Disclaimer - If I had a nickle for each time we said this, we would be paid for this, then this would not be fan fiction and ... Sad, but true.

Settling in, Tracy style...

Chapter 7 – Cutting Ties, Building Bridges

Jeff Tracy never seemed to hear the quiet so much as after Alan and Fermat would return to school. He had barely returned to Tracy Island when he had to grab the boys with Brains in order to return to them to Wharton's. There were times when he wished he would have given in to Alan's pleas for home schooling. His youngest would be safe, where he could keep an eye on him. But in the two years since the Hood had attacked their island home, Alan had changed so much. Jeff's youngest son still missed his home and family, but he now had more friends off the island and was more involved at school with track and other activities. As one of Alan's teachers had put it to Jeff, "Mr. Tracy, I don't know what you did with Alan, but he is just such a different boy than the one who left for Spring Break. I wish we could bottle it and give it to other students." Jeff didn't answer, because how could he say "Well, just have the child nearly lose everything that truly matters to him – home, friends, family, maybe his own life and it will force him to reevaluate his situation and grow up overnight. Oh, and don't forget to put the responsibility for saving all those things on his shoulders, causing his family to change how they treat him, while giving everyone nightmares of how a madman tried to kill him. It will make such a difference, trust me." Yeah, right. They would lock Jeff up and throw away the key. Besides, he wouldn't have wished that day on his worst enemy.

The quiet seemed more intense as he walked back into the villa, parting ways with Brains who dealt with sending off his only child by burying himself in the lab for a day or two. Jeff would be lucky to see his engineer some time tomorrow. Walking though the villa, he couldn't spot any of his sons until he entered his study. There he found Gordon talking to John "Man, I still can't believe it," Gordon was saying. "Since when have you been Mr. Impulsive?" Seeing their father walk in, John cracked, "Dad, quick, save me from the Inquisition!"

Jeff smiled, and shooed his second youngest out, telling him to make sure his chores were done before he started harassing John at work. John seemed to sigh in relief. "Are they all going to be that bad?"

"Well," Jeff mused. "This wasn't typical John Tracy behavior, was it?" Jeff hid a smile as his second son actually seemed to blush. "Hey, Gordon didn't say where everyone was, did he? The villa is practically deserted."

"According to Gordon, Scott and his family are at their house, the Kyranos are at theirs and Virgil took Emily back to Auckland. She still has to give her notice at the hospital and she wants to arrange to rent out her condo. Virgil should be back soon, I'm not sure how soon Emily will be back."

"Well, she can stay in your old room for now. The one draw back with the two of you eloping like that, it will be a couple of months before I can have a villa ready for the John Tracy family." Jeff watched as his son smiled. He realized how much this meant to John – the idea of someone waiting just for him.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Emily Haas Tracy entered Mercy General Hospital for the first time in almost three days. It was the longest break she had taken from the hospital since she had arrived a year ago. Quickly, she sought out Dr. Marcus Brady as she had to give the chief of staff her notice.

Emily found her boss in earnest conversation with Dr. Dean Kingsbury, the hospital's hot shot neurosurgeon.

"Oh and here is Dr. Haas, so happy you could grace us with your presence." Dr. Kingsbury glared at Emily.

"Sorry. I had the time off and something to do."

"Well," mused Kingsbury, "a little bird told me you were holed up at a resort with some guy for a couple days." Smirking at the surprised look on Emily's face, he continued. "Really, the goody two shoes act really is just an act." Stepping too close for Emily's comfort, the surgeon slid a hand up and down her arms. "If I'd known you were so, well, lonely, I would have been happy to oblige."

That was it. Watching as the man, now bent over in pain from a properly place knee to the crotch, Emily addressed his bowed form. "Listen you jackass, for one thing, I'm not your type. I'm not inflatable. Second, I wasn't holed up with some guy, I got married." At this Emily held up her left hand, addressing both men by now. "And you keep up this behavior; you are opening this facility to a sexual harassment lawsuit. Dr. Brady, I came back to give you my notice. But given this, maybe I should just leave." Dr. Brady nodded, as he had begun to suspect just whom the young doctor had eloped with. "I will be working with a charitable trust, establishing a rural community medical clinic in Akaroa. I would appreciate it if I can retain admitting privileges, and I will be talking to some specialists about setting up days they can volunteer their services. Dr. Henrichs has already committed her practice to some hours monthly to have OBGYN clinics."

Kingsbury sneered at the young doctor. "You actually think anyone would join you in some half-baked clinic scheme? And who would be stupid enough to let some little girl run such a venture herself?"

"Actually, my father trusts her completely."

Emily had never noticed Virgil come up behind her. Hopes that her new brother-in-law hadn't seen everything was dashed when the young man leaned over to whisper, "Nice knee." Turning to Marcus Brady, Virgil held out his hand. "Dr. Brady, I presume? I'm Virgil; Emily says you met my brother John the other day." Giving the oh-so devastatingly persuasive Tracy smile, "Here we send the guy to secure Dr. Haas for the clinic the Tracy Charitable Trust is establishing in Akaroa and he ends up eloping with her. Always knew John was the smartest one of the family, but now he has proven it to us by marrying Emily before anyone else could even ask her on a date."

Skilled at his job but clueless to human nature, Kingsbury broke in. "What are you saying, that because your father works for the Tracys, you think that makes you and her special somehow?"

The smile gone, Virgil now glared at the obnoxious doctor. "My father doesn't work for Jeff Tracy, he is Jeff Tracy. And you really should keep your mouth shut when it comes to Emily."

"Oh and why is that? Daddy's money going to make my life difficult?"

"Nope," Virgil mused calmly. "Because I will break your jaw if you keep badmouthing my sister-in-law. Then I have three other brothers who will want a swing at you. And then I'll hold you while her husband has a go at you. Then I'll finally get around to telling Dad. We'll let the lawyers deal with whatever is left. That is if my other sister-in-law Kate doesn't get you first. She shot the last guy who hurt someone in our family."

With thoughts of losing future donations and wanting to maintain the Tracy goodwill, Dr. Brady maneuvered the sputtering neurosurgeon away from the Tracys. Emily turned to her brother-in-law. "Really, was that necessary Virgil?"

"Nope," Virgil smiled. "But it sure was fun."

a/n - I like to think the Tracys are like most families. You can mess with each other but no one can mess with your own...