Home » The Archives » Chapter 1 » The Call Goes Out
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Mon, 23 July 2012 21:51   |
Tikatu
Messages: 813
Registered: April 2012
Location: South Carolina
Karma:
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Field Commander
Ubiquitous one |
 
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Sunday, February 26, 2068, 6 a.m., Mt. Sinai Hospital, NYC
Penelope stood just outside the door to Jeff's hospital room, gazing at the occupants. She had just returned from settling in at the Tracy family penthouse. The boys had taken Emily there in hopes of getting her to rest, and Penelope had gone along to help. They knew that nothing short of a major explosion would remove Dianne from Jeff's side, so the boys asked Penelope if she would select some clean clothes to bring for their stepmother to wear. She felt strange going into Jeff and Dianne's rooms at the penthouse, but in the end she had chose some comfortable slacks and blouses and brought along shower gels and shampoos so that Dianne could use what facilities there were.
It was strange and painful for her to see Jeff lying there so pale and still, his face bruised and swollen, his forceful personality diminished, his form helpless. Penelope tore her eyes away from the bed and focused them instead on Dianne, taking in the red-rimmed eyes and the tense look of worry and fear. She watched as Dianne gently brushed back a lock of silver hair from Jeff's forehead, her touch feather-light.
I could have been the one sitting there, Penelope thought, a wave of regret and envy suddenly surfacing. She tamped down on it mercilessly. I could have been. But Jeff and I weren't meant to be.
Penelope's mind rolled back to the day when she got an unexpected and frantic call from Emily Tracy, telling her all about, "...the new lady doctor. Mark my words, Lady Penelope. She's a gold-digger and no mistake. She's after our Jeff and before you know it, she'll have him, too, if you don't step up and speak your mind."
"But, Mrs. Tracy," Penelope had remonstrated, "If Jeff isn't interested in me...."
"Land's sakes, child! You'll never know if he is until you ask! This isn't the 20th century, you know. You've known my son long enough to do the asking."
Penelope's sense of decorum balked at what Emily was suggesting. It was true that she loved Jeff and would like to be the woman in his life. But she felt that she had made her feelings clear through her actions; inviting him places, especially that vacation at her ranch at Bongo-Bongo. She had hoped that he would have clearly seen her intentions from that weekend, but... he didn't. She knew that he still mourned Lucille and supposed that was the reason he hadn't really made any romantic move towards her.
If he's still mourning his late wife, nothing this doctor can or will say or do will move him. I have nothing to fear, she had thought at the time.
The phone calls from Grandma came frequently until one day the old woman had different, triumphant news to share.
"Yep, she's giving him the cold shoulder. The silent treatment. Whatever it was they argued about must have been a doozy. I expect her to pack herself and her children up and go back to where she came from any day now."
Penelope was surprised at how relieved she was at the news. You would have thought the sky was going to fall! I'll just wait for the news that she's left and then pay Jeff a social call.
The days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months. Grandma Tracy called infrequently now, mostly with news of John's recovery.
"He's getting better every day, Lady Penelope. I should have known that she'd at least stay until the end of his recovery; she seems to have that much professionalism in her. But," and here the old woman paused and when she continued, her voice sounded as if she were puzzled, "Jeff's been awfully short with everyone lately. He keeps looking at the doctor as if he wants her to say something to him. Seems he's bothered by her silent treatment. Well, I suppose anyone would be. She's kept it up long enough."
Three days later, Grandma Tracy called again, all in a dither. "I don't know what happened, Lady Penelope, but they are talking again. She's even smiling at him! And they've gone out for a long walk on the beach. Really, child! If you want to keep my son, you'd best get out here and do something!"
Penelope hesitated. She felt so odd, contemplating what she knew Emily wanted her to do. She went around and around in her head and heart about it. At first, it was only when she had free time to think, but then the subject and her thoughts about it began to press more and more into her work time, distracting her when she should be focusing on whatever was before her. It was when her daydreaming nearly cost her a bloodletting at the hands of a saboteur she was chasing that she resolved to do something about Jefferson Tracy.
She flew out to the Island, unannounced and unexpected. The boys were out on a rescue, but Jeff greeted her warmly and arranged for her to take the guest suite. Not the one she usually took, two doors down from his corner suite, next to Scott's room, but around the corner, next to John's room. The room she usually took was now occupied by the doctor and her daughter, while the one next to that had been handed over to the doctor's two sons.
Once she had freshened up, she went to the lounge and there she got her first glimpse of her rival. She was not impressed. The woman was older, greying, and though she was good-looking, Penelope knew herself to be beautiful; fashion model material to be precise. She walked up to the doctor and held out a lily-white hand, smiling.
"Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward."
The woman turned dark brown eyes to her and took the hand. "Dr. Dianne Koch. Pleased t' make yoah acquaintance." The southern drawl grated on Penelope's ears. Penelope sat down beside her, prepared to engage her in conversation, but her plans were foiled as Jeff called to the doctor.
"Doctor, Virgil needs you here."
The doctor turned briefly to Penelope. " 'Scuse me," she said as she got up to face Virgil's picture. Step by step she took him through a medical procedure and when she was through, a grateful Virgil gave her good news that the patient was stable.
"You did a good job theah, Vee."
"Well, I had a good teacher, Doc."
Jeff added his praise and Dianne sat back down. Penelope noticed that the two adults used their formal titles with each other. Good. There may be nothing to fear here after all.
"Why didn't you go out on the rescue?" Penelope asked bluntly. Dianne smiled.
"Ah'm still in trainin' when it comes t' rescue procedure," she explained. "Besides, Ah got a sick one in th' infirmary." She looked over at Jeff. "Speakin' o' which, Mistah Tracy, Ah'd better go down an' tend t' Tin-Tin."
"Of course, Doctor. Dismissed."
Dianne left the room, and Jeff turned his attention back to the rescue. After a moment, he looked over at Penelope and smiled.
"To what do we owe the honor of this visit?"
Penelope said airily. "Oh, I hadn't seen you and the family for some time and decided I should pay a visit. Purely a social call, I assure you."
"You're welcome here any time, Penelope," Jeff said absently, his attention mostly on the rescue.
Penelope sat back and smiled.
Over the next few days, Penelope observed Jeff and Dianne together. Since she was a guest, she supposed that Jeff was paying more attention to her than he allowed himself to pay to Dianne in her presence. But still, it was not as much as he had done in the past when she visited. Her presence had not stopped their evening walks on the beach and more than once they returned laughing and smiling at each other. Penelope's shrewd senses told her that Dianne was smitten with Jeff and though she refused to believe the reverse was true, she could see a definite connection between the two. A connection that she did not like. A connection that she was going to sever if she had her way.
To be sure of her facts, she paid a visit to Tin-Tin in the infirmary. The Malaysian girl had been laid low with a nasty flu and a bout of anemia. She had been confined to the infirmary until Dianne was satisfied that Tin-Tin had caught up on her rest and was fully recovered.
No one else seemed to be in the sick room, and Tin-Tin was dozing. Penny was loath to wake her, but she stubbed her toe on one of the diagnostic beds. Her not-very-ladylike curse woke the younger woman.
"Lady Penelope! I had heard you were here. I'm so glad to see you."
Penny smiled and moved over to her bedside. They chatted briefly about Tin-Tin's convalescence and about François Lemaire's latest fashions. Then Penelope skillfully turned the conversation to her topic of choice: Jeff and Dianne.
"What do think there, Tin-Tin? You're experienced at reading people. Is there any romance brewing?"
Tin-Tin's lovely face took on a thoughtful frown. "I do know that Mr. Tracy was not himself all the time that Dianne was angry with him. He was short with people. It really seemed to bother him that she wasn't talking to him. But after he apologized, things turned around dramatically..."
"Apologized? For what?"
"Oh, you didn't know? He didn't tell her about IR. She learned by accident; John's accident to be precise. She was very, very angry at what she saw as deceit on Mr. Tracy's part. After all, she has children to consider and it might have affected her decision to come here had she known. He hadn't told her because he said he was waiting to see how trustworthy she would be. But really, she's a physician. As our physician she's bound by law as well as morals to keep such a thing confidential. I felt he should have told her sooner. Then she would have been better prepared for John's surgery." Tin-Tin explained. "Finally, Mr. Tracy apologized for not telling her and that broke the ice. They've been friendly ever since."
"Just friendly?"
Tin-Tin sighed. "Well, I think that Dianne... likes... Mr. Tracy. Well, maybe likes isn't quite strong enough. Though I will say, he was the one to instigate their long walks. Wanted to make up for the time they lost during the Ice Age, as he calls it. I think that he's fond of her and she's become a confidante of sorts."
"But, any more than that?" Penelope pressed. "I really need to know."
"Well, I haven't really seen them touching or even holding hands. Just talking and spending time together. Nothing romantic." Tin-Tin cocked her head. "Why do you need to know?"
"Well, Tin-Tin, part of the reason I'm here is..." Penelope took a deep breath and let her words out in a rush, "...I'm going to ask Jeff to marry me!"
Tin-Tin's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. "You're going to... what?!"
Penelope nodded. Her own sudden decision startled even her, but part of her wanted to consolidate her position with Jeff and this seemed to be the only way to cut out her rival.
"I'm going to propose! Tonight! I'm going to ask him to take ME for a long walk on the beach and then..." She noticed that Tin-Tin's eyes still bugged out and her mouth was still dropped open. "Well, we're not in the 20th century, you know. A woman can ask a man, can't she?"
Tin-Tin swallowed. "Y-Yes, she can, b-but isn't this rather... sudden?"
Penelope smiled. "Of course not! I've known him for two or three years now. It's time we took our relationship to another level."
Tin-Tin took a deep breath and let it out. Suddenly, a chime began to sound from the panel above her head.
"What's that?" Penelope asked. For the first time, she noticed the upgraded equipment in the sickroom.
"A warning. It thinks that something's not right with me. Dianne will be here any second."
"All right, Tin-Tin. I'll be back later to tell you what he says. Remember, mum's the word!" Penelope put a finger over her lips as she backed up to the door. With a final wink, she was gone.
Later, Penelope heard from Tin-Tin about what had happened after she left. How Dianne had arrived, coming from the office in the sick room, her face pale. Tin-Tin recounted how quiet she seemed as she examined her patient, asking only a few questions and listening to Tin-Tin's heart and chest. How Tin-Tin asked her softly if she had heard the conversation, and how Dianne's drawl had shown when she answered, "Does it mattah?"
Involuntarily, Penelope gasped a little and her thoughts were brought back to the present. Dianne heard the sound and turned her face towards the door. She smiled, just a little and rose from her chair. Penelope returned the expression; a smile of sympathy and understanding on her face as she walked quietly around the patient's bed and embraced Dianne.
"How is he?" she asked softly.
Dianne sighed. "He came out of th' first surgeries jes' fine, Penny. But he had a concussion. We're waitin' for th' brain swellin' to go down and for him t' wake up."
"Why don't I sit with him a while? You get some rest. You look like you could use some," Penelope offered.
Dianne lowered her eyes and smiled slightly. "Everyone wants me t' get some rest. Ah want t' be here when he wakes up."
Penelope nodded in understanding. "Then do you mind if I wait with you?"
"No, Ah don't. Be glad of th' company."
Post by Tikatu on 04/07/2004
   My IR:TNP OTP!
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The Call Goes Out
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Re: The Call Goes Out
By: Tikatu on Tue, 17 July 2012 20:54 |
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