Re: Say the Words - ch.33 -- The Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman Fan Exchange

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Date Posted: 07:31:09 03/26/03 Wed
Author: dqfan
Subject: Re: Say the Words - ch.33
In reply to: dqfan 's message, "Re: Say the Words - ch.31 & 32" on 07:15:58 03/26/03 Wed

CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

"You left them all alone down there?" Sophie exclaimed, trying to put on her earrings while at the same time searching her closet for a low-heeled black shoe that would go with both her dress and her walking cast.

"Relax, Honey," Alexander reassured her. They're fine. They're great kids. We've worked out the decorations already and I just came up here to borrow a CD player. The jukebox seems to be broken�"

"The jukebox is always broken�" Sophie muttered, still feeling it was unwise to leave the Cliffhangers on their own for any length of time.

"I think Gracie has a small one you could borrow. I don't want to disturb Annie�" Sophie suggested, finally locating a suitable shoe.

"Go, tell the kids I'll be there in a few minutes, okay? Sophie reminded him, adding with a frown, "And please, don't let them burn the place down�"

^^^^^^^

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this," Peter fumed at Charity as he raced around the house in his black dress pants and royal blue shirt trying to get ready in time for the party.

Unlike Peter, Charity had dressed in plenty of time and now sat comfortably on the sofa, basking in her assured success.

"You let me talk you into this because you know I'm right," Charity boasted in true Lawson fashion. "This plan can't go wrong�"

"Isn't that what great-grandaddy, Hank, said, just before he lead the posse straight into the skunk?" Peter's wit was as sharp as Sully's tomahawk.

"You do not deserve me," Charity had daggers in her eyes as she steeled herself for his sarcasm.

"I tell myself that all the time," Peter quipped, softening his double-meaning with a peck on Charity's cheek.

Quickly, he ran to snatch another small package from the end table by his bed. This one was elegantly wrapped with a beautiful red ribbon, and Peter placed it carefully inside his jacket pocket before putting the suitcoat on.

"A special present?" Charity wondered curiously.

"You might say that�" Peter replied with a twinkle in his eye.

"Ready to go?" he encouraged her.

"Not quite�you see, we have to wait for Frank�" Charity would have given a fortune if there'd been any way to avoid telling Peter what he was bound to find out within minutes.

"I thought Frank was at Rusty's watching over the kids?" Peter stopped dead in his tracks, suddenly filled with panic.

"Now, don't get upset, Peter�" Charity begged uselessly. "You need to stay focused on Sophie tonight."

"I am focused, Charity," Peter took a deep breath, attempting to remain calm. "Now, where's Frank?" he insisted.

"Frank, will be here any minute," Charity spoke in the most deliberate, soothing, monotone she could manage. "After all, it wouldn't do for the guest of honor to have to supervise his own party�"

"So, who is supervising them?" Peter asked with a frown, praying Charity would say Sophie, but fearing he already knew the truth.

"Alexander, of course�" Charity said breezily, as if it were the most ordinary occurrence in the world.

"Alexander�" Peter repeated, shaking his head incredulously.

"Charity, he's not even on staff� Frank agreed to this?" Peter blustered, furious with himself for allowing Charity's kitchen table strategy meeting to have proceeded while he slept.

"Well, I asked him if he could cook and he said 'no'�" Charity huffed, convinced that Frank's response fully justified all her subsequent actions.

"Oh, he must be out of his mind�" Peter theorized as he rushed to the front door only to come face to face with Frank.

"Hey, Frank�ummm�Happy Birthday�" Peter was a bit taken off-guard by Frank's pathetically glum expression.

"Thanks, Pete," Frank mumbled, showing all the enthusiasm of a Frenchman on his way to the guillotine.

Sensing this might not be the best time to lecture Frank on the merits of his questionable decision, Peter maneuvered for a few more quick words with his aunt.

"Just let us grab your presents and Charity and I'll be right out�" he excused cheerfully, gesturing for Frank to head to the car without them.

"Sure," Frank nodded in a zombie-like manner, resigned to a birthday now totally out of his control.

Instantly, Peter grabbed Charity by the elbow and whispered to her sharply in the few seconds they had left. "What are they cooking?" he sputtered frantically.

Peter's horror ran the spectrum, as he envisioned the Cliffhangers setting fire to the kitchen or poisoning the guests.

"One of Alexander's recipes, I think," Charity fudged, since she'd neglected to ask for specifics.

"Recipe for disaster, maybe?" Peter's biting rhetorical question was the last straw for Charity.

"You are making far too much of this!" she reprimanded harshly, tiring of Peter's unsubstantiated accusations.

"For heaven's sake," Charity exclaimed in exasperation, "Sophie is right upstairs. She's within shouting distance if anything goes wrong - which it won't�"

Then, without letting Peter squeeze a word in edgewise, she waved her finger at him like a spoiled child, "And I'll tell you another thing, Peter Scarbrow, if you keep up this petulant attitude, no one - especially Sophie - is going to spend any time with you at all tonight!"

"Now, smile!" she ordered bluntly.

Suitably chastised, Peter was at a loss for words as he considered the possibility that perhaps he might be overreacting - slightly. Wisely, he allowed the argument to end for the moment.

With few options and even less time, Peter grabbed Frank's presents and ushered Charity out the door, trying to smile as he centered his thoughts on an evening out with Sophie�even if it was an evening orchestrated by the Cliffhangers.

It was too late for him to do anything anyway. All Peter could do now was hope. Hope that he would have a chance with Sophie tonight. Hope that this could be the start of a new beginning for them.

Hope that this wasn't going to turn into the evening from hell�.

^^^^^^^^^

Unfortunately, from the cacophony emanating from Rusty's kitchen, hell sounded like it was frighteningly close by�

"I thought you were going to cook!" Scott yelled at Auggie.

"Hey, I said I could make enchiladas. It's not my fault Jules decided they weren't 'romantic' enough!" Auggie shot back, banging a pan for emphasis.

"Beans are not romantic!" Juliette insisted strenuously.

"She does have a point�" Shelby sighed, terribly bored by the evening thus far.

"What about Annie's recipes?" Daisy held up several recipe cards.

"Have you read them?" Scott questioned, snatching one from her hand. "Sift dry ingredients and then form into a well�"

"Hey Man, I ain't diggin no well�" Auggie refused adamantly.

"Who else can cook somethin'?" Scott demanded of his group, knowing Alexander would be downstairs soon to check on their progress.

From Cliffhanger to Cliffhanger the look was the same. Panic and ineptitude etched on their faces. Until, a single hand was smugly raised.

"You?" Scott asked in disbelief. "You can cook?"

As all eyes shot toward David, he relished the opportunity to seize his rightful place as savior to this sorry lot of incompetents�

"Yes," David stood eye to eye with Scott, challenging his leadership. "I can cook."

"How?" Ezra wondered aloud.

"Pan A on stove B�" David replied smugly. "It's really quite simple."

"How did you learn?" Daisy asked, honestly interested to know.

"My mother taught me. She's a great cook. She used to cook for all of my Dad's officer's parties at the base," David revealed.

"What can you cook?" Shelby's suspicious nature was evident.

"Italian, mostly�Eggplant parmasean, veal piccata, shrimp scampi�" David recited his list of accomplishments.

"Scampi, that's garlic," Juliette wrinkled her nose.

"No garlic, Man," Auggie vetoed strongly.

"What's that piccolo thing?" Scott asked.

"Pic-ca-ta," David enunciated each syllable, thrilled with his new leverage. "Veal with lemon juice and capers�"

"Sounds okay," Ezra had to admit.

"Then-make-it," Scott hammered right back at David, refusing to budge and inch.

"We need music," Juliette remembered Alexander's search for a CD player. "The jukebox's broken again."

"Something to set the mood," Shelby offered by way of a suggestion, hoping to do as little actual work as possible.

"Barenaked ladies?" David wisecracked.

While eyes rolled in mutual disgust, Ezra took command of the situation. "I have just the thing," he smiled mysteriously, pulling a CD from his jacket. "Sinatra�"

"E.Z., what're you doin' with Sinatra?" Auggie couldn't believe that old-timer was something Ezra would actually spend money on.

Realizing Auggie knew him too well, Ezra admitted guiltily, "It came free - with any purchase from Victoria's Secret�"

"What did you buy?" Shelby choked on her own laughter.

"No�please�don't encourage him�" Daisy begged with a confounded shake of her head.

"So, are we all set?" Scott checked with each Cliffhanger as David donned a chef's apron.

Amidst nods of varying degrees of certainty, it seemed dinner preparations were finally underway�.

^^^^^^^^^^

"How's it goin' kids?" Alexander stuck his head in the kitchen, grateful to find the only fire burning low under a pan of lemon butter on the stove.

"Oh, that smells good�" he complimented, sticking his finger in David's sauce only to have his hand slapped with a spoon.

"Against regulations, Commander," David ordered briskly. "You understand�"

Alexander knew by reputation David's father, The General, and found his son's repulse of all things military to be quite understandable. More than willing to give David a wide berth, Alexander saluted with a wink and replied, "Perfectly, Recruit, perfectly�"

Hoping a little positive reinforcement would go a long way in making tonight's party a success, Alexander continued his encouragement of the Cliffhangers.

"Juliette�" he singled-out, paralyzing her with fear, "The tables look beautiful. You did a great job�"

Calming, Juliette beamed with pride. "Thanks, Commander," she smiled, "People tell me I have a flair for color�"

"Flair for the dramatic, you mean�" Shelby muttered as she dropped a single red rose into a bud vase for each table - the most undemanding task she could find.

Outside the restaurant, Charity, Frank, and Peter were just pulling into Rusty's parking lot. From the front walkway, Peter could see the table lanterns flickering warmly inside and he could hear the sounds of laughter as Frank's friends gathered for his birthday celebration.

So, while just the mention of Alexander, the Cliffhangers, and cooking, all in the same sentence, was enough to cause him to shiver, Peter's mood had begun to improve dramatically as he felt certain that he could take control of the situation in no time.

Once the crowd of birthday well-wishers, who had surrounded them as they entered, dispersed, Peter excused himself and scanned the room quickly for Sophie, but there was no sign of her anywhere.

Refusing to be disappointed so early on, Peter took a discerning look around the restaurant. Stephanie was there, busily arranging several large balloons and, over by the counter, Curtis and some of his deputies, each wearing buttons that read "Party Patrol," were helping themselves to some punch. Everything seemed perfectly under control.

Nervously, Peter headed to the kitchen�.

Removing his jacket, Peter rolled up his sleeves and prepared to begin cooking, not even bothering to notice how smoothly everything was running. When he finally looked up, Peter couldn't believe his eyes. Alexander and Ezra were coordinating the music. Daisy and Shelby were working on the floral arrangements. Juliette was folding napkins. And Scott, Auggie and David had formed an assembly line of flouring, breading and frying - with Auggie stationed purposely in the middle to keep Scott and David from killing each other.

"Hey, Pete!" Auggie greeted with a wave as Scott slapped a veal breast in his outstretched hand.

"Auggie�" Peter felt as if he'd entered the twilight zone.

"How's it goin', guys?" Peter asked tentatively, peering over David's shoulder at the veal he was frying for the piccata.

"Great�no problem�" they all mumbled in unison, presenting a united front if it killed them.

"Anything I can do to help?" he offered as Cliffhangers swirled by him left and right. Though poor Peter attempted to stay out of the way, somehow he was unable to find a safe spot to stand.

"Peter, you can't cook," Scott spoke for them all as Alexander listened bemusedly, curious to watch his future son-in-law in action. Apparently, it seemed they had something in common already - Peter couldn't cook either.

"The cake�" Shelby reminded him with a pointed stare.

Juliette just shook her head, horrified by the mention of Peter's infamous culinary attempt.

"Isn't anybody ever gonna let me forget that cake?" Peter could hear the anecdote being recited at his eulogy now�

Alexander stayed quietly in the corner, pursing his lips to keep from laughing.

"You know, I am perfectly capable of helping out�" Peter was supremely overconfident.

"Just let us take care of everything�" Juliette insisted, bubbling with more excitement than she'd experienced during any of her bridesmaids turns at her mother's many weddings.

"The scene will be set in a diner in the woods�" Ezra intoned in his best directorial persona, his palms linked at the thumbs, framing the shot.

"Sounds cool, E.Z.," Auggie agreed proudly.

In view of their unanimous rejection of his assistance, Peter was persuaded. Sympathetically, Alexander sauntered over to him and patted Peter on the arm.

"Pretty good bunch o' kids you got here�" Alexander complimented his charges for the evening.

"Yeah�" Peter nodded with a smile, watching them work.

One by one, Cliffhangers traveled back and forth from the kitchen, setting an impressive buffet of rolls, salad and David's special veal piccata. In no time at all, Rusty's began to have all the ambiance of an intimate European bistro.

"Pretty good Commander, too�" Peter offered his hand to Alexander in warm thanks for a job well done.

"You'll let me know if I can do anything?" Peter double-checked with the Cliffhangers one more time before he left.

"We'll let you know�all the gory details," Shelby promised eerily.

"Please, Peter, go�have a good time at the party�" Ezra encouraged him.

"Have you seen Sophie yet?" Daisy asked as innocently as possible.

At that moment, the swinging kitchen door burst open, hitting Peter squarely in the back.

Sophie looked sheepishly from Peter to her father to the Cliffhangers with an expression that vividly proclaimed, "oops."

Suppressing her giggles she asked innocently, "Someone mention my name�?"

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Replies:

Re: Say the Words - ch.34 -- dqfan, 07:34:35 03/26/03 Wed
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