Saving Alan Chapter 1

Author's Note: I do not care for author's notes in general, so I will try and say what I need to say now. Further communication can be done via pm. I am certainly not an author, in fact, my linguistic skills are subpar at best. That said, I want to strive to make this as enjoyable an experience as possible for anybody who reads this. So please let me know if there are any glaring spelling, grammar, or punctuation issues, or if the story is lacking development (as somebody who is new to writing I may or may not be able to fix that, but I would like to know).

I don't know how often I'll update. It won't be consistent; sometimes I will update several days in a row, and other times it may be once a week. I will try not to allow more than a week to pass between updates.

I certainly don't own The Thunderbirds, but I am grateful for the opportunity to be able to play in their sandbox for a bit.

TRIGGER WARNING: This entire story could be triggering to those who have struggled with self-harm or suicidal ideation. If that is you, we love you and want you to stay safe, so please take that under advisement when choosing whether or not to continue reading.

There are some parts that may trigger those who have been abused (by a teacher or somebody in a position of power), I will send up individual trigger warnings at the beginning of those chapters.

Movieverse- I appreciate the original series tv show, I am a little less into the newer Thunderbirds are Go series. This will be based off the movie.

Ages are not clear, though it seems as though Alan must be at least 4-5 years younger than Gordon in the movie (as Alan is 14 and Gordon has already graduated). My assumption of ages will be as follows:

Alan- 14

Gordon-20

Virgil-22

John-24

Scott-25

Jeff Tracy needed coffee. The relentless stack of paperwork taunted him from the overflowing inbox of his otherwise pristine desk. It was nearly 10:00 at night, Onaha would never allow him caffeine at this hour. Onaha Kyrano was his dutiful housekeeper, but she was far more like a mother to Jeff's family than an employee. She lived on Tracy Island along with her husband (who was an old friend of Jeff's and now tended to the grounds around the villa), and her daughter TinTin. Onaha kept a hawk's eye over the eating, sleeping, and general health habits of the Tracy family. She was nobody to be trifled or argued with, and she had left no room for argument when she put a halt to Jeff's seven cup a day coffee addiction. Now he was allowed 4 cups a day, and only between the hours of 8:00 am and 5:00 pm. Jeff threw down his pen in resignation and pushed his chair back from the desk, scrubbing a hand over his face (whether in exhaustion or frustration he wasn't sure).

Jeff was no stranger to exhaustion, and an overflowing inbox was as familiar to him as the back of his hand. As the founder and CEO of Tracy Enterprises, an international multi-billion dollar corporation, and the secret founder of International Rescue, Jeff was used to working long and treacherous hours. But today it was not the endless budget reports or an unsuccessful rescue mission that fueled his burgeoning headache, no that was accredited to his third and most important job; fatherhood. He smiled wistfully as he picked up a portrait of his wife and sons and gazed longingly at it.

Jeff had always been a family man. From the moment he laid eyes on his beautiful wife, Lucy, he knew he would give her the world if only she'd ask for it. A famous and successful astronaut, Jeff toured the moon, Mars, and all over outer space. He beheld visions of splendor that most men could scarcely begin to dream of, he experienced the invigorating thrills of excitement and adventure that very few members of humanity could ever partake in. But none of that could compare to the stunning beauty of his wife or the feeling of adventure that he had every time she smiled at him. And though he didn't think it possible, his love for her had only grown by leaps and bounds with every child she gave him; five. Five incredible sons. With a family like this, Jeff figured, who wouldn't consider them their most precious and important duty in life?

Lucy had been taken from Jeff far too soon. A family ski trip that was meant to bring relaxation, build up all those good family memories and fuel dreams for the future became the catalyst for nightmares and the single most horrifying moment in Jeff's life. A freak avalanche crashed through the mountains. Jeff had been with his 4 older sons at the time, but Lucy had taken Alan to the beginner slopes- he was so little, only three at the time. Those were supposed to be the safest slopes. Jeff had been so far away that he and his older boys didn't even know there was a problem initially. The resort had closed all trails and called everybody in, and it was only in the confusion and chaos at the lodge that Jeff realized Lucy and Alan weren't there. What followed was a blur of activity and emotion that Jeff still couldn't sort out eleven years later. All he really knew was that somehow his beloved wife had shielded their son with her own body, saving his life but giving up her own. No matter how many years had passed, no matter how many years WOULD pass, he would always be grateful for her sacrifice. He would never get over the pain of her death. He would never stop loving her, missing her, longing for her, calling her name out in the middle of the night. But her last act had been to save their baby, and words could never express how relieved he was to find Alan would survive his injuries. Jeff Tracy was many things, a hero to the world, a military man, a man of strength. Indeed, much of the world saw him as invincible. But he knew with certainty that he simply would not be able to endure the death of one of his children.

Ah, but that didn't mean life was perfect. And that thought snapped him out of his reverie and brought him back to the present. Alan. Now 14 years old, Alan was a teenager in every sense of the word. His son had just been home for Christmas break, and had gone back to his boarding school earlier that day. They had fought. Oh, how they had fought. In one way, Jeff was used to this. He had raised four other sons through their teenage years and survived…barely…. But Alan was so…well, he was so much like Jeff! He was smart as a whip and stubborn as a mule! They had always been so close but as adolescence crept in, they struggled to maintain that relationship. Alan wanted so badly to be seen and treated as an adult, but the fact of the matter was that Alan was still so young! Not only that, but he was Jeff's youngest, his baby! It seemed that Alan wanted to be given freedom and autonomy but was not ready to show responsibility in all the areas Jeff found important. And so, they butted heads, just as with any parent-teenager relationship.

What sparked the fight this time was the arrival of Alan's end of the term report card. As far as grades went it was mostly unremarkable; A's or B's in all but one of his classes. It was that final class that really got to Jeff, Alan had barely managed to pass physics. And the comments ignited Jeff's displeasure. The teachers all said Alan was spacy, a day dreamer, constantly forgetting assignments and turning them in at the end of the day instead of at the beginning of class. And in physics the comments were downright infuriating- Alan had apparently not been trying at all, he had failed to do any of the course work and only managed to pass because of his exam scores. Jeff wasn't an unfair father. Afterall, A's and B's were good grades. He wouldn't even have been mad about the D in physics, had it been clear that Alan had tried his hardest. But the comments from the teachers had truly galled him. All Jeff had ever asked of his kids was that they try their best, but it was obvious that Alan had not. And so, they argued.

What really got to Jeff was the expression on Alan's face as he had left to go back to school that day. There had been an emergency call into International Rescue and the Thunderbirds had been sent out to respond. Jeff really couldn't leave command and control that afternoon, so his friend Brains had volunteered to take the boys back to school. Brains and his son Fermat lived on the same private tropical island that the Tracy family did. Brains was an employee of Tracy Enterprises along with a key member of International Rescue. In fact, it was Brains unparalleled genius that was able to take the dreams from Jeff's head and make a reality of the incredible Thunderbird machinery that had helped to save people all over the world. Brains' son, Fermat, was also a genius. Though he was two years younger than Alan, they were in the same school year at Wharton's Academy. Alan and Fermat were best friends and shared a dorm while they were away at school. The two were thick as thieves in everything that they did. That is why Jeff didn't even give it a second thought when Brains offered to fly the two boys back to the mainland. That is, until he saw the tears gathered in Alan's eyes. Alan hadn't cried in years.

Jeff tried to discreetly ask him about it while Brains and Fermat were busy loading luggage onto the plane, but Alan had squared his shoulders, tightened his jaw, and insisted nothing was wrong. Though his heart was telling him something was wrong, Jeff let the matter drop and proceeded to hug Alan goodbye and wish him well in the coming semester, but he made himself a promise to video-call Alan when the rescue was over to make sure that Alan had settled back into his dorm, and to try and work out why Alan had been so upset. By the time the rescue had wrapped up and Jeff made the call, it had already been late night at Wharton's (located in Massachusetts, it was several time zones ahead of Tracy Island). Alan hadn't answered and Jeff honestly didn't know if it was because he was already in bed or because Alan was avoiding him.

A niggling feeling crept sickeningly through Jeff's soul, sending a slight shiver up his spine before settling firmly and immovably in the back of his mind. It was like a muted alarm telling him that there was something wrong. He couldn't put his finger on it, but Alan had been so withdrawn over Christmas break. Jeff wanted to believe that it had been teenage moodiness, or a result of their arguing over academics, but Jeff had already raised four sons through adolescence and he was well seasoned in the science of parenting. There had been times when Alan seemed so content, like on Christmas Day and New Year's Eve when the whole family (and extended family, including Brains, Fermat, and the Kyranos) had gathered to celebrate. They had let all the cares of work and school and rescues fade to the background while they enjoyed the festivities and traditions and each other's company. But even in his contentment, something was off. Alan's natural exuberance and zeal for life had seemed stifled somehow. Nobody else had really seemed to notice, and Alan hadn't said anything. But Jeff's parental intuition would not let him rest. Something was going on with his youngest.

There was nothing he could do about it at that moment, though. Brains had confirmed that both boys settled safely into their dorm. Knowing that his son was at least physically safe at school, Jeff had to be satisfied for the time being. In the morning he would debrief the latest Thunderbird mission with his older sons, and maybe he would set them the task of investigating the mystery of what was bothering Alan. Alan was more likely to confide in his brothers anyhow. Plus, all the Tracy boys were extremely overprotective of each other. It came naturally from being a part of a somewhat large family and then having to bind together in the face of their mother's tragic death. Then, moving away to a private tropical island meant that they were quite isolated from other people; they really only had each other to turn to for the most part. Yes, he would ask them to keep an eye on Alan, and he was sure that between them they would get to the bottom of whatever it was that was attacking his parental instincts so.

With that thought, Jeff pushed his daunting stack of paperwork aside and headed for bed.