Navigatorsnorth asked for Accidentally falling asleep together with John and Scott pretty pretty please?

It had been one of those situations that needed all hands on deck. As 48 hours stretched, John had come down from Thunderbird Five, re-routing comms via EOS and Tracy Island, where Grandma Tracy and Brains handled them.

Not that there was much International Rescue could do outside of the current disaster that they were desperately working on. However, they needed the information that was relayed through, so there was no lack of work.

And now it was 60 hours since the first call had come in. All five Tracy brothers, plus Kayo, were filthy and exhausted. Colonel Casey from the GDF had taken one look at them and decreed that they were not fit to pilot.

They had all been too exhausted to be astonished that she and Captain Taylor were not only able to fly Thunderbirds One and Two, but were incredibly competent at it.

And yet, even after getting home, eating and showering, Scott and John still couldn't sleep. John because he was still on a massive adrenaline high. It had been far too long since he had been out on a rescue, and he had forgotten what it was like. He had determined that he would come down to Earth more often and physically take part in missions.

But that didn't make it easier for him to sleep, and he had wandered onto the broad verandah that ran the length of the bedroom level of the Villa, kicking down one of the thick Balinese pads that were there and that they had habitually used in the heat of summer to sleep on that same verandah.

The night was pleasant – one of those rare tropical nights where the temperature and humidity had dropped so that it was warm enough to be out there without any blankets, but cool enough to be comfortable. From his vantage point, he could see the stars and the slightly different blip that was Thunderbird Five in her perpetual orbit above Tracy Island.

Scott Tracy was unable to sleep for a different reason. As always, he did the rounds of the bedrooms – checking that "the kids" were all safe and tucked up in bed. He spent long moments in each room, soothing a brow that had not uncreased for a couple of days; stroking back hair that was damp from showering; soothing and holding a terrified baby brother who could not unsee the horror of the previous days.

He even checked in on Kayo and smiled as he untangled long limbs from twisted bedclothes. And still, Scott couldn't sleep.

A flash of ginger showed him where his immediate younger brother was and he wandered towards him.

"You should be asleep," he said chidingly.

"So should you. I will, though. Once the adrenaline high goes away."

"Yeah. It can kick pretty hard. John? You did good work out there. You know that, right?"

"Yes – but it's nice to hear it said." John suddenly took a deep shuddering breath. "I thought… I saw… Allie. I thought we'd lost Allie at one point."

Scott sank down next to John. "So did I. All I could think was how were we going to tell Grandma? And when Dad returns – how do I explain to him that I let our baby die?"

"I don't think I've ever moved so fast. Or that I'd be able to move that stuff by myself."

"You aren't the only one. Thank god it was just a shop floor dummy."

"I still keep seeing it though. And it's not the dummy. It's Alan. Or Gordon." John reached blindly for Scott's hand, a gesture from childhood. "Or Mom," he said softly.

Scott took John's hand and then pulled him closer. "I'm glad it's not just me that sees Mom whenever we have people trapped. It doesn't need to be snow – anything. If it's blonde or red hair, I see Mom."

The two sat in silence, still holding hands, leaning against each other. "D'you think she knows? That she's watching us?" Scott finally asked.

John was silent, and then finally he pointed to an area of the sky, seemingly no different to any other. "Out there. Hundreds of light years away," he said slowly, "is the Tracy Quasar. And Mom's star. I think that's where she is. And if Dad's really dead, then he's with her. And yeah. They're watching us. Watching us and keeping us safe. For as long as it takes the last of the light from the quasar to ever reach Earth."

Scott nodded. "And as long as we stick together, we've got nothing that can stop us."

John nodded and suddenly grinned. "Well, nothing except Grandma's cooking," he said before yawning widely.

Scott snickered. "Not even mom and dad can protect us from that," he agreed, succumbing to a wide yawn. "We probably should hit the sack," he said after both had traded yawns.

"Yeah. M'comfy here but."

"Same. Can't sleep anyhow."

"When we're able to sleep we can go to bed."

"Yup."

Silence. A slight shifting of bodies. And to the woman who came out of the shadows they weren't men in their mid-20s. They were the small children who had fallen asleep from exhaustion after a family celebration. The older children who had clung to each other after their mother's death.

Ruth Tracy spread a light blanket over the two curled up together and kissed two cheeks, smooth of stubble for now. She stepped back and looked up at that same patch of sky.

"Lucy… Jeff... if you're up there, keep watching over them. Keep them all safe until it's time for them to be with you again. She could have sworn that she saw a flare in the night sky, as a certain Quasar acknowledged her request.

And then was silence, and the starlight held two sleepers safe in its glow. And two became three. Became four. Became five. And the starlight enveloped the sleepers with its silver glow. Keeping them safe.