A/N: First things first, THANK YOU everyone for your wonderful reviews. They make me so happy! The original plan had been to leave this story as it was, but you have convinced me to keep writing! So here is it, as requested, Chapter 2! And you'll be glad to know that I have chapter 3 currently rattling around in my head.

Now, on with the story!

Disclaimer: Thunderbirds property of Gerry and Silvia Anderson. I'll give these guys back once I'm done!

Back on Tracy Island, Jeff was pacing endlessly backwards and forwards around the control centre, a half-drunk cup of coffee left forgotten on his desk. Pausing to look out over the balcony to vast ocean beyond for what seemed like the tenth time, he jumped as a buzzer sounded from behind him, indicating an incoming call from one of the Thunderbird craft.

Spinning around he felt a slight tinge of disappointment as he saw which portrait was flashing. He had hoped it was Virgil requesting clearance to land, having somehow persuaded his craft to go even faster than it was already capable. Pull yourself together Jefferson. Alan's just as worried as you are. He mentally scolded himself. Alan needed reassuring. The youngest Tracy may be closest to Gordon, but he and John had a special bond, one that extended to sharing each other's Thunderbirds, something the other three were slightly more unwilling to do, unless in extreme circumstances, so it was only natural he was worried.

Crossing to activate the link, not bothering to sit, the Tracy patriarch turned to the portrait as it switched to a live feed, at the same time running a shaky hand through his hair, trying his best to look a bit more composed than he felt.

"Hey Alan."

"Hey." The young blond mirrored his father's earlier move, his fingers, complete with well-chewed nails, messing up his usually perfect locks. "How are they?"

Jeff smiled encouragingly, resisting the urge to look hopefully out of the window again. "Well, I spoke to both John and Gordon while they were waiting for Virgil to come back. Gordon seemed fine, if slightly pale, but that's to be expected after what he did. John should be ok, a thorough check-up to rule out internal injury, a few days observation, a couple weeks rest and he should be back to normal."

Alan nodded at the good news, but he couldn't stop the anger simmering inside him at the thought of John having unseen major injuries. "Dad?"

Jeff started at the sudden change in tone in his son's voice, a tone that he knew well. Volcano Alan was about to blow, and it wasn't going to be pretty. "Alan?" He asked gently, not wanting to cause a premature eruption. The last thing he needed right now was a full blast of his son's infamous temper.

Alan was breathing heavily through his nose, clenching and unclenching his fists. "That man..." He snarled, his voice harsh and barely recognisable. "You know...the one that...hurt...John?"

Jeff realised what his youngest son was so worked up about. He wanted revenge on the one who hurt his brother. It was well known that Jeff was proud at the fact that his sons had such a close bond, but he knew from times of old, if anyone hurt one of the siblings, the other four wouldn't stop until they had blood, no matter how big or strong the enemy.

"Look, it was an accident. He was having a panic attack and didn't mean to do it. John is alive and in one piece, that is all that matters."

"Dad!" Alan was starting to see red. Nobody hurt his brother and got away with it. Nobody.

"Alan..." Jeff raised his hands, trying to reason with his son high up in orbit.

"John could have been killed! Gordon too! And you're just going to let him get away with it? We should at least have-"

"ENOUGH!" Jeff commanded, shutting up the blond-haired youngster mid-rant. "It was purely an accident. Accidents happen. This incident was nobody's fault, and we can't go pinning the blame on somebody who had no control over what they were doing."

"But..."

Jeff pinched the bridge of his nose, he really wasn't up to dealing with this right now. "Look, do you remember that time we all went to the Halloween fair? You were about four or five and you insisted we took you."

"Yes..." Alan was quieter now. Where was his father taking this?

"Do you remember wandering off and ending up in the Chamber of Horrors?"

Alan shuddered at the memory. The torture equipment in itself was terrifying enough, but there had also been actors around to make the experience all the more real, and that had been enough to complete petrify the youngest Tracy. He had howled in terror, curling up in the middle of the stone floor. He cried out as strong arms grabbed him and lifted him up, convinced that red hot pokers were going to be dug into his flesh and he would find himself on the rack being ripped limb from limb. He had struggled in the tight grip, managing to get an arm free. He lashed out hard, earning a pained grunt from his captor, but he was still being gripped tight. Instead his captor wrapped around themselves around him, covering his small body completely, seemingly to suffocate him instead. He had struggled even more, but he was getting nowhere, he was still trapped. Soon enough he was exhausted. Going limp, resigned to his fate, he had slowly realised that in fact he wasn't in a death grip, but rather a hug, and that his captor had a very familiar scent.

"We were looking all over for you, Scott was the one who found you." Jeff continued, bringing his son back out of his memory. "You were screaming your head off in the middle of the dungeon. He picked you up, but you didn't recognise him. You lashed out, just like this person did, you didn't realise he was there to help you, you just thought he was going to hurt you."

"I broke his nose..." Alan said quietly.

"You did, but yet he didn't let you go. He knew you were terrified, that you didn't mean to hurt him. He stayed there until you calmed down, carried you out in his arms so you couldn't see the exhibit, he even stayed by your bedside that night until you fell asleep, refusing to go to the hospital until you had truly settled, and even then it was under protest. "

Jeff paused, looking up at his son through the vid-screen. Alan was hunched in his seat, looking extremely uncomfortable. This was a painful memory for him, but it needed to be said.

"And the thing is, he has never, ever blamed you for what you did that day. Never. Not when he was getting his nose re-set, not when you came crying into his room in the middle of the night for weeks afterwards, not even when you would refuse to go out trick or treating for those few years and so he had to forgo his night of fun to look after you. So, Alan, having been through it yourself, do you understand? Do you get why we can't blame these sorts of things on those who have no control over what they did?"

Alan tried not to squirm under his father's intense gaze through the vid-screen, instead focusing all of his attention on picking at his scraggy thumbnail. He did understand. He still felt guilty about the whole thing, and that was without him being to blame. He couldn't imagine what he would feel like if Scott had held a grudge about it.

"Well Alan?" Jeff was still waiting. He already knew the answer from his son's expression, but he needed to hear it out loud, for both their sakes.

"Yes sir, I understand." Alan's voice was barely more than a whisper, and he was still picking absently at his thumb.

"Good." Jeff smiled. Volcano Alan had been neutralised. "Now-"

His next instruction was interrupted by a familiar beeping, and he looked up in hope at the other portraits along the wall. His heart filled with hope as he saw it was Scott's that was flashing. If he was calling in, then Virgil wouldn't be to far behind.

"Go ahead Scott." He answered, activating the link, frowning slightly at the sight of a his Field Commander covered in scratches. How many of his sons were going to get into mischief today?

"Thunderbird 1 making final approach to Base. Requesting clearance."

"Clearance granted. What's your ETA?"

"Five minutes. Thunderbird 2 will be about 15 minutes, she took off not long after I did."

"Understood Scott. Any news on John?"

"Yes, he's stable, but sedated. Virgil said it would be a less painful trip for him if he was asleep, he did take quite a beating after all."

Alan couldn't stop the snort of laughter. He knew why Virgil had sedated John, and it wasn't to do with comfort. Sometimes his middle brother had a bit too much fun as the organisation's field medic.

At hearing the sound through his link, Scott grinned. He also knew why Virgil did what he did, but there were some things it was best their father didn't find out. "Hey, is that Alan I hear?" He flicked a switch on his controls, connecting himself to Alan in Thunderbird 5, who's rather subdued face appeared next to his father's on his screen. "Hey Sprout! You alright?"

"Yeah..."

Scott's brow wrinkled slightly. Alan was quiet. Usually he would have been bombarded with a barrage with questions by this time, but instead his baby brother just seemed down. Maybe, like Scott himself, Alan just needed to see John alive with his own eyes, instead of being reassured second hand through a comm-link. Thinking quickly, Scott came to a decision. He looked back to his father, hoping he would agree with what he would say next. "Dad, how about Alan comes back down? We could use him on the ground."

Jeff nodded in agreement, he was about to say the same thing before Scott had called in. "Yes, you're right. With two operatives out of action we're going to need all the hands we can get if a rescue comes in."

"Two...?" Alan's questioning voice came over the speaker. Surely it was only John who wouldn't be on duty for a while? "Dad? What-?" He trailed off mid-question as his father held up a finger to wait.

"Scott." Jeff faced the portrait of his eldest son. "Once John is in the infirmary, do you think you could take Three and go get Alan?" He noted with amusement that Alan winced at the mention of Scott piloting the rocket. The young blond may be willing to share his Thunderbird with his other space-inclined brother, but that didn't mean he was too happy about lending it to anyone else. But, he didn't exactly have a choice in the matter, unless he wanted to stay stuck in orbit.

"Of course. Time to stick that tin-can on auto Sprout!" Scott answered. He too, had spotted Alan wince. Well, it was about time the kid had a taste of what he went through everytime he was unable to pilot One and he had to relinquish the controls to the baby of the family. Not that there was really anything to worry about. All the boys could pilot every one of the crafts as well as each other, their father had made sure of that, but that didn't make it any easier to have anyone else in their respective seats.

Alan didn't seem too happy to start with at the prospect of seeing Scott, but his face lit up as he worked out he would be earth-bound sooner than he had hoped. "Awesome! ETA Scott?" He asked, completely forgetting about his question about who else was out of action.

Scott thought for a second. He didn't really want to be shooting off again so soon, he'd much rather be with John and Gordon instead, but it would be cruel to leave Alan isolated so far away. It was only fair the whole family was together for once, especially after so very nearly being ripped apart. "Well, I'll be lending Virge and Dad a hand first, but hopefully I should be on my way soon after that. So maybe a few hours, I'll let you know when I take off."

"Great! Well, I better go get packed. See you guys later! Thunderbird 5 out." Alan flicked a switch and the comm-link cut out, Scott's screen going black and his portrait in the control centre turning back to it's static counterpart.

"Well, he's eager." Scott commented, raising an eyebrow at the suddenness of Alan cutting the link. Surely he would have stayed on until Virgil had landed. He noticed that his father also had an eyebrow raised, the corner of his mouth curled upwards in a smile. "Why do I get the feeling he'd rather avoid me?"

"What? Oh. He got angry at the person who hit John."

"Understandable." Scott pointed out. He too had wanted to throttle the guy.

"Yes, but at least you understand it was completely an accident."

"Well yeah. I'm guessing Sprout got a bit worked up then?"

"Just a bit." Jeff admitted, ruffling his hair again.

"So, how did you calm him down? He looked like he wanted to get sucked out of an airlock." Scott asked. He knew that Alan's temper could be like a live grenade at times.

"Ah. Well. Trying to reason with him was getting nowhere. So I brought up the Halloween Fair incident."

"Halloween fair...Halloween fair..." Scott muttered, trying to think of what his father was talking about. His eyes lit up and he grinned, absently rubbing his nose as he remembered. "Oh yeah! That would shut him up! You know, I never knew such a small fist could have such power behind it, I'll tell you that!"

"I explained that even though he hurt you, you have never ever held him to blame for it."

"Yeah, if anything it was my fault. I did suggest going. And I should have kept a better eye on him, he should have never wandered off in the first place." Now it was Scott's turn to feel guilty.

Jeff sighed. All five sons were taking him on an emotional roller-coaster today, he didn't know how much more he could take. "Look Scott, what's done is done, it wasn't your fault either. Anyway, I had to get Alan to see this incident from another perspective. He needed to understand that in a panic, it is impossible to distinguish friend from foe."

"And it worked?" Scott was impressed. Alan in a temper was nigh impossible to defuse, but if there was one person who could do it, it was Jeff, though even for him it was difficult.

"Yeah. Surprisingly."

"Looks like it'll be a quiet return to Earth later then. That'll make a change." Scott mused. He looked out of the window of Thunderbird One. He could see the island below. He was almost home. Manipulating the controls he turned back to the vid-screen and his father beyond. "Approaching the island, changing to vertical landing."

"FAB Scott. See you shortly."

"Will do. Thunderbird 1 out."

As silence once again reigned in the control room Jeff walked around his desk, flopping down into his chair, burying his head in his hands. It had been a long, emotionally exhausting day, and it was far from over.

Lifting his head, he spotted his cup of coffee he had left there earlier. Picking it up, he took a sip. Yuck! Stone cold! He grimaced, practically slamming the cup back onto the wooden surface. He looked towards the kitchen near-by, debating on whether he dared leave the control centre to see if anything was left in the pot. The roar of engines outside answered for him, and he looked out just in time to see a sleek, silver and blue form descend past the Tracy villa. Scott was home, which meant that Virgil would be calling in at any moment, definitely not the time to go on the hunt for coffee.

Instead he attempted to busy himself shuffling the papers strewn across his desk as machinery whirred beneath him, which he knew was moving Thunderbird 1 from the launch pad back to her hanger.

After a few minutes the machinery quietened down again, just in time for another buzzing sound started up to signal an incoming transmission and this time, there was only place it could be coming from.

"Go ahead Virgil." Jeff said, activating the link and raising a hand to greet Scott, who at that very moment had swung into the control centre through his secret panel.

"Thunderbird 2 on final approach. Requesting clearance." Virgil echoed the words of his older brother just minutes prior.

"Clearance granted." Both Jeff and Scott smiled at the two faces visible through the vid-screen. "It's good to see you boys."

"Same. It's not been one of the best days."

"It sure hasn't." Jeff responded. Standing up, he moved to easily address all three of his present sons. It was time to get down to business. "Right. I'll meet you as soon as you land and help transfer John. Virgil, you and Brains will him a thorough check over. I don't want anything missed. I want to be certain that he has no internal or lasting damage. Scott, head down to the hangar and make sure that Tracy One is fuelled up and ready to leave at a moments notice. We may have the facilities to care for John here in his current condition but I don't want any delays if, God forbid, we need to make a dash to a hospital on the mainland. Meet me at Two's silo once you're done. Understood?"

Scott nodded his understanding before turning and making his way out of the room, heading towards the part of the island where Jeff Tracy's more widely known aircraft were stored. The Tracy patriarch watched him go, before turning his attention to his remaining son.

"And Gordon?"

"Yes sir?"

"Good job today. If not for your quick thinking out there... Well, I'd rather not think about it. Thank you."

The aquanaut flushed with embarrassment at his father's praise. "Thanks Dad. It was my pleasure. I mean, I couldn't just leave him could I?"

Jeff smiled with pride. "I know that Gordon, but thank you anyway. You risked serious injury to yourself..." He noticed that his son's eyes flicked away at that, but decided to ignore it for the time being. "...and saved the life of your brother. It's these selfless acts, that all five of you do, that make me so proud to have you as not only valued members of International Rescue, but as my sons as well."

Virgil flushed as well. It was always a nice feeling to be praised as such, especially after such a stress-filled day.

"Thanks Dad." Both occupants of Thunderbird 2 chorused together.

"You're welcome boys. And I do mean it." Jeff replied. "Now, as soon as you've landed, make sure you have the doors unlocked, because I'm coming in and nothing, not even Thunderbird 2 is going to stop me. Understood?"

"FAB." They chorused, Virgil leaning towards Gordon to mutter out of the side of his mouth. "See, what did I tell you? Flapping Hen..."

Gordon barely stopped himself from laughing, instead choosing to nod in agreement, ignoring the furrow that formed in his father's brow, who was wondering what the joke he had missed was, and then deciding he was better off not knowing.

"Right then, see you boys in a few minutes then." He said, feeling his chest tighten slightly. John was almost home, all his boys nearly were, even Alan in a few hours. Every time a rescue came in and he sent his boys out into the danger zone, he always feared that one day, not all of them would return home again. He had thought his worst fear had been realised earlier, but thanks to the combined efforts of the boys, they had all come home to him today, and relatively in all in one piece as well.

"Sure Dad. See you soon. Thunderbird 2 out." Virgil said before cutting the link, the live feed switching back to it's familiar portrait. Jeff turned to look out over the balcony, happy at the fact that this time, the view included the organisation's carrier craft. Leaning over his desk, he picked up and drained the last dregs of his coffee, not caring anymore that it was cold. He was going to need the boost.

Taking a deep breath, he convinced himself to start the long walk through the house down to the hidden depths underneath. He could take the elevator, but the that would mean he would have to wait until they had landed. Rolling his head on his shoulders, he left the control centre, all the while mentally composing himself for what he would find once he was inside Thunderbird 2. His son was alive and home, that was all that mattered now.