Gordon allowed a true smile to come to his face. Gordon didn't know how they did it, but Gordon was given special permission to don a wet suit and swim with the whales. He had a trained professional coaching him on how to stand when the Orca whale came up from beneath him, flipping him into the air. Gordon crossed his arms over his chest and rotated his body as it flipped neatly into the air before putting his arms out to cut through the water like he'd been taught as a swimmer.

Opening his eyes beneath the water, Gordon held out a hand and gripped the dorsal fin of one of the Orcas he was swimming with and allowed it to pull him to the surface. It was official; if he died today he'd die a happy guy. It had always been one of his dreams to swim with whales, but he couldn't do that with where they lived on the island. Of course, Gordon was going to give Alan the biggest noogie of his life for telling their family one of his closely guarded desires. Gordon had once confided in Alan that his biggest dream, aside from winning several medals in the Olympics, was to swim with whales. It'd been nothing but a pipe dream for Gordon – never telling anybody but Alan because he felt that they wouldn't understand. Their dad would say it's too dangerous, Scott would tell him to bring his head down from the clouds and use his brain. John would smile and tell him that maybe one day he could fulfill his dream and Virgil would chuckle and tell Gordon that maybe one day when pigs flew could he ever swim with whales. But Alan?

Alan was in a league of his own and he'd told Gordon that one day when he didn't require a parent's permission to do something like swim with the whales – he and Gordon would go out and they'd go swim with whales together. That thought though had become a morbid reality when Gordon had his accident and faced life in a wheelchair paralyzed from the waist down. Alan though, twelve years old had promised Gordon that one day he'd swim with the whales for Gordon and that made Gordon smile from the confines of his own hospital bed.

Instantly deflating, Gordon felt like a cloud descended upon him. Quickly checking his watch as he was pulled through the water once more by Daisy the Orca he was swimming with, Gordon's thoughts returned to Alan. Had his body accepted the donation of skin or would they return to their hotel room to get a call from the doctor that Alan's body refused the skin and it'd all been for naught?

Gordon lost focus for a few brief moments but then he felt Daisy pull up which was the signal she'd be given to bring Gordon to the surface in order to perform some more tricks. Angling his body, Gordon allowed Daisy to pull him above the surface and once above the water, Gordon sucked in a nice deep breath and swiped the dripping water from his eyes.

"You doing all right Gordon?" Kami - the trainer who was teaching Gordon how to perform some of the tricks called from where she stood on the platform.

"Yeah! I'm having a blast!" Gordon was nudged below the feet and he looked down before spreading his legs just enough to sit on top of the whale that had swam up beneath him. "Who's this little guy?"

The whale was tiny in comparison to the other orcas, but was still strong enough to support a full grown person.

"That's Jewel, she's a year old. Daisy is her momma." Kami crouched down when Jewel brought Gordon over to the platform where she stood. "She loves people, very affectionate."

Gordon slid off of Jewel's head and knelt down beside Kami. Jewel opened her mouth and both Gordon and Kami grinned.

"Here, you want to feed her?" Kami held out a decent sized fish which she'd pulled from a bucket beside her.

"Sure!" Gordon accepted the dead fish and he reached out before dropping it into Jewel's mouth. Jewel swallowed it before opening her mouth again. "Was that good girl?"

"Give Gordon a kiss Jewel." Kami instructed before nodding at Gordon to lean forward. Gordon leaned forward and kissed Jewel on the mouth. Jewel started nodding her head energetically before opening her mouth again, telling Gordon and Kami that she wanted more fish thereby making Gordon and Kami laugh. "Okay, here's your fish piglet…now go swim to momma."

Gordon reached out and caressed Jewel as she swam away before standing up. Offering a hand out to Kami, Gordon helped her up.

"So did you have fun?" Kami smiled up at Gordon, she was s petite thing…but Gordon knew she was off limits no matter how attractive she was. The engagement ring on her ring finger jumped out at Gordon.

"I had a blast." Gordon smiled at the whales, he was content now.

"Happy to hear it, it's always fun to get to do something special for your birthday." Kami picked up the bucket containing the last few fish she had.

"Wait, how did you know this was a birthday present?" Gordon looked over at Kami in surprise. He hadn't mentioned it being his birthday to Kami at all.

"Your family called the office and it was my boss who set this whole shindig up. I was scheduled to be your guide today and my boss informed me that this was a special birthday bash." Kami grinned as she walked away.

"Speaking of family, I wonder where my dad and brothers got to. They were here up until a few minutes ago." Gordon looked up into the stands where his family had been standing. They were no longer there.

"I have an idea, but mum's the word." Kami winked at Gordon before sashaying away, fish bucket swaying with the movement of her hips. "Go get dressed and I'll meet you near the entry doors."

Gordon nodded before parting company with Kami and heading into the locker room where he'd been directed to go to change into his wetsuit. Quickly showering to wash the saltwater from his skin, Gordon hurriedly dressed. He was curious about what more his family had in store for him. Currently though he felt like a kid in a candy store.

Stepping out of the locker room, Gordon stepped into his tennis shoes before hurrying down the hall towards the entry doors. Gordon came to a stop when he met Kami – standing near the doors. She was wearing a spaghetti strap tank top and khaki shorts. Gordon cleared his throat upon seeing Kami and she looked up to meet his eyes. Smiling at him, Kami pulled a bandanna out of her back pocket.

"What's this for?" Gordon backed up slightly, but Kami followed his movements and reached to tie the bandanna around Gordon's eyes.

"It's a surprise." Kami turned Gordon in several circles before pushing Gordon in front of her.

"Hey!" Gordon chuckled as he walked ahead of Kami.

"Few more steps!" Kami instructed before she leaned around Gordon and opened a door. Pushing Gordon through the doors, Gordon got the shock of his life as he heard multiple voices.

"Happy Birthday Gordon!"

Gordon removed the bandanna from his eyes and gave his family a watery smile. Jeff stepped forward and hugged his second youngest son. Hugging his father back, Gordon glanced over his father's shoulder to see Lady Penelope, Parker, his grandmother and two of his brothers.

"How?" Gordon started only to be cut off by Scott.

"You can thank Alan when you see him again. This was all his idea." Scott stepped forward and wrapped his little brother in a headlock before giving him a noogie.

"Scott Carpenter Tracy, you stop giving your brother a noogie." Ruth admonished before stepping forward to give one of her babies a hug. "Happy birthday darling."

"Thanks nana." Gordon smiled as he hugged his grandma. "How'd you get here? I thought you'd stayed in Massachusetts?"

"Thank Lady Penelope and Parker – they were such darlings to swing by and pick me up. You didn't think I'd actually miss one of my baby's birthdays did you?" Ruth pulled back from the hug and she placed a hand on either side of Gordon's face and she squeezed before giving him a kiss on either side of his face. "Now go thank Lady Penelope and Parker dear."

Ruth pushed Gordon towards Lady Penelope and Parker and he smiled when Lady Penelope opened her arms for a hug.

"Come here darling." Gordon pressed a feather light kiss in greeting to Lady Penelope's cheek as she did the same.

"You're looking fabulous as always Lady P." Gordon complimented.

"Thank you my dear." Lady Penelope hugged Gordon again. "Happy Birthday darling."

"Thanks." Gordon pulled away from the hug beaming.

"Ello, Mister Gordon." Parker waved at Gordon smiling at the boy he'd known since he was a boy.

"Hey Parker." Gordon rested his hands on Lady Penelope's hips as he smiled back at Parker. "Oh come on, I'm in a huggy mood. Come're Parker." Gordon opened his arms and stepped towards Parker, hugging the older man warmly.

"It's good te see you Mister Gordon." Parker replied with a chuckle at the normally blasé younger man. Gordon wasn't one for hugging much, unless it was a side hug but even then hugs from Gordon were few and far between – unless of course you were one of his brothers then they were very huggable. "Happy birthday boy."

"Thanks Parker." Gordon pulled out of the hug and smiled at the elder man. 'Note to self, thank Alan and treat him to a big chocolate milkshake once he's out of the hospital.'

"Now what say we get this show on the road?" Scott gestured behind him to a table which held a cake, and several presents.

"Yes, lets." John gently gripped Gordon's arm and pulled him over to the table before pushing on his shoulders, making him sit directly in front of the cake and small pile of gifts.

Gordon smiled as he looked at the meager pile of gifts he'd received. He felt like one of the luckiest guys in the world. Not only did he get to spend his twentieth birthday swimming with whales and fulfilling #20 on his bucket list to complete before his 90th birthday, but he still got a small pile of gifts despite having not told any of his family what he'd wanted…not that they'd asked. They had some other stuff occupying their minds at present, so he'd let it slide.

"Gordon! Look at the camera!" Gordon looked just in time to be blinded by the flash of the camera as John snapped a picture of his awestruck face. Blinking rapidly to clear his vision, Gordon smiled as he tore into one of his presents. It was a shark tooth necklace, no doubt from Scott. He was constantly telling Gordon he should have a shark tooth necklace especially since he spent so much time in the water. Smiling at his elder brother, Gordon thanked him genuinely.

"Don't look at me…thank Tin-Tin. She sent it in the box with Virge's laptop." Scott held his hands up to ward off the word of thanks.

"But, didn't you have it made? You're constantly telling me I should have one." Gordon removed it from the small parcel box and fastened the clasps.

"No…I didn't even know Tin-Tin made these types of things." Gordon frowned as he thought back on the time he spent around Tin-Tin and it never occurred to him that Tin-Tin made these types of necklaces. He figured that her mother made all the hemp bracelets Tin-Tin, Alan and Fermat wore on their wrists.

John smiled secretly to himself, he knew Tin-Tin made the necklace. He'd asked Alan about it one of the nights that he'd been able to talk to Alan via webcam after Virgil received the box with his laptop. Alan made John swear to not tell anybody that he himself had asked Tin-Tin to make it for Gordon – using one of the shark teeth from his collection on the necklace. It'd remain a secret in John's heart to never reveal how the tooth was obtained – Alan refused to let anybody touch his collection of shark teeth, primarily because he liked to keep them categorized by date and he didn't want them messed with.

"The tooth used in the necklace was the first tooth Gordo and I found together when we went scuba diving. Remember? Gordo and I went out just beyond the reef with a small pail and we scooped up some sand off the ocean floor? Dad was furious with us for going father than we'd said we were going." Alan smiled as he reminded John of when he was eleven years old. Gordon had babysitting duty during one of the first missions International Rescue had.

Jeff had been exhausted after having stayed up the past 24 hours, Scott, and John both sleeping like the dead while Virgil remained awake analyzing notes and trying to figure out things they could do differently on the next mission. Alan had been pestering Gordon to go do something and Gordon asked their dad if he and Alan could go explore the reef. Jeff had given strict instructions to remain at the reef, no further because the rip tide could still pull them too far to swim.

Gordon and Alan went out, and had strayed too far from the reef, but they returned unharmed and they had spoils to match those of pirates having found booty worthy of kings – at least to two young boys it was treasure compared to the stuff pharaohs had locked away in the crypts with them. Being grounded had been a consequence but it'd been so worth it.

Gordon and Alan had found seashells that they could give to Onaha so she could make them seashell wind-chimes for their bedrooms. They'd found some fossils of fish on rocks and a single shark tooth which both brothers argued over for days. It'd finally been decided that Alan should keep it since he'd been the one holding the pail and Gordon could keep the next one they found together. However, they never went out together shark tooth hunting again. Gordon delved more into his studies and before they knew it, he'd enlisted in W.A.S.P, had his accident, recovered in the hospital after multiple surgeries and then once he'd been cleared – he joined International Rescue. There'd been no time for Gordon and Alan to take part in their treasure hunts – now it was just Alan's thing when he was home from school on break.

"Wow! Thanks dad!" Gordon smiled like a little boy in a candy store, tearing John from his thoughts as Gordon examined a new tool set that he could use to work on Thunderbird 4.

"No problem son." Jeff smoothed Gordon's hair back – fingers lingering over the cow lick which remained stood up despite Gordon's hair having been wet previously.

Gordon opened the rest of his presents, thanking his grandmother for the new swim trunks, Lady Penelope for a new pair of sneakers (of which Gordon doubted she wanted to purchase, she was constantly trying to get Gordon and his brothers to wear trendier clothes, but none of them – except maybe Alan wore slightly overpriced clothes.) Alan's defense to that though was that each summer just before school started, Alan would go spend a week on holiday with Lady Penelope, Tin-Tin and Fermat at her summer lodge and Lady Penelope usually insisted on taking the kids clothes shopping and tactfully purchasing clothes which she deemed to be play clothes. He was normally forced into buying overpriced clothes as Lady Penelope couldn't stand shopping in department stores and would usually take the kids to high end boutiques.

Once the remaining presents had been opened, Jeff picked up the knife and cut into the cake before giving Gordon the first piece. Doling out slices of cake to everyone who was gathered, Jeff lifted a forkful of carrot cake before toasting to Gordon.

"A toast… to Gordon's twentieth birthday." Everyone followed Jeff's lead before they all raised forkfuls of cake in salute to the toast.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Dr. Warner smiled reassuringly at Alan as he rewound fresh bandages on Alan's feet. It'd been time to check Alan's sutures and was pleased to see that everything looked okay, Alan's surgical site wept a little, but that was to be expected. He however didn't see any lingering signs that Alan's body was trying to buck the transplant. And it'd been a little over twenty-four hours since the surgery was done.

"Well, do you want the good news, or the good news?" Dr. Warner fastened the bandages before stepping away from Alan's bed. He perched on the edge of Alan's bed as he removed a pair of his exam gloves.

"Can't I have both?" Alan asked with feign indifference. In reality he felt like a ball of energy and he was restraining himself from wheedling his doctor to death.

"Certainly son." Dr. Warner chucked the used gloves into the waste basket beside Alan's bed before returning his attention to Alan. "The good news is that it looks like the earlier nausea and vomiting you experienced was just your body's way of expelling the medicine that remained in your bloodstream."

"And?" Alan looked expectantly at his doctor, urging him to continue.

"And, it looks as though the transplant from Virgil took…I don't see any signs that your body is trying to refuse the transplant." Dr. Warner gave Alan the thumbs up. "Now what do you think of that news?"

The smile on Alan's face couldn't have gotten bigger if it'd tried. His eyes crinkled in the edges of his eyes and his dimples made themselves known as Alan smiled brightly.

"You have no idea how happy that makes me doc." Alan brushed discreetly at a few tears that started to make their descent down the side of his face.

"It can only go up from here." Dr. Warner reached out a hand and ruffled Alan's hair before he stood. "I need to go know, but rest assured I will be notifying your family."

"Thanks." Alan leaned back into his pillows and hunkered down as best as he could with the injuries and bed sores. Sniffling, Alan allowed the tears to freely fall uninhibited. He felt such relief at the news. Raising his hands, Alan wiped away the tears that had fallen before grabbing his laptop.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Jeff sat at the desk that was in the room he was sharing with his sons and skimmed through the news articles for the Massachusetts area. 'I might as well keep current on the news in the area.'

'Construction to rebuild destroyed Wharton's School for boys to break ground this coming spring.'

Jeff hadn't intended to read any of the articles to in-depth, but that it made mention of the school - one that his own son and pseudo nephew attended attracted his attention. Clicking on the web link, Jeff viewed the pictures just before reading the article.

Pictured above is the once majestic Wharton's school for boys – photo was taken two months before the fire took place. It was decorated for the Halloween extravaganza held for the attending students.

To the left is a picture of Wharton's the night of the fire. Fire exploded from the windows and doors of the palace like building – engulfing it entirely.

Below and to the right is a picture of the gathered students and staff who have called Wharton's home for this semester and to the right is a picture of two rescuers evacuating two students that escaped minutes before its imminent collapse.

Jeff sat in stunned silence as he viewed the picture of an almost pure black Alan lying like a rag doll in Virgil's arms as Scott followed carrying Fermat who was in a similar state as Alan. Scrolling down, Jeff glimpsed another photo of a third rescuer who he assumed was Gordon supporting the taller of the two boys as he hung his head over the edge of the stretcher.

Shaking his head in disgust, Jeff scrolled past the remaining images of the school fire not wishing to view any more pictures of his injured baby boy. Stopping on the article, Jeff began to read the short article.

'On the late night of December 19th Wharton's school for boys was evacuated when fire alarms wailed into the night alerting staff and students alike to escape – the school having caught on fire. The fire quickly spread as the school is many years old and the timber used has aged.

The fire tore through the school quickly, leaving nothing but destruction in its wake. The famed Thunderbirds were called in to rescue some students that were hopelessly trapped within the raging inferno – just before the arrival of the Thunderbirds though, firefighters helped a couple students that jumped from the third floor window away from imminent danger, but rescuers were unprepared for a fire of that magnitude and were unable to enter the structure for safety reasons. Two students were left unaccounted for until the Thunderbirds prepared to enter at the cost of their lives at which time the two students raced out of the fire, their clothing swallowed by flames.'

Jeff sat in stunned shock as his mind ran through the description of his son and pseudo nephew – their clothing smoldering on their bodies as they rolled in snow like they'd been taught with 'Stop, Drop and Roll'

'Two of the rescuers swaddled the two injured boys in fire retardant blankets to smother the flames eating at their clothing as they screamed. Not even moments after escaping the flames, their rescuers carried them to a safe distance, before giving them oxygen from portable oxygen tanks.

Immediately, the rescuers loaded the two boys into the magnificent Thunderbird One to transport them to hospital, while firefighters doused the flames and school buses shuttled the boys to a hotel offering their services free of charge to give the boys a roof over their heads until morning light.

Insurance companies are still investigating the cause of the fire, but have agreed to cover the medical expenses of all boys injured by the fire. In total six boys were injured. Two were severely burned with broken bones while the other four had mild burns and broken bones. Insurance companies we've talked to have decided that they will award the school with the money, just before ground is broken to rebuild as it has been found out that it was arson. Who did it is still under investigation however.

Plans to rebuild the school will be with the same layout as the previous Wharton, but dorms will be rebuilt to accommodate more students. Rather than keep the layout of the rooms at two boys per room, dorm halls will house a total of four boys each – per dorm halls - sub rooms will be built. With more students attending the school, tuition won't be as costly, thanks to the ability to house more students. Security will be tightened to prevent anything like this from happening again and the new building will be installed with fire escapes so that no matter what floor a student is on, they'll be able to escape with little to no problem should a calamity like this ever happen again.'

Jeff ran a hand over his mouth, quickly balling up the newspaper; Jeff tossed it into the trash receptacle. None of his sons needed to see the pictures of their baby brother in that condition. He was okay. He was alive and he was healing. Jeff sat in silence as he contemplated the future. No matter what, whether he had the ability to walk or not…Alan and Fermat would be homeschooled so the family could keep an eye on them.

A ringing sound tore Jeff from his thoughts and he fumbled for his cell phone. He didn't know who'd be calling him, but he decided to answer the phone anyway.

"Hello, this is Jeff." Jeff answered the phone without checking the caller id on his cell phone so he had no way of knowing who was calling.

"Hello Mr. Tracy. Dr. Warner calling." Jeff sat up straighter as he heard the voice of the doctor. Quickly checking his watch, Jeff felt as though his head spun upon realizing that he and his sons have been up for over twenty-four hours.

"Dr. Warner! Hi, how are my sons?" Jeff chewed on his lip.

"That's why I was calling Mr. Tracy. Virgil is doing well; he's already gotten up to do some laps around his quarters with a walker and a nurse so his legs don't get stiff." Dr. Warner replied with a smile in his voice. "As for Alan, it's okay to breathe. The transplant took and Alan's surgical sites look good. I've already been to change his bandages and aside from feeling ill earlier, which had me worried initially – Alan's better and he's also in higher spirits."

"Ill?" Jeff adopted a crest fallen look as he heard news no parent wanted to hear.

"Yes, Alan threw up a couple times and he was running a fever for a while, but his fever broke three hours ago and he was actually hungry for some chicken noodle soup earlier. He ate every bite and if it wasn't for the nurse holding the spoon, I'm sure Alan would have eaten that too." Dr. Warner informed. "Barring Graft Vs Host Disease I don't foresee Alan encountering anything too detrimental to his health."

"Doctor that is like music to my ears." Jeff felt himself relax at the news. His baby boy was okay and for now, he felt like he could breathe. "Thank you so much."

"No problem, I'm afraid I can't stay on the phone too much longer, but I promised Alan I'd give you a call." Dr. Warner replied.

Jeff exchanged pleasantries with the man before hanging up. Tapping the cell phone against his chin, Jeff made a split decision to go see his three sons that were currently holing up in the pool area outside, they were taking advantage of the warmth and sun and were working on a tan – or sunburn…whichever son had forgotten to wear sunscreen. Grabbing his swim trunks that his mother had embarrassingly packed for him when Penny and Parker brought her up with them and a t-shirt, Jeff quickly changed before donning a pair of sandals which again his mother had brought with her for him before grabbing a towel and leaving the room.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

John floated lazily on a lilo as he basked in the warm sun. He'd had enough of the snow to last him a lifetime. He held his hands up to ward off splashing water when Gordon jack-knifed into the water from the diving board. Scott played water volleyball with a group of people who needed another person to make the game even. Glancing up from where he'd been playing with the drawstrings of his shorts, John sat up straighter at the sight of his dad.

Raising his hand, John waved at his dad. Jeff waved back before removing his shirt and joining in on the water fun. John stayed where he was on the lilo, but held his breath when suddenly it flipped and he found himself under the water. Resurfacing, John wiped the water from his eyes as he glared at his dad. Jeff stole his lilo.

"Hello to you too dad." John held onto the armrest on the lilo he'd previously been occupying.

"So I've got some news on your brothers…any idea when Gordon and Scott can join us?" Jeff looked around, before spotting Scott waving to the other people he'd been playing volleyball with.

"Looks like Scott will be with us momentarily." John gazed up towards the top of the diving board to see Gordon preparing to jump. "And Gordon soon too…no doubt."

Jeff and John remained where they were, John holding onto the armrest of his lilo. When Gordon and Scott finally joined them, it was a look of apprehension which greeted Jeff.

"You hear anything on Alan and Virge dad?" Scott's eyebrows crinkled together as a look of worry replaced the apprehension.

"Yes, as a matter of fact. I just got off the phone with the doctor." Jeff began, pausing slightly when he stopped to wrap his head around it.

"What'd he say?" Gordon grappled onto the opposite arm of the lilo and gazed up at his dad with pleading eyes.

"First off like he told me in the same order, Virgil seems to be doing well. He's already been up to walk around with a nurse – doing a few laps around his room." Jeff smiled when he saw John and Scott heave a sigh.

"What about Alan?" Gordon desperately wanted to know anything about his baby brother.

"The surgery was a success. Alan's body didn't refuse the donation and he's doing well."

To see his sons relax into the water the way they had, made Jeff think of a pan of boiled spaghetti noodles…his three sons seemed to sink into the water, relaxed and untroubled by the news they heard.

"What a relief." Gordon raised a pruned hand from the water to smooth back his hair. Scott heaved a deep sigh and John smiled, feeling better now that what seemed like the weight of the world was no longer resting upon his shoulders. "I take it that Alan was more than happy to hear that news?"

"The way the doctor worded it, Alan was over the moon. He was sick for a brief time, as his body was trying to get rid of the anesthesia, but now he's okay and the doctor said that Alan ate every bite of his lunch and might have eaten the spoon if there hadn't been a nurse feeding him his lunch." Jeff said with an easygoing smile.

"The sprout inhaling his food is something I wouldn't mind seeing, he eats so slowly whenever we see him." Scott chuckled as he thought of all the times that he'd chided Gordon about not chewing his food.

A/N: So I hope you all enjoyed the first two chapters of the Escape From Hell Fire sequel Rising From The Ashes...please review!

It would make my 23rd birthday awesome to see any and all feedback ya'll have.

Note to anyone who read this story without reading the first story - it will make a whole heck of a lot more sense if you read the story Escape From Hell Fire rather than just tuning in as I will be making references from the last story in this and I'd hate to confuse any of you.

Just as a heads up though, because of my being a full time college student, updating may be a little sporadic - you may not see hide nor hair of me for days, maybe weeks - but I will post as I get the chapters worked on.

Ta-Ta for now!

~Angel~