A/N: This story uses characters from the April 11, 1981, episode "Delphine/The Unkillable" (first story arc only). In this episode, Delphine MacNabb (played by Ann Jillian) was presented as Roarke's goddaughter. Since Julie was also identified as Roarke's goddaughter when she appeared on the series, I decided they would be sisters...but with a twist. This is an attempt to provide a backstory for Julie and Delphine. They, along with Roarke and Tattoo, are the creation of Leonard Goldberg and Aaron Spelling; but all other characters are the product of my imagination.
§ § § - September 6, 1981
Sixteen-year-old Leslie Hamilton woke with a start to the sound of tapping on her bedroom door. She sat up straight in bed and stared wide-eyed at Roarke, her guardian of the last year and a half. "Good morning!"
"Good morning, yourself," said Roarke humorously. "What did I tell you about oversleeping today, of all days? You'd better hurry and get dressed so we're not late for the plane."
Leslie leaped out of bed and rummaged in her closet. "I'll be there in ten minutes, Mr. Roarke," she promised breathlessly, and heard her guardian chuckle before he left to go downstairs.
Since coming to live with Roarke early the previous year, Leslie had grown to think of beautiful Fantasy Island as her home. She had just started the eleventh grade at the island high school and had several close friends: Myeko Sensei, a cheerful, talkative girl of Japanese descent; the prickly, cynical Camille Ichino; Michiko Tokita, also with Japanese ancestry, a dainty girl with a lovely singing voice; Lauren McCormick, Camille's cousin; and Maureen Tomai, a down-to-earth blonde whose parents were refugees from Communist Romania. Leslie made fairly good grades in school, but had less interest in her academic pursuits than in helping her guardian and his diminutive assistant Tattoo with the fantasies they granted each weekend. Tattoo had early on predicted that Leslie would be popular with boys, but so far this hadn't come to pass. The only boy who took much notice of Leslie was Michiko's older brother Hachiro, whom everyone called "Toki"; and all he ever did was make fun of her for some reason.
Now, Leslie swiftly donned a white dress with a full skirt, trimmed at the collar, cuffs and hem with black piping and decorated in front with black buttons. This was her usual attire when she went to the plane dock with Roarke and Tattoo; Roarke had helped her design the outfit when he realized she was quite serious about looking "professional" when she helped him and Tattoo greet their guests, and a local seamstress had sewn the dress for her. It made Leslie feel as if she were an internal part of her guardian's mysterious and fascinating business. She had no idea how much this amused Roarke, but he had never said a word, knowing that Leslie needed to feel as if she belonged somewhere. The teenager had been orphaned not long before her fifteenth birthday and had no living blood relatives, and as a result she had a number of emotional issues that would take years to be resolved. But she had clearly settled in here on the island and seemed happy.
Roarke regarded the girl he had taken under his wing as she crossed the porch and joined him on the front steps. At the same time Tattoo appeared from another direction and all three greeted each other. On the ride to the plane dock, Tattoo remarked from the back seat, where he sat beside Leslie, "Are you finally going to tell us what's had you so excited lately, boss? You kind of remind me of a little kid at Christmas."
Roarke chuckled from the front seat. "Try to contain your impatience just a little longer, my friend. It won't be long now. That goes for you too, Leslie."
About ten minutes later, after everyone was in place and the band was playing, the first guests stepped off the plane. One was pale blonde and quite pretty, and held tightly to the hand of a handsome dark-haired man. The other woman, darker blonde, looked quite a bit younger; in fact, she hardly seemed much older than Leslie herself. "There they are at last!" Roarke exclaimed warmly. "The couple holding hands are Delphine and Greg Randolph; and the younger lady is Julie MacNabb. The two women are sisters...and they are also my goddaughters."
"So that's what your secret was!" exclaimed Leslie. "You were expecting them! Do they have a fantasy?"
Roarke smiled. "Not this time. You'll recall that Delphine was here a few months ago with a fantasy, but now she and her husband are happily married and have merely returned for a visit."
"What about Miss MacNabb?" Tattoo asked.
"She does have a fantasy of sorts," Roarke said. "Julie has yet to decide what she wants to do with her life. She has just graduated from college, and now she is somewhat at loose ends. She has been staying with Greg and Delphine since her graduation, and it's my understanding that she thought returning to Fantasy Island—where she and Delphine grew up—might help her to make a decision."
Tattoo had obviously been thinking, judging from the expression on his broad, amiable features. "Is she magical, like her sister is? Are we gonna have problems with her making things disappear and so on?"
Roarke laughed. "No, Julie has no magical powers, Tattoo, so you need not fear anything untoward. In a way, Julie has considered that something of a hindrance, and she has always felt herself to be in her sister's shadow. Perhaps returning to Fantasy Island will give her a chance to shine on her own."
As the next wave of guests disembarked and Roarke grew involved in explaining their fantasies to Tattoo and Leslie, a solitary figure disentangled herself from them, casting one long, frightened look towards the figures clad in white before ducking into the thick undergrowth lest she be discovered. She was wearing jeans, sneakers and a worn blouse, and had a well-loaded backpack strapped to her back. She had come halfway around the world and certainly did not intend to be stopped now...
§ § §
Roarke had a proper reunion with his goddaughters at the main house, and Julie was introduced to Leslie as well. Once the niceties and the catching up had been accomplished, Julie dug into her purse and, at some length, managed to extract a folded sheet of paper. "Here's the passenger manifest from today's flight," she said, handing it to Roarke. "This time we got some immigrants."
"That's unusual," Delphine said in surprise. "They must have some kind of special quality to be allowed to come here to live, uncle." Leslie had learned just what she meant by this since coming to live here herself; she had come to realize that she had been extraordinarily fortunate. Fantasy Island was far and away the most difficult place on earth to which to immigrate; Roarke had instated this policy from the very beginning in order to protect the native Polynesian populations who had been here for countless centuries. Roarke's criteria for immigration were notoriously tough to meet, but the MacNabbs had easily passed—for they bore powers not unlike those of magicians. Delphine had inherited them, as had her parents (who were very distant cousins); but peculiarly, Julie had not. Ostracized in their native Ireland, the sisters' parents had relocated to Fantasy Island a few years before Delphine was born.
Roarke glanced at Delphine and smiled, but didn't comment. Setting the list aside, he focused his full attention on the sisters and Greg Randolph. "Your parents' house is still empty, Delphine and Julie, and I believe you will find the key in the usual place." For some reason Delphine smirked with amusement. "Do enjoy your vacation here, and if you need anything, you have only to ask. Welcome back."
"It's good to be back home again," Delphine said and grinned at her husband.
"I'll second that," agreed Julie enthusiastically. "Well, come on, sis, let's go get settled in."
Once they had left, Roarke picked up the folded list and handed it to Leslie. "Would you please go to the hotel, Leslie, and find the names on the list that are marked with the letter I. Those are the immigrants, and I need to speak with them and process some paperwork. As you find them, send them along to the house, and when you have found them all, you can return here. Don't worry about how long it takes you."
"Okay, Mr. Roarke," said Leslie. "Can I take a car?"
Roarke hesitated. Leslie had gotten her license on her birthday four months before and was a competent enough driver; but he was surprised to find himself reacting like any parent at her request. Mentally he rebuked himself for such a reaction and nodded briskly, handing Leslie a key. "Drive carefully."
Leslie rolled her eyes. "I will, Mr. Roarke. I always do, don't you know that?"
Tattoo grinned and said sagely, "Parents always worry about their teenagers when they drive."
Roarke cast his assistant a long, quelling look. Tattoo replied with an innocent stare, and Leslie giggled before hurrying out of the house, as if afraid Roarke would change his mind. She unfolded the paper and glanced through the names while she crossed the porch, and realized it might take her the rest of the day to find all the people on this list. Knowing as she did the hurdles that had to be overcome to become a resident of Fantasy Island, Leslie couldn't help but be curious as to what had qualified these newcomers. But she also knew full well that Roarke wouldn't say a word; he went to great lengths to respect people's privacy.
She was exhausted by the end of the day and returned to the main house with an expression of defeat on her features. Roarke looked up when she came in. "Why are you so late, Leslie? The last group of immigrants was here and gone almost two hours ago. You did a good job."
Leslie stopped in surprise. "What? But Mr. Roarke, I didn't find all the people on the list."
Roarke frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Here." Leslie handed him the list. "I checked off all the names as I found them, and the last one is still unaccounted for."
Roarke rapidly scanned the list and frowned again, then opened a desk drawer and extracted a second piece of paper which he compared with the first one. After a moment his features cleared. "You're right, Leslie. This is the original manifest. The one you have just handed me contains an unauthorized name." He met her surprised gaze. "It appears we have a stowaway somewhere on the island."