Disclaimer: In the many years it has taken me to write this trilogy, I still haven't acquired the rights to Thunderbirds. Sorry.

Author's note: Okay…this saga has been going on for far too long…on and off for four years. It is time to put this poor, beloved creation to rest.

Parting Gift

By Bubblegum Thai

Chapter One

It was late in the day and the sun was setting over the horizon, throwing a serene orange haze over the peaceful Tracy Island; the modern outer walls of the family villa glowing with the warm, fading sun set.

It wasn't long before the serene calm and beauty was disturbed. As if on cue to the low rumble that travelled through the air, the large swimming pool began to roll backwards, disappearing beneath the patio with a slosh of water, lapping against the blue tiles of the interior.

With a loud whoosh of smoke from it's jet engines, Thunderbird One turned vertical, hovering above the open mouth of it's hanger before lowering itself down into the waiting depths.

Upstairs in the open-plan lounge, Jeff sat at his desk, waiting to de-brief the team on yet another successful mission. Tensely, he leant forwards in his seat, hovering over a few scattered papers, resting his weight on his crossed arms that rested neatly a top of his desk,

"How'd it go?" Alan asked as he flopped into the seat opposite his father's,,

"All went well, from what I've heard." Jeff replied with a sigh, glancing to the large rocket picture that was slowly revolving to reveal the pilot of Thunderbird One, "Welcome back." He smiled up at his child,

"Thanks Dad." Twenty-two-year-old Suzan smiled as she rubbed a fluffy red towel into her deep brown locks,

"How was it?" Alan asked, rolling his head to the side to regard his little sister,

"It was…well…y'know…" She breathed, "…wet…" She chuckled, sweeping damp bangs out of her blue eyes, "It was raining the entire rescue. All four hours of it."

"People still need rescuing in all conditions, Suzan." Jeff said, "Why don't you go and get some dry clothes on whilst we wait for Virgil and Gordon?"

"Yes father." She nodded, jumping up, wrapping the towel around her hair carefully, and tucking the excess beneath the wrap. She disappeared off through the house and Jeff smiled fondly. She was catching up with her brothers, long gone were the days when Scott told her to stand still on a mission. Now she was the secondary pilot for Thunderbird One and developing her skills more and more with every passing day. With her brothers getting older (Scott was in his early thirties), they would inevitably want to go and have their own lives, but Jeff felt happy that with Suzan being so young, he still had a few years left of her reliable service to International Rescue. She'd done her travelling and living away from the island and he hoped that was it for now,

"How's that book going, Father?" Alan asked, cocking his head to the side,

"Huh?" Startled out of his thoughts, Jeff looked up to see that his youngest son was still sitting there,

"Your book. Y'know…your autobiography."

Jeff chuckled in amusement; a book publisher had contacted him, pleading for him to publish his memoirs as an autobiography. The very idea was laughable to him; he hadn't done anything apart from work on International Rescue for the past ten to fifteen years and his days of space exploration were a distant memory. He smirked up at the blonde,

"Slow." He finally answered, "I don't know how to write a book. I'm an astronaut…a business man these days…"

"You must have some exciting stories to tell…what about the things you used to tell us as kids? I remember you used to tell Suzan and me one about an asteroid…"

"Thunderbird Two to base, approaching the island, Father."

"Alright Virgil, all clear." Jeff smiled before turning his attention back to Alan, "Perhaps. We shall see."

"Alright." The two fell into a comfortable silence, listening to the whir and clunks of the machinery below them as Thunderbird Two landed and docked into it's gigantic hanger. A few minutes later Virgil and Gordon appeared, their hair as damp as Suzan's had been,

"Everything go okay?"

"Yep. Everything was ay-okay." Gordon grinned, "It wasn't too tough."

"Yeah, only a small section of the bridge had collapsed so it was fairly routine. Gordon handled the situation in the water, I covered the bridge and Suzan handled things with the authorities at mobile control. All went well, no problems or unexpected situations."

"Well, good…"

"Hey, I thought I heard you guys come back." Suzan smiled as she re-entered in a retro, red mini-dress with white collar and black bow,
"Hey there kiddo!" Gordon greeted,

"You did really well today, Suz'…" Virgil smiled,

"That's my Suzy…I don't know how we ever operated without you." Jeff stated proudly before slapping his knees as he stood, "Well, I think you two boys should get warmed up, it's almost time for dinner."

"When's Scott coming back?" Suzan asked,

"He should be back in a couple of days."

"I sure hope he's having fun on shore leave…" She sighed, tossing a glance to the balcony doors which opened out towards the ocean.

- - -

Scott Tracy hated waiting in lines. To him, it was the most tedious of things one could possibly do in the modern world. Usually, he didn't mind so much, if it was worth something, but all he'd wanted was a can of soda and a magazine from the local Seven Eleven. He hardly thought he was asking a massive amount.

He peered around the gentleman in front of him who clutched a six pack of beer to his chest to see an old lady counting her pennies out on the counter top. He sighed heavily, raising his eyes to the ceiling,

"I thought vacations were supposed to be relaxing…" He thought. 'Come to Florida,' Joseph Tuft, an old friend from the Air Force and Yale had begged, 'take a load off…relax for awhile…'. But Scott wasn't relaxed. He was bored. Bored senseless, in fact. He never really had been one for sightseeing, not that there was much to sight see in this quite little town. He wasn't enthralled by the fantastic weather, either. Why would he be? He lived on a tropical island. Almost every other day he read in the paper about another courageous rescue by International Rescue, which only served to remind him that he wasn't there, keeping busy with the 'job' or having fun with his brothers and sister. As much as he hated to admit it, he kinda missed Virgil's stoic presence and Gordon's mischievousness. He missed Alan's bratty-ness and John's sense of humour. He missed his father's unwavering sense of duty and he even missed Suzan's uncanny ability to prise a smile out of just about anybody.

Peering around his fellow queue members once more, Scott saw that the old lady was still counting out her money for the store clerk. As he did so, his eyes drifted sideways to a small television screen that was suspended above the counter. The news was on, and a headline in red and white flashed onto the screen; 'Another Daring Mission from International Rescue!!'

As if with a click, something snapped inside of the thirty-something. He placed the soda and magazine down on a nearby shelf and stepped out of the line towards the main doors, shaking his head. Jeff had wanted him to take some time off, away from the island; see some old friends, try to regain something of a normal life for a man his age, but deep down he knew as much as his son did that Scott's one true love was International Rescue. There was no man or woman that could compete with his sense of duty. The brunet wasn't entirely sure if it were a good or a bad thing, however, for now it didn't seem to be causing anyone any harm, so why change anything?

Outside, a wave of dry, sticky heat hit him like a wall as he headed back to Joseph's villa. He'd decided that his father probably wouldn't mind if he returned a few days early, in fact, he'd probably be thrilled.

- - -

"Hey Suz'…"

Startled, Suzan flicked her half-inhaled cigarette over the balcony railings before turning sharply, plastering a broad grin across her face for her favourite brother,

"Hey you." She greeted warmly. He gave her a knowing look;

"I saw that." Virgil stated in a warning tone that Suzan had never heard before. It made her uneasy, but she shrugged it off regardless,

"Soo…what's up?" She asked, changing the subject,

"Here," Virgil offered her a stick of gum, "Father will kill you if he finds out you've been smoking."

"Thanks."

"So…how's studying going? I never really got to tell you that you did really well on your MCATs."

"Thanks." Suzan repeated, a little embarrassed,

"So are you ever gonna tell Dad about med school, or what?"

Suzan smiled weakly,

"I'm waiting to see if they accept me first." She smirked, "Then we'll see what Dad has to say on the matter…though, right now, I'm not so sure myself."

"What do you mean?"
"Whether I want to go or not."
Virgil rolled his eyes – typical Suzan, she never had any idea what she was doing or what she wanted,

"You're kidding." The elder of the two started with a chuckle, "It's Johns Hopkins, Suzy! You can't just turn a place like that down!"

"If I get it." She corrected,

"You will. I know you will. You're a Tracy, aren't you? It's what we do?"

"Why don't you just say 'we're awesome' and get it outta your system."

"Okay. We're awesome." Virgil beamed proudly, "And you, dear little sister, will achieve big things…once you figure out what these things are!"

"Oh really now?"

"Yes. Really." He stated smugly, crossing his arms over his chest,

"Well…I…the reason I might not go is…" She trailed off,

"What?"

"You gotta promise me that you won't tell anyone Virgil!"

"I won't."

"I'm serious! Not even Scott, or John or Dad! Not even Grandma!"

"Okay, alright kiddo! I promise you, I won't tell anyone."

Suzan quickly threw a wary glance over her shoulder, back into the living room. She looked up and down the stretch of the room before pulling the glass doors closed,

"Okay…don't get mad…" She began, holding her hands up defensively.

-To be continued…