The Tracy Family and International Rescue are the creation of Sylvia and Gerry Anderson

Chapter 30

Leaving her desk and crossing the room she went to the Prep Room. Coming back with the appropriate paper towels she bent down and began clearing the mess that was once his dinner without fuss or comment.

He felt guilty now as he watched her having to clean up the result of his anger and frustration. "I'm sorry. You shouldn't have to do that," Scott apologised.

"Don't be," Jenna said calmly. "It's not surprising considering what you've been through," she added reassuringly, "Think nothing of it."

She came to the com-link and accessing the kitchen spoke to Kyrano. "Oh Kyrano, could you, perhaps, make me up another meal for Scott, something different," she asked. "We've had a bit of an accident," Jenna apologised, not looking at him. Scott frowned, not wanting anyone to know what his rage had led to. "I'm afraid I've spilt his juice all over his dinner and it's ruined," she lied, wishing to protect him from embarrassment. "I'll come up for it myself, oh, and could you make it a large portion, please," Jenna added finally before switching off.

"You didn't have to do that," he said, feeling guilty again that he thought she should betray him and that she should lie for him.

"I know. I wanted to," Jenna told him as she looked at him lovingly. "Will you be all right while I go and get this or do you want me to get someone down for you?" she asked. He shook his head. "I'll not be long," Jenna promised, smiling gently and handing him his book to keep him occupied.

She headed for the kitchen, making a little detour on the way. Entering the room Jeff had given her to use on first arriving she went to the bathroom, had a quick shower and dressed. Except, instead of putting on another short-sleeved white collared dress, which was her uniform, she adorned her favourite 'going out to dinner' dress. A sexy, figure hugging cocktail dress creation in the softest cloud grey, the back of which, well, there was no back, was cut in a very low loop. She quickly applied her make-up and did her hair, being quite adept at getting ready in a hurry. Finally she applied her favourite scent and gave a shimmy as she straightened her dress. "I think you'll do, at least, I hope so," she smiled wryly as she spoke to her reflection in the full-length mirror. Exiting the room she headed confidently for the kitchen via the lounge.

It was just another typical Tracy family evening. Jeff, after an afternoon of reading and signing paperwork, was pouring over the newspaper, catching up on the day's events around the world as he sat in his favourite chair. Virgil was tinkering on his piano trying to master a new composition that he had written and John was engrossed in an astronomy journal that had been delivered by the morning mail. Gordon and Alan had locked horns over a serious game of chequers with Tin-Tin looking over Alan's shoulder, giggling, obviously not impressed with Alan's moves, making him frown.

Jeff was proud of his second eldest son's musical skills and often found having his music playing softly in the background was calming and relaxing after the stresses of the day and especially in light of recent events. So it was with some surprise that Jeff heard a rather off putting bum note being hit in an otherwise perfect melody causing him to lower his paper and peer over the top of his reading glasses. At the same time a long low wolf whistle emanated from the direction of the chequers game and Jeff observed, first, that Virgil's eyes were as wide as dinner plates and his mouth was hanging open, then turning, he witnessed the same effect on John and lastly, Gordon, the owner of the wolf whistle, was grinning from ear to ear. Alan, too, had turned in the direction of the lounge entrance at the sound of his brother's whistle, gaping in appreciation, which earned him a smack across the shoulder from Tin-Tin.

What on earth could have had such an instant and devastating effect on all his sons at the same time, Jeff wondered. He turned in the direction to which they were all looking to find the source of their attention and almost dropped his paper at the vision he saw. After his initial surprise, though, he was somewhat concerned and a little annoyed as he thought she was obviously dressed and off out somewhere, leaving his ill eldest son on his own in the infirmary. He wondered which of his sons had asked her out, feeling a bit disappointed in her after supposing she had developed a liking for Scott but nobody made a move.

Jenna crossed the room to Jeff, knowing he would be wondering why she was dressed in such a way and after explaining her intentions, with a few details left out, he beamed broadly, feeling guilty that he had thought bad of her. She then left and headed for the kitchen, giving the boys a wry smile on her way out.

"What was that all about, Dad?" John asked, knowing it was the question on all his brother's minds but Jeff said nothing, just smiled and returned to his paper.

"Man, she's not going down to Scott dressed like that, is she?" Gordon grinned as he wondered what his eldest brother was going to make of her.

"She's liable to give him a heart attack," Virgil laughed, thinking his brother was in for one big surprise.

"Yeah…..but what a way to go," Alan sighed, earning him another smack across the shoulders from an irate Tin-Tin.

"Yeah….what a way to go," John sighed in agreement and blushing when he realised his brothers were grinning at him.

"She's gonna knock his socks off," Gordon declared, knowing his brother was certainly going to like what he saw.

"That's if he had any on in the first place," Alan jested, ducking, this time, in anticipation of the smack from Tin-Tin, making his brothers laugh.

In the kitchen Kyrano was putting the meal into an insulated cover for Jenna to take down to Scott. "You look nice, dear," Grandma stated smiling, "Are you going out somewhere?"

"Sort of, Grandma, sort of," Jenna replied cryptically, much to the elderly lady's puzzlement.

Kyrano, on the other hand, was a very wise and perceptive man. "Ah, Miss Jenna, the power of the imagination is indeed a very powerful thing, is it not?" Kyrano declared, giving her a courteous bow.

"Well, that's what I'm hoping, Kyrano," she replied, returning his bow and guessing that he knew what she was up to.

Now she made her way back down to the infirmary and Scott. He had been staring out the window when he heard the door open. He turned to see her come in and what he saw took his breath away; his eyes wandering the length of her.The high heel shoes she wore accentuated her legs in THAT dress; that dress which hugged every curve of her body. Her hair, short and sassy, was a soft gold, reminding him of the spreads of Kansas wheat fields under the glow of the evening sun. It was obvious to him that she was off out somewhere and it wouldn't be with him.

"You…look ..nice," Scott said when he finally found his voice but what he really wanted to say was 'You look absolutely stunning'. His heart sank, though, and he felt crushed, thinking he had finally driven her away with his black moods and he couldn't blame her. She must be going out with one of his brothers he thought and the obvious choice was Virgil. She was bound to have gotten to know him well with his having been unconscious for a while and sleeping quite a lot.

She walked across and placed the tray on the table that she had moved to the side. "You going out somewhere nice?" he asked, yet not really sure he wanted to hear the answer, though part of him had to know.

"I hope so," Jenna answered, smiling softly at him.

He couldn't bear to look at her any longer dressed like that and thinking she was going out with one of his brothers. "You'd better go. You don't want to keep him waiting," he said frowning and trying to keep the hurt from his voice.

"Keep who waiting?" she replied, knowing what he was thinking and trying hard not to smile too much.

"Well, Virgil," he assumingly replied, puzzled by her answer.

"I'm not going out with Virgil," Jenna told him, smiling at his assumption.

"Must be John then," he thought for he would be next in line, although he imagined John to be too quiet for her. She was fiery and spirited and needed someone of equal passion he thought but then, maybe she preferred someone quiet and well grounded like John. "John?" Scott queried. She shook her head.

"Gordon?" he asked, a little bemused. Although he was younger Scott knew she found Gordon to be funny and he reminded her of her brother and maybe she just wanted to have a bit of fun and a laugh, after all, she deserved it. Jenna shook her head again.

"Well, it couldn't be Alan," he laughed, "Tin-Tin would kill him." Besides Alan was way too young for her he thought, she would eat him alive. She laughed as she shook her head again.

He was fast running out of options, there weren't many males left on the island. "Brains?" he ventured incredulously. Maybe she had a thing for the intellectual type he mused. Jenna had to bite her lip to stop a laugh at the thought of going out to dinner with Brains. He would probably analyse everything first.

"No, it's not Brains, not Kyrano and not your father," she informed him as she laughed lightly, going over every male that was on the island.

Now he really was puzzled. "Well who then?" Scott asked, although another thought entered his mind. She could be going to meet up with someone on the mainland.

"I was hoping you would ask me to dinner," she smiled hopefully.

He laughed outright. "Me?" he replied incredulously. "Jen, maybe it's escaped your notice but I can't even feed myself much less get out of bed. How could I take you to dinner?" Scott added, totally bewildered and wondering what was going on in her mind. "Not that I wouldn't want to," he was quick to say. More than anything in the world he would love to be taking her to dinner dressed like that.

She sat on the bed now, stroked his face gently with her finger and then tapped his head. "You can take me out to dinner in here," she said, continuing to smile softly, "Don't you know that the power of the imagination is a great thing, Mr Tracy." "I want you to pretend you're taking me out to dinner," she said, giving him a wry smile, "You get to choose where we go and what we'll have."

"You're serious, aren't you?" he replied, slow realisation beginning to dawn that she was not, indeed, going out with anyone else but chose to stay here with him and play this rather tantalising game.

"Yeah, I'm serious," Jenna replied, smiling gently at knowing he was barely able to take this in. "Now, do you want to take me to dinner or should I see if someone else is willing," she asked, her smile getting broader, "after all, it's not fair a girl getting all dressed up and nowhere to go."

"Yeah, I'd love to take you to dinner," Scott answered, getting into the spirit of this game and not wanting to risk her going and finding someone else. He imagined there would be no shortage of volunteers. "Tell me Jen, do you do this for all your patients?" he asked, a smile now creasing his lips.

"Well now, let me see," she mused, pretending to count how many before giving him a wry grin, "Only the special ones."

"And how many of those have there been?" he continued to ask, enjoying this flirtatious conversation.

Jenna mused again before answering. "Only the one," she said coyly, now feeling his intensive gaze on her.

His smile got wider. A sudden thought entered his mind making him look down at himself and giving her a wry grin he observed, "I'm not exactly dressed for going out to dinner."

"You'll do for me," she giggled, causing him to suddenly redden with embarrassment at the thought of there only being a fine sheet between them. The thought of going out to dinner with a totally naked Scott Tracy was, indeed, a tantalising prospect and was the source of much amusement to her.

"Now, where are we going?" she asked, wanting to get this little game started.

He thought. "You like Italian?" Scott ventured, beginning to get the hang of this as though he were ready to step out the door.

"I love Italian," she smiled seductively, glad that he was starting to enjoy himself. "And now we need to create a little atmosphere," Jenna added, wanting to paint a vivid scene for him. "I see a little Italian restaurant, table for two in the corner, red checked cloth on the table and a candle in a bottle," she smiled as she could see it all in her mind.

A fiery gleam started to burn in his eyes as he watched her revel in her imagination, bringing the cosy little scene to life for him. "Wax running down the bottle," he joined in, "you've gotta have the wax running down the bottle."

"And wax running down the bottle," she laughed, knowing he was seeing what she was seeing. "And of course, we need music too," she added as she got up to go to the CD player in the wall opposite.

He watched her cross the floor, her high heels giving her that sassy and very sexy walk. It was also the first time he caught sight of the back of THAT dress, her exposed back inflaming his desire and passion with intended promises. She selected some suitable music, setting it on a loop; she had no intention of getting up again to change it. His intensive gaze followed her to the door, which she locked; there would be no more interruptions this evening. His monitors had already begun to climb as he watched her now walk back towards him, lifting the dish from its insulated cover and sitting on his bed.

"So, what are we having, Mr Tracy?" Jenna asked flirtatiously,taking delight in watching him relish this game.

"Like cannelloni, Cannelloni Roma?" Scott asked, hoping she would as it was one of his favourites and realising they liked the same things. Cannelloni Roma was delicious Italian meat pasta topped with cheese sauce. He also suggested a fine wine, the best of course, that would be the ideal accompaniment for such a meal, when, in actual fact it was just fruit juice but then such is the power of the imagination.

"I love it," she replied, impressed with his choice. "Looks like Kyrano's been reading your mind," she grinned as she now observed the dish he had prepared, while not exactly Cannelloni Roma it was a light pasta creation.

He watched her as she placed the fork in his mouth. As his lips closed over it she slowly and seductively withdrew it to begin the process over again only this time she wrapped her fingers around his to place the fork in her own mouth. He watched her lips embrace it then slowly withdrew, both lost now in this seduction of feeding each other the way lovers do. She also gave him a drink, then, watched him as she took a drink from the same part of the glass. They continued this way until the meal was finished.

"And what do we have for dessert?" Jenna asked, wondering what dreamy creation he would think of.

"How about Tiramisu?" he suggested, smiling as her eyes lit up at the thought. Tiramisu was the most wonderful, moist, mouth watering Italian dessert consisting of liqueur-drenched sponge, chocolate and creamy mascarponi cheese.

"That's just wicked," she grinned mischievously, "but so perfect." Sadly, they did not actually have Tiramisu but Kyrano had made something nice, besides, they didn't really care, to them it was Tiramisu.

Upon finishing Jenna found herself strangely nervous, that nervous excitement that comes with the anticipation of a first kiss.

"Know what I would do now….if I had taken you out to dinner?" Scott breathed softly, feeling full and satisfied, his desire for her burning within him.

She closed her eyes momentarily and opening them again shook her head, wondering was he now going to ask to kiss her.

"I would ask you to dance," he said, looking at her seriously, his eyes full of want and hunger, a hunger that he longed to have satisfied.

"Really," Jenna smiled softly, thinking how wonderfully touching and romantic it was for him to suggest it.

"Dance with me, Jen." Scott asked as he held out his hand to her.