A/N: Hi guys! Here's a new chapter for all you wonderful people. Thanks for all the great reviews and favs.
I will admit I struggled with this one and to be honest, I'm still not completely happy with it, it's already been re-written way too many times, but I think it's about as good as it will get so it'll have to do!
Thunderbirds are property of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson
"Docking sequence complete."
Scott cut the engines and jumped to his feet as soon as the electronic voice confirmed that the clamps had locked on. His fingers danced over the controls, pausing when he reached the comms-panel. It had been pretty much silent throughout the whole journey, only having been used to request clearance with Alan, and that had only been a few seconds, the kid hadn't even bothered to activate the visual.
'Maybe I should call home...' Scott thought, his fingers still hovering in mid-air. 'You know, just to check up on everyone. But then again, surely no news is good news...' He stood wavering for a few moments, staring at the speaker, willing it to spring into life by itself and make the decision for him. But unsurprisingly, it stayed silent. Balling his hand into a fist, Scott fought the urge to punch something. For one, Alan would probably break his nose again if he wrecked anything in his Bird, and this time, it wouldn't be an accident.
Breathing deeply, he slowly calmed himself down. Punching the last few buttons around him, maybe with a bit more force than necessary, he then turned on his heel and walked out of the cockpit onto the docking tube that was linked to Thunderbird 5.
Reaching the airlock, he punched in the access code and the large metal door swung inwards. He stepped into the docking tube, the door hissing shut behind him as his footsteps echoed along the metal floor.
He soon reached the second door at the end and punched in the code to open it. A frown lining his face as ACCESS DENIED flashed up on the lock's screen. Odd, he was sure he had entered it right. He tried again, this time slowly to make sure he hit the right buttons, only to still be denied again. Sighing, he closed his eyes. This really wasn't turning out to be one of the best days. He entered another code, letting out a sigh of relief when it worked, the face of his baby brother filling the screen.
"Alan, I can't-" He stopped, cocking his head to one side as he noticed how Alan was sitting in his seat. The young blond wasn't paying attention, instead he had his nose in a book, with his feet propped up on the console. Scott shook his head, he had already noticed the problem that wasn't allowing him to get into the organisation's space station. "If I didn't know better, I would say you don't want to see me."
"What?" Alan finally looked up at the screen, a confused look on his face. Yes, he may still be feeling slightly guilty from the memories that their father had dug up earlier, but that didn't mean he wasn't looking forward to seeing his older brother, if anything else it was the first direct contact he had had with anyone for weeks.
Scott leant against the curved wall, a smile filtering onto his face. "Move your foot."
"Why?"
Scott rolled his eyes. Alan could be so stupid sometimes. "You're leaning on the lock-down, which means, I can't get in. Which means, if you want a ride home, which I'm sure you do, you need to move your foot. Specifically, your left one..."
Alan looked down at his feet, his eyes going wide as he saw that he did indeed have his left boot right on top of the lock-down switch. He had completely forgotten about it, there wasn't much use for something that restricted access to the station from the outside.
He shot forward quickly in panic, slamming his hand down on the switch, the book sliding off his lap and landing on the floor with a clang. A second later the door in front of Scott hissed open and he finally stepped over the threshold into Thunderbird 5 and towards where Alan was sitting.
"Thanks!" He said, ruffling the scruffy blond hair. He bent down and picked up the hardback, brushing off the dust cover. "1984 by George Orwell... One of John's favourites. I had wondered where he had squirrelled it. He got it for his 10th birthday, you know."
"10th?"
"Yeah, Dad got it for him, and then got told off by Grandma. She said it was much too old for a 10 year old, but John loved it. Wouldn't put it down. Read it cover to cover in a couple of days."
"A couple of days?" Alan was impressed. He'd only got halfway in about a week.
"Yeah, he always was quite the bookworm... Although he's always said he would have been quicker had Gordon not done his usual birthday prank" Scott traced his fingers over the title, then flipped through the dog-eared pages. "It's ironic really. He used to read about a world that watches a man, and now he's the man who watches the world."
"Yeah..."
They both fell silent for a few moments, watching the blue planet slowly spin below them out of the observation window. Alan was the first to break the silence.
"Scott?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry."
Scott looked down in surprise. "About what?"
"You know, about breaking your nose." Alan said quietly, picking at his thumb again.
"Seriously? Alan, that was ages ago!"
"Yeah, but..."
Scott clamped his hands down on his brother's shoulders, shutting him up. "Look kid. What Dad said was true. I have never blamed you for it, it was purely an accident. And there's nothing for you to worry about, so just forget about it ok?"
"...Ok..."
"That's more like it!" Scott grabbed his brother in a headlock and ruffled the blond mop. "Come on, no point in hanging around here all day. Have you put this thing on auto yet."
"Yeah, pretty much. Just a few more things left to do."
"Right then." Scott clapped his hands together. "Let's get a move on then. Many hands make quick work and all that."
Alan nodded and stood up, taking the book back from Scott. Together they walked through Thunderbird 5, turning the last systems onto auto-pilot. As Alan walked back into the control room from his bedroom, a loud beeping echoed around the station, indicating an incoming transmission.
"Great..." Alan muttered, dumping his two bags on the floor and turning to look at the flashing green light on the console. "Just great..."
"What is it?" Scott asked as he ran into the room. "A rescue?"
"Maybe." Alan slid into his seat and activated the comm-link. The familiar face of the Island's scientist filled the screen. "Oh hey Dad - oof!" He suddenly found himself sprawled on the metal floor, having been shoved from his seat by Scott.
"Dad! What's happened?" Scott exclaimed. There could really only be one reason why their father could be calling.
Jeff smiled. He had expected Scott to jump to the worst conclusion. "Don't panic Scott. John's ok. I just thought you would like an update. Brains and Virgil have just finished their test and I'm happy to say that he has escaped internal injury."
"Oh thank God for that!" Scott let out a sigh of relief, as did Alan who was brushing himself down after picking himself up.
"Yes, it is good news." Jeff agreed. "He does however have a few cracked ribs and a hairline fracture on his lower jaw, plus extensive bruising but it's nothing a few weeks R+R won't fix."
"And Gordon?" Scott asked, causing Alan to start in alarm.
"What? Gordon?" Now it was Alan's turn to exclaim and jumped into his brother's lap so he could see his father. "What's happened to Gordon?"
"Don't panic Alan." Jeff soothed. "He's pulled a few muscles in his back, that's all. He'll be a bit stiff for a few days. But he's fine, he's already annoying Virgil as usual."
"That sounds about right." Alan grinned, glad that nothing was badly wrong with his partner in crime. It didn't however mean that he wasn't going to completely take the mickey out of the red-head while he couldn't escape.
"Has he woken up yet?" Scott asked, shifting Alan onto one knee so he too could see the screen again.
"Not yet. But Virgil has said that sleep is the best thing for him at the moment."
"Yeah. Well, we're pretty much done here so we should be on our way in about.."
"Five minutes." Alan cut in, glancing at his watch. He calculated an approximate journey time, then took 10 minutes off. With him at the controls and with Scott as a co-pilot, they weren't going to be hanging around. "Actually, make that three."
"Ok." Jeff nodded. "Well, I better be heading back to the infirmary now. I'll see you boys there then."
"Yeah, see you soon. Thunderbird 5 out." Alan leant over and flicked the switch, cutting off the comm-link, before finding himself sitting back on the floor again, Scott having pushed him off.
"Hey!" He looked up, glaring at his brother who was looking down with a smirk on his face.
"You're heavy, you know." He stood up and held out a hand, hauling Alan back onto his feet. "Come on, let's go."
"Yeah, about time too."
Alan flicked the last few switches on the console, fully turning the Space Station over to auto-pilot, and then bent down and grabbed his bags, throwing one to Scott.
"What have you got in here?" He asked, surprised by its weight. He unzipped it, laughing when he saw the pile of books inside, the top one of which was the very one Alan had been reading earlier.
"Well, I haven't finished it yet." Alan shrugged. "Plus I thought that John might like a few of his to re-read while he's recovering."
"We do have an extensive library you know." Scott said, zipping the bag shut again and hoisting it onto his shoulder. Together they walked from the control room and into the docking tube, the large door hissing shut behind them.
"This is John we're talking about, remember." They reached the connecting door to Thunderbird 3 and the young astronaut punched in the access code. The door hissed open and they both stepped through. Alan breathed in deeply, taking in the familiar scent and lovingly running his hand over the nearest console. While he didn't mind doing his rotation on Five, there was nothing like being back in his own Bird.
"That is true...He's probably already read everything in there. Now, I'm guessing you'll be flying?"
Alan grinned. "Just you try to stop me!" He dropped his bag on the floor again and practically ran to the pilot's seat, immediately starting his pre-flight checks.
"I'd thought as much." Scott laughed. He picked up the bag dumped on the floor and stowed it away in it's proper place before sitting in the co-pilot's seat. "Ready?"
"Hang on." Alan's hands flew over the console. "Right... Ready!"
"OK, let's get a move on."
Outside, the three large engines fired into life and the docking tube retracted back, and the red rocket swung away from the space station and started on the long journey back to Earth, much to the delight of the two occupants aboard.