I am so sorry that this took so long to get up. I literally just finished it.

We had Wi-Fi problems where I lived for a week (cased by lighting hitting the box), and I had writers block, so I worked on other projects.

I can tell you now, that in the Alone series (that is what I've named the stories related to So Long, and Goodnight), there will be 4 stories. Those include:

So Long, and Goodnight
Safe and Sound
The Great Fight of Kansas High
How Far We've Come.

Other stories that I'm working on include:

Accidents Happen
How To Save A Life
Only Human

All, apart from Only Human, are in the Thunderbirds category. For those interested, Only Human is a Teen Wolf fic. If any of my fics are part of a series, ALL stories in the fic will be posted one after the other, and if that changes, I will tell you guys.

Sorry about this little rant, but I wanted you all to know that I'm not dead, and I have plenty more ideas to write up for your enjoyment.

Now on with the rest of the next Chapter.

T.C

~oOo~

Chapter 2

Coming Home

Sitting in the car on the drive home was nerve-racking to say the least. My grip on the steering wheel had turned my knuckles white.

Jodie was sitting in the front seat of the car, looking apprehensive, and the boys didn't know anything about my plan to adopt her.

"Are you sure about this?" She asked again, fiddling with the hem of her t-shirt, "I mean, it's not too late to take me back if you're having second thoughts. I wouldn't blame you if you were."

She'd been doing this ever since we left the hospital, and the closer we got to home, the more she started saying this. I didn't believe she was doing this to make me take her back, but because she was scared about what was going to happen.

And I didn't blame her. I was scared about the implications of doing this. But it didn't matter, because I wasn't going to regret this decision.

"I'm sure, Jodie. I couldn't have you staying in the hospital indefinitely, and I want to give you a home that you feel safe in. A home that you can be happy in."

A small smile tugged at the edges of her lips. She hadn't had a stable home environment in about six years, and for three of those years she'd been living on the streets or running.

"Okay. I'm just scared. What if they only liked me cause I helped John? What if they don't like me living with you?"

"With your brains and sarcasm? I doubt they would want to get on your bad side. They would be mad to do that." I told her, getting another small smile out of her, "And the way they talk about you, I don't think they'll mind you living with us. If anything, you'll have to have Gordon and Alan extracted from you, and duct tape John's mouth to stop him from asking you questions at three am."

When we pulled into the street, I noticed my mothers' car was in the driveway. As far as I could tell, everything was going according to plan.

"Operation Surprise is go." Jodie muttered, as she started wringing her hands together.

"Everything is going to be alright." I told her as we pulled into the drive next to the other car parked there, and getting out, "And I promise we will go out and get you some clothes, and stuff for your room."

"It's been a long time since I've had a room to myself. About six years, but it could be seven."

"That long?"

"Yeah. Anyway, into the belly of the beast, and out of the demons arse." She muttered, getting out of the car and grabbing her rucksack.

I rolled my eyes, getting out as well.

"I know where that comes from, you know. One of my favorite movies growing up, but my mother didn't like me watching it. Used to watch on the sly. How did you see it?"

"They used to do 'Movie Night' at the hospital sometimes. They played it during my first couple of weeks there."

We got to the front door, and I put my finger to my lips before I put the key in and turned the key in the lock.

There were hushed whispers coming from the den. They'd agreed that between five and six, we would have quiet time. A time where the older ones could do homework, and the Terrible Two had to do something that wouldn't distract anybody, like watching a movie.

When we got into the hall, I held out my hand to stop her before walking to the closed sliding doors and opening them.

"Hey boys." I greeted, smiling at them, "How are you?"

All of them were doing something different. Scott was looking at some papers that appeared to be in John's handwriting, Virgil was painting on a canvas, John was looking at something on his holo-tablet, and Gordon and Alan were sitting on the floor with some glue and glitter.

That's probably never going to come out of the carpet, I thought.

"We're okay." Scott replied, barely looking up.

"What are you doing?"

"Jodie's birthday is tomorrow. She turns thirteen. So we're organizing something for it." John told me, "The Terrible Two are making her a card, Virg is painting her a picture, but he won't tell us what, Scotty is following some of my instructions on making a model Space Shuttle, and I'm seeing whether there's any Space related exhibitions on. I was told she's allowed to go out on day release."

I looked to my right to see Jodie smiling sheepishly in the hall. She'd never mentioned it during our ride home.

"Hang on, isn't tomorrow a Wednesday? Apart from John, isn't tomorrow your last day of school?"

"There's nothing wrong with skiving once in a while." Scott said, "And besides, there's nothing wrong with taking a day off every now and then."

"Plus, we're all up to date with all our work. We're basically just playing games in class, cause there's nothing to do."

Pondering this for a couple of seconds, I couldn't see what the harm was.

"Alright." Shanking my head in defeat, "But I have a surprise for you all…"

Gordon and Alan were up in a flash, sprinkling glitter everywhere in their haste to get up.

"Sit down." I smiled, and waiting for them to actually do what I said before continuing, "Now close your eyes, and keep them closed till I say so."

The Terrible Two did it almost immediately, before bickering with each other about who managed to do it first. Scott and Virgil did it wearily, but John just shook his head and went back to looking at the tablet. That was probably the best I was going to get out of him.

I opened the sliding doors wider, and motioned for Jodie to come stand at the entrance to the den; giving her a reassuring nod in the process.

She took a deep breath before she stepped into position, so the boys could see her when they were told to open their eyes. Only that didn't quite work.

John caught sight of something, and looked up from his tablet to see what the movement was.

When he saw her, he practically vaulted over to her from where he was sitting, and swept her up into his arms; swinging her round in a circle.

"Oh my God. You're here. How?"

The commotion caused the others to open their eyes. They could probably only see a blur of orange and the colour of their clothing.

"I am here." She laughed, as John stopped spinning and put her down, "And your dad said it was a secret. That he was going to tell you when he got home."

It was then like a stampede of elephants had invaded our home, with the rest of the boys trying to beat each other in attempts to see who could get to Jodie first.

Alan won that race, and then proceed to latch onto her waist like a koala would a tree. He was then followed by Gordon, who elbowed John out of the way. Scott and Virgil were more reserved with their way of saying hello and welcome.

"I guess your surprise trumps ours." Scott smiled, pulling her in for a brief hug.

"Yeah… Well… What can I… Say?" She replied, struggling to breathe, "Alan… If you don't… Stop… Squeezing… I'm going to… Pass… Out."

The time it took him to first hug her, to Scott talking to her, Alan had climbed further up her body, and now had his legs wrapped round her waist, his arms round her torso, and his head on her shoulder.

"You're really here." Is all Alan said and, if possible, seemed to tighten his arms around her.

"I am… Alan. But can you… Loosen your grip? Just a… Little."

Seeing that he probably wasn't going to let go at any point soon, Virgil stepped in and pried Alan off of Jodie so she could breathe.

As soon as he was off her, she took in a deep breath and started coughing.

"What the hell is he on?" She asked, still coughing up a lung or two, "I'm pretty sure he could bend steel, or break somebodies ribs."

"He has been known to do that at times. He normally knows when to stop, but he sometimes gets a bit… excited." Virgil told her.

"You can say that again." She muttered, and seeing that John was actually going to repeat what Virg had just said, she added, "It's sarcasm, Jay. I heard what you said. You don't have to tell me again."

"I am familiar with sarcasm. Not good at detecting it though."

Jodie smiled and started to laugh a little. And this was the time that I chose to butt into the conversation between them.

"How about you boys clean up in here, hide your surprises even though she knows what they are, order take out and watch a movie. How does that sound?"

With all of them in agreement about it, they set to work while I took Jodie to the kitchen to look over one of the many menus we had.

And by the time the boys joined us, we already had an impressive list of food, sides and drinks written down on a pad, but I didn't mind. This was a time for celebration, so that's what we were going to do.