I do not own the Thunderbirds/TAG - they belong to their proper owners.

A big thank you to Crystalquirt for helping me with suggestions, letting me use items we created for other stories, and beta'ing to help improve my first-ever Thunderbirds story.

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John Tracy was a man who could deal with multiple disasters at the same time - several speaking in two or three different languages all in the comfort of space station Thunderbird Five.

He had faced brushes with G-LOC from reeling up Fischler's latest "genius" - well disaster - invention, space debris collisions and even near asphyxiation at the hands of his now digital sidekick and friend - EOS.

But nothing could prepare him for what his family was asking him to do - again.

"No absolutely not... you can't make me," said John.

"Actually they could 'make you' John - they could get to you using the space elevator..."

"Which I can only access EOS," he said, quietly punching in a code to keep the AI from using it.

"I can overrule you and use the Omicron Protocol," she replied.

The red-haired astronaut did a double take, shocked she would consider using the anesthetic gas code - installed on all the Thunderbirds, including Five, to protect them from invaders - on him to force him to do what his brothers asked.

His eyes narrowed in challenge. "OK - then can you explain to my brothers why you think it's more important for them to babysit me than enjoy party themselves?" he said pointedly.

EOS ran her processors regarding the protocol, and realized the effects it would have on John would last longer than the journey. "Forgive me - computer and human logic do not always compute," she said. "I will not use the protocol."

"Good," John responded, eyeing where his helmet was in case she bluffed in the next 24 hours.

The other four Tracy brothers chuckled at their red-headed brother's image projected from his portrait. They had gathered together to talk about attending a murder mystery dinner and casino night in Colorado, with the money raised going to charity.

Scott, Virgil and Gordon were excited at the prospect of a night off, but for others, it was another story.

"Thank you EOS - besides we would much rather have him want to go," said Scott as the family sat in the lounge. "C'mon John, it won't be like last time - we're coming too. Plus, Gordon really wants to go see Lady Penelope..."

"And kiss her under the gum-gum tree" quipped EOS as she interrupted.

John and Gordon rolled their eyes at her failed attempt at humor.

"Thank you, EOS... that's not how the song goes," the aquanaut muttered, deciding John could tell her what all was wrong with her comment.

Gordon then tried to correct her. "I'm just attending a social with Penny."

John laughed at the two's bickering, but then rubbed the back of his head. "Even then, you guys know I hate these. The last time I went to one I a. was accosted by the Hood, b. nearly hit by boulders and c. nearly plummeted to my death no less than three times... among other things," he said. "Besides, I have nothing to wear."

Brains' eyes lit up. "Yes you do - the t-tuxedo I engineered, or um, t-tailored... which r-reminds me - I need to add more s-safety features to it before you go," he said as he hurriedly left the room with MAX in tow.

"Tux? Wait Brains! That was not me saying I..." said John, paling even further than the holograph effect.

John's mind had flashed back to the chalet in Switzerland where he, Lady Penelope and Parker attended an auction to raise money for charity. The Hood had crashed the party, demanding money or dying when the building crashed to the bottom of the mountains.

John only had the use of his custom-made defense tuxedo designed by Brains, and while they thwarted the man's plan, the number of times John came close to death still made his head spin. The spinning got worse when he remembered all the guests gathering underneath Thunderbird One to thank John after Scott rescued him.

Scott and Gordon chuckled. "Well, looks like Brains is making you go..." said Gordon, whose voice faded slightly when John didn't make a further sound.

At first, they thought the image projector froze but saw John's shoulders move up and down while breathing.

"Hey, Earth to John, come in please," said Gordon, pulling a funny face in front of the man to get a smart alec remark.

Seeing his immediate older brother not so much as quirk an eyebrow at Gordon's antics, Virgil's eyes narrowed in concern. "Um... bro?" he said, taking a closer look at his brother's image. He didn't like what he saw in his immediate older brother's complexion.

"EOS, give me John's vitals from his biosuit please," he continued gently, growing more disturbed when John didn't retort about the order.

EOS' avatar flashed slightly, showing she was scanning their brother's medical status. The data came up for Virgil to read.

"John's blood pressure, complexion and breathing are consistent with a potential syncope," the pilot responded worriedly to all the earthbound brothers, confirming what he had thought.

"Huh?" said Alan, confused.

Virgil explained. "Looks like he's going to faint..."

"It means the same thing," Scott and Gordon quickly added, seeing Alan's start to inquire again. All grew more worried as they saw their brother pale more.

Scott grabbed Alan and moved to the chairs that lead to Thunderbird Three if John collapsed and hit his head.

Virgil however went into medic mode. "OK John, take it easy. You know the drill here..."

EOS had pulled up the program for treatment herself had already started to increase the gravity to 1/2 of Earth's so John could indeed sit down.

John, however growing dizzier, ended up hitting the floor instead.

He felt queasy and looking at his brother's holograph, tried to speak. He found his voice wouldn't work.

"Sit... knees...breaths..." said the medic, muddled in John's ears as though he was being dunked in water.

The older brother was confused as to why darkness was edging his vision, but it was more soothing...

A sharp, acrid smell however kept him from following that darkness.

His eyes snapped open and he gagged. "Gah! EOS! What was with the smelling salts?" he said, coughing harshly.

He hadn't forgotten their smell when EOS had mistakenly thought the scent was to enhance the atmosphere in TB5.

The astronaut's nose burned for days after the fiasco... but on the plus side, he actually enjoyed eating Grandma Tracy's special over sugared - and burned - spaghetti sauce.

"I'm sorry John," EOS apologized and explained. "Virgil ordered you to sit down and put your head between your knees to avoid fainting. You did not comply, so I had to use another method to restore you."

The astronaut started to say something, but then saw the concerned images of his earthbound brothers. "Virgil's orders there too, right?" he asked.

"Correct," she said in response.

He groaned and pulled himself up on a bench, putting his head in his hands. Virgil frowned at the slight swaying his brother was doing, and double checked the medical scan. "John, you'd feel better if..."

"FAB Virgil," his brother responded and instead put his head between his knees. He indeed felt better as the blood moved back to his head, helped by the artificial gravity and - thankfully - the view as that part of Five rotated to show the Earth under his feet.

After watching their brother for a minute, Alan cleared his throat. "Bro, you OK?" he asked, concerned.

John winced as he sat up. "I will be..." he started, and the earthbound Tracys sighed in relief.

Gordon frowned. "I'm sorry John. I didn't think just a suggestion you go out to a party would make you literally go out..."

John gave a half smile and continued. "Thanks, Gordon, but I didn't pass out."

"My scanners don't concur with that John," said EOS looking at her data banks.

"EOS, if I had - or at least fully, I wouldn't have reacted so quickly to your 'air freshener'," he admitted.

Hearing EOS' chuckle as her memory banks replayed her past error, John continued. "Even then, it wasn't caused because I'm afraid of going to a party itself. I hate crowds as much as I gravity."

"Right - not to mention the Hood's crashing the last one you attended," said Alan.

"Not exactly, though Brains' comment about the tuxedo pushed me over the edge," said John. He then gratefully accepted the packet of water and small cinnamon bagel EOS served from one of the many food dispensers to boost his sugar levels. "But seriously, you all do know that parties - or anything with large groups of people - aren't my type of fun anyway right?"

Gordon chuckled. "Yeah, but this one might be bro. It's a murder mystery, and one that helps a group that hits a bit close to home," he said bringing up the virtual e-mail to the lounge's table projector and Thunderbird Five's scanner.

"'Murder Mystery Dinner Casino Night, benefitting the Harry Jamison Children's Hospital'," read John, whose eyes lit up in recognition. "Isn't that the place where Virgil was treated after..."

"After the avalanche," confirmed Scott, seeing Virgil's distant look. They all knew that their middle brother didn't have many memories of the hospital itself.

The last clear memory he had of that time was skiing with their mom trying to escape the mountain of snow.

Neither Scott nor John - the only ones old enough to help with the rescue, had ever forgotten the moment they found their brother lying unconscious and broken on a heap of rocks and snow, protected by an overhang he had rolled under.

The natural rock formation kept him from being smothered by the same snow that took their mom, but it was still touch and go for a time. It was the longest months of their life watching Virgil slowly recover from the coma and frostbite, not to mention the struggles they all had after their mom died.

Virgil shook his head, clearing it as he read the invitation. "It says that all money raised will go toward a state of the art chamber that will treat hypothermia and all stages of frostbite," he said. "Just think of all the children who could be spared the pain or nearly losing a limb..."

John pursed his lips, remembering how close Virgil nearly came to losing half his right foot. "OK, good point. Still... why have me come?"

Scott chuckled. "It's easy to see why - you'll ace the mystery. Grand prize is getting to donate $500,000 from the charity in your name to the chamber - and to have it named after you," he said, smiling.

"Couldn't we just donate the money ourselves?" inquired John who, sniffing the air, made a face. "EOS, drop the salts. I'm feeling better - The bagel and water are enough."

"Yes John," quipped the AI as she stopped adding the tiny bursts of restorative gas at timed points during her creator's recovery.

The eldest brother chuckled. "True John... but wouldn't it be nice if we not only won, but made a show of it by doubling the donation and giving the charity a large donation of our own?" said Scott, smiling when he saw John conceded the point.

"Plus, there's a casino night, with all sorts of prizes," said Virgil. "One game features a grab bag for gemstones..."

"Gemstone grab bag game?" The aquanaut jumped up from the sofa, excited. "I was always good at those. I could get Penny a sapphire or a ruby or an aquamarine or an ametrine or a topaz..."

"... Or just a bunch of jelly beans," muttered Alan, who had to duck when his immediate older brother threw a pillow at him.

John took another bite of his bagel and drank some water, still unconvinced. "Who's going to man Thunderbird Five? We have to have someone here if there's a call," he said, hoping this excuse would work. "Grandma is still visiting friends in Kansas until tomorrow, Brains at that engineering convention, and Kayo is still on that space mining investigation with the GDF."

"Kayo might be delayed, but they're all supposed to be back when we leave tomorrow," said Scott.

"And I already volunteered to stay on Five," said Alan. Before John could remind him of his last visit, the youngest astronaut continued. "Can't go to the party anyway - though I really want to. Stinks to be 20."

"Nothing wrong with being 20," chided Scott.

"Yeah, but it does when you must be at least 21 to attend," Alan said, not liking he couldn't attend because alcohol was being served, he was underage in the States and Scott wasn't seen as his guardian.

Scott had tried to make an exception to have all five attend, but the hosts said no, explaining why. Even the stubborn pilot conceded the point - they didn't want to charity to be fined for serving alcohol to a minor, even if, for teetotaller Alan, it would be accidentally.

John quirked an eyebrow. "What about EOS?" he said.

"John, I've already promised Alan and your brothers I would not 'play games' as I did last time you went to a party," said EOS.

"So no passcodes or suddenly turning off gravity again," said Alan, admittedly a bit skeptical himself.

EOS gave a musical chuckle. "Yes, I do believe he'd swap my programs with a pocket calculator if I misbehaved again."

Privately John cursed at his almost sure ace in the hole becoming a dead man's hand.

That said, before he said anything else, Scott continued with the Earth Tracys' ace card. "Oh yes, they also included the menu," said the pilot.

The youngest brother pouted, unintentionally looking like a blonde-haired chipmunk. "Yeah - bad enough I can't go, they have to have a great meal," Alan grumbled.

"Really? What are they going to serve?" inquired John.

Seeing his fellow astronaut intrigued, Alan grinned mischievously and continued, putting his own longing into his voice. "Well, it starts off with a shrimp scampi or raspberry-walnut salad..."

"Then a porterhouse steak with sauteed morels and gourmet mushrooms..." said Scott enticingly in his baritone voice. "Twice baked potatoes."

"Or green beans almondine... or a blue cheese stuffed tomato," said Gordon, wrinkling his nose at the latter option.

"Finally for dessert your choice of a chocolate dome or cherries jubilee," finished Virgil, who laughed. "And we'll make sure the Squid Kid isn't going to nearly set his feet on fire again."

Gordon rolled his eyes. "Hey, how did I know they were going to be making cherries jubilee when I rode on the red velvet swing?" he said miffed at the memory. He was 12 years old when Jeff let him ride the swing at the old western themed restaurant.

The aquanaut was enjoying getting to be a kid in the fancy steakhouse - but then was startled when a waiter lit a fire to burn the brandy in the serving dish as he swung forward.

Though Gordon was nowhere near in danger of being burned, the rest of his brothers still teased him.

John pondered his brothers' comments for a few minutes as he finished his emergency snack EOS was still pestering him to consume.

Taking a deep breath, he looked at his brothers and started to speak when his stomach growled.

Hearing the noise, John blushed and the brothers smiled. "Stomach must be tired of all those bagels and 'cardboard food'," joked Gordon.

The second eldest glared, but seeing their mirth, finally gave in. "OK, you win... I'll go. Not fair you know my weakness," John said laughing.

"Steak?" said Alan, and getting a headshake from his space-bound brother, he tried again. "Chocolate domes?"

"Nope - Blue cheese stuffed tomatoes," John responded, and seeing Alan and Gordon's reactions, everyone laughed.