Title: Homecoming
Rating: T (mild swearing)
Summary: Sally realizes that her boys are going to need more help on the Island.
Notes: This is set just before Alan's graduation in TAG extra notes at the bottom
Disclaimer: I don't own it. Although I would love to own a copy of season three of this series even if was only an iTunes download copy, come on iTV pull your head out of your arse – you're only feeding the pirates at this point. (I am not from the UK)

Homecoming

Jeff looked at his mother, from his bed, as she was telling him that Alan had just graduated high school.

"But Alan's nineteen now if my guess on his age is correct." He said, to his mother. "Wasn't he meant to graduate last year?"

"He was," Sally answered, solemnly. "But a lot of things happened between your disappearance and the relaunch of International Rescue." She sighed. "He fell behind, and had to repeat a year just before he started high school."

"Was it his IR training?"

"No," Sally replied firmly, "There was a rule of school before rockets in place, before Scott and John even agreed to train him."

"Then what happened?" Jeff pressed, "Was it because of me?"

"Again, no." Sally sighed, "Although it was close call that year, all the boy's, including John, nearly failed their school years, it took a monumental effort from all the boys to pass that year."

"So, what happened?" Jeff pressed.

"Scott was still in the air force when he got shot down in Bereznik, at the end of August 2057." Sally started, "He was rescued just before Christmas that same year."

"What!?" Jeff roared, he nearly lost one of his precious boys while trapped on that god forsaken rock?

Sally gave Jeff a look that suggested that this what not the only time the one the boys had given her a major scare, Jeff had a bad feeling he was going to hear quite about a few of them in the days to come.

"Alan didn't take Scott's disappearance well," Sally continued. "He couldn't focus at school, started to get into fights with other students, and after he accidently blew up the school's science lab, we pulled him out and started home schooling him." She looked down at her hands, "Not that it really helped initially, it wasn't until they got Scott home did Alan improve, but he never went back to regular schooling."

"Can I ask why not?" Jeff questioned.

"Scott was honorably discharged after the incident, and he never agreed with sending Alan to boarding school in the first place, so he took over Alan's care while starting to organize International Rescue for relaunch." Sally smiled sadly as she continued, "Alan was back on track to finish that school year on time by April, but then Gordon was out on exercises with his WASP unit, when the hydrofoil he was on crashed."

Jeff was now starting to shake with barely controlled rage, "What happened?" he hissed.

"We nearly lost him." Sally said, bluntly, "Eight people were involved in that accident, he was one of the only two people to survive." Sally put her hand on top of Jeff's clenched fists, "He was in the hospital for two months and spent half a year after that in physio, he was very lucky, Jeff, the other lad that survived will be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life."

"Shit, mom," Jeff swore. "How much did I miss?"

"A lot," Sally replied. "Anyway, the accident completely derailed Alan's school year there was no saving it after that."

"What about Virgil and John?" Jeff asked "They would have been collage at that time, wouldn't they?"

"Their grades took a hit, John, working with Brains, actually helped the air force track down Scott in Bereznik, but managed to pass."

Jeff leaned back in his bed and stared at the ceiling, not knowing what to say – eight years, he missed eight years of his boy's lives, how much didn't he know about their world, how much had his boys gone through in that time, without him?

He wanted to know everything that happened in that time – but he afraid to hear it.

Lost in his thoughts he did not hear his mother leave the room.

888

Sally found Lady Penelope in the round house having a cup of tea as she went though some files. "Remember that conversation we had before the boy's mission to save their father?" Sally asked.

"The one about finding a therapist to help the boys work through the fallout of saving or not saving their father?" Penny replied.

Sally nodded, "I need you to call whoever you have lined up," she answered. "I've just talked to Jeff about Alan's schooling," Sally took a deep breath. "He knows about Scott and Gordon's ordeals in 2057/2058."

"Oh dear," Penny replied. "And that's only the beginning, isn't it?"

"He did not take the news well, dear," Sally sighed. "We haven't really started talking about the Hood, the Mechanic, Chaos Crew or the other random idiots we have dealt with over the years."

"It is going to be a lot for him to process," Penny agreed. "It's also going to be a lot for the guy's to process as well," Penny sighed. "Especially for Scott and John, they have been practically running the show with your help for the last eight years."

"Scott and John wouldn't mind handing back control of Tracy Industries to Dad," Virgil cut in, startling Sally and Penny, as he walked into the room. "International Rescue is going to be the major problem in that regard, however," Virgil looked at his grandmother uncomfortably. "IR may be Dad's brain child, but it's been our main pet project since most of us graduated, while Dad is always going to have a place in the organization, he is going to have to let Scott and John handle the day to day."

Virgil sighed. "But that's not why I came up here," he continued. "I am going need help, when the emotional high of saving Dad wears off, I am this close to calling Pipe to help me handle Scott, but that would mean telling her everything and don't think we are in the position to handle the drama that would cause at the moment."

"Overprotective boy should have told her about IR years ago," Sally muttered. "I'll make sure Scotty informs her about Jeff – she may not be able to help him with the International Rescue side of things but it will give him another shoulder to lean on when he needs it." She looked at Penny, "As for your request for extra help, I've already asked Penny to find some."

"That's good to hear," Virgil sighed in relief. "But Scott and Dad are not going to accept some random person coming in, even if it is to help us."

"Well, you will be relieved to know she is an old friend of John's and myself," Penny replied. "Dr. Annabelle O'Locklin is a qualified psychiatric therapist, that specializes with patents that work in the classified fields - her father worked with my Great Aunt Sylvia on occasion."

"Does she know about IR?" Sally asked.

"Yes, she does," Penny confirmed. "John was actually the one that requested that I bring her on as an Agent four years ago, claiming that International Rescue was going to need someone with her skills eventually." Penny giggled, "I'm pretty sure John confines with her and asks her for advice on occasion."

Sally and Virgil exchanged a look with each other, seems like her third grandson had been keeping some secrets from the family. "Put in the call," Sally ordered. "We are going to need her sooner or later."

"Already done," Penny replied. "I'll send Parker out to get her after Alan's graduation ceremony."

Extra Notes: To start, thanks for the reviews they are appreciated.

Ok onto the elephant in the room, that is the screwball TAG timeline… The way I see it one year=one season of the show EXCEPT for the final season which starts in 2062 and ends in May/June 2063.

If Alan's 16 years old in March 2060 he would be 19 in 2063.

Also, Virgil is now considered the second born child with John being the third brother…