Let it be known that I haven't seen any Thunderbirds episodes since the one where the Mechanic tore TB4 in half. That being said, have another chapter.

"Hello world," Penelope said, seated daintily on the kitchen counter of Tracy island's home. John was standing nearby, arms crossed, looking amused. "We're doing another cooking video today. Care to explain why dearest?"

"Alan's sick," John said, giving a small, sympathetic smile. "Nasty case of bronchitis. So I'm down from Five in order to handle Three while he's out of commission, and I figured we could make him some soup."

"What kind of soup?" Penny asked, leaning forward by resting her elbows on her thighs. She cupped her chin in her hands and absently flicked some hair from her face. She was, oddly enough, wearing jeans and a simple pink blouse today. And she was barefoot—it was the most casual anyone had ever seen Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward on film. Ever.

John, dressed in an old NASA t-shirt and skinny jeans, gave her a smile. "The only acceptable soup when one is sick. Chicken Noodle. Grandma Ruth's recipe." He pulled their large notebook recipe book towards himself from where it was resting on the counter.

Penny chuckled. "For those out of the know, Grandma Ruth is Mama Tracy's mother. Grandma Sally, who lives on the island here, is Papa Tracy's."

"Yup," John drawled, a hint of an accent coming through. "Both of them were best friends growing up, so Mom and Dad grew up with each other. They said it was practically inevitable that they would either end up married or hate each other's guts."

"Thank goodness they ended up married" Penny said with a small grin. John shrugged, placing a large pot on the stove and turning on the heat. "We're cheating a little," the woman continued. "John made the stock for the soup a while ago and had it stored."

John turned to look at the camera, running a hand through his red hair. "Virgil's the baker, I'm the cook. We tend to stock up on things a bit when we're able. It will make the recipe a bit easier to follow though, so if you guys at home want to cook it, just know that you can use pre-made materials too."

"First step," Penny said, leaning over to read from the book. "Melt a tablespoon of butter in your pot." She watched as John plopped in a tablespoon of butter. He then grabbed the cutting board on the counter, the one covered in chopped onion and celery. "And then add in half a cup of chopped onion, and half a cup of chopped celery."

John stirred the vegetables, for a bit. "Penny, darling, why don't you regale the audience with a story of some sort. This needs to cook for about five minutes."

Penny leaned back. "Well, I could tell them about how we met," she suggested. "How I saved a shy, anti-social country bumpkin from making an utter fool of himself at Oxford."

John shot her an arched look. "As I recall," he drawled, "You're the one that tripped on the stairs and fell into me, dearest."

"I don't remember any such happenings," Penny said, turning her nose up with a scoff.

John laughed, a gentle soft laugh that sounded as freeing as it looked. "Of course you don't. She has a point though," he said to the camera. "I was a shy, anti-social country bumpkin."

"Can break a horse faster than anyone I've ever met, though," Penny said. "Much to Scott's disgust."

John shrugged, setting his ladle aside and grabbing two jars of liquid. "Scooter has a superiority complex. He likes being the best, and despite all the rodeo wins he's got, it annoys him that I was the one that trained his horses first." He made a little wiggly gesture towards the book. "Recipe, Pen-dear."

"Right," she said, looking back to the stained pages. "Add in fourteen point five ounces of both chicken and vegetable stocks." She waited until John had poured the jars into the pot. "And then add in your cooked chicken breast—half a pound."

"Chop it first, into bite-sized pieces," John added, scraping the chicken off a different cutting board and into the pot, where it splashed slightly.

"And add your one and a half cups of egg noodles," Penny said, her finger sliding along the page. She glanced up. "Do you make your own noodles?" she asked.

John shrugged, grabbing a store-bought package. "Sometimes," he said. "Not today, though." He ripped open the package and dumped them in. "Next?"

"One cup of sliced carrots, and half a teaspoon of both oregano and basil. And salt and pepper to taste." She sat back again. "And then bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for twenty minutes." There was a pause, as John continued stirring the pot. "That really is a simple recipe."

John nodded. "The recipe itself is simple. What makes it special to us is actually the recipe for the chicken broth. And the vegetable broth, for that matter."

"Will you be sharing those?" Penny asked.

John shook his head, turning towards her as he let the soup simmer. "No. It wouldn't be Grandma Ruth's special recipe if I just let the whole world in on the secret, you know?"

"I suppose not," Penelope acquiesced. "We've got about twenty minutes to kill. What should we talk about?"

"These videos are all on you, dear," John said with a smirk. He leaned forward, resting his chin on his fist and giving her a knowing look.

She huffed, reaching out to push at his shoulder, which did very little to move him. "How did Alan get sick, anyway?"

John gave an elegant shrug, not bothering to straighten. "Assisted Virgil and Gordon in a flooding rescue and got a little wet. Caught a cold and it just got worse." He sighed. "It happens."

Penny nodded. "What's the worst sickness the five of you have battled?" she asked, thinking about interesting questions that the world may want to know the answers to.

John raised a single eyebrow, but then rolled his eyes and answered. "From youngest to oldest, Alan got Scarlet Fever once about a year and a half ago. That was terrifying. Gordon got sepsis while in the hospital after the hydrofoil crash. Virgil goes down with any sickness; his immune system is pretty much shot after the avalanche and resultant hospital stay. That's why he's so up to date with every vaccine and immunization imaginable. Scott once caught pneumonia that nearly killed him." He paused, thinking for a moment. "I don't get sick very often, but when I was a kid, I got chicken pox and had to be hospitalized because of it. I was even vaccinated but fell into that tiny percentile that it didn't work with."

Penny huffed, nodding and looking thoughtful. "Worst scars?" she asked, glancing over to the still simmering pot as John straightened to give it a bit of a stir.

John shot her a scowling look. "Why?"

She shrugged. "Chicks dig scars?" At John's disbelieving glance, she rolled her eyes. "That's what I've heard anyway. I'm just trying to remember some of the questions our viewers have asked."

John gave a long sigh, pausing a bit. "You have to remember that scars come from injuries, and injuries aren't generally things we like to bring up. Especially the worst ones." When Penny said nothing, he slumped a little, not looking at her or the camera. His green eyes were a little distant, but he answered regardless. "Scott has a scar across his collarbones, right near his neck. You can't see it unless he's not wearing a shirt. He got it on some classified mission in the Air Force. The one he received a medal for."

"You don't know the specifics?" Penny asked softly.

"I know it gives him nightmares," John said just as soft. He gazed at her for a long moment. "I have a scar in the middle of my back. A burn scar about the size of my palm. It's from when the Hood shot a missile at Thunderbird Five and nearly killed me."

"Right," Penny said with a scowl. "Back before the world knew you guys were the Thunderbirds."

John nodded. "Virgil has a scar on his wrist. Gordon's obviously the most scarred out of all of us; his back can be mistaken for a road map. That's from the hydrofoil crash and the resultant surgeries." Penny noticed how he glossed over his next younger brother's injuries, but let it slide.

"And Alan?" she asked, tilting her head to one side, hair falling over her shoulder.

"Alan has a scar running the length of his right leg. It's from a rescue gone bad in the Maldives." He shrugged. "We've all had our fair share of injuries. Could you possibly change the subject to something less morbid?"

Penny gave an apologetic smile. "Okay. What pets have you had over the years?" she asked, giggling at John's incredulous look. "Clearly you guys don't have pets now, but you were ranchers. You had to have had a pet or two in your life."

"We've mentioned the horses," John pointed out. He rolled his eyes at her prodding gesture. Turning, he grabbed two bowls from a cabinet and reached over to turn the heat off the stove. "Let's see. When we were really little, Mom had a cat named Pickles. And then when Gordon was born we had a dog named Ryker." He paused, dishing the soup into the two bowls. "We had our horses, about eight of them total. I won't bother naming all of them." He paused, thinking. "There was Barnaby, Virgil's cat. Gordon's always had some fish around. Alan had a turtle for a while." There was a slight shrug. "We haven't had any since IR started up though."

"Ever consider getting another cat or dog?" Penny asked. "Obviously the horses wouldn't work out here."

"We still have horses at the ranch," John answered, grabbing the soup bowls and heading for the stairs. "And no. We don't really have the time to take care of an animal on top of juggling everything else."

Penelope grabbed the camera and followed him up the stairs, past the lounge and up to the bedrooms. She waited outside while John snuck into Scott's room, the camera just barely catching sight of Scott rocking a bundled up Alan in his rocking chair. John and Scott conversed far too quietly for the camera to pick up and the second eldest placed the soup on the desk and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Was there anything else you needed, Pen?" John asked, looking down at her with a soft smile.

"Not at all, John-darling," she said. And the camera went black.

SandySiles887 7 hours ago
Oh poor Alan. Bronchitis sucks. At least his big brothers are there to take care of him.
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Randy Randson 6 hours ago
There are clearly some stories we still need to hear. I mean, I know about the hydrofoil thing. Everyone does. But the other stories. A missile? What missile?
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SnickersOrDeath 5 hours ago
I forget that these boys were ranchers first and billionaires second. And then Thunderbirds third or fourth or something. Damn
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OllieOllieOxen 4 hours ago
Honestly, what is the relationship that Lady Penelope has with John? Are they like platonic soulmates or something?
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YouBetterKnowMe 3 hours ago
We need to get these boys a dog.
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