A/N Heres my new story with my fantastic co-author H6p8gv...I'd like to thank him for all of his help and guidance with it...I hope that you all enjoy!
I don't own any of the characters except for the paramedics and shopkeeper who I made up......
Link and Tracy Larkin sat in front of Corny's desk. The host had a huge grin on his face as he looked at them. Tracy wore a checkered skirt and white blouse while Link wore a gray suit.
"Corny what's the news you wanted to share?" Link asked.
Tracy smiled already knowing what Corny was going to say.
"Well guys, I've asked Miss Von Tussle to marry me and she has accepted."
"Amber!? Corny that's great! Congratulations!" Link told him. He shook his hand.
"Congratulations!" Tracy added hugging him.
"Thanks you two but there's more." Corny said as Tracy sat down again. They both watched him curious as to what he'd say next.
"After Amber and I marry I want to take her to London for our honeymoon. I was thinking that we'd be gone for a month and I'm going to need someone to host the show for me."
"Trace is already your co-host so she'd be perfect for the job."
Tracy kissed his cheek as she twined her fingers with his.
Corny nodded. "Tracy will be here in my stead but I was wondering if you'd like to join her in hosting Link."
Link smiled. "That would be fun. I love working with the dancers when I show them new steps."
"Thank you, I really do appreciate you doing this," he told them.
"Of course," Tracy said.
Tracy and Link left soon after walking hand in hand to the car.
"Amber told you didn't she?"
Tracy nodded before kissing his lips lightly and sliding into the passenger seat. Link closed the door and walked around the car getting in front of the steering wheel.
Tracy looked over at him biting her lip. "Link."
"Yes Trace?" Link asked looking at her.
"I know that we are only twenty years old and married less than a year but Amber got me thinking the other day when she was telling me about Corny proposing."
He nodded urging her to go on.
"Well we began talking about families and kids. Link I know we've mentioned this before but do you want to have kids?"
"I do someday. We are still young, we have plenty of time."
Tracy nodded. "Do you want a boy or a girl?"
"I want both and I want our daughter to have gorgeous brown eyes just like her mother," Link answered smiling.
Tracy smiled back.
"What about you doll?"
"I want both too, but I want our son to have his father's handsome blue eyes."
The blue eyes that Tracy spoke about sparkled in the twilight. "We will have kids Trace, I promise."
"I know."
When they arrived home that night the phone immediately began to ring. Tracy picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Tracy hun why did you rush off after the show today?"
"Corny wanted to talk to both me and Link after the show."
"Oh?"
"He wants us to host the show while he goes on his honeymoon."
"Ah yes he's marrying Amber isn't he?"
"Yes and we told him that we'd be happy to host the show while he's gone."
"Sounds wonderful dear. I'm going to call Katie right now."
Tracy soon hung up with her mom before the phone rang again. It was Link's mom, Katie, and they talked for a few minutes before saying their goodnights.
A few days' later Tracy and Link had lunch with Penny and Seaweed. Penny had an incredibly goofy look upon her face.
"Tracy, Link we're engaged!" she exclaimed.
Tracy leapt up and hugged both of her friends.
"And we want you to be maid of honor and best man," Seaweed added.
"We'd love to," Tracy answered.
"You know we heard about Corny, Amber and the show," Penny said.
Link nodded. "We are excited."
"And they have asked us to be maid of honor and best man at their wedding too," Tracy added.
"Really? That's great. You'll know what to do when our wedding comes around," Penny said.
The months quickly passed as Corny and Amber's wedding arrived. Tracy and Link performed their duties well as they helped the bride and groom with preparations for the day. Penny, Seaweed, Shelley, IQ, Tammy, Lou Ann, and Brad finished the wedding party. The ceremony was short and soon they were declared Mr. and Mrs. Collins. The reception took place in the small ballroom at the hotel. When it was time for speeches, before the filet mignon course that Amber requested, Link stood and looked at the happy couple.
"Corny you have been my mentor for years and more than that you are my friend. And Amber I know we had our share of good times but we never had an ounce of what you have with Corny. I wish you all the happiness in the world."
"Thanks Link," they said in unison. Both had huge grins on their face.
Tracy stood up next and smiled at Corny and Amber. "Corny I'm forever grateful that you gave me a chance to dance on the show and for the job I have now. Amber I know that we haven't always gotten along but over the past few years you've become one of my closest friends. I only wish all the best for you two in the future."
Tracy hugged Corny and Amber. The rest of the evening went by with good food, dancing and the cake. When it was time for the bouquet to be thrown all the single girls lined up. Tammy caught the bouquet. Corny then threw the garter to all of the single men. IQ caught it. They were immediately ushered to a chair for pictures.
That night when Tracy and Link arrived home they fell back on the couch.
"That was a beautiful ceremony," she said smiling.
"Reminded me of ours," he added.
Tracy captured his lips in a sweet kiss. When they parted Link began massaging her shoulders. Tracy moaned happily. He placed kisses on her neck making her giggle as his hands kneaded her muscles. Tracy stood and motioned for Link to follow. He stood and she grabbed his hand. Together they walked up the stairs to their bedroom. Link helped Tracy out of her dress kissing her shoulder and down her back as he slid the zipper down. She in turn helped him take off his shirt and slacks. She kissed along his jaw line. He emitted a quiet purring sound as they removed the rest of their clothes. They then swiftly moved onto the bed and under the covers. She was atop of him as she continued kissing down his neck and chest. He cupped her cheek making her look at him before seizing her lips. His tongue grazed her bottom lip and she eagerly gave him entrance. Without breaking the kiss he turned her over so that he was on top. He nibbled on her ears receiving a whimper from Tracy before capturing her lips again. Next he trailing kisses down to her neck where he lingered nibbling it. She giggled at the feeling. Content with her reaction he moved down to her breasts where he nibbled on her soft flesh gaining a whimper from her. He then placed butterfly kisses from her ears to her chin and back.
"Oh Linky," she said.
Link grinned as he kissed her lips again in a French kiss as he reached for a condom. Once satiated they fell asleep in each others arms.
A couple days later it was time to host their first show together. Tracy nervously fingered her heart pendant that Link had bought her for her birthday. She felt a pair of arms encircle her waist. She smiled as she leaned back against his chest.
Link kissed her cheek. "You'll be fine doll."
"I know I've danced on camera and assisted Corny before but I never actually hosted a show by myself."
"You won't be by yourself. I'll be right besides you," Link said.
Tracy leaned her head back so she could kiss him. "Thank you."
He grinned. "Anything for you Trace."
They took their places at the podium as the dancers stood in their spots. The music was cued and everyone sang the opening number.
"Welcome to the Corny Collins Show. As you can see I'm not Corny," Tracy said smiling into the camera.
"But he's off on his honeymoon so Link and I will be taking over for him until he gets back."
Link grinned. "That's right Tracy and today we have a brand new dance that our very own Inez Stubbs and Mark Gates will show you."
Inez and Mark stepped forward. He was a red haired and freckled faced boy who was the same age as Inez "You know the dance would look even better if two of the shows legendary dancers would come join us," Inez said smiling at Link and Tracy.
"Legendary huh?" Link asked.
Tracy rolled her eyes. "Link you know you are a great dancer."
"So are you Trace."
Mark rolled his eyes. "So will you two join us?"
"Of course," Link said. Tracy nodded.
The rest of the show went bye in a similar manner. Tracy and Link would dance besides the others during some of the songs along with performing their hosting duties. Over the next week the shows went by pretty much the same. Tracy and Link would host and sometimes dance along with the others.
"Well Trace we've received letters and calls asking us about Penny, Brad, Noreen, Doreen, Seaweed and the others. Should we give our audience an update on our friends?"
She nodded. "Lets I'm sure you're all wondering what happened to your favorite council members."
"Or your older sisters and brothers," Link added wanting to include those fans that were the same age as they were.
"Penny and Seaweed are engaged. She works at a boutique while he teaches a dance class at the University of Maryland. She's also taking fashion classes," Tracy said smiling.
"Noreen and Doreen are at the University of Maryland as well along with IQ and Brad. IQ wants to be a teacher and Brad is thinking about theater. They are all taking Seaweed's class which is strange yet funny at the same time," Link continued.
Tracy took the microphone from Link. "And IQ is engaged to Tammy. She has her own dance studio and IQ helps out when he doesn't have class. Fender and Brenda are married. Brenda takes care of their son while Fender works for the radio station."
"Shelley's on Broadway with Mikey. They each have a part in the same show. Darla and Paulie are dating. They are both attending Georgetown. Joey and Jesse headed to California. Vicki, Lou Ann and Sketch are studying at NYC. And last but not least Becky and Bix are working at our sister station," Link ended.
Tracy kissed his cheek. "Aren't we forgetting about Janetta, Skillet and the rest of the gang?"
"Oh yeah. Janetta and Skillet are working with Maybelle. Rhonda, Pearl, Jermaine and Duane went to California to find fame," he said.
"Maybe they'll see Joey and Jesse. Stooie and Little Mo are working at the radio station along with Fender," Tracy added.
The Monday following their first week Tracy and Link got ready to head to the studio. Tracy dressed in a light blue long sleeved dress while Link wore a nice blue suit that complemented his eyes. He helped her into her winter coat before putting his on and twining hands as they walked out the door. Link had opened the door for her when they reached the car. She gave him a soft kiss on the lips before sliding inside. He then walked around and got in the driver's side as a few snowflakes started falling from the sky. As they drove to the studio the snow started falling faster and with more frequency.
Tracy's eyes lit up with excitement as she gazed out the window. "If we get enough snow we can build snowmen and make snow angels later!"
Link chuckled at her enthusiasm. "We can have a snow ball fight too."
"Maybe Seaweed and Penny can join us?"
"I'm sure they would Trace."
Before Tracy could answer, a green truck t-boned their car on the passenger's side. Glass from the door flew around as Tracy and Link were forced towards the dash and back to their seats. Ignoring the small cuts on his hand and face, Link looked to Tracy. She lay so still with her head tilted towards her right shoulder and eyes closed. Her face was extremely pale. The truck had sped off down the road.
"Trace?" he said.
He rubbed her shoulder and kissed her neck hoping to receive a giggle or any response from her. He frowned as she stayed silent.
"Trace!! Lil Darlin!! Wake up!!" he said more forcefully though his voice cracked a bit.
He saw that her leg was pinned under the dash. He looked to his door and tried to open it. It didn't want to at first but after some coaxing it did. Link looked up to see a portly shopkeeper across the street. His eyes were wide as he ran back into his shop.
"I hope he's calling for help," Link said as he stumbled out of the car. He walked as fast as he could to Tracy's side and tried to wretch her door open. It didn't budge. He noticed that she had a bunch of cuts on her head, arms, hands and legs. Blood stained her dress.
"Trace please wake up, help will be here soon and we'll go to the hospital and…"
Link heard two ambulances drive up. Two paramedics ran to his side.
"What happened?" the taller dark haired one asked.
"A car hit us and my wife is unconscious," Link said quickly.
"We'll get her out, what's her name?" the shorter blonde haired one asked.
"Tracy, Tracy Larkin."
"Tracy can you hear me, my name is Jason and I'm going to get you out of here," the taller one said. He received no response.
"You should go get looked after too," the shorter one said.
"Stan can you come over here and take care of this young man," he added talking to another paramedic that was a few feet away.
"Sure Craig," he answered.
Stan, a husky brown haired guy, came over and looked at Link. "Let's get you on a stretcher so we can have you checked out at the hospital."
Link shook his head. "I want to stay with my wife."
"Sir you could have a concussion or other injuries. It'd be better if you get looked at," Stan told him.
"We'll take good care of your wife," Jason added.
It took a few minutes but Link finally agreed. They led him to a stretcher and he laid on it. They put a neck brace on him for precautions as part of their procedure and started towards one of the ambulances. Out of the corner of his eye Link saw that they had gotten Tracy out and she was lying on her own stretcher with a neck brace and leg brace on both of her legs being loaded into the other ambulance. Craig was standing over her with a flashlight, shining it in her eyes.
"Trace! Is she going to be alright!?" he shouted towards Craig and Jason. The last thing he saw before the insides of the ambulance was Tracy's still form being loaded into the other one.
TBC....