Thunderbird One's change to vertical flight woke Scott, and by the time he was fully alert, she was back in her silo. He and Alan both got onto the retractable walkway and it carried them back to the villa, where they squeezed through the revolving picture panel together.
"Nice flying kid." Said Scott. "Sorry for the hassle, I guess I just worry about her."
"That's alright Scott. You're overtired, that's all."
"Welcome back boys." Jeff's gravelley voice greeted them from behind his desk. "That was good work."
"No Father. I left my kit where it got buried under a roof-fall, I fell asleep on duty…"
"Scott. You got the job done. I don't blame you for falling asleep while you were waiting. There was nothing you could do anyway and I guess Ned knows the set up well enough. You made him comfortable first - Virgil tells me you gave him your shirt and froze yourself? Well I can't ask more of my boys than that. I'm proud of you. You were alert when it mattered. I'd say a bit of sleep helped the rescue more ultimately than trying to stay awake."
"Thanks Father. I don't believe you, but thanks."
"Go to bed Son, you still look as if you're about to collapse. Grandma's got something good cooking." Suddenly Alan piped up,
"Boy, is Virg going to be for it! He had that pack of cookies from Grandma still in Thunderbird Two. I made him wait till we got Scott, and we forgot. I bet he's eaten them."
"I'm too tired to care, I'll grab something from the kitchen now. 'Night Father, 'night Alan." Scott wandered off to the kitchen. As he came through the door he could see a flurry of activity on the opposite side of the room. He sneaked open the door of the refrigerator and pulled out a chocolate tart, cut into neat slices. He was just about to make off with it, when a chilling voice hit him across the room.
"Scott Tracy, you put that right back! I don't care if you've been out thirty-six hours on twelve different rescues, you don't steal my chocolate tart! That's for the party tonight. You can have toast or soup, Tin-Tin will bring it to you, and when you get up tonight you can wait for your pudding like everyone else. Now get out of my kitchen when I'm busy." Scott retreated under this fire,
"Soup please Grandma, sorry, I…"
"Get out!" Scott almost ran out of the kitchen, Tin-Tin giggling in the corner, and went to his room. He showered quickly and got into his pyjamas and was sat up in bed when Tin-Tin knocked and entered with his soup.
"Well, you look a little better. Here, have your soup. You should know better than to try to steal food while Grandma is actually in the kitchen." Scott smiled, soothed by the soft sounds of Tin-Tin's accent. She sat on the side of his bed while he ate.
"You've had a pretty rough day. What did you say to Ned?" Scott coughed,
"What do you mean?"
"Well, about him always getting into trouble. Your Father was moaning about people who don't know when to get out of somewhere."
"Oh Ned's alright. He. Well, he's been asked nicely and I'll keep at him…" Scott trailed off, looking at Tin-Tin out of the corner of his eye to see if she had noticed anything. She looked confused for a second, but then continued,
"Well I'm glad you're safe. I was worried about you, and Virgil; being on a rescue when you were so tired. It could be dangerous." Her soft hand stroked Scott's arm and then moved up to caress his face, rasping slowly over the line of stubble on his cheek.
"We've probably been more tired before. It was just that the adrenaline had gone down when we thought we were going home, so it was hard to build that up again. Tin-Tin, hands off, honey. I've told you before. Alan's in the lounge debriefing. If you want to flirt, go do it with him." Tin-Tin pouted a little, then smiled,
"Poor Scott, always so serious. You ought to get yourself a date."
"You stop messing Alan about and I might be prepared to take your advice. Here, I've finished my soup. Thanks for that, Tin-Tin." She took the tray from him and they kissed on the cheek.
"Sleep well." Said Tin-Tin, and left, the door sliding shut behind her.
Scott lay back, closed his eyes and slept.
He woke six hours later with the Image of Ned Cook blazing brightly in the forefront of his mind. He closed his eyes again and thought as his mind raced through snatch after snatch of dream narrative, seconds contained hours as he plunged through the last selection of dreams from his sleep.
He was with Ned, they were in the chamber, but it was the cockpit of Thunderbird One, which he was flying, except he wasn't because he was talking to Ned, so Alan must be flying, but there was too much room, maybe they were in Thunderbird Two, anyway, it didn't matter where they were because he was sat next to him with his arm through Ned's and they were in the lounge in Tracy Villa and he was trying to explain to his father about him and Ned, but he kept bottling out and coming back to the same point again, and trying again, and bottling out, and it wasn't Ned, it was Virgil, Ned was in the kitchen and Grandma was shouting at him for making a chocolate tart, no she was shouting at Scott, but Ned was behind him with his arms round his waist and he turned round and kissed him, but Tin-Tin was pulling Ned away and telling him that Scott loved Alan because he had a voice just like Ned's, and Scott was protesting that this wasn't the case and they were back outside and falling down a hole on Tracy Island, which was the chamber again and he was holding hands with Ned, but not doing anything and he was outside the hole looking down at Ned even though Ned was next to him and they could see Jeff and Alan in the swimming pool and Scott was on the diving board and he dived in. And woke with a jerk.
His back was stiff from lying on the cold rock and his arms were indeed feeling the effects of being stretched between two lumps of metal in a gale. The front of his mind was worrying itself with his dreams and the future, but way back at the base of his brain was a warm, snuggly feeling, like he had a blanket wrapped round him, protecting him from the worst. He looked at the clock: 6.45pm. He was pretty sure it was still 'today', and certain that his stomach had not finished with 'today', it was rumbling like a truck and making him feel like his insides were knotting up. Clearly one bowl of soup was not enough to sustain a hungry Tracy boy on two missions…at least not a Tracy boy with the first name 'Scott'!
Heaving himself out of bed, he touched his toes a few times to loosen up, swung his arms from side to side, and nearly clouted Gordon as he came through the bedroom door.
"Hey! I surrender!" cried Gordon, ducking down rather dramatically.
"Sorry Gord. But if you will sneak into a fella's room…"
"Dad said to come and get you up before you sleep right through dinner. It's in half an hour. Like we need the competition at the table!" Scott swung another playful clout at him, and regretted it as his shoulders twinged painfully.
"I'm up. When was the last time you saw me miss dinner kid? In fact, I might just go and check out what's in the kitchen. Just…make sure it's alright, you know." Gordon grinned,
"Well don't let Grandma catch you. She's still muttering something about a chocolate tart."
"Oh boy! I guess I'm still in hot water then?"
"Not as much as Alan. He took a load of Grandma's lemons down to the pool to further lighten his hair when she wanted them for cooking! I'm not even sure he's coming to dinner! Tin-Tin's gone to find him. I'm going to get Virgil up."
Gordon left and Scott pulled on his blue roll-neck and check jacket. Maybe he could get Tin-Tin to make him another jacket soon, he'd nearly worn this one through, and it was the third she'd made for him. Still, it was his favourite and very comfortable. He wandered nonchalantly into the kitchen and put his arms round his Grandma's waist. She jumped violently and looked round.
"Scott Tracy! You do that to me and I'll…" But she didn't look like she meant it.
"What's for dinner Grandma?"
"A good old-fashioned country stew, packed with nourishment, with Kyrano's special bread; then a choice of dessert. One you tried to steal this morning, and one your dear brother nearly stopped me from making at all. Honestly, you boys give me such a time of it. You're all as bad as your father." Scott leaned over the cooker and pulled the lid off the hot pot sitting there. "Oh no you don't! I told you this morning, out of my kitchen. Dinner's not for twenty-five minutes, and that's when you get it. Go on."
Scott kissed her on the forehead and went to the lounge. Alan was sitting there, looking huffy, with Tin-Tin stroking his shoulder softly.
"Did you get anything Scott?" Tin-Tin asked with a twinkle.
"No such luck. I was rumbled before I could get so much as a taste. Tin-Tin tells me you're in the soup too Alan."
"I didn't know she wanted the darn things! Besides, how else am I supposed to keep my hair this blond?"
"You are a natural blond Alan. You really don't need to. Does he Tin-Tin?"
"I think he looks lovely with it a bit lighter. It suits you Alan."
"You see?" said Alan.
"You missing dinner then kiddo?"
"Not on your life Scott. Nice try. Mind you, I'd rather face a dozen dangerous rescues than Grandma in a bad mood. I just hope she's cooled off a bit by now."
"Well, she seemed alright when I went in there…until I tried for the stew."
Virgil came into the room from the hall, as Jeff came up from the pool, his hair wet, a towel draped over his arm.
"Good evening boys. Feeling better?"
"Yes thanks Father." Said Scott and Virgil together. Scott looked at his brother.
"Did you tell dad about what Gordon did?"
"No. I went straight to bed. I was falling over, Scott."
"What's this boys? What did Gordon do?" So Scott explained about the girl and Gordon diving in to save her. Jeff looked concerned.
"You all had quite a day didn't you? I hope he got properly warmed up once you were back on board?"
"Sure Dad." Jeff hummed as Gordon came in.
"That was a mighty brave thing you did today Gordon. I'm proud of you."
"Gee, thanks Dad. I wasn't sure. I thought maybe it was a bit too risky. I…I wasn't going to tell you."
"You risked your life to save someone else's life. It's a bad deal if it comes off badly, but that's what we're signed up for. I'm glad to know I can trust my boys. Hell, I'd be mad if you risked it for something material, or just for a stunt, but a life's a life." Gordon sat, rather red-cheeked, next to Scott on the couch. Scott asked, carelessly,
"Was everything okay with Ned and Taylor when you dropped him off Virg?"
"Yeah. Taylor had got back alright. He sure was glad to see Ned safe. Oh, by the way, your top's in my room, I brought it up with me. Ned said there was something you wanted to get out of it."
"Uh, yeah. I, um, sewed a…thing into the hem and I don't want it washed out."
"Oh, that reminds me Scott," piped up Tin-Tin, "I found a note in your pocket when I took the rest of your uniform to wash. Do you need it?" Scott almost gasped out loud, but managed to keep an even head,
"Yes please Tin-Tin. Ned behaved himself then Virg?"
"Sure. He was fine. He's not a bad guy actually. I thought he was kinda stupid before, but maybe he just gets a bit too worked up over his reporting. He seemed pretty level-headed today. We'll have to watch his show this week, see if he mentions it – or if he's too embarrassed to."
"I can't honestly see Ned Cook getting embarrassed over anything."
Just then Kyrano came in to announce that dinner was served and they all hurried through to the dining room, Scott in the lead.
The next week, the Tracy family was sat in the lounge, waiting to see The Ned Cook Show. Virgil was sat on his piano stool, restlessly picking at notes, Alan and Tin-Tin sat on one of the couches, Gordon on another. Scott was clinging to one of the poles that ran up from his father's desk, while Jeff sat in his usual chair behind it. The announcer brought their attention to the start of the programme, and Virgil took his hands off the keys. The titles ran and Ned came running onto the stage, waving at the audience and hushing them, smiling and bowing slightly at their protracted applause and cheers. Scott's stomach did an uncomfortable little flip and he stared resolutely at the screen.
"Good evening folks. What a great show we have for you tonight!" Ned shouted as the audience finally calmed down, "But first, I'd like to say a few words. Many of you will remember how, not all that long ago, I was rescued from the ruins of the Empire State Building by the brave men of International Rescue. Well folks, your intrepid reporter just can't seem to help getting himself into trouble, and last week, I once again found myself in mortal danger, stuck down a hole in the freezing cold in the middle of nowhere. I owe my life once again to those fearless men. I can't tell you anything about them, firstly because I know so little, and secondly because no-one has the right to betray the trust of their rescuer, but I cannot miss this opportunity to let the world know how fantastic they are. I spent a lot of time with one of them. We had to wait for rescue gear to arrive and it left us chatting for a while. I tell you now folks, if ever you need to be rescued, pray that whoever comes to your aid is as charming, highly trained and reliable as the man who saved me. If you're listening out there buddy, thanks, and get yourself some leave, you deserve it. Now on to the show, first we're going to se a man who has wowed the world with his…" Jeff turned off the screen and turned to face his sons.
"I guess that's enough. Well, all credit to the man, he knows what we did and he knows to keep his mouth shut…I wouldn't have believed it of him. I thought he was generous last time, but he seems to have a soft spot for Scott." Jeff said, chuckling, then Virgil piped up,
"Yeah Scott, how come you got singled out for special mention? As far as I remember all you did was go down a hole and fall asleep! How did you come out of that as…what was it? Oh, 'Charming, highly trained and reliable?" Scott turned quickly to his brother, but saw the twinkle in Virgil's eye and laughed,
"Well Virg, I must be a very charming sleeper. I tie a more comfy rope harness than you ever did too, so he was probably grateful."
"My harnesses are fine."
"Yes, except that if you happen to be a boy, you come out with two meat and four veg!"
"Boys!" Interrupted Jeff, warningly.
"Sorry Father." Muttered Scott, "But I can answer you actually Virg, Ned remembered me from the last time. I had to chase him for his film of Thunderbird, remember? He thought it was quite nice that I apologised to him for having wiped it." Scott stopped, not sure whether he wanted to have said this. Virgil looked at him and rolled his eyes, Gordon decided to put his oar in
"I recall something about not being supposed to get ourselves remembered." Jeff looked sharply at Gordon.
"Back off your brother Gordon. He didn't tell anything he shouldn't. You can interfere when you come out with such a glowing report. You all did well last week. I'm not having any sniping in this house.
Scott got up and went to leave. Tin-Tin called him to stop,
"Do you want that note Scott? I've got it in my room, shall I come and get it for you?" Scott nodded,
"Thanks Tin-Tin." Virgil was playing softly on the piano as they left the room, Alan gazing wistfully after Tin-Tin, but too comfortable to get up and follow.
Scott followed Tin-Tin down the corridor to her room and stood at the door while she rummaged on her dressing table,
"I put it here somewhere. I didn't know I'd put so much stuff down on here! Oh come in Scott, for goodness' sake!" Scott stepped into the room as Tin-Tin found the scrap of paper. She turned round and gave it to him, standing very close.
"There you are. Ned's phone number. I didn't tell. Your father would blow his top." Scott took a small step back and bumped into a chair. He sat down hard and struggled to get up.
"I've only got it so I can tell him off if he forgets to leave us alone or puts himself too much at risk. He admitted he's stupid sometimes."
"You're blushing Scott. I'm not convinced. I won't say a word, but you could stop telling me off in return."
"What? I don't understand, Tin-Tin."
"Fancy saying I flirt with you."
"You're not saying it's not true?"
"Well…" Tin-Tin looked at her hands coyly. "Oh, but you know I don't mean it Scott."
"Doesn't that make it worse?" Tin-Tin ignored him.
"I mean, I'd be a saint not to in a house with five brave and handsome boys. But I'm not that bad, you're lovely, but you're not Alan, and I'm pretty certain you're not available."
"What do you mean?" But Tin-Tin just smiled sweetly at him and walked out of her room, back to the lounge and Alan, leaving Scott to make his own way out.
"Father?" Scott asked as he came into the lounge later that evening.
"What's up Scott?" His father asked in return. Scott bit his lip, he knew what the answer to his question was going to be, but he had to try. Not doing anything was driving him mad. The lurching sensation every time Ned's face floated into his mind, the dreams, the daydreams that had his brothers looking at him oddly. Maybe seeing Ned again wouldn't change any of this; maybe it would make it worse, but he had to ask.
"Father, can I take a couple of days' leave?"
"When Scott?"
"Well I was kinda hoping this week." Jeff looked at him appraisingly and wandered out onto the balcony with him for a chat.
"No Scott. You know Alan's going up to do his stint on Thunderbird Five tomorrow. I can't replace you with John, he's just not experienced enough to go out on his own, and he can't really cope with the speed of Thunderbird One. You'll have to wait till Alan gets back."
"Can't you trust John at all? He's been out a few times now. Virgil would look after him"
"No Scott. You know I can't. John's a great kid, and good at what he does, but he doesn't have the training the rest of you have. He can be a bit erratic. That's just what he is, but there isn't room for the sorts of errors he makes on a rescue. He needs someone to command him, and Virgil can't do everything on his own. Why the sudden need for leave anyway? Not listening to Ned Cook are you?"
"I…I'm tired I guess. I just wanted to get away for a bit. That last rescue with Ned and being so tired already. It scared me a bit. I just thought it might do me good to get away."
"Sure Scott. But you'll have to wait. It's only a month. I depend on you for this. You understand that."
"Sure, Dad." Scott looked out to sea, leaning on the balcony, his father's hand on his shoulder. 'I depend on you': words Scott was usually happy to hear, happy to feel that he could help his father, that he could take some of the strain of running International Rescue off his shoulders. But today… Scott cursed himself inwardly: 'Pull yourself together. Nothing's changed here, so don't expect what you have no right to.' Jeff looked at his eldest son,
"You've been a bit preoccupied this last week, it's not like you. Anything you want to tell me?"
"No. I'm off to bed. Sorry to bother you Father."