Simon Smith had always been someone that could blend into the background easily, hiding behind his hand-held camera as he filmed whatever his bosses had told him to. Today it was some kind of expose on a tourist trap in the south of England, a mass of caves and cavern eroded from soft limestone by millions of years of running water. He knew of the site, it was an amazing sight, a whole new world below the mainly flat lying, grassy plains above. However, some leaked document had suggested that these caves were not safe. In fact, erosion rates had increased so dramatically in recent years that the caves had been termed in a report as 'unstable'. Yet they had not been closed and were still continually exploited for tourism. This was Simon's chance to make a difference. He was going to take charge of his own project, present, edit, produce, direct and hopefully, hit the big time with this story. Grinning to himself, he stood with the other families, waiting for their tour guide to arrive, turning his mini-cam over in his hand.

In the kitchen of the visitor centre that perched above the caves, there was a problem. They were understaffed, they were anticipating a mass of coach tours and it was common knowledge among most of the staff at the centre that the owner had a letter from the British Geological Survey informing him the caves were unsafe and for the safety of the public and the staff, they should be closed until precautions could be taken to stabilize the caves, if that was even possible. The mood was gloomy as Ben Jones, chief supervisor for the day, tried to advise the minimal staff in front of him on where they would be working for the morning.

"I'll be in the kitchen if anyone needs me," he finished. "I know it's going to be hectic, but we have a job to do…please guys, I'm really asking for full co-operation today." There were passive nods and forced smiles, but Ben could see the annoyance and lethargy among his team. However, he had little time to think about it, having lunch to begin preparing. He stepped into the kitchen, firing up the fryer while he began to search aimlessly for the chipped potatoes he had been promised were prepared and waiting to be fried there and then.

"In the name of…" he trailed off, stepping out of the kitchen and heading towards the gift shop.

"Katie…Shannon!" he yelled out. "Where are my potatoes!" The two teenage girls gave him a surly look from below faces caked in makeup.

"Girls…I asked you earlier…" Ben tried pleading with them, but they looked at him, unaffected, their jaws moving in unison as they chewed on gum.

"I don't believe this place…we're still open you know!" he last yell echoed around him before he made his way back to the kitchens in time to see black smoke creeping out from under the door.

"Oh hell…the fryer…" Ben groaned, pushing the swing door open hard. The sudden influx of oxygen to the stuffy kitchen immediately fed the growing fire, pushing it up and outwards, filling the room. Ben cried out in horror, but it lasted only a moment as the flames pulled him in.

The cups of coffee that littered the breakfast table remained untouched as three brothers tried unsuccessfully to ignore the yells that were coming from the lounge.

"I'm going!" Alan's voice, harsh as he raised his voice.

"But you've got a child to look after!" Tin Tin. She was trying hard not to cry. "John doesn't mind staying up there for longer!"

"I'm not doing this for John!" Alan snapped and a sudden silence descended. Scott lifted his mug and took a gulp of coffee, drawing Gordon and Virgil's attention back to the kitchen.

"Smooth Alan," Gordon muttered, resuming eating his cereal. Scott got to his feet and made his way to the lounge.

"Scott…" Virgil began to protest, but trailed off, not really knowing what to say. After a short, muttered conversation with Alan, Scott returned to the kitchen, carrying two year old Lucy, her face a mixture of confusion and alarm.

"I don't think she should be listening to that," he said gruffly, placing her down in her chair and digging through the fridge to find some food for her.

"What did Alan say?" Gordon asked, pulling a face at Lucy, causing her to laugh cheerily.

"He wants to relieve John for a month or so," Scott replied, opening a jar of baby food and tipping it into a scratched plastic bowl. It spewed out as a giant blob of goo and Scott recoiled with slight repulse. With a cautious sniff at the bowl, he decided it must be edible and moved to begin feeding it to the child, but Virgil grabbed hold of it, rolling his eyes.

"At least warm it Scott," he muttered. "I mean…it doesn't exactly look all that appealing."

"Who made you the expert?" Scott returned good-naturedly.

"I know what she likes," Virgil smiled smugly, winking as Lucy gazed up at her oldest uncles with her huge blue eyes. Scott couldn't help but smile sweetly at the child; she was the only one who would get him to drop his steely hard act after a rescue, and that was something Virgil had cottoned on to and at the moment, Scott was treating him extra nicely, trying to prevent his little weakness being shared with anyone else. However, the moment for a little sibling rivalry couldn't be passed up and with a sly grin, Scott turned to his confident looking brother.

"Oh yeah, you still think you're the favourite uncle? Nah ah, little brother, she likes me best since I let her play in Thunderbird 1." Virgil looked up at him in shock, but it was Gordon that voiced their thoughts.

"Safety first Scott," Gordon laughed. "It's a rocket for goodness sakes!"

"I supervised!" Scott shot back. "Anyway, what have you treated the little darling to recently?" Gordon looked proudly at his two older brothers.

"I'm teaching her how to swim…a life-saving skill I think you'll agree."

"Swim Gordon!" Lucy cried out and Gordon smiled, blowing his niece a kiss.

"Exactly sweetheart," he said, sticking his tongue out at Scott.

"Well, I think we have a winner," Virgil frowned, placing the dish down in front of Lucy and handing her a spoon. She smiled widely at him.

"I can't believe I'm not your favourite Lucy," he teased her as she dug her spoon into the gooey mush in front of her, somewhat disgruntledly. Virgil looked almost hurt before catching Gordon's triumphant smile.

"Well, look at it. I wouldn't want to eat it," he tried to defend himself, but his attention was grabbed by Lucy, who had managed to scoop a mass of the mush onto her spoon.

"Maybe she does like it after all," Scott suggested. Lucy admired the spoon and its contents, before flicking it at Gordon, watching in glee as it splattered across his face. Scott and Virgil couldn't help but burst into fits of laughter, which only made Lucy giggle more, and infuriate Gordon.

"You told her to do that!" he accused Virgil with a glower, its effect lost by his face being covered with orange baby food.

"No, I think it was all Lucy," Scott said, winking at the child. Virgil cleared his throat, trying hard not to laugh.

"I'm pretty sure it's a sign of affection," he informed. "Anyway, she has good colour tastes."

"What?" Gordon asked sharply.

"Well, the food colour matches your hair exactly. It would have clashed if it was over Scott or I. Obviously her Uncle Virgil has taught her well." Gordon was about to speak, but Scott placed his hands gently over Lucy's ears.

"No expletives. She's only two." Gordon shot his brother's a long look before storming from the kitchen.

"This isn't over you two!" he yelled over his shoulder. Scott returned to his seat, watching as Virgil took hold of the spoon.

"Better stop anymore mishaps," he said.

"She takes after Alan, doesn't she?" Scott asked.

"I've never been surer after that."

"Dad, I've picked up some transmissions from Somerset in Southern England…there seems to be a fire at a visitor centre at some caves there. It all sounds quite panicked, I think they may need our help," John told his father, who sat behind his desk chewing at a pen thoughtfully.

"Have they asked for us?"

"Not yet. It sounds like it's coming though. I thought I'd give you a heads up."

"Thanks John. Keep in touch." Jeff signed off and glanced towards the door where he saw a red-faced Gordon wiping something from his cheeks. As if feeling his father's questioning eyes on him, he turned on him. Jeff had to fight to keep the smile from his face as Gordon smeared the baby food across his face in an attempt to remove it.

"My grand-daughter has good aim?" he asked and Gordon's scowled deepened.

"I thought I was her favourite," he muttered. Jeff smiled, having heard every word from the kitchen, deciding to have a little fun with Gordon. It had been a while since there had been such a good feeling in the house, and Jeff felt that he should exploit it whenever possible.

"Oh no, that's Virgil…I thought everyone knew that."

"Oh Dad!" Gordon wailed, storming towards his room, reminding Jeff of when Gordon had been a moody teenager and had continually berated his father for any and every comment. Virgil and Scott, each holding a tiny hand, made their way into the lounge. Jeff got to his feet and knelt down in front of his grand-daughter, taking her in his arms and kissing the top of her head lovingly.

"Grandpa," she said, her little arms circling his neck as he lifted her. Scott nudged Virgil, rolling his eyes in his father's direction.

"The only one that can soften the hardened heart of our dad." Virgil raised his eyebrows, turning to face Scott.

"Yeah, you can talk," Virgil hissed back before smiling in his father's direction. Lucy was now engrossed in studying her grandfather's graying hair.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Dad, about me being the favourite uncle," he said to Jeff. Jeff laughed.

"Oh that? I was just winding Gordon up. We all know she really can't stand any of you and wants to spend all day with her grandpa…isn't that right Lucy?" Jeff looked at her and she nodded obediently. Virgil was about to protest when John's portrait sprung to life, and immediately the mood in the lounge became much more serious.

"They need our help in Somerset," John spoke quickly. "They need the caves evacuated, the fire seems to be completely out of control…and right now it seems most of the fire service in on strike and the army alternative is already stretched to its limit."

"Ok John. Scott, I want you out there as soon as possible and assess the situation, try and find the owner or someone that looks to know the layout of those caves. Virgil, take Alan and Gordon and the Firefly. Those two can deal with the fire, as long as you and Scott don't mind tackling the caves?"

"No Sir, we can do it," Virgil replied assertively, glancing in Scott's direction.

"F.A.B," Scott added. "Let's get going. Virgil, can you brief Alan and Gordon on the way? We need to get there as quickly as possible."

"F.A.B Scott," Virgil said. Jeff and Lucy watched as they got into position to be transported down to their respective crafts.

"Bye Scotty…bye Virgil…" Lucy said, waving. Jeff tickled her cheek, before calling Tin Tin and ordering her to take charge of her daughter. Jeff had a funny feeling he'd want to keep a close eye on this rescue.