Growing Pains

AN – This has been floating around in my head for such a long time… but LMC25 has really encouraged me to start working on it again! I'm working on multiple works so updates won't be too frequent, but I hope you enjoy it! It's a different AU to my other works and one based on TAG instead of the original series. Please let me know what you think!

Chapter One – Jeff I

It was an otherwise uneventful Tuesday, about two months after he had been rescued from the Oort Cloud, that Jeff Tracy gathered his kids (both biological and adopted) around him and told them there were going to be a few changes to the way International Rescue was run.

Naturally, this led to a cacophony of exclamations, a few protests thrown in there too, but Jeff was resolute. He'd not been idle since he'd come back; aside from the medical and physio appointments he'd had to attend he had spent all that time watching his family and trying to reconcile the men he saw now with the boys he had known.

And what he saw alarmed him.

Now, it should be said very clearly that Jeff was immensely proud of his sons. They had gone further than he had ever expected them to, in keeping International Rescue growing and increasing its operating capability. They had kept his businesses running smoothly too, channelling the funds back into the rescue organisation and somehow making it all work.

And then they had done the near-unthinkable, in somehow discovering that he was still alive and then journeying out at great personal risk to save him.

But in doing this, he thought that perhaps they had forgotten how to live.

Scott looked as though he had aged twenty years instead of eight. Carrying the weight of expectations had been difficult for his oldest son, and the cracks were beginning to show. Christ, the boy was beginning to go grey! It was as though Scott no longer knew how to rest, he was always on alert and the first to jump into action whenever the occasion arose.

Virgil obviously worried about Scott too. In fact, Jeff thought Virgil worried about everyone. If Scott acted like a father to the rest of the family then Virgil had stepped in as mother. He shepherded his Grandma on her shopping trips, made sure that John's supplies reached him on time, that Brains took breaks and that Alan was studying. He was running himself ragged, too busy caring about everyone else to take proper care of himself.

John was another concern. A big one. Of the two months that Jeff had been back on Earth, John had been down from Thunderbird Five for approximately three weeks in total. And apparently that was a lot for him! That much time spent in isolation in space wasn't good for anyone; physically, mentally or emotionally.

Gordon and Alan he was less worried about. Alan a little, in that he seemed to have studied remotely for his high school diploma and only ever socialised with the family. But they seemed more rounded and took opportunities to get off the island. Similarly, despite Brains's insular nature Jeff knew that the engineer was happiest when surrounded by his tools and machines.

Kayo though… there was a hardness in Kayo that Jeff didn't remember. She may not be related by blood but she was as much his daughter as anyone could be. She kept to herself, clamming up when Jeff tried to ask how Kyrano was and evading any questions about when she last visited her home.

So yes, Jeff was concerned. And due to that concern, he had decided that there would be some changes. Duncan (no, he wasn't going to call him The Mechanic, regardless of the fact everyone else did) had been briefed on his plan and agreed to help, as had his mother. They both stood in the room now, providing quiet support to his stance.

"Now I know that you've been running International Rescue successfully for many years," Jeff said once the furore had died down. "And you should know that I couldn't be prouder of you for all you've done and achieved."

"Then why are you suggesting changes?" Alan asked, his arms folded across his chest defensively.

"Because you need me to!" Jeff took a deep breath, not wanting to let his frustrations show. "You've spent so long running this dream – my dream – that you've forgotten how to live your own lives. And so, International Rescue is going to take a few months where it's on lighter duties only so that you can all go out and explore what this world's got to offer."

"We've seen plenty of the world!" It was Gordon who interrupted this time. "We are on rescues all over it. People need us, need International Rescue. We can't just stop!"

"And we aren't going to," Jeff soothed. "We're going to keep attending the worst emergencies. I had a word with Val Casey and she's agreed the GDF will cover more minor incidents. With Duncan helping out here and me getting cleared to fly again soon, it means we can keep you all on a rotation so only half of you are on call at any one time."

"And what will we do when we aren't on call?" Scott frowned.

"Whatever you want to do." Jeff smirked. "Except Alan, that is."

"What?" Alan's head shot up.

"Because you are going to university, young man. You can have your choice of degrees, but you need to get away from the Island a bit and enjoy yourself. All your brothers did, after all."

"But dad!"

"That's non-negotiable." Jeff said sternly. "There are plenty amongst us who are trained astronauts. I know you are talented, but you need to go and do something else for a bit. International Rescue will be waiting when you're done."

He looked around at the surprised faces. Coughing slightly, he said, "Well, I'll let you all think on it a while. Come find me if you have any questions." He nodded at them and left the room, knowing they would need time to process the announcement he'd just made. He was pretty certain they'd all have an opinion about it.

As Jeff might have predicted Scott was the first to come and find him, later that same day. Jeff was sitting at his desk at the times, poring over paperwork relating to Tracy Industries. How Scott had managed to juggle the business alongside International Rescue while he was stranded Jeff didn't know, except that he had built a team of people he trusted to keep it running. However, a little additional oversight never did anyone any harm.

"Hey, dad."

"Scott." Jeff locked the tablet and put it to one side. "How are you feeling?"

Scott brushed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I just wondered if you had a few minutes to talk about the things you said earlier." From behind him, there was a slight scuffle – the sound of younger brothers fighting for the best position with which to listen in.

"Of course I do, son. What's bothering you?"

"I just don't think it's needed, dad. International Rescue saves people's lives, putting it aside so we can goof off doesn't feel right."

Jeff sighed, knowing that his eldest would be likely to have this view. He stood up, retrieving his cane from the side of the desk to support him as he slowly made his way over to the windows. The sun was setting over the Pacific Ocean, the tranquil sea a burnished gold under its lingering touch. Jeff motioned for Scott to accompany him as he made his way out onto the balcony and a bench that was placed out there.

Settling himself onto the bench, he rested his cane against the arm and looked out at the view with a smile. Scott, looking a little bemused, perched on the opposite arm of the bench.

"Do you remember when we first started up International Rescue? Back when we only had a couple of aircraft, basically me running it by myself. You were so keen to get involved, and I won't deny it would have been a lot easier if you had helped me out. But can you remember why I wouldn't let you?"

"You used to say that it was your dream, your mission. That you didn't want me to waste my life trying to live your dream. But dad, it's not just your dream now. It's all of ours, and we love doing it."

Jeff smiled to himself. "That's true enough, and I can't say enough how proud of you all I am for what you've achieved. But even back then… I would have let you join in eventually. I just wanted you to live life first, become the man you were always meant to be. And do it outside of my shadow and the shadow of International Rescue. And you did, you went off to university and then military school, earning your wings. Virgil and John followed in your footsteps, exploring their passions to the fullest extent."

"Yeah," Scott smiled now in memory – even though Jeff didn't know exactly what put that smile on his face, it didn't matter. "We had some fun."

"That you did." Jeff agreed. "But then I disappeared, and you all took over International Rescue. You've put all the other stuff aside and dedicated yourself to the organisation."

"I wouldn't change that for the world though, dad." Scott said earnestly. "What we do here… it's bigger than us. It's something special."

"True enough. I'm not saying that the International Rescue that you all built isn't an amazing thing, Scott. Just that you've given so much to it over the last few years you've forgotten how to kick back and just be you. That's why we're stepping back a bit. We need to find a balance, which allows you to have a life outside of International Rescue as well and within in. Gordon and Alan need the opportunities you had at their age, John needs to socialise and find his niche with like-minded people and you and Virgil simply need a break. That's all this is."

There was silence for a while. Jeff kept his gaze on the ocean, giving Scott the time he needed to work through his thoughts. The sun was dipping below the horizon now, the sky slowly darkening into a steel grey.

"I think I get it now, dad." There was a loud exhale. "I don't like it, but I get it. I'll talk to the others."

"Thank you, son. I know it's not easy to have me come in and change the way you've been doing things. But I think you'll find it works out, in the end. And if it doesn't, then we can go back to your way in a little while."

"Maybe," Scott stood and stretched, looking back towards the house that glowed golden against the dark rock. "I'd better make sure that they aren't getting in trouble."

Jeff heaved himself upright, grasping at the cane to steady himself and smiling wryly at Scott. "Never an easy task! That, I know from experience."

Scott laughed as he walked away, leaving Jeff standing by himself on the terrace. He folded his arms on top of his cane, looking in through the windows at his sons jostling in the den area. That had gone better than he thought it might. He knew if he could get Scott to see his reasoning, the others would be likely to fall in line. It wouldn't be easy for them to change the way they did things, but then as his pop used to say nothing that was worth doing was easy.

The door sliding open next to him caught his attention, and he greeted his mother as she came out to join him. Sally was wearing her usual purple tracksuit, with some floral monstrosity on top of it that Jeff thought might be an apron. He mentally cringed as he realised that meant there was probably some form of baked delicacy that she would try to foist on him.

"How did the talk with Scott go?"

"Well enough, I think." Jeff sighed deeply. "Am I being officious, mom, coming in and telling them what to do with their lives?"

"The way I see it, you aren't telling them what to do but more making them take the time to decide it themselves. It was long overdue." Sally came up next to him and put her arm around his shoulders. "I should have made them do it before, but it was only me against all of them. They wouldn't have listened to little old me! No," she continued when Jeff opened his mouth to argue. "They respect me, of course they do, but they'd tell me that International Rescue always had to come first. And I'm not sure I could have argued with that."

"And it still will," Jeff vowed. "Duncan has agreed to stay on to help, and I'll be able to get out there once it's been signed off. Just because it's lighter touch doesn't mean we won't still operate. They'll just have to be a bit adaptable, spend more time in all the machines instead of their specialist ones, that's all."

"See? I don't think you've got anything to worry about. It will work out fine."

"I hope so, mom. I really do."