Four and a half months later, Kyrano, Tin-Tin and Grandma entered the
living room with cups of hot cocoa. They put the cups down on the table at
the end of the room and went over to see how the Christmas decorating was
going.
To Tin-Tin, it looked like the boys had spent more time decorating each other than the tree. Alan had a string of lights wrapped around him like rope that lit up as Scott pulled him towards the wall and plugged them in. Gordon's fine hair was covered in strands of silver tinsel and Virgil had taped bits of wrapping paper to Scott. John has a Christmas ornament stuck to his sweater with one of the hooks that was supposed to hold it on the tree and Virgil had the angel on his head. Jeff had managed to escape his sons and was laying out the tree skirt underneath the Christmas tree.
She glanced around, surveying the damage they'd done to the room. Open boxes of Christmas ornaments were scattered around the floor and on the couch and tinsel littered the carpet like a mat. Wrapping paper was flung in every direction, waiting to be used to wrap the gifts they'd bought for each other. Tin-Tin shook her head at the sight, a smile coming to her lips as she watched the five brothers horsing around in the mess.
John had since recovered fully from the beating he and Tin-Tin had suffered while on vacation and was down from Thunderbird 5 for the week. Brains, who was busy trying to re-wire a faulty line of Christmas lights in the corner, had trained and programmed his robot, Braman, to man the space station so John could take a break and spend Christmas on Earth with his family. So far, there hadn't been any emergencies that required Braman to do anything, and as far as the Tracy's knew, he was just wandering aimlessly around Thunderbird 5 trying to figure out what all the different controls did.
Tin-Tin, Grandma and Kyrano stepped in to help the boys decorate the Christmas tree while Jeff put in a CD of holiday songs he'd gotten the year before from his mother. Then he joined in and soon the tree was finished, it's sparkling lights casting a rainbow of colours bouncing across the room. The group stepped back to admire their work.
Tin-Tin helped Alan pluck tinsel out of his hair and giggled as he picked some up off the floor and braided it into hers. They gathered at the piano, nursing their hot cups of cocoa as Virgil began to play carols on the keys. Soon their voices rose and fell with the notes, bringing the room to life with the spirit of Christmas. Gordon, Alan, John, Virgil, Scott, Jeff, Tin- Tin, Kyrano and Grandma shared matching grins as they sang joyously into the early hours of the morning.
+++
Scott, the last one to arrive in the living room on Christmas morning, sat down beside Virgil and looked at the glowing tree and the presents stacked beneath it. "So, who's first?" He yawned, after wishing everyone a merry Christmas. With so many people in the massive house, there were gifts galore.
"Why don't we all go at the same time?" Gordon suggested, already searching for a package with his name on it.
"Sounds good to me." Virgil glanced around, wondering if anyone would object.
After they'd each acquired a bright parcel, wrapping paper began to fly as they tore them open in unison. Shrieks of surprise went up and laughter filled the room as they uncovered what had been hidden inside the presents.
Alan held up a new International Rescue uniform that Tin-Tin and Grandma had made to replace the one that had been ripped to shreds when his girlfriend had been attacked. The sash was shiny and new, and as he inspected it, Alan noticed a small white heart had been sewn into the lining, out of view. He blushed as Tin-Tin grinned.
"Thank you." He said graciously, giving her and Grandma Tracy a hug.
Tin-Tin slipped the mood ring Brains had made for her onto her finger. It fit perfectly, and instantly changed to a tranquil shade of blue to match her relaxed and happy mood. She thanked him, wondering what chemicals could possibly react with body heat to change colour like the ones he must have used in the ring.
After uncovering another few packages, John had also received a new uniform made by Tin-Tin and Grandma. It was identical to Alan's except for the colour of the sash and the absence of the heart. He put on the sash over his clothes and gave the two women hugs like Alan had done.
When all the presents had been opened, the family headed into the kitchen to prepare Christmas breakfast as a group, which had always been the tradition in the Tracy household. Scott made the eggs, Alan flipped pancakes, Virgil handled the bacon, John tended the hash browns and Gordon made stacks of French toast. Jeff idly put bread in the toaster and buttered it when it was done while Kyrano and Brains made coffee and tea and Tin-Tin and Grandma set the massive dining table for the morning feast. Just like with the rescue organization that was their lives, everything came together best when they were a team.
After breakfast, they bundled up and went outside to skate on the swimming pool. It didn't usually get cold enough to freeze the water, but Brains had made a chemical solution that solidified it, no matter what the temperature.
Scott and Virgil pushed shovels over the surface of the pool, forcing the light snow that had fallen off the ice. Tin-Tin wrapped the scarf around her neck and felt the chilly winter air nipping at her cheeks. She smiled despite the cold and watched as Alan slipped over the ice towards her, his legs still getting used to the concept of the blades on his feet. It had been a long time since any of them had skated.
He pulled her onto the ice and they glided over the surface, laughing as Gordon tripped and slid towards them on his rear end, straight into their legs. With multiple cries of surprise, the couple fell over his head and landed in a laughing heap. Jeff eyed them from the side, having decided the pool was crowded enough as it was with his sons and Tin-Tin skating on it. Kyrano was making warm drinks for when they were finished and Brains had disappeared off to his lab. It seemed to Jeff that so much human company was taxing on their engineer. Grandma Tracy had decided to finish doing the dishes rather than come outside in the cold.
John skated peacefully around the outside of the pool, keeping away from the giggling pile that was Alan, Gordon and Tin-Tin. They still hadn't managed to stand up because they were laughing so hard at themselves and none could keep their balance. He skidded to a stop in front of Scott, who was busy pushing Virgil into the pile of snow they'd made from what had been on the ice. Virgil kicked him away, the blades of his skates glinting dangerously in the winter sunlight. When he managed to get back on his feet, he took off after Scott at blinding speed, chasing his older brother around the ice with a handful of snow.
Scott cried out as Virgil shoved it down the back of his sweater, which proved to be amusing to the spectators. They cheered the two on as their battle continued. By the end, both were sopping wet and sitting on the ice without the energy to fight any more. Everyone else was in stitches at the looks on their faces and the snow clinging to their clothes, as well as the antics they had preformed during the fight.
John took a deep breath of the cool air, smelling the scent of hot chocolate streaming through the kitchen window and the salt from the sea below them. His eyes followed his family as they enjoyed themselves and he smiled, knowing this was what Christmas was all about. Not the presents, not the food, not the decorations or the cheery music that flooded the household. It was the company, the friends, the family members, and the love that surrounded everyone on the holiday that made the celebrations all worthwhile.
Scott skated over to him, shivering noticeably. He was about to step off the ice when he caught the look on his brother's face. Stopping beside him, he turned back to the others and surveyed them with the same wistful expression John did.
"Merry Christmas, John," Scott said at last.
John tilted his head and smiled at his brother. "Merry Christmas, Scott."
*******************
Wow, it's finished! Thanks to everyone who read/reviewed this fic, I really appreciate all your kind words :) I have 3 or more TB stories going now, and I will choose one and begin posting it soon! I'm not sure how they'll turn out and I want to make sure that they're decent before I begin uploading. I hope you'll read those too, and thanks again for the wonderful feedback!
Angelina
To Tin-Tin, it looked like the boys had spent more time decorating each other than the tree. Alan had a string of lights wrapped around him like rope that lit up as Scott pulled him towards the wall and plugged them in. Gordon's fine hair was covered in strands of silver tinsel and Virgil had taped bits of wrapping paper to Scott. John has a Christmas ornament stuck to his sweater with one of the hooks that was supposed to hold it on the tree and Virgil had the angel on his head. Jeff had managed to escape his sons and was laying out the tree skirt underneath the Christmas tree.
She glanced around, surveying the damage they'd done to the room. Open boxes of Christmas ornaments were scattered around the floor and on the couch and tinsel littered the carpet like a mat. Wrapping paper was flung in every direction, waiting to be used to wrap the gifts they'd bought for each other. Tin-Tin shook her head at the sight, a smile coming to her lips as she watched the five brothers horsing around in the mess.
John had since recovered fully from the beating he and Tin-Tin had suffered while on vacation and was down from Thunderbird 5 for the week. Brains, who was busy trying to re-wire a faulty line of Christmas lights in the corner, had trained and programmed his robot, Braman, to man the space station so John could take a break and spend Christmas on Earth with his family. So far, there hadn't been any emergencies that required Braman to do anything, and as far as the Tracy's knew, he was just wandering aimlessly around Thunderbird 5 trying to figure out what all the different controls did.
Tin-Tin, Grandma and Kyrano stepped in to help the boys decorate the Christmas tree while Jeff put in a CD of holiday songs he'd gotten the year before from his mother. Then he joined in and soon the tree was finished, it's sparkling lights casting a rainbow of colours bouncing across the room. The group stepped back to admire their work.
Tin-Tin helped Alan pluck tinsel out of his hair and giggled as he picked some up off the floor and braided it into hers. They gathered at the piano, nursing their hot cups of cocoa as Virgil began to play carols on the keys. Soon their voices rose and fell with the notes, bringing the room to life with the spirit of Christmas. Gordon, Alan, John, Virgil, Scott, Jeff, Tin- Tin, Kyrano and Grandma shared matching grins as they sang joyously into the early hours of the morning.
+++
Scott, the last one to arrive in the living room on Christmas morning, sat down beside Virgil and looked at the glowing tree and the presents stacked beneath it. "So, who's first?" He yawned, after wishing everyone a merry Christmas. With so many people in the massive house, there were gifts galore.
"Why don't we all go at the same time?" Gordon suggested, already searching for a package with his name on it.
"Sounds good to me." Virgil glanced around, wondering if anyone would object.
After they'd each acquired a bright parcel, wrapping paper began to fly as they tore them open in unison. Shrieks of surprise went up and laughter filled the room as they uncovered what had been hidden inside the presents.
Alan held up a new International Rescue uniform that Tin-Tin and Grandma had made to replace the one that had been ripped to shreds when his girlfriend had been attacked. The sash was shiny and new, and as he inspected it, Alan noticed a small white heart had been sewn into the lining, out of view. He blushed as Tin-Tin grinned.
"Thank you." He said graciously, giving her and Grandma Tracy a hug.
Tin-Tin slipped the mood ring Brains had made for her onto her finger. It fit perfectly, and instantly changed to a tranquil shade of blue to match her relaxed and happy mood. She thanked him, wondering what chemicals could possibly react with body heat to change colour like the ones he must have used in the ring.
After uncovering another few packages, John had also received a new uniform made by Tin-Tin and Grandma. It was identical to Alan's except for the colour of the sash and the absence of the heart. He put on the sash over his clothes and gave the two women hugs like Alan had done.
When all the presents had been opened, the family headed into the kitchen to prepare Christmas breakfast as a group, which had always been the tradition in the Tracy household. Scott made the eggs, Alan flipped pancakes, Virgil handled the bacon, John tended the hash browns and Gordon made stacks of French toast. Jeff idly put bread in the toaster and buttered it when it was done while Kyrano and Brains made coffee and tea and Tin-Tin and Grandma set the massive dining table for the morning feast. Just like with the rescue organization that was their lives, everything came together best when they were a team.
After breakfast, they bundled up and went outside to skate on the swimming pool. It didn't usually get cold enough to freeze the water, but Brains had made a chemical solution that solidified it, no matter what the temperature.
Scott and Virgil pushed shovels over the surface of the pool, forcing the light snow that had fallen off the ice. Tin-Tin wrapped the scarf around her neck and felt the chilly winter air nipping at her cheeks. She smiled despite the cold and watched as Alan slipped over the ice towards her, his legs still getting used to the concept of the blades on his feet. It had been a long time since any of them had skated.
He pulled her onto the ice and they glided over the surface, laughing as Gordon tripped and slid towards them on his rear end, straight into their legs. With multiple cries of surprise, the couple fell over his head and landed in a laughing heap. Jeff eyed them from the side, having decided the pool was crowded enough as it was with his sons and Tin-Tin skating on it. Kyrano was making warm drinks for when they were finished and Brains had disappeared off to his lab. It seemed to Jeff that so much human company was taxing on their engineer. Grandma Tracy had decided to finish doing the dishes rather than come outside in the cold.
John skated peacefully around the outside of the pool, keeping away from the giggling pile that was Alan, Gordon and Tin-Tin. They still hadn't managed to stand up because they were laughing so hard at themselves and none could keep their balance. He skidded to a stop in front of Scott, who was busy pushing Virgil into the pile of snow they'd made from what had been on the ice. Virgil kicked him away, the blades of his skates glinting dangerously in the winter sunlight. When he managed to get back on his feet, he took off after Scott at blinding speed, chasing his older brother around the ice with a handful of snow.
Scott cried out as Virgil shoved it down the back of his sweater, which proved to be amusing to the spectators. They cheered the two on as their battle continued. By the end, both were sopping wet and sitting on the ice without the energy to fight any more. Everyone else was in stitches at the looks on their faces and the snow clinging to their clothes, as well as the antics they had preformed during the fight.
John took a deep breath of the cool air, smelling the scent of hot chocolate streaming through the kitchen window and the salt from the sea below them. His eyes followed his family as they enjoyed themselves and he smiled, knowing this was what Christmas was all about. Not the presents, not the food, not the decorations or the cheery music that flooded the household. It was the company, the friends, the family members, and the love that surrounded everyone on the holiday that made the celebrations all worthwhile.
Scott skated over to him, shivering noticeably. He was about to step off the ice when he caught the look on his brother's face. Stopping beside him, he turned back to the others and surveyed them with the same wistful expression John did.
"Merry Christmas, John," Scott said at last.
John tilted his head and smiled at his brother. "Merry Christmas, Scott."
*******************
Wow, it's finished! Thanks to everyone who read/reviewed this fic, I really appreciate all your kind words :) I have 3 or more TB stories going now, and I will choose one and begin posting it soon! I'm not sure how they'll turn out and I want to make sure that they're decent before I begin uploading. I hope you'll read those too, and thanks again for the wonderful feedback!
Angelina