A COLD EVENING by BOOMERCAT RATED FRPT

Alan considers the events of A Cold Day In Hell.

This story takes place immediately after the events in A Cold Day in Hell.

"Alan, go on off to bed now."

The deep sound of my father's voice startled me from the doze I had fallen into. My objection to being sent to bed like a little kid died in my throat as I got a good look at my father's face. He looked so careworn, I was suddenly reminded that he was no longer a young man. He looked at me with an open love that I found disconcerting.

I glanced over at the sickroom bed where my oldest brother, Scott, lay sleeping. His stillness made me uncomfortable. Scott was more than just a brother to me, and it hurt more than I would admit to see him in pain. He had been injured on a rescue in the Arctic, and for a while this afternoon, there was a doubt that my other brothers, Gordon and Virgil, would be able to get to him in time. It had been a near thing, but finally a little over two hours ago, Thunderbird Two had landed, carrying a damaged Thunderbird One where pod four should have been.

Brains and Tin-Tin had been there to meet my brothers along with Dad and I. They immediately took over Scott's care. It was a tremendous relief to us all to find Scott conscious, if groggy. He had a huge bump on his head, and a slice in his side. Tin-Tin quickly sealed the cut with a dermal sealer, and once in the sickroom, they did a skull series.

I felt as if the weight of the world was taken from my shoulders when Brains had returned and announced that there was no fracture, and that Scott should be all right with enough rest. A quick look around the room told me that everyone else felt the same way. By the time my dad spoke, Scott had fallen asleep, and Gordon had left to go to bed.

There was no question about Virgil leaving. He and Scott had been best friends all of their lives, and there was nothing in this world that would move Virgil away from Scott's bed at the moment. I looked over at the second bed in the sickroom. Virgil was curled up on his side just staring at Scott's face. I had a suspicion that he was doing his sleeping-with-his-eyes-open act.

I was so tired myself that I didn't even feel the resentment I usually felt at being treated differently than my older brothers. Dad was so tired, I doubt he even knew what he was saying. He was just sending me to bed by rote.

I got up with a sigh, and catching Tin-Tin's eye, I said quietly, "You'll let me know when he wakes up?"

At her smile and nod, I walked out of the sickroom and headed for the bedroom wing of Tracy villa. I was surprised after spending the last ninety minutes in the windowless sickroom to find there was still daylight outside. It seemed as if a year had passed since my brothers had left early in the morning on what seemed to be a tricky but run-of-the-mill rescue. Some stupid scientists had gotten themselves into trouble in an undersea laboratory under the Arctic ice.

The mission had gone from bad to worse resulting in the deaths of all of the scientists and more importantly, from my point of view anyway, the near destruction of Thunderbirds One and Four, and the injury to my brother Scott.

I didn't like to think about what would become of the family if anything happened to Scott. He really was the glue that kept us all together. He was part cheerleader, boss, confidante, and a hell of lot more. If he weren't around, I don't know that International Rescue would even exist. I mean, Virgil would try. God knows, he'd try. I suppose I would finally get my chance with Thunderbird One. Maybe.

Maybe Virg would fly TB1 and Gordy would fly TB2, and I would handle TB4. Yeah, like that would happen. If Virgil could figure out a way, he would sleep with that damn ship of his. And tell Gordon someone else would pilot the toy submarine? Not much can get a rise out of him, but that would do the job for sure. No, more likely, Dad would recall John from Thunderbird Five to handle Thunderbird One.

So where would that leave me? In the same spot I always was. The default son. Nobody else around to do it? Let Alan do it. Some dirty job no one else is willing to do? No problem, there is always Alan.

Of course, if it required half a brain to do, or maybe had a hint of responsibility involved, Dad's eye would look to anyone else but me. Scott always said it was because Dad just wanted to protect me, but I knew the truth. I was a default son. Dad had the perfect son in Scott. He was brilliant, caring, and better looking than any of the rest of us. Virgil and John, Dad tolerated them out of necessity. But me and Gordy, we were just spares.

I can still remember the bull session Gordon and I had when we were kids. Gordon had actually been the one to come up with the term 'default son'. He had meant it as a joke of course. Gordon never really took anything all that seriously, except maybe swimming and Thunderbird Four. But as soon as he said it, I was struck by the truth of it, and long after Gordon had forgotten the conversation, the term still rolled around in my head.

I suppose it was only natural that it would come out in a fight with my Dad one day. It was the day of Gordy's high school graduation. Two weeks earlier, the whole family had congregated in Colorado for my brother Virgil's college graduation. Scott had taken Gordon aside then and told him that he couldn't get leave to be there for both Virgil's and Gordon's graduation, and he hoped Gordon didn't mind. Gordon said he didn't, of course, but I could tell it bugged him.

Virgil couldn't make it because he was starting a new job, and couldn't ask for time off. John couldn't come because of a seminar on laser communications that he said was only a one shot deal. All three of them were real sorry. Gordy was understanding, but I wasn't. I was furious on his behalf, and when the big day came and Dad said he had to attend a conference and might be very late, I had exploded. I told Dad a few home truths, including that I was sick of him treating Gordy and me as default sons.

Dad had gone psychotic about it. He screamed bloody murder at us both, and when he had finally left, Gordon had just shaken his head telling me I was wrong. I guess I was still stinging from Dad's yelling because I turned on Gordon and just gave him holy hell. Ruining his graduation day is something I've regretted ever since.

When we arrived at the high school stadium, we were barely speaking. Gordon told me to save a seat for Dad, but I just walked away. When someone sat next to me on the bench, I ignored them, I was so wrapped up in my anger. The person kept nudging into me and I was forced to shift over and over until I was at the end of the bench. When the next inevitable nudge came, I turned ready for battle only to find myself looking into my big brother's twinkling blue eyes. The whole 'nobody's coming' thing was a practical joke Scott had thought up. I'd eaten crow that day, but still, 'default son' was a thought that occurred to me all too often.

As I walked down the hallway to my bedroom, I paused outside of Gordon's door. A couple of years ago, Gordy had been in an accident that had broken his back and he had to be careful about how he slept, or he wouldn't be able to move in the morning. After a rescue like today's Scott would always double check on him just to make sure he wasn't in some pretzel position. With Scott incapacitated, I decided it was my job to do the checking.

I opened the door and quietly walked in. To my dismay, he wasn't even lying down. He was just sitting there on the edge of the bed. I walked around to face him and he didn't even seem to notice me.

"Hey, Gordy, what's going on?"

He blinked and seemed to wake up a bit. "Hey. How's Scott doing?"

"He's still asleep. I thought you would be too."

"Oh. Uh, yeah." He looked around as if he was unsure where he was.

I was liking this less and less. "Hey, I'm going to go get Dad, okay? You just relax and I'll be back in a minute."

"What? No! Why? Alan, I'm all right. Don't get Dad."

"Gordon, you don't look so good."

"I'm just tired, that's all."

"Well, why aren't you asleep then?"

He looked away then. After a moment he plucked at the fastening to his wetsuit. "I, uh, can't seem to get this unzipped."

Oh God, I felt so bad. Just like everyone else, I had been so worried about Scott, I had just forgotten Gordon had been through a lot today too. "Here, let me get it for you."

I reached over and pulled the zipper down, and started tugging to get the stiff heavy suit off. Gordon was so tired he was hardly any help at all. I didn't say anything about it, though I could have. When I finally had wrestled it off, I stepped back. Gordon still just sat there, looking at me.

I caught my breath and went back and pushed him gently down on the bed. The bottom half of the wetsuit was even harder to get off than the top, but with a lot of huffing and a few swear words under my breath, I finally managed it. The effort had caused Gordon's tee shirt to ride up, and I saw some nasty bruising along his ribs.

"What's that?" I didn't mean it, but the words came out like an accusation. "I thought you told Dad you weren't hurt."

"Oh, that. What good would it have done to tell Dad I got clobbered? There was nobody else there to get Scott out."

He was right, of course. Telling Dad he was hurt wouldn't have changed anything that happened. "Well, you're home now. I think you ought to let him know."

"It's not that big a deal, Al. Just let it go, okay?" He sounded so weary that I ached for him.

I went to his wardrobe and got a pair of clean shorts and a tee shirt. "Here. You'll feel better if you get out of those things."

I tossed the underclothes on his chest, but he made no move to get them. I tsk'd like grandma, and sat down on the bed. "Come on. I'll help you."

"Can we just leave it, please?" He rubbed a hand over his eyes. "Listen, Alan, thanks for the hand, but I just want to sleep now. Turn out the light when you leave, would you?"

It was a reasonable request, but I knew my brother too well. "It must have been pretty tough."

He stared at me for a moment then said simply, "Help me up."

I took his hand and pulled him into a sitting position next to me. He didn't seem to want to look at me. "We were so close, Al. When I got to them, I swear, they were still warm. The water was freezing, but I guess they were able to stay dry until the last few minutes, so when I got there they were still warm. It was terrible. It was pitch black, and freezing cold, and here were these people that would have still been alive if I had just been a bit faster."

He sighed. I didn't know what to say. I had been on a few of the bad ones, and there really wasn't much you could say. We were so successful most of the time that the few where we didn't succeed were that much harder. I put my arm around his shoulders and that seemed to shake him from the reverie that he had fallen into. "Then when I finally got to Scott, he was warm too. It just kind of got to me. Al, we could have lost him so easily today."

"Yeah, but we didn't. You just have to focus on that, okay? Scott will be fine. You got the job done. I don't know how you do it, you know. I would have been a basketcase."

"No, you wouldn't have. You would have been fine."

"I'm not so sure. I was really bouncing off the walls here just listening to it."

"Yeah, well, that was just because you could. If you had been out there, you would have done just as well as I did. Maybe better."

"Not better. Hey, I hear you told off Virg." I hated it when Gordon turned morbid. He was normally so laid back, it just was kind of jarring when he got down.

"Yeah. Well, you know…"

"Yeah. He asks for it. He's such a pussy."

That got a snort from him, so I continued, "I think you should call him out. You know, water balloons at ten paces or something."

He looked at me as if I had cauliflower growing out of my ears, but after a few moments, I could see the seed taking place. I pushed it a bit further. "If you can figure out a way to do it, you can have him land up under that big bush by the pool walkway. I'll get up in the bush, and just as he turns, I'll let him have it."

I had his interest now. "With what?"

"I dunno. How about a balloon filled with grape jelly?"

"Or ink!"

"Yeah! Or how about ink mixed with glue?"

"Oh! I like it! Yeah, I think that would be great! Um, let's do it before Scott is out of bed, okay?"

"Definitely." We could handle Virgil when he was on his own, but Virgil and Scott together were a team too formidable to cross. "Okay, if we're going to do this, you're going to need to be rested. Virgil's old, but he's still pretty fast."

"Oh please, I can outrun him in my sleep."

"Well, that's what you'll be doing if you don't lie down here."

Gordon looked at his bed and then across the room where his chair stood. The chair had been a gift from Virgil when Gordon had finally been released from the hospital after his accident. Virgil had worked with a back specialist and a furniture designer to develop the chair. It had special gel pads that reduced stress on Gordon's spine. It had proven a godsend, and for almost a year, Gordon had slept in it every night. He still used it when his back was especially painful, and I could see by his look that this was one of those times.

"Come on, let me help you get settled." I pulled his arm across my shoulders and helped him stand up.

Gordon immediately pulled his arm free. "I'm not an invalid, you know."

"Could have fooled me." I said it airily, and before he could object, I pulled him up into a fireman's carry over my shoulder.

Gordon didn't struggle as I carried him across the room. When I put him down, I put on my most winning grin, and batted my eyes at him. He just glared. I tried for sweetness, "Can I help you sit down?"

"You know, don't you, that if I were to murder you right here, no one would even notice you weren't around?"

I smiled my best smile and took a giant step backward. "You'd have to move toward me to murder me."

He barked a short laugh, and sat down in the chair. "That's the only thing saving you. Get me that afghan, would you?"

I pulled the old blue afghan off of the bed and turned back to where Gordon had already reclined the chair. He was asleep before I got the afghan tucked around him. I stood looking down at him. I decided I would sleep in Gordon's bed, just in case he needed something during the night.

But first, I was going to go find Tin-Tin and tell her about the bruising on his ribs. If he didn't want Dad to know, I would honor his wish, but I wasn't going to risk it being something more than bruising either. I wanted Tin-Tin's opinion. She could look him over in the morning.

I turned out the light and left the room. As I stepped out into the hall, I found my father moving toward me. "Alan? Is Gordon all right?"

I had to keep myself from saying something rude. I felt a flush of sudden resentment. Ever the default son, Gordon could have had something seriously wrong, but as usual Dad was focused on Scott. Almost as soon as the thought occurred it disappeared as my father drew closer and I could see his face more clearly in the hallway's shadows. Dad was spread way too thin, and I couldn't bring myself to add to his burden. "He's okay. He's asleep. I'm going to talk to Tin-Tin for a moment, then I'm gonna crash in Gordy's bed."

"All right, son. You go ahead and talk to Tin-Tin. I just want to check on your brother for a moment."

"Okay Dad. I'll be right back."

I found Tin-Tin in the supply closet across from the sickroom. "Hey, honey."

She looked up at me with those gorgeous brown eyes and smiled. "Alan! I thought you were going to go to bed."

"Yeah, I was, but I got sidetracked. Listen, in the morning would you take a look a Gordon for me? He's got some god-awful bruises on his ribs, and I just want to be sure he's okay."

Tin-Tin immediately became concerned. "Oh, Alan! I do not think I should wait until the morning. I will go right now."

"Uh, no. Not right now. Dad's in with him, and Gordy doesn't want him to know about it."

"Oh, Alan, that is foolish. If Gordon is hurt, Mr. Tracy should know. Now stand aside, I want to get a few things from the sickroom." When she became forceful, Tin-Tin was a lot like my grandma, more a force of nature than anything else.

I stood at the door as she put together the things she wanted. I noticed Virgil wasn't missing a move. "What's going on, Tin-Tin?"

"Nothing, Virgil. While Scott sleeps I just want to check on Gordon."

Virgil immediately sat up. "Gordon? Why?"

I rolled my eyes. "He's really tired, Virg. I just want Tin-Tin to look him over, make sure he isn't, like, dehydrated or something. Why don't you come along with us. You can sit there and watch to make sure Tin-Tin doesn't miss something."

It was a bluff, of course. The last thing Gordon needed was the entire family descending on him. But I knew if I made it sound ridiculous, Virgil would think twice about leaving Scott, even if he was sleeping. Virgil wasn't buying though, and my stomach started to sink at the look Gordon would give me for spilling his secret. I was saved having Virgil come with us when Scott suddenly made a small moaning sound. The room became still as all three of us stopped and stared at him. His eyelids fluttered, but he didn't wake up. Virgil sat back and said, "All right, get going. Tin-Tin, I want a full report."

Tin-Tin murmured something and led the way out of the room. As soon as we were out of earshot, she rounded on me with flashing eyes. "What did you mean?"

"Huh?" For my life, I didn't know what she was talking about.

"You think I need someone to watch me? You think I would ‘miss' something?" Her voice was a hiss.

Oh. "No, honey, I know you wouldn't. I just don't think Gordon needs a crowd right now. If you'll remember I came to you. I wouldn't have if I had any doubts about your abilities, now would I?" I slipped my arms around her in a hug. For a moment, she was stiff, but then she melted into me. God, she felt so good.

After a moment, she pushed me away. "Come. Let me see Gordon."

I joked as I followed her, "I don't know quite how to take that. It almost sounds like you like him better than me."

Tin-Tin giggled and gave me a smack in the head that turned into a caress of my cheek that left me in no doubt who she liked best. When we reached the door to Gordon's door, I reached out and stopped her with a hand on her arm. "Honey, I know you think it's foolish, but Dad's got more on his plate than he deserves right now. Please, let me go in and send my Dad to bed. Okay? Please?"

She looked at me undecided. "Your father will certainly notice me standing here in the hall when he comes out, and I refuse to hide in the broom closet."

"You can wait in my room. Please, Tin-Tin, I really don't want Dad to know. If it turns out it's more than bruising, I'll be the first to say something, but I'm fairly sure it's not. I just want your opinion. Let's not raise an alarm if we don't have to." I stared intently into her eyes, earnestly trying to convince her.

Tin-Tin pursed her lips and said with a touch of sarcasm, "And to do this, all I have to do is wait in your bedroom."

As God is my witness, until she said it, I hadn't even thought of the implications. Having it laid out for me, I had to respond. "Yeah. You can look at my etchings while you wait."

She giggled, and I relaxed knowing I had won. "Well, okay, I will wait in your room, but don't be too long, or I might have to take a nap in your bed."

Oh, the woman knew how to get me going. "Screw Gordon. Let's go."

Now she flat out laughed. "Go to your father, Alan. I will wait in your bedroom." She turned and walked away down the hall. I swear she put an extra wiggle in her walk just to make me crazy. I stared after her long after she had disappeared into my bedroom.

The moment passed, and I took a deep breath. Shaking my head, I pressed the button to open the door to my brother's room. I walked in, but then came to a stop at the scene. Gordon was still sound asleep, pale, with his mouth hanging slightly open. Dad had pulled a chair up beside him and was just staring at him as he softly stroked his hair.

It was a tender side of my father that I only caught glimpses of. I wished it was directed at me more often. Hell, for all I knew, it was when I was asleep. I just wish he could express it more often when I was awake. I think we would have fewer fights if he did.

I must have made some soft sound, because my father suddenly looked up at me. For the second time today, I was struck with the fact that my father was getting older. At times like this, he seemed positively ancient, with all of the cares of the world showing on his craggy face. He looked at me for a moment and then turned back to Gordon. I sat down on the bed, not sure what to say.

When Dad finally spoke, his voice was so low that I almost missed it. "I hate this damn chair."

Huh? That had come out of nowhere. I didn't get it. That chair was really the only thing that had prevented my brother from landing up crippled with pain. When he first had been released from the hospital, and had to sleep in a normal bed, he had been absolutely frantic with the pain. He couldn't sleep and he didn't want to live his life on pain pills, but the pain didn't seem to get any less. By the time Virgil had shown up with the chair, I was terrified that Gordon was going to do something stupid and final to end the pain.

At the time, none of us, including Virgil, really believed something as simple as a chair was going to have any effect, but we were desperate. That first night Gordon actually slept for four hours straight, something he hadn't done since the accident. It was like a blessing from God. I had never loved my brother Virgil more than I did that next morning, when Gordon actually smiled for the first time in months. I loved that chair. It gave me back my brother. How could my father hate it?

"There was never anybody in the world who deserved less to be hurt than your brother. Every time I see him in this chair, I have to face the fact that my boy is in pain. I hate that. I hate the fact that all of my money can't take this pain from him."

I was at a loss for something to say. I hated it when Gordon got all quiet on me. It was a sure sign he was hurting. I knew my brothers all felt the same way. Scott would sit with him for hours watching dumb movies. Virgil would just quietly do Gordon's chores. John would distract him with chess or Scrabble. I would tell him jokes or help him plan practical jokes that would put Rube Goldberg to shame. We all got through it. Dad would watch from the sidelines and never say a word.

It made me uncomfortable when my father got moody like this. I tried a little white lie. "He's okay, Dad. I made him use the chair because he was so tired. You know when he's this tired, he doesn't move much in his sleep. I thought the chair would keep him from waking up stiff."

Dad could usually spot a lie a million miles away, but he was so tired himself, he just nodded. He stood up, his eyes still on Gordon. "Well. I'll leave you to get some sleep then. If you need anything I'll be in the sick room."

"Yes, sir."

With one last look, Dad left the room. I let out the breath I had been holding. I gave him a few minutes to clear the hallway and then went to get Tin-Tin. She was standing outside of Gordon's door when I opened it. Without a word, she went directly to my brother.

She gently lifted his tee shirt and hissed when she saw the bruising. She threw a reproachful glance my way then turned back to Gordon. She carefully pressed his ribs looking for any sign of weakness. We both breathed a little easier when it was obvious none of his ribs were broken. I didn't like the fact that he was so deeply asleep that he didn't flinch at the treatment.

Tin-Tin wasn't happy about that either, but she said nothing, just pulling out her stethoscope and listening to Gordon's heart and lungs. She made a small approving sound when she was done. She handed me the stethoscope and a blood pressure cuff and then turned to take his pulse. I did the pressure reading which was normal. Just be sure, Tin-Tin took out an otoscope and checked his ears. Then carefully lifted his eyelids, checking the pupil reaction.

She finished and smiled her relief to me, then turned to put her instruments back into the bag she had brought them in. My eyes were on her when a quiet voice made us both jump. "So what's the verdict? Am I dead, or do I just feel that way?"

"Ah, geez, Gordy! Don't DO that!"

"Oh! I woke you! I'm sorry, Gordon."

"S'all right, Tin-Tin. It wasn't you. It was the mouth breather here."

"You should talk. At least I don't drool."

"Oh, then I suppose it's all snot that hangs off your face."

"All right, you two. Please try not to be so disgusting. Gordon, your lungs are clear, and your heart is strong. I still think you should tell your father about your ribs, but at least I am fairly sure you are all right."

"Thanks, Tin-Tin."

"Yeah, thanks, honey. Uh, I'll see you later, okay?" Tin-Tin stood and took Gordon's hand for a moment, smiling down at him. Before I could get jealous, she let go and left the room.

I turned back to my brother. "You're supposed to be sleeping."

"Well, I was until you woke me up."

"So what's stopping you from going back to sleep now?"

"You. Staring at me. I'm not a bug in a jar, Alan."

"Coulda fooled me." I brusquely pulled down his shirt then pulled up the afghan and tucked it in around him.

"Al… Thanks. For everything, I mean."

I glanced up, and he caught my eye. It wasn't like I had done all that much, but I could see he meant it sincerely, so I said gruffly, "Any time. Now, go to sleep, before I get Scott in here."

"I'm not scared of Scott."

"Yeah, right."

He sighed, then with a shrug, closed his eyes. In a short time, his breathing became deep and regular.

God, I was tired. I couldn't take many more days like today, and that was the truth. Hopefully, I wouldn't have to, but I knew in my heart that these tough times would come again. As long as my family acted as the rescuer of last resort, we would always be at risk. As I fell into my brother's bed, I could only hope the outcome of all of our hard times would be so positive. Everyone made it home safely, and that was the best possible outcome. I closed my eyes and released a deep breath. Tomorrow would be a new day.

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