
The One That Lifts Them

A Bear Hug Or A Clip Around The Ears, Your Choice

Hiram 'Brains' K. Hackenbacker

2020 – 2116

Beloved Son, Husband, Father, Grandfather
Genius, Engineer, Mechanic, Programmer, Inventor
Designer of The Thunderbirds

Safety And Excellence Are Fundamental To Any Design
Because It Means Keeping Those You Love Safe

Amelia 'Moffie' Masie Moffat

2019 – 2116

Beloved Daughter, Wife, Mother, Grandmother
Scientist, Developer, Inventor

Creator of The Supreme Hadron Collider
Just Because A Force Is Invisible, Doesn't Make It Any Less Powerful

Penelope 'Penny' Victoria Creighton-Ward

2033 - 2116

Beloved Daughter, Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Great-Grandmother
Lady, Secret Agent, Wildlife Warrior

It Is Our Duty To Preserve Our World For Future Generations
No One Said It Couldn't Be Done With Style And Class

Natalia Saskia Tracy

2032 – 2117

Beloved Daughter, Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Great-Grandmother
Ex-WASP, Pilot, First Responder, Author

Never Let Anyone Tell You You Can't Do Something
Only You Can Make That Call

Gordon Cooper Tracy

2036 – 2118

Beloved Son, Brother, Husband, Father, Grandfather, Great-Grandfather
Aquanaut, Ex-WASP, First Responder, Marine Biologist, Prankster
Thunderbird 4
The One That Catches Them

A Laugh A Day Keeps The Doctor Away

Wayne Michael Rigby

2036 – 2118

Beloved Son, Husband, Father, Grandfather, Great-Grandfather
Ex-GDF, Pilot, IR Covert Operative

Life Is Filled With Riddles And Mysteries
It's Up To You To Solve Them

Tanusha 'Kayo' Kyrano

2038 – 2118

Beloved Daughter, Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Great-Grandmother
IR Covert Operative, Pilot, First-Responder
Thunderbird Shadow

She Who Guards From The Shadows

Rosalie Haley Tracy

2041 – 2120

Beloved Daughter, Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Great-Grandmother
Astronaut, Pilot, First Responder
Thunderbird 3

There Is No Such Thing As Fate; Just Opportunity

Scott Carpenter Tracy

2031 – 2131

Beloved Son, Brother, Husband, Father, Grandfather, Great-Grandfather
Pilot, Ex-USAF, First Responder, Guardian
Thunderbird 1
The One That Protects Them

See You In The Sky

"I miss you guys," he whispered tearfully, taking a shaky breath and letting it out slowly. He ran his thumb over each name reverently, picturing them standing before him, hearing their laughter, seeing their smiles, feeling their hugs. "I really, really miss you."

Sniffing wetly, Alan took a step back and ambled over to the stone seat nearby, closing his eyes as he let the sounds of the ocean calm him, as he knew all his family had done over the years when the grief of their loss threatened to overwhelm them.

When he felt a bit more balanced, certainly not any closer to tears than he had been, Alan opened his eyes again and pulled up his phone, projecting the image Diana had taken of him a few hours earlier. "So guess what I did today? I got to visit Halleys Comet again! No rescue this time, Scotty, don't worry – but I couldn't miss the chance to go back. According to Diana, I'm the first person in history to say that."

His brow furrowed as he thought about it. Lemaire and his wife had been in their forties when he and Scott had rescued them all those years ago, so they were long gone, as was his brother, which meant: "I'm the only one who could say that, now that I think about it. Huh. Anyway, knowing Diana she's going to make sure today's trip is noted in some space article somewhere. Maybe I'll get in the World Records book again; that would be pretty cool."

There was no reply, save for the wind and sea, but he still took it to mean they were listening, there with him in spirit, given they couldn't be physically.

He spent a good hour sitting there, telling them about his trip, as well as catching them up on what he'd been doing since his last visit. Once he was out of things to talk about – life at ninety-one wasn't as action-packed as it was at sixteen, funnily enough - Alan started making his rounds.

As was his ritual, he started with his wife. Her ashes were marked by a statue of a Kawasaki ZX-6R Ninja motorbike – her favourite of the antique collection she'd owned over the years. Alan knew when he died he'd be buried next to her; his own ashes marked by a statue of his hover board to represent his love of space, his work, and his hobbies.

He caught Rosalie up on how their children and grand-children were doing; about the rescues they'd been on and the milestones they'd reached since his last visit. He confessed there was a chance he'd be a great-grandfather soon, if he was reading the signs correctly, and that the villa was going to need another renovation if the Tracy family kept growing the way it was. Or perhaps they needed another island, instead.

Her grave was tidy, indicating one of the kids had been there recently, so he pressed a kiss to his fingers before placing them against her name on her headstone, staring at the photo of her smiling up at him. "I miss you, Rosy," he murmured softly. "Every day."

With one last fond smile to his wife's photo, he made his way over to his grandparents; his grandfather marked by a statue of a mustang – given he'd been an avid petrol-head his entire life – while Grandma was marked by an angel holding a heart. Virgil had long ago carved 'Tracy' into the center of it, in honor of what she meant to them all.

He couldn't remember his grandfather, but he'd seen plenty of pictures and videos over the years of Grandpa Tracy and a baby Alan curled in a chair looking through Mustang articles. Growing up, his brothers had concluded that his love of cars and racing was all thanks to their Grandfather, while his sense of adventure was a mix of their father, mother, and grandmother.

He wiped away the dried sea salt and sand that had stuck to the headstone as he talked to them, clearing the grit from the engraved words as much as he could. After removing a couple of weeds, and straightening a small stone carving Lucille had left at the base a few years back, he pressed a kiss to his fingers before placing them against the stones like he'd done to his wife.

Next, he moved onto his parents, spending longer with them both, weeding and talking to them quietly. His mother's statue was of her hugging her five little boys like she'd done so many times in their youth. His dad had spared no expense on the statue, and it always choked him up when he saw it. Like his grandfather, he couldn't remember his mom – losing them both when he was only two years old.

He couldn't remember her hugs, or her love, or feeling safe in her arms. It hurt, sometimes, to know that he'd missed out on so much with her, but he knew he'd been loved; could see it in the photos and home videos, and had constantly been reminded through the memories his brothers had shared of her over the years. It couldn't replace what he'd lost, but it was good to have something all the same.

His dad's statue looked like Thunderbird 3; in honour of all he'd accomplished as an astronaut, and the gift he'd left the world in International Rescue. Fingers pressed against his father's photo, he bit his lip, emotion bubbling over unexpectedly as he thought about what had brought him to the Peace Garden in the first place.

"Hey, dad," he whispered, fingers idly stroking one of Thunderbird 3's struts. "I need some advice, and honestly? I don't know who else to ask. There's no one left that could help me answer this question, anymore." Alan took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "To quote a wise old hobbit; I'm old, dad. I feel all thin, sort of stretched. Like butter scraped over too much bread. At least, I think that's how the saying goes." He huffed a laugh, shaking his head slightly.

"I love my family, dad, I do. I love my children, my nieces and nephews, my grand-children; but I miss all of you, too. I just… I don't know what to do anymore. I love them, but I'm… tired, I guess."

There was a high-pitched whistling as a sudden gust of wind hurtled through the nearby mountains, the sound startling him and making him look up instinctively. It almost sounded like his dad's whistle when he called them in from outside for dinner; like it was his dad giving him one last call to come home.

With a shake of his head, deeming it as little more than his imagination, Alan pressed a kiss to both stones before pushing to his feet, wincing as his knees creaked and groaned at the movement before he shuffled over to Scott's statue. His oldest brother had been buried next to his wife, and they shared a statue that depicted a Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet; both Scott and Natalia's first aviation love.

As he tidied up the statue, he thought back to when he was a kid, wanting his big brother to scare away the monsters under the bed, or desperate for a hug because a hard mission meant he needed someone to hide him away from the world for a while. "I miss you, Scotty," he whispered, eyes stinging. "I know I told you I'd be okay, but… I miss you."

As he pushed back to his feet, there was a boom of a rogue wave crashing against the beach, the noise loud and jarring, much like Thunderbird 1 when it took off. He stared out at the suddenly calm water, perplexed, before pressing a kiss to his fingers and touching them to Scott's and Natalia's headstones, before moving onto Virgil.

Virgil and Sebastian had been buried under a tree, their statue a combined one of them at the piano. Scott had it commissioned, based on a photo someone had taken of the pair when they were dating. Virgil's talent with the piano had been incredible – Sebastian's singing not so much. But it had kept them both laughing and creating silly songs just for the sake of it when they got bored or needed something lighthearted to focus on after a tough mission. The song of the Aquanaut in a Submarine under the Sea had had them all in fits of laughter for days when it was debuted on Gordon's thirty-fifth birthday.

"I miss you, Virgy," he sighed. "I could really use a bear hug right now." The ones he received from his family were good, but they were gentle, hesitant; filled with love yet a touch of fear that they might hurt him. Even when he was younger, nothing had compared to the all-encompassing warmth and safety a Virgil hug had given him. A cloud shifted, and the heat of the sun hit his back, warming him to the core; just like a Virgil hug did. He smiled and closed his eyes. Coincidence or not, he'd take the comfort that was given. "Thanks bro."

On the side of the garden overlooking the sea, a statue of two dolphins breaching the water depicted the location of Gordon and Penelope's resting place, and next to them was a statue of FAB 1 for Parker. He gathered some of the shells that had been scattered by the wind and set them back in place, as well as righting the small pug statue that Katherine had found a few years back, claiming it looked just like Sherbet once had.

While thinking about what to say to them, a gull cried above him – high and sharp, drawing his eyes up from the photo of his brother's smiling face and out to the sea; just in time to see a humpback whale breach the surface. Between the wind, the wave, the sun, and now the whale – he knew the events weren't the coincidence he'd first thought, but a sign his family really were there with him.

Alan grinned and waved as the creature went crashing down, water erupting into the air either side. "Hey, Gordo!" He yelled, delighted; laughing loudly when two other whales jumped as well. Maybe one was the same as the first, maybe it wasn't, but regardless: "Hey Penny! Hey Parker!"

Chuckling to himself, he wiped their headstones clean and pressed a kiss to each of them. "I miss you, Gordo. Your grandkids are becoming quite the pranksters, but I don't think they're anywhere near our level yet." The gull cried again, as though in agreement. "They'll get there, I'm sure. You'd be proud, either way."

When he stopped by Kayo's and Rigby's statue – two angels sheltering a child to depict the way they had protected their adopted family – a soft puff of wind on the back on his neck gave him goosebumps; like his sister had snuck up on him and blown in his ear.

He flinched before laughing and shaking his head. "Still just as sneaky, Kayo," he said aloud. The grave didn't need tidying, indicating one of their children had been by recently, so he pressed a kiss to their headstone, told them he missed them, and finally made his way over to John.

Long ago, Alan had made the decision see his Space brother last whenever he visited the cemetery. While his other brothers had regular visitors by way of their descendants, John had no one left who had been truly close to him except for Alan, Eos, and Diana; and therefore they were likely the only three who would still make the effort to visit.

It wasn't to say John had been unloved by the rest of their family, quite the opposite in fact; John had been adored by his nieces and nephews, and their own children – for those lucky enough to have known him, but Alan suspected the younger generations of Tracy's forgot to make time to visit the astronaut more often than not, which then left John all alone.

Knowing his brother, the redhead probably wouldn't have minded, but Alan did, and so he made a point of visiting John last so he was the sole focus of his attention before he returned home.

"Hey Johnny," he greeted softly, lowering himself to the ground and pressing his forehead against his brother's statue. The telescope was intricately detailed, the body made of marble that had been hollowed out with an open eye piece at the top, and a multi-coloured lens at the bottom that reflected a rainbow onto the ground whenever the sun was out.

Alan hovered his hand amongst the colours, smiling softly. They reminded him of a star's nebula, which he suspected was why Virgil had requested it to be built in such a way in the first place. "So like I said, I got to go back to Halleys Comet today. It's strange to think that most people don't know it exists, and those that do might get to see it only once in their lifetime. How did I get so lucky that I got to see it twice?"

Drumming his fingers against the telescope's base, Alan bit his lip. "Y'know, I've always known why, seen it for myself for years even, but today, surrounded by the stars… it reminded me of why you loved being in your Bird so much. It was peaceful up there."

He brushed a stray tear from his cheek and sniffed wetly. After all this time, the pain still lingered; the claws of loss still digging deep into his heart. "Losing you hurt, Johnny; I know I've told you that a million times, but I miss having you to talk to and nerd out over space with. It's not the same with the others." He gave a weak shrug and tapped the telescope lightly. "But I know that when you left us, you went back to the stars. Back home, where you could always watch over us."

Unlike the rest of his family, he knew there was no way John could send him a sign that he was there with him. If a star suddenly became visible during the day, it'd be a cause for alarm, rather than something to marvel at. If he wanted proof that his brother was there, he'd have to wait until nightfall.

Although while on his trip, everywhere he'd looked he'd been surrounded by John's great love. Despite the monthly space trips he'd been on it was this one that, for the first time in years, Alan had felt close to his brother; the vast vacuum of space embracing him just like his brother had many times in the past.

"Alan?"

He blinked, startled, and looked down to find EOS' image hovering at his wrist. "Hey, EOS. Everything okay?"

The A.I. bobbed her head, her brow furrowing slightly. "Yes. I… I'm sorry for disturbing you. It's just… well I'm not sure; I just had this… feeling… to call you and make sure you're alright."

His eyes darted to John's statue – to all of them, really, and his breath hitched in his chest. "Uh, yeah. I'm fine. I promise."

"Okay," EOS replied, voice soft. "That feeling I had also told me to remind you that you're loved, Alan Tracy. You always have been, and always will be."

He swallowed thickly several times before giving a jerky nod when his voice failed him. "Thank you," he replied, almost breathlessly when he found it again. "Thank you, EOS."

The A.I. nodded once more before ending the call, and Alan couldn't keep his tears at bay, pressing his head against John's statue as he let the tears fall. "Thanks, Johnny," he said tearfully, hoarsely. "I really needed to hear that."

It seemed that the Starman, like all of them, had never stopped watching over him. And for the first time since Alan had been left behind John had, somehow, found a way to tell him on behalf of their family that he wasn't as alone as he'd thought.

That night, curled on John's lounger by the pool, telescope beside his chair to watch the Comet and the stars he knew his family to be forever flying amongst, Alan Tracy took his final breath with a smile on his face.

Sixteen shooting stars passed overhead the island simultaneously in that moment, four brighter than the rest, with a fifth star - big and bright and appearing from nowhere - racing across the inky sky to join them as though it was finally coming home.