Never a Dull Moment

by Criminally Charmed

Disclaimer - Still don't own the Thunderbirds. And I REALLY hope Sammygirl1963 enjoyed this birthday present! And I also don't own (to get back to disclaiming) "In My Daughter's Eyes" by Martina McBride. But I have always wanted to use it.

Please note - This chapter may be a bit harder to understand if you never read the final story in my Tracy Family Series. But I had some people ask for more details of certain events in "Family Honor", so this is my (eventual) answer to them. It may have taken, what - three years? But I get around to it.

Chapter Six – Alan

Alan Tracy sat in silence. Even at his age, silence was unusual for the youngest of Jeff Tracy's sons.

He had been sitting for five hours in a chair that he would have sworn was designed by the Marquis DeSade. A nurse had taken pity on him and arranged for a comfortable recliner/sleep chair to be brought into the hospital room. The nurse, who had introduced herself as Kelly, smiled at Alan.

"I'm guessing it would take an act of God to get you out of here, Mr. Tracy," Kelly said with a small laugh.

Pulling the chair closer to the hospital bed, Alan picked up the limp hand lying on the bed, careful not to dislodge the IV. "Well, at least not until more of my family can get here. And it's Alan. You say Mr. Tracy and I start looking for my father."

Laughing again, Kelly nodded and moved to the door, reminding Alan to let the staff know if he needed anything. Pausing in the open door, the nurse was deeply touched by the devotion the man was showing her patient.

Pressing a light kiss against the hand he was holding, Alan remembered sitting beside beds over the years. Scott's when he was trying to get his oldest brother to wake up and play with him. Gordon's after his hydrofoil accident. Tin-Tin's after the birth of each of their children. But the time's he had sat beside her bedside…

"I never had to worry about you," Alan said softly, his left hand still holding on while his right brushed back a blonde lock that had escaped both being shaved off and the bandages surrounding the head on the pillow. "But I can still remember sitting beside your bed, just to watch you sleep. Jo had to run into everything, Val seemed to catch every cold and Ginny had broken a bone before she even started school. But you never got sick and seemed to bounce back from any mishap."

"Mr. Tracy."

Alan started in surprise at the new voice. A doctor had entered during his one-sided conversation but he had never noticed until the man spoke.

"Do you have any questions about Lieutenant Tracy's condition?"

"Her name is Samantha," Alan said quietly. "She's almost twenty-five. She was a Rhodes Scholar who attended Oxford for a year before attending the Air Force Academy. Sammie is a daughter, a sister and one of the pilots who saved God knows how many lives less than twenty-four hours ago. Please do not refer to her in such a clinical manner."

The doctor looked solemn. "Mr. Tracy, I am more than aware of the heroic actions of your daughter that led to her injuries. But this is a military hospital. Most people will refer to your daughter by her rank. As a civilian -"

"My father, two of my brothers and my eldest nephew either were or are military," Alan interrupted. "So I understand rank and protocol. But Sammie is my baby. I don't care how old she is." Sighing, Alan continued. "I'm sorry. Please – what's the prognosis for my daughter?"

Pulling up a chair, the doctor nodded. "I'm Dr. Greg Sheppard – also known as Major Sheppard.

"Don't be offended if I call you doctor and not Major," Alan said calmly, not really looking at the doctor, preferring to keep his focus on Sammie.

"Lieutenant Tracy's injuries could have been much worse," Dr. Sheppard said calmly. "But her surgery went well and I am feeling very optimistic."

"So if she's going to be alright," Alan asked, "why is Sammie still unconscious?"

Dr. Sheppard looked over his notes before refocusing on the anxious father. "We have placed Lieutenant Tracy in a medically induced coma. It is our opinion that in order to give your daughter the best chance at a full recovery, Lieutenant Tracy should be kept under for at least a full week. We will begin to bring her around after that but it may take up to three or four days before she can leave the ICU."

"What about the respirator?" Alan asked, still sickened at the sight of the tube sticking out of his daughter's mouth.

"Lieutenant Tracy suffered from respiratory distress from when her jet crashed," Dr. Sheppard explained. "And with the head trauma as well, it would be for the best to place as little stress on her as possible."

Brushing back her hair, Alan nodded. His experience with International Rescue had forced him to restrain or even sedate rescue victims on more than one occasion, for the patient's own well-being.

Looking relieved at how readily his patient's father was agreeing, Sheppard was about to continue when Alan Tracy spoke up.

"Is it really necessary for a week-long coma? Surely, two or three days could be just as well."

Dr. Sheppard looked thoughtful. "Mr. Tracy, are you aware that out of the five people in your daughter's squadron, two are dead and Major Thompson is in ICU, and he may not make it? How would Lieutenant Tracy react to that knowledge?"

Alan grimaced. His daughter was every inch a Tracy. "She would blame herself," Alan acknowledged.

Standing, Dr. Sheppard looked in concern at the elder Tracy. "Mr. Tracy, is there anyone we can call? You shouldn't be dealing with this alone. I – well, I was led to understand you have a rather large family and that you were all quite close."

Sighing, Alan ran a hand over his face. "Most of my family is on Tracy Island. My second daughter, Joanna, and one of my nephews, Michael, are both in Europe. It's Spring Break for my youngest daughter, Ginny, so she is home with her mother and my son, Jeffy. My third daughter, Valerie, is a pre-med student in Boston, but she has been pulled into extra duty because so many doctors and nurses have been recruited to set up medical teams for abroad. With the exception of Val, none of my family can get here as long as the no-fly edict is on-going. Even my niece, Elizabeth, who usually lives in New York with her husband, Ian, had gone to California for Ian's sister's anniversary. I was supposed to go with them. Ian's sister is married to one of my oldest friends. But I decided to go out separately when Sam got a three day pass and was going to drive to D.C. from her base in Georgia to see me. I told Fermat I would still be there – I would just be a few days later."

Brushing a hand over Sammie's face again, Alan sighed again. "If the attacks had occurred just three hours later, Sammie would have been on her way to meet me."

"And," Major Sheppard said firmly, suddenly all military, "that would have been a disaster. Lieutenant Tracy's actions, along with that of her unit, stopped the attacks in America cold. The death toll in Europe and Asia is over one million confirmed dead, with estimates expecting that to at least double. Considering more personnel and more weaponry were dedicated to the attack here versus overseas, can you imagine the utter carnage that would have occurred? Your daughter helped save us all. She's a real hero."

Standing in the doorway, Doctor Sheppard looked on with compassion as he watched the anxious father continue to sit by his daughter's side. He had read Samantha Tracy's medical history. With the exception of an emergency appendectomy at age thirteen, any medical treatments had been done strictly out patient, usually with her father and mother right there. The one overnight hospital stay, the appendectomy, had occurred while she was at a New York boarding school. Due to the emergency status, it had been her aunt, one Julie Tracy and a cousin, Jason, who had been there. Jason Tracy had been on leave from the Air Force Academy at the time and was waiting for his parents in Manhattan when the call came in. While other relatives had been in the area, they had all been minors at the time, male cousins attending a "brother" boarding school down the road from Samantha's. This was only mentioned due to the "break-out" of several of them from their school to visit the teenager while she was recovering.

It was easy to see that for all their wealth and success, the Tracys were a close family. And the love and devotion Alan Tracy was showing to his daughter was something he had doubtlessly passed on to his children. But Major Sheppard had to wonder where Samantha Tracy had learned the selflessness and courage that had made her a national hero. Thinking of her legendary grandfather, the doctor wondered if that was a natural Tracy trait as well.

Alan was oblivious to the doctor's scruitiny, not moving from his daughter's side until the nurse came in to do some checks.

Glancing at the bedside table where Alan's cold cup of tea – he had never learned to like coffee like his father, instead preferring tea as his father-in-law did – Kelly smiled at the paper binder.

"Working on a new book?" Kelly asked with a smile.

Alan shook his head. "No, I tend to use my notebook computer for that. This was a paper Sammie wrote in high school. She was fourteen. One of her old teachers from Gifford Academy attended my book signing in D.C. She had found it in a file when she was cleaning out her office. It seems Ms. Baker is about to become the new headmistress and she was in the process of moving when she discovered a file of reports from years ago."

Smiling, he shook his head. "Turned out, Ms. Baker thought I was the "light-weight" of Jeff Tracy's son. She said Sammie's paper made her curious about me. She's now a major fan of my books and was impressed at how I used my engineering work for Tracy Enterprises in the technical aspect of my books."

"Was the paper about you?" Kelly asked, curious.

Alan handed her the report, letting her read the cover.

""Never a Dull Moment: How Alan Tracy Changed his Family – and the World" by Samantha K. Tracy," the nurse read aloud. Flipping it open to the first page, Kelly continued.

"Most of the world knows Alan S. Tracy in two ways. Either as the youngest son of American legend, Jefferson G. Tracy or A.S. Tracy, the award-winning author of some of the best-selling science fiction novels of all-time. I know him as Dad. And in this paper, I will explain how he was like most people, changing the immediate world around him, in much the same way as all of us will to our friends and family by simply existing. But unlike most people, Alan Tracy helped change the world at large – and I am not sure he even knows it."

Looking up at Alan, Kelly smiled. "Did you know you were your daughter's hero?"

Tears filled his blue eyes, eyes identical to his daughter's if she had been awake, as Alan shook his head. "Not until I read that paper. How did you know she felt like that?"

Kelly smiled. "Because that is one of the clearest cases of hero-worship I have ever seen."

Alan smiled softly as he brushed Sammie's hair back again. "And she's one of mine."

Eight Days Later

Alan turned up the volume on the news, talking to Sammie on occasion about stories that appeared on the vid. The doctors had reduced his daughter's medication to allow her to regain consciousness, but so far she was still unresponsive.

"And now, nine days after the terrorists' attacks that hit eleven cities in Europe and Asia, life is beginning to be reclaimed. The no-fly edict has gone from absolutely everyone out of the sky to plans for commercial flights to be resumed tomorrow."

The newscaster looked solemn, but then that was the norm for the media in wake of a tragedy on this scale.

"Some of the first machines allowed back in the skies were International Rescue. The men and women, often called The World's Heroes, were some of the first on the scene in Europe and Asia, helping to save countless people trapped in the rubble. While almost two million people are now confirmed dead, authorities have said the number could have been much higher if not for International Rescue."

"Not only did the teams save countless people, but in time, the group's organization worked with non-profit organizations like the Red Cross and Tracy Charitable Trust, in order to get medical teams and earth-moving equipment to the disaster zones, allowing for even more people to be saved."

"Thank God that didn't happen here," Kelly said softly as she entered the room.

Alan hit mute, turning to the nurse with a soft smile. "Or thank Sammie."

"Oh, trust me," Kelly laughed. "Plenty of people will want to thank Lieutenant Tracy. Rumor has it she is being considered for the Congressional Medal of Honor. How many people can say they have someone who won that in their family?"

Shrugging, Alan turned back to his daughter. "Well, Dad never won one, but my oldest brother, Scott, did. Dad won the Medal of Valor. My oldest nephew, Jason, is supposed to be getting a Medal of Valor when he returns from the Mars Mission. Oddly enough, it will be for the same reason as Dad – saving a space mission."

Kelly shook her head. "Has anyone ever told you that your family is a bunch of overachievers?"

"And you think that is news to me?" Alan smiled.

Finishing her check of Sammie's vitals, Kelly shook her head again. "Well, commercial flights should allow your family to start arriving tomorrow."

"Today," Alan corrected with a yawn. "Dad called in some favors and Kate called in some – well, something between favors and threats. Tracy One and Two are being temporarily reclassified as government flights. Two will stop in California long enough to pick up my niece Elizabeth, her husband and my nephew, D.J., in Los Angeles. My nephew, Michael, and my daughter, Joanna, will be here in a day or so. They are coming back from Europe but are flying into Boston so that they can get my daughter, Valerie. Then that group will be driving down."

"How many people are coming?" Kelly asked, torn between shock and amusement.

Silently counting, Alan thought for a moment. "Twenty-six. My wife, my other four children, four brothers, four sister-in-laws, one niece, her husband, six nephews – with one still being enroute back from Mars, otherwise there would be seven – my dad, my oldest sister-in-law, Kate's, father who moved to the Island after his wife died earlier this year, my oldest friend, Fermat, Fermat's wife and father. Huh. I wonder if the Hackenbackers will be flying in with Tracy Two or coming out separately." Seeing Kelly's shock, Alan chuckled.

"I know. We're not a group, we're a riot."

Still talking softly to his still daughter, Alan brushed her hair back. "You really thought of me as a hero? Aw, Sammie – did I ever tell you how you saved my life? Well, you at least brought me out of a coma. Your birth-cries pulled me from a coma. I should have known how precious you would be to me then. Do you remember the song I used you when you were little?"

Brushing back at Sammie's face again, Alan began to softly sing to his daughter.

In my daughter's eyes
I am a hero I am strong and wise
And I know no fear
But the truth is plain to see
She was sent to rescue me
I see who I want to be
In my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes
Everyone is equal
Darkness turns to light
And the world is at peace
This miracle God gave to me
Gives me strength when I am weak
I find reason to believe
In my daughter's eyes

And when she wraps her hand
around my finger
Oh, It puts a smile in my heart
Everything becomes a little clearer
I realize what life is all about
It's hanging on when your heart
Has had enough
It's giving more when you feel
Like giving up
I've seen the light
It's in my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes
I can see the future
A reflection of who I am
And what will be
And though she'll grow
And someday leave
Maybe raise a family
When I'm gone I hope you see
How happy she made me
For I'll be there
In my daughter's eyes

Tin-Tin Tracy stood in the doorway of her firstborn daughter's hospital room. Seeing Alan softly singing to their unconscious daughter made the woman smile as she recalled when her husband used to sing that same song to Sammie when they were new parents. Sucking in a deep breath, Tin-Tin was determined to give strength to Alan. He had seemed exhausted and somewhat strained when he would call home.

"He looks tired," Jeff Tracy commented softly from behind his youngest daughter-in-law. The fact that Alan hadn't even noticed the two of them standing there said a great deal about how exhausted Alan had to be.

Nodding her agreement, Tin-Tin also noted the dark circles under Alan's eyes and – if she wasn't mistaken – there were some silver hairs hidden among his golden blonde hair. Most, due to the close colors, would not notice it. But Tin-Tin had been observing Alan since they were ten years old. There was little about him she would not notice.

"Alan," Jeff called out, trying to keep his voice light but stopping when he saw the haunted look in his youngest son's usually bright blue eyes. It was at that moment that it really hit him that for all the hours he had spent beside hospital beds, none of his sons really had. Oh, there had been the usual childhood accidents and injuries, and, of course, John's anxious vigil when Emily had nearly died in childbirth with their son, Keith. Even the small things had been easier due to the fact that each of his sons and their wives had four brother and an equal number of sister-in-laws ready, willing and able to be by any bedsides, if only to allow short breaks. Alan had been alone, for more than a week, waiting for his oldest daughter to awaken from a coma. The heartache and sheer exhaustion that Alan was feeling was clear in the younger man's all-too expressive eyes.

Standing up, Alan waited for the couple to come to him. Briefly kissing his wife and hugging her, Alan allowed Tin-Tin to take his seat beside Sammie, holding their firstborn's hand as tightly as Alan had for more than a week. Turning to his father, Alan found himself pulled into a fierce, protective embrace, much as he had been so many times in his youth.

"Dad," Alan whispered shakily. "How could you do it? How could you sit by and wonder if your child will ever wake up?"

"Faith," Jeff said quietly. "Faith that your child will be strong enough to fight and love you enough to come back to you, and the hope that the love you gave them will be enough to give them the strength to fight in the first place. And Samantha is nothing if not strong."

"Still sounds like a vicious cycle," Alan muttered.

"It's a cycle," a new voice added.

Alan turned from Jeff's embrace to see his oldest brother – and in many ways, second father – standing in the doorway. Scott's brown eyes were filled with concern as he approached his youngest brother and pulled him into a comforting embrace.

"It's a cycle but it's not vicious. It's just life, Sprout," Scott said as he held Alan close.

Chuckling, Alan leaned back. "Scott, my oldest daughter is of an age that she could make me a grandfather without me freaking out."

"Too much, at least," Tin-Tin mumbled from her seat.

"So?" Scott snarked. "You will always be our baby. Live with it."

"Scott, Alan knows that," Kate said cheerfully as she entered the room, pausing only slightly at the sight of her niece. Following her glance, Alan gave a small smile.

"It was worse seeing her with the tube down her throat," Alan said wryly.

"Yeah, well," Scott grumbled. "We are here now, with more either downstairs or enroute. So – Kate's arranged for several suites at the Ritz-Carlton. I'll call the car service and get you checked in. Your bags are still here, right? You said when you called you had the hotel send them over when you got word that Sammie would be brought here. So we'll just get you there -"

"I'm not leaving Sammie, Scott," Alan said firmly. "I've been with her every moment I could and I am not going to any hotel until she wakes up."

"Dammit, Alan," Scott snapped. "You are about ready to collapse. You'll be no good to Sammie if you do."

"I said I'm not leaving, Scott. My place is here," Alan retorted.

"Alan, really," Kate argued. "Between all of us, we can watch over Sammie long enough for you to sleep in a bed and eat a real meal. Please, let us do this."

"You know," Alan said calmly as he turned back to his daughter, "I don't think all of you should even be in here. They do have limits on ICU."

"Sammie's doctor is hoping we can convince you to go get some rest before you become a patient," Kate snapped, worry for Alan overriding her common sense.

"Well, it's not going to happen," Alan argued as his voice rose slightly.

"Alan," Jeff said calmly, trying to remember how annoyed Emily would be if he failed to keep his own blood pressure down. "You don't want to make yourself sick. We're here now, let us help."

"Dad, I am glad you're here," Alan snapped. "But I'm not leaving Sammie."

Tin-Tin looked on, eyes wide, torn between siding with her husband and worry over his exhausted state.

"Alan, you are heading to the hotel and that is it!" Scott yelled. "You need to rest. Damn it, do you want to end up collapsing or having a heart attack or something?"

"What is going on in here?" a new voice asked. Kelly entered the room, glaring at the conscious occupants.

"This is an ICU. That means we have sick or badly injured patients. So can you carry on your arguments elsewhere?"

Kate grinned. She liked this woman. Jason was due home in just under two months – she wondered if she could arrange an introduction.

"I am not leaving my daughter," Alan growled.

"Alan -" Scott started yelling again before a soft voice interrupted.

"Will you guys keep it down? My head hurts."

The entire room froze as if they had all been turned to statues before hopeful eyes turned towards the bed.

For the first time in more than a week, the bright blue eyes of Samantha Tracy were cracked open, wincing against the overhead lights before catching sight of her father. Smiling at Alan, she gave a small shake of her head before groaning in pain.

"Dad, you look like Hell," Sammie grumbled.

Kneeling by her bed, Alan kissed her forehead as he brushed back her hair. "And you have never looked so beautiful to me in your life."

Kelly came over to Sammie's bed, checking her vitals before nodding. "Alright, Captain Tracy, I'll get the doctor. But you are responding well. Do you always bounce back this easily?"

"Sure," Sammie shrugged, wincing at the pain. "I'm a Tracy." As her family all beamed, Sammie looked up at the nurse. "Um, I'm not a captain."

"You are now," Kelly said cheerfully. "Heck, if you were old enough, they would let you run for President." Looking over at the Tracys, Kelly nodded. "I'll get the doctor."

Once Kelly had left, Alan grabbed a chair and sat next to his daughter while Tin-Tin remained across the bed and the others gathered at the foot.

"It's good to see you back with us, Sammie," Kate said with a smile. "Glad to see that reckless and insane isn't limited to my branch of the Tracy off-spring."

Sammie smiled, exhaustion already pulling her back under even as the Dr. Sheppard came back in. Listening to her father being badgered by her family, even her gentle mother softly admonished him to get some rest.

"I love my family," Sammie thought as she drifted off to sleep.

Sammie Tracy smiled as she bounced her two year old brother on her hip. Jeffy chanted "Sam" repeatedly even as Jason reviewed the improvements for Thunderbird Three with his uncle and father.

"Uncle Alan," the oldest Tracy grandchild said even as he took the youngest from Sammie's arms and gave the toddler a light bounce. "These ideas for the booster rockets are great. We'll have much greater maneuverability once they get installed."

Alan smiled at his nephew – he really had missed the kid for the two years he had been gone. "Well," he shrugged, "the family always said there was never a dull moment with me, right, Sammie?"

Sammie looked confused. "Where did that come from, Dad?"

Pulling a folder from behind his other paperwork, Alan barely noticed Scott pulling his son – still carrying Jeffy – from the room.

Looking at the report, Sammie's confusion shifted – to more confusion. "Dad – where did you get this? I wrote this in high school."

"Your old high school English teacher," Alan smiled. "She approached me at the book signing and gave it to me."

"So…" Sammie hemmed before continuing. "What did you think?"

"I think -" Alan sighed. "I think reading it over and over while you were in the coma and the rest of the family couldn't get there was the only thing that kept me sane. Ten minutes after Ms. Baker left, Major Greene entered the bookstore."

Alan's mind flashed back to that moment three months earlier…

Nodding and smiling, Alan tried to not yawn as yet another college student rambled on about the symbolism of the character in his last book. He wondered what the kid would think if Alan was to reveal the character was loosely based on Alan's sophomore English teacher.

Alan wasn't sure what drew his attention, but suddenly he looked up and saw a man in an Air Force uniform approaching him.

"Mr. Alan Tracy?" When Alan nodded, the man – whose badge said Greene and whose clusters Alan noted to be that of a Major – nodded in return. "Can I speak with you in private?"

Alan began to lead the officer over a small room off to the side, trying to ignore the whispers of one of the college students.

"He's revealed too much about aliens among us," one whispered loudly even as Alan shut the door behind them.

"Mr. Tracy," Major Greene began, "I'm not sure if you have heard, but there were multiple attacks in Europe and Asia this morning -"

"Is it Jo? Or Michael?" Alan blurted out.

"Excuse me?" the major asked in confusion.

"My daughter, Joanna, and my nephew, Michael, are both in Europe – But why would the military be contacting us? They are both civilians. In fact, only my nephew, Jason, and my oldest Sammie are -"

Alan drifted off at the way Major Greene stiffened when he mentioned his oldest child. "But – but Sammie isn't in Europe. She's stationed in Georgia. In fact, she should be here shortly. Sammie got a three-day pass and she's supposed to come up and see me."

"I'm not sure about that, Mr. Tracy, but Lieutenant Tracy's unit flew interceptor when an attack was about to occur here. Until certain facts can be released, all I can say is countless lives were saved by your daughter's actions."

"Is she -" Alan's voice trailed off, unwilling to say the unthinkable.

"Lieutenant Tracy is in the hospital," Major Greene said gently. "We should get there as soon as we can. Her jet crashed not far from here, so she has been admitted to Petraeus Medical Center just outside D.C."

"I should call my family," Alan said, shock making him numb as he pulled out his phone.

Major Greene shook his head. "Until the President announces what happened, I would rather you didn't. Besides, there is a no-fly edict about to come down. Just until we are sure what has happened."

Numb, Alan allowed himself to be led out to a waiting car…

Looking up at Sammie with a smile, Alan brushed back a bit of her hair just as he had all those days in the hospital. "It meant a lot to me, Sammie. That my family saw me as being that important made me feel – well, great."

"You are important, Dad," Sammie smiled, hugging her father. "And if I could have written in International Rescue -"

"Your grandfather would have had a heart attack a decade earlier," Alan said wryly.

Shaking her head, Sammie laughed. "The family's right, Dad. With you around – there's never a dull moment." Tilting her head, she grinned. "Can I be you when I grow up?"

Alan smiled and hugged his daughter closer. "Sammie – I think you already are."

A/N - Thanks for the support on this story. So yes, Alan's daughter, as a teen, wrote the paper on her father by interviewing his father and brothers. Alan, if you remember John's chapter, was on Thunderbird Five when Sammie was home interviewing her family. Yes, she was at boarding school and it is a bummer Alan missed her when she was home, but that could happen once in a while. It certainly didn't hurt their relationship. Oh, and yes, Sammie was born (in "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea") while her father was in a coma in another bed in the Island infirmary. Alan, in my stories, is often thought to have some level of psi like his wife's family. How else could he resist the Hood when others couldn't? So if both he and Tin-Tin had some level of psychic abilities, what are the chances one of more of their children would have? Sammie at least connects deeply with her father. I am considering writing an add-on to the Tracy Series by exploring the relationship the each Tracy man had with their first born. What do you think?

OK, enough rambling. Thanks for everything. Laters! - CC