REMINISCENCES by STE BERESFORD RATED FRC

Written for the 2009 TIWF Forum Kiss a Brother Challenge

He strode across the grass, long legs moving purposefully towards his destination, a selection of flowers carefully cradled in one arm. The weather had changed recently, leaving the leaves on the trees just starting to turn golden and crisp. Despite the rapidly lightening sky, it was still overcast – indeed, the sky almost looked like it was afire through the combination of clouds and red light.

The morning dew clung to his boots as he passed over the meadow. It had been far too long since he had been here last – far too long since his duties as a member of International Rescue had allowed him to leave the Island, to travel over here to see her again. There was much to catch up on – much to tell her that had happened since his last visit, and he really had no idea when his next would be. It was the constant dilemma of the Tracy brothers' calling: The satisfaction of saving lives, twinned with the loss of most of their personal lives. At times, working out when they could each take leave for a week or two caused more planning and headaches than arranging supplies and equipment to repair and refuel the Thunderbirds. Added to that the issue of John and Alan needing three or four days after each month aboard the Space Station to re-acclimatize to Earth's gravity – for whilst Thunderbird Five had artificial gravity, it was only about seven tenths Earth normal – and the difficulties in schedule planning soon started to mount up.

Take this day – this week – for example. A simple week off so he could visit her had turned into a complex web of swapped duty tours, chores and more than a little blackmail. Everybody had something they didn't want making common knowledge.

And so it was that he could be here now, striding in the shadows of the mountains, both looking forward to and dreading seeing her: looking forward, as he always did, to renewing their relationship, to sharing new things, new experiences, to tell her of the things his family had been up to. Dreading, because it would again open that old wound, the one he kept hidden from everyone else that he only shared with her.

For they both knew only she would – could – understand it.

Spying the small mound of stones that acted as a marker, his feet automatically changed direction as he reflected on his history with her. It was true that he had only really known her for a short while all those years back, but that short time had left an impression that had never left him, which was why he visited whenever he had the chance to. It wasn't just the nearness of being with her that made him return time and time again – it was the way he felt relaxed here, like he belonged. It – here – was a place he could truly relax, where, away from the company of his father and brothers, he allowed himself to let his shield down. Open up. Not hide anything.

Glancing at his watch, he saw that it wasn't quite time yet for them to meet. It was part of the unwritten, unspoken agreement: they never spoke before the time of their first meeting. That was when they had first seen each other’s faces in the cabin a few hundred meters from where the stones stood. He carefully laid the flowers he had carried all the way from the Island – blooms which he had, with Kyrano’s help, had cultivated and grown in a small, secret garden near the Round House and would never have heard the last of it if the rest of his siblings had found out – atop the marker and laid on the grass next to it, letting his gaze wander across the landscape, eventually – inevitably – drifting over to look at the mountain that loomed over it all.

That damned mountain.

He had first met her in the shadow of the thing. Well, met her properly. They had both been aware of each other for a few months beforehand, and she had been getting to know about him before he really knew she existed. The first thing she had said, when they saw each others' faces, had been his face, followed by a soft kiss on his nose, and that had been that: the two of them had fallen in love with each other, and for the next couple of years had been inseparable. The sound of their laughter was often heard in the air, to the degree that his father had often, but never seriously, complained that he couldn't sleep with all that racket going on. Then he would ruffle his son's hair, kiss his wife and retreat back into his study to work deep into the night on building up his fledgling business empire.

It all changed on the night their relationship ended. Then, his father had stayed up late doing his best to console him, to let him know that he wasn't alone. That he had family around him that would support him while he dealt with this. That he had four other brothers whom he could lean on, who would look after him.

He glanced again at his watch and saw that it was now time. Taking a deep breath, he rolled onto his side and propped his head up on his hand. Raising two fingers to his lips, he kissed them...

...and pressed them against the pile of stones. Specifically, the part that said the words 'Loving Mother'.

A wry smile crossed his lips as he spoke. “Hi, Mom. I know, I know, it's been a while, but you know what Dad's like when it comes to work...”