Loopsta's Realm

An inspiring writer who wants to make dreams come true.

[thunderbirds-tracy-island]

[yarol2075]

Scott looks like Tony Stark.

(And am I the only one who thinks Alan's mustache is crooked? it looks like one half is going right up his nostril. 😅)

[idontknowreallywhy]

Scott is the only one in this scenario who is pulling this off…

Which makes me think he’s done it before 🤔 occasions where he *doesn’t* immediately want recognising as the son of a billionaire perhaps.

[janetm74]

I stand by my headcanon that Tony Stark and Scott Tracy are bff

[coco9728]

👏😂

@thebirdfantasy

[margaery-tyrell]

did anyone ever tell the Backstreet Boys why

[ladyofthelake]

No I think they want it that way

[leprecon98]

(Scott is getting rescued after a mission gone awry) Scott: How did you find me? Virgil: Oh, I saw this huge explosion in the distance and wondered, 'Now, who could that be?'. Scott: Huh. A bit of a giveaway...

[janetm74fics]

Villain

Based of this prompt list by @azzurina . I got 10 prompts in!

~

Scott stayed where he was.

It wasn’t a choice on his part - his hands bound behind him and the goons on either side keeping him pinned down on his knees meant that decision was made for him - but it didn’t stop him glaring at his captor.

The Hood merely stared back, the smallest uptick of a smile the only outward sign that he was finding Scott’s position amusing.

He stepped forward and crouched down, millimetres from Scott’s ear, and spoke softly. It was creepy and Scott barely managed to suppress his shudder as the man’s breath tickled his ear.

‘You think you’re brave, don’t you? But you’re not. You're not brave. You're just too naive to know fear.’

Scott tried to rock back, away from having to be so close to the man who had killed his father, but the grip on his shoulders tightened, locking him in place.

The Hood stood up so suddenly that Scott flinched and the man laughed.

‘You couldn’t have proved my point any better!’ ‘What do you want, Hood?’ ‘What I always want. Money. Power. The Thunderbirds. Your head on a platter.’ ‘Forget it. They’ll never give you what you want. They don’t give in to monsters.’ ‘I didn't become a monster. I became honest. Your father, on the other hand…’ ‘Don’t you dare talk about my father! You murdered him!’

The Hood paused and watched Scott struggle against his henchmen, and for one moment it looked like the boy might actually get free, but a particularly nasty punch to his side had Scott doubled over and they could start this delightful conversation again.

‘Spare me your theatrics. If your father had left well enough alone he would still be here and I wouldn’t be talking to you.’

With a disdainful sniff the Hood began a slow walk around his captive.

‘I gave him a chance to walk away. That was my one act of mercy. Unfortunately Jeff chose to ignore that and it cost him. Dearly. But I did warn him.’ ‘You would have destroyed the planet!’ ‘Don’t be stupid, Scott.’ ‘Oh really? You set off a chain reaction that meant total annihilation if Dad didn’t stay and - and do what he did. He saved the planet!’ ‘The world doesn't want saving. It wants someone strong enough to rule it.’ ‘And I suppose that’s gonna be you. You need all this money, power, to make your bid for World President?’ ‘Of course not. The World President doesn’t hold the real power.’ ‘And neither will you.’ ‘You seem so sure!’ ‘I have hope. The world will not give you what you want. My brothers will not.’ ‘Hope is just disappointment that hasn't arrived yet. I would have thought you’d learnt that by now - especially since it took barely any time for the World Government and the GDF to demand you hand over your ’Birds last time!’

Scott ground his teeth. Villain he might be but the Hood wasn’t lying about that…he watched as the man once more crouched down in front of him.

‘You think righteousness is armour. It's a blindfold. You're fighting for people who would turn on you in a heartbeat. That have already proved they would. You bleed for people who sleep soundly while you suffer. You're the last echo of a dying ideal.’ ‘You’re wrong.’

The Hood reached out and patted Scott’s cheek condescendingly before standing and making his way around his desk to sit down. He steepled his fingers and tapped them against his chin as he thought.

‘Well, much as I have enjoyed this conversation, Scott, I have much to do and so do you.’ ‘You won’t get away with this, Hood!’ ‘Get away with it? Oh my dear boy, I've already taken everything from you. You just don't know it yet. Take him away.’

[liseylou]

Oh wow….this is fantastic but terrifying at the same time

[loopstagirl]

LOVE this so much!

[loopstagirl]

Holiday from Hell, Ch 9

Scott had been right about one thing: John had indeed been staring off into space, not noticing the commotion going on around him now that his father had marched Oscar away. He couldn't even be sure what he was thinking about, just letting his mind drift in a way that none of his brothers could understand. If he was honest, John couldn't truly understand it either. Not many thirteen-year-olds could just stand there and zone out, but he had never been the most predictable of boys. His teachers had commented on that from a very young age.

"You lost there, boy?"

Feeling a hand settle on his shoulder, John jerked away violently, snapping himself back into reality and realising in one glance that the rest of the family had moved on. For a split second he felt a touch of hurt that they had just left him, but then realised that Scott would have had his hands full - Virgil would have still been shaken up from what had happened and the younger two never really noticed anything that didn't immediately affect them. Making himself think realistically, John pushed away the hurt and glanced up at the man who had startled him.

He couldn't say what it was about him that he immediately didn't trust. He had been speaking to adults for years, finding them far easier to address than people his own age. The man who had been talking to him about the marble structures when they had first arrived, for instance. John had had no qualms about letting the old man engage him in conversation, getting the sense that the gentleman was somewhat impressed to see someone so young take an interest in the architecture of the building. But this man had a smile on his face that didn't quite meet his eyes and he seemed to be looking around in exactly the same way John was. Almost as if he was looking around to confirm that there was no one else around... John found himself stepping backwards.

"Sorry, lad, didn't mean to scare you."

Read on Ao3 ->

[loopstagirl]

Holiday from Hell, Ch 8

"Daddy!" Alan wasted no time in throwing himself at his father, bursting into tears at the same time. "He pushed Virgy in. Virgy drowndeded! But then Scotty saved him and then he pushed me over and then Gordy tried to be all big and brave, but Scotty had to stop him and Johnny and..."

"Alan!" There was a softer note to Jeff's voice as he crouched down in front of his youngest son, pulling Alan into a hug even as his eyes locked onto his two oldest. Scott had climbed off John but was keeping his brother on the floor, one knee in John's back doing the trick even as he kept an eye on Gordon. Jeff seemed to take all this in wordlessly, his eyes flickering over to where Virgil was only just beginning to dry off. "Calm down, Alan; take a deep breath. Gordon, take two steps back from the water's edge. Virgil, wrap that blanket around your shoulders more securely, and for heaven's sake, Scott, get off your brother."

For once, not one of the boys argued. Although there had been a note in Jeff's voice that indicated he was not to be disobeyed, it was underlined by the concern for his sons. He had only stepped out for some air and found himself meandering along the beach, trying to clear his head. If he was honest, the meeting wasn't quite going according to plan and he hadn't been able to get the boys out of his head. Virgil's accusing glances, Scott's disappointed look, Alan's tears... These were not things that he had ever noticed before, and the shame at that thought alone was driving him to insanity. Deciding to find out what they were doing, he had opted for following the noise. He had a feeling it would lead him to the boys, but this was not the sight he had been expecting to see.

It had been more than obvious that Scott was trying to stop whatever it was that was going on. Virgil had been off to one side – that in itself telling Jeff that something had happened with his middle son – and Alan had been standing next to him. But it was the other three who had made Jeff pick up his pace, groaning when he saw that it was Oscar they were going for. If he was honest, Jeff couldn't say that he liked the boy's father - he was quick with his tongue and it was only the patience of raising five boys that meant Jeff was still even in the business negotiations with him. But he hadn't expected that Scott would allow the rest of the boys to take revenge on the child for upsetting Virgil. Whatever had happened, Jeff knew how Scott would react. It didn't matter who had done what, Virgil had been upset and that would have been enough for the oldest brother.

Read on Ao3 ->

[isleofthewesternocean]

No but seriously what the fuck did Merlin and Arthur talk about on the way home from the Labyrinth of Gedref. Did the two of them just ride back to Camelot in dead silence waiting for the other to bring up that they're now seemingly prepared to to die for each other no questions asked ???

[loopstagirl]

WIP Wednesday

Same story (and chapter cos I'm going slow but steady!) as the last WIP

“We don’t have time for this,” Gordon exploded. “Carter was in the hospital in less than 48hours since he was first reported missing. They have direct lines to the buyers. Whoever took Scott has someone on speed-dial who might want a Tracy.” 

“Your point?” Jeff glanced between his sons. Both Virgil and John were scowling again. Whatever Gordon’s idea, his brothers didn’t agree with it. 

“Well,” Gordon said with a grin. “Who’s to say they don’t want two?” 

It took Jeff a moment longer than he was comfortable admitting to realise what Gordon was saying. He didn’t know why he was surprised: it was the exact sort of thing his fourth-born would come up with.  

“You are not getting yourself kidnapped! 

[loopstagirl]

Holiday from Hell, Ch 7

"Virgil!"

Scott was on his feet barely even before he had finished processing what he was seeing. Their own boat wobbled precariously and John was forced to reposition himself in the middle, holding onto both sides in order to stop the whole thing from capsizing.

"Scott, what..?" John made to ask what Scott was doing, but as his brother simply dove off the side of the boat, he guessed that he should have known what was coming. Watching Scott resurface, gain his bearings and then strike out for Virgil's boat, John sat down, grabbing the oars. His own eyes were also fixed on Virgil's boat, and he couldn't stop the sigh of relief when he saw his brother resurface again. Virgil might have been coughing and spluttering, but Scott was on his way and John knew that his brother was going to be okay.

"Virgil!"

The yell from the bank caused the blond to whip around from where he had been attempting to make the boat move. Gordon and Alan had clearly finished their turn and had come to watch their big brothers. None of that crossed the star-loving Tracy's mind, however, as he saw the distress on Gordon's face as Virgil disappeared back under, and the way the child bent down, clearly looking like he was going to take his shoes off.

"Gordon, no!" John yelled, changing course slightly now that he had managed to get the thing to move. Once he managed to get a small amount of momentum, it really wasn't that difficult. There was no way that he could match the speed they had been travelling at before, but he was at least making progress. Originally, he had been heading straight towards where Virgil had disappeared. But on seeing the man in charge also heading that way, John changed his mind. If the instructor was out on the lake, there would be no one on the side to stop Gordon simply diving in. Not that John doubted that his brother could handle himself in the water - he would possibly reach Virgil before Scott did - but he didn't want Alan trying to follow suit or for all of them to end up in the lake. Out of the corner of his eye he could see that Scott had almost reached Virgil and, tugging sharply on the oars once more, John brought the boat to a stop, halfway between his brothers and the side.

Read on Ao3 ->

[thunderbirds-tracy-island]

Scott & Virgil

[coco9728]

Awww!!!💕

Look at them!

So sweet.🥰

Just two bros hanging out together.💕

[loopstagirl]

Will always be my favourite duo <3

[womble1]

A Jeff in want of a Project is A Dangerous Thing.

Chapter 2

Jeff is still trying to help around Tracy Island. Have pity for the boys. (I promise I am going somewhere with this and we will get past scene setting soon!)

Chapter 1

AO3 link

Jeff had buzzed around the villa for a bit, before he latched upon the idea of checking in on how Virgil was getting on down in the hangars. Sure, he had been shooed out of the hangars earlier, but that had been a few hours ago, there was bound to be something productive he could help with now. Jeff headed off to the lifts with a sense of purpose, (see Ma, he was being good and taking the lift rather than the stairs - resting!)

When Jeff made it to the hangars he could find no sign that Virgil had even been there, everything was stowed away and ready for their next deployment. He distractedly pulled open a few drawers, seeing rows of neatly stashed spanners and wrenches and drill bits. It reminded him of his own fathers workshop, only minus the farmyard and diesel smells that had permeated that space. Engine oil and hot metal were the main points on the scent landscape. After 8 years stuck with his own recycled air, Jeff latched onto every new scent with a delight that bordered on obsession. His mother had had to remind him to stop sniffing the sheets in front of the nursing staff during his early recovery. He complied, but only through extreme will power, of which he seemed to have less and less nowadays.

Jeff spotted a can of oil left out on a workbench, well, he could just put that away. Picking it up he shuffled towards a likely looking storage unit, it was a little heavier than he had expected, but he would manage. He was smugly pleased when upon opening the cupboard he was greeted with rows of similar looking tins and bottles. But he frowned upon finding no obvious gap for this can. After Virgil's meticulous attention to detail with his tools, the contents of this unit seemed cluttered and randomly grouped. Well, he could help with that. Pulling over a raised wheeled dolly, Jeff started shifting the occupants of the shelves onto the flat surface. He was soon engrossed in his new pastime, confident that he was finally doing something useful.

It had taken every atom of Scott's skills in de-escalation to placate Virgil, who was now both annoyed and decaffeinated, a dangerous mix. Scott didn’t exactly disagree, at least with the main points, not so much with the coffee puritanism. Scott appreciated good coffee, but in the way of any serviceman, anything better than mess hall coffee counted as gourmet. Telling the difference between the medium dark roast and the medium roast was beyond him. Virgil was right that they needed to find something for their father to do though. Somehow he didn’t think jigsaws and sudoku were going to cut it for Dad. He, like generations of Tracy men before him, was constantly moving, constantly doing something. Scott knew his father was just trying to be useful, and that it came from a place of love. And just as soon as Virgil had some medium dark light mid roast coffee in him, Scott was sure Virgil would know that too. It didn’t help with what to do right now though.

In search of his emergency stash of untainted coffee onboard Thunderbird Two, Virgil's attention was distracted by a creeping pool of oil snaking its way across the hangar floor, coming from the direction of the workshops. He followed its path with some trepidation, hoping the maintenance bots hadn’t slipped a bearing again. Sticking his head cautiously around the workshop door, there was nothing to suggest any sort of drama, robot induced or otherwise. Everything seemed to be as he had left it a few hours earlier. All cupboards safely shut, and tools neatly stowed. The oil cut a line through the room, leading Virgil to the smaller chemical storage cabinet, his heart sinking with every step. He opened the door, the irony of the door squeaking was not lost on Virgil and he let out a wry laugh, even as his eyes beheld the interior.

Every single item had been moved. Where once the pots, cans bottles and containers had been grouped by machine and use, allowing him to keep track of the specific products needed for each individual Thunderbird. Now they appeared to be grouped by size. Where previously full containers were stacked to the rear to allow the already opened ones to be used up first, now they were all mixed together. The only saving grace being that they hadn't received the same unholy condensing treatment as his poor coffee supply.

Then he spotted it, the reason for the oil slick currently decorating his workshop floor. The bottom shelf, which had previously housed items reserved for use on Thunderbird shadow, had been loaded up with the largest oil cans, including the ones Virgil usually kept under the side workbench. The shelf had not been up to the task, and now a full can of Premium German engine oil was lying prone across the bottom of the cupboard, like the heroine of a budget horror movie. Virgil snapped his jaw shut against the sounds of anguish that wanted to escape him. Nope, he couldn’t deal with this right now. He raised his hands in defeat, and backed out of the workshop, head turned to avoid making eye contact with the scene of the crime. He needed coffee first, or he might say something regrettable.

Scott had to enlist John's help to find Virgil an hour later. Virgil was passive aggressively cleaning out the contents of the storage cupboards in the cockpit of Thunderbird Two. The air smelled of coffee. However, the fact that the smell came from a large quantity of spilled gritty ground coffee that were stubbornly clinging to the grooves of the metal chequerplate floor, and not from the inside of his brothers oversized travel mug, clued Scott that he should approach with caution. Scott was seriously considering if he would be able to locate one of the caffeine shots stored in the medical bay without being spotted by his brother. He hadn’t fully decided on the medical ethicality of applying it directly to said brother, when he was spotted. He reflexively held his hands up in peace.

“Hey,” Scott kept his voice low and steady, and moved slowly out of the shadow of the doorway. “So,” he started cautiously, “I’ve had an idea for Dad…” Virgil narrowed his eyes, but didn’t look like he was going to pull Scott's head off with his bare hands, so that seemed like as good a reception as he was likely to get, current circumstances considered.

[thebirdfantasy]

NOOOO THE OILS ARE EVEN WORSE 😭 Oh man Virgil’s going through it!

🤣🤣

[pareidoliaonthemove]

Dear God, Jeff's pushed every one of Virgil's buttons except mess with his paints!

[womble1]

Oh why didn't I think of that!? I think Jeff would lose a finger if he touched the paints.

[loopstagirl]

I am howling! Nothing the Hood or any bad guy could do is going to match what Jeff is putting Virgil through right now. Probably good dad never is actually there when Virgil discovers his newly organised chaos.

I think Scott is perfectly justified with caffeine shots, it may save a life!

[womble1]

A Jeff in want of a Project is A Dangerous Thing.

Jeff is trying to help around the island, in his own unique way, but it's taking a bit of adjustment on all parts. Jeff needs something to get his teeth into, can this troupe laden fic be the answer to that?

This is a continuation on the theme of looking at Halmark movie style troupes and seeing how the formulas handle having a Tracy family member inserted into them. This fic stands on its own though, and can be read independently. you can find the previous fic HERE.

Chapter 1 (just a short chapter to start us off)

Jeff brushed some dust off his hands. He had been reading old reports until his eyes started swimming, so then he had emptied the dishwasher, while he made some disappointing decaff coffee, which had led to him tackling the cupboard under the sink and collating half empty packets of dishwasher tablets. 

He downed the last of his now cold coffee and glanced around himself for what to do next. His boys kept telling him to relax, so he was. Completely relaxed. Jeff picked up the empty boxes and started flattening them for the recycling chute. A glance at the clock, there was still a lot of day to try and fill. He shuffled the boxes into size order, largest at the back. That felt like a useful thing to do, wasn’t it? 

Flopping down onto a chair Jeff gazed out at the view. Well, there were worse places to be told to relax, it really was beautiful. He inhaled and exhaled. Well, that was enough of that, he got back to his feet and headed up to the lounge with a sense of purpose that was somewhat lacking in direction. 

Down in the hangars Virgil sighed. It had taken him a couple of hours, but he had finally got the POD automation system realigned after the last time Jeff’s curiosity had been let loose on its intricate workings. The system had only been a twinkle in Brain’s blueprints when the head of the Tracy family had become indeterminately indisposed in deep space. Jeff had been enthusiastic in wanting to better understand how it all worked. The “Jeff Tracy fix” which had served him so well on the moon and in the Oort cloud, had only been so effective when their father had experimented with a flying mole pod combination. Square peg, round hole, it had been interesting, and recalibrating had tested Virgil's problem solving abilities, but it was nice to see their father getting involved. A far cry from the exhausted, sunken eyed shadow they had hovered around in those early days after their return from the Oort cloud. It was a relief to be past those days, Virgil thought to himself as he stashed the last wrench next to its companions in its drawer before heading back up to the villa. 

Walking into the kitchen, Virgil noticed the open cupboards, luckily before he walked into them. Then he spotted the neatly stacked empty boxes of cleaning supplies, and the remaining contents of the under sink cupboard had been grouped by colour and lined up by size. Ah, so he was at it again. Virgil let out a sigh of relief, at least it was just confined to the kitchen. It had been difficult to be as understanding and tolerant when his father had kindly reorganised the Pod spare parts in the hangars. All the same, he should probably speak to Scott about it when they had a spare moment. 

Putting the issue of their fathers attempts to help out to one side for the moment, Virgil set about making himself a fresh coffee. 

When, upon opening the cupboard, Virgil discovered that his father had done a similar consolidation job on his coffee supply. Having optimised the storage by mixing the different roasts, including at least one decaffeinated carton, into significantly fewer boxes. It was at that point that the issue of how best to occupy the Tracy patriarch's time was shunted rapidly up the priority list.

“SCOTTTTT!” Virgil bellowed, heading straight to the gym where he expected to find his brother.

[mariashades]

HA!

[janetm74]

OMG…

[loopstagirl]

Hahaha oh my gosh, love it!

[loopstagirl]

WIP Wednesday

Squeezing his hand, Jeff glanced once at the city, before turning his back. He knew better than to follow John but that didn’t mean he was going to sit around and wait for his son to find all the answers. Instead, he snatched up his own datapad and headed towards the small office the penthouse boasted. 

“Dad?” Alan’s voice was hesitant. When Jeff looked around, he witnessed his son’s gaze flicker between him and the office door. Gordon’s posture also stiffened. 

Jeff couldn’t blame them. It wasn’t like this was the first time he had disappeared into his office when things got hard. 

“I’m not working,” he reassured them. “But Scott and Mitchell weren’t the only ones taken or sold on. The police are only now realising the targets might be linked, even if it is just by their wealth or proximity to it. Someone might know something.” 

While he didn’t have an extensive network of the rich and famous, usually due to disagreeing with the way they chose to spend said wealth, he did have the right contacts to make these kinds of calls. The Tracy name might be what got Scott into this mess, but Jeff intended to use it to get his son out of it again. 

But once he was sitting at his desk with the door shut behind him, Jeff just stared at the pictures lining his desk. His sons made fun of him for having old fashioned photographs, but it was moments like this when he didn’t regret the decision. A finger gently touched Scott’s face in one, showing the boy carefree, with his head thrown back laughing, in an expressive way so rarely seen. Jeff knew Virgil was just out of shot, having said something to cause that laughter, but Gordon had seized the moment and snapped the image. 

[janetm74fics]

For The Want of a Nail c16: The Present

Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | AO3

With much thanks and appreciation to @the-original-sineater and @mariashades for all their help and cheerleading. And thanks to all those who commented on this fic.

~

‘How about we all go visit Scott now?’

Alan wakes up just as they arrive at the hospital, and by the time they reach Scott’s room he’s practically struggling to get down to reach his eldest brother.

Jeff smiles at his antics. He’s a little sad that Alan is more interested in being with Scott than with him, but if he’s honest he knows that that is solely his fault. And Jeff knows that becoming Alan’s father – their father – again isn’t going to happen overnight, but he has to start somewhere and he has to start now. So he puts Alan down on Scott’s bed and pulls up the chair beside him.

Val accepts Gordon’s request and places him on Scott’s other side and offers the chair to Sally, but Sally refuses, saying that she’s going to speak to Scott’s doctor. She gives Virgil an apprising look and then nods to him, and the budding medic rushes over to join her. But not before giving Scott an embarrassed look.

Scott grins at Virgil’s antics even while pulling both Alan and Gordon a little closer. Then he looks to John. He’s still standing at the foot of the bed, but Val pushes her chair back and gestures to him and with a small smile, and a touch of embarrassment, John moves to stand in her place.

There’s light conversation. Gordon’s telling Scott about all the “naughty” things he’d eaten for breakfast while Alan pipes up from time to time to add details he feels are important Scott knows and Jeff watches his eldest relax completely.

He looks much better today, Jeff notices. There’s colour back in his skin and the wheeze he’d been trying hard to hide yesterday is almost gone. Jeff glances at Val to see her smiling at her Godsons and he makes up his mind.

Before he can say anything, though, his Ma is back with Virgil and Scott’s doctor. All three are smiling and everyone perks up. The doctor isn’t fazed at all by being pinned by eight pairs of eyes and comes to a stop beside Jeff.

‘Good news, Scott. Your obs and bloods this morning showed a marked improvement. If you continue to improve we’ll release you in a couple of days to go home with a proviso to rest.’ ‘A couple of days? Can’t I go home now?’

There’s laughter all around the room and Scott flushes. But then he grins unrepentantly at his Dad.

‘A couple of days, Scott. You still are not fully well and we don’t want you to have a relapse and be here longer, do we?’ ‘No Doc. I definitely don’t want to come back here. No offence.’ ‘None taken! So, carry on getting better and resting.’

Here the doctor looked around at the gathered family and his grin widened as the three adults flushed.

‘Doctor Tracy, Mr Tracy, I’m serious – Scott needs more rest than he’s been getting over the last couple of days. I realise you are a very tight-knit family but he needs sleep and rest.’ ‘Understood, Doctor.’ ‘I’ll give you ten minutes but then I want to see you all leave except maybe one. The rest of you can come back after lunch for a couple of hours but that’s all. Then we can get Scott home a lot quicker.’

Once the doctor left both Jeff and Scott let out a breath at the same time. The action releases the tension and there are chuckles.

Sally takes a moment to look at her boys before moving next to Jeff and giving his shoulder a squeeze.

‘The Doctor is right. We need to give Scott some space. Jeff, I think you should stay.’

There’s a slight murmur but no one is going to argue with Grandma. Val turns her face to hide her amusement at her Grandsons antics before standing up.

‘I should go.’ ‘You don’t have to, Val.’ ‘This is a time for family, Jeff.’ ‘You are family, Aunty Val.’ ‘Thank you, Gordon, but…’ ‘But nothing, Aunty Val. You’re staying.’

Val looks away, self-conscious in the face of such love. Jeff smiles at that. It’s good to see her smile, in fact it’s good to see them all smiling, something that has been sorely missing recently. He clears his throat and everyone looks to him.

‘Before you all go I have a proposal. Once Scott’s been discharged how would you all like it if we had a few days somewhere as a family before we need to get you boys ready for school. I’m thinking somewhere hot to help Scott. What do you guys think?’

There’s a big cheer and the youngest three boys begin to chatter excitedly about possible destinations but John just stares at Jeff. Jeff returns his look with a smile while listening to the discussion. Gordon’s insisting on the ocean, Virgil’s talking about art and painting and Alan’s just agreeing with everyone.

Scott’s grin is back and is wider, but Jeff can see that he’s tiring.

‘How about we let Scott decide where he wants to go?’

There are nods of agreement – slightly reluctant on Gordon’s part – and all eyes turn to Scott. He pretends to look pensive, considering his options, and he taps his chin as he thinks.

‘Anywhere?’ ‘Anywhere you want, Scott.’ ‘In the States?’ ‘Anywhere in the world.’

Virgil whistles as Scott deliberates further. Honestly Scott doesn’t have a clue where to pick but he has a good idea. It had been a destination his Mom had been discussing with him as a surprise for their dad…

‘How about somewhere like Outer Banks in North Carolina?’

He looks around at the surprise on all their faces and smiles. His Dad looks confused and Scott knows that he should put him out of their misery but for a moment he revels in the knowledge that he’s springing the surprise that his Mom had intended for their wedding anniversary.

‘That’s very specific, Scott. What’s there?’ ‘Warm ocean for Gordon, a ton of art workshops and fantastic coastlines for painting, exceptional dark sky and a designated dark sky park and for me and Dad – the Wright Brothers National Memorial. How does that sound to everyone?’ ‘What about me?’ ‘What do you think you’d like to do, Alan?’

Alan looks serious as he considers what he’d like, but then his face lights up and he looks up to Scott.

‘Rockets!’ ‘Well, if we time it right we can watch a rocket launch from the beach!’ ‘Yay!’

Gordon and Alan hug him tightly as everyone once again talks about the different activities Scott’s suggested. Even John looks happy at the prospect.

And then Sally’s ushering them all out except Jeff. Scott makes sure his Godmother promises to come back and to see if she’s free to come on the holiday and John hangs back a moment. Scott thinks he’s going to ask a question but instead his brother turns to their Dad.

‘If you so much as hint at work while we’re on holiday.’ ‘I won’t. I promise.’ ‘You better not.’

There’s no smile on his face and Jeff knows that this is going to be a long road with his most pragmatic of boys. He’s not entirely sure John’s ever going to forgive him but Jeff’s determined not to give him any reason to doubt him from this moment on.

But before Jeff can say anything further John turns on his heel and leaves. And it is just Jeff and Scott.

There’s a moment of silence before Jeff clears his throat.

‘That’s a remarkably detailed holiday you just happened to know about.’

Scott looks away a moment but then he looks back and Jeff’s worried when he sees tears in his boy’s eyes.

‘It was – it was Mom’s idea. She was going to surprise you with the holiday for your anniversary. We’d been planning it for months.’ ‘Oh.’

It was all Jeff can think to say. He’s aware that there are tears forming, that they’re running down his face, but his brain is stuck.

‘Dad? Dad, are you ok? Dad?’ ‘Your Mom was planning this?’ ‘She was.’ ‘And – and you still want to go with me? Despite everything?’ ‘Yeah. Yeah, I do.’ ‘We’re good?’ ‘As long as you keep your word, we’re good.’

Jeff gets up and envelops Scott into a gentle hug and his son melts into his embrace before whispering in his ear.

‘Happy anniversary, Dad.’

Fin

[loopstagirl]

So gorgeous. Hopefully the true healing can now begin.

[loopstagirl]

Holiday from Hell, Ch 6

Scott awoke with a jolt, something filtering through to his sub-consciousness. He couldn't hear anything. No brother breathing, no brother arguing for that matter. Jerking upright, the teenager stared around him for a moment before flopping back into the pillows, yawning and running his hand through his hair. No wonder it was so quiet, he was still in his father's room on his own. For a moment, he just lay where he was, smiling slightly. There was a trickle of sun creeping through the thick curtains, and Scott could tell from just one glance that it was reasonably late. Not late enough that his morning was gone, but far later than he would have been able to sleep in if he had still been with his brothers.

"I want to take it!"

"Shh, you'll wake him up."

"S'heavy. Daddy, can't reach..."

Scott's smile widened as he heard the failed attempts at whispering outside the door. He should have known the others would be up and about, but judging by Alan's words, their father was with them. He was actually being a dad for once. Suddenly, Scott frowned, almost jumping out of bed. His father had an early morning meeting, Scott was sure he had overheard him talking about it the day before. There was a rattling at the handle as someone clearly tried to work out how to open the door whilst doing something else, and Scott crossed the room. Yanking open the door, he nearly ended up with Gordon on top of him. It was clear the redhead had been about to run at the door in an attempt to open it and yet now found that there was a brother in its place instead. They were all there, Virgil and John standing slightly further back as it was clear Gordon and Alan had wanted to take the lead with this one. John smirked when he saw the evidence that Scott had only just woken up - the sleep-tussled hair and bare feet gave that one away.

"Breakfast!" Alan declared happily, watching as Scott set Gordon back on his feet once more and turned his attention to his youngest brother. Alan had a glass of juice clutched in both hands, which he offered to Scott with a wide smile. Taking it with a grin of his own, Scott stepped back in order to usher his herd of brothers into the room. Virgil practically flung a tray at him on the way past, but still Scott was smiling. It hadn't been done with the bitterness of Virgil's earlier moods, but more with the attitude of him not understanding why he had to get up in order to let Scott have a lie-in. Alan clambered up on the bed, immediately beginning to build a pillow castle as Gordon scrambled up beside him. For someone so energetic, he was remarkably calm as he showed his younger brother a better way to go about the construction process. Scott caught John's eye and smiled. They were making a decent big brother out of him after all.

Read on Ao3 ->

[kings-out-of-pocket-hell]

They got caught or maybe it what happend in chain of command *shrugs*

Who knows

[lambsonburn]

Coffee time...

for the lovely @janetm74

Please forgive me if some of the things about coffee aren't right, I don't drink hot coffee or tea for that matter....

----

Drip... drip... drip.........drip.....

Virgil stood by the broken machine. It was infuriating, it was too early in the morning to be without coffee.

Sleep pulled at his bones dragging them downwards. Heaviness tried to consume him. Virgil had already fallen asleep accidentally once this morning - he didn't need a repeat.

He hit the side of it. "Come on..."

Virgil was notorious on the island for his coffee cravings as well as the effects as not having access to it. Sleep already put him in a bad mood but coffee was always there to lessen it. But if it wasn't? You had a very large, grumpy man who took up staring at the coffee machine or lack or coffee bags trying to will coffee into existence.

On several different occasions he had noted the machine slowly faulty but had never fixed it as just as he threatened repairs it came to life. It defied restoration. If he didn't know any better, he might think that it was sentient and didn't want to be taken apart.

A pounding had already begun in his head.

He knew that he probably should not consume the levels of coffee that he does, and that it would probably amount to an addiction but he simply couldn't stay awake otherwise.

He hadn't always been like this. He knew it was because of mission stress. Another reason why falling asleep was the easiest part of sleeping process.

Thunk!

Virgil's eyes snapped to the machine.

"Please. Come on please." He begged the machine, God itself.

Like magic brown liquid began to flow out into the waiting mug; a green mug that said "world's best lumberjack."

The machine clicked off with a ca-thunk!

Virgil raised his fist to the sky in success.

He slid the sugar bag over and retrieved a tablespoon of sugar. He next added a smidge of milk. It turned a lighter brown.

The mug was held like the Holy Grail as he carried it to the living area. Virgil looked out to the sea from the sofa. It was something he had always taken comfort ever since moving to the remote island. Something he'd never admit to Gordon even though he knew Gordon knew. The younger brother had been inside his studio plenty of times, enough to see the plethora of ocean paintings.

He took a sip, it was perfect.

Virgil sank further into the sofa, heat of the mug warming his hands.

Maybe it would be alright.

----

I hope you liked it!! I don't think I'm that god at short fics bc it takes me a little bit to get into the flow :)