Out Of Place
AN – Final chapter before the epilogue! Thank you for sticking with this. I won't post a comment on the epilogue, so I want to say a huge thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed whilst I've tackled this plot idea. Particular thanks go to islandsandstars, LMC25 and Harlow, who have repeatedly left really useful and positive feedback in the form of reviews. I've really appreciated your support all the way through!
Disclaimer – I don't own Thunderbirds
Chapter Thirty One – Goodbye, John Tracy
John stood in the manager's office above the workshop floor, looking at the countdown on Angel's wrist. It meant he didn't actually have to look at Angel. There had always been something comforting about time, it was a constant he had always appreciated and when it was really quiet on Thunderbird 5 he usually set one of the computers to tick the seconds away, like the old grandfather clock on the ranch.
Now though, he hated the sight of the numbers on the clock.
Currently set to eight minutes and decreasing, it was counting down the seconds until he would be taken away from Angel. Permanently.
"I'm sorry." Her voice, speaking softly, broke the awkward silence that had built between them. She was leaning against a table that she had brushed free of glass while he was stood by the same computer terminal he had used earlier. There was about three metres between them, but John couldn't move to bridge the gap. He had to stay where he was so that he could go home. The brief consideration of what would happen if he didn't crossed his mind but he brushed it off. He had to go home, that was where he belonged. And Scott belonged here. With his wife.
"What are you sorry for?"
Angel blew out a breath. "Everything, I guess? But specifically, the Hood."
John shook his head. "Don't be. I can't believe I'm saying this but... I get it. He is a threat to you. You did what you thought you had to do to neutralise it."
Angel barked out a short laugh. "Neutralise it. I like that. Good turn of phrase."
John shrugged and they went back to the awkward silence. Except the timer now read six minutes.
"What is Scott like?" John asked suddenly. "Is he... is he a good man? Does he love you?"
Angel tilted her head to one side. "Now you choose to ask?" John was silent in reply, so she thought about it. "Yes, he is. And he does. It sounds trite to say it, but we are very happy together."
"I'm pleased."
Another silence fell, eventually broken by Angel sighing. She stood up from her perch and approached John. "Do you remember in Macau, when you asked me if I ever considered life without Scott?" John nodded in silence.
Angel paused for a moment before continuing. "I said I hadn't, as I wouldn't have been the same person. Which was true, then." She looked up at John, her light brown eyes boring into his vivid ones. "To be truthful, I always assumed that if I didn't have Scott anymore I would never be able to love anyone else; that I would live alone in my little cottage and keep lots of cats instead. I think that might have remained true, if I hadn't met you." She was close now, close enough that John could see the green and yellow flecks in the centre of her irises that made her eyes almost seem golden. She rested one hand lightly on his chest and tapped him once. "In another place and time, this could have worked. The thought terrifies me."
He realised she was going to kiss him as she reached up. She placed a lingering kiss on the corner of his mouth, close enough to his cheek to be considered innocent but full of unrealised potential. Before she dropped back down from tip toes she brought her lips to his ear.
"Goodbye, John Tracy. I wish that you have everything you dream of in life. Thank you for helping me to better understand myself."
She dropped back down and took half a step back, leaving her hand on his chest. John swallowed and tried to speak but couldn't force out the words. His eyes blurred as he looked at her for the last time, so that he could no longer read the dreaded timer.
He still couldn't force any words out, so he caught her hand with his and held it, squeezing tight. She nodded her understanding of the words he couldn't say.
He was still holding her hand when he was whisked away.
Angel felt the lack of pressure in her hand the same moment that his form disappeared. She flexed her fingers a couple of times and sighed, returning to her perch on the edge of the table.
A couple of minutes later, Scott staggered into the spot John had vacated. He turned to face her, his blue eyes lighting up. "Angel!"
She leapt at him, throwing herself into his arms and wrapping her legs around his torso as she captured his mouth with her own. For a few moments they didn't stop for breath, but after a while they detached and she rested her cheek against his.
"Miss me?" He asked cheekily.
"You have no idea." She replied with a sigh. Scott then looked around at the shattered room, still covered with glass and other debris after the explosion.
"What happened here?"
Angel swung her legs down and came to stand next to him, still holding on to his hand. "That is a long story."
Scott squeezed her hand tight and smiled lovingly down at her. "It's probably a good thing that we have time then. Has it been eventful?"
Angel huffed out a laugh. "You have no idea. I have a lot to talk to you about. But first we'd better find your family before they send in a search party."
Scott laughed at her. "Yeah, they probably would. I'm guessing the reason they aren't here is part of that story."
"The smallest part," Angel confirmed. As they left the room together she informed him casually. "By the way, I'm pretty sure our secret marriage isn't a secret anymore."
