Thunderbirds and The Tracy boys are the creation of Sylvia and Gerry Anderson
Chapter 42
Scott and Jenna were so absorbed in each other that they were totally unaware of the two youngest Tracy brothers approaching like stealth missiles homing in on their target. True heat seeking missiles would have had no trouble whatsoever, either, homing in, as the hottest spot in the gym right now was Thunderbird 7. Gordon and Alan nodded to each other as they silently released the brakes, grabbed the handles and quick as a flash wheeled its two occupants across the gym.
And what was across the gym? Only the locker room and shower area; it having been decided that Romeo and Juliet needed a cooling down. If Scott and Jenna were aware they were on the move then they chose not to notice, preferring instead to remain locked in their kiss.
The next thing they knew they were being hit with a shower of cold water causing both of them to pull apart sharply, drawing in their breaths at the coldness of the water. The towel that had been their little sanctuary now just a soggy wet mass of cloth that clung to their heads. Laughter erupted from the locker room, even Virgil and John, who had been dubious about the prank, could not fail to find the scene funny.
All the same, Gordon and Alan stood well back as the towel was slowly removed, unsure of what would be revealed beneath, expecting one well enraged Romeo with his rather sodden Juliet. With the towel removed, Scott glared at his two youngest brothers and probably would have let rip if it hadn't been for Jenna pulling his face back to focus his attention on her. With the water still raining down on them, instead of anger they burst into spontaneous laughter at the sight of one another, their hair plastered to their heads and faces, water running of their noses like little waterfalls.
With the tender touch of a lover Scott lifted the wet tendrils of her hair and pushed them back off her face, Jenna combing his hair with her fingers until his hair was smoothed back, all to the total amazement of the watching brothers. Virgil smiled to himself at the touching gesture and could only put his brother's lack of 'let me at 'em' anger to his being totally besotted with her. It hadn't escaped Scott's notice either, how the running water had made her, now, wet dress uniform cling and mould itself to her body.
As if in agreement and to deny the watching audience the result they had hoped for 'Juliet' bent to eagerly kiss her 'Romeo' and they took up where they had left off much to the groans of Gordon, Alan and, indeed, John and Virgil. It seemed like, instead of dousing the flames of love they had only served to intensify the fire of passion.
"Gee….is that what it's like to be in love?" John pondered out loud in a wistful sigh, his brothers all looking on in lost wonderment at the sight.
"Reckon so," Virgil replied just as wistfully without looking at John but becoming lost in his own thoughts of wondering what it must be like to be so absorbed in someone, to be so in love that you no longer notice a cold shower playing on you or the fact others are there; to have the love, attention and devotion of a beautiful woman who has eyes only for you. The very fact that his eldest brother was now willing to be so freely open with his obvious affection for her was proof enough that he was deeply in love, his always having been reluctant to demonstrate his feelings publicly, much like their father.
"Yeah….well, give me some of that then," Gordon mused wistfully, agreeing with his brother's sentiments on seeing that their little ruse hadn't worked.
"Yeah, me too," Alan sighed just as wistfully, bringing incredulous looks of exasperation from his brothers along with a deluge of dry towels, hurled in his direction, that had been picked up from the bench. "What!" Alan exclaimed, not understanding what he had said to provoke the good-natured attack.
"Sometimes that boy is just so clueless," John thought to himself, shaking his head. He had Tin-Tin right under his nose and it seemed as though he didn't see her as the blossoming young woman she had become. Some one of these days they were going to have to take him in hand and spell it out for him!
"Alan….toss me a shampoo, please," Jenna laughingly called out when she and Scott had finally parted.
"Huh," was Alan's only response, wondering what had prompted the need for shampoo.
Jenna laughed, finding his bewilderment most amusing. "Shampoo, Alan!…..you know…..the stuff you wash your hair with," she explained, as if it was something he had never heard of and didn't know what it was for.
"Yeah, Al….SHAMPOO…..stuff you wash your hair with," his brothers all called out mockingly, causing Alan to frown heavily at their suggestion he was stupid.
"Yeah….I know what it's for," Alan bit back, somewhat annoyed at being made fun of. "Just what does she want it for?" he asked, being totally ignorant of the playful things lovers will do for each other.
"Well….I might be wrong here," John said in all seriousness, his voice heavy with sarcasm. "But I reckon she might just want to wash his hair," he added, bringing nods of agreement from the Virgil and Gordon while laughing at their youngest brother's naivety.
"But he's still got his clothes on," Alan argued and still frowning, not understanding at all how lovers play, equating having a shower only with your clothes off and the need to get clean. His brothers shook their heads in exasperation and had they had any more towels they would have chucked them too.
"Here…catch," Virgil offered, having reached into a locker and pulled out a bottle of shampoo.
Jenna went to put out her hand to catch it but with Scott's longer reach he caught it easily, bringing a grin and nod of admiration, while raising her eyebrows, from Jenna. "Nice catch, flyboy," she said admiringly, impressed by his co-ordination and quick reflexes, making Scott grin with satisfaction.
She set about washing his hair and massaging his scalp, having poured the shampoo on and tucking the bottle into the chair, the chair now being thoroughly wet anyway, what did it matter. He tossed his head back allowing her to rinse his hair by having her run her fingers through it, all the time they laughed and talked as she worked. His brothers could only stand; envious of the fact Scott was having his hair washed and scalp massaged by a beautiful woman in a wet dress, while sitting on his lap in the shower. Well, what hot-blooded male, in his right mind, wouldn't, though they wouldn't envy him the circumstances by which he came to having had to have it done for him.
Again they were oblivious to all those around them as Scott took the bottle and poured some onto her hair; tucking the bottle back in the chair he began to lather up one side of her head while Jenna did the other, laughing and teasing her by dabbing soap suds on her nose and she doing likewise with him. She allowed him to rinse her hair by sitting with her back to him as he pulled his fingers backwards through her hair, all this open playfulness bringing more wide-eyed amazement from his astounded brothers.
When they had finally finished and all the suds had been rinsed away from the chair Jenna got up, wheeled him back from the under the water and helped him strip off his top. Virgil, John, Gordon and Alan thought this an opportune moment to cough rather loudly, in case Jenna was forgetting they were there, as they weren't quite sure just how far she might proceed, being rather wet herself.
She laughed at their subtle attempts to draw her attention. "Sorry, guys…..I'm just so used to helping Scott with his wash and shower, I'm forgetting," she smiled wryly at the wide eyes and raised eyebrows she was getting.
With the water now turned off you could just about hear little whimpers escape the boys lips and if you could read their thoughts they would have been saying, 'A beautiful woman helps him wash in the shower too!' Scott grinned mischievously, catching their expressions, as if to say, 'What can I say, guys……a beautiful woman wants to help me wash in the shower. Who am I to say no!'
"Well, I guess you guys can help him with the rest. And I hope you have some way of getting this chair dried," she said wryly, though her tone implied, 'You better had.' "Or you'll be carrying your brother everywhere until he can walk," she added, letting them know they would pay for their little prank.
"Oh yeah…sure Jen…no problem," Gordon replied enthusiastically. "We'll just get the old 'Blaster' on it……be dry in no time…right guys?" he grinned encouragingly, to which the boys added their promised assurances and on seeing Jenna's puzzlement, explained what 'The Blaster' was.
The Air Blaster was, for all intents and purposes, like a very large hair dryer, capable of varying degrees of hot air which they used to blast dry some of their rescue equipment after hosing it down. It was suspended by a strap, which hung over the shoulder, the wearer wielding it like a flamethrower.
On seeing everyone staring intently in his direction and he being one of the culprits, Gordon quickly offered to go and get it. Bringing a stool over to one of the multiple showers, Virgil and John helped their brother to sit on it, having helped him out of the thoroughly soaked Thunderbird 7.
"Guess I'm gonna need a change of clothes," she laughed as she looked down at her still sodden attire. "Don't think Grandma would appreciate me making puddles all through the house," she added, the boys laughing and agreeing with her. "And Scott's going to need some dry clothes too," Jenna continued, all attention turning now to the second of the culprits. Alan was duly sent to get a change of dry clothes and said Tin-Tin would bring a change for Jenna. Virgil immediately got her a towel to wrap around herself for which she thanked him.
Scott was mildly amused at Virgil and John's attempts once more to draw Jenna's attention by coughing, this time to the fact that she was still here and they wanted to take their shower and help Scott with his.
"Oh sorry guys," she apologised, trying to keep a laugh from escaping by biting her lip. "Guess you want to take your shower now. I'll go next door and get mine," she offered. Before going, though, she bent to give Scott a long, lingering kiss, which only served to make Virgil and John want to get in under a cold shower of their own.
Jenna went next door to a smaller changing area, complete with shower, which Tin-Tin would use if she were exercising, whether on her own or with the boys, to afford her some privacy. She gladly relaxed under the warm water, laughing to herself at the practical joke those two imps had played and how she and Scott had turned it round rather neatly to their advantage.
Tin-Tin duly turned up with a change of clothes and apologised for the boys antics to which Jenna told her not to worry, there was no harm done, telling her how she and Scott had turned the tables on the jokers. Tin-Tin sometimes felt she spent her life apologising for their high-spirited pranks but couldn't help thinking, after listening to Jenna, why Alan couldn't sometimes be a bit more adventurous and playful.
Refreshed and in clean, dry clothes Jenna, followed by Tin-Tin, went back to the boys locker room, it being obvious that Jenna had finished first. "You're not going in there now, are you?" Tin-Tin exclaimed embarrassingly, with a look of almost horror on her face.
Jenna had to bite back a smile at the young girl's embarrassment, as she wouldn't have given it a second thought. "You're right," Jenna agreed, trying to stay serious. "I should, at least, give them some warning," she added, breaking into a wry smile, which made Tin-Tin giggle. Knocking loudly on the door she called, "I hope you guys are decent in there."
From within the confines of the room could be heard a frantic scrambling for what Jenna could only suppose were towels with which to cover themselves, making both her and Tin-Tin giggle all the more at the thought of the panic within.
"Hey John…you seen my towel?" a panicked Virgil could be heard to say, "It was here a minute ago."
"No Virg…you seen mine? Hey, wait a minute…didn't we throw them at Alan?" John said, equally as panicked.
"Yeah, yeah…you're right. Here they are…on the floor," a relieved sounding Virgil replied, only to be followed by, "Aaoohh, careful John."
Jenna and Tin-Tin had to put their hands to their mouths to stop them laughing outright at what they could only surmise was a bumping of heads together as both boys tried to retrieve their towels from the floor at the same time.
"Sorry Virg," John apologised before sounding perplexed and even more panicked, "Hey, these aren't right…they're too small."
Laughter erupted that Jenna recognised to be Scott. "Relax guys, its only Jenna," Scott could be heard to say, as though it should be the most natural thing in the world that she should walk in.
"That's easy for you to say," John responded, with what could only be described as a note of sheer terror in his voice at the thought of Jenna walking in on him now, in his total state of undress, Virgil being in total agreement.
Jenna knocked again. "Come on….what's keeping you Prima Donna's in there? I was finished ages ago," she laughed with mock irritability, insinuating that they must be rather vain about their appearance. "I'm coming in….ready or not," she threatened in a light, lilting voice, bringing a look of uncertainty from Tin-Tin.
"You wouldn't. Would you?" Tin-Tin asked a little nervously, to which Jenna only replied with a grin and a raise of her eyebrows.
"Oh..guys……is that what you're lookin for?" Scott could be heard saying quite calmly, probably because he had nothing to worry about, having his towel about him already. He nodded to the nearby bench on which sat a pile of dry towels, completely overlooked in their blind panic.
"Yeah…thanks Scott," breathed a relieved John, putting a towel around him and tossing one to Virgil. "Here…catch."
Virgil was in the very act of just putting his towel round him when Jenna decided she had waited long enough and walked in. He blew out a breath of relief at the close call, much to Scott and John's amusement. Tin-Tin had declined to come in, making her excuse that she needed to get back to the lab to help Brains with his experiments.
"What kept you guys?" Jenna asked, an amused smile on her face. "I could've had an army showered and dressed in that time," she added, suggesting that men are vainer creatures than they would have us believe.
"And just where are those other two…..they not back yet?" she continued as she looked around, seeing the still wet chair and Scott not dressed.
"Somebody call us," a couple of cheeky voices answered from the door, followed by Alan with Scott's clothes and what she could only describe as a 'Rambo' like Gordon, wielding his powerful machine gun, which she took to be the 'Air Blaster'. Both Gordon and Alan had taken the opportunity to shower and dress in their own rooms on the way to completing their errands.
As she helped Scott on with his t-shirt, Gordon took great pride in demonstrating the 'Blaster'.
"Watch this," he grinned cheekily and after having adjusted the settings to a suitable heat and blast, gave a few short bursts of air, drying Thunderbird 7 in no time. Jenna nodded, suitably impressed. Of course, letting Gordon loose with such a powerful 'weapon' was not always such a good idea as they were about to find out. He grinned as he upped the blast output of the gadget. "Now…watch this. This thing has a kick like the afterburners of a jet engine," he stated proudly, ginning from ear to ear.
He pointed it at Thunderbird 7, to calls of 'No, no Gordy' from his brothers but too late, Gordon took no heed and let rip with a blast of air, sending Thunderbird 7 rocketing backwards across the room to crash unceremoniously against the back tiled wall and keel over.
"Oopps," Gordon grinned sheepishly. "Just a bit too much power there, I think," he added, adjusting the power back down again.
Jenna had to clamp her hand over her mouth to stop laughing and try to be serious as both Virgil and Scott were giving their younger brother a right rollicking, something she believed about damaging property and responsibility. John just rolled his eyes in despair, though Alan wasn't afraid to laugh outright. When it was thought Gordon had calmed down and Virgil and John started shifting uncomfortably, letting Jenna know they wanted her to leave so they could get dressed, Gordon winked at her as she prepared to leave.
"Wanna see something really funny?" he whispered, Jenna being afraid to respond for fear of what he might be planning. He pointed 'the Blaster' squarely at Virgil as he bent down to upright Thunderbird 7 from it's fallen position and let loose with a blast of hot air; the effect of which was to make the towel that Virgil had wrapped round himself billow upwards like a sail having caught the wind.
Virgil stood bolt upright, yelping as the hot air hit him and trying to hold down his towel in a position of decency, sending Jenna into fits of uncontrollable laughter, becoming contagious as the locker room erupted.
Virgil frowned heavily and was most certainly not amused. Even when the initial laughter had died down, Jenna could not help laughing at the mental image that refused to leave. "I'm sorry…Virgil," she started to apologise. "It's just that…I can't…help thinking….of who you remind me of," she continued to laugh as she tried to explain.
Virgil groaned and frowned even more heavily as he thought to himself, "Not again."
"That movie icon…..Marylyn Munroe. You know…when she stands over that air vent….and is trying to hold her dress down," she finished, laughing again at the mental image it produced; Virgil's rather muscular upper body with slender, feminine legs protruding from below the towel.
"MARYLYN MUNROE", Virgil choked out, as his brothers erupted in yet more laughing and calling him in a 'nice' voice, 'Oh Marylyn. Sing us Happy Birthday Mr President, boo boo bee doo'. Virgil had always thought he had a good body and likened himself more to a Jean Claude Van Damme than a Marylyn Munroe, the former having a muscular body any man would be proud of. He knew he wouldn't live this down in a hurry.
Jenna could only apologise again and had to hurriedly leave the room before the mental image took her over again, closing the door as she left, to the sounds of much hilarity, as the taunts continued. After a suitable period of minutes and taking a deep breath to compose herself Jenna entered the room to find all the boys now dressed, Virgil meticulously combing his hair in front of his locker mirror.
With John having taken a towel and wiping the steamed up large mirror that was fixed to the wall, Jenna now observed Scott staring hard at his reflection, as if he was really seeing himself for the first time.
