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Please leave any feedback on this chapter on this thread. If possible, include the post number and author's name. Spam posts will, of course, be nuked from orbit by Thunderbird Five. Thanks! ]]>Tikatu2015-05-09T13:47:50-00:00Re: Playing with Fire
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And with that, we end Chapter Twelve: Playing With Fire.]]>artisticrainey2012-07-24T01:57:15-00:00Re: Playing with Fire
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Dianne staggered a little as she and Jeff headed toward their suite, causing Jeff to put a supportive arm around her waist.
"Looks like you had a little more than you should have, Miz Scarlett," he said, an amused smile on his face.
Dianne slid her arm around him and leaned on his shoulder, turning her face toward him as much as she could. "Well, you maht could be raht, Mistah Butler," she said, her drawl heavy and her words slightly slurred. "Ah wasn't able to indulge at th' last pahtay."
Jeff's smile faded a little. "I remember," he murmured, his voice husky.
She sighed, a contented sound. "So Ah'm jes' makin' up foah lost tahm. And Ah wasn't drinkin' alone, eithuh."
He chuckled. "I noticed."
They had reached their suite and the door slid open obediently. Dianne's eyes were closed now, and her weight on Jeff was heavier.
"Hey, there, Scarlett." Jeff gave her a little shake. "You're not going to sleep in this dress. Those hoop skirts..."
Dianne stirred, and drew in a deep breath. "Kiss me," she said in a half-whisper. "Ah need kissing, badly."
He took her in his arms. "I think I will." He laid a long, smoldering kiss on her lips. "You should be kissed often, by someone who knows how."
"An' you sure know how," she murmured.
Jeff laughed, then guided her into the suite.]]>artisticrainey2012-07-24T01:56:53-00:00Re: Playing with Fire
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Will was chatting with Brandon, when he felt a tugging on his cape. He looked down and saw Tyler. "Hey there. What's up?"
"You promised to show me another trick. And I gotta go to bed in a few minutes."
"You're gonna do more magic? This I've gotta see," said Brandon.
"Alright, then." Will moved over to a chair and sat down. "Okay, now watch. Tyler, would you take the handkerchief out of my breast pocket, please?" When the boy complied, he took one corner of it in his left hand with a smile of thanks, and made a show of indicating there was nothing in his right. Then he curled his fingers of his right hand with the back of his hand to his audience, and handed the kerchief back to his helper, asking him to stuff it into the top.
Tyler pushed it into Will's hand until the entire handkerchief was out of sight of the audience, who had grown. Will looked over at ten year old and asked, "Which magic words should I use?"
Tyler thought for a minute, then said, "Alakazam!"
"A good one. Alakazam it is." He moved his left hand so fingers were above and below the right, and opened the hand he'd stuffed the handkerchief into. The kerchief was gone, replaced by a large sized egg.
Amid the applause and exclamations of surprise, he heard Tyler say, "How'd you do that?"
"I'm not so sure I should say. A magician's not supposed to tell, you know."
"Aw, pleeeeease?"
Will looked at the eager pleading face for a moment, then finally said with a twinkle in his eye, "Well, I suppose it's okay this once." He put the egg down on a table. "I'll have to start from scratch, though. Okay, first, take the handkerchief from my pocket again."
"Hey! How'd that get back there?"
The redhead grinned. "Magic, of course."
Tyler gave him a look of scorn as he once again took the hankie from Will's pocket, who told him, "After I handed that back to you, I quickly got this from a pocket in my cape." He showed the boy a plastic egg, with a hole near the top, on one side. It was big enough to easily stuff the kerchief into. "You hold the egg so the hole is toward you, and it's all hidden from your audience." He looked at the boy. "Your hands are a bit small for this trick, but as you grow, so will they."
As he was speaking, he had Tyler push the handkerchief into the egg once again. Then he again showed the egg, carefully keeping the hole toward him. "And that's all there is to it."
"Oh man; that's too easy. But what if someone is standing where they can see the hole?"
Will grinned once again, this time mischievously. "Well then, you just," he began peeling a sticker off the egg, "remove the opening." He held up a hole-less egg.
This time, the exclamations and applause was joined by laughter, and a stunned look on Tyler's face. Then Dianne stood up and said, "Okay, time for bed."
As the boy reluctantly turned to leave, Will reached out and drew him closer, so he could whisper, "I promise that when you're older, if I'm still here, I'll teach you how to do that. If you're still interested by then, of course."
Tyler's face lit up and he nodded. Then he happily went off with his mother and brother.]]>artisticrainey2012-07-24T01:56:45-00:00Re: Playing with Fire
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Callie enjoyed the exotic-flavored punch so much, she took another cup. "Mmm, this is one of the best drinks I've ever had," she said in a slightly tipsy state.
After she placed her glass on the table with the other dirty dishes, she walked up to the washtub to bob for apples. "Let's see if I can get one with my teeth." She forgot to take off her pirate hat, which fell over her eyes. As a result, she lost her balance and fell forward into the tub. Feeling the cold water hitting her face, she bolted up in surprise, staggering a little.
Scott quickly came to help her and said, "Easy. You okay?"
"I... think so." She looked at her costume. "Oh, no... the top's all wet now. I'd better change."
Scott saw her wobbling a bit. A sudden thought struck him. "Callie, which punch did you drink?"
"Uh... something about 'dare to drink' I... think," she replied.
"Oh, no... that was the spiked punch! How many did you have?!"
With a struggle, she muttered, "Uh... four or five?"
Scott shook his head as Gordon chuckled. "Sounds like someone is going to be hurting tomorrow morning..."
Scott glared at his brother before turning back to Callie. "C'mon, let's get you to the monorail. I think Luke left a few minutes ago; with any luck he'll still be waiting near the train."
"You sure you don't mind?"
"Not at all." With one hand on her elbow to keep her from stumbling, he escorted her through the villa and into the elevator leading to the monorail. Once the elevator reached the bottom, he let out a sigh of relief at seeing Luke. "Hey, Luke! Are you headed back to the Cliff House?"
"Yeah, the mutt and I have had enough partying for one night." Luke looked over at Callie's disheveled state. "What happened?"
"Seems Callie missed the announcement about which punch was which," Scott told him. "She fell into the apple tub."
Luke tried unsuccessfully to hide a smile. "Oh, honey..."
"I feel so... weird," she said. "I've never had that much to drink before."
Scott shook his head. "Are you going to be all right?" he asked Luke as the train pulled up.
Luke put his arm around Callie and helped her towards the door. "We'll be fine. I'll get her to her door, don't worry. Go back to the party." Scott nodded and turned back to join the others.
Luke and Callie both entered the monorail and took the ride back to the Cliff House.
Part of her costume still soaking wet, she felt a chill. "Oooh, I'm getting cold. Mind if I... get a little closer to you?"
Luke nodded. "Sure. Lean on me." He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. Rommel lay down at their feet, his tail thumping. "That better?"
"Much better, thank you." She felt very comfortable next to him.
A few moments later, the train pulled into the Cliff House. Luke stood and held out his hand to Callie, who got unsteadily to her feet. He led her out the door, Rommel trotting in front of them.
When the door opened, she said, "Why don't you come in for a bit?"
Luke politely declined, but when she stumbled towards the door, he took her hand and assisted her. "Whoa! Easy there." He helped her into the room, the door closing behind them.
"Thanks," said Callie.
"Well, I guess I'll be heading home myself. Good night, Callie."
Taking a hold of his hand, she said, "Wait. I want to thank you for helping me get home... really want to thank you."
Luke dropped her hand like he'd been stung. "Um, Callie, I don't think..."
"Then don't," she said huskily, moving closer to him.
Luke backed up until his back hit the door. "Callie..."
Callie held his face in her hands and planted a wet kiss on his mouth. Noticing the fear in his eyes, she whispered, "Don't be afraid." Rubbing one finger down his left cheek, she added, "I won't hurt you."
She leaned in again, only this time Luke caught her hands in his. "Callie, wait. This isn't a good idea."
"I know," she purred. "The couch would be much more comfortable." She took his hand again, trying to lead him to the couch.
He pulled himself free. "Wait, you don't understand. Callie, we... I..."
"What's the matter?" she asked, as she removed her costume jacket to expose her bustier.
Luke went pale, then red with embarrassment. For himself or her, he wasn't quite sure. "I... I like you Callie, really I do. Just not the way you're thinking of at the moment."
She sat down on the couch, curling her legs up underneath her. "Why don't you come sit down and we can talk about this," she said, patting the seat next to her.
Luke didn't move. "I can't." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Callie, I don't date... girls." Seeing the confusion on her face, he continued. "I'm gay."
"You're what?" Suddenly she realized what he said and the blood rushed to her cheeks. Callie suddenly felt nauseated. "Oh, my God... I had no idea."
He shrugged. "It's not something I'm ashamed of, it's just who I am." He looked up at her, seeing the stricken expression on her face. "Are you all right?"
She shook her head. "Luke, I'm so sor--" She had to stop and hold her mouth because she was about to lose all the food she had eaten for the evening. Getting to her feet, she stumbled for the kitchen sink.
Luke sighed wearily, and snapping his fingers, he and Rommel left for their own apartment.
Two minutes later, she returned to the living room, only to find both Luke and Rommel gone. "Oh, no." She sat down on her couch. "I don't blame him for running off so fast. Why did I drink so much of that punch?" She lay down on the couch, mortified at what had just happened. "I can't believe what I've done. What will Luke think of me? How can I ever face him again?"
Too tired to think anymore, she closed her eyes and was soon fast asleep.
Callie losing her inhibitions with Luke, by TracyFan4Ever and Lillehafrue]]>artisticrainey2012-07-24T01:56:38-00:00Re: Playing with Fire
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Elise clapped her hands, trying to get everyone's attention, but no one seemed to notice. Virgil put his fingers in his mouth and let out a loud whistle. The conversation died. "Thank-you, Virgil. OK, I've tallied the votes for the costume contest and we have a winner!" She held up a large chocolate pumpkin and a small trophy. "But there is a slight problem. Seems our winner isn't human so he can't really have the prize."
Luke groaned. "Rom! Do you always have to be in the middle of everything?"
There was laughter from some of the others. "As I was saying," Elise went on. "Our runner up is also not human. Gordon, would you come up here please?"
Gordon grinned as he jogged forward. Pausing in front of Brains, he folded his hands into his sleeves and gave a low bow. "Prelishelvihano, it has been an honor." Brains groaned. Gordon took the trophy from Elise and kissed her on the cheek. Then he turned to the crowd and bowed again. "I thank you, my fellow Tyrikalicans for your support."
Virgil gave his brother a shove, "Get out of here, show-off." Gordon bowed once more and walked over to show his grandmother his award.
Luke nudged Elise on the elbow. "Hey, now that that's over, the mutt and I are going to head home."
Elise looked up in surprise. "You're leaving already?"
He nodded. "I'm not really a partier. It's been a blast, but I'm ready for some quiet."
She smiled and placed a quick kiss on his cheek. "All right, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Count on it, Red. Watch out for wolves." With a wink he turned, gesturing to Rommel. Together man and dog walked up the steps to the Villa, heading towards the monorail and home.]]>artisticrainey2012-07-24T01:56:27-00:00Re: Playing with Fire
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Plate and glass in hand, Will looked around for a place to sit and eat. He'd been entertaining various people here and there (with an excited Joshua as his "beautiful assistant" until his father came over and got him) with card tricks and the old disappearing coin popping out of someone's ear trick, and was hungry.
He noticed Luke, Elise, Brandon, and Gordon at one of the tables, and Luke was waving at him to join them. He headed over to them and said, "Hey, everyone. Great party. Gordon, who are you supposed to be?"
"You haven't heard about the Brethren?"
"The Breth... Oh, you mean those kooks who showed up at the hospital when Dr. Tracy was injured? I saw the retrospective and couldn't believe my eyes. Don't tell me you guys met them!" He sat down, and began to eat.
"Yep; they showed up at one of our rescues, to help us. You should have seen Scott's reaction to them. It was priceless!"
"It was hard for most of us to keep straight faces," Luke added.
"They even have a website. I found out that they call their Supreme Leader 'Prelishelvihano'. And he's none other than Elvis," Gordon added.
Will choked. "Elvis? As in Elvis Presley? Is that why Brains came dressed as him?"
"I think so. I suspect someone found out who I was coming as, and told him."
"Y'know, it takes longer to say that name than it does to say his real one." Will grinned as the others' eyes lit up in amusement.
"Anyway," said Luke, "I wanted you to come over because Elise and Brandon here were telling me how much they like the mailboxes we made."
"You came up with a cool way of identifying which box belonged to who. Or is it whom?" Elise added mischievously.
"Some of them are really right on the mark," Brandon put in. "I especially liked mine, Luke's and Elise's. I'd love to be there when Scott sees it. How'd you two come up with that way of labeling the slots, anyway?"
Will and Luke looked at each other. "I dunno. We were just talking about labels and the idea came up. We started throwing around phrases, and the IDs were born. It was fun," Will answered.
"Yeah, that's sort of what Luke said earlier," Elise remarked with a grin. "But he's so modest sometimes, I just wanted to be sure."
"You know, it might be cool to have a mailbox or two for those of us who live in the Villa. Then Cherie wouldn't have to go all over the house, delivering it all," Gordon said thoughtfully. A mischievous look crossed his face. "I wonder what the labels would say for us, though."
"Yours would probably be 'What's my next joke gonna be?'," Elise retorted.
"Aww, c'mon. I'm not that bad."
"That's not what I heard," she replied.
"Or maybe it'd be 'Where's the water?'," Luke said.
"How about 'I'll get right on it, Mr. Tracy,' for Brains?" Will suggested.
"That's a good one," Gordon said.
"Of course," Elise interjected, grinning, "Scott's would probably be, 'I'm in charge.'."
The suggestions began to come thick and fast, each one more outrageous than the last. A few others, attracted by the laughter, came up with more ideas, even Jeff and Dianne, who suggested for herself, "Ah'm the doctah and yoah mothah, that's why!"
As the joking died down, Luke said, "Will, these stuffed crescent rolls are good. Where'd you get them?"
"I made them."
"You made them???"
"Yeah; they're fairly easy. I dated a Greek girl for a few months, and she taught me how to make some of their dishes, like that spinach one. Then I experimented with other fillings, and had some of my friends act as taste testers. These two were the most popular. I'm glad you like them. And these wings are great!"
"Luke made those," said Elise.
"Nice going."
There was silence for a few minutes as everyone relished the food on their plates. Then Elise looked around at the rest of the partygoers and said, "We've still got to vote for the best costume, but I'm having a hard time choosing; there are so many good ones."
The others turned to check out who was wearing what, and agreed with her. They began discussing who was their favorite. Brandon said, "I never expected Dom to come in that costume. But," he added with a grin, "I think it kinda suits him."
"Thanks, Brandon."
They looked up to see Dom and Nikki, who had walked up as he said that. She laughed. "But doesn't Joshua look adorable as Toto?" She chuckled as she looked over at the toddler, still in his father's arms, but squirming to get down when he saw Will. Dom put him down and he headed over to the mechanic-turned-magician. Will smiled down at him and gave him a small piece of chicken, which Joshua munched on contentedly, leaning against the man's leg.
"He's so cute, anyway," replied Elise, "that he'd look adorable no matter what he wore."
Dom smiled at her, then glanced down at his son. He squatted down to look closer at the boy. "I don't believe it. He's asleep standing up!"
]]>artisticrainey2012-07-24T01:56:11-00:00Re: Playing with Fire
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Who haven't I taken a posed picture of,? Cassie thought, trying to remember what photos she had taken that night. She had taken one of all the recruits in their costumes earlier but she had also tried to get individuals too.
She spotted Dom with a sleepy looking Joshua in his arms. Josh was still trying to take in what was going on around him though Cassie could see that sleep was starting to win that battle. Other than the group shot and a couple of pictures while he had opened his gifts, Cassie didn't have any pictures of the nurse.
"He looks about as tired as I feel," Cassie commented, approaching the two of them.
"Aye, he's just about asleep. The lad's had a long day though he's enjoyed it. I've had a lot of fun myself and appreciate all the trouble Nikki and Elise went into planning it."
"I've enjoyed tonight more than I thought I would," Cassie admitted. She remembered her reason for coming over. "Can I get a picture of the two of you?"
"Sure," Dom replied. After a little prompting he got Joshua looking in Cassie's direction.
"Thanks," Cassie said after snapping the picture. "That should be everyone now," she commented.
The uneasy silence that seemed to follow the two of them around fell over them. Cassie found herself watching what was going on around them. She wanted to say something but everything she thought of seemed silly. It was finally Dom who broke the silence.
"Thanks for the gift, by the way," the Irishman commented. "Twenty hours of baby-sitting is definitely something I can use, though ..." he let his voice trailed off, suddenly not sure how he could finish the thought tactfully.
"It's okay, I understand," Cassie told him looking over at him. "I went back and forth about the decision quite a bit." She paused, thinking over her next words. Did she want to tell him what was on her mind? She had a feeling if she didn't now she might never get the courage up again. "Truth is, though, I know I can't keep hiding from it. I've been in touch with my therapist back in New York and believe me it's been interesting trying to explain things to her without giving anything away. She's convinced me that I can't just keep avoiding you. It's not fair to you, me or anyone else here. At the very least we need to work together, and given the chance I think maybe we could be friends."
"Aye, I do believe that is a possibility," he commented, happy that she had brought up the subject. He had wanted to himself but hadn't wanted to make the situation worse. "Luke's told me a bit about you."
"I'm almost afraid to ask," Cassie said, thinking of the stories that Luke could have told.
"Don't worry. It's all been good."
"Seems you've got the advantage on me. Other than your occupation, that you have a son, you do yoga and that your birthday is on Halloween, I know nothing about you."
"We could change that if you'd like. Truth is, I'd feel more comfortable leaving Josh with you if he knew you a little better. If you don't have plans already, how about coming over for dinner on Saturday, and the three of us could get better acquainted."
"I'd like that."]]>artisticrainey2012-07-24T01:55:58-00:00Re: Playing with Fire
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"Open mine next," Luke said, his eyes bright and glinting in the dimming light.
Dom reached for the flattish packet and took a moment to feel the filling through the wrapping.
"I have no idea what this is," Dom said, pressing his fingers against something hard and bumpy.
"Just open it!" Nikki chided, grinning.
Dom's face pinked slightly, and he began to pull off the paper. "Yes ma'am," he said.
He unwrapped the package, and it revealed an intricately carved wooden frame in a design of Celtic knots, and inside, was a beautiful picture of Joshua. Dominic felt his eyes well up, just briefly.
"This is wonderful," he said, looking up at Luke with a smile. "When did you take the picture? Where did you get the frame?"
"Well, the picture is courtesy of Brains," Luke said, motioning to the man, who swung his arms up and pointed to Dominic is a decidedly un-Brains-like and fully-Elvis-like fashion. The crowd chuckled. "He took it one day when Joshua was with Emily. The frame, well, I made it myself."
"You made it yourself?" Dom asked, his mouth falling open. "This is amazing. It's so complex. Thank you!"
"Ah, it was nothin'," Luke joked.
Dominic stood up and looked around for his son. Joshua was still trailing on Will's coat-tails. He stood up and went to retrieve his son, giving Will an apologetic glance, and hefted the little boy onto his hip.
"Look, Jak," Dom said, "It's you. Isn't it lovely?"
"Me, me, me! Lovely me!" Joshua giggled.
Dominic laughed and kissed the boy's forehead, before taking his seat again. This is one amazing birthday, he thought.
]]>artisticrainey2012-07-24T01:55:43-00:00Re: Playing with Fire
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Dominic grinned widely as he unwrapped his first gift.
"Aww, cool!"
It was from Nikki, and was a framed picture that looked like a newspaper clipping of a sports page with the headline 'KELLY SIGNS ON FOR NORTHERN IRELAND' emblazoned across the top, and a by-line that read, 'KELLY SEALS RECORD £10,000,000 DEAL'.
"Thanks, Nikki," he said, marvelling at how authentic it looked.
"No problem," Nikki said. "Glad you like it."
He couldn't quite believe that everyone had gone to as much trouble as they had for his birthday. In shock, he had told them all there had really been no need, though he was shot down on that comment by the entire gathered party at once. It had been a scary moment.
"Ours next," Dianne said, indicating the package.
"Yes ma'am," Dom said.
He pulled off the beautiful wrapping, and his eyeballs just managed to stay in his skull.
"Whoa," he said, and picked up the box of his brand new Musicman K.I., which revealed the box of the appropriate speaker/docking station beneath. He whistled through his teeth. "I've heard that these are awesome; top of the range! Thanks!!"
Jeff and Dianne smiled, and Jeff nodded at the sleek, slim music player as Dom lifted it from the box.
"It's already charged. Turn it on for the rest of the present."
"Rest?" Dom asked, and slipped the earphones on. He flicked the little switch, and watched as the screen lit up, showing the name of his favourite jazz artist. "Awesome. The complete works of Henrietta Xavier! I'm astounded," he said, looking at the couple. "Thank you so much."
"It was no trouble," Dianne said. "I'm glad you like it."
"I love it!"
When Dom finally tore himself away from the new music player he picked up the next gift. It was from Cherie.
"Now that is really something," Dom said as he unwrapped the package to find a drawing of himself and Joshua in a neat frame. The best part was that the picture was what he understood to be 'chibified': big headed, cutsie figures that were grinning widely. "Thanks so much Cherie. That was really sweet of you."
Cherie shrugged, but couldn't help but grin.
"You're welcome," she said.
He glanced down at the pile of opened presents beside him. As well as the personalised newspaper clipping, the new music player and speakers and the drawing of himself and Joshua, Kyrano and Lisa had given him a new non-stick wok and a multi-cooker ("Perfect for preparing all of your vegetables," Kyrano had said), Alex and Tyler had given him a large picture book of Ireland ("To remind you of home," Tyler had said, which had made Dom want to reach out and hug the stuffing out of the boys), a new yoga mat and wrist/ankle weights from Elise ("Your old mat was starting to look a little...gross," she had joked), and of course, the gorgeous-looking batch of brownies that Will had given him. So looking forward to eating those! Dom thought. Joshua had been so awestruck by Will's magic trick that he hadn't left the man's side since.
After everything that's happened recently, this is just what I needed. Despite still feeling tired from all the stress and travelling of the past few days, Dom couldn't help but keep smiling, and he reached for the next gift.]]>artisticrainey2012-07-24T01:55:13-00:00