March 31, 2051

It was eleven o'clock at night. John sat on the pool deck, a holo-projector balanced on his leg, and his right eye pressed to the eyepiece of his telescope. He took his eye away from the telescope and began to click a few icons on the hologram. As he did this, he began to speak.

"You know, mom, I'm still upset dad tore our family away from you, but the stars out here..." he looked up, "They're just so incredible. Unbelievable. I wish you could see them."

He continued to arrange things on the the hologram, a map of the sky.

"I can see each and every star you showed me, and even more," he paused, "I know it's stupid, but every time I come out here, it feels like you're near."

A night breeze blew, and John lifted his head up to breathe it in. The warm, salty breath of the ocean, mingling with the crisp, cool air of the sky.

"It feels like you're close," John continued, "but not close enough."

At three in the morning, John packed up his telescope, and went in. He walked to his room, the rest of the house completely quiet.

He pulled up his sky map, the one he'd been working on for the past few years, and the hologram engulfed his room.

He analyzed the map. Took measurements, added data, and recorded conditions and observations he had made. The map was incredible. He could zoom deep into space, and see the stars that were only just barely visible in the right conditions. He could move through the sky, draw up constellations, or project the 2D image of the night sky onto his ceiling, adjusting the picture for date and conditions. When in 3D form, he could walk among the stars. It was the closest thing he could get to actually being in space.

Finally, at about six a.m., he collapsed onto his bed, and fell asleep.

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April 1, 2051

"Gordon!"

The cry rang out over the house, followed by the cackling of a ten-year-old blond boy.

The boy was running through the upstairs hallway, waking up most of those who weren't already up. His closest brother was chasing after him, a paintbrush stuck to his hand.

A door opened as they past it, and out from it ran an almost five-year-old with the energy of ten-thousand race horses.

The three boys ran downstairs and entered the kitchen, where their oldest brother, Scott, and their father were dumping the contents of their plates into the trash.

Gordon's chaser, the eleven-year-old Virgil, stopped short when he saw his father.

"Dad, Gordon covered my brushes in glue!"

"April Fools!" Gordon cried, excitement written on his face, "I can get away with pranks!"

Their father sighed, "Yup, Gordon got us too."

Scott looked down at the eggs they had just dumped in the trash. They had been unnaturally sweet.

"Gordon, tell me, when were you planning on switching the sugar and salt back?"

Gordon answered his father, "Well... originally never..."

His father smiled, "How about tonight?"

Gordon looked up and nodded.

Jeff chuckled, "Good.  Scott and I are going out.  Grandma Tracy is in charge."

As if on cue, Jeff's mother walked into the kitchen.

"That's right," she spoke, ruffling Gordon's hair. "I'm in charge. Which means you will all be cleaning my room."

"No! I don't want to!" Alan exclaimed.

Gordon looked at his grandmother in fear, "You wouldn't, would you?"

Virgil simply smiled.

Grandma Tracy smiled back, "April Fools!"

Gordon laughed, "Grandma!"

Alan ran around the kitchen. "Come on, Scott! Let's play tag!"

Jeff smiled at his youngest, "Sorry, Alan. Scott's going to fly."

Scott smiled.

"Training?" Alan looked up. "When will you be back?"

"In a few hours," his father answered. "Listen to your Grandma!" he called as he left the room, Scott following eagerly.

After they left, Grandma Tracy bent down. "You boys behave. I'll be down with Brains if you need me."

Virgil nodded. "Alan, what do you want for breakfast?" he asked after their Grandmother left.

"Cereal. Can I help make it?"

Virgil nodded. "Go get the cereal."

Alan ran to the pantry and grabbed the cereal, before returning to the table. He climbed into a seat and poured the cereal into the bowl Virgil had set there. Some of the white powder that covered the cereal poofed up when he poured it. Alan breathed a bit in and sneezed.

"It doesn't smell like Powder Puffs," he said as Virgil poured the milk on it.

"Just eat it," Virgil told him.

Alan took a spoonful to eat. He chewed, but soon made a face and spit it out.

"Alan!" Virgil exclaimed. "Why did you do that?!"

"It tasted awful!"

"It tastes the same as it always does!" Virgil said, before realization dawned on him. He turned slowly. "Unless..."

Gordon ran over and slammed the jar of flour on the table. "April Fools!" he exclaimed before bursting into laughter.

"Gordon!" Alan exclaimed, balling his fists.

Virgil rolled his eyes. He took the bowl from Alan. "I'll open a new package, Alan. Some people don't realize that because we live on an island we only have a limited food supply until Dad goes on the supply run."

Gordon rolled his eyes, before walking over to the counter. He pulled the salt and sugar shakers away from the back of the counter, and set to work. He had dumped the sugar into a jar and was pouring the salt into a sperate jar when Virgil walked back over.

"What are you doing?" the black-haired boy asked.

"Dad's not expecting me to switch the salt and sugar back to their original shakers until tonight, so I'm doing it now."

"So when Dad comes to use the salt or the sugar, he'll use the opposite, and-"

"-get fooled again!" Gordon said as he poured the sugar into the sugar shaker.

Virgil nodded with respect, "Clever."

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"Scott and Dad are back!"

It was about noon in the Tracy household, and everyone except Gordon and John had been pranked at least three times. Gordon was always the pranker, so it was rare for someone to get him, and John was shut up in his room. No one, not even Gordon, had dared try to play a joke on him.

Alan was running around the house, announcing that Jeff and Scott were home, even though everyone could hear as Thunderbird 1 came in for landing.

Thunderbird 1 was the newest, with regards to technology, and fastest, aircraft in existence. It had only been finished a few months ago, a couple of mouths after its prototype, the TV-21, crashed into the sea due to sabotage. And Scott was learning to fly it.

Jeff had promised all of his sons he would train them each to be a pilot, and to work for International Rescue. Someday. Today, it was only Scott. And he made sure everyone knew it.

But, youth didn't stop Jeff from starting his sons' training, however small said training was.

Jeff and Scott entered the kitchen to see the majority of the family eating lunch. Scott went to feed himself, while Jeff approached his mother.

"Updates?" Jeff asked.

His mother sighed, "A few wires were switched in Brains' lab, he couldn't access the blueprints for Thunderbird 2's hanger for an hour. All of my lotions have mysteriously disappeared, and I caught Alan helping Virgil write 'AF' on all of Gordon's shirts. It stands for 'April Fools'," she added when Jeff gave her a look, "And Virgil's door hasn't been able to open for the past hour. Gordon hasn't admitted to it yet, so we don't know how to get it open. Oh, and John's still in his room."

Jeff sighed. "April 1st with five boys... Lord help me."

His mother chuckled. "Have anything planned for this afternoon?"

Jeff smiled, "Actually, I do."

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"Scott, go get John. The rest of you, get in a circle. We're going to play The Phonetic Circle," Jeff announced, standing on the second floor of the house.

"Yay!" Alan jumped up and joined the circle, which was slowly forming of Jeff and his sons.

The Phonetic Circle was one example of Jeff's early training for his sons. It was really a drill for them to learn the NATO Phonetic Alphabet, but 'game' sounded more fun than 'drill'.

After a few minutes, Scott returned from above, followed by a very grumpy looking red-head. John took a place in the circle.

Once they were all standing in the circle, Jeff called out to them, "All right, who wants to start?"

"Alfa," Scott spoke immediately.

"Scott, you always start. Virgil?" Their father said.

"Alfa," Virgil started.

"Bravo," Gordon said.

"Charlie," John replied with a glare.

"Delta."

"Echo."

"Foxtrot."

They continued around the circle, until one couldn't remember the next one.

"Oscar," John said when they reached 'O'.

"Papa."

"Q... Uhm... Q...?" Alan looked up at his father.

"Do you know it?" Jeff asked Alan, who shook his head. Jeff nodded, and Alan sat down on the floor.

"Quebec. Next?" John said in a demanding tone.

Jeff narrowed his eyes at John. "Romeo."

Virgil glanced cautiously around the circle, "Tango."

Jeff shook his head. "Not yet."

Virgil sat down.

"Sierra," Gordon answered proudly.

Jeff nodded.

They continued the game, starting the alphabet over when they reached Zulu, until Jeff and Scott were the only ones left standing. Scott had managed to get Gordon out with an April Fools joke, which met a round of applause once it succeeded.

Once the game was over, John retreated back to his room, until 6:30, at dinner.

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"Look, daddy! I see the first star!"

"That's actually a planet, Alan, not a star. Venus, the-"

"Morning and Evening Star, I know. Star. Why would they call it a star if it wasn't one?" Alan gave a half-hearted eye-roll, before looking back up at the sky.

The inhabitants of Tracy Island were out on and above the pool deck, watching as the first stars appeared in the sky. John stood away from his family, looking up at the sky and predicting which star would show up next.

"Ooh, there's that one! And there's another one! Which one is that, daddy?" Alan ran back and forth, up and down along the concrete, jumping and pointing excitedly at the sky.

John huffed. Would it kill that child to stand still for a millisecond? He thought as he watched Alan bound around.

"Brains, do you know which one that is? I do! It's Polaris!" Alan ran off again before Brains could tell him if he was right or wrong.

Scott chuckled at Alan's actions, and John scoffed at Scott's reaction.

Alan ran down to the pool deck, and that was when Gordon decided to give chase. He chased his little brother around the pool, threatening to push him in. Alan laughed gleefully, looking back every now and then to see if Gordon was still in pursuit.

Slowly, the rest of the family made their way down to the pool deck as well. Scott walked around the edge of the pool, gazing up at the sky. He took in the stars that continued to pop into life, and he gazed at the moon, observing it's light and shadowed spots.

Suddenly, he felt something shove into him. He lost his balance and stepped back, only to find no more solid ground. Scott tumbled backwards into the pool.

He surfaced to the sound of cheerful laughter.

"April Fools!" Alan and Gordon cried in unison.

"Really?!" Scott exclaimed as he swam to the edge of the pool, "That doesn't even classify as an April Fools joke! You pushed me in a pool!"

The two brothers, along with Virgil, their Grandmother, and their father, continued to laugh as Scott hauled himself out of the pool. Brains gave a chuckle.

Scott stood up and looked around. He spotted John standing on the upper deck still, completely oblivious to the sounds below. His head and heart were so injured, so hurt, so far away from them, they were lost in the stars.

Scott wondered, would they ever get pulled back to earth?