Chapter Two: A Different View

The moment Alan shoved the warm bagel into his brother's face was the moment Gordon felt his breakfast rising into his throat. He tumbled backwards, away from the offending bread, and clasped his hand to his mouth. Like a child trapped in his pushchair, Scott tried to dive to Gordon's side but the straps on the sofa held him down and he pinged back onto it with a clatter. Luckily, John had already assessed the situation and quickly grabbed Gordon's hand and yanked him out of the living area, through a hatch and into the gravity ring. The large rotating ring with the reinforced glass was the only part of Thunderbird 5 that had constant artificial gravity; it was necessary for when John needed to get to another part of the craft quickly or view a certain part of the Earth through the infinite window and right then Gordon couldn't be more thankful for it.

The aquanaut closed his eyes and slunk down the wall until he was sitting with his head between his legs. He'd thought for sure that he was going to throw up and by the look of worry on John's face, he realised he must still look that way. In an attempt to reassure his brother that he wasn't in fact going to lose his breakfast, he got back on his feet and placed a thankful hand on the redhead's shoulder.

"Thanks. Man, I don't know how you cope with the zero-g 24/7."

John shrugged, "I'm used to it."

A sly grin spread across Gordon's face, looking much more like his usual self, "That explains why you're such a klutz back on Earth."

"I am not a klutz!" He swiped at Gordon's head but he managed to duck just in time, "Better?"

A thumbs-up assured John that his little brother wasn't going to blow chunks on his beloved Thunderbird and so he left Gordon to wander around in the gravity ring, making sure to tell him not to touch anything or get fingerprints on the glass.

John re-joined his brothers in the living area where Alan was shoving a third bagel down his throat, and was greeted with a worried looking eldest brother who was still somehow trapped in the straps of the sofa. The astronaut helped set him free and then excused himself; he still had to monitor the distress calls on Earth and let Kayo and the GDF know which were the most urgent. Just because his brothers were taking a short break didn't mean that he could be lenient too.

It had only been a couple of hours since the brothers had boarded TB5 but already they were showing signs of boredom. There really wasn't much to do on board the communications hub, especially since John had seemingly exiled any and all forms of fun – he called them 'distractions' but Alan knew better – even the games system that Scott had sent up as a birthday present had been dismantled and used for an experimental coffee maker. Which, Virgil noted, didn't even make coffee.

"EURGH!" Alan groaned as he floated on his back behind his brothers who had decided that holding onto the table was more comfortable than trying to sit on the sofa, "There's nothing to do!" He flipped himself over with ease and headed towards the hatch which led to the gravity ring, "I'm going to go see what Gordon's doing."

As the youngest left, Virgil turned to Scott, a dark eyebrow raised, "He's right. There really isn't anything to do."

"What did you expect? It's not like John's having raging parties when we're not here."

Virgil sighed, "He must do something to entertain himself!"

[I do believe John likes to take walks now and then.]

The sudden appearance of the camera, along with EOS's tinkling voice made the pair jump and was responded to with a glare from the eldest Tracy. Ever since EOS had come into being and locked John out of Thunderbird 5, Scott had a building resentment for the program. He wasn't as forgiving as his siblings and couldn't quite bring himself to be polite with something that had tried to murder his brother, no matter what John liked to say about her helpfulness or intelligence. Virgil sensed the hostility emanating from him and spoke to EOS with a smile plastered on his face.

"Walks? I don't know if you've noticed but we're in space. There's nowhere to walk to."

"Plus, we want something to entertain us, not kill us," Scott snapped.

[It is perfectly safe to walk around the perimeter of Thunderbird 5. I am told the view is one to remember.]

The brothers exchanged a thoughtful glance and finally Virgil shrugged.

"It could be fun I suppose."

Scott nodded, "Alright," he frowned at the camera that represented EOS and pointed at it like he was chastising a disobedient child, "But we're telling John where we're going. I don't want this to be the only one that knows we're out there."

With a roll of his eyes, Virgil tapped his sash and briefed John on what they were doing; as the redhead replied, Virgil could hear Alan in the background moaning about wanting to join them but a sharp 'no' from Scott shut him down before he could take it further. Scott knew how excited Alan got about being up in space and he also knew that the teenager could become reckless when excited, God only knew that Christmas was almost unbearable.

The pair donned their helmets and double checked their grappling wires before stepping out of the hatch and onto the outside of the Thunderbird. The blackness of space stretched out around them like an enormous blanket that seemed almost tangible; light from the surface of the blue planet below illuminated their way as Scott and Virgil hopped over the various curves and metal surfaces of the 'bird, careful not to leap too far and end up spiralling into the void.

"EOS was right," Virgil panted, slightly out of breath as he stepped towards his brother, "The view is amazing!"

Scott couldn't argue with that. The Earth looked mesmerising, its blues and greens and oranges and browns all culminating into one giant masterpiece that shone and spun slowly like a great leviathan or a painting in an enormous black gallery. It took their breath away as they hooked themselves onto the body of Thunderbird 5 and allowed themselves to float there in the abyss of space, looking down on their home planet like it was an everyday occurrence. Virgil wondered if John had become complacent to it all by now and envied his brother for being able to absorb this sight every day.

"Pretty amazing, huh?" Virgil held out his hand, as if reaching to touch the surface of the planet.

"You got that right."

Almost thirty minutes passed and it was only when Scott's suit informed him that he had ten minutes of oxygen remaining that they made a move to go back inside. EOS opened the hatch and Virgil noted that his brother muttered a quiet 'thank you' as he passed through it. He may never forgive the artificial intelligence but he may eventually warm to her.

The rest of the day went by without a hitch; Scott and Virgil took some lessons from John on how he communicated with Earth and visa-versa, Alan retired to his room and played on his portable video game, which he found lodged in the bottom of his suitcase, and Gordon remained in the gravity ring until he was called out for dinner. Gathered around the large table in one of the adjoining rooms near the sleeping quarters, the brothers chatted and laughed like any other family eating together. It warmed Scott's heart to have them all in one place for once and he felt himself blush when Alan asked what he was smiling about. John had reserved some lasagne that Grandma Tracy had sent up not long ago, one of the few dishes she didn't completely butcher, and served it after turning on the artificial gravity in the room. He didn't want to deny Gordon of having at least one enjoyable meal throughout the week. And the astronaut had to admit, as much as he liked his own company, eating with his family more often was something he could definitely get used to.

"Mmmm… That was great!" Alan leaned back in his chair, a huge grin on his lasagne-covered face as he took a moment to digest his meal.

"It's a wonder you actually tasted any of it, what with it being spread across your face." Virgil teased as he scraped the last smudges from his own plate.

"And your suit," Scott clicked his tongue as Alan inspected his now lasagne-accented suit.

Gordon laughed as the teenager tried to rub it off but only managed to spread it more across the blue fabric. He finally gave in and excused himself so that he could wash it off before he was teased any more. He was just pulling on his pyjamas in his and Virgil's room when said brother walked in and flicked on the artificial gravity, causing Alan to drop to the floor in a naked heap with his pyjama bottoms wrapped around his head. Virgil bit his lip to try and hide his smile but a snort of laughter managed to sneak out as he spoke.

"Oops, didn't know you were there, bro."

Alan yanked the pyjamas off his head and quickly pulled them on, glaring at Virgil the entire time. His brother looked at his pyjama-clad self; no matter how much he tried, Alan still managed to look like the baby of the family. His spindly frame and always slightly too big clothes betrayed the fact that he was probably the best pilot they had, maybe even the best pilot in the world. He would always be the little brother though, no doubt about that.

"Why're you putting your pyjamas on anyway?"

Alan shrugged, "My suit has lasagne on it and I can't be bothered to dig out the rest of my clothes."

"But what if there's an air failure thingymajig?" Virgil scrunched his face, never one for technical terms, "John said we should be ready for any situation whilst up here."

With a wave of his hand, Alan dismissed Virgil's worries, "Chill out will you! How many times has Thunderbird 5 had an oxygen leak?"

Virgil shrugged his wide shoulders, "Never."

"Exactly."

The smug look on the blonde's face was the last straw. Virgil dived across the room and tackled him to the ground, burrowing his knuckles in Alan's hair as the smaller sibling struggled and squawked. Somehow he managed to tap Virgil's communications on his sash, sending their little brawl through the airwaves and into the speakers of every other Tracy. Within seconds, Scott and John, followed slowly by a green-looking Gordon, stormed into the room fearing the worst. All they had heard were the pained screams of Alan and Scott had assumed he'd been sucked into space or encountered some sort of alien life. After the fact he realised that his presumptions were probably a little exaggerated.

"And here I thought putting you two together was a safe bet," Scott rubbed the spot between his eyebrows and sighed.

Alan pointed to Virgil and managed to squeak out, "He started it!"

With an exasperated sigh, Scott flicked off the artificial gravity in the room, thankful when it separated the brawling pair without him having to lift so much as a finger. Gordon, however, was not as thankful as his full stomach lurched at the sensation of the gravity evaporating once more. He groaned and rested his head on Scott's shoulder; ever since he was small, if Gordon had ever become ill or was injured he would cling to Scott like a limpet. Throughout the years it had become less and less apparent but the need for some sort of contact with his eldest brother was still there and now and then it would resurface. Smother Hen didn't mind, after years of taking care of his family he was used to being the buoy in the ocean, the lake in the desert, and he ruffled Gordon's hair just like their father used to.

"Let's all get some rest," Scott put his hands on the back of Gordon's shoulders and started to push him out of the room, "We've got a busy week ahead of us."

Alan saluted sarcastically, winning him another noogie from Virgil, and proceeded to slip into bed as Virgil flicked the artificial gravity on once more. Gordon and Scott moved into their room where the squid fumbled awkwardly with the switch, desperate to feel the solid ground beneath his feet again. He didn't feel at all well and thought that he might even have a fever, although why the motion sickness would cause his temperature to rise was beyond him, space was just too weird. Not wanting Scott to go into full 'smother' mode, the aquanaut tried his best to ignore his body's warning signs and slipped under the covers of his new bed. Hopefully he'd feel better in the morning.

In the command module, John was taking the opportunity to spend a little time by himself; the day had been hectic and tiresome but he needed to wind down before he could sleep. Having his brothers with him was definitely better than he'd been expecting but he'd almost forgotten just how loud they were and was thankful that they'd all finally gone to sleep. Up in space it was easy to lose track of time and the astronaut didn't like to rely on clocks to tell him when to sleep or wake up, he used his body clock to determine that. However, with the upheaval of the day and having to constantly be aware that there were other human beings on board, not just himself, John was pretty sure he'd be sleeping at a reasonable hour tonight.