Chapter Text
With Kayo and Virgil off coordinating the local rescue services, Gordon and Penny took the opportunity to disappear for a sunrise swim, and Scott and John went to clean the evidence of their whiskey drinking before Grandma woke up.
Jeff silently wished they'd get breakfast on as well.
Only Alan and Brains, along with Max, remained poolside with him. Alan was nudging Brains gently so Jeff surmised their next tale had something to do with his long-time friend.
“Brains?”
The genius looked up at Jeff, looking even more shy than usual, if that were possible.
“Yes, Mr T-t-tracy?”
Jeff smiled kindly at that. In all the years that he had known Hiram, one constant, in spite of the ever changing nature of science, was the engineer's respect for Jeff that extended to even calling him Mr Tracy, despite basically being family.
Jeff never once corrected him, up or down. To the GDF, with the exception of Adjoa, he was Colonel Tracy. To Penny, Lee, his darling Lucy, he would always be Jeff. Other than that, he was Dad.
And one notable birthday card from one of his sons that referred to him as The Right Honorable Lord of the Moon.
Mr Tracy was the boy's grandfather, God rest him. Jeff's father, never Jeff. Other than Brains, no one called him Mr Tracy anymore; he'd long stopped his astronaut promotional tours before IR got off the ground, to maintain the secret just a little longer.
“What tale do you have to tell me, old friend?”
Brains went pink from his neck to the tips of his ears.
“D-do you remember f-from university a f-f-friend of mine who went t-to work in Switzerland?”
Jeff did, mostly. Miffie? Muffie? Wait, no! Moffie!
“Professor Moffat wasn't it?”
Brains nodded, and looked to Alan for help, who held his hands up in defeat.
“I was there as transport and then blamed everything that went wrong on the Hood, I don't think I should be explaining this one.”
Max whistled and nudged Brains.
“R-right, thank you Max. Y-yes, Moffie, um Professor M-moffat that is, invited m-me to the Quantum Research Centre to see the S-supreme Hadron Collider.”
“And?”
“And Alan t-turned it on.” Brains deadpanned.
“With permission and under supervision!” more hands held up in defeat and defence, “The good prof watched me and said it wasn't my fault, whoever turned it on next would have set off the wrong chain of actions. It was just…bad timing. No more roadtrips with Brains.” Alan folded his arms around himself now and sulked at Brains.
Max whistled again.
A shout came from the kitchen, “EOS says Max can show you what happened, he- ow, Scott, the bacon is spitting at me- Max and EOS put together a greatest hits video!”
Max wheeled up to Jeff and projected an image of a very much loved up looking Hiram and who Jeff assumed was Moffie, with Alan in the background.
“Right. Uh, take it away then Max, whenever you're ready.”
Images in the holographic projection burst to life in front of Jeff.
The satellite.
The plane.
Scott using ‘1 to pull it out of a dive. Brains’ and John's commentary. Alan's instructions to his eldest brother.
Jeff looked at Alan; Alan was fixed on the hologram as he heard himself order Scott to accelerate to 9G's while in an incline dive. Jeff understood the math, and he knew John, Brains and Alan would have too; Scott would have got there eventually but was no doubt slower on the uptake. Hearing Scott's uncertainty in Alan's command broke Jeff a little.
He had heard so far about his bookended sons holding the operation together from either end of the birth order, but this was something new. His youngest ordering his eldest into an admittedly very risky despite being correct move. Not for the first time since these campfire tales began, Jeff contemplated his place in the operation anymore when his sons had surpassed him; did the Thunderbirds need him still?
The hologram continued.
The Space Station.
The weightlessness at the collider.
‘Two flying into the gravity well.
‘Four being lowered into it.
Alan in the pod as Virgil got pulled down.
Scott holding up his baby brothers.
Gordon letting loose the missiles.
And then…
A sweet moment between Moffie and Brains.
Jeff looked up as Brains blushed hard.
Jeff clapped his old friend on the back as Alan laughed out something about being taller than Gordon now.