Well, here you have it...the end of what has turned out to be a much, much longer story than I first set out to do.

Thank you to everyone for all their comments, reviews, advise and support, I could not have finished it without you! Special thanks go to my awesome Beta 'Quiller'... THANK YOU ;)

Please enjoy!

Epilogue

Tracy Island - 2 months later

Jeff stood in his usual place just outside the lounge windows, on the balcony. It was the only position where he had full view of the swimming pool and part of the sandy beach, without having to move position.

He lent heavily on the wooden railing and took a sip of the large glass of scotch he held in his hand. The amber liquid burnt its way down his throat and heat flooded his empty stomach. Jeff watched Gordon as he completed his sixtysixth length of the pool without stopping.

The strength of his second youngest son never failed to amaze him. Gordon glided powerfully through the water, barely making a splash as he swam from one side of the pool to the other. Disappearing for a second under the blue surface as he turned to kick off the wall, only to repeat the action at the other end.

Jeff admired Gordon's technique and skill in the water, and smiled as he remembered how much effort and determination Gordon had put into getting himself ready to be able to compete in the Olympic Games, after his devastating accident.

The support of the whole family had helped Gordon through that time, and Jeff suddenly found himself once again wishing that Lucy could have been around then, just as he wished she was here with him right now.

He felt a presence behind him and turned to find his aged mother standing there regarding him with wise eyes, and an almost disapproving look upon her face when she noticed the drink in his hand.

"Not now, Mother." Jeff stated quietly, before she could reprimand him for drinking so early in the day. He turned away from her back to the spectacular view of his family home.

His island.

He let out a sigh as the old woman came up to stand beside him and linked her arm through his. She could hear the tiredness in his voice, see the dejected position of his body. She rested her head just below his shoulder.

He needed comfort too.

Jeff looked down at her, surprised by her action. Before he could say anything, his mother spoke first. "Jefferson, I know how strong you like to appear in front of those boys, but inside you are just as emotionally wrung out as the rest of us."

Jeff swallowed hard.

He was not going to cry. Not in front of his mother. He felt his face heat up, and he looked towards the ocean, trying to collect his thoughts. He took another gulp of the amber liquid, emptying the once full glass.

"My poor son. You have been through so much. I wonder if the boys would have turned out so well, if Lucy had been around? Would you have spent as much time with them now if she had survived? How many other lives would have been lost, if she still lived?"

Her words were on the edge of being cruel.

Jeff slammed his glass down hard on the wooden rail, sudden anger coursing through his veins. The sudden knock echoed loudly, scaring some tropical birds out of a nearby tree.

Ruth looked up at her son's face in concern. "Jeff, you love those boys. We all do. But wishing Lucy was here to clear up the mess, to do the emotional talks with them. It is not going to help anyone." She squeezed his arm, and turned him to face her. "Don't give up now, Son. They need you, just as much as you need them. Don't shut them out. This is our family, not a military camp."

Jeff shook his head gently, as if to clear it. How his mother always seemed to know what he was thinking never ceased to make him wonder...it had been the same with Lucy, she had always known him so well.

He calmed himself as his thoughts drifted back to his boys. His mother's voice broke through his pondering.

"You know your children as well as I know you. You are their father. Go to them, Jeff. Bring this family back together. They are the building blocks, but you are the cement that holds this family close. Go. Scott has been pushing us all away for far to long. Go and round up the others and bring that boy back. He belongs with us."

Jeff looked deep into the depths of his mother's eyes, and saw the belief she had in him reflecting back. His mother was rarely wrong, not that Jeff would admit that out loud. Jeff smiled genuinely for the first time in weeks. He left his glass on the railing, and put both his hands on her frail shoulders. He bent down and kissed her fore-head. "Thank you, Mother. You're right. I'll do it now. We are stronger together, I won't let Scott push us out anymore."

He left her standing there with a big knowing smile playing on her face. Kyrano appeared from inside the lounge as Jeff walked confidently past without seeing him.

"Did it work?" He enquired to the old woman.

"Like a charm, my dear Kyrano. Let us watch the healing begin." They both turned back to the view of Gordon swimming below them.

TBTBTB

Two brothers sat on the same beach.

One on the sand, his tanned legs stretched out in front of him. Every few minutes he would glance a sneaky look towards the cliff top, searching out the lost soul. Then he let out a sigh of his own hopelessness.

The other brother lent back against the rocks nearby, his light blond hair swaying gently in the breeze. His thoughts drifted and absently he knew this was what he would miss when he finally had to go back to Thunderbird Five. Something as simple as a breath of fresh air.

The brothers sat in each other's silence, taking in the unusual quiet time that they had been allowed by their commander and father to recover from the resent episode.

The family had hoped that after they got Scott back on the island, things would go back to normal - or at least, what was normal for their family.

They were wrong.

Things had changed. They had changed, not just Scott, but all of them.

There was a dark cloud was hanging over the Island. No-one could relax, no-one gave a real smile. Though the sun was shinning up in the clear blue sky, it just seemed to taunt them with the fact that they could not glow equally under its false radiance.

John swung his gaze to look upon his younger brother as Virgil let out yet another heartfelt sigh.

John let out a sigh of his own. "Is he still up there?"

Virgil didn't even look at John to answer, he just kept staring out to the ocean. "Yeah. Not moved for the last four hours." He let out another sigh of discontent. "It's been two months! Two months, John. He hasn't said a word. Not a damn thing!"

Virgil felt his temper rising as he let John know how he was feeling. No-one talked about what had befallen the family, nearly destroying International Rescue and tearing the family apart. The Tracy men tried to avoid the subject as if it never happened.

Only the women in their lives had broached the subject. But they had one by one been given the cold shoulder.

Penny had tried to get Jeff to talk to Scott or get him professional help shortly after they all got back to the Island from the hospital. She and Parker had arrived for the week, only to find that the usual happy atmosphere on the tropical island had changed. For the worse.

When she got her first look at Scott Tracy since he was allowed out of the med-bay, she was shocked to see that he was a shadow of his former self. He was obviously still having problems with his memories. She would see him glance occasionally at his father, with fear in his eyes, then he would search out to the shadows to look for...what, she could only guess.

He had lost weight, and that was not just because he was still recovering from his ordeal, but he had a haunted look in his eyes. The dark rings around his eyes told the fact he was not sleeping either.

Penny could see that the eldest Tracy boy needed help, and soon. Scott was always the one to shut down and hide his feelings from the others. But this was eating him alive. From the look of it, his lack of recovery was effecting the whole family.

TBTBTB

Scott stood rigidly upon the cliff top, his gaze vacant as he stared out over the clear blue ocean. He was healing physically.

But mentally was a completely different matter.

He was sleeping at night - and that was only because he had strong sleeping tablets to take. But when he woke up, every morning was the same. The past events would suddenly bombard his brain. Every morning after waking from the drug induced slumber he felt the same guilt hit him in the stomach like an icy punch, leaving him empty of feeling as he tried to ignore the fact that any of it had happened.

He hated the way he seemed to stumble on his life in the morning, hated the haunted look in his reflection so much that he no longer even looked at the man he once knew in the mirror.

How could he live with himself, knowing the truth of what had happened to him?

What he had done was unforgivable.

He was a murderer.

Scott felt he should have been locked away in jail. Not just his older brother...no, not his older brother. Wolf was not his brother, but one of the people who did this to him.

Scott shook his head in dismay. Why did he still get confused between the truth and the lies?

His real family and friends had come to his 'rescue'; after all, that was what they did best. Only this time, Scott felt, they had been too late. People had been hurt because of him. Because he was too weak to fight the drugs given to him. To weak to avoid capture, and he remembered how he felt pressing the trigger of the jet. Hell, he was going to shoot his younger brothers down, and even enjoyed the adrenalin rush when he was doing it.

The praise Scott got from his older brother...no, Wolf seemed to be the most important thing to 'him' - Pheonix. Somehow, even though the drugs were gone from Scott's body, and he knew who he really was, who his family are, Scott found himself having to push his alter ego away, because 'Pheonix' kept threatening to take over from 'Scott'.

TBTBTB

Thunderbird Five was on auto.

Alan had come home a few days after his father and elder siblings were home and settled. Alan kept himself busy listening in on what was happening in the aftermath of the horrid events that could have destroyed International Rescue, and his family.

Now he was back on the Island. Tintin was busy helping her father and Brains take care of Scott. They monitored his condition, not just his recovering body, but his messed up mind as well.

Alan observed his brothers as they each seemed to fall away from each other, each one of them blaming himself for what had happened.

Alan saw, and yet said nothing.

Alan knew something was up when his father contacted him through his wrist watch. "Alan. Come up to my study. Wait for the rest of us to get there."

"Yes, father."

Alan quickly put away the tools he was using to check the circuits of Thunderbird Three, and moved away from his beloved 'bird to the lift which would take him up to the main house.

TBTBTB

Gordon tried to forget that it was because of him that Scott was first injured by the group. If he had not called Scott by his real name, perhaps none of this never would have happened. The more Gordon pushed his arms through the water as he swam, he tried to forget. He hoped that the more he swam, the more the guilt would wash away.

He was wrong.

He was about to push of from the side after his seventieth length when he heard his father call him. Gordon paused in his turn, with his head above the water and was surprised to see his father standing directly next to the pool.

"Gordon. Get out of the pool, get dressed and go to my study. Wait with the others there for me."

"Yes, sir!" Gordon answered without thinking. Then suddenly it hit him, his father had not requested a family meeting since Scott left the medical bay, and it was the first time he had seen Jeff come out of the house for a long while.

Sure that something was going to happen, and hoping he had done nothing wrong, Gordon swiftly pulled himself out of the water and grabbed his towel. Making his way inside to dry, he wondered what his father wanted to see them about.

TBTBTB

Jeff walked out into the gardens and decided to call his next two sons before climbing the cliff to find Scott.

He knew where they all were. He had kept a close eye on all of them since they got back. It seemed he had become overprotective. He had put International Rescue on stand-by. He needed to give them, and himself a break.

He felt he could no longer put his sons in danger.

"John, is Virgil with you?" He already knew the answer, but didn't want them to know that he knew.

"Yes, father. Is something wrong?" John answered, casting a glance at Virgil who shrugged back.

"No. I want you both to report to my study now. Wait for me to get there."

"Yes, father. We'll head up there right away."

Virgil pushed himself up and held his hand out to pull John up as well. "I wonder what he wants us for."

"No idea. Maybe he wants us to start going out on calls again. I mean, it's been two months with no International Rescue. I wonder how Scott will react."

"Yeah," was Virgil's soft reply. He missed Scott just as much now as when he wasn't here. Looking up at the cliff again, he saw the shape of his brother still there.

"Come on. Let's go see what the old man wants." John tried to make light of it, but he felt there was nothing 'light' to come of it.

Silently the two brothers walked back to the house side by side.

TBTBTB

The four brothers congregated in Jeff's study.

Virgil stood with his back to the others, looking out of the window. Gordon paced the room, like a prowling tiger. Alan sat on the sofa, while John leant on Jeff's desk.

No-one spoke.

No-one really knew what to say.

After what seemed an eternity, the study door suddenly opened and in came Grandma Tracy carrying a tray full of freshly made cookies, behind her was Kyrano with a tray of drinks.

They set them down on the desk and then Grandma looked at the boys. It appeared to her that there was one 'boy' in each corner of the room. Not standing together in support, but far away from each other as they could be.

She sighed, and then spoke. "Boys. You need to stop this nonsense. The next one of you who does not listen, comfort, stand by or help his family will be taken over my knee and spanked!"

She would have laughed at their reactions if it had not been so serious.

All four had identical looks of wide eyes and open mouths.

"Close your jaws boys, before you swallow a fly!"

Still no response.

"Eat the cookies!" Her tone of voice changed to one not to be messed with, and the four adults rushed over to the tray and they started eating.

Smirking, she and Kyrano left them to it.

Standing just outside the door, she listened to them as they chewed and couldn't help but agree with each other that she made the best cookies in the world. Then came the banter and it seemed to lift the cloud hanging over them as they began to feel like brothers again.

TBTBTB

Scott stood rigid on the top of the cliff.

He stared out across the ocean, but his eyes saw nothing.

The sound of the sea would have been calming, the birds chirping in the trees, and the wildlife rustling around him should have made him look about to see what was there.

But he could not hear them.

He shut everything out.

He was just a shell, a shell full of pent up emotion of guilt and anger. At himself, his family, his captors, the world.

In his grief, he had lost himself. It was in those precious moments he had spent alone in hospital under sedation that the most damage had been done. He had been alone to take the full brunt of what had happened.

He could not escape it.

Scott could still feel Pheonix inside of him, and Scott fought to stay himself.

Scott never even noticed his father standing behind him.

Not even when his father reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, after Scott had not reacted to Jeff talking to him.

Once Scott's reaction would have been instant. But when his son turned around sluggishly to face him, Jeff took in a sharp breath at the emptiness on Scott's face.

"Son." Jeff started, but was unsure how to go on. He needed to get Scotts attention. "Scott, I need to talk to you about the future of ..." He took another breath. "..Of International Rescue."

The words penetrated Scott's brain.

The words 'International Rescue' had not so long ago been programmed to bring fear to him. He had, for a while as 'Pheonix', hated the organization, not knowing that it was all a lie from his captors.

Scott focused his eyes on his father, and took in the haggard appearance, the way his father was searching his face with soulful, troubled eyes.

This was his fault. Scott made his father look this way. Scott blinked slowly, and shook his head to try to clear it. As Scott mentally slipped, Pheonix took over.

Jeff raised his arm and squeezed Scott's shoulder again, this time Scott's reaction was very different.

"Don't touch me!" Scott stumbled back, away from the touch. It was just like when Wolf used to try and reassure him. He did the same when he wanted to put fresh lies in Nix's head...no Scott's head...

Scott groaned and sunk to his knees as he cradled his head in his hands, trying to block out the memories invading him once again.

"Scott!" Jeff cried out in a panic. He had no idea why Scott reacted that way so suddenly, only that it was connected to the kidnapping somehow. "Scott, its me, you're father. Your safe. You are on Tracy Island, your home. Look at me Scott. Trust me son, come on." Jeff urged Scott to look up, without touching him. "Scott, you're strong. You need to fight this. Don't let it beat you. Trust me, trust your family."

Jeff's words washed over him. Scott's face screwed up as he tried to block out what his father was telling him. It felt like he was being pulled in two directions. To be Scott Tracy, heir to the Tracy industries and International Rescue or be 'Nix' and care about nothing and no-one except Wolf, and flying that awesome jet plane.

Scott felt himself tearing up inside.

Jeff's voice continued to penetrate his thoughts.

"...your brothers need you. You are loved here, you belong to this family..."

Scott shut out the words again and sat back on his heels, leaning away from his father. He was closer to the edge on two accounts. He was very close to the edge of the cliff, and he was very close to having a complete breakdown.

"...underbird One. I never meant for any of this to happen, Scott. Your mother wanted the best for you all. I tried. I tried so god damn hard to give you all that..."

Jeff's voice faded again, but Scott found himself wanting to hear what his father was saying, so he pushed Pheonix away hard. Scott had never heard his father confess his feelings from when his mother had died.

"...broke me. I had you. I relied on you, son. Without you we would have been doomed..."

"...shut down International Rescue..."

"...up to you now..."

"..our brothers are waiting for us.."

Scott opened his eyes, not sure if what he was hearing was correct, seeing on how his hearing seemed to pick up bits and pieces of what his father was saying to him.

"Huh?" Was all Scott could manage to say. His voice unused and rough sounding.

Jeff paused in his mini speech to realise he finally had Scott's attention.

Jeff cleared his throat and repeated himself. "Scott. I can't continue with this life anymore." He looked Scott in the eyes, holding his attention. "I will, if you want me too, shut down International Rescue. This life has taken it's toll on all of us. But I'll leave the decision to you. Its only up to you now if you want us to carry on. I'll not ask you to go out on a mission again, if you don't want to." Jeff rushed the last part. "Your brothers are waiting for us in my study..."

Scott was stunned.

His father had said what Scott had never thought he would ever hear, and it sobered him up, as if someone had just electrocuted him.

"W..wh..what?" Scott stuttered breathlessly. "Y..you can't...I mean..w..why?"

Slowly put his hand on Scott's arm and helped Scott up from the ground and away from the edge of the cliff.

"Son, to save this family has always been the highest priority on my list. Sometimes I guess it doesn't seem like it, but it is. International Rescue saved us every time we saved someone. But after this 'breach', I just don't know if it's worth it anymore..."

Scott opened his mouth to answer, but Jeff carried on.

"How many people have to die and hurt in our name? You've made mistakes, we all have. That's okay because we all have to find forgiveness. We are only human. I want to know... will you forgive mine?"

Scott was so shocked he didn't know what to say.

His father was Jeff Tracy, astronaut and multi billionaire. He was a 'God' in many people's eyes, and here he was admitting he was...not. Admitting he make mistakes.

Scott whispered out to him, "How do you do it? How do you carry on? Don't you ever cry?" Scott looked away, then disgust flared from within him "This is all your fault!" Scott suddenly shouted out, angry now, that his father was once again putting the weight on his shoulders. "What do you want from me? Haven't I done enough?"

Tears poured down Scott's face, and Jeff lurched forward and grabbed Scott in a hug, wrapping his arms around his eldest son as if to protect him from the world.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Scott. For everything." Jeff murmured in his ear. "Please forgive me. But I only know how to fight. I want to do what is right. Can you help me?"

Scott tried to stop his sobs, but his whole body shock from the force of his overwhelming emotions. As exhaustion began to take over, Jeff allowed Scott's knees to buckle and gently helped lower his son to the ground.

"Your going to be Ok, son. We'll do this, but we'll do it all together."

As Scott regained control of himself, he still had his doubts. He could not look his father in the face, partly to do with the fact that the man still held him tightly, and the rest because Scott was afraid what he would see if he did open his eyes. Who would be holding him? His father, or Wolf.

"Okay. It's going to be okay." Scott repeated the words to himself in his head. No longer were the voices and memories tormenting him. He was thinking about the future. He was needed, and wanted by his family. His father's actions spoke louder than any words from anyone else.

Sighing, he felt Jeff loosen his hold, looking up into his father's face, he saw he had tears in his eyes too. "International Rescue stays, Father. We need to re-group."

Jeff smiled proudly at Scott. The effort it took for him to say that made his heart swell.

"Alright son. Lets go and tell your brothers."

Jeff helped Scott up, and together they made their way slowly back to the house.

TBTBTB

Inside the study, the brothers had been left for over an hour.

Left to their own devices they ate all the cookies first, then started picking on Alan, because he was the easiest target, but then Gordon decided to come to his side-kick's rescue, and so it was a fair verbal match of young men being cooped up too long with nothing else to do.

They brought up old memories of stupid and embarrassing things each had done when they were kids, and were soon laughing out loud. Something that had been missed in the last few months on the island.

Their laughter brought smiles to Grandma Tracy, Tintin and Kyrano who were in the next room listening.

When the study door opened again, the room was suddenly enveloped in silence. In through the door walked Jeff and beside him was Scott.

They all stared at each other quietly, before Jeff cleared his throat.

All eyes were upon him.

"Okay, boys. Thunderbirds are go!" Jeff stated, a proud gleam shinning in his eyes.

After the initial shock, there were yells and squeals (though no-one would admit to it) of joy, and the brothers welcomed Scott back into their lives and he accepted them without any hesitation.

In the room next door, the three conspirators hugged each other in glee.

THE END