Spoilers for 'Relic', but not massive ones.

"Remind me again, which one was Max?"

"You didn't read the list did you?"

"I'm not much of a reader."

"It's five names on a piece of paper."

When they returned, Brains was watching the meteor shower, Grandma Tracy stood at his side whilst Virgil and Gordon were nowhere to be seen.

Scott took Captain Taylor to the kitchen where Alan promptly grabbed a drink and disappeared. Scott grabbed a sheet of paper, a pen and pulled up a chair, the Captain sitting opposite him.

"So how is Jim? John."

"He's alright. Better now he has EOS."

"What's an E-O-S?"

"No, EOS, Sir. She's a computer program he wrote who turned evil and then became his friend." Captain Taylor nodded – wide eyed and open mouthed - the way people do when they aren't really following you. "I don't know if she likes us."

"I see." Scott wondered how long it would be before he asked who she was again.

"It's awfully quiet round 'ere. I don't remember it being so when I last visited all of ya'."

"Well Alan and Gordon were both younger then and Virgil was usually at the piano."

"Kid still play?"

"Sometimes." He didn't really. Virgil had been too focussed on saving everyone else since dad died that even in their free time he spent it working on Thunderbird Two or with his brothers. Scott wondered if the loss shocked him more than he let on. He scribbled down Virgil's name at the same time beneath John's. He left his off, thinking the Captain probably knew it by now. Of course he did leave space above the astronauts just in case Spencer arose again.

"I suppose these machines make a lot a' noise when you're taking off." Scott thought about it for a moment. He rarely noticed the noise for he was always piloting when they did so, his focus on where he was going than the noise left in his wake. He shrugged.

"I suppose they do."

"Where are your brothers then?" The Captain looked around as though he'd expected a welcome party: more of one than he received anyhow. "Any ideas?" Scott lifted his pencil as he finished the 'n' in 'Gordon' and inhale alongside his thoughts.

"Well Alan's probably gone back up to watch the meteors. Virgil and Gordon I've no idea. I'd say Gordon was swimming if it was daylight."

"Do ya' know where Ji- John is?"

"In space." Scott thought that was a funny question.

"I know that. I meant whereabouts exactly?"

"Oh, directly above us. Unless there's a reason to change positioning."

"Ah very good." Scott lowered lead to tree again. How their father had managed to get a stack of 'hactual paper' as Parker called it, he would never know. He scribbled Alan's name down and looked at the four writings. He mused on it then raised the pencil again and scribbled down Brains and Max for good measure.

The Captain couldn't argue he forgot anyone.

"There you go Sir."

"Ah, the promised list!" The astronaut took it happily and scanned his eyes across it as Scott pushed his chair back and clambered to his feet. If he'd looked over his shoulder he'd have seen the Captain fold it up and slip it into his suit without having really acknowledged the words, only having scanned them briefly.

"Do you want a drink of anything?" He grabbed a glass of water for himself.

"No, no, I'm good kid. Hungry if anything." Scott tensed, whipping his head around to locate Grandma. She was talking to Brains and Alan as they made their way in and clearly hadn't heard the statement. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'll see what I can do." Captain Taylor nodded. Scott started to search the cupboards.

"You boys had best be getting to bed." Grandma reminded as she walked through the kitchen. Alan's shoulders dropped.

"Why so glum kid?"

"Ah, it's nothing." Alan answered, dropping into Scott's vacated chair.

"Do ya' hate sleeping? Yeah, your father was the same when he was working. He got restless to leave something alone. He used to monitor things night and day to compensate. I think he just wasn't a sleeper. Never ran out of energy mind."

"I don't know how." Scott himself (quite frankly) was absolutely exhausted and he'd only spent an hour or so tops on the surface of the moon. How their father had managed infinite hours shocked him. Alan seemed intrigued. Then again, John had told the youngest Captain Taylor was the man for stories.

"I didn't know that." In fairness to Alan, he didn't know half as many stories as they did. Scott sat back down next to him.

"Maybe the Captain will tell a couple." He'd meant a couple after they'd had a few hours sleep. He realised then he should have specified. "Oh no."

"Well I've got just the one to tell ya', young Tracy."

"Oh, oh, is about meteors? Or solar flares? I bet there are ones with solar flares in."

"Oh there are many like that son." The Captain chuckled. "Almost too many."

"Can you tell me some?"

"I'd be glad to." Scott groaned. Captain Tracy and Alan had found their feet and now undertaking the activity of walking upstairs, deliberating over which tale to tell first or even who.

"There was the time we had to repair the ODDM and faced a blast. You could almost feel the sun that time."

"I've been close to it. I slingshot around it in Thunderbird Three!"

"Now that sounds like a tale and a half, kid." Scott groaned again. Captain Taylor was encouraging Alan's storytelling nature. Then, when he thought about it, he wondered if that had happened a long time ago. After all, young baby Alan had been sat in their father's arms during many a visit of the Captain, each of which saw a magnitude of tales being flung at the boys. Alan had always smiled even if he didn't understand them at that age. Scott was convincing himself the experience has burnt on the forefront of the youngest Tracy's brain.

The voices of Gordon and Virgil filtered down from the lounge. Scott wondered how long it would be before one of them had their name spoken wrong. His mental bet was a minute.

"Are you not coming to hear the stories Scott?" He'd forgotten Brains' presence who seemed almost as enthusiastic as Alan to hear a story or two.

"Yeah, I'll be up in a minute."

When he did come in, Captain Taylor was already centre-floor, arms flying around in this and that direction as though they were uncontrollable. Alan was on the edge of his seat. Gordon was looking slightly bored, but then he'd always had the shortest attention span for the Captain's stories. Scott thought he may be the only brother he could beat on the moon. Virgil didn't like space, but somehow the eldest thought he'd find a way to manage.

"So you're father and I ventured out in the LT-"

"The what?"

"Have some sense Gerry." Scott rolled his eyes. At least he'd managed to remember for longer than he'd thought. "It stands for Lunar Transport. Do you boys learn nothing about the old ways these days? Anyway we headed out in the LT to see what we could find…"

Scott settled down into the sofa. He already knew this night was going to become longer than some of their difficult rescues.

For the tale's had only just begun.