A/N #1: I can only apologise for the length of time it's taken to write the last chapter. Writer's Block absolutely kicked in after Chapter Twenty-Seven, and for the longest time I genuinely didn't even care whether or not I ever wrote anything again. I tried reposting an old fic to see if that'd help me get back into the swing of posting stuff. It didn't. And then when my Writer's Block lifted all I wanted to do was write this chapter, and I did work through a couple of possibilities - but the problem for me was this: Rachel and Gordon's relationship so far has been entirely unconventional. To give them a fairytale ending would totally ruin the rest of the story. But how the hell do you give a couple the right ending without giving them a perfect ending? Do you see my problem?! Still, this is their ending. It's not conventionally perfect. But, for me, it is absolutely Gorchel. I really hope you enjoy it and that it's the kind of ending you'd want for these two idiots as well - and my apologies again for the length of time it's taken to write the flippin' thing. Final chapters are the worst.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The End

After discussing the idea between themselves for another couple of hours, they decided to not wait to organise a wedding that would inevitably be postponed five or six times depending on when Gordon was called out for a rescue or when Rachel got paranoid and chickened out - or when one or both of the twins got sick. They got married the next day by the hospital Chaplain. Gordon had spent the previous afternoon shopping and bought himself a suit and Rachel had asked him to buy her a dress. As she had pointed out - getting married in a hospital gown was probably not the most glamorous of ways to go about it.

"You sure it isn't bad luck if I see your dress before the ceremony?" he had asked. She rolled her eyes. "I'm a mighty sailin' man, I'm incurably superstitious, you should know this already!" he protested. She smiled fondly at him, ran her fingers through his hair and shook her head.

"Danny didn't see my dress before we got married, and look how that turned out!" she said. "Besides, there's not really any other practical way around it." Gordon shrugged.

"Good point."

"NO!" Mark had shrieked, bursting through the door to Rachel's room. "I couldn't help overhearing, darling - mainly because I was eavesdropping. But no. There are some traditions that we must adhere to. Listen, Kiddo, you go and buy yourself a suit, and I will take care of your wife to be. Go on. Go. Shoo," he insisted, physically pushing Gordon out of the room before he had chance to argue or to protest at being called 'Kiddo'.

"Smooth," Rachel said, raising an eyebrow. Mark grinned.

"You can't let a straight man be in charge of dressing you for your wedding," he said. Rachel shrugged. She had to admit, if Gordon had been left in charge he would have bought something entirely inappropriate, like a dress three sizes too small or a bikini, snorkel and flippers. "Leave everything with me, Rach."

"Least stressful wedding ever - all I have to do is turn up!" she said with a grin. Mark nodded.

"You just make sure you do turn up," he said, giving her a stern look. "You can't leave that poor boy hanging. No matter how scared you are."

Rachel, of course, had no means of escape, and neither the energy nor the inclination to do so - so the following afternoon they were married. Rachel wore a red dress that Mark assured her was "sexy without making you look like a prostitute". Gordon wore a grey Prada suit and made Rachel and Mark both forget what day it was when they saw him. Mark gave her away, and Jeff was the other witness. It was a very small, very understated occasion, just the way Rachel and Gordon would have wanted it, even if they had had all the time in the world to plan their day.

The practicalities of moving Rachel's entire life from London to Tracy Island on no notice were such that she ended up staying in London for two months to pack her things, sell half of her belongings, attempt to adjust to motherhood - with limited success - and move out of her apartment. Eventually, she packed up her clothes, her other possessions, and her children, kissed Mark goodbye at the airport and set off for a new life the other side of the world. It was the right thing to do, of course. It was the only logical thing to do. Gordon wasn't likely to leave International Rescue and Tracy Island to share a one-bedroom flat in Muswell Hill. It would make commuting for rescues pretty difficult, for a start.

All Rachel had was a full-time job that she had loved and held down for fifteen years, a one-bedroom flat in Muswell Hill that she loved, a best friend that was more of a brother than a friend, and an entire life that she had made, completely devoid of either Gordon or any potential children, that was now little more than a memory to her. The only sensible option was that she sacrifice her life to be with him. Of course it was. It would be selfish of her to expect him to give up his life to be with her. This was the way that it had to be if they were going to be together. She swallowed hard.

"Nobody said it was going to be easy," she muttered to herself. She looked down at the twins and smiled. "We're going to see Daddy now. You'll have to say goodbye to London. I had hoped that you'd grow up without American accents but I suppose it can't be helped. You'll never know what standing at bus stops on cold winter days feels like, or takeaway pizza at three a.m. when you can already feel tomorrow's hangover coming on. Well. Obviously you won't know about that for years yet, you're only two months old. I'm talking to myself again. They're babies, Rachel, they haven't got a bloody clue what you're saying!" she scolded herself, exasperated. A woman sat behind her chuckled and reached forward to tap her on the shoulder.

"New mother?" she asked. Rachel turned around and looked at her.

"Was it the giant bags under my eyes or complete lack of ability to interact with my own children that gave it away?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. The woman smiled.

"It gets better, love. Promise. Been there, done that. Felt just as stupid as you do right now. You're not alone," the woman replied. Rachel beamed at her.

"That's actually the most reassuring thing anyone's ever said to me," she answered. "Anyway. We're moving to America," she said. "My husband lives out there. My father-in-law's picking us up from the airport," she added. It was the first time she'd referred to Gordon as her husband and she liked the way it sounded.

After what felt like an eternity Rachel, Eric and Ariel finally arrived at Tracy Island. Mrs Tracy had put a huge spread on for their arrival, Rachel had never seen so much food in her entire life. She had barely walked through the front door before Tin-Tin rushed to her and began squeezing the life out of her.

"Where are the twins?" she demanded. Rachel gestured vaguely behind her.

"I think Gordon's Dad has them. One of the Tracy boys, anyway. A tall man with very blue eyes took them off me. They're somewhere. They'll cry any moment now, they've not eaten for about ten minutes! Typical Tracys!" she answered, squeezing Tin-Tin back.

"Welcome home, sweetie," a voice said behind her. She turned around and let out a squeal of delight when she saw Gordon leaning against the doorway.

"I know I'm home now," she told him, throwing her arms around him and hugging him tightly. "I've missed you."

"You don't ever have to miss me again, Mrs Tracy. That's a promise."

"Shut the fuck up and kiss me," she whispered, pulling him towards her.

"You kiss your mother with that mouth?" he muttered.

"No, but wait till you find out what I do to my husband with it," she answered with a dirty giggle. He tightened his grip around her waist and kissed her again. "I brought you two very cute presents."

"You're gonna have to be more specific," he said, looking at her chest. She slapped his stomach playfully.

"I think your grandmother's taken charge of the twins and I know they've missed you like crazy. You'll never believe how much they've grown. Eric looks like my dad, which is really weird," she said. Gordon's face lit up like Christmas as he released his grasp on Rachel and headed off to find his children. She watched him scampering away and shook her head. It almost felt as though they'd never been apart.

Of course, the excitement of Rachel's initial arrival to Tracy Island quickly wore off and the day to day aspects of being a 'silent' member of International Rescue, a newly-married woman adjusting to life in an entirely different part of the word at the same time as adjusting to motherhood quickly took their toll on Rachel's cheerful mood.

There had been an unprecedented influx of rescues and call-outs in the first four months after Rachel arrived on the Island. The house that Gordon had promised and Brains had designed was in the process of being built, but as with everything on the Island, rescues always took priority. Rachel expected nothing less, however, it didn't mean that she didn't get fed up when she had finally managed to get one twin to sleep and Thunderbird One blasted off outside their bedroom, frightening the hell out of all three of them at once, and setting all three of them off crying on more than one occasion. On several nights she had waited up until three in the morning for Gordon to come home. At first she worried that he would be cold and distant towards her after returning from a rescue as he had been before, but now that she knew about International Rescue and there was nothing to hide, she found that Gordon was more affectionate and tactile. He usually came home and sat watching Ariel and Eric sleep for the longest time, until he fell asleep in a chair himself and Rachel had to wake him up to go to bed. It seemed as though the twins knew when she had just fallen asleep, because it always seemed to coincide with them waking up and demanding attention. After a while she didn't trust herself to fall asleep at all because she knew she'd only have to wake up again a few minutes later.

Everyone else was already adjusted to life on the Island. Rachel felt in the way of the Tracys on a constant basis, even though they never felt that way about her. She hated feeling as though she needed to ask for coffee in the morning, or ask permission to make herself some lunch in the kitchen - or tell someone if she was going for a walk around the Island whilst the twins slept. Everyone seemed to have a job to do on the Island except for her. Tin-Tin was the Assistant Engineer to Brains, who was literally the most amazing human Rachel had ever met. Mrs Tracy was the family matriarch and there was nothing anyone could even do to question that. Kyrano was Jeff Tracy's aide, butler, confidant and Personal Assistant all in one person. Rachel didn't really know what she was supposed to do except bring up her children, which didn't really seem fair. Whenever she asked about helping out International Rescue in a practical way, everyone just smiled and shook their heads, and told her that she was doing enough already. Even after four months she felt as though everyone was still being polite around her, which made her feel completely uneasy. She had neither the heart nor the brain capacity to talk to any of the Tracys about it because she was afraid of sounding ungrateful.

One evening she decided to call Mark. Gordon was on a rescue and the twins had finally fallen asleep after the thirtieth rendition of the theme tune to Phineas and Ferb. It sounded so comforting just to hear a British ringing tone that Rachel was in tears by the time Mark picked up the call.

"What the hell is the matter?" he demanded.

"I want to go home," she sobbed.

"Darling, you are home."

"I'm not. I want to go back to the flat and get Chinese and wine with you and watch crappy films and laugh all night," she argued. He sighed.

"Are they being mean?" he asked.

"No, everyone's lovely," she answered honestly. "And I love being married. I'm just not very good at being in a family."

"Have you slept?"

"Not much."

"When did you last have a full night's sleep?"

"About four months ago," she answered in a small voice. Mark sighed again.

"I'll try and get a flight out in the next couple of months. Just sit tight and try to get some sleep. Promise me?" he said.

"I'll try."

"I miss you, Rach. Don't make me worry about you on top of it," he said. "Night-night, love. Love you lots."

"Love you too," she answered, shakily, as she heard Mark disconnect the call. She checked on the twins who were, for once, fast asleep, and decided to walk around the Villa, just to see four different walls. She found herself eventually in the sick bay, and she had no idea how she found it or where her bedroom was in relation to the sick bay. She sat on one of the beds and looked around, wondering what had gone on in here and which of the boys was in here most often. Scott, she imagined. He'd go in with a broken rib and sit there wincing, but trying to make out as though it was just a bruise. She shook her head and chuckled. She had no idea how Tin-Tin managed to cope with Scott going on all the rescues. Gordon was left out of quite a few, it always seemed to be Scott and Virgil who went out. She didn't know exactly how it worked but she supposed there were fewer sea-oriented rescues than other types of rescues.

Rachel didn't even feel especially sad, but she was so exhausted and homesick and missed Gordon so much that when she finally heard the sound of a woman breaking her heart crying, it took her a few moments to realise that it was her who was crying. She was just glad that she was right the other side of the Villa from anyone else in the house so nobody could hear her. At least, that's what she had hoped.

"I thought I heard something," a voice said. She looked up and felt completely embarrassed by the fact her father-in-law was looking down at her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you," she said, standing up. He placed a hand gently on her shoulder and shook his head.

"Who's disturbed?" he asked, smiling kindly. "Has Gordon upset you?"

"What? No! He's lovely. I'm a lucky girl."

"He's a lucky guy," Jeff said. Rachel blushed slightly. "And you don't have to pretend with me. I'm his Dad. I know what an asswipe he can be when he puts his mind to it."

"So do I, but honestly, since I got here he has been nothing but perfect to me," Rachel assured him. Jeff shrugged.

"You want to go somewhere less depressing?" he asked. "I've got a bottle of bourbon in my office we could do some damage to while we're waiting for the boys to come home?" he suggested. She shook her head.

"No... depressing is pretty apt for the moment, thanks," she answered with a sad smile. Jeff paused for a moment before sitting down.

"You mind if I stick around?"

"I'm sure you've got better things to do than sit around watching me sob for no apparent reason at two o'clock in the morning," she answered.

"Rachel, let me tell you two things. First, when you get to my age and have five kids and two international organisations to run - sleep becomes something of an optional extra. Second, I think I've known you long enough now to know that you aren't the kind of girl to do anything for no apparent reason. Especially sobbing."

"Maybe so on the second point. On the first point, I totally hear you. All I have are two children and at the moment I don't think I'm ever going to sleep again."

"You'll sleep again. Soon as puberty kicks in, you'll have to prise 'em outta bed with a crowbar."

"Great. Thirteen years of enforced insomnia," she said, dryly. Jeff chuckled.

"It's not that bad. Although it was eight years ago that Alan stopped getting up at four a.m. to watch cartoons every day, so maybe my memory's a bit hazy. And I never had to deal with twins." He paused and studied Rachel's face for a few moments. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"Are you happy here?"

Rachel looked back at him silently for a few moments, choosing her words carefully before she spoke. "I have no right to be unhappy. I'm living on a paradise island with a family who has been nothing but kind and shown nothing but love to me. I'm the mother of the two most gorgeous children to have ever walked God's green earth, and I'm married to the man of my dreams," she said, flushing slightly as she finished her sentence. Jeff smiled. "I mean it, Jeff. I know I've been married before - but I swear to God, if I've learned one thing, it's that before I met Gordon I'd never been in love before."

"But?"

"But I live on a paradise island thousands of miles from England. The man I married comes from a family with more money than God - yet we've never had time or opportunity for a honeymoon." She stopped herself and blushed, worried that Jeff would think she was complaining at the lack of money foisted in her general direction, when that wasn't the problem at all. "Not that I mind that - but it'd be so nice for us to just... y'know... just spend some time together, away from everything."

"Your house will be finished soon," Jeff reminded her. Rachel nodded.

"I know that and I know when that's done, that'll help a lot. And a lot of this is just that I'm so used to being on my own that being part of a huge family is really overwhelming and I can't get used to it. But when Gordon and I aren't tied up with the basic act of being parents, he's off on a rescue - who knows where, who knows what the conditions are - and who knows if I'll ever see him again. I'm constantly worried sick about him."

"Is it just Gordon that worries you?" Jeff asked, raising an eyebrow. She shook her head.

"I'm, like, the least maternal mother in history. I have no idea what the hell I'm doing. I'm thirty-seven years old next week and I feel like I'm the most stupid idiot ever because I don't know how to be a mother. It's like two absolute strangers have arrived in my world, and they speak a completely different language to me, and they always, always want something, but I never know what it is, and then when I get it wrong they cry - which is the only word they know, I know that - and it isn't their fault. But I worry I'm failing them both already and I don't know what to do. I miss working for a living. I feel like I'm just useless here, taking up space that I don't deserve and I haven't earned. I miss London. I miss Mark. But most of all, I really miss my husband - we've barely had one intelligent, grown-up conversation with each other since we got married, and when we do finally spend any time together, we're always so knackered that we just fall into bed and fast asleep until the twins wake up. I know this sounds stupid, but I really really just feel so old. And I worry that I'm making Gordon old before he's ready."

"It's like you got everything you ever wanted but you never knew it'd hurt this much, right?" Jeff asked. Rachel stared at him in disbelief. That was exactly what it was like. She was sure he'd fallen asleep or hadn't bothered listening through most of her tirade. If she was honest she was so tired she wasn't even sure that any of it had made any sense.

"Absobloodylutely," she answered. Jeff pursed his lips, furrowed his brow and nodded.

"I'm gonna make a suggestion. No. Make that an order. Sleep in here tonight," he said. Rachel frowned.

"But what about-" she began, but was interrupted by Jeff raising an index finger to stop her.

"Ah-ah-ah! Sleep," he said, pointing to the bed. "You need it. I'm not taking no for an answer. I'll take care of the twins. It'll be a pleasure, I don't get to spend nearly enough time with them. Gordon is now off-duty for the next three days. You're right. He's so exhausted at the moment that he's gonna end up being a liability on rescues. Between the six of us we'll take care of Eric and Ariel for the next couple days, just to give you both a bit of space. It's the only sensible thing to do. I don't care if we don't see you until dinnertime tomorrow. You both rest and you rest now."

"Wow, you can really get stern when you put your mind to it," Rachel said, impressed. She was just glad Mark wasn't with her, he would have fainted into a dead swoon. Jeff's steel-blue eyes twinkled as he smiled.

"I'll let you into a secret," he said. "Everyone thinks I'm stern all the time." Rachel beamed at him and squeezed his arm affectionately.

"Then I won't tell anyone you're secretly a pussycat," she promised with a wink. "Thanks. I really appreciate it."

"Well, if a man with more money than God can't take care of his favourite daughter-in-law now and again, then he's not much of a man," Jeff answered, returning her wink. "And, Rach?"

"Yeah?"

"About the other stuff. You just leave it with me. I'll see what I can do. Tracy Enterprises can always use a good secretary. Flexible hours, work-from-home options. We could come to some sort of an arrangement, if you're good enough for the job."

"Doesn't that smack of nepotism?" she asked, warily. He shook his head.

"Whether you get a job or not depends on you and the positions available. I only employ people who know what they're doing," he said.

"Thank you. That'd be great. Wish there was something I could do in return," she answered. He nodded.

"Get back to bed," he ordered. "You're no good to any of us if we've got to take care of a woman with nervous exhaustion," he told her. She grinned and wordlessly slipped between the blankets of the bed. Before Jeff had even left the room, she had fallen fast asleep.

When she woke up some time later that morning, it took her a while to remember where she was. Luckily Gordon was sat on the bed opposite her, swinging his legs back and forth impatiently.

"I thought you'd never wake up!" he said. "Come on, we've not got all day, lady!" She sat up and frowned.

"What's going on? Are the twins okay?" she asked in a squeaky mumble. He nodded.

"Absolutely fine. Dad's given me three days' leave and they've set us up a room in John's observatory. Just you and me and no being woken up in the middle of the night by screaming kids for two whole nights! Tell me that doesn't sound great!" Rachel smiled at him.

"Your Dad talked to me last night. Sounds like he's been busy fixing everything... Like magic," she said, before yawning and stretching. He nodded.

"It gets better. He called Mark this morning to invite him to the Island for a week!" he said. Rachel's face lit up.

"You mean it?" she asked. Gordon nodded again, grinning madly. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. For the first time since she had arrived on the Island, she finally felt as though things were finally starting to fall into place.

The rest of the day passed slowly and peacefully. They took a picnic to the other side of the Island in the late afternoon and watched the sunset together while they shared a bottle of champagne. It had been the first time they'd had the chance to do anything like that since they'd been married. Eventually the temperature dropped too much to stay outside so they decided to head to the observatory for the night. Rachel could see Tin-Tin's hand in the decoration of the room, all dim lights and soft cushions and the closest thing to 'romantic' that Rachel could bear, as well as Mrs Tracy's insistence on feeding the two of them up with a lovely candlelit supper laid out for them on a small dining table. As she looked more closely she was delighted to discover that the supper consisted of beer and pizza.

"Wow," she whispered, almost too afraid to speak any louder in case it was all just a dream. "This is gorgeous!" Gordon cupped her face in his hands and kissed her.

"I like this being married shit," he said, wrapping his arms around her. She burst out laughing.

"It often amazes me that you never decided to become a poet," she answered, sarcastically. "I quite like it too. But only when it's with you."

"Oh yeah, sure. Same. Totally. With you," he agreed. "And the twins are pretty awesome too, right?"

"They're adorable. Jesus Christ, we make cute children, don't we?" she said. Gordon nodded and tightened his grip on her.

"Never, ever, ever again. Promise me. No more. Two is plenty. I'm not my Dad, I'm don't want an entire baseball team. I'm getting a vasectomy for my birthday just in case," he said. She laughed again and nodded her agreement.

"It's a deal!" she answered, kissing him softly. She took hold of his hand and started backing slowly back towards their bedroom.

"What about supper?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Forget it."

"What are we doing?" he asked, his eyes glinting in the dim light.

"Oh, I think you know what I want to do, Mr Tracy," she said, meaningfully. He grinned.

"If you mean what I think you mean..."

They stood and looked into each others' eyes for a few moments before nodding decisively.

"Sleep!" they declared, falling into bed and promptly bursting into fits of uncontrollable laughter.

THE END

A/N #2: That's it! Thank you so so so much to everyone who's read this the whole way through, and put up with the fact I've been as rubbish as predicted when it comes to updating. Extra special thanks to everyone who's bothered reviewing, whether it was one word on one chapter or a bigger review on every chapter - I just love you to bits for taking time out to let me know what you think. I can't even begin to tell you how much I appreciate knowing that you've enjoyed reading almost as much as I've enjoyed writing this story. Pretty dashed sure I could never have finished without your encouragement/kicks up the bum when needed. There are some I'd like to mention specifically, but there are simply too many of you for that - so I just hope you all know who you are. I owe people oneshots for being the 100th and 200th reviewers to the story, and I'll be back with those at some point, but in the meantime, thanks again for sticking with me on this, you're all wonderful and I love you!