ThunderGirl

2. Reunion

The mission was a success, but Hannah had expected nothing less from her family.
After drying herself and putting on a new outfit, Hannah made her way back downstairs to greet her brothers.
The older boys arrived first, and Hannah immediately ran over to congratulate them.
"Nice work" she praised.
"It was nothing" replied Virgil.
"It got a little hairy at one point though, and you had me worried" admitted Hannah.
"You worry to much. No one was hurt, and we saved all the oil rig workers" reminded Gordon.

"We can't always save everyone though" said Jeff sternly as he joined the group.
"Yeah, but we nearly always do" replied Gordon.
"He's got a point" admitted Hannah.
"But there are times when it is not possible to save everyone... Have you taken your medication?" Questioned Jeff.
Hannah rolled her eyes at her father and nodded her head, "Yes".
"Good" mumbled Jeff, before heading over to Brains.

"We flew over Alan and lady P on the way here, so they'll be here soon" revealed Scott.
Hannah beamed, "I can't wait to see Alan again".
"Me too, I've missed the little tyke" admitted Virgil.
"He's not that little anymore" reminded Hannah.
"That's true. You and him are growing up" agreed Scott.
"I wish dad realised that. He still treats me like a child" moaned Hannah.
"Well, you are" teased Gordon.
"I'm 14. I am not a child anymore" insisted Hannah.

Before her brothers had the chance to tease her further, Alan and Fermat suddenly ran towards the group.
Fermat flew straight into his dad's arms, while Alan received numerous pats on the back from his brothers, before Hannah threw herself into his arms.
"I've missed you" admitted Hannah.
"I've missed you too" replied Alan, as he put Hannah back down before greeting their dad.
"Dinner's ready, come and get it" announced Onaha from the other side of the room.
"It smells delicious" complimented Jeff as the group made their way over to the table, where a glorious spread had been laid out.
Onaha had gone all out, to welcome Alan home.

"I saw the mission on tv before I left, it looked pretty dangerous" commented Alan as he took a seat inbetween Hannah and their dad.
"Saving lives is a dangerous business, but it's what we do" reminded Jeff.
"Yeah. Hey, I was thinking, maybe I could be home educated from now on, like Hannah. That way I could join in on missions from time to time. What do you say?" Asked Alan eagerly.
"No shortcuts Alan. No school, no rockets"
"But Hannah-"
"Lives here because she is unwell. And she certainly doesn't join us on our missions"
"But-"
"No buts. I'm not having this argument again".

Alan gritted his teeth and turned his attention to what his brothers were discussing, which was rockets.
"Did you try adjusting the flaps?" Asked Alan, as he tried to come up with an answer to Virgil's problem.
"Of course I did, that's the first thing I tried. It's not my first day in a Thunderbird" reminded Virgil.
"Try and keep up" teased Gordon.
"I was just thinking out loud" mumbled Alan.
"Well don't you have homework or something to do instead of badgering us with obvious comments?" Questioned Virgil.
"Not unless he's blown up this school like the last one" joked Gordon.
"Yeah, keep Alan away from the rockets, he's a hazard" grinned Virgil.

"Alright that's enough. Pass me the salad" interupted Jeff.
Scott handed over the green bowl before continuing talking to Virgil and Gordon.
"So, how's school?" Asked Jeff, as he turned to face Alan.
"School's boring" muttered Alan, taking no interest in the food in front of him.
Hannah knew how he was feeling. The rest of their brothers were in their 20's, which is why her and Alan often felt rather left out. And since they were excluded from the missions, they missed out on all the fun, and inside jokes.
Hannah was glad that she was able to live with her brothers, as this meant that she didn't miss out on everything. But Alan had to come back from months away, and try to fit himself into the group.

Fermat didn't have this problem as he was an only child.
He sat on the otherside of the table, obliviously tucking into his second cheeseburger.
"I'm not really hungry" Alan said quietly, as he pushed his plate away from him, and left the table.
Hannah watched him walk away, while their other brothers didn't even notice his absence.
"I'm going after him" announced Hannah, as she stood to her feet.
"You need to finish your dinner" instructed Jeff.
"I'll finish it later" promised Hannah, who was already on her way out of the room.

She found Alan in his bedroom, staring out at the island as the sun began to set.
"Hey" Hannah said quietly, as she made her way over to him.
"I just wish they wouldn't treat me like a baby" admitted Alan.
"Tell me about it" mumbled Hannah.
"I want to be one of them, just once, is that so much to ask. I want to be the one who saves the day, not be the one who hears about it afterwards"
"I know exactly how you feel. I may live here with them, but I still have to hear about all their great adventures, that I wasn't a part of".

"I just want it to be my turn" sighed Alan.
"And it will be, soon" reminded Hannah.
"2 years. I've still 2 years before I finish school, and will be allowed to go on missions"
"And I've got 4 years! Even then dad might not let me become a Thunderbird. He still sees me as the weak baby who came too soon. He doesn't seem to see that I've changed"
"We're both old enough to help out, but no one else seems to realise that"
"I wish there was something we could do to make them see that we're not little kids anymore".

"I need a favour" announced Alan suddenly.
Hannah sighed, "What kind of favour?".
"I need you to get me the access code to Thunderbird 1" revealed Alan.
"And why would you want that?"
"I just want to see what it's like, to be like our brothers. I won't actually go anywhere in the rocket, I just want to start it up. I know how to. And I really want just sit in it, imagining what it's going to be like in the future... It's the closest I'm going to get to being a real Thunderbird for quite some time".

Hannah frowned, and grabbed a pen and piece of paper from the closest desk.
"Wait, you already know what the access code is. How?" Questioned Alan.
"What you don't know, can't hurt you. Just don't make me regret this" sighed Hannah as she put down the pen and handed Alan the paper.
"You won't" promised Alan.
"I'd better not... I'm going to see if I can find lady P. Don't do anything stupid, and don't get caught".