Author's note: Thanks to those that reviewed. SaucerEyes, Lillehafrue, and Bluegrass, your comments have made me more confident in the descriptiveness of the chapters so far. Fried Eeyore—you got me. After I received your review I groaned out loud. It was then that I hoped no one else saw the mistake.

Chapter 3

Finally, the small plane came to a complete stop in front of a hangar that was built into the side of a cliff. The island appeared to be deserted except for the runway and the hangar.

"Come on kids. You can't see everything from inside the plane," said Jeff with a small smile on his face. He was getting ready to drop a big surprise on his children and mother. As he was stepping down to the tarmac, Scott suddenly stopped which in turn caused a domino affect. Virgil, John, Sam, Gordon, and Alan all pushed into Scott which resulted in Scott falling to the ground with the other Tracy children on top of him.

"Get off of me!" exclaimed Scott his voice muffled by the bodies that were on top of him. Carefully, so as not to accidentally step on someone, the ones on top slowly got off the one below them. When Virgil had stood up he reached down to help Scott to his feet.

"It's your fault for stopping when you know that there were 5 of us right behind you," stated Sam. Her voice let Scott know that she was perturbed with him causing a Tracy pileup. Scott was angry that he had now been knocked down twice in less than 24 hours and had an ankle that was still tender. He took a threatening step towards Sam just as John and Virgil got in between the two. Sam and Scott were never able to back down from an argument and this resulted in them sidestepping their two brothers to continue with their standoff.

Jeff had seen everything as he brought a cart over to wheel the luggage to where they would be staying. "Sam and Scott, get over here right now." Still glowering at each other they went to where their dad was standing. Looking at the expression on Jeff's face they knew that they were in trouble.

"I brought you on a family vacation and you two decide to have an argument before you have fully gotten off the plane. That is unacceptable and as punishment you will work together and deliver the luggage to the correct rooms in the house that is down this pathway. Is that understood?" demanded Jeff.

"Yes Father," replied Scott and Sam in hushed voices. Without another word they took the cart to the luggage hold and began to unload the luggage onto the cart. Together they pushed the cart down the path that the rest of their family had already started following. Within 15 minutes the Tracy family was standing in front of a massive house that was built into the side of the island. It was a very modern looking home with what appeared to be three levels. In front of the house were two pools with some poolside furniture placed around them. Off to the side was a shower house in which to rinse the pool water off.

"Dad, there are two pools here," said Gordon in awe. It was then that he realized that there was no one else on the island. "Where are we Dad?"

Jeff chuckled at the expressions on his children's faces when he told them that this was Tracy Island and their personal retreat and new home. "Come on let's go look at the rest of the house," invited Jeff. Grandma headed off to the lower level of the house where the kitchen was located. Jeff led his children into another door that opened up into a big room that had a baby grand piano along the far wall and a massive desk along another wall. There was also a large couch and a few chairs in the room and wall made of windows that overlooked the pools and the ocean. Next Jeff took them to the second level where the bedrooms were located. He had figured that as his kids got older they would need more privacy to when the house was designed he made sure that each room had a private ensuite and a sitting room. Walking to the door of the first room Jeff keyed in a code on the small keypad just to the right of the door. The door slid open and Jeff walked in with everyone following him. The room was painted a pale blue and furnished with a small sofa, chair, and bookshelf. The wall in between the sitting room and the room beyond it was made of a frosted glass. That allowed plenty of natural light into the sitting room. The bedroom had a small desk and chair as well as a queen sized bed and a matching dresser. There were more bookshelves built into the wall around the dresser. The door to the ensuite was between the dresser and the far wall. There was a separate shower stall and a large garden tub as well as everything else that was needed.

"Scott, this is your room," said Jeff. "You may paint and decorate it however you see fit. I'll need a list of everything that you need by the time we head back to Kansas to pack the rest of our stuff. The same goes for the rest of you. I want you to feel that these are your rooms. Let's go look at the other rooms."

The room next to Scott's went to Virgil, followed by John, Sam, Gordon, and Alan. All of the rooms were similar and all had a balcony that gave a spectacular view of the ocean and pools. All of the balconies were connected and had the same kind of keypad placed near the door to allow access from the outside if needed. The third level of the house had Jeff's office and personal suite of rooms. Grandma took the suite of rooms on the lower level. After the bedrooms were assigned, Jeff took everyone to the lounge and led them down a short hallway with a door on either side and at the end. The door on the right opened into a private theater and the room on the left was a huge game room complete with arcade games and a pool table.

"Dad, when did you start doing this?" asked Scott with a bewildered look on his face. He knew that it had taken some time and money to get everything done and that none of them had even been aware of it.

"I bought this island, which by the way is named Tracy Island, a couple of years before your mother died. She and I came here after I had been left here for survival training. Both of us liked the views and could see the potential. I had the house built just before she died and just had the rest completed within the past two months," admitted Jeff with a sad look on his face. All he had wanted was to raise his children with Lucy. Even after a year he still felt the loss as if it were just yesterday. "So do you think that you could be happy living here?"

"What about school, Dad?" wondered John and Sam. "It's not like we can catch a bus to the nearest school." Scott, Virgil, Gordon, and Alan all nodded their heads in agreement.

"Well, I thought that I would enroll all of you in a boarding school and then you could come home to the island when you were on breaks and the like," admitted Jeff with a bit of trepidation in his voice. He was not sure if his kids would like being sent away to school especially if they were separated. A sudden outburst of protests from six incredulous children let him know real fast that he had indeed had something to worry about.

"What do you mean boarding school," demanded Scott. "That would mean that we would all be separated." The rest of the Tracy children looked at each other with worry in their eyes. They had always been together and none could imagine being away from any of the others. Sam was more worried because she was the only female in the family and most boarding schools were for one sex or the other but not both. How would she be able to handle being away from her brothers especially John? Turning suddenly, Sam ran outside and down the nearest path heedless of where she was going. She just knew that she couldn't be without John and the others. She had already lost her mother but to lose her brothers even while they were away at school wasn't fair.

"Great job Dad. Did you realize that boarding school would mean that Sam would be on her own while all of us boys were together?" snapped John in a deadly quiet voice. His anger rapidly reaching its limit and his dad was about to get the full effect. "Haven't we been through enough in the past year? We lost Mom last year and now you want to send us to boarding school which would mean that Sam would lose us while we are away at school." Turning on his heel he followed the path that Sam had taken. He could only hope that he would be able to find her. Glaring at their father the rest of the boys quickly went after John to help him find Sam.

"Well, I guess that could have gone better," said Jeff sarcastically to his mother. "I knew that they would take it hard but I didn't take into consideration that they might be split up. I guess I should try to find a boarding school that allows boys and girls."

"How did you expect them to take it Jeff?" asked his mother carefully. "You know how they look out for each other and to separate them will be hard on all of them but none will take it harder than John and Sam. They rely on each other to get through each day. They feel each other's pain and emotions. Were you aware that after you left John's room last night Sam snuck in and made a pallet on the floor so she could be near him because she knew that he was upset and had been crying?" Jeff shook his head dumbly just wondering what he was going to do.

Meanwhile, Sam found herself on a beautiful white sand beach with the water quietly lapping onto the shore. Collapsing down onto the sand she began to cry in fear and anger. She was afraid of being without her brothers and angry that her dad was even considering it. After a few moments of sobbing her heartache, she began to rock back and forth in an effort to calm herself.

"Sam, where are you?" yelled the voices of her brothers. All were looking for her and had the same tone of worry in their voices. John spotted her first and ran to her with the other boys right behind him. Without saying anything, they all surrounded Sam and held her and each other close. Each of them silently vowed to never let anyone or anything tear them apart. After a few minutes of giving each other the support that they needed they all sat down on the beach and stared out at the water. Each of them was absorbed in their own thoughts and fears of the future.

"Maybe Dad will be able to find a school that allows both boys and girls to attend," said Scott quietly as if he didn't want to disturb the peaceful moment that they were sharing.

"Even if he does it's not like Sam will be allowed to have the room next to ours. She'll have to stay in the dorm for girls," countered John with venom in his voice. He and Sam had never been more than one room apart in their lives and this was really hard for them to accept. Not knowing what else to say they all stood up and headed back to the house. Scott's growling stomach let them know that it was close to dinner time. Some things would never change.

"Gordon and Alan, I need to speak with you," said Sam in a quiet tone that the Terrible Two knew did not bode well for them. "You three go on ahead. We'll catch up with you in just a few minutes." Scott, Virgil, and John looked at each other and back to Sam and wondered just what she was up to.

"Listen Brats, I overheard your little plans on the plane. Just like I know that you swiped John's astronomy book and Virgil's sketch pad but I am warning you if any of us find anything unsavory in our beds or a bucket of water dumped on our heads I am going to pound you worse than what Scott would do. Do you understand me?" asked Sam in a very threatening manner. She could be every bit as intimidating as Scott when she chose to be.

"Now let's see who can catch up to our brothers first," challenged Sam as she took off in a fast-paced jog. She didn't want to leave her baby brothers too far behind her. Amazingly they kept up with the pace that she had set. Running away from 4 older siblings had improved their stamina and sense of survival. Within a few minutes they had caught up with the others and had reached the house again. Looking at the lower level they could see Grandma in the kitchen preparing dinner.

"Scott, we need to take the luggage up to our rooms as well as Dad's and Grandma's," said Sam. They had forgotten to do it earlier and neither wanted to get into any more trouble with their dad. Suddenly, four extra sets of hands pulled out their luggage and carryon bags.

"We can take our own stuff to our rooms," said Alan.

"Yeah, like we need you to do everything for us," added Gordon with obvious laughter in his voice. He was always like that and the older Tracy children knew that he was planning something again. They didn't have time to wonder what he was up to as their father started walking towards them.

"After you take the luggage to your rooms come back to lounge. We need to have a family meeting," said Jeff in that no nonsense tolerated tone he used when he was upset. Without another word he grabbed his luggage and headed up to the 3rd level of the house. Following suit, the children began to carry their belongings up to the 2nd level where all of their rooms were located. They opted for taking the stairs up to the balcony versus going through the house. One by one they entered their codes into the small keypad next to the door and walked into their rooms to put away their belongings.

Ten minutes later they were all sitting in the lounge waiting for their father to begin the meeting. Grandma had even left the kitchen to participate in this particular meeting.

"I know that I dropped a bit of a shocker on all of you today but I didn't take into consideration that you might be separated if you attended a boarding school. After the wake-up call the boys gave me earlier I began to look for a boarding school that would allow boys and girls all the way up to 12th grade," stated Jeff with a sense of relief. "I found one that sounded promising in upstate New York. Not only do they accept both sexes but I have also spoken to the Headmaster and he has agreed that since the rooms are private that they would allow John and Sam to have rooms next to each other."

"Way to go Dad. Now we don't have to worry about being alone," exclaimed all of his kids at once. They gave each other high fives until Jeff told them to settle down.

"They are only allowing this because I have promised that all of you would be on your best behavior. One slip up from any of you and they'll put Sam into the girl's dorm," warned Jeff. "Mother, is dinner ready? Scott's internal alarm is going off."

"Everyone, go wash up for dinner," ordered Grandma. She looked at Jeff with a smile on her face. "I knew you would find the answer to help keep them together." With that remark she headed to the kitchen to set the table and get everything ready to serve.

"Grandma, dinner was great as usual," said Scott with a content and sleepy look on his face.

"Yeah, dinner was great Grandma but don't let Scott fool you he didn't taste anything with the speed of which he shoveled it in," joked Gordon. Virgil and John nodded their heads in agreement while Scott glared at Gordon for his cheeky remark.

"Grandma, do you need help with the dishes?" asked Sam as she yawned loudly. The events of the day as well as the early wake-up call were catching up with her.

"No, I want all of you to go to your rooms and get ready for lights out," replied Grandma and Jeff at the same time.

"Goodnight guys," said Sam as she keyed in her code.

"Goodnight Sam," replied the boys as one.

"I am right next door if you need anything," said John in a quiet voice that clearly told Sam that something was upsetting him.

"Meet me on my balcony in 10 minutes," stated Sam. "I want to show you something." Ten minutes later John and Sam were standing on the balcony, looking up at the stars.

"John, there is Mom's star," said Sam as she pointed out the star she was talking about. "Now you know that she hasn't left us and we can still talk to her even from out in the middle of no where. Do you feel better now?"

"Thanks Sam. How did you know that I was worried about not being able to talk to Mom?" asked John somewhat embarrassed.

"I knew because you are my brother and best friend. It is my job to look after you and keep you happy. Mom did it while she was here but she asked me to help you whenever you were upset," Sam whispered as if she didn't want anyone else to hear such a private comment. Reaching out to John, she gave him a hug and guided him back to his room and made him get into bed. Before she left to return to her room she leaned over him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"I love you John and I thank Mom and Dad everyday for giving me the greatest gift of all—you," choked out Sam as her emotions began to get the best of her. Quickly she ran to her room before the tears had a chance to fall.