Re: Ghosts - ch.59 -- The Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman Fan Exchange

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Date Posted: 15:55:37 05/09/03 Fri
Author: dqfan
Subject: Re: Ghosts - ch.59
In reply to: dqfan 's message, "Re: Ghosts - ch.58" on 15:34:56 05/08/03 Thu

CHAPTER FIFTY NINE

"Ante up, Folks!"

As Gus welcomed Charity with a kiss on the cheek, it was difficult to tell who was more surprised. Charity, at seeing Detective Harry O'Neill, acting as dealer for the night's festivities; or, Gus, at the guests who accompanied Charity into his private suite.

With Peter close by her side, Sophie hobbled in on crutches, thrilled to see so many friendly faces.

"Buenos Noches, Senora," Politely, Miguel stood at her arrival.

"Hi, ya, Hon!" Dolores waved, frowning at Sophie's injured condition.

"What happened, Sweetie? You turn when you shoulda peeled?" she asked with a wink.

Along with Reggie and Bruno, Sophie counted five dear friends - all seated around Gus' large, circular table, which was covered in plush, green velvet, just for the occasion.

"Evening, everyone," she greeted cheerfully, in spite of her pain.

"This is my husband, Peter�" Proudly, she introduced Peter to Miguel and Dolores.

A little taken aback that Sophie seemed to know everyone so intimately, Peter smiled nonetheless. Truthfully, he hadn't stopped smiling since the doctor informed him that Sophie was well enough to be released.

"Sophie�" Gus beamed at her arrival. "Should you be up?" he worried attentively, and with more concern in his voice than Peter enjoyed hearing.

"Doctors released her about an hour ago," Peter explained, his arm draped around Sophie to protect her from any unexpected injuries - or unwanted advances. "They've been monitoring her all day and decided she could rest at home just as easily as in the hospital - maybe better."

"We're booked on the morning flight," Peter added, eager to inform Gus of their impending departure.

"So, this is goodbye�" Gus' melancholy tone touched Sophie's heart.

Sympathetically, Charity lightened the mood. "I didn't expect to see the good Detective here tonight," she noted, bemused by the black visor Harry was wearing, low on his forehead. Providing him with a certain rakish charm, he looked liked a little like Paul Newman preparing for "The Sting."

"It was his idea�" Gus chuckled. "Said he promised a friend he'd keep an eye on you."

"Oh, he did, did he?" Charity blustered at Ben's presumptuousness.

"Aunt C.," Peter feared renewed warfare.

"Listen, it never hurts to have a cop dealing if they raid the place," Gus soothed her. "Besides, I've got a present for you�"

Pleased as he was that Gus had diverted Charity's attention from Ben's subterfuge, Peter couldn't help but feel a second twinge of jealousy - this time over Gus' blossoming relationship with Charity. Unwilling to explore this exceedingly unnerving Freudian reaction, Peter suppressed a shiver.

Diverting his attention momentarily from what, exactly, it was about Gus that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up straighter than a frightened cat, Peter became curious about the rectangular-shaped package, wrapped in brown paper, which Dolores had retrieved at Gus' signal.

"You gave me the locket," Gus began by handing Charity the mysterious item. "So, I thought, maybe, you might like to have this�"

Perplexed by what she thought she felt beneath the wrapping, Charity stared at Gus in utter astonishment, as she tore the paper aside. "It can't be�"

"Lila's sketch!" Sophie gasped, grabbing hold of Peter's arm excitedly. "But, you told me it had been destroyed?"

Peter looked as confused as Sophie. "You told me it had!" He accused Charity, in return.

"Gus�" Charity said his name so sternly, the room stilled. "What is going on here? I saw this painting destroyed with my own two eyes!"

One by one, everyone gathered round to view the infamous portrait. Meanwhile, Gus' eyes twinkled with a combination of mischief and delight. "You saw my humble forgery destroyed, you mean�"

"Forgery?" Charity exclaimed, shocked. "Are you telling me you made a copy?"

"And you were the one who gave me the idea�" Gus preened, amused by all the stunned faces he saw gaping back at him.

"I did?" Charity shook her head at such a ridiculous notion. "Of all the preposterous�"

"You listen to me, Gus Leighton," Charity gathered steam for an all-out assault. "I demand an explanation�and, right now, Young Man!"

Instinctively, every male in the room held their breath. Memories of their mothers, all using that exact same tone of voice, resonated with frightening familiarity. Not one of them would have traded places with Gus right now, not for all the money in the world. Even Peter felt his jealousy dissolve into something akin to pity. He'd been on the receiving end of Charity's "Young Mans" more times than he cared to remember, and Peter wouldn't wish that experience on his worst enemy - let alone Gus�

Smiling, Gus seemed to take Charity's reprimand in stride. Either he had a very good excuse - or a death wish. Reggie wasn't certain yet which, as he listened to Gus' explanation.

"The night we all had dinner here - in my suite," Gus reminded Charity patiently. "You and Ben and me and Ivy�"

Charity remembered it all too well.

"Ivy was expecting you to offer me a bundle for the sketch. I was, too, for that matter�" he grimaced.

"She'd promised me my hotel, free and clear, plus ten percent of whatever cash you offered, if I'd just lure you in."

"Imagine our surprise when you claimed it was a fake." His eyes twinkling, Gus crossed his arms over his chest and dared Charity to confess.

"But, I was only bluffing�" Humbly, Charity recalled her desperation.

Gus nodded, knowingly. Though he'd been secretly impressed by the nerve that must have taken, "Ivy was furious," he revealed, continuing the story. "She'd planned it all so carefully. And then you brushed her off like day old lint. If she hated you before�"

"I think that was the night she really started to lose it," Gus winced at the memory. "I could see there wasn't gonna be any cash," he told Charity. "Even worse, Ivy didn't seem in any hurry to sign the quitclaim on the hotel my attorney had drawn up."

"So, blackmail or not, I decided it was time I started playing by my own rules�" With a cocky grin, Gus thought back to that night.

^^^^^^^^^^^

"A FAKE!" Ivy screeched at the top of her lungs once Charity and Ben had left the room. "How dare she?"

"She's got guts, I'll give her that," Gus admired, in spite of the blow to his bank account.

"Sorry, it didn't work out the way you planned, Baby, but I did my part, so, if you'll just sign here�" Coldly, Gus thrust the quitclaim at Ivy, only to have it shoved back in his face.

"Sorry, Baby�" she mimicked him viciously. "But this isn't over - not by a long shot."

Gus could see the wheels in Ivy's head spinning faster than the Daytona Speedway. Eerily preoccupied with her own thoughts, it was almost as if he'd disappeared from the room.

With a hushed reverence, Ivy approached Lila's painting and vowed, "Charity will pay. I promise you�"

Then, before he could argue otherwise, Ivy turned in a huff, ending the conversation with a simple, yet ominous, "I'll be in touch�"

Gus stood alone in his suite, the quitclaim in his hand, Lila's portrait by his side, his future remarkably bleak. In over his head, he had neither his hotel, nor his freedom from Ivy. What he did have was some time alone with Lila, his artistic talent, and the germ of a plan that just might work.

With a wicked gleam in his eye, he studied the sketch carefully and smiled.

"A fake, huh?"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"At best, nobody'd notice and I'd have Lila as leverage against Ivy for the rest of my life. Course, at worst, Ivy'd notice and my life wouldn't be all that long," Gus chuckled. "But, Hell, I figured it was worth the gamble."

"I was lucky," Gus admitted freely. "You and Peter kept Ivy so busy she hardly saw the painting after that."

"And it was a masterpiece of a copy, if I do say so myself�" he prided.

"Where'd you hide the original?" Peter wondered aloud.

Gus had hidden it in the one place Ivy was sure to avoid like the plague. "With Dolores, at the Sandbox�" he revealed with a grin.

"So, Ivy lost her life - for a fake?" Charity felt such sorrow at the incredible waste of it all.

Gus nodded, feeling his own remorse. "Sad thing is, even if I'd been there to tell her, she'd never have believed me."

"A Zack Lawson original�" Still awestruck, Charity ran her hand over her grandfather's work.

"But, why give it to me now?" she questioned, marveling at her good fortune.

"Ivy's gone," Gus said flatly, his voice concealing the gamut of emotions that statement provoked within him. "No need for leverage any more."

"You could've sold it." While Grandpa Zack certainly wasn't a world-famous artist, Charity knew the early-Americana market, and the sketch would have garnered a considerable price.

"Nah�it means too much to you." Just as unwilling as Charity to expose his feelings or admit how dearly he considered her a friend, Gus scoffed at his largesse. "Besides, I'm selling the locket."

"You are?" After all Sophie had gone through, keeping the locket safe all these years, then retrieving it in the dead of night, only to come close to losing her life over it, she couldn't help but blurt her surprise.

"Did you want it?" Gus had naturally assumed otherwise, but he would have given it to her happily, with all his heart.

"Me? No�" Sophie had enough bad memories of Ivy to last a lifetime. Curious, she turned to Peter to be sure he felt the same.

"Nope�no, thanks," he agreed, backing away. "It's all yours�"

Pleased, Gus was satisfied he'd made the right choice. "Dealer says it'll bring in six figures, easy," he anticipated, thrilled.

"Enough for me to secure the hotel - and establish a scholarship at Dolores' old school," he added, accepting the hug Dolores quickly bestowed on him.

"The Lila Cohen Scholarship for underprivileged girls," he revealed, his eyes silently seeking Charity's approval.

Gratified that her faith in Gus hadn't been misplaced, Charity complimented him sincerely, with just one word. "Excellent."

"Ooooh, isn't he just an angel," Dolores cooed, before heading over to the liquor cart to open a celebratory bottle of champagne.

"Cherubic�" Peter quipped, offering his hand to Gus, in congratulations - and above all, friendship.

"Hey, why don't you two stay for the game," Gus suggested to Peter and Sophie, as Harry and Bruno pursued the sound of a popping cork.

"No, thanks, we really should get going�" Peter turned toward Reggie and Charity.

"Sophieeeeeeeee�.." Bereft, Reggie rushed toward Sophie, enveloping her in the mother of all bear hugs.

"Easy Reg�" Peter urged, fearful Sophie might not be able to withstand Reggie's demonstrative outburst.

"Oh, I am going to miss you so much�" Reggie gushed affectionately. "You'll call? You'll write?"

"I will�I promise," Sophie nodded, growing tearful herself at Reggie's endearing farewell.

"I can write, too," Peter grumbled, feeling decidedly left out of their little tete-a-tete. After all, he and Reggie had been through thick and thin together. Didn't he deserve a "See, ya," at least?

"Awww, Pete, come here�" Sentimentally, Reggie enfolded him into their embrace. It was one of those moments that made Charity wish she'd had her camera�

"Okay, that's enough." Peter drew away quickly at Gus' first snicker.

Finding Peter an irresistible target as always, Reggie's eyes alighted with mischief. "Answer me just one thing, would you, Sophie?"

"Anything, Reggie," Sophie promised sincerely.

"If you'd left a note for Peter before you took off, where would we have found it?" he asked, suspiciously curious.

Instantly, Peter groaned in exasperation. First the group hug and now this!

Bemused by whatever mysterious significance the question seemed to hold for the two men, Sophie, nevertheless, cheerfully, played along.

Thinking the matter through carefully, she arrived at, what she hoped was the correct decision. "Well�I guess�I would've left it in�the bathroom?" she ventured meekly, turning toward Peter with a shrug.

Reggie's exuberant "AHA!" coupled with her husband's defeated sigh made Sophie wish she'd taken the Fifth.

"What'd I tell you?" Reggie gloated victoriously at Peter, giving Sophie a last kiss on the cheek. "I know women!"

Sensing another firestorm to be diffused, Gus entered into the conversation. "Listen, Mr. Hefner," he joked, pulling Reggie safely out of Peter's reach. "How'd you like to work here full-time, as my second in command?"

Stunned, Reggie fell momentarily speechless. Then, in just three words, he managed to express most of what he was feeling. "Wow! Really? No�"

Before Gus could ask, Reggie expounded on his answer. "I mean, thanks, Gus, honest. But, Monroe's due back tomorrow and I'm on duty at the Broadmoor the day after."

"Colorado Springs is my home," Reggie announced with a lofty pride that made Charity's heart swell.

"WALPOCS luncheon, this Thursday, at noon, Mrs. M.?" he confirmed dutifully. "Your usual tea and whiskey chaser?"

Charity beamed with delight. "Sounds perfect, Dear," she agreed, giving him a peck on the cheek. "I'll see you then."

With a smile, Charity watched as Reggie took his place beside Bruno at the poker table.

Glancing back at Charity, Reggie warned his cohort, in a hushed voice. "Careful, Bruno�she bluffs."

Charity tried not to laugh. Finally�amazingly�her world was slowly returning to normal. She had someone very special to thank for that.

Anticipating Charity's reluctance to say goodbye, Peter placed his hand gently on her shoulder and whispered in her ear. "I remember the first time you called me, 'Young Man,'" he reminisced with a chuckle.

Even now, Peter could bring a smile to her lips. "Ah, yes�" Charity smirked, turning to face him. "Your little attempt at Scrabble�"

"What did you do?" Sophie drawled, remembering the incident with the Mark and the wet cement. Even Gus was curious.

"I rearranged the letters above the bar - just to pass the time," Peter excused innocently.

"My beloved Gold Nugget Saloon�" Charity bemoaned with exaggeration. "Renamed to 'Snuggle Good N a lot!'"

"You have to admit it was creative," Peter grinned to Sophie and Gus.

"Creative?" Charity glared at him, with a love in her eyes that spanned a lifetime. "I'll have you know, there are still women on the Committee who dare call me 'Snuggles'�"

Amidst the laughter that followed, Charity grew uncharacteristically quiet. "How can I ever thank you?" she asked softly, fidgeting with the sleeve of Peter's shirt.

Eternally hopeful, Peter did have one suggestion, as he hugged Charity tightly. "Stay out of trouble, please?"

Brushing away a tear, Charity gave Peter an enigmatic smile, then turned toward Sophie. Embracing her warmly, she divulged the answer to Peter's question in a private whisper, for Sophie's benefit only. "Ah, but, then I'd never see him�"

Giggling, Sophie promised that wouldn't happen, as she gave Charity one last kiss on the cheek goodbye.

Whatever the two women in his life were joking about, Peter felt certain it was at his expense. Still, nothing made him happier than witnessing their love for each other, a mother-daughter relationship if ever there was one.

"Well, I guess this is it�" Gus interjected awkwardly.

"Take care, Pete." Extending his hand, Gus clasped Peter by the shoulder and teased. "Don't forget, the five-minute kiss gets 'em every time�"

"Yeah, right," Peter huffed indignantly.

Coming to her husband's defense, Sophie quickly assured Gus, "Peter doesn't need it."

Intrigued, Gus wondered if, perhaps, Peter's techniques might be worth learning. After all, he'd managed to win Sophie somehow�

"You got something better?" he nudged Peter with a wink. "C'mon, tell me. I could use another gimmick�"

Flattered, Peter found himself a bit flustered. Gus Leighton, Man about Vegas, was asking for his advice with women. Talk about an ego boost�

"Well, I�" Peter fumbled for his finest talent. "I�uh�juggle�" he offered helpfully.

"Juggle?" Gus snickered derisively.

Again, Sophie came to Peter's rescue, sidling up against him and kissing him with love. "He's very good with his hands�" she reported, so seductively that Gus' laughter immediately stopped.

"Oh�" was about all he could manage as Peter rocked on his heels, a very satisfied grin on his face.

As entertaining as she found this little exchange, for the safety of all present, Charity thought it wise to try and change the subject.

"Perhaps, we should play poker?" she suggested gamely, as a salve to Gus' crestfallen ego.

"Can I kiss her goodbye at least?" Gus asked Peter plaintively, gesturing toward Sophie.

"You already did that�" Peter was still smarting from the scene he'd witnessed earlier.

"Peter�" Sophie reprimanded him with a look.

Having little choice, Peter relented with a shrug. "Okay, five�seconds," he quipped, making sure to check his watch.

Gus didn't waste any time. He met Sophie's lips softly, tenderly, enjoying just a hint of the mysteries that were Peter's alone. A kiss of gratitude, from one kindred spirit to another, those five seconds would last Gus a lifetime.

His voice breaking slightly, Gus said goodbye the only way he knew how. "Here's lookin' at you, Kid�" he winked, before offering Charity his arm.

"Goodbye, my Dears�" she bid them. "Take care."

Strolling toward the poker table, Charity and Gus chattered on. "You're gonna love Dolores�" he promised her eagerly.

"I'm sure I will, Gus�" Charity smiled happily, pausing as she said Gus' name.

"Gus?" The name struck her. Charmed, Charity wanted to know everything about her new friend. "Is that short for Augustus?"

Embarrassed, Gus grew red. "No, ummm, Gustav�" he admitted finally, surprised by the look of delight that crossed Charity's face.

"Really?" she delved intently. "You know, my great-Nana, Ilsa had a brother, Gustav. Come to think of it, he was a painter�."

"You don't suppose�" Charity's eyes sparkled as Gus pulled out a chair for her at the table.

Certain that Charity was in good hands, Peter turned to Sophie, placing his arm around her as they left.

"Now, that," he laughed, pulling her close, "could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship�"

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Re: Ghosts - ch.60 (The End) -- dqfan, 16:12:11 05/10/03 Sat