Chapter 94.

Tragically, the road to holy matrimony for Scott and Kayo was littered with potholes.

"No way!" Virgil exclaimed, one hand slapped across his mouth.

John nodded grimly and held his tablet up as evidence, "Way. EOS dug up some emails that he's been exchanging with one of Paris's most renowned diamond jewellers. The messages are quite vague, but one contained a quote for a ring with a market value of $38,000."

"What?!" Gordon's eyeballs nearly fell clean out of his head, "And he had the nerve to brandish the water bill in my face last week just because I gave Celery a bath!"

Alan said nothing, his bottom lip poking out to form his signature pout.

The four brothers, plus Celery, had all congregated in John's room upon learning of their eldest brother's (supposed) marital intentions. Virgil and Alan were reacting with barely concealed horror, while Gordon and John were more concerned over whether this new development would result in Scott amending his will.

"He never said anything…" Virgil muttered, his amber eyes clouding with betrayal. He'd been under the impression that no secrets existed between him and Scott. Their bond was simply too tight. They told each other everything.

Apparently, Scott's definition of 'everything' was very different to Virgil's.

"Do you reckon he'll pop the question tonight?" Gordon ventured, pulling his legs up so that he was sat cross legged at the foot of John's bed, "I know delivery services on the mainland have been interrupted by protests recently. That might explain why he delayed their date night by so long. Who collected the post this morning?"

"Grandma," Virgil replied, the bruise on his heart as obvious as the hair on his head, "And she's a stickler for privacy. No way she'd tell us if anything meeting the criteria for an engagement ring arrived."

Gordon beamed and motioned for Celery to jump onto the bed, ignoring John's quacks of protest, "Oh, but isn't it exciting? I always thought I'd be the first to get hitched, but it looks as if ol' Speedy pipped me at the post. Who do you reckon he'll choose as his best man? My money's on you, Virg."

If possible, Alan's ears drooped even further upon listening to the aquanaut's enthusiasms. It was no secret that Gordon had always wanted a sister, and while they already considered Kayo a member of the family, a marriage would make it official.

And Gordon was all for officialness…ness.

Poor Alan meanwhile could practically feel his heart splintering.

Virgil wasn't faring much better, albeit for an entirely different reason. While Alan was mourning the loss of Kayo's single status, Virgil was mourning the loss of the trust he'd previously held in Scott.

"Get her down!" John barked, scowling and poking Celery with his foot as the little mutt curled up on his pillow, "Great, now I'm going to have to have to change the sheets. Cheers Gordo, I owe you one."

The aquanaut shrugged and kicked off his boat shoes, "She got into the vegetable drawer last week when Brains was cooking, ate an entire bag of frozen green beans and farted for three days straight. Your pain is nothing compared to what I've been through."

"Guys!" Alan whined, slamming Gordon with his shoulder in an effort to command the attention he craved, "Focus! We need to fix…", he waved a hand vaguely at the giant diamonds on the screen of John's tablet, "…that!"

"You're right," Virgil concurred, his hands lacing themselves together as he began to catalogue their options, "Scott's overstepped an unwritten family rule by not running this decision past us first. I think Kayo's great, but the dynamic we have with her will shift dramatically once she goes from being a colleague to a sister-in-law."

"Agreed," John nodded, "He must know this is going to have an impact on all of us."

"It will?" Gordon almost looked panicked, but quickly managed to school his features back into submission. He was Gordon Tracy. He didn't do panicked. Instead he looked mildly concerned as he began to stroke Celery a little more ferociously than usual.

"Of course it will," Virgil replied, "The Tracy hierarchy will shift significantly and, if my predictions are correct, at least two of us will end up with significantly shorter life spans."

Gordon's face registered six different emotions as he processed this new information. Sisters were awesome, but no girl (not even Kayo) was worth losing his chunk of the Tracy estate over. Scott may have been Jeff's primary heir, but there was a shit ton of money knocking around in the bank with Gordon's name on it. No way could he run the risk of Scott signing his inheritance away to a new wife.

The lawyer in Gordon reassured him that such a move was probably illegal, but it was a risk he was still unwilling to take. One main advantage he held over Penelope's countless other suitors was that his (prospective) wealth matched her own.

"I think we all know what needs to be done," Alan declared, his voice offering no room for disagreement, "Such behaviour is selfish and not befitting of our dear eldest brother. I vote we use this as an opportunity to put him firmly back in his place. Who's with me?"

Ever eager to one-up Scott, John swore himself into Alan's plan with an iron handshake.

Gordon quirked a brow. He knew full well that the youngest Tracy's true ambition was to destabilise the rapport Scott had with Kayo, but offered his hand regardless.

Virgil was less discreet, "I'm going to ruin him."

A gasp bounced around the room as Gordon threw the back of his hand against his forehead in mock horror, "I plead with you not to kill my brother, Scott Carpenter Tracy, who wears a blue shirt and lives on Tracy Island, second floor, first door on the left, always unlocked, can't miss it."

Scowling wasn't something that came naturally to Virgil. Sure, he had the jawline and the eyebrows to make even Colonel Casey sweat, but rage wasn't something he was well versed in. He was too much of a peace lover…

…except when lied to.

"What time is their date due to kick off?"

-x-

Scott was proud of himself.

Very proud of himself.

He'd managed to get himself showered, dressed and gussied up on time with absolutely zero help.

And it had only taken him three and a half hours.

Unfortunately, he was now so exhausted he wanted nothing more than to dose up on painkillers and crawl into bed.

Alas, Kayo would be kept waiting if he faffed about for much longer. Injured feet or not, he was a gentleman at heart and would do his utmost to live up to her expectations for the evening…

…whatever they may be.

-x-

Kayo was panicking.

A disaster of galactic proportions had befallen her.

The end of the world was nigh.

Her hair just wouldn't cooperate.

She'd tried everything. Hairspray, straighteners, curlers, backcombing…she'd even snuck into the bathroom and stolen a tub of Virgil's hair gel. Nothing was working. No matter how hard she brushed and fluffed, her black locks refused to do anything aside from hang limply either side of her face.

Kayo sighed and scooped her mane up into its signature ponytail. Discarding safety and practicality, it was the only style that made her hair look as if it had any volume.

Curse Scott and his beautiful thick chocolate brown tresses…

After having a mini meltdown over whether she should brush her teeth or not, Kayo gave herself a quick mental slap and headed towards the door. She was already fifteen minutes late and the tantalising smell of pizza was beginning to filter underneath her bedroom door.

Upon emerging onto the landing, she peered over the bannister and caught sight of Scott shooing Celery away from a bowl of popcorn that was within sniffing range.

"Looks like we might have ourselves a third wheel," Scott sighed, jolting when the mutt tried to jump up and lick his face, "I've tried calling Gordon to take her away, but he's not answering his phone. Wow, you look stunning!"

Kayo beamed with obvious confidence. She'd paired a black tank top with a white unbuttoned blouse over some dark skinny jeans, all finished with a pair of heeled ankle boots. Chic and stylish. Not at all representative of the fashion-induced turmoil she'd been in mere minutes earlier.

"Thanks, so do you," Kayo replied, nodding in approval at the eldest brother's choice of attire; a navy long sleeved t-shirt over beige chinos. For all his woes about not having much of a social life (a plight they all suffered), Scott certainly knew how to dress himself.

"You can pick the movie," the eldest brother announced, tossing a piece of popcorn into the air and catching it effortlessly in his mouth, "Nothing with Mel Gibson or Roger Moore though, please."

Kayo smiled and began to flick through the holoprojector's film menu, "Don't worry, I have something else in mind."

Up on the landing, four pairs of eyes widened in anticipation of what was to come.