Jeff comes home

"Tracy Three requesting permission to land," Tin-Tin called.

Virgil's voice returned, "Permission granted. Put that bird to bed quick. Dad's nearly here."

"Roger that," Tin-Tin said as she made her approach to the island's small airstrip. Within minutes the jet was on the tarmac and taxiing toward the smaller door that was set in the cliff side. It opened, and she eased the plane through it, turning to the right. Scott was there, using lights to guide her into the cavernous room. She ignored the green bulk of Thunderbird Two, standing ready on hydraulic legs, waiting for the next rescue to be called in. With Scott's guidance, she piloted the small craft into its berth and shut down the engines.

"Well, I for one am glad to be home," Alan said as he unbuckled himself from the passenger seat. Kyrano had been Tin-Tin's copilot from Los Angeles.

"As am I," the retainer said as he unfastened his own safety belts. They could hear the sound of the cargo hatch being unsealed as Scott opened it to begin the transfer of foodstuffs to an antigravity float. Kyrano and Alan moved around to help.

"So, your father is on his way home?" Tin-Tin asked as she lent a hand.

"Yeah. We heard from him about ten minutes ago," Scott explained. "He said he was thirty minutes out." He piled the last box on the float. "There. That's all of it." Turning to Alan, he asked, "How did things go with Lou?"

"Smooth as silk," Alan replied with a grin. "She had her cat sitter waiting at the airport when we got to Asheville. The sitter said that one of the cats was carsick! Have you ever heard of a cat being carsick?"

Scott chuckled. "Can't say I have." He sobered. "I have some other news on that front, but it can wait until Dad gets here. He'll want to hear the whole story."

"I'm sure he will," Tin-Tin said, nodding. "Let's get this up to the pantries before your father gets here. Are we ready, Father?"

"Yes, Tin-Tin. All is in order," Kyrano answered. Alan took over maneuvering the float up to the freight elevator that went from Thunderbird Two's hangar to the villa.

Scott didn't see any reason to go back up to the house when his father was due any minute, so he decided to stay in the hangars area and wait. He sauntered into Thunderbird Two's hangar, and saw that the door to pod four, which was sitting next to the pod under Two's fuselage, was open. He wandered over to find out why.

"Hey, Gords," he called as he saw his ginger-haired brother checking the thrusters of his Thunderbird. "Doing post-rescue maintenance?"

"Yeah. Want to make sure she's all set to go for the next outing," Gordon said. "What brings you down here?"

"Alan, Tin-Tin, and Kyrano are back, and Dad and Grandma are due any minute."

"Really? Then I'd better hurry and finish this. There's not much else to do, but I don't want Dad wondering why I'm doing it now. He'll either think we just had a rescue or that I'd been putting it off," Gordon replied, turning back to his work. He paused, then looked up at Scott from where he was crouched. "You gonna tell Dad about what I found?"

Scott let out a deep breath. "Don't know yet. I really shouldn't have let you go. Virge has already pounded that into my head."

In fact, the two brothers had gotten into a shouting match about it when Virgil returned from his excursion to the promontory. The fact that it appeared Lou's plane had been tampered with didn't impress the artist.

"What Gordon found out there is moot!" he had shouted, his face creased into a frown. "What if there had been an emergency call? He would have been needed with Alan gone to the mainland! Dad is going to blow his stack when he finds out!"

Scott winced at the memory. He knew he hadn't had a leg to stand on, especially since Gordon's trip only added to the mystery and didn't solve anything. Suddenly he realized that Gordon was talking to him.

"Scott? Earth to Scotty! Come in, Scott!"

"Oh, sorry about that. What did you say?"

"If you decide to tell Dad, you can tell him that I brought up the idea. No sense you taking the heat for this one."

Scott frowned. "That's not like you, Gordon. Usually you try to wriggle out of blame, especially when there's a prank involved."

"Consider it... a favor," Gordon said with a grin. "One that I will collect on in the near future."

Scott rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Might have known it would have strings attached."

Their byplay was interrupted by Virgil's voice on Scott's telecomm. "Virgil to Scott. Dad has just asked for landing clearance."

Scott grinned at Gordon. "Scott here. I'm on it. See you upstairs in a few minutes." To Gordon he said, "You'd better come back to this later. Dad's on his way in."

"Right." Gordon collected up his tools and hurriedly put them away. "I'm headed upstairs to change. See you later."

Scott acknowledged Gordon's comment with a wave, and then turned his back on the pods and hurried to the smaller hangar door. He pressed his hand to a palm scanner, and the door opened slowly. By the time it was fully open, Jeff's private jet was waiting to enter. Scott guided his father as he had Tin-Tin until the jet was safely stowed in its berth. Then Scott put the lights away and hurried back to the jet with another float. He got back just in time to hear the hiss of the plane unsealing.

"Help your grandmother out, Scott," Jeff said as he stepped onto the concrete floor. "She's not feeling her best."

"Yes, sir," Scott replied as he hurried around to the passenger compartment door. He opened it from the outside and brought some steps over for his grandmother's convenience. She came to the hatchway, and Scott's heart sank to see how... old... she looked. For the first time since she had come to the island, her energetic personality was diminished, and she shuffled like some ancient crone. Her face looked more wrinkled than usual, and she was very pale. Scott stepped up to gently offer his arm as Jeff came around to support her on the other side.

"Hi, Grandma," Scott said with a smile. "Did you get airsick or something? You look a little green around the gills."

"Now, Scott," Jeff said, realizing what Scott was trying to do. "You know that your grandmother is a great flier. The only way she could improve is to sprout wings of her own."

"Hello, Scott. It's so good to see you again," Eleanor Tracy said to her oldest grandson, putting a wrinkled hand to his cheek.

He stooped over to give her a kiss. "I'm so glad you're home, Grandma. I think we ate all of the pies you left in the freezer."

She sighed as she stepped carefully down from the plane. "I'm sorry, Scott, but I'm just not up to baking any pies right now. Maybe later."

Father and son exchanged glances as Jeff put an arm around Eleanor's shoulders, guiding her to the elevators that would take them to the house. Scott followed with the float of luggage and a worried frown on his face.

The lift deposited them on the lower floor of the villa, not far from the sick room and Eleanor's own bedroom. Jeff tried to guide her to the former, but a bit of her usual spunk surfaced.

"Jeff Tracy, I am not going to sleep in the sick room. I got enough of that in Kansas. I am going to sleep in my own bed, and that's that!"

Jeff sighed, then smiled. "Whatever you like, Mother. Come on, let's get you settled in your room then." Together they walked slowly down the hall and into her suite.

Scott, having just come up on the freight lift, overheard his grandmother's comment and his frown grew deeper. What went on in the States? I need to ask Dad!

Jeff popped out of his mother's rooms and saw his son standing there with the luggage. "Ah, let me take her bags. Thanks for bringing them up."

Scott put a hand on his father's arm. "Dad, is there something wrong?"

The two sets of blue eyes met, and Scott realized how tired his father looked. "I'll tell you all when I've got her settled. In the lounge, ten minutes."

"Yes, sir," Scott replied. Jeff put a hand on his shoulder, then carried the suitcases into the room. Scott shook his head, and pulled the float to the lift that would take him to the upper floor.

In ten minutes, Jeff entered the lounge to find the rest of the household waiting for him. Even John's concerned face peered out from his communication screen. After exchanging greetings, Jeff sat behind his desk with a weary sigh.

"I'm sure Scott has briefed you on what happened when we got home," Jeff began.

Alan spoke up. "Yes, he did. Dad, what's going on with Grandma?"

"Yeah, Scott said she was pale and leaning on you the whole way up," Gordon added.

"Grandma's condition is the reason I stayed a bit longer in the States than I had planned," Jeff explained. "She went the funeral of one of her good friends, who died peacefully in her sleep. But while she was there, another good friend took sick and died. And on top of all that, she came down with the latest version of the flu and was in the hospital for a few days. I flew out to be with her, and got the doctors to release her so she could come home. I thought that some sunshine and the comforts of home might help her recover faster."

"Oh, that's so sad!" Tin-Tin exclaimed. "To go to one funeral and ending up staying for two!"

"Th-Then ending up sick herself," Brains commented. "She must be p-pretty, uh, depressed." He took off his glasses and cleaned them on a handkerchief. "What s-strain of the flu did she get? And what did the, uh, physicians pr-prescribe?"

"The doctors in Kansas said it was Singapore B strain, and they've given her an anti-viral treatment. I don't remember which one. The bottle is on her nightstand. She was so exhausted from everything that she went straight to bed. She'll probably feel better in the morning."

"I hope so," John said fervently. "I'm looking forward to some of her home cooking when I get back." He shot a look at Kyrano. "No offense meant, Kyrano. You're a great cook, too, but there's just something special about what Grandma makes."

Kyrano smiled slightly. "I take no offense, Mr. John."

Jeff leaned back in his chair. "So, what happened while we were gone? I want a full briefing on any rescues."

The Tracy sons looked at each other. "Well, Dad," Scott began, "we didn't have but one rescue while you were gone."

"Yeah," Gordon said. "It was an unusual one, too."

"Tell me all about it," Jeff said, settling down to hear what his sons had to tell him.

"Well, you see, Gordon and I were walking on the beach, when we saw this figure lying in the sand...." Scott recounted. Jeff closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, then held up a palm to stop his son's story.

"Where is she now?" he asked curtly.

"Asheville, North Carolina," Alan promptly responded.

Jeff blinked. "You mean she actually went... home?"

"Yes, Dad," Virgil said eagerly. "She wasn't our usual... uninvited guest."

"She wasn't?" his father asked. "How so?"

"Well, for one thing, she was middle-aged," Gordon explained. "And she was really in trouble."

"Y-Yes," Brains piped up. "She had, uh, a touch of sunstroke, d-dehydration, and a b-bad sunburn. She was, uh, unconscious when S-Scott and Gordon found her."

"She was very polite," Tin-Tin said with a smile. "I was able to contact her sister right away, and she was eager to go home." She approached the desk and handed Jeff an envelope. "In fact, she asked me to give this to you. A thank you note."

Jeff took out his letter opener and slit the missive open while listening to his sons tell the story.

"The funny thing was that Scott couldn't shake the feeling that he'd met her before," John said.

"That's right," Virgil added. "I got that sense, too. Like I had heard her voice before."

"Did she tell you just how she came to be washed up on our beach?" Jeff asked. Scott shot a look at Gordon, who was fidgeting in his chair.

"Well, yes, she did. It seems she ditched her plane in the sea," Tin-Tin remarked. Jeff noticed the discomfort of his oldest and next to youngest as she continued. "She was on the sea for at least a day before she saw our island and paddled for it. Or... that's what she said."

Jeff sat back, the sheet of paper in his hand, but he wasn't reading it. "Okay, Scott, Gordon. What did you do?"

"Uh, Dad?" John ventured. Jeff turned his attention to the live feed image of his space-bound son. "Maybe I could explain?"

"Go ahead, John."

"Well, Scott wanted to confirm Lou's story...."

"Lou? Who is Lou?"

"Uh, our guest. Her name was Lou," John said. "Well, Scott wanted to confirm her story, so he asked me to see if there was a mayday signal broadcast within range of the island. I went over my communications logs and found one."

"Yes, and he gave me the coordinates," Scott said, jumping into the narrative. "I wanted to get someone out there to see if it was really her plane...."

"But I objected," Virgil said with a scowl. "Strenuously."

Gordon weighed in. "John and I were talking and he mentioned that he found the signal and I decided that it might be a good idea to go out and put Scott out of his misery. He was just so sure he had seen this woman before and kept going on and on about it. So I took Brains out in Thunderbird Four with me...."

"Thunderbird Four?" Jeff asked, a warning tone in his voice.

"Uh, yeah." Gordon put a finger in his collar as if it were too tight. "We found the plane. The black box had been taken out, and it looked like the fuel gauge had been tampered with."

"It confirmed what she said, if nothing else," Scott concluded.

Jeff's eyes narrowed and they flicked from one son to another. "I'll take this up with you two later. In private." Then he settled back to read the letter in his hand. As his eyes scanned the page, he began to smile, then chuckle, then the chuckle turned into actual laughter. The rest of the assembly glanced from one to another and Scott shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.

"Damn. Lou Myles. Who would have thought...," Jeff said with a grin. He lifted his gaze from the page. "Scott, you of all people! You didn't recognize your Aunt Lucinda?"

"Aunt Lucinda?" Scott rolled the name over his tongue. "Aunt? Dad, you don't have any siblings."

Virgil, who had been mouthing the words "Aunt Lucinda" over and over, looked up with sudden recognition and a laugh. "Oh man! Dad's right! Out of all of us, you should remember Aunt Lucinda, Scott!"

"I see Virgil remembers her. How about you, John?" Jeff asked, turning to the portraits.

John's thoughtful look turned to one of startled enlightenment. "Yes! I remember her now! Lucinda Myles! I thought that the name 'Myles' sounded familiar! But Scott said she wasn't wearing a wedding ring."

"She wasn't," Scott said, still looking puzzled. "I... I just don't remember."

"Here, son. Let me read this note," Jeff said. He put on his reading glasses and began.

Dearest Jeff,

Of all the beaches, on all the islands, in all the South Pacific, I had to wash up on yours.

Truly, I had no idea that you lived out here. It was pure serendipity that the island I saw in the distance was where you had decided to retire from the rest of the world. What a shock to see your boys, all grown up and still living with their Dad.

Please apologize to Scott for me. (Scott's head went up at this.) I could see in his face that he knew he knew me from somewhere, but I was having too much fun watching him try to figure out just where to actually speak up and say anything. What a letdown it would have been to realize that the woman who he had saved from certain death had once been his babysitter....

Scott's face was a study in emerging insight. Virgil sat back and laughed openly at him, pointing a finger. Alan and Gordon looked at each other, puzzled, and Alan shrugged.

"Oh no. Oh, God. NOW I remember!" Scott covered his face and groaned. "Aunt Lucinda. She and her husband were your friends, weren't they, Dad? I remember she would babysit when you and Mom wanted to go out...." Scott's reminiscing trailed off as Jeff turned to the vidphone and quickly dialed a number, reading from the paper in front of him. He sat up straight and ran a hand through his hair.

The vidphone rang four or five times and then a familiar voice said, "Hello?"

The people looking on were startled by the change in Jeff's voice; it was hesitant, but deeper. "Hello, Lou."