Fonziebirds: Devotion

[Race's Girl]

Chapter 1: Who’s Supposed To Be The Second Eldest?

“That’s it I can’t take it anymore!” said a very fuming and drenched Arthur John 'Fonzie' Tracy as he stomped into the living room. Fonzie had just been relieved of his shift on Thunderbird 5 by Al so he can get a chance to spend time with his family…a decision he might be beginning to regret.

The three occupants in the room looked up from what they were doing, surprised that the coolest Tracy brother was hollering. Warren a.k.a 'Potsie' was teaching Joanie the finer points of poker and Ralph was practicing a new piece on his baby grand piano. After his outburst, it was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

“What happened to you?” asked Joanie, knowing perfectly well what happened to the second Tracy brother.

“What happened to me? You ask what happened to me? Why me being the victim of another of Chach and Rich’s stupid pranks that’s what, and you better get ready for a double funeral after I get my hands on them!” growled Fonzie while storming off.

After they made sure Fonzie was out of the room, Joanie and Potsie gave each other a high five and burst out laughing. “Did you see his face? I don’t think I’ve ever seen him that mad before.” giggled Joanie.

“I know poor Chach and Rich won’t know what hit them.” said Potsie while wiping a tear from his eye. Then the two real perpetrators continued their game of poker and waited for the real fun to begin.

Not five minutes later did they see Charles a.k.a 'Chachi and Richard a.k.a 'Richie' running through the living room with panicked and baffled looks on their faces. “Fonz, I swear we didn’t do anything. We’ve been working on the upgrades for Fonziebird 4 all day!” exclaimed the youngest Tracy, Chachi.

“Yeah, right and I’m the Queen of England!” bellowed Fonzie who was still quite some distance away.

Suddenly, Richie stopped and grabbed Chachi. “Okay let’s split up. You go that way,” he pointed to the right, “and I’ll go this way,” he pointed to the left. “That way he can’t catch the both of us.”

“F.O.N.Z.” replied Richie and gave him a thumbs up. “Oh, by the way, you guys didn’t see us, okay?” then they were gone outside in a blink of an eye.

“Where are those little prank pulling punks!” demanded Fonzie who just entered the room a little out of breath from trying to catch his younger brothers. All of the Tracys were in excellent shape, but somehow Chachi and Richie seemed to be the fastest of them. It was probably due to all of the pranks they have pulled through the years which resulted in running away from their furious older brothers.

Ralph, who has been watching the whole event from his piano said “Wow, try and say that ten times fast.” which made Potsie and Joanie chuckle.

Fonzie rolled his eyes. “Very funny, Ralph, you’ve been hanging around Rich way too much. Did you see where they went?”

Before Ralph could even open his mouth to reply, Potsie said “I thought I saw them run outside.”

“Thanks, Pots.” said Fonzie and ran as fast as he could outside.

Joanie pointed at Potsie. “I don’t know who’s worse with the pranks, Chach and Rich or you. Aren’t you supposed to be the second eldest and more mature out this bunch.”

“I’m hurt, Joanie,” said an innocent looking Potsie. “But who agreed to help me wholeheartedly?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Warren Scott Tracy. Me out of all people would not help you pull a prank on those two even if they deserved it.” replied Joanie with mock-seriousness. Then they started laughing, even Ralph couldn’t help but start laughing at their banter.

[Race's Girl]

Chapter 2: The Mystery guest

Howard Jefferson Tracy was sitting in his den finishing up on some paper work for the day when he received a call. “Hello, Lori Beth, how are you?” he greeted Lori Beth Crieghton-Ward.

“Hey, Mr Tracy, I’m fine. I just called to tell you that our ETA's 10 minutes. Our guest's getting quite excited and can't wait to see everyone.” she replied.

“That’s great, I can’t wait to see her too, it’s been awhile since she’s been home. The boys don’t know she’s coming, so they’ll be happy to see her, especially Chachi.” said Howard while mentally crossing his fingers…Last year when Potsie was in the USAF on leave for the holidays, he and the guest didn’t quite see eye to eye. When he left to return to duty, they weren’t speaking to each other and that was the last time they saw one another. They were both still teenagers (both Potsie and the guest being 18), so it was probably the raging hormones that got the best of them…he hoped.

“We’ll see you soon.” smiled Lori Beth as she signed off knowing perfectly well what Howard was thinking.

Howard got up and started walking to the living room still deep in thought about how the evening will develop. When he entered the living room, he looked outside at the sight of Fonzie throwing a screaming and fully clothed Chachi into the pool while an also fully clothed Richie was climbing out.

Howard chuckled and shook his head wondering Will my boys ever grow up? deep down though, he wished that they never will. “Alright, boys, go get dried off and changed. We've got a special guest coming tonight for dinner.”

Everyone looked at each other thinking the same thing. Who could it be because dad never brings anyone to the island unless it’s an emergency or someone to talk about Tracy Industries and went off to get ready.

A few minutes later, the Tracy brothers and Joanie were sitting in the living room waiting for Howard, who just went to go greet this mystery guest.

“It’s probably some scientist with a list of PhD’s that’s longer than my arm.” suggested Chachi who shivered. The last time there was a visitor, it was the most boring scientist Chachi has ever met. The man constantly drawled on about nanotechnology and Chachi was sure that he even saw his father’s eyes glaze over after the second hour.

“Or some boring politician.” said Richie. One time, some senator came for dinner and didn’t stop talking about the rights of Canadians who travel in Africa. Richie still swore by that day that he saw Potsie starting to fall asleep at the table.

“It could be that new member for International Rescue that dad’s been talking about forever.” suggested Ralph. Everyone stopped talking and was pondering his idea. Howard had been talking about having an extra member for International Rescue for several months now but no one ever thought that he was actually going to go through with the idea though.

As they were all in deep discussion about who this mystery guest could be, they didn’t even notice Howard, Lori Beth, Tom and the guest walk into the room. Howard cleared his throat and they turned around in surprise.

The guest was a woman in a USAF uniform. She was in her early twenties and a little shorter than five foot three inches tall with her dark brown hair tied up in a neat bun. Potsie noticed she had brilliant brown eyes that had a hardness to them from being in the military but they seemed to dance with a mischievous fire that intrigued him.

She smiled at the group, it was one of those smiles that lit up a room and was the most beautiful smile that Potsie had ever seen. He sat there and thought She somehow looks pretty familiar but I can’t place where I’ve seen her face. I think I would remember someone that beautiful.

Then she spoke “Oh my God, Chachi, is that you? Last time I saw you, you had to be about ten years old. Wow, Joanie, you're lucky to have a man as good looking as Chachi.”

Chachi jumped up from where he was sitting blushing just as much as Joanie. He said “Jennifer! I can’t believe it’s you!” and ran to give her a hug.

Recognition hit everyone else’s faces and they all ran to greet her except Potsie. He stood there dumbfounded, No, it can’t be Jennifer. The last time I saw her, she was a sweet eighteen year old and she bugged the hell out of me.

Potsie was so deep in thought that he didn’t notice Howard walk up beside him and he jumped when he heard his name. “Potsie, why don’t you go say hello, it’s been awhile since you last saw her. Oh… and try to get rid of the look like you’ve just been slapped in the face.” chuckled Howard.

Potsie couldn’t help but smile. “Am I that obvious?”

Howard smiled even more. “Yes, she’s probably just as anxious to see you too”. That made Potsie laugh and he went to go greet Jennifer. Howard grinned. Finally my family is reunited for good.

Lt. Jennifer Jerome walked into the living room, which hadn’t changed much since the last time she was here, smiling at the group chatting. She picked Fonzie out in a minute right when he smiled, she always loved his kind and gentle smile. He still had his dark hair and seemed to be a little bit paler than his brothers who had nice dark tans from living on the island.

Then she saw Chachi who had really grown up since the last time she was here. He was sitting by Joanie, who was turning into a beautiful young woman and will probably keep Chachi in line. They were holding hands, unlike the last time she saw them when they were two fighting ten year olds. Jennifer thanked God that the advice she has given him over the past year when he phoned had worked.

She saw Ralph and Richie and was amazed by how much they have grown since the last time she saw them, she always remembered them being much shorter than her. Ralph still had that protectiveness over his younger brother Richie, who still had the demeanor of a carefree and venturous young man.

Then there was Potsie…he was still taller than her and he sure wasn’t the stocky airman that she remembered all those years ago. It seems those years in the military had done a lot of good for him mentally…and physically. She looked at his eyes and there seemed to be a burden of responsibility in his cobalt blues, but there still was a hint of his old mischief and fun loving self inside. He laughed at something Richie said and she fell in love with it all over again. Potsie had one of those laughs that it doesn’t matter how bad of a mood you’re in his laugh would make you smile.

She decided to speak “Oh my God, Chachi, is that you! Last time I saw you, you had to be about ten years old. Wow, Joanie, you're lucky to have a man as good looking as Chachi.” Jennifer knew very well about Chachi and Joanie’s relationship because not too long ago had he phoned to ask about some female advice and wanted to keep it between them. Ever since Marion Tracy died ten years ago, Chachi became close to Jennifer looking up to her as almost a motherly figure.

She saw Chachi jump up from where he was sitting blushing just as much as Joanie, which made her smile even more. He said “Jennifer! I can’t believe it’s you!” and came to give her a hug.

She then saw everyone else get up with big smiles on their faces and almost a relieved look on Joanie’s face now not having to be the only girl in the house to deal with the Tracy testosterone. She noticed that Potsie hung back from everyone else and saw Howard talk to him, Potsie laughed and they walked towards her.

Howard reached her first and gave her a big hug, “I’m glad that your back to stay.”

“Me too, Mr. Tracy.” said Jennifer. A couple of months ago, Howard phoned Jennifer to see if she was interested in working for him. She said yes immediately without even being told about the job position and decided to retire from the Air Force to move back home on Tracy Island.

“How many times do I have to ask you to call me Howard?” he smiled.

“At least one more time, sir.” grinned Jennifer at their little inside joke.

“Well I’ll go see if Marion needs some help in the kitchen while everybody gets comfortable. Lori beth, would you care to join me?” asked Howard.

“I'd love to.” replied Lori Beth and they both left followed by Tom who would no doubt be helping too.

Then Potsie approached her. “Umm…hey, Jennifer, long time no see…how’s life in the Air Force?” asked Potsie. Why do I feel so awkward? She’s like a sister to me.

“It…It was a blast being in the search and rescue division.” she stammered, thinking, Potsie’s like a brother to me. I shouldn’t be getting nervous around him. “How’s it like working for your dad?” Jennifer asked knowing perfectly well that the Tracy boys are the Fonziebirds, though they have no idea since she had just been briefed about International Rescue by Howard and about the job position he had for her.

“Uhh…you know same old same old, loads of paperwork and corporate people to deal with. Not as grand as people think” rambled Potsie. Jennifer nodded trying not to laugh and decided that she’ll let Howard drop the “She knows about the Fonziebirds” bomb later on.

“So, Joanie, how’s it like living with these guys nowadays?” asked Jennifer.

“Oh…they’re a disaster to live with.” giggled Joanie. “They’re always pulling pranks on everyone and chasing each other around, they’re like little kids.”

“Hey!” said Chachi. “I think that you’re going out with one of these so called little kids.”

“You’re right, Chach, I forgot,” Joanie said snapping her fingers in realization “Come here, honey and sit beside your girlfriend.” she motioned to Richie, who with a huge grin sat beside her and let her snuggle up against him which made everyone laugh.

“So it’s going to be just like old times,” chuckled Jennifer. “Who are the worst pranksters nowadays?”

“Rich and Chach seem to be the masterminds most of the time!” replied Fonzie.

“Yeah, they did a number on you today.” laughed Ralph and that made Fonzie mock-pout.

“Awww…muffin. I’ll help you get them back.” said Jennifer and she hugged him like a little kid.

“Well, we learned from the best.” said Richie.

“Yeah, Jennifer and Potsie.” added Chachi, who made sure to emphasize their names.

Jennifer and Potsie both looked at each other and blushed at the comment. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Chach.” said Potsie, intentionally not looking at anyone in the eyes.

“What’s this?” chuckled Joanie at Potsie’s reaction.

“When Potsie and Jennifer were younger, they were the best pranksters in the family.” informed Ralph.

“They make Chach and Rich’s pranks look like child’s play,” added Fonzie. “One time, they even teamed up and got dad.”

That comment made Jonie look at Jennifer and Potsie with astonishment. “You two actually successfully pulled a prank on Mr. Tracy? He always knows when a prank is going to be pulled on him.”

“Yeah, they became mine and Chachi’s role models after that.” laughed Richie.

“Time to eat!” yelled Howard and everyone went to the table. After a good meal and a long time swapping stories old and new, it was time for everybody to retire for the evening.

Howard walked Jennifer to her old room that was still the same when she left for the Air Force. He promised to make sure that the boys didn’t go in while she was gone. Howard informed Jennifer that tomorrow will be a fun filled day of getting to know about International Rescue and then said goodnight. Jennifer settled down on her bed barely able to contain her excitement for tomorrow to come.

[Race's Girl]

Chapter 3: Raiding The Freezer

Flashback

14 year old Jennifer was in Colorado learning how to snowboard with her entire family, who were having a big family reunion. Everybody was having a good time, when all of a sudden they heard a rumbling sound and the ground started to vibrate. They all looked up the mountain and saw a cloud of white starting to rush down towards them. Jennifer heard someone scream, “Avalanche!” and everybody starting skiing down the mountain to the closest avalanche shelter.

Jennifer being inexperienced hit a mogul with her board and fell. A redheaded woman saw this happen and she broke off from her fleeing family to help her up. They both looked at each other knowing that they didn’t have enough time to get to one of the avalanche shelters. They both hugged each other and Jennifer looked up at the woman with a tear streaked face and said “Thank you.” Then she was consumed by darkness.

End Flashback

Jennifer gasped as she shot straight up from her bed. She started to shake and noticed she was covered in a sheen of sweat. She settled back down in her bed to try and go back to sleep, but after 15 minutes she knew it wasn’t going to happen. So, she got up, put on her USAF sweatshirt over her pj’s and tip-toed downstairs into the kitchen to raid the freezer for some ice cream.

When she got there, she noticed a figure sitting in the kitchen already digging into a pint of Hagen Daaz cherry cheesecake ice cream. The figure looked up. “Couldn’t sleep?”

“No, I see you couldn’t too, Mr. Tracy.” replied Jennifer with a smile. She grabbed a spoon and a pint of Hagen Daaz Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, sat down across the table from him and started digging in.

“So, what’s your reason for talking a midnight dip into the freezer?” asked Howard with a wink.

“Had the same bad dream again and yourself?” said Jennifer.

“Ditto.” replied Howard.

Flashback

Howard and Marion Tracy were vacationing in Colorado with their boys. This was the first trip in awhile since he and Lucille have been busy with work. They were having a great time teaching their boys how to ski. When they heard someone scream “Avalanche!” they started for the nearest avalanche shelter.

Howard got the boys to the shelter and noticed that Lucille wasn’t with them. He looked outside and saw that she was helping a little girl up and that they were still some distance away. He yelled “Marion!” and started to leave the shelter. One of the other occupants grabbed him and said “It’s too late, they’ll never make it.” but Howard refused to give up he grabbed for the door and then the avalanche hit.

Search and Rescue was out there in no time trying to find survivors. Howard volunteered to help, but they refused and said that he should take the boys to the lodge to wait for any news of their mother. He reluctantly agreed and they waited in the lodge holding onto each other and praying that everything would be alright.

Some time later, they heard yelling and they saw Marion and the little girl being wheeled into the lodge and outside to the waiting ambulances. Howard grabbed the boys and piled them into their car to follow the ambulance to the hospital.

Howard was waiting in the ER when the doctor came in. The doctor had a solemn look on his face and took Jeff to the side away from earshot of the boys. “I’m sorry, Mr. Tracy but your wife has severe internal bleeding and we can’t stop it. If she got here just a little bit sooner, we might have been able to help her.”

Howard just sat there in shock not knowing what to say. “Can…can we see her?” he finally stammered out.

“Of course you can.” replied the doctor.

Howard got the boys and entered the room. There laying on a hospital bed was Marion, she didn’t look like she was in any pain at all and there beside her in another bed was the little girl. Marion looked up at Howard with a sad smile and no words needed to be said. Marion looked at the boys and gave each one a hug and kiss said she loved them and that she will be very proud of them no matter what they do. The boys looked at her and smiled sadly. Howard then asked a 14 year old Potsie to take his brothers out for a couple of minutes so he can talk to their mother.

Before Howard could say anything, Marion said “I want you to do me a favour, Howard.”

“Anything for you.” he said.

“Look at that little girl over there,” they looked at the girl lying peacefully in the next bed with a broken arm and a tear streaked face. “Her name is Jennifer and I want you to take care of her. The doctors said that her entire family was killed in the avalanche. It was so strong that it destroyed the avalanche shelter her family was in. She doesn’t have anybody to take care of her now and she’s only 14 years old.”

Seeing the look of shock and sympathy on his face, Marion knew that Howard had already fallen in love with the girl and that he would. “I promise” he said.

“Thank you so much,” she said and a single tear fell down from her face. “Tell the boys again that I love them and that I'll miss them.”

“We love you too, mom, so very much and we’ll miss you too.” said a 13 year old Ralph just as the boys entered the room. Everybody smiled and then Marion Tracy closed her eyes and gave her last breath. When that happened everybody just sat holding each other in silence while tears ran down their faces.

End Flashback

Howard shivered at that memory again and looked up at Jennifer. Even though he lost his wife, he gained a special woman that he liked to call his daughter even though she wasn’t adopted.

“Do you miss her?” asked Jennifer.

“Yes, I do. You probably miss your family too, don’t you?” said Howard.

“I do, but I can’t remember them that much. I have you guys though and you have been the best family I have ever had and ever will have.” smiled Jennifer. Even through her smile, Howard could see the pain still in her eyes after all of these years.

To lighten the mood, Howard smiled back “I knew I liked you the best.” and they both started to laugh.

After a little bit more talking, Jennifer started to get tired. “Well, I’m going to go to bed, don’t stay up too late.” which made Howard laugh, she always seemed to act like a mother to everyone. She got up to leave smiling and waved goodnight.

While walking to her room, Jennifer went check on everyone to see if they were alright, which was an old habit she couldn’t shake off. She checked Chachi’s room first and saw that he was snuggled under the covers cuddling up against the teddy bear she bought for him when he was 5. When Jennifer gave him the bear, she told him that it was his guardian angel to help his mother look after him. So, for a couple of years, he carried that bear with him everywhere so he would always have his mother with him.

Jennifer went on to Richie’s room and saw that he was sleeping the wrong way on his bed with his feet sitting on his pillow and his head at the foot board. He was also laying on top of the covers from tossing in his sleep. Jennifer remembered before she left for the Air Force, a 14 year old Richie tossing so much in his bed that his feet were on the bed and the rest of him was on the floor in the morning. She couldn’t help but smile at the memory.

Jennifer then ventured to Ralph’s room. She saw that his bed was empty and that he was sleeping at his desk where there were sheets of music everywhere. In the middle of the night, Ralph would always get ideas on how to fix a song he was composing and fall asleep at his desk. She went over to wake him up and then helped him into his bed so he would get a good rest and not wake up in the morning with a sore neck.

She then went to check on Fonzie. Fonzie was sprawled all over the bed and tangled in his covers. She always wondered how he got into that mess and how he ever got out in the morning. He had his arm over his face to cover his eyes like he was hiding from the world. That always worried her so she moved his arm away from his face and continued onward.

She hesitated when she reached the door for Potsie’s room but her habit got the best of her and she looked in. He was laying on his bed tossing and turning in his sleep mumbling something she couldn’t understand. Jennifer rushed over and saw that he was having a very bad nightmare. He was covered in sweat and she saw tears running down his face. Her heart broke seeing him in this state.

Ever since Potsie’s mother died, he would occasionally have horrible nightmares. He never talked about them with anyone but one night when they were younger, Jennifer heard him and confronted him the next morning about the dreams. After her persistent pestering, he gave in and opened up to her about them and that was something they kept secret.

Potsie’s mumbling broke her out of her reverie; he seemed to be getting worse. She started to talk quietly to him and stroked his hair to soothe him from his dream. After what seemed like forever, he calmed down to a deep sleep and Jennifer felt confident enough to leave the room. When she shut the door, she turned around to Howard standing in the hallway.

“You have to be the only person to calm him down that fast.” smiled Howard.

“Why? How did…? How long have you been in there for to try to calm him down before?” she asked surprised.

“It would range to several hours to most of the night. You only took an hour,” he grinned. “How long have you known about the dreams?”

“Since I was 12, I made him talk about them so he didn’t have to bottle it all up, something we both know he’s very good at doing.” she said.

Howard chuckled. “You’re right, we need to work on him being more open with everyone.”

“Same goes for Fonzie,” said Jennifer. “He’s too cool for his own good. I’ll work on getting him to be more outgoing first.”

Howard chuckled. “We conspire way too much. Well, we’ll talk about this later it’s getting late.”

“You’re right, well I’ll see you in the morning, bright and early.” and walked to her room to get some sleep for the remainder of the night.

Howard walked back to his room and realization dawned on him. Jennifer reminded him of Marion. Jennifer had the same sense of humour, patience, temper, and most of all heart. He crawled into bed thinking how lucky he was to have such a good and caring woman back with the family…and part of International Rescue.

[Race's Girl]

Chapter 4: Morning

It was 0700 when Jennifer woke up. Wow, I really slept in, her usual wake up time being 0600 but it was a long night and she wasn’t in the USAF anymore so there’s no need to worry about getting an earful by her superiors.

She changed into her athletic shorts and tank top and put on her runners and favourite baseball cap for her morning run. Right when she was about to leave the room, she grabbed her mini radio and put on ‘I Got Sting’ by Elvis Presley which is her favourite song to work out to.

When she entered the living room/kitchen she was surprised to see Marion making coffee and an ever sleepy Chachi barely able to keep his eyes open sitting at the table. “Good morning, you two,” Marion looked up, greeted her and continued making coffee. “Why are you up so early, Chachi?” she asked.

“Huh? Oh…good morning… Joanie wants me to go hiking with her this morning to see the sunrise!” replied Chachi.

Jennifer batted her eyelashes. “Awww, How romantic.”

“Very funny, Jennifer and what’s wrong with that?” grinned Chachi. “Why are you up so early?”

“I’m actually going out for my morning jog along the beach.”

“OOhhh, then you might run into Potsie out there. He should be up shortly and he goes for a run too. Would you like some pepper spray?” teased Chachi.

Jennifer laughed “No thanks. I brought my own just in case.”

Both Chachi and Marion laughed quietly. Then she waved goodbye and started off along the beach.

After a half and hour, she decided to turn back. While she was running, she noticed Richie and Ralph sitting on the beach donning their dive gear to explore the local reef before breakfast. She ran up to them and without missing a step ruffled their hair, turned around and waved. They both looked at her and waved back smiling.

Jennifer looked up at the distant cliff and saw Chachi and Joanie cuddling and watching the sun rise. She smiled Ahh, young love and continued back to the house after taking a glance at the sun rising herself.

Then she saw Potsie jogging towards her and started to get nervous again. She decided to through caution into the wind, so right when she ran past him she said “Good Morning, Warren!” and winked. Warren was Potsie’s real first name and Chachi told her last night that they haven’t called him that in years because it made him feel like his rock 'n' roll namesake. He stopped dead in his tracks and turned around blushing, then continued on. Jennifer was positive that she saw a hint of a smile.

When Jennifer reached the house, she saw Fonzie in his swimsuit dozing off in the deck chair by the pool. She smiled evilly and grabbed his ice water that was on the nearby table and poured some of it on his stomach. Fonzie, being taken by surprise, jumped right out of the chair and glared at her.

“You’re gonna get it now!” said Fonzie failing miserably to wipe the smile off his face.

“Pardon? I have my mini radio on, I can’t hear you! You’re going to have to speak up!” she mockingly yelled back.

Fonzie grabbed the mini radio, tossed it on the chair, grabbed Jennifer and jumped in the pool with her in his arms. When they got to the surface she said “If you wanted to go for a swim, you could have just asked.” They both started laughing and got into a splashing fight.

Potsie returned to see Fonzie and Jennifer splashing in the pool, shaking his head he continued to the house. He unfortunately wasn’t fast enough when two pairs of arms grabbed him and threw him in the pool. Potsie came sputtering to the surface seeing Fonzie and Jennifer sitting on the pool deck from laughing so hard. “That’s for yesterday.” said Fonzie after seeing the surprised look on Potsie’s face. “You thought I wouldn’t find out but Rich always tells the truth when you tickle him.”

“It was his idea, he made me help throw you into the pool.” giggled Jennifer.

Potsie put his hands on his hips attempting to be annoyed but a bout of laughter threatened to emerge. “You have to be the worst liar I have ever met, Jennifer.”

Fonzie tried to push Jennifer in the pool but from her training in the Air Force she easily dodged him and pushed him in, then jumped in laughing. All three continued the splashing fight. After a while, they got out and dried off.

Jennifer was wringing out her hat. “Well, that was refreshing. Potsie, remind me never to splash Fonzie again.”

Fonzie chuckled “Well that’s what you get for dealing with a sleepy Tracy, dig it?” Jennifer laughed and smacked Fonzie in the arm. Then she left to go get ready for breakfast. “You know what? I’m glad she’s back.” he turned to Potsie, who was staring at her leaving. “Yo? Fonziebird 5 to Potsie? Are you there?” he said waving his hand in front of Potsie’s face.

Potsie snapped back to reality. “Huh…oh sorry, what did you say?”

“What’s with you, Pots? You’ve been nutso ever since Jennifer arrived last night. Do you have the hots for her or something?”

Potsie blushed. “Oh no…you know she’s…just different than I remember.”

“So you do like her,” stated Fonzie. Potsie just blushed more. “Hey, bro, it’s okay to tell me. It’s not like you’re talking to dad.”

Potsie scratched his head “I know…it’s just…I’ve gone out with a lot of girls…and she…somehow makes me weak at the knees. I don’t know…that just sounded really corny, didn’t it?”

“No it didn’t. I think Jennifer's the first chick that's down to earth and is more like you than those clueless chicks that you dated.” said Fonzie. They both stood there in silence thinking. Then all of a sudden, Fonzie put his younger brother in a headlock and gave him a noogie. “Come on, last one at the table gets no bacon.” he laughed and ran to the house with Potsie not far behind.

A now dry Jennifer sat at the table ready to eat anything in sight because you know splashing in the pool really takes a lot of energy. Marion came out with the best breakfast she hasn’t seen in a very long time. When everybody was finishing their breakfast and idly chatting, Howard turned to Jennifer. “So, are you ready for today?”

“Oh yes, sir. I was so excited, I couldn’t even sleep.” she said.

“Good, I’m going to show you the desk control centre in my den, introduce you to the ‘birds and start you in the simulator today.” informed Howard. Everybody just stopped eating and slowly turned their heads at Howard and Jennifer with astonished looks on their faces. “Oh I forgot to tell you all… Jennifer's the new member of International Rescue I’ve been talking about for months.” he smiled. Everybody got up and gave Jennifer their congratulations.

“I thought it was going to be some pig-headed fighter pilot,” said Chachi. “No offence, Potsie, Jennifer.”

“None taken.” they both said unanimously which made everyone laugh. Howard was so happy that the boys took the news so well.

[Race's Girl]

Chapter 5: The Return of the Candy Man

It had been a couple of weeks and Jennifer’s training had gone very well. She flew through the simulations like they were child’s play and everybody was impressed at the speed she was progressing at.

Jennifer just finished returning from a week of training on Fonziebird 5 and Fonzie reported that she is a quick study and has pretty much mastered the operations. She’s even helping Scott with the upgrades on Fonziebird 1. Usually, Potsie liked to do the upgrades himself and rarely asked for help, just like the rest of the boys with their Fonziebirds.

The real surprise was how well Potsie and Jennifer were getting along recently. It seems that you wouldn’t see the one without the other, they even started jogging together. Though they say they say there was nothing going on between them, Howard can tell just by the way they look at each other that there was something more…even if they didn’t realize it yet.

Howard was sitting in the den smiling at how well the past weeks have progressed when he got a call from Fonziebird 5.

“Fonziebird 5 to base.” called Fonzie.

“Go ahead, Fonzie.” answered Howard.

“Dad, there’s been an earthquake in Japan, they’re requesting the Fonziebirds to come and help evacuate the area!” said John.

“Tell them we’ll be on our way and our ETA is 15 minutes.”

“F.O.N.Z, Dad, over and out.”

Howard signaled the boys. They came in running with Jennifer. “We’re going to Japan, boys. There’s been an earthquake and we have to evacuate the area. Jennifer, I want you to stay here with Al to watch how we do the rescue.” Everybody nodded and off they went.

The Candy Man waited on his ship out of range of the Tracy’s security net, which was put in place after the first time he took over the island, to see Fonziebirds 1 and 2 take off and shook his fist to the sky. “This time, I won’t fail on enacting my revenge on you, Howard.” A couple of weeks ago, the Candy Man managed to escape prison with his two assistants Sticky and Eugene.

“The Fonziebirds are now out of range, sir.” reported Sticky.

“Very good, Sticky. Hopefully, we don’t have to deal with those little brats this time but I brought a little task force just in case.” the Candy Man turned to the twenty biggest, meanest and most highly trained men that he recruited for this task. “Put the ship in stealth and head for the island.”

“Yes, sir.” smiled Sticky and set a course for Tracy Island.

Five minutes later, they reached the island. The task force fanned out in the Tracy house and secured all areas keeping guards everywhere this time. The Candy Man, Sticky and Eugene headed to the control centre with three other members trailing behind, alert for anything to happen. “Remember what I said, Eugene, I’m not going to hold you back this time, they made fools out of all of us and it’s payback time.” said the Candy Man. When they reached the door, Eugene smashed through just like the second time with an evil grin on his face waiting for anybody to confront him.

Jennifer was watching in fascination on how professional the Tracy’s are when they’re on a mission. She and Al were monitoring the rescue and giving them advice and ideas as it went along. When all of a sudden, the door exploded and 6 people walked in.

One was a short overweight man with a very menacing face that would give any kid nightmares for months; the other was the smallest man that Jennifer had ever seen, she swore that she saw the man glare at Al; the other was a huge man that looked like he could pick up Fonziebird 2 with one hand and the other three were just big muscular men that wore the same black outfit as the tallest one, probably henchmen.

Before any of them could even blink, one of the henchmen grabbed Jennifer and threw her against the wall.

“What’s going on, Al?” demanded Howard who heard the commotion over the intercom.

“Well hello there, Howard.” sneered the overweight man.

“Who’s that?” whispered Jennifer.

“That’s the Candy Man.” said Al with as much disgust as he could muster at the moment. Chachi informed Jennifer of the Candy Man a little while ago. He told her about the whole summer disaster that happened last year when the Hood took over the island. She was appalled that someone would try to destroy something that was a benefit for all mankind.

“What do you want from us this time?” asked Howard, who was in Fonziebird 2 with Ralph, with barely controlled rage.

“Why revenge, Howard ol’ boy,” smiled the Candy Man. “I want you to return to the island and relinquish your amazing machines to me so I can continue with my first plan of robbing the world banks.”

“That’s never gonna happen.” said Potsie who has been watching the whole conversation along with the rest of the Tracys.

“Oh really,” smiled the Candy Man. “I'd be singing a different tune if I was you.” The Candy Man beckoned for Eugene who grabbed Jennifer by the back of her neck and brought her to the screen.

“You jerk, I swear if you harm a hair on her head, I'll hunt you down to the center of the earth and kill you!” snarled Potsie. Everybody was taken aback by his sudden outrage even the Candy Man.

“I see someone has feelings for this young woman. Well I’ll see that she gets proper care then. Eugene, show the Tracys how nice we’ll be to her.” said the Candy Man.

“With pleasure.” said Eugene and he backhanded Jennifer across the face so hard that she fell to the floor.

“You have one hour.” said the Candy Man and then the screen went blank.

“You lousy monster!” yelled Howard and Potsie. Potsie started to run towards Fonziebird 1 but Chachi and Richie, who having been manning Mobile Control with him, blocked him.

“What do you think you’re going to do when you get there, Potsie, just storm in and get her?” asked Richie who was barely able to contain his anger as well.

“Yeah, you need a plan before barging in there.” added Chachi mirroring Richie’s expression.

Potsie sighed in frustration knowing that they were right. “I know… you’re right. Let’s get packed up as fast as we can and meet dad at the rendezvous point.” Potsie, Richie and Chachi packed up in record time and hurried to the rendezvous to discuss the situation with their father and to make a rescue plan.

[Race's Girl]

Chapter 6: Revenge Is So Sweet

Jennifer was standing in a dark room and she was knee deep in fog. “Hello? Is anybody here?” she called, no one answered. After a while, a figured emerged from the darkness.

“Hello there, Miss…ahhh Lt. Jerome. I took the liberty to scan your memories so I knew what to call you.” said the Candy Man. “What Howard and his pathetic Fonziebirds don’t know is that my mind is more powerful than before and I don’t get weakened anymore, so they’re going to be a little bit surprised for what I have in store for them.” he laughed.

“What are you going to do with me then?” she demanded.

“Well, I was going to do this to Charles but you’ll have to suffice…you’re going to kill the Fonziebirds, my dear!” grinned the Candy Man.

It was turn for her to laugh now. “You’re crazy…I'd never harm them. They’re family to me.”

“They may be but you won’t know that they are by the time I’m done with you. All I need is a couple of hours in your mind and you’ll be under my command. I’ve tried this on the most powerful minds I could find and it didn’t take long to break them.” he laughed and vanished…Then the nightmares began.

Al was sitting on the floor struggling with his bindings when he heard someone groan. He turned around to see Jennifer beginning to stir.

Jennifer bolted up regretting it instantly, her hand shooting to her head grimacing. “How long was I out?” she asked.

“About a couple of hours!” answered a very relieved Al. “Are you alright?”

Jennifer appeared pale, exhausted and very jumpy. “I…I’m fine. What happened while I was out?” she asked looking to see where the Candy Man was.

“When you were knocked unconscious, the Candy Man went to go to meditate while Sticky was working with the new defense system,” informed Al. “She unfortunately hacked in and it’s now online. The Tracy’s won’t be able to get on the island.”

“Damn…oh sorry.”

“Oh no, damn indeed.” Even in the situation that they were in, she couldn’t help but smile at his comment. Then the Candy Man entered the room.

“Ahhh…I can see that Lt. Jerome has woken up from her little nap. Let’s see how far we have progressed with your…training.” smiled the Candy Man.

“What’s he talking about?” asked Al with a perplexed look at Jennifer.

“Whatever I do, Al, it’s not the real me.” she said as two guards grabbed her and injected her in the arm with a needle. She noticed she was starting to get sluggish while trying to fight off the guards.

“You're quite right, Lt. Jerome,” said the Candy Man. “but the Tracy’s won’t know that.” Then his eyes changed to the familiar cat slit red, Jennifer was barely conscious and clutched her head, then she slumped to the floor. When she awoke, she looked at Al with cloudy empty eyes and walked over to stand beside the Candy Man. “Don’t worry, Professor Delvecchio, she’s still in there…barely.” laughed the Candy Man.

“What have you done to her?” demanded Al.

“Why, I just used her fears against her and the little sedative I gave her helped me use them more effectively. You didn’t know, professor but little Miss Lieutenant here has blamed herself for the death of Mrs. Tracy and fears that the Tracy’s would turn on her one day.” explained the Candy Man.

“The Tracy’s would never do that.” argued Al.

“Yes, I know,” said the Candy Man disgusted at the Tracy’s loyalty. “Even Lt. Jerome knows that too but somehow this fear is still deep inside her.” The Candy Man laughed and walked out of the control room with Jennifer trailing behind. Right at that moment, Al knew that the situation had gone from bad to worse.

[Race's Girl]

Chapter 7: The Plan

When the Candy Man cut off the transmission, Howard was fuming. He turned to Ralph who seemed to be reflecting on the turn of events. “Ralph, I want you to pack up the Mole. We’re meeting Potsie, Richard and Chachi ASAP.” he said.

“F.O.N.Z.” said Ralph and left to go pack up.

When they arrived at the rendezvous point, Potsie, Richie and Chachi were already out of Fonziebird 1 discussing their plan of action. Howard climbed out of Fonziebird 2 with Ralph not far behind and came face to face with a very angry and stressed Potsie.

“We've gotta home now. The Candy Man won’t be so lenient this time. He’s probably gonna kill them.” rambled Potsie.

Howard wasn’t surprised this time at Potsie’s anxiety. He could tell that Potsie was worried about Al but most of his worry was for Jennifer. “Don’t worry, we’re going to stop him for good this time.” Howard said reassuring his second eldest son. Before anybody could say anything, there was a call.

“Fonziebird 5 to Fonziebird 2.” said Fonzie.

“We’re here, what’s going on, son?” replied Howard.

“It’s good to here your voice,” said Fonzie. “I might have a plan to get you guys back on the island.” he said the later with a smile.

“That’s great!” said Potsie.

“So what’s the plan, Fonz?” asked Ralph.

“When me and Al were on Fonziebird 5 a few weeks ago, we put in a new system. This system's able to track all of the movements in the house if it ever was compromised again.” informed Fonzie.

“You’re the man, Fonz.” said Chachi.

“Also, Al was able to make a back door just in case the security system was activated and we were locked out. The back door's a trapdoor in the reef that is a mile north of the lagoon, just out of range of the security net. The door leads to a tunnel that'll take you right into the lagoon and then you're in the clear.” said Fonzie.

“Dad and I should bring in Fonziebirds 1 and 2 because the Candy Man would be expecting us to show up.” said Potsie.

“You're right,” said Howard. “Ralph, I want you, Richard and Chachi to take Fonziebird 4 to the backdoor. There, Chachi and Richard will dive down and enter it,” said Howard. “Fonzie, I want you to monitor the movement in the house and guide them to the den so they can turn off the defense net for Ralph to enter the lagoon in Fonziebird 4.”

“Then after all of that, we can get the house back by taking down the guards one at a time and then eventually get the Hood.” said Chachi.

“Gee, Chachi, you're smarter than you look despite what everyone says.” smiled Richie. Chachi shot him a look that could turn anyone’s blood cold.

“Alright, you two,” said Howard. “let’s get going our hour is almost up.” Potsie ran for Fonziebird 1 and the rest boarded Fonziebird 2 to turn their plan into action.

In the mean time, Al was trying to formulate his own plan of escape. His train of thought was interrupted when the Candy Man returned with Jennifer in tow. Jennifer had a different outfit on this time. She was wearing combat boots, black fatigue pants and a black tank top (like the rest of the Candy Man’s henchmen) and was armed with a pistol.

Al wasn’t surprised to see how Potsie was attracted to her even though he has denied it several times. In addition to her being really smart, she’s beautiful and in very, very good shape. Al thought she could probably beat Potsie if they ever had a sparring match.

“Now that Lt. Jerome's in her proper attire…the Tracys'll be rather convinced that she works for me now.” grinned the Candy Man.

“You’ll never get away with this,” said Al. “they’ll see right through this façade of yours and know that she’s being manipulated by you.”

“Oh we’ll see, professor.” said the Candy Man.

“Sir, Fonziebirds 1 and 2 are heading towards us. Their ETA'll be 10 minutes.” interrupted Sticky.

“Thank you, Sticky. Well, professor, this has been a lovely chat but I've got some banks to go rob.” said the Candy Man and he left the room with Jennifer following closely behind.

[Race's Girl]

Chapter 8: Surprise!

Potsie was getting really antsy traveling back to the island. He promised to himself that this was the last straw. The Candy Man has tried to kill his family including himself before which has made him mad but the Candy Man had now hurt Jennifer and that made him furious. The Candy Man's not gonna walk away from this attack, Potsie thought. not if I get my hands on him.

“Fonziebird 2 to Fonziebird 1,” called Howard startling Potsie out of his thoughts. “I just dropped off Fonziebird 4 and I’m now continuing towards home.”

“F.O.N.Z, Dad.” said Potsie hoping that they will get out of this crisis in one piece.

When they landed in the hangar, Howard and Potsie walked out of their crafts with their hands in the air indicating that they weren’t armed. The Candy Man was waiting there with the one called Eugene and a couple of guards. Potsie noticed that one of them was a woman but he couldn’t see her face.

“Thank you, Howard, for being so punctual.” grinned the Candy Man.

“I want to see my people.” demanded Howard. That received a punch in the stomach from Eugene. Potsie rushed over to help him up glaring at Eugene.

The Candy Man motioned and the guards parted to show the back of the female guard. She turned around and Howard was horrified that the guard was Jennifer. She walked up to the Candy Man and stood beside him. “Do you like my new personal guard, Howard?” laughed the Candy Man.

“You monster, what have you done to her?” rasped Howard still trying to gasp for air from the punch.

“Why I haven't done anything. Lt. Jerome's been working for me the whole time.” replied the Candy Man with a broad smile. The look of shock and horror on the two Tracys was enough to make the Candy Man laugh even louder.

Potsie walked up to Jennifer. “Jennifer, it’s me, Potsie. How can you do this? I thought we were family.” Jennifer didn’t answer and stared into nothing. Her eyes seemed to be devoid of the sparkle that he loved so much. Potsie saw the area of her face where Eugene had hit her beginning to bruise. He stepped up to her until their faces were inches apart. “C'mon, Jennifer, say something.” pleaded Potsie, she didn’t even flinch.

The hurt look on Potsie’s face made Howard’s heart break. Then Potsie turned to the Candy Man with so much anger Howard thought no human being could ever possess.

“What the hell have you done to her! That isn't Jennifer so I want to see her now!” he demanded shaking with rage and lunged for the Candy Man. Before Potsie could even get within arms length of the Candy Man, he was overwhelmed by darkness.

Howard was stunned by the accusation Potsie made at the Candy Man. Then Potsie lunged at the Candy Man. Howard tried to stop him because that move would have been the last that Potsie would ever make. In a way, it was fortunate that Jennifer brought out her pistol and knocked him out with it before he reached the Candy Man.

“Well I’m glad you’re on my side,” the Candy Man said to Jennifer. “Now pick him up and carry him to the den…after you tie Howard up.” he ordered and walked away.

Jennifer grabbed some rope in the storage locker and proceeded to tie Howard and Potsie up. She slung Potsie over her shoulder and started to the den. Eugene shoved Howard in the same direction to follow her. During the walk, Howard thought he saw a single tear streak down her impassive face.

When they entered the den, Howard sighed with relief to see Al sitting in the corner tied up but in one piece. Al looked up at Howard and attempted a weak smile. “Are you okay, Al?” asked Howard while he was being shoved down beside him.

“I’m okay, Mr. Tracy,” he replied. “What happened to Potsie?” as Potsie was being dropped unceremoniously to the ground by Jennifer.

“Jennifer knocked him out when he went after the Candy Man in the hangar… she’s a lot faster than I thought,” said Howard. Then they heard a moan come from Potsie. “Potsie, son, wake up.” said Jeff.

Potsie slowly opened his eyes and looked at Howard. “How long was I out?”

“Not very long!” answered Howard.

Potsie slowly sat up realizing that his hands were tied and that Al was with them. “Hey, Al, how’s it going?” he said trying to lighten the mood a bit. Al just smiled sadly.

“Potsie, why did you ask the Candy Man what had he done to Jennifer?” asked Howard. “She seemed to be working for him.”

“She’s not, dad. When I looked in her eyes, there was no recognition of who I was.” Potsie answered.

“But she could be just doing that out of training.” countered Howard.

“True, she could have. But it wasn’t just that, it seemed like there was nothing there in her eyes. No anger, disgust or gloating. They were just empty.” said Potsie.

“He’s right, Mr. Tracy,” said Al. “the Candy Man appears to have entered her mind and is now manipulating her thoughts.”

“Do you think it could have been an act that they were putting on to make us believe that?” asked Howard thinking out loud.

“No, Mr. Tracy. When he invaded my mind a year ago, believe me when I say he’s very strong and it’s very unpleasant.” said Al.

Howard turned to Jennifer who was standing guard by the door and hoped what Al was saying was true. All of a sudden, she was starting to fidget and her eyes were beginning to wander in confusion instead of the blank stare just moments before. Then out of the blue, she snapped out of her trance and her eyes went to them.

“Oh no, Mr. Tracy! What happened? What’s going on?” she asked puzzled. Before Howard could answer, Sticky and Eugene entered the room.

“Sir, Lt. Jerome's awake!” Sticky called on his comlink to the Candy Man.

“Eugene, sedate her now so I can get control again. I’ll be there in a few minutes.” said the Candy Man over the comlink.

“Yes, sir.” grinned Eugene and pulled out a needle.

Jennifer spun around and kicked Eugene in the stomach with no affect. Eugene just laughed and continued towards her. Jennifer started backing away from him and secretly pulled her pocket knife out of her rear pocket which she carried with her all of the time. She pretended to trip and fall beside Potsie passing the knife off to him unnoticed by Eugene. She gave him a kiss on the cheek then attacked Eugene. He dodged her attack, punched her in the stomach and jabbed her in the arm with the needle. Jennifer stumbled and hit the ground hard, unmoving.

“Good night.” laughed Eugene.

Potsie couldn’t take it anymore. During the fight, he cut his ropes and he now got up and rushed Eugene. His fist connected with Eugene’s jaw.

Eugene stumbled a little and grinned at Potsie. “I’ve always wanted a challenge.” He then did a roundhouse kicked that hit Potsie’s ribs. Potsie flew into the wall with so much force it made the computer monitors shake. Surprisingly though, Potsie was still conscious and was attempting to rise. Eugene marched over, picked him up by the throat and proceeded to choke him.

“Please stop!” pleaded Howard.

“Why should I?” asked Eugene.

“Because if you don’t, I’ll never tell you the location of Fonziebird 6.” said Howard. Sticky, Eugene and Potsie, still being choked, looked at him in disbelief.

“Everybody knows there are only five Fonziebirds.” said Sticky.

“There is a sixth one though and if you let him go I’ll show you where it’s located. Three ships are always better than two to rob the world banks.” said Howard.

“Okay,” said Eugene and he let go of a gasping and barely conscious Potsie. “But if you’re lying, he’s dead.” Eugene said pointing at Potsie and left the room to go inform the Candy Man of this new situation.

“Are you okay?” asked Howard turning to Potsie.

Potsie had moved his way to Jennifer who was still unconscious and was cradling her in his arms. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he winced. “Why did Eugene sedate her?” he looked at Eugene.

“It seems to be easier for the Hood to manipulate her,” replied Al. “He said that he’s using her fears against her to gain control.”

“Did he say what fear he was using against her?” inquired Howard.

“Abandonment.” said Al not elaborating to Howard about the entire fear. It would break Howard’s and the boys’ hearts if they knew that she was scared of them hating her for Marion Tracy's death.

Their conversation was interrupted by the Candy Man entering the room. His eyes changed again. “Jennifer, you've got to learn not to sleep on the job.” Jennifer’s eyes shot open and she got up out of Potsie’s grasp and stood by the Candy Man. She was pale and was starting to get dark circles under her eyes.

“Now, Howard, why don’t you show us the hiding place of this Fonziebird 6 of yours.” requested the Candy Man.

[Race's Girl]

Chapter 9: The Debut

“Okay, guys, the backdoor should be 10 degrees off the starboard bow” said Ralph inside Fonziebird 4.

“F.O.N.Z.” replied Richie. When Thunderbird 2 dropped Thunderbird 4 off, Virgil, Gordon and Alan started as fast as they could go towards the backdoor.

“Thank God, today was grocery day and Joanie decided to go with her mom.” said Chachi who was thankful that she was out of danger this time.

“I know…I wouldn’t want to think what the Candy Man would do to her if she was there.” added Ralph over the comlink.

Richie and Chachi continued down to the bottom of the reef. It took them a couple of minutes to locate the door, but it didn’t take long for them to get it open. “If I’ve said it before I’ll say it again, Al's an absolute genius and I’ll buy him a drink when this is all over.” said Richie.

“Rich, you’re not old enough to buy him a drink.” said Ralph.

“Well it’s the thought that counts.” replied Chachi.

“When you guys are in the tunnel, we’ll loose radio contact. We want to keep the chatter down to a minimum so when you get in the house, I don’t want you guys to talk on the radio just listen to Fonzie’s instructions. When you guys turn off the security net, signal me and I’ll be there in a jiffy.” said Ralph.

“Did you just say ‘jiffy’?” asked Richie trying not to laugh.

Using a very poor British accent, Chachi said “Well it is the sporting thing kids say today.”

“Cute, you two are real cute. Now hurry up,” said Ralph rolling his eyes at his two younger brothers. “And be careful.” he added worriedly.

“We will.” said Richie and they vanished in the tunnel. Then Ralph just leaned back and started the waiting game.

It wasn’t too long until Richie and Chachi made it to the lagoon. When they reached the shore, they removed their heavy dive gear and started for the house. On the way there, Chachi stopped dead in his tracks looking at the side of the mountain the house was built beside.

“Chachi, this is no time for sight seeing.” said Richie turning around impatiently.

Chachi was staring at the side of the mountain. “Rich, have you noticed this split in the mountain before?”

“What split?”

“This one,” as Chachi pointed to it. The split appeared to travel a good one hundred feet up, three hundred feet across and back down to the ground. “It looks like a door similar to the hangar door Fonziebird 2 comes out of but smaller.”

“I’ve never noticed it before. Well we can ask dad later, we've got something a little more pressing to attend to…like I don’t know…saving our family!” retorted Richie.

“Alright, jeez, I just thought it was something I should point out so I don’t think I’m going crazy or something.”

“Chachi, you’re already crazy.”

“Oh ha..ha..ha, you’re funny.”

“I do my best.” smiled Richie and they continued through the jungle.

Potsie, Howard and Al were being escorted to the hangar by the Candy Man, Sticky and Eugene with Jennifer not too far behind. Potsie tilted his head towards Howard whispering “Why did you tell the Candy Man that there’s a sixth Fonziebird? We don’t want them to get angry any more than they already are.”

“Relax, Potsie. We’ll be okay.” assured Howard.

“You’re asking me to relax when we’re lying to them about the existence of another Fonziebird. I wish I had your confidence.”

“Actually, Potsie, there is another Fonziebird.” said Al.

“What? How long were you two going to keep it secret?” asked Potsie in disbelief that his father would keep something like this a secret.

“We were actually going to reveal it in a few weeks!” replied Howard.

“Canthe chit chat.” ordered Eugene shoving Potsie Scott with his pistol.

When the entered the hangar, Howard guided them towards an empty wall. “Well, this is Fonziebird 6.”

The Candy Man stared at the wall started to laugh. “You've got to be kidding me. I’m not stupid, this is clearly not Fonziebird 6. What’s up your sleeve, Howard?”

“Nothing. I need you to untie me so I can open the access panel to get in.” The Candy Man looked at him skeptically.

“He’s right, sir. There's a panel on the wall approximately twenty feet away.” informed Sticky.

The Candy Man beckoned for Jennifer. “Lt. Jerome, I want you to untie Howard and escort him to the panel. If he does anything suspicious, shoot him.”

Jennifer untied Howard and escorted him to the wall with her pistol pointed at his back. He opened up the panel and put in his access code. The hangar started to rumble as the wall suddenly opened up and Fonziebird 6 finally had its unveiling.

[Race's Girl]

Chapter 10: Here Comes Da Fonz

Chachi and Richie finally made it to the house. “How are we going to get in dad’s den?” wondered Richie out loud.

“Follow me,” said Chachi. They snuck around the pool to one of the ventilation shafts. “This is how me, Joanie and Gina eavesdropped on the Candy Man last year.”

They crawled through the vents and peeked into the den. There was nobody in sight. “Fonz, is there anybody around?” asked Richie in the comlink.

“Not yet but I’ll keep a watch out for you if you dig what I mean.” he replied.

“F.O.N.Z.” said Richie as he and Chachi dropped in the den.

Chachi started hacking into the system to shut down the security net but soon after he realized he couldn’t shut it down. “They seemed to put up some kind of complex firewall, I can’t get in.”

“Let me try,” said Richie. After a couple of tense minutes, Richie got through. “I’ve hacked in so all you need to do now is shut it down manually”

“Thanks, Rich.” said Chachi.

Richie and Chachi proceeded to shut down the security net manually. The security system needed at least two of the Tracys for retinol scans and voice recognition to shut it off. When that was done, they put in a command that would prevent anyone to hack back into the system.

“Guys, two guards are coming your way.” said Fonzie.

Chachi and Richie bolted for the vent. Richie boosted Chachi up and was on his way up when one of the guards grabbed him and threw him away from the vent. Richie landed with a thud as the wind was knocked out of him.

Chachi, not leaving without Richie, jumped down on the first guard knocking them both to the ground. The guard was rendered unconscious from the impact. The second guard called for back up, then attacked Chachi with a punch in the kidneys. Chachi hit the ground in pain. The guard pulled out his pistol and aimed it at Chachi’s head but before he could pull the trigger, he crumpled to the ground. Richie was standing over him with one of their dad’s paperweights in his hand.

“I knew it had to be good for something other than holding down paper.” he shrugged.

“You're nuts.” said Chachi as Richie helped him up.

“Guys, more guards are coming after you. Get out of there!” said Fonzie.

“Too late.” said Chachi as he and Richie saw laser sights pointed at their chests. The guards came in and tied Richie and Chachi up. Then they decided to bring them down to the hangar where the Candy Man would likely reward them for their capture.

When the group reached the hangar, Chaci and Richie saw the Candy Man standing in front of a wall with Sticky and Eugene. They also noticed Potsie and Al tied up waiting with the Candy Man.

“What’s going on?” asked Chachi.

“I haven’t got a clue!” replied Richie.

“Look there’s dad and is that Jennifer?” said Chachi not believing what he was seeing. There against the wall, Howard was typing on a control panel with Jennifer behind him with a pistol pointed to his back.

“I can’t believe Jennifer's working for the Candy Man,” said Richie in shock. “I thought we were family to her.” Then the wall started opening up which drew his attention away from Jennifer. “I don’t remember the wall ever doing that.”

The wall opened up to an additional hangar and there in the hangar was a giant helicopter that was half the size of Fonziebird 2. The helicopter was mostly black with silver accents on the sides and wings and there was “Fonziebird 6” painted on the side in silver as well. The helicopter seemed to be designed for hauling extremely heavy objects but it appeared to have a cargo compartment too. Richie and Chachi were interrupted from their awe by being pushed over to the Candy Man.

Potsie just stood there in amazement at Fonziebird 6. He turned to his father and wondered how he was able to keep this a secret for so long. He heard some people walking behind him and turned around to see Chachi and Richie clad in their wetsuits being pushed towards them by a few guards.

“Sir, we found these two in the den. They took out two of our men and I think that they were able to shut down the security net.” said one guard.

Sticky rushed off to go check on the damage the two Tracys made to the security system. Five minutes later, he called “Sir, they were able to shut down the security net around the island and they appeared to have activated a hidden subroutine that's denying me access back into the system.”

“Blast it! How do we get back in?” demanded the Candy Man.

“You don’t,” answered Howard. “it's shut down and it’ll take days for it to come back online.”

“It doesn’t really matter. I have your Fonziebirds and that’s all that counts,” grinned the Candy Man. “Let’s get ready to bring our plan into action.” The Candy Man walked over to Fonziebird 6 and sat in the cockpit. “This time, we’ll see if this isn’t sabotaged like last year.” He started pre-flight and nothing happened.

“Oh…by the way, the rightful pilot of Fonziebird 6 has to start it. I was able to put in a command that will only allow the pilot to activate it for it's maiden voyage.” said Howard.

“Well then which one of your boys is the pilot?” asked the Candy Man with thinning patience.

“Actually that’s the funny thing. I haven’t recruited the pilot for this Fonziebird yet so that means it’s useless.”

The Candy Man glared at him with his rage simmering just below the surface, but was still able to keep calm. “Lt. Jerome, I want you to take them back up in the den.”

Jennifer pointed her pistol at the Tracys and motioned for them to walk in front of her. When she had them in the den, Eugene came in. “This is so you don’t wake up on us again.” He injected her arm with another needle then left to help pack up the Fonziebirds.

“Okay, I’m really confused. What's going on?” asked Chachi.

“Jennifer's being controlled by the Candy Man. He said that he’s using her worst fears against her.” said Potsie looking like he was miles away. They turned to Jennifer who was just standing there staring into nothing.

“He’s going on with his previous plan of robbing the world banks.” added Howard.

“We've got to stop him.” said Chachi.

“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” grunted Richie. “but how? Like you said, Dad, Fonziebird 6 doesn’t have a pilot so it won’t work.”

“Well that’s not the entire truth,” said Howard. “Fonziebird 6 does have a pilot. It’s just the pilot is a little…preoccupied at the moment.”

Chachi sat there thinking that it might be Fonzie becuase Jennifer was up on Fonziebird 5 being trained for awhile and she could be his replacement, that way, he could stay on the island with everyone instead of being in space.

“Potsie, do you still have the pocket knife Jennifer gave you?” asked Howard.

Potsie’s face lit up from realization. “Yeah, I do.”

“Well start cutting.” ordered Chachi.

After Fonzie lost contact with Chachi and Richie, he decided it was time to take some action of his own. “Computer, you stay up here and monitor everything. I’m going down.” and he left for Fonziebird 3.

While on his way down to Earth, Fonzie called Ralph. “Ralph, you there?”

“Yeah, I’m already at the lagoon and on my way to the house. I just got up to speed on what’s happening.”

“I’m gonna land right in the hangar.” grinned Fonzie.

[Race's Girl]

Chapter 11: The Fun Begins

When Potsie finished cutting through everybodys bonds, they agreed that they had to stop the Candy Man before he left the island and to do that they had to get by Jennifer. The group turned around at once to face her. She got ready in a fighting stance and jumped her.

They finally managed to tie Jennifer up but not without her landing a few punches and kicks. Chachi was sporting a bruised cheek while Richie was getting the beginnings of a black eye. Howard had a bruised jaw and Potsie had a split lip. Al was the only fortunate one. They rushed down to the hangar bay just as Fonziebird 3 was landing.

Fonzie landed Fonziebird 3 hoping that his quick harebrained plan works. He shut it down as fast as he could and he went to the weapons locker. There he grabbed a tranquilizer gun, about forty tranquilizer darts and about half a dozen stun grenades.

As Fonzie exited the craft, he glanced in the hangar to see the Candy Man’s men staring in surprise at Fonziebird 3 landing, he counted at least twenty. This was his chance; he started throwing the stun grenades at the men. As the grenades exploded, the men were trying to find cover while the others were getting caught in the blasts falling to the ground unconscious. He counted ten down so there shouldn’t be that many left.

He loaded the tranquilizer gun and aimed it at some of the men who were still scrambling through the chaos. Three down, about seven to go, he thought to himself. He glanced up to see movement at the entrance and was relieved to see his father, Al and his brothers all in one piece. He saw Ralph drop down from the ventilation shaft and they started for Fonziebird 2. Some of the guards who weren’t as close to the grenade blasts started to regain consciousness and then all hell broke loose.

The Candy Man exited Fonziebird 2 and saw a huge brawl in front of him. His eyes changed and Howard, Chachi and Fonzie were thrown across the hangar. They all recovered and continued the brawl.

Richie was almost to the Candy Man ready to throw a nice punch to his face. The Candy Man’s eyes changed and Richie was thrown up against the Firefly.

Ralph knocked a guard out with a pipe he found and ran towards Richie who was unmoving. “Rich, come on, wake up.”

Richie’s eyes snapped open, when they made eye contact, Ralph knew his brother was going to be fine. Then Richie’s eyes went huge as a tool box flew at them. Ralph shielded Richie from the toolbox which hit him right in the back. Ralph fell to the ground.

“Ralph!” yelled Richie.

Ever so slowly, Ralph got up. “I’m okay.” he said stumbling a little trying to stand. Richie helped him up and a guard came towards them. Richie spun around and kicked the guard right in the knee, breaking it. The guard hit the ground screaming.

Fonzie finished off a guard and turned to see Chachi being choked by a guard almost as big as Eugene. He ran over and tapped the guard on the shoulder. “Yo.” he said. The guard turned around and was greeted with a fist to the nose. The guard dropped a very blue Chachi clutching his nose.

Chachi recovered fast and kicked the guy in the groin smiling. “Thanks, Fonz.”

“Chach, just remind me never to make you mad.” and they grinned.

The Candy Man was furious that his trained me were losing. When he thought that all hope of getting away was gone he looked up to see Jennifer entering the hangar. He smiled and gave her his last orders. Kill Warren Scott Tracy.

Potsie took down two guards when Jennifer attacked. She ran up to him and kicked him right in the stomach. He stumbled to the ground as all of the air left his lungs. Before he could even recuperate, she picked him up by his collar and punched him in the face.

Instead of fighting back, he could try to talk to her and help her fight the Candy Man’s control. “Jennifer, it’s me, Potsie,” he gasped as she hit his ribs. “You've got to snap out of this. You’re stronger than the Candy Man.”

She hesitated for a split second then continued with her assault. Potsie was able to block most of them, but he was starting to tire. He thought maybe a memory would help her.

“Jennifer…remember when we were little and I sprained my ankle?” he asked. “I wanted to be left alone…” he dodged a kick “…and you kept on insisting that I do something …” she landed a punch “…so you made me play all of the board games you could find in the house…” he blocked a fist “…I acted annoyed and said that you should go play with the others the entire time…” stumbled from a kick “…I never told you, but I really had fun that day.” She stopped and her eyes got that familiar sparkle back again but the Candy Man unfortunately got control over her again.

Potsie, being frustrated that it might be impossible to break the Potsie’s control finally decided it was time to fight back. “I’m sorry, Jenny.” He landed a couple of punches. She fell back into some crates but jumped right back into a fighting stance not even fazed. Potsie groaned in disappointment now knowing that this wasn’t going to be an easy fight.

Howard and the rest of the boys finished off the men and were tying them up when the fight between Potsie and Jennifer started. They saw that she was really doing a number on Potsie. They heard him talking to her and she stopped her assault but just for a second.

Then all of a sudden, Potsie started to fight back. Jennifer grabbed the pipe that Ralph found and swung it at Potsie. Potsie grabbed it in mid swing and punched her in the stomach. When Jennifer staggered, Potsie seized the pipe from her grasp and threw it away. She regained her balance and kicked Potsie who blocked it but anticipating the move Jennifer spun around and hit Potsie in the ribs.

Potsie gasped as he was punched in the same spot of ribs that Eugene had hit earlier and fell to the ground with Jennifer looming over.

“Stop toying with him and finish him off, now!” commanded the Candy Man enjoying this far too much. The Candy Man knew that the Tracys would be devastated if the second eldest was killed.

Howard turned in horror to see Jennifer pull out her pistol and point it at Potsie. Potsie said something to her that Howard couldn’t hear and then the pistol went off.

[Race's Girl]

Chapter 12: Lovers Quarrel

After Jennifer’s punch to his ribs, Potsie knew that the fight was over. He hit the ground gasping for air from the fight and the pain in his ribs. He heard the Candy Man commanded Jennifer to finish him off. She pulled out her pistol and pointed it at him. Potsie thought he could try one more thing before he died so he looked in her empty eyes and said “I love you, Jennifer.” He closed his eyes and heard the gun go off.

The funny thing was that he thought dying from a bullet would be painful but he felt nothing. Potsie opened his eyes to see that the gun wasn’t pointed at him anymore but towards Fonziebird 2. He turned to see the Candy Man getting up from the ground clutching his shoulder and struggling to get up Fonziebird 2. Potsie got up shaking and looked at Jennifer.

Jennifer had at last broken the Candy Man’s control over her and was looking at the Candy Man with eyes that were a blaze of fury than the blank stare just moments before. She was so mad at the Candy Man and herself for letting him take control of her that she was crying. Her pistol was still pointed at him and she was getting ready to pull the trigger again. Then she threw it to the ground looking at it like it just scalded her hand. She knew that if she killed him she would be no better than him. Jennifer looked up for the Candy Man but he vanished.

The Candy Man ran up the ramp to the cockpit of Fonziebird 2. “Sticky, get this thing off the ground now!” he commanded.

“Yes, sir.” he answered taking a glance at his bleeding shoulder.

“Eugene, get Fonziebird 1 in the air now.” the Candy Man ordered.

“Yes, sir.” he said and Fonziebirds 1 and 2 lifted off.

Howard and the boys ran over to Potsie and Jennifer, who were exhausted, bruised and bleeding, but relieved that the Candy Man was gone for the moment.

“Are you two okay?” asked Ralph.

“Yeah, we’re fine.” said Potsie taking a glance at Jennifer who was just staring at Fonziebird 2 leaving.

“We've got to go after them.” said Richie.

“Will you two be able to after the Candy Man?” Howard asked Potsie and Jennifer.

“Yeah.” they said unanimously.

“Well let’s move out.” Howard ordered. Everyone boarded Fonziebird 3 but Howard stopped Jennifer before she could get on. He motioned for the rest to go on. “I want you to take Fonziebird 6. When you start pre-flight, there'll be a command that you have to get through in order to activate Fonziebird 6.”

“Will I know it?” she asked.

“You’re the only one who'll know it.” he grinned.

Jennifer smiled back and ran over to Fonziebird 6. She started pre-flight and a the command came up on one of the screens. How many times do I have to ask you to call me Howard?

“At least one more time, sir,” she answered and the lights went on in the cockpit. “Cool.” she exclaimed.

The hangar door for Fonziebird 6 opened up and the floor of the room started moving towards the door. Jennifer started the turbines of Fonziebird 6 and they were music to her ears. She hadn’t realized until that moment how much she missed flying helicopters, those being her specialty of course. The floor of the hangar slid outside so she can make a vertical lift-off and landing. Then she was gone.

“Fonziebird 6 to Fonziebird 3, I’m in the air. The Candy Man seems to be heading towards Milwaukee.” she reported.

“F.O.N.Z.” answered Richie.

“What does the Candy Man want with Milwaukee anyway? Couldn’t he try another place?” asked Chachi.

Ignoring Chachi’s question, Jennifer asked “What was in Fonziebird 2’s pod?”

There was a brief silence, then Ralph spoke up seriously. “The Thunderizer.”

Jennifer sighed in irritation. So the Hood’s probably going to take the front door approach and use the Thunderizer on the safe door. She decided to push Fonziebird 6 to the limit and get there as fast as she could.

[Race's Girl]

Chapter 13: The Final Battle

Jennifer landed Fonziebird 6 to see the Thunderizer unloading from Fonziebird 2’s pod. She grabbed one of the tranquilizer guns and rushed out of Fonziebird 6. Eugene and the Candy Man were in the Thunderizer and Sticky was guiding them off the ramp. Jennifer lined Sticky up in her sights and fired. The dart hit him right in the neck and he collapsed. Jennifer chuckled “Sweet dreams.”

The Candy Man and Eugene saw Sticky collapse and swung the Thunderizer around so it was targeting Arnold's Drive-In. Then the Candy Man fired taking down two of the support struts of Arnold's and proceeded to the bank.

The Tracys were exiting Fonziebird 3 just as Arnold's was fired upon. They heard Jennifer over the comlink. “Guys, get Fonziebird 2 in the air ASAP. I've got a plan.”

They boarded Fonziebird 2 and it was in the air in no time. Fonziebirds 2 and 6 made it over to Arnold's just as it was starting to tip over. Jennifer fired four support cables from Fonziebird 6 to prevent Arnold's from falling on the pedestrians screaming below.

“Fonziebird 2 to base, are you sure that Fonziebird 6 can hold that?” asked Chachi.

“Don't worry, Chachi, it was designed to be able to lift Fonziebird 2.” assured Al which made everyone’s eyebrows shoot up in amazement followed by Richie whistling his.

“Okay, guys, I want you to use the rescue platform to evacuate the civilians that are inside Arnold's Drive-In. When that’s done, I’ll lower Arnold's slowly and then we can go after the Candy Man.” Jennifer ordered.

“Yes, ma’am.” they said smiling at her taking command so suddenly.

The rescue went very smoothly and before they knew it they were finished. Fonziebirds 2 and 6 landed down gracefully again and everybody ran into the bank of Milwaukee.

The bank was already empty, due to the Thunderizer in the middle of the building tunneling right through the safe door. Eugene was watching guard as the Candy Man was manipulating the controls of the Thunderizer. Eugene smiled thinking what he was going to spend his millions on when he was rudely interrupted by five Tracys jumping him.

While the boys were trying to restrain Eugene, Jennifer snuck over to the Thunderizer. She pulled out the tranquilizer gun she still had and aimed it mere inches from the Candy Man’s head. “Stop what you’re doing now.” she commanded.

“Well, Hello there, Lt. Jerome. It’s nice to see that you’re awake and in full control again.” teased the Candy Man, his eyes changing red.

Jennifer shook her head for a second fighting off the Candy Man’s control. “You’re not going to do that again to me,” she said. “You're going to be stopped for good this time.”

The Candy Man stepped out of the Thunderizer. “On the contrary, my dear,” he said taking off his jacket to show C4 strapped all over a vest. The Candy Man activated a timer counting down from ten minutes. “If you do try to stop me, this bomb will go off.” showing her a protected detonation switch on the vest too.

“You wouldn’t be stupid enough to blow yourself up. This is a lose-lose situation for you.” she retorted.

“Actually, no. If I detonate the bomb, the Tracys will die and my revenge is complete. If you let me go free, I still win.”

Seeing that Jennifer wasn’t backing down, he sighed “I guess we’re going to have to do this the hard way,” with on quick swipe, he knocked the gun out of her hands. “You have no idea who you're messing with.”

“Neither do you.” she smiled and attacked the Candy Man.

Eugene was finally restrained and the Tracys stood there catching their breath. They heard fighting and turned to see the Candy Man and Jennifer in hand to hand combat. Jennifer was driving the Candy Man back towards the safe. The Candy Man seemed to be having difficulty blocking most of the blows she was inflicting. When Jennifer got more confidence and thought she was winning, the Candy Man attacked with vengeance.

Jennifer was barely able to block all of the attacks and she was beginning to weary. She glanced to see the Tracys hurrying to assist her. “Get out of here now!” she screamed. “he's got C4…he’s going to blow up the building in ten minutes!”

Potsie stopped them. “Evacuate the area and stay away. I’ll go help Jennifer and get her out of here. That’s an order.” He looked at his brothers knowing that they didn’t want to leave him but they nodded and left following which was probably his last orders. He watched them leave hoping that he will see them again after all of this.

Jennifer was finished, she hit the ground exhausted knowing that she couldn’t get back up. Then the Candy Man pushed his foot to her throat, choking her. He grinned in triumph but stopped and looked up to see Potsie rushing towards them. The Candy Man noticed the tranquilizer gun just two feet from Jennifer’s hand. Jennifer went for it but the Candy Man’s eyes changed and the gun flew to his hand before she could grab it. He fired it at Potsie and the dart hit him right in the shoulder but Potsie was close enough that he was able to tackle the Candy Man off Jennifer before falling unconscious.

The Candy Man pushed Potsie’s limp form off of him and got up to finish Jennifer off but she was gone. The Candy Man looked around everywhere to see where she was hiding but she seemed to have vanished. “Ohhh, Jennifer…Where are you?” he called. There was no answer. Then the Candy Man pulled out a gun from an ankle holster and pointed it at Potsie. “If you don’t come out and surrender, I’m going to kill him!”

Jennifer stood up from her hiding place from the Thunderizer and walked towards the Candy Man with her hands in the air. The Candy Man smiled and pointed the gun at her chest and fired. She dodged but the bullet was faster and it hit her upper left arm. Jennifer hit the ground hissing in pain watching helplessly as the Candy Man pointed the gun at Potsie.

The Candy Man cocked the gun. “Say good bye to your boyfriend.”

Letting her fear and rage engulf every fiber of her being, Jennifer got up and attacked the Candy Man with renewed strength. She knocked the gun out of his hand which skidded away and elbowed him right in the nose. The Candy Man stumbled clutching his nose while his eyes watered but Jennifer gave him no reprieve and continued her assault.

The Candy Man hit the ground clutching his already injured shoulder that Jennifer punched. He was tired and had no strength to get back up. He saw the glint of his gun and went for it but Jennifer was faster this time and she was standing over him with the gun in her hand. She looked at the timer on the vest and saw that they had four minutes left.

“Now, my dear,” she said mocking the Candy Man. “you’re going to deactivate the bomb or I’m going to put a bullet in your skull!”

The Candy Man laughed and then smashed the protective cover over the detonation switch which triggered the bomb. The timer counted down twice as fast. Jennifer looked around and noticed a room not too far away hoping there was still a chance of survival. She ran as fast as she could to Potsie and dragged him to the room, the whole time hearing the Potsie laughing hysterically.

“You’re never going to live through this,” he yelled. “This bomb is going to flatten half of the building and you along with it!”

At that comment, Jennifer shut the door. She flipped a table on its side and dragged Potsie behind it. She shielded Potsie as much as she could with her body then she heard an explosion and the walls started rumbling. The door ripped off the wall and that was the last thing she saw before being consumed by darkness.

Fonzie, Ralph, Richie and Chachi were outside when the bomb blew. They turned to see half of the building collapsing. It didn’t take to long for the dust to settle. When it did, Chachi activated his wrist comlink “Potsie, are you there? Potsie, can you here me?” There was no answer. “For Pete's sake, potsie, quit screwing around!” pleaded Chachi.

Fonzie snapped in commander mode “Ralph, you and I will take Fonziebirds 2 and 6 and start removing the large pieces of rubble. Chach, Rich, you guys coordinate the ground recovery. Let’s blow!” and off they went.

After an hour of searching, their hope was starting to wear thin. Chachi refused to give up but the rest knew that the chances of finding Potsie and Jennifer alive were becoming hopeless.

Two hours later, Chachi’s voice was getting hoarse from calling Potsie and Jennifer. He stopped digging and started to cry from exhaustion and his vanishing hope. Now he knew they were just searching to find their bodies.

Richie saw Chachi and came over to give him a hug shedding silent tears of his own. “It’s okay, Chachi. We’ll find them.”

“No, it’s not okay, even if we find them, they’re going to be dead.” he sobbed.

“Don’t you ever think that, Chachi. They’re going to be alive and we'll find them. I promise.” he reassured his little brother.

Just when they were about to go back to work, they heard knocking and a muffled voice coming from underneath. Richie and Chachi looked at each other with renewed hope and started digging.

Fifteen minutes later, they saw an opening. Chachi squeezed in and looked up at Richie with a giant smile on his face. “They’re here and they’re alive!”

[Race's Girl]

Chapter 14: Recovery

Potsie awoke in a bath of white light. He thought I can’t be dead…can I? while his eyes adjusted he realized he was in the infirmary on Tracy island. Potsie looked around and noticed he had a bandage on his head.

He started to get out of bed when Al walked in. “Hey, Potsie, you’re awake. How are you feeling?”

“Great.” he lied with a smile.

After checking Potsie’s vitals and marking his chart, Al said “I’ll go get your father.” and left the room.

Potsie settled back down in bed wondering what happened and how did he get here. His thoughts were interrupted when Howard entered the room.

“Good Afternoon, how are you, son?”

“I’m fine, I guess. How did I get here?”

“You don’t remember?” Potsie shook his head. “Well, the Candy Man returned and tried to get to us again!” answered Howard.

Potsie just sat there trying to remember anything. “I don’t know why I can’t remember.”

“What do you remember?”

“I remember going to Japan but after that, it’s all fuzzy.”

“Well…it’ll come back in time. You have some bruised ribs and a concussion so if you don’t rest, I’ll make your brothers come in and sing you to sleep.” Howard smiled and left Potsie who was smiling and started to drift off back to sleep from exhaustion of talking to his father.

Flashback

“…if you harm a hair on her head, I'll hunt you down to the center of the earth and kill you!”… extreme worry and fear for Jennifer.

“Jennifer, it’s me, Potsie. How can you do this? I thought we were family?” …feeling anger and betrayal.

“What the hell have you done to her!...loathing that Jennifer was being manipulated to hurt them.

Looking at Fonziebird 6 in amazement.

“I love you, Jennifer”…seeing Jennifer’s eyes change back to normal.

Rescuing people in Arnold's…turning around to see Jennifer fighting the Candy Man then nothing.

End Flashback

Potsie woke up shaken from the events beginning to flood back into his mind. Shielding his eyes from the sun rising outside, he looked around in alarm to find Jennifer but she was no where to be found.

Al entered the room to see Potsie looking around frantically. “Potsie, calm down. What’s wrong?”

“Where’s Jennifer?” he almost begged.

“She’s right here.” Al pulled back the privacy curtain that was beside Potsie to show a very injured and deathly pale Jennifer in the bed. Jennifer was still getting oxygen, her arm was in a sling and her left leg was slightly elevated.

“What’s her condition?”

“She's got afew cracked ribs, a gun shot wound to the arm, a piece of metal in her leg from the explosion and…” Al hesitated.

“And what, Al?” asked Potsie.

“She’s in a coma.” he said.

Potsie sat there in disbelief. “How?” he asked trying to be strong.

“The Candy Man manipulated her mind so much that it needs time to heal. The thing is we don’t know how much time she needs to heal.” then proceeded to close the curtain.

Potsie said “Can you please keep it open?”

“Sure, Potsie.” smiled Al who proceeded to check Jennifer’s vitals and scribbled something on her chart. “The others should be here soon and will want to see how you’re doing.”

Ten minutes later, Chachi, Joanie, Ralph, Richie and Fonzie came in the room. Potsie tore his gaze away from Jennifer to greet them with a weak smile. Joanie greeted Potsie first and let his brothers visit while she went to talk to Al.

“Hey, Pots, Al said that you should be out of this joint tomorrow.” said Chachi trying to lighten Potsie’s mood.

“Yeah,” said Potsie. “you don’t even have to eat any Jell-O this time.” making everyone chuckle.

“Well, get some rest and we might smuggle in some ice cream later.” said Ralph patting Potsie’s arm to silently reassure him that everything will be fine. Everyone left except Fonzie who waited behind to talk to Potsie in private.

“So how long have I been out?” asked Potsie.

“About three days,” Fonzie answered smiling at the shocked look on Potsie’s face. “It’s okay, there haven’t been any calls for International Rescue so you didn’t miss much…except me and Ralph pulling a prank on Chachi and Richie which was fabimundo.” He noticed that Potsie really wasn’t paying attention so he continued. “Oh…and the news got out about our identity so the press will be here tomorrow.”

“Huh?...WHAT?” said Potsie just processing what Fonzie said.

Fonzie laughed. “Ahhh…..so you were paying some attention.”

“You’re funny, Fonz, real funny.” Potsie looked at Jennifer.

“I tend to have my moments,” he smiled then looked at Potsie with worry etched on his face. “She’s gonna be fine, Warren. Jennifer’s a fighter, she’ll pull through this.”

“I should have pushed dad more to bring her with us to the rescue…or…I should have been there to protect her…or…”

“Potsie, look at me,” Fonzie interrupted. He made Potsie stare right in his eyes before he continued. “Don’t go beating yourself up. It wasn’t your fault, you did all you could do and Jennifer's probably grateful for what you did.”

Potsie nodded and locked his tear filled eyes with Fonzie’s silently thanking him. Fonzie hugged his younger brother who started crying from guilt and exhaustion. Fonzie rocked Potsie back and forth reassuring him quietly that everything was fine.

After a while, Potsie’s sobs died down and Fonzie looked to see that he fell asleep. He leaned Potsie back in the bed and tucked him in. He knew that Potsie’s episode was caused by the painkillers but he was happy that Potsie was getting this off his chest instead of bottling it up inside.

Fonzie walked to Jennifer’s bed and held her hand. “You’re a lucky chick, Jen and when you wake up, tell him how much you care about him, he needs you…we all do.” he bent down and kissed her on the forehand then he left the infirmary wiping tears from his face.

[Race's Girl]

Chapter 15: Bad Dreams

Jennifer woke up to see she was in the infirmary on Tracy island and that the sun rising outside. She saw Joanie sitting in one of the visitors chairs reading a magazine.

Joanie looked up from her magazine and smiled seeing that Jennifer was awake. “Well good morning, sunshine.”

“Hello yourself,” smiled Jennifer. “where’s Potsie?” glancing at the other beds.

“After all of his whining, Al finally let him out!”

Jennifer laughed weakly and winced as her ribs contracted.

“Jennifer, I’m sorry.”

“Oh…it’s nothing…”she shrugged. “I’ve been through a lot worse,” That made Joanie raise her eyebrows in surprise and interest. “I’ll tell you that story another time.” she smiled

“Well are you ready to blow this popsicle stand?” asked Joanie.

Jennifer giggled. “You have to stop making me laugh.”

Joanie smiled. “First we have to get you out of that hospital gown and into some normal clothes,” lifting up a duffel bag. “You've got to be the only person that owns all pajama pants and no shorts which would have been helpful to check your leg so I brought down some of your shirts and I took the liberty to go in Potsie’s room and raid his pajama drawer for some boxers.” she winked.

Jennifer looked at Joanie embarrassed and trying to hide her face which was changing every shade of red imaginable.

“Here, let me help you into the washroom so we can make you beautiful.” said Joanie ignoring Jennifer’s reaction. Joanie helped Jennifer out of bed and into the washroom.

Jennifer grabbed some clothes from the duffel bag. “Thanks, Joanie, I can manage from here though.”

Several minutes later, Joanie came out of the washroom wearing Potsie’s boxers with a t-shirt. She was struggling to get her sweatshirt on but her ribs were protesting too much. She managed to get her head covered and didn’t that there was someone else in the room.

“Joanie, can you help me get this one?” she asked.

“Sure.” said Joanie. Jennifer, oblivious to who was really helping her, said “Joanie, you've got to be one of the bravest girls I have met to go in Potsie’s room and get these boxers for me.”

Jennifer’s head emerged from the sweatshirt and instead of seeing Joanie, she came face to face with a muscular chest under a light blue shirt. She looked up and saw that it was a very red faced Potsie.

She finally understood what she said and started to blush. “Oh…Potsie…I’ll change and give these back.” she went to leave but a gentle grip on her shoulder made her stop and turn around.

“It’s okay, keep them. They look better on you anyway.” he blushed even more just realizing what he said.

“Thanks, Potsie.” she said bashfully not realizing that they were starting to drift closer together.

Their faces were inches apart when Chachi popped his head into the infirmary. “Guys, breakfast is ready.” he said and ran off.

Potsie looked at Jennifer and smiled. “Wait here” he said as he left the infirmary and returned with a wheelchair. “Your ride, mi’lady,” he said using a British accent and saw her frown at it. Jennifer opened her mouth to argue but he put his hand up stopping her. “You’re going to have to get used to being pushed around in a wheelchair for awhile, Sweetheart,” planting his hands on his hips. “You’ll graduate to crutches when your shoulder's healed.”

She smiled and saluted with her good arm. “Yes, sir!” she said and sat in the wheelchair.

Potsie pushed her into the living room smiling that he won the little argument. They saw Fonzie and Richie sitting at the table not fully awake. Everyone else was sitting across from them trying to fight smiles from their faces.

Jennifer and Potsie stayed where they were perplexed at everyone else’s behaviour. Then Jennifer saw why they were smiling. She quietly got Potsie’s attention and they saw that Howard was sneaking up to Fonzie and Richie. When Howard was inches away from their heads, he screamed. Everyone jumped a little but not as much as Fonzie and Richie. They both grabbed for each other and fell on the floor still holding onto one another. Everyone burst out laughing while Fonzie and Richie glared at their father. Howard just shrugged smiling and told them that he couldn’t help it. Potsie and Jennifer were able to collect themselves the fastest and entered the room like they didn’t see anything happen.

“Good morning,” she greeted everyone as she was pushed to the table. Fonzie and Richie’s faces brightened up when they saw her. She looked at them showing concern “You two look awfully pale. It looks like you guys just saw a ghost.” Everyone started to snicker except Fonzie and Richie.

“You could call it a ghost.” said Ralph.

On a more serious note, Jennifer asked “where's Al?”

“Al went to the bathroom!” replied Fonzie.

“He should be back soon,” added Chachi. “Then I’ll be going up for a month.”

Breakfast was like any other breakfast. Everyone was laughing and talking like nothing has happened. After breakfast ended, Howard asked to see Jennifer in his den so he could get debriefed from her about Milwaukee.

Potsie brought Jennifer to the den and left to give them privacy. Howard’s back was to her as he looked out the window. He turned around to her with anger and disgust on his face.

“How could you let the Candy Man manipulate you like that? I thought you were strong enough to fight him,” he said with disgust. “I guess I was wrong to bring you into International Rescue, you’re nothing but a weak fool.”

Jennifer sat there stunned at what she heard. “Sir, it wasn’t my fault. I was fighting the Candy Man the entire time.” she exclaimed.

Howard sneered “that’s crappy. You probably weren’t even fighting him. You were probably working for him and manipulating us.”

“No, Mr. Tracy. I'd never do anything to harm you guys. You’re my family.”

“Family?” snorted Howard. “We’re not you’re family. I just took you in because that was my wife’s last wish. I never loved you.”

Jennifer sat there speechless trying to fight the tears forming in her eyes.

“You put my second eldest son in danger and you say you love him. If you truly loved him, you would have gotten him out of the building.”

Just then Potsie, Fonzie, Ralph, Richie and Chachi walked into the room and formed a circle around her with the same expression as Howard.

“You killed my mom.” spat Chachi.

“Yeah, you should of died and not her.” added Richie.

Jennifer’s tears were flowing freely now.

“She gave her life for you and this is how you repay that by betraying our trust?” asked Ralph.

“You don’t deserve to wear our uniform, you’re despicable.” said Fonzie.

“I told you I love you, Jennifer and this is how you show your love? You let the Candy Man try and kill me and my family. I could never love anyone like that. You’re dead to me.” said Potsie.

The insults kept coming and Jennifer thought she was going to pass out. She tried to defend herself but none of the Tracys would believe her. She finally couldn’t take it anymore and screamed. Then she fell into darkness her last thought being that she should die.