Hi guys, sorry I took so long to update, GCSEs are a real pain in the arse when writing is your favourite hobby. I've also started writing a new Thunderbirds fic, 'Not Too Late', which is a romance/drama fic. Please check it out and review.

a/n - Thanks a bunch to my reviewers who I appreciate more than I could ever possibly say. Your interest and encouragement is so uplifting. Please continue to review! Also, thank you so much to the four people who have added this fic to their favourites and to the further eight people who have it on their alerts list. It means so much to me that you like this fic that much.

extra a/n - Sorceress-Phoenix - Isabelle, thank you for your help when I had a very bad case of writer's block. I hope you like reading this chapter as much as I enjoy reading your own various Thunderbirds fics.

Enjoy!

Scott's eyelids fluttered open. He looked around and saw he was still in the same room. He looked down and saw that the dressings on his leg wound had been changed. Whoever had done it this time had done a much better job. The bandages were clean and tight.

Unfortunately, looking down made him notice his bare wrist. They had taken his communicator and the only chance he had of contacting his family. He couldn't tell if the door was still unlocked but because of lack of food he knew he didn't have the energy to reach it anyway. He had a pretty good guess about what they were going to do with his communicator. He was supposed to protect and look after his younger brothers, now he was going to be used to lure them into a trap.

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A week later Alan sat alone on the beach looking up at the clouds that drifted across the sky. His big brother was out there somewhere and they couldn't do anything to help him. The thought made Alan's young heart sink. Scott had always looked after him. He teased him yes but no matter what trouble Alan got into, Scott was always there to pull him out of it…just like when he had been walking by the cliffs on Tracy Island five years ago…

He desperately brushed the messy blonde hair out of his bloodied face and looked around. The storm had caught Alan by surprise. He knew he had to get back home before it got worse but the edges of the cliffs were unstable due to erosion and the ground had given way underneath him. He didn't know how far he had fallen but he knew that a very thin and unstable ledge was now the only thing that kept him from falling onto the rocks beneath the crashing waves two hundred feet below. His heart thudded in his chest. The rain was now pouring down and, looking up, he couldn't see anything or anyone. He was completely on his own. Unless…he looked down at his watch and flipped open the lid. He wasn't sure if it would work. The transmitter needed a signal and the storm would make it almost impossible.

Seeing it as his only chance he tried to open a communication line. He guessed that the loud buzzing sound meant he hadn't got through but he called desperately anyway.

"Dad? Virgil? Gordon? Somebody? Please help me! I can't hold on! I've fallen down the cliff and I've hurt my leg! I can't move! Somebody please help me! ...Scott? Scott please help me! I'm scared; I don't know what to do! My leg hurts so much!" His tears were invisible beneath the rain drops but they were definitely there, "Scott…please! Please come! I'm so scared...I don't wanna die…please Scott…" The sudden stop of the buzzing told him the line had been broken. Nobody had responded. Nobody knew he was there. The tears flowed freely don't his cheeks. He was too frozen with fear to wipe them away.

Taking a deep breath, Alan tried unsuccessfully not to panic. He looked down at his leg. It was unbelievably painful and he knew he wouldn't be able to move it, which meant that, even if there was a way, he could never get out of this himself. He tried not to look at the rocks below but couldn't help himself. There were so far down. If he fell he would never survive. Panic gripped him again and he pulled himself back. Unfortunately the movement just made the ledge even more unstable. Large chunks fell away and Alan now couldn't risk moving even an inch. He had nothing to hold onto so even the slightest movement would cause him to overbalance and fall. He shut his eyes tightly and cried. He was only ten years old. He didn't want to die like this.

Despair was just about to clinch him when his eyes snapped open. Had that been a shout? He tried to ignore the sound of the rain and waves and listened again.

"…Alan?!" His eldest brother's voice rang out and Alan felt so relieved.

"Scott! I'm down here!"

"Alright, hang on buddy, it's gonna be ok!" His brother yelled down to him and, because it was him, Alan believed every word. His big brother was here now, everything would be ok.

A rope dropped down the cliff face next to him and he could faintly hear the sound of someone absailing down it. In an instant Scott was beside him, checking his head, his leg and just about all of him for injuries.

"Virgil and Gordon have got a hard job ahead, there's no way you can climb back up with that leg," He made a series of short, sharp tugs on the rope which Alan assumed was some sort of code, "Ok, the other are gonna pull us up, you're gonna have to hang on to my front, I don't want you on my back in case you fall…quick!" Alan saw Scott looking down at the ledge and looked down himself. A large crack was forming right between their feet. Alan put his arms around his big brother's shoulders while Scott wrapped his arms around Alan's waist. One strong tug on the rope signalled that they were ready.

"Hold on!" Scott told him and after a few seconds they were being hoisted away. Alan gripped onto Scott as if it was him and not the rope that was the lifeline. In response Scott held his youngest brother as tightly as he could. As soon as they reached the top two pairs of arms were hauling them away from the cliff edge and out of danger.

Alan grabbed at the grass beneath his hands and only then noticed that the rain had stopped. The tears continued falling, unhidden from his brothers.

Before he knew what was happening Scott had wrapped him in a warm and loving hug. Alan relaxed into his brother's arms and let out all the fear and despair he had felt of that ledge.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to fall, the storm came so suddenly, I didn't know what was happening, I'm so sorry!" He pulled back slightly and was shocked to see tears in Scott's eyes.

In the background they could hear Virgil calmly reassuring their Dad who was demanding to know why they had suddenly run off in the middle of the storm.

"What's wrong?" He asked his nineteen year old brother. Scott smiled slightly.

"Nothing kiddo, you just scared me that's all…when I heard your panicking voice on the radio I knew something was wrong and I was……I thought I might lose you." Scott admitted. At that moment Alan felt an overwhelming swell of love for his teasing and sarcastic older brother. He hugged Scott tightly while resting his head on the older boy's chest.

With soft smiles on their faces, Gordon and Virgil stood back and silently guarded their youngest and eldest brother until they were ready to leave.

Alan looked up at the cliff that had nearly claimed his life that day. He hadn't been up there since it happened and he never wanted to go up there again. But the sight of the cliff face served as a constant reminder that his brother had come to save him. That Scott hadn't left him alone.

The memory gave silent comfort to Alan. He stood up and walked back towards the house with renewed faith that Scott would be alright.

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In the corner of his eye, John noticed the tiny, blue dot that had suddenly appeared on the world map. Not believing what he was seeing he turned to face the weak, almost undetectable signal and stared at it for nearly a minute. A week earlier and he would have reacted like lightening…but now he had to stare at it to make sure it was true. That signal could mean that Scott was alive. After John had heard about the gunshot he had automatically feared the worst for his older brother. And now, there it was. The blue distress beacon from Scott's communicator.

Breaking out of his momentary trance John quickly opened a radio link.

"Thunderbird 5 to Tracy Island"…

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"Are you sure John?" Jeff was ecstatic at the news but wary of heading straight to the place where the signal was coming from.

"I know it seems strange, but that is definitely where the signal is, the same place that he was last seen." John knew his father was reluctant and he couldn't honestly say that he didn't feel the same. It all seemed too convenient.

"What do you think we should do? I mean, we can't deny that that's Scott's signal…but is it too risky?" John asked his father. Jeff's forehead creased in thought, which was suddenly interrupted.

"You've found Scott?!" Jeff spun around to see Virgil staring up at his brother, silently demanding an answer. John looked at Jeff and he nodded.

"We've received a weak signal from Scott's communicator…in the same place you last saw him…" John explained. The hesitation in his voice did nothing to deter Virgil.

"Then let's go!" The middle brother insisted, surprising Jeff and John with his volume and impatience, "You can send us the coordinates when we're in the air." He moved towards his portrait.

"Hold it Virgil! You can't just run in there, what if it's a trap?" Jeff reasoned and John nodded.

"Dad's right Virg, it's very risky…"

"We can't just do nothing! If there's even the smallest chance that Scott's there then we have to go!" Virgil pleaded, "Besides, even if it's just his communicator, International Rescue equipment is a security risk if found by the wrong person." Jeff couldn't argue with that logic and one look at his second-eldest son told him that he agreed. He gave his son a quick nod. Virgil was out of the room in a flash and back two minutes later dragging a surprised and confused pair of younger brothers. Alan and Gordon broke away and moved to their own portraits on case Virgil dragged them into his and they all headed for Thunderbird 2's silo.

"Thunderbirds are go…" Jeff muttered, the worry evident in his voice…

Uh-oh! Are the three brothers heading straight into a trap? ...hmmm...probably ;-) Who will save them from the cold clutches of the Hood? Chapter 5 coming soon...