Nothing stays the same forever. Rock erodes. Stars die. Change is inevitable, painful, brutal. But change isn't always a bad thing. After all, without it we would never see the splendour of a sunrise or the beauty of a sunset.

Or the miracle of butterflies.

~oOo~

Jeff Tracy sat back and sighed. He gripped the arms of his desk chair and shook his head. It was inevitable, but that didn't make him feel much better about it. He glanced at the calendar. January 7th, 2069. It was the day International Rescue would change forever.

His fingertips tapped the dark brown leather. Deep down, he knew that this was for the best. The outfit had been operating for just shy of four years and in that time, they had achieved so much. Jeff's chest swelled with pride as each victory passed before his eyes. Hundreds of disasters averted, countless lives saved.

Yet a shadow crossed his heart and he gripped the arms again. The victory had not come without cost. There had been injuries, near-death experiences. Scott had been shot down over the desert. Virgil had nearly perished after Thunderbird Two was targeted by the Sentinel. He had nearly lost Alan and his mother at Parola Sands. There had been near-misses with all of them - except John, safely cocooned in Thunderbird Five. Each incident had shaved another year off Jeff Tracy's life, he was sure of it.

When he had first broached the subject of International Rescue with his boys, he had been frank; there would be sacrifices to be made. Yet not one of them had complained. Now that the operation was in full-swing, Jeff knew that it was time to give something back to his sons, after they had given so much to the world.

What could he give them, the boys who had everything?

The answer was simple: time.

"Penny for them?"

Jeff jerked out of his thoughts and smiled.

"Ah, Scott. Good morning. I was just thinking, that's all."

His eldest perched on the edge of the desk and folded his arms. The hair at Scott's temples was starting to grey. There were more lines around his eyes, but his smile had never dimmed.

"It does feel strange," he said. "We've been so closely guarded for years. It's weird to think we're about to let someone new in on the secret."

Jeff nodded, rolling his response over in his mind before speaking.

"Agreed. I know that I've done countless security and background checks. I know that I've chosen the right people. I know that what I'm doing is the right thing. It's just...a very strange feeling."

"Yeah. But good. For all of us. A lot has changed since we started International Rescue. Speaking of which, what's Alan and Tin-Tin's ETA?"

"They should be arriving with their cargo around one-thirty," Jeff said. "And Tin-Tin has her appointment at," he glanced at his watch, "around now, actually."

Scott whistled and shook his head.

"I still can't believe it. Alan, a father?"

Jeff chuckled and pushed himself onto his feet.

"I know. Far too young for that sort of responsibility." Scott opened his mouth to speak but Jeff waved him off. "Though, I'll thank you not to point out that he's responsible enough to pilot a Thunderbird. In my head, he's still the eighteen year old who shattered all the windows at Colorado University." He shook his head. "At least Tin-Tin has a sensible head on her shoulders."

He walked towards the door; Scott followed.

"So how does it feel, Grandpa?" Scott asked, giving his father a sidelong glance.

"Don't you start with that," Jeff groused. "There's still six months or so before that title becomes official. Six months until I start feeling old." Despite his words, he could not help but grin.

"How do you think Grandma feels?" Scott asked as they descended to the kitchen.

"Younger than I do, probably!" Jeff shook his head again and huffed out a breath. "Alan a father, me a grandfather, Mother a great-grandmother... I need some coffee, now!"

~oOo~

The only way to describe it was like walking on air. Tin-Tin clutched the holocard of her first scan to her chest and grinned again. I am so lucky! I can't wait to show Father and Mr Tracy - or Jeff, as he wants me to call him now!

"Tin-Tin, keep smiling like that and people will think you're crazy!" Alan said as he slung an arm around his fiancée's shoulders.

They were walking from the stacker where Alan had left the hire car towards Wellington's shopping district. At last the shop windows were being cleared of Christmas merchandise - which had never fitted in with the baking heat and endless sunshine of a New Zealand summer, anyway.

"Oh, Alan, I don't care if the whole world knows how happy I am. We're having a baby!"

Alan squeezed her shoulders a little tighter and shook his head.

"Gee, I know we've just seen the scan but it still doesn't feel quite real."

"It feels real enough for me," Tin-Tin said, patting her abdomen and looking at the holocard again. "It's all so amazing." She glanced at her watch. "Come on, we have a little time to spare. Let's find a cafe and sit down for a while."

"Sure thing," Alan said. "But no caffeine for you!"

Tin-Tin rolled her eyes.

"Don't remind me," she said. "I don't know how I'll survive!"

They ducked in to one of their usual haunts - the sort of cafe with a mismatch of bright colours and album covers on the walls - and Tin-Tin resigned herself to drinking an iced fruit tea. She sat back on one of the plush sofas and sighed as the air-con washed over her.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while before Alan spoke.

"I wonder what they're like in person," he said as he idly stirred his drink. It was something ridiculously sweet as usual, more sugar than coffee.

"I imagine they'll be just fine," Tin-Tin said. "I'm most worried about trying to tell them apart. From the pictures, they do look truly identical."

"Yeah. The logistics could be tricky, but I guess it reduces the risk of outsiders finding out about us, what with them being from the same family. And at least they'll be colour coded!"

Tin-Tin chuckled.

"Yes, as long as you remember which brother is which colour. Is Elijah red and Matthew green, or vice-versa?"

Alan gave her a flat look.

"I had not considered that," he said. "I told Dad he should have recruited some more women!"

Tin-Tin seized her opportunity and pasted a hurt look on her face.

"You did? Oh, Alan, am I not good enough for you? Oh, woe!"

Alan went to flick her ear but she was too quick for him. They dissolved into giggles.

"I wasn't thinking for me," Alan said at length, wiping his eyes. "More for the boys. Dad wants us to have time to live our lives. They haven't been as lucky as me when it comes to love."

"Charmer," Tin-Tin said.

They leaned into embrace. Tin-Tin lingered in his arms for a while. Sadly. It wasn't long before they had to leave. Tin-Tin steeled herself for the heat again, before stepping out into the sunlight and off to collect International Rescue's newest recruits.

~oOo~

It almost felt like Christmas all over again. Everyone had gathered in the lounge and Gordon had perched himself on the piano bench beside Virgil.

"I hope they like me," he said, putting on his best panicked voice. "Do you think they'll like me? What if they don't? Oh!"

Virgil shook his head and tried to shove Gordon onto the floor. The ex-Olympian was too sturdy to shift.

"Knock it off," Virgil said, though there was a smile in his voice. "None of us like you anyway, so if they didn't, what difference would it make?"

Gordon schooled his face into his most aghast expression and leaned back, placing a hand on his chest and mouthing, what? Virgil shook his head and ran his fingers up the keys of his baby grand.

"Do me a favour and lay off the pranks until they're settled in, okay? It's taken nearly a year to get them here. I don't think Dad would appreciate you scaring them off so soon."

"Ah, relax," Gordon said. He reached for one of the keys but Virgil swatted his hand away. "I haven't got anything planned...for at least a week."

"Gordon!"

"Kidding, kidding."

He pushed himself to his feet and, with lightning speed, jabbed at one of the keys and ran. He chuckled and stuck out his tongue as Virgil shook his fist.

Gordon came to a stop at Scott's side and grinned. His eldest brother was leaning against one of the pillars, surveying the family around him. Gordon followed his gaze from Jeff and Kyrano, deep in soon-to-be-grandfather talk, to Grandma rearranging the glasses on the coffee table for what was probably the seventh time.

"Feels weird," Gordon said.

"Yeah, it does," Scott replied. "But not bad."

"So what kind of training programme have you devised for our new recruits?" Gordon asked, rubbing his hands together. "Jumping through flaming hoops? Walking a tightrope over a pool of piranhas? Listening to Alan talk about his racing career without falling asleep?"

Scott chuckled.

"Something like that," he said.

"Base from Ladybird."

The room fell silent as Jeff answered the call.

"Go ahead, Ladybird."

"We're coming in to land now," Tin-Tin said.

"I trust you have our guests?" Jeff asked.

"All present and correct, Father," Alan said.

"FAB. See you soon."

The comm clicked off. All eyes were on Jeff; Gordon gave his father a nod.

"So it begins," the red-head said. Then he patted himself down. "Now where did I leave my fake spider?"

"Gordon!"