A/N: And that's a wrap! Thank you very much to everyone who egged me on and commented, I appreciate it so much! I might come back to this sandbox another time, but we'll see what happens.

Epilogue

It had taken many, many, long weeks to get to this point, but as Kyrano contented himself to observe the goings on beside the pool, he was pleased.

The three people formerly known as the Chaos Crew had first arrived like a pack of stray dogs, half wild and wary, expecting each outstretched hand to become a fist to strike and hurt them. They had clung to each other, guarding each other, watchful and defensive, a self sufficient unit.

He knew he hadn't been the only one to see the hurt in the eyes of the other Tracys when Scott freely accepted the embraces and affections of his chosen siblings, bantering and joking with them, but tensed and shied away from anything remotely akin to affection from his blood family. Once they'd stood together, arms around each other's shoulders and foreheads touching in a triune embrace that spoke of deep vulnerability and tenderness. That had been particularly painful for the Tracys to witness.

As days had passed and they learned to get on with each other, there had been much biting of tongues and declarations of 'I am walking away now' on both sides- the habits and learned behaviours of years were not something to be washed away and unlearned overnight and while the three had left their monikers in the ruins of the Chaos Cruiser, changing one's self was much more than simply changing one's name. The occasional screaming match had happened too, just as he had counselled his old friends to expect- Scott was as strong willed as Jeff and Lucille, and Heather and Clarence weren't far behind him. The trio had needed to be in order to survive.

But slowly, oh so slowly, like water dripping on rock, change had begun. Seeds of ideas were planted, carefully tended and pruned. Training together had helped immensely as the Crew and International Rescue showed each other their skills and abilities. Strengths were polished, weaknesses were shored up. The new ship for them taking shape in the main hangar- a small multi-use platform with detachable sub vehicles not unlike their Cruiser- was going a long way to earn their trust. That being said however, Scott was rapidly mastering the simulator for Thunderbird One. Kyrano was uncertain how much time he would spend in the new ship once he'd been checked out on Thunderbird One and the rescue equipment he was learning to use.

Now he watched from the balcony as Heather actually relaxed on the daybed in the presence of the Tracys and Kyranos, closing her eyes and taking a nap. Clarence was in the pool with Gordon standing on his shoulders so that the fourth son could bring his water gun to bear and get a better angle of attack on Virgil, who was perched on the upper diving board and armed with a bucket of colourful sponges, lobbing them at all comers. In a hastily assembled plan, Clarence and Gordon were the distraction so that Kayo could climb up the ladder unnoticed and attack Virgil from behind.

As for Scott, he was sitting on the edge of the pool, one hand protectively placed on Alan's side as the youngest used his thigh for a pillow and dozed in the sunshine.

Kyrano felt a smile grow on his face at the sight. Once Scott was comfortable enough to sprawl with his blood siblings in the puppy piles the Tracys and Kayo had grown up sharing, then he would consider the healing to be complete. If Clarence or Heather would ever join those puppy piles was a question for the future, there was still a measure of separation between the two families at this time, but that would be for later.

For now, this was very, very good to see.

Fin