Chapter One: Hopes and Dreams

Tessa Highlander stared lovingly into Virgil Tracy's eyes. Her hands clasped around his, she could not think of a single moment where she had felt happier than this. The voice speaking droned on, and Tess could scarcely pay attention. Finally there was a pause, which Virgil filled with her new favourite words. "I do."

They exchanged loving smiles, and Tessa could feel the happiness radiating from the audience behind them as the minister began asking her the same question. Her smile reached ear to ear, she could hardly contain her excitement. In just a few minutes, we'll finally be married! she thought to herself.

" . . . till death do you part?" the minister finished.

"I do," she said breathlessly through her veil.

The minister smiled, as did the entire wedding party. "It is my honour to now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Virgil smiled, letting go of her hands and stepping forward. He raised his fingers to her veil and carefully pulled it over her head. They looked at each other for a brief second, letting their joy fill the air between them. He dropped his hands, slipping them around her waist, as she did the same. As Tess closed her eyes, she could feel her world finally becoming complete . . .

A shot rang out.

Her eyes opened, and she looked out in the crowd for Jeff, worried. She found him, shock across his face, but otherwise fine. It was then she felt it, her face draining of all colour, and her mind of all happiness, as her husband collapsed in her arms.

She screamed, but was unable to hold him, and they collapsed to the ground together. She quickly composed herself, and checked for a pulse. There was none. She looked at Virgil, and found he was bleeding through the chest; nothing could be done soon enough.

Her hands covered in blood, she held his face, turning it so he could see her. "I love you," she managed to say between shaky breaths. She kissed his forehead. She could never be certain, but she thought she'd heard him faintly whisper it back. Then he was gone, she could feel it.

She stood up, blood covering the front of her white dress, searching for the person who could have done this. Her eyes lit upon a figure hiding in the shadows of the corner, no doubt her father. No doubt he'd gotten his revenge . . .

–

Tessa Highlander awoke in a cold sweat, her breathing shaky. She sat up in bed almost immediately after her eyes opened. Her hands shook as she pulled the covers back. She got out of bed, reaching for her housecoat.

As she pulled it on, Tess looked over at the clock sitting on her table. 4:03, she thought, reaching for the door, more than two hours before anyone gets up.

She walked out, careful to remain quiet so as not to disturb anyone, into the hall. As she made her way down the hall she stopped at her fiancé's door.

It was foolish, she knew, as it was only a dream, but she still opened the door. Sure enough, Virgil lay on his bed, soundly asleep, a smile across his face.

She softly closed the door, and resumed making her way to the balcony. She passed through the living room, where the large family could often be found together. Finally she made it to the sliding door. She opened it carefully, but did not bother closing it as she stepped outside.

The cool breeze glided across Tess's skin in a welcome way. She loved the feeling, but did not smile. Instead, she drew the robe tighter still around her, and leaned against the railing. She stared out into the sky. It was still dark, but she could see the horizon beginning to lighten even then. She'd unknowingly witnessed this for the past week or so as well, never taking notice of it.

Her thoughts were indeed elsewhere again this morning. Why did she keep having this dream? The answer was so simple, she smiled to herself: she was afraid. More than afraid, terrified.

She let go of the housecoat and crossed her arms, allowing her mind to wander over the same things it had for the past few weeks. Her father . . . his betrayal - make that betrayals . . . her future with Virgil. She was horrified that her father might take his anger out on Virgil. She loved him, and felt like her whole life had led up to marrying him. If her father took him away from her, she'd never be able to forgive him . . .

Not that she wanted to anyway. As far as she was concerned, the man who was her father was dead, along with any sympathy she had for him.

But then again, she thought, putting herself in his shoes, I probably would be upset too . . . I'd probably need all the support I could-

Tess shook herself. Was she actually sympathising with The Hood! The fact of the matter was, he should not have put himself in this situation at all! This was his own fault, and Tess felt she'd be darned if she'd sympathise with him!

She was so caught up in her anger that she did not hear the footsteps behind her. She jumped as the strong hands slipped around her waist. She relaxed though, as she felt his head rest on her shoulder.

"Virgil . . ," she whispered, smiling. She held his hands on her waist. She swore the man had radar for when she was out of bed. "I'm sorry I woke you up."

He kissed her neck softly, the only place he could reach from behind. "I'm sorry I wasn't awake as soon as you were."

She continued to smile, but said nothing. Instead, she turned around in his arms and kissed him softly on the lips. He stared down at her after she broke away. "You had the dream again, didn't you?" he asked quietly, already knowing the answer.

She slipped her arms around him tight, letting her head rest against his chest. She nodded.

He rested his chin lightly on her head, and held her close. "It's alright. Look, I'm here now, okay? Nothing will happen. We will be married, and we will live past the ceremony."

She nodded again. Tess lifted her head and looked at him. "I love you, Virgil."

He respondedto this by kissing her. When he broke away, he looked at her for what seemed forever. "Come on, let's go inside. We need to sleep." He dropped his hands from her waist, and she let go of him as well, looking crestfallen. He held her right hand in his and began to gently pull her inside. She was reluctant to go, so he walked back in and lifted her with both arms. She wrapped her hands around his neck, but said nothing. He, also, did not close the glass door (not that thieves were a risk on a private, uncharted island).

Instead of carrying Tessa to her own room, though, Virgil carried her into his, kicking the door closed behind him. He laid her on his mussed bed, and then proceeded to rummage through his closet.

He produced a sleeping bag, which he laid on the floor next to the bed. Tess tossed him a pillow, as he began to crawl into it.

She pulled the blanket up around her, housecoat and all, rolling over on the bed so that she could see him below. "Wouldn't it be better for me to sleep in the sleeping bag? I am a guest, after all, so you deserve the bed."

He looked at her. "Oh, please, Tess. Must we have this same argument everyday?"

She shrugged, her head now resting on her crossed arms. "I just think if you want to 'watch over me' you should literally watch over me."

He smiled. "Well, how would it look, a gentleman such as myself . . ," Tessa laughed jokingly, but he ignored it. ". . . forcing a poor girl such as yourself into a ruddy old sleeping bag, while I slept upon a comfortable bed?"

She just smiled and shook her head, rolling over onto her back. "I love you, you know that?"

He smiled, though she could no longer see it. "I had a hunch."

–

Virgil awoke the next morning late - well, late by Tracy standards, meaning seven o'clock. It took him a moment to recognize that he was on the floor, and to remember that Tess was laying on his bed. He wriggled out of the sleeping bag, and peered upon the bed, smiling. "Morning, sweet-"

But she was gone.

Momentary worry struck Virgil. Tess never got up before him! It was a crime against nature! She would sleep until noon if it weren't for her noisy brother-in-laws.

More worry still struck him when he noticed that the bed had been made. Tess never makes her bed! he recalled. And neither do I!

He looked all around his room, rushing about. The walk-in closet was empty, and she certainly wasn't hiding under the bed. Surely, she couldn't already be up?

He flung open the door of his room, still in only his boxers and t-shirt, and proceeded towards her room, which was just a couple doors down. He opened the door to find absolutely nothing. Her bed was made as well, scaring Virgil.

He closed the door, and made his way towards the living room. Perhaps he could peek in and see if she was there before he got dressed . . . ?

He rounded the corner and walked directly into the centre of the room. It was unusually dark and empty. He looked around, astonished.

Suddenly everyone popped out at once - from behind the couch, the desk, the piano, everywhere. "Surprise!" they all yelled at him (his eyes widened with shock).

Tess walked out from behind the piano and threw her arms around him. "Happy Birthday, Virgil," she whispered in his ear.

It took him a moment to register all this. He held her close, smiling. "Thank you, Tessa . . . I love you."

She kissed him on the cheek, still smiling. Then she placed her lips next to his ear. "I love you too . . . and I wouldn't have loved you any less with pants, either."

He laughed, but then abruptly stopped himself. He didn't have what!

He looked down and immediately turned bright red. Looking up, he dropped his arms from around Tess, and promptly disappeared back into his room.

–

The family all laughed as Virgil pulled out the gift his brother Scott and his new wife Lana had picked out for him, wrapped in Winnie the Pooh paper. He held up the digital camera, the size of a credit card, for all to see. A chorus of oohs and awes followed.

"So you don't miss priceless moments like your brother running out in his underwear," Lana explained. Virgil quickly elbowed her. Scott made sure to smack him across the back of the head in return. Nobody messed with Lana while Scott was around for fear of being killed.

Tess passed him a box. It was round, and tied loosely with a red ribbon. She smiled knowingly, but everyone else seemed to know as much about the present as Virgil. Tess smiled. "Just a little something I thought you might like." Virgil's eyes narrowed, and he smiled, but he had no idea what was sitting in his lap.

The gift in his lap was a rectangle. He pulled off the lid and found a slightly small box from a jeweller in London. Virgil opened it up. Inside was a gold pocket watch, attached to a chain.

"Open it," Tess persisted. He opened the locket, and saw it ticking away. He was about to ask her what he was looking for, when he noticed another crack along the edge of the clock. He opened it. Inside was a picture of himself and Tessa. Engraved on the other side was a message from Tessa:

To Virgil, my love and my life. You are the song in my heart, and the air in my lungs. I am yours forever. Tess

He didn't care how many people were around him at that moment. He wrapped his arms around Tessa and pulled her close, kissing her as much as he'd ever kissed her before. Catcalls and whistles surrounded him, but he ignored them all. He was hers forever too, and he wanted her to know that.

"Ahem!" Jeff called, instantly separating the pair. Virgil moved back into his seat, as did Tessa, both blushing profusely. Jeff smiled at them. "I think it's time for cake."

–

They all sat inside now, each nursing a cup of coffee. Jeff was in the kitchen helping Onaha put away the cake. The children all sat around in their pyjamas (the females at least - most of the Tracy boys wore merely boxers and a t-shirt to bed, so they were still fully dressed). It was now late into the evening, and they all sat there, gossiping.

Lana was halfway through the story of how Scott had proposed. Everyone had heard the tale a dozen times, but never tired of it. "So, he sat on my bed, and I was ready to tell him to take a hike. But seeing him there in person . . . everything was different. He hands me these flowers, and I melted. That is until I saw he was too cheap to have a full bouquet of real roses."

Tessa and Tin-Tin laughed, and most of the boys chuckled slightly. John, however, was quiet and smiled ruefully - he was the only Tracy to not currently have a sweetheart. Even Gordon was "dating" someone he'd met in Vegas through the Internet.

Lana kept talking, " . . . and finally I noticed there was something funny about the tickets. I was expecting London, not Vegas. I remember my exact thoughts were, 'He can't be proposing, can he?'. I was excited but scared when I found out. But I was in love with him, so I went through with it." She talked like it had been nothing, but the look in her eyes and the smile on her lips told everyone otherwise.

Scott beamed down at her, like she was the best thing that had ever happened to him (and in his opinion, she was). His arm slipped around her shoulder, and he moved closer to her on the sofa.

Tessa sat cuddled up next to Virgil on the couch across from them. "When do the pictures come?" she asked.

Scott turned towards Tessa. "I called the company and they said they should be here either tomorrow or the next day. I'm hoping tomorrow, though."

She nodded, taking a sip of her coffee.

John thought he'd had about enough of all this, so he looked at the clock and feigned shock. "Oh, look, is that the time?" he yawned for effect, standing up, "I'm rather tired. I think I shall retire early tonight." With that, he set off towards his room, knowing his family didn't believe him one bit, especially since it was only 9:30.

Tessa turned around. "Goodnight, John," she called after him.

He turned towards his best friend. "Good night, Tessa." He headed to his room, depression following him every step of the way.

–

John awoke the next morning early. It was around six a.m., and he could tell he was the first brother up. He climbed out of his bed, and made his way over to the closet.

Today was no special day, not for him at least. Perhaps for his brothers, it would be more significant. For Alan, it would be one day closer to coming home. For Gordon, it would be another day he could talk to his "friend" online. For Virgil and Tessa, it would be yet another day nearer to their wedding. And for Scott, it would be one extra day with Lana.

As John pulled on his old Rolling Stones t-shirt (he was one of the few Tracys who didn't wear a t-shirt while he slept), he pondered that last thought. Scott had changed since Lana had come. Come to think of it, Scott hasn't been the same for a long time.

It was true. John could scarcely remember when his brother was a fun-loving bachelor. Tessa had kept that about him, then when they split, Scott had turned cold and detached for a long time. When Lana came, he'd finally been himself again.

But now, as John pulled a pair of shorts on, he felt detached from his brother. Scott barely ever tore his gaze from Lana, and he spent every waking second with her. He talked, of course, about missions and Thunderbirds and things such as that . . . but John couldn't help but feel as though he missed his brother.

The door opened and closed behind him, almost as though he never touched it. As he walked down the hall, he could almost hear the rhythmic breathing of his brothers. He rounded the corner, and walked straight through the living room, into the kitchen.

He had planned on making coffee himself, as Onaha and Kyrano would not be up for awhile yet. So, as a result, he was surprised to find his father already in the kitchen, sitting at the counter on a stool. John walked over and poured himself a cup of coffee, sitting down on a stool next to his father. Jeff Tracy set down the newspaper he'd been reading, and turned towards the second son his wife had given him.

"John," he began, "what is it? We hardly talk anymore."

John took a sip of his coffee. "I realize that." He looked down into his cup, as though something might break through the surface of his coffee at any given moment.

Jeff sensed something deep was stirring inside his son. "Is there something you'd like to talk

about . . . ?" he pressed.

John bit his lip. He would have never dreamed of sharing this stuff with his father. But Lucy had long-since gone, and he wasn't getting any younger. "It's about a girl."

Jeff was startled. "You've met someone?" He didn't mean for it to sound like he was surprised, but it did.

John thought for a moment. "Okay, let me rephrase that: it's about lack of a girl."

His father seemed to get it now. "You shouldn't be worrying yourself about this, John. You're young, and there's plenty of time-"

"No there isn't!" John snapped all of the sudden. He stood up. "Dad, look at me!" His voice was almost tearful. "I'm twenty-six. By the time my younger brother gets married, I'll be twenty-seven. Three more years down the line, I'm thirty."

Jeff held up a hand. "Life doesn't end at thirty-"

"-I haven't made any effort! Look at me! I'm the only one of your sons who doesn't have someone, and what do I do with most of my time? I sit in space. Alone. Scott's a year older, and he's married. Virgil's a year younger, and he's engaged. And the other two? One may as well be engaged, and the other's making good progress."

"Stop it!" his father snapped back, standing up as well. He sighed, calming himself. "I know you're mad, John. It's not fair that you have to spend your time in space while the others stay down here. But someone has to do it. After the wedding, Tessa and Virgil have decided to spend their honeymoon on Thunderbird 5. You can spend that month in London, if you wish."

John could only blink for a moment. "Really?"

There were sounds of footsteps in the hall and livingroom behind them. "Of course. Now, let's get out of here, I think your brothers are up."

There was a large whooping noise.

"And judging by that, I'd say they discovered the mail came early."

–

"They're here! They're here! They're here! They're here! They're here!" Lana called, bouncing in the entrance to the living room, a large manilla envelope in her hands.

"Calm down, Lana," Scott said, laughing. He tried to hold her still, but there was no containing her excitement.

The rest of the family quickly emerged. First came Jeff and John from the kitchen . . . next Gordon . . . then Tin-Tin . . . and finally Virgil and Tess.

Lana turned to them all, unable to keep her excitement inside. "They're here! The wedding pictures finally came!"

Virgil blinked, still not fully awake. "Did it come with some coffee?" he asked hopefully.

"I'll go get us some," Tess responded, kissing him on the cheek. She was far more awake than Virgil as she walked towards the kitchen.

They all sat down on the furniture almost immediately. They'd been as anxious to see these pictures as Lana and Scott themselves.

Lana tore open the package, Scott sitting on the arm of her chair, looking over her shoulder. She pulled out a large stack of glossy pictures. "Oooh, Scott, you look so cute!" she laughed.

She passed around the pictures one-by-one. There were about three out when Tessa got back. She handed Virgil the coffee, and placed her own cup on the table, taking the picture of Scott. He looked very handsome in his suit, his hair just as spiked as ever.

She passed the picture on to Virgil, and took the next. "That's me coming down the aisle," Lana explained.

Tessa had never seen Lana in a dress before, and, frankly, it scared her a little. But, to be perfectly honest, Tessa hoped she'd look as beautiful on her own wedding day. Lana's hair was pulled back, and the strapless dress clung to her slender figure in all the right places. She stared at the picture a little longer before passing it on.

The next picture came to her then. It was of Lana and Scott saying their vows. Hand-in-hand, they were smiling at each other as Scott slipped the ring on her finger.

" . . . and this one is the kiss." Lana took another off the stack and passed it around.

When it got to Tessa, she looked at it for all of three seconds before giving it to Virgil, who did the same. Tessa was a relatively shy girl, and would rather not look at Scott kissing Lana.

"This was taken after the ceremony. This is Gordon and his 'friend' that he met. We would have rather had someone we knew, but we needed two witnesses, and were one short, so . . ." Scott took the photo, and passed it on to John.

As it made its way around the circle, Tessa waited. She smiled at Virgil, who seemed to share the same thought. I hope our wedding is just as beautiful.

Finally, Gordon passed the photo to her, looking bashful. Tessa took the picture, a grin on her face.

Gordon was adorable, with his lopsided grin and suit. And of course, the happy couple were beautiful. But Tessa's smile faded significantly when she saw the dark-haired girl standing beside Lana.

She dropped the picture as suddenly as if she'd been burned. Tess's heart raced. Her blood ran cold, and her breathing went shallow. Her hands began to shake as she raised them to her mouth, and she wanted to scream.

Virgil's eyes widened. "Tess? Tessa, are you okay!" he asked urgently.

The laughter stopped. All eyes were on Tess.

Her lip quivering, she pointed to the girl in the picture. "V-Virgil . . . Virgil, that girl is Mimosa Granger!"