Thunderbirds and its characters do not belong to me, just the ones I made up. Happy reading!

Christa frowned at the door and pressed the doorbell again. She glared up at the sky from under her umbrella, watching as the rain began to come down harder. She turned back to the door and was just about to give up and go home when the door opened. "It's about time. I was just about to leave." She folded up her umbrella, and shaking it, stepped inside.

"Sorry. I was taking a nap." John said hoarsely.

Christa looked up at him. "Still not feeling well?" She asked, placing her hand on his forehead.

He shook his head and started to reply, only to be cut off by a fit of coughing. He groaned and leaned against the doorframe, one hand on his head, the other pressed up against his ribs.

She frowned. "We're not going anywhere tonight." She said matter-of-factly.

"Christa, I'm fine. It's just a cold." John protested, sneezing.

"That may be, but it's wet and rainy out there, and I'm not risking pneumonia." She stood firm, her hands on her hips. "The only place you're going is bed."

John grinned and his blue eyes twinkled. "Maybe you should come with me and we could play doctor."

Despite herself, she had to smile back. "Nice try pal." She kissed him on the lips, at the same time swatting his behind. "Now go put something comfy on, and I'll order us some take-out. Any preferences?"

John thought a minute. "How about Chinese? I think there's a menu in the kitchen somewhere."

"I'll find it. Go change." She watched as John made his way up the stairs, stopping once for a coughing fit. She frowned and grabbing her bag, ducked into the bathroom and quickly changed out of her scrubs, putting on a more comfortable pair of flannel pants and an oversized sweatshirt. Making her way back to the kitchen she turned on the light and stopped dead.

There taped to the refrigerator door, was the picture Susie had drawn a few days ago. It was hard to tell exactly what most of the picture was, but she could clearly make out the two stick figures, one taller, topped in yellow, the other much smaller, in red. Christa's heart melted.

"Hey, find the menu?"

Christa turned to see John standing in the doorway. He too had put on a pair of flannels and wore a faded MIT sweatshirt. His hair was mussed, and his sleepy looking eyes were a startling blue against his pale features. She walked over to him and pulled him down, fastening her lips on his and kissing him tenderly. When they broke apart, her indigo eyes glistened with tears.

"What was that for?" He asked softly.

"I have to tell you something, and I don't want you to say a word. Just listen." She stared deeply into his blue eyes. "I love you." John started and opened his mouth to speak, but Christa placed her finger across his lips. "Shhh! Don't say anything. You don't have to say it back to me." She kissed him again. "I just wanted you to know."

John took her into his arms and rested his head on top of hers. They stood that way, content with each other until John coughed again. "Great way to…ruin a moment John." He rasped.

Christa smiled. "Go pick out a movie. I'll order dinner."

An hour later, they were snuggled together on the couch, the remains of their dinner in boxes on the coffee table. John had started a fire, and they talked quietly while watching the movie.

"You couldn't have put in something romantic?" Christa asked.

"What's wrong with 'Apollo 13'?" John replied.

Christa rolled her eyes. "A bunch of guys, traveling through space in nothing more than a tin-foil box. Really heartwarming."

"Hey, it was a scary time. These guys were pioneers."

Christa just groaned and settled herself back against John's chest as they watched the movie. At one point, she felt John tense up. "What is it?" She turned to see him frowning at the screen.

"Huh, I never noticed that before." He said, staring intently at the screen.

"Never noticed what?"

"See that guy? The one playing astronaut Fred Haise? He looks alot like my Dad."

Christa turned to look. "Yeah, then you have one hot Dad." She grinned.

John frowned at her. "Nice. I'll be sure to tell him that next time we talk." With one last look back at the movie, he snorted and settled back, taking her in his arms.

John was just starting to doze off when the phone buzzed. "I'll be right back." He got up and answered it. "Hello?" Christa watched as he frowned. "Who's going to get them?" Another pause. "He shouldn't be flying…Bite me Alan." But he said it with a smile. "Have Dad call when he gets settled…You too Sprout. Bye."

"Who was that?" Christa asked when John had finished.

He looked up. "Oh, my little brother."

"Which one?"

"The youngest, Alan."

"Everything alright?"

John nodded. "Yeah, my father has been away on business and is coming home tonight or tomorrow. My brother Scott is flying to get him."

She noticed the frown on his face. "What's wrong with that? I thought you told me he was a pilot?"

"He is. He…fell a few weeks ago and cracked his collarbone. He's supposed to be keeping it immobile."

"I see. So stubbornness seems to run in the family." She frowned as John coughed and swayed dizzily for a moment. She walked over and took his hand. "Honey?"

He brought one hand up to his head. "Want to call it a night?" He asked tiredly.

"Sure." Hand in hand they went upstairs. Christa rummaged in her bag and pulled out a prescription bottle. "Here take these." She said, handing John two pills.

"What is it?"

"Tylenol with codeine. It'll help you feel better."

John eyed the pills skeptically. "How did you get them?"

Christa rolled her eyes. "Welcome to the twenty-first century John. Nurses have been able to prescribe meds for the past ten years." She said as she went into the bathroom.

John blushed and swallowed the pills. Pulling off his sweatshirt, he climbed into bed. A moment later, Christa had joined him. She had changed her flannels to a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. John smiled at her petite form hidden under his shirt. She crawled into bed and snuggled up next to him. "You're awfully hot. Want me to leave?" She asked.

He tightened his arms around her in response. "No. Stay…Please." She smiled and held his hands tightly in hers. After a while his breathing steadied out as he fell asleep.

"I love you." She whispered into the dark, closing her eyes. They snapped open again at the sound of John's voice.

"I love you too."

Scott grumbled to himself as he went in search of his brother. Gordon had been avoiding him for nearly a day now, and Scott had long passed the merely annoyed stage. He kept catching his younger brother out of the corner of his eye, but when he tried to pin him down, Gordon had disappeared.

I'll have to corner the little bastard on his own turf. Scott marched down the hallway to their rooms. He paused in front of Gordon's door. "Gordon?" He knocked. There was no answer. "Gordon, open the door." He pounded on the door with his good hand. "Gordon Cooper Tracy, OPEN THIS DOOR!

"He's n-n-not there."

Scott turned to see Fermat standing there. "Where is he?"

Fermat shrugged. "H-H-He was at the pool, but l-left. I was lo-lo-lo-trying to find Alan."

"He's in the kitchen. Onaha made brownies." Scott smiled.

"T-T-Thanks Scott!" Fermat started to dash down the hall.

Scott watched him go, then got an idea. "Fermat! Wait!" The young man turned. "Can you open this door?"

Fermat nodded. "Sure. But I-I-I'm not suppose—"

"I'll take full responsibility. Open the door."

Gordon congratulated himself on successfully avoiding his eldest brother once again. Although he knew the impeding confrontation was inevitable, Gordon was willing to put it off as long as he could. He heard the roar of the jet and smiled, knowing Scott was headed to California to pick up Virgil and their father. He exited the tiny cave he had been hiding in and watched as the jet disappeared into the distance, then began the long trek back to the house. He smelled brownies and started towards the kitchen, but hearing the voices of Alan and his friends, made him turn towards his room instead.

He opened the door and stepped inside, preparing to head for the shower, when the voice he had been dreading stopped him.

"I've been looking for you."

Gordon froze, then turned. Scott was lying sprawled on the bed, his arm once again immobilized in a black sling. Gordon smiled charmingly. "Scotty, I thought you left to go get Dad. How're you feeling?"

"I sent Kyrano and I'm fine Gordon. Whether you will be, remains to be seen." Scott's tone was as cold as ice.

Gordon backed up towards the door. "Don't even think about it." Scott growled. He got to his feet and marched over to his brother. Gordon backed up until he hit the wall. "What did you say to John?"

Gordon swallowed. "N-N-Nothing."

"Gordon."

Gordon took a deep breath, then looked his brother square in the eye. "I told him he didn't deserve to know what happened. He's the one who chose not to be part of us any more. Why should he know about Dad and Virgil?"

Scott's eyes narrowed. "You just had to open your God-damned mouth again, didn't you?"

Gordon gave his brother a shove and paced the room. "So what if I did? John's being a jerk. He left us Scott! He doesn't care what happens to any of us anymore!"

"That's bullshit and you know it."

"Is it Scott! He's off gallivanting in Boston, while the rest of us are working our tails off. He's not even around to fix his own 'bird! We're stuck doing that too!"

"Shut up Gordon."

"No! I won't shut up!" Gordon was yelling now. "We've all been tiptoeing around John since this all started in April. Maybe Dad was right, he is incompetent and useless! Alan was the one who was kidnapped! You don't see him acting like a pathetic nutcase!"

Scott acted instinctively and slapped hard Gordon across the face. Gordon fell backwards onto his bed, and lay there, staring up at his brother in shock and surprise. "You. Weren't. There." Scott spoke slowly and deliberately. "You didn't see his face, feel him shaking as he relived the whole fucking attack. You didn't hold him after he was sick, or watch him trying not to fall asleep because of the nightmares that are still haunting him."

Gordon struggled to get up, but at a sharp look from his brother, settled back in a sitting position. Scott went on. "John was up there alone Gordon. Hurt and scared. He knew communications were out. He had no idea if we had got the message or not. And he knew the instant before the attack that it had been a missile and he had possibly called us to our deaths." His grey eyes bored into Gordon's brown ones. "Two hours Gordon. It took us two hours for us to get to him. How would you have felt, lying on the floor, bleeding, burned, wondering when the next missile was going to come and finish you off. Or worse, watching it take out the family that you called for help."

"And then when we landed in London, not even remembering how hurt he was. He had to go to a damned paramedic for help because his own family had forgotten about him, again!" Gordon started to speak, but Scott held up a hand to stem his protest. "And before you say anything, yes, I'm as much to blame for that as the rest of us."

Gordon finally found his voice. "That doesn't give him the right to act the way he has been. That doesn't give him the right to just leave." His voice wavered slightly, and he blinked furiously at the tears that threatened.

"No it doesn't." Scott said, the venom gone from his voice. "But John isn't exactly acting on his own."

Gordon frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Scott sighed wearily and ran his good hand through his hair. "John is still being…attacked for lack of a better word."

"By who?" Gordon's eyes opened wide with realization, and he shook his head. "No, no way! He's locked up!"

Scott nodded. "Yes Gord. Hood's messing with him, and might have been for a long time now. He's planted doubts and thoughts in John's mind so subtly that John doesn't even know which thoughts are his own anymore."

"How did you find out?"

"Tin-Tin. She can sense Hood's attacks. She was even able to help John this last time."

Now Gordon got up. "What last time? What happened?" He demanded.

Scott looked hard at his brother. "The Hood attacked John after he called home trying to find out what happened to his brother and father." He said, fiercely quiet.

Gordon went pale. "No…I never meant…I didn't know!"

"Maybe you should start thinking before you run off at the mouth. Like you said to John, the world doesn't revolve around you. Think about it." Scott marched out the door, leaving a stunned Gordon in the middle of the room.

Gordon stood there a minute, then he dropped down on the bed, his head in his hands.