Just a quick one whilst I'm working on the follow-up to 'Broken'. Hope you like it.

"This is the life!" Gordon announced, shuffling to get even more comfortable in his seat before knocking back the remainder of his drink and waving at a passing waitress for a refill.

"Certainly is, " Virgil agreed, mirroring his brother's actions. "You know, I wouldn't give up the day job for the world and I certainly wouldn't want to work for Tracy Industries full-time, but the occasional business trip... I can deal with that."

Gordon grinned and clinked his glass against his brother's. "Especially when the business trip just happens to involve visiting a client in Las Vegas..."

"Which explains why you decided to tag along," Virgil said. "Dad was so pleased you were showing an interest in the company for once - until he remembered where the meeting was."

Gordon just smiled. "Thought it was about time I pulled my weight."

"If you call flirting with the secretary while I handled everything else 'pulling your weight', then yes, great job, Gords," Virgil agreed.

"You were doing just fine by yourself," Gordon said. "I'd only have been in the way. Anyway, it always pays to get in with the secretarial staff - you never know when you might need a bit of inside information."

"Didn't work though, did it"? Virgil said. "I mean, she's not here. You're losing your touch, Gords."

"No, well, it turns out I'm not the first Tracy to turn on the charm with her. Seems I've found Johnny's mystery lady."

"Really?" Virgil leaned forward, keen to learn more. He well-remembered the time a few months ago when John, in a rare assignment for Tracy Industries, had travelled to Las Vegas to open negotiations. He'd made an official call back to the island to report his success to his father, but then, in a move he'd later regretted, had put in a second, private, call to his brothers to announce his success in finding himself a date for the evening.

Gordon had never been one to turn down the opportunity of teasing a brother and so had decided to call John every half an hour or so via his watch. If it had been a simple phone call, John would have ignored it, but International Rescue business was never something to take lightly, even when he was 99% sure it was just his brother being annoying, and so he'd been forced to abandon his date for several minutes at a time whilst he found a quiet place to take the call. When his watch had vibrated for a fifth time he'd lost patience, storming outside and letting rip with a blistering verbal onslaught, making it quite clear what he thought of the person who was ruining the first chance he'd had in a long while of spending a little quality time with a woman. When the person on the other end of the line turned out to be his grandmother - knowing John was ready to explode if he received one more interruption, Gordon had gone to her to say that he thought there was something up with his brother and that she might like to put in a call to see if she could help - John's embarrassment was only slightly more acute than that of the old woman. Gordon, of course, had found the whole thing hilarious.

"Poor old Johnny," Gordon said, in a tone that conveyed not the slightest hint of sympathy. "He doesn't know how to take a joke."

"Gordon," Virgil said suddenly, leaning in close to his brother and fixing his most intimidating stare on him.

"Yeah?"

"I can take a joke, but try anything like that with me tonight and you'll regret it."

"Virg, I'm in Las Vegas. One night only. You think I'll be worrying about you tonight?"

Virgil sat back, not entirely convinced. "You'd better not," he glowered. Then, as the lights went down and the band began to play, he turned away from his brother to face the stage.

"Ah," Gordon said, leaning in to his brother to make himself heard over the music. "So that's why you were so keen to come. Or is it just a coincidence that we end up in the same place where your old friend Amy is performing?"

Virgil smiled. "No coincidence, Gords. Just perfect timing."

Gordon couldn't help but feel envious of his brother, especially given the sultry looks the singer was shooting him every so often.

"No wonder you don't want any distractions tonight," he said. "So are you abandoning me once the show's over?"

"Of course not," Virgil said, somewhat affronted. "Amy's bringing a friend along."

"A friend?"

"Yeah. One of the dancers. She's not the brightest, apparently, but I didn't think you'd mind."

"Not at all. If I wanted intelligent conversation I'd have stayed on the island and spent the evening with Brains."

Virgil watched as his brother finished yet another drink. "Carry on like that and you won't be capable of carrying on any kind of conversation. Or doing anything else."

Gordon just rolled his eyes before turning his attention back to the girls on the stage. "Which one?"

"I don't know," Virgil said. "I don't think I'd be able to tell even if I did. They all look the same."

Gordon had to admit that was true. Not that he cared. He nudged his brother with his elbow. "You know something?"

"What?"

"Dad might not approve of Amy's dress sense, but right now she looks overdressed compared to those other girls."

"Mmm." Truth be told, Virgil had barely given the dancers more than a passing glance. Still, he'd known Gordon would be happy and that was the most important thing.

When the show was over the brothers waited for their dates to appear. Virgil had been right when he'd said that all the dancers had looked the same on stage, but now, still heavily made-up but devoid of the dazzling bejewelled and feathered headdress and dressed not in a bikini but in a short, tight, red dress, blonde hair - probably not all her own - tumbling down her back, Gordon got the chance to appraise the girl for the first time. He had to admit he approved of Amy's choice. Darla was absolutely perfect. Not the kind of girl he'd want to take home to meet his grandmother, but as a companion for one wild night in Las Vegas, she more than fitted the bill.

"Hi, I'm Gordon," he said, dazzling her with his most winning smile before leaning over to kiss her cheek.

"Hi, Gordon. I'm so excited to meet you."

Gordon was drunk enough to find her high-pitched, breathy voice a turn-on. This was definitely going to be a night to remember, he thought.

"And that's your brother?" Darla asked, gesturing across to where Virgil was locked in an embrace with Amy.

Gordon waved dismissively at Virgil. "Yeah, but don't bother about him. He's dull. I'm much more fun."

Darla giggled as she sat down next to him. " I hope so. I like having fun." She leaned in extra-close to make herself heard over the music. "Amy's been talking about Virgil all day. She doesn't think he's dull."

"Did she say anything about me?"

"Well, she told me you won gold at the Olympics."

Gordon couldn't help preening a little. "That I did. You interested in swimming?"

Darla fluttered her thickly mascara-ed lashes at him. "No... but I like to see the guys in those little shorts."

Gordon laughed. "Well, it might be a few years since I've swum competitively, but I'd like to think I could give today's guys a run for their money - on all levels."

Darla giggled again. "Maybe I should be the judge of that..."

Perfect, Gordon thought - the night was going to go exactly the way he'd hoped.

It was certainly a good night. Drinking, dancing, more drinking... But eventually it became clear that Virgil wanted to make the most of his time with Amy. Gordon wasn't surprised when his brother tapped him on the shoulder and asked if he'd mind if he took off.

"Surprised you lasted this long," Gordon slurred. He'd reached the stage where he thought he should probably ease off on the alcohol, but he was just having too good a time to be sensible. Tomorrow would arrive all too soon and he'd be on his way home to face who-knew-what the next time International Rescue were called out. He needed this. So did Virgil. He suddenly felt guilty for spoiling John's night all those weeks ago. He'd apologise, he decided - if he remembered...

"You okay?" Virgil asked, wondering why his brother had gone so quiet. But Gordon just laughed and clapped him on the back.

"Virg, I'm in Vegas with a showgirl. How could I not be okay?"

Virgil wasn't entirely convinced, but out of the corner of his eye he could see Amy waiting by the exit and he really did want to be on his way. Anyway, if any of his brothers was used to being in a situation like this, it was Gordon.

"Well, just be careful," he said. "Don't do anything stupid."

Gordon rolled his eyes. "As if I would. I don't think we'll stay much longer anyway. You going back to the hotel?"

"No, Amy's place. I'll call you in the morning."

"Not too early, Virg." Gordon winked at his brother then grinned. "We don't have to be back on the island till dinner and I plan to make the most of every second I've got in this place."

He watched his brother and Amy make their way out of the club then turned back to Darla. "More champagne?" he asked.

As he'd expected, she squealed enthusiastically and snuggled closer.

Gordon gave a contented sigh. Life certainly didn't get any better than this...

The sun making its way through the not-quite-closed curtains woke Gordon. He wished it hadn't - he couldn't remember the last time he'd had a hangover like this. Since Brains had invented something which negated the effects of alcohol, he'd never needed to suffer the after-effects of a good night out. Had he really had so much to drink that the drug hadn't been able to do its job? But now he came to think about it, he couldn't recall actually taking it. Then again, he couldn't remember much about a lot of things from last night. In fact, the last thing he remembered clearly was Virgil leaving.

A movement next to him made him turn his head - not a pleasant experience given the waves of pain the movement set off. It was no surprise to see Darla lying there, but he couldn't help regretting that he had no memory of the night they'd spent together. He hoped he hadn't disgraced himself, but the fact that she hadn't walked out on him suggested that she was happy enough with the way things had turned out.

Slipping out of the bed slowly and carefully - partly so as not to wake Darla but mainly to avoid making his head pound even more, he made his way to the bathroom and gulped down some water.

He felt a little better after a shower, though the sight of his reflection in the mirror wasn't pretty. He'd definitely overdone it, he thought. Still, if you couldn't take advantage of a night in Las Vegas, what was the point of going there? Virgil had had the right idea, he thought, getting out of the club early enough to avoid being hit with a killer hangover. He could just picture how his brother would look when they met up again: bright-eyed and pleased with himself after a night he'd definitely be able to remember. Gordon thought he'd have to invent a few details, just to save face.

Making his way back into the bedroom, he slipped a hand into his bag and pulled out Brains' drug. Sure enough, the bottle was full and he took a double dose, thankful when the pain in his head began to dull.

"Gordy? Baby?"

The voice he'd found so alluring the night before now had the same effect as nails down a blackboard. Gordon took another gulp from the bottle before fixing a smile on his face and turning to look at Darla. She was certainly stunning, he thought - if only she would keep her mouth shut. He really couldn't take much more of it, especially as his headache still hadn't completely gone.

"You okay?" he asked.

She laughed. "I'm more than okay. I don't think I've ever been happier. It's like a fairytale, isn't it?"

"Uh, yeah..."

"A real fairytale," Darla said again, rolling onto her back and stretching her arms out wide. "You're the handsome prince and I'm the poor, no-account girl who captures your heart."

Handsome prince he could live with but did she really think he'd fallen for her? Definitely time to say goodbye, Gordon thought. He glanced at his watch, thankful that it was nearly 9am. He opened his mouth to tell her that he had an important meeting in half an hour so really needed to get moving, only to shut it again as he took in what she said next.

"I can't wait to tell everyone. No one's going to believe it. Just a few hours ago I was plain old Darla Greene and now... I'm Mrs Gordon Tracy."

Gordon stared at her, his mouth hanging open. She hadn't just said what he thought she'd said, had she? Okay... he thought, doing his best not to panic, she had said it, she really had, but surely she was joking. She had to be. Married? Okay, he couldn't remember what he'd got up to last night, but surely he would have remembered doing that.

"Huh?" was all that eventually came out, his voice as squeaky as Darla's.

The girl didn't seem to notice his confusion, however, too busy admiring the plain gold band on her ring finger. Gordon's head was pounding again and he thought he was going to be sick, but he knew that this time the cause wasn't the alcohol.

Darla reached over to the bedside table and picked up a piece of paper, waving it at Gordon.

"I thought I was dreaming when I woke up. Especially when you weren't here." She pouted for a moment, patting the bed beside her, clearly hoping her husband was going to join her. When Gordon stayed right where he was, she turned her attention back to the paper. "But it's here in black and white. Our wedding certificate."

Gordon finally managed to move, stumbling towards the bed and snatching the paper out of the girl's hand. Any lingering hope that this was just some kind of joke was wiped out as he took in the writing on the page. Sure enough, he'd only gone and got himself married. He glanced hopefully at the table where Darla had found the marriage certificate, in the vain hope that there might be a second piece of paper there - that somehow he'd have had the sense to get her to sign some form of pre-nup, but there was nothing. He sank onto the bed, unable to believe the mess he'd got himself into.

"Baby?" Darla was all over him, growing puzzled as he just sat there, almost unaware of her presence. "Is something wrong? You're not having second thoughts, are you? You were so certain last night. You told me you'd always believed in love at first sight. I knew the minute I set eyes on you that you were the one for me, I just never thought you'd feel the same way."

Gordon was thinking furiously. There was no way to keep this quiet. The press would get hold of it - and they'd love it. But that wasn't the worst of it: he'd happily have the whole world find out if he could just keep it from his family. His father was going to kill him - if Scott didn't get there first. As for his other brothers and his grandmother, well, it would be a mixture of incredulity, disappointment and hysterical laughter (Alan, of course). There was nothing for it, though. He'd have to confess what a fool he'd been, get his father to bail him out. Darla might have believed in true love, but from what he did remember about last night, she'd also believed in ordering the most expensive items on the menu and the finest champagne. She'd want a lot of money in return for agreeing to a divorce, more than Gordon could probably offer her.

"Don't!" he yelped, as Darla's hands wandered a little further. He sprang up from the bed and backed away.

"Gordy? What's wrong?"

"I'm wondering how to break the news to my father," he muttered, truthfully enough.

"We're going to do it together, remember?" Darla said. "Later today. When you take me home with you. I can't wait to meet the rest of your family."

As if that's going to happen, Gordon thought. There was no way the girl was setting foot on Tracy Island. He drew in a deep breath to tell the girl that it had all been a terrible drunken mistake, but the words never made it out.

Darla was admiring her ring again. "I can't believe it," she simpered. "Yesterday I was just another Vegas showgirl, today I'm married to the son of a billionaire and if that wasn't enough, I've just become part of International Rescue."

Gordon's legs gave way and he dropped into a conveniently placed chair, for the first time in his life feeling as though he might actually faint.

What on earth had he done?