SECOND HELPINGS - PART 2

The "Other Side" of the Eddie Houseman Story

A Thunderbird Fanfiction Story in two parts written by "mcj"

Now you'd think that after nearly losing Tin-Tin to the arms of Eddie Houseman, Alan might have been a bit more gracious when he found out what had happened.

Not so my little brother.

I know Dad had made it clear that he wanted Alan to be left alone to think things over, but I couldn't sit back and let him keep believing Tin-Tin was on the mainland doing goodness knows what with Eddie Houseman.

I just couldn't.

Not the way I knew he felt about her.

As I have said before, Alan and I are close and by close I don't just mean in age. We've shared everything over the years, from the socks on our feet to the pain of Dad's lectures. We've looked out for each other ever since we could walk and we still look out for each other now. So, it was easy for me to risk of copping a bit of flack from Dad rather than let Alan experience yet another sleepless night.

Sadly, my clumsy attempt to make my brother feel better left me worrying, or at least wondering, what the heck was going to happen around here next.

It took him almost forever to open his door when I knocked, and as soon as he saw me in the doorway, his reaction was exactly what I'd expected …irritable, hot-headed and suspicious. I tried to shrug it all off when he asked me what I wanted. I said I didn't want much; all I needed was five so the two of us could talk. I was soon warned in no uncertain terms that I'd be getting more than only five for my trouble if the subject was going to be Eddie Houseman.

I laughed and chose to ignore his threats. He was nothing but big, blond bluff. How could he possibly think his favourite brother would bring up a subject quite as unsavoury as that? Then, before he had the chance to answer me, I pushed past him with a grin and forced my way into his room.

Knowing Alan as I do, I was surprised he didn't protest but when I took a deep breath and turned around to face him, I could see the volcanic explosion coming. The tightly folded arms were bad enough but the testy expression on his face made it obvious he wasn't in the mood for talking.

"OK so you have five," he snapped. "Start talking."

"Al," I began, hoping he'd at least listen to me before he went to throw me out. "I want to talk to you about Tin …"

He didn't even give me the opportunity to finish saying her name.

"Don't you start on me Gordon," he scowled. "I've already told you I don't want to talk about her."

"No you didn't," I pointed out, trying to keep the conversation light-hearted. "You only said you didn't want to talk about Houseman."

Alan's response to that was anything but light -hearted. His face reddened, his fists clenched and his jaw set just like it used to do when we were younger and he didn't get his own way.. The words "Houseman's a jerk," left his lips like venom.

My smile faded. It was late; every noise carried and the last thing I wanted to do was to alert our Father to my whereabouts.

"Al, I know." I said in a low and serious voice. "I feel the same way you do, especially after the way he's treated Tin-Tin."

Alan frowned, glanced towards the door and demanded to know what he'd done.

Naturally I grabbed the opportunity. He wouldn't like what I had to say, I told him, and I could understand perfectly if it made him feel upset. We were all upset about it too, even Dad. Alan's frown deepened and he told me to go on. He listened to the story in silence before shrugging his shoulders and making the observation that nothing Houseman did to anyone came as any great surprise to him.

"I told you he was a jerk." he griped, before unsystematically unbuttoning his shirt and reefing back his bedcovers. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to go to bed. Thanks to that Houseman creep I didn't manage to get any sleep at all last night."

Then he proceeded to get into bed, turn his back on me, and demand I turn off the light when I left.

For a few moments I stood there flabbergasted. Maybe I was being naïve or something, but I fully expected him to carry on like some sort of a knight in shining armour the moment he found out his precious little Tin-Tin had been hurt. He adored her and I knew he did.

But this time he didn't budge.

I rolled my eyes as the minutes ticked by. Alan could be so brainless sometimes, especially when it came to Tin-Tin. One little bit of effort on his part and the two of them would have been back together for sure. Couldn't he see that and at least try to knock on her door?

The silence continued.

Obviously not.

I shook my head at him. Dad had been right. Alan needed a lot more time to think about things and those things included how he really felt about Miss Kyrano.

"OK then; 'night Alan," I sighed, "Maybe you'll see things differently in the morning."

"Doubt it," came the sullen grumble from underneath the covers.

Gee, I sure wished Dad had been the one to see things differently when he caught me sneaking down the hallway to my own suite. The stern voice echoed in the darkness.

"Gordon ..."

I stopped in my tracks and swallowed at the imposing shadow in front of me.

I think I had some explaining to do.

-O—

Day Three of the Eddie Houseman saga began early with International Rescue back to normal and functioning at its optimal best.

Unfortunately, whilst Houseman's departure was a good thing for the outfit, there was a down side to it too as far as my stomach was concerned. Breakfast took on a whole new meaning when we didn't have a guest to impress and it was rather disappointing not to be faced with the challenge of one of Kyrano's banquets.

Yes, you guessed it. Day Three of this drama started at the breakfast table again, but unlike the morning before, the whole of the International Rescue team were all present and accounted for. Brains chatted happily to Dad, Virgil and Scott were sharing a corny joke with Grandma, and I sat more than merrily in the middle of it all watching the predicament of our two star-crossed lovers. It was pretty apparent these two still weren't talking and couldn't have been at more opposite ends of the universe if they tried.

He was ignoring her.

She was ignoring him.

She kept fiddling with the cereal in her plate.

He kept shovelling sugar into his coffee.

It was pitiful.

Luckily, the conversation soon centred on Brains' latest high-speed aircraft and his desire to take it out for the morning to trial its capabilities. Scott, who loves to fly more than he loves anything, immediately volunteered to be the pilot. Virgil also indicated he'd like to take her for a spin.

Dad, of course, smiled congenially and encouraged both of them to head out together. He'd already spoken to John earlier and had been given his assurance nothing much was happening in the world right now ... at least nothing that would require the services of International Rescue.

Dad continued on with enthusiasm. Besides, he said, he was pretty keen himself to see what the new aircraft could do.

So when Brains, Scott and Virgil excused themselves from the table, Dad was pretty happy. He loved the rush of new technology and could hardly wait to get out on the balcony to watch the aircraft fly. He was even so happy he forgot that he wasn't impressed with me. What was I doing with myself today, he asked with his usual interest. Then he frowned, obviously remembering our "chat" the night before. Whatever it was, he hoped it was going to be constructive.

I was still a little sheepish after the dressing down he'd given to me and I wasn't sure if the question he posed was a hint to point out that I needed something better to do. Nevertheless I took a sip of my coffee and calmly informed him that, yes, I did have some constructive plans for the day. There was maintenance to be done on Thunderbird Four, but I was going to need Brains in order to help me do it. I was happy to wait until he'd finished trialling the aircraft. Dad nodded and asked point blank what I was planning to do in the meantime. I grinned at him and went on. There was only one thing that I always wanted to do.

Swim.

"Unless of course you want to give me a couple of days off to cut loose on the mainland," I winked.

Dad chuckled and asked me how he knew I was going to say something like that. Swimming was be a much better choice, he figured, and it would get me in a lot less trouble.

Then Tin-Tin found her tongue and joined in the conversation. Today was such beautiful day to be by the pool, she said; in fact it was so beautiful, she thought she'd head down there now if "anyone" wanted to know where she was.

I watched as she rose to her feet and flashed a furtive glance at Alan.

Dad smiled at her, clueless as ever, and told her to enjoy herself.

I smirked and stopped short of saying she certainly would if Alan got the message.

They didn't know we knew of course, but that innocent line of Tin-Tin's had been their secret code for months; the "discreet" little signal she wanted to be alone with him. I looked over at Alan with expectation and wondered how many seconds it would take him to swallow his breakfast and excuse himself from the table. If it was his usual sixty, things would soon be back to normal.

But for the second time in less than twelve hours my little brother astounded me. Alan made it very clear to her he had no intention of following. He didn't look up, he didn't flinch and he certainly didn't move.

And Tin-Tin wasn't impressed.

"Alan dear, I was wondering if you could come and help me in the kitchen."

I bet you can guess who that was.

Grandma was now in the business of masterminding the reconciliation. She almost dragged Alan into the kitchen by his ear, kept him at the sink for an hour, and from what I could figure out by eavesdropping, tried to make him understand that being "nothing but mule-headed and stubborn" was no way to win back his girl.

"It's high time you two stopped your nonsense and made up." were the last words I heard her say to him. "You see to it, young man, and before this hour is done."

My eyes lit up.

If he only had an hour, anyone who didn't want to miss this one was going to have to get down to the pool … and fast.

-OO -

It was still too soon after breakfast to plough through the water like a maniac but I knew I had to be inconspicuous if I didn't want Alan to crack. If nothing else Alan had his pride. That left me with only one option ... to tread water in the corner of the swimming pool and wait expectantly for what would be Tracy Island's greatest performance.

Grandma arrived on the scene first, carrying her embroidery. She often did embroidery by the pool in the mornings, counting laps for me as I trained. But this morning counting laps was the last thing on her mind. She sat down next to Tin-Tin, patted her hand, and gave her an angelic smile.

"Hello dear," she said sweetly. "I thought I'd be like you this morning and get myself some sun."

Tin-Tin was still sulking over the way Alan had ignored her over breakfast, but it didn't take much for Grandma to distract her. She only had to mention fashion and Tin-Tin was instant putty in her hands. Before long they were chatting away about the brand new French collections and Tin-Tin's upcoming visit to Paris to view the latest designs.

"Paris is such a romantic city," Grandma swooned. "What a wonderful place it would be for a wedding."

She paused, smiled coyly and added, "And that special honeymoon..."

I almost sank to the bottom of the pool when she brazenly came out with that one. Wedding? Honeymoon? Oh Grandma, I wanted to laugh, how much more obvious can you be?

And speaking of the obvious, then it was Alan's turn to miraculously drop by. Dressed to kill, blond hair neatly combed and wearing his most expensive aftershave; he came to stand near Grandma, trying to remember his lines.

Poor Al. He was so nervous about what he had to say that he didn't even notice me.

"Hi Tin-Tin," he said, as smoothly as he could. "Mind if I join you?"

After his stubbornness at the table earlier I knew she wasn't going to answer him. Tin-Tin can be ice-cold when she wants to be and there was no way she was going to surrender easily from behind those huge high fashion sunglasses.

Alan bit his lip and tried to think of something to say next.

"I... I ... I thought I'd do a little water ski-ing later," he stammered on. "Would you like to join me?"

At this point the focus of my attention was Grandma. She had already pricked her finger twice with the needle and was so tense and panic-stricken; you'd swear she was in the middle of a major rescue operation.

To be quite honest, when Tin-Tin sullenly replied she didn't feel like it, Grandma probably would have been better off. Nothing I've ever experienced in a danger zone could ever compare with the threat to human life when my little brother lost his cool and uttered the first stupid thing that came into his head.

"Really mean of that Eddie guy walking out like that."

I swear I nearly drowned. What in the hell was he thinking? By the frozen silence that followed, it was clear to me exactly what our Assistant Engineer was thinking. I thought she was out of sorts when she stormed away from him after breakfast ... whoa ...that was nothing compared to what she was doing to him now. She jerked herself upright, ripped her towel from the chair and barrelled her way back to the villa in a complete and utter huff. Personally, I think he got off pretty light. If he'd said something that stupid to me when I was hurting, I'd have dumped him head first into the pool to try and wash out his brain.

Alan reddened with confusion.

"What did I say?" he queried in disbelief. "Grandma did you see that? What did I say?"

I looked over at Grandma. Like me, she had a completely stunned look on her face at how he could be such an idiot.

She shook her head at him.

"Just all the wrong things Alan." she sighed. "As usual."

Alan's next comment pretty well summed up his frustration.

"Guess I'm no good at fancy speeches," he moped, fixing two mournful blue eyes on Grandma. "What am I gonna do? Things were swell till that Eddie guy came along."

"Grandma," he pleaded again. "What am I gonna do?"

I told you Alan in love is pathetic and you couldn't get any more pathetic than having to ask your Grandmother how to handle a woman. Grandma steeled herself, looked to heavens, and straightened her upper back. Only she could save this situation now and she was about to rise to the challenge like the true International Rescue veteran that she was.

"Leave things to me Alan," she told him. "Just leave things to me."

-OO-

I didn't know about Alan, but I was certainly very interested to see what Grandma was going to concoct. She didn't have much to work with that's for sure. After Alan's faux pas by the pool the rift between the two of them was wider than ever. Tin-Tin was sulking in her room with the door shut and Alan had taken refuge in the lounge right next to Dad. She really had her work cut out for her this time. I braced myself. Experience had taught all of us the hard way that Grandma was a force to be reckoned with when it came to matters involving the family. Anything could happen around here in the next few hours.

Strangely enough what did happen, and it had nothing to do with Grandma, was the receipt of an unexpected communication from John in Thunderbird Five.

We had a rescue call; he said with his customary brisk precision; a vehicle about to career over the edge of a road in a remote mountain location. According to the guys on the ground, there were added complications. The vehicle concerned contained a box of explosives and if the vehicle fell, the explosives would detonate and blow the guy sky high. Inclement weather was making things worse. There was a large amount of land fall raining down near the vehicle. Things were pretty bad.

I sauntered into the lounge with Virgil as John continued on. "I said we'd assist, Father." He faltered. "I hope I did right."

"Of course you did right, son …" Dad began before muttering what a statement like that was supposed to mean anyway.

I elbowed Virgil in the ribs. Why was John so apprehensive?

We were soon to know the reason why.

John squirmed as he broke the "happy"news. He had deliberately left the name of the guy to be rescued until last. Scott frowned and demanded to know who it was.

"Eddie Houseman." John offered before throwing a really apologetic glance towards Alan. John might have been a long way from home but he was still well and truly informed about what had happened between Tin-Tin and Eddie Houseman. Nothing is a secret in this house when you're surrounded by your brothers.

"Eddie Houseman!"

Boy oh boy, Alan didn't say those words with any strong feeling of endearment.

The dilemma in the ranks began.

Eddie Houseman knew us. If we went though with the rescue we'd blow our cover. We all knew how essential it was for our identity to remain a secret. My brothers looked helpless. Did it mean we couldn't help?

John posed the question straight at Dad. What did we do? Turn this call down?

Dad, as always the voice of reason, was quick to put things in perspective. Yes, Eddie knew us. Yes, it did mean we could blow our cover. Yes, we had kept our identity a secret up until now. But no matter what, he stressed firmly, looking each of us in the eye, International Rescue didn't turn any call down. Not at the expense of a life.

The command "carry on Scott" said everything.

I shrugged, trying to hide the fact I was disgruntled.

International Rescue was used to saving people from the consequences of their own stupidity, but it stuck in my gut big time that we had to save Eddie Houseman. I could only imagine how Alan must be feeling behind his currently blank expression. Then Dad dropped the bombshell on both of us. He turned to Alan. He wanted him, not me, to help Virgil with this one. He continued on with his final instructions like there wasn't any problem.

They were to take the magnetic grabs.

Did they have any questions?

Well, he certainly didn't have a problem with Alan asking him any questions. Alan just went with Virgil in a kind of stunned silence. I, on the other hand, looked over at my father with widened, disbelieving eyes, not knowing which question I wanted to ask him first.

How could he possibly put Alan in charge of a set of magnetic grabs the way he felt about Eddie Houseman? The guy didn't stand a chance if Alan let his jealousy get the better of him. Was he nuts?

I think Dad must have read my mind. Once Thunderbird Two had gone, he invited me to join him for a cup of the coffee Kyrano had left for him on his desk. As I sat down, he reached forward to pick up the pot. Alan had been sent out there today for a reason, he told me, one he supposed was hard for me to understand.

He paused and handed me the cup. We all had to do things we didn't want to do in life, he said, and that included learning to deal with how we felt about people we didn't particularly like. Alan needed a bit of reinforcement that we were in the business of saving lives.

"By lives I mean all lives son," he stressed. "Even Eddie Houseman's."

"But Dad ..." I interrupted.

"Gordon. Alan can't allow his personal feelings for … "

Dad paused, unwilling to state the obvious.

"… others." he finally continued; "to sway his better judgement."

He smiled. He knew how close I was to Alan.

"Your brother will be a better man for having to help save Eddie Houseman," he assured me. "Trust me, son. I know."

I guess Dad knew enough to pass the fatherly judgement but he hadn't witnessed Alan crack up when I'd tried to talk to him about Eddie Houseman. With that in mind I thought he was being a bit optimistic in believing Alan was welcoming the opportunity.

But now that I'd been left behind, and with nothing much to do other than wonder if Alan really had it in him to miss Houseman's truck with those grabs, I decided to assume the role of caterer and take my Grandmother some tea. Grandma had been fairly quiet since the altercation by the swimming pool. She had only come down briefly to investigate when the call came in from Five. That was enough to make anybody nervous. If Grandma was being quiet, she was up to something big.

And big wasn't the word for it.

It was the sound of a pleasant conversation which led me in the direction of Tin-Tin's room. I paused at the door with the steaming china cup in my hand and lifted my free hand to knock. I don't know what stopped me, but something inside me sure did. There was Grandma with her back to me, busily pinning the hem of the "dress" Tin-Tin wanted to wear to the Fashion launch in Paris and there was Tin-Tin standing on the chair happy to fit the creation.

Neither of them realised I was there.

I stood completely still. What I was about to hear was without a doubt one of Grandma's absolute classics.

She started out cautiously, something she'd learned from years of experience in the art of turning things around. Oh dear, she pined unhappily, Alan would insist on going on the rescue, even though he was very sick.

I didn't see the worried look steal across those pretty oriental features but the change of tone in Tin-Tin's voice certainly told me it was there.

"Alan ill?" she questioned Grandma in alarm.

Grandma sighed piteously. Oh yes, she was afraid so. She just hoped he'd be able to bear the pain that was all. I had to bite my bottom lip to stop myself from laughing. Pain? I'll bet he was feeling pain. Pain at having to rescue Eddie Houseman!

Tin-Tin was growing more and more worried by the minute.

"And Mr Tracy let him go?" she asked in disbelief.

Grandma's performance continued. She was afraid to say this but yes ...his father had let him go. His father couldn't stop him.

My eyes rolled. Was she kidding?

"I wouldn't mention this to anyone of course," Grandma warned making out Dad didn't need any more pressure. "Everyone is worried enough as it is."

Tin-Tin nodded. She knew how much Dad worried about us at the best of times, let alone when we were risking our lives in a rescue situation.

"Of course… I understand Mrs Tracy," she said.

"Poor Alan." she whispered a few moments later. She was so tragic you'd swear my brother was dying.

When Grandma heard Tin-Tin say that, she discreetly retired from her rescue effort, confident nature would take its course. She knew Alan and Tin-Tin better than Alan and Tin-Tin knew themselves and the bottom line was that they were in love with each other even if Alan couldn't find the stupid courage to tell her how he felt.

She smiled at Tin-Tin with fondness and said she'd better be getting along. We all had to eat, emergency or not.

She later warned me if I ever breathed a word to anyone about what she'd just said to Tin-Tin in that bedroom, it would be me, not Houseman who'd be in the centre of the next emergency.

She'd known I was there the whole time, she scolded me in private, and I needn't try to think she was the least bit impressed. Bedrooms had mirrors in case I'd forgotten and I should know better than to listen to her confidential conversations.

-OOO-

The rescue of Eddie Houseman was an International Rescue success and from what Scott had to say to Dad on the flight home, involved some pretty nifty manoeuvres. He and Virgil had taken the decision that International Rescue wouldn't land this time, thus reducing the possibility of Houseman wising up.

In hindsight, Scott said he seriously doubted he'd have had the time to land anyway. At one stage he'd needed to support Houseman's truck with the nose of Thunderbird One. The grabs hadn't been all that successful either. Houseman ended up having to make a jump for it, but luckily Alan had held the truck steady long enough to allow him to make his escape.

"OK. I'll talk to Brains about the necessity to make some modifications," Dad said.

Scott had a bit of a grin on his face when he went on to say he wondered if Alan even realised he had held Eddie Houseman's life in the palm of his hands for over two minutes. I laughed to myself when Dad pretended to be shocked. Of course Alan wouldn't think anything like that, Dad said. He knew he went out there with a job to do.

"Oh I dunno, Dad," Scott chortled in return. "Virg said he looked pretty darned pleased with himself when Houseman ended up flat on his face in the mud."

With that Scott signed off and Dad came to sit beside me on the couch. I couldn't contain myself any longer.

"Well how about that!" I enthused. "They pulled off a rescue without even landing!"

Dad nodded proudly. Yes they did, and with Eddie not getting a sight of them, our secret was safe.

I laughed. There were a couple of other secrets around here that also needed to be kept safe and I was looking right at the cause of the best of them. Tin-Tin had heard Scott talking to Dad on the link and had hurried into the lounge as fast as she could.

Looking absolutely stunning, hair exactly the way Alan liked it and wearing an exotic scent that filled the whole room, she almost begged Dad for permission to speak to him.

You know, I don't think Dad was quite as clueless in all this as everybody thought. Even I recognised the smirk on his face as he indicated she was welcome to take complete control of his desk. That smirk only grew bigger too when she started to speak on the link to Alan in Thunderbird Two.

Was he all right? She'd been so worried. He shouldn't have taken a chance like that!

Boy I would have loved to have been in Thunderbird Two when that call came through to Alan. Virgil said to me later, Alan's expression was priceless. The moment he heard her voice his bottom lip went, all the air left his lungs and his eyes started to get that stupid glassy look again. But this time, Virgil mused, there was something different about the way Alan handled things with Tin-Tin. For once he actually sounded sure of himself. They'd be having a long talk about everything when he got back to the base. I guessed that was the reason why she'd said to him she'd be waiting.

I arched my eyebrows at Virgil as we stood together on the same balcony we'd ragged our baby brother from only two short nights before.

They'd been "talking" down on the beach for almost two hours now and my stomach was telling me it was nearly time for supper.

A successful rescue always meant a celebration of some sort and I got the distinct impression from Grandma that the banquet Kyrano had prepared was intended to celebrate much much more than saving the life of Eddie Houseman. Grandma insisted Dad open several bottles of his finest champagne, the best silverware was polished and placed on the table and she wouldn't let up on anyone who didn't have second helpings.

"Someone said to me recently, you don't know what you're missing until you've tried it at least twice," she said looking down the table to where Alan gazed into the eyes of our pretty Assistant Engineer. He hadn't eaten a thing.

"You know I've heard that," I piped up winking across the table at Virgil.

"Me too." Virgil laughed.

"And I'm starting to think that person might be absolutely right." she observed with satisfaction.

What a timely observation!

Miss Kyrano had just excused herself from the table. She had a bit of work left to do in the laboratory, she said, if "anyone" wanted to know where she was.

Scott grinned.

Virgil grinned.

I grinned.

Even Dad grinned.

The sixty seconds starts now.

He didn't let us down of course. Err ...with all the drama surrounding the rescue he'd failed to do the required checks in Thunderbird Three. Err...they really couldn't wait until the morning. They'd probably take him a while too so if we didn't mind if he'd say his good nights to us now.

Dad was so unsporting by offering to wait up for him until he'd finished.

Alan reddened.

"Oh ... no Sir ... that's not necessary ..."

Then he reddened further.

"I mean ... you can if you want ... but there's no real need."

With that, Dad simply smiled and excused him from the table. What a pity he started to head in the direction of the lab instead of Thunderbird Three.

The stern voice of Fatherhood echoed out once more.

"Alan …"

Alan turned around to face him.

"Yes Dad?"

"You make sure everything's covered before you come upstairs to bed."

I still don't know how we held ourselves together when Alan nodded his head obediently and promised to do a thorough job.

You gotta admit it folks, life around here can be pretty darned interesting and while there's this secret little romance, that isn't really such a secret, life is going to get a lot more interesting still!

-OO-

The End.

Yours in writing … mcj

-OO-