Re: Say the Words - ch.37 -- The Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman Fan Exchange

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Date Posted: 07:46:12 03/26/03 Wed
Author: dqfan
Subject: Re: Say the Words - ch.37
In reply to: dqfan 's message, "Re: Say the Words - ch.36" on 07:41:34 03/26/03 Wed

CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN

"From here?" Peter pouted, looking down from the perched landing atop the metal stairway to the inflatable mattress below.

"You want me to jump from here?" Peter's voice had that unmistakable, disappointed pitch of a little boy forced to accept training wheels on his new bicycle.

"It's a first step, Peter�." Sophie explained patiently, standing beside him. "You need to get used to free fall."

"And, it'll give you a chance to feel comfortable in your gear before we go outside," she mollified him. "You can't start with Mt. Everest, you know�"

"I know�" he answered sheepishly, "it just feels silly, Soph."

"There's nothing silly about a 30 foot drop, Peter," she reassured him.

"Now, do you remember what I told you about your harness configuration?" Sophie questioned him sternly.

Peter smiled and patted the nylon, training chute Sophie had attached to his harness. Even though the mattress would cushion his fall safely without it, the training chute would give Peter a chance to actually pull a ripcord and feel the gravitational tug of a parachute unfurling behind him.

"Yes, Ma'am," he beamed. "The chest strap's connected to the leg strap�"

"Peter, please�" Sophie begged, "this is serious!"

"You're right�" Peter forced a sober expression but his lip quivered with mischief.

"Maybe, you should check my harness - just to be sure?" he dared her.

"Well, maybe I should�" Sophie accepted the challenge but her tongue was planted firmly in her cheek as she approached him.

"Let's see�" she began seductively.

"The chest strap�" Sophie ran her hands leisurely over Peter's chest, fixing her eyes on his as she tugged securely at the buckle, "is connected to�"

Sophie hands continued their journey, traveling precariously lower, tracing the harness' outline until she reached the buckle just below Peter's right hip. Wickedly, Sophie tugged a bit more forcefully than before. "The leg strap�"

Sophie smiled as Peter groaned and tilted his head back. "Yup, nice 'n tight, Sparky�" she agreed sprightly.

Then, with the speed of a hit-and-run driver, Sophie whirled - walking cast and all - and escaped quickly down the stairs, hobbling for dear life.

^^^^^

"So jump�." she yelled up to him encouragingly.

From the salvaged cabin doorway, Peter could see Sophie standing near the air mattress. She wasn't quite a speck, but she wasn't all that close either�

For a split second, Peter wondered whether he'd bitten off more than he could chew but there was no turning back now. Sophie would never let him hear the end of it if he couldn't at least jump from a platform onto a mattress, let alone from a plane to the ground.

Taking a deep breath and a huge gulp, he placed both hands on either side of the doorway.

"Don't forget to pull the cord," Sophie shouted.

"Gee thanks, Coach�" Peter muttered under his breath.

Without giving himself another second to think, Peter focused on the mattress, counted to three, and jumped�

Sophie watched from below as Peter sped toward the mattress, chest first. She held her breath as she waited for him to pull the cord. It wouldn't matter if he didn't. The mattress alone was enough to absorb his fall, so there was virtually no danger. Still, she clasped her hands and waited for that first sign of his training chute.

Almost immediately it appeared and Sophie beamed from ear to ear.

Watching from a safe distance, she smiled as Peter landed with a bounce onto the mattress and fell flat on his stomach within its air pockets, the billowy parachute cascading over him, completely obscuring him from her view.

Sophie giggled as she watched Peter's silhouette struggle beneath the chute. Repeatedly, he attempted to make his way out, only to fall back onto the mattress, failing each and every time.

Heroically, Sophie proceeded to "rescue" him and, despite her cast, hoisted herself up beneath one fold of the parachute, crawling her way slowly toward Peter's muffled profanities as he lost his balance again and again.

"Hey there, Mountain Man�" Sophie greeted cheerfully, slithering alongside him on her knees and elbows, the chute resting atop her head. "Kinda like playing Twister, huh?"

"Reminds me of when I was eight and a tent fell on me�" Peter sputtered, flailing uselessly at the harmless fabric.

"Having trouble?" she asked sweetly.

"You could have warned me that getting out from under this thing would be the hardest part!" Peter scowled as he rose to his feet, punched the parachute with his fist, then wobbled and fell, coming face to face with Sophie.

"Oops, did I forget to mention that?" she snickered, her innocent eyes growing wide as she squealed in mock terror.

Unfortunately, Sophie's last-minute attempt to flee from his menacing approach was no more successful than the last time Peter had that particular look on his face - and a very dangerous can of whipped cream in his hands.

For, once again, Peter was a man on a mission and, with one long grasp of his arm he succeeded in snatching Sophie tightly against him - the parachute draping them both in a cocoon of unexpected intimacy.

Abruptly, Sophie's laughter dissolved as Peter gently brushed the hair from her face. "So I forgot one little thing�" she sighed softly.

Almost shyly, she toyed with the zipper of Peter's flight suit, delighting in the irresistible feel of him lying next to her.

Relaxing, Peter poised his hand upward to keep the offending parachute at bay. His slight shift caused Sophie to roll directly on top of him. Instantly, Peter cradled the back of her head with his other hand while his leg wrapped possessively over hers. The air mattress was suddenly quite comfortable�

The small pocket of fabric in which they rested was warm from the heat of their breaths and Sophie's heart raced, overwhelmed by the excitement of being "trapped" with Peter. Camping under a tent had never felt this good.

Lovingly, her palm cupped his cheek.

"You know�a man could suffocate in here," Peter's voice was hoarse as he grumbled roughly in mock distress. Contrary to his claims, though, Sophie could tell he was feeling anything but threatened by their current situation.

"I'd never let that happen�" she whispered temptingly.

"Oh?" Peter's voice begged for more but he waited patiently, lightly caressing her scalp with his fingertips.

As Peter's sensuous rhythm urged her closer, ever closer, toward his lips, Sophie's resolve faded temporarily and she surrendered to her desires, sighing resourcefully, "There's always mouth to mouth�"

^^^^^^^^

Meanwhile, from the doorway, it appeared as if the room was empty. Only the inflatable mattress and the parachute atop it were visible as Alexander entered, searching for his daughter.

"Sophie?! Sophie?!" he called, certain she and Peter must still be in the building somewhere.

He'd been looking everywhere for them, even in the tiny classroom Sophie had arranged over by the lockers, but his "crew" was nowhere to be found.

"Sophie?!" he shouted again, his call echoing off the cavernous metal walls.

Stymied, Alexander turned and was about to leave, when, suddenly, he could have sworn he heard a series of high-pitched giggles emanating from the direction of the parachute.

"Hi, Dad," Sophie blushed as her head popped out from beneath a tiny portion of the fabric. Clutching it tightly about her neck, she lay flat on her stomach.

"Sophie?" Alexander was surprised to see her without Peter. "I thought you were giving Peter his lesson?"

"I am�" she struggled to keep a straight face as Peter unexpectedly lifted the flap next to her and, similarly, stuck only his head from beneath the fabric.

Valiantly, Peter reported to his superior officer, his voice cracking slightly as he, too, remained flat on the mattress. "Here, Sir�" he signaled awkwardly.

It took every ounce of willpower Alexander possessed not to laugh out loud.
Their guilty looks were absolutely priceless.

Thank God, he didn't really need a flight crew�otherwise he'd be in serious trouble with these two, Alexander noted to himself melodramatically as he struggled to maintain his composure.

"Wait 'til Charity hears this one," he contemplated privately, enjoying the embarrassment that Sophie and Peter were so obviously experiencing.

"Ah, I just wanted to let you know I'm heading over to the Oakhaven Rest Home to see Ted McFadden, my old flying buddy," Alexander informed them as casually as possible.

"Sure, Dad, have a good time," Sophie nodded meekly.

"Say hello from us," Peter chimed uselessly, feeling the need to contribute to the conversation somehow.

Immediately, Sophie raised her eyebrows at him as if to say, "You've got to be kidding�"

At that, Alexander just couldn't resist any longer. With all his might he bit his lip, stared them both head-on, and rubbed his chin, inquiring seriously, "So, how's the lesson going?"

All at once, and somewhat frantically, Sophie couldn't stop talking. "Good�" she stuttered wildly. "Great�"

Then, not knowing when to quit, she added without thinking, "Peter's a fast learner�"

This time it was Peter's turn to give Sophie a "You've got to be kidding" look.

A tiny trickle of blood began oozing inside Alexander's mouth as he bit too hard to avoid convulsing into laughter. Mercifully, he decided to put them all out of their misery, and left them alone, waving an indulgent goodbye.

"Fast learner�" Alexander muttered under his breath as he left the building.
"I'll just bet he is�"

^^^^^^

It was almost 10 a.m. by the time Ezra arrived at Oakhaven. The mid-morning snack trays had just been cleared and Dr. Burke was busy monitoring the vital signs of those patients lucky enough to be on the balcony on that beautiful, spring morning.

"Hey, Dr. Burke," Ezra greeted, as he stole a glance toward the large oak tree and the empty bench beneath it. "Can I help?"

"Thanks, Ezra," Stephanie smiled as she listened to Ted McFadden's heart beating. "I'm just finishing up here. Once I check Ted's blood pressure, I'm heading over to the hospital."

Ezra noticed the tray of instruments beside her. "Here's the cuff," he offered helpfully.

Holding the blood pressure cuff in his hand, Ezra was suddenly reminded of his conversation with Michaela. Curiously, he asked, "Say, Dr. Burke, have you ever heard of a spigo-man-ometer?" Ezra approximated as best he could the word Michaela had pronounced.

"You're holding it," Stephanie laughed at Ezra's mispronunciation. "Where did you ever hear it called that?" she wondered.

So Michaela had been right! How could she possibly have known? Ezra decided to pump Stephanie for more information.

"Medical book, I suppose," he lied craftily. "Why?"

"It's just I haven't heard it called that since medical school," she smiled, recalling all the multi-syllabic definitions she'd been forced to memorize in that horrendous first year of her internship.

"So, only doctors call it that?" Ezra asked lightly.

"Only when they want to sound very smart," Stephanie patted Ted's shoulder encouragingly at his excellent vital signs.

"Like the doctor who invented it," she chuckled.

"And he was�?" Ezra wasn't sure exactly what he was on to here, but his instincts were telling him it was big�really big."

"I'm so pleased you're taking such an interest in medicine, Ezra," Dr. Burke commended him.

"Thanks," Ezra replied, trying not to feel too guilty over his harmless, yet deceptive inquiry.

"Well, to answer your question," Stephanie continued as she packed up her medical bag and prepared to leave, "the sphygmomanometer was invented by Dr. Riva-Ricci in 1896," she recited from memory.

"Now, I really have to be going, Ezra," Dr. Burke shook Ted McFadden's hand warmly.

"Ted, you'll live to be a hundred," she assured him with a grin. "And, by then, Dr. Friedkin, here, will be taking good care of you."

The old gentleman laughed heartily and waved a grateful goodbye as Stephanie left to perform her rounds.

"Can I get you anything, Mr. McFadden?" Ezra asked, while the year 1896 kept rattling in his brain.

"Whiskey would be nice," Ted replied, muttering at his sorry state of confinement in his wheelchair.

"Man after my own heart�" Alexander's voice boomed as he slapped Ted soundly on the back. The firm handshake of an old friend soon dissolved into a larger, somewhat awkward bear hug as the two greeted each other in an emotional reunion.

"Alex! I heard you were coming," Ted's expression was a thousand times brighter than Ezra had ever seen before.

"Hi, Commander Becker!" Ezra was truly glad to see him.

"You two know each other?" Ted shouldn't have been surprised�Alexander Becker knew everyone.

"Ezra's one of my daughter's students," Alexander introduced them.

"Sophie? Sophie's here?" Ted couldn't believe Alex's little girl was in town, too.

"She lives here now, Ted. Gettin' married and everything," Alexander reported proudly.

"You don't say�" Ted couldn't believe they were talking about the same little tomboy he'd found hiding in his flight suit one day, hoping to stow away.

Ezra had so many things on his mind, he couldn't think straight. Where was Daisy when he needed her? Back at Horizon with Shelby, helping the others with their surprise. What good was that when he needed her here? Needed her evaluation of the suspects�the evidence� Maybe he had been reading too much Sherlock Holmes lately?

But where was the old couple after all? They hadn't been seen since before the party at Rusty's - a party they'd promised to attend and then hadn't. And what to make of the spigo-whatever and the year 1896? Should he stay and hope that Alexander's reunion with his old flying buddy might yield some new information? Or, should he venture down to the oak tree and wait for the couple to reappear - which could be never�

Ezra was just about to offer the two men some refreshments when he turned back to the mysterious bench only to see two figures sitting there who weren't there only a minute before.

"I'll be right back�" Ezra interrupted Alex and Ted and then left before they had a chance to ask why.

Alex watched Ezra bound eagerly toward the tree. "Oh, to be young again�" he sighed with a grin.

"Aww, you're not old, Alex," Ted reassured him. "You're almost 12 years younger than I am." Ted's mind was still sharp and his outlook positive, in spite of his infirmities.

"I'm too old to be dropping out of planes," Alex noted sadly. "And too old to be the poster boy for the RCAF any more."

"Is it really that bad?" Ted was almost glad he retired when he did.

"The brass barely tolerates me and the squadron can't wait to be rid of me. Say I slow them down," Alex revealed to his sympathetic friend.

"They're only doing this benefit because I promised them I'd leave quietly afterwards," he shook his head with a rueful grimace. "Nice to know I was appreciated."

Grateful for Alexander's support of Oakhaven and its worthy facilities, Ted listened intently to Alexander's disappointed portrayal of an air force more interested in publicity and recruiting than in years of service and a job well done.

Meanwhile, down by the oak tree, Ezra was expressing his own vast disappointment.

"Why didn't you come to the party?" he questioned Michaela and Sully with a hurtful look.

Michaela was a bit taken aback by Ezra's accusatory tone and stumbled somewhat before deciding on the truth. "We were terribly late, Ezra, I'm so sorry."

"It was all my fault," she admitted with a smile. "I'm afraid I couldn't decide what to wear."

"Happens all the time�" Sully whispered knowingly to Ezra.

"So, you're telling me you were there?" Ezra's mind was a jumble as he tried to recall everyone in the room that night.

"Well�yes�for a short time�" Michaela hedged, nervously looking to Sully for support. But Sully preferred to whittle quietly, nonchalantly contributing when the mood struck him.

Michaela set her steely gaze on Sully, pursing her lips as she vowed to make him pay for deserting her in her time of need.

"I'm afraid we must have missed you," she offered weakly in their defense.

"If you were there," Ezra asked suspiciously, "then what color dress was Sophie wearing?"

"Black, I believe," Michaela answered Ezra's quiz easily.

Ezra's brow was furrowed, aptly depicting his mind's perplexing jumble. Most women wore black dresses to parties. Michaela could have guessed. He needed to ask something else, something more specific�

"Did you like the music?" Ezra purposely baited Michaela to see what would happen. "Sometimes Metallica can be a little loud�"

Michaela took her time, as she always did when presented with a problem. It was never wise to rush to an impulsive decision and diagnosis was her forte, after all. But, as usual, Michaela's diagnosis of the situation was quite accurate. Ezra was doing his level best to discover the true nature of their visit, even to the point of setting a deliberate trap.

Calmly, Michaela thought back to the party and the provocative lyrics she'd heard playing as Peter and Sophie danced. Though she didn't approve, the music was definitely not loud. Truthfully, she had found it quite romantic and soothing, in fact. In her mind, Michaela pictured the CD case she'd noticed casually atop the counter - "Sinatra's Classic Oldies�"

Michaela clasped her hands in her lap and gazed directly at Ezra with the dignified presence of a senior surgeon. "On the contrary, Ezra, I found Mr. Sinatra's Classic Oldies to be most relaxing."

Flabbergasted, Ezra's mouth dropped open but he couldn't manage a single word. How did she do that! God, he wished Daisy were here to see this! Michaela had to be a magician�or a psychic interpreter�or a visitor from another planet�She definitely had to be invisible to get by Daisy's eagle eyes that night.

Invisible� Ezra repeated the word in his head. Invisible? As in�ghost? As in a ghost from the past? Say circa 1896? Ezra gulped noisily, feeling his blood grow cold. Oh, he had to talk to Daisy - fast!

Frightened out of his wits, Ezra turned on his heels and ran straight into Alexander, who grasped the boy firmly by the shoulders.

"Easy, E.Z.," Alexander joked at his own word play. "What's the hurry?"

"Ah�nothing�I just remembered I need to see Daisy about something�" Ezra sputtered frantically.

Alexander's eyes met Michaela's and her ravishing beauty struck him in a flash. "A woman can do that to a man," he complimented as he extended his hand to Michaela. "Especially a beautiful woman�"

Sully's whittling came to an abrupt end, his attention riveted to the exchange now taking place.

"How delightful to see you again, Commander Becker," Michaela flirted sweetly, taking a chance on Alexander's good manners.

Of course, she and Alexander had never actually met, but Alexander was far too much of a gentleman, not to mention a charmer, to ever admit it - at least Michaela hoped so.

Alexander blinked twice but never faltered. "The pleasure is all mine, dear lady�"

Hearing Sully clear his throat loudly for the second time, Michaela finally relented and introduced him cordially, "And this is my husband�" she explained, rather enjoying Sully's discomfort, especially since he'd made no effort to help her earlier with Ezra's brutal interrogation.

"Nice t'see ya." Sully wrapped one arm possessively around Michaela, while his other hand released Alexander's grip on Michaela's fingers.

Ezra suddenly felt a headache coming on. Maybe they really had been at the party after all? This was just too much for him to handle alone. He needed Daisy now!

"I've gotta be getting back�" Ezra stuttered as he backed away from the tree warily.

"I'll drive you," Alexander offered willingly.

Congenially, he extended a departing invitation to Michaela - and Sully. "I hope you'll both come to the air show on the 23rd. It'll be a day to remember, I promise you!" he advertised proudly.

Michaela smiled pleasantly enough but said nothing, watching as Alexander placed a protective arm around Ezra's dumbfounded visage and the two headed off for Mt. Horizon.

"Oh Sully," she sighed heavily at Alexander's prediction, "That's exactly what I'm afraid of�"

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Replies:

Re: Say the Words - ch.38 -- dqfan, 07:49:45 03/26/03 Wed
- Re: Say the Words - ch.39 -- dqfan, 07:53:38 03/26/03 Wed
  - Re: Say the Words - ch.40 -- dqfan, 07:57:55 03/26/03 Wed