Disclaimer: I don't own the Thunderbirds, someone else does. Thanks go to GillyLee for beta reading for me. I appreciate it greatly! This is chapter two, hope you like.
Holiday of a lifetime 2: Winter Wonderland
By Angel Mouse
It was late in the afternoon the next day that found them back on the ski slopes, John with his snowboard and Penny with her skis. Today the slopes were deserted as it wasn't really tourist season and most of the guests where checking out before the weekend rush came. John and Penny were leaving in the morning, heading for Paris then. John snapped his feet into the snowboard and grinned at Penny.
"See you down the bottom Penny!" And with that, he was off like a shot. Yelling in pure enjoyment and fun.
Penny stood there, watching him enjoy himself. She held her breath as he sped up a small hill and what looked like him throwing himself in the air, doing a somersault; he then landed upright, the yell of excitement floating back to her. She began strapping her feet into her skis, wondering about John. About all the Tracy's in fact. Each brother was slightly different and she was fond of all of him, but John was the quiet one, the one that stood out.
Scott was the undisputed leader of them all. Calm, collected, strong, resolute and decisive. Virgil was action orientated. He hated to be on the side-lines yet had the soul of an artist and poet. Gordon was the joker of them all, always ready with a laugh and a smile. Alan was the baby of the bunch, and always seemed like he had something to prove. But as a formula one grand prix-racing driver, he had no equal, and that took nerves of steel.
And then there was John, the enigma of the family. Quiet, reserved, thoughtful. He looked after all his brothers without them being aware of it, as they all looked out for each other. He was more at home looking at the stars then his brothers, yet he was grounded more than the others were. Penny found this quality more than anything, was what was attracting her attention. She gave a soft sigh, as she stood at the top of the hill, ready to ski down. What was she going to do?
John stood at the bottom of the slope, waiting for Penny to join him. He studied her slim form at the top of the slope, almost too far for him to see. He smiled as he thought about the lovely night they had spent last night on her balcony watching the stars. He had spent most of the time watching her though, discreetly. She was such a kind, thoughtful person. Yet she had strength of will that was intriguing to him. The assignments she got sent on as one of their agents weren't exactly what you'd expect her to do, but she did them. John smiled as he watched her race down the slopes. Yep, there was defiantly more to Penny than first thought.
This was going to be their last night in Switzerland and they were dining at the hotel. Last night they had gone to a local restaurant and had been quite impressed. But tonight, tonight was going to be special. They had spent the morning shopping and John had found a beautiful broach that would suit Penny. It was the perfect way to say thank you for letting him join her on this trip. John grinned as Penny came to a stop next to him. It was early twilight and time to go in for dinner.
"Ready to call it a day Penny?"
"Yes John. More than ready." Laughing held out his hand, which she took, and they walked back to the lodge to get ready for dinner.
John did his tie up and slipped his dinner jacket on. He was dressed in black trousers with a light blue shirt and tie, with a dark blue dinner jacket on. He attached a carnation to his lapel and checked his reflection one last time in the mirror. His blonde hair was neatly combed and he looked fairly dashing. He'd been told over the years by a couple of his girlfriends that he was defiantly good looking, it's just that he'd never thought of himself that way. Slipping the box with the broach into his pocket, he walked over to the doors and knocked on it.
"Penny, its John. Are you ready?"
Penelope had chosen to wear a short dress. It was a soft pink, low cut dress, and made of silk. It was sleeveless, having just thin straps holding it up. Her hair was piled loosely on top of her head, being held up by a small silver clip. A satin shawl and soft pink shoes completely the outfit. She smiled as she turned to the door.
"Yes John, please, come in."
John opened the door and walked in, smiling in greeting. He stopped dead in his tracks at the sight before him. Penny looked fabulous. Absolute stunning in her pink dress and with her hair up like that. His breath was taken away. Penny smiled at his reaction; she knew that this dress would do it. John finally recovered and walked over, a huge smile on his face.
"Penny, you look stunning. A beautiful sight to see." He held out his arm for her to take. She smiled and took it. John looked extremely handsome standing there in his suit. His blonde hair neat and blue eyes sparkling.
"Why thank you John. You look handsome yourself." John chuckled as they walked slowly out and down to the dining room.
"Thank you Penny, but I can truthfully say that every eye in the place will be on you, not me tonight." Penny laughed as they walked down the steps and into the dining room.
Later that night, over dessert, they were talking softly. The dining room was quiet, as there weren't many couples left in the dining room. A piano played softly in the background and they sipped their wine. They had chatted all night about their plans for the various locations they were going to visit in the next few days. They finished their dessert and then the piano started playing a nice slow song. John smiled at Penny.
"Care for a dance milady?" He said in a pretty good impression of Parker. Penny laughed and smiled.
"Yes please." Laughing John took her hand as he held her chair out and escorted her onto the dance floor. His strong arms encircled her slim body as he gently led them waltzing over the floor.
They made a lovely couple, the handsome man and the beautiful woman, and all eyes were on them, as they seemed to glide over the floor.
"You dance very well John, where ever did you learn to?" John blushed slightly.
"Grandma taught me. She insisted that we boys learn some refinement and manners. But Virgil is the best dancer, just ask all his ex-girlfriends." Penny smiled gently, that was the opening she wanted.
"Do you think any of you will ever settle down, get married and have a family?" John looked at her, his eyes merry but thoughtful.
"I'm not sure to be honest Pen. Alan and Tin-Tin are a shoe in to get married, but I think Alan will wait a few more years before even asking her. As for the others, well, Scott and Virgil I think are born to be bachelors, although Scott's came close to asking someone to marry." This got a raised eyebrow from Penny.
"I didn't know that." John nodded. It was a secret only his eldest brother and he knew.
"No one but I know how close he came to actually asking this girl to marry him, but then they broke up. She took off with another man; Scott was pretty cut up about it." John remembered fondly the long, late night chats Scott had had with him during that whole affair.
"No wonder Scott seems to date a lot, he doesn't want to risk being that close to someone again."
"That's right. My thoughts exactly." Penny smiled at his words.
"And what about Virgil and Gordon?" John laughed as he thought about that then answered her.
"Virgil will marry an artist as good as himself I reckon. As for Gordon, she'd have to be a world class swimmer and love the sea as much as he does." Penny studied John closely a moment.
"And you? What about you?" John just looked at her, his expression turning serious, his deep blue eyes staring into hers. A small smile appeared on his face.
"Me? Well, she'd have to be something special, wonderful. She'd have to be intelligent, but strong willed. Not afraid to speak her mind and also love looking at the stars."
"And?" Penny spoke softly, her eyes not leaving his; searching for the answer she wanted.
"And she'd have to be prepared to put up with four meddling brothers who think that their quietest brother always needs looking after." John grinned, not saying what he suddenly discovered he wanted to say in his heart. Penny laughed with him, slightly disappointed he didn't say what she was hoping he would, but relieved as well. The music ended and John escorted her back to their table. He held her chair out for her and sat her down. As she sat he reached into his pocket and got out the small box. He sat it down next to her hand and moved around to his seat. Penny picked it up and looked at him.
"What's this John?" He smiled at her.
"It's something I saw today that I thought really would suit you. It's sort of a thank you, you know, for asking me to come along." Penny smiled, blushing slightly.
"You didn't have to thank me John; it is entirely my pleasure to have you here with me." John smiled, his turn to blush.
"Please Pen, open it." She smiled and opened the box. In it was a small broach. It was a small four leaf clover, done in emeralds and gold outline. She gave a small exclamation of delight and looked up at him, her eyes full of warmth and joy.
"Why thank you John, it's beautiful." Impulsively, she reached over and clasped his hand that was sitting on the table. "I'll cherish this. But how did you know that I have some Irish in me?" John grinned, squeezing her hand gently.
"I did some research ages ago during one of my stints up in the station. I got interested in genealogy so I did everyone's family tree. I really enjoyed doing yours Pen." Penny smiled at him, noticing that he had started calling her by that shortening of her name. It was sweet.
"I'm glad you had fun, you'll have to show me sometime."
"I'd love to." A comfortable silence descended for a moment and then John reluctantly let go of Penny's hand. "Well, we'd better turn in as we have an early start in the morning." Penny nodded.
"That we do." John got up and helped Penny out of her chair. He offered her his arm and she gratefully took it. They walked back up to their rooms, chatting about inconsequential things until they reached Penny's door. John looked at her and smiled.
"Well, here we are." Penny nodded, her eyes never leaving his.
"Yes, here we are." John stared at her beautiful eyes and then leaning down slowly, he gently kissed her on the lips. He pulled away before he did something she might not like and smiled slightly.
"Good night Pen."
"Good night John." With that, she entered her room and closed the door behind her.
John walked into his room, getting out of his clothes and falling onto the bed. He stared at the ceiling, thinking hard. Just what was he going to do now? He realised that he was falling for Penny, and falling hard. Her every movement captivated him, and her eyes were so beautiful. Sighing, he knew he wouldn't get much sleep tonight. The question was, does she feel the same way?
Penny lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. The kiss goodnight John had given her caught her completely off guard. His lips were soft and he smelled faintly of Old Spice aftershave. His very nearness and presence was so intoxicating to her. She'd never had any serious romances before, and had been friends with John for years. Why was now different? She sighed, resigning herself to the fact she wouldn't' be sleeping much. She wondered though if John was feeling the same way. Was he falling for her the way she was falling for him?
Tbc,